Chapter 14

             Monday morning came with a mix of excitement and dread for Simon. Monday meant that The Spektrum’s interview with Cyndi was that much closer to publication, but it also meant going back to school.

            Granted, Simon had never done horribly in school academically, but the idea of having to get up at 6 AM for his Zero Block band class wasn’t something he always enjoyed. And neither was the idea of having to face the annoyance known as Christian. Regardless of an intergalactic criminal attacking the school, the almost parasitic arrangement between them as “friends” still stood. And sitting near him in band class didn’t help remedy Simon’s irritation.

            Simon continued work on the Personal Symbol project in his Graphic Design class. He wanted to work a bear into the design, but that was a bit difficult seeing as how many different ways a bear could be drawn: a teddy bear, a bear cub, a grizzly bear, a black bear, Yogi Bear. There are too many kinds of bears and styles of drawing to choose. So Simon went with the simpler choice of having a crown as the main focus to represent his first name, and then incorporate a cross into the design, which would represent his last name.

He went through several sketched ideas, trying to decide which were the best, and had decided on three by the time the bell rang at the end of the First Block. The first was a crown with jewels encrusted on it in the shape of a cross, the second had a crown-shaped point in the center, and the third had a similar design as the second, but with a cross necklace hanging from the center point.

            English wasn’t very eventful either. Interesting how things like school seemed duller or less challenging now that he knew what it was like to fight criminals with--albeit still developing--super powers. Well, the usual school things like lessons and taking notes. But honestly, how can a discussion about Macbeth compare to lifting a large man practically made of leather with only one hand? 

            Announcements momentarily interrupted the class time, to the relief of those who didn’t much care for, let alone understand, Shakespeare.

            “Heyyyy Pirates!” started the lead announcer girl.

            “Pirates!” echoed the rest.

            “It’s been a few days, and it seems Zorb hasn’t been spotted anywhere!”

            “What?” the others asked. “Not anywhere?”

            “That’s probably because I scared them off!” boasted a male announcer.

            “Whoa, no way! The Spektrum! Here?”

            “That’s right!” the obvious imposter exclaimed.

            Simon couldn’t believe the announce team was doing some kind of Spektrum skit, with a fake Spektrum, who didn’t sound anywhere close to how he sounded. All of the students in Mr. Wever’s were chatting with each other.

            “That can’t be the real Spektrum, can it?”

            “I don’t know, I don’t remember what his voice sounds like.”

            Simon looked across at his friend Julian, who looked back at him. They both looked at Michelle, who was to Simon’s right. They were the only ones in the room who knew the truth, and Simon sure knew they’d be talking about this during lunch.

            “So, Spektrum,” the first announcer continued. “How did it go with that interview? The one with the leader of your fan club.”

            “It was good… I really enjoyed talking to…” 

The actor’s voice trailed off as he failed to recall the name of a person he‘s never met.

            “Cyndi…” the lead audibly whispered.

            “Ah, yes, Cyndi.”

            Simon could just picture the idiotic smile on the imposter’s face. It made him so irritated, he almost wanted to stomp down there and confront the announcing crew that very moment.

            Lunch couldn’t have arrived sooner, as Simon, with Julian and Michelle not too far behind, headed straight for the group’s usual meeting place.

            “What the hell was that?” an outraged Simon blurted out. “Did they think they could trick people?”

            “They certainly confused a lot of people,” Alex answered. 

            “And it’s not like they could’ve contacted the REAL Spektrum,” Bryan added, subtly indicating Simon.

            “Well, then they shouldn’t have pulled that little stunt they just did,” Simon countered.

            “Speaking of that stunt,” Michelle said, pointing towards the Quad’s small grass field. 

All the way on the other side of the Quad, everyone could see a Spektrum imposter posing as Code Silver. Even from this far away, they could tell that the silver-gray hair was a cheap Halloween wig.

            “I can’t believe this,” Simon muttered. “Watch my stuff.”

            Simon put his things down onto the first row of the bleachers.   

            He headed into the stairwell behind the bleachers as Simon, and came out as The Spektrum Code Silver. Simon could see his friends’ excited faces. They were looking forward to this meeting of the two Spektrums.

            Spektrum could tell was he was walking over that the fake was talking with a girl. She had to be the lead announcer, but he didn’t care what they were talking about. He just knew that he was going to interrupt.

