Raiders: Quest for the 7 Adman

The Power

Kato and Seamus rushed towards Sam, who was clearly unconscious.

"WHAT DID YOU DO TO HIM?!" Seamus yelled at the three mysterious men. Kato squatted down to Sam, checking for a pulse.

"Don't worry, he's not dead," Jim replied calmly, "Although I probably should've told you guys that was going to happen."

"That would have been smart, don't ya think?" Seamus advised, anger radiating from his voice.

"He'll come to shortly," Harri chimed in, maintaining his formal posture and tone, "However, I do advise some caution when he does. We don't know what his powers are or what will trigger them to activate."

Kato moved back, away from the body after being told this. They knew that Harri was right, but they didn't want to admit they had no clue what was going on. Seamus stood there in shock at what he had just seen. What had seemed like a small treasure hunt had gotten way out of hand. He looked to everyone in the room for guidance, but his gaze was met by no one.

Kato and Seamus looked upon the body of their friend in terror as it started to make its way up from the ground. Sam stood up away from the two. The dimly lit room was so quiet you could hear a pin drop. The man stretched his arms out and looked down at himself and his hands. Suddenly, he spoke.

"Holy crap, that was awesome!" Sam turned around with a giant grin on his face and looked at his friends. When he moved, though, he saw that their faces were terrified rather than happy. "What happened? Did I grow another arm?"

Seamus ran up to Jim with anger in his eyes, but Harri got in front and stopped him before he could get there. Seamus tried to get past Harri, but he was stopped in his place.

"What did you do to him?" Seamus bellowed with a deep voice. Harri winced at the large figure yelling directly in his face. Kato rushed to Sam and started to check and make sure that he was okay.

"I can tell things are a little tense," Klark whispered to himself, beginning to play to calm Seamus down.

"Look," Jim spoke to the angry man standing in front of Harri. "That's what happens when people get powers. You can ask your friend, it doesn't even hurt." This didn't please the still angry man.

"Actually, I feel pretty great!" Sam replied, trying to get Kato to believe it. He glanced down at himself again. There were no physical differences, but he could feel that something had definitely changed. He took a moment to take in everything around him and heard more of that sweet jazz that had graced his ears for the first time just minutes earlier. "That's some nice music there Klark."

Klark nodded and continued playing, hoping to keep everyone calm. The smooth jazz trombone emitted a calming sound. Seamus' anger fizzled immediately and was replaced with a sudden and powerful relaxation. He slightly swayed on his feet and shook his head a bit in an attempt to regain some of his consciousness. Pulling up a chair, he decided that it would be a good idea to sit down.

"You know, I'm in a sax quartet at my school, and can play a pretty mean lick." As Sam pondered this, his hands started to glow with soft golden light, and a tenor saxophone appeared in his hands. It was a beautiful instrument, the brass shining in stark contrast to the dim room they were in. Jim walked up to Sam in awe.

"That's a pretty nice saxophone you got there," Jim said, trying to predict whether or not this would end poorly. Seamus and Kato watched dumbfounded as this all unfolded around them. Almost instinctively, Sam raised the instrument to his mouth and began to play.

As music filled the room, Klark's eyes widened, and he lowered his trombone. The tone was immaculate, and the tuning was so perfect overtones could be heard softly resonating throughout the room. The group stepped back from Sam as a way to respect the performance. Like the absolute music fanatic he is, Sam took creative liberty in his playing and performed solo worthy of a Division I rating.

Sam then changed the style of his playing, ramping up the tempo and adding more complex notes and rhythms. The group was so fascinated by the playing that they didn't notice the lights in the room begin to flicker. Sam approached the climax of his solo, letting out a stream of high pitches. The furniture in the room began to shake, and the lights flickered more violently. This stirred Klark from his trance and he slowly approached Sam, who was still playing like a madman.

"Fascinating," Klark whispered in awe, almost not believing this raw power that came so soon. He placed his hand on Sam's shoulder and gently shook it. Having his focus broken, the lights stopped flickering and the furniture stood still.

"As much as I hate to stop a fellow man of culture from playing, I'm going to have to stop you before you quite possibly wreck the place," Klark gave a small smile to the taller man. "I think we've just discovered your power," Klark declared.

"Oh," Sam stopped playing and immediately took notice of the lights going back to normal, as well as the saxophone slowly vanishing in his hands.

"I didn't realize I was doing something," His eyes then lit up in realization. "Wait, really?! This is my superpower?!"

"I believe so," Klark's smile grew a bit wider. "It'll be nice to have a partner for duets."

"Klark, I think I'm going to have you train Sam," Jim stated, approaching the duo, "If Sam can learn to control that power, it will synergize well with yours."

"Come on Sam, let's play some duets," Klark motioned, leading Sam to a door in the back left corner of the room.

"Wait, you can't just let Sam run off like that," Kato complained.

"Trust me, learning to control one's power is a most important skill," Jim explained, "So, who's next?"

The group of four sat around the bread table. The sound of soft jazz played behind well-insulated walls, hardly making it noticeable. The red tablecloth under the basket was being picked at by Kato as they decided whether or not to take up the offer of power. With no control over the outcome, they pondered what theirs could be. Seamus sat next to them with a thoughtful look on his face.

"So, you're sure nothing bad will happen if we eat these?" Seamus asked the other men there. His eyes stayed locked on the basket while he requested the answer.

"So far, nothing particularly wrong has happened," Harri stated plaintively.

After a couple more minutes of sitting in silence, Kato sat up, grabbed a piece of bread, and looked at Seamus.

"Look, what's the most harm that can happen? We came here for something, let's try it out." Kato motioned at the bread, trying to get him to grab one. After an exchange of looks between the two, Seamus, defeated, grabbed a slice. Kato looked pleased with his decision.

After counting down from three, the two took a bite of their bread.