Date: Tue,  7 May 2002 12:52:57 -0400
From: Leo Huang <dylan@celticwarrior.com>
Subject: Tales of a Superhero Band Chapter 11

This is going to be one of those really silly stories. Don't expect much
serious stuff this chapter. Thanks to Jesse for volunteering to be my
editor, that saves me from reading my own story... hehehe. Thanks to Lucas,
my unexpected and unlikely spell-checker and error-corrector. He isn't
supposed to, but he does anyway since he gets everything in
advance... haha. Jordi, Aeoros and Rune for being the coolest friends on
the net! Thanks for being there guys! And never forgetting Mikey... *hugs*!
"I'll be there for you 'cause you're there for me too!"

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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
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Chapter 11 - The Sentinel And The Stone

	"What stone is this?" Melvin asked, examining my gift
closely. Everyone had gone to sleep for the night, and JD and Jeremy had
left. Melvin and I were alone in the kitchen area, discussing the events
not too long past. "I throbs with power."
	"It's a lodestone," I said. "Any idea what it can be used for?"
	"Physically, no," Melvin said, glancing at me. "That's your
job. But I can make charms, talismans and amulets with this."
	"What sort of charms?" I asked as he handed me back the rock.
	"From what I can tell, luck and money charms," Melvin said, gazing
at the ceiling as though his thoughts were forming as words above his
head. "Also quite powerful in protection. And curing male sexual
dysfunction."
	I coughed and blinked at Melvin. "Excuse me? Did you say...?"
	"Yes, I did," Melvin smiled. "From an offensive point of view, I
can make amulets to attract bullets."
	"Oh, and how does that help us?" I said sarcastically.
	"Well, you could wear it and draw all the bullets towards you,"
Melvin said. "They can't hurt you if you're intangible, and it leaves the
rest of us free to attack. JD should wear one too, since his power is the
same as yours."
	"But won't the bullets hurt someone as they fly through us?" I
asked.
	"Not if you're standing in front of a wall," Melvin said, taking
the stone. Most of our tools were laid out on the counter so we could
prepare for tomorrow, and Melvin reached for his knife and scraped a few
shavings of the lodestone, struggling to keep the shavings from sticking to
the rest of the stone.
	"So the plan will basically be JD and I attracting the bullets to
us, safely away from everyone," I said. "Joy will protect from the energy
blasts, and Reuben, Jeremy and you will be taking care of the human
units. I use the lodestone to smash gaping holes in the sentinel, and
that's the end of the battle."
	"Slight flaw with your using your ring to attract the lodestone
back, though," Melvin said. "You can't attract it back with your ring
unless you can control the lodestone without physical contact."
	"Which you know I can't," I said, frowning. "So how do we get it to
return?"
	Melvin and I thought it over for a moment, then his eyes widened,
and I could almost see the imaginary lightbulb above his head. "D'oh, that
was so simple. Use the amulet to draw the lodestone back."
	"Won't that be really taxing on it?" I asked. Melvin nodded his
head, then shrugged. "That's the best option we have. Maybe we'll find
something new next time, but for now, it'll have to do."
	"Okay, then we're pretty much set," I said. "Need any help with
your charms?"
	"I'm charming enough, thank you very much," Melvin grinned, raising
his eyebrows and letting them drop quickly, like he bouncing them. I rolled
my eyes at him, and he giggled.
	"Nah, I'm fine," he said. "You go get some sleep before Justin
freaks out by finding you in the kitchen with me. I don't think he's
completely over the fact that we kissed."
	"Yeah, and whose fault was that?" I asked in a mock serious
tone. Melvin shook his head and said, "I have no idea."
	"Asshole," I laughed as I left the kitchen to go to sleep.
	"Keep calling me that and I just may have to invade yours," Melvin
cheekily called after me. I gave him the finger, and he laughed. "Yeah,
that's what I'd use too."




	"Dylan?" Justin murmured as I climbed into bed. Seeing as how there
was only one double bed per room, we all had to share. Not that I minded
sharing a bed with Justin, of course, though I would much prefer to sleep
with Melvin. He sleeps like a log, unlike Justin who kicks hard and tosses
and turns often.
	"Get some sleep, sweetie," I whispered. "You have a concert
tonight, and two in the morning is hardly the time for you to be awake."
	"You shouldn't be awake either," Justin mumbled. "Come to bed,
Eric."
	I blinked in surprise. If I remembered correctly, Eric was the name
of Lance's boyfriend. Justin must have been dreaming, and I suppressed the
slight feeling of hurt, reasoning that he had been in love with Eric once,
even if it was the result of a spell. I lay down next to him and he
unconciously put his arm around me. I sighed and closed my eyes, pushing
the inevitable excitement of an upcoming battle aside in an attempt to
sleep. As I was dozing off, Justin's leg jerked and kicked me off the
bed. Groaning, I grabbed a pillow and curled into a ball to keep warm in
the cool room and finally fell asleep on the floor.




