So my dad thinks I ran away from college early and my best friend was getting very nervous. We were in a drastic situation and it was kind of my fault. Morty was holding a parcel like his life depended on it but I would not trust him if the Klozars (who are homicidal aliens by the way) tortured Morty to give up the parcel. It's fine, I would not trust myself either. You might probably be wondering what this dude is talking about, but don't worry, I'll fill you in on the whole story. So where did it all start? I remember it like it was yesterday...oh, it was.
***"Zack!" That's my name, I'm Zack Trevor. I'm twenty years old and I'm in my second year in college. I have blonde hair and I'm about 1.78cm tall.ZACK!!!"Oh jeez." I said to myself taking one ear of my headset up. If anyone had told me that my dad was a T-Rex , I'd have believed them. He screamed so loudly."Ketchup?! Ketchup, there's ketchup everywhere!"I raised my hands. "Hold up_" This is Dexter, my father, sadly for me, he was not such a stick in the mud."I don't know what you're talking about, dad." I told him and commandeered my stuff. "Oh come on!" I had enough of my siblings' antics. I know I'm supposed to be responsible and stuff but I'm not that type of guy. "This is ridiculous!" I followed Dexter down the stairs while he gave me another lecture about not taking responsibility. Like he always did. I'm twenty_yeah, it's that time of my life and I felt like I was not living up to my dad's expectations. I'm almost at the brink of getting thrown out of the house.The avocado walls were covered up in ketchup, including the TV, the carpet, and the table. Red blots everywhere. It felt like my mom's redecorating gone wrong like the inside of a bloody, giant cube-shaped avocado. I swallowed hard."Lois!" My sister was couped up on our ratty beige couch, she tried to watch nursery rhymes on my dad's tablet. I fumed at her, she was spotless in her red and orange striped shirt and denim overalls. She had blonde-ish hair in ponytails, blue eyes, and a pudgy face. She glanced at me cluelessly. "What?"'This one's on you, big bro.' In the end I cleaned up.Ding dong! I opened the door after he knocked. "MORTAY!" We high-hived and did a sort of secret handshake unique to us. Morty Gonzalez had olive skin, a curly undercut, a slightly angular face, hazel eyes, a Greek nose, he was taller than me reaching on 1.80cm. "I heard you're coming over to my house." He tapped his fingers together like some conspiracy theorist and I clamped his mouth shut."We're in the same situation but I just came to make sure you're serious about coming," His eyes widened. He had this suspicious look on his face."Yeah, sure.""Bueno," He pointed."So why are you here?" I asked him holding the door."I'm fine. I have something interesting to show you."... Hours later I was all set for the sleepover at his place and for once I would want to pretend that my cellphone did not exist because Morty was calling. I grabbed a big physics handout and rushed downstairs to the living room where my dad was seated on a couch with Lois. She bypassed her playdate tonight. I hurried past Dad to the doorway."Love you, Lois, bye dad.""Hold on a second. Where are you going?" Dad asked me sitting up. I raised the textbook for good measure. Then I realized a flaw in my plan, my dad was a big math nerd. I pulled up the strap of my bag nervously. "Oof, uh, Morty's slipping so_" I drew in a breath and shrugged. "I've decided to go and help.""Liar." My eyes narrowed at Lois to back off. She just covered half of her face in her blue snuggie."We'll split, you take Seymour with you tonight,"Seymour's head turned, he had grey fur and black stripes, he was getting exhausted from staying indoors. He joined me and so I made my way out of the house to Morty's house. I was running west of a road junction where a dump truck zoomed passed us and someone called."Pssst. Zack, Zack, Zack!"I looked around the place and gasped at the bush. Seymour's back arched at the talking bush hissing and Morty stood upright and took off the camouflage. He was in all black with bushes around him. The good news was I didn't have to run five blocks from my house to his anymore."Dude, thanks for coming." He said at the corner of his lip."Can we get this over with? And why are you dressed like a robber?" I pointed out and he rolled his eyes."Physics gets by anything," He pointed.I blew my hair out of my face. It was getting windy. "Are you on a voyage to look for your own house?" I asked with a smug look on my face."No," He licked his lip. "We're goin' on a stakeout," He brought me an extra ski mask, good idea because it was getting colder."I can't," And he made that funny face where he messed up biting his lip. I