Hi everyone, this is mk-lite. ^^

I know it hasn't been since my last story but I've been working on this for a while and finally have the first chapter to share!

I hope you enjoy it and look forward to more chapters that I've been working on. :)

(The cover image is of Iron Man, and the game category does say Halo, but I don't follow either storylines. I just used a little of both for some inspiration)

*IMPORTANT*

I recently put a poll on my profile to vote for future parings so I can see whether or not I should continue the League stories ^^

If you could vote, that would really mean a lot for me! Thanks!

And now without further ado, I present you the first chapter of Together, Forever.

~mk-lite

"Betray me, I need more ammo!" Valentin cried out, as he expertly maneuvered his Halo Reach Spartan on screen to crouch up and down rapidly. Laughing out loud, Barry moved his character to face Valentin's and pulled his trigger, effectively ridding his fellow Spartan of life. Their shrieks of laughter were cut off as suddenly a Zombie Spartan dashed up towards Barry. A shotgun round rang out in the air as the zombie fell to the ground in front of Barry. Looking up, they were met with the sight of Merlin's in game character. "You idiots really ought to be more careful," he chided, despite the smile stretching underneath his helmet.

Reaching into the bag of chips that the trio of sixteen year old boys had set up, Barry looked up at the clock, squinting from the bright light of the TV. Nearly choking on the mouthful of chips that he had stuffed inside his mouth, he quickly downed it with a gulp of root beer. "Guys, we've literally been playing Halo: Reach for the past three hours. It's two in the morning!" he cried out to which Merlin rolled his eyes sleepily. "You mean you've kept us up and forced us to play with you for the past three hours" Valentin said, casually picking a chip up from the bag and popping it into his mouth.

The trio of sixteen year old boys always had their sleepovers at either Valentin's or Merlin's home, as Barry's home wasn't exactly suitable for having sleepovers due to his parent's strict rules. This night was Merlin's home and they had to be careful not to wake his parents. Standing up and stretching his arms and back, Barry yawned as he felt sleep creeping into the back of his mind. "Guys, want to hear something pretty cool?" he suddenly asked, piquing the interest of a slightly sleepy Merlin and a somewhat attentive Valentin as he was on his phone. "What if, Halo became real? Like a massive alien race invaded Earth and we were forced to fight them with people who had to undergo augmentation in order to stand a chance?" Barry said, his eyes literally shining with excitement. For a while, the only noise was the soft hum of the Xbox as Valentin continued scrolling on his phone and Merlin looked at Barry like he was crazy, which there probably was a good chance that he was after all the pizza and soda that they had gone through.

"You realize that 70% of the participants either die or are disabled for life?" Merlin finally said in a sleepy tone, breaking the silence. "Always the party pooper aren't you, Merlin? Well, for your information, if the three of us went through the augmentation, we would be just fine," Barry scoffed. "What makes you so sure about that?" Valentin asked. "Because we are best friends, forever and always." Barry replied with a grin on his face to which Valentin and Merlin both nodded their agreement.

…

Nearly seven years had passed since that fateful sleepover, and Barry, Merlin, and Valentin had all grown up, studying their respective career interests in college. While Merlin was pursuing the art of science, Barry and Valentin took different paths through humanitarian studies. Technology was at an all time peak, as a seemingly infinite source of power had been discovered and harnessed from a lonely alien planet that scientists happened to stumble upon. This had provided humanity with advances in both military and social technology that no human would have ever dreamed of in the next couple centuries. For the most part, life on Earth was quiet and peaceful, as people were content and satisfied.

Barry opened his eyes as he heard his floating clock ringing its alarm obnoxiously. Sitting up on bed, he acknowledged the alarm and walked over to the bathroom as he began to wash his face. Looking lazily up at the mirror above his sink, Barry placed his hand on the mirror as it scanned his fingerprints. "Good morning, Barry. The weather today looks to be a warm 78 degrees Fahrenheit with a low of 38 degrees Fahrenheit tonight. Your breakfast is waiting downstairs and your parents recently sent you a video message back from home. Would you like for me to play it?" the AI built into the mirror asked Barry. "Nah, play the news for me instead," he replied. After a couple moments of silence, the AI opened up with the news channel playing on the mirror screen.

"Breaking news! Scientists have made first contact with what seems to be an alien race! While out on a far range scouting mission, three scientists have discovered an enormous alien ship! They are currently trying to relay messages to the alien ship. Never before has anything remotely like this been done before. This truly is what seems to be straight from a video game, as extraterrestrial life has never been found! We will keep you updated on their progress and communication!"