            “Whoa! Whoa! WHOA!!” The Spektrum Code Silver shouted as he stepped onto the grass. 

The clouds moved aside for the sun to shine in. Silver’s glossy gold-and-blue camouflage jeans shone as he strutted over to his copycat. The false hero and the announcer girl were shocked, their eyes wide and locked onto the real deal. The Spektrum pointed at the fake, looking back at where his friends were sitting.

“Check out this fool right here,” he loudly exclaimed. 

His friends tried but failed to suppress their laughter.

“And who exactly are you supposed to be?” he asked the fake.

            Seeing him up close, The Spektrum could tell he was at least a junior, but was only a few inches taller. Otherwise, his physical attributes were close enough to the original that only a stranger would mistake him for the original.

            “I-I’m The Spektrum!” the imitator faltered, boasting false bravado. 

            “No you’re not!” the real one barked back, followed by applause from a crowd. “I am the one and only, S-P-E-K-T-R-U kidding me? How could you not know who I am?”

            Every student in the Quad cheered.

            “I mean, come on!” Spektrum continued. “His hair is nowhere near as shiny silver as mine.” 

The Spektrum pointed at the wig on the fake’s head. 

“That’s more of a gray, really. And look!”

The Spektrum snatched the wig right off the imposter’s head.

            “Hey!” the cosplayer protested.

            “It comes right off!” Spektrum says as he waves the wig around. “My hair doesn’t do that!” 

The hero tugged at his hair to prove his point.

“Next time,” The Spektrum said as he gave the gray wig back to the actor, “try to find one that doesn’t look like a dead raccoon.” 

The Spektrum then gave the imitator a few pats on the cheek, smiling.

            “Well, how’re we supposed to prove that you’re the real Spektrum?” countered the announcer girl.

            “Oh, so you can say words that aren‘t written down somewhere,” The Spektrum said with a straight face.

There was a great response from the crowd consisting mostly of “Ohhh!”

            “Calm down, I’ll prove it,” he said.

            The Spektrum trotted to his left, and bounced off the mysterious light ropes that were Unlocked alongside Code Blue. He continued running, and bounced off another set of light ropes, then came to a stop in front of an even more astonished Spektrum cosplayer and announcer girl.

            “Let’s see your guy do that,” he challenged.

            Thank God that worked, Spektrum thought. I haven’t exactly practiced, and had that failed, I would’ve looked like a damn fool.   

            “Well, I guess you really are The Spektrum,” the imposter said, defeated and holding his ratty hair piece in one hand and scratching his actual black hair with the other. “But can I still wear the wig?”

            The Spektrum was a little confused, but at the same time a little flattered. Even though he was found out, the pretender still wanted to pretend he was The Spektrum?

            “Uh… Sure. I don’t see why not.”

            “Ah, cool!”

Grinning, the young man put the gray wig back on his head, glad to be the first ever official Spektrum Silver Impersonator.

            But the grin was wiped away fast as a flash of light hit the ground, and when it faded, Zorb was standing there in a tucked-in violet long sleeve, and crisp black jeans, his gray-silver hair shining as much as The Spektrum’s silvery-white.

            “Oh… maybe that’s why not.”

            Zorb appeared to be a little puzzled. He looked back and forth between the two Spektrums, his golden eyes trying to figure out what he was looking at.

            “Why are there two of you?” he asked after half a minute. “And why does he look like he has a large rodent on his head?”

Zorb pointed to the imitation. The imitation was stuck where he was standing, scared by the alien criminal’s presence, as was the announcer girl. The real Spektrum knew he’d have to get those two out of the way before Zorb took a guess and chose wrong.

            “Zorb,” Spektrum started casually, hoping to defuse some tension. “Plain and simple, that one is a fake. And I’m not talking about the girl.”

            The announcer girl snapped out of her terrified trance to give the real Spektrum an angry look.

            “Hey!” she snapped.

            “Hey!” he responded mockingly. “Why don’t you two get out of here?!”

            Announcer girl took a second to understand what The Spektrum was telling her.  But once she was finished, she took his advice and pulled the imitator by the arm to the newly reconstructed door that led into the main building’s B and C halls.

            “Okay, now that there are no distractions,” The Spektrum said as he turned back to Zorb. “Let’s fight!”

