Blue Nexus #42 - Unity

            The sun poked over the hill. The dew was still settled on the grass, cold the touch against Kyle’s ankle. The dawn was cold and Kyle could see his breath in front of him. He clenched his fists and stepped all the way out of his house into his backyard, carefully closing the door behind him so to not wake anyone else in the house. It felt strange to be up earlier than normal, but it was for the best. He only had about an hour before he had to be at school, so he would have to do this quick.

            Kyle exhaled and swiped his fingers over the Nexus bracelet, letting its energy consume him again. He felt his body shudder as the outfit morphed onto him. He held out his hand and envisioned his lance for just a second before it materialized in his hand. Kyle twirled it around, getting a grip for it. Just like an old weapon, he realized with a smile.

            For a second he glanced up to the sky. Flying? No, not yet. If he had to concentrate like that on just summoning up his bracelet, it would take far more concentration to start flying like he used to be able to.

            Kyle swung the lance out. A blue energy streak followed behind it. He swiped twice more in two fluid, but opposite, motions. The lance hummed as it moved, filling itself back up with the energy of the Nexus that composed it. Kyle spun it and braced it against his back, nodding. His shoulders throbbed.

            With his newly attuned hearing he heard something move in the house. Kyle bounced once on his feet, then dashed for the back fence, leaping over it and sliding down the hill toward the open field. He tried to control his slide, manipulating his movements as if he were flying. A root caught his foot and Kyle pitched forward, landing on his face before tumbling down the rest of the way and his body thrashing about as he did so.

            He landed on the broken spear, snapped in half. Kyle rolled his shoulder up when he was able to straighten out. He also had to roll his neck a bit, as it stiffened up on the fall. He sighed and calmed his body down, as his heartbeat quickened significantly. When he did, he felt himself filling back up with energy and his body was putting itself back together.

            When he felt back to normal he held his hand out again, trying to envision the spear. The one of the ground faded away and a new one replaced it. As soon as he felt its energetic metal in his palm he swung it out, letting it slip until he was holding it near the very bottom. He swung it overhead and drove it into the ground, then used it to swing himself into a quick. He landed and shot an energy beam out of his hand. It soared away, landing somewhere beyond the horizon.

            Kyle bowed his head, then roared and cupped his hands and launched another beam straight up into the sky. It was much thinner than the one from last night that appeared after he activated the bracelet, and it was consuming much more of his energy. He cut the stream off after a second of panic and trying to remember how to cut off an energy stream.

            His knees buckled but he stayed on both feet. The Sun was moving higher and he saw the dew rising from the tips of the tall blades of grass. Kyle closed his eyes, letting the light bleed onto him and spread warmth around his body.

            Kyle went further into the field, where he hopefully wouldn’t be spotted as easily. The road wasn’t anywhere near him and nobody ever came out here to tend to things. For the next half hour or so he trained in his combat skills, trying to manipulate his energy more into his movements. To avoid becoming sick again, and to avoid struggling to get into Wave Two, he knew he had to keep his energy flowing at all times. If he could keep it unblocked, then unlocking his power would be much easier and would take far less strain on his body and mind.

            Once that time was up, he stopped and switched out of the Nexus. The Sun was lighting the sky up and pushing away the stars. He dropped and placed his hands on his knees, heaving for breaths. His knees almost buckled again but he kept them straight.

            “Ugh…jeez,” Kyle muttered. Why was he so tired? He was never this tired after working in the Nexus. Tired normally, yes, but not exhausted like he was now. And he still had to deal with school?

            Man, how did the water polo do this every day?

            He walked back until he came to the hill again. The main road was sloping off to the left and right and he really did not feel like trudging all the way to slope down. Ah, whatever, he figured. His knees ached while he moved up the hill about halfway before he had to control his descent down the hill. He knew he would have to walk the rest of the way, and would make it to school a little early. But that was fine.

            He spotted someone else on the way there, though. Sandy was standing at the corner before the school, sitting against a tree with a book open in her lap. Her eyes were closed and Kyle noticed a thin purple veil around her.

