Date: Fri, 13 Jul 2007 13:42:00 -0700 (PDT)
From: Silvenfox <silvenfox@yahoo.com>
Subject: The Chosen - 15

The following is a complete work of fiction.

Any resemblance between the characters and any real life person is
completely coincidental.  Please do not copy or distribute the story
without the author's permission.

Disclaimer:

The following story may contain erotic situations.  If it is illegal for
you to read this please leave now. Also expect blood, gore, incredibly
funny scenes and super-powered teenagers with a destiny to save the
world. If you're not a fan of any of these plus strong cursing and
violence than this is not your type of story.


Chapter 15


When I say this week had been busy. There was no exaggerating it. My
normal life came barreling into my life with a vengeance. The holiday
season hit me like a ton of bricks. I had gotten ready for Christmas by
doing some hardcore shopping.

Adam had been introduced to my family much to my nervousness. And to my
relief it couldn't have gone any better. Mom instantly took an instant
shine to him and began treating him like another son. Morgan, bless her
demonic soul, just stared at my boyfriend as if he was a steak and she
was a velociraptor. The little cunt. Kevin had been suspicious of Adam,
but after they bonded over donuts of all things, they had gotten along
like two fat twins splitting a gallon of rocky road.

Adam. My boyfriend. I still sigh dreamily when I think of Adam. He was
like my dream boy. Wait. He really was my dream boy. Wow. That was kind
of unreal. He was romantic, dorky, suave, cool, and funny. And he nods
sagely whenever I make a Buffy mention, which just scores him massive
boyfriend points. As for his blindness, well he had been right. People
don't look too hard into the unexplainable. He had claimed to have just
woken up with his sight returned. His uncle and aunt, plus the doctors
ate it up, chalking it up to a Christmas miracle. Speaking of his family.

Danny.

I still smiled when I thought of that grabby hand son of a bitch. I
hadn't taken the Chosen approach when dealing with him after talking it
out with Adam. So I did what I do best. I called up Kevin. In the dark of
night, wearing all black, we snuck over to his house and fucked his car
up. His prized classic Mustang. We keyed the doors, threw paint on it,
slashed his tires, and broke his windows. I totally had a Carrie
Underwood moment. To celebrate we grabbed a shake from Sonics on the dive
home. I felt real proud of myself. The last act of revenge vandalism
ended up with Kevin breaking his leg and us getting caught. Getting off
scott free for once felt good.

The patrolling we did at night since Nathaniel's departure to
England filled up my timeslots pretty good as well. I looked out of the
window and smiled. It was snowing. Not a first for Centennial, but it was
rare that it actually stuck and got more than an inch high. This was
California after all. But it was indeed turning into a white Christmas
this year. I looked at the little kids playing outside and tensed when I
felt arms slide around my waist.

"Did I scare you?" Adam whispered into my hair.

I rubbed his hands that settled on my stomach. "Is your cousin a dumb
bastard who will win "Most likely to become someone's jailhouse bitch"
Award?"

Adam nodded quickly. "I'm sorry I didn't mean to scare you so bad!"

I laughed and ribbed him with my elbow, spinning around in his arms. "You
loser. You know I was just joking."

"I know," he admitted, smiling like a canary. "I just like seeing you get
all hyper when you think a joke went past my head. You get these cute
little wrinkles between your eyebrows-"

I gasped, snapping my head to catch my reflection in the window. "You
serious?"

He snorted. "God, you're so easy!"

I pouted at him. "Hey, it's not nice to tease the host. I mean I went to
all the trouble of inviting you over for Christmas today and you go and
be mean to me."

Adam made his eyes real big and cute like. Damn. Puppy face. "I'm sorry.
Forgive me? Please?"

I rolled my eyes sighing with mock exasperation. "I suppose. I mean it's
the least I can do for one of my bitches."

Adam clapped his hands happily. "Please, Love. I'm your only bitch."

"Damn skippy."

We engaged in a little make out session and I closed my eyes in pleasure.
This was nice. This was turning into a pretty good Christmas. I had
picked him early afternoon after he had spent the morning with his uncle
and aunt, then he had breakfast here with my family. It was the second
time Mom and Morgan were meeting him. They had tripped over themselves
making him feel at home. Morgan had ulterior motives of course. I think
she had this grand scheme to steal Adam from me, but destiny trumps her
hormone induced plan any day.

Suddenly, the front door slammed closed and we broke apart in surprise.
Kevin appeared in the living room entrance bundled up in a dark leather
jacket, a white scarf, and jeans. He grinned widely at me and held up the
wrapped gift in his arm.

