The Shadowverse

by Francesca Gallo

  “Going where? What? I did say us, you know. I wasn’t being, uh, flirty.”

  Sam facepalmed himself. He whispered to Dustin. “Y’know, I would normally help him, but this is kinda funny watching him shoot for this one.”

  “Hit the nail on the head bro.”

  Kevin’s head swung in between Ryan and Rose. “You know, my parents have another place outside of town. I-It’s got some g-good space! I spend my summers there.

  Behind it is a nice big field. Think it’s a good place to train?”

  “Train?” Jane asked.

  “Train?” added Ryan.

  “Train?!” Dustin and Sam both exclaimed.

  “Yeah, ever done it before?”

  Johnny rol ed his eyes. “Psh…of course we have. Dustin, Sam, Ryan, and I work at a martial arts studio.”

  Kevin was elated again, as if a Christmas present had been gifted to him. “H-How perfect! Who knew! This is going to be easier than I t-thought!”

  Exactly, Johnny internally agreed. It’s too perfect.

  “Yeah, wel hate to break it to you, but I know nothing,” Rose spoke. “And by my calculation, I don’t think Jane has either.” She turned to look at Jane. “Have you?”

  “Definitely not,” replied Jane.

  “Yeah, so…” her voice trailed off, frowning.

  “Uh, that’s why we are here,” Ryan answered, grinning mischievously. “Obviously.”

  “Duh,” mimicked Dustin.

  Again, Rose did not respond, impressed this time. Johnny took the reins of the conversation. “It won’t be hard. We’ll get you into it.”

  “Yeah, you’l be great before you know it!” Dustin added.

  “You’l do great,” Johnny said to Jane. “With our help, in a few weeks, you’ll be a formidable foe.” Jane laughed. “So that’s a yes?”

  “Aye.”

  Johnny turned back to Kevin, who anticipated a finalization. “We will do it.”

  ~~~

  Later that night, Rose returned home. Her father was on the kitchen chair, reading a newspaper. He shifted his gaze from the newspaper to his daughter when she closed the door behind her.

  “I take it you had an enjoyable time?” he asked. Rose could not keep a smile off her face all the way home. She took a car this time, just so the opportunity did not present itself for Ryan.

  “Dad, you won’t believe what happened!” she exclaimed, ful of glee. She did not expect the group to accept her like they had.

  Henry took off his glasses and motioned for her to sit on the chair next to him.

  “Please! Tel your father!”

  An hour elapsed while Rose retold the events of the day. “Your life seems to be achieving new heights, and I share in your joy, Rose. But you must remember this: Never can you lose your control. The anger must never overpower the good. Never.”

  “I know, Dad.” In her mind, she remembered the time of when she did.

  ~~~

  It was a blue-sky day in Williamsburg, Pennsylvania. A fourteen-year-old Rose was walking home from school. On the way, she passed a group of bullies who hated her for al the wrong reasons. They hated her because she was different—apart from them with zero friends—and also not a part of their crowd. Her red hair long since birth proved her difference.

  “Hey Rose! Still a little wiener who never talks to anybody? Like seriously girl. You are a loner. Loner genes run in the family, y’know?” Jennifer heckled, trying to elicit a response. At this point, Rose was sick of it.

  As she scowled and glared at Jennifer’s friends, her eyes only saw prey. This very moment culminated from seven months of hatred. It had festered inside her like a cancer. Stepping up to the plate life gave her, she backhanded one of the four, disabling him instantaneously. The other threw a big hook punch, but she dodged it elegantly and punched him right below the nose, following the attack with a thrust kick to his solar plexus. Another came at her, this time a girl, from behind. Only a simple, fiery slap on her chest sent her into the air. Then she turned to Jennifer, eyes blazing. It was a foreshadowing, real y. Rose truly is formidable. She held up Jennifer and pinned her to the wal , hand clasped around her neck.

  “I-I’m sorry! I was only joking! We were only messing around! Please…please don’t.”

  “Maybe it would be better if you weren’t around!” Rose screamed in reply, eyes ablaze with fury while Jennifer’s cohorts were on the ground whimpering in pain.

