Captain Cosmic Pt. 01

"Moving on," Ms. Belinger says. I linger for just a little bit longer before following them onto the next exhibit. My mind is still stuck on the crystal as she continues the tour. Eventually, the tour comes to an end and we're given the freedom to explore with our groups. I don't even hesitate and rush back to the crystal. I felt like it was calling to me or something.

I'm the only one in the exhibit at the moment as I walk up to the vibrant blue shard that hums with energy. The more I listen, the more I believe it is saying something.

What is it saying? "Only the worthy can wield the power of the cosmos." Suddenly the crystal erupts, completely blinding me.

I wake up as Wendy and Abony are looking down at me. "Wh... What happened?" I ask.

"Dude, I don't even know how to explain it. The crystal just blew up. We were trying to catch up with you. You were right next to the crystal and it suddenly exploded. All that blue energy like... It just... It went inside you."

"I don't know how it's possible, but I think you absorbed all the energy in the crystal," Wendy says.

"Come, we should probably put some distance between us and that crystal before people start asking questions," Abony says.

"Yeah, you're definitely right," Wendy says.

Abony pulls me to my feet and as she and Wendy drag me out of the exhibit. I take one look back to the crystal. The light has left it.

"Hey there you guys are," Lauren says as we rush out of the space exhibit.

"Hey, we were just... What's up?" Abony asks.

"I was just searching for you all," she says.

"Aren't we supposed to be with our groups?" Wendy asks.

"Yeah, I know, but me and Kaitlynn couldn't agree on that... She ended up with Jordan's group and I came here," she says.

"Oh. Well, we were just leaving into the next exhibit," Abony says. "Nothing to see in the space exhibit. It's pretty boring there, right, Gage?" Abony shoves her elbow in my ribs.

"Right..." I rub my ribs.

"I thought that crystal was the main thing you wanted to see here," Lauren says.

"He saw and it wasn't as cool as he thought it was," Abony says. "Anyways, you mentioned something about maybe working with me on my music, I definitely like the sound of that."

"Yeah, we can go to my dad's studio and they have all the equipment there to use," Lauren says.

"That sounds great," Abony says as we start walking out into the commons. Everything just seems so much more vibrant. The colors just seem to pop. Even Abony and the way she seems to glow so much brighter than everyone else. It's so strange. Lauren also hums a bit brighter than everyone else.

As our time at the museum comes to an end and we all head back to the bus. Abony and I get our same seat. As people trickle on I can't help but notice the difference in how bright they are. Most people seem to be dimly lit. But then there are people like Abony who seem to burn brighter. The new girls Bianca, Ana, Julia, and Shyrece step on the bus and they're just as bright as Abony. Their shade of color is the same. Tim is also the same as theirs.

Wendy isn't so bright and neither is Kaitlynn. But Stan's is. His is also the same color. So is Aubrey, Austin, Emily, and Adam. Why are they so much brighter than Wendy and Kaitlynn.

Oh wow. Jordan's is even brighter yet. It's also a different shade then everyone's. Everyone that seems to glow a bit brighter than most seem to have a pure white glow with a sort of red outline. Jordan's glow is dark and purple.

Woah... The new girl, Violet? Her light is brighter than all the rest. It's almost blinding.

"Yo, Gage," I look over at Abony. "Lauren was asking you a question.

"Huh?" I look back at Lauren.

"So? What did you think?" she asks.

"About what?" I ask.

"The museum silly," she says.

"Oh, it... it was cool," I say.

"Don't get too excited," she says rather sarcastically.

"Sorry, I..."

Abony elbows me. "He always gets like that when he's deep in thought. So, what did you think of the museum?"

"I thought it was amazing. I don't think I have ever seen anything like that," she says.

"Yeah, that virtual shit was trippy," Abony says.

"I thought it was brilliant," Wendy butts in. "The way they augmented it with what they built inside the museum was such a good idea. It made it seem so real."

"So Gage, what did you think of the space crystal?" Lauren asks.

"The cosmic crystal?" I ask for whatever reason the name just popped inside my head.

"The what?" she asks, raising an eyebrow.

"That's what he's been calling it," Abony says as she elbows me again.

"The crystal itself isn't anything special. It's what was inside it. It seems it was only a vessel," I say.

"You could tell that all by just looking at it?" Lauren asks.

