Hey Guys, Mr. Revolutionary is back with another chapter for The Five That Changed.
So, the last chapter was something wasn't it? Took me so much time to write and I hope the length that I have put in that chapter explains a lot about why it took so much time. If you want to know, that entire chapter, including the author notes at beginning and end, was just a little over 28,000 words. So that actual chapter are about 27,500-26,800 words which is still a lot. It was also the conclusion of the First Villain Arc and here is the epilogue arc.
To recap, the last chapter was pretty much the Chosen One's individual fight with Vladimir, which he made six clones to deal with the Chosen Ones respectively. They all were fighting those of their own opposite, such as Techlin actually going against his opposing element when it came to ice which is magma, Eddy going against a snow element, Eddward going against someone with power over a dark element, Lily and Ed were against the wild cards and not really opposing powers, and Dante against a very strong character. They all were able to win, with the very last of their energy and pushed through from the brink of defeat and death, and escaped scarred both mentally and physically. Really awesome chapter if I say so myself and they gain two unlikely allies in Kendal and Lana.
I am really glad that I was able to deliver you guys something as awesome as that in exchange for so much time. I actually had a friend contact me saying that she thought I was never going to update and was so full of happiness to read and was just an awesome gal. Thank you friend. So enough of my chatter, here it is, the next chapter in this awesome series
BUT HERE IS SOMETHING IMPORTANT SO READ IT.
I am utilizing a new writing technique inspired from Little Brother and Homeland by Cory Doctorow, an awesome writing and I say read those two books, which where he would introduce a transition through bold and larger print at the beginning of the transition itself, just a few words. I will be doing that for this one, but I will have the time and date before hand, I will implement this more in my story because of being so smooth in transition. I will be doing that in Outbreak Chronicle for when and if I want to transition over to a different character, location, elaborate on ideas, and/or time skip and flashbacks. It's a clever way for transitions and I will probably do something different to make something of my own. If you guys have any other techniques of transition or grammar then please inform me in a Review or Personal Message(PM). Okay on to the story.
Epilogue Arc: Freedom and the Great Change
12:34 A.M. February 8th,2010. Eight Hours From Peach Creek.
They were still in thechopper and all were now awakening from a very long sleep. They had changed their clothing by the replacement clothes that Dante had packed before they left home. Though Ed and Eddy had said that they could change their clothes with a thought, Eddward stated that it would be the best course of action. He demonstrated by making his damaged battle gear shrink to absorb in his skin and showed his well defined body and in his underwear. He thought of it and it popped back up still damaged and changed to another set of clothing and it too was damaged as much as his gear.
"See, it doesn't fix the clothing we change into. It remains the same condition it was and so we should not use depend on it. Besides, it would be a waste of clothing for all that we got at home if we just used the gear clothing." The smart-Ed said twenty minutes ago and they all had changed to their regular clothing before they got their battle gear. Save for the bruises and bandages they were all fine. Ed said that his reserves were taking longer than usual to replenish and will take just a little longer before he can do a group spell to heal them all.
Lily was changed to a shirt that had a blue wave flowing as a design on the chest, jeans, and regular shoes. Dante couldn't stop staring for a good ten minutes at the musician prodigy's well developed chest and received a smack from both Lana and Lily who both felt it was disrespectful. So now the boy was sitting with two noticeable bumps on his head.
"It was still worth it." He repeated in his head as he tinkered with another one of his inventions. The chopper was quiet and the two regular people in the chopper were resting with Kendal on the window and Lana leaning on his shoulder. Ed and Eddy were up, Lily, Double D were awake as well. Only Techlin was still sleeping.
"It is sickening." The low voice of Ed gained the attention of those awake.
"What are you talking about Ed?" Double D questioned, turning from looking out at the nighttime ocean with a bright white full moon high above and the light reflecting from the water.
"The things we did to those soldiers back at the school." It all came back to them. They had killed. This brought back distasteful memories for them all.
"Damn, that is true." Eddy said with a sick face.
"Are we even cut out for this Hero stuff? Heroes don't kill. Killing is just a despicable thing. I've been thinking about that ever since I encountered Lily in the castle, maybe it's best if we just didn't try to be saviors or whatever. I mean our powers are life threatening, we can only cause a bad reputation for our kind." Dante said as he still tinkered with his invention.
"I...I don't, it is hard to accept that we took so many lives and did so easily." Double D remembered his first kill with his arrow. The soldier being pierced in the neck by his arrow, that he launched.
"You guys," Lily said and attention was now on her and she gave them all a harden gaze that they all saw held years more experience than them. "I have been questioning that for years now. That question that if we use our powers to harm and kill others then why be Heroes and why continue to help if that is the most likely outcome. But I still use it and this is why: change for good requires sacrifice and requires life to be taken from the bad and good side."
"I say those words because I look towards the wars that the humans have experienced and the The Spirit War. We took so many lives for good, World War I and World War II took many lives and all for good or in the sense of it in the victor. Change happened after those wars and it was for good even if today those reasons are debated. Death happened to the bad and good and change happen. It took death and misery for God to finally make the decision to end the Spirit War and for us, it took death and killing to save your loved ones. The world isn't like a movie or a comic book or TV shows where bad guys get knocked out and taken to jail, no this is the real world. Death will happen and it is a necessity of life and our jobs as heroes. It will get easier to take a life, it will, but if you hold remorse for killing then you are still human as it shows you aren't a monster. We have to keep going even if more death will happen by our hands." Lily finished and the inexperience Heroes soaked the information up.
"Lily is right,"Techlin said and scared some of them as he opened his eyes and gave stretch his arms and yawn. "we have to kill to bring good things. I killed the person holding Callie because he wanted to do the same. He wanted to take my love and my child from me, I had to do what I had to do. I killed him because that erased a bad person in this world. One less person that can cause harm. I am not saying let's kill every bad guy we come across. But to kill those we know that will only continue to cause damage to the society, to bring more misery and pain to the people, those are people we can't let keep going on. That's what I believe and what I will do if I encounter someone I know will never change." Techlin stated crossing his arms after finishing.
It was silent once again with the chopper blades overcoming it. Eddward was thinking hard about his actions. He remembered with great detail of the lives he had taken and of how he did it to protect the ones he wanted to protect. It was something that was necessary. Necessary evil.
"Necessary evil." Edd thought. He had to think about it more. It was too big of a decision for him to decide. The Savior of Light looked to Eddy to see him smile a big grin. The loudmouth-Ed started to speak.
