and the next chapter of the story is up, in this one we focus on the creative member of the gang. I actually quite like writing this one, and the chance to be inspired by greek mythology much like the SJA was fun as well. as always TKLee gets a mention up here for simply being awesome, he has a story of his own up on the sight and it is well worth a read-warning contains custard-anyway enough rambling, please enjoy
There are very few things in the universe powerful enough to wake Luke up in the early hours of the morning. Clyde's cooking is one of them. Luke' stomach growled happily as he stumbled down the stairs in his pyjamas. He could smell bacon and his stomach was temporarily overruling his brain which was asking him why Clyde was awake so early. After the last few steps he was greeted by an unusual site. The table had been completely overrun by reams of paper; each covered in intricate drawings and scrawled notes. Clyde was prowling around the outside edge inspecting each piece of paper, pausing every now and then to point something out to the other person circling the table. She was quite pretty and would respond to whatever Clyde was pointing to with enthusiasm and a bouncy excitement. When she noticed Luke she bounded over to him with an inappropriate level of energy for the time of the morning.
"Hi you must be Luke" she said slipping around the table to meet him and leaving her glasses balanced precariously on the end of her nose "I'm Kylie, it's so nice to meet you at last, Clyde has told me so much about you"
Luke took her hand when offered and it did something to shake loose the cobwebs tying up his brain. He remembered Clyde mentioning meeting someone after entering an art competition. He still wasn't quite awake enough to figure out why she was in the house.
"Hey Luke sorry if we woke you" said Clyde putting together a bacon sandwich for Luke quickly "me and Kylie just needed a place to work and put our ideas together"
Luke took the offered sandwich and after the first bite his mood had much improved. Kylie and Clyde returned to circling the table and chatting animatedly about the comic that was being born in front of them. It looked a lot like Clyde's first comic 'The Silver Bullet'. Clyde followed Luke's glance and felt a small grin tugging at the corner of his mouth.
"It's for a competition Lukey-boy" he said holding up the first page "tomorrow there's going to be a gathering of loads of young artists, the winner gets their work published"
Luke returned his friends grin; it was a perfect opportunity for Clyde.
"Me and Clyde met at the signup" said Kylie after bending down to apply a few more notes "my ideas have always been good but my illustration is weak" began Kylie.
"And the reverse is true for me" said Clyde taking a quick peek at the latest note "so the pair of us got talking and decided to enter together"
Kylie leaned over the table next to Clyde and started rushing through some new ideas. Clyde blushed at the sudden proximity leaving Luke to smirk at his friend's discomfort. Behind them Josh started his way down the stairs in pyjama bottoms. He seemed oblivious to the others in the room and went about making a bowl of cereal. Only when he had finished did he notice Kylie. He frowned for a second before shrugging his shoulders and settling down to eat.
"Every comic book king needs a queen" he said sagely between bites and causing another blush to travel up Clyde's face "so you two entering the contest together"
Clyde nodded quickly clearly not trusting his mouth and Kylie brought over one of the pieces of paper and launched into a light-speed explanation of their idea. Josh followed with interest, even chipping in a few ideas of his own.
"Sounds good" he said reading over all the notes written around the edges "any chance I can come along too?"
Clyde and Kylie shared a nod of agreement which sent a smile across Josh's face. Luke felt a bit put out that he was working the next day. Watching his best friend and new housemate get along was good but Luke couldn't help but feel left out, imagination and creativity had never been his strong points. After finishing his sandwich Luke disappeared to get ready for work. When he returned from work that evening he noticed Clyde crashed out with his head on the kitchen table, his finished work lying next to his head. Smiling to himself Luke headed upstairs to bed. The next day Clyde, Kylie and Josh left bright and early for the contest halls, none of them could drive yet but they had plenty of time. Clyde was yawning, Kylie was talking a mile-per-minute and Josh was listening to Reid grumbling in his head. Apparently there was a lot of electricity in the air and Reid was only partially soothed by Josh's thunderstorm hypothesis.
"Come on Reid I highly doubt it's anything more sinister than static electricity" thought Josh "Unless you know something I don't?"
There was silence from the part of his mind that Reid resided in for a few moments; Josh thought for a second Reid was going to ignore him as was his habit. Then all at once a jumble of images hit Josh and he almost tripped over.
