Date: Wed, 19 Dec 2001 01:18:09 -0500
From: Shoma Shun Ukiya <dylan@celticwarrior.com>
Subject: Tales of a Superhero Band Chapter 5

Okay, sorry for the majorly long delay and wait for this chapter. I was
gone for two long weeks of vacation and touring, and I wasn't exactly in
the pink of health for a while, and I had a lot of sleep to catch up on. So
now this chapter is ready to be posted (okay, so it was ready to be posted
long ago, but I like to be at least 2 chapters ahead of myself). Enjoy!

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Okay, stories for great reading. All stories are from boybands unless
otherwise noted:

Mutant High (Celebrities)
The Love We Have
Shadows of the Past
Lance's Search
The One
Brian and Justin
My New Life
My JC
Powers That Be
Nsync and the Vamps
Life with Justin
Loving Nick Lachey
Josh and Just
Curly and Josh
BSB Nsync Chronicles (Shameless advertising)
Nsync Saga

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Disclaimer: This story is fictional, and says nothing about the
orientations of any member of the boyband N Sync, or any other character,
celebrity or otherwise. If you are under 18 or 21, or live in a country
where it's illegal to read something like this, leave, though I seriously
doubt you will. If you don't like the idea of two guys in a relationship
with each other, or having sex with each other, what are you doing here in
the first place?

Though maybe none of the characters will be appearing, ideas taken from
these places will show up:

Buffy, Copyright 20th Century Fox, Created by Joss Whedon
X-Men, Copyright Marvel Comics, Created by Stan Lee
Charmed, Copyright WB, Created by Aaron Spelling

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter 5 - Mutants, Bullets and Friends

