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I wake up and sit up off of the floor as Oliver coughed and groaned out, "What happened?"
"Scarlett used her power on you guys after Des had took care of her shockwave. You're lucky to be alive." Skylar answered.
"Wait. So, you and I are trapped together in a tiny jail cell?" Oliver replied and then smiled, "I'm not alive, I'm in Heaven!"
"Yeah, well, Des and I are here, too, so don't get weird." Bree spoke up.
"Scarlett's gonna be back any minute. We have to get out of here." Skylar commented while looking around the cell.
"Use your powers to form a space portal and take us back to Earth. Unless, you know, you just wanna stay here and make this our cozy little home." Oliver replied and leaned his arm against the bars of the cell only to get zapped again. "Wow, that hurt! What was that?"
I laugh, "I don't know. Maybe you should try it again."
"The force running through those bars makes our powers useless." Skylar replied.
"Great. Scarlett destroyed the wormhole transporter, so we're stuck on Caldera." Bree said.
"It's your own fault for coming here." Scarlett spoke up.
"Do you really think you can stop me? Do you have any idea what I can do?" I question her in amusement, confident of my power and showing my ego a bit.
"I am well aware of your strength and power. That's why I took precautions in case you happened to come here for her." Scarlett answered.
"You just had to tell her about me." I say to Skylar, leaning towards her. She shrugged a little.
Scarlett shot me with a red energy, different from the first one, as it made me teleport to a different location.
"Des!?" Bree, Skylar, and Oliver exclaimed while looking around the cell for her but only to find that she was gone.
"There are a million other Calderans. Why do you want Skylar and what did you do with Des?" Bree demanded.
"Yeah, you don't want her. Take Bree." Oliver commented as Bree looked at him, "Somebody's gotta take the hit. Thanks for stepping up."
"Scarlett's part of the opposition and they want me to help them take over the planet." Skylar replied.
"And once we do, Caldera will finally be powerful enough to rule the universe." Scarlett said.
"Totally hear ya. Really respect your drive, but where do we fit in on your little to-do list?" Bree replied.
"Oh, I'm not in control of your fates. Skylar is." Scarlett simply said.
"What do you mean?" Skylar asked.
"It's simple. Join the opposition and I'll release them, maybe Destiny too- though, she could be a useful asset to the opposition." Scarlett answered.
"And if I don't?" Skylar asked.
"Then you'll watch as I destroy them, slowly and painfully. The choice is yours, Skylar. Let's see how much you really care about your human friends." Scarlett answered.
"I can't believe we're gonna be killed by your alien bestie. No offense, but sometimes I wish you were just a simple girl from the Midwest." Oliver spoke up to Skylar.
"Come on!" Bree said while messing with the screen on the wall.
"What are you doing?" Skylar asked.
"Every time Scarlett pops up on here, it gets worse and worse for us, so I'm trying to unplug the stupid thing." Bree answered.
"That's a good idea. Or at least change the channel. Ooh, maybe there's a show about remodeling caves. I'm thinking a love nest for two- and a guest room for the bionic plus one." Oliver replied.
"Decision time, Skylar. What's it gonna be?"
The three heroes turned and looked at Scarlett as Bree replied, "Give it up. She's not joining the opposition."
"Actually... I am." Skylar murmured as Bree said in disbelief, "What?" Skylar looked at her and continued, "It's a small price to pay for saving your lives."
"But, Skylar..." Oliver began.
"I made up my mind, Oliver. This is what I have to do." Skylar commented and faced Scarlett, "I'm ready to join you."
"Good choice. But before I let you out, I need to know you're serious." Scarlett replied.
"I gave you my word. Isn't that enough?" Skylar said in slight disbelief.
"No. In order to protect your allegiance to the opposition, I'll need to permanently remove your powers to create space portals." Scarlett nonchalantly stated.
"What!? But then I'd never be able to go back to Earth." Skylar argued.
"You can't do that." Bree spoke up as Oliver nodded and added, "Yeah, take her time-traveling power instead."
"I don't have a time-traveling power." Skylar commented to him.
"She doesn't know that." Oliver replied.
"Are you with us or not?" Scarlett questioned impatiently.
"Do whatever you have to do." Skylar muttered.
"We'll never see you again." Oliver sadly said to the girl beside him.
"I know. Go ahead." Skylar replied as Scarlett held a gadget over her palm and zapped her, taking away that ability.
"Welcome to the opposition." Scarlett stated.
***
I look around the dim cave room, looking for my friends. "Bree?" I start, "Oliver? Sky?"