  Her hands were smoking at this point, singing Jennifer’s neck. “How does it feel?!”

  “Rosebud!” a voice screams into the air. It was her foster father, Henry. He heard the sounds from across the street. “Honey, please. Put her down.”

  After a dreadful minute Rose took to only savor Jennifer’s pain, she reluctantly let go, al owing Jennifer to fal to the ground shocked and scared.

  The walk home was silent before Rose broke it. “They deserved it.”

  He looked at her with a warm and caring look. “I know they did, and I am glad you taught her a lesson she will never forget. But,” he looked at her with his arm on her shoulder, “do you feel any better?”

  “I don’t know.”

  When they got inside, her father hugged her. But then he got into a serious tone.

  “Listen. You can never do that ever again. If you do, they wil report you. If you do, the government wil take you away. You need to promise. You need to promise me that you will never ever use these gifts ever again. It will only make our lives terrible.”

  “I’m sorry, Dad. I won’t do it again.”

  “You promise?” he asked again as he put out his pinkie finger.

  “Promise,” she agreed, joining his with hers.

  Months would pass, the seasons would come and go, but Rose made a name for herself—not in the way Henry desired. One year later, Henry and Rose were forced to move out. Whispers spread that Rose was not human and an evil omen, only a witch with supernatural powers.

  ~~~

  Her eyes rebounded from somewhere a thousand miles away. “I know, Dad. You taught me that.”

  “I love you, Rose.”

  “I love you too, Dad. Good night.” She kissed his forehead and went into her bedroom and changed into her pajamas once again. Considering the events of the day, it was a miracle she fell asleep. Despite this, it soon became impossible to deny, though, that she felt a certain ethos in the room. An unwelcome one.

  That night, her dreams were composed of only one thing, an overhead view of Camp Hero, New York. She also dreamt of black figures, shadows in the forest surrounding the former Montauk Laboratory and Camp Hero.

  Fol owing these nightmares like a never-ending rainstorm, her mind pictured a smal sphere rising from out of the ground. Out of it came creatures—creatures so ugly and ferocious she sweated. They poured out—swarmed—and they were coming for her.

  Throughout the chaos, the sphere birthed something new: two red eyes. His full body came into view—in all its glory—followed by thousands of foot soldiers. And he was coming for her.

  CHAPTER 9

  THE TRAP

  Two weeks went by, the near-fantasy life of the group, but especial y Johnny Sparks, kicking in to full effect. But as with all fantasies, they eventually col apse.

  Today, things would change more than the new usual. Johnny woke up to a knock on his apartment door. He got up and sped to the door and peeked through the hole. No one there. Opening it, he found a gray case at his feet. His eyes scanned both hal ways, but he could not spot a soul.

  As he examined the case, the top popped open and Johnny gaped. “Whoa,” he marveled, wel -nigh drooling. His eyes laid themselves on a partially armored outfit. The suit design is a dark blue color, with white serrated edges that resembled a knife. Both intersected on his chest and wrapped around the suit in a diagonal arrangement, tracing down to his feet.

  To complete the look, someone equipped the suit with blue-tinted, shaded goggles, which attached to his face through a connector o
n each side. It exposed the top of his head, allowing his dirty blonde hair to flow. The case included a navy-blue face mask which covered his features up to the blue-tinted shades.

  A smal note attached to the read, “It’s unnecessary, but in case you’re in public, you’ll need it.” He closed the case again and rushed back inside. Placing it on the bed, he undressed with childish excitement.

  As he reopened it, he spotted something he hadn’t noticed—a note taped on the side. It read: “Figured you would need this.” Someone signed it with “Z.”

  “Z? That must be his name,” Johnny said to himself.

