The camera lay on a white towel in Reka's basement lab while she examined a broken fragment under a microscope.
"Hmm, yes, I see."
"What?" Rich asked hopefully. "Can you make sure something like this never happens again? Stinger stole my powers. We need some kind of shielding."
The woman unbuttoned her lab coat and looked up from the aperture of her microscope. She shook her head sadly. "I don't think they'll try something like that anytime soon, too complicated. See here," she motioned for Rich to look into the microscope.
He saw a green crystal in extraordinary detail. The cut, the shape, it almost looked like...
"...my ring."
Reka smiled, those slightly too sharp white teeth of hers making her look very much like a shark. "Just so, young Richard. This is an object of extraordinary complexity. These geometries, utterly alien, but oh so precise. Duplicating such is beyond me." In her excitement, Reka's Hungarian accent became thicker. "To think, I'd find evidence in my own lab. We live in interesting times, boy!"
Rich blinked. "Evidence of what?"
His advisor shrugged out of her lab coat and hung it on a chair. "Is it not obvious? This crystal, your ring, these are alien. That is, originating from another planet." Reka spoke slowly and clearly, as if to a child, or an idiot. Rich tried not to take offense. "The emotive force is the key, I understand that now. With such, one might bend the laws of physics itself! We already have plenty of evidence. You do things you shouldn't be able to, and so can they. But you are so similar. Pureheart Power and corrupt energy are but opposing polarities of the emotive force. This camera will help me contrive a way to harness it, perhaps even empower others, but that is a matter for another day. I would hear more of this Hamburger Satan."
"What do you mean by 'empower others'?" Becca looked up from her work. Poor sis. Reka pretty much treated her like a servant during these meetings. "Could I become a hero like Rich?" she asked hopefully.
Reka inclined her head. "Perhaps, if you would do your work more speedily!" she replied harshly.
"Okay, okay, sorry." Becca went back to adjusting machines, or preparing samples, or whatever else a lab assistant was supposed to do.
Having multiple fighters in the Future Force seemed like a good idea to Rich. He'd had too many close calls, and now that Stinger was targeting him personally...
"Hamburger Satan has devil horns and pointy ears like an elf. I guess she's an alien." Rich pitched up his statement as if it were a question.
"Very likely," Reka agreed.
"She can manipulate reality, stop time, create illusions...and she seems to have it in for me personally. We can't rule out the possibility that Stinger knows my identity. There is only one person who outranks her in Stinger, somebody named 'Jellyfish Hitler'." Rich wanted to laugh at the absurdity of these names, likely codenames chosen by aliens who didn't understand Earth culture. After all, to somebody from another world, Satan and Hitler would just be "powerful".
Reka nodded along. "The scope of our struggle is much increased, which is why I've made this." She took out a box and opened it. Inside the case, there were several cell phones laid side by side and what looked like scaled-down versions of Future Blaster. "These are refined corrupt energy detectors, along with a communication system. The pistols aren't as powerful as your own, but somebody without a suit of Endram Armor can use them." She picked up one of the weapons and held it up. "From now on, every member of the Future Force will be armed and in constant communication. If we encounter corrupt energy, we will contact you, Richard. Becca!"
"Yes, Ma'am!" His twin sat up straight in her chair.
"You are only to engage Stinger with this blaster in cases of uttermost need. If practicable, you will extricate yourself from the situation and contact Richard. Only he has the durability for sustained combat."
"Yes, of course, wouldn't dream of it," she agreed easily, nodding along with all of Reka's instructions.
Rich wanted to arm Julie and Dad as well, but Reka had only made enough blasters for the three of them. He didn't want to speculate on how long it took her. He was grateful for even this much.
With that, their neighbor dismissed them, and the Rice twins went home for the day.
"Any plans, Becca?" Rich asked. Their house was just next door. Walking back took no time at all.
His sister flushed lightly, shifting her weight uncomfortably from foot to foot. "Date with Beni, our first real one. I'm taking him to the museum to see that new ancient Egypt exhibit. We'll get something to eat afterward, so you don't need to cook for me tonight."
Rich slapped his sister on the back. "That's great, Becca! Just try to relax, okay? Beni is a nice boy. You don't need to do anything crazy to impress him. Just be friendly, interested in what your date says, and do your best to be yourself."
"Thanks, Rich. Can I have the truck tonight?"
"Sure. I'm working out with Bryce this afternoon, but then I'll bring it right back; should be in plenty of time for you to pick up your date." The corrupt energy detector felt heavy in his pocket. Rich hoped he hadn't just jinxed himself.
