
Author's Note

Gifted is a work of fiction, all characters and places are either fictitious, or used fictitiously. The book contains a number of locations of which are real life places. Location's like: Parker, Colorado or Las Vegas, Nevada. These locations do exist, but are used in a fictional situation. There are also three people of which have, at one point, lived on planet Earth. These character's behaviors, and actions are fictitiously implanted, they are based off of research, but are not directly synced with the character.

I would like to give special thanks to all those who stood beside me in the process of writing this book. I would never have made it without you.

-Joshua Mendrala

### A Spark In The Void

A Spark in the Void:

When evil begins its rise to power

And darkness begins to close in

In a world full of the frightened and the coward

Could hope ever begin again?

When men drop their heads

In a symbol of regret

And stick to their beds

To avoid the world

When all hope seems lost

And darkness is all that is seen

When good has been lost

And evil is keen

A spark in the void

The void of darkness

A light that will shine

For good has returned in the darkness

A spark in the void

That will spread in a fire

And extinguish the darkness of the void

And return the light, and return it entire.

The small commercial spacecraft was headed to the beautiful planet of Leneon. There were two passengers on board, they were on their honeymoon. The man was 27 and the woman was 23. They sat in the passenger seat and relaxed. After a few minutes, the pilot grinned.

"Look out the window," he said.

The young couple walked to the front window, and their mouths hung open in awe. They savored their eyes on the most beautiful thing they had ever seen. The beautiful greens, blues, and purples could be seen from space. The couple could practically see the trees swaying, and the rivers flowing, even from. Then there was the amazing yellow hue that came rose over the top of the planet as it's sun came into view. It was truly an amazing sight. Outside the planet, a small space station floated in space. This station was where the couple was headed. Once at the station, they would be sent down to the planet in an extremely long elevator. The couple smiled as they headed towards the station.

"Woe," said the pilot, "looks like we got a big one coming through, we're gonna be a little delayed guys."

"It's fine," said the husband, "we can wait."

The shuttle pulled to the left a good 300 yards. A few seconds later, a huge ship came out of the space station. The ship was about 200 times bigger than the small 100 foot craft that the couple was in. This ship would transport 100s of people to different planets, sometimes, even different galaxy's. The couple watched in amazement as the enormous ship passed by, a true miracle of engineering. After a good 20 minutes the craft had passed them by. The pilot was about to put the ship back on course, when something strange happened.

A small craft, far smaller than the one the couple was in, came speeding out of the space station. It was a fast craft, one that was made to travel between galaxy's at light speed. After this small ship exited, it was followed by 15 of the same class. Looking closely, one could tell that these were military class ships.

"This is strange," said the pilot, "these ships aren't in the flight records, must be a last minute change."

The first ship sped on through space, while the other 15 turned around and faced the space station. Slowly, a large number of commercial transportation ships exited the station. The couple and their pilot watched in confusion. Then it happened. A single red beam shot out of the space station. The beam collided with the military shuttle that was flying away, causing it to explode in a shockwave. The couple watched in horror as another red beam shot down at the beautiful planet below, and chaos erupted. The planet below began to fall apart, portions of the planet were already exploding into space. The 15 military ships began firing at the space station.

"Okay," said the pilot, "you have to go, I'll leave after you do!"

The pilot brought the couple to the back of the craft, where three separate cylinders, each big enough to fit one person, were mounted against the wall.

"Wait," said the woman, "before we get in, I was going to give you this for your new job."

The woman handed her spouse a long black trench coat, specially modified to keep the wearer extra warm, and it had pockets for nearly any tool. This was perfect for a man going into the mining business.

"Thank you," said the man.

The pilot ushered the couple into the cylinders and strapped them in. The pilot took two objects off of a shelf, and placed them into each pod, he had a similar object on his chest.

"These," said the pilot as he handed them two devices, "are tracking devices, you will be able to see the other person's location using these, you will also be able to see mine."

"Understood," said the couple.

The pilot closed the pod doors and looked out the window. Hundreds of other pods were flying, some were exploding. He then looked out his right window, and a craft similar to his exploded and sent shrapnel flying in every direction.

"Good luck," said the pilot.

He pressed the button, and the pods shot into space. The husband instantly felt the chaos as his pod was released, he was shaking, and could hear explosions around him at every angle. He looked down at the screen on his tracking device, he saw ten different dots that represented others using the same tracking system. Two of the dots stood out, one was labeled as his pilot's, and the other was labeled as his wife's. He kept looking at the screen. Suddenly, one of the dots disappeared, and showed the message: Terminated, indicating that the pod had been destroyed. Two more dots flashed and showed the same message. He kept looking at the screen and watched in shock as his pilot's dot disappeared. The man flinched in his pod and accidentally pressed a button on the wall. He looked at the button, it said: Overdrive. The man felt a sudden lurch and then felt an increase in speed. He looked at the tracking system. All of the other dots showed the message: Signal lost. He turned over the device and looked on the back. A message said that the device only had a 1000 mile radius. The overdrive must have put him ahead of the group. A light flashed above his head. The light read the words: Low on fuel. He looked over his shoulder and saw a manual. He picked it up and opened it. The first thing the manual told him to do was turn off the overdrive. He pressed the button and felt the pod slow down. Then he had to reach to find a reserve gas container under his seat. He picked up the container. Then he connected a tube to a hole in the craft, and waited until the gas read "full." The man exhaled and laid down. Then he heard a beep. Looking at where his hand had landed, he noticed a blinking blue button. A button that said: Hypersleep. There was a sharp pain in the man's back and he fell asleep.

The man woke up to the sound of a siren blazing inside his pod. A message was displayed saying that he needed to exit the vehicle. He didn't feel any movement, so he pressed the "open hatch," button. His hatch opened and he saw a ceiling with a blinking yellow light. He unbuttoned his seatbelt, sat up and looked around. He had landed in an aircraft hanger. He looked to his right and saw the gigantic craft that had passed him and his wife on their way to Leneon. Then he remembered his wife, he pulled out the tracking system, but it was dead. The man jumped out of his pod, but tripped and fell over. He slowly stood up again, and took a few, careful steps. After walking around in circles for a few minutes, he got his legs back. He sprinted down the nearest hallway and skidded to a stop. He looked at the sign that said flight control, and followed the arrow. Eventually he ran into a large open room, used for purchasing tickets. There were two flight attendants.

"Where are they?" The man asked.

The flight attendant stepped out of the booth, "you were the only one who made it, we thought they were all dead."

Shock swept the man as he fell to the ground. His fall was only cushioned by his coat, the coat that his wife had given him, he swore to never take it off. The man laid on the ground, cried. When he was finished weeping, he made a promise. He promised that he would do anything to find the person who did this, and destroy him.

Over the years the man with the trench coat attempted to track down the man, or thing, that had destroyed his life. After years of searching, asking questions, and tedious tracking, the man had found a lead. Suspicious activity had been spotted in a cave, nearly 50 miles from where he lived. He filled his trench coat with a variety of weapons, including oxygen masks, and a compressible space suit, he also equipped his shoes with miniature jets. He hopped into his M-A13, The most recent, and fastest model on the line of hovercraft.

The man reached a three mile radius of the cave where suspicious activity had been reported. He got out of his M-A13 and went the rest of the way on foot. When he reached the edge of the cave, he hid behind some bushes and sat, staring into the cave. He waiting for anything, some sort of sign to tell him what was going on. After about ten minutes, there was a red flash in the cave, which quickly faded away. The man got up and snuck through the cave entrance. After about five minutes of walking, he came upon a large opening, where he saw a figure, and a variety of machines. He quickly hid behind a rock.

"I know your there," said the man in the cave, "why don't you come out?"

The man who had lost his wife walked out from his hiding spot and observed the figure standing in the cave. He was wearing a tight black shirt, with a solid metal vest on the outside, he had black pants, tucked into black boots, the man had no weapons except for two pistols concealed under each armpit.

"So here is my assumption," said the strange man while tinkering with a machine. "I killed one of your family members, maybe your best friend, or I could have destroyed a planet that you did a science project on. Now you either have a death wish, want to be a hero, or just stumbled upon this place. I am also guessing that you want to kill me, am I correct?"

The man in the black trench coat responded, "I am not trying to be a hero, nor do I have a death wish, you took everything from me. I don't intend to kill you, I intend to destroy you, and make you feel every bit of pain you caused me."

"Ah, I man with a purpose, I like that, shame I'll have to kill you." The man said as he put down his tools, "lets get on with it."

The destructive killer lifted his hands and twisted them in a vigorous motion. The air around the man in the trench coat twisted and turned into a whirlpool. The trench coat man jumped into the air and clicked his heels together, activating his jet shoes. He flew up to the ceiling, and threw two plasma knifes at the man who had killed his wife. The killer simply flicked his wrist and each knife was flung against the wall.

"Wow, you're the first one to make it this far," said the strange man with a grin.

The man with the trench coat had an idea: The killer may have special abilities, but the real question was whether or not he could focus on multiple things at once. The man in the trench coat ran across the ceiling throwing knives from every direction. He then reached into his pocket and threw three grenades at the killer with timers set to one. As the grenades exploded in the killers face, the man in the trench coat jumped behind him, pulled out his laser sword, and slashed where the man's throat should be. But the killer was gone. The man with the trench coat looked across the room. The killer was on a small machine, with his hand in a strange orange glove.

"Later," said the killer.

Then the machine shot through the roof. The man with the trench coat put on his oxygen mask, and activated his space suit. He then clicked his heels together and shot after the man. He slowly caught up caught up. He jumped onto the top of the killers ship, just as the small craft shot into space. Though the killer wasn't wearing an oxygen mask, he was breathing. The killer's hand lit up red, and a large red beam was shot at the planet below. The entire planet was quickly destroyed. The man then looked behind him and saw the man in the trench coat.

"You know," said the man, "you are the only one who has survived an encounter with me, I respect that, tell me your name, and I'll let you go."

The man in the trench coat didn't want to reveal his identity, so he simply said, "Sir, my name is Sir."

"Odd name," said the man, "he then flicked his finger and Sir went flying off the craft.

Luckily, Sir had the supplies necessary with him. Without the oxygen mask, and the jet boots, he would have been a dead man. Unfortunately for him, there was still a high chance he would die. Sir had no idea where the nearest starship or space station was, and he didn't know how to survive a jump through the atmosphere of the brother planet to the one that was just destroyed. Sir decided he would much rather take the chance of getting burned up, or dying from a fall, then choking to death in space. Sir activated his jet boots, put his arms to his sides, and pointed his body towards the planet. After about five minutes, he reached the outer exosphere of the planet, and prepared for the jump. His jet boots were on, as he hovered over the outer exosphere.

"Not necessarily my best idea," Sir thought.

He activated the cooling fans in his suit, and shut off his jet boots.

The decent started slow, as gravity still didn't have much of an effect on him. Gradually, he picked up speed. Even from inside the mask he could feel his cheeks moving, as every muscle in his body tensed, just to keep himself in a streamline position. Sir tried to keep his body still so that that the sheer G-force didn't rip his limbs off. He was picking up more speed, and he had exited the exosphere. He was sweating profusely. Sir was getting hot, that, or he was just worn out. He clicked his heels together to activate the jet boots, nothing happened.

"C'mon!" Sir screamed.

Sir clicked the boots together again, but still nothing happened. With all of the strength he had reserved in him, Sir tilted his head down to look at the boots. There were four red bars on the boots, that meant they were overheating. Sir grimaced and put his head back up. He began to see the blue of the planet's sky around him as he continued to plummet. He looked back down at his boots, only two red bars remained. He grunted and kept his body tucked. One red bar. He had reached the first set of clouds. The first bar on the boots turned green. Sir clicked his heels and slowly began to slow down. Sir was still going extremely fast, but his speed was slowly calming down. Sir slowed down to half his previous speed, when his boots started smoking. There were four red bars again, then a spark, and the boots exploded. Sir felt a slight shock in his foot, and the boots were gone. Sir then extended his arms and legs, and rolled his body over. Attempting to slow his decent. He knew that his suit had an emergency air-bag built into it, he just might be able to survive.

Sir looked down, looked for anything that was flying high enough for him to land on. Sir observed a large commercial jet, he judged that he and the craft should cross paths at the same time. He counted to five, rolled over, and pressed the button that activated the air bag. He fell for a few more seconds, and began to worry that he had missed his chance. Then he felt the pressure on his back, and heard the pop, he bounced up a few feet, and landed on the fast moving plane. He immediately wrapped his arms and legs around the sides. Sir held on and caught his breath for a few seconds. Then he began moving to the front of the plane. Sliding his body using his hands and feet. Sir felt the wind trying to push him off the plane, he felt his hands cramp up as he crawled. Sir kept going, and reached the door. He moved his foot over to the handle and pushed, it didn't move. He pulled with his foot, but the handle didn't budge. The door was locked, but there was a window on the side. Sir took his foot, bent the knee, and kicked as hard as he could, causing the glass to shatter. Sir then put his hands over the ridge of the door, and grabbed it tightly. He swung his body around, and into the window, landing in the plane on his back. The passengers looked at him with a crazed look.

Sir ran to the back of the plane, and took a parachute out of a large metal box. He slung the parachute over his back and sprinted to the door. Sir opened the door, and jumped out of the plane.

This part, was far easier for Sir than the last portion. Sir counted to ten, then pulled the string on his back, causing his parachute to eject. Sir slowly drifted down to the ground. Unfortunately, his parachute caught on a tree. Sir pulled out his knife, and cut the strings of the parachute, causing him to fall to the ground. Sir took the parachute off. He kissed the ground, and passed out.

Sir woke up, still lying on the ground. Nobody had even tried to wake him up, he was surprised at how little people cared about one another anymore. That reminded him of the man who didn't care about anyone, or anything. The man who didn't care that he took thousands of innocent lives. The man didn't care that he took the life of a man's wife on his honeymoon. Sir started to cry, he remembered her face, he remembered her smile, her emotions, he remembered their last moments together. Sir simply laid on the grass and wept. Sir knew couldn't change the past, but he could change the future, and he needed to keep this man from killing so many others. Sir wiped the tears from his eyes, planted his hands on the ground, and pushed himself up. The ground beneath him gave way. He fell about ten feet before hitting a metal floor. Sir looked up, his body aching. Above him was an open hatchway. Sir stood up and observed his surroundings, it was exactly identical to the lab, that was on the no-longer existing brother planet. Sir walked to the side of the room and touched one of the walls. The wall shocked him, causing him to jump back.

"Teleportation," Sir thought, "he teleported the lab for later use."

Sir walked over to the nearest computer. He pressed the power button, and began browsing the files. One file caught his eye, the file, was labelled 'Gifted.' Sir opened the folder, revealing a collection of files, each with a name as it's label. He clicked the first file, labeled: Joe Stortion. The file read: Joe Stortion, Current Age: 23, Ability: Extremely smart, and agile, created a suit using carbon nanotubes. Suit is black, and makes the wearer practically indestructible, along with the ability to mold weapons into itself. Planet: Tartifia.

"Well, well, well." Thought Sir.

Sir pulled an external hard drive out of his pocket, and plugged it into the side of the computer. He dragged the entire file, labelled 'Gifted' into his hard drive, waited for it to copy, then unplugged the drive. Sir then deleted the entire 'Gifted' folder from the computer. Sir then walked around, and shot the rest of the computers, along with any other hard drives in the room. Suddenly Sir heard a door open. He slipped the hard drive into his pocket, ran up the wall, jumped, and grabbed the roof. He pulled himself out of the lab, and closed the hatch. Sir realized what he needed to do. He couldn't defeat this man alone, he was going to need help. He needed gifted people, to defeat a gifted person, and the first person he was going to look for, was Joe Stortion.

Sir had made enough money to be able to buy a ship, a large, cloaking, fighter class ship. Sir did have to buy it from thieves on the black market, but it was for a good cause, so he didn't care. Sir had his ship, and he was ready for recruitment. He knew exactly who the first person he was going to find was: Joe Stortion. The location of Joe Stortion was in the light galaxy of Sealey on the planet of Tartifia. The fastest way for Sir to get to the light galaxy of Sealey, was to go through the dark galaxy. Sir took off, and was on his way. He did not enjoy the feeling of flying a large ship, alone, through the dark galaxy, but it was necessary. Just as Sir was about to zone out, a dark meteor flew out of the horizon, Sir just barely had enough time to dodge the large rock. As he flew, he began to approach a planet, it was the first light planet next to the dark galaxy. First, he had to pass the last, and darkest planet of the dark galaxy. Just as he passed the dark planet, a light flashed out of the planet. A black figure shot out of the planet in a red flame. He was followed by another man, this one also in a black suit, the first man was identified as Joe Stortion. The other man, was pointing a gun at Joe. Sir was not going to lose his first recruit. He charged up his guns, and vaporized the other man. Sir flew his ship and followed the falling Joe Stortion into the light planet nearby. Sir watched in amazement as Joe hit the ground hard, creating a giant crater. Sir flew into a forest nearby, and landed the ship. Sir was able to cover the distance to the crater quickly, only to find it surrounded by men with guns. There was one man in the crater who was examining Joe. The man looked like a police officer. The other men had loaded their weapons, and were about to fire, when Sir stepped in.

"That won't be necessary." Said Sir.

Whether it was the look in his eyes, or the tone in his voice, the troops replied with a "yes sir" and walked away.

"Follow me," said Sir, "I'll explain the details later, and you, officer, do you have a family?"

"No," replied the officer.

"Then your coming with me too."

Neither of them seemed much against the idea of coming with Sir, so he lead them through the forest to his ship. When they took the suit off of Joe, his body had minimal injuries, the black suit had saved his life.

Throughout the next two days, Sir explained everything to Joe, what he was doing, why he was doing it. Sir was surprised at how quickly Joe embraced the idea, and how he had committed himself to stopping this one man. The police officer's name was Ryan Thampton, he had an urge to make a difference in the universe, and made a commitment, just as Joe had.

The lights flared red in the ship, and the sound of blaring sirens echoed through the hallways. Joe put his hands against the wall, and pushed, he felt the beautiful black suit envelope his body, he felt it morph to his body. The suit finished the process just in time for the ship to rock, knocking Joe into a wall across the hallway. Joe's suit morphed a microphone up to his ear, then stretched a small cord near his mouth.

"Sir! Sir are you there?" Screamed Joe into the microphone.

The ship rocked again.

"Yah, I'm here, it looks like we have a breach in the cargo hold, I don't think 'He' wants us to get to Earth."

"Right down to business," said Joe, "Do you want me to go prevent the breach?"

"Please do," said Sir, "Thampton and I will meat you down there, we just gotta suit up first."

"Got it," replied Joe. Joe began to run in the direction of the cargo hold, he was picking up a lot of speed when the ship tilted 45 degrees. Joe flew through the air and was about to hit a wall, but he slid his arm across his knee in mid-air. A surf-board shaped object morphed out of his feet, and he began to fly the rest of the way. Joe was traveling at 150 miles per hour, his reflexes at the max. He made impossible turns and maneuvers. He even smashed through a few doorways. Eventually Joe reached the door to the cargo hold, where a good 50 men stood in a line, wearing red suits, with masks that looked like an insects head. Joe sped to a stop, and twisted his feet, causing the board morphed back to his legs.

"Well this should be fun," said Joe.

Joe tapped his finger to his neck, and a black mask morphed over his head. Joe simply walked into the room and giggled at the fact that the bullets ricocheted off his body. Then came the first challenge, the sharp weapons, his suit was strong, but couldn't resist the point of a sharp plasma blade. Two men charged Joe wielding these blades. They slashed at the same time. Joe did a back flip, and released two darts into each man. They looked at the darts in their chests, and looked back up at Joe.

"Oh, I forgot," said Joe.

Joe turned on the infrared. The two body's instantly vaporized where they stood,

"I still don't know why that didn't work on me the first time," said Joe.

Joe ran on to meet his next opponent. Joe's quick reflexes allowed him to scope out his surroundings. To his right he noticed a 20 foot long railing, about four feet off the ground. About ten feet down the railing was a chain with a hook on the end, used for lifting cargo. Five feet to the left of the chain eight of the men stood with guns pointed. Joe sprinted to the railing, and dodged three throwing knives while jumping up onto the railing. He planted his feet and took a portion of a second to balance himself out. He began running across the railing, and just barely ducked out of the way of an arrow fired by a crossbow. His back slid along the cold rail, and he had to flex his core to lift himself back up to his feet. This was the crucial part of Joe's plan. He saw the chain get closer as he kept on sliding. He slid along the railing, and pivoted his right leg, he pushed off and grasped the chain. The force of Joe's jump pushed the chain over to the left five feet. Joe let go and began to fall. He split kicked two of the men, and shot four others with his darts, instantly vaporizing them. Joe materialized two swords out of his arms. He spun around and cut down the other four men. That was when Sir, and Ryan showed up. Sir pulled out two fully automatic rifles from his trench coat and shot down three men. Ryan dodged an arrow and threw throwing stars at four of the men. The other three were shot down by both Ryan, and Sir. The hull of the ship was automatically fixed by a self repair system. Sir put the ship in hyperdrive, sending the group toward earth.

"Wait," said Ryan, "your telling me, this kid can create things, move things, change things, just by using his imagination?"

"Yes," said Sir, "and that is why he is so important to us, the boy is also in a relationship with a very special girl."

"What is her ability?" Asked Joe.

"She has the ability of fire generation, and manipulation," said Sir.

"Cool," said Joe.

"Looks like we are approaching earth," said Sir.

"Alright," said Joe, "recruitment step two here we come."

The ship entered the atmosphere over a high school, it's cloaking device still in affect. The three watched as a teenage boy, created random objects and fought off an army. Fighting with him was a flaming life form, flying around and destroying helicopters. In awe, the three watched the battle continue. Sir felt they needed to step in. They turned off the ship's cloaking device, and shot down the remaining helicopters. The team also noticed a number of other machines approaching the site. The team landed the ship. Sir, Ryan, and Joe walked out.

"No time to explain," said Joe, "Come with us, more are coming."

"And what should make us trust you?" said the teenage boy as he brandished a laser in his hand.

"This might," said Joe.

Joe kicked some dirt up into the air, shot a multitude of darts at the rocks, and watched them all disappear. The boy and girl nodded, and walked with Joe into the ship.

"The names Joe," said Joe to the boy, "whats yours?"

"John," the boy yelled over the sound of the ship, "and my friend here is Madison."

"Nice to meet you John," said Joe.

Once on the craft Sir explained to Joe about a girl with rare sound waves, emitted from her throat when she spoke, or screamed. She was being held in a government facility on earth. Joe was going to let himself get kidnapped, so that he could find the government facility.

"We'll have time to get to know each other later," said Joe to John and Madison.

"I sure hope so," said John."

Joe jumped out of the plane onto one of the approaching helicopters. The men shot at him with rifles. Joe pretended to be thrown off balance, and conveniently fell into the helicopter. He was taken to a facility, and locked up in a room.

In the facility Joe was fastened to a chair. His mask allowed him to see X-ray throughout the entire building. He was mesmerized at the sound-wave girl's brilliant plan of escaping. Joe sat in the chair for weeks, watching the girl, until she eventually broke out. Joe turned off his X-ray vision and waited for a scientist, and an agent to come and check on him. After about ten minutes, one showed up. Joe flexed his forearms and broke loose of his chains. He kicked the agent through the door, jumped out, and vaporized two other agents in the hallway. Joe looked behind him, and saw a girl, about 13 years old, with a gun.

"No time to explain," said Joe, "come with me."

Joe and the girl fought their way out of the facility, hallway by hallway, until they reached the exit. Joe was about to take down the 300-400 men outside, but the girl pushed him aside, he stood behind her, and covered his ears. The girl, who's name was Hannah, screamed a series of words, and all the men were wiped out.

"Here comes backup," said Joe.

The large ship hovered over the building. It took Joe, and Hannah up in a rope, and onto the ship.

8/27/2009:Captain/Sir:Log 4:

Now myself, Ryan, Joe, John, Madison, and Hannah, prepare to meet the ultimate threat. They have formed bonds, friendships, and a love for their purpose. They prepare to face a man, only known as: "Him," or "He." I myself do not know whether we will return, that is why I have made the last four recordings. If any of us are dead, or if none of us make it. If you are listening to this, I hope it inspires you to do better then we did, I hope it inspires you to commit like we did, and I hope that we made a difference.

-Captain/Sir:2:45PM/ST:LastRecordedLog.

### The End Of It All

"To all of you, you have been a gift, a blessing. Some of the greatest people I have ever met, some of the greatest friends I have ever had. You were powerful, I was weak, yet you came with me. You prepare to risk your lives for me, and my ideals. You prepare for the ultimate challenge. You prepare to take on a man, who is more powerful than each of you alone, but is an ant, compared to all of us together. I will not lie to you, some of us may not return from this day, but I will tell you, that no matter what happens today, you are my brothers, my sisters, my family. Now we prepare! To go to battle, and end this. Today is the end of it all."

There was an applause among the men, and women, Sir's speech had been truly inspiring. The ship hovered over an abandoned planet, where "He" was currently present. The team suited up, John had conjured suits that were heat resistant and bullet proof, along with helmets. The team prepared a space jump, from the ship to the planet. They were prepared for the end, no matter what that meant. John and Madison hugged, Sir, Joe, and Ryan, shook hands, and Hannah smiled at everyone. The team faced forward. Sir pulled a switch, and the hatch opened.

The team jumped out. Six people fell from space, heading towards the atmosphere, each in a streamline position, each ready for what was to come. They quickly entered the atmosphere of the planet.

"Phase one, Madison," said Sir, "light it up."

"Got it," said Madison.

Madison ignited her body and stretched out her arms, she grunted and the atmosphere lit on fire. There was now no way for "Him" to escape the planet without burning up. The team continued to plummet towards the planet. The entire team was so frightened by what they were about to do, that they weren't even scared of the fall. They didn't notice the severity of it, they simply, fell.

"John!" Said Sir.

"Got it," John replied.

John went deep into his imagination, focused his mind, and wrapped a layer of rock around the surface of the planet. John then imagined the rock to be completely covered in oil. Madison put her hands forward, and lit the surface on fire.

"Give us a landing," said Sir.

John snapped his fingers, and the entire team stopped, only a few feet from hitting the ground. The team rotated and their feet touched the ground.

"Do you think he made it?" said John.

"Of course he made it," said Sir, "He always has."

The team walked around, Joe turning his head to every noise. Hannah changed the setting on her neck to 'full,' Ryan pulled guns from his jacket, and Madison held balls of flame in her hands. Then there was Sir, his trench coat trailing in the wind, not an emotion on his face, not a disruption in his mind. Suddenly a jet flew over the teams heads. A missile shot out of the plane and flew towards the ground. Joe jumped in front of the missile and shot it, watching it vaporize. The missile disappeared, along with the jet.

"Sorry!" said John, "I got nervous."

The team all stared at John, there was a prolonged silence, then the team started laughing. After a short wait, John joined in the laughter. Even Sir put in a few chuckles. Then came the crack, it was a small crack, but they all heard it. Joe slowly turned his head in the direction of the noise. He saw the tiny little crack in the rock. Joe walked over, step by step, the walk seemed like an eternity. He could feel the dirt crunching under his feet, hear his foot rocking along the ground. He could almost detect the breath of the rest of the team on his neck. Joe reached the crack. Sticking out of the ground, was a finger. A three inch, index finger, stuck out of the ground. Joe knelt down, and put his palm on the dirt. Then the finger twitched. Joe flinched, but nothing happened. He moved his body closer to the finger. Then it curled, the small little nerves and muscles, the fingernail, the indentations, the dirt on the tip of the finger. It all moved. Joe could see it tense. The finger curled into the dirt, and then it flicked. The very ground beneath him shot up, and Joe went flying. He turned his body over, and planted his hands on the ground, rolling back onto his feet. He saw the rest of the team under a forcefield created by John. There was another small noise, and a shockwave shot out from where the finger had been. Joe had barely enough time to jump into the forcefield. The entire team could feel the tremor of the air around them as the forcefield was pelted by a volley of rocks and dirt. When the dust settled, all they saw was a figure, nothing about him was scary except for two things: They all knew who he was, and he was smiling.

"Well, looks like you don't want me to escape," said the man with a grin, "looks like there can only be one winner.

Sir began the charge, his duel sabers gliding through the air as he turned around and threw a grenade at the man. It was deflected. Madison ignited herself and flew into the air, spraying flame at the man constantly. Hannah sent short, directed bursts at the man. Joe continuously fired numerous weaponry, and Ryan shot at the man. The battle raged on until the man made his first offensive. He created a stream of black water which flew from his hand and collided with Madison, extinguishing her flame. Madison fell, only to land on a trampoline created by John. John created tank and shot at the man with it. Each cannon burst was deflected. Eventually the man shot a burst of flame directly at the tank, it was all John could do to backflip off the tank onto the ground. The man made a cage around Madison and John, using the remains of the destroyed vehicle. Ryan kept on firing, each bullet worth nothing, but he wasn't going to be caught doing nothing. The man thrust his hand forward and Ryan went flying into the cage where John and Madison stood. Hannah, Joe, and Sir, were the only ones left fighting. That was when the breakthrough happened. Sir saw his chance. As the man was distracted by Joe's barrage of weaponry, Sir made the attempt to roll under the man's legs, he came up on the other side. Sir was about to shoot when the man's hand shot over his shoulder. Sir quickly grabbed the hand and twisted it, putting the man in a head lock.

"Hannah!" Sir yelled, "Full setting, do it now."

Hannah was scared, she didn't think she could kill, let alone risk hurting her friend.

"Hannah!" yelled Sir.

"Oh, you scared," said the man. "here." The man twisted his fingers, and telekenis turned the nob to the medium setting. Hannah pressed her lips together with her fingers, but the man opened his fingers, and Hannah's mouth opened with them. Hannah felt a tickle in her throat, and it came out, a shock wave. Then the man jumped, leaving Sir standing in path of the shockwave.

"No!" Yelled Hannah. Sir's body bent at an unnatural angle, and he flew a good 50 feet, until he crashed into the ground. It was all a blur as Hannah and Joe rushed out to meet their master. Joe, Madison, and Ryan broke out of their cage, and ran to Sir. Sir laid on the ground breathing hard.

"This was all my fault," said Hannah.

"No, no it wasn't," said Sir. "You have all been a blessing for me," Sir coughed up blood, and spat it on the floor. "Joe, you have been a son to me, watch over Hannah, love her like a daughter. Ryan, you have kept the peace, a true soldier, no questions asked. John, Madison, unlike me, you are going to have a proper honeymoon. And Hannah, you can control it, and you know when to use it." Sir coughed, "And my name, my name, is Henry...thank y...I will be with you know, after so many years...peace..." Sir spat out his last breath, along with a stream of blood.

Joe looked up, and saw the smiling face of the man he only knew as "He."

"Aaarrragh!" screamed Joe.

Joe stood up, grabbed a gun, and shot two bullets at the man. He didn't have time to deflect them. Two swords materialized out of Joe's hands, and he cut open the man's stomach dropping him to his knees. John threw four knives into his shoulders, pinning him to the ground, as Madison lit him on fire. Ryan ran up and put three bullets through the man's eye's.

"I....How," coughed the man.

Hannah walked over and put her setting on full. With her mouth closed she grunted, "Goodbye satan." She opened her mouth, and screamed. The shockwave shot the man through the ground, into the core of the planet. Hannah then sat down, and cried.

The group sat down on the beautiful green grass of earth. They watched as the body burned, the body of Henry, the man they knew respectfully as Sir. He fell into a pile of ashes, as they honored his life.

"I, I just can't do this anymore," said John, "I have to leave."

"What," said Joe, "But we need you."

"Not anymore," said John.

"Wait!" yelled Madison, "I am coming with you."

Madison walked up and held John's hand. John snapped his fingers and a small space shuttle appeared out of the air. John and Madison stepped inside, and the shuttle took off.

"I agree," said Ryan, "I can't deal with this, there are other lives out there in danger." Ryan picked up his gun, and walked away.

"Wait but..." Joe's words were of no meaning to Ryan.

"I'll be here for you," said Hannah.

"I'll be right behind you," said Joe.

Joe and Hannah sat there until dark, and the fire went out, then they were gone too, just like the rest of the team. John and Madison left together. Ryan off to save more lives, because he was never satisfied with himself. Joe and Hannah off to the beginning of a long friendship. Then there was Henry who was with his wife, in paradise, with the satisfaction of knowing that what he had done had saved everyone.

When evil begins its rise to power

And darkness begins to close in

In a world full of the frightened and the coward

Could hope ever begin again?

When men drop their heads

In a symbol of regret

And stick to their beds

To avoid the world

When all hope seems lost

And darkness is all that is seen

When good has been lost

And only evil is seen

A spark in the void

The void of darkness

A light that will shine

For good has returned in the darkness

A spark in the void

That will spread in a fire

And extinguish the darkness of the void

And return the light, and return it entire.

### Part 2

### Origins

It has been four years since Joe Stortion, Hannah, John, Madison, Ryan Thampton, and Sir (aka Henry), saved the universe, and tragically split up. Each taking separate paths. Something else is birthed, in the dark galaxy of Cagreel, the galaxy that Dark R was created, and later destroyed in. On the planet is a prison, this prison holds the most dangerous of thief's, and murderers in the universe. The Gifted embark on another journey, as they are introduced to a chaos like none other.

Time: 12:47 PM

Date: January 15

Year: 2013

Timmy Hothlan, 32 year old, five foot, 11 inch, tall man. Timmy has a strong build, short, messy, red hair, and a craving for revenge. Timmy is a brilliant man, and has worked in the medical department for eight years. He is a child prodigy, and has discovered and created a cure for cancer. A prisoner named Jacklin Fores held in the Cagreel prison is believed to have killed Timmy's brother. Timmy was extremely angry at hearing the news that Jacklin wasn't sentenced to death. Timmy is now determined to get revenge for his brother's death.

Timmy ran across the sand on Cagreel, his coat flailing in the wind behind him. Timmy could feel the sand crunch like glass under his feet as he ran. He felt the gun on his side pound up against his body with each step he took, and he felt the sweat trickle down the vile he held in his right hand. Timmy felt his right foot slip out from under him causing his chest to plummet toward the ground. He lost hold of the vile and it flew into the air. Timmy quickly turned over and landed hard on his back. He saw the purple-yellow hue falling from above him, and snatched the vile out of the air, just before it hit the ground. Timmy laid on the ground and breathed relieved breaths. He stood up and breathed hard for another five-seconds. Then Timmy took off running. Timmy payed close attention to his foot work this time, being very careful not to trip. He observed the darkness around him, the thin atmosphere on the planet didn't alter his vision of the outside of the planet at all. He could see every asteroid, nearby star, planet, and starship clearly. Timmy shook off his amazement and kept on running. He saw something orange on the ground about ten feet away. Timmy slowed down and kneeled over the orange piece, it was part of a prison robe, he was close. Timmy kept on running, he felt his heart beating hard in his chest, he heard his muffled breathing, and he saw a large black dot in the distance, it was the prison. Timmy picked up his pace, forgot about the pain in his legs, and kept his eyes on the prison.

After 20 more minutes of running, Timmy reached the wall of the prison. The wall was four feet thick, and an exhilarating 95 feet tall. On top of the wall, yards of electric wire coiled in layers.

Timmy grinned. He detached the gun from his belt, reached into his back pocket, and pulled out a grappling hook. He then pulled a small rubbery tube out from his coat pocket. Timmy took his water bottle and poured water on the tube. The tube slowly grew into a 100 foot long rope. Timmy tied one end to his grappling hook, and hooked the other end up to the pulley system on the bottom of his gun. Timmy took the grappling hook, and slid it into his gun. He aimed at the top of the wall, and fired his weapon. The sharp tipped hook sailed through the air, rope trailing behind it. The hook met it's mark on the wall, just below the electric wire. The long, sharp nail protruded from the hook and planted itself in the solid metal wall. Timmy pulled a small wire from the gun and hooked it onto the carabiner on his belt. He pulled on the wire to make sure it was secure. Timmy then yanked on the rope, insuring it was firmly in the wall. He pressed a button on the side of his gun, and began his ascent up the wall. The pulley system on his gun rotated and pulled him up the building. Timmy planted his feet on the wall and walked as the pulley pulled him up.

Once Timmy reached the top of the wall, he pulled two things out of his pockets: A small blow torch, and a cup of solid plastic. Timmy held the plastic over the electric fence and torched it, melting melting the plastic all over the electric wire. In five minutes the plastic had solidified over the coil. Timmy put his hand lightly on the plastic, he wasn't shocked. Timmfy planted both hands on the plastic and pulled himself over the fence. Once over, he reached through the wires and pressed a button on his grappling hook. The hook opened up and spun around, dislodging itself from the wall. Timmy slipped it through the wire and dragged the rope through after it.

Timmy observed the prison below him, looking for Jacklin's room. He found the window, and aimed his pistol at it. Timmy turned his gun on a setting that would silently vaporize the window. Timmy aimed at the window, and fired his weapon. No one could even see the difference. Only Timmy knew that the window was gone.

Timmy loaded the grappling hook into his gun and fired it just above the window. The shot made it's mark. Timmy then took the rope and tied it around one of the posts on the wall. The rope was taught. Timmy put his gun down on top of the wall. He hooked his carabiner to the rope, and made sure it was hooked to the strong line on his waist. He took the vile he had so luckily saved from his fall, and loaded it into his gun. Timmy checked the gun four times to insure that the vile didn't fall out. He picked up the gun and held it firmly in his hands. He then lightly hopped off the wall. Timmy flew down the zip-line he had created and quickly found himself flying into the window.

Timmy stood up and saw the massive body of Jacklin, the man who killed his brother. Timmy aimed his gun, and shot Jacklin. The vile flew into Jacklin's chest, and exploded under his rib cage. Timmy stared at Jacklin in shock, and Jacklin stared back. Timmy had just released the most dangerous virus never known to man. A virus Timmy had created himself. The only thing Timmy was worried about was whether or not the virus would evolve, Timmy didn't know what do to if that happened. Jacklin stared at Timmy and screamed angrily. He charged at Timmy and grabbed his head with his right hand, and his shoulder with the other.

"Crap," thought Timmy.

That was his last thought, then Jacklin snapped his neck.

Time: 11:48 AM

Date: January 16

Year: 2013

"Jacklin, this is simply unacceptable!" Yelled the prison warden, "Yes, he shouldn't have been breaking into our prison, but you can't just go ahead and kill him! You were just getting close to going one month without violence!"

"The man shot me," said Jacklin, "It wasn't a bullet though, it was some sort of strange liquid, I killed him in self defense."

"I will give you the benefit of the doubt on this one Jacklin, but if this happens again," the prison warden said, "there will be consequences."

"Consequences?" Said Jacklin, "You think you have the right to give me consequences!"

The look on Jacklin's face changed, from a stern understanding look to a dazed look, then to a look of confused anger.

"Jacklin, are you alright?" Said the warden.

"No damn-it! I am not fine you lazy little hag! I got shot!"

"What did you just say Jacklin?" Asked the warden sternly.

"I said no, you lazy, fat, short, idiotic, hag!"

"Get down!" Yelled the warden, "Now!"

"You get down!" said Jacklin angrily, "Or I'll stop that lazy heart of yours from beating!"

The warden was getting worried now, and pulled his gun from the holster on his hip.

"Oh, looks like I don't have a choice!" Screamed Jacklin.

Jacklin charged the warden. The warden pulled up his gun and fired. Jacklin coiled up and fell over backwards. Just before he hit the ground, the warden saw a yellow-purple hue float out of Jacklin's body, and merge with his.

The warden went to sleep that night, feeling slightly nauseous, but after few pills and he felt fine. The next morning the warden woke up in a blur. He dressed quickly and walked into the mess hall. He yelled multiple times and the prisoners did not quiet down. Uncontrollably the warden's anger rose. The warden discharged his weapon and shot one of the prisoners, wounding the man's arm. A purple yellow hue moved like gas from the warden into the wound of the prisoner. The prisoner looked at the warden, and the entire dining hall broke into an enormous brawl. Wounds were created from beatings, and gun shots all around the room, until the entire prison was in an enormous fight. From inside the prison, strange gas-like clouds could be seen migrating from person to person. Eventually an enormous cloud reflecting sunlight in such a way that it looked like a sunset had enveloped the prison. After another 24 hours, the cloud had enveloped the planet, 48 hours later, the cloud began to move away from the planet, towards the nearest dark planet. Leaving the prison planet broken down, with not a single living organism on it, not even the smallest bacteria.

Ryan Thampton ducked behind the brick wall and took in a large breath of the cool, Earth air. It was raining outside, a light rain shadowed by large grey clouds covering the vast blue sky. Ryan could feel the rain patter on his skin, it was a relieving feeling. Ryan held his handgun, and peaked around the garbage can he was crouched behind.

Bullets had wizzed by him on his way into the alley. That meant that the gang knew he was coming, which wasn't a good thing. Ryan looked around him, searching for a way to get inside the fortress. Ryan was part of a special group, still under the police department, but this group dealt with situations that are excessively dangerous, or highly unlikely to end positively.

Ryan continued looking around, until he spotted a dumpster, ten feet behind him. About five feet above the dumpster was the bottom of a fire escape for the adjacent apartment. Ryan got an idea. He sprinted to the dumpster and crouched behind it. He brandished his gun and made sure he was clear. Ryan put his hand on top of the dumpster, and hoisted himself on top of it. That was when the gunfire started. Ryan saw the stream of the bullets leaving the barrels, and the rain ripple as the bullets pushed through it. He saw crumples of brick fall as the bullets collided with the wall he had used as safety. Ryan leapt from the top of the dumpster, and felt a bullet tickle his cheek. He took to steps up the brick wall and grasped the bottom rung of the fire escape with his right hand. He threw a grenade towards the building across the street and shot it in midair. The explosion hid Ryan from view. When the explosion cleared, Ryan was no longer on the latter.

At the top of the building Ryan crouched behind the two foot ridge which wrapped around the building. Ryan took off his back pack, and unzipped the largest pocket. Out of Ryan's backpack fell the contents of a weapon. Ryan quickly began to assemble a sniper rifle. He loaded the ammunition into the magazine, and placed a silencer on the end of the barrel. He Placed the magazine inside of the weapon, and propped a stand on the edge of the building. Ryan mounted his weapon, and put his eye to the scope.

Zooming in, Ryan could see the men who had shot at him, they were guarding the hideout. If Ryan took them out, he could get inside. Ryan took a grenade out of his pocket, pulled the pin, and threw it off to the right of the building. An explosion rocked the ground to the right of the hideout. While the guards were distracted, Ryan lined up his crosshair with a guard on the far right. He breathed out, and fired. The guard fell over backwards onto the asphalt. Due to the silencer, the gunshot made almost no sound. The other guards began nervously looking around, checking the area where the grenade came from. Ryan zeroed in on the next guard, and watched him drop to the floor. Ryan repeated this process on the remaining guards until the outer defense of the fortress was no more. Ryan took a mini-machine gun out of his pack, and jumped over the side of the building, sliding down the latter onto the dumpster. He jumped off the dumpster, and sprinted to the side of the hideout.

The hideout was where one of the most dangerous gangs in Chicago held meetings, and exchanges. The fortress was a low building, with a large brick wall, and a wooden deck outside. Ryan jumped over the railing on the deck and slowly pushed through the door. The lights were out when he entered, and the patter of the rain echoed through the dark room. Ryan stayed calm and exiled the slightest bit of fear inside him. Down the hall Ryan could see the flicker of a light, indicating that something was going on. Ryan slowly walked down the dark hallway, his shadow casting on the wall next to him. Behind him Ryan herd a crunch, like a foot stepping on an old board. Ryan herd another step, then a rustle of clothing.

Ryan caught the punch in mid air. With his free hand he fired three silenced shots and felt the man's arm go limp. Ryan walked into the hallway and threw a smoke grenade behind him, removing himself from rear view. Ryan turned the corner and saw ten men in the light, all exchanging money. Ryan finally had them. Ryan put his hand in his pocket, and discovered he was out of active grenades. However, he had a grenade that was a dud. Ryan pulled it out of his pocket and walked into the room.

"Anybody moves and I pull the pin!" Said Ryan.

The gang members looked at nervously and the leader smiled.

"Bull," said the leader.

Ryan tilted his head to the side and pulled the pin, tossing the grenade into the middle of the room. The gang members ran in confusion to the exit. Ryan hated to use non-earth materials, but he activated an alien EMP device that disabled their weapons. Ryan pulled a walkie talkie from his belt and pressed the talk button.

"Now," said Ryan, calmly into the speaker.

As soon as the gang exited the building, they were surrounded by police cars, and helicopters. When the gang members pulled out their weapons, they were useless. Policemen stepped out of the cars and hand cuffed the men, taking them into the police cars.

"Here!" Said one of the officers to Ryan.

The officer threw Ryan a grenade. Ryan pulled the pin, and tossed it over his head. Five-seconds later, the hideout exploded. The criminals were loaded into the cars and Ryan got onto of his motorcycle, and drove away.

John looked over to his left at Madison, who he now referred to as Maddy. In front of them stood a large, open field, and in the middle of the field stood a circle of tents. In one of those tents, stood their mission. The only problem was that they had to make it past an army without harming the person they were supposed to rescue. And they didn't even know what he, or she, looked like. Their contact had been very shady, insuring that John and Maddy didn't know too much. All he had said was that the victim would understand the letter they were instructed to give him, the letter seemed to have three different messages on it.

To whom it may concern:

بزرگترین هرج و مرج

Το κίτρινο σύννεφο

Está chegando

John and Maddy had absolutely no idea what the letters or phrases meant, and were instructed not to attempt at finding out. Had they known what the message translated to, they would have fled the planet immediately. John and Maddy nodded at each other one more time, and began the mission.

Maddy hopped into the air and ignited. The lightly falling snow turned into slush as Maddy flew through the air. John concentrated, and a force field generated in a dome around the camp. Maddy, pushed flame out of her hands and feet and circling the camp. The suit John had made her held steady, allowing her to ignite without burning her clothes off. Maddy watched the snow melt before her eyes, and felt the wind pushing her flames backwards. She shot forward incredibly fast until she was directly over the camp. Defying the laws of physics, she stopped instantly and hovered over the tents. Maddy looked at John, who was holding an odd looking contraption.

"Whats that?" Yelled Maddy.

John looked oddly back at Maddy,

"Some sort of, detecter I conjured up, tells me if people are innocent or not."

"Well, isn't that useful?" Said Maddy jokingly.

Then the gunshots started. Luckily for Maddy, John created a shield under her, causing the bullets to ricochet back to the ground.

"Oh boy, here we go again," Said Maddy.

"Wait!" Yelled John over the gunfire, "Only hit the people who are yellow, not green." John, threw his device over the camp. The device shot a shockwave over the encampment. Suddenly everyone in the area but one, turned yellow. Maddy fired short, but extremely hot bursts at the men, trying to only injure them.

"I'll get him!" Screamed John.

Maddy provided cover fire for John as he sprinted into the camp. He ran into a tent where the man surrounded in a green hue. John handed the man the slip containing the three phrases. The man looked up at John with a worried, but grateful face.

"Come with me!" John yelled.

The man nodded and followed John out of the tent.

"Maddy!" John yelled.

John motioned his hand, and Maddy followed them to the tree line, still providing cover fire. John put his finger to his temple and focused. A teleportation machine appeared in the trees. John, Maddy, and the mystery man walked through the machine and were transported to another planet. Far away from the previous current location.

"Have you eaten yet?" Joe asked Hannah from downstairs.

Joe waited a good 30 seconds before he hard the sarcastic "no" from Hannah. Joe laughed and walked over to the kitchen table. He sat down and drank his coffee, staring out the window, towards the sky. Had Joe known what was about to happen, he wouldn't have let Hannah be even a lightyear close to it. As Joe looked out the window he saw something strange. A purple-yellow hue, that sat on the horizon, but the hue seemed to be moving, like a cloud blowing in the wind. Joe shrugged off the weird situation and continued to sip his coffee. He watched the local news on the wall-mounted plasma screen. He listened to some music, messed around on his tablet, and took a quick nap.

When Joe woke up he walked over to the window, where he was hit by loud screams and shrieks. Joe saw the hue, moving like a cloud and enveloping townspeople. But the people weren't being killed by the yellow-purple mist, the mist was making them kill each other. As soon as the strange cloud touched them, they would gain a crazed look and become extremely violent.

"Hannah!" Joe yelled frighteningly.

Hannah came down the stairs in jeans and a light blue shirt, her hair flowing freely over her shoulders.

"Get to the ship."

Hannah ran down the stairs to a door, punched in a key code, and walked into a metal chamber. Joe ran to a mirror on the wall, and pressed his palm to it. There was a beeping and the mirror dissolved into thin air. The mirror disappeared, revealing a black suit, and a brief case. Joe picked them both up and ran through the metal door after Hannah.

Once in the ship Joe pressed a few buttons and floored the throttle. The ship rocketed away from the cloud, and out of the planet. Once off of the planet, Joe, and Hannah looked out the window and watched as their previous home, was enveloped in a yellow-purple cloud.

"You know what this means don't you," said Joe.

"I do," said Hannah, "shall I?"

"Yes, Joe responded.

"Initiating project: reunite." Hannah said as she pressed a button.

The screen lit up and displayed a picture of the known universe, along with a multitude of highlighted planets. On particular planets sat different colored dots, each of these dots represented one of the Gifted. One of the dots purple, it stood in Kansas, on planet Earth. The purple dot represented where Henry had been buried, and where the Gifted had split up.

"You didn't die in vain old friend," Said Joe, as he pushed on one of the red dots.

"Come on Dylan! We don't have much farther to run!" Yelled a boy as he ran down a dusty dirt road.

The boy's name was Jacob. He had bright blonde hair, and the bluest eyes the universe had ever seen. The boy was wearing a button up shirt, with blue plaid. His shirt was unbuttoned at the top, showing the reflection of the sun on his perfectly tanned chest. He wore torn up brown shorts which hung just below his knees, and was wearing extremely dirty tennis shoes, so dirty that the original color of the shoes couldn't be seen.

Jacob ran down the dirt road, dust and sticks being kicked up behind him. Typically Jacob didn't go by his full name, he much preferred Jake. Jacob seemed to long, and proper to him. Jake continued running, yelling back at his brother, Dylan, to hurry up. Dylan ran behind his brother, with an appearance completely opposite of Jake's. Dylan had dark black hair, and pale skin, unlike his brother who had the perfect skin tone, the kind that most celebrities wore. The sun was extremely hot, and Dylan was sweating profusely. The glare of the sun glistened off of his hair. Dylan's hair had one triangle shaped spike in the front. The spike was completely natural, no matter how hard he tried, Dylan couldn't change it. Dylan was wearing a black, button up shirt, unbuttoned at the top like his brother's. He wore torn, black shorts, which he had found laying on the side of the road.

Dylan rolled his eyes at his brother and picked up his pace.

Dylan and Jake were in Mexico, they were in the outskirts Chihuahua, and they were heading northwest. Dylan and Jake were attempting to get to America, where they could at least catch a glimpse of freedom.

Dylan caught up to his brother and the two kept on sprinting. Around the corner of two small buildings, a police car arrived, sirens blazing. Jake sprinted to the right where two buildings sat closely next to each other, where he slid into the small gap. Dylan followed suit. The policeman couldn't reach them in the crevice, it was only two feet wide, and the cop was quite large. Jake and Dylan shuffled their way through the small crevice until they came out on the other side, in the middle of a market place. The two boys looked behind them through the crevice and saw the police officer attempting to squeeze through.

"I got this!" Yelled Dylan.

Dylan ran up to a wall, planted his foot on one of the bricks, and pushed. Dylan flew into the air and landed on the awning of one of the shops. Jake repeated the sequence and followed closely behind Dylan. Dylan ran, jumped from awning to awning, disturbing shoppers everywhere.

"Excuse me," said Jake, as he ripped a rope out of the hands of an unsuspecting shopkeeper.

"I'll take that," Dylan said as he took a peg, and a hammer from a carpenter's shop.

Dylan and Jake continued running, the police officer gaining on them.

"I'm gonna to have to do it Dylan!" Shouted Jake.

"Is it really necessary?" Dylan yelled back.

"No, but I want it to be," said Jake with a smile.

Dylan kept running, trying not to look behind him.

Jake stopped running, and held his up to the sun. Two-seconds later, there was a flash, and a giant, extremely hot fire burned between Jake, and the cop. Jake sprinted away from the wall of fire and caught up with Dylan.

"Go!" Jake said.

Dylan stood at the side of a cliff, which dropped into a mess of vegetation. Dylan took the peg and hammered it into the ground, making sure the peg was sturdy. Jake ran up behind him and tied one end of the rope to the peg. Jake grabbed the rope and leaned back, testing the strength of the rope.

"We're good!" Yelled Jake.

Jake hopped off of the cliff, and was followed by Dylan. Jake landed at the bottom of the cliff and continued running, with Dylan close behind him. Jake and Dylan ran into the thick vegetation. They continued running until they saw their mark, a hole with a star in the middle, carved deep into a tree. They climbed the tree, and looked down the long, tube inside the hollowed out tree.