"They're not here and back where you just left from." Scarlett spoke up behind me as I turn and face her. She smirked with a remark, "Were you serious about what you said? How powerful are you again?"
"Yeah. Powerful enough to bring this whole place down." I answer.
"This cave is different than the one with the subterranean cells. This one is known as the Cave of Mystery Mazes. You never know what to expect on each turn and you'll find yourself getting lost." Scarlett said with a small smirk.
"I can just teleport myself out of here or open up a portal and leave." I reply with also a smirk.
"No, no you can't. See, this cave was also made to where outsiders cannot use their powers, including bionic." Scarlett further explain as my smirk fell from my face. "So, have fun." She then disappeared, leaving me alone.
"This can't be too bad. I'm great with puzzles and mazes- I think." I mutter under my breath and start walking down a path but only to find it ended in a dead end.
After ten minutes of turning down endless corridors, I stop at another dead end and groaned after smacking the wall in front of me, looking around. "Ugh, I'm keep coming to these stupid dead ends."
"Justin!"
I turn at someone yelling my brother's name but no one was behind me. "Hello? Who's there? Can you help me?" I call out but received no answer.
I start running down another hall and turned another corner. "Justin, where are you?" There's that voice again. I continue to run toward the voice and stop in my tracks when I see a nine year old brown haired girl looking around. "Big brother?" She asked, noticing me and then took off running down the hall behind her but in front of me.
"Hey, wait! Who are you?" I call after her and then run after the girl. She stopped in a circular room of the cave. There was a stone, cylinder-shaped podium in the center and a shiny silver object in the middle of it. "What?"
"Where's my brother at? You're supposed to always have his back like he's always had yours!" The little girl said to me, her brown eyes watery.
"I'm trying-" I start.
"Not good enough! You have a chance to be with our big brother and you're here." She cut me off, folding her small arms across her chest.
"I had to come- They're like my family and they needed me." I try to explain my reasons to the nine year old.
"Well, he's your family and he needs your help. He doesn't even remember who he really is!" The girl replied, persistent in finding him. "They don't need you, you need them. There's a difference, by the way."
"Who are you anyway?" I softly ask.
"Isn't it obvious? I'm you when you were nine!" The child answered, "You only have three more hours before his offer ends. Choose Justin- He always chooses you and fights for his little sister."
"And what do I tell the team? That I'm sorry but I'm leaving them for I don't know how long!? It's not that simple. Of course, I'm gonna fight for my brother but I'm also gonna fight for this team who's basically my family!" I comment.
"You don't have to tell them anything, just go. You've sacrificed enough for them and have given up a lot of your own life for them to have one. If it was Justin making the decision, he would choose you over and over." She replied with a sigh.
"First, I need to get out of this maze. You know how to do that?" I say.
The little girl smiled and pointed at the silver thing on top of the stone podium in the center of the room. "It'll let you use your powers in here, but be warned- Doing this, it may have side effects."
"Like what?" I ask while moving over to the object.
"You may experience hallucinations outside of this cave, fatigue, maybe death, or you may just gain a new power." She explained, "So, I guess your everyday kind of danger."
"I'm gonna have to take this risk, aren't I?" I comment and looked at the girl who was beginning to fade away.
"Promise me, yourself, that you'll go to your big brother and save him." She replied.
"I promise." I whisper lightly, my eyes watery, just as she disappeared completely. I stepped even closer to the object, moving my hands towards it as the case opened up to reveal dull blue crystals inside of it.
As soon as it opened, a gush of wind pushed me back a step just as I felt strange; I look down at my hip and waist, brown rocks began to form all over my body. "Help!" It soon spread and covered my face.
After about five minutes, my fingers and left elbow became free of the rock covering all of my body and then parts of the rock chipped off of my face to reveal my brown eyes.
The cave began to tremble as the whole rock cocoon blasted off of me, my short brown hair blew around my face as my head was tilted up; My hands were clenched into fists as the pieces of the cocoon dissolved into shreds and flew away from me as I move my head and watch the pieces fly away, scattering all across the room.
I look around once more and then fall to my knees, standing back onto my feet a bit wobbly. I groan, the buzzing that I always hear had intensified after that.
I flick my wrist outwards as a purple portal opened up as the other side of it revealed Bree and Oliver inside of the cell still. I jump through it as the portal closed and I land gracefully on my feet in front the bars. "Guys!"
"Des!" Bree and Oliver exclaimed.
"Where's Skylar?" I ask them.
"Right here." Skylar answered from behind me as I turn and look at her.
