Charlie was sitting in the front of Alex's truck. It was three weeks since they had dealt with the Subdoers and Alex had kept them from being discovered multiple times. They traveled on the fringes of cities, Alex would help them survive by day, and then he would teach them by night. Charlie was more physically strong, and had more energy. But Michael was learning Capoeira remarkably fast. Combined with what Alex had been teaching them about strengthening their powers, Michael seemed to be progressing at an alarmingly fast rate. They were driving to a "surprise." Alex had assured Charlie that her parents would be safe indefinitely as long as she avoided the Subdoers. So he said there was some people he wanted her to meet. 144Please respect copyright.PENANAXX4XnIenK8
"Friends of mine if you will, lets just be glad we can stop driving slowly. We'll cross the Nevadan-Californian border any time now." Michael was sleeping in the back seat. His gangly form was draped over the seat. "Uh... what do you do with these friends?" Charlie asked. "Normal stuff, thwart the Subdoers, blow stuff up, y'know." He flashed her one of his winning smiles, and Charlie had to suppress a laugh. She didn't know what she expected. Alex may have scared her on that night. But as dangerous as he was, he was starting to grow on her. He always had a joke, and could smile his way through an armed standoff. She thought that he must be messed up in the head, but that was a part of his charm. "What do you do with your friends Charlie?" Charlies smile faded. "Uh... I don't really have any, I spent all of my time reading and staying away from others so they didn't find out anything about me. You and Michael are the only people that I've talked to this much besides teachers and my parents." Charlie admitted. Alex's grin didn't falter. "Good thing you've got us as friends, hey. Since we're your friends it looks like you'll fit in perfectly with mine!" Alex focused on the road but Charlie's heart warmed. It was something special to have earned the trust of Alex. She carried that with her the rest of the ride.144Please respect copyright.PENANArWvLPp8YVj
144Please respect copyright.PENANAwH99u26NJm
After a few hours of driving Alex swerved off the road and slammed the brakes before he crashed into the side of a tall hill. Michael fell off the seat he was sleeping on, and Charlie heard him swear. Charlie was in shock, were they being followed? Were they in danger? Michael popped up. "What the hell?!" he said, clearly irritated at being woken up. "We're here!" Alex responded. Charlie's fear was replaced with confusion. "This hill?" She asked. "Yep, c'mon follow me. Its a wicked view." He gets out of the truck and Charlie follows while Michael mutters something that sounded to Charlie like "Wicked? Hell does he mean by that? How can a view be wicked?"144Please respect copyright.PENANA46mxLL6xCR
Alex led them up the side of the hill, up a weathered dirt path. When they got to the top Charlie noticed two things. With the setting sun, it really was a "Wicked View" and second, there was a stone slab set into the middle of the hill. The slab had 6 transparent stones set into its face, with little holes left for several more presumably. Alex admired the view for a moment and then he beckoned them near the slab. "Wanna see a magic trick?" He asked. "This better not be like the trick where you accidently blew up a gas station." Michael said in a tired voice. Charlie nodded gravely. Alex waved off their accusations and put his left hand to the slab. His hand started getting covered in frost and he then touched it to the slab. The 3rd stone down lit up a bright white and the rest of them followed suit. There was a terrible grinding noise and it slid open to reveal a staircase. "Wow, so that's a secret entrance to a rebel base or something." Charlie asked, kind of excited. She always loved books with mysteries and stuff like that. "Or something." Alex said with a laugh. Charlie and Michael followed Alex down the staircase and when they got to the bottom the sight there made Charlies mouth drop to the floor. It was a house. It was a nice house. The room they were in was furnished with plush red carpets and fancy couches facing a large T.V. There was a pool table in one corner and a Ms. Pac Man machine in the corner, although the machine had taken quite the beating. It had three ice knives in the side of it, half melted. It had several cracks in the screen and there was a burnt looking button with the controls. Alex followed Charlie's gaze and gave a nervous chuckle. "None of us could beat Ian's high score... We got a little... heated." Michael shook his head and Charlie just shrugged. She noticed that there were several doors leading off of the room they were in. "Where is everybody? How big is this place?" She asked. "They'll be here in a second, and uh. Pretty big." Charlie was going to ask another question when a door behind the Ms. Pac Man machine