"I guess it doesn't matter! A job is a job. If we have to kill, then so be it." Eddy said as he accepted it faster than the other undecided could.
"How can you accept it that fast Eddy? We are talking about murder by our own hands. Aren't you afraid of being scorned when we try to do good and only cause more pain?" Dante said quicker than Double D who was about to say something along the same lines.
"I know we are, but people are soon going to see that we are there to protect them. If they want to argue over it, then let them. We know our job, it isn't like we want to do it. We are doing it because it's life and the guy's fault. Besides, we have superpowers, it isn't like anyone other than our kind can stop us." Eddy reasoned.
The geniuses of the group were left astonished by Eddy's rather crude reasoning. Ed soon took his reasoning that death was unavoidable. That even though it was a dark thought, that people sometimes don't change their ways. Like the villains in the comics that he reads, he mentioned, they had time after time of being beaten and jailed, yet they never change. And in life, most criminals never change and only get out of jail and do crime again until they are caught. They all know how the laws are in the world, dangerous criminals go in and out of jail each day and more are made. Shootings, robberies, drug deals, human trafficking, drug cartels, mafia, gangs, and much more are everywhere. It isn't like anything new if we come and take them out the hard way. They all took the risk once they got involved in crime. The criminals know that death is a possibility. Ed rearticulated that it also wasn't something that was mandatory and that he agreed that for those that won't change, will have to be put down.
Ed's reasoning was more logical and Dante, with nothing to argue against it, took it and just said that it didn't matter if they held back and didn't kill. They would get out anyway and cause more damage than before. Dante went on to say that the world was getting more dangerous anyway and that by killing maybe some will back down and turn their lives around. It was then left to Edd who was the only one unsure.
"I just can't deal with it. Killing is something that I can't do without feeling regret. Something I can't do so easily. You all are taking it too well for my liking. What happen to us just being normal, I mean we are just fifteen and Dante fourteen, we are too young to take others' life like we did. There could be-" Edd was going to stop until a hot and energetic energy filled the chopper. Lily recognized the Intent coming from Eddy, who was giving his best friend a very hard look.
"Double D look, we don't feel happy and we don't like killing just like you. I don't enjoy it one bit taking someones life. I actually feel bad about doing it. I have regrets, but I keep going on. You can sit there and suggest hundreds of alternatives that we could do, but it won't change anything. It's just the way it has to be. So just accept it, we are still human in some way and if we have regrets and if we know that we are doing wrong, then it is fine. It may be bad and we may, constantly, get scorned and hated, yet we keep going. It's just like back then, when it was just the three of us, scorned and hated, but we always got back up and went on with our lives. It is just like that, but with a larger crowd and with more hatred, but we keep going." Eddy said and the intent went away. The air became cool and their hearts calmed.
"Just take it as it is. You can change me and Ed through the years, and Dante and Techlin could change us and how we operate with scams. We can change each other through so many amazing ways that I am amazed that I got an 'A' in any grade. With me no longer being so selfish, Ed being smarter, you being more open, Techlin becoming wiser with advice, Dante getting even greater with his inventions, and Lily being someone who can change us in ways I don't know, yet I know that it can only be for good. We can change so many things about us and how we live, but it is no longer about us Double D. We can't change the way things are in the real world. The things that are necessary for us to do. We don't need to kill, if I could avoid it I would but we can't. Stop arguing and just accept it, please." Everyone was surprised by Eddy. The boy spoke words of truth. He spoke words of wisdom and Double D could only look down and think.
The ride was silent and everyone hanged on the words that were exchanged. The silence lasted for minutes that turned into hours and the Saviors could simply stay silent and think. Dante had moved into the cockpit and Lily followed. Lana and Kendal were slightly confused as to what happened, but went back to sleep not long after Eddy's speech. More times passed and still no one spoke.
Dante looked towards the time and saw it was 0245, military time for two: forty five in the morning. Dante spotted land coming above and saw the coordinates that it was the east cost of the US and turned on the "cloak" as it was called and protected them from detection by the United States Coast Guard and any air radars.
"Guys, we are just about seven hours away from home. We have to slow down a little to conserve the cloak or whatever this program is called needs the energy. May take us an extra hour. It is going to be a Saturday morning once we arrive. Estimated arrival time is about ten in the morning. Everyone one will be awake and alive and confused. Once we get home, we say camping as our excuse. I made the helicopters with the statues to go to the factory and for Lily's dad to be there as well. They also get everything that is necessary for the ones still alive to get the food, blood, or whatever they need to keep living. So sit tight guys. Home is almost here." Dante said over the radio.
"A few days we have been away from home. It feels so much longer." Dante said to Lily.
"I guess, I haven't been home for years. I have been with dad with his army helping him. I might visit, but I don't know." Lily said.
"Why not?" Dante asked.
"Because I have been through a lot and besides France has enough weirdos. I need a new place to be. I will probably just go and tell mom that I am moving out of France to finish college and stuff." Lily said with a thinking face.
"Where will you go? And what about college?" Dante continued his questioning.
"I don't know. Maybe explore the world or something. I have a lifetime to do whatever I want. College, I dropped out to go with dead for the last few years. Just had to finish my senior year and I would be gone. But I could just explore, get by through my music, sell my art or become forensic artist, something." Lily said. She hated to say what she was going to do next, so she kept secret. She can still remember Ed's words of them being destined to meet. Of their status as Chosen Ones being restated so strongly. She had to admit, Ed was someone that could push them.
"Dante would figure it out, along with the others, I am moving to Peach Creek." Lily thought as she gave a shrug. "I will keep in touch with you guys. I will tell you where I end up if I feel like it so don't worry."
"Okay." Dante accepted the answer still oblivious of the obvious.
6:45 A.M.
"Where the hell are we?" A random student said and was one of the many students, teachers, and parents that were asking the same question as they all found themselves in a field next to a large river.
"What's going on?" Kevin questioned as he found Rolf, Nazz, Sarah, Jimmy, and the others.
"I don't know, but where is my sister?" Lana's older brother, Horan asked and couldn't find her among the crowd.
"And Kendal isn't here." Justin stated and couldn't find the Asian boy anywhere.
"But why are we here, I can't remember anything." Jimmy said and everyone else felt that way too. Their memory was spotty, the last thing they remembered was going to sleep on Monday night and that was it. Now they were in the field with everyone in school and their parents.