"Uh hey, Kevin," I greeted him, cautiously. He was up to something. I
could see it written all over his anxious little face.

If possible he grinned even wider. "Hey what?"

Oh no. Here we go. I sighed and replied, "Introduce yourself!"

"No way," he answered, breezily.

I rolled my eyes and repeated, "Introduce yourself!"

Kevin nodded. "Okay! 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, my name is Kevin and I say hi!" Here
he dropped the gift and did this ass shaking maneuver that left me
shaking my head and Adam staring with his mouth open, stunned. Poor boy.
"6, 7, 8, 9, 10, back it up" He gyrated like a stripper and I blinked.
"and meet my friend. Hey Chad!"

"Kiss my ass," I said, monotone.

Adam pushed me to the side and struck a pose. "My name is Adam..."

He trailed off as I stared at him. "I totally don't even know you right
now."

Adam and Kevin looked at each other and joined in a loud round of
laughter at my dismayed expression. Kevin and Adam were naturally random
and funny separate and when you got all us in the same room, it just
turned into Comedy Central.

Mom entered the living room and smiled at Kevin. "I thought that was you.
Only you would slam the door like the police. Did you wipe your feet on
the rug, young man?"

He nodded, obediently. "Yes, mam. I even went outside by the tree so I
wont go on the carpet."

Mom snorted. "Cute, Kevin." She wrapped him up in a hug and kissed his
cheek. "Merry Christmas. You staying long?"

Kevin's shook his head. "No. The folks want to go see the carolers in the
park or something."

"That sounds fun," Mom said brightly, liking the idea. "I think I might
drag the kids too."

I made a face. "Mooom. That sounds really lame. Like Spice Girls lame or
even 7th Heaven lame."

She rolled her eyes. "If you really don't want to go I won't force you. I
know you don't like to be in the cold weather."

"Snow sucks," I replied, promptly.

Adam patted my shoulder. "You're missing out. Snow is pretty much
amazing."

I stuck my tongue out at him. "You keep talking like that and someone
wont get his Christmas present."

"And you wont get yours," replied Adam, smirking.

I pouted. Damn. He's right. I knew we should have exchanged gifts
earlier. I totally had to back track and eat shit. I smiled hugely and
held out my arms.

"Heh. Heh. Juuuuuuust kiiiiiddding."

Adam looked me up and down, not buying it. "Yeah. Right."

He drawled it out so his Texas accent came out thick and very pronounced.
I loved it when he did that. It was sexy and it took a lot of willpower
to resist jumping him for a kiss. But Mom was here and I was definitely
not about take my boyfriend's tonsils hostage in front of her. He saw the
desire on my face and his eyes lit up. He did that thing with his
eyebrows where he wagged them up and down, wearing his usual naughty
smirk. Smug bastard.

"You boys are just the cutest thing," Mom sighed, clasping her hands and
staring at us with stars in her eyes. "You boys go on upstairs and I'll
call you when dinner's ready."

Kevin laughed as soon as Mom went into the kitchen. He made his eyes real
big and sighed dreamily at us like we were the best thing since slice
bread.

"You are just the cutest thing," he said with a southern belle accent.
"Seeing ya'll two strong, strapping boys just makes this little girl
swoon. Oh my. I think I may be getting a heat stroke."

I shot him the finger. "You are so not funny, fuckhead. Is that my gift?"

Kevin tossed it to me. "Here. Now where's mine?"

I went under the tree and handed him the one I got him. I read his card,
snorted, and handed it to Adam. It read "Merry Christmas, bitch. Much
love from the bro". Adam thought it was the funniest thing all day. I
opened my present and squealed at the new playstation game I wanted.
Kevin cheered as he unwrapped his. It was the entire second season of
Smallville on dvd. We exchanged hugs and I batted at his face when he
licked the side of my cheek. Ga-ross.

"This is really nice," he said, happily. "Thanks, bro."

I shrugged. "The game is just as cool. We did good this year, huh?"

"Way better than the lumps of coal we gave each other last year," he
agreed.

Adam made a strangled noise of disbelief. "You gave each other lumps of
coals for Christmas last year?"

I cringed. "Well we kept watching Mean Girls on DVD last year, and we
started to take on some mean personas by accident. We got kind of bitchy
for a while there."

"Chad even made a Mall Elf cry," added Kevin, unhelpfully.

I winced and shrugged sheepishly. "He started it."

