“Hello, I am Chronos, your helper and companion, created for the Chronos V7.”
“Wait,” Sam interrupted, “have you been listening to us this whole time?”
“Yes, Sam Jones.”
“OK, I am now very, very jealous,” uttered Dustin, who was basically swooning over the voice of Chronos. “What’s mine do?!”
“Repeat the steps Jane took,” Oracle directed in its beautiful y unemotional voice.
“As I made clear, you do not have an intelligence uploaded into yours. Instead, the Tetra uploaded various technologies, such as power boost, bulb, geolocation, and fortification mode.”
The rest were dumbstruck, Kevin easily the most. “Each appurtenance you were given incorporate these specific components.”
Dustin, Johnny, Sam, and Ryan all followed the steps given, which turned on their specific outfits.
Dustin went first. There was a peculiar sound fol owed by, “Welcome to the Aurora V5. Apparatus set to English, major language of Planet Earth.”
“Yep, definitely from outer s-space.”
Sam was next. “Welcome to the Echo V9. Apparatus set to English, major language of Planet Earth.”
Ryan’s boot up responded the same, except referring to itself as the “Solace V4,” as did Johnny’s, which referred to itself as the “Edge VX.”
“Telemetries positive. Enjoy.”
“OK, I’m officially in love with Z,” Ryan exclaimed. “He real y knows the way of gift-giving.”
“Don’t give him the satisfaction,” responded Johnny.
“Hero in my book,” Dustin said sarcastically.
“Oracle, you said something about portal technology. What do you mean? Are you saying we have the power to teleport with these things?”
“Affirmative.”
“Holy crap,” Kevin and Johnny exclaimed at the same time. “How is that possible?”
“Utilizing the teleportation abilities of Zydok, the ruler of the Tetra, the Titan, created these for his special forces.”
“Wait, who?”
“My programming does not permit me to further disclose.”
“Well that’s helpful.”
This time, Rose grew uneasy, for she recognized the name.
“OK, well how do we teleport?” Ryan asked.
“You do not have that specific function. Only the Aurora V5 and Echo V9 have the capability.”
“Sounds like ours,” Dustin responded, looking at Sam. “I have the Aurora, and Sam has the Echo.”
“All right, so how do we activate it?”
“To activate the exotic matter, you must swing your arms in a circular motion to your side. As you do this, speak where you would like to go. The orb will activate, bending space-time to form a sphere, which will transport you to your desired location. A reminder: The bridge can only take you to a location within the host planet—never beyond.”
“Sam, I’ll do it.”
“OK.”
“But first,” the A.I. interrupted, “you must initiate fortification mode, so that the Aeon safeguard plates can harden.”
Johnny raised his eyebrows, amazed. Dustin and Sam both blinked repeatedly, trying to make sense of the bomb the artificial intel igence dropped. “Uh…OK,” Dustin said. “How the hell do we do that?”
“Tel me,” it replied.
“What?”
“Command me.”
Dustin put on a confused face, turning to the others and shook his head. “Thing’s dumb.”
Rose shook her head and hushed. “Want me to do it?”
“No! I got this. Uh, Aurora, initiate fortification mode.”
“Initiating.”
Dustin’s suit sprang forth in gold colors. “Uh, I feel something hardening,” he said.
“Not my pants, either.” Johnny and Ryan both chuckled loudly. Before long, though, the suit lit in specific regions, the safeguard plates making themselves apparent on the outer shell. He now resembled some sort of soldier.
Sam drooled, in awe of the sight. “Dude, you’re a walking gold ingot.”
“I know,” he replied, nailing the voice and the look. “I’m a futuristic ninja.”
“You are.”
Soon enough, Johnny and the rest initiated theirs. The white serrated lines on his suit il uminated blue, Rose’s suit il uminated a deep crimson, Ryan’s green, Sam’s white, and Jane’s gray.
Rose ogled over the pure awesomeness. “This…is amazing. I love red, obviously.
And now…I have it. Does Z know us personally?”
Johnny did not answer this time.