            Sandy opened her eyes when he stepped on the grass near her. She smiled up at him as his shadow fell on top of her.

            “I’m glad to see you’ve been working out,” Sandy said. “Or, sense, anyway. Nice light show, too. Went great with the sunrise.”

            “How long have you been out here?” Kyle asked.

            “Around the same time as you were out there,” Sandy replied. “Trying to see if I can spot Sandstorm but I guess I’m not that in tune with my powers yet. If Brenda were here that’d be much easier.”

            Kyle shrugged. “I guess you’re not too worried someone will notice you?”

            “Nah,” Sandy said. “Nobody can really see my face and I don’t think anyone’s coming looking for me at school.”

            “Teachers are worried.”         
            “That’s their job, Kyle.”

            “Still, they’re worried. You haven’t made any contact since you attacked the school. By the way, have you gotten all that cleared up with Patton?”

            “Well it wouldn’t look too great on Violette if I didn’t, you know?” Sandy sighed. “Anyway, I’ll be off. Prism is apparently doing work in Moscow today—something about a potential super weapon, sounds fun—so I’ll be alone in this hunt.”

            Sandy stood up but then pointed at Kyle. “Unless you wanna come along with me? Stretch your legs a little bit?”       

            “I don’t really know about that,” Kyle said. “Doing some practice was a little exhausting, I’m not back to even like three-fourths form, yet. I need to keep up with this conditioning first.”

            “Want some help?” Sandy asked. “I can help you out if I don’t find any leads on Sandstorm. He’s Riko’s original problem, anyway.”

            Kyle grimaced. “I’d like that, Sandy, but I don’t wanna, like, hurt you or anything.”

            “I’ll be fine, what’s a few more bruises going to do to me?” Sandy asked. “Besides, I had Brenda slap me around while Alucard, uh…when Alucard controlled me.”

            Kyle noticed Sandy’s face quickly dissolve of color when she brought up the Demon mage before she perked back up with a smile. Kyle faintly smiled as well.

            “Alright then, I guess you’ll be coaching me back into shape,” Kyle said.

            “Awesome, I’ll find you after school if nothing happens,” Sandy said. “Just be alert. I’ll probably be in full gear, so I don’t really wanna be spotted.”

            The two nodded simultaneously, then Sandy ducked away, walking briskly with her head held high. Kyle couldn’t hold back his smile at the sight. Damn, that woman had come far.

            When he heard a distant ringing, though, he realized he still had a far way to go.

            By the time he reached his classroom, completely unprepared because he had no time to get to his locker, Kyle was on his knees in the doorway trying to catch his breath. Mira was sitting in the front row looking at him with an eyebrow raised.

            Cold air dashed in and out of his mouth and through his lungs, shooting pain around his chest. His whole body felt numb.

            “Kyle, are you okay?” his teacher asked.

            “Long run,” he said through a series of pants. “Very long run.”

            The class itself felt like a long run, too. His teacher just rambled and Kyle had enough adrenaline flowing in him that he stayed awake, but for some reason he was restless. Was it the promise of help getting his powers back? He would occasionally look to the Nexus bracelet and notice that its glow would grow brighter, unlike the dull blue it had before. His excitement grew as the color greatened.

            Mira caught up to him just outside of class. Thankfully they had a block schedule and Kyle had a few extra minutes to catch his breath by his locker before having to head out to the next class.

            “You doing okay?” she asked, nudging him while she clutched her books close to her chest.

            “Tired,” Kyle said, not even thinking the word before saying it. “Long morning.” 

            “Yeah but did you see the big blue lights in the sky?” Mira asked. “You think that means Blue Nexus is back?”

            “I did not see those big blue lights, but I do think that’s a solid signal for Blue Nexus,” Kyle said. “I don’t remember, did that also happen when he first showed up?”

            “Y—no? Maybe?” Mira asked. “I’m not sure. I know the other guy came before the regular Blue Nexus. Superheroes are confusing.”

