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Kinetic

By: hammingbyrd7



Kinetic

Copyright 2006 hammingbyrd7

Chapter 1.

Looking back, I think the first clue about my abilities occurred months before they started manifesting. It was in the first week of January in 2001. I was still sixteen at the time. It was the week my mom died.

I've had classmates who've lost family members, through accidents and illnesses, so I've seen both ways, fast and slow. Before I lost my mom, I used to think that fast was better. Maybe I still do. I would have hated to watch her suffer. But the shock... Oh man, it's brutal. And the guilt... Not too much in my case, just the normal regrets of not being nicer to someone you loved while you had the chance. For my dad though, it was a different world entirely...

He'd been married to my mom for more than thirty years. They both grew up in Sterling, Illinois, a small town of about fifteen thousand an hour or two west of Chicago. My parents lived there all their lives, sharing classes in primary school, becoming high- school sweethearts... My dad started working for Northwestern Steel and Wire right out of high school, just like his dad. My mom became a sales clerk. They married each other when they were both twenty-one.

My dad is a union man. I'm not saying that to boast or to put down. I'm just telling you his perspective. According to my dad, there are two great opposing forces in the universe. I'm not talking about God and the Devil. I'm talking about labor and management, and my dad is on the side of truth and goodness. He's labor.

My dad thinks of the USW as his family. He's also honest, a hard worker, kind, and horrified by lack of loyalty the Northwestern owners have shown for their workers. My dad has seen it all, from reneging on promises for medical care to blacklisting people who spoke out about safety violations.

My dad started working the night shift in 1967 as an apprentice operator, learned the various trades of tending and casting, became a team leader... By the 1980's he was working mostly with specialty steels, and in the last decade before the accident he earned his certificates as master millwright and worked almost exclusively in maintenance and installation. He loved his work, took pride in it to the core of his being. Then in December of 2000, after 122 years in operation, Northwestern filed for Chapter 11. And a few weeks later there was the car crash. For a while everything just seemed to fall apart.

It started for me in the early Monday morning of January 1, 2001, a few hours before sunrise. I was home alone fast asleep when someone started pounding on the door. It was the police...

I was at Community General a half hour later, met dad in a deserted waiting room outside the surgery area. He almost didn't recognize me, and I almost didn't recognize him. He looked as if he was aged fifteen years in the last few hours. In a shell-shocked voice he told me what happened.

He and mom were coming home from the union's New Year's Eve party, about two in the morning. Dad was driving. Mom had just unclicked her seatbelt to get something from her purse in the back, and suddenly there was a tremendous crash and the car went flying. Dad and the other driver were unbelievably lucky, a few pulled muscles and some minor cuts from the glass. Mom though... Mom went through the windshield, head first...

For all the torture dad would put himself through in the coming months, we never could get a clear picture of what happened. Except for the driver of the other car, there were no witnesses. He claimed dad swerved wildly and struck him, but that story didn't particularly fit with the crash evidence. Both drivers had been drinking, but both were also legally sober. In the end no citations were issued. It was just one of those accidents. Maybe if the lighting or the road conditions were just a little bit better, or if either driver had been just a little more alert... maybe nothing would have happened.

If... In reality, I was sitting with my dad in the living room in the late afternoon after the funeral. I asked him a couple of times whether he'd like something for dinner, but he kept shaking his head no. I just sat there in silence with him for almost an hour, not knowing quite what to do. I knew what dad's problem was. Men of his generation are not supposed to cry...

I had my eyes closed, thinking of mom, hating the emptiness of the hole she left. I was angry and sad and frustrated all at the same time, and then all the emotions seemed to focus into one white-hot spark of rebellion against the universe, and I felt the brief flash of a terrific headache behind my eyes.

"Eric?!"

I opened my eyes. "Uh... Yeah dad?"

"Did you just flick the lights on and off?"

"Huh? From here?"

My dad just stared at me for a while. "Yeah, I guess not. I must be seeing things. Sorry..." He closed his eyes before I could reply.

I sat there feeling totally bewildered. The weirdest part was, I had seen the flash too, but it was behind my eyes, two live wires of anger and sorrow shorting against each other in my mind. How in the world could dad have picked up on that? I sat there probing my mind for the intense headache I thought was coming, but I felt fine. I finally shrugged it off as a meaningless coincidence. There was no other logical explanation. And I was right. There was nothing logical about that flash at all...

Chapter 2.

I went back to Sterling High on January 8'th, a week after the accident. The kids were very sympathetic, that helped a lot. It's a modest sized school, just over a thousand students. The class ahead of me, the graduating seniors number about two hundred. I have some mixed feelings about the school. I like my teachers, but the drug dealing has gotten so out of hand I sometimes worry about my safety... And Melanie's...

Melanie is my girlfriend. She gave me a really great hug after school that day, long and affectionate, holding me in her arms as if she never wanted to let me go. We had seen each other briefly over the past week, but there was so much family coming in from both my mom's and dad's side that we never really had much of a chance to talk. We both decided to skip the bus and walk home...

I should tell you about Melanie. We're in the same AP science and math classes and have been friends since we were toddlers. She's bright, considerate, very courageous, athletic, ambitious... She is determined to become one of the world's greatest doctors... Melanie is also absolutely, positively, the most beautiful creature who ever walked the Earth. She also has one of the wackiest, most dysfunctional families I've ever heard of, let alone met. Seriously, they're one for the record books.

We held hands as we walked home, not doing much talking at all. Somehow, we didn't need to. Melanie could sense how I was feeling and she thought having me talk about it would only make it worse, at least for now. She gave me a quick kiss and a warm smile as she dropped me off at my house. Her home is only three blocks away. I felt a lot better heading up to my room to study. Melanie was right. She's so perceptive. Just being with her and not having to try to verbalize all the chaos within me... It was exactly what I needed.

That's where we were in our relationship, at the holding-hands stage. Well, over the last few months we've started to kiss each other goodbye too. But Melanie is genuinely shy about getting more physical, and to tell the truth so am I. We'll be going to the junior prom of course, and we both have our dreams about the future. But for now, we're still exploring how to be emotionally intimate with each other. We're holding off on the physical stuff till later.

And the months passed. At the end of February, (or the first of March, take your pick when it's not a leap-year), I turned seventeen, a month ahead of Melanie. More time passed and somehow I came to terms with never seeing mom again. But for dad it was a different story. The United Steel Workers were a family to him, but somehow even the USW couldn't replace the hole mom had left in his heart. Winter turned into spring and I hadn't seen dad smile or even relax in months. And the fact that Northwestern would be shutting down the plant in May certainly wasn't helping any. I worried a lot and tried to be around for dad to talk with. There didn't seem to be much else I could do.

Then on the last day in May I came home from school and found dad grinning like a Jack O' Lantern. He had been traveling over the past week, ever since the plant closed, and had just gotten back from a trip to Reading, Pennsylvania. One look at his face and I knew he had struck pay-dirt.

"Carpenter Technology?" I asked grinning.

He nodded happily. "I was unbelievably lucky. They have an opening that fits me perfectly! It'll actually be an increase in base pay, much better than I was hoping for. I'll be going back into operations again, specialty steels, and branching out into titanium."

I gave him a beaming smile. "So when do you start?"

For the first time, dad looked a bit worried. "They're anxious for me to start right now. They're offering me a nice bonus if I start this coming Monday. Eric, we have some talking to do."

I'd been so happy for my dad I wasn't paying attention to the implications of all this. It suddenly hit me like a ton of bricks. I'd be moving with dad to eastern Pennsylvania. Melanie?!!

I broke the news to her the next day, after we left the prom. We had a really nice time there for about three hours, but then some of the kids started pushing the envelope on rowdiness. The chaperones were struggling to keep things under control. A part of me wanted to stick around and help them, but my first loyalty was to Melanie. I wanted her out of there. So we drove to the Dairy Queen for some ice cream. I waited until we finished our cones, and then I told her about dad's new job.

"What?! Eric! You're not joking, are you?"

"About something like this? No, of course not. He's going to leave on Sunday, start the next day."

"He? You're not going with him?"

I shook my head and tried to smile. "No. I'll be around for the summer, hopefully for almost all of it. Dad wants me to fix up the house and sell it. He's hiring me."

"Hiring you?"

"Yeah, union wages too... He insisted; $16.93 per hour, plus time and a half for overtime."

Melanie had to smile as this. "You're joking, right?"

"No, not at all... Uh, Melanie... I'll be around for the summer... And afterwards, I don't want to lose you..."

Melanie said nothing for a while. She just stared into my eyes for the longest time, and then started to cry. No sobs, just silent tears falling down her cheeks. "Eric... What you mean to me... I haven't even explained it to myself, let alone have something I can offer you, but... I don't want to lose you either..."

"Melanie..."

"Eric... Do you want to have..." her voice squeaked, "...with me?"

"Huh?"

Melanie blew a full breath of air through her cheeks, and then leaned and sank back into the car seat. I reached across and held her hand. After a while she said, "I thought we had more time; lots and lots of more time. I thought you would enjoy chasing me. I thought I could give you the pleasure of pursuing me, before I let you to capture me. And now..." She leaned over and rested her head against my shoulder. "Hold me?"

I put my arm around her shoulders and my head against hers. We stayed that way for the longest time without speaking. Finally I turned and kissed her. "Melanie, nothing has changed. We're planning on being close to each other for college."

"I know."

"It's for one year. We can talk on the phone, and I asked my dad about the odometer on his car. It's 830 miles between Reading, PA and here. I could drive that in one day, fifteen hours maybe, no problem."

Melanie sighed and nodded and just cuddled with me. She leaned up and lightly kissed me on my cheek. "A year... It seems like such a long time. Will you really wait for me?"

"Count on it!"

She relaxed for the first time and kissed me again. "Okay! And I will wait for you. Hell! I wish my parents liked you better! They can be so impossible sometimes! And it seems to be getting worse, not better!"

I almost nodded, but didn't want to spoil the moment by turning the conversation to such an annoying topic. I drove Melanie home by the time limit her parents had set. Both her dad and mom came out and more or less glared at me as I walked Melanie to her door. Figuring what the hell, I gave her a quick peck goodnight anyway, and she smiled and did the same. Her dad looked angry, even more than I was expecting. Hell, I didn't want to get Melanie into trouble. I tried to smile politely and then left.

Chapter 3.

The summer was an incredible educational experience for me. In three short months I picked up an unbelievable amount of experience. Dad had friends from other trade unions come in and oversee my work. The learning opportunities were priceless, and I wound up working close to eighty hours a week. I completely rebuilt the kitchen under the kind tutelage of the UBCJA, the UAPP, and IBEW. That's the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America, the United Association of Plumbers and Pipefitters, and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers.

The house looked great, and I was so proud of the kitchen. I changed the floor to ceramic tile, even put in new sub-flooring before I did the mud job. I sweated in the plumbing for a new sink location and the dishwasher mom always talked about having. And I did all my own wiring, including the installation of a sub-junction box down in the basement. No more worrying now about having the toaster and the microwave on at the same time. The various city building inspectors said everything looked very professional.

I also did a lot of finishing woodwork and found I loved it. I completely rebuilt the staircase to the second floor, replaced a cracked stringer, and put in new handrails and new risers and treads made out of Brazilian cherry wood. It gleamed! And by far I was most proud of the kitchen cabinets, customized solid hardwood maple complete with Hawaiian Koa wood inlay. It took a lot of time with the sanders and the routers and the table saw, but the result looked fantastic. I think it's what sold the house, even in the soft market.

I saw almost nothing of Melanie that summer. She was one of a few high-school students in the entire State to be accepted in a special pre-med summer program at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. It's just over 200 miles by car from my house to the campus, about a three and a half hour drive. It's not a bad trip, but I only drove it once. Word got back to Melanie's parents about my first visit, and they really reamed her out about it, even to the point of threatening to withdraw their permission for her to be in the summer program. We talked on the phone the next day, and decided we wouldn't push the issue.

We talk a lot on the phone, in the evenings. Gosh, I miss her. The talking does help though. Her latest struggle is trying to get her parents to sign for her driver's learning permit. They promised to do it when she turned seventeen, but somehow the paperwork never quite gets done. I don't know why her parents treat her like this. Melanie is one of the most mature and thoughtful people I know. She wouldn't abuse driving privileges. Her parents just don't seem to appreciate her. And her father's attitude towards unions is, "Bust 'em up!" For some incredibly wacky reason, somehow that got translated to "Melanie, stay away from Eric!" It's totally insane!

The summer flew by. With all the work and the overtime I was struggling not to charge my dad more than $1600 a week, but I had given him my solemn word I would not under-report my time. By the end of the summer, I had grossed close to $20,000. It felt really strange, getting paid so much for doing work I found so enjoyable. Before I knew it, the summer was over. It was the last day of August, the Friday before Labor Day. Dad came to close on the house sale and pick me up.

He had a tear in his eye when he saw all my work. He said he couldn't quite believe all the reports from his friends about what kind of job I was doing. His friends aren't the type to rave, and he sometimes wondered if they were joking. I never felt so proud. Then after one last look, we went to the lawyers and signed it all away. My days at Sterling had drawn to a close.

Dad had bought a house in Exeter township, a few miles east of Reading. The township had a much better high school than the city. It's even smaller than the one in Sterling, only about 800 students. I started right after Labor Day. The students were mostly friendly, not too cliquish, and the drug problem wasn't quite- as bad as Illinois. 9/11 happened my second week of school, and somehow I think that helped the class accept me. I think they saw me as a fellow American, rather than some outsider from another State.

My only real problem with the school is that they had this fixed policy that you had to take Advanced Placement courses as a junior IN THEIR SCHOOL before you could take AP courses as a senior. We argued and argued with the school principal and finally even petitioned the school board. No luck. Dad and I hate wasting time fighting losing battles, so in the end he bought me some college texts on calculus and physics and most of my science that year was self taught.

The second time my abilities manifested was right after a phone call I had with Melanie during Thanksgiving break. It was the day my universe changed.

Melanie was calling from a friend's house. The time was late Saturday afternoon.

Right after I had moved to Pennsylvania, Melanie's parents had forbidden her to contact me, no phone, no e-mail, nothing. But we both feel that kind of control is way beyond their parental rights. They were even monitoring their phone bill to check on her. I guess it's not illegal, but man oh man, what an awful way to treat your child. I try not to make sarcastic comments about it. They're still her parents. For the phone call, I tried to start on a topic I knew she'd enjoy.

"So how's track coming?"

"Fabulous!" Gosh, it was so nice to hear her happy. "Coach Collins timed me at 35:37 on the ten kilometer run last Saturday."

"Wow! Six six-minute miles?!"

"Yep! Under! I'm doing a mile every 5:44."

"Wow... Dreaming about the Olympics Melanie? Athens is less than three years away!"

"Yeah, right! I'm still six minutes off the women's world-record pace, and probably one or two minutes away from being good enough for the Olympic team. I hope to be on the podium at the State Championships though."

I took a risk. "Surely your parents must be proud of you, at least about this."

Melanie gave a mirthful laugh. "Well, I must admit, they have inspired me to be the runner I am today."

"Really?! Hey, that's great!"

"Yeah. They still say I'm not trustworthy enough to have a driver's permit. But I figure if I can run five miles in half an hour, then I really don't need to drive."

"Oh... Oh hell Melanie..."

"Oh, it's not so bad Eric. And in another four months, I won't need their signature for the permit. I've got the date circled on my calendar. On Monday, April 1, 2002, the April Fool girl will have her birthday and be eighteen. I'll be emancipated."

Melanie was trying to hide it, but I knew her too well. She sounded just a bit depressed. I tried to shift the topic to her older sister. "Well, better than being emaciated I guess! So how is Patricia doing?"

For the first time in the call I heard Melanie giggle. "Oh, that's right! You don't know. Patty is a guest again of the Whiteside County judicial system."

I must have been slow that day. It took me a moment to realize what Melanie was saying. "Yikes! What's she done now?"


Kinetic: The First Alliance Ch. 01 Pt. 01



Chapter 1

Farewell Days of My Youth

Despite his best efforts, Alex couldn't shake the pounding headache that abruptly started an hour ago. Usually, sitting on his favorite couch watching old game shows with his grandfather put him at peace, but it didn't offer any letup from the pain that night. Alex had always been cautious about taking pills of any kind, but the pain was steadily increasing. The flashing lights from the screen felt unbearably intense, and all the applauding was like a power tool drilling through his mind. He glanced at the tempting bottle of aspirin on the small TV dinner table to his left but decided against it. It was getting late anyway, so he decided to go to bed and sleep it off, hoping he would feel better in the morning. 

"Grandpa, I've got a killer headache, so I'm fista' go to bed. Okay?"

"Want me to call a doctor?" As usual, his grandfather was overly cautious at the slightest sign of trouble.

"What? No, I'm fine," Alex responded.

"Of course you are." He smiled slightly. Alex's grandfather instinctively looked at the framed picture of Alex's late father above the mantle and told Alex for the hundredth time how much he resembled his father in both appearance and demeanor. Alex thought it was a bit eerie, almost as if looking at his future self in that frame. With his fair skin, blue eyes bright enough to pierce someone's very soul, yet hair so jet-black that light would never be able to escape from its void, Alex was undeniably his father's son. They even smiled the same way.

"Just like your old man, trying to tough it out," he said, but before Alex could even open his mouth to respond to the comment, his grandfather looked up with tired eyes, and smiled.

"Sir?" Alexander replied.

"Nothing, goodnight, son," he added. 

Alex gave a sliver of a smile back. "Goodnight, Grandpa." Alex nervously paced to his bathroom, hoping not to fall over from being so nauseous. He leaned over his sink, wanting to wash the day away. He cupped his hands under the faucet and splashed the lukewarm water across his face; it offered only a split second of relief before his headache began thrashing around in his skull again. He took a look in the bathroom mirror and stared at his reflection. His grandfather's remark once again forced him to think of his parents, who had died when he was just an infant. Since then, he had been raised by his grandfather, a decorated and retired police sergeant with more than thirty years of experience on the force. Alex had so much anger inside of him and no one to direct it at. He was proud of his parents but angry at them for not being there. With no one to blame, he once again buried his resentment deep inside and dragged his feet down the hall toward his room. 

He reached for the door handle with apprehension. Maybe tonight will be different, he thought to himself. He slowly turned the handle and went in his room without incident, thankful that at least one thing went his way that day. Upon entering his room, he took off his shirt, revealing his toned body—a body he'd acquired from years and years of running track in middle school and high school. Behind him was a wall dedicated to his accomplishments in the sport, everything from ribbons to two-foot-tall trophies was on display. 

Alex traced the frame of his bed with his hand before lying down; he wasn't sure if he could climb in without missing the mattress from being too disoriented. He crawled into bed with his laptop in hand; it had become routine for him to plug in his headphones and fall asleep to the songs in his music library. He reached over to plug in the charger but instead watched as it sparked and shorted out upon contact with the outlet.

Son of a ..., he thought to himself and prayed the battery would last long enough for him to fall sleep. He tried his best to settle in bed and scrolled through the thousands of songs he had illegally downloaded. Alex was confident the worst was over, but he hadn't even gotten past the H section of his playlist before two drops of blood splattered on his keyboard. Puzzled, he wiped his nose and stared at the streak of blood running from the end of his wrist to the tip of his finger.

"Seriously? It's official ... I'm cursed," he said to himself. Alex gripped his head in agony. For some reason, his headache was getting much worse. Alex finally gave in and turned to his nightstand to get an aspirin. He popped the pill in his mouth, but not even a minute after swallowing, he saw the silhouette of a figure behind his adjacent window's curtain. Alex was startled out of bed. He took a couple steps back and again grabbed his head, wanting to literally rip the throbbing torment from his scalp. He squinted his eyes and looked up, but he couldn't make out who the figure was behind his slightly transparent curtain.

"Who the hell is there? Get out of my room!" demanded Alex as he frantically looked around for a weapon. He picked up his aluminum baseball bat and pointed it at the figure.

"Drop your bludgeon immediately! I am not here to harm you. I came to help you, human," the mysterious voice said.

"Screw you...I'm not dropping a thing," he nervously responded.

"Screw me you say?" The figure took a step forward.

"Look, I'm not afraid to use this." Alex tightened the grip around his bat's handle and inched over to the wall. He was close enough to his light switch to flick it on. The figure stepped out into the light and revealed itself. Alex couldn't believe his eyes. The thing in front of him stood up straight with perfect posture and had amber-colored skin with black tribal markings that circulated and flowed in steady motion throughout the surface of its body and face. Sleek, battle-scarred armor covered most of its body, and perfectly placed cryptic medals that signified to Alex this creature had seen many battles were attached to its sleeves. 

It proudly walked over closer to Alex and sternly said, 

"You would dare raise a hand to me? I could leave your planet to die right now." 

But the words were all a blur to him. Alex couldn't get over its appearance. It had the curvatures of a woman, but her eyes had pitch-black corneas and white pupils—the opposite of human eyes. However, the real distinction was that they were sideways cat's-eyes, which reminded him of the frogs his science teacher had forced him to dissect in middle school. He gauged her to be about six feet tall and noticed that she had thin black tendrils on her head instead of hair, which she had tied back. Her armor radiated its own dazzling light and was mostly royal blue with white accents and silver-colored plating. Her pants were white with a blue stripe that ran up her thigh and accentuated her curves.

"I ... you—" Alex dropped the bat and gasped for air. He backed himself up against the wall as he prayed for the power to phase through, but the best he could do was look around for something to grab on to so he wouldn't fall down from the shock. He was either looking at the best Halloween costume he had ever seen, or there was a real-life alien in front of him.

"I have not the time nor patience for this, so listen well. I am known as Shyra, from the distant world called Kalryn." With speed faster than Alex could react to, she closed the gap between them and grabbed his forearm. "I have come here to prepare your race to fight. Now let us go." Her skin was clammy but warm, not like anything he had felt before.

"Whoa, what? You're hurting my arm; let go of me," Alex said.

"Either your race is slow to learn or unable to grasp the concept of total annihilation, but if we do not act right now, trust me when I say you will perish. Zenakuu means to kill you off, but it still may be possible to save your kind," Shyra said.

"Zen-a-what? How do you even—" Alex started, but his ability to form complex sentences escaped him at that moment.

"Do I look to be in a gaming mood?" She let go of his arm and let out a deep and frustrated sigh. Negotiations clearly were not her strong suit. "I know you are scared, human, but we have not the time. This is your life from now on, like it or not. Now we must go and prepare for training."

"I'm not going anywhere with you. Just stay back okay?" Alex couldn't find his bearings.

"What did you say to me? Did you not hear what I said?"

"Oh. No, I heard you. Now it's your turn to hear me. That is the best damn cosplay I have ever seen, but if you don't get out of my room, I'm calling the cops."

"Why you insolent little— to die for your planet in the line of duty is a great honor!"

Die? He thought to himself. He was nowhere near ready to die. "Granp—" Alex tried to scream, but the creature threw her hand over his mouth to muffle his cry before he could finish.

"I sincerely hope it is not always going to be like this with you," Shyra removed her hand from his mouth. "Allow me to show you why I am here." Shyra approached Alex like someone meeting a dog for the first time. Hesitant, her hand slowly got closer to Alex's forehead. Alex began to sweat, frozen in place from fear. He clamped his eyes shut as he prepared for his end, but he only felt her slightly coarse skin on his forehead. In an instant, a flash of light blinded his vision, but he was okay. Much to his relief, the alien was gone. 

"That's it. I'm never taking aspirin again." He got up from bed to see if his grandfather was still awake. Even he would love a crazy hallucination like that, but it was too quiet. Alex slowly walked down the steps and saw the TV was blown and smoking.

"Grandpa Henry?" he cautiously said, but there was no answer. On the last step, Alex could see his grandfather's head sticking up from the couch. 

Must already be asleep, he thought as he walked over to wake him. "Grandpa, you're not gonna believe the dre—" but when Alex finally stood in front of him, he was mortified by what he saw. His grandfather had been stabbed and cleaved open, and as if having been carved like a turkey wasn't enough, there was a single bullet hole centered on his forehead.

"Oh my God ... Grandpa, what the hell is this?" Alex felt powerless and paralyzed. His grandfather was dead because he hadn't been there for him. Alex heard the back door to his house slam and immediately looked up. The murderer was still close. 

Alex clenched his fist and went off running to the door. He saw only a darkened figure run out toward the street. Alex stayed in pursuit but couldn't make out who it was. He quickly made it to the streets, but his neighborhood looked different. Fires were scattered sporadically across the area, and row after row of two-story houses had been partially blown up, the streets laid to ruins. He ran forward not knowing if the trail of destruction was the right path but praying he would get answers at its end. His heart pounded out of his chest, faster than it ever had before. Tremors of crippling fear ran down his spine, but his legs would not stop moving. 

The image of his gutted grandfather was all the drive he needed. He persisted halfway down the street when suddenly an ear-shattering whistling stopped him in his tracks. He looked up again and watched as a small black orb with a fire-lit tail descended to the ground. On impact, the orb exploded. A loud crack went off in the distance, and a mushroom cloud emanated from its location. Alex was distraught; it looked as if World War III had started without him knowing it. The light from the explosion faded the night sky, blotting out any stars from sight. The only things visible were the dozens of gigantic black mother ships, the likes of which he'd never seen. In seconds, the blast brought a shockwave and blinding light that vaporized Alex in seconds. He snapped back to reality in a cold sweat, gasping for air, unsure of what was real or fake. The process left him debilitated, as all his senses felt like they were on fire.

"What ... the hell was that? Where was I? What did you do to me?" Alex stammered. 

"Calm down. I showed but a glimpse of what fate will befall your planet if you do not take action now. Earth is very large yet very insignificant in the grand scheme of things, but it is the only world you have ever known. Am I correct? Your people have not gotten past your own galaxy, yes?" she inquired. 

It was all just a vision; his grandfather was still alive. Alex gritted his teeth in unfiltered rage.

"I'll kill you!" Alex said in a fit of blinding rage. He raised his hand to strike, but she flicked her wrist and slammed Alex to the ground. He landed with a thud, and immediately got the wind knocked out of him.

"Enough. You are a hundred years too early to be challenging me. I am not your enemy, human. The Zenakuu did far worse to my world, and unlike yours, we actually stood a chance. Understand I am here to help you."

"If you want to help me, get out of my room and never come back. I cannot help you."

"If you want to save your family, you have no choice."

Thinking that he might still be hallucinating, Alex rubbed his eyes and reached for a nearby doorknob. 

"So, why me?" he asked. "Am I like the one or something?"

"No, I am afraid you are not that special. You just happened to be the most inclined for this type of battle."

"I see. Well, that's cool," Alex said in a sly fashion. 

The creature noticed his attempt to escape and telekinetically locked the door shut. "Your planet is being threatened. I believe you have the ability to save it. Now tell me, will you?"

"Look, all this is really too much. I won't tell anyone I saw you, so please just go," Alex stammered. 

"I cannot. You are a very unique young—I suppose—man? I do not know when your species reaches adulthood, but regardless, you are meant to stop the greatest evil that has come to pass in both your history and ours."

"I can't. Even if anything you say is true, I can't just leave. I start college in the spring," Alex answered. 

Seeing that the conversation wasn't going anywhere she paused momentarily. "That device over there seems to run on electricity. Hand it to me." 

Alex was dubious of her intentions, but he didn't feel like he was in a position to argue. She cut the computer's charging cord in half with a snap of her fingers, and Alex's eyes widened. "I had to work hard for that computer!" he shouted. 

"Stop being such an infant. You are technologically a millennium behind schedule anyway." She took his hands in hers and put them over the ends of the cord. "Now make it work."

"How?" Alex asked her. 

Her eyes locked on his. "My ship's scanners detected a strong reading for electrokinesis from this residence. Now fix the cord."

"This is a waste of time. I don't even know what that is. You've got the wrong person," he said.

"Do not"—her tone dropped to a threatening modulation—"waste my time, earthling."



Kinetic: The First Alliance Ch. 01 Pt. 02



Fear took over Alex. "What do you want me to do? Just press the wires together and see what happens? I could die." 

"My patience wears thin, earthling. Make a stream of electricity to bond the two cords.

"I don't know how!" he frantically said. 

Shyra placed her hand over her mouth; her body language suggested she was concerned with his lack of kinetic comprehension. "Perhaps my father was right about the potential of this planet." She moved in closer until she was face-to-face with Alex. "Visualize an electrical connection between the two cords," Shyra instructed. 

Confused, Alex held the wires and tried to see some sort of electrical bond between them in his mind. Nothing at first, but then he felt some sort of warm sensation flow through his arms to his hands but kept his eyes shut, as he was focused on imagining. The computer turned on and began rebooting.

"Good, very good indeed," she remarked. "What do they call you?"

"Alexander Carter, but everyone just calls me Alex."

"Very well, Alexander, I have come as a guardian to save your planet from invasion. Now gather your things. We are leaving." 

"I keep telling you, I can't just pick up and leave. I have a life here. And how do I know you aren't just trying to abduct me to perform gross experiments on me? I've heard how this kind of stuff usually goes."

"Trust me, human. If I wanted to abduct you, I would have done it by now."

"Fair enough," he responded. Alex stared in disbelief. He always hoped he was meant for something greater in this world—that he wasn't just another kid out of Houston, Texas—but never in his wildest dreams did he imagine this. "What about my grandfather?" Alex asked. Shyra replied, "No one can know where we go. Our training must be in seclusion. I will give you one last chance to say good-bye."

"What kind of training?" Alex asked. Shyra reminded him, "You have ten minutes; better make it quick."

"I can't just leave him. I'm all he's got," Alex said.

"Then your grandfather is already dead. Odd, though, I thought you a hero, but I was mistaken. I pray the Zenakuu at least slaughter you and your family quickly and without torture. Good day, Alexander Carter." With that, she turned and headed for the window.

