Chapter 18

             “Thursday, the first day of December,” Cyndi said with some wonder in her voice. “It’s so cold!!”

            Cyndi walked into The Spektrum Fan Club room with the hood of her new, sky blue winter coat up. Its 100% cotton shell was nice and soft, but it wasn’t thick enough to keep out the cold. She closed the door behind her--so that the warm air from the heater wouldn’t escape--then hurried to her usual seat near the front of the classroom. Her friends, Jenny and Sarah, had already set up the special presentation they had made a couple nights ago.

            It was a huge poster, with a big question mark in the middle that was colored silver, red, yellow, blue, and black, in honor of The Spektrum’s Color Codes. The poster had the title, “What do we know about The Spektrum?”

            Written around the question mark were the things the club had talked out since its formation: information about the Codes (colors, abilities, apparent fighting styles), that he lives in San Leandro, and that he attends San Leandro High. Cyndi had also added what everyone would know once the article was published at the end of the week: that The Spektrum is not only a student, but specifically that he is a sophomore.

            Cyndi wanted to ask Simon his opinions on all this, but she didn’t see him. He was probably with his friends.

            A bright flash of light shined through the window. It was that teleportation beam from Zorb’s spaceship!

            Everyone rushed to the windows and saw that guy with the bright orange hair and purple shorts standing in the spot the beam hit. He was posturing like he was some rock-star or celebrity. Cyndi could tell the students outside were booing and yelling at him.

            Running out from the left side of the Science Wing, The Spektrum as Code Blue appeared, and everyone, especially those in Room 243, cheered their hero on.

            The orange-haired Josta “Smooth” quickly walked up with a swagger to meet Code Blue. The Spektrum lunged at him, but Josta side-stepped and hit The Spektrum in the stomach with a knee, then both fists to the back. But The Spektrum stayed on his feet, and rammed a shoulder into Smooth’s stomach. Code Blue pushed Smooth back a few steps, then lifted him up and over his back, dumping him onto the ground behind him.

            The Spektrum turned around and watched as Josta struggled to get up. He waited patiently for Josta to make it to his feet. However, Josta could only make it to his knees.

            “Had enough already?” he asked the alien. “All I did was drop you.”

            “No,” Josta said. “In fact, we’re just getting started!”

            From behind, Code Blue was clubbed in the shoulders and head, sending him stumbling forward into Josta. The orange haired alien then sprang up and hit The Spektrum with a clothesline, the inside of his elbow catching Code Blue under the chin and knocking him to the ground.

            The invisible enemy revealed themselves to be the leathery lummox, Pulverize.

            “Gotcha now, human!” Pulverize taunted with a sneer. “You ain’t gonna survive this round!”

            Gotta win quickly with these two teaming together. Computer, Deactivate Blue and Activate Red!

            A flash of blue, then a flash of red, and The Spektrum Code Red spun and hit Josta in the shin. While Josta hopped away in pain, Pulverize rushed at The Spektrum. With Code Red’s heightened athleticism, The Spektrum jumped over Pulverize and landed behind him.

            Deactivate Red and Activate Silver!

            A flash of red, then a flash of silver. Pulverize turned around, and was met by The Spektrum Code Silver’s fist.

            Deactivate Silver and Activate Yellow!

            A flash of silver, then a flash of yellow, and The Spektrum lined up his body to deliver the Yellow Flash Kick.

            Code Yellow shuffled forward, aiming to ram his heel into Pulverize’s chin, but Josta tackled him from behind, his arms wrapped around The Spektrum‘s.

            “Not this time!” Josta sneered.

            After a flash of yellow, then one of blue, and The Spektrum broke Josta’s grip, and smashed the back of his head into Josta’s nose.

            Code Blue grabbed Josta’s shirt, ready to throw him, but both men were plowed over by Pulverize’s massive shoulder.

            “You idiot!” Josta shouted as he sat up. “Watch who you’re running in to!”

            “Not my fault you’re a weakling!” Pulverize retorted.

            Josta stood up quick in anger, and walked up to Pulverize until they were almost forehead-to-forehead.

            “You calling me weak?!”

            “Yeah, I am! What, you got a hearing problem, too?”

            A flash of blue then a flash of silver, then The Spektrum grabbed Josta around the waist. Popping his hips, The Spektrum lifted Josta up off his feet fell back, driving the back of his head into the ground; it was a textbook Back Suplex.

