Chapter 2

Sliding out of bed, unable to sleep, Ryza tiptoes around Kai and Justin. Quietly working his way towards the backyard, lit up by the lights around, he stands in the middle.

He lifts his hand, and while staring down at it, he clenches it into a fist. Closing his eyes, he tries to remember that feeling—the one from when the lightning emanated from his body, in the hope to replicate it. He opens his eyes after a few seconds and looks, nothing.

He closes his eyes again, and this time relaxes his body. Instead of trying to forcing it, he takes a deep breath and empties his mind. He fills it with the memory of waking up and having that surge of energy buzzing through his body.

bzzt bzzt bzzt

Lights start flickering, and electricity flows in and around him. Lightning crackles from his body like a tesla coil. Taking a look around, he can detect the electromagnetic radiation in the power lines. While studying the power lines, he catches something out of the corner of his eye.

A mysterious figure appears in the window. When Ryza turns to look, nothing but the swishing of the curtains. Accomplishing his goal, he sneaks back inside, face plants on the couch, and passes out.

Waking up the following day, he heads to the kitchen and grabs eggs, garlic powder, onion powder, and coconut oil. He starts cooking up his famous herbal eggs, and the first to stroll into the dining room is Katherine and Nina, half asleep with massive bedhead. Kai and Justin enter shortly, and after letting out a loud yawn, they take their seats.

"How much longer?" Justin asks impatiently, like a child on a road trip.

"Not much. I still need to fry the bacon, child." Ryza barks back with a smirk. With that, the four continue their chatting.

After plating all the herbal omelets, he begins to fry up the bacon. Once cooked, he sets the bacon on the eggs neatly. He noticed everyone has gone silent, and with two plates in his hands, he turns and asks, "Hey, what's up? Why did you stop…."

Once he turns around, he sees in his midst the girl from the night before. He can see her clearly, her long, flowing silvery-white hair and brilliant sapphire blue eyes in the light. He stops in his tracks and stares for a while, mesmerized.

Ryza walks over and sets the two plates in front of Nina and Kai. He then pulls the chair out for her, and after sitting, he pushes it in. He hands over all the plates, and everyone begins eating.

Once all have finished, he asks, "Can you guys put the dishes up."

"What, but this is your…." Justin retorts, getting an elbow from Katherine, pointing at the silver-haired girl who looks uncomfortable. "Yeah, sure, we can definitely do that." Justin backtracks, giving Ryza a wink. The four go and wash up the plates and creep behind the counter.

Ryza pulls a chair next to the girl and asks with a gentle voice, "So, can you understand me?" She gives him a soft nod.

"Good," He says with a chuckle, "that's a start. What's your name?"

'Ryuzu.' That name rings through his head, confused because she did not open her mouth to speak.

'What the, are you a telepath?' He thinks to himself, put his hand to his head, testing a theory.

'Yes, I think so? Is it ok if I talk to you like this? It is easier for me right now. For some reason, I try to speak, but my mouth won't move, and the words won't come out.'

'It's okay, don't worry about it, we can figure that out that later.'

'Okay, I don't even know you, heh, I don't even know myself. Why are you so nice to me?'

Ryza gives her a shrug, 'Why not? Do you not want me to be nice?'

'No, I do. I'm just wondering.'

'Well, seeing you in that meteor and lying there on the ground when it vanished. I couldn't leave an unconscious defenseless girl in the middle of nowhere.' She blushes and grabs his hand. 'For now, we can get a writing pad for you so you can communicate with others. Just until you get your voice back.'

'Okay, I guess, but why?'

'Well, you see, that's because here there is no telepathy or any sort of superhuman powers. We are an exception, and others might be afraid of you.'

'Oh, okay, then that will be fine.'

Ryza waves his friends over, and they all take a seat at the table.

"This is Ryuzu, and it seems that she is suffering from amnesia. She can't remember anything except her name."

"And you got all this by staring at her for like 20 minutes?" Kai says with skepticism.

"Well, yeah, that's because she's a telepath." The fours' eyes widen and mouths agape. "She will communicate with me when it is just us and a writing pad until she gets her voice back."

"I wasn't expecting that," Justin says, trying to break the tension. "Wait, she even knows how to write?'

"Well, we can teach her later. Our spoken language is similar, so the written language shouldn't be that much harder. Plus, being telepathic, she could take my understanding of the written English language."

