Disclaimer: I own nothing.
Chapter 2: The Man Without Fear
It was a gloomy day in Montgomery, Alabama, a city home to about two hundred thousand people. The dark clouds of May filled the sky, casting a dark shade on everything visible. It was also Ryder Jace's last day of junior year in high school, and the day could not get any better because it is his seventeenth birthday as well. After school, he was to go directly to the gym to play a game of ping pong with some of his classmates and friends.
Ryder was a seventeen-year-old boy and lived with only his dad. His dad was pretty good at sports in his high school days but never played in college. Ryder, on the other hand, was lanky and better with books, but he did have exceptional hand-eye coordination. He was around six feet and three inches with a slender build. He wasn't very muscular, but he wasn't thin like a cross country runner either. Instead of playing sports, Ryder worked at a local Chick-fil-A. His dad was an alcoholic, so Ryder could have a little extra spending money this way. Ryder had short brown hair that swept to the side and bluish gray eyes that gave off a sense of melancholy. Ryder had dark bags under his eyes from studying and working all the time.
"Hey Ryder! Wait up!" yelled Zakee ("Ziggy") running down a hallway in the school building. He had four pong paddles in one hand, and the other hand was busy throwing away all his useless notebooks that he used throughout the year. Zakee was an athletically built, black male from the west side of Montgomery. Him and Ryder were about the same size until freshman year when Ryder grew taller, and Zakee got stronger. He played football in the fall, wrestled in the winter, and he ran track and performed in the field events during the spring. They have been best friends ever since they can remember.
"Hurry up! I'm not going to wait all day for you," yelled out Ryder back to Ziggy.
Zakee scurried over to Ryder just in time to catch the door while it was still open. "So, you have decided to whoop up on some guys since it is your birthday, huh?"
"Wow, that some real mind reading right there. And no, I might as well get some fun in before I have to go back to work with some suck ups," replied Ryder.
Four other friends of Ryder met them in the gym. They decided that they would play three on three, and after each hit, the people would rotate on their side of the table. The teams were Ryder, Zakee, and Jake Anderson. Jake was a skinny white guy with brown hair and stood about five feet ten inches. He was the point guard for the varsity team and could break anyone's ankles. The other team consisted of Alex Johnson, Tommy Shelby, and Luca Jones. Tommy and Luca were on the basketball team with Jake and were the superstar duo of the school. They were all good friends that hung out and played a lot together since their childhood.
"You're going down today, Tommy. We're gonna be the MVPs today son." joked Zakee as they walked up the stage and to the ping pong table.
"HAHAHA! You'll be practicing like Forrest Gump when I get done with you," replied Tommy with a smile.
"So, play to 21? Just one game," Ryder suggested?
"I'm down with that," replied Luca as everyone else nodded their head.
The game started off with Tommy serving the ball over the net to Zakee. He hit it back across to Luca who was ready to smack the ball. 'If I act like I'm going to hit it hard, they are going to back up a few steps. However, if I put backspin on it, they won't be able to hit the ball,' thought Luca. He reared back but sliced the ball down low causing a lot of backspin.
Ryder quickly noticed the back spin, so he rushed towards the net. He returned the ball with a strong forehand and ended up hitting the corner of the table. Alex couldn't catch up to the cross-table hit, so Ryder's team was awarded one point.
"Oooooo, nice return," said Luca praising Ryder's reflexes and accuracy.
"Thanks, man," said Ryder. "Maybe you should, you know, get good." Ryder shrugged and chuckled.
"Damn, bro," said Tommy. "Ryder isn't holding back today."
The game of ping pong lasted for another twenty minutes and ended up with Ryder's team winning. The final score read : "21 – 18."
"When did you get so good, Ryder? Your balls were moving like crazy!" Zakee had never seen Ryder play like that before. He knew that he had decent hand-eye coordination, but this was next level.
"What can I say? New age, new ping pong player," said Ryder laughing as he walked out of the gym with Zakee.
"Holy shit, Ryder, you were on fire in there! I mean hit after hit was practically on the corners!"
"I know man," said Ryder. "I guess I just had that kind of touch today."
"You're damn right. I didn't even know you knew how put English on a ball."
"Just thought I'd try it. I mean it looks badass when it actually works."
"That's for sure," laughed Zakee. "So, what're you doing tonight for your birthday dinner?"
"I'm not sure right now to be honest. I might go out to eat at Street Café and get a shrimp bowl."
