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Much like many other malls across America, Olympia’s Downeast Mall had seen better days. In the age of online commerce, Downeast Mall had seen a significant drop off in visitors; however, the mall was planning on changing all of that over the weekend. They had been promoting a huge “Spring Into Summer” sale throughout the mall in an attempt to lure the masses back to the stores. For the most part, the sales extravaganza had been a major success; the mall had more visitors on this day than they had seen in the previous month. 

However, record crowds were not the only thing drawn to the mall. Several hundred feet in the air, an ominous figure hovered above the Downeast Mall. The Hybrid looked down at the people scurrying in and out of the mall with disdain. He found it funny that all it took was the promise of savings on worthless garbage to bring out the hordes en masse. To the Hybrid, it was all pointless, and he looked forward to showing the entire world just how pointless it all was. 

But now, he waited. However, he did not have to wait for long. In the distance, he could make out the silhouette of a lone, caped figure flying toward him in the distance. The Hybrid grinned as the familiar blue and silver clad figure of the hero known the world over as Icon raced toward him.

“Took you long enough.” The Hybrid said gleefully as the hero drew nearer.  

As Icon approached The Hybrid, he was determined to stop him before he could cause anymore damage. However, he couldn’t shake the feeling that the deranged madman was simply toying with him. As he got closer to The Hybrid, he increased his speed and braced for impact with the killer. However, much to Icon’s surprise, Hybrid’s right arm began to change. It stretched and lengthened, and it looked more like the tentacle of an octopus rather than an arm. Before Icon could react, the tentacle had wrapped itself around his neck. The Hybrid had grabbed a hold of Icon, and with one swift and decisive movement, slammed the hero down to the rooftop of the Downeast Mall. 

“You really don’t get it, do you?” The madman asked. “You just can’t win.”

[b] “You’re wrong, Hybrid. I’m going to stop you, right now.” [/b]

“You’re going to stop me? Why is that? Because of them?” The Hybrid said as he pointed down, indicating that he meant the people in the mall. 

[b] “I won’t let you hurt anyone else.”[/b]
“And that’s your problem, Icon. You dedicate yourself to protecting these monsters, you’d give your life for them.” 

[b] “If I had to.”[/b]

“And that is why you can’t win, because you’re fighting for the wrong team. You see, the belief that people are inherently good is nothing more than a fallacy…a nice little fairy tale that people tell themselves to make them feel better about all the horrendous shit that they do on a daily basis. Oh, I assure you, people are evil.” Hybrid paused as he waved his hand over his face.

“Society is just a façade, and when you peel away the veneer, you find that it is just hiding the fact that people are nothing more than greedy, selfish, destructive animals.” The Hybrid told him.

[b] “You’re wrong, Hybrid. You-”[/b] Icon was cut off.

“You’re very existence is proof of that. If what I say isn’t true, there wouldn’t be an Icon. The sad fact of life is this: You can kill me. You can send me away forever…lock me up and throw away the key! But rest assured, there will be others just like me. Someone else will step in to take my place.” The Hybrid took several steps toward Icon.

“So what you’re doing is nothing more than an exercise in futility. And I’m going to ask you something that you’re eventually going to ask yourself anyway…” Hybrid said with a smile.

“Is it really worth it?” 

[b] “Why don’t I just show you.” [/b] Icon said, a statement more than a question as he lifted several inches off of the ground and rocketed toward The Hybrid.

Icon lowered his head and rammed his shoulder into The Hybrid’s midsection and drove him upward and away from the mall. The madman struggled, elbowing Icon in the back of the neck and head, however, the hero did not loosen his grip as he went skyward with the maniac. Icon took the madman up several thousand feet into the air and suddenly stopped and hurled him even higher. Then, he rocketed himself upward and hit The Hybrid with a hard right cross. As Icon moved in for another attack, The Hybrid reached out with his elongated, tentacle like arm and wrapped it around Icon’s neck.

“This is why you can’t win.” He said as he spit blood out of his mouth. “You fight scared. You aren’t willing to take that extra step…you refuse to do what you have to do. And that’s why ultimately, you lose.” He finished. 