"Wait, you said she has amnesia, right? What if we show her one of the meteor fragments? She might be able to remember something." Says Katherine getting out of her chair and running to the bedroom to grab the biggest shard she could find. When she gets back to the table, she hands it to Ryuzu. When Ryuzu sees the fragment, her eyes glaze over as if she is in a trance.

After a minute or so, Ryza puts his hand on Ryuzu's shoulder and gently shakes her. She jolts as if she awakened from sleep. Tears start forming in her eyes, and she grabs Ryza, who is now standing, into a hug.

Slightly shocked by the seemingly random act, "Are you okay? Did you remember something?" Ryza asks with a concerned tone, holding her.

'No, not really, it was more like a feeling.'

'Can you describe it? You don't have to if you don't want to.'

'Pain, terror, fear.' She starts to sob again and buries her face into his shirt. He gently pets her head consoling her.

'Okay, okay, don't say anymore. Just try not to think of it.' He says as he brushes his hand through her hair.

The group can hear movement from the door, and they then hear the jingling of keys, and the door opens. Ryza's parents walk through the door with rolling traveling bags in hand.

The four stand up and form a line between Ryuzu, Ryza, and his parents. "Welcome back, Mr. and Mrs. Ultima. How was New York?" Asks Katherine trying to draw their attention.

Failing to do so, Ryza's father asks, "Who is this? I don't believe we've met."

'Oh, crap,' runs through mind all five of them.

"Well, that is a long and complicated story, and if I told you, you wouldn't believe me." He says, trying to avoid answering.

His mother gives him a stern look and says, "Try me."

He looks at Ryuzu, who is still holding him but now looking up at him, 'I have no choice, I have to tell them the truth. Is that ok?' She gives him a nod. "Well, it all started last night. We were watching the meteor shower, and one of the meteors crashed right in front of us and had a girl inside of it." He points down at Ryuzu. "The meteor burst into an energy wave that gave us superpowers, and then we saw in the place of the meteor was this girl lying on the ground. I couldn't just leave her, so we brought her here. She has amnesia and is currently mute, but she is telepathic, so she can still communicate."

He takes a deep breath after his long spiel. His parents were a little overwhelmed by what he just said. They had this dumbfounded look.

"Son, you have been watching way too much TV that you are starting to dream it." His father says, taking the bags upstairs.

"It wasn't a dream," Katherine says with a straight face.

"He's not lying," says Nina.

"It happened," says Kai.

"Yeah," Justin adds.

'Can you let go now?' He asks Ryuzu. She drops her arms and stands up. When she does, Ryza's mother, Ashley, drops the bags she is holding and goes to hug Ryuzu. Ryuzu has a look of nervousness and confusion. Ryza tells her, 'My mother loves cute things, and when she sees something cute, she drops everything.' With him saying that her cheeks redden, and Justin and Kai give him a thumbs up, leaving Ryza a little confused.

Ryza's father, Matthew, comes back downstairs and asks, "So who is this girl, and where are her parents?" Ryuzu, finally being let go from Ashley's death grip, gives a depressed look and shakes her head.

"As I said, she has amnesia, and she has no parents or any family."

"I need to call CPS then."

"NO! you can't." Ryza half yells.

"And why is that?"

"As I told you, she's not from Earth."

"Stop your games. I am calling the police to pick up this girl." He starts dialing 911 on his cellphone. In a panic, Ryza sends an electric shock at his father's phone, frying it. His father and mother look at him with utter amazement, yet with an undertone of horror.

"I told you. Kai, if you think you can control it, show them. Just stay calm." Kai focuses, and his hand bursts into flames.

'Hello, my name is Ryuzu.' She tells them all telepathically.

After taking a deep breath and steeling himself, Matthew says, "I'm sorry for doubting you. That is just-"

"The most insane things you have ever seen in your life? Yeah, I know." Ryza retorts, finishing his father's sentence. "I have a favor to ask you. Can I have access to your lab?"

"You have been there before. Why do you ask."

"You have a doctorate in physics and chemistry, right?"

"Yes, spit it out. Why do you need to know?"

He takes the meteor shard and hands it over to his father, "I need this analyzed."

"What is it?"

"A shard of the meteor she was in."

They make eye contact with each other, and Matthew nods, "Sure, I can do that."

"Yeah, WE can do that. I'm going with you."

"Yeah, us too," Justin interjects.

Matthew gives a sigh and shrugs in defeat, "Let's go." Everyone exits the house and heads for Ashley's suburban.

The boys pile into the back, and the girls sit in the middle, with Ryza's parents in the front. Then they pull out of the driveway and make their way to the Ultima Laboratory.