A Dark Beginning

    The world of Xtruvenia was a delightful place to be.  Everyone who inhabited it lived in peace and harmony.  The cities were crime-free.  Well, most of the time.  Humanity could not care for any evil in the world, knowing that the land of Xtruvenia was a land of truth, as they would be protected from any kind of cold-hearted criminal acts.  Their moments of freedom, however, did not last forever.

    Dark clouds loomed over the bright landscapes.  Citizens of New Xtruvenia City looked up into the dark clouds, wondering what had happened.  Fear had struck their minds.  Thousands of shadows rained down to the ground, bringing fear to anyone in their path.  A dark ship descended from the clouds, hovering over the city hall.  A hatch opened up, bringing out a boardwalk with a carpet on it.  A tall, sinister man stepped out of the ship and ordered his underlings, "Bring the one who is in the highest power of this feeble city!"

    Two of the dark creatures crawled their way into the building.  Screams were heard as roars sounded through the halls.  Suddenly, the two creatures returned to their master, shoving a mustached man to the ground.  The dark villain walked up to the man, who now lost control of himself in complete panic.

    "Who are you?"  The man demanded, "What kind of monster are you to invade my fair city?"

    The gold embedded man's eye twitched as he heard the mayor's words.  "Monster?!"  The man laughed,  "Who do you think you are talking to with that tone?  I would think that you, the mayor, would have better behavior than your kind."

    The alien seethed his last word with venom laced in his voice.  The mayor realized what this man's intentions were to cause for his city and responded, "A monster whose only goal is to make this city scream in fear and watch as humanity burns to the ground."

    "Excellent answer.  Allow me to introduce myself."  The man’s red eyes stared deeply into the mayor's emerald irises.  "I am Dark Trevo.  I am the leader of the Dark Shadows, and I will be your new ruler. I have many terms that all of you must follow."

    The mayor became furious, bewildered by the dark king's high expectations.  The brown-haired man scoffed, "Why, I will not agree to this-"

    Dark Trevo swiftly pulled out a dagger and held it to the mayor's throat.  He sneered, "That is, if you are willing to keep your life without any problems."

    The dark ruler brought out a list and began to speak again.  "Now then, I am your king, and you will address me as such." Dark Trevo continued with his terms.  Then after he did that, he ordered his minions, "Now my dark underlings, search and lock up anyone who dares to oppose my new empire!"

    Just then, a voice cried out from the audience, "If complaining against you is a crime, then I guess I'm breaking your laws!"

    Dark Trevo's pointy ears twitched.  His sinister grin slowly changed into a menacing frown. "Who dares to oppose me and my empire?"

    "I dare to oppose you and your stupid goons!" The voice mocked.  A masked male flew above the ground and landed in front of the mayor in a defensive position.  The masked wonder's blue eyes pierced into the villain's soulless red orbs.  Dark Trevo snarled, revealing his sharp teeth to the nuisance standing in front of him.

    But what struck the dark king the most was the hero's personality.  The masked hero had the gall to stand in his way to protect this city.  The dark king pointed at the hero and questioned  "And who are you?"

    "Who am I?  I'm Travix Man," The hero answered, the smirk never leaving his face. "The hero of this land.  I don't like it when creeps like you try to invade my homeland!"

    The dark king was surprised, double taking as memories of years ago flooded back to him.  He had thought the hero was someone else, but could it really be the same hero who stopped him years before?  As he frantically got out a megaphone, he shouted to his soldiers, "Open fire!  ATTACK!"

    Some of the shadowy minions brought out machine guns. The creatures proceeded to fire, unaware that a single bullet could hit an innocent civilian.  Travix Man swiftly avoided each shot, and was about to punch one of the creatures.  Before his fist could make contact, the shadow dissolved into a liquid state.  Ooze from the dark creature fell on Travix Man's hand.

    "These things are gross!"  Travix Man exclaimed, disgusted by the goo on his hand.

    Dark Trevo looked on as the Darklings began to outnumber the green hero.  The dark king grinned as the hero could not defeat his armada of Darklings.  As Travix Man struggled to defeat the dark creatures, Dark Trevo ordered, "Destroy the city, now!  We'll rebuild it into my glory later.  For now, let this fool suffer through agonizing pain as he watches everything he ever loved be destroyed."

    The Darklings turned their sights away from Travix Man, and shot from their cannons towards the buildings.  Gigantic holes began to form on the walls.  The Darklings continued until each building crumbled down.  More creatures rained down from Dark Trevo's flagship, terrorizing the citizens with their sharp teeth and demonic eyes.  The green hero could not help but watch the horrific fate of his city as the vile and sinister terrorists were taking it. He could only do the one thing he could do for right now: retreat.

    When Travix Man left the scene, Dark Trevo gave a sinister grin.  He watched his army destroy the remains of the city, building their own landscape to cover the old and damaged buildings.

    "It is only a matter of time before I control the world,” The dark king chuckled darkly.  "Soon, a new era shall begin for the Dark Shadows. This time, there will be no interference from anyone!"

2: A Hero's Return
A Hero's Return

    One month has passed in the land of Xtruvenia.  New Xtruvenia City was now rebuilt into Dark Trevo's image.  Many citizens hid themselves away into their houses.  Darklings were on every corner of the streets, searching high and low for Travix Man, the one who had nearly disrupted their supreme ruler's takeover.  In place of city hall was a dark castle that rained down more Darklings each passing day.  The television programs were interrupted by a news broadcast.

    "We interrupt this program for a moment with our ruler, Dark Trevo."  The news reporter stated.  The scene immediately flickered to a dark room.  Dark Trevo was sitting in a round chair, his blood red eyes gleaming in the darkness as he held a diamond-encrusted scepter.

    "We are going through tough times, now."  Dark Trevo began. "I have a request for all of you worthless humans.  And by request, I mean an order.  There has been a troublemaker who thinks he can barge into my city, and take it away from me.  This troublemaker's name is Travix Man."

    The people murmured to each other.  They had gotten used to Dark Trevo's ramblings, and would do anything to shut him up, even though it would mean to search for Travix Man and take him in.

    "His location is currently unknown. However, my minions have brought me a photograph of his exact image."  A photo of Travix Man showed up on the screen.  More people whispered to one another.

    The dark king took out his scepter and summoned a magical orb on his hand.  "If you capture this troublemaker, anything you desire shall be yours."  He gave a sinister grin, before disappearing into the darkness.  The original television programs returned to the screens.

   

    Meanwhile in a large building far in the outskirts of the city, a teenage, blue-eyed boy was relaxing on the couch in the living room.  The front door opened, only to show a small child.  The child also had blue eyes, and wore a blue and yellow t-shirt.  The child walked into the lobby, and plopped himself on the couch, sitting next to the teenager.

    "Are there any dark creatures out there, little bro?"  The teen asked.

    "Many!  There are many dark creatures out there, Trip!"  The kid replied, scared that their building could be invaded at any second.

    Trip stared at the wall.  He was thinking about his friends and about how well they would hold up to Dark Trevo's terror.  "I sure hope the others are okay."

    Suddenly, a loud banging sound was heard from the door.  The two brothers looked each other in fright.  The Darklings have found them!  Their horrors were put aside when they heard a familiar voice.  "Benny, stop banging on the door!  Trip and Timmy will open the for us, so don't try to scare them, idiot!"

    Another voice yelled, "Don't you see I am trying to save ourselves from being caught by these shadows!"

    "Megan, stop yelling at Benny.  He's just trying to help us."  A calmer voice spoke softly.

    "At least Sylvia's being nice."

    The two brothers now realized who was at the door.  The younger one, opened the door, grinning.  When the younger boy's eyes laid on Megan, he remembered her earlier comment and yelled,  "Stop calling me Timmy!"

    The girl shrugged and replied,  "Whatever you say, Timothy."

    Upon seeing Trip, Sylvia shouted gleefully, "Trip!" She rushed over to him, giving him a big hug.

    "Sylvia!"  Trip embraced her, causing a light blush to form on Sylvia’s features

    As Trip's friends gathered in the lobby, Benny joked,  "So Trip, you're a wanted criminal now, right?"

    Trip chuckled.  "You could say that."