            “Oh, you’ll be fighting. But I won‘t,” Zorb clarified rather haughtily.

            The Spektrum began itching again, and a light flashed behind him. He spun around to see, but there was nothing. Then BAM! Something large and heavy hit him from the right, and he was knocked rolling on the grass.

            “Hey, Earth punk!” the voice of Pulverize Pu-ao said from nowhere. “Ready for a rematch?!”

The leather behemoth stoo over The Spektrum and tossing aside a cloth that wasn’t there before. It must have been a cloaking device!

            “Sure, let me just get up!” The Spektrum shouted as he kicked Pu-Ao in the shin.

            “OW!” the big man cried out as he hopped around, holding his leg in his hands; he may be bigger, but even Pulverize has vulnerable shins.

            The Spektrum scrambled to his feet, his guard up and his eyes fixed on the leather lummox.

            The alien athlete hopped to turn around so he could keep his eye on The Spektrum. But what he saw coming wasn’t The Spektrum, but The Spektrum’s fist. Pu-ao could see the white knuckles as they smashed into his protected cheek.  The leathery man was knocked off his foot and fell to the ground, still clutching his punched shin.

            The crowd cheered, and Zorb clenched his jaw. Josta was supposed to have found the proper match-ups between the different Spektrum forms and their team, but this fight was turning out as the others had.

            However, it seemed that Zorb was quick to judge his own henchman. Pu-ao sat up, shook his head and his struck leg before standing back up. 

            “But of course,” Zorb muttered to himself. “Josta knew that Pu-ao could take more hits than the rest of us. And from what we saw the very first day, this silver haired Spektrum is all about brawling.”

            Pu-ao was actually surprised at just how hard that punch was. He only fell because he was on one foot. If he had been on both feet, surely The Spektrum’s punch would’ve only made him move back by a step. And last Pulverize could remember, nobody had ever knocked him over. The Spektrum was going to be the first and last, if Pulverize had anything to say about it.

            Pulverize charged head on at The Spektrum, but a bit recklessly, as the human hero tripped him by scissoring Pulverize’s left leg between his own, much in the way the Red Spektrum tripped Korak. Pulverize’s face smacked that ground, and he got a taste of earth dirt.

            Spektrum Code Silver jumped onto the big alien’s back, and struggled to remove Pulverize’s odd helmet. With the weirdly shaped piece of metal on his head, Pulverize could only be hit in the face. The Spektrum would be able to win sooner if Pulverize’s whole head was an open target. However, the ugly head gear was strapped tight under the leathery alien’s chin, so he was practically choking Pulverize as he yanked on the helmet.

            The big brute pushed himself off the ground, with The Spektrum still on his back. The hero reacted quickly, and wrapped his arm around Pulverize’s throat in a sleeper hold, the same move he used to subdue the alien when he faced him as Code Black. Pulverize was apparently prepared for that strategy, and used a dangerous counter strategy. The alien athlete charged right at the same wall he had smashed in his debut!  The leathery tank with legs was going to scrape The Spektrum off the hard way!

            The Spektrum released his sleeper hold a few seconds before Pulverize pulverized the reconstructed wall. As the big alien rose from the rubble and brushed off the dust, The Spektrum knew why Pu-ao chose to smash into a wall. With his bulk and athletic gear, Pu-ao would be just fine after a crash like the one he just had. But because The Spektrum wasn’t able to take such a crash--in any of his forms--he was forced to let go of the hold, and Pu-ao could breathe again. 

            Pretty smart for a leather-skinned giant, The Spektrum thought to himself. Or rather, pretty smart for his boss. 

            Without thinking, The Spektrum charged at Pu-ao, and jumped into the air, their left shoulders ramming into each other. Spektrum bounced off the leather lummox, who was spun around only a half turn. Pu-ao retaliated with the back of his elbow, and Spektrum staggered back. But before Pu-ao could take another step, Spektrum retaliated back with a kick to Pu-ao’s ribs, one of the few places he didn’t wear padding. 

            However, Pulverize’s side was tougher than his shin, and the kick was almost unfelt through his natural leather hide. In response, Pu-ao lunged at The Spektrum and grabbed him around the waist. Carrying The Spektrum, Pu-ao ran at a vending machine a couple yards away. Their combined weight hit the machine, its corner jamming The Spektrum in the right shoulder blade, which provoked a sharp grunt of pain from the hero.

