Kihonne: What's this? An update on the deadline I set for myself? Who could believe it? Lol, I hope you guys are doing all right this morning/afternoon/evening/whatever time of day it is where and when you're reading this. I'm back with the final part of the Separated Arc of this season, when we finally get to see Caelus City! But first, it's shoutout time!
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LabGirl2001: Thanks! I hope things are calming down wherever you are too. I'm glad you liked the chapter, especially the parts with the cyber mask story. I guess you'll have to see if that story is ever revealed. Jillian is a pretty cool character. I won't say how important she is, but I will say: this is not her final appearance. I'm glad you liked the Venusian's descriptions. I wanted to make them feel special, without making them feel too different either. They're a cool species, that's for sure. As for what Emily found, all good guesses. You'll have to read to find out though. Anyway, I hope you enjoy the chapter!
SzymonS: Yeah, I know. Life's been crazy. Emily not complaining, that is a rarity. That's an insane story. You're tougher than me, that's for sure. Emily's sprain isn't necessarily that severe though, but resting it would be a good idea. Separation is 99% of this team's problem's, so it's a fair assumption on your part. Naomi doesn't feel like an aunt, I admit. I have a friend who's got an aunt like that – there's about a five-year difference, and they're more like sisters than anything else. was smart to bring along the cybermask – Sera could be in real trouble surrounded by her people's enemies. As for the Q&A, it's a maybe right now. I do have plans to do one, but it's a matter of timing it out right. I don't want to insert it somewhere where it'll interrupt the flow of the story, and there's no real place to do that (the only place I can think of is between seasons, but given how Season 2 ends…well, let's just say that the final scene is probably going to lead to a lot of questions that can't be answered over Q&A without spoiling some stuff). Right now, I'm still figuring it all out, so I'm not going to make any promises yet. You have some interesting theories about Roddiseus' connection to the Venusians, that's for sure. Whether or not the Venusians were at all interested in negotiation…well, let's see how this all turns out, shall we? I have to say, Oracle, I'm leaning on SzymonS' side here. A massacre would definitely slow the team down in their escape, so it may not have been in their best interest. Emily and nature do not get along. It is a mutually hatred, that's definitely certain. Interesting guess about what Emily found – you'll have to see if you're right, but regardless, it was a good guess. I'm afraid no prize this time, but don't worry – I'm gonna keep offering it for late updates, so maybe you'll get it one day.
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Kihonne: Alright! Time for the chapter!
Noah: Kihonne doesn't own Lab Rats, Mighty Med, or the Elite Force. She only owns this story, all the OCs, and anything else you do not recognize.
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Ben's POV
I glanced at my watch, checking the time for the umpteenth time before resting my head back on the tree I was sitting up against. It was cold out, not as biting as it had been last night, but it wasn't as if we'd had a chance to warm up since. It hadn't been so noticeable when we'd been moving, but now that we were just sitting here, waiting, it was impossible to ignore.
We'd spent the entire night walking through the trees, using Noah's map, my compass, and torches made by Kira to keep us from getting lost. We'd finally arrived early in the morning, much later than we'd initially intended but before the first star could rise.
Below the edge of the treeline was a wide valley where the city stood. It looked like a small city from Earth, but instead of the glass-walled skyscrapers and skylines of massive towers that I was used to, it was mostly built of large townhouse-like buildings with a structure in the center that reminded me vaguely of a Gothic Victorian style palace (Naomi had taken an architecture class during her 1st year in college and I guess I picked something up while helping her study). There were no guards in sight, but we could see the Venusian natives beginning to start their days. That's when we realized one significant obstacle: we looked nothing like the Venusian people.
Every single one that we could see had blue and purple hair, and with Noah's brown locks and my and Kira's blonde ones, we would stand out like a sore thumb. Then Noah came up with a surprising plan.
"Well, I found this in Emily's bag." He'd announced, pulling a small container, similar to a contact lens case, out of his cousin's blue bag. He flipped it open to reveal a small computer-chip like device.
"Oh, is that one of the cyber cloaks." Kira had exclaimed, grinning when she saw it. I glanced at her.
