Broken Sun

Chapter Six: Secrets, Choosing, and Movies

The Next Day

"Don't get yourself in any more trouble!" I wave to Peter as I walk away from the detention room. Peter had gotten detention (Again!) for being late this morning. Which meant I didn't have a study buddy for math till later. If I was awake for much longer. At least it was the weekend.

I was about to turn homeward when an silver Prius pulled up. The window revealed a sunglasses clad Morgan. "Get in loser. We're going shopping."

"Isn't that a Mean Girls quote?"

Morgan looked at me. "Yes. Get in."

I looked around. "But I have a ton of homework."

Morgan glared and I reluctantly got in, muttering curses under my breath.

"Did you see Sam ask out Sheryl Watson during lunch?"

"Yeah, I had to save his ass from getting drop kicked to Canada." I smiled at the memory. Sam said he was going to do his dare we gave him yesterday and actually did it. He had gone up to one of the hottest unavailable girls in school and asked her out. She giggled at it but sadly said no. Her boyfriend got really pissed and almost punched him. I had intervened say it was a dare and that he meant no harm. After her boyfriend backed off, Sheryl had given Sam her number and had told him to call her. That had actually almost made me snap and punch her. Dude, you're boyfriend just defended you like you were a sure deal and now you're flirting? That's pretty fucking shallow.

"That was the best. Especially when she kept sending him teasing looks and you looked ready to stab her." She laughed. "Could've helped you too. Two words: Shallow bitch."

We both laughed. Is this what a best friend is supposed to be? Because I like it.

Before I became a Nightwatcher, I would enjoy sleep. Now, I hate it.

"Feel your center. Then imagine your familiar taking shape."

I close my eyes and take a deep breath, releasing it slowly. I imagine the navy blue chimera that appeared not that long ago in the cafeteria. The spitting snake, the powerful wings, the fearsome roar. I open my eyes and watch it begin to form. Instead of a large beast like how I imagined it, it appeared small house cat with the same things.

"Uhhhh." I groaned and the cat disappeared. "How the hell am I supposed to do this again?! I've already done it!"

Antigone narrowed her eyes. "Yet you can not do it now. Again."

I hit the column right next to me. Each Nightwatcher had their own place to train. Hatshepsut's was a dank room with no windows, Antigone's was a building similar to The Parthenon, Cleo's was a courtyard, Fyre's was The Brooklyn Bridge, and the list went on and on. Each place was the place that the Nightwatcher had grown up or felt safe in. "I can't do it."

Antigone nodded. "Maybe you need a break."

The air swirled and suddenly I was staring at Ionia on a balcony with a beautiful city behind her. "Whoa."

Ionia looked over at me with a gentle smile. "Mason. How is your training?"

I shrugged. "Okay I guess."

"Distracted?"

"A little. What's this place?" I gestured around.

Ionia smiled. "Xandar. It's were the Nova Corps was based at."

I raised an eyebrow. "Was? I thought it still is."

Ionia shook her head. "Xandar was destroyed years ago. There were only two survivors." She looked at me. "Your sister and her friend Richard Rider."

I looked around. "How did my sister survive?"

"Fyre sacrificed herself to make sure Anala got away. I fully expected Anala to take up being a Nightwatcher, not her sister."

"Half." I muttered.

Ionia raised an eyebrow. "Ooh, so you don't know, do you?"

I looked at her. "Know what?"

Ionia laughed. "Not my place. But since you need inspiration to know that you are worthy of bring a Nightwatcher, I'd look at your life."

"Why?" I said sarcastically, still bugged she didn't tell me something important. And that she read my mind. "Because I have friends who are good respectful kids? Or that my life outside of this is normal?"

"Partly correct." She put a hand on my shoulder. "Mason, you are a Nightwatcher. Blood by blood."

"Not sure that fits this context."

"I am saying that you are the most serious about this than any of the others have been. You want to know why? Because you chose. You chose to take up the Nightwatcher amulet. You chose to stay and help the innocent in a situation you could have easily run away from. You chose your friends. You chose this."

