From New York's central business district's dull, black, and yellow striped asphalt. Look up to the Heavens and gaze upon the skyline; watch it vividly outline the shape of Austin Industries tower.
The tall skyscraper has served the Austin family for decades, epitomizing their legacy's vastness. The goal-orientated building stretches toward the sky, seeking to achieve a goal that many have not: reaching for the blue coating of atmospheric gases. As the skyscraper stands tall, its two additional triangular-shaped towers add more depth. This is similar to a leaner woman who puts on extra clothes, giving passersby the impression that she has accumulated a massive chunk of weight.
The skyscraper is garbed with diagonal frames that run across each other, forming triangled-shaped window panels. From the tallest tower, an emblem is plastered there. With a big red and white font, the logo is written as Austin Industries.
Inside the building, Sam was going through a stack of files in his office on his desk.
A knock echoed throughout the office from outside the door, "Come in!" He responded.
The door opened, revealing Sam's assistant, a blond-haired woman. She wore glasses, and the smooth texture of her skin reinforced the image that she was still in the fragrance of her youth, perhaps in her young adult phase. Kendall Coleman is her name, and she walked into his office holding a tray with a cup and a kettle with coffee.
"Here's your coffee, sir," Kendall said respectfully as she placed the tray on the table.
"Thanks, Ken," he replied and took the kettle. He poured the coffee inside the cup and put the kettle down. Before taking a sip, the scent of crushed beans slapped him hard on the face while steam ascended from the black liquid. He took a sip and closed his eyes, "Nothin beats a strong cup of coffee in the morning. "
"That's what I always say, boss," Kendall said with a smile.
Sam noticed this and asked, "May I ask you a hypothetical question?"
"Uhhh..." Kendall said, but before she could continue, Sam interrupted her by saying, "You don't have to answer that."
"Okay, shoot," Kendall replied.
"Are you dating someone? If not, why hasn't someone swept you off your feet?" He asked as he set the cup aside and sat back on his chair. He intertwined his fingers and looked at her.
"I don't know, maybe guys are thrown off by my glasses," she said on a whim.
Sam smiled and said, "Well, I think you look...very hot with those glasses. I mean, they compliment you."
Kendall adjusted her glasses and blushed intensely. Although she struggled to articulate her words, she eventually spoke, "Well...I... will see you later."
Kendall then turned around and walked out of the office. She closed the door and stood there for a while. Her heart and breathing rate dramatically increased, making it all the more difficult to remain tranquil. Who can blame her, though? Sam abruptly dropped a nuke on her. She didn't expect him to make a move on her, especially since she felt he was in a different league. More than that, those words touched her deeply, making her feel more special.
"Just breathe, just breathe. He's your boss. There's no way he would go out with you," she said, trying to be realistic.
********
Philidalphia, Pennyslvania
Diana's Hotel Room
"What the heck do you want from me, huh?" Diana inquired with intensity oozing out of her tone.
As Seth approached her, he placed his hand on her shoulder. She quickly swatted it off, and this caused the latter to smirk.
"You have a fiery personality, sister. It's very amusing," he added, complimenting Diana and mocking her.
In response, Diana pushed Seth to the wall with all her force. When he collided with the wall, he fell to the ground. She didn't give him an inch as he stood up. She stretched her hand toward him and released a wine-purple beam where he was. Once the beam touched him, it coated him, enabling her to levitate him as she pleased.
She bound him against the wall with her levitation as he could not move. He groaned after the attack. He fidgeted, but to no avail; he couldn't break free.
"Impressive, sister. You're not as weak as you pretend to be," he said, complimenting her prowess.
Then his flesh began to wither because her beam coated him, and her beam could deteriorate matter that it touched.
"You've got about ten seconds until you die, so... I'd suggest you start talking," she stated.
"Gah! You and I can convince our other siblings to join us in my... Our conquest!!! And avenge our father," Seth stated as the flesh on the left side of his face began to peel off. If he didn't do something to stop her, more of his tissues would suffer the same fate and later release a vile odor.