	"Do you guys have a CD out yet?" Cynthia asked. She was the tour
manager, and was in charge of almost everything that was supposed to
happen. She dressed in tight, business shark style clothes. I didn't really
like her much, she seemed too cold.
	"No we don't," Reuben answered her. "We've been performing at the
B-Street club for a long time, though."
	"So you don't have a CD out, then," Cynthia said, turning away. I
detected a slight sneer on her face, but I let it slip.
	"No, but we have a lot of songs that we play and sing," Joy
said. Cynthia glanced at Joy for a while, then turned to write something
down on a clipboard.
	"Have you written any songs?" she asked, looking up.
	"Yeah, Reuben and Joy have written many new age and mood music
songs," I said. "And Reuben has done some techno-sounding tunes too."
	"Lyrics?" Cynthia said rudely. I heard Justin mutter something
like, "There's no need to be so rude to them."
	"None," I said. "But Melvin and I are working on a few songs with
lyrics already. We're just more interested in singing or performing. We
usually play our instruments."
	"That explains the whispers in their name," Cynthia said under her
breath. "Can they even sing?"
	I heard it, and glared at her angrily. Melvin glanced at me,
irritated with her and concerned about me, too. He knew what would happen
if she pushed me too far. He had witnessed it many times between Rachel and
I.
	"Why don't we perform for you?" Melvin asked. "Then that way you
can hear how and what we normally play and sing. I'm sure none of you has
heard us play before."
	"Yes, why don't you?" Cynthia asked snidely. "The only reason you
nobodies are opening for a group as big as Nsync is because you were
recommended by Shimona. I don't know if even she has heard you play. And
why would a country artist care about you pieces of shit?"
	I tried to hold my anger down. I was sitting in between Melvin and
Justin, and both of them put their hands on my shoulders, one on each
side. I relaxed a little, and bit my tongue.
	"Well, we'll play and you can see how much Nsync likes it," Reuben
said, emphasising the word Nsync. He turned to Melvin. "Did you bring the
list of songs we chose to play?"
	Melvin reached into his pocket and withdrew a folded piece of
notepad paper. "Yeah, I've got them here. Which one do you want to play?"
	"Let's play When You're Looking Like That," Joy said. "And Pretend
to Be Nice. That way we can switch the vocals."
	"Do you have a room with instruments that they can use?" JC
asked. "We'd like to hear them play too."
	"Yes we do," a man who identified himself as Johnny replied before
Cynthia could get a word in. "We let groups audition here too."
	Cynthia gave him a cold look behind his back. Chris caught it and
gave her the finger while she was occupied with staring holes in Johnny's
back.
	"What instruments do you need?" Johnny asked.
	"Could we get an electric guitar, bass, and a set of drums?" Reuben
asked. "We also need a keyboard and a violin, preferably electric. And a
xylophone set wouldn't be too bad either."
	"Don't ask for much, do they?" Cynthia said, her voice dripping
with sarcasm. I glared at her. Something didn't seem quite right with her,
and I didn't trust her.
	"I think we can get you everything except the violin and
xylophone," Johnny said. "Can you do without them?"
	"Yeah, I guess," Reuben said. "We'll bring along our own for the
tour."
	"That shouldn't be a problem," Johnny smiled. I found him to be a
pleasant guy.
	"We're bringing three extra people too," I said. Cynthia
frowned. Johnny looked at me in surprise. "Because we usually play mood
music, we don't have people to play the drums and guitars. Edwin, Brian and
Diane offered their help since we decided that we needed to be more upbeat
for the tour."
	"And are these songs that you usually play?" Cynthia asked.
	"Yes they are, except that we usually use the keyboards for
percussions," I said quickly. Justin squeezed my shoulder and I bit my lip
and held my tongue.
	"With the added people, it'll sound better," Reuben said. Johnny
nodded. "I'll clear that with the management. I can't promise anything, but
I think they'll be happy with the idea. It depends on your performance, I
suppose. No one here has ever heard you play."
	"Probably with good reason," Cynthia snorted. I flared up.
	"Just what the hell is your problem, lady?" I shouted, taking
everyone by surprise, even Cynthia. She quickly covered her shocked look
and replaced it with her cold one. Justin squeezed my shoulder again. I
gave Cynthia an even colder stare, and felt some satisfaction that it
unnerved her. This particular stare wouldn't even have fazed Rachel, and I
figured that Cynthia would not be too much of a problem.
	Johnny shrugged off the outburst and led us towards the audition
room. He made a call on his cell phone while we were walking there, and as
we got there, they were just setting up the drums.
	"Okay Ocean Whispers, you're all set," Johnny said, giving us the
thumbs up sign. Justin smiled and mouthed "Good luck." I grinned at him. I
closed my eyes and hoped for the best, since we had never rehearsed with
Brian, Edwin and Diane before. Edwin spent a few seconds trying out the
drums while Brian tested the bass and Diane tuned the guitar. Reuben
checked out the keyboard settings for the different instruments, and played
a few chords. Everyone gave Reuben the thumbs up sign when they were
done. Melvin, Joy and I tested the four mics they gave us, then Joy went to
help Reuben with the keyboard.
	"Okay, let's do it," Reuben said. "One, two, one-two-three."
	I heard the techno sounding music of When You're Looking Like That
start, Reuben and Edwin starting everything up. Brian and Diane came in at
their cue and I breathed a sigh of relief.
	"When you're looking like that," Melvin and I sang together as the
intro.
	I began to sing my part: "She's a five foot ten in catsuit and
bambi eyes.  Everybody who's staring wouldn't believe that this girl was
mine.  I should have known I was wrong When I left her for a life in pity
but They say you never miss the water til it's gone.

Guess I failed to love you And you're taking it out tonight."

	Melvin and I sang the chorus together: "How am I supposed to leave
you now When you're looking like that I can't believe what I just gave away
Now I can't take it back I don't wanna be lost I don't wanna live my life
without you How am I supposed to leave you now When you're looking like
that."

	Melvin began to sing the second verse while I harmonised: "She's
all dressed up for glamour and rock and roll Wanna squeeze her real tight,
get outta this place If only I could take control But she's out of my reach
forever And just a week ago she lied next to me It's so ironic how I had to
lose just to see

That I failed to love you And you're taking it out tonight."

