Chapter 9! I know I'm supposed to be studying for my finals, but 1) they're not until next week and 2) my computer antivirus program is on its last day before I have to renew it. So I just thought I would post the next chapter now before the program expires. Now to those of you who think that the Monkey team is somehow deciding to make Earth their home…well you're wrong. I just put that part in as part of the story plot. Don't worry, it's all part of the storyline. Things are about to make a turn for the worse, as this perfect day…well I should stop talking. Doing so would spoil the story. Disclaimer: I do not own SRMTHFG or any of the real life locations.Now one part of the story will explain a lot in detail about a location. Like I said, I've been there before and I am describing the place from my own memories. My real location is classified…Enjoy!
Lorraine quickly ran down the stairs and into the kitchen, gasping and quickly grabbing any kind of food she could eat. Like that one time, she had woken up late and forgotten about what day it was. She was now dressed in a ripped denim capris and a black T-shirt with a glittery star design. Today was Monday, the day of Chiro and Anna's school orientation and also the day she would give the rest of the Monkey team a tour of the campus. She already gave a tour to Nova, Sprx, and Otto earlier, but she was sure they would not mind a second tour of the place.
Her parents were out for the day, as today was quarter-end for both of their jobs. Because it was quarter-end, her parents had been working double time in the office and coming home late afternoon. Lorraine took this as a lucky chance because if her mother were here, she would yell at her for being lazy and not getting up on time.
The girl failed to notice her younger sister, who had been watching her rush around the kitchen, grabbing and munching on breads and her cereal. Unlike her sister, Anna was already prepared for the day, as she was already dressed, her breakfast was finished, and her long black hair was done in a long ponytail. She wore a loose gray blouse with wavy fabric on the sleeves, had short shorts and was barefoot, most likely because she would be wearing sandals for the day. Before Lorraine arrived, she was watching CNN news on her iPad, which was propped up in front of her thanks to the backing on the case.
"Geez Lorraine. You should really practice on waking up early," Anna lectured.
Lorraine swallowed the last of her cereal and milk. When she looked at her, some milk was still on her mouth. The girl put the now empty bowl down, grabbed a tissue nearby, and wiped her mouth. "Hey, it's still summer vacation."
"Yeah, which is ending in like a week."
"Please don't remind me," she frowned and waved dismissively at her. "Now do you remember the plan for today?"
"Yes Lorraine…" Anna groaned. "I'm going to meet up with one of your friends and I'm going to give him a tour of the school. Basically, I'm going to be shadowed for the first two days of school. Then you are going to give a tour of the university to your other friends while we're at orientation. Two of your friends will be attending college with you."
"That's right," Lorraine nodded.
She went over to the fridge behind her and opened the door. When the light turned on, she looked at the bottom right and found the large blue pitcher full of water. Lorraine took that out, closed the door, took out a plastic cup from one of the cupboards and filled it. The girl savored the feeling of the ice-cold liquid going through her mouth.
"Do I have to?" she complained.
Lorraine looked at her with slight annoyance and nodded. "He's a transfer student from Russia," she lied.
"But I did not even volunteer for that!"
"No buts," Lorraine quickly remarked. "Just think of this as practice with foreign communications. And he's a really nice guy."
"Do you even know the guy?" Anna lifted an eyebrow up.
"Yes. I do. I've been hanging out with him and his relatives for the past week or so," she told her. "That and I know all about them because they're the main characters in one of my favorite TV shows here."
"Now his name is Chiro and we're going to meet him and his family in front of your high school," she continued.
"Yeah yeah yeah. I get it," Anna said, already getting the point.
"Okay, well I'm going to go up and brush my teeth. We're leaving in five minutes," Lorraine told her and left the area.
Anna did not reply to that, as she pressed the play option on the news video on the screen. The video was taken just a few hours ago, somewhere in Beijing, China. The announcer was the same woman that Lorraine saw in the video she received last week. This time, the woman wore a brown, V-neck blouse, wore a golden chain around her neck, and had her hair in small curls. She sat behind the usual desk news reporters are at in every broadcast and the computer backgrounds showed behind her. Anna did not notice it until now, but the title had really caught her attention. The title of the video was "Mysterious Midnight Assault in Beijing".
