Some would call the city of Beach Shores the epicenter for catastrophes. It had been a quiet city, but everything changed when armored superheroes began showing up around the city. They thwarted petty crime and stopped criminals from running amok. Things got worse when one wearing purple armor appeared and nearly destroyed everything. He proved to be a tough adversary but at the end of it all the heroes stood tall and triumphed over their greatest threat.

One question remained: who or what were the Xenton?

High above the clouds floated a legendary sanctuary erected by an ancient civilization millions of years ago. This magical place had remained unseen for eons, repelling all from its presence using ancient technology. Inside the sanctuary stood three boys, brothers, partially responsible for the protection of the city, awaiting the return of their siblings.

“Are you sure this is where we’re supposed to meet them?” Asked Jason, his long, bushy hair tied back into a tight knot.

“Where else are we supposed to meet them?” replied Sam, adjusting his glasses.

“Dude the swells are killer today. I need to be there rippin’ it up.”

“You’ve been surfing every day this summer,” Mack chuckled, sporting a new goatee.

“And you know what? Shoobies ruin everything! I haven’t had a good run all summer because these people come in and take over the beach!”

“Shoobies?” asked Sam, giving Jason a curious look.

“Yeah, for people who need to ‘shoo’” Jason replied, motioning his hands to say go away.

Sam smiled with a small round of laughter. “You’re a lunatic sometimes.”

The summer had flown by as expected but there had still been some trouble that forced Sam, Jason and Mack into action. Sure there were the usual bank robberies and car chases, but all of that seemed to slow down as they made their presence known. The media couldn’t get enough of them and whenever they were spotted it was like a red carpet premiere. They were becoming national celebrities, maybe even international ones at that. As per usual, Sam was uneasy about it all, something like stardom impede his judgment as a superhero. He didn’t want to let that happen. On the other hand, Jason was reveling in all the attention, but they had agreed that they wouldn’t talk to the media. Sam made this clear as he was sure that the politics of it all would play into their actions at some point. He heard analysts on the news blaming them for what happened with Griflore. The city was destroyed. No doubt people were either hurt or worse, but because Dye found a second Jenshia Star and wished the city back to life, all was forgiven for now.

But how long would that last?

Could something like that happen again in the near future? No one knew for sure.

On the flipside, people defended them and thanked them for their heroics citing ‘it could have been worse’ which, yes, was a fair point to acknowledge.

However, Sam knew the more out of control things got, it would only be a matter of time before politicians started pointing fingers at them.

Sam made it clear to his brothers that they were not to talk to the media for any reason. They were to keep their identities a secret and make sure that whenever they armored up no one saw them. Jason and Mack agreed. However, this didn’t stop Jason from showboating every now and again. This annoyed Sam to a degree but he did manage to adhere to the rules Sam put forth and he understood the implications of it all.

Aside from the theatrics and all, the summer was basically done. All that was left was waiting for Dye and Corrine and then they could get on with their End of the Summer Camping trip in which they would be taking Corrine this year. That was of course if she wanted to go.

Everyone knew she felt uneasy about everyone. She was thrown back into their lives after Griflore had her and everyone knew she didn’t know how to feel.

Mack sensed it.

Sam and Jason knew it.

Dye kind of guessed it.

Their parents weren’t oblivious to it.

To much of all their surprises, she agreed to go to camp with Dye, at least that’s the story their parents were told. The truth was they were training with Arayan and Corrine had known this would be the perfect opportunity to get away and clear her head while at the same time becoming a stronger Xenton. She was planning on leaving anyway, Dye just happened to have a slightly better alternative.

Perhaps she was different now.

Maybe now she would be a bit more open to everyone. The brothers could only hope.

A portal tore open within the sanctuary. With it came a strong light and a breeze. Silhouettes of three people came into view and as they reached the crystal tile the portal closed itself.

There they were

Standing tall and firm with Arayan just behind them. As expected, Corrine and Dye had changed in their time away. They weren’t unrecognizable, but the differences were there.

Looking at Dye, his curly, brown hair had grown to the point that now his locks were able to hang. The toning in his muscles and their mass had increased to give him a more lean, but solid physique. Of course he had grown slightly and his stature was a bit more than when he had left. Aside from the obvious, he was dressed in weird robes with what seemed to be a black bodysuit underneath.

Corrine’s body was slim, toned but slim. Her hair looked to have grown also but it was hard to tell as she had it tied back. Her attire was similar to Arayan, just more feminine than his in the sense that she had on a black crop top with leather trousers.

