AGHH STAR WARS CAME OUT!
Ahem.
Anyway, have this (mostly filler) chapter. I had fun writing it for some reason. Enjoy!
Chapter 5: Enter Agent Bishop… I mean Ren
Casey paced around the tree house's rickety table, stewing with anger while Jack carefully glanced at the football player, determining how safe it was to strike up a conversation. When Jack had returned earlier, covered in cuts and bruises, Casey completely freaked out and tried to figure out what happened, which only led to more shouting when the half-petrosapien told him about the monster he'd found in the woods.
"Why didn't you wait for me?! I told you I would be there soon, but NOOOO, you had to be a freakin' hero and fight the stupid thing which is supposedly after the fragments and-"Casey paused for a deep breath –"has multiple powers! What were you thinking?"
"Well, I couldn't exactly let the Conspiracy Club see two fragments in the same place. You know how they are better than I do!" Jack yelled back, still wrapping his arms in bandages. "Besides, it isn't like I had a choice in fighting that monster. It attacked me!" He defended.
"Well… you still should've waited," Casey said. "You know why? Because I found this!" He pulled up his sleeve, revealing not one, but TWO fragments.
"WHAT! When did you get that?" Jack shouted. He immediately grabbed Casey's wrist, turning the appendage this way and that to get a better look at the new device. In basic construction, it had the same black metal with softly glowing green lines, but in the middle was what looked like a miniature red fist. "What does it turn you into?"
For the first time since the argument began, Casey grinned. "It came through the window, and I'll show you later. But trust me when I say you aren't the only heavy hitter here anymore."
"Well, looks like I'm not the only one who's gonna have to tank for us now," Jack joked, tugging at his bandages.
"Hmm…" Casey muttered, a dark look coming over his face.
The two continued to sit in Casey's old tree house (recently converted to their vigilante base). The sun fell, but as it did the treehouse came to life. Multiple computer screens flashed to life, showing maps of the town and bank security feeds, hacked police radio stations, and even a new program Casey whipped up as Grey Matter for picking up energy surges (using a hacked satellite) in response to the new fragment.
"Soooo… we gonna patrol tonight?" Jack asked.
Casey gave a non-committal grunt.
"Is that a yes?"
"Not tonight. School tomorrow, remember?"
Jack sighed. "Of course the football player is worried about school."
"Says the vigilante nerd."
"Touche."
The next day, Jack arrived at school surprisingly well rested. After hanging out with Casey, he'd headed home and promptly fell asleep, mainly due to the lack of homework on the first day. After a quick breakfast of scrambled eggs and some cereal, he grabbed his backpack and headed off to school. Upon his arrival though…
"Attention citizens of West Hills High School! We, the loyal members of the Conspiracy Club, need to inform you of a grave danger to us all! In the woods, we have found evidence of aliens of extraterrestrial origins!"
Jack glanced briefly at the crowd of club members on the stairs in front of the school, before shoving his hands deeper in his pockets and walking faster. Most people were just ignoring them, and some were even chuckling quietly under their breath.
The speaker raised his megaphone again. "Of course, we knew that none of you would believe us, so we have a special guest here on our behalf. Everyone, please give your undivided attention to Agent Ren of the CIA!"
All activity stopped for a few moments. The entire student body stared, jaws agape, at the man in a suit stepped up next to the extremely smug leader of the conspiracy club. He took the offered megaphone and cleared his throat.
Agent Ren had pale, almost sickly looking skin, black hair, and sunglasses even though it was both early and overcast. His features were sharp and had as few wrinkles as his black suit. He began speaking in a slightly accented voice, soft yet full of authority. "Thank you Jason for your kind introduction. As you know, I am Agent Ren, head of the CIA's department of extraterrestrial affairs. This department was created in response to the current situation in this town, details of which will be released in an assembly in the gym today during lunch. In the meantime, please go to your normal classes and do not worry at all about this. Thank you." With that, he left his stage and disappeared into the school office.
The majority of the student body was left staring at the now empty stage, frozen.
"Well. Crap." Jack muttered.
Not even the teachers could concentrate on the continuing introductions and token assignments they had their classes doing. Even the hyper-strict chemistry teacher was glued to her phone, fervently discussing the "conspiracy against the school" with other teachers. Meanwhile, the various members of the conspiracy club continued to remain smug and aloof while refusing to answer any questions about why the Agent was here. Casey, in his history class, made an effort to get people from inflating the club member's egos as well as he could, while simultaneously trying to stop himself from blurting anything that could link him to the events going on. Somehow, he managed to make it through his class even with the Conspiracy Club's posturing, and three periods later he (and everyone else in the school) was crammed into the gym.