"You can come over to my house and we'll cook you up something if you want."
"I'll think about and let you know what I decide."
"Okay I'll see you later then."
"See ya!"
Ryder got in his small Toyota Camry and headed off to work. The Chick-fil-A he worked at was about three miles away from his school, but there was always a lot of traffic there.
Ryder got there in about fifteen minutes; just in time to change into his uniform inside his car then rush inside. Upon getting inside, his co-worker, Robert, behind the counter said, "Made it with two minutes to spare, eh? Smoking a birthday doobie?"
"I wish," replied Ryder smiling. "It would be the only way to make this job any better."
Hanging out with Robert was the only way that made working there enjoyable. Other than him, Ryder dealt with irritable customers, a manager that was honestly a dick, and stuck-up girls that were as fake as Nicki Minaj's ass. Every chance the manager got, he yelled at Ryder for what seemed like no particular reason at all.
"Ryder! Hurry up back there with the chicken sandwiches! We're getting a lot of people ordering them," yelled his boss from the front!
Ryder stood back there. 'Fucking dumbass,' he thought. 'This stuff actually takes time to cook.' He saw that a few were done, so he took them off and slid them down to Robert who was in charge of putting the buns on them. This pattern lasted until he clocked out at 8:30 pm.
Ryder only lived with his dad ever since his mother and older brother left when he was about two months old. All he remembered from the two was his mom's brown hair covering her pretty face and his brother's midnight black hair. Ever since then, his dad always opened a bottle of Jack Daniels when he got off work to help ease the pain of his memories. Strangely, he would always pour another glass full of whisky next to him that he never drank. When he was finished drinking, he would then pour it back into the bottle.
Back in his olden days, he was also a Special Forces soldier that was deployed months at a time during and before his marriage to Ryder's mother. He never talked about his mom, brother, or his deployments, and when Ryder would ask, he would go silent and not say a word for the rest of the night.
Besides that, Ryder got a long with his dad fairly well. He always helped him with his schoolwork or anything else that was important to him. Ryder knew his dad was broken, and it hurt to see his go to the bottle with his problems instead to him. Ryder's dad had a small-time job as a Waffle House manager. They survived every month off welfare checks from the government and the low salary from Waffle House.
Ryder went into the pantry and grabbed a bag of BBQ Lays chips and went straight to the couch. Ryder's living room had two couches that faced a TV that was standing on a mantel above a fireplace. They lived in an upper-middle class, suburban neighborhood, so Ryder was naturally curious on how they could afford such a comfortable lifestyle. He turned on the TV and flipped it to his favorite show, Impractical Jokesters. On the other couch was his dad passed out drunk mumbling in his sleep.
"Conner," he said stirring around on the couch. "Don't make him," he mumbled after that. Ryder had heard him say these two things repeatedly, so he didn't pay any attention to them. After an hour of watching the four grown men embarrass each other, he went outside to shoot basketball.
He grabbed the ball and shot. It hit the back iron and bounced back to him. He noticed that his elbow had been poking out a little too far, so he pulled it close in as if he was holding a magazine between his elbow and his side and could not let it fall. The second shot went in.
*CACHING*
The sound the chain net made was music to his ears. One make after another and after another until his wrist started to cramp up. "Wow, since when could I do this?" He took a few steps back and shot again. The trajectory looked perfect, and his release felt perfect.
*BVMMMMMMMM*
Suddenly, the ball stopped in mid-air. Ryder looked around to see what was happening. At the bottom of his driveway stood a tall man with a midnight black robe and a mask. The mask was black and red with a black bar that allowed the man to see. It had many scrapes on it that made Ryder think that he was some sort of soldier or foreign explorer. The bottom of his robes were singed from what he was guessing was from fire. Ryder felt a heavy pressure on his shoulders that almost made his knees buckle, along with a sense of fear and curiosity towards this person.
"What is your name boy?" asked the mysterious man.
He looked around to see if anyone else was seeing this, but no one was present. "Ryder," he said with a stutter. "Who are you?"
"Some call me the Prodigal Son and others call me the Butcher, but to you, I am a friend."
Ryder stood there confused, just then realizing that the ball had not moved from the air. The birds around them were not flying, but were frozen, and the tree limbs were bent in place from the wind.
"What the hell are you talking about," Ryder asked flustered. "You aren't making any sense." He began to pull out his phone.
"Ryder, son of Alek, the police are of no help to you right now," said the mysterious figure.
