The New Kids

by Dinolion92

AU. Kyle/OC and Bebe/OC! Collab with several writers! Arriving in a "quiet" mountain town, three teens have to deal with more then just high school drama. Weird occurrences and strange events soon follow, and the teens and their new friends are caught in the middle. It will take all they have to survive this, and potentially, find something more... Don't like, don't read!

4. Chapter 3, Date Night

Jack walked through the shop, looking for a suitable gift for his boyfriend.

He wanted to get Kyle something nice, but also something meaningful. Just what, he had no idea. His search was stopped, when he heard someone call his name.

"Hey, Jack!" The familiar voice of Drew called out. Jack turned with a slight grin to face him. Jack could notice obvious physical changes on Drew's face based on last night's events. He had a blackened left eye, multiple cuts on his face, as well as a couple of bruises. Though those injuries aside, Drew still kept a slight grin on his face. He appeared to be wearing a brown jacket as well, probably for the cold weather outside.

"Hey man." Jack greeted with a smile, though his smile faded a bit when he realized that Drew had found him in a store that normally sold gifts for couples. He still hadn't told Drew about his relationship with Kyle, but would probably have to now. Drew was not stupid. He'd probably figure it out sooner or later.

"Whatcha doing at this place anyways? This place is for girls! I-" Drew paused for a bit as he put the pieces together. He smirked and added somewhat teasingly, "You're shopping for that girl you like, aren't you? Ya should've said something, man! I would've helped you out!"

Drew paused and a couple seconds later, finished,

"I'm actually in the same situation, myself."

Jack cocked a brow. "You and Bebe finally together?" He asked with a slight grin. "About damn time."

"Was it that obvious?" Drew asked with a cocked brow of his own. "I literally couldn't tell she was even into me until last night."

Jack nodded. "Yeah, same situation with me and..." He trailed off.

"You can tell me who she is, you know.." Drew said with a slight smirk. "I ain't gonna say nothing."

Jack shrugged. "I'm not so sure about that..."

Drew cocked a brow and questioned,

"When have I ever told any secrets? Never, that's when!"

Jack hesitated. "Come on, I'll explain outside. Promise me you won't be weirded out about it?"

"Why would I be weirded out? What, is she.. into some weird shit or somethin-" Drew cut himself off, and got more serious. He sighed and put his right hand on his chest.

"I promise I will not be weirded out.."

Jack hesitated, before saying. "It's Kyle."

Drew immediately gasped. His eyes widened immediately, and he just stood there, too stunned to speak for a little bit.

Jack looked at Drew, before speaking. "We went to Disneyland this weekend, and we...went on a date before the fight."

Drew looked down lower for a moment, his eyes still widened in shock of this news.

"I- I'm sorry, it's just… so unexpected." Drew explained.

Jack nodded. "It's...fine."

He then looked at Drew. "This doesn't change our friendship, right?"

Drew looked up at Jack and seriously stated,

"No, it doesn't.. Why should it? I mean.. hell, I'll be honest, I've had different views about gays in the past, but that's behind me now.. It doesn't affect me or my life directly, so what does it matter? That's your lives.. You live it the best you can, and do what you love. Love who you want."

Jack nodded. "That means a lot..."

He then added. "But enough about me. So when are you and Bebe meeting up? Or have you done so already?

Drew looked at Jack and simply stated,

"6:00 tonight.. I still have a few hours, so I thought I might look around here to see if I can buy her something. I might, I might not.. Either way, I'll make sure this first date is memorable!" He ended with a grin.

"I cashed in my check and put it in the bank, so that's finalized. Pretty decent payout, I must say." Drew chuckled.

Jack nodded with a slight grin. "There is...something else I thought I'd talk about. However, I don't quite know how to explain it."

"Well, you could try to explain it, I suppose." Drew said.

Jack chuckled. "Oh trust me, you wouldn't believe me if I did."

He stopped. "Come to think of it, I guess it can wait."

Drew shrugged and said,

"Well, whatever you think is best, man. I probably need to focus on this date, anyways. God, I'm so nervous!"

Jack shrugged. "Trust me, that's completely normal. Hell, you saw how nervous I was before I finally told Kyle."

"You're right on that.." Drew simply replied. He gave a slight sigh once more and added, "Maybe I'm freaking out for nothing.. Surely it'll be fine, but still-"

Drew cut himself off. It was obvious to Jack how uncertain and nervous he was. Drew had never been romantically involved with anyone before, and it showed.

Jack was about to reply, before they heard Alex's voice chime in a little ways away. He was humming a tune of something he was listening to through the red Sony headphones he was sporting as he browsed the items, and when his eyes fell upon Drew and Jack, he smiled and said,

"Oh, hey guys! Fancy meeting you in a place like this."

"You got that right.." Drew muttered. "Why does it seem like we're all often in the same place? Coincidence? What're you doing at this store anyways, Alex? You have a girlfriend too?" Drew questioned, and viewing the situation in a humorous and sarcastic light.

"Actually, I'm looking for a necklace that my mother was interested in when I came in here with her, and I thought that I would buy it for her," Alex replied. "I just can't remember where it was. You seen a multicoloured necklace?" he asked.

"Umm.." Drew began, turning around slightly to look from a distance at where they usually kept their necklaces and other jewelry. "I think I saw one like that when I walked past there earlier.. You'd better hurry, though. I think I saw a couple older women browsing that section."

"Okay, cheers," Alex responded before making his way to the section. He did see the elderly women, but they had since moved on, and in front of where he was standing was the necklace.

Hanging from it were six gems, each of them were purple, blue, red, orange, green and yellow. Attached to it was a price tag. It read a lazily written $8. He gently picked it up and delivered it to the cashier. He gave her $10, and she gave him $2 in return and wrapped the necklace in tissue paper and carefully put it in a bag.

As they headed out, Jack spoke. "Um, guys mind if I show you guys something? I found this weird thing last night, and...I need to confirm I'm not high."

"I've never taken recreational drugs, so I wouldn't know either way," Alex said.

"I'm willing to bet whatever it is, you probably were.." Drew joked. He retained a serious expression and added, "No, but what is it?"

Jack sighed, and motioned for them to follow him.

As Jack opened the door to his house, he suddenly remembered, he hadn't told them about Rexy…

Drew and Alex noticed Jack's sudden hesitation fairly quickly.

"Why so nervous all of a sudden?" Drew questioned with a cocked brow.

His question was answered when they saw the baby T-rex sleeping on a couch not to far away. Her chest was rising just enough to tell that she wasn't a really good plush, but alive.

"That's a messed up looking dog," Alex joked.

Drew, on the other hand, widened his eyes in shock.

"What the f-" He cut himself off and turned towards Jack, roughly whispering to him, "Where the hell did that come from!? That's not real.. is it? What- How the-"

Drew could hardly get out a full sentence. He was still trying to process just how such a thing could exist in today's world.

Jack sighed. "She is very real. To be specific, she's a Tyrannosaurus rex. And she's alive."

"Unless you've pulled some John Hammond shit, that is not scientifically possible," Alex commented.

Jack took a deep breath, and headed into the house. After a little while, he returned with a remote. "Anything from any movies or books or whatever you guys really like?" He asked.

"What?" Drew questioned. "You gotta be joking! That thing surely can't-" He was cut off when Alex spoke up.

"Captain America's shield," he requested.

Jack shrugged, and after a few clicks, that very shield suddenly materialized at Alex's feet.

Alex gasped. He leaned down to pick it up and found that it weighed as much as he had expected. A third the weight of steel. As he lifted it up, he heard the sound it made when it absorbed kinetic energy.

"I feel like I'm cheating just by having this! Like, should I show this to other people and pass it off as a prop replica?" Alex asked.

Drew put both hands on the side of his head and widened his eyes, utterly speechless by what he just saw.

"Unbelievable.." He muttered. "Does- Does it-" He cut himself off and requested to Jack, "Can you make a sledgehammer?"

Jack nodded, and a hammer appeared at Drew's feet. Jack put the replicator away, before he headed into the other room for a moment, before returning with the lightsaber hilts.

Drew simply shook his head, still in awe at all of this. However, he ignored it for now and decided to test if this was all really true..

"Alex, let's go to the backyard so I can hit that shield with this hammer. I have to see if that shield is really legit.."

Drew still clearly appeared skeptic, so he wanted to make sure this was in fact reality.

Jack cocked a brow, before he grinned. "That gives me an idea."

As they headed outside, Jack said to Drew, "Just so you know, Kyle and I were just as shocked when we came across this."

"Who wouldn't.." Drew replied, still shaking his head in awe. He was having a hard time fully grasping the situation, at how such a device even operated or existed.

"Set that shield on the ground." Drew motioned to the wide open area of grass with his sledgehammer.

Alex lay the shield down in said area and stepped a few metres back, hoping to avoid any potential shards of steel if it was proven to be a fake.

