All eyes looked up for a second as the lights blinked off and the voice announced, “Hold on to your nearest handholds, we will be landing in one minute. Repeat, one minute.”
Everyone grabbed for a handhold and held on, hoping- praying- for the best. “OK everyone remember their positions?” Nebula yelled out.
There was a clash of calls of positions, and she let out her breath.
“Then lets do this!”
Many of them held their breaths as they slowly touched down on the foreign land. Their hands sweated, hearts pounded, and their minds raced with thoughts (and in some cases, possible scenarios of death).
“Ooh doesn’t look like a welcoming committee,” AJ mused, looking outside.
Brian let go of his handhold and slapped his friend upside the head. “Stop that.”
“What?” AJ asked innocently.
“Your pessimism.”
AJ looked surprised. “Brian, my dear friend, that was OPTIMISM.”
The group rolled their eyes and tried to prepare themselves. Most of them were stretching their tense muscles for a likely fight. If anyone was fighting, they were going to win.
“Good luck you guys,” JC said, executing a perfect jump spin heel kick.
“Doesn’t look like you’ll be needing too much help,” Lance smiled.
JC smiled back sheepishly. “More than likely I’ll forget everything and flop flat on my ass.”
The lights blinked off and on, “Opening hatch, assume positions.”
Everyone exchanged hugs and wishes of luck. Then they all sprayed a substance in their mouths, feeling a tingling sensation in their lungs before it settled. It was so they could breath in the strange atmosphere.
AJ, Joey, and Lance all grimly made way to the opening hatch, tense and attempting to stand taller than they were- Lance and AJ especially.
The aliens were standing, poised in a fighting position. They held both spears and laser guns. They were surrounded by 4 of them.
The strongest looking one- most likely the leader- spoke. Not English, but another alien language. When the 3 Earthlings looked back at him blankly, he tried another. And another. Then he spoke in Spanish.
“Englais?” Joey tried, hoping the alien would know their language.
The scaled humanoid looked surprised. “At last, a use for this language.”
The 3 men gave him a “huh?” look.
“You are the first Americans here,” He said simply.
“Oh.”
“Of course, Earthlings aren’t intelligent enough for space travel,” Joey said, looking around.
“And yet you are Earthlings, arriving here on spaceship,” the alien said cockily, eyebrow raised.
Joey looked away from the barren land and water and focused on the alien. “Well that’s where you’re wrong.”
“If you’re not from Earth then where do you come from?”
“Techtron.”
“Aah yes… your hair should have given it away.”
All eyes turned to Joey’s hair, which was red for the most part, with the electric green roots starting to really show. AJ had always enjoyed calling him the “human Christmas light”.
“Alright, now that we’ve got that out of the way…” Joey started, “What’s your name and what is your race called?”
“We are the Nevari. I am Kremlin. My comrades, Avi, X, and Long.”
“And you?” X asked.
“Andrew,” AJ said quickly, hoping the others would get the hint.
“Uh John,” Joey said, stumbling over the words a tiny bit.
“James,” Lance said easily.
“They nodded slowly, seeming to be occupied by their own thoughts.
‘Guys! Watch for the water!’
Joey, AJ, and Lance all tensed.
‘How’s it look JC?’ Joey thought.
‘They’ve got nets’
‘How many?’ AJ broke in, keeping a wary eye on the aliens who didn’t seem to notice the silence.
Lance turned and found Joey gone.
‘I can’t be too sure; there are A LOT I’ll tell you that’
‘Damn’
“Hey guys,” AJ called out, making the aliens snap to attention.
“We came to refuel…can ya help us out?” he asked.
The Nevari looked at one another, and none of them were surprised to hear JC warn them again.
“Where’s John?” Long asked suddenly, looking around.
“He went inside- the air you know…funny stuff,” Lance lied. He smiled on the inside when he saw AJ’s look of “whew!”
Fortunately, they bought it.
And they hoped Joey was having some luck.
+ + +
Nebula was right about one thing, these creatures were weak on land. They were more aloof and slow. JC was glad for this as he punched on in what he hoped was their solar plexus, knowing he’d be down for a while. JC had been working with Kevin, which was a good thing if he was ever in need of serious help.
“Aah!” Kevin cried out, grabbing his upper left arm.
“What happened?” JC asked immediately after knocking down another Nevari with a crescent kick to the head.
“Spear wound-don’t worry about it,” Kevin said through clenched teeth before disappearing again.
+ + +
The sweat poured down his face as he threw off another Nevari. It was tougher than he thought, there were so many of them!
Grunting, Justin held up his shield, pausing to throw one Nevari into the others, knocking them down. He was safe.
For now.
+ + +
Nick shook his head and ‘tsked’ as he crossed his arm. His water tornado went unnoticed (or ignored) by everyone except for the aliens trapped within it.
“Jeez you guys, all we wanted was fuel!” he said sighing. “Can we have some?”
“NEVER!” they cried in gurgly unison.
Nick rolled his blue eyes. “Fine. Be that way.”
And he sent them flying toward the ground, only to send them up again.
+ + +
“I’m getting SICK of this!” Nebula said tiredly as she whacked an alien in the face with her arm. “You?”
