Chris grunted as he punched the target, over and over. Stepped back into fighting position. Punch. Step back. Punch. It was a vicious cycle, only interrupted when he gave out a kick or two.
After some conferencing with the others, the older man returned to his home to meet them again for dinner. They couldn’t raise suspicion.
Out of the corner of his eye he saw something fly at him.
“LIGHTNING!” he shouted, surprised by the suddenness.
A crooked crack of golden lightning struck the object, rendering it burnt and charred. It dropped to the ground like a sack of potatoes.
And the cycle began again.
+ + +
RIIIING!
Nick sighed. “He’s still not answering!”
“Keep trying!”
“I still don’t see why you can’t just go over to his house.” Brian spun around in his chair.
“Um yeah, why would you waste all that gas to go to his house if it’s empty?” Kevin asked sardonically from his spot at the wooden dining table.
“Oh shut up. All this work is making me delusional.” Brian made a face.
“No I think it’s just you,” Nick said.
Brian rolled his eyes. “You’re all turning against me, aren’t you?”
“NOW you’re delusional,” Nebula giggled, before turning back to her book.
“He’s still not answering!”
“KEEP TRYING!” the group of voices shouted at him.
+ + +
Beverly sunk as she carried the heavy groceries into the house. She could hear the cracks of lightning, signaling Chris’ practicing. With a grunt she set the provisions onto the counter, and started off to the backyard to watch Chris.
RIIING!
Beverly sighed and trudged to the phone. She answered, “Hello?”
“Finally! Hey um is Chris there?”
“Oh yeah sure. Hang on.” She put the phone against her palm and walked to the patio door, shouting, “CHRIS!! PHONE!!”
“Alright Mom!”
“Who is this?” she asked.
“Nick.”
“IT’S NIICK!”
“Mom I’m right here,” Chris said, holding the ear she had just shouted into.
“Sorry sweetie. Be off in 5. I’m expecting a call,” she said, leaving him alone to sort the groceries.
Chris waited till his mother was out of sight, then bounding up the stairs.
“Hey Nicky wassup?”
“Don’t call me that,” he said out of habit. “Uh I wanted to ask you something.”
“Sure. Shoot.”
“Uh…I…does…uh…”
“Nick what is it?” Chris laughed, landing back first onto his bed.
He heard some murmuring in the back and Nick was back on the line again.
“Nick what-”
“Does the word Crystalon mean anything to you?”
+ + +
“He knew AJ!” Lance ranted, pacing back and forth inside the small office. “He KNEW about my dream! How?!” Lance started waving his arms.
“Calm down, Boss,” the older man soothed, steering the panicked man onto the couch. “Sit. Think. Punch a pillow.”
“AJ…”
“Sorry- just thought it’d help a little.”
“I don’t understand! I didn’t say anything about it,” Lance said, shaking his head.
AJ held a tiny explanation in his mind, but it was foolish of him to bring it up. Wasn’t it? “I don’t know…maybe you did and you didn’t realize it.”
“But I’m POSITIVE I didn’t say anything.”
AJ sighed. “Then I don’t know.”
Lance rolled his eyes. Then he rested his head on his hand. “AJ?”
“Hmm?”
“Is it- no never mind.”
“What?”
“Nothing.”
“What?”
“NOTHING.”
“WHAT?”
Silence.
“Do you think that…POSSIBLY…just maybe…” Lance paused. “It could be one of the trait rings?”
AJ’s eyebrows rose. “Took the words right outta my mouth Boss.”
“So you don’t think I’m crazy?”
“You’re crazy, you’re just not wrong.”
“How soothing you are AJ.”
“All the better to make money with,” the brunette (at the moment, platinum blonde) grinned.
“I set myself up on that one didn’t I?”
“Yup.”
+ + +
“Crystalon?” Chris asked incredulously. “Are you talking about what I THINK you’re talking about??”
“If you mean the rings, yes.”
“God I’ve been trying to get to that subject with you for forever!” Chris laughed, relieved and excited.
“So…will you help us?”
“US? There’s more?” Chris asked eagerly.
“Yeah…there’s Neb, me, Brian, and Kevin.”
Chris counted off the names with his fingers. “That makes eight of us.”
“EIGHT? What are you talking about?” Nick asked loudly, surprised.
“I also know of three others who have the rings.”
“My goodness…”
Murmurs again with a shout of “YES!”
“We have to meet- soon. I’ll meet you at your house soon.”
“Not today. I have to talk to the others. We’re discussing some things, and then I’ll wait to tell them.”
“Why?”
“Dunno. I got this feeling…”
“Whatever. But don’t delay too long,” Nick said cautiously. “This is big.”
“Yeah I know that.” Chris ran his fingers through his hair. “Bigger than you know.”