Drew held the sledgehammer over his shoulder and eyed the shield, readying his target. After taking a deep breath, Drew swung the sledgehammer as hard as he could onto the shield.

What happened next was.. unexpected..

The shield not only absorbed the blow, but also reflected the impact of the blow back onto what had struck it in the first place!

Drew flew back many feet, dropping the sledgehammer where he once stood. He fell into a nearby bush, wincing at how painful that was. Had he been just a bit more accurate in his swing, he might've broken both of his wrists!

"Well, if it's proof you wanted," Alex chuckled as he offered a hand to help Drew up.

Drew breathed heavy out of his mouth for a couple seconds, before accepting the help back up to his feet.

"That's.. unbelievable.." Drew said. He kept using that word, but honestly, what other word was there to describe such a thing?

Drew looked down to the ground once he was back to his feet, to see that the head of the hammer had fallen off the handle completely!

Or in other words, it was a strong ass shield!

Jack walked forward, and got an idea. "Alex?"

"Yeah?" he replied, still retaining a smile of amazement and excitement, having fetched the shield from the floor.

Jack proceeded to make Mjølnir, or Thor's hammer, and offered it to Alex. "I challenge you!" He activated his lightsabers. "Don't worry, they've been changed to non-lethal, of course."

"How could I refuse?" Alex replied with a laugh of utter joy, fuelled by his love for film prop replicas. Not only could he re-enact scenes from his favourite films and other forms of media, he could do it with the genuine articles!

Jack grinned, and activated his lightsabers, and began to circle Alex.

Alex changed his stance to defend his body, still unsure if long rods of plasma would be as painless as Jack claimed.

Jack picked up on this, and rushed forward, sending two surgical strikes at Alex's sides, one towards his shoulder, and the other to his thigh.

Despite his lack of skill and experience in duelling, Alex blocked the shoulder-bound strike with the shield, causing a slight burn in the vibranium, but the thigh strike slightly nicked his thigh. It didn't hurt too much, but there was a noticeable mark on his leg. His reaction was hopping around, gasping in pain.

"Mum's going to kill me," he joked about the fact that his trouser leg was burned. Even at primary school, he would keep his clothes free from stains and tears, so he feared his mother's reaction.

When he recovered, Alex swung the hammer wildly at Jack, who dodged it quickly. His response was another strike aimed at Alex's hammer-wielding arm, but he brought the shield across to block the lightsaber.

The shield and lightsaber clashed. Jack tried to push Alex back, but failed to make him budge.

Alex adjusted his stance so he could swing the hammer like a tennis racquet towards Jack

Jack dodged the first swipe, but the second connected with his jaw, sending him reeling. However, due to the lower settings on the weapons, it did little more than ache.

"Christ!" Drew yelled, rushing to get in between them. Through his shock from earlier, Drew failed to hear Jack say it was non-lethal.

When he got in between them, he then shouted,

"Are you trying to fucking kill each other!? That's dangerous!"

Jack stopped. "They're set to non-lethal." He opened his mouth, and showed that not even a single tooth had been knocked out. "See? No real damage."

Drew immediately softened his expression a little bit, and opened his mouth to say something. However, he immediately shut it back, making the decision to not say it.

"You ready for another round?" Alex asked, offering a hand to Jack.

"What, you getting sleepy?" Jack chuckled.

Before he could continue, he thought he heard something in the forest. It almost sounded like insane laughing…

"The hell was that?" Alex asked, looking towards the forest.

Jack looked towards the forest as well, before he looked to the others. "I can't be the only one hearing that, right?"

Again, they could hear the laughing, and it didn't seem that far away. Jack began to head into the forest, activating the lightsaber, before changing the settings, to what Alex and Drew presumed to be...lethal.

Jack stopped, and turned to Drew. "You want a weapon?"

The laughter grew increasingly louder, and it became clear Drew had to make his decision fast. With a quick deep breath, Drew responded,

"Yes. Just give me, uh… Blades Of Chaos! Blades Of Chaos, just hurry. These bastards are getting closer."

Jack nodded, and a few seconds later, the weapons appeared at Drew's feet.

A sudden breeze appeared to blow through the surrounding area. As the seconds went by, the trio began to notice it grow increasingly faster! Seemingly out of nowhere, the strong wind ripped Drew's shirt from his body, and somehow kept him suspended mid air.

"What the-" Drew yelled in slight shock and fear, as he tried his hardest to get down. It was to no avail, however.. They all saw the Blades Of Chaos rise up from the ground on their own, and their once silver chains turned to that of a fiery orange color.

The heat was so intense, the three of them could feel it where they were! The chains that were connected to the blades quickly whipped in the direction of Drew's arms, which caused him to gasp.

The burning hot chains wrapped around Drew's arms multiple times extremely tight, as if they were making sure they could never slip off. Drew screamed loudly as the boiling heat scorched his arms to oblivion. Jack and Alex could do nothing except stand there in shock and concern as they watched their friend be tortured by these Blades' fiery heat.

Finally, after what was about 30 seconds, the screaming stopped, and the chains turned back to their silver color. Drew was slowly lowered to the ground, until he was set on his knees.

Drew breathed heavily, until out of instinct, due to the tightness of the chains around his arms, he tried to loosen it. However, it would be to no avail. Drew gasped and tried even harder to pry them loose, but once again, they wouldn't budge.

"No!" Drew shouted. It was at that moment that he remembered: whoever wore the Blades Of Chaos, was forever cursed to wear them on his arms, never to take them off.

All Drew could do in that instant was grip the two dagger-like blades' handles tight, and look at the chains on his arms. The blades lit up as a fiery orange again, but this time it was on the actual daggers! Whatever touched it would surely be torn to shreds!

Drew smirked at this, immediately recovering from that excruciatingly painful ordeal. For now, his mind was focused on using these blades to his advantage, and using them on evil, or those who deserved it. This was certainly a new side of Drew that he was just now realizing could be unlocked..

Drew was always a fighter, but now he could be one and so much more!

Jack looked at him for a second, before he finally stuttered. "Drew...I'm sorry! I didn't know-"

"No, it was my idea.." Drew took the blame. "I should've remembered how Kratos actually got those blades!" He shook his head and chuckled slightly. "Man, that hurt! I've never felt so much pain in my life! That was like Mark Hunt times a million!"

"I didn't know that your little device acknowledges canonical details. If that was so, then I shouldn't be holding this hammer, or I would possess the power of Thor," Alex quickly commented.

Jack's eyes widened, and he looked down at his hands. He realized what Alex had just said. He dropped the lightsaber to the ground, and held his hand over it. The hilt stirred, before flying into his hand!

Before Jack could reply, the laughing got closer, and a sudden blur of brownish gold shot from one of the bushes, before bumping into Jack's leg. Jack's eyes widened, when he realized it was a lion cub!

The cub looked just as surprised, but ran behind Jack, when several hyenas stepped out of the forest.

"What the hell is this place?" one hyena asked. A voice came from their mouth!

"Who gives a toss? All we need to do is get past these puny apes and get that little runt!"

Drew once again appeared shocked, but also assumed a defensive stance.

"Are these hyenas fucking talk-" Drew immediately paused. "Well of course they are! I really shouldn't question any of this, anymore.."

Jack looked to the cub, and saw a terrible expression on his face. Turning back to the hyenas, Jack activated his two lightsabers. "Just get the fuck out of here. We don't want to have to kill you, but we will."

"Scar will have that cub!" one of the hyenas taunted.

Alex replied casually. "That's not going to happen."

Drew looked down into the cub's eyes. It was full of fear, guilt, sadness, innocence… It reminded Drew of himself when he was a little boy.. How his father always neglected and abused him.. It made him feel defenseless and worthless!

Drew could tell the cub was feeling very similar to how he did.. Whether or not he was in the exact same situation, he didn't know.. All Drew knew was that these hyenas were trouble!

"Back the fuck off.. Or I'll kill you myself!" Drew demanded, trying to strike some fear into the hyenas. His new Blades Of Chaos lit up a fiery orange, and they were ready to strike.

Jack looked to the others, and just said a single word. "Go."

He rushed forward, and with one swift strike, cut the leading hyena down.

Alex ran towards the hyenas, and suddenly, he felt within him a surge of an unnatural amount of power run through him. He could feel it in his arms and his legs. The only way to unleash it was to leap high in the air, as high as the house behind them, and smash Mjølnir into two hyenas, and on impact, a huge bolt of lightning stroke the earth, obliterating the hyenas.

Three hyenas surrounded Drew, his blades still glowing that fiery orange. Out of nowhere, a hyena lunged onto Drew's shoulders from behind, catching him off guard. As the hyena tried ripping through Drew's flesh, he realized that no blood was being drawn and his skin was as tough as nails!

In fact, it only felt like little gnawing to Drew!