"Gage, you've been reading too many comic books," Abony laughs as she gives me another elbow before whispering in my ear. "You better chill on the whole crystal thing or people are going to start asking questions. Trust me, they're not the kind of questions you want to answer."

"So, are we on for later?" Lauren asks.

"Gage, don't you remember, you have that important thing with Wendy and me later. Remember?" Abony asks.

"What are you talking about?" I ask.

"The project the crystal and the energy," Abony mumbles.

"Oh... I guess?" Is she referring to what just happened in the museum, because I don't want to miss out working with Lauren for something that can wait until later?

"Oh... That's cool, we can meet up tomorrow. Let's just chat at lunch, how does that sound?" Lauren asks.

"Yeah, sure," I say rather disappointingly.

As we pull up to the school, we're dismissed for the rest of the day. Abony pulls me along as we follow Wendy out to her car.

"We have definitely got to chat about what the fuck just happened today," Abony says as we get into Wendy's car. "You... You just got hit with some massive energy from that crystal thingy."

We arrive at Wendy's giant Florida mansion. As soon as we get inside Wendy's room, Abony explodes. "Dude, what the fuck happened? Do you feel okay? Is there anything weird happening? What is going on!"

"I'm fine," I say. "Although, people are glowing, that is definitely not something that happened before. You're glowing. Like literally glowing. So were several of our classmates, but not everyone. This is just a theory, but I think I can see people with special abilities."

"Really?" Wendy asks. "That's definitely possible."

"Well, correct me if I'm wrong, but you don't have any powers and you're also not glowing. Abony does have powers and she is giving off a sort of white light with a red outline. It's the strangest thing I have ever seen."

"We're going to have to run some tests to see what else you can do," Wendy says.

"I agree," I say.

"Nerds..." Abony sighs before she looks over at me. "So are you going to tell me what the hell happened? Did you see how the thing blew up?"

"I did. I was right in front of it when it happened, Abony," I laugh.

She punches my shoulder. "That's not what I meant. Did you see anything strange before it went off?"

I think back to when it happened, the words it spoke. "Only the worthy can wield the power of the cosmos."

"What?" Abony asks.

"It spoke that before it erupted," I say.

"What? It spoke to you?" Abony asks.

"Yeah," I say. "Only the worthy can wield the power of the cosmos."

"You said on the bus that it was a vessel. You called it the Cosmic Crystal. What's it a vessel for?" she asks.

It's as if the words just come to me. "The power of the cosmos."

"If you're wielding the power of the cosmos then we shouldn't test it in your house," Abony laughs.

"True, who knows what kind of damage the power of the cosmos could deal," Wendy says. "Come on, let's go to my car, I know some land that we can use."

We follow Wendy through her giant house and out the door to her car. Once we're in, it doesn't take long before we're out in the middle of nowhere. We're in a part of the woods that looks destroyed by a hurricane. "What happened here?" I ask.

"The researchers my dad hired are still trying to figure it out. It almost looks like a tornado touched down but the weather didn't show the signs of a tornado. No one can seem to figure it out," Wendy says.

"Your dad hired researchers? Does he like... own all this land?" I ask.

"Yep," Wendy says.

"Holy shit, your dad must be rich," I say.

"He's a real estate investor," Wendy says as we pile out of her car. "Okay, so lucky for you most of this land was already destroyed so you have free rein to test your powers."

"So... what do I do exactly?" I ask.

"Just focus," Abony says.

"That doesn't help. Focus, what am I supposed to focus on?" I ask.

"You're right. I learned how my powers work on the go. Mostly by being in danger," Abony says as she picks up a stick and then wacks me with it.

"Ouch! What was that for?" I ask.

"I don't know, I thought you'd have some kind of instinctual reaction or something. Just trying to help," Abony says.

"You should help a little less," I say.

She hits me again with the stick. "Stop hitting me!"

"Let's just take a step back," Wendy says. "You mentioned the power of the cosmos. We already know you can see light within people. So maybe there is a light within you. Try to focus on the light within yourself."

"And how do I do that?" I ask.

"I don't know, maybe try meditating," Wendy says.

I close my eyes and breathe in. I then breathe out. And then I breathe in. "I'm not feeling anything different."

"Maybe it's triggered by emotion?" Abony asks. She hits me with the stick again

"Ouww! Stop hitting me!" I shout at her.

"Are you feeling any different?" she asks.

"No, now I just have more bruises," I say.

"Maybe you have to visualize it," Wendy says.

