TL&TOHJ~Hope: Doctor Monroe

As I flew over downtown, I saw too different machines duking it out. One looked like it was the robotic Hunchback of Notre' Dame. It was about eight feet tall, with wide shoulders, and thicker armor on the arms and shins. It's head was on it's chest, rather than up where it should be. It had a glass visor, shaped liked the letter 'T' on the face.


The other robots were attacking it. They looked looked like robotic eyes with helicopter turbines on the sides of them. They also had little machine guns on the lower sides of them.


The Hunch-Bot of Notre' Dame was swatting at them, trying to knock them out of the air. There were too many, twenty at the least. It looks like anyone with enough sense got out of here. Here we go.


I shot the first two down and they all turned their attention to me. The robot got one in each hand and crushed them. I tried to use my new power, the ice breath, but it wouldn't work. While I was trying to do it, a machine grazed my arm with a couple of lucky bullets.


I cried out in pain and slapped my hand on the arm. I could feel the blood seeping through. Then I got angry and shot that one down. There were four of them left. One flew off one way, the other three flew off the other way.


I chased the group and shot them down quickly. I returned to the machine that seemed to be helping me. I looked at its face plate and said, "Uh......Do you understand me, or am I going to have to write down a bunch of ones and zeroes?"


The machine whirred, it almost sounded like a laugh. It spoke and it sounded like whirring and sparks going off inside a recorded voice. "No. That is not necessary. I am Doctor Monroe. I was wondering when I would find you."


I looked seriously at it. "Are you human?" I asked. It sighed, which sounded like an exhaust fan going on overdrive. "I'm not sure what I am anymore." It answered. "I was a scientist that was working on a project that would save lives. A Prototype for a Mechanical Cop that can handle the things a normal Officer cannot. All I remember is this light coming from the windows of my work station, and then, when I woke up that is, myself inside this body."


I took a minute to think about this. "Um. This is going to sound weird, but......Did you see or maybe get chased by a flying boy with long white hair?" If a robot could look surprised, this one did. "Yes. He planned to absorb my 'energy'. I wasn't too sure what he meant, but I didn't know what he planned and I wasn't sure how it would affect my current condition. I found means of escape, but I could use a little help."


I nodded. "If you don't mind a little ride, I can take you to two people who can help you, and you might be able to help them." It nodded. Oh, that reminds me. "Oh, by the way, just for future references, are you a male, or female?" The machine looked at me. "I am Female. My first name is Maryanne." I smiled and flew over her. "Sorry. Just wanted to make sure."


When we left was probably the time when we missed that last drone. It must have picked up the blood that oozed out of my arm when the other drones shot it. If only I remembered at the time.

TL&TOHJ~Hope: Checking in

Hey there. I know I've been a little emo back there with me about to jump off a building (without my powers), but its OK now. No, really its OK. I talked about it with Candy and Joey.


Anyway, I was flying to the research base/compound. Joey calls it the Haley Cave. He's funny like that. Oh, uh, anyway, I met Paul at the same room as I was in the last time I was here. He was hovering over the computer like Dr. Richards was before. I said, "Paul!" I tackled him with a hug before he could turn all the way around. He laughed and said, "Hey kiddo! How's it going?" I looked at him and saw that he was covered with sweat and grease. I stepped away from him and said, "Aw, great. My Uniform is ruined." He said, "Doesn't that thing repair itself?" "Yeah, but I'm not too sure about stains." He said, "Well, anyway, look at how close we are to completing this thing!"

I saw it. The pillar that was ruined is almost completely done. The top was still opened. The Doc stuck his head out from under the structure and said, "Ah. Haley. Glad to see you're back." He got out from under the thing. He said, "Paul here is quite the genius, and he's been good company. We're having a little trouble here and there, but we should be done within...." He rubbed his greasy hand against his chin, creating a second beard of black.

I giggled without meaning to. He realized his mistake and out his hand down. He said, "Six months." I stared at him. "Is there any way we could, maybe, speed that up?" He sighed. "Miss Jones, I'm afraid we are doing everything we can here. Six months is at best. With only two of us here, that is the best we can do."

I said, "Its just that.....I'm losing people. Left and Right. One of them wasn't even affected by the lights, but she's in a hospital anyway. Is there anyway we can get this done faster? Like, if we explained what happened to the Government--" Dr. Richards' eyes got wide and he screamed, "No!"

Paul and I jumped back a little. He calmed down and said, "I'm sorry, I've lost my trust in the government lately. Most likely, they'll lock us up to just keep us quiet. This has to be done in secret."

I sighed. I admit he did have a point. I was going to sugest that we could g public, and with enough people supprting the idea, we can get the government to support us, but that as beore Link went off.

I picked it up and put it to my ear. "Machines terrorzing downown Den-Martin. No casulities yet, high possiblity still."

I said, "I gotta go. I'll come back sooner this time." They said bye and I went off to stop those crazy robots.

The Ultimate Prize part 11: Astrid

She had to do this. She just had to. If she is ever going to kill that seventeen year old, Monster of Monsters then she has to do this.

The Guardians of Humanity kept an extra shard hidden in the office of the Supreme Chairman of the Guardians. The only reason she knew about this was because she found the first shard while on patrol. Her plan is to go in and either persuade them to give her the shard, or sneak in and steal it.

As soon as she gets it, she'll be zapped out of there and (hopefully) to the tournament. She has to get that shard. For her friend. For Alex.

Unfortunately, things didn't exactly go to plan.

"Excuse me?" she said, stuffing down her frustration/surprise/anger.

The Chairman repeated. "We already gave the shard to Sir Braddock. Besides, you claim that the shard was so simple to find, why not find it yourself?" She didn't have an answer. Then she said, "I just thought that, it would be easier, Mr. Chairman. There is a shortage of crystals that are still 'up-for-grabs'. If that is the case, then I'll just find another shard sir. Good day." She got up and left without another word. She went to the cafe area and sat down, but in no way was she hungry.

Where am I even suppossed to find another crystal anyway? She thought to herself. She took out one of the crystals she collected and looked at it, slightly under the table so that no one can see it. Then, an image flashed in her head. It was quick, but she knew it. It was an open pasture, in Ohio. The skeleton remains of a house, long forgotten. It used to be Alex's house. She just had to go back there, didn't she? She put the crystal away, got her things and left.

The Ultimate Prize part 10: Cain

He cracked his door opened. No one in the hallway. At least, as far as he can tell. The lights dim or brighten depending on the time of day that it's set to on Earth. Right now, it's the middle of the night. It's been night for a few hours, and he would assume that everyone is asleep in their own quarters. Noland included.

Cain stepped out of his room. He made his way to where the Doc's office is supposed to be. He never tried this on purpose before, the last time he did what he is about to do was by accident. He focused on the security panel beside the door. He blinked and then he saw everything in a faint, purple light. He smirked. He punched in the codes that had fingerprints on them. On the third try he got it right. He liked to start with the numbers at the top and work his way to the bottom.

He entered the room and looked around. He saw a computer, a desk with a lot of drawers, and a small shelf on the right.

He sat down at the computer. Apparently the Doc saw no need to guard his files. He clicked on recordings. None of the dates popped out to him. So he clicked on the date that showed the date he woke up in the medical wing. July 22, 2009.

He found that it was a video Diary. The Doc's face appeared on the screen and if there was ever a face for relief, this was it. He said, "Today Subject 012: Cain, has awakened. He doesn't remember what had happened. Perhaps for the best. His ability to fight and carry out missions seems unaffected by his memory impairment."

That was the only bit that meant anything to him. The rest of the video is just updates, reminders for the next day.

Cain remembered one thing, they said he'd been in a coma for two weeks. So, if he just....bingo. Right there. He was about to click on the date that said, July 08, 2009, when he heard someone behind him. "What do you think you're doing?"

He spun around, out of the chair to see Banshee leaning on the doorway to the room with her arms crossed. He said, "I could ask you the same thing, Banshee." She sighed. "I was always a little worried about you, since you woke up. You were never the same. So I kept my eye on you."

Cain glared a little harder at her. "Something is going on here. I intend to find out. I need to know my past Banshee." They stood there for a minute or two. He asked, "Did......did you know Selina?"

Banshee's look said it all. She took a shaky breath. "Selina is, or was, part of our Alpha Squad. Back then it wasn't just you, me, and Noland. There was Selina. She was like, the closest thing I could get to a sister. To you, she was a little more."

She paused there and bit her lip. "You two were the most, corny, lovey-dovey, dorks in the entire base." She smiled and laughed a little while she talked. Then she got sad. "Then, she....she made a discovery. Something she wasn't supposed to know. She told you, and then you told Noland and me. Soon, they found out about what she knew and set up an attack. You and Selina tried to get away. You couldn't save Selina, in your rage you killed the threat and we found you passed out and half dead. There were one or two other casualties, but none as serious as this."

Cain was taking in huge breaths. "Why does nobody want to remember her?" Banshee cleared her throat. "She was....too special. Too nice. She loved everybody and everything. I envied her for that. I can't do anything like that. I don't know how to." She caught what was saying and followed up with, "Anyway, her death was hard. On everybody. She taught a lot of people a lot of things. It was simpler to just....forget."

Cain said, "Banshee. Please. I need to know my past. Who I was. What I've done. If I've ever been to Earth or not. What is the Doc keeping from us, that is so important?" He lowered his guard. "Banshee. Please."

There was no way to tell how long they stood there. Banshee finally said, "If you look at those files, he'll know. You can't risk it right now." She took his hand and said, "Whatever you do. Don't speak."

They ran as quietly as physically possible down the hallway. They finally made their destination: the Escape Pod Sector. Banshee finally spoke to him. "You need to get to Earth and enter that Colosseum. Here." She pulled out a strange, foot long crystal. It seemed to glow in all colors.

She said, "You are going to need this. Use it to find the other two." She handed it to him. Then she pulled out a Vanilla Envelope that was folded on half and handed it to him. "I kept this out of jealousy. You deserve it, more than me."

Cain was still overwhelmed. "What am I supposed to do?" He asked.

Banshee answered, "The Doctor is going to enter us into that Tournament, Cain. You need to enter and win it before we do. He already has enough to send me and Noland in. He's still scanning the Moon and the asteroid belt for more." Cain said, "But, why? Its impossible for someone to offer a wish. Its just not possible."

