Ms. Justice:

As I sit on my bed, crisscrossed applesauce, I stare at the laptop in front of me.

"I have classes all throughout the week," I think while nibbling on a potato chip. "Along with extra practices on Monday and Wednesday. I also have to meetups with the tutors on Thursday and Friday. Saturday and Sunday, I have to complete those school projects. I guess that means I only have Tuesday free."

I sigh as I pull back up and look at my wall. Covering my walls from top to bottom are calendars for every month. I zoom in on the current month and upcoming day. When I see it, I slap myself on the forehead.

"Oh shoot," I cry out. I sigh as I look back down at my laptop. "Nevermind. Next Tuesday, I have plans with Mom and Dad."

I delete the appointment from my online calendar. While checking for my next free day, I turn toward my window and see the morning sunrise.

"Oh shoot," I cry out again. Again, I slap myself on the forehead. Just to be sure, I check the time on my laptop. It reads 7:30.

"I've been up all night, planning my schedule. I need to get ready for school."

I turn off my laptop and place it on my desk before running to my closet. Grabbing a set of clothes, I then run down the stairs. I reach the kitchen in less than a minute, only to find it empty.

"Speaking of Mom and Dad. Hey Mom! Dad! That's weird. Where are they?"

I pull out my cell phone and check for any new messages.

"Nothing."

It's not the first time they had to stay out all night because of their jobs, but normally, they would have sent me a text message.

"They must be extremely busy."

I shake my head and pour myself a small bowl of cereal. I eat it all before washing and putting the bowl away. I then go to school.

The day goes by almost instantly. I go to school and finish all my classes before attending my gymnastics classes. By the time I get back home, it's already 6 in the evening.

Stretching and yawning as I walk through the front door, I yell out again.

"Hey, Mom! Hey Dad! Are you guys here?"

I don't hear a reply. In fact, I don't hear a single sound.

"Hello? Hello!"

I sense something is off. I drop my backpack and begin to search the whole house.

"Mom? Dad! Where are you guys?"

While I search, I pull out my phone and check for any messages. When I see nothing, I try calling them and texting them but it's all left unread.

"Mom! Dad! Hello? Hello! Can anyone hear me!"

I yell and yell but there isn't a single reply. Not even the wind answers me. I somehow find myself back at the front door. There, I drop to my knees while looking around the empty house.

"Can anyone hear me," I ask again. Nothing. Nothing nor no one is answering me. At least, not at first. I can't be sure, but after some time, I hear this weird ringing. It sounds like an alarm but when I look around, I don't see one.

I push myself up and look around, only to have the world around me start to crack. Cracks appear all over, and before I know it, the world breaks and I fall into a black void.

"Ahh," I say, shooting up. Still sleepy, I blink a few times while kicking my blanket off. "Ahh, what's a weird dream."

I shake my head as I rub my eyes. Yawning as I push myself into a sitting position, I look with blurry vision at the calendar.

"No way," I say, the sleepiness disappears instantly. I push myself off my bed and run to the calendar on my desk. I check the date to make sure it's the right date.

"No way. Yes. Yes! Today is the day!"

I slam the calendar back down before running to my closet. Grabbing my goggles and placing them on my head, I then grab my mask and tied it on. Once I'm ready, I grab the presents I have underneath my bed and run out.

"Guys," I shout as I run into the living room. "Guys! Guys!"

To my surprise, the others are already out and about, moving about their day. QuickShot and JumpStart are sitting in front of our new coffee table, with a bunch of gears and tools in front of them. Meanwhile, SpeedBlade is in the kitchen again.

"Guys," I say again, approaching my friends with the gifts in my arms. "Guess what today is--"

Before I could finish, the sounds of yelling cut me off.

"JumpStart," QuickShot shouts, holding out her hand. "My screwdriver! Give me my screwdriver!"

"Not yet," JumpStart screams. He ignores QuickShot and focuses on his own project. With a screwdriver in his hand, he narrows his eyes as he screws something in. "Hey!"

Without any warning, QuickShot snatches the screwdriver out of JumpStart's hand.

"I was using that," JumpStart says, his eyes going red.

"This is my screwdriver," QuickShot answers, using her screwdriver to make some adjustments to her arrows. "Use your own."

"My screwdriver is too big for these screws. I need yours!"

QuickShot and JumpStart start to fight over the screwdriver. SpeedBlade on the other hand drops some pots and pans and grabs all our attention.

"Hey, SpeedBlade," QuickShot yells. "Be careful!"

"I will if you two would stop yelling," SpeedBlade says. "I cannot focus when the only things I am hearing are your annoying voices!"

As SpeedBlade says this, the pan in front of him catches on fire.

"Fire," JumpStart screams, pushing himself to his feet. QuickShot follows JumpStart and the two of them run to SpeedBlade.

"What," SpeedBlade asks, turning around. Screaming when he sees the fire, SpeedBlade rushes forward and tries to put it out.

"Back away," QuickShot orders, pushing SpeedBlade back. "Back away now!"

Using a nearby rag, QuickShot grabs the handle of the burning pan and throws it into the sink. She then turns on the water, the fire disappearing and steam shooting up.

"Really," QuickShot asks, turning to SpeedBlade. "After all the trouble we went through to rebuild the OutPost, you decide now to set fire to it."

"Don't talk to me like that," SpeedBlade says. "I told you. You and JumpStart's annoying voices grab my focus. If you two were just a little more quiet, then this wouldn't have happened."

"The only reason I was yelling," JumpStart interrupts, "Was because QuickShot took my screwdriver!"

"It was my screwdriver," QuickShot corrects.

Before I know it, the three of them are all yelling and screaming at each other. They wave their arms and point fingers at each other. I couldn't stand to see this.

"Enough," I yell. I drop the presents on the ground and the noise stops them.

"Enough," I yell again, walking right into the middle of the three of them. I push them all back.

"Hey," JumpStart says, "What's the big idea?"

"Enough," I yell again, shutting JumpStart up. As I yell, I feel myself running out of breath. I have to stop to catch it. While catching my breath, QuickShot notices all the fallen presents.

"What are those," QuickShot asks. JumpStart and SpeedBlade look over and see the presents themselves.

"Yes," SpeedBlade says, "What are all of those?"

"Those are presents," I say, looking at them myself. "They were for you. All of you."

"For us," QuickShot asks. "Oh no. What's today? Another birthday?"

She sighs and lowers her head.

"Who's birthday is it now?"

"It's no one's birthday," I answer.

"Oh," QuickShot says with a smile and a wipe of her forehead. "That's lucky. Wait, if it's no one's birthday, then why the presents?"

"Because today is the anniversary of the day we met," I answer. "Two years ago, on this day, the four of us meet each other. Don't you guys remember?"

JumpStart, SpeedBlade, and QuickShot all look at each other before shrugging their shoulders and shaking their heads.

"Well, I remember," I say. I walk over to grab one of the presents. It was for a blue box with a red ribbon. "This was for you, QuickShot, but I guess you don't want it."

I drop the present once more. As QuickShot watches the present drop, she starts to shake. She rubs the back of her head and looks around.

"Okay," she says after a few seconds. "We're sorry we forgot about the anniversary."

She walks up to me and picks up the present. It was slightly damaged due to it being dropped twice.

"But, Justice, listen. I don't know about SpeedBlade or JumpStart but I'm not big on celebrations. I'm sorry but that's just me. I'm not a big fan of birthdays or anniversaries or even holidays."

QuickShot says everything so calmly and causally. It was like it didn't bother her even a little that she hated all those things. I was hoping SpeedBlade and JumpStart would join in, maybe say something like 'This isn't so bad" or "Come on! Laugh a little". However, they stay silent.

"Well, then," I say. "Nevermind."

I bend down to pick up the presents only to have the alarm go off. The lights in the OutPost turn red and a ringing sound echo throughout the whole base.

While JumpStart runs over to our computer, QuickShot and SpeedBlade run to their room. QuickShot drops the present as she runs. It falls and bounces against the floor. About to grab it, I stop myself and run to my room to grab my shield.

"What's going on?"

QuickShot asks JumpStart after the rest of us gather our weapons and regroup around JumpStart.

"Robbery at the museum," JumpStart answers. "Look at this."

The computer's screen shows guards begin blasted by someone in some sort of high-tech, futuristic suit of armor. Despite the guards' best attempts, they can't do anything against the man as he walks almost effortlessly through the museum's large double glass doors. When he enters the museum, he disappears from view.

2: Chapter 2: A Matter of Time

Fast-Forward:

“Tick-tock,” I say as I walk through the hallways of the ancient museum. The museum guards and police officers do their best to keep me back but their blasters are nothing when compared to my shield.