***
"Okay, Bryce, I've got good news and bad news."
The chubby boy looked down at the number on the gym's scale in despair.
"Well, do you want the good news or bad news first?" Rich asked at his continued silence.
Bryce sighed in defeat. "Good news I guess. This is already a disaster. I had no idea I weighed this much."
Rich put an arm around him. "That's where you're wrong, buddy! The good news is you aren't actually that overweight. Twenty, thirty pounds tops. You put on some muscle and you're healthy weight might actually be higher than you think!"
His friend, definitely not his minion, looked back at him dubiously. "I don't really want to get bulky, though. I want to be skinny and hot." He covered his mouth in embarrassment once he realized what he had just said. "No offense, I didn't mean..."
"Don't worry about it," Rich said easily, leading him towards the cardio section of the gym. They had treadmills, ellipticals, rowing machines, and just what he was looking for. "Get on the bike." Rich adjusted the seat so Bryce wouldn't have to.
"Okay. So what's the bad news?" The boy started pedaling lightly, not even enough to break a sweat or anything.
"The bad news is you are completely untrained. Marching in the Marching Band doesn't count, I'm afraid. That's dangerous. If I started you on a real exercise program right away, there's a good chance you would hurt yourself." Rich pressed a button that increased the resistance on the bike slightly to give him a little burn. Bryce started struggling.
"So what am I supposed to do?"
With an effort of will, Rich forced himself to keep a straight face. He didn't want to hurt his friend, but the fact that he already looked strained with this much effort was worrying. The last thing he wanted to do was scare Bryce away from exercise by kicking his ass on day one. "We'll be doing GPPIP."
"Jee...pip..." Bryce gasped between each syllable.
"Yes. General Physical Preparedness and Injury Prevention. We'll warm up with the bike, get your heart rate up and sweat a little, then we'll follow with resistance training, very light resistance training, not to build muscle, but to train your nervous system and to gradually strengthen connective tissue so you don't tear anything. After that, we'll do a nice cooldown with yoga stretches. That'll also help with your stability and flexibility."
Bryce's focus was on the little screen on the bike's heads-up display. They'd only been going for two minutes, and he watched every second tick by on the timer like it was drip torture. "How much longer?" he whined.
"I know it's hard, buddy, but you want to change, don't you? Tomorrow is Sunday. You can come over, and I'll teach you some basic recipes. Cooking real food will make a huge difference."
"I...eat...real...food," Bryce lied.
Sure, Jan. Rich ignored his lies. "The key is to buy ingredients, not food. Anything you can just eat out of the box at room temperature without doing anything to it is food. Ingredients have to be prepared, processed, and combined. Real food starts with real ingredients. Most Americans are overfed but are actually starving from a nutritional point of view. Don't worry, I'll teach you."
"I can't take any more!" Bryce completely quit biking at the five-minute mark.
Rich sighed. They had a lot of work to do.
***
He made it back home with plenty of time to spare. Becca took the truck to go meet Beni, and Rich would start dinner for one. Yes, Dad was on a date with Julie's mom, and Yesenia had "robotics club" business. Their house, usually so lively, was actually kind of creepy when you were alone. Rich thought he was an introvert, but now he wasn't so sure. He craved human contact, social interaction, and conversation. Maybe "being alone" was something he got used to in his first life, at least after the divorce, and he never really liked it after all.
He turned on the computer to pass the time. "Oh, looks like Becca bookmarked the website for the new museum exhibit!"
Rich clicked on it, and his blood ran cold.
"Did the ancient Egyptians have electricity?" the article read. There was a picture of a female pharaoh with green lightning around her sarcophagus. If this wasn't an event, flag his name wasn't Richard Rice.
He scrolled through some nonsense about the pyramids being designed to conduct electricity and signal aliens when he made up his mind. The article was written by a professor from New Mexico University. From what Reka had told him, Stinger was a lot more established in New Mexico than here. Roswell was heavily connected to them.
Aliens, has to be, he thought. "Well, I don't have a moment to lose!" He raised his ring:
"From a future dark
To a post not set,
Stinger hasn't won just yet,
With Pureheart Power, a noble mission,
Come forth! Future Hero! Henshin!"
Rich breathed a sigh of relief when the transformation was successful. "Becca and Beni are in danger!" Future Hero summoned Future Chopper and sped for the museum.
***
Once they got close to the museum, Rich hopped off the motorcycle and let Future Chopper drive himself in a holding pattern as he continued on foot. The bike was pretty smart.