Jake and Dylan didn't know how the tunnel got there, only that it was useful.

Jake winked at his brother and hopped into the hole. Dylan waited five seconds, and jumped in after Jake. The two boys slid through the empty stump, took a turn and began sliding parallel to the ground. After a few minutes they stopped sliding, and crawled to the end of the tunnel.

The tunnel opened up in the middle of a field, a few miles out from the city. The two boys made a fire as the sun set. As the two sat around the fire, a large ship flew over the field above them.

"What the...?" Said Jake in fear. Jake shivered and the moon glistened above them, then the ship was struck by what appeared to be a small solar flare. The ship caught fire and crashed to the ground a few hundred yards away. The two boys looked at each other.

"I didn't fight for all that food for nothing," said Jake.

The two boys ran across the field, ripping through the tall, dry, yellow grass. The boys approached the ship, and crouched outside of it. The ship made a clinking a noise and a ramp extended from the ship's belly. The light emitting from the ship made the boys cover their eyes. Two characters walked down the ramp, a man in a black suit, and a teenage girl in jeans and light blue shirt, who both Dylan and Jake thought looked extremely attractive. The two kept walking and walked right past Jake and Dylan.

"And that, is how you kill a Nervelian swamp fly," said the man in the black suit.

The girl began to laugh hysterically as the two walked through the field.

"Oh man, that is unbelievable, that is the weirdest thing I have heard all day."

The two continued walking.

"Wait!" Said Jake stepping out of the shadows, "You can't come into our camp without greeting us."

The man in the black suit stared, as did the girl.

##  

### New Allies

Joe, Hannah, Jake and Dylan sat around a small fire in the middle of the field.

"Wait, so you two are both 'Gifted' too?" Said Joe.

"Well, I guess you could consider it a gift," Said Jake, "I have the ability to manipulate solar flares, and solar radiation. Basically any sort of light source that comes from earth's sun, or any sun."

"What about you?" Asked Joe, motioning to Dylan Dylan.

"Oh, uh, I can create black holes." Dylan responded oddly.

"Woah!" Said Joe, "that's pretty cool."

"So, what can you guys do?" Asked Jake.

"Well," Said Joe, "I don't actually have a power, I built this suit that allows me to do all sorts of superhuman things, Hannah can explain what she does."

"Oh, yah," said Hannah, "It's not much, I can speak and emit sound waves at such a frequency that it causes the effect of a nuclear bomb. This strap on my neck is what allows me to talk to you right now."

"Dang! Thats awesome!" Said Dylan. "That is seriously cool."

Hannah smirked and laid against the rock behind her.

"Well, thats enough for now, we ought to be headed off to sleep," Said Joe, "you guys can come sleep in our ship, we have lots of rooms, you guys can each use one."

"Thanks," Said Dylan, "that is very kind of you."

The four Gifted headed into the ship, each taking their own separate rooms. They all got into their bunks, and nodding off to sleep. In his bed, Joe began to think, about whether or not to take the two boys into the team. It seemed nearly impossible that they found others who were gifted. It couldn't be just a coincidence. The two boys could be useful. They were alone and in need of a family. As Joe pondered this, he drifted into sleep.

Joe was the first up in the morning and he sat outside of the ship. He walked around looking for a some sticks, and came back with a handful. Joe walked over to a patch of dry grass, and pulled the weeds out of the ground. He then kicked all of the dry grass away in a circle, so that he had a small circle of dirt. Joe placed some dry grass and weeds in the middle of the circle, and put the sticks he had found on top of them. Joe took his remaining stick and placed one end on top of one of the large sticks in his pile. Joe held the stick in between his hands in a prayer stance. He then rubbed his hands back and forth down the stick. Joe repeated this movement again and again very quickly, rubbing the small stick against the big one. Joe started to sweat, and the large stick started to smoke, Joe pushed on, going even faster. He was breathing hard now. Eventually a small spark erupted from the large stick, followed by a larger spark. Then a small flame flickered out of the sticks. Joe pushed the dry grass over the flame and lightly blew on it. After Joe blew on it three times, the grass caught fire.

Joe walked away and found a few more sticks, which he brought back and tossed into the flame. Joe walked over to the ship and found a chair. He brought it next to the fire and sat down, staring into the flames. As he looked into the fire he began to see something else, a planet, a planet that's atmosphere was burning.

Joe saw a burning figure, plummeting towards the ground with five other silhouettes. The figure shot her hands towards the air igniting the atmosphere. The image skipped ahead, and Joe saw the figure firing a blast of flame towards a single man, standing cockily in the middle of a battle zone. The image skipped ahead one more time, and Joe saw a man lying dead on the ground, the man's name was Henry. To the side a hole was punctured in the ground, and a small girl opened her mouth, throwing a shockwave into the pit. The girl destroyed the man's future, but she could not destroy his past. Joe snapped out of his imagination. He was crying, Joe deeply missed Henry. He shook his head and sat up straight, looking to the ship. Hannah had woken up, and was leaving the ship with a chair in her hand. She placed the chair on the ground and sat down, looking deep into the fire.

"I wonder what Madison is doing right now." She said.

Joe looked back at her, he was wondering the same thing.

Maddy and John sprinted down the hallway,

"What just happened?" Yelled John.

The man they had rescued had instructed them to take him to Earth, he said it would be the safest place, he said it was farthest. Maddy and John had no idea what he meant by 'farthest.'

Two bullets fired from behind them, as if in slow motion, John turned around and stopped them both with a shield. Maddy and John continued sprinting as two more men dressed in black suits and white ties fired at them. John leaped into the air and knocked them both out with an intense kick. Maddy and John continued running until they came to a T in the hallway.

"Which way?" Said Maddy.

John looked around with infrared goggles and pointed to the right. Maddy and John ran around the corner into a large hallway. In the middle of the hallway stood a blockade of 20 men. Maddy began to run, slowly picking up speed. Flames licked at her back, until her entire body was enveloped in fire. She shot like a missile down the hallway, until colliding with the ground near the blockade in a shockwave. The men went flying, knocked out by the force of the attack. A group of people arrived behind John and Maddy. Maddy spun around and threw two explosions of fire at the walls, collapsing the metal corridor behind them.

The two kept on running down the hallway until they reached a right turn. Around the turn sat the man they rescued. He was on his knees, looking up the barrel of a gun, pointed at him by one of the men in the suits. John focused, and just as the man began pulling the trigger, the gun turned into a banana.

John created a rock, and Maddy lit it on fire. The rock went flying towards the man and knocked him out.

"Come on!" Yelled John.

The three ran until they arrived at a dead end. They couldn't go back because they had collapsed the hallway behind them.

Maddy narrowed her eyes, and planted her feet. She then began to run. Her knees pushed forward like a sprinter in the 100 yard dash, her toes curling against the floor. Her hair whipped back behind her head. It started on her back, six inch long flames which licked at the air. Then it moved to her arms, and her hands. She pushed her hands together and a giant ball of fire began to form. The fire spread up her neck, and onto her hair. Maddy jumped and her entire body ignited into flame as she flew at intense speeds towards the wall, the fireball stretched out in front of her. The fireball hit the wall, and her body burned straight through it, out into the night. Maddy hit the ground and rolled. When she stood back up, the sand had turned into glass.

They were in the middle of the Mojave desert, and a cool night air whisped through their hair. John focused his mind and created a car, it was a Lamborghini Gallardo.

"Look out guys, we are headed to Vegas!" Yelled John jokingly.

The three hopped into the car and began driving west. John laid back in the seat, and for a brief moment he felt a tinge of pleasure. He was back on earth, driving his dream car to Los Vegas, Nevada. John looked in the rear-view mirror and saw helicopters approaching.

"You guys strapped in?" Said John.

Both Maddy and the other man nodded. Maddy was in the front seat next to John, and their contact sat in the back. John placed his hand over the shifter, and his other hand on the wheel. He shifted the car into second gear. The wheels spun out in the sand causing a dust cloud to form around them. Then the car took off, reaching 60 miles per hour in less then eight-seconds. John shifted the car into the third, causing it to jerk backwards for a moment for a moment and then pick up speed. The car reached 80 miles per hour and John shifted it into fourth, the group felt a jerk again, and the car was accelerating across the sand. The car was at 120 miles per hour and John shifted again, pushing the car into fifth gear. The car continued to accelerate until it was at 170 miles per hour. John shifted one more time, putting the car into it's final, sixth gear. The car jerked, and accelerated to 200 miles per hour. John grinned at the thrill of his current speed. He looked at the mirror and saw nine helicopters, along with a convoy of vehicles

John kept his foot on the accelerator, closed his eyes, and concentrated.

"Okay!" John screamed over the hum of the engine.

John slammed his foot on the brake and turned the steering wheel hard to the left. The car spun 180 degrees in the sand. John pressed a red button as they were spinning. Suddenly six missiles protruded out of the car's hood. A trigger morphed out of the console. John pulled the trigger, and the missiles launched into the air, taking down three of the helicopters. The car continued to spin until they were facing west again, and they began to accelerate forwards once again. One of the helicopters began to catch up, getting dangerously close to the car. The helicopter tilted down, and pushed it's blades towards Lamborghini's rear. Maddy opened a window and fired a ball of flame toward the approaching vehicle. The helicopters blades burned up causing the chopper to fly backwards and collide with another low flying helicopter. John squinted his eyes and saw lights in the distance, about a mile away. John floored the accelerator, pushing the car to it's limits. The car kicked up sand, and exhaled exhaust like a factory. The man in the back of the car reached under the seat, and pulled out a plasma assault rifle. Maddy looked at him with a confused, yet curious look. The man rolled down the window and stuck the weapon outside. He aimed the rifle at one of the helicopters and pulled the trigger, firing continuously at the helicopter. He followed the helicopter's movements until he scored a hit in the gas tank, taking it down.

John, Maddy and their contact had reached a road, which sat five feet lowered from the desert. John jumped the car over the ledge separating them from the highway. He quickly maneuvered the car to follow the direction of traffic. Joe began pushing the car to it's top speed again. He steered perfectly, avoiding contact with any of the other cars on the highway. Nearly five miles away, John saw blinking lights, of multiple different, neon colors. John kept on pushing the car at it's top speed. From his right, another car jumped the ledge. John and Maddy's contact leaned out the window, and fired a shot at the cars tire. The car skidded to it's side and flipped over, doing barrel rolls down the highway behind them. The car came to a stop and exploded. John kept the accelerator floored and barely had time to catch a glimpse of the sign that said: Welcome to Los Vegas, Nevada. John kept on pushing forward as they entered the city full of multicolored lights, which was quite a sight at night. John kept up his speed until he reached a holdup in the road. Where cars honked at him constantly.

"Come on, we're getting out!" Yelled John. "And take that gun!"

The three stepped out of the car and followed John to a nearby casino. John led them through crowds of people towards the end of a hallway where an elevator sat in the wall. John, Maddy, and their contact stepped into the elevator.

"Whats your name?" John said, "you never told us."

The contact looked at them and said, "Erin, my name is Erin."

"Good to know," Said John.

John pressed a button on the wall of the elevator that would bring them to the roof of the building. The three stood silently until they heard the ding of the elevator. John lead them out onto the rooftop. The rooftop was square with one foot tall ledges surrounding it. John put his hand to his head and a gatling gun appeared near one of the edges. He created another plasma rifle and tossed it to Maddy. John crouched down at the back of the gatling gun and placed his hands on the handles. John looked into the distance and saw three flashing lights. Three lights for three helicopters. John, Maddy, and Erin patiently waited until the helicopters were directly above the city. The pilots must have seen them because they were quickly approaching their position. John waited patiently, then came the missile. The helicopter on the left fired a missile at the three of them. Maddy launched a ball of fire at the projectile, destroying it before it could collide with the building. John rotated his weapon and fired at the helicopter, hundreds of bullets, sailing through the air, until a few collided with the gas tank, and the chopper exploded.

Maddy and Erin fired at the chopper on the right until they made a perfect hit and the helicopter went down, smashing into a water fountain below them. Maddy conjured up a ball of fire and threw it at the remaining helicopter. Just before it exploded a figure jumped out, dressed in all black. The figure landed gracefully on the rooftop. The man was dressed from bottom to top in black armor. He had three swords on his back, and two guns strapped to his legs. Over his face was a strange metal covering.

The man formed a crouching position and tensed all of his muscles. He immediately unsheathed two of his swords and swung them both towards John's neck. John created a sword for himself and blocked both strikes, attempting to counter the attack with a slash to the ninja's leg. The ninja blocked it with ease and jumped in the air firing two bullets towards Maddy. She ignited herself and the bullets melted before they could touch her skin. Erin fired a plasma burst at the man, but the burst disintegrated before it could hit him.

"Run!" Yelled John.

The three sprinted towards the door and John shut it on the ninja's face, just before he could make it through. John, Maddy, and Erin ran to the stairs and began their descent. They sprinted blindly and didn't see any sign of the ninja. They reached the bottom of the stairs and looked around. From above them their was a flash of black, and the ninja was stood in front of them. He threw two objects at Maddy and John, which expanded into chains and pinned them to the wall. The ninja pulled out one of his swords, and kicked Erin onto his knees, knocking the plasma rifle out of his hands. The ninja raised his hands above his head, brandishing the black sword. John and Maddy watched in horror as the ninja tensed his arms, preparing to strike down Erin. Then, from behind there was a brief flash, and the ninja disintegrated. Two more flashes occurred and the chains that trapped John and Maddy also disappeared. John and Maddy looked at each other, and slowly a small smile grew.

"There is only one man I know who could do that," Said John, "And his name is..."

"Joe!" Said a voice from across the room, cutting off what John was saying.

A figure stepped out of the crowd of staring gamblers, he was dressed in a black suit, but he was showing his face, and he was much more friendly than the man they had just faced.

"Joe!" Yelled Maddy and John.

They rushed over to him, embracing Joe in a quick hug.

"What are you doing here?" Asked Maddy.

"I can't really tell you right now," Said Joe, "But, I can tell you in an old ship, I know you all remember."

Maddy and John smiled.

"It's good to see you again," Said John.

"Oh! One more thing," Said Joe, "I have two new team members, and a certain blonde up in the ship with me."

"Wait what?" Said Maddy, "What do you mean 'new team members' other people who know about us, or other people who are gifted?"

"Yes," Replied Joe, "and who may this be?"

"Oh! Forgive our manners," Said Maddy, "this is Erin."

"Erin!" Said Joe, "Your Garfiend's messenger."

"Yes, yes sir I am." Said Erin.

"So he got my message?" Said Joe.

"Yes, and I have been doing all that it asked of me." Said Erin.

"You truly are a faithful servant." Joe said as he gave Erin a pat on the back. "Just in case though, what was the message?" Said Joe.

"It said," replied Erin, "shake, the yellow cloud, is coming."

"Good," said Joe.

"Wait what?" John said.

"I will explain in the ship," Said Joe, "come on."

### The Virus

Joe, John, Maddy and Erin had climbed into the ship, happy to finally have a place of peace. But there was still an important story to be told, and it held the answer to the answer of why Joe came looking for them. Before the story could be told, Joe insisted that John, Maddy, and Erin, cleaned themselves up, and got something to eat. John and Maddy instantly found their cabins from when they were recruited by Henry.

John looked up at the door leading into his cabin, remembering what it was like when he first saw it, the glistening, newness of the door had marveled him. John was used to being the little earthling, but he had seen the door when he first boarded the ship, and it wasn't from earth, it was something new, something fantastic. It had made John feel like such a new man that day.

John reached his hand over to the side of the door, where a small pad was connected to the wall. The pad had a blue screen on the top, then many circles and shapes, each changing movement every few seconds. John reached his hand over to the pad and placed his thumb on top of the small blue screen. For five-seconds the pad made a beeping sound, then the pad turned from blue to green, and John heard the sound of the door unlock. John grinned at the fact that his print still worked on the ship. He nudged the door with his shoulder and it drifted open, showing the space of the beautiful, foreign room. John took some time to simply marvel at the sight, it's simple, yet beautiful white walls, with a small bed in the corner. There was a computer, a bathroom and a closet. The simplicity, was always amazing to John. John walked over to the wall and pressed a button. The wall slid down, revealing a window. This brought back memories when John would stare into space, and gasp at the wonderful, vast universe around him. John walked over to the bathroom and shut the door. He took off his shirt and brought it up to his nose, taking two short sniffs.

"Oh, ugh, dear God"

John cringed at the terrible sweaty, dirty smell of the shirt he had been wearing for the past week. John continued to undress until he stepped into the shower. He pressed a blue button, and pushed a bar on the screen in front of him upwards until it turned red. John felt the warm water collide with his back, and rush all around him. It felt wonderful to finally be clean. John pulled out a bottle of shampoo and washed himself, paying extra special attention to his hair. He finished his shower and turned off the water. John leaned over and pressed a red button, he heard a whir, and then got blasted with hot air. John laughed as he was practically thrown into a dryer. After his shower, and power dry, John walked to the metallic closet in the corner of the room. He opened the closet and looked inside. Laid out on the first shelf was the silver-black suit that he had worn during his training, and on the day he had fought the man who's name was unknown, the man who killed Henry, who killed Sir. John first pressed a button on top of the suit. It immediately compressed into a small hexagon. He then picked up the hexagon and pressed it against his chest. The hexagon clasped onto him and then the suit progressed at morphing around his body. Small plating rolling out over his arms and down his legs. Though the suit may have looked uncomfortable, it was the best fitting suit John had ever worn, to him it nearly felt like he was naked. John walked into the bathroom again and looked into the mirror. He saw the silver suit, with black shears rolling over his shoulders, then the black circle in the middle of his suit. Three black lines stood down from the circle, two pointing at angles, and one pointing straight down. On his legs black shapes covered the sides of his thighs and calves. John grinned, and couldn't resist a small thought on how good he looked. He reached under the sink in the bathroom and found a comb, he then summoned some gel. John put his hair into a fo-hawk, and once again gave himself a little grin.

Maddy had gone through a similar process as John, admiring the room, and cleaning herself up. When Maddy came to the closet and saw her suit, she smiled. She finally had the real one, the real suit that wouldn't burn up, now John wouldn't have to constantly will her clothes to be fireproof. Maddy's suit was orange and yellow. It was slightly like John's, except it was orange with yellow striping, and instead of a circle in the middle, it had a long diamond.

Maddy and John both exited their rooms, and saw each other in the hallway. They both stood there and looked at one another. After a long time of staring, they both broke out in laughter.

"Oh, boy, you really do look good in that thing," said John,

"I'm not the only one," said Maddy.

They both laughed again and began their walk to the center of the craft. Once they had reached the center room they looked around, remembering all the events that took place in the room. There were three tables, all surrounded by circular chairs. Around the room were different plasma screens, and various technologies around them. As they looked around they saw two boys, both about 15 years, one had a deep tan with blonde hair, and the other had spiked black hair with very light skin. That was when Joe walked into the room, wearing his super-suit; he had obviously planned on them all wearing their suits.

"Well, it looks like you've discovered our new recruits then?" Said Joe with a smile

"Yah, I guess we have," Said John with an interested look on his face. "What do they do?"

"Well, Dylan here, the one with the black hair, has the ability to create black holes. Jake has the ability to enhance and manipulate solar heat, and radiation." Replied Joe with a very excited look.

Then Hannah walked into the room, also wearing her suit. Her suit was green with yellow stripes and three yellow triangles crossed over each other in the middle. John and Maddy greeted her with smiles and hugs, amazed at how much the girl had grown over the past two years. Joe then approached, with a far less joyous look on his face.

"There is something far more important that I need to talk to you about now." Said Joe.

Hannah, John and Maddy sat down, while Jake and Dylan leaned forward, interested in the sudden change of mood.

"They are calling it by many names: They yellow curtain, The sunlight virus, The dawn death. All of these names may give you an idea of the thing I will speak to you about, but I still must explain it all to you. The virus originated in Cagreel, on a prison planet. All those on the planet died of the virus. The first planet of a light galaxy that it hit was the one that Hannah and I were living on. The virus comes like a yellow, and purple wall, almost the color of a sunset. This look is caused by refraction of sunlight by the chemicals of the virus. This virus almost seems to have a consciousness, due to it's targeting of people, and it's multiplication and movement through space. When the virus infects someone, it first targets the brain, it takes control of the motor systems, and the critical thinking systems. It causes people to turn violent and most of the time, kill each other. The next thing it does is turn the skin a spotted yellow. Once this has occurs the skin sizzles and breaks apart, exposing muscle, vain's, and fat under the skin. If the person has not died yet, vital organs begin to explode, insuring the life of the person is vanquished. Once the virus has destroyed the population of a planet, it moves on to the next. What we need to do, is find a way to stop it."

Maddy and John stared at one another and back at Joe, then they nodded.

"We'll do it," said John, "but there is a certain policeman who's help we need to get the job done."

### Return Of The Selfless

Ryan was back in his small apartment, sulking after the news that he had been fired from his job, he was no longer a cop. His boss had communicated to him that he had put himself, and those in his crew in too much danger in order to save the innocent. Ryan didn't understand this, his entire job was to save people, and stop crime, no matter what. Apparently he was only supposed to do it, if he would survive, this made no sense to Ryan. Ryan laid down on his bed and contemplated what he would do next. He reached over next to him and picked up his copy of "A Tale of Two Cities." Ryan sat there, reading for about ten minutes. He then became bored, and walked over to his computer. Ryan sat there, staring at the blank screen, he had no idea what to do with himself. Every day Ryan had devoted himself to his job, he never took a sick day, he never took vacations, or even weekends off, despite the plea's of his superior. Now that Ryan had no job, he didn't know what to do with his life. He looked up to his calendar and saw that it was Memorial Day. Ryan pulled up his Facebook on his computer, and posted a thank you to all soldiers fighting for the country he was living in. Ryan did enjoy the bravery of the people of Earth. This gave Ryan an idea.

Ryan went on the internet and found a website, where he volunteered himself for the military. He was then given a list of locations where he could take a physical and see if he qualified. Ryan made the decision to go to the nearest location the next day. Ryan walked to his closet, picked up his long brown trench coat, and put it on. It was similar to Henry's trench coat, but it hadn't gone through as much pain. Henry's death was the hardest for Ryan. Ryan was the first one out of all the Gifted to meet Henry. Ryan didn't call him Sir like everyone else did, he called him friend. When he died, Ryan lost the biggest cause he had been a part of. Joe had been his friend also, but he was too young for Ryan, he didn't understand the troubles of the universe, and the hardships that himself and Henry had gone through. Ryan left his trench unbuttoned. Though he didn't care much about his looks, Ryan liked the way the coat improved his appearance. Ryan walked out of his apartment and locked the door. He proceeded down the stairs and out the door, heading towards the main street of the small town he lived in.

As Ryan walked down the sidewalk he heard a shriek. Ryan stopped and listened, he heard a scream. The scream came from an alley up the street. Ryan began running towards the small alleyway that cut through the buildings lining the sidewalk. He reached the alleyway and took a tight left turn. He observed a man shoving a woman down and taking her belongings, along four other men with sticks, shovels, and various objects.

"Hey! Let her go!" Yelled Ryan

The man who had shoved the woman looked at Ryan, angered, yet grinning. The man nudged the woman to the side, and she ran down the alley, putting distance between herself and the men.

The man walked towards Ryan, and the men behind him followed suit, brandishing their weapons. Ryan's face showed no sign of fear, or worry, not a single emotion except determination was seen.

The man who had been holding the woman ran towards Ryan, he pulled his fist back and threw a punch at Ryan's nose. Ryan sidestepped the punch and put his hand on the man's wrist. He twisted the man's arm so that it was fully extended behind his back. Ryan brought his other hand up and slammed his elbow on the man's arm, breaking the elbow. Ryan then turned him around and kneed the man in the ribs, cringing at the crackle of the man's bones breaking. Ryan then picked up the man and tossed him to the side. The man's followers then began their attack. The first had a wooden board. He swung the board at Ryan, but Ryan ducked and dodged the swings. Ryan swung his forearm at the board, snapping it in half upon collision. Ryan ducked to the ground, swinging his foot around until it collided with the man's feet. As the man fell down, Ryan caught him, using the momentum to swing the man around. Ryan let go, throwing the man into one of his companions. The next attack came from a man with a shovel. Ryan ducked his first swing, then grabbed the man at the lapels and shoved him forward. Once the man was on the ground, Ryan swung his leg up and kicked the man in the stomach, knocking the air out of him. The remaining follower looked at Ryan and pulled a gun out of his pocket. Ryan put his hands in the air and looked the man straight in the eyes. In a flash of movement Ryan grabbed the gun and twisted it, breaking the man's wrist at the same time. He then punched him hard in the nose, knocking him to the ground.

Ryan left a not in the middle of the alley saying: "Woman was in danger, she is safe now, courtesy of Ryan Thampton."

Ryan straightened his coat, wiped the blood from his arms, and walked out of the alleyway. Ryan continued down the sidewalk he had left so hastily. Eventually the sidewalk led to small market, where all assortments of food and supplies were sold. Ryan walked towards a pizza place and headed inside. He waited in line and looked around. He saw pictures on the wall of the family that owned the place, smiling with rolling pins in hand, and aprons on. This brought a small smile to Ryan's face, a smile that hadn't come for a long time. To his side was a pinball machine, and an old fashioned soda dispenser. Ryan realized that at the speed his life went, he never had time to notice the small, but happy things.

Ryan reached the counter and ordered three slices of pepperoni pizza, breadsticks, and a medium soda. Ryan sat down at one of the small circular tables and set down his food. He took bite, after bite of his pizza, remembering the taste that he had long forgot. Ryan sipped his drink and remembered the taste of sugar, which when he first tasted two years ago, was sour. Where Ryan was from, sweetener came from a small plant that grew underwater, which to people from Earth, would taste extremely bitter. Ryan watched as young boy, about 11 years old, stood at the counter desperately searching through his pockets. Ryan put down his food, and walked to the kid, where he dropped five dollars in front of the cashier. Ryan gave the kid a smile, and walked back to his table. Ryan finished off his pizza and walked out of the store.

Ryan went for another walk, towards a large hill outside the town. He walked on a gravel path, listening to the sound of his shoes crunching down, and watching the small bit of the sun move down the horizon. Ryan also took a long look at the moon in the sky. This made Ryan remember all the planets, and stars, and galaxy's outside of this planet. This brought tears to Ryan's eyes, he had no ship, and no means of leaving. Ryan dreamed of exploring the universe again, like he had with Henry and Joe, when they were on their way to Earth to recruit more Gifted. Ryan had reached the top of the hill, where a small rock jutted out facing the sunset. Ryan walked to the edge of this rock and sat down, with his legs dangling over the ledge. He sat there, staring into sunset and the moonrise. Ryan broke out into tears again, everything that he had been holding in, being trapped on Earth, Henry's death, the loss of his friends, his lack of acquaintances, it all began pouring out of his eyes. Ryan looked on, trying to stop the sadness, but he couldn't.

Then he heard a whir from above him. Ryan looked up, as a spaceship he recognized very well, lowered itself from the sky. Ryan's tears stopped immediately, and his heart fluttered. A large smile began to grow on his face. Ryan's old friends had arrived. The ship slowly landed on the field in front of him, flattening the grass. Ryan ran down the hill towards the ship, a smile forming exponentially across his face. The ship's ramp slowly lowered itself, and as the doors opened, Ryan was already halfway up the ramp. In the doorway, stood Joe.

"Woah, someones been bored," said Joe.

"You have no idea," replied Ryan.

Then he and Joe walked inside of the ship, the ramp came up, the doors closed, and the ship left Earth.

### Preparations

After Ryan joined the team again, Joe sat him down and explained the virus, and what they had to do. Ryan was eager to do something he felt was important again, so he easily agreed to help. After this, Joe got everyone together.

"Ok, everyone," said Joe, "Myself, Hannah, John, and Maddy, all have these specially designed suits. Mine I built on my own, which is what allows me to do superhuman things, but I am not giving you all one of those. Each of you though, needs one of the suits like John, Maddy, or Hannah. For those of you who are gifted with powers, your suits have been designed to coexist with your abilities. For those of you who do not have abilities, the suites have been designed to maximize your performance in the field, you will be able to withstand extreme G-force, and most weaponry. John, Maddy, and Hannah, have kindly designed each of your suites, to work with your powers, and your look."

Once Joe finished is opening speech, John, Maddy and Hannah walked into the room, John was carrying a small box, which contained the different hexagons which held the suites.

"Our first presentation of the night," said John, ending with a pause, "is to our newest companion, Erin!"

Erin laughed and got out of his seat, walking up to John, who pulled out a hexagon and gave it to Erin. Erin took the object and pressed it to his chest, and watched it fold out over his body. The suit revealed a metallic grey with yellow stripes, the shape in the middle was a spiral. Erin looked down with both an amused, and marveled face. As John, Maddy and Hannah ushered Erin back to his seat, Maddy stepped up to present the next suit.

"Next up," said Maddy, extending the sound of the N, "we have not, one, but two, new gifted peoples in the room...Please welcome, Jake and Dylan!"

Dylan and Jake got out of their chairs and walked to Maddy, Hannah, and John. Maddy and Hannah presented Dylan and Jake with two hexagons, which they each pressed to their chests, allowing the amazing material to fold out over their bodies. Dylan's suit was a dark purple, with a black striping, in the middle was a black sun. Jake had a yellow suit, that contained an orange fireball in the middle. They both looked at themselves, taken by the brilliance of the materials.

"Dude, this is awesome," said Dylan.

"Glad you like it," said John.

They then pushed Dylan and Jake back to their seats.

"Now," said Hannah, "we have saved the best for last here, please welcome, Ryan Thampton."

Ryan walked to the front, where another hexagon waited. Once pressed to Ryan's chest, a grey suit appeared, with black striping along the rib cage.

"Now," said Joe, "we found something after you left, it was laying in the control room, there was a note, implying that this, go to you Ryan."

Once Joe finished this sentence he left the room, and returned with the coat that belonged to their deceased friend, Henry, formerly known as Sir. Ryan was stunned that Sir left his most prized possession for him. Ryan gently took the coat from Joe. He rubbed his fingers over the material, thick, and bullet proof. Ryan looked at all the pockets on the inside of the coat. He put the jacket on himself and felt the clothing adjust it's temperature to keep his body at just the right heat. Ryan took a look at himself.

"Thank you," said Ryan

"No, thank you," replied Joe.

Each member of the team had been prepared as far as clothing was concerned. Each member's suit had a colorization that looked well with their 'gifts,' and specific materials that coexisted with their powers. John's suit contained materials that helped clear the mind, and could expand when something was created under the suit. Maddy's suit could maintain flames around itself, without burning up. Hannah's suit could withstand the sound waves she created, however, everyones suit was designed to do this, so that if there was ever a mistake with Hannah, everyone would survive. Hannah's suit also had her sound wave controller, and nullifier built into it. Joe's suit hadn't changed a bit, it still contained all of it's previous wonders, along with any new improvements that Joe had added, and not told anyone about. Jake's suit contained reflective properties, so that the radiation would not injure him if he made a mistake. Joe had designed all the other suits to also have this ability, however he had no idea how hot Jake could make these rays, he could only make the suits as heat resistant as possible. Jake's suit also contained the ability for him to bring the rays to himself, and reflect them outwards into other opponents if needed. Dylan's suit was amazing, it could withstand the gravitational pull of a black hole, as to Dylan's body wouldn't be torn to pieces, or sucked in if he created a black hole too close to himself, or others on the team. Ryan and Erin's suits would defend them against the gifts of other team members as is possible, but they would also maximize their strength, and agility.

Once the team had time to get used to these new items of clothing, they all met in the conference room. The group began discussing how they could stop the sunlighy virus from spreading, and eventually kill it. The discussion went on for hours with no solution, until Ryan brought up a point.

"What was the name of that organization that attacked us that one time, Joe?" Ryan asked.

"Which one?" Said Joe with a chuckle.

"They were some sort of control freaks or something like that," replied Ryan.

"Oh yah, I can't remember their name, but they try to control species, and planets, they didn't think that Gifted were supposed to be part of the universe, so they attempted to stop us from recruiting others. They wanted to extinguish the Gifted, but after we saved the universe they deemed us worthy." Said Joe, in response to Ryan's pressing comments.

"The DUC," John jumped in.

"Well," said Ryan, "they have some brilliant scientists there, and control over hundreds of systems. They may have observed a weakness to the virus, we could find them and see if they have any idea how to stop it."

"Good idea," said Joe, "I'll see if I can find them."

Joe left the conference room and went to the flight deck, stopping to look through the window at the beautiful planet Earth, which they were currently in orbit around. Joe sat in his chair and opened up the computer. He searched for all the ships in the galaxy's that the DUC had control of. He discovered one extremely large ship, orbiting a red giant in the organization's leading galaxy. The ship contained communications with other ships, and planets that were located in all the organization's controlled systems. Joe smiled and set course for the ship.

Joe returned to the conference room and explained that he had set a course for the ship. He instructed everyone to prepare themselves for a possible fight, the organization was still angry that the Gifted found a way around their laws, and many of them deemed the Gifted still unworthy of existence.

Joe sat down in a chair inside his room, hoping that things would go well, and that he would be able to stop the virus. He was very concerned over the safety of his team. As Joe finished his thought, the ship's computer announced that they had arrived at the destination. Joe announced over the ship's microphone that it was time to leave. Once they were all standing at the docking bay, Joe instructed them all to press a button on their wrists, once pressed a mask folded out over their heads. This allowed them to breath in space. The suits also folded gloves over each member, so that not a single part of their body was too cold, or too hot.

Joe opened the hatch and they all jumped into space. The group began moving towards the large ship, which looked extremely small compared to the red giant star behind it. The group had to move quickly, so that their suits could maintain the right temperature. Joe and the team pushed towards the door on the outside of the other ship's docking bay. Joe pressed a button, and the two large metal doors opened. The pull of the artificial gravity inside the ship quickly dragged every team member inside. Erin, who had stayed on the team's ship, turned on the communication link.

"Are you guys inside?" He asked

"Yah, we just entered," said Joe.

As soon as they opened the door to the ship, and let their masks down, Joe knew something was wrong. There should be hundreds of people, patrolling the ship. There wasn't a single man in sight, not a soul in the wide, hundred yard docking bay. Joe told the team to proceed with caution, and they continued down the corridor. Each person on the team continually looked into each doorway on the way down the corridor. They were halfway down the hallway when the horror that John had in the back of his mind, appeared. He looked into a room and saw a pile of dead bodies. Hannah looked away and puked in the corner of the room. The bodies in the room were all very skinny. Around their mouths was blood and acid. The skin on the bodies had bubbles in some places, and other places where the skin had left exposed muscle and bones.

"Continue," said Joe.

The team continued down the hallway, heading towards the control room as instructed. They saw a number of rooms like the first one, until they came upon a cafeteria, where the bodies had an obvious different cause of death. The bodies in the cafeteria were each charred, completely black, almost like coal. These people had been flash burned, they would have been killed instantly. The group turned away and continued down the hall until they reached a door to the flight deck.

Dylan stood there, looking at Joe, who was standing at the controls to open the door. His gaze then bounced to Hannah, her beautiful figure, and gorgeous blonde hair. She had a stone gaze, that if penetrated would reveal sadness deep in her heart. She never lost her emotions, she was never hardened from all the people she killed, both on accident, or on purpose. Hannah felt terrible for the poor people and their family's who had been killed by whatever it was that left those horrifying bodies in each room. Dylan was hopelessly in love with Hannah, but he knew he would never have her. Dylan never got the girl, it was always his brother, Jake. He was the one with the charm, the one with the attractive hair, tempting eyes, and the appealing tan. Dylan was always thrown under the bus. He also knew that Jake had been recently eying Hannah. Dylan knew that all he could do was try to get to know Hannah better, and enjoy his time with her. Dylan snapped out of his thought process as Joe pressed the button, opening the door.

Inside the room was one man, sitting in a chair, with piles of bodies around him. The man turned around, and Hannah's heart dropped. The man's eyes were sad, and scarred by everything he had seen, he looked so sad and despaired that Hannah nearly broke into tears.

"What happened," said Maddy, stealing Joe's line.

"The virus, it killed everyone," said the man achingly.

It was then that the group heard the sound of footsteps behind them. A man stood in the hallway, crouched down, with his arms hanging in between his legs like an ape. He had blood around his mouth, but no acid, or puke.

"Hello," said the man, "have you come for the feast, because I am so hungry, and that little blonde looks like a tasty snack."

The man began to spastically charge at Hannah. Dylan quickly created a black hole, which the crazed man ran inside of, instantly sucked into the deadly vortex. Once the black hole closed, a delayed beam of radiation that Jake had created, collided with the remaining yellow and purple liquid which evaporated into nothingness. Hannah took a deep breath and nodded a thank you to Dylan. Dylan's pleasure was cut short, as he received an angry look from Jake.

Joe instructed the team to return to the docking bay, as he called in a medical transport tube from Erin. When the team arrived at the cargo bay, the medical transport awaited them. The team loaded the man into the tube, and Joe performed a scan for foreign bacteria, the test came out clean. Joe closed the tube and fired it towards the ship. The rest of the team followed the medical transport to the docking bay, and unloaded the man. They brought him to the conference room and gave him a plate of food, which he quickly devoured. It was only after second plate, and three cups of water, that the man slowed down.

"Now, are you going to tell us what happened?" Said Joe.

"Your not going to like it," said the man.

"I know, but I still need to hear it, and you need to get it off your chest."

"Are you sure?"

"Let's start with your name."

"My name is Smith, Smith, Jones."

"Okay, Smith, now tell us your story."

"Fine,"

That was when Smith began the telling of the horrors that brought him to his current condition.

"Our ship had gone to a planet in one of our controlled galaxies, the planet was infected by the sunlight virus. We were orbiting the planet, searching for a weaknesses of the virus. We found nothing, we could only watch in horror as the population of the planet dropped to zero. Once the planet's population died, the curtain exploded out of the planet, shooting the virus through our ship towards the next planet. The viewing deck was exposed because the shields weren't up, and all the people there were infected. I was inside a bunker, working on an engine problem at the time, so I was not exposed. When I heard the screaming in the hallway, I took a plasma rifle off the wall, and left the room to see what was going on. The virus had turned the men into cannibals. Once they bit one man, the other would become infected, and would fight back towards the other one. It was horrible. I only survived by shooting them down with my rifle. I moved backwards towards a sealed off bunker where a control override was located, shooting off the people who used to be my comrades. Then came a point where the majority of the men stopped moving towards me. They all leaned over and began puking, and throwing up. I was repulsed and ran to the punker, insuring I touched nothing. Once I reached the room, I found a crazed man inside, he had set the ship on a collision course with the red giant we know orbit. I shot the man and was only able to stop the ship from colliding with the star, but was stuck in a gravitational orbit with it. I decided I would try to kill all the virus exposed men on the ship, if it would work, I could save those who would come across us. So I pushed the dead infected man out of the bunker, using a mop. I then triple locked the bunker doors. I went to the control panel and turned off every shield, including the heat shields. This allowed the red giant to flash burn everything inside of the ship that was not metal, or myself sealed in a bunker. When the shields had repaired themselves, and were back up, I exited the bunker. The extreme heat had killed the virus in every man, and burned their insides. The men who were close to windows, or thin walls, were charred like coal. I went to the command center and attempted communications with other ships, but the other people all thought I was infected, and left me to die. I haven't eaten for four days, and haven't drank water for two, I was able to find juice that was in a refrigerator that couldn't have been infected, but nothing else. Thank God you found me. Oh, and so you know, the reason I was demoted to repairing engines, is because I cheated and put in ten votes for Gifted to be worthy of existing in our galaxy, when the vote limit was one."

Joe and the rest of the team stared, both Hannah and Maddy had left the room during the story to vomit, but eagerly come back to hear the story finish off. Joe and Ryan had continually given Dylan, Jake, Maddy, and John thoughtful looks. Joe and Maddy got the meaning of these looks, but Dylan and Jake were still puzzled at the intent of these expressions.

"So the virus can be eliminated from extreme heat?" Said Joe

"No," replied Smith, "solar radiation removes it's cellular structure, and then flash burns it. However the extreme heat can cause the virus to slow, it will not progress through extreme temperatures. It seemed like your friend who created the black hole got rid of it though."

"Well, then," said Joe, "I believe there is someone here who can slow the virus, two people who can eliminate the virus, and someone who can stop it's infectivity."

"I am sensing a plan here," said Ryan.

"As am I," said John with a sly grin.

"Oh yes," said Joe, "boy do I have a plan, boys and girls, lets get to work."

### To Stop A Plague

Joe told everyone to go off to bed, and get some rest for the next day. Dylan headed off to his room, to get some sleep after he contemplated exactly what had happened that day. Dylan was very proud of saving Hannah from the infected man, and he saw the anger from his brother. Jake was angry that Dylan had actually stood up for himself for once. More then often that was the reason that Jake got friends, girls, and cool stuff. Dylan opened the door to his room and shut it tight. He turned around and saw Hannah looking at the pictures on his desk. He had drawn sketches of everyone on the team when he was bored a few nights ago, he took extra special care of drawing Hannah.

"Did you draw these?" Hannah asked.

"Uh, yah," said Dylan, "but what are you doing here."

"Oh! Haha, I just wanted to ask you something that I can't get my mind around."

"What would that be?"

"Where do the things that go into your black holes go?"

"Oh, it's actually really cool, you see the gravitational vortex, stretches the objects out extremely far, and then mass compresses them, turning them into really small particles. But in the sudden snap of the hole shutting, a small heat wave is created in the area, and any particle left is burned up."

"Wow, thats really cool."

"Thanks."

"Well, bye then," and Hannah left the room.

Dylan sat on his bed and hoped that Hannah hadn't seen the massive amount of blushing he jus performed. Dylan looked at his desk and saw a note, the note said: "Thank you for protecting me, that was both kind, and brave of you."

Dylan blushed again, happy that she had taken real notice of him. Dylan laid down on his bed and closed his eyes.

Outside of Dylan's room, Hannah stood and exhaled, she left the note because she wanted to be honest to Dylan, that she really was very thankful, and because she felt bad for him. He always had his twin brother who was pushing him down. Hannah left the door and walked towards her room, she heard her footsteps echoing down the hallway, since most of the others were sleeping. She walked past her room and took a left down another hallway. She reached the end of the hall, and walked into the kitchen. In the refrigerator, she found a large watermelon, one of the fruits they stalked up on before leaving Earth. Hannah's voice controller had been upgraded, it was now a strip that was the same color of her skin, it had been almost tattooed onto her neck. The controller was on her left wrist, and had been colorized like her skin, and stuck to her arm. Almost tattooed like the thing on her neck. They were both very comfortable, and one couldn't tell they were even there unless you looked really hard. Hannah tapped her wrist once and placed the watermelon on a thick cutting board. She gave small squeal, and a sound wave cut the watermelon in half. Through a series of small noises, Hannah cut the watermelon into triangular slices. Once complete, Hannah tapped her wrist with two fingers. She put her hand in front of her mouth and breathed, she didn't feel any cutting, or burning, so she knew it was working. Hannah took two pieces of watermelon and walked down another hallway. Eating the first slice of watermelon, and tasting the wonderful juices come out of the fruit. Hannah found the large steel door and unlocked it with her fingerprint. She walked into the massive training room and took off her coat.

"Start training coarse, advanced," Hannah yelled.

Hannah watched the thin holographic beings come out of the ground, some were armed, some were not. Hannah watched them take positions. An entire battle ground appeared, which looked to Hannah like a small town in the middle of the desert, there were about three small houses.

"Activate," yelled Hannah.

The first hologram jumped out of behind a wall and fired two shots at Hannah, these shots wouldn't kill her, or injure her, they would just give her an electric sting. Hannah rolled to the side, dodging the two shots. She ran behind a house, where she found a plasma rifle tucked in the sand. Hannah looked around the corner, taking notice of her targets, three holograms crouched with weapons behind a cement block, the rest were behind other houses. Hannah would take them out first. Hannah tapped her wrist twice, and screamed, cutting the roofs of the houses, and destroying the three beings that were behind the house. Hannah tapped her wrist with two fingers again and jumped out from behind the building, rolling along the ground. She crouched and quickly spotted out one of the figures behind the cement block. She fired, and hit the figure in the head, it disappeared. Hannah rolled back into cover. Hannah heard footsteps behind her, and a hologram stood with a saber. Hannah slid under the hologram's legs and stood up behind it, butting it in the head with her rifle, causing the figure to disappear. There were four more left. She used a small bucket to propel herself onto the roof of one of the houses. As she ran on top of the roof, she fired several shots at the figures behind the cement block, destroying one of them. She jumped the gap between the house she was on, and the one in front of it. She rolled on top of the other house, as two shots were fired at her. The shots flew over her head. She reached the end of the roof and jumped off. She landed on one of the figures shoulders and quickly fired a shot through it's head watching it disappear. Hannah turned around and punched the figure next to her in the face, kicked it down, and shot it. The remaining hologram fired shots at her as it moved to the side. Hannah reached for the saber next to her, and threw it at the figure, intercepting the hologram in it's path, disintegrating it.

"Training course, complete," a robotic female voice echoed through the room, "accuracy is: 99 percent. Need of powers is: 11 percent. Agility is: 89 percent. Planning is: 76 percent. Overall score is: 96 percent."

Hannah mumbled a victory cry under her breath. She walked to the wall and picked up a towel, which she used to wipe the sweat off her face. She opened the door, and walked down the hallway towards her room. She reached the door, and opened it up, looking at her room. She walked into the bathroom, and stepped into the shower, cleaned herself up, and got into her PJ's. She got into her bed, and laid there, staring at the ceiling, until her body gave up, and pushed her into slumber.

In the conference room, Joe and Ryan sat at a round table with a map projected onto the table. Different planets had a yellow ring around them, these were the planets that were infected. Joe and Ryan were looking for a pattern, some sort of repeating action of the virus. That was their problem, the virus was completely random. They couldn't find a single pattern. The only thing they saw was that the virus didn't stay on one planet, and go to another at the same time, once it had infected everyone, it waited until they were all dead, and left. That was how so many planets had been infected. Joe looked at the graphs on the wall in front of him, and noticed one thing. None of the animals had been infected. This meant that the virus could have been engineered for people and other species of humans. Many humans had gone through immune system changes, and hight changes due to the different planets they were born on. Though most humans were like they are on earth, some look slightly different, due to less gravity, or different atmospheres. Joe turned to Ryan.

"Can you do a search over every single web base throughout the galaxies, for recent medicines, created around the time the virus was released."

Ryan pulled up a screen on the computer and found hundreds of medicines, he gave Joe a curious look.

"Discard all results that deal with medication improvements, or medication dealing with diseases that already have a cure."

After doing this, only three results were left. The one that was most viewed was for a cancer cure.

"Read that Ryan," said Joe.

Ryan began to read the article.

"32 year old Dr. Timmy Hothlan is a child prodigy. By the young age of 23, Timmy received a doctorate in medicines and neuroscience. Timmy Hothlan began work on a cure for cancer, after discovering that an uncovered section of the brain has the ability to control the workings of the human body. The medicine he was creating would make this portion of the brain take the thoughts of both killing, and rebuilding the right cells to fight cancer. Many scientists are dumbfounded by how Timmy Hothlan was able to figure this out. Large amounts were concerned over the fact that their brains would be affected by this medicine so much, but Timmy asked them if they would rather have cancer, or be uncomfortable. Timmy worked hard and was a great office mate, until Jacklin Fores, a current prisoner on Cagreel prison, murdered his brother. Ever since the murder, Timmy began to work intensely on his medicine. He also began using strange chemicals that were not typically seen inside of commercial medicine. On his way to Cagreel prison, to test the medicine on a prisoner who had cancer, Timmy's transport was lost contact with. He was likely on Cagreel when the so called sunlight virus was released. And he is currently deceased, along with Jacklin Fores, and the rest of the prisoners on Cagreel, may they rest in peace."

"Hey Ryan," said Joe

"Yes," Replied Ryan

"I think we know where this virus originated, can you find the location of his lab?"

Ryan looked over a few pages on the computer before he pulled one up. Joe read over the page.

"He was smart building his home so far away from where he would release the virus. That virus is on a light planet, in a light galaxy, a planet I know very well."

"What do you mean?" Said Ryan

"I used to live there, I haven't come back for a long time, Anna lives there too, she is it's queen now."

"Anna?" asked Ryan, he had never heard her name before.

"Yes," said Joe, "I didn't build this suit to save the world, I built it to save the damsel in distress, who I haven't seen for a long time, I wonder if she still thinks I'm dead?"

"What?" Yelled Ryan with a confused tone.

"It's confusing, I saved her, but to everyone on that planet it looked like I died, remember when you saw me fall and hit the ground, and you and I got recruited by Henry?"

"Yes, I remember," said Ryan.

"Well, to everyone on my home planet, I died."

"Oh, I see."

Joe and Ryan closed up for the night and Ryan set the ship on course for the light planet, which had been renamed to Stortion, Ryan just didn't tell Joe because it would make him feel odd. Joe was in his bed now, with his black suit, held over his head, folded up into a small sphere. Joe had created a genetic magnetic pull of his body to the suit. It would always float nearby him unless he turned it off, that way no one could take it. If anyone touched him, or the suit while he was sleeping, the suit would fold over his body and shock him until he woke up. Joe dazed off to sleep, as did Ryan in the room next door, both of them ready for the next day, when they would reach planet Stortion.

### Galactic Hero

The team woke up that morning, one after the other, until John, the last to awake, entered the kitchen. Everyone else had already ate, except John. He made a large breakfast burrito and walked into the conference room. There, Joe had gathered the entire team to be briefed. Joe and Ryan explained how Timmy Hothlan had most likely created the virus. How he had died on Cagreel, and how they had found his lab. To Joe's dislike, Ryan brought up the fact that the ruler of the planet they were going to, was Joe's former love. On the outside of the planet was a point of entry. About 100 of these surrounded the planet, exactly 100 miles out from the planet's atmosphere. Joe pulled the ship up next to the P.O.E. and activated the communications.

"Hello, queen Anna Reynolds greets you, I am going to preform a quick scan of you and your crew to insure you aren't criminals or carrying anything dangerous."

"Go ahead," said Joe.

A red light appeared out of the P.O.E. showing that the scanner had been activated.

"I have scanned your entire ship, however I have noticed materials and weapons that require a license, can I please have your license? Also, who is the 26 year old male? His records show that he is deceased."

"Ma'am," said Joe through the microphone, "there is no proof that Joe Stortion is dead."

Everyone aboard the ship heard the woman nearly choke on her own breath through the speakers.

"You can't be Joe Stortion," said the woman, "he died eight years ago."

"Would you like to preform a DNA test ma'am?" Asked Joe.

Another light shined from the P.O.E. and this time Joe saw the light moving over his figure.

"You have his records, his face, and his exact body structure, I still don't believe it. But if you're really him, the queen will know, you have a required appointment with her now, soon as you land."

"Understood," said Joe, "here is the license."

Ryan walked over to the control panel and placed his hand on the scanner, Ryan's hand print triggered the license on the screen and sent it to the woman on the other side of the communications.

"It's genuine," said the woman.

The laser gate that guarded the planet gave way, and Joe slowly pushed the throttle forward. The woman began speaking again before the com-link was cut off.

"Hope you enjoy your time here, welcome to planet Stortion."

The link was then cut off. Joe turned and looked at the group behind him, they were all trying to hold back giggles.

"Planet Stortion?" John asked with a smile.

"Ryan," said Joe prolonging the Y.

"Yes?" Ryan asked.

"Why didn't you tell me that they named the planet after me?" Joe asked with a frustrated expression on his face.

Ryan burst into laughter as did the rest of the group. Joe looked at them and shook his head as a small smirk grew on his face, until he started laughing with the rest of the team. The laughter slowly settled down, and Joe flew the ship into the beautiful planet below. The ship entered the planet's atmosphere, and Joe saw other ships, entering from the nearby point of entry. Joe followed the blue lasers that created a railing for space ships. He followed the rail down to a landing station. The flaps on the bottom of the ship opened up, allowing three pairs of landing gear to fold easily out of the ship. The jets under the ship turned on, slowing the descent, until the ship landed perfectly on the station's landing pad. Joe and the rest of the team walked to the exit of the ship, where the doors opened and the ramp protruded. Joe had already started walking down the ramp before it even touched the ground.

Joe looked outside and saw hundreds of camera's and reporters, along with Anna. She was dressed in a beautiful silver dress, she obviously kept to her ways, she wasn't wearing a single bit of makeup. Her dark blonde hair flowed down over her shoulder in a braid. She looked at Joe and smiled, obviously trying to keep up her royal look, when she deeply wanted to freak out. Joe stepped forward and bowed, not breaking eye contact for a second.

"Your majesty," Joe said with a joking tone in his voice.