"How do you know what a cyber cloak looks like?" Calla hadn't included it in their training because shed felt that there would definitely be a repeat of 'the Winter Formal of '15'. She'd refused to explain what is was but cited it as the main reason why giving the kids access to the cybermasks would probably be a bad idea. Kira had giggled softly at my question.
"Oh, that's between Em and I." She'd replied simply. I decided it was better not to ask and turned to Noah.
"There's two of them, right? They come in pairs." I'd questioned, having used them with the League before. He grimaced.
"Em probably has the other one. She likes messing around with tech like this when she's working on stuff, kinda like a stress ball." He'd waved his hand dismissively. "But I figure, I can use this one to do a little recon."
"Recon for what?" Kira had asked, sounding a little distracted. She was rubbing her shoulder with one hand, a concerned frown on her face.
"What's wrong?" I questioned immediately. She shook her head.
"Nothing. What's the recon for?" She repeated her question, focusing again.
"We need to know if any of the others beat us here or not." I'd explained. Noah nodded.
"Even if they aren't here already, getting a bit of a sense about the layout and maybe find out some information about where our parents are being held would be a good idea." He added. He glanced at me. "Em did an update on the cyber cloaks' invisibility option before we left, so why don't I use that to get past the guards, then blend in with the crowd and see what I can find?"
"Fine. We'll wait here." I'd decided after some thinking. "Be back here in two hours and no later, or we're coming in after you."
That had been one hour and fifty-two minutes ago and so far, there was no sign of him.
I glanced over at Kira, noticing that she'd been quiet for a long time. She was still sitting behind a fallen log, one knee pulled up to her chest, but she was staring distractedly into the trees behind us, scratching at her shoulder. "Is there something wrong with your shoulder?" I asked, frowning at her. She stopped scratching when I said that but didn't look away from the trees.
"No." She answered, though she sounded a little uncertain herself. When she didn't elaborate, I sat up to give her a once over.
"Kira?" I pressed her. Her lips twisted down into a frustrated scowl.
"We need to find Kameron." She said. I sighed.
"We will, Kira, but first-" I began. Her head snapped back at me and I stopped short, surprised by the mix of emotion in her eyes. I couldn't tell if it was worry or fear or anger, but it wasn't a look I expected to see on little Miss Sunshine.
"No, now." She insisted. "He's in trouble, we need to find him."
I licked my lips, reconsidered my words, then gently asked, "what sort of trouble?"
Her shoulders dropped. "I don't know." She admitted, worry bleeding into her voice. "But he's in trouble, and we need to find him. Right now."
"Okay, and how do you propose we do that?" I asked slowly. She faltered at my question. "Kira, I'm not dismissing your worries. If you say he's in trouble, I believe you. But we can't help him if we can't find him, and the only way I know how to find him is using Chase's chip. If you have a better idea, we'll talk about it, but right now, I think the best way to help Kameron is by continuing on the current plan."
She nodded, leaning back against the log. I could see her knee bouncing anxiously. "Okay." She mumbled softly, beginning to rub at her shoulder again.
"He'll be okay." I added softly. She looked at me, worry shining in her eyes. "He's tough, and for all we know Naomi or the others are with him. Whatever trouble he is in, he can handle it."
"I hope you're right." She sighed.
"I'm sure he is." Kira and I both jumped as Noah seemed to materialize before us. He smirked a little at our reactions. "Sorry."
"No, you're not." I grumbled, getting to my feet. "What did you find?"
"Are Kameron and the others here?" Kira added, leaning halfway across the log. He shook his head.
"Not yet, but to be fair, we made pretty decent time all things considered." He reminded her. She nodded though she seemed to deflate. "I did find out one important thing about Venusian fashion though."
"Venusian fashion?" I repeated, looking at him. He nodded.
"Mom always said it was important to pay attention to fashion trends. And apparently," he knelt down and started digging through his bag before pulling out two blue and purple wigs "wigs are in this season."
"Why are wigs part of their fashion?" Kira asked, raising her hands in time to catch the longer of the two wigs.