            Without stopping, The Spektrum got up and lunged at Pulverize. Though the collision was solid, Pulverize didn’t move back very far. Pulverize grabbed The Spektrum around the waist, and picked him up. The Spektrum was spun up onto Pulverize’s shoulder, and the big man walked forward, aiming to slam The Spektrum on the hard dirt.

            The Spektrum wriggled and slid down Pulverize’s back, grabbing the big man under his big round chin in a headlock. A flash of silver and a flash of red went off as The Spektrum turned his body so that he and Pulverize were now back-to-back, but with his arm still under his opponent’s chin, then he dropped to his knees. Pulverize was bent backwards across The Spektrum’s back, but his weight nearly squashed The Spektrum. The Spektrum managed to roll Pulverize off of his back, but he felt sore as he stood up. By necessity, The Spektrum had Computer switch from Red to Blue.

            Josta had recovered by now, and was stumbling around, not paying attention to where The Spektrum was. Code Blue got into a two-point stance, one foot behind the other, and aimed himself at the orange-haired alien. Josta turned around, and Code Blue took off at full speed.

            Out of the corner of his eye, The Spektrum could see Pulverize get up and start running to intercept him. The Spektrum couldn’t do anything about it, he had already made it two-thirds of the way to Josta, and there’d be no time to stop.     With a loud roar, Pulverize put all he had into one big burst from his legs. The Spektrum did his best to turn his body so as to avoid the blow, but the bigger man was moving too fast. The two were going to collide, and The Spektrum was going to take the worst of it!

            An echoing buzz erupted from somewhere around The Spektrum, and blue light could be seen emanating from his body!

            The light sprang out around him, and a dome of blue surrounded The Spektrum, 10 feet in diameter. Pulverize hit against a solid surface on the edge, and his own momentum pressed him up against it. It was the dome of light itself that he had run in to! The big leathery alien stumbled back and fell down, and the dome of light dissipated.

            “Oh come on!” Josta yelled in protest. “Now you can create force fields?!”

            “Jealous?” Blue asked with a smirk.

            Code Blue then kicked Josta in the stomach. Blue lifted Josta powerbomb style—around the waist, then rolled up onto The Spektrum’s shoulders—and turned to Pulverize. The Spektrum threw Josta onto Pulverize, using him as a living weapon, and knocking both men out at the same time. The Spektrum then merely put his foot on Josta’s chest, and let Computer count.

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

            The students cheered as the two thugs were teleported back to their ship, and The Spektrum ran inside the main building’s B Hall. After weaving through crowds of students and running past others, The Spektrum entered inside a Boys’ Restroom, and found an empty stall. In a flash of blue, he had returned to his everyday self, and Simon calmly walked back to his friends’ usual hangout spot by the Science Wing.

 

            “Wait,” Cyndi thought aloud, “he can create force fields now?”

            “That’s insane!” one of the male club members shouted excitedly. “How is that possible?!”

            Cyndi remembered about talking with The Spektrum about the concept of his powers “leveling up”, and that as he continued to win, new powers would immerge. Was this one of those moments?

            Cyndi smiled, and headed back to the front of the classroom.

            “Club members,” she said loud enough to cut through the commotion of conversations that had begun, “though the article comes out tomorrow, I feel that answers are needed now rather than later. The Spektrum has known for a time now that he will be able to use special powers such as that force field. However, he does not know beforehand what his powers will be. I’m sure the force field was as much of a surprise to him as it was to us. Once the article is published tomorrow, everyone will know that The Spektrum is just one win away from a ‘Level Up!’”

 

            “Are. You. KIDDING ME?!”

            Zorb furiously stormed over to the two stupid henchmen as they slowly stood up in their stunned stupor.

            “BOTH of you against ONE of him, and you still fail!?”

            “It was that new power of his!” Josta protested. “No one could’ve predicted he could do that!”

            “He would’ve never gotten the chance to if you two worked together!” Zorb pointed out. He turned his attention to the large, leathery one. “Pulverize, as annoying as Josta can be, that does not give you the excuse to flatten him along with The Spektrum!”

            “Who cares about teammates,” Pulverize grumbled, “so long as someone wins.”

