Battle for leader.

Early Saturday morning – Theo’s house

Theo: Deci—uh, I mean Hakim—hurry up in there! (He knocked impatiently on the bathroom door.)

Hakim: I hate that name. Why did you stick me with it? (He opened the door, stepping out with a towel wrapped around his waist. Steam poured out behind him.)

Theo: Wow… this is the first time I’ve seen your face.

Hakim: Well, it’ll be the first and last. (He walked toward his room while Theo entered the bathroom.)

Theo: Oh, come on—you used all the hot water!

Thirty minutes later, both had finished bathing and were almost done eating. Theo wore a brown Minecraft T-shirt, while Hakim, as always, wore his dark blue hoodie.

Hakim: Thanks a lot for the food, Mrs. Krizma.

Mrs. Krizma: It’s no problem. You can leave your plate—Theo will wash them.

Theo: Why do I have to wash them?

Mrs. Krizma: It’s your responsibility.

Five minutes later

Galaxom: Incoming transmission from Kira.

Kira: Kid, you and Decibolt are to meet me in Training Chamber 4.

Theo: We’ll meet you there. One question, though—where is it?

Kira: I keep forgetting you’re a newbie.

Theo: Who did you used to work with?

Kira: Rosie. She could transform into a kraken—until she was killed by Radiax in L.A. Just teleport to the Guardian’s chamber. The transport tubes are next to the big portal. Type “Training Chamber 4” on the dashboard, and they’ll take you there.

Theo: See you there. (He ended the call.)

Theo: We’ve got to go train. (He left the kitchen and headed to where Hakim sat.)

Hakim: You mean you have to go train?

Theo: Whatever. (He opened a portal and stepped through; they emerged in the Guardian’s chamber, where three tubes stood. Hakim entered one, and Theo entered another after typing in “Training Chamber 4.)”

Theo: Here goes nothing. (They were sucked upward through the tubes.)

Training Chamber 4

Kira: Finally, you’re here. (Theo and Hakim dropped out of the tubes.)

Theo: Sorry—Hakim was checking out my house.

Kira: Who’s Hakim?

Hakim: Unfortunately, that’s me.

Theo: It’s his non-super name.

Kira: Let’s get to work.

Hakim: Whoa there, missy—who put you in charge? I’m the one assigned to train Theo. I’m more powerful than you and Theo combined.

Kira: And what exactly is your power?

Hakim: Sonic abilities, as my name implies.

Theo: I thought you had crystal powers like the rest of the council.

Hakim: They don’t have crystal powers, except for the council leader. Each has unique abilities and also uses crystal gems, which let them manipulate crystals. You’re given new ones as you level up. I’m Level 13, so I don’t have the powerful ones—yet—but I’m still more than qualified to lead this team.

Theo: Just curious—how many levels are there?

Hakim: Twenty.

Kira: Crystal gem or no crystal gem, there’s no way you’re better than me.

Guardian (telepathically): Quit your bickering!

Theo: Have you been listening?

Guardian: Kind of hard not to, with you two shouting at the top of your lungs. Decibolt is in charge of training Theo, but you must choose a mission leader. If you don’t, I’ll make Theo the leader.

Kira: Of course, sir.

Theo: Hmm… me as mission leader. That’s interesting.

Kira: No way that’s happening.

Hakim: Finally, something we agree on.

Theo: How about a series of challenges? Winner gets to be mission leader.

Kira: Fine. What are the challenges?

Theo: First up—dodge the electro-balls.

Theo: Zaps! (He summoned Zaps, who grabbed him and jumped to a raised platform, then began launching electro-balls.)

Kira: Activate super suit! (She dodged an incoming shot and activated her suit.)

Hakim: Summon crystal armor! (A crystal around his neck glowed as crystal armor with a hood formed over him.)

Theo: The goal is to dodge the electro-balls. You can destroy, deflect, or manipulate the balls to hit your opponent, but no direct attacks on each other. If you get hit by a ball—or attacked directly—you lose. Good luck.

Kira: Luck is for people without skills. I don’t need it. (She used molecular kinesis to freeze five electro-balls midair, then launched them at Decibolt.

Decibolt blasted a powerful sonic wave from his mouth, striking the ground to propel himself onto a platform. From there, he unleashed sonic blasts from both hands, shattering the incoming balls.)

Kira: Okay—destroy this. (She gathered a wave of electro-balls and hurled them at him while dodging others.)

Decibolt: Soni blast! (Leaping from the platform, he launched a sonic blast in midair, that obliterated the balls. Out of the smoke, one electro-ball—pushed by Decibolt—shot toward Kira. She dodged it, but it was a setup. While airborne, another ball slammed toward her.)

Kira: Gravitational Kinesis Attack II—Anti-Gravitational Beam! (She blasted the ball upward, sending it to the chamber’s ceiling.)

Kira: You almost got me there… (panting) but cheap shots won’t work on me.

Theo: Increasing the speed!

Decibolt: Getting tricky to dodge now.

Kira: For you, maybe. (She dodged gracefully.)

Decibolt: You’re getting cocky. Time to prove we’re not equals—Sonic Barrier! (A shimmering wave field formed around him, deflecting the balls.)

Kira: Hey! Force fields shouldn’t be allowed.

Theo: It’s allowed—you can use powers to deflect. That’s what he’s doing.

Decibolt: Don’t be jealous. We can’t all be this powerful.

Kira: We’ll see. (She gathered multiple electro-balls.)

Decibolt: Hit me with all you’ve got—this barrier won’t break.

Kira: We’ll see about that. (She leapt onto the barrier and tried to separate its molecules, but nothing happened.)

Kira (Thinking): I guess you can’t separate sonic waves.

Decibolt: Whatever you’re doing—it’s pointless.

Kira: This is impossible… I need a new strategy. (She hurled all the balls at once, knowing they’d fail, then jumped off—forgetting to check for incoming shots. An electro-ball smacked her.)

Kira: No!

Decibolt: Yes!

Theo: Decibolt wins the first round!

Decibolt: I don’t know what you were thinking, but I’m glad you did it—because I won, and you lost. In your face!

Kira: Whatever.

Decibolt: Is that your way of admitting I’m superior?

Kira: Calm down—we still have more rounds.

Theo: She’s right. (He dismissed Zaps.)

Theo: Time for round two.

Kira: What’s round two?

Theo: Just watch… Bulbe! (He summoned Bulbe.)

Bulbe: Techno-Create! (Two bombs materialized, each with a five-minute timer.)

Theo: These will go off in five minutes. Your challenge—disarm them before they do. Begin!