            “Oh, yeah, I know,” Kyle replied.

            “See but, like, I’m excited for that, but also kinda worried,” Mira said as they left the hallway. They both turned the same way.

            “How so?” asked Kyle.

            “Well, those lights shot up pretty high,” Mira said. “And we were attacked by as super villain at the mall last night. Who’s to say that he doesn’t stick around and do more damage? Or, if he somehow didn’t notice, who’s to say the light wasn’t like some sort of beacon? That more people aren’t going to turn around and come back?”

            “Then I guess they’ll just have to deal with the super hero that punched someone like the devil in the face repeatedly,” Kyle said. “And Shindari.”

            “Who is currently missing,” Mira pointed out.

            “So was Blue Nexus,” Kyle said. Something vibrated in his back pocket and a beeping sound immediately followed. Kyle’s face turned red and he slapped the Zanderia communicator he forgot he had. Mira looked but didn’t care to make anything of it.

            “Ah, anyway, I guess it’ll be cool to see him back,” Mira said. “I gotta split though. See you at conditioning later?”

            “Oh, no,” Kyle said, rather bluntly. He bit his lip when Mira stopped and turned, but her hand fell on her hip. Oh, no indeed. “I have a doctor’s appointment today, just one more check up to make sure I’m okay to keep playing. But I’ll see you around anyway, not like I’m going anywhere.”

            Mira nodded, removing her hand from her hip and heading down the stairs, grabbing the attention of some younger boys as she did so. Kyle sighed and braced himself against the wall before pushing himself away and continuing down the open hallway toward his locker hallway.

            When he reached his locker, he opened it and placed the communicator in the back of his locker. Four images appeared on the screen, and though the sound was off, Kyle knew they were communicating something. He recognized all four of them. Flint was the major player that he recognized, having taken him down before. The new Toxo, since the old one was in the Cube, was also there, with a shaven head and a tattoo running around his face. Splotch and Dynamo were two newer players with explosive abilities—literally.

            Kyle shuffled his books around as he watched the images play out, almost like a PowerPoint. From what he could tell, the group turned right around once they got passed East City and were headed back, taking the long way around the City south. Kyle sighed. Mira was right. Even that far out people managed to notice it. He was just surprised that Sandstorm hadn’t made any noise.

            He closed the communicator screen and slid it back into his pocket, then closed his locker. He nodded to himself before pressing on, and the bell rang overhead.

            “So, Toxo, Flint, Splotch, and Dynamo are all headed our way with an undetermined ETA?” asked Sandy over the rough breeze. “And Sandstorm is still hanging out around here? Oh, boy, we timed this training pretty well, didn’t we?”

            “Good thing I tested things out this morning to get a good feel of it,” Kyle said. “Not to mention my bond with the bracelet has gotten much stronger since we last spoke.”

            Sandy nodded. “Alright, good. Try it out, then.”

            Kyle nodded, and swiped his index and middle finger over the bracelet. The flash of blue light was still greater than it had been in the past, but he noticed that the power came on much faster and more powerful than ever before, too. Kyle exhaled and straightened up his back, letting the energy flow like blood through his body.

            They were out in the field where Kyle had been training earlier in the morning. Sandy couldn’t track Sandstorm and when she got the news about the other four she decided that helping Kyle was a priority, which Kyle had to agree with. One C-list super villain she could probably handle, but five would be a problem even for the likes of Kyle or Brenda.

            The winds were picking up around them and smaller clouds chugged along overhead to occasionally blot out the Sun. Sandy was, indeed, in her Violette uniform. Even her hair had turned purple and her purple Combat Mage mark, on her forearm, glowed against her skin. She smiled, lighting her eyes up with a purple tint. Kyle worried that too much exposure to the magic would harm up, but in the back of his mind knew it wouldn’t be nearly as toxic as the Demon magic inside him.

            That had the potential to turn him literally insane.