“Look at you, kid!” said Mack, approaching Dye with an embrace. Dye hugged his brother and they all laughed with jubilation.

“Dye!” Exclaimed Jason. “Look at you! You’re so much–”

“– Bigger?” Replied Dye, revealing a voice that wasn’t so childlike anymore.

“And your voice,” said Mack, looking over Dye’s new body. “Whoa. Dad is going to flip when he sees you.”

Corrine stood off to the side. She watched her brothers but was unsure what to feel. On the inside she wanted that embrace, but on the outside she didn’t really know how to go about it. The feelings of being accepted after being on her own for so long was still something she hadn’t come to grips with even with being away for the summer months.

“You are still unsure,” Arayan spoke from behind. She acknowledged him with the slight turn of her head.

“No,” she wasn’t sure what her response should've been. Instead she just said what would’ve been a quick end to an unwanted conversation.

Then she thought about it

“I’m just – kind of confused.”

Arayan was now standing at her side. The two of them looked at the Haven brothers as though they were trying to understand what that all meant.

“I can not begin to understand what you’ve been through, but I know the pain of being alone. I am the last of my kind. Destined to hide away up here.” Corrine looked at him and started to empathize with him. “You on the other hand have an opportunity to experience something as joyful and uplifting as a family. Don’t let that pass you up.”

Arayan gazed upon the brothers for a few more moments and then turned to walk away. He didn’t say a word to her, but she understood what he meant. She looked back at her brothers and wondered if at one point she would feel as though she was truly a part of this family.

Only time would tell though.

“So, how was it?” Asked Mack. “How was the training? Where did you go?”

“Who’s stronger? What kind of things did you do?” Asked Jason just as hastily as his brother.

“What can you do now?” I need to see!” Demanded Sam.

Overwhelmed, Dye laughed, while Corrine, who remained at a distance, broke a small smile.

“Calm down you three,” she said, “one at a time.”

“Yeah, we just got back,” said Dye. “Give us time to breathe.”

Dye motioned for Corrine to join them. She was reluctant but approached her brothers anyway.

“The training was, well, interesting,” said Dye, deep in thought. “I mean, when Arayan said it wasn’t gonna be easy, he wasn’t playing around. He worked us day and night and barely gave us time to sleep or eat. It was really intense – I didn’t think I would survive. Now, look at the results.”

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Dye flexed his muscles, showing off his new and improved physique.

Corrine rolled her eyes “Boys!” she exasperated.

“So where did you train?” asked Sam, his eyes beaming.

“We traveled to the Fire Sanctuary over in Hawaii.” Dye replied.

“Whoa, Hawaii?” Jason said with his jaw dropped. “Dude, the swells have to be killer over there.”

“Yeah, but it’s not what you think,” replied Corrine. “I mean, the island we were on was beautiful. It’s the place we were training in.”

“Yeah, it was inside an active volcano.” Dye added.

“You two trained for three months inside an active volcano?” Mack said with unease.

“Sure,” said Dye. “Just like here there’s a mechanism harnessing the heat of the lava which creates a protective shielding from the intense heat. Which says a lot after I kept on burning my clothes.”

“Speaking of which, what are you wearing?” Mack asked Dye, finally being able to break down his current choice of clothes.

“Oh, this? Arayan gave it to me,” Dye replied. “From what he said this was uh–-a um—”

“It's called a Do-bauck. It is an Ancient Quailocian fire training robe designed to withstand the heat and prevent clothing from being lost during training in the Fire Sanctuary.” Arayan said from a distance.

“Yeah, that!” Dye said with a cocky smile.

“So, the question remains,” started Jason, “just how strong did you two get?”

“Well, we did a lot of things–” began Dye.

“No, no!” Said Mack. “Words can be misleading. I want a demonstration.” His fist became armored. “If you know what I mean.” Dye and Corrine looked at each other and smiled.

“You sure about that?” Dye grinned

“You bet your ass we are,” said Jason.

“Alright then,” said Dye. “Us two versus you two?”

Mack and Jason exchanged looks. “Sounds good to me,” Jason replied.

“Sam, are you in?” Corrine glanced at Sam and for a brief moment it looked as though he was doing his calculating thing. Once he was finally able to process the question he looked up at his sister.

“Like I’d miss this. We’ve been training, too.” He replied. “Who do you think has been cleaning up the city while you’ve been away?”

“I’d say you show, don’t tell!” Dye smirked

Corrine’s body started to glow with a strong, silvery light.

The flames on Dye’s fists ran up his arms and covered his body causing his entire figure to erupt into flames.

