The next morning showed signs that this was going to be a beautiful Saturday. Eve woke at nine o'clock, which was early for the Brea siblings on a Saturday. She wanted to sneak into Adam's room and scare him awake as part of the birthday fun, but just as she rounded the corner to head towards his room she ran right into Adam.
"Ow." Adam said as he rubbed his nose.
"What are you doing up so early, Adam?"
"I could barely sleep. I'm so excited for today. So I was going to go wake you up. What are you doing up?"
"Oh, just a little birthday 'surprise'." Eve said with a mischievous grin.
"Riiiight. Any who, we don't have to meet up with everybody until six o'clock. So, what do we do until then?"
"Well, how about opening a few birthday presents?" Eve said, looking slightly off to the side with a goofy look on her face.
"Wait, you got me presents, Aya? I thought the tickets to the concert tonight were my present."
"That's something you want to go to and are going to go to, but it's not your present. I mean, do you take a kid to Chuckie Cheese's on their birthday and call that their present? No, you give them presents when you get there. Eating all that pizza and playing the games is just the kicker. The icing on the cake. And that's what this concert is. You still have presents to open. I got them out last night after you went to bed. They're waiting for you on the living room table."
"Awesome! You kick ass, Aya!" Adam yelled and then ran off to the living room.
"He-he. You've got to love his energy." Eve said to herself and followed Adam.
Adam charged into the room and found a great deal of the long coffee table in the center of the living room covered with small rectangular presents.
"What are they?" Adam asked.
"Well, what would be the point of wrapping them up like this if I just told you what they are? Just open one."
"Well, okay. Let's see. Which one? Hmm, I guess I'll go with this blue one." Adam said, holding up the aforementioned object.
"It matches your eyes." Eve joked.
"How about now?" Adam asked, transforming his eyes into a red color and shifting his pupils into a cat like slit look.
"Stop that. It's creepy looking." Eve said, feigning disgust.
"Okay, okay. Alright, let's see what this is." Adam said, turning his eyes back to normal.
Adam ripped the center area of the wrapping paper clean off in one fell swoop. His pupils grew large when he saw what the object underneath was.
"Is this?" Adam shouted as he tore the rest of the paper off.
"Yes. The complete Blu-ray collection of Kaizoku Sentai Gokaiger. That's one of your favorites, right?"
"Hell yeah. It's been number one on my list ever since I discovered super sentai and kamen rider on the internet two year ago. But, I never thought I'd have anyway to watch the episodes except for online. I love it! Thanks Aya! But, wait, how are we going to play it? This is region two and no player here in the states is outside of the region one ring."
"Not to worry. I got us a region free DVD and Blu-ray combo player. That sucker will play anything from anywhere."
"Damn you are awesome, Aya. Always planning ahead."
"Well, its part of my job and it just translates really well into home life."
"So, I could watch this right now, right?"
"Yes, you could. I've already got the player hooked up. But, don't you want to see what the others are?"
"Oh, right. The fan boy in me nearly made me forget about those. Alright, which one next?"
Adam opened more and more gifts to find them all to be Blu-ray collections of Adam's favorite super sentai and kamen rider series. There were even a few movies. Some were of the heroes adventuring by themselves and others were team ups. Adam bounced up and down on the couch with excitement like a kid with way too much sugar in them.
"You are so freaking awesome, Aya!" Adam shouted as he gleefully shook the last of the presents in his hands.
"Yes, I know. I know I rock and all that. Now, shall we watch a few of these? I'd like to know what the big deal about all this is."
"Alright. Hmm, how about shinkenger first? It's the samurai sentai. Kind of fitting, considering we're part Japanese and we're learning to speak Japanese, right?"
"Alright. I don't think these have subtitles, so let's see how much we can understand of what the characters are saying."
"Yosh, ikouse." Adam said in Japanese.
"Hai, Otouto." Eve said with a smirk.
Hours later, Adam and Eve arrived at the concert hall.
"Carnegie. Always wanted to check this place out. The look of it always made me think it was haunted. I'd love to see if it is." Adam said.
"After what Eve did here, it very well could be haunted. Those people burned to death in mere moments. Not all of them could possibly have had time to even register the pain before they were gone. If that doesn't create some ghosts, I don't know what would." Eve thought, staring off into the distant interior of the building through the open doors.
"You okay, sis?" Adam asked, noticing Eve's persistent stare.
"Oh, yes. Just remembering something that happened here long ago."
"What happened?"
"Oh, it was just a date I went on. I went to see the last opera performance of the late Melissa Pearce. She sung a beautiful song. Hauntingly beautiful, really. My date was just a tool who probably just wanted to get in my bed, so when he told me we could go anywhere, I picked something expensive and that I thought would bore him to tears. You know, to get him off my tail."
"I see. How'd Melissa die?"
"Oh, well, official reports say a fire did her in. Really, she was shot."
"Yeah, shot. A lot. By Aya. Cause she was trying to kill everything." Eve thought.
"Really? Who shot her?"
