“You cheated again!” the brunette accused.
“No I didn’t.” He dribbled the ball between his legs.
“You can’t lie to me,” he said pointedly. “I can just-”
“I know what you can do.” The blonde shrugged. “But I didn’t cheat that time. That was pure talent.”
“Ha. Watch this Timberlake,” the 24 year-old smirked. “Love.”
Within 2 seconds, JC jumped up. “HA! You cheated!”
Justin rolled his eyes. “Whatever. It’s not like you can win.”
“Well I can- IF you’d stop cheating!” JC Chasez said loudly.
Justin Timberlake held his hands up in defeat. “Fine. You’re on.”
Basketball has its connections. JC Chasez and Justin Timberlake met on the court, as did Nick and Chris. They had been great friends since then.
It happened one day when JC was secretly watching Justin shoot baskets when he was inside the house, “getting drinks”. He caught that sometimes the ball would throw itself into the basket. At first he ignored it, but then he watched him again and finally confronted him about it. Ever since then they had one more thing in common. After three years of practicing, they could use their powers without the aid of the rings.
“Woo I WIN!” JC whooped, jumping around and doing flips.
In the middle of one flip, he realized he couldn’t get down. “JUSTIN!!!”
The 20 year-old blonde laughed and set his friend down. “HA HA.”
“Shove it Ju,” JC growled, chucking the basketball at his friend.
It never made it.
“I hate that power. You can never get hurt, can you?” JC asked, sitting down on the bench.
“Well I love it. But then again, I hate yours too.”
The older man smirked. “I guess you can consider it cool to talk to people with moving your vocal cords.”
Justin rolled his azure eyes and ran his fingers through his sweaty blonde curls. “Man it’s hot today.”
“No kidding. Even the shade is hot!”
“What else is there to do?”
“Ah dunno,” JC said, sipping his ice-cold water.
Justin resisted the urge to dump the water on his friend. He shook his head.
“What?” JC asked suspiciously.
“Nothin C.”
“Better be nothin.”
Justin stared straight ahead. Then he squinted. “JC!” Justin hissed, elbowing his friend.
“What?” he whined.
“Look! Right there! See that?” Justin whispered.
“Where?”
“The drinking fountain.”
“Is something wrong with it?” JC asked. He stared. “It’s on.”
“Exactly. But look closer- the water’s not going to the drain.”
“What are you crazy? Are you suggesting that someone’s DRINKING from it?” JC asked incredulously.
“Look at US JC,” Justin said pointedly. “We’re not exactly your normal fine lookin men.”
JC laughed quietly. “Ego trip. But man…seriously that’s nuts.”
“Use your ring.”
The brunette rubbed his ring for a minute. “Worth a shot.”
He held the ring and said, “Love- telepathy.”
‘Hey you’
He jumped up and looked around. ‘What?’
‘Yeah I’m talkin to you…Invisible Man’
‘Who are you?’
‘Turn around’
He did, and his eyes widened. But it was just two basketball players. The brunette waved and he froze. How could they see him?
‘How can you see me?’
‘Very simple really, my friend Justin saw water comin up…but not comin down. Strange now don’t you think?’
‘You…how can you…?’
‘My secret. Let’s talk. We might have some things in common’
At that moment, he knew he found someone he could possibly trust- unless they were after his ring. He shook his head and scratched his brown hair. It was possible…
Slowly but surely, he walked over to the two men sitting on the bench.
‘Hey you still there?’ JC asked, afraid he had run.
‘I’m here’
‘Can you make it so we can see you? It’s kinda hard to talk and have people walkin by thinkin we’re crazy’
He chuckled. ‘Sure…as long as you promise one thing’
‘What?’
‘You’re not trying to kidnap me’
‘We’re not kidnapping you. Promise’
‘Ok…’
“Spirit,” he whispered. He felt the familiar tingling, but most of all, he felt vulnerable. No one could catch him if they couldn’t see him.
JC and Justin watched in awe as the air before them wavered and a man appeared. He had brown hair and looked as if he had lived on streets-which he could very well be. His beard and mustache was dirty, but otherwise he looked ok.
“Who are you?” Justin asked.
The man smiled for the first time in ages as he extended a hand. “My name is Joseph Fatone- but my friends used to call me Joey.”
+ + +
“Brian. Brian stop. BRIAN!” Nebula finally shouted.
The blonde finally decided to heed her words.
“Brian what are you doing to yourself?”
“I have to go.”
“Brian!” Nebula groaned and put her head in her hands. “Be careful.”
+ + +
Brian stared at the door. What was he going to say? How would Nick react? Would he kick him out? Would he accept his apology? Would he slam the door before he could say a word?