"Wow," Anna said, "last time I saw you, you barely had the self esteem to talk to me. Apparently you only had the guts to go to another planet, and save my life. Obviously your self esteem hasn't changed a bit," she added with a sarcastic tone in her voice.

Joe laughed, as did she, then the beautiful queen Anna ran to Joe, and hugged him, both of them drowning in laughter and tears.

"Now come with me," said Anna.

Joe, and the rest of the team, followed Anna to an air bus, where they stepped inside and were rushed through the sky, arriving at Anna's home, where they left the bus and followed her into the house. Here, Anna sat them all down, and gave each of them food and drink, personally.

"So, who named the planet after me?" Asked Joe.

"My step father, and mother, they were both so thankful that I survived, so they wanted to honor your memory, by naming the planet after you."

"Wow," said Joe

Joe and Anna talked for hours, catching up to each other on their lives. Laughing and crying was involved, along with Anna's insistent hugging. Eventually Joe brought up the real reason why he was on Stortion. He told her about how they were stopping the virus. He had already told Anna about the team and Sir, and how they had saved many lives from the most dangerous man in the universe. He explained how the creation of the virus may have been in the lab of Timmy Hothlan, a former resident of the planet. Though she was sad to depart with her long lost friend, she arranged for a bus to pick Joe and his team up. Joe and his team were picked up in the bus, and attempted to avoid the camera crews, until they arrived at the large laboratory that stood on top of a mountain. The team put on sealed suits, so that any strains of the virus remaining in the lab could not harm them. They walked to the front of the building, and opened the door.

### Dedicated to...

Stephanie, Eden, and Mathew Mendrala, for being supportive the whole way through,

Madison Walinchus, for giving me great ideas, and uplifting words,

Adam Price, for pushing me to be creative, and doing the cover artwork,

Race Mouty, for all the wonderful ideas and foreshadowings,

Jeremy Goldman, for the complete, and stone cold honesty,

and Weston Gardner, for inspiration.

...Extra special thanks to Madison Walinchus, Jeremy Goldman and Adam Price for the use of their first names.

### The Lab

Jake was standing next to Ryan, watching Joe open the door. Jake was having troubles with what he wanted to be in this team. All he had known was a life of running, and ruling over his brother. Though Dylan saw it differently, Jake had never seen himself and his brother as equals. He always believed himself to be superior to his brother. He was better looking, more confident, more likable, and more powerful. Jake was taken by surprise when Dylan stood up for that hot girl, Hannah a few days ago. It actually gave Jake a hint of jealous rage. Jake was not attracted to Hannah what so ever because of her personality. In reality, Jake didn't care. All he knew was that she was hot, and that was all he cared about. Jake's parents would never care for why he was attracted to a girl, at least his father wouldn't. Jake's father left Jake and Dylan when they were small boys. Jake had looked up to his father until he left. His kind and compassionate mother was always too nice for Jake, she was the one who Dylan looked up to. His mother had died in a car accident, with a drunk driver who ended up being his father. That was why Jake and Dylan started running, if anyone came to take them, their powers could be revealed, and that was too dangerous. Recently Jake had learned that he could stop a massive virus that was killing millions of people. Jake felt that he should have more power, due to the need for his abilities. He was getting very agitated that he wasn't getting the power he deserved. In fact, Jake wasn't even sure if he wanted to help save all of those people, what had they ever done for him. The world, let alone the universe had never given Jake anything. It had taken away his parents, his life, and now his placement on the chain of leadership.

Jake continued looking to Joe, as his thoughts wound down. He looked to the right and saw his brother talking to Hannah, as Joe continued picked the lock on the door. Dylan was smiling as he spoke to her, managing to find happiness in such a dire time. Jake moved his gaze to the left, noticing the tall, broad shouldered Ryan standing, looking at Joe with a determined face, but a slight grin could be seen at the corner of his mouth. His trench coat flustered behind him, and his hands sat in his pockets, which Jake was sure were stocked with weaponry. As Jake continued his observations, and power hungry thoughts, Dylan talked to Hannah about Joe.

"I can't believe that he was kind enough to that," exclaimed Dylan.

"I know, I lost my father, but Joe is trying to take his place, he can never be my real father, but he sure is the best friend I have ever had," Hannah said looking happily at Joe.

"I haven't known him nearly as long as you, but he sure seems to be a great leader, and I have seen the way he acts with you, Ryan, Maddy and John. What happened with you guys that makes him so different around you?"

"To be honest, we never shared much good times together. He Ryan and, and Sir, used to be the greatest of explorers." Said Hannah, with a saddened look.

"Sir?" Asked Dylan.

"His name is really Henry, he died. He was the one who recruited all of us, he was the one who saved me. Maddy and John were saved by him, Ryan was given a purpose, and Joe was given a life, he truly lives on in the things that he did."

Dylan did not know what to say, so he took the risk of putting his arm around Hannah, who surprisingly embraced it. She then said thank you and broke free of the emotional moment.

Ryan was watching Joe from behind John and Maddy, who were engaged in a small game of: "What sort of ridiculous things could be in the lab?" Ryan was happy, he was doing something good, and it brought him joy. Ryan made sure to keep his straight face as well as he could, as to not look like he was enjoying chaos. But he did enjoy helping people.

Joe got the door open, and the entire group looked closely. They were all surprised by how clean the lab looked. There were microscopes and high tech equipment in one room, why in the next were hundreds of papers. Joe pulled out his scanner, and checked the room for foreign bacteria, the results came up empty. While Ryan, John, Maddy and Hannah looked in the equipment room, Joe went straight to the room full of papers, followed by Erin. Dylan and Jake contemplated for a few minutes and then went to the technology room, thinking it was more interesting. In the room with all the papers, Joe and Erin searched through tons of loose pieces of paper, white boards, and text books. They were each full of genetic diagrams, mathematical equations, and words that neither Erin nor Joe, understood. After searching for five or ten minutes, Erin discovered a thick book, looking to be very old. When Erin opened the book, there were dates on each page. The pages all had personal documentations on them, things like: "My mother's birthday is today," "I fired my lead physicist today," "My, I hate green beans," and things of the sort. It wasn't until Erin found two entries, with extremely different titles, that he began reading all the way through the documentations.

"My brother came to my work today to check on progress with my cure. I am getting very close to having a final cure for cancer. My brother and I discussed my work for a while, and then we left to go for lunch. At lunch we discussed family matters while eating a nice, large pizza. I honestly don't know what I would do without my brother, he's my best friend."

The next entry was completely different.

"A man killed my brother yesterday on his way home from lunch, simply because he refused to give him his car keys. I swear on my life that I will find my revenge, through my knowledge. The cancer research shall stop, I will find a way to kill this man, in the most painful way possible."

Erin showed these entries to Joe, who was equally despaired at what had happened to this poor man. A man who had wanted vengeance so bad, that he would destroy the lives of millions to get it.

In the room full of machinery, nothing had been found, until John dared to open the MRI machine. Inside was a body, strapped down to a table, the skin had been completely eaten away and the muscles were beginning to dissolve. Ryan ushered everyone out of the room and told Joe what John had found. That was when it hit him, when Joe discovered the pattern of the virus.

"Ryan! I figured it out," yelled Joe.

"What, what is it?" Asked Ryan.

"The virus isn't random at all, Timmy was originally going to deactivate it once his revenge was taken. The virus is making it's way throughout different planets, seemingly random, getting closer to this planet, then farther from this planet, but I know why. The first people the virus infected were the prisoners and wardens on Cagreel. This means that the home DNA of those people is who the virus evolved to take control over. The virus is jumping to the home planets of the people in the prison, the places they spent the majority of their time. Which means that it's going to the nearest planets that contain the prisoners or wardens origins."

Ryan looked at Joe, his eyes opening as he realized what Joe had said, and how much sense it made. He decided that he would test the theory back inside the ship. That was when they heard the whirring of war ships outside. Joe and Ryan ran out of the lab to see two drop ships and three small fighter ships.

"Put your hands up, and knees on the ground, under the authority of D.U.C." A voice said through speakers on the outside of the ship."

"Oh, thats what it's called," said Joe, "Department of Universal Control, what a peaceful name."

"Under act three, verse four of the existence contract, these people are allowed existence in the universe." Yelled Ryan.

"That was under leader Zog Venture, who recently died due to a plague." Said the voice

That was when Smith came running out of an air- bus pulling into the area.

"I represent Zog Venture, under default act 17, verse 41: A cadet in the position of which all superiors are deceased, is promoted to full control over crew, and inheritance over previous leader of squadron, or if in severe conditions, the DUC itself." Said Smith, out of breath from quickly reciting the law.

"Smith Jones is that you," said the voice.

"Affirmative," said Smith.

"I thought we left you to die."

Smith was now at a realization that the DUC knew he had survived and simply wanted him to die there, he didn't know why, but it made his heart sink.

"This changes things," said the voice, "it appears that instead of putting you in custody, I will have to eliminate you."

There was a crackle and the speaker shut off. The two drop ships opened six doors on either side, and men suited in full body armor jumped out, using jet packs to break their fall. The fighters and the empty drop ships now surrounded the circle of Gifted. Maddy tilted her head down and looked straight ahead, and began a light jog towards the first soldier, who was carrying a laser sword. He saw that he was a target, and selected Maddy as his. Maddy picked up speed running towards him, flames licking at her hair, until she jumped into the air,and spun, fully igniting her flame and slamming into the man. She stood up and looked back at the team, Joe nodded, and she nodded back.

Joe hammered the sphere, held in a small containment on his chest. The black suit rippled out over his body, just in time for a soldier to fire a shot at him. The laser ricocheted off of his suit and Joe ducked, swinging his arm out, as two black darts nailed the man in the chest.

John ran forward, creating a shield in front of him. He jumped up and slammed it down on a soldier carrying a saber. A troop with a rifle fired at him from a distance and John placed his shield in front of him, blocking the fire. A knife then appearing in his hand, he threw the knife at the trooper. John then turned around, with a handgun firing two shots at a trooper behind him. He used his headset to communicate with Maddy and launched a trail of oil at a line of shielded shoulders. Maddy lit the oil in midair and the line was burned.

Ryan pulled two plasma guns out of his coat and jumped over the first soldier who swung at him with a saber. Ryan turned around and kicking him in the gut as he landed. Two men fired shots at him from a distance. Ryan got hit twice, which was all his suit could take, he managed to dodge the rest. Once Ryan reached the shooters, he jumped in the air, spreading his legs and kicked both men at the same time, before he turned around and stunned them both.

Hannah had managed to steal a saber from one of the soldiers and was engaged in short ranged combat with another troop. She slashed down and was blocked, her opponent slashed at her side which she blocked easily. She pushed her weapon forward, creating tension, then shoved her foot forward kicking the man back. In the short bit of time she had she swiped her wrist with two fingers, and screamed at the man, instantly obliterating him.

Meanwhile Maddy was having an air battle with soldiers who were flying using their jet packs. She was having trouble defending herself from both the soldiers, and the fighter's, which were rotating around her and the team, firing shots at them. One of the drop ships fired a missile, which Joe quickly created an energy shield around, containing the explosion.

"Hannah!" Yelled Joe.

Joe had grouped Dylan and Jake into an open area. Jake was surrounded by black spots, and Dylan had created some small pot holes where his black holes had taken the ground away. Hannah turned around and screamed, vaporizing the group of soldiers she was battling. She sprinted towards Joe.

Hannah was confronted by a soldier and she jumped, planting her foot on his head and kicking him down as she jumped off. She reached Joe and could barely hear him over the noise of the battle. She looked over to her right as Erin and Smith were excellently defending themselves against the troops. Smith seemed to know all of the DUC moves, and exactly what to counter them with. In the distance over the horizon police lights flared. Hannah looked at Joe and noticed him pointing to the ships and explaining something. Hannah deducted that he wanted herself, Dylan, and Jake to get rid of the ships. Dylan would take the three fighters, because his vortex would only be able to take the three small ships. Hannah would take one of the drop ships, and Jake would destroy the other. Hannah set her voice to maximum, something she hadn't done for a very long time. Joe put his hand up and motioned with his fingers. Three, two, one. Hannah screamed and a sound wave shot out at the ship, with the force of a nuclear bomb, focused into one short shockwave. Jake made a clenching motion with his hands and a beam of sunlight shot down and hammered the ship. Dylan spread his arms wide over his head and a black hole sucked the three fighters into it. Hannah's sound wave destroyed the ship in an explosion, which was followed by Jake's ship exploding, and then the hot, loud snap of Dylan's black hole closing. Ash fell from the sky.

The rest of the team was now attempting to use methods that would only put the soldiers unconscious, instead of killing them. The police arrived and cuffed the men who were still alive. They were under orders of Queen Anna, they were not allowed to harm the Gifted unless they were on an offensive. The threat was first seen come from the DUC, so the gifted were safe, the short battle, was over.

The team left the grounds to the safety of Queen Anna where their wounds were healed. Now that Joe knew what the path of the virus was, he knew where to go, and that started with returning to his ship. Joe said his goodbyes to Anna, which was hard for both of them, and was ended in a waterfall of tears. Joe instructed Anna with ever precaution she could take to keep the planet safe if the virus reached it. Joe and the team then left for the ship, and left the planet that dwelled under the name of a hero.

### VORTEX

Joe led the team on, through galaxy's, planets, and stars, following the legacy of each man who died in the prison where the virus originated. They found files, items, and relatives who could lead them to find the virus. All the time running from the D.U.C. The group eventually stopped, rotating outside of a planet, that was the next victim of the virus.

"My friends, I know that this will not be like the last time one of our own gave a speech, because I don't intend to die today," said Joe. "In fact, I should skip this all together, our objective is to destroy the virus, no matter what. I am going to go over the plans with you all now, so good luck, and victory!"

The group cheered, and prepared for what was about to come. Maddy, Joe, Ryan, Hannah and John all hoped that it wouldn't turn out as it had last time they had encountered an evil, though they never had met with a biological one such as this.

Joe laid out a map on the table. A 360 degree view of the planet, and the space around it. Joe explained how John, Ryan, Erin, Hannah and Smith would patrol the close outside of the planet, to insure that the D.U.C. didn't interfere. Maddy, Dylan and Jake would create a semicircle towards the direction the virus would enter. Joe would stay on the planet below, and would serve as the last hope for the people of the planet, if the sunlight virus reached the planet before they could stop it. Joe showed the group a room which contained large suits of armor.

"These," said Joe, "are your flight suits, the surface will be extremely hot as to avoid the virus reaching your body, hopefully it will burn before it touches you. They will allow you to move easily and freely through space."

John walked up to one of the suits. On the back was a panel, John opened the panel and discovered a small red button. He pressed the button and the suit opened up in the back. John stepped in, and the suit closed up around him. John's face was grim as he nodded his head. Ryan, Erin, Smith, and Hannah, stepped up to suits and did the same. They walked away to the ship's hangar, leaving Joe, Maddy, Dylan, and Jake. Maddy stepped up to her suit and put it on, she then looked at the two sixteen year old boys, that was how old she was when she first experienced death, she prayed the two boys wouldn't have to. She walked away as Dylan and Jake put their suits on. Joe then walked to the first hangar. John, Ryan, Smith, Erin and Hannah were standing over the docking bay. Joe then muscled up some courage and asked:

"Are you ready?"

Hannah quickly responded, "I've always been ready."

The group then nodded at Joe. Joe walked to the side of the bay, and closed the door behind him. Through the slitted window he could see his group of friends, standing over a large door, waiting to be released into the wild vacuum of space. Joe smiled, and pulled the big red lever next to him. The door slid away and the group fell into space. Joe watched them fall away, and then closed the door and walked towards the other side of the ship. Three of the Gifted stood in waiting. Joe spoke with them, and pulled another lever, firing them into space, to await the virus. Joe walked to another portion of the ship, stepped in a small escape shuttle, and fired himself down to the planet below.

Maddy, Dylan and Jake, watched as the deathly, yellow horizon approached through the blackness of space.

Maddy took off. The suit she wore slowly, but surly igniting into flame. Maddy's fire was different than normal flame, it didn't need oxygen to burn. Maddy pushed herself towards the yellow cloud. Inside her helmet she could hear herself breathing, the deep in and out of her lungs, pulling in oxygen from the suit. Maddy could see small droplets of sweat fall off her face onto the glass in front of her eyes. She averted her vision and focused on the yellow cloud. Her heart pounded in her chest, the slow thump of her pulse pumping through her ears, and the world around her falling into a numb horizon. She kept pushing forward towards the virus, choking up in her throat, finding it hard to breath. She continued pushing forward, the massive yellow cloud approaching her. She slowed down to a stop, and looked straight into the cloud. Then she straightened up, and fired a massive stream of flame into the cloud. The cloud was pushed around her, as if Maddy was a knife, cutting the cloud into two pieces, each piece headed towards Jake or Dylan. The two boys who waited in terror for what they had to do.

In the planet below Joe looked to the sky, seeing the cloud and streams of fire outside the planet. People behind him screamed and Joe began ushering them, and running to safety, turning his head occasionally to see what was happening above.

John, Ryan, Erin, Smith and Hannah watched the cloud also, curious as to what would happen. Suddenly, seven battleships came out of warp speed, extremely close to the group. From the side of the ship, doors began to open, and legions of soldiers flew out of the ship, jets billowing from their backs. All the soldiers approaching the small group of five. Hannah would have destroyed them all by know, but she couldn't use her gift in space, it would destroy her helmet and she would be unable to breath. As a substitute, Hannah drew two large plasma swords off of her back. She launched through space, jets pushing her forward. She came up to the army, and slammed both of her swords down on the first soldier.

"Time to go to work," said Hannah, "the DUC should have learned by now."

John instantly had two long chains, flying out and attaching to two soldiers, pulling them backwards into Ryan, who slammed them both in the heads. Erin flew from side to side, firing shots at the soldiers. Smith pulled two grenades out of his back and tossed them to a group of approaching troops. Ryan had two small machine guns, and was firing plasma shots at the approaching soldiers, mixed with acrobatic stunts. Just as Erin knocked out a man in a fist fight, a shot was fired, that slammed Erin in the head. He looked up and noticed a small crack in his visor and was worried that oxygen was leaking from his suit. He spoke over the mic that he had been hit, but his oxygen wasn't running low, however another hit would put him down.

Dylan and Jake were watching Maddy cut the cloud into two parts, two parts that would approach each of them. Dylan was looking straight at the cloud, he could hear what was being said over the microphone, he knew that the DUC had showed up and was engaged with Hannah's group, and that Joe was evacuating citizens. Dylan's heart was growing in pace, he felt like it was beating at 100 miles per hour, as the yellow cloud approached him.

Just as John felt things were moving to their side in the battle against the DUC a black figure rose from the top of one of the ships. John looked closer at the figure, and his eyes grew wide, he thought that Joe killed the man. It was the ninja, that he fought with Maddy and Erin in Las Vegas. As John looked, gawking, a fist came down hard on his head, and he flew to the side, quickly he turned and shot the man with a plasma pistol, before it quickly disappeared.

The ninja pulled two katana's off of his back, and purple electric plasma rippled out over the blades. John rolled his eyes back in exhaustion. Golden sparks flew out of John's hands and two swords were created, these ones shone with a golden material that glowed when John created something. It wasn't magic, but it seemed magical to John, and he knew it was good. The ninja obviously noticed the challenge, and shot towards John. The purple blade flashed towards John's head, and he quickly moved both of his swords up over his head to parry the attack away from his body. The ninja then engaged in a series of quick attacks which John was barely able to evade. John struck back, moving up, down, to the side, jumping and spinning, all of which were quickly blocked.

Maddy gritted her teeth, still pushing fire into the seemingly never ending cloud. Jake was floating, and narrowed his eyes, as his hands tingled while he prepared to use his power.

Hannah shot through the battle, cutting down soldiers like fly's and skillfully firing shots at the battleships. John and the ninja were caught in a hold up, each pushing at each other with their weapons. Ryan was in the middle of a circle of soldiers. With each man he shot down, another would appear. Erin and Smith stood back to back fending off soldiers with whatever weapons they could use.

Joe was still working on pushing the populations of cities into bunkers, houses, and buildings, to put them into the safest places the planet could provide.

Jake and Dylan were fretting as the cloud was getting closer.

John pushed with all his might, and the ninja shot backwards into the void of space, he quickly regained control and shot back towards John, slashing sideways at his head. John ducked the blade, and slashed at the ninja's torso, cutting open the suit. The ninja's black visor opened, and John saw the face, and was terrified. The ninja had never been alive, John saw a face built of just muscle and bone, hooked up to a computer. John raised his sword, and dropped it down, cutting the body in half. Joe kicked the ninja away. That was when he heard Maddy through the speaker in his helmet.

"Jake, Dylan, go!" She said.

All eyes turned towards Jake and Dylan as the clouds approached. A black hole opened where the virus began to enter on Dylan's side, and Jake charged up his hands. Then came the unexpected. Jake turned and fired his beam of radiation at Dylan. Dylan's black hole instantly closed and he was flung to the side. Dylan was still alive, but extremely hurt by the force of the hit. Dylan recovered and looked at his brother in confusion and pain.

"Well, now," said Jake, "looks to me like you have a problem."

"Jake, what are you doing?" Said Maddy with a surprised tone in her voice.

"Well," said Jake, "I am the only thing that can stop the virus, other than my brother Dylan. Once I get rid of Dylan, I am the most powerful man in the universe, I will have ultimate control, and power, I will be given everything."

The group looked at Jake, with their jaws dropped to their chests.

Joe heard what was said through his earpiece from the planet below. He fell to his knees on the floor, and his head fell into his hands.

Jake raised his hands in the air once more and fired a strike of radiation, light, and power at the DUC destroying every one of their soldiers and ships in a power drunken rage.

"Just to watch him grieve," said Jake, "I will kill Hannah first, to make Dylan watch before he dies."

Dylan grunted and recovered himself, he pushed down the pain, and pulled back the tears, bringing his face to a grimace.

"I won't let you do that brother," said Dylan.

"Oh really?" replied Jake.

Jake raised his hands, radiation rippling off of them, his face turned a yellow-green color and his body began to shake. The space in a 20 mile radius of him turned bright yellow, and a massive beam fired towards Dylan. Dylan snapped open a giant black hole, miles long. The beam went into the black hole, the limits of time and space being pushed. Jake pushed harder as the beam continued, and the black hole sparked with yellow light, flickering throughout it. As the brothers battle became more intense, small black holes opened around the group, also filled with the yellow sparkling, rippling light. The two brothers grunted in pain and Dylan pushed in his defense with tears in his eyes. Slowly Jake ran out of juice for his beam of radiation, and aimed his beam at Hannah. Dylan quickly moved towards Hannah's position, and covered himself over her. The beam slammed into Dylan and launched he and Hannah backwards. They continued flying until colliding with Maddy, she attempted to stop them, but they were moving too fast. They kept flying until, to the groups horror, the three were sucked into one of the small black holes that rippled with golden swirls.

Jake directed another shot at John and Ryan, who were shot back into another golden swirling black hole. Jake fired a shot at Smith and Erin, who both began plummeting towards the planet below, they collided with the ground and Joe ran towards them.

Jake noticed one last thing before the last small black hole closed. A hand, reaching out of space. A black hole opened, enveloping the yellow cloud into itself, then both black holes closed with a snap.

Jake let out a scream of defeat, that his plan was destroyed. On the planet below, Joe tended the wounds of Erin and Smith, all three of them shocked, and in tears. Jake flew towards Joe's ship and stepped inside. The vessel quickly went into light speed and left the galaxy it was in, leaving a radiation filled space, and three injured men in tears on the planet below.

### Part 3

### The Aztecs

"Oh, ow," said Dylan as he stood up.

Dylan looked around him, Hannah and Maddy were both beginning to stand up. They were surrounded by green, exotic plants, however Dylan recognized them as to be from Earth.

"Where are we?" Asked Hannah.

"The real question," said Maddy as she pushed herself up, "is when are we."

"What do you mean?" Asked Dylan.

Maddy raised her hand and pointed up the hill, where a group of dark skinned men ran down towards them. The men were wearing crescent shaped tarps over their shoulders and skirts. Each man carried a spear in his hand. The men reached the small group of three at the bottom of the hill. Each man dropped his spear and knelt, they all began bowing continuously.

"Who are they?" Asked Hannah

"Lets ask," said Maddy, "Joe did build a translator into our suits for a reson."

Maddy sucked in a big breath, and let it out.

"Hello," said Maddy, "would you mind telling us where we are?"

One of the men stood up, he seemed to be the leader of the group."

"You are sky people, are you not gods? Did you not come as response to the leaders recent actions?" Asked the man.

"I'm afraid not," said Maddy.

"But your skin," said the man, "it is of other worldly color."

"We are friends," said Maddy, "messengers, bringers of knowledge."

"King Moctezuma does search for knowledge, we will bring you to him, and he shall decide your fate."

Maddy, Hannah and Dylan stared at the soldier, shrugged their shoulders and began to follow the man. As they walked through the tall jungle plants, following the shoulders, Hannah asked a pressing question.

"Excuse me commander," said Hannah.

"I am not a commander," said the man, "I am a herald, for the great Moctezuma."

"Herald," said Hannah, "what is the date?"

The man responded saying, "Atl Tochtli Tecpatl."

Hannah heard the translator speak a delayed explanation in her ear, "Aztec dating system, translates to: Water, Rabbit, Flint Knife."

Hannah started to do work in her head, the Nervelians used the Julian calendar, the same calendar the Aztecs used. Hannah slowly went to work, attempting to remember what Joe had taught her while they were on Nervelia. If she translated it correctly, then it should be August, 15th, 1468. Hannah was stunned, the black hole had not only transported them through space, but back in time too. She didn't know how it happened, but it did. Dylan looked up above him and observed a large pyramid, as Hannah whispered the date into his ear, stunning him. Suddenly the group of Aztec soldiers stopped, and the leader spread out his arms.

"Welcome bringers of knowledge, to Tenochtitlan."

The group of three was then escorted up the stairs to a large temple, inside they saw a figure sitting on a chair, dressed finer then the rest of the men and women around him.

"My master," said the herald, "these are outsiders, they claim to bring knowledge and wisdom."

"Welcome," said the man, "I am Moctezuma, son of Huitzilhuitl, bringer of the Aztec Triple Alliance."

Moctezuma asked for his subjects to leave him with the three friends, and then began talking.

"I could use some knowledge, the people do not trust me after I formed the triple alliance, the people of Tlacopan and Texcoco are even skeptical of the alliance, for now, I will give you place to rest, but if you lie, you shall be executed."

The three were given rooms to sleep in, and as Dylan was put in his own room, Maddy and Hannah talked.

"Maddy, I have just realized something," said Hannah

"Whats that?" replied Maddy.

"If it's 1468, then Moctezuma dies, next year."

Maddy frowned and tilted her head, not knowing what to say next, then the candles in the room went out, and darkness overcame them.

### Darius The Third

"John, John, wake up!" Said Ryan, surrounded by hot desert sand.

Ryan gave John a hard shake and his eyes opened, he grunted and blinked the sand out of his eyes. John propped his arms behind his back and sat up, breathing out deeply.

"Where are we?" Moaned John.

"Somehow my computer made it through the vortex," said Ryan, "it died just minutes ago, but it said we are in Iraq. But the scary thing is, we are in Iraq, September 20th, 331 BC.

"What?" Yelled John, "How can we have travelled back in time?"

"Well, I have been thinking about it while you were unconscious," said Ryan, "and I think that Jake's light colliding with Dylan's black holes, allowed us to move with the time and space. I think that the black holes were reacting with the solar flares, keeping us alive, but throwing us back in time. I don't know how we ended up on Earth though. We also lost the space suits, which is weird."

"Looks like we need to find our way home then," said John.

John pushed with his arms and propped his legs up. He crouched and slowly stood up, grunting and stretching his body.

John and Ryan decided to start walking, if they were in the Iraq, 331 BC, then civilization was to the East. It was sunrise, so they headed towards the direction of the sun.

John tripped over a small rock, but quickly recovered, and continued walking with Ryan. Ryan still wore his coat, even though it was extremely hot. Then John remembered that the coat had a cooling system in it, and was very jealous of Ryan.

After miles of walking, Ryan saw a cactus, which he promptly ran up to. He pulled a knife out of his jacket, and cut the top off the cactus. Ryan slowly syphoned water into a bottle he had in his backpack, and the two drank, before they continued walking.

John had lost track of time, all he knew was that the sun was directly above him, which meant it was noon. John began seeing things, first it was Maddy standing out in the desert and beckoning him on. Then the things got a bit weirder. He started seeing giant scorpions and flying sharks. John thought he saw a spaceship for a second, but then it got blurry. His vision went black, and he hit the sand.

Ryan heard a large thud behind him, and turned around. He was quite surprised to find John, laying on the ground, mumbling. Ryan took off his jacket and draped it over John to cool him off. Ryan then trickled water down Joe's throat, using the remains of what he got from the cactus. Ryan sat down next to John and waited. After hours of listening to John snore, the sun had dropped deep into hills of sand behind him. Ryan wasn't sure if he was hallucinating, but he thought he saw a number of horses riding from the West, every other horse looked to have a figure mounted upon it's saddle. Ryan waited, as the group of riders approached him, he was now sure that the riders were not hallucinations. Ryan watched as the horsemen stopped, and dismounted their horses. He stood up, and observed the men. Each man was wrapped in brown, and tan cloth from head to toe, only showing their eyes. Each had at least one sword strapped to their side or back. The horses that were not being ridden were holding various items, and packs. Ryan guessed they contained materials and food. One of the men asked Ryan a question. The man had two swords mounted on his back. Ryan didn't understand the language the man spoke, then he remembered the suits translator. Ryan turned the translator one, he could now speak, and understand, the language of the peoples. Ryan moved his hands in a confused gesture.

"Who are you?" Asked the man.

"My name is Ryan," replied Ryan, "I don't know where I am, my companion and I are lost."

"Ryan?" Said another man, "Sounds Greek, are you Greek spies?"

"No," said Ryan, "we are not from around here, where are we?"

"He looks like a Greek," said another man, "he must be lying, that's something a Greek spy would do. Plus, he shares the accent."

"No," said Ryan, "where are we?"

"Your in Persia you idiot," yelled the man with the two swords on his back, "don't try that on me Greek spy, why don't you head back to your precious Alexander's encampment, and tell him that Darius III sends his regards...actually, I'll send you there myself, by cutting your throat."

The man pulled the two swords from his back, and took a fight stance. The rest of the men drew their weapons, knives, swords, and various types blades. Ryan dropped into his stance and looked confidently into the man's eyes. The man with two swords swung his first attack. Ryan ducked the swing and placed both his hands deep down the man's arm. Ryan pulled the man's arm down to his knee, and snapped the elbow. Ryan then grabbed the sword from the man and stabbed him, quickly taking the other sword from the man's dead hand. Ryan now had two swords, and five men awaiting to attack him. Ryan looked around, prepared for any attack. One man jumped out quickly and threw a series of lightning fast blows, each one quickly blocked by Ryan before he struck him down. A second man began acrobatically knifing at Ryan. Ryan dodged a multitude of stabs before grabbing the man and throwing him into one of his comrades. Ryan moved forward and cut them both. The last two men swung at Ryan at the same time, giving Ryan no choice but to fight two battles. Ryan pushed away one man and stabbed the other in the stomach, giving him just enough time to turn around and cut down the last Persian.

Ryan cleaned the two swords on his thigh, and placed them on his back. He then knelt down and whispered a quick prayer of thanks for survival, and for the now deceased men. He walked over to the horses and brought them to Joe. Ryan then placed Joe over one horse, and strapped him into it. Ryan tied all the horses to one of the mounts, and saddled himself on the horse. He then set off for the East, to civilization, to the capital city of Anshan.

Ryan rode on for hours before he saw the large walls guarding the city of Persia. Ryan had taken the robes of one of the men, and used them to disguise himself. Once Ryan reached the gate of the city, two guards opened the gate for him to enter. Ryan had remembered when the man said to give Alexander, Darius III's regards, this triggered Ryan's knowledge of Earth history.

In 331 BC, Persia went to war with Greece. During this time, the ruler of Persia was Darius III, and the ruler of Greece was the famous Alexander the Great. Ryan also remembered that on October 1, 331 BC, the Greeks and the Persians went to war, and the Persians were defeated. Persia was on the eve of war, which is why they were so concerned about the Greeks entering Persia.

Once inside Ryan made it barely a mile before he was discovered by a guard. The guard took him and the recently awakened John, to the citadel. They were put in front of King Darius III, which was exactly what Ryan was hoping for.

"You killed my scouts, and yet you claim that you are not Greeks?" Asked Darius.

"Yes," said Ryan, "they attacked me, despite that I am not Greek."

After Ryan finished his sentence, a soldier ran into the room, dressed in armor and carrying a spear.

"Sir," said the soldier, "the men are ready to move to Gaugamela, should I order the retreat?"

"Wait until I give you word," said Darius. "I do not know what to do with you and your friend, and I do not have time to decide, so I shall leave it to my enemy."

Ryan and John were confused by this, until they were thrown out of the palace, and strapped onto two horses, which were pointed west, and slapped on the bum. The horses galloped away. John and Ryan now realized that they were headed to a Greek war encampment, belonging to Alexander the Great.

### Alexander The Great

Ryan and John had experienced a long, painful horseback ride through the desert. John was pretty sure that he'd cracked a rib. The two had eventually come galloping through a Greek encampment, where the two horses they were strapped to. Had arrows put through them, and ended their lives with a very harsh fall on top of Ryan and John. The two friends had their hands tied with ropes, and were dragged to a tent in the center of the encampment. Once in the tent they were promptly untied, and left standing and staring at a large table covered with multiple maps.

That was when the Greek leader stepped into the tent from the other side. The man was dressed from head to toe in bronze armor. He bore the Greek helm which armored over the nose, and down the cheekbones. The man had a red cape, and red clothing under his armor. He carried a sword which hung from the left side of his belt, and two knifes strapped onto the right side. The man reached up and took his helmet off, setting it down on the table. This revealed short, blonde hair, and a scruffy face, finished off with striking blue eyes. John and Ryan came to the conclusion, that this was Alexander the great.

"My men tell me you arrived on Persian saddle, yet you speak our language, and bear our accents, but I know you are not one of my spies, so whom are you?" Asked Alexander.

"That's, hard to explain," said John.

Alexander responded with a joking tone, "The men grow restless, for battle, for blood, I am sure they will have no problem tearing you apart."

"You won't have your men waste energy before a battle you cannot win," said Ryan.

"What?" Said Alexander, "The Persians will crumble under the power of the Greeks!"

"Oh but they won't," said Ryan, "the Persians have power in numbers, and the homeland advantage, I have seen their citadel."

"Yes, but the Persians don't have a demigod on their side," said Alexander, grinning slightly on the left side of his mouth.

"What?" Said John and Ryan simultaneously.

"Oh yes."

Alexander then turned around, allowing his red cape to swish behind him. He began twirling the fingers of his right hand, while approaching John and Ryan. The two stood in shock as electricity began to weave about his finger tips, before an entire bolt of lightning was grasped in his hands.

"Unfortunately, now you know too much," said Alexander, "so I will have to kill you."

Quickly thinking, John stood up and looked Alexander in the eyes, he cocked his head to the side and watched the leader brandish his bolt of lightning, about to strike John. Right as Alexander swung the sword down upon John, he willed a large plasma shield in front of him, and the lightning bolt disintegrated into the air. Alexander looked in shock at John. Alexander walked in a circle around John, carefully examining him.

"You just..." Said Alexander in awe.

"Yah," said John, "you're not the only one with cool powers, and I hate to break it to you, but your not a demigod."

"Yes, I know," said Alexander, "my father told me when I was a boy, I simply use the image of the gods and titans to keep control of the people. But I thought I was the only one."

"Well, your not," said Ryan, "and consider us enlisted into your army."

"I would be honored," said Alexander.

Alexander lead John and Ryan to a tent, where he presented them both with suits of armor, which would greatly help John with the looks he was receiving because of his suit. The two were then brought to an empty tent that contained two blankets on the floor, and a large bowl of water. Once settled in, John asked Ryan a question that he was waiting to ask in private.

"What are you thinking?" Yelled John, "Enlisting us in the Greek army?"

"Well," said Ryan, "for the moment, the Persians are winning, and history confirms that Alexander the Great, and the Greeks destroy the Persian empire in the battle of Gaugamela. If we do not assist the Greeks, as ruthless as they may be, then the Persian empire will not fall, and history will be changed for the worst."

John looked at Ryan, contemplating what he was just told. John realized that Ryan was correct, and slightly nodded his head.

"Valid point, but how many days has it been since we arrived?" Asked John.

"Two," said Ryan, "why do you ask?"

"Because we arrived on the 29th," John spoke with a dark tone, "and the battle of Gaugamela takes place October 1, which is in two days. That means we should be shipped out tomorrow."

Ryan realized this and exchanged words with John, before they both tired of the subject and went off to bed. The two slept for hours, managing to stay asleep over the bustle of soldiers, clanking of armor, and pounding of bronze outside their tent.

The sun peeked out over the desert sand, and a war horn blew loudly, waking Ryan and John from their sleep. Each man quickly strung their weapons over their armor, and ran outside of the tent. The two of them both quickly discovered that the horn was only a wake up call, not a sign of battle. However, each man was dousing fires, and packing tents. Ryan and John quickly ran to the central tent, where Alexander was rolling up his maps.

"We are headed to Persia," said Alexander, "my men are very skilled with surprise attacks upon city walls, the Persians will fall."

"The Persians are not in their capital city," said Ryan.

"What?" Replied Alexander, very confused and surprised.

"Yes," said John, "before we were strapped to horses and thrown here, Darius ordered a retreat to Gaugamela."

Alexander uttered a word that didn't go through the translator, and looked up from his maps.

"Gaugamela is what I feared, it is a wasteland, flat with no environmental leverage. My men do not stand a chance there."

John thought to himself after hearing Alexander's problem, and then spoke.

"You no longer have that problem," said John, "I can create an environment, the perfect environment."

The leader of Greece looked curiously at John, tilting his head as if asking: "How?"

John cockily tilted his chin up and reached out his hand. Golden vines weaved over his hand and disappeared, leaving a small mountain in the middle of John's palm. Alexander grinned, taking into account what John had just demonstrated. He looked at John and said:

"Then you better get yourself ready."

### Leftovers

Under a highway, on a post modernized planet called Thwark, a man was walking through a system of tunnels. The man was wearing a black leather vest, he had spiked black hair, and his face was hidden by a bandanna. The man wore dark jeans and carried a black briefcase to his side. He walked with purpose, quickly and confidently. The man turned his head slightly, examining what was behind him, before turning around and quickening his pace. The man walked prominently, going straight through puddles of water, waste, and sewage. The tunnels were made of stone, arching nearly 20 feet over the man, with 50 feet of rock prevented him from hearing the vehicles above.

The man came to a crossing of four passages, where he turned to the right and kept walking. In front of him was a small light, shining nearly 100 feet down the tunnel. The man continued walking, covering the distance quickly until he could see six characters in a crossroads down the tunnel, playing cards on a table. The man walked through the arch in the crossroads, and every man in the room turned his head.

"Looks like we have a visitor," said one of the men, "information, or merchandise?"

The man pulled off his bandanna, revealing a smile, the man put his arms down on the table and coughed.

"As a matter of fact, I'm looking for a time machine."

One man quickly scooted out of his chair, knocking it over in the process. He jogged backwards slowly, shaking his head at the man, and then ran through one of the tunnels. Another one of the men leaned over and whispered to the man next him.

"Dude, thats Smith, thats Smith Jones."

The two guys looked at each other, and dropped the cards they were holding.

"Why would someone like you need a time machine?" Asked one the five men still sitting down.

"Funny that you ask that," said the man, "my friend told me you don't ask questions."

"We do for people like you, Smith Jones," said the man.

"Oh, so you know who I am," said Smith, "now, where can I find a time machine?"

"There is a price for that kind of information," said the man.

Smith set his briefcase on the table, input two codes on each side of the case, and opened it up, revealing stacks of credits, a universal currency.

"Alright," said the man, "Steven Tanks, a scientist who built his own time machine to attempt at preventing his son's death, only to discover that this was a fixed moment in time and couldn't be stopped. Every time he went back in time to save his son, he was killed in a different way. The man has been searched many times by the DUC, who have attempted to find his machine, but have never succesful. The man will do anything to get the blood of time off his hands, find him, you find your time machine...Unfortunately, even though you are a hero to the rebels, I am afraid I can't let you leave here, the DUC has issued a warrant of 50 million credits to turn you in."

"Kid, you don't know what your getting into," said Smith, "you really don't want to do this."

"Sorry Smith," said the man, "I have always dreamed of being rich."

Smith looked to the ground, letting out a long, disappointed breath. He brought his eyes up pitifully at the man in front of him, and ran his fingers through his hair, while releasing a small chuckle. Smith brought his head back up and looked the man right in the eyes.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Said Smith.

"Look, it's either you come with me, or I bring you in, dead or alive."

"Okay," said Smith."

Smith looked around him, observing the two large pipes that emptied into the crossroad he stood in. He took his index, and middle finger on his right hand, and stuck them under his tongue. Smith quickly blew through his fingers, whistling loud enough for someone a mile down the tunnels to hear him.

"Thats enough," said the man, "c'mon guys, take him out!"

Each of the three men drew a knife out of their jackets, just as a sliding soundnwas heard from the tubes to their sides. Out of the drainage tube to the right of Smith, a figure dressed entirely in black emerged, landing gracefully on the ground. From the tube to his left, another figure emerged, dressed in a suit with a symbol in the middle.

"These are my friends," said Smith, "meet Joe, and Erin, I'm sure you've heard of them."

The three men stood, with knives drawn, staring at the three men who were so famous to the underground group they were part of, to the rebels. The men knew every story about the three men. Stories that said Joe's alliance of gifted men and women had stopped the sunlight virus, that one of the Gifted turned on them and sent them all into black holes. That the one who could bend light was later killed by Joe, even though he tried to simply imprison him, Joe killed him, by throwing him into a supernovae. They heard how Smith had invaded DUC headquarters, simply to allow a man accused with treason to live. Then there was Erin, the messenger, rumored to have travelled across the galaxies, warning and protecting people from danger. The three men knew that they stood no chance against these three men, and placed their knives back inside of their jackets. All three of them slowly raising their hands in the air, displaying their surrender.

"One word," said Joe, "run!"

The three men jumped, and sprinted down one of the tunnels, quickly disappearing into the shadows.

"Thats more like it," said Erin.

"Yah," said Smith, nodding his head.

"You guys ready to set up shop?" Asked Joe

"Absolutely," said Smith with a grin.

Smith removed the credits from the briefcase, and tossed them to Erin, who began assembling them into a small box. The pieces were not really credits as Smith had told the three men, they were pieces used to assemble a high powered satellite. Smith closed his briefcase, and entered a different code on the sides. When he opened it up, a computer screen folded out with it, revealing a keyboard and joystick hidden below it. Joe pointed his arms at the corners of the crossroads, and fired small darts at each of them. Upon collision, the darts transformed into larger pieces, and shot blue plasma at one other. Quickly, a plasma wall was created around the three, including plasma screens displayed around the room. Smith plugged a cord into the computer and brought the other end to the satellite Erin had assembled, where he plugged it in, and watched the computer screen begin to fill with data.

"Funny how people think that the only reason you broke into the D.U.C headquarters was to free the wrongly accused." Said Joe.

Smith gave a brief chuckle, and tapped some keys on the computer screen, projecting an image upon the plasma screens Joe had put in the room.

"All right Erin," said Smith, "do your stuff."

Erin picked up the joystick and positioned himself to see the large plasma screen. He then took a microphone from Joe and connected it to both the computer, and the joystick. Erin spoke into the microphone.

"Deploy," Erin said.

Instantly the screen came to life, and Erin began moving the joystick. A camera view navigated around the screen, displaying the inside of a metal corridor, with people walking up and down it. Compared to the camera's view, the people looked massive.

When Smith had broken into the DUC headquarters, he had placed a nano-bug inside the inner corridors. The bug was barely one millimeter in length, and worked like a chameleon, copying the colors around itself, in order to blend in.

Erin continued maneuvering the nano-bug around the hallways, avoiding people, machines, and walls, anything that would drag attention to the small robot. Eventually the camera displayed a door. Erin flew the bug to a control panel by the door. Here, the camera displayed small tentacles reaching out to the panel, and pulsing electricity into it. Smith observed a multitude of numbers appear on his computer screen. He pressed a few buttons, and the numbers dumbed down until it revealed four digits: 4906. Smith pressed enter, and the door to the room opened. Erin flew the bug inside to a small control panel, where he landed the bug, and the tentacles protruded once more. Smith worked his magic on the computer.

"Everyone, say your name." Said Smith.

One at a time, each person said their name into the microphone, and Smith performed more mysterious keystrokes, and coding into the computer.

"Okay Erin," said Smith, "you know what to do."

Erin leaned over the microphone and said, "Access personal records, Steven Tanks."

There was a brief moment of silence and suspense, until they heard a computerized voice reply.

"Granted."

### Arena

In the days after Maddy, Dylan and Hannah arrived in the 1400's, inside the Aztec kingdom of one of the most famous Aztec rulers, they began to settle in. For some reason they were more welcomed then one would think an outsider would be into an Aztec territory.

Over the days that passed, Maddy, Dylan and Hannah contemplated exactly what had happened to them. They had come to the same conclusion as John and Ryan, except thousands of years later.

Things were going quite well for the three, almost too well. Neither of them had taken the time to examine why they were welcomed so easily as outsiders, until things turned downhill for them, exactly one week after they had arrived.

A man showed up at the room where Maddy, Hannah, and Dylan were eating their morning meal. The man was carrying a spear and wearing the Aztecan military clothing. The man swiftly bowed to the group of three, then turned his head to Dylan.

"The general wishes to see you," said the man.

"Wuh, why?" Said Dylan, confused.

"He says he has an honorable mission for you."

Dylan looked from the man, to his friends, he stood up and shrugged his shoulders.

"Okay then," said Dylan, "lead the way."

Dylan looked at Hannah and gave a goodbye grin, Hannah smiled back and Maddy waved her hand. She was confident that Dylan was safe, he was a Gifted after all.

The soldier led Dylan out of the room, parting the grass curtains and entering the hot environment of Mexico. Dylan squinted as his eyes dilated. He eventually he opened his eyes back up once they had adjusted. Dylan felt the warmth of the hot sun on his arms.

The soldier pulled Dylan's arm, telling him to snap out of it. Dylan shook his head and kept walking, observing the city around him. In front of him, in the distance was a large pyramid, the center of the city. To the sides of him were small buildings, living quarters, shops, and pre-modern restaurants. The soldier was leading Dylan past all the buildings to his side, bringing him straight to the large pyramid in center of the city. In front of Dylan was a staircase leading under the pyramid, which the soldier motioned to. Dylan acknowledged the gesture, and walked down the stairs. At the bottom of the stairs was a courtyard. Weapons lined the walls, and in the middle of the room sat a table. Dylan noticed a man standing over the table, sharpening what looked like a machete. The man tilted his chin up as Dylan entered the room. His eyes met with Dylan's and he smiled.

"Ah yes," said the man, "leave us messenger."

The man who had brought Dylan to the pyramid nodded his head and left the area.

"They call you Dylan correct?" Asked the man.

"Yes, general," said Dylan, "that is my name."

"Are you feeling comfortable?" Asked the man.

"Yes."

"The last outsider who showed up was beheaded on this table," said the man grinning.

Dylan stared at the man, awaiting the next sentence. The man looked hard at Dylan, before awkwardly breaking eye contact. The general walked to the wall and picked up a spear, fondling the arrowhead on the tip.

"Do you know what tomorrow is?" Asked the general, testing the weight of the spear in his hand.

"No sir," said Dylan.

"We call it the harvest," the man replied.

Dylan went through the recent lessons from Maddy in his mind, she had taught him everything she knew about Aztecs, their games, sacrifices, but Dylan didn't remember anything called 'The Harvest,' unless they were talking about plants.

"Is tomorrow the day you harvest the food?" Asked Dylan.

The man laughed, tossing the spear up and down in his hand, while going from a soft to hard grip of the long weapon.

"That is not tomorrow," said the man, "tomorrow is a different kind of harvest."

"What kind of harvest?" Asked Dylan.

"A harvest of souls," the man grunted.

Dylan never saw it coming, within an instant the man tossed the spear in the air, grabbing it with his thumb facing towards him. The man dropped his front leg and jabbed the spear hard into Dylan's knee. Dylan felt tendons tear, and screamed as he lost feeling in the bottom of his leg. The man turned his spear and slammed Dylan on the back of the head, knocking him out before he could create a black hole. As Dylan fell to the ground, the man jabbed the spearhead into the back of Dylan's other knee, disabling him from walking.

"Thats why we let you stay," said the man.

While Dylan was being severely injured by the Aztec general, Maddy and Hannah were sitting on two stones, in a field outside the city, daydreaming of their friends. Maddy wished that she could see John. They were engaged. John had proposed to her, but they had never gotten married.

Maddy heard a twig snap behind her, and she quickly turned her head, only for her vision to be blackened. She screamed and clawed at the air, but she quickly felt a pain in the back of her head. Maddy heard another scream, and then passed out.

Dylan woke up, his legs in more pain then he had ever felt before. On his shins he felt the burn of hot sand. The one day Dylan had taken his suit of, he was stabbed.

"Take that irony," Dylan thought.

Dylan's vision was black, but he felt his eyes blinking, and figured out that he was masked. Dylan noticed also that his hands were tied behind his back.

"Great," thought Dylan, "I'm on my knee's, hands behind my back, and a bag over my head, can things get any worse?"

Dylan soon found out that they could. The black sack over his head was pulled off and Dylan looked through the rays of morning sunlight. Dylan had been asleep for nearly an entire day. He looked in front of him, where two posts stood out of the ground. Around him he observed a massive arena, full of cheering Aztecs. He was inside the arena. Dylan worked out that he was probably a show, for some kind of circus. Dylan looked around him once more and noticed something else, spears. Spears stuck out of the ground all around the arena, each one containing a skull on it's tip. Dylan was now sure that he was probably going to die. Suddenly two doors opened from the side of the arena. Out came four figures, two of them were Aztec warriors and the other two were...

"Hannah and Maddy!" Dylan thought.

Dylan watched in horror as Maddy and Hannah were chained to ropes that hung on the two tall posts in front of him. The two warriors walked to the other side of the posts, and pulled the rope, slowly bringing Maddy and Hannah up to the top of the 20 foot tall posts. Dylan rubbed his hand over his face, brushing over the translator chip, wondering if it still worked. Soon Dylan was looking at two of his friends, hanging by their hands, at the top of 20 foot posts. Dylan got angry and flexed, preparing to open a black hole, just as he reached the point where a hole would form, Dylan felt a scream in the back of his head and fell to the ground in pain. The blow to his head must have given him a concussion, Dylan couldn't create a black hole until he was healed. Dylan looked at his friends once more, he then heard a man yell over the crowd, and the cheering stopped.

"Today, the harvest begins!" Yelled the man, "The god's hunger for a soul drenched in innocent blood shall be quenched! In this harvest, the one with the black hair has been disabled. He shall have one cycle to save his friends, before they are lit on fire! May their blood be spilled, and may the god's thirst be quenched."

Dylan was surprised at how modern the man's speech sounded before he remembered the translator chip. Dylan felt tears run down his cheeks as he heard drums role.

"Wow, someone has been taking their crazy pills," though Dylan.

Dylan brought his chin up as the drums rolled, he sniffed in, and squinted. The man had begun the timer. Dylan pulled as hard as he could behind him, the rope digging at his skin. He screamed, and pulled harder, then the rope broke. Dylan leaned forward and dug his hands in the ground, and pulled, one arm after another, his muscles straining. Dylan felt the pain in his knee's and the ache in his arms, but he ignored it, and dragged himself forward. He was pulling closer, and the cycle was halfway complete. Dylan pulled, tears streaking his face, he dragging his body along the sand, a rash forming from the rub. He continued, all of his strength mustered in his arms. Hannah and Maddy hung from the tops of the posts, looking at Dylan, both were in tears of shock, and awe at his bravery.

Dylan had reached Hannah's post, with only ten-seconds left. He untied the rope and slowly let Hannah down. Dylan looked at Maddy, knowing he was out of time. Maddy smiled, and tilted her head to the side. Suddenly a spear flung from the side of the arena, the spear was on fire, and it collided with the post that Maddy hung from, igniting her, and the post, in flames. Hannah sat in the sand, in Dylan's hands. Dylan looked at her, briefly ignoring the pain. Then Dylan's head spun, and he blacked out.

Hannah looked up at the fire engulfing her friend. Maddy was the only one who had worn her suit that day, Hannah and Dylan had both taken it off. Hannah wished that she had kept hers on.

Hannah heard doors open from the side of the arena, and Aztec warriors ran across the sand.

"These guys don't get the pleasure of going down the easy way," she said, "no easy shockwaves for you, you hurt Dylan. I am going to take you down."