"Wait," Alex called after her. She grinned upon his stopping her but wiped the smile from her face before turning around.

"Swear to me that if I go with you, he'll live," he said.

"I will guard his life myself if need be," she promised him. Alex stared at her. Doing nothing was a risk he could not take. Putting family first was something he learned from an early age. Though petrified, he finally gave in. "I'll go with you," he finally said. 

"Of course you will. Now go make your preparations so we can depart." Alex walked out and headed toward his grandfather's bedroom. Quietly and carefully, he entered the room. "Can I talk to you, Grandpa?" Alex asked.

"Of course, Alex, come in," said Grandpa Henry with a smile. 

Alex walked through the doorway and looked in awe at the wall of plaques and awards his grandfather and late father had earned through the years like he always did before finally confessing what was on his mind. "You have always told me I was destined for great things," Alex said.

"Because you are, Alex," his grandfather proudly told him.

"Well, there is something that I must do. It's the reason I was born, I think, but I promise that I will come back."

"What are you talking about, son? I'm confused."

"Please, Grandpa, you gotta trust me on this," Alex continued. "I have to go now, but I love you." 

"Absolutely not," his grandfather said. "I lost your father. I'm not losing you too; you're all I have left of him." 

The last thing Alex wanted to do was abandon his grandfather, but he knew his grandfather was strong and still had a lot of life left in him. He would be fine, but the thought of leaving broke his heart nonetheless.

"Granddad, I promise I'll be back, and I'll make you proud of me. Just watch."

"Alex, I'm already proud of you. Whatever you're thinking about doing, you don't have to do. I don't wanna hear another word about this now. We can discuss it more in the morning." Alex looked straight at him. "Yes, sir. Goodnight, Grandpa." Alex walked back to his room with his decision already made. "This time, Grandpa, I do." Alex came back to his bedroom to pack his stuff, while Shyra stood at the edge of the windowsill, drawing her fingers along the frame. Mildly bemused by the dust, she murmured, "Dirty creatures." 

"Ahem." Alex cleared his throat to make her aware of his presence. 

She turned to him and asked how it had gone. Alex didn't respond to her intrusive question. Instead, he just glared at her and went to grab an empty duffle bag as he wiped any trace of tears from his cheeks.

"Very well," she said, "grab your things and let us be off." 

Alex packed for a trip that he knew he may never come back from. If he was going to die, he wanted to be surrounded by the things that meant the most to him. Even though Shyra instructed him to pack light, he brought along clothes, a few medals, wall posters, his laptop, and framed photos of his grandfather and late parents. He followed Shyra out the window, and Shyra shot up in the sky with Alex on her back. If Alex had any doubts to her story, they were gone now. Shyra traveled under the blanket of night to a spot in the woods. When they landed, Alex rubbed the sleep out of his eyes. 

"What are we doing here?" he asked. Shyra replied, "I need to gauge the current level of your power so I know where to start training you. It is something that every esper goes through."

"I don't know what you're talking about. What's an esper?" Alex asked.

"An esper is someone with extrasensory perception. Now show me your power." Once again, Alex wasn't budging any. The alien expected too much from him. She attacked Alex with a telekinetic push that flung him into a nearby tree. He slammed into its bark with an echoing thud and then crashed to the ground on his stomach. With the little breath he had remaining from the blow, he screamed, "What the hell was that for?" "Motivation, Alexander. Do you require more of it?" Shyra jumped into a fighting position. She lunged after Alex, ready to throw another telekinetic push. Alex ran away, though, through the trees, over logs, and picked up speed. He recklessly closed his eyes and began concentrating; a spark flashed, and he vanished in the night. Alex looped around and tackled Shyra to the ground. They both rolled on the ground for several feet before stopping.

"Electrokinesis—like I thought. It would appear that it only manifests when your life is in danger, though. Interesting," Shyra said. "Get some rest. We train in the morning."

"What? Here?" Alex asked. Shyra grinned, and with a few pushed buttons on her wrist gadget, she revealed her once-cloaked spaceship. "No, in there," she corrected. The spaceship looked deceivingly meek at first glance, like a metallic stingray. Alex peered inside and was left speechless at its vastness. There were long hallways that lead to plenty of bedrooms for a crew of people. Shyra's ship had many features. To Alex, the technology looked like it was straight out of a Hollywood movie. The craft's most important attribute was its ability to cloak by either becoming invisible to the human eye or changing into the shape of any proportional object that Shyra could download through a connection to Earth's Internet. The ship was docked in a treeless patch she'd found in the forest closest to Alex's high school. When uncloaked, it looked like a very high-tech alien spacecraft. 

The ship was round but not perfectly round, it had its own shape. The bottom of the ship was flat and around the edge shifted up and down like a ripple effect. The thrusters were all around the edge and one thruster on the bottom for lift off and landing. The tail of the ship was long and it acted as a stabilizer. Turret guns were located to the front, and the dimmed lights on it glowed and seemed to hum in the darkness. "Hurry, Alexander. We are moving the ship to the mountains of Call-o-rah-dou," Shyra said. 

"You mean Colorado? Why there?" Alex asked. 

"That is where the first guide crashed."

"You mean there are actually more of you here?"

"All your questions will be answered in due time, Alexander, but now we must leave." They entered the craft, and Shyra had Alex sit down while she prepped the ship and activated its cloaking device. They soared through the sky under the veil of the nightfall and within a half hour were nestled away in a remote location half way up Mount Elbert in Colorado. Alex was assigned a room that was completely bare and stripped of everything besides the essentials—a bed, a metal chair and dresser, and a lamp. He resided there for the rest of the night, though he got no sleep for hours. 

He spent the entire night staring out the window into the endless forests of Colorado. He must have questioned himself hundreds of times, wondering if it was all real or if he was going to wake up any minute and find himself back at home with his Grandfather Henry, but it never happened. Alex was going to get the chance to be the hero he dreamed of being whether he liked it or not. The woods were the perfect training spot—plenty of ground, cover, and privacy. Hunting season was over, so there wasn't another human in sight. The brisk mountain air was much colder than Alex had anticipated, and the wild animals howled, making sounds that shook his very core. Shyra woke Alex at the crack of dawn, and while his eyes were barely open, she flung him outside and began training. He landed face first on the ground motionless, still unable to shake the headache he suffered from the night before.

"Rise, Alexander; you can sleep when you are dead." He glared at her for the unnecessary comment. "Not cool, Shyra. I'll sleep when I'm tired."

"You will sleep when I say you can sleep," she firmly said, but Alex just rolled his eyes at her, completely uninterested in what she had to teach.

"This is dumb. I can shoot electricity from my hands. I don't need to train, why don't you just show me where to point and I'll shoot," he said.

"You insolent little...Is your entire species this abrasive or is it a pubescent thing? Listen here Alexander, you having these abilities is like tossing an X-57 plasma cannon to a new recruit and sending him into battle without any training. He is going to get a lot of people killed. By itself, having kinetic powers does not make you any more qualified to be a superhero than having a gun makes you qualified to be a soldier. Now stop wasting my time and prepare yourself." Shyra moved in closer and slowly closed her eyes. "First off, Alexander, take a deep breath and channel the power that has always been within you. Meditation is the beginning of mastering your ability. Once you grasp that, you can utilize your power, and the headaches I know you have been feeling will go away," Shyra explained.

"What's the deal with that anyway? Ever since you showed up, it's felt like bombs continuously going off in my head."

"You are not used to kinetic pressure. Beings with a high signature naturally emit a kinetically charged, pressurized aurora. What you are feeling right now is mine. With time, you will grow accustomed to them and even learn to mask your own," she explained.

"The sooner, the better. I don't know how much more of this I can take."

"Focus. Feel the energy surging through your body; visualize the spark that flickers, begging to be released." Even though Alex was listening intently, he couldn't help but laugh. "You sound like Mr. Miyagi."

"I do not know who this person of whom you speak is, but I will advise you not to interrupt me again. Now bring your hands inches apart and concentrate that energy between them."

"Alright, whatever," he said to her.

"Depending on the person or species, there can be several different kinds of kinesis. To this day, we are still discovering different types."

"Understood," he said. Alex began sparking electric current surges from one hand to the other. It was pathetic at first, but for the next hour, he focused on holding it.

"The more you use your kinesis, the stronger and more in control you will be," Shyra explained. Alex smiled with enthusiasm at the possibilities. 

"Do you always have to talk so cryptically? Look, you ripped me away from my family because of some alien war, so stop beating around the bush," he demanded. 

"Listen here human, I 'ripped' you away from your insignificant life as you so elegantly put because the Zenakuu will be here someday, and you are nowhere near ready for them," she retorted. Clearly frustrated, Alex finally snapped.

"Okay, new plan, you deal with them when they get here! I'm going back home," he said as he started walking in the other direction.

"I will have no choice but to Alexander Carter, they will undoubtedly pick up on my Lygokinetic signature and track me down," Shyra explained.

"Good, problem solved. Now beam me back home or whatever it is you do," Alex said.

"Though faint, they will find yours as well. Along with anyone else who emits kinetic energy, and they will most likely hunt you down one by one, and then kill your loved ones. I am the only chance you have to prevent that," she confidently said. 

"Ugh, enough of this crap. I want to know exactly what I'm up against. Who are these Zenakuu?"

"I could try to explain them to you, but I do not think you are ready for it," she responded.

"How about you let me be the judge of that? Tell me what happened."

"To appreciate the horrors of war, it is something that I must show you."

"Okay," he responded in confusion.

"I am going to telepathically link with you now. Just relax your mind and clear your thoughts." Alex did as instructed, and Shyra's eyes began to emit a white glow. In a flash, Alex was seeing the collective memories of the citizens and soldiers of Kalryn, but what was truly shocking was the landscape. 

He looked around and marveled at its sheer beauty. All the trees gleamed with luster and were covered with pristine white bark and shimmering golden leaves. The lake next to them was crystal clear and shined like the glint of light on broken glass. In the distance, he saw deep blue mountains that scaled the land. Towering skyscrapers shrouded the city; the beautifully crafted architecture was on a level he'd never seen before. Everything was peaceful until he finally reached a horrifying reality. He was stuck on an alien world with no way to get back.



Kinetic: The First Alliance Ch. 02 Pt. 01



Chapter 2
It's Nothing Personal, It's Only Revenge

Alex's psyche was brought back through space and time, years before he ever existed to bear witness to the events that would forever shape his life. It was exceptionally quiet that day in Trifa, the capital of Kalryn. The Savant members were deciding whether or not to go on a salvage mission to the late Zenakuu Empire to confirm casualties. It had been twenty years since the last communications with Zenakuu had ended, and there were no signs of recovery. The planet essentially went black. During the meetings, city hall was always heavily guarded, which proved to be a lackluster job for the highly trained military personnel. These soldiers were equipped with kinetic-imbued swords for close-range combat and small powered plasma rifles in case of intruders, but the only action they ever really saw was keeping out kids who liked to hang around. 

Jeramine was one of the soldiers patrolling the top of the building. He began dozing off when he was awoken by a rumbling. As he regained his balanced, he horned in, "Tremor!" He jumped from the top of the building and regrouped with the rest of his team. 

Another soldier, Henarai, looked up. "What the hell is that?" he asked as he pointed skyward to a colossal black spaceship entering the Kalryn stratosphere. At closer look, the object was unmistakably a Zenakuu ship; confusion overwhelmed the Kalryn guards, as they had never witnessed an attack on Kalryn before. 

"Impossible. Zenakuu was wiped out. What is going on here?" Jeramine wondered aloud. 

Soon, the warship began its assault on the vibrant capital. Bombs started dropping like hail, and gunners began shredding the capital with Zurekium bullets eviscerating anyone unlucky enough to be caught in the crosshairs.

The tall, plate glass windows of city hall were the first to shatter. Rows of them stretching the length of the building shattered into a million pieces, leaving the once-elegant silver silk drapes that covered them tattered and unsightly.

The small group of soldiers who initially guarded the building now hid for cover behind it. "Call Rayvaar right now and counterattack immediately," Jeramine ordered. He was the acting commander of a small group of guards for good reason. He was proficient in all manners of weapons and tactics, kept a cool head, and excelled at combat training.

"Yes, sir. I will reach Rayvaar and the Captain," responded Shielza, the communications expert in the group.

A telepathic link was sent out to the head Savant Rayvaar. "This is Shielza of the Savant guards. We are under attack by a Zenakuu warship. One was reported, but there could be more, sir. Please get to the panic room with the others at once."

"Understood, Shielza. Thank you, and good luck out there. Rayvaar out." After signing off, Rayvaar turned and announced, "Councilmen, I just received word that Zenakuu has attacked. We need to move to the panic room."

"Rayvaar, what of the citizens of Kalryn?" someone asked. 

"We will launch a counterattack, but at the moment, there is nothing we can do for them other than pray they can find refuge, Hartell. If your loved ones are near, bring them quickly, but we need to survive this attack."

"Of course," the man responded. 

The Savants rushed down the long corridor, which was lined with elegantly hand-woven tapestries and paintings of the founding forefathers. They scrambled for the panic room, as the building was falling down around them. While some could call their actions selfish, the Kalryn always thought strategically, and the Savants dying would no doubt be considered checkmate.

"My daughter," Rayvaar said. "Has anyone seen my daughter?" 

Rayvaar's daughter Shyra was never around when she was needed. 

The Savants members all made it into the panic room safely, but Rayvaar was not satisfied. "Shyra, where are you?" he called to his daughter telepathically. 

"Father, I am fine," she responded. "Your guards messaged the captain on the first recon infantry and air force, and I am boarding a plane now with Jeramine to fight these savages back to the hole they came from."

"What! Shyra, I forbid it. That boy is going to get you killed. You must get to the panic room at once! That boy always has trouble following him."

"I am well aware of your displeasure for him," she answered, "but I love him, Father. He will keep me safe. You have to stop treating me like a child. I can make a difference out there; no one has my level of focus and my kinetic abilities." With that, Shyra set a mental block to her father's brainwaves. I am sorry, Father, but I must do this, she thought to herself.

"Shyra, close the hatch. We have to get going," Jeramine said.

"I am coming." Shyra took a deep breath and kissed the locket Jeramine had given her during their courtship for good luck. The doors on the fastest two-man flying craft available in the Kalryn airbase closed and prepped for flight. It was difficult to hold herself together, but if she was to die, she wanted to be by her love when it happened.

The Zenakuu ship bombarded the remaining parts of the once regal city hall into rubble. It was no match for the raw power of Zenakuu engineering. Luckily, they built the panic room underground and about a mile away from city hall. 

"This building is not giving us significant cover, Kipshiro," Henarai said. "We have to move. We are sitting ducks here." 

"Agreed, but Jeramine told us to hold our position," Kipshiro said.

"Well, Jeramine left to find Shyra. It is just you, me, and Shielza out here, and I intend on living through this."

"I hate to say it, but you are right," Kipshiro agreed. "We can head for those trees over there and stay low." The three-man team hunched over and traveled fast while rocks and debris flew past their heads.

"Air support should be here soon, along with the Calvary," Shielza said.

"The military base is thirteen miles west. If we make it there, we can gear up and fight back," Henarai said.

"Good idea, Hen, but it is a wide-open field between us and the base. We will be spotted for sure."

"Do not worry about that. I have an idea. Just be ready to go on my mark, and you better move your ass too." Kipshiro ordered.

The Kalryn people had an ace up their sleeves, however, a kinesis of their own—their signature lygokinesis, the ability to use one's mind to create pure energy into whatever object they wanted. With lygokinesis, the Kalryn race could create psionic force fields, enhanced weapons, and various kinds of devices to help them in war situations. 

Kipshiro strained to send half of his lygokinetic power through his gun and the other half to shield his body. "Go now!" he yelled as he jumped out in plain sight. He lined up his sights on the massive ship as it was pounding giant rounds into civilization. With every round that went off, the ground shook, which made lining up his sights hard, but he was aiming for something big and hoped not to get killed before he could fire at least one shot. 

The barrel of his weapon grew brighter and brighter with his power until finally he released the bullet satiate with lygokinetic energy. As the bullet left the barrel it left behind a trail of celestial light, but he knew pretty light shows would not win that war. Kipshiro fell to the ground, but heard jets and other aircraft whizzing over his head. He felt a sense of relief, as he knew backup had finally arrived. The bullet flew true and hit its target; the lygokinesis inside exploded and created a crater in the hull of the Zenakuu ship. Smoke poured from the vessel as the occupants abandoned ship, some in escape pods that jettisoned out from every angle and others by parachute. Kipshiro tried to get back up, but he lost sensation in his body. He struggled to turn his stiff neck away from the blinding rays of the sun. 

His pupils dilated, and he couldn't handle the bright light anymore. The mental strain was too much for him, and Kipshiro entered the early stages of a brain aneurysm; nausea intensified as his vision blurred. The others turned back, but it was too late to save him. Kipshiro felt a heavy pop in the back of his neck, and blood filled his skull until he met death. He honorably sacrificed himself for the sake of his team. The skies soon filled with not only Zenakuu but other races from the shared solar system. The fighter pilots who flew by couldn't comprehend why other worlds were helping the Zenakuu, but they did not have the luxury to stop and think. 

Shyra and her betrothed Jeramine caught up to the Zenakuu warship and realized that it was dropping out of the sky. The Kalryn Air Force was broadcasting a chance to surrender to the Zenakuu, but as the enemy parachuted down, they opened fire. 

"The audacity. We offer to spare their lives, and they shoot at us? They are truly deranged. Open fire on the survivors!" Jeramine ordered.

The Kalryn pilots sprayed plasma rounds and effectively annihilated some of the falling troops. A few dozen soldiers made it to the ground; some were caught up in the sparkling trees, while others with bullet-riddled parachutes landed too hard to survive the impact. The small portion that did make it formed a tight group and remained tactical. The Kalryn infantry followed up at the landing site and lay to waste the remaining Zenakuu soldiers, losing a few good men in the process. Jeramine and Shyra's plane approached fast, but as they flew over the battlefield, they only saw the crashing warship

"Is it over, Jeramine?" his fiancée, Shyra, questioned. The Kalryn military infantry rushed in and secured the battlefield, making sure all assailants were taken care of. The patrolling was almost over when they heard another shattering rumble, the second one that day bestowed itself upon Kalryn.

Jeramine heard the sound and remarked, "That is the same rumble that woke me earlier. I have to let the other fighters know." 

Jeramine broadcasted the telepathic distress message: "First recon air deployment, we have a possible second warship entering the atmosphere. Be ready to defend."

More warships came in through the troposphere, crashing through the skies. They were all fixed on Trifa, the capital of the Kalryn—a very bold move.

The blackness of the dreadful Zenakuu warship entered the atmosphere, eclipsing the sun and shading the battlefield. Several squads of the Kalryn Air Force fell into a V formation and flew toward the enemy to engage.

"Okay, men, give them hell!" Jeramine shouted over the open communication channel. The men used their fighter crafts to spring their counterattack on the descending ship. Jeramine and Shyra headed the pack. The warship's main weapon activated with a small glint of light. The only one who saw it fast enough was Shyra herself, and she immediately shielded the plane she was in with a lygokinetic barrier. With not enough time to react for the Kalryn Air Force, the main Zenakuu cannon fired. A purple beam of unfamiliar plasma shot down and disintegrated everything in its path except Shyra, Jeramine, and the protected plane. The mental strain of guarding the plane rendered Shyra unconscious. 

"Shyra, talk to me. Are you okay? Your father will kill me if I do not bring you back safe. Dammit!" Jeramine tried to patch himself through to headquarters. "Field Officer Jeramine to base. First recon and air infantry has fallen. Requesting backup. There is another Zenakuu warship." 

Jeramine started heading back when the third Zenakuu warship dropped down in front of his airspace. Jeramine bled the speed and slowed down to a slow hover.

"Mayday, Mayday, there is another Zenakuu warship descending. Requesting to bring out the Chrentex squad into battle."

"Request denied, soldier," came the response. "We cannot risk losing a single Chrentex at this stage in battle."

"But, sir, the enemy has developed a new weapon. It took out the entire air force in one attack."

"Captain, sorry to interrupt," Henarai cut in, "but I have seen this weapon, and he speaks the truth. My Communications Expert, Shielza was annihilated, from the blast. It can wipe out an entire base with ease. I cannot comprehend your decision to not deploy the Chrentex, we need to end this fast, sir."

"Well then it is a good thing comprehension is not a requisite of compliance. What is your name, soldier?"

"Sir, Lieutenant Henarai, sir."

"Solider, where are you?"

"Sir, I am behind enemy lines. We need the Chrentex; it is the only way to assure victory."

Brigadier General Kai-neth paused for a moment. The Chrentex were the planet's greatest military assets—elite super soldiers—and he didn't want to risk losing even one. But if he didn't turn the battle around, there would be nothing left to defend.

"Sir!" Henarai yelled out again.

"Very well, Lieutenant. We will deploy them immediately."

"Thank you, sir." Jeramine ended transmission. Jeramine knew full well what deploying them meant; they could easily change the tide of this war or seal its fate. He'd never seen the Chrentex in real life, but he remembered what he'd read about them in the history books. 

The Chrentex carried equipped assault rifles that linked to their battle suits. The suits, being very high-tech, powerful, and dangerous, were weapons of mass destruction that no other Kalrynian could handle and were actually connected to each soldier's cerebral cortex and, subsequently, his brainwaves. Chrentex were chosen at birth and trained for combat from a very early age. 

The suits covered their entire bodies from head to toe. Their helmets were very plain with small blue circles centered on their forehead that connected to the smaller blue circles on their hands, which generated and fired lygokinesis and magnified its destructive power tenfold. There were two ocular lenses that analyzed the battlefield to determine who were threats, heart rates of the surrounding area, and a complete heads-up display. The lenses also provided infrared, X-ray, ultraviolet, and night vision, depending on the soldier's selection. The Chrentex had perfected these suits and every aspect of lygokinesis, which is what made these fighters so rare and so valuable. Armory was integrated into their suits, and just by thinking of a weapon, a Chrentex could access that weapon. It would fold out and build itself around the user's hand, ready to fire.

The two warships were relentless as they decimated Kalryn's cities. The explosions painted skies black as they filled with smoke. Heaps of rubble and twisted metal fell from the buildings that until just yesterday had gently kissed the skies. The death count continued to rise, and there was no foreseeable end to the lives lost. A Kalrynian drop ship flew over, harboring the elite military advanced Lygokinetic soldiers. Zenakuu landing vehicles came to eliminate any threats on land and fighter jets to take care of any airborne threats were deployed from the warships. Now, Zenakuu ruled the sky and land. The Kalryn drop ship hovered above the Zenakuu warship just long enough for the five silent and powerhouse-like Chrentex to jump down and land on its outer hull with thunderous force before the drop ship was shot down. 

These elite soldiers also had a bottomless supply of kinesis, though the power came with a high price. Chrentex exchanged their incredible power for the length of their lives, shortening their life spans each time they used the battle suits that were permanently lodged into their brains. It was a double-edged sword, so to get the most out of the warriors, they were kept in cryogenic stasis. The life of a Chrentex wasn't glamorous at all, and even though it was considered to be a great honor to serve as a Chrentex, parents often wept uncontrollably when their infants were selected for the program.

With these fighting machines on Kalryn's side, it was clear which nation possessed the greatest soldiers. The five Chrentex were now on the top of one of the warships; they blasted a hole through the roof and jumped inside. The leader, who was codenamed Unum, led the rest to a passage through the ship. They ran down a long hallway and then turned a corner and faced a room full of Zenakuu and other planetary races armed to the teeth with ballistic weapons. Unum charged his Lygokinetic energy, and the blue circle on his helmet started to spin faster and faster. As it spun, it grew bigger and emitted a two-dimensional azure energy circle in front of him. In a flash, his helmet shot a stream of lygokinesis that ricocheted through the room, killing all enemies so efficiently that he seemed to control the beam's route with his mind.

The Chrentex never spoke. In fact, nothing could be heard but the thud of bodies hitting the floor. They communicated telepathically, and the five of them were always in each other's minds. Unum guided the rest of them in a single file line—Unum, Duobus, Tribus, Quattuor, and finally Quinque. The five readied their rifles simultaneously as they marched down the passageway. Their lenses analyzed the entire craft and guided them to the control room to bring the ship down. They took out Zenakuu after Zenakuu, as well as any other species in their way. The Chrentex displayed no feelings; because there was no room for emotions in war, they were like heartless machines. 

In passing, other planetary warriors on the ship who had heard tales of the godlike Chrentex dropped their weapons immediately. In the control room, however, Admiral Jassal of the Zenakuu invasion party was ready. When the Chrentex reached them, he had a squadron of soldiers with their guns aimed at the doors. Unum turned on his X-ray lens and saw the horde of trigger-happy soldiers guarding the main deck. The five each charged up all three of their lygokinetic generators for a total fifteen shots. They waited until fully charged before Quattuor and Quinque kneeled, while the first three remained standing. They pointed their hands at the control room where twenty-five Zenakuu soldiers waited and blasted the entire room out of existence, leaving only the doorway the five stood behind intact.

Jeramine flew by the falling warship and patched through to the base "Sir, another warship is going down," he reported. 

"Damn, those Chrentex mean business," the captain said. 

"Yes, sir, but we still have another one. Let the Chrentex take down the last ship," Jeramine said.

"Negative, solider, they are needed on the ground. I am bringing them back down. Send the air force to finish the job."

"Yes, sir. Alright everyone, you heard the captain. Now get it done." The full force of the Kalryn Air Force lifted off to attack the remaining Zenakuu warship.

Jeramine touched down his plane back at base and handed over the still unconscious Shyra to the medical bay. He kissed her on the forehead and promised to be right back. He quickly sprinted back to his fighter craft, fired up the thrusters, and took off. Several carriers and turbo jets took flight and made their way toward the Zenakuu invasion party. The ensuing dogfight was bloody and brutal. One by one, most of the Kalryn Air Force was shot down by the superior Zenakuu pilots. 

"I need three planes on my six. We are going to wrap around and out flank them." Jeramine took control and planned on finishing the fight. 

"I will be your wingman today," stated a mysterious voice.

"Adel, is that you?" Jeramine asked.

"Who else would be crazy enough to cover your ass in the midst of all this?"

"It is damn good to hear you, man. I was not sure if you made it out."

"Save the tears for later. We have a battle to win."

"Copy that. Everyone stay tight and watch each other's backs," Jeramine responded. As the squadron drew closer to the warship, they did all they could to not get blasted out of the sky.

"Evasive maneuvers!" Adel shouted. Heavy machine guns sprayed the sky, and missiles flew through the air, anxiously searching for targets. The remaining squadron was the academy's best and shot down a dozen enemy aircraft before a missile finally connected with Jeramine's plane. 




Kinetic: The First Alliance Ch. 02 Pt. 01



"Damn! I am hit," Jeramine called out.



Kinetic: The First Alliance Ch. 02 Pt. 02



"Attempting to stabilize." His plane shook violently, and black smoke visibly seeped from the engine. 

"Jeramine, there is empty field beneath us. Touch down over there. I will cover you," Adel said.

"I am not going to make it. I cannot seem to gain control."

"If you have no other choice, eject, but be careful. The airspace is dangerous around here."

"Got a better plan. I have the control room in my sights. I am bringing this plane down and taking that entire ship with me," Jeramine said.

"Have you gone insane? That is suicide. Engage the autopilot."

"None of the guiding system controls are operational. I have to do this manually, Adel. With all these missiles, I can bring that thing down," Jeramine shouted.

"No, we will find another way," Adel said.

"This is the only way. Gentlemen, it has been an honor. Adel, tell Shyra that I am sorry for breaking my promise." 

"Jeramine, no! Do not do it," his friend screamed. 

Jeramine knew his sacrifice was noble, but in his last moments of life, he felt regret over breaking Shyra's heart with his death and never being able to feel the warmth of her love again. But the brave pilot did not decelerate; he drove his plane deep into the front of the control room. No one could confirm the damage, because the smoke acted like a screen. When the dust settled, it was clear that part of the control room was severely wrecked but still functioning.

"Damn you, Jeramine. Why did you do that?" cried Adel.

"Yes, but he did open up a shot," another pilot pointed out. "We will not let his sacrifice go in vain. All fighters open fire on that hole." 

Before long, every available missile in the air force was sent into the small hole Jeramine had created. The very last warship made its descent; half of it was blown to pieces, while the other half spiraled down to the ground and crashed in the ocean. 

The assault forces of the Zenakuu had entered the lower atmosphere. They had been stymied by the fighter jets launched from various hangers on the surface of Kalryn, but a large amount of the Zenakuu landing crafts with large, drop-down doors on the front had survived the defensive plasma cannons and missiles.

The majority of Kalryn's armed mobile forces stood at the ready, forming up around a gate that protected the center of the Savant's sanctuary under the once crystal-clear sky that was now turned horrid by black smoke. They understood the task that lay before them. Large portions of the Kalryn infantry were armed with guns, Lygokinetic swords, and shielded weapons. The mission was clear—they were to keep the enemy from bypassing the front line. If they failed, the chances of keeping the Savants safe would be next to zero. The commander of the infantry made a speech minutes before the bulk of the enemy ships would appear. 

"My brothers in arms, hear me. This day we stand against the single greatest threat to freedom in the galaxy. You, however, are the best of the best, the greatest of the elites. Our planet has had many trials only to always come out victorious, but long years of victory do not preclude eventual defeat. Down there are our countrymen, children, friends, and family. We will not let them down this day. Failure is not an option! Today we fight for all that we hold dear. These Zenakuu bastards picked the wrong planet to mess with. Through this battle we achieve immortality. Today we seize glory! We are the chosen arm of destiny, and the enemy will not escape our righteous judgment. For Trifa and for Kalryn!"

