Chapter 17

             Simon arrived home around 3:20 PM. He pulled out the blank business card and tossed it on top of his bed’s special headboard cabinet. Simon changed out of the jeans and long sleeve he had worn all day, and in to the sweatpants and T-shirt he had slept in last night. He opened his window’s blinds halfway, and sat at his desk to begin his homework. The sunlight reflected off the mirror on his chest of drawers, but his desk faced the other way, so he wouldn’t be blinded.

            Simon’s brothers arrived home only a few minutes later, arguing over something. Simon simply pushed his door shut to muffle them out. But then he heard them mention The Spektrum, and he opened it back up.

            “No one at our school has superpowers, dude,” Josh said.

            “I dunno, there has been a lot of weird stuff happening lately,” James said back.

            “I’m pretty sure everyone’s just trying to get everyone else talking,” Josh said as he put his things down.

            “How come we weren’t hit with that electricity?” James asked as he also set his things down.

            “Because we weren’t home when it happened, obviously,” Josh said as the two sat down and turned on the TV.

            “So not fair,” James grumbled.

            “I know, we would’ve made great superheroes.”

            “Speak for yourself. If I got powers, I know what I’d do with them.”

            The brothers chuckled while Josh flipped the TV over to video game mode.

            “Hey, Si was here around the time that electric surge happened, right?”

            “I think so. But you don’t think he could be…?”

            The brothers were quiet as they both thought it out.

            “Nah!” they said together before turning on the game console.

            Simon grumbled and closed his door to go back to his homework.

 

            It was 11:11 PM when Simon decided to turn in for the night. He turned off the light, and settled into bed, the ceiling bathed in glowing silver light.

            “Wait, what?”

            Simon sat up in bed, and looked into the mirror directly across from his bed.  He could see from the reflection that the source was behind him. He turned around to find the light was coming from the card! Simon picked up the card in his hand, but it wasn’t hot, it was cold. Strange, usually things that emit light also emit heat, like the Sun.  There were also patches on the card that weren’t glowing, in the shapes of letters.  They spelled out the words “Anonymous Inc.”

Simon flipped the card over to see if the other side had anything. There was a phone number, but it didn’t have an area code. It had to be to this “Anonymous Inc.”, but was the number local? Or was it long distance? And why didn’t the guy who gave him the card tell him how the card worked? 

            “If this card was glow-in-the-dark, that guy in blue should’ve said so, so that I could have gotten the contact information sooner.” 

            Simon scrambled to his desk and grabbed a sticky note and a spare pencil.  He wrote down the phone number that was on the back of the card as quickly as he could.  The card could stop glowing any second, so every second mattered.

            Under the number, Simon wrote down the phrase found on the other side, “Anonymous Inc.”

 

            “What kind of name is that?” Zoey asked no one. “Stupid card would reveal its secrets now. All I wanted to do was go to sleep!” 

Zoey grabbed her notebook out of her kitten backpack and a pen off the desk and scribbled down the numbers on the back of the card on the inside of the book’s cover, then put the initials “A.I.” for “Anonymous Inc.” below it. She then jammed the notebook back inside her backpack, shoved the card in a shoebox under her bed, and went back to bed, irritated by the whole inconvenience.

“How is that card even doing that after the thing with the microwave?” she grumbled.

 

            Simon took a few minutes to hide the black card. Even though he already got the contact information from it, Simon wanted to make sure the card stayed secret so that he wouldn’t have to explain to his parents who gave it to him. Considering he didn’t really know the answer to that question himself, he figured avoiding the subject was the best course of action.

He chose to stick the card inside his collectible card binder, a very logical choice. He tucked it in the first empty slot he could find, luckily there was one in a middle page, and shut the binder. The silver light still shined, but no longer in all directions. The clear plastic of the special card pages directed the light so that it shined parallel with the binder’s spine. Simon shoved the binder back onto the book shelf, and the light coming out of the top lit up the whole shelf. 

            “Better that than the whole room,” he mumbled.

 

            “Black Cards successfully activated, sir.”

            “Good,” Darklite smirked. “So do we know who our Bay Area heroes really are?”

