Chapter Five
Journal Entry 453:
Once again the Hyper Force has managed to defeat all my mechanical menaces yet despite how much I do for them they still ignore my existence. I'm beginning to suspect they don't appreciate me. No. That can't be it, you're just thinking stupid things. I simply haven't proven myself yet. Yeah, that's it.
Chiro, I see right through y, you're a child who feels the need to be lead. That has to be it. You're looking for my attention. And you have it, once I prove myself to the rest of the Hyper Force I will be by your side at all times. I will never leave you Chiro. Never ever.
"And I'm saying you can't make a 90 degree turn in only six seconds. Going from horizontal to vertical is extremely dangerous if not impossible." Gibson argued with Sparx both of which were playing a board game and getting very heated over it.
"I can and I will."
Things had calmed down a lot since Chiro had healed and things were now getting back to a sense of normal. Normal with the occasional monster attack but those weren't out of the ordinary in Shuggazoom, it was basically Skeleton King Attack Capital of the entire galaxy. Things other than that though had gone back to normal or even improved.
Otto now washed his hands before he cooked or did anything with food, which was Gibson's only demand of the green eyed boy. Antauri had grown more protective of Chiro but also let the boy have alone time when he needed it, even if it meant Chiro skipping the occasional training exercise. Gibson had begun to collect samples of Formless that they fought just incase something did happen to the again and they needed a cure. Nova had begin to relax and accept the fact that she liked being a girl and that just because the boys could be jerks sometimes she knew she was better deep down. Then there was Sparx who was well… the cocky and headstrong redhead he always had been.
Chiro laid on his stomach playing his video games kicking his feet slightly as he too up as much of his lazy Sunday as he could before something took his resting away from him. He was 13 after all and a 13 year old needs his video games, despite what is 'Guardians' (Antauri and Gibson) said about it. Besides he had games from last year that he had never played before and he wanted to get started on them before the world ended or something.
A sudden unseen force knocked the robot back causing the alarms to scream out and chiro to go sliding across the floor.
"What was that?!" Chiro squeaked loudly, as he switched the television to a large security camera showing a giant robot Kangaroo with five eyes outside of the robot ready to strike again. "Hyper Force! Go!" He yelled as the team quickly forgot what they were doing before making their way to their colored tubes on the wall that sucked them into their different area's of the robot.
"Foot Crusher Cruiser Six! Go!" Nova called quickly followed by Otto.
"Foot Crusher Cruiser Five! Go!"
"Fist Rocket Four! Go!" Gibsons heavy accent chirped in.
"Fist Rocket Three. Go." Sparx said, calmer than the rest of the team.
"Brain Scrambler Pilot Two. Go!" Called Antauri.
"Torso Tank Driver One! Go!" Said Chiro as the robot jumped to life and the headed into to face the robotic Kangaroo who was bouncing around one eye seeming to focus on each of the team members.
"Another one of these animal based robots, seriously?" Chiro grumbled, "First it was the Caterpillar, then the giant cat, then the dog now this thing?! Where are these things coming from!"
"Not sure but I plan to find out." Gibson said.
"Finger Rockets!" Chiro ordered as Gibson and Sparx quickly did as they were said, shooting the rockets out of the tips of the robot's fingers.
Instead of hitting the robot like they all expected though the Kangaroo managed to punch the rockets out of the air exploding each of them to produce smoke the perfect cover for it's next move, which was a hard swing with it's tail, hitting the super robot hard in the chest causing it to stumble back before hitting a building hard enough to break a good chunk of it off.
"Hey! Keep your tail to yourself ya big rat!" Sparx said as the team managed to get the robot back on it's feet.
"Eye beams activated." Antauri said, as the Robot's eyes sparked to life as a bright yellow beam shot out of the eyes and hit the Kangaroo full force knocking it back. It stumbled a few times before the robot stood up on it's tail kicking the robot hard in the chest denting the front of the robot and knocking it down before standing on top of the chest.
"Charging the Lazatron Fury." Chiro said before pushing down on the finger button.
The chest lit up a familiar light blue color before the burst of energy shot out hitting the Kangaroo sending it flying in the air before it slammed hard on the ground.
"Team, dismantle that bot!" Chiro ordered.
"Right!" Nova said, as they got the robot back to its feet and in one fail punch the fist which Sparx was in went through the Kangaroos chest and pulled out it's power source.
"Done and Done!" Sparx smiled.
Journal Entry 457:
The Hyper Force once again defeated my robot, I'm beginning to get frustrated but at the same time I know all the hours I've spent on each bot is just so they can see me. So they can know what I'm good at and to what lenths I'm willing to go to for them and this City. Mother doesn't like that I spend all my time on machines but what would she know, she is a machine as well after all. Who cares what she has to say.
In other new's Chiro's birthday is coming up soon, I wonder what he'd like. Hah, as if I don't already know. I do. I have already gotten his present and changed it enough that if I don't get what I want what he wanted will give me what I want. It'll give me Chiro and the Hyper Force at last. I just need to make a few adjustments before the day arives.
"What have you discovered, Gibson?" Chiro asked the glasses wearing boy.
"A signature on the powersource K.G. I'm not sure what it means but when I searched it nothing came up. I'll hopefully figure it out soon enough but until I do we should watch and see if anything with the same signature comes up." Gibson said.
Chiro nodded, "Alright, I'm going to town with Nova and Otto, do you want us to grab you anything?"