In response, came a chorus of thunderous cheers. Kalrynian soldiers took their duty to the Savants seriously. His words ended not a second too soon, as the first of the crafts touched down. As the landing ship approached the ground, its cannons began to glow. Shots were fired all at once and colored the skies violet. The first assault took the lives of dozens of Kalryn soldiers. As the doors began to lower, the Chrentex began their counter assault. 

Soldier after soldier charged forward only to be hacked down to size by the Kalrynian super elite. Both limbs and lives were lost as the Zenakuu boldly attempted to gain ground. The hostiles' numbers were heavily decreased as they continued forward. Several more troops were cut down when they charged the front line with Chrentex warriors who stood ready to defend. The first wave had been fended off rather easily. The cheers at their victory were cut off by the sounds of the orbital cannons opening up again, aiming at the ground troops.

"Men, the true battle is about to begin! It seems our final hour may yet be at hand," the commanding officer of the group stated, eliciting anxious noises from the men serving under him. Suddenly, a small squad of heavily armored support vehicles pulled in on the right side of the trenches. They turned their heavy cannons skyward and fired at the landing ships, adding to the Zenakuu casualties.

However, when a Zenakuu cruiser dropped out of the atmosphere and began firing on the ground troops, even the most courageous warriors lost heart. They crashed down, scorching the skies and vaporizing everything in their paths. The greatest lost was Tribus, who died when a blood vessel in his brain ruptured as he attempted to put up a barrier over the entire battlefield and overexerted his parietal lobe. The act that cost him his life shielded the Kalryn troops momentarily, but the cover that the Kalrynian infantry had been using was now partially destroyed, just in time for half a dozen landing crafts to touch down and drop open.

"Sir, Chrentex Tribus has gone offline," a soldier back at the base announced.

"Dammit. This is exactly what I was afraid of. We cannot afford to lose anymore. Reclaim all the Chrentex and make sure that dead suit is recovered," the commanding officer ordered.

"Yes, sir." As the Zenakuu advanced, they fired Zurekium cannon shells and small arms at the demoralized Kalryn. A single soldier stood and watched her comrades lose their lives. She observed one man get maimed as he lost his intestine, while another was ripped open from a grenade that exploded near his torso and sent shrapnel through his body. She began to scream, a single, feminine screech of fury. All the pain, all those gruesome deaths—it was expressed in that single outburst of emotion from the female-born Kalryn. That one voice seemed to be the only noise on the battlefield for the four seconds that it lasted before she leaped out from behind her cover and led a charge down the Zenakuu's throat.

The half or so of the remaining troopers admired her passion and rallied behind her, giving battle cries of their own. At that single moment, the empire's assault soldiers finally realized who they were up against—soldiers who were not even afraid of death. Unfortunately for them, they found out just a little too late, as the grenades thrown by the charging Kalryn landed, filling the enemy ranks literally full of holes. 

The Zenakuu Empire that had declared war stood no chance against extremely zealous warriors fighting for one of the few things that mattered to them—their survival. As the larger Zenakuu soldiers fell to the ground from the counterattack, they spilled their sage green blood everywhere. Suddenly, the hostiles found themselves outmatched and frightened. There was no hope for them; their reinforcements were being cut off in orbit. 

All because of one courageous charge and more than two dozen grenades, the newest attack force in the galaxy was being forced to retreat. Ground troops whimpered in a variety of languages. They screamed and pleaded for mercy, but there was none. Others threw down their weapons in hopes of surrender but only earned a more agonizing slaying. Heads of innocent 

Kalrynian rolled that day, so forgiveness was no longer an option.

Kalrynian soldiers began to reclaim their positions in the trenches, and even though they were battered and bruised, a handful of them had survived the brutal fight. Some were only kids who never knew of true battle. They'd only read of it in their history books, but on that day they were forced to grow up. They finally saw what harsh battle really was. The remaining forces feared the worst—that their friends and family who also fought or tried to hide may not have survived the fight. The battle on this sector of the planet was done. Meanwhile, it was still raging on other parts of the planet and in space. 

Elsewhere, the Kalryn defenses were rushing to regain control of the upper space area of their planet and block any more approaching Zenakuu armada. 

"This is Captain Kody. I am located near sector 1-40-7. I need immediate assistance. I repeat—immediate assistance," said a voice over the radio, which was heard through the main command center of the base. Kody had served proudly in the military for many years, had seen many battles on domestic and foreign worlds, and even had bionic limbs for his legs, which he'd lost when he was unfortunate enough to step on a land mine in the years of combat.

"Captain Kody, this is General Yendero. What is the emergency?" General Yendero asked.

"We have detected three Zenakuu warships coming in at our position. We do not have the forces to fight them at this moment. A large Zenakuu fleet has approached from sector 1-40-1-10. My men met them in combat about ten minutes ago, and we narrowly beat them. We need assistance immediately." 

General Yendero turned to his men in the command center. "You heard him. The Zenakuu are approaching on the city of Vourn, and we are the reinforcements. Let us move, men. Get four command ships over to the city now!" Vourn was forty miles away, but for a Kalryn command ship, it would only take twenty minutes to get there. Four command ships left the base and headed for Vourn. When they were about halfway there, they got the message.

"We have pushed them back. I repeat—we have pushed them back," Captain Kody informed. With no more need for them, the command ships flew up into the air. When they saw space open up before them, there was a battle raging to their right. They darted in to bring aid to the space units. Fighters raced out of the hanger of Kody Kadeem's ship.  

"Okay, Captain Kody. We will take the ones to the left," the squad leader said.

"Uh, Kody, what are those?" a lieutenant asked. He pointed out to the left of the battle. Captain Kody Kadeem looked out and saw three more enemy ships advancing. "Squad 11-2, go for the—" A large explosion erupted near them and sent the ship rocking. Captain Kody looked out and saw that three large fleets approached. "Dear God," he cried. 

"Captain, they are all over us!" the deployed squad leader shouted. "We cannot ... Ah!" The captain looked out at the fighters. To his horror, the insurmountable Zenakuu squad had taken down the entire squadron. "They have surrounded us!" Captain Kody shouted. 

The only Kalryn fighters in the air at that moment were the four command ships that came from Kazda and three command ships from Vourn. The Zenakuu fleets had pushed them in and surrounded them. They had no escape.

"Mayday!" came a voice over Captain Kody's radio. 

"This is the captain of the 5-11 commander ship. We are going down. I repeat—we are going down!" Captain Kody looked out and saw the command ship in flames, plummeting to Kalryn as a fiery heap of metal. Then, Kody looked over at his crew. "Contact home base. Tell them if we do not get back-up soon, do not bother. We will be dead by the time they reach us." 

"Captain! Two Zenakuu warships are on our left," a crew member warned.

From their left came the two ships bellowing through space. From small crevasses in the ship came little orb devices. At least a thousand of them shot to Kody's ship. When they hit the command ship, they stuck like ticks to a hairy beast. Sparks began to fly as they started to eat their way into the ship.

"Sir, our ship is falling apart fast. We cannot—" The crew member's attention was turned to a red blinking screen. "Sir! Our engines are off-line."

"Everyone, prepare to abandon ship," Captain Kody ordered.

"Sir, we will not make it to the escape pods. Those things have made holes all over our ship. We will be sucked into space before we get to our pods."

"Those smart, little—" the Captain started. He felt like sitting there and cursing the Zenakuu until he ran out of breath, but he knew that wouldn't do any good. Instead, he took a deep breath and then continued, "Okay, if we are going down, we are taking them with us. Compress the drag fins. We are going to run right into those godforsaken creatures," he ordered.

"Sir, here comes the Kalryn forces. We are saved." Kody looked out and saw a large fleet of Kalryn. No doubt they would be able to push these guys out.

"This is the Global Kalryn Forces. We are coming in. Hold your position; we are sending a rescue team," they announced over the radio. It wasn't long before a rescue team got the others out of there. They took them back to base. Then the general of the third command ship took part in the fight. As he stood at the bridge of his command ship, he got a message. 

"General, we have spotted enemy forces coming in quickly," a control operator said.

"Get all the squads in your command and send them after the ships that have already arrived. Destroying those things is our top priority," the general responded.

"Yes, sir. We will have them down in no time," he replied. At that moment, four squads moved into attack formation. They flew near the first fleet. 

"Okay, this is it!" the squad leader said. "S-57, you go in at the right. Everyone else, stay behind me." 

As they flew in, the Zenakuu quickly engaged them.

"Here they come!" a squad member said. The two Zenakuu reached the Kalryn fighters first, but they were quickly shot out of the air by two missiles. Then the real Zenakuu squad flew in. The Kalryn were quickly split up and thrown into a dogfight, scrambling for dear life in the cold vacuum of space.

"Good job! First one down," the leader shouted. 

"Do not give them time to breathe. Go for the next one."

"We are on it, General." The General now stood looking out at the battle. He was thinking of victory. It seemed like they would win easily. Then he got the message. 

"General, uh ... there is another fleet headed our way. They have surrounded us."

"What!" the general shouted.

"Sir, if we do not make a move, we are done for," a crew member said.

"Okay, here is what we will do. We will split our fleet up. Half go for one side; half go for the other, pushing their fleet away. Okay, we need some more fighters to take out those ships. Those are our main priority." The orders were given, and they were ready. 

As the battle above Kalryn got hotter, it seemed like every time they took down a Zenakuu command ship, another showed up. And after about three hours of fighting, the general got another call. "Sir, our fighters are down. I repeat—our fighters are down. Another Zenakuu ship has approached at sector 7-40. Sir, we are not going to hold much longer." 

The general stood in thought and then finally said, "We need to retreat. We will not last up here. Call the base near Kazda; tell them to get all the turrets ready. We are not going down without a fight." 

"General, this is Captain Matokay. We will hold off as much as we can. You and your men retreat. If we all run at the same time, most of the fleet will be destroyed." Captain Kody responded, "You are a good man, Captain Matokay." 

"I have about six fighters jets in the hanger. They will help." 

"Okay, everyone," the general said as he contacted every personnel on board. "Everyone, this is your captain speaking. I am issuing a full-scale retreat. All hands on deck; prepare for departure. We are pulling out of here. Good luck, Captain." The Kalryn ship pulled away. As they neared the planet's surface, they noticed that the Zenakuu were not following. Captain Matokay's ship flew down in the atmosphere, so they stood in the way of the Zenakuu. As the Captain waited for the Zenakuu to show, he told all the fighters to get in defensive positions and prepare to attack the Zenakuu on sight. 

"Here they come!" the squad leader warned. "But they did not bring the whole fleet, not even half. They must expect an ambush." 

"This just makes our job a little easier. Kill them all!" the captain said. His staff sergeant turned to him and asked, "We are not making it out of this, sir, are we?" 

With a somber face, Captain Matokay turned to his fellow soldier and told him what he was taught in boot camp during his early years. "Son, go into battle determined to die, and you will survive. Go into battle praying to live, and surely you shall not."  

The staff sergeant thought about his words for a moment and responded with a passionate, "Yes, sir!" He looked around at the crew, which now had all eyes on him. "The rest of you men, you heard him—prepare yourselves. Hell's hounds draw near, but this is where we leave our mark in the pages of history. My life for Kalryn!"

The Kalryn fighters approached and began to pick off the invaders. Then four Zenakuu Command ships came into view.

"Here comes trouble," one of the Kalryn pilots said to himself. 

The Zenakuu warships let out two more squads of fighters. The Kalryn fighters were quickly taken care of, and the four warships attacked the only ship standing between them and the Kalryn planet. Back on the ground, the general asked for contact to the captain who stayed behind.

"Sir, we have lost contact. They must have been destroyed," a crew member informed.

"So they have. Okay, the Zenakuu will be here any minute. Everyone get—" The general paused as he looked up in the sky and saw three Zenakuu command ships darting to Kalryn and covered in flames. One was even broken in two pieces. 

"He took three ships with him. That crew's sacrifice will not go to waste. Finish them off, men! When these monsters arrive at the gates of the underworld, they will tell the gate guards that Kalryn gives their regards!" 

The battle raged on for what seemed like an eternity. So many Kalrynian lives were needlessly lost that day. Parts of the planets lay in ruins, and the slaughtered remains of people piled in the streets as far as the eye could see. Truly, this was a day that would forever lie in infamy. An entire planet too prideful and arrogant to believe that they would ever fall victim to an attack from a world that they believed to be dead was nearly destroyed that day.

The entire time Kalryn believed that Zenakuu were done for, they were actually recuperating from the Myriad attack. The Zenakuu bided their time and spent many years repopulating their planet and building advanced weaponry to seek their revenge. They used that initial attack to gauge the strength of Kalryn.

Word got out to the Savants that the battle neared its end. Kalryn was battered but victorious, and they began to surface from the panic room. The Savants were made up of seven nominated and usually elder Kalrynians and included Unarec, Kagoli, Nabire, Iyendo, Rayvaar, Tejourne, and Hartell. Even though Rayvaar was the youngest, he quickly climbed the ranks to be revered as the wisest and most tactical of them all, so naturally, all eyes averted to him.

"What are we to do? City hall is ruined, and the capital of this entire planet and neighboring cities are in shambles. I even heard that there were not only Zenakuu on those ships, but other races as well," Tejourne said. 

"The Zenakuu have always looked upon us with distain and a jaundiced eye, but who could have helped them attack us?" asked Kagoli, one of the few female Savants.

"I need not guess. Surely it was the planet Purix; they are the next closest," Hartell attested. 

"This is not a time to lose composure. We need to hold a meeting to assess the damage done," Rayvaar replied.




Kinetic: The First Alliance Ch. 02 Pt. 02



"And where are we to have this meeting? At the town library down the street? We have no city hall, nowhere to reside," Unarec said.

"We will just have it here in the panic room. There is room for all of us plus communications equipment. Now let us get to work." Rayvaar replied.

The seven Savants got together for another meeting, but not for the salvation of Zenakuu. This time, it was regarding the apprehension or possibly annihilation of the once amicable race.

"Let us get to it then. Now does anyone have any ideas on how to proceed?" Rayvaar opened up by letting his fellow councilmen bounce ideas back and forth.

"What other fate can we afford them? We should send the full force of the Kalryn military right down their throats and finish what the Myriad started!" blurted Hartell, who had always been a loose cannon.

"Do not be brash, Hartell. We have no clue how powerful they are and how many planets they have turned against us."

"A wise observation, Kagoli, but something must be done."

"What if they did not turn against us?"

"How do you mean, Rayvaar?" Nabire asked.

"What I mean is what if they had not a choice. What if they were forced by Zenakuu. The planet Purix is strong but not foolish and never favored confrontation. If they were forced into fighting, then we need to help others from falling into that same fate. Otherwise, we may not be able to fend them off the next time they attack with more military force from even more enslaved planets." On cue, a transmission came through. 

"Calling out to Kalryn. We are in need of immediate assistance. The once silent planet Zenakuu has come to the planet of Belum and demanded help in destroying your world. When we declined, a giant warship blackened the sky and took us by surprise, forcing us to fight in their army. I had to send this distress call on pirate frequencies so that they couldn't track it. I pray it reaches you before they deploy for your planet." The feed ended and then looped until it was shut off by Iyendo.

"I cannot believe you were right, Rayvaar."

"I did not wish to believe it either, but it was the only explanation," proclaimed the young Savant.

"Agreed, but what to do about this? It is too late to help them or most planets in our solar system that lay vulnerable to invasion," Tejourne panicked. "Is no one safe from their wrath?"

"Do not despair, Tejourne. It looks like we have to warn the neighboring solar systems in hopes that Zenakuu has not reached them yet. Perhaps we can station small armies on each planet to defend. What say you?" Rayvaar's idea was well thought out but would require leaving Kalryn.

"I must protest! After we send small armies to all these planets, who will defend our world?"

"I see what you mean, but do you have a better idea, Nabire?"

"My decision is thus: we send a single emissary, perhaps a kinesis trainer, to train these planets to defend themselves. That way, we can keep our army here, and there is chance for salvation for other planets."

"Brilliant idea, Nabire. While here, we can begin to organize a strike on Zenakuu and start the beginning of the end of this already heinous war." 

"The people of Kalryn can and will rally. From this depth, we are destined to rise," swore Iyendo. 

The Savants found themselves in agreement and set off to let the rest of the world know. They organized a summit where the Savants' decision would be broadcast. 

Rayvaar went to find his rebellious daughter and punish her severely for once again not listening to him. As he walked, he mumbled to himself, "I will not tolerate that girl disobeying my orders any longer. She is lucky to be alive, no thanks to that infernal pilot Jeramine." But as he entered her chambers, he found her crying over the death of her love as she gazed upon Jeramine's holographic image, which her locket projected. The seemingly stern father didn't have the heart to reprimand his bereaved daughter and left her to mourn in peace. 



Kinetic: The First Alliance Ch. 03 Pt. 01



Chapter 3 Pt. 1

Heart Full of Pride, and a Head Full of Anger

Alex came out of the flashback overwhelmed. He fell to his knees and wrapped his arms around his body. He had witnessed firsthand the carnage Zenakuu bestowed to people of Kalryn. Because of his clear moral definition of what was wrong or right, anger and rage flooded his heart. The hair on his head stood up as electrokinetic power swelled inside of him.

"Calm yourself, Alexander," Shyra said. "There will be a time to avenge lost lives. This is not it."

"I'm sorry, Shyra. I've just never seen anything like that before. What was that?"

"That was a Kalrynian memory bank. We Kalrynians are able to share our memories and store them in a records container that is guarded and preserved by the Savants. What you just witnessed were the collective thoughts and memories of my people during the invasion attempt," Shyra explained.

"I see. I'm sorry about what happened to Jeramine." Alex said. 

"I apologize, Alexander, you were not meant to see that memory," Shyra held her shirt tight where her locket rested underneath; "Jeramine was my entire world, and the reason I still fight. He had the uncanny ability to metaphorically see right through me. All the farces I used on other people never worked on him. He would keep me in check but let me get away with so much at the same time. He figured me out as if he had me down to a science." Shyra gave a reminiscent smile. "I remember how he thought he knew it all, but even when he was wrong, I would smile and let him ramble on just so I could hear his voice. He could make my sides hurt from laughing and my throat hoarse from yelling all in a few minutes. Looking back now, I know he made me a better person. There was really no one else like him. I loved him, and he is gone now thanks to the Zenakuu." Shyra turned her head away so Alex couldn't see and made a motion that looked like she was wiping her eyes.

"I'm sorry, Shyra."

"It is fine. Do not give it second thought, Alexander."

"This power of mine—how did I get it?" Alex asked, changing the subject. 

"Alexander, there are a handful of humans like you on this planet. I have sensed a few when I landed, and after our training, you will be able to sense them too. After we track down the others, I will explain the origins of your powers to all of you." 

Alex complied with her and listened closely to all she had to say. Shyra told Alex everything about Zenakuu and their Karyokinesis, the apparent ability to manipulate your body on a cellular level. Alex soaked in all the information he could from Shyra like an impetuous sponge, dedicated and willful. In the beginning his performance was pathetic at best; he was not accustomed to the high altitude of the mountain. The elevation and lack of oxygen caused him to run out of gas in mere minutes. He kept training though; determined to be the best and hopeful that he'd make his new teacher proud.

Weeks went by, and Alex's training continued as he learned how to manipulate electricity and use it in new and creative ways. At first, the sensation felt strange to him; the electricity was surprisingly hot. As if he were slow cooking his hands, the pungent smell of singeing skin was thick in the air, and filled his nostrils —yet he endured on until his hands callused over, and his body became used to the sensation. 

Alex excelled before Shyra's eyes, justifying her anticipation in traveling and training earthlings. Shyra's studies were right; the power that Alex was showing actually surpassed her expectations. Excited with her findings, Shyra walked to the control room of her ship, not knowing Alex was right behind her. He eavesdropped as she opened a communication line to her father on Kalryn.

"Greetings, Father, how is everything on Kalryn?" asked Shyra.

"We have been very busy sending guides to the important planets in the universe," replied Rayvaar.

"Stop it, Father. I want to show you my findings on Earth," said Shyra.

"Whatever findings, as remarkable as you think they are, I assure you are insufficient to hold my attention. We have a war to win, and thanks to that damned invasion, we're down and missing one Chrentex suit."

"But, Father—"

Rayvaar then yelled, "You went to that waste of a planet against my will on a hunch that they had some kind of hidden power, and because of their primitive nature, you did not even know if those apes were capable of intelligent speech! Do not prattle on to me about your so-called findings." He sighed in frustration before continuing. "There is a forged bond between us, daughter, but do not waste my time with such frivolous matters. Just come home safely when your mission is complete."

The computer screen read "Communication End."

Shyra had faith the human race could level the playing field and give the Zenakuu a taste of their own medicine, but she was obviously upset after the talk with her father, and Alex noticed.

"What happened, Shyra?" Alex questioned.

"It is nothing, Alexander. Let us start the next lesson—flight." 

Alex replied, "Did you say ... flight?"

"Now, do not be afraid, Alexander. Almost all electrokinetics can fly."

"Fly, huh?" Alex grinned. "I've always wanted to fly."

"Now, Alexander, it is sort of tricky when it comes to flying. There are two ways to fly. One way is to use your powers to propel yourself through the air like a rocket. The other way is more passive. You have to concentrate very deep at first. Calm yourself and quiet your mind. Then, in your case, it is a matter of picking yourself off the ground through electromagnetism. Imagine yourself floating and then soaring through the air."

Alex didn't quite get flying down. After falling flat on his face all day and night, he finally got his fill of eating dirt. The thought of not being good enough to fly struck Alex hard, and he retreated to his quarters for the evening to be alone.

The next day Alex tried flying again but was stopped by Shyra when she decided to expand on the group from two to hopefully more. Shyra told Alex about how there should be a few more espers like him. While Alex was training, Shyra was searching the country for others and has found at least four more espers with high kinetic readings.

"Alexander, your shortcomings are going to have to wait. I require your assistance to help recruit the rest of the team. I have marked this map and will teleport you to the cities that they are in. One by one, recruit them and bring them back."

"What if they don't want to join?" Alex asked. 

"Then you will just have to be persuasive, Alexander." 

"I'll try, but do me a favor, Shyra. Cut everyone else some slack. If you wanna take your frustration out on me, fine, but you'll never get anyone to follow you if you keep acting like this." 

She gave him a puzzled look. "I see. I will try to be nicer, Alexander."

Nervous yet excited to meet others like him, Alex set off. He knew they would be mankind's only real defense against the invasion sure to come.

His first stop was New York, and after he geared up, Shyra teleported Alex behind a local pizza parlor in Manhattan. The jump hit him at millions of miles per hour, and in an instant, he was plastered in place like an astronaut strapped in during takeoff. The heat made it feel as if his eyes were going to melt from their sockets, and he couldn't walk straight for a few minutes after his arrival. With legs made of JELL-O, Alex fumbled across the busy street. 

He had never been up north before, so he didn't know what to expect. It was almost sunset, but the streets were still very crowded. While wading through the hordes of natives, Alex basked in the smell of vendor almonds being roasted until he felt an unusual pressure on his frontal lobe that began to pulsate. Being more sensitive after receiving some quick training from Shyra, Alex knew it was a power similar to his emanating from the group of people in front of him. 

Without warning, an earthquake struck New York. As the tectonic plates shifted, streets cracked, sending sewage covers shooting through the air like a soda cap bursting off its bottle after being shaken. Alex saw some of the unsuspecting civilians abandon their cars and run for their lives, while others crawled underneath trucks for shelter from the falling debris. He was scared but wanted to save everyone somehow. The thing that stood out like a sore thumb was a teen that was standing in place straining his arms out as if to control the earthquake with his will alone. Sure enough, the cracks closed, and the quake subsided, but Alex's eyes were fixated on the boy who did not even try to run. After the earthquake stopped the teen attempted to vanish in the crowd of spectators, but Alex was on pursuit. He dodged and weaved between people, trying to always keep one eye on the person running away. 

His chase led him to a back alleyway, but he lost sight of his target and faced a literal dead end. Alex turned around and was sucker punched square on the jaw. The hit knocked him back flat on his ass. Somewhat disoriented, he stumbled to pick himself off the ground, and dusted off his pants.

Alex thought he had just been struck with brass knuckles, but much to his dismay, his attacker was unarmed. The young man standing before Alex was African American and seemed to be six feet tall with a muscular build, dark brown eyes, and perfectly symmetrical, short, wavy hair. The few hairs on his chin made him look older than he really was, but the expression on his face was filled with murderous intent. Alex had always heard that people from New York were dangerous, but he never thought he'd be mugged in just a few short hours. The assailant wore a plain black hoodie and baggy blue jeans; on his feet, he sported work boots. 

He demanded to know why Alex was following him. The tension between the two was thick enough to cut with a knife. Alex didn't know why he felt so uneasy with this kid, but he really didn't want him on the team. When he looked into the mysterious teen's eyes, Alex couldn't help but think about the bullies who terrorized him and his friends throughout high school. He could already tell the conversation was not going to go as planned.

"Who the hell are you?" the boy once again demanded to know.

"My name is Alex, and I'm not here to pick a fight with you. I just came to talk," Alex replied.

"Are you the one who caused my power to go out of control?" he asked. 

"What are you talking about?" Alex curiously questioned. 

"Out of nowhere I got one of those headaches I get from time to time, but it felt different than before—more refined, more concentrated. Next thing I know, my powers reacted to the strain, and I lost control," the teen explained. 

"Wait. Are you saying you did this? You caused the quake?" Alex asked. "Listen, we have to talk." 

"You and I have nothing to talk about. Just what kind of freak are you anyway?" questioned the teen.

Alex snapped back, "You're one to talk, buddy. You think I didn't notice you during that earthquake? What did you do to that crack anyway?"

"Not a damn thing," he said in a condescending voice.

"Don't bullshit me. I honestly don't have the time for it. There's something important I have to talk to you about," Alex explained.

"What's your name?" Alex asked him. 

"Friends call me D."

"Okay, D. There's—" 

The other teen cut him off immediately, "You can call me Dimitri, though." 

Alex was more than annoyed at this point. "As you wish ... Dimitri. Let me paint a rosy picture for you." 

Alex went on to tell Dimitri the entire story, and yet, Dimitri just didn't care. 

He explained that he didn't turn down going to a technical institute for nothing; he had a family to look after and a sister who had been gunned down in a drive-by shooting to avenge. He wouldn't leave them—not after what had happened to her. He was determined to provide a better life for them.

"Look, I know how it feels. You think you're the only one who is being taken away from his family because he has to save the world?" Alex shouted back. "I get it. It's a lot to take in, but this is our calling—this is what we're meant to do." Alex calmed down and said with sincerity. 

Dimitri's demeanor changed, and with a serious tone he asked, "Do you have any brothers or sisters?" 

Alex responded with an inquisitive, "No." 

"Then you have no idea what it feels like to have someone ripped away from you, someone who you've known your entire life!" he snapped back. 

"Yes, I do actually. I didn't raise myself. I had to leave my grandfather—the only family I have—to fend for himself while I'm gone," Alex said defensively.

"You left your grandfather all alone? I guess I just love my family a little more than you love yours then," Dimitri said snidely.



Kinetic: The First Alliance Ch. 03 Pt. 02



Alex's hands began to glow in anger over the comment thrown at his face. He would have love nothing more than to fry this guy to ashes, but he couldn't forget the greater good.

"I didn't leave my grandfather. Ever since my birth he knew I was different. He more or less accepted that I had to go."

"Not for nothin' man, but I really don't care. I've had a hard enough life—a deadbeat dad, a sister killed in a drive-by, and now a family to look after. I've got enough on my plate without having to worry about killing aliens. Your sob story doesn't interest me."

With an unwavering voice, Dimitri told Alex that he had made a promise to protect his family at all costs, even if it meant his own life. Under no circumstance would he break that promise, especially not to some "superhero" wannabe who wanted to fulfill his fantasy of running around in tights. It took everything Alex had not to hook Dimitri in the face; he was determined to complete the mission Shyra had given him.

Dimitri verbally came at him again. "You wanna stand there and tell me about this alien race that might attack us? Get out of my face before you get hurt."

"You think I asked for this? You think I asked for this power? It's a gift—one that I can see has clearly been wasted on you," Alex shouted back. Alex wasn't sure if the static in the air was coming from him or this tense situation he found himself in.

With an almost thunderous roar, Dimitri said, "It is what it is okay? I'm not leaving my family, so kick rocks!"

To which Alex shouted, "Then your family is going to die with everyone else. Is that what you want?" Alex wasn't thinking rationally anymore and let his emotions get the best of him.

Dimitri's hands began to glow with a greenish hue, and stones and rocks started to float in midair. A superpower fight was the last thing Alex was looking for.

"Dimitri, right? I didn't come all this way to fight you, you've just met me, and I'm asking you to travel around the world to prepare for an alien invasion. You have no reason to believe me, but I swear to you that I'm speaking the truth right now, and I know deep down you know it too."

The icy stare that Alex got back from Dimitri was intense, and it seemed like the only way to make him believe his story was to show him.

"I was really hoping it didn't have to come to this, but if this is the only way, fine." With that, Alex closed his eyes and began to concentrate. Shyra was teaching him how to control his powers and not have them be just a reaction to his emotions. He visualized the spark within him growing bigger and brighter. Just with that, Dimitri saw a crackle of electrical power surge through Alex's hands. They began to glow with a brilliant light that illuminated the entire alleyway.

"Looks like you're legit. Dammit, I was really hoping you were fugazy," Dimitri said.

Alex spoke up. "I've learned a lot more, and so will you, but you have to come with me, Dimitri. Not for my sake, but for your family. Gain the power to protect them and the world."

Dimitri thought about all that was at stake and reluctantly agreed. "Fine, but don't get it twisted. I'm not doing this for you; I'm doing it for them," he said and promised he would become stronger to protect his family.

(Dimitri pov switch)

They agreed to meet back four hours later after Dimitri had a chance to say good-bye to his family. He had to go home and somehow explain to his mother and sister why he would be leaving them. During the entire train ride back to Brooklyn, it felt like he had the world on his shoulders.

