H.O.P.E (A Super Hero Story)

Chapter 9

"I love Coal! He is my first Earth friend. I think it adorable when he asks to be scratched on the midriff."

"Oh, yeah, he loves tummy rubs." While speaking, Alex was scratching Coal's ears, his tail wagging.

I do, I do, I do, I do.

Alex stopped, then begun to look around.

"Who said that?"

The girls also looked around, but were more confused than Alex. Abby called him out.

"Who said what?"

"I heard a voice, in my head," Alex replied. "Like Val, but it sounded different."

"We didn't hear anything." Miko said.

Tummy rubs, please.

Not believing it, Alex looked down at Coal, who was staring up at him, tail still wagging.

"Coal, was that you?"

Yes, it me, I Coal. Tummy rubs, please.

"No way. I can hear Coal thinking."

"What?" Abby asked. "What's he saying?"

"He wants tummy rubs."

Tummy rubs!

"Oh, I shall give the 'tummy rubs' to Coal." Selyys said, kneeling. Coal laid on his back and let Selyys scratch his stomach. He gave a satisfied groan while she was giggling.

"Yeah, I'm not gonna tell you what he said."

"So, you can hear animals talk?" Abby asked.

"Maybe... I don't know. I think I need to sit down."

"What you need is to find out what you can really do. Come on, we're going to the gym."

Abby and Miko led Alex out of the rec room, with Selyys waving goodbye while still scratching Coal.

"I shall meet up with you later."

While walking down the corridors to the gym, Alex asked why the kids were still there.

"Don't get me wrong, I'm happy they're safe, but shouldn't they be back with their families?

"Well, we'll let Val explain that further." Abby replied.

"But for now, we think it better for the children to stay with us." Miko finished.

Walking to the end of the corridor, the three walked through another set of double doors. The room inside was oval-shaped, wide and spacious. The floor was actually packed dirt instead of metal or carpet. Theo was standing off to the side, working the gauntlet on his arm. He had changed into a red tank top and black camo pants, with goggles resting on his forehead. Val was standing in the middle, making small spherical objects levitate in front of him. He was wearing strange clothes; a dark violet bodysuit that was accented with bright blue, wavy lines. Wearing on top of the suit were pieces of silver armor on his shoulders, arms, chest, and upper legs. Attached to the dampener on his head was a black mask to cover his eyes.

"Right, mate, ready for target practice?" Theo asked.

"Ready." Van answered.

Theo then tapped the holo-screens of his gauntlet, then several circular targets appeared before Val. The targets started to spin around Val, who just stood completely still. Then the objects Val was making float shot away from him, hitting the targets dead center. All except one, which then shot a tiny laser beam back at Val.