	Melvin and I were pouring our all into our performance, trying to
do some impromptu dance moves just for the fun of it. We made ourselves
enjoy the song as we went into the chorus again: "How am I supposed to
leave you now When you're looking like that I can't believe what I just
gave away Now I can't take it back I don't wanna be lost I don't wanna live
my life without you How am I supposed to leave you now When you're looking
like that."

	I could see everyone bopping their heads to the beat of the catchy
tune, and I smiled as I sang the bridge with Melvin harmonising: "I don't
wanna forget you I don't even wanna try How am I supposed to walk on by
When you're looking like that

How am I supposed to leave you I can't believe what I just gave away Cos I
can't take it back, I'm lost I don't wanna live my life without you (live
my life without you) How am I supposed to leave you now When you're looking
like that."

	I grinned at Melvin as we sung the chorus three more time to close,
enjoying and losing ourselves in the song. Edwin smashed the cymbals just
as we sang the last "that", and we ended the song. Everyone clapped and
cheered, even Cynthia, though she seemed more reluctant to do so.
	"Your turn, girls," I said to Diane and Joy. I took Joy's place at
the keyboards next to Reuben, while Melvin took the guitar from
Diane. Melvin was not as good as Diane, but he played fairly well. I hoped
that Diane and Joy would synchonise themselves as well, since this would be
their first time singing together, unlike Melvin and I. I was surprised
pleasantly surprised when Joy began to sing: "Well he looks at me with
those innocent eyes and says 'it looks like you're wearing some kind of
disguise because your hair stick up, your shoes are untied and I hope that
you got that shirt at half price'

And every word I say falls flat on the floor I try to tell a joke, he's
heard it before And I don't think that I can take it no more He's driving
me right out my front door."

	Joy and Diane sang together: "Why do you do what you do to me baby
Shaking my confidence driving me crazy You know if I could I'd do anything
for you So please don't ignore me cos you know I adore you."

	Diane lowered her voice to a sexy whisper and sang: "Can't you just
pretend to be nice Can you at least pretend to be nice You could just
pretend to be nice Then everything in my life would be alright."

	Reuben was shocked by the sudden change in Diane's behaviour that
he stopped playing for a moment while Diane and Joy sang the "oohwee's"
that were the chorus. I prodded him in the ribs and laughed.
	"Hey, keep playing, straight boy," I whispered. Reuben flushed and
continued playing. Joy and Diane looked like they were having fun in the
song. Joy stepped forward, a puzzled and exasperated look on her face as
she sang: "And I try so hard just to figure him out But he won't tell me
what he's been thinking about And then he falls asleep on the living room
couch With his sunglasses on and his tongue hanging out

And then he disappears for a week at a time And then he shows up just like
everything's fine I don't get what goes on in his mind But I'm tired of
hearing the same stupid line."

	I almost burst out laughing when both Joy and Diane put pleading
faces on: "Why do you do what you do to me baby Shaking my confidence
driving me crazy You know if I could I'd do anything for you Please don't
ignore me cos you know I adore you."

	Diane once again slipped into her sexy stance as she whispered
seductively: "Can't you just pretend to be nice Can you at least pretend to
be nice You could just pretend to be nice Then everything in my life would
be alright."

	We played the little instrumental between Diane's and Joy's chorus
as they enjoyed themselves strutting around with the microphones. They both
sang the chorus this time: "Why do you do what you do to me baby Shaking my
confidence driving me crazy You know if I could I'd do anything for you
Don't need to bore you cos you know I adore you

Can't you just pretend to be nice Can you at least pretend to be nice You
could just pretend to be nice Then everything in my life would be alright."

	Diane sang the backgroun "Oohwee's" while Joy sang the lines from
the chorus spread out to harmonise with Diane. They sang softer and softer
until they couldn't be heard. Once again, everyone cheered and clapped, and
Joey and Chris started doing catcalls, causing everyone to laugh.
	"You guys were great!" Justin shouted. I smiled at him and blew him
a kiss, then laughed. Johnny was nodding his head appreciatively.
	"Not bad, not bad at all," he said. "I guess we made the right
choice."




