Chapter 17: The Shadow Inside the Seed
The silence after war is the loudest thing in the world.
Billy sat in the middle of his small apartment — the lights off, the window cracked, rain tapping faintly against the glass. The city outside looked peaceful again, almost normal. Green vines that had once covered the skyline were gone, and the glow that once pulsed beneath the streets had faded.
But deep inside him… it hadn't stopped.
He could feel it.
A faint hum beneath his heartbeat. A whisper behind his thoughts. The Green used to speak in warmth and rhythm — now, it pulsed in echoes of pain.
He looked down at his hands. The faint shimmer of green energy crawled just under his skin — but when he concentrated, black veins flickered through for half a second before disappearing.
He gritted his teeth. "No… you're gone. I buried you."
But the whisper came anyway — soft, familiar, and mocking.
Are you sure, Billy?
You can't bury the roots. They're under everything.
Billy froze. The voice wasn't Solara's.
It was colder. Quieter.
It sounded like himself.
He rose from his seat, heart hammering. "No… not again."
The reflection in the window shifted — for a moment, the eyes staring back weren't green. They were black, empty, bottomless.
You can't destroy me.
You absorbed me.
Billy's hand trembled. He smashed the window with his fist — vines instantly grew from the broken frame, sealing it back. The room came alive, every plant twitching, reacting to his pulse.
He pressed both hands to his head. "Get out of my mind!"
You brought me in.
We're one now.
The whisper faded… but the silence that followed felt even worse.
S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier – Command Deck
Nick Fury watched the monitors in silence. The energy readings had stabilized since the explosion, but there was something else now — something new.
He pointed to a technician. "Zoom in on the lower band of that pulse."
The tech obeyed, enlarging the waveform. Beneath the familiar green spectrum was a faint undercurrent — black, almost invisible, but pulsing with the same frequency.
Maria Hill frowned. "It's him, isn't it?"
Fury nodded. "The Green's alive, but it's mixed. The signature's corrupted."
Hill exhaled. "So, the Black Root didn't die?"
Fury stared out the window, eyes grim. "Nothing that old ever dies. It just finds new soil."
Hill turned to him. "What do we do?"
He looked back at the monitor, where Ironroot's energy pulse flickered like a heartbeat. "We watch. And if he loses control… we bury him."
New York City – Abandoned Subway Tunnels
Billy stood in the dark tunnels beneath the city, sweat clinging to his skin. He'd followed the pulse for hours — a whisper inside him guiding him deeper.
The tunnels smelled like rust and old stone.
But somewhere beneath it all… something breathed.
"Solara," he called quietly. "You said the Green's heart runs through the world. Show me where it's bleeding."
The air stirred. Dust rose from the ground. For a moment, he felt a gentle warmth again — the same comforting presence that had first awakened him under the tree.
You carry the Seed, Billy.
But it's no longer pure.
Her voice echoed from everywhere and nowhere. Billy turned slowly, searching the shadows. "How do I fix it?"
You can't fix what's fused.
You must learn to control it… or it will root deeper.
He swallowed hard. "It's already in me."
Then balance the shadow. The Black Root was born from your fear. If you fight fear with anger, it will only grow.
"Then what do I use?"
The answer came in a whisper — almost a sigh.
Truth.
Billy closed his eyes. The Green flared faintly around him — vines crawling over the walls, sensing his pulse. He took a slow breath, steadying the storm in his veins.
But the peace didn't last.
From the darkness, something stirred — faint footsteps echoing down the tunnel. He turned sharply, vines forming a barrier behind him.
"Who's there?"
A voice — human, calm.
"Easy, kid. It's me."
Hill stepped into the glow, her weapon holstered but her eyes sharp. "You didn't think we'd just let you disappear underground, did you?"
Billy exhaled. "You shouldn't be here."
"Neither should you," she replied. "We picked up some weird readings down here. Thought you might be the cause."
He looked away. "You have no idea what's under this city."
Hill walked closer. "Then tell me."
He hesitated. "You remember what Fury said about the stones?"
She nodded slowly. "That they left scars."
