October 22nd

Holy. Crap.

I…I don’t know how to feel. Okay. Okay. Maybe I just write from the beginning? Yeah. Let’s just start with the beginning.

So, Saturday I went on my first ever retrieval. Like clockwork, I got up at 11 a.m. and while I was eating breakfast, Ray called in. Two more EOs popped up on the outskirts of town and at that moment, no villains were spotted on their way. It, honestly, couldn’t be any more perfect. Instantly, everyone was in motion, changing, collecting their weapons, downloading Ray’s map. Nobody paid me much mind as they rushed around to beat any villain that might catch wind of the EOs. And after all the run-ins with Python, I really don’t blame them for wanting to get there first and without any problems.

Too bad that one villain would actually be there.

After everyone was out the door, I ran upstairs and got dressed as quickly as possible. Jordan really outdid himself with my costume. Everything fit perfectly, great range of movement. With my mask in place, my voice changer on, and my tracker was already beeping the moment I turned it on. And it was beeping in the area that Ray’s map showed the EOs to be. Definitely a good start.

The dirt bike ran like a dream really. I’m not entirely sure why Taylor’s brother sold it to me for so cheap. And with how small my bike is, reaching the point where the EOs appeared before my family. Shocking, right? It didn’t take long for them to catch up though. As I followed the closest blinking dot on my tracker, I located the first EO hidden inside some tall, dried grass. I barely managed to squat down next to the first EO when Evelyn and Wyatt pulled up in their matching sport motorcycles. It was a little nerve-wracking as the two of them jumped off their bikes and pointed their weapons at me.

“Step away from the orb and state your business here,” Evelyn said, her voice hard and angry. If my heart hadn’t already been hammering already, it definitely was now. Her hand flexed on the handles of her sais as if itching to light them on fire like I know she loves to.

Stay calm, Aydan, just stay calm. You got this. “I could ask the two of you the same thing,” I said, my deeper voice sounding way more confident than I was currently feeling.

“We happen to be heroes,” Wyatt answered stiffly, his weapon, a long vine-like whip ready at his hip, “hired by the government. WE are allowed to be here. You, on the other hand, are not. So, step away from the energy orb and nobody has to get hurt.”

Shoot. Okay, I really didn’t want to fight them. And by this time, Mom and Dad have pulled up in their sleek sports car and Matt in his large black SUV. All three join Evelyn and Wyatt, their weapons also drawn and at the ready. I don’t blame them, it just felt a little weird being on the receiving end instead of watching them merely sparing with them. Matt spun his quarterstaff and pointed it at me.

“And who are you?”

Oh. Well, crap. I never came up with a fake name! I was so excited about everything else that I completely forgot to come up with a fake name for myself in case they spoke to me! Crap. Crap.

“Well?” Mom snapped, breaking through my silent panic, “Mystic asked you a question.”

Breathe, Aydan, just breathe. I paused, my gloved hand hovering over the orb, unsure if any sudden movements might set them off. Probably. They were pretty jumpy at home. Tilting my head, I wreck my brain when Mom raised her fists, her golden gauntlets shining in the sunlight, signaling the end of her patience.

“Agent Z,” I blurted out, barely containing my wince. ‘Agent Z’? Really? That was all I could think of? Nothing cool like ‘Deathwing’ or ‘Nova’? Dang, Taylor would be disappointed in me. (I haven’t told Taylor or Jordan about the retrieval yet, I’m a little scared on how they’re gonna react to my name choice.)

Dad glared at me from behind his mask. “’Agent Z’? Never heard of him. Do you work for the government?”

Don’t roll your eyes, Aydan, don’t do it. “Does it look like I work for the government?” Oh, yikes, sass on point, Aydan. Hope you enjoy being grounded. I grabbed the orb and slowly stood up as my family slowly processed my words and began to mutter amongst themselves. I guess it had been a while since a new villain appeared, so I think I kinda threw them off?

“If you don’t work for the government,” Wyatt said finally, “Then why are you here? Any and all orbs are to turned over to the government to be used as resources for the public.”

This time I just couldn’t hold back my eye roll. Everyone who has stepped outside their house knows why the government wants the orbs. I bring the orb up to my face and study it up close for the first time. The small glowing orb fit in the palm of my hand nicely, almost the size of a softball but slightly heavier, as if it was weighted. Warmth radiated through my glove, indicating just how much energy these little things house. I allowed a smirk to grace my lips as I glance back at my family.

“I think all of you already know the answer to that question.”

“Awe, did all of you start the party without me?”