"Oh, just a rabid fan. One of those 'if I can't have her, no one can' type deals. There wasn't much evidence found, so the police trumped up the fire to explain away her death. So they wouldn't look bad, you see?"
"So how do you know what really happened?"
"I felt something was up with the case. So I kept looking into it. I managed to uncover the truth about how Melissa died. But, I couldn't track down the killer or the murder weapon. So, I couldn't really argue my stance. So I just kept quiet about it."
"I see. It sucks sometimes to know the truth but not be able to do anything about it, huh?"
"You wouldn't believe it."
"I guess I wouldn't. So, where is everybody, Aya?"
"Hmm, good question. We're not really early. Maybe a couple of minutes ahead of schedule, but…"
"Hey, Adam!" The Brea siblings heard from behind them.
The two turned to face where the voice came from. They saw a young man of Asian descent, with short and spiky black hair, standing with a girl of clear Native American heritage, with a braided ponytail flowing down to the small of her back. The two smiled at Adam and walked up to the Brea family.
"Peter, Renee, so glad you could make it." Eve said.
"Thanks for inviting us, Ms. Brea." Renee said.
"You're quite welcome, Ms. Deloria. You too, Mr. Zhang." Eve said with a slight smirk.
"Sometimes, I just love having a beautiful woman say my surname. Although, I wish it was my first…."
"If you want to keep your head, Pete, I suggest you stop where you are and don't refer to my sister anymore today." Adam said in a dark tone.
"Lighten up man. I was just kidding. Man, typical Adam Brea. Always so serious."
"Hey, when she's all the family I've got, hell yes I'm serious when it comes to her."
"Well, I can understand that. I mean, my mom's all I got. So, I can understand being protective. Heh, you should've seen the look I gave the last lowlife who asked her for a date."
"If looks could kill?"
"He would've been dead ten times over."
"And I'm overly serious?"
"Whatever man. So where's the gang? All your sister's friends?"
"They should be here shortly." Eve said.
"Hey, Aya!" a female voice called.
The four turned to see a Caucasian woman with red hair and wearing a burgundy colored jacket and black slacks walking towards them.
"Gabrielle. Nice to see you again." Eve said.
"It's good to see you too. You look good. Thanks for inviting me. I've been wanting to check out this band. Oh, but, before I forget. Here, Adam. Happy Birthday." Gabrielle said, pulling a small package from her pocket.
"Thanks, Gabby. Oh, hey, Aya. Remind me again. How did you meet Gabby again?"
"Oh, I was on a mission for the FBI in LA and I ended up working with the SWAT team there. Gabrielle was their best sniper. She and I became fast friends over the course of that little adventure and we've been bosom buddies ever since. Right, Gabrielle?"
"That's right. Now go on, Adam. Open it."
Adam opened the gift to reveal a small pig figurine.
"Um, it's a pig. Uh, guess that's to be expected from you. Um, thanks."
Gabrielle leaned in and spoke directly to Adam's left ear.
"It's target practice. I've got a bunch more in my car. My husband's surplus. I'm gonna make sure that you will no longer be the only Brea who can't wield a gun."
"Is it legal for you to teach me?" Adam whispered.
"Don't worry. I know a place we can go and no one will bother us. I'm gonna get you trained if it kills me. I mean, it's only right. Your older sister is a kick butt shot. I think you should be too. But, I mainly just want to be sure you can defend yourself. I love you like a little cousin after all."
"Heh, thanks, Gabby. I love you too."
"So, Gabrielle, where's everyone else?" Eve asked.
"Oh, I ran into them just a minute ago. I think Emily is helping Cray put his gift together. You know him. Great a pretty much anything he sets his mind to, but sucks at wrapping presents. And waits till the last minute too."
"Heh, yeah, that sounds about right."
"Aya, A-adam." Came a stuttering voice.
"Kunihiko!" Eve said as she looked to the source of the voice.
"Sorry for being l-late. H-here, Adam. Happy birthday." Kunihiko said as he pulled a small bundle from his coat pocket.
"Arigato, Maeda-san." Adam said.
Adam opened the package to reveal a stone statue of a blue dragon.
"I had it blessed by both Shinto and catholic priests. Prayers for protection from life's d-dangers. I hope you like it."
"I love it. It'll look great in my room. I hope it keeps me safe. Thanks a lot."
Just then, Emily and Cray arrived. Adam remembered that Emily was an old school of Aya's younger, his slightly older, sister Eve. Eve, as far as Adam knew, was killed in a mugging the day of what was supposed to be Kyle and Aya's wedding. They had cancelled in order to track the killer down. This is why Kyle was rarely around, Adam assumed. He was still tracking down clues to Eve's murder. He only showed every so often, to drop off a gift or some such thing for either Aya or Adam.
"Hey, Adam. Here you go, Buddy. It's a collection of gift cards to your favorite stores. Sorry if it's a bit sloppy. I haven't had time to do much. Lots of projects." Cray said.