“Doesn’t matter how hot you get,” said Mack. “You’re still the little brother.”

“Perhaps,” replied Dye. “But this little brother isn’t so little anymore.”

With that said, Dye and Corrine let out bursts of light and fire that pushed the brothers down to the ground. Astonished and amused, the three of themlooked up at their siblings. Jason’s laugh traveled through the sanctum as gold and silver armor ran up Dye and Corrine’s arms, across their torsos, down their legs and up their backs. Their faces were concealed behind two symbols – one representing the Quailocian symbol for fire and the other for the moon.

“Impressive,” said Sam. “Very impressive.”

A cyclone of wind raced through the air above the siblings in the sanctuary. It swirled downwards and hit Sam’s body allowing him to transform. White armor with gold accents covered his body and vast wings sprouted from his back. The Quailocian symbol for the Skies concealed his face and a smooth coat of white gold covered his head. Jason and Mack followed their brother’s lead, and immediately a body of water and another of rock appeared, one with black armor with the Quailocian symbol for earth and the other with blue armor and the Quailocian symbol for water.

“Let’s do this!” Yelled Mack. “Don’t hold back.”

“Ha! Do I ever?” Dye replied.

Dye waved his hand and a gold and red blade appeared from a flame. Corrine balled up her fists and a bright light shone through her clasped fingers. From her two fists came a light beam of swords. She swung them around her body, causing what looked to be stardust glittering around her display. There was a crackling in the air as the three witnessed her power. Without warning, she ran towards Mack and swung her blades at him. He blocked, and returned the attack with his two rock-hard fists.

Sam and Jason attacked Dye who went into his super speed, moving so fast it was as though he was teleporting. He raced in a circle around Jason and Sam and tried to strike them from behind but Sam grabbed Jason and they escaped into the air as Dye’s blade sliced through nothing. In the blink of an eye, Jason appeared behind Dye.

The young warrior quickly turned to view his armored brother. He ignited his foot and delivered a sidekick to Jason’s gut. Unexpectedly, Dye’s foot sunk into Jason’s stomach as a hole of water opened up.

“New trick?” Asked Dye, struggling to get out of Jason’s trap.

From above, Dye saw Sam swooping down with his fists cupped together. He shook his leg free from Jason and rolled out of the way. Sam quickly changed course and soon he and Jason were chasing Dye. Sam clapped his hands together and pulled them apart, revealing a lightning bolt. Sam wielded it as though it was a sword, and attacked Dye. With every attack from Sam, Dye countered. Deflecting the previous attack, Dye swung his blade and shot a wave of fire at his brothers. Sam and Jason easily evaded it.

When they recovered their footing the two of them realized they’d lost track of Dye. They searched their surroundings and that’s when he suddenly appeared from a lightning-fast warp. He waited for his brothers to attack and just as they were about to engage, two other Dye’s appeared. Sam and Jason immediately became confused and thrown off guard. Which Dye was the real one?

Better question.

How do you fight them?

All the Dye’s exchanged looks, making it impossible to tell who was the real one. All three of them engaged their brothers to continue the scrimmage.

Corrine danced with her moonlight swords, spinning and twirling trying to strike her brother. With every hit, Mack blocked them with his solid armored body. The young woman continued to attack, spinning, swinging, and thrusting her two swords at her brother. Mack continued to defend and was watching her movements when she vanished. Mack had let down his guard for a moment when he heard her coming up from behind. He exploded his body into sand just as Corrine’s blade passed right through him.

The sand collected and formed a boulder, The massive rock moved around and without warning it threw itself at Corrine. She bent her back, the stone grazing her silver armor as it passed above her. The boulder changed direction, launching itself towards her again. Without any hesitation she raised her hand and the boulder was stopped. It tried to overcome Corrine but the more it tried the more powerful her force became. She took the boulder, raised it up and then slammed it into the ground. The stone shattered into thousands of pebbles. Corrine watched as the pebbles gathered to form her brother.

“Neat trick” said Mack. “So you’re a force user now?”

“A what?” Corrine questioned, sounding unfamiliar with the term.

“You know, like Star Wars?”

“Um – no it’s gravity.” she replied, still unsure.

“Looks like we’re gonna have to have a movie night!” Mack said back excitedly.

“Oh — um — okay…” Corrine replied unsurely.

With the reference falling through the cracks, Mack engaged Corrine again and the two carried on.