"Casey! Over here!" The football player quickly turned, trying to find the source of Jack's voice in the crowd, before finally spotting him in the top corner of the bleachers with an empty space. Luckily, there was a clear path to the top, and with minimal shoving people out of his way Casey sat down next to an extremely nervous Jack.
Jack very slightly turned towards Casey, and nervously whispered "Do you think they know?"
Casey ever-so-slightly shook his head. "Either they don't know, or don't care because we currently aren't in some random lab somewhere getting experimented on."
"Happy thoughts. Now shh, Agent Bishop is here to steal our souls."
"I thought his name was-"
"I'll tell you later. Now shhhh!"
Both teens focused on the Agent currently tapping his microphone for attention, and when the general hubbub in the gym was at a manageable level, he cleared his throat and began speaking.
"Thank you all for taking the time out of your lunch to come to this assembly. After all, I'm sure that a matter of national security is important enough to warrant a slight interruption of education, yes?" The smile he gave never reached his eyes. "Starting a few weeks ago, communications with one of our scanning satellites were disrupted by multiple unknown energy signals. Their origin was in the nearby forest outside of this town, and recently the number of these signals has increased while the points of origin move, almost as if someone has possession of them. Of course, this alone would not be abnormal; no, the true matter is the evidence that we are not alone in this universe."
He gave a dramatic pause to allow whispers to build up, before raising his hand to cut them off.
"Yes, we were as surprised as you. Currently, there seem to be at least one extra-terrestrial, one which, surprisingly, has been engaging in some vigilante justice." A projector flickered on, and the gym's wall displayed a few shots of robbers, muggers, and the like pinned to walls by familiar green crystals. "This one, unlikely as it is, seems to not be hostile to most citizens and as such, if you see something in possession of these crystals, do not approach and call the police. While it is unlikely it will harm you, avoid it at all costs."
Jack whispered to Casey, "Well at least they aren't telling them that I'm dangerous."
"You are, and shut up. He isn't finished."
Jack huffed and turned his attention back to the stage.
"If anyone has information pertaining to this being, or any questions concerning this topic, please visit the office and leave a written question with your email address. We will respond as well as we are able, but note that although we are trying to conduct this investigation in as open and civilized manner as possible, some information will be restricted. That is all. Thank you for your time." He handed off the microphone to the still nervous principal, and exited the gym through the back door.
The second the door swung shut, the entire gym erupted in conversation.
Jack and Casey, however, were still staring at the stage.
"Jack?"
"Yeah?"
"We're screwed."
"Yup."
"So Case… I noticed you visited the office after school. You want to tell me why?" Jack asked as the two trudged back to the tree house.
Casey gave a sheepish grin. "I may have dropped a question in the box."
"Really?" Jack deadpanned.
"Hey, it's not what you think! I pretended to be some equal rights guy asking about what would happen if they encountered the alien."
"Seriously?" Jack asked. "Of all things, you alerted the party actively hunting me to you? They might send someone to talk to you, or maybe-"
Casey interrupted Jack. "Oh look! An email!" He exclaimed, pulling out his phone. "What do you know… he says that they will take him in for questioning. How original."
Jack scrunched his eyebrows. "Wait. Something felt off about that. How do they know it's a he?"
The second the words left Jack's mouth, pitch-black FBI vans screeched to a halt at each end of the street, spilling agents onto the street and cutting off all escape routes. Jack and Casey immediately stood back to back.
Casey decided to take the initiative. "So." He said, calmly staring down multiple gun barrels. "When can I call my lawyer?"
"You don't get one." Agent Ren stepped out of one of the larger vans. "You two are the sources of many of the recent energy surges, and we will be taking you into our custody. Will you come quietly?"
Jack and Casey glanced at each other, and shared a quick look. Casey glared. Jack rolled his eyes and shrugged. Casey sighed heavily, then slumped his shoulders.
"We will."
So... yeah, not much action here, but now we have our obligatory government antagonist! Though I am trying to keep him more rational than most I've seen. Also, I came up with Ren before Star Wars if you wanted to know.
Thanks for reading!
-sonyaxe