	"Okay, who's up for dinner?" I asked. Justin glanced at his watch,
then shot me a horrified look.
	"What? We ate dinner about two hours ago," Justin said. I looked at
him questioningly. "We did?"
	"Yeah, the pasta, pizza, mashed potatoes, pies," Justin said,
counting them off his fingers. "What did I miss?"
	"I think that was it," I grinned sheepishly. "You mean you thought
that was dinner?"
	"Wasn't it?" Justin asked.
	"Oh," I said. "I thought that was just a snack."
	"That a pretty big snack," JC smiled. "Pasta, pizza, mashed
potatoes and pies."
	"Hello?" Justin said. "How in the world can four servings of pasta,
two *whole* large pizzas, six servings of mashed potatoes and two pumpkin
pies count as a snack?!"
	"Woah," Chris said. "Stop exaggerating, Justin."
	"No, I'm serious," Justin said. "He really did eat that much. I
just can't figure it out."
	"I know," Melvin laughed. "When we were much younger, my mam had to
chain and lock the fridge every time he came over."
	"Reminds me of Jughead from Archie Comics," Lance smiled.
	"Ugh, just don't call me that," I groaned. "I hate that name. And
Tin-tin, never, ever call me that either."
	"Why?" everyone asked at the same time.
	"Oh," Melvin said, trying to hold back a laugh. I shot a fake angry
stare his direction.
	"Say anything, and I will kill you," I warned. Melvin laughed. I
saw him mouth to Justin "I'll tell you later."
	"So what now?" Joey asked. "Do we go for dinner or what?"
	"I dunno," JC said. "I feel like going back to sleep."
	"I've had enough sleep for two days," Justin grinned. "I've got
access energy to get rid off. How about hitting a club?"
	"Sure, I don't mind," Chris said.
	"Count me in," Joey said. Justin looked at Lance, who slowly shook
his head. "Nah, I think I'll go home. I miss having Eric around."
	"I'm going to sleep," Brian said. "I'm tired."
	"Yeah, I guess I'll go back too," Reuben said, stifling a yawn.
	"I'll go with you," I said to Justin. I looked at Melvin, Joy and
Diane. "How about you three?"
	"Sleep," Joy and Diane said at the same time, then they burst out
laughing.
	"I'll follow you," Melvin said, slightly reluctant.
	"You don't have to if you don't want to, you know," I said. Melvin
shook his head.
	"Okay, then it's settled, the five of us are gonna have some fun,"
Justin shouted. Everyone who wasn't going to the club got into their
vehicles (or onto, in JC's case. He had a great bike that I found really
cool), while my friends piled into the limo that would bring them
home. Justin flagged a cab, and asked him to take us to a happening
club. Chris sat in the front while the rest of us squashed ourselves in the
back. A short while later, we reached a club called Venom, and we all piled
out. Chris gave the cabbie a big tip on top of the fare, and we headed to
the club. It was pretty much the same as any other club; flashing lights,
sweaty dancing people, drinks and loud music. The five of us split up and
agreed to meet each other at the entrance of the club at midnight. That way
we would have four hours to enjoy ourselves. Joey immediately disappeared
into the crowd, followed by Chris. Melvin got a table and ordered a coke to
drink. I was about to join him when Justin grabbed my arm.
	"Hey cutie, wanna dance?" he asked. I grinned and followed him to
the dance floor. I was enjoying myself so much that I lost track of
time. While Justin and I were dancing, Melvin came up to us and tapped my
shoulder.
	"It's twelve fifteen," he said. "Chris and Joey are already
waiting."
	"Oh, has it been so fast?" I asked, surprised. I caught Justin's
attention and we stopped dancing.
	"Whew, I feel like I danced forever," Justin laughed.
	"We did, actually," I laughed. "It's twelve fifteen."
	"Aw really?" Justin asked. "I can't believe I just danced for four
hours straight with you without even getting a drink."
	"Well anyway we've got to go," I said, dragging Justin off the
dance floor. "The others are waiting for us already."
	We followed Melvin to the entrance, and saw the others waiting for
us. Chris had his arms crossed and was tapping his foot impatiently. Joey
was leaning on the doorway.
	"About time," Chris said. "We've been here forever."
	"Sorry about that, we lost track of time," I said.
	"Come one, let's go then," Joey said. We stepped out of the club
into the cool night air. I shivered, and Justin put his arm around me. I