Banshee stared into his eyes. "Please, Cain. Just, trust me. Do it for Selina." She stood there and bit her lip. She then said, "Cain. If we meet again, I have to kill you. Do you understand?" Cain was upset about this situation, but he nodded.

She hesitated, but she leaned up and kissed him. Then she ran off. Leaving Cain, alone in the Emergency Pod Sector.......

The Ultimate Prize part 9: Cain

He was jumping and dodging bullets now. He was in the Combat Room. And yes, real bullets. No safety features, this is real combat. You prove your worth, or you die.

Cain was doing a simple run. Get from point A, to point B. Kill target at the end. Set a new time. Got it.

Using his powers he got through the exercise in no time at all. The timer stopped, and the buzzer sounded. "Well done Cain. Three minutes and twelve seconds. That's better than last time." He grunted. "Come up to the control room and we'll see how the others are doing." He did so.

Doc was staring at the control monitors. He looked like a regular Doctor. His hair was gone, he had a bushy, grey mustache. He wore black pants, leather shoes, a white collared, button down shirt, and a white lab coat. He also had glasses that always seemed to hide his eyes.

Cain knew he used to be a jolly and happy old man, but he doesn't know where he got that image. The Doc never smiled, at least, not since he woke up in that bed. He would say good job, and excellent, and all that, but he never smiled.

The monitors showed the other experiments working on their own specific exercise. Noland's was to to assassinate a dummy without being picked up on the monitors. He couldn't see him anywhere on there, so he guessed that's a good sign.

Cain saw the monitor showing Banshee's work. She was assigned to kill all threats in the area. She was doing a good job. In a few minutes she should be done.

Cain was thinking about what he did remember. That terrible image. He decided to ask his question. The question that burned itself into his skull. "Doc." "Hmm?" "There is something I do remember from.......from before." He didn't turn around. Doc was writing something down. "Oh really?" He said. "What's that?"

Cain hesitated, but he said it anyway. "Who is Selina?" His pen stopped. Cain started silently counting the seconds that went by. When the Doc finally started talking, he reached 47. "She was..... an experiment. Like you, and the others."

He was obviously holding something back. His right leg began shaking ever so slightly. He'd seen him do this before. When another experiment asked if he did good enough, we all knew he didn't but the Doc lied to him to make him feel better before he was......put down.

"Was she....well, not 'special' enough?" He flinched. "She was very special. There was....an accident." "An accident." Cain echoed. As if, it sounded ridiculous and he was trying to let Doc know that it did sound ridiculous. "Yes. Please, Cain. Its not good to dwell on the past. How much did you say you remembered about her?"

Cain shrugged. "Just that name. I'm not sure what it means to anybody though." Doc nodded and began writting again. "Why don't you turn in for the night, Cain? You had a long day." He grunted. He left the Doc to his notes and research.

Doc was lieing, Cain knew. He knew more than he was letting on. Cain has to find out what. He'll find out tonight.

The Ultimate Prize part 8: Jason and Molly

They were walking to there house from school. They now have six shards total. Two back home, each were holding two themselves.

This is how their day went. Jason went to a kid named Sebastian after the last period of the day. Sebastian was a kid who use to pick on Jason. He would push him while one of his friends ducked behind Jason: causing him to fall over. They ran off. Instead of hunting them down, or even telling a teacher, he went to the store and bought him a watch. He wrapped it up and everything. The act surprised him. It confused him, finally, Sebastian became a friend of Jason. He always took up for him and always volunteered helping him out. His amazing turn-around surprised even Molly.

Anyway, they approached Sebastian and Jason called his name. Sebastian turned around and smiled. "Jason! Just the man I wanted to see. I got what you wanted." He pulled out a paper lunch bag and handed it him. "Plus, I found an extra. In case you ever needed it, I mean." Jason opened the bag to see two shards that one would need to enter that tournament.

Jason nodded and handed the bag to Molly. "Thank you Sebastian. Although, I still need two more. If you find anymore, could you please......" He nodded. "Oh, yeah man. Sure."

Jason left and Molly followed. They would have to talk later, Molly thought. Before they could start walking home, a girl ran up to Jason. Molly has seen her in some of her classes. Her name was Jenna, and she is the shiest girl ever to come around.

Jason was a monster compared to her, but she stood in his way to get his attention. He stopped and looked at her. She was at a lost for words, but she pulled out something from her purse and gave it to Jason. It was wrapped up in lunch bag paper. Jason took it and unwrapped it. It was another shard.

Jenna said, "I heard a rumor that you were going into the Tournament, or whatever you call it. I don't know if its true or not, but....." She came in (and had to stand on her toes) and gave him a kiss.

It wasn't too long. After she parted, she said, "Good luck Jason." and she ran away. Molly could see her smile and she heard the way she said Jason's name. Jason was frozen and didn't know what to say.

Molly stood beside him and said, "Well, look at that. My big brother has a fan girl already." Jason said nothing as usual, but his face was burning. "W-we need to find one more. We're closer to the tournament. We're closer to that Prize than ever."

She smiled at Jason's two shards and her one shard. They have two more waiting for them at home. "I can see Mom's face al-What?" The shards started glowing.

They glowed even brighter when she put them next to her back-pack.

Molly zipped it open and she looked inside. A shard? It was inside the rings of her Physics Binder. She didn't even look at it the entire day. Her teacher must have slipped it in there when he was grading the problems they had to do. Why would he want her to go into the Tournament?

Maybe it wasn't him, it could have been anybody. Either way, thay have what they want.

"Jason." she said, zipping up her back-pack and holding the two shards.

She stood up and said, "Let's go get our mom back."

The Ultimate Prize part 7: Vector

He sat down on a park bench and sighed. He'd been wondering around all day. He was getting nowhere. All he had was the shard the pastor had given him.

So far, he had wandered himself through halfway up California. He's been chased away from public property seven times, got yelled at by a Hispanic mother, and had to persuade the police that he didn't steal anything from a mall. On top of that, he kept getting every dirty look imaginable from every human being he's passed so far, and possibly one from a dog.

You'd a think that these thing-a-ma-jigs were easier to find, he thought. He pulled out his black spell book. He's been reading through it a lot lately, more than he'd like to admit. He couldn't hardly help himself. There is so much to read about. The other day, he found out how to hide his staff by changing it into a necklace. He also found that his spell book could be turned into anything he wanted, not just a book. Currently, its in an I-Pod form.

He also had fire dancing among his finger tips, he created a miniature tornado, and he summoned Lightning. He tried not to use these powers too much though. It didn't exactly feel right, playing God like that.

He put his I-pod down and laced his fingers and whispered a prayer.

Please God, if it is in your will, let me find these shards. I need to find them. If the wrong person wins that tournament, then everyone could be in trouble. Amen.

He opened his eyes to see a young girl standing there. He looked left and right to try and see a pair of parent's eyes looking towards them, but there were none.

The girl said, "Hello. My name is Kate. What's yours?" The girl couldn't be any more than four.

"Vector." He answered honestly. "Can I help you with something?" He asked. Trying to get her to leave but trying to be gentle about it. She said, "Hey, do you want this? No one else seems to." She held up a shard. Vector felt his eyes widen, but he stayed calm. "Uh, yes, please."

She put it in his lap and gave a big smile. "Thank you." Vector said, but she only ran off to whatever she was doing before. Vector smirked. And Thank you Lord, He thought to himself.

Two down. One to go.

The Ultimate Prize part 6: Astrid

He flipped over her and kicked her, causing her to fall forward. She got up and started slashing at him.

This is the same song and dance they always do. They fought like this all over the world. He killed her closest friend. Her only friend, and he doesn't even care enough to remember. When she was gone Astrid ran away and joined the Guardians. The Guardians of Humanity is an Organization that rightfully executes Non-humans. Don't care where they came from, don't care what they can do, just kill it. They aren't, strictly speaking, legal. The only things they want to learn about Non-humans is how to counter them, and how to kill them.

She must have faced a hundred freaks and killed ninety of them. Whether they are Vampires, Wherewolf, or Goblin. Still, she is treated like a child, like some idiot that can't do anything right; even though she is seventeen. Well, not any more, Astrid thought. Because this time, not only will she bring that shard back to head quarters, she will kill Known Vessel: Brick Prodose, right here, right now.

He hasn't struck yet. He's still as cocky, undisciplined, and taunting as always. He rose a wall of flames between them, and she was forced to back away. He said, "Sorry girly. I need to get in that tournament." She screeched at him. "So you can do what? Wish the Guardians out of existance so you filthy Vessels, Warlocks, and other Freaks can conquer the world? Or, so you can have enough power to kill more innocents?"

He sighed. They had this discussion before, she remembered. He would try to lie, straight up, to her face. Or maybe make up some excuse for his actions. The coward.

This time, he didn't say anything. He's running out of excuses, she thought. He went to the crystal. Which was on his side of the wall! She cursed herself. She reached into her belt and brought out the anti-fire foam pellets. She threw them down at the fire wall.

They created an opening in the wall, but it was too late. He grabbed the shard, and as soon as he did the three shards, he now had, started floating around him.

He and the shards suddenly dissappeared. She just missed him. She dropped her sword and slammed the rocks and cursed. What was she going to do? She can't go back. She could't go back until she brought back three shards.

She reached into her armor, which was Guardian Standard Issue, and brought out the shard she used to track the one shard that was here. Their had to be some shards left. She couldn't give up. Not now, not ever. She picked up her sword and put it in it's sheath. She started leaving the cave and something caught her eye. She looked up and gasped.

There was another shard, just sitting above her head, this entire time. She grabbed one of her throwing knives and threw it at the shard. It stuck in just the right place to jar it out and make it fall. She caught it. Two down. One to go.

I'm closing in on you, Prodose, she thought to herself.

The Ultimate Prize part 5: Brick

This one is an interesting specimen. His name is Brick Prodose. He is, what some would call, a Vessel. A Vessel is a human being with the power to summon the power of a specific Dragon. In appearance, the only difference there is between a Human and a Vessel is the Birth Mark that all Vessels have. The Birth Mark is shaped like one kind of Dragon, or another.

Brick can summon the powers of the Dragon called Aggroar. If he concentrates hard enough, then he can hear Aggroar's thoughts, giving him advice. Dragons don't exactly exist in this world anymore, but they can channel their powers through humans that they are related to.

How did he come across this sort of information? Well, that is a story for another day. We need to focus on this story here for the moment.

