It was a warm day and a young man was relaxing and watching his charges do football drills. He was of African heritage, possessing no hair on the head save a mustache and goatee. Standing 6' 6", he seemed as strong as a Mack truck to those who met him. Currently, he was dressed in a royal blue polo shirt with an eagle stitched on the right bicep; blue cargo pants finished the ensemble. A blue billed cap with an eagle on it covered his head.
As he watched his charges go at it, he didn't realize he was now a target for assassination by one of the most zealous groups in the known galaxy:
Niphentaxians.
"Come on! Let's see some hustle out there!" he barked out.
He was married to a wonderful woman, one whom he didn't realize was a metahuman who had received a "Gift" from the most feared planet in the galaxy if not the Universe as a whole. The coach was also penpals with a young man in Japan; he tried to stay in touch with him frequently. He had not noticed his wife had come by the football field to see how everything was going with his charges; she was willing to help him out whenever it was needed.
Having just arrived at the nearby parking lot, she disembarked her Jeep, and walked over to the field, carrying a cooler slung over one shoulder. Black-haired and violet-eyed with those beautiful orbs now behind designer framed reading glasses, she was a caramel-skinned beauty that stood six feet even and tipped the scales at about 140 pounds. She was now dressed in an eagle-embossed T-shirt, jeans, and high-topped shoes.
When she stepped onto the field, she saw her loving husband and went to kiss him. "So how are they doing?" she said.
"Both sides need a little work," he said. "It's nothing we can't handle. Right gentlemen?"
"YES COACH!" the players yelled.
"Good," she said.
"Did you handle what you needed to in Japan?"
"Yep, even visited my godfather while I was there." 'And beat the hell out of those Niphentaxian bastards!'
"DEATH TO ALL WHO DEFY THE GODDESS!"
As the coach, his wife, and the players all stopped hearing that scream, someone burst out onto the field. A glance at the newcomer made him seem like a student...even if his ears had Vulcan-like points. Snarling, the newcomer charged right at the coach, welding a very wicked and alien-looking knife. "Oh, shit!" the coach yelped as he dodged a thrust aimed at his heart, then hit the attacker hard in the jaw, staggering the younger man. 'Who the hell is this?!'
'A Niphentaxian?! Here?! Didn't we get all those umale?!' his wife wondered as she moved to shove the attacker clear from her husband.
Roaring, the players charged over to help their coach defend himself, one lineman lunged in to tackle the attacker from behind, knocking him off his feet. The quarterback and one of the running backs kicked the alien hard with their cleated feet, stunning him.
Once the attacker was down, the coach leaned over and yanked him into a sitting position. "Why are you trying to kill me, boy?!" he demanded, wondering who the hell he could call to see this creep dealt with properly. After all, the aliens all went to that suburb of metropolitan Tōkyō, not suburban America!
"To...slay those who support...the Great Evil..." the alien sputtered out.
That made the coach blink. "'Great Evil'?! What the hell are you talking about?!"
"One who supports the Great Evil wouldn't care...!"
He then gargled as the coach's muscled fingers constricted hard on his throat. "WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?!" the older man thundered. "Don't make me break your freaking neck, boy! GET TO THE POINT! My boys here look a little hungry right now!"
In emphasis, the players all snarled, making the alien shudder in horror as he realized that he was outnumbered nearly twenty-to-one. "He means Moroboshi Ataru, Cage," his wife then stated.
He gaped at her. "What?!"
A smirk crossed her face. "Yeah! It was on the news! This little bastard's race of copycats created a freaking RELIGION that venerates Ataru's so-called 'wife', Redet Lum!" Hearing the emphasis on the "goddess'" Imperial clan name made the alien shudder as he started to see red. "Who, as has been proven many times, is nothing more than a spoiled princess...!"
"DIE, INFIDEL BITCH!"
With a burst of strength and speed that shocked everyone, the observer lunged at Cage's wife, zeroing in on her heart with his knife. Cage was faster; he dodged in front of his girl, allowing that deadly blade to penetrate his abdomen below his diaphragm! Grunting, he collapsed into his wife's arms as his team members screamed in outrage at seeing him hurt like that. The quarterback that had kicked the alien whipped off his helmet, then smashed it hard across the observer's face, stunning him. That gave the others the chance to lunge in and brutally snap the alien teen's arms, then nearly crush his spine around the lungs to drop him and keep him down.