They agreed to meet back four hours later after Dimitri had a chance to say good-bye to his family. He had to go home and somehow explain to his mother and sister why he would be leaving them. During the entire train ride back to Brooklyn, a whirlwind of emotions swept him away. Anger, denial, frustration, and regret plagued his thoughts without any sign of relinquishing their grip. Even the usual subway car performers stayed clear of him, scared of the intense look painted on his face. The flashing tunnel lights threw him in trance, hypnotized into a zombie-like state of consciousness. It was only the conductor's announcement that Flatbush would be the next stop that finally snapped him out of it. Things were finally starting to look up for him; finally finished with high school, a decent paying job, a loving girlfriend, and now this... No matter how hard he fought, life could never just go his way.

Dimitri dragged his feet up the subway steps, back to surface level, once again forced to come to terms with his new reality. I can't believe mom was right about aliens existing... How am I going to explain to them that I need to leave? Maybe I can just go, and they'll think I died in the earthquake earlier, he thought, although he knew they would never fall for that. Besides, he didn't want to put them through that kind of pain, but a lie surely had to be better than the truth. After getting off the subway, Dimitri made his way to his apartment and prepared for what would undoubtedly be the hardest talk of his life. He and his family had been through so much between their father leaving and his older sister dying. It felt like they couldn't catch a break, but he knew he had to do this. He knew that Alex kid was telling the truth. It couldn't be random that he had these powers.

Dimitri turned the key and slowly opened the door to his small apartment, but was immediately stopped in his tracks. Once again someone had locked the door chain, despite knowing he'd be coming home late. He squeezed his lips through the door and shouted.

"Ash! Open the door!"

"Whooo is it?" She mockingly asked then laughed.

"I swear to God, Ashley..." Dimitri said, growling through his teeth. His sister Ashley casually pranced toward the door, and undid the lock, smiling at her big brother with her usual cornball demeanor. In that moment, life was normal again and made sense. He tried to savor the peace and familiarity for as long as possible. Ashley darted back out of sight as soon as she granted him entrance, eager to get back to whatever she was doing. He walked past the kitchen where his mom was cooking and the living room where their couches still had their original plastic covers. Dimitri found his sister Ashley sitting on one of them watching their mom's favorite paranormal activity show on their thirty-two-inch TV, which was located directly underneath the Jesus painting.

She was always a "true believer" that aliens existed ever since she claimed she saw a UFO twenty years ago, but Dimitri just disregarded her ramblings as superstitious contradictions. How could she believe in aliens and Jesus at the same time? He wanted to know, but his mom's answer to every argument was that God created all life—including aliens. It infuriated him to no end, but learned to ignore it throughout the years. He decided to join Ashley and asked her how her day was. Then he helped set the dinner table and took out the trash for his overworked mother, at least he could do one last thing for her before in his mind he abandoned them.

Twenty minutes later he heard the doorbell ring, and wondered who it could be before remembering. Aw damn, I forgot Rose was coming over. His girlfriend of the past year, with everything that happened he forgot she promised she would bring over dessert. They met when he was filling the position of medical data entry at a temp job. She was breath taking, way out of the average guy's league, but her innocent yet alluring smile dug its hooks into him deep. He mustered up the courage to talk to her, and with a few suave remarks they immediately hit it off. Dimitri felt like his day couldn't possibly get worse; there's no way in hell she would go for him leaving. Still, he opened the door, and gave his girlfriend a sincere kiss as she passed him a strawberry cheesecake.

The four of them sat down together for what would be their last meal as a whole family for a long time to come. With Dimitri gone, at least there would be one less mouth to feed. But there would also be no protection from the neighborhood gangs and drug dealers who roamed the streets. Dimitri knew in his heart he would be back to clean the streets, but he had to get stronger first, and to do that, he had to leave.

His mother placed a plate of brown rice with green peas and chicken drumsticks in front of him before finally sitting down herself at the dinner table. The smell of that lemon-peppered chicken was enough to make his mouth salivate, but he couldn't wipe the sullen expression from his face.

"How was your day, baby?" Dimitri's mom asked to break the awkward silences.

"You wouldn't believe me even if I told you," Dimitri responded.

"Why is that?" she inquired. "You weren't anywhere near that earthquake today were you?"

"Yeah, but not too close. I barely felt it," he lied.

"Good, I was scared to death about you today," she said. "At least I had your sister Ashley here with me. I couldn't bear to lose anyone else." She was being her usual melodramatic self.

"Mom, I'm okay," he responded. Another awkward silence ensued. Dimitri rolled the peas on his plate around with his fork.

"Babe, you promised you'd be more careful," Rose said with heartfelt eyes. She was always worried about him, and often subdued his reckless ways. As tough as Dimitri lead on to be, he always melted in front of her. He was but a mere peasant in front a queen. She was petite, but held a very athletic build from all the times he dragged her to the gym with him. Luscious black hair woven like silk, she always kept it tied back away from her face, but it was the little things that Dimitri loved like they way she would always tuck it back behind her ear when it would fall out of place. He was in love with her flawless olive skin, the way she laughed, and the way her sweet smell lingered even after she left a room.

"Honey, is everything all right? Did something happen?" His mother asked.

Dimitri looked into the eyes of his concerned mother, then Rose. He just wanted to be honest with them but didn't know where to begin. "Mom, there's something I have to tell you, and as crazy as it's going to sound, I'm just gonna come out and say it."

"Okay. What is it, Dimitri?" she replied.

He gave another long stare, and exhaled deeply. "I'm leaving, Mom." A moment of silence filled the air.

"What?!" Rose shouted in horrified confusion. His mom furrowed her eyebrows in anger.

"The hell you are, boy. What are you talking about?"

"You don't understand. This is something I have to do. I have this... ability that I need to harness to protect you guys," Dimitri tried to explain.

His mom snapped back, "You on drugs? You're not making any sense."

Dimitri took a deep breath. It was never the way he wanted reveal his power, but he found a focus point on the table to stare at and concentrated. Rose and his mother watched as nothing happened, and gave each other an arched eyebrow. Two minutes passed, but the only visible difference was the bulging, pulsating vein on his forehead.

"You constipated D?" Ashley asked.

"Shut up, just give me a second," he fired back. It took a moment or so, but he cleared his head and thought of his murdered older sister as motivation. Sure enough, the empty table chairs started to rumble, and then the walls pivoted back and forth. The dinner table felt like it was vibrating, and soon a ketchup bottle fell over. After a full minute it felt like the whole apartment building was shaking. Ashley immediately ducked underneath the table, but Cecilia, Dimitri's mother, and Rose just gawked at him in disbelief. He didn't intend to scare them but simply illustrate his point, which, from the look on their faces, came through loud and clear. With his eyes open again, he stared at his mother, whose mouth gaped wide open. Dimitri looked at her and prayed for acceptance. "Mom?"

"For how long, Dimitri? How long have you been like this?" She responded.

"I don't know exactly, I remember it starting when Gina was killed. It doesn't hurt or anything. I'm just different."

"Baby, I don't understand," Rose said and reached her arm out on the table toward Dimitri, "How could you not tell me about this?"

"I didn't tell anyone," he said, almost ashamed for keeping it a secret.

"I can't believe they got to you too... How could you at least not tell me?" His mother asked while his sister reemerged from the tablecloth.

"I don't know. I didn't wanna freak you guys out—wait, what? Who's they?"

"Never mind that, Dimitri, I am your mother. I will love you no matter what you are, but why you? Why not someone else?" she pleaded.

"Mom, I don't know, but I need you to listen now. This ability is not a coincidence. There is an alien race on their way here to invade, and I have the chance to make a difference. I have to go."

"No!" Cecilia and Rose shouted in almost perfect unison.

"I have to," he protested.

"I said no, Dimitri Williams. I'm not burying anymore children. I don't give a damn what's happening. The world could be burning for all I care, you are not going anywhere," his mother explained.

"My God, are you even listening to yourself?" Dimitri said.

"Boy, don't use the Lord's name in vain in my house." She ordered as she pointed her finger at his face.

This is impossible, he thought to himself. There were no words in the English language he could articulate that would relinquish a mother's love for her child. Dimitri was foolish to believe the three women who loved him the most in life would let him run off to fight aliens.

Rose's facial expression suggested that she somehow felt betrayed by this new discovery. It's not like he lied to her however, he just omitted certain truths.

"I'm leaving mom, no matter what you say, I have to do this," Dimitri bravely said.

He could see the tears begin to well up in his mother's eyes; his sister just sat there in disbelief from it all. Rose pulled back her hand, and stood up, she hid her face as she cried and ran out the front door.

"Dammit," Dimitri said, and got up to go after her.

"Dimitri, you're not going anywhere, sit your narrow ass back down!" His mother barked. Dimitri hadn't even fully made it to his feet before he froze in place.

"Mom... please, you have to trust me this time. I swear on everything I love, I'll be back," he pleaded.

"We can go see a doctor, there has to be a cure for this," his mom said.

"It's not a disease Mom, this is who I am." Dimitri argued back.

"Ever since your sister died, all I wanted to do was keep you two safe, and now this," she said.

"Mom, you have kept us safe, but now it's my turn to keep you safe. Please believe in me," he begged.

"No Dimitri, I'm scared," she revealed to him.

"I'm scared too, but I'll be back. I promise I will be. I'll get stronger, and then there will be nothing to be scared of anymore."

"No, no, just no! This is too sudden," Cecilia affirmed.

"I'm sorry mom, I'm leaving one way or another."

"What about school? What about your job? What about us? Isn't anything I can say to change your mind?" she asked.

"Not this time, my mind is made up. Please understand, I'm not going anywhere just to die, I'll come back."

"Mom no! You can't let him leave." Ashley screamed right before she got up and ran to her room.

Dimitri's mom looked at her son—all grown up—wrapped her arms around him tight and demanded that he call her as soon as he got to wherever it was he was going and every chance he could, which was the only way she'd agree to any of it. Dimitri nodded in compliance before getting up from the table to get a few of his clothes ready. Once finished, he went to Ashley's room where he found her with her head buried in her pillow crying. 

"Ash, listen. I need you to look after Mom while I'm gone. You gotta be a big girl for me and keep her out of trouble."

Holding back her tears, she asked him if he was ever coming back.

"There is nothing in this universe that could keep me away from you. No matter what, I will be back."

Ashley nodded her head, and Dimitri went toward the door where his mother was waiting for him with a bag. "I've packed a couple lunches for you," she said.

"Mom—"

"Dimitri, I don't wanna hear it."

He knew it was futile to dispute this with her, so he graciously took the food. "I love you, Mom," he said.

"I love you too, baby. Come back to me safely."

He nodded and walked past her. With his heart broken and his mother devastated, it took every ounce of strength not to look back at the life he was leaving behind. At the bottom of the stoop to his building he found Rose crying her eyes out. Even when miserable she was breathtaking.

She pulled herself together long enough to ask,

"Why D? Is it something I did?"

"Babygirl, you didn't do anything wrong. I love you; I'm not leaving because I wanna be without you. I'm doing this because I want to protect you. I know it sounds like a line, but you have to trust me on this one. I'll be back, real talk," he told her. Dimitri would have given anything to see that pearly white smile and her dimples one last time, but he settled for a deep kiss instead. The way he felt when their lips touched could not be duplicated. It lifted his heart off the ground, and tempted him to stay.

"I don't believe you, don't expect me to be waiting when you come back," Rose attested. She couldn't be serious... Would she really throw away all they had? There's no way he thought. Dimitri was sure she was saying it out anger; they loved each other too much. He would miss the funny, little way she laughed, or how the vastness of her dark brown eyes could stare right through to his soul. He wiped the tears from her cheek, and wrapped his arms around her tightly. Dimitri kissed her on the forehead, and told her goodbye. 

Dimitri walked back to the subway with a heavy heart and once again boarded the Q train, except this time he saw no light at the end of his tunnel. He met up with Alex at their designated location, finally accepting his fate whatever it may be, even if it meant his untimely death.



Kinetic: The First Alliance Ch. 04



Chapter 4

When the Dust Settles Who Will Be Left Standing

"How did it go?" Alex questioned when Dimitri arrived.

"Don't worry about it," Dimitri said. "Let's just go." 

Alex then telepathically called Shyra for a teleport pickup to travel back home. In the next second, they were engulfed in a flash of light and dematerialized. Dimitri came out of the teleport gasping for air and not knowing up from down. 

Alex helped him up and began coaching him. "Stand straight up to open your lungs. I learned that in track."

Dimitri looked around and didn't notice anything unusual. Shyra released the cloaking device, and all of a sudden this huge spaceship appeared out of thin air. Dimitri looked in amazement and was turned into a complete believer. 

Shyra stepped out of the craft and welcomed the new esper, "Welcome, Dimitri Williams. Alex and I are so glad you have decided to train with us to defend Earth from Zenakuu." 

Dimitri was in shock from the sight of an alien and said nothing at first. He was finally able to spit out, "How do you know my name?"

Shyra answered, "I can read your mind using telepathy, and from what transpired today, I see you are a geokinetic. That is an incredibly strong power to have. I will help you channel it." 

Dimitri turned to Alex. "There's no going back, is there?" he asked.

"I'm afraid not," Alex replied. 

Without sparing a moment, Shyra continued training the two boys. During the next week, Shyra had Alex and Dimitri travel to other parts of the country in search of more espers. Alex was sent to Orlando, Florida, while Dimitri was sent to Perth Amboy, New Jersey.

When Dimitri was sent to New Jersey the initial teleportation left him queasy and shaken. It seemed Shyra failed to mention how having your atoms rearranged may upset your stomach. He threw up behind a dumpster, composed himself, and commenced his mission. He trailed a young man using his new sensory perception powers to find the kinetic energy within people. Living in such a big city, he learned from an early age to block out static noise and focus on a single point, so finding his target came easily to him. 

Dimitri followed the kid from his home and infiltrated the boy's school to get a better understanding of what he was dealing with. He noticed that the boy was antisocial and kept to himself; he didn't seem to have many friends or the desire to make any, as he kept his head buried in comic books during the lunch period where he ate alone. When the school day ended, Dimitri followed him to what appeared to be the local comic book shop where he saw the youth sit for a while and read up on the latest issues. D didn't like his look at all. The kid was five foot nine and kind of stocky. It was obvious he didn't work out much; he sported a military buzz cut hair style and wore hipster glasses. Lastly, he rocked a graphic T-shirt with fitted jeans. Honestly, he had somewhat of a goofy look to him.

"God, I wish this kid would get a life already." 

Dimitri's patience wore thin while he waited for the teen to leave the shop and go somewhere more secluded so they could talk. After a long wait and much boredom, the boy finally headed home. There were many kids running around in front of the apartment building; looked like they were his siblings or perhaps his cousins. The lawn was small, and the grass was brown. The yard was boxed in by a chain-link fence with toys scattered about arbitrarily. Dimitri watched him as he went in the building. Not wanting to lose sight of him, 

Dimitri climbed the fire escape and looked through the windows until he found his target again. He was in a small bedroom, which was more like a closet with a window. The kid lit every candle in the room. He jumped into bed and started playing a portable gaming system. Dimitri knew that moment was as good as any and tapped on the glass pane to finally confront the kid. Startled at first, he fell out of bed and shouted through the window, demanding to know why D was outside his room. 

"I need you to come with me," Dimitri said. 

Not satisfied with his answer, the teen manipulated the fire from the candles and shot the flames toward Dimitri. The fireball crashed through the window, sending shattered glass in all directions, and then knocked the failed diplomat off the fire escape. Dimitri hit the ground hard. Disoriented, he was barely able to get his thoughts together.

"Damn. Fire powers? That's a good one to have," Dimitri muttered. 

Springing out the window the kid screamed, "You government agents aren't taking Christian Mercado alive!" Dashing down toward Dimitri with fire in hand, the misinformed teen started throwing flame-engulfed fists at his supposed captor. Dimitri dodged every punch, but some were so close that the fire singed his skin. Christian, being a heavier kid, wasn't able to get a hand on Dimitri.

The battle started to heat up immensely, and the air around them became dense and humid. To Dimitri, the self-proclaimed Christian looked like he was out for blood, and with his powers, the blood would be boiling. Using his pyrokinesis, Christian sent balls of fire toward Dimitri. He didn't think Christian would be capable of launching orbs of fire, but they exploded behind him sending char and embers flying in every direction. The fight made it very clear that Chris had a firmer grasp of his ability than D had of his own. Christian stood his ground, and for a moment didn't move a muscle. The act confused Dimitri, but not enough to engage. 

Hissing steam started rising from Christian's body as his sweat evaporated. He flung his arms, and the same fires that originated from his shoulder blades fled down his arms and shot out of his hands like an erupting volcano. The fireball collided with Dimitri in the chest, lighting his hoodie ablaze. 

He immediately threw it off, and Christian charged at him, tackling Dimitri to the ground. He was deceivingly strong and like a mixed martial artist, Christian straddled Dimitri and started the game of "ground and pound." Dimitri could hardly defend against the flurry of punches Christian rained down on him. Surprised that such a portly kid had such a fighting prowess, Dimitri decided to turn the tables and go on the attack. Kicking Christian off of him, Dimitri sent him flying into some nearby garbage cans. Fed up with being beat down, he decided to use his own powers giving Christian a taste of his own medicine. Dimitri's left eye began swelling shut from the damage taken in the fight; he could hardly see, but the rage inside him didn't let him give up. 

Now smelling rank, Christian got up from the garbage cans angrier than ever only to find Dimitri with a vengeful look on his face and ready to fight. Christian was firing on all cylinders too, and began lunging toward Dimitri with his fists ablaze. Concentrating, Dimitri dodged the right hook from Christian and hit him with a hard knee in the midsection, knocking the wind out of him. Chris stumbled back but regained his posture. 

"Not hard enough?" Dimitri mocked Christian. He gathered rocks to surround his fist, forming a boxing glove solid as rock. "Maybe this will knock some sense in you." 

Dimitri sprung forward swinging and throwing punches at Christian. Christian blocked most of the swings, but their sheer force brought him to his knees. The last thrusting punch that Dimitri threw connected, breaking through Chris's defense and sending him flying into a brick wall. Going in for the knockout punch with his rock-hard hands, Dimitri punched right next to the side of Christian's head to scare him. Dimitri's hand went through the brick wall with ease. 

Christian wasn't one to quit that easily, though. He pushed Dimitri away and started building his strength; the fire in his eyes was almost visible. He conjured a flame in his hands and readied himself to release an onslaught of infernal attacks upon Dimitri. To block it, Dimitri used his geokinesis to lift a slab of ground from under them as a shield. A charred piece of concrete fell to the ground, and Christian came at Dimitri with a rising kick right to his chin. 

Remembering he wasn't there for a fight to the death, Dimitri pleaded with the boy, "I don't want to hurt you, and I'm not from the damn government!" 

Christian fell to the ground, winded. Now he was pissed; smoke began to emanate from his body. He started concentrating, and both hands ignited in a blaze. 

A concerned look grew on Dimitri's face. Shit, not again, he thought to himself. 

Christian threw out his hands, and as the air around his hands distorted, massive fireballs were sent hurdling toward Dimitri. He dodged them by bouncing off walls and diving out of the way. He was amazed no one saw the spectacle and grew tired from all the evading. After dodging and blocking fireballs for a while, Dimitri became fed up with the game of cat and mouse. Dimitri lifted two boulders out of the ground—one to block the incoming fire and the other to put Chris down. Out of thin air, a masked Shyra teleported in to break up the fight and entered Christian's mind to show him what exactly her plans were and what Earth would become if he didn't stop the pointless fight. Christian's eyelids fluttered, as he stopped breathing for the duration of the vision. Overwhelmed at the sight of cosmic war atrocities, worlds being invaded, women and children being killed for nothing, and the Zenakuu armada heading toward Earth.

Christian came out of the telepathic link gasping for air, his eyes rolled to the back of his skull, and he ultimately passed out. He woke up after a few minutes later disoriented and saw Dimitri and Shyra bent over him. Dimitri assisted him to his feet. After careful consideration, Christian decided to join. He saw it as finally getting the chance to be his own comic book superhero, but he didn't know how he was going to break the news to his parents. 

Christian told Shyra and Dimitri that he must get his things prepared. Shyra welcomed him to the team and left the rest to Dimitri before returning back to the ship. As reality hit, an even grimmer look spread across Christian's face. "Aw crap, what am I gonna tell my folks? They won't even let me outside if the streetlights are on. There's no way they will let me leave to fight aliens."

"Don't worry," Dimitri said with a grin on his face. "I've got a plan." 

Puzzled, Christian looked at him and said, "What are you going to do?"

"Tomorrow we're gonna give your parents the performance of a lifetime. Be at your window this time tomorrow."



Kinetic: The First Alliance Ch. 05



Chapter 5

Maybe You'll Miss Me When I'm Gone

The next day at school felt like an eternity for Chris. All he could think about were the visions Shyra had showed him. He had always been considered weird, and people thought of him as a freak, but he knew better. He was about to save the world. In his mind, he was the ultimate galactic defender. He ignored the usual harassment he suffered at the hands of his peers with a smile on his face. Finally, the school bell rang, and Christian ran home too excited to remember he took the bus to school. It was his senior year, and he didn't have any friends, so there was no one to say good-bye to. 

Hours later, he arrived at his front door winded. He came from a small, overprotective Spanish family. His mom stayed at home to look after his brothers and sisters, while his father usually got home around eight-thirty in the evening. He still wasn't sure how Dimitri was going to pull this off, but he had no choice but to trust him. He stepped through the door and greeted his mom, Gabriella, with a kiss on the cheek. 

"Hey, Mom," he said. 

"Hi, baby. How was school? Make any new friends today?" she asked. "Something like that," he said to her. "I have a lot of homework to do, so I'm going to go upstairs for a while. Okay?" 

"You mean you're not gonna head to the comic book store first? You feeling okay?" 

"Yes, Mom, I feel fine," he responded back to her as he sprinted up the steps. Carlos and Mary, his little brother and sister, ran past him down the steps as they chased each other. Christian also had an older brother named Pietro, but they couldn't be more different from each other if they tried. Pietro had his choice of any girl at school and was one of the best defensive linemen on the varsity football team. It wasn't that Christian really cared about being the middle child, but he hated living in his older brother's shadow. It was a very simple formula to Christian—whatever Pietro did, Christian did the polar opposite.

It was a miracle Christian had his own room when he thought about it. He used to share a room with his older brother, but Pietro wanted more space so he moved into their over-sized attic. That way, he could have some privacy and leave Christian to his own devices, which suited Christian just fine. Tonight is the night my real life begins, Christian thought. He could hardly contain himself. He went straight to packing the essentials. He grabbed a few clothes, underwear, a toothbrush, and, of course, his first-edition comic books. There was no way he was going to leave those in the destructive hands of his younger siblings. 

After an hour, he was all set, but his father, Isaac, had not yet come home. Time never moved so slowly for Chris. What was the point of doing homework if he was leaving to go fight evil aliens? Slowly but steadily, time progressed, and his father arrived home. This was also about the time Dimitri said he would come back. Christian could feel the knots in his stomach getting tighter.

Christian ran downstairs to greet his father. His dad didn't speak perfect English, so he always spoke to him in Spanish. 

"Bendiciones, Papá," he said.

"Dios te lo bendiga, Christian," his father replied. "¿Como estas?"

"Estoy bien, Papá. ¿Y tú?" 

"Bien bien." 

It was a very subtle greeting and exchange, asking for the day's blessing between father and son, and yet the love came across clear every time. Christian had a lot of respect for his father who had come to the United States with nothing but made something with his life and now supported his wife and four children. Christian headed back upstairs to wait for Dimitri. He passed the time by reading one of his favorite comic books, but not long after, he heard a tap on the window. Chris sprang up and unlatched the window only to receive a pebble to the forehead. 

"Dammit. Ow! That freaking hurt!" he shouted. All the way from the ground he heard a faint, "My bad."

"Whatever, just come up here." Dimitri climbed the fire escape and entered Christian's window pane dressed in a ridiculous outfit. 

"And who are you supposed to be?" Christian asked. 

"I'm the army recruiter here to take you away, so you can better serve your country." Dimitri must have found some costume store, because he was dressed up in Army fatigue and donned a fake mustache with a five o'clock shadow.

"You're joking, right? That's never going to work. They're already super pissed about the broken window from our fight. I'm grounded."

"Look, will you just leave it to me? I can be very charismatic," Dimitri said. Christian felt his dream of fighting crime slowly dissipating into nothingness. "You just go along with everything I say. Okay?"

"I think you underestimate my family, but okay," Chris responded. 

"Nice room, by the way," Dimitri shouted back as he leapt out of Christian's window. 

"What's that supposed to mean?" he asked back but received no response. Christian's walls were lined with shelves that supported action figures, comic books, and an extensive Japanese manga collection, that he was actually quite proud of. Within the next minute, the doorbell downstairs rang. It only took a few moments before he was summoned by his mom. 

"Christian, come down here, now." He knew he was in for it when he reached the last step and saw the perturbed look on his mother's face. "Yes, Mom?" 

"First Officer Williams here was just telling me how you signed up for special placement with the ROTC, which will give you a full academic scholarship when you enlist with the Army. Is that true?" 

Christian began to sweat. He was never good at lying to his parents. "Heh heh, yep. What can I say, Mom? I want to be all I can be." The doubt about this working started coming at him like a flood. Oh man, I am so dead! He thought to himself. His mom translated what Dimitri came for to his father, and suddenly both parents were staring at him. He couldn't take the pressure anymore, and just as he was about to come clean about everything, his mom threw her arms around him. 

"This is great, baby! I always knew you would mature sooner or later. The Army is a great place to grow up, and they'll help you with college. We're so proud of you." 

It would have been nice if there was someone there to pick Chris's jaw up off the floor, but sadly, he had to snap back to reality himself. 

"Um, thanks, Mom. Is Dad cool with this too?" Christian looked over at his father who gave him thumbs up. 

"I'm gonna take that as a 'yes,'" his mom answered. "I wish you didn't have to leave so soon, but when opportunity knocks, you have to answer. Also, First Officer Williams has assured me that you would keep up with your schoolwork. Now, go upstairs and pack."

"Yes, ma'am." Christian kissed his mom on the cheek and ran upstairs where his stuff was ready to go. "That guy is pretty good," he thought out loud. Twenty minutes later, he walked back downstairs with his things. "I'm all set, Mom." 

"Aw, my little boy is growing up," she sighed. Christian's father pulled him aside and said. 

"Estoy orgulloso de ti, hijo." Christian looked up at his father; it meant a lot to hear that he was proud of him. With a smile on his face, Christian responded, "Gracias, Papá."

"Now you listen here, Officer Williams, you better take care of my baby. If anything happens to him, I'm coming after you first." 

"You have my word, Mrs. Mercado. We'll take good care of Christian," Dimitri assured her. "Now we must be on our way. It's lights out at 2200 hours." 

"I understand. Chris, come over here and say bye to your mama." Christian walked over to hug his mom and give her loving kiss on the cheek. "Te amo, Mom." 

"Te amo, también, mi hijo. Now go on." Christian waved to the rest of his family, picked up his things, and went out the door with Dimitri. Once they were far enough away, Christian finally asked, "How the heck did you pull that off?" 

Dimitri grinned and chuckled. "Renting the costume was the easy part. It was all the phony badges and documentation that was the tricky part, but don't worry. I got friends in very high places." Confused, Chris looked at him. "Um, okay." 

"Shyra, I've got the target and await transport," Dimitri said into the open air. Christian looked left and right but saw no one. 

"Who or what are you talking to?" Chris looked at his hand as it started to dematerialize. Awesome, he thought. And then he vanished.



Kinetic: The First Alliance Ch. 06



Chapter 6

Cloudy with a Chance of Rain

Alex's next journey sent him to another place he had never been. This time it was Orlando, Florida. The humidity there was insane to him; he felt as if he were being roasted alive for a slow-cooked meal. He couldn't help but wonder why the state was so hot given that it was almost completely surrounded by the ocean. He wanted to know where that ocean breeze he heard so much about was. That aside, the place was beautiful. There was no denying the appeal of living there, sans the heat. The palm trees were gorgeous, and the air was so clean and fresh, it was definitely worthy of being the Sunshine State. 

Alex scanned around and felt the esper not too far away. Shyra had some pretty good aim today, he thought. Still, it felt too far to walk, especially in that blistering heat. As Alex walked the streets in search of new means of transportation, he discovered a pay phone with a phonebook on the other side of the road. He flipped the pages to a taxi cab service with hopes to reach the new esper in some level of comfort. He was low on funds but prayed he'd have enough for the ride over. 

The trip itself was short, but in the time Alex had, his mind started to wander. He couldn't help but think about all that had happened. For so long, he thought he was some kind of parentless freak, but now his life had meaning and purpose. He also wasn't alone like he once thought. There were others out there like him—people who would understand what he went through.

The cab ride was over, and the feeling that the esper in question was giving off had brought Alex to a local park where tons of people were outside enjoying the weather. 

"He's close, but who?" Alex said. He tried his best to narrow in on the feeling, but he hadn't yet perfected his technique, so he couldn't single anyone out. Alex scoured the crowd for what felt like hours with no luck. 

The park was majestic looking, with its richly soiled grass and crystal blue lake, but that wasn't what he was there for. The children playing with their parents did bring him down a little; he always wondered what that would feel like. Grandpa Henry tried his best but was just too old to be the active parent Alex wanted growing up. Those thoughts were distracting him from his goal, and he knew he needed to focus on the task at hand. He continued his search but wanted to take a rest, so he found a secluded lake to lie by and took in the scenery. A refreshing breeze finally cooled his baked skin, but he noticed he wasn't truly alone. There was a girl sitting by the side of the lake. 