touched my forehead."Morty_""I said I was having a sleepover at your house too,"And so foretold the endless calls."What!?""That's nothing to worry about, bro, I have something more serious to show you," I'm sure my dad would hear me too so I ran after him past the stores, past a few open shops and I was edgy about the place he was heading to."Dude." It was getting darker, and I'm not big on dark places. We stopped by an old private hangar. Morty laid low in the shadows. The towering shadow from the entrance door put me on edge, someone was coming."I saw Mister Wigglesworth walk in there," He pointed into the entrance where the door was ajar, lights flooded the walkway and the crickets were chirping."Who?" I spoke out with a tremor that I hoped didn't show."Mister Wigglesworth,""Umm...I don't see anyone," Even if I did, Mister Wigglesworth was the last person I would expect to be in there."Someone's coming," I whispered. He ran and Seymour shrieked when I grabbed him to run along. I wouldn't take chances at this time of night. He stopped by the entry and I bumped into him, The stranger was coming forth, I dropped beside Morty and we inched faster and faster around the crates around the open space. The strangers were approaching fast.Morty focused on the centre of the room and we saw 'them'. Two others speaking in an unintelligible language. I reckoned Morty wanted a piece of this convention too and boy did he look serious. "Stay low," He warned. I hunkered down glaring at the entities dressed in brown camouflage armour, little wonder Morty was afraid of them. Their helmets had three filters, left, right and the centre with visors. There had to be some colossal people in those costumes. An old man arrived with two more entourages. He had a scrunched up face, a bald spot, white hair on each side of his head, he had big ears, and his eyes looked distrustingly from one person to the other. He wore a blue leathery jacket, brown combat pants, and brown sneakers with lemon-green tops. His back was hunched and he had a bit of a swagger in his gait and he was holding on to a parcel.I focused intently on the scene trying to put two and two together. "Damn."Was it some kind of a ritual? In all my days of mowing the lawn, I had never seen my old neighbour move that fast...The two entourages on each side of him were different, their helmets had lights around their opaque visors that transitioned from red, white to blue like plane lights. They had rifles and I might say I was impressed with their sequence. Their footsteps were in sync as they approached the other brown camouflage guys who were lined up."Who are these guys?" The one in the middle talked to Mister Wigglesworth and I could not believe my eyes, the parcel in his hand levitated. I glanced at Morty and he was equally as amazed as me and I scoffed. The parcel in his hand was eye-catching. It was black, prism-shaped with many facets. "Whoa." He tapped on it and it morphed remaking itself into spikes, I heard a pulsing noise, it morphed into a cube then back to the prism. I grabbed Morty's shoulder. Another box materialized from out of nowhere and it stood at the centre like a po
"Here," Mister Wigglesworth said to me and handed me my bag and textbook. Like a new package."Thanks man,"He looked hesitant and meek again. "Don't thank me just yet," I emerged out of the red car weak in the knees. I opened the doggie pack to vomit.Dexter looked appalled. He grimaced. "Zack, what happened?""He came in sick with while I was out shopping," Mister Wigglesworth's head lowered avoiding his eyes. He fidgeted with his keys and Dexter covered his eyes. He started to leave and came back to reverse his car. I blinked twice, his muscle car was now the old rusty Volkswagen that I used to see parked in his backyard. "Whoa."Damn. Why would Frank help me in the first place? "You, Beck, and I are leaving for the hospital tomorrow morning."I swallowed hard...no matter how many times I visited the doctor, I was still scared of him but I couldn't let dad think I tricked Frank into thinking I was sick too.... I laid back in my hammock after that nightmarish experience. We nearl
The School was holding a ball and we had to look presentable. It was mandatory this year. I really truly hoped that Kendra would go out with me.Her mother Susan Gilles glared at me. I turned to Kendra holding a rake. Her dirty brown hair had split ends and she had the prettiest brown eyes, she wore a brown gardening outfit, her pink gloved hand tightened on her rake."Oh hi, Zach, what's shaking?" Me. My face was burning up. "Kendra? Can I ask you for a favour?" She fluttered her eyelashes. "Oh no, I'm all out of solids,"I turned red. "You see..." I saw the neon blue brackets circling her face. I flapped my hand across my face good thing she was checking her phone. "Oh, I just got an text from Al-Abadi, he asked me to come to the dance." She said. She studied physics.Amir? Amir Al-badi was like the worst human being on the planet to me. I doubt this'll go well. Besides I was not that great compared to him. "Um...That's... great_""Unbelievable..." I put my hands in front of my ey