    Megan looked at her friends confusedly.  "So, what's the deal with these dark creeps anyway?"

    "I had the same thought as you, Meg."  Sylvia whispered.

    Before Trip could guess why there were invaders in their homeland, a loud cough came from behind.  The group of friends turned around, only to find Trip and Timothy's father standing in the doorway.  "We are not going to fight them.  We will flee.  Run to a different country, if we must.  We have no choice."

    The teenagers could not believe what he was saying.  The thought of giving up was a shock to each of them.  Not only that, but it put them in great amounts of sorrow.  Trip, however, was in rage. "Give up?  After all we've done in the past?"

    "Now, I know you kids have all met in childhood, and have grown to be great friends."  The man said, now with softness in his voice.  "You have all grown now to the point where you can take care of yourselves in a fight, and I respect your choices."

    The teenagers took the old man's thoughts into their own minds, reminiscing the days when after Trip's father handled an alien threat, the teenagers were trying to make it through life, knowing that their lives would never be the same again after that incident.  In fact, it was the meeting between Trip and Sylvia that had brought the friends together.  Each one told their story to each other, and a strong bond between the five children was formed.  When Trip decided to fight crime, his friends gave him support, even wanting to go on missions with their friend.  However, he refused their help every time they asked, never explaining why he did not want company.

    "But you have no idea what you're up against!"  Trip's father interrupted their thoughts, now stern as he was when he had entered the room.  "The last time you stood up to that creep, you were nearly caught!  I could have lost you!"

    Trip scoffed.  "Those guys didn't even come close to catching me.  I can handle a bit of dark creatures!"

    "You are not ready yet!"  The man screamed.  Silence filled the air.  The man whispered,  "And until you are ready, you will train. Is that clear?"

    Before the man could leave the room, Sylvia pleaded,  "Mr. Mason, wait!"

    Mr. Mason looked at Sylvia with one raised eyebrow. "Yes, Sylvia?" He asked.

    "Can't he just try?  We could all help him!  He isn't alone you know."  Sylvia pleaded once more, motioning towards herself and the group.

    The man put his index finger on his chin, contemplating over Sylvia’s reasoning.  A few seconds later, he announced,  "I have thought about what you have said to me,"  His dark blue eyes gleamed at Trip's friends.  "And I must admit; you are all pretty persistent.  Perhaps I will let you all try to stop this psychotic alien."

    The group of teenagers cheered, giving high-fives to each other.  The father then struck out his hand.  "However, all of you must promise me that you will get home safely."

    The group of teenagers looked at each other for a moment before replying,  "We promise."

    The man nodded in approval, then walked into his room.  When he was gone, they finished their victory cheers.  Trip, however, remembered this was a serious matter.  Now was the time to strike, and take back Xtruvenia.  “Alright guys, let's get ready!” Trip ordered.  “We're going to win this fight!”

 

    Dark Trevo was sitting on his throne, eagerly waiting for Travix Man to be turned in.  He could only think of his soon-to-be victory: Travix Man behind bars.  There would be no one to stop him!

    "I love the thought of heroes being locked up."  He said evilly.  His eyes gleamed at his minions in the screens.  He was proud of his army.  They had got the people in line.  He closed his eyes, and went into a deep sleep.

    Suddenly, the sound of explosions rang into Dark Trevo's ears.  His sleep had been brief.  He licked his finger, and put it in the air.  "Smoke?  Where, on the dark space of the universe, would there be... AAUGHH!"  He looked outside, only to find his Dark-Bots being beaten down.  But the one who was destroying them, he remembered well.

    "You again?"  The dark king sneered, floating toward the teenagers and landing on the ground.  "I thought you might want to turn yourself in early."  The sight of more rebels caused Dark Trevo to let out a loud cackle. "And you brought friends?  How precious!  The more people to arrest, the less annoyances I have to deal with!"

    Megan tried to rush towards Dark Trevo, but before she could punch him, her friends held her back.  "Don't do it, Megan!  You have to focus on the plan!"  Benny screamed, trying desperately to hold onto Megan's arm.  Megan growled at Dark Trevo, walking over to Benny's side.

    Travix Man yelled at the dark king.  "All we want is our city back!  We don't want to resort to violence here!"

    Dark Trevo cut him off and snarled,  "You just destroyed most of my robots!  You already have!"

    "Her idea."  Timothy responded quickly, pointing at Megan.  Megan gave Timothy a death glare, which he took three steps back in response.

    "Who are you anyway?"  Sylvia asked.  "What are your motives for taking over our land?"

    Dark Trevo chuckled darkly as he gave a twisted grin.  "I am Dark Trevo, the leader of the Dark Shadows: an army that endured many battles and has never fallen to enemy forces."

    The dark leader's eyes fell to stare into Travix Man's own, driving a new aura of fear into the hero.  However, Travix Man began to chuckle before breaking into laughter.  Dark Trevo stared at the young hero with both curiosity and rage as the hero’s laughter interrupted his introduction.

    “What’s so funny?!”  The dark king screeched, “Why are you laughing?!”

    Trip composed himself before declaring, “Your record of battles is impressive, but your army will be defeated today!”

    Dark Trevo cackled and replied, “That is where you are wrong!  Since you saved me the trouble of having the entire city look for you, I guess I will be giving myself a reward!"

    "Not quite!"  Travix Man objected.

    The dark king ceased his laughter and his grin curled into a sneer.  "What?"

    "I'm bringing myself in, remember?"  Travix Man recalled.  "So I get a reward!"

    Dark Trevo looked at the group confusedly.  Sylvia spoke more details for the villain to remember.  "You said that whoever brings in Travix Man first gets whatever they desired the most."

    "Fine!”  The dark king snapped.  “What do you want, fool?"

    "For my world to be free from the likes of you!"  Travix Man shouted back.

    Dark Trevo stepped towards Travix Man.  He smiled sinisterly, and took out his right hand while putting the other behind his back, crossing his fingers.  "Alright, I shall return this city back to the way it was.  Then I will leave. Do we have a deal?"

    Before Travix Man could do anything, Sylvia bluntly stated,  "You're tricking us."  The dark king was now in shock.

    "H-How do you know I was?!"  Dark Trevo stammered, surprised that a child saw through his devious trick.

    "Because you just told us, you freak!"  Megan lashed at the dark king's face, causing him to step backwards, and fall.  When he got up, he glared at Travix Man and his friends.  Grabbing out a remote, he sneered at the group of heroes.  "Fine!  If you want your city back, you'll have to get past my army!"

    Dark Trevo pushed a button, which opened the hatches around the castle.  Inside the hidden compartments were massive amounts of Darklings, itching to fight the intruders that dared to defy their leader.  The ones on the ground ran out of the doors, while the ones that had wings flew upward.  The creatures oozed out of the ground, ready to fight off the intruders.

    The army of Darklings cornered the teenagers.  On Dark Trevo's command, they charged at them with all of their might.  Right before they laid heavy fire on them, they could not move.  The underlings tried desperately to break free from their frozen condition, but struggled as the mysterious force holding them back grew stronger.

    "What's going on?"  Dark Trevo screamed.  "Why aren't you finishing them off?!"

    He looked at the heroes, and realized the source of what had frozen them.  The girl who had known his trick was using some form of telekinesis to hold them back.  With massive force, Sylvia pushed each of the dark creatures in different directions.  Dark Trevo could only stare in horror, before being pushed away himself by the horde of Darklings.  They rolled away, back into the castle.

    "I'll send you to your world of despair soon enough!"  Dark Trevo screeched,  "You will all suffer through dire consequences!"

    When it was over, the group of friends cheered.  It was their first victory against Dark Trevo and the Dark Shadows.

 

    Somewhere, far off into the outskirts of New Xtruvenian City, a lone vigilante stood on the rooftops, gazing into the night skies.  The vigilante wore black and green armor over his muscular body that had a detailed green "F" embedded on the chest.  He also wore dark grey armor pads on his legs down to his dark burgundy boots.  Each boot was adorned with a mint green crystal on the front.

    His shoulders were fitted with silver spiked shoulder pads atop a black and dark red outlined shoulder armor piece.  He wore a gray piece underneath.  On his wrists were green spiked metal cuffs.  The vigilante wore a gray metallic mask that was adorned with a skull on the forehead.  Although he had a green right eye, he wore a black metallic eyepiece lit with a green pupil on his left eye.