Hannah watched as the Aztec warriors ran towards her. The first one wielding a spear. Hannah payed close attention as he charged her, the spear extended. She waited until the right time, and then side stepped the spear, clasping the side with both hands. She ripped it out of the man's hands, jumped in the air, and slammed the man in the head with the back of the spear. Hannah performed a figure eight with the spear, and stood in an attack pose, watching the other warriors approach her. She waited, and attacked.

Hannah slammed a soldier in the head, quickly turning around and hitting him in the back, knocking him to the ground. Hannah took the machete out of the man's hand and threw her spear at an oncoming Aztec behind her. She ran forward and jumped, cutting the chest of one of her opponents. She turned around and elbowed the next soldier in the chin.

Maddy watched through the flames as a man approached Hannah with a whip. Snapping it in front of him, trying to hit Hannah. Hannah put out her sword, allowing the whip to grab it. As the whip took her weapon she kicked the man in the chest, took her sword and knocked him in the head with the flat end. Hannah stood in the sand, taking heavy breaths.

From behind Hannah came 13 Aztec warriors, surrounding her quickly. Each man had a spear pointed at Hannah. She knew that she couldn't take them all, so she stood in the middle, turning around, hoping for a lucky event. Suddenly a sound like a firework was heard, and a massive flame shot out of the burning post, bringing the crowd to screams.

"Maddy," thought Hannah.

The flame stopped in the sky and Hannah made out the flaming figure of her friend. Maddy spun around, ejecting a massive, circular flame from her hand. Each man surrounding Hannah was charred within seconds. Maddy flew to the ground and landed, turning off her flame and revealing the amazing suit under the clothes she had been wearing.

"Ready?" Maddy asked.

"Ready," said Hannah.

The two stood over Dylan's unconscious body, back to back as another wave of soldiers exited the sides of the arena. Maddy fired waves of flame at men on her side, while Hannah engaged in perfect hand to hand combat. One of the men got close enough to attack Maddy. Maddy quickly grabbed the man and threw him behind her, where he met with the butt of Hannah's sword. The two quickly rotated as Maddy made fire explode from the ground and Hannah knocked down Aztec warriors. Maddy and Hannah had defeated the entire wave, but then the horsemen came out. Aztec's riding horses came riding out of one side of the arena.

Maddy didn't think Aztec's had horses, they weren't supposed to get them until the Spanish came over.

The horsemen came only from one side so Maddy and Hannah turned to face them.

"We need to steel one," said Hannah.

"Agreed," Maddy replied.

Hannah cut the legs of the first horse, the rider falling off as the horse tripped. The second horse approached and Maddy went air born, landing on the rider and throwing him off. She grabbed the horse's mane, and turned it around. Maddy brought the horse to Hannah, who jumped onto the back of it. Maddy brought the horse to a gallop and grabbed Dylan's arm, pulling his loose body onto the horse. Maddy pushed the horse hard, then jumped it on top of the arena. The horse ran through the audience, trampling Aztecs the whole way. She brought the horse to the edge of the arena where she jumped it off the end. They flew ten feet towards the ground, and landed smoothly. The three continued riding through the desert, losing the riders behind them.

Maddy slowed the horse to a trot, and looked around. She noticed a cave, nearly a mile away. Maddy brought the horse into the cave. There they got off the horse, and gently let Dylan down onto the ground. They made Dylan a bed and cleaned him up. They didn't speak, and they were so tired that they fell asleep, immediately after disguising their position.

### Mobilized

John and Ryan sat in the chariot with Alexander, watching the Grecian army march, and the chariots meddle through the desert.

Alexander's army had been quite confused on the arrival of the two new Greek generals. The fact that Alexander had promoted them so quickly was interesting. They were thrown out by the Persians though, and Alexander did agree with the statement: "The enemy of my enemy is my friend."

John watched the massive army march, dressed in full battle armor. John actually thought it was exciting, watching history happen before his eyes. He had no idea that he was going to part of it when he was a small boy, reading about the great war heroes of old. The Greeks were making the march to Gaugamela, using the new Intel provided by Ryan, that the Persians had retreated there to make their last stand. Alexander, Ryan and John, had conceived a plan to defeat the Persians.

The Greeks stood in a bad position due to the environment of Gaugamela: A flat desert. In order for the Greeks to win, John would be in a protected circle, behind the Grecian lines. He would be using his ability to create the perfect, shifting, and moving environment for the Greeks to win. It was definitely a risk, but it would work.

"We will make camp here!" Yelled Alexander,

"Why here?" Asked Ryan,

"Gaugamela is nearly three miles away, this is the best position to camp before battle."

"Man, this is flat," said John, "and boring."

"You speak excellent Greek my friend, but the words you say are put together in such an odd way," said Alexander.

John laughed and watched the marching soldiers come to a stop.

"Set up camp!" Yelled Alexander.

The organized march quickly turned into a chaotic stampede. Men ran all over the desert, putting up tents, forges, and horse stables. Ryan and John watched in awe at the knowledge of each soldier, each one knowing exactly what to do. In barely five minutes, the entire encampment had been set up.

John and Ryan were quickly beckoned into the command tent with Alexander.

"Are you prepared?" Asked Alexander.

"I suppose," said John.

Ryan looked at John and rolled his eyes before nodding to Alexander.

"Well, then," said Alexander, "prepare for bloodshed, horror, and victory."

Ryan and John left the tent, not as inspired by Alexander's words as Alexander intended them to be. The two went into their tent and went to sleep, fully aware that the next day, they were going to war.

### Times And Signs

A man sat on his couch, holding a remote and flipping through the channels on his television, until eventually settling on a cheesy sitcom. The man had long grey hair, curling at the ends to give him an odd afro. He had slight wrinkles under his eyes and around his mouth. The man wore a white, button up shirt. His shirt was buttoned three down from his neck, and looked as if it had never been washed. He wore pajama pants that were stained with what looked like Doritos and milk. The man was watching TV in one of the universe's most disgusting houses. Suddenly the man heard his doorbell ring and he got off the couch. Somehow managing to avoid the empty food boxes, and toiletries on his floor, he reached the door. The man grasped the door handle and opened the door. In front of him stood a man, about six foot, two. The man wore an odd black suit, made of a material that the man was unfamiliar with. He stood with messy, medium length black hair, and had a sarcastic look on his face. After looking him up and down, the man spoke.

"Hello, do you need something?" The man asked.

"Steven Tanks?" Asked the man in the black suit.

"Y-yes," said the man.

"In that case, I'm looking for a time machine."

Suddenly the crazed man with the messy house's eyes rolled back into his head and he fell to the floor. This left an awkward Joe Stortion standing with disrupted grin on his face, curious as to what he did wrong.

"Dude!" Yelled Smith as he walked up from behind Joe, "You killed him."

A muffled laugh was heard from Erin who was unloading the speeder that the three had taken to the house.

"Shut up," said Joe, trying to resist laughing at himself, "I honestly have no idea what I did wrong."

"He probably thought you were DUC," said Erin.

"Well, I suppose we'll have to bring this guy back into his home," said Smith, "here we go."

Smith grasped both his hands around Tanks' wrists, while Joe took his ankles. They picked him up and slowly walked him inside, placing his limp body on the couch. Smith moved Tanks' on the couch until he was sitting up, with his head hanging over his chest. Smith sat on the table in front of the couch and looked at Tanks' with his hand on his chin. Smith shook his head and moved back to the couch, placing Tanks' arms over his lap and moving his head backwards into a resting position. Satisfied, Smith sat down on an armchair covered in chips.

"How are we gonna wake him up?" Asked Erin as he looked longingly towards a Doritos bag.

"Do we have any 'wake up' chemicals Joe?" Asked Smith,

"Nope, only sleepy pills," replied Joe.

"Dang-it," said Smith, "well I suppose we could..."

Smith stopped talking mid-sentence and stared at Erin, who was holding the bag of Doritos and chomping down chips at a million miles per hour.

"Dude!" Said Smith,

"What?" Asked Erin with a full mouth, careful not to spill the contents of the bag.

"Thats another man's Doritos, you can't just eat them!"

"Why not?" Asked Erin

"Argh!" Yelled Smith.

Joe sat back in a comfortable chair and observed his two friends engage in a passionate, and slightly violent argument on whether you could eat another man's chips. Joe didn't know if it was from the noise, or the fact that his chips were being stolen, but Tanks began to wake up. First his eyes began to flutter, then his head moved up and shook. Tanks stared at Joe, then looked at the two fighting over chips behind him.

"Oh yah, you guys. Hey, those are my Doritos!" Yelle Tanks.

Joe yelled several times at his companions before they finally stopped fighting and noticed the short man staring oddly at them. They quickly collectdc themselves and offered Tanks a Doritos, he accepted and chomped down while Erin and Smith positioned themselves against the wall.

"Hello, I'm Joe," said Joe reaching out his hand to Steven Tanks, he then saw the dirtiness of Tanks' hand and retreated from the handshake.

"J-Joe Stortion?" Asked Steven.

"Yah," said Joe.

"Oh my gosh, please tell me you aren't here to kill me," said Tanks.

"Don't worry, I really don't kill a lot of people," said Joe, "but there is something I need from you."

"The time machine," said Steven.

"Um, yes actually," said Joe, surprised that Tanks knew exactly what he wanted.

"I have it," said Steven, "and will give it to you willingly, I know you are trying to find your friends, but how do you know where they are?"

"I don't," said Joe.

"Well," said Steven, "I am not going to give you know where your going. Looks like we are going to have to find out."

"We?" Asked Joe,

"Yes, we," said Steven, "do you know where you go to find someone lost in history?"

"Where?"

"The library."

Joe was struck by Tanks sudden interest in helping them, but then again, he knew what it was like to lose someone close. He probably wanted to prevent it from happening to others.

"Well, lets get to it then," said Joe.

Steven smiled, and nodded at the three. He stood up and walked to the closet in the corner, and turned the nob, revealing a closet full of jackets. Steven looked among them and pulled out a waist-length leather jacket, which he briskly put on. He took a brown fedora off the shelf and walked towards the door. The three followed him.

It must have been an odd sight to see, one old man followed by three, tall, men, all dressed in trench coats. The three wore trench coats to cover the suits they each wore under them, they had to take their specially designed suits in case of a fight. They continued walking on the sidewalk, passing by normal people, living normal lives.

They walked by a park, where even though it was on a highly advanced planet, still had typical swings and slides. A mother and her young boy were there. The boy was playing on the swings, and the mother sat on the bench smiling.

The four reached a street crossing where they waited for the speeding, magnetic vehicles to come to a stop. They crossed the street and walked through shops, while normal people went on with their lives. They came around a corner and the three nearly had heart attacks. The library was a massive building, if put into an earthly perspective, it was larger then the White House. The three continued following Tanks up to the huge staircase that led into the library. Escalators lined portions of the staircase, some even had electronic ramps. The four men walked up the stairs, until they reached the large doors that led into the library. Every man stood in awe at the entrance, even Steven, who had been there many times. Steven walked forward and small doors that stood as part of the two large doors, opened automatically, letting the four men inside.

Once inside the library, Steven led the men down a long corridor lined with employees, they then took a left, a right, and another left, where they came upon a long aisle of computers. Steven led them into a room next to the aisle. Inside the room was a a circle of computers, almost like a conference room. Steven stepped into the center of the room and took off his hat.

"Ladies and gentlemen! The library! Each of these computers connects to the library's database. It can access any ebook that has ever been published, along with any book, picture, or painting that is either shelved here, or contained as an artifact. Now, I have examined the black holes your friends fell through, mixed with the light and radiation from Jake. Don't ask why, I get really bored. Your friends should be anywhere between the twenty-first century, and 300 BC, so look for anywhere in between those years. However, the mix was powerful enough that we should only check between the year 1700 AD and 300 BC, just to narrow it down a bit. Also, their DNA would only allow them to have been transported to Earth, so only look at Earth history. Now lets get to work."

Joe, Erin, Smith and Steven all placed themselves in front of a computer, looking through historical documents, transcripts, and pictures, trying to find some small trace of their friends.

Erin had begun his research starting in the year 1000 AD. He was slowly working up the numbers, and was just reaching the year 1400 AD, the early Aztec empire. That was when he found something, a textbook written by a historian from Santaxana. Erin left the room and found the textbook, he brought it back and set it down on the table, where opened up to the page he had found on the computer, he then began to read.

"Recently, markings were discovered in the temple of Moctezuma the first, revealing a failed reaping that the 'gods' implied was necessary. It speaks of three outsiders arriving at the city. each was taken in as a friend to persuade them to stay. Pictures show that they bore strange markings on their clothes. In the reaping, the Aztecs failed to destroy the three. It speaks of a woman who was made of fire, and a boy with an incomparable bravery, and a girl with skills like none other. It speaks of them defeating many Aztec warriors and then vanishing on horseback. This could be just a story, or a translation error, but if true, then much of history may be incorrect."

Erin sat back in his chair, almost certain that this was Maddy, Hannah, and Dylan. He got out of his chair, and told Joe.

### Forward: In the Beginning of Time...

In the beginning of time, humanity was birthed on various planets, over various galaxies. Throughout hundreds of years, certain planets began to progress technologically, to the point of space travel and exploration. The first two planets to reach this level of advancements were the planets Tartifia, and Selamthia. The people of the two planets built outposts in the galaxy of Sealey, moving further and further away from their home planets. Eventually, the two outposts stretched out to the point of a collision with one other.

Each peoples discovered the existence of humanity among different planets, only with small differences in bodily structure, so that the human being could survive more efficiently in different climates and atmospheres. Over time, these two galaxy's began to learn each other's language. Once communication was established, the two planets began the construction of a new language, much similar to English. These two planets then began the mission of spreading farther out among the stars, where they encountered many other outposts, planets, and peoples attempting to stretch out their knowledge of the universe.

In these early years of discovery, a phenomenon was discovered. In select galaxy's, certain people were found to have mutated genetic code, giving them impossible abilities and strengths. This caused the Gifted wars, started by governments in the dark galaxy of Cagreel. The government of Cagreel had agreed that these "special people" were not equal with others in the universe, and out of fear, came to the conclusion of their destruction. These "special people" came from many galaxies and planets to fight for the cause that they were no greater, and no less, while others sought a greater power than they already possessed. These people named themselves the Gifted.

The war waged on for almost 100 years, and resulted in the extermination of the Gifted. The planets of Cagreel turned into graveyards of the war, holding the the bodies of the Gifted, and normal people alike. After the war, a fire was started by an unknown source, destroying all hard copies which held evidence of the war, and all information stored as data was hacked into, and deleted. All proof of the war was lost at the death of those who witnessed it, and the burning of it's history. The war had stretched from Cagreel, all the way to the Andromeda Galaxy, but their was one galaxy it had not reached, the Milky Way. Earth sits as the only populated planet in the Milky Way, and survived the war as a result of being too far from other populated planets to share technology and information, preventing it's people from even being aware of the war. This left Earth as the only planet containing the Gifted gene, and the planet preserved it. Rumors spread throughout the galaxy of a lone planet, still containing the gene, and rumors spread of a man, a Gifted, who could never die. Thousands of years after the Gifted wars, the universe has forgotten that the Gifted ever existed, the strangest things people know of are tales of dead man walking on the planet Slikton. The known universe became a peaceful place for many years, until the territorial wars began. All over the universe, galaxies and planets were at war over new territories and materials. Over a few thousand years, these wars came to a close, and the chaos, comes to a halt. The year is 2013 AD, and the Gifted, are beginning their return to the universe.

### The Battle Of Gaugamela

Days of waiting, watching, and preparing, and finally the Greek spies had returned to camp with news that the Persians had arrived a Gaugamela. Alexander had immediately ordered the march onto the flat, and the Greeks obeyed his orders. Now the Greek army stood, staring at the Persian military, barely 500 yards away. John and Ryan stood side by side with Alexander, watching, preparing for the battle to come. At the encampment, Alexander had equipped Ryan with two Greek swords. Each was two sided, and sharper than a rose thorn. Alexander had tried to get Ryan to wear Grecian armor, but he refused to replace Henry's trench coat, however, he did strap a shield to his back, just in case. Alexander stood staring at the Persian army, waiting for them to make a move, nothing happened for nearly an hour, and the men were getting restless. Joe and Ryan were having second thoughts.

"Send the negotiator!" Yelled Alexander

A man ran from the Greek ranks, carrying a large flag with a symbol on it. This man was the translator, he would meet with representatives from the Persians and ask for their leader to come and meet with theirs. The man ran out into the middle of the 500 yard empty space, and stood. From the Persian side came two men, dressed in clothes the same as the men who encountered Ryan and John. The two Persians ran to the Greek translator and stood there. The entire Greek army waited in silence, to see the sign that allowed the leaders to meet. They saw heads nodding, and hand motions, John and Ryan were tense with curiosity. That was when he struck. One of the Persians ripped a curved blade from his back and struck down the translator. He then lowered the weapon down by his side and looked straight into the eyes of Alexander. This man was not Darius, but his war commander. Alexander looked right back into his cold eyes, all the way across the battlefield, and he grinned.

"John! Get to your post, take the guard with you!"

John and a group of guard ran to the back of the group.

"Everyone! Form ranks!"

Everyone followed Alexanders orders and did so.

"Charge!"

The Greeks screamed in a yell that could push fear and inspiration into the bones of any man, as they broke into an instant sprint. The Persian army stood still, hearing the shrill of the Greek army, and coming to terms with death. A word was yelled from the Persians, and the still broke. With all of their clothes, swords and knifes, the Persians began their run across the desert. The Greeks could have struck down the Persians without using a weapon.

The Greeks gleamed as they ran, their swords, shields, spears and armor, glistened in the sunlight, and their faces screamed with determination. For most of the Greeks in the battle, this wasn't the first. Alexander was seen at the head of the charge, not as cowardly as the king of the Persians. Next to Alexander was seen a man running in a black trench coat, and carrying two swords. This was truly a frightening sight to the Persians. Suddenly, Alexander noticed the Persians parting to the side, as three elephants came charging through their army. Alexander's elephants had died weeks ago of starvation. The majority of the Greek army was almost sure they would be killed by the elephants at this point, except Alexander. Because the Greeks had a secret weapon.

Far behind the Grecian ranks, ten guards surrounded John who was observing the battlefield, and noticed the Persian advantage. John took a deep breath and put his hand to his head.

The Grecians were getting ever so closer to the Persians, and the elephants getting closer to crushing the Greeks. The charge was nearly 100 feet away from the elephants, when the ground started to rise. The Greek charge went from flat, to uphill, as John changed the terrain with his desires. The hill raised up from the Greek lines, all the way across their ranks. The hill ended in a cliff on the Persian's side and was barely two feet taller then the elephants. Alexander and his charge ran to the edge of the cliff, and jumped. Alexander and Ryan were next to each other as they jumped off the cliff, each falling, and observing the army below them. Looking around him, Ryan could see Greek soldiers, plummeting towards the ground. Ryan looked down to see the back of an elephant, which he quickly landed on. He touched the back of the elephant with his foot and immediately pulled out his swords. He thrust his right into the stomach of the pilot and slit the top of the creature with his left. Alexander fought in front him, taking on two Persians. Alexander cut the Persian on his right with his sword, he then deflected an overhand strike from the Persian on his left and bashed him with the shield, disabling the elephant.

Ryan and Alexander stood on the beast and looked around. The other two elephants were being taken as Persians fell from their backs. They looked up and saw Greeks jumping from the top of the cliff and crashing down on the Persian shields, some coming out victorious, and some being run through with spears. Alexander watched the battle go on before walking to the edge of the elephant, and looking at Ryan. Alexander put his hand to his head and saluted, then jumped off the back of the elephant. Ryan laughed, and ran towards the elephant's rear, then he jumped.

Ryan fell nearly 20 feet before crashing down on a Persian shield. He looked up and quickly dodged a falling Greek warrior. Ryan ran into the chaos, both his swords drawn. Ryan yelled and cut down a Persian, before quickly turning around and engaging with another. He blocked a strike to the head with his right hand sword, before spinning around and slashing the man with his left. Ryan noticed a Greek about to be run through with a spear, and he quickly cut the spear in half, he then quickly elbowed the Persian in the shoulder before he could recover. Ryan turned around and kicked a Persian warrior in ribs and charged forward, only to see a sword beat him to the punch, a sword held by Alexander. The two exchanged glances before turning around and defending themselves. A Persian came upon Ryan, armed with two swords. The Persian struck at Ryan's rib cage, legs, and neck, all in one fluid motion. Ryan quickly parried the attacks with a sweeping hit below his legs, a block to the ribs, and a braced block above his neck, while he thrust his sword into the man's leg.

John stood with his guard, outside of the battle, but taking place just the same. John was watching every Greek soldiers move and manipulating the terrain to help the Greeks, he even gave Ryan a spear to throw at a chariot. Joe was watching as the Greeks slowly began to push the Persians into the correct area, which meant phase 2 was almost ready.

Alexander maneuvered himself through the battle, perfectly blocking and countering each attack. He stood in one of the few places not engaged in battle and cracked his neck, just as he felt two hands clasp his shoulders. Alexander reached over his left shoulder and grabbed the hand, twisting it until the Persian was bent over, he kicked the man to the ground and ran, just as one of the large elephants stepped on the Persians behind him. Alexander ran deeper and deeper into the mass of battle. He bashed Persians with his shield left and right, turning and slashing, but protecting himself. Alexander encountered a soldier who slashed at his arm, cutting it open before Alexander could block. Alexander quickly threw a counterattack at the man's arm, but it was blocked, and Alexander suffered another severe cut to his cheek. Alexander put on a face and looked the man straight the eye, as he stood up as tall as he could. Alexander kicked the man's sword out of his hand and slammed his shield into the Persian warriors face, watching him fall to the ground unconscious. Alexander looked to his left and noticed a black streak fly upward out of the battle. Ryan was running atop the heads and shields of the Persians, jumping from man to man until he jumped off into the open circle where Alexander stood. Ryan nodded at Alexander, then observed the Persians surrounding them. Then Alexander nodded. Ryan and Alexander went back to back, defending themselves against the Persians. Swords flashing every, screams, and yells filling the air, until the dust cleared, where Alexander and Ryan stood victorious. Ryan was left with a cut on the back of his legs, on his upper chest, and across his face, but was not injured where his coat covered. Alexander was left with two more wounds to his upper calf, and right wrist. The two looked at each other, much more grave then previous, and turned back towards the battle.

John stood observing the battle, the Greeks had pushed the Persians into the right position, he was going to phase two. John would have let the hill go in order to have enough power for phase two. John set his hand to his head, and four massive cliffs surrounded the section the Persians were holding to themselves. Any Persian remaining in Greek territory, or Greek in Persian territory, was on his own.

"Archers!" Yelled John.

John watched as 100 chariots raced across the desert and up the four hills that held the Persian army. Each archer leaving the chariot at their assigned positions, surrounding the Persians.

Ryan watched from below as the archers took their positions, and drew their bows. He could only see the archers, because he was blocked by a cliff. The archer's brought their three fingers onto the bow string, flexed their forearms, and pulled back, taking aim. Each archer waited, looking at the army, until the trumpet blew. The archers pulled back a slight bit, and relaxed. Arrows flew into the Persian fishbowl, knocking down Persians left and right. On the second wave of shots, the arrows caught on fire as the flew through the air, taking a large toll to the Persian military weapon. The Greeks screamed in victory.

John stood at his post, grimacing at the pain it took him to summon the power to create the environment. It didn't help that the guards had seen something. From behind the Greek forces, the guard was pointing out what looked like six Persians, running across the sand, because the hill was now gone. The guard formed a tight circle around John, knowing that he was their only way to victory. The six Persians approached and the guards put up their shields. Suddenly there were three rapid movements from one of the Persians, and three of the guards dropped dead with knifes in their necks. The remaining three stood and fought the six Persians, but all perished due to numbers. John had his eyes closed and didn't hear the Persians coming, but he did feel the knife the cut across his face and ear. John screamed and opened his eyes. The four hills came crashing down. John saw the six Persians and summoned a laser sword. This alone scared the Persians, but was nothing compared to John's fighting. The first Persian jabbed at John and was blocked by a figure eight that ended in the cutting down of two Persians. John turned around and engaged in a fight, one sword versus four. He perfectly blocked and countered every attack, before he stood victorious. John's sword disappeared, and he hoped that the dead Persians would help keep other warriors away from him.

Ryan and Alexander had both suffered minor wounds when the wall fell, and Ryan was concerned of John's death, but was very relieved when the wall returned. It was time for phase three.

"Darius is behind the ranks!" Yelled Alexander.

"A straight line is the fastest way," said Ryan.

Alexander got Ryan's point, and followed suit. Ryan yelled at a Greek soldier, and the Greek nodded. The soldier got onto one knee, and placed his large shield over his head. Ryan ran to the shield, watching Greeks and Persians fall, left and right. Then he jumped. Ryan planted his foot on the soldier's shield and launched himself on top of the battle. Using shields, armor, chariots, and heads to propel himself across the top of the battlefield, with Alexander behind him. Ryan continued running, looking below him to check his footing. Ryan looked at Alexander behind him, but forgot to look down. Ryan stepped on a spearhead and noticed the spear protruding through his foot. Ryan screamed and fell back into the battle. He grabbed the spear and yanked it out of his foot, looking at a stunned Persian. Ryan grunted his teeth, and threw the spear straight into the man, watching him fall over. Alexander fell into the battle with Ryan, and pointed behind them. Where Alexander pointed, stood a chariot, horses still attached and alive. Ryan limped into the chariot with Alexander, and wrapped his leg in gauze. Alexander grabbed the reigns, and slashed them. The chariot launched across the sand, pummeling warriors while Alexander defended the sides. Ryan looked up and could see it, the rear of the Persian army.

Darius III stood in his tent outside the battlefield, observing the battle with his consultant and general, next to him.

"General, we must raise the white flag, we have no choice!" Yelled the consultant

"I will not raise that flag until we have all gone to tartarus!" Yelled the general

"Stop!" Yelled Darius, "We need to retreat."

"Sir," said the general, "all we have done is retreat, there is no more falling back."

At this point, Darius, his consultant, and his general, observed two figures burst out of the battlefield and fly up the hill in a chariot, before stopping 100 feet in front of them. The two figures got up and walked towards them. One wore a large coat, and the other, wore the commanders armor for the Greek army. They came upon the three and drew their weapons. As did the general and consultant.

"Come face me Darius!" Yelled Alexander.

Darius seemed to think on the proposal for a few seconds, and then made his move. Darius sprinted away, taking the last remaining Persian chariot. Darius grabbed the reigns, and shot through the desert.

"Well," said Ryan, "that leaves the last two cowards."

Alexander blocked two downward strikes from the general, and cut the general's leg. The general limped around Alexander, keeping the fight alive. Ryan was standing in one place as he fought the consultant. Ryan countered a strike to his head, and slashed the man across knees, watching him stumble backwards. Ryan looked to his right just in time to see Alexanders sword leave the general lying on the ground.

"Darius you coward," said Alexander as he spit blood out of his mouth.

The consultant had recovered and ran in front of Alexander and Ryan, jabbing the white flag into the ground. The Persian lookouts saw the flag, and a horn was sounded. The Persian warriors all dropped their weapons, and got onto their knees in surrender. Over the entire battlefield the sound of victorious Greek cries was heard.

John heard the screams and collapsed, exhausted from keeping the terrain up so long.

Alexander and Ryan shook their weapons in the air and yelled in victory, while the consultant stood in disgraceful defeat. Tears streamed from every Greeks face. Tears for the lost, tears of joy for the victory, and tears for what they had all just done. Ryan went behind Alexander and set his swords down in the sand.

"Lord," said Ryan, "may the blood I spilled today be a righteous one. No man today deserved to die, but they did, forgive me."

Ryan stepped up in tears and looked out over the cheering army, and smiled.

### The Library Silenced

Erin and Joe printed the serial number of another book that Erin had found, and left the computer room to find the book. Erin moved the large metal door and waved his hand at Steven and Smith before shutting the heavy door behind him. Erin and Joe weaved their way through the hundreds of computer rooms. It felt as if they were in a labyrinth of cubicles. Joe noticed that each computer room was numbered. They were walking through the 500s and were working their way up. Joe was trying to remember the room number that their computer room was in. It must have been somewhere in the three, or four, hundreds. Joe was hoping that he would remember the location of his room when they came back. At the end of long isle stood an arch, marking the exit from the computer labs, into the library itself. Erin and Joe passed into the number 600, then walked through the arch. On their left side stood hundreds of desks, each occupied with a librarian, and a line of people needing help. To the right stood rows of metal shelves, reaching hundreds of feet up into the air. Erin stood in awe of the massive library. The shelves that created a barrier as far as he could see. Between each shelf was a four foot opening, that led into a large hallway, screaming down the holsters of knowledge. Each shelf had a number on it. Joe and Erin were standing at number one.

"What was the location of the book?" Asked Joe,

"Shelf 102, section 11, category 50, ID number 102-11-50-675-43-7." Responded Erin, out of breath from the long line of numbers.

"Well, then," said Joe, "looks like we've got a lot of walking ahead of us."

Erin nodded his head and the two began their walk. Erin observed the help desks. Each one contained a librarian, and each desk contained identical equipment. A blue pen, a red pen, a pile of maps, a jug of water, a computer, and holo-projector. While Erin was noticing the identical help desks, Joe was looking to the right, at the rows and rows of shelves.

The two had reached the number 15, and they still had a long walk ahead of them. Joe watched the numbers rack up, he watched the people standing in the hallways, looking for books. The two continued walking until Joe noticed something, a figure, dressed in all black, looking straight at him, standing in aisle 28. The figure was holding a book, but was staring Joe straight in the eye. Joe turned his head and tapped Erin on the shoulder. Startled, Erin shook his head and looked at Joe.

"Yes?" Asked Erin,

"Look at that guy," said Joe.

As Joe pointed toward the aisle, he noticed that the man was gone.

"What guy?" Asked Erin.

"Wha- uh, he was there a second ago,"

"Your probably hallucinating, it's an easy place to have your mind wander." Said Erin.

"Yah, your probably right," said Joe, and they began walking again.

The two continued walking through the shelving units. They reached number 50 and noticed that the help desks ended there. They kept walking, and Joe's feet started to ache. He stopped and messaged the bottom of his foot. When he set his foot down, Joe noticed a figure to his right, in the middle of aisle 75, the same figure he had seen in aisle 28. Joe's heart fluttered. He looked at Erin in front of him, then looked back to the aisle, the figure was gone. Joe jogged up to Erin, then slowed his pace into a walk again. They continued walking, and the people count was getting lower, apparently people didn't read a lot about Earth, Aztec history. Eighty-eight, 89, 90, they were getting closer. The amount of people dropped drastically as they passed by aisle 96, nearly nobody was walking down to, or back from the aisle. The numbers were racking up. The two passed by aisle 98. They continued walking into 100, 101, 102. That was it, aisle 102. Joe and Erin looked down the aisle. In the middle of the isle stood one man, his back facing them, he wore a black tuxedo and had spiked bleach hair that could be seen from the back.

The two headed down the aisle. Eight, 9, 10, 11, section 11. In front of them stood a small screen with the words: Category, and ID. Next to each word was a box. Erin tapped on the first box and typed in the number 50. He tapped the next box and typed 102-11-50-675-43-7. On the bottom left corner of the screen hung a box with the word: 'Find,' in all green. Erin tapped the box and a loading screen appeared on the computer. Erin looked up, as a mechanical arm shot among the books, through the sections, category's and rows. The arm shot to the top of the shelf and Erin noticed that the loading screen was halfway complete. The arm moved all around the top of the shelves. It was so small that Erin and Joe could barely see it. The screen beeped and showed 100% on the load. Erin looked up as the mechanical arm entered a free fall from nearly 200 feet in the air. The arm shot downwards until quickly slowing down, nearly 10 feet above Erin's head. The arm slowly moved the remaining ten feet until it was in front of Erin. In the claw of the arm was a large book, ID number 102-11-50-675-43-7. Erin reached out and grabbed the book. He looked at Joe and nodded. The two turned around and noticed that the other man who was in the aisle had left. The two walked to the exit of the isle, nobody was to be seen. They shrugged and continued walking.

After a few minutes had passed the two reached shelf number 50, the shelf where the help desks started. The desks were empty, and there were no lines. They looked to the left, where the shelves were, there wasn't a single person in the aisles. Joe and Erin were both very confused, and slightly nervous. The entire library had disappeared. Joe was going through scenarios in his mind, when he heard a small whizzing sound from his left. Joe turned his head, only to feel a hot scratch scream across his cheek. Joe clutched his face and looked to his right. In the wall was a bullet hole. Joe looked at Erin. Over Erin's shoulder he saw a figure, the same figure he had seen earlier, black tuxedo, bleach hair, but this time, the figure was holding a rifle. Erin looked to where Joe was looking, and saw the same figure. Erin quickly glanced to the right, and noticed another figure, same dress, different weapon. Suddenly, these figures emerged all around the library, as if they were teleporting. Joe looked frighteningly at Erin.

"Run!"

Erin didn't need convincing. The two launched towards the computer labs, hands over their heads and ducking. The gunfire began break loose. Machine guns could be heard firing from both sides, and bullets could be felt whizzing over their heads. Joe and Erin were breathing hard as they sprinted through the library. The two sprinted harder then should be physically possible, gunfire echoing through their ears the entire tim. Eventually the two reached the arch to the computer lab. They ran through and took a right turn, bringing their heads back up. They sprinted through the aisles, until landing in the 300s. Joe looked for what might the correct room, and tried the handle. He looked inside and saw Steven and Smith. Joe slammed the door behind he and Erin, and let out a relieved breath.

"Dear God, what happened?" Asked Steven.

Joe replied, out of breath, "Nobody's here, the, the library, the library has been silenced."

### Beware The Observers

"What do you mean the library has been silenced?" Asked Steven.

"Nobody is here, it's completely silent, except for the gang of sharp dressed men trying to kill us." Yelled Joe, still trying to take back his breath.

"Did you just make an 80's Earth music reference?" Asked Erin with a surprised tone.

"Maybe."

"Wait," said Smith, "so summing up what you just said, plus what I have seen. There is a gang of people, dressed nicely, with guns, who are trying to kill us, and have somehow managed to empty the entire library?"

"Yes," said Erin, "but Joe didn't mention that they can teleport, I think it's a visual set though, so they have to see where they're going."

"Wonderful," said Steven, throwing his hands in the air.

"What weapons do we have?" Asked Smith.

"We have Joe," said Erin.

Joe pulled his shoulders back and shrugged off his coat, revealing the glinting black suit that covered his body.

"I wasn't talking about the suit," said Erin, "I was talking about you."

Joe realized what Erin was referencing. When he was 18 Joe had built his first prototype of the suit. When he was 20 Joe had built one that covered his entire body. In his early 20's Joe had constructed weapons, computers, spacecraft, and a self building version of his suit. Joe stood up and looked around him, he was in a room, lined with technology.

"Let's get to work." Said Joe

Erin and Smith grinned, and Steven looked at them, as if asking why they were so happy.

"Why are you two smiling, we could get killed?" Said Steven,

"Oh but don't you just love those odds?" Asked Erin.

"Stop the chatter," said Joe.

Joe preformed an action in his hand and his infrared beam emerged from his wrist. Joe adjusted the settings on the device, and pointed it at one of the computer monitors. He pressed one of his fingers on top of the laser, and a red beam shot out at the edge of the screen. Joe moved the beam around until a line had been cut around the perimeter of the screen. He walked to the screen, and delicately lifted the screen off, revealing the engineering behind it.

"We're going to build an electron gun," said Joe, "I am going to remove the lining from every device in this room, from there I want you to carefully remove the insides."

Each of the men nodded, and got to work. Joe moved around the room, carefully making incisions in each of the devices. Eventually Joe worked his way up to the actual computers that sat under the desks that the monitors were mounted on. Joe was careful not to damage too much of the metals, he needed them for the outside of the weapon. Joe worked his way through the computers until he reached the large box, containing the battery that ran each computer in the room. Joe severed the cords running from the battery to the other devices, and began the meticulous process of removing the battery. Erin, Smith and Steven were removing the pieces of electronics from the computers when they heard the banging. The men had found the room they were in, and were trying to break in. The door was six inches of metal, but even that couldn't hold plasma fire for more then 20 minutes. This only encouraged the group to work faster. When Joe opened the battery box he was shown more than he was expecting. The box contained one large battery, accompanied by two small batteries, this helped the large battery not to overcharge, or burn out. Joe smiled at the beauty and began to remove the batteries. The group worked for another ten minutes, listening to pounding and gunfire damaging the door more and more. Then Joe brought the groups hopes up. The group jumped at the sound of the large batteries colliding with the desk.

"Here we go," said Joe, "hand me my coat, we need some of the fabric."

Joe tore strips off his coat and laid them on the table next to him, before beginning the next part of the process. Joe used his laser to weld, and fuse, wires, and metal together. The group watched him work wonders within minutes.

It had been ten minutes and the door would only hold for another five. The group looked at Joe, who welded one last wire together, and let out a sigh of victory. Joe picked up the weapon he had built. The weapon had a metal cage, surrounding a jumble of electronics. Near the front there were four metal cylinders that curved towards each other. Each cylinder had a wire running up it. Behind the cylinders was a large magnet that Joe had constructed. The trigger stood on top of the gun and was a long piece of metal, that when pushed forward would fire the gun. The end of this trigger held the connector for a wire that led up to the large battery. The wire was covered in layers of leather from Joe's coat, in order to keep the wire safe. Joe explained that electricity from the battery would travel to each of the four wires and attempt to jump to the wire across from it. However the electricity couldn't cross it's own stream. This would cause the formation of a photon like ball to form in the middle. The electro magnet behind the ball would push it outwards, firing it at the opponent. Therefore, as long as the trigger was held, a series of small, electrical, balls would be fired.

Joe walked up to Smith.

"An impossible gun, for the impossible man," said Joe.

Smith took the gun, but what Joe said had brought back bad memories of the thousands that died on the ship that Smith had worked on, the ship that the virus had attacked.

Joe used more straps from his jacket to mount the battery onto Smith's back. Smith pulled his shoulders back, and picked up the gun. Joe walked back to the table where two more objects laid.

"These," said Joe, "are the other weapons. A small battery hooked up to two wires, open at the ends. Strap the battery to your back, and use this adhesive to attach the wires to the ends of your hands. Under the portion where the wire is exposed, you will attach these two large rubber strips. They will keep you from being shocked. What you will do is place both hands on the opponent. This will allow the current to be completed, running through your opponent. The electricity produced is enough to kill a man in five seconds. Hold both hands on the opponent for five seconds, and he will be no more. Make sure that you do not touch both ends with your own skin."

Joe handed one of these to both Steven, and Erin. Steven and Erin attached the batteries to their backs using strips of Joe's coat, and followed the procedure explained to them by Joe.

"Remember," said Joe, "our goal is to escape the library."

Joe turned to face the door and shrugged his shoulders.

"Initiate mental link," said Joe.

Joe's suit rippled and a mask formed over Joe's face. Joe moved his arms out and two blades morphed out of them. From Joe's shoulders emerged his famous dart guns, with a simple, infrared light behind them. Joe nodded at the group members, as they listened to the door weaken. Smith stood in front of the group with the photon gun.

"Ready?" Asked Smith,

"Ready," yelled the four, almost simultaneously.

Smith breathed in deeply, feeling the trigger of the weapon, and the sweat from his hands trickle down the gun. He narrowed his eyes on the door, breathed out, and pulled the trigger.

A zapping shot was heard and blue light was seen exploding from the weapon. One second later, and there was a hole in the door. There was a pause of silence in the air, and door collapsed, revealing one of the figures, gun in hand. Smith pulled the trigger, but the man had been vaporized before the electricity ball collided with his dark suit jacket. Smith looked back and saw Joe, who nodded, and the group progressed into the library.

The group realized that only one man had been trying to break into the computer room, that, or the rest of the men were more intelligent then the four could comprehend. Smith led the group, carrying the electron gun. Behind him, walked Steven and Erin, behind them, stood Joe, protecting the group from the rear. After exiting the walled off area where the previously functioning computer room was, Joe quickly ran down the hallway that led deeper into the computer rooms, checking for signs of the enemy. Joe ran back to the group and reported that there wasn't an upcoming attack from behind. The group came across the first turn in the labyrinth of corridors inside the technology section. Smith walked to the corner and placed his back up against the wall, contemplating whether to look around the corner. Joe moved up and tapped Smith on the shoulder, Smith looked at Joe, who was signifying that he would check the next hallway. Joe stood at the corner and took a deep breath, as he exhaled, the black mask morphed over his face.

Joe sprinted into invisibility, taking notice of what was in front of him. Two men stood guard in the hallway, one carrying a belt of round objects, likely grenades. The other carried a weapon of some sort. Joe had observed all of this within the second it took him to reach the middle of the hallway, but the other men had noticed Joe as well. The man with the objects on his belt quickly brought two hands down to his belt, and thrust outward, propelling two of the objects at Joe. The objects began to change, as blades protruded from all over the small spheres, turning them into a spinning death ball. Joe jumped, performing a back flip. Halfway through the flip, Joe brought his feet onto the ceiling, and instantly his suit went to work. Under Joe's feet his suit brought out six, spider like legs that speared into the ceiling. Joe bent his back and attached his hands to the ceiling as well. Below him the two death spheres collided with the wall where he was previously standing. Joe released his hands and ran along the ceiling towards the two men. He released two darts from his wrists, one aimed at each man. With perfect accuracy, the darts collided, causing both men to instantly vaporize. Joe brought the dart cannons back into his suit. He took a deep breath, and jumped, doing a flip off the ceiling and quickly landing on his feet. He shrugged his shoulders and turned around. Joe brought his mask down and looked back down the hallway.

"All clear!" Yelled Joe

Smith, Steven and Erin proceeded around the corner, after hearing the brief, ten-second fight that had resulted in two men being dematerialized. Erin looked at the two bladed spheres implanted in the wall, and let out a surprised breath. The rest of the group looked at the belt full of spheres, and the gun laying on the ground. Steven walked to the gun and picked it up, he aimed it down the hallway and pulled the trigger. Nothing happened.

"This gun's out of ammo," said Steven.

Steven dropped the gun and the group continued down the hallway, Smith in the front, Joe in the back. Smith led the group to the end of the hallway, where another turn was required. Smith ran out from cover and observed three of the men, he quickly fired a series of electric bursts before each man fell to floor, convulsing from the electricity still running through their bodies. Smith had brought the group to a run now as they ran down the hall. After another minute of running, the group reached the last turn, the turn that would bring them into the open. Smith held his hand over his head, counting down with his fingers. Three, two, one. The group ran out from cover, instantly seeing their mistake. Nearly fifty of these suited figures stood outside of the archway that led from computer room into the library. Smith and the other three paused for a brief moment, then came to the realization that they would have to fight, in order to move on.

Smith launched bursts left and right, knocking down enemies by the dozen. Joe fired darts and struck down enemies with his swords. Steven stood with his back against the wall, waiting for the men in suits to approach him so that he could shock them into unconsciousness. Erin was in hand to hand combat, occasionally using his shock weapon that Joe had created.

Erin thought it was odd when he noticed that every man he fought was the same hight, had the same hair, same suit, and same face.

The four continued to fight until they were slowly pushed into the middle of a circle. They were surrounded. They looked around them, at the army they thought was fifty, but now looked like hundreds. Smith stopped firing, as did Joe. Erin and Steven stopped fighting, knowing that they were severely outnumbered. Suddenly, every one of the men began to talk in sync.

"We are the observers," they said, "but you have forced us to be the editors, our master has commanded us to interfere, due to an impossible future you have created. A hiccup, in his plans. The wrinkle you have created, is Steven Tanks."

The group looked at Steven, and Steven looked back at them, confused at what these so called 'observers' were saying.

"Steven Tanks was supposed to die, on his couch, this morning, due to depression, and a minor heart attack. Your arrival prevented his death, only because his depression was taken away. This event caused a change in his time stream, making the heart attack, no longer a possibility. In order for my master's plan to maintain stability, Steven Tanks, must die."

One of the men in suits stepped into the circle. The man pointed his hand at Steven, and a glowing gold sphere, that looked like it was strung together by genetic strains, shot into Steven Tanks. Steven fell to the ground, breathing hard.

"You have one minute, beware the observers, and fear the manipulator."

Each of the identical men then disappeared, and the people of the library reappeared. Joe, Erin and Smith looked around, stunned by the event. Then they remembered Steven.

"Steven, are you all right?" Yelled Joe

"I, I'm dying." He said

"No, no your going to make it through this, I won't have another death on my watch," said Joe.

"No," said Steven, "it's fine, I am dying, I, I get to be with my son."

"I am so sorry, I am so sorry it had to end like this," said Joe after a long pause.

"I'm not," said Steven, "if it's any consolation, you three have been more of a friend to me then anyone has been since my son. I, I'd rather have died this way then alone, I'm happy, and at peace."

With that said, Steven let out his last breath and fell into Joe's arms. A large group had gathered around the dying Steven, and was watching intently as the event unfolded. Sirens could be heard in the distance, as an ambulance, and police cars zipped through the city. Joe, Erin and Smith kneeled there, remembering Steven's last words. Joe looked at Steven's hand, there was a sheet of paper, sticking out of the leather, wrapped around his palm. Joe delicately pulled out the slip of paper, and read what it said.

"If you are reading this, then I have died, you have earned this: 12-34-26.1492.SANKT, go find your friends."

Joe took the paper, and slipped it into his pocket, just as the paramedics arrived and asked him to step away.

### Painful Awakenings

Dylan winced in pain as he woke up.

"My leg, oh man, what happened to my leg?"

Dylan slowly opened his eyes, then painfully shut them as his eyes dilated. Dylan decided to try again, and began to open his eyes. Slowly, Dylan's eyes adjusted to the light, and he was able to fully open them. Dylan looked around, he was inside a cave, the sun shown brightly through the opening and lit up the entire space. Dylan was leaning against the stone wall of the cave, his legs propped up on a rock. Dylan leaned his head back hard against the wall and yelled, grasping his head in pain. Dylan felt something sticky on his hands. Bringing his hand out in front of his eyes, Dylan observed the half dried blood now rubbed onto his hand. Then the memories began to flood back. He was knocked out, the arena, Maddy and Hannah, the horse.

"Where had the horse come from?" Thought Dylan, "The Aztecs didn't have horses."

Dylan propped his hand on the cliff wall behind him, and pushed. Instantly Dylan fell back onto the sand in pain, his leg screamed as if it was on fire.

"Well, this isn't going to work," thought Dylan, "now what?"

Just as Dylan completed his thought, he heard footsteps coming near the cave. Dylan held out his hands, ready to create a vortex, but the face the peaked around the corner, was Hannah's. Dylan let out a large relieved breath, and dropped his hands to his side, already exhausted. Hannah ran to his side, as if a large amount of worry had been lifted from her chest.

"Dylan, your awake!"

"Ugh," Dylan grunted, propping himself higher up on the wall, "it appears I am."

"Oh thank God," she said, grasping Dylan by the shoulders and locking him in an embrace.

Dylan was taken largely by surprise at her sudden embrace and sat stunned against the wall, almost forgetting his pain. Dylan came to his senses and gently returned the hug, trying not to move his already injured legs. After nearly ten-seconds, Hannah shrugged away from the hug and looked at Dylan.

"Oh!" She said, "I've got to go get Maddy, she's out looking for food, she'll be very relieved to know your all right."

Hannah got off the ground and walked out of the cave, Dylan watched her leave and let out a large breath, allowing his head to fall to the cave wall behind him.

"Ouch!" Yelled Dylan, as a sharp pain lurched through his head,"I have got to stop doing that."

Hannah exited the cave, sharp sunlight jabbing at her skin. She quickly ran across the sand into a cluster of shade, her feet burning from the heat.

"Man I wish we had gotten the suits," Hannah thought.

Hannah sprinted from shade to shade, until she came to the tree grove that Maddy had discovered. Hannah watched as Maddy climbed her way up the top of the large mango tree. Maddy placed her right arm around the tree, and grasped a branch with her left hand. She pulled and brought her feet up another foot. Maddy then propelled her feet over the top of the tree branch she was holding, and slowly stood up. She looked down and took a deep breath, noticing Hannah standing beneath the tree.

"Any news?" Asked Maddy,

"Yes, actually, he's awake," replied Hannah.

"What?" Yelled Maddy, almost falling out of the tree, "That's wonderful!"

"Yah, it really is, but he needs a lot more medical help."

"Well, once I pick these mangos I'll come down to the cave and see if I can help him out."

"Great! Oh and question, do the translator straps on our ears and throat still work when our suits aren't on us?" Asked Hannah

"They work if the suit is less then ten miles away."

"Okay, thanks," said Hannah. She waved and began jumping from shade to shade back towards the cave.

Dylan sat in the cave, picking up clumps of sand and sifting it through his fingers. Dylan watched as the last grain of sand fell sentimentally to the floor when Hannah walked into the cave.

"Oh, you're back," he said, disturbed from his emotional sand sifting.

"Yah," said Hannah, "Maddy is picking mangos, she should be back in a couple of minutes to check on your leg."

"Great," said Dylan, "I think I may have had a few of the nerves severed."

"That came out of nowhere, what makes you think that?" Hannah asked, with a worried tone.

"Well, my leg you see, it really doesn't hurt that much unless I move it, and I have had tendons and muscles torn, along with both knees broken, it should be so painful that I can't stay awake."

"Ah, if we only had the suits, you could be walking in a few days, it would be able to heal you."

"Tell me about it. So, do you think, do you think we will ever get back to our time period?"

"I've thought about it, Joe, Erin and Smith were never thrown into one of the black holes, they plummeted towards the planet. I am sure they are working as hard as they can to find us."

"I sure hope so."

"What do you think happened to Ryan and John?"

Dylan opened his mouth to speak, but was interrupted by Maddy entering the cave with a handful of mangos.

"They better be all right," Maddy said, "I forbid my husband to be in trouble, only problem is that it never works, he always works himself into it somehow."

Hannah and Dylan managed some small giggles at Maddy's smart remark.

"In fact," said Maddy, "do you know how many times I slapped him for calling me Maddy instead of Madison? Lucky for him I grew to like the nickname."

Hannah and Dylan smiled again at Maddy's ability to make the situation less painful, only to be horribly disappointed by what she said next.

"I miss him like crazy though," she said, "I don't know if I can go another week without him."

The cave went into an empty silence, no one knowing what to say. After a long pause Maddy broke the silence.

"Lets see about those legs," said Maddy.

Maddy knelt down next to Dylan and unwrapped the leaf strung around Dylan's knee area. She observed the frontal side of Dylan's knees. His right knee was obviously split, considering the extra large shove of bone sticking outward. His left knee appeared to only be fractured.

"Dylan, I am going to have to turn you over, this is probably going to hurt a lot, but I need to check where you were stabbed." Said Maddy.

"Okay," said Dylan, breathing in deeply and pulling his shoulders back.

Maddy slung her arms under Dylan, one under his shoulder blades, the other, under his thighs. Maddy slowly rolled Dylan onto his front side, trying to ignore Dylan's painful grunting. She propped Dylan's legs up onto the stoop they had created and looked at the back of his legs. The spear had gone in deep, cutting through many important pieces of his leg. Maddy also noticed some very disturbing discoloration inside the wounds. Looking closely, Maddy could see that some nerves and tendons were literally severed, along with muscle stripped into pieces. Maddy sat up and looked at Hannah.

"I can't heal him, nothing this age in time can. We need a miracle working technology, we need our suits."

"You're not seriously planning on going back there are you?" Asked Hannah.

Maddy looked down at Dylan, then brought her gaze back to Hannah, and nodded.

### Arrest

Joe, Erin, and Smith were finally peeled off the floor of the library by the city's police and moved away from the body of Steven tanks. Pushing through the crowd came three figures, a woman, and two men. One of the men was carrying a box which he set on the ground next to Steven. The woman opened the box and pulled out a defibrillator while the two men strapped various wires over Steven's body.

"Clear!" Yelled the woman as she pressed the two objects over Steven's chest, causing Steven's body to convulse.

"Clear!" The woman repeated the process.

"Last time," said the woman, "clear!" The woman pressed the defibrillator against Steven's body, and Joe, Erin, and Smith watched as Steven convulsed again.

Steven's body fell back to the ground, and the woman looked at the two men next to her, who were looking at readouts on screens. The two looked her in the eye and shook their heads. The woman looked to the ground and let out a deep breath, waving her hand towards the area. Police officers ran to the scene and began placing caution tape in a perimeter around the Steven's dead body, as the woman and her two helpers left the library. Erin watched as what had been a medical emergency, turned into a murder investigation. Smith had noticed the same thing, except he had also remembered the fact that Joe, Erin and himself were holding weapons. The thought arrived one-second two late, as police officials pointed weapons at the three men and placed handcuffs around their wrists. Two of the cops removed the weapons off Erin, Smith and Joe's backs. They didn't even resist.