"Now as some of you are aware, there have been mysterious alien sightings around the world. Most of which were just sightings of strange blobs shooting across the sky. Witnesses claim that these creatures were in the form of a black substance, with an irregular shape and no solid form, as if they were slime. No one has come in contact with these beings and only videos and pictures are the only solid evidence. For the past week, skeptics have claimed that these alien sightings were nothing more than teenaged hoaxes or secret government experiments. However, those theories are about to be tested. We now move on to Jack Sherry, who is now broadcasting in Beijing, in the exact site of last night's attack."
The image of the woman transitioned to a fitting thirty year old man, who had short brown hair, had rectangular glasses, and wore a light blue plaid shirt and brown office pants. Right below his chin was a small handheld microphone.
The day was cloudy and behind him was a neighborhood just about half a mile from one of the many factories. Or…at least what was a neighborhood. It was total chaos; splinters of wood and glass were everywhere. The apartments were in shambles or completely demolished. People were rushing around the place, trying to find their loved ones or helping those in need.
"Thank you Brenda," the man said and gestured to the destruction behind him.
"As you can see, this street market was one a peaceful neighborhood, until last night at around midnight. This place is in total chaos as people are rushing around trying to retrieve their belongings and find their loved ones. From what we have deduced so far, there have been a little over 200 casualties and nearly 100 people declared missing. Right now, the Red Cross is on its way to help with the situation and provide these people with the needed support. The Chinese government is investigating further into this crisis. They are proclaiming that this attack is nothing more than an unprecedented earthquake, however, not everyone here thinks so."
The screen switches to an elderly man who had bloodshot eyes and had a whimpering tone in his voice. He had graying hair, lots of wrinkles on his face, and some missing teeth. He wore a white polo, baggy jeans, and worn flip flops. The man was speaking in Chinese, however, there was a translation at the bottom of the screen.
"Last night was terrifying. My family and I had to take cover in our basement until the disaster was over. Outside, we could hear people screaming as their homes and lives were taken away," he told them with his voice breaking. He then shook his head and continued to cry. "I know what I saw…Mother Nature did not do this. It was no earthquake…they were ugly, slimy, black monsters!"
The screen then transitions back to the newswoman, who was still sitting as calm as ever. She stared at the screen, cleared her throat, and then started speaking.
"As of right now, the United Nations is doing everything they can to support the victims' families and delve into the mystery of this attack. In fact, they declared that at this time, because they do not know anything about what has occurred, whether it be a planned riot or something else, no one is safe."
Just then, another small screen appears at the top right corner. The video was still and only contained the image of a window with the lights from the neighbor's house across the street. Judging from what Anna was seeing, the witness was most likely in his room, had his phone in his hand, and was crouching from his or her window.
"Now here is a video that one witness volunteered to share with us."
The screen quickly transitions to the video that was once at the top corner. The video plays and reveals a lot of shakiness at first and movement. Anna could not make out what was going on until she witness the camera focus on the window. Outside, she could hear people screaming and some sort of unexplainable shrieking. The cameraman was whimpering and crying as he tried to get his face away from the window. He moved below the windowsill and focused the camera outside.
On the street below, people were running away from something behind them. Men, women, and children were screaming and running for their lives as whatever was behind them gained distance. Anna gasped as she saw something jump from rooftop to rooftop and even run at the street below. It was a little too dark to see and the shapes were moving fast, but she swore the chasers were humanoid and had some sort of bony structures on them. The things, whatever they were, were about ten feet tall and had a massive build to them. Anna could not keep track of how many she had seen, but she would estimate at around twenty or so. The creatures demolished the apartments, ransacked the buildings, and pinned down anyone that was in their way.
The video ended when the man got up from where he was and ran out of his room. He did that because he (and Anna herself) saw from the camera that one of those things was running alongside the wall outside. The last image was the man joining his family at the bottom of the stairs and running alongside them to another room. The image was gone and then was replaced by the newswoman from earlier.
"Was this destruction the result from a riot? An unprecedented natural disaster? Or is it something…more? More about this story will be discussed at the 12:00 news. This is Brenda Hayworth on CNN news."
Anna closed the window on her iPad and then put it on standby mode. The screen went black and then she flipped the blue oriental cover over. She then laid it down flat and leaned back into her chair. Anna closed her eyes and tried to process the new information. All her life, she had been raised by parents that were skeptics themselves. However, from what she had just seen, her beliefs are now being challenged. Anna shook her head and dismissed the alien theory as nothing more than a gang running rampant through that neighborhood. Her moment of solitude ended when her older sister returned, bounding through the kitchen and reaching the garage door.