Barry's mouth hung open as he tried to process what he was hearing from the television. After spending a couple minutes in complete shock, he dashed from the bathroom, almost tripping onto his desk and he instantly booted up Skype and started calling Merlin and Valentin. Merlin opened up his Skype to instantly jump from the sight of Barry's face super close up to his camera. "DID YOU HEAR THE NEWS?!" Barry's voice boomed through their ears as Valentin and Merlin both winced in annoyance. "Yes, it's literally posted up on every single social media possible" Valentin said with a hint of awe in his voice. "Through my studies of science, never would have I thought we get to encounter life outside of Earth, let alone possibly communicate with it," Merlin replied. "Guys, guys! Don't you realize what's happening?! Remember that one sleepover all those years ago where I said that it would be awesome if Halo was real? This is it!" Barry said excitedly. Pushing his glasses up his nose, Merlin sighed, "Let's hope this doesn't end like Halo and they end up invading and killing us all here on Earth. We all have lives to live and our recent college diplomas shouldn't go to waste just because some alien race decided it would be cool to take over Earth."

Nodding his agreement, Barry then continued on with their conversation until they all signed off. Pushing his chair away from his desk, he fist pumped the air out of excitement of what was happening. For the next couple weeks, there wasn't anything on his mind but the alien race encounter. Then one day, as soon as he walked into his apartment, the TV whirred to life as the latest news projected itself to him. Eager to hear some news on the alien encounter, his excited grin slowly faded away as he watched what was unfolding.

"This is just in! From the messages they managed to exchange, the alien ship has invited one and only one of the scientists on board. However, as soon as Jared entered the ship, his body camera and any form of communication to and from him have been cut off! We are currently trying to reach him through any means need,— Hang on, we are getting transmissions from the scientist's body camera. Although we don't know what is being sent to us, we do advise that children be with a parent or guardian just in case," the news reporter said before the footage switched with her on the screen.

At first the screen was black, before suddenly it was nearly blinded in light. When the light faded, the face that was there nearly made Barry gag. It's jaws opening and closing as it spoke reminded Barry of a wasp's mouth. "People of Earth, if that is what you call yourselves, we are the Seventh Frontier. I am their leader, the Foreseer. From using your specimen that you so conveniently sent our way, we were able to learn your language and of the vast resources that your Earth has to offer. Our numbers vastly outnumber yours, and we have the means to take over the planet, as we intend to do. We do not accept terms of surrender under each and every single one of your vermin are nothing but dust beneath our feet. Prepare for your extinction." The alien then crushed the camera and turned to the scientist who was strapped onto an experimentation table, alien technology still strapped onto him, draining him of his literal knowledge and letting it flow to the rest of their fleet. Yanking him off the table and lifting him up into the air, the Foreseer growled before crushing the scientist's head in his claws. "Their bone density and strength are so weak compared to our superior anatomy, not to mention our weapons. This planet is as good as ours, brothers and sisters!" he cried out as cheers rippled through the ship.

Back on Earth, chaos had already ensued nearly everywhere. There were riots, fights breaking out, and general panic. Leaders from all over the world were already connected in a holographic conference as they began to discuss on what they could possibly do with this situation. However, just a couple seconds later, one of the scientists contacted the leaders. "Sir, we've just received an emergency data transfer requests from one of the scientists we sent up into space! It seems that he was able to hack into some of their data and retrieve some sort of mysterious fluid from their ship. He claims that it is able to advance our autonomy to match those of the aliens so that we may stand a better chance. Should I authorize the transfer and commence testing immediately?" Jared said in a frantic tone. After discussing in desperation for a couple minutes, they gave the green for Jared who then went to work.

Everything was happening too fast. Barry stumbled backwards, the alien's words still ringing inside his head. "What is happening? Are we all going to die?" Barry's echoed numbly throughout his ears. He then became suddenly aware that his phone was ringing like crazy. Pressing the answer button, he was greeted by an onslaught of noise. He could barely make out Merlin's voice through what seemed to be a crowd. "Barry! Did you hear the news!? My friend in the science department just told me that they had received some sort of fluid that apparently can augment living beings! It's currently in the test fields, but thats not what I'm calling about. They are setting up drafting camps in major cities, in which Valentin, me and you happen to live all in the major ones they are focusing on. From the rumors already spreading, the draft is mandatory and primarily for being test subjects for the liquid! We have to-". But Merlin's signal was abruptly cut off and Barry was left listening to the dialing tone. Dropping the phone from his shaking hands, Barry began to feel his heart rate increase as he struggled to regulate his breathing. Ever since he was young, his heart was always known for being weak, especially when presented to panic and fear. He usually had medication for it but it was upstairs. His vision began to swim as he fell to his hands and knees, breathing harshly and rapidly. Before he could even reach the stairs, everything went black.