"These are my memories of my time with my previous host" he began once the images receded "due to the violent nature of my transfer I rushed the process of transferring memories, now I'm having trouble interpreting them"
Just thinking about all that information made Josh dizzy again, he felt a sudden pang of sympathy for Reid, the transfer between them must have been just as confusing for him.
"Is there anything I can do to help sort them out?" asked Josh "two heads are better than one and all that"
There was silence once more from Reid although this time Josh sensed a tinge of emotion as well, he realised Reid was feeling conflicted.
"There are meditation exercises that my other hosts performed" Reid said, sending across images of various aliens "this would allow me to organise my thoughts, remember why I came to earth, although I gave Luke my word I would not interfere with your life"
Josh had learnt a little about Reid since he became a host, the only thing more binding to him than the laws of the shadow proclamation was his word. Josh wasn't surprised his friend was feeling conflicted.
"And when it comes to taking control of my body to chase after shoplifters I agree with him" said Josh, grinning when he felt a wave of embarrassment from Reid "but if you need my help you can have it"
Reid didn't say much more to that, Josh felt a surge of gratitude and then his mind was silent once more. He would start meditation exercises with Reid in the evening. Turning a final corner they all caught sight of the competition hall, there was no doubt in their minds that it was the right place. Vibrant costumes and posters lined every inch of wall space. The hall was crowded with all ages and everybody there was talking until the hall was just a buzz of noise. Kylie let loose a squeal of excitement and disappeared over to a corner where the guest judge-one of her favourite artists-was sat. Josh went to keep an eye on her at Clyde's request while he went to sign them in. The woman at the sign in tables smiled when Clyde approached and he quickly put down their names and handed over their submission.
"Oh wow" said the sign up woman emphatically "this is incredible stuff, the way you've drawn them, it's like the character is alive in your mind"
Clyde blushed at the praise but he couldn't help but feel happy that people really were impressed by his work. The woman disappeared to put their submission with the others and Clyde left to go and stand with Kylie and Josh. After the submission cut off time the judges took all the submissions into a room where they could think in peace. After almost an hour the nerves in Clyde's stomach were really getting to him, and when the judges re-entered the room he found his hand caught in a frightened embrace. Kylie looked just as nervous as he was.
"Alright ladies and gentlemen we have reached a decision, the winners of the contest is Clyde Langer and Kylie Jones"
Clyde felt a surge of pain as Kylie crushed his hand in shock, she almost passed out completely, luckily Clyde managed to steer her onto the stage with a little help from Josh. The judges smiled and shook each of their hands and gave a few muttered congratulations over the roar of the crowd. The last person to congratulations was the woman in charge of the signup sheets; she presented Clyde with a small medal to go around his neck.
"A special prize especially for the illustrator" she said into his ear, struggling to make herself heard over the crowd.
Buzzing with praise Clyde slipped the medal over his head without delay. It was only then that he realised something was wrong. The chain felt heavy on his neck and the medal had begun to glow a faint purple. Even as he sank to his knees the signup woman seemed to grow, the kind look she had was replaced by greed and hunger. Soon she stood tall clad in reflective silver metal with the greedy look in her eyes hidden behind a visor. The crowd of people around the stage had stopped in a dead silence nobody sure what exactly to make of the display.
"Clyde what's happening?" asked Kylie in a panicked voice crouching down next to Clyde who had been brought to his knees by the necklace.
Before Josh could ask the same question a rush of consciousness overwhelmed his body and he was moving faster than he thought possible. Kylie was in his arms and being pulled out the way as a rush of air swept passed them. There were cries of pain from the audience as the same force barrelled through them leaving several people injured on the floor. Clyde was gone.
"What was that, what's happening?" asked Kylie again her voice high pitched and hysterical.
Josh wasn't really certain, but he muttered quiet calming words to Kylie while reaching for his phone. The paramedics arrived quickly on the scene and got to work sorting through the injuries that the silver bullet had caused. Josh realised shortly after their arrival that Reid's interference had probably saved Kylie's life. About ten minutes after the paramedics Luke arrived, he made straight for Kylie and Josh. Josh felt quite grateful that Luke had arrived to take control of the situation; he stayed perfectly calm and anchored the emotions of everyone around him helping calm his friends. The police were there too and Josh was amazed at how quickly his friend managed to adapt to the situation and explain to them in non-alien terms exactly how a superhero appeared in the middle of the convention. It was several hours before they were allowed to leave. He drove them all back to the house, Kylie included and once there Josh went about making some tea.
