The Spectrum Force Volume Two by Heather Ray (affordable ebook reader txt) 📕

wide with panic.

"What's going on?!" Jocelyn demanded, pointing to the ring on her finger.

Rachel didn't answer. Instead, she burst into Tamara's room, closely followed by Jocelyn. The pair gazed at Tamara, who hugged her legs to her body in terror. Her eyes were transfixed by the glowing ring that lay on her night table.

"It's okay, Tammy," Rachel assured, sitting on the bed beside her, "The ring won't hurt you."

Tamara gazed at Rachel incredulously. "I know that! But, this means everything you said was... true."

Tamara bit her lip. "Something serious is happening. Right now."

All three girls jumped in surprise as the doorbell rang continuously. Obviously, the person behind the door was rather impatient.

Jocelyn hurried to answer, and watched as Craig, Keith, and Matthew streamed into the apartment, all wearing their sleepwear.

And all wearing steadily glowing rings.

"Well, now we're united," Keith said, folding his arms, "and it looks like we're being called. What now?"

Rachel stood up, and Tamara followed her. "Let's show Spectra we're united," she decided, thrusting out her hand palm down.

Keith nodded with understanding, lying his hand atop hers. Matthew, Jocelyn, Craig, and Tamara joined in, forming a pile of hands, each with rings generating different colored light.

The rainbow of energy soon melded into a steady aura of white energy, which began pulsing at the rate of a heartbeat.

In a blinding flash of pure energy, the assembly vanished.
Chapter Fourteen

Spectra's keen peach eyes stared at the wire-frame map that the largest viewscreen displayed. She leaned her head upon her hand, and busily tapped buttons.

A flashing red icon continued moving through the grid steadily.

"It's on the move," she realized grimly.

She whirled around when a wave of white energy flooded the room. Her calm gaze beheld six forms materializing out of the transport beam, all gazing in bewilderment at their sudden appearance in a foreign environment.

She smiled slightly, picking up the translating headphones and microphone she had used to speak to Rachel earlier.

From the look of things, she would need to be as clear as possible. Time was pressing.

"Whoa," Craig gasped, his eyes darting around like a bee, "What happened?"

Matthew quickly glanced at his feet and arms. "All here," he sighed with some relief.

"Welcome to my base, Spectrum Force," Spectra stated, rising from her seat. All six pairs of human eyes gazed at her in surprise.

"What happened, Spectra?" Rachel inquired, stepping forward.

Craig blinked. "You're Spectra?" he marveled, gazing at her with new interest. Other than the silvery-whiteness of her hair, and the pinkish hue of her eyes, she looked like a typical human being. "You're an alien?"

Spectra smirked with some amusement. "What were you expecting? A bald, large-headed green life-form?"

Jocelyn cracked a surprised grin. "A joke?"

Spectra's smile widened. "Humor is not only a Human characteristic. In many ways, Humans and Denebians are similar." Then, her smile fell. "Unfortunately, another characteristic we have in common is a tendency to engage in warfare."

She stepped closer to the tightly assembled group, and then turned her attention to Rachel. "Have you told them everything?"

She nodded dutifully. "Everything you told me." She then began pointing out her friends, uttering their names for Spectra's benefit. "This is Keith Maloy, Tamara Fox, Matthew O'Conner, Jocelyn Armand, and Craig Gillis. They've agreed to join me as the Spectrum Force."

"And now that your hearts are united, you were able to come here," Spectra revealed.

Matthew frowned slightly. "I still don't understand that," he confessed.

"You were doubtful of Rachel's story," Spectra clarified, "Doubts will always serve as a barrier for you to overcome, if you seek to reach your full potential. It will hinder your growth in the use of magic."

Jocelyn blinked. "Magic? None of us know the first thing about it!"

"The Spectrum Stones will guide you," Spectra assured them, "They bend reality to the will of the user. They are fragments of the White Stone, which likewise creates reality anew. You can warp and shape light, which will be your primary weapon against Phaedra and her invasion fleet."

Spectra then sighed quietly, returning to her seat. "I only wish we had a chance to further train in the uses of your new powers, but as I am sure you have noticed, Phaedra has begun the second phase of her invasion."

"You mean the earthquake," Keith noted, moving closer to the screen. The others followed.

"This is a map of the subterranean tunnels in which I met Rachel," Spectra explained, enlarging the view, "I found it on the wrist scanner our friend Kirik was carrying."

"Kirik?" Tamara whispered to Rachel.

"The alien that almost killed me," she muttered in response.

"Phaedra teleported a Phlegnin into the tunnels," Spectra continued, pressing another button. The map gave way to a photograph of a large worm, easily the size of two cargo trucks, with razor-sharp quills protruding from along its entire cylindrical body.

Tamara cringed at the sight. "Eww!" she screeched in disgust.