"Man, I feel so confused." Sarah said and everyone couldn't help but agree.
"The hell, I just can't think straight. One thing I remember bed and now I am in a damn field." Marie said.
"I feel you baby, something weird is going on." Marie's mother said.
"Damn it, Lennard, where the hell are we?" Jack was used to asking Lennard anything he questioned, he was the smart one.
"A field Jack, that's where we are." Mr. Ryain answered, not really knowing either.
"Man, I need some food." Techlin and Dante's father said and his wife could only roll her eyes. He had a big appetite all the time.
"Guys, I think we are lost." Ed's father said, acting as if they went camping.
"We aren't lost you dumbass." Jack said in annoyance.
"Calm yourself Jack, we are all confused here." Lennard said defending the man.
"They act just like their kids." Nazz stated hearing the conversation.
"No wonder they ended up together, those dorks." Kevin said.
Time passed for the use-to-be captives. Mr. Gates, being the most experience in traveling in the forest eventually lead them to what he hoped was civilazation and as they all came to the end of the forest, they saw the wrecked neighborhood. The first word to explain the amount of destruction were simple. Eds and Gates.
9:56 A.M.
"Okay guys, Peach Creek is just a few minutes away. But first to the factory!" Dante said with a hint of joy in his tone. They all couldn't help but feel relieve that they were back home. Ed and Eddy could see on the right side window that the factory was coming into view with a few choppers landed in the field. The joy was taken from them. They had to realize that many of the statues were no longer living and that they had work to do with digging. The sun was up and the sky a cloudy blue.
Dante made for a landing next to the choppers and once they were safely on the ground they all got out and stretched from staying seated for hours. Once done, they saw the other choppers and with grave faces, they moved to unload them and put them in the factory. The action took a good twenty minutes to get all the statues inside and to put them in circle around the Chosen Ones. Kendal and Lana simply watched from the office room high above with Lily's father, who was sleeping inside the office until the two humans came in and woke him, the two nearly died with their necks cut open.
The Chosen Ones each held the white gem in their hands as they stood in a circle facing the many smiling statues that surrounded them. There was dozens of beds spread out with their training equipment pushed against the wall. There was medical equipment that Dante got from someone who owed him a favor in a hospital and a surplus amount of food. The sun shined through the windows of the factory and made the room a little hot.
"You guys ready, all we have to do is crush the gems with our power to release it. Hopefully, these will bring them all out and hopefully many of them are alive." Techlin said to his fellow Chosen Ones. They all didn't want to do it for the fact that the many smiling and proudly posing faces would soon be replaced by bodies of the dead and bodies of those close to death.
"Let's just get this over with. Remember your roles." Double D said. Everyone nodded.
Techlin, Eddy, and Kendal, once Edd and Ed were finished finding out who was dead and alive, would start digging the graves. Until then, they had to assist Dante and Lily with tending to the those alive. Eddy was to cook the food with Lana helping and preparing dishes. Eddy knew how to cook many dishes, his own little hobby when nothing needed to be done, Dante had somehow acquired four stoves to help cook.
"On three, one..."Ed began and Zero Point energy surrounded his palm with the gem. Fire for Eddy, ice for Techlin, Double D had a force field, red lightning danced in Dante's hand, and Lily made a small "o" in her mouth.
"Two..."The Chosen Ones pulled all their energy into the respective palms and mouth.
"Three!" Eddy's fire consumed the gem like a monster, the ice of Techlin started to condense on the gem as it started to crack, Dante's lighting danced into the gem and it too cracked, Lily let out a small but powerful echo into the gem that rattled it and cracks appeared, Ed's Z-P held the gem into the air as it crushed the gem inside, and Double D did something similar to Ed but it was still in his palm. They all poured more energy into the simple attacks with more cracks appearing in the gems and, simultaneously, the gems all broke and the white sparkling shards floated in the air.
For a minute, nothing happened and they were all confused. Suddenly, the entire room exploded in energy as the room went dark as night and a strong wind started to blow. Then the only things visible were the Chosen Ones and the statues. It was dark abyss surrounding them. A light started to shine above them and they all looked up to see a star. More appeared and more and more came as the dark abyss above was now dazzled with stars like a clear nighttime sky. The wind blew and the teens and one adult stared in amazement as the stars changed to colors that were common and colors that they had never seen before and they all different forms and shapes, some animals, others objects, others unidentifiable, it was truly...
"Magnificent." Dante whispered, unable to look away from the sight. The statues started to glow and the "stars" moved around hastily. The wind picked up. The speed of everything increased. Then the stars shot upwards, with a few going down to the statues and the Heroes gazed to see the "stars" burst in all directions at light speed and everything was back to normal.
The protagonists gazed around confused as they saw the statues around them and Lana and Kendal looking down in the same state.
"Hey guys...where you go?" Kendal asked them.
"Nowhere, we have been here the entire time." Lily informed.
"You sure? You guys just disappeared with the statues and 'puff' you guys are back." Lana said and remembered how they faded out of existence once the gems broke.
"I don't know for sure, but I think we just saw the powers leave or something." Eddy said scratching his head. A cracking sound was heard and everyone turned to see a statue start to crack. More cracks were heard and all the status were now cracking. The chips were dissolving into the air in bright sparks.
A thud sounded and everyone turned to see a body fall to the ground, still in the uniform that he was in when he was trapped inside. More and more thuds were heard as the bodies started to fall. Soon, the thudding stop and the Heroes were surrounded by the bodies of their kind. With some fear and anticipation, they went on as plan and Edd to feel their pulses. The bodies radiated a bad smell and Edd, Ed, and Dante were the only ones to cover their noses.
Double D was taking it a little hard as he felt under the necks of a woman hero, she was white and dressed in blue jeans, a red zipped jacket, and had short orange hair and her colorless eyes were stuck in open in fear. He felt under her chin and searched for a pulse, nothing. He had a paper and pen and marked Lina Fell as dead with her being the fifth hero that he has searched.
"Damn it, I wish we were here sooner." Ed said sadly as he looked at the many dead men and women, some their age and possibly trapped in time but dead inside. The magician saw someone very familiar, the green girl. She was still dressed the same. Green leaves as a bra and a green skirt made of flowers. Everything else was bare. Her hair was mint green. If his memory served right her name was Flora Tee. Ed moved quickly to feel for a pulse. At first he didn't feel anything and he feared the worse as he did the others that he examined, but then it was soft, sudden, and barely caught his attention. He pressed forward slightly and he felt it again. The beating, a pulse.