Drew reached behind and grabbed the hyena by the neck, holding it up with trivial ease. The hyena felt almost weightless! Drew held the hyena in front of him, where he was looking him in the eyes. The choking hyena struggled for breath, but couldn't escape.

Just before the hyena was about to give out, with just a tiny bit more pressure on the neck, Drew heard a loud cracking sound. He dropped the hyena to the ground and it laid there, lifeless..

The two hyenas that were left began to back up out of utter fear that they would be next. As they turned around to run for their lives, Drew swung his Blades of Chaos utilizing the chains plastered to his skin. The blades cut through their bodies like butter, and they died almost instantly, having been cut completely in half!

Jack deactivated his lightsabers, and turned to the others. They had just taken down a group of apex predators like it was nothing!

Then he remembered the cub, who looked at them with an expression of awe and wonder.

All the cub could utter was "Wow…" Never had he seen such a demonstration of power and strength, never had he seen such physical abilities of non-winged creatures or blunt-clawed beasts.

Jack took a knee, and asked gently. "Are you alright?"

"I am now, but…" the cub stalled as he appeared to remember something, and that thing made him burst into tears.

Alex edged closer to the wailing cub. "What's the matter?" he asked while stroking the cub gently. The cub flinched slightly, unsure whether to trust such dangerous beings.

Jack sat down beside him, and said softly. "We won't hurt you, we promise."

Drew looked down at the still distraught lion cub. He felt a mixture of emotions: pity, sadness, anger at the hyenas' actions, and curiosity. What was it that caused those hyenas to attack him like that? Where had he come from?

The lion cub looked up at Drew, looking him in the eye. He appeared to be trembling in slight fear. The lion cub was grateful that the trio had saved him, but still feared they might do something to hurt him.

Drew immediately softened his expression.

"I know you might not believe us when we say that.." He paused for a bit. "But I can assure you that we're only trying to help."

Drew leaned down and looked the lion cub in the eye once more, this time with a softer expression.

"What's your name, little one?.. What happened? Why were those hyenas chasing you?"

The lion cub still looked at Drew hesitantly, looking back at Jack and Alex. After a few more seconds, he turned back to Drew and softly replied,

"S- Simba.."

Drew smiled and gave a nod.

"Well, it's nice to meet you, Simba.." His smile then faded and he added, "I just wish it were under better circumstances.."

Simba sighed and closed his eyes, lowering his head.

"M- My Dad.. He-" Simba began choking up. He appeared unable to speak through his tears.

Jack took a deep breath, and after a short while, pulled the cub into a gentle hug. He knew what the cub was going through, if he had to guess. The memory remained with him, even now…

"M-My Dad is dead. He was k-killed by my uncle," his voice quivered. Everyone sighed sadly.

"I'm so sorry, Simba,"Alex comforted him while sensitively stroking him on his head.

Jack took a deep breath, and asked. "Are...are you hungry, Simba? Thirsty? Is there anything we can get you?"

Simba's response was immediate.

"W- Water! Th- Those hyenas chased me through a really hot gorge, and I'm so tired.." Simba looked up at the trio and asked, "I- Is there a Waterhole nearby? I'm really thirsty.."

Jack turned to Alex, and just nodded. "There's some water in the fridge."

Alex quickly fetched the water from the fridge and also took a bowl from the pantry, poured water into it and carefully avoided spilling it while he delivered it before Simba's paws, and almost instantly, he lapped it up desperately.

"Th-thank you." Simba said as he finally quenched his thirst. Jack smiled, before nodding.

"So… do all humans manipulate weather, make things move on their own and have blades on their arms?" Simba asked, but with genuine curiosity.

"No," Alex chuckled. "We're kinda new to our abilities, and there are few, if any people who can do such things," he added.

Jack nodded. "Yeah, we didn't even expect these things to work in the first place."

Simba shivered a bit. "Is it normally this cold?"

"It's much less consistent than in East Africa," Alex commented.

Jack nodded in agreement. "It's a little warmer inside. Heck, we actually can control how warm or cold it is in...our caves, I guess you'd call them." It was a little harding wording it in a way the cub would understand.

Simba blinked. It was shocking to him, that this was even possible to begin with…

"I don't mean to be hasty, but may we go inside your cave?" Simba asked politely. Observing it, he thought that it was rather square, ornate and had a sense that it was not made by nature.

Jack nodded. "Sure. Come on."

Simba followed Jack through the door, and they were followed by Drew and Alex. Alex put Mjølnir on a table, but noticed that Drew didn't do the same with his weapons.

"Are you seriously stuck with those forever?" Alex asked Drew about his Blades of Chaos.

"Yeah, pretty much." Drew replied rather casually. He couldn't help but sigh, though. That's sure to be an interesting topic to have on a first date..

"That's quite an inconvenience," was Alex's response.

"I would say so.." Drew replied sarcastically, giving a slight chuckle.

Jack sat down on a couch. Simba looked around, a bit curiously, before he followed, and jumped up onto the couch. He was surprised by how soft it was…

"I wonder how many lions come across humans immediately after being forced from their home," Simba chuckled. He seemed pretty chipper considering the circumstances.

Jack looked at him for a second, noticing this. He began to get a little concerned.

"You wouldn't happen to know where the Freelands are, do you? I might as well spend the rest of my worthless life there," he said, instilling a feeling of sadness in the three friends.

"Simba, there is no one being who is worthless," Alex replied, hoping to encourage some self-esteem in the cub.

Jack nodded. "You're not worthless. It wasn't your fault what happened."

Simba sighed. "If I didn't roar at that chameleon and spook the wildebeests, my dad wouldn't have had to rescue me," he said with guilt weighing down on his throat.

Drew looked at him with seriousness. Not a stern kind of seriousness, but one that looked like he wanted to persuade him otherwise.

"You said it yourself, Simba.." Drew said. "It was your uncle who did that to your father.. You have no reason to feel guilty about it."

Drew sheathed his Blades out of sight for the first time in a while and added,

"In fact, based on what you've told us, there could be so much more than meets the eye." Drew looked at Simba and softly finished, "Please try not to beat yourself up over it.. I've done that my whole life, and it was a mistake."

"You know what? I'm not sure if any of this is real! My Dad can't be dead! He literally promised to be there for me forever. This must be all some weird dream, and I reckon I'm going to wake up in a few minutes," Simba exclaimed while jumping off the couch and running up the stairs.

"Simba, where are you going?" Alex called out and then ran after him, and he was followed by Drew and Jack.

"He's not doing what I think he's doing, is he?" Drew asked hurriedly.

Jack was the first to reach him. Simba ran at one of the windows, which was half open, before just as he leapt out, he suddenly stopped in mid-air. Jack had instinctively did the only thing that could have enabled him to get to the cub in time. He used the force to stop him from falling.

"What the- how did you do that? Why are you stopping me from waking up? I need to see my Dad and Mom and Nala and everyone!" Simba cried, almost on the verge of tears.

Jack looked at him, before he took a deep breath. "Simba, you know that this isn't a dream. This won't accomplish anything." He said softly.

Simba relaxed. "I couldn't imagine something like this. I just… I don't want to believe that my Dad is…" he couldn't bring himself to say the cursed word.

Jack took a deep breath as he pulled the cub into the room. "I know. I was the same when I lost my parents last year..."

"I'm sorry for that… I'm sorry I did that. I just can't believe I've lost so much in one go. My family, my friends, my kingdom… my future. What do I have to live for?" Simba asked, still near tears.

Jack looked at him, before replying. "Your father wouldn't want you to get hurt. He would want you to live. He would want you to remember him. And one day, to return. And when that day comes, you won't be alone. That I promise."

Simba sniffed. "Really?" He asked, the tiniest note of hope in his voice evident.

"Of course," Alex chimed in, hoping to increase the amount of hope in his heart.

Jack nodded in agreement. "You're safe with us. We won't let anyone hurt you."

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Alex had to leave a little later, but Drew remained with Simba and Jack. The two spent the next few hours answering Simba's questions about humans, and the world they lived in. It was a lot for the cub to wrap his head around, but he paid attention, and tried to learn the best he could.

Simba was most interested in how food was acquired in human terms. The very idea of just being able to either go somewhere in your home and getting something, or being able to just walk down to a local "restaurant" and exchanging what seemed like pebbles and leaves to him was, as well as the simple fact that they didn't have to kill anything directly, was alien to him, but it did interest him simply for the fact that it was so different.

The group was startled when a knock on the door followed. Jack cocked a brow, before he got up, and headed to the door. He grinned when he saw it was Bebe and Kyle.

"Hey!" He greeted as he opened the door.

"Hey!" Kyle said with a grin as he hugged Jack. "Bebe and I were talking just now, and she suggested you, me, her and Drew go on a double date."

"Oh did she now?" Drew asked with a smirk, looking over at Bebe.

