Chapter 2: Meeting the Hyperforce

"Hello?" asked a proper-sounding voice as Chiro's hearing began coming back. "Are you all right?"

"Holy Shuggazoom, he's dead!" cried another one, understandably panicked. Chiro groaned, slowly beginning to open his eyes. "Oh! Never mind."

Chiro's eyes went wide with shock at what he saw: five different-colored robot monkeys standing in front of him. Am I dreaming or going insane or what? All the boy could do was stare.

"I think he's broken," remarked the green monkey, the one who had thought Chiro was dead. The teenager wondered if he should run away as the green monkey came closer, but something inside of him stopped him. He silently cursed his curiosity.

"Otto, what are you doing?" asked the yellow one with a hint of annoyance on her face and in her voice.

"Fixing him," replied the green one.

The red one crossed his arms and rolled his eyes. "Yeah, sure, go ahead. That sounds real safe."

"Otto" ignored him, crouching to be at eye level with Chiro. "Helloooooo? Anybody home?" Chiro instinctively ducked away as Otto tried to knock on his head. The monkey turned back towards his friends with a shrug and a smile. "Well, I got him to move about an inch. So I guess he isn't broken after all."

"Otto, hold on," said the black monkey, coming forward. Otto obediently returned to the others, and the black one laid his hand on Chiro's shoulder with a gentle smile. "Don't be afraid. We mean you no harm."

Most of Chiro's tension faded, and he finally managed to overcome his dumbfoundment. "Who are you guys?"

The black monkey took a huge jump back, now slightly in front of the others. His metal arms turned into light blue claws. "Antauri!"

The red one turned his hands into magnets. "Sprx!"

"Gibson!" The proper-sounding blue one's hands transformed into drills.

The yellow one's fists grew to an enormous size. "Nova!"

"Otto!" The final monkey, the green one, changed his hands into light green buzz saws.

"Together, we make up the Hyperforce," Antauri explained. "We travel the galaxy, fighting evil, and now you are our new leader."

Chiro shook his head in disbelief. "Whoa, whoa, what? Say that last part again?"

Antauri smiled. "You have the Power Primate. Thus, you are our leader."

"The Power Primate?" asked Chiro. "I don't know what that is, but I don't think it could turn me into any kind of leader, especially not a superhero."

"The Power Primate is a mysterious force that bestows great power, as its name suggests. It will give you tremendous strength, and this strength will become even more impressive when it is needed most."

"But power doesn't make a good leader!" Chiro protested.

"True, but it is the mark of the monkey team. If anybody is suited for such a task, it would be you."

"Chiro!" called a voice from outside. "Chiro, where have you gone off to!?"

Chiro chuckled nervously. "I gotta go. Can I just... think about it and get back to you later?"

"Of course," replied Antauri understandingly. Chiro ran away to meet Mr. Colburn.

"You've gotta be kidding me, Antauri!" Chiro heard Sprx complain as the teen was running. "He may have the Power Primate, but I am not taking orders from a kid!"

"Be patient, Sprx," chided Antauri calmly. "If he stays with us, he will mature. He only needs time and the chance."

"Chiro, what were you doing in that robot?" snapped Mr. Colburn as Chiro exited. "You could've been killed!"

"I know. I was just... drawn to it." They began walking home, and Mr. Colburn's stern expression didn't change.

"And what happened to your outfit? I mean, that's the least of my worries, but..."

"My outfit? What about it?" Chiro hadn't noticed, but his outfit had changed since being knocked out. His shirt was white, and he had an orange scarf and gloves that had conjured out of nowhere. "Oh, I see it. I don't really know what happened to my outfit. I just passed out, and–"

"You passed out?" asked Mr. Colburn, concern filling his voice. "What happened? Did you get hit?"

"Well, I pulled this lever, and there was this inexplicable pain running through me. Antauri said I had the Power Primate, whatever that is, so that could be why."

"Antauri? Who's Antauri?"

"One of the monkeys in there. The robot monkeys could talk for some reason, and they asked me to..." Chiro's voice grew soft before he stopped completely, hanging his head.

"To what?" Mr. Colburn pressed.

"They asked me to be their leader," Chiro explained as Mr. Colburn opened the door to their house for them to go inside. "If I accept, I'll be a superhero, like the Sun Riders."

"The Sun Riders aren't real," Mr. Colburn reminded him.

"I know. And I'm also not sure if I could be a leader. I mean, I'm not brave, I'm not strong, and I'm not smart." Chiro's new clothing faded like a hologram, leaving his regular clothes. "I... I need to think about this."

Mr. Colburn narrowed his eyes as Chiro went back to his room.

Well, this was fun to write once I got back to it! It turned out a page longer than the last chapter, so that's good. Other than that, I don't really have much to say besides please leave a review.