Joe, Erin, and Smith were escorted down the stairs exiting the library, into a squad car. The three sat in the back, looking into the barrels of guns as the vehicle sped towards the local police station. As Smith looked deeper into the eyes of the man who pointed the gun at him, the cops hands began to shake. Smith grinned.

"Wow, we really are that dangerous, darn rumors," Smith thought.

After the 15 minute ride had ended, the three were pushed out of the car, ducking their heads down to avoid the flash emitted by the hundreds of photographers standing by the door. Once inside the police station, Joe noticed the large amount of policemen watching with jaws dropped. Looking behind him, Joe saw the large bragging face of the detective holding his wrists. Joe leaned back and whispered to the detective,

"You know I could break out right now if I wanted to," and the man's grin turned into a face of pure fear.

Quickly the tip of a gun was shoved into the spine of Joe's back, and he walked forward faster, hands rubbing against the cuffs behind his back. Joe looked to his left and right, making eye contact with his friends. He then dropped his head to his chest.

The three were escorted into separate rooms, where the doors were shut and locked, with three security guards placed outside the door. Once each man was inside, the head detective walked down the hallway with a notebook.

"I'll start with Smith," said the detective, "I don't understand how someone could completely turn on the DUC like he did, or how he could have survived the virus."

"Yes sir," said one of the officers, as he opened the door to Smith's room, and the detective walked in.

Smith sat in the white chair, in the middle of the white room, with his hands resting on a white table. Smith stared boringly at the door, which to his surprise, opened within minutes. Through the door walked a tall man in a suit. The man had grey hair that stood up perfectly. He carried a notebook in his right hand and a pen in his left. The man pulled a chair over to the other side of the table, and sat down.

"That has got to be tough," said Smith.

"What?" Asked the detective.

"Being the only left handed in the office."

The detective looked at Smith with an eye roll and set down his notebook.

"You will not speak unless I tell you to, understand?"

Smith looked the detective in the eyes and gave him a quick smile. The detective clicked his pen and looked up at Smith.

"Why do you think your here?" Asked the detective.

"Overdue parking tickets?" Smith responded.

"Don't give me lip or I will shoot you, we know you didn't kill Steven Tanks, and if you did kill him, I couldn't care less. You're here because your wanted by the DUC, and I'm talking to you, because you used to work for them, do you deny that."

"No, I don't deny it," said Smith, "I did work for them, and then I watched them die in the process of attempting to learn how to create a virus that was killing others."

"Thats why you left?" Asked the detective,

"No, I left because I didn't like the cafeteria food," Smith said sarcastically, "of course thats why I left, I was the last man standing and was saved by the Gifted. I watched my friends die, we were under orders, and I watched them die."

"That detail is unimportant," said the detective,

"Life is always important detective, I know you've heard the stories, and seen the footage of us killing. But the stories you never hear, the footage you never see, is the mercy we show, and the pain it causes us, to take another man's life. No man was put in this universe without a reason, and to take that from him, is something that causes me grief every time."

The detective looked at Smith, and clicked his pen, placing it into his pocket.

"If the DUC comes for you, I will never be able to stop them, and you're running out of time, if only we all had a time machine,"

"What?" Said Smith as the detective left the room, but the door closed before he could say anything else.

Smith looked at the white table and noticed one thing, a key, a small, metal, key.

Erin looked at the detective who walked into the room so he sat in the chair, looking at the detective like a child, looking at his teacher, bored to death.

"Do you know why your here?" Asked the detective,

"Look, I was going to pay the parking tickets okay, I just haven't been able to get into a bank without someone trying to shoot me," plead Erin.

The detective looked at Erin oddly, mostly because of his response being nearly the same as Smith's, but also because of Erin's attitude.

"Doesn't matter," said the detective, "I am here to ask you about your opinions towards the DUC, and why you've done what you've done."

"Well, in general, they are just overpowering jerks who think they get to decide whether people get to live or die." Said Erin.

"That decision belongs to the most powerful does it not?" Asked the detective.

Erin stood up, shoving his seat back and looking the detective hard into his eyes,

"It is no ones decision whether or not to take life. Life is a beautiful thing, and it is not meant to be drowned in the so called judgment of another man. I hate, taking it from another man. I am not saying that I'm a pacifist, if there came a war, I would fight like none other for what I believed in, but I would accept the cost."

The detective got out of his chair and left the room, and Erin sat back into his chair.

The detective took a big massive breath in the hallway, his eyes frowning. He took a step to the door that held Joe Stortion, the leader of the group of special people, who they accepted as normal human beings, trying to do some good. The detective reached out and grabbed the handle to the door, stepping inside. In the room sat a table, with Joe Stortion resting his arms upon it. Joe looked up as the door shut behind the detective.

"Look," said Joe, "technically, you are not international police, so you can't charge me for the parking tickets."

The detective has just begun to open his mouth as Joe said this, but immediately shut his mouth and put the notepad he carried onto the table. The detective looked Joe in the eye.

"Why did you do it?" Said the detective.

"I didn't do it, I didn't kill Steven," said Joe,

"I'm not talking about Steven, I'm asking why you lead the gifted."

Joe took a deep breath and sat back in his chair, contemplating what he would say next, coming to a decision, Joe placed his hands on the table and looked the detective in the eyes.

"When I was 18, I built a weapon to save a girl from an evil man. I succeeded, I killed the man and the girl was rescued by a support team a few hours later. After that, a man found me, lying half dead in a crater. The man took me, and a local policeman, Ryan Thampton with him. That man's name was Henry, I never got to know his last name, and I only learned his first name as he died. That man died protecting the belief that every man was put in this universe for a reason. I was 22 years old when he died. I had helped him recruit the Gifted, until it was finally time to fight the worst man anyone had ever encountered, a man who lived to destroy. We stopped him. I lead the Gifted to protect, and to prove that Henry knew what he was talking about, that what he said was true. That a life is a gift, and it is not made to be taken by thieves But that isn't all he believed in. He also believed largely in the difference between good and evil, he believed that evil should be given a chance to learn the ways of good, but that if it did not accept that fact, it needed to be destroyed, needed to be cleansed. That, detective, is why."

The detective sat in the chair, looking at Joe. The detective rubbed a tear off of his cheek and bit his lip, nodding his head.

"I know why they all joined you," said the detective, "I have seen the way that just you three act, and what you believe, and my entire view has changed. I can't join you, but I can help you. Smith has a key, left on his table, it will get you out of the prison, once your out, I am going to help you find the time machine."

The detective stood up, and left the room.

### Return

Hannah watched as Maddy exited the cave, exposing herself in the moonlit desert. Outside the cave, the horse was tied to a tree, the impossible horse. Hannah and Maddy were both confused on how their could have been horses, the Spanish had not brought horses over from Europe yet, it didn't make sense that they would even exist. Maddy unstrung the horse and mounted herself onto it's back. She looked into the cave, at Dylan coughing on the floor and wincing in pain. She looked at Hannah, holding Dylan's hand, but begging Maddy not to go. Maddy gave Hannah a small smile, and dug her heels into the horses side.

Maddy felt the horse take off, cutting through the fresh night air, and taking her towards the Aztec city. Looking to her side, Maddy saw the horse tracks she made on the way to the cave, she was surprised that none of the Aztecs had followed the tracks to the cave. Then again, Maddy had revealed her flame, scaring most of the Aztec warriors nearly to death. Maddy continued pushing the horse, trees flashing past her as she rode. Slowly, the city appeared in front of her, the arena, the pyramid, the homes and market, it all came in to focus as she rode on. Maddy patted the horses neck, slowing it down to a trot. She brought the horse to the tree line and dismounted. She walked the horse to a nearby tree and tied it up. Maddy wiped a bead of sweat off her forehead, and pushed her long, brunette hair back. She took a deep breath, and took off running.

Maddy sprinted towards the outskirts of the Aztec city, feeling the sand beneath her feet. Maddy continued running, the city barriers coming into focus under the bright half moon. Maddy continued her sprint until she saw the two Aztec guards outside the entrance. Maddy ran into the tree line and up to the walls of the city, placing her back against the wall. She looked to her right, making out the figures of the two Aztec warriors. She looked up, seeing the top of the 20 foot wall that ran around the city.

"The Aztecs must be pretty worried about being attacked to build a 20 foot wall around the city," Maddy thought.

Maddy stood against the wall, contemplating whether or not to take out the guards, or scale the wall. Luckily for the guards, Maddy didn't want to cause any more injuries, or possibly deaths, so she chose to scale the wall. Maddy closed her eyes and wiggled her toes. She imagined a warm sensation coming over the bottom of her feet. Slowly, Maddy's feet began to warm up. Maddy took a deep breath, and opened here eyes, revealing a small flame inside her pupils. At the same time, a large burst of flame shot from both of Maddy's feet, propelling her into the air. Maddy cut off the flame as soon as she reached the top of the wall, letting the leftover momentum propel her. Maddy focused on the top of the wall. She quickly, but delicately placed both her feet on top of the six inch wide stack of bricks. Maddy breathed out, relieved that she had performed the stunt without attracting attention.

Maddy crouched her body and began to run along the wall. Eventually, Maddy reached a section of the wall that bordered the pyramid. She planted her feet on the brick, and spotted a point on the pyramid. Maddy took a deep breath, and jumped off the wall, flying towards the pyramid. Maddy fell through the air before her feet collided with one of the steps on the pyramid, causing a jolt of pain to shoot up her legs. Maddy cringed at the pain and tried not to make any noise.

Slowly, and stealthily, Maddy began to work her way down the steps of the pyramid. Maddy brought herself down the pyramid until she was level with the roofs of the market. She jumped from the pyramid, off to one of the roofs. Here, she lowered herself to the sand. Maddy looked around, insuring she hadn't been seen, then took off running towards the entrance to the pyramid. Once she arrived at the door to the pyramid, Maddy checked behind her, making sure she hadn't been followed. Seeing that she hadn't, she walked into the doorway.

Inside the small room that marked the Aztec military headquarters, there stood a large stone table. On top of the stone table laid two suits, Hannah's and Dylan's. Maddy walked towards the two suits, examining them of any damage, none had been done. Maddy reached out to grab the first suit, feeling the fabric with her hand, then she felt a painful sting over the top of her hand as a sword lashed over it, cutting it open. Maddy cringed and pulled her hand back, looking to her left where the blade had come from. The figure she saw was a man, with bleach hair, and pale skin, he wore a suit and had a blank expression on his face. Maddy reached out to take the suit again, and the sword lashed out once more, except this time, Maddy dodged it. The man took his sword and performed a figure eight, while placing himself in a fight stance. Maddy lit a fire in her hand and burst a short flame at the man. The man disappeared and reappeared on the other side of the room. Maddy turned around and fired another blast, only for the man to teleport again.

"I don't have the patience to deal with this today. I have no idea who you are, or where you came from, but you are getting really annoying," said Maddy.

Maddy lit her whole body on fire and sprayed the entire room with flame, igniting the entire area with fire. Maddy then grabbed Dylan and Hannah's suits, and ran out of the pyramid, taking off into the night sky.

### The Labyrinth

The DUC agent stood in the long stone corridor, breathing in the cold, dead air. He felt a wind blow over his skin, and looked behind him, but only the corridor continued. The agent began to run, he didn't know why, but he had a growing urge to run. He turned his head behind him again, seeing nothing. The agent turned his head forward, only to face plant into a wall. He fell over onto the hard floor, looking up at the ceiling. The agent turned his head to the corridor on his left. A black shoe stepped out of the shadows. The agent followed the shoe up to black pants, a black suit jacket, a white shirt, a black tie, and a pale face, topped with short, bleach hair. The agent watched as the man pulled a long black sword out from behind his back, then the world went black.

Smith looked at the key sitting on the table, the one left by the detective. Smith wiggled his fingers, circulating blood through his handcuffs. He looked hard at the key, and clenched his hands into fists. Smith flexed every muscle in his body, and yanked upwards. The handcuffs ripped out of the table, leaving a large bend in the metal. Smith grinned and stood up, pushing his chair backwards. He reached out and grabbed the key, walking to the door. Smith placed the key into the keyhole, listening to it click. He turned the door nob, took a deep breath, and pulled. The door flung open, revealing two surprised police officers.

"Hello boys," said Smith.

The officer on Smith's right flung the but of his gun at Smith, who blocked it with the chain of his handcuffs and shoved the attack back at the officer, knocking him out. The officer to his left drew a knife on Smith and cut downward. Smith gladly placed his handcuffs in the air, allowing the knife to cut through the chain. Smith ran to the cell next to his and slid the key into the lock, twisting and pulling the door open. In the room sat Erin, who looked calmly up at Smith.

"Nice one," said Erin,

"Curtesy of the detective," said Smith, "now run."

Erin stood, picking the table up with him, he swung his arms around and hit the table against the wall, breaking it from his cuffs. Smith took a knife off the ground and cut through the chain binding Erin's hands together. The two ran to the next cell, where Smith opened the door, revealing Joe, standing on top of his table, with his suit active.

"Hey guys," said Joe, "we're meeting the detective out back, door's on your right."

Joe sprinted out of the room, sliding next to his two friends. They quickly ran to the door at the end of the corridor, which Smith opened. Once outside the police station, Smith shut the door and locked it. A whirring sound was heard and a jet car stopped in front of the three. The doors opened on the side, revealing the detective.

"Get in!" Yelled the detective.

Joe, Erin and Smith ran, jumping inside of what looked like a flying Bugatti Veyron. The tinted doors to the car shut, and the three took off.

"Where are we headed?" Asked Erin.

"The entrance to the labyrinth," said the detective.

"What?" Said Joe.

"The time machine lies in a labyrinth, the only issue is that nobody has ever made it through the maze, except for Steven Tanks."

Steven had never mentioned a labyrinth to the three friends, and they were all quite surprised to hear the news.

"Wait," said Erin, "are you saying that Steven, an old man, had enough time and supplies to build a massive labyrinth?"

"No," said the Detective, "the labyrinth was already built, Steven just figured out how to get through it."

"Ah," said Erin, "I never caught your name by the way."

"Adam," said the detective, "my name is Adam."

"I knew an Adam back when I was on the DUC," said Smith, "he was my best friend, the virus killed him."

Smith finished his sentence, nodded his head and bit his lip, that was when the car jolted forward.

"What was that?" Yelled Joe.

Adam pressed a few buttons on the screen in front of him, before a rotating hologram of the car came up, the hologram showed a section of the car highlighted in red.

"We've been shot!" The Adam yelled back.

Looking through the window behind him, Joe saw three cars, sleek, black, and lined with automated weapons.

"It's the DUC, we've gotta shake them off!" Joe yelled,

"Well then," said Adam, "nothing like a good car chase."

Adam sat in the front of the car, narrowed his eyes, and floored the accelerator. The car's jets activated in the back and propelled it forward at massive speeds. The three DUC cars took nearly five seconds to take off after Adam's extremely modified car. Adam looked out the windshield of his car, taking into account every turn, light post, and building, somehow managing to pick them out at 175 miles per hour and climbing. Adam took a right turn onto a street labelled "Dylan's Shin 45." Joe thought it was very strange for a street name to have nearly the same name as one of his friends, but he took it as mere coincidence and put the thought away. As the car came around the turn, bumper to bumper traffic was revealed, causing Adam to shove his foot on the brakes.

"Hold on guys," said Adam.

Adam flipped open a red switch in the center of the car and pressed it. The team felt a jerk as the car began to rise into the air. Slowly, the bottom of the car reached the roof height of the other cars. Adam flipped a pedal on the side of his steering wheel, and placed his foot back on the accelerator. The car took off just as the three DUC vehicles came around the corner. One of the black cars smashed into the traffic, while the other two began the slow process of rising over the traffic. Adam shot over the traffic, avoiding any unnecessary troubles. He came to a street crossing where he turned onto Kneecapular 40th, and continued down the road. To the car's left was a massive city, and to it's right were the simple minded suburbs. Adam took a right at another street, labelled ReturnTen. Adam continued down the street until he entered the suburbs, where he maneuvered his way through crossings and roads, until the car stopped at the front of Steven's house.

"We're here," said Adam.

Joe, Erin and Smith stepped out of the car, and followed Adam to the front porch, where a keypad, and a doorbell stood.

"Did Steven give you any information, a key, a code, a map?" Asked Adam.

Joe pulled the piece of paper Steven had given him out of his pocket, and read what it said: 12-34-26.1492.SANKT.

"Try 12, 34, 26." Said Joe.

Adam turned to the keypad and entered the numbers with his forefinger. Adam finished the combination with two and six, then pressed the enter button. A clicking sound was heard from under the cement steps of Steven's house, and the floor began to lower. Joe, Erin and Smith quickly jumped on the lowering cement slab and watched as the ground disappeared above them. The cement began to fade and sleek rock began to follow, while the light began to fade. After nearly five minutes of the slab lowering, it jolted to a stop, and two metal doors opened in front of them, revealing a hallway lined with lanterns hanging from the ceiling. The four stepped out of the elevator and watched the two doors shut behind them. The four looked at each other, and began walking down the hallway. Nearly ten feet down, the hallway split into four parts, leaving the group at a decision.

"Which way do we turn?" Asked Adam.

Joe took the piece of paper out again, and looked at the next four digits,

"What is the significance of 1492?" Asked Joe,

"Columbus," said Erin,

"What?" Asked Smith.

"Christopher Columbus sailed from Spain to America in 1492, in an attempt to find another way to get to India, instead he discovered America." Erin replied.

"Is this on Earth?" Asked Smith.

"Yes," Erin answered.

"Which way was Columbus sailing?" Asked Adam,

"West," answered Joe, "he was sailing west."

Joe looked down the tunnel and didn't blink for a few seconds, then he took a deep breath and clapped his hands.

"Does anyone have a compass?" Asked Joe,

"Why?" Said Erin,

"Because in the entire known universe, there are only three planets with the same magnetic pole as Earth, and your standing on one of them."

Erin opened his eyes wide and took a large breath in, while Smith and Adam gave acknowledging head nods.

"Here," said Erin, pulling a compass out of his pocket, "I got it on Earth as a souvenir when I first arrived with John and Madison."

Erin handed the compass to Joe, who engaged in a series of turns and oddly pointing with his fingers before he stopped, facing forward.

"We keep going straight," said Joe.

The four walked down the hallway about 20 feet before it took a curve to the right, where it continued for a short distance, before taking another right, and shortly later, a left, where the hall arrived at a T. Joe stood in the middle of the crossroads and turned with the compass held in front of him, he turned 90 degrees to the left and began walking down the aisle. The group came to a series of random turns, to the right, left, diagonals and various others before reaching another crossing. Joe walked toward the center, to check the direction, when a flash of light was seen in the hall to the right. Joe stopped moving and watched as a figure stepped out of the shadows, he was dressed in a black and white suit, topped with pale skin, and bleach hair.

"The observers," said Joe,

"You are correct," the figure spoke back, in the same echoing voice Joe had heard at the library.

"What do you want?" Asked Joe, moving backward towards Erin, Smith and Adam.

"Simply to deliver a message," said the man,

"What message?" Asked Joe.

"Dylan is injured, his time has been counting down, you just refuse to see it. His connection with this time zone is fixed, in ten minutes the infection will reach his heart. The suit may heal him, but it does not heal him fast enough."

"How do you know that?" Asked Smith,

"The manipulator has communicated to me." Replied the man,

"Who's side are you on?" Asked Smith,

"The manipulator does not take sides, he only insures that the universe works for his plan." The man said, his voice echoing through the hall.

"Give the manipulator a message for me," said Joe, "thanks for the help, but nobody has the right to manipulate the universe as they see fit, and we will be there to stop it."

"Very well," said the man, "beware the observes, and fear the manipulator."

The man raised his hands in the air, and a flash of light made him disappear, teleporting him to an unknown location.

"Who was that?" Asked Adam,

"One of the beings responsible for the death of Steven Tanks," said Joe.

"Oh," Adam responded in a sad tone, "you know I didn't mean what I said at the station about him, it was all interrogation methods, I knew Steven, he was good man."

Joe nodded his head, and stepped forward, pointing to the hallway on his left.

"We go this way."

The group nodded and followed Joe down the hallway, which took one right turn and went on for nearly 100 feet. Reaching another T, Joe checked the compass and the group took another left turn, revealing a long hallway, with a bright light at the end.

"We found it," said Adam with a relieving tone in his voice.

Adam took a step forward, but was shoved back by Joe's arm.

"Look," said Joe.

Adam followed Joe's finger down to a series of plates laying on the floor of the tunnel. They were laid out in alphabetical order, a to z, each plate with a different letter on it.

"SANKT," said Joe,

"What?" asked Erin,

"SANKT is what Steven wrote on the piece of paper, rearrange the letters and you get the word TANKS, now take that, and arrange it in alphabetical order, and you get A, K, N, S, T, which must be the letters you have to step on, in order to get to the machine."

Joe ran to the first letter, stepping on the letter A, nothing happened. He took another step, jumping to the letter K in the second row, again, nothing happened. Joe jumped another row to the letter N, and took a small leap to his right, landing on the letter S. Joe looked at the letter T, at the far left on the last row, Joe bent his knees and jumped, one leg landing on the letter T, while the other leg flailed in the air. Joe slowly regained his balance and stepped off the last letter onto the ground on the other side. As soon as Joe stepped off, every plate not containing the letters A, K, N, S and T exploded five feet into the air. Once the smoke cleared, Smith, Erin and Adam stepped across the open space to the other side, where Joe stood waiting for them. The four walked the remaining 30 feet down the hallway and came into the room filled with light. There was no stone in the room, it was lined with glistening white metal, and lights that shined from multiple angles. In the middle was a circular console, containing controls that wrapped inward to a rectangular, prism shaped, mirror. The four marveled at the site of machine, when a zap of light shot from the console, creating a hologram of Steven Tanks.

"Hello Joe, Erin, Smith," said the hologram, "I programmed this message in while we were in the computer lab, just in case something went wrong, obviously, something did. I have set time and place coordinates for you, for the date your friends who stumbled upon the Aztecs were seen in, August 30th, 1468, under the rule of Moctezuma, in one of the greatest Aztec cities."

The hologram shut down and the mirror in the center of the machine began to spin in circles, while beams of light were shot at the mirror from various points around the room. Then the lights began to grow in intensity, and the room temperature went up to nearly 100 degrees. Then the lights flashed out, and the temperature dropped, and the machine made the sound of a hammer striking an anvil.

### Dreams Of The Fallen

Erin slowly opened his eyes, cringing at the harsh red ligh. He stretched out his arms and legs, while releasing a large yawn. Taking a deep breath through his nose, Erin placed his hands on the ground and propped himself up. Erin felt a cold sensation on his hands as he pushed up, and he looked down at the ground. Erin was sitting on a floor of gold. Each brick of gold could be seen perfectly, they were fit together in an unmatchable pattern. Erin curled his legs towards him, and slowly stood up, almost losing his balance from the sudden head rush. Grasping his forehead with his hand, Erin slowly steadied himself, and began to look around. He was in a room, made of gold, the floor, the walls, were all made of gold. Erin looked up at the ceiling, it also was made of gold, and it spiraled upward a few feet. Erin turned around and saw a long hallway, also constructed of gold. Curious, he began walking down the hallway. Erin realized as he walked down the hall that there were no lights in the room, it was illuminated by the gold. Erin kept walking down the hall, until he noticed something, a picture, carved into the wall. The picture showed two men, one was tall, he wore long robes, and wore a crown. The other was of lesser height, possessed the same robes, and had wings on his back. The figure with wings was asking a question to the man with the crown, and the tall man with the crown was shaking his head.

Erin continued down the hallway until coming across another picture. It was the man with the wings, he had the same face, and same hair, but this time the figure was holding a sword above his head, along with other men, who also possessed wings and robes.

Erin looked down the hallway, where another carving stood in the wall. This carving showed the tall, important man with the crown pointing his arm at a downward angle, where the other man lay on his knees, along with his companions who had previously been holding swords, they all screamed, with the tongues of a serpent.

Erin moved on to the next carving, which displayed a series of meteors falling into a barren wasteland. Next to the image, the number 0.33 was crudely written. As Erin continued down the hallway he discovered another image, showing a large sphere with many other spheres inside of it, outside the sphere, a snake opened it's mouth as if about to eat the sphere.

The next carving displayed a sphere with a beautiful garden on it, inside the garden stood a man and a woman. As Erin moved on, he came upon an image that displayed an angel, with two swords, guarding a gate. The picture Erin saw next was of a man, horns atop his head, and wings on his back, next to the man, was an arrow, pointing down the hallway. Erin followed the arrow with his eyes, and saw the exit to the hallway. Erin walked to the exit, and stepped out of the golden hall. In front of him stood a wasteland, with craters littering the ground. Standing at the horizon stood a volcano, lava flowing from it's top. Erin looked up at the sky, filled with smoke, ash, and clusters of red lightning that shot through the debris. As Erin stared at the sky, a meteor fell through the ash, and struck the ground in front of him. Erin looked at the meteor, and watched as it split in two, revealing a man, with wings on his back, and dressed in dirty robes. The man changed into a red demon, with horns on his head, then morphed into a figure, dressed in a black suit, with pale skin, and bleach hair.

"Hello Erin," said the man,

Erin opened his mouth to speak but no words came out.

"You may not speak yet," said the man, "you are dreaming, my master has summoned you to his realm in your sleep, in order for him to deliver a message, as I am doing for him right now. He wishes to tell you, that the apocalypse is upon you. And that the apocalypse will fall on the Gifted, more than it will ever befall anyone else. You may now speak.

Erin thought hard on what he just heard ,from what he now realized, was a demon, a fallen angel. Slowly, a thought formed in his head.

"What about the four horsemen of the apocalypse, wouldn't they have shown up by now?" Asked Erin.

"Three of them have already arrived, you have met them," said the demon.

"No, I haven't," said Erin, "I would remember it."

"The first horseman, conquest, was seen in the man you refer to as 'Him.' The other horseman, war, appeared during the Gifted, and territory wars, nearly four thousand years ago, but nobody remembers him, because the war's history was burned. The last horseman you came across, was famine, who came in the form of a virus, a virus known by many names. You have encountered one of these horsemen up close, and other members of the Gifted have met two of them."

"What about death, the last horseman?" Asked Erin,

"He makes his appearance slowly, he lingers in the shadows, and when the time comes, he shall ride in on his white horse, and bring the apocalypse crashing down behind him. And that is the day that my master shall declare war upon the heavens, and a battle of proportions never seen before, shall take place."

As the demon finished his sentence, the volcano behind him began to shake and rock erupted from it's peak. As the first boulder collided with the ground, the fallen angel disappeared, leaving Erin, wanting more answers.

"Erin, Erin, wake up!"

Erin felt a hand on his shoulder, and moved his head side to side, before sitting up with a loud scream.

"Wow dude, must have been a crazy nightmare," said Smith, "sorry to interrupt you from your nap, but we made it, welcome to 1468."

### Where Am I?

Screaming, that was all she could remember, she was screaming, and there was a hand trying to grab her, a red hand. Somehow she knew that the red hand was trying to pull her in, trying to take her somewhere that she didn't want to go, somewhere terrible. She remembered being alone, no one was there to help her. There was a light, a bright light that grasped her in the darkness, and took her away.

The girl woke up screaming, deep breaths exiting her lungs with sharp cuts up her throat. She was sitting straight up, against a tree in the middle of a forest. She had a massive headache, so the girl rubbed her temples and closed her eyes, reopening them quickly as the image of a red hand flashed in her mind. The girl stood up, and looked around her, trees being seen from every angle, while flowers and grass littered the landscape. She had the sudden feeling that she was being watched, and she took off running.

Jeremy Green sat in his 1960s ford, sipping a milkshake at the local Sonic. The Sonic was built in 2010, and the past three years had been absolutely delightful. In Jeremy's opinion, the milkshake and burger drive in was the best thing that ever happened to the small town of Riddlers Paradise. Jeremy sucked the last drop of liquid out of his shake with a repulsive scrabbling noise. He set his milkshake in the cup holder next him and waved at one of the employees. He turned his keys in the ignition and put the old truck in reverse, slowly pulling out of the parking lot and leaving the Sonic.

Jeremy drove out into the main street of the small town. He drove down the 15 mile per hour road, breaking the speed limit by at least five miles per hour. He drove past the general store, the supermarket, the dollar tree, a few restaurants, and the Riddlers Paradise, Paradise Hotel. Jeremy waved at Janna, the Hotel owner, as he turned the corner onto a dirt path. He sang along to the words on the radio, raising his head in the air and closing his eyes,

"Is it any wonder I'm not a criminal? Is it any wonder I'm not in jail? Is it any wonder I've got too much time on my hands...Too much time on my hands, too much time on my..."

Jeremy opened his eyes and watched as a little girl, probably between eight or ten ran out of the forest into the middle of the road. Jeremy slammed his foot on the brake and watched as dust flew over the window, clouding his vision. Jeremy opened the car door and stepped out, coughing as the dust entered his lungs. Jeremy watched as the dust cleared away, revealing the small girl, standing in the road, shielding herself from the dirt. Jeremy walked up to the girl, waving smoke away with his dark brown stetson.

"Are you all right?" Jeremy asked,

The girl looked up at Jeremy, wide eyed and breathing hard, her brown hair in a tangled mess. She rapidly looked around her, as if afraid of something.

"It's okay, I wont hurt you," Jeremy said, "where are your parents?"

Suddenly the girls eyes rolled back into her head and she began to fall, Jeremy caught her and slowly set her down.

The girl was wearing a white T-shirt, and brown shorts. Her legs were cut up and bruised, with twigs and branches stuck in her shorts. The girl had dark circles under her eyes and five tears in her shirt on the back, as if a bear had slashed her. The girl was dark skinned, African American, Jeremy guessed. Jeremy took his cell phone out of his pocket, pressed one, and hit call. After a few rings, someone answered.

"Hey honey," said Jeremy, "I'll be home a little late...I found a little girl in the street, I'm taking her to the police station...okay, okay, I'll try to be home by nine."

Jeremy closed his phone and placed it in his pocket, biting his lip. He walked over to the girl and placed both hands under her, picking her limp body off the ground, and walking over to the truck. He opened the passenger door with his shoulder and placed the girl into the passenger seat. He buckled the seat belt around her and shut the door. Jeremy walked to the other side of the car and stepped in, turning the keys and starting the car. Jeremy flipped a U-turn and drove back to main street. Halfway up the town street was Riddlers Paradise Police Station. Jeremy pulled into a parking space and stepped out of the car. He walked around to the other side and unbuckled the girl's seatbelt, taking her out of the car and taking her up to the police station. He pushed the door open and walked in. Immediately an officer named Debra ran up to him, taking the girl out of his hands.

"What the hell?" Asked the sheriff,

"I found her in the middle of the road Daryl, she was hurt, and when I started talking to her she just passed out." Said Jeremy.

"Oh Lord," said Daryl, "Debra! Get that girl a medical check and a comfortable bed immediately!"

"Yes, sir!" Yelled Debra.

Debra took the girl into the back of the station, while Jeremy answered Daryl's questions.

"Did she have anything when you found her?" Asked Daryl,

"No, just cuts and bruises."

Daryl let out a large breath, "We've got this from here, you can go home to that wife of yours Jeremy."

"Thanks."

Jeremy left the police station, unable to stop wondering what was going on.

The sheriff walked into the back room where Debra had dropped off the girl. He pulled up a chair and sat next to the bed, his hands clasped between his legs. He looked at the girl, watching as police treated her wounds. When officers where done treating her cuts and bruises, the Sheriff stayed at her bedside, waiting for the girl to wake up. After hours next to her bedside, the girl woke up.

"Where am I?" Asked the girl,

"Safe, at Riddlers Paradise Police Station," said Daryl, "whats your name?"

The girl seemed confused at what Daryl asked her, and she looked up at the ceiling, a look of confusion coming over her face.

"I don't know, I don't know," said the girl, as she burst into tears.

Daryl gave her a tissue to wipe her eyes, as the girl collapsed into a confused fit.

### Bleeding Out

Dylan sat against the wall of the cave, unable to fall asleep. The pain in his leg had grown exponentially over the past few hours, and he thought an infection was moving up his leg. He cringed at the burning sensation he felt under his left knee cap, while his right hand grasped his other leg, as he tried to forget the pinching sensation running up and down his calf. Dylan held himself in this position for an hour, before his sight began to waver and blur. Dylan felt like his head was being hit repeatedly with a sledge hammer, shaking his brain left in right. Dylan felt small tears swim down his cheeks, building small canals that dripped off the edge of his chin. Putting his hands to his face, Dylan wished that sleep would take him out of this constant pain, but sleep denied this mercy. He no longer felt pain in his leg, as that his head was throbbing like waves that sweep the oceans surface. Dylan closed his eyes, unable to bear the pain anymore, when he opened them up again, the world had gone black.

Smith pulled Erin off the floor of the time machine, where Erin had experienced one of the most frightening dreams of his life. As Smith pulled him back to his feet, Erin noticed that all but one of the lights in the time machine had gone out.

"Outside," said Smith, "c'mon."

Erin followed smith through the large metal doors that guarded the time machine. Once outside, Erin noticed the silhouette of Joe and Adam standing under the dark sky, littered with stars. To Erin's left sat a three-fourths moon, bright orange and massive. Smith and Erin stepped out of the machine onto the sandy open space, surrounded by jungles, all of which was peaceful under the watch of the moon.

"So this is it," said Erin, looking around, "1468, Earth, August 30th?"

"Actually, judging by the moon cycle, we're late by three days," said Joe, "it's September 2."

Erin raised his eyebrows at Joe, acknowledging the newly discovered fact. The four stood next to the machine, a large gleaming sphere, standing in the middle of a sandy basin. Joe looked at calculations on a device he held in his hand, while Adam turned around in circles, taking realization of the event. Smith stood still, looking up at the sky, and Erin took deep breaths, trying to forget a previous nightmare.

"Guys," said Erin.

The three responded with various "mmhhmm's," "yah's," and "sup's."

"I had a dream, where I got visited by one of the observers."

Each person stopped what he was doing and looked at Erin, waiting for someone to respond.

"Probably just a nightmare," said Smith.

"You aren't aware that your dreaming in a nightmare," said Erin, suddenly grasping the groups attention.

Now that Erin had the spotlight, he relayed his dream to the rest of the team. The expression on the faces of his friends changed as he finished a summary of the events that occurred in his dream.

"If that actually was more then a dream," said Joe, "this could mean the end of time."

"Would it hurt to look into it?" Asked Erin,

"For the moment, yes," Joe replied, "but once we rescue the others, we will take a look at it."

Erin nodded, and followed the group as they walked towards the walls of the ancient Aztec city.

Maddy landed in the jungle, a few miles away from the city, she extinguished her flame and looked over Hannah and Dylan's suits, they were unharmed. Maddy ran through the jungle, jumping branches and ditches. She eventually came to the edge of the forest, where she found the impossible horse, tied to a tree. Maddy untied the knot and mounted the horse. She dug her knees into its side and took off. The horse cut through the cold September air, bringing Maddy closer to the cave. Maddy hugged the horses neck with her torso, and urged the creature to go faster. The next ten minutes felt like an hour to Maddy, until she finally reached the cave. Maddy dismounted the horse and ran into the cave. On the floor laid Dylan, his face was pale, and his body was limp. On the other side of the cave slept Hannah, peacefully. Maddy took Dylan's suit, and pressed her thumb onto the center of the hexagon located in the middle of the suit. The suit rippled and folded into the metal hexagon. Maddy took the object, and placed it onto Dylan's chest. The suit now began to fold out over Dylan's body, until his entire figure was covered in the magnificent fabric. Maddy swiped her finger down the center of the hexagon on Dylan's chest. A screen projected into the air, displaying a heart monitor, an image of a body containing organs, veins and bones, and a list of messages. Maddy looked at the heart monitor, the activity was faint. She looked at the image of the body, where bones and muscles down the legs were highlighted in red. Running up from Dylan's leg to his heart was a vein, the vein was colored green. Maddy then looked at the messages.

"Broken left and right kneecap, torn tendon right leg, various nerve endings frayed, fatal blood poisoning."

Maddy touched the projection where the last message read, and watched as a new screen opened.

"Fatal blood poisoning, unable do remove, expected time until reaches heart: 20 min. Solutions: Hold patient in stasis, find external surgical help."

Maddy looked at the screen, shocked. She thought for a moment, and pressed the section that read "hold patient in stasis," this would preserve Dylan's body, brain, and heart, but would bring them to a point as low as the activity of a coma. Dylan's body and mind could survive for a week, if he didn't have surgery by then, he would die.

### Character Index

Joe Stortion:

Joe Stortion is from the planet Tartifia, he has medium length black hair, blue eyes, and invents one of the most powerful pieces of technology in the universe.

Anna Reynolds:

Daughter of Randy Echelon, Anna Reynolds has long blonde hair, green eyes, a hatred for her father, and a love for Joe Stortion.

John Caleb:

Born in Parker, Colorado, John has dark brown hair, hazel eyes, and parents who leave him on his own most of the time. John has the ability to create objects and situations with his desires.

Madison Jacobs:

Born in San Diego, California, with brunette hair and dark green eyes. Madison moves to Colorado and meets John Caleb, she discovers his powers and shows him that she possesses her own, the ability to create and manipulate fire.

Hannah:

Born in Jackson, Mississippi, with long blonde hair, and sea blue eyes, Hannah accidentally killed her parents and destroyed a city block at the age of nine, causing a depressing, speechless childhood, she has the ability to emit massive sound and radiation waves from her mouth.

Sir:

A shady character, always found wearing a trench coat, he is typically seen in the middle of supernatural situations.

Him:

Sir's sworn enemy, he is never seen, or heard, only the result of his destructive work can be found. He possesses a long list of ability's, ranging from telekinesis to firing plasma from his palms.

Ryan Thampton:

A police officer who stumbles upon Sir and Joe Stortion, he has grey/black spiked hair, and is highly talented with the use of different weaponry.

Jacob (Jake) Andrews:

Blonde haired, blue eyed, tan, and stuck up, Jake and his brother Dylan were born in Mexico, but left orphaned on the streets. Jacob possesses the ability to magnify and manipulate solar radiation and heat.

Dylan Andrews:

Black haired, brown eyed, and shy, Jacob Andrews brother, Dylan was always the less important in the family. He possesses the ability to create black holes.

Smith Jones:

Former DUC employee, recruited by the Gifted.

Erin:

Messenger rescued by John and Madison, who later joins the Gifted.

Adam:

Detective who is convinced to help the Gifted in certain causes.

Steven Tanks:

Creator of the universe's only time machine, and friend to the Gifted.

Jeremy Green:

An ordinary man living in the town of Riddler's Paradise, who stumbles upon an odd situation.

### Awakening

Jake inhaled deeply, grasping at his neck and opening his eyes wide. Jake looked around him, a massive volcano stood in the distance, throwing balls of magma into the sky, and puffing out clouds of ash.

"That bastard," said Jake, "I thought he'd killed me!" Jake looked around, at the ash, and the smoking red soil under his feet, "but I have no idea where the hell I am."

Jake coughed hard into his hand, and felt his eyes burn.

"Darn Joe and his heroics, if he hadn't tried to be a hero I wouldn't have ended up here."

Jake suffered another series of coughs and messaged his throat with his hand. He looked around once more, noticing the massive lava planet that hung in the sky, obviously very close to the planet he stood on. Continuing to turn around, Jake saw a path, paved of red stone.

"Well, thats got to lead somewhere, hopefully a place where I can breath clean air."

Jake began to walk down the path which led towards the volcano. Jake watched as meteors fell from the sky, landing all across the wasteland. He watched as the volcano shot debris and magma from it's mouth. The volcano continuously erupted ash into the sky, Jake could not even see what was beyond the ash, only the glow of the nearby planet to his left. It was as if a black hole was enveloping the sky.

"Black holes," thought Jake, "that reminds me of someone else I need to get revenge on, that is if he survived his trip back in time." Jake chuckled.

Jake continued walking down the path, remembering his brother Dylan, the one who finally put aside his cowardice and fought back. Jake cringed and spat on the ground. His spit tasted like dirt, and was hot like fire. Jake felt an itch on his arm, and went down to scratch it, only to be blocked by his suit. Jake peeled back the sleeve of his suit, and went to scratch his forearm, but found something horrific. Jake's arm was bright red, in such a texture that it looked like blood. His arm was covered in pussy bubbles and black charring. Jake remembered, he remembered what had happened to him. He and Joe had gotten into a fight, where Joe had tried to convince him to go to jail, and live out his life. He had denied the offer, and launched a series of radiation rays at Joe. The fight led into an abandoned space station, where Joe had thrown him off the side of the station, into a supernova. There was a singing pain, and then Jake woke up on the planet, the volcano planet.

"I should be dead," said Jake, "how did I get here?"

Repulsed by the look of his skin, and the fact that he could see the outline of his bones, Jake rolled his sleeve back down. He continued walking along the path, listening to the sound of his feet clack on the stone below him. Jake felt the air around him begin to heat up, he was getting closer to the volcano. Jake stopped, feeling a convulsion in his stomach. He leaned over and coughed, eventually watching as ash erupted out of his lungs. After the painful series of coughs ended, Jake continued walking, but faster then he had been previously.

The path brought Jake to the side of the volcano, where the heat became almost unbearable. Suddenly the ground began to shake. Jake lost his balance and hit the ground hard, cringing at the sound of his bones cracking. Jake shook his head and stood back up. He stretched his body and looked to the sky, where he saw a massive glowing rock plummeting towards where he stood. Jake cut short his stretch and sprinted to the side. The rock hit the ground, and the shockwave launched Jake into the air. Jake sailed ten feet forward before colliding painfully with the stone path. He felt the air leave his lungs and a puking sensation come over him. Jake slowly stood up, holding his chest with his right hand. After regaining his breath, Jake limped forward painfully.

After another 15 minutes of walking, Jake's vision began to blur. Jake stopped to catch his breath, and upon looking up, noticed that the path had brought him around to the other side of the volcano. Jake followed the path with his eyes. The dark red stone ran up the mountain, up to the mouth of the volcano.

"You've got to be kidding me," said Jake.

Jake mustered up all the energy he had left, and began to work his way up the volcano. The air around him boiled, as did the ground. Every piece of dirt not touching the stone was bubbling, and oozing lava in pulses. Jake was using his hands now, the path was so steep that he had to.

Jake placed his hand on the ledge of the volcano, near a shot of spewing lava. He pulled himself over the ledge and stood over the mouth, where the path disappeared into lava. Jake stared into the bubbling mass, dizzy, and squinting from the heat.

"I am not going in there," said Jake.

Jake turned around to go back down the path, when the ground gave way below him. Jake watched as his body fell into the lava. For a few seconds, all he saw was orange and red. Jake felt the lava seeping through his suit, and burning his exposed bone. The lava must have been extremely hot, in order to burn through Jake's magnificent suit. Suddenly the lava disappeared and left only the rock wall of the cave. Jake continued falling until his body collided with the floor of the volcano. Just before Jake passed out of consciousness, he noticed two things, that the floor was paved with stone, and a that there was a chair that sat across from him.

### The Man With The Red Hand

Jeremy pulled his truck into the garage and opened the door, stepping out of the vehicle and onto the concrete floor. He yawned and walked up two stairs to the door. He took off his jacket and hung it on the hanger next to him, then opened the door and stepped into his house. Most of the lights were off, but he could see the light of his TV strobe from the living room.

"I'm home," yelled Jeremy.

Jeremy hung his keys on a rack in his kitchen, and walked into the living room. On the couch sat Jeremy's wife, with a blanket up to her neck and long black hair flowing over her shoulders.

"You're late," said Jeremy's wife with a smile.

"Sorry, I had a bit of a problem on the way home."

"What happened, problem at work?"

"No, I found a girl on the side of the road, and brought her to the police station. I thought i called you about it?"

"Oh yah, I remember, is she okay?" Asked Jeremy's wife concerned.

"We don't know."

As Jeremy finished his sentence, his phone rang in his pocket. Jeremy reached down and pulled out his phone, the screen showed the name 'Daryl.'

"It's the sheriff, I've got to take this, it might be about the girl." Jeremy said to his wife as he stood up.

His wife smiled at Jeremy as he left the living room. Jeremy walked into the kitchen, where he opened the phone.

"Hello," said Jeremy,

"Hey, it's Daryl, the girl woke up, she said she didn't know where she was, we put her through facial recognition but we don't have a match. Nobody has called in, so for now, she's a John Doe."

Jeremy bit his lip and let out a deep breath.

"Let me know if you get any more information," said Jeremy,

"Absolutely," said Daryl, "but we need you to come in tomorrow, legally, we have to put you through an interrogation."

"All right, I'll come in," said Jeremy,

"Thanks Jeremy, see you tomorrow,"

"Yah, I gotta get back to Sandra now, so I gotta go,"

"Okay, bye Jeremy,"

"Bye."

Jeremy hung up the phone and put it back in his pocket. He walked back to the couch and sat down next to his wife.

"What was that about honey?" She asked,

"The girl is a John Doe, they can't find her with facial recognition, and there aren't any missing reports." Jeremy said with a disappointing tone. "Now what are you watching Sandra?"

"What appears to be one of the Star Wars," Sandra said.

"Sandra, thats Star Trek," said Jeremy as the Starship Enterprise entered the screen.

"Oh you boys and your classifications, all I know is it's got guns, spaceships and starts with 'star.'"

Jeremy laughed and put his arm around Sandra, just as the words 'Wrath of Khan' came across the screen. The two sat on the couch for a good 15 minutes until Sandra changed the channel. Jeremy went from a face of awe to a face of disappointment.

"Why did you change the channel, we were just getting to the good part?" Pouted Jeremy.

"Sorry, I was too confused, why don't you go get us a movie from the cabinet." Sandra replied.

Jeremy got off the couch and walked over the side of the television, where a large wooden cabinet stuck out of the wall. He opened the cabinet, and began shuffling through stacks of movies. Sandra continued changing the channel until coming over the local news. She watched as the reporter told her what the next day would look like.

"Well everybody, get ready for a great September day tomorrow as temperatures rise into the 50s and 60s. Expect an average wind speed of 7-15 miles per hour and a whole lot of sunshine. This is your Riddlers Paradise weather for the week, and now we will give it over to Tom for your local news."

The screen changed to a young man, dressed in a light brown suit, sitting at a table with a short stack of paper in front of him.

"Well, it looks like Riddlers Paradise has more then coupons and celebrations this week. This afternoon our very own Jeremy Green brought in a young girl he found on the street. As the sheriff put it, 'the girl had no idea who she was, or where she was.' Currently, the girl is a John Doe, she hasn't been found on facial recognition, and there are no reports of a missing child within 200 miles. We will fill you in as events unfold, but for now, goodnight Riddlers Paradise."

The screen flashed a bright blue animation across the screen, and changed to a commercial for asthma medication. Sandra looked up from the TV, towards where Jeremy had gone to get a movie. Jeremy stood still, glued to the TV.

"Jeremy," said Sandra,

Jeremy shook his head and looked back to Sandra,

"Sorry, I just heard my name on the news, and kind of got a little excited."

Sandra gave Jeremy a smile,

"Did you pick a movie yet?"

"Oh, yah," Jeremy said, remembering why he was at the cabinet in the first place, "does Independence Day work for you?"

"Haha, sure, you're lucky I like action movies."

Jeremy closed the cabinet and kneeled by the TV, where the DVD player sat on a blue shelf. Jeremy pressed the eject button and replaced the current disc with the one he was holding. He gave the DVD tray a nudge and watched it return into the DVD player. Jeremy stood up, and felt his phone ring in his pocket, he didn't recognize the number, but he answered the call anyway.

"Hello, Jeremy Green, who is this?"

The person on the phone responded in a young, excited voice.

"Hey, this is Tom from the Riddlers Paradise news, what do you think about coming in for an interview tomorrow, so that we can hear your side of the story."

Jeremy breathed a long thoughtful breath out of his mouth and pressed the phone to his chest.

"Am I free tomorrow?" Jeremy asked Sandra,

"What time?" She mouthed back to him.

Jeremy lifted the phone from his chest back to his ear, "What time?" He asked,

"Does five work for you?" Proposed Tom.

Jeremy pressed the phone to his chest once again and pulled a notebook out of his back pocket. The notebook showed a list of projects, with different dates next to them. Jeremy thought for a moment, then put the phone back to his ear.

"Can we push it to six?" Asked Jeremy,

"Absolutely," said Tom, "do you know where the studio is?"

"West of main street right?" Asked Jeremy,

"Thats the one,"

"Alright then, I'll be at the studio around six,"

"Great, thanks so much," said Tom excitedly,

"Okay, bye," said Jeremy with a chuckle as he hung up the phone. He looked at Sandra, who's face showed enough curiosity for her to not need to ask what was going on. "I got an interview," Jeremy said with a smile.

"Oh thats wonderful," said Sandra, "I'm going to have Jim and Carol over just so we can watch you on the TV."

"Haha, thanks," said Jeremy, "now how about that movie?"

Jeremy sat on the couch next to Sandra and pressed play on the remote, starting the movie. Halfway through the movie Sandra fell asleep, her head rolling into the unfortunate resting place of Jeremy's popcorn bowl. Jeremy made it to the end of the movie, then turned off the TV, and joined Sandra in the dream world.

"Do you remember anything?" Asked Daryl,

"Yes," said the girl,

"What do you remember?"

The girl took a deep breath, and tried to calm down her shaking, as goose bumps rippled over her skin.

"I remember the hand, there was a man with a red hand."

"Do you remember anything about this man?" Daryl Asked,

"He was trying to take me, he wanted to kill me, more than anything," the girl replied, "he was about to grab me, but someone was protecting me, and he woke me up and told me to run."

"Who was this other man?" Asked Daryl,

"I don't know, but he was protecting me," said the girl, smiling slightly as she said it.

"Okay, moving on," said Daryl, "what happened after you woke up?"

"I ran through the trees, into the road, where that man stopped and asked me if I was okay, I was about to respond when I felt something pull me back into sleep. Then I woke up here." The girl said as more confused tears fell out of her eye.

"Thank you for telling me all of this, I know it's really hard for you right now, just know that if you need anything, all you need to do is ask," said the Daryl in a calm tone,

"Thanks," she replied.

"Well, here is a pillow, and a few blankets, if you want to try sleeping."

The girl smiled at Daryl and laid the pillow on the cot she sat on, she placed her head on the cushion and pulled the blankets over her, while closing her eyes. Daryl nodded to himself and left the room.

Daryl woke up to a high pitch scream, curdling through the night, the scream of a little girl. He got out of the small cot he was sleeping on, slipped on his slippers and sprinted to the adjacent room. He fumbled with the handle before turning it and pushing the door open. Inside sat the John Doe girl in her bed, screaming. Daryl ran to her bedside,

"Are you okay?" Daryl asked worried.

"It, it was the hand, the man with the red hand, he was trying to take me, where is the other man, I need him,"

"The man other man from your dream?" Asked Daryl,

"No, where is Jeremy?"

Daryl just about passed out, the girl had never heard Jeremy's name, she should have no idea who Jeremy was, let alone his name. Daryl got back on his feet, ran to the other room, and pulled out the phone. He pressed a few buttons and called Jeremy.

Jeremy woke up to the sound of his phone ringing. He reached to the lamp stand on his side and picked up his phone, squinting at the bright light. He answered the call.

"Hello," said Jeremy with a croaky, tired voice.

"It's sheriff Daryl," said the voice on the other line.

"Hey Daryl, whats up," said Jeremy, slowly waking up.

"The girl, she's calling for you," Daryl said in a concerned tone.

"What do you mean, she's calling for me?"

"Somehow she knows your name, and she is screaming for you at the station right now, look I'm really sorry to wake you up right now, but is there any way you could come down to the station?"

"Yah, sure," said Jeremy, slowly standing up and looking for a light switch.

"Thanks, I really have no idea what to do here."

"No problem, see yah in a few," Jeremy croaked.

"Okay, bye," said Daryl, right before he hung up the phone.

Jeremy had found the light switch to the lamp beside the couch, the light revealed his wife, peacefully asleep on the cushions. Jeremy smiled at the image of Sandra, sleeping deeply. He went to his kitchen and pulled out a pen, and some paper, and began to write,

"Dear Sandra,

I have to go to the police station, something is up with the girl, and they need my help to solve the problem, see you in the morning."

Jeremy put the note on the lamp stand and walked down the hallway. He put on his shoes, took his keys off the hook, and opened the door to his garage where he slowly walked down the stairs. Jeremy opened his car door and stepped inside. He pressed a button on the roof, and listened to the garage door open. Jeremy put the keys in the ignition and pulled out of the garage. He drove out onto the dirt path, flicked on the lights, and tried not to fall asleep.

Daryl heard the bell ring and sprinted to the front of the station, he was relieved to see Jeremy walk through the door, even if he was blue clad in pajamas.

"Jeremy, thank God your here, she's in the back room."

Jeremy nodded tiredly and followed Daryl to the back of the office, to the comfortable room that held a shaking, crying little girl, who was calling Jeremy's name. Jeremy knelt down and held the girls hand. The girl turned her head and looked at Jeremy.

