The following day, after a nutritional moteling breakfast, Luke, Sakile, and Denby departed for another mission. Ben left to care for the animals. Mote was his guardian for the day, a task Alice entrusted to him. She then took the remaining children into the Stargazer's private library. The teens gathered around, shutting and securing the doors; Alice pulled the purple gem from her pocket.

"We need to practice with this. Calvin, I want you to try first," Alice said.

Calvin nodded and stood, taking the gem from Alice. Immediately, a swirl of purple mist enveloped the boy, just as Alice and Eary had before. After several minutes, he emerged. His tale was different from Alice and Eary's. It involved communicating with a strange spirit. With excellent training and practice, the spirit had taught Calvin the power of an entirely different color. Like his brother, Calvin possessed purple light.

However, he didn't replicate like Sakile. On contact, he summoned the powers of others for a time. The other students, at first, were afraid of Calvin's touch. But it was Mei who bravely embraced Calvin. He conjured a ball of flame in his hand, albeit smaller than Mei's. She seemed to have no adverse side effects, a fact that had the other kids having Calvin experimenting with their power.

Alice looked over to Earhart. "You're next!"

Eary looked confused. He had already interacted with the gem and asked, "Why?"

Alice stated, "Because you don't have any purple powers yet, and you need 'em most. Here!" She shoved the crystal in Eary's direction.

He rolled his eyes, knowing full well this would yield no result. He quickly swept up the jewel. "See," he grumbled in frustration.

As soon as he spoke, purple light enveloped him, and he hurled through the purple sky again. As he righted himself in the maelstrom, fed up, he yelled out,

"What left do you have to show me?"

He stood in a vast garden courtyard as the words left his mouth. A golden-skinned woman with long red hair and large emerald eyes sat at a fountain before Eary.

"Come," she announced as she patted the seat next to her.

Eary took his place, and upon inspection, he uttered, "Ilia? You're Ilia, aren't you?"

Ilia smiled, the radiance of her aura illuminating the air around her. She said, "It wasn't fair when you were called. You had not been prepared for a Claris's duties like I was. It is commendable that you have chosen your duty so freely."

Eary's heart felt heavy. "I felt as if I had no choice. First, Ephraim was sick, and then all hell broke loose around the city. Now, this whole abduction thing and the existence of the Scions." he took a deep breath. "Honestly, Ilia, it's a lot. But I have to do what I must."

Ilia smiled. "And that is why you were chosen. You have much to discover about yourself still Eary.

Her ethereal voice and words made Eary feel better, but still, a great weight was upon him. He spoke, "I haven't received a power from the crystal yet. I don't think I'm strong enough for this."

The Leoht Claris placed her golden hand on Eary's back. With a tender look, she stated, "The power of the mind can be formidable. Some are gifted in different ways. You, for example, are defensive in nature. So, your abilities manifest as such. I will teach you the power to break the will of others over you and your comrades." With a hand of glowing purple, Ilia placed it on Eary's head. A swirl of purple enveloped him again. Then he was back in the library in a flash.

Eary recounted the events of his conversation with Ilia. He extended his hand, and a swirl of purple sparkles surrounded the heads of those in the group.

Alice sighed in relief. "That's fucking awesome! Thank you, Ilia!"

The group knew this new power would be instrumental against Johnathan's mind control. As the crew wrapped up from the day, they proceeded to the animal sanctuary to retrieve Ben and Mote. As they moved deeper in, they were met by shocking sight.

Ben cowered behind a large beast while Mote and two other creatures fought off what appeared to be magically gifted individuals. One manifested and then hurled spears of plasma at Mote. The other seemed fast and strong as he tangled with the cockatrice and some strange scaled horned bear.

Mote easily dodged his assailants' projectiles while the cockatrice glanced at Mote's opponent. In an instant, the man was turned to stone; the next, Mote shattered him with his force field. The horned bear charged the man, only to be deflected by the man's brute strength. The cockatrice glare seemed to ricochet off the man. Eary, in defense, sent out a jet of white flame. Strangely, an aura of darkness became visible as it bounced from the assailant. The man charged into the group of teens, knocking them all to the ground. Alice attempted to grab the man with her telekinetic ability, but the man quickly shrugged off her power. Mei, Hannah, Maggie, and Eary let loose their elements, but still no effect. Calvin charged the man. As he charged back at the teen, Calvin used the wind to quickly whip around and grab hold of the assailant. He quickly placed his hands around the man's mouth as he absorbed his strength and speed. With a great gust of wind, he filled the man's lungs. The super-strength brute struggled in vain as his own power was used to seal his fate. A loud pop and the man's collapse signaled the end of the conflict. Upon reaching Mote, who was consoling Ben, Eary couldn't help but notice the shattered statues and unusual dead animals strewn about the cave.

Mote looked at Eary and said in annoyance, "Took ya long enough!"

Alice looked around. "Where's Maxwell?" she stated.

Mote replied in a gruff, "Looks like you were wrong about somethin', missy! They grabbed him, dragged him off, and tried offin' Ben so their weren't any witnesses."