"Science 204 Magazine please." Gibson said, looking back at his experiment. "Don't let them get you into any trouble Chiro."
"You and Antauri worry too much." Chiro laughed and rolled his eyes. "Bye Gibson." He waved then walked out of the lab and into the center of the room where the yellow eyed Nova and green eyed Otto were waiting. "You two ready?" He asked.
"Waiting on you buddy." Otto smiled, jumping up and down, obviously more excited than the rest of them to go out and play in town, he always did like looking if they had new things he could collect. He always had liked collecting strange things so he was always first in line when something came in.
"Well, maybe you're gonna find something new for your weird collections." Nova laughed. "You're gonna bounce through the floor."
"I hope so." Otto smiled.
The two made their way out of the Super Robot before making their way quickly towards the center of town. Chiro was standing in between Nova and Otto who with their taller heights and intense gaze made them look like older siblings to Chiro or maybe even his parents. Once they actually got into town though Otto was jumping from stand to stand looking at everything as Chiro walked over to the magazine and action figure stand while Nova went to look at more exercise equipment.
"Hello. Chiro." Said the man behind a counter making Chiro jump.
'Was he always there? ' Chiro thought to himself before smiling. "Hi." He said, "Got Science 204 magazine?" Chiro asked.
"Sure do Chiro." The man said reaching into a box and handing it to Chiro, "We also got this in." He said sliding a magazine in front of Chiro.
"No way! First edition SunRiders Magazine! These things are so rare! How did you find this! And it's still in the plastic!"
"It took many years but I found it."
"How much?" Chiro asked, almost to excited to contain himself.
"For you, nothing." He said, "But fifteen for the Science Magazine."
"Free? N-no I can't do that."
"Consider it a gift for saving the city all the time." The green eyed man said putting it in Chiro's hand.
"If you're sure." He said, reaching into his pocket and handing the money to the man.
"Have a good day Chiro." He said, waving as Chiro walked away.
"Chiro!" Otto said, coming over with a big grin on his face. "Look what I- Wait, whatcha got there?" Otto asked, seeing the plastic-wrapped magazine.
"Oh that guy-." Chiro turned to point but frowned when he saw the man and all his stuff was gone leaving just his table. "Where did he go?"
"Who?" Nova asked, with a handful of stuff in her hands.
"There was a guy who gave me these for only fifteen dollars and this Sun Riders comic goes for a fortune but he gave me this for free and I just had to pay for this!" He said, holding up Gibsons Magazine.
"He had to be insane. You say that thing goes for a fortune?" Otto asked, looking at the magazine with glittering eyes.
"Yes. And it's mine." Chiro said pulling it to his chest. "Only seven were ever made." Chiro smiled.
"You guys need anything else?" Nova asked, now cautious about the mysterious man.
"I don't know. What did the others need?" Otto asked, glancing at a nearby table.
"Antauri doesn't want anything and Sparx wanted pop rocks." Chiro said and Nova held them up. "That's everybody."
"Then I guess we don't need anything else." Otto said over his shoulder as he ran over to a table.
"Then where are you going?" Nova laughed and chased after him.
"No! I need more things!" Otto said, quickly dashing away from the yellow-eyed girl.
"Otto!"
Chiro laughed then chased after the group.
Journal Entry 458:
I did it! I talked to Chiro today, he was only a few inches from me. I wanted to tell him that I was his biggest fan. But I didn't want to look desperate, I have him the SunRider's comic as well as another one that he was looking for. Too bad the old man who owned the shop wouldn't just give it up, now he's stinking up my closet as he melts into the floor. Disgusting, I'll have to find a new place to keep him soon before the neighbors start to smell him.
I'm going to give Chiro his Birthday Present the day after tomorrow, I hope he likes it. Then again I can't see why he wouldn't. After weeks of watching his every move, following him and the team wherever they go I think I figured out what he wants yet the rest of the team continues to stay clueless. But we'll just have to see what tomorrow brings.
"How was the store?" Antauri asked as the three walked back in, Nova carrying Otto over her shoulder as he played with a bright green light up yo-yo.
"Just great, spent half an hour chasing Otto." Nova sighed, dropping Otto onto the floor.
"And you Chiro?"
"Great! This guy gave me a super rare addition of the SunRiders still in plastic. For free!"
"Free?" Antauri said, "Sounds like that could be sold for quite a lot of money, why would he just give it to you?"
Chiro shrugged, "I don't know but when I went to show him to Nova and Otto he was gone." Chiro smiled, "Anyways I'm going to give Gibson his magazine then go put this away." He said, then walked off.
"It's suspicious if you ask me." Nova said, crossing her arms.
"Very." Antauri said. "Anyways, did you manage to get your things for Chiro's surprise party tomorrow night?"
"Yep." Nova smiled, "Had it for a few days."
"I got mine finished yesterday."
"Good, tomorrow I will take Chiro to the park while you guys set up the event. Make sure Sparx and Gibson didn't really forget while pretending to have forgotten. We all know Chiro has never really had a real birthday party until last year, we have to make it special."
"Yeah. It's so sad that he's never had a birthday party before he met us." Otto frowned, pausing in his playing. "Really sad."
Antauri nodded, "We may not know much about his past but we can assume just by that it wasn't a good childhood."
"And we'll make it the best we can from now on." Nova said, arms crossed.
