So, what really happened last chapter? Find out now! Maybe… we'll see. (evil smirk)
Enjoy!
Chris' POV
Blinking my eyes open, I realized that I was having that feeling where you wake up and don't know where you are or how you got there. I hate that feeling. Especially when the place is actually your own living room
Looking around, I confirmed that yes, I was in my own house. I was on the couch in the living room, fully dressed in what I would usually wear to school. The room felt about 30 degrees colder than usual. And the clock read 10:05. Darn, that meant I was two hours late for school. Wait, two hours late? That was…
Then it hit me like a bolt of lightning. The extreme pain that had been blasting at my head all morning came back full force and knocked my train of thought right off its tracks. My hand instinctively found my head as my eyes squeezed shut to try to relieve the pain. It hadn't worked the first few times, and I wasn't surprised that it wasn't working now.
I opened my eyes again and realized there was a note attached to the coffee table directly across from the couch. I took a hold of the note, pulling it from the table and bringing it closer so I could read it. It was from my mom. She said that she'd been called to an emergency meeting at work, and wouldn't be home until 3 this afternoon.
Then the memories of the morning suddenly flooded back into my head. I woke up, felt like my head was going to explode, I got up anyway, got ready for school, then went downstairs. And then things started getting blurry. But I guess that it ended with my mom not letting me go to school, and then my falling asleep on the couch. Now I was awake, and confused.
And I got a new power last night. Oh gosh, what if Vel was right about that Phoenix Syndrome and I had it? That seemed highly possible. He said that the powers could mutate and then we wouldn't be able to control them and they'd kill us from the inside out. Well, my powers are mostly centered around the mind, and it was my head that was threatening to blow up. Yeah, it was definitely possible that Vel was right about the Phoenix Syndrome thing.
Vel! We'd been looking him up last night before the Commander had called! I don't know if Cathy was able to find anything or not. Maybe… maybe I could go to the clubhouse and continue our research? I mean, no one was home to make me stay here. I could very easily get over to the clubhouse and finish our research. Yeah, that sounded like a great idea.
Sam's POV
"So what happened?" Mrs. Monroe, the school nurse asked as Danny and I watched Cathy's unconscious form lying on the bed in the clinic. We'd brought her up here after she'd passed out.
"We were just standing in the hallway, talking to some other kids like usual, and then we turned around and she looked really pale all of the sudden and then she just collapsed," I explained, very concerned and confused.
"Well that's peculiar," Mrs. Monroe said, looking our blonde friend over. "I don't know what could be wrong with her. Do you know if she's been getting enough sleep? Eating properly? Staying hydrated?"
"Yes to all three," I answered again, glancing at Danny. He nodded in agreement, running his fingers through his spikey hair.
"Hm," Mrs. Monroe replied, confusion filling her brown eyes. "Well, I'm not quite sure what to tell you, kids. I don't' know what's wrong with her. But I have to contact her parents. Would you mind staying her for just another minute until I can make the call?"
"Of course," I nodded. The nurse smiled at us reassuringly before moving off towards her office to call Mr. Smith. Danny and I locked eyes.
"What if it's got something to do with the powers?" I asked straight out, no beating around the bush. That thought had been tugging at my mind for the last few minutes, and I needed to get a second opinion.
"I might," Danny replied. "I mean it really was only a matter of time before something went wrong. The superheroes never get off with the powers easily." I nodded, pretending to understand what he'd said.
"But what could've triggered such a reaction?" I questioned, staring at Cathy's still form. Her skin was still pale, but the blush in her face had grown darker. Her mouth was drawn in a thin line, like she was in pain. "I hate seeing her like this…"
"And you think I don't?" Danny asked rhetorically. "But we can't do anything about it now. We can't figure out what's wrong here. We'll just have to wait until Mr. Smith comes. He'll know what to do. For now, we just have to put on a happy face and crack awkward jokes all day to make it seem like nothing's going wrong." I gave Danny a sideways glance.
"Have you done that before?" I asked. "Cause that was a pretty quick response."
"Sort of. That's kind of my natural personality," Danny answered, nodding with a satisfied smile. "So basically, you just have to act like me all day."
"And all of my dreams are coming true," I commented sarcastically, rolling my eyes overdramatically and turning back to Cathy. "What do you think she meant by he's lying?" Danny's face twisted in an expression of deep thought.
"My guess would be Vel," he answered finally. "But then again, she could be talking about Mark. Or even me for that matter. But my first guess would be Vel."
"I'd agree with you on that one. But what could he be lying about?" I questioned. "I mean, I only trust him as far as I could throw him. But I don't know what he would've lied about." Danny shrugged, staring down at Cathy.