Brick was walking along the beach. He had his usual assortment of clothes. Red T-shirt, jeans, black fleece jacket, and black and white checkerboard Vans. He brushed his blond hair free of sand and looked around one last time to see if he really was alone. Then he pulled out two of the shards needed to enter that tournament. They glowed when they get really close to each other. They glow even brighter to show you where you can find another one.

So far, he found the first one embedded in some one's back yard. The second one he found when the first gem started glowing next to a museum. It was actually in a tree. Poor owl was fussing about it. Now they lead him to a beach in Virginia at six in the morning. Not that he's not grateful. Its just.....this place gives him bad memories.

He may kid around, and act like nothing is a big deal, but he has gone through some horrors of his own. He caused a major fire when he was seven. His parents told him it wasn't his fault, but he knew they were as freaked out as he was. He caused those fires, and he knew it.

So, he got up one day and left. Oh yeah, he thought, that would be two years ago today. Happy Birthday to me.

In his mind, if he never took anything seriously, they wouldn't hurt. Or, at least, not as much. The shards led him to a cave. Nice, he thought. He entered and, finally, when he was deep in the cave, he saw the last shard he needed. It was sticking out of a rock at the end, there was a light shining on it from above. How heavenly looking, he thought.

Before he could even start towards it, he heard a voice behind him. "It appears I finally found you!" He spun around to see his "secret admirer". He laughed a little. "Astrid Le' Beouf. I was wondering if you were actually coming back. You mean to tell me that the Guardians of Humanity sent you again? Even after what happened in Cairo?" She fumed. She was very pretty, Brick had to admit. She had brown hair and blue eyes. Its too bad she hates my guts, otherwise I'd totally date her.

She drew her weapon, her favorite sword. Its a kind of rapier that has a golden handle cover. The actual blade reaches four feet. She said, "I am here on my own agenda, Prodose! I am here for that crystal. Once I have it, the Guardians of Humanity will treat me with respect! That will be even more so when I bring your head on a silver platter to them!" He whistled. "You are seriously cute when your angry, you know that?"

She turned red. Then, in a screech of rage, charged. Brick put the shards away and lit his fists on fire like he always does.

Oh yeah. He thought to himself. She totally digs me.

Rising Ch. 20: I meet Mr. Williams and His New Friend

I ran through the doors and found myself in a big office. There I saw the oddest couple I have ever seen.


On the left I saw Mr. Williams. He had a brown suit and black tie. He had grey hair, brown eyes, and an old face. You could tell his hair was receeding ever so slightly. His eyes seemed young though. They held a certain sparkle that said that he loves what he does.




Stay with me on this next one, OK? The second person stood on the other end of the room. She looked ageless. She was tall, lean, and beautiful. She had long blond hair, pale skin, blood red lips, and what looked like a one piece black bathing suit lined in red. It exposed her sides and belly. She wore black boots that reach up halfway up her thigh, and gloves that almost reached her shoulders. She held a whip that looked like it had the chunks of a sword in it.


I said, "Whoa. Am I interrupting something? Should I just come back later, or......?" The woman snapped. "Who is this child?" I said, "Wow. That accent is so thick, you could cut it with a knife. Is that Swedish, German, Or Russian?" To be honest, I couldn't tell what accent that was, it almost sounded fake, or made up.


Williams sputtered, "I don't know, my mistress. Please, forgive me. He's not supposed to be here!" She tilted her chin at me and it was then that I noticed her eyes. They were blood red.


I said, "OK. What is going on here?" The lady smirked, and I saw hints of a pair of fangs there. "You have everything to fear, my boy." she taunted. "For I am Calawria the Wicked. We shall meet again, on a later date." She stepped back into the wall and melted into the shadows. I flicked the light switch to light up the room, but she was gone.


I turned to Williams. "I'll have to worry about her later. You however...." I slammed him into the wall with my forearm. "Are coming with me. You've been completely exposed. Broadsword is on their way here to destroy your company."


He only chuckled. "You will never take me alive." He pulled out a little trigger, which was a small stick with a button on top. He pushed the button and the lights dimmed and turned red. A voice came over the speakers. "Self Destruction initiated. Building will be destroyed in 120 seconds."


I looked at Williams. "Are you insane? There are innocents in this building! Including your daughter!" He smiled. "You think I care about her? I needed the ultimate bodyguard! A child who would do anything to protect her parent's honor!"


"Daddy?" We both looked at the doorway. Sadie stood there with the most horrible look on her face. She looked down and her hair hid her eyes. The speakers came up overhead. "60 seconds."


I said, "Pierce! The window!"


He broke it using an office chair. I held Williams by his neck at the window ledge. I held him there for a moment, thinking. I could kill him. He was so interested in Flying Beings, I should make him part of his research. I heard the speakers. "30 seconds." After another second, I said, "No." I tossed him back inside and said, "I'm not going to kill you." I motioned for Sadie and Pierce to come to the window ledge. I then said, "But I don't have to exactly save you either."


The three of us jumped out the window. I grabbed Pierce's forearms and we flew away with Sadie. I looked over my shoulder and saw Williams standing at the edge and then the building collapsed on itself. Like the way a demolition would be done.


I saw that at the bottom of the building the people were still running. Even from up here, I could see the kids that were imprisoned. I could also see that the ambulances were closing up and driving away.


We dropped down to one of the dust covered police officers. He looked us up and down, sizing us up. "We got the kids and the infants out." he said, "Not all the workers were out though. We are going to have a few casualties." I nodded. He then said, "And I have quite a few questions for you."


I said, "Sadie here can tell you some of the details. But, mind you, she's as innocent as the rest of those kids, got it?" He nodded.


This is going to be a very long night. Or morning, now that I looked at the time......

Rising Ch. 19: Sadie

We were in the elevator, heading to the top floor. Pierce had a three foot long quill in each hand. Micheal was helping the little kids and the police. That's just fine.

The doors finally opened. It looked like a regular house up here, with furniture, fireplace, and everything. I saw a couple of doors, I wondered where they lead to. I nearly jumped out of my skin when I heard a voice. "You two want to hurt my daddy." A little girl slid out of one of the chairs that was in front of the fireplace. She was Asian, and couldn't be any older than nine. She had long black hair and was dressed in a pink shirt, jeans, and Reeboks. She stood there and stared at us.

I said, "Uh, hey there little girl. Uh, what's your name?" She glared at me. "Sadie" she said. "Look, Sadie. We don't want to hurt you, or your dad. We have to take him to jail. Now if you'll just-"

NO!

I blinked. Did she just say that in my mind? Ouch. I got a head ache. "Yes. I did. I have an advanced sonar ability. You can't lie to me. You want to kill Daddy!" Pierce stood between us. He said, "Look, I know you want to defend your father, but he's done some terrible things. We need to keep him from doing any more of that stuff. I wanted to defend my father too, but there is no denying on what he did. If you can read my mind, then read it, and you'll know I'm telling the truth."

For a moment she faltered. Her expression turned sad, then it regained her rage. "No! Your lying! My Step Father would never do anything to hurt anybody! You both will die here!"

Pierce stepped back. She crouched slightly and revealed that she had a set of wings of her own. They weren't wings like mine, or the others I saw. They were small and looked like kinda like flippers. I realized that they weren't flippers. The wings looked like they belonged to a hummingbird.

They flapped and didn't stop flapping. They gained speed and soon became a blur. She was lifted off the ground.

Crap.

She came at me with punches and kicks from the air. I did everything to block and dodge them, but she got a good one in my face. She pushed her legs against my chest to launch herself at Pierce. Pierce had no choice but to drop his quills and block her attacks. He said, "Gabe! Go get the big guy! I'll keep her distracted!"

After she heard that she turned to me and tried to come at me, but Pierce picked up on of his quills and put the middle of it against her neck and pinned her aginst his chest. Her wings flapped uselessly against his arms. She cursed the way only a censored nine year old can. "You jerks! I'm gonna get both of you and beat the crap out of both of you!"

I didn't want to leave them, but I had to get to Williams. "I'll be right back." I said. And I ran into the next room over.

Cyrus Noble II Ch. 32: Epilogue

I was reliving everything I had ever been through. The medicines, the combat trials, my demanding to go back home. One day they put me in a sedative tank and put a new type of adrenaline drug.

That was when I went a-wol. The drug was too much. Bishop must have fled and wiped my memory before I tried to kill him. I found the others in similar sedative tanks and operation rooms. Soon enough, I became their Leader, their Protector, their Father.

With each passing moment, I got angrier and angrier. Bishop. That Monster. I will not let another soul be tortured by a scientist's madness. Or created for no real purpose, like I was.

Cyrus.

What? What was that?

Cyrus. Let go of your anger.

Why should I? Why shouldn't I just kill everyone here right now?

Because you're killing us.

I looked around at the ruins of the lab. I looked down at the hands that were suppossed to be wrapped around a Sci-fi's neck. I saw Jazz. She said, "Why, Cyrus? Why?" I let her go and she collapsed. I looked around at the carnage. I saw Viktor, Megan, Sara, Magnet, Angie, Gabe, Cutler, all dead. I got down next to Jazz and cried. "No. No. No. NO!"

I bolted upright in bed. Or, at least I tried to. I was harnessed to the bed. Sara, Jazz, and General Cutler were standing over me and jumped a little when I tried to bolt up. "Cyrus?" Jazz said. I said, "What's going on? Weren't we in that cave?"

Jazz said, "Cyrus. You were takken over. Obelisk made you go insane. He, I don't know, what happened to him Sara?" She said, "It's wasn't an easy fix, but he kept your mind occupied with something while he took control of your body. The longer it's under his control, the harder it is to fix it. That's how he drove his enemies insane. When Jazz spoke to you, it triggered something, a true memory that made it easier to bring you back."

I took a minute to take this in. "So, everything I saw was fake?" Sara shook her head. "No. It was easier to distract you with memories you've lost than to replace them with something entirely different. What you saw, Cyrus, was real and it did happen."

They let me up from the restraints, and I sat on the edge of the bed. Jazz stood in front of me and I burst into tears. "My mom. Margret Wintergreen. She's dead. She's not my real mom, but she's the closest thing I got to it, and now..." I couldn't finish.