…

The Seventh Frontier had just began warping their ships to a safe distance away from Earth's atmosphere when they saw portals open above Earth and ships appeared through them, guns blazing. At first, the Frontier was caught off guard as Earth's ships managed to shoot through several of their scouting ships. However, they regained their senses immediately and began to counter attack, as blasts shook the very galaxy. "Sir, it seems that our ships are holding them at bay for the moment!" one of the soldiers manning the computer reported to the Head Commander, Commander Helevtic. "Good, how are we looking on the test subjects for the fluid?" he asked in a gruff voice, his white hair glowing in the harsh light. "We have gathered most of them in their respective cities. Should we begin testing?" the soldier asked to which the Commander nodded. Broadcasting the message to all the testing facilities, the tests began without further ado.

Barry stirred slightly, feeling a current of air wash over him. Opening his eyes and sitting up, he realized that he was now in a small jail-like cell. Standing up and pressing his hands against the bars, he frantically looked all around him as he saw multiple cells lined up through the walls. Just as he was about to call out to his neighbor, he suddenly heard a pair of footsteps echo throughout the whole corridor. Everyone fell silent as the person wearing a large white lab coat stood in the middle of the hall and cleared his throat. "Hello everyone, my lab name is 145104 but you may call me Jared. You may be wondering why you're here. Some of you came here willingly, while certain…precautions had to be taken for the majority of you," he said, gesturing to the prison cells. Continuing on, he began to walk down the corridor. "You are here to prove yourself to all of humanity. Now, I understand why that may seem extremely off the top but let me explain to you the gravity of the situation that we, as a human race, are all stuck in together whether we like it or not. As you may have seen or heard, the Seventh Frontier have recently declared themselves humanity's superior and wishes to conquer this planet as their own and put everything and everyone we know into complete extinction. A couple years ago, we would have stood no chance, with out regular and normal military power. But with the infinite source of power that we have built our world from, we can fight them off and take the battle to them. However, when it comes to physical combat, which I am sure there will be lots of in the near future, we are at the clear disadvantage. But one of our scientists have managed to deliver to us vital information regarding some sort of fluid that, from our studies, we think can somehow augment living beings to the point where we may combat these creatures and defend Earth. Now, who will be our first volunteer?" Jared said in a forced cheerful tone that was met with the overwhelming silence of the prisoners.

"We have rights! You can't do this to us! I demand to see my lawyer!" a young man cried out angrily, banging on the prison bars. Jared looked at him before signaling for his guards to take him away. "You look promising, you will be the first test subject of this center. You should be honored! As for your rights, the very fate of humanity lies on your shoulders. We don't have time for petty nonsense like that right now," Jared said with an unnatural grin. Desperately struggling against the guards as they pulled him out of his cell and down the hall to the testing chambers, the man's screams echoed throughout the entire hall before dying out and silence filling up the room once more. His face emotionless, Jared pushed up his glasses as they reflected in the light. "Who is next?"

…

Barry couldn't tell how much time had passed, as he was sitting in his cell, listening to the repeated screams and cries of pain and anguish that echoed throughout the cold hall. He was shaking uncontrollably with fear, his thoughts on his friends and family and how terrified they must be in the face of possible global genocide. Glancing at his phone, hoping to see any new messages or calls, Barry realized that the walls of his cell cut off the signal from his phone. Throwing his phone against the wall in anger, Barry leaned against the bars as he felt tears well up in his eyes. There were so many more things he wanted to do, or to say to everyone if he had known that his life would end in such a terrible fate like this. Suddenly, Barry heard a pair of footsteps that increased in volume before stopping before his cell. Squeezing his eyes shut, Barry's breath caught in his chest. "Barry, is it? Your turn. Now get up and follow us, if you don't want the consequence of not taking the glorious opportunity that we are setting in front of you," Jared said as his bodyguards grabbed Barry by the shoulders and pushed him towards the lab, despite Barry's best efforts to stop them. The sound of his feet screeching against the floor was heard throughout the entire hall before entering the lab doors that shut themselves with a slam.