“Ancient technology,” I say. I smile as I bring up my hand. With a quick swing, I unleash a powerful wave of energy that hit all the guards and officers. It shocks and electrocutes them before rendering them unconscious. They fall to the ground defeated. With such annoyances down, I can walk peacefully through the museum.

“Ahh,” I say as I walk through the hallways and admire some of the many exhibits. “Such ancient things. Worthless though. Nothing but pieces of ancient debris. What I want is right here.”

Stopping for a bit, I look up at a blue and red banner that reads ‘Timeless Pieces of History’. I smile as I walk into the exhibit.

As I walk into the exhibit, I see many ancient and famous clocks all around. There are a few sundials from ancient Egypt and Babylon, some water clocks from Greek, and even one or two Grandfather clocks.

“Junks,” I think as I walk past them. “Nothing but junks. Everything in here is junk. Everything except you.”

Display right in the center of the room, on a fancy wooden stand, underneath a crystal-clear glass cover, is the infamous Clock of Eternity.

“The Clock of Eternity,” I say as I approach the prize. “Forged by Sam Murakami almost two centuries ago. Find only recently, in his tomb, in his very hands.”

I smile as I admire the shining gold base and stand. The wooden exterior is stunning, its beauty can only be matched by the clock’s face

“An antique now,” I say, grabbing the glass cover and throwing it to the side. “But absolutely priceless years from now.”

I can see my face in the gold base as I reach for the clock. However, when my hand is mere inches from it, I hear something coming from the side. Before I can turn my head, something hits my hand. I scream as I pull my hand back.

“If you want a clock so badly,” QuickShot, leader of the OutCasts, says, lowering her bow.

“Then try the gift shop,” Ms. Justice, the shield bearer, goes on. She brings up her blue, red, and white shield.

“Speaking of which,” JumpStart, the mechanical elf, adds, walking up with his pair of stun batons. “Can we go after we take this guy down?”

“Noo,” SpeedBlade, the speedster knight, yells. He pulls out his sword. Altogether, the four of them run out of the hallway and into the exhibit. They surround me.

“Ahh,” I start, looking at the legendary heroes. “The OutCasts. QuickShot, SpeedBlade, Ms. Justice, and JumpStart.”

“Congrats on knowing our names,” QuickShot says. She turns toward Ms. Justice. “I guess we’re getting famous.”

“Oh, believe me,” I say, looking down at my wrist. “You’re not. None of you are. Where I’m from, all of you are nothing more than characters from bedtime stories.”

“Bedtimes stories,” JumpStart repeats.

“Where I’m from,” Ms. Justice says again. She eyes the others and looks away from me. When she does, I raise my hand and my wrist-mounted blaster activates. It shoots, hitting Ms. Justice and knocking her down.

“OutCasts,” QuickShot yells, grabbing more arrows and loading them into her bow. “Onward!”

With that, SpeedBlade charges at me from behind. However, with a simple flick of my wrist, I re-activated my shield. The foolish knight runs right into my shield, bouncing off it and into one of the ancient grandfather clocks.

“Oh well,” I say with a smile. “I never did like grandfather clocks.”

“You’re not going to like this either,” QuickShot says, running toward me. She unleashes a barrage of trick arrows; explosive, smoke, slime, but not one could pierce my shield. I reach down and pull from my belt a shock disc.

Throwing it at QuickShot, it slices through all her arrows before hitting and electrocuting her. Screaming as she falls to the floor, smoking, I turn my head when I hear footsteps.

“Let’s see how your shield handles this,” JumpStart says. He twirls his stun batons in the air before slamming them down onto my shield. He must have thought he could short-circuit my shield by using his stun batons to emit an EMP blast. However, it backfires. Instead, the excess electricity is reversed.

“Ancient technology,” I say, watching safety from the inside as the elf is thrown back by his own plan. Thrown all the way into a wall, he peels off it and falls onto the floor, landing with a loud thud.

“Now, if there are no other interruptions, I would very much like to get my--”

The sound of screaming cuts me off. I turn my head to see SpeedBlade running toward me. He’s running at such speed, he’s knocking over the other clocks in the exhibit.

Hitting my shield once more, his sword out in front, he somehow manages to break it. The impact may have sent SpeedBlade stumbling back but it also knocks me off my feet.

“Ahh,” I cry as my butt hits the floor. Rubbing my sore spot, I look back at the knight. “It seems I have underestimated you four, but only slightly. My suit’s shield is down, but everything else is still perfectly functional. Including this.”

I reach into my belt once more and pull out a rocket disc. SpeedBlade, who is still stumbling, can do nothing as I throw it at him. My disc ring as it hits his armor. He looks down only to scream when a jet of fire launches him off his feet. My rocket disc sent him flying through the air and into another display. I watch from a distance as a bunch of 1800s clocks, with their heavy wooden frames fall on him.

“Your speed is nothing when compared to my futuristic suit,” I declare. With all four of the OutCasts down and defeated, I look toward the Clock of Eternity. Thankfully, despite everything, it was still unharmed.

I grab the clock from the display and admire it once more.

“Priceless,” I say again before flickering my wrist. My time regulator turns on and I fire an almost invisible beam into the space before me. It hits the empty space and forms a large oval. The oval cuts a hole in space and time. I check my time regulator again just to be sure the time vortex is stable.

“Excellent.”

I step into the vortex but before completely walking through, I turn back to the OutCasts.

“So long OutCasts,” I say with a wave. “Thank you for the workout. It was worth the time.”

I laugh as I turn back. However, just as I cross through, someone tackles me from behind.

Ms. Justice:

“Ahh,” I moan, shaking my head as I push myself up. Despite the throbbing headache, I can still see the man stepping into what I can only guess is a wormhole. I look at the others as they lay on the floor. When I see this, I feel my blood boils. My teeth grind against each other as I push myself to my feet.

“It was worth the time,” the man says as he turns away. However, with his back to me, I charge. I put whatever energy and strength I have left into running.

“Ahhhh,” I scream as I jump onto his back. As I jump onto him, the two of us fall into the wormhole. I see a flash, and then, everything is gone. The man and I are now just floating through a black void.

“What are you doing,” he shouts. He turns around and starts grabbing me. “Get off of me!”

“Noo,” I cry, grabbing his arms. “This is for ruining our special days!”

The man and I struggle against each other as we float through the black void. He pulls back his arm and tries to punch me but I block it with my shield.

As he hits it, his hand slides to the side. He tries to pull his hand back in but I push it back out with my shield.

“I’m taking this,” I say, grabbing and clock and prying it from his hand.

“Noo! That is mine!”

“It’s the museum,” I correct. As the two of us now fight for the clock, I swing my hand and my shield hits something on the man’s wrist. It starts to spark and lights start to blink on and off.

“What,” the man shouts, only now realizing what I did. “What have you done? What have you done!”

“Oh,” I say, reaching for his wrist. “Is this important? Well, don’t mind if I do!”

Grabbing at the thing, I rip it off.

“Noo!”

When I rip the thing off, it explodes and knocks the two of us away from each other. The man screams as another wormhole appears and he disappears into it. Meanwhile, I float through the black void for a bit before another wormhole opens. It opens right behind me and before I could do anything, I fall through it myself.

“Ahh,” I scream as another flash blinds me. Tucking the clock and whatever I ripped off from the guy into my belt, I rub my eyes. While rubbing my eyes, I start to hear a loud wind. “What in the world is that?”

With my vision coming back, I can see again.

“Oh come on!”

With my vision back, I see myself falling through a cloudy night sky.

3: Chapter 3: Home

Ms. Justice:

Screaming as I fall through the sky, I look all over for anything I could use. I check my pockets but all I have are my shield, the museum’s clock, and whatever it is I ripped from the man. The thing, whatever it is, looks a lot like some sort of sci-fi remote control. I push a few buttons but nothing happens. I shake my head and pocket both the control and the clock. Now only holding my shield, I look around again. Falling and bursting through a cloud, my eyes go wide when I see myself falling toward a building’s ledge.

Looking down at my shield again, a lightbulb turns on and I hold my shield above me. Or below me. I can’t be sure. I’m falling here!

With my shield out in front of me, I land on the building’s ledge. Despite my shield absorbing most of the impact, I still fall onto my shoulder, and a second later, I feel a stinging, shooting pain. Screaming again as I grab and hold my shoulder, I now find myself sliding down the building.

Sliding down a bunch of windows, I fly right off a second ledge and into a brick wall! My shoulder hits the brick wall and the stinging, shooting pain from before turns into a burning pain. Thankfully, as I fall toward the ground, I’m able to hold out my shield. It once again absorbs most of the impact.

Landing on top of my shield, I take a few minutes to catch my breath. Breathing in and out, I use my arm without the broken shoulder to push myself over. Moaning and fighting through the shoulder pain as I flip myself over, I push myself up.