+ + +
That night…
“Ok so we’ve got…Spirit, Lightning, Love, and Faith.” Joey looked at the four rings on the table.
“And it’s Invisibility, Lightning, Telepathy, and Telekinesis,” Chris added, knowing in the back of his mind about the other four and anxious to tell.
“I’ve already seen what Joe and JC can do; what does yours do?” Justin asked the older man.
Chris came back to reality. “Lightning.”
“Duh,” Justin rolled his eyes. “But WHAT does it do?”
“I dunno…shock and burn?”
Justin sighed. “Can I say this is going to be a looong day?”
Chris ignored his sarcasm. “What does YOURS do?” he challenged.
“This.” Justin focused the man’s chair and moved it out from under him.
“OOF!” he grunted as Joey and JC broke out into laughter.
“What the hell was that?” Chris demanded, looking around him speedily.
“Telekinesis,” JC said, smiling.
Chris stopped abruptly and looked at Justin with interest. “How’d you do that without saying Faith?”
The blonde shrugged. “JC can do it too.”
Joey and Chris looked at the other two men in awe.
“How?”
“Dun-”
“What he MEANS to say is,” JC interrupted, “is that we’ve been practicing. See, the power, we figured, is part of us. So, as you need it, you can summon in from within yourself. I can’t really explain it, but it’s like…like you’re wishing it I guess,” he shrugged, “but I can’t explain it. You have to feel it to know what I’m talkin about.”
“So if we just, think or wish our powers to work, they will?” Joey asked, genuinely interested.
“Well…kinda,” JC shrugged. “I don’t know…but it takes a while to get it to come to you right away.”
“Yeah,” Justin jumped in. “Took me a year to do it.”
“We don’t have that much time…” Joey said thoughtfully, mostly to himself. He rubbed his goatee in thought. “We should start.”
“How do we do that?” Chris asked.
Justin and JC looked at each other. “I dunno.”
+ + +
RIING!
The young blonde scrambled to pick up his cell phone.
“Hello?”
“Nick?”
The blonde let out a breath of relief. “Thank god. So what’s happening?”
“I’ll tell ‘em after I get off- they’re eating.”
“Oh good. So we can meet tomorrow?”
“Or sooner, depending on how excited Joey is.”
“Joey?”
“OH yeah. He’s one of my friends- it’s weird that we know each other cuz we teach the same Tae Kwan Do class. And then there’s Justin and JC.”
“Is it just me or are you outnumbered by J’s?”
“I don’t care. I just wanna kick some Quentex ass!”
Nick laughed.
“Well, gotta go- business.”
The youth became serious. “You do that. We’ll be waiting.”
“Buh bye.”
Click.
+ + +
“So what’s the update?” Nebula asked anxiously.
“He’s gonna tell them now. Then we can meet tomorrow.”
“He says there are eight of us found, correct?” Nebula asked, thinking it over.
“Yeah. Ah…Joey…Justin…and uh…oh yeah JC.”
“J?”
“Yeah. Weird huh?”
Nebula laughed and Nick smiled at her.
“Oh goodness that reminds me- I’m starved,” she said with a sigh. “Want anything?”
“Pizza?”
+ + +
Chris watched from behind the corner of the crimson wall as the others ate and chatted about the day. His stomach was tied in knots of excitement, anxiousness, worry, and exhilaration. At last, he stepped out and started into the dining room.
“Ahem,” he cleared his throat.
When all the men looked up at him, he started.
“I just got a call,” he said slowly, deliberately. “And I think it might be of some importance to us.”
“What?” they chorused.
“There are more of us.”
“Duh we know that,” Justin said, missing his meaning.
“Justin,” JC said through his teeth, hitting the younger man in the arm.
“I mean,” Chris said, regaining full attention. “I know of more of us.”
“You do?” they said in surprised and excited unison.
“Yes. In fact, we can all meet tomorrow.”
“Oh my god,” Joey said, his eyes wide. “Who? Where? How many? When?”
Chris laughed. “Who? It’s my friend Nick and some others…there are four in all. Where? Very close to here- it’s the girl’s house. When? I have no clue. But I don’t even know how they came across me…”
JC sat, deep in thought. It kept nagging at him, in the back of his mind, but he kept dismissing it. It was irrelevant.
For now.
“Girl’s house?” Joey questioned.
“Yeah…Nebula.”
“The Princess!” the young man exclaimed.
“Princess?”
“YES Princess,” Joey said excited. “Finally, what I’ve been searching for.”
“If that’s the case, I want to get to sleep,” JC said, stretching his muscular arms and yawning. “Thanks for dinner.”
“No prob,” the younger man said, getting up from the table. “Count that as a thank you.”
“For what?” Justin asked, confused.