"Come on sis! We have to go!" Lorraine yelled as she unlocked the door and went outside.
"Okay!" Anna stowed her iPad into her purse next to her and followed.
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Entrance to Soleanna High School
30 minutes later…
"Man, what's taking them so long?" Chiro impatiently asked.
The Monkey team had arrived at the school nearly fifteen minutes ago. Except for Chiro, the monkeys had come there in their human form. The plan was that Lorraine and her sister would meet up with them at the front steps at 10:00 sharp. While Chiro went through his orientation and the tour of the school, the others would take a trip to UC for their own tour. However…that plan has now been delayed.
The school was packed. New students and upper classmen were pouring in to the building for their orientation events. Some of them took a glance at the group sitting on the steps and kept going while others just ignored them. It was the usual thing; they get their schedules, find their classes, tour the school, and set up their lockers. That and there were meetings held for the new students. Except for Antauri and Gibson, who stood at the top of the concrete steps leading to the front door, the others were sitting on the steps. Chiro was in the middle while Nova, Otto, and Sprx sat on either side of him.
The school was huge. Even from the front of the school, the second floor balcony overlooking the first floor could clearly be seen. The front had a clock tower bordering the front entrance on the left side and a set of spiral steps on the right leading to the second floor. Except for the sides, which were made of bricks, the entire front was entirely composed of green tinted glass.
Chiro groaned and put his hands behind his head. "They were supposed to be here fifteen minutes ago."
"Maybe they got caught in traffic?" Nova turned to him on his right and guessed.
"Or maybe they stopped by a restaurant?" Otto seconded from Chiro's left.
Everyone stared at him with straight faces. The mechanic grinned sheepishly then scratched the back of his head.
"Just saying…" he said.
"They'll be here soon," Antauri reassured them all.
Gibson knelt down to Chiro until he was at the same level as him. The boy turned his head and stared at the man with blue hair and glasses.
"Now Chiro, remember that you are here to learn. You're not here to goof off," Gibson informed him.
The boy waved his hand dismissively at him. "Yeah yeah. I know. I'm here to learn about Earth AND to keep up with my education. Don't worry, I'm going to do well here."
"Do not take this institution lightly," the second-in-command spoke up. The boy wearing the orange V-neck T-shirt vest looked up at him from his right. "Not only will you be in a school filled with students your age, but you are also going to take courses that are more advanced than what you are used to."
"I know Antauri," Chiro told him. "I'll just pay attention in class."
"And," Gibson added. "You must not let anyone else know that you are not a denizen here. You cannot say anything about your homeworld, speak of your past, share your knowledge from what I have taught you or what you have seen, -"
"Okay okay! I get it!" the raven-haired boy waved his hands from side to side to make him stop. "Don't tell anyone that would give us away."
"And most importantly…" Antauri folded his arms across his chest. "Do not mention anything about the Power Primate. Except for Lorraine, no one in this dimension has any knowledge of your abilities. If anyone knows about your powers, grave consequences will follow."
"I get it. I won't tell anyone," the teenager told them and looked at all of his friends. "I promise."
Sprx blinked at that and looked forward. A smirk etched across his snout when he beheld a new sight. He let out a chuckle and attracted everyone's attention, causing them to look at the red pilot.
"And speaking of Lorraine…" he said and pointed ahead.
Everyone looked in that direction and saw two girls quickly passing by students and their parents. These two girls were nearly identical, except for a few differences. One of them they identified as Lorraine because of her familiar short, parted to the right hairstyle. She wore a black T-shirt with a silver star and a ripped capris with sneakers. Running close by her was a girl with a similar appearance, except she had long black hair tied in a ponytail, wore a loose short-sleeved blouse, wore shorter shorts and brown multi-strap sandals, was taller than Lorraine by a few inches and had more of a build to her.
"Well look who decided to show up," Nova smiled as she watched the girls run up the steps and stop in front of them.
Both girls bent down and placed their hands on their knees. They breathed heavily and looked down, trying to regain some strength. Their backs went up and down as they took in deep breaths. After a few seconds of silence, Lorraine perked her head up at them and weakly chuckled.
"Sorry we're late. We ran into some traffic…" she breathed.
Nova smirked and let out a huff. "I knew it."