opened up. Three people walked out. They stood side by side, with two walking slightly behind the middle one. The middle one was a short and muscular looking man with close cropped orange hair and serious blue eyes. He looked like he could have been anywhere from his mid 20's to his late 40's. The person on his right was a tall woman. As a matter of fact, she stood at exactly 6'0 it seemed. She had long black hair and her features were very reminiscent of Alex, she had the same light tan skin and easy smile, like she was about to tell a bad joke. The last person, the one on the left, had a brooding look to their face. Like someone had told them that their dog died and it was the fault of whoever they were looking at. Charlie couldn't really tell what gender they were, and it seemed to be on purpose. They had soft facial features(albeit in a scowl) with a messy black hair that framed their face. "Alex, how good to see you, and it looks like you brought guests?" The middle one said. He spoke at a normal tone but his voice had a way of projecting itself. The tall girl charged straight at Alex and hugged him. "We heard that you were attacked. Are you ok?" He lifted up his shirt and showed her his barely healed scar from Viper. She sucked in a sharp breath. "You have to be more careful. What if you had been kil-" She was interrupted by the angry looking one. "He's more than capable Trish, lay off. By the way Alex, you owe me 10 bucks. Welcome home." and with that they sat on one of the ornate couch's and turned the T.V to some crime show. Alex had a dumb grin on his face. He lowered his shirt and pushed Charlie and Michael in front of him. "These kids need help, and maybe just maybe. They can help us." Charlie figured out by this point that this was some sort of Superhuman group that Alex hung with. If so, Charlie wondered how she could possible help. Michael stepped forward. "I don't have any family to save or go back to. I'd just like to help. My name is Michael McLaughlin, and I have the ability to stop time!" Michael's voice cracked on the last word. He was quite clearly nervous. The tall woman: Trish, turned around from where she was still fussing over Alex. "Stop time? Really!" She asked getting in his face. "Nox Nox, you heard him right?" The one watching T.V turned. "I heard him, I also don't believe him." they stood up. "Prove it." Nox said, crossing their arms. "Now now, why would he lie about that-" The orange haired man said, but he was interrupted by Nox. "Shut up Goli, I said prove it" Michael didn't seem to be worried about their accusations. He simply held up both hands. "Fine, I will. Hold up something small." They picked up the remote to the T.V and held it in front of their chest. Michael took a step forward and the next second he was behind them with the remote in his hand. Nox spun around and looked at him, then their empty hand, and then back again. Then they started laughing hysterically, before offering a hand. "Put 'er there. I'm Nox, and I can admit when I'm wrong, on the rare occasion it happens." Alex laughed at that. "You can join us under two conditions. One, boss man over there approves." They point to Goli. The orange haired guy. "Two, you can complete a mission for us. Same thing goes for muscles over there." They point to Charlie. "You, You know what my powers are?" Nox simply pulls out a sleek black cell phone and brings up a grainy video of Charlie kicking a car and making it flip on its side. "You're famous." Nox deadpans. Charlie looks at the video for a few seconds, her anxiety spiking up again, she was thinking of all the ways that could go wrong, she missed most of what was said. The next thing she heard was from Goli, the leader. "Well, I don't object to these two joining. Just don't make the mission too hard." and with that, Goli disappeared through the door he came in. Trish also leaves with a smiling Alex, they talk to eachother in hushed tones whilst they walk to another door and enter it. The only ones left were Nox, Michael, and Charlie. "So, just so we are all clear. Will you both go?" Charlie was reluctant, but she didn't want to let Michael down. "Yes" They both said at the same time. "Excellent, I will accompany you. Now, not only will this be a mission. I intend to teach you, if Alex has done his job he will have gave you some basic combat skills, now its my turn." Charlie was kind of excited for this, she had always loved learning new things. Maybe this person would teach them stuff about superhumans they hadn't known. "But for now, you guys should rest. You've had a rough few weeks. You can sleep on these couches." Michael and Charlie didn't argue, after sleeping in the hard cab of Alex's truck for the last month, Charlie was more than happy to sleep on a couch. Her head had barely hit the pillow when she fell asleep.144Please respect copyright.PENANAfW36S222cs
144Please respect copyright.PENANAuXQ7eliTOb
144Please respect copyright.PENANAsB6Zm1EuSj
