Chapter 8

"Watch him."

Zator commanded their attention back to the screen; this time it showed Brian entering a training room, the door sliding shut behind him.  Brian moved to the center of the room and looked around, waiting.  Kevin and the others held their breaths, hearing a faint rhythmic clunking.  Seconds later, doors in the training room walls slid open; a company of robots nearly five feet in height entered the room.

The emperor pressed a button.  "Concentrate," he instructed. "You know what to do."

Brian reacted at once.  He raised his hands, and to Kevin's shock, they began to glow.  Top Speed's energy spheres were quickly formed in Brian's hands.  The robots exploded in a shower of sparks and flashes of orange light.

"Not possible," Zanell whispered.

"How could he do that without wearing an amulet?" Nick wondered.

Kevin was at a loss for words.  For every robot that exploded, three more entered the room.  Brian didn't seem to be panicking however.  He just continued the energy spheres until, finally, the number of robots began to diminish.  Brian was sweating, but he was in good shape.  Was it over?

"Round two," Zator announced, without a word of praise or criticism.

Two?

They waited, and soon enough, more robots came clomping into the room.  The ungainly black and silver machines began to circle Brian in, aiming their small weapons at him.  His eyes darted side to side, his gaze one of study and concentration. He ducked his head and took a deep breath.  Had he given up? Kevin wondered.  It couldn't be, not from what Nick had told him about Brian doubling his ability to fight.

"Concentrate."

Shimmering objects appeared in the room.  More robots.

No!

But Brian was smirking.  The group watched as the robots stopped moving, confused.  They suddenly began firing upon each other, not realizing they were being tricked by illusions.  Brian leaped up in the air, nearly hitting the ceiling, and did a backward somersault, landing in front of the door.  He shook his head and stepped forward as piles of broken metal fell all around him.

"Unbelievable," he muttered.

"Don't drop your defenses yet," Zator commanded.  "You still have more rounds to go."

"Please tell me it gets harder," Brian remarked as he kicked one of the broken bots.  Kevin and the others could hear his incredulity. "Brainless tiny things... jeez."

The hair on the back of Kevin's neck tingled.  Something worse was coming.  He glanced at their enemy only to see him grin and chuckle.  "Oh, it will."

Uh-oh.  Kevin glanced at the others and noticed that he wasn't the only one worried.  Nick's hands were clenched and Howie was staring with wide eyes.  AJ, however, seemed smug.

"I'm convinced," he said. "Me next."

"Let Brian finish," Zator instructed.

The group turned their attention back to Brian.  The ground was littered with junked robots, leaving barely enough room to walk.  How would Brian be able to move around when the next volley came?

He didn't have to, as they saw just seconds later.  They were smaller, flying now, less than half the size of the first, and from the look of it, perfect openings to use that blaster resting against Brian's hip.  He aimed the blaster at one of the smaller ones, which exploded in sparks a second later.

Kevin's eyes widened.  That speed rivaled Ordnance.  Even Zanell made a quiet sound of amazement.  Kevin looked over at AJ and saw a shocked, stunned expression on his face.  He'd realized, as Kevin had, that Brian was now moving faster than he ever could.

"That could be us?"

His voice was so quiet Kevin barely heard the question.  To his surprise, Kevin found himself beginning to agree.  All the amulets combined and the entire group could be that powerful and fast?  Still, the reasonable side of him asked when something would go wrong to prove that it was all a lie.  It just seemed way too good to be true.

Kevin looked back to see an incredibly arrogant smile on Brian's face.  That was wrong.  No matter what happened, Brian never acted that way.  He was always humble, always quick to thank God for his gifts.  Now this had happened.  Kevin wanted to do something, had to stop him.  But how?

"Stop it," he heard himself say.

Zator ignored him completely.  With an ever-growing dread, Kevin focused back on Brian, watched the man go through cycle after cycle, each time becoming more powerful and arrogant than before.  Then Kevin noticed something; that arrogance was beginning to cause Brian to be reckless and inattentive.  A droid had sneaked up behind him and he hadn't moved at all.  The droid leveled its laser at him and fired.

Brian cried out and clutched at his shoulder, whirling around to find what had hit him.  He scowled when he saw the droid, then shifted.  His movements were almost a blur, but Kevin definitely recognized Brian lifting his leg and giving the droid a vicious kick, smashing it against the wall.  Kevin saw the fire in his eyes.

He was furious.

"That isn't right," Howie remarked. "He never loses control like that."

"You've got to stay cool to survive," Nick added. "Brian knows that better than any of us."