            “Yes, sir, facial scans were completed as our 10 recipients read the cards.   Facial recognition software found an exact match for The Alameda Catgirl on FaceBook. She is 15 year old Encinal Sophomore, Zoey Mizaki. However, the cards don’t have anyone matching The Spektrum. Basic description would be 5’ 7”, young male, high school age, relatively thin frame, dark brown hair and eyes, and possibly mixed ethnicity based on the skin tone. We are checking our catalog of school yearbooks now for a match.”

            “Odd... A young man who doesn’t have a Facebook account?” 

Darklite meditated on this for a moment. 

“Perhaps the young man is a bit anti-social, or at the very least reluctant to let the world know who he is. But if he has the card, then he must be who we’re looking for. Update me when you’ve found matches for the other eight, I want to know who is easiest for Tyranno-shark.”

            “Yes, sir!”

 

            Simon woke up at six o’ clock the next morning, as he had every morning that year because of his Zero Block Band practice. The silver light coming from the black card had dimmed considerably. Hopefully it would stop by the time he left so no one would see the light. After Simon finished tying his shoes, he saw the sticky note he had written the information on. He had forgotten to hide it when he hid the card. Simon snatched the sticky note off the desk, and stuck it inside the drawer of his nightstand.  He then put on his hoody, his backpack, picked up his clarinet and lunch bag, and headed out the front door.

 

            Once more, the strange prickly tingle returned. What was it about the appearance of Zorb or his lackeys that caused his body to react like this? Simon put his contemplating aside and excused himself from English class. He hurried up the same steps he had the very first day he fought the alien criminals and entered the same boys’ restroom he had used to transform a few times before. When he came back out, he was The Spektrum, Code Yellow.

            He hurried back down the stairs, and out the door. He slowed down after he walked down the small set of steps in front of the hall entrance, and strolled towards the concrete planter boxes straight ahead. When he came right up to one, he looked around. 

            “I bet they’re wearing those special cloaks that make them invisible.”

            A strange sound echoed from Code Yellow’s left. It was a hollow sound, like something being shot from a tube, a “foomp” sound. The Spektrum turned in time to see a gray ball about the size of an orange fly through the air right at him! He jumped back a few feet, and the ball hit the floor, only to bounce and smash into his gut!

            The Spektrum doubled over, coughing and gasping for air as another “foomp” sound echoed out. He staggered out of the way, and the gray ball bounced. It flew another 20 feet before colliding with a picnic table near the Quad’s grass field. A third “foomp” echoed from the same spot and a third gray ball bounced and crashed into The Spektrum, this time in his thigh. The Spektrum hobbled over to the hall as fast as he could. He hid behind the building, so that he would be protected from the bludgeoning gray balls. He also figured that hiding would also bring the enemy away from their own hiding spot. 

            Code Yellow stayed as quiet as possible, and listened closely. Fast moving footsteps were coming closer, and they sounded heavy. Considering they were carrying some kind of giant air gun, they were actually moving pretty fast. Zorb must have sent his big yellow brute, Korak, to fight this time.

            The footsteps approached but changed sounds. The alien must have moved from where there was blacktop pavement to smoother concrete. The Spektrum’s eyes swiftly scanned the area to his left, but all he saw was the Science Wing. But as if out of thin air, a fat metal pipe swung down and pointed right at The Spektrum. It was the gray-globe shooting air gun!

            FOOMP! Another shot was fired, and Code Yellow rolled to his right to prevent the projectile from pummeling him. The gray ball hit the ground, bounced, then ricocheted off the side of the building. It passed in front of The Spektrum’s eyes, and smacked into one of the picnic tables nearby. The wood splintered from the impact!

            The big pipe-shaped gun disappeared, and The Spektrum heard the frantic sounds of the gun’s wielder hurrying to reload. Spektrum seized the opportunity, and sprang at the veiled villain, using the spot where the gun appeared and disappeared as his target.

            When The Spektrum was halfway between where he started and where the gun had disappeared, the gun reappeared and followed his position. Another FOOMP meant another gray ball was fired. Code Yellow dodged by diving then hurried to get back to his feet. He crashed into the attacker, and could tell that it was the large yellow lummox, Korak.