Adam laughed and shook his head, as he often did when me and Kevin
exchanged in our usual banter. Kevin had to bid a quick goodbye since his
parents were waiting on him. I said farewell and he slapped Adam a five.
I grabbed Adam's hand and pulled him up the stairs. We passed Morgan's
room and her door was vibrating from the thumping music pounding from her
stereo. It was Avril Lavigne. I shuddered. Adam mirrored me and I gave
him another point. Thank God he knew bad music when he heard it. I closed
my bedroom door behind us and he took a seat at my desk chair, giggling
as he spun a bit in the chair. Wow. Someone was obviously easily amused.
Wait. I was one to talk. I gave him a look and he gave me one right back
that clearly said "what?".

"You done?" I asked him, deadpan.

Adam shook his head. "If you come and give your boy a lap dance then
maybe."

Oh. Kinky. I laughed. "You know I only take singles right?"

"Damn," he sighed, snapping his fingers with fake disappointment. "I only
have big bills."

I held out my hand. "If I'm gonna be a ho I may as well be a top dolla
ho!" I said in a badly, accented crunk girl voice.

He blinked at me. "You serious?"

I could see the clearly, pretend lust filled look he was giving me and I
pushed him off the chair. He fell on the floor letting out a scream as if
he just fell down Mount Everest.

"No, you clown!" I laughed, pouncing on his fallen body.

He pouted up at me. "So no champagne room reenactment?"

I slapped his head. "No, sir. Let's exchange gifts now."

I gave him a quick kiss on the nose and hopped up. I went to my bed where
our gifts sat side by side. I presented him with mine and grabbed the one
that was for me.

"You ready?" I asked, itching to tear into the present.

Adam stared at my twitching hands and raised an eyebrow. "Obviously you
are."

"Bite me," I replied, tearing into the wrapper.

"Wherever you want me to, Love," he shot back, digging into the wrapping
paper.

I practically clawed at the wrapping to get it all off. I tore of the
last strip and gasped. Inside were a half dozen of my favorite graphic
novels. I found a few Superman prints, Sandman, 300, A History of
Violence, and Sin City. I caressed the pages reverently. I was touched.
There wasn't a single issue I disliked. How did he know that I liked
these title? He must have done some serious Scooby Doo-ing to figure this
out. I was touched. Adam was holding his bundled gift. He was grinning
and looking at me expectantly.

"I assume there is an explanation waiting?" he asked.

I nodded quickly. "Yep. You see that is a Chad Summers Starter Pack.
Inside is everything you need if you're going to be with me. I have a
couple of CD's: Cobra Starship and Boys like Girls. My favorite bands.
There is my all time favorite Superman comic. Kill Bill Vol. One, which
is my favorite action movie. The Prophecy which is my favorite wow movie.
Then you have the t-shirt, too."

Adam unrolled it and held it out in front of him. It was a blue fitted
tee. On front was the words "Cats are evil. My boyfriend told me so". He
immediately shucked his shirt and I was glimpsed with the view of his
chiseled upper body. I had an urge to lick those nipples but I resisted.
I had some self control. Adam pulled the shirt over his body and held out
his arms.

"How do I look, Love?" he asked, smiling.

I went to his side and wrapped my arms around him. "Perfect. I love your
gifts. How did you know I like all those issues?"

Adam grinned down at me. "I bribed Kevin with a donut. He sung like one
of Timberlake's backup singers." He dropped a small kiss on my nose. "I
love your gift. It was sweet. You're giving me insight into you, so I can
know you even better."

I let out a sigh. Thank you Seth Cohen. I was glad that I rewatched the
Christmas episode of The OC recently. I absolutely sucked at giving
gifts. If I hadn't got the idea from Seth I would have been giving him a
keychain or something. I glanced out the window and frowned. Wow. It was
starting to come down pretty bad.

"Holy Brittney's coveted hair!" I gasped, really looking out the window.

Adam followed my gaze and cursed as well. The snow was coming down
seriously thick. This was freaking southern California. Why was there a
dam blizzard outside? Where not even an hour ago it wasn't even shoe
deep it now came up to the porch. It was so dense that I doubt I could
even get my Blazer out of the driveway. This is the reason I didn't like
winter! Crap like this.

"Come on, let's go downstairs," I said, frowning at the window.

We met Mom and Morgan in the kitchen. They were both watching the tiny TV
that sat on the counter by the stove. Adam and I stood next to them as we
watched a breaking news footage scroll across the bottom of the screen.
The screen flickered replaced by a newsroom.