    Underneath the mask lied a scowl on the vigilante's face.  He hated crime and wanted to get rid of it completely, even if it meant recklessly going into battle alone without knowing what to face.  Over the last month, he noticed the city grew darker.  While he was used to fighting crime in the nighttime, he knew it was unusual for the city to be dark nearly twenty-four hours a day.

    The vigilante's thoughts were interrupted when his metallic eye zoomed in on five people in the distance, cheering in front of a large mound of unconscious Darklings.  Although the green leader, the kid, the nerd, and the rebel did not interest him, his metallic eye caught the sight of the blonde girl that had wiped out the fraction of the Dark Shadows.

    That blonde girl reminds me of someone I knew, The vigilante thought.  The armored being brought out a photograph of a dark haired, green eyed, ten year old boy, having his arms protectively embraced around a blonde, green eyed, seven year old girl's shoulders.  Above them were a mother and father, smiling at the camera.  As he gazed into the photograph, memories flashed through his mind.

    His thoughts were interrupted as a stray Darkling readied its scythe-like claws to attack the man's cherished photograph.  However, the metal being raised his arms in front of him and blasted the creature with a plasma cannon before the creature could make a move.  The shot left a giant hole in the creature's chest as the creature began to crumble to the ground and writhe in agony.

    I need to go after these guys,  The vigilante thought as he stepped on the dissolving creature.  The creature's dark goo became attached to the bottom of the man's boots.  If she is with them, they could be allies.  Friends or enemies, they are fighting these creatures too.  They might know the answers of what I'm looking for.

    As the vigilante pressed a button on his right metal cuff, the boots lifted from the ground, revealing small rockets.  The rockets then launched the vigilante from the ground, engulfing the area in a dark red smoke.  When the smoke vanished, the vigilante was gone.  His search had begun.

 

    The heroes had celebrated their victory in the H.Q, eating many foods to their hearts' content.  Timothy, who was eating three slices of pizza, exclaimed,  "That was really cool doing that whole psychic thing back there, Sylvia!  Where did that come from?  Are you...”

    "She’s not an alien, Timmy!"  Megan yelled, taking Timothy's face and slammed it into his pizza.  “Get that dumb accusation out of your head.”

    "Sorry."  Timothy mumbled, his voice drowned into the pizza.

    Benny picked up some chips, and asked,  "Maybe if we're all a team now, shouldn't we have a name for it?"  Everyone looked at Benny, and nodded in agreement.

    Megan grinned and replied, “That’s probably one of your best ideas, Ben.”

    "Hey, since we're fighting for the freedom of our world, why not call it ‘The Freedom and Independence Supporters?’" Sylvia suggested.

    Trip thought over the name and replied, "That's a great idea!  Who's with Sylvia?"

    Timothy commented, “Could the independence part be ‘Independex?’”

    The other members murmured among each other, phrasing the addition.  “That is another great idea,”  Megan remarked.  “It gives us that extra cool bit in the title.”

    “Alright, team,”  Trip exclaimed, “From this day on, we are the Freedom and Independex Supporters!”

    As the group cheered, Trip's father entered the room, holding his cane in one hand while stroking his chin with the other.  "I am proud of you all.  Perhaps I was wrong about you."

    Just as everyone was about to cheer again, the old man cut them off.  "But, this only means the war has begun."

    The teenagers nodded in understanding, then continued their celebration.

 

    Dark Trevo looked outside from his throne room.  Thousands of his minions were being carried off into the medical rooms by the minute.  This only made the dark king more furious.

    "Those rebellious heroes will ruin every part of my plan to rule this wasteland!"  Dark Trevo hissed.  His mind was fueled with hatred toward those heroes who foiled him.

    A voice from behind him interrupted his thoughts. "Excuse us, but we heard you have a little 'hero problem?'"

    Dark Trevo's dark red eyes shifted to the left. "Who are you?"

    The shadows walked in front of Dark Trevo, revealing their identities.   The man who had spoken was tall, thin, and looked very old.  He had gray wild hair, and had green and black goggles that were on his forehead.  He had emerald colored eyes, and a tooth on the bottom was sticking out more than the rest.  The man wore a green suit, and black pants, followed by sleek black shoes.  He also wore a black and green tie, but what stuck out more, was a sharp, metallic hand on his left side.

    The other man was medium sized, thick, and surprisingly very muscular.  He had black ruffled hair under a green general hat.  While his right eye had a brown color, he wore a metal monocle over a damaged red left eye that had a white pupil.  Just like the logo on his hat.  He also had a thick black mustache, hidden underneath a stylized black beard.  He had broad shoulders and was very fit.  He also donned a general's uniform with the same logo that was on his hat.  Medals also filled the pocket of his uniform.  He had a yellow belt that held black pants. He had green boots.  Although he was a bit on the short side, despite being medium-sized, one look in his eyes will bring twenty men to run for their lives.  This man looked familiar to Dark Trevo, though he could not place where he had seen him before.

    The skinny one spoke again.  "I am Dr. Clarence Freakenstein.  I have lost so many things from my life, and it has given me great pain and sorrow."

    "And I am General Robotler.  I have also lost everything.  The only thing I can remember is my wife, before she died in my eyes!"  The short one sobbed, placing his head into his hands.

    The dark king didn't know what to do.  Clearly, these were the two saddest people he ever seen, although the second one was most likely lying.  "What can you do for my army?"  The dark king asked.

    Dr. Freakenstein's sad frown disappeared, and was replaced by a sinister, twisted grin.  He grabbed a remote from his pocket, and pressed a button with one of his mechanical claws.  "I'll be glad to show you."

    Stomping sounds filled the air.  Dark Trevo looked outside, only to see a gigantic, soulless green eye on a green face.  At the spot, he screamed as he wondered what the large monster could be.  However, the mad doctor grabbed Dark Trevo and took him to his vehicle.  The vehicle then flew to the roof which then, Dark Trevo could see the full view of the creature.

    The large thing was not a creature like the dark king had thought.  It was a horrific looking machine that almost resembled a human.  It was green, but it seemed more mechanical than life-like.  Bolts were adorned on its large body, covering the monster's neck and boots.  It wore a big leather jacket over the large mechanical shoulders, and had a large contraption on its chest.  The machine-monster had black messy hair at the top of its head.  The dark king only wondered what it could be hiding in there.  The mechanical creature then roared at the dark king, thinking that Dark Trevo was an enemy.

    "Allow me to introduce you to my greatest creation!  Meet my creature!"  Dr. Freakenstein laughed maniacally.

    Before the monster could attack, Dr. Freakenstein pressed a button, halting the creature's movement.  Dark Trevo looked to wonder how the creature got there, only to see the destructive path in the city.  He did not say a word, for he was speechless at the sight of the monster's destructive power.

    The king was impressed. He faced the two again and offered,  "If both of you can create robots, then perhaps you two can help me defeat those horrible teenagers."

    "We accept your offer."  The doctor grinned, revealing his crooked set of teeth.

3: The Realization of Madness
The Realization of Madness

    Heroes have risen again.  The news of Dark Trevo's defeat filled the silent city with bumbling whispers.  All the citizens were very surprised by Dark Trevo's defeat, and regained hope for peace to be restored in their city.  However, what the Freedom and Independex Supporters have done unintentionally started a war between them and Dark Trevo's army.  With Dark Trevo having bounty hunters helping him, there's no telling what will be the outcome of this war, and if peace will ever be restored in the land of Xtruvenia.

 

    The next day, the Freedom and Independex Supporters were in the game room, playing video games.  Benny and Timothy were battling each other in Space Wars, while Megan was playing on the pinball machine, which she lost miserably.  She angrily pounded on the machine, breaking the glass.  Megan then discreetly took a soda from the refrigerator and walked away from the pinball machine.  Trip and Sylvia only watched as Benny and Timothy were being competitive with their game.  Their thoughts were not on their friends or their games, but were about the events of the day before.

    "Trip, do you think that guy will be angry about what we did?"  Sylvia asked, remembering that Dark Trevo had declared vengeance on them.