The collision was solid, and the three of them—Pu-ao, The Spektrum, and the machine--fell over. Pu-ao rose to his feet to watch the silver haired human reach behind him for the shoulder blade that had collided with the machine’s edge. As the pain throbbed through his right arm, The Spektrum struggled to get up using his left.

            Pu-ao “assisted” The Spektrum by grabbing his shirt collar with both hands and yanking him up and back. Then he used the collar to toss The Spektrum onto the fallen vending machine. Students were crowding the cafeteria doors, either to see what was happening, or to get inside for refuge.

            Some of the students shouted encouragement to The Spektrum as he again struggled to get up.

            “You can do it, Spektrum!”

            “Get up!”

            “SHUT UP!” Pulverize shouted at the students in response. 

The crowd immediately erupted with boos.

            “You wouldn’t be so tough without all that gear on!” a student yelled, pointing at his helmet.

            “Yeah!” others yelled in unison.

            The Spektrum slid off from on top the fallen machine and up onto his feet. He took a few steps away from Pulverize. 

            The leather-skinned alien paused, thinking. He didn’t need to listen to what a bunch of stupid Earth punks had to say. But how could he say he was tough enough to take The Spektrum’s punches and kicks when he was protected by padding? Pulverize wasn’t some coward, after all.

            “You wanna see tough, y’buncha inferior beans?!” Pulverize blurted, mispronouncing “beings”.  “I‘ll show ya ‘tough‘!”

            Pulverize unbuckled the strap that held his helmet in place on his head, and lifted off his head, revealing a crew cut of wheat colored hair. The brute then tossed the oblong helmet at the students! The students obviously protested.

            “Hey!”

            “Ass! What the hell?”

            As he was loosening his shoulder pads and chest plate, Pulverize moved to close the gap between him and The Spektrum, who had his back to him. If someone blinked, then they missed seeing Spektrum Code Silver whip around and deliver a second haymaker punch, his balled-up fist making contact with the now-fully-exposed left side of Pulverize‘s face. 

            Pulverize rocked back on his feet, but did not fall. The Spektrum capitalized on Pulverize’s dazed state and ran off to his left. The light ropes appeared, reading their master’s thoughts, and he rebounded off them, maintaining his speed. Again, Spektrum hit Pulverize with a flying shoulder that again spun him around, but the attack was still dulled by Pulverize’s shoulder pads. 

            Damn! The Spektrum growled to himself. He was probably about to take off the gear when I hit him. 

            With Pulverize facing away from him, The Spektrum got right to work trying to remove the shoulder pads. With every jerk and yank, the athletic gear was closer to being fully taken off. But Pulverize soon began struggling, almost breaking The Spektrum’s grip a few times. 

            The Spektrum quelled Pulverize’s thrashing with as hard as a yank as he could manage on the shoulder pads. The powerful pull made the breathing bulldozer tumble to the floor. With Pulverize on his knees, The Spektrum continued to feverishly yank and pull on the pads, managing to slip them off up to Pulverize‘s elbows. The big alien’s arms were now trapped by the athletic gear, and he was helpless to keep The Spektrum from finally slipping the shoulder pads all the way off, then smacking him over the head with them like a weapon. The big leather lug was dazed by the hit and supported himself with his hands on the ground. 

            The Spektrum raised the shoulder pads above his head, and he could feel the weight of the bulky gear stretch his arms. As Pulverize attempted to get to his feet, The Spektrum’s arms snapped back elastically, and the leathery alien was again struck by his own sports equipment. The clunk from the gear-cranium crash was followed by cheers from the on-looking students.

            The Spektrum was done using Pulverize’s shoulder pads to hurt his head, so he tossed the large metal thing aside. Apparently, the apparatus was heavier than anyone else knew, because when the metal pads hit the tiles, a crunch echoed through the lobby. Everyone in the lobby, except for the dizzy Pulverize, stared at the metal shoulder pads. The gun-metal-grey athletic gear had hit the tile with its edge, and had stayed standing on its side. The Spektrum could just see a crack peek out from under the pads. They surely all wanted to know just what kind of metal the shoulder pads were made of.