	"You must roll a lot in your sleep to have fallen on the floor,"
Justin teased, surprisingly cheerful. I glared at him, feeling grumpy and
irritable. It was as though we had switched personalities during the night.
	"Ugh, what time is it?" I asked, rubbing my eyes.
	"Eight thirty," Justin said chirpily. "I made breakfast too!"
	"You're not going to poison us, are you?" I asked. "What did you
make?"
	"Shrovetide pancakes," Justin grinned. I thought for a moment, then
muttered, "I'm still dreaming. Justin can't cook, he doesn't know what
shrovetide pancakes are, and even if he did, we don't have ingredients in
this place."
	Justin looked at me, a strange grin on his face. "Do you always
talk in your sleep?"
	I felt something nudging my rib cage as the scene began to fade
away, except for Justin's voice saying, "Dylan, wake up. It's breakfast
time."
	I opened my eyes, fully awake now, and gave myself an extra pinch
to make sure I was really awake. It hurt, so I assumed I was awake. But to
me, dreaming and waking felt the same anyway, so I just dropped the whole
concept of being awake and decided to go with whatever was to happen.
	"We ordered pancakes from room service," Justin was saying. "Did I
kick you off the bed last night? I've got a great bruise on my toe, though
I doubt it'll affect my dancing tonight. Are you ready to eat? You prepared
for tonight?"
	"My, you're chatty when you're nervous about a concert," I
remarked, adjusting my neck from its awkward position.
	"I know, isn't it great?" Justin laughed, jumping onto the bed and
bouncing on his knees. "If I'm hyperactive, it'll probably make me last
longer when we have sex."
	"Or it'll make you cum the moment you touch yourself while I sleep
in the living room," I said, a subtle reminder to Justin that I was only
going to have sex when I was ready.
	"Sorry," Justin said, still bouncing on the bed like a five year
old kid. "It's just that concerts make me h..."
	"Horny?" I smirked. Justin laughed, then completed his
sentence. "Hyper."
	"Well come one, Hyperboy, let's get some breakfast," I said,
holding out my hand.
	"Yippee!" Justin yelled, bouncing onto the floor and grabbing my
hand. "Breakfast!"
	"Oh grow up," I laughed as I dragged Justin out of the room.