Nick spoke the truth; yet there Brian was, getting angrier by the second.  With an uttered cry, he began slamming things left and right.  He was losing control...  Kevin risked a glance at AJ.  Surely he didn't approve of this?  Studying his face, Kevin was certain he recognized concern.  If AJ was worried...

He whirled back at Brian's cry of pain.  The blond was bent over, his arm wrapped around his middle, panting hard.

Kevin rushed forward. "What did you do to him?"

"It is not the powers at fault," Zator said, surprising him with an actual response. "He lost control.  Weakness still lies in him."  He turned back to the monitor and pressed a button. "You have better control.  Use it."

Much to his horror, Brian obeyed.  He straightened, shook his head as if to clear it, and glared at the newly arriving droids.  The fury on Brian's face sent a chill through Kevin's body.  He'd been so quick to obey Zator... and that disturbed Kevin the most.  He seemed... so connected to Zator, so... unlike the man he always knew.  Did that Brian even exist anymore?  Or was he lost to the enemy forever?  Brian grabbed an object from his belt, then flung his arm out.  From the flash of light reflecting on it, it had to be one of Ninja man's shurikens.  One after another practically flew from Brian's hand to strike the droids surrounding him on ground and in the air.

Suddenly, Brian stopped moving.  The droids hovered around him, but he was staring at his arms.  Kevin moved closer to the screens.  Then he saw it.  The same orange glow of his energy spheres began to surround Brian's body.  Intuitive alarms were going off, but Kevin didn't know what to do.  Brian's hands shook as he forced them into fists.  Kevin saw him wince as the glow grew in size and brilliance.

The glow completely surrounded him and suddenly blasted outward, striking every droid surrounding him.  Amid the sounds of explosion, Kevin heard Brian scream.

"No!" Nick shouted.

Brian was on the ground, struggling to push himself up.  His entire body was shaking, and Kevin was certain he heard a small whimper.

"That was pathetic, Brian," Zator reprimanded. "You can do better.  You have better control within you.  I see it.  You simply refuse to grasp it."

"I can't!" Brian protested.

Kevin winced.  Even with an entire room separating them, he could hear his cousin's pain.  He was in agony.  Over the years in the group, he had become quite adept at hiding pain, like the rest, and it was only when the other four actually heard it in his voice did they know that it was nearly unbearable.

"You can and you will," Zator barked. "Now, on your feet!"

Brian was on knees and shaky arms now.  He looked at the camera, his face filled with pain and confusion.

"Get up."

Brian looked back at the floor, his breathing heavy.  He shook his head.  "I can't do it."

"Get up, human!  If you want your reward, you will get up!"

Brian exhaled, his head dropping heavily.

"Father," Zanell interrupted, "can't you see he's in agony?  You're forcing him to do something he isn't capable of!  Stop this and let me heal him!"

"He will become stronger," was all Zator said.

Kevin gasped in disbelief.  Was he really that crazy?  Suddenly the floor was jolted from beneath their feet. 

Amidst shouts of surprise, Zator was first to his feet.  He pressed another button on the console. "What happened?" he yelled.

He listened to a voice on the other end, then growled an order.  Armed soldiers arrived minutes later - guards - and Zator raced from the room. Could that have been the explosive Kevin had set in the engine room?

"Help me!"

Racing to the console, Kevin searched for a way to open the door into the training room.  He couldn't leave Brian in pain like that, no matter what he had done.  The search seemed hopeless.  Kevin had no idea which button or buttons opened the door.

"How do we get in?" he demanded, spinning around to face Zanell as she got to her feet.

The princess joined him and scanned the console.  Kevin's stomach dropped when she shook her head and frowned.

"This can't be," she murmured. "I can't find it."  She looked at another console, spotted the amulets, then glanced over her shoulder at the guards.  They didn't seem to know what she was doing.  Zanell hurried over to the console and moved around as though she was looking for something; she snatched up an amulet, then came back to Kevin, her shoulders hunched, head down.  Kevin guessed that she was trying to appear hopeless, a decoy for the guards, so he placed a hand on her shoulder as if comforting her.  She slipped the amulet over his head.

"This may be our one chance to help him," she whispered.

"I'll do my best," Kevin replied.  He glanced over; the guards were watching them.  He groaned quietly.  How could he get to Brian without them shooting him? The problem was answered when Zanell headed over to them.  She looked over her shoulder and gave Nick a wink and a smile.  She reached the soldiers and began speaking to them.

No... flirting with them.  Kevin glanced at Nick, who stood confused at her actions.  He started forward, but Kevin put a hand on his shoulder.  Nick turned to him and was about to speak when he saw the amulet around Kevin's neck.  His face brightened in understanding, and he nodded.  Quick as he could, Kevin became Power Lord and headed for the door.