"I really don't want to go anywhere else, and I have questions," I confessed to Mister Wigglesworth.He sighed. "My name is Zed Sharlowke, and I come from a planet named Morphius. It was peaceful, we were invincible, unbeatable, until we met our match, someone who could outmatch us. Sadly, an Overlord named Blaze Gondomier had other plans for us. He had his eyes on Zoldor, but we could not live as another Klozarian colony. So the Morphian sage, Teyen, the best among us, bargained for our most prized possession: Zoldor.""Where's Zoldor?""Zol-DOR," he corrected and glared at a monitor that beeped."What the—!?" I frowned at the aerial view of my porch, everything highly defined. "You set up a camera on my porch?""It's for the neighborhood watch; it tracks any interesting movement," he explained, tapping a neon keyboard as it zoomed in on Kendra, who was wearing a purple dress and heels."Why is she here?" I wondered aloud."I'll call you right back," I said and went outside to meet he
The rapid, metallic clang of gunfire echoed through the dimly lit alley. My shoulder screamed in pain as I dived behind a stack of wooden crates, the harsh breaths escaping my lips accompanied by the frantic thumping of my heart. Kendra's earlier appearance, now in the form of a lethal killing machine, had caught me completely off guard.From my hiding spot, I fumbled for the rifle, desperately needing some firepower to defend myself. The darkness was my only ally as I felt her approaching, the whirring of her robotic limbs reverberating in the eerie silence.Morty had fallen, unconscious and vulnerable, and I couldn't allow this menace to reach him. My other wound, from her previous attack, had miraculously healed again, a testament to the unsettling side effects of whatever had been injected into my system. A disturbing thought crossed my mind: was I becoming something more than human?The inhuman footsteps grew fainter as the Klozandroid continued to advance. She had morphed into a
Mister Wigglesworth sat up from his chair "You lost the machine!?" He looked dismal and I raked my hair feeling terrible and all the same useless."I'm sorry, I just didn't want Morty to get vaporized. But we can find her, right?" I encouraged.He worked on his computer fixated. "No, Klozandroids are extremely hard to pursue, especially one that shapeshifts," He said and I gulped. "I don't have much time. Ash gave me 2 days and this is the second." He searched his monitor for anything suspicious on the map. "And they are extremely dangerous," His eyes stirred momentarily and then he passed me a small cardboard parcel. I took it and read the label, unfolding it to pick out a key. It jingled in my hand. "What's this for?" I read the caption and, it had the VW sign. I realized that letter V was actually a boomerang. A decoy."It's the key to the Volkswagon Bug,""You want me to ride that hunk of junk?" Seriously? I'd be the laughingstock of the entire town. I wouldn't want Amir to see
"Step 1. Be unpredictable,"The robots were a challenge. One spun and tried to kick me, I clasped its foot in-between my hands and my knee went down and my foot pushed backwards against the ground.My hands crackled with electricity. Its eyes flashed, and I staggered forward when the other one booted me on the back of my head. I almost blacked out when I collided with the first one. I dropped and crawled away with a hand on my head and shuddered. Then my senses spurred on and I spun my body up, on my hands to evade a sweeping kick and flipped back blocking a heavy fist and I slammed my foot into the red bot's knee, it sparked after I crippled it.Their eyes flashed red. More emerged from the suitcase doubling up to fourteen_as much as I could count. "There's too many!" I said disoriented by them shuffling again. Mister Wigglesworth clenched his fist. "It's not about the size of a dog in a fight, it's about the size of the fight in a dog!""I am not a dog!!" I blocked my face on the
