Fan Fiction ❯ Endless Power ❯ The Assist ( Chapter 1 )

Chapter 1

The Assist

The normal hustle and bustle of the W.L.T.W was strangely absent as employees around the lab stopped their work. They hastily slipped on their portable contact lens and ear pieces, for no one wanted to miss the latest news on the scouting ships and the possibility of an alien life form. The robot newscaster began the show promptly at noon and immediately launched into the latest details of the scouting mission.

"As far as we are concerned," the newscaster started, "no alien life forms have been seen. We have been told that our scouts are headed due south to a galaxy know as Proxima Mana, a highly active galaxy which appears to have a massive rotating black hole at the center. It is estimated to produce 10170 tons of electricity per minute!" "Hold on a second," he suddenly said, "we have just received some urgent news. Our scouts have made contact with this new life form! Here is General Herosaki live from Proxima Mana's planet, Zybort!"

A fuzzy picture flashed on the screen. The image slowly sharpened as the general, wearing a clad gray uniform and gas mask came into view.

"Right now, I'm on the planet Zybort," reported the general. "My crew and I have landed successfully, due to the help of these aliens. However, it is surprising to see that they have more in common with us than we first anticipated. They have an organized government, cultural practices, and you're not going to believe this, but they can even speak our language! Talk about bizarre… "

The TV screen flickered as another image began to sharpen into view. It was a very tall man with brilliant yellow hair. He was wearing some sort of heavy armor made from an unknown material. It was shining brightly as it reflected the rays of light coming from a small orb in the sky.

"Greetings Earth creatures!" he said. His voice boomed surprisingly into the microphone. "Allow me to introduce myself as Balem, leader of my people the Aviators. I am terribly sorry about the accident ten years ago. Hopefully this time, we can get to be friends. I have invited the general and his crew to stay here on our planet for a few weeks and they have gladly accepted."

"Well, that's all about the latest news on the alien encounter," the robot newscaster finished.

However, nobody on Earth ever saw General Herosaki or his crew again.

Meanwhile, fifty thousand light-years south of Proxima Mana and its queer planet Zybort, three and exactly three assassins were born. But born isn't a word to use in this case. A more proper word would be created, and that made them much worse than just regular killers. In fact, the only purpose of their existence was to serve the almighty Balem in controlling the whole universe. The first one was Ali, the second one was known plainly as General (No one really knew his real name except for Balem of course), and the third was Yosho, the powerful beast. These three were created exactly on February 3, 5223, 23:23:23. Quite a coincidence huh? Actually, it was not really a coincidence at all. The number 23 was considered quite lucky and powerful for the inhabitants of Proxima Xia. So in reality, this made the trio quite dangerous indeed.

The trio stirred awake as they found themselves in a large lab of some sort.

"Why are we here?" they asked aloud, not quite expecting an answer.

But one came. The room seemed to grow cold as a cold voice somewhere in the darkness replied, "Welcome to the planet Zybort. You are currently at the science facility of Zone 14. You might also be wondering about the purpose of your existence. The answer is simple. You three are to help me on my quest for universal domination. From now on, I am your master. Do as you are told and you will be awarded. But remember, if you fail, it will most certainly mean death."

"Who exactly are you?" asked Ali, as his eyes narrowed into slits.

"Ah, so curious I see," answered the cold voice. "Yes, I value curiosity and bravery beyond all others. Let me introduce myself as the almighty Balem, and with your help, I will soon become the ruler of this universe."

"What do we do now Balem?" asked General.

"You must train and fight against the galaxy's strongest warriors. When the day comes that you are victorious, then I shall know that you are really ready," answered Balem. "Your first mission is to get rid of those pathetic earthlings. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes Balem," said Yosho, after quite a long time of thinking.

His final answer however, was spoken with no reluctance. Then, all three flew silently through the roof and into the darkness. Balem laughed a horrible laugh. He had created them well. Perhaps too well, but he had to take the chance. The time was soon. Real soon.

General Herosaki and his crew excitedly boarded their ships and blasted off into space. One of the crewmembers, Hap, suggested they activate the invisibility device. Herosaki vetoed the idea.

"Listen here young lad," the general started. "There's nothing to be afraid of. We're allies now."

"But I have a feeling that..."

"Man, could you stop complaining and shut up for a change?" the general shouted.

Hap shut up all right. But he still had the weird feeling that they were not safe. The guy that they had met the first day was oddly familiar. He had introduced himself as Balem. Hap shuddered. Even thinking of the name sent chills up his spine.

"Hey!" one of the crewmembers in the back shouted suddenly, "We're being followed by three guys. Two of them look human but the other one looks kind of monster like. It makes no sense. None of them have space equipment on but their speeds are incredible. 250 yards and closing in fast!"

"You sure you ain't seeing things back there junior?" asked Herosaki.

"Of course not!" the crewmember said, obviously irritated at the snide remark.

"They're..." he stopped short and added with a tone of surprise, "They're gone now, but I could of sworn they were right there just a minute ago."

"See!" exclaimed the general. "I told you that you were seeing things!"

Just that second, there was a loud thump.

"What the hell was that?" asked the general. He quickly called in the ship beside them and asked, "Do you see anything?"

"Uh, no sir," was the quick reply. "I hear and see the dents going into the ship but I don't see the something that's making those dents."

Herosaki cursed loudly.