"This is Jamie Moore with breaking news. Reports all over world of
strange disturbances in usual weather patterns have streamed into the
newsroom. Freak winter storms seem to have suddenly started all across
the globe." Here the screen changed to show the pyramids covered in snow,
Hawaii covered in a blanket of white, Buckingham Palace deep in snow, and
the White House caught in the middle of snowstorm from the North Pole.
More images replaced these, changing rapidly so we could get a feel of
the wide scope of the storm. "There are even reports of a strange group
of costumed attackers appearing in some areas. Please be advised to stay
clear as they seem to be extremely dangerous. Here is a shot that we have
so far of one of the assailants."

On the screen appeared a picture of a humanoid creature, body completely
white. It had no gender. Or clothes. But no er...parts. Its face was
handsome in a way that wasn't natural. I stared at its blank, gray eyes,
and I knew that this was no costumed person. This was a creature from the
Ever After. They say eyes are the windows into a person's soul. I looked
into the creatures eyes and I saw nothing. Just an endless gaze that
reflected a deep pool of nothingness. It had no soul. I swallowed and
looked up at Adam. He stared at me grimly and nodded. He could see it
too.

"Please stay indoors as temperatures are expected to drop well into the
negatives and it's looking like we can't tell when this global event will
end," Jamie Moore continued. "Police are advising all people-"

I tuned out and grabbed Adam's hand. "Hey, Mom. Me and Adam are going up
to my room for a bit. All this crazy weather is just too weird for me." I
finished with a nervous laugh. I was such a bad liar.

"Okay, honey," she said absently, gaze focused solely on the tube. She
was totally getting into her Lois Lane, reporter mode.

Morgan gave me a condescending glare. "Mom, tell him to keep the door
cracked."

I shot her the finger and Adam and I jogged back up the stairs to my
room. I slammed the door and leaned heavily against it. Adam was already
pulling out his phone and flipping open the screen. He pressed a button
and suddenly Killian and Ryan both appeared split screen, each wearing
serious expressions. Oh that was kind of nifty. I looked around the room
trying to remember where I even put my phone. I hope I didn't lose that
thing. That would be embarrassing.

"You guys catch the news?" asked Adam.

They both nodded. I squeezed in next to Adam and waved. "Hey guys. This
is really cool. I can like see you and talk to you!"

"We already know what the phones can do, Chad," said Ryan, slowly.

Killian shook his head. "He would know if he hadn't been playing
solitaire on it instead of paying attention."

I couldn't even come up with an adequate defense. It was true after all.
I had totally been attention boy and then my focus had started to wonder
and boom, next thing I know I was involved in a hardcore game of
solitaire with myself.

"I recognize the picture on the news," said Ryan. "It looked like an Ice
Wraith. They can freeze anything in solid ice. So don't let them catch
you in one of their ice blasts that they can emit by mouth or hand."

Killian frowned. "How many do you think there are?"

"I've done some scanning using the phone to access the Command Center's
mainframe," replied Ryan. "There are thousands of them and they all
originate from Centennial, since the barrier is weakest here. Using our
city as a foothold I've calculated that at the rate their going the
entire planet will be frozen in ice in two days."

I swallowed and said the first thing that came to mind. "Nathaniel's
going to be pissed."

Adam shook his head. "Not if we clean this mess up."

I nodded, my face turning sour. "I can't believe this. A freaking
invasion during Christmas. Santa Clause would be rolling in his grave." I
looked at the screen. "We'll meet you guys on top of the Global Com
building downtown."

Adam closed the screen and sighed. "This is turning into just the best
Christmas ever!"

I gave him a tiny smile. "Sarcasm will get you far with me, Mr. Caine."

We transformed into our Chosen forms. I slid off my cloak's hood and ran
a hand through my hair. Adam looked dashing in his black body suit and
long dark cape. I stepped up to him and rejoiced in the tender smile
aimed at me. I ran a hand through his hair and he leaned his head down
touching his forehead against mine.

"You be careful today," I said, softly.

Adam cupped my cheek. "Same to you, Love. I'll kick your ass if you die."

"Gee thanks, bright eyes," I smiled, accepting a quick kiss.

We opened my window and I was immediately thankful that our suits offered
us a degree of protection against the wind chill. I could hardly feel the
sting of the cold if I concentrated really hard and thought about math.
Adam pulled me into his arms and jumped from the window ledge. We hung in
the air and then we shot off into the clouded, snowing sky. I squinted my
eyes and wished that I could see better. The snow storm blocked sight so
we could only see to a limited degree. This was insane. I closed my eyes
and prayed that a sudden draft didn't knock us from the sky. I was just
saying my last Hail Mary when we touched down on top of a building. Adam
released me and I stepped to his side.