    "I'll bet he'll be after us all the time until he destroys us.  He'll want to destroy me more than you guys,” Trip answered sadly.  "I don't want him to hurt any of you."

    Over their conversation were the loud sounds of Space Wars.  Two pairs of eyes were locked onto the screen, focusing on destroying the other ships.  Timothy kept mashing his buttons rapidly, then took a turn and shot down Benny's ship.  Because Benny's ship was on its last life, Benny had lost the game.

    "Yes! I win!"  Timothy cheered,  "One down, and one to go!"

    "Yeah, well you were lucky that time,” Benny quipped.  "I'll be in my lab if anyone needs me."

    Benny rose from his seat and walked to the lab.  It was where Benny could go and work in peace.  He sat down at his seat and began to work again on an unknown project, although it looked as if he was working on a suit.  It was the same suit Trip had worn, although he was making slight modifications to it.

    "I sure hope we go on another mission soon,” Benny said eagerly to himself.  "I can't wait for Trip to test out the new modifications I installed into his power-suit!"

    

    Inside the Independex H.Q., the vigilante walked through the corridors of the building, trying to find data on the teenagers.  His mechanical eye scrutinized every detail of the base; the metal walls, smooth floors, and the many rooms in the hallways did not phase the metal being from his mission.  As he passed by the many rooms, he heard the sounds of video games and pinball machines ring through the halls.  Time is running out for me, The vigilante thought.  I have to know who this girl is as fast as possible without detection.

    As the vigilante inspected the rooms, there was one stood out for the armored man.  The man discarded his thoughts of the room being decorated in pink as he inspected the red walls, the white, luxurious bed, and the photographs of Sylvia with what he assumed was her mother.  Scrutinizing the photograph of Sylvia's mother, a glimmer of realization hit the man in the head.

    This woman, The man realized, is my mother!  But if that's Mom, then this must be…

    The armored man glanced at the pictures of Sylvia and memories flooded through his mind.  "SYLVIA!"  The man yelled.  He has screamed louder than he had intended.  Hearing footsteps, the man clicked on his cuffs and turned invisible.  Sylvia's face poked through the doorway, inspecting her room before walking back out with a curiosity etched on her face.  Once the girl left, the vigilante slowly became visible again.

    That was a close call, The man commented.  Though there's still no sense in why Sylvia is here.  How did she manage to avoid capture, and why would she hang around these kids?

    The armored vigilante's metal eye began scanning the room, searching for any evidence of the mystery.  Suddenly, his eye's cursor locked on to a picture of a boy that looked similar to Travix Man inside a heart-shaped frame.  The vigilante deduced that Sylvia had strong feelings for the male in the photograph, though she had not told him of her feelings yet.  The other kids must be friends of Sylvia and the teenager in the framed picture.

    These kids must have more answers than I thought, The man deduced.  I need to find Sylvia without giving away my location.  When I find her, she has a lot of explaining to do.

    The armored man clicked on his cuffs again, his body then turning invisible.  The armored being then went out of the room, searching for Sylvia.

  

    Meanwhile in the Dark Realm, Dark Trevo was sitting on his throne, waiting for his bounty hunters to arrive in the room.  Dr. Freakenstein was the first to arrive, following with General Robotler.  Dr. Freakenstein carried a folder and journals that contained many blueprints using his left mechanical hand, while he was rubbing his beard with his right hand.  General Robotler was behind him, sneaking a few peeks at his associate's blueprints.  After a brief silence, Dark Trevo clapped his hands, which magically slammed the doors shut, locking them immediately after so that no one would come in.  The dark king began to speak.

    "Those sneaky punks have gotten away with defeating me for the first time, but I shall not bear to be defeated again!"  Dark Trevo bellowed.  "Which is why I am giving you both your titles of occupation."

    The dark king glanced at Dr. Freakenstein and declared,  "Dr. Clarence Freakenstein, you will be my lead scientist, and my top adviser, since you seem to be a trustworthy scientist enough to have built that large monstrosity of a creature."

    Dr. Freakenstein had a grin as he replied, "Oh, you are much too kind, your evilness!"

    "General William Robotler, you will be the general of my army, judging from your very large army of foot soldiers." Dark Trevo decided.

    "We will not disappoint you, your majesty," General Robotler replied, "I promise that you will see outstanding results!"

    As the bounty hunters made their leave, the dark king chuckled darkly to himself.  "It's good to be king."

    

    In another base, thousands of soldiers patrolled the area, searching for any intruders.  That, or they could not wait for their general to return.  There were three soldiers in particular who were waiting for their commander.  Unlike the other soldiers, these three were Robotler's personal lackeys.  The trio wore different commanding uniforms.  They also each had streaks of different colors of hair.  The tall male had brown hair with red streaks, the short male had red hair with yellow streaks, and the female had blonde hair with blue streaks.

    The trio was in the kitchen of the base, making some food to satisfy them while their boss was out.  Ever since their leader joined Dark Trevo on his quest of conquer, the three were grateful that they could slack off in peace without Robotler noticing.  At the short one's request, the three were making pizza.  The female was trying to pick out a pizza to make.

    "Mack," The female asked the tall one, her smooth hands swiftly flipping her hair. "Can you help me think of what kind of pizza we should make?  I'm getting kind of hungry."

    The last word the girl said was like an angel's whisper in Mad Mack's ears.  As expected, he rose out of his seat, fumbling as he adjusted his glasses and blurted, "I think we should make pepperoni!"  His face gave a deep red blush as he stared at her.  She was perfect in his eyes.  She was smart, beautiful, and the pleasurable gleam her emerald irises gave him always seemed to entice him into doing anything for her.  But he didn't care as long as she was with him.

    The shorter one immediately began to drool as the girl took out a pepperoni pizza.  "I can't wait to eat this pizza!"  He exclaimed, bringing his hand out to touch the pizza.

    "Be patient, Jack,"  The girl ordered, smacking his hand away from the pizza.  She put the pizza in the oven and started the time.  "The pizza will be done when it's done."  

    But Black Jack could not be patient.  Pizza was the only thing Black Jack was looking forward to eating throughout the day.  Suddenly, the sound of a telephone rang through the fortress.  The three raced over to the control room and sat in their seats.  Bobby silenced the other two with a "Shhh!" before answering, clicking on the answer button on the computer.  "Yes, General Robotler?  What do you need?"

    The general's voice barked through the screen, "Why are you three not working?  You were supposed to patrol the fortress!"

    "Sir, no one has intruded the fortress, so we decided to make a pizza."  Mad Mack responded, shifting his glasses upward as to prove his intelligence superiority over Robotler.

    The general paid no attention to Mad Mack’s boasting and gave an agitated sigh.  "At least save some slices when I return.  But that's not the point!"

    "I have called you all because there is a new threat among us!"  Robotler revealed, bringing the three soldiers’ attention to the screen.

    Intrigued by these news, Bobby asked, "And what, or who, would that threat be, sir?"

    "There is a group of pests who think they can stop Dark Trevo's plans of ruling this pathetic land."  Robotler replied in disgust.  "Their leader seems to be this punk named Travix Man.

    "I want the three of you to join me in this quest to destroy these troublesome teenagers.  It will take many days, even if it means forever!  The point is, I want you three to kill them in any means necessary."

    Black Jack was now interested in the conversation.  "We will kill them as soon as possible, General Robotler; even if I have to use my cold, robotic hands!"

    Mad Mack and Bobby stopped looking at the screen and gave Black Jack an odd look.  General Robotler even looked at the short android before continuing the conversation.

    "Very well.  Do not fail me..."

    Then the screen turned off.  Confidently, Bobby rose from her seat and declared, "Alright boys, it's time to show the boss what we've got!  We'll show him that we can have the task of defeating our enemies!"

    "Besides, they're just kids, right?  That would be too easy."  Mad Mack boasted.

    "When we defeat those brats, General Robotler will be very pleased with us, he'll have to promote us to be his seconds-in-command!"  Black Jack cheered.

    The three were then talking about their new mission before they heard a stomach growl.  "Before we decide on what to do, can we eat first?"  Black Jack asked.

    "Yeah, we can eat first,” Bobby answered.  "Then we can have some fun with those kids."