"Okay Luke tell me what is going on?" demanded Kylie in a loud but less hysterical voice "that was not a publicity stunt, that thing took Clyde and hurt those people, what was it"
Josh held off on passing the tea across for a moment, sensing the building temper in Kylie he decided to keep boiling hot water out of reach. Luke didn't help the situation by ignoring her and instead sitting down with his laptop.
"Kylie, call your parents and ask them to take you home" he said while simultaneously typing away at his laptop "The police will find the woman that took Clyde, there's nothing more you can do"
Josh wasn't sure what reaction Luke was expecting from that but what he got was Kylie slamming the laptop closed, barely missing his fingers. She looked angry and her temper only increased at the completely calm look on Luke's face.
"Clyde has been kidnapped Luke don't you care!" she yelled placing herself only inches from Luke's face "That was not someone in a costume, that thing had the same powers as the silver bullet, we should be doing something"
Josh saw a flash of anger behind Luke's eyes for barely a second and realised that maybe his friend wasn't quite as in control as he thought.
"Go home" was all Luke said stressing each word and keeping his voice perfectly controlled
Kylie went from angry to disbelieving and landed in upset, storming out of the house and making the windows rattle when she slammed the door. Luke had already returned to typing away at his laptop. Josh wasn't entirely sure what to make of what just happened and settled for putting Luke's tea in easy reach. Josh could see Luke was trying to keep her away-he would have left her at the convention if she wasn't so hysterical-what he didn't understand was why.
"Clyde" Luke said grabbing Josh's attention and holding him in place with a sad determined gaze "Clyde asked me to keep her away from anything alien, said he wanted at least part of his life to be normal"
Josh was tempted to ask if Luke could read minds but decided against it, his friend was tense despite seeming calm on the surface. With little to do for the moment Josh drew his legs up onto the counter and slowly calmed his breathing, feeling Reid spread out into his mind, before the trance state took over completely he sent a small buzz of gratitude to Reid, grateful for saving Kylie. After what felt like a few minutes but was in actuality a few hours Josh was shaken from his meditation by Luke.
"I've found Clyde" he said gathering up a few belongings from around the house "Mr Smith helped me track abnormal weather patterns, sudden gusts of gale force wind, it took a while but I think I've narrowed down a rough location"
Josh nodded in what he thought were appropriate places while Luke explained. They headed for the car and Luke quickly had them out into London traffic.
"OK we know where, the next question is how" said Josh remembering the extreme speed of the entity that took Clyde "How do we stop something that fast"
Luke smiled slightly and held up a small device. Judging from its appearance the device was made out of odds and ends, josh was sure he could see a spoon and his alarm clock mixed in there.
"I've met entities like that before, creatures that feed on emotions" he said slipping the device into his pocket "This one feeds on inspiration and imagination, that device will cut her off from any food sources"
Josh was curious as to what the other entities were but decided to hold off on questions as he was hit by his own little wave of inspiration.
"She's a muse" he said causing Luke to frown in concentration "beings that inspire creativity, only instead of inspiring it, she feeds off it"
Luke's eyebrows almost disappeared into his hair as he thought over everything josh had said. After the gorgon the existence of myths and legends didn't surprise him. Everyone assumed that the muses inspired creativity because they were depicted as being close by at moments of inspiration; not realising that they were sneaking in for an easy meal. This one must have been drawn to Clyde. Turning a final corner Luke pulled over. The building was old and abandoned, something Luke would've expected to see in Clyde's comic book, he realised that was probably the point. Walking as quietly as possible Josh and Luke slipped through the warehouse, after a few minutes they could hear a muffled voice.
"Don't worry pet, soon it will be over, I will have drained you dry"
The muse in the guise of the silver bullet was leant over Clyde holding the device that was helping focus her powers.
"Oh come in already gentlemen" she said in an amused tone "and don't bother with that pathetic little device you're carrying"
Luke had been reaching into his pocket when she appeared directly in front of him. Before Luke or Josh could react she had the device between her fingers on the other side of the room. Neither could see her face but Luke could almost hear her grin behind the mask.
"Now stay very still gentlemen, the process is almost complete, and then I'll be on my way"
Even as she spoke Clyde slowly sank to the ground losing focus in his eyes. Luke made to move forwards and found himself thrown to the floor, josh was swept aside and the muse planted a foot on Luke's chest making it hard to breathe.
