Wednesday, September 17, 2008

Clip from Jen's Book

It's still raw so be kind, but suggestions are always welcome

For the past few days DJ's team had been getting a lot of attention. Harry stood up during lunch and asked everyone to assemble at DJ's practice ground.
It didn't take long before a crowd of 200+ was gathered. I called my team together and went to see what was going on. In the center of the crowd was DJ's team. They were practicing their powers and running drills like the rest of us, only much, much better. They were so fluid as a group. It was hard to tell when one action ended and the next one began. Keith and Harry were clearly impressed.
"How long have you been working together?" Harry asked DJ.
"Since the first day of camp," DJ said proudly.
"That's impossible," Keith told him. "You're telling me you've mastered all this in 3 weeks? You had to have met before, worked together before. Your team's fluidity, it borders on precognition. "
DJ beamed. "We get together in a chatroom on Saturday nights, but until the first day of camp Holly and I had never actually met the gang. Here let me introduce you." He held up his hand and the group stopped their exercises and gathered around him.
"My assistant Holly, codename: Modest Mouse." He gestured to the young, beautiful brunette standing to his left.
"Her skin secretes a deadly toxin so even a touch from her can be fatal." Holly turned to DJ and blew him a friendly kiss. Her power sounded horrific but it was hard to be scared with her standing there grinning ear to ear. She noticed me in the crowd and gave a quick little wave.
DJ moved on, proudly introducing his troops. He pointed to a curly haired cutie.
"Next is Molly, codename: Heaven17. She is a psychic who can blur the vision of her victim until they cannot differentiate her from her surroundings. We call this power "invisibility." Whoa, that's a useful power.
Jage raised his hand. "Can she make other people and objects invisible too?"
"Absolutely," DJ confirmed. "In fact we have been pairing her with Becky, codename REM. Becky has magnified hearing so the two are kind of our little spy team."
"Really?" asked Dimitri, our resident master spy. "So what has your little spy team picked up so far?" He was calling DJ out, and DJ seemed very protective of his spy girls.
"My girls can tell you what you've been doing. Or more specifically, who you've been doing."
There was a big murmer in the crowd. D'mitri, I didn't know he was with anyone. D'mitri's cheeks burned with embarrassment. I was as curious as the next guy but I wasn't going to let D suffer.
"Oh I get it," I said loudly. "All their codenames are band names and their leader is the DJ!" I know I was stating the obvious but it did break the tension. I think DJ felt a little bad too. I know he didn't mean to embarrass D'mitri, it was his job to guard his team. DJ went right back to introducing his guys.
"We have Jeremy, codename: Radiohead. Jeremy can control the density of his own molecules. By doing this he can force his body into places no other human can fit and adjust his molecules to get out again in a hurry. We call this power "walking through walls."
"Jennifer, codename: Ludo is our morale booster." DJ laughed a little and ruffled the girl's light brown hair. I could see her as the team cheerleader, she beamed everytime one of her teammates was introduced as if she personally had brought them to this place and time. "Jen can draw oxygen out of your blood cells and up to the surface of your skin. It helps with healing and sharpens reflexes. It also gives a pleasant bubbly feeling." Jen giggled.
"Next we have our prodigy Gerry, codename: Gangof4. Gerry can manipulate the fibers in clothing to such a degree he can turn the same sweater into kevlar, scuba gear or another kind of cloth altogether like a tuxedo."
"So basically he's James Bond," Zeal joked.
"Yeah, or some kind of comic book waiting to happen," quipped Harry.
"Steve, codename: U2 can bring the metals in his body up to the skin to create armor for himself. His skin essentially turns to metal making his physical attacks deadly."
DJ seemed reluctant to introduce us to the last member of his group, a beauty with long dark hair and gentle eyes. He put a hand out for her and she took it, coming shyly forward. "This is Kitt, codename: Heart. Kitt lends her energy to a partner to enhance their abilities. We call this power "Amplify."
My breath caught in my lungs. It was clear from looking at the shy, unassuming girl that Kitt had no idea just how valuable her power was. I turned to the crowd and most of them were drooling and sizing her up like a piece of meat. The idea of multiplying your power was seductive to anyone. Few of them realized that the greater power would require a greater measure of control that none of them possessed. I was thankful she was on DJ's team. I knew he would protect her from the power hungry.
With the crowd still watching, Keith sauntered up to DJ. "I would like your team to be the first inside team. I want you on the front lines. I want your team leading us all."
DJ's team immediately started high-fiving and hugging each other. "It would be an honor" DJ told Keith, shaking his hand. The crowd erupted into thunderous applause. Keith was right (as always) DJ's team was the example. They were strong, intelligent, working together. I didn't even know everyone on my teams name.
We all walked away from that with new resolve.

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