"I found one alive!" Ed shouted and picked her up and went to a bed and laid her down. Dante's inventions took over and started to work on her. Ed couldn't get over that Dante programmed the things to do medical stuff. Ed found all of that complicated. He had to read a lot of medical related topics when he studies his Healing spells. It was the most confusing of his magical arts and required things to be done to the letter. It was also the most Arcane consuming, he concluded.
Edd heard the shout and couldn't help the small smile, at least there was one of them still alive. Double D looked at the next body. It was a male hero, had white skin, short black hair, a dark blue T-shirt, blue jeans, and running shoes. But what stood out the most to him was that he had folded wings of his back. They looked sharp, if his memory served correct, his name was Ty Everfree.
"That is an unique last name." Edd thought, it fit with his wings. He was probably like a bird, forever free. As he bent down to touch his pulse, his eyes open and showed lemon yellow eyes. Instinctively, Double D covered himself in a protective force field. It was lucky as he saw that the sharp wings were just inches away from his head, having pierced and stopped by the force field. The smart Edd looked and saw how close he was dying. The adrenaline was back. He saw that his hand was on the bow and was pulled back but no arrow of light came. He had remembered not to use it.
"When did I-" Edd couldn't believe the speed of what happen. One minute he was bending down to check a pulse and another minute he was holding his bow.
"Wh-wh-where am I-I?" Eddward could barely registered what the stuttering boy said. Too focused on his own surprise.
"Wh-where am I!?" The voice rose with more force and the smartest of the Eds gained his senses and put his weapon away. He didn't drop the force field. Ty looked ready to kill and run.
"Y-you are safe. Don't worry about Vladimir, we got him and saved you. Are you well? Need any medical attention." Double D asked Ty Everfree.
Ty didn't know what to think. He remembered, coming to the school on the promise of controlling his powers, to be normal, and the school that was like a castle. The registration room being packed with soldiers and the statue thing, that all he remembered and now he was here.
"Where a-a-am I?" Ty's voice was calmer, he needed to leave.
"A little far from Peach Creek, North Dokato. Don't worry, we're just like you. It's fine. I'm Eddward Ryain, you can call me Double D though." The genius held his hand out. Ty noticed the force field and the bow he had in his hand. He was one of them.
"There's more of us?" Ty had to know. If there were more then he wasn't alone. He wasn't the only "freak".
"Of course, just now, you need to be filled in on everything. I'll explain everything else, but I need you to go to the beds over there. Don't look at the bodies, there were a lot of us that didn't make it. Just get to the bed and wait."Edd instructed and Ty nodded. The flying hero took notice of the bodies, the factory, the others walking around and the three up above in a building. Ty did as told, but he flew over the bodies instead. Flying was second nature to him and he perfered it over walking. He landed on the bed and was greeted by another one, a boy in regular clothes. A purple shirt, jeans, shoes, black hair that reached slightly past the neck and black eyes.
"Hello." Dante said.
"H-hi." Ty replied.
Ed saw the flying hero, another one alive, for once Ed had hope. He was on his twentieth body and saw that only Flora was the one to survive. Now they had two alive and lot more to go. Ed, with his hope raised slightly, continued searching for those alive. He bent down and from his own memory, he saw that it was a girl, Mac Te, she had the power to infuse the element of dust to items. She was about twelve, surprisingly, and the youngest one he saw, he felt for her pulse and he nearly cried when he felt nothing. The hope was still there, but it was drastically faltered by the girl, who barely lived her life, was now dead for having something she probably couldn't control. The hate for Vladimir increased greatly. He marked her dead.
Double D marked another one dead. He suspected this as much as he could once Techlin told them that most of them were dead. He still had hope that he was wrong, that Lunar, a goddess that had far more knowledge than any of them, was somehow wrong. So far, she was right.
They were done at noon. The two Eds had found that out of the one-hundred fifty-seven Beings of Powers that were statues, only twenty-four of them had survived. It was heart breaking to them all, especially the ones that survived. It was a terrible feeling. Dante asked for a list of the deceased and left for outside. the ones they saved were now eating in silence, still recovering from their bodies being denied nutrition for so long, a few slept still, some were carefully being watched, having been on the brink of complete organ failure and Ed was working with them to repair the damage. The atmosphere was sad and depressing. Techlin, Kendal, and Eddy went outside to start digging the graves. They were going to be out in the heat for a while. Thomas, Lily's father, followed to help lighten the work.
Eddy, Lana, Ed, and Lilly were tending to the survivors, checking on their health with another of Dante's inventions. The boy was really showing his brains when it came to stuff like that. If he didn't have any powers, he would probably be just as powerful as any of them with just using the inventions he made. They still talked to them, ask if the had pain anywhere, needed more food, needed some fresh air, anything to help them get better.
Eddward was in the office, face buried in his hand, he had the list of those alive in front of him. He should feel a little happy, but he wasn't. The dead outnumbered the living. He felt like crying, but he couldn't. He couldn't cry. He thought he could but for some reason he just couldn't let the water flow from his eye sockets. He was simply numb. He moved his hands away from his face, showing his eyes, he was tired and wanted the day over with. He looked at the list of those alive. He felt a tinge of happiness.
"At least they are not all gone." Edd whispered and read the names of the Heroes that lived.
Ty Everfree, Nova A. Colvin, Eva Jackson, Rosa Ni Falcon, Flora Tee, Ja Kisana, Fink Yon, Gison Reck, Sam Valdez, Mike Gen, Genesis Eve, Deya M.K Iris, Dan Teel, Zon Kim, Alicia Rain, Alejandro Drill, Dhal Maldona, Lee Dinn, Ian Shadzas, Ron Sin, Brent Kidd, Fabio Ken, Kim West, and Nick Rod.
Twenty-four heroes. They had all been informed of recent events. They all thanked them greatly. Some were ready to leave as soon as they had their energy. One thing Edd noted, none of his friends said anything about them being Chosen Ones, not even himself, he wanted that detail left out for some reason. He was sure they were not aware of their status. He felt comfortable that way. It was already too much information, it didn't matter anyway. They were all the same especially with what might happen in just hours. He told them of how they freed them, of the powers that didn't come down and how they were looking for host.
