Two weeks, filled to the brim with training, excitement, laughs, complaints, and craziness, had passed by. Like everything nowadays, it seemed like a day to Johnny.
He woke up to a knock on his apartment door. He sped to the door and peeked through the hole. No one. On opening the door, he found a gray case at his feet. His eyes scanned the hallway in both directions, but he could not spot a soul.
As he examined the case, the top popped open and Johnny gaped. "Whoa," he marveled, well-nigh drooling. Inside was a partially armored outfit. A supersuit. The suit design was a dark blue color, with white serrated edges, resembling a knife. The zig-zag design intersected on his chest and wrapped around the suit in a diagonal arrangement, tracing down to his feet.
To complete the look, someone had equipped the suit with blue-tinted, shaded goggles with sharp edges, which attached to his face through a connector on each side. It exposed the top of his head, allowing his dirty-blonde hair to flow free. The case included a navy-blue face mask, which covered his features up to the blue-tinted shades.
A small note attached to the read, "You'll need it." He closed the case and rushed back inside. Placing it on the bed, he undressed with childish excitement.
As he reopened it, he spotted something he hadn't noticed—a note taped on the side. It read: "Figured you would need this too." Someone signed it with "-Z."
"Z?" Johnny said to himself.
In a flash, Johnny donned the thick suit, and was a little disappointed to find it extremely loose-fitting. Examining the outfit more carefully, he identified a minuscule yellow button placed on his left shoulder. Once pressed, the entire apparatus sucked every iota of air out, permitting the thick suit to envelop the wearer like a glove.
"Oh yeah, I could get used to this," Johnny admired the effect in the mirror. Despite the hour, he picked up his phone and dialed Ryan's number.
The ring sounded for two seconds before Ryan answered. "Johnny, do you happen to have a sick outfit at your door?"
Johnny hesitated. "You too?"
"And did you happen to have it signed by a guy who calls himself 'Z'?"
"I'm coming over," Johnny said.
"We thought you were still asleep! Dustin and Sam are already here!"
"Here?" Johnny questioned. "Where?"
"At Kevin's place."
"You're all the way over there? Seriously? I've got to call Jane."
"Hear that guys? He's got to—"
Johnny hung up the phone before he could finish.
Blasting off like a missile, Johnny speedily slipped through several miles of urban terrain before arriving at Jane's apartment door and knocking. The suit felt incredible. The air slipped past its aerodynamic construction beautifully.
"Come in Johnny!" called Jane from somewhere in the apartment. He deduced that she had heard him race up to the door.
He opened it. "Jane! Did you get a box with a s . . . holy crap that looks amazing."
She grinned. "I will take that as a compliment."
"I mean, that's, uh, that's great!" he stammered.
"Thanks," Jane replied.
Johnny scratched the back of his neck. "Uh . . ."
"I can see you received a little gift as well!" Jane exclaimed, pointing.
"Huh?" Johnny replied.
"The suit."
"Oh. Yeah. That." Her outfit was comprised of a thick protective layer underneath its dark blue exterior. No extra patterns or colors were a component of the exterior. Only a small white button affixed onto her left shoulder—akin to his. In fact, Z had gifted her a mask exactly the same as his, except that it was deep gray.
Jane turned to the case. "I found it with this." She pointed to the taped label, which also read the same as the box he had found on his doorstep.
Furrowing his brow, Johnny was puzzled. "That was on mine too."
Jane nodded. "It all makes sense. This guy, Z, must be the same one we came across."
"It is," he responded, walking towards her box. He grasped both sides of it with his hands.
"How do you know?" she replied.
"Because I just have that feeling."
Bemused, she moved on. "Have you heard from the others?"
"Yeah," he responded, his hand on the back of his neck, in pensive mood.
"What's wrong?" she asked, walking towards him.
"I don't know. I don't know why he's doing this." He raised his head. "What does he want with us? Why? Why all this?"
"I understand your frustration," she replied. "But we need to have patience. In time, we might find out."
"Yeah, but I don't think I can handle two mystery men," she said.
"Two?" Johnny repeated.
She rolled her eyes. "You know, your visitor?"
"Oh, him," Johnny realized. He shook his head from his own stupidity.
"Him?" Jane repeated, now also confused.
"I suppose it's a he," Johnny explained. "Only makes sense from the way he talked and moved and everything." He paused. "Look, are you ready to go Kevin's place? The others are already there."
"What would you do if I said no?" Johnny was dumbfounded, never expecting such a remark. Jane giggled at the look on his face, "Don't worry, of course I'm coming!"
"Good. Let's go."
"Just let me get out of this thing. You don't want us walking to the car in this, do you?"
"Who said anything about walking?"
"What?" He grabbed her as if she were weightless, snatched up her keys and her phone, and locked the door behind them. A moment later, they were in her car, with Jane in the driver's seat. Johnny was surprised at how light Jane's body felt in his arms, and wondered if she ever ate, or whether his years of martial arts and body training were finally paying off.