smiled at him and leaned my head on his shoulder. There were no cabs around
the area, so we decided to walk for a bit, hoping to spot a cab. There were
quite a number of people out, most of them club goers on their way home. As
we were walking, I noticed a guy walking quickly, peering behind him every
few moments, as though he was worried of being followed. He was headed in
our direction and did not seem to notice us. I looked at him and saw what
seemed to be a faint outline around him, then it faded. I blinked,
wondering if anyone else saw that.
	"Did you guys see that?" I asked. They all peered at me curiously.
	"See what?" Joey asked. I pointed to the guy.
	"There was this light around him for a moment," I said. "Did anyone
else see that?"
	"No," Chris said. "Maybe you had a little too much to drink."
	"I didn't drink at all, remember?" I replied. "That's strange."
	"What?" Justin asked.
	"I don't know," I said, puzzled. "After that flash of light, I just
knew he was a mutant."
	"Maybe your power developed," Melvin shrugged. I nodded my
head. The guy shot a glance behind him again, then his eyes widened, and he
walked faster. He was not looking where he was going, and he bumped into
Joey. The two of them fell to the ground.
	"Hey, be careful," Joey said, getting up. He dusted his hands on
his pants before helping the boy up. He looked about fifteen, with bright
green eyes and red hair.
	"Sorry," he said, turning around again. I followed his gaze and
noticed a five people dressed in army outfits heading our direction. I
turned back to the teenager and caught the look of fear on his face.
	"What's your name?" Justin was asking him. The boy did not reply,
his eyes widening in fear.
	"I need to leave," he said urgently, turning back to look at the
men.
	"Hey, we can help you," Joey said smiling. "We're evenly matched if
there's a fight or anything."
	"No, they're too dangerous," the terrified boy said, looking behind
him again. The group was getting closer.
	"Don't worry," Chris said. "We're friends."
	"Friends?" the teenager's eyes widened in fear. "No, you're one of
them."
	"Excuse me?" I asked, grabbing the youth's shoulders.
	"No, let go of me," he said, his hands beginning to glow. His
fingers became sharp like knives, and seemed to give off a little bit of
steam as though they were heated.
	"See, I was right," I said. "He is a mutant."
	The boy flung his hands out at me. Ten of the hot knives shot
towards me. I reacted instantly, and activated my power. The knives flew
right through me, fizzling out as they hit the wall of the nearby building.
	"You have powers too?" the boy asked.
	"Yeah," I said. "What's your name, and why are those people after
you?"
	"My name is Daniel," the boy said. "Those are the Friends of
Humanity. They're an organisation that's dedicated to eradicating mutants
and those associated with them. They're very dangerous."
	"We'll protect you," I said. I turned to look and realised the five
people had spotted Daniel. They reached behind their backs and drew out
really large guns.
	"Oh shit," Chris groaned.
	One of the Friends pointed in our direction and shouted
something. I grabbed Justin and shoved him to the ground.
	"You guys take cover," I said. Chris and Joey fell to the ground
immediately. The men started shooting sprays of bullets in our
direction. Melvin rolled off to the left while I held Daniel and let the
bullets shoot through us. I could hear people screaming. The men continued
shooting at us, shouting to each other. Melvin flung both his hands
forward, and two of the men were surrounded with a blue glow, then just
stood there, silly grins plastered on their faces. Daniel turned to face
them, making sure he still had contact with me. He shot out his white-hot
knives at the remaining three men. They shot the knives with their guns,
but only managed to stop two. The remaining eight slammed into the arms of
two of them, and they yelled, dropping their guns. Daniel shot his knives
out again, destroying the two guns on the floor. The faint blue glow around
the first two men faded as their daydreams ended. They began shooting at us
again. A spray of bullets slammed into the ground a few inches away from
Justin. He shouted in shock and tried to back away.
	"Melvin, can't you do anything else?" I screamed. Melvin rolled to
the ground, managing to miss some bullets by inches. Joey screamed out in
pain, and I turned to look. There was blood streaming down his left arm.