"You think it's broken?""Ha ha, as soon as the Box gets to Mister Wigglesworth, then we're good," I held it carefully and it wore on me like a sleeve. I pushed it off."What the hell!?" Morty pulled, it stretched like rubber and flickered sewing itself on to me.Seymour pawed at the remains in fascination."Zack!!" My dad was home and his voice was getting louder as he came by."Yeah, Zack!!" I snuffed at Lois's voice. She can barely put her sentences together and copies anyone who talks."Help," The alien stuff was creeping up to my face and I wheezed craning my neck away from it.He checked the house for any anomalies and glared at me. "What in the world are you wearing?"I hid the boot behind the rails."It's his costume," Morty said casually patting my head. The substance scaled up my neck and I hooded my face and I huffed at the holes he poked on it."Polkuhgeist,""It's an award-winning costume all right," Beck blew a raspberry at me holding a white package and a bottle of cho
With the portal-like rift pulsating before them, Zack and Gwen exchanged one more glance, a mixture of apprehension and curiosity in their eyes. Captain Alissa and her Morphian Strike team remained vigilant, ready to respond to any developments.Zack: (determined) "Gwen, we didn't sign up for this adventure expecting it to be easy. Let's find out where this portal leads."Gwen: (resolute) "You're right, Zack. There's something extraordinary on the other side, and we can't turn away from it."With their decision made, Zack and Gwen stepped forward, crossing the threshold of the rift. It felt like being pulled through a swirling vortex, their senses overwhelmed by a kaleidoscope of colors and strange sensations.Moments later, they emerged in an alien landscape. The sky above them was a shade of deep indigo, adorned with multiple moons casting an otherworldly glow. The ground beneath their feet was not Earthly soil, but a crystalline surface that shimmered like a thousand stars.Captain
The bright Las Vegas sun hung high in the sky as Zack Trevor and Gwen prepared for an exhilarating adventure. They stood on the edge of a small airplane, the wind whipping around them, ready for their tandem skydiving experience.Zack, with an undeniable zest for life, grinned at Gwen, his wife, her eyes reflecting a mix of excitement and a hint of apprehension.Zack said grinning. "Gwen, you ready for this? It's gonna be a wild ride!"Gwen smiled nervously smiling. "I trust you, Zack. Let's do this."As they leaped from the plane, the world transformed around them. The roaring wind filled their ears, and the rush of adrenaline surged through their bodies. The sprawling city of Las Vegas stretched out below them, a vibrant mosaic of lights and life.Zack's heart pounded with the thrill of freefall, and Gwen, despite her initial hesitation, soon found herself caught up in the breathtaking beauty of the moment.Their descent continued, and with a graceful swoop, their parachute opened,
Zack wanted to leave a mark but he was afraid that he would go down with the authorities. It was against the law to distribute without a license but there were so many starving.He felt like he was being drawn from different directions. He couldn't bring himself to close up, but Vorax told him they would have to keep this a secret but to what end? He was paralyzed, they wanted different things.He gave out foodstuff and passed out water. He watched the cameras as a man in a white robe approached."Do you know who this is?" Vorax could have not been more paler. He kept his composure and arrived at the door.Zack approached the door."Open up at once."The security guards were infuriated."We did not approve of this activity."Vorax glanced at Zack. "I belong to the Morphian government if that's what you're asking. Zachary Trevor certified mech soldier at your service.""He is here because of me. I orchestrated this charity.""Vorax once again you have proven to be a hazard in this c
The lieutenant colonel and the rest of the MST joined Gwen and they watched the ship leave. She turned off her comms. Hoping she didn't make a mistake by letting him go.Echo, Lance and Raymond gathered. "I've done a research_""Since when?" Raymond asked recovering."Since now. He was right. We're going after him." Lance said.Raymond felt guilty for betraying Zack.... Zack watched space, it was incredibly dark. He smiled at the galaxies. "This will never get old." He expected a blow to the head but Vorax joined him."It's nothing new."He gazed at the interiors. "So this is what it feels like to be inside of Zoldor." "You'll get used to it." Zack retorted.Vorax glanced at him and his eyes crinkled. They stood in the awkward silence."So, how long have you been on combat training?""A millennium.""How old are you?""2500, that's 25 in the Terran time zone.""You're 25?""Is that wrong?" He asked."Do you think it's wrong?" Zack watched him intrigued. He waited as he put the Zo