I looked down at my hands. She was right. I had chosen to stay during all of that. No one forced me, no one made me. I chose this. I looked at Ionia's face. "Thank you. Can I go back to training now? Touchy feely doesn't fit me."

Ionia snapped and I was back with Antigone. "Better?"

I nodded and stuck out my hands. I took a breath and focused. Last time I chose it to appear to save me. I needed to choose for it to appear now. The blue chimera appeared how I imagined it this time and became solid.

Antigone looked impressed. "Good. But now can you fight with it?"

"Wait, what? Shouldn't I name it first?"

"Hephaestus go!" The phoenix flew at my chimera.

"Chimera, um, dodge the attack!" What am I? A Pokemon trainer?! The chimera dodged it and looked at me.

Um, boss? Do you have a plan?

Wait, can we communicate telepathically?

Ya boss.

I nodded at it. Next time it comes by, bite it.

That's a bit medieval.

So?

Just sayin'. The phoenix came in for another attack and the chimera did exactly how I pictured it. It jumped up and bit him by his wings, taking him down.

Antigone looked surprised. "Amazing. You already have a full control over it."

"Control? I just told him what to do and he did it. With some minor bickering."

Antigone looked even more shocked. "You can talk telepathically with it?"

I searched him behind the ear. "Ya. Why?"

Antigone just stared at me as the phoenix. "Only Ionia can do that. None of the actual Nightwatchers can do that."

"So?"

"It means you're the most powerful of us." She said, a scared look in her eyes.

I gapped at her then smiled. "Cool."

My phone buzzed, awakening me from my Nightwatcher training. Best part about it was that I always felt fully rested when I woke up, even if I had gotten the shit beaten out of me.

I grabbed the phone and answered it, sitting up. "'Ello?"

"Is Mason there?"

I yawned. "Ya. Who this?"

"It's Danny."

"Whatup?"

"Peter wanted to know if you would come over to watch a few movies."

"I'd love too. Let me check with my 'mom'." I walked downstairs and to Anala's bedroom. There was a note on the door. Went to work and will be working graveyard shift. See you tomorrow! ~Anala "Yeah. Let me come over at noon."

Danny was silent for a second. "Mason, it's one in the afternoon."

I blinked and looked at the clock hanging on the wall. Danny was right. "Shit. Sorry, rough night. I'll be over soon with a couple movies. Text me the address."

"Okay. I will. Goodbye."

"Bye." I closed the phone and ran to get ready. This was one of the major reasons why I hated doing it in my dreamscape. It meant I slept in and was going to be late to everything. Gotta talk to Antigone about that.

I grabbed a few movies from Anala's shelf including, but not limited to: all three Matrixes, Moulin Rouge, both the original and the remake of Footloose, Sinister, and the 2007 remake of Halloween. I realized how weird of a movie collection it was, but screw it. They were good movies.

I looked at the address Danny had sent me and realized I could make it on foot within ten minutes. I headed out, hoping my thoughts would help make these ten minutes go faster.

So what was I going to name my chimera? Well, he probably already has a name. Why had Antigone been so scared at her being as powerful as Ionia? Didn't it mean I could be just as good as her? Or were they hiding something?

I frowned at that thought. The Nightwatchers' did seem to be a bit clouded recently. Hatshepsut rarely spoke about Fyre's or Ionia's pasts. Ionia said something about blood by blood and how I didn't know something about being sisters with Anala. The question still stood. Why did Anala not take the amulet as her own? She had it for three whole-

I stopped walking. If Fyre sacrificed herself three years ago, why had Anala only appeared two? Anala was hiding something. And I needed to find out.

But first it was movie time. I kept walking until I reached the address Danny had sent. I looked up at the address and knocked on the door, hoping this was the right was a good thirty seconds before Danny opened the door. "Hello Mason."