She's really cute, Alex stopped and thought to himself. The teenage girl who sat there had long, scarlet hair that she'd tucked behind her ear. The color was deep enough to make any rose contempt with jealousy. Her high cheekbones sat atop her dimples, and she had just enough freckles to make you want to connect the dots scattered across her ivory skin, which in its own respect surprised Alex. He thought all Floridians had tans. 

She wore a blue-and-white horizontally striped shirt and beige capri pants topped off with black sandals—perfect beach attire, which made sense considering the weather. To Alex, she looked like a fallen angel, much more different looking than the girls he was used to. Alex had never really been a ladies' man; in fact, he was painfully clumsy at it, but he felt compelled to talk to her. She hadn't noticed him yet, so he approached with caution. 

Alex knew he was on a mission, but it had been so long since he'd had a pleasant conversation with someone who would be considered "normal." He missed that human contact, and considering the life he was about to have, it might be his last chance. He mustered up the courage and continued to walk toward her. Then, he saw something that stopped him in his tracks. 

"You gotta be freaking kidding me," he said under his breath. 

The girl who made his heart skip a beat was manipulating water around her hand with ease. Making it look like child's play, she bent the water up and down, side to side with her mind. 

It's her ... She's the one I've been looking for this whole time, Alex thought. "Okay, be cool. I gotta approach this the right way. Damn, I had this whole thing planned out in my head, and my mind's gone blank," Alex said quietly.

The girl still hadn't noticed Alex, so he slowly moved in closer. Alex was about ten feet away when she was finally alert to his presence. The water splashed down on her lap, drenching her thighs. Startled, she stumbled back. Her face had lost some color over the scare that someone had discovered her secret. She stared up at him, and as their eyes locked, it felt like time itself slowed down for a moment. Her hazel eyes left Alex stuttering as he looked for words to speak. 

"Who are you?" she asked. 

"I ... I ... I'm really sorry for scaring you. I didn't mean to. I just want to talk," Alex began. 

"My name is Alex, and I have something really important to discuss with you." 

The girl furrowed her eyebrows and responded, 

"I've heard that before. Sorry, but I'm not interested, so please walk away. I'd like to be alone." She turned her whole body the other way so as not to face him anymore. Rejection didn't come easy, and Alex's hopes were shattered against the sharp, jagged rocks of reality.

"Crap, I blew it. Why am I so bad at this?" He thought to himself. 

"It's not like that," he told her. 

"Then what's it like?" she asked. 

It was clear that he was very rusty at talking to girls, as the charm he thought he had seemed to be fading fast. It was difficult to convince Dimitri, but this was on a whole new level of epic failure. He thought how he'd rather be fighting him than awkwardly bumbling his recruitment with this girl. His palms grew increasingly sweaty. 

"Look, whatever you're selling, I'm not buying, and I don't appreciate being spied on," she said. 

Now on the defense, he declared, "I wasn't spying ... I just saw you from a distance," Alex explained, 

"and trust me when I say we need to talk." 

"About what? Whatever you think you saw, you can trust me when I say you didn't. Now if you don't mind, talking to you is really giving me a headache. Maybe it's your accent, where are you from?" she questioned.

"Houston," he revealed.

"Ah makes sense... well southern boy, you're a long way from home, but if you start now maybe you can make it back by 'supper,'" she sarcastically said before giggling. 

But Alex wasn't giving up. "Lemme start over. My name is Alex Carter, and believe it or not, I've traveled a long way to meet you." 

"Does that line work with all the girls? I don't even know you, and I find it really creepy that you claim you came so far to meet me." 

"It's not a line. I don't really know how to explain it, but something big is coming—something really bad—and you are a crucial part of stopping it." 

She stared at him a moment before speaking again. 

"What are you talking about?"

"There's something I have to show you, but don't freak out. Okay?" Alex said.

"Whoa! What kind of girl do you take me for? I'll scream right here," she retorted back. Alex looked confused, What is she talking about? he thought before it finally registered in his mind. "Oh ... God no! That's not what I meant at all!" he said. As he thought about how this was turning out, he decided there had to be a way to turn things around. Alex held out his hands, and they immediately begin to glow with a yellowish, electric hue. 

"See," he stressed. "You're not the only one." 

She almost passed out as a sense of relief and fear rushed over her. "You're a freak like me?" she attested. 

Alex arched an eyebrow. "I don't know if I'd call myself a freak, but I do have abilities," he said. 

"Can I see yours?" 

She looked at him intently. She still didn't know if she could trust him, but her instincts were telling her to see where this all went. 

"You did show me yours, so I guess I can show you mine." The girl was extremely nervous; she'd never opened up and completely divulged her powers to anyone before. She calmed herself and turned toward the lake. She took a look around to make sure no one else was watching before taking one final glance at Alex. "Here goes nothing," she said. 

The girl closed her eyes and raised both her hands. It took a minute or so, but using her hydrokinesis, she formed a vortex in the water. It was swirling at a steady rate and growing in strength. She looked back at Alex to make sure he was still there. 

Alex's jaw had dropped open completely. It was always breathtaking to see someone's ability for the first time. The fact that he was not the only one with powers still freaked him out from time to time, though. The girl lifted the water into a stream from the lake and manipulated it so it took flight. 

The water bent to her will, and Alex was amazed at her control. She had never received praise for her ability before and reveled in the moment, putting on a bit of a show for him. The water became an assortment of different shapes and sizes. 

"Incredible," Alex declared. "I've never seen anything like it before. It's truly beautiful." 

The girl blushed. "Um, thanks. You're actually the first person I've really shown my power to." 

"Something so beautiful should be shared with the world," Alex said. 

She couldn't help but smile. No one ever truly accepted her and her ability before. 

"Who is this boy, and why am I suddenly so flustered? I've been hit on before, but this is different—he's different. He's like me ... But I have to keep my cool. Keep it together, Cassie. He might just be a smooth talker, but he's also really cute. Dammit all," she thought to herself. 

Cassie was torn inside. For her entire life, she'd learned to only rely on herself, but now she was finding herself being swayed by his words. She knew the first thing she had to do was wipe that ridiculous, cheesy smile off her face. 

Alex spoke, interrupting her thoughts and getting back to business. "Like I said before, there is something very important I have to talk to you about. Trust me, it's not gonna be easy to believe, but I promise you every word will be the truth." 

Alex started from the top—his first encounter with Shyra, the Zenakuu, the invasion plans. He told her all he knew, but what shocked him wasn't the fact that he was able to be so honest with this person he'd just met; it was that she took it so well. No dropped jaws, no bloody screams, not one demeaning laugh. Her eyes and ears just processed his every word. He knew it was a lot to take in, but so far, she'd handled the news of her planet being potentially annihilated by an evil alien race bent on total planetary supremacy like a champion. 

"So ... that's about the gist of it." When he was all done, Alex waited for a reaction. He knew it was coming—that snickering, snide laughter. 

It never came, though. In fact, the only thing she asked was, "How much time do we have?" 

"You believe me?" he asked as he staggered back. 

"Basically. I can tell you're not lying. Also, I never thought my powers were an accident. I never imagined it would be for this, but if these are the cards we're dealt, I say we play them." 

Alex smirked. "So what's your name?" he inquired. 

"My name is Cassandra Daye, but everyone calls me Cassie." 

"I can't tell you how nice it is to meet you, Cassie," he said with a smile. "I'll meet you back here tonight, and we will head out." 

With a raised eyebrow, she questioned him. "Meet me back here for what?"

"Why do you think? You still need to pack your things and say good-bye to your family," he conveyed to her. 

Only one word came to Cassie's mind with the deliverance of the news: "Shit."

Damn, how could I be so careless as to forget that? This guy really messes me up. I need to be careful about that, Cassie thought to herself. "He's really cute, though ... Cassie, no! Stay focused. He's right. What am I gonna tell Katelyn?" 

"Okay, I'll meet you back here tonight at eight o'clock," Cassie finally said aloud. 

The walk home for Cassie was a long one—so much coursed through her mind. She always had to look out for herself and her little sister, because her parents were completely oblivious to them. They just focused on fighting with each other about money problems until they divorced, and then their mom obtained full custody. Cassandra couldn't stand to be home and see another one of her mom's alcoholic fits, but she endured for her sister's sake. 

Of course, not all products of a broken family turn out horrible, and Cassandra was a perfect example of that. It was because she came from a broken family that she had grown up spending most of her time reading books, escaping her harsh reality and sharpening her mind in the process. She had few friends in high school, but the ones she did have could never be replaced. 

Her powers didn't manifest until she was about seven. She had been at the local swimming pool with her younger sister. What all seemed like innocent fun turned almost fatal when her powers erupted and nearly drowned her younger sister. Ever since then, she has been somewhat afraid of her potentially destructive powers. 

Always the A-plus student, Cassie excelled very quickly, but she had a sense of longing for something bigger that she never quite understood. The only thing she could do to keep her mind distracted from the sheer bizarreness that was her life was submerse herself in her precious puzzles, which gave her extraordinary problem-solving skills and a more technical mind than anyone she knew.

Life as Cassie knew it was about to be flipped upside down. She mulled over in her head how she was going to break the news to her sister. She could care less how her mom would react—if she reacted at all—but her sister would surely be devastated. 

"God, I hope I'm doing the right thing here," Cassie said aloud as she approached their driveway. She walked inside their house, but there was no one in sight. She treaded to the kitchen, passed the table with the mountain of overdue bills piled up, and saw a note left on the refrigerator from her mom. 

"Gotta head out for a minute. Be back soon. I left some money on the counter. Order pizza for you and your sister." 

Typical, Cassie thought. She definitely wouldn't be sad to leave her mother, but she wondered where her sister was. Cassie crept down the hall to Katelyn's door. She pressed her ear against it but heard nothing. Anxious to know if Katie was in there, Cassie cracked open the door just enough to peek inside. Katelyn was on her bed lying on her stomach with some headphones in her ears doing what looked like homework. 

Cassie didn't disturb her at first; she wanted to remember that moment for as long as she could. It was gonna be a while until she could see her again it seemed, so she made the most of it. Once she had her fill, she finally interrupted. 

"Katie," she said, but no acknowledgment followed. 

"Katie!" she shouted. 

A frightened Katie looked up. "Geez, Cassie. What is wrong with you? You scared the bejesus out of me." 

"Sorry, but I have to talk to you," she expressed. 

Katelyn responded back in a wavering voice, "Okay ... what's up?" 

With a somber expression on her face, Cassandra announced that she would be leaving for a while. 

"It's tough to explain, but there is something I must take care of. I don't expect you to understand, but I have to do this." 

"Is this about your ability to control water?" Katie asked. 

For the second time that day, Cassie's face turned ghostly white. 

"H-how did you know about that?" she asked. 

Katelyn confessed that she'd known for a long time. "It's not my place to out you; I always figured you would tell me when you were ready." 

Cassie was suddenly filled with a sense of relief that Katelyn knew the entire time her older sister was a freak of nature but always treated her with the same level of love. She smiled and nodded to confirm her sister's suspicions.

"If you're aware of my power, trust me when I say I'm doing this to protect us all. But I don't want to leave you alone with Mom." 

Katelyn smiled back at her big sister and reassured her. "Don't worry about me. I'm tougher than I look. I learned from the best." 

Try as she might, Cassie could no longer hold back the tears. She pulled in her little sister and embraced her tightly to hide the fact that she'd broken down with such raw emotion. 

"Katie, this isn't good-bye. I'll be back. I promise," Cassie assured her sister. 

"What's up with you today? I know you will. Bring me back something cool," Katie said with a big smile. 

"You got it," Cassie responded. She left to pack her things and headed out a few hours later. With the boy who inspired her, Cassie was eager to start what would undoubtedly be the greatest thing she had ever been a part of, but there was something about his words that made her heart tremble. Her only daunting question would be—could she separate the two feelings? 



Kinetic: The First Alliance Ch. 07



Chapter 7

With the Pack Completed, an Alpha Must Rise

Not too far away, Alex waited for Cassie at the park. 

"Shyra, I've picked up another esper," Alex communicated. "She'll be meeting up with me soon." 

A voice beckoned back to him, "Good job, Alexander. I am ready whenever you are." 

Twelve minutes later, Cassie joined up with Alex. 

"How did it go?" he asked her.

"Well enough. So where do we go from here?" Cassie inquired. 

Alex extended his arm toward her, but she looked baffled by the gesture. "Hold on tight and take a deep breath," he instructed.

"Are you getting weird on me again?" she asked. 

Alex just smirked. "Shyra, we're ready," he said. 

"Who are you talking to?" Cassie asked. She had her question answered immediately as she heard a voice speak inside her head. 

"I am preparing the transport," the voice said. 

Startled, Cassie asked, "Um, who was that?" With her last word uttered, she and Alex were gone—transported in a bright beam of light.

Cassie and Alex were brought back to the entrance of the ship, which was now cloaked to resemble a Shaolin Temple. Shyra was waiting for them. Cassie immediately hunched over and hurled her lunch. 

"I apologize about that, Cassandra, but I promise you get used to it," Shyra said. 

"Not really," Alex added, leaning in close. 

Cassie slowly but surely raised her head and tucked her hair behind her ear. She was embarrassed. She had never vomited in front of anyone before, and it certainly wasn't the dignified persona she liked to exude. Hunched over and on her knees she murmured, "Never again ... I'd rather walk." 

The atmosphere was a bit tense after that, but Alex attempted to break it. "Teleportation is still statistically the safest way to travel," he joked. Cassie just glared at him. Alex quickly continued, "Cassie, I'd like to introduce you to Shyra, the person whom I mentioned before—the person who found me and helped me to find you." 

"Good day to you, Cassandra Daye. We have much to talk about," Shyra revealed. 

The young girl simply answered back, "Okay, I'm all ears."

"Um, Shyra, quick question," Alex interrupted. 

"Why does the ship look like a monastery now?"

"I have designed the ship to provide an adequate training ground for all of you, and this structure seemed most fitting. I downloaded the layouts from your Interweb."

"It's actually called the Interne—ya know what? Never mind. Looks cool."

After traveling all over the country recruiting espers for the alliance, four were assembled. They introduced themselves to each other, and Chris and Alex instantly clicked. After narrowing down the next esper to Los Angeles, California, Shyra described to her team the next target. "My ship's scanners have located the next addition to our alliance, she is an esper named Tori Hannon," she explained. "She is an aerokinetic and seems very powerful. Therefore she is to be considered very dangerous." 

The team looked at each other and wondered what was in store for them. 

"How dangerous can she be? She only controls air?" Chris asked. 

"She can remove the air around you, extinguishing your flame," Shyra replied. 

Chris looked down with an appreciation of his power's weaknesses. 

"You are all going to California," Shyra ordered, but she looked confused as to why the team got so excited. 

"I could use a vacation," said Alex. 

"This is not a vacation. We are still on a mission," Shyra added. 

"C'mon, Shyra. We have been working so hard—a little rest will do us good," Alex pleaded. 

Shyra looked at her group; sometimes she forgot they were really just kids. "Very well, I suppose it could not hurt—but only after we recruit the next esper," she agreed.

Everyone prepared for transport and at twilight, the alliance found themselves in Los Angeles. The air was noticeably thick, and the whole town was lit up like a Christmas tree. People roamed the streets, enjoying the crisp night scene that Los Angeles had to offer. Many couples sat nearby water fountains that filled the atmosphere with love and passion. 

The team focused on the mission at hand, so they could have a little bit of rest and relaxation afterward. They rushed to the last location they'd felt Tori's power. Tori was still around; she was sitting at a chic outdoor café and noticed the alliance before they noticed her. They clearly weren't California natives from the way they dressed, and the way they suspiciously looked around made them stand out like a sore thumb. When Tori realized they were there for her, she got up, left her money for the bill, and started walking away. 

Alex, who was first to realize she was the target, signaled for the others to follow. Tori cut a corner and jumped up on the roof of a building to lose them. Tori began leaping with ease, almost as if she was floating from rooftop to rooftop.

"She's on the roof. After her!" Dimitri shouted. 

At first, they climbed the building's fire escape and followed her. They came to the end of a building only to see Tori had stopped running. She was squinting one eye, while her hand held her head. Other than looking like she was in throbbing pain, she was gorgeous with a perfectly fit body gained from either extensive physical fitness or cosmetic surgery. 

The girl was draped from head to toe in designer clothes. It was painfully obvious she paid close attention to how she looked in the mirror. Her blonde hair looked like a golden waterfall, with each strand falling perfectly into place, as if she had personal assistants who meticulously brushed it for hours. Even her bangs were perfectly linear. Her eyes looked as if they'd been cut from the highest quality green emerald, and she had the kind of slender nose and drawn out eyelashes that movie stars would kill for.

"Why are you following me?" she asked. "Is this about the blown over lifeguard tower, because I had nothing to do with that."

"No, we just want to ta—wait. What lifeguard tower?" Alex asked her.

"Don't worry about that. I know why you're here," Tori continued. "I'm obviously on a reality show. You really thought you could trick me? This kind of stuff happens all the time around here. You play some prank on me, and then hidden cameras pop out."

"What are you talking about?" Dimitri replied. 

"If you guys want a show, I'll give you a show," she shouted back. With that, Tori pushed through the crippling migraine, and the wind started picking up to incredible speeds. The trees down below swayed and stirred as she began to hover, creating a small tornado around her.

"I've got her, guys," Chris said as he channeled his fire, his sleeves combusted into flames reducing them to nothing but ash. He blasted a fireball at her, only to have it sway and flicker violently before being extinguished in the raging winds. Suddenly, there was a change in air pressure and it felt as though they were being lifted up. Tori focused her wind speed at the team and almost blasted Alex, Chris, and Cassie off the building. Dimitri was the only one who stood his ground. 

"Listen to me," Dimitri yelled over the wind's noise. "We need your help."

"Why would I listen to you? I can do anything I want, and I have everything I need," she laughed. 

"If you help us, you'll have the chance to save the world. You can't be any more famous than the savior of mankind—they'll put a statue up of you in your honor."

The wind began to die down, and Tori slowly walked up to Dimitri out of breath and worn out. "Okay, but if you don't make good on your promise, I will literally snatch the air right from your lungs. We clear?" 

Dimitri didn't take kindly to idle threats, but he swallowed his pride for the mission's sake. "Yeah, we're clear," he replied.

"Good. You know, you're kinda cute." Tori blew a kiss at Dimitri, who was still trying to catch his own breath.

Everyone else was surprised that Tori was willing to help out. Dimitri explained to the rest of the team her motives, and her bizarre obsession to be a famous reality star. Alex didn't like her reason for joining, but they weren't in a position to be turning away help. He reported in with Shyra and requested to start their vacation. After getting her consent, the group got two motel rooms for the night—one for the boys, and the other for Cassie and the newest member, Tori. Throughout the night, Alex had to continuously pull Christian away from the adjoining wall between the two rooms. Chris was obsessed with placing his ear to it, desperately trying to hear what the two girls were doing in their room. As he listened, fantasies of pillow fights and kissing practices filled his hormone driven mind. Hours flew by, and the boys and girls awkwardly did their best to bond while watching their provided free cable. But even Christian, who was the last one up on the guys' side called it a night after secretly going back to the wall a few times, and not hearing a single peep coming from the girls. 

The next day, the team kicked back on the torrid sand and clear waters of Venice Beach. 

Alex, living in Houston, had rarely been to the beach. Surprised that the water was so luminous and the sand so warm, he feared he would never want to leave. Alex swam toward Cassie and asked, 

"So how do you like it out here? Any better than Florida?" 

Cassie replied, "It's not so humid here. It's nice and breezy, but I couldn't handle the earthquakes." 

"Sounds like the perfect place for me," Dimitri laughed as he floated toward them on his inner tube. 

Anxious and wanting to start training to save the world, Tori whined about wanting to leave; the beaches were nothing new to her. She didn't appreciate how hard the other four teens had been working during the weeks prior. 

"Hey, Alex, is the water getting warmer?" Chris asked with a menacing smile on his face. 

"It's you isn't it? You're like a walking water heater." Alex said then splashed him. 

"Oh my God, gross! That better be your power!" Cassie yelled. 

The teens were finally having fun and enjoying each other's company, but it all ended prematurely. 

Shyra contacted the group telepathically. 

"Everyone needs to get back now."

"What's going on, Shyra?" Alex questioned. 

"We have a situation at home. I will brief you when you get here."

"One of you guys is a telepath?" Tori asked. "That is so impossibly cool." 

The original four gave Tori a puzzling look but decided to let it go. The alliance quickly changed from their swimsuits to regular clothes. 

"Finally," Tori said to herself, although it was loud enough for the others to hear. She looked very excited to finally get in the spotlight. However, she did not know of the Zenakuu or of any alien species. 

They rushed so not to keep the impatient Shyra waiting. 

"Alright, Shyra, we're ready," said Alex.

"Very well. Teleporting now."

The gang of five found themselves in the quiet, secluded parts of the Colorado mountainside, high above civilization near Shyra's spaceship—what they would come to know as their training grounds. Tori appeared to be a little queasy, but completely blown away at the tall evergreen trees that swayed in the wind and surrounded the compound. She had never seen the sky so blue, and the breeze that brushed against her face was gentile and cool. The peaceful climate that Colorado had to offer was ideal for anyone looking for some tranquility. 

"Nice place you got here, but I don't see where you would install the tanning beds. So yeah—what's the situation with that? Tori asked, but only received puzzled looks in response.

Hesitant at first, Tori started exploring the area. She saw the area where they would train. There were already trees knocked down, burnt grass, and turned up ground. Tori wasn't quite sure what abilities the others had yet, but she was eager to find out. 

"I think a proper introduction is required," Tori declared. 

Alex did an about-face. "Seems fair enough. My name is Alexander Carter. Over there is Cassandra Daye, Christian Mercado, and Dimitri Williams." 

"Okay, next question," Tori continued. "Why did we have to come here in such a rush?" 

At that moment, Shyra stepped out of her tremendous spaceship, which took up a large amount of the mountain. Shyra didn't look like any person Tori had ever seen. "Oh my God. What the hell is that thing!?" she blurted out.

"That thing is named Shyra, and she is the alien preparing us for the war," Alex corrected her.

"This whole thing is about aliens?" Tori asked. 

"Easy, Tori. She's on our side," Cassie said.

"Enough of introductions," Shyra interrupted. "We have to begin training to master your abilities. The Zenakuu will undoubtedly send a scouting party to canvas Earth. I need to get you five warriors ready for the fight." 

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Who are these Zenakuu or whatevers, and what scouting parties? I demand to be filled in before we start anything," Tori said. 

"Just us five? I thought we would have an army of espers, Shyra," Alex said.

"Sadly, I am afraid not. You five are the only ones I could detect, and now that you are all here, I will explain how you received your abilities. After the invasion, the council of Kalryn wanted to start training neighboring worlds in the ways of kinetic abilities—a power that usually lies dormant but resides in every living being in the universe. However, some of the council opposed the idea of being forced into war. They had enjoyed peace for so long and had hopes of resolving these issues. But, as planets began to fall to Zenakuu, Kalryn set their plan into action. They sent some of their most powerful lygokinesis practitioners to scattered worlds across the galaxy, praying they would have enough time to teach them defense before the Zenakuu arrived. 

"My father Rayvaar, one of the most revered Savants, saw Earth as a planet of simple-minded simians at first, but I knew of your world from my intergalactic studies. While a little rough around the edges, your physiology showed immeasurable potential for kinetic power, perhaps even greater than my species. Though my father did not want to listen to me, I finally convinced him to send a trainer to Earth. He was a low-level guide named Kadir who was supposed to more or less warn Earth of the impending doom, but failed in his mission. Kadir was meant to arrive on Earth without notice and locate the more heightened earthlings still young of age and train them in solitude until Zenakuu attacked. Unfortunately, in his brilliance, Kadir did not think to activate his cloaking device. According to his last transmission, he was shot down and crashed somewhere around these mountains. I scanned the area but found no sign of wreckage. Your government must have retrieved his ship."

"Okay, but that still doesn't explain how we got the powers," Dimitri said.

"Crash landing over the continental United States and mortally wounded, Kadir must have known he was not going to make it. It is only a theory of mine, but I believe he concentrated his kinetic power and exploded into pure energy. The radiation from the resulting aerial shockwave must have expanded outward and changed the DNA of a few kinetically sensitive humans. He sacrificed himself with the hope that it would reach enough people to give your world a fighting chance. He may not have been the brightest among us, but his courage will never be under question. After reports of his death, I volunteered to be the next guide for Earth. Of course, my father highly disagreed; he did not want his only daughter to risk her life for—in his words—a worthless planet like Earth, but he could not see what I did. No longer wanting to be coddled like a newborn baby, I snuck out and set toward Earth, despite my father's wishes. He did not know what I did until it was too late. I was halfway across galaxy."

It was a lot to digest for the teens, but Cassie spoke up. "Shyra, about how long ago did that happen?"

"If my calculations are correct, I would say roughly about twenty or so Earth years ago."

"But that doesn't make sense. I wasn't even born yet," Cassie said. "That must mean it happened to my parents, but I'm pretty sure they don't have any superpowers." 

"No, they would not. You see, Cassandra, unlocking your brain's kinetic ability is a lot for the mind to handle. It is mostly likely that your parents' minds were too old to adapt to the change, so their powers never manifested. With their genetic coding changed, though, they could possibly pass the recessive gene on to their offspring whose minds would be young and fresh enough to be successfully kinetically altered."

"Oh ... I guess that makes sense in a weird, sci-fi novel kind of way," Cassie replied.

"Yes, well by the time I arrived on Earth unnoticed, the espers were pretty far along in their lives and somewhat aware of their unique powers. It is by no means as many as I was hoping for, but we have run out of time. We have to make up for eighteen years of unexercised kinetic power in presumably less than a year."

"Sounds like fun," Tori chimed in.

"Tori, come with me. You were the last one here and still do not know why this war is being waged. The rest of you practice your meditation." Shyra brought Tori into the monastery-looking vessel; even though it was the rudimentary workings of a tangible illusion, it was still quite breathtaking. The front of the building had huge pillars that were almost as high as the trees around it. There were a dozen stairs leading up to the ten-foot entrance doors. In the open area when Tori first walked in, it looked like an endless foyer with several rooms to the right and left. When not cloaked, this foyer would appear as the control room of the spaceship. 

Shyra gave Tori the complete tour of the ship, so she would feel at home. She went from room to room, showing her where everyone resided. Each room was a personification of the person who dwelled in it. Shyra showed Tori to her own room; it wasn't the luxurious accommodations she was accustomed to, but she tried to get used to it. 

"We are in the middle of a war with an advanced alien race known as the Zenakuu. Once a peaceful planet, they are now hell-bent on revenge," Shyra explained to Tori.

"Revenge? Why?" Tori asked. 

With a heavy heart, Shyra explained to Tori everything about the Zenakuu and their conquest. Tori was in disbelief at first. All her problems seemed petty and insignificant in comparison to what was going on out there. Knowing what she had to do, she joined the others who were outside in meditation while they waited for Shyra to give the next order. 

"Okay, I know we got off on the wrong foot," Tori announced to the group, "but I want everyone to know I'm actually a really good person. Yeah, I was born to a wealthy family and was kinda given anything I wanted. I guess I took advantage of that ... but I'm not like that anymore, I've changed ya know? Like I really wanna help," Tori smiled and continued "I've only been around you all a couple of days, but I feel a stronger bond to you than I have with anyone else. This is as close to a real family that I have ever had." 

The group was speechless. There was a long, awkward pause as they stared at her, trying to figure out where this change of heart had come from. 

"Right," Tori continued, breaking the silence, "other than that, I guess you could say that I can control the air around me—also slow or speed up winds to create vacuums and stuff." Shyra stood in the shadows as everyone expressed themselves while waiting to start the real training.

Chris continued breaking the ice with his background. "I had to leave my family for this which sucked, but the cool thing is it made my dad really proud. Let's see, what else? I read a lot of comic books, but they're nothing like this. I don't make friends easily, so I'm glad I met you all. Oh, and I really think we need to be careful, because the government is going to try to capture us and experiment on us." The other three teens shot an even more befuddled look at him than they did Tori.




Kinetic: The First Alliance Ch. 07



Next up was Cassie: "I wish my folks were protective of me—" Cassie explained before she was cut off.

"Oh, and I can control fire! I forgot to mention that. Sorry, Cassie," Chris shouted out, causing Alex to bust out laughing. 

"Yeah, well, like I was saying—my dad is a drunk, and my mom is a vengeful bitch," Cassie continued. "She is more concerned with the child support money than me or my little sister. The worst part about all this is that I had to leave my sister with her, but I know she'll be strong enough to take care of herself. I can control water, wherever it may be."

Dimitri kept it going. "I mean, there's not much to say ... My dad left when I was a kid. Raised on the streets of Brooklyn, I have seen some really messed up things. My older sister was killed in a drive-by, a casualty in the gang wars that run my streets. From that day on, I vowed to protect my family, and now my girlfriend Rose. I won't let them down again. Other than that it is what it is, I have the power to control earth, rock, stone, etc., but I don't know the limit to the minerals I can control."

Hesitant at first, Alex apprehensively revealed his past. "I never knew my mom or dad. They both died when I was a baby, so I was raised by my grandfather. Ever since I can remember I've been really good at running."

"More like running away," Dimitri interjected.

"Shut up Dimitri," Alex said as he glared at Dimitri. He finished his story after the unwarranted interruption. "I can create electricity from my hands and charge my body to dangerous levels of voltage. Really, I'm just here because I want to make a difference. I want to do the right thing."

"The Boy Scout routine never gets old?" Dimitri taunted.

"Will you give it a rest man and get off my case already?" Alex snapped. "I'm tired of you always trying to start something."

"Stop it the both of you," Shyra demanded as she stepped out. "We do not know when the Zenakuu could reach Earth, and I need to get all of you in shape. Some of you are better off than others, but we need to build your endurance. These battles can last days on end. Everyone will need to learn to handle such strenuous work. Think of it as a kinetic boot camp." 