With Icon still firmly in his grasp, The Hybrid began to take on a reddish glow. Icon struggled to get free of the madman’s grip, however, before he was able to get away the maniac unleashed a blast of pure energy that reverberated through Icon’s body. The blast was so intense that the stunned hero blacked out momentarily as The Hybrid pulled the hero upward before launching him downward. By the time Icon regained his composure, it was too late. He hit the ground with such an impact that he shattered the concrete where he landed, creating a man sized impact crater in the middle of the roadway. 

While Icon lay in the shattered road trying to regain his bearings, The Hybrid hovered in the sky over the mall. His body again began to take on a reddish glow. At first it was faint and barely noticeable, but as each second passed, the glow grew brighter, until he glowed so bright that he looked almost like a small red sun hanging low in the sky. 

Then he began to fall.

Icon looked on in horror as The Hybrid plummeted toward the packed Downeast Mall. He struggled to get to his feet; however, the madman’s violent attack had left him unable to move. All he could do was watch as The Hybrid crashed down through the roof of the packed mall, and for an instant, there was nothing. Icon felt a wave of relief wash over him. 

Then, suddenly the momentary silence was shattered by what sounded like a thousand bombs exploding all at once. Flames exploded from the numerous windows that encased the mall, which were designed to give the patrons a panoramic view of the city no matter where they were inside the common areas of the mall. Then the entire area shook as a violent explosion leveled the entire mall. The Downeast mall was gone, and in its place was a smoldering crater. 

“No.” Icon said weakly as he forced himself to his feet. He staggered as he stepped forward, a new rage building inside of him. 

[i]All those people…[/i] Icon thought to himself as he awkwardly stepped toward the burning ruins of the mall.

Then he heard something coming from within the inferno. Something that left the hero unsettled…a maniacal laughter. He focused in on the sound, and saw a lone figure walking through the flames toward him. 

The Hybrid.

The rage that Icon had felt festering within him began to boil over at the sight of the murderer. Icon blamed himself for the blood that had been shed here today, because it turned out that The Hybrid had been right. Icon had been holding back, not wanting to go all in when confronting the maniac out of fear that if he didn’t hold back he would kill the monster. 

His hesitation had just cost over three thousand people their lives. He would not make that mistake again, not with this murdering psychopath. 

Icon let out a primal scream as he launched himself at The Hybrid, pounding the maniac with a barrage of fists and elbows. For the first time in his life, he was not holding back. He gave The Hybrid everything he had. He landed a hard right hand to The Hybrid’s jaw, the impacted folded the villain’s knees, and he began to crumple to the ground. Icon grabbed him by the neck and pulled him back up, hitting him again with several hard punches before tossing him aside, sending The Hybrid crashing through the side of a parked bus, and out of the other side. Icon did not relent, he was on the maniac again before he had rolled to a stop, scooping him up and throwing another wild haymaker which sent The Hybrid crashing into the wall of a nearby building, the impact causing cracks to form in the wall. 

Icon continued to pound on the maniac until he stopped resisting. Finally, Icon took a step back, and The Hybrid fell lifelessly to the ground. 

“Thanks for the assist Icon, but we’ll take it from here.” A voice said from behind him.

Icon had been so consumed by rage that he had been completely unaware of a convoy of black SUV’s rolling into the area around the mall. Among the vehicles, Icon recognized a STRIKE containment vehicle. He turned toward the source of the voice, and saw Agent Marcus Ryder, a STRIKE agent that Icon had always had a contentious relationship with. Icon did not like the man, and he did not trust the organization that he worked for. However, in this instance, he was almost glad to see the man.

[b] “Late to the party, Ryder. As usual.”[/b] Icon said to the man as a number of agents rushed toward The Hybrid and fitted him with super high tensile restraints.  [b] “One of yours?”[/b] Icon asked as he left the agent and his men to secure the murderous madman, while he went into the inferno in a desperate attempt to find any survivors of the blast, a task that he knew was most likely a futile one.