Bebe shrugged and replied,

"You men were taking too long messing around over here, so me and Kyle were talking, and it just came to me.. Sounds like it could be fun!"

Jack chuckled. "Sorry, long story..."

Kyle cocked a brow. "What happened?"

Jack opened his mouth to reply, before he looked to Drew. He wasn't quite sure how to explain the list of things that had just happened, in particular, with Drew with the Blades of Chaos.

Drew seemed to pick up on this cue, and gave a sigh. He lifted up his sleeves and revealed the blades, whose chains were ingrained into his skin.

Bebe immediately gasped and widened her eyes in shock. She quickly walked up to Drew and lightly grasped his arms, even trying to loosen the chains, but to no avail.

"Oh my God.. What happened, Drew!? Why are these things stuck like this!? What-" She cut herself off, unable to really speak. All she could do was breathe a little heavily and look on in worry.

"Bebe.." Drew said, holding both of her hands in his. "I promise.. It's gonna be okay. I'm perfectly fine.. It's just-" Drew gave yet another sigh. "-It's quite the story.."

Jack nodded, before Kyle looked at Jack. "Was...that freak weather earlier..."

Jack simply nodded. He took a deep breath. "Well, you know a bit about this already, Kyle, but still, this might take a little time to explain."

After approximately fifteen minutes of slightly detailed explanation, the two finally reached the end of it all. Drew and Jack had gone back and forth giving their perspective on things.

"-And they just.. Just got sliced, right in half!" Drew exclaimed. This caused Bebe and Kyle to both gasp.

"Those blades are that powerful!?" Bebe questioned.

"So wait.. Dude! You have Blades that can literally rip through flesh, as well as tough skin, Alex has a hammer that was used by a god, and Jack actually has.." Kyle looked over at Jack, the shock still evident on his face. It appeared he was waiting for Jack to say more on the matter.

Jack took a deep breath, and he held up his hand, and the remote on the table ten feet away flew into his hand.

"Yeah, like we said, it's a long story."

"And there's.. well.." Drew looked over at Jack, before chuckling slightly. "We actually saved someone after killing those hyenas.. The hyenas were chasing him.."

"You did?" Bebe asked once again in slight surprise. She then gave a grin. "That's amazing you guys! Who was it? Anyone we know?"

"Actually," Drew began with a smirk. "that's the kicker.."

Jack nodded. "Simba, can you come in here?" He called.

To the surprise of Bebe and Kyle, this 'Simba' was a small lion cub. "Um..hello." The cub said with a slightly nervous smile.

Kyle's eyes widened in surprise at the sudden speech of what he had thought was an animal, while Bebe, gave a sudden scream of surprise.

"I- Is that a lion?" Bebe then realized the other elephant in the room. "And did that lion just.. talk?" She was clearly caught way off guard and wasn't quite sure what to think.

Jack took another few minutes to explain the basics of what happened, though he didn't touch upon Simba's traumatic experience before he had arrived, out of respect for the cub's privacy.

He also made sure to explain Rexy to Bebe, so she didn't get any more surprises.

As he finished up his explanation, he shrugged. "That's...pretty much what happened. That was what was keeping us."

Bebe, who stood there for several seconds in shocked silence, finally managed to get out,

"Any other surprises?"

Drew smirked and said,

"Nah, I think that about covers it." Bebe couldn't help but roll her eyes with a grin of her own. But still, she'd be lying if she said this wasn't all really insane!

Jack, deciding to change the subject, suggested. "Why don't we actually go on that double date you guys suggested?"

Kyle perked up a bit. "I'd like that."

Jack grinned, and turned to Drew and Bebe. "You guys still want to go?"

"What do you think, babe?" Drew asked, a smirk still on his face.

"'Babe', huh?" Bebe said with a smirk of her own. "Didn't know we were giving each other nicknames now.."

"Guess we are." Drew chuckled.

After that little exchange, Bebe finally got back to the question at hand. She looked over at Jack and answered his question,

"We'd love to."

Jack and Kyle smiled at that, happy that they would get to spend an evening alongside two of their best friends.

"Where were we thinking of going, anyways?" Drew questioned.

"Well, there is that new Japanese restaurant downtown." Kyle suggested. "I could go for some sushi. Even if it pisses off that Chinese guy..."

Drew couldn't help but laugh.

"The Shitty Wok guy? I gotta admit, that guy's funny! I like him."

Jack nodded. "We settled, or have any other suggestions?"

"Japanese is fine with me.." Bebe confirmed.

"Yeah.." Drew shrugged. "Same here. I'm down for anything at this point."

Jack grinned. "Except tacos? I remember you mentioning you hated Mexican food."

Bebe cocked a brow, looking at Drew with a shocked expression, yet gave a smirk at the same time.

"And when were you gonna tell me this?.." Bebe teased.

Drew rolled his eyes.

"Okay, except for Mexican food.. And I was gonna tell you, but-"

Drew was cut off by Bebe, who continued to playfully tease him,

"Excuses, excuses.." She had to laugh at that. Drew couldn't help but laugh along with her. After all, he was getting the last laugh anyways: they weren't going to a Mexican place!

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"So...all that stuff is real, not just the items?" Kyle asked as the four of them walked towards the restaurant.

"I guess so. I have to say, I only realized that after the Blades of Chaos." Jack replied.

"I gotta admit, you guys.." Drew began, catching everyone's attention. "Ever since those blades were attached to my arms, I've felt… stronger than usual. Like, way stronger! I don't know how to describe it.."

"Now that you mention it," Bebe interjected, looking down at her hand, which was interlocked with Drew's. "your grip does feel kinda tight.. Nothing crazy or anything, just tighter than normal."

Drew cocked a brow.

"Woah, seriously..?" He questioned. Bebe could only nod in response.

Jack thought for a moment, before he commented as well. He saw these guys screaming at each other about something, so decided to do something. "You will stop fighting." He said, waving his hand.

They immediately stopped, and said. "We will stop fighting."

Jack blinked. "You go about your business."

"We'll go about our business."

"Move along."

"We'll move along." They then walked off as if nothing happened.

"Un-fuckin'-believable.." Drew shook his head in fascination. "You can get into peoples' minds and shit? How crazy is that? It's like you could make anyone do anything.. Right?"

Jack stopped, Kyle looked at him with a slightly nervous expression. Jack's eyes widened. "Uh, yeah. But I am not using that." He said quickly.

"But what if someone evil or something had access to such a thing.." Bebe brought up. "Scary thought.."

Drew looked down and absorbed all of this information. That was certainly a very good point..

Kyle's expression didn't go unnoticed. Drew quickly had to wave away the negative atmosphere of 'what ifs'.

"But luckily Jack isn't an evil person.. So he wouldn't use that shit to manipulate others for evil, or for himself.." Drew stated.

Jack nodded. "Yeah, I wouldn't do that." He said seriously.

Kyle relaxed a tiny bit, but you could easily tell he was still nervous.

Drew decided to change the subject to something else and take away from the topic.

"How much farther is this place?" Drew decided to ask. "I've heard it's like a few blocks down from City Wok, right?"

Jack nodded, though he still seemed a bit distracted.

He took a deep breath, before saying. "You guys go on ahead. We'll meet you there."

Drew and Bebe looked at each other with slight curiosity and concern, but decided against prying. They both nodded and began to continue their way to the restaurant.

As they left, Jack turned to Kyle, who looked at him with an expression that tore into his soul. Kyle looked at him with fear.

Jack took a deep breath, and said softly. "I promise, Kyle, I would never do anything to hurt you."

Kyle looked at him, conflicted. For the first time, he was genuinely worried. Scared even. Jack hadn't shown any signs that he would do...that, but just the idea that he had the power to, if he wanted…

He looked away, and sighed.

"I know, I'm just being stupid."

"No." Jack said suddenly.

Kyle looked at him in slight surprise.

"You're being completely reasonable. I...don't blame you." Jack said softly. He took a deep breath, and said. "I know it sounds cheesy, but I could never hurt someone I love so much."

He then added. "But...if you're not comfortable, and you don't want to do this, then I won't force you. I love you too much to force you to do anything you don't want to do. Even if I have to let you go..."

Kyle's eyes widened when he said that.

"And I promise, that if I do stay with you, I will always protect you. I will always be there for you, no matter what. Whatever you want, it's yours. If you want me to put down the lightsaber and throw the replicator into the ocean, then I will. I...could never hurt you."

Kyle looked at him for a second. This time, he could detect something in Jack's words. It was almost as if he could sense that Jack meant every word.

And, as had happened at Disneyland, he believed every word of it. He walked forward, and hugged Jack. Jack, after a brief moment, returned the hug, before Kyle finally said. "I...think we've kept Drew and Bebe waiting long enough." He chuckled.

When they reached the restaurant, they saw Bebe and Drew waiting outside.

"There they are.." Bebe said to Drew, looking behind her and seeing them. When Jack and Kyle finally walked up to them, Drew added,

"It was a ten minute wait.. We should be sitting down any minute now."