Alice collected Ben in a hurry, as the group returned to the Stargazer. Alice, Eary, and the others entered the large ski resort's double doors to be met by Sakile, Denby, Luke, and the rarely seen Victoria. The teens rushed in and informed the others of the situation.

Victoria stated, "We need to find Maxwell. His research is invaluable to us. It is of the utmost importance!" She turned to Ben. "Did they say anything? Anything at all?"

Alice interjected, "Hey, lady! He's been through a lot. But I think maybe my friends and I can find the professor. But I gotta leave Ben here; who can keep him safe while we are gone?"

Victoria replied, "Your friends and these three are our only defense against these threats."

Alice nodded. "Got it! Okay, Hannah, Maggie, and Decan. You three will stay with Ben and Vicki. The rest of us are going after the professor."

Decan protested, "I am not leaving Eary!"

Alice looked at Decan, she said firmly, "You have to. We need to split up, and I need our most powerful. Eary is the only healer, and the protective stuff. I need you three to hold down the fort and fend off more attacks."

Decan grew silent but agreed. He and the others ascended the elevators as Alice teleported the rest away, thinking hard of the professor. A swirl of purple light enveloped the rescue team.

As Eary opened his eyes, he was alone, standing in a hallway resembling the one from the previous lab.

He called out, "Hey! Can anyone hear me?"

Just then, a small squad of armed men rounded the corner. They commanded Eary to surrender and lay on the ground. Eary rolled his eyes and erected an azure wall. The troops opened fire, but after his training, they were no match for his improved shields. The bullets reflected back at their masters, killing them instantly.

Eary continued, "Guys? Can you hear me?"

Realizing he was alone, Eary made haste down the hallway. After a short distance and rounding another corner, he found Sakile and an army of himself fighting off a group of guards.

Eary assisted with his magic bullet bouncing barrier to end the conflict and catch up to his friend.

"Hey! What happened? I was alone when we ported in," he said in confusion.

Sakile nodded, "Me too." He continued, "Are you okay?"

Eary nodded, "Nothing I couldn't handle."

Sakile laughed as the two continued on, looking for their friends. As they made their way down the corridor, a great tempest could be heard in the distance.

"Calvin!" Sakile stated as the two young men bolted to the rescue.

However, once they arrived, Calvin did not need their assistance. He commanded small tornadoes, shredding the small force he was fighting alone. Mote backed him up, reflecting bullets away from the teen. The two fought masterfully. As Eary and Sakile approached, there was nothing left to do.

Calvin greeted them, "Hey, good to see you two. Do you know what happened?"

Sakile replied, "No, we were hoping you might."

Mote shook his head. "Nah, I ain't got no clue. I don't sense dark magic protectin' this place, so it gotta be a tech."

The team regrouped and moved deeper into the facility in search of Maxwell. The labyrinthine hallways and chambers seemed to go on endlessly. They encountered more guards and security measures as they navigated the complex, but their combined abilities made short work of any obstacles. As they pressed on, they finally stumbled upon a control room where they hoped to find information about Maxwell's whereabouts. Eary used his electric powers to breach the room's security panel next to the door, popping it open. Once inside, they discovered a series of monitors displaying various sections of the facility. It became clear that they were dealing with a well-organized operation.

Sakile started hacking into the facility's computer systems to gather information. After some time, he accessed files related to Maxwell's capture. The records indicated he was being held in a high-security area deep within the facility. Sakile then used the security cameras to locate Alice, Mei, and Denby. The three had already united and descended from the facility's other side.

As Denby and the girls entered a small room, Sakile used the security interface to communicate with them:

"Hey, you three. Stop fuckin' around, we got work to do."

The three friends located the camera and extended their middle fingers as they laughed.

After a chuckle, Sakile informed them, "We are headed down. The professor is being held on level 7, cell block S. Do you think you can all get there independently?"

The three teens gave the okay. They next shifted through security channels to look for Luke. They located him several rooms away. A tremendous robotic monstrosity roamed as he ducked into the shadows.

"We have to help him!" Eary announced.

Sakile urgently replied, "Yeah, yeah, let's move. Now!"

The gang of three hastily moved to the distressed Luke's location. Eary let loose a great lightning bolt at the great war machine. Although it appeared to be shielded, the robot was affected. Notable by the sparks that shot through it now. Eary did not let up. In defense of his brother, he sent out a lightning storm of bolts, quickly disabling the contraption.

As the team reunited, Luke, out of breath, exclaimed, "Thanks. That thing was armor-plated; I couldn't scratch it at all."

Eary replied "I'm just glad nobody's hurt. We've already located the professor. The girls and Denby are on their way there now!"

Sakile inquired, "You hurt?"

Luke shook his head. "You know I'm too fast for these chumps."

Calvin inquired, "So which way to the professor?"

Sakile, recounting the blueprints in his head, directed the team to a nearby elevator. As they boarded, the uncertainty loomed over them. What dangers awaited below?