"Why do girls wear heels even though they hurt? Just because I pay attention to fashion doesn't mean I understand it. Here." He handed me the second wig. I pulled it on, adjusting it as he continued, pulling out a set of black cloaks from his bag. "I also grabbed these - our clothes might make us stand out a bit too much."
"Smart thinking." I commented. Kira nodded, patting the top of her long, purple and blue wig.
"Does it look alright?" She asked. I nodded and glanced at Noah. He smiled and tapped the cyber cloak chip, now resting against his neck, and his hair, clothes, and eyes suddenly transformed into those of a Venusians. "What about the eyes? Ours don't look right."
"Yeah, but you both have such pale eye colors that I think we'll be fine. Just don't go staring into strangers' eyes." He advised as we began to make our way down the hilltop and into the valley.
"So, what did you find out?" I questioned, buckling the front of the robe to hide the blue of my uniform.
"Not much. There's no sign of non-Venusian life at all down there, neither our team or the adults." Noah explained. "So, do we just wanna hang down there until the others show up, whenever that may be? If we hang out in the woods, they'll never find us."
"That is such a stupid plan." Kira grumbled, frustrated. I nodded.
"Well, given that this was initially supposed to be done by an invasion force of our world's strongest heroes, I very much agree. This is a very stupid plan." I announced. "But stupid plans seem to be our thing, so why not? Yeah, let's do that."
Kira's POV
We entered the city without much difficulty; no one seemed to notice three random 'Venusians' entering the city, or perhaps it was so common that it wasn't worth paying attention to. The city seemed awfully busy. Perhaps it was some sort of holiday or even weekend (I wasn't sure if they had weekends here, but perhaps they did). There were kids playing in the dirt streets, passing a flat, triangular item between them in a grassy area, and adults talking each other as they headed for a more populated part of the city. I watched as a group walked into a large, heavily decorated dome-like building.
"They're a religious people." Noah hummed to Ben and I as we passed by. "I heard some kids saying their parents were dragging them to something called 'Ishus' later and I saw a man in a long, gold cloak enter before everyone else."
Ben hummed in response as we walked past the building. "I think most people are heading down that way. Don't know why though." He commented, nodding towards a larger group of Venusians. We all started to follow after them, but I stopped when something suddenly hit the back of my legs. Turning, I found a triangular item at my feet. I picked it up just as one of the Venusian boys ran up to me.
"Here." I handed it back to him and he smiled.
"Hey, you want to play with us?" He asked. I glanced around, realizing that Ben and Noah were already gone. "Hello?"
"Sorry, I just lost my friends." I apologized. He nodded.
"I'm Julian." He introduced himself.
"Jaime." I lied. Sera's planet was known for everyone having similar sounding names and on the off chance that Venusia was the same, I didn't think my own name would be a good idea.
"Well, cool to meet you, Jaime." He replied, smiling at me charmingly. I rubbed my shoulder absently, smiling back. "You new around here?"
"I'm visiting from another village. My friends and I came here to look for work." I lied quickly. He nodded. "And I seem to have lost them."
"Maybe I can help you find them." He offered just as one of his friends, a girl with mostly blue hair, came running up. "Oh, Joni, this is Jaime. She's new in town."
"Cool. Nice bag." She complimented. I glanced at my bag, which was only partially hidden underneath my cloak. The Davenport industries logo was somewhat visible. "Where you get it?"
"An off-world trader." I replied. She looked at me expectantly. "I don't remember the name."
"Oh." She looked disappointed. "It's cool. Wish I had one like that. Mine broke not that long ago and I need to buy a new one."
I glanced at the bag, then at her. "I think I could maybe help you with that."
Noah's POV
"I don't see her." Ben sighed, looking through the crowd. "Or maybe I do, but I don't know. All these blue and purple haired people look alike."
"I think they should be called blue-nettes and purpl-ettes. You know, like brunettes, but for blue and purple hair" Kira declared, sliding in beside me. Her arms were hidden underneath her cloak, but it was clear that she was carrying something. "Sorry, I got distracted talking to some kids."
"Just stay close. I don't want to lose you in the crowd." Ben scolded her, though I could tell he was relieved. "What's in your arms?"