"Get the fuck up from that, asshole!" the quarterback sneered as some of his teammates moved to keep the alien down while the others swarmed around Cage to help stem off the bleeding.
"Call an ambulance!" the running back hollered.
"They're not gonna be here on time, man!" one of the linesmen warned.
"Chill, guys!" Cage's wife then assured. "I can get help! Call this number, Marcus!" she said as she handed a paper to the quarterback. "Tell them we have Niphentaxians here! They'll understand!"
The players then gasped on seeing Jessica Williams' clothes suddenly shift into a beautiful blue bodysuit with bare arms and sleeves that showed off her spectacular curves well; gold-trimmed red belt and boots in a style resembling what Captain Marvel in Marvel Comics would normally wear completed the ensemble. Before the guys could ask what was going on, Jessica pulled out something black the size of a paperback novel, then tapped the glowing crystal there. In a flash of energy, both disappeared.
The players all gaped at that...then they blinked upon hearing the alien whimper. Gazing at him, they all then stared as the observer turned as white as a ghost, his eyes wide with horror.
"They Who Must Never Be Named...!"
Tomobiki, the Toranoseishin Finances tower, that moment...
"Cage-sensei...!"
"Huh? What is it, Tariko-chan?"
Shuddering, the Trickster of the Show shook her head. Given the number of people she had helped see Gifted over the previous decade, she consistently maintained subtle empathic links with them, which had fully reformed once she had thrown off the brainwashing that had been forced on her just before the Tag Race with Lum thanks to Kasuga Ayumu and her friend Mizuhara Yomi and Tariko allowed her Gift to finally take her. One of them was with Jessica Williams, the current incarnation of the Valiant Defender of the North, Timsyuto Myutae ("Power Woman"). Given what she had just sensed now...
"Those slippery umale...!"
"What?" the Goddess Who Walks Among Men asked.
"We missed some of Lum's so-called 'most faithful' over in the States, Ayumu-chan. Cage-sensei just got stabbed by one. Jessica's getting him to the Cave of the Future now."
That made the Wakayama-born reality warper's eyes flare. Charles Williams - "Cage" to his friends thanks to his close resemblance to the character of Luke Cage from Marvel Comics - didn't know the whole story of the Terran-born among the Children of the Forge, but he was well-known to many who had gained Gifts over the last few years thanks to those who lived close to the where the Williams family resided. "I thought we got them all!" Ayumu spat out before shaking her head. "Knew we should've just used an Infinite Wave..."
"My mistake," Tariko lamented...
Outside Habitation One, the Cave of the Future...
Having just teleported in, Jessica sighed, grateful that Elizabeth Wakefield had improved the Personal Administrative Assistants to give them the ability to deal with bleeding knife wounds. Her husband was now asleep in her arms, the wound sealed even if he still was suffering from blood loss. Quickly stripping him down, she then carried him to the wall of glowing mesonium that allowed would-be Gift recipients to touch the physical structure of the Forge of the First Race. A gentle pressing of his body against that wall of crystal saw him drawn into it. Stepping back, she took a deep breath.
"He was pre-Gifted, I hope."
Jessica turned to see Tariko and Ayumu standing there, both in their costumes as Coyote and Infinity. "Yeah. Just like you did it for me; got it done a month ago," the current incarnation of the Northern Valiant Defender stated. "Didn't have any sort of Gifting dreams, but it was starting to affect him. I was about to tell him what had happened to me. That punk rushed it!"
Tariko nodded as Ayumu squeezed her friend's shoulder. While she had not met Cage personally, all of Jessica's words about him had touched the soul of the Trickster of the Show hard. One had to be blind to not see how much Jessica loved her husband. "Yeah. Next time we have to do a mass alien eviction, we'll keep it KISS-simple." She thumbed the Goddess Who Walks Among Men in emphasis.
"Any idea what Sensei will be?" Ayumu asked.
Jessica shook her head. "No! I want it to be a surprise."
The younger women giggled on hearing that...
Somewhere...
Cage's eyes opened.
He found himself in a place that was white all around, with no discernable walls or floor. Gazing down at himself, he noted he was now as nude as the day he was born. "Hello?!" he called out, his voice echoing from all around. "HELLO?!"
No answer. "Oh, hell!" he then moaned out. "I'm dead! Didn't think I'd go that way..."
You are not dead, Charles Lucas Williams!
He looked around. No sign of whoever just spoke. "Who's there?!"