Chiro looked out the window of his bedroom looking at the city below. He loved the city so much he just wanted to protect it, but at the same time he wanted to leave to find JinMay. He sighed then flopped down on his bed in his blue and white striped pajamas as he looked at his bedroom ceiling.
Another forgotten birthday. Guess I shouldn't be surprised. just another day after all.
he rolled onto his side looking at his SunRider poster. "I bet you guys wouldn't forget." He sighed, then reached into his desk pulling out a toy magazine and looking at the 'action figure' he wanted so bad. He was robbed of most of his childhood, so him wanting the toy robot wasn't wrong in his mind, yet he hadn't asked. He didn't want to be a bother to the team.
There was a knock on Chiro's bedroom door, making the boy jump slightly. He quickly slipped the magazine under his pillow.
"Come in." He said, sitting up.
Antauri came in, a soft smile on his face.
"Hey, Chiro. You wanna come to the park with me?"
"Sure." He smiled, "When?"
"Tomorrow afternoon. I must go and identify plants, I could use your assistance. Besides, after that we can go see the new SunRiders movie."
"Really?!" Chiro sat up happily.
"Yeah, It's fifty percent off tomorrow only think it's a good chance to catch a movie between battles."
Chiro nodded. "Okay!"
"Alright. Make sure you're all clean and ready for a big day tomorrow." Antauri smiled, ruffling Chiro's hair slightly.
"I will Antauri. Anything else planned for tomorrow?"
Antauri thought before shaking his head. "No, nothing comes to mind. Why is there something I've forgotten?"
"Huh? Oh no just wondering."
"Very well. Goodnight Chiro."
"Goodnight Antauri." Chiro said, laying back down.
The next morning Chiro woke up to the smell of Chocolate Chip Pancakes. He sat up, rubbing his eyes sleepily. He yawned softly and looked at the clock with a sigh. He had first thought they remembered but now that he thought about it they had BlueBerry or Chocolate Chip pancakes every second Tuesday of the month. Why would today be any different.
Chiro got out of bed, took a quick cold shower, then got dressed and joined the rest of the team down in the kitchen for the first meal of the day.
"Good morning, Chiro!" Nova said, hugging the boy tightly.
"Good morning." Chiro yawned, sitting sleepily at the table. "What are you guys doing today?"
"I have to make some repairs on the robot." Otto said.
"I have experiments that need my attention." Gibson said.
"I'm going to polish my magnets." Added Sparx.
"And I have a workout planned." Nova smiled.
"I see." Chiro said trying not to sound disappointed. "I'm going to help Antauri find rare plants in the park."
"That sounds like fun, with all the craziness lately you deserve a break."
"Yeah, I guess so." Chiro said, softly playing with his hair.
"Here ya go kid." Sparx said handing Chiro pancakes. "Eat up."
"Thanks." Chiro said, smiling softly.
"There's a smile! Now I won't have to put one on your face for you." Sparx teased.
Chiro stuck out his tongue softly. "You're weird." He said.
"What's wrong Chiro?" Otto asked.
"Nothing, just more nightmares. But hey, what's new ya'know."
"Nightmares? About what?" Gibson asked with a soft frown, sitting next to Chiro.
"Being locked up, experimented on, you name it." He sighed, "But it's not just by the Skeleton King… it's that people don't care anymore and decide I'm the enemy and that they need to figure out what makes me tick. Then there's another one… where I'm standing outside a door and this… thing comes out of it and… starts trying to kill me or something. I don't know though…"
"Hmm… maybe it's the stress from everything that's happened to you recently." Gibson said. "It's highly likely that your brain is trying to help you cope with it and it's causing you nightmares."
"Well whatever it is it'll go away on its own." Chiro said with a shrug, causing the rest of the team to look at him worriedly before looking at eachother.
Chiro and Antauri finished breakfast before leaving for the park. Chiro knew deep down that looking for plants with Antauri would be boring but he thought that maybe exhausting himself would help him fall asleep that night. He wasn't really sure about that though, it was just a hopeful thought that danced in the back of his head.
"So Antauri what plants are we looking for exactly?"
"The main one on my list is the Siribu Cat, it's a rare purple and blue flower that causes hallucinations if it's touched without protective gloves."
Chiro looked at Antauri and frowned, "but you're not wearing any gloves."
Antauri laughed, "You're right I'm not. But I'm not exactly human am I? It doesn't effect me like it would humans such as yourself."
Chiro nodded softly, he often forgot that the rest of the team were part robot, that they had metal lining their bones, oil in their blood, and a small computer on their brain making them process things faster and making them smarter than the average human. It was weird to think that he, being not only the youngest, but being completely human was the leader of this team with Antauri as his second command, and now that he was thinking about it he was self conscious. He wasn't as smart or brave as them, yet he bossed them around during fights, he got to say what was best.
"Chiro? Are you alright?" Antauri asked.
"Huh? Oh! Yeah I'm fine Antauri let's go look for that flower."
"Cake for Chiro, Cake for Chiro!" Sang Otto as he stirred the batter.
"So Sparx what did you get Chiro for his birthday?" Nova asked the redhead.
"Nothing, yet. I just want to get him something special you know."
"You do realize his birthday is today right?" Gibson pointed out, "You're running out of time."
"If it comes down to it I'll give him an IOU."
"Sparx." Nova snapped, "You did that last year and you never gave him anything! This is Chiro! Our best friend in the world who never has had a real party until we gave him one and you're going to just give him an IOU again? You're such a jerk!" She said, slamming her fist down on the table. "Now go! Find him a present right now or I will make your life miserable!"