"Don't even try it, Scarlett. Skylar's beautiful. You look like a tired old she-beast." Oliver commented.
"Des, hide. She's coming." Skylar warned me in a hushed tone. I step to the wall, my back against it, and turn invisible.
Scarlett walked up to the cell and now stood beside Skylar. "Wait. So that's Scarlett?" Oliver sheepishly asked.
"Mmhmm." Skylar nodded.
"Which means you're-" Oliver began.
"She-beast." Skylar nodded once more.
"What I said- I didn't mean-" Oliver began again and was zapped by the force against the bars, "Okay, I deserved that one."
"Let them go, Scarlett. I joined your side, you have what you want. Now it's time to honor your end of the agreement."
"Yeah, and if you don't let us out of here right now-" Oliver threatened as Scarlett opened the cell door, "Thank you."
"Skylar, you didn't have to do this. We could've found another way." Bree replied.
"It's okay. Just say goodbye to Chase and Kaz for me. Tell them I'm sorry for letting the team down." Skylar said.
"Skylar, I- I can't just leave you here. You mean everything to me." Oliver replied.
"There's no other way. I'm sorry. Oh, and Oliver. For what it's worth, I like you too." Skylar said.
"Really?" Oliver replied.
"Let's go. Wrap it up." Scarlett impatiently said.
"Stick a sock in it, space hag. I waited a lifetime for this." Oliver replied and turned back to Skylar, "We'll never forget you."
"Good. Now that that's over with, we can finally get you useless humans off our planet." Scarlett commented.
I had managed to quietly walk behind Scarlett, sneaking up on her, and then spun in the air and did a roundhouse kick, knocking her down to the floor. I turn back to visible again. "How did you escape?" Scarlett questioned me.
"You vastly underestimated me." I simply remark, now protectively standing in front of Skylar, Bree, and Oliver.
Scarlett stood back up quickly as her hand glowed red; I swiftly point my hand at her and comment, "Try it." I wiggle my curled fingers tauntingly a little at her.
"Skylar, are you really going to let a human attack me, your own kind?" Scarlett questioned.
"I might." Skylar replied as I smirk a little.
"You're a disgrace. You just proved that you'll always choose humans over your own." Scarlett commented with a disapproving shake of her head.
Chase and Kaz ran through the hall and stopped a few feet from us, speaking up, "Guys!" They ran over to us then in front of Scarlett.
"Stand back. This one's all mine." Bree confidently spoke up and moved in front of me while lowering my arm.
Bree's body began to glow green, her fists clenched, and then she released the blast as it shot Scarlett across the room and crashed into the wall.
"What the heck was that!?" Chase spoke up in shock and confusion.
"There's the reaction you and I have been waiting for, Sky." I murmur to Skylar while leaning over to her.
"Thermonuclear body blast. Oh, did I not tell you that I have superpowers now?" Bree proudly replied to her brother.
"No. Did you know about this?" Chase said and asked Kaz on the last part.
"I wanna say yes, just to make you mad, but I had no idea." Kaz answered.
"Guys, we have to get out of here. Where's your transporter?" Bree replied.
"Oh, I put it down over there. I don't like to fight with stuff in my pockets." Kaz said as Oliver replied, "Go get it!" Kaz nodded and commented, running over to where he left the gadget and picked it up, "I got it."
"No, I got it." Scarlett said after tackling Kaz and taking the remote just as I lift my hand back up at her again.
"Drop it, Scarlett." I tell her as she shook her head and stood her ground. I blast her outstretched wrist wth my earth ability, hearing a painful crack, as she dropped the remote.
Before the remote could crash on the ground, Chase caught it with his molecularkinesis and brought it back over to us, now handing it over to Kaz.
"Please. Skylar. Help me." Scarlett spoke back up while holding her broken wrist in her other hand.
"Oh, okay. Now you want my help? Five minutes ago, you were gonna kill me." Skylar remarked.
"The opposition forced me too. I had to. Please help me. Make your friend stand down." Scarlett begged.
"Des, let her go." Skylar reluctantly commented.
I drop my hand down to my side again as Scarlett stood back up. "Thank you." She said.
"You're welcome. Now, we're leaving." Skylar replied.
"No." Scarlett said.
"What?" Skylar asked.
"You're pathetic. I knew you didn't have the guts to hurt me. You've become just as weak as the humans you surround yourself with." Scarlett answered.
"You lost, Scarlett. It's over. We have the remote back-" Chase started.
"No. You're on my planet now and I control what happens." Scarlett cut him off.