Ryder was starting to panic due to the threat it seemed like he was just given. He put the phone back into his pocket. "You still aren't making any sense."
The man began walking to him and said, "We don't have time for your childish questions."
Ryder took a step back confused about the situation. "The fuck do you mean, we?"
The man walked right past Ryder ignoring him and to the front door of the house. He opened the door and walked right on in. He paused, looked around and saw his dad passed out on the couch. The man walked over to him with Ryder closely behind him. The man snapped his fingers, and Ryder's dad's eyes began to slowly open.
"Wake up, Alek," he said in a stern voice.
Ryder's opened his eyes fully and sat up slowly. "There's only one person that would come here and make my hangover worse," he said rubbing his eyes.
Alek, Ryder's dad, stared up at the man and said, "Well, is it already time that we have another drink together," he asked?
'Another,' questioned Ryder in his head?
The man in robes took off his mask and revealed a handsome face with dirty-blonde hair that didn't go past his neck. He looked in his mid-thirties and had a chiseled face.
He sat down next to Alek and looked at the spare glass of whiskey on the coffee table. With his right hand, he grabbed it and swirled the whisky around in the cup. "I wish I didn't have to come at all, my friend."
Ryder's head was spinning from this mysterious man freezing everything around them. And to top it off, he knew his dad. "Can you explain what the hell is going on, Dad?"
The man lifted the glass and swallowed the potent liquor in the glass. "Do you want me to inform him, Alek," he asked?
Alek looked down at the ground and said, "No, this is something I have to tell him."
He looked up at Ryder and said, "This is Korvin. We served in the Special Forces unit together. We went through tough times with each other. He even knew your mother and brother." He paused as he swallowed a lump that choked him up.
"Ryder, me and your mother have 'special' skills that were passed down to you and Conner, and you two showed and incredible amount of promise even as young kids."
Ryder sat down on the other couch. 'So, that's why he always muttered that name while he was passed out. Conner must be my brother's name,' he thought.
He was astonished that his dad was talking this much about his family and background. "Why are you telling me all this now?"
Alek looked up at Korvin then back at Ryder and said, "Because," he paused. "Soon I won't be with you any longer."
Ryder's eyes widened with the thought of his dad leaving him just like his mom. "What do you mean you're going to leave me? You're going to leave like how mom did," he asked?
Alek didn't say anything for a few moments. Korvin jumped into the explanation and said, "Technically, you and your father are under a witness protection program, Ryder. Me, your parents, and other people are originally from this galaxy, but just like how the Earth traveled through a wormhole, so did us. We decided to help the US fight against the evil that traveled with us. Your father learned crucial secrets about our enemy at the time, and in order to protect him and his family, he was forced to move here and lay under the radar. Hence, working at a Waffle House. He wasn't allowed to make contact with any previous friend or family member as a result."
"We had an agreement that, if I was ever to found out by our old enemy, he would come here and have one last drink with me as a sign," explained Alek to Ryder.
Ryder popped up from the couch and protested, "So y'all have a plan to get us out of here, right? I mean I'm pretty sure this guy just stopped time outside! There has to be a way!"
"I was only to freeze things close to us to a few moments," said Korvin pointing outside. The ball the was frozen in mid-air was now resting at the bottom of the driveway in a gutter.
Trying to come up with ideas off the top of his head, Ryder blurted out, "Call the government! I'm sure they can help!"
His dad looked up at Ryder and said, "They don't want anything to do with us. That's why they send us a lot of money monthly." He looked at Korvin and said, "How much time until they arrive?"
Korvin tapped a button on his watch and a holographic radar appeared. "They are a thousand miles away and closing in fast."
Alek took a necklace off his neck that had a key on it and gave it to Ryder saying, "Go into my locked drawer at my desk, and bring me what you find in there."
Quickly, Ryder snatched the key and bolted to his dad's office. He had never seen the contents inside the drawer, but he knew it was something special. Ryder opened the drawer and pulled out a small pyramid that had a soft purple glow coming from the inside, a necklace that had a small wooden pendant, and a picture of him around two, his brother, Conner, and his mom and dad who were smiling. He rushed back to his dad and handed him the three objects.
He held the up the picture first and slowly wiped a few tears from his eyes. "You should have this, Ryder. This is the only picture I have of all of us together."
Tears were falling down Ryder's face as he sat in disbelief of what was happening. "Why are you doing this," he pleaded?