            Sandy did her hair up into a ponytail and Kyle held his hand out. His lance appeared. He drove it into the ground and rolled his shoulders. The ground quivered under him momentarily after the blow. He smiled.

            Good.

            Sandy rolled her neck. “Okay, you ready?”

            “I guess so,” Kyle replied.

            “Cool, then hit me with your best shot,” Sandy said. “Er, not in Wave Two. I doubt you want to push yourself that far.”

            “You mean like punch you, or use an energy blast?” asked Kyle.

            “Whichever you think will be a decent way to get the blood flowing,” Sandy said. She squatted down, moving her leg back, ready to move at a moment’s notice.   

            “Okay,” Kyle said, feeling the energy flow into his hands. He sighed. It was like he was flexing, but the tension wasn’t there at all. “Here it comes!”

            He shot his hands forward, unleashing two small waves of energy that collided into one big one. It hit the ground just beyond where Sandy was, exploding in blue dust and sending a powerful gust back at him.

            “Not bad,” Sandy said next to him, resting her elbow on his shoulder. “A little slower than I remember it being, but not bad. I wonder how fast your punches are.”

            “Not bad yourself,” Kyle said. “I guess you did pick up on that magic very quickly.”

            “That foresight, though, man,” Sandy said. “Hard to beat.”

            “Is that why Sandstorm keeps getting away?” asked Kyle.

            Sandy stared blankly at him before punching him across the face. “Don’t need Combat magic for that, you idiot.”

            Kyle stumbled to his left but picked himself back up with a bloody smirk. She moved so fast he couldn’t even pick up on it. Or was he just too slow, too out of shape to have noticed it? If she really moved that quickly she would have hurt him more. Damn, he was strong but much slower than he used to be. Speed used to be on his side, and Brian had been the one with all the power.

            “Pick up the pace, Sandy,” Kyle said, still bleeding and still smiling. “Is that really how far you’ve come?”

            Sandy frowned and leaped at him. Kyle just managed to side-step it and lunged at her. She dodged it with graceful ease, contorting her back and flipping over Kyle. He swung his arm out to block her punch, the force of it knocking her back.

            “Alright,” Sandy said. “Good.”

            They fought under the Sun for the next hour, but at a pace that kept them energized and not exhausted. It was clear to Kyle that Sandy held back for much of the fighting—sparring—so that he could just get back into some sort of a groove. He hadn’t even realized how out of sync with his moves he’d become.

            Sandy managed to show off a few tricks of her own. She didn’t use any of her archery skills but Kyle noted how whenever her hands glowed purple she was getting ready to anticipate one of his attacks and then make one of her own. She was fast and she was smart. Kyle was tempted to try and power up but knew that could only harm him more at this point. He needed to take things slow before starting to dive in more the next few days.

            They broke away from each other after getting locked together. Sandy nodded and her hands faded back to their normal color.

            “I’ve gotta admit, it’s still pretty weird to be able to compete with you like this now,” she said. “It’s always been that you’ve just been so far ahead. Good to know where I stand.”

            “Yeah, way ahead of me at this point,” Kyle said for her.

            Off to the side he heard a familiar beeping. He and Sandy locked gazes before she headed to her communicator sitting hidden in the grass. Kyle started to walk toward her as well.

            “Oh, crap!” she exclaimed. “You’ve gotta be kidding me.”

            “What, did you forget to do something?” asked Kyle.

            “The Toxics and Sandstorm are together on the highway right now,” Sandy said. “Rush hour is going to be a hell of a lot longer.”

            “Which part of the highway?” asked Kyle. “Between us and East City?”

            “Yeah, but, hold up, we should get to my—”

            “No time, I’ll meet you there!” Kyle exclaimed. He jumped up and tried to sustain flight but couldn’t.

            Sandy reached out and grabbed his arm. “Kyle, wait. You can’t take them on all on your own. You’re not ready.”

            “Then I’ll just buy you some time,” Kyle said, moving his arm away. He felt power swelling around him, ready to burst. “Try and get teleported. I’ll hold them off!”