"Damn!" exclaimed the general. "There are eleven other ships around here and none of them can even see what is attacking us!"

Even switching on the invisibility device didn't help. All of a sudden, there was a whooshing sound as a hole appeared on side of the ship.

"Help!" the general cried out to the other ships.

No answer. They were all under attack too! Then the whole fleet exploded in a dangerous display of red, orange, and yellow as debris flew in all directions. The trio was nowhere to be seen. The W.L.T.W. scientists watched in horror as the screens went blank and all was lost.

The council was in an uproar. Paper, notebooks, pens, some of the machinery, and even chairs were flying across the room like baseballs.

"Order now!" cried John Hopkinson. "I know this is a crisis we are having here but you people got to calm down before the police comes and throws us in jail for rioting!"

Thirty-one heads turned in his direction. There was silence for what seemed like an hour, and then everybody slowly sat down. They where in the beautiful meeting room of the World Building (or W.B. for short), the biggest and tallest building on earth. It was the place where things happened, sort of like a main government for the world. Important people met here every day to talk about some of the main problems going on in the world. Their goal was to make life as best as possible. So far, it had worked well. As far as everybody was concerned, there hadn't been a full-scale war since WWIII, after the completion of the W.B. The W.B. was located in Michigan, USA, overlooking all the Great Lakes. That's how big the building is. Soon after WWIII (which occurred in 3577, after the natural resources started to run out), Michigan became the "capital" of the world. It was so busy there that it was even busier than New York. Many people had started skyscrapers all over Michigan around the year 4500 and now it was the busiest area on Earth. Many buildings are located there, including the W.L.T.W. headquarters and The Institute of Magic. So it wasn't surprising that John had gotten everyone's attention so quickly. It was because he was very important.

"We have a crisis on our hands and we don't need everyone going crazy about it!" John exclaimed. "Now that I have everybody's attention, let's move on. As we all know now, the people at the W.L.T.W. have lost contact with the dozen scout ships that were making their way back to Earth. The International Space Center reported that the last transmission they got was about how the ships were being attacked by an invisible someone or something. We suspect that they were ambushed by aliens."

A man that looked Russian stood up.

"We have to tell these so called aliens that they must stop destroying our ships before it's too late. At least a hundred men have died out there in space and we're doing nothing to help," he said in a very heavy accent.

"Well," replied John, "Let's ask Mike." "Mike, what are some of the possible solutions for this crisis?" John asked.

A big-screened computer behind them flashed on and a comical face appeared on the screen.

"Howdy partners!" Mike said, his voice clearly southern. "Well, there are a couple of solutions, but they all appear too expensive. The best solution, believe it or not, is to go to war and actually show the aliens that we aren't babies!"

Everyone's face seemed to have gone pale.

"Are you sure that this is the best solution that you can think of?" stammered John, whose face looked like the color of vanilla ice cream.

"Of course it is!" Mike replied happily.

"Well, you heard him folks!" John said. "All in favor of war raise your hand!" Seventeen hands (including John's) shot up in the air.

"Majority rules," John said clearly. "Mike, would you contact the press and the army and all the major institutions please?"

"You got it Johnny boy," replied Mike. "I'm on my way!" Saying that, the screen flashed twice and then went black.

"This meeting is dismissed," declared John.

The people slowly cleared the room in an orderly fashion. However, John didn't leave. He was pacing around the room slowly and was deep in thought. He looked out the window and saw cars zooming around at about 200 miles per hour.

"I hope that Mike has his priorities straight," he muttered at last and he too exited.

The Institute of Magic had its rights to keep secret. It was because it trained the world's deadliest weapons: psychics. The place was built to keep tourists away. The old look of it and the faded black paint looked an unpleasant sight. Despite the outside, the inside is quite a work of art. Ingeniously built with the best security systems, the whole building is monitored 24 hours a day. The scientists that work here sleep and eat here. They are considered classified. If they fall into the wrong hands, the results would be devastating. Nevertheless, the people from the W.B. decided to take that risk. They believe psychics can harness a secret energy far more powerful than weapons. For the modernized world, energy levels are measured in terms of magic power, or mp. However, the scientists here think that the energy that can be harnessed within psychics is probably a hundred times more powerful. Especially with the prospect of a universal war, the need for a higher power level is almost incredible.

Puffed-eyed and trying to keep focused, Max scans the test one more time. The patient is suspended in fluid in a huge test tube. He blinks and smiles at Max.

"Tired?" he asks uncertainly.

"What do you think?" Max replied, "I haven't slept for two days. I'm not like you, you don't have to sleep."

The patient again smiles. "What does the test say?"

"It says you're a lousy bum!" replied Max.

"What does it say?" the patient persisted.

"It says," said Max with a sigh.

"Well?"

"Your heart rate level is way above normal, breathing is unusually slow, and your brain constantly active, probably why you don't have to sleep. And your I.Q. is a little less than 200. We are getting pretty close now. Just one more shock; you ready?"

"Ready as I ever will be," replied the patient.

Max pressed a miniature yellow button by the tube. It was so small, that it was hardly noticeable. The blue fluid inside the tube immediately began to react. The patient tried not to notice, but the liquid was generating an immense surge of power. He felt a million needles bouncing off his skin. Finally, the pain became unbearable. He cried in agony, and the test tube shattered.

At precisely the same moment, Agatha jerked awake.

"They're coming," she said, "They're coming," as she laughed miserably into the darkness.