            Pulverize crawled away on all fours, and The Spektrum could see that his leather back was just as big as it was with the shoulder pads on. The Spektrum pulled him up to his knees by the shoulders then applied another sleeper hold onto the massive alien.

            “Just give up and leave!” the hero growled. “You don’t need to be here on Earth causing trouble!”

            “Actually, we do,” Zorb stated from the new hole in the wall. “And I could tell you my reasons, but what would it matter? You’re going to lose, and you’re going to die.”

            “If you say so,” The Spektrum said as he wrenched his arm around Pulverize’s neck. “But right now, you guys are losing to me, like, five to zero.”

            As soon as The Spektrum finished speaking, the big leathery alien mustered up whatever energy was left in him after not being able to breath, and shoved his enormous elbow into Spektrum’s hip. The Spektrum let out a bark of pain, and let go of Pulverize’s neck.

            Pulverize hoisted the superhuman onto his shoulder, The Spektrum’s head hanging in front, and aimed at the overturned vending machine. Immediately, Spektrum knew what Pulverize was planning. The student audience only caught on after Pulverize started stampeding towards his target.

            Several different shouts and exclamations were heard coming from all around, but they were all deafened by the booming sound caused by The Spektrum being slammed across the soda machine, and the roar of agony that emanated from his throat.

            That morning, Spektrum was looking forward to the end of the week. Now, he was just hoping to survive today.

 

            Cyndi ran as fast as her legs could take her. She ran down the second floor hall in the science wing, down the spiraling stairway, out into the Quad, and halfway across the grass field. Huffing and puffing, she could see Zorb through the new giant hole his leather-bound behemoth had created. She decided that she’d take an alternate route down C-Hall to get to the Cafeteria’s lobby.

            Cyndi weaved her way through the crowds of students that were idly watching from where they stood. They wanted to watch what was going on, but didn’t want to get too close to the action.

            She passed by who she recognized to be Simon’s friends. They were mumbling about whether or not they should get closer, and if Simon would be okay.

            “Simon?” she said as she stopped and turned back. “What about him?”

            Simon’s friends saw her, and looked a little uncomfortable. They glanced back and forth with one another, each one trying to see if the others had a plan. After a moment, the red-headed boy spoke up.

            “Well, Simon was over there, by B-Hall. That’s where his locker is, so he might be in the crowd watching The Spektrum.”

            “Oh, that’s right!” Cyndi said as she started running again. “I’ve got to see how that fight is going!”

            Cyndi ran off, leaving Simon’s friends where they stood. She hoped that The Spektrum and Simon were both okay.

 

            “Come on, Spektrum, get up!”

            Several of the students were screaming and yelling for their hero to get up off the toppled soda machine and fight, and The Spektrum did his best to do just that, but doing so is difficult after having a massive being like Pulverize has body-slammed you with all his weight. 

            The Spektrum ached all over as he pulled himself up into sitting position.  Practically blind with pain, he didn’t see who was coming down the hall, but he could hear who it was.

            “Spektrum!” she shouted.

            “Cyndi?” he replied.

            The Spektrum turned his head to see the blonde fangirl running towards him, concern and fear in her baby-blue eyes. Those emotions were appropriate, since Pulverize then decided to yank The Spektrum off the machine and toss him like a rag doll into the center of the Cafeteria lobby.

            The Spektrum hit the ground and rolled a few times, stopping on his stomach.  He tried to push himself up, but could only manage a haggard cough and wobbling arms. 

            Again, Pulverize lifted him up off the ground, this time by the throat. The big man and his boss gloated as The Spektrum gasped for air. 

            “What’re you gonna do now, Earth punk?!” growled the leather behemoth.

            The Spektrum wheezed as he grasped Pulverize’s fat head in his hands.

            “This!” he hoarsely exclaimed as he drove his knee into the center of Pulverize’s face.

            Pulverize let go of The Spektrum, and staggered back clutching his face. 

            The Spektrum did not hesitate once his feet hit the ground. He ran at Pulverize and rammed a shoulder into the big alien’s stomach. When the two collided, Spektrum pushed even harder, and drove Pulverize towards the toppled soda machine. But before The Spektrum could run him into it, Pulverize used his feet as brakes, and stopped the two combatants in their tracks.

