The Ascendants
By Christian Green
January 2016
Published by
Legacy Press
Aurora, Illinois
Copyright © 2016 by Christian Green
This work is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either a product of the author’s imagination or are used factiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system, without the written permission of the publisher, except where permitted by law.
ISBN: 978-0692618684
Acknowledgements
Special thanks to: Mya, Mizenburg, Wil, Donovan, Marc, Jenni, Kara, the Wolfpack crew, Richland second grade, the students of Ms. Kuhn’s class and Rhonda for their excellent assistance and feedback; mom and dad, and of course every single one of you out there that has shown support for me during this incredible journey!
Chapter 1
One of Many
Cooper Barrett walked down the middle of the street without a care in the world. Onlookers stared in disbelief as the building behind them blazed from the fire he caused.
As Cooper walked passed the neighbors, he could feel their stares and hear their whispers. The attention he received did nothing but boost his ego.
“Get out of the street!” a driver shouted out of his window. He honked the horn three times, but his aggressive demeanor didn't bother Cooper in the slightest.
The driver revved on the gas in an attempted warning, but still, Cooper paid him no mind.
Out of frustration, the driver shook his head, pressed his foot on the gas and gunned it forward. He headed straight for Cooper, who had his back turned on the driver. When the car got within range, Cooper sidestepped to his right and evaded a collision. He pressed his hand on the hood of the car and almost instantaneously, the hood disintegrated.
“What the?” the driver shouted. The driver slammed on the brakes as hard as he could. He stepped out of the car and made his way towards Cooper.
“Problem?” Cooper asked with a slick smile.
“Yeah, I got a problem, you just did something to my car!”
Cooper looked passed the driver and over towards the car. He found the damage he caused the car to be amusing.
“I would say I'm sorry, but I'm really not.”
The driver glared at Cooper and said something foul just before he took a hard swing at him.
“Well, that wasn't very nice,” Cooper said as he evaded the driver's attempted attack.
The driver cursed again and positioned himself for another attempt.
“Oh please, don't even bother, there's nothing you can do to stop me.”
Cooper's own words brought forth an epiphany, and he turned to face the growing crowd of bystanders. “There's nothing any of you can do to stop me!”
The crowd looked at one another with confused expressions.
“What's going on out here?” someone unaware of what just occurred asked.
A middle age man pointed right at Cooper. “That freak just melted half that car with his own hand. He's one of those freaks, one of those Post Humans!”
Cooper looked in the man's direction and grinned. “What you have just witnessed is nothing more than a small example of what I can do. I am here today to show you, to show all of you, that the world is changing. No longer will people like me hide in the shadows.”
“I'm just trying to get to work. I could care less about any revolution or whatever nonsense you're talking about!” the driver of the disintegrated vehicle said.
Cooper chuckled. “Do you think your job is important? What I can do is important, what I am is important, what I represent is important!”
“And what exactly do you represent?” an authoritative voice asked.
Cooper looked around in an attempt to locate the source of the voice. A tall, slender, dark-skinned man dressed in all black and carrying heavy artillery stepped forward. Within seconds, three unmarked SUVS joined the scene, and multiple men dressed in the same all black attire stepped out of the vehicles and aimed their weapons at Cooper.
For a split second, Cooper's relaxed demeanor changed ever so slightly. “Your response time was unusually quick, and I don't recall ever encountering a team dressed like yours. Who are you?”
“Who I am isn't important, what is important is that you follow my instructions implicitly,” the dark-skinned man said.
Cooper looked around and saw he was surrounded. “I don't take orders, not from the likes of you.”
The dark-skinned man had a mixed reaction. He took the comment personal knowing the response was loaded.
Cooper smiled mischievously, “I'm sorry, did I offend you? This is quite the situation we have here. It seems that you are in quite the pickle.”
The men surrounding Cooper all laughed together.
“We've got you surrounded. You're the one that's in quite the pickle,” the lead agent said.
Cooper grabbed the driver and placed his right arm across the man's throat and his left arm clutched the driver's right arm. “You might want to rethink your position.”
“Let him go.”
“I don't think so. You aren't in any position to give out demands.”
The dark-skinned man looked towards the rest of his men and nodded. They responded to his head gesture by inching their way forward and moving in closer towards Cooper.
“Stop moving!” Cooper shouted. “Do you see that car? Take another step forward and you'll suffer the same fate.”
The dark-skinned man held up his left hand and balled it into a fist, a gesture that caused the other armed men to stop in their tracks and wait for instructions.
“You need to let this man go immediately.”
Cooper looked around the street and smiled. All eyes were on him and he loved it. “Soon the world will know. Let today serve as a warning. Let today serve as an awakening. We are the Chosen and our time is now!”
Cooper took his right hand off the driver and placed it on the driver's chest. Within seconds a large hole became visible in the middle of the driver's chest and he collapsed to the ground dying instantly.