The team quickly changed their attitudes. 

"Boot camp? I thought we were just gonna keep using our powers," complained Chris. 

"How are you supposed to beat the enemy if they are running circles around you?" Shyra replied. "Training will consist every morning of stretching, push-ups, sit-ups, running up and down the mountainside, and other endurance exercises. Alexander, being a track runner, will show everyone how it is done and what to do. I am putting Alexander in charge for now." 

Surprised by the news, Alex sat up straight. He'd never led a group before. That amount of responsibility was foreign to him, and he wasn't sure if he was ready.

"What! That's bullshit. Why does he get to lead just because he's good at running away? I have fighting experience, so I should lead," Dimitri shouted. 

"Your bodies are not ready for combat training yet. You need to be physically prepared. Do not question my logic, Dimitri. Things will be as I see fit." 

"Whatever, man. I'll be damned if I let that suck-up order me around." 

Despite objections, Alex began his workout regimen the next day. 

"Alright, team, let's start off slow and work our way to the top," Alex instructed.

They all tried to keep up with Alex who had more or less become use to the high elevation and thin air, but their bodies could not cope. They were out of breath in seconds, and collapsed to the ground gasping for air. All except one. Tori was jogging steadily right behind Alex.



"How the heck are you not out of air?" Cassie wheezed as she asked Tori.

"I don't know, I just take deep breaths," she said with a grin painted on her face. She jogged back and threw Cassandra's arm over her shoulder and helped her up.

Most of the group knew that the mission was more important than all of them combined, so they did as instructed and tried not to complain. They put their trust in Shyra, hoping not to be let down. For the next two months, they trained their bodies day in and day out. Most of the team became used to Alex leading the way—everyone but Dimitri, that is. He didn't like taking orders and felt Alex wasn't quite up to the task. He knew he could do a better job and started missing a lot of days training. After one month of sporadic absences Alex was fed up, and went to look for Dimitri. Alex found him sitting outside near the rear of the ship. To add insult to injury, he was on Alex's own laptop sending an email to someone named Rose. Alex couldn't let the blatant disrespect slide and confronted Dimitri about his absences. 

"Where were you today, Dimitri?" Alex questioned.

"I don't answer to you, pretty boy."

"Shyra put me in charge for a reason. If you don't like it, do something about it," challenged Alex. 

"It's about time, punk. You don't know how long I've been waiting to hear you say that. I'll definitely make you eat those words." Dimitri stood up and shoved Alex's left shoulder with his right hand. In complete shock, Alex looked at his shoulder, then back at Dimitri, and chuckled.

"Fools jump up to get beat down, Dimitri, so make sure you don't regret this," Alex said back. 

Dimitri clenched his fist, "Don't talk about it, be about it," he shouted, and the ground underneath Alex sunk in before fully collapsing. He fell, cutting himself on the jagged edges of rocks that were buried in the dirt. The ground began closing in around Alex as he frantically tried to escape from the tomb Dimitri had created for him. Alex blasted the ground, propelling himself upward enough to leap out of it, but Dimitri immediately sent a couple of boulders toward Alex. One by one, Alex threw both hands out and sent out a scatter shot of mini electrical bombs to take care of the multiple targets. He reached Dimitri and landed a hard-as-nails punch to his left collar bone, knocking the wind out of him. Trying to gain back his footing, Dimitri landed an aerial kick that hit Alex in the head, stunning him and almost knocking him unconscious momentarily. Dimitri grabbed him by his shirt and attempted to perform a judo flip, but Alex charged his own body with a dangerously high electric current that electrocuted Dimitri and put him down. Thinking it was over, Alex started walking away, but Dimitri refused to stay down. He lifted the ground from under Alex. 

"Where do you think you're going?" Dimitri demanded to know as he lifted Alex high above him. Turning the piece of rock over, Alex fell back to the ground. Dimitri brought the platform of rock down and began chasing after him. Alex hit the ground hard with a heavy thump followed by the rock, which would have surely crushed him to death if Shyra hadn't run in and telekinetically stopped the boulder. 

"What is going on here!?" Shyra demanded to know. 

"I don't think Alex has what it takes to lead us!" Dimitri shouted. 

"Alex was only in charge of the endurance training—that is it. Come with me, Dimitri; we need to talk, and bring that dreadful computing device with you. You all are supposed to be training. There will be no more access to the outside world." 

Cassie followed in behind Shyra and tended to Alex's wounds. Things were falling apart before they ever really started for Shyra's team. If she couldn't find the source of Dimitri's rage she knew she would have to kick him off the team—forever.



Kinetic: The First Alliance Ch. 08



It was June and two months had passed since the team was fully assembled, but things were far from perfect. Shyra was learning a lot about human social culture from watching the five teens. Alex spent most of his time training, while Cassie appeared to be more of a recluse, only associating with the others when necessary. Christian spent his time cracking jokes and trying to get the attention of Tori who had horrible hygiene habits. She left her workout clothes scattered about the floor and dishes piling up in the sink as if she expected someone to clean up after her. Dimitri, who walked around like he had a chip on his shoulder, occupied his time working out. Shyra sat Dimitri down in her room and explained to him why she chose Alex over anyone else. 

"I think you are a fine warrior, Dimitri Williams, and you have a lot of potential, but despite my efforts to channel your rage, so much more of it remains. Alex has a good head on his shoulders and is genuinely concerned about the team. He also has a clear understanding of right and wrong, which is what we need." 

Dimitri didn't want to hear any of it. "He's weak, Shyra, and he's gonna get us killed." 

"Not every battle is won with brute strength, Dimitri. Strategic thinking and brains are a lot more important to winning war. However, strength is a very useful tool in war, and our team covers all bases—everyone plays a role," Shyra replied. 

Dimitri knew he couldn't fight Shyra with this decision, so he just agreed and walked away. The rest of the day proved to be tense, but Shyra had high hopes the next day would be smoother.

Shyra knew time was a luxury she couldn't afford, so she decided to train the team on how to defend themselves in a fight. She focused on teaching them a fighting style that resembled Kalrynian combat but on Earth was best described as Wushu. 

"Alright, everyone, today we start working on hand-to-hand combat," Shyra announced.

"Finally, I get to show you guys my moves!" Christian jumped up in excitement. "Dimitri already knows what I can do. Remember the cut above his eye? Yup, all me."

"Shut up, Chris. Or do you want to go for round two?" Dimitri challenged.

"That's enough. Now let's hear what Shyra has to say," Alex interjected.

"Kiss ass," Tori said under her breath.

"Save it Tori, okay? Why don't you pick your crap off the floor sometime for a change? This place looks like a tornado ran through a beauty salon," He snapped back.

"Oh, I got your tornado!" Tori said,

"If you five are done acting like infants, I can get back to what I was saying," a silence swept over the room. "Now some of you know how to handle yourselves in a fight, and others do not know the first thing about defending oneself. The next two months will be dedicated to learning the advanced martial arts of Wushu. 

The fighting style is similar to the techniques we use on Kalryn; your version is just more basic. Now the fact that a style close to ours is in the hands of Earth is entirely coincidental, so, no, we did not visit Earth and share our knowledge." Shyra went on, "First, it is all about clearing your mind; concentrate only on breathing. With every strike, exhale and use the power within to force your hand through your opponent. Speed is the key to winning a fight. Without speed, your enemies will dodge anything you can throw at them.

Shyra stood in front of her class while she went through the motions of the martial art taught on her home world. Like a mirror, each member of the class tried to copy her every move, learning what it took to effectively defend themselves. Wushu was its own practice but consisted of kickboxing, traditional Chinese martial arts, Muay Thai, and even a Chinese wrestling style that was known as Shuai Jiao. What is called the "Eighteen Arms of Wushu" utilized weapons and integrated them in the fighting style. 

Each member of the group practiced to find his or her comfort zone within the art.

"We are a little behind schedule, so we need to move right on to the kinesis training," Shyra said. "I will have to do this one by one, because all of you have different abilities. In the meantime, keep exercising and keep practicing."

Roughly six months had passed since Alex's life was thrown into the chaos it is, and the team became proficient in hand-to-hand combat. The training was longer than they hoped for, but well worth it and they had a lot to show for it. Shyra moved on to what would undoubtedly be their most important lesson yet—how to master their kinetic powers. She decided to go in order of team members that she felt needed the most training. Shyra started with Cassie—she was the most strategic but lacked the knowledge and confidence in her power. Shyra was determined to get to the bottom of it and asked Cassie why she didn't like her abilities. She tried to get the truth out of her, but Cassie resisted. Shyra saw she wasn't getting anywhere and called it a day. 

"We will start this again in the morning," she said. "In the meantime, join the others and think about how we can get further in your training."

It took about a week of personal counseling to open up, but Cassie revealed the time she almost killed her younger sister in their swimming pool to Shyra. That day was forever seared into her mind. 

"Cassandra, that is a grave misfortune, but it is all in the past. You must not let past mistakes control your future. These gifts that you have are Earth's only hope for salvation, and you and the rest of the team must utilize them to defend this planet against any threat. I know you will come around Cassandra, but for now, we need you to understand and have full control of your powers."

"I didn't ask for any of this Shyra. I feel like these gifts are really a curse and someone is going to end up dead because of these powers, if not from our own hands but from the hands of others."

"The more we train and better control your abilities, the less likely any misfortune will occur by your hand. These powers you all have are meant to protect the ones you love, not hurt them. Ask yourself this, Cassandra: with the power you have, do your friends and family stand a better chance of survival with you doing nothing or standing up and fighting?"

The words resonated in her mind for a while; Cassie turned her head and gave a look at Alex as he was practicing his electrokinesis. She turned back to Shyra, "I understand."

"Okay, so we can start training immediately." Shyra was in haste, because she already missed a couple of days trying to get Cassie out of her shell. 

"With hydrokinesis, everything flows—from your mind to your hands and feet—it is all fluid," Shyra explained. "Your kinetic energy is a current that travels throughout your entire body. First, we will practice the motions. Never rushed but never too slow, the perfect medium—water is all about perfection. There is no form it cannot take, and with enough force, there is no place it cannot venture." 

Shyra showed Cassie the basic motions of a successful hydrokinetic. Her arms swayed up and down, left to right, mimicking the motions of streaming rivers and waterfalls. "You have to connect with the water," she said. "Become part of the water, and the water will bend to your will with ease. Now it does not seem like you can create it, but you can certainly manipulate water." 

"Right, but what if I'm not around water, Shyra?" Cassie asked. "I'll be useless." 

"Not true, Cassandra, in my studies of kinetic power, I have learned about your specific ability. Keep in mind, there is almost always water around. You are special because you may have two abilities. I will teach you the possible other half of your power—cyrokinesis, the ability to control the temperature of liquids. There is always hydrogen and oxygen in the air, and with that, you will always be able to make water. The more you train, the faster you will be able to do it, and that is what I want you to practice. From there, I will try to teach you how to freeze it at will." The training went on for the next two weeks until Cassie was able to memorize each motion of hydrokinesis. 

Alex was next up for training. Even though Alex had been with Shyra the longest, that didn't mean he was the most advanced. As Alex was learning the basics of electrokinesis, she explained to him that lightning and electricity are almost impossible to predict. It took a level of focus that not many were able to achieve. She taught him that his strikes needed to be quick and precise; his ability was one of the most dangerous and without the proper control, he could harm the very ones he wished to protect. Along with the setbacks of electrokinesis were the rewards; the ones blessed with this power may not have been the fastest flyers, but they were without a doubt the fastest runners. All of Alex's track-and-field trophies stood as a testament to that. His power was not only great for offense but defense as well. 

Shyra went over extensively how to create continuous streams of electricity, and in a short while, Alex learned that the capabilities of his powers were endless. He spent the next two and a half weeks shooting bursts of electricity from his palms. He was getting used to the sensation, but the current of electricity always made his arm twitch and tingle. Every hair on his arm stood up at attention from shoulders to hands as the current surged through.

Chris was up next, and Shyra understood firsthand how deadly and powerful his ability was. Pyrokinesis was all about destruction. 

"Christian, there is not much I can teach you, I am afraid. You seem to have a firm grip on your gift, but to perfect it and not let your emotions affect your powers is a whole other fight. Only deep concentration and dedication will allow you to have complete control. I want you to think of the fire as an extension of yourself. Think about the attributes of fire. What can it do?"

Chris looked at her, "I don't know. Burn stuff?" 

Shyra knew this to be true, but it wasn't the mind-set she wanted the young hero to have. "Yes, but so much more Christian," she said. "With your power, you can create weapons and attacks, and more impressively, you will be able to fly. I will show you the motions of pyrokinesis. Use powerful and explosive movements that cater to your kinesis. Practice these moves, and your kinetic energy will be gathered and released with explosive results." 

Chris was a fast learner, and Shyra only had to show him a few times before he mastered the basics. In only a few weeks he could send powerful balls of fire from his hands with almost pinpoint accuracy. 

It had been seven and a half weeks since Shyra started kinesis training. She approached her most withdrawn student, knowing it would take a lot to get through to him.

"Dimitri, you are up," Shyra said. "Please step forward. Everyone else continue practicing." 

Try as he might to hide, Dimitri was really curious what new techniques an alien could teach him about his powers that he'd had all his life. 

"Dimitri, your ability has the potential to be the most powerful out of everyone. You can control Earth itself. When you are ready, you will be able to move the very mountains we train on." Shyra showed Dimitri the movements and let him practice picking up and throwing various kinds of heavy stones. 

"Remember that the moves for a geokinetic are very solid and grounded—no pun intended. Strike hard and fast when you attack. Feel the earth move underneath your feet with every kick, and envision the rocks flying at your enemy with every punch thrown. This planet has bestowed upon you a great gift, and you need to use it wisely. Every natural mineral out there is a weapon at your disposal. Use them well." 

"You are strong and tough, Dimitri, but do not forget about your allies," Shyra reminded him. 

"Protect them with your power. Together, the five of you can do anything." Two and a half weeks passed, but by the end of his training, Dimitri was much better at causing earthquakes and separating the ground. 

Tori stepped up to be trained next. "Unlike the others, Tori, you embrace your powers and most likely have the greatest understanding of them. I expect the most from you."

"Great, and here I thought there was gonna be pressure," Tori sarcastically stated.

"I do not follow you, Tori," Shyra began, obviously confused. "The only pressure is that your species' survival rest in your hands."

"No, Shyra, I was being sarcas ... never mind. What tricks do you have to teach me?" 

"Aerokinesis can be the most deceptive power of them all; while it may not appear sinister, when concentrated the wind can cut through almost anything. The motions of an aerokinetic are closely derived from the phrase 'go with the flow.' That is what I want you to practice. Your goal is to remove any stiffness and rigidness. Your movements need to be swift and razor-sharp. I will also teach the power that should come natural to you—the ability of flight." 

Tori's eyes lit up. "I knew it! I knew I'd be able to fly. I feel it sometimes, ya know? Like I've always been able to kind of glide and stuff, but this is awesome."

"Yes, Tori, as your people say, I suppose it is awesome. Now, as I was saying, you must learn to extend that feeling you get when you are gliding. Remember that gravity holds no bearing with you. Feel the current of the wind lift you off the ground and ride the wave, so to speak. Supersonic flight is only the tip of the iceberg with your powers. Aerokinetics can create hurricanes, tornados, cyclones, and so much more. With practice, you will be able to do it all." 

Shyra spent the next two weeks helping Tori master her craft and then summoned the rest of the team.

"Everyone, there is something that I want you all to know. On my home world of Kalryn, the Savants that govern my planet did not want to involve your world in this battle. Their plan was to let this world fall victim to the Zenakuu, because they did not believe you could change the course of the war. I believe them to be wrong; there is something very special about your species that I believe they are overlooking. You each have unfathomable power and potential. Together, we shall prove them wrong and drive the Zenakuu back to the darkest regions of space. Now that everyone is somewhat on the same level of understanding with their kinetic powers, all we have to do is keep training and practicing. The Zenakuu scouting party will most likely be here soon. In the time we have left, I want you all to continue mastering your power," Shyra revealed.

For some of the espers, the time went by slowly. For the others who weren't looking forward to fighting an alien race, the seven months felt more like seven days. 

Now in November Shyra gathered the team. It was time to reveal names and send them out into the real world to gain much-needed experience. "Gather around me, team, and listen. On my world uniforms are point of pride among my people. They represent honor, loyalty, and teamwork. You five have demonstrated all of these qualities, so I have a surprise for you all."

"Now this is more like it!" Chris shouted. 

"I fashioned some uniforms and have chosen names for you all to protect your identities, so I hope you like them," Shyra continued. "Christian, here is your costume. You will be known as Irascible Flame. Your pyrokinesis will reduce the ones who stand in your way to ashes." 

He held up his costume and awed at the attention to detail that Shyra had put into it. It had broad, armored shoulder pads. The chest plate had a ball of fire with an intricate design of what would appear as flames spreading throughout the lining of his body. Matching plated gloves and boots looked like something lifted from one of his comic books. The color scheme was black, red, orange, and yellow. The straps that held his body armor were golden and matched the clips on his gloves and belt buckle, which was another flame symbol. His boots were multicolored and consisted of a heat-resistant hard plastic type of armor that ran up to his knees. The pants were charcoal black and had flames that ran up the sides of each leg. Every inch of his costume was lined with flame-retardant materials so it did not burst into flames. Chris finally added a full-body, black trench coat with crimson red trim to finish the costume. The training that the team underwent transformed him into a very fit, muscular kid. The once pudgy teen now possessed the physique of a Greek god. 

Next, Shyra turned her attention to Tori. "Tori, you have grown so much since you got here, and I am happy to present you with your new name and costume. You will be known as Whisking Wind. You will use your aerokinesis to take your enemies' breath away." 

Tori's outfit was breathtaking to say the least. Sporting the color white with black trim, the tight-fitting costume contoured to every curve on her tone body, which was ravishing to begin with. The high leather boots were sewn into the kneepads, which made for an easy change of clothes if need be. Her gloves climbed all the way up her biceps; her left glove sported two little black padded cushions, while the right had only one. The same setup was on her legs, only reversed. She had a symbol of a small tornado on her abdomen and her belt. The cape Shyra gave her was black on the outside but white on the inside. It was a half-sized cape that came down to the small of her lower back. Tori smiled at Shyra, and secretly leaned in to whisper to Cassie.

"Kalrynians aren't much on color are they? I wish she would have talked me before designing this thing, there's like no space for accessorizing," she complained.

"Shh," Cassie hastily responded.

After the first two costumes were presented, the rest of the team waited with bated breath, anxious for their turn. All the regrets from this adventure were forgotten for a brief moment. Almost a year had gone by since Alex and the others were summoned by Shyra in this almost surreal event that had been forced upon the five exemplary teenagers. Overwhelmed with excitement, there was only one who quelled his eagerness. Dimitri was in the back of the crowd still in disagreement with Shyra on the matter of who should be leader and the thought of running around dressed as "superheroes."

And then it was his turn. "Dimitri, please come forward," Shyra said. 

"I'm up? What you got for me?" he replied. 

"Dimitri, you have made incredible progress since you have been here, and I am glad you can make peace with your inner demons. This is yours." With that, Shyra handed Dimitri his costume. "From now on, you will be Seismic Earth. Your geokinesis will be the cornerstone to our victory." 

Dimitri's costume was tailored to his personality. It was a myrtle green leather hoodie with the sleeves cut off to show off his muscle definition. He also wore a predominantly black biker's glove on his right hand, while the other forearm was wrapped up in boxing bandages. The brawler of the group had an outfit that gave his hands and arms freedom and loose movement. Baggy black-and-green cargo pants and work boots helped him stomp out anyone crazy enough to be looking for a fight. Around his waist he sported a forest green samurai-inspired custom kusazuri, a thick cloth that shielded the hips and waist. The symbol on the left side of his hoodie was a blue Earth symbol with a crack through it, representing an earthquake. The hoodie was lined with white, while his undershirt was solid black. 

Shyra walked over to Cassie, placed her hand on her shoulder, and smiled. "Cassandra, what can I say? Your strategic prowess and intellect have almost challenged my own. You are levelheaded in combat and will be the deciding factor in any skirmish. This outfit was designed especially for you. Your new moniker is Effervescent Rain." Shyra handed the costume to Cassie. "Use your hydrokinesis to wash away the sins of the universe. 




Kinetic: The First Alliance Ch. 08



Cassie was presented with a formfitting cerulean top with long sleeves and skin-tight black pants, along with a flowing custom blue hanfu. Crashing waves were depicted on her midsection, while a floral design hugged her shoulders and spread to her chest. The same floral design was repeated at the bottom of her hanfu. Her uniform was accentuated with violet trim; even the top and bottom of her knee-high boots showed off her affinity for violet and unique style. Lastly, a rain cloud adorned the left side of her chest, while on the right side of her chest was a backward E connected to an R, representing Effervescent Rain. She then tied a blue ribbon on her right leg and left arm for fashion, and on the top of her left forearm was a padded guard with a raindrop in the middle. 

"Last but not least is the first person I encountered. Without you, Alexander, I would not have been able to get this far. You have been a huge help to me and are the rightful captain to this team. You can handle any situation you put your mind to. You went from not being able to control your powers to mastering them almost completely. I am very proud of you. Alexander, you will be dubbed Voltaic Cloud." Shyra handed his uniform over. "With your electrokinesis, you are the light that guides the team through the darkness." 

His costume included a fitted, black Japanese-style karate gi with yellow trim as an undergarment and a vest-styled leather tabard that was connected on the outer sides by buckled straps. He had a padded arm guard covering his left forearm, while on his right he wore the powerful Raiden stone, which had been given to Shyra by her father in case she ever found herself in a tough battle. It was quite legendary on Kalryn and had the ability to amplify electric power. Around his waist he wore a broad, black belt lined with red trim and his symbol for lightning in the middle that sat atop a traditional Japanese haidate. His pants were loose and somewhat baggy. They were all black besides his trademark lightning bolt going down the sides. They were cuffed off by metallic shin guards with ninja boots. On his back he donned a cape that was yellow on the inside but black on the outside and held together by the lightning pin on his right shoulder. 

They were finally feeling confident in their abilities, but Shyra had a message of warning for them that she felt they might have overlooked. "All of you have gotten a lot stronger, but never overdo it. There is a limit to the amount of power you can release. I always want the five of you to be wary of that." 

Christian stepped out in front to speak. "What happens if we use too much of our powers at once?"

"Well, Christian, it depends on the extent to which you overuse it, but remember your powers are kinetic, and stem from your brain. If you push that strain on your mind too far, you will suffer what your planet calls a brain aneurysm. It differs from species to species, but you will mostly likely suffer from severe headaches, nausea, vision impairment, vomiting, and loss of consciousness. If severe enough, the aneurysm may rupture and will leak blood into the space around the brain. This is called a subarachnoid hemorrhage. Depending on the amount of blood, it can produce a hemorrhagic stroke, which you very likely will die from."

"Oh, is that all? And here I thought it would be bad," Christian bitingly replied. 

The entire team looked as if they felt sick to their stomachs over the thought of bleeding out to death. 

"Yes, that is all." Shyra said with a confused look on her face.

"No, I was being sarcastic," Christian said as he tried to correct her.

"Oh, this planet's sense of humor and what you call 'sarcasm' escapes me, I am afraid," Shyra noted. "Moving on, though, we have a big day ahead of us tomorrow, so you five try not to stay up too late."

Everything was really coming together for the alliance. They trained hard physically and mentally. It was time to put all they had learned into action. Smiles spread across the room. Even Dimitri could not hold back the grin over the thought of making a difference like the promise he'd made to his mom and sister. It was running smoothly for the first time, and the alliance was getting along, but this peace was not meant to last.



Kinetic



"Oh, just the usual, more shoplifting."

"Ah... No more probation, huh?"

"No, not this time. Patty even tried to lie to the judge again about what was going on. She kept insisting that the sales clerk had said it was okay for her to take the merchandise out through the loading dock. She sounded so self-righteous!"

"I take it the judge wasn't buying it?"

"Not this time. He added an extra sixty days for perjury. Patty was lucky it wasn't a year! The earliest she can get out is late summer."

"Hell! How could she be so stupid?!"

Melanie chuckled over the phone. "Yeah. My sister has two strikes against her. She has no morals telling her not to steal, and she's not smart enough to be intimidated about being caught."

I sighed in agreement. "A double whammy..."

Melanie made a humph noise. "It's so frustrating when I try to talk with her. She dreams up these elaborate and silly lies to explain her way out of the messes she makes, and she thinks the lies will save her. She tells me things, and I have no idea if they're true or not."

I sighed. "How did your parents react? To the jail sentence I mean..."

"Oh, they're still very supportive. Mom and dad reassured Patty her bedroom will be waiting for her when she gets out, and dad has promised to find her a new job."

"Think he can?"

Melanie was silent for a while. "This time? I'm not sure... Maybe not. There's no job on Earth where people will tolerate dishonesty. There is no job like that... Hell Eric! I feel like Cinderella sometime, and Patty is my evil step-sister! Maybe I should start breaking the law! Maybe then my parents will love me..."

I nodded and sighed. "Nah. It would just give them some real ammunition to shoot you down with... Melanie, I love you... not as a parent though."

"I know. I love you too... Eric, I think of you when I run. That's what makes me so fast!"

"Huh?"

"I push myself into high gear, and then I dream of you. I imagine you're holding me, and my body explodes with happiness. My last kilometer is usually my fastest. Not by much, but Coach Collins says that's still very unusual..."

Melanie paused before continuing. "I do love you, so intensely it takes my breath away. And I miss you. Not so much in the daytime. The days are so busy. But at night, when I lie down... It's been so long since we've seen each other... Oh Eric, I want so much to hold you again, and to feel you holding me. I keep reliving my memories of you..."

I trembled with my own longing and whispered, "I know. I've been reliving my memories of you too. It's been exactly half a year, Sunday, June 24'th. I keep remembering the last time I saw you, going out to dinner with you at Urbana... How you looked, your kind smile, how you cried when you kissed me goodbye..."

Melanie gave a really deep sigh on the phone. "Eric, I'm so sorry about my parents... You don't know how grateful I am..."

"Huh? Grateful for what?"

"For you putting up with all this insane nonsense about not seeing me! For you putting up with all these stupid, secret phone calls! I know how ridiculous this must seem to you... I had a nightmare last night, a really damn awful scream-in-the-dark nightmare, where you decided that this situation is so wacky, dating me just wasn't worth the effort!"

I blinked as I realized what she said, and tried to reassure her by joking. "Melanie! That's crazy talk!"

Melanie seemed to hiccup over the phone, and then she laughed, a sweet musical release from her center of her heart that sounded so pretty. "Right! I must have inherited the skill from my family! You are so... SHIT!!!"

"What?!"

"Dad's car just pulled up outside! Goodbye my love!" and she hung up the phone before I could reply.

I sat there for a few minutes, hoping she wasn't in any trouble. Her parents are her legal guardians for another four months. They could still make life hell for her if they wanted to.

I decided to do some school work. I opened my desk drawer to get a pen, and noticed in the back of the drawer my old combination lock from Junior High. I pulled it out on a whim and stared idly at it. I felt hot and upset that Melanie was probably getting yelled at, 800 miles away. I pressed the back of the lock against my forehead to cool off, shrugging a bit at the thought that after four years I had completely forgotten the combination.

It was the most unearthly feeling. I could imagine the cams of the lock behind the dial so clearly, imagine exactly where the slots in the cams were that released the shank. I pulled the lock away from my forehead and stared at it. In my hand, it just seemed normal.

Totally dumbfounded, I returned the lock to my forehead. The details of the knowledge of the inside of the lock were both exquisite and absolute. I pulled the lock away and stared at it again. Nothing. "What the hell is this?" I muttered.

It's so difficult to describe a completely new sense. Imagine trying to describe color to a blind man who has no idea of the concept of sight, or trying to describe music to a deaf person who has no idea of the concept of sound. My language just doesn't have the concepts developed to describe what this sense is like.

That said, I'll try to make an analogy about what it's like. Write the number four on a piece of paper. Put it on a desk in front of you and stare at it for a while. Then cover the paper with a book. Now, try to imagine the reality of what number could possibly be under the book. It's a four. You're absolutely, positively sure of it. In your mind's eye, the knowledge is absolute, unquestioned.

That's what it was like for me, but even better. I could imagine zooming down and knowing the lock in fine detail, even better than if I were using my eyes on a disassembled lock. I pulled back and stared at the lock again in my hand. Nothing.

I got up and got the combination lock I was currently using for gym. I opened it and got a screwdriver, and then unscrewed the release at the bottom of the vacant shank shaft. I took the lock apart and played with it for over an hour. I taught myself exactly how it worked.

Then I went back to my Junior High lock. I put it back on my forehead, and the solution seemed so obvious. I turned the dial briefly, watching with my mind's eye how the slots in the cams were lining up. I pulled the lock away from my face and pulled on the shank. It opened easily. There was nothing to it. But I still didn't know the combination.

I locked the shank and put the padlock on my forehead again, spinning the first cam to the correct position. Then I reached out with my imagination and looked at the number on the dial, 27. That's all I needed. I suddenly remembered the rest of the combination. That part didn't feel like magic, just normal memory.

I put the lock down and shook my head in amazement. What the hell was going on?

Well, the credo of a scientist is: test and learn! I took a simple ruler and placed the origin against my forehead, sticking straight out. Then I closed my eyes and tried to find how far I could imagine seeing the markings on the ruler. It was just over two inches. It was a sharp cutoff.

I began taking notes and making measurements all over my head. Then I just sat there and stared at the numbers. I began to tremble.

It seems there's a point within my skull, dead center between my eyes and about three inches in. Anything within about six inches of that point I can nail with imagining what it looks like. I sat at my desk almost in a dream, exploring my own nose for a while. It was interesting, and not nearly as gross at it sounds...