The next thing Charlie is aware of is Nox shaking her shoulders. "Wake up, we need to get started if I'm going to test you." Michael was putting on new clothes, namely a fancy looking leather jacket. Charlie saw that fresh clothes had been placed on the end of her couch as well. When she came back from a quick shower she was met with Nox waving frantically at Michael to get ready whilst he complained. "Alright, alright. But we still don't know what we're doing though." Michael complained. "There's no time. Just come on!" Nox yelled, waving both of them up the stairs. When they got to the secret door Nox just pulled a hatch from the inside which caused the stone to slide away. Once they were out, Nox led them down the hill to a cave which Charlie hadn't noticed due to it being hidden by a few cleverly placed trees. Inside were several cars, including Alex's beat up ford. Nox led them to a small car, some sort of Porsche. It had a convertible roof which Nox left up. The car was nice but the red paint was chipped in some places and the car just seemed old. "Once we're on the road I'll tell you what you guys need to do." Nox gets in the drivers seat and relegates them both to the back seat. "All right, first things first. Your mission is fairly simple. There is a Subdoer hideout nearby, basically just a place for them to restock and rest. We are going to destroy it." Nox said, looking Charlie in the eyes through the rearview mirror. "How?" Michael asked. "Well, the plan is that our friend Charlie here will punch us an entrance, you and her will fight through the 2 or so subdoers that are sure to be there, then I will plant a bomb. Done and done." Charlie was not very keen on that plan. She certainly didn't want to assist in blowing up a bunch of people. "Alright, I can do that... I think." Michael said warily. "Well, I can't. But I will if you allow me to change the plan slightly." Charlie says, a defiant look on her face. "Fine, what?" Nox asks, clearly irritated. "We have to save the Subdoers, we can't blow them up. So I will only assist if you promise that you won't arm the bomb until I get them all out." Charlie and Nox stared at each other for a long time. Then after a while Nox gave a shrug. "Fine, but it's you're responsibility, no grief on me if you can't save all of them" Nox said. "Deal" Charlie agreed. While they drove everyone was silent. Charlie was trying to steel herself for what she had to do. Michael seemed to be really quiet since they had been attacked by Viper. Charlie wanted to talk to him but she was afraid that he was not in the mood. Maybe he would relax after they got this mission behind them. It took them an hour of driving to get there(Nox bought them breakfast on the way there) When they got there Nox parked in a little thicket of brambles about 500 feet from the base. It was an imposing tower like building nestled close to the beach. "Right, in and out, ok?" Nox asked turning to them. "Yea, I'm ready." Michael said. Charlie just nodded, she was to nervous to speak, she was afraid her voice would betray her. Nox nodded back. "Lets do this then." They all got out of the car whilst Nox went over the plan. "We go in, Michael and Charlie will protect me when neccasary so I can plant a bomb, before I can plant it Charlie must make certain that all of the Subdoers inside have safely made it out. If she isn't done in 5 minutes, I'm priming it anyways" Charlie was bewildered. "5 minutes? Why?" She almost shouted at her. "It takes 8 minutes for a detachment of Subdoers to react to an emergency. We won't survive a detachment." Nox says simply. Charlie let out a deep breath, and Michael put a hand on her shoulder. "You ready?" He asked. "No, lets get this over with anyways." Nox stopped them. "This is just a test, if at any point you think you're in any sort of peril. Bail. Immediately. No reason to die over this." At that Nox nodded and they all snuck towards the building. They stepped around the side of the building. Charlie ran her hand along the smooth surface of the building, marveling at how they could make the stone with so little imperfections. Nox suddenly stopped them. "Here, punch here Charlie, make it count too, this stuff is tough." Charlie just shook out her limbs. She had yet to punch something with her full strength. "Ok, I can do this. No problem. " Charlie winded her fist back as Nox, and Michael stepped back. She swung her fist with all her strength, it was a blur that whammed into the wall with a sound so loud that it was akin to a gunshot. The wall crumbled and fell with a loud groan as the stones tumbled around her, leaving a 6 foot by 6 foot hole in the wall. Nox just stared open mouthed at Charlie's bloody knuckles. "I thought it would take like... 10 punches...." Charlie grinned. It felt good to let loose, to destroy something so easily. It was a rush really. She tamped down the feeling as soon as it came, it wasn't right to want to destroy things, she wouldn't