   

    "Where are those two bounty hunters?"  Dark Trevo sneered at one of his shadowy minions.  "They should be arriving with plans on how to destroy those children!"

    The Darkling in front of him stared into its leader with its gold, soulless eyes.  "They are running late, master.  Shall I fetch them again?"

    "No need.  I can wait for a few minutes; they should be here by then."

    As the dark creature left the room, the large doors closed abruptly in front of the king's eyes.  The odd sight made Dark Trevo feel paranoid.  Since when did doors ever shut by themselves?  There was no window open within the chamber, so there could not have been a draft.  The king became frightened as the flames on the lit candles around the room blew away, instantly igniting again into bright blue flames.  

    The portraits of the king became grotesque apparitions of Dark Trevo's image, dark blood oozing from the frames.  One portrait then floated in front of the king and fell to the ground, shattering its frame.  A shadow floated to the air, with a large set of sharp teeth glaring in front of the king.

    "Hello, Dark!"  The apparition screeched.  As the creature hovered closer to Dark Trevo, fear began to etch onto the dark king's face.

    "L-Lord Nightmare!"  Dark Trevo exclaimed.

    The dark being extinguished its fiery shadows around its body, only for it to reveal legs.  The entity snapped its fingers and instantly, Dark Trevo now found himself sitting on the floor as the entity occupied the throne.

    "So how have you been, Dark?"  Nightmare asked, pouring a red substance into a glass.  The entity then took a sip from the glass and said, "It's been a few months since I've last talked to you!"

    The dark king, terrified beyond belief, could only stammer, "W-What are you doing here?  I've taken over Xtruvenia, just as you wanted.  Now you can have full control over anything you want!"

    The dark entity gleamed at his subject.  His face was sour as he asked, "Have you really?"

    "What do you me-"

    "How could you possibly have taken over this city without destroying any sign of opposition?!"  Nightmare screeched as his dark fiery shadows returned to his body, now coated with a red aura around it.  Dark Trevo attempted to crawl backwards, though not before darkness took over the room's atmosphere.  The dark entity then grabbed Dark Trevo by the neck and was suffocating him.

    The dark king tried to regain composure as he struggled to breathe.  "I-I'm sorry, my lord!"  Dark Trevo began, "There were k-kids were in my way!"

    Nightmare slashed at the dark king's face with a long shadowy claw.  "I AM AWARE OF THAT!"  The entity thought about the dark king's dilemma and a grin slid across his face.  "How would you like to fulfill a deal?"

    Dark Trevo perked his head as he heard his leader's sharp words.  "What kind of deal?"

    "Well," Nightmare began, creating a blue flame that revealed a flashback from Dark Trevo.  "Remember how you were defeated by those kids?"

    "Yes," Dark Trevo recalled.  He cringed at the memory of his army crashing into him.  "Go on."

    "I have an idea that will change your fate for the better!”  Nightmare exclaimed.  “Instead of going after that 'Travix Man' punk, why not go after the rest of those brats?  That way, the kidnappings and torturing of his friends will slowly break him mentally, as madness will consume him forever."

    Dark Trevo suddenly rose from his seat.  He was suddenly intrigued by this plan.  "And who would be the first one to be kidnapped?"

    Nightmare's grin grew wider.  The flame of the flashback changed into containing what appeared to be Sylvia.  "This girl,” The apparition suggested.

    Dark Trevo drowned into his own thoughts.  He remembered that girl being the one who opposed him.  He also remembered that she was the one who stopped him and his forces.  She had used her psychic powers against him.  If he was able to use these powers, he could defeat Travix Man and those meddling teenagers once and for all!

    "Yes!" Dark Trevo shouted in his own evil joy, "This plan is exactly what will take down that troublesome teenager and his friends!"

    "Remember that there is a catch to my plan!"  Nightmare screeched

    Dark Trevo's grin grew sour.  "What kind of catch?"

    Nightmare’s grin grew wide to the point where it extended off of his face.  "Should you fail to destroy the children under any circumstance, I'll take control over your body while your soul will be forced to wander the Nightmare Realm, where you will relive every fear and failure that ever happened to you."

    Dark Trevo felt numb after hearing those words.  He thought of the consequence, should he fail to destroy his enemies.  Being trapped in the Nightmare Realm meant having to suffer absolute terror, something he did not want to deal with.

    "What do I get if I succeed?"  Dark Trevo asked.  He wanted a positive reward out of this sinister deed, and he was going to get one if it meant risking the lives of his army.

    The dark entity thought about his minion's demand and said, "Why, you can gain any of my powers, of course!"  Nightmare floated closer to Dark Trevo and said, "After all, you shouldn’t forget our first deal."

    Dark Trevo cringed as he remembered the memories of meeting Nightmare and going through Nightmare’s mind games in order to become his most trusted ally.  "Yes, I remember, my lord.  Thank you for reminding me."

    "You get to live for another day, Dark.  Congratulations!” Nightmare said, patting his minion on the back.  Then Nightmare grinned. "Fun's fun, but I have to run.  It was nice talking to you again!  So long!"

    The demon floated away into the shadows.  The dark void that had filled the room evaporated, revealing the room in its former state.  The portraits that hung on the walls showed Dark Trevo, now back to their pompous poses.

    Although the dark king feared for the worst, Dark Trevo grinned maliciously.  He has a new scheme, and this time, he did not want to his army to fail again.

    "Soon, Travix Man and his pesky friends will be no more.  Then I will have complete control over Xtruvenia.  This time, no one will oppose me."

    The dark king chuckled darkly to himself.  The sound of dark laughter filled the room until Dr. Freakenstein and General Robotler entered.  Dr. Freakenstein stroked his beard with his metallic index finger while General Robotler was not minding his manners as he was eating a chicken wing.

    "I have devised a new plan to get rid of those meddling teenagers,” Dark Trevo announced to the bounty hunters.

    "Is it violent?"  Dr. Freakenstein giggled, "Does it involve destruction?"

    Dark Trevo glanced at General Robotler next, who immediately hid his chicken wing.  The general replied, "It was about world domination, right?"

    "Your questions are correct,” Dark Trevo answered.  "The capture of Travix Man's friends will come first.  Then we will torture them until Travix Man's mind breaks, rendering him unable to save his city."

    Dr. Freakenstein and General Robotler were both intrigued by this plan as Dark Trevo continued to speak.

    "Our first captive will be none other than the girl who thwarted our first plan: this one."

    Dark Trevo showed a vision of Sylvia from another eerie orb he created from his scepter.  Though something was not right for Dr. Freakenstein.  Gazing upon the orb, Dr, Freakenstein found the girl to be familiar to him.  He even remembered a name from somewhere, as that name often haunted him in his sleep.  He remembered seeing those same green eyes, as well as seeing the same blonde hair.  But where did he know her?  That question continues to haunt him to this day.

    Although Dr. Freakenstein was lost in his thoughts, General Robotler had no questions and was up to the task of kidnapping Travix Man's friends.  Before Dr. Freakenstein could interject, General Robotler gladly replied, "I'm loving this plan!  In fact, I will contact my three most competent soldiers.  They'll be real pleased to hear of a new task."

    "Good.  I am glad you want to take part of my wonderful plan, Robotler."  Dark Trevo smiled, then barked,  "Send them to do it.  Now!"

    General Robotler wasted no time in grabbing the chicken wing bucket and running off, leaving Dark Trevo and Dr. Freakenstein to discuss their plan.

 

    Meanwhile in General Robotler's secret base, the three lackeys were still sitting in the kitchen, eating more pizza that Bobby put in the oven.  However, this was short lived when a loud alarm sounded through the base.

    "What's that noise?"  Black Jack yelled to his friends, who were blocking their ears from the loud noise.

    "The boss must be calling us again!"  Mad Mack explained.

    "Then what are we doing sitting around here for?"  Bobby asked impatiently, "Move!"

    The trio stumbled to get out of the kitchen.  While Mad Mack and Bobby ran to the computer room, Black Jack looked back into the kitchen and grabbed the pizza before following his friends.  When the three entered the room, they noticed the large urgent notification plastered on the screen.  The screen then flashed to General Robotler, who was still eating chicken from his bucket.  The large man swallowed all the chicken he had in his mouth before he would speak.