"Sup." He gestured for me to come in and I did. "At least you didn't hit me with a door this time."

He chucked and lead me into the living room where Sam was laying on the couch. Danny looked around the spotless room then back at Sam like he had just done a miracle. "I will go tell the others that you are here."

I nodded and poked Sam's side. "Move over."

I heard a muffled 'no' come from the pillow. I sighed and did what I always do to Anala when she doesn't move. I sat on him. Sam lifted his head off the pillow at looked at me. "You're heavy. What've you been eating, cake?"

I stuck my lip out at him. "I'm not heavy, you just don't have muscles."

He let out a fake laugh.

"That's a fake laugh."

"It's real!"

"Totally fake."

"That's the most real, authentic, hysterical laugh of my entire life because that is an untrue statement."

"Fine. But I'll still make you regret not moving when I gave you the chance." I said leaning back into the couch.

He raised an eyebrow. "And how would you do that?"

"You really want to know?" I stared back.

A grin burst on his face. "Dying to."

Someone coughed from the doorway and we both jumped up off the couch. "Okay, if you two are done flirting with each other." We both glared at Peter. "We're watching a movie."

I rolled my eyes and picked up the movies I brought. "What kind of movies do you have? 'Cause I brought Matrix, Footloose, Mean Girls," I stared at the movie with intent eyes then put it back on my pile, "and two horror flicks."

"What kind of horror?" Luke came in and sat down on the couch.

"Um, Halloween the 2007 Rob Zombie remake and Sinister."

"Isn't that movie really scary?" Ava sat down next to Luke with a bowl of pretzels.

"Ava, that's the point of a horror movie." Sam said, taking a handful of pretzels. "Besides, it can't be that scary."

I chuckled. Anala watched any movie that she was given or said should see. She bought it and didn't sleep for three days. Just to piss her off those days, I jump scared her so many times. Yeah, I was bored. "Okay, let's watch something other than creepy movies. Moulin Rouge?" I got several confused looks. "Seriously? It's a really good movie. It's got singing, romance, comedy-"

"You lost my interest at singing." Pete said, sitting next to Ava.

"Am I really making the movie pick here?" All four of them nodded. Well, screw you too. I looked at Pete's movie shelf and saw the one movie had I never seen that would fill it for all over our opinions. "Fine. Then we're watching Pacific Rim."

Halfway through the fourth movie, Transformers: Dark of the Moon, is when I fell asleep. Danny sat in the armchair, Luke, Ava, and Peter were on the couch, and Sam and I were sitting on ground with a lot of pillows. Ava was using Peter as a pillow to all of our shock and quietly snoring. Everyone else was hyped up on soda and popcorn and making comments about plot holes and how they wanted a certain object if it existed.

I could barely keep my eyes open even though I had slept in till one pm. I looked at the nearby clock and noticed it was one in the morning. Oh well. I buried my face in the pillow I was laying on and drifted off to the sounds of screaming.

Instead of Antigone's temple, I was standing in an all to familiar place. Cleopatra's courtyard. So, magic was on the agenda today.

A red ball of shiny stuff flew by my head and turned the statue next to me into a giant spider. I stared at it and ran across the courtyard away from it.

"Today's lesson is about defending yourself with magic."

"Shouldn't I know about magic first!?" I yelled at her.

"I believe in learning on the job." Cleopatra looked bored at the spider. "And I want to see if Antigone was right."

I dodged a bite and slid under. "Was right about what?!"

"That you learn fast."

I dodged another bite. "So, any tips?"

Cleo tapped her chin. "How about creating something out of nothing."

"Didn't I already do that with my familiar?"

Cleo shook her head. "Your familiar is an extension of your mind, body, and spirit. It's the wild, uncontrollable side of you that needs to be tamed in order to use your gifts."

I ran out from underneath the spider making it crash into a wall. "Is that why not everyone can use magic?"

She clapped. "Exactly. Now, what do you need in a fight?"

"A good opponent?" I kicked one of the spider's legs.