"Turn around." Kira told me. I did as I was asked.
"I swear, if that's an animal, we're not keeping it." I told her sternly as I felt her unzipping my bag.
"Look, I brought home a hurt squirrel one time, and if Emily and Kameron can have a pet in the penthouse, I don't see why I can't." She argued. "But relax, it's just my supplies."
"Why do you - where's your bag?" Ben questioned. I turned to see that Kira was indeed missing her bag and had just dumped all of her stuff into mine.
"Oh, I traded it to some kids." She explained. At my and Ben's exasperated looks, she smiled and held up three paper slips. "You see where everyone's heading? That's a food sharing market, kinda like a buffet. I traded my bag for three tickets and directions."
"You...bought us lunch?" I chuckled. I wasn't going to argue - the rations we'd brought hadn't been particularly appetizing - but it did seem odd. Kira shrugged.
"I guess, but since a lot of people are going to be there, I thought we might be able to ask around about our parents, see if anyone knows anything."
"We'll have to be careful, but...it's not a bad plan." Ben admitted, much to Kira's joy. "Nice job."
"Thank you. Follow me." She twisted around and began to lead us towards the market, a bit of a spring in her step.
"She seems less cranky." I commented, half under my breath. Ben glanced at me. "You have to admit, ever since I got back from my recon trip, she's been off."
"She's got it in her head that Kameron's in trouble. I think it's a twin thing." He explained back. I nodded thoughtfully.
"Think he's alright?" I asked. He pressed his lips together in a thin line.
"I hope so." He replied before shaking himself and catching up to Kira, who was quickly losing us in her haste towards the market. "Kiki, slow your roll a bit. Stay together."
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"This is surprisingly good." I admitted, taking another bite of my food. Sera had once made us all a traditional Calderan meal as a treat, a meal that had tasted like burnt asparagus, rubber, and spicy onions. It hadn't agreed with any of us, except for Charlotte who'd surprised us all and delighted Sera by asking for seconds, and I'd mostly expected the Venusian food to taste very much the same. That proved to be a false assumption that I wouldn't make twice. I didn't recognize any of the food on my plate, but it reminded me of cold vegetables, a fish of some sort, and, believe it or not, peanut butter. It was no match for my dad's cooking, but it was still better than anything Calla had cooked for us while I stayed with her, so that was something.
"That was good." Ben agreed, leaning back in his chair. He rested his head on his hand, thinking.
"What's up?" Kira questioned, still eating.
"Just wondering about the others." He scowled. "It's what, midday now? Past it? It was a three hour walk from where we split up, and it's been half a day since we should have arrived."
"We got lost." I pointed out. "I mean, we only got here a few hours ago ourselves, and we had the map and stuff."
"Yeah." He agreed, still thinking. "Still, they should be here soon."
"They'll likely come here." I reasoned. "Food cooking outside, a crowd of people? Even if they don't enter the city, they'll want to know what's going on and maybe even stock up on supplies. This does seem like the place they'd go to."
"Maybe." He agreed. He looked around. We were sitting at a table in the middle of the eating area, with Venusians sitting around us and chatting about their days and stuff. Listening in on them, you could hear a variety of topics, ranging from work (one complaining about getting extra work from someone named Jessalyn) to fashion (what was up with these people and wigs?). If you were looking to overhear town gossip, this seemed like the place. "Alright, I say we hang here for a while longer, see if we overhear anything that might be useful."
"Alright." Kira got up. "In that case, I will be right back. I'm going to go find the little lady's room. Thank god the Venusians have bladders." And with that final charming statement, she walked away to find the bathrooms. I turned to Ben once she was gone.
"We should grab more food, put it away for the others." He mentioned. "We have all the supplies with us - odds are, no one's eaten all day and won't eat until they get here."
"That's a good idea." I agreed. "We could use the smaller bags to carry it, so it doesn't spill into the rest of our supplies."
"Kam and the girls aren't gonna love that." He chuckled, pausing briefly, his eyes locking onto something behind me. I went to turn but he flicked his fingers, motioning for me to stay. "Don't."
I looked at him in confusion but didn't turn around. "What's up?"
