ISSUE 1- Enter the G!
A/N I know this chapter came really fast. But I just sat down and started typing. I got carried away I guess. I think that's a good thing. MORE TO COME!
Chapter 2- Destiny's Forge Blazes
It was one of those hot and stuffy South Australian days. Not quite sunny and not quite raining. Ken Castle was in a home economics class, ill named in Ken's opinion. The only thing taught in that class was how to cook savoury meals. Today, it was a fruitcake that everyone was labouring with.
Although the ventilation was on, the stove was switched on at every workbench, making the class room an oven. Students were paired up and the task of the fruitcake was separated evenly between them. The teacher, Ms Luffet, was sitting at the teacher's bench up front of the class. Full aware that the students knew how to use the kitchen equipment, left to their own devices.
Nikki Winstanley was in a grumpy mood. The teacher had picked out the pairs and, as per usual, had not partnered her up with Cathie, her best friend. Instead she was sharing her load with Melville, the class church boy. Why was it that every single class had some god freak?
The only consolation was that Cathie was working on the bench just behind theirs, so they had lots of time to chat. But at the moment that was little comfort. She was cutting up pieces of fruit as Melville whipped the cream. He was going on about all the people the bible hated. And that was when he said it.
"There's also homosexuals too. They are so totally wrong! They are so going to burn for making other people gay."
The eavesdropping classmates rolled their eyes. Except for Ken, most of them turned back to what they were doing. He kept watching, Nikki had stopped cutting her fruit and her knife hand was hovering over the chopping board. He held the ring firmly with his hand in his pocket.
Melville kept on spewing forth his verbal vomit. Cathie was just standing there watching, her partner had left the workstation to get some more fruit. Nikki's hand began shaking, and both Cathie and Ken looked on in surprise as the large knife in her hand was beginning to glow red.
"I mean, they chose to go against god." Rolled on Melville's mouth. "Chose to stay out of perfectly good marital relations. I'm glad people tell those freaks where to go, I mean they clearly ignore Exodus 11:12 where god…"
As the air around them began two shimmer, Cathy pointed to the microwave. "M-microwave's g-gona blow!" Piped up the usually quiet girl with her stutter. At this point Nikki dropped the knife and gave Melville a huge smack across the head, sending him to the floor. Cathy walked forward to grab Nikki's shoulder, sparks flew out of the microwaves ventilation and Ken pulled the ring on.
It all happened so fast. Ken's lithe ringed form jumped over his counter, and leapt forward. Catching the two students in a waist-high tackle, his body between them. As he connected, he felt Nikki blaze with intense heat, and a shockwave pulsed from her, making the entire room about five degrees hotter.
They had managed to hit the ground just as the microwave door burst open and flew across to the opposite bench, embedding itself in the oven door. They lay there for a half second. Ken brushed himself off. And quickly pocketed the ring. The heat dissipated and smoke rose from the busted microwave.
Nikki's uniform was covered in scorches, as was Ken's on his left hand side. His ring stopped his skin from burning, but Cathie's outstretched hand had turned a hue of red. The entire class watched with shock, and counted them lucky, as they hadn't been hurt. If only they knew the truth, but they would never know. The incident was passed off as a busted microwave.
Ken had tried to talk to either one of them a few times. But Nikki was obviously avoiding him. Whenever she spotted him she quickly turned the other way. Cathie, on the other hand, when she wasn't with Nikki, she was nowhere to be seen. Ken even tried some of the nerd watering holes, the chess club, the RP group at the back of the library, even the death match guild where Ken was known to wonder in at lunch from time to time.
It was only two days after that Ken managed to talk to them. As fate would have it, he wasn't actually looking for them that day. He was wondering around the school as he often did, ring kept in his pocket. When he was walking passed the school amphitheatre, he noticed the main entrance was left half open. He approached to close it when he heard voices from inside. He entered as quietly he could, and closed the door behind him.
He noticed Cathie and Nikki on the lowest row of seats, Nikki had her head turned down to the ground, and Cathie had her hand on Nikki's shoulder with a concerned look on her face. As ken slowly descended towards them with as much stealth as he could manage, he heard them talking.
"I didn't want it to be like this." Said Nikki, dry eyed and resolute. "I try really hard to not be different, then there was Home Ec"
Which was a shortened version of Home Economics. Ken was about two rows behind them, and stood there listening to the conversation.
"I never wanted to be owing my good reputation to someone putting themselves out for me"
There was some silence for a few moments, and then Nikki said. "Especially not to 'some guy"
The words rolled off her tongue like a bees sting.
"Thanks." Piped up Ken, making the two girls jump. "That means a lot to the guy who had to replace his uniform"
The two girls sat there staring at the highly unimpressed look on Ken's face. There was some look of empathy on Cathie's face. But Nikki tried to stare Ken down.
"However," he continued nonchalantly, "I can't blame you for not wanting to draw attention. I have my secrets."
The two girls looked at him in surprise. It was then that Nikki noticed something. Cathie's outstretched hand was slightly burned, but there was not a singe on Ken.
"How did you turn out so well?" She asked, suddenly figuring out she wasn't the only one with a secret. "When your clothes were burned."
"I can show you," said Ken with a knowing look in his eye. "And if you keep my secret, I won't tell anyone you're a pyrokinetic"
"How d-did you k-know?" Stuttered Cathie, who rarely spoke.
Nikki wasn't taken aback by the statement, which was why she was most upset in the first place. He had her secret to keep; now she would have his.
"Come on." Exasperated Ken. "Anyone who was watching closely could easily figure it out"
"Unless," replied Cathie, "you were w-watching b-but not s-seeing. Y-your secret is s-something p-paranormal too"
Ken looked at her shrewdly. It was the first time she had uttered such a large sentence in his presence. Knowing he could trust them, he slowly produced the ring from his pocket. Not even the lint-lined pocket or his sometimes grubby hands had tarnished it; it was as shiny as it ever had been.
All three of them could feel it. It was amazing, a vibrance emanated from it like a glorious light. The dim flueros glinted on its edge, pronouncing quite easily the wish of many men, spelled out in this small gold trinket. It was right here that Ken felt it for the first time. M.C. Hammer passing it on to him, Jay being pimp slapped, Nikki's torment in the one class they had together, the three of them meeting at this one place, this one time. It was all happening for a reason, something somewhere had meant for this to happen.
Ken pulled the ring onto his left hand. For a moment nothing happened.
"L-looks good on y-you"
Then they saw its true effect. His shoulders broadened, his body turned from a circle to a square, to an inverted triangle. His facial features rearranged themselves, and his clothes changed to the coolest brands around. Ken had in the span of a few moments become the Adonis that most guys aspire to be.
"Wow, that's a hefty secret." Said Nikki.
He took it off and promptly returned to his usual stature.
"I should hit the town with this thing someday." He said with a smile.
"Absolutely," Nikki replied, "If I was straight I'd probably go for you"
"Whoa! Hold on." Said Ken, surprised. "You're a lesbian?"
Nikki nodded. "Only Cathie here knows. She's my little angel"
Cathie laughed. "Y-your silent a-angel"
The three of them laughed out loud, they had become firm friends.