    "Bobby, Mad Mack, and Black Jack,” General Robotler spoke, giving the three soldiers no time to say anything.  "You three are the most loyal robots a dictator can have, right?"

    "Of course, sir,” Bobby answered confidently, "We are the most loyal robots you have at your command."

    "You even gave us intelligence!” Mad Mack added.

    "Well, for most of us, at least." Bobby corrected as she glanced at Black Jack.

    Black Jack took it as an offensive comment, which he retorted, "Hey!  Who is the one with the most advanced weaponry out of all of us?"

    Mad Mack and Bobby ignored Black Jack, simply giving a scoff to the short android.

    "Enough of this foolishness!" Robotler bellowed.  "I have contacted you all because I am assigning you to your first mission."

    The three lackeys' eyes widened.  They were shocked that their boss would give them their first mission so soon.  They were unable to contain their excitement, especially Black Jack, who kneeled to the ground and started kissing it with joy.  Mad Mack and Bobby looked at him with disgust, but they did not care.  They were already as happy as he was.  Their happiness was short-lived when Robotler cleared his throat.

    "I am entrusting you three to capture a girl who is in Travix Man's forces," Robotler ordered.  A computer hologram showed Sylvia's appearance.  The three carefully read the information of her psychic abilities, as it could be useful for their mission.

    "You can make your own tactics if you like, though I highly suggest bringing the soldiers," Robotler advised, "The three of you alone could not possibly defeat them easily by yourselves.  Any further questions?"

    "No sir,” Bobby answered.  Mad Mack and Black Jack shook their heads in agreement.

    "I am counting on you all.  And remember, do not fail me." Robotler ordered.  After giving the three androids a salute, the general left the screen.

    It was at this time the three screamed with joy.  They were given their first mission!  An easy one too!  As they celebrated, Mad Mack and Bobby did not notice Black Jack finishing the pizza.  The short robot gave a burp, which alerted his cohorts of his presence.

    "Black Jack!" Mad Mack screeched. "Why did you eat all the pizza?"

    "I was hungry!" Black Jack answered sheepishly.

    Bobby gave herself a face-palm.  They were given their first mission and her partners were already behaving like idiots.

    "Both of you stop arguing!!" Bobby ordered.  "We need to think of a plan to kidnap the girl!"

    "What is the girl’s name?  She’s kind of cute,” Mad Mack admitted shyly.

    Bobby and Black Jack gave wide-eyed stares at their friend.  Mad Mack then realized what he said and mentally hit himself for it.  He had a crush on Bobby, not some future prisoner!  In an attempt to fix his mistake, the tall robot blurted, "But not as cute as you, Bobby!"

    This only earned him another wide-eyed stare from Bobby, while Black Jack face-palmed himself.  He noticed his smarter friend's face flush furiously red.  The air was filled with an awkward silence before Bobby shrugged off the comment.

    "We have to figure out how to kidnap the girl, as well as making those kids think we are serious,” Bobby ordered.  "Right now, we are not making a serious approach to this mission."

    Mad Mack eagerly raised his hand and suggested, "We should bring the army, as well as bring chemicals and bombs."

    Bobby smacked the tall robot in the face.  "Think deeper, Mack!  Those kinds of plans have been overused; in cartoons, no less!"

    Black Jack meekly raised his hand and said, "I have an idea,"

    Mad Mack and Bobby looked at him, wanting to hear the idea.  “Let’s hear it, Jack!” Mad Mack replied.

    "But I don't know if you'll like it."

 

    "I can't believe we are doing this over my bomb idea!" Mad Mack whispered angrily.

    "If you don't like it, then stay here,” Bobby suggested.  When the sound of her voice reached his ears, Mad Mack blushed and calmed down immediately.

    "I think I'll stay with you guys." Mad Mack muttered.

    The lackeys had agreed with Black Jack, although they were surprised he came up with a smart idea.  Because they agreed, they now had to travel in the dog kennel Robotler owned.  Mad Mack and Black Jack nervously looked around, seeing skeletons of people who dared to trespass this territory sprawled across the ground.  The two were horrified that they could just as easily be dismembered just like these trespassers.  Mad Mack and Black Jack could only feel nothing but terror as they thought of the most unspeakable things that could happen to them in this place.

    The lackeys stopped in front of three large doghouses that looked worn down and dreary.  As the trio peeked inside them, they only saw darkness.  They suddenly heard three low growling noises that came from each doghouse.  Slowly, three large dogs stepped out of the doghouses as they were angrily barking at the trio, sending chills down Mad Mack and Black Jack's spines.  Each dog had a medium fur-coat, although the middle one was darker and larger than the others.  One of the other two dogs had grayish white fur and was more observant compared to the others.  The third dog’s fur was dark brownish red in color and eyed Mad Mack and Black Jack as if they were fresh meat.  Suddenly, the white and brown canines rushed at Mad Mack and Black Jack, ready to initiate an attack.  However, Mad Mack and Black Jack did not see the chains restricting the dogs, as the dogs were attempting to lunge at them.

    However, the large dogs did not frighten Bobby.  She was fine with their presence as she calmly went to put the black one on a leash.  Instead of tearing her apart like how Mad Mack feared, the large dog did not move an inch as it was actually content with Bobby hooking its spiked collar to the leash.  Likewise, Bobby did the same with the other two dogs, for she saw the cowardice her partners showed in front of the dogs.  Fear was not an emotion that was to be shown in front of them, or there would be some untimely consequences.

    Both Mad Mack and Black Jack's jaws dropped to the floor when they saw Bobby being left unscratched by the malevolent canines.

    "H-How did you do that, Bobby?" Mad Mack asked with shock and awe.

    "The boss has let me take care of them a few times when he was gone,” Bobby revealed,  "Where did you think I was this morning?"

    “In the bathroom,” Black Jack said stupidly.

    However, he did not notice the brown dog slowly brought its head close to snap at Black Jack's hand and rip it away from his body.  Wincing with pain, the short robot screamed loudly through the entire fortress.  Mad Mack could not help stifle a laugh as Black Jack was now running around the kennel, waving his arm in the air as he attempted to somewhat ease the pain.  Even though they were robots, they were still able to feel pain.

    "Would you two stop fooling around?" Bobby scolded.  Then she said, "We have work to do.  Mack, call up the tank.  I'll load these boys in there and feed them before the kidnapping.

    And Jack, stop running around and try not to cry, okay?  If it makes you feel any better, Mack will fix your hand on the way, and I'll give you more pizza when we get home."  Bobby promised as she comforted Black Jack.

    Black Jack's tears softened as he answered, "Okay,"

    Suddenly a green tank crashed into the room as Mad Mack pressed a button to open the lid automatically.  Climbing into the tank, Mad Mack shouted to them, "Are you guys coming or what?"

    "I'm coming, Mack,” Bobby answered.

    Bobby made a loud whistle, which the dogs then ran over to her.  She grabbed each of the dragged leashes and loaded the dogs inside the vehicle by using an alternate entrance.  Black Jack was the last to climb in, as he closed the lid upon entering the tank.  With Mad Mack turning the headlights on, the trio drove the large tank into the night, searching for the Freedom and Independex Supporters H.Q.

4: The Attack of the Henchmen
The Attack of the Henchmen

    At the Freedom and Independex H.Q, the night was peaceful for the group of teenagers.  The vivid sounds of music from video games rang through the ears of the teenagers in the game room.  Timothy was still playing his game, determined to beat his high score.  He decided to play by himself since Benny was not planning to return anytime soon.  Megan lounged on the couch, drinking soda as her eyes focused on Timothy's game.

    Sylvia took this chance as an opportunity to talk to Trip.  She walked over to the couch with two bottles of water in her hands and sat next to Trip.  Trip's eyes shifted over to his right as he smiled at her presence.  He took the beverage as she kindly held one of the bottles in front of him.

    "Tonight feels like a long night, right Trip?"  Sylvia asked as she opened her water bottle.  She smiled as she glanced at Trip opening his water bottle.

    "I agree to that, Sylvia."  Trip answered, remembering why the group had not done much.  This victory was well earned for them, so he understood why everyone wanted to party the whole day.