give the Subdoers any ammo for their insane beliefs. Alarms kicked to life a second later and they all rushed into a futuristic looking lab. Charlie had no time to admire it because as soon as they entered the room a Subdoer soldier with a long sleek rifle rushed in, he fired just as Charlie acted on instinct, she jumped forward with the Ao that Alex had taught her. The bullets that fired at her went wide as she cartwheeled and landed right next to him, and delivering a kick to his chest. The soldier went flying into the hallway and he landed in a heap against a far wall. "Well done Charlie, keep that up and this will go off without a hitch." Charlie just nodded and picked the man up like he was a doll. She took him and set him down in the grass just outside her makeshift hole. She went back in to find that Michael had taken care of two more Subdoers in the hallway. Nox rushed down a flight of stairs as Charlie punched another wall down and threw the Subdoers outside before joining them. Nox slung a backpack off of their shoulder and pulled out a sleek looking cylinder of black metal. "Is that the bomb?" Nox just nodded. Two gunshots rang out when they reached the bottom floor and Charlie found herself automatically throwing her hand out in front of Nox's face. The bullets pierced her skin but stopped at the bone like last time. She barely registered the pain before she saw Michael flash forward, ending up behind their two assailants, they stood stock still for a moment, surprised looks on their faces. Then a second later they fell, twin looks of disbelief widening their eyes. "That should be the last of 'em." Nox said. Charlie picked them up as Nox twisted the cylinder, revealing a multitude of buttons and a timer. Nox set the timer for 10 minutes and they all ascended the stairs again. Even though Charlie was carrying two fully armored men she still had to slow to match their pace. When they reached the top it almost seemed as if the mission had passed flawlessly. Charlie was relieved as she set the two men down in the grass. She didn't remain that way for long, both of her companions had gone still and when she looked up from placing her burden down she saw why. An Elite with black armor was standing before them, curiously this one didn't have a helmet. His dark skinned face was scarred beyond anything Charlie had ever seen. He had long dreads and an angry glare on his face. "It would seem that I am too late. You have already caused a large amount of damage and chaos. No matter" He withdrew two metal circles which were hollow in the middle. He flicked a handle in the middle of them and blades popped out on both. "I'll simply finish you here" Charlie looked at Nox in panick. "I thought this was a test? Not a death sentence!" Nox looked stricken. "This was not apart of the plan." Charlie couldn't believe it. Why did Elites hound her every step. There tended to be two Elites per state, and this was the third she had met in less than a month. Michael just brought his fists up. "Its three on one, you like those odds?" The Elite sneered, contempt in his voice as he said. "My compatriots will arrive soon, but they are of no consequence. I can beat you alone."144Please respect copyright.PENANALcbJz6fndh
144Please respect copyright.PENANAeD1L2TkTgk
Charlie didn't like the implications of that, but Nox wasted no more time on idle chatter. "SPLIT UP" they shouted. Michael and Charlie both dived, left and right respectively. Nox jumped backwards just as the Elite hurled his circular blades right where Charlie had been standing a moment ago, they arced back and he caught them with ease. Nox shouted "STAY STILL" at the Elite, Charlie was confused as to why they had done that, but she was even more perplexed when the Elite followed the direction as Nox ran straight at him. A second before they got to him the Elite snapped out of it and tossed his blades again. Nox rolled across the ground to avoid them and the elite caught his blades and went to slash at them again. "Michael we have to help them!" Charlie shouted. Michael nods his head. "Lets do this." Michael ran towards the Elite whilst he was distracted, he vanished and reappeared behind him, hand poised to strike, he brought his hand down in a chop on the Elite's neck. The Elite turned, more annoyed than hurt. But just as he turned Nox said "Don't slice him!" The Elite stiffened mid swing, but he didn't slice him. Charlie couldn't believe it. Nox could command someone with their voice. Charlie summoned all of her courage and she took some of Alex's advice he had given her whilst he taught her. If you need courage, give a yell as you run. Just scream out all of your fear. So Charlie gave herself zero time to second guess herself and she just charged forward "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH"144Please respect copyright.PENANANGNOzM9Ft6
144Please respect copyright.PENANAcS2vPBZ2ej