Jazz and Sara comforted me and the General put a hand on my shoulder. We sat there for the longest time. The General left without a word. We sat there for a little while longer and then the girls lead me to where the gang was sleeping. I almost laughed. They were all in the waiting room. Viktor and Angie were in separate chairs, with his arm around her. Megan was on the only couchin the room, back to back with Magnet.

We woke them all up and got a ride back to our old house. Where we slept.

My mom may be dead, but I still got these guys.

The Ultimate Prize part 4: Cain

Cain was in his bunk, in his room. Thinking. Just, thinking. He is a very complicated character. He doesn't remember anything beyond a couple of years ago. He just remembers waking up in the medical wing with his friends that he doesn't know. The Doc had to explain it to him. He had no other friends, he had no other life before this. He was Doctor Doctor's creation.

Yeah, that's his name. Doctor Doctor. We call him Doc. Cain knows he was supposed to remember something, its like reaching into your pocket and bringing out your wallet, and finding that its empty. His door opened. He thought he locked that stupid thing. Banshee stuck her head in and said, "Hey. Its almost time for dinner. Just thought you should know."

Banshee had black hair, green eyes, and perfect features. He grunted. "Thanks." He said. She closed the door and he listened as she walked away. That was one of the 'friends' he was hanging around with. He got up and stretched. He was six feet tall, fairly muscular, and had a set of black hair and brown eyes. He felt his face, where that scar was. That scar was there too. It started at his forehead, and made a jagged line down below his lip. He had the standard jumpsuit that his friends wore. Grey, with a thick black stripe going down his side. He left his room and bumped into Noland.

"Ow. Watch wear you're going Cain." Noland snapped. "Sorry. You heading to the lunch room?" Noland got up and dusted himself off. Noland was scrawny, he had some muscles, but he's just scrawny. He had blue eyes, and Banshee usually called him carrot top. They said that Cain did too, all the time. "Yeah. What you think they're serving today?" Cain shrugged. They walked to the lunch room and passed one of the only hallways with decent windows. Cain stopped and said, "Ya know, you go ahead Noland. I'll catch up with ya later." He sighed and said, "Try not to miss it dreamer boy. We're going to combat practice afterwards." Cain nodded, not taking his eyes off of the window.

The reason he always looked out that window, was because the Earth looked so beautiful from this side of the moon. He enjoyed the view. You can even see that Colosseum from here. Its just a tiny dot, easy to miss if you weren't looking for it.

There was one thing he remembered. A scene, in his head. He closed his his eyes as he thought of it. He was running down a hallway, leading a girl by her hand. It was down this hallway, actually. They got to the door at the end, but it wouldn't open. The door on the other end opened to a unit of soldiers. One of them fired.....he cried out her name.....and she was gone.

That girl, whoever she was, was important. He doesn't remember anything about her. Except the name.

"Selina." He muttered to himself.

The Ultimate Prize part 3: Jason and Molly

Jason and Molly are fraternal twins. They look absolutely nothing alike. Molly is blond, with hazel eyes. She is five foot, ten. She has a soft face and is considered beautiful by many. Jason is a different story. He is a towering six foot four at fifteen. He has brown hair and grey eyes. He usually wears a hoodie with the hood up. He reminds most people of a certain horror movie character. He has a strong chin, and is considered terrifying by nearly all.

Molly and Jason are both freshmen in high school. Jason is quiet, and distances himself from everybody except his twin sister, and nearly never spoke, even at an early age. Teachers were always trying to help him, thinking he was mentally challenged. He's not. He's actually smarter than most adults, he just doesn't talk much, and he doesn't give thought to anyone else. He's naive at times and caring too. He isn't violent, except for the rare occasion when his sister is threatened.

The first time a girl made fun of Molly he merely back-handed her and told her to not to say anything about Molly again. He sent several boys to hospitals, all of them pushed around and intentionally hurt his sister. He was sent to the Principal's office and slipped away with a lot of the fights he got in. Molly often had to explain things to both parents and teachers so he wouldn't get in so much trouble. "If this was anywhere else other than central Missouri, it wouldn't slide," they told her.

Only once did she ever tell her brother to hurt someone else. They both got away with it, but she regretted it ever since. She told him the truth, and he only sought to comfort her when he should have been mad.

She made a promise to him, and herself, that she would never abuse her brother's protectiveness ever again.

They heard about what happened with the anomaly. Everyone did. It was the talk of everything these days. You can't miss it. She had a plan and she wasn't telling it to anyone. All she needed was three of those shards. She was in the living room, pretending to work on her homework.

That prize can bring back Mom, she thought to herself, We can be a family again. At first, she thought that the prize was too good to be true, but over time she convinced herself that that Colosseum was for real, then so that prize had to be real too. Their mother died when she gave birth to both of them. There father did his best to keep them together, but he was never home till late at night. Jason came out of his room. "Molly." He said, "Can I show you something?"

Molly was a little confused, mostly cause that's the most he's said all week. "Uh, sure. What's up?" They went to his room. He reached into his closet and pulled out a shoe box and he put it on the bed. She was about to ask what was going on, but he opened it and no words need be said. Inside the box were two of the shards that would be required in that Tournament.

For a while neither of them said anything. Jason finally spoke. "The Prize is one wish. I wish for our mother back. You are staying here." Molly traded her surprise for anger. "Jason Myers! You are not going to that Tournament!" He only stood there. He said, "I am strong. You know that. I can win."

Molly calmed herself down. After all, she was going to do the exact same thing. She put out her hand and the shards in the box started to float around each other. "I'm sorry Jason. I meant that you're not going in that tournament, alone. We'll need four more of these things if we are going to go to that tournament. How are we going to get them?" Jason flicked a smile and said, "Wait tomorrow."

The Ultimate Prize part 2: Vector

Vector is a very shy and aloof person. He distances himself from others, often it is the other way around. They know something is wrong with him. He usually wore black clothes, with a bead necklace with a small wooden cross. It was also the way he looked as well. He had blue eyes, that were tinted with silver, and white hair that almost reached his shoulders. He being nearly six foot at fifteen didn't help much either. He often uses his hair as a shield so that he doesn't have to see anyone, and no one has to see him.

But those facts had nothing to do with the way he looks. It went deeper than that. He grew up in Catholic Church in California. He heard about the anomaly in the Atlantic, everyone has. It's been a good two months since it appeared. His Pastor, Father John, has spoken about it and spoken how men should fight temptation and how killing another man so you can get what you want is similar to Cain and Abel. Cain wanted to kill his brother out of jealousy and now people are killing each other out of greed.

Vector agreed. It was late at night and he was getting ready to go to his room. It was an empty storage room, but after some furniture shopping it became a very nice room. Father John stopped him in the auditorium. "May I see you in private, Vector?"

He nodded. "Uh, yes. Of Course." They stepped into the tower that had a spiralling staircase that led up to the bell. The Pastor said, "Vector, the Lord gave me a vision. A force of Evil and forces of Darkness and Light teaming together to defeat it. The two forces won and Humanity was saved. I believe that one of those forces is you."

Vector took a step back. "Father, what are you saying?" "I know what you are thinking. Military forces cannot get near without falling asleep and dieing. This is getting out of hand. Someone needs to go in there and make sure that this 'wish' doesn't become a chance for Lucifer to win. You must enter, you must fight, and you must win."

Vector took a minute to take this in. Then he nodded. "I'll do it in the name of the Lord. I will not let you down, Father." The old pastor smiled. Then he said, "Here I have a few things to give you." He pulled out two black books. One of them was pocket sized and had a gold cross over it. He handed him that one first. "Remember your prayers, and your teachings Vector." He took it and put it in his pocket.

The other black book was larger and super thick. The pastor said, "I found this the day you came to my doorstep. I looked through a few times, and I finally realized it is written in Latin. I hope you find it useful. Vector took it and opened it. The words were in Latin, but there was something weird about them. They looked like they jumped off the page and reformed into words. He could read it! The page he opened to gave the instructions to summon his own staff.

He pronounced the words. To the Pastor it was gibberish, but nonetheless out of the shadows in the corner, a rod shot out. Vector grabbed it out the air with unreal speed. The rod was five feet long and had a green crystal ball on the end that was held into place by what looked like three wings folded against the ball. The Father was scared for a second, but then he smiled. "The Lord has a powerful agent on his side." Vector couldn't help but smile as well.

Father John said, "Before you begin your journey, I believe that you'll need one of these." He pulled out a shard. The shard that would be needed to enter the tournament. "It hit the bell tower long before this Tournament business even started. I have faith in you Vector. We will be praying for you and your safe return." Vector didn't know what to say, so he just nodded, took the shard, and said, "Thank you, Father."

He left the Church building. Now, he thought to himself, All I have to do is find two other shards, and find a way to fly over to the Colosseum. That shouldn't be too hard, right?

The Ultimate Prize part 1: Introductions

You might have read the adventures of Cyrus Noble, the fortunes and misfortunes of Gabriel Collins, the misadventures of Noel and Dexter, and the dramas of Haley Jones. This is set in another universe, this is where things go very, very bad.




News reporters are frantic. Ever since the anomaly came to be they've been trying to get all over it. It hacked every kind of video and/or audio feed and broad casted a message. It went something like this:


A man's face appears on the screen. He looked like someone you would see in Ancient Mythology. He had dark red robes, and white hair. His hair connected to his beard. He wore a golden crown that was more like a tiara.


"People of Earth. I come from a different realm. A realm of Sorcery and Mystics. I will make this message as simple as I can. I am here to find the mightiest warrior of Earth in a fighting tournament. You will see the location soon enough. There is an admission fee. Three shards, of unknown origins, per person. The shards that your most intelligent men cannot even identify."


He showed a towering version of the Roman Colosseum, it balanced itself above the Atlantic Ocean, with an unnaturally huge whirlpool swirling under it.


The screens could show the gems as well. A shard about a foot long. Even in the stillness of the picture nobody can decide on the color of the shard. It was always shifting from blue to red to purple to green to clear and so-on.


"Also, you may be wondering, 'What could be in it for me?' Well, as you can very well see, I have many magical abilities. The prize is the Ultimate Prize of All Prizes. One Wish.


I realize that for most of you, this may not seem beleivable. That is why I will have my doors opened until the Summer Solstice. That's four months away. Oh, and I realize that most Governments will try to stop this tournament from happening. I would not recomend it. Any force coming here to attack will fall asleep on the spot.


That is all. Hurry and find those shards folks, four months can pass, just like that." He snapped his fingers when he said just like that. The feed ended, and the chaos began.