“Ahh,” I cry. I feel tears form in my eyes as I look around. “Where am I?”

I look around and see myself in an almost pitch-black city. Skyscrapers are towering all over but the lights in them are all turned off. So are the streetlights. I see myself sitting on an empty sidewalk, beside an empty street. There are no cars, or people, or even lights anywhere I look.

“Is this home,” I say. “No. It can’t be. Why are all the lights turned off? Where is everyone? The streets are never empty.”

I bite my tongue as I push myself onto my feet. I drag my feet as I walk. I walk and walk until I find what I’m looking for, a manhole cover.

It takes all my strength to pull the cover off and climbs down. Making my way around in the dark, it takes some time but I think I finally find the hidden wall.

I take a deep breath before pushing on the brick and stepping on the pressure plate. The wall splits open but the lights don’t come on.

“Oh no,” I say. I peek into the OutPost but with the light off, it’s near impossible to see. “Hello? Hello!”

Since no one answers me, I have to swallow the lump in my throat and walk in. With my shield in front of me, I carefully tip-toed in.

“Hello. Hello! QuickShot? JumpStart? SpeedBlade? Is anyone there?”

I’m in complete darkness. I can’t see anything. Also, the air feels colder than usual. I’m shivering, and have to blow air into my shaking hands.

“Where’s the switch? Where’s the switch? The switch shouldn’t be too far from the door.”

As I feel my way around in the dark, my hand hits something hard and small.

“Ahh,” I cry, pulling my hand back. “I think I found it.”

I flick the light switch on but once I see the OutPost, I regretted it.

“Oh, my god.”

Somehow, I don’t know how, but somehow, the entire OutPost is destroyed. All our living room furniture is destroyed. All our kitchen applications and rusted and on the floor. Even a few lightbulbs themselves are destroyed. They explode the second I turned the lights on.

I drop to my knees. I feel my breath leaving my body.

“I can’t breathe. I can’t breathe! What happened? What happened here? Where is everyone? It’s happening again! It’s happening again! I come home, and no one is here!”

I cover my head. My head feels like it’s going to explode. I don’t know what to do. I don’t know what to do! I can’t hold them back anymore. I feel tears leaking out from my eyes!

“Someone,” I cry. “Someone. Can anyone hear me?”

“Justice,” someone says.

“Justice. That’s me. That’s my name!”

I look up and see someone standing in front of one of the rooms. Dressed in a black and grey jumpsuit with a mask, long black hair tied into a ponytail, and pointed ears, I push myself up and run right into JumpStart

“JumpStart,” I shout, wrapping my arms around him and hugging him. “JumpStart! I am so happy to see you!”

“Oh,” JumpStart says. He tries to peel me off but I stay attached. “Hey, hey, hey. Justice? Is that you?”

“Of course, it’s me,” I say. I pull back my head but my arms stay around JumpStart. “What was that face? What? Not happy to see me?”

Now it’s JumpStart who’s crying. Tears pour from his mask as he hugs his arms around my neck and pulls me in close.

“I can’t believe it,” he says, “I can’t believe it! You’re here! You’re here! Oh, man! I haven’t seen you in years.”

“Years,” I repeat. “Wait, what? Years? JumpStart, what do you mean year?”

JumpStart and I pull apart. As soon as we’re apart, I wave my arms around.

“JumpStart, what do you mean by year? You haven’t seen me in years? What are you talking about? And this? What is this? What happened to the OutPost? And the others? The others! Where are QuickShot and SpeedBlade? Why aren’t they here?”

As I go on and on, asking countless questions, I look back at JumpStart but instead of answering me, all he does is lowers his head and sigh. He opens his mouth. It looks like he’s about to say something but stops.

“What,” I shout. “What! What are you going to say? Come on, just say it! Say it! Say it!”

“Justice,” JumpStart screams after grabbing and pulling at his mouth. “Please, just be quiet.”

“What?”

JumpStart still doesn’t answer me. Instead, he walks past me and toward our ruined living room. He grabs and flips an old chair back into its upright position.

“Sit down,” he says, pointing at the chair after dusting it off. “Don’t ask why. Just sit down here.”

I don’t understand but I do as JumpStart asked. There’s a tear in the cushion and for some reason, it’s black. It looks burnt but nevertheless, I still sit down on it.

“What,” I ask again. I look up at JumpStart as he paces. He turns and walks before turning around and walking again. “JumpStart?”

JumpStart sighs as he stops and looks at me.

“Okay,” he says, putting up his hands. “I don’t know how to tell you this, but I’m just going to be straightforward. Ms. Justice, the last time I saw you was over ten years ago.”

“Te--Ten years ago,” I repeat. “No, no, no, no, no. That can’t be right. I mean, but you--”

JumpStart puts up his hand and cuts me off.

“I’m a wood elf,” JumpStart interrupts. “We don’t age as fast as humans. I look the same and I guess so does SpeedBlade since, to this day, he still hadn’t taken off his armor, but QuickShot. Well, she’s a different story.”

This is all too much for me to handle. My head sinks between my hands as JumpStart goes on.

“The last time I saw you, it was when the four of us try to stop Fast-Forward from stealing the Clock of Eternity."

"The Clock of Eternity," I say. My head shoots up and I look at JumpStart. "But we did stop him. At least, I did."

I reach into my pocket and pull out the Clock, its golden base shining in the dim lights. JumpStart takes the clock and examines it for a bit before giving it back to me.

"That's not how I remember it. Anyway, after we failed to stop Fast-Forward, and lost you, the three of us, well, we disbanded. The OutCasts broke up."

4: Chapter 4: The End

Ms. Justice:

I feel myself choking. My throat tightens and I can’t breathe.

“The OutCasts disbanded. We broke up. QuickShot and SpeedBlade. They’re gone. They’re gone!”

As the words keep repeating over and over, everything around me starts to get blurry. The floor is tilting and fuzzy. The walls are blurry. The lights appear to be very bright, almost blinding.

“Justice,” I hear JumpStart screams. I shake my head and blink my eyes.

“What,” I say, looking around. “What? What happened?”

For some reason, I was in JumpStart’s arms. As I regain my senses, I realize JumpStart is gently putting me back in the chair.

“Justice,” JumpStart screams again. “Are you okay?”

“I,” I start, trying to find the right words. “I can’t believe any of this.”

JumpStart sighs as he lowers his head.

“As much as I hate to say it,” he says. “It’s the truth.”

“Well, can’t we do anything? You and me? Can’t we go out there and find the others?”

“How?”

I turn my head and eye the OutPost’s computer. Despite how rusted it is, it still looks in one piece.

“Can’t you use the OutPost’s computer?”

“The OutPost’s computer. That thing stopped working years ago.”

“Well, can’t you fix it?”

I shout and get up from the chair.

“Can’t you fix the computer and use it to track QuickShot and SpeedBlade? I mean, come on, JumpStart! Help me out here!”

“I can’t fix the computer,” JumpStart answers. “You think I haven’t tried! I tried! I tried and tried many times but nothing! A lot of the parts have either broken down or were destroyed! And to this day, I still haven’t found the right parts!”

“Well, can you still help me? Come on. Let’s go.”

I grab JumpStart’s hand to pull him toward the exit but JumpStart pulls back.

“I’m not going out there,” JumpStart says. He steps back. “I can’t.”

“Why not?”

“Because again, I’m a wood elf.”

“So,” I ask. “What does being a wood elf have to do with anything?”

“I don’t belong out there,” JumpStart says. He spreads out his arms and spins around. “This is where I belong.”

“In the dark,” I ask. “Just sitting around? Waiting for nothing to happen?”

“It’s better than what happened when I go out there. I’m sorry, Ms. Justice, I really am, but I’m alone you’re going have to go by yourself.”

I reach out my hand and open my mouth to say something but before I could, JumpStart turns around and disappears back into the darkness.

“JumpStart,” I say. JumpStart doesn’t answer me. I try to find him but in the dark, with his black jumpsuit, it’s impossible. “JumpStart? JumpStart. JumpStart! JumpStart.”

I say his name a few more times but JumpStart doesn’t answer.

“Fine,” I say, grabbing my shield and heading for the door. “I’m leaving then! Enjoy living in the shadow, Wood Elf!”

As I stomp out the OutPost, I stop. I freeze with my foot in mid-air.

“JumpStart,” I say one last time. I look into the pitch-black OutPost. “I--I don’t know what happened, but I’m sorry I wasn’t there to help you. And thank you for everything you’ve done for us. For QuickShot. For SpeedBlade For me. I really appreciate it.”

With those last words, I seal the door shut and leave. I then pick a random direction and walk down it. As I walk down the sewer pathway, I keep thinking about where QuickShot and SpeedBlade could have gone.