"Guys wearing armor. Looks like they're guards on their lunch break. It's fine; I don't think they're here for us." He murmured quietly. I heard the chair behind me scrape across the ground. "So yeah, I don't think Kam's going to like it if you ruin his bag like that."
"The kid can suck it up." I replied easily, keeping my tone light. I went back to eating, trying not to tense up. My disguise was foolproof - at least, until the battery died, but I thought I had a few hours before that would be a problem - but Kira and Ben were wearing wigs. Not exactly the best disguise in the world. Thankfully, the guards paid us absolutely no attention, beginning to talk as they ate.
"Hey, think you can take my shift tomorrow? Journee's been nagging me to take Joel shopping. Kid needs new skor again." One of them was saying.
"Can't. I got doubled up at the Court tomorrow." The other replied. The first groaned.
"You too? My Polu, how long are they going to be pushing these extra hours on us?" He sighed. His friend chuckled darkly.
"Blame those dumhuvie off-worlders. I'm half considering just stepping back tomorrow and letting the community have their way with them." He replied. I stopped, my spork-like utensil half up to my lips. Ben and I met each other's gaze.
"Yeah, well, Lord Jax and the Council's word is law." His friend grumbled.
"Doesn't mean we have to agree with him." The second sighed.
Were they talking about my parents? Or the others? What did they know about them?
Suddenly, Kira re-entered my line of sight, standing at the edge of the eating area. She didn't approach though, and one look at her pale face and a piece of paper clenched between her hands told me that something was wrong. "C'mon." I told Ben, keeping my tone low and leaving no room for argument. I got to my feet, grabbing my plate and utensils. Ben followed my lead, keeping care to not walk too fast or to do anything that would attract attention.
"They're going to-" Kira started the second we were within earshot, but Ben shook his head, silencing her, and taking her by the arm. He led her away from the eating area and into a quieter area.
"Alright, what's going on?" He asked her. She shakily handed us the piece of paper.
"They're going to kill her." She murmured. I looked at the paper, confused. It was a flyer, half in English and half in Venusian, but I understood the gist of it. It was advertising a protest at some place called 'The Caelus Court'.
"Calling for the death penalty for the Calderan warrior." Ben read. He looked at us. "The Calderan warrior."
"So, either that's Skylar, or Sera has seriously pissed off a lot of people in a very short amount of time." I muttered.
"I found it on a bulletin board near the bathrooms. There were a couple of people my parents' age talking about it." Kira explained, her words coming out in a panicked rush. "They were saying how she's a war criminal who came here with an attack force and how keeping her alive here is 'an insult to those who have given their lives to stop the Calderans'. They're going to kill her Ben, tomorrow."
"There were guards saying how they were considering letting the people do it." I glanced at Ben. "Skylar, and the rest of our parents, could be dead by tomorrow."
"Jesus." Ben breathed, shaking his head. "Alright. We need to move faster than we'd initially planned."
"The others aren't here yet." Kira reminded him, scratching her shoulder anxiously.
"We might not have time to wait." Ben decided. He let out a breath, then nodded. "Alright, we'll give them the rest of the day to show up, and if they don't, then we'll have to act without them. We'll use the protest tomorrow as a diversion to break the adults out."
"It won't be easy." I mentioned. Ben nodded.
"I know. But I don't think we have another option." He replied. "We break them out tomorrow, with or without the others."
Ben's POV
I spent the rest of the day hoping, praying that Naomi would step out of the trees. Or if not her, at least somebody from our team. Someone who could help us, because I didn't love the odds of the three of us being able to break the Elite Force out of this Caelus Court place they were being held. But as the day wore on, that hope began to wither. By time we had to retreat to the trees - Noah's cyber cloak was dying - and find somewhere to spend the night, it was clear that we were going to be on our own the next day. We made camp far enough away that Kira was able to make a fire without alerting the Venusians to our location. Noah had been practically buzzing with nerves and even though Kira's worries about Kameron had lessened ('I think he's okay' she'd said after a few hours, sounding relieved) and her nervous habit of scratching her shoulder had stopped, I could still tell she was anxious about the next day, so I'd offered to take the first watch in order to give them a chance to rest up.