He wanted to knock- he had to set things straight. Then somewhere in his subconscious, he knocked.
“What do you people want?”
“Nick I-”
Brian stopped the door from being slammed. “NICKOLAS CARTER LISTEN TO ME!”
Nick stopped. It took a lot for Brian to yell like that. He listened.
“Nick, I’m sorry. I didn’t know it was yours- and I didn’t have enough time to piece it together when you and Chris were teasing me about my butt,” Brian paused. “But- oh whoops- I’m sorry. But we really need your help. PLEASE.”
Nick let out his breath slowly. “Brian-”
“Please?”
“Look Bri, I don’t know. I mean, what is this all for? My ring? What’s so special about it? Other than my father…but that doesn’t count.”
Brian sighed with relief. He gestured inside, wondering if Nick would let him in from the near desert heat.
“Oh, come in.”
“Thanks.”
They situated themselves on the couch and Brian pursed his lips, wondering where to start.
“First, you have to promise me that you won’t say a word until I’m done.”
The blonde nodded.
“Ok. Well, your ring is a lot more special than you’d think it would be.”
Nick cocked an eyebrow.
“Let me start from the beginning,” Brian smiled. “Well about a year ago, this species- the Quentex- attacked Nebula’s planet, Crystalon. Ah don’t say anything. Hear me out. Anyways, her mother and father- the queen and king- were killed. Anyone who survived came to Earth- if they weren’t taken prisoner. So she’s been here in her little Hologram House, finding out about her ring. She found out that ten people who have the ten rings can beat the Quentex- but. But. She read somewhere that the Quentex were taken over by some evil thing. Like, possessed, we can say. Right now we have three rings- Nobility, Courage, and Ice. If you help us, we’re six away from saving our world.”
“Wait, OUR world?”
“Yeah. You got that ring for a reason- either you are or half Crystalon.”
“My father…”
“Smart kid.”
“Shut up. So you’re saying that we’re gonna save the world?”
“You’ll do it?” Brian asked excitedly.
“Convince me.”
“We’re saving the GALAXY Frack,” Brian said. “Look at it this way- it’s your chance to be Ninja Nick.”
The blonde laughed. “Well…”
“PLEASE?! Come on Nick. My parents, Kevin’s parents- their world was taken from under them. How awesome would it be to get it back?”
“Now that you mention it, I haven’t thought about what to get my mom for her birthday.” Nick smiled when Brian laughed. “Let’s save the galaxy.”
+ + +
“AJ I swear I will kick you out!” Lance said loudly. He could smell the ashes.
“Sorry boss!”
“Sorry my ass,” Lance muttered, jumping up the stairs. “What’d you burn?”
“Nothin much…”
“AAAAH!! AJ!!”
“Sorry?”
“I didn’t let you stay here for you to burn my carpeting!!” Lance shouted. He took a deep breath and groaned. “Dammit Alex.”
AJ glanced down at the burned patch. It was the size of his two feet. “It was an accident.”
“Just…argh…”
“What a way to really wake you up isn’t boss?”
“Shove it AJ. And don’t call me boss.” Lance put his hand up. “Don’t say anything.”
AJ rolled his eyes and jumped the rest of the way downstairs. “Whoo!”
“You feel like goin to work?” Lance asked warily.
“Well…now that you mention it, I was gonna lay down some lyrics for Aaron,” AJ said thoughtfully. “Sure. Let’s go.”
“And let’s hope we have a home to come home to shall we?”
“Oh ye of little faith!”
“Earth,” Lance muttered.
WOOMPH!
“OOF! Boss? Lance? Yoo hoo? I’m kinda stuck! Lance? Hello?” AJ tugged at the vines holding him up. “LANCE? GET ME DOWN! This is a total fashion faux pas dude! If anyone sees this I’ll be the laughingstock of…LANCE!”
Outside the blonde laughed, seeing his lyricist on the wall like an ornament. “Hey… that doesn’t look half bad.” Lance tilted his head. “Maybe I’ll keep it.”
+ + +
“C’mon. We’ll talk somewhere else,” Joey said, gesturing across the street.
Glancing at each other, Justin and JC got up, gathered their belongings and followed after the mysterious man.
They lagged behind five feet purposely so they could talk secretively.
“So what do you make of this dude?” Justin asked nervously.
“He’s ok. I would know if he was lying,” JC said simply.
“Yeah well…he’s…what’s the word…intimidating.” Justin looked around.
JC shrugged. “I know whatcha mean. He’s scary lookin’.”
“You guys comin or not?” Joey laughed.
The two men jogged after him, cautiously and curiously.
Joey reached into his pocket and pulled out a small key and unlocked the door of the small house.
