Outcasts

Chapter Two: The Darkest of Hearts

"Ow," he muttered bitterly, lifting himself up on his elbows and peering into the bleak darkness. Where the heck am I? he thought, And more importantly, where's Rachel? And Phoenix?

"Interesting," said a deep voice, "So, you are the human Phoenix sought out when she arrived. A kindred spirit, perhaps?"

"Who's there?" Chris called. He jumped when he saw two small red orbs glow, illuminating the room with an eerie red light. Chris quickly realized that the two orbs were the eyes of a tall man with flowing green hair, and wrapped in a black cape. The man stepped over to Chris, and stared down at him.

"I am Acheron, Lord of the Denebian Empire," he announced, "Tell me, boy, why did Phoenix fly around the globe to find you? What kind of powers do you possess?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about!" Chris snapped. Acheron frowned, and bent down. He grabbed Chris' collar and pulled him up until his feet dangled a foot off the ground.

"Do not speak to me with insolence!" Acheron roared, "You'll only anger me, and then your chances of surviving this ordeal will diminish."

"What... what do you want?" choked Chris, trying to wriggle free of Acheron's vice-like grip.

"I want power," Acheron said, dropping Chris, "I brought Phoenix here through the Multiverse because she possessed the power of life incarnate. The Phoenix Force, the source of the girl's power, is limitless life energy. Such power will surely empower my armies forever."

Chris tried to catch his breath, and once again lifted his face from the dirt. He turned to the evil emperor, and touched the stream of blood pouring from his nose. "What does this have to do with me and Rachel?"

"When I found Phoenix, she was with you," Acheron said, stepping away from Chris, "There must be a reason for this, young man. I intend on finding out what it is."

With that, Acheron made a gesture with his right hand, and the shadows cast by the red glow seemed to move. Four black shapes took the form of men, and surrounded Chris, who was still lying on the dirt.

"Bring him," Acheron said, walking into the darkness. Chris struggled against the four Shadow Warriors, but he stood little chance against their superior strength. Acheron led the Shadows through a dark tunnel, until they reached a large iron gate. The gate parted as the emperor approached, and a dull red light poured forth. The Shadows carried Chris in, and the latter looked around in surprise. The room was a large cave within the rocks beneath Langstrum Alps. There were dozens of Shadow Warriors throughout the chamber, as well as two translucent spheres, each just large enough for a person. Between the two spheres is a row of large cylinders, each one metallic, with wires connecting them to the two spheres. Inside the sphere on the left was the silhouette of a woman suspended in the center. Every so often, the pulsing red light coming from that sphere increased intensity. Acheron laughed.

"My dear Eternal Flame," he said, "don't waste your energy. The sphere was designed to contain your primal energies, so the incandescent rays you emit will not affect me. Put the boy in the other sphere."

The Shadows obeyed, and roughly tossed Christopher inside the second sphere. They closed it, and then Acheron stood beside it, staring at Chris from the outside.

"If you are a mutant like Phoenix, then your energies will be a nice addition to what I can absorb from her. If not, at least I'll have your personal life force."

"You won't get away with this!" Phoenix cried from her own sphere, "I'll find a way out of here! I swear once I get my hands on you I'll--"

"Your arrogance is astounding," chucked Acheron, turning on the machine. Instantly, life energy began pouring through the cables into the batteries. Phoenix didn't feel the power drain at first, because her life energy is infinite. But Chris, on the other hand, shrieked in pain and curled into a fetal position on the bottom of the sphere. He clenched his teeth as tears poured down his cheek.

"I guess he doesn't possess the powers of Phoenix," Acheron said, watching the young man's plight coldly, "Oh well, whatever. In a few hours, I'll have every drop of Phoenix energy!"

Phoenix gasped as she let herself drop to the bottom of the sphere. There's no point in fighting the energy drain, she thought, concentrating her powers, Acheron's been planning this moment for centuries. One would think he'd be prepared to deal with the Phoenix Force. He can't kill me, no matter how much energy he takes. The Phoenix always rises from the ashes. But Chris is another matter... *Chris, can you hear me?*

Chris' eyes were squeezed shut, but he couldn't help but hear the gentle voice in his head. Who's there?

*It's me, Phoenix. Look, I'm really sorry I got you into this. If I didn't seek you out, Acheron wouldn't even have known about you.*

What's... happening to me?

*Acheron is absorbing your life energy. He assumed that, because you are a mutant, you'd have a vast amount of life energy. That's not the case. The energy drain you're experiencing now will kill you. I'll try to help you, but you're gonna have to help me, too.*

What do I do?

*You have telepathic powers, Christopher. That's how I sensed you from outer space. They are latent, but the Phoenix Force can activate them, if you try. You have to open your mind, and reach out to me. If I can create a psionic rapport, I can share the Phoenix Force between us. That should keep you alive. For a while, at least.*

Psionic rapport?

*Yes. Its a mental link. Through it, I can send you some of the energy of the Phoenix Force. Trust me, Chris. Its your only hope.*

I'll... try...

Chris concentrated to the best of his ability, given the circumstances. Despite the fact that his telepathic powers were latent, the presence of the Phoenix Force within him ignited his potential in a matter of seconds. Chris' eyes shot open and he took a deep breath, as he could feel the burning flames coursing through his veins. His heart began pounding painfully, and his eyes watered.

Acheron turned around, and noticed that Chris' chamber was also glowing with a faint, fiery light. He smiled triumphantly.

Excellent, he thought, By sharing the Force with the boy, Rachel Summers is inadvertently speeding up the absorption process. She'll soon be feeling the energy drain. She can keep the boy alive for now, but it's only a matter of time before I absorb all the energy the Phoenix Force had left in the woman. No one can save them here. Phoenix has no allies in this dimension.

Meanwhile, about a mile above the caverns, four UCLA students jog down the Hamilton Walkway. In order, a fair ebony-haired girl dressed in yellow passed a bench, followed by a tan, blonde young man in red, a slim, orange-clad girl with caramel hair, and finally a tall, muscular, dark young man in blue. The one in blue panted uncontrollably, and dropped onto the bench, stretching his tired limbs. He pulled the white towel from around his neck, and began to wipe the beads of sweat forming on his bald head. Seeing that he had stopped, the girl in orange also stopped running, and lay down on the grass along the walkway. The young woman in the lead turned around, jogging in place.

"What's wrong, guys?" she asked.

"I... I can't... take it... anymore... Tamara," panted the dark man, "It's... been... over an hour..."

"So?" asked Tamara, "Did you think this kind of run would be easy? Its seventeen miles!"

"I agree... with Craig," said the brunette girl, "I can't... feel my legs."

"You're exaggerating," said the blonde man with a smile, "right, Jocelyn?"

"Not really, Keith," she panted, lying her head on the grass, "Go ahead without me. I'll call a cab."

"Me too," said Craig, "I won't be able to move in the morning!"

"Where's Matthew?" asked Tamara, stopping her jog and looking back into the distance, "He was right behind you, Craig."

"I... I think he stopped at Seven Eleven," said Craig, "Something about a French Vanilla Cappuccino?"

"I think we've run enough for today," said Keith, sitting down on the bench beside Craig and stretching his legs, "We're halfway around the campus. That's plenty of exercise."

"Let's go find Matt, and catch a cab," said Jocelyn.

"We could always fly home," said Craig with a smile, "We have our rings, right? Its more convenient, and cheaper, too."

"I don't think Spectra would like that," said Tamara, "We have these rings to preserve the planet, not make our lives easier."

"Well, she didn't say we couldn't ." Craig pointed out.

"Still--" started Keith, when he noticed his red Spectrum Stone began to glow purple, "Uh, oh."

"Rachel's in trouble!" said Tamara, glancing around her, "The coast is clear. We'd better get to Cloud Castle and find out what's happening!"

"What about Matt?" asked Jocelyn, "Shouldn't we find him or something?"

"No time," said Keith, "He can catch up with us."

The four young men and women raised their rings to the sky, and each was immersed in his/her signature color. Then, they all lifted off the ground, and flew up into the clouds. They stopped at one cloud, which was tangible, and walked into the large, golden castle upon it. Once they entered the castle, they were in a large hall, with a golden podium, and a throne sitting upon it, decorated with gemstones of varying colors. Sitting on that throne was a snow-white woman with curly pink hair, wearing pale robes.

"What's happening, Spectra?" asked Keith, stepping forward, "Where's Rachel?"

"I don't know," said Spectra solemnly, "She hasn't answered any of my telepathic calls. What I do know is that, a short time ago, a being of great power arrived in Langstrum Alps. The power signature was familiar, but before I could investigate, it vanished. I'm detecting magical activity beneath the city, in the caverns deep in the planet's crust. The Purple Stone is there as well."

"What would the Denebians be doing underground?" asked Tamara.

"Well, they can't survive in sunlight," stated Craig, "Maybe they're waiting until sunset?"

"It doesn't matter," said Keith, "We need to find Rachel anyway. If she's not responding to Spectra's call, then something must be wrong."

"Isn't she supposed to be with Chris?" asked Jocelyn.

"I guess. They may both be in trouble."

Just then, a streak of green light passed through the large open window in the throne room. The light took the form of a young, slender man, with short red hair.

"Matt," said Keith, "where the heck have you been?"

"For your information, I was helping a damsel in distress. Veronica needed some help carrying her shopping bags to her apartment, so I volunteered."

"You're so chivalrous, Matt," said Jocelyn sarcastically, rolling her eyes.

"Aren't I, though?" Matt said with a grin, "So, what's going on? What happened to Rachel? My ring was glowing purple..."

"We're about to find out," said Keith, "Okay gang, let's sync, and then explore those underground tunnels. Hopefully, we'll find Rachel and Chris. Spectrum Sync... RED!!"

"Spectrum Sync... ORANGE!!" called Jocelyn.

"Spectrum Sync... YELLOW!!" cried Tamara.

"Spectrum Sync... GREEN!!" yelled Matthew.

"Spectrum Sync... BLUE!!" bellowed Craig.

In seconds, each Spectrum Enforcer was wrapped in bright light, and dressed in their colored uniform, with black leggings and sleeves, white boots and gloves, a colored face mask with blue visor, and a golden belt. The Red Enforcer rose to the sky, the wind blowing through his long blonde hair.

"Let's move," he said, "We have to find Rachel, before something bad happens."

"Why do I have the feeling something bad already happened?" whispered Tamara.

After what seemed like forever, Rachel Castaneda's perilous plummet into the Earth's crust comes to an end. However, she was fortunate enough not to land on hard rock, which would've surely broken her spine. She landed in a relatively soft pool of mud.

"Eugh," she muttered, wiping the mud off her face and dress, "this dress is history. I should learn to never dress up!"

Rachel climbed out of the mud, and felt around in the darkness.

"Chris?" she called, "Phoenix? Hello?"

Rachel sighed, and gave up trying to find her missing companions.

This looks like a job for the Purple Enforcer, she thought, raising her hand to the sky. She then noticed that the silver and purple Spectrum Stone, which allows her access to her super powers, was no longer on her hand.

"Oh no," she moaned, "I don't believe this! Where is it?!"

Rachel immediately fell to her knees, and searched the sandy dirt and mud for the missing ring. It must be here somewhere! I know I had it on when I left the apartment! Without it, I can't contact the rest of the Force!

After a few minutes, Rachel found the wall. She sighed again, and rose to her feet. She kept one hand on the wall, to orient herself.

Its no use! I'll never find it in this darkness! I can't even see where I'm--

The sound of footsteps broke Rachel's thoughts. She listened in complete silence, her entire body freezing.

"Are you sure there was a third person?" she heard a female voice say, "And it is in this direction? Who is it, Father, just someone who was in the wrong place at the wrong time? Oh, I see, a hostage. In case the human male doesn't cooperate. I'll find it."

That's Celea! Rachel thought with dread, This isn't good. Who knows what she'll do if she finds me?

Rachel quietly lay down on the ground, in an attempt to hide from Celea. She felt around, and located a small boulder sitting before her. She hid behind it, and peeked out. From her position, Rachel could see two small red orbs glowing slightly, illuminating the surrounding area with red light. She could make out most of Celea's face easily.

"Come out, come out, wherever you are, Human," Celea called, walking around the black tunnels, "So long as your boyfriend cooperates, you'll both get out of this alive. You can't hide from me forever!"

Celea scanned the tunnel with her red vision, but she didn't see anyone. She sighed aloud, and brought her hands together They began to pulse with a soft yellow light. She threw the sphere of light into the air, and it attached to the ceiling, dimly lighting the room.

"I can't summon Shadows without shadows!" Celea said aloud, snapping her fingers. Fourteen Shadow Warriors slinked out of the shadows cast by the boulders in the chamber.

"Search the surrounding tunnels for a human female," Celea ordered, "Once you find her, bring her to me and my father in the main chamber. And hurry up!"

With that, Celea left the chamber, and continued down the hall. The Shadows split up into seven groups of two, and each group went into a different cave. Two remained in this chamber, and began searching for the missing girl.

At least I can see now! Rachel thought as she peeked out from her hiding place, All I have to do is take out these two Shadows, and find my ring before reinforcements come.

"No sweat," she assured herself aloud, rising to her feet. She leaned flat against the wall, and watched as the two Shadows searched the other side of the chamber. While their backs were turned, she slowly made her way towards them, moving as quietly as a cat. But before she could strike, the one closest to her turned around. Rachel managed to deliver a quick hit to its face with her right elbow, startling the creature a bit. The other Shadow immediately became amorphous, and therefore intangible. Rachel continued her attack on the stunned Shadow, following up her initial attack with a quick blow to its stomach with her knee and a snap-kick. Then, the other Shadow materialized behind her, and grabbed her by her forearms. It lifted her clear off the ground, and held her over its head. Rachel's head tilted back, until she could see the ground behind the Shadow. As luck would have it, she noticed a flash of purple light. Only a few yards behind the Shadow was her Spectrum Stone, half-buried in dirt. Rachel yelled when she realized the Shadow was carrying her out of the chamber.

"Oh no you don't!" she shrieked, struggling with all her might. She managed to stick the Shadow's blood red eye with the sharp heel of her white sandal, stunning the creature. In instinctively became amorphous, letting Rachel drop the seven feet to the ground. She landed on her back painfully, but she wasn't too injured to quickly recover. When she did, she noticed the other Shadow, that she had attacked first, was coming towards her at a frighteningly quick speed. Rachel remained on her back, and waited for the creature to run within her reach. When it did, she raised her knees to her chin, and pushed up with her hands, launching her feet into the creature's chest. It became amorphous before her feet could hit, so she ended up leaping to her feet. She quickly caught her bearings, and ran to where she had seen her Spectrum Stone. She found it, and slid it onto her finger, just in time to create a Spectrum Shield around her body before the relentless Shadow Warriors could attack.

"Now you're in trouble," Rachel said with a grin, "Spectrum Sync... PURPLE!!"

The energy bubble encasing Rachel Castaneda was filled with blinding purple light. Then, the bubble exploded, reducing the two Shadow Warriors to ashes. The Purple Enforcer smiled at her work, and floated off the ground.

"I've got to find Chris!" she said, "There's no telling what the Denebians will do to him!" *Guys, its Rachel. Do you hear me?*

Not far away, the five other members of the Spectrum Force walk slowly through the winding tunnels of the underground labyrinth, searching for any clue to their leader's whereabouts.

"This is hopeless!" cried Craig in frustration, "These tunnels are endless! We'll never find anything here!"

"Well," said Jocelyn, "look on the bright side: at least we haven't bumped into trouble yet."

"If we did, then we'd know that we're going in the right direction," Matt pointed out.

*Guys,* rang a voice in their heads, *its Rachel. Do you hear me?*

"Did you hear that?" asked Keith, "Rachel's okay!" *We hear you, Rachel.*

*Where the heck are you?* thought Craig.

*I... I don't know. I fell through a hole up in the alley, and I ended up here. I'm in a cave, but there're tons of them!*

*Is Chris with you?* asked Tamara.

*No, but he's somewhere down here. So is Phoenix.*

*Who?* asked Matthew.

*Phoenix is some kind of super-powered woman that the Denebian Empire has been trying to capture. I don't know exactly what's going on, but she's in trouble. She's also a telepath. If we call out to her, maybe she'll hear us.*

*But, we've never 'mind-spoken' with anyone other than another Enforcer,* thought Jocelyn, *We don't even know her psi-print! How will we find her?*

*Search for a really powerful human mind. That'll be her. I'll see you soon.*

"Okay, gang," said Keith, "let's give it a try. We're looking for a very powerful human mind..."

Rachel Summers, the young woman granted the power of the nearly all-powerful Phoenix, has survived many challenges throughout her young life. She has thrown asteroids out of orbit with an after-thought, or even reconstructed the human DNA double-helix instantly. But presently, Rachel is fighting with all her might, merely to stay conscious. She could feel the drain on her powers, and the bond that she created with Christopher Greyson, in order to keep him alive, is making her even weaker. She is so dizzy, she nearly misses a soft telepathic whisper.

*Hello?* it said, *Can anyone hear me?*

Rachel's bright green eyes widened instantly when she realized the voice wasn't coming from Chris. Rather, it was someone whom she has never mind-spoken with.

*Yes, I hear you,* she responded, *Who are you?*

*I'm the Green Enforcer, a member of the Spectrum Force. Are you Phoenix?*

*Yes,* thought Phoenix, perking up a bit, *Where are you?*

*We're in the tunnels, but we can't seem to find you.*

*Listen to me, Green Enforcer. I'll try to send out a telepathic signal to lead you to me, but in my weakened state, I don't know how long I can keep it up. You'd better hurry, because I'm the only thing keeping Christopher alive, and I can't do it for much longer!*

*Roger Wilco!*

*What?*

*Nothing. Nevermind.*

The telepathic connection was broken, and Rachel looked around her. The battery that was being charged with her Phoenix energies was glowing with fiery energy, and she could feel the emptiness from within. But, her own life-force wasn't in danger. The Phoenix Force will keep her alive, even without her guidance. But, she would need to remain conscious in order to maintain the link with Chris. Rachel muttered a silent prayer, asking for the strength to send out the beacon, while at the same time keep Chris alive. This was no easy job, but Rachel Summers prided herself in her ability to do the impossible.