Oh. Oh no. Of course, Typhoon had to show up. And in his stupidly cool color-changing sports car. How had none of us noticed it pulling up? But he did and now he was also here for the orbs and I was currently holding one in my hands, making me a target. And target I was because Typhoon noticed me right away. He had lifted platinum eyebrow as a creepy smirk stretched on his lips.

“Oh? And who do we have here? A new contender? Maybe this’ll spice things up a little bit.”

“So, he’s not one of your cohorts?” Dad asked and Typhoon shook his head.
“Nope,” he said, emphasizing the ‘p’ at the end, “But like I said, this might make things more interesting. And he even managed to beat the lot of you to an orb. I think he’s doin’ rather well right now.”

And I know he’s a villain! I know! But hearing him give me some praise sent a warmth through my chest that I only usually feel when I’ve aced a super hard test. A job well done. And I shouldn’t be happy about it, but I am. I still am.
What happened next, was rather… intense. Mom had demanded that I hand over the orb while Typhoon suddenly went off in the direction of the other orb. Both she and Dad took off the veteran villain while my siblings stayed to deal with me. I was really, REALLY hoping to not have to fight any of them, to only let them just take the orb from me and then I return home. My tracker worked (for the most part, I never did locate the second orb to fully make sure) and through my family’s reactions, none of them seemed to recognize me thanks to my outfit and voice changer. But…But then Typhoon had to come and compliment me and made me feel obligated to prove that I could really do this. That I could bring home an orb just like my family does and put it in the safe downstairs to be sent to Ray. So, instead of just giving my siblings the EO, I dodged and weaved around their attacks, their movements very similar to all the times I watched them train. I felt the wind from Matt’s quarterstaff as he swung it past my head, the heat of Evelyn’s flaming sais as she tried to swipe my arm holding the EO, and I barely even flinched as Wyatt’s wipe cracked near my ear. The adrenaline I felt while dancing out of the way of my siblings’ attacks. I kept the EO clutched tightly to my chest the entire time, not giving any of them the chance to just knock it out of my hand. But I know that they have much more stamina and that I wouldn’t be able to last forever and knowing that, I just reacted. Pulling out one of the stink bombs that I modified to have a little less of an odor and more smoke, I threw two at the ground near my siblings’ feet and once all three started coughing, I turned and bolted for my bike. I heard Typhoon laugh as he fought with Mom and Dad and when I chanced a glance his way, he actually gave me a thumbs up. A THUMBS UP! Me! I managed to return it with a wave and a cheeky grin (I really couldn’t help it) and took off.

I did my best to take as many back ways as possible to throw off anyone who might have wanted to follow me. In hindsight, I probably brought something to mask the EO, but I haven’t heard of Ray ever tracking an EO after a villain manages to take one. But I also don’t know if any of the villains have something to block the signal. I do have a lead box in my room that holds some of my older experiments because they would interfere with some of Ray’s equipment. Which, is where I currently have the EO hiding right now. I was gonna bring it to the safe but I barely remembered that there is a hand scanner that tracks everyone who opens the safe and I have NEVER gone into the safe, so what if Ray looks and sees that I opened the safe for some reason? I could barely come up with a lie about my alias, I don’t think I’d be able to come up with a good enough lie to satisfy my folks or Ray. So, I think I’m just gonna hide the EO until I can figure out a way to put it into the safe.

But…But I find that I want to go on another retrieval. But the last two days have been rather vacant of energy orbs appearing, but there was just something about the feeling of it all. The rush I felt while narrowly dodging the attacks of my siblings was exhilarating! The way my heart hammered as I had to think on my feet to stay cool and come up with a story to keep my identity a secret from my entire family. And even coming out of it with an EO of my own! But, as a good inventor, one test run can’t be enough to base all of my findings on. I need to know if my tracker can accurately track more than one EO. Because most EOs appear in pairs! There’s really no harm in going on another one, right? And, I gotta admit, it’s kinda funny on just how bitter Evelyn, Wyatt, and Matt are about me getting away. That was all they could talk about during dinner. It was so hard to not say anything over supper, it really was! I have never seen them so salty before and it had to be the funniest thing. Three over-twenty-year-olds and all three of them were pouting like children denied dessert. At least Mom and Dad managed to get the second orb before Typhoon could get to it, so that helped keep the mood light during supper. Besides, I’m sure Evelyn, Wyatt, and Matt will get over it by the time there’s another retrieval, so I’m sure it’ll be fine.

As long as Agent Z doesn’t show up and take another orb from them XD.

Geez, I’m a horrible little brother. But I just can’t help it. It’s so much fun!

I can’t wait to go on another retrieval.