Vladimir lied about many of them being underground and hidden. There were others of us, just scattered and their powers unknown. Sure there were videos, pictures, first-hand accounts, but was just proved to be hoaxes and no one really cared for them. It was just myth. But now that the powers were looking for new hosts, thousands of powers would find thousands of hosts, they will awaken. It will be too huge of a moment to just be subtle and hide. The world will know of their existence. There will be trouble. They were quick to explain that while they could have just left them as statues to avoid this, it would involve keeping the ones alive as statues for the rest of their lives. They would die in their care when they could have helped. They agreed with it, not liking that feeling that well.
So now here he was, just waiting. Dante would tell him when they were done. Edd felt himself slip into sleep. He didn't fight it.
Done. That was the word to describe what Kendal, Eddy, Dante, Techlin and Thomas could say as the last of the bodies were buried. They each had an individual grave but were a few feet apart. They were covered with flowers from the many sunflowers around them as to avoid detection. Dante moved to the head of the massive graves which had no gravestones. The inventor carried the names of the deceased. Once he was there he kept the list in front of him as his back faced the graves. He put his hands to the ground and they turned to silver, then to silver liquid. The liquid spread out slowly and formed into a silver rectangle. More was added and it gained a height of about five feet and stood solid as metal. It was as long as two school buses and went the length of the grave site. The face of the rectangle that faced Dante started to shift and Dante's eyes were focused intently on the names of the dead, they were buried in order. The metal still shifted and after thirty minutes it stopped. Dante breathed heavily as he tried to gain his bearings. On the face of the rectangle that faced the graves were the names of all the dead. While doing so he made the silver liquid spread to go around the entire grave site and to separate each grave by lines. It was like a grid.
"How is he planning on hiding this?" Thomas asked. It was obvious by the light reflecting from the sun. Anyone up high would see the bright reflection and come investigate.
"I don't know." Eddy said. Dante did his own thing some of the time.
"You guys are going to be found out real soon if he doesn't hide it." Kendal noted.
"We all have our moments of idiocy, this is probably his." Techlin sighed.
"Bad moment to act like an idiot then." Thomas said. They nodded in agreement.
"I can hear you bastards!" Dante shouted at them.
"Good you idiot!" Techlin and Eddy responded.
"Besides, I have a plan! Eddy, heat the metal up!" Dante shouted.
"The hell is he thinking?" Eddy said with a huff. He did so either way and put his hands on the metal closest to him. He started to heat it up. Soon all the metal was red and glowing, some of the flowers on the graves took fire.
"Techlin now cover it with ice!" Dante shouted the commands. Techlin did so and put his hands where Eddy had his and with steam flowing each he was able to soon cool the metal down enough that it became black, it burned metal. Techlin moved once he saw the metal turn black, figuring out the plan.
"Oh, that how we was going to do it," Thomas said a little surprised. "But what about that monument he put up?"
Eddy and Techlin were thinking they had to do the same for it too and went to the monument. Eddy used speed, Techlin used Chi to get there in a second. They did to the monument and it too was black. Dante moved to the monument he made and pushed his hand inside, the names were turned silver to stand out.
"Now we are done, lets tell the others." Dante said. The two nodded. Dante used Eddy as a ride to get back. Techlin stayed and paid his respect before leaving. The fires of the fires still burned, but were dying out. Everyone who could get out of the factory came and saw the graves and monument. It was silent. They paid their respects. Some of the more religious Saviors prayed, some just stared, some bowed their head and held their hands to their hearts. They went back in, slowly, and until everyone was inside.
A few hours has passed and it was 5:13 P.M. when the Saviors, the ones that felt they were ready to go left. They thanked the Pack and Lily for saving them and were in debt to them. They left and only eight remained. The eight were Flora Tee, Rosa Ni Falcon, Ja Kisana, and Genesis Eve were the ones that needed special attention because of being so close to dying and their organs to stop working compeletely. The others were Alicia Rain, Alejandro Drill, Ty Everfree, and Ian Shadzas. They had nothing better to do at the moment and just wanted the stay for a while. The food was almost gone and everyone felt full from eating. Eddy and Techlin were at it again with an eating competition and in the end Eddy won, then they broke out into a workout competition, then a running one, and they were currently seeing which one of them were the best at staring.
"Do they always do that?" Alejandro Drill asked with a raspy voice. He was Hispanic with a tan skin tone. He wore a tight white shirt, brown and pocket-less shorts, and basketball shoes. His hair was black and his eyes a strange dark green. He had Adrenaline Manipulation. He simply made himself stronger and faster by pumping himself with adrenaline, it would tire him out afterward and he said that he could give others the same adrenaline boost for a short time. He could control it to a certain degree, but due to being imprison for a few months, he had to retrain. All of the Heroes imprisoned had to retrain, they were all impaired and weak. It would take a while for them to get back to their full strength as a regular person, even longer for their power level to become what it once was. The entire Draining of the Gods process took more energy out of the victims than the user.
"Yes, they always go on like these. Trust me, the two of them could go on for days." Dante answered and told of the longest one, which lasted a week of the two constantly challenging each other.
"Why? Don't they run out of things to do?" Alicia Rain watched with interest as the two stared down with Eddy blinking and Techlin pumping his fist in the air in victory. They then went on doing push-ups upside down. They went to a handstand and started and counted off, both were going at the same pace.
Alicia Rain was something of a unique girl. She had a black jacket on that was partway zipped and showed pink shirt. She wore cargo pants that were ripped all over the legs. Her shoes were sandals and her nails and toe nails were a rainbow color. What made her unique was her hair changed colors when she felt certain way. Her hair was yellow which showed excitement, then when asked a personal question by Alejandro, it went black from sadness, but it turned to yellow once Eddy and Techlin continued on through their competition. Her power was actually over other people's mood, Mood Manipulation, not the greatest power in her opinion. She had a second power of heat manipulation, she was only able to make things warmer and not control any fire that was made.
"They once had a competition to make the longest list of things to do for competitions. They hit three-hundred, each. Trust me, they aren't for a long time. They will tire themselves out eventually." Double D stated.
"Can I get them for a party or something? I could use that competition to make the best party ever." Ian Shadzas said with a chuckle. Ian had light skin, hazel eyes and dark brown hair that partly covered his eyes. He was tall, just two heads shorter than Ed. He wore a black long coat, black fingerless gloves, black Nikes, and all had white trims. Under the coat was a sleeveless white shirt and black sport sweatpants. He had the power over reality warping, able to cast illusions and make them seem real.
