Chapter Three - A Star is Born

Times Square, NYC, November 1995

Life is a curious thing. There are many who would draw imaginary lines across reality, separating everything that is into into distinct, recognisable sections like 'order' or 'chaos'. The universe relishes the opportunity to quash such simplistic notions. Take, for instance, the origin of all life in the solar system: the Sun. Without its life giving rays, there would be no living thing around to observe the universe at all. It is consistent and ordered, always dependable and never changing as it passes over the sky from East to West. The Sun is perhaps the most stable and ordered object in our solar system. And yet, if one looks within, there is absolute chaos. The Earth orbits a self-sustaining nuclear reaction, a continuous explosion of energy, bursting forth in fiery flares of devastation. What we see, then, is neither order or chaos, but both at once. The star we orbit is in a state of ordered chaos, of chaotic order. What seems on the surface to be so solid and dependable is not so, but rather wild and unpredictable.

Eventually, even the greatest of stars must fall.

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"You're a sick man, Stein." Giga-Guy growled as he stared down at the villain, clenching his mighty fists.

"Oh-ho! Sick man he says!" The man formerly known as Professor Philip Stein chuckled, his eyes wide with glee. "If only you knew the truth of it, Giggy boy!"

It was the middle of the day in Times Square and Guy Geller was yet again facing down his arch-nemesis, Professor Phusion, the man who built the fusion reactor responsible for his incredible powers. Through the disaster and the resulting hospitalisation of the boy caught in the blast, Stein lost his funding and place at the university. Additionally, the blast appeared to cause severe mental damage to him, thus discrediting him further. Weeks later, however, it emerged that Philip was also granted a new life in that disaster. While Guy's heart was transformed into a fusion reactor, it was Stein's brain that was saturated in the fusion energy, greatly increasing his intellect. Easily deducing that Giga-Guy was in fact the very same student responsible for the fall of his career, he became Professor Phusion and dedicated himself to ruining the boy's life as vengeance for his own shattered reputation.

Guy had been summoned to Times Square to once again do battle with his hated foe. Yet as Phusion stood atop a pile of debris, holding a little girl aloft by the scruff of her collar with his hand planted against the side of her face, ready to vaporise her head with a blast of fusion energy, he seemed uninterested in fighting for once.

"You want to talk? Let's talk. You and me. Leave her out of this."

"Ha! Good joke, good joke!" Stein barked a laugh, stifling a scream from the child as he wrapped his hand over her mouth. "Let her go and what stops you from flying over here and socking me in the kisser or dislocating my shoulder... again? The Professor is a clever one, he knows Guy's game!"

"Okay. Fine." Guy raised his hands in the air, displaying his palms as a sign of peace, through gritted teeth and furrowed brow. "Go ahead, say what you need to say."

"Ah!" Phusion beamed, his excitment plain to see. "I've figured it out, you see. How to beat you, how to ensure you fall from your pedestal in the most spectacular fashion! How to ensure the demise of you, my hated foe, in a manner befitting your nature!"

"Out with it!" The hero barked, frustration overcoming him. Stein simply grinned in reply.

"I must simply do... nothing!" Erupting into laughter once more, Phusion released the girl as he could no longer contain his amusement. Guy did not make a move, too perplexed to contemplate his next course of action.

"Nothing?"

"Nothing! And you know what you have to do, if you want to finally be rid of me? Not a thing!" The Professor managed to spit out before returning to his hysterical fit. "It's so obvious, Gigi! Don't you see? That fateful day we were both transformed into fusion reactors, into miniature stars! And one day, you and I will run out of fuel! You know what happens, when a star runs out of fuel? It dies! And not just any death, no no! Explosions, implosions, supernovas and black holes, a dying star can become any number of things... And some day you will leave your final mark on this world! You will leave a burn, a scar upon the very Earth you once protected! There is no escaping it, Guy!"

"Every star must fall!"

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Two years later, August 1997

The story spread like wildfire as reporters and journalists gathered outside the hospital, waiting for the news. It was a tranquil August evening when retired superhero Guy Geller appeared in the hospital foyer, hovering above the ground with his heavily pregnant wife in his arms.

That night was the premiere of Guy's first film, directed by James Cameron and based on his exploits as New York's greatest protector. Geller starred as the titular 'Giga-Guy' and, thanks to his powers, the film required no additional visual effects, saving a lot of time and money in post-production. Guy had never been particularly secretive about his identity, he often forgot to wear his costume altogether and his name was a big giveaway, so the Gellers had always been under a lot of media scrutiny due to his status as a celebrity superhero. Now, he was a celebrity superhero turned movie star, thus attracting even more attention from the press. It was a bittersweet change for Stacy, who was growing tired of being hounded by paparazzi, but equally wanted her husband to provide for their family, especially with a child on the way. The film was set to bring in millions of dollars, so money was no longer an issue, but only at the sacrifice of their privacy. Their lives were lived in the public eye, and only time could tell how long they would bear that pressure.

As Guy walked the red carpet at last, clad in a suit tailored to his massive frame, something he could never have dreamed of affording a year ago, he soaked in the applause and relished the feeling of photographers frantically calling his name, striving to get the best shot they could. He was always admired and respected as a superhero, but this was a whole new level. A buzz emanating from his jacket pocket, he quickly glanced at it to see that he was getting a call from his wife. Enjoying the high he was on too much to allow his cranky, pregnant spouse to ruin it by screaming at him again, he ignored it, placing it back into his pocket and continuing to wave for the crowd. Another call, which he ignored. Finally, on the third attempt, he sighed and stepped to one side, opening up the device.