"Maybe visualize energy coming out of your hand, like Titan," Wendy says.

I stick out my hand and aim off in the distance. I close my eyes and try to visualize a beam of energy coming out of them. I take in a deep breath and focus. I can feel an intense heat within me. It's like my blood is turning into fire. The heat is moving to my hand. All of a sudden it explodes out from my palm. I open my eyes to see a tunnel burnt through the debris of trees. "Did... Did I do that?"

"Dude, that... that was fucking insane!" Abony gasps. "You seriously didn't see that? You literally just shot out a fucking laser cannon from your hand."

"That was impressive. Now let's run some more tests. We still need to find the limit to your abilities and how they can be applied," Wendy says.

"Do you think you can fly?" Abony asks.

"I don't know," I sigh,

"Well, time to figure it out," Abony says. "Jump or something."

"You have to visualize it," Wendy adds.

I close my eyes and try to focus on shooting up into the air. I take in a deep breath and let it out. Once again I can feel that energy heat my body up, but this time it flows down to my feet. Suddenly, I'm lifted up into the air. I open my eyes only to find myself falling.

"Oh shit!" I yell as I slam into the ground. The air gets knocked out of my lungs.

Abony breaks out laughing. "Well, at least we know you can potentially fly, but that's going to take some practice."

"Uuuhhhh... That hurt," I sigh as I roll onto my side.

"If it wasn't obvious, you're not impervious to pain," Wendy adds.

"Probably not bulletproof either," Abony laughs.

"Maybe. What if you can use the energy as a shield?" Wendy asks.

"Worth a shot," Abony says as I pick myself up off the ground.

"Just visualize the energy encompassing your entire body," Wendy says.

I close my eyes and visualize the energy being like body armor. I take a deep breath and let it all out. Like before, the energy sets my body on fire. This time it spreads out through my entire body. I feel so hot. It's like I'm standing in the middle of a burning house.

"Holy shit," Abony says. I open my eyes and look down to see my body completely encompassed by a bright blinding white light with a blue aura. Abony walks up and slowly reaches out with the stick. As soon as it touches the white light, it burns and disintegrates. "Damn! That's insane."

"So you could be bulletproof. We should try to see how effective this shield is to a bullet," Wendy says.

"Or not," I argue.

"You need to test these limits before you go into the field. You don't want to learn the hard way," Wendy says. "We can start out small with a pellet gun and work our way up."

I let go of the energy as it gets absorbed back into my body. "Let's do that tomorrow. I think I've had enough for today."

"Fair enough," Wendy says.

Wendy drops me off at home just before Amelia gets off work. She gets home and takes off her belt with her gun and puts it in the safe. "Long day at work?" I ask.

"Yes, you could definitely say that," she sighs. "I'm going to go get changed. Will you heat up the leftovers for dinner?"

"Yeah, sure," I say as she heads over to her room.

I walk into the kitchen and pull out the casserole she made for dinner yesterday and heat it up in the oven for a few minutes. Amelia comes down in her pajamas and wraps her arms around me.

"God I am really glad I have you in my life to come home to. You have no idea how crazy today has been. The whole superhero thing is driving me insane. First, these women, Karma and Fate show up and stir the civilians crazy with excitement. Now you have heroes popping up all over the place. Just this morning I had to go over to Abony's dad's corner store because this new hero they're calling the Gecko stopped a robbery. And of course, there's this Rift guy who's saving people."

"Wouldn't it make your life easier with superheroes taking the load off?" I ask.

"That's a common misconception. They actually create more chaos. They take the law into their own hands and some of them do not even follow the law. They're just straight-up vigilantes killing without mercy. I'm just thankful we don't have that Ghost in our city. God only knows the havoc that monster is creating," she says as she unwraps herself from me and checks up on the casserole.

"But don't you think the Gecko is helping? I mean she did stop an armed and dangerous robber. I saw it with my own eyes," I say.

"I know, I saw the security footage, I'm not thrilled at all that you were involved," she says. "And it just makes things more complicated with superheroes. Who knows what their agenda is."

"What if they just want to do good?" I ask.

"Then why do they hide behind a mask?" she asks. "The police who are the real heroes don't need to hide behind a mask."

"It's to protect their identities and their friends and family," I argue.

She sighs. "You and I are never going to agree on this. Let's just leave it at that."

"Fine," I say. Amelia dishes out the casserole between the two of us. For the most part, we ate dinner in silence.

