Versus The Rogue

6

"Mackenzie!" Casey called.

She got no response.

"Kenzie!" She tried again.

Her friend continued to ignore her.

"Would you hold up?!" Casey inquired as she grabbed the young blonde's arm and turned her around.

"Why didn't you stick up for me?" Mack questioned her in anger, "I've had your back since you first became a guardian. Even when you were wrong! And you just sat there and didn't defend me. What kind of crap is that?!"

"What I don't get is why the council doesn't think your capable," Harris added in, "I mean, just because you're younger doesn't mean you can't handle it."

"Mack it's not like that, ok?" Casey tried to reason with her, "sure you're a big help, but some things you have to leave to me."

"Just because I'm not you doesn't mean I'm incapable," Mackenzie argued, "and to be honest, I do things better than you."

"And I do things better than you," Casey counteracted, "we both are better than each other at a lot of things."

Kenzie sighed.

"I trust you Case, why can't you trust me?" She asked in a calmer tone.

"I do-"

"Because besides me, Jackson, and Nigel, no one else..."

Mackenzie stopped herself.

"No one else what?" Casey wondered.

"The point is," Harris cut in, "you both are very powerful and I think Kenzie can handle protecting who she needs to. And I'm not being biased, I'm just being observant. She's done a lot in only a few weeks. Maybe you should take the time to see her in action."

Casey gave him a glance and stared back at Mack, who crossed her arms in confidence. The council member sighed and placed her hands on her hips.

"I'm still going with you." Casey told her.

"Fine," Mackenzie counteracted, "but just know that I don't have to be a council member to get the job done."

Casey's eyes went to the floor for a moment. She nodded a little as Harris sighed.

****************

"So, you're a technopath right?" Alyssa asked.

"Yup." Ry answered.

The council member turned around.

"I never knew that you were Mackenzie's cousin," she admitted, "she kept that part a secret."

"Why?" Mark asked.

"Because most guardians are related to each other," Alyssa replied, "Jackson is my brother and Nigel is my cousin."

"Really?" Ryan asked in surprise, "I thought you were all friends."

"Nope we're family," Alyssa responded, "although I don't like share a bathroom with them. Stressful mornings, won't get into that."

The three continued walking until they reached the back of the building.

"So why did you wanna talk to us?" Mark got to the point.

"Well for one, I want to make sure I like you guys. You're passing that test so far," Alyssa began to answer, "and also, you need to know that we're not the only guardians around."

"There's more of you?" Ryan posed in disbelief, "geez you guys are like...like an expanding society. Throw water on you and you mutiply like little gremlins."

Mark chuckled.

"Good one," Alyssa replied, "we hide in plain sight. So some of your schoolmates are guardians and technopaths."

"Oh god, please tell me Wade isn't one of them?" Mark prayed.

Ryan laughed a little.

"I don't even know who that is so I think you're good," Alyssa told him. Mark sighed in relief, "some people don't even know they're technopaths and probably wonder why the heck stuff is happening."

"So that's why Mack and Casey need to be here?" Ryan put together, "to help find all the technopaths and make sure people like Seth don't find them."

"Exactly," Alyssa confirmed, "we can't afford to lose any of them."

She pulled out two items.

"What are those?" Mark inquired.

"They're flashy totem rings," Alyssa explained, "they help you sense one another if you're in the same room or an area. It's very useful in case you're being held hostage, running for your life, or just in general in needing to find each other."

The black haired council member grabbed the brothers' wrists and locked in the totem rings. Once they were in place, they started to glow.

"Woah," Ryan reacted, "cool."

"They glow extremely bright when you're in the same place. And when you're finding each other the closer you are, the brighter it gets. I have more for your friends." Alyssa mentioned as she gave them to the young pilot.

He put the rings in his pocket.

"Well how do you turn it off because it's starting to blind me." Mark asked her.

"It doesn't run on batteries so you can't turn it off," Alyssa told him, "just keep your wrist low and away from your face."

"Got it." Mark replied.

An alert suddenly began to go off. Both brothers looked down and saw that it was their Mech links.

"Monster attack." Ry said.

"Go ahead and go. Don't let your city die." Alyssa spoke.

The guys ran back into the main room to get everyone else. Veracity and Spyder were already waiting for them. The four of them ran out the door. Casey, Mack, and Harris saw them and instantly followed. Exiting the building, the two guardians ran in front of all of them and had the group hang on to them both. Everyone was then transported out of the guardian realm and back into the old gas station. Ryan busted the door open and had the team run out.
    He attempted to catch up, but found it difficult. His head began to hurt as he looked back down at his arms. The vibrant blue glow had returned. It wasn't painful, but it was showing. Fighting it off, the young man pushed himself and picked up speed. It took some time for all of them to get to the robot since they weren't taking Mark's car. During that time, they could see the monster. Same as the others, just the size was bigger.

"Who the hell thought this was cool?" Casey inquired.

"Harper," Spyder told her, "who else?"

"Guys, let us super speed you. It's ten times as fast." Mack suggested.

Everyone held on to both girls.

"Welp, round two." V commented.

The guardians then helped the team travel back to the ferry.