"Please, Naomi." I murmured to myself, looking up at the dark sky. I needed her here, to help with all this. Neither option was great: either I wait for the others and risk letting the people kill Skylar, or I go in with two heroes with minimal experience, one of which only being fifteen years old, and try to rescue them ourselves with no backup and no way to even tell the others our plan. I was between a rock and a hard place, and without the others here, without Naomi here, that wasn't going to change. But by time the first of the planet's large stars began to rise on the horizon, there was still no sign of the others.
And so, we found ourselves wading through the angry crowds in the morning, Noah sporting a new wig and cloak stolen by Kira prior to the protest. The atmosphere of the Caelus Court - a large courtyard in front of a heavily protected building near the tree line at the far North end of the city - was tense and hateful, people chanting 'Kill the Calderan' in unison with each other.
"My god." Kira shrank back against me as we were jostled by the crowd we were trying to get through. "They really hate her."
"She's a warrior from an enemy planet." I murmured regretfully.
"They called them here though. I thought they wanted peace." Noah ground out somewhere behind me. I couldn't see him – he was using the last of the cyber cloak's battery to keep him invisible – but I could just picture the angry look on his face.
"Clearly, that's not what they intended." I replied. "Let's just focus on getting the team out, then we can deal with why they were brought here."
I began to push through the crowd vigorously, Kira falling in behind me so she wouldn't get swept away by the crowd. We eventually reached the front, where the guards were clearly struggling to keep the people at bay. While that was a little scary when you thought about that many people wanting Skylar dead, it was exactly what we were relying on.
"Kira, you ready?" I glanced back at the girl. She nodded and ducked her head, focusing for a moment. Before long, I heard the angry shouts turn into cries of surprise as the trees at the edge of the city burst into flames.
The guards were momentarily distracted, and that's all the crowd needed to surge forward, to try and charge into the building the moment the guards lowered their defenses. We lunged forward with them, but unlike the others, we had an invisible man on our side. When the guards went to push the protesters back, Noah sped into them, knocking them to the ground. The protesters fought their way forward, getting the attention of the guards, while Kira and Noah caused more distractions with her fire and his unseen attacks.
Amidst all the chaos, Kira, Noah, and I managed to sneak past distracted guards and into the massive building. "In here." I felt a hand grab my arm, then I was pulled through the closest door. Once inside, I realized it was some kind of file room. Noah flickered back into visibility before us.
"That's the last of the battery." He announced. I nodded.
"Alright, step one's over. Step two: find the adults." I decided. I looked around. "They have to have a computer system here, right? I don't suppose any of you know how to hack into that kind of stuff?"
"My great-uncle Douglas taught me basic hacking stuff. I'm no tech expert, but I can make do. Hopefully." Noah replied.
"Hopefully is better than knocking down doors until we find them." I muttered. "Alright, computer room, any ideas on where we'd find it?"
"Well..." Kira frowned, raising her hands towards the door. "Computers generate a lot of heat, right?"
Noah and I exchanged looks. "I guess?" Noah shrugged. Kira nodded.
"We follow the heat." She decided. I nodded.
"Alright. Stay close." I ordered. I slowly cracked open the door and looked outside. The hallway was empty, the rest of the guards having gone outside to deal with the protesters. "Follow me."
I carefully led them through the hall, keeping pace with Kira who was using her powers to try and track the biggest source of heat. It was a trick that Kaz had used on a mission we'd been on before, so I knew it was reliable, but also required a lot of concentration to give an accurate reading.
Unfortunately, the moment we reached the end of the corridor, I knew she was going to lose it.
"It's close. Left side. I can tell." She hissed to me. I nodded, looking around the corner.
"Yeah, I'm guessing it's the room with two guards in front of it." I sighed. I glanced at Noah, then at Kira. "Alright, Kira, you and I will handle the guards, then keep watch. Noah, focus on getting to that computer and find where they're keeping the adults. Got it?" They both nodded in understanding. "Alright, go!"