“Do I really look like Elsa now?” Sam asked Ryan, the whiteness of his armor bathing the room in even more light. “I feel like it does.”
“Don’t worry, you look badass,” Ryan responded. “As do I.”
Instead of carrying on like a child with Christmas presents, Jane said, “Let’s go guys.
The stuff is nice but there’s a giant bug out there.”
“She’s right,” Johnny said. “We have plenty of time later to check these out.”
“Fine,” Dustin replied. He swung his arms, shouting, “I desire to travel to Camp Hero, New York, United States, Earth.” A strange, mysterious sound emanated from one specific point. The room in which they were inside distorted, and in a few seconds, a large, black sphere rose from the ground and into the room. They had created the first wormhole in history, a rotating bubble of spacetime—something scientists dreamed of seeing.
“The first portal,” Johnny said. At least, that’s what he thought.
CHAPTER 10
COME AND SEE
“That a w-wormhole?” exclaimed Ryan.
“And we’re the first humans to use one,” replied Johnny.
The gravity increased, and the wormhole pulled them to it, including Kevin. “One smal step for man, one giant leap for mankind!” cried Ryan, screaming in fear, simultaneously with his fel ow companions.
The next moment, they were outside, among the trees. Far off in the distance, Montauk Laboratory resembled a beacon. Each of them had landed on the grass, face first. “Teleportations left for the day: three.”
“Yeah, I’m going to have to get used to that,” Ryan griped.
“Same.”
Kevin was ecstatic. “Wow! That was amazing!”
There was little time to groan, as the whirring noise of helicopters filled the air.
Raising their heads to the cloudy sky, the group caught sight of a large object. It was flying across the sky, followed by a helicopter. “Wow, this is going to be easier than I thought,” uttered Sam, who appeared focused. Johnny slipped on his face mask which reached up to his eyes. The rest did the same. They almost looked like criminals—
almost. More like ninjas.
Unfortunately, the thing caught sight of them as well, so it pointed itself to the ground and landed. Thus, it provided an opportunity to examine it from a close distance, the greenery behind its bulky yet ugly frame providing a nice backdrop. “It doesn’t seem organic,” whispered Kevin, who snapped a photo.
“It isn’t,” replied the bug out of nowhere. The voice did not originate from the bug itself. Upon further examination, it appeared to be a machine.
“Who are you?” questioned Rose.
“Adia, come and see!”
“Her name is Rose,” quipped Ryan. “And whoever you are, you go right back where you came from.”
“I’m afraid I can’t do that,” the voice answered.
“The hard way it is,” Johnny responded. Ryan motioned for Jane to throw him a medium-sized rock. He gripped it as the rock shrunk, transmitting itself into him. As a result, he grew seven inches and absorbed the material of the rock.
The invader shot at them with its blasters, which were built into its legs and arms.
They dodged the attacks, and Johnny slipped through the fire, using his speed to go around the bug, confining it. Fol owing his lead, Jane reached out with her arm and telekinetically i
nhibited its body. Ignorant of Johnny’s presence behind, he speed-kicked the invader, which sent it hurtling towards the others.
“Coming your way!” Johnny shouted, side-kicking the inorganic beast again as it hurtled through the air. Sam froze it with a discharge of his own power just as the invader fell into the wheelhouse of Ryan’s punch. The contact with his fist obliterated the bug, only sparing its severed head.
“Woohoo! That was awesome!” shouted Ryan, undoubtedly exhilarated. After al , he had reason to be. “That felt amazing!”
“Great job!” added Sam. “We didn’t even need to use Dustin or Rose!”
“Yeah, wel I would’ve liked to do something.”
“Doesn’t m-matter! I just witnessed the f-first team up in h-history!” Kevin cheered, clapping and raising his arms in celebration as if he had won a championship.
Johnny sped back. “Yep, that was sick.” He high-fived Ryan and Sam. “Nice going there, you guys.”
The head of the destroyed bug landed in front of them. It spoke. “Well done! Now, Adia, come and see.”