What to do? Did I have to do anything? Should I tell dad? Melanie? Once I tell somebody about this and demonstrate it, there's no turning back. I went and lay on my bed and thought for a long while.

I finally decided I had a perfectly moral right not to tell anybody if I didn't want to. I went downstairs and had a late turkey sandwich snack with dad. We played a couple of games of chess. I lost both games. Then I sacked out for the night. I lay in bed for hours before sleep came, thinking about the lock and wondering... Finally I started dreaming about Melanie and got some rest.

Chapter 4.

Three weeks later on December 15'th, I got a hand-written letter from Melanie. I stared at the envelope for a while. It was definitely her handwriting. But she had listed my father's name at our old house in Sterling as the return address. It suddenly occurred to me that if the post office had trouble with the postage or the primary address, the letter would still be forwarded to my dad here in Pennsylvania and not back to Melanie. Wondering why she was bothering to do this, I opened the letter. Here's what it said:

* Dearest Eric,

I think I have less freedom now than Patty! I am super grounded. I'm off track, in fact I have no after-school activities all. I don't even have permission to leave the house! Mom threatened to sue the school if they allowed me internet access and the school admin caved in. I'm effectively under supervision 24 hours a day.

Mom and dad have been spreading insane rumors about you brainwashing me to be your future slave, and some of the other parents have shown them their phone records. My parents know that we have been talking to each other. I'm penning this letter in Study Hall. At least here I'm safe. I think.

Why am I capitulating to all this? I have all my college applications out and none of them requested financial assistance. With dad the managing director of the Wells Fargo branch and mom a full partner at O'Hare and Snyder, my parents earn way too much money for me to quality for aid. Both my parents are threatening to cut me off financially if they catch me communicating with you again. They say it's their final warming.

Eric, I've never had a job. Lots of great summer programs and volunteer work but I've never earned anything. My parents are super-controlling my access to money and I don't have the resources to fight this battle, at least not now.

I feel like I'm trapped in a fairy story gone berserk, some crazy combination of Cinderella and Romeo & Juliet. Eric darling, wait for me, please? Stop! I can't ask you a question and ask you not to respond at the same time! I say instead that I love you and I know you love me, and that I trust you will wait for me. Please, please don't write back, even through the internet or a third party. My parents are so furious with me, it's just too dangerous.

I'll try to call you if I can find a completely safe way to do it. It might be few months, maybe not until April. I'll hoard up a bunch of quarters for a pay phone or something.

Oh Eric, I can only imagine how crazy this must sound, but I'm not joking. You wouldn't believe how often I'm searched and how intensely I'm spied upon. Mom comes in and picks me up at the school office every day. I'm going to sneak this letter into the mailbox outside during my lunch period.

Under the microscope in Illinois, offering you my love and faithfulness, Melanie *

I stared at Melanie's letter forever, reading it again and again. I finally decided I needed a reality check. I went and showed the letter to my dad. He just kept shaking his head as he read it.

"Dad, why do they hate me so much? I've always tried to be polite with Melanie's parents. I really have."

Dad nodded and then grunted. "Hell, Shakespeare! Not a bad analogy. Maybe she's right."

"What?"

"Romeo and Juliet. I read it with your mom in twelfth grade English, back in 1966... You want to know what this might be about? My granddad and Melanie's great grandfather had a legal dispute once, about a bank loan. Gus won, and Melanie's great granddad took it personal... real personal..."

I grimaced and whined, "But that was ages ago! Why spend your life fighting your grandfather's war?"

My dad sighed. "Yeah, that is the question, isn't it? Probably because they're not smart enough to find better things to do. It's as simple as that... Eric, if you want some advice, let Melanie call the shots on this. She's the one in the war zone. Let her pick the battle plan."

I nodded glumly and went back to my bedroom. After a while I made another measurement of what I've decided to call my inner sense.

It's growing. In the three weeks since Thanksgiving, the sphere around my internal center-point expanded from 15 cm to 24 cm. I could now scan objects six inches from the top of my nose. And the detail! I could fill my imagination with a tiny crevasse on the ruler. It's hard to quantify this, but I'm estimating I can see four times as much detail compared to Thanksgiving...

I made some more experiments. I don't have to have the sense on if I don't want it. It's like opening an infinitely effective eyelid. Unless I want to scan, I feel completely normal.

I sat back and wondered. Where was this all heading? And then I had to smile a bit. What would be my story if dad noticed me sticking the ruler all around my head?

Christmas break arrived. My nights were filled with thoughts of Melanie, and as for the days, it was crunch time for applying to colleges. I selected Mech. E. as a major and had a big list of schools, Case Western, Perdue, Carnegie-Mellon, Boston University, U. of Penn... My SAT scores were 790 in math and 590 in verbal, not bad. My safety-valve school was Penn State, and I also had one pie-in-the-sky Hail-Mary pass in the air. I applied to M.I.T.

The second Monday in January, I toured the campuses of B.U. and M.I.T. The interviews at B.U. were fun and relaxing, and I think it's an excellent school. Then I crossed the Charles River into Cambridge and spent the afternoon at M.I.T.

There I was in a professor's office in Building 3, a nice view of the Great Court out the windows to my back. It was IAP on campus, the Independent Activities Period. The whole month of January is like that at M.I.T., no formal classes, just everybody playing with the sciences and nobody worrying about grades. What a great idea!

Professor Hanson was seated across from me at his desk. He was polite, attentive, and I think incredibly bright. At first we hit it off very well. I described how I had spent my previous summer, and he said it sounded marvelous and how he wished he had such an opportunity when he was growing up.

But as he went through my school transcripts he also started giving me thoughtful looks. I didn't find it too encouraging.

I decided to level with him. "I need honest feedback, Professor Hanson. Do I have a chance of getting in here?"

He nodded. "Yeah, okay. I'll give you my straight opinion as an engineer. You might make the waiting list. Eric, personally I think you might do fine here, but M.I.T. creams the country for the best students. There are just a lot of other applicants who have better qualifications."

I sighed. "My SAT scores?"

He shrugged. "That's minor. The 790 is excellent! The 590 in verbal... isn't bad..."

I nodded. "I could have boosted it, worked on my vocabulary. It was a conscious decision to do the summer work instead."

Hanson nodded and returned to my transcripts. "You were in Honors English your sophomore and junior years? Math and science too?"

"Yes. Well, that's Sterling, Illinois's version of Honors classes. Any kid that was serious about studying was put into Honors. It was still a bit slow."

"But you dropped out of AP courses in your senior year?"

"Oh, hell!" I thought. I went on to explain Exeter's ridiculous policy. Professor Hanson seemed sympathetic, but it wasn't really his problem. We talked a little more about M.I.T., and then he asked me, "Anything else you'd like to mention?"

It was crunch time! I knew if I walked out with a question like that hanging in the air, I could kiss M.I.T. goodbye. But add what? Without thinking, I told him a little about finding my Junior High padlock, and how I opened my other padlock to see if I could figure out how to open the first one.

He smiled at me when I was finished and then laughed. "Yeah. I take it you learned knowing how one lock works is not the same as opening another?!"

I had nothing to lose. I respected the Professor, but I was also desperate. It was time to deal him a joker straight from the bottom of the deck.

"Heck no," I said, giving him this big beaming smile. "I taught myself how to pick the lock!"

"Huh?! You can pick a Masterlock?"

"Yeah." I tried to mention this very casually. "There's not much to it, if you know the secret."

Professor Hanson was looking at me as if I were an utter charlatan from some alien planet. And then he gave me this huge devilish grin. "Well," he said, reaching into his desk drawer, "It just so happens..."

A moment later I was sitting staring at the biggest, fattest, ugliest combination Masterlock in creation. It felt massive in my hands. Professor Hanson was grinning at me from ear to ear, but it was a playful grin. I've seen the Union people grin at each other like that, one professional to another, offering an impossible challenge.

"Two conditions!" I grinned back.

"Okay!"

"Turn around. I don't want you to see how I do this!"

"Protecting your trade secrets, huh? Very fair! What else?"

I grinned. It was time to put my gonads on the table! "When, and I say when and not if I open this, and if I get accepted here, and if something is later stolen from a locked area, don't jump to conclusions about me. Ability is not intent!"

Professor Hanson grinned back. "Oh, that first part is a proud boast lad! Let's see if you can sustain it! And as to your second part... That's a damn thoughtful point. Agreed. And to protect you from others jumping to conclusions, I solemnly promise not to tell anyone that you picked this lock..." The big smile came back. "...If you do! How much time do you think you'll need?"

"Uh..." What to say? I thought I would only need a few seconds. "Five minutes?"

His eyes shot up in astonishment. And then he burst out laughing.

I tried to recover. "... if I'm lucky! Maybe ten?" My voice was squeaking. Damn!

Hanson nodded, his eyes wide open and rolling. Then he looked at the clock, pulled out a book and turned around and started reading.

It was a huge lock, almost the size of my palm. I brought it up close to my face and sensed it. I decided my first impression was wrong. The lock was indeed big and fat but it definitely wasn't ugly. It was in fact an incredibly beautiful lock, infinitely better made than my school padlock. This was a masterpiece of lock engineering.

I still thought I had lots of time. I started making minor noises with it, pulling on the thick gleaming shank and spinning the dial just for audio appearances. The outside was extremely high quality chrome steel. But my mind was captivated and delighted by the mechanism within. Four disks!

The structure was completely different than my old lock. I suddenly realized I would need some serious time to open it, even with my abilities. First I had to figure out how the damn thing worked!

Time passed without notice. The interior engineering of the lock was magnificent, precision machined, oiled surfaces perfectly sliding against each other. I was enthralled. And all the protuberances on the disks were confusing me. My old lock just had one per disk.

I finally saw the complexity of the design. Even with my inner vision, I would need time to learn how to tell the difference between the true gates and the false gates. There was also a lot of preliminary spinning to do. I finally figured out I had to turn the knob to the right past the first cam slot four complete turns to align all the true notches correctly. Then I had to pass the second true number three full turns to the left. Then two full turns to the right before the third true number.

After numerous trial-and-error attempts, I finally saw I was one half turn away from opening the lock. I shuddered and breathed a sigh of relief and made the last twist. With the apertures of all four cams finally aligned, the spring-loaded bolt slid and released with a very satisfying cha-ching!




Kinetic



"What?!" Professor Hanson whipped around and stared, partially at me but mostly at the open lock in my hands. He tore his eyes away to glance at the clock, fourteen minutes. He looked back at me and whispered in awe, "How did you do that?"

I shrugged. "It's a gift..." Which was the truth, and besides, what else could I say?

"That lock was made by guy named Stephan," Hanson said at last, "A grad student of mine. He got his Masters six years ago and went to work for Masterlock. That's a specialty lock. It would cost over $300 apiece to make if Masterlock ever went into production with it. But it's not sold commercially as a padlock. There's no market for such high precision in a padlock."

"Yeah," I commented. "It would be just too easy to bring a plasma torch and slice through the shank."

Hanson nodded. "Exactly... Stephan made a few of these on a whim, as demos for the sales channel..."

"It's the most beautiful lock I've ever seen," I nodded in agreement. And then, a touch of pure bravado. "Very sophisticated... but vulnerable, if you know its weakness."

Hanson blinked and frowned. "Stephan thought it would be unpickable..."

Dang! Had I gone too far?! "Yeah, well... It was a challenge..."

"Yeah... Eric, I just realized sometime. The other kids applying here, if they were curious about how their lock worked, they would just look at combination locks on the web and study diagrams. But not you. You reached for a screwdriver and another lock..."

Professor Hanson took a deep breath. "Eric, what do you want out of life? This isn't a trade school. You'll be firmly in the camp of management if you graduate from here. Is that what you want? You told me about the Union background of your family..."

"If I graduate from here?!" I thought silently. "Whoa!" I tried to collect myself as I realized Professor Hanson was asking me a very thoughtful question. "Oh, there won't be any problem there. The family ties win out. At worst I'll be their spy in an enemy's territory, unless I do something heartless."

He nodded. "At what do you think?"

"About labor versus management? That they need each other, that labor needs the capital market, and capital needs the labor market. The competition is fine! It's a pity though the competition can't be more symbiotic, more win-win..."

Hanson nodded. "Damn Eric! I'll ask you straight. Think you can cut the physics and calculus here? The other kids will be coming in better prepared."

It suddenly occurred to me that I never mentioned all the home schooling I was doing. Professor Hanson's eyes really lit up and he smiled and relaxed when I started to describe my studies.

"What text did you pick?"

"The Feynman lecture series."

"Really?!"

"Oh, I'm hooked on it. Back in my physics class at Exeter, we're still talking torque. It's so boring! Formulas out of nowhere and no explanation of where they're coming from! How can anyone learn physics like that?! You just can't see the true nature of what's happening without the calculus. But on my own, I've just covered Feynman's lecture on the principle of least action. Beautiful stuff! He has such incredibly different ways of looking at things..."

We wound up chatting mechanics for over an hour. It was one of the most enjoyable conversations of my life. Well, except for Melanie of course. I drove home that night in very high spirits.

Chapter 5.

One month later...

Time: Tuesday, February 26, 2002 3:40 PM Eastern Standard Time

I felt my heart leap when I came home from school a few days before my 18'th birthday. Melanie had sent me another letter! I raced upstairs to my bedroom and sat down at my desk to look at it. It had the same strange business with the return address as before. After staring at it for a moment, I opened it and saw that Melanie had sent me a handmade birthday card.

The first drawing had a simple stick figure standing at the apex of a simple triangular mountain, with the title, "Today I am a man!"

The second drawing had the stick figure in a sitting and thinking pose, the head-circle leaning on the line-hand, with the title, "Now, where is my woman?" Underneath the mountain far below was a tiny second figure, lying down and gazing up at the huge figure sitting on the mountain top above it. I smiled and began reading Melanie's short letter.

* Hi Eric, and Happy Birthday!

I hope you'll forgive me for waiting so long to write. So much has been happening here. I should first tell you I am in good health, and have been accepted at Harvard! (Remember I applied for early decision?) Their package came just a few days after I mailed you my December letter.

I had to pay a price of course, but all the immediate uncertainty about college is behind me. I negotiated with my parents, under an end-of-January Harvard deadline for completing all the acceptance forms and mailing in an initial deposit for the tuition. Some serious bucks! That's what convinces me all this is real. My dad and I walked everything to the post office over a month ago. I watched my future hopes go into the mailbox and breathed a huge sigh of relief. The application package even issued me a Student ID, 579040. That makes it seem real too.

And my price for all this? I had to split my personality. This is Melanie #1 who is writing this letter. This is the first time she's been allowed to come out during the daytime in over two months. I'm in Study Hall again, writing you this letter on a cold Friday Illinois morning. I'm sure you'll get this in time for your birthday, probably a few days early.

Eric, I won't reach majority for another five weeks. Please continue not to contact me. I'm still standing on very thin ice, still under very intense supervision.

My parent's price for Harvard? That I become the daughter they've always dreamed of having. That's Melanie #2. Mom threw out all my old clothes in order to please Melanie #2, and got her/me an entirely new wardrobe. I think I'm the only senior at Sterling High going around in clothes that look straight out of Junior High, but... I decided Harvard was worth it.

Remember me in Junior High? All the bright colors? You should see me now, in my canary yellow skirt and argyle knee socks! I even have my hair in pigtails again, just as mom had me do when I was in seventh grade. I even spend time (lots of time!) painting my nails. (You probably wouldn't recognize my toes!)

I've been avoiding my old friends. I think the really important ones have some understanding of the true nature of what's going on and forgive me. At least I hope so. I also have a bunch of new, parent-approved friends, from some the richest families in the Sterling area. Mom's throwing me a birthday party with them when I turn eighteen, my first birthday party ever! Melanie #2 is very excited about that.

Oh Eric, do you forgive me for surrendering? I know and admire your courage. I know you wouldn't have degraded yourself like this, no matter what. But when the decision was before me, I took the easy way out, the one with no yelling and a nice warm bed and meals and a great college and lots of shopping trips with my mom.

My parents love me Eric! They love Melanie #2! I finally know what it feels like to have parents who love me. Poor Patricia! I never understood what a pit of dependency my parents have dug for her, and how deeply she is trapped in the quicksand at the bottom. I used to envy Patty, but I feel so differently now. I pity her.

Eric, I couldn't pull this off as an act. I had to live the part. My true personality had to disappear, truly disappear, at least during the daytime. Melanie #1 comes out only late at night, and she has learned how to cry without making a sound.

Amusing, in a sad sort of way. My parents accused you of brainwashing me, but it is they who are the true practitioners of mind control.

I dream of you Eric, almost every night. I meet you in my dreams, and you hold me and give me strength. Thank you Eric. Thank you for waiting, thank you for holding me in my dreams, thank you for giving me strength, thank you for loving me. I sign myself The True Melanie *

I put down Melanie's letter and shivered, my mind overwhelmed with emotions. I leaned back in my desk chair and close my eyes, trying to calm myself.

After a minute or so I started to scan the desk in front of me as a diversion. There was a loose paper clip on the desk, very near the back edge, and just within the limit of my sense-sphere. The sphere had been growing slowly but exponentially for months, doubling in radius every 31 days and 20 hours, as close as I could measure. It had a current radius of 118 cm. I was expecting it to reach four feet by my birthday.

With my eyes still closed, I dived into the detail of the paper clip, tracing the three simple loops back and forth with my mind. And then my anger at Melanie's parents erupted out of me, and I hissed and PUSHED and... The paper clip disappeared!

"Huh?!" I thought as I opened my eyes. I looked at my desk, no paper clip! "What the hell," I thought. "I can make things disappear too?!"

After a moment I got down on my hands and knees and looked around under the desk. On the rug next to the wall in the back was a paper clip. I was relieved to think it had to be the same one. I picked it up and then sat back in my chair, just thinking for a while.

Had I bumped the desk and knocked the clip off the top? Somehow I didn't think so. I put the clip on the middle of the desk and tried to remember exactly what I was doing when it disappeared. It felt like a new way of sensing...

I finally went back to my anger. I stared at the paper clip and imagined it was owned by Melanie's parents and I PUSHED it and... It moved! Not very fast, but it moved, all by itself!

I was in a whole new ballgame! Passively sensing within my sphere was a huge and wondrous ability, but having the ability to make changes with my mind... Wow! That was a whole new level of pure blow-off-the-socks magic! I started to practice my new skill. Once I learned the trick, it was very easy to do. I moved the paper-clip back and forth and then in slow lazy circles and spirals around the desktop, becoming more and more excited.

Some caution settled in. I would have to be very, very careful. My thoughts are my own. Nobody could ever really see me using my sense-sphere, really be sure of its existence. But this?! Pushing things around?! These were physical changes, not just thoughts. This was visible! I had to be very careful...

I tried to lift the paper-clip up in the air. No dice. I sat thinking for a moment. Time to do a few experiments!

I got out a protractor and measured the angle the clip would start to slide down a tilted plane. With a little trig, that gave me the coefficient of static friction for sliding against a horizontal surface. I then went back to my box of clips to see if I could determine the weight of one clip.

After a little time weighing small piles of clip on my postage scale, I had a few numbers about my new ability. I think one clip weighs 0.43 grams, so it should take 0.0042 Newtons of force to lift it against gravity and based on the protractor experiment 0.0003 Newtons to slide it along the desktop.

I stopped and considered. It was hard to quantity, but I thought I was right at my limit for sliding it, right at one hundred percent of my maximum push. I stretched out the clip into a straight wire and got out my ruler and a wire cutter. I clipped off seven percent of the wire and put in on the desk. Then I tried to push it up.

Nothing happened for a moment, and then very slowly the little piece of wire began drifting off the desktop. I smiled and released the snippet from my push. It fell back immediately. I reached for my cutter and cut the small segment in half. Then I tried again with only 3.5% of the original paper clip.

It worked! It fell upward immediately. I did some timing, and found at maximum push I could get it to fall upward at the same rate it would normally fall. I was exerting a force of two-g on the little sliver of wire. My force of 0.0003 Newtons was causing a net acceleration of one-gravity upward.

I sat back and shuddered. Should I throw all my physics books away? I had just violated the conservation principles of both energy and linear momentum. Energy... That's right. It takes power to do this. My current limit on force seemed to be 0.0003 Newtons. I didn't have the right setup to measure that more accurately. Was there also a limit on how much power I could generate? I started thinking about ways to measure...

I pulled out my stopwatch from my desk, the one I used to time Melanie with when I helped her train for track. Pushing aside the emotions for her for now, I set up a little track of my own, a little imaginary 230 cm vertical track from the floor to the ceiling of my room. If I put my head half-way in between, I could accelerate the tiny wire for the whole trip, having it shoot passed near my nose.

I started writing down a few equations. The kinetic energy as a function of time would be E(t) = .5 m v(t) v(t), where v(t) = a t, so my power into kinetic energy would be dE/dt = m a v(t) and my power into potential energy dP/dt = g m v(t).

I timed the flight of my tiny wire. It went from floor to ceiling in seven tenths of a second, consistent with a constant upward acceleration of one-g. My power into kinetic and potential energy at the end of the flight was the same, about one milli-Watt each. Unfortunately my stopwatch only measured down to tenths of seconds, not very accurate for what I was trying to do...

I stood there thinking about the results. Two milli-Watts? Not much power... But that was only a minimum estimate. I still had no idea of a maximum. How to test... I was so preoccupied I didn't hear dad come home and pause outside my bedroom.

"Hi Eric!"

I jumped. "Oh! Ah... Uh, hi dad!" My dad stared at me, wondering why I was so nervous. He glanced at the stopwatch in my hand. I smiled sheepishly. "Just thinking about a physics experiment... Sorry... Didn't hear you come in..." He gave me a brief nod and kept on going. "Phew!" I thought. "I'll have to be more careful!"

After dinner I showed dad Melanie's latest letter. My dad had grunted and shook his head during Melanie's first letter, but this one he read in silence and was absolutely motionless. When he looked up at me at the end, there was a tear in his eye.

He shook his head. "Talk about a pact with the devil... She made a deal with a pair of 'em... We guessed wrong... about Romeo and Juliet... Melanie and I both guessed wrong..."

"Huh?"

"This is more Faust than Shakespeare. Eric, think! Her parents don't really hate you particularly. They would hate anybody that would allow Melanie to be independent of them."

I shrugged. "Well, they're sending her to Harvard. That's Melanie's path to independence."

My dad frowned. "Yeah... Hell! That doesn't fit the pattern at all! I wonder..." He was silent for a long time. "Eric?"

"Yeah?"

"We never really talked about this, about Melanie. But from her letters... I don't mean to pry, but... How serious are you two about each other?"

I was my turn to be silent for a while. "We love each other. I think of her as my girlfriend, and she thinks of me as her boyfriend. We haven't made any life commitments. We both feel we're not mature enough for that. And we haven't gotten physical with each other, we really haven't. We both want to be more gentle with each other first. Melanie calls it emotional intimacy. We want to develop that first... I guess that's where we are dad..."

My dad nodded and gave me a kind smile. "Sounds like I should expect Melanie to be my daughter someday..."

"Well... It's still uncertain of course... But yeah... Melanie and I have been dreaming about that since Junior High..."

Our conversation ended soon after. Dad went back to his project of re-grouting the floor tiles in the kitchen, and I went upstairs to finish an English paper that was due the next day. We both sacked out a little after 10 PM.

Chapter 6.

Time: Wednesday, February 27, 2002 7:40 AM Eastern Standard Time

I was riding in the school bus, sitting by myself, feeling a bit tired. I didn't get much sleep the previous night, thinking about Melanie. I had a paper clip in my hand, and I began idly playing with it, stretching it out into a straight wire...

I did a spot check on my sense-sphere, 1.196 meters. I've gotten very good at self- testing; I don't need a ruler anymore. Then I went back to trying to push the paper clip down into my finger, and then up. Could I feel the difference? Maybe... Well, maybe not...

I tried combining my two abilities, my ability to zoom in for detail and my ability to PUSH... Things felt weird for a while, weird... then really weird... and then...

I could see it! No, not see it, feel it, sense it. The paper clip wasn't just simple metal. It was made of a very rigid frame holding a light but very stiff fluid. I suddenly realized that that stiff fluid-like substance must be the free electron population in the metal. I couldn't focus on individual electrons, not even close, probably by twenty orders of magnitude, but I could feel the population. My sense for detail was now allowing me to feel the electron population as a distinct fluid, very light, much lighter than the atomic frame...

Could I PUSH it? Just the fluid? I tried. It was totally impossible. It suddenly occurred to me the fluid had nowhere to go. I bent the straight wire into a circle and tried again. It worked! As I stared at the wire I could feel the effort, sense the electron fluid spinning round and round. Fascinating...

"Eric my man! You on drugs or something?"

I looked up. "Oh, hi Bob! No, just wool gathering. Ready for the math test today?" I spent the remainder of the trip chatting with a friend.

I had a free period that morning. Our history teacher was out sick and the sub hadn't shown up either. The class was asked to go study in the library. I ran ahead and managed to get one of the computer spots. Something dad had said last night about Harvard not fitting the pattern was bugging me. I wanted to look something up. I spent part of my time looking up contact information for Harvard's Registrar Office, and another chuck of time thinking about pushing electrons in wires. About fifteen minutes before the period ended, I slipped out of the library and headed over to the deserted physics lab.

I was in luck. The door was unlocked. There was a nice multi-meter on a lab bench there, locked down so nobody could walk off with it but still usable. I grabbed a 4.7 k- ohm resister and a short piece of medium-gauge copper wire. I connected the wire to both ends of the resister, and then clipped the multi-meter probes to both connection points. I turned the meter to read DC voltage. It showed 0.000 volts. Well, that made sense...

I looked at the clock, 11:20 AM. I probed my sense-sphere. 1.2 meters exactly, as far as I could tell. And then I locked the electrons in the copper wire and I PUSHED, as hard as I could. I could sense them flowing. I glanced over at the multi-meter. It was registering 1.004 volts. I smiled and let go of the electron-fluid and the meter dropped to zero. I put everything back and went to my next class.

I did a short calculation. Power equals voltage squared divided by resistance, so my current maximum power output was 2.15 mW. So... I must have been barely able to do my acceleration experiment last night...

Rather than eat lunch I went outside the school building and got out my cell phone. It was time to verify something. I called up the Harvard Bursar Office.

At first they didn't want to talk with me, even after I gave them Melanie's student ID and social security number. But then I said I wanted to pay for Melanie's tuition deposit, and the guy went to get his supervisor.




Kinetic



"Who is this?" a woman's voice asked a short time later.

I decided to play it straight. I introduced myself as a close friend of Melanie who wanted to cover any payment issues there might be with Melanie's enrollment. We talked for a minute, and then the woman decided to level with me.

"We've sent so many notices! The deposit was required to be here by the end of January. There's a one-month grace period, but it's a strict cut-off after that. Melanie's enrollment is about to be terminated."

I blinked. "She'll lose her option for early decision?"

"No. Regular enrollment is a completely different rotation. She's about to lose her chance to come to Harvard period."

"Oh my gosh," I said without thinking. "Can I wire you the money?"

"Yes. It absolutely has to be here by tomorrow though, $11,984."

I let out an explosive gasp. I was still thinking in terms of an application deposit. "Uh, could you break that down for me?"

"Sure. The charges for the first year will be..." and then she read me a list of numbers. "$24,707 tuition, $4,461 Room, $3,945 Board, $1,082 Health Services, and $1,755 misc. fees. The first third was due in January, then two payments of $11,983 each are due the end of May and mid September. You want a breakout of the fees?"

"Uh, no, that's okay..." I thanked her in a daze. Fortunately I was with it enough to get all the bank routing codes and account numbers I would need to wire the money. The Bursar also asked for my contact information. Right before I was about to hang up, I said, "May I ask? Wasn't there a payment sent in January?"

There was a pause on the line and then a grunt. "I remember this one. We sent our final notice over a week ago! All the paperwork on the acceptance form was fine. But there was a stop-payment order on the check."

"Ah... Will you be sending a letter to Melanie's parents about this new payment?"

"Well... Normally the receipt notice just goes to the person paying the bill. Do you want one to go to Melanie's parents too?"

"Uh, no actually, I guess not."

"Hmmm. Okay. Then their next notice from us will be in mid April, for the May payment."

"Uh, could you send that to me instead?"

There was a long pause. "That's not normal... But parents putting a stop-payment order on a tuition check isn't normal either..." There was another long pause. "Done. Expect to see the bill by April 15'th."

I thanked her and hung up, and spent the rest of the school day doing a lot of soul searching.

I told everything to my dad that evening, as we were washing the dinner dishes. I must say, he didn't seem too surprised, at least about the lack of payment from Melanie's parents.

He sighed as he dried a pot. "Now that I think about it, I seem to recall something similar happened to Patricia. There was some registration mix-up, and she missed going to college right after high school. I can't remember the particulars..."

I stared at him. "I didn't know that. I don't think Patty ever did go to college."

"No, I don't think she did either... Eric, after we finish here, let's sit down and talk."

A short time later we were in the living room, dad was just sitting and smiling at me. I realized he wanted me to take the lead in the conversation.

"Dad, do I have your permission to pay for Melanie's tuition?"

"Do you need my permission?"

"Well... No... But I'd like to have it just the same."

"Then go to it!" My dad laughed and then thought of something. "Actually, maybe you do need my permission. I'll pick you up at school during lunch, drive you to the bank. The bank will probably consider tomorrow the day before your birthday. They might still think of you as a minor."

"Thanks..." I leaned back in my chair and sighed, mentally going over my finances. Mom had a $50,000 straight term life insurance policy which she left to dad. She also had a $300,000 accidental death policy which listed dad and me as equal beneficiaries. Dad had assured me he'd pay for any undergrad program I wanted. Mom and Dad had already saved up for that. I had thought with my $150,000 and all the other money I've saved up, I would come out of college in fine shape. But four years of paying for Melanie would really take a bite out of my savings...