"It's you," she said, "the voice in my dream, the good voice, it told me to find you, it told me to find Jeremy, no matter how hard the man with the red hand tried to stop it, it told me to find you."

"Well, now I'm here," said Jeremy, "can you sleep now?"

"Can, can you stay with me?" Asked the girl, "Please?"

Jeremy turned around and looked at Daryl, who was making a begging motion with his hands. Jeremy rolled his eyes and turned back to the girl.

"Sure, I'll stay with you until morning," said Jeremy.

The girls face showed a wave of relief wash over her, as she leaned in and gave Jeremy a hug, surprising him greatly. Jeremy broke the hug and pulled up a stool next to the bed, where he sat for the rest of the night. Jeremy waited in the stool, as the girl eventually dosed off to sleep. Jeremy's head dropped to his chest and his eyes rolled shut.

Jeremy woke to the sound of his phone beeping an alarm sound. He looked at the screen, it read 6:45 AM. Jeremy looked down the hallway at the window, where rays of sunlight peaked through the glass. Jeremy got out of the stool and walked down the hallway to the door, which he opened and stepped out onto the sidewalk. He walked down a few parking spaces, where his truck was parked. He opened the door, and started the car, pulling out and driving down main street. Jeremy arrived at his house a few minutes later, where he took off his shoes, and walked into the kitchen, where his wife was cooking eggs.

"Hey honey," Jeremy said.

Jeremy and Sandra exchanged a quick hug, and Jeremy gave an explanation of why he had to go to the station. Jeremy then walked upstairs to his room, where he put on a pair of jeans, and a button up, red plaid shirt. Jeremy walked back down the stairs into the kitchen, where he ate a plate of eggs and bacon. He then walked down the hall, put on his shoes, said goodbye to Sandra, and left the house.

Jeremy arrived at work ten minutes later, where he went straight to work. Jeremy laid out a blueprint on the large wooden table. The blueprint was that of bike frame, various portions were circled, and outlined. Jeremy ran his hand over a section that didn't have any highlighting, and left the room. He came back with a metal tube, matching the measurements on the blueprint. For the next few hours, Jeremy welded, polished, and fused metal, whilst trying not to fall asleep. Jeremy's coworkers all asked him about the girl. Jeremy answered their questions in short sentences.

Finally it was five, and Jeremy could leave. He said goodbye to his coworkers, and his boss, and exited the building. Jeremy stepped in his truck and drove down to Danny's Diner, a restaurant owned by Daryl's brother. Jeremy sat in the diner and ate a burger, with a plate of fries. When he had finished eating, it was 5:45 PM. Jeremy left a large tip on the counter and left the diner. He drove down the street to the TV studio for the local news. Jeremy walked in and asked the woman at the front desk where to go, she directed him to a room number that Jeremy didn't remember, on floor six. Jeremy stepped in the elevator and pressed 'six' on the pad to his right. The elevator brought Jeremy to the level where he stepped out, down the hall was a door that read, "Riddlers Paradise News." Jeremy opened the door and stepped inside.

"Ah, you must be Jeremy," said a young man, shaking Jeremy's hand as he closed the door behind him, "I'm Tom, the one who called you for the interview."

"Yah, I guessed that," said Jeremy.

A voice from across the room yelled out,

"Tom, we're on in 30!"

Tom looked at his watch and made a concerning face.

"Okay, when I say that we have an interview with Jeremy Richard, you walk over to the desk and take a seat," said Tom,

"Got it," said Jeremy,

"Great," replied Tom with a nervous laugh.

Tom ran up to the desk where he sat down and reviewed a sheet of paper in front of him.

"We're on in ten, nine, eight, seven, six," said a man in a booth to the right.

After 'six' the man began counting down on his fingers, five, four, three, two, one. A redheaded man in his thirties began talking about the whether in front of a green screen, across the studio.

"Hello residents of Riddlers Paradise, it's another beautiful day. Todays high is 60 degrees, but don't get too excited because it's going to drop into the 20s and 30s later tonight. Tomorrow the temperatures will be relatively the same, but it's going to get a little bit cloudy around three. Now lets hand it over to Tom, who has a massive treat for you all today."

The cameras all moved to Tom, who gave them a big smile.

"Today I have brought in a guest for an interview, he's lately become a local hero, haven't guessed yet? Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome Jeremy Richards!"

One of the men in the booth to the right flicked a switch, triggering a clapping noise. Jeremy walked onto the set and sat in a chair.

"Hello Jeremy," said Tom,

"Hi," Jeremy replied.

"So I am told that you recently saved a little girl, the John Doe?"

"Well, I didn't really save her, I more like found her, and took her to the police." Said Jeremy.

"Would you like to tell us the story?" Asked Tom,

"Uh, sure," said Jeremy.

Jeremy told the story of his encounters with the girl, from the time he saw her in the road, up to him staying up all night with her so she could sleep. Tom and the rest of the studio turned from excited, to touched by Jeremy's story.

"That sure sounds like you saved her to me," said Tom.

"Your definition of saving depends on how you define helping," said Jeremy, "so little people help one another these days, that someone doing a good deed is considered a hero."

"You know what Jeremy, I really like how you put that, I think what you just said is very influential." Tom said with a soft tone.

The next few minutes were spent with Tom asking Jeremy questions about his life, and Jeremy talking about his job, and his wife. Then the topic swerved back to him saving the girl, where Tom brought the interview to a closing.

"Well, thanks for coming today Jeremy," said Tom.

"No, thank you," said Jeremy."

"We'll be right back after a brief commercial break," said Tom.

The director in the booth to the right brought his hand down, and yelled "cut!" Jeremy talked to Tom for a few minutes, mostly with "thank you" and "your welcome." Jeremy then left the studio, to join his beautiful wife and friends for dinner, and have a long good nights sleep.

### Finders Leavers

Joe, Erin, Smith and Adam found themselves pushing through a thick jungle, working their way around the Aztec city. Smith led the group through the jungle and was cutting through vines and branches with a cutlas, of which nobody in the group knew why he had one, or where he had kept it. Joe's mind had been hard at work for the past few minutes, pondering a question.

"Adam, can I ask you something?" Asked Joe, "It's a question that has been bothering me."

"Sure, what is it?" Said Adam enthusiastically.

"When you had us in interrogation, your views where almost opposite of ours, it's almost impossible for even us to change someone's mind that fast, so what exactly happened?" Asked Joe.

"I'm surprised I didn't explain that before we headed into a massive labyrinth," said Adam with a chuckle, "it was a cover, I had been following your whereabouts for a few years, and had heard about everything you and the Gifted had done. Unlike most people, I wasn't deceived by the DUC's false version of you three. The reason that I spoke about such harsh opposing views in interrogation, was because I needed to keep a cover, so that the rest of the station wouldn't suspect me too quickly."

Joe's worries about Adam being a spy for the DUC withered away, he knew what a DUC answer sounded like, and what he just heard, wasn't that kind of answer. Smith continued cutting the branches and vines as they trampled through the jungle, trying not to get cut by any loose twigs. The four walked at an easy pace through the jungle, hoping not to attract much attention from the bordering city. Erin refused to accept the possibility that there would be no fighting in the process of taking back their friends, which is why he walked through the jungle clad in fully automatic rifles, and various melee weapons. The rest of the group simply stuck with their suits, confident that nothing that could happen that would be powerful enough to beat them, and their magnificent works of engineering. Not a lot of talking occurred over the span of the walk, mostly due to the fact that each man was contemplating what state Maddy, Hannah, and Dylan would be in. Joe was constantly thinking about what he would say when they found them, and what they would say back.

"Been a long time old friend," thought Joe, "no, thats too dramatic...nice to see you again? No, that one is too emotionless, man, I really need to come up with something!"

Adam had less to no idea what these other people looked like, let alone what they could do. He tried to convince himself that he wasn't afraid to meet these others, but was unsuccessful. If he was to be completely honest with himself, Adam was terrified. Smith and Erin, were the most thoughtless of the group, both of them kept their thoughts focused on the mission, on retrieving their lost companions. Daylight was slowly returning, and the temperature was rising steadily. A strong breeze began to swivel through the jungle, pushing aside the large green leaves and kicking up branches. The group didn't feel it, but the temperature had risen 40 degrees in the last few hours, it was one of the warmest mornings the city had ever had.

"Hey Erin," said Joe,

"Yah," he replied,

"You found the book with Maddy, Hannah and Dylan in it correct?"

"Yes, I did, why do you ask?"

"What event had occurred in the chapter you found them in?"

"It was something about a harvest, how the gods hungered for a warriors blood, or something like that."

"Were our friends in this reaping?"

"Oh my," said Erin, "I completely forgot, the harvest was theirs, they were the ones being harvested."

Joe stopped in his tracks, Smith stopped cutting branches, and Adam took a few steps backward.

"You didn't tell us this earlier because?" Asked Joe,

"We were being attacked by identical men with really big guns?"

Joe ran his hand through his hair and clumped it into a fist, breathing out deeply.

"Smith," said Joe.

"Yes."

"We need to pick up the pace."

"Got it."

Smith began jogging through the jungle, waving the cutlas in front of him. Joe started walking again, giving Erin a disappointed look. Erin stood back, watching the others take off, and he received a slap on the back from Adam as he passed by. Erin took a deep breath and ran after the group. Erin slowly caught up and slowed to a jog, they were now making a steady pace through the jungle. After a few more minutes of jogging, Smith broke the outskirts of the Jungle, and the group stepped into the desert. In front of them lay the desert, with the sun just barely peeking over the sand. To the right was an Aztec city, and to the left was miles of desert.

"Looks like we're going to the city," said Joe,

"Why?" Asked Smith,

"Because they are the only ones who know what happened to our friends, or where our friends are."

Joe led the group towards the walls of the city, where two soldiers guarded the gap in the 20 foot wall. As the group approached, the soldiers took defensive positions, their spears pointed outward, and their feet placed strongly on the ground.

"Make sure your translators are on guys," said Joe.

The group approached the city entrance, causing the guards to get even more nervous. As Joe came up close to the guards, one of them yelled.

"Stop!" Yelled the guard.

Joe stopped in his tracks and raised his hands in the air.

"What do you want?" The guard asked,

"I wish to speak with your leader, I'm looking for someone," said Joe, feeling the strange strip across his neck vibrating as it translated his sentence.

The guards now began to shake even more than they had earlier.

"Who are you looking for?" Asked one of the guards,

"Two girls and a boy," Joe replied.

The guard responded with a frightened face, and a gesture towards the city entrance. The four followed the two guards into the city, where they were led through a long chain of small shacks and bungalows. The guard brought them through a set of closely packed stone structures, before taking a turn onto a clear path towards a large pyramid. The two guards brought them down the path up to the pyramid, where a small staircase led downward, under the pyramid. Joe was the first to step off the staircase and see the Aztec leader, Moctezuma. The king looked up from a stone table, where a pile of ashes lay. Joe looked the man in the eye, causing a great look of confusion on the leaders face.

"And who would you be?" Asked the leader,

"Doesn't matter," said Joe, "I'm looking for some friends of mine, and I have a feeling you know where they are."

"You're definitely not from around here, are you?"

"Not even close,"

"Then why would you expect me to have seen your friends?"

"Because I am judging by the fear your guards showed when I arrived with these three, along with the lack of guards."

Moctezuma took a long look at Joe, and pulled a sword off the table next to him.

"You're a smart young man, I have seen your friends, I can tell you where they are, for a price."

"What price?" Asked Joe,

"A duel, between you, and my finest general, none of the tricks that your friends tried to pull off."

"What tricks?"

"Take off your armor," the ruler said with a commanding voice.

"What, my suit?" Asked Joe,

"Call it what you want, take it off."

"Okay then," said Joe.

Joe performed a hand gesture on his wrist, and the black suit rippled into a black sphere, six inches in diameter. The sphere fell into Joe's hands. Under his suit, Joe wore black pants, and a buttoned up white shirt.

"When do we start?" Joe asked the astounded Aztec ruler.

"Tonight, it will entertain the people quite nicely," Moctezuma said with a smile.

Joe shook hands with the leader, and left the pyramid with Erin, Smith and Adam. The four exited the city and took the long walk to the time machine. At the machine, Joe placed the black sphere that was his suit, into a locked, metal compartment. After this, Joe fell into a dreamless sleep for a good two hours. Upon waking, he and the group ate a meal of meat and crackers, being that was all they brought with them.

Joe and the others headed back towards the city, taking the closer entrance this time around. The four came across the entrance, where the guards escorted Joe through a small door on the side of the arena, and took Adam, Smith and Erin through the main entrance. Joe entered a small room, where various weapons lay on the table. Examining the table, Joe saw three weapons, a large machete, a spear, and what appeared to be two steel balls tied together. Hanging on the wall to his right, was a rope, which Joe took and tied around his waste. He slung the two attached steel balls, and the machete in the belt, and picked up the spear. Joe didn't like the idea of having to hurt others to find his friends, and he definitely didn't intend on killing the man he was about to face. Two guards entered the small room, motioning for Joe to enter the door to his left. Once through the door, he entered a long hallway, which opened up into the arena.

Joe stepped into the chill night air, welcomed by screams and cheers. Looking around him, he saw hundreds of Aztecs wrapped around him in an oval, all cheering and chanting. Directly across the arena stood a man, feet planted firmly in the sand, he carried far more weapons then Joe, but wore no armor. Moctezuma may have twisted his words, but at least he was true to them. Searching through the crowd, Joe found the only people not cheering. Adam, Smith and Erin stood, but did not cheer, they made eye contact with Joe, and nodded. Joe looked back from the crowd as a soldier ran out from the side of the arena, pouring oil in a line down the center. He met in the middle with another soldier, also pouring oil. After the short ritual was performed, two more soldiers exited the side of the arena. One of the men was large and muscular, wearing less to no clothing. The soldier who exited with him carried a drum. As the two men came to the center of the arena, the cheering came to a halt, and the man with a drum began to slowly beat a rhythm. A slow beat pounded through the silence, steadily picking up pace. As the drumming reached fast rhythm, the large man took a torch from behind his back, he dragged the wooden stump across the sand, before pulling a stone from his pocket. The rhythm quickened, and the large man held the stone in the air, bringing the crowd back to life. Chanting billowed along with the beat as the man struck the stone on the sand, creating a flame which he cast upon the torch. The torch burst into flame, as did cheers from the audience. The man breathed in deeply, his large chest pulsing outward, he brought the torch down from above his head, and held it next to the line of oil that cut the arena in half. The crowd screamed, and the man dropped the torch. Fire erupted across the sand, creating a wall between Joe and the general. The fire would only last until the oil burned off, and the sand was turning to glass.

Joe approached the wall of flame, calmly and confidently. On the other side, the general approached, a scarred snarl across his face. The fire burned hot, separating the two warriors. Joe closed his eyes and breathed deeply, feeling the heat of the flame. When Joe opened his eyes, the fire had dyed down to the point of flickering. Joe saw the general in flashes, with two machetes drawn, and a spear on his back. The fire flickered and dyed, as the general slashed his two swords across the glass line. Joe sucked his stomach in, barely avoiding the two slashes. The general jumped over the glass line, his long brown hair tangling behind him. Joe curled his bare toes into the sand, taking a strong stance. He waved the spear over his head and pointed the tip at the general, with the other end firmly planted under his armpit. The general smiled and brandished his two machetes, one above his head, and the other firmly in front of him. The general struck first, wielding the machete in his right hand in a motion across Joe's chest. Joe stepped back and curled his wrist, slamming the side of the machete with the sturdy rod of the spear. The general fumbled with the weapon, losing concentration of the battle. While the general tried to regain focus, Joe pushed the back of the spear out from under his arm, and slammed the general on the side of the head with it. As Joe took his fight stance, the general was knocked backwards, stumbling over his own feet. He fell over on his back, landing on the line of glass that the sand had turned into. The general let out a scream as the shards of glass broke and pierced his back.

The general grasped clumps of sand with his hands, and pushed himself up. With an angry fury, he charged at Joe, swinging his duel machetes like a mad man. Up, down, right, right, diagonal, left, Joe dodged the strikes like a gymnast. The general thrust his left machete forward in a jab, causing Joe to side step, and slam down his spear. As Joe's sphere collided downward with the sword, the general used his other machete to cut down, splitting the spear in half. Joe stood still for a moment, holding two pieces of what had been his winning weapon. The general seized the pause and sliced his machete across Joe's face. Joe felt the sting rip across his cheek, leaving a bloody trail behind it. He screamed and grasped his face, while the crowd erupted into cheers. Joe looked up at the moon, feeling it's glow upon his skin. He reached to his waste, and pulled out the two steel balls. Looking up, he could see the general beginning to approach him. Joe waited, as the general came closer and closer, his machete raised above his head. As the general braced for a strike, Joe threw the rope holding the two spheres at the general's legs. The balls swung around his legs, trailing the rope behind them. As the spinning stopped, the general's legs went stiff, and he fell onto the ground face down.

Joe drew the machete from his belt and walked over to the general, who was struggling to untangle his legs. The general's machetes lay separated from one another in the sand, out of his reach. Joe watched as the general stood up, drawing a spear from his back, and a short knife from his belt. The general leaned forward, taunting Joe with short jabs of the spear. Joe slowly walked backward, as the general pushed him with the spear. Joe focused, and waited, for the opportune moment to strike, and he did. The general launched the spear forward with a jab, putting his body in a lunging position, Joe stepped around the side of the spear and cut downward with his machete, splitting the spear in half. Joe spun his weapon upward, slapping the knife out of the general's hand. He then elbowed the general in the chin, and kicked him in the stomach. Joe watched the general keel over, and used the opportunity to slam him on the back of the head with his fist. The general fell forward, slamming his head on the ground. Joe looked around watching the crowd, his friends were smiling, and some of the Aztecs were cheering.

"Is that enough for you Moctezuma?" Screamed Joe, his voice cracking.

Joe took his machete and hovered the blade over the general's neck. Suddenly the crowd stopped, and a figure stood up on the far side of the arena. The figure raised his hand, and spoke.

"I will tell you where they are, that man is too important for me to let him die," bellowed Moctezuma.

The ruler stepped into the arena, as soldiers ran from the sides and confiscated Joe's weaponry. The right side of Joe's face was covered in blood that had dripped down from the cut. His shirt was dyed red at the shoulder, where the blood had dripped off of his cheek. Moctezuma approached Joe, not even glancing at his general.

"My spies tracked them in a cave, due north, but none of us dare to go near them. Follow the horse tracks, and you will find your friends."

"Horse tracks?" Asked Joe.

"Yes."

"Since when do Aztecs have horses?"

"They showed up a few months before your friends arrived, a white and black horseman rode upon them."

Joe's face changed from that of tiredness, to that of fear. He nodded at Moctezuma, and jogged out of the arena.

Joe met with the others outside the arena.

"Well?" Asked Smith.

"They are in a cave, due north," said Joe, "but there is something else, Moctezuma said to follow the horse tracks, I asked him about the horses."

"What is it?" Asked Erin.

"He said they were brought to him by a man dressed in black and white."

Even Adam understood why Joe was nervous this time, never the less Erin and Smith.

"Well what are we waiting for? Lets go," said Erin.

Joe snapped his fingers twice above his head, in a few seconds, a black sphere flew into his hand. Joe trapped the sphere and pushed it onto his chest. The sphere folded out over Joe's body, forming his signature black suit.

"Lead the way," Joe motioned with a smile.

Hannah woke up, stretching her arms over her head. Her yawn was cut short as she noticed the suit that rippled over her body. In the corner slept Maddy, uncomfortably next to the wall. On the other side of the cave, lay Dylan, with the helmet of his suit over his head. Hannah stood up and walked over to Maddy, she shook her until Maddy woke up with a start.

"You did it!" Said Hannah,

"Yah," said Maddy sleepily.

"So is Dylan going to be alright?"

"Oh yah, I'm so sorry Hannah, the infection was reaching his heart, I had to put him into stasis, it was the only way to save him. He can make it another three weeks this way," Maddy lied.

Hannah's smile turned into a frown, and she began to shake. She looked at Dylan, laying motionless on the ground, and looked back at Maddy, bursting into tears. Maddy held Hannah in her arms, feeling the tears fall from Hannah's face to hers. Hannah suddenly stopped crying as the sound of footsteps was heard outside the cave. Maddy slowly let Hannah down.

"Watch Dylan, I'm going to see who's outside," whispered Maddy, watching as Hannah nodded in response.

Maddy quietly stood up and conjured a ball of fire in her palm, walking towards the cave exit. She took a deep breath and left the cave.

"Look, I am having a really bad day, so I recommend you get the..."

Maddy looked up, her jaw dropping. In front of her stood four men, one of which she had never seen before, but the others, she knew all too well. Maddy ran her fingers through her hair.

"I am so sorry," said Joe.

Maddy's mouth formed into a smile, and she ran towards Joe, embracing him in a large hug. She was joined by Erin and Smith, all of which shed tears of Joy.

Hannah heard talking outside, and she left the cave to see what was going on. She stopped in her tracks at the site of Maddy and three others hugging. The hug broke and Maddy pointed to the cave, where Hannah stood staring.

"Joe, Erin and Smith, half my family," Hannah said smiling, "nice to see you again."

Hannah created another group hug, lasting a good few minutes.

"Wait, didn't Dylan come through with you?" Asked Joe.

"Dylan, oh my gosh I forgot," said Hannah, sprinting back into the cave.

Maddy, Joe and the others followed Hannah into the cave, where she was knelt down next to him.

"What happened?" Asked Erin.

"Poison," said Maddy, "he was put in the arena for a harvest, he saved Hannah's life, but lost a lot. The poison had just reached his heart when I got the suits back, I had to put him into stasis to save him."

"We can get him to a hospital that will be able to save him," said Joe, "But we will need to do it quick."

"Good," said Hannah, "It's great to see you guys again."

### Surgery

"She's slipping under guys, we need her out fast!"

"None of the robots can perform a brain surgery that fast, we would need hands on!"

The nurse looked across the room, raising his eyebrows and hands simultaneously.

"There is no way he could do it that fast,"

"Either he succeeds or the woman dies."

The doctor paced back and forth, his head in his hands.

"Sylvia! Get Dr. Durian."

"So I see your making a full recovery?" Durian asked the boy sitting on the table in front of him.

"Yes, and I haven't felt any pain in the tendons since the operation," the boy replied.

"Well I'm happy to see my work was successful."

Suddenly there was a beep and a voice was heard over the intercom,

"Dr. Durian, you are needed in the ER stat, please enter the transporter chamber, you will be briefed on the way."

Durian looked at the boy and set down the clipboard.

"Sorry buddy, we'll have to finish this later, see if nurse Janice can help you."

Durian walked out of the room and ran down the hallway, where a cylindrical chamber sat in the wall. Durian took a white coat, surgical mask, and cap off the wall. He opened the door to the chamber and stepped inside, pressing a few buttons. The tube he stood in shot downward, as a video appeared on a screen in front of him. Durian watched the video while shoving himself into the coat he had picked up.

"Hello doctor, the patient is 37 year old Emily Johnson, 20 minutes ago her fourth ventricle burst, causing cerebrospinal fluid to leak into the cerebellum. We need you to seal the gap, and remove any excess fluid in order for us to rejuvenate brain activity. If you do not succeed, the woman could die, or for the rest of her life the blood flow in her brain will work incorrectly, and the woman's motor control will be deeply off. Good luck doctor."

The cylinder came to a stop, and Durian stepped out into the white hallways of the ER. He was immediately escorted to the surgical room by three nurses, passing him tools and a pair of gloves. Durian pulled the surgical mask over his mouth, and stepped into the room.

Rick Johnson sat in the ER hallway, tapping his foot nervously on the ground, and shaking his head. He watched as nurses and doctors ran in and out of the room they took his wife into. One nurse came out of the room with a jar, holding a few millimeters of a clear liquid. Another ran inside with a bottle holding various danger icons. After a few minutes, a man came out of the room, pulling slimy gloves off of his hands. He threw the gloves into the trash and pulled the surgical mask down. The man put his hands on his knees and breathed sharp, nervous breaths. From inside, Rick could hear nurses talking.

"One, two, three, clear."

Rick heard the zap of a defibrillator, repeating multiple times. The surgeon who had left the room stood up, and began to walk away.

"Wait," said Rick, watching as the surgeon turned around, "where are you going?"

"I never wait to see the results," said the man.

Rick waited a few more minutes, then a nurse came out of the room with a clipboard. She pulled down her face mask and smiled.

"She made it," said the nurse, "all thanks to Dr. Durian."

"Oh thank God," said Rick, breathing out deeply, "thank God."

The time machine materialized in the middle of Fortheorn city, on the planet Castheantious. The doors to the machine opened, revealing a slowly gathering crowd of surprised onlookers. Exiting the machine sprinted Joe and Erin, immediately holding open the doors. From inside the machine came Smith, with Dylan slumped over his shoulders. From behind Smith, came Adam, Maddy and Hannah. Hannah's face was drenched in sweat and worry, while Maddy tried to keep a calm. Maddy kept Hannah with her at the machine as the others ran into the crowd. Within minutes an ambulance shot around the corner. The magnetized street kept the ambulance hovering delicately above the ground as two men stepped out of it. The events that followed happened in a blur of confused citizens and paramedics asking questions.

Dylan was placed on a stretcher and loaded into the back of the ambulance, accompanied by Joe.

"Whats wrong with him?" Asked a paramedic,

"A deadly poison almost reached his heart, we had to put him into stasis to stop it from progressing. He has one two weeks until the poison can inch it's way into his heart, but he only has one week until he goes brain dead." Joe replied.

"So if I'm correct, the minute we take this suit off, the poison will reach his heart in..?"

"Ten minutes."

The paramedic took a deep breath and leaned his head against vehicle wall.

"David!" Yelled the paramedic.

"Yes?" Replied a man from the front of the ambulance.

"Call in Durian."

The phone rang, sharply screaming into Stephen Durian's right ear. Stephen jumped in his bed and groaned. He reached his hand over to the phone next to him and pressed a button, answering the call.

"Hello," said Stephen in a croaky voice.

"Hi, it's David, we have a situation and we're going to need you."

"Be there in a few."

Durian pressed the hang up button and looked at the screen in front of his bed. The clock read 3:00 PM. Durian had been up late at the hospital last night, he couldn't even remember how many surgeries he had performed. Durian slowly got out of his bed, placing his feet on the floor and putting a robe on his shoulders. He walked into the bathroom and took a quick shower. He went into the kitchen and turned on both the coffee, and the espresso machine. Stephen opened his refrigerator and pulled out three pancakes, which he quickly devoured. Once the coffee had finished brewing, he took two shots of the expresso and poured himself a large cup of black coffee. Stephen walked into his bedroom once again and opened his closet, where a multitude of suits hung up. He took one down and quickly shoved it on, messily stringing the tie around his neck. He walked out of his room, through the kitchen, and into the garage. There sat his car, as beautiful as ever. Stephen walked around the side of the car and opened the door, stepping inside. Once inside he placed his hand over the center of the steering. A blue line waved up and down his hand, then the car started. The garage door opened, and the now hovering vehicle shot into the street.

The automated streets of Fortheorn allow vehicles to go speeds as high as 200 miles per hour, without having any accidents.

In barely any time, Stephen had reached the hospital parking lot. He stepped out of his car and walked through the entrance, where he was happily welcomed by the front desk. He made his way into the elevator, which brought him all the way to the other side of the hospital. Upon his exit Stephen was introduced to the surgery section of the hospital. He was immediately given a light blue coat and a mask on his way to the check in.

"Stephen Durian," Stephen said to the two women at the check in desk.

One of the women nodded and looked at the screen in front of her for a few minutes, clicking on various icons.

"Yes," said the women, "your patient is in room 104."

Stephen nodded and headed down the hallway until he reached room 104, which he entered promptly. Inside the room stood three men, a nurse, and a teenage boy, sprawled on top of the table.

"Diagnosis?" Asked Stephen as he closed the door behind him.

"Poison," said the nurse, "it almost reached his heart so he was put into stasis, once we take him out, the boy has ten minutes until the poison reaches his heart."

"What happens if we leave him in stasis?"

"He will last one to two more weeks tops, the poison is only slowed, not stopped."

Stephen turned from the nurse to the three men standing in the room. He felt like he recognized their faces, then again, he had seen a lot of people in his time.

"I'm going to need you to leave the room," Stephen told the three men.

One of the men nodded and began to walk out of the room. Before exiting the doorway, the man handed Stephen a piece of paper, giving him instructions on how to take the boy out of stasis. Stephen looked at the boy for a few seconds, before turning back to the nurse.

"Can I revert the blood flow to somewhere else?" Asked Stephen.

"If you do, his heart will begin pumping openly into his body, it could flood vital organs."

"Unless we do an implant,"

"In ten minutes?"

"Maybe, get me the chemical scanner."

The nurse left the room and came back with a rectangular machine in his hands. The machine had a metal border running around it's sides, and a clear screen which enveloped the rest of the machine. The nurse flipped a switch on the side of the machine, and handed it to Stephen. Stephen hovered the machine over the boy's chest area, revealing a multitude of colors on the screen. In a large red section, was located a stream of green, which branched off into another large red section. Stephen set down the device and smiled.

"He is one lucky boy, I need you to write this down David."

The nurse pulled out a notebook and a pencil, he adjusted his stance and looked attentively at Stephen.

"Alright, here we go," said Stephen, "The infection started at the popliteal artery and worked it's way up into the femoral artery. It appears that the boy was positioned in such a way that it didn't spread into his femoral veins. The poison continued into the common iliac artery and up into his aorta. The poison traveled up the aorta and made then split. A portion of the poison leaked down the renal artery into his left kidney, which is now holding the poison. We will have to remove the kidney as well, but this will have to be done after we remove the poison near his heart. The other half of the poison continued up his aorta and is now dangerously close to his heart. Lucky for us it is all clumped together in the same place, about four centimeters long."

The nurse finished nervously jotting down on the notepad before looking up at Stephen.

"So what's your plan?" Asked the nurse,

"We're going to do an implant."

The nurse shook his head at Stephen and raised his eyebrows. Stephen responded with a smile.

"You realize your going to have to stay and see how this one turns out right?" Asked the nurse.

"Sadly yes, now get the supplies."

"On my way."

The nurse left the room and Stephen began to prepare himself. He put on a pair of latex-free gloves, and slipped a surgical mask over his mouth. He wrapped a bandana around his head and tied it strongly. Stephen hated hair nets, but that didn't change the fact that he had to keep his hair from falling into an opened up body. Stephen rolled the white sleeves on his jacket down to his wrists, and pulled the gloves over the ends of them. Stephen was just finishing his final checks, when the nurse walked in with an armful of supplies. The nurse placed a metal gown on the counter and pulled out one foot of clear plastic tubing. He pulled out a series of of cutting instruments, and a bottle which held a blue liquid. From another box, the nurse took a roll of black string and a needle, along with two clear tubes which were hooked up to a plastic bag. Stephen took the note the man had given him from his pocket and read through the directions carefully. He lowered his surgical mask and looked at the nurse.

"I am going to take him out of stasis, I need you to put the IV in him as quick as possible okay?"

"Got it," said the nurse.

Stephen hung the IV bag on the wall next to him and handed the two tubes to the nurse. He then pressed his hand on the center piece of the suit the boy was wearing, and went through a series of windows, before coming to one that monitored the boys body. One the bottom of the screen was a button which read 'Break Stasis.' Stephen held up three fingers to the nurse, and counted down. Three, two, one. Stephen pressed the button and the suit rippled into a hexagon sitting on the boy's chest. He removed the hexagon and placed it on the table, as the nurse quickly inserted the IV.

"Start the timer," said Stephen.

David pressed a button on the wall and the clock began to count down from ten. He then walked to the table and picked up a sharpie, which he handed to Stephen. Stephen drew a rectangle over the chest of the boy and handed the sharpie back to David. David then handed him the bottle of blue liquid, which Stephen opened and began to spread over the rectangle.

"Scalpel," said Stephen.

The nurse carefully handed Stephen the scalpel. Stephen carefully made an incision along the rectangle, watching as the skin began to unfold. Stephen handed the scalpel back to David and quickly glanced at the clock. The countdown was now at nine minutes. Stephen carefully folded the boy's skin outwards, revealing a small layer of fat and muscle. Stephen took another tool from David, which he used to carefully part fat, muscle and tissue to the side, revealing a rib cage. Using another glance at the clock, Stephen saw it tick down towards eight minutes. Under the rib cage, Stephen could make out the aorta, where the poison was located. Stephen took the chemical scanner off the table and held it over the vein, watching as the green line moved closer to the heart. Stephen performed a few hand gestures, and the machine highlighted a section of the vein. Stephen pressed a button and the scanner began to hover over the body. The highlighted section was where the poison would be in two minutes. Stephen looked at the clock, which was now down to six minutes.

"I need the scissors," said Stephen.

David handed him the scissors, which Stephen held steadily in his hands.

"Cut the tubing down to five centimeters," Stephen told David.

David did as he was told and handed the tubing to Stephen. Stephen held the tubing in his left hand, and the scissors in his right. He watched the screen as the green traveled towards the highlighted section of the screen. The front of the green oval was in the highlighted section, and the back was following. If Stephen missed this, the poison would reach his heart. Stephen would have to cut into the heart if the poison got any further, and the clock was ticking at three minutes. Stephen watched as the last of the oval entered the highlighted area. He slipped the scissors through the rib cage and cut the vein at the end of the highlighted area. He slipped the end of the plastic tubing over the vein and held the other end facing up. Stephen cut the other end of the highlighted area, and removed the section of the vein. He then placed the other end of the plastic tube into the section he had just cut. Stephen watched as blood pumped through the plastic tubing, into the other portion of the vein. Stephen took the vein he was holding in his hand and placed it into the metal bowl on the desk. Stephen waved looked through the chemical scanner and found no evidence of the poison outside of the boy's kidney. Stephen then motioned towards David with his left hand. David took a box off the counter and opened it, watching as a cold steam billowed off the rims. Inside the box was a vein transplant, which David cut down to size. Stephen carefully took the transplant out of the box and focused on the section where the plastic tubing was. He then adjusted the surface the boy was lain on, so that his head was lower than his feet. Stephen then reached in and removed the plastic tubing, quickly replacing it with the transplant. He then painted a liquid around the edges of the vein. The liquid sealed the transplant with the split aorta. Stephen took a deep breath and looked at the timer, paused at two minutes.

### DEATH

Jake woke up with his head pulsing in pain.

"What the hell? Second time today!"

His body still ached from his burns as he he pushed himself into a sitting position. Above him, Jake observed what appeared to be a ceiling made up of lava, but the hot magma was not falling, it was hovering perfectly in place. Everything around him was made of stone, from the floor, to the walls. The stone was dark red, and covered in strange runes. In front of him the stone led to a stairway, leading deeper under the volcano.

Jake propped his hand on the wall, which steamed with heat. A normal person would have screamed in pain from the heat of the wall, but Jake's nerves were fried, so he didn't feel the heat on his hand. He pushed himself onto his feet, and leaned against the wall for a few seconds, catching his breath. He began to walk towards the stair case, figuring it was his only possible way out of the volcano. Jake stared down the stairway, which disappeared into a dark abyss. He rolled his eyes and started his descent.

The stairs, like the walls, gave off short bursts of smoke. With every step he took, Jake's bare feet sizzled. The stairs seemed as if they would never end, the only thing that gave Jake a hint of light, was the hot glow of the steps. Jake tediously continued down the steps, stumbling like a zombie. Pain throbbed through his legs, as if every step he took was another knife being jabbed into his thighs. He could take it no more, so he sat down on the steps to rest. Suddenly the ground began to shake, and small pebbles fell from the ceiling above him. Jake grabbed the step with his hands and held tightly as the ground shook. Slowly the shaking came to a stop, and the pebbles stopped falling.

"Phew," said Jake letting out a deep breath.

Jake stood up on the stair he had been sitting on, brushed himself off, and took a step forward. His foot collided with the stair in front of him, and a small cracking sound could be heard from below. Jake's other foot was halfway off the stair behind him, and it stopped there. He breathed in deeply through his nose, and out through his mouth. The minute he opened his eyes, the stair gave way. A series of colorful words came out of Jake's mouth as he began to fall. He couldn't see anything, only darkness. Jake felt the air rush over his skin, ripping through the large burns and cuts that covered his body. He couldn't tell how far he had fallen, because he saw no change in environment. After a few more seconds of falling, Jake hit the ground.

The pain singed up Jake's legs, as every bone in his body broke. Once again, Jake's vision was blurry with blood, but before he fell unconscious, he heard a voice. The voice was cracky, and deep, full of hatred and destruction. The voice said,

"He will become death, the destroyer of worlds."

### Scavengers

The sand burned as it trickled out of John's hand. He looked around, the glare of the sun distorting his vision. All he could see was sand, outstretched into a radiating mist. John sat on the ground, legs crisscrossed.

After the battle of Gaugamela was won, Alexander and the Greek armies made their way towards the Persian capital. Alexander gave John and Ryan the opportunity of coming with them, to serve as generals, but they declined. Ryan and John had agreed that the glory of war that Alexander so craved was not meant for them, and that they would leave the line of duty as soon as possible. John and Ryan had fought hard in the battle, in order to keep history on track. Every battle John or Ryan had fought was for the purpose of saving, or protecting something. Never once had hey fought a battle for selfish purposes.

John looked up from the sand, seeing Ryan jogging towards him. John pushed himself up, wincing at the pain the hot sand caused on his hands.

"I couldn't find anything, there isn't a single drop of water in ten miles," said Ryan disappointedly to John.

"What are our options then?" Asked John, "It's not like we can go anywhere that will accept us."

"I don't know John, I'm just trying to stay strategic right now, trying to focus on survival."

"Easy for you to say, your not the one who's lost his fiancé," mumbled John under his breath.

"What was that?" Asked Ryan.

"I said," yelled John, "thats an easy thing for you to say, because you are not the one who has lost the only woman he has ever loved!"

"You don't think I'm suffering too John?"

"No, I don't, your over here, showing absolutely no emotion, no care whatsoever to the situation we are in, to the people we have lost."

"I'm trying to survive!"

"We fought in a war Ryan, we could have died, don't bring up survival."

"We fought in that war to save history, to prevent the future from destruction."

"Ryan, we fought in that war because you thought it would be exciting,"

"I swear, that wasn't the reason, John are you okay?"

"Am I okay, the real question is whether or not you are okay, in fact, have you ever been okay? Have you ever felt pain, loss, have you even felt an emotion before?" John screamed at Ryan.

"John, I think the heat is getting to you,"

"Oh, now your being illogical, you of all people should know that your fancy, shmansy trench coat prevents that from happening to me. Did you ever think that I might be suffering from actual loss, maybe feeling real emotions?"

"John, please try to calm down," Ryan said while making an open motion with his hands.

"I can't, you emotionless...jerk!"

John gritted his teeth and threw his right fist at Ryan's cheek. His punch collided hard with Ryan's face, causing him to keel over, grabbing at his cheek bones. Ryan recovered himself and stood up straight.

"Hit me again," said Ryan.

John didn't hesitate to throw his other hand into the opposite side of Ryan's face. Once again, Ryan took the blow full force and took a few seconds to recover.

"Again," said Ryan calmly.

This time John brought around a slap, causing Ryan to recoil greatly. Ryan rubbed the tender skin on his cheek with his hand and stood up as straight as he could. John was in tears, his eyes surrounded by a color like that of rare meat.

"Again," Ryan coughed out.

John brought his hand back behind his shoulder, and threw it forward. Before his hand could collide with Ryan, John directed it downward, and fell forward crying onto the ground. John buried his head in his hands and shook. He looked up at Ryan and shook his head.

"I am so sorry, I am so so sorry," John choked.

"It's okay, I deserved it," Ryan replied.

"No you didn't, I just miss her so much, and I needed someone to blame it one. I needed to let my anger out."

"Don't worry John, if we can't find a way, then we can hope and pray that the way will find us."

### Rescue

Dylan walked into the lobby, eyes wide open and confused. Sitting in seats backed up to the wall were his friends. Joe, Hannah, Erin, Maddy and Smith each turned their heads to Dylan. Each of them stood up from their seats and stared. It was Hannah who broke the silence, running towards Dylan and embracing him in a large hug.

"Ouch!" Dylan said with a cringe,

"Sorry," said Hannah.

Hannah loosened her grasp into a more delicate hug, which Dylan received openly. Slowly the others joined in the large hug, which lasted for a few seconds. Once the hug had been released, the group looked at Dylan with smiles.

"Hows it feel to have only one kidney?" Asked Joe with a chuckle,

"I got a kidney removed?" Dylan asked confused.

"They didn't tell you that did they?"

"No, why did I need a kidney removed, and a better question is, how did I get here? Last time I checked I was in an Aztec city during the 1400s."

"We'll tell you everything when we get back to the machine," said Joe.

"What machine?" Dylan asked with an odd expression.

"You'll find out soon enough."

Joe led the group through the hospital door, onto the sidewalk. The street next to them was a swarm of colors, with each car moving at intense speeds, all one could see was a streak of color left behind. Joe led the group to a small rectangular box, which bordered a section of street where no cars were driving. Inside the box, Joe pressed a red button on the wall, and motioned for the others to sit on one of the benches. After punching in a few more buttons on the wall, Joe took a seat himself. A few seconds after Joe sat down, a bus stopped in front of the box. Joe got up and began walking towards the bus, the others followed suit. The bus hovered delicately over the street, bouncing slightly as each person stepped aboard. Once the group was inside, the bus driver closed the doors and pressed a large red button in front of him. Suddenly the bus shot into the street, reaching intense speeds. Within a minute, the bus had reached the center of the city, where it came to a sudden stop. The group exited the bus, and walked to the large machine in the center of the park. The machine was being photographed by a good twenty people standing in a circle around it. Joe walked straight through the crowd up to the door, which he opened just enough for the others to enter, once they all were through, he closed it promptly.

Dylan turned around in circles, his jaw dropping to his chest. Upon turning a full 360 degrees, he noticed another man in the room. He was tall, somewhat skinny. He wore a brown suit that clung nicely with the rest of his body. His hair was messy, but still organized in it's presentation. The man had a glimpse of facial hair, but not enough to call it a beard. The man walked up to Joe and began talking to him, while pointing at various objects. In mid-sentence, the man looked at Dylan and grinned. This made Dylan quite uncomfortable, considering he had never met, or even seen this man before. The man finished what he was talking about, and received a friendly slap on the shoulder from Joe. As he and Joe parted ways, the man approached Dylan.

"Hi, my names Adam, we haven't officially met yet," the man said.

"Dylan," said Dylan, shaking the man's hand.

"I broke Joe, Erin and Smith out of a police station, and have stuck with them ever since," Adam said casually to Dylan.

"The funny thing is that doesn't surprise me," Dylan said with a chuckle,

Adam laughed back, "Just in the time I have been with them, it does seem pretty normal."

"Yah, so what exactly is this machine here?"

"It's a time machine."

Dylan looked at Adam with his eyebrows raised.

"You're kidding me," said Dylan,

"Nope, not at all, thats how we got you guys out of the 1400s."

Dylan looked around once again, attempting to take in what he was just told. While looking around, Dylan noticed something, he noticed that something was missing.

"Joe!" Yelled Dylan across the room.

Joe turned his head towards Dylan and motioned 'one minute' with his fingers. Joe finished what he was doing, and walked over to Dylan and Adam.

"Yah, whats up?" Joe asked,

"Where is John and Ryan?" Asked Dylan.

"Thats what I was just talking about with Adam, he found a message on one of the screens with coordinates on it. We think that Tanks left it for us."

"Who's Tanks?"

"Stephen Tanks was the one who built this machine, he died, sadly."

"Wasn't my surgeon named Stephen?"

"What can I say? People have the same name from time to time."

Dylan nodded his head up and down, and took a few more seconds to take in all of this new information, which he had obviously missed while stuck in the 1400s.

"So you think the coordinates lead to John and Ryan?" Dylan asked,

"Well, if they do, then it means that Ryan and John, are stuck in Asia, which I should be referring too as Persia, because it's in 331 BC," Joe Responded.

"Wow, and I thought I was really far back...Why is it that we all went to Earth, we weren't even near it when we got sucked into the black holes?"

"Your DNA matched with that of Earth, the portal had nowhere else to take you."

"What about Ryan though, he wasn't born on Earth?"

"We think thats why he and Joe went so far back in time, because it was confused with the different DNA's."

"So what are we gonna do now?" Dylan asked, slipping his hands into the pockets of the sweatpants the hospital gave him.

"We're going to find them," said Joe with confidence, "now suit up Gifted."

"Yes sir."

Dylan smiled and walked to the other side of the time machine, where his suit was strewn over a bench. He picked up the suit and pressed the center of the hexagon. The entire suit folded into the hexagon within seconds. Dylan smiled and held the hexagon in front of him. Checking over his shoulder to make sure no one was looking, Dylan took off his shirt, then pressed the hexagon to his chest, allowing the suit to fold over his body. Once he was completely clothed in the amazing material, Dylan took a deep breath and smiled. As he turned around, Joe stepped up on top of the console and clapped his hands together loudly. Everyone stopped what they were doing and looked up at Joe.

"Okay Gifted, the power is now back to full capacity, and we are going to find Ryan and John. If you wouldn't mind, would you please hold onto something, and try not to black out like Erin did," said Joe with a smile, "lets go."

Joe hopped off the console and pressed a series of buttons. He entered in coordinates, and pulled a lever. Joe looked up at everybody and smiled, then he pressed a large red button under the screen.

Instantly the lights began to flicker and the machine began to vibrate profusely. A sound like that of an electric car motor echoed throughout the room, until the lights shut off completely, and the machine lurched in every direction.

"Is everyone alright?" The voice of Smith rang throughout the room.

Slowly voices responded until everyone had spoken. Within a few seconds, the doors of the machine were thrust open, letting in a flood of light. Erin stood by the doors, squinting his eyes. The rest of the group shielded their eyes with their arms, each making their way to the exit. Maddy was the first one to notice it, the large pile of sand that sat awkwardly atop the barren landscape. She sprinted towards the pile of sand, followed by the rest of the group. Slowly the sand began to trickle down to the ground, revealing two bodies, huddled together in a crouching position. Maddy saw the colors on the suit, next to the trench coat, and instantly knew who it was.

"Oh Stephen, you brilliant, brilliant man," said Joe.

Maddy slowed down at the two crouching bodies, just as one of them began to turn around, revealing the face of John. John looked at Maddy for a good minute, before he opened his mouth.

"Well it's about time," John said with a laugh.

Maddy instantly embraced him, in a hug that had been months in the making.

### Comeback

The time machine arrived on Earth, September 21st, back into it's original time stream. The machine sat in the middle of a large field. A charred circle surrounded the machine, putting a gap between the machine, and the wheat of the field. The doors of the machine opened, revealing Erin, who stepped out and took a big whiff of fresh, fall air. Inside the machine, Ryan and John were getting their wounds treated.

"So, you said that you guys couldn't find any water, but couldn't you just have conjured some?" Smith asked John.

"No, during the battle I put in a lot of mind power, when the battle was over, I had massive migraines and couldn't focus enough to conjure anything," John responded.

"Ah, so tell me exactly what happened in this battle," Smith asked.

"May I?" Ryan asked John.

"Absolutely," John said tiredly.

Ryan took a deep breath and collected himself, while Smith treated his wounds.

"It started with us being kidnapped by the Persian army, they thought we were Greek spies. They were going to execute us, but they didn't have enough time, or something like that. They strapped us to horses and sent us into the dessert to die, only instead of dying, we found a Greek battle camp. At the camp we were interrogated as suspected Persian spies, until things took a turn for the best. Alexander the Great, is a Gifted."

"You're joking,"

"Nope, he can create lightning."

"Wow."

"Anyway, we made the decision to help them in the battle, because they were outnumbered, and the environment was almost impossible for his troops to gain victory in. We knew that if we didn't help them, history would have been ruined..."

Ryan went on, describing how he, John and Alexander had devised the plan to win the battle using John's ability, and how they had eventually succeeded. He explained how they were given the option of coming with the Greeks to take over Persia, but had denied the offer, and were left in the Persian dessert.

"So that brings us to know," said Ryan.

"Wow, that is insane...I still can't believe that you and John fought in Gaugamela."

"Well we did," said John, "deal with it."

Smith laughed and removed a small tube from the first-aid box. He removed the cap from the tube and squeezed almost the whole bottle onto a wash cloth.

"Lets see that calf now shall we?" Smith said to Ryan.

Ryan gave Smith a roll of the eyes and rolled up up his right pant leg, revealing two large gashes across the muscle. Smith took the wash cloth and rubbed the white fluid all along the gashes. Ryan cringed and bit his lip at the stinging pain that pulsed through his leg. When Smith was done spreading the gel, he removed a large gauze from his box, and wrapped it multiple times around the wound.

"I need to do your cheek now," said Smith.

Ryan turned his head, revealing a deep cut stretching from his left temple, to his jawbone. Smith gave it a concerning look, considering what to do since the gash still hadn't closed. He walked to his box and removed another white tube, and a needle with a long thread attached to it. Smith rubbed the white liquid along the cut with his finger, trying not to notice the pain in Ryan's facial expression. When he was done disinfecting the wound, he took the needle, and began to pierce it through one side of the cut. Ryan's eyes instantly squinted shut, causing Smith to stop his procedure. Smith focused, and continued what he was doing. He weaved the needle through the cut, tightening it periodically. He came to the end of the cut, and tied cut the needle from the string. He then tied two ends of the string together and tightened it. Ryan slowly opened his eyes and let out a deep breath.

"Well the bright side of this, is that you're going to have a really cool looking scar after the stitches come out," said Smith.

"You have no idea how excited I am," Ryan said sarcastically.

Smith put all of his medical supplies back in the first aid box, just as John walked out the doors of the machine. John looked up at the sky and took in a large gulp of air. But he quickly seized into a fit of coughing, which continued for a short time.

"You alright?" Asked Erin,

"Yah, just the air, it's so dirty," John responded, still coughing.

Those who heard John make this remark laughed briefly, and then settled into another peaceful silence. The silence was broken by Joe telling everybody to get into the machine.

"Okay, everybody," said Joe, "we have all been trusted with the task of fulfilling one of Stephen Tanks' last wishes...to destroy the time machine. We will be flying it back to the ship, where we will leave the machine, and destroy it."

Erin shut the doors to the machine, and nodded to Joe across the room. Joe input coordinates, flicked a few switches, and pressed the red button, sending the machine to the ship.

As the lights flickered and the machine shook, Joe, Erin, Smith and Adam began to feel a painful feeling of sadness to the fact that they had to destroy the machine. To them, the machine wasn't just a tool, it was the last remaining connection they had to Stephen Tanks, the sad old man who wanted an adventure. In Stephen's final words, he explained how his life was changed for the best because of Joe, Erin and Smith; but to those three, they hadn't changed Stephen, Stephen had changed them.

The machine lurched to a stop and Erin opened the doors. Everyone slowly walked from the last time machine in the universe, into the elegant halls of the ship they had known for so long. Inside the ship, Joe stroked his finger over the large button that read 'self destruct.' He took a deep breath, and pushed the button. Joe ran out of the machine, and pressed a button on the wall of his ship that opened the cargo hold. The machine fell out of the ship and drifted for about a minute, until the large explosion lit up the darkness of space.

### Part 4

### Stubborn And Steadfast

Jeremy fell into bed, tired and worn out, within minutes he had fallen asleep. As Jeremy fell into a deep sleep, he began to dream. Jeremy found himself in the middle of a forest, leaning against a tree. He looked around, trying to find a sign of society, but was unsuccessful. He stood up and stretched his back, looking around once more. That was when he heard a stick crack behind him. Jeremy turned around peeking between trees and bushes, only to find nothing.

"Hello! Is anyone there?" Yelled Jeremy.

There was no response, so Jeremy turned back around. Then he heard another stick crack, followed by the crunching of leaves, and the brushing of a bush. Jeremy turned towards the sound, frightened and jittery. Slowly the noises began to happen closer and closer together, and Jeremy got the urge to run. He sprinted in the opposite direction of the noises, and heard them following behind him. The noises began to get closer to him, causing Jeremy to run even faster. Then he tripped, falling face down into the leaves, cutting open his forearm on a stick. As Jeremy rolled over, he saw one thing, a dark red hand, reaching down to choke him.

Jeremy woke up with a scream, sweating and panting like a dog. Next to him was his wife, who woke up slowly to the sound of Jeremy's scream.

"What is it?" Asked Sandra sympathetically,

"Nightmare," said Jeremy in a short breath.

"Dear God, what happened to your arm Jeremy?"

Jeremy looked down at his forearm, where a cut stretched from his wrist up to his elbow. As Jeremy looked at the cut, he felt pain begin to surge through his arm.

"I, I don't know, I don't remember cutting myself on anything," said Jeremy.

"Well we better get that fixed up," Sandra said, getting out of bed.