I lunged forward first, using my strength to propel myself from the ground into the air. I tackled the nearest guard to the ground before he could raise his weapon, and I landed a heavy punch to his jaw. I heard the other guard shout in surprise and saw, out of the corner of my eye, him raise his spear like a blaster, but Kira took care of it before he could. She sent a large ball of fire, about the size of a baseball, towards him, forcing him to duck in order to avoid being burnt. I hit the guard underneath me again and stood up to help Kira, but instead ended up watching as she hit the guard hard enough to knock him backwards. He hit the heavy metal door and sunk to the floor, unconscious.
"Oops." Kira looked at him wide-eyed, then at me. "I didn't mean to hit him that hard."
I couldn't help but chuckle at her reaction. "You did good, kid."
"Nice job." Noah's voice died in the wind as he sped past us, into the computer room. We followed him in and found him standing over a high-tech computer consol. He already had it activated and was looking through the complicated writing.
"Uh, it's not in English. I thought most planets used English now?" He questioned. Kira shook her head.
"Most planets use one of five basic languages in order to keep things simple, but only two of them are from Earth." She reminded him. She looked over the writing with a frown. "This doesn't look like Mandarin either though."
"Can you do it or not?" I questioned as I dragged the two unconscious guards into the room. If he couldn't get into the security system, I had a back up plan that involved searching the building, but it carried much more risk and could take a lot longer. I nodded at what I figured was a closet. "Kira, the door?"
"Yeah." She nodded quickly, rushing to open it for me.
"I think so. Just give me a minute." Noah replied. He began typing at the computer at high speed, pausing every now and then to try and figure out what the symbols meant while Kira helped me lock the guards in the closet. She went to help Noah with the computer, while I kept watch on the door.
"Ah-ha!" Noah exclaimed a few minutes later.
"What happened?" I called over my shoulder.
"Well, I can't read the writing, but I think I found the map of the building. And this cell area is three times as guarded as the rest of them." He announced. I nodded.
"That'll be where they're holding them." I declared. I glanced over my shoulder. "C'mon, let's go."
I turned and started down the hall just as another set of guards appeared, stepping into the corridor. "You really want to do this?" I questioned, beginning to charge at them.
Before I could even reach them though, one of the guards raised some sort of remote and pressed a button on the side of it. The moment he pushed down on that button, a high-pitched scream filled my head, drowning out everything else in the room.
I hit my knees in agony, my hands clutching at my head, unable to so much as move with the scream bouncing around my head. Vaguely, I was aware of Noah and Kira also screaming and the guards closing in on us. I was just barely able to raise my head in time to see one of the guards raise his weapon and bring it down towards me.
Noah's POV
I opened my eyes to the sideways view of a tiled floor and the remnants of a sonic, high-pitched scream still echoing in my head. I couldn't stop the high-pitched whine that escaped my lips as I rolled onto my stomach and slowly pushed myself onto my knees. To my left, Kira was one step ahead of me, already sitting on her knees with glowing cuffs encircling her wrists, while Ben, on my right, was just starting to wake up himself. We were all sitting in a dark room, with guards standing in front of the doors behind us.
As I started to get up, I felt an odd pain in my arm. Looking, I was shocked to see a needle mark in the crook of my elbow. "What did they give me?" I groaned. Kira shook her head.
"Took a blood sample. Couldn't stop them." She muttered. I scowled and pulled at my own restraints, feeling them vibrate in response. I could tell immediately that they were like our power-blocking cuffs back home; my speed was gone, as were Kira's fire and Ben's strength.
"Earth natives." Another voice hummed. I looked up to see two Venusians, a man and a woman, in golden clothes enter the room while trailed by a number of guards. "Like the others. I take it you're here for a botched rescue?" The woman questioned.
Kira opened her mouth to reply, but Ben cut her off. "Don't." He groaned, pushing himself up on shaky arms. "Don't."
"Who are you?" The Venusian man questioned, ignoring Ben. This time, Kira didn't make any attempt to speak, listening to Ben. "Why are you here?"
Ben and I sat up properly, copying Kira's position in solidarity. The woman examined us, then smiled to herself before turning to her partner. "Has your Earth contact reported in yet?"