Taking notice of the rotting wood, unkempt lawn, boarded up windows, basically the whole shabby appearance, Justin began to have second thoughts.
“It’s been nice knowing you Mr. Fatone, but I’ll be- ahh!” he cried suddenly as JC hauled him inside the dark 2-story house.
“Shush,” he hissed.
“Welcome,” Joey flicked on the light switch, “to my humble abode.”
Justin gawked. “HUMBLE? Don’t be so damn modest! This place looks like a damn mansion! Of course, you could use a little more natural sunlight.”
JC snickered at Joey’s expression. But what Justin said was true. The house was finely furnished, with everything from lamps to rugs to tables to fans to underwear drawers. There were many pictures hung on the white walls, many were of the sky. He “liked to think of home,” he said.
Finally he reached a certain door, and he opened it. He motioned them in.
Quickly they took in their surroundings. The lamps in each corner gave the small room a golden glow. On the far wall was a boarded up window; in from of that was an elegant maple desk with many papers on top. Around the desk were three plush chairs.
“Have a seat,” Joey invited, taking off his cloak and hanging it on the pegs on the wall.
When the blonde hesitated, JC pulled Justin down onto a chair.
“Alright,” Joey said, sitting down on the huge black chair behind the desk. “Now we have something to discuss.”
The two merely nodded.
“Let’s start from the beginning,” he said, folding his hands. He gathered his thoughts and started, “Many thousands of years ago, the evil named Mesani got a visit from an Android named Garan. He felt, for lack of a better phrase, sorry for them- nearly blind, gaseous or solid, primitive, and there were only so many hosts, creatures they control. So he taught them. He taught them everything he knew- how to build fighters, transportation systems, shields, force fields, he even taught them about the outside galaxies. But the Mesani were restricted, not stupid. They conquered Garan after all the information was given. And the greatest evil was unleashed.”
“Evil?” Justin choked.
“Yes, evil. See, they were suddenly possessed by greed- greed for power. So they took their plasma beams,” even JC gulped, “and went to Niccon, a planet of a less sentient species. They went on a killing spree- wiped them out. Then they finally realized that killing wouldn’t give them power, but to CONQUER.” Joey paused, thinking of what to say.
“They discovered how to control ANY body- whether it be land, air, water creature, they could control them all. Even the most complex of minds were in danger. They became the most feared throughout the galaxy- all without being ever seen. You see, most of the species they dominated were innocent creatures, which made it altogether easier.
“Thirty years ago, they went to Techtron, my parents’ home planet. They got away, thankfully, and came to Earth to live in New York. When I was born, I guess they tried to forget where they were from, forget about Techtron. They never told me anything, but I always suspected something…I had a ring on a necklace that I always wore. One day, I asked why the ring was so special to them- they told me to never lose it- and they said it was a symbol of their spirit. I was five, so I was pretty satisfied with that. But then as I grew older, I became more curious about it. So I searched my mom’s room. I found stuff- pictures, journals, jewelry, everything they tried to forget. I confronted them about it, and they basically kicked me out at 10. “Fortunately, Techtron people are naturally intelligent in the engineering field,” Joey said proudly. “I picked things up and here I am.
“Recently I found out about Crystalon- an ice planet a couple light years away. They were enslaved by the Quentex, a race that was conquered by the Mesani. The survivors fled to Earth if they had not been enslaved. I unearthed their legend; the evil of the Mesani will eventually spread here, I know it. If the ten Chosen Ones- the ones with the rings- will come together, they can defeat it. But I have failed in my attempts so far. You two just happened to stumble by on accident.” Joey smiled.
“We? Us? Chosen Ones?” JC asked.
“Did you not hear the part I said about the rings?” Joey asked, smiling.
“Rings…” JC mumbled, reaching into his pocket for his, as did Justin.
Joey’s face was transformed right in front of their eyes. His eyes held that childish glow, as if a child on Christmas morning. His eyes were slits due to his humungous grin.
“The rings,” he almost squealed. “Can I see?”
JC smiled at his kidlike behavior. “Sure.”
Justin on the other hand, seemed reluctant.
‘He doesn’t know how to use it J…it’s yours, and if it’s the Chosen’s ring, I think it would only be used by them! Besides, you can freeze him if he tries to run!’
Justin smiled at the thought and put his ring into Joey’s open palm.
“You,” he pointed at JC, “have Love, don’t you?”
“That obvious?”
“I haven’t been researching for 5 years for nothin,” Joey smiled. He looked at Justin’s ring. “Faith.”
“Smartie pants,” Justin muttered good-naturedly.
“Nah.” Joey looked up quickly and his mouth twitched. “Just talented.”
The young blonde smiled. “I like you.”