Sparx knew that Nova wasn't kidding so he sighed and made his way out of the kitchen before going to the pods. He had just exited the door when he saw a man with green eyes and greasy black hair holding a box.
"Package for Chiro." The man said, handing the box to him.
"For Chiro? What is it?"
"A birthday present."
"You know about his birthday?"
"Of course. I'm a friend." The man said, then turned and walked away.
"Creep." Sparx whispered before looking into the box and smiled at the little toy robot. It was something Sparx figured Chiro would enjoy. "Well better than nothin'." He smiled then carried the box in where he proceeded to wrap it and put it on the table. "There, present for Chiro."
"That was fast." Nova said, "Is it an empty box?"
"No, it's a present." Sparx said shaking it softly. "Don't worry and trust me." Sparx said, crossing his arms.
Journal Entry: 459
The present has been delivered to the Super Robot, the red one, Sparx looked right at me. I could see he didn't remember but I know in a few days it'll be impossible for him to forget me. I am K.G. after all. The creator of machines and I will soon be the next member of the Hyper Force. Whether they want me to be or not.
I have to think of a way to get Chiro alone, they're going to the movies later maybe I can get him there. Yeah, I think I might just do that. Get him away from Antauri long enough to talk to him, convince him that he needs me. I will protect Chiro from the evil of the world, I won't let him get hurt. I am K.G. and I will protect Chiro even if it means protecting him from the Hyper Force.
"Antauri! I found it!" Chiro called from the slow stream.
Antauri jogged over and smiled, "Good job Chiro!" He said, patting Chiro's shoulder softly before he plucked the flower, roots and all and slipped it into a ziplock bag which he then slipped in a small bag. "Now that we have the flower why don't we go see the movie." He smiled, "The next show time is coming up pretty soon."
Chiro's face filled with joy as he nodded and the two made their way towards the cinema.
"Two tickets for SunRiders: The Return please." Antauri said to the man behind the register who nodded and gave them the two tickets.
"That'll be 34.58." He said boredly, chewing a piece of gum.
Antauri nodded sliding the money towards the man. "Do you want any snacks?" He asked Chiro who nodded.
"Popcorn and a soda?"
"Large popcorn, Soda and Candy combo." Antauri said, "Gummy Bears for the candy."
"Whatever." The man said, turning and handing the two their snacks. "That'll be another 12.50."
This time Chiro paid and the two made their way into the SunRider's screening room sitting on a alley-seat near the top of the seats. Chiro instantly attacked the popcorn and Soda before the end of the movie previews while Antauri enjoyed his gummy bears, something Chiro always found funny was that he liked such strange kind of candies.
"IN A LAND OVERRUN WITH DARKNESS THREE HERO'S DARED TO STAND ABOVE THE REST AND PROTECT THE PEOPLE THAT THEY LOVED!" The movie boomed as the lights went dark.
Chiro smiled, adjusting his sitting position before relaxing again and watching as his favorite heroes appeared on the screen.
"THE LEADER: SUPER QUASAR AND HIS SOLAR HELMET PROTECT THE CITY FROM THE EVILS OF KING SHADOWMIST. AURORA SIX, THE LADY OF THE TEAM USES HER SUN GUN, GETTING THE ANSWERS SHE WANTS WITH HER BEAUTY OR FORCE DEPENDING ON THE VILLAIN THEY'RE AGAINST. AND THEN THE SIDEKICK: JOHNNY SUNSPOT, A BOY GENIUS WHO CREATES THE WEAPONS FOR THE TEAM. TOGETHER THESE THREE HERO'S MAKE UP THE SUNRIDERS, HERO'S OF THE GALAXY."
Half way through the movie though Chiro sighed, "I have to use the bathroom." He whispered to Antauri who nodded, "Tell me if anything interesting happens?"
"Of course." Antauri said and Chiro slid out of his seat and then made his way out of the screen room and towards the bathroom.
"Really shouldn't have had all that soda." Chiro mumbled to himself as he washed his hands.
"Hello Chiro." A man said behind Chiro making him jump and quickly turn around.
"O-Oh, hey it's you from the Magazine Stand." He said, looking at the green eyed, greasy haired man. "What's up?" He asked and the man held out his hand.
"My name is Gyrus Krinkle." He said, and Chiro shook the hand presented to him, part of him beginning to feel uneasy.
"Gyrus." Chiro said, making a mental not hoping that he wouldn't forget this man or the bad feeling he was giving him. "What's up?"
"Nothing, just wanted to say Happy Birthday." He said, startling Chiro. "The rest of the Hyper Force may have forgotten, but not me Chiro. I never forget something as important as that."
"Than-thank you Gyrus." Chiro said, realizing Gyrus still had his hand he quickly pulled it away. "W-well I'll see you around." Chiro smiled, with a wave as he quickly made his way out of the bathroom and into the screen room.
The rest of the movie Chiro could hardly focus on what was on the screen, his mind continuously turning to Gyrus and the weird feeling he gave him. Gyrus didn't scare him, per say, he just weirded him out and made him feel uneasy.
"Chiro?" Antauri said and Chiro jumped looking around to see that he and Antauri were the only ones in the screen room and the movie was over. Antauri put his hand against his head. "Do you feel alright?"