“There’s no way they could have left the city, right? I know QuickShot and SpeedBlade. At least, I think I do. Then again, I thought I knew JumpStart, but I guess I was wrong.”

I rack my brain, trying to think of places the two could have gone when they left the OutPost. However, no matter how hard I think, I can’t think of any places.

“Even since we built the OutPost,” I say to my accompanying shadow. “That had always been our home. Our home. Mine. JumpStart. SpeedBlade. QuickShot. From the moment we all met each other and decided to stay together.”

I sigh as I stop walking. I look around for a bit and see a ladder leading up. As I take the first step, I feel an intense pain shoots through my leg. My teeth grind against each other as I fall down. I scream and shake as I hold my leg.

“Ahh,” I cry. I bite my tongue as I grab a step and pull myself up. Fighting through both the tears and pain, I inhale deeply before hopping up the ladder. With one arm around the side, I push the cover off and climb up.

Climbing out of the sewer and onto the empty street, I give myself a few seconds to catch my breath before closing the sewer. As I push the manhole cover back into place, I hear the sound of a blaster warming up.

“I finally found you,” a familiar voice says. I turn around and the moment I do, someone shoots a blaster. They hit and knock me to the street. I scream and cry as I hit the street.

I look up and see the same man from before. The one from the museum. The one that somehow brought me here.

“You,” I say. I try to push myself up but I can’t. I fall back down holding my chest.

“Fast-Forward,” I moan.

“Ms. Justice,” Fast-Forward answers. He stands over me, aiming a wrist-mounted blaster at my head. “Where is it?”

“Where’s what,” I ask. As I stare back at Fast-Forward, I notice something. “Wait, what happened to you? You look...older?”

Before, at the museum, Fast-Forward looks only a little older than QuickShot. His skin was smooth and he didn’t have any facial hairs. Now, standing over me is an elderly man with wrinkled skin and thick stubble.

Fast-Forward’s smirk is turned upside-down. He growls before moving his blaster close toward me.

“Of course, I’ve aged,” Fast-Forward yells. “Do you have any idea what you did? You tempered with my chrono-suit! You ripped my time regulator right off!”

Fast-Forward grabs my chest and pulls me up.

“Where is it! Where is my time regulator! Without my regulator, I can’t control the flow of time! Where is it!”

Fast-Forward shakes me as he screams.

“Get lost,” I answer. “I have my own problem. Because of you, because of your ‘time suit’ or whatever, my friends are gone! They’re gone and I’m all alone again!”

As I scream back at Fast-Forward, I look down and see the thing I ripped from his wrist.

“The regulator,” I think. Still distracted by me, I quickly push the regulator deeper into my pocket.

“What have you done,” I yell. “Whatever it is, fix it now! Or you’ll never find your regulator.”

“What I’ve done,” Fast-Forward repeats. “What are you talking about? I didn’t do anything.”

“But my friends,” I say. “The OutCasts. They’re, we’re no more.”

“Of course, you’re no more,” Fast-Forward says. “That’s how is supposed to be. Don’t you remember anything, you foolish little girl? In the future, in my present, the OutCasts are nothing but bedtime stories. And do you know how the stories end? Do you? It ends with all four of you splitting up. Leaving each other, never to be seen again.”

I freeze the second I hear those words. I feel the blood in my body turns to ice. I can see my own breath as a white mist.

“That’s how our stories end,” I repeat. “We leave each other? We’re supposed to leave each other in the end?”

While frozen by Fast-Forward’s words, Fast-Forward gets back on his feet. He carries me up and then blasts me. I scream as I fly through the air and fall back on the street.

“Oh,” Fast-Forward says. “There you are. My time regulator, and even better. The Clock of Eternity.”

“What?”

I look back at Fast-Forward and see him with both the regulator and the clock in his hands. I check my own pockets, patting them and turning them inside out, only to see them empty.

“Oh no,” I say. I try to get up. I try to push myself up but I can’t. Everything hurts. I can’t move with my whole body stinging and setting on fire. I can’t hold up my shield because my fingers are still frozen.

“Well, now that I have these two,” Fast-Forward says, pocketing both the clock and his regulator. “I can go now. Of course, I will have to fix the regulator, but one thing first.”

Fast-Forward smiles as he aims his blaster at me.

“In your current state, this should destroy you. Oh well. I’m sure my time can live without those bedtime stories.”

All I can do is frown as I watch the blaster on Fast-Forward’s wrist warms up. Energy gathers in the barrel and in a few seconds, it would fire. However, just before it could, I hear a familiar sound. A second later, I see an arrow sticking through Fast-Forward’s blaster. The blaster is now sparking, and the energy in the barrel is disappearing.

“What,” Fast-Forward shouts. He pulls back his hand and looks at the broken blaster. It’s less than a second after he pulls the arrow out that we both hear someone screaming.

“Head up,” QuickShot says, running toward us. Pulling arrows from her quiver, QuickShot drops to her knee and fires them. The arrows fly toward Fast-Forward. They stick to his chest plate and explode. Fast-Forward screams as he launches back.

Moaning as he pushes himself up, he sees QuickShot preparing more arrows. She fires them quickly, and they explode. A combination of slime and net arrows, they hit and capture Fast-Forward.

QuickShot pushes herself back onto her feet. She charges toward Fast-Forward, but strangely, he doesn’t seem worried.

“Another time,” Fast-Forward says. He pulls out a small disc and throws it on the street. A few seconds later, the street turns into dust. It crumbles away and Fast-Forward jumps down it, disappearing from view.

With Fast-Forward gone, QuickShot stops running. She turns and looks back at me.

“Hey Ms. Justice,” she starts. “Long time no see.”

5: Chapter 5: The Gift

QuickShot:

“Ahh,” Ms. Justice moans. She squeezes her eyes shut as I wrap her arm and chest in medical dressing.

“Come on,” I say, leaning back. “I’ve seen you take worse hits years ago.”

“Speaking of years,” Ms. Justice says. She examines herself while I put the dressing back into my med kit. “What happened to you while I was gone? You look...”

“Older,” I ask. “Of course, I look older. It has been over ten years since we last seen each other.”

“I wasn’t going to say older,” Ms. Justice yells. “I was going to say ‘different’. You look different. From before.”

“Again,” I say, turning around to look at Ms. Justice. “It has been over ten years since we last seen each other.”

As Ms. Justice stares at me, I examine and compare myself to ten years before. For starters, I cut my hair. My long wavy blond hair is now short, cut just before my shoulders. I’m still wearing my old fighter pilot jacket and helmet but one of the lenses to the goggle on my helmet is missing. Also, I’ve heavily modified my jacket. Now, there are dozens of extra slots for my new trick arrows all over.

“What happened to your old bow,” Ms. Justice asks. She turns her head and looks at my compound bow resting on my table. “Where’s your previous bow?”

“My previous bow, the long bow, broke about seven years ago. I’ve used that ever since. It’s actually a little better. Can shoot my arrows faster and steadier.”

As I talk, I leave Ms. Justice and disappear into my kitchen. I pour some hot milk and some cocoa powder into a cup before returning.

“Here,” I say, offering her the cup. Justice smiles as she takes the cup. It looks like she’s about to take a sip but then stops, the cup only inches from her pink lips.

“So much had changed,” Ms. Justice cries. “It’s all so different. Nothing is the same. Everything I cared about is gone.”

I watch as the cup starts to shake in Ms. Justice’s hands. Tears run down her face and falls into the hot chocolate. I take the cup away and put it down.

The moment I turn back after putting the cup down, Ms. Justice jumps and wraps her arms around me.

“QuickShot,” she cries out. “I’m sorry! I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean for any of this to happen! I was just trying to stop him! I didn’t know this would happen!”

I sigh as I wrap my arms around the crying Ms. Justice.

“Hey, hey, hey,” I say, slowly patting her back. “Easy there. Come on. It’s okay. It’s okay.”

“No, it’s not! This whole thing is my fault! I mean, if I hadn’t jumped in after Fast-Forward then maybe, maybe, I don’t know! Maybe we wouldn’t have all left each other.”

“What in the world are you talking about?”

“According to JumpStart, the last time any of you saw me, it was when we fought Fast-Forward at the museum when he was trying to steal that clock. Somehow, that leads to all of this! And worst, according to Fast-Forward himself, this is how it’s supposed to be. All of us are just gone with the wind.”

I let Ms. Justice cry and vent into my shoulder for a few more minutes. Eventually, she pulls back and looks at me.

“I don’t know what to do now,” she says. “I mean, is there even anything I can do?”

“No,” I say. “No, there isn’t anything you can do.”

I slowly raise Ms. Justice’s head, my fingers pushing up her chin. When we’re looking into each other, I rub her face, flickering a tear away.

No, there isn’t anything you can do,” I repeat. “But there is something we can do.”

