Saga of the Spectrum Force

The glowing black disk reappeared in the front of the Wimbel Gymnasium, and out of it crawled Rachel Castaneda. She brushed off her purple T-shirt and black jeans, and looked around for any curious onlookers.

"Good," she said to herself, "I don't think anyone saw me appear."

She quietly entered the gymnasium, immersed in thought.

This is so weird! I must be crazy or something! I took that lady's story at face value. She could have been the one that created that eclipse. Or maybe I had some kind of dream. Boy, the guys are gonna think I'm nuts!

Rachel waits by the entrance to the gymnastics area, where Matthew was in the middle of a complicated floor routine. Jocelyn was quietly watching his performance from the first row of bleachers. Matt topped off his routine with a triple front flip with a running start. He landed as gracefully as a cat, and raised his arms to the sky in victory. Jocelyn started to clap enthusiastically.

"I thought you said you couldn't pull off that flip, Matt," she said, walking over to him with a towel.

"Honestly, I think that was the first time I landed on my feet in weeks!" panted Matt excitedly, drying the sweat off his face and curly red hair with the towel, "So, ready to hit the beach with the others?"

Jocelyn nodded, and the two of them walked over to the entrance where Rachel was waiting for them. Jocelyn jumped slightly when Rachel stepped out of the shadows, her face deadly serious.

"Sheesh, you scared me, Ray!" cried Jocelyn, studying Rachel's grim expression, "Um, is something wrong?"

"Something extremely strange happened to me after I left the gym earlier, and it has something to do with the eclipse. First, you have to promise that you'll take what I'm about to say completely seriously. The fate of the whole planet depends on it."

Jocelyn nodded mutely, while Matt arched an eyebrow. They both promised, and Rachel went into her tale of her encounter with the alien white magician named Spectra. She told them about the Denebian invasion, the eclipse, and lastly, about the Purple Spectrum Stone. She then stopped and studied the reactions of her two friends.

"Ray," said Matt gently, "have you been drinking?"

Jocelyn, however, wasn't so quick to question Rachel's story. He began to pace back and forth, twirling a lock of her golden-brown hair over her index finger in thought. "It makes sense, sort of," she said aloud, "There isn't a scientific explanation for that eclipse--only a black gas cloud deep in space could absorb the sun's light like that. Of course, how the cloud got there is another story. If there really are extra-terrestrials, they could have created that cloud. But how did they do it?"

"Magic," said Rachel simply, "The Denebians are black magicians.

"There's no such thing as magic," said Jocelyn matter-of-factly. Rachel smiled and showed Jocelyn her glittering Spectrum Stone. Jocelyn gasped as she looked at the magnificent gemstone, which seemed to glow with an unearthly energy.

"That's the ring Spectra gave you to save the world, eh?" said Matt, "So, what do you do with it?"

"I...I don't know. Spectra said the stone allows humans to call upon the power of light, but she didn't tell me how to do it. So, do you believe me?"

Jocelyn looked questioningly and Matt. They both thought for a minute, and turned to Rachel in silent agreement.

"Well," said Matt, "you're story is a little hard to swallow..."

"But we both know you wouldn't lie about something like this," finished Jocelyn, "So, are you supposed to save the whole world by yourself, or what?"

Rachel beamed at her two friends and gave them both warm hugs. "I knew I could count on you two! Spectra told me to select five other people with special qualities to make up the remainder of the Spectrum Force. I wanted to make sure you were open-minded enough to take this whole thing seriously. I have something for you."

Rachel let her friends go and dug into her jeans' pocket. She pulled out two rings like hers, one with a green gemstone, and one with an orange gemstone. "Matt, this is the Green Spectrum Stone. With this, you'll be able to call upon the power of the color green. Do you accept the responsibility and the priviledge of joining the Spectrum Force?"

Matt accepted the ring and slid it onto his ring finger. The ring at first was a little big, but it magically shrunk to the perfect size. The ring enveloped him in a soft green light, and faded slowly. Matt looked at the ring blankly.

"Jocelyn," continued Rachel, "this is the Orange Spectrum Stone, which grants its owner the powers of orange light. Are you willing to join the Spectrum Force?"

"I'd be honored," said Jocelyn seriously, sliding the silver band onto her finger. She was also bathed in a soft light, and when it faded, she was smiling brightly. "So, what do we do now?

"Well, I still have three rings, so first we should find Tammy, Keith, and Craig. Then, I'll take the five of you to Cloud Castle to meet Spectra and find out how to use these stones."