            He brushed passed Sandy and sprinted forward, feeling the power around him. He jumped up, and pushed himself forward, blasting off to the north. He couldn’t feel Sandy behind him at all he was going so fast.

            Kyle beamed as he flew toward the highway. He headed up toward the clouds before dropping down some to pick up the speed. He could feel the power around him and feel the air splitting in front of him. The wind whipped his hood back and sent ripples around his uniform. His aura was faint around him but was enough to keep him safe.

            He could sense Sandstorm in the distance, but didn’t see the other four until there was a minor explosion caused by Dynamo, who fell back because of the force of it. Kyle started to move in freefall before catching himself and dropping in the middle of them, punching straight into the ground. The wave of energy knocked them all but Sandstorm off their feet and onto the road. Some police were arriving to try and hold them off as well.

            Kyle rose through the dust that began to build and build like a cloud. He looked through it, intensifying his aura as he did. Sandstorm began to approach, holding his arms out.

            “So you’re Sandstorm,” Kyle said. The ground started to shake around him as he built up the dirt cloud that swirled around him. His aura kept him protected.

            “And you’re the Blue Nexus, guardian of this area,” Sandstorm said. “That was a nice entrance. I’m curious how you can follow it up.”

            Kyle noticed that the cloud was spreading to the road, blinding everyone on all sides. Nobody was moving, but with enough build up these cars would be sucked dry very fast.

            “Let these people go,” Kyle said.

            “Do you really expect me to do that?” Sandstorm asked.

            “It’s just protocol,” Kyle said. “Before I kick your ass.”

            He felt a wave of exhaustion roll over him. That flight took a lot more out of him than he expected. Such a burst of power, though…felt refreshing in an odd way.

            Four more figures appeared in the dust cloud. Dynamo was the easiest to recognize with a hulking build. He clapped his hands together and Kyle jumped back, avoiding the blast that was coming for him. Four small purple darts also flew by Kyle from New Toxo, and Flint stood next to Splotch to ignite his own abilities, sending a stream of fire at Kyle.

            Kyle rolled away and threw an energy ball at the four of them. The sand cleared when it landed, though, and none of them were nearby. Kyle looked to Sandstorm, who shrugged. When there was a small clap in the distance, Kyle knew he had made an error.

            He was just fast enough to dodge the explosion, that also shot several toxic projectiles, but a buffet from Sandstorm knocked Kyle right in the way of Flint and Splotch’s combo attack. He barely stayed on his feet after the wave knocked him back, but received a swift kick in the back from Sandstorm to push him forward.

            Kyle landed belly-first, vanquishing the air from him momentarily. He went to stand but felt a pair of large hands on his back. Someone tsk, tsk’d near him, too, probably Sandstorm. The cloud faded away. Kyle saw the red and blue siren lights making a circle around the crew but all the cops were just standing there with no guns drawn.

            “The mighty Blue Nexus,” Sandstorm said, placing his boot on Kyle’s face. “The one who saved the world from a giant black ball. Who fought the Tiger Trio. Who managed to defy all odds and defeat some sort of black magic wizard. And he can’t even beat us? Where’s Violette when you need her for a challenge?”
            “On her way,” Kyle said. “I’m just here…well, to do this, basically.”

            “You should have at least taken one of us out,” Toxo said, stooping low. He had three darts out near Kyle’s nose. He could smell the poison laced in those darts, and wanted to throw up because of them.

            “Handled us pretty easily before,” Flint said. “Even when we were on the run, hard to take down.”

            “See we all thought that you’d been gone the last two weeks training or something,” Sandstorm said. “We were actually placing bets on where you were. I guess you were just sitting around catching up on Netflix or something. You’re not even worth our time. Dynamo, give these people a good share of the Blue Nexus. Try to leave his head intact for us.”

            Dynamo grunted and Kyle felt his hands brace against Kyle’s back before a flash of red and a new feeling of relief washed over him. The other five were pushed away and Kyle noticed that he had a new red tint of color around him. Kyle smiled wide.