She sat blinking and gasping. "Oh my gosh, I think I might puke."
Sorrow seized Johnny. "Oh crap."
* * *
Forty-five minutes later, the pair arrived at Kevin's house. The gate unlocked, and they headed to meet up with the others.
"Wow, you two look sharp," Sam commented approvingly. Looking sharp himself in his own brand-new bodysuit, colored dark blue as well with long, snow white highlights running from his neck, across his shoulders and arms, and to his hands. From his shoulder blades, white winding lines traced down the sides of his chest to the ankles.
"Hey!" Rose exclaimed. Contrary to theirs, her suit was a dark red, with black edging on the sides of her ribs.
"W-Wow, this is so damn a-amazing," admired Kevin, dressed in his simple-yet-comfortable hoodie and sounding a tiny bit envious.
"Check this out," Rose motioned, laughing in delight. Her gloves had a compartment on each finger. She growled, and the compartments unloaded their payload—in this case, claws. "Isn't it amazing?"
"That is legit sick."
"I wish mine did that," said Jane.
"I think someone designed each suit for each person's personality," Rose replied. "This Z guy clearly knows what we like. He even gave me a red face mask!"
"Ryan, you and Dustin have awesome ones too," Jane said.
"Why thank you!" they both responded. Dustin's suit was a duplicate of his brother's. In fact, each was a duplicate. The only difference was different colors of glowing lines. Dustin's was yellow lines, Ryan's had green.
Dustin slipped on a dark gold face mask, analogous to Johnny's. "Oh yeah," he said, with his best ninja impression. "I'm Scorpion now."
Sam laughed a bit too hard. He attached his own, which was a snowy-white hue. "And I'm Sub-Zero."
Their banter left Jane clearly confused. "What?"
"It's nothing," Johnny interjected, frowning at the twins.
Rose, on the other hand, laughed along at the remarks. "Yeah, you do!" she said.
Johnny shot a look at Ryan, who turned around to hide his reaction, placing his fist in his mouth and biting down slightly, then winked at Johnny. Johnny understood perfectly. Ryan had never met a girl who knew those names, or had even heard of Mortal Kombat. He assumed there was a vast throng who did, but he was never privileged to meet one. Most people in general were usually grossed out by the viciously gory imagery.
"Dang, Rose, you're a gamer?" Dustin asked. "You never told me that."
"It's a hobby of mine."
"Well over here, it's a lifestyle," Dustin replied.
"I have to say," Sam chuckled, "Z has good taste."
Johnny rolled his eyes. "Yeah, well he might still be some super-evil psychopath."
"I b-believe this i-is something d-different," Kevin replied, pointing to the suits. "I certainly have never felt a material like that."
"Wait, what?" Sam asked. "Are you saying—?"
"That these suits are from a different planet?" Johnny finished the sentence.
"I b-believe so."
Kevin had the television tuned to NY1, a news station throughout the local area. Breaking news interrupted the usual cliché of daily crimes—a robbery, a murder, or some long-forgotten celebrity's death giving them one last minute in the spotlight. Across the bottom of the screen, the scrolling headline read: UFO ESCAPES FROM SPHERICAL OBJECT. AUTHORITIES FOLLOWING.
Dustin caught sight of it and motioned for the others for silence. "Uh, guys?"
"What?" replied Sam.
"Oh God," exclaimed Johnny, who had turned to see.
"What the hell is that?!" Jane shrieked.
"It says 'unidentified' for a reason."
"What has happened to my life?" Sam complained. He squinted. "I was just a regular dude, and now we're going to be facing off with a giant . . . bug."
"Just what I love," Dustin added sarcastically. "Like, who does not love gigantic man-eating bugs, am I right?"
"Gross."
Rose read the byline. "It's near Camp Hero."
"Imagine my shock."
"Wait, what?" Ryan exclaimed. "Camp Hero? This is terribly coincidental—"
"Do you want to go there?" said a robotic voice, making everyone jump.
"Who said that?" Rose whispered.
"Hello, I am Oracle, your helper."
"Is your suit talking to you?" Johnny asked, baffled.
"It indeed is," responded the suit. "And please, refer to me as Oracle."
"Oh God, do we each have an A.I. c-companion?" stuttered Ryan, for once modestly bewildered.
"No. Only the two females' apparatuses have absolute consciousness included. I am Oracle, the artificial consciousness of the Oracle V1."
"Holy s-shit," Kevin exclaimed. "I can die in peace."
"Jane Cooper, you also have artificial intelligence in your suit, known as Chronos. Our master, the great Titan, created it."
"Who?" Jane replied.
"All will be elucidated in time," the voice said.
"How do I access mine?" Jane asked.
"Press your hand on your chest for five seconds, Jane Cooper." She did as the A.I. told her. Five seconds passed, and her suit awakened.
"Hello, I am Chronos, your helper and companion, created for the Chronos V7."