"Of course not, you can trust me.""Well, you're wrong for taking their side. Your people can be wrong too." He said walking faster."You're giving it away after all you've been through?""I know, I just need to have a little faith." He said. "Besides the videos."She shut her eyes. "Oh...You're going against everything you've stood for just to help someone you barely even know. You're risking your career.""I don't have time for this. I don't stand for this either, I'm on his side and there's nothing they or you can do about it."He focused on the camera and left."Who are they?" Gwen folded her arms.He walked away from her. Zack approached Vorax alone, the behemoths turned their heads and parted ways when he walked boldly and swiftly towards Vorax who was sitting on a chair. He didn't know what he was grappling with.He had to save the Thegronians against all odds."I suppose your way did not work," Vorax said.Zack dropped his kit in the ship. He was done talking. "We have to g
Zack watched the images of his predecessors by flicking a button. He recalled what Deuce had said to him, he didn't seem pleased. "I lost." He buried his head inbetween his knees. He frowned clenching his hand. He couldn't just sit there and sulk. He hefted a sword swinging it. He wouldn't let Vorax beat him so easily."Combat mode." The sparring bots emerged from their chambers to attack him, their eyes flashed red running at him.Zack kicked back to dodged the shots. Gwen watched as he ravaged through the hourde swinging the staff. He jumped mildly twisting his body to stab the bot. He grabbed one by the core and squeezed it. Throwing it against the metallic wall, it dented. Another tossed a rock at him. He flipped over its head and he blasted it with a watch. He twisted kicking another. It had him in a crossbody position. Zack yanked its arm off causing himself to fall upside down. He grabbed its head inbetween his legs and tossed it to the wall. Gwen arrived at the control r
Zack had a lot to accomplish. He couldn't act with his colleagues. He rushed towards Lance who watched from afar.In the arena secluded for training. Zack and Lance exchanged blows and their swords clashed.Zack flipped over his head and landed on the tip of his toes. He gasped gazing at the tear on his suit."I am the fastest thing alive." Lance boasted grinning.Echo rolled her eyes watching from the nosebleed.Gwen watched biting her lower lip."What do you even see in that guy? He's obviously fighting a losing battle."Gwen frowned acknowledging it but she couldn't help it. "You're doing great."Zack held up his buffer barely registering her words. He knew Lance was holding back. None of it felt satisfactory. He gave it all he had to see how sharp his reflexes were.Lance waved a hand to his mouth yawning and he blocked his fist. Tossing him to the other side. He turned to the girls. "I am the greatest gladiator in all of Morphius_"Zack punched him. Lance landed on his face."Tha
Amidst the solitude, Zack sat alone in his spacious house, the silence around him as heavy as the weight he was about to lift. Echo, once his constant companion, had also ventured into the world of employment, leaving Zack with his thoughts. He decided to fill the empty wall with inspiration, pinning a poster of his favorite bodybuilder as a daily reminder of his goals.With determination burning in his eyes, Zack grasped the dumbbells, ready to push himself to new limits. "I'm gonna get stronger. Better," he muttered as he launched into his workout.Each rep felt like a step closer to his aspirations, and with each record-breaking lift, Zack's motivation soared. The sweat poured, but his spirits were high, driven by a newfound strength he hadn't thought possible.However, amid his physical triumphs, Zack couldn't escape a lingering sense of passivity in his life. Solitude loomed like a threatening shadow, and he grappled with the daunting prospect of going through this transformation
Zack and Gwen arrived at the house, their eyes taking in the impressive sight before them. "Pretty wild, isn't it?" Zack commented, his excitement palpable.Gwen glanced at the well-maintained lawn and the spacious garage. "It's beautiful," she replied, her voice filled with admiration.They stepped inside, exploring each room with curiosity. "Five bedrooms," Zack noted, mentally calculating the potential."That's a fair deal," Gwen muttered, her mind already sorting through financial plans.Zack leaned closer to her, his voice lowered. "Say, 10-14 years, and I'll be out of debt," he whispered."Why are you whispering?" Gwen asked, puzzled by his privacy. Her question echoed in the empty room, eliciting a chuckle from Zack.He rolled his eyes playfully and gestured towards a walk-in closet. "We have a walk-in closet too," he declared, attempting to change the subject."Why didn't you tell me you were getting a house?" Gwen questioned, a mix of surprise and annoyance in her voice."Beca