            Code Yellow grasped the invisible cloth tightly, and yanked. The cloth slipped, but only a little. The pipe-shaped gun was swung into his left side, and Code Yellow yelped in pain. Another swing and The Spektrum was sent stumbling and staggering away, but with Korak’s cloak in tow! 

            With the high-tech cloth off, the yellow giant was visible. The Spektrum tossed the cloth and stood straight again, only to be shot with another gray ball in his left side, the exact same place the gun’s broad barrel had hit him. As The Spektrum winced, Korak slammed the gun across his back. The Spektrum coughed and hacked, struggling to breathe. Korak slung the weapon onto his shoulder, and slammed his fists down on The Spektrum like a hammer. The Spektrum’s knees buckled, and he fell forward. 

            “I‘m lucky you chose this form,” Korak gloated as he stomped on Code Yellow’s back. “We’ve figured you out, human. When your hair is yellow, you’re crafty, but you’re not as fast as you are when it’s red, as tough as when it’s blue, or as strong as you are when it’s silver. I have the advantage now!”

            The Spektrum used the picnic table’s bench to steady himself, and looked into the space under it. Without a second thought, he jumped in between bench and table, and lay down on the ground.

            Korak cursed under his breath as he aimed the air gun at the gap.

            FOOMP FOOMP went the gun as it fired two more gray balls. Both balls missed the gap, and bounced off the edges of the table and bench.

            “Get outta there, coward!” Korak roared as he grabbed the picnic table. He tried to lift it up, but it was clamped to the concrete, so it went nowhere.

            Korak’s right, The Spektrum thought to himself. I don’t have the needed strength or speed to win against him as Code Yellow. But maybe if I switched…

            Korak continued his efforts to rip the table off the ground, the clamps rattling a bit with each push and pull.

            Computer, The Spektrum requested mentally, Toggle back to my normal self.

            “Acknowledged,” Computer replied.

            In a flash of yellow light, The Spektrum turned back into Simon.

            Computer, he requested again, activate Code Red!

            “Acknowledged,” Computer replied exactly as before.

            In a flash of red light, Simon transformed into The Spektrum Code Red, and he slipped out from under the table on the other side.

            Korak stopped pulling on the table and reached for his air gun. The Spektrum stepped up onto the table, and jumped at the bus-yellow behemoth.

            Computer, Toggle back to normal!

            In a flash of red light, The Spektrum changed back into Simon.

            Computer, Activate Code Silver!

            In another flash of light, Simon was The Spektrum again.

            Silver’s fist collided with Korak’s nose, and the thug stumbled back. The Spektrum landed on his feet, and charged at his opponent. Silver grabbed Korak around the waist and shoved him back towards the side of the school building.

            Korak and Silver collided with the wall with a womp sound. Korak’s head smacked against the wall pretty hard, and he holds the spot with one hand.

            Korak clubbed The Spektrum with his other arm, nearly forcing the superhuman to let go. With both arms, Korak grabbed The Spektrum around his waist and lifted him up off his feet. Korak moved forward a few steps, and planned to drop The Spektrum on his head.

            Computer! Silver shouted mentally, Toggle back!

            In another silver flash of light, Simon returned to his normal form.

            Activate Code Red!

            In a flash, The Spektrum Code Red curled his body up and grabbed hold of Korak’s shoulder. Red jabbed once, twice, three times to Korak’s nose, which forced the bigger fighter to let The Spektrum go. Red landed on his shoulders and rolled forward to his feet.

            The Spektrum jumped forward, and dropkicked Korak in the chest. The big yellow alien stumbled back towards the wall again as Code Red rolled back. Korak growled, frustrated by The Spektrum’s change in strategy. What was he doing switching in the middle of the fight like this?

            “Stop changing colors!” he shouted out as he ran forward.

            Code Red turned and ran up and over the picnic table again, forcing Korak to stop and go around.

            “And stop running around!” Korak barked as he made it around the right side.

            In two quick steps, Code Red climbed up the picnic table and jumped off the table‘s edge. While in the air, The Spektrum Code Red kicked Korak’s head flat with the top of his foot, hitting him in the ear. As The Spektrum fell to the ground, Korak stumbled away into the grass field.

