Kevin Price sipped his steaming cup of Tabasco spiced black coffee and looked up at the sky. To his eyes the V constellation seemed to glow. Soft footsteps rustled behind him. He sighed and raked a hand through his thick black hair. "You're late," he said, taking another pull of his coffee and turning around to greet his new company. Lonnie, Rath, Ava, and Zan stood facing him, framed by the dirty brick wall of the alleyway and the garbage piled along its side. Fitting, he thought to himself. Rath shifted in agitation.
"We don't take orders from you," he snarled, his large hulking form stepping forward challengingly. Zan put a hand on his shoulder, pulling him back.
"Chill, man," Zan said authoritatively. Ava ducked her head and hunched her shoulders, making herself as small as possible at this show of aggression.
"What's this all about?" Lonnie asked, leaning back against the wall and crossing her arms under her breasts, no doubt framing them for Kevin's sake. "You asked us to meet you here because you said you got a message from home."
Kevin finished his coffee and tossed the empty cup on the ground behind him. He reached into the pocket and pulled out a small triangular device made of some shiny black alloy. Symbols were carved along all three sides, the three largest on the corners. In the center was a square carved into four separate, smaller squares, each with their won symbols. Lonnie stepped forward and made a grab for the device. Kevin snatched it back and held it just out of her reach.
"Where did you get that? She demanded. Rath and Zan both stepped forward as well, leaving Ava standing uncertainly against the wall. Kevin smirked and put the object back into his pocket.
"Starbucks," he replied shortly. "From a thirteen year old kid who was convinced that I'm the clone of an alien King. Go figure." Kevin finished with a shrug.
Zan and Lonnie frowned. "He thought you were me?" Zan asked. Kevin rolled his eyes at the younger alien.
"No he thinks I'm the guy who killed you," he replied. Lonnie chuckled.
"And what do you think of that, Your Majesty?" she asked sarcastically, slinking forward and placing a hand on Kevin's arm. The gesture spoke of a familiarity between them, a familiarity that was long since past. Rath glared at the exchange. Kevin shrugged her hand off of his arm and spoke dismissively.
"It doesn't mean anything for you four. I on the other hand, am on the next flight to Arizona."
"What the hell is in Arizona?" Zan demanded. Kevin shifted and Ava looked up to meet his eyes. He really felt bad for her. Zan had claimed her as his, but he didn't even try to protect her from Rath and Lonnie, the sadists. He had been hanging out with these four for about three years, ever since he ran into them on the subway and realized that they were different like he was; the difference was these four knew more about where they were from. Kevin knew nothing. After the five of them had started hanging out more, working on their powers, Kevin tried his best to keep Ava out of harm's way, but he couldn't be there all the time. He had a life to live.
"Everything apparently," Kevin replied. Ava was desperately trying to catch his eye. The look on her face was pleading. Kevin turned around and began the twenty two block journey home. About two blocks down, he stopped, cursed himself, and turned around. Fifteen minutes later he was standing outside of the niche in the sewer where the Royal Four lived. He paused just outside to listen to the muffled argument going on inside.
"I say we get him, tonight." That was Rath.
"Don't be stupid. If we kill him, the people he's going to meet in Arizona won't have nothing to do with us." Ah, Lonnie, ever the pragmatist, Kevin thought, remembering his brief affair with the cold girl.
"Zan what do you say?" Rath demanded. Kevin heard Zan sigh.
"Better him than us," was the young king's reply. "You honestly think this ain't some kinda trap? Better his ass in fire than ours, that's what I say."
Rath growled, and threw something. Kevin heard a low whimper. Ava.
Kevin took a deep breath and stepped slightly forward, so that he could see them, but he was mostly hidden from view. Aiming carefully he fired off an energy blast into Rath's back, taking out the most dangerous of them first. Rath was stupid, but he was strong. His body fell to the floor with a thud, and Zan and Lonnie instantly took up defensive stances, while Ava shrank down into the ratty old couch and put her hands over her ears.
Kevin stepped forward quickly, firing off blast as fast as he could. Most of them missed, but a few hit their targets. He heard loud curses from the other two; then felt a burning pain in his left shoulder. Lonnie had managed to get in a hit, before she fell beside her lover. Only Zan was left now. The two of them stood silently, not blasting but sizing each other up. A quick darting movement had Ava pointing a hand at her former husband, and with a sharp bright burst of energy, Zan was down. Kevin relaxed and put down his own hand. Then he turned to look at the tiny blonde girl on the couch who was examining her own shaking hand.
"I could have done that, you know," he said, clearing his throat nervously, and reaching his other hand to his wounded shoulder, healing the damage.
"Are they dead?" Ava asked, almost hopeful. Kevin shook his head.
"We'd better get out of here," he said, taking her hand and pulling her off of the couch. "Pack a bag. Take only what you need, and whatever you can't bear to part with. I have a feeling we won't be coming back," he said, looking at the prone bodies on the floor. Ava shuddered and grabbed a battered faded greed duffel bag from under the sofa. She moved quickly, grabbing clothes from wherever she found them. Stepping over her former husband's body, she made her way to the four luminescent pods housed against one wall. Reaching into one of the pods she pulled out a large black sketchbook, a Tupperware container filled with oil pastels, an intricately carved wooden box, and a leather bound journal. She gently placed her treasures into her bag, her manner completely at odds with the haphazard way she'd handled her clothes. Then with a sly look at Kevin, she raided the other three pods for valuables, which were also stuffed into her duffel bag. She gave the dingy sewer one last look before turning to Kevin.
"I'm ready," she said. He nodded, taking her bag and shouldering its weight, before taking her hand and leading her outside.
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Liz parker tucked her order pad into the pocket of her apron and smiled brightly at the family in front of her. A mom, a dad, and a sullen thirteen year old boy. A nice normal family. Must be nice, Liz thought wistfully, as she walked back to the order window and handed the order sheet to Michael. He grunted at her and nodded to the three plates of prepared food. She grabbed the plates and balanced them on her tray before setting off. Deftly weaving through the crowded tables and nodding to a harried looking Maria, Liz mad her way to the booth along the wall. Her cousin Isabel was sitting with Liz's twin brother Chris, and his girlfriend Serena. "Here you go,"she said, setting their plates down in front of them before moving to walk back to the kitchen.
"Leaving so soon?" Serena asked, tucking a glossy black curl behind her ear. Liz snorted.
"Have you seen this place? It's a mad house. Table five hasn't even been looked at and Michael and Maria are broken up this week, which certainly doesn't bode well for her tables. Don't get me wrong, I'd love to stay and chat, but I have responsibilities," she said, looking pointedly at her twin, who of course, couldn't see her. Due to an alien mishap, and their past lives coming back to bite them on the ass, Christopher had lost his sight at the age of five, for no apparent reason. No medical reason at least.
"I have responsibilities," Isabel grumbled.
"All hail the Nazi," Serena snorted. Isabel scowled at the dark skinned girl, and Serena winked at her. Liz sighed, waved her order pad at her friends and walked over to the sorely neglected group at table five.
Outside of the diner, a mom, a dad, and a sullen looking teenage boy made their way to the minivan parked across the street. The woman looked nervously at her son, then to her husband. "Are we sure?" she asked uncertainly, focusing on her son. The boy nodded and smiled.
"It's her alright. His Majesty will be very pleased," he said, opening the passenger door of the minivan and climbing in. His parents followed suit, fastening their seatbelts as well. The mother turned to face the boy.
"I thought that Our Lord had yet to recover-"
"It's being taken care of!" the boy snapped, cutting her off sharply. "Drive," he commanded. "It's a long way back to Copper Summit."
