FusionFall: Invasion

Chapter One: The Day Everything Changed

It started like every day did. I woke up, and looked out my window. That stupid planet looked down at me. I sighed. I swung my legs out of bed and clicked a button on the wall. A dresser shot out in front of me, presenting me with a neatly folded outfit. I put on the light blue button up and dark jeans. I walked out of my room tying a trinity knot in my pink tie. I took the stairs down two at a time. My family was out already, dad at work and mum probably dropping off my siblings. I shuffled around in the pantry for some quick breakfast and found a bagel. I tossed it into the toaster as I gathered my school things from around the house. I grabbed the bagel and walked out of the house, grabbing my 2x4 KND hoverboard and putting on my black fedora on the way out.

I passed others heading to school on my way. I waved to a few, joked around some.

"Hey Mac!" I called to the 8 year old across the street. I slowed down and pulled up beside him. "What's up? How's Bloo?"

"Hey Ben." He replied with a smile. "Bloo's at Foster's like he usually is."

I nodded. And revved up my board again. We started off again side-by-side in silence for a little while. We approached a fork in the road, and we waved goodbye. I headed left towards Pokey Oaks High. I saw Daniel coming from the opposite direction on his own hoverbike. His elegant, well-groomed mustached flowed in the wind. We high-fived as we approached one-another. "What's up bro?" I asked.

"Ah nothing much. You?" He replied.

I shrugged. Guys never really have much to talk about, I guess. We hopped off our machines and walked through the front gates of the high school. I said goodbye to Daniel as I headed towards the flights of stairs and headed to the second floor where my locker was. Dropping my board into it, I closed the locker door and saw Ali and Sherylann walking towards me. 

I smiled and raised a hand. They smiled back. When we met, Ali hugged me.

"G'morning." I said, smiling.

"Good morning." She replied. I repeated the greeting to Sherylann. We turned and walked down the hall.

"Ugh." The girls groaned. "History is kicking our butts again." Ali explained. I nodded. The two liked to take advanced classes. This year seemed to have been a bit much more than they could chew. Down the hall came other friends. Jackson, Luke, and Chris was walking the opposite way as we were, and we met halfway. They were raving about some new thing one of the Heroes had recently done.

"And then how he took him down in one swing? Amazing!" Chris was saying.

Jackson laughed. "He never stood a chance!"

Luke joined in, quietly commenting, "Jack destroyed him. It'll take a while for him to bounce back this time."

"Whatcha guys talking about?" I asked, my interest piqued.

"Did you see the news? Samurai Jack absolutely wrecked Demongo! Again!" Chris said excitedly.

I shrugged. "He always does. It's nothing new really." I felt a tug on my hand and let Ali's hand go, a bit reluctantly, so she and Sherylann could get to class. The bell rang.

I walked beside the other guys to our first period. Algebra 2. Internal groan. I hate math. Can't wrap my head around it, and frankly, much, if not most, of it is useless. I'm never gonna use this crap! Anyway, we took our seats in the classroom. They never have arranged seating charts, so the guys and I usually sit in the back, and mess around. The teacher is oblivious to everything, I swear. I kind of pay attention, so I can at least pass.

Jackson and Chris started a paper football game, Luke quietly commenting and keeping score. I watched lazily, leaning back my chair against the wall. The voice of the teacher slowly sent me off into daydreams...

SNAP

I jolted, nearly falling over. I looked around, and saw Abigail Lincoln glaring at us from under her faded red ballcap.

"You boys better be quiet or Numbuh Five's gonna..." She muttered.

I looked around quickly again. The teacher was still teaching, not paying attention as always. No one else had noticed us, except for a couple other students who glanced back at us uninterested.

"Shh, shh. We'll be quiet." I assured her. Man, she sure is one edgy girl. Piss her off in the slightest, and she'd knock you over the head. And over the fence. Dunno what kind of training they go through in the KND. I frankly don't want to know. It's become a really exclusive club, the Kids Next Door organization. Sure, 2,000 operatives may not seem very exclusive, but they decided that the best interests of both kids and teenagers, they would combine forces with the Teen Ninjas. Another faction neither I, nor any of my friends are a part of. But some of the operatives of the KND still prefer to go by "numbuhs". 

Numbuh 5 seemed satisfied and settled back in her seat and continued taking notes. Or writing battle plans. Wouldn't put it past her.

The other guys just looked at me. "Dude, did you just stand up to Shoes?" Jackson said. I dunno why he and the other two insist on giving particular girls nicknames. It's supposed to be subtle and sneaky when they talk about them, but it's not really that hard to figure out who it is. Each one has a specific story or crazy reasoning.

"No. I told her you guys would be quiet." I hissed. They got the message and stopped their game. Instead they pulled out Monsters and Mazes sheets and conversed in silent whispers. I sighed and shook my head. Yeah, they're nerds, but they're really cool guys, to be honest. I pushed my hat over my eyes and drifted off to dreamland again...

The rolling fields were an emerald green. A massive apple tree grew overhead. The sun barely poked through the slightly grayed clouds above. Birds chirped and a slight breeze blew through my hair. I breathed in and sighed, flopping onto the thick grass. I closed my eyes and listened to the sounds and smiled.

A shadow loomed over me. I cracked an eye and saw Ali smiling over me.

"Hey." I said, smiling back.

She said nothing. I frowned and blinked. What stared back at me in my girlfriends' place was an empty skeleton. I yelled and clambered away as it fell on me. Brushing away the bones and breathing heavily, I looked out on the horizon frantically...

...and was met by the scene of the apocalypse. A green haze hung over the ground, making it hard to see. I heard a few gunshots in the distance, and then screams. Somewhere a bomb dropped and exploded. I looked up and saw that accursed planet, closer than ever. It stared back at me. It slowly grew, and grew, and engulfed the Earth. The last thing I saw was a poisonous green, then black, my ears filled with my own screams of agony.

I jolted awake as the bell rang. I looked to my left and saw the guys swivel their heads back around and pretended to not have seen anything. They obviously had. The three kept looking over their shoulders at me.

I mopped my forehead with my hand. Man, what was that? I thought, as I put my notebook in my pack. I stood up a tad shakily, and started to the door. I looked into the window as I passed. I was pale and clammy. I put my hands in my pockets and realized I was shivering and freezing. What? It was the middle of June!

Anywho, I went down the hall. I met Jacob, Ali, Sherylann, and Daniel in the hall. We moved over to the wall to talk. I wasn't really paying any attention. I felt someone touch me and I jolted a little. I looked down and saw Ali had poked me, watching me with a questioning, worried look. I shook my head barely enough for her to see. Later.

She got the message and went back to the conversation, occasionally looking back at me.

The bell rang again, and we all separated to our classes. I struggled to pay any sort of attention in the next two periods, trying to distract myself from memories of the nightmare. Fourth hour came along. 

And everything changed.

We had a substitute and a surprise test.

Oh yeah, and a giant alien planet sent down asteroids filled with green poisonous goop to invade Earth and destroy all life as we knew it.