Sprx raised his arms up a little and shrugged his shoulders. "Hey, better late than never."
Anna perked her head up after breathing a few times and gazed at the newcomers before her. She noticed that all of them had some unnatural hair colors to them, which she assumed were hair dyes. A few of them were sitting, but she knew that they were all taller than her. The only one that was about the same size was the boy with the black hair. He sat in the middle of the group and stared at her. This boy had blue eyes, wore an orange T-shirt, and had blue jeans on. Anna's lips quivered at the sight of the boy and she swore she could feel her cheeks heat up.
The elder sister glanced up at her sister and saw her expression. She looked over at what she was looking at and saw that she was staring at Chiro. The boy looked at the two girls and was patiently waiting for them to regain their strength. Lorraine wanted to roll her eyes, but she knew that doing so would appear rude. That and she was too tired too. So she decided to tell her later.
"Yeah she's got no chance with him. He's already got a girlfriend back on Shuggazoom, who's most likely worried sick about him."
"Um…" she sounded as she looked at all of the strangers. "So these are your new friends?"
Lorraine straightned herself and turned to her with her arms folded over her chest. Her mouth turned into a smirk and she closed her eyes. From everyone's vantage point, she looked like one of the cool kids in the school. In fact, her small stature would make her pass as one of the freshman.
"Yeah. I met them some time ago. We've been hanging out a lot."
She then looked at the guests and then back at her sister. With a sweep from her hand, she gestured to all of them. "Guys, this is my younger sister, Anna. She will also be attending Soleanna High School."
The first to introduce herself was the girl with short blonde hair, wearing the yellow tee with a fist. "Hi, I'm Nova," she waved her hand at the younger girl.
"I'm Otto," the boy with green hair went next. He also waved a hand at the girl and Anna returned the gesture. "I'm really good at machines."
Nova pointed at him with a thumb while still looking at Anna. "He's also the goofball among us."
"Hey!" the mechanic got slightly insulted by that and glared at the female. She waved her hands in front of her face and tried to calm him. "In a good way Otto! I didn't mean it as an insult."
Otto calmed down at that, but still frowned. He gave her an unemotionless look before returning his gaze back to the newcomer. The boy with red hair chuckled at what had happened because usually, it would be Nova to that would lash out at anyone. Sprx gestured to himself with a thumb and winked at Anna.
"The name's Sprx-77. But you can call me Sprx."
Everyone tensed up at that and tried to hide their reactions. Did he not hear what Antauri had just said!? What he told Chiro also included everyone else! All the humans, except for Anna who just looked at him in confusion, stared at Sprx with a combination of shock, disappointment, and anger. That only lasted for a few seconds though, but that was enough to send chills down the human monkey's spine as everyone around him stared into his soul. Sweat drops fell from his cheek and he trembled a little before regaining his cool.
"Sprx-77? I've never heard a name like that," Anna wondered. She put her left hand on her hip and leaned on her left leg.
Lorraine tensed up even more and chuckled nervously. "Oh, yeah! Um, long story. Family thing. Just call him Sprx though." A sweat drop fell from her cheek as she said that lie.
"Oh…um…okay?" Anna hesitantly accepted that answer.
Gibson cleared his throat and attracted both girl's attention. "My name is Mr. Hal Gibson. I would prefer you do not call me mister or Hal. Just Gibson," he said in his highly sophisticated somewhat British tone.
The girl with the long ponytail lifted an eyebrow up. "Okay…I'll keep that in mind then."
Antauri then put a hand on his chest and bowed to her. Anna was taken by surprise by that gesture and widened her eyes at that. The man straightened back up and introduced himself. "You may call me Antauri. Your sister has told me much about you."
"Oh…she has?" she looked at her sister, who smiled at her.
"Yes. It is an honor to meet you, young Anna," he told her in a deep, wise tone.
"Oh…um, thank you," Anna returned the bow and smiled at him.
She then looked down at the black-haired boy in the middle. When she saw him again, her face started heating up. No one could see it, but her cheeks were turning red. Anna gulped and watched as he introduced himself.
"The name's Chiro. And I guess we'll be going to school together," he raised his arms up halfway and set them back down.
"Um, that's right. And you will also be shadowing me for the first few days of the year," Anna said.
"Yeah. I hope that isn't a problem."