Craig frowned deeply. "That's a Phleg... Phleg...?"

"Phlegnin. It is a predatory animal that digs through the ground. Its quills propel him in the dirt, enabling him to move at speeds nearing forty miles per hour. It is a very dangerous monster, and its presence beneath your city threatens every single inhabitant."

"Why would Phaedra send a monster into the subway?" Matt wondered aloud, "I mean, I thought she was trying to collect information."

"Maybe she got enough?" Keith hypothesized.

Spectra shook her head. "I doubt Phaedra is fully pleased with what she has collected so far. She only has whatever information could be collected within a time period of a few hours. Certainly that doesn't drain this planet's resources."

"Could she be trying to scare humanity?" Jocelyn proposed, "Wiping out a major city will surely send the planet into panic."

"Also illogical," Spectra decided, her brow furrowed thoughtfully, "If she wanted to destroy Langstrum Alps, she could have done so much more dramatically. So far, the Phlegnin has remained underground, where no one could see him. The entire city is surely passing off the tremors for the earthquakes common to this area of the world. It seems Phaedra is determined to be inconspicuous... for now, at least."

"That makes sense," Rachel decided, "Why give away your trump card by revealing your existence?"

"It's also important to note that the monster is within the very tunnels that I encountered her scouts," Spectra pointed out grimly, "I feel this monster is meant for me. My technology has alerted me to its presence, and surely Phaedra is now aware that a member of the Remnant is on Earth."

Spectra then rose to her feet, folding her arms. "I must stop it, before it destroys the subway systems, and pulls the entire city underground."

Rachel watched incredulously as Spectra walked passed the teens. "What about us?"

Spectra shook her head, pulling a jeweled staff from its case against the far wall. "I haven't been able to provide you with the slightest bit of training. How can you face that monster with power you do not know how to control?"

"How can you face that monster by yourself?" Jocelyn countered, "We may not be experts, but we'll catch on."

"Right," Matthew added, "You said the Spectrum Stones would guide us after all."

Spectra gazed at the six determined humans, standing in a row. She couldn't help but smile.

"So be it," she acquiesced. "The first step to utilizing your powers is to Synchronize with the Spectrum. Each of you have a separate colored shard, and by uniting your body with that wavelength of energy, you will join with the energy that shard contains, encasing you in the protective armor your shards create."

"Spectrum Sync?" Jocelyn asked, staring at the swirling orange energy within the clear crystal shell, "How?"

Spectra grinned. "Just ask."

The teens traded confused glances, before Rachel nodded her head, her dark eyes focused on the crystal before her.

"Spectrum Sync!" she commanded firmly. In response to the verbal request, the purple ring released the rich fog-like aura it contained. The mist began to glow with steady energy, swirling around Rachel's body to form a tight energy cocoon. The entire assembly backed away at the brilliant display of energy, and watched in mute amazement as the smoke crystallized. Then, in a flash of energy, it shattered, releasing the Purple Enforcer.

Rachel's sleepwear was replaced by molded body armor. It reflected light like metal, but it moved with her every gesture as if it were elastic. The rich shades of purple gave testament to her power signature, and her face was covered with a mask, along with a blue opaque visor. Only her hair was visible, hanging free from the top of her mask.

It took a moment for Rachel to recover from the power influx she had experienced. She jerked slightly, craning her neck to better look at her armor.

"This is... a lot

of purple!" she breathed, awed at the pale purple gloves and boots, which contrasted with the darker purple arms that stretched to her sides, and even darker purple torso and legs. The belt glittered silver, the only part other than the visor to not be colored purple.

"As the Purple Enforcer, you will be able to concentrate beams of intense energy from your body, create a shield of more diffuse energy to protect yourself, fly, and generate a variety of manifestations of energy, all guided by your imagination. Also, you can in fact turn your body into a beam of light, granting you light-speed travel. The visor is equipped with a variety of settings, including night-vision, which is the default, since your opponents will always attack under a shroud of darkness, as well as ultraviolet, infrared, and X-ray scanning. Your belt possesses two buttons; when any single button is pressed it activates the emergency transport, carrying you back here instantaneously. Use this if you are ever injured, or for some other matter need immediate escape. Pressing both buttons simultaneously will break the transformation."

Rachel blinked, her eyes obscured by her sapphire lens. "This is so... unreal."

"It sounds like we can do anything

!" Matthew marveled.

Spectra smiled. "You do have an impressive repertoire of attack and defensive options, but until you are trained in their use, you must be extremely cautious. But trust in yourselves. Confidence is your greatest weapon."

"And all of us have the same powers?" Tamara inquired.

"Yes. The only difference is the color of your uniforms and attacks. Of course, since you are different people, your imaginations will wield your new powers differently."

Keith's azure gaze remained steady on Rachel, watching in amazement as she tried to accustom herself to her new powers. He grinned, turning to his