Kyle said, a lot more cheerfully now, "Cool."

"It's not as busy as I thought it would be." Jack observed.

After a few moments, the hostess led them to their table, and as they looked over the menu, Jack asked. "You guys want anything from the Replicator sometime? I mean, we could pretty much get anything we want."

Drew began to look down, as if thinking deep. He thought firstly of his newfound power and his Blades of Chaos. Sure, he was even more powerful than he was before, but it was a curse! He would never be able to remove them! He was chained forever, never to return to how he once was. And it all came from the Replicator!

He then began to think of his UFC career. Drew had trained his whole life to become the best in the world at hand to hand fighting! And now, all those years of training? Wasted! He couldn't compete in UFC anymore, could he?

I mean, one solid punch could accidentally kill his opponent now! He didn't want that at all! He just wanted to fulfill his dream of becoming a UFC world champion! But now, one slip up, and he could end up killing someone..

This caused Drew to attain a slightly angered, yet saddened expression. He was evidently upset about the whole thing, but tried to hide it.

"No.." Bebe answered Jack's question with a friendly and thankful smile. "I'll be alright, thank you.."

It was at that moment Bebe and everyone else noticed Drew's change in demeanor, as well as his silence..

"Drew?" Bebe softly asked. "You okay, babe?.."

Drew stayed silent. It appeared he was still very deep in thought, simply trying to fully see the reality of this whole situation.

Jack took a deep breath, and apologized. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to-"

"It's okay, Jack.." Bebe said, standing to her feet and getting closer to Drew. "Drew? What's wrong?.."

This time, Drew snapped out of his thoughts and looked up at her. He forced a grin, but it immediately faded. Drew sighed and shook his head, still unable to really say anything.

However, after a few more seconds, Drew did manage to say,

"I- I don't wanna talk about it.." He immediately exhaled deeply and added on, "Well.. I guess… It's just not fair!" Drew said this rather loudly, which drew some attention towards them temporarily from everyone in the restaurant.

Drew noticed this and tried his best to be more quiet as they looked away.

"It's just- What the fuck am I gonna do in life now?.. What will I do with my life? I can't fight in UFC anymore. Not with this new strength.. It's- It's too dangerous! I could kill someone!"

Drew felt a tear fall from his eye, which he immediately wiped away.

"My biggest dream in life.. Something I trained so many years for! Something that kept me sane my whole life! It's all gone!" Drew sighed once again and finished,

"It's just not fucking fair.."

Kyle opened his mouth to reply, but couldn't think of anything to say.

After a short period of silence, Jack said. "It's my fault that happened to you..."

Drew and Bebe looked up, and over at Jack. Jack looked down in slight guilt about the situation.

"Oh, Jack.." Bebe began, not liking how sad everyone seemed to be getting. "It's not your fault.. How could you have known what it would do? You couldn't have known its side effects."

Drew merely stayed silent.

Jack sighed. "I should have at least considered that there could have, and likely, would have been."

Before anyone could reply, Drew slammed his fist down on the table, though not intentionally, very hard. He ended up breaking the entire table, sending it down to the floor, along with their drinks.

Everyone in the restaurant gasped, and Drew looked down at the table's remains.

'Just like I fucking THOUGHT would happen..' Drew angrily thought to himself.

He huffed and stood up from his chair.

"I.. I gotta go.." Drew abruptly said, storming out of the restaurant. It looked painfully obvious that Drew didn't wanna stay there around everybody else in there.. He was trying to keep his emotions concealed away from everyone else.

Jack looked down for a second, before he got up and followed Drew, without a word.

Bebe looked on in absolute shock. She appeared almost frozen! After a bit of silence, she sighed and looked down in sadness.

"I feel so bad for Drew, Kyle.." Bebe admitted. "I… I just hate seeing him this upset! He did everything to help me when I needed it, but now when he needs me, I just.. I don't know what to do.."

Bebe felt a tear come to her eye and she finished,

"I'm a terrible girlfriend.. I can't even be there for him properly.. I feel awful.."

"No, you're not! You're doing the best you can." Kyle said firmly. "None of us could see the Replicator coming, but I can see that you care about Drew. I know he can see that too."

Bebe nodded slightly and said,

"I hope so.. I just want him to be happy. He's told me a lot about when he was growing up.. He just-" Bebe shook her head. "He only deserves the best things in life.."

Kyle nodded, before looking down. "Did I tell you what made me love Jack in the first place?"

Bebe shook her head and simply listened on.

"I...had a nightmare while we were at Disneyland...It was about this...horrible thing that happened to me. All the pain was fresh in my mind, even years after it happened. And...when I woke up, Jack...was there for me. He held me. He didn't ask any questions. He just made sure I was alright. He didn't judge me. He was there for me, when I needed someone the most. I knew he loved me in that moment, and I love him."

He looked her in the eyes. "Bebe, I know you and Drew have the same kind of connection. He cares about you. As I know you care about him."

Bebe looked down, this time with a slight grin of hope. She felt a tear come to her eye, and she replied,

"That's.. That's beautiful, Kyle.. I know Drew feels the same way for me, that Jack does for you.. I just-" Bebe sighed. "I just never seem to feel my job is done.. Even when it is." She then gave a genuine smile and finished,

"Thank you, Kyle.. I really needed that."

Kyle smiled and nodded. "Why don't we make sure those two are alright?" He suggested.

Bebe returned the smile and nodded in agreement.

As they got up to leave, Kyle asked her. "What were you implying when you said "You men" to Jack and Drew?" He asked with a slight grin.

Bebe rolled her eyes with a smirk.

"You know how most boys are.." She said. "They always like to mess around.. Whether it's watching sports, fixing a car, or messing with a Replicator." She ended with a chuckle.

"Ahem." Kyle said overdramatically.

"Key word: most.." Bebe pointed out, still with a smirk on her face. "Well, then again.." She added, teasing, "You are kinda the girl of the relationship, aren't you?"

Kyle's eyes widened. "I am not!" He said, a little too shrilly, before he realized that he was kind of confirming Bebe's joke. "God damn it." He muttered.

"Come on.." Bebe said. "Let's go find those two. I gotta make sure Drew's still okay.."

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Alex had decided to take a walk into the town centre. He decided that he needed some time to be alone to successfully absorb and reflect that day's events. Not only was he introduced to a device that could fabricate items that would enable him to carry out childhood fantasies such as being a superhero, this device literally allowed him to inherit the power of Thor.

And since the replicator apparently acknowledge the canonical details of fictional items such as Mjølnir, it was evident that he was worthy to wield it, otherwise he wouldn't be casually holding it in its umbrella disguise. He also made a new feline friend in the form of Simba the lion Prince. While the circumstance in which they met was unfortunate, he was glad that he and his friends could inspire hope in his heart.

As he reflected on the events, he saw Drew and Jack conversing down the street outside a Japanese restaurant. He didn't want to disturb their chat, and only when they took a break in their conversation, which concerned Drew's Blades of Chaos, which he saw as a curse, did he make his presence known.

"Uh, hello guys," he quietly said.

Jack turned to Alex, and sighed. "Hey." He seemed very sullen.

"Why are you holding an umbrella? It's not supposed to rain tonight," Jack then asked.

"Oh, that reminds me; could you hold this?" Alex asked, handing the umbrella to Jack, who found that he couldn't support the umbrella with his own default strength.

Jack looked at Alex with a cocked brow.

"Well, you said to keep our replicated objects hidden," Alex said, shrugging his shoulders. He picked the umbrella up again.

"So… how is your double date going?" he questioned.

Drew's angered, yet saddened expression from earlier still remained. Jack had been trying to get Drew to open up a bit more so they can find some sort of a solution, but Drew refused. He was just too distraught right now.

"I slammed my fist through a table and broke it. That's how it went.." Drew replied in a frustrated tone.

He wasn't mad at Alex, nor Jack, or anyone really. He was just seeing the full effect of the Blades of Chaos and how they were affecting his life, and was really pissed off, as well as very hurt.

"I'm sorry about that, but you being all depressed after you make a mistake won't make it easier. I understand that it basically makes you ineligible to fight in UFC, but you shouldn't let your power define who you are or who you want to be and how you want to live your life. You must at least try to adapt your actions if UFC is what your heart desires, but of course, there would be no fun in simply defeating an opponent by slapping them," Alex said, hoping that he had said the right words to help Drew. He was always concerned that his comments could be misinterpreted or misconstrued.

It seemed his concern would ring true. As Drew looked down in sadness.

"Y- You're right.." Drew said in response. Alex and Jack began to sense a little hope, before Drew added, "What is fun beating an opponent who can barely stand a chance? How could I ever lose? What fun would that ever be for me, anymore!?.." Drew sighed and finished,

"The one thing that helped me through my horrible childhood.. And I can't even compete in its most major event.. All that time I spent training for it. All fucking wasted! Why did I ever agree to use that fucking thing!?"