"Why the hell would I do that? Sam told us not to trust you," Diana said.
"Hehe... Sam's too held back by his twisted sense of morality and the fear of the fact that he acknowledges that all of you are stronger than him," he added.
"You are saying a bunch of crap, my friend. Sam was the one that brought us together... There's no reason why he could be afraid of us," she answered dubiously.
"...And why does he want all of you to act like humans? Knowing you could rule this puny backwater world and become gods to these so-called humans with your abilities." Seth continued.
Diana looked at the floor with detest; deep down, she knew that Seth was correct. After all, Sam never had to struggle to attain his wealth. Wealth was the one that found him through his affluent and renowned parents in the science world. He always had this "perfect" life while she, Harrison, and Dan had to suffer to achieve their goals. Diana looked back at Seth with tears streaming down her face, and she gritted her teeth like a caged animal because she wanted Codex to feel her searing pain. After all, she wouldn't suffer, and her eyes were burning with rage.
Seth smirked because he had accomplished his mission; to fan the innate fire of rage that burned inside her, especially after discovering her interstellar origins.
"So sister... What do we do?" He inquired, knowing very well what her answer would be, but he just wanted to gratify himself and hear her say it.
"We get our siblings. And we burn Codex to the motherfucken ground," She snarled.
************
Daybreak visited New York City's dwellers once again. The loud, petulant car honks filled the streets as cars moved from one place to another. The cold morning breeze greeted the New Yorkers; they were wearing coats and oversized jerseys as they pottered to their workstations. They bought coffee beverages and breakfast from nearby shops and street vendors to keep warm.
At Austin Industries, Sam was in his office and going through copious paperwork. After some time, he fell back on his chair, stretched his arms, and yawned. He looked across his table and saw a picture of him and his Earth father, Anthony. This was at a time when he was still a child. Anthony wrapped his arm around Sam's head and gave him a noggie as the two smiled at the camera.
Sam grabbed the picture and sighed, "How did I get to this point?"
He placed the picture down and stood up from his chair. He pottered towards the glass wall and glanced at the city. A trend of seemingly endless thoughts occupied his mind.
Even though he was told countless times that he was Codexian, he still couldn't believe it. Much more, he felt as though he was still human, despite the supernatural traits that he possessed. Though he knew he had to accept his heritage, it became a burden, especially what transpired a few days ago. Since his argument with his siblings, he wanted to forget everything that occurred. He even sold his Mercedez Benz AMG. Yet despite that, his mind was still set on what once was and could've been.
Then he heard a notification from his laptop. He turned around and approached his desk. He sat down once more and clicked on it.
It was an email from the science community that read the following...
Dear Samuel Austin
We want to invite you to our gala dinner. It will be held at the Planetarium tonight at 9:00 pm. We want to discuss your upcoming Military projects to protect the United States of America further and maintain global peace.
Yours sincerely
The Science Community
He scoffed and took out his cell phone. He dialed Kendall's numbers and placed the device on his ear, "Hey Kendall, can you come into my office?" Sam inquired.
A few minutes later, Kendall walked inside his office and asked, "What's up, boss? What do you need?"
"Do you have any plans tonight?" He asked.
She didn't know how to respond to his inquiry. Eventually, she answered and said, "Nothing. Why?"
"Great! I would like you to be my plus-one tonight for a gala event, " he said.
She was flustered as her cheeks emitted a red pigment. "Wha...? What will people think? I mean, you are my boss, after all?" She asked.
"I don't care what people say. I just will be too busy focusing on you," he replied.
Kendall gave him a warm smile. She was charmed by his sweet words.
"Judging by that smile...I'm correct to assume it's a yes?"
Her smile widened further; if Sam didn't stop complimenting her, it would stretch to her eyes like a looney toon character.
"You guessed correctly," she responded.
"Okay, then you don't have to find a dress. You can swing by the tower after work," he said.
Kendall nodded continuously; she exited the office and returned excitedly to her workstation.