"No problem. I'm just glad you could be here. I love it when we can get Aya's old friends together. You guys took on a home grown terrorist cell together, right? That's how you met?"
"Exactly. And let me tell you, I've never seen a better lady behind a pistol than your sister. Gabby here might be the best with a rifle, but Aya can make a handgun dance."
"Oh, stop it, Cray." Eve said, blushing.
After a few more jokes, Emily gave Adam a necklace with a red gem in it. She said that Eve had talked a good bit about wanting a necklace similar to that and when she found a jeweler that made a men's necklace like what Eve had talked about it inspired her to get it for Adam's birthday. Finally, Kyle showed up. He didn't say much besides hello and presented Adam with a tablet computer.
"Oh, come on! Why do you always get expensive gifts? I'm starting to feel bad because I didn't have the money to get you anything." Peter said.
"Me too." Renee said, frowning heavily.
"Sorry, guys. My family's friends are just that awesome."
"Oh well. It's just about time to go in. I still can't believe they're letting a rock band play at Carnegie. Someone must've pulled some serious strings. Well, at any rate, let's get us some seats." Cray said.
"Right. I've got everyone's ticket. Ready to go, everyone?" Eve asked.
Everyone nodded and they headed inside. Not much longer after that, the show was underway. Ancient Spectrum opened with one of their lower level hits, known as Submit. It was a heavy rock ballad, with major focus on the drums and guitar riffs. Sure enough, once this song was heavily underway, many of the younger fans started to fill the area around the stage. Soon, they formed any teenager would recognize.
"Ha ha ha! Mosh pit at Carnegie! Only at an Ancient Spectrum concert! Oh man this kicks ass!" Adam roared.
"Well, what are we waiting for? Let's go!" Renee shouted.
Adam and Peter nodded and the three ran down to the stage. Eve smiled on, but got a strange feeling. And the more she looked at Missy, the stronger the feeling got. She noticed Missy brushing sweat off her brow quite a bit. Eve thought it was strange that she was sweating so much when the band had barely gotten started. She looked up to the spot lights and nudged Kyle.
"Hey, Kyle. How hot do you think those spot lights are?"
"Well, since they just turned them on, I'd say maybe around a hundred degrees. They'll get a lot hotter as the show goes on though. Why?"
"Look at the lead singer. She's sweating like a dog and they just got started. And the more I look at her suffer, the more something in my core just feels like something's not right."
"Do you think it could be…"
Kyle trailed off for Missy had dropped the microphone. She then dropped to one knee.
"Missy!" Tom cried, abandoning his drums.
Samantha merely stepped off to the side, smiling an eerie grin.
"Missy. Are you okay? Is it your overheating problem again?"
"Ah! It's so bad, Tommy! I can't stand it. I feel like I'm gonna melt. I can't stand it! I'm so hot!"
"Hold on, I'll get your medicine!"
Just as Tom moved away from Missy, Missy rose back to her feet.
"That's not necessary." Missy said in a dark tone.
"What? Really? Man, you've never recovered like that on your own. Way to go, girl. So, are ready to keep going, Missy?" Tom asked, patting Missy on the shoulder.
Missy slowly turned her head to look at Tom. Her normally deep brown eyes had turned to a sickly green.
"Um, are you really alright, Missy?"
Missy tilted her head to the side slightly.
"I'm sorry. Missy's not in right now. Can I take a message?"
"W-what? Seriously, Missy. Now's the wrong time to screw around."
"On that much you are right. It's time to get to work. And let's start with getting my name right. I'm not Missy. My name is Eve. Mitochondrial Eve."
Suddenly, Tom felt like a bolt of lightning had ripped through him. His body suddenly roared into a full blaze. Tom began screaming in terror and pain.
"And I am the future. And now, all of you who are beings of the past, shall die."
Eve then grabbed Tom by the arm and threw his burning body into the spot lights overhead with superhuman strength. The impact broke several of the heavy spot lights off their supports and the wreckage came raining down on the crowd. Several unfortunate fans we crushed beneath the debris and the shattering bulbs caught the nearby floor on fire.
"Oh, God! Not again!" Eve Brea shouted.
Mitochondrial Eve then turned to the crowd. She threw out her hands towards the crowd and sent out a wave of power. Acting on an instinct that sprang from their mitochondria, both Brea siblings turned on their heels and dove into their friends. Pinning the aforementioned friends to the floor beneath them, Eve willing and Adam subconsciously tapped their mitochondrial powers to produce a pulse of energy strong enough to deflect Mitochondrial Eve's power away from them and their friends.
The people not lucky enough to be protected by a Brea sibling soon found themselves experiencing the same fate as Tom had moments earlier. As the screams of terror and anguish filled the room, Adam turned his head around to look at Mitochondrial Eve. He tensed when he saw Eve look down at him and then up to his sister. A sinister smile crossed her lips. She could sense what the Brea's were.
"I see. So there are still other evolved people. Well, then, I invite you to join me. Or try to stop me. Either way, I shall await our meeting. I look forward to seeing you again. Both of you."