“Eh it’s easy- just shock em,” Chris said, using a jump front kick on another.
“Easy for you to say! You’ve got the power!”
“Point being?”
“UGH!” she said, frustrated. “AAH!”
Chris spun around, just in time to see her fall.
+ + +
“Wha-?!” AJ exclaimed, suddenly on the ground.
He felt a searing pain in his shoulder before he realized X was attacking him. Before he could think, he kneed his assailant in the balls.
Needless to say…it worked.
AJ pointed his ring at him and fire enveloped the amphibious body. He stopped the Fire, only letting the alien burn.
“Don’t mess with us.”
+ + +
His paws slashed and his jaws gnashed at the speed of light. He let out a roar that could shake the space ship.
Brian head butted the nearest one, knocking it into another one. It was one against 10. But he knew he could win.
Letting out another roar, the white Siberian tiger pounced.
+ + +
JC felt that incredible cramp in his side, but he continued the pattern- punch, shove, kick-punch, duck, kick, punch punch, dodge, kick, block, conquer.
The sweat was drowning him and he was losing it. They were gaining on him slowly but surely. He knew they would defeat him sooner or later.
And he was struck with inspiration.
JC drew in a deep breath of the alien air and simply ran.
+ + +
“Neb!” Chris cried, bolting for his fallen comrade. Almost immediately he was struck in the back.
“Chris! I’m here!”
“Joey,” Chris sighed in relief. He knew Joey could hold them off for a little while as he kept the aliens away from Nebula’s unconscious body. But he shocked them every once in a while, just in case (as if they weren’t already confused to death by the invisible man). And as an afterthought, he shocked the ocean around them.
+ + +
Justin panted as he was backed into a corner- the edge of the ship. It must have been at least 20 feet down.
“Bye bye,” Justin waved, before walking off the edge.
+ + +
“Whoa,” Nick said, watching the aliens fry in his tornado. “That is one mad roller coaster.”
“AAH!” Nick grunted in surprise, getting an attack from behind. His eyes popped out of his head as the slimy arm of a warrior tightened considerably around his neck. He thrashed around, kicking his legs, but found that another one was at his feet, tying them with a strong vine. With one last burst of energy, he cried out in his thoughts, ‘HELP ME JC!’
His air lost, his mind shutting down, he retreated into unconsciousness.
+ + +
“Nick,” JC panted as he ran. ‘Nick? Where are you Nick?’
He got no response from the blonde.
His face contorted into fear. ‘Nick?! DAMNIT WHERE ARE YOU?!’
With a sudden burst of energy, he bolted to find his friend.
+ + +
Kevin winced, his arm calling bloody murder. They must have put some kind of poison on the weapon. He knew his Teleporting wouldn’t last forever, but he wished it would. He closed his eyes and Teleported inside the sanctuary of the ship.
“Kevin!” Dierdre called in recognition.
The exhausted man tried to wave back, but his eyes fluttered shut, and he was unconscious before he hit the floor.
+ + +
Joey hauled Nebula over his shoulder and the Nevari looked scared of the “Invisible Force”. Chris made sure they were electrified good. At least good enough so they’d be down for a while.
“Let’s get her back to the ship,” Chris panted, running at his top speed towards the safe zone.
The aliens shouted in their gurlgly alien language as they dispersed from Joey. “I never knew you’d be so helpful Joe,” Chris said between breaths. “C’mon, we’re almost there.”
“You know, I’d move faster if I wasn’t carrying dead weight!”
“Shut up and get moving!”
+ + +
He stepped off the invisible ledge he had created and landed in a crouch on the ground.
Justin thought of where to go…anywhere to get away from these crazy lunatics.
‘DUH! Retreat time’
He did as the others had done, and ran for the ship.
+ + +
JC panted heavily as he felt the temperature slowly rise 10 times higher. So…hot… He ignored Justin’s cries of retreat and kept his eye out for the familiar blonde. His heart leapt in recognition when he spotted 2 Nevari carry Nick into the water. Ignoring the searing burn in his side, he pushed himself on, hoping he could reach him before he passed out.
“JC!”
The exhausted brunette glanced warily around him, catching a quiver of the air before realizing it was Joey.
“I’ll go with them- you rest, then you can come after us,” Joey said, hoping the older man would relent. “I’ll tell you in your thoughts- you can’t swim if you don’t rest remember. You’ll drown down there.”
He had a point.
“Fine,” JC panted, a little of his strength returning to his aching body. “Fine…”
“Ok I’ll see ya buddy,” Joey bade farewell after he hugged his comrade. “We’ll see each other soon.”
+ + +
Joey plunged down into the depths of the unexpectedly warm water. He kicked harder, going deeper, following the fast moving aliens. All the sounds were muffled as he tried to make his way through the liquid. He saw nothing but water and vines. Then, at last, he saw it.
Joey nearly let go of the breath he was holding.
The rock was GLOWING.
It was like an arc. A perfect stone arc curving in the depths of a sea that glowed with a yellow glow, with golden symbols etched in the rock.
Gulping his nervous butterflies, the Invisible man swam on, and pushed him through the gateway.
