Stolen Powers: Rise of the NGZ

Chapter Nine: Never Forget

Following the fight with Donovan, we all decided to take it easy with training, since we were pushed so hard yesterday. Today was also the day that Simon said that we'd leave for Bolivia. So, we all were gathered in the conference room at around noon, a little bit before.

"Thanks for coming here," Simon announced with a voice that you'd hear over a loud crowd, although none of us were speaking. "I assume you know why I called you in here, correct?"

Nobody said anything except myself. "Yes sir, we do."

"Good," he replied. "I just got news from Alonzo that he was ready to pick you six up in Cochabamba."

"What's the plan when we arrive?" asked Landon.

Simon bowed his head in thought. "The main objective is to find Mason's father, of course, while also discovering what Lin has planned with that machine. Unless Austin Powell told him where the actual DXC is, he should have no clue where it is."

"If he did, everyone would be completely screwed over," Quentin said with crossed arms.

Simon nodded. "That's true. I will let you guys decide what to do when you arrive in Cochabamba, but hear me out when I say this. Lin is an evil man, and if it comes down to it, kill him and everyone else in it. Blow up the headquarters the same way you did in Mexico City. But dear God, don't let him use the prototype."

The six of us stared hard at him. Sure, killing him would be an amazing thing to do, since he already deserved every last bit of it, but none of us were even like that. I didn't want any more blood on my hands than I already had.

"I believe in you guys, I really do," Simon said, looking at us with a genuine expression. "But don't kill anyone that you don't have to. Only if your lives are truly in danger, then don't hold each other back."

Donovan sighed. "That's a good way to look at this. The least we have to do is destroy that machine and rescue Mase's dad. If we gotta kill Lin, then screw it, whatever. Let's just go down there and show them what's up."

I saw Bailey smile nervously behind a confident face. She looked at me and nodded, which made me frown in thought. Simon noticed this and said, "Is there something bothering you, Mason? If you don't agree with something, then-"

I stood up, which made him stop. Examining everyone in the room, I took a deep breath and spoke clearly. "We can't forget who we are. First, my dad gets kidnapped by the NGZ, and almost immediately afterward, Bailey's house gets burned down with her parents nowhere in sight. My mom gets shot to death beside a man that Quentin Johnson looked up to, Captain Tanner Welch."

Quentin's eyebrows furrowed at the mention of the name. I softened my expression and continued. "My point is, no matter what happens, we have to keep going forward in this. If anything happens to anyone, we will not stop and quit. Can all of you promise me that?"

At first, I got some questioning looks. Jamie spoke first. "Yeah, Mason's got a point there. We didn't quit when his mom was killed, so there's no reason that we can't do the same for someone else. I promise you that I won't stop."

I smiled, and Landon raised his hand. "I hear you, Mason."

Quentin and Donovan did the same. Donovan nodded towards me. "Whatever happens, I'll always be there to back you up."

I smiled again and turned to Bailey, who instantly nodded. "Of course. There's no reason why I won't follow you."

With that, I turned back to Simon, who was watching us quietly. "Well, now what?"

He stood up as well and rolled his chair in. "I'd say it's about time you guys get packed because Giovanni leaves for Torreón in an hour."

• • • • • • • • •

Packing for a trip isn't the same as packing to go on an adventure that you're unsure of coming back alive from. When packing for a trip, you're pretty positive that you'll come back alive and unpack and lay on your bed and rest for a while. On the flip side, when packing for a deadly adventure, you try to pack either as much as possible or barely anything at all. Simon told us to only pack clothes and restroom materials. That was it. Try to leave as much as you can behind.

I sighed as I zipped up my duffel bag that somehow held a week's worth of clothes and my toothbrush and toothpaste. I didn't want to leave, but at the same time, I really wanted to. I'd do anything for my father, even though he was hardly home. He never went to my basketball games. He never had the time to watch me grow up. He never saw me be the man he wanted me to be.

Still, he was my father, and I will do anything to save his life. Standing up and walking towards the door, I turned around one last time to make sure I had everything I needed. Something shiny caught my eye, so I turned around and walked over towards the dresser. It was a silver ring with three lightning bolts, the middle larger than the rest, that I've never seen before. I picked it up and examined it, and the next thing I noticed was writing inside of it. It read, "Never forget why you started."

That sunk into my heart, and it gave me the little bit of motivation that I needed.

I slipped on the ring.

--------------------------

"Ready to go?" Bailey asked me with a small smile. I stopped and looked at everyone, who was looking back at me expectantly.

"Yeah, I'm ready to go," I said, giving a deep sigh to get the nervousness out of my system.

Simon nodded and motioned behind them, and the other people that worked at the house. They all began to speak to where none of us understood them, but I didn't really care all that much. The only thing I actually recalled was us gradually getting led out by Professor Adams and Simon. The next thing I knew, we were filing into Giovanni's car, with him starting up the engine.

I sat in the very back with Bailey and Landon, and ahead of us sat Donovan, Jamie, and Quentin. Giovanni never said anything. He simply threw the car in gear and sped off. Bailey looked behind her shoulder and said, "Thank you for keeping us safe."

She said it as if we were leaving forever.

--------------------------

After around fifteen minutes of anxious driving, Giovanni finally glanced back in our direction. "We doing okay back there?"

"Yeah," Donovan answered. "We're fine. How about you?"

He sighed and leaned back in his seat in a stressful manner. I got the same feeling from him that I got before with him, that feeling that something was just slightly off.

"I'm scared."

The car felt like it froze. Jamie looked up and spoke with a concerned tone. "Why you, of all people? You've always been that positive person we all needed. What's wrong?"

In the overhead mirror, I saw him bite his lip. "I...I really don't know. This whole thing that the NGZ is doing, it terrifies me."

"You mean the photos?" Landon asked softly.

Giovanni nodded. "Exactly. If it's successful, we'll be in danger. The entire world could very well be in danger, because of the other headquarters that they can build around."

We were silent for a few seconds before Jamie resumed the conversation. "Even so, we have three things to worry about. Finding Mason's father, destroying that machine, and getting Bailey her parents back. That's it. Nothing else."

I was beginning to feel like this was engraving itself in my mind. However, it was very well needed.

Giovanni switched lanes as we exited Sierra Mojado. Nobody really said anything either. We could only stare out of the window, wondering what could possibly be in store for us in the near future.