While the siblings tested each other, Arayan created the usual pillar of stairs to oversee the battles. He stood at the top keeping a keen eye on the fight taking place. He was impressed with all of the siblings’ performances, but most of all he was impressed with Sam, Jason and Mack’s use of their Xentonian powers. How did they learn such advanced tactics in such a short time without a teacher? He was curious to find out but then again it was no longer a surprise that Griflore was defeated. All of them were on their way to becoming fully realized Xenton.

Sam and Jason had their hands full with Dye’s clones, blocking the attacks of one while evading those of another. Turning his body into water, Jason twisted and turned. Seizing one of the Dyes, he squeezed him until the body exploded into flames. Ashes fell to the ground.

“Ha! Kage-bunshin number one down!” Said Jason.

Sam shot thousands of lightning bolts from his sword at the remaining Dyes. They danced through the thousands of strikes until the two of them were struck. Immediately they exploded into flames, their ashes falling to the ground.

“Where is he?” Shouted Sam, on high alert as a result of their brother’s games.

Jason and Sam stood back to back, looking for their younger sibling. Suddenly, a rope of fire appeared and tied them together. The brothers tried to break free, shaking themselves loose. From the side, Mack crashed into them and caused them all to fall over. The fire rope dissolved and the brothers were finally freed. Corrine held her kicking pose and gracefully placed her foot on the ground. A blaze of fire appeared right beside her and there was Dye, resting his sword on his shoulders.

“Checkmate.” He said, returning his body to normal.

“We win!” said Corrine as she returned to normal.

The three brothers got up and looked at their siblings, letting down their armor as well.

“Now that was insane,” said Jason. “Those fakes of yours were dope! I wonder if I can do that.”

“Thanks,” Dye replied. “Took me a while to master them. When I first started, one had three legs, some had none, most of them didn’t even have a head.”

“How many can you make?” asked Jason, a look of intrigue on his face.

“Just a handful. Depends on my mental focus at the time.”

“So sick!”

“That’s just a taste of what we learned while we were away,” said Corrine. “If something like Griflore comes knocking then maybe you’ll get to see what else we learned.

“Fantastic! All of you!” said Arayan as he descended down the crystal stairs. Dye and Corrine turned to face him while Sam, Jason and Mack got up from the ground.

“I am very impressed with all of your progress,” he continued. “Especially you three who have begun on the journey of mastering your own skills,” he said, referring to Sam, Jason and Mack. “Your abilities are developing rapidly. Who knows what battles may lay ahead? The worst may have already passed, but heed this…”

There was something ominous about Arayan’s last set of words. The siblings heard it almost instantly.

“Where there is light, there is darkness. As such, good cannot exist without evil to corrupt it. The power of darkness can be strong, and, at times, overpowering for the mortal soul. Just the tiniest thought of wrongdoing can corrupt the purest of souls. Darkness seeks power, and as you get stronger dark forces will seek you out.”

The siblings had no idea what Arayan meant. What was he suggesting exactly? “Absolute power corrupts absolutely. The only remedy to this disease is the love of another. Please remember that.”

“Um — okay? Weird.” started Jason, “Any who, time to get going. We have a weekend of camping to get done!”

“Camping?” asked Corrine. “Why are you going camping?”

“We are going camping, Sis!” Mack threw his arm around Corrine. “We go every year on the weekend before school starts. Family tradition!”

“Oh — uh — I don’t know — we just got back and –”

“It’s cool, Sis,” Jason chimed in. “You’re gonna love it. Roasting marshmallows, star gazing, no annoying city sounds. It’ll be fun.”

Corrine tried not to show her uneasiness. Instead, she figured this could be another opportunity to get to know her brothers’ more. Maybe this trip was the thing she needed to finally get rid of the discomfort taking root in the pit of her stomach. “Sounds like fun…” she broke an awkward smile.

“Well, my goth-emo bro, it’s been real but we gotta jet!” said Jason. “Thanks for watching the kids this summer!”

Arayan wasn’t sure about Jason’s choice of words. He lowered his head in a polite manner and said “It was my pleasure.”

The siblings said their goodbye’s with Corrine being the last one. Just as she turned to depart, Arayan called for her.

“In the future, if you need someone to confide in, all you need to do is call. I’ll be here,” Arayan said with the utmost sincerity. She smiled and nodded her head. Dye jumped on Sam’s back, who nearly stumbled.

“Damn it, Dye, you’ve put on some weight.” He said, struggling to hold himself upright.

“It’s all muscle, baby,” Dye replied, as he flexed his arms.

“Boys,” Corrine muttered under her breath, then grabbed Mack around the waist while Sam did the same with Jason. Together, they took off and headed for home. Arayan watched as they left, remaining in the sanctuary hopeful that the world was in good hands.