            Code Red scrambled to his feet and rushed headlong at Korak. The Spektrum jumped up, and another dropkick hit Korak in his broad chest. The alien criminal stumbled back more, and The Spektrum rolled back to his feet again.

            He’s a bit tall for my new move, he thought to himself, referring to the Red Light. And there’s nothing to use the Frog Splash with out here in the field. Computer, toggle to normal.

            In a flash of red, Simon returned to normal.

            Activate Code Blue!

            In a flash of blue, The Spektrum returned, wearing the blue shorts and matching tee. Code Blue charged Korak, and the two collided, Blue’s shoulder rammed into Korak’s gullet. The Spektrum pushes Korak back further and further, until they’re about five yards away from the other side of the grass field.

            Computer! Toggle to normal!

            A flash of blue later, Simon is there holding the massive Korak back.

            Activate Code Silver!

            Another flash, and The Spektrum’s strength returned, and he lifted Korak off his feet, and dumped him onto the ground. He then climbed on top of his opponent, and began raining down punches. 

            Right, left, right, left, Silver‘s hands hit hard, but Korak managed to guard his head with his arms. Korak blocked punch number five and delivered one of his own. Silver was knocked off from on top of Korak, and rolled into the grass.

            Korak got to his feet and took a step towards The Spektrum. A flash of silver, then a flash of red, and The Spektrum spun to his left and hooked Korak in a drop toe-hold, just like the first one-on-one fight with him.

            Code Red jumped on Korak’s back and wrestled with one of his arms, but the bigger man stood up with relative ease, and lifted The Spektrum up with him. Korak swung his arm around as hard as he could, but Code Red held tight.

            The Spektrum swung his body up, and hooked his right foot behind Korak’s head. Code Red pushed Korak forward with his foot, and the big man spun and rolled in the grass. Korak made it to his knees when WHAM! Code Red’s knee ran into his face.

            Code Red sat up and pinned Korak to the ground.

            “One…” Computer counted out loud, “Two…”

            Korak threw The Spektrum off of him, and Code Red hit the dirt hard.

            A flash of red followed by a flash of silver, and The Spektrum hit Korak clean in the stomach. Another blow to the stomach, then another, and another, and the big yellow thug staggered back. A sharp kick from Silver sent Korak staggering back more, now bent over forward.

            The Spektrum ran to the right, and those crazy ropes of light appeared, and he bounded off of them and back at Korak. A flash of silver, then a flash of yellow, and The Spektrum jumped up, putting a leg on the back of Korak’s head. Like a big yellow brick, Korak’s head dropped under the extra weight of The Spektrum and hit the ground with a thump.

            “You were right, Mean Mr. Mustard,” Code Yellow taunted. “I am pretty crafty. I found a way around that ‘disadvantage’ of mine.”

            The Spektrum got to his feet, took a step back, and turned to his left. As Korak struggled to get off the ground, The Spektrum pumped his right foot, and he could feel the energy build.

            Korak had made it into his knees again before The Spektrum shuffled forward. With a powerful thrust and an echoing smack, the bottom of Code Yellow’s foot hit flat into Korak’s face. The mustard-yellow man fell back, his legs folded underneath him. The Spektrum pinned him down, and let Computer count.

            “One… Two… Three! The Spektrum wins.”

 

            Helicopter propellers chopped at the air, and the wind blew past the open doors on the sides, blowing Hayden’s hair into his eyes. He didn’t mind, he was just excited to be on his first Anonymous Inc. mission, and the chance to test out his Dino-Shark form against another fellow mutant. He just wished it was that catgirl. Instead, the opponent would be what was rumored as a robot armed with military grade artillery.

            “Approaching target‘s reported location,” the co-pilot notified. “Activating Thermal Detectors.”

            The Anonymous Inc. agent flipped a switch on the overhead dashboard, and a screen on the main dashboard turned on.

            “Cool…” Hayden whispered. “Or, I guess I should say, ‘hot’.”