I looked over downtown and just gawked. The buildings were covered in a
sheet of ice and everywhere you looked dense, white snow clung to all
surfaces. I looked closer toward the sidewalk and gasped. There were
people there but they were frozen in solid blocks of ice. Most looked to
be in mid run, frozen looks of horror and panic etched on their faces. I
grabbed Adam's hand.

"This is bad. Really bad," I muttered, worriedly.

He nodded, biting his lower lip. It was a habit I had seen him do once
before. I'm guessing that he only did it when he was nervous or worried.
If this was another situation I would find that totally cute but hello
Earth was about to go through another ice age. This so wasn't the time. I
spotted an orange ball descend rapidly from the sky. It neared us and
then burst into sparkling orbs that formed into the shape of the
Executioner and Solaris.

"You guys got here fast," stated Solaris.

I smirked at him. "What can I say, my man has skills."

Omega looked at me and winked. "So where do we start searching for these
Ice Wraiths. I figured they would be everywhere."

"They are," said the Executioner, pointing.

Covering the ground appearing from the snowfall was a horde of ice
wraiths. I shuddered as they slid across the icy streets as if they were
at a skating rink. The odds were not in our favor today. Then again. Are
they ever? I was suddenly blown away with a feeling of déjà vu. This all
felt familiar. I snapped my back straight and I felt determination and
confidence sing through my veins.

"Executioner, scan for possible alternative threats. Omega and Solaris,
on me," I rattled off orders faster than I could think of why this felt
natural. "Omega, use mind bolts to shatter through their bodies. Solaris,
keep your beams wide and erratic. Executioner join us when the scan is
complete. If anything gets in your way, drop them."

They all nodded sharply and I was relieved that they didn't question,
although there was a shared look of surprise. We jumped over the roof and
fell through the air in a flash of black. We hit ground and immediately
sought cover from the roving creatures. I rolled behind a car and gave a
shout of warning when a company of ice wraiths glided near Solaris and
Omega's spots. They converged on them and suddenly were shattered by an
invisible blast. Their bodies crumbled and sprayed in all directions. I
looked and saw Omega's arm go down and I shot him a relieved smile.

"Duck!" Solaris yelled and I hit the ground.

"Spectral Cannon!"

His yellow beam flew high and sliced into a trio of ice wraiths that
barreled down behind me from an alley. I jumped to my feet and swore. We
were busted. Our cover was completely blown. I dodged a blast of icy wind
that looked like a tornado on its side. It struck a car behind me and the
car was left incased in a block of ice.

I whispered under my breath, gathering power in my palm, and then bounced
forward, "Soul Reaper Reprise!"

The garnet ball of light slammed into the snow and tore up a line of ice
and concrete on the way to the ice wraiths. They exploded leaving not a
trace of matter behind. I quickly levitated backward as a quartet of ice
wraiths descended on my position.

"Angels above me,
Clouds circling thee.
Lend me your wings
So I can jump higher
Than the tallest tree."

I clapped my hands and willed the power to take form, "Leap of faith!"

Little wings appeared on feet and I jumped right over the trio. A glow
flared from Omega and his sword was out, cutting into their numbers with
ease. I jumped over a car and launched a fireball at a number of ice
wraiths that were on route to our position. The sky grew bright and
dozens upon dozens of beams of light rained from the sky. Solaris' Dawn
Bringer wiped the streets clean, completely shredding through their
bodies with laser like beams. I cried out as I was suddenly tackled mid
jump. Son of a bitch. I fell through the air and landed hard on the
frozen street. The ice wraith punched me in the stomach and then launched
a strong hook to my face. My power lashed out in a blinding, white cord
of light. The ice wraith and a few near me didn't see their deaths
coming. I stood to my feet and looked around quickly. More and more ice
wraiths swarmed around the corners.

I watched as an ice blast hit a building and ice slowly crawled along its
surface. Faster, faster, and faster the ice traveled till the entire
building was covered with seven centimeters of thick ice. I swallowed and
bounced quickly through the air to a safer distance. I landed over 100
meters back near Solaris and Omega.

"Chosen regroup on me!" I ordered. They appeared at my sides and I
glanced at them.

"I have a feeling these bastards are replicating themselves from the
snowfall," speculated Omega.