            “Teammates give you the best chance of winning,” Zorb countered. He was surprised that an athlete like Pulverize needed this explained to him. “Had you two stayed on the same page, The Spektrum would’ve been crushed and broken by now.”

            Zorb looked at all of his lackeys, and tallied up their losses.

            “I think it’s time I cut some of my losses,” he mumbled.

“Step one,” he said a bit louder, “I’m cutting you. All five of you.”

            Pulverize, Josta, Korak, Graw and Gnarl all looked at their leader Zorb in confusion.

            “What do you mean?” Korak asked.

            “You five, except for maybe Graw and Gnarl, don’t understand teamwork. But even they have failed. I am going to replace you with a group of fighters who know what teamwork is.”

            “You’re replacing us?!” Josta shouted in disbelief.

            “Don’t make me repeat myself. You five can take the Mini-Ship together, and leave. As of right now, you are ALL on the bench.”

            All five shouted in protest, asking for just one more go at The Spektrum, but Zorb wouldn’t grant their requests. At the threat of gun point, Zorb’s henchmen entered the smaller spaceship, and took off into deep space.

            “Zorb,” Zita asked as the hangar bay doors closed, “what’re we going to do now?”

            Zorb turned to Zita, and placed a hand on either hip.

            “We’re going to hold auditions.”

            Taking Zita by the hand, Zorb headed to the bridge. Once there, he went over to the navigations computer. He typed in a few numbers, then pressed a big green button. After Zorb took his seat, the spaceship took off in another direction from the one the Mini-Ship did, headed to coordinates Zorb had entered.

            “Do not worry, my princess,” Zorb assured Zita, who had sat down beside him, “soon enough, we will have an elite team of mercenaries ready to destroy that human pest called ‘The Spektrum.’”

 

            Friday morning, the school newspaper, The Cargo, was handed out to all the classrooms around the campus, and dozens upon dozens of students grabbed themselves a copy. Every student who read it couldn’t help but wonder about this “Level Up” business, and how that worked exactly. Of course, the origins of The Spektrum’s powers helped shed light on that. The students reasoned out that if his powers came from a video game, then his powers also worked like a video game. The more wins and achievements The Spektrum accumulated, the more powerful he would become.

            However, not all students picked up a copy, or wanted to talk about it. One student in particular who did not even touch the newspaper was Craig, who was still steaming over his embarrassment on television when he tried to expose the hero’s identity, only to be shot down by the news reporter.

            How Craig despised The Spektrum was near immeasurable. Because of The Spektrum, he had lost a handful of friends and potential girlfriends. His parents argued with him for days after that fiasco, and took away almost all his privileges. If it weren’t for The Spektrum’s superpowers, Craig would beat the pulp out of him.

            But had Craig picked up a copy, he would’ve seen he wasn’t alone. There was someone who had written an article denouncing The Spektrum, calling him a menace to the school because he was fighting Zorb and his men on campus, and a failure for not trying to stop that Safeway robbery. The writer even dared to say that they thought “fate, God, or whatever divine powers that decided to give The Spektrum his powers had made a mistake, that someone else should’ve gotten those powers, someone with better training and resources.“ Not surprisingly, the school was a little offended over this unannounced and negative article, especially since it was written by one of their own. Unfortunately, it was submitted anonymously, so no one would know who really wrote it.

            “I can’t believe this!” Cyndi said as she smacked the newspaper. “Who would write such a thing?!”

            “How dare they think they’d be a better hero,” Gary added. “The Spektrum is doing what he can, right?”

            “Right! We need to find out who this anonymous writer is!”

 

            “Wow,” Christian Chen said as he finished reading the articles. “It’s like this guy had heard what I said…”

            Christian was of course referring to that conversation he had had with Simon a week or so ago.

            “About what?” Bryan asked.

            “About someone with training—like myself—would be a better hero than The Spektrum.”

            “What…?!”

            “You actually said you’d be a better Spektrum than The Spektrum?!”

            “Well,” Christian paused, surprised by the looks on everyone’s faces. “Yeah, because I’ve got training in martial arts and firearms.”

            “Oh, like that makes you a better hero,” Alex said. “Superman never needed training in how to fight, but he still saves the world.”

            “But Batman got training, and he’s one of the best,” Christian countered.

            “Batman’s also rich and very intelligent,” Bryan countered back.