            Thermal imaging of Detroit, Michigan’s warehouse district was on screen, and there were bright little orange-yellow dots moving all around on a blue-purple ground.

            “Those are the pedestrians,” the co-pilot explained. “On this kind of thermal cam, most humans show up glowing mostly an orange-ish color, and anything else is that purple color.”

            “So how will we know which one is that robot guy?” Hayden asked.

            “If he’s in robot form, we assume they’ll show up mostly white since their core temperature should be higher than a human’s.”

            The helicopter banked right, towards a high school campus. There were so many orange-yellow dots while some areas looked like one big blob.

            “There may be a good chance they’re in there,” the pilot said. “There’s a good chance that they’re also a high school student like you. And there’re so many people they can just blend in as their human form.”

            “But knowing all that doesn’t help us,” Hayden pointed out. “It’ll be like trying to find a needle in a haystack.”

            “That’s why we brought a needle of our own,” the co-pilot said, looking Hayden in the eye.

 

            A moment later, the Anonymous Inc. helicopter landed in a park only a block or so away from the school. Hayden hopped out and took off towards the school.

            “We’ll be watching from the skies,” the pilot yelled after Hayden. “See if you can keep casualties low.”

            Hayden raised his hand to signal his understanding, though he hoped he wouldn’t have to fight this guy. He wasn’t sure how tough his Dino-Shark hide was, but seriously doubted it could take bullets from a machine gun.

            Hayden crossed the street, turned right at an intersection, and headed towards the school. The right side was all Phys. Ed fields, with only a fence keeping him out. With a jump and a climb, Hayden was over the fence and inside school grounds.          Thinking it through, Hayden figured the robot guy would be a lot like him: a gamer who didn’t care much for sports of Phys. Ed, and therefore wouldn’t be out on the field right now. Swiftly, Hayden made his way to the basketball courts behind the baseball field, where most of the students were.

            As Hayden got closer, he could see many of them just sitting or standing around on the grass or under the trees that line the path between the courts and what Hayden assumed was the gymnasium. Slowing down so as not to seem too suspicious, Hayden walked past the baseball dugout, hoping no one would notice the total stranger.

            Hayden looked around, trying to figure out which teen was the robot gamer. There was a mix of students, some athletic, some not so much, but no one had that “I love robots” look to them, if there was such a look.

            Hayden moved closer, still trying to blend in and be unnoticed. A few cute girls were sitting together, but he doubted they were the gaming type. Except for that catgirl, he didn’t know too many girls who were in to video games. Well, into challenging and competitive games, that is.

            “Alan,” a gym teacher barked. “Where’s your uniform?”

            Hayden turned his head to see who the teacher was asking. A guy about 5’ 10” was walking over to the basketball courts wearing black jeans, and heavy metal t-shirt, and steel-toed boots. His face was riddled with piercings, one in his lip, two in each eyebrow, and about three in each ear.

            “I’ve got it,” Alan groaned as he reached behind his back.

            He held up his P.E. shirt, the collar tucked into the waist of his pants.

            “Alan, you’re supposed to wear the shirt. And take out your piercings so you won’t—”

            “I’m not taking out my piercings,” Alan interrupted. “And I’m not playing basketball.”

            “Good,” one of the other students said. “We don’t need Al-luminum slowing down the games anyway.”

            Ignoring the teacher’s heated order to do as he said, and the taunts of “Aluminum” and “Alloy” coming from the guys, Alan sat under a tree by himself and pulled out a hand-held gaming system. Right then and there, Hayden realized that he had found the robot gamer.

            Hayden looked around. No one had taken notice of him yet, so he made his way over to Alan as quickly and quietly as he could.

            “Hey,” Hayden said, getting Alan’s attention.

            Alan looked at Hayden funny while he put his game on pause.

            “Who’re you?”

            “My name’s Hayden. I’m here ‘cause I know what you are.”

            “The hell are you talking about?”

            Alan was not only suspicious now, but a little irritated. Hayden had to choose his words more carefully.

            “I know… that you were electrocuted on November 2^nd, the same day as me.”

            Alan’s eyes widened as he realized what Hayden meant.