"Well, worst case scenario, we both graduate with still a little money and no debt. That's not so bad."

My dad frowned at me. "Don't jump the gun Eric."

"Huh?"

"Eric, Melanie needs to learn how to be independent, not jump from being dependent on her parents to being dependent on you."

"But?! Didn't you and mom depend on each other?"

My dad laughed. "Sure! After we were married! Son, think! How can Melanie freely decide to marry you, if she has no other option?"

Dad's point left me thunderstruck. "Holy shit! I didn't think of it like that..."

"Don't get me wrong Eric, I'm not trying to tell you how to spend your money. But I would think Melanie will qualify for financial aid once she can document her parents have abandoned her. You might just have to pay for the first year." My dad paused. "I'm not trying to tell you who not to marry either. What I'm trying to say is, help her stand on her own two feet first... Eric..."

"Yeah dad?"

"If things get tight, come and talk to me. Assuming you two stay together, medical school for Melanie might be a big expense. I'd like to help." My dad sighed. "You'll probably wind up borrowing from the bank for most of it. That would be normal, and nobody will be loaning me money to retire on. Still, I'd like to help."

I nodded gratefully, and got to thinking. Even with Melanie's expenses, boy, I couldn't complain. And my new abilities, so amazing... Any way of turning them into money? I had to smile. No combination lock could withstand me. Are there * legal * ways of turning my abilities into money? There must be something! No, I guess I shouldn't worry about money after all...

Chapter 7.

Time: Saturday, March 23, 2002 1:30 PM

I'm riding a bus over to a service center to pick up my car. I want it to be in good shape for my trip to Illinois next weekend. I'm getting some new tires and an alignment, new front and rear brake pads and shoes and an oil change. My car is a simple 1998 Chevy Cavalier that I bought used last year. It's never given me any trouble, and I try to take good care of it.

I bought myself a multi-meter a couple of weeks ago. I wanted to track the growth of my power output on a daily basis, and didn't want to risk getting caught in the High School physics lab alone. What would be my reason for being there?

My power output has been growing rapidly, much faster than the expansion of my sense sphere. The force I can exert on objects is also increasing, at a rate just a bit slower than my power growth rate. At 11:30 this morning, I measured:

My sense-sphere radius was 2.024 meters, still doubling every 31 days and 20 hours.

My maximum power output was 19 mW. I pushed the voltage across the 4.7k-ohm resistor up to 9.45 volts. My power growth rate is a clean exponential, with a doubling time of 7 days and 15 hours.

And my maximum force is about 0.0027 Newtons, as close as I can measure it, nine times stronger than when I first discovered it with the paper clip. I'm guessing it's also exponentially growing, with a doubling rate of 7 days and 23 hours. I built a torsion scale in my bedroom to measure this. A stiff steel wire with another stiff wire crossing it at the bottom. I push against the tip of the horizontal cross piece, torquing the main vertical wire, and the maximum angle of my push give me my force.

Last week I indulged myself and bought a high-tech min-flashlight. It runs six high- output white LEDs with 1.4 Watts from a single AA Li-battery, providing 50 lumens of light, 250 candlepower. It's not much compared to a light-bulb. A 100 Watt light-bulb produces 1600 lumens. But for a really tiny flashlight, 250 candles isn't bad.

According to my graphs, I should be able to generate 1.4 Watts in less than two months, May 9'th at 9 PM. Man, that would be so cool, lighting up the flashlight all by myself! And if not, well, I've bought myself a $60 toy...

A guy with a really ugly boom-box boards the bus and sits right next to me. He had the thing blaring, and looked even uglier than the box, a real mean-looking biker dude. He was snarling and trying to make eye contact with anybody who would dare look at him.

I don't back down from necessary fights, but I really don't like to fight. I thought about putting up with the noise and just letting the matter go. My stop was only about ten minutes away. But I got to thinking...

The boom-box was in his lap, the speakers pointing right at me, a little less than two meters away and just within my sphere of influence. Hmmm... I started probing the box, tracing the circuitry. My ability to zoom into details is growing exponentially too, though I haven't thought of a good way to measure it. If I had to guess, I could focus down to about 300 micrograms.

I isolated a single input on a chip in the boom box. I traced the wire coming out of the chip on the printed circuit board and then PUSHED 19 mW in the opposite direction.

The awful rap music continued with the same volume, but it suddenly started to sound very hissy. The biker dude looked down at his box and frowned and started trying to tune the station. I let go after a moment, and the hiss went away. Another idea had occurred to me. I zoomed down with my sense as tight as I could go. At maximum magnification, it was a sphere of about 300 microns radius, and I zoomed right into a transistor-rich region of the micro-chip. And then I pushed that sphere with everything I had, 0.0027 Newtons.

I felt my target area zip away from me in an instant and the boom-box went silent. The biker dude looked extremely, extremely annoyed and I turned away from him so he wouldn't see me smiling.

I got to thinking about what I had just done. Holy shit! I had probably PUSHED that micro-sphere of transistors with hundreds of gravities of acceleration. Where the hell did it go?! Grateful that I didn't seem to have injured anybody, I got off the bus a few minutes later.

Time: Thursday, March 28, 2002 11:47 AM

I picked a quiet area outside the main cafeteria area to eat my lunch. I wanted to be able to talk in private if my cell phone started to ring...

I checked my power level this morning at 6 AM, 11.73 volts on my multi-meter, 29 mW, right on track. Last Saturday night, I also did a few calculations on the boom-box micro- chip I destroyed. My best guess is I accelerated my micro-sphere for about one millisecond at about 1,000 gravities and then hit my power limit. At that time it had probably moved 2.6 mm and was moving around 16 mph relative to the rest of the chip. So, my micro bowling ball probably never left the chip. I've got to watch myself though, and think through the implications of what my capabilities are before I try new stuff...

Sunday and Monday I started having a lot of second thoughts about going to Illinois this weekend. Melanie turns eighteen on Monday. I certainly don't want to drive off with her before that. Until Monday, she's still her parents' minor child, and I'm a legal adult now. I could probably be arrested. But even after Monday...

I kept thinking... Melanie still needs her High School diploma. Her parents might be totally wacko, but they also have a lot of power in town. Maybe it would be better for Melanie to continue her ruse for another two months and peacefully pick up her diploma. But then again, I don't know how bearable her situation is. I kept re-reading her letters, and finally decided I needed some input from her. I decided to ignore her request not to ask for some third-party help...

Greg was my closest friend at Sterling High and a good friend of Melanie's too. I swore him to secrecy and told him about Melanie's act and how her parents had almost succeeded in sabotaging her enrollment at Harvard. He was stunned, and then readily agreed to slip Melanie his cell phone if he got the chance.

A few minutes after noon on the 28'th, my cell phone started to ring. My hand was shaking so badly I had trouble answering it.

"Eric?" It was a whisper, Melanie's voice!

"Yes! Are you safe to talk?"

"Yes, for a few minutes. I'm very grateful to two old friends. Jason is usually guarding me, but Greg got his sister to make a fake pass at him, and Jason's gonads won out over the money he's getting from my dad to monitor me. Greg is nearby right now, keeping watch for him."

"Jason? Oh shit, not C.J.?!"

Melanie laughed. "Yes, Creep Jason! How did you guess?"

"Hell... Melanie, I've got some important news to tell you..." I spent the next few minutes describing the situation with Harvard. There was silence on the line when I finished. "Melanie?"

"My God... my God Eric," Melanie whispered. "I'm living with monsters! Cruel and manipulative monsters..."

"No argument from me on that one..."

"Eric, this changes everything! What should I do?! Wait! Eric! I can't accept you paying for Harvard!"

"Sure you can. Melanie, I'll help you move out of your parents' house on Monday if you want, or do you want me to wait until you graduate?"

Melanie paused, and then gave a soft whisper. "Oh Eric, I love you!"

"I love you too."

"... This changes everything... My gosh Eric... Uh, wait till I graduate. Can you come to my commencement?"

"Count on it!"

"Okay! I will! What?!" I heard her call out, probably to Greg. "Eric, I have to go! Bye!"

I sat nervously for ten minutes before I got another call. It was Greg's voice. "Eric?"

"Yeah. Everything cool?"

"Yep. Mission accomplished."

I breathed a huge sigh of relief. "Greg, thanks a million. Thank Lisa for me too."

"Thank her yourself. She's right here..."

"Lisa?"

"Eric! You and Melanie owe me big-time! I almost had to let C.J. start pawing me to keep him distracted!"

"Shit! Really?!"

"Yes, really. He is a true creep! But I'm just joking about a debt. I was glad to help. Uh, my brother wants his phone back."

"Greg? I can't"

"Oh hell Eric, don't mention it. Really. I just wanted to let you know, Melanie got back under C.J.'s radar without being discovered. I had the chance to tell her if she ever wanted my phone again, just to make eye contact with me."

"Greg, you the man."

"Glad to help, ole buddy. Hell Eric, this situation is right out of a horror novel."

"I agree."

"Don't worry about Lisa or me. We will be tombstones about this. One more thing. Melanie had a chance to hand me her social security ID. She asked me to mail it to you."

We chatted for a few more minutes and then Greg had to go. I felt incredibly relieved, and then a little foolish that I didn't try to do this earlier. Having two friends in Sterling helping us was such an enormous benefit. I stared at my cell phone and realized my hand was still shaking.

Chapter 8.

Time: 12:03 AM Friday, May 31, 2002, DeKalb Illinois

I had checked into a motel late Thursday night, shortly before 11 PM, an hour's drive east of Sterling. I had been on the road since early morning, had driven close to 800 miles, and now I was lying in bed trying to get some rest. Melanie's commencement is tomorrow, two days after mine. No, wait. It's after midnight. Her commencement is later today. I still don't know how events will play out, but I'm hoping Melanie and I will drive back to Pennsylvania.

My sensing and pushing abilities have continued to grow. I can now sense things from 9 meters away, exert a force of 1.05 Newtons, and generate over 9.5 Watts of power. I found I really don't need my expensive flashlight. I can just lock 2 cubic mm of air and pour 9.5 Watts of power into it, raising the temperature to 4000C in a millisecond. The incandescence is quite brilliant.

I've come to realize that I can be quite deadly to anyone within my sphere, lock and fry their heart pacemaker tissue in an instant. I've vowed to myself never to use my powers to attack anyone's body unless it were truly a life-or-death situation.

I felt exhausted from the drive. I had a concern I'd be so worried about Melanie, I wouldn't be able to sleep, but I soon met her in my dreams...

The commencement was unreal. Melanie was valedictorian, and had asked to speak at the very end of the program, after the diplomas were handed out. Graduation papers in hand, she went on stage and gave an incredible speech, stressing the importance of both self-esteem and love for others, the importance of both courage and consideration, and how utterly she had personally failed these ideals. She described how her parents had been manipulating her and degrading her for months, how she had allowed them to strip her of her dignity, and then she denounced them for trying to sabotage her enrollment at Harvard.

Both her parents started screaming at her from their seats. Her dad was incoherent, and her mom was screaming that Melanie was committing slander. He parents then both stormed out of the hall. The rest of the auditorium remained sitting stunned and silent.

Melanie finished her speech, bidding her friends goodbye and walked off the stage. She handed her graduation robe to Lisa and then came straight to me. "Eric," she said simply, "Get me out of here."

We got to my car in a tie with C.J., and he started standing in front of my driver's door, glaring at me and itching for a fight. "Eric, you piece of shit! You think you can just walk in here and steal my girl?! You pervert! She's promised to me!"

Melanie shook her head in pity, "C.J., let go of your delusions."

C.J. whipped his head around to Melanie and seemed to notice her for the first time. He seemed astonished by what she had just said. "Don't call me that, you bitch! My name is Jason!"

I was confused by his words. He hadn't said Melanie belonged to him. He said Melanie was promised to him. Promised by whom? "Let it go, Jason," I finally said, trying to be reasonable. "There's nothing you can do to stop us from leaving, short of breaking the law, and Melanie's dad isn't paying you enough for that."

C.J. turned back to me and shot me a look of wild hatred, and then threw a punch at me. I was more than half expecting it, and ducked and launched my counter-attack. I had scanned C.J. a moment before and knew he had a cheap butane lighter in his pants pocket underneath the graduation gown. I melted a hole near the top of the plastic lighter in less than two seconds, and my 10-Watt incandescent power point easily ignited the butane. C.J.'s expression flashed instantly from pure hatred to stark terror as he realized his pants were on fire.

As C.J. was running around desperately trying to pull his pants off in the center of the street, Melanie and I jumped into my car and drove off.

"Wow, that was fortunate," said Melanie. "What an incredibly lucky break."

"... Yeah..."

We were both too keyed up to start talking with each other. I just drove south over the bridge on Route 40, driving through Rock Falls to pick up I-88 East.

One mile from the Interstate, I was stopped at a red light at the intersection of West Rock Falls Road, and I looked up into my rear-view mirror. I could not believe my eyes, the moment seemed completely surreal. Melanie's parents were right behind us. Melanie turned and saw them too and started to whimper.

"It's okay, just relax!" I said. I probed their car and waited. Just as the light was about to turn, I fried the micro-chip controlling their electronic fuel-injection, and then calmly stepped on the gas a second later. The car behind me was dead in the street and the people further behind started honking.

"Wow, that was fortunate," said Melanie, looking back and seeing her father open his car hood in the distance. Her mother was also out of the car, and she seemed to be gesturing wildly at both her husband and the traffic trying to pass them.




Kinetic



"What?!" muttered Melanie. "Another incredibly lucky break?" She looked at me with a very confused expression. "Eric? Did you cause that?"

"Uh..." I had promised myself I would never, ever lie to Melanie, no matter what. "Sort of. Don't ask me how, okay?"

She stared at me in pure admiration. "Okay. Wow! Very professional Eric! I feel as if I'm in the middle of a Mission Impossible movie!" We got on I-88 a moment later and started heading East.

We drove 400 miles that day, stopping only for short restroom breaks. I had box lunches for us already in the car. We finally stopped in Sandusky, Ohio, at a small hotel along the banks of Lake Erie. It was very pretty, and a bit off the beaten track. I thought it would be a good place for Melanie to unwind.

My first thought was to rent two rooms for the night, but Melanie didn't want to be alone and we wound up renting one room with two queen-sized beds. Melanie was delighted that I had pajamas for her and two extra day outfits. I thought about basking in more of her adoration for a moment, and then confessed the clothes were my father's idea.

We both took showers after checking in. Melanie spent a long time under the steaming hot water, and commented after she got out she hadn't felt this clean in a year. She looked so pretty in her new clothes, and we strolled along the promenade for a while, holding hands after sunset and watching the water as the evening twilight turned to night. We found a nice restaurant and had a light dinner. Afterwards we walked back to our hotel room and sacked out.

Our conversations for the whole day had been caring and affectionate but also a bit light. I was sure Melanie was under a terrific strain, trying to adjust from all the horrors she went through, and wasn't ready to talk about them yet. For my part, I was hiding the fact that I had abilities that made me effectively non-human. I think we both sensed we were hiding major things from each other. It made things just a bit awkward.

We changed for bed. I tried not to stare at her as she came out of the bathroom in her pajamas, but... Damn! She is so incredibly, incredibly beautiful. She still had a very fit body, even being off track she somehow managed to get in lots of exercise. She looked like an angel without a bra, her pajama top falling loosely around her taut breasts.

I was already in my bed. She climbed into hers and turned off the lights, lying on her back, her head face up on the pillow. "Good night Melanie," I whispered. "I love you."

"Goodnight, my love," she whispered in reply. She hadn't pulled the sheet up past her hips, and I lay there silently for a while, watching the rise and fall of her breasts as she breathed, overcome with emotions of wanting to care for her. After a while I turned over to give her some privacy.

An hour passed, the room silent except for the soothing rush of coolness from the air conditioner. I thought I heard the softest of a whisper. "Asleep?"

Did I just imagine it? "No..." I whispered back. I heard a rustle of Melanie leaving her bed, and then I shivered as she climbed into mine, curling up around my back. She petted the side of my hip for a while, loving caresses. Then she kissed the back of my neck and pulled me to turn to her.

We were soon locked in a fierce embrace, more loving than passionate at first, but the sexual desire certainly was there on both sides and it was building. Melanie started to pant and I could feel her body shiver from her arousal. We stroked each other's bodies through our pajamas. Melanie was on her back, an arm under me holding me to her, and I was lying on my side against her. I could feel my stiff penis pressing into the side of her hip, and I was delighted she didn't mind. My throat caught as I realized Melanie was welcoming my arousal.

We were kissing, sweet and playful kisses drifting in and out of passion, rubbing noses and exploring each other's lips with our tongues. My hand was caressing her ribs and stomach, and in one deep kiss I was overwhelmed with desire for her and my hand came up and cupped her breast.

Melanie shivered and then nodded her head fiercely. I broke our kiss with a gasp, so many emotions swirling in my mind, all the desires, so strong and so beautiful. I began stroking the softness within my hand. It was the first time I had ever felt a girl's breasts. So soft, so beautiful, so mysterious, all softness and warmth and the swollen points of her aroused nipples rubbing against the palm of my caress.

"Eric?" Melanie whispered.

"Yes?"

"Do you want to take me? Tonight?"

"... I love you..."

Melanie snuggled against me. "And I love you... What would you like?"

I cried. I actually gave out a cry, not loud but primal, a direct protest from the core of my soul, protesting the conflict between my overwhelming sexual desire to mount and enter Melanie and my overwhelming desire to be gentle and care for her. In a gasping breath, I replied, "We should wait... I love you... so dearly... I don't want to hurt you..."

Melanie cried back and nodded, kissing me and whispering, "Thank you! I couldn't bear to deny you my body, but... Thank you for waiting..."

Her body started shaking. We cuddled for a while, feeling each other shiver through our pajamas.

Melanie smiled at me with tears in her eyes. "And thank you for loving me... There's so much I have to tell you... So much horror I have to tell you..." She curled against me and cooed, trying to unwind from her arousal. I suddenly realized I could smell her, smell her wet desire for me between her legs. This beautiful, most precious creature in my arms... My hand drifted down from her breasts. She is so perfect! I started to caress her stomach again while we kissed, dropping the caress to stroke the lean and fit abdominal muscles below her stomach.

Melanie giggled. "Yes, right there!" she whispered. "Without you, I'd be in a lot of trouble, right there, probably right about now..."

"Huh?"

"Here, let me show you..." she whispered. She took my hand in hers. "Stretch out a couple of fingers..." She took my outstretched hand and slipped it underneath her pajama bottoms. I could feel the rich brush of her coarse pubic hairs sliding along the side of hand. My fingers were pressing down into her body on one side of the front of her pelvis, near her hip bone.

"That's right, right there..." Melanie whispered. "Push down. Feel that? That's my left ovary. I felt it twitch yesterday. I think I'm rolling an egg, right now, along here... Feel that? Feel the Fallopian tube? Feel how it joins with the top of my uterus?"

I was both aroused and fascinated. Without thinking I probed with my sense, clearly seeing in my mind and tracing with my fingers the intimate core of Melanie's reproductive system. I felt overwhelmed that she was sharing such intimacy with me. "Yes, I feel it," I whispered back.

Melanie shuddered. "Eric, if it weren't for you, I'd probably be getting raped and impregnated right now."

"Huh?... WHAT?!"

"My parents... It was your call and my eighteenth birthday party that finally opened my eyes to the true horror of my parents..." Melanie sighed and stretched out and began caressing the back of my neck. She began opening up to me.

"My birthday party was surreal. Mom and dad invited a some stuck-up couples and a whole bunch of unattached boys, none of whom I liked. The boys were shockingly rude, demanding to kiss the birthday girl and pinching my ass when they did. And then C.J., C.J. no less!, would come to my rescue and break it up."

I grunted. "C.J. to the rescue, huh?"

Melanie giggled. "Yes. It was no less ridiculous in real life either. And my mom and dad fawned on C.J. at the end of the party too, thanking him for taking such good care of me. I had known for months he was head coordinator of the boys who were keeping track of me at school. Everything was so fake, so pathetic. Oh, Eric! I'm so sorry I didn't write you more often last year. It's just that I was almost never free from observation."

"Hey! I understand completely. Melanie, what you went through is beyond my imagination. You don't know how much respect I have for you, even to survive..."

Melanie leaned up and kissed me, and then settled back in my arms and continued. "These last two months, my parents were dropping so many stupid hints, about what a fine young man Jason was, and how lucky I would be if I could somehow get him to take me as his girlfriend. At first the suggestions sounded so ridiculous I thought my parents were joking, even though that would have been way out of character. But they were serious..."

Melanie sighed and was silent for a moment, reliving the memories. "Ever since my party, my mom has been keeping an inventory on my bedroom, looking through my trashcan and keeping track of my supply of maxi-pads in my desk. I finally realized what was going on. She was timing my ovulation cycle, trying to calculate when I would be fertile..."

The horror of what Melanie went through finally dawned on me. I nuzzled the side of her head and gently kissed her. "My God Melanie..."

"Yeah... A steady drumbeat over the last two months, how lucky I would be if I captured Jason, how happy my parents would be for me, and did I want to invite him over in the evenings to watch some movies? Such a fine young man, and I should feel so fortunate he was interested in me. My parents said they would help me if I wanted to date him. Have him come over for dinner and maybe a movie, they kept saying. I knew my parents would then find some excuse to slip out of the house for a while...."

Melanie started to shiver. I held her close and kissed her. "My God Melanie... How did you survive?"

"I kept saying I was very unsure about dating, how inexperienced I was with boys, how much I wanted to talk to my school counselor about the idea. That put mom off for a while, but just barely."

Melanie shivered. "I finally had to negotiate. I agreed to evenings with Jason as long they started after my graduation. I think mom calculated I would be isolated from my High School friends and it also would be perfect timing with my fertility cycle. She accepted my condition..."

"It was a perfect setup for my parents Eric! I suspect they were going to pay Jason to fuck me silly over the summer. He must have thought it was the perfect job! And if I had got pregnant through consensual sex, C.J. would just take off and I would stay home with my parents to have the baby. And if I resisted his advances, Jason would rape me and, well, it would have been my word against his and both my parents. And the scandal would also keep me home."

"The only remaining possibility would be Jason fucking me the whole summer and not getting me pregnant. Who knows what would have happened then? Maybe my parents would have accused me of being a slut and canceled Harvard for that reason. Anyway you look at it, I would be at home next year, and it would be all my fault."

"Melanie," I whispered, kissing her and stroking her abdomen. "I'm so glad we waited. It's not just not having children. Sharing our bodies without commitment... real committment..."

"I know... I'm glad we're waiting too. I just didn't want to refuse you of anything. I can't tell you how happy I am, that you rescued me, and that you love me..."

Melanie cooed and sighed and then was very still, falling asleep in my arms. I stared at her for a long while, an angel so infinitely precious, sleeping peacefully in my arms.

Chapter 9.

Time: Thursday, July 4, 2002 10:43 PM

I kissed Melanie goodnight and walked back to my own house. We were coming back from a fireworks display and my dad had dropped us off at her apartment. I couldn't be happier. I have a girl who loved me, an exciting future at M.I.T. starting in two months, and unbelievable kinetic powers. The world is my oyster!

Melanie got a summer job at Reading Eagle, the local newspaper. She started as a part- time proof-reader, and the editorial staff was so impressed with her they also hired her as a junior reporter. She's now working 40+ hours a week and loving it.

She now has her own room that's she's renting, her own bank account, and a decent set of IDs, including originals of her birth certificate and a PA driver's permit. It's been a wonderful experience for both of us, living near each other now and preparing for college together.

And my kinetic abilities are growing right on schedule. My sphere of influence now has a radius of over 19 meters. I can generate a 22 Newton force and 229 Watts of power. And I just used my power tonight to commit a crime. After I got back home, I said goodnight to dad and closed the door of my room.

I pulled out the dark-brown envelope and stared at it. My great accomplishment! At least, that's the way I was thinking about it when I pulled my heist. But now? My conscience was starting to bother me, and I couldn't figure out why...

It was just before the finale at the fireworks display. There were a couple of tough looking guys standing against a wall sixty feet away, just inside my sphere of influence. I thought they looked like drug dealers, and I probed the duffle bag on the ground between the legs of one of them. I was right. It was filled with tiny quantities of powder wrapped in clear plastic. I was disgusted.

I probed further. There was an envelope filled with cash. I didn't probe for how much exactly, but it looked like a lot. And then the fireworks finale started, and the ground was shaking from the explosions overhead.

On the spur of the moment, I saw my chance. It was so simple to unzip the bag with a few Newtons of force, float the envelope up, re-zip the bag, and then float the envelope along the ground to my feet. And then, on a particularly big boom, I floated the envelope up my pants leg.

So now here I was, alone in my bedroom with the fruits of my victory. I shrugged off my nagging conscience and began to count. After a few minutes I had two piles of money before me.

One pile consisted of the loose bills in the envelope, two $100 bills, three $50's, eight $20's, two $10's, one $5, and two $1 bills, for a subtotal of $537.

My second pile came from a stack of $20's neatly bound with rubber bands. I counted them twice. They had random serial numbers, but were all neatly stacked and sorted face up, exactly 100 bills, $2000.

So, a total of $2,537, a nice pile of money, and the fact that most of it was in common twenties was also nice. I felt very confident I could spend it off gradually during the summer and dad and Melanie would never notice. And I was hurting a business that was killing people. I should feel great! And Melanie and I were going shopping in Philadelphia center city on Sunday afternoon. I could buy her a nice present! And yet... somehow...

I decided to ignore my uncertainty. I got up and stood on the scale in my room, 169 lb. And then I PUSHED myself, and I weighed 164 lb, and then I changed directions and weighed 174 lb. Cool...

Over the last few days, I've been doing this when I walk, lifting myself up. I like the way it feels, having a touch lighter step. If my power grows much stronger though, I'll have to be careful. I certainly don't want to have anybody see me violating gravity with my gait.

I hid the money in my closet and went to bed, just lying there and thinking for a while. It was a hot night outside and I started to boost the power flowing into the central air conditioner, taking 229 Watts of load off the house's electric meter. It was so easy to do, I could do it in my sleep. And last night, I did.

I had been experimenting in the end of June, trying to teach myself how to generate AC power and not just DC. I could regulate the voltage amplitude fine, but the frequency! I was all over the map at first, sliding between 40 and 90 Hertz.

I finally had the brilliant idea of letting the power grid teach me how to do this. I worked on just boosting the existing power grid in the house. Within an hour, I had the Hertz problem licked. When I'm on my own, I can now stay between 59 and 61 Hertz easily, and with an external grid, it's a piece of cake to just synch to the existing sloshing rhythm of the electrons.

I lay in bed tossing and turning. Sleep would not come. I glanced at the clock, forty minutes past midnight. I idly checked my power output to the house, 230 Watts. I sighed and admitted defeat. I would think about my theft of the $2,537. Why was it bothering me?

Did the drug dealers deserve to keep the money? No. Did I deserve to keep the money? If not, who does? These last two questions didn't seem to have a clear moral answer, and that bothered me. I had struck a blow against drug dealers! But I was also profiting from the drug trade... Was my theft an act of justice, or just cheap advantage? Should I donate the money to charity? Would that really absolve me of what I had done?

I tossed and turned and remembered another moral dilemma I struggled with a month ago. It was a couple of days after Melanie and I got to Pennsylvania, and I was wondering about my pledge not to attack anyone with my kinetic powers. In my fight with C.J., I'm sure I caused at least a minor burn on his thigh. What about my pledge? Somehow I was at peace with breaking my pledge, but why? After a long time thinking, I finally decided that clarity of moral purpose can be a surprisingly elusive concept. It's not really the acts themselves. It's the attitudes behind the facts...

I looked again at the clock, 1:40 AM. Hell... Power check, 231 Watts... I sighed and thought to myself, "Eric, stop this! You have work tomorrow! Get some sleep! You need a decision about the money? Fine! Keep the money! Buy Melanie a nice present! Buy dad a nice present too! Get some gas for your car! Now go to sleep!"

And that's what I did. I thought I would do a lot more thinking though, before I stole from drug dealers again.

Chapter 10.

Time: Wednesday, August 14, 2002 7:07 AM

I stayed in bed a few minutes after my alarm went off, just stretching and thinking. Today's the day! I went over and hopped on the scale before I got dressed, 167 lb. Okay... I *pushed* up as hard as I could. The scale looked like it went to zero. Yes! I'm still on track! According to my calculations, I should be able to *push* with 738 Newtons now. Just another hour to go, and I will have crossed the Rubicon. I *pushed* again and walked around the room playfully, enjoying the soft feel of my feet brushing lightly against the carpet with 1 lb of weight. This was so cool!

This close to my "ground zero", I could already tell what being able to fly would feel like. It would not be like being a weightless balloon. I still have my full mass and inertia. Instead, I imagined my body as a 3-D car, and I would soon be able to "drive" it wherever I wanted my body to go, even straight up. So incredibly cool!

I wanted this so badly, I started to fret a bit over the last few days, thinking that if fate dealt me a joker and stopped the growth of my power just below flying abilities... well, how much could I diet? But now it seemed all those worries were just idle thoughts. I was so close!

Everything else is also progressing on schedule. My sphere of influence is over 46 meters, and my power output is 8.91 kW. I had just tested it before getting up. I had *pushed* the thermostat on our 200-liter water heater to off last night, and then spent twenty minutes heating it by 13C this morning before switching the dial back on. Hot morning showers for everybody, on the house! Courtesy of...

Courtesy of what? Not of whom, of what? It was a deep problem, and one I had no idea how to explore. All this energy! Where was it coming from?! Did energy have to come _from_ anywhere? I used to think so. All the people who write physics books think so, that energy can be transformed, but total energy can be neither created nor destroyed.