Billy's voice dropped low. "They left more than that. The Black Root… it's tied to the Mind Stone. Whatever Voss created wasn't just tech — it was a reaction. When Thanos destroyed the stones, the universe didn't heal. It adapted. It grew new roots."
Hill's eyes widened. "You're saying this… infection is part of the stones' energy?"
He nodded. "And now it's inside me."
For a long moment, she didn't speak. Then she whispered, "Then we're sitting on a cosmic time bomb."
Before he could answer, the tunnel began to shake — violently. Dust rained from above, and the walls rippled like waves.
Hill drew her weapon. "What's happening?!"
Billy's eyes flashed green — then black. "It's waking up."
The floor split open beneath them. Roots — both green and black — exploded from the cracks, thrashing wildly. Hill fired, but her bullets turned to vines midair, absorbed by the living tunnel.
"RUN!" Billy shouted, grabbing her by the arm and pulling her back. The roots chased them, smashing through the walls, spreading like wildfire.
Hill stumbled as they ran. "You're controlling this?!"
"I'm trying!" Billy roared, slamming his hand into the ground. Green energy pulsed outward, forcing the black vines back for a moment — but only a moment.
They hissed, retreating… then came again, stronger.
Billy fell to one knee, clutching his chest. His veins were glowing black now, the corruption pulsing with every heartbeat.
"Billy!" Hill shouted, crouching beside him.
He looked up at her, eyes flickering violently between colors. "It's inside me. It's trying to get out!"
"Fight it!"
He pressed his palms to the ground, screaming as green and black energy erupted around him — a storm of life and decay tearing through the tunnel. Hill was thrown back by the blast, shielding her face.
When the light faded… Billy was gone.
Only the vines remained — writhing, hissing — and then falling still.
Elsewhere – The Mindscape
Billy opened his eyes.
He was standing in a field — endless, green, perfect. The sky was gold. The air felt alive.
At first, he thought it was the Green's world — the spiritual realm of life he'd glimpsed before.
But then he saw the shadows.
They crawled beneath the grass like oil, spreading slowly toward him. He turned — and there he was.
A copy of himself.
But his eyes were black.
The double smiled. "Finally stopped running."
Billy stepped back. "What are you?"
"I'm what you buried," the copy said. "Every doubt, every fear, every moment you wished they'd suffer for what they did to you. I'm your truth."
Billy clenched his fists. "You're not me."
The shadow smirked. "No. I'm the part that makes you strong. The part that doesn't hesitate. The part that doesn't forgive."
The ground trembled as the shadow's form began to shift — vines sprouting from his arms, his skin turning to dark, metallic bark.
"You keep trying to save them, Billy," it said. "But the world doesn't want saving. It wants order. It wants control."
"Control through corruption?" Billy shouted. "Through death?"
"Through growth." The shadow raised a hand — the roots around them surged, wrapping around Billy's legs. "I can help you win, if you stop fighting me."
Billy gritted his teeth, vines bursting from his own body to break free. "You want control? Then let's see who the real Ironroot is."
The two collided — green light against black, the sound of thunder tearing through the field. Each strike sent shockwaves across the landscape, shattering the illusion of peace.
The sky cracked open. The grass turned to ash.
The shadow's voice echoed through the chaos.
You can't destroy me. I am you.
Billy roared, forcing his hand forward — the Green bursting from his palm, piercing through the shadow's chest.
"Then I'll live with you," he said, his voice shaking. "But you won't control me."
The shadow smiled, fading. "We'll see."
The world collapsed into light.
Back in the Real World
Billy gasped awake — lying in the middle of a crater deep underground. His clothes were scorched, his body shaking. The tunnel was gone. Only stone and silence remained.
He looked at his hands. The veins were calm again — the black fading back into green.
But he knew the truth now.
The Black Root wasn't gone. It wasn't outside him.
It was part of him — balanced, but waiting.
He stood slowly, breathing hard. "You stay quiet," he muttered. "I'm still in control."
From somewhere deep within, the faintest whisper answered.
For now…
Billy looked toward the surface — toward the world above. The fight wasn't over. Not even close.