            “That nation wide power surge,” he whispered. “I was playing Metal Mayhem when it hit, and it turned me into my custom robot!”

            “It did the same for me,” Hayden explained. “Except I was playing a different game, so I became my Fusion Animal, Tyranno-Shark!”

            Another look of realization appeared on Alan’s face.

            “You’re that dino-shark from the news!”

            Alan stood up, excitement in his eyes.

            “Were you really in that dino-shark mode for days at a time?”

            “Yeah,” Hayden answered. “A full 3 days. Would’ve been 4, but that catgirl knocked me out of it, literally. Why do you ask?”

            “Well, because…” Alan paused.

            He was almost embarrassed about the subject.

            “I’ve never been in my robot form for very long. I mean, I was only in robot mode for maybe an hour that first day. I changed back after running away from some cop cars, and I didn’t even really know I did. Haven’t really tried to change back.”

            Hayden took a moment to think.

            “What if you try… right now?”

            “What?” Alan couldn’t believe what Hayden had just said. “Now? As in, here and now?!”

            “Yeah. You could really scare those jerks who were calling you names. It’d be awesome!”

            Alan thought about the idea of payback. It sounded good.

            “I’ll try it!”

            Alan focused, and his body slowly changed. His skin was slowly replaced by metal panels. His eyes became tiny cameras, and his brain became a hard drive. His hair receded, and his skull became a metal shell. The bones in his arms and legs became steel pipes and rods, and his organs morphed into fuel tanks, batteries, and hoses. His shoes and feet became one, and turned into metal feet that didn’t have toes. Within about one minute, his body had fully transformed into a fully functional humanoid robot.

            The camera eyes lit up red, and they scanned the area.

            Hayden looked the battle-ready robot up and down as it tested its arms and legs, wrists and ankles, knees and elbows.

            “Al… Alan…? You in there?”

            The robot focused its eyes on the young man, the lenses turning as it zoomed in and out.

            In a metallic voice like that of a Transformer character, Alan responded.

            “Well, duh. If I’m thinking about this right, my personality is now in digital form. I’m basically a real-life Artificial Intelligence now.”

     “That’s crazy!” Hayden shouted. “Your organic body actually became a machine!”

            “And that’s not all! I’ve got weapons!”

            Alan continued to concentrate, and from his right shoulder sprouted a metal blob. The formed itself into a long cylinder, then it became more defined. A sort of mount formed, then a pivot. Attached to the pivot was a long barrel. The barrel continued to change, and became a Gatling gun, six barrels connected by a few metal rings, all six equal distance from a center rod.

     “Now, your turn!”

            Alan’s feet clunked as he walked forward and turned to look at Hayden. Sounds of shock and confusion were coming from the students who were playing basketball.  Hayden ignored them and focused on becoming Tyranno-Shark.

            Hayden’s skin became dry and rough, like sandpaper. His spine spurted out, with muscle and skin forming around it as it grew into a tail. His legs became thick and bulky, his shoes and feet morphing together just like Alan’s. Three toes formed, and grew talons.

            His torso grew in size as well, the ribs becoming thick and sturdy. His organs expanded to fill the space, namely lungs, heart and stomach, and though part shark, Hayden did not grow gills. Instead, his neck and windpipe also grew to the point where the neck appeared to have disappeared. Hayden’s head became triangular and wide, his mouth filling with rows of sharp teeth. A small dorsal fin protruded from the top of his skull, signaling the end to his transformation.

            “Sweet…!”

     Alan turned around and saw the faces of his classmates, plastered with horror at what they just witnessed.

            “Th-that’s the Sharkosaur from the news! The one that walked all the way from Ohio to California!”

            “What the Hell is it doing here?!”

            “And where’d that robot come from!?”

            If Alan still had a mouth, he’d be grinning, and so would Hayden, if he had lips. Alan led the way as the pair walked over to the basketball court.

            “What’s wrong, guys? Don’t you recognize me?”

     “Wha-? Alan?!”

            “That’s right, ‘Alan’. Not ‘Al-luminum,’ or ‘Al-loy’. In fact, in this form, not even ‘Alan’ fits anymore. I think the Handle ‘Metal-Head’ works best.”