"Leave them alone!"
Of all the rescues Luke had been expecting, Kylie carrying a massive speaker set wasn't one of them, looking at her getup Luke would have laughed if the situation wasn't so grave.
"Oh is this really the best such a creative mind can come up with" Said the Muse with scornful sarcasm "What do you intend to do to me?"
Kylie ignored the question and pressed a button that was wired into the speakers. An ear-splitting sound wailed out through the warehouse causing everyone who could move to cover their ears. The muse doubled over in pain falling backwards away from Luke who quickly grabbed his device and activated it, causing a translucent field to envelop the muse. Josh had run over to Clyde and thrown away the necklace, already the young artist was looking better.
"High frequency sound waves" said Kylie helping Luke up off the ground "I figured if that thing had the Silver Bullets powers then she might have his weakness as well"
Kylie looked smug in every sense of the word, and if she hadn't just saved everyone Luke might have been tempted to snap at her, instead he just watched as she enveloped Clyde in a hug and supported him out of the warehouse. Clyde's eyes had become refocused by the time they had left the warehouse, which was unfortunate because it left him the task of explaining to Kylie. The conversation lasted the whole way home and into the house, taking longer because Kylie couldn't help but interrupt. Finally she left the house, leaving a slightly deflated Clyde on the sofa. Luke could see the tiredness in his friends face so he brought over a cup of tea.
"Thanks for trying to keep her out of this" said Clyde taking his tea and making space for Luke "She took it pretty well, but said she needed some time to think"
Kylie had done well in facing the muse while Clyde was in danger, but now that the danger had passed facing the truth of aliens was a hard thing to do. Luke put a comforting hand on his friend's shoulder, which did little to ease the sad look on Clyde's face. Before he could come up with a way to cheer up his friend Luke's phone rang.
"Hello, hi Steve, yeah sorry about that, she did what, nightmare, I should be able to fix it, I'll come in early tomorrow morning, okay, bye"
Luke ended the call and was faced with a curious Clyde.
"I left my workstation logged in, so Kathy decided to make use of all the work she could find on it" at this Clyde's eyebrows drew together into a frown, Luke's colleagues needed a smack round the head "unfortunately for her I left a few bugs in my code, the whole system crashed when she tried to run it"
Clyde's face went from serious to crease with laughter within seconds; soon he was holding his sides trying desperately to recover. Luke was in a similar state and even Josh was smiling from his position on the kitchen counter despite his meditating.
"I've taught you well my young padawan" Clyde said proudly, before yawning.
Seeing the exhaustion on his friend's face Luke got him up and steered him to the stairs, calling across to Reid as he went, making sure he let Josh sleep as well. After everything that happened that day Luke felt he could sleep for hours, unfortunately for the person that woke him up, he managed until 7:00am. Muttering furiously under his breath Luke pulled himself away from sleep and walked out of his room. He could hear loud and excited voices coming from the only spare room in the house. Upon opening the door he found the place converted into a miniature art studio, Kylie and Clyde working around the centre.
"Hey Luke, meet our new sort of housemate" said Clyde pointing at Kylie. "Her parents are gonna help her rent this space for an art studio"
Kylie bounded over at that point-Luke was pretty certain she was what woke him-and started talking about some new ideas to improve the Silver Bullet.
"Yeah since someone told the judges that was a publicity stunt they disqualified us" she said with a watered down glare at Luke "we're going to have to work even harder to get this published"
Feeling a surge of guilt Luke left them to it with the promise of teleporting them into space if they woke him up early again. He caught sight of Josh still meditating on the breakfast bar; he had changed his clothes so Luke new they hadn't been there all night. Luke was trying to decide whether or not to wake his friend when Josh flinched and almost fell backwards of the bar. Luke helped his friend up and waited patiently for a response, it was slow coming but eventually Josh's eyes flickered back into focus.
"Something is here on earth Luke" he said sliding off the side and onto his feet "We don't know what yet, but there's definitely something"
Josh and Reid could remember no more than that, but Luke couldn't help feel concerned. The earth was in danger again and it might be up to them to stop it.
being me i still can't resist a little bit of a cliff hanger i'm afraid that this aspect of the story is going to unwind very slowly with tidbits here and there. Luke came off as kind of lazy in this lol but at the same time after years of being a student it fits him quite nicely. Till next time reviews are always appreciated.