"Oh no no no no no!" Anna waved her hands in front of her in denial. She smiled nervously while she did so then stopped. "It's no trouble at all. I'm just not sure if I will be a good guide is all."
"Pfft," Lorraine sounded and put her arm over her sister. Anna was startled by this then calmed down when she saw it was her sister. "Don't worry. You'll do fine."
Just then, the bell rang from the clock tower. The deep rings permeated throughout the area. The bell inside rang three times, as if it were a small cousin of Big Ben. The time on the pale clock face showed 10:30, the time when the orientation would begin.
Lorraine looked back at her sister then at Chiro. "Well, you guys better get going. You don't want to miss out on some important details."
Anna sighed. "Alright…but this summer was too short!"
"I know," the older sister agreed. "But we all have to go to school."
Lorraine watched as her younger sister proceeded inside the building. Right when Chiro stood up, Sprx placed a hand on the boy's shoulder. Chiro looked at him and also saw the other monkeys descending down the steps. They stopped midway to watch him go inside.
"Hey kid," Sprx told him. "Just relax. This place doesn't look that bad."
"You know," Chiro replied. "I'm starting to think beating up intergalactic monsters is a lot easier than this."
The red-head chuckled and patted him on the shoulder. "You'll do fine."
Sprx let him go and started walking down the steps. Chiro looked at his friends one last time before entering through the double glass doors. The others walked through the parking lot and followed their Earth guide. She told them that she had driven there with her parents' van, since it had a lot more space to accommodate for the size of the group. They quickly got inside the van and drove away from the school.
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University of Cincinnati Main Campus
McMicken Commons
Because of the traffic around the area, due to whatever reason, the drive to the university took about twenty minutes rather than the usual ten. Lorraine had parked her car close to McMicken Hall, where she figured would be the best place to start the tour. The grand entrance through the building and the tunnel opening up into the main part of the campus made for an ideal starting location for the tour.
Sprx, Nova, and Otto already knew the location and were not surprised to see the views of the various other buildings. This campus does have a lot of halls, but it also had a mix of greenery too. To them, it was like industry being in harmony with nature. In front of them was the Tangeman University Center, where people would usually go to to hang out, eat at the food court, or shop for the needed supplies at the bookstore. To the left was another hall, which was rectangular with lots of windows and Greek architecture, and then there was the University Pavilion to the right. That was the exact location where Lorraine, Gibson, and Antauri broke in to hack the dean's computer. The path up ahead was made out of cobblestone, which led from the right side of the campus to the left, which then disappeared northward next to a long and black building.
Other college kids were also in the area. They were either hanging out in the commons, walking into the various buildings, chatting with each other as they walked, or rushing to attend the last of their summer classes. The place was not packed, but there were a significant amount of people. Antauri looked all around and smiled. He did not comment on what he was seeing…but his blue brother was a completely different case.
Gibson gasped. "So beautiful…and so many facilities housing knowledge! I think my cerebrum is about to implode!"
Lorraine chuckled. "Easy Gibson. We haven't even started the tour yet. Plus, you've been here before."
The scientist looked at her. "I know that! Where is the science department?"
"Cool your circuits Gibson," Nova said from behind him. "Just let the girl start the tour."
"Thank you Nova," Lorraine nodded at her then looked at all of them. "As the unofficial tour guide for today's tour, I would like extend a warm welcome to you all to the University of Cincinnati. This area is what I would like to call the Gateway to Knowledge, as the tunnel we have just passed through represents a sort of gateway."
She then pointed at the building behind them and they turned their attention to an old-fashioned that looks like it had been built in the early 1900s. Of course, it looks brand new with some of the Victorian architecture in some parts of the designs and there appeared to be no signs of decay. The bricks were an earthy red and a grande steeple towered over the middle of the building. The whole hall was rectangular in shape and the steps leading down to the commons in front of them were smooth as marble. At the base of the steps was a clearing with a slanted roof, most likely where students would gather to sponsor some events.
"This building is known as McMicken Hall. This building houses the classes that fall under the College of Arts and Sciences, as McMicken Hall is pretty much the home base for that. The specific classes that UC provides are spread out into different buildings. In other words, whatever classes are in your schedule would lie in different locations here on campus."
The Hyper Force stared at the building in awe. Even Antauri was impressed by the architecture. Gibson's eyes beamed at the sight as he looked up and down at the building. He leaned forward and bit and his mouth fell open.