I step forward again and lift an eyebrow at her. "You sure about that?" I challenge, opening up a portal back to Earth beside my friends, saying, "Let's go, guys."
Kaz, Bree, Oliver, and Chase entered it as Skylar and I look once more at Scarlett who had called after us, "And Destiny! When you were in that cave, I saw inside of your head- You will never fit in anywhere truly!"
"You're wrong." I comment as my hand glowed an orangish color and shot at her, taking away one of her abilities and then moved my glowing hand to Skylar and shot at her, returning what she had lost. "And Scarlett, you no longer have the ability to come back to Earth. And now, Skylar does."
"I have that power back? Thank you, Des." Skylar replied and hugged me, "Come on, let's return home." Her arm was wrapped around my shoulders as we both step into the portal together as it closed after us.
"Hey, you alright?" Oliver asked Skylar once we enter the living room.
"I just can't stop thinking about Caldera." Skylar answered.
"I'm really sorry about Scarlett." Bree replied.
"Yeah. I just wish I got to her before the opposition did. Now that they've torn Caldera apart, it's never gonna be the same. My home is gone." Skylar said.
"No. This is your home." I reply as everyone looked over at me and back at Skylar.
"Yeah. You belong here. With us." Chase added, wrapping an arm around me and pulled me close to him.
"With me!" Oliver said as we look at him, "With us."
"Are you sure? I mean, like you said, I'm a crazy alien girl who has fourteen toes and does really weird things." Skylar replied.
"And we wouldn't have it any other way. Besides, I'm gonna need help with my new superpowers." Bree said.
"Yeah, about that. Why didn't you tell me?" Chase replied.
"I didn't want you to feel bad. You have, like, one ability." Bree said and tapped her temple while making beeping sounds to mimic his bionics.
"Okay, okay, okay! How did you even get them?" Chase asked.
"Des and Skylar knew that I wanted more powers, so they acted as a buffer between me and the Arcturian rock." Bree explained.
"You touched it?" Oliver and Chase asked Skylar and me, (Oliver asked Skylar and Chase asked me), "That's really dangerous. You could've been killed."
"I know, but sometimes, you have to take a risk to help the ones you care about." Skylar spoke up, inching closer to Oliver.
"Kinda like I did for you." Oliver picked up.
"Wow, he picked up on that quicker than I thought." Bree commented.
"You really stuck up for me today, Oliver. It meant a lot. Thank you." Skylar replied.
"No problem. Does this mean we're, like, dating?" Oliver asked as I chuckle softly while Chase smiled at me.
"Well, let's start with this, and see where it goes." Skylar answered and kissed his cheek and pulled back.
"Oh, okay. Uh, can you guys excuse me a second?" Oliver replied, grinning and was trying to keep his cool.
He walked out onto the terrace, closing the door behind him, as we watch him excitedly jump and happily scream, "Yeah!"
Chase laughed a little, happy for him, as I wrap my arms around his waist and was pulled closer. Oliver stepped back inside and moved back over to his original spot beside Skylar. "You were saying?"
So, Destiny, what is your decision? Time is almost up.
I look over at my friends talking and laughing as they sat on the couch now and I bite my bottom lip gently. I think back to him, Where should I meet?
Good choice. But I want to hear you say that you're with us.
I inhale sharply and think, I'm in. Where's my brother?
Remember, he doesn't even remember you, Destiny.
I know. That doesn't change my decision.
Excellent. Then leave them now and make sure you come alone. He telepathically thought back.
How do I know that he'll be there?
He'll be there most definitely. And with that last thought of his, he was gone. I take a deep breath and begin to head to the door.
"Des, where are off to?" Bree curiously asked.
I stop, my hand on the handle and back still facing them. Chase stood up and answered for me, "You found a lead on your brother, didn't you?"
Hurt them to make sure that they don't follow you. The mysterious man spoke in my head again. I gasp inaudibly, like the wind was just knocked out of me. I finally face them, my eyes watery but no tears came. "I'm- I'm so sorry."
"Des, I thought we were gonna do this together as a team." Chase repeated my own words, my heart ached to just want run to him and bury myself in his arms and chest. But I couldn't.
"I was wrong." I manage to say and took a deep yet shaky breath. "I can't. It has to be me, alone this time."
"Des, if someone is making you abandon the team and join them, tell us. You're not alone. You showed me that today on Caldera." Skylar replied.
"Please don't follow me- or you'll get hurt." I comment quietly and left out of the penthouse. And after turning off my bionic GPS, I left through a portal to the coordinates that he sent to me telepathically.
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