“What,” Ms. Justice asks with a shaking voice.

I let go of Ms. Justice’s face and go grab my compound bow. With my bow in hand, I then reach down and open a drawer. In the drawer are some pre-made arrows. I grab some of them and load them into the extra slots of my jacket.

“What are you doing,” Ms. Justice asks.

“We’re going to find Fast-Forward,” I answer, turning back. “You said it yourself. The reason all of this happen was because you jumped ten years into the future. So, in order to fix it, we have to send you ten years back. Just after your first jump.”

Ms. Justice’s eyes go wide at the thought.

“Wait,” she says, “Are you serious?”

“Yes,” I say, looking at the wheels as I pull back the sting of my bow. “And I think we’ll need help.”

“Help,” Ms. Justice repeats. “No. I’ve already tried but JumpStart won’t leave the OutPost, and I still haven’t seen SpeedBlade anywhere. Do you?”

“I have no clue where SpeedBlade is,” I say. “He and I haven’t exactly kept in touch since we disbanded. However, I do have something that he may answer to.”

“Something he may answer to? What? A cell phone?”

“Actually, it’s more like a walkie-talkie.”

I push a hidden button on my table and a secret component splits open. From the secret component, a little model plane and an OutCast radio come out.

Ms. Justice:

“No way,” I say. Despite still not feeling 100%, I make my way over to QuickShot and peek over her shoulder. As a secret component raises up, I see my gift from over a decade ago right there.

“You kept it,” I say. “All this time and you still kept it.”

QuickShot lets out a small chuckle as she grabs the small wooden plane. I think back to when I made it.

The whole plane is made from wooden popsicle sticks. I first thought about buying the sticks from an art store but after seeing them with ice creams around them, SpeedBlade and JumpStart quickly agreed to help me. Afterward, it was just a matter of gluing everything together.

“Ten years ago,” QuickShot starts, looking at the wooden plane. “You made this for me to celebrate the day we all met each other for the very first time. You made this to celebrate the birth of the OutCasts, and I’m sorry. I’m sorry about what I said about not being a ‘big fan’ of birthdays or anniversaries or even holidays.”

“No, no, no,” I say, shaking my hands. “It’s fine. I mean, not everyone is that big into...”

QuickShot puts up her hand and cuts me off.

“Birthdays, anniversaries, and holidays are important,” QuickShot goes on. “They remind us to care about the people around us because one day, they may leave, and who knows how long it will be before you see them again.”

I can’t be sure because I still have tears in my eyes, but I think QuickShot is slightly crying herself. She wipes her eyes before gently placing the wooden plane down. She then grabs the other things.

The thing, whatever it is, is black and gold. It’s small and round, with the letters, O and C, painted on it.

“This is the very last thing JumpStart built before we all left each other,” QuickShot says. “He called it the OutCast’s long-frequency communicator. I just called them they are. Walkie-talkie.”

With that, QuickShot shows me the walkie-talkie. She then pushes a button on the side of it. The walkie-talkie starts to beep, and a small light flashes on the antenna.

"Come on," QuickShot says, shoving the walkie-talkie into one of her pockets. "I have an idea where Fast-Forward may have gone. After all, there's only one place in this whole city where he can fix his time suit. Are you coming?"

I smile and nod my head. I also bring up my shield.

6: Chapter 6: Fast-Forward

Fast-Forward:

The guards scream as I fire at them. The two of them fly into the air before hitting the floor and passing out. With the guards out of the way, I can enter the museum with ease.

Walking through the empty, dark hallway, I make my way to the museum's clock exhibit.

"Timeless Pieces of History," the banner overhead reads. I feel my blood boils when I see the banner. Raising my hand, I fire my wrist-mounted blaster and destroy it completely.

With the sign destroyed, I walk into the exhibit. Seeing some useless ancient clocks, I walk past all of them toward the end of the exhibit.

"Ahh," I say, finally seeing what I came here for. Throwing aside a sign that read "The Clocks of Tomorrow", I slam a display case and reach inside. "The prototype chrono arc welder. It will take 80 years to complete but luckily for me, I am from the 100 years in the future."

I switch out my blaster for the remote control and type in some commands. The commands open a component on my suit, revealing a set of futuristic tools. Immediately, I grab the tools and start the necessary modification to the arc welder.

"Just a little more," I tell myself as I add the miniature power core. However, as I seal the cover, I hear something coming from behind me. Screaming as I turn around, I activate my time suit's shield.

As expected, arrows hit my shield. I look past the arrows and see QuickShot and Ms. Justice standing in the hallway.

"Fast-Forward," Ms. Justice shouts, stepping forward with her famous shield. "It's time to surrender. Give me the clock and send me back in time."

"Time," I repeat, laughing a little. I look at the arrows still stuck in my shield. "Time is one thing I have. You two, on the other hand, are out of time."

I switch out the remote control for my blaster and take aim at the two ladies. About to fire, I stop when I notice the tips of the arrow start to spark.

"If we're out of time," QuickShot says, smiling as she and Ms. Justice steps back. "Then I guess I'll just have to make time!"

With that, QuickShot and Ms. Justice jump to the floor. They hide behind some walls. Just as they duck behind covers, the sparking tips explode. I scream and cover my head as the explosive destroys my shield.

QuickShot:

My EMP arrows going off, they unleash a powerful blast that disrupts and destroys Fast-Forward's shield. The second his shield is down, I lean out and fire a series of arrows at Fast-Forward.

"Go," I shout, looking at Ms. Justice. "Grab the time regulator! I'll cover you!"

Ms. Justice nods her head and runs out from behind the wall. She charges toward Fast-Foward as he struggles to pull out all my arrows.

Cursing and screaming as he pulls a sticky arrow off his shoulder, Fast-Forward turns in time to see Ms. Justice running toward him.

He tries to shoot at her but Ms. Justice jumps and hits his hand with her shield. While Fast-Forward shoots at the ground, Ms. Justice swings her shield and hits Fast-Forward right in the stomach.

Ms. Justice:

"The time regulator," I say, seeing the regulator back on Fast-Forward's wrist. I lunge ahead and try to grab it but Fast-Forward is stumbling back after I hit him in the stomach. "Ahh! I should've just punched him in the face instead of hitting him in the stomach."

Fast-Forward stumbling back a few feet, catches himself and looks at me with red eyes and sharp teeth.

"Enough," he shouts, his voice echoing throughout the empty museum.

Reaching down, Fast-Forward pulls out a small disc and throws it at me. I bring my shield and block it. However, it doesn't fall onto the floor. Instead, the disc stays on my shield.

"What," I say, looking at the disc. As soon as I say what, something on the disc opens and fire shoots out. It pushes me back, and before I know it, I'm flying through the air.

"Justice," I hear QuickShot yells before I hit her. The two of us roll away before falling to the floor.

"Justice," QuickShot says again. She reaches down and offers me her hand. "Come on! We need to hurry before Fast-Forward finishes fixing his suit."

I take QuickShot's hand and she pulls me up. Together, we prepare to charge toward Fast-Forward again. However, as we turn toward him, we see him already aiming with his wrist-mounted blaster. Only, he's not aiming at us.

"Stay down," Fast-Forward shouts, firing the blaster. We follow the blast as it flies through the air and hits the ceiling. The ceiling cracks and breaks before falling on top of us.

"Watch out," I say, pushing QuickShot out of the way. As she falls to the floor, broken stone drops onto me, forcing me down and burying me.

"Justice," QuickShot shouts again. She drops her bow and rushes to help me but the second she drops her bow, a blast hits and knocks her to the floor. Through the cracks in the stones, I can see Fast-Forward lowers his hand after shooting QuickShot. He turns and runs back.

"Nothing can stop me," he says as he grabs something. Looking like a high-tech blowtorch, Fast-Forward starts to fix his suit.

"No," I say, trying to crawl my way out. Pushing against the stone, all I do is cause more stones to flatten me. I look at Fast-Forward as he lowers the blowtorch. He smiles as he flicks his wrist once more, a vortex appearing out of thin air.

"No."

"So long, Ms. Justice," Fast-Forward says, stepping into the vortex. "As a courtesy, I will be sure to leave this part out of the bedtime stories! Hahaha!"

"Noo!"

Laughing as he turns, Fast-Forward prepares to leave. However, before he could take another step into the vortex, I feel a strong windstorm. My hair shoots everywhere as I watch a red blur runs past me. It runs right up to Fast-Forward and knocks him down.

Sliding across the floor and into a wall, Fast-Forward looks up to see what it was that hit him.

"SpeedBlade," I say, looking at the speedster knight as he turns toward me.

"Ms. Justice," SpeedBlade says, nodding his head.