"I'm fine." He said, "Sorry I might have fallen asleep." He laughed as he stood up, both unaware of the man behind the glass, standing with the projector watching them. "Let's go home."
"Agreed. It's getting late and I suspect the team will begin to worry if we are not home before it gets too much darker."
Chiro smiled, "You're right."
"Oh, lugnuts! They're coming, guys!" Sparx yelled, quickly scrambling to hide his present.
"Get ready." Nova said, ducking behind the kitchen behind the counter as they turned off the light.
"You did very well finding that flower for me today, and now I think the others might have something for you too." Antauri's voice could be heard before the lights flicked on.
The team all jumped out from their hiding places.
"SURPRISE!" They all yelled making Chiro jump and after a minute tears filled Chiro's eyes.
"You guys remembered." He sniffled, falling to his knees. "I thought you guys forgot."
"We'd never forget, kid. You're special to us, and not just because you're our leader." Sparx said. "You're our friend, too."
Chiro sniffled as Otto climbed over the table sitting next to him. "You okay?"
Chiro nodded, "Yeah." He said, hugging Otto, "I'm just really glad you remember."
"Of course we did. We even made a cake and you've got presents." Nova said, coming over and kissing the top of Chiro's head.
"Cake?" Chiro laughed as he got up his knees trembling.
"How was the movies?" Gibson asked Antauri under his breath.
"I think something happened with Chiro, but I dunno he won't talk to me." He mumbled, both watching as Chiro looked at all the presents and stuff.
"Open mine first, kid! Open mine first!" Sparx said excitedly, setting the box in front of Chiro.
Chiro giggled, "Okay." He said, opening it slowly as his eyes widened. "No way! The Techroid 998!" He said, "How did you know?!"
Sparx looked surprised but smiled, "I just know what you like kid." he said.
"Thanks Sparx." Chiro said, looking at the toy robot with a smile.
"My turn!" Nova said, handing him a small box.
Chiro opened it and looked confused pulling out a small rock which went from brilliant pink to a deep blue and then changed shape to a perfectly round rock.
"It's a rare space gem it changes shape and color with your emotion." She smiled.
"Thanks Nova." He said, "Maybe I'll put it a necklace or something." He smiled and Nova smiled back at him.
"My turn Chiro." Gibson cleared his throat handing Chiro a box that was bigger than Nova's but smaller than Sparx's.
Chiro hesitated then looked at him, "It's not going to explode like last year is it?" He asked and the team laughed while Gibson blushed.
"No, it is not."
Chiro smiled then opened the box as he nose wrinkled and he pulled out what looked like a large worm. "A worm?"
"Wrong, a Silrinian Slug, the only slug throughout the cosmos that extreets candy." Gibson said matter-of-factly.
"Yum." Chiro said with a weak smile, "I'll try it later."
"I made mine from scratch." Otto said, pushing a button on a metal bo that opened up and showed a robotic Chiro that with a push of another button the robot Chiro punched and said, "Thunder Punch!"
"Woah!" Chiro said, fascinated by the mechanical him. "I love it!"
Antauri smiled, then reached into his bag and pulled out the flower and put it in a glass container. "And this is yours. Chiro."
"The flower?"
"Yes, it's rare and powerful, just as a young man we know." He smiled, "Just please, don't touch it." He laughed and Chiro nodded, carefully taking the glass container.
"T-thank you guys." Chiro said happily.
"Okay, time for cake!" Nova said with a grin.
Journal 451:
I knew Sparx couldn't be trusted. He took credit for the present I gave Chiro. Not surprising, I will punish him eventually. But the point of the present was to keep an eye on Chiro, make sure nobody tries to rip us apart. Also as I expected Chiro keeps the toy on the desk right next to his bed, it gives me a perfect view of him through the nigh I will make sure nothing bad happens to him. He can count on me to protect him. I will protect him.
In other news I talked to Chiro in the bathroom at the movie theatre I forgot just how stunning his eyes are. It's like the sky is trapped in his eyes hiding a flame under the blue. Don't worry Chiro, tomorrow I will see you again. Tomorrow I will save you, and you will have to accept me as a member of the hyperforce. You'll have no other choice.
Chiro flopped down on his bed sleepily as he stretched looking at his birthday presents which all stood on his bed, though the slug kept trying to eat the rock from it's cage so he had to keep them further apart but Chiro didn't mind. Maybe he could find where the slug came from and take it back to it's own planet. The now 14 year old pulled the blanket over his shoulder and yawned and he tried to relax managing to drift off a few hours later, but two hours later his alarm clock rang out making him jump awake.
'Great,' He thought to himself, 'Time for Training with Nova. This oughtta be fun.' He yawned forcing himself out of bed and to his dresser.
Chiro unbuttoned his pajama shirt and tossing it to the dirty clothes pile which was starting to get full, they would have to do laundry soon. He then grabbed a clean shirt out of the drawer slipping it on before putting on his white and orange jacket. He then took off his pajama bottoms an dput on a clear pair of jeans, followed by socks and his boots.
He yawned again walking to the slug tossing one of Gibson's food pellets to it before he left the room, yawning wildly.
"Good morning." He yawned, as he sat at the table and put his head down on the cold metal surface.
"Good morning, Chiro." Antauri said, "Did you sleep better?" He asked, getting a grunt for a reply from the boy.
"I'll take that as a no, then." Sparx said, sitting next to Chiro. "Maybe we should just knock you out; you'd sleep then."