The blinding white light made Barry flinch as he felt the bodyguards push him into small tube before slamming the door shut. The tube was completely white, with several surgical looking needles hanging from the ceiling. The tube was encased in glass, offering the view of scientists taking notes and working on computers surrounded him in 360 degrees. "W-what is going on?" Barry asked in a scared tone. "Take off your clothes except your undergarments," the automated voice scared Barry nearly half to death. "If you don't comply, we will simply move onto other test subjects and discard of the useless ones. You have five seconds." Barry paled before hurriedly stripping down his clothes to his boxers, as he fidgeted awkwardly. Suddenly, clamps rose from the floor and locked themselves around his ankles. Before he could react, another set of locks shot out from the ceiling and locked his wrists, holding him in place. The needles maneuvered themselves down to Barry, controlled by a remote controlled panel that one of the scientists was manning. "This is going to hurt a little, youngster," Jared said before pressing a button on the control panel outside of the tube. The needles then slowly pushed themselves into Barry's chest, arms, and legs as the screams that followed were that of something that wasn't human. A computer worker typing on his screen nearby winced suddenly. "I thought you said that these glass tubes were soundproof," to which Jared shrugged before turning back to watch Barry. "Activating augmentation liquid dispersion," Jared said as he pushed a lever up to release the fluid through the needles into Barry's body. Barry had thought he had run out of energy to scream when he felt the liquid seep into his body. Suddenly, he felt like his entire body was being torn from the inside out, then smothered by magma. The pain threatened to snap his mind and soul in half but somewhere through all the pain and agony, he suddenly had a vision of when him, Merlin, and Valentin were hanging out together at their sleepover.

"You realize that 70% of the participants either die or are disabled for life?" Merlin's voice echoed through his head as Barry felt the welcoming coolness of death starting to creep into the back of his head, closing his eyes. But then suddenly, a spike of warmth made him stir slightly. It was his own voice. "Always the party pooper aren't you, Merlin? Well, for your information, if the three of us went through the augmentation, we would be just fine." Valentin raised his eyebrow. "What makes you so sure?" "Because we are best friends, forever and always."

"Forever and always," Those words echoed through Barry's numbness. "They did this to me. They are trying to take me away from the world I once knew. I have to see this through. I need to see my family and friends again. I'm not dying here, and I won't stop until I see them again. It was at that moment that Barry's eyes flew open and he let out a scream of rage with so much force that the glass tube exploded and the needles flew out of his body. Shards of glass sprayed out in a ring formation, poised to impale several of the scientists. But suddenly, everything seemed to freeze in place. Blinking slowly, Barry cautiously stepped out of the shattered tube, still taking in the sight of the scientist's frozen expression of horror and the shards of glass moving in extremely slow motion. Jogging around, Barry managed to snag all the pieces of glass and managed to throw them in a different direction before everything suddenly sped up to normal speed. The scientists flew backward from the pure force of Barry's scream, but none of them were harmed thanks to Barry. Breathing heavily as he collapsed on his hands and knees, Barry could feel the power literally pulsing within him although his muscles didn't show as much growth as he imagined. Jared cautiously approached him, tapping him on the shoulder gently. "How are you feeling?" he asked. "Never better," Barry replied sarcastically as he pushed himself up onto his feet. "Since you are the first test subject to show results like these, we would like to run a couple tests on you. Will you please follow me?" Jared asked before leading Barry to a room nearby full of training equipment. Jared gestured to the equipment as the rest of the workers gathered outside. Barry walked over to the heaviest possible weight set at 200 pounds and lifted it up almost effortlessly. Setting it back down, he walked over to the javelin toss and hurled it as hard as he could. The javelin smashed through the training area wall and continued through several walls before smashing into several pieces of metal. Staring at his hands like he was seeing them for the first time, Barry walked up to a punching bag and summoned about half of his strength, landing a solid punch in the middle of the dummy, sending it right into the wall before exploding in a cloud of dirt and sand.

Adjusting his glasses with shaking fingers, Jared could barely keep his excitement in. "A-Amazing. The results are even better than I could have ever imagined. We must take you to the training grounds to start your training for fighting for the fate of humanity!" "Hang on, I have to see my friends first. I need to make sure that they are okay." Barry said. Jared shook his head, "We need all successful test subjects to relocate to Devil's Bay as soon as possible. Our ships up in space are trying to hold their own to the best of their ability, but soon our front line of defense will be broken through and thats where you come in. You and other soldiers to be will be humanity's last line of defense. However, if you fall or if you fail to serve up, then you won't ever see your friends or family ever again," Jared said quietly. "You still haven't told me, what am I doing here, exactly?" Barry asked carefully. Pressing a button that opened up compartment that contained a padded jumpsuit, Jared began walking towards the exit. "Put this on and meet me on the helipad. You are about to become part of the future itself."