Knight in Shining Armor
Posted on Wed Jul 22nd, 2026 @ 8:07pm by Lucas Mercer
1,260 words; about a 6 minute read
Mission:
Episode 8: Shadows Over Avalon
Location: Los Angeles
Timeline: March 21st, 1992
"You should be thanking us," the man sneered. "We're the only ones willing to put you out of your misery..."
The words made Lucas sick.
It wasn't just the hatred behind them. It was the satisfaction. The way he said it like he was doing something noble, like hurting a terrified twelve-year-old girl was some kind of mercy. There was a confidence in his voice that bothered Lucas more than the threat itself, the certainty of someone who had convinced himself that cruelty was the right thing to do.
Lucas stopped in the middle of the sidewalk, hands in the pockets of his denim jacket, and looked down the alley. The street around him was busy with the usual sounds of downtown Los Angeles, cars passing, people talking, music drifting from nearby shops, but all of it seemed to fade as he focused on what was happening a short distance away.
Four men, all adults and armed, had Jessica Reed backed against the wall with nowhere left to go. One held a baseball bat resting against his shoulder, two carried metal pipes in their hands, and the last held a switchblade that caught the light every time he moved.
Lucas knew Jessica. She lived a few blocks away from him in Santa Monica. He had seen her around before, a good kid who was always polite when they crossed paths, though he had no idea how she had ended up all the way downtown by herself.
Then again, maybe he understood better than most why someone like her might want to get away.
Jessica couldn't hide what she was. She had been born with bright green skin, patches of emerald scales covering her body, and large yellow eyes that made people stare before she ever had the chance to speak. She had probably spent her entire life watching strangers look at her before they ever got to know her. There was no blending in for her, no pretending to be anything other than what the world saw.
Lucas was lucky. Most of the time, he could pass as normal. He could go to school, play football, hang out with friends, and live the same life he always had. Unless his powers got out of control and he started glowing, nobody would ever know. They were both mutants. The difference was that Jessica never got the choice to hide.
Lucas had heard about the groups forming around the city. People looking for someone to blame. The Legacy Virus, mutant attacks, anything they could use as an excuse for their anger. He had never crossed paths with one of them himself, but he had always known they existed. He had seen the news reports, heard the conversations, watched people argue about mutants like they were some distant problem instead of actual people. He'd felt the shame and self-loathing plenty over the last year since he'd found out what he was, but these days he'd come to terms with it, even started to embrace it, though other people hated mutants like him.
He just never expected to see them cornering a kid.
Jessica's breathing grew faster, panic turning into quiet sobs as she pressed herself against the wall. She wasn't fighting back. She wasn't threatening them. She was just scared.
That was enough.
Lucas didn't think, didn't make a plan, and just moved. She couldn't hide and he was tired of hiding.
By the time he reached the alley, golden light was already spilling from his skin, cutting through the darkness and casting his shadow across the walls. The men turned at the sudden glow, their expressions shifting from anger to surprise.
"Run!"
The man with the bat barely had time to turn before Lucas hit him.
The impact sent him crashing backward into the brick wall beside Jessica. The sound made Lucas freeze for half a second, the realization of what he had done sinking in. He hadn't meant to hit him that hard. He had expected to knock him away, not send him flying, and that noise he'd made when he hit the wall...
He didn't have time to think about it as the others turned toward him.
"Mutant!"
"Get him!"
Jessica ran.
Thank God, she ran. The gleam of that knife reflecting his own light had turned Lucas's blood cold. For one terrifying moment, he had imagined what would have happened if he had waited even a few seconds longer.
Lucas planted himself between her and the men coming after her. He wasn't a fighter. Sure, he had been in a few schoolyard fights growing up and football had taught him how to take a hit, but this was different. These men weren't angry teenagers looking to prove themselves. They were trying to hurt someone who couldn't fight back.
He held back as much as he could. Every punch was controlled. Every block was careful. The first few hits barely bothered him. He felt stronger and faster than he had ever been before, his body moving with a power he still didn't fully understand. But he could feel it draining away with every movement, every burst of strength, every impact.
The fight spilled out of the alley and into the street. Cars slammed on their brakes, horns blared, and people scattered as the struggle moved into traffic. Lucas barely noticed any of it. His focus narrowed to staying between them and the direction Jessica had run.
Eventually, he saw an opening.
One punch was all it took when it landed in the right spot. The man with the switchblade dropped after a solid strike to the chin, unconscious before he hit the pavement.
Lucas barely had time to register it. His glow flickered, then faded. The warmth and strength that had filled him disappeared almost instantly, leaving him feeling exhausted and vulnerable. The remaining two men closed in.
Without the energy boosting him, Lucas was just Lucas again.
The blows started landing harder. He covered his head, tried to stay standing, tried to buy Jessica enough time to get away. Somewhere in the distance, people were shouting. Footsteps rushed toward them. Someone was calling for help.
Lucas couldn't see Jessica anymore. He hoped she kept running.
She was a good kid. His little sister liked her, they played together on the weekends sometimes-
Crack.
The blow to the back of his head was the last thing he felt before everything went dark.
Two days later, Lucas limped into the living room after his parents called him downstairs. The bruises had started to fade, but everything still hurt. His body, his pride, and the comfortable life he had known before that night.
There were people waiting for him.
They wanted to talk about a school in New York. A place where he could go to university and learn to control his abilities at the same time. A school for mutants.
A place where he wouldn't have to pretend, or hide what he was, or worry that the next time someone saw him glow it would be because he was being attacked.
The looks on his parents' faces hurt more than the bruises. There was love there, but there was fear too; fear for him and fear of him. They wanted to protect him, but Lucas could see the uncertainty in their eyes. Their son had changed, and none of them knew what came next.
Lucas didn't need much convincing.
For the first time in his life, leaving felt like the only choice he had ever made for himself.
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