The Rocker's Point of View
Hazel "Haze" Cooper couldn't believe her luck. Her band, Dolphin Drama, had seen the traffic on their MySpace page increase one hundredfold in the last month. Concert venues, festivals, and even record labels were reaching out. Was this their chance to really make it big?
The rest of her band had day jobs while Haze still lived with her parents. They all agreed negotiations should be left up to her. It made sense; she was the lead singer and frontwoman. Dolphin Drama was the Haze Cooper show.
No, that's unfair. Most of