"Honey, I'm on the red carpet, I'm gonna have to--"

"YOU PIECE OF SH*T!" Stacy screeched through groans of agony. "Aghhh! Guy, my water broke. I'm in a cab, I'm on my way to the hospital, but something is -- AGH -- wrong..."

"Stacy?" Through his exceptional hearing, he heard the cab driver swearing loudly, the sounds of squealing tires as the car lurched from side to side, and the unmistakable crackling sound of raw fusion energy. "STACY!"

In a flash of violet light, he shot into the skies, tearing off his tie and letting his phone drop to the ground. He started by heading towards their apartment in a streak of purple, then honed in on the energy signature. He followed it and, within moments, found the taxi in question, the driver having abandoned the vehicle as he sprinted down the street away from it. Landing with a thud and tearing the door off the car, he looked inside to see his wife undergoing contractions that only the child of a superhero could cause. Her belly was glowing like the sun, red hot radiation bled from her eyes and mouth, her bright locks illuminated by the power of their child as her mouth was open in a silent scream of pure energy.

A moment later they were in the hospital, Stacy in her husband's arms. He begged for a doctor, tears of indigo falling from his own eyes. For a while the nurses stood in shock, stunned at the sight before them, before leaping into action and leading Guy into a private birthing room. Her skin was flushed, her temperature through the roof and as they changed her into a hospital gown one of the nurses recoiled, the stench of burning flesh emanating from the back of her hand as it brushed past Stacy's leg. Unable to touch her, the doctor was forced to stand back and shout instructions and reassurances to the woman with blazing hair and screams of flame.

Only Guy could withstand the burn of his wife's touch, only he could bear to hold her hand as she squeezed it hard with new-found strength. Running his fingers through her burning locks he whispered soothing words into her pulsating ears. The doctor, positioned a safe distance away, yelled that he could see the child's head. As the only one able to get close to the woman, Guy moved away from her side and into position. He cradled the child's head in his powerful palm, then its shoulders, back, buttocks and feet... The woman ceased her screaming as the high-pitched squeal of the newborn child bounced around the room. Slumping with relief, the flames atop Stacy's skull subsided, only a faint glow remained on her exhausted face. The doctor and nurses finally leapt into action as Geller retook his place at her side, both of them with tears in their eyes. As he kissed her, the residual fusion energy within her flowed from her lips and into his. Her grip was still firm, but her temporary strength had left her with the child.

The doctor approached and passed them a bundle of cloth with the cause of all the commotion hiding within. Stacy took the bundle in her arms with a sob of relief and the family huddled together.

"It's a girl."

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Falling Apart, September 2004

"Where are they?!"

"Take it easy, Geller..."

"I'll take it easy when you tell me where my family are!" He roared, taking a step forwards that caused the chandelier to fall with a crash onto the marble floor.

"They're safe, Geller." The man replied firmly, not flinching in the face of his son-in-law. "And you might wanna watch that temper."

"You think that--" The fallen hero yelled, about to take another step, before thinking better of it, allowing his shaking fists to fall to his sides, eyes welling up. "I... Please. They're all I have left."

"Well, fortunately for them, you're not all they have left." His father-in-law shook his head, his face a picture of disgust. "You know, when I walked her down that aisle eight years ago, about to give away my only daughter to a genuine superhero? I felt like the luckiest father in the world. You were a good man back then. But somewhere along the line, you changed. You stumbled. And that's fine, we all stumble. What's not fine, is to drag the people that love you down into the mud too."

"Pete..."

"No." Peter Lane snapped, as he started to walk towards the man formerly known as Giga-Guy, a giant who towered far above his balding head, and yet seemed so small in that moment. "It's Mr. Lane to you, you scummy lil piece of filth. We gave Stacy to you so you could look after her, so you could care for her. You've proven you can't do that, so guess what? We're taking her back. She's gonna live with us for a while, somewhere safe, away from you." He got right up in the face of the slumped, drained figure before him. "Dammit Geller, you have a daughter. You think she needs this? Think she needs a father like you? You think having all them powers makes you a big man... You're not. You're nothing." Winding back his arm, Peter slammed his fist into Guy's unmoving jaw. His wrist crumpled under the force of the blow as he punched the invincible man in the face. Blinking back tears from the pain, Peter gritted his teeth and waved his bloody knuckles under his son-in-law's nose.

"That was worth it." He hissed, striding past Guy and leaving him to stand alone in his empty mansion.

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End of chapter three.

Comments and critique would be appreciated.

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No Ordinary Guy - An Origin Story

• Chapter One - The Brooklyn Project: http://www.comicvine.com/profile/fuzionguy/blog/no-ordinary-guy-an-origin-story/92560/
• Chapter Two - Hopelessly Devoted: http://www.comicvine.com/profile/fuzionguy/blog/no-ordinary-guy-chapter-two/92639/
• Chapter Three - A Star is Born: http://www.comicvine.com/profile/fuzionguy/blog/no-ordinary-guy-chapter-three/92913/
• Chapter Four - For Better or Worse: http://www.comicvine.com/profile/blog/no-ordinary-guy-chapter-four/98258/
• Chapter Five - Eventual Horizon: http://www.comicvine.com/forums/rpg-9/no-ordinary-guy-the-final-chapter-1592048/