"Lorraine, did you happen to just mention Arts and Sciences?" he asked the girl while still staring at the building.
"Yup. There are other colleges within UC that house different departments, but this one, in my opinion, is the most popular. Well then there's the Lindner College of Business and College of Nursing, but we'll get to those later. Gibson and Antauri, you have chosen Chemistry and Psychology as your majors, so they fall under the McMicken category."
"Convenient," Antauri commented and looked at the petite woman. "You've chosen this location to start the tour because this building is the home base of our majors."
Lorraine smirked. "Exactly. Now behind us is the McMicken Commons and the Tangeman University Center, where…"
The tour went on for about an hour. Lorraine led them around the campus and guided them all, as if she were a true member of the student orientation leaders, or SOLs. Once, she was a tourist on campus, observing her future college and the place she would be attending for the next four years of her life. Now, for one day, she could take on the role of a campus tour guide. She led them through the area, filled with confidence and explained all of the sights to the best of her ability, from her memory and knowledge of the area of course.
The first area they passed through after the McMicken Commons was the Main Street. Like before, there were a number of people passing by them, either going up the pathway or down it. She told them that this area was the most popular place for students to hang out, other than the two major commons and Tangeman. Along Main Street was the Steger Student Life Center, which was the long black building that housed all of the student help departments and a number of clubs. She also pointed out the UCIT help lab, where they would go to if any problems arose on their mobile devices or computers. Of course, they would not really need to go there. Then she pointed out the football stadium, where all of their football games were held. Unfortunately, the area was not a pretty sight, as the stadium was under construction. The whole front area was littered with debris, dirt, construction vehicles, and human workers milling about. The building next to the stadium was the Campus Recreation Center, which housed all of the recreational facilities. This building had the same design as the Life Center, except it was a lot bigger and looked a lot grander. It also housed two campus eateries, both of which were all you can eat buffets. This excited both Otto and Sprx as they wanted to go in and eat the entire place. Not only was it there to empower guests with physical activities and fun, but also housed education. The Rec Center also had a number of classrooms on some of the floors.
The next area she led them through was the Sigma Sigma Commons. Unlike McMicken, this area looked more like a small park. There was a whole field of green grass and trees and it also had some hills. There was even a memorial at the top right corner of the green field, which looked like a white marble tower with a metal flame design at the top. Close to the commons in the north were more buildings, which Lorraine explained were two of the suite halls that UC had. She also told them that like McMicken Commons, a lot of student activities would take place here and is also the most preferred place to go to for relaxation under the sun. Lorraine also pointed out the various other buildings in the area, such as the college of engineering (which excited Gibson and even Otto by a little bit), the alumni center, and Lindner Hall.
The group then walked through the commons and went up a flight of steps to the west. When they reached the top, they saw a cobblestone clearing, which was surrounded by a group of buildings. In front of them was a hall that seemed to be built under a landing, which served as a walkway into another part of the campus, the same engineering building that Lorraine pointed out earlier, and a huge library to the right. Lorraine explained that this is the main area to Langsam Library, which is the largest library on campus. She went through some details about the place and even told them that she works part time at Langsam. Antauri was very intrigued by the size of the library and, under his cool exterior, he was excited about reading all of the knowledge that was housed in the book shelves. Lorraine also mentioned about Rieveschl Hall, which was located just above the steps that led up the landing in front of them. That hall and the other buildings around them, except for the library, housed most of the science classes. Gibson started reacting like a fangirl and requested that they take a tour inside the buildings. Lorraine told him that they would get to that later.
The next part of the tour took them to another one of the famous buildings in the area. Lorraine took them to what she called the art area because the buildings in that part of the campus housed all of the art classes. DAAP was the main building and was very strange looking. She called it the Winchester House of UC because of its winding floors and strange zig-zag design. The building had a mixture of darknened glass on the outside and metal walls. The other buildings housed different classrooms, but Lorraine did not go into any detail with those. There was greenery in the area and students did pass by there, but it was not as crowded as the main part of the campus, or so Lorraine told them.
After crossing through the commons again, Lorraine took them to the Varsity Village, where all of the other sports were held. Other than the usual buildings with different classrooms and two of the inner residence halls, this place was entirely comprised of different sports stadiums. There was a group of tennis courts on one side, a large green area that served for various other sport events, a baseball stadium, a soccer stadium (had a track and field around it), and an indoor stadium off to their right. Lorraine also explained that the building next to that indoor stadium is the base for the campus athletics department. A lot of students would go there for anything related to sports.
