Life is pretty boring when you're confined to a small cell, inside of a Mog base. There's only so much you can do. You could twiddle your thumbs, you could try to mark off the days as they go by, and you could wallow in your misfortune. But my favorite thing to do is to train. My powers don't work on this force field the mogs set up but I know one day I will get out, and on that day I'm going to be ready.
I don't know how long I've been in this prison, but I know it's been a long time. I can't help but think back about how I came to be in this situation. I was 15 when I discovered my first power: the power of flight. I was so excited. I was climbing this tree, don't judge me I've always loved climbing trees, this tree was high, super high and I thought I had the right footing. Next thing you know I'm falling and I thought for sure I would have been done for. I was really high up and I was really scared. Instead of falling though I found myself floating. Albert, my Cepan was excited, especially when Telekinesis soon followed. I'm not sure which one I liked better, flight or telekinesis. Once I started to train more I'll admit I got a little bolder than I should have with my new powers. The Mogs thought they could stalk us and hunt us down, but when I got my powers I turned the tables on them. I would hit small Mog bases and annihilate their scouts. I'd easily take them out. I started to stalk them. I'd get some information and then I'd finish them off. Albert had raised me to use knives and throwing daggers, he knew I was a good fighter but then pair it up with flight and telekinesis and I felt unstoppable. A part of me found joy in it, being able to get revenge for my people. I knew the charm would keep me safe. Albert, my Cepan, didn't like it though. He kept saying what if I accidently ran into another Garde and didn't realize it. I'd be toast, but it was a risk I was willing to take—until it was too late.
That one day changed it all. I'd done this a tone of times, I'd just take walks around town and usually I'd be able to spot at least one mog. Very pale skin, wore goggle like sunglasses and I could usually see some sort of makings on their neck. I would then follow them to whatever base they had set up. I'd always be careful, I'd be sure to watch them from a spot high enough they couldn't spot me. I'd make note of who went inside, how many mogs were there, when the most were there, when the least amount were there, everything. The mogs weren't paranoid. They weren't being hunted, they had the numbers, and they had no reason to watch their own backs. Maybe if they had put some thought into, what if a Garde actually started to fight back, maybe just maybe I wouldn't have killed so many. Albert was awesome he had learned many different ways to fight since we landed on Earth. Once I turned ten my training started. We knew my legacies wouldn't kick in yet but we still wanted to be ready for other things that might help. Besides it's not like I was a regular child. I was a super strong alien with knowledge and smarts that far outmatched most adults let alone children.
Developing legacies also had another benefit, finally being able to look inside the "forbidden chest" My favorite of all was this spring activated blade that would shoot out with a flick of my wrist. What could I say I really, really liked blades. There was something about them. There were a whole lot of other stuff in there but I didn't pay much attention to them. The only other useful item and I swear I'm not a nerd, but it was a friggen invisibility device. It was shaped like a hat; Albert said it's because that's what Hades who was an ancient Lorian used. It was powered by an invisibility gem and could only be activated by a Lorian, who concentrated hard enough. I usually wore both when I was scouting, they were really cool gifts and paired with flight and telekinesis, well a lot of mogs were killed. For some reason I didn't have my hat this one base, which is stupid when I think how much trouble it was. I had found this one base where they had these monsters with them. It was the first time I've faced them. Albert called them Pikens when I was describing them. During the day they let them out for training of some sort only leaving 1 to guard the house, plus a handful of scouts and a piken handler. I remember how hard it was to defeat these things, picking one up with telekinesis and flying at the same time was tough. When I was at a good height I'd just let it drop. I can't imagine what it must have thought as it was falling down. When it landed not only did it die but it crashed into the house the Mogs were using, destroying everyone inside—or so I thought. Other times I had flown back to Albert's and my base. I'm not sure why I didn't that day. It was a successful mission. More pikens and mogs would come home to find their base destroyed. I had faced my first piken and survived and even better my telekinesis was getting stronger. Maybe I was tired, or maybe I just wanted to walk in the sun and relish my latest victory. Doesn't matter now, one scout survived, injured but alive. The morning after my victory Albert and I woke to Mogs bursting into our house. I always kept some knives under my pillow and likewise my wrist blade and invisibility cap were in my room. Already being surrounded I only managed to pick up the pair of throwing knives and daggers under my pillow. Albert and I put up a good fight but we were badly outnumbered. There was ash everywhere; although Albert and I were awakened suddenly it wasn't long for us to catch up to speed. Albert was a great Cepan; he taught me a lot about fighting. It wasn't enough this time though. We tried to stay together but that's hard when there were so many Mogs coming at us. I was upstairs at the time it happened. Looking down I could see him. He was fighting this huge Mob while a smaller one was sneaking up behind him. I know I shouldn't and stay focused on my fight but I couldn't help it Albert has practically raised me. I threw my last knife and the blade sunk into the smaller mogs head. Unfortunately it was enough to do the job. Albert took his eyes off his main opponent and in that second I lost my anchor. I screamed with such force I'm surprized I didn't lose my voice. For a few minutes I was an unstoppable force. Ever Mog in the place rushed to me now that Albert was dead but I didn't let that stop me. I would have my vengeance. Then my fingers started to feel droopy sort of like they were made of rubber. I didn't understand it. Was this a side effect of seeing Albert die? That was my last thought before I was overwhelmed and knocked out.