Little did anybody know of his true intentions. And little did he know that a handful of contestants will destroy him.


Our story shall start with the one called Vector.

TL&TOHJ~Hope: I kiss a guy in a dress

I made up my mind. I am of no use to anyone. Its been a couple of days since I last checked with you. I sat down one night and wrote a letter, to Joe Joe. I don't know what I wanted to do with everyone else. Maybe I can call them and tell them everything before I do it.


The Letter went like this:


Dear Joey,


You have always been a good friend to me. As I write this letter, I remember how you teased me and helped me whenever I needed it. I felt that this decision was for the best. I would have given the bracelet to Candy, but I think that you would be best. Please, don't feel sad. The fate of the city would be better off with my powers in your hands. I wish I could say this to you in person, but by the time you read this it'll be too late. Tell Candy I love her, and please, take care of yourself and the city.


Love,


Haley Jones.


A couple of my tears got on the page. But that's OK. I took off my bracelet and put the letter and the bracelet in the envelope and sealed it. I wrote Joey on it and got my coat on. I took one last look at my room. I saw a long forgotten purple Ribbon on my desk where I usually got ready for school. I went and took it with me before I left. Mom and Dad are out working again, and Butch is at a sleep-over.


I went to Joey's apartment. I put the letter in his box and left the building immediately. I went to the tallest building I could find in the city. It was getting late. I needed to do this quickly. It was an office building, and no one seemed to care if a fourteen year old girl is going to kill herself. Fine.


When I finally climbed to the top I looked out and saw the view of the city. I could feel the cold breeze. I took off my winter coat and tied my hair back in a ponytail. Carefully, I got on the edge of the little wall on the building. I want to saver the moment. One last flight, before I move on.


I looked at the sunset in the distance. I suppose I should make one last phone call.


I pulled out my phone and was about to call my mom when I heard a cry in the distance. It was faint, but it was familiar. I turned on the rooftop. I saw a dot coming at me. As it got closer, I saw that it was a boy, a familiar boy. In a dress.


Joe Joe landed and I stifled a laugh. Joey was in my uniform. Dress, belt, boots and all. He said, "Haley! Don't do this. Please, its not worth it." I said, "What do you know! You don't have to go through this! I can't handle this life anymore Joey!" "So you give up? Huh? You're going to give up and die on everyone you know and love? That's a coward's way to die!" I was stunned by this comment. I said, "Nobody needs me anymore! I'm tired of this ungrateful city! I'm tired of the crime not slowing down at all! I'm tired of being scared!"


Joe Joe didn't show signs of stopping. "You are a hypocrite! You talked to that other kid about hope and you act like there isn't any! It's time you took hold of your own advice!"


That ground seemed really interesting right now. He continued, "You don't think I'm scared too? Look, every time you go to fight some monster or criminal or God knows what, I afraid that'll you'll never come back!" He paused. "Yes, I fear for you Haley. Ever since I first met you I had feelings for you. I wanted to be your Hero. To get to the point, I loved you Jones." I was awestruck.


"You....love me?" I said. He lowered his head, as if he was embarrassed. "Yes. I do." We stood in our places for the longest time. I looked at the sunset in the distance. I looked down and even from eighty feet in the air I could see that some of those faces down there were starting to look up.


I decided that I really didn't want to do this. I got down and put my phone away. I hugged Joey, and for some reason, I broke down crying.


We stood there for a while, then he said, "Hey, lets get your coat on so we don't end up giving you a cold or something." I smiled and said, "Oh. Right. And you should give me back my bracelet. That outfit does not go with your eyes."


He laughed a little and we stared into each other's eyes. He had such pretty eyes. I leaned in and kissed him. He kissed back.


I was waaaayyyyyy off on the decision I made this morning.

Cyrus Noble II Ch. 31: Insanity

I dodged the first slash. "Cyrus! Its me, Jazz! You remember Jazz? Cyrus?" I was on the verge of tears. He paused for a second and looked behind me. I looked too when I heard a voice.

"You came to save your leader? How noble of you." He laughed like he made a clever joke. He had a strong, stone cold face. He had a dark blue color to the armor he was wearing. On top of that, he had long blond hair hanging behind him that went halfway down his back. He had a huge sword in its sheath on his back. He said, "As you can guess, I am Obelisk the Maddening. Its been a while since I drove anyone to insanity. I am glad that I haven't gotten rusty." I was filled with rage. "Give back Cyrus' mind, NOW!"

He laughed again. "He's mine now, dearest. Soon you all will be, as soon as I kill the young Telepathic girl." I looked at Sara and she wasn't the least bit surprised. She said, "Yeah? So what? People want to kill me all the time. You're no different. You aren't getting to me, Cyrus, or anyone here!"

She sounded more confident than me. Obelisk smiled, "Either way, you all die here. Zeus?" The bird was rested on Viktor's shoulder this entire time. It perked up when it heard its name. "Merge." Obelisk ordered.

Zeus tilted its head. Then Cyrus spoke up from behind us. "Zeus. Merge." He stuck out his arm and Zeus flew right into him.

"Zeus. No!" I cried, but it was too late. They both glowed way too brightly. When the light dimmed, Cyrus was in his flying form. Obelisk chuckled behind us. "I'd love to watch you kill each other, but I have other plans to attend to. As they say these days: See ya around." He pulled out what looked like a remote control, pushed a button, and a huge flash of light engulfed him. After a few seconds, the light dimmed and he was gone.

Cyrus attacked us. He punched Megan and kicked Viktor. Magnet got a good crack when he swung his bat, but it was useless. Cyrus picked him up and slammed him onto a wall.

Sara screamed, "NO!" A ball of light formed in her hands and it hit Cyrus. He dropped Magnet as he skidded away. He glared at her and growled. I stood in front of her. "Cyrus Noble! You have to fight Obelisk! This isn't you! We are your family! I am your girlfriend and I'm telling you to fight it!"

I didn't notice it right away, but there was a certain edge to my voice. Of course, you would be a little edgy too, but this was different.

He staggered. He shook his head. He looked at his hands, they clenched and he separated with Zeus. He got to his knees and said, "Hail. Rebel. Serve. Live. Weapon. Father. Killer. Protector. What. Am. I." He slammed his face to the ground, muttering, "Margret. Margret."

We picked him up and carried him out of there.

Cyrus Noble II Ch. 30: Cyrus?

I braced myself for battle, bringing out a staff and that old laser pistol. Unbelievable. I have to fight these......Predator Fanboys. The soldiers opened fire with energy spears and we fired back. Sara spoke to my mind. Jazz, leave one of them alive. I need to see something.

OK, Sara. I'll do my best. I am really starting to lose my pateince. Even with cover, the soldiers got killed anyway. We finished off the last of the new threat and we started to examine them. I said, "Guys, keep on your toes. We don't know exactly what we're dealing with here." Sara leaned down and put her fingers to the forehead of one of the troopers. After a minute she revolted and fell on her butt.

I got on one knee next to her. "Sweetie, are you OK?" I said frantically. She looked at me with a panicked expression. "He. He. That's Cyrus! I mean, it's a clone of him! They are completley brainwashed by Obelisk!" I tried to calm her down. "Slow down Sara. Tell me what happened." She shook her head. "Obelisk is the leader of the Dark Trinity members. Obelisk the Maddening. He has a mental communications link with all of the soldiers. He just tried to enter my mind. He knows we're here." "Great." I muttered. I said, "Guys, scratch that last order. Keep on your toes and be ready to kill anything. The enemy knows we're here. Let's go save our Cyrus."

We didn't confront any soldiers until we entered a dead end that ended with what looked like a jail cell. There were guards standing in front of cell they lowered their spears. Viktor stepped forward and took them out with one blast per soldier. We got to the cell door and I saw a form that was chained to the wall. I gasped with excitement. "Cyrus!" I ran to the door and tried to yank it open. I heard Sara behind me. "Wait! Jazz, something's wrong. There's something weird going around in his head." I was too excited to listen.

"He's fine!" I said, "We just need to get him down and he'll save us all! Its going to be OK, Sara." I turned to Megan. "Megan, use your strength." She stepped forward and pulled the door off its hinges.

I ran in and said, "Cyrus! Cy, wake up! We're here to save you, Come on!" He didn't move. His head hung there, his hair covering his face. I slapped my forhead. "Duh! We got to let you down! Magnet, get over here." He stepped over with his metal baseball bat. He said, "Uh, Jazz. I don't think--" I snapped at him. "Justdoit!"

He flinched. Then he put his hand up and the metal straps that chained his wrists, waist, and ankles broke and opened.

He fell to the ground and caught himself. He stayed crouched. I was a little worried now. "Cyrus?" He stood up and flipped his hair back. "Sorry." he said, menacingly. "Cyrus isn't here." We all stepped away from the cell. He stepped forward ever so slowly. "All. Hail. Obelisk!"

With that, he charged at us.

Cyrus Noble II Ch. 29: Sara's Thoughts

Jazz worked on the teleportation device. Viktor was wandering the secret lab with Magnet and some of the other soldiers. Megan, Zeus, and the others stood guard. I was sitting in a corner hugging my legs to my chest, feeling helpless and reading the minds around me. Half of the soldiers think that Cyrus was dead. We knew better, Cyrus died once before, and he came back. But, I can't feel his mind anymore. He's most likely out of range, but I never felt this scared. It was deeper than scared, it was.....what's that word? Dread? Yeah, that sounds about right. I dreaded about what was going on.

Maybe I can do that "Powered Up" thing I did back when we were trapped in Talos. Then I'd be able to stop the monsters, save the world, and bring our family back together.

I put my head went onto my knees. I want to go home, both of them. Why can't all our families live together in one ginormous house? That way, we can all live happily ever after. I could hang out with Magnet and Charlie and Wayne (my older brothers). I can have two different dads right? Cyrus is my first dad. Howard is my step-dad. And Bishop.......he was never my dad.

"Captain Reynold! I got it! We can follow Cyrus now!" I jumped up and said, "I'll call the others." I sent out a thought to Viktor and Magnet. Guys! We're saving Cyrus now! Hurry back!