The final area that Lorraine took them to was the music area. Other than the two other residence halls and another campus eatery in the area, she mostly focused on the music buildings. The middle of the place was a cul-de-sac with large gray pearls lined around the circumference, which looked like a string of pearls. Lorraine told them that the huge building in front of them is the College Conservatory of Music, or CCM for short. The building had red bricks like the other buildings and had a set of steps off to the right that led to a pathway back to where they started. From where they were standing, the building looked to be only about two floors. The girl explained that music majors and other performers would go here to perform in drama or musical concerts. Like before, Antauri and Gibson asked if they would tour the inside and she told them they would later. They went up the steps off to their left and walked passed a building Lorraine called Memorial Hall. This place had a gothic look to it and had five floors. There were windows all over the place and they were either opened or closed. As they walked, the sounds of performers practicing flowed out from those windows. Lorraine explained that this was the primary area that students would go to when they wanted to practice on their music.
The tour ended when the group passed by a campus restaurant that bordered one of the other residence halls, walked up the steps that was right in front of it, and stood in front of the very street that the Hyper Force visited the most when they hung out with Lorraine. Like before, there were a lot of people milling about and cars zooming passed them. The girl stood out in the front, turned to them, and the team gathered around in a semi-circle.
"And that ends our tour," Lorraine breathed and looked at them all.
"You know, for someone that did not sign up for that student leader group, you're not a bad tour guide," Nova commented.
"Thanks," the human put a hand behind her head and scratched. "I did my best too."
"This university is simply marvelous!" Gibson held his hands together in front of his face and praised her. "I cannot believe someone like myself would say this, but I cannot wait to start learning!"
"Heh, no surprise there," Sprx put his hands on his hips and stared at the excited scientist. "As always, the Brainstrain loves learning."
"Since the tour is over," Otto started and everyone looked at him. "Can we eat now? I'm starving."
Right when he said that, screams of terror were heard off to their left. All of them watched in shock as people ran passed them screaming from whatever was happening in that part of the street. The cars rushed by and some even ignored the stop lights. Behind them, some cars got into crashes and a traffic jam formed. Fortunately, none of the drivers were seriously hurt. They opened up their doors and ran out of their cars. The Monkey team and the human girl watched as the crowd started to thin out.
"What's going on?" Nova yelled as she avoided a frightened man with a hefty build.
"I don't know. This city has never gotten any huge problems like this before," Lorraine replied to that.
"Well whatever it is, it's freaking everyone out!" Sprx said next and watched as a family of two adults and two young boys passed him.
Just when the crowd emptied and the street became deserted, the group heard a noise down the road. The sound was of a group of motorcycles coming right at them. The sun revealed itself from the clouds above them and the whole area warmed up a little. Up ahead, they could see some kind of movement coming at them. All of them had to squint in order to make out the shapes, as the heat waves from the ground were obscuring the actual image. When the group of unknowns got a little closer, the Monkey team gasped. It took Lorraine a few more seconds to make out the shape, then she too gasped in horror. Riding straight at them was a biker gang. However, it was not ordinary horde of reckless riders. These riders had a skeleton-like appearance melded with black ooze on their heads.
"I don't believe it!" Gibson yelled in shock.
"You've gotta be kidding me!" Sprx went next.
Lorraine took a few steps back, still consumed by shock. "Is it just me, or are those what I think they are!?"
"Believe it," Antauri said and let out a growl. "It's a Formless Invasion."
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Soleanna High School
Same time…
Chiro had just finished his tour of the school with Anna. They walked alongside each other as they passed the various classrooms on the eastern part of the first floor and were now heading towards the cafeteria for something to eat. This was a big school and the largest part of the building was the main hallway, where the balcony of the second floor overlooked the entire first floor. The rails of the balcony were forest green and were also strong. That balcony was also connected to a bridge which led to the art portion of the building, where he and Anna toured around earlier. On that balcony were more classrooms, which mostly consisted of the science classes. Chiro had already visited his future classrooms and found out that his chemistry class would be on that balcony.