Solaris nodded. "I think you're right. These numbers are just
impossible."

I gauged their assessments and nodded too. They were right. It was just
too many of these things for them not to be replicating more. We
destroyed so many and as far as I can tell a dent hadn't even been formed
in the ice army. We could take them out, but to do that we would have to
resort to overkill tactics, and we would inadvertently take out the city.
And the frozen people trapped in ice. I cringed. That wasn't an option.

"Omega, mind bolt, front line," I ordered, looking at their swelling
numbers.

The more I fought the more I felt I needed to be the one issuing orders.
This was my duty. I was chosen for this. We needed a leader to win and
that was me. It also felt natural. I didn't know whether to be scared or
relieved that I was finally doing well.

Omega rushed forward. He took a position in front and we braced ourselves
as the front lines of the nearing ice army simultaneously launched their
ice blasts. Rays of swirling white beams raced forward. Omega held his
hands out before him and the air ahead shimmered. He used his telekinesis
to form a defensive shield that stopped the beams head on.

He dropped to a knee and grunted as the impacts pounded along the
invisible wall. My heart raced in my chest but Omega held out like I knew
he would. The shield fell and without missing a beat he swiped his arm
through the air, and a concussive wave of pure, telekinetic force swept
forward. Where the wave touched, objects were blown apart or thrown
backward with enough force to shatter concrete walls.

"Omega, fall back," I said, and he ran to our position. "Solaris, clear
the street."

Solaris took Omega's place and delivered a Dawn Bringer into the
approaching formation. The beams split the air, multiplying, and searing
through the ice wraiths with ease. The raining light took out the
approaching masses. It wasn't over. In the distance I could see more ice
wraiths stream from the alleys, appear from buildings snow covered
corners, reforming into a rapidly swelling host. I swallowed. We couldn't
keep this up all day.

We could only hold this ground for so long till they overran us, and then
there would be no way we could stop the swell of their number, and their
advance past the city. Abruptly the Executioner dropped from the sky. He
landed in front of us with barely a noise.

"Did you find anything?" Omega asked.

The Executioner nodded, looking intently at the phone in his hand. "I did
some readings and while the ice wraiths are responsible for freezing the
city they aren't the cause of the weather. I detected massive readings of
energy from a single source originating at the city's border."

"That's where we need to go," I decided. "We need to take out whatever is
emitting the high readings. It's probably a demon. Once we kill it we can
return the weather to normal."

"I agree," smiled Omega, proudly nodding his head.

I looked at the Executioner and Solaris and they both were giving me
appraising looks. I just smiled. Finally this reincarnation thing was
hitting home. It was about time I was getting some kind of skills that
the others already practically exuded.

Solaris raised his arms. "Sun Rise!"

A glowing sphere enveloped us and we shot into the sky and rocketed
through air faster than an eye blink. The bubble had some type of built
in inertia dampeners since I'm sure the g force of going so fast should
have surely liquefied us. Centennial blurred below us in a streaming
vision of rolling white and icy landscape. I prayed that we could stop
this from spreading. Now most of the planet had to certainly be covered
in snow and ice, but this, this frozen, silent city wasn't even a shadow
of its former self. The ice wraiths had made short work of encasing
everything they came across in ice. Ice that seemed to be spreading as I
watched. I grimaced. It crawled along unfrozen surfaces leaving solid ice
in its wake, no matter if wasn't living or not. Everything succumbed to
the spreading ice. Faster. We had to go faster.

"There!" I said, looking ahead.

Ahead of us was an unexpected sight. The ground that was normally rolling
fields of green was encased in snow and thick ice. Jagged ice chunks
split the earth and covered the land making it resemble an area of
Antarctica not southern California. But what was truly unexpected wasn't
this. Rising out of the ground taller than the ice chunks was a giant,
ice crystal that towered into the air. On its flattened top stood a
person.

"That's the source of the high power emissions," declared the Executioner
punching the buttons on his phone, and confirming his readings.

Solaris set us down and it had to be obvious it saw us. A glowing ball
that flies around. Yeah. Not too stealthy. It approached the crystal
tower's edge and gazed down at us stoically. He resembled the ice wraiths
in skin tone but he wore a flowing white robe that matched the pure,
white hair that streamed down his back. His blank stare was enough to
confirm that he was just as soulless as the ice wraiths.

"So the primitives who now inhabit our planet have come to witness their
kind's downfall?" he asked, voice hard and unemotional.

His tone was bland. He talked down to us as if we were the bugs at his
feet. I wanted to roll my eyes. They all thought the same till they got
their asses whooped.