“For finding me. Without that, I would’ve given up altogether.”
“Oh. You’re welcome?”
Joey laughed. “You want to be getting home?”
“Yeah. Mom must be worried…”
JC laughed. “Momma’s boy!”
“Am not!”
“Are too!”
“Am not!”
“Are too!”
“Oh brother,” Chris rolled his eyes. “How we’re going to put up with them, I don’t know.”
“You know, praying’s good.”
+ + +
Nick yawned and squinted at the golden rays filtering in through his window. It was fairly early- nine ‘o clock. After working out the kinks in his shoulders, he threw his legs over the edge of the bed.
“OUCH!! Shit!” he cried, pain nearly emitting from where he hit his foot. The cry of pain was so loud, he was sure that he woke the rest of the ship.
“Nick are you ok?” a voice said over the speakers.
Maybe he did.
“Yeah…I think so. It’s just a bruise. No biggie.”
“Ok.”
Silence.
Nick rolled his eyes. “Shows how much you care.”
After getting on some decent clothing, the young man made way to the little “teleporter” on the side of his room. He got inside the tube, smaller than an elevator, and thought, ‘bathroom’. WHOOSH he was next to the door. Closed.
The blonde rapped on the steel door. Surprisingly, it made as much sound as if it were made of wood. “Hello?”
“Who’s it?”
“Uh…Nick,” he said uncertainly.
He could hear the "toilet" flush, and the door opened. Out stepped a middle aged man, tall and important. Not more important than the Princess of course, but there was an air of high rank around him.
“Uh…nice to meet you?” Nick tried, holding out his hand for a handshake.
“Yes you are one of the humans here?”
“Yes…and you would be…?” Nick asked while withdrawing his unshaken hand.
“I’m Captain Clarque. I’m directing the activity of this ship,” he said importantly.
“Good for you. Um, I don’t mean to sound rude, but may I use the bathroom?”
+ + +
“Where’s Justin?” Joey asked the air impatiently. Chris and JC became deaf to his whining 15 minutes ago.
“Hair,” JC grumbled.
“What?”
“He needs time to do his hair; other than that, breakfast.”
“Oh brother!”
“Oh sister,” JC mumbled, still tired from lack of sleep.
Joey rolled his eyes as Chris snickered.
“Hey,” Joey said, pointing at Chris, “you’re MY friend.”
“I’m everyone’s friend.”
“Or so you’d like to think.”
“Shove it Fatone.”
Knock, knock.
Joey nearly trampled the door just trying to open it.
“Dammit J we’ve been waiting for you for HOURS!”
“Try 20 minutes,” Chris called out.
“Shut up. Ok c’mon people- we’re losing time,” the brunette said, jogging to his Acura.
“I just got here!”
“Well then get out!” Chris rolled his eyes and followed Joey.
+ + +
“Where are they?” Chris muttered, pacing back and forth between the two oak trees in the park.
“Don’t ask us!”
“Call ‘em.”
“Nick turned his cell off, and I don’t know the other guys’ numbers.”
“Darn it,” JC said, putting his face in his hands. “I’m just gonna take a nap ok?”
“NO I don’t THINK so Mr. Chasez,” Joey said, slapping JC upside the head.
“Hey! That was uncalled for!”
“Actually, it was completely necessary.”
“Oh shush.”
Finally, Chris recognized the familiar LandRover coming up the road and motioned the other guys to get up. Chris waved at it, and he recognized Brian at the wheel.
‘Duh, it’s HIS car’
The doors opened and Nick, Kevin, Brian, and Nebula climbed out of the vehicle.
“Where WERE you people?” Chris demanded, putting his fists at his hips. “We’ve been waiting forever!”
Nick rolled his eyes. “Don’t blame US C. Neb just HAD to talk to,” he fluttered his eyelashes in a girl-like way and said, mock swooning, “Derrick.”
All eyes turned to the blushing young woman and a few of them chuckled.
“Shut up!” Nebula cried, pounding Nick’s arm with her fists. “I told you guys to go without me!”
“You don’t know where the park is,” Nick argued, holding his arm.
Nebula rolled her blue eyes. “Whatever.”
“Um…I’m afraid I don’t know who all of you are,” Joey interrupted amusedly.
“I’m Kevin,” the Kentucky native smiled, shaking Joey’s hand.
“Joey.”
“I’m JC.” The handshaking continued.
“Hey what about me?” Justin smiled, making his way to shake everyone’s hand, and holding especially long to Nebula’s hand.
Once everyone knew each other, they all sat down on the picnic tables. The Sunday was monotonous, and nobody was at the park at all, so they weren’t worried about eavesdroppers.
“How should we start?” Brian asked the table.