It seemed now Drew was in the anger stage of his grief, losing what he saw as his very purpose in life. He seemed to be blaming the Replicator now.

"Drew, it doesn't make life any more enjoyable if you let the bad things define your future. You can still be known more than the guy with blades stuck to his arm," Alex said.

"How can't I?" Drew roughly asked Alex. He wasn't angry with him, but he was still very frustrated. "I just scored a deal with the biggest fighting promotion ever! I trained my whole life to accomplish this one thing! It was my biggest dream in life. It was-"

Drew cut himself off, trying not to choke up.

"It was… something I promised to my dying sister, Kenzi.. I promised her I wouldn't be weak any longer, and that I would prove that we both were capable of so much more than that fucker told us we were!" Drew finished, referring to his father.

Alex sighed. "There are more ways to give you identity, solace and content than one thing. My father dreamed of being a football player, but when his career was ended before it began, he did not give up on his life. He pursued the same industry but a different role, and he became a coach. What I learned from him was that we are not doomed to succeed in one area, nor are we doomed to fail in many, but we always have a choice as to what we can do. Unfortunate things happen to good people, but the good people do not cease to pursue identity, whatever it is," he said.

Drew looked down, taking in Alex's words. All he could do was sigh with slightly narrowed eyes.

"I…" Drew began, pausing for a few seconds, as if trying to figure out what to say. "Can we just head back to the house?.. It's been a long night.."

"Sure. I should have worn a jacket," Alex conceded, finding the cold air punishing his choice of wearing a mere long-sleeve shirt over a t-shirt.

Jack nodded, before stopping. "Wait, what about Bebe and Kyle? Shouldn't we-"

As if on cue, the pair finally arrived. Both had a look of concern on their faces.

That immediately got an expression of guilt from Drew, who looked down shamefully.

"I guess I should go in there and pay for that broken table.." Drew said, as he began to make his way back towards the entrance.

Jack stopped him. "No...it was my fault. I found the Replicator. I'll pay for it."

"No, Jack.." Drew responded. "I punched the table. I flipped out.. It's my doing. Besides, I have over a hundred grand anyways.. Just gotta be careful with how I spend it before I run out.." Drew practically whispered that last sentence.

Jack sighed, and just nodded. "Still, are you sure we can't all just...watch a movie or something? Maybe something like that could help with this?"

Drew looked like he was about to protest, before Bebe walked up to him and softly put her hand on his cheek. This took him slightly by surprise, and he slightly gasped.

"It's okay, Drew.. I'm not mad you broke the table. We can still have a fun date night." Bebe said with a reassuring grin. "It's not your fault. I can tell how much this is affecting you.. And it's okay." Bebe then wrapped Drew in a hug, catching him off guard once again.

"Because I'll be there with you every step of the way.." She finished. Drew finally returned the embrace after a couple seconds, tears actually beginning to roll down his face. Of course, he tried wiping them away the best he could, because he didn't want to appear 'weak'.

"I.." Drew began, holding Bebe's hands. Before it seemed like Drew was gonna continue, he caught Bebe off guard this time when he pressed his lips against hers.

This continued for a good few seconds, before they pulled apart. They both now looked each other in the eye. It was at that point that they knew.. They knew, that their love was real.

Once their trance was finally broken, Drew and Bebe looked over to see Jack, Kyle, and Alex all grinning at them.

"Oh, what now?" Drew asked, flushing red a little bit. It seemed he had forgotten that they were even there for a bit.

Bebe blushed slightly as well, but couldn't help but smile. She didn't really care. It was a moment that would stick with them forever.

"I.." Drew began with a nervous chuckle. "G- Guess I'll go pay for that table.. now- Yeah." He quickly entered the restaurant, seemingly embarrassed at doing that in front of everyone. Normally he was very reserved, and didn't let his personal life be so public very often.

Bebe rolled her eyes with a smirk. She knew about this already, but she didn't mind. She loved him just the same.. As a matter a fact, his personality was one of the things that caused her to fall for him in the first place.

It made her love him even more..

As Drew headed off to pay for the table, Jack had to smile a bit. "You two are obviously meant for each other." He commented, only half joking.

"Yes, we are.." Bebe replied with a smile, looking towards the restaurant where he just entered with googly eyes. "I'm so glad, and so lucky that I met him. He's way better than-"

Bebe stopped with a look of disgust. She clearly didn't even wanna say his name.

Kyle piped up. "Forget about that asshole. He doesn't matter. Focus on you and Drew, now."

Bebe nodded in full agreement, her disgust still not completely worn off yet.

"Couldn't agree more." Bebe responded.

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After the five friends made it back to Jack's house, they immediately sat down in the living room and tried to pick a movie to watch. Simba and Rexy were glad to see them return.

A couple wanted a romantic film, others despised that idea and wanted an action movie. After a few minutes of argument, everyone finally settled on Jaws.

They were all having a good time to say the least. They ate some Chinese food Jack ordered with Postmates, they talked among each other during appropriate moments, and they were overall just having fun hanging out together.

It seemed as though that night would be a perfect end to-

"Get back here!" Someone screamed incredibly loud. It sounded like it was coming from outside, and even still it travelled clearly through the windows. Everyone in the room jumped in surprise and Jack paused the movie.

"What the fuck!?" Drew yelled in shock, holding onto Bebe who scooted closer to him.

"Where was that?" Bebe added.

Jack looked out the window, and he blinked. Um…

There was nothing out there.. It was dead silent..

Jack cocked a brow, as did everyone else in the room.

"Strange.." Jack muttered.

It was silent for a couple more seconds, before a bright blue flash and a loud banging sound scared everyone in the room shitless! This very weird looking man pressed himself up against the glass window, smiling in a creepy manner. He had long brown hair, a peach fuzz mustache, had pale white skin, was somewhat skinny, and basically looked like someone you would keep your children away from at all times. He was probably about 19 years old, but he looked as if he was in his thirties to the average person..

"I think the local homeless person has breached the perimeter of the property. If we stay still, he might go. His vision might be based on movement," Kyle commented.

Jack looked at him with a cocked brow. "What?" Kyle asked.

Alex got up and carefully walked toward the window.

"Hello, sir, can we help you?" he asked.

The strange man began to speak. His voice was muffled by the window, but was still clearly heard.

"Hey, what do you call a black man with half a brain?"

Alex sighed, preparing to endure a controversial punchline. By the look in his eyes, the man wanted him to reply.

"What do you call one who is black and has 'half a brain'?" he reluctantly responded.

"Gifted!" The creepy man replied. He laughed rather autistically and waited for everyone else in the room to laugh along with him.

Everyone instead gave him a glare, not laughing at his unfunny joke.

Alex rolled his eyes and asked, "If you're just going to stand there and tell awful jokes, then could you kindly piss off?"

Jack sighed. "Permission to use the lightsaber as a solution to our current problem?" He asked.

Before anyone could reply, the creepy man introduced,

"I'm Umberto. Oh by the way, have you seen a sexy lioness walk by here? She's with an also sexy newborn cub? I need to find them.." Umberto ended with another creepy smile.

Alex cocked a brow. "I'm sorry, what? I'm not sure if I want to know any more about your… preferences," he said.

Umberto glanced further in through the window, and gasped in delight when he saw Simba.

"That, uh… that cub over there. Is he, uh, for sale?" Umberto asked.

Drew stood up now and stood directly in front of the window, aggressively warning,

Jack began to clench his fists.

"Get the fuck outta here, you freak! If you touch Simba, or anyone near this house, I'll kick your fucking ass!" He then motioned to Jack. "He will probably be even worse."

"Uh… can I at least, like, say hello to him? I've always wanted to pet a lion cub," Umberto stuttered, trying to sound innocent, but because of his first impression on them, they would not be swayed.

"I'll tell you what you can do: Fuck off!" Alex said slightly aggressively.

The sudden sounds of mews nearby caught everyone's attention. It was coming from a bush in the backyard.

"Mew. Mew!" It said.

It sounded very much like a cat meowing, but a bit different..

Umberto turned around with his trademark creepy smile, this time even wider.

"Oh, Nzuri!" Umberto shouted with lust in his voice. "Mmm.. You can stop hiding now, sexy.. No need to play these games."

A light brown lioness immediately stepped out of the bushes, with a golden brown lioness cub in her mouth. The cub had light blue eyes, while the full grown lioness had greenish ones.

The lioness known as Nzuri gasped in fear and began to back up, wide eyed.

"N- No!" She shouted, the newborn cub muffling her speech a bit. "Stay away!"

Umberto began to slink his way closer, his eyes seeing their target. His creepy smile never seemed to fade. In fact, it seemed to grow wider the closer he got to Nzuri.

Nzuri looked absolutely terrified. She was just begging for someone to help her.