I crossed my arms and just shrugged. "Actually we've come to kick your
ass right out of this dimension."

He cocked his head and stared at us. "You hope to stand against me?"

"We're Chosen," I said in answer, squaring my shoulders and widening my
leg stance. If this fucker wanted a fight, then we would give him one.

He waved his hand at us. "You robbed us of our world by chance. That
chance will not occur again. I will break you in half and paint the
ground with your blood. You will plead and scream and it will be sweet
sound to my ears."

Solaris rolled his eyes. "Oh, we got ourselves a talker this time, boys.
So what do we call you so we can know whose ass we're kicking?"

The creature raised an eyebrow. "Jakphrust."

I blinked. "No way. Did he just say his name was Jack Frost?"

Omega shook his head. "Love, I think he pronounced it a little different
then that," he said, chuckling.

"Humans have grown bold in our absence," remarked Jakphrust. "I shall
enjoy beating your kind up again. You broke so easily." He turned away
from us and raised his arms skyward. "I contain no additional interest in
you. Watch as I coat this world in a grip of cold death that shall wipe
you primitives from your stolen place in the food chain."

Jakphrust raised his arms and glowing orbs of energy gathered in his
palms. With little effort the energy launched from hands, shooting into
the sky. The twin beams hit the clouds and the sky darkened and if
possible the snow started to come down harder as the arctic storm gained
more power to feed off. I stumbled as the wind howled and a strong gust
knocked into me. Omega steadied me and I shot him a thankful look.

"Listen up, Jackoff!" I yelled at him, and he ignored me. "Kiss your ass
goodbye. FIREBALL!"

I conjured the biggest fireball I had ever created. It was massive. The
elemental fire hovered above my hands bigger than any beach ball. I let
it fly with a loud grunt of effort. The ball soared and hit its mark only
to collide against a gigantic block of ice that sprung up before
Jakphrust. The fireball collided and the rock vaporized in a cloud of
steam, leaving Jakphrust unharmed.

He peered down at us, all the wall continuing to feed the storm. "Fire
against ice. An intelligent move for a primitive. I am above the laws
that constrict nature."

"I have a bad feeling about this," whispered the Executioner.

Jakphrust lowered his arms toward us and let loose those twin broad beams
of swirling light. Omega protectively pushed me behind him. He raised his
arms and above him the air shimmered as he put up a telekinetic shield.
The beams hit the shield and Omega cried out. The beam splashed across
his shield and continued pounding into it. Oh God. He couldn't hold out
like this for long. I snatched Omega back and we all jumped back quickly
clearing distance. The shield collapsed and the beams struck the spot we
stood in. All I heard was a loud explosion and the ground shook hard
flinging is all backward off our feet. I landed on my back completely
winded. Fuck me.

I muttered under my breath, whispering the incantation for the black
spell I had only used once before. Omega and Solaris caught on and
quickly began to pool their power for their own attacks. I fought off the
hollow feeling that clawed at my soul that I opened to for the dark
spell. I cupped my palms and between them a globe of red, pulsing, hot
energy gathered. The power solidified and I raised my arms.

"Chosen, fire at will on this bastard!" I called out over the howling
wind. "Revenge of Lucifer!" A red ray raced forward, splitting in mid
air, becoming numerous beams of ruby light.

Omega's sword appeared and the glowing blade flared to life. "Starlight
Lance!" The blade of his sword that was composed of light exploded in
length, expanding, and splitting the air at blinding speed.

"Spectral Cannon!" shouted Solaris, adding his yellow beam to join our
attacks.

The beams all hit true. A multicolored went off and the shockwave threw
us back. I groaned as I stood to my feet. I held my head and looked
through the snow. The crystal tower still stood and so did Jakphrust.

"This is bad," I whispered, feeling a sinking ache in my stomach.

Solaris nodded, jerkily. "No kidding."

I shook my head. "We can do this. I know we can. We did it before the
last time they did this."

The Executioner frowned, perplexed. "Warlock, what do you mean? Last time
as in millions of years ago?"

I opened my mouth to answer and I stopped short. What the hell did I
mean? I don't even know. It just came out. Like my sudden leadership
qualities I embodied earlier. I closed my eyes trying to ignore the wind-
chill and the rapidly dropping temperature. This all seemed familiar for
a reason and I gasped as a memory played out before my minds eyes. This
had happened before. The first ice age. They were responsible for it. We
ended it once and we could do it again. I opened my eyes. I knew what to
do.