            “You picked a really good time to come back,” Kyle said. “Brenda, it’s good to see you.”

            His friend floated down in front of him gently, her hands extended to control her landing. The other five were all being pushed away by a wall, but Dynamo managed to break out of his. Brenda wasn’t really paying attention, though. Kyle nodded to her and the cube around him dropped.

            “I figured you would want the help, not need it,” she said.

            She looked different. Her hair was cut shorter than normal and she had bangs flowing to the right of her face now. Her outfit also covered up more of her body but was tighter against her, though not to the ridiculous lengths of something like a jumpsuit. Her muscles were also leaner, and Kyle could tell she had gotten stronger not only with her magic but with her actual power. Yet another person he would have to catch up to.

            “B—Shindari!” a familiar voice exclaimed.

            Kyle and Brenda looked over to their right as Sandy vaulted over a police car and landed right next to Brenda. Brenda smiled and gave Sandy a hug. Kyle nodded to her.

            “You’re an idiot, and thank God she was here to save you,” Sandy barked.

            “That tends to be the case,” Brenda said.

            Brenda dropped the shield as it was cracked, letting the five stumble forward. Dynamo clapped his hands but Sandy was quicker to the punch, launching a small ball of magical energy toward the wave coming at them. It exploded instantly upon contact. Kyle held out his hand, snagging his lance, and cut through the air as another plume of fire approached them. Brenda created a small barrier in front of Kyle’s face to block him from three poison darts to the face.

            “Looks like things have evened out some,” Brenda said. “Though I still don’t know if you’re strong enough to really jump into this fight.”

            Kyle hesitated. He looked at the two women, who stood tall and made him feel much smaller than he had in a long time. Still, he couldn’t help but not at them. Brenda was always ahead of him but now she was seasoned in combat against these types. Sandy wasn’t going to back down, either, not in front of her two allies. He still had a long way before he could fight alongside them in any real capacity yet.

            “Leave Sandstorm to me,” Kyle said. “He’s the ringleader here, so if I take him out you guys should have a much easier time.”

            “So, Shindari, do you want the left two or the right two?” Sandy asked.

            “Whichever you don’t pick,” Brenda said.

            “Good answer,” Sandy said, and shot at Dynamo and Flint. Brenda created a platform and launched herself at Toxo and Splotch.

            Sandstorm noticed them, though was slow to pick up on it, and lurched for the two charging ladies. A blue line of energy cut in front of his path and he was forced to retreat just after Kyle narrowly missed kicking him in the head.

            Kyle’s fists turned bright blue and he punched twice, trying to hit Sandstorm but missing both times with the energy blasts. Sandstorm stopped, pivoted, and threw a great cloud at Kyle. He braced himself against it, squinting to see where Sandstorm had gone but he instead just vanished.

            Everything slowed around Kyle. His movements were slowed but his concentration couldn’t have been stronger. He could hear Sandstorm’s movements, invisible as they were, in the cloud. He wasn’t full sand, he was just blending his energy and its energy.

            There!

            Kyle spun around to his left, swinging out with his lance. Sandstorm materialized again and dodged, but couldn’t avoid Kyle’s next attack. With a blue energy fist, Kyle punched Sandstorm across the face, exploding. Chunks of sand burst off of him and he shot away from the cloud. Kyle exhaled and sprinted after Sandstorm, running free of the cloud to jump up and slice down at the super villain.

            Sandstorm was split in two but the real one materialized and looked up again. He launched the sand at Kyle while trying to surround himself, but Kyle smiled in return. Twisting his torso, Kyle began a tornado with the lance on his way down, spinning blue energy all around him to blow the dust away. Sandstorm petered back and realized how exposed he was. Kyle threw the lance at him.

            The lance drove through the ground so that only the butt was sticking out, barely, but now Sandstorm was vulnerable. Summoning up energy fast, Kyle rocketed from the ground and shouldered Sandstorm clean through an opening in the stopped vehicles and police line into the metal railing off the side of the road.