+ + +
“Mom?”
“Over here sweetie!” she called back.
The brunette sighed as he leaned up against the wall. “I have the worst luck ever.”
His mom sighed in disappointment. “Nothing?”
“Couldn’t even get NEAR the subject.”
“Just ask him.”
“It’s not like he’s going to just TELL me if he’s got the ring…but…never mind.”
“What?”
“His friend. We followed him when he left for someone named Neb’s house. We were inside and…”
“And?” his mom pressed.
“His stomach was GLOWING,” he said, emphasizing ‘glowing’.
His mom stood up slowly, gasping slightly. “You mean-”
“Yes mother. We have found another one. And I think Brian’s “business” has something to do with the Rings.”
“Chris…you know what this means? You have to find her!” Beverly exclaimed.
“I know…damn that girl’s fine.”
“Chris…”
“Joking mom, joking,” Chris smiled, putting his hands up in defense.
“Guys and hormones,” she said, rolling her eyes. “Ok let’s get training.”
“But mom!” he whined. “We trained yesterday! I think I created a whole new plumbing system in the backyard!”
Beverly rolled her eyes again. “You need to practice on aiming.”
“It’s not like I’ll need to aim for a crack in the sidewalk mom! At the very least it’ll be a person.” Chris started for the backyard.
“Or a weapon!” she reminded.
“Yes mom.”
“Or an eye.”
“Yeah mom.”
“Or a jewel on a crown.”
“Yeah mom…”
+ + +
“AGH!” Justin grunted, hitting the mat again, clutching his stomach.
Joey panted, and squatted down next to the blonde. “Just concentrate. You’ll get it.”
“I can’t keep a shield around me forever.” Justin fought to catch his breath, nursing his new small bruise. ‘And it can’t help losing when trying to beat an invisible force’
“You can draw power from your ring- it’s made of pure energy.” Joey took a swig of his Powerade. “JC, your powers.”
JC’s blue eyes widened. “What? How am I supposed to fight you?”
“I’m TELLING you about them.”
He relaxed. “Oh.”
“You have telepathy, right?”
“Yeah…”
“Well, that means you can read minds, right?”
“Yes…” JC said, getting slightly annoyed. Was he a third grader?
“And you can talk through minds, right?”
“YES.”
“What else can you do?”
“I can read their feelings.”
“You mean interpret and channel.”
The older man gave him a ‘huh?’ look.
Joey smiled. “Ok see here. You can concentrate and you can tell if someone was feeling anger, fear, nervousness, anything. But you can also lessen it.”
JC considered this. “So if Justin gets mad at me, I can make him feel guilty?”
“Hey there,” Justin warned.
Joey laughed. “You can’t MAKE them feel anything. But you can lessen an emotion. Like sadness, or anger.”
“Cool. So what about YOUR power J?” Justin asked, sitting up on the blue mat. “My ring is spirit,” Joey said, showing them the purple ring. “For Invisibility.”
“Anything special it does?”
“Invisibility is a special thing all on its own.” Joey laid back.
Justin and JC glanced at each other. “Elaborate.”
Joey pursed his dry lips. Then he licked them. “Well imagine you’re in Africa, on a safari.”
The two men nodded.
“Well then imagine getting lost. You wander into a huge field and you sit down on a tree trunk. It moves. Then you realize it’s an elephant foot,” Joey gave a smile. “It trumpets so loud, you can hear your ear drums shatter. Then the earth starts shaking. Then the herd of elephants starts charging at you. Would you really want to be sticking around?”
Justin and JC shook their heads.
“Well that’s where the Invisibility comes in handy. You can get away.”
They nodded in understanding.
“Cool,” Justin smiled.
+ + +
“Nick!” Nebula screamed. “Don’t touch that!”
The young blonde moved away from the spaceship’s test tubes and spotted a button. “Hey what’s this supposta do?” he asked, his hand nearing the mysterious red button.
“No! No, no,” she was at his side in an instant.
“Why? Does it do something?”
“It’s called self destruct,” Nebula said, annoyed, slapping his hand away from the control panel.
“Oh.” Nick took his hand away.
“Now go be of some help or else I’ll freeze you,” she said absentmindedly as she fiddled with some knobs on the pane.
“You can’t do this without me,” Nick said indignantly.
Nebula sighed. “Don’t I know it.”
“Hey Neb.”
“Hmm?”
“The ship’s search engine’s down, we have a lot of old records to look at, and we don’t exactly know how to read microchips!” Brian said, smirking.
“Ok. You,” she pointed to Nick, “heel. And you,” she pointed at Brian, “follow.”
“What am I a dog?”
Nebula ignored Nick’s question. “Come on boys. We have work to do.”