Next, Alek took the necklace and put it around his neck then grabbed the purple pyramid. He handed it to Korvin saying, "Make sure you give him this when the time is right." Korvin nodded as he took the pyramid.
"How far away are they," he asked?
"Three-hundred miles and closing," Korvin said.
Alek walked over to Ryder and gave him one last hug as tears flowed from his eyes. "I'm sorry for being a terrible dad, Ryder, but you have to go or else you will die too. The men who are coming have been searching for me for a long time, and if they find out that I have a son with me, they will torture and kill you too. I know you might not understand, but this is something that I've been prepared to face for a long time."
Ryder was in complete shock. He couldn't say a single word. All he could do was just hold on to his father a little while longer. "I love you, Dad. I'll make sure that whoever is coming after you will pay."
His father pulled back and looked him in the eyes and said, "Don't let revenge get the best of you. Instead of using that to fuel yourself, use the love that you have for me, your friends, and the world to grow stronger. That is the only way that you will be able to defeat your enemies." He looked at Korvin who simply nodded.
Korvin stood up and said, "It's time to go, Ryder." He looked at Alek then walked to the front door.
Ryder looked into his dad's dark blue eyes and said, "I don't understand what's happening. Why don't you come with us?"
Alek pulled out the necklace that he had just put on. "It's because of this necklace, and you. It can trap the wearers power within it if they die with it on. Then, whoever wears it next, inherits the previous user's power. Since your powers are similar to mine, your abilities will exponentially grow. You will be able to do things that have never seen before. Korvin will explain everything later. I told him to answer any questions you have. I love you more than you'll ever know, Ryder," he said wiping tears off his face.
"I love you too, Dad." They embraced for the final time.
Alek pulled away and said, "Now it's time for you to go too."
Before Ryder turned to the door, Alek took his old, leather belt off and gave it to his son and said, "Put this on and press the button on the front. Don't take it off until Korvin tells you to." Ryder put the belt on and pressed the circular, silver button on the front. No sounds or colors flashed. It just seemed like a standard belt with a button.
"Ryder, my last wish to you is that you find your older brother and tell him that I love him so much, and that there was a reason to why he had to be the one the carry that burden–,"
Alek was cut off by the sound of a blast. Alek frantically looked at Korvin who was walking outside, then back at Ryder. "Go! You must get inside his ship now!" Before Ryder took off, he gave his dad one final hug good-bye.
"I love you, Dad. I'll make sure I tell Conner that message." Alek smiled, pressed the button on Ryder's belt, then pushed Ryder towards the front door. He sprinted to Korvin's ship with nothing but a picture, the belt his dad gave to him, and the clothes on his back.
Korvin was standing on the loading platform of his ship that suddenly appeared and directed Ryder into the main hold where a panel from the ground was lifted out of place. "Get in," he said.
Ryder had no choice but to follow instructions. He tucked the picture into his back pocket and jumped in the hole. "Stay here until I come to get you," he said. Ryder nodded. Suddenly, the floor panel began to levitate and was placed perfectly back in place above Ryder. Korvin rushed out of the ship and towards the driveway. He pulled out a remote and pressed the top button which made his ship invisible.
It was pitch black in that small storage area, and he wanted nothing more than to look at the picture of his family all together. It made him feel so warm on the inside. Ryder began feeling around him, looking for something that might be a source of light. What seemed like rods were scattered everywhere, and small, taped boxes were stacked close by. Finally, he found something that was rectangular with knobs and buttons on it. He pressed one button and a screen appeared in the middle of the buttons and knobs. The screen took a few moments to load the picture, so in the meantime he just stared at his own picture using the light from the device he found.
His mom's scarlet hair was long and beautiful. The picture was taken outside with trees as the backdrop. The way the wind made her hair move made her even more stunning. Conner was a handsome kid and for sure a lady killer. He had a chiseled jaw-line and a sharp smile. Ryder looked as goofy as ever cheesing as hard as he could.
The light on the screen got brighter, so Ryder began watching intently. A picture of his house with three men wearing strange clothes appeared next to someone that looked like Korvin. "I get it," said Ryder. "I'm watching what's happening through a camera."
Alek appeared from the house, and he was walking towards them with something black and silver in his hand. A dark, red beam of light about three feet long appeared from the mainly black object. Korvin did something similar and another red beam of light appeared. The camera did not allow audio, so he just sat there watching intently.
"Well, well, well. If it's not the inglorious bastard, Alek Jace." A man in a military uniform with gold hair walked towards Alek. Behind him, stood a shorter man wearing a white suit and fedora. Next to him was a humanoid figure that emitted a blue light and aura. He was completely naked, but didn't seem to have a penis either.