"Sorry, we need them." Ed entered the conversation tiredly. The boy had a utility belt that held his spell books around his waist. His Book of Sanitatum in his hand and he sat tiredly next to Alicia.
"Damn you look like shit." Alejandro noted the obvious.
"I feel like shit, I used a lot of Arcane to heal them. Sanitatum, or healing, is my most Arcane consumer of my spells. After doing my strongest healing spell on four people can be draining." Ed explained and laid down on the bed. "They are all fine. Fixed any body damage inside and out. They just need rest, I don't know how long."
With that statement Ed went to sleep immediately and started to snore. His books blew up in shimmering lights and were gone.
"So he has magic right?" Ty asked.
"Oh we didn't tell you our powers haven't we?" The four left shook their heads at Dante's question.
"Our apologies since we already know yours I guess it is proper to tell you," Double D stated. "my powers are Light Manipulation, Invisibility and Force Field or telekinesis if I could figure it out."
"You have three!?" The four heroes said in utter simultaneously.
"Yeah, all six of us have three powers." The shock was great on them. Comical even.
"Ed is a little bit of a difference. From what he said, he could use the magical arts but said that his other two were Dark Magic and Light Magic." Dante explained. The four were still shocked. Ian asked about Eddy and Techlin.
"Eddy has Fire Manipulation, Sand Manipulation, and Wind Manipulation. Techlin has Ice Manipulation, Blade Manipulation, and Chi-Aura Manipulation." Dante said. Techlin had asked Lunar for clarification on what his third power was and informed them of what it was.
"They sound, what's the word?" Ian got in a funny looking thinking pose that brung some chuckles to those looking.
"Powerful, scary, unstoppable." Alejandro counted from his hands.
"Yeah, one of those three." Ian agreed. The geniuses chuckled a little.
"I have to agree with you guys on that one, Eddy and Techlin are indeed strong. Really strong." Eddward told them his opinion. Techlin would always say they were all equal in power, but Edd himself felt that he was just being humble. The two were indeed powerhouses. He remembered the destruction of the battlefield they were in, Techlin's Forest of Blades and the clear open space from Eddy's fight.
"What about her?" Alicia said, nodding her head to Lily who looked like she was in an argument with her dad. They were whispering/yelling at each other it seemed.
"Lily, she is probably the strongest of us here. She has Echo Manipulation, Music Manipulation, and Drawing Animation." Dante explained. The four were not impressed.
"Her powers don't sound strong." Ian said immediately.
"They are strong. Her echoes could put us down and she wasn't aiming for us, she can control musical notes of any instrument on a master's caliber and use those notes for many purposes such as healing, attacking, defending, pushing, heating, cooling, and more, her Drawing Animation lets her bring her art to life and she could draw as if she was doing it for decades. Plus she has more fighting experience and control of our powers than all five of us combine!" Dante spoke highly of the girl of his affection, taking time to get to know her.
"Wow, okay, someone has a crush." Alejandro said. Dante blushed and said he didn't. Edd chuckled, forgetting that Dante, under all the smarts, was younger than them and acted more like a kid.
"It's cool dude, I mean if you look at those knockers, that face, and that ass, I would have a crush on her too." Alejandro was suddenly smacked in the head about Alicia, slightly offended that he would say such words around a lady.
"Watch your down mister!" Alicia scolded.
"Okay, sheesh, what did I do?" Alejandro asked rubbing the bump on his head.
"Talking about a lady like that around another lady!" Alicia hit him again in annoyance, another bump was on the previous.
"You don't hit like one." Alejandro said and regretted it a second later. Alicia looked mad, her hair changed to red. The young woman held out her hand to him and the finger tips turned dark blue. She then shouted:
"Depression!" The effects were expected and immediate. The once full and alive boy was now huddled on the mat he was on, a dark cloud above, and muttering depressing thoughts. He looked dead and looked about ready to commit suicide. Those watching learned to not mess with Alicia unless they suffer from the same punishment.
"What's with him?" Eddy and Techlin had finished their round of competitions, for now, and approached the chatting group. Seeing Alejandro in his state of depression and a red haired, pissed off Alicia Rain.
"Don't mess with her!" Dante mouthed and the confusion for the two proclaimed "powerhouses" increased.
"Okay..." Techlin drawled out.
"Hey," Something came up in Eddy's mind, something he was meaning to ask any of the Heroes but due to recent events had forgotten it up until then. " do you guys know like an actual name for our kind, we have been thinking Beings of Powers but is there some other name that we use?"
It was far at this point that none of the Chosen Ones, even Lily who had years more experience with her powers and enough time to reason it out, believed that they were human. That if the research from Vladimir's old mentor was correct of a civilization before their own, then they had to be considered something else. Dante, while they were flying, had looked at the recorded notes and saw that the murdered man was far in his research but not far enough. His research ended abruptly and continued on with Vladimir.
The information was detailed and hard to understand, but Dante was able to summarize most of what he read. There was research indeed of the piece of advice that was far more advance than any of the technology those twenty-years ago and up to this point. From what Dante could figure out in the research, the piece of technology was part of a building, it seemed to be used for service as it had thrusters at the bottom, but no burn marks, it seemed like it floated and there was a mechanical arm able to hold tons of weight. But a technology expert was able to say that it was something far advance than anything, and after bringing the object to hundreds of nerds, geeks, computer scientists, engineers, architects, inventors, some of the top scientists in the world, and electricians all agreed that it was something superior to modern technology. He did it once again decades later and found the same response.
Then he came to the superhero theory. There was something strange in the device, a weird mineral, the same material the soldiers used on the Chosen Ones at the school, it was Godiminimum. Then he found a gun that would shoot a laser that could penetrate through thick steel and through diamond, the gun is the size of a wood pecker, and the laser was small. It was still powerful. All of this was funded for research so it wasn't like the government or science community wasn't interestest. Through a bunch more research and excavations, he soon found the connection to a civilization. Then it came to superhumans, he lost credibility and they thought that he made the device to be found.
Years passed with the research the man scorned by the science community. Vladimir came and continued. Then they studied, found people with powers, took pictures, took notes, then Vladimir came in. He said that his teacher didn't realize the threat of them, that people with powers were a danger to humans. Vladimir stated that his mentor was no longer with them, had suffered an unfortunate "accident" and left everything to him. Then through years of building, and collecting money, then finding a cache of information in the device that held information for buildings, for weapons, he then did went on the cost, of how the materials were common and techniques to make it hundred times stronger.