"Who knows," he said. "But we can talk about that later. Right now, we just have to worry about getting Cathy home." He ran his hand softly over her arm. "Don't worry Cath. We'll figure out what's wrong with you." Danny then placed his hand softly on her cheek but pulled it back quickly. "Gah! She's burning!"
"What?" I asked, leaning in closer.
"Her face feels like it's on fire!" Danny exclaimed. I placed my hand where Danny's had just been, and pulled it back just as quickly as he had. Danny was right, Cathy's was on fire!
"Do you think that's why she passed out?" Danny asked, meeting my eyes.
"Yes," I answered. "And I think it definitely has to do with the powers." Danny's eyebrows knit together in confusion.
"How so?" he asked.
"In one of your superhero movies, have the hero's powers ever malfunctioned on them?" I asked in response.
"Yes," Danny nodded vigorously.
"Then I do believe our fire generator has overheated," I replied.
Chris's POV
Ok, so maybe going to the clubhouse wasn't the best idea. Walking at a normal, steady pace hurt my head, but I could work through it. It was actually the temperature that was giving me a real problem.
It wasn't just my house that was abnormally cold, it was everywhere! And I knew that something was up with that, seeing as though it was supposed to be nearly 63 degrees* outside, and I was shaking like it was -30. Maybe it was me. Oh great, my powers really were trying to kill me…
Finally, I reached the Smith's house. I knew Vel would probably be inside with Mr. Smith, so I just snuck around the back to the clubhouse. Pulling the door open, I clicked the button that would transform it into MBC headquarters. Moving slowly to the super computer, I booted up the program we'd been using for our research.
The name Vel Afsou had been looked up at around 1:35 last night. I clicked on the link to whatever information had been found. The computer started to load the data, indicating that it might take a minute. I took a deep breath, trying to combat the headache and chills, as I looked around the clubhouse. The glowing rock was still sitting on the observation station in the corner.
I moved over the rock, sliding my hand over its rough surface. This simple object had caused us so much trouble. I sighed. I mean, yes, it was very cool to say that we were superheroes if only for a few days. But would it be worth it after whatever Vel was going to do to us today?
The computer beeped, indicating that the information was ready. I moved back to the screen and noticed that no results had been found for that name. Well that was odd. The computer had found a list of similar searches, and it was apparent that two of them had already been explored. I clicked on the first external search and waited for the computer to load that information.
The name was Sfvaleou, and he was some ancient warrior alien from a planet whose name was in a language I couldn't even begin to comprehend. So I clicked back to the main page with no results found and clicked on the second link. And this time, I knew I'd found something.
The picture that came up was a full body view of an alien with red skin, four arms, four legs, and milky white eyes that seemed to glow. That picture clicked with the image I'd imagined Sora and Reese had described as their target. And sure enough, the picture was a criminal identification shot. The name on the frame read Favelous.
But it wasn't just the appearance of this guy that caught my attention. It was his hands. His fingers were long and boney, almost like his hand was one large spider. My eyes widened. Our extraterrestrial substance analyst did exist. Only his name was not Vel Afsou…
Sam's POV
"That makes total sense!" Danny exclaimed, his eyes widening with realization. "But why now?" I looked away as I thought. Danny had a point. We hadn't used our powers all that much, so thus overuse wouldn't have caused Cathy's powers to malfunction. But then what could've triggered it?
"I have no idea," I sighed, rubbing between my eyes to try to focus better. It wasn't working. "But I say we just get Cathy home to her Grandpa. He'll be able to give us a better assessment." Danny nodded as Mrs. Monroe came back into the room.
"Well, I got in contact with her grandfather and he's on his way over," the older woman said with a soft smile. "Why don't you kids head on back to class? I can watch over her until he gets here."
"Okay. Thank you," I replied. "Come on, Danny." The brunette nodded in compliance and followed me out into the hallway. He closed the door behind us with a click.
"All right. Mr. Smith will get Cathy home and we'll get over there after school. Problem solved," Danny said as we made our way down the hall.
"Except Vel's probably at the house," I commented. "And you know how well that's going to go over…"
"It's gonna be excellent!" Danny mocked, slipping back into his usual self. And I laughed slightly at that. Sure, things were starting to crumble to pieces for us. But if Danny could still lighten the tension with a joke or two, then maybe the world wasn't about to end. However, I wasn't sure what to believe anymore because out of nowhere, the hall lights suddenly felt way too bright for my eyes.
So what do you think the MBC's gonna do now? What triggered Cathy's overheating? What will happen to Chris alone at the clubhouse? Is something happening to Sam? Where are Sora and Reese? Can I come up with a legitimate question for Danny? Where is Vel? And how many more questions can I drill you guys with before you come after me with torches and pitchforks, or that occasional spoon? =)
Thanks so much readers for your continued support, and your comments are very much appreciated! =)
*I'm on the Fahrenheit system!
Read on!