****************
Queens High School
Harrison walked around the hallway in a semi-melancholy state, he looked over to the horizon, and his face lit up when he saw his two friends, Mikey and Joe.
The three shared a fist bump, and Harrison said, "It's good to see you guys. "
"Same here, but we're pissed," Mikey said.
A puzzled look filled Harrison's face when Mikey said that. When they saw his expression, Mikey got the cat out of the bag and said, "We know about the Austin internship."
"Ohh, that," Harrison said as it dawned on him.
"Don't say, Ohh, that," replied Mikey as he flapped his hand.
"I wanted to tell you guys, but everything happened so fast this past week, and I am also still trying to get used to everything," Harrison said.
"You can tell us everything at the football field," Joseph suggested.
"Football field?" Harrison said, confused.
"Yeah! We were on our way to see the tryouts," Mikey said excitedly.
"Okay, let's go," Harrison said with a shrug.
Someone tapped Harrison's shoulder from behind as the three advanced toward the field. Of course, the young lad stopped as the others walked past him. They noticed that Harrison had slowed down for some reason, and they turned around to inspect why.
"Hey stranger," replied a sweet and smooth voice. It was Mya.
"I'm still waiting for that tour," she said.
At that moment, the two stared deep into their souls, unwilling to take their eyes off each other. It's as if they were both in trans.
"Would you like it now?" Harrison asked, smiling at her.
"Yes," Mya replied.
"Awesome!" He exclaimed excitedly.
She directed her gaze at her friends, who looked at them further apart.
"What about your friends?" She inquired.
"Nah, don't worry about them. I'll catch up with them."
The two began their walk. Harrison looked over to the horizon and saw a face he thought he'd never see again.
"Diana?!" He exclaimed as his eyeballs nearly bounced off his sockets.
"Harrison, we need to talk," Diana said.
Diana acknowledged Mya's presence and continued, "Cute girlfriend."
The two looked at each other weirdly. They exclaimed at once, "He's/She's not my boyfriend/girlfriend!!!"
Diana nodded. She wasn't convinced. Then, commandingly, she changed the topic and said, "Harry, we need to talk. Now!!!"
Harrison nearly pissed his pants after hearing her commanding voice.
"Mya, I might have to postpone our journey around the school, " he scoffed.
However, Mya didn't find the situation humorous. She rolled her eyes Instead and said, "Whatever." She walked away after that.
"Talk about what?" He inquired with crossed arms.
***********
Sometime later, Harrison and Diana walked towards the parking lot. Dan appeared from the sky, engulfed by flames; the flame dissipated as he landed on the ground causing a small crater.
"Dan?" The young lad marveled, wondering what was going on.
He shook his hook and looked at Diana, "Okay, Diana, what do you want to talk about, 'cause I was in the middle of something?"
"Not her. Him," Dan replied as he pointed at a red intermediate Honda Civic from behind him.
Seth then appeared from behind the scarlet vehicle. Anger was etched on the young lad's face. He summoned a couple of rocks from the ground, which covered his fists and formed a shape similar to a boxer's gloves.
"Seth? What the hell are you doing here?" Harrison asked with an intense look.
"Easy, easy, easy, dude! He wants to talk," Dan said.
Despite that, Harrison still had an intense look.
Seth smirked and said, "Such hostility, young brother. "
"Shut up! As far as I'm concerned, you...the three of you, including Sam, aren't my siblings!" Harrison exclaimed.
"Just hear him out," Diana said.
Harrison took a deep breath and calmed down. Once he did so, he asked, "What do you want, Seth?"
"I want all five of us to go and destroy Codex," Seth replied.
Harrison was shocked and asked, "Why would I do that, 'cause my parents are alive and well?"
"Ohh, you mean them? They're not your birth parents. Join us, little brother, so that we can avenge our father and liberate our mother, Alura," Seth continued.
The rocks that covered Harrison's hands dropped to the ground, and he asked, "I'm in. How are you going to convince Sam?"
"Don't worry about that. I shall inform you about the plan," Seth replied.
Harrison nodded as Seth touched Harrison's shoulder and smiled menacingly.