Chiro laughed, "Yeah maybe." He sighed, then sat up the bags under his eyes almost as dark as his hair. "I'll be fine though." He promised, grabbing a banana and a glass of milk for breakfast with a yawn.
"Those bags under your eyes seem to tell a different story." Gibson said.
"Yeah, kid. Maybe you should try some concealer before you say that again."
"It's not affecting how I fight or my powers." Chiro said, "As long as I can keep doing what I do it's fine." He said.
"Hi guys." Nova said, "Ready for training Chiro."
"Yep." Chiro said, tossing the peel away before he finished his glass of milk and the two made their way into the training room.
"Okay, so what do you wanna do today?" Nova asked as she began to stretch.
Chiro yawne as he popped his shoulder, "How about hand to hand combat, we haven't done that in a while."
"Sure thing." Nova smiled, "If you think you're up for it."
"Always." Chiro smirked bending down and touching his toes. But the second he started to stand up a dizzy spell hit him making him stumble.
"Woah, you okay Chiro?" Nova asked.
"Huh? Oh! Yeah guess I'm not awake yet." He laughed, the two pairing off, as he signaled for her to attack.
Nova charged at Chiro, but she was worried about Chiro's stumble so she made a mental note to hold back. She didn't want to hurt him if he was pushing himself. Chiro however didn't seem as worried, Nova punched at him, as Chiro grabbed her fist, spinning her and throwing her across the room. Chiro then ran at her doing a front flip over the taller girl before sweeping her feet out from under her.
"Come on Nova!" He said, hands on his hips, "Get your head in the game." He said, then yawned slightly.
Nova opened her mouth to speak but before she could the alarms began to blare.
"The city is under attack!" Gibson said over the loudspeakers.
Nova and Chiro looked at eachother before quickly running to the center deck where Otto pulled up the camera.
"Ew!" Gibson shuddered, as what seemed like dozens of man sized spiders ran over the city. "I hate bugs!"
Chiro growled, "Hyper Force! Get your packs and go!" Chiro said, then quickly dashed to his orange hatch.
The others soon followed him, and not five minutes later they were flying over the spider invasion.
"Divide and conquer." Chiro said, and the team nodded splitting into a star like position.
Chiro yawned again, his vision going blurry for a second before he managed to shake it off and land in between three a happy couple and three spiders. He held up his fist then punched the ground hard. "Thunder punch!" He yelled, causing the ground to split and the spider's to tumble. "Run!" He shouted to the couple who did as they were told.
Chiro then looked back at the Spiders who had gotten back up and were surrounding him slowly. He held out his hand letting the lightning bolt form before he threw it through the head of one of the spiders. "Chiro Spearo!"
The spider bursts leaving Chiro with the two that were on either side of him. He did a roundhouse kick to the one on his right , knocking its robot head off and after stumbling around for a minute it deactivated. Chiro turned to face the last one and was shocked to see it was gone. He blinked wildly before he backed up a bit looking for it when he heard the hum of it's engine above him. Chiro looked up at the wall but it was too late as the spider spat out a web which knocked Chiro off his feet and stuck him to the ground. Besides the overwhelming smell of spray paint it wasn't too bad until the robot began to shake and electricity ran through the web.
Pain shot through Chiro as he closed his eyes tightly and screamed, trying to get out of the web. Then there was a loud clank of metal and metal, and the electricity stopped. Chiro sniffled opening his eyes and looking up at his savoir expecting one of his team he was shocked to see a familiar greasy black haired man with green eyes.
"G-Gyrus?"
"Chiro." he said, smashing the bots head again before he ran over and began to pull away the webs. "Are you alright?" He asked, helping Chiro to his feet.
"I'm fine, but how did you find me?" He asked.
"I was in the neighborhood." He said, "Guess this makes me part of the team now huh?" He said.
"Wha-what?" Chiro asked.
"I saved you, I proved myself, I'm part of the hyperforce now."
Chiro shuddered, there was that uncomfortable feeling he got from Gyrus again. "I-I'm sorry Gyrus but we're not looking for any new members… but I really appreciate the help." He smiled, his stomach twisting in not as he seemed to be angry.
Gyrus glared about to speak.
"Chiro." Antauri's voice said startling Gyrus. "Are you alright?"
"I'm fine." Chiro smiled, then looked at Gyrus who was storming away angrily.
"Who was that."
"Just a fan who stepped in to help." Chiro said, walking over to Antauri whose hands were covered in robot oil.
"Well, I guess you needed the help." Nova said with a soft frown as she started picking web out of Chiro's hair.
"Yeah. Guess so." He shook off the feeling as the rest of the team came over having finished the robots.
"K.G." Gibson said, holding up a peice of the robot. "He's at it again." He huffed.
Chiro nodded softly, "Yeah." He crossed his arms letting Nova pick at his hair. "Otto you and I will go back to the robot and check the Shuggazoom Security Camera's the rest of you patrol and ask around, see if anybody needs help." Chiro said and the team nodded.
The team then split up, and Chiro couldn't help but worry. That guy seemed to be everywhere he went. It was super-creepy.
After three hours of examining the security camera the creepiness only added. There was four people who were at all of the K.G. attacks; BT, Glenny, The guy with the stuffed Penguin who Chiro wanted to stay was called Stan, and Gyrus. Gyrus was always in the background and was almost impossible to see unless Chiro looked really hard, but he was definitely there looking directly at the camera, as though looking right at Chiro with a smile.