The Elite had been focused on Michael and Nox and he turned too late, and he was unable to block or dodge Charlie's haymaker punch straight to his chest. There was a boom as her fist collided with his armour. He went flying and he was comically suspended in the air for a moment before he fell with a crunch. The armour was miraculously still intact. The black paint had been stripped in the shape of Charlie's fist but there was barely a dent in the metal. Both Nox and Michael were looking at her amazed. "What?" Charlie said, suddenly self conscious. "You... you punched him as hard as the wall... he might be dead." Michael said, still in shock, looking at Charlie's hand like it was a deadly weapon. Only a second later Charlie realized that it was. "Is- Is he dead?" Charlie asked, fearful. She didn't want to kill anyone. She had just wanted to knock him down. She had forgot to put on the brakes before she hit him, like she usually did when she had to hit things. Nox shook their head. "Don't worry. The armour will have absorbed 80% of the impact, those things are ridiculously shock absorbent. As if to confirm this the Elite groaned from the ground. "Curse... you..." He struggled to his feet. "You will pay for that." He sets hateful eyes on Charlie. "You will pay for your crimes, and more. I will make you beg for death." Nox begins to say something but the Elite made a signal and several Subdoers burst from hiding places. Michael and Nox had to take cover to avoid being shot. But the Elite's message was clear. Charlie had just made this personal, and he wanted her for himself. "Well? Let us settle this like warriors. Let us see if you have an honor freak."144Please respect copyright.PENANASo2jDSBkEj
Charlie snorted, she was terrified. But this guy talked like he came out of a bad movie set in the 15th century. The Elite threw one of his blades and then immediately the other one. Charlie ducked under the first one and did something that surprised her even more than the Elite. She caught the second one. the blade rested between her hands. Inches from her face, it hadn't even been a conscious thing. She let a grin come to her face. She had to admit, it was liberating to use her powers and not hide them. She grabbed both sides of the blade and snapped it as the Elite looked on in shock. "Well? Get on with it, if you aren't scared." She must have spent too much time around Alex, she never mocked people like this. The Elite pulled out more blades, he had four this time, he threw two at a time. Charlie ran towards him, she dodged the first one, batted the second away and just hopped over the last two with a running leap that sent her right at the Elite. She was a second from delivering the one thing that had really stuck from her training with Alex. A drop kick. The Elite put his hands in front of his face and her foot hit his armoured arms with a small shockwave and he was pushed into the dirt by the force. He made a grunt of effort and hadn't noticed that Charlie had landed again. She cocked her fist back. "Sorry" She said, she didn't really want to punch him, after what she did to his armour. He looked at her in fear. "I would consider a career change." and with that she gave him a mighty uppercut to the jaw. A love tap really but he wasn't wearing a helmet and the sickening crack of his head as it whipped back told Charlie he would have died if she had used any more force. The Elite fell down, unconscious. Charlie whipped around to see that Michael and Nox were pinned down by a large group of Subdoers that were approaching with noise cancelling headphones on. Charlie figured they were to avoid Nox's ability, they knew that Nox was gonna be here, that worried Charlie. How do they keep finding us? she thinks to herself. Charlie would never make it in time to help them if she ran, so she didn't. She looked around for a small tree, and confident in her strength a bit more now, tugged until it came up. This was one of the few things that was truly heavy to her. She hefted it and tossed it the hundred feet it took to get there. It didn't quite reach them but it did obstruct their path to Nox and Michael, who both immediately started running away. Charlie ran towards them and when she reached them she unrooted another tree and threw it at one of the cars that the Subdoers had taken to get here. It landed with a crunch and all of the Subdoers took cover. Presumably to avoid more trees. "Let's leave" Charlie says as they all rush back to Nox's car. "Lets" Nox agrees. When they get there Nox jumps into the front seat and they both tumble into the back. No one spoke for several minutes. The other two were panting with exhaustion from their run, but Charlie barely felt winded. She wasn't physically tired, at least. But she was not sure what had gone over her. She had beaten that Elite. Almost easily. She was terrified at the prospect. It had been complete instinct. She understood now why Alex made them repeat things so many times. She hadn't needed to think, she just