I couldn't believe my eyes. SpeedBlade was here. No, SpeedBlade is here, and he looks almost the same. He's still wearing his red and gray armor, but it seems dented in a lot of places. Besides all the dents, there's also rust all over him.

"Fast-Forward," SpeedBlade says, pulling out his sword. Unlike his armor, SpeedBlade's sword is still shining. He holds the sword in front of him. "We have a 15-year-old fight to settle."

With that, SpeedBlade runs toward Fast-Forward. Fast-Forward quickly pushes himself up and raises his blasters. He fires relentlessly at SpeedBlade but SpeedBlade is running too fast for him to hit.

While SpeedBlade is keeping Fast-Forward busy, I still try to push all the stones off of me. About to push a large block, I see another pair of hands come from out of nowhere.

"Here," JumpStart says, helping to push the block off of me. As the block falls to the side, JumpStart gets in front of me. He starts to pick up more blocks and throws them to the side. The second I can crawl out, JumpStart drops to his knee and pulls me out.

"JumpStart," I say, panting as I look at JumpStart. "You...came?"

JumpStart looks me straight in the eyes.

"Yeah," he says, nodding his head. As JumpStart nods his head, he reaches behind and pulls out the walkie-talkie. The same exact one QuickShot had. "I came."

I stare at the walkie-talkie as its antenna beeps. I only stop staring when I hear SpeedBlade screams. It seems Fast-Forward finally manages to hit him.

SpeedBlade is falling to the ground with his chest plate smoking.

"Go help SpeedBlade," JumpStart says. He pockets the walkie-talkie and pulls out his stun batons. Spinning them in his hands, he then charges toward Fast-Forward.

"SpeedBlade," I say, running to help him up. Sliding and dropping to my knees, I slowly pick SpeedBlade's head up. As I do, I notice something on his waist. It's another walkie-talkie.

Moaning and holding his chest as I pick him up, SpeedBlade looks up at me.

"Ms. Justice," he says, coughing a little. "I am very happy to see you again."

"So am I," I answer. "What happened to you? Why are you covered in dents?"

"I have spent the last 15 years fighting," SpeedBlade answers. "And unfortunately, I left my anvil back in the OutPost."

I couldn't help but laugh at SpeedBlade's response. My laugh only lasted a few seconds, however. I turn my head when I hear JumpStart's scream.

Fast-Forward throws another disc onto a stone pillar, one near JumpStart. This disc causes the pillar to age rapidly, the whole thing turning into dust in seconds. As the dust crumbles, it causes the archway it was holding to fall right onto JumpStart.

JumpStart sees it and backflips out of the way, but as the archway falls, it blocks the hallways, cutting us off from Fast-Forward.

"No more distraction," Fast-Forward yells. "I'm leaving! I will never ever see any of you again!"

Flicking a wrist and opening another vortex, Fast-Forward runs toward this one. On the verge of entering it and disappearing forever, something happens. Whatever happens, it makes Fast-Forward trips. He tripped just a few inches short of the vortex.

"What," he yells, looking down at his feet. I follow his gaze and see his feet tied together, binds by a long, black wire.

"What in the world," I ask. I look behind Fast-Foward and see something unbelievable. I turn around and see QuickShot with her hands glowing.

"Not so fast," QuickShot says, using her telekinesis power to fire her bow. Directly behind Fast-Forward is QuickShot's bow, except it's floating. It's surrounded by red energy, similar to QuickShot's hands. As QuickShot holds out one of her hands, she pulls back the other.

I watch with JumpStart and SpeedBlade as the bowstring stretches back.

"Justice," QuickShot yells, "Quickly! Get over here!"

I don't waste a second. I leave SpeedBlade and run over to QuickShot.

"Grab some arrows from my quiver! It doesn't matter which one!"

I nod my head and grab an assortment of arrows from the quiver on QuickShot's back.

"Throw them over the collapsed archway!"

I throw all the arrows over the collapsed archway and watch with wonder as the same red energy that holds the bow also catches a few arrows. The arrows are loaded into the bow.

"You're using your telekinesis power," I say, finally realizing what is going on. QuickShot is using her telekinesis power to hold her bow. She's using it to catch arrows and load them into her bow. "But how?"

"I had a lot of practice," QuickShot answers.

With that, QuickShot fires the arrows just as Fast-Forward breaks the wires holding his feet together.

"Noo," he screams. He shields himself by crossing his arms but one of QuickShot's arrows hits the regulator on his wrist. "Noo! Noooo! This can't be happening!"

Somehow, by hitting the regulator, QuickShot causes Fast-Forward to age. In only a few minutes, Fast-Forward's hair turns from black to gray. His skin becomes wrinkled and he starts to lose teeth.

7: Chapter 7: Back in Time

Ms. Justice:

Using her telekinesis power once more, QuickShot quickly moves aside all the broken stone that made the archway. Clearing a path for us, QuickShot, SpeedBlade, JumpStart, and I all run over to Fast-Forward.

"Is he...okay," I ask, being the last one to reach him. When I do, I see a very elderly man on the floor.

"You...cannot...beat me," the elderly man says, pointing a shaking finger at us. "I...I am...from...I am from the future...the future..."

While in mid-sentence, Fast-Forward slowly falls back down. He closes his eyes and starts to snore.

"Yeah," QuickShot says. "He's fine. I hope IronWall had a senior section."

As we all stand around the snoring Fast-Forward, the vortex he tried to escape through starts to shake. It flashes and screams before shrinking.

"What's going on," SpeedBlade says. He spreads out his arms and pushes all of us back.

"The portal is closing," JumpStart says.

"The portal is closing," I repeat. I turn toward QuickShot. She turns toward me and together, we nod our heads.

"We have to do something," QuickShot says. "We need to send Justice back 15 years back! Just after she jumped in the first time!"

"What," SpeedBlade says.

"Why," JumpStart asks.

"Because this isn't her future," QuickShot answers. "Ms. Justice had her own future to live, and she needs our help to do so."

SpeedBlade and JumpStart look at each other when they hear this. They then look at me.

All of us stay quiet for a while. I can't be sure what the others are thinking but I'm thinking about my own future.

"Wait," I say, putting up my hands. "QuickShot. Maybe I could stay here. I mean, if this is going to be our future. What's the point of me going back?"

"This isn't going to be your future," QuickShot says. She looks me in the eyes as she grabs my arms. "Ms. Justice, this is our future. This is my future. This is SpeedBlade. This is JumpStart, and thanks to you, we have each other again, but this isn't your future. Your future is with our younger self."

I gasp for air as I feel the weight of QuickShot's words. They feel like they're pulling me down from a dark cloudy sky. With my feet back on solid ground, I can see better.

"Here," QuickShot says, taking my hand. Reaching down, QuickShot takes from the sleeping Fast-Forward and places the Clock of Eternity in my palm. "Let's not forget the reason you came here in the first place."

I smile as I look at QuickShot and then at the clock.

"Uhh," JumpStart says, waving his hand in between us. "I really hate to ruin this moment, but the portal is closing!"

"What?"

QuickShot and I turn to see the vortex no bigger than my hand. Shaking and sparking, the vortex continues to shrink.

"We need to do something," QuickShot says.

"What," SpeedBlade asks. "What can we do?"

"I have an idea," JumpStart says. All of us turn to him, JumpStart drops to his knees and grabs Fast-Forward. He brings up Fast-Forward's wrist.

"Every time Fast-Forward opens a portal, he does something with his wrist, right? Well, maybe I can too."

Looking at the remote control on Fast-Forward's wrist, JumpStart starts to push random buttons. Whatever JumpStart is doing, it seems to be affecting the portal.

"Watch out," I say, rushing forward. I push through SpeedBlade and QuickShot and raise my shield as a bolt of lightning shoots out from the vortex. Almost falling off my feet, SpeedBlade catches me in time.

"What was that," QuickShot yells, yelling JumpStart on the back of the head.

"Hey," JumpStart yells back. "It's not completely my fault! I don't know what these buttons do! Besides, I'm not the one that hit it with an arrow."

"JumpStart," I say, standing back up. "No! Keep going! The vortex! It's growing!"

"Ha," JumpStart cheers, clapping his hands together as the vortex grows little by little. "I knew it! Well, I knew part of it!"

"Keep going," I yell again. "Whatever you pushed before, push it again!"

"Uhh, sure. Totally. I remember what I pushed."

JumpStart looking at the control again, pushes some more buttons. Despite the shaking and all the extra lightning bolts, the vortex grows back to its original size.

"Justice," JumpStart says. "I think I got it! Set to the moment just after you left! Go! Go now!"

I swallow a lump in my throat as I look between the vortex and my friends.

"Go," JumpStart says again.

"Justice," SpeedBlade says, "Go! Before it closes!"

The vortex is already shrinking.

"Go," QuickShot says.