The amount of tests and torcher they tried on me was amazing. Because of the charm I didn't feel a thing. In fact a few times I ending up laughing at the different techniques used on me, or the shock on the different mogs faces when nothing happened to me. You say I shouldn't feel that way and maybe I shouldn't, but to me the only good mog is a dead mog. Then one day when I woke up the general was standing there. I'm not sure if he really was a general but he looked important. I'd seen him around and it was usually bossing other mogs around. Beside him was a Mog scientist, who would always come and take my blood or run tests before the real torcher came. The third person oddly enough, was a boy about my age. What shocked me was seeing my wrist spring activated knife on his arm, what was going on. Then when I looked down I saw the scars on his ankle and I felt my anger rise. The general laughed at me
"Number Five", he began. "I'd like to introduce you to OUR number five. We call him Cody. You see we may not be able to harm you. This charm that you weak Lorian had cast on you does not seem to be able to be broken. That said it seems as long as we aren't trying to harm you we can do anything. For instance, we can't inject you with poison that would kill you. However we can take your blood. And from your blood we have used it on Cody here. He is your clone. We made him a male so he could be stronger and have also given him Mogadorian process to help him be stronger. Do you want to know the best part, he has your powers. Oh yes. Soon they will be trained and perfected by us. We will implant memories to make him think he is the real number five and then train him. Once trained we will send him to your people to infiltrate them, to gather them together and then kill them. You should have heard his screams, as soon as he was finished growing and we implanted language into his mind he screamed with such pain as 2 familiar scars appeared on his ankle. After that we knew he would have your power too. Including your newest power. Did you know you had exterma, one of the rarest you filthy Lorain's have. Let's your skin take on the texture of whatever you are touching. Very effective and Cody will use it to destroy the rest of the Garde. We have finished with you. You will sit in this cell till the end. Once we have whipped your puny race and conquered this planet we will come back and you will know it is all your fault. Then you will finally be able to die. Until then you will just sit here and every time a new symbol is burned into your ankle you will wonder if it was Cody here who ended the Garde's life." I screamed at him but it was to no avail. All three of them walked out laughing as I was left alone. I couldn't believe they had cloned me. I knew if any Garde fell by his hand it would be my fault. They called him Cody, I'd remember that.
Most days I spent running on the spot, doing push ups, training my telekinesis and externa, flying from one side of my cell to the other. Then it happened. I felt a third scar burn its way onto my ankle. It's hard to believe that 3 of us are already dead. Something told me that Cody had nothing to do with this Garde's death and I was very glad, but the next one I knew. The fourth scar on my leg as soon as the pain from it had gone away I knew. A feeling deep in my stomach. A member of the Garde was dead because of my clone. I cried myself to sleep that night.
A tremble in the ground startles me out of my thoughts and I look up just as the force field fizzles and dies. A feral smile comes across my face. Today is the day I have been waiting for! I immediately fly out of my cell. Any Mogs I come across turn to dust. My externa is perfected to the point I can turn different parts of my body into different types of material. One hand lorite like my necklace my second arm rock. The Mogs don't stand a chance. Finally I'm out of the Mog base and discover that I've been imprisoned in some sort of mountain. As I make my way to civilization I think of what I need to do. It's time to find the Garde and bring them together, I have to find Cody. I stop by a stream for a drink of water and I can taste the minerals in it, taste the mud, and yet it's the best tasting water I have ever had. My stomach rumbles and I know I need to eat something as well. I don't think I could fly before I eat something so I start walking and it takes 5 hours before I finally find a village that has a diner. I order a burger and also some steak. Not sure if my stomach will like me after but I need to get used to food again. Deciding to clean up first I pass by a mirror and stop in shock. I knew I was a prisoner for a long time but not how long. My hair is really long, my face covered in dirt. My brown hair is not only long but has knots all through it. Suffice to say I look rough. But that's not what stops me; it's the person staring in front of me. I was 15 when I was captured. As the older of the Garde I still remember Lorian a bit. I was 9 when we arrived on earth, but now…. Now I look to be around 19 or early 20's at least. It's scary just how much time passed. As I eat I make a list of what I know I have to do: I have to find the Garde, and I have to warn them about Cody. I have to kill Cody and make sure he can't hard any more Garde.
There were nine of us when we arrived on earth,
Three of us died before the war began,
One of us was cloned to try to destroy us,
I am number Five, and I will have my Vengeance.