  In a flash, Johnny donned the thick suit, despite being extremely loose. Examining the outfit, he identified a minuscule yellow button placed on his left shoulder. Once he pressed, the entire apparatus sucked every flavor of air out, permitting the thick suit to envelop the wearer like a glove. “Oh yeah, I’m gonna get used to this,” Johnny admired, ogling over it. Despite the hour, he picked up his phone and dialed Ryan’s number.

  The ring lasted two seconds before Ryan answered. “Johnny, do you happen to have a sick, dark blue outfit with padding?”

  Johnny hesitated. “You too?”

  “And did you happen to have it signed by a guy who calls himself ‘Z’?”

  “I’m coming over dude.”

  “We thought you were still asleep! Dustin and Sam are already here!”

  “I’ve got to call Jane.”

  “Hear that guys? He’s got to—”

  Johnny hung up the phone before he could finish.

  Blasting off like a missile, Johnny speedily slipped through several miles of urban terrain before arriving at Jane’s apartment door and knocking. The suit felt incredible.

  The air slipped through its aerodynamic construction beautifully.

  “Come in Johnny!” called Jane from somewhere in the apartment. He deduced that she had heard him rush to the door.

  He opened it. “Jane! Did you get a box with a s…holy crap.”

  “I will take that stutter as a compliment.”

  “I mean, that’s, uh, that’s great!” he stammered.

  “Don’t worry, Johnny, I know what you’re trying to say.”

  “Uh…”

  “I can see you received a little gift as well!”

  “Huh?”

  “The suit.”

  “Oh. Yeah. That.” Her outfit was comprised of a thick protective underneath its dark blue exterior. No extra patterns or colors were a component of the exterior. Only a smal white button affixed onto her left shoulder—agnate to his. In fact, Z gifted her a mask exactly the same as his, which fit without difficulty.

  Jane turned to the case. “I found it with this.” She pointed to the taped label, which also read the same as the box he had found on his doorstep.

  Furrowing his brow, Johnny was puzzled. “That was on mine too.”

  “It all makes sense. This guy, Z, must be the same one we came across.”

  “It is,” he responded, walking towards her box. He grasped both sides of it with his hands.

  “How do you know?”

  “Because I just have that feeling.”

  Though bemused, she moved on. “Have you heard from the others?”

  “Yeah,” he responded, his hand on the back of his neck, in pensive mood.

  “What’s wrong?” she asked, walking towards him.

  “I don’t know. I don’t know why he’s doing this.” He raised his head. “What does he want with us? Why? Why al this?”

  “I understand what you are feeling,” she replied. “But we need to have patience. In time, we might find out.”

  “Yeah, but I don’t think I can handle two mystery men.”

  “Two?”

  “You know, your visitor?”

  “Oh, him.”

  “Him?”

  “I suppose it is a he. Only makes sense from the way he talked and moved and everything.”

  Johnny shook his head. “Look, can you come with me to Kevin’s place? Ryan, Sam, Dustin, and Rose are already there.”

  “What would you do if I said no?” Johnny was dumbfounded, never expecting such a remark. She soon realized this is definitely not the time for a jest. “Don’t worry, of course I’m coming.”

  “Good. Let’s go.”

  “Just let me get out of this thing. You don’t want us walking to a car in this, do you?”

  “Who said anything about walking?”

  “What?”

  In seconds, he grabbed her overall light body, took her keys and her phone, and locked the door behind them. A moment later, they were in her car, with Jane in the driver’s seat. If he didn’t know, he would think she never ate, her weight seemingly equal with that of a branch. Or maybe that was the years of martial arts and body training talking. Who cares?

  “Oh my gosh, I think I might puke.”

  “Oh crap.”

  FORTY-FIVE MINUTES LATER

  Forty-five minutes later, the twosome had driven to Kevin’s house. The gate unlocked, and they both met up with the others.

  “Wow, you two look sharp,” Sam commended, looking sharp himself in his personal brand-new outfit, colored white with long, blue highlights running from his neck to his hands. On his shoulder blades, azure blue winding lines traced down the sides of his chest to the ankles. Also, there were areas on the sides of his rib cages and legs shaded blue.

  “Hey!” Rose exclaimed. On the contrary to theirs, her suit donned a dark red with black edges on the sides of her ribs.