     “Whoa, Alan!” one of the guys pleaded as he held up his hands. “We weren’t trying to be mean or nothin‘! We were just teasin’, y’know?”

            “Right…” Hayden communicated telekinetically. “Because you’re all such ‘good friends.’”

            The ones who taunted Alan hesitated to answer. They silently looked from one to the other.

            “I’m going to be leaving with my new pal here, ‘Tyranno-shark.’ And no one is going to follow us.”

     Alan raised an arm and pointed it at the three trees that were in a row nearby. Out of his forearm popped out a smaller Gatling, with only three barrels and no center rod.

            *RATATATATATAT!* The gun fired with the sound of a thousand high-pitched drum rolls, and as the bullets splintered the bark and went through-and-through, the cases were dispensed out of the side of his arm like coins from a slot machine after hitting a jackpot. “Metal-Head” stopped after ten seconds, and the gun slipped back inside his arm. The bullets had chewed the tree up like a colony of ravenous termites, having taken a large chunk as big as a school locker out of its trunk.

            Without saying another word, “Metal-Head” Alan and “Tyranno-Shark” Hayden walked away along the same path Hayden took on his way in to the school campus, still in their robot and Sharkosaur forms.

            A creaking sound came from the shot-up tree, and Alan’s classmates looked at it with curiosity. With a crack, snap, and rustle, the tree’s trunk broke and it fell to the ground, some of the branches breaking on that side.

            Alan’s enhanced hearing picked up police sirens. Someone had already called the authorities?

            “C’mon,” Alan said, “We need to get out of here fast!”

            Hayden began sprinting.

            “Follow me! I’ve got a ride that’ll do just that!”

            Even at full speed, Alan had a tough time keeping up with Hayden as he weaved through the streets. Soon, the two found the open field that Hayden had been dropped off at by the two Anonymous Inc. agents.

            Hayden looked up and around as best as he could with his stubby neck.

            “What’re you looking for?”

            “A military-grade helicopter.”

            “Nice.”

            Alan’s hearing picked up the chopping sound of propellers, and turned to see said helicopter coming in for a landing. Hayden returned to his human state, and Alan followed suit. As their normal selves, the two teens entered the helicopter, and they flew back to Anonymous Inc. Headquarters.

 

            As with Hayden, Alan and Mr. Darklite visited Alan’s home, and explained to his parents what had happened on Wednesday, November 2^nd. They explained that Alan had the power to transform into a robot, and that there were others. They explained that Darklite’s secret organization, Anonymous Inc., could help Alan’s family financially in return for letting him become a member and doing favors for Darklite.

            Alan’s mother and father were quiet for a moment.

            “Alan,” his father asked, “can we really trust this guy?”

            “Dad…!”

            “It’s alright, Alan, it’s understandable that your father would doubt a stranger.”

            Darklite took out his cell phone and pressed the number 2 button, activating the speed dial.

            “Sir?” answered an agent on the other side.

            “Ah, ATM, hello. I need you to make a donation to the Bails’ banking account. I believe $50,000 should do nicely.”

            “Fifty--?!” his mother was astonished. “That’s… just enough to take care of the house‘s last payments. How did you know we needed that much?”

            “I told him,” Alan admitted. “Darklite said he’d help. Check the account.”

            Hesitantly, Mr. Bails went to the house phone and dialed the number for their bank. A few minutes passed as he asked them about their current balance. When he heard the number, he dropped the phone and fumbled to pick it back up.

            “Honey?!” Mrs. Bails asked as she hurried to her husband. “What’s wrong?!”

            “It’s true…” Mr. Bails said as he walked back out to the living room. “There’s an additional $50,000 in our account!!”

            Mrs. Bails turned back to look at Darklite. Before she could get the words out of her mouth, Darklite smiled and stood up.

            “No need to thank me, Mrs. Bails. I was just doing a kind favor to a family in need. Now, is it alright if Alan joins my team?”

            Mr. and Mrs. Bails couldn’t answer any faster. With a grin and a handshake, the Bails agreed to let their son join Anonymous Inc., and let the generous Mr. Darklite return to headquarters.