Chapter 14: The Pulse Beneath the Earth
The Green was silent now.
Too silent.
Billy stood in the middle of a pulsating chamber — deep beneath the city, surrounded by walls that breathed. The roots shimmered faintly with bioluminescent veins, each pulse echoing with a rhythm that matched his heartbeat. It wasn't stone. It wasn't metal. It was alive.
He pressed a hand against one wall. It was warm, soft, almost like skin. When he focused, he could feel the flow — the current of life that ran beneath the entire city, stretching beyond, connecting forests, oceans, deserts. Every blade of grass. Every leaf. Every drop of rain.
He was inside it.
Part of it.
You're listening, aren't you?
The voice was soft, distant, female — the same as before.
"Who are you?" Billy whispered. "The First Seed?"
The chamber trembled in response, and golden light spiraled out of the ground. A figure emerged — the woman again, half-made of light and root, her presence filling the cavern with warmth and dread.
"Names have power," she said. "But you may call me Solara."
Billy stepped closer. "You said there's something wrong — the Black Root. What is it?"
Solara's expression darkened. "The other half of life. The rot that follows growth. It began as Maskborn's corruption, but it's growing. Learning. It remembers what the world was before humans — and it wants that back."
Billy clenched his fists. "Then we destroy it."
Her eyes glowed faintly. "You still think in human terms — destruction, victory, control. But the Green doesn't destroy; it reclaims. The Black Root… feeds on fear, pain, and decay. If you fight it with anger, it will feed on you."
He frowned. "Then what do I do?"
She smiled — a sad, knowing smile. "You learn balance. Before it learns you."
Before Billy could respond, the entire chamber shook violently. Dust rained from above. Solara's image flickered.
"They've found you," she said sharply. "They're cutting through the lower tunnels."
"S.H.I.E.L.D.," Billy muttered.
"Go. I'll guide you through the roots. But don't let them take you. You're not ready to be caged."
Billy nodded, his eyes glowing brighter. "I'm done being hunted."
The walls split open, forming a path of green light. He stepped forward — and the earth itself carried him.
S.H.I.E.L.D. – Subterranean Ops Team
Commander Hill adjusted her headset as the strike team descended into the tunnels beneath Manhattan. The readings were off the charts — bio-energy levels higher than anything they'd seen, even after Sokovia.
"Fury, we're in position," Hill reported. "We've got thermal signatures moving ahead. The ground's... alive."
Fury's voice came through the comms, low and steady.
"Copy that. Keep your weapons on adaptive. He's not the same kid anymore."
Hill glanced at the readings. "Understatement of the year."
The agents advanced cautiously, lights flickering as the tunnels pulsed faintly green. The deeper they went, the warmer it got. A low hum filled the air, like a heartbeat.
Agent Morales crouched and touched one of the walls. "Sir, these roots— they're moving."
Hill raised a hand. "Don't touch anything."
Too late. The roots around them shifted, coiling tighter. The floor rippled under their boots.
"Fall back!" Hill shouted — but the tunnel exploded in a surge of emerald light. The agents were thrown backward as vines erupted, slamming into the ceiling and splitting the rock.
Billy emerged from the burst — eyes glowing, his body cloaked in living armor of bark and vine. For a moment, he looked less like a boy and more like something ancient.
"Stop!" Hill yelled. "We're not here to hurt you!"
Billy tilted his head, his voice distorted with power. "You came with guns. That's never a peaceful visit."
Hill raised her weapon slowly. "You don't understand, kid. There's something bigger out there — and if you lose control, it's not just New York that burns."
Billy took a step forward, the roots shifting with him. "Then tell your boss to stop treating me like a weapon."
Hill exhaled. "I wish I could."
Before she could say another word, the tunnel lights flickered — then died.
Everything went black.
A cold wind swept through the tunnels — impossible, underground. The temperature dropped sharply. Then came the sound — a whisper, soft and wet, like roots tearing through flesh.
Billy froze. "No…"
From the darkness, black vines began to crawl along the walls. They weren't like his — these were sharp, metallic, reeking of decay. The agents opened fire, but the bullets melted into the tendrils.
Hill shouted, "Fall back! FALL BACK!"
But the Black Root was faster. It lashed out, impaling two agents before dragging them into the shadows. Their screams echoed — then stopped.