  “W-Wow, this is so damn a-amazing,” admired Kevin, dressed in his simple yet comfortable hoodie.

  “Check this out,” Rose motioned, laughing in delight. Her gloves had a compartment on each finger. She growled, and the compartments unloaded their payload—in this case, claws. “Isn’t it amazing?”

  “That is legit sick.”

  “I wish mine did that,” said Jane.

  “I think someone designed each suit for each person’s personality,” Rose replied.

  “This Z guy clearly knows what we like. He even gave me a red mask!”

  “Ryan, you and Dustin have awesome ones too,” Jane said.

  “Why thank you!” they both responded. Dustin’s suit is a duplicate as his brother’s, except his was dark blue, with gold highlights on his arms, gold lines, and gold patches on the sides of his ribs and legs.

  Dustin slipped on a dark gold face mask, analogous to Johnny’s. It looked perfect on each person’s body. “Oh yeah,” he said, his look almost ninja-like. “I’m Scorpion now.”

  Sam laughed a bit too hard. He attached his own, a snowy white hue. “And I’m Sub-Zero.”

  Their banter left Jane confused. “What?”

  “It’s nothing,” Johnny interjected.

  On the contrary, Rose laughed at the remarks. “Yeah, you do,” she said.

  Johnny shot a look at Ryan, who’s eyes went wide as a log. He turned around to hide his reaction, placing his fist in his mouth and biting down slightly, eyeing Johnny the entire time. He understood what Ryan tried to say. No girl Ryan had ever met knew those names, undeniably from Mortal Kombat.

  Speaking of him, Ryan had a dark brown suit, with dark green rectangular pads on his shoulders and arms. Similar to the others, the sides of his rib cages and his back had been shaded, except this time deep green.

  “I have to say,” Dustin chuckled, “guy has a good taste.”

  Johnny rol ed his eyes. “Yeah, well he might be some super-evil psychopath.”

  “Well, it’s something new!” Dustin replied.

  “I b-believe this i-is something d-different,” Kevin replied, pointing to the suits. “I certainly have never felt a material like that.”

  “Wait, what?” Sam asked. “Are you saying—?”

  “That these suits are from a different planet?” Johnny finished the sentence.

  “I b-believe so.”

  “But you guys do know the chances of life on exoplanets, right?
” Ryan interjected.

  “Look at Rose! She’s proof there is life out there.”

  “Yeah, but that’s one,” he said.

  Kevin had the television tuned to NY1, a news station throughout the area. Breaking news interrupted the usually uneventful, boring ones. Across the screen, the headline read: “Unidentified Object Escapes from Rotating Sphere.”

  Dustin caught eye of it and motioned for the others to reciprocate. “Uh, guys?”

  “What?” replied Sam.

  “Oh God,” exclaimed Johnny, who turned to see.

  “What the hel is that?!” Jane shrieked.

  “It’s unidentified for a reason.”

  “Damn what has happened to my life?” Sam complained. He squinted. “I am just a regular dude and now we’re going to be facing off with a giant…bug.”

  “Just what I love,” Dustin added in sarcasm. “Like, who does not love gigantic man-eating bugs, am I right?”

  “Gross.”

  Rose read the byline. “It’s from near Camp Hero.”

  “Imagine my shock.”

  “Wait, what?” Ryan exclaimed. “Camp Hero? This is terribly coincidental—”

  “Do you want to go there?” said a voice, without a doubt robotic and inorganic.

  Everyone jumped.

  “Who said that?” Rose cried.

  “Hello, I am Oracle, your helper.”

  “Is your suit talking to you?” Johnny asked, baffled.

  “It indeed is,” responded the suit. “And please, refer to me as Oracle.”

  “Oh God, do we each have an A.I. c-companion?” stuttered Ryan for once, modestly bewildered.

  “No. Only the two females’ apparatuses have our consciousness included. I am Oracle, your helper and the artificial consciousness of the Oracle V1.”

  “Holy s-shit,” Kevin exclaimed. “I can die in peace.”

  “Jane Cooper, you also have artificial intelligence copied in your suit, known as Chronos. Our master, the great Titan created it.”

  “Who?”

  “All will be elucidated in time.”

  “How do I access mine?” Jane asked.

  “Press your hand on your chest for five seconds, Jane Cooper.” She did as the A.I.

  told her. Five seconds passed, and her suit awakened.