Alex turned to Drew and Jack. "We can't let him get to them. I don't like to imagine what he's going to do to them, but I can tell you that it is far from pretty," he said as he summoned Mjølnir to his hand.

Jack nodded, and activated his lightsaber as he walked out.

Drew reached behind his back, feeling the now sheathed Blades Of Chaos. It was as if he were debating on even using them. However, after hearing another scream from the lioness, Nzuri, Drew narrowed his eyes and unsheathed the Blades. He gave one final look to Bebe and Kyle and told them,

"Stay inside.. This man is obviously a lunatic. He won't be getting to you two.." Drew then looked at Simba and Rexy, who were shaking in fear over the man.

"And especially you two.. Stay inside." When he made sure they all understood, he followed Jack and Alex outside.

As they entered the yard, Jack said dangerously. "I'm warning you. Get the fuck out of here or things will get unfortunate for you."

This time, Umberto started getting aggressive,

"Our love is real! She's just- She's just playing hard to get! That's all! She loves to play that game with me.."

"Sounds like it," Alex said sarcastically.

"Why don't you just let me be? I'm not hurting you, but if you stand between me and her, then I'll be forced to kill you," Umberto added.

Jack blinked. "Oh please."

He responded by raising his lightsaber, and beginning to walk forward.

"Guys, we're making it harder than it needs to be," Alex said while spinning the hammer to gain momentum. He then threw it at Umberto, but before it could strike him, a large blue flash preceded the weirdo disappearing in thin air.

"Are you fucking kidding me right now..?" Drew whispered to himself, getting frustrated.

"This makes things… interesting," Alex understated as he summoned his hammer.

Jack nodded, and he commented. "Well, let's find the ugly bastard."

Drew quickly glanced over at Nzuri and the lioness cub she had in her mouth. She was breathing heavily, as if scarred from this experience. Drew's face softened and he quickly approached them.

"Are you oka-"

Suddenly, before Drew could finish his sentence, they saw another flash about fifty yards behind her. Umberto seemed to throw something towards them, and a small blue light appeared before Jack's feet. Before he could react, the light became a hole that Jack fell through. Umberto threw another light that spawned a hole above where the other portal had appeared, and from there, Jack screamed as he fell. And just as quickly as he appeared, he disappeared into the other hole, and this continued in a cycle that saw Jack fall at an increasing amount of speed.

And then Umberto threw some sort of blue disc at Alex. Suddenly, just before it hit him, it enlarged tenfold and engulfed Alex and he disappeared entirely.

Drew immediately gripped the Blades Of Chaos tightly in his hands, gritting his teeth in anger. He stared at Umberto with an increasingly building rage. Rather than plotting out some sort of strategic attack, Drew charged forward and attempted to slice Umberto into many pieces.

However, to Drew's surprise, just before the Blades were sure to connect with his flesh, Umberto disappeared instantaneously. Drew felt a tap on his shoulder and gasped slightly. When he turned around, he saw the creepy smile of Umberto, before he was thumped on the forehead, which caused an annoying pain in that small area. He had clearly only done that to piss him off, which worked.

Drew growled and swung his Blades wildly in Umberto's direction. However, Umberto merely teleported again. This continued for close to a minute, before finally, Drew grew a bit tired. As he stopped to take a small breather, his mind finally began to reveal how stupid his blind attacks truly were.

'I should've come up with some sort of PLAN!' Drew thought in anger.

Before anything else could happen, Drew heard the scream of Nzuri. He gasped in looked in her direction, to see that Umberto had her cornered. He had teleported over to her when he had gotten tired and was distracted!

"That fucker!.." Drew yelled, still slightly out of breath.

Before he could try in vain to run to protect Nzuri from that creepy bastard, his attention was earned by a long streak of light that seemed to come from the moon. It grew closer by the second, until he could see that it was more than a mere white light, but a combination of many bright colours such as blue, red, green and gold. Soon enough, it hit the ground with a massive thud, causing Umberto to fall onto his ass and Drew to momentarily lose his balance. It remained there for a few seconds, and when it disappeared, he gasped at what, no, who he could see…

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Alex opened his eyes, and saw nothingness. Then his eyes adjusted. He expected to be in some sort of basement. Had that lunatic sent him to his dark room to be some sort of slave? This idea was dismissed when he could see nothing more than lights in the distance. However, when he tried to inhale air, he found that he couldn't. There was nothing for his lungs to take in.

Before he could panic, he saw a long streak of light hurtling towards him. He clenched his eyes, awaiting immense pain or death. However, neither of those hose came to pass.

Before, he had felt cold and surrounded by nothingness. But when the light hit him, he felt embraced by warmth and colour. He could tell that he was moving, but as if moving in a car. He didn't feel like he was moving at the speed he was, but he was hurtling through the universe at a tremendous pace.

Before he could think any longer, he found himself standing in a room of gold, and before him stood a tall man of black skin, orange eyes and ornate golden armour. The room resembled an observatory.

Alex's observations were interrupted by the voice of the man, who was wielding a sword that was inserted in a device.

"Welcome, Alexander, son of Christian, to Asgard," he said in a deep voice with a heavy tone.

"A-Asgard? You mean, the home of Odin and Thor?" Alex asked, thoroughly excited at the prospect of meeting the God of Thunder, the one whose power he currently possessed. Then he remembered what was happening before he was teleported to space by Umberto.

"You are troubled by the conflict from which you were extracted. Fear not, for time is relative. For every second that passes on Earth, one hour passes on Asgard. You are to meet Odin Borson to discuss the remarkable nature of your worthyship," the man said.

"My name is Heimdall, by the way," he added.

"Nice to meet you, Heimdall," Alex replied with a smile.

"Likewise," was Heimdall's response.

Alex waited for several minutes until he heard the hooves of the legendary eight-legged horse, Sleipnir, the steed of Odin. Alex was amazed, not only at the sight of the majestic creature, but at the fact that his presence warranted the summoning of Odin. This was an honour known to very few, if any other person on Earth.

"Alexander Pearson. As you are well aware, you have inherited the power of Thor by circumstance unheard of. Your friend's replicator fabricated a version of Mjølnir that was apparently enchanted. If someone who wielded that hammer was worthy to possess the power of Thor, then that should happen. In these unique circumstances, however the enchantment was implemented, you were obviously worthy," Odin spoke with his mighty voice.

"However, it is here and only here where you can be taught to use the hammer effectively, and here you will remain for 48 hours while 48 seconds will have passed on Earth," the King of Asgard added.

"Great! Let's get started."

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48 HOURS LATER

"Alas, your short while with us has come to an end," said a tall blond-haired man bearing a hammer that matched Alex.

"It was a pleasure to teach you the ways of combat and worthyship. I have faith that you are a fine candidate to protect the people and values of Earth," he added.

"I am glad I have earned your faith, Thor. Never will I forget what you and your father taught me," Alex promised.

Thor smiled and said, "Well, this is farewell. Go now and defeat that… strange man," Thor cocked a brow, still wondering why someone would want to do what was described to him by Alex to a member of a different species than one's own.

Alex stood in front of the Bifrost. He nodded to Heimdall, who activated it and Alex was then transported back to Earth, determined to serve his home and fight in the name of freedom.

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Drew gasped when he saw Alex emerge from the Bifrost, sporting a magnificent suit of Asgardian armor with a great red cape flowing behind him.

Drew would've questioned it under normal circumstances, but right now he decided that right now he had more important things to be worrying about.

Umberto looked to Drew, then to Alex. He kept shifting his gaze back and forth in a slight panic, but even still, he kept that creepy grin plastered on his face. He rubbed a crying Nzuri's back as he said,

"You'll never tear us apart! We were made for each other. She loves me!" His hand began to go lower and lower down her back, which caused her to cry even louder. This now caused the newborn lioness cub she held in her mouth to cry as well, not knowing what was going on.

Drew growled and gripped the Blades Of Chaos tightly, ready to slice Umberto into pieces.

"Get your hand off of her and get away from them! I'll fucking kill you!" Drew yelled in anger.

Umberto could only laugh in an annoying, high pitched way, and reply,

"I highly doubt that.. You're too slow, you roided up jock! You will never separate me and my love, Nzuri!" Umberto turned to Alex and pointed at him. "And neither will you, British guy!"

Alex rolled his eyes and muttered,

"How fucking original.."

Umberto looked like he was about to continue, but unknown to him, Jack was still stuck in a portal loop.. Waiting…

Then, he saw it!

The opportune time and opening!

Using up a great amount of energy, he managed to use the Force to pull himself extremely quick out of the loop, and back onto stable territory. He used the biggest and strongest tree in his backyard, which caused it to almost completely uproot. It only hung on by a thread.

Everyone looked over in the tree's direction, but by the time Umberto could react, it was too late..

