Disclaimer: Worms eat people.
Chapter 5
Origins
"Whoa!" Jake shouted as the girl jumped on him.
"Oh, Jake. I've missed you so much!" She said as Jake fell down.
"Wait. I don't remember anyone like you," Jake said.
"You don't remember me?"
"No. I don't remember much of anything."
She stepped back. "I'm Alex, Jake's little sister," she said with a flourished bow. "I don't get it. I know you've been away for a while, but how could you forget all of us?"
"All of who?"
"The kids in foster care with us. Psyche and Red and all the others."
"I have no idea what you are talking about."
"I guess I have some explaining to do, then.
"See, about six months after I was born Mom and Dad died in a car crash. CPS came and put us in foster care. We made new friends and eventually we established a bond of family. That was why they never put any of our group in different foster homes. We didn't need someone to look after us because we already looked after ourselves. They tried once but that kind of backfired when Red busted himself out. Literally. He used some bottle rockets and a few bottles of WD-40 to blow a hole in his wall so he could get back. Any of this ring any bells?
"Nope."
"Fine. I guess I'll go through the group and name off everyone and their powers."
"Wait, you guys have powers?" Beast Boy asked.
"Yeah. All of us have them. They just kind of came out of no where and manifested one day. So anyways, the group.
"There's Kyle, codename Psyche. Age thirteen. He can read people's thoughts and make them do stuff. It's pretty funny sometimes.
"Then there's Will, codename Red. Age fourteen. We call him Red because he always wears this red hat. He's our gadget man. If you want something fixed or made, he's the guy. He's also the Kung Fu master. That's not a power but he is pretty good.
"There's Steve, codename Slick. Age fourteen. He could talk his way out of anything. At first we thought he was just a slippery guy, but then he started being able to erase people's memories, make them see stuff that wasn't there or not see things that were there.
"After that, there's Erik, codename The Fox. Age twelve. He has insanely sharp senses. You can't sneak up on him without him hearing your heartbeat. It's pretty cool.
"Then there's me, Alex, codename Chameleon. Age fourteen. I can change what I look like. Not like a shape shifter or anything. I can just change the colors and shades of me or whatever I'm touching. Camouflage a la Alex.
"Finally, there's Jake, codename Heat. Age fifteen. Jake's our leader. He comes up with all our plans. The greatest warrior, strategist, and ladies magnet I ever met.
"We call ourselves Phoenix Night. We sneak out at night and keep people from stealing and murdering. We fight crime. Any questions?"
"One," said Robin. "Where are you located? I've never heard of you guys."
"We're from Seattle." Everyone looked confused when Alex said that. "It's on the West Coast. In Washington State." Nobody looked like they knew what she was talking about. "You people need to learn your geography."
"So I'm the leader of this Phoenix Night team?" Jake asked.
"Yes," Alex replied. "Do you remember anything?"
"Not much. I remember a little bit about a guy who tried to rob a bank. He pulled out a pistol and aimed it at the clerk. They were just closing and we were walking by the window. He told the lady 'Give me the money or I'll blow your brains all over your friend there.'"
"Yeah that was the night you went missing!" Alex looked really excited. "What else do you remember?"
"We busted through the window and the guy was so started the dropped the gun. We beat him easily and then there were helicopters and trucks outside. People were jumping out of them. They had guns and uniforms. They fired at us with tranquilizer darts. I blacked out and then the next thing I remember I was being chased through the woods by some guys with guns."
"After we all blacked out we all woke up in our beds. All except for you that is. We asked around but nobody except us remembered the night before. There was nothing on the news or anything."
"That's odd," Robin said as he listened. It would be hard for them to keep it all covered up if there was so much commotion."
"I know. We couldn't even find it on the internet. And everybody knows that everything is leaked onto the internet."
"Wow," Jake said, staring off into space. "This is a lot to take in at one time. Do you have a place to stay Alex?"
"Well, I was kinda hoping to stay with you guys for a while. At least, until I can get a ride back home."
"You're welcome to stay as long as you like. If you're related to Jake, then you're related to us," Robin said.
A/N: The long awaited fifth chapter of The Chronicles of Jake. Review please.
P.S.: I really just came up with the Phoenix Night idea as I was writing it. Now that I have, I think I might go over to Fiction Press and start writing stories about them. So if you liked this story, you might want to watch for me to start that. I'll keep you posted.