"I know how to stop him," I whispered, looking into their faces. "I don't
have time to explain. Just gather around me facing away from me. Close
your eyes and call on your power. Open yourselves up. I'll do the rest."

Omega grabbed my hand. "Love, are you sure?"

I nodded, showing him the seriousness in my gaze. "Definitely."

That was all the confirmation he nodded. He got into position and the
others followed his lead. I think they all knew inside that this was the
way it had to be. Something had to be telling them that this was going to
work. After all I had that same something whispering to me now. I stood
in the middle and closed my eyes.

I touched that glowing center of power that hovered behind my minds eye.
Light exploded around me as the power of magic filled me to the brim and
bathed me in its nourishing currents. All this raw power. All of it was
mine. I was awed for a second lost in the currents that slid against my
skin. I focused and remembered the memory. I had a job to do. I reached
outward with my senses and could feel my teammates opening up to their
power. I touched each one of them and one by one, they all dropped their
barriers and we touched minds. We became one.

I opened my eyes and I was floating above my comrades. We were all
glowing a beautiful gold that was glorious to behold. Solid rays of
light, no power, connected each person to the other. I could see
Jakphrust stop in his task and focus his attention on us. He was finally
truly taking notice of the "bugs". Too late.

He launched the biggest beam of light at us, larger than anything he had
thrown at us earlier. I took the power I was now channeling from my
comrades and focused it through my body. There was so much of it. So
much. I was becoming lost in its waves. My friends were connected to me
just as I was connected to them and they anchored me to this plane,
keeping me grounded to my duty. I pushed aside that seductive melody of
power and redoubled my efforts. I narrowed my eyes at the approaching
beam. Shining gold light erupted forth from my hands. It met the beam mid
air and there was a deafening explosion of sound. The beam of gold that
streamed from my hands pushed at the white beam of destruction.

They weren't even.

Slowly my beam was being pushed back. I winced at the strain. I couldn't
let him win. If we failed here and now then this was the end. The world
would be ice and humanity would become a blink in this planets history. I
swallowed. I couldn't let that happen. We wouldn't let that happen. There
was so much worth saving. I thought of Morgan and Mom at home and
Nathaniel thousands of miles away. I thought of my friends from school. I
thought of my friends below me. I thought of Adam. I glared at Jakphrust.

Determination filled me. This ends now.

"Spirit of the body. Miracle of the mind. Light of life. Magic of the
universe. Powers of Infinity unite!" I said. Countless, sharp slivers of
light appeared from everywhere around us, all rushing into the palm of my
hand. I gasped as the scope of the power registered in my mind. I hope I
didn't mess this up. "JUSTICE APOCOLYSPE!"

My beam doubled and refocused and completely swallowed up Jakphrust's
beam. Instead of evening out, the light strengthened. I focused
everything I had into this outpour of power. It was unlike anything I had
ever seen before. Jakphrust didn't stand a chance. The light enveloped
him and his scream was brief as his body was incinerated. The light grew
and grew. I kept up the power and the world went gold. I closed my eyes
and felt the light expand outward, it continued on traveling the globe,
touching even the farthest corners of the world.

It was like a flood and I'm sure if people were in orbit at this time
they would have seen a white flash from Centennial, and then continue
along the entire globe. The gold light reversed the extreme weather and
the ice wraiths were destroyed by the purifying radiance. As it hit the
ice wraiths ice, the light shattered through it, melting it into
nothingness. Buildings were now ice free and people found themselves
looking around in confusion wondering if they imagined their frozen
slumber.

The power spluttered and I could feel that I didn't have anything left.
Our bodies stopped glowing and I fell down to the ground, collapsing to
my knees. My breath came in large pants as I struggled to breathe. Now
that was a rush. I felt a hand on my shoulder and smiled at blurry form
of Omega. I was exhausted. I could barely think.

"You did it," he said, awed.

I looked at all of them and smiled tiredly. "No, we did it."

And then I blacked out.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
And I think this was probably the fastest chapter I've ever typed up. I'm
not used to having another update so quick. I hoped you all liked it. :)
NEXT CHAPTER: Chad gets sick and gets a bit delusional. No need to fear
since Doctor Kevin is here!

I have created a message board in light of missing emails. My laptop and
yahoo are now mortal enemies. If you want to post a comment or drop a
line you can copy and paste this link into your browser.
http://www.quicktopic.com/39/H/fXmyJ3NcYt7Z  or if you want to email me
you can do so at Batmanhater@aol.com