He glanced at us, then slowly raised his chin. "Not yet." He answered cautiously. He turned to address us. "I take it you have something to do with Miss Krane's disappearance."
I had to stop myself from looking at Noah and Kira in surprise. We'd suspected that Lexi's benefactors had had something to do with our parents' disappearance, but I hadn't suspected it would be so easy to confirm it.
"I repeat my question," this time, the woman pulled out a glowing silver blade and held it under Kira's throat. "Who are you?"
Before any of us could decide whether or not to give her an answer, another Venusian woman in a long, black apron entered the room. "Lady Jaya, Lord Jax." She greeted with a nod. "We have the results of the prisoner's blood. Two of them are indeed familial matches to the other prisoners.
Other prisoners echoed in my mind. "I see. Thank you." Jax nodded at the Venusian, who nodded and left.
Ben let out a long, audible sigh. "My name is Aftershock, I'm a member of the New League of Heroes of Earth." He announced, glaring at the two Venusian leaders. "We have come for the Elite Force. Believe me, we are the best-case scenario, and you won't get another chance to hand them over so easily. If you do not release me, my companions, and the Elite Force immediately and allow us to leave in peace, the NLH will send an elite invasion force to retrieve us. If that means fighting and beating you, they will. We take care of our own."
Jax looked at Ben scrutinizingly. "Is that so?"
"It is." Ben didn't even blink. "On the other hand, if you let us go free, without any trouble, we'll leave you in peace. It's your choice, but I wouldn't advise incurring the wrath of the greatest superhero organization across the universe."
I held my breath as Jaya lowered herself so that she was crouching in front of him, her blade still resting under his chin. "I do not fear the New League of Heroes." She told him, smiling arrogantly. She raised her chin upwards to address the guards behind us. "Search the city and the surrounding areas. They wouldn't have come alone. Kill anyone you find."
"No!" I lunged at her, only to be pulled back by two guards. Jaya rolled her eyes at my outburst and stood up.
"Should we kill them?" She asked Jax, who shook his head.
"They might be useful to us." He decided. He waved over a few more guards. "Take them away."
"You'll regret this!" Ben growled as we were dragged to our feet and pulled away. They roughly pushed us down a couple of hallways until we reached a guarded metal door. They opened it up, revealing a set of stairs leading into a dark room. They shoved Ben in first, the older boy barely keeping himself from falling down the stairs, and just barely being able to keep Kira from face-planting when they shoved her in next. They pushed me in next and unfortunately, with so many on the stairs already, my hands bound, and the shove not exactly being gentle, I stumbled and fell. Ben tried to grab me like he did Kira, but I weighed a little more than the 5'4 girl and we both ended up tumbling onto the cold, hard ground at the base of the stairs.
Kira came rushing down the stairs after us, but when a voice called "Noah?", it wasn't hers that spoke.
I looked up instantly, having not heard that voice for months. "Mom?"
Kihonne: Alright folks, opinions? I really want to know what you guys thought of the chapter! Next chapter, we finally get to see our beloved Elite Force again! Oh, how I've missed them. It's going to be a good chapter.
So, it seems like 2 weeks is a good update schedule to have. It's not as often as it used to be, but it is something I can handle. So here's the new update schedule for the next few updates (updated):
July 11th / 12th: Reunited
July 27th: Jailbreak
August 10th: Homeward Bound
And, to make sure you know that I'm serious about updating on time, that surprise I offered last week? From now on (barring any major life events or exceptional circumstances) if a chapter is later than what I promise by 24 hours, I'll send that special surprise to any logged in reviewer from the previous chapter. Sounds like a good deal? Anyway, I hope you guys have a good couple of weeks! Stay safe, folks! Can't wait to hear from you guys!
UPDATE 07/03 - Hey folks. It's kind of a long story, but I'm going to be without internet for the next week or so due to some family stuff. Unfortunately the chapter is not quite done yet - otherwise I'd just post it now - so you'll unfortunately have to wait until I return. As such, the new update will be on either the 11th or the 12th. Sorry for the delay folks! To the three people who I now owe a surprise to, I will be in touch when I return.