"How was the field trip?" Amelie asks.

"It was... good," I say.

"Yeah? I thought you couldn't wait to see the space exhibit," she says.

"It was as I expected, pretty intriguing. The crystal they found was unlike anything I have ever seen," I say.

"That's great, maybe sometimes we can go together and you can give me the tour," she says.

"I'd love that," I say.

"So, after we finish eating, do you want to catch up on that Aratheon tv series? We're still 2 episodes behind," she says.

"Sure, that sounds great," I say.

We both finish eating and I help Amelia clean up before we get comfortable in the living room. She turns on the show as she after she grabs a blanket. She snuggles up to me, resting her head on my shoulder as she clings onto my arm. When I look down at her, I see a girl who only just wants to be comforted and held.

It's weird because she's always the foundation I stand upon. She's the one who puts forward the strong front and is the person I lean on for emotional support. Amelia has always been the one in charge. The one who works harder than everyone else. The woman who takes the lead and always does the right thing.

But right now, she looks so vulnerable. So childlike. As she sits cuddled up to me, she looks up into my eyes, I can see a girl who desperately wants to be loved. "What?" she asks.

"Nothing, I just... nevermind," I say.

"Is everything okay?" she asks.

"Yeah, things couldn't be better," I say, placing my hand on top of hers.

She leans up and kisses my cheek. "I love you, Gage. You're the best thing that has ever happened to me."

"Aww, thanks. I love you too, Amelia," I say.

We stay there all cuddled up as we finish watching the episode. "It's late, you should get some sleep," she says.

"Okay, good night, Amelia. I'll see you in the morning," I say, kissing her cheek before I get up and head to bed.

The Next Day

Instead of our normal walk to class, Abony and I hitched a ride with Wendy. "So, I stayed up late last night working on several different ideas I had for your costume," Wendy says. "I can't wait for you to check them out."

I can only imagine what kind of costume she came up with, although she didn't do all that bad with Abony's costume. The Gecko actually looks kind of cool. But... I did come up with the tongue rope, a synthetic material that sticks to anything and looks like a lizard tongue.

"Can't wait," I say.

"So?" Abony asks as she looks back at me from the front seat. "Have you discovered any new abilities yet?"

"No, nothing new so far," I say.

"Well after school we can go back to my father's property and run some more tests, then you can check out the costumes I made for you," Wendy says.

"Sounds like a plan," I say.

After we park and make our way into class, Abony and I head to our lockers while Wendy heads to hers. As I reach my locker, I run into Lauren in the hallway. Her perfect silky black hair seems to flow as if there was a breeze. And those eyes... They sparkle in such a way it makes my knees weak. Don't get me started on her naturally bronze skin. "Hey! We're still on for lunch, right? I have a lot I want to go over with you," she says.

"Yeah, definitely," I say.

"Good, I can't wait. I'll talk to you in our homeroom," she says.

Abony slugs me in the arm. "Damn boy, I'd never thought I'd say this, but your crush is crushin' on you. If you don't get with her, I definitely will."

"It's not like that. She doesn't like me... Does she?" I ask.

"Dude, she's all over you," Abony says.

"Really?" I can't help but think what if she does like me? Should I ask her to homecoming? Or like... Should I ask her on a date? Maybe to be my girlfriend? Thinking about all this made my brain overheat like a processor chip constantly being overclocked without a fan.

"Yo, Gage, you there? Earth to Gage?" Abony says.

"What? Should I ask her out?" I blurt out.

"Woah... Uh... Maybe?" Abony cringes as we head to her locker. "Maybe you should play it cool?"

"How do you play it cool?" I ask while I run my hand through my hair, while we head over to my locker.

"Just don't overthink things like you always do," Abony says. "Well, I got to get to class. I'll talk to you later."

"Yeah, for sure," I say as Abony rushes off.

I see Ken and his friends Westin and Joe walk by. Westin tosses a piece of trash at the garbage as Janitor Clay goes to change it out and totally misses. He doesn't even bother to pick it up. He just continues walking by. What an asshole. I walk over and grab it as Janitor Clay doesn't seem bothered. "Sorry about them," I say as I put the trash in the garbage.

"It's okay, boys will be boys, sometimes kids just don't understand how they affect other people. How could they? You don't realize these things when you're young because you can't see the consequences of your actions just yet. You have to live a little before you see the ripples of time."