The island was a product of the same technology that made the device they found hover, then the bubble where the school was once located was something else form the device. There was more listing of things that he could built from helicopters, jets, boats, weapons, and bombs; then there were the plain items such as chairs, lights, a layout of a dozen of buildings, medicine, things that a normal person could use. All of the normal inventions could make the world better, Dante concluded.
Finally, it came to the history. The reason that the old civilization collapse, a massive war. Creatures, supernatural forces, nightmares, urban legends, monsters, they all existed, they were the darkness that subdued the civilization to destruction. Those before failed at fighting back, at the peak of their civilization they were destroyed by forces they thought they could control. Then once they thought the humans were gone, that those that were granted powers were dead, or they thought, they left, resting, waiting to feast on humans and superhuman. A man and woman survived the decimation of their race, Adam and Eve, and the story goes from there.
That was once reason Vladimir acted like he did, why he wanted to have all those powers. There was something he felt coming, something he felt he wanted to stop, he needed power to control the humans, to stop them from going on that course. He had good intentions, he wanted to train their kind to fight the menace, but through many betrayals, he lost it, and started his collection of statues and powers. He had came across the Amulet of Etro years before that and the Siphon of Gods, as the rock was called that he used to hold their kind. It was rest of more studies of how to control the powers, personal diaries, other Heroes and Villains, as he grew accustomed to labeling them, locations, the armies, raising millions of dollars to buy surprise, investors, then it ended on them.
Of their locations, and of how he suspected the five of them to be special due to the way of awakening they experience. The five boys were born with their powers, not inherited as the others, their bodies were different from the beginning of their lives, stronger, brains smarter, bones were hallow, faster metabolism, things were very different about them. The research finally said that they were closing in and of how he was ready to capture them.
It was certainly a surprise to those present. They never really thought of what to call themselves. They too believed they were no longer human, and used to the words of "freak", "outcast", "monsters" and the list goes on. Alejandro, who was free from Depression, and Alicia said their families abandoned them, Ian and Ty were orphans and explored the world. They never thought of a name for them, too busy to think of it.
"Beings of Power? Too wordy." Ian tested the name that Eddy called themselves and of Heroes, Villains, Saviors, and Destroyers.
"Those sound too generic, anyone can really be called those Savior or Destroyer." Alicia stated.
"We need our own name, something that we call ourselves, something unique to us." Techlin said with a smile. He liked a thought of calling them something that wasn't from the past or given by their enemies.
"What can we call ourselves?" Ty asked. He, liked the rest of them, was interested. They sat in a thinking atmoshphere. It lasted for a minute before Ian was the one to speak up.
"I know, I know," He took a deep breath. "Killers." It was immediately rejected.
"How about Powees?" Alicia asked. The name sounded weird and it too was rejected.
"Mega-humans?" Dante offered. It was something that sounded like a comic book, if Ed was awake, he would probably agree, but not them. They kept it in mind, it was a decent name.
"Harbingers." Rejected.
"Outcast." Rejected.
"Specials." Rejected.
"Pimps, whores, hookers, street fighters." Ian spoke and all were rejected and he was in depression now because of Alicia.
"What about the Prodigies " Double D put in. It was a good name. They were all prodigies in their own way. They put it away as to think of something better. But as more time passed, it seemed like the only one that was really good.
"Prodigies hmmm?" Techlin thought. He was playing with an ice crystal by crushing it and trying to form something, he ended with nothing but a disfigured object. "Techlin the Prodigy. Prodigy of Ice, Chi-Aura, and Blades. I like it."
The others tested their own names with Prodigy it sounded good, it was a perfect description as they were all prodigies of their powers since it was the only one they had.
"I guess from here on, we are known as the Prodigies." Eddy said. It felt good. They were the Prodigy, a race of superhuman people.
"I like it. Alicia the Prodigy, I can't wait to tell the others if we ever see them again." Alicia said. Besides themselves, the four, now known as Prodigies, never met other Prodigies.
"Yep, I bet. I just wander around so I am bound to meet some of them sooner or later." Ty informed. For the new members of the Prodigy race, they felt good. Like they belonged to a group, something bigger than themselves.
"Guys, guys, come here! Something big is happening!" Lana shouted from the counter room. Dante had set up the TV for the two as they got bored and nothing better to do. Everyone rushed to the room save for a sleeping Ed. They piled into the room and they saw the TV on to the news. Kendal turned the volume up for everyone to hear and they watched. The headlines were of "Unexplained Events"
"-it is something of amazement as I look at the sight before me." The news reporter was speaking of the sight of a black hole! "No one knows where this black hole has come from and there is mass panic in Washington, DC, but it isn't sucking up anything and is just emitting a strong air. It is just floating there. No one-wait is that a person under the black hole!?"
The news reporter was indeed right. Someone, a business man it looked like, was under with his hands held up high. While it may have been a mystery to anyone else watching, it was not to those present in the room. A power has found a new host and awakened the power in the person.
"We don't know what to do, about-"Kendal changed the channel, they were about to protest until they saw it was another news channel and it was covering another awakening of a girl running around and black bubbles appearing out of nowhere and popping black liquid everywhere. Edd was reminded of his battle with his own version of Vladimir. It was in a small town in California.
Another news channel came once Kendal changed. It was another awakening, fire tornadoes in the Middle East. Then another in France, then another in Africa, Russia, Japan, China, Australia, each channel was something different, somewhere different. The world was being introduced first hand to their kind, to the Prodigies, in a not so great way.
"Oh my god..." Lily was the first to speak in silence as they looked to see a massive earthquake occur in Spain, along with a hurricane, snow storm, heavy rain, thunder and lightning.
"It is complete chaos." Techlin said as another channel showed many people who were turned to werewolves and mythical beast, or hybrids of animals, some of them with half their face or one of their arms being that of an animal or insect and the complete anarchy that was happening.
"This is not good for us, any of us." Alicia said. Everything was going bad, military of their respective country was moving in and trying to contain the situation and failing. The image for them all was going to be bad. The channels kept going and going, covering something different. Dante had his laptop out and searching the web.
"There are hundreds of cases, thousands maybe, people awakening their powers like a Fourth of July fireworks show. All across the world, if there is a person, someone just got powers." Dante said frantically and most of them could barely understand due to his speed and tone.