The man in the white suit began speaking and said, "I'll give you this ONE chance because of our history. Where is your boy? I know you have another son."
Alek turned off his red beam and said, "I'll won't tell you a single thing!" He spread and bent his legs slightly and put his arms to his side and clinched his fists. Grass, rocks, and dust began floating, and the air became heavy making it hard to breath.
The glowing, blue man looked at the man in the white suit and said, "We can't let him build his power too much, Doctor. He was a very elite warrior."
The man in the white suit patiently stood there waiting for Alek to make a move. "His power level is now over three million, sir. I've never felt a power this incredible."
The doctor replied saying, "Have some faith in the men that I have chosen to be here, Boswell."
Alek was still building his power. Veins were showing in his neck, forehead, and arms. He stopped powering up and stood there. Steam was coming off his body in clouds.
"His power has stalled out," said Boswell. "Be ready for an attack."
Ryder was still in the small cargo area. He couldn't believe that his dad had so much power that he broke off chunks of their driveway and made them float in the air. "There's no way that Dad is going to lose to these chumps," he said confidently.
Alek looked at all four of the enemies that stood in front of him, including Korvin. He made sure not to even glance at the ship Ryder was on, because the Doctor would surely deduce that something important to him was on there. Alek began to raise his voice as he lifted his hands to all four of his enemies.
"Ahhhhhhhhhh!" He moved his hands to point directly towards Korvin. Right when he knew his aim was true, a large burst of blue and white lightning blasted towards Korvin.
When the lightning struck that spot, Korvin wasn't there. Instead, he quickly moved to behind Ryder, and readied his death blow. He thrusted his red beam directly through Alek's heart, killing him within a second. Alek fell to the ground with a loud, empty thud.
Ryder's jaw extended as far as it could. The hairs on his arms and legs were sticking straight up. Goosebumps covered himself from head to toe. Rage, passion, hatred, love, denial, and many other emotions filled Ryder simultaneously. "D… D… Dad," he whimpered. Tears began flowing down his face as the man he thought was one of his father's closest friends began stealing items from his dead father. Quickly, Ryder covered his mouth because he knew if they heard him, he would be dead too.
The Doctor in the white suit began clapping. "Good job, Korvin. I knew that you've been training on your off time. Mercenaries are so fun to use, especially when you hire them to kill one of their old friends." The Doctor slowly walked towards Korvin. "Do you know where his other child is, Korvin."
Korvin deactivated the red beam and simply said, "No clue, boss. Haven't talked to this piece of shit in about twenty years." He put the silver hilt on his belt and remained standing next to Alek's corpse.
"Fine," said the Doctor. "I know you're a worthless scavenger, so go ahead and take what you want of his. All I want is the body."
Korvin nodded and he reached down and picked up his black and silver weapon. He took the necklace around his neck then searched the rest of his body. The things he took from the corpse of Alek was as follows: the necklace, weapon, two rings, and a notebook. Korvin stood up, looked at the Doctor and said, "The rest is yours, Doc."
The Doctor stared at the items he took and said, "I see you're interested in his lightsaber. Why might that be?"
Korvin held the black and silver, curved hilt in front of the Doctor as he put the other two in his pocket. "According to legends," began Korvin. "This lightsaber belonged to the ancient Dark Lord of the Sith, the Creator of the Rule of Two: Lord Bane. From childhood all the way to his death, he used this blade and honed his fighting techniques. It has seen war after war. It's had kill after kill." Korvin ignited the lightsaber and a deep, crimson, red blade appeared. "It's said that the hum is so soothing that it can even make the enemy become paralyzed in fear before it kills."
The Doctor reached for the hilt while staring into Korvin's eyes. Korvin could see the red hue reflect of his eyes which made him look more sinister than the devil. The Doctor retracted his hand and said, "No. This weapon is too barbaric for someone like me." He turned and began walking towards the street. The glowing, blue man touched Alek's body, and it began to float and follow him.
Upon reaching the asphalt, the white-suit man reached into his pocket, took out a remote, and pressed the top button. Suddenly, a small star ship appeared. He looked over his shoulder and yelled back at Korvin saying, "Maybe with your payment from this job, you can buy a cloaking device as good as ours." The Doctor snickered as he walked up into the ship with Dr. Boswell, the General, and a floating corpse behind him.
