"That a wormhole?" Ryan questioned aloud. His jaw dropped to the grass, hiding within the green blades.
"And we're the first humans to use one," Johnny said.
The gravity increased, and the wormhole pulled them towards it, including Kevin. "One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind!" Ryan cried, screaming in fear along with his companions.
The next moment, they were all outside, among the trees. Far off in the distance, Montauk Laboratory resembled a beacon. Each of them had landed on the grass, face first.
"Teleports left for the day: three," the A.I. notified.
"Yeah, I'm going to have to get used to that," Ryan griped.
Kevin, however, was ecstatic and already up and about like a kid in a candy store. "Wow! T-That was amazing!"
There was little time to groan, as the whirring noise of helicopters filled the air. Raising their heads to the cloudy sky, the group caught sight of a large object. It was flying across the sky, followed by a helicopter.
"Wow, this is going to be easier than I thought," Sam crowed confidently. Johnny slipped on his face mask, which reached up to his eyes. The rest did the same. They looked like criminals, or rather ninjas.
Unfortunately, the conglomeration of metal—the bug—caught sight of them as well, pointed itself at the ground, and landed. The greenery and forest behind its bulky, ugly frame provided some color to the otherwise dull appearance.
"It's more machine now than insect," Dustin quoted. "Twisted and ev—"
"It doesn't s-seem organic," Kevin interjected, quickly snapping a photo.
"It isn't," the machine responded. They all jumped back. On further examination, it appeared that the voice did not originate from the bug itself, which appeared to be a machine.
"Who are you?" questioned Rose.
"Adia, come and see!" the machine beckoned.
"Her name is Rose," snapped Ryan. "And whoever you are, you can go right back where you came from."
"I'm afraid I can't do that," the voice answered.
"The hard way it is," Johnny responded. Ryan motioned for Jane to throw him a medium-sized rock. He gripped it as the rock shrank, transmuting itself into him. As a result, he grew seven inches and absorbed the stony material.
The invader shot at them with the blasters built into its legs and arms. They dodged the attacks, and Johnny slipped through the fire, using his speed to go around the bug and confine it. Following his lead, Jane reached out with her arm and telekinetically inhibited its body. While the bug was ignorant of Johnny's presence behind, he speed-kicked it, sending it hurtling towards the others.
"Coming your way!" Johnny shouted, side-kicking the inorganic beast again as it hurtled through the air. Sam froze it with a discharge of his own power just as the invader fell into the wheelhouse of Ryan's punch. The contact with his fist obliterated the bug, only sparing its severed head.
"Woohoo! That was awesome!" shouted Ryan, exhilarated. "That felt amazing!"
"Great job!" added Sam. "We didn't even need to use Dustin or Rose!"
"Yeah, well I would've liked to do something," Dustin sulked.
"Doesn't m-matter! I just witnessed the f-first team up in h-history!" Kevin cheered, clapping and raising his arms in celebration as if he had won a championship.
Johnny sped back. "Yep, that was sick." He high-fived Ryan and Sam. "Nice going there, you guys."
The head of the destroyed bug landed in front of them. It spoke. "Well done! Now, Adia, come and see."
"Who are you?" Johnny asked. "What do you want?"
"I am Solis, Voir to the Titan."
"Who is Titan?" Sam responded.
"You will find out," it replied.
"Is he the one who visited me?" Rose asked, ignoring the baffled looks of her comrades.
The voice did not answer.
The team turned to look at her. "What are you talking about?" Ryan asked her.
"Some guy has been visiting you? Where? When?" Johnny added.
"Long story. Tell you later," Rose replied shortly.
"That must mean . . . " Jane said, thinking out loud. "Is he the same one who interrupted my sleep two weeks ago?"
Solis ignored the question. "Do not forget. He expects you."
The others, except for Johnny, shifted their attention to her. "OK, what? You too?" Ryan inquired, both confused and frustrated.
"Long story," Rose replied. "I'll tell you later."
Ryan looked at Johnny, who nodded his head in confirmation. "Wait, don't tell me you knew as well." Johnny stayed silent. Kevin swung his head between them all, trying to keep up.
"In fact, he is expecting all of you," interrupted the bug impatiently.
"You didn't answer my question. What does he want?" Johnny asked, striving to sound fearless.
"Come and see," the voice responded.
"Come and see what?" Rose retorted.
"Your lord," the machine stated. "Your destiny. Your enlightenment. Your justification in the sight of the One."
"Tell your 'lord' that we'll think about it." Johnny motioned Rose over. "Light it up."
"Didn't even have to ask," Rose replied.
"We shall await you," the voice said. "In five Earth days, we will open a breach. It is imperative that you cross." These were its last utterances because Rose lit it on fire.
The helicopter crewmen had been recording since they came upon the scene. "Good thing our little friend Z gave us these visors," Sam said, eyes locked on the helicopter.
"Yeah," Dustin said.
"We need to get some cover," Rose said. "Not a good idea to teleport while they're watching."
"There's a thick forest right over there," Ryan pointed. "Let's go."
When they reached the thick of the forest, Dustin turned on the teleportation mechanism. Space distorted, and a sphere emerged out of seemingly nothing but air. "Damn. Two leaps in less than ten minutes. What a day, humanity!" exclaimed Sam. A moment later, they arrived back where they started—Kevin's mansion. "Wow, this thing really works."
Johnny though, was angry. "Rose, why didn't you tell us?"
"It didn't seem necessary," Rose replied.
Johnny snorted a breath. "Say that as much as you want. Now we have an alien entity who's expecting us. None of us believed aliens existed only two weeks ago. And from the name 'Titan,' it doesn't sound good!"
"Hold the phone. Don't get angry at me. Jane isn't innocent either, and we know you knew about that!"
Ryan, now back in his human form, stepped between the two and held them both back. "Johnny, shut up. The last thing we need is disorder among us. And you"—he turned to Rose, pushing against his restraint— "please keep that pretty face out of fights, will you? Especially with, well, you know, soon-to-be coworkers. Basically, I really wouldn't like to see you both with bloody noses."
Johnny knew Ryan was right and stepped back. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to, Rose."
"Whatever," she huffed. She released her pressure on Ryan's arm and turned away.
Sam raised his eyebrows and let out a breath. "Well, now that that is over with, what happens next?"
"Jane will disclose her encounter, and then, Rose, you will as well," Ryan directed in parent mode. "Now you two play nice."
"Look, I'm sorry I didn't tell any of you earlier. I am. Just . . . just leave me alone!"
"Take ten," Ryan replied sympathetically.
Johnny frowned once more. This is about to be crazy, he thought. He continued to plan how to contain this new life that he hoped would lead him to his destiny. He had no way of knowing that in five days' time, that destiny would come not just to him, but every person on Earth—from the oceans to the mountains, from the deserts to the cities.
When Jane and Rose both recounted what had happened to them that night, a little bit of this Titan character was revealed—that, much like Z, was a mysterious figure that had hid in the darkness and quietness of space for a long enough time. But no longer.