They soon arrived and we entered the Portal one at a time. I was second to last. Most of the soldiers were standing guard at the portal. Just three going in. When we got through I saw that we were in a cave. Megan spoke first, "This doesn't look like some evil super overlord base." Jazz said, "We need to find Cyrus. We split into two groups. Megan, Lt. Gilligan, Viktor, and Magnet will go down that way. The rest of us will go down the other way." I said, "Uh, Jazz?" "What is it honey?" She said finally looking up from a pad. "What are those?" I said, pointing down the hallway she indicated that we were going down. She looked up and her eyes widened. "Prepare for attack!" I got behind her as I listened to the minds of the new soldiers. kill intruders. follow orders. arm weapons. hail Obelisk. Obelisk the Maddening.

Their minds. Their thoughts, they feel like something familiar, but it was impossible wasn't it?

They feel like Cyrus' thoughts.

81+1 Heroes Ch. 44: Mira's Scars

The Principal let us go home early. Demanded it more likely. When I--I mean, we--got to the apartment building we saw Bugg and Kenny outside. Kenny said, "Uh. We, um, found Dexter." I breathed out relief. "OK. Where is he?" I was looking around, like he might be hiding somewhere.

Bugg and Kenny looked at each other. Kenny sighed and took out a small device. He handed it to me and I looked at it. "Where is this? Is that a heart moniter? Why is it going so slow?" I realized what it was and I said, "What. Happened."

Kenny sighed. "We looked over the video footage. Someone took out the systems and kidnapped Dexter. The school being attacked was just a distraction. That hand-held shows where Dex is. He has a tracking device in a tooth. It detects his vital signs. Right now, it says he's in a deep sleep, but he's still alive and thats what counts."

I remembered something. "What about Little Red?" They said nothing. Then Kenny said, "We, uh, haven't told her anything yet. We were going to but...." He drifted off and I let out a deep, irritated breath. I said, "What are we going to do?" Mira stepped out from behind us. "Well, what do you think?" We all looked at her. "We save the dork, that's what!"

Five minutes later we were in the lab, deciding on what Heroes to assemble. I called up a certain batch of Heroes. We were going to Japan.

I was filling in the guys of what was going down when the main screen turned on. There was an Asian girl on there, looking at us with hate in her eyes. She said, "You took a friend of ours. In return we took your leader. Meet on our terms for an exchange, or the consequences will be fatal." The screen turned off and all of us stood there in shock.

"They think we took their friend?" I said. Mira then said, "In that case, we'll need to make a smaller team that's less threatening to explain things." I nodded. "Then it'll be us two. That's our best bet."

Three ours later, we are in a high-tech-looking jet and flying over the pacific Ocean. Mira said, "Why do you try so hard to help us out?" I was daydreaming so I was taken off guard. "What?" "You heard me." I started fiddling with the end of my shirt. "I......I don't know. Maybe cause....I don't know." Mira kept staring up ahead. "You really like him don't ya?"

My face burned. She laughed a little. "Don't worry. I ain't gonna steal him away from ya." She got a sad expression. "I never had the best luck with relationships. You see these scars on my arm?"
She put her forearm up to show them. I said, "Yeah." "Well, they were from my last boyfriend, and I do mean last. He was in some sort of cult. Basically, they believed that whatever they eat, they'll have the natural abilities of that victim. Whether its an animal, or whatever. I didn't know at the time. He tried several times to cut my hands off and gain my ability. I never really got close to anybody since. I tried, but......I just can't put myself to trust anyone, like that, again. I envy you, and Dexter. Heck, I envy Ken and Jess. Grossman even has Misty to hang out with."

I didn't know what to say. "Mira. I'm so sorry." She shrugged. "Ah, I'm sorry I just threw up my life story on you. Oh, hey. We're coming up on Japan now."

Here we go.

Cyrus Noble II Ch. 28: My Nightmare

After that day I felt that the vision sped forward a day or two. I was walking home all by myself. I passed an alleyway that was pitched black. I heard a voice. It was whispering something and I couldn't understand what it was coming from. come here. Come here. Come Here. come Here.

I looked at the alleyway. I saw a sliver of light that could have only come from a gun. Soon I felt an impact and I was out cold.

I woke up in a seat, with a bag over my head. They removed the bag and I was almost blinded by light. I rubbed my eyes and I realized that my hands were free. I heard a voice, and I knew who it was immediately. "Cyrus Wintergreen, I believe?" Bishop.

Despite my feelings, my person displayed no knowledge of him. "You are you, where am I?" I heard myself say. "No need to worry, Cyrus. We're all friends here." Don't listen to him. He's a monster.

"What do want?" I heard myself say. Now that my sight is coming back I could see that only my side of the table was lit. I could see the hands and shadow of a set of shoulders, but the rest remained to be seen. He answered, "I'm here to offer you something you can't refuse." I said nothing. He continued, "You see, I have a bit of problem, Cy. Can I call you Cy? I have a genetic procedure I need to preform and test. And you intrigue me out of everyone I interviewed."

I knew, straight up, that it was a lie, but (apparently) I didn't know that. "Yeah?" I said. "What is this procedure?" "Oh it should be harmless, but the outcome should be magnificent!" He gestured with his hands as he talked. "You will be stronger, faster, more powerful. You will be the first of many of the ultimate soldiers. Not only that, but you can become the biggest baddest thing on the streets. You can become an animal. A King of the streets."

My person said nothing for a while. Then he said, "I don't care for ruling." He looked up where he supposed where Bishop's eyes were. "What will you do for me? I want guarantees." He must have looked surprised. He said, "I can give your family all the money they'll ever need." My voice said, "No. My Mom. Just my Mom. You give her all the money she will ever need. Darrell gets nothing." He leaned forward and I saw Bishop's face for the first time here.

He grinned. "So we have a deal?" He asked, reaching his hand out. My person shook it and said, "Deal."

The seen shifted again. I was standing in a laboratory. Bishop was standing there and was talking. "You see, all we need you to do is step inside this tank and we are going to line your body with these needles. You will be given a solution that will numb any pain that you may feel. You will be given a mask for your air. Does that seem fair?" I nodded.

"Please, I'm going to ask you to leave your clothes here." He gestured to the chair. I took off my shirt and jeans. These scientists looked like the real deal. Plus, whatever they're going to do, its for my Mom. Its worth the sacrifices.

"Please step into the tank. You will be monitored by us, from up there." He pointed to a high window in the room. I grunted. I stepped into the tank and rested my head in the head area. The Sci-fis strapped down my wrists and ankles and torso without a word. They put the mask over my mouth. The tank filled up with a green fluid and then........

pain. Lots of-Lots of pain.........................

Cyrus Noble II Ch. 27: My Dream

I eventually fell asleep. I found myself in Chicago again. Except, Talos wasn't around. Neither was Jazz, or Sara, or any of the others. I felt like I was watching a movie, if the camera was right in someones eye. Plus surreal, surround sound.

I was walking and talking to some guys. Just talking about girls and some game we played before. We went inside a mall and almost immediately got kicked out because the security guards thought we stole something, and we were talking to some guy's good looking daughter.

Anyway I finally went into a house when it was, like, eleven. The person I was seeing through was oblivious to consequences. He walked in the town house he must have lived in and I saw a blob in a couch and holding a beer. "Where you been?" The blob said, never taking his eyes off the TV. The person said, "What? You telling me you still not use to me coming home?" "Your mother is worried brat, not me. She's working late again." My person muttered, "Of course. My mother." He went downstairs to a trashy room and closed the door behind him. The room had missing pieces of plaster in the walls, and it was left with a bed, a small closet, a dresser, an empty bookshelf, and a nightstand with an alarm clock and phone charger. He locked the door, and went to sleep in his bed.

He woke up again with a blare of sunlight from the window in his eyes. He got up and got ready for the day. I saw him step out of the shower and look in the mirror. I saw a face that looked a lot like mine. The eyes, teeth, hair, all the same. Except the claws. They were regular finger nails that needed to be trimmed.

I sat down at a breakfast table and yawned out, "Hey Mom. You should be in bed." The 'Mom' that I refered to turned around from the burner she was working over and smiled. She had black hair, but that was the only indication that we were related. She's very pretty with rings under her eyes. She said, "Oh that's OK, honey."

I stood up from the table and said, "C'mon, sit. I'll cook us some eggs." She smiled and sat down at the table. I fried some scrambled eggs on the skillet and added chopped onions and cheese, like I've done it a million times. I put the eggs on a plate and set it on the table next to my mom.

The blob came in and took the plate away. He said, "Thanks." And flopped down in a chair and began to eat the eggs. Mom said nothing. I was furious. I said, "Hey! I made those for Mom, Darrell!" He said, "Yeah, So? I'm man of the house, I'm your father, and I pay the bills." He said it like he won this arguement before.

I said, "Step Father, first of all. I know enough that my real father was never a slob like you." I ignored the Mom, who was shaking her head no and sending a clear, silent message. "Second," I said, "Mom pays more of the bills than you do. You go work at the trash compound for, what? Once, maybe twice a week? She works at that stupid clothing store all week, even when she's not suppossed to. And third," Mom stood up from the table and said, "Cyrus, don't--" I ignored her. "Man of the house? I can take you apart with my eyes closed." The pig stood up slowly, as if he had another gear to shift into. "Is that a fact?" He said. I said, "Hell, I can't miss when throwing a punch at your fat as--Ack!" He thrusted over the table and grabbed my neck with speed that I didn't think he had. He said, "I am the man of the house. Remember that you little brat." He held me there while Mom tried to talk him out of it. "Darrell. Darrell baby, stop it. Please, stop it. He didn't mean it, baby. Just, just let him go. Please."

The blob gave me one last hateful glare and shoved me away. He dumped his empty plate in the sink and said, "Next time, lay off the cheese. That screws me up." I waited till he left when I whispered to Mom. "How can you live with that waste of space?" She said, "Please Cyrus. Please don't pick fights with him. Believe it or not, we'd be on the streets if it wasn't for him." I said, "Yeah right. I'd rather take our chances with the streets. You can handle yourself Mom. You can ask for any job in the world and you'd get it."

She sighed. "Unfortunately, that's not the case. You are such a sweet son." She ruffled my hair, she almost had to stand on her toes to do it. She looked into my eyes, and she said, "I wish I could have met your real father. I bet he was so hansome to have such a good looking boy like you." I pushed her hand away, but I honestly didn't mind her hand there. I heard myself say, "Who was my dad anyway?"

She sighed and said, "I told you a hundred times already, Cy. I found you on my doorstep when I was eighteen. Darrell and I married because he let me keep you. And," She looked over my shoulder and out the doorway. She was looking at Darrell. "Well, you know the rest." I nodded.