    Sylvia smiled as Trip moved his spare hand closer to her own hand and held it gently.  Her heart fluttered as she stared into his soft, gentle, and caring blue eyes.  She felt time pass by as she felt lost every second of staring into him.  Like Trip, Sylvia yearned for the days where there was freedom, for the days they can just laugh and go out in public without being hunted down by Darklings.  Just like they used to, before Dark Trevo took over Xtruvenia.  Realizing she had been staring for a while, she blushed and gave a shy grin, which brightened Trip's own grin.

    Trip knew what Sylvia was thinking as he, like her own actions, stared into her sweet, kind, and beautiful green eyes.  Trip had always thought those eyes were the most beautiful orbs he had ever laid his own eyes on.  He remembered the night he first met Sylvia.  Trip had been with Benny and Timothy at a rock concert several years ago.  Crushin' Rocks was the name of the metal band that had been playing that night.  Fortunately, the band had been playing one of their romantic songs.  He would never forget seeing Sylvia's eyes, shining through the dimly lit audience as she smiled shyly at him.

    Over the years, their friendship grew deeply during school.  They had begun to talk more often, even during class at times.  They also met for lunch on more than one occasion.  They also defended each other from bullies.  Benny and Timothy also struck friendships with Megan, for their friendships grew over the years as well. 

    Trip soon began to realize that he was beginning to develop feelings beyond friendship when he kept thinking of Sylvia during sleepless nights.  He had also found it harder to speak to her when their friends weren't around.  One night, as they went to the movies, Trip decided to ask Sylvia to be his girlfriend.  Before he was able to speak to her, a criminal broke into the theater and demanded money, holding Sylvia as a hostage.  Trip remembered the anger he unleashed that day, regarding those events as nothing compared to the anger he held towards the Dark Shadows.

   While the criminal ordered everyone to not move as he threatened to shoot Sylvia, Trip discreetly held a souvenir drumstick.  The teenager made precise aim and threw the drumstick like a boomerang, knocking the gun out of the gunner's hand.  When the crook bent over to pick up his gun, Trip did not hesitate to tell Sylvia and everyone else to hide.  As the audience evacuated the building, Trip was delivering fast punches to the criminal, who attempted to fight back by mimicking Trip's actions.  However, Trip's reflexes were much faster than his own as the crook was quickly overpowered.  When the police came, no one knew of the outcome until Trip threw the criminal in front of them.  The police took the criminal into custody while taking the criminal's gun as evidence.

    Trip never forgot the look on Sylvia's face when he saved her that day.  She had been terrified for Trip's life, as well as the welfare of her own.  She was joyful when Trip had escaped alive instead of being gunned down during the fight.  Trip went to check on Sylvia after the fight, which she instantly embraced him with smothering hugs.  Trip was at a loss for words when he attempted to speak.  However, he managed to ask about their friendship.  Sylvia had interrupted him with a kiss and said they could be more than friends, also thanking him for saving her life.

   Flashing back into the present, Trip noticed he had still been staring into Sylvia's emerald orbs.  The teenagers both laughed off the awkwardness as they drank another sip of their water bottles.  Trip rested his arm over Sylvia's shoulder, still making silent fits of laughter.

    "Do you think we can defeat Dark Trevo and his army?"  Sylvia asked.  "I know you've been thinking long about it all day."

    "These guys aren't like any criminal I defeated before: they're an entire army of aliens!"  Trip answered, removing his arm from Sylvia's shoulder as he waved his hands for emphasis.  "Sometimes I wonder if we can ever defeat them."

    Sylvia put a reassuring hand on Trip's shoulder and said, "Don't be so hard on yourself, Trip.  You brought us with you and pushed their plans back by miles, I bet!"

    Trip glanced at Sylvia, thinking about her words as he continued to listen to her.  She always did seem to give him hope, even when there were dark situations.

    "You're the only hero our city can depend on, along with us!  Those dark creeps don't stand a chance against us!  And besides, you're our leader!"  Sylvia encouraged.  "We believe in you, Trip.  I believe you can stop them."

    Then Trip stood and gave Sylvia a grin that she knew very well.  "Don't worry, Sylv,” Trip said, "I will."  He then gave her a kiss as he whispered, "Thanks.  You mean the world to me, you know."

    "I know I do."  Sylvia said, giggling as she smiled at Trip.

   

    Suddenly, Benny ran into the room with a small cube device, bringing everyone's attention to him.  Four pairs of curious eyes looked at what he was holding.

    "Can I have everyone's attention?"  Benny said, only to see everyone looking at him already.  "Thank you."

    Megan stared at Benny's cube and asked sarcastically, "What, you were finally able to solve the puzzle on your cube?  How cute."

    Benny ignored Megan's sarcasm and replied, "This is my Dimensional Pocket device, which allows me to store anything I want inside an empty void of space.  It may look small on the outside, though it's a lot bigger on the inside- almost the size of an entire universe!"

    "Is that what you called us for?"  Megan muttered.

    Benny smacked his face with his hand and said, "Of course not!  I called you guys because I want to show you what I've been working on."  Benny pressed the yellow button on the device and five costumes appeared from the machine.  Each costume had the symbol of the letter 'I', except Trip's costume looked the same as he had used it in the fight against the Dark Shadows.  Everyone had looks of confusion as they wondered what the costumes were for, although Trip knew very well that they were needed.

    "As you can see, I made four new costumes for us, based on our personalities and for most of us, our powers."  Benny said, looking at Trip, Sylvia, and Megan.  "I've also added modifications for your suit, Trip."

    Benny gave the new clothing to his friends, who glanced at every inch of each costume.  Timothy marveled at the sight of his dark green and purple costume, putting it on and declaring, "I am Travix Man!  I fight to protect my fair city from evil dark creatures!"  Megan immediately punched him down to the ground.

    "Why do we have to wear these suits?"  Megan asked.  She held up her costume, which was in various shades of red.  It was adorned with different markings on the sides, even including a visor for the helmet.  "I don't even like the design of mine!"

    "We have to wear costumes in order to keep our identities out of Dark Trevo's sight."  Benny answered.

    "Well, he knows who we are already!"  Megan shouted. 

    Sylvia stood up and put her hand on Megan's shoulder and said, "What Benny is saying is that if we show ourselves without our costumes for long, he will learn our names eventually, and then his army will hunt us down relentlessly, just like they have been with hunting down Trip."

    Megan gave one last look at Sylvia and Benny before glancing at her costume again.  "Still, I think there should be a bit of some changes for this suit."

    As Benny was about to ask about Megan's comment, Megan quickly tore off the sleeves of the red costume, causing Benny to flinch in surprise.  Megan threw the torn sleeves aside and put on her costume over her clothes, finding herself actually impressed with her costume now that her arms have more freedom.

    "I take back what I said, Ben."  Megan said, grinning as she pulled the helmet visor in front of her face.  "This costume totally suits me."

 

    Suddenly, a loud explosion was heard from outside of the main door.  The noises grew louder.  The group of heroes stood up and looked with horror as they realized an explosive had knocked down the door.  They knew the possibility of the Dark Shadows as the culprits behind this invasion.

    "Intruders are in the base!"  Trip said, horrified that their base was compromised.

    "I may have forgotten to tell you guys," Benny interrupted, "but these suits have not been tested yet."

    Megan got off her seat; ready to punch Benny in the face.  Before she could lay a fist on him, Trip grabbed it.

    "We can't give away our location!"  Trip warned Megan.  Then he ordered, "Everyone, give your suits back to Benny and hide!"

    "But I'm still in my costume!"  Megan shrieked.

    "Then hide with it on!"  Trip shouted back. 

    The other teenagers did not hesitate to give Benny the costumes and hid in various places in the base.  Footsteps were heard as the enemy moved closer to the room.  When the enemy walked into the room, Trip was surprised at what he saw.  The thought of the culprits being Darklings was quickly disproved when he saw three people wearing uniforms enter the room.  Trip glanced closer at the three to see the logos on their nametags, which had a logo of a blood red eye.  The three held leashes to three dark-coated dogs, who looked more than ready to maul anyone who would unfortunately encounter them on the spot.

    "Hello?  Where are you kids?"  The tall male who wore green called into the room.

    "Maybe they're dead already."  The short male answered behind the tall male.