"Wait," Sam interrupted, "have you been listening to us this whole time?"
"Yes, Sam Jones."
"OK, I am now very, very jealous," uttered Dustin, who was basically swooning over the voice of Chronos. "What's mine do?!"
"Repeat the steps Jane took," Oracle directed in its beautifully unemotional voice. "As I made clear, you do not have an intelligence uploaded into yours. Instead, the Tetra uploaded various technologies, such as power boost, bulb, geolocation, and fortification mode."
The rest were dumbstruck, Kevin easily the most. "Each appurtenance you were given incorporate these specific components."
Dustin, Johnny, Sam, and Ryan all followed the steps given, which turned on their specific outfits.
Dustin went first. There was a peculiar sound followed by, "Welcome to the Aurora V5. Apparatus set to English, a language of Planet Earth."
"Yep, definitely from outer space!" Dustin exclaimed.
Sam was next. "Welcome to the Echo V9. Apparatus set to English, a language of Planet Earth."
Ryan's boot-up responded the same, except referring to itself as the "Solace V4," as did Johnny's, which referred to itself as the "Edge VX."
"Telemetries positive. Enjoy."
"OK, I'm officially in love with Z," Ryan exclaimed. "He really knows the way of gift-giving."
"Hero in my book," Dustin said sarcastically.
"Oracle, you said something about portal technology," Rose said. "What do you mean? Are you saying we have the power to teleport with these things?"
"Affirmative," Oracle answered.
"Holy crap," Kevin and Johnny exclaimed at the same time. "How is that possible?"
"Utilizing the teleportation abilities of Zydok, the ruler of the Tetra, the Titan, created these for his special forces," Oracle explained.
"Wait, who?" Kevin responded.
Oracle paused. "My programming does not permit me to further disclose."
"Well, that's helpful." Rose shifted uneasily, as she recognized the name.
"OK, well, how do we teleport?" Ryan asked.
"You do not have that specific function. Only the Aurora V5 and Echo V9 have the capability."
"Sounds like ours," Dustin responded, looking at Sam. "I have the Aurora, and Sam has the Echo."
"All right, so how do we activate it?"
"To activate the exotic matter, you must swing your arms in a circular motion to your side," Oracle elaborated. "As you do this, speak where you would like to go. The orb will activate, bending space-time to form a sphere, which will transport you to your desired location. A reminder: The bridge can only take you to a location within the host planet—never beyond."
"Sam, I'll do it," Dustin said."
Sam made a face. "OK."
"But first," the A.I. interrupted, "you must initiate fortification mode, so that the Aeon safeguard plates can harden."
Johnny raised his eyebrows, amazed. Dustin and Sam both blinked repeatedly, trying to make sense of the information the artificial intelligence had dropped. "Uh . . . OK," Dustin said. "How the hell do we do that?"
"Tell me," it replied.
"What?"
"Command me."
Dustin put on a confused face, turning to the others and shook his head. "Thing's dumb."
Rose shook her head and hushed. "Want me to do it?"
"No!" Dustin replied. "I got this. Uh, Aurora, initiate fortification mode."
"Initiating," Aurora notified.
Dustin's suit sprang forth in gold colors. "Uh, I feel something hardening," he said. "Not my pants, either." Johnny and Ryan both chuckled loudly. Before long, though, the suit lit in specific regions, the safeguard plates making themselves apparent on the outer shell. He now resembled some sort of soldier.
Sam drooled, in awe of the sight. "Dude, you're a walking gold ingot."
"I know," he replied, nailing the voice and the look. "I'm a futuristic, space ninja, you peasants." Swiftly, Johnny and the others initiated their safeguards too. The white serrated lines on his suit illuminated blue, Rose's suit illuminated a deep crimson, Ryan's green, Sam's white, and Jane's gray.
Rose ogled over the pure awesomeness. "This. Is. Amazing! I love red, obviously. And now . . . I have it! Does Z know us personally? He's literally like my Dad right now."
Johnny didn't answer this time.
"Do I really look like Elsa now?" Sam asked Ryan. The whiteness of his armor bathed the room in even more light. "I feel like I do."
"Bro, let it go," Dustin said, snickering like a mad man. "The joke's dead."
"Don't worry, you look badass," Ryan responded reassuringly. "As do I."
Instead of carrying on like a child with Christmas presents, Jane said firmly, "Let's go. We don't have time to play."
"She's right," Johnny said. "We have plenty of time later to check these out."
"Fine," Dustin replied straightening. He swung his arms, shouting, "I desire to travel to Camp Hero, New York, United States, Earth." A mysterious sound emanated from one specific point a foot away in mid-air. The room distorted, and a large, black sphere rose from the ground in front of them. They had created the first man-made wormhole in history—a rotating bubble of space-time—something scientists only dreamed of seeing.
"The first portal," Johnny said in wonder. But it wasn't the first. Ages before, one had been created. But Johnny didn't know that. None of them did. Not yet.