Jeremy followed Sandra to the bathroom where they disinfected his cut, and wrapped two layers of gauze up his forearm. Sandra went back to bed, but Jeremy could no longer sleep. He walked downstairs to the kitchen, and decided to make himself a sandwich. Jeremy took two slices of bread, and spread mayonnaise on both of them. He then took three pickles, a slice of cheese, a tomato slice, and a leaf of lettuce, and stacked them all on top of one of the bread slices. He took the other slice of bread and pressed it onto the top of his sandwich. Jeremy took a large bite out of his sandwich and sat on his couch. He began to contemplate why he had a cut on his forearm, he knew he was cut in his dream, but the idea of the dream being real was impossible. He must have cut himself while he was sleeping, and it carried through into his dream. Jeremy decided to stop thinking about the topic because it was freaking him out. Instead, Jeremy turned on the TV and selected a random channel, which turned out to be Friends. Jeremy kept watching until he fell asleep, with a half eaten sandwich spilled over his lap.

Sunlight peaked through the blinds and rested atop Jeremy's eyelids, causing them to slowly open, awakening Jeremy from slumber. Jeremy stretched his arms out behind his back with a large yawn. He pushed himself up from the couch and got a glass of water from the kitchen. He then walked up the stairs to his room, where Sandra was just beginning to wake up.

"Morning," said Jeremy as he stepped through the doorway,

"Hey honey, did you end up getting any sleep last night?" Sandra said sleepily.

"Yah, I got a few hours, you?"

"Slept like a rock, hows that cut of yours doing?"

As soon as Sandra mentioned the cut, Jeremy's muscles tensed up, and the blood flushed from his face. He suddenly remembered the man, the one with the cracking, peeling, dark red hand. He remembered his dream, how he ran, how he tripped and cut himself on the stick. Lastly, he remembered fear, how afraid he was in the dream, how utterly and painfully afraid he was. Jeremy shook off the thoughts and looked back at Sandra.

"Fine, I barely even feel it," Jeremy responded, "I'm gonna shower."

"Okay, leave me some hot water,"

"Haha, alright."

Jeremy walked into the bathroom, shut the door and got into the shower. He removed the bloody gauze from his arm and threw it between the shower curtains into the trash. As the water rushed over his body, Jeremy noticed that the water running off of his forearm was a light red. He frowned and tried to ignore it. Jeremy shampooed his hair and washed his face. Then he took a bar of soap and rubbed it along his cut, just in case he and Sandra had missed anything earlier. Jeremy turned off the shower and stepped out, putting on a pair of jeans, and a red plaid button-up shirt. He picked up a comb that sat next to the sink, and combed all of his dark brown hair forward. He then took a tube of jell and squeezed a glob of it into his hands. He rubbed his hands together, spreading out the gel, and pushed his fingers through his hair, watching as it began to stand up straight. Jeremy fine tuned his hair, and gave himself a smile. After he had done his hair, Jeremy took shaving cream and spread it around his face, he then took a razor and shaved. Once finished, he opened the door and walked out of the bathroom. Instantly, Jeremy was hit with the strong smell of bacon.

"Man I love that woman," Jeremy said with a smile.

Jeremy walked out of the room to the stairs, and made his way down to the kitchen. As he turned the corner, he came to the sight of his wife cooking a few pieces of bacon, and a large serving of eggs.

"I don't know what I'd do without you," Jeremy yelled to Sandra across the kitchen.

"You wouldn't be able to survive," Sandra responded with a sarcastic tone.

Jeremy laughed and walked over to the sink, where he filled up a cup of water. Sandra began to turn over the bacon, carefully examining the color of the meat.

"Hey hon," said Jeremy over the sound of sizzling pork,

"Yup," Sandra responded as she stirred the eggs.

"The Reel is playing the new Thor movie tonight at five, I was wondering if you wanted to go see it?"

"The second one, not the first one right?"  
"Yes, the second one, the one you keep talking about wanting to see."

"Oh, absolutely, I don't have any plans for tonight, so I don't see why not,"

"Great!"

As Jeremy ended the conversation, Sandra took out two plates, and loaded them each with eggs and bacon. Jeremy and Sandra both sat down at the table and enjoyed the meal. Jeremy treasured the soft, warm texture of the eggs in his mouth, along with the crunchy, greasy taste of the bacon. As Jeremy put the last piece of bacon into his mouth, his phone vibrated inside his pocket. Jeremy reached down and pulled out the phone, viewing the text message on his screen.

"Oh no," said Jeremy,

"What is it?" Sandra asked.

"It's Daryl, he says that the girl is yelling for me again."

"Well you better get going then."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, it's a little girl with amnesia, of course I'm sure."

"Okay, well I'm off then, see you tonight."

Jeremy stood up and grabbed his jacket off one of the coat hangers by the garage door. He slipped on some shoes, took his keys and left the house. He got into his car and drove down to the sheriffs office, where he stepped out of his car and walked in through the door. Immediately he was greeted by Daryl.

"I'm so sorry to ask you in again, it's just that she keeps on asking for you. Believe it or not she isn't screaming this time," said Daryl as he shook Jeremy's hand.

"It's alright, take me to her," Jeremy replied.

Daryl walked Jeremy through the door into the back of the station, where they took a left through a doorway, where the little girl sat on the bed. As Jeremy entered the room, the girl immediately stood up and walked briskly towards Jeremy. She reached out her hand and grabbed his right wrist. She held it up, holding Jeremy's forearm in front of her face. The girl looked at the cut, then back up to Jeremy.

"You were there," said the girl.

Jeremy pulled his hand away, confused at what the girl meant by this.

"I was where?" Asked Jeremy.

"The forest, in my dream, I saw you there, but I was too afraid to run after you."

"No, this cut was just an accident."

"How did you get it?"

"I cut myself in my sleep."

"Or you got cut in a dream, by falling on top of a branch."

Jeremy began to feel cold, and very afraid. How could this girl know what happened in his dream? Let alone call him out for it.

"Thats impossible," said Jeremy, "dreams aren't real."

"Do you mean to tell me that there is some sort of logical explanation to me knowing what happened in your dream, and you having a mysterious cut on your arm?"

"Yes,"

"Can you come up with an explanation for the man with the red hand, the one who tried to strangle you?"

Jeremy was once again frozen in place. He was shocked, it didn't make sense, this girl didn't make any sense.

"Dreams aren't real," said Jeremy sternly,

"What if it wasn't a dream?" Asked the girl confidently.

"It was a dream though, so your claims don't make any sense."

"You're stubborn," said the girl, "steadfast, but stubborn.

### Organization Index

D.N.A:

DNA Neutralization Agency. D.N.A attempts to find foreign DNA strains on earth, and isolate them in order to create modified human beings.

D.U.C:

The Department of Universal Control dwells in the belief that one organization should have the job of deciding what is correct and incorrect in the universe, the DUC believes they are the organization.

The Red Hand:

The Red Hand is a name coined for a mysterious army, of which's troops are always found with a painting of a red hand on their backs.

### Downfall

A legion of soldiers stood in rows, inside the aircraft hanger on the planet SAL-13. Each soldier was dressed in silver armor, that could mirror the color of it's surroundings. They each carried a fully automatic assault rifle, and a handle that morphed into an electric sword on their waste. Their helmets each had black visors that came in front of their faces, each equipped with it's own targeting system. The rest of the hanger was filled with either drop ships, or fighters. The fighters each had four wings, crossing in a T, the cockpit was tubular. When I pilot sat inside on of the fighters, the ship could rotate in any which direction, but the tube would stand still, so that the pilot would not have to flip upside down. The fighters were equipped with plasma launchers, and gatling guns, along with two heat seeking missiles.

Pilots began to enter the ships. Each pilot wore a G-suit, allowing them to withstand extreme amounts of G-force. The suits were also equipped with a jet pack, in case the pilot ejected. The drop ships began to open their ramps, and the fighters opened their cockpits. Pilots climbed ladders into the fighters, and soldiers walked up ramps into the drop ships. Some of the drop ships took along tanks, and other vehicles with them, each with their own pilot. As all of the ships were boarded, the doors to the hangar were opened, and the ships began to fly outside. SAL-13's environments ranged from jungles, to massive cities. The ships exited the hanger, into flight over a jungle. Hoards of drop ships and fighters flew above the jungle, until they all slowed down, and their engines began to glow. An electronic zapping sound was heard, and a blue light shot above the jungle, as the ships activated their warp drives.

The city of Titarion is the greatest city of SAL-13, but after only one day of war, it had been reduced to ruin. It's buildings and skyscrapers had come crashing down, and plumes of smoke mark the locations of missile contact. SAL-13 was attacked by what is referred to as The Red Hand. Nobody knows who, or where they came from, only that they came in destruction. On September 20th, 2013, soldiers dropped from the sky with jet packs. As soon as they landed, they started shooting. Within an hour, tanks, battle cruisers, drop ships, and fighter jets had arrived at Titarion. The reason the Titarions called the army The Red Hand, was because of the large red handprint on the back of their suits. Each soldier wore a black suit, which led up to a black helmet. No part of their body was visible under their suits, the only part of them that wasn't colored black, was the large red handprint painted on the back of their suits.

SAL-13 was caught unprepared during the first battle, in which Titarion was destroyed. SAL-13 quickly put together an army and shipped them off to Titarion. That army went to war throughout the city, inside of fallen buildings, in the air, and on the ground. That battle was slowly being lost. In order to save the planet, SAL-13 put together an army of elite soldiers and pilots, and sent them to Titarion, in hopes that they can find a way to defeat The Red Hand, and save SAL-13.

The ships came out of warp drive, immediately being introduced to a large explosion. On the ground, plasma cannons fired, and soldiers shot back and forth. The drop ships opened their ramps, and soldiers jumped out of ship, using jet packs to bring them safely to the ground. Many soldiers were shot down during the drop. As the last soldier jumped from one of the drop ships, a missile collided with it's left engine, causing it to spin out and collide with the ground. The fighter ships took off at extreme speeds, and engaged in air to air combat with enemy fighters. On the ground was a man, a Ranger called Lieutenant Wilson.

"Wilson! Get over here, I'm taking heavy fire here!" Yelled one of the rangers.

Wilson sprinted behind a concrete block, and loaded his rifle. He peeked over the block and aimed, firing at two enemy soldiers. Both were hit by the plasma bursts, and each fell to the ground instantly. Wilson took a deep breath and stood up, running to the side of a building.

"Do we have a plan of some sorts?" Wilson yelled over the sound of an explosion.

"Of sorts," said the other ranger, "stay alive until we have air superiority, then find, and destroy their general."

Wilson nodded and peeked around the building, where an enemy soldier was sneaking along the wall. Wilson pulled the handle from his belt, and pressed a button on it, watching as an electric sword emerged. Just as the enemy came around the building, Wilson swung the sword, into the man's chest, watching him fall to the ground. Looking up, Wilson noticed he was standing under one of the last remaining tall buildings in the city.

"What's your name ranger?" Wilson yelled,

"Johnson," the man replied.

"We should get to the top of this building, then place a cannon up there and do some serious damage!"

Johnson looked to Wilson and nodded his head. Wilson held three fingers above his head and counted down to one. As Wilson hit one, the two kicked down the doors and stepped inside the building. Wilson went first, because Johnson was burdened with the weight of a plasma cannon on his back. A rumble was heard and the building shook, as a fighter crashed into the ground near the structure. Wilson looked down the sight of his rifle as he made his way up the stairs, making sure not to miss anything. As he rounded one corner, he saw an enemy soldier, which he quickly shot twice in the back. He continued to slowly make his way up the stairs, until he came to the top, where a door marked the exit onto the rooftop.

Wilson kicked open the door and was introduced to the sky. Fighters exploded around him, and plasma cannons fired from his left and right. On the roof stood two enemy soldiers. Wilson shot twice, and watched them both fall off the edge of the building. He motioned for Johnson to come through the door. Once Johnson was through, they immediately began to set up the plasma cannon. They set down the tripod, and mounted the cannon on top of it. Johnson sat behind the cannon and began firing at soldiers below. At one point he took down a fighter, which crashed into the center of the building. Slowly, enemy ships began to drop out of the sky, until there was only one left. Johnson fired continuously at the remaining drop ship, until it exploded and fell to the ground. Johnson stood up and stepped back, watching as the tide of the battle began to turn. That was when it happened. A portal opened in front of the city, and out from the portal, exited a single drop ship, with one man standing on top of it. The man glowed yellow and orange.

"Is that?" Asked Wilson.

"No, it can't be."

Then the man opened his hands, and the entire city was exposed to the heat of a supernova. And the planet, was reduced to rubble.

### The Burns Spread

Jackson Harvey sat in his house, eating a sandwich. As he took a large bite into his masterpiece, Jackson's house began to shake. Jackson dropped the sandwich and held tightly onto the table in front of him until the shaking stopped. Curious, he walked outside. What Jackson saw was a squadron of black and red ships, flying around the city. One of the ships fired a missile, which collided with the house next to Jackson's. Jackson screamed and ran away from the explosion. He watched as the black ships flew about the city, firing at buildings and homes. He began to run, as fast as he could.

Jackson was joined in the street by other people who were abandoning their homes and attempting to avoid the chaos. Jackson watched as bullets and plasma bursts flew from the sky, vaporizing people, and homes. Jackson continued sprinting, moving his legs as fast as he could bring himself to. As the small black ships brought chaos throughout the city, a different black ship entered the atmosphere. Jackson looked up, he saw the massive black vessel flying slowly above the city. The ship came to a stop, hovering above the city, then two doors opened on the belly of the ship. Out of the two doors came waves upon waves of soldiers, slowly lowering themselves to the ground on jet packs. Looking closely, Jackson could see that each soldier wore a black suit, with a red hand on the back. As the soldiers landed, they pulled a weapon from their backs and began firing at people running in the streets.

Jackson stood like a statue in the middle of the road, frozen in fear. He watched hopelessly as one of the enemy ships approached him, positioning it's gun to face him. Jackson watched as the gun warmed up, and prepared to fire at him. Just as the gun reached it's required charge, a missile collided with the ship, causing it to explode into heaps of shrapnel. Jackson looked in the direction the missile came from. He watched as jet fighters flew into the battle, firing upon the black ships. One of the large black ships was hit by various missiles, and it began to spin out and crashed into the ground. Jackson was no longer paralyzed, he was fueled.

Jackson was not one for fighting, but after seeing the jets begin to fire at the black ships, he felt the need to fight. Jackson stopped running away from the soldiers with the black and red suits, and he ran towards them. As Jackson started running, a legion of soldiers dropped from a large jet, and began shooting at the enemy soldiers. Jackson's charge was joined by that of other soldiers. The soldiers fired at the other army. Jackson heard one of the soldiers scream something to another.

"Alright, make sure you only hit The Red Hand, soldiers, no civilians!"

Jackson decided to refer to the soldiers as The Red Hand from now on, it would be easier for him to communicate with others. As Jackson and the soldiers pulled closer to The Red Hand troops, he prepared himself for a fight.

Jackson and the soldiers collided with the enemy troops. Jackson picked out one of the enemy soldiers, and elbowed him in the head. As the soldier recovered, Jackson kicked him in the knee, and ripped the gun from his hand. He then got on one knee and began firing at the enemy soldiers. He wasn't a very good shot, but he watched as a few soldiers fell because of him. Jackson stopped firing in order to reload his weapon. While he looked for ammunition, a plasma beam found it's mark in his chest. Jackson fell to the ground, the sky beginning to blur around him. The last thing he saw before he died, was what appeared to be a sun, an entire sun, engulfing the planet.

First came the planet of SAL-13, then the planet of Zarthon. These planets were reduced to space debris, their populations wiped out along with the planet. Neither of the planets had enough time to signal other planets, before they exploded. Any witnesses who weren't on the planet would see what appeared to be the planet, being engulfed in a supernova. Only the supernova would disappear, and there were no suns close enough to the planet to engulf it. These events began to occur at other planets across the galaxy, the strange destructions of civilizations. Nobody knows what destroyed the planets, and everyone is looking for answers.

### What Now?

"Hey Joe," yelled John across the flight deck, "I've got a question that has been driving me nuts."

"What is it?" Joe responded while inputting coordinates on the flight computer.

"On most of the other planets we go to, there are people speaking English, Spanish, French, and various other languages that people speak on Earth, I even hear them when I'm not using the translator, why is that?"

"Well, the answer to that one is actually quite funny. There are a lot of people on your home planet, who weren't actually born there. English was originally referred to as UL-3. When different planets began reaching out to each other, and forming friendships, contacts and alliances, they decided to make a universal language. They called the language UL-3, which stood for Universal Language Three. When the first colony stretched out to Earth, they decided to implant this language into one of your countries. By the time Earth has made contact with another planet, they will be able to easily communicate with them. The two languages that came before English, were Greek and Hebrew. Later languages named UL-4, UL-5, and UL-6 were implanted into your planet's people. These languages were Spanish, French, and Italian."

John stood still, his eyes rolled back in his head, as he tried to contemplate everything he was just told.

"So your telling me that almost all my planet's languages were invented by people who weren't even born on Earth?"

"Yup, most of your machinery was invented by people from other planets too, the people of SAL-13 brought you the jet airplane."

"Your kidding,"

"Nope, so have I answered your question?"

"Yeah, I am going to go into my room and rethink my life now."

"Haha, you do that then."

John walked out of the flight deck, nodding his head to Erin as he entered the room. Erin walked to the console and began looking at maps and holographic images.

"Hey Joe, I've got a question," said Erin.

"Seems like everyone does to today, whats up?" Joe responded.

"Well, we've stopped a killer virus, defeated Jake, put a computer virus into the DUC's data base, and stole information from them, and saved Ryan, John, Maddy, Hannah and Dylan. What are we gonna do now?"

Joe stopped what he was doing and rubbed his chin with his thumb, contemplating the question.

"I really don't know Erin," said Joe, "I honestly don't know."

"We could always investigate my dream," Erin said, while looking at more holograms of planets.

"We could always do that, but first, I think we should all take a well deserved vacation. SAL-13 is quite beautiful this time of year, it has beaches, brilliantly constructed cities, and the most amazing jungles and forests you've ever seen. Here let me show you."

Joe walked to the round table in the center of the flight deck. He pressed a few buttons and opened up a holographic image of a planet.

"Whoops, thats Earth," said Joe.

Joe pressed few more buttons and the image changed. The image showed large rocks floating around in space, and debris that moved around in clumps.

"This is SAL-13?" Asked Erin,

"Not anymore," Joe responded with a frightened tone, "It's been destroyed."

"I have a feeling you know exactly what we are going to do now, don't you?" Asked Erin.

"Yes, yes I do."

### Sent Away

Jeremy pulled up at the theater in his truck, trying to forget how much the little girl had freaked him out earlier. He pulled a comb out of his dashboard and fixed up his hair. He straightened his collar and stepped out of his car. He walked up to the theater door, and stepped inside. Sandra sat on a bench under a large movie poster. Ss Jeremy stepped in she smiled and stood up.

"Sorry I'm late," Jeremy said as he gave Sandra a hug, "now lets go to that movie."

Jeremy walked up to the counter and ordered two tickets to Thor: The Dark World. He took Sandra's hand and they walked down a few hallways until they reached the correct theater. They stepped inside and found two seats. Jeremy left the theater briefly to get popcorn and drinks, then returned to his seat. A series of movie trailers played, some action movies, some love stories, and some movies that looked stupid and pointless. As the trailers came to an end, Jeremy wiggled himself into his seat comfortably, and leaned back. The movie began with a backstory from far in the past, which led into the current events of the movie. It progressed into a series of fight scenes and storyline twists, before revealing the mission of the movie characters. The characters stepped into their roles and began to attempt at solving a problem and defending their world. The movie ended with a large battle with a dark elf, and the destruction of many buildings. Then the credits began and the lights in the theater turned on.

Jeremy looked at Sandra and said, "wow."

"Wow indeed, that was a pretty good movie," said Sandra.

"Do you want to go get dinner?"

"Yeah sure, why not."

Jeremy and Sandra got up from their seats and walked out of the theater. They took a left on the sidewalk and made their way down main street until they reached a diner. They stepped inside and sat down.

"So what's the deal with girl?" Sandra asked,

"Something about a nightmare," Jeremy responded.

"Ah."

Jeremy's phone then began to ring, he pulled it out of his pocket and looked at the screen.

"Speak of the devil, it's the sheriff, I'll bet it has something to do with the girl, excuse me."

Sandra nodded at Jeremy, and he stood up and walked to the corner of the restaurant.

"Hello," Jeremy spoke into the phone.

"Hi, it's me again," the voice on the phone responded.

"Hey Daryl, whats up?"

"It's been 48 hours and nobody has claimed the girl, meaning that my investigation is over, and I have to send her to an adoption home. I thought you should be the first one to know."

"Okay, well thanks for lettin' me know,"

"Yup, absolutely."

Daryl hung up the phone and Jeremy walked back to the table and sat down.

"What now?" Asked Sandra.

"Daryl has to send the girl to an adoption agency or something like that."

"Oh, uh that reminds me of something..."

A waiter walked over to the table and asked them what they wanted to eat. Jeremy ordered a hamburger, and a root beer, while Sandra ordered spaghetti and lemonade. The waiter left and Jeremy turned back to Sandra.

"You were saying," said Jeremy.

"Oh yah," said Sandra, "I have been thinking, I'm in my late 20s and your in your early 30s. I was thinking that, maybe it's time we have a child. I know there is the problem with the fact that I can't conceive, but I was thinking we could adopt."

Jeremy sat in his chair with eyes wide open and his jaw hanging down to his chest. He tried closing his mouth but it didn't work. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, then closed his mouth. After gaining control of himself, he spoke.

"You want to adopt a child?" Jeremy asked as conformation.

"Yes, I was actually thinking we could adopt that little girl who has grown so fond of you."

"Um, are you sure?"

"Absolutely, I think it would be great to help her start a new life."

Jeremy leaned back in his chair and contemplated. The waiter came by the table and set down two drinks. Jeremy took an extended sip of his root beer, and felt the carbonation burn in the back of his throat.

"So your absolutely sure you want to adopt this girl?" Jeremy asked.

"Yes, I don't know why you keep asking me," Sandra responded.

"I, just don't think I'm ready for a child yet."

"Oh, I figured that, but there is a first time for everything."

"It's just that I'm not really father material, I work at a repair shop."

"Are you sure this isn't about the relationship you had with your father?"

"Yes, I'm absolutely sure, I just don't think I'm ready."

"Well thats what I'm here for."

"Can't we wait a little bit longer?"

"We've been waiting for seven years Jeremy, I think it's about time we step up to the plate."

"I don't want children yet though."

"Will you ever want children?"

"I don't know, but for the moment, I don't want, or need one in my life, I have you and I am content with that."

Sandra smiled at Jeremy and nodded her head slowly.

"I understand, we will wait until your ready, maybe all you need as something to give you a little push, and I'll let that happen naturally."

"Thank you," said Jeremy graciously.

"You're welcome."

The waiter arrived at the table with their food, and Jeremy and Sandra ate in silence, not knowing what to say. Jeremy took bite after bite out of his hamburger, trying to find the wonderful taste he loved so much, but he couldn't find it. It took him a while to eat the burger. Slowly his mouth became dry and he went to take a sip of his root beer. As he drank the beverage, he watched as Sandra delicately weaved her fork through the spaghetti and daintily placed it in her mouth. Jeremy smiled at the way she ate, it was beautiful in nature. After staring oddly at her for a few minutes, Jeremy went back to his burger, which he put down in another ten minutes. When he was finished, Sandra was only half way done with her meal, so he watched her eat the rest of the night. When Sandra took the last bite of her spaghetti, Jeremy asked for the bill, which the waiter delivered promptly. He filled out the bill and looked at Sandra.

"I'm sorry," Jeremy said.

"It's fine, I understand, I'll see you at home okay?" Sandra replied.

"Okay," Jeremy responded with a smile.

Sandra stood up from the table and walked out the door. She got in her car and drove away.

Jeremy took a deep breath, and stood up. He took the bill to the waiter and said thank you. He left the diner and got into his truck. Jeremy pulled out the keys, and started the car. He pulled out of the lot and drove down main street. Jeremy arrived at a stop light, where he waited for a few minutes before driving onto the dirt road. As he took the turn, he saw flashing red and blue lights in the distance. Jeremy pulled up to the lights and saw Sandra's car. The front of the car was crumpled all the ay up to the windshield, and the inside of the car was smoking. As Jeremy stepped out of his car, Daryl ran up to him.

"What happened?" Yelled Jeremy nervously, "is she okay?"

"It was a hit and run, I'm so sorry," said Daryl sadly.

"What do you mean you're sorry?" Screamed Jeremy in tears, already knowing what he meant, "what does that mean?"

"She's gone Jeremy."

Jeremy started to run towards the car, shoving Daryl to the side. In the car sat Sandra, smoke covering the side of her face. The airbag stuck out from the steering wheel, and her head hung to her chest.

"No!" Screamed Jeremy in tears, "no."

Jeremy fell to his knees and wept, his head in his hands. More police cars arrived, but Jeremy didn't notice them. His crying slowed and he stood up, looking at Daryl.

"Daryl," choked Jeremy.

"Yes?" Daryl said sympathetically.

"I want to adopt the girl."

### Hide And Seek

The ship came out of warp drive, arriving at the former location of the planet SAL-13. Large rocks and debris floated around, occasionally crashing into one another. Inside the ship Joe stared out the window, trying to come up with an explanation for the planets destruction. He paced around the flight deck, trying to come up with an answer that would explain the catastrophe. As Joe paced, Dylan walked into the room.

"Don't walk your legs off there old man," said Dylan.

Joe stopped in his tracks and looked over at Dylan with a playful grin.

"Who you calling old?" Joe asked both angrily, and sarcastically.

"You."

"If anyone here is an old man, it's Ryan."

Just as Joe finished his sentence, Ryan stepped into the room.

"Did I just hear what I thought I heard?" Asked Ryan,

"Uh, no," Joe responded, unsure of himself.

"I'm pretty sure you just called me old."

"Well, you are older than me,"

"I'm older in the brain, but that only means I'm both smarter, and stronger than you."

"You are not!"

Joe and Ryan continued shooting insults back and forth at one another, while Dylan watched and tried to hold in laughter. Eventually, Ryan and Joe came face to face, snarling. They stared at one another for a few seconds, then burst into laughter. Dylan keeled over, finally able to laugh. The three were laughing like crazy when John walked into the room.

"Whats so funny?" Asked John.

The three stopped laughing momentarily, then began grinning, and burst into laughter once more. John stood, staring at them with an odd expression on his face, he was joined by Adam who walked into the room, and also made an odd expression.

"Does this happen a lot?" Adam whispered to John.

"I don't think so," John replied.

Slowly the three calmed there laughter and became serious again.

"Can you speak now Joe?" John asked.

"Yes, I believe I have gained control over myself," Joe replied.

"Okay, so do you have any idea what destroyed this planet?"

"No, but the strange thing is, that when I looked at neighboring planets, many of them no longer exist. They all look the same, large rocks and shrapnel."

"Are you saying you don't think this is natural?"

"The only natural cause would be a small supernova, and those don't just happen all the time."

"So someone is trying to destroy these planets?"

"Thats where all the evidence points."

"Could it be the DUC?"

"Thats what I thought at first, but one of the destroyed planets was the DUC headquarters."

"Are there any witnesses?"

"No, there is nothing about it on any form of internet anywhere, and there are nobody has reported it."

Erin had walked into the room halfway through the conversation, and had been listening closely.

"Is our bug still in the DUC computer?" Erin asked.

"If the ship hasn't been destroyed, then yes," Joe answered, "why?"

"The DUC monitors military chatter in this system, if our bug is still in there, we can rewind the recording for SAL-13's military, and see if we can pull anything from that."

"Thats not a bad idea Erin, nice one."

Joe walked to the center of the flight deck, where he pressed a few keys and opened up an image of the DUC mainframe. From there he selected a tab labelled 'chatter' and pulled up the options under it. A few months ago there would have been a 'Gifted' section, but Erin, Joe and Smith had deleted it. Joe pulled up the section for SAL-13 and selected 'military.' On another side of the console, Joe pulled up a hologram of the current SAL-13. He opened a timeline under the planet, and dragged the date back until he saw the planet. Going back to the DUC database, he input the date and selected the first recording.

"Alright soldiers! Today we bring down The Red Hand! Today we take back Titarion, and save SAL-13. You are the worlds most elite, today, you prove yourselves!" Said a rough voice in the recording.

Joe moved on to the next recording, he took a deep breath and pressed 'play.'

"I've been hit! My right wing is on fire, I'm going down. Rachete, take down the drop ship, it will help the ground team!" A frightened voice screamed.

Joe changed the recording once more, there were only two of them left.

"Move the tank out, fire on the drop ship! Someone man that railgun and take out the damn fighters!" A man screamed nervously.

Joe swallowed deeply in his throat and pressed the next recording.

"Is that?" Asked a throaty voice,

"No, it can't be."

The recording ended with the sound of an explosion, then turned to static. Joe turned and looked at the others, all of which looked shocked.

"Do you think it's him?" Asked Erin,

"I threw him into a supernova, there is no way it could be him," responded Joe.

"You threw my brother into a supernova?" Asked Dylan.

"Yah," said Joe, "we didn't want to tell you about that, I'm sorry he was killing tons of innocent people."

"It's okay Joe," said Dylan sadly, "you did what you had to do."

"Joe, what about my dream?" Asked Erin.

"What about it?"

"The observer said that the last horseman to arrive was Death."

"You think that Jake could be Death, one of the four horsemen?"

"I think it's a possibility."

Joe put his hands on the console and let out a deep breath, closing his eyes. When Joe opened his eyes, they were full of determination.

"Looks like we're going to have to play a little bit of hide and seek then," said Joe.

"The real question Joe," said John, "Is who's hiding."

Joe nodded at John's remark and opened up a hologram of the solar system they were in.

"This is the nearest planet to the last destroyed planet," said Joe, pointing to a holographic image of a small, green planet, "this is where we're going."

"I'll get the girls," said John, then he left the room.

"I'm gonna go suit up, you should too Dylan," said Ryan as he stepped out of the flight deck.

Erin stood in the room looking at the hologram of the planet, then walked out of the room. Joe watched Erin exit, and turned his head to the sound recordings, he pressed the last one in the sequence and listened to it again.

"Is that?"

"No, it can't be."

Joe played the recording over and over again. What person or object could be so impossible, and so destructive, and to be known by these soldiers. Joe scrolled up the recordings, and replayed the first one.

"Alright soldiers! Today we bring down The Red Hand! Today we take back Titarion, and save SAL-13. You are the worlds most elite, today, you prove yourselves!"

Joe began to wonder what the man meant by "The Red Hand," whether it was an army, a person, or a movement. Listening to some of the other recordings, Joe knew that whatever attacked these planets was more than one man, it had to be an army. Joe rubbed his eyes with his hands, and walked out of the room. He walked down the hallway took one right, and two lefts, arriving at the living quarters. Halfway down the hallway was his room, which he entered quickly. Inside the room floated the small black sphere which was his suit. Joe snapped his fingers and the sphere shot to his chest, where it expanded over his body. Joe rolled his shoulders back and walked out of the room. He returned down the hallway and took a right. He entered an elevator and went down one floor. He exited the elevator in the weapons room. Joe walked to the far side of the room where a jetpack sat in a glass tube. The jetpack had two cannons mounted on it's shoulders, and wings which could fold out of the pack. Joe opened the glass case and removed the jetpack. He walked back into the elevator, and made his way to the flight deck.

Joe stepped into the flight deck, where the group stood waiting for him. Adam was fiddling his suit, trying to get used to the new material. Joe set the jetpack down and walked to a box that sat by the console. Joe opened the box and pulled out a handful of circular devices, he handed one of the devices to each person.

"These," said Joe, "are teleportation devices, in case we are in the situation of the planet's destruction. However, they are one way, press the button in the middle, and you will arrive at the ship. They only have enough power for one trip, so only use it if you need to."

"What's the jetpack for?" Asked Adam.

"I have a feeling I might need it," Joe responded, "we arrive at the planet in two minutes, I'll scan the planet before we go in. The scans will determine the manner of our arrival."

Suddenly the ship shook, causing everyone to stumble.

"What was that?" Asked Dylan.

Joe opened a holographic image of the ship, the image displayed a damaged section near the back of the vessel. Joe pressed a button and the blinds lifted from the windows, revealing a series of black ships swarming into the planet below.

"Are you guys ready for a fight?" Joe asked.

The group nodded their heads. Joe steered the ship to hover over the planet, and typed in coordinates on a computer.

"We've got five minutes to jump then, lets go," Joe said excitedly.

"Wait, we're jumping?" Asked Dylan and Adam simultaneously.

"Haha, newbies," said Smith while walking out of the flight deck.

"I was here before you!" Yelled Dylan.

"Yah, but you still haven't space jumped," yelled Smith down the hallway.

The group made their way from the flight deck down to the hangar, where Joe flicked a lever on the wall, causing a ramp to slowly open.

"To those of you who don't know, or don't remember, use the wing suits until the HUD in your helmet tells you to pull the shoot. At this point, reach back, and pull the string, got it?" Said Joe as he passed out the wing suits.

Instead of putting on a wing suit, Joe attached the jetpack to his back, and pressed a button, causing the wings to fold out of the pack. The ramp had completely folded out of the ship, revealing the green planet below. The majority of black ships flew to a patch of lights directly below the Gifted.

"Follow the black ships!" Yelled Joe.

Joe checked his jetpack, ran down the ramp, and jumped. Ryan shrugged his shoulders and jumped, following Joe's flight. Ryan was followed by John, Maddy, Hannah, Erin and Smith. Adam and Dylan were left staring down at the others.

"Screw it," said Dylan.

Dylan ran down the ramp and jumped, leaving Adam standing awkwardly on the ship.

"Well this is embarrassing," said Adam.

Adam let out a deep breath, jogged down the ramp, and jumped out of the ship.

### The Face Of Death

Joe maneuvered his way through explosions and plasma fire, steering his jet pack skillfully. Behind him, Ryan followed his flight pattern, insuring that no one behind him was hit. The automated turrets mounted on Joe's shoulders shot in various directions. Joe watched as the city below approached him, the buildings getting larger and larger. Joe waited until he was parallel with the tops of the highest buildings, then turned so he was facing up, and activated the jetpack. He slowed down, still falling, until comfortably colliding with the ground. Ryan collided with ground directly after Joe, and was followed by Erin and Smith. Looking up, Ryan could see John, Hannah and Maddy land on the tops of different buildings.

"Where's Dylan and Adam?" Screamed Ryan over the sound of explosions.

Joe looked at a device on his wrist.

"They're on their way down!" Joe responded.

A group of black soldiers dropped to the ground near the four friends. Ryan detached a rifle from his back and began firing at the soldiers. Joe fired darts and let the turrets on his shoulders do the rest of the work. Smith had jumped onto one of the soldiers backs and was attacking it with various weapons, while Erin was on his knees shooting down the soldiers with duel pistols. Within seconds the group of soldiers was done for.

"Guys, look at this!" Yelled Smith as he took off the helmet of one of the soldiers.

The face of the soldier was that of the observers. As the group stared at the face, it began to change. The pale face faded into a red, cracked mess, it changed into the face of a demon.

"I would call this a good enough reason to fight, don't you think?" Yelled Smith,

"Most definitely," said Ryan, reloading his gun.

"They're here!" Joe screamed at the three.

Dylan and Adam floated down to the ground on parachutes. Joe watched as a black hole appeared, enveloping one of the large black ships, then closing tightly. Ryan lifted his gun in the air and fired several bursts, indicated for Dylan and Adam to come towards them. Dylan floated to the ground ten yards away from the group of four, Adam followed closely behind him. Dylan jumped as a missile struck the ground to his right.

"What's the plan commander?" Asked Dylan,

"I'm thinking of one, but first we better take care of this!" Joe shouted.

A drop ship hung above the six, opening it's doors for soldiers to exit.

"I got this, get behind me!" Yelled Dylan.

Dylan looked up at the ship and held out his hands, flexing them. Instantly a black hole sprung out of the sky in front of the ship, and sucked it into the dangerous vortex.

"Nice job!" Shouted Joe, "I've got a plan now!"

"Well tell us," said Dylan.

"I'm going to take you up to John, Maddy and Hannah, you four will fight in the air, and take out anyone who climbs to the tops of the buildings. Smith, Erin, Ryan and Adam, you four are going to be the ground team. I am going to fly around the city, seeing if I can figure anything out, I'll also watch your backs."

The group nodded.

"You ready?" Joe asked Dylan,

"Ready for what?"

Dylan's sentence was cut short as Joe grabbed his collar and shot into the air with his jetpack. Dylan watched as the ground below him disappeared and the buildings grew shorter. Looking to his right, Dylan saw a flaming figure flying around, and another figure shooting a gatling gun. Joe dropped Dylan on top of the building next to John, who had changed his gatling gun into a missile launcher.

"John!" Screamed Dylan over the sound of explosions.

John turned around, his weapon disappearing in a cloud of golden lightning.

"You with us now?" Asked John,

"Yah, Joe's orders."

"How much power do you have right now?"

"Not much, I need to regenerate, I have already made two very large black holes within the past few minutes."

"Okay, I'll make you a weapon, what do you want?"

"Can you get me a assault rifle and a hover board?"

"Why the hover board?"

"So I can get close to the ships."

"Why not then."

John concentrated and an assault rifle appeared in Dylan's hands. In a few seconds, there was a vehicle that looked like a snowboard at Dylan's feet.

"How does it work?" Dylan asked.

"Steer it like a snowboard, use the pedal on your back foot for speed, when both your feet aren't touching it, it should turn off," said John

"Should?"

"I can't get everything perfect."

Dylan smiled and jumped on the board, taking off into the air. John created a plasma cannon in front of him, and began to fire at various ships.

Maddy flew through the air, firing bursts of flame at ships that passed by her. One of the ships fired a missile, which Maddy barely maneuvered away from. She looked through the swarm of black ships, and picked one out. She pushed towards the ship and flew straight towards it. As the ship got closer to her she slowed down. When she was close enough, Maddy jumped on top of the ship. She punched through the window, grabbed the pilot, and threw him out of the ship. Maddy jumped inside of the ship and flew it towards one of the drop ships. She pushed the throttle to it's maximum and locked the ship on course with the drop ship. Maddy then ignited her flame and jumped out of the ship. As she flew away, the ship collided with the drop ship in a large explosion, causing it to careen towards the ground.

Ryan, Erin, Adam and Smith were finishing of a squad of enemy soldiers when the drop ship crashed into the ground on the other side of the city.

"They just bought us some time guys! Reload your weapons and get ready for another round of butt kicking!" Yelled Smith,

"You're so immature," said Ryan.

Ryan put a new magazine into his plasma rifle, and placed a new charge into the energy sword on his back. Ryan reached into his coat and pulled out a metal boomerang and a cuff. He walked over to Adam and handed him the boomerang and the cuff.

"Put the cuff around your wrist, and press the button in the middle of the boomerang. It will always come back to you as long as the cuff is on." Ryan said to Adam.

Adam pressed the button on the center of the boomerang and was confused because nothing happened. Suddenly a plasma burst flew in front of Adam. He turned to see a soldier aiming his rifle towards him. Adam flung the boomerang at the soldier. As soon as the weapon left Adam's hands, it's edges became energized with lasers. The boomerang collided with the solder, cutting straight through him. Adam caught the weapon as it returned to him. The minute the weapon touched his hand, the lasers deactivated.

"This is sick! Where did you get it?" Adam asked,

"Thats classified," Ryan responded.

A squadron of soldiers rounded the corner of a nearby building and began firing on the four. Ryan dropped to one knee and shot down three of the troops. Erin brandished his pistols and ran towards them, firing one by one. Smith picked up a mini gun and shot down rows upon rows of the enemy. Adam took the time to get used to the boomerang, watching it collide with multiple troops, then return to him. As the last row of troops charged towards the four, Joe flew around the corner and fired a missile from his jetpack, eliminating all of them. Joe hovered to the ground in front of the four and checked to ensure there were no more soldiers coming.

"All of the planet's military outposts have been destroyed," said Joe, "thats why there aren't any other troops here. The government buildings have also been destroyed, all of those who remain alive, do not have the ability to send an interplanetary message," said Joe.

"So it's just us?" Asked Erin.

"Not exactly, some civilians have begun to fight, steeling dead soldier's weapons."

"So do we just keep fighting then?" Asked Adam.

"Yes, we keep fighting until we discover what's destroying the planet, or until the tide turns in our favor."

"Okay then."

Suddenly a large silver ship entered the atmosphere above the city.

"This is the DUC," came a voice through a speaker attached to the ship, "we order all members of The Red Hand to stand down, we repeat, stand dow..."

One of the black ships fired a missile, which collided with the DUC ship's cockpit. The ship slowly spun out and collided with the ground, taking out two buildings.

"This is starting to get really ugly," said Smith.

"Go back to your patrol Joe, get all the information you can," yelled Ryan.

Joe nodded his head and took off into the city.

In the air, Dylan flew around on his hover board, he flew under a fighter ship, where he shot the engine multiple times with his rifle, causing the ship to explode above his head. Dylan grinned at his victory, but his joy was cut short. A massive black ship flew into the city, firing large missiles at buildings and shooting plasma bursts throughout the city. Dylan took a deep breath and had an idea. He floored the pedal on the board and shot towards the large ship, carefully avoiding plasma bursts and explosions. As Dylan got closer and closer to the large ship, he began to look for an opening, he found one. Under the ship was a docking bay for the fighters. Dylan steered his way to the belly of the ship, trying to avoid getting close to any of the turrets. The doors to the ship slowly began to close, causing Dylan to push even harder to get to them. Just as the metal doors were about to slam shut, Dylan eased his way through the small gap.

Dylan crashed to the ground, causing the the hover board to scatter across the surface. He brandished his assault rifle and began walking towards a stairway. As he walked up the stairway he noticed two soldiers, standing guard by it. Dylan quickly aimed his weapon and shot the two soldiers, watching as they fell down the stairs. He continued up the stairs into a long metal hallway, with doors placed randomly on the sides. He tiptoed down the hallway, trying not to make any noise. Dylan heard the sound of a door opening and he ran to the wall. The door in front of him was being opened, so Dylan ran up to the door and stood behind it. As the door closed, it revealed the back side of an enemy soldier. Dylan held up his weapon and shot the soldier point blank. At the end of the hallway was a door, which Dylan quickly made his way to. Dylan pressed a button on the wall next to the door, causing it to open, revealing an elevator. Dylan stepped into the elevator and pressed a button for the top floor. The elevator shot to the top of the ship and opened it's doors. Dylan stepped out of the elevator and was met by a group of unsuspecting soldiers. He quickly shot all of them before they could draw their weapons. Dylan ran down the hallway to the end where a door led to the cockpit. Dylan kicked open the door and shot down the pilots. He pressed his hand to his ear and activated the communicator.

"Hey Joe, are you there?" Dylan spoke into his helmet.

"Yah, I'm here, what is it?" Responded Joe.

"I'm going to need a lift."

"Where do I pick you up?"

"Do you see the massive ship that is destroying everything?"

"The one that is bigger then the rest?"

"Yes that one, I'm inside it and am going to send it on a crash course, I need you to pick me up on the roof of the ship."

"How did you get inside of that thing?"

"I'll tell you later, can you just pick me up please?"

"I'm on my way."

Dylan shot the windshield in front of him, causing the glass to shatter to pieces. He bent his knees and jumped, grabbing onto the rim of the cockpit. Dylan pulled himself up and stood up on the roof of the ship. He looked into the cockpit and fired two shots at the console. The ship's engines sputtered to a stop and the ship began to fall. Dylan ran to the center of the roof, trying not to slip and fall.

"You here yet?" Dylan said into the intercom.

"Yup, I'm right behind you."

Dylan felt a hand wrap around his waist and pick him up. Joe flew Dylan to the building where Hannah was. She screamed and a shockwave wiped out a line of ships. Joe dropped Dylan onto the building and flew away.

"It's about time you showed up," said Hannah.

"Sorry, traffic was horrible," Dylan replied sarcastically.

Hannah moved her finger down her wrist and screamed another shockwave at one of the ships. Dylan turned around and saw a squad of thirty attack ships moving towards the building. Dylan watched as three of the ships fired missiles.

"Crap," said Dylan, rolling his eyes.

Dylan held out his hands and created a massive black hole, enveloping the missiles. He extended the black hole to suck in the ships. As the black hole closed, Dylan noticed Hannah having trouble defending herself against a large attack ship, almost like the one he had boarded. Dylan turned around and created another black hole, enveloping the ship, but draining all of his remaining energy. The black hole snapped shut, and Dylan fell to the ground, breathing hard. Hannah swiped her fingers on her wrist and ran to his side.

"You okay?" Hannah asked.

"Yah, I just drained all of my energy, I won't be making any more black holes today," said Dylan with a choke in his voice.

Hannah looked up from Dylan and saw a metal disc fly above the city, the disc had a figure standing on it. The disc flew to the building and the figure stepped off the disc, onto the roof where Hannah and Dylan stood. Dylan stood up and turned on the communicator in his ear. The figure pressed a button on his arm, and his black suit fell off of him. The man was the same height as Dylan. His skin had ugly scars all over it, and red bubbly sections. When Dylan looked up to the man's face, he recognized it. The hair was still blonde, and even with the scars covering his face, Dylan could make out who's face it was. It was the face of Jake.

"Jake? Is that really you?" Asked Dylan.

"Jake is dead, you can call me Death," Jake responded.

"What are you doing here?"

"I'm doing what Death does, destroy worlds and such."

"What happened to you?"

"I told you, Jake died, and Death came back."

"I don't believe you."

"If you don't believe me, you can ask Satan about it...I mean Lucifer, he doesn't like being called Satan."

"What the hell."

"Exactly, hell."

"Jake, I can't let you do this."

"It's Death, not Jake!"

Dylan walked toward Jake, trying his best to stand tall.

"Sorry brother, I have a planet to destroy."

Jake jumped onto the disc and floated higher above the city. He raised his hands above his head, and began to pull radiation and light into his hands.

"This is Dylan, teleport out, get out now," Dylan screamed into the microphone.

Dylan and Hannah pulled out the teleportation devices and pressed the buttons, as did Maddy, John, Joe, Erin, Smith, Ryan and Adam. They all arrived in the ship, far away from the planet. Seconds after they left, the planet exploded.

### The Boy Who Wept

"Is he ever going to come out of there?" Asked Smith,

"I wouldn't, why don't you try losing the only family member you had left," said Hannah.

"It's worse than that," said Joe, "There is a piece of his brother still in there, Dylan hasn't lost his brother, his brother has lost himself."

John walked in circles around the room impatiently, with a look of worry across his face. Maddy came up behind hem and tried to calm him down. Ryan sat in the corner, leaning against the wall with his eyes closed, and taking deep breaths.

"Whats Ryan doing?" Asked Erin.

"He's meditating, don't bother him," said Joe.

Joe walked to another corner and slumped into a couch, tiredly laying his body across the piece of furniture. Adam walked into the room and sat in a chair next to one of the tables.

"He won't come come out, still screaming and banging on the walls," said Adam.

Hannah rubbed her eyes and bit her lip, trying to hid the concerned look on her face.

"Joe, please let me see if I can do anything," said Hannah.

"Fine, knock yourself out," said Joe.

Hannah stood up and walked down the hallway to where Dylan's room was, she knocked on the door three times.

"Dylan, it's Hannah, are you there?" Hannah asked.

There was a long silence as Hannah stood outside the door, waiting for some kind of response.

"What is it?" A voice choked from inside.

"Can I come in?"

"The door is open."

Hannah pushed open the door and walked in. Dylan sat on his bed, with his head in his hands. Hannah walked to the bed and sat down next to him.

"Look Dylan, a long time ago, you saved my life, it's time you let me save yours," Hannah said.

Dylan looked up from his hands and turned his head to Hannah, taking in all of her features.

"And how are you supposed to do that?" Asked Dylan.

"By helping you," said Hannah.

"Okay, I doubt you can, but okay."

"Look, maybe you can try to remember the good things that Jake was."

Dylan sat contemplating the idea, then accepted it.

"Jake was always a bad kid to me, he was a jerk, he stole, he hurt people, but there was one person who saw the good in him. For a long time he dated a girl named Olivia. He was only 14, but I could have sworn life was better then. She turned Jake into an saint, made him a good guy. She always used to say, 'You need a lot of bad to cover a brightly shining piece of good.' Jake hated it when she said that, but it always gave me a feeling of hope, made me feel like there was still hope for him. I liked that girl, she really could do something nobody else could. Sadly, Jake broke the girl's heart, I almost killed him for it. He took the one person who could change him, who could see the good in him, and destroyed her. Rumor was that the girl wept for days, that she locked herself in a room and never spoke to anyone again. I don't know everything that Jake did, but whatever it was, was terrible."

"Dylan, I'm sorry, I really am. Try to remember the version of Jake that Olivia knew, not the other one. Because in reality, it is the good moments in life that we savor and keep, they are the ones that stay with us forever."

"Thanks Hannah."

"Will you come out now?"

"Yah."

##  

### Taken

The ship rattled with the sound of an explosion. Joe sprinted to the nearest computer and checked the screen. The screen showed a model of the ship, with the engines highlighted in red.

"All the engines are down! Everyone, suit up, prepare for anything!" Joe yelled.

Everyone fumbled for the hexagons in their pockets, and quickly pressed them to their chests. The suits unfolded over their bodies, revealing the magnificent colors and textures.

"Hannah, Dylan and Adam, you take the bottom left engines, Smith and Erin, you take the top. John and Maddy, you can take the the bottom right, Ryan and I will take the top. Now go!"

Each group sprinted down separate hallways, making their way towards one of the engines. Ryan followed Joe down the hallway, leading upwards towards the top right engine. As they sprinted up the hallway, Ryan checked his coat for weaponry. Joe's suit morphed, testing each weapon to check it's functionality. They arrived at the engine junction, where crates were stacked on either side of the wall. Ryan ducked behind one of the crates, and Joe ducked behind the other. Ryan pulled a gun out of his coat and held it with both hands.

"Hey Joe," whispered Ryan across the hall.

"Yah?" Joe responded.

"You're the only one who's been in this as long as I have, did you ever noticed that everyone joins this team, almost without convincing. I mean John and Maddy never even got the chance to say goodbye to their parents. Dylan and Jake were on the streets, and they just accepted the idea of other planets and spaceships. Erin was a messenger for a diplomat, Smith was a member of the DUC. Adam was given the job to hand you over to the DUC, but he didn't. And you and I, we joined a man who only whispered four words to us."

"I don't understand Ryan, I suppose it could have to do with the fact that all of us, have lost something that can't be replaced, but those four words could convince anyone."

"I have thought on those words for a long time, I never really understood what exactly he meant by them."

"Me neither, but they convinced me in an instant...Ryan, what was your life before you joined?"

"I was a cop, a traffic cop. I would patrol during the week, which on my planet was 10 days. Their wasn't a lot of bad that happened there, so I got the weekends off. I was taking a walk one day, when a teenage boy fell out of the sky. I don't know why I did it, but I tried to save him. That was when I met you, and a mysterious man who only went by 'Sir.'"

"I was 17 then wasn't I?"

"Something like that, I still remember what I thought to myself that day, I don't know where it came from, but it was very deep."

"What did you think?"

"I thought that that day, would either mean the downfall, or salvation, of us all."

"Wow, that is really deep."

"Yah, but now that I think of it, I suppose it was true."

Ryan finished his sentence, and Joe nodded, leaning against the wall.

Downstairs, John and Maddy sat behind another set of crates, talking about their life on Earth.

"I wonder what our parents would have thought, you know with us getting married and all," said Maddy.

"Mine wouldn't have cared, they gave me everything, but they never gave me their time, only their money," John responded.

"I'm sorry, I forgot."

"It's okay, I've got you now."

"You know, we never got to say goodbye to them."

"By the time I tried to, DNA had already pinned them down to perform tests on them."

"Yah, I'd rather not be reminded of that."

"You know, I used to have a dog, Tunip. She was a golden retriever, and was my only friend. She was still alive when I left, old, but alive. I guess I got to caught up in the adventure to remember her, but now that I think about it, I could really use her company right now."

"I remember her, she was sweet. Can't you use your ability to teleport her here?"

"Yah, I suppose I could, maybe I'll do that, we could use a ship dog."

"We definitely could. I never had any pets, when I moved to Colorado, you were the only friend I had."

"The closest thing I had to a friend other than you was my dog. Then again, I did have a deep relationship with Dumpster."

"It's ironic that you said deep."

"Only you would know that, hey do you remember how we thought that we were going to be like the X-MEN?"

"Haha, yes, and we were worried that there was some sort of organization hunting is down."

"Which is funny because we ended up bringing them down."

"Yah, you know, one day I hope to finally settle down, let go of the action, and the puzzles."

"I would like to sit down, read a few novels on the Aztecs, and maybe the Persian's and the Greeks."