"Mom, can I, uh, hang out with my friends today?" She sighed and said, "You have any homework to do?" "No Ma'am." I said a little too quickly. She raised her eyebrows. "All right, you can go."

I soon got some other clothes, I went on outside.

Was this..............my life?

L&TOHJ~Hope: Weird Dream

I landed at the door of my house, not bothering to see if anyone saw me. I clicked my bracelet and ran back inside. I ran up to my room and slammed the door. I flopped on my bed and cried like a baby.

Candy came in and gently closed the door. She said, "Haley. What happened?" I felt her sit beside me and rub my back. My voice was muffled under the pillows. "Candy. Candy, its Devlin." She paused for a second and then resumed. "What about Devlin?"

I sat a little on the edge of my bed. I showed her the watch in my hand. She took it and I said, "He. He betrayed us. He was the guy I told you about, the one who could absorb the energies of those monsters." Her eyes widened with disbelief.

I told her everything. His offer, how he taunted me, our fight. When I was done, She hugged me and we both started crying.

"I can't do this. I can't do this anymore, Candy." She said, "I know. I know." We sat there for a while. When we both settled down a little. I heard a small voice. "Haley?" I looked at Butch, who was halfway in my doorway. He had a worried look on his young little face.

I said, "Uh, Butch. How much did you hear?" He said, "I just, uh, came in. But I can hear your crying from my room." His room was on the other side of the house.

I felt my face burn and I hung my head. He said, "I couldn't understand what you were saying, if that means anything." It didn't right now.

He stepped closer, then he walked up and climbed on my bed between me and Candy. He wrapped his arms around me the best he could and tried to give me a hug. I hugged him back and Candy wrapped her arms around both of us. We sat there for a while.

Eventually we broke and I saw how late it was. I got Butch to take his bath and go to bed without a fuss this time. I thanked Candy and she went home.

As I laid in bed that night so many things were going through my head. I dreamed that I was in an arena. I was in my superhero uniform, and I was chained to the ground. I was before a trial, with Devlin as the judge, with his white hair and everything. There was a jury a few feet away. Thomas stood up from the back somewhere and said every little thing I did wrong. I saw that Every face in the arena was growing more and more hateful.

I also saw that my friends and family were sitting in the jury. Even the old Devlin and the electrically charged Brandon Keith. When Thomas finished with, "...And I just plain hate her.", Devlin slammed his gavel. All the while saying, "I declare her guilty! Feed her to the monsters!"

Then the judge and jury dissappeared, and so did my chains. I turned around to see the gates open and I saw Brenda, Brandon, Rex, the Blurr, and every other superhuman I stopped and/or worked with. Even Trinity and Doublecross. They attacked me and I woke up with some tears in my eyes again.

Rising Ch. 18: B3

We got to the nursery, if that's what you can call it. There was a hallway, and on each side there were rooms with windows taking up most of the wall. It looked like a hospital's nursery, except it was darker and I barely saw anybody. The nurses didn't notice us. I said, "Why would he do this? How could he do this?"

Micheal said, "They treat us like animals. I saw them put a guy in a girl's cage, so that they could "breed". They're testing everything on us. What we may be allergic to, whatever there is to test on us for." I said, "How are we going to get these babies out of here?" He shrugged. I picked up my cell phone and started texting Nicole.

"Call police" I texted.

I looked at the rooms around us. I took a picture and sent it to her with a message. "Tel thm 2 atak Williams Ind. Hry."

I looked at Micheal. "We can't carry all these babies out of here. We have to come back to this one." He looked at the little day-cares. "I know." I said, "I don't want to leave them here either, but we need to find out what this is all about." He nodded. We went to the elevator and I pressed B3.

The elevator doors opened and we stepped through without reguard for caution. The hallway split at the end. One way, I smelled antiseptic, on the other end, I could see a door opened and I heard chanting. I looked at Micheal. He said, "I'm going down here. If my sister's here, she has to be there." I nodded.

I knew the real reason, though. He was scared that we would find something on the other end, where the surgery rooms are. I said, "Good luck."

I ran into the first room on the right. The horror that I saw is something I will never forget. Corpses strapped down and dead. They were dissecting them! This room was just left there with the body of the winged child. The doctors must've gone to take a break. I had to put my hand to my mouth to keep from throwing up again.

I ran down the hallway after Micheal. I passed by open doors that let me look into the room. I saw grown men standing in front of little kids of different age in each room. The man in the room was chanting something about services for the company. The lights were dimmed in the rooms, and there was a metronome, and with each tick, the kids were staring into nothingness more and more.

I saw Micheal peeking into one room. I looked in with him. He whispered, "You see the blond girl, with the piggy-tail missing?" I saw her. She was a cute little kid. She had the same jumpsuit as all the other kids. I said, "Hold on. I got this." I walked right into the room and stood behind the chanting man. I tapped on his shoulder.

He turned around with "Huh?" I punched his nose in and he fell to the floor. Obviously, not much of a fighter. I turned my attention to the kids and said, "You're free now. You can be whatever you want." When they didn't respond, I was confused. Then I had an idea and I snapped my fingers. They blinked and started to stir. I said, "All right now. Who wants to see their Moms and Dads again?" They turned their attention on me. I said, "Follow me guys."

I went to one room after another. I let Micheal reunite with his sister. I started getting to the older kids I gave instructions to some of them. One group to get the kids out of here, the other group to take out the hypnotists.

I saw Pierce coming towards me. He raised his eyebrows at the work done. "You work fast." He said. I smirked. "What can I say? I'm a sucker for kids." He nodded. I asked, "Speaking of which, where are the other kids, from earlier?" Pierce said, "Looks like the Secretary called the Police or something. The police are helping out the kids, even some of the guards from earlier are helping out." "That was Nicole. I told her to call the police and investigate this place from top to bottom." He raised an eyebrow.

He said, "Let's get the big fish."

I nodded. "Let's. I've got a few choice words for him."

Rising Ch. 17: Oscar and Micheal Help Out

The guards were out of it. It took all my strength not to strangle them. I said, "Pierce. Will you be OK here?" He said over his shoulder, "If you can find an emergency release button, that would be nice." He got the door open and the kids walked free.

I said, "Guys, is there, like, a computer or something around here?" A black kid, who was the tallest in the group, spoke up. "The guards all hang out in a room back there." He pointed down the hall. I looked at the cage he was in and my heart stopped.

A little boy, who couldn't be anymore than eight, was leaning against the wall. His head hung there, I went over to him and lifted his head by his chin, his eyes were still open. I put a hand against his chest. No pulse. No heartbeat. I gently brushed his eyes close and let his head hang there.

I got back to the kid and said, "What's your name?" He answered, "Oscar." "Oscar, I need you to be brave here. When we release the kids I need you to get them out of here. Just press the button on the elevator." He nodded. "I remember how to do that much." I smiled a little. He's trying to joke about this, just like I would do.

"You won't be down here for long." I said. Pierce got a second door opened and the biggest one in there stepped up to me. He was big and strong and had light brown hair. He had two sets of grey wings. One set that was placed higher up his body than normal, and another was set down his back.

He said, "Me and my sister got here a couple of weeks ago. They took my sister away somewhere. I ain't leaving till I find her." I nodded. "And your name is?" He said, "Micheal."

"Stay close kid." We ran to the back room and almost burst the door down. I looked around. Looks like a regular break room. Which pissed me off even more. Like they can relax and kick back from cracking their whips all day. Or they can take a break from starving CHILDREN.

I found the control box, but it had a lock on it. Micheal said, "I got this." I barely got out of the way before he punched the door in and ripped it away. I found the release all button in a small plastic case that glowed red. Funny how they named it "Release All" and not "Emergency Release".

The gates swung open and almost slammed Pierce in the face. The kids wandered out I said, "Everyone to the elevator! Your free now!" I saw a door labelled stairs next to the elevator. I said, "Pierce!" He turned to me in the crowd. "Go up the stairs and break the door! Then come back and help!" He nodded and ran to the door. I said, " Micheal. You can look for your sister if you want. You don't have to stick with me." He shook his head. "She's on the lower levels. I remember them taking her down there."

"Looks like we're going the same direction. Lets go." We got to the elevator and went down. The kids flowed their way to the stairs. I hit the B2 button. One down, two more to go.

Rising Ch. 16: Williams Industries

Williams Industries is owned by CEO Oliver D. Williams and is a rivaling medical company from my father's company. Because of there rivalry, they both became the best medical companies in the world. Nobody really said anything about it, but they brought out the best in each other. I never given the place a second thought since I, well, 'ran out' on my parents.

We flew to the ground right in front of the building. People walking by were muttering to each other as we did. I ignored them. I looked over to Pierce. "You ready for this?" He nodded. We entered the building and right to the secretary's desk. She said, "Hello sir. How may I help you?" I leaned over the desk. "I'm here to complain about your boss. I want him to know that I'm here on behalf of Broadsword to take him into custody."

The lady stared at me blankly. "Do you have an appointment?" Unbelievable. "Yup. Do now." I walked past the desk and she said, "Hey! You can't just--Guards! Guards!" Three big, burly men stood in our way. I leaned back a little to whisper to Pierce. "Dude. If this guard was any bigger, he'd have a smaller guard orbiting around him."

Even though Pierce isn't one for emotions, he started laughing. The guard I indicated was turning red he came at me and I kneed him in the face. He stumbled back and fell. The other guards got their clubs out. I said, "Don't even think about it." They hesitated, but they stepped out of our way and we went into the lion's den.

I said, "Where do you think Williams' Office is?" Pierce gave it some thought. "I'd say at the top." I nodded. "Then we go down." Pierce was confused. "Wait, what? Why?" "Think about it. They do medical research here. If they were doing research on, say, secret illegal experiments, would they put it next to window for the world to see? We'll worry about Williams next. Right now, we need find out what is going on here." He nodded and grunted in agreement.

We got to a main elevator and I saw a box with a lock in it. I looked at Pierce. "On it." he said. He stuck a quill from his finger into the lock and got it opened. He opened it and I saw a lot of lower level floors. Three basement floors in all. The third button didn't have a light. I clicked on the one that said B1. We got to the floor and I wish that it hadn't.