            Pulverize grabbed Spektrum around the waist and began to lift. Reacting as fast as he could, Spektrum wrapped both arms around the bulky thigh of Pulverize’s left leg. His arms acted as a lock, preventing Pulverize from pulling Spektrum up. Then, Spektrum countered by lifting Pulverize up onto his shoulders, as he did with Zorb on their first encounter.

            The crowds of students began to roar as The Spektrum hoisted Pulverize up off his shoulders, into the air, then slamming him down on the toppled soda machine with an even more powerful, echoing boom. As per his usual formality, Spektrum covered the opponent in a basic pin, the strange computer voice counted audibly for all.

            “1... 2... 3!”

            “The Spektrum wins!!” the nearby students yelled.

            “Damn it!” Zorb snarled, his silver-grey hair practically standing up from his frustration. “I should have known Smooth would be wrong.”

            Zorb glared at the superhuman teen as he raised his arms in victory. The crowds cheered as The Spektrum grinned right at the intergalactic criminal.

            “Know this, you human pest,” Zorb threatened. “You won’t survive the next match-up we’ve chosen for you!”

            “Sure I won’t,” The Spektrum replied defiantly. 

            The crowds of students crowed and laughed as Zorb and Pulverize disappeared in the flashes of light that were their ship’s teleportation device.

            Before the crowds of students could swarm him, Spektrum bolted past Cyndi and down the hallway. 

            “See you later!” he shouted back to the fan club leader over his shoulder.

            At the end of the hall, Spektrum went up the stairs as fast as he could and ducked inside the boys’ bathroom on the second floor.

            “Anyone in here?” he shouted. 

            When no one responded, The Spektrum double checked. He crouched down and looked under all the stalls. No feet were found, so The Spektrum immediately changed back into Simon with a quick scan of silvery white light, and then casually exited the restroom.

            As Simon reached the stairs, a stampede of students could be heard storming up those same steps. Before he was trampled, Simon moved out of their way, and watched as some of the young men went inside the restroom.

            No wonder Superman has super speed, Simon thought privately. It’s the one way to keep people from following you.

            “Hey!” a student asked him. “You see anyone in there with you?”

            “No,” Simon said. “No one at all.” 

            Simon felt better answering this time than he did the day Cyndi and her friends practically attacked him. That was because this time, he wasn’t lying, since the restroom really was empty while he was in there. The crowd dispersed in all directions, hoping to find a trace of their hero. Simon took the opportunity to casually take his leave.

            When Simon returned to his friends, they all let out a sigh of relief.

            “That was pretty low of Zorb to do,” Alex said, referring to having Pulverize ambush The Spektrum. 

            “Yeah,” Julian began. “Why couldn’t he face you—I mean, face The Spektrum—himself?”

            “Because he’s the boss villain,” Simon replied, “and the boss never does anything himself unless he absolutely has to. And trust me, that probably won‘t be for a while.”

            “Oh, there you are!”

            Simon turned to see who was talking, and it was Cyndi, who wiped her hair out of her face as she came closer.

            “Hey, Cyndi,” Simon greeted. “Yeah, I was--”

Simon stopped short, and glanced quickly at his friends. Had they told her an alibi already?

“--in the restroom…?” he said.

Bryan coughed a quick “yes”. 

“Yeah,” Simon continued, “y’know, because, I had to go, and when you gotta go…”

Simon did his best to smile and laugh off his anxiety. 

            “Wow, you always seem to when Zorb shows up,” Cyndi said, raising an eyebrow.

            “Yeah, well, I guess we both get plenty of fiber in our diets,” Simon said.  “Y’know, since we’re both so regular, and all.” 

Simon was failing at freeing himself of his feeling of unease; the fiber/regularity joke didn’t exactly help. 

            “Right,” Cyndi replied, smiling so that the awkward tension would defuse.  “Well, I’ll see you tomorrow during lunch? Another club meeting, remember?”

            “Right, I will.”

            Feeling like a complete idiot, Simon turned back to face his friends, who had watched what would have to be classified as a “train wreck” in complete silence.

            “Plenty of fiber in our diets?” Bryan quoted, question Simon‘s choice in words.

            “I know, I’m stupid, but I was a little worried she was going to figure me out.”

            “Still coulda said something better than that,” Alex countered.

            Simon grumbled and frowned at his friends. The final lunch bell rang, and the friends dispersed to their 3^rd block classes.