“Who are you?” Johnny questioned. “What do you want?”
“I am Solis, Voir to the Titan.”
“Who is Titan?” Sam responded.
“You wil find out.”
“Is he the one who visited me?” Rose asked, despite the baffled looks of her comrades thereafter.
The voice did not answer.
They turned to look at her. “What are you talking about?” Ryan interrupted.
“This guy has been visiting you? Where? When?” Johnny added.
“Long story. Tel you later.”
“That must mean…” Jane said, thinking out loud. “Is he the one who interrupted my sleep two weeks ago?”
Solis ignored the question. “Do not forget, he expects you.”
The others, except for Johnny, shifted their heads to her. “OK, what? You too?” Ryan inquired, both confused and frustrated.
“Long story. I’l tell you later.”
Ryan looked at Johnny, who only nodded his head in seriousness and distress.
“Wait, don’t tell me you knew as well.” Johnny stayed silent. Kevin swung his head in either direction, trying to keep up.
“In fact, he is expecting al of you.”
“Of course he is.”
“You didn’t answer my question. What does he want?” Johnny asked, striving to sound fearless.
“Come and see.”
“Come and see what?”
“Your lord. Your destiny. Your enlightenment. Your justification.”
“Tel your ‘lord’ that we’ll think about it.” Johnny motioned Rose over. “Light it up.”
“I will be happy to.”
“We shall await you. In five Earth days, we wil open a breach. It is imperative you cross.” These were its last utterances because Rose lit it on fire.
The helicopter crewmen had been recording since they came upon the scene. “Good thing our little friend gave us these visors,” Sam said, eyes locked on the helicopter.
“Yeah.”
“We need to get some cover,” Rose said. “Not a good idea to teleport while they’re watching.”
“There’s a thick forest right over there,” Ryan pointed. “Let’s go.”
When they reached the thick of the forest, Dustin turned on the teleportation mechanism. Space distorted, and a sphere emerged out of seemingly nothing but air.
“Damn. Two leaps in less than ten minutes. What a day, humanity!” exclaimed Sam.
A moment later, they arrived back where they started—Kevin’s mansion. “Wow, this thing really works.”
On the contrary, Johnny was angry. “Rose, why did you not tell us?”
“It didn’t seem necessary, Johnny.”
Johnny snorted a breath. “Say that as much as you want. Now we have an alien entity who’s expecting us. Neither of us believed aliens existed only two weeks ago.
And from the name ‘Titan,’ it doesn’t sound good!”
“Hold the phone. Don’t get angry at me. Jane isn’t innocent either, and we know you were in on it.”
Ryan, now back in his human form, stepped between the two and held them both back. “Johnny, shut up. The last thing we need is disorder among us. And you”—he turned to Rose, who pushed against him— “please keep that pretty face out of fights, will you? I real y wouldn’t like to see you both with screwed up noses.”
Johnny knew Ryan was right, so he stopped in order to prevent problems. When they were kids, he had been the culprit of many altercations. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to.”
“Whatever,” she hushed. She released and turned away.
Sam raised his eyebrows and let out a huffed breath. “Well, now that that is over with, what happens now?”
“Jane will disclose her encounter, and then, Rose, you will as well,” Ryan directed in parent mode. “Now you two play nice.”
“Look, I’m sorry I didn’t tel any of you earlier. But right now, leave me alone.”
“Take ten,” Ryan replied.
Jane recounted what happened that night, even that she called Johnny. Afterward, when she returned, Rose explained hers. It was similar but nevertheless different.
Though Z is equally intriguing and mysterious, Titan, as he was named, slowly but surely became a shadowy figure. A figure who had hid in the darkness of space for a long enough time.
“So a shadow appeared to you, Rose? What the hell does this ‘come and see’
bullshit mean?”
“I wished I knew.”
“What are we going to do?” asked Sam. “I’m usually a light fella, but we are in serious crap right now.”
“For one thing, I’m not telling either of my parents,” said Johnny. “And I suggest you reciprocate.”