did. Nox took a long route, filled with many convoluted turns and other such things. Presumably to avoid the Subdoers following them. But Charlie didn't see anyone, so maybe Nox was just being careful. When they returned to the hill. Nox leaned in close to the stone and whispered "Open seasame" and the second of the transparent stones turned black. With all of them turning black in a moment just like Alex's did. Charlie mused that they all must have their own way of opening the door as they walked down the stairs. Charlie realized that she had been shot. She looked at her arms. Three twin bruises. no punctures. She must have gotten lucky. When she saw the living room she saw Alex was lounging on a couch reading a book, and Trish (who Nox had informed me was his sister) was sitting near him, filing her nails and telling him random things every so often. "Welcome back Charlie, Michael." Alex said, barely looking up from his book. "I believe you should see this." he points towards the T.V and a news shot of the destroyed Subdoer base from a helicopter was showing, whilst a reporter warns against the dangers of superhumans. They even acredited Charlie saving all of the Subdoers inside the base to the Elite that she had beaten. Nox just sighed and told Alex they had passed before leaving to their room presumably. Trish got excited and she bounded forward as she yelled excitedly. "Yay you passed you passed you passed!" she yelled. "You're smothering them, stop it." Alex said lazily, turning a page on his book. Trish pouted but listened. Alex let his book snap shut. "Right." he says walking over to them. "You are apart of us now. There is one last order of buisness. We get you patched up. And we give you a key to the door." he walks off into a door that Charlie hadn't noticed and Michael and Charlie share a look. Michael shrugged and they followed. Inside of the door was a long hallway. Which Alex took long brisk steps down. Michael and Charlie stood behind him as he knocked on a door with the same 5 transparent stones on it, arranged in a horseshoe pattern. The only difference is that the highest one glowed gold. "Come in" A fairly young voice said. They entered the room, and it was a messy one. Full of bandages and tourniquets and other such things . The back of the room was dominated by a large oak desk, strewn with papers and even more bandages. A teen sat at the desk, somewhere around 14 or 15. He was as messy as his office. He wore glasses with frames taped over many times, his clothes consisted of a ruffled flannel shirt buttoned up over his pale skin. He also had on jeans and snow boots, he looked ready to go hiking. Perhaps he was. He stood. "Hello, my name is Ian." he said, standing up to shake Michaels hand, he went to shake Charlie's as well but noticed that she was bleeding from her right hand so he just let his arm fall awkwardly. "Are these the newbies Alex?" Alex nodded. "Excellent, now I'm not the newest one here." He appraised Charlie. "I hear you punched an Elite so hard they flew. Charlie shrugged, she was too freaked out by the whole encounter to be impressed with herself, or to note how fast that news had traveled. Ian turned to Michael "And you, you can... stop time? That is very interesting. The implications, I wonder if you could-" Alex interrupted him. "Charlie is bleeding from the arm and Michael has a gash on his head. Do your job and we can talk abilities later." Ian looked sheepish, like a child after getting caught with their hand in the cookie jar. And he beckoned for Charlie's arm. Charlie obliged, curious to see what he was going to do. When he grabbed it he examined her arm at length. "I thought you got shot?" He asked. "I did, I blocked some bullets so they didn't hit Nox" Ian raised an eyebrow. "It looks to me like all they did was puncture your first layer of skin." Charlie shrugged. "Well at least that saves me having to pluck out bullets." Ian's hands glowed as he touched his index finger to each wound on her arm. When he did a warm itching feeling would linger on the wound as it closed, right before their eyes. "Wow, that's kind of cool to watch..." She said, almost in awe. "Can you heal anything?" he scoffed, moving on to Michael. "Hardly, all I can do is speed up a humans natural regeneration. I couldn't give you a lost limb back, well, I might be able to give you a lost limb back, you seem to regenerate just fine on your own." Charlie certainly didn't want to test that. After he was done Alex put his hands on Charlie and Michael's shoulder. "Congrats! You're one of us now. And that means I can train you even harder now that Ian can just heal you afterwards." Charlie and Michael groaned. But Charlie was kind of excited, she had never belonged to something before. But this band of misfits accepted her more readily than anyone she's ever met. Maybe the world wasn't going to be such a bad place for her to live after all.
144Please respect copyright.PENANAnzKaC6RTS6