“Let Neb explain,” Nick said, knowing she knew the most about the situation.
“Thank you dearly Nick for putting the spotlight on me once again,” the woman said sardonically. The men chuckled and she continued, “Well, I’m the Crystalon Princess. I came to Earth a year ago, when Daja came and destroyed my planet.” She had all their eyes and attention now.
“Well, he didn’t destroy the planet itself, but he destroyed the Crystalon race altogether. He melted our homes, blew up our land…he killed my parents,” she said quietly. “Well, thanks to Xavier, my bodyguard from home, he saved me. He brought me to the escape pod, and we got away. But not before I saw Daja- leader of the Quentex. He stood at the remains of my home…and he wore the Crystalon Crown. He had the nerve, the absolute nerve to take my home away from me- right under my nose. But I promised I would get revenge. I will destroy the Quentex and regain my planet.”
“But it’s not his fault,” Joey stepped in.
“What are you talking about? Of course it is,” she said, eyebrows furrowed.
“The Quentex are controlled by another force- an evil force,” Joey said, knowing he could show off his knowledge right that moment. All eyes were diverted to him.
“The Mesani. They exist in some form, we are not sure which one. But they were educated when they shouldn’t have been, and they gained power through other races, using them for their bidding. They control the mind of the host they use, and they can use the information from their mind to act as if they would normally, concealing them in any environment. And they’ve conquered so many species, I can’t even count, but they’re everywhere. Including your planet.”
“Oh my goodness. You know. How’d you find that out? Even I couldn’t find information about what controlled them,” Nebula said, truly fascinated.
“My parents were from Techtron,” Joey said simply.
Everyone except for JC and Justin stared in awe and interest.
“Wow. That’s really…wow. Pleased to meet you,” Nebula smiled, shaking Joey’s hand again. “We really could use a man like you onboard the Stardust. So I expect your expertise is of engineering?”
“Yes.”
“This is better than I could have hoped for!” Nebula exclaimed, now looking like a little girl.
“Yeeah. What rings do each ‘o y’all have?” Nick asked, looking to each man.
“Faith,” Justin shouted.
“Love.”
“Lightning.”
“Spirit.”
“What do you guys have?” Justin asked.
“Water.”
“Nobility.”
“Courage.”
“Ice.”
“Cool,” JC said. “What powers?”
“Well we know what water and ice are,” Nebula said, “but we don’t know about the other powers.”
“Serious?” JC asked, confused. Hadn’t they figured it out? “I have Telepathy.”
“Invisibility.
” “How- HEY!” Nick cried, his hand at his backside.
Justin howled with laughter, him the only one knowing what was happening.
“What the hell was that?!” he exclaimed, standing up in his seat.
“I have Telekinesis,” the blonde grinned.
JC realized what his younger friend had done, and cracked up with laughter.
“What?” everyone asked, having no idea what was going on.
“Wedgie,” Justin grinned.
+ + +
“So have you talked to him?”
“What if it’s not true? And plus he’s not here today.”
“So what? Don’t you have his cell number?” AJ asked.
“Yes but-”
“Call.”
“What if I’m wrong?”
“Oh screw that. He knows. Obviously he’s one of us.” AJ shook his head. “You have much to learn, young grasshopper.”
Lance rolled his deep sea green eyes with annoyance. He could have just been perceptive, he thought, and told AJ this.
He just shrugged. “Can’t ignore my gut.”
“Then go get something to eat.”
“Funny,” AJ said dryly.
“Yes it is.”
“Just call. You’re stalling.”
“Shut up. I’m not going to call until I’m sure.”
“But-”
“Shut. Up. You’re disturbing the peace.”
“Too late.”
“Is JC supposed to be here today?”
“At like…five or something.”
“Oh ok,” Lance said as he bit into his apple. His stomach was churning with exhilaration. He hadn’t known anyone besides AJ that were Chosen. It would be something else to meet with them. It seemed almost thrilling.
“Yeah it’s like three now.”
“Ok. Two hours. Oh shoot I’ve got a meeting. Gotta go J.” Lance hurried out the cafeteria’s doors and upstairs.
“Where is the fun in his life?”
+ + +
“How do you know the powers to the trait rings??” Kevin asked, eager to know the answer.
“You say the name of your ring.”
“So I would say Courage?”
“Yeah.”
“But…how do I prepare for it?”
“Just settle into a calm state of mind, and focus. Say Courage, and it’ll come,” Joey said, having known past experiences.
“Ok…” Kevin tried hard to calm his mind, but it wasn’t coming. It wasn’t long before heat was tickling his forehead.
“Don’t force it. Let it come.” Joey watched the older man struggle to mind the calm.
A wave of serenity came over the man and he let out a breath. He said, “Courage.”
And disappeared.