Future Hero flipped open the cell phone Reka gave him earlier, and noticed the screen pulsing like radar. Corrupt energy! With every wave sent out, a green cloud within the museum building was highlighted!
With the power of the Endram Armor, he vaulted up to a second-floor window and entered the building silently. It wasn't fully dark, but evening in October was enough to conceal him.
There was a catwalk above, and Rich noticed places where dinosaur bones hung from the ceiling. Staying low, he made his way to the area where the ancient Egypt exhibit was set up. The corrupt energy was stronger now. He used the device to send a warning to Becca, but nobody answered! The girl must've turned it off! What a time to be distracted by a boy!
"Yeah, I really like history and stuff." Rich would recognize the voice of his sister anywhere. Looking down from the catwalk, he saw the couple walking together, Becca's muscular arm draped over Beni's skinny shoulders. They were chatting happily and looked like they were having fun admiring the statues and the little plaques with outlandish claims of "ancient aliens". Damn you, History Channel!
They came at last to the female pharaoh's sarcophagus. She looked more like an Egypt-themed robot under glass, dormant for now.
TINK!
He spoke too soon! The statue came alive at an annoyingly dramatic time when Becca and Beni were standing right next to it, punching through her display case and sending shards of broken glass in all directions.
Rich's sister, to her credit, immediately scooped up her date and ran in the other direction, taking the corrupt energy detector out of her pocket. She flipped it open, and the phone in his hand beeped. "Rich, we're under attack!" she cried, grunting with exertion as she carried Beni out of danger.
"On it, sis!" Rich replied gamely and jumped down to the ground floor of the museum.
"You picked the wrong year to wake up, buddy!" Future Hero wasted no time and reached for Future Blaster.
GACHOW! GACHOW!
He fired, but the purple bolts bounced harmlessly off the creature's armor. The pharaoh's skin was made up of golden plates, and she had armored pauldrons on her shoulders in the shape of pyramids.
"laser proof, huh? How about a nice little shave with Future Edge! That'll take years off your face!" Putting away his pistol, Rich gripped the handle of his sword and pressed the button that summoned a blade of purple light.
The corrupt energy was so strong now that he wanted to retch, but he needed to get closer. Shifting his weight subtly, he dashed forward. IPPON!
This time, Rich had better luck. Future Edge bit into the pharaoh robot's golden armor, striking sparks when he wrenched it back. The robot let out a very human wail of pain.
THWUMP!
It backhanded Future Hero, sending him flying into a duplicate of Noah's ark. What the heck? Was this one of those "creation" museums?
Stuffed versions of two of every creature buried him in fluff. SHWING! His sword cut a clear path through the mountain of stuffed animals, and he noticed the Stinger monster had lost interest in him. Patrons fled in every direction. "Husband!" it moaned.
Rich gave chase, but it was hard to keep up with the tall robot's strides. He was horrified to see Becca and Beni trapped in a corner.
"Husband!" it cried again, reaching for Beni.
"Stay away from him!" Becca screamed, pulling the pistol out of her waistband and firing at the pharaoh's eyes. The purple bolts were no more effective than Rich's Future Blaster. The robot just batted them away casually, but the distraction was enough.
SKREEEEK! Rich dug Future Edge into the Egyptian robot's back so deep he couldn't pull it back out! He lost his grip when the robot started to run around in a panic, reaching back and trying to pull the energy sword out, but its arms weren't long enough.
"Here! Over here!" Rich jumped up and down, trying to lure it away from his sister. It worked!
With a primal roar, the pharaoh robot chased Rich out of the museum and all the way to a nearby quarry.
"End of the line, Isis!" Rich turned on a dime, and baseball slid through the robot's legs. It was big and strong and durable, but slow and clumsy. It impotently reached for him, but he was already behind it. With its back exposed, he pulled out Future Blaster. Thinking fast, he deactivated Future Edge, allowing him to retrieve the handle. He shoved his pistol into the wound left behind.
GACHOW! GACHOW!
Purple bolts struck the robot's vulnerable innards, setting off a chain reaction.
"NOOOO! MY HUSBAND!" the robot lamented. It exploded with a miniature mushroom cloud of green fire, and the force of it almost knocked Rich off his feet. He checked his corrupt energy detector once the dust settled a bit.
"All clear," he said with some satisfaction. That taken care of, he rode Future Chopper (who had followed them to the quarry) back to the museum to check on Becca's date.
Rich stealthily approached them in the parking lot.
"You protected me. You're so brave." Beni was shaking like a leaf and clutching her desperately.
There, on that October evening, Rich saw his sister get her first kiss.