“What? Why?” replied Ryan, who sought an explanation for this bombastic assertion.
“Because. Think about it,” Johnny continued. “If they find out where we are going, the whole city, and then the government, and then the whole world wil be after us. We cannot do it.”
“My Mom’s gonna kill me,” Dustin complained, facepalming himself.
“All of our parents will kil us,” Johnny added. “But this is something much bigger than each of us. You do realize what we are getting ourselves into, right?”
“We do.”
“I will only tel my Dad,” Rose responded. “I cannot leave him without telling him.”
“Look, Rose, we know you genuinely care for your dad, but—”
“No, Johnny. There is no but’s. Cut the crap. I must.”
“Ugh, fine. But you can only tell him.”
“I think I can handle it, dad.”
Johnny frowned at the remark while the brothers snickered. Sometimes she went out of her way to be an annoyance. Guess there has to be one fiery member in the team, he thought. “OK, so here is my plan. We go through the portal and meet Mr. Titan, and when we are gone, Kevin will keep the place safe. Don’t tell our parents. Ever.”
“Isn’t that b-blackmail?” questioned Kevin. “You’re basically b-blackmailing m-me into not doing that.”
Dustin and Sam laughed. “Yeah, isn’t that b-blackmail, Johnny?”
Kevin held a deadpan expression. “Was that n-necessary?” he retorted.
“Don’t worry, Kevin,” Dustin replied. “You know we love you.” They all chuckled.
“Sorry to interrupt, but are you saying you just came up with a plan in like fifteen seconds?” interjected Ryan.
“Yes, Ryan. Remember, faster body and faster mind.”
“That explains it.”
“Anyway, who’s ready?”
“Ready? I’m not.”
“Neither am I,” Sam complemented.
Johnny frowned once more. This is about to be crazy, he thought.
In five days, destiny will come to them. Soon, the time will arrive to cross over into something no human had ever accessed. At least, that’s what they tho
ught.
CHAPTER 11
CONTACT
The future had arrived. Today, they would make contact.
Out of the five nights, only Kevin could have a restful sleep, as the others’ minds were so preoccupied with their current situation that sleep was often difficult. The torture of what might happen in the coming events exasperated their wills. At the end of the five days, the time had come. The future was at hand. It coursed in their very veins.
But Johnny, Ryan, Dustin, Sam, and, of course, Rose, did not leave without bidding a goodbye—except it would be rather furtive.
The brothers, though usually light-hearted, were heavily affected by the idea of taking an interstellar wormhole across thousands of lightyears of space without a single word to a loved one.
Therefore, they both showed up at their parents’ doorstep the day of the departure.
“Hey Mom,” Sam greeted, walking straight in. The home of Robert and Jenny Jones, like the Sparks’ abode, was simple yet spacious.
The duo tried with every ounce of their strength to remain unsuspicious. To keep the act going, Dustin offered to stay for a meal.
“That sounds wonderful!” she exclaimed. “I have a pot roast.”
Dustin licked his lips. Damnit, last pot roast for a while. “Yum,” he said.
Up until dinner, which would be served in a half-hour, the brothers ascended the stairs into their childhood rooms. The white walls and blue ceiling welcomed Sam inside his bedroom, the memories of the past whispering into his ear.
The room had experienced so much—the endless crying when his grandparents died, the infamous breakup, and just plain hormonal imbalances. Thankfully, those times were over.
He ambled to his bed, the dreamy bed, running his hand over its sheets, lost in thought. He had not realized Jenny standing in the doorway until it was too late. “What’s wrong?” she asked.
Turning swiftly, he gulped and clenched his teeth. She looked very suspicious now.
“Nothing,” he briefly stated. “I’m, uh, just reminiscing. I’ve not been sleeping so well lately.”
She scrutinized his expression to the nth degree. He awkwardly smiled. “You’re right,” she said, taking two steps. There was not a trace of distrust, though. But he had been proven wrong many times when in a situation akin to this. “If these walls could talk, they would say a lot.”
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