"Well none of these guys look like a threat." Otto said.
Chiro nodded, 'Otto's right, Gyrus is just a fan, he wouldn't go to all the trouble just to hang around him. Would he? No. Gyrus was human, like him. He just wanted a friend. That had to be it. And Chiro would just have to be his friend or find out first. He didn't want to fight a human person. Especially who gave him the magazine he had wanted since a boy for free.'
"Earth to Chiro." Otto said, waving a hand in front of Chiro's face. "Come in, Chiro."
"Huh? Oh, I was just thinking sorry." He said, "Did you say something?"
"No, but you just kinda… spaced out there." Otto said with a slight frown. "Maybe you should go in and sleep."
Chiro shook his head, "No, I'm alright Otto." He smiled, then began to type on his monitor softly while Otto continued to look at the large monitors.
Gyrus Krinkle
Clean Ops Tech Number 06751
(Fired: On grounds of excessive Creepiness towards the HyperForce.)
"Gyrus is a harder worker and is amazing with machines, and often repairs or fixes the machines that the Clean Ops use. But he often freaks out the rest of the crew with his constant talking about Chiro and the rest of the HyperForce."
The more Chiro read the more uneasy he felt. Gyrus was fired from his job because he was obsessed with the hyperforce and now he seemed to be showing up everywhere. No, it had to be a coincidence. Gyrus may be creepy but he wasn't a stalker or anything. Right?
"Chiro?" Antauri's voice spoke up and Chiro screamed startled as he turned towards Antauri.
"Dude! Don't do that!" He said.
"You didn't hear us come in?" Antauri asked, raising an eyebrow.
"No I didn't." Chiro blushed, turning off the monitor, "What did you guys find?"
"Nobody knows anybody with the name K.G. or any initials such as that." Antauri said, "It might be an alias but nobody know's for sure. Are you sure you're alright? You have appeared jumpy since the movie yesterday."
"I'm fine Antauri." He said again, "You need to relax."
"He's not the one jumping at his own shadow, kid." Sparx pointed out.
Chiro sighed, "I know. I know. Listen, I'm going to go to my room for a while clear my head." He said, "I'll be down before dinner." He promised.
"Try and get some sleep during that time." Antauri said, softly putting his hand on Chiro's shoulder. "It might help you."
Chiro nodded softly, "And you try to relax, all of you." He smiled, then walked to his room.
Chiro laid on his bed with a sigh, looking over at his birthday presents again. Before he softly glared, something was off. He reached under his pillow grabbing his magazine and flipping to where the Techroid was then frowned. There were subtle differences between the one he had and the one in the magazine, but the main one was that the eyes that were supposed to be blue were blood red on his toy. Frowning he picked up the toy and looked at it for a second before looking at the foot and gasping, on the bottom of the left foot said in big letters: K.G.
He was about to run out to tell the others when a gust of light purple smoke puffed out of it, and the world around him went dark.
"The city is under attack!" Antauri said as the sirens began to ring out.
"Again?!" Nova growled.
"I'll get Chiro." Otto said.
"No, he's likely asleep we can handle this on our own." Antauri said, "Hyper Force Go!"
The team all rushed out, not noticing the person slip into the building right after them.
Chiro groaned, holding his head as he forced himself up off the floor. Had he fallen asleep? No. He wouldn't have not on the floor, and he felt more exhausted than he would have been if he had fallen asleep. He whimpered and got to his feet slowly stumbling towards the room when he stepped on the techroid toy when he remembered the purple smoke and it felt like his heart stopped.
"Team." He said, then quickly ran towards the main room seeing that it was completely deserted. "Hyperforce?" He called out and there was no reply. He tapped the communicator on his chest but before he could call them a hand covered his mouth and the communicator was crushed. He struggled as a sweet smelling substance made him feel nauseous and dizzy before things went blurry but not dark.
Chiro was drug to a chair as his wrists and ankles were tied to the chair. "Gah…" He whimpered looking up as he saw Gyrus. "Gyrus?"
"Please. Rest Chiro." He said, running his hand over Chiro's face making him shudder and turn away. "We both know you haven't been sleeping well lately."
"H-how did you-"
"I know? Easy, I know everything about you. That you get your blue eyes from your mother and your hair from your father. Your birthday, your favorite show and color." Gyrus said, "Everything you do or don't want people to know, I know." He smiled, "And because I know about this, I know that you'll let me join, because you know if you don't then I will not be afraid to harm your precious little friends."
Chiro was quiet. Where was his team? Did he already have them captured? If he said no, could he be responsible for the death of his team? "You're right. Besides, a break would be nice." Chiro smiled, "How about you take over."
Gyrus smiled, "Good." He said, messing up Chiro's hair, "You're a smart boy."
"Yeah… guess so." Chiro mumbled.
Gyrus walked over to the computer leaving Chiro alone, which is what he needed. He closed his eyes trying to calm down.
'HyperForce, trouble at the robot.' He thought, 'Please, if you can hear me come home. Please come home! I need help!" Chir then looked up as Gyrus laughed.
"Amazing, absolutely amazing! I am in the Super Robot! I'm in the robot with Chiro!" He said, turning towards Chiro making him tense. "Do you know how long I've waited for this moment? How many days sitting in my basement watching the robot from my window? Standing on the side lines and studying your moves!" He laughed, "Chiro, we're going to be a big happy family, just like we always talked about."
