Ace POV

"What the heck is that?" Pascal asked everyone.

"I did not expect to see that." I said.

"Well... how would we go about this situation?" Jake asked.

"Let's just go in and kill it! It attacked a city. It doesn't deserve to live." Scout said.

"No, that is a horrible idea. Seriously, that is horrible. Everything deserves to live." Jake said.

"Alright guys, let's just go and try to talk to it. Maybe it speaks English." I told them.

We then proceeded to land the hoverboards, then we went to the octopus (who was still eating ice cream). I told the team to drop their weapons and to be as friendly as possible until provoked.

"Hello. Can you understand me?" I said slowly.

"Are you assuming that I have the inability to speak your Earthly language?" The octopus replies.

"Alright then. That was much easier than I expected." Pascal said.

"Okay then. What is your name?" Jake asked the creature.

"I am called Pulpo. I am from the planet Octopolis. We are a race of highly evolved beings that you would know as octopuses." Pulpo responded.

"Highly evolved? Your name is the Spanish word for octopus." Jake said.

"Please do not mock my given name. In my language it means 'the protector' " Pulpo said.

"My apologies. I was only making a joke." Jake responded.

"Apology accepted." said Pulpo.

"If I may intrude, I have a question for you." I said to Pulpo.

"What is your question?" he asked.

"Would you be interested in joining my team of intergalactic defenders? You seem like a very valuable addition." I told him.

"That sounds very interesting. It even allows me to live up to my given name." he responded. "I would be happy to join you on your mission.".

"That was usually easy." Pascal said. "I'm glad that we didn't need to fight him or anything."

"I agree." Scout said.

"If you do not mind me asking, do you have any other abilities?" I asked Pulpo.

"No, I do not mind. My abilities are size manipulation, adaptability, acid ink, flight, and camouflage." he responded. "My flight is technically a form of levitation, given by this device on my fifth tentacle."

"Very interesting." Ted said. "Do you mind if I run a few scans on you? Just to understand how your powers function.".

"Not a problem." Pulpo said.

We boarded our hoverboards and set off for H.Q. again. When we arrived, Ted went to run some tests on Pulpo with some devices that he left in my base.

"These results are incredible." Ted said. "His cells can actually change their size and shape. I need to learn how to replicate this effect. If I can, then all of us could be able to change our sizes as well.".

"That's awesome. That would also benefit our abilities, if you think about it. A larger size should result in a higher mass, which therefore results in more strength in a physical attack." Jake said.

"Wow. I never would have thought of it like that." I said.

"Ted, how long would it take you to replicate this?" Pascal asked.

"I don't know. I'd need to take some of Pulpo's cells and work on it from there. I might just stay here and work on this, if you all go anywhere. I am fascinated by this." Ted responded.

"Sure thing, I was actually thinking about either training or taking a break. I'm gonna vote for taking a break for a day or two." I said.

Everyone else agreed to this as well. I then realized that they did not have their own bases in the S.W.O.R.D. headquarters. I went to the commander and requested that they all have areas of their own constructed. He agreed to my request, and he even agreed to have more areas for the other potential recruits constructed as well. The others and I then rested for a few days in my base. All of us were thinking about different things,

Ted POV

Wow, all of this happened in just a few days. Just a few days ago, I was just an average college grad. Well...actually, I was a college grad at the age of sixteen, but still. I wonder where all of this will go next. At least this whole team thing is working out. Even better, I have a bigger and better lab than before. I'm glad S.W.O.R.D was able to put this together so quickly. This technology will help me speed up my research. This is going to be a fun part of my life. I'm glad that Ace found me. Hmm... I wonder about Ace sometimes. He seems to be different than in high school. I wonder what happened to him after I graduated. I should talk to him, because he still looks like he's a teenager, maybe his body is irregular. Maybe later, he seems stressed after this whole thing started. I hope he turns out ok...considering his age. I still can't believe what happened to him...

Scout POV

This is all happening so quickly... I don't understand. Just a month ago, I was just some kid that could hunt. I mean, I could hunt really well, but this shouldn't have happened. At least I made some friends after so long. I can't believe that I went so long like I did. A life with no friends was really bad. At least these people are giving me a chance. I hope I can redeem myself sooner or later.

Pascal POV

This situation is definitely interesting. I can't believe that there are actually other people out there like me. I'm glad I was able to meet these people. Maybe I can be accepted by these people. It would be nice to finally feel like people want me around. My own parents never even wanted me. I was left alone until some nice people took me in for a few years. I wanted to stop burdening them, so I left at the age of 15. I was able to fend for myself at least. I found abandoned house and was able to survive there until these guys found me. I might even be able to do something with my life. I can train. I can make myself stronger. This can work out really well. I'm gonna go start my training now.

Pulpo POV

These Earthlings are special. They are nothing like I read in the books. They're not green monsters or robotic maniacs. Those books must have lied. Hmmm. I should collect data on these creatures. They seem to be different from the general population of the others. They seem...off. Working with such interesting and tiny creatures should be fun. This is already better than Octopolis. I can't wait to meet more of these people.