"Oh no, I do not want to remember those times. I had to fight in a war, I wasn't as deep into it as Ryan, but I am still scarred by what happened there."

"I'm sorry, but it would be nice to one day let go."

On the other side of the ship, Erin and Smith stood behind a corner, waiting to hear a noise from the engine.

"Do you hear anything?" Asked Smith.

"No, and I'm pretty sure the sound of someone breaking in is going to be loud enough for us to hear," said Erin.

"Fine then, well we might as well find something to pass the time. I know that you know how I came to join the Gifted, but you have never told me how you joined.

"Are you sure you're not going to get bored?"

"Absolutely."

"Okay, well I started as a messenger for a diplomat, I carried important information to people, in my head, memorized. I was trained in combat so that I could defend myself while delivering the messages, so thats where my skills come from. I was delivering a message on the virus to Joe, when a terrorist group kidnapped me. My employer hired John and Maddy to rescue me, which they did. Eventually we ended up getting into a fight with a company called DNA on Earth. One thing led to another, and Joe ended up finding us. For some reason, I joined his cause."

"You just joined him?"

"Yup, I just joined him, and you're not one to talk about randomly joining someone."

"Yes I am, you guys saved my life, thats part of the code."

"What code?"

"You know...The code."

"There is no code, and you were a part of the DUC for God's sake."

"I joined the DUC under the impression I was going to help people. When I found out they were corrupt, I couldn't leave, they would hunt me down and kill me."

"Oh, what made you join us of all people though?"

"I finally thought I found someone who was using their gifts to help people."

On the deck below Smith and Erin, the remaining group of three was crouched behind an overturned table.

"So what is your guys' story?" Asked Adam.

"Orphaned," said Hannah and Dylan simultaneously.

"Whoa, one at a time please," Adam said, raising his hands.

"You go first," Dylan said to Hannah.

Hannah took a deep breath and exhaled, preparing to tell her story.

"It all started when I was a little girl," said Hannah, "I didn't talk much, and when I did I barely reached a whisper. Oddly enough, I had always wanted to sing. My parents signed me up for singing lessons, which I took for a while. At the end of one of the practices, the teacher asked me to hit a high note. I stood up on stage in front of all the parents and their kids, including my own. I hit the note, and wiped out the entire building. I passed out after I screamed, and when I woke up, I heard sirens in the distance and everyone was gone. I ran, and was eventually adopted by a woman who treated me amazingly. I learned to use sign language, and was treated like I was stupid my whole life. One day I was kidnapped by DNA, and was rescued by Joe. He and Sir gave me hope to survive, they made me the device attached to my neck that lets me talk. I wouldn't be here without them."

"How old were you then they found you?" Asked Adam.

"Thirteen or Fourteen I think. I actually fought after they found me. They didn't want me to fight because of my age, but I wouldn't accept no for an answer."

"Wow, how about you Dylan?"

Dylan snapped back into reality and looked at Adam for a few seconds before realizing what he was asked.

"Oh, sorry, I drifted away for a bit," said Dylan, "my parents died when I was very little, and I grew up with a jerk as a brother. We were running from the cops after my brother had accidentally destroyed a grocery store. It was in Mexico, where our parents had last been before they either died, or left us. We were in the middle of a field, sitting around a fire with no food, when Joe and Hannah dropped in and picked us up."

"What happened to your brother?" Asked Adam.

"He turned against us, ended up sending us all back in time. Now, as you know, he has turned into something very evil."

"I'm sorry."

"Me too."

Dylan slouched against the table, and the ship rocked with the sound of an explosion. Dylan sat up, crouching onto his knees. A hole had been blown into the wall in front of them. Someone had been inside the engines. Out from the hole stepped Jake, glowing with yellow and orange light. The light made the scars on his face look even worse, and his skin was bubbling as if being boiled.

"What a sad story," said Jake, "very emotional."

"I assume you're here to kill us?" Said Dylan.

"No, well yes, well not here. I came here to get you, so that I can kill you in a different way, in a different place."

"You're sick Jake."

"Death, you're sick, Death."

"Call yourself what you want, there is still a little bit of Jake inside you."

"Really, prove it."

"Olivia."

Jake's expression turned from a snarl to a sympathetic frown. If his skin hadn't been burning, one could have made out a tear falling from his eye. Jake shook his head, and the snarl returned.

"She is something of Jake's past, and I am no longer Jake."

Dylan frowned and his eyes became glazed with tears.

"Wow, really? You're going to cry for someone you never liked?"

"There was always a part of him that I liked."

"Not anymore."

Jake fired three small blasts at Dylan, Hannah and Adam, throwing them against the wall. Jake walked to them and grabbed Hannah and Dylan's collars, picking them up. Jake walked into the engine room, carrying the two Gifted. In the engine room was a large hole, opening into the vastness of space. Outside the hole was a red vortex, spinning in place. Jake flexed his arms and threw Hannah and Dylan into the vortex. He then returned back into the ship, and did the same with an injured Adam. Jake then jumped out of the ship and flew to the upper engine area, where he shot at Erin and Smith until they could no longer move. He picked them up and threw them into the vortex also. Jake blew a hole under the area where John and Maddy were standing, causing them to fall into the churning red vortex.

Jake's hardest fight was with Ryan and Joe. They fought like champions, but eventually fell subject to Jake knocking them out. Jake picked them up, and threw them into the vortex.

Dylan's body crashed onto the red rock with a painful thud. Hannah fell in after him, followed by Adam. Over the next few minutes, all of the Gifted fell onto the rocks. While the rest tried to recover, Dylan looked up, seeing the boiling lava, floating above his head. While he was looking, Jake fell out of the lava and landed lightly on the red rocks. Dylan tried to make a black hole, but he could do nothing. Jake walked up to Joe and Ryan, where he waved a ball of heat and energy in from of their faces until they snapped out of unconsciousness.

"There is no use trying to use your powers here," said Jake, "it won't work for you."

"What are you doing to us?" Asked Dylan.

Jake didn't answer.

"This was the place from my dream," said Erin, "not the exact location, but definitely the same planet."

"You're in a volcano," said Jake, "One which marks the entrance to my masters palace."

"You really are the fourth horseman," said Smith.

"Yes, yes I am," Jake replied, "I brought you here because this volcano will erupt in ten minutes. The ground beneath you will open, and the lava above you will fall. I didn't want to just kill you all, I wanted you all to be with each other for your last minutes, to feel every ounce of regret."

Jake pulled a pocket watch from his black suit, and dropped it in front of Joe. The watch showed ten minutes to five.

"At five, the volcano erupts," said Jake.

Jake stood up and flew into the lava, disappearing into the red mess.

### Adopted

Jeremy arrived at the adoption agency, a sad frown across his face. He walked to the counter where he filled out a form and stepped into a room where a group of children sat. In the back of the room sat the girl who Jeremy had found in the road, the girl who had known his dreams. Jeremy walked to the girl in the corner and sat down next to her. The girl looked up at him, not surprised at his arrival.

"I'm sorry," said Jeremy, "my wife, Sandra, passed away yesterday. Her last wish was to adopt you. I beg you to honor that wish."

The girl nodded her head and stood up, she followed Jeremy to the front desk, where he filled out a multitude of forms.

"I'm going to need a name," said the girl.

Jeremy stood, and thought to herself.

"I'll call you Rose, it was Sandra's favorite flower.

### The Beginning

John and Maddy sat on the floor, embraced in a hug. The hug passed throughout the circle, everyone saying their goodbyes.

"I'm sorry we never made it to the wedding," said John.

"I don't think we ever needed to," Maddy replied.

Hannah sat next to Joe and Dylan, trying to hold back her tears.

"Hannah, I never told you, I really like you, and I suppose I should phrase it by saying I have feelings for you," said Dylan.

"Trust me, I know," Hannah replied sympathetically.

"It was a good run guys," said Smith, "I wouldn't have missed a second of it."

"Me neither," said Erin, "it was truly amazing."

"I haven't been here that long," Adam said, "but I have never felt like I was part of something so big before. Thank you."

The conversation turned into a mess of talking. Everyone was saying goodbye, or thinking back on the past. The talking became so loud, that no one could hear Joe shouting.

"Guys!" Screamed Joe for the third time.

Everyone stopped speaking and looked at Joe. Joe flicked open the pocket watch and held it in front of him.

"You're all forgetting something."

Everyone sat and looked blankly at Joe.

"A man once told me four words, four words that made me become one of the Gifted. Those words were: 'We can bring peace.' Right now, we are stuck in the midst of chaos, of death itself."

Ryan looked up at Joe and began to grin.

"The man who told me those words was named Henry. He fought to bring peace. If I could think of one thing he would have said right now, I would say it, but I don't know what he would say. What I do know, is what I am going to say, and that is this."

Joe held up the pocket watch, revealing the minute hand passing over 5:55.

"We still have five minutes."

### Part 1

### Afterword

I would call this more of a letter to you, my readers, then an official afterword. Many of you have just finished the book (if you haven't, stop reading now and finish it) and are most likely surprised by the ending. I would like to start you off by pointing something out. The last chapter was labeled "The Beginning." The reason it was named that is because this is only the start of the Gifted's legacy, not the end. Another thing to point out, is that a lot of things have not come to closure at the end of this book, things that obviously need to be finished. If you're thinking about a sequel right now, I can guarantee that there will be one in the future. Lastly, you should have noticed a small amount of gaps in the story, time periods that were lost, historical events that are referenced, and character changes that you do not witness. A few of these things you can find in the Forward, which I recommend you read if you haven't already done so. I am pleased to tell you that on June 1st, 2014, I will be publishing a book containing a series of short stories filling these holes. If you have ever wondered about the early Gifted wars, or the colonization period. If you have ever wondered about Smith, Adam, or Erin's past's, then this series of stories will settle that for you.

### The Dark Warrior

It was a day of secrecy as Randy Echelon rushed through the streets. He was a warrior by nature, but not the best when it came to being honest or following orders. He hoped that Lacey's information was right and that Chief Schwarts was not going to be back for another day. He went up the kingdom steps and opened the royal bedrooms door, he turned off the light and locked the door.

Chief Schwarts had a huge success at the committee and was happy to be back early. He was welcomed by the guards who were surprised to see him back so soon. He marched up the steps, prepared to share his success with his wife, Lacey Schwarts. Chief Schwarts reached for the door handle to his quarters, he was surprised to find that the door was locked. When he opened the door he was horrified at what he saw.

Day: January 2, 2003

Time: 3:45.

Place: World Court.

"I, Judge Grey Martin, declare Randy Echelon, banished from the light galaxy's for the next seventy years for contamination of the royal bloodline. He will be taken to the planet Slikton in the dark galaxy of Cagreel where he shall be alone with the dead for the next seventy years. His transport will be here shortly, case dismissed."

Randy sat in the seat of the transport, no fear was in his heart, nor was shown in his eyes. Randy was grinning at the fact he had ruined the life of his general, Chief Schwarts. He was a warrior, he was not worried about living with the dead, the outcasts. His thoughts were cut short as he felt the transport jerk to a stop. They were floating above Slikton, in the dark galaxy of Cagreel. Here the guards stripped him of his clothes, gave him a tube of air and threw him out towards the planet. Randy fell, his heart darkening by the second, hatred welling up in his heart. He had thousands of plans, ways to kill Schwarts, not only physically, but in his heart as well. Randy's heart became completely enveloped in darkness, then he hit the ground.

Galaxy's, therw are many, light, dark, neutral. Full of planets, but of all the galaxy's, Sealey is the greatest, and of all the planets, Tartifia is the most wonderful. However of all the galaxy's and planets, Tartifia, in the galaxy of Sealey, has the most problems any could have. It has been years since a hero has risen. Tartifia was used to safety. The people did not believe they would need a hero, but little did they know how desperate they would be for one, and how stupid the greatest court in the universe could be...

It had been 15 years since the great accident. Randy lived with the criminals, the outcasts, the dead. All of which he had taken leadership of. First the outcasts, who had a want and need for a leader, they needed someone who would say they were worth something, even if the man was lying. Next he went for the criminals, all Randy had to do was kill the leader, and all of the terrible thief's and murderers followed him. The dead were not the easiest to convince, but they thirsted for a soul, a soul which Randy could give. Randy left them to prepare for war, as he set the standards for his army.

On the planet there was a shack, a small shack of dirt and metal, in this shack an outcast named Riley had made a discovery. Many things were invincible these days, but they all had a simple way of being destroyed. Riley had discovered how to take a compound of carbon and an unknown substance to create a nanotube. It was a hexagonal formation all morphed together into a tube which could not be destroyed. Randy instructed Riley to set up shop. The dead with their nimble fingers were in charge of putting the tubes together, the outcasts and criminals were in charge of turning the tubes into armor, and weapons, indestructible weapons that could become part of Randy Echelon. The armor was fitted to Randy and just for the heck of it, he put a capital R in the middle of the suit. Randy had dual swords, also made of carbon nanotubes, which were great conductors of electricity. The weapons could kill a man with a few thousand volts, even without cutting into the skin. Now Randy was ready, he was ready to begin a conquest in the light galaxy's. The dark warrior stood in his wasteland, and pressed the button that would beam him straight to the nearest light planet, for a test run.

Civilian:

"I was merely walking home from a trip to the supply store, when I saw it, that horrible sight. It started as a speck, a speck in the distance, a terrible black dot. It was about the size of an air-trolley that you see from a few trillion macro-meters away. I was used to black dots, but this dot, this one looked different. I kept staring as the dot moved, it moved towards me, I looked around and saw many other black dots, all moving to the same point: Right above me. The dots collided in the air and began expanding, a terrible feeling of shock came over me, I couldn't move, I couldn't think. Then the dots exploded into a horrific combination of plasma and carbon. For a brief moment I saw it, the dark warrior, next I saw a sword, beaming with electricity. I saw it move, then my world went black and I fell into darkness. I woke up, lights shined brightly into my eyes, causing me to squint. I was in a spacecraft, I was not on my planet. Their were three people with me, the planet's chief, an old man, and a young, fit, but injured boy. I asked where the planet was, 'It is gone,' said the old man. 'Destroyed, by the dark warrior, with that terrible dark R.'"

Joe Stortion:

"My name is Joe, Joe Stortion. I am a boy, I live on the planet Tartiff, and their is a girl, a lovely girl, she makes me scared when I am around her, I begin to worry how I look and my speech jitters. Her name is Anna Echelon, but she goes by Anna Reynolds, because she is ashamed of her last name. She is a beautiful girl. A girl, I wish I could have."

Anna Reynolds:

"My name is Anna, Anna Echelon, but I hate my last name and I prefer Anna Reynolds. I was an accident, I am the result of an affair, I am 15 years old, and I live in depression of where I came from. I have never met my father, he was banished for what he did. My mother and step father (although they are married) still quarrel and live in unrest from the day I was created. I know a boy named Joe, he loves me, I know it, though he won't admit it.

Joe Stortion:

"The news, an intergalactic way of ruining peoples lives, letting others know how lives were ruined, or how to avoid ruining your own. I was watching it this morning. There was an interview with a man, he was stuttering, shaking and had a look of fear in his eyes. The report was focused on the exploits of a dark warrior, with unimaginable ability's. The reporter began to talk about how they had discovered what the "dark warrior's" next target was: a planet called Beta-G. Apparently a spec-ops unit was headed to Beta-G to stop this warrior. I sure hope they can, because this is scaring the hell out of me. For some reason I have a groping feeling that this warrior, is my secret crush's biological father.

I turned off the plasma screen, got my backpack and headed out the door to high school. If you don't know what high school is like for boys, than let me tell you. It consists mostly of: Girls, girls, fear of girls, attempts to talk to girls, jealous of guys who can talk to girls, and did I mention girls? So you probably get the idea. There is one girl in particular at my school, a girl which I am completely in love with. Unfortunately whenever I try to talk to her, I begin to have huge perspiration problems and can't figure out how to speak. You would think the son of a soldier would have more guts than that wouldn't you?

I reached school. How wonderful, another day of unbearable torture. There were the cool kids, sitting up front next to their trash can, just waiting to throw someone in. There were the nerds, showing each other their new comic books and computer games. There were good girls, the bad girls, and the outcasts. Welcome to high school. I had a feeling that today was going to be one of my bad days at school, not a sad day, but it would be a bad day. Later, I would be proved right. Do any of you know how a bad day starts? Well, you should know that it always starts with the glares, from one person, to a group of people, it always starts with the glares. Glares are what I got this morning, you could guess that this glare is going to come from my crush's boyfriend or something, but that only happens in the movies. This glare came for a stupid reason, I had accidentally spilled orange juice on a boy's pants a few days ago. Now sure it was an incredibly funny sight to see a guy you don't like looking like he wet himself, but it was a move that I would later regret. He glared at me until I reached my first class. I got glares throughout the day as I began to reach the time I dreaded: Lunch.

I stood in the lunch line, waiting for my turn, I was surprised not to see the glare, or the guy glaring anywhere. I stood and waited, I felt a tug, looked down and my pants were on the floor. It is not a good feeling to have your pants laying on the floor in front of a group of people, including the girl of your dreams. Lunch went by and I had to ignore the amount of gossip going around. It was at this point that I made a decision, I don't know why it was this point, of all the points I could choose, today was the day I would ask Anna on a date. My next class was Science/Tech and today we were learning about Carbon nanotubes. A truly amazing discovery if I don't say so myself. Practically indestructible and an amazing conductor of electricity. As I looked at the pictures shown on the Holo-projector I began to see a resemblance between these tubes, and the armor worn by the mysterious warrior on the news, My mind began to drift, as did the eyes of a spec-ops unit not far from my planet."

Spec. ops team 3071:

"We stood there, our eyes floating in all different directions, as did our machine guns, held by trigger-fingers just waiting to pull. Then came the dots, the dots we were warned about. Our eyes began to drift. It happened so fast. Suddenly I look around, there is an electrical buzz and all my squad is dead, I am tackled and those terrible eyes look into mine. I hear four words: Where is Anna Echelon. In fear of my life I say 'Kingdom A, planet, Tartiff.' He gives me one more look then pulls the weapon back, everything goes black."

Joe Stortion:

"The school day was not going so well, but I had a reason to make it perfect, that is if I got the answer I wanted. I was going to ask Anna out, unfortunately for me, that time was cut short. I was walking up to her, as she stood with her beautiful brunette hair faced towards me. I was walking in her blind spot, as was an intergalactic murderer. I was only six feet away now. Then the dots started. Those dots that I feared seeing. They centered right between Anna and I, then a man dropped from a dark hole in the sky. I was correct, the armor was made out of carbon nanotubes. The man grabbed Anna, and started rising up to the hole, I sprinted and attempted to save Anna, but could not, she was gagged. As she flew away, I could tell she was trying to say something to me. Then the hole closed.

It was time for revenge. I ran home to my workshop and began with the particle incinerator. In a few minutes I was able to create about a hundred carbon nanotubes. In an attempt to expand them I used an infrared laser to heat them up. Instead they exploded in my face. I did this experiment twenty times and each time the tubes exploded, along with anything it was touching. I was going old fashion, I took two infrared lasers and duct taped them to my wrists. I put on leather pants and a leather jacket(leather is a bad conductor of electricity and does not burn easily) I walked to the bus station and stole the teleportation link, I tinkered with it a bit, then I teleported to Slikton, in the galaxy of Cagreel."

"I hit the sand on the dark planet, there were already about fifty outcasts coming my way, unfortunately, infrared lasers wouldn't help me here. The first one had already reached me, I threw a roundhouse kick at his nose, than punched him on his way down. As the other one charged I remembered that I still had the one hundred carbon nanotubes in my pocket, I also had a straw. I began to use my straw as a blowgun, and carbon nanotubes as blow darts. Slowly implanting them into all of my enemy's. It took a short time but I eventually had at least one implanted into all the outcasts. Now was the easy part, I turned my laser on, changed the focus to maximum, put my hands in an "I'm a star" position, and spun around in circles. Once the dizziness got a hold of me I stopped spinning. Looking around, there were no body's, just ashes in the sand.

I turned my lasers off and began running to a shack in the distance. I reached the shack and could see Anna and the dark warrior. The warrior turned and saw me, he grinned, as did I. He began to charge and swung his sword, but he missed, and I knocked it out of his hands. Then I noticed a problem, he wasn't wearing his armor, my lasers would be of no use. I tried to stab him with my remaining nanotubes but he dodged every one. I had an idea that might work, and it was worth my life, for Anna's. I took all of the nanotubes out of my pocket and stabbed them into my chest. I looked at Anna and mouthed the words "I love you," then I charged at the dark warrior.

Everything began to move in slow motion, as I jumped, I saw surprise on his face, and he grinned at me, I grinned back. There was no fear in his eyes nor in my own. I narrowed my eyes and all of the anger and hatred I have ever felt let loose all at once, I screamed and charged. As I moved forward I saw those dark eyes show fear for a brief moment, then they turned back into complete evil. The warrior began running. I jumped, it was all worth it, this was worth saving the girl of my dreams along with trillions of innocent people. We collided in the air, I pointed the infrared light at my chest, and pressed the button, the whole world went black."

Ryan Thampton:

"I was on my evening walk one day, just a normal day. I always preferred walks, they help me relax and settle down. I saw smoke in the distance, I walked towards the source, in a crater the smoke was emitting from, was a boy, a boy about sixteen or seventeen years old. I stopped walking and ran to the station.

I reached the guard, and told them what I saw. The man laughed and said 'these times are too hard for crazy.' I looked him in the eye and said, 'I am no liar.' The man saw the seriousness in my eyes and turned around, he nodded at two men. They each took rifles off the wall, and told me to lead the way, I did.

"There are times when man needs a hero, times when darkness envelopes light, times when hope is stabbed in the chest. Men step up, brave men, special men. That is what man is looking for now, heroes, heroes that can save us, and build up the legacy that will save us all. I felt that the boy in the crater was one of those, I don't know how I knew, I just had a feeling.

The soldiers were pointing their guns at the boy, I motioned for them to stop, and got some colorful words back from their commander. I repeated myself with a tone in my voice, more demanding than I expected. The leader swore and then said, 'Go ahead.' I slid down in the pit, the boy had multiple holes in his chest, where there was blood boiling as if under extreme heat. This kid looked like he had just fought a lion, he was covered in scars, cuts, stabs, and burns. He was in terrible condition. I began to peel back his eyelids, but he beat me to it. His eyes opened with incredible urgency. They were blue eyes, bloodshot and full of dust, but there was an incredible determination in them.

He grabbed my shirt collar with a surprising amount of strength, I could already feel the rash forming around my neck. He looked me in the eyes with determination and said in a grunting tone, 'Where is she?' I looked up and noticed the number of soldiers had multiplied, all of which were aiming weapons at the boy. The boy said, 'We don't need the guns,' with a very broken voice. The guards said they would drop them when they wanted to drop them. The next event was strange. The group of guards was suddenly parted, in the middle stood a man. The man was wearing a trench coat and a low hat. He had a tux on underneath, his tie was dead white, his tux was dirt black, the trench coat was also black. I studied him more, on his back was located a P-90 plasma remake. I noticed a taser, three seeker knives, a pistol and a walkie talkie. The mysterious man stood up tall and told the guards that they could all go home, they did so.

The man asked if I had a family, I said no, they were murdered during the accident. He told me I could come with him , I didn't know what he meant by that, but I did. During the walk to who knows where, the boy told me his name and asked for a girl named Anna. The trench coat man said she was safe and the boy was relieved. The man said that we had more important matters to discuss, and that we could do them under the cover of secrecy. I suppose my story could end right here, that or it could just be the beginning. Little did I know how long my story would be, and how this was only the start; but for now, I leave you with myself, Joe Stortion and a mysterious man in a trench coat, walking to an unknown destination, where our journeys will collide and create the possible destruction, or salvation of us all.

...End_Recording_1...

### EARTHLING

"Hi, welcome to my world, my name is John, I live a life of horror, bruises, and an extremely low self esteem problem. I would later discover that I have abilities that are "supernatural," but still, that took a lot of work to obtain. My torture had been going on since probably kindergarten. You should know that kindergarten will effect your entire life until you graduate, so you really need to make a good impression. Unfortunately, I am not very good at first impressions. My kindergarten teacher started the class with a, "Welcome boys and girls." The teacher's name was Mrs. Shine, right off the bat I will tell you that Mrs. SHINE does not fit her. Shine is the exact opposite of her personality. She started out teaching us about counting to one two and three, which to me is like someone teaching you basic addition in an algebra class. I hate to brag, but I am pretty smart, which is another reason why I am so disliked. Anyway, Mrs. Shine goes on and on, until we get playtime. This is the part when I meet my enemy for life, or at least for his life. It started like all bully-nerd relationships go. I was building an intricate design out of bricks, he was pelting people with bricks. He ended up pelting my amazing castle down with bricks. In anger, I may have kicked his little toddler "special place" that is hidden between a male's legs. Lets just say that in return he got a little toddler adrenaline rush and I got a little toddler head rush. Ever since, I have never known his real name, and be advised I have been in school with him up to the eighth grade. All he has told me is that his name was "dumpster" thats not even creative!

Right now I am on summer vacation, I always got excited about summer break because I didn't have to go dumpster diving with, well, dumpster. Today I was in the backyard with my dog, Tunip. I still don't know why we named her Tunip, but I suppose someone was thinking of tulips or turnips at the time.

I may be "nerdy" but I am still a very fit person, who says smart people can't be active eh? I was playing a game with my dog (yes I do teach my dog games) the game was a mutated version of football. I would start with the tennis ball at our "yard-line" she would sit right in front of me, I would throw the ball and we would both run to get it. The first person to get the ball has to run the opposite direction, and yes you do try to tackle the person or dog with the ball.

I sat at the yard-line, looking my opponent directly in her brown-black eyes as her redish-yellow hair blew in the wind. I assumed my position, planted my feet in the ground and felt the crunch as my feet twisted in the dirt under my shoes. As I turned around I wound up my body and brought my arm back. In a sudden movement I released all my power into the small tennis ball that in my hand. Suddenly my opponent and I were racing down the field toward our objective. I had my hand over the ball, about to grip it, when I felt the fangs of my opponent dig into my hand. I quickly snapped my hand back. As my opponent tried to gain control over the ball I rammed her with my hips. Unfortunately she still had her eye on the prize, so she kept moving. She took the ball and began to sprint down the field. Her four legs moving in a perfect harmony, leaping, and never claiming victory until she had it. Little did she know that I had regained my balance and was bounding after her. Just before she had reached her goal I leaped, my arms wrapping around her tight stomach muscles and yanking back. Before I knew it I had an eighty pound animal laying on my rib cage, and the satisfaction of victory. I joked around and pushed her as I laughed. I could have sworn she had a smile on her face as her tongue hung out of her mouth. I high-fived her paw and shook her.

I may not be popular at school but I have a loyal friend here. Something else you should know about Tunip, she is the only real memento of my parents. I know that you are thinking that this means my parents died, or left me, or had a divorce, but no. About the time when I turned ten my parents became neglectful. Ya they don't beat me or curse at me, in fact they get me really cool stuff for birthdays and holidays, but they are never there for me. Today they were once again out doing who knows what on a Friday night. I was gonna head downtown to get some food to fill my shaking tummy. I took Tunip inside, and locked the doors, insuring to take the key off of the hook and put it in my pocket. I did not want to get locked out again. I took my bike out of the garage, and checked the air. I then mounted my horse with wheels and took off. I began to peddle, feeling a painful burn in my calves as I pushed forward. I started out slow but began to gain speed as I switched up to gear five, not satisfied I used more strength to put on gear six. That felt good but still no satisfaction, I switched my front gear to three and my back gear to seven and I was off. Once again I was in my special place. I could feel the wind pushing through my roughed up black hair. My clothes puffed up from the wind and I laughed as I realized I looked like a body builder. I peddled harder and harder until I saw the stop sign ahead. I looked to see if there were any cars. I saw one, but kept on going with my stupid, but adventurous, teenage mind. I sped through the crossing just before the car crossed. I grinned as I heard the horn behind me scream with anger. In front of me I could see main street so I began to slow down. I took a right and headed under the tunnel where I ran over a few cigarettes and spray cans left over by graffiti artists. I worked my way up a small hill and skidded to a stop in the parking lot. I walked up and chained my bike up. I walked in to my favorite Italian restaurant: Little Wizza.

This place had Wizza's my favorite food of all time. I walked in and took a seat. The manager, Helen walked by and said hi. We talked a little bit and I gave her my order: One tray of Wizza's. This is probably the only restaurant in the world that serves Wizza's. A Wizza is an Italian dumpling, stuffed with cheese and covered in pizza sauce, HEAVEN! I had gotten through five of them when the waitress began yelling. I had to focus to hear her: "Thief's! Robbers! Druggy's, there destroying the bike out there and throwing food at the costumers." I got up and scooted my chair back. "Oh please don't John," said Helen. I ignored her and walked outside approaching the thugs. "C'mon guys you got some sort of problem," I said. They looked at me and laughed. "Oh someone trying to be a tough guy?" said a man who looked like the leader of the group. The next thing I remember is waking up in a tunnel strapped to some sort of bed, surrounded by men in black.

These men were in black leather jackets, and looked much more menacing than they had at the store. The leader came up to me and began to speak, " I would have killed you earlier, but I'd rather do it while you are awake." I saw him and a few others pick up uncomfortably large knives and begin to walk towards me. First I struggled, than I closed my eyes and quit. I thought of how nice it would be if I could pull a Call of Duty, pull out a knife and break free. Then have them shot down by other soldiers. The minute I finished my thought I heard an echo down the tunnel. I opened my eyes and saw the men looking towards the end of the tunnel. Out of nowhere, came four FBI agents with riot shields and guns. They shot blindly and the gang began to run, but the agents came from the other side of the tunnel and ambushed the gang. An agent raised his gun and shot into the air, causing the gang members to run away. Suddenly, the whole group of agents disappeared in a yellow glow. I looked down and saw that the straps were undone. I then noticed a yellow light, glowing in my chest. I freaked and for some reason began to float. The heat in my chest became painful and excruciating. I felt it burn like crazy, saw a yellow light, and lost consciousness.

I woke up in the tunnel, my head spinning. I looked around me, and noticed that there was no evidence that the gang, or that FBI agents were ever in the tunnel. I looked around and noticed the tunnel glowing with a strange yellow hue. I looked at my chest where the yellow light had been earlier. My chest looked fine, but whatever had happened burned a clean hole through my shirt. I attempted to stand up and was immediately taken by dizziness causing me to fall over backwards. I landed on a red couch. The red couch had not been there before. I would have thought more about it, but I decided to lay down on the couch. I thought about how nice it would be to have a pillow. As I rolled my head over I felt a pillow under my head. This was really confusing for me, in fact it was so confusing that my mind simply shut down into another deep sleep.

I woke up on the couch, took out my phone, and looked at the time. It had been three hours since I fell asleep. I stood up and looked for my shoes. They had been burned up. I turned around with a strange hope of seeing some really nice running shoes behind me, sure enough, they were there. I put them on and looked back to where the couch was, it was gone, the couch and the pillow were both completely gone. I was very confused now, earlier I was sure the couch wasn't there, now I was sure that the couch had been there. I found a bike with a lock on it, I hated to do this, but I looked around for something I could use to pick the lock. I found a nail on the ground and walked back to the bike. I was surprised to discover that the lock on the bike was no longer there. I got onto the bike and rode home to my uncaring parents. I immediately went up to my room. I sat thought for hours. Then I started experimenting.

I thought it was possible that I could conjure objects with my mind. As my first test, I pointed my hand at the wall and thought of picture frame...nothing happened. I closed my eyes, gritted my teeth, and imagined a picture frame...still nothing happened. I did this multiple times with different objects and ideas, but it didn't work. I slouched on my bed and felt the roughness of my tongue in my mouth, reminding me of my thirst. I thought to myself how nice a smoothie would taste. I stood up to get myself a smoothie, but as I got off my bed, I saw a smoothie sitting on my desk. My heart beat quickly with excitement as I realized what had happened. I conjured things through my desires, not thoughts. It would take time, but I would eventually learn how to create these desires. When I did, it would change my life, along with the lives of many others.

It was three weeks later, and school had started. I hadn't quite learned how to harness my power, but I was getting close. Today I was early to school, three hours early. I wanted to avoid any encounters with "dumpster" as long as I was here. I went straight to my locker and tried the combination at least three times before remembering it. To be honest I liked school because it was easy for me, I just didn't like dumpster. I walked straight to the science room, my first class of the day. The door was locked when I arrived at the door. Luckily I desired to get into the room badly enough to conjure up a key, which fit perfectly in the keyhole. I walked in and sat down before the teacher of the class had even showed up.

I waited a good half an hour before people began to arrive. I saw a few old friends, and acquaintances walk in, but one person caught my eye. I watched as the most beautiful girl in the entire world entered the classroom. I knew that she hadn't been here last year, or I would have noticed. We were lined up in front of the white board as the teacher showed us where to sit. There were name tags on each of the seats. The tag next to me said Crowley. Ugh, the most disgusting boy in the entire school. I closed my eyes and wished that it could have been the girl who had walked in earlier. I opened my eyes and looked next to me. There she was, sitting right next to me. I looked at the name tag, it was no longer Crowley Crowley, now it was Madison. Wow, a beautiful name to mach a beautiful girl. She sat down and I smiled at her. In manliest voice I could conjure, with or without my powers, I asked her about her life, where she was from, and how she ended up at the school. She answered my questions, laughed at a few of my stupid jokes, and smiled at me. She told me that she was from out of state and I asked her if she wanted to hang out after school so I could show her around the town. To my extreme joy she smiled and said yes. The rest of the day went by in a blur, I simply reminded my self that "less dumpster per day, keeps the doctor away." Plus I got to look forward to my meeting with Madison after school.

I met up with Madison at the statue of a strange old man in front of my school. I didn't want us to ride bikes downtown for fear of getting sweaty. So, I deeply desired a bus to show up. Whether it was my powers, or just luck, a bus arrived at the sidewalk. We got on the buss and reached downtown Parker, where I showed her all of my favorite shops and parks. We were on the bus on our return trip when I saw a suspicious looking figure in the back of the bus. After a good five minutes of staring, he began walking towards us. The bus doors opened and the man did something slightly unexpected. He grabbed Madison and tried to yank her out of the bus. Apparently she was tougher than I thought because she kicked the man really hard in between his legs, causing him screamed like no man had screamed before. However he got over it and pulled a knife out of his jacket. I looked around for a weapon, anything I could brandish in my hands. In an instant I thought of a sword. As if it was magic, a Katana appeared in my hands. I thought to myself: "If I can pull this off, then might as well do something better." I conjured a taser into my hands and shocked the life out of the man. He fell to the ground spazzing out.

I remember us running out of the bus after the attack. I saw cops and hoped that Madison and I wouldn't have to deal with them. The minute I thought about it, the policemen disappeared, I was very confused about where they went. Madison and I walked home in silence, I didn't know whether or not she had seen what I could do. We kept walking and it was getting dark. I dared to speak. "Man, I wish we had some light out here." To my pleasure and amazement a very bright light shown from Madison's hands. Her hands were on fire. I freaked out, afraid that I had caused her hands to catch fire, but it couldn't be me, because her hands were not burned and she seemed completely calm. "Is, is this normal?" I asked her. "Yes," she said, "I saw what you did at school today, and in the bus, I thought you deserved to know the truth." I was shocked.

In the days and months that followed my relationship with Madison grew, up to the point where I asked her to homecoming, she said yes, and we had a lot of fun. However, we agreed to attempt to hide our relationship for fear of anyone who wanted to use it against us. Being...gifted was a dangerous thing, and I had seen too many movies where people got killed because of it. We survived for another five years, with no encounters with dumpster, or people trying to kill us.

It was now senior prom and of course, Madison and I were going together. I had conjured up a limo and a limo driver to take us to the dance. I stepped in and told the driver where to take me. He drove up to Madison's house and I got out. I walked up to her doorstep and rang the doorbell, she opened it looking almost as beautiful as when she was on fire. I held her hand and led her to the limo. She winked at me and said: "Cheater." I smiled and laughed. The driver took us to school where prom was being held. As soon as no one was looking I snapped my fingers and the limo disappeared. Madison and I danced and laughed for hours that night, until dumpster showed up. I found out through the beautiful chain of gossip that his real name was Chad.

Chad walked up and said in the dumbest tone of voice: "Look puny's got a girlfriend!" We had a nice long argument until I said something bold, and he pulled a knife. I laughed as he slashed it back and forth, until he picked me up and brought me outside, still giggling. He and his buddy's all pulled out knifes, and I pulled out a lightsaber. Um...Correction I conjured a lightsaber. I used the weapon to easily cut the tips off each of their knives. That was when I saw the helicopter, it was a military helicopter. I examined more closely and noticed that the chopper had two missile launchers mounted on each side. All of which were pointed at the school. I quickly wished that the school would move. The school didn't move, but everyone in it teleported into the adjacent field. They moved just in time, because the helicopter shot two missiles at the school, causing it to explode into hundreds of pieces. I created a force field around myself, along with the gang that had just attacked me.

After the shrapnel cleared, I looked up. Above me hovered four helicopters, all with weapons pointed at me. There was a good 40 men on the ground with guns aimed at my head. I watched in horror as they opened fire, I created a shield around myself but forgot Chad and his friends, every one of them was regretfully slaughtered in the gunfire. I kept the shield as I watched the helicopters adjust positions in order to hit me. I heard a whir as the missiles charged up, I was doomed. Just as I thought I was done for, I saw a streak of fire shoot from the ground and smash through each helicopter, causing them to explode. Shrapnel flew across the destroyed school, and the helicopters fell to the ground. The streak of fire maneuvered around the falling helicopters and wreckage until she landed next to me and extinguished her flame, revealing Madison. "You ready to do this?" I asked. She responded saying: "Oh yah." I conjured up a sword and a bucket of oil which I drenched the sword in, I handed it to her. She and the sword were immediately engulfed in flames. I conjured up something I hadn't done before, I literally imagined the iron man suit, and it appeared on my body. I jumped and began flying around the school, shooting at the enemy. After I while the suit disappeared and I brought a sword to a gunfight. It wasn't just me with a sword though, it was an army of people with swords, one of which was on fire. We charged and cut down every last man standing. All of which we found out were not FBI or military. As the battle was won, I fell to the ground, and passed out.

I woke up in the morning with Madison lying next to me. I saw three men standing over me. One looked very official, the other was wearing a matt black suit that morphed with his body. The other looked like a cop. They showed me how the man in black was like me, and told me that the other two were trying to help. They told me more information about how they were putting together a special team to stop an extraordinary threat. Madison and I stepped into their strange ship. "One more thing you should know," said the man in black, "you're not an earthling anymore." I was confused about the meaning of what he said, then the doors to the ship shut, and we took off."

...End_Recording_2...

### Very Shy But Extremely Dangerous

"Hello, um, my name is Hannah. I would rather not be telling you this story right now, I would honestly rather not tell you this story at all, but it looks like I have no choice. The first few years of my life are boring and unimportant, the only year you should know about before high school is from when I was nine. As a child, I had always wanted to sing. Unfortunately, I never could get the courage to open my mouth and do it. I didn't talk much as a kid, and when I did,nI would barely release a whisper.

One day, I decided to try out for choir at my school. I whispered this wish to my parents, and told them that I finally had the courage to do so. As my anticipation grew throughout the next four days, I began to sing, but I was to afraid to hit any high notes. The day when my parents were brought me to the choir practice, and I became excited, very excited. I met the teacher and we practiced for hours. Doing drills, going up and down scales, and attempting songs. There was one thing the teacher wanted to get from me though, a high note. She had me stand up on the stage to sing it in front of everyone. I looked down below me and saw the twenty or so parents watching, along with a good thirty students. Then I looked to the back row and saw my family watching me with smiles. I opened my mouth, clenched up my throat and pushed out air. I was knocked backward, my ears ringing from the loudest sound I had ever heard. It was like a super sonic jet flying over your head, but far louder. I fell to the ground with my ears ringing, and blacked out.

I woke up and looked around me, taking in the chaotic image. The school was obliterated, and people scattered the ground. I got up and ran to the back row where my family had been sitting. On the floor laid my mother and father. I put my ear to my father's chest, then my mothers. I heard nothing. I fell to my knees and cried. 'This couldn't have been me,' I thought, 'It just couldn't.' But it was. I looked at my parents and screamed, 'NO!' I was knocked on my back again, but not unconscious. I got up and looked to where I had screamed, there was now a hole in the ground, so deep I couldn't see the bottom, and my parents had disappeared. I gagged and puked on the ground (though this is disgusting and you won't want to hear it, my puke exploded). I heard sirens in the distance, so I stood up and ran. That is how my story begins.

I now live with a woman named Sarah, she is the one that taught me sign language. She taught me the day I showed up at her house and pretended to be mute. Over one year I had mastered sign language and could pretend to read, lips. I would communicate with sign language everyday, and I wouldn't have incidents. There was only one time when I let my supersonic voice do damage. It was at a flu test. They stuck this stick down my throat and I gave a little cough. The doctor jumped back, but the only thing obliterated was the popsicle stick he had been using. He assumed it was an electrical shock from his tools and went back to work. Other than that, things were going well for Ms. very shy but extremely dangerous.

I didn't really make friends easily, when a person cannot understand sign language, and you don't have a translator, it is very hard to communicate with people. I also had to take special-Ed classes, and you don't make much friends in those. Along with the fact that you learn at such a slow rate. To be honest, it is hard being the only sane person in that class. When you're in the special-Ed class, everyone suspects your some sort of freak. It is true, they're right, but sometimes I just wish I could be treated normal. Unfortunately, that would not happen for a very long time. I headed to school for my classic treatment. I sat in a class with kids who had half a brain, were deft, some had no problems but they had spent so much time in jail they had forgotten everything. I transferred classes throughout the day, found gum stuck to my locker, my lunch stolen a few times, but I didn't care. I went through hours of the same information repeated again and again in my special-Ed classes, so that other people would understand the teacher. I got the typical A+ reports back from my teachers, and tons of praise from the teacher that she didn't know I could understand. I dealt with lunch, getting pelted with wadded up paper ,and having food spat on my plate. I went through three more class periods and was back home with the mother from another...um, never mind. Let's just call her my adopted mother. Our small family didn't have much money, so we settled on ramen noodles for dinner. I choked on the soup at the table, which was not good. If I coughed I could wipe out the entire city block. I resisted the urge, and spat out the soup, all over the table. Sarah was a calm women, so she didn't get angry, or upset. She simply took out a towel and cleaned up the mess. We talked in sign language for about an hour, then I went to my bedroom, and fell asleep.

I woke up suddenly, I quickly turned my head to my right, it was 12:47. I felt a sticky feeling on my lip, I tried to open my mouth but I couldn't. I brought my hand to my mouth...duct tape. That was when I freaked. I sat up in my bead to a horror. Four men with guns had their sights on me. Four frightening red dots hovered over my chest. A man in a white suit walked forward, he was rubbing his hands together excitedly, yet threateningly. 'Well, well, well,' he said as he walked towards me, 'this is a very rare specimen.' I reached over to the table next to me, grabbed my lamp, and swung it at the man's forehead. The lamp hit him spot on, and I watched as he fell to the ground. As soon as I heard the thump of his body colliding with my floor, I heard a whir, and my world went black.

I woke up again, and looked around me. Unfortunately, my hopes were destroyed...It wasn't a dream, it was all real. There was a clock on the wall in front of me, it read 8:00 am. I sat up, and the lights in the room turned on, they must have been motion activated. I observed the room. It was a nearly perfect square, with a rolling chair in the corner, and a bed which I was lying in. The one thing abnormal about the room was the walls. They were mirrors, every wall was a perfectly polished, clean mirror. I opened my mouth to take a big breath, thankful that the duct tape was gone. When I closed my mouth, a man walked in, it was the man in the white suit from the previous night. Except now his was reflective, like he too, was a mirror. On his head was a white gauze, and blood had soaked through it. I grinned at how hard I had hit him. The man pulled up the rolling chair, and sat down. He reached his hand over his shoulder, and pulled a hood over the rest of his body, this hood was also reflective. I couldn't see his face, but I could hear what he said. 'Hello Hannah,' he said, 'I am not going to hurt you, all I ask is that you do one thing.' He looked at me and waited for a response, and then seemed to realize I couldn't speak and continued. 'Scream,' he said, 'I just want you to scream.' I shook my head, communicating a 'no.' 'Fine then,' he said, 'looks like I will have to do this the hard way. Do you remember your parents?' The man asked. 'They were innocent people, but you killed them, you killed them, for your own gain. Oh, and all of those innocent people at the school, who were simply watching their kids. Then there were your friends, your schoolmates, and you killed them...On purpose.' I couldn't help it...I screamed, 'NO!!!!! I didn't do it on purpose!' I broke into tears as a shockwave left my throat, to my surprise, there was no destruction. The shockwave bounced back and forth off of the mirrors, and the man. The wave kept bouncing until the mirrors turned a bright red. Then there was a sucking noise, and the wave disappeared. I stared at the man, and he unzipped his hood. He was grinning. 'You truly are a rare specimen,' he said, then he left the room.

I spent the next three days alone in the room. The occasional bread and water being slid through a slit in the door around breakfast, lunch, and dinner times. I began to sleep a lot. There was nothing else I could do. Over time, I found a something else. I started sliding around the room with the rolling chair. It was childish, but it was something to do. After the three days passed, the man with the white suit reentered, along with another man. 'We need a blood sample,' said the man, 'please cooperate.' The man who was with him walked over to me, carrying a freakishly long needle. He plunged the needle into my arm, sat there for a few seconds, then pulled the needle out. Then he, and the man in the white suit, left the room. 'You could have at least said thank you,' I thought. I decided to try something dangerous over the next few days. I began by scouting out cameras in my room, after a few days of looking, I found out there was only one. I skillfully moved it at exactly 5:30, and pointed it at the wall. Over the weeks I was in the building, I had found out that 5:30 was when day and night shifts were being changed. After 5:30, I would move my bed to the other side of the room. I then took the rolling chair, and repetitively smashed it up against the wall behind my bed for 30 minutes. After that, I would move my bed back to where it was, covering the cracked glass behind it. I would then get my daily visit from the white suit and the doctor to get my blood drawn. In the morning, at 5:30am I would switch the camera back. I repeated this process for two weeks. It was at 5:45 am when the thick layer of glass finally gave way, and revealed a wall. I smiled, and waited until the next day. I looked at the circle of wall behind my bed, it was about two feet in diameter.

I sat down in front of the circle. Took out the rolling chair, and broke off one of the legs by hitting it against my bed. I brandished the leg in my hand, looked at the hole, took a deep breath, and spoke, "I am getting out of here." The shockwave instantly vaporized the wall, along with anything that was currently behind. I quickly climbed through the hole, and prepared for the fight of my life.

I crawled into a hallway. I could go right or left. I decided to go left, it just felt right. The minute I rounded a corner there was a guard holding a baton. "Hey!" He yelled. I charged him and hit his knee with my makeshift weapon. He fell and I hit him once more in the head knocking him out. I kept on running until I heard talking down the hallway. I ducked into a doorway and saw the shadows of three men coming down the hall. I kicked the first one in the stomach, hit the other with my weapon, and elbowed the remaining guard in the back. I sprinted down the rest of the hallway. I took a right turn at the end of the hall. I had a feeling I was making progress, because this was the first man armed with a gun. It was a hand held weapon, barely six inches long. I threw my chair leg at the guard, and somehow managed to hit the gun out of his hand. I sprinted towards him and jumped to attempt hitting him in the head with my fist. To my surprise, a miniature black dart hit him in the chest, and with a blinking red light it exploded, along with the man.

I looked to the right where the dart came from. There was a man in a black suit that molded with his body. He had a chain of these small darts wrapped around his waist, and had a small little mechanism on the top of his wrist. 'I've been looking for you,' he said when he saw me, 'don't worry, I am trying to help you, I will explain more when we get out of here.' I nodded and went with him, we passed the doorway he had come out of, and there was a small circle of destruction around the location of where the door should have been. I ran behind the man as he led me down the hall. We reached another turn, where there were three men with guns. The man in the black suit did a flip, and his feet stuck to the ceiling. He kept running and flicked his wrist. A sword morphed out of his arm. He cut down the three men, then flipped back onto the floor. 'Take this,' he said. He then handed me the sword that had come from his arm. He created another sword out of his left arm, and the little mechanism I had seen earlier protruded from his right. We continued sprinting. Then came the hallway that I had arrived through. There were ten guards in this hallway. My black-suited friend skillfully took out five of them, but he couldn't take them all. I cut down the other five, and was stunned at how well I did it. 'Nice,' said the man. We kept running, and took a right turn, that was where I saw the double doors, but in front of the double doors was a group of guards, armed with what looked like some sort of futuristic machine gun. 'Watch this,' the man in the black suit said grinning, 'but stand behind me.' I did as I was told and stood behind him. To my surprise the man retracted his sword and put his hands up, 'go ahead, shoot,' he said. Red dots covered his chest and I heard the muted sound of guns firing. I watched as he stood still and all the bullets were reflected off of his chest. He then took both his hands, and shot a series of his black darts. They were followed by a series of miniature explosions, then the guards disappeared. We ran to the double doors and opened them.

In front of us was not a comforting sight. There were six helicopters with guns aimed at us, two tanks, and about 100 soldiers with weapons pointed at our chests. 'Uh oh,' said the man in the black suit, 'looks like our backup hasn't arrived yet, leave this to me.' I grinned and shook my head in a 'no' gesture, I then motioned for the man to stand behind me, he did. I thought of a good word to scream, and then took a deep breath. I looked at my enemies and screamed, 'Freedom!' Everything in front of me was destroyed in a wave of destruction. Vehicles went flying, helicopters exploded, and soldiers disappeared. The man behind me, was perfectly fine. 'Wow,' he said, 'so thats what you can do.' Unfortunately, the battle wasn't over, three more helicopters came over the hill in front of us, and these ones were massive. I looked at the man in the suit and moved my hands in a 'what now?' Gesture. The man said, 'Don't do anything, our friends have arrived.' I watched as three pillars of smoke shot down at the helicopters and all three of them exploded into shards of metal. Out of the dark night air came a ship, a huge ship. The man next to me smiled, so I knew it was friendly. He then held my hand and led me up a ramp into the craft. 'Here,' he said, as he handed me a strange band-aid looking object, and he stuck it to my throat. 'You can talk now.' I shook my head in a 'no' gesture. 'It's ok,' he said, 'trust me.' I opened my mouth and said, 'okay.' Nothing happened, no death, no destruction. 'Thank you so much,' I said, and I gave the man a hug.

'My name is Joe,' the man in the black suit said, 'Joe Stortion.' I asked him how I am speaking without causing destruction. He told me how he and the rest of his group were recruiting people with special abilities. He told me how they had engineered this device for me. He then showed me a remote that had different settings on it. The settings were: None, small burst, medium burst, large burst, full power, and enhanced. He explained how I could use this to control the output of my ability.

Since then, I have been on the ship with my new friends John and Madison. John could create things with his imagination, Madison could summon fire. There was also Joe, and a cop named Ryan Thampton. There is also a man who always wears a black trench coat, his name is not told to us, he just tells us to call him Sir, and we all do."

...End_Recording_3...

"Aren't you happy you recorded your story Hannah?" Asked Joe.

"Yes, yes I am, now let's do this."

  1. href="../Text/chapter-1.xhtml">Author's Note
  2. href="../Text/chapter-2.xhtml">Dedicated to...
  3. href="../Text/chapter-3.xhtml">Forward: In the Beginning of Time...
  4. href="../Text/chapter-4.xhtml">Character Index
  5. Organization Index
  6. Part 1
  7. The Dark Warrior
  8. EARTHLING
  9. Very Shy But Extremely Dangerous
  10. A Spark In The Void
  11. The End Of It All
  12. Part 2
  13. Origins
  14. New Allies
  15. The Virus
  16. Return Of The Selfless
  17. Preparations
  18. To Stop A Plague
  19. Galactic Hero
  20. The Lab
  21. VORTEX
  22. Part 3
  23. The Aztecs
  24. Darius The Third
  25. Alexander The Great
  26. Leftovers
  27. Arena
  28. Mobilized
  29. Times And Signs
  30. The Battle Of Gaugamela
  31. The Library Silenced
  32. Beware The Observers
  33. Painful Awakenings
  34. Arrest
  35. Return
  36. The Labyrinth
  37. Dreams Of The Fallen
  38. Where Am I?
  39. Bleeding Out
  40. Awakening
  41. The Man With The Red Hand
  42. Finders Leavers
  43. Surgery
  44. DEATH
  45. Scavengers
  46. Rescue
  47. Comeback
  48. Part 4
  49. Stubborn And Steadfast
  50. Downfall
  51. The Burns Spread
  52. What Now?
  53. Sent Away
  54. Hide And Seek
  55. The Face Of Death
  56. The Boy Who Wept
  57. Taken
  58. Adopted
  59. The Beginning
  60. Afterword