The two incoming juniors rounded a corner and were walking down the hallway that opened up to the part of Main Street that had the entrance to the cafeteria. The three entrances had a black and white domed roof above the corridors and had two dark green double doors. Each door had a lock where a key had to be inserted for locking and opening. The walk was quiet; Anna had her arms folded in front of her and tried her best not to look at Chiro, as doing so would make her heat up even more. Chiro just looked forward, yet was curious as to why Anna would not look at him.
"So…where are you from again?" Anna asked him while not making eye contact.
"Oh, I'm from Sh-" Chiro was about to say until he remembered what Antauri had told him. He nearly forgot that he was not allowed to mention the truth about his origins nor where he came from. He also remembered what Lorraine told him in case someone asked where he had come from. "Um…Moscow."
"Moscow?"
"Yeah," he lied. "My family's from there."
"But you don't sound Russian," she said suspiciously.
"Um, that's because we visit this country a lot. I have relatives here too."
"Oh…okay then," Anna replied while trying not to look at him.
Chiro was about to say something else when the communicator on his shirt beeped. Chiro jumped in surprise and covered that camouflaged communicator with a hand. The boy widened his eyes and nervously stared at the young girl, hoping that she would not guess what that sound was.
Anna whirled at him and also looked from side to side, wondering about that sound. "What was that?"
"Um, nothing. It's…uh…my cell phone," he lied again. "Hold on for just a second."
Chiro ran back and rounded that same corner. Anna, confused at what was happening, waited in that same hallway and stood in that same spot. Thankfully, all of the new students were already in the cafeteria, so the place was pretty much empty. As for Chiro, he looked left and right on both sides of the long hallway and confirmed that no one was around. He pressed on the yellow badge on his shirt, which then turned into a small replica of the Hyper Force symbol. The zig-zag antennae flashed on and off, indicating that the communication was online.
"I'm here," he said in a loud whisper
"Chiro, where are you?" Antauri asked from the communicator.
"I'm still at the high school. What's going on?"
"There's trouble at the University. We need you here," he said urgently. "The city is in danger!"
"I'm on it!" the boy replied and turned his communicator off.
Chiro rounded that same corner and ran down the hallway. He sped past Anna, who had been waiting there patiently. She watched in confusion as the boy she had just met sped towards the exit of the school.
"Sorry! Gotta go! Family thing! Thanks for the tour!" he looked behind as he ran down the hall.
"Wait!" she hollered back and outstretched a hand out. She was about to call his name out but could not as he had already exited through the double glass doors. Anna let out a disappointed sigh and frowned, ashamed that she had not spoken as much to him today.
Outside, Chiro ran through the parking lot and bypassed the few cars that were leaving the area. He was about to leave the school parking lot and head straight to the university when he noticed a few boys hanging out at the front of the parking lot. Those boys were standing nearby a bike stand that was filled with a few bikes. Some of which were unlocked because they were about to retrieve them. Chiro ran to that top corner of the parking lot, grabbed the black bike with orange flames on the outside edge and rode away. One of the boys in that gang turned around and watched as the thief made off with his bike.
"Hey! That's my bike!" said the blonde haired boy wearing the blue and white polo. He and the other boys chased after Chiro, but quickly tired out after they went about half a mile down the road.
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Mandarin watched in satisfaction as his Formless army drove down the street. These minions were the weakest in his master's army, but they were enough to send the humans off in a fright. These Formless minions were the normal foot soldiers, as they had white armor and rode on their back-seated motor bikes. In hindsight, there were about fifty foot soldiers in this army. The clawed skeleton monkey stood on a rooftop of one of the many shops in the area. He smiled evilly as he watched his army ride from right to left.
The monkey turned his body to the left and kept watching them. He outstretched his hands, reared his head up, and let out an evil cackle to the sky. This city would soon become one of the many locations on this planet the Skeleton King would conquer.
Right when he finished laughing, he looked forward again to continue with his vigil. His evil moment ended when he saw a bright light erupt in the distance. He squinted and noticed the light disappear after a few seconds. This light, whatever it was, came from down the street, right where the nearby university was. Mandarin growled and ran atop the building rooftops on all fours, determined to see what force would dare to oppose them.
Cliffy time! Like I said, I will be studying for my finals. I just wanted to get this chapter posted before my internet antivirus expired. My finals are next week and I will be studying extra hard for them. So I won't be posting any more chapters until the end of next week or so. I hope you enjoyed this chapter and stay tuned for Chapter 10.