The crowd screamed out in absolute shock at the site.
“Civilian is down, I repeat, civilian is down,” the dark-skinned man said. “That's it boys, take him out!”
Cooper raised both his hands over his head and slammed them back down to the ground. The impact of the Cooper's attack caused the ground to shake and the weapons to fall out of the men's hands.
“Get him!”
Cooper used the distraction to aid him in his escape attempt. He ran through the crowd and pushed through anyone that got in his way. As he neared, several of the civilians parted like the red sea. No one wanted to be anywhere near him.
“Move, move!” one of the armed men shouted to the crowd as he and the rest of his team moved after Cooper.
#mindblown! One onlooker posted on her MyFace page. Within minutes of the altercation, hundreds of videos, each with millions of views surfaced on the internet.
Cooper ran as fast he could from the armed men. The neighborhood was unfamiliar to him and as he tried to cut through one alley, he realized he had walked into a dead end.
“Freeze, don't move another inch!” one of the armed men shouted. The rest of the group closed in on Cooper. He had nowhere else to run.
“Do you have him?” the dark-skinned man asked over the radio dispatch to the rest of his men.
“Yes sir, Agent Hardine, we'v
e got him trapped.”
“Good, I'm on my way.”
Agent Hardine got inside one of the SUVs and the driver took off down the street.
“Not so chosen now after all are you?” one agent asked.
Cooper stayed cool and smiled. “My capture is irrelevant. I am just one of many, the revolution cannot be contained, and even worse for you, it cannot be stopped. Surrender now and I'll make sure you are spared.”
“Is this guy for real? What a joke!” one of the agents said.
“He's on something,” another replied.
Seconds later Agent Hardine's SUV pulled up. “Cuff him.”
The agent he spoke to looked at him hesitantly.
Agent Hardine gave the man the hardest of looks. “Never mind, I'll do it myself!” He reached to his backside and pulled out a pair of handcuffs.
“Handcuffs? The situation is so much worse for you if you truly believe handcuffs is the answer,” Cooper said. He laughed as Agent Hardine approached.
Agent Hardine wasn't too confident that the handcuffs would be enough to contain Cooper, but he saw no other options. “Don't move!”
“Standing still sir,” Cooper mocked.
“Slowly put your hands behind your back.”
Cooper moved slower than necessary for no reason other than to annoy the agent.
Just as Agent Hardine was about to apply the cuffs on Cooper, he found himself lifted off the ground by an invisible force and hurled into two of his fellow agents.
“Sir are you okay?” one agent asked.
“I'm fine, what the heck happened?”
The agent looked towards her right and pointed at three individuals. “Sir, I believe they happened.”
Agent Hardine got to his feet and stared at the two individuals that approached his position. “Who are they supposed to be?”
“No idea sir.”
The three individuals wore matching dark blue leather uniforms. Each individual had a holster for their weapon by their waist and another holster by their leg.
“Are these guys with us?” one agent asked as he noticed the similarities between their uniforms and that of the unknown individuals.
“Mission details didn't mention anything about another task force assisting,” Agent Hardine said.
Agent Hardine stepped forward and pointed his weapon at the trio. “That's far enough, identify yourself.”
A small petite woman, with short stylish black hair to her shoulders stepped forward. “My name is-”
“Mia, they don't need to know your name,” James, a man with biceps almost as large as Mia said.
“James, these guys will never trust us if we keep secrets from them,” Mia said.
“Hate to state the obvious, but everything about us is a secret,” said Cayde Brady, the third member of the trio.
Agent Hardine took another few steps forward. The rest of the agents followed suit. “I said state your name.”
“Well, you said identify yourself, the second time you said state your name,” Cayde said to be humorous. His sarcastic nature might've been tolerated by his peers, but Agent Hardine was less than amused.
Mia Rivera stepped forward. The attractive young woman had an innocent look about her which she often used to ease the tension between others. “We are the Ascendants.”
Agent Hardine gave the group a hard look.
“You know, when you say the name out loud, it does sound somewhat intimidating,” Cayde whispered to Mia.
Mia rolled her eyes. “Shut up Cayde.” She turned her attention back to Agent Hardine. “We are here for that man.”
“Well, what a coincidence, we're here for him too. As a matter of fact, we're here for people just like you.”
James Payton reached to his side and pulled out a custom handgun. He shifted his weight and aimed the weapon at the agents.
“James!” Mia shouted. She kept her eyes locked on Agent Hardine, but stepped in front of James to prevent him from firing on the agents. “This is not the way to make friends!”
“News flash sweetheart, I don't think he's trying to,” Cayde said.
Mia rolled her eyes. She looked around the area and noticed all the worried faces. She knew their terrified stares were directed at her and the rest of her team. All she ever wanted was to be normal, but she was far from it, and there was nothing she could do about it. “We don't mean to cause any trouble, but it's our responsibility to stop people that use their abilities to harm others.”