	"Joey, hang in there man," Chris yelled.
	"Daniel take cover now," I yelled, pushing him away. He immediately
fell to the ground and rolled away. I ran towards the three men, my anger
flaming. They all pointed their guns towards me as I ran towards them. I
could feel the bullets flying through me. It felt like a short burst of air
as they went through. I reached the gunman closest to me and kicked his gun
out of his hand. He swung a punch at me, but his hand went through my
face. My punch was solid, though, and I felt his nose smash under my
fist.. He screamed an obscenity as he covered his nose. I took the
advantage to knee him in the groin. The remaining two men began to shoot at
my friends, knowing that bullets would be wasted on me. A streak of hot
knives caught my attention. I looked just in time to notice them smashing
into the gunman on my left. He screamed as the knives cut into him and
burned him simultaniously. He collapsed to the ground, blood spilling
everywhere. The last gunman seemed uncertain for a moment. I saw Melvin
face his open palm on the man, his eyes blazing fiercely. The man stared at
Melvin as though Melvin was his worst nightmare. He gave a frightened
whimper, dropped his gun and ran off. I made my way back to the group to
check on Joey. He was scrunching his face in pain, but was calm. Justin
looked frightened and confused, and Chris looked angry. Melvin had a
slightly smug look on his face.
	"I developed my power," he said before I could ask. "Affected his
emotions."
	"Not bad," I said. I heard a muffled sob nearby, and I turned to
look at Daniel. His eyes were wide with shock and fear, and tears streamed
down his pale face.
	"I killed him," he said, terrified. "I'm a killer."
	"No you're not," I said, holding him and hugging him. "You defended
yourself and us as well. He was trying to kill all of us, he's the killer."
	"But I just knifed him," Daniel cried, sobbing away. "And now he's
dead."
	"We have to get Joey to the hospital," Chris said. "He's still
bleeding. I think the bullet is still inside him."
	I walked to Joey and held his hand, focusing on my powers. I heard
a clinking sound as the bullet fell through Joey and landed on the
road. Joey gritted his teeth, holding down the pain. I motioned to Melvin,
and he nodded. He put his hand on Joey, and a pale blue glow surrounded the
wounded singer. Joey slipped into a daydream, pretty much sedated.
	"Come on Daniel, let's go bring Joey to the hospital," I said,
grabbing the sobbing youth's arm.
	"No, I'm a killer," he screamed. "It's my fault that he's hurt."
	"No it's not," Justin said, grabbing Daniel's shoulders and turning
him. "We were drawn into this on our own. And you were brave enough to do
what needed to be done. We don't blame you."
	"Yeah," Chris said, looking Daniel straight in the eye. "I'm
grateful that you stayed and defended us when you could have just run away
through all the commotion."
	"Let's bring Joey to the hospital," I said. "And we'll have to file
a police report."
	"No," Daniel said. "I should go, I've caused enough trouble. Those
guys will be back. I need to find a place to hide. Some of the police are
on their side."
	Daniel turned away from us and ran towards the shadows. I felt sad
that I could not do more for him. There were so many questions I wanted the
answers to, but I focused on the more immediate problem.
	"We should get going," I said. "Joey still needs to be patched up."

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

To be continued...

Oh my! They shot Joey! Just who are these nutcases? Well, you can read more
about the Friends of Humanity in the stories Tales of a Young Mutant, and
in Tales of the Protectors. And don't forget to read the story that started
it all, Tales of a Real Dark Knight. Many more encounters to come, and even
appearances by some familiar and not-so-familiar faces.

When You're Looking Like That taken from Westlife: Coast to Coast by
Westlife

Pretend To Be Nice taken from Josie and the Pussycats Movie Soundtrack by
Josie and the Pussycats

I had the idea of posting the songs I want to use in MP3 form on the net so
that people who haven't heard the song could go and check it out, but I'm
not sure if that's advisable. I'll be seriously considering it, though.
Email me with your suggestions as to what else I could put on the site. :)

Ciao for now! :)