    The girl smacked her forehead in dismay.  "They are not dead, you idiot; they are hiding from us!"

    "They're probably hiding because of your ugly hair!"  The short one retorted, pointing at the blonde's blue highlighted hair.

    Immediately, he took back his words when the girl unleashed her canine to take a bite out of his hand.  Unfortunately, she did not expect the dog to devour her friend's hand whole.  Now screaming his head off, the short one waved his arm around, desperately trying to shake the malicious canine off his arm.

    "Black Jack!"  The green one cried.

    The female leader snapped her emerald-nailed fingers.  The dog immediately brought its attention back to her as it let go of the red-haired goon, returning to the leader's side.  This caused the short red-haired thug to drop to the floor.  Trip could not help but wonder if the man had lost any blood.  To his surprise, the orange man's hand suddenly regenerated from the wrist.  The heroes came to realize that these three intruders were not humans.  If they were not humans, then what were they?

    "Quit making stupid comments like that, and maybe next time you will be lucky."  the girl whispered coldly.

    "Yeah, yeah,” Black Jack answered, "I hear you loud and crystal clear, Bobby."

    While the intruders were searching their headquarters, Benny had locked himself away in his laboratory to avoid detection.  He had warned the group that if everyone hid in there, everyone would be captured.  The inventor made use of his time, taking everyone's costumes to make the final touches for each of them.  Benny was thankful that it was soundproof so that the sound would only be heard within that room.  If the intruders had heard the sound of his machines at work, he would be captured for sure.

    Hiding behind a table, Megan could not waste any more time than she had to.  She wanted to have some action!  She wanted to kick robot butt and take names!  The others can hide all they want.  One way or another, she was going to settle the score for what their army had done to her friends.

    

    Unlike the other heroes, Timothy was not so lucky when it comes to hiding.  Everyone knew he was the loudest, and feared he would compromise his location.  The fact he had chosen to hide under the kitchen table did not help him either; the floors had been squeaky for the last few days.  Even the slightest step would give away his hiding spot.  He silently told himself to not make a wrong step.

    Sadly, his words were not true as he accidently kicked the leg of the table in front of him.  This caused the floor to creak, which brought the attention of the canines belonging to Black Jack and his green cohort.  The two had no intention to attract the dogs' attention, so they carefully hooked the leashes of the dogs onto a coat hanger and tiptoed their way into the kitchen.  The two made a silent scream as they looked under the table to find Timothy, now terrified that he was the first one found.

    "Please don't take me away!"  The boy pleaded, "Don't take my friends away either!"

    Terrified, the two intruders pulled out blasters from their belts and aimed at the boy. 

    "Freeze, kid!"  The tall grunt shouted, his brown eyes trained on the boy.

    "Your time of freedom is up!"  The short grunt exclaimed.  "Prepare to become one of our prisoners!"

    The taller one hit the shorter grunt of the head.  "Jack, you idiot; we're supposed to capture the girl!"

    "Maybe we'd find the girl if we had the dogs with us, Mack!"  Black Jack retorted.

    Realizing his friend was right, Mad Mack turned around to find the coat hanger.  However, the dogs that were leashed had disappeared from the coat hanger's hold.  It dawned on the two intruders that the dogs escaped to continue their search while they were scolding each other.  Just as they were about to face Timothy again, a scream rang through the halls from a different room.  Trip instantly recognized the voice, and while the two goons were distracted, he slipped into his power-suit and ran off to find the source of the scream.

   

    Upon entering the room, Travix Man was utterly horrified.  In front of him stood a burly man wearing a general's outfit, clutching Sylvia by the wrist high into the air.  With the general was blue highlighted blonde haired girl who watched Trip enter the room.  The three canines were also in the room, now howling as if Sylvia was their next meal.  On the floor, Travix Man saw his father beaten to the floor into unconsciousness.  The rest of the heroes entered behind Travix Man, now into their costumes.  The general's damaged red eye stared deep into the blue eyes of Travix Man, dangerously warning the hero of the possible consequences, should he dare to step closer.

    "Let her go!"  Travix Man shouted.  His eyes bore into the girl's emerald green eyes.

    Bobby chuckled and responded, "Sorry, kid.  Your girlfriend didn't seem to hide very well."

    "Who are you?"  Travix Man pointed at the general, "Are you the one who launched this invasion?"

    The man chuckled maliciously as his eyes glared in the moonlight.

    "I am General Robotler, the general of the Dark Shadows.  I am the one who created those who tried to search for you."

    Robotler lowered his arm, now holding Sylvia closer to where the large, dark-coated canines could reach her.  The dogs lunged toward the girl's legs, viciously attempting to sink their teeth through the skin.  Two of them missed their target, with the larger dog being dangerously close to chomping its teeth onto her foot.

    "If any of you 'super heroes' value the girl's life, then you will not take another step."  The general warned darkly, threatening to drop Sylvia as the dogs became increasingly close to seize Sylvia's leg.

    Before Travix Man could act, he heard a painful groan come from his right.  His father, having regained little consciousness, weakly rose on his feet.  He was too weak to continue to argue with the lunatic.

    "Son."  Travix Man's father spoke weakly, "You must give in to this insane general's demands."

    "But pop!"  Travix Man cried out.

    Hearing the young hero's cry, Robotler quickly took notice of the now conscious man.  As the man continued to speak to his son, General Robotler took out a large retractable cane from his pocket with his unoccupied hand and smacked the man across the legs with it.  The man instantly dropped to the floor, on the brink of becoming unconscious.  However, the man continued to resist as he rose on his two feet.

    "Foolish old man!"  The general screamed as he whacked the man a second time, finally bringing him to the ground without resistance.  "You will have grave consequences should you continue to speak!"

    He faced Travix Man once more; holding Sylvia on one hand and his cane on the other, ready to resume the beating if necessary.

    "Give up now, and I will not do any harm to your allies,” General Robotler ordered, "Failure to do so will result in extreme consequences."

     Having no other options, Travix Man could only helplessly glance at Sylvia as she screamed hysterically, wiggling in writhe as she tried to avoid the dogs' menacing teeth.  Travix Man held his hands high into the air for the general to see.  Seeing this act, the other teenagers had no choice but to give in as well.  Robotler smiled wickedly to himself as he was now in control of the situation.

    Mad Mack and Black Jack entered the room and returned to Robotler and Bobby's side, armed with their plasma guns.  Mack sneered, "And if you want to save your girlfriend, you're going to have to find us!"

    Mad Mack and Black Jack then shoved Sylvia as they forced her into the tank.  The general gave the two lackeys a salute, then saluting Bobby.  Then he said to the teenagers, "Farewell, children!"  He entered the tank after the dogs and the lackeys jumped in and closed the lid.  The tank drove off, fading into the darkness, leaving a large trail of dust behind it.

    As the tank left the base, Travix Man dropped to the floor.  Light tears were shed as the hero took off his helmet and threw it onto the damaged ground.  The teenage hero screamed into the sky as he cried out, "SYLVIA!"  The hero then dropped to the floor, tears falling from his face.

    Benny and Timothy sprung to Trip's side and put their arms around their friend as Megan rushed to Travis X's side.  "Sylvia's probably not that far away,” Benny assured,  "We can still save her!"

    Before another word was said, a dark scoff sounded from behind the heroes.  "You're the hero that will liberate Xtruvenia from darkness?"

    When Trip turned around to see the voice, he was met with a punch in the face.  Spikes dug into skin as a fist slammed hard into Trip's cheek.  The swift movement stunned everyone in the room.  Trip looked around the area and found that Benny and Timothy were also wounded, having blood drop from their cheeks.  Trip looked up and saw an armored man, staring into his blue eyes with soulless, emerald orbs that illuminated through an iron mirror.  The mechanical left eye never removed its sight from the teenager as it glared into his soul.

    "You're weak. Your friends will only hold you back; you will fall to your own demise,” The armored being spat.  "Your failure to protect that girl's life tonight is only the beginning of your failure to liberate Xtruvenia from the aliens."

    "W-Who are you?"  Trip stuttered weakly, trying to resist the pain.

    The armored man pointed his armed cuff to the hero and responded.  "Names are unimportant.  Now tell me: why did you fail you save my sister?"