"Riots, blackouts, tsunamis, and more are happening across the planet. Everyone is scared and wondering what is going on. We have one of the United States top scientist here with us." A news anchorman said and it switched to an old African-American guy in a suit. "Doctor Jinel, please inform the public of what is happening in the world."
"Quite simply, we don't know. We are seeing many things happening to people. The government is trying to detain and control the problem and any subjects for further study. But there is collateral damage and things are not going well." Doctor Jinel stated calmly.
"What is causing this?" The anchorman's partner, a woman reporter, asked.
"We do not know. People have reported to 911 that people suddenly collapse in the middle of activities ranging from meetings, cleaning, walking, working, exercising, an entire range of activities that have no relation to one another. Then there are the ages, there are mostly those over the age of eighteen, but there has been cases with those as young as seven years old, the oldest report so far is eighty. Whatever is happening is not attacking a specific group of people, not a specific race, religion, age, gender, background. It is attacking anyone it can and we do not know how it is spreading. Please be aware and stay at homes. If someone has passed out, call law enforcement immediately or deliver them to the many military detainment camps that are being set up." Doctor Jinel said.
"But what is this? People are changing to these-these-these things, magma is coming out of people's body, a black hole from a man, what is this?" The anchorman was now hysterical.
"We do not know, all we ask is for people to remain calm-"
"Remain calm?! Remain calm?! Doctor Jinel, excuse me, but how the hell are we suppose to stay calm when people out there are doing shit that is causing damage to the world and putting our lives endanger? What are we dealing with?" The anchorman asked the same question, his co-working were trying to calm him down.
"We don't know, the only thing that can explain is if these people somehow have required superhuman features!" Doctor Jinel lost it and shouted out the only thing they hypothesis. The news station was silent. Everything was silent. They were shock and many had doubts, but they started to realize, what he meant by "superhuman features", superpowers. It all fit into place for everyone present who didn't know.
The hysterical and crazy anchorman started to laugh, a mad laugh. It was really showing that he was scared, he was terrified what he heard.
"Is this some sick jock," More mad laughter. "Superpowers, really, is that the best our top scientist could do?! What are our tax dollars going to?!" The news broadcast was suddenly shut down as the man continued to laugh. Lana had turned to TV off.
The Beings of Powers were left speechless. No words could explain what they seen. They were out, they were known, and it was not for the good of everything.
"What have we done?" Double D asked stuck in shock. It then hit them. It hit Lily, Dante, Techlin, Eddy and Edd and would hit Ed too once he awaken. They were the cause of it. They unleashed the powers. They were the cause of the damage of the anarchy that was happening across the world. It was all on them, no terrorist, no madman, no rogue agent, no one but them.
"What have you guys done!?" Ian said. He looked pissed at the Chosen Ones. "Is this what you wanted when you freed us? How the hell are we suppose to live on now? There is going to be problems now, the entire fucking world think we're dangerous now!"
"Ian calm down, they did to free us." Alicia was surprisingly calm, but her eyes were telling a different story. Shock, fear, nervousness flicked across her eyes.
"Then we should have stayed statues! How many of us survived? Fifteen? Twenty?."
"Twenty-four." Techlin stated emotionless.
"Twenty-four! At first I was cool with it, you guys freeing us and all, but now that this," He waved his hands at the TV screen. "is happening, I think we were better left in statues!"
"Lay off dude, they were not trying to do this!" Kendal stood up for the Heroes, who looked like they were absorbing the information, their eyes were darken. They felt responsible, all the weight was on them.
"Yeah, well people don't try to get powers either and look what happen!" Ian said. "You know what, fuck you guys, I am out of here!" Ian was heading for the door.
"Hey Ian, stop being unfair! It was either dealing with you guys dying under their watch or risk this so that you can live!" Lana said and the boy flipped her off and left. Lana was about to give chase and give him a piece of her mind until Thomas stopped her. He shook his head. Ian wasn't going to listen. He had to cool off.
"But what have we done?" Dante voiced Edd's question again. The silence was heavy and no answer was given. That was until Ed came in, having been at the door, having heard of the situation and seen an angry Ian leave. He stayed next to the door entrance.
"It is simple guys," No one looked at Ed, they just needed to listen, listen to his "simple" answer to all that was happening. "In just a few short hours, we completely changed the world.
End of Book One
Holy hell! Holy fucking hell! I just did that, I just did that. I just did that. I was like "should I end it here?" and I was like "YES YES, end it!". Wow what did I just do? What did I just do?
Oh I know, I left the biggest cliffhanger in my career of fanfiction so far. I left it on this note. Oh snap! No one can stop me now! Man I feel good, I feel really fucking good!
So, there it is, Book One: The Five That Change, is done, just done. Man this series is going to be that series that everyone will see and love. I made it that way. It will be that way. Wow though, I left you all with such an ending that can lead to possible futures, many possibly futures. Man, well it has been a wild ride. This entire story here has been just amazing.
Thank you all for waiting so long, waiting so long with my dealings and hiatus, I was able to live up to completing it. Wow. So I will be working on the next chapter of the series which would be the next story. I already have the title and I want you guys to see it.
Book Two: The New World
I like it. It may go well with everything that will happen. I can't wait to start working on it! So now that this is over, tell me guys, what do you think? There will be a few months pause as I need a little break from this story, I will be working on Outbreak Chronicles and building that up. Since I plan to make that first book pretty short or at least to decent length, I may, and I am probably just thinking of being completely hopeless, may finish it. Yes, it may be that short or not. Who knows, still thinking of the length, I have the plot figured out, but not the length.
Again, I thank you all, the readers for your overwhelming support of the story, for giving me OCs, for giving me Ed's spells, for your criticism, for your helpful words, everything. I thank you from the bottom of my heart, you guys are the true Revolutionaries.
And you can still do it, yes, keep sending me those Ocs, keep sending Ed's spells, keep sending me powers that you want to see, keep giving me your creations as I love it. I really love it and appreciate it. There will be appearances of your Ocs in the next story, I promise that, Ocs will definitely be common in the next story.
With that, my fellow Revolutionaries, I leave you until the next chapter. Stay safe, keep reading, keeping thinking, keep dreaming, and keep living as you all are part of the Revolution.
See ya in BOOK TWO: THE NEW WORLD! And don't forget to check out the Outbreak Chronicles, remake of my first story, the World of the Dead!