Billy's body pulsed with green energy. "Get behind me!"
He thrust his hands forward — vines erupted from the floor, glowing bright emerald, colliding with the black tendrils. The two forces met with a violent hiss, green light against shadow, life against rot.
The tunnel quaked as the clash tore through the earth. Sparks of biolight burst like fireflies, blinding everyone for a moment.
When the light faded, Billy was on one knee, panting. The tunnel was half-collapsed, roots smoking.
Hill approached cautiously. "What the hell was that?"
Billy looked up, his voice low. "The Black Root. It's spreading faster than I thought."
Hill frowned. "Then we need to stop it together."
He shook his head. "You don't understand. It's already inside the network. Inside the soil, the air. The city itself is feeding it."
Hill's eyes widened. "Then what's the plan?"
Billy stood, his expression grim. "You get your people out. I'm going to the core."
Hill blinked. "The core?"
He turned toward the deeper tunnels — the direction where the hum of life grew louder. "Where the Green was born. If the Black Root's there, I'll burn it out."
"You'll die."
He looked back at her, half-smiling. "Maybe. But if I don't, everyone else does."
Before she could stop him, he vanished into the roots — swallowed by the earth.
Deep Core – The Root Chamber
It felt like descending into another world.
The air grew heavier, denser with every step. The walls pulsed faster, veins of green and gold intertwining like serpents. And beneath it all, a sound — a steady, slow heartbeat that wasn't his.
Billy reached the chamber's heart. A massive sphere of light floated in the center — the living core of the Green. It glowed so bright it hurt to look at.
Then he saw it.
The blackness — a thick, oily stain spreading across the sphere like ink in water. It pulsed with each beat of the Green's heart.
"Too late," a voice whispered.
Billy turned sharply. From the shadows, something stepped forward — humanoid, but wrong. Its skin was cracked metal and bark fused together, its face covered by a shifting black mask.
It was Maskborn's shell. But something else was wearing it now.
The voice that spoke was deep and echoing, multiple tones at once.
"He thought he could command me. Foolish man. But his death freed me. The Root remembers the first rot. The hunger of the dark soil."
Billy raised his hands, vines flaring. "You're the Black Root."
"No," it hissed. "I am the memory of death. The decay beneath creation. And you… you are my perfect host."
The ground exploded beneath him — black tendrils shot up, wrapping around his arms and legs. Billy struggled, the Green flaring wildly. The chamber shook with their clash.
"You cannot fight death, little seed," the voice taunted. "You can only feed it."
Billy roared, summoning every ounce of energy — green fire erupting from his body, burning through the tendrils. The black mask shattered, revealing a face made of twisted roots and bone.
"You want a host?" Billy growled. "Come and take one."
He slammed his palms into the ground — the entire chamber blazed to life, green light spreading like wildfire. The sphere pulsed violently, reacting to him. The power of the Green flowed through every nerve in his body. He screamed — not in pain, but in defiance.
The Black Root shrieked, its form twisting. The two forces collided again — creation versus decay — until the chamber became nothing but blinding light.
Above Ground – S.H.I.E.L.D. Headquarters
Fury stood before a wall of monitors.
On every screen, readings spiked into chaos. Energy surges. Seismic waves. Bioelectric distortions.
Hill's voice came through, breathless.
"Director, it's happening again. The city's glowing — entire districts are pulsing green."
Fury watched silently as satellite feeds showed Manhattan covered in a web of light. For a moment, it looked beautiful — a heartbeat from beneath the Earth.
Hill's voice trembled. "Is it him?"
Fury's jaw tightened. "Yeah. The kid's fighting something."
He turned to the window, the reflection of the glowing skyline in his eye.
"God help us if he loses."
Underground – The Final Moment
Billy stood in the collapsing chamber, both forces ripping through him. The Green and the Black intertwined, screaming in his mind. His veins burned with energy, his heart felt like it was breaking apart.
Solara's voice echoed faintly.
"Balance, Billy. Don't destroy it — contain it."
He clenched his fists, roaring as both powers surged through him — and then, with a desperate cry, he pulled them inward. The energy collapsed, folding into his chest.
The light died.
Silence returned.
Billy fell to his knees, trembling, his eyes flickering between green and black.
He whispered weakly, "It's… contained."
But deep inside his chest, the faintest shadow moved.