            He lolled his head as some sand rose up around him, but Kyle approached him alongside another police officer. Sandstorm scowled and was about to attack before the officer nailed him in the side of the neck with a tazer, knocking him out instantly. Some saliva drooled from his mouth, but Sandstorm otherwise slouched over and fell to the ground.

            “Ah, thanks,” Kyle said as the energy started to drain from him.

            The cop stooped down and helped him. The lance clattered to the ground, fading away back into the Nexus. An explosion went off behind them but both of them ignored it. The cop let Kyle down against the railing, then went ahead and sat next to him. Kyle thought it was strange until he began speaking.

            “Guess we make a pretty good team,” the cop said.

            “Officer Langston?” Kyle asked.

            “Figures that I was there for you last and I guess first mission again,” Langston said. “It was good to see you show up. Everything else until this kinda sucked.”

            Kyle nodded, but was perplexed to see him. “I thought you worked with East City?”

            “I do,” Langston said. “And we’ve been chasing these guys from there. I work with the super human task force they developed there. It’s why I think we make a good team. I’m like the Phoenix to your Riko.”

            “Are you telling me under that outfit you’ve got a pair of jet-wings?” Kyle asked, the tiredness evident in his voice.

            “You telling me these guys wore you out that fast?” asked Langston.

            “Just gotta find my groove again is all,” Kyle said. “Alucard did a good number on me. No, actually, that’s wrong. I did a good number on me.”

            “Well I can’t really blame you,” Langston said. “Without you, none of us would be here to stop these guys. You didn’t have to come out here today, but I’m glad you did, Blue Nexus. Welcome back.”

            Brenda went with Kyle to deliver Sandstorm and Dynamo to the Cube while the other three were taken to government run super-max prisons. It was another part of the unspoken agreement the Zanderia had with Aplin. They were wary of what he would do with them, possibly weaponized them further and exploit them if the governments ever thought the Zanderia could go “rogue “again, but most of them there weren’t too much of a worry, anyway.

            Brenda only stayed to drop Sandstorm off, since had to get back quickly to the Moon base and speak with Lalay and Phoenix about her missions abroad. She did confirm to Kyle, though, that she would be back on Earth for a while to help him get fully back on his feet.

            The Cube, Kyle noticed, hadn’t expanded all that much since he brought in Toxo and some others last. He placed Sandstorm near the old Toxo because he thought it would be clever and he also didn’t want to have to go too far. Part of him wanted to go and speak with Boomer downstairs, but he would do that after this situation resolved so he wouldn’t feel exhausted talking to the scientist.

            “Got…got them good this time,” Sandstorm mumbled.

            Kyle raised his eyebrow at the man limp in his arms. The air-locked door opened up for the two and Kyle gently scooted Sandstorm into his all-white room.

            “The awakening,” Sandstorm said. “It’s here.”

            Awakening? Well, buddy, you’re the one that’ll be waking up, soon. Kyle shut the door behind him, then looked back to Sandstorm.

            His appearance changed completely. Instead of dirty brown hair and a dirty look about him, Sandstorm now had shaggy, long blonde hair with no muscle and was wearing raggedy clothes. He looked almost ancient. Sandstorm looked up and waved to Kyle, though there was no sand around him that he could generate, not even anything on him.

            Kyle placed his hand on the door before stopping. It was a trick. But a trick like? How could he do…

            Kyle’s right shoulder pulsed twice, rapidly, and Kyle knew what it was. He leered at Sandstorm, who turned his left shoulder sleeve. The dark red mark of a Deception mage was there. Sandstorm looked at Kyle and all he did was smile with broken teeth, and yet with not a trace of a broken spirit. 

Next time: Sandy begins to feel more and more left out as her magical powers start to grow. Brenda and Kyle are unsure how to help until Kyle realizes he may know just the place in "Blue Nexus #43 - Home of Mages"!