            The superhero debate went on for a time, and Simon took that time to slip away to Room 243 and the Fan Club.

            Computer, you never told me about the force field power.

            You didn’t ask about it.

     Should’ve expected that answer… So if the force field came first, then how much longer until Overdrive is available?

            Computer was quite for a moment. It was most likely calculating.

        It already is available.

     What?! Seriously?!

            Yes.

            Let me guess, you didn’t tell me because I didn’t ask.

        Yes.

            Simon grumbled as he exited the stairwell on the second floor of the Science Wing, and headed down the hall.

            You’re not a very good guide, Computer. You should really announce when I unlock something like that.

       Understood. I will now announce when you have unlocked something.

            Thank you.

Simon entered Room 243, and was greeted by Cyndi.

            “Simon, did you see that article?”

            “Yeah, everyone has.”

            “I can’t believe that somebody anonymously submitted a smear article to the Cargo, and that the Cargo let it be published!”

            Cyndi was rather upset, with her hair a bit of a mess, but Simon thought it was a cute look. He smiled, and patted her on the shoulder.

            “It’ll be alright, Cyndi,” he assured. “I’m sure The Spektrum won’t care what one anonymous person said about him.”

            “You’re right,” she said, smiling herself. “And it’s not like anyone agrees with this person, right?”

            Simon automatically remembered Christian.

            “Yeah,” Simon lied, “no one thinks like this guy.”

            “Well, come on, join me and the others. We were talking about a lot of other things, like The Spektrum‘s new ability.”

            Cyndi led Simon to their usual table, where her friends were busy talking and eating lunch.

            “Having a force field makes Blue his Defense Code,” Gary said between potato chips, “But which Code counts as an Offense type?”

            “Clearly Silver,” a friend of Gary’s suggested. “He seems to be the strongest, physically, and was the first Code used.”

            “I bet he’ll be able to fire energy beams,” Caitlin said. “Like all those anime superheroes, y’know?”

            “Well, that would fit the theme of light energy,” Gary said. “But after seeing all those different anime heroes, wouldn’t that be a bit overused?”

            “It’s not like those heroes were real,” Cyndi brought up. “And it’d only be one Code.”

            “Speaking of Offense and Defense,” Gary’s friend interjected, “what would the other three be classified as? We all know Red is best known as the Speed Code, but Yellow and Black don’t show any clear traits.”

            “Yellow is the intellectual one,” Simon spoke up, surprising himself even.

            Everyone turned their attention to Simon.

            “How so?” Cyndi brought up.

            “Well,” Simon said, thinking fast, “it was clear that he outsmarted Smooth—the one with the neon-orange hair—and Korak.”

            “That may not be saying much,” Gary countered.

            “He also came up with the strategy of switching between Codes in mid-fight,” Simon pointed out. “It threw off Zorb’s little strategy of sending out who was best fit for each Code.”

            “Perhaps,” Caitlin said thoughtfully. “So what does that leave Code Black to be? The Crazy Code? His laugh was a little… psychotic.”

            “He isn’t crazy,” Cyndi defended. “Though, I agree about the laugh…”

            “If anything,” Simon cut in, “he’s an unknown. He used submission style moves on Pulverize, but he was just as much of a brawler as Silver.”

            “So what do we nickname him?” Gary asked. “‘Mystery’ and ‘Unknown’ won’t really work because we know some stuff about him.”

            “We could call him the ‘Wild Card’,” Caitlin suggested. “At least until we see more from him.”

            Everyone agreed and moved to the next subject.

            “What will Zorb do next?” Cyndi asked. “His men have all been beaten when fighting The Spektrum individually.”

            “And a few of them have even lost when fighting together,” Gary added, reminding everyone of yesterday’s fight involving both Smooth and Pulverize.

            “Perhaps another full-on team attack?” Gary’s friend theorized. “If they work together, they could find an opening.”

            “No,” Caitlin said. “Adding more people to the fight just creates more disruption. We all saw how Smooth and Pulverize were completely out of synch and at each other’s throats. Trying to do get the other three to do the same on top of that isn’t good strategy. I’d venture to say that he‘s going to swap out and get some guys who know how to work together.”

            Despite the fact that he was undefeated against them, Simon couldn’t imagine Zorb having an even fiercer team of aliens on his side that could actually work together.