Jake POV

This new thing can help with my training. I can even help them. I seem to be able to match their strengths. Maybe I can even figure out new abilities or possibly modifications of the old ones. I can't wait to see what we can all get out of this.

Ace POV

A few hours later, we regrouped and discussed our plans. We were not sure who to look for next, so we decided to look through the files. All of the sudden, sirens in my office began to buzz. My main monitor flashed on with the commander's face.

"Ace, we have a problem. The water levels in the Pacific are rising. And I mean rapidly rising. We've located a potential source of the problem on a very small island. We've prepared one of the jets. It's still a prototype, but this should be a good test run. Good luck, I know your team will do well." He told us before the monitor went black.

"Alright, boys. Let's get going. The jet is a high-speed jet made to travel faster than sound. We should be in the middle of the pacific in 20 minutes if we hustle." I told the team.

"Wait, should we all go? This might not be the best idea. Some of us might want to stay for backup in case of an emergency." Scout said.

"I think we'll be fine. If we start to drown or something, I can just lower our body masses, so we don't sink." Pascal told him.
"Yeah, I assume we'll be fine. It's not like we're unable to swim. We also have a flying octopus on our team." Jake said.

"Good point" I said. "Let's get going"

We hurried off to the small island in the Pacific. We landed the jet on the island, which was not much larger than a small town. It seemed as though the ocean was going wild. As I looked into the ocean, I saw a lone figure hovering there. We go to the shore and call him over. The response was a giant wave coming towards us.

"Brace yourselves!" I yelled as I put up a barrier around the group.

"It seems that this guy can control water. This makes things more interesting." Jake said.

"Don't worry, I can handle this."Pascal said to us.

Pascal was able to hover over to the figure. Unfortunately for him, he was met with a powerful stream of water to the face. We saw him go flying into the distance.

"I'll get him." said Jake, as he hopped on the air, going to catch up with Pascal.

"Ok, let me try something." I told the group.

I put myself in a shield and went over to the figure. I lifted it out of the water and brought it into my shield with me.
"NO. PLEASE PUT ME BACK IN THE WATER!" It said to me.

I realized that this thing was just a kid, like the rest of us. He seemed to have a genuine fear of being out of the water.

"Okay, okay. I'll put you back. My apologies." I said to him, as I put him back. "Please, be peaceful. I don't want to hurt you."

"Too late for that." He said as I heard thunder rumble.

A large wave came rushing at me. It caught me off guard, and took me away. I was able to get out of the wave. I looked down, and I was not falling into the water. Apparently, I can fly. I shakingly hover back to the land where the others are.

"Well guys, we seem to have a problem. This guy is a lot stronger than I thought." I told them.

"Guy? It's just a thing." Scout said.

"Alright, now that's just rude." Ted said.

I saw Ted transform and Scout grab a gun. Scout shot a few times at the "thing", and Ted talked out a battle plan.
"We need to get him on dry land. I'm not sure how, because only a few of us can fly. If we got Jake and Pascal, we could set up a diversion while the three of you went in." Ted told me.

"Okay, they should be back soon. They couldn't have gone too far. We just need to distract him long enough for them to get here." I said.

"I think I can handle that." Scout said.

"Wait, where's Pulpo?" I asked.

All of the sudden, I saw another figure standing on the water. Whatever this new figure was, it wasn't human. Wait...I think I know what that is!

"Guys! I think I found him!" I told the others.
"Wait, what? Where?" Ted asked.

"It's Pulpo!" I shouted.

Pulpo seemed to have shrunk in size and snuck up on this person. I saw two of his tentacles wrap the person. Pulpo lifted the figure into the air, and into sight. We could clearly tell that it was a human now.

"WHY DO YOU CONTINUE TO IGNORE MY WISHES" The person shouted. "IF I WANT TO STAY IN THE FREAKING WATER, I WILL!"

The storm grew more powerful, and the winds raged on. Lightning began to strike the island.

"I WILL MAKE YOU PAY FOR PISSING ME OFF SO MUCH!" The figure yelled at us.

*BOOM*

Lightning struck Pulpo, and he fell into the water.

"I'll get him." Pascal said.

Pascal levitated over to the spot where Pulpo fell, and lifted him up. They went over to the island and laid down.

"Ace, we're gonna need to resolve this soon." Scout said. "I can't really fight here, and Ted got hit by lightning."

"Hmmm.." I thought. "I guess it'll have to be me and Jake."

"JAKE!" I shouted. "We gotta do a team attack on him."

"Sounds good. What do you need me to do?" He asked.

"Launch me. Launch me as fast as you can at him. The only thing is that you'll have to give me a minute to charge up. I want to try something" I told him.

"Wait what?! You don't even have an actual plan?" He asked me frantically.

"Well, I was thinking that I might be able to contain him and stun him. I just need enough energy. I think I can do stuff when I really need to, because I was able to levitate when I was falling towards the water. All I had to do was think of myself not falling." I told him.

"Sounds good. I'll charge up too." He said.

We both charged our attacks and Jake then used all of his power to launch me at this person. I charged up my energy and blasted him at full force.

"AAAAAAAAAAGGGGHHHH" the person shouted as he struggled to move.

"Got 'em" I said. "Now, to take him back to S.W.O.R.D."