"Like we always talked about?" Chiro asked, the feeling he was getting from this guy making him feel sick.
"Yes." Gyrus giggled.
"You're right." Chiro smiled, "But first we have to patrol the city." He said, "And i can't help if I'm tied to this chair." Chiro pointed out. If he could just get free he could get to the computer and call the team. Or at least buy him time to find where his team was.
Gyrus seemed unsure but after a minute he walked over to the chair, unting Chiro before pulling Chiro into a tight hug that made it feel like Chiro's ribs were going to snap.
"T-too tight; I'm gonna break." Chiro whimpered.
Gyrus dropped Chiro before running to the computer. "Now to save the city!" He said, pushing a button on his belt which caused the alarms to blare and the camera to pull up a large owl robot flying into the air.
"Wait… you're K.G.?!" He said, then growled, "Gyrus heroes don't make monsters!"
"Well, you guys need something to fight, right? I'm helping you!"
"By being a bad guy!" Chiro said, as he stood up, "You can't be on both side Gyrus!" He said, then gasped as a hand clenched around Chiro's throat and he was slammed against the wall.
"How dare you! I'm a hero Chiro! I'm a hero and if it makes me killing you to prove it. I. Will." He snarled tightening his grip.
Chiro rasped digging his nails into Gyrus's hands before beginning to go limp as his vision blurred, and just before it went completely dark Gyrus dropped him, letting him suck in a breath. Chiro fell into a coughing fit as he held his throat shuddering as he tried to breathe. He then looked up and in the shadows saw different colored eyes watching from the distance. His team was here.
"Hey, creep! Get away from Chiro!" Nova yelled, running at the man.
Gyrus turned as Nova's fist made contact with his nose. There was a cracking sound as blood splashed from Gyrus's face as he stumbled back.
"Chiro! You okay?" Otto asked and Chiro nodded coughing still.
"Magnoball Blazer!" Sparx called, hitting the man in the chest with a ball of electricity which as a result caused the man to scream out then pass out on the floor.
"Chiro, are you alright?" Gibson asked, coming over and inspecting Chiro for wounds.
"I'm fine." Chiro said, "Glad you guys came."
"How did he even get in?" Otto asked as he and Sparx stood by Gyrus in case he tried anything.
"I don't know but he's K.G. the man who made all the machines."
"He doesn't look like that much of a pain." Gibson mumbled as he looked over at Gyrus.
Chiro sniffled and coughed, the bruises on his neck becoming more and more obvious by the minute.
"Come with me, Chiro. Let's see if we can't do anything for the bruising on your throat." Gibson said, helping Chiro to his feet.
"What about Gyrus?" He rasped.
"We will take him to the Ranger Seven High Security Prision once Gibson gives you a check up." Antauri said.
"Well, why not do it at the same time?" Gibson asked. "It would be much more efficient that way, and if anything comes up I will contact you immediately."
"Because, without you in Fist Rocket Four it's dangerous to go anywhere." Nova pointed out, "Besides this gives us a chance to find out if this nut bag has any family and tell them where he's going and what he's done."
"I see your point." Gibson said with a soft sigh as he led Chiro to his room.
"Sorry." Chiro said as Gibson looked at his throat.
"Don't apologize. It wasn't your fault." Gibson said.
Chiro sniffled making Gibson look up quickly as his eyes filled with tears. "I don't mean to always make you guys worry." He said, the bags under his eyes and the lack of sleep beginning to get to him as he broke.
Gibson frowned, not quite sure what to do. After a moment, he softly hugged Chiro.
"I try not to make you worry. I try to take care of myself. I try to be a good leader b-but I'm not!" He sobbed into Gibson's shirt.
"You are a good leader, Chiro. And yes, you do make us worry sometimes but very rarely is it ever your fault. And we can always help you if you need it. We'd be a terrible team if we couldn't support our leader in his time of need."
Chiro sniffled softly as he continued to hug Gibson as he tried to stop crying. Gibson began to softly run his fingers through Chiro's hair. He remembered reading somewhere that it had differing effects on humans and one of the possible effects was putting the human to sleep. Chiro definitely needed that right now.
It ended up taking an hour but eventually Chiro did fall asleep in the boys arms. Gibson laid him down before joining the rest of the team.
"Where's Chiro?" Antauri asked.
"I ended up lulling him to sleep. He's laying in his room."
Antauri nodded, "While he rests let's get Mr. Krinkle to the Prison, he should not be anywhere near Chiro. Again."
"I can't believe I didn't notice this creep before." Otto grumbled as he kicked Gyrus in the side. "He was looking right at the camera in every picture we had of him."
"Do not blame yourself, he managed to hide from all of us." Antauri said.
"Not all of us." Sparx said, "Chiro knew. And he tried to hide it."
"But… why would he try to hide it from us? Doesn't he know that we're supposed to help him?" Nova asked with a small frown.
Gibson frowned, "There's something you all need to see." Gibson said, turning to the computer and after a moment the video feed from Chiro's room and the crying fit played back.
"Aw, kid…" Sparx said softly, tears in his eyes.
Antauri frowned, looking at the live feed of Chiro as the boy tossed and turned his sleep obviously cursed with nightmares as he slept. "It appears that we have been more blind than any of us thought." He said, clearing his throat. "Let's get Krinkle to the prison then we will figure out what to do with Chiro."