It was dark. Unwelcoming. Unlike the other floors upstairs. I heard something, like a low moaning. I then realized that it wasn't just one moan, it was a chorus of moans. I looked at Pierce, and he looked as scared as I was. We entered warily. I looked over and I could see a white light switch. I flicked it on and some fluorescent lights came on in an isle.

On either side, I saw cages. To my left, there were boys, to my left, girls. They were all aged around six or seven to sixteen or seventeen. All looked like they were skin and bones. They all saw us and they were reaching through the bars towards us, muttering and moaning unintelligible things. "Oh

my.... my...." I couldn't even finish. My knees hit the floor, I bent over and threw up.

After I was done, I stood back up to see Pierce having tears in his eyes. He sucked it up and, in the strongest voice he could muster, said, "Gabe. Look at there backs." Most of them had baggy jumpsuits, but some of the guys were shirtless, just pants and not much else. I saw what Pierce meant. The kids had wings on their backs.

Each was different. Some were grey, some were black, I saw one girl that had her wings sticking out of her back that were as red as her hair. Each set came in different sizes too. With each step down the hall, I grew angrier and angrier. How could a man do this? How could anybody do this? To KIDS for Christ's sake! I said, "Pierce. Do you think you can get the locks open?" He said, "I'm on it." He started working on the closest lock.

I heard, "Hey! You're not aurthorized to be here!" behind me. I spun around to see two guards like the ones we saw on the main floor. Pierce tapped me with a staff he grew. I took it and charged the guards with a screech of rage.

TL&TOHJ~Hope: Better Off

Devlin tackled me and we went through the wall. I kicked him away and flew upward. Omigod. Omigod. Omigod. Was all that I was thinking when I looked for him in all directions. Sometimes I wondered what would happen if someones dark side took over one day. I swear, I never thought that Devlin of all people..... He was just too sweet. Too sensitive. Too Nice.

I turned around just in time to see the air shimmer into the shape of a young man, and then turn into Devlin. "Peek-a-boo." Was what he said before he let loose a right hook. I spun out a few feet away before I regained control. I said, "When did you become such a jerk, Devlin?" He replied, "You mean, when did I come to realization? Face it, no matter what you do, people will hate you for the power. You will power over them, even if you use it for, so-called, good, they will always be jealous." He disappeared and I said, "So? Its not about whether people like you or not, its about doing what's right, no matter what others think." He reappeared in front of me. "So says the failure of a hero!" He replied. We exchanged punches and kicks while he talked. "What have you done so far, Haley? *Grunts from blocking a hard side kick from me* Stop a thief or two? Without me hunting down the energy in the city every night, there would be no city! There would be total chaos without me! Now its time I took charge and use the god-given right to rule! With or without you!"

I had tears in my eyes as I did a hard punch, which sent him sprawling a few feet. "Devlin. You had friends who cared for you! You had two awesome parents, who loved you! What the Hell happened to you?" He glared at me. "I was picked on every day for seven years of my life! Just for what I believed! For what I said! For what I tried to do! Nobody is going to shed a single tear for one kid like me! Or you for that matter!" I was shocked for a second. "Do you really think that if you just disappeared for a week, anybody would really notice? The only thing that matters on this Earth, is power. Otherwise, you're a nobody like the rest of us."

He grinned and looked at his fist. "But all that will change soon enough." He flew at me and tried to grab at my bracelet. I pushed him away with my laser eyes. I round-house kicked him in the chest and he went flying. I flew after him and slammed him with both fists entwined together. I watched as he made a crater in the park below. Nobody was in that general area at the time, so that was a good thing.

I floated down to him and saw him slowly getting up. He laughed. "Did you really think it would be that easy?" He taunted. "I'm near Invicible!" He lunged at me, but I shot my eye lasers again and sent him back into the ground. He was about to get up again, but I started blowing air toward him. I don't know why I did it, but it worked. Ice formed on him, and stuck him to the ground. All except his watch.

I walked over and took it off of him. He screamed "NOOOO!" He was covered in the black mist and it flew back into the watch. The old Devlin sat there, covered in ice and shivering.

He screeched at me. "I hate you! I freaking hate you! There's not a person out there who doesn't hate you!"

I ignored him and watched as the new division of the military came up and took him away. Something called Operation: Broadsword. They took his shivering butt in handcuffs. He looked at me with every bit of hate he had. I held on to the watch. Maybe Dr. Richards will find it useful. I looked at the ground beneath me. What was the point? I'm losing friends left and right. What if the world really is better off without me?

I realized that people were starting to gather at where the scene unfolded and ended. I flew away. I just want to go to bed and cry.

Cyrus Noble II Ch. 26: Obelisk the Maddening

I woke up later in the same cave as before. I was chained to a wall, I could feel that much. I shook my head to concentrate more on my surroundings. I was in a makeshift cell of stalagmites/stalactites. I focused my senses around me. I could tell there was someone standing just outside the cell, but I couldn't see them. "Who. Are. You." I said. It wasn't a question. Suddenly he appeared. "Impressive." He said. "I guess Bishop accomplished something after all." I growled. "I ain't asking again." The being smiled. He had mid-evil armor on, that was tinged with blue. He was covered everywhere except his head. He had long flowing blond hair and his eyes were blue. I never thought I could see such evil in such blue eyes. He was taller then most men, almost to the sevens area. He said, "I am Obelisk. Obelisk the Maddening. I defeat most enemies before they even reach the battlefield by inducing Madness into their minds."

I laughed a little. "I'm plenty mad already. You don't want to go into this head, Shirley." He was about to say something more, but I interrupted him. "You know, we have something in the twenty-first century called a hair-cut. Seriously dude, you look like my mother.

He glared at me. "You won't be laughing, when I destroy every living thing on this planet and repopulate it with the perfect race: My blood line." I pretended to think about this. "Meh. You are just like Bishop. Sick, Mad, and majorly perverted." He spun around to me with a horrible look on his face. "I would love to silence your insolent mouth ounce and for all, However I need a pure blood sample from you to recreate a new army. Better than the clones you have met before."

I was a little shocked, but not by much. "Again with the army? I mean, come on! That never worked for Bishop, and it won't work for you either!" He smiled and I heard something in my head. Oh, but I'm not Bishop. "I will succeed." He finished aloud.

He walked away, and left me to rot. "Wait! Weren't there three of you? Where are the other two?" He called over his shoulder. "Oh, you'll see them soon enough." He laughed like it was an inside joke.

I didn't find it funny.

The Life and Times of Haley Jones~Hope: Devlin's Secret

I went to Devlin's house after lunch. I had to get up extra early to finish up the last of my homework. I got over there and knocked on the door. Devlin didn't look surprised at all. He said, "Haley. You OK?" I answered honestly. "No. I'm really not." He sighed. "I'm sorry to hear that. Please, come in." Devlin looked like he was dressed up for the day. "Are you going somewhere?" I asked. "Oh, no. I just thought I'd look presentable for the day. In case I needed to get somewhere quickly." I nodded. "Where are your parents?" He rolled his eyes. "Yard sales. They always go to yard sales and turn up later in the afternoon."

I smiled. "Uh hey. Can I, uh, talk to you for a minute?" He smiled. "Of course." I sat down on the kitchen stool he had. I took a deep breath. "Devlin, do you think I'm good at this whole "saving people" thing?" He got a questioning look on his face. "Why would you say something like that?" I sighed. I let everything out on him, and I was totally honest with everything. I told him about Brandon Keith, and how I attacked him when he needed help. Thomas, my feelings towards him, and how I felt so...so helpless. Then Brenda, I failed her, she went missing for weeks and I didn't bother doing anything about it. And whoever did have her, did something that was ungodly, sick, and wrong.

When I was done I hid behind my mess of hair. He said, "I understand how you feel. You blame yourself for a bunch of things, like Brenda's disappearance. You had no idea what was going on with her. You can't blame yourself for happened then. Besides, the only thing we can do now is move on. There are some people you can't save, no matter what you do." I didn't make eye contact. "I suppose so." I said. "Listen," Devlin said, "I have a proposition for you." I looked at him. His soft expression was gone. Actually, he scared me a little.

He said, "I've been meaning to tell you this for a while now, and I think that this is the best time to show you the truth." I looked at him strangely. He was looking out of his window, even though its only the street there. He would not face me. He said, "For my entire life, I watched as criminals run the streets. Bullies, future criminals themselves, set others up for failure. Nobody stops them. Nobody can really stop the chaos around us. People are Greedy, Lustful, Vengeful, Irregular, Illogical."

I stood from the stool. "Devlin. You're scaring me." "And you have every right to be, but I do not plan on hurting you." He looked at his watch, but something was telling me he wasn't checking the time. "You see," he began, "the one you call 'The Mystery Man' is closer than you think. I know him quite well." I said, "What are you..." I didn't finish, because I watched as he clicked his black and silver watch. A black mist emanated from the watch. Devlin turned to me with a stone cold face as the mist covered his body, changing his blue eyes, brown hair, collard shirt, jeans, and shoes into an assortment of yellow eyes, white hair, and black clothes with silver linings....

"Devlin?" I said in disbelief. "In the flesh." He said with his voice not sounding like his own. "Now, before you attack me like you did Brandon, let me explain. Humans are natural sinners, I assume you know this going to church this day, they strive for chaos, for ill-wishes on others. The list goes on. They need a leader, a strong one. You wish to help people, this is your chance." I lowered my guard a little. Was he right? "You see, people are never going to love someone who is more powerful then them. I'll use former president George Bush, and current president Barack Obama as an example. Even you, Haley. The only way to secure a man's loyalty is through fear. If you, Joey, Candy, and I get enough power that the four of us can become unstoppable. We take the planet over and create a government that revolves around our complete and total control. We can be Olympians, no Titans! The Ultimate Entities!"

I was awestruck by this insanity, and yet, he could have a point. I couldn't say anything. He stuck out his hand and said, "Our futures will be set, as soon as you let me borrow your bracelet." I took a step back. "We could be Kings and Queens, Haley. We can last forever."

I looked at my bracelet. "You know what, Devlin?" I said. "Out of the four of us, you were the kindest, the most passive, the most forgiving. You used to be living proof that nice guys don't finish last. I even loved you, but now" I clicked my bracelet, and the streamers covered my body. I was in my uniform, all fixed and clean. "But now I know you need help. I'm sorry about this Devlin."

He glared at me. "I'm sorry too." Then he took flight and lunged at me.