“Is that right? It's your responsibility? On who's authority?” Agent Hardine asked.
Mia tried to think of a smart answer to reply with, but she knew nothing she said would matter to the agent.
“As I thought, enough of this. Drop your weapons or we will drop you.”
Mia sighed. She had hoped that her team would've arrived on the scene earlier so they could've avoided the confrontation they faced.
“Can you please hurry up and get this over? My patience is running thin,” James said through gritted teeth.
Mia shook her head and made a frustrated sound. “Fine, but you realize all of this could've been avoided if we would've left when I suggested, right?”
“Really? You want to have this conversation right now?”
“I'm just saying.” Mia flicked her hands forward and with a strong invisible force, knocked the weapons out of the agents’ hands.
“We got a Post Human with telekinesis!” Agent Hardine said over the radio dispatch.
The agents attempted to grab their guns, but Mia used her telekinesis to control the weapons. She guided the weapons upwards and out of their reach.
Cayde watched in awe as Mia defied logic. Without ever touching the guns, she manipulated her hands in such a way she controlled all the agent's weapons. She turned the floating objects on the agents and held them hostage.
“I never get tired of seeing that!” Cayde said to James.
James smirked. “It is impressive; I'll give her that much.”
Mia looked back towards James and Cayde. “Umm guys, yeah, I'm not going to be able to hold these weapons in place forever. Would you be a doll and grabbed the criminal?”
James nodded and moved forward in Cooper's direction. The agents sized him up and contemplated making a move.
“Are we really going to let this guy just take him?” one agent mumbled to Agent Hardine.
“Don't see too many other options here Agent, how about you?”
The agent declined to reply as he knew Agent Hardine's question was rhetorical.
Cooper watched as James approached him. “I have to say, out of all the things I saw happening today, running into you guys wasn't one of them.”
James grabbed Cooper and jerked him forward. “Yeah, well I wouldn't get too comfortable if I was you. You might find where you're headed to be less accommodating than anything they had in mind for you.”
Cooper did not give James the satisfaction of a reply. He looked around at everyone and smirked.
“Don't even bother trying to disintegrate my arm or anything, the suit will absorb it,” James said with a grin that matched Cooper's smirks.
Before Cooper could reply, James nailed him with a right hook that rendered him unconscious. Agent Hardine stood still, startled, and confused by James' actions.
Cayde held out his right arm and pressed a button in the center of a small band attached to his wrist. “We've got him.”
“Copy that,” a voice from the device replied.
James lifted the unconscious man over his shoulder and worked his way away from the agents and back over to Mia.
Sweat trickled down from Mia's face and James knew she would not be able to hold the weapons in place for much longer.
“Well ladies and gentlemen, it's been a real pleasure, but it's well passed time for us to take our leave,” Cayde said.
The churning sounds of a large ship caught the agent's attention. They all looked towards the sky as a massive vessel made its way towards the
m.
“They have a ship?” an agent said.
“It would appear so,” Agent Hardine replied. He shook his head and cursed as frustration and disbelief overtook him. He had no choice but to watch the three individuals leave with his prisoner.
“I'm glad no one had to shoot each other today, oh and remember, we aren't the bad guys!” Cayde said.
Once everyone was on the ship, Mia released her hold on the weapons and they fell to the ground simultaneously.
“Fire on that ship, bring it down!” Agent Hardine ordered once his men regained their weapons.
The agents retrieved their weapons and fired, but the vessel was too far away to do any damage.
“What in the world just happened?” one agent asked.
“We got outmaneuvered,” Agent Hardine said. He stood still and stared at the ship until it was out of sight.
“Sir, what do we do now?”
Agent Hardine did not respond.
“Sir?”
“We find out everything we can on these Ascendants. I want to know who they are, what they can do, and most importantly, where they are!”
The agent nodded in understanding.
“Do it now!” Agent Hardine said. His dark- skinned face turned a couple shades red.
“Right away sir.”
The cell phone in Agent Hardine's pocket rang. He reached inside, took it out, and sighed when he saw the name on the other end. Agent Hardine swallowed spit and reluctantly answered the phone.
“Sir?”
“You've got some explaining to do. Meet me at headquarters immediately.”
Agent Hardine could not get out another word before his superior ended the call. Agent Hardine placed his phone back into his pocket. He walked back to his SUV and waited for his driver to open the door. Agent Hardine got inside and sat in the passenger's seat. He cursed loudly as he prepared himself for what he knew to be a most unpleasant conversation.
Chapter 2
Remnants of the Past
“How's our guest?” Dr. Connors, leader of the Ascendants asked. He watched Cooper via a camera feed that linked to several big screens in the control center of the ship.
The Ascendants: Genesis Page 1