You are now within the Great Crystal of Power, Charles Lucas Williams. I am the Voice of the Great Crystal; Yizibajohei address me as the 'Conservator'. Within the Great Crystal of Power, the natives of Yiziba come seeking Gifts to defend themselves against any who might threaten them.
That made the football coach blink. "Yiziba?! The planet where Major Raeburn got her Power Jewel from?!"
The same, Charles Lucas Williams. The Keystone Power Jewel now bonded to Deannette Antonia Raeburn was forged within the Great Crystal of Power when it served as the Forge of the First Race.
"So why am I here?! I'm not a Yib-Yisa..."
Yizibajohei. True, you are not of Yiziba even if Terrans and Yizibajohei arose from the same stock on your homeworld. However, you were brought unto the Great Crystal of Power by your beloved to save your life.
Silence.
"Jessica...?!" The coach took a moment to consider that, then he shook his head. "Well, I took a vow stating I'd give up my life for hers. Her before me, as long as she lived, I would've died with a smile on my face..."
«Being without you is no life for me, buster!»
Cage perked, then he turned...
...to see a ghostly image of his wife floating there, decked out in a superhero-like jumpsuit that looked sharp on her. "Damn...!"
Laughing, the astral form of the Valiant Defender of the North floated over to "embrace" her husband. Their kiss certainly felt pretty damned real to Charles Williams. "Jess, baby..." he breathed out. "Ever since we dated, I was always willing to help others, protect them. Even after my old man disowned me and I was homeless for those few years on the streets, it wasn't any different than when I was in school. Always wanted to help others." He smirked. "Even donated some of my salary to charities..."
«I know that, Cage. You don't have to sacrifice everything for me, honey!» she "said" as she drew him closer to her. «That's why I love you!» She then took a deep breath. «C'mon, let me be selfish! Just this once?!»
That made him laugh...
...before he shuddered as something seemed to surge into his conscious mind.
The choice is made, Charles Lucas Williams. Return to your body, Jessica Karen Williams. The Gifting commences now...!
The Cave of the Future...
"Nesu...AETUTOR'BA!"
Jessica, Tariko, and Ayumu blinked as someone stepped out of the glowing wall of the Great Crystal of Power. As the just-Gifted Cage shook his head while the power that had just been given to him flooded every cell of his body, he looked down to see he was now in a uniform similar to his wife's, save for form-fitting sleeves on the arms. Blue overall, he had a white star-like insignia on his chest and mixed red-and-white vertical stripes running down the sides of his body. A red belt and red buccaneer boots and red gauntlets finished the ensemble. White diamonds with red eagle-like birds were on his biceps. "Damn...!" he breathed out as the memories of over two dozen lifetimes - half as boys, half as girls - flooded his mind, though it didn't seem to overwhelm him. "Whoa..."
"Wow! The Patriot! That's a cool Gift!" the Goddess Who Walks Among Men chortled out.
"I'll talk to Kamen to get him a shield he can use!" the Trickster of the Show then noted before an amused smile crossed her face. "May have to visit Lee-sensei so he doesn't get the lawyers out...!"
"Damn! I look like a comic book character!"
Eyes locked on the new incarnation of the Defender of the North, Aetutor'ba (the "Patriot"). Shaking his head, he then gazed upon his wife, his peripheral vision picking out the two reality warpers nearby. Noting the current incarnation of Coyote looked a lot like Moroboshi Ataru's own twin sister, he pointed at her, winking. "Not that there's anything wrong with that!"
Jessica laughed on hearing that and kissed her soul mate. As she wrapped her deceptively strong arms around him. "We better head back, the guys are going to be worried sick." Patriot nodded.
"Before we go, I have one question." He said, "do I have to give up my coaching job?" Coyote shook her head.
"No, we know how much you love to help others. Teaching is a noble profession, we call them 'thought masters/ mistresses' here."
"Am I going to get training on using my powers?"
"Don't worry, my dad was in the military before those umale killed him." Said Power Woman, Patriot looked sorrowful for bringing up bad memories. "Hey, it's not your fault."
"I didn't mean to bring up bad memories. I'm sorry."
"It's alright, I'm over it." Infinity went over to hug him.
"You guys be careful." She said as Patriot hugged her back. With that Jessica and Cage, now Power Woman and Patriot had disappeared back to Earth. "I'll talk to Kamen."
"And I'll go talk to Lee-sensei, let's hope Cage-sensei doesn't go 'Sweet Christmas' in a fight scene." Said Coyote they laughed.
Note: This was done with help from 'Pyeknu'.