	"So where are you going?" JC asked. "We're supposed to be testing
the sound and rehearsing."
	"You guys go ahead," Reuben said. "We've got some personal business
to take care of."
	"Don't take too long," JC said, finally letting us leave the
room. Joy, Reuben, Melvin and I walked to the door, all of us clad in cargo
pants and jackets with many pockets over our tee-shirts. Lance stopped us
at the door. He had a look in his eye that showed a concern, as well as a
look of resignation, like he had done this many times, but was still unused
to it.
	"You take care, all right?" he said, looking each of us in the
eye. "Come back safely, we wouldn't want to lose any fine friends like
you."
	"Your boyfriend is a policeman?" I asked. Lance shook his
head. "Mutant."
	"Ahh, that explains how you noticed we were going to fight," I
said. Lance nodded. "I've seen that look on Eric's face, though he might
deny it. There's some subtle feelings of anticipation and excitement,
similar to what we feel before a concert, but still different. I wish you
guys the best of luck!"
	"Thanks," I said, pulling him into an unexpected hug. Melvin and
Joy did the same, and Reuben shook Lance's hand.
	"We'll be back," Joy said. "I promise."
	Lance nodded, and closed the door behind us after we left. We
hailed a cab and gave him JD's address, which I had gotten earlier on and
soon we were at our destination. JD and Jeremy were waiting outside the
house for us. After a quick introduction of Joy (she had no chance to meet
either twin the previous night due to Diane's talkative nature) and her
powers, we explained the plan to them. Once everything was explained, we
got into our positions and waited for the sentinel and the FOH force.
	It must have been an hour later before I felt a slight rhythmic
tremor in the ground, announcing the arrival of the sentinel.
	"It's coming," I said to no one in particular, preparing myself for
the battle. I could not see any of my friends, but I knew where they
were. JD was right next to me, but we were both invisible. We were to draw
the bullets towards the wall behind us without anyone noticing us. If the
sentinel shot an energy blast at us, we would be dead, so the less
conspicious we were, the better. Plus I did not like the idea of the
sentinel seeing the lodestone coming and blasting it with a shower of
bullets, missiles, energy blasts, or whatever kind of weapons it used. A
van with the words "Friends of Humanity" on its side pulled up in front of
the driveway. People in the streets scattered in all directions, some
watching the unfolding scenes from seemingly safe places, waiting for the
action to start. The sentinel was still not in sight, which I found
surprising since it seemed too large to be concealed. The tremors had
stopped, though, and I suspected the worst. My gut instinct was screaming,
but the adrenaline in my system was clouding it out. A dozen people in
military style clothing, all with the letters FOH on the front and back,
stepped out of the van. Another guy, the driver, came out with a megaphone.
	"Cecelia Johnson, you have been identified as a mutant," he
shouted. "We have you surrounded, come out and surrender, and all will be
well."
	"They have us surrounded?" JD said. "I don't think so. They don't
even have a sentinel."
	A large shadow at the corner of my eye caught my attention. I
looked up at the sky. Three large sentinels were hovering over the general
area, waiting for orders to attack. I felt around for JD and tapped him the
moment I found him.
	"What?" JD asked.
	"Look up," I said, pointing upwards, not caring that he could not
see me anyway. He must have looked up because I heard him mutter an
obscenity under his breath.
	"Damn, I didn't know they could do that," I said. "This complicates
things. If we destroy them in this position, they'll fall on the house and
probably kill all of us with that weight."
	"We need to distract them," I said. "Can you find the others?
Change of plans. I'll try to take out the sentinels, the rest of you guard
the house."
	"That's too dangerous," JD said. "You can't handle them by
yourself."
	"I have a plan," I said, holding the lodestone tighter. "Go on. The
Friends of Humanity won't wait forever."
	As if on cue, the guy with the megaphone shouted, "Cecelia Johnson,
you have until ten to show yourself and surrender. One."
	"Amateur," JD muttered as he ran to tell the others of the change
in plan. I rubbed the lodestone's smooth surface and concentrated on
drawing out its power. I felt it flowing into me, a strong magnetic force
surrounding me. I focused the energy on the sentinel furthest away from the
house, the one hovering over the Friends of Humanity, hoping my plan would
work.
	"MUTANT DETECTED," the robotic voices of the other two sentinels
declared. They both raised their palms and shot a blast of energy at the
third sentinel. The mob below scattered as the flaming wreck plummeted down
towards them. Those that recovered quicker than their comrades began firing
at the house. Windows shattered and chunks appeared in the wall. I was
infinitely glad that the twins' mother had left to go to the doctor about
an hour ago. I was exhausted from using the lodestone's power in such a
great amount, and I could feel my powers weakening. A few bullets went
right through me, and I could slightly feel them as they passed through, a
sign I was becoming solid once more. I closed my eyes and hope Reuben had
come up with a plan.
	A sharp scream pierced through the air, drawing my attention. I
opened my eyes and saw a man writhing on the ground, screaming like a
madman. Another one was struck down with fear as well, followed by a third
who fell asleep on the spot. Way to go Melvin, I thought. I could vaguely
hear Reuben's voice over the din of gunfire, then I saw him and the twins
rushing towards the soldiers. Bullets passed harmlessly through JD, and I
knew that Reuben and Jeremy were not bullet proof, despite being super
strong. A bullet headed straight towards Reuben's face and my heart jumped
in panic. It collided into an invisible wall and bounced off. I sighed with
relief, knowing that Joy had them protected. Reuben, Jeremy and JD were all
in the same Taekwondo class, and were all black belts, as well as the
teacher's assistants for the newbies. They could easily take on the hateful
mob. The sentinels were a different matter. One of the sentinels flew
downwards, a blast of energy forming in its hands. I quickly drew out the
lodestone's power and focused it onto the sentinel's chest. The magnetic
power began building up and I clutched the lodestone tighter, trying to
increase the force of impact. The sentinel aimed its palm at Reuben and I
let go of the lodestone. The black projectile zoomed towards the sentinel
at an alarming speed and struck it squarely on the chest, then flew out the
other end. The magnetic attraction was still there, and the lodestone
curved back, bashing the sentinel through the head before collapsing to the
ground. The wrecked robot crashed to the ground, its energy blast
dissipated. Reuben and the twins reached the human army and began taking
them out with their fancy kicks and moves. I sat on the ground panting from
the exertion, glad that no more bullets were being shot my direction. I
couldn't do a thing about the third sentinel, exhausted as I was. The third
sentinel was hovering over the mob, trying to aim for any of the
offenders. My friends were moving too fast for it, and it kept floating
there like a giant ornament.
	A gust of wind blew my hair to the side, and I could feel a tingle
of magic within it. The sky was darkening as storm clouds began rolling in,
then becoming brighter with small flashes of lightning. Melvin was calling
the elements, and I figured out his plan. The storm clouds grew thicker and
angrier, thunder crashing like the roars of a god. A blast of lightning
streaked through the air, engulfing the area with light. I could feel the
static in the air as my hair stood on end. The lightning was so bright that
I covered my eyes. When I opened them again, the last sentinel was lying on
the ground, electrical fires spouting from various places on its robotic
body. Having done their work, the elementals and storm clouds drifted away,
the sky brightening once again. Those of the Friends of Humanity still
standing turned and scattered in all directions.
	Reuben gave a thumbs up to all of us, shouting, "Great job,
everyone! Great job." Then he collapsed to the ground in exhaustion. Melvin
and Joy appeared from behind their hiding places and made their way towards
him, and I followed suit. The six of us looked at each other, and agreed to
leave the area immediately, knowing that the mess would be cleared up by
another group of Friends.

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To be continued... I know it's short, but I felt that this was the best
place to end it.
Comments, questions? Email dylan@celticwarrior.com