And with a “thud!” he was on the ground. Dry. In pain, and somehow, visible. As he learned the hard way.
“Ugh…” he moaned, feeling a lump forming on his head.
He heard the click of a gun being cocked and he looked up to see himself encircled by weapons of all sizes- spears, atlatls, bow and arrows, lasers, you name it, they got it.
“Uh oh…”
“Uh oh is right buddy,” one said in a heavy English accent.
‘They have Earth accents?’ Joey wondered.
“Get up.”
He got up agonizingly slow, and stretched out his arms behind his back. He learned the hard way never to do that.
He gulped at the feeling of cold steel against his throat. “Uh…”
“Make no movements except to breathe and follow us. Try to escape and we’ll have your head.”
Joey nodded very slightly.
“Good. Alright troupe- move out!”
‘They use army terms too?’
The Techtron noticed smugly that by the time they arrived at their destination, many of the aliens were panting.
As he was shoved into something of a jail cell, he shouted, “Tired already?”
The next second he was ducking, and felt pieces of rock fall and hit him, or the ground. “Jeez sorry…”
“Next time, human, you won’t be so lucky,” the Nevari that shot him threatened. He withdrew the blue laser and retreated with his alien friends, most likely to get water.
Joey watched them in disgust. “Ego-tripians…” he muttered.
He stared at the walls of the cell. They were compacted dirt. Very compacted dirt. It felt like rock. The “bars” weren’t bars at all, but an invisible force field. Joey threw one of the fallen clods from the corner that had been shot at the field, and millions of neon blue lightning strikes snaked through the wall and the rock was no more.
“Oh shit.”
+ + +
“Where are Nick and Joey?” Brian asked impatiently, crossing his arms as he sat and tapping his right foot in quick time.
“They’ve been taken captive,” JC said again. “Are you even hearing me? I’m going now to get them.”
“What? Are you crazy?” Nebula cried. “You need weaponry! At least let me come with you.”
“We can’t risk losing all 4 of you!” Kevin argued.
“But she’s right about JC- he needs weaponry.”
“But how is she gonna FIND it? Joey is telling me directions when I’m going,” JC said stubbornly.
“Well it’s either you both go, or Joey and Nick come out themselves,” AJ pointed out.
“Where are they,” Brian asked again, in statement rather than question.
“They’re underwater, that’s all I know,” JC said exasperatedly.
“Well, I’m going.”
“I’m going. You don’t know where you’re going.”
“JC, I’m sure I can find it.”
“No, you’re not.”
“Guys, why don’t you both go? If you’re in trouble, we’ll find you,” Lance tried.
“How are we supposed to “find them”?” Kevin asked.
They all looked at him.
“You’re the Teleporter, you get us down there, we get in trouble and we’ll tell you. You get your ass down there, and help us out,” JC said simply.
“Well gee that’s the most foolproof plan I’ve ever heard,” AJ said sarcastically, rolling his eyes.
“Shut up, do YOU have one?” JC shot back.
“SHUT. UP.” Brian pursed his thin lips. “Get Nick and Joey. Now. Call us if you need help getting out or any ideas. Remember, Joey’s the Techtron, he’ll get out. Nick has the waterpower, Nebula can freeze the water, and they’d all suffocate to death, and JC has that thought thing. Y’all are gonna be alright.”
Silence rung in their ears as they stared.
“Yeah I know, isn’t it a great plan? Well, run along. You don’t know how much time they have left. If they’re dead, I’ll personally kill you,” Brian said sweetly.
JC looked at him, unsure. “Uh…ok…” He closed his eyes and thought to Joey.
‘Joe? Joey are you there?’
‘Dude I thought you’d never get here! Er, where are you?’
‘We’re on the ship- out of their sight. Not to mention shooting range. How’s Nick?’
‘I was walking and I accidentally tripped over him’
JC winced as he thought about the situation. ‘Ouch. Is he awake?’
‘Yup. Up and bitchin’
‘Again, ouch. Well anyways, me and Neb are comin to g-’
‘Wait up- she’s coming with you?’
‘Yeah. Said I needed firepower. Pssh…dude don’t be laughin at me’
‘Haha! Well, anyways, when you swim, keep an eye out. It’s the ocean on the left of the ship if you’re standing at the door the way we landed, and you keep going forward. You’ll see a glowing rock, get down to the floor of it and walk through. You’ll be dry and breathing. Just watch out; I fell on my ass and I was surrounded as if I were OJ Simpson first caught’
‘Ha ok…we’ll be careful. Tell Nick that we’re gonna save the day alright?’
‘Yeah sure- maybe he’d shut up’
‘See ya bud’
‘Bye’
JC’s eyes opened and everyone was staring at him. “What?”
“That took a while,” Lance said, speaking for everyone.
“Think of it as a phone call. Neb, Kev, lets go.”
“What? What do you need ME for?” Kevin asked.
“To get us down there. We don’t need to waste any more fuel to get us down there and come back up again. Who knows how much we have left.”
Nebula and JC nodded before each grabbing Kevin’s hand. Kevin closed his eyes, and they disappeared.