Jack used the Force almost immediately to Force choke Umberto. He was lifted off the ground, gasping for breath, and was quickly hurled in Alex's direction.

Alex prepared to throw Mjølnir towards Umberto, not intending to kill him, but to trap him under its weight. He waited until Umberto's flailing arms were within range, and he threw the mighty hammer towards his enemy's left hand, and such was the force with which it was thrown, Umberto flew away with his hand attached to the leather grip and landed on the floor about twenty yards away with a thud.

When Umberto tried to lift the hammer, he found that it was impossibly heavy. It would not move a millimetre. He felt himself sink into the mud under his own force. He then heard the three running towards them, and before he could unravel his hand from the handle, he found himself being hung in the air.

Drew held the squirming Umberto up by the shirt with trivial ease. He lifted him up to where his eyes were making contact with his. Umberto could instantly see the pure rage, guilt, sadness, and just.. everything in his eyes with just a one second glare. It shook Umberto to the core, who now began to fear for his life.

He was outsmarted by Jack, outmatched by Alex, and now, he was being outmuscled by Drew. This combination was an utterly terrifying one for Umberto..

Drew lifted one of the Blades Of Chaos' daggers in his right hand, and up to Umberto's neck. Umberto trembled, closed his eyes and whimpered, utterly scared out of his mind. As Drew prepared to decapitate Umberto, he looked into his fearful eyes.

It reminded him, once more, of his mother and sister's eyes when he was young.. His father had never given them a second chance.. He never gave them anything.. Sure, Umberto was a psychopath and a crazed lioness rape fantasist. But there was just something that told Drew not to go through with it..

After much internal debate, Drew sheathed his dagger, and instead turned Umberto around. Before Umberto could react, Drew wrapped his arm around his neck, locking him in a rear naked choke. Umberto gasped for breath, but wasn't able to escape. He struggled, he tried to pry Drew's arms away, and he even tried punching him.. But it was to no avail..

After around 10 seconds, Umberto went limp, and he fell unconscious. Drew immediately let go of the choke and let him fall to the ground. The only reason it hadn't killed Umberto and broke his neck, was because he held back so much. If he had gone full force… There wouldn't be much of Umberto left..

Drew simply stood there in silence, looking at Umberto's unconscious body. For some reason, he still had somewhat of a creepy grin on his face, which gave everyone present the creeps..

But it was over now. Umberto was defeated, and he wouldn't be causing anything for a good while..

"Not what I expected to happen this evening. You start watching Jaws, then a weirdo comes up with some sort of teleporting device, then you get ejected to Asgard. Oh, yeah, did I tell you I spent two days in Asgard?" Alex asked.

Jack shook his head.

"There's definitely a lot of questions, here.. But they'll all be answered soon enough." He grinned slightly and added, "Should we make sure these two are okay?" Jack motioned to Nzuri and the cub.

Drew nodded and followed Jack over towards the lioness and newborn cub.

Before Alex could follow them, his attention was earned by a blue glow that came from the pocket of Umberto's trousers. He leaned down to inspect it, and found that whatever was in the pocket was extremely warm. He carefully extracted the object from the pocket, and in his hand was a light blue crystal.

"Interesting…" Alex muttered before walking towards where Jack and Drew were.

Nzuri gasped and backed up in fear. Her heart was beating overwhelmingly fast, and her eyes were widened. She wanted to run, but she froze. She was just too terrified to do anything.

Nzuri closed her eyes, as if accepting her fate. This caused Drew, Alex, and Jack to look among each other in momentary confusion, before realizing what it must be about.

"It's okay.." Drew began, his voice softer than it's been in a long time. "We're not gonna hurt you guys.. You're safe now. That freak can't hurt you anymore." Drew finished with a reassuring grin.

Nzuri looked up at Drew, and then at Alex and Jack. She looked very uncertain and almost unwilling to believe him.

"Y- You're just gonna take advantage of me! L- Like he almost did!" Nzuri yelled in denial. "You- You humans are evil! Y- You act like you're our friend, and then-" Nzuri cut herself off, collapsing to the ground in tears. She made sure to set the cub down safely, but still, her tears were uncontrollable. Surely whatever Umberto did, or tried to do to her was absolutely abysmal..

Alex gently set his hammer down and lowered his body to Nzuri. He said in a voice as gentle as the wind that blew around them.

"We can assure you that no harm will come to you. Not by his hand, nor by anyone. For every human who would rather harm you, there are many who will always protect you."

"He was just a lunatic." Jack added, trying his best to reassure Nzuri. "I promise you that while there are some humans like that, there is a majority of them who are the kindest and most genuine of people.."

Nzuri's expression began to soften a little bit. She still wasn't fully convinced, but they hadn't tried anything that Umberto had yet. Surely if they meant harm, they'd have done it already..

Nzuri's eyes made contact with Drew's who once again began to speak,

"No harm will come to you, or to that cub.. I know what true evil is like.. My father treated me and my family like absolute filth.. To this very day, even after all he's done, he still continues to walk free. But y'know what?"

Nzuri looked at him in silence, waiting for him to continue. It seemed she was invested and somewhat moved by what he was saying so far.

"I made a promise to my now late mother and sister, that I would not make the same mistakes he did! I would be better than him! I would protect those who deserved it, and be more of a man than that bastard ever was or could be! And I mean that.." Drew knelt down alongside Alex, and set a comforting hand on Nzuri.

Nzuri flinched at first, but still allowed it. She was still very on guard.

"You and this cub are safe here, Nzuri.." Drew said with a reassuring smile. "At least, I think that's your name?"

Nzuri looked down in thought and finally relented. Her tears dried up slightly and she nodded.

"Y- Yes.." Nzuri replied. "That is my name.." She waited a few seconds, before deciding to ask,

"What is yours?"

Drew stood up, as did Alex.

"I'm Drew.." Drew introduced. He then motioned to Alex and Jack, waiting for them to introduce themselves too.

"My name is Jack." Jack said with a nod.

"And my name is Alex," Alex said with a smile.

Drew kept his smile, and he said,

"It's nice to meet you.. Just know you and the little one are safe here. That fucker isn't gonna get to you anymore.."

Nzuri then smiled for the first time since she had been here and replied,

"Th- Thank you.. W- We are in your debt."

"Don't worry about that." Jack said with dismissal. "We're just glad that we could help you get away from that lunatic!"

As they looked in Umberto's general direction in remembrance, they gasped in shock to see that he was gone!

Nzuri immediately tensed up and started to freak out. She picked up the cub and looked like she wanted to run.

Everyone looked among themselves, as if wondering what the hell they should do. Out of pure instinct and pressure, Drew was the first one to speak.

"I can bring Nzuri and the cub to my apartment. They'll be safe there! That fucker won't think to look in that part of town. But we gotta hurry!"

Nzuri looked in all directions in a panic, as if internally trying to think of her best move. Making a quick decision, she decided to trust Drew and follow him to this 'apartment' he spoke of. She assumed it was a lot like a den, but for humans.

Drew, Jack, and Alex rushed into the house where Kyle and Bebe looked in shock. They had saw the whole thing through the window, but didn't hear what all was said.

"Jack! What is going o-" Kyle began, before Jack cut him off.

"That fucking creepy psycho disappeared! There's no telling what else he has up his sleeves.. Our first course of action is to get Nzuri, this cub, and you guys to safety."

"Bebe," Drew began. "I'll take you home. Nzuri and the cub will stay with me. He won't go there. If you wanna stay over at my place and you it'd be safer, that's okay too.. But we gotta make it fast! We don't want Umberto to make some other unexplainable or.. kinda fucked up move or something. We gotta go!"

Drew, Jack, and Alex were clearly in a rush, so things were moving fast. It wasn't that they feared Umberto, it was that they didn't trust his rather unpredictable nature.. Who knows what else he had besides that strange blue stone..

"Kyle, you'll be safe here.." Jack told him.

"I'll keep the blue crystal thing with me." Alex told everyone. "That creep won't be getting this back."

"Okay, let's head out." Drew told Bebe and Nzuri.

Bebe saw that this was a serious matter, so she didn't question it.

"I.. think it'd be safer at your house." Bebe told Drew. "Let me text Mom."

Drew nodded as he made sure Nzuri got in the backseat of his cheap vehicle. He hasn't been a rich man for long, so he hadn't had time to buy a newer vehicle quite yet.

"Bit of a tight squeeze," Nzuri commented, but then remembered that this contraption wasn't designed for transporting lions.

"Yeah, it's no Rolls Royce.." Drew replied.

Nzuri cocked a brow.

"What's a 'Rolls Royce'? Is it like this thing?" Nzuri asked, referring to the car. Drew sighed and with a slight grin replied,

"Nevermind.."

Once it was settled, Drew sped off before Umberto could recover and potentially track their direction. Alex left not long after, making perfectly sure that the stone would be concealed and protected.

The question on everyone's mind was this: would Umberto return?