Cleo chuckled. "Boudicca is going to love you. But, no. Something to defend yourself with is the correct answer. Now imagine a sword in your hand."

I rolled away so I wouldn't stabbed in the head. I did as she said and imagined a sword in my hand. Like the last time with my chimera, it turned into mist. I growled. This was stupid.

"Le armi sono inutili in una lotta come questa." I muttered. Weapons are useless in a fight like this. It was true.

Cleo narrowed her eyes. "Don't sass me child." Her rapped her fingers. "How did you make your familiar appear?"

"I had a tea with Ionia." I shouted sarcastically, dodging its attacks. "But I know what I have to do." I imagined picking up a sword from the ground and sliced the spider in half.

Cleopatra clapped. "Good job! We'll work on summoning next time. But you have to read." She snapped her fingers and my sword turned into a book. "Have fun!"

I woke up in pitch blackness. For a second I forgot where I was and why my back hurt so much. Then I realized that I was at Pete's and that I was sleeping on the floor. I looked up at the clock to see it read 7:30 am, meaning Anala had been home from her shift for about two hours.

But why was it so dark? Oh yeah, the curtains. I sat up and looked around the room. Danny, Luke, and Sam were still asleep but Peter and Ava were missing. I got up and ninja snuck out of the room. Maybe I can snoop around.

After grabbing a cup of water I went over to the stairs that lead up to the second floor. There were pictures lining the walls. The one closest to me was of an older man and a young Pete doing science. The next was of the same man with an older Peter dressed in baseball gear. Each step I took was another picture of Pete with either the same man or a woman with white hair. Eventually I had reached the top of the stairs where one of the doors was cracked and I heard murmuring coming from it. Knowing it was probably Pete's room and he was probably in there, I walked over and looked through the crack.

And I was shocked with what I saw.

Spider-man was in there. Which meant-

I stepped back and placed a hand over my mouth. Shit. I can't believe I didn't notice it before. Peter was Spider-man which meant the others were his team.

"That would have been easier if we had the whole team."

"Yes, and make Mason even more suspicious of us. She's been staring at us too much." I heard Ava say. I almost laughed. I hadn't suspected them of being superheroes, just hoping to catch them staring at each other and call them out on it.

"Then we should tell her."

"We can't tell her."

"Why not? She could help us with missions and all that." Were they talking about me?

"Fury would be furious. He was already upset at Morgan for bringing her into the fight."

"She took care of Blight and Trick Shot. We can take care of herself if she gets attacked."

"Pete, I don't think-"

I didn't hear the rest as I started to reenact coming upstairs, just a lot louder. "Pete?"

I reached the top and he was wearing a bathrobe, leaning out of his room. "Hey Mason. You up already?"

I tried not to freak out on him for not telling me about being Spider-man. "Ya. Where's Ava?"

Ava came out from behind him, dressed in the clothes she was wearing yesterday. "Here. You need something?"

I raised an eyebrow, trying to show that I wasn't surprised. "No, just didn't see you when I woke up. Were you two finally confessing your love of one another? 'Cause I'll just go back downstairs and draw a mustache on Danny if you were."

Both Peter and Ava blushed a deep red but Ava was glaring daggers at me. Oops, must have slipped up. "Mason Dusk." She growled.

"Um, bye!" I jumped back down the stairs as fast as I could, laughing all the way.

I would have posted this yesterday but I got a haircut (now I look like Mason with blonde short hair) and I'm working on the official cover art.

So some fluff (and flirting) and two Nightwatcher lessons. Originally it was going to be two different chapters but I decided to stick them together. I'm glad I did. I tried to insert some flirting between Sam and Mason and suggesting that Ava has a crush on Peter. So, hope you enjoyed it.

Thank you so much latinoheat151 for both your review and picking Nightwatcher lesson over Electro. I want to thank you all for reading and reviewing the story.

NEXT TIME: Electro With A Twist

~PoetryNeedsANewName~