"It's one, so they're probably at the beach still," said Matt, "But then again, they may have gone home already."

"Okay, we'll split up," said Rachel, "I'll go to the beach, and you two check out the High Rise. If they're not there, meet me at the beach."

"You got it," said Jocelyn, as she and Matt ran up the street to the High Rise--the on-campus apartment building. Rachel got back into her burgundy minivan and drove west.

"I don't believe it," she said quietly, "First my beautiful cloud disappears, and now, this girl is emitting magical powers. This can only mean one thing--one of the cursed White Magicians must be down there somewhere, protecting this little ball of rock from my invasion. Fine then, little White Magician, we shall see who is the true power in this galaxy!"

Phaedra stands up and stares out the window at the blue sphere floating in the black space.

"It is just past noon in the area of the world where that girl is," observed Phaedra angrily, "BLAST!! The sun is at its highest point, and there are so few shadows cast upon the Earth. The majority of my servants cannot survive the sun's light, but if I wait for nightfall to get that child, it may be too late. She has already given magical powers to two other humans. Obviously, my enemy is forming a team of super-heroes, and I'd rather not have to deal with a squad of hyper human brats!"

Phaedra returned to the black crystal, and placed her palms on its surface. Her hands began to glow with a silver energy, and the black crystal began to emit black smoke. The cloud of black smoke shaped itself into a vague silhouette of a man. It was black from head to toe, with no distinguishable features, other than arms, hegs, a head, and a body. The black creature humbly kneeled before Phaedra.

"Shadow, heed my command. Hide yourself in the shadow of the girl with the purple energy signature. When she leads you to the rest of her little team of heroes, destroy them all."

The Shadow then disappeared in a cloud of black mist. Phaedra repeated this procedure until she had half a dozen Shadows to attack the youths. Four of them hid in Rachel's shadow, while the other two were hidden in the shadows of Jocelyn and Matthew. Once Phaedra had dispatched her Shadow army, she returned to her throne and sat down in thought. An evil smile formed on her gray skinned face, as she glanced towards Earth.

"Soon, all that life energy shall be mine. Then, the universe will be mine for the taking."

"Tammy! You here?!" After waiting a minute, she shrugged and closed and locked the door. She looked up at Matthew, and shook her head.

"Tamara's not here," she said.

"Yeah, and Craig and Keith aren't up in our room," said Matt, "They must still be at the beach."

"Yeah, well how do we get there? We don't have a car, ya know!"

Matt's emerald eyes twinkled as a mischievous smile crossed his lips. He lifted his left hand, dangling a set of car keys. Jocelyn gasped.

"Oh, no," she said, "Keith'll KILL you if you even touch his Porsche!"

"Well, this is an emergency, Jocie. The fate of the whole world is at stake here!"

Jocelyn and Matt jogged to the elevator, and Matt pressed the button. While they waited, a piece of Jocelyn's shadow separated from the rest. That piece grew, to form a six foot tall Shadow. Jocelyn felt a sudden chill, and slowly turned around.

"Aiee!" she shrieked, stepping back against the elevator doors. Matt spun around on his heels, and came face to face with the black creature. He backed up also, and ducked as the Shadow threw a mighty punch aimed at his head. The fist penetrated the elevator door, much to Jocelyn's and Matt's horror.

"Move!" cried Jocelyn, grabbing Matt's arm and racing down the hall. They both practically flew down the stairs, constantly looking over their shoulders to see if anything was there. They both ran to the parking lot, and Matt fumbled with the lock to the car. He opened the car, and then leapt into the driver's seat. Jocelyn sat beside him.

"Ah, crap!" moaned Matt angrily, "Keith's got the Club!!"

Matt tried all the keys on Keith's keychain while Jocelyn kept a lookout for the creature. She realized in horror that she couldn't see it.

"Matt, its gone!"

Matt finally succeeded in removing the Club, and put the key in the ignition. Suddenly, the Shadow leapt onto the hood of the car. Both Jocelyn and Matt jumped.

"Let's see how that thing can handle my driving!" yelled Matt, slamming on the gas. The Shadow flew off the hood and slammed into a tree, melting into a black puddle on impact. Jocelyn, who was looking back, turned to face forward.

"Yes!" she declared, "We did it! Now, we have to find the others."

"Ready for another round Keith?" asked Craig with a wide smile, standing his board on the sand, "Don't tell me you're tired!"

"Hey, man, I haven't been surfing for months!" said Keith, "I'm drained."

"Okay, first one to wipe out buys dinner tomorrow! I am CHALLENGING you, man!"