"Hang on, Brian," he murmured.

Rip the door off its hinges or kick it in? Kevin wondered.  He heard Brian cry for help again and the decision was made for him.  He took a step back, put his weight on his left leg, then pivoted and kicked the door in, sending it flying into the room.  The passage clear, Kevin raced inside.  Brian was struggling to stay on his feet, one hand around his middle.  He had looked up when the door crashed open and met Kevin's gaze.  His eyes widened and he stepped back.

"Brian, it's okay!" Kevin soothed, holding his arms up. "It's just me."

"What... what happened?" he gasped.

Kevin stepped closer, explaining. "It was part of the plan to rescue you.  I was to set an explosive in the engine room that would disable the ship and prevent them from coming after us once we were out of here.  It seems we need to improvise a little, now.  We have to get out of here, but we need to get rid of the guards first."

"What about me?" Brian asked.

"When you were inside that chamber, Zanell said that the transfer wasn't supposed to be painful like it was for you.  And no matter what you want to say, I'm inclined to believe Zanell when she said you should've felt the effects of the transfer immediately." He held out a hand. "Come on, cousin.  Let's get you out of here and back home where you belong."

"But..."

He stepped closer, hoping Brian wouldn't back up farther.  He didn't. "Brian, I'm certain that Zanell can help you control this.  She helped all of us when we first received these powers; remember?"

He swallowed, and then nodded. "I remember."

"Zator didn't do that here. He just let you suffer, claiming that you had the capability to control all these powers," Kevin couldn't stop the smile, "when sometimes, if I remember right, there were instances when you had trouble controlling your own Top Speed abilities."

Brian winced and nodded again.  Kevin held out his hand. "Come on.  Let's go home."

He hesitated a moment longer, then started toward the outstretched hand.  Brian was nearly there when his knees buckled under him.  Kevin was at his side at once.  Brian tried to shrug him off, but Kevin immediately replied, "Either you can fight me on it and take twice as long to get out of here, or you can let us help you get home."

Brian was silent, his gaze on the floor.  Kevin put his arm around his shoulder and gently squeezed.  "Bri, I don't know what brought you here, but I can tell you this: it's time to go home."

After a long moment, Brian nodded.  Kevin helped him to his feet and together they headed back to the others.  Howie was the first to spot them.

"Brian, are you alright?"

He, AJ and Nick crowded around the cousins; Zanell hurried over as Brian replied.

"I'm hurting, bad."

"We could hear," Howie said, putting a hand on his shoulder. "Zanell can help with that, but we still need to get out of here."

Brian looked confused. "How can she help?"

"She still has her amulet, remember?  You only had five amulets for the transfer."

"Oh."

"What are we going to do about the guards?" AJ demanded.

"There's only two," Nick remarked. "It shouldn't be too hard for Kevin to knock them out."

"Yes, but they have guns," Kevin replied. "They could decommission me easily.  Brian shouldn't do it, he's struggling as it is." He glanced at Brian. "I don't want to risk you hurting yourself again."

"Agreed," he murmured reluctantly.

"I'll do it," Nick said. "Ninja Man's too quick for them."

Kevin slipped off the amulet and handed it over.  In the past, they'd learned that it was possible to share amulets and their superpowers would still work.  Seconds later, Ninja Man led the group toward the guards.  They were almost there when Kevin heard a small gasp from Brian and suddenly realized Brian wasn't beside him anymore.  Kevin turned to see him slowly backing away, his blue eyes wide.

"Brian?  What's wrong?" Kevin asked, moving toward him.

"Get back!" he cried.

Kevin stopped. "What is it?"

He was starting to breathe heavy.  He shook his head. "Stay back."

"Brian, we can help," Zanell soothed, moving closer. "What is it?"

"Don't touch me!" he shouted, leaping backward.

"Brian-" Howie began.

"It's happening again!" he cried. "It's happening and I - and I can't stop it.  Get. Back."

Kevin began to back up, not wanting to be too far way from him.  He remembered a battle years ago when the two of them were fighting the same enemy.  Brian had thrown one of his energy balls, but the creature had moved.  Kevin was standing directly behind it and was hit right in the chest.  He was in pain for several days afterward.  Now, with Brian's powers being so out of control, what would happen?  He noticed Brian still backing away and realized that he was headed toward the torture chamber they had just left.

Oh no... The energy field began to surround him again.  Kevin's eyes widened and he rushed forward.  "Brian!"

"No!"

Kevin was only a few steps away when the force of an explosion lifted him off his feet. Blackness came an instant later.