Facing the vortex, I turn back and look at the three.

"We will see each other again," I say before jumping through and finding myself back in a black void.

QuickShot:

"It was worth the time," Fast-Forward says as he turns. However, with his back to her, Ms. Justice screams as she pushes herself up and charges toward Fast-Forward.

"Justice," I shout, pushing myself up as well. "Wait! Don't!"

I try to stop Ms. Justice but it's too late. Before I could do anything, Ms. Justice tackles Fast-Forward from behind and the two of them fall into the black vortex.

It flashes and then disappears, leaving nothing behind.

"Ms. Justice," I say, looking around. "Ms. Justice!"

"Justice," SpeedBlade says, getting up himself.

"Where did she go," JumpStart asks. As we all stand around looking at each other, a second vortex opens. Turning around with a bow and arrow ready in my hands, I lower it when I see Ms. Justice sitting there, with the clock in her hands.

"Justice," I say, running to her. "Justice, are you okay?"

For some reason, Ms. Justice is looking down. It takes a few seconds before she raises her head and looks at me.

"Am I...back," she asks. "Wait! QuickShot! SpeedBlade! JumpStart! You guys! You all look so young!"

"So young," I repeat.

"So young," JumpStart repeats. "Wait, what? Am I missing something?"

"I'll explain everything at the OutPost," Ms. Justice says, getting to her feet. "For now, I need to return this."

Giving back the Clock of Eternity, we then make our way back to the OutPost. There, in the OutPost's living room, Ms. Justice tells us everything that happened to her. She tells us about going 15 years into the future. About how she runs into JumpStart and me. About how we disbanded but then regroup in order to stop Fast-Forward. Her story ends with an elderly Fast-Forward and the three of us telling her to go back in time to us.

"Wow," I say, letting the whole story sinks in. "I--I can't believe it."

"You went through all of that," JumpStart asks. His head falls on his hand as he looks at our small coffee table. "That is something."

"Something," SpeedBlade repeats. "That is more than something! That is something else."

As SpeedBlade says this, he leans further back into his chair.

"But wait," I say, waving my hands. "Is that really our future? Do we really disband? The four of us?"

I look at JumpStart and SpeedBlade. Judging from how they look at me, I can imagine they're wondering the same thing.

"I don't want us to break apart," JumpStart says.

"Neither do I," SpeedBlade adds. "I mean, as much as I prefer to keep to myself, I much rather keep you all as my friends."

"Yeah," I say, nodding my head. "I mean, sure, there are moments when I don't want to see any of you, but there are more moments when I do want to see you guys."

"What do we do," JumpStart asks. "How can we change the future?"

"Hey, hey, hey," Ms. Justice yells, clapping her hands and grabbing all our focus. "Guys. Listen to me. According to Fast-Forward, in his future, where he comes from, we do disband. We do leave each other, but that is only in his future. In the future I went to, I disappeared for over ten years, but here I am. I am sitting right here."

To prove her point, Ms. Justice spreads out her arms.

"I changed the future," Ms. Justice goes on. "At least, our futures. I only hope for the next few years, we all do stay together. I won't blame any of you if you want to leave."

"Want to leave," SpeedBlade repeats. "Ms. Justice, why would I want to leave the OutCasts?"

"Same," JumpStart says, raising his hand high into the air. "Why would I want to leave the OutCasts? Why would I want to leave the OutPost? I like it here. According to you, when everyone else leaves, I stay right here."

JumpStart then crosses his arms.

"That's one thing that's not going to change. I'm staying right here."

As Ms. Justice, JumpStart, and SpeedBlade break into some laughter, I can't help but remember something very important.

"Hold on," I say, getting up from the couch. I run around for a bit, trying to find them. It takes a few minutes but finally, I return with presents in my arms. I drop them down onto the coffee table and spread them out. With the presents spread out, I pick them up one by one and read out the names on them.

"Here," I say, offering JumpStart his present. "And SpeedBlade, this is for you."

"Thank you," SpeedBlade says.

"Thank," JumpStart says.

"Wait guys," Ms. Justice says. "Really, you don't have to."

"Yes, we do," I say, looking right at Ms. Justice. "As older me said, birthdays, anniversaries, and holidays are important. They remind us to care about the people around us. Justice, the three of us care about you, and it's very clear you care about us."

I think I see a tear form in Ms. Justice's eye but I can't be sure since she turns away. While she is trying to hide, I open the present.

"Oh my god," I say, seeing the small wooden plane. "Justice. You made this for me."

Justice nods her head.

"I--I--I can't--"

I try to say something but I can't find the right words. It's like my head just empties itself out. I can only say the two things that haven't been empty yet.

"Thank you," I say.

"You're welcome," Ms. Justice says, wiping her eyes. "I, uh, I have to get a drink of water."

Ms. Justice then gets up.

8: Chapter 8: Black Out

QuickShot:

Sitting alone in my room, I can't help but keep staring at the little wooden airplane Ms. Justice gave me. It had only been a few days since she had given it to me and the whole time, I couldn't take my eyes off it.

"I still can't believe you made this for me," I think. "Ms. Justice made this for me. She made it for me to celebrate the first time we met each other."

I can't help but think back to the very day we first met each other. I still remember everything so clearly. I remember being stuck by lightning while flying my F-106. I remember falling out of the sky. I thought it was the end for me. I thought I was finished, but somehow, it wasn't. The next thing I remember, I was looking up at a face.

Her face was dirty. There were black marks in a few spots. I didn't know who I was looking at but I could hear her.

"Hey," she says, "Hey! Are you okay? Can you hear me? Say something!"

My eyes finally open and my vision stops being blurry. It was then, for the first time, I first saw Ms. Justice. She is so different now than she was before. For one, her raggy scarf and jackets are gone.

As I keep thinking about the last two years spent with Ms. Justice, I gently tap the front propeller. I can't help but laugh as the tiny wooden propeller spins. While watching it spins, the lights to the OutPost turn off and everything goes dark.

"Hey," I say, getting up. "What's going on?"

It's hard to see with the lights off but I still have to do something. Holding my hand, I wave it around as I carefully walk into the OutPost's living room.

"Justice," I yell. "JumpStart? SpeedBlade? Can you guys hear me?"

"I can hear you," JumpStart answers.

"So can I," SpeedBlade says. The sound of his armor rings through the darkened OutPost. Even without my sight, I have a very clear idea of where he is.

"Hey, hey, hey," JumpStart says. "Watch out! You're about to hit the--"

"Ouch," SpeedBlade cries out. Judging from the sound of his armor and his yelling, SpeedBlade is now jumping up and down while holding his leg.

"You're about to hit the table," JumpStart finishes.

"Wait," Ms. Justice says from somewhere in the dark. "JumpStart, can you see in the dark?"

"Of course, I can," JumpStart answers. "I'm an elf. We have enchanted eyesight. Not only can we see in the dark, but we can see for quite a distance. For example, Justice, don't move to your left."

"Why not?"

"Because if you do, then you'll run right into a wall."

"Thanks."

"Hey, JumpStart," I say, waving my arm around. "Again, I ask. What's going on? Why are all the lights out?"

"Hard to say," JumpStart answers. A second later, I hear footsteps and then a strange sound. It sounds like metal hitting the OutPost's stone floor.

"I'm checking the OutPost's system right now and as far as I can tell, everything looks okay."

"Must be a city's problem," Ms. Justice says. "A blackout?"

"A what," SpeedBlade asks.

"A blackout," I repeat. "It's when all the power, all the electricity just stops. Everything turns off."

"Hmm," SpeedBlade says. "It's time like this I hate this modern age. Do we have any candles?"

IronWall Prison Guard:

We cheer when the lights to IronWall all turn back on.

"Yeahhhh," I say, raising my arms into the air before lowering them. I laugh as I turn to my friends.

"So glad IronWall had backup generators," I say, wiping a bead of sweat from my forehead.

"I know right," my friend says. "Have you seen the city? It's pitch-black there. It's like something from a horror movie."

I roll my eyes when I hear this.

"You watch too many movies," I say. I bump my friend on his arm and nudge my head. Together, we walk down the hallway and continue our patrol.

"So now what," I ask. "Should I be expecting a monster to sneak up on us?"

I turn around and hold out my blaster.

"Come on out, monster," I say. "Come on. I have plans with a triple bacon cheeseburger after my shift."

"Knock it off," my friend says, hitting my back. I laugh as I turn back forward. However, as I take a step, I hear something beneath me. "What in the world?"

Looking down, I see what looks like black sand. Dropping down to my knee, I slowly run my finger through it.

"What is this, and where did it come from?"

As I run my finger through the strange black sand, I hear a scream and look up.

"Ahh," my friend yells more of the black sand falls right on top of him. It buries him within seconds. Looking up, I see the black sand raining down from the vents.

"Impossible," I say, grabbing and holding up my blaster. "The vents are laser grid protected! Nothing can get through them. Unless the blackout. Oh no!"

With my blaster still aim at the vent, I reach for my radio. About to speak, I stop when I see the black sand moving. It was moving toward me!

I scream as I fire my blaster but it seems my blaster fire goes right through the black sand. While still firing, the black sand engulfs me.

Robert:

Re-forming myself after dealing with the two prison guards, my body quickly taking shape, I look around the prison hallway.

"Empty," I think. I start to walk but stop when I notice the unconscious guards. Looking down at the clothes I took from that man versus the guards' clothing, I start to change.

Trading the man's raggy jacket and pants for one of the guard's uniforms, I finish by putting on the helmet. Once I have changed, I then walk through the hallways.

As I walk through the hallway, I place my hand on the wall and drag it behind me. Leaving behind little bits of me on the wall, I maneuver them to attack the security cameras.

One by one, hallway after hallway, the little bits of me attack and destroy all the security cameras. I can hear the screams of confusion on the radio as the guards try to figure out what is going on.

"Camera 19-27 in East Wing are not responding," the radio screams. "Neither are cameras 20-26 in North Wing. Attention, all IronWall personnel! Attention! Two guards were found unconscious in the East Wing! One of which is missing his uniform! His ID number is 04-13-1950. Be warned for anyone with this ID number!"

I look down and see the ID number mentioned. Grabbing and ripping it right off, I make my way to a private prison cell. As I approach a large, metal door, the guards in front of the metal doors see me.

"Hey you," one of the guards shouts. "What are you doing here?"

I ignore the guard and shoot out my hand. I transform my hand into a large cube. With this large cube, I fling my hand forward, hitting the guard and slamming him into a gate.

"It's the faker," the other guards yell. "Open fire!"

Immediately, all the guards start shooting at me. They line up and fire at me but it's no use. All the blaster fires go right through my body.

As I approach the gate, I pull back both my arms. I transform the other hand into a large cube as well. I then swing both my hands together, catching all the guards and squeezing them together. Knocking all of them out, I throw all of them to the side. Now in front of the gate, I switch one of my cube hands for a large blade. Sticking the blade in the gap, I force the gate open. The gate is heavy but all I need is a tiny opening to squeeze through.

After squeezing through the tiny opening, I see a containment cell in the center of the room.

"Target found. Dr. Kimberly Cho."

9: Chapter 9: Black Sand

JumpStart:

"Hmm," I think, examining the wirings. I grab a blue wire and a red wire and look at them. I follow the wires for a bit but stop after the wires disappear into the wall.

"QuickShot," I yell, "I'm at a dead end. How are things for you?"

"Give me a second," QuickShot answers from somewhere in the dark. Her response is followed by the sound of her hitting something. "Ahh! We need new batteries. Finally."

A beam of light shines in the dark OutPost. QuickShot holds the light in her hand while aiming it at more wires in the wall. She grabs a handful of wires and adjusts them before turning around.

"Justice," she says, the light now shining on Ms. Justice. "Try it now!"

Ms. Justice gives QuickShot a nod and flips the switches on what I am told is called the "breaker box". As soon as Justice flips the switches, the lights to the OutPost all turn on.

"Yeah," Ms. Justice cheers, shooting both her arms into the air. "We did it!"

QuickShot cheers with Ms. Justice, her arms going up as well. I'm about to join the two but as I prepare to launch my arms, the flashing, ringing alarm stops me.

"Emergency," SpeedBlade says, running out of his room and to the OutPost's computer. "What is going on?"

I close the metal box and jump from the upper part of the ceiling. Flipping through the air, I land beside SpeedBlade and in front of the computer. About to look up the emergency, I stop when I realize something.

"Wait. SpeedBlade. This whole time, I mean, this whole time the OutPost had been without lights, have you been sleeping?"

"Yes," SpeedBlade quickly answers.

"You couldn't have helped us bring the lights back on?"

"Did you want my help? You know I learned how to use a 'flashlight' only last week."

I shake my head.

"Still could've helped," I whisper, typing away at the computer. "Oh, this had to be a trick."

"What's going on," Ms. Justice yells after helping QuickShot climbs down from the wall.

"It's IronWall Prison," I answer. "It's another break-in."

"Again," Ms. Justice shouts. "Man, they really need to change the name. Or get better walls."

"Who is it," QuickShot asks. "Is it Silent?"

"I can't be sure," I sigh. "The cameras are down, but based on what the guards are saying over the radio, I don't think it's Silent."

"Whether it is Silent or it is not," SpeedBlade says, walking out of his room with his sword in his hand. "It is time for a fight."

QuickShot, Justice, and I look at each other and nod our heads.

"OutCasts," QuickShot says, "Onward."

With that, we grab our weapons, leave the OutPost, and head for IronWall.

Robert:

Walking down the hallway with Dr. Cho's containment cell in my arm, I stop when through the little bits of me I left everywhere, I see the OutCasts charging into the prison.

"They're charging in from the South," I think, watching as they run right past me. They stop and look around. According to what had been uploaded into me, the OutCasts' leader is named QuickShot. She is the one in the old fighter pilot jacket and bow.

"Everyone be careful," QuickShot says, walking around with her bow and an arrow in her hands.

"What happened here," a young girl with a shield asks. She drops to a knee and checks the guards' pulse. I believe this one is named Ms. Justice.

"And what is this," a thin, human-like boy with black hair and pointed ears asks. He also drops to a knee and picks up the little bits of me. "This feels a lot like sand, but it's black."

No doubt this is the one called JumpStart. The last one left is SpeedBlade, a knight with a sword in red armor.

"Black sand," SpeedBlade repeats. "Is black sand a normal thing here?"

"No," Ms. Justice answers, turning back. "It's not."

"Here's another question," QuickShot says. "Why is it everywhere?"

The four look around and see the little bits of me scattered everywhere. They all rub their fingers through the "black sand" and examine it.

Cutting the connection to those bits of me, I switch perspective to another group of me. Only a small handful this time, I move around and split into two smaller handfuls. I then crawl in between the gaps of two electric gates. I cut the wires and disable the power, shutting the gates down and releasing the prisoners inside.

Once the prisoners are free, I walk toward the exit with Dr. Cho in my arm.

QuickShot:

"Here," I say, handing JumpStart a little bag. "I hope this work. Sorry, but I left my test tubes back at the OutPost."

"It'll work," JumpStart says. He takes the bag and scoops a little bit of the strange black sand into it. "I'm telling you guys, there's something not right with this."

As JumpStart pushes himself up and back onto his feet, we all jump when we hear an earth-shaking roar, follow almost immediately by an explosive.

"There's something not right with that," Ms. Justice says, raising her shield.

"Is it me or does that roaring sound oddly familiar," SpeedBlade asks, bringing up his sword.

A second later, the wall breaks down as Unstoppable runs right through it.

"It's not just you," I say, pulling back my bowstring and aiming at Unstoppable. The dust settles after Unstoppable's charge. As it settles, we see Laser Lightning behind Unstoppable.

"Oh wow," JumpStart says, making an X with his stun batons. "This is...bad."

Unstoppable roars once more as he bends down and charges toward us.

"Watch out," Ms. Justice shouts. She turns around and pushes all of us out of the way. Barely getting out of the way as Unstoppable runs right past us, I look at Laser Lightning as lightning gathers in his arm. Firing a bolt at the ceiling, it breaks and pieces fall toward SpeedBlade and me.

Moving fast, I pull out an arrow and fire it. The arrow bursts into a large net that captures all the falling pieces and pins them to the ceiling. Looking back up, I see Laser Lightning run up the hallway.

"Laser Lightning is heading the other way," I say, getting up.

"But Unstoppable is running that way," SpeedBlade shouts, pointing down the hallway.

"Split up," JumpStart declares.

"JumpStart and I will go after Unstoppable," Ms. Justice says. "QuickShot, you and SpeedBlade will go after Laser Lightning!"

"Understood," I say with a nod.

"Got it," SpeedBlade says.

We prepare to split but before we do, JumpStart stops us.

"Wait," he says, all of us stopping, SpeedBlade almost tripping.

"What," I ask. "Laser Lightning is getting away. And I don't have super speed."

"Here," JumpStart says, pulling out the walkie-talkies he had been working on. He gives one to each of us. "I've been waiting for a chance to use these. I hope they work."

"You haven't tested them yet," I ask.

"I tested them. They worked fine when Justice and I were in our rooms."

"Your rooms are literally only a few feet from each other," I yell.

"They still worked!"

JumpStart screams this as he and JumpStart run after Unstoppable. I roll my eyes and pocket the walkie-talkie while SpeedBlade and I chase after Laser Lightning.