"Give him a break, Craig," said Tamara, pushing up her sunglasses, "You've been surfing for over an hour! Don't you ever get tired?"

"Not when I'm surfing!" said Craig with a laugh.

Just then, Rachel Castaneda ran onto the beach. When she reached her friends, she stopped to catch her breath. The others looked at her strangely.

"Are you okay, Rache?" asked Tamara, standing up from the towel, "What happened?"

"Guys," she forced out between breaths, "you're not going to believe what happened to me today--" Before she could finish her sentence, four black clouds floated from her shadow, forming four Shadows. Rachel didn't notice, and was taken by surprise as a Shadow grabbed her from behind and proceeded to choke her. The other three Shadows pounced on the three completely shocked witnesses.

"What the $@&% is going on here?!" cried Keith, dodging each punch or kick directed at him from the Shadow. Craig used his surfboard as a defense against his opponent, while Tamara ran frantically from the creature attacking her. Craig saw that Rachel was trapped in he grip of the black monster, and leapt to her aid.

"That's no way to treat a lady, freak!" cried Craig, punching at the Shadow. But rather than hitting the monster, the creature suddenly became amorphous, and Craig passed through the black cloud harmlessly, falling on top of Rachel, who was gasping for breath.

"Are you okay?" asked Craig, helping her to her feet. Rachel nodded mutely, and then glared at the monster. Much to Craig's surprise, Rachel's dark brown eyes seemed to turn slightly purple, and she flipped towards the black cloud that was previously her would-be murderer. It reformed into its humanoid shape, and Rachel struck a defensive stance. The Shadow mimicked her movements, to Rachel's irritation. Unexpectedly, Rachel lashed out at the creature, delivering a dozen or so mighty kicks at lightning speed. The Shadow was caught unawares, and couldn't defend itself. Soon, it melted into a black puddle that evaporated into nothingness. Craig, who was defending himself against his own opponent, saw Rachel's brutal attack, and the effect it had. He pondered over this while he continued to block and dodge the Shadow's attack.

I don't get it! Rachel pummeled that thing into next week, but my punch just sailed right through it! How come--?

Once again, Craig swung at the Shadow, and once again, it turned into a black cloud right before impact, and Craig's fist passed through the fog. Craig took advantage of the Shadow's transformation to get to his feet. He watched the cloud cautiously, deciding not to bother to even hit it. Just then, he heard a car horn from the street above.

"Now what!" he moaned, turning towards the street. Much to his surprise, he saw Keith's tomato red Porsche park hastily, and Jocelyn and Matthew run out. While he was watching, he didn't notice the Shadow once again resume its humanoid shape behind him. It stood tall, and prepared to hammer Craig into the sand.

"CRAIG!!" cried Matthew, his eyes turning green, "Look out!!"

Craig turned around, but it was already too late for him to move out of the Shadow's way. Miraculously though, the Shadow suddenly was struck by a beam of green light. The Shadow melted into a black puddle, and the green light beam transformed into Matthew.

"What the heck did I do?!" he asked, looking down at his ring. The ring continued to glow brightly. He was so surprised at his transformation that he failed to notice a piece of his shadow break away, forming another Shadow monster. The Shadow swept Matt off his feet, and Matt fell clumsily to the sand.

"Oh no you don't!" said Matt, pointing his Spectrum Stone at his assailant. The creature once again became a black cloud, and the light beam that fired from the ring passed through harmlessly. Matt was so surprised that he froze and watched as the Shadow returned to its human shape. Craig witnessed the whole thing, and snapped his fingers in excitement. He launched himself at the Shadow, and tackled the unsuspecting black creature to the ground. The Shadow seemed dazed, and Craig didn't give it a chance to retaliate. He immediately began punching the Shadow in the face until it melted into a puddle. Matt stood up and began brushing the sand off his clothes.

"How did you do that, Pal?" asked Matt, helping Craig to his feet.

"We can only touch them when they're in human shape," explained Craig, "When they're clouds, they're intangible!"

"Makes sense," said Matt, looking around, "There are still two more of these things! Keith is getting his blonde butt kicked, and one is chasing down Tammy!"

While Matthew and Craig battled the one Shadow, Jocelyn made her way to her friend Tamara, who was still running away from the Shadow. Since Tamara is a dancer, she's in superior shape, and is also quite agile. She managed to continued running in circles on the white sand, and continued to avoid the slower Shadow attacking her. As she ran, she saw Jocelyn beckoning to her from a palm tree just off the sand. Tamara nodded and ran towards Jocelyn, who suddenly disappeared in a streak of orange light. Tamara kept running, although she was shocked by her friend's disappearance. When she passed the tree, Jocelyn leapt down from a branch, landing squarely on the Shadow. The Shadow melted on impact, and evaporated. Tamara stopped and ran back to her friend, who was watching in interest as the Shadow vanished. Tamara stopped when she saw orange light flash from Jocelyn's eyes.

"Jocie?" she asked in aprehension, "Is that you? What happened to you?!"

"Of course its me, and I'm better than ever. I guess Rachel didn't tell you guys yet."

Tamara was about to ask when she noticed Keith still battling the final Shadow. Tamara sneered and picked up two large coconuts from the ground below the tree. "Come on, Kiddo, this isn't over yet."

Keith, holding a fourth degree black belt in karate and a first degree in ninjitsu, is by far the best fighter among the group of friends. He managed to regain his cool quickly, and has held his own quite effectively against the Shadow. Once he realized that the Shadow couldn't be touched, he fell into a routine of blocks to keep the Shadow from hitting him. He still is blocking the Shadow's attacks when it was blindsided by a coconut to the head. Keith immediately took advantage of the Shadow's surprise by striking it with a mighty roundhouse kick. After a few more expert attacks, the Shadow melted. Keith brushed himself off, and smiled at Tamara, who was poised to throw the other coconut.

"You okay, Keith?" she asked, dropping the coconut and hugging him tightly.

"I'll live," he answered, returning her hug. When she let him go, he rubbed his forearm, "Those things really hit hard, though."

"Okay, guys," said Craig, glancing at Rachel, Jocelyn, and then Matthew, "you have exactly five minutes to tell me what the heck just happened here!"

"I doubt it'll take that long," said Rachel with a weak smile, digging into her pocket, "You, Keith, and Tamara all fought bravely against those things. So, would you believe the Earth is baing attacked by malevolent aliens with black magic?"

Craig shrugged, "I don't believe that anything is impossible," he answered.

"I never believed that we were alone in the universe," said Tamara.

"That explains what those creatures are," said Keith, "But why did they attack us? I mean, if they want to conquer Earth, why wouldn't they attack NASA or Washington DC?"

"Because the Denebians don't want to conquer Earth," Rachel answered, opening her palm to reveal three rings, "they want to absorb Earth's life energy and then destroy it. We are the only ones who can stop them."

Tamara looked at the rings and then at Rachel. She then looked at Matt and Jocelyn, and noticed that all three of them were wearing similiar rings. "So, those rings gave you those weird powers?" she asked.

"You got it, Tammy," said Jocelyn, "Rachel gave us these two rings back in the gym, and then we were attacked by those Shadows at the High Rise. We managed to destroy one when it was riding on the hood of the car."

"Wait a minute," said Keith, furrowing his eyebrow, "Neither of you have cars! And since Rachel and Craig drove themselves--oh, no you did NOT!"

"Relax, Keith," said Matt with a big grin, "its in one piece, even though I had to break the speed limit a little. Besides, the whole world's at stake here!"

Rachel frowned at the two of them while Keith muttered something under his breath. She then sighed and held up the blue Spectrum Stone.

"Spectra is the protectress of Earth, and she drafted me to be the Purple Spectrum Enforcer, leader of the super hero teams dubbed the Spectrum Force. She told me to choose five other worthy humans to join the Spectrum Force. I already gave Matt the green Spectrum Stone and Jocelyn the Orange Stone. Craig, will you join the Spectrum Force as the Blue Enforcer?"

"Sure!" he said, accepting the ring and sliding it onto his finger, "Wow, perfect fit!"

Rachel smiled and then held up the yellow stone. "Tamara, you really handled yourself well against those monsters. How'd you like to continue fighting evil as the Yellow Enforcer?"

"Wicked cool!" she cooed, putting on the ring, "This ring is GORGEOUS!"

"Keith," continued Rachel, handing him the red ring, "you're really an amazing fighter, and a dependable friend. I'd really like you to be the Red Enforcer, my second-in-command. What d'ya say?"

Keith looked at the ring and then at each of his friends. They all smiled at him. "Well, I guess so," said Keith finally, taking the stone, "but what are we supposed to do?"

Suddenly, all six rings began to glow, and each fired a beam of light into the sky. The six beams combined into a sphere of white light, and it formed a portal.

"I guess we're being called," said Rachel, looking at her five friends, who were staring in surprise at the portal. "Come on, team! I have a feeling Spectra wants to meet her Spectrum Force!"