The Supers Origin

The Receiving of Powers Pt. 3

Short A/N: This happens a couple of minutes after Betty meets 3.285--while they are currently in the void.
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Archie Andrews finally came home after walking his dog, Vegas. "Mom! Dad! I'm home!" He called out. "All right! Dinner will be ready in a few!" His mother called out. Archie hung his jacket and went to his room to change. Finally, he was done changing and was about to go down, but then something caught his eye; his wallet was suddenly glowing.
Out of curiosity and confusion, Archie went to where his wallet was and grabbed it.

'What the...?" He thought. Suddenly, a bright light shone in front of him. Archie immediately closed his eyes. Though he couldn't see anything, he could hear a whoosh-like sound. Archie opened his eyes slowly, then looked around his surroundings. He was in an empty white room.

'Where am I?!' Archie thought. "Hello?" He called out, but no one answered. After a moment, a figure suddenly appeared in front of him. "Hello, Archie Andrews!" The figure said. At that, Archie stumbled back in shock. "Oh, apologies for startling you." The creature said. Archie didn't say anything to her. Instead, he slowly studied the figure from head to toe. "Who are you?" He then asked. The creature simply smiled and replied, "You'd have too many questions if I told you my other name. The name that humans call me."

Archie became even more confused, but didn't say anything about it. "Why am I here?" He asked. "You're here because you've been selected to be one of the protectors of earth!" The creature said. It took a moment for Archie to finally process what the creature told him. "Wait, what?!" He exclaimed. "You heard me correctly, Archie." She said.

"Hold on, so am I a super hero now?" Archie asked, excitedly. The creature thought about it for a moment. "You could think of it like that," she considered. "Wait, you said 'one of the protectors'. Does that mean there are more? Do I know them?" The boy asked. "Yes, and yes." The creature replied. "Your friends have also been chosen to protect this planet."
"Cool," Archie said. For him, it was good to know that he didn't have to team up with people that he didn't know. It was easier for him everyone else in the group. "So, how do I get my powers?" He asked.

"You're pretty excited about this," the creature grinned, "I like that." Archie grinned as well. "Hey, it's not everyday that an alien tells you that you're about to be a super hero." He said. "Besides, I've always wanted to be one when I was a kid. Fighting crime, having cool powers, and all that other stuff!"
"Well, I don't want to sound threatening, but you will be dealing with something bigger than crime." The creature told Archie. His grin suddenly disappeared as the creature said, "and this threat is... perhaps a little worse than villains you see in TV shows and movies."

Archie was silent for a moment. He wasn't sure whether or not the creature was underestimating this threat, but he didn't want to pass up an opportunity like this. "Well, what's a hero without a villain?" He said. The creature responded with a smile. Then, she reached her hand out to Archie, clenched it into a fist, and opened it to reveal a glowing ball. It looked simple, yet so fascinating, he thought. "This is a power ball," the creature explained to him. "Eat this, and you'll get your powers."

Archie raised an eyebrow. The power ball didn't exactly look edible. He felt as if he would be eating something radioactive if he did consume the power ball. "Don't worry," the creature said, answering his unasked question. "I promise that it does not give any physical or mental side effects to you. I wouldn't dream of hurting any of the creatures in my planet." Archie hesitated before finally agreeing to eat the power ball. He took it from the creature's hand, then ate it.

He didn't feel anything, which confused him. "I don't feel anything," he muttered. "Just give it about a moment or two. It will kick in by then." The creature told him. A few seconds later, Archie felt an indescribable surge travel around his body--which made him shiver a little. "I think I just felt it," he said. "That's good," the creature replied, smiling. "Now that you have your powers, my friend will do an introduction later. Probably via Elizabeth Cooper's necklace. He'll tell you all everything you need to know."
"All right, I'll tell them later." Archie said. The creature nodded and snapped her fingers. Then, a bright light was shone once again.

The boy opened his eyes and saw that he was in his room once again. Not even a few seconds later, his mother appeared in front of his door. "Archie, I've been calling you a few times already." She told him. Archie blinked and flushed. "Sorry mom, guess I couldn't hear you." He grinned. "Never mind that. It's time for dinner." She said, then turned around and went downstairs--Archie followed her.

* * *

After dinner, Archie went to his room and decided to find clothes for his hero costume. He didn't have much money to buy any cool accessories, so decided to go with something simple: a shirt, a pair of jeans, a mask, and a cape. He rummaged through his closet and found a red shirt and red jeans. Perhaps he could make a one-colored costume, he thought. Later, he went to look for some red cloth--which he managed to find.

After cutting the cloth to make a mask and cape, he changed onto his new costume. Then, he looked at the mirror and admired himself. 'Not to shabby,' he thought to himself.

Archie changed back to his normal clothes a moment later. Then, he got his phone and started to call his friend, Betty. On the third ring, she finally picked up. "Hello?" She said. "Hey, Betty," Archie greeted. "Did an alien already visit you, by any chance?" He asked. Betty paused for a brief moment before saying, "Yup. He said he's gonna explain everything. I don't know when, though."

"All right," Archie said. "I'll call everyone later. We'll arrive there sometime at 7 o'clock, maybe?" Betty agreed and Archie hung up. Then, he started to call the rest of his friends.

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