Benevolence
The panel shows Bosatsu sitting on a tree stump in the middle of a beautiful forest.
It looks like something straight out of a Disney movie.
Birds chirp in the tress as butterflies flutter around his head.
Cute little squirrels and bunnies scurry around his feet.
Bosatsu stands up and begins to walk through the lush, plant-filled forest.
He begins to speak.
“Use your mind to solve problems for others;
your heart to feel compassion for others;
your mouth to speak for others;
your hands to help others;
your feet to visit others;
your ears to listen to others;
and your life to better others.”
—Matshona Dhliwayo
As he speaks, Bosatsu takes in the wonders of nature around him—
as if the forest itself is listening.
As if it’s speaking back.
As if he is one with the ground beneath his feet.
He smiles as bugs buzz around his head, bears sniff flowers nearby, bunnies chase one another, and the wind blows through his dark brown, twisted locks.
Then, from the distance, a faint sound.
It’s coming from the lake.
The sound grows louder… clearer.
It intrigues Bosatsu.
Someone is crying.
The cries sound weak and broken—
so sad they feel like ice sliding down your spine.
Bosatsu moves toward the sound.
As he gets closer, he pushes aside tall grass.
And there it is.
A duckling.
A small, cute yellow duck with big blue eyes.
The duck looks up at Bosatsu, tears pooling in its eyes.
It’s adorable, but clearly heartbroken.
“Why are you sad?” Bosatsu asks.
He kneels down, reaching out gently.
He repeats softly that everything is going to be alright.
As Bosatsu goes to pat the duckling on the back, the duck suddenly lowers its head…
and snaps it back up violently.
Its expression is feral.
Its eyes turn into two bright red Xs.
It makes a strange, hacking sound—like something is stuck in its throat.
A very cryptic quack.
What the heck is this thing?
The duck lunges at Bosatsu.
Bosatsu panics and stumbles backward.
But the duck keeps following him.
Worse, it starts growing.
As it grows, it begins to age rapidly.
Then, horrifyingly, the duck cracks its neck to the side as a second head emerges from it.
It towers over Bosatsu now sixteen feet tall.
The environment shifts.
What was once a beautiful forest twists into a dark, muggy swamp.
Bosatsu lies on his back in murky water, staring up at the massive two-headed duck.
They lock eyes.
For a moment, it feels like they share the same pain.
Then the duck screams directly into Bosatsu’s face.
The sound is deafening. His ears ringing, skull tightening.
Hot spit splashes across Bosatsu’s face as the creature roars.
Its voice shakes the entire environment.
The panel goes completely black.
The next panel opens with Bosatsu slowly opening his eyes.
His vision is blurry.
In the distance, he hears Nakatomi telling someone that he’s waking up.
Kahan responds, annoyed.
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“About damn time.”
Bosatsu fully wakes to see Nakatomi and Kahan standing over him.
He’s confused.
He doesn’t remember what happened.
They excitedly tell him that he saved them.
Apparently, Bosatsu grabbed both of them and launched straight up to the top of the cliff.
Bosatsu is stunned.
They thank him.
He vaguely remembers something like that happening—
but he has no idea how he did it.
He’s never shown signs of Solar use before.
As confusion overwhelms him, Nakatomi points behind him.
“Maybe it came from… that.”
Bosatsu turns around.
Sitting behind him is a small, cute, yellow two-headed duckling.
One head has big, glossy blue eyes.
The other has two red capital Xs for eyes.
Bosatsu screams and leaps into Kahan’s arms like a terrified child.
Kahan mean-mugs him—then drops him onto the ground.
Nakatomi laughs and says it’s adorable as she reaches out to touch it.
Bosatsu asks what it is.
Kahan blurts out the obvious.
“It’s your Sol Partner.”
Bosatsu freezes.
He sits down, staring at the duck.
The duck stares back.
Tears well in Bosatsu’s eyes.
He never thought he’d live to see the day his Sol Partner is fully developed.
He hugs the duck tightly, crying tears of joy.
Nakatomi reminds them they need to keep moving.
Kahan immediately starts ranting about how pissed he is that their two “friends” let him fall.
As they walk toward the finish line, they talk about the siblings responsible.
Their names are Juck and Bames, brother and sister.
Kahan swears the next time he sees them, he’s going to beat their asses.
Right on cue, Juck and Bames leap out of the bushes.
They mock the team, admitting they overheard everything.
They even say they wished the group had fallen to their deaths.
Kahan snaps.
He tells them he’s going to beat them until all they see is blood.
He clenches his fists and widens his stance.
Bosatsu grabs Kahan’s shoulder and shakes his head.
“Fighting won’t help us finish the course,” Bosatsu says.
Nakatomi agrees.
“We just need to get past the finish line.”
Kahan reluctantly tells the siblings to move.
They refuse.
They declare that only they will pass the Sol Fighters course.
They want the glory all to themselves.
Solar energy pours from their Sol Partners into their bodies.
They grow stronger.
More dangerous.
They threaten the team. “Give up now, or face their Solar”.
Kahan looks at Bosatsu and Nakatomi with a smirk.
“Don’t do it Kahan”
Kahan ignores him and charges towards the twins.
Juck and Bames dodge him easily.
Then Bames punches Kahan in the stomach.
They begin to beat the living shit out of Kahan, enhancing their punches with Solar energy.
Bosatsu runs in to help, but one of the siblings laughs and sucker-punches him in the face.
Bosatsu drops instantly, knocked out cold.
Nakatomi attacks next, landing a punch, but it barely fazes him.
The twin wipes blood from his lip.
“I’m gonna have some fun with your pretty ass,” he says, laughing.
As he rushes her, Nakatomi freezes.
For a split second, she sees Bryant’s face over his.
Fear takes over.
She runs, but he catches her, smashing her head.
She collapses.
The siblings regroup over her.
Kahan lies nearby, broken and bleeding.
One sibling restrains Nakatomi from behind while the other grabs her ankle.
Nakatomi breaks one of her legs free and kicks the twin square in the face. She broke the twis nose.
Blood pours.
Furious, the twin orders her brother to hold her tighter.
She beats Nakatomi mercilessly—
a punch so hard to the stomach that Nakatomi coughs up blood.
She goes limp.
Defeated.
Bosatsu regains consciousness.
He sees Kahan’s mangled body,
like a Family Guy character who fell down the stairs.
Then he sees Nakatomi being stomped.
Rage surges through him.
But he’s weak.
Exhausted.
Broken.
He can’t move.
Then,
the two-headed duck waddles into view.
Bosatsu tells it to move.
Instead, it makes that hacking sound again.
“Oh now not again not now.” Bosatsu proclaims
The sound then turns into a siren.
The siblings turn.
They approach the duck, mocking it.
One of them winds up to kick it like a football.
Before the kick lands the duck mouth explodes with Solar energy.
The energy pours into Bosatsu.
He rises into the air, wind swirling violently around him.
Power surges through his body.
Solar wraps around him like armor.
Juck and Bames stare up in disbelief.
Bosatsu looks godlike.
He sees his friends near death.
He channels his Solar into them.
Nakatomi and Kahan rise renewed and feeling stronger.
The three stand together, energy crackling.
Juck and Bames grin excitedly.
They charge!
But Nakatomi and Kahan intercept.
The team fights as one, passing Solar between each other.
Kahan lands heavy blows on the twins knocking them back.
While Nakatomi dishing out fury kicks, leaving the twins dazed.
Bosatsu and his ducks are hovering over everyone. Power his Solar energy into his new found friends, fueling the fight.
Overwhelmed, the siblings try to flee.
The trio combine their power into a single blast.
The explosion burns Juck and Bames to a crisp.
Silence.
They approach the siblings, now curled up and crying.
Kahan scoffs.
“Pathetic.”
Bosatsu speaks calmly.
“Let’s finish this.”
They reach a massive double door.
Above it, in red letters:
FINISH LINE
A sign reads:
Those who pass this door must accept that you are no longer influenced by those with no direction.
You must be more mature in how you act, speak, and present yourself.
Normal is no longer enough.
Your next step begins on the other side.
If you choose to take it.
Bosatsu opens the door.
Blank panel.
To be Contenued
...
The final panel shows two scientists at a computer.
Man 1: “Whoa… look at these surge numbers from the exam facility up east.”
Man 2: “That’s impossible. You don’t think this could be—”
Man 1: “We have to tell Prometheus.”
They rush into a shadowed office.
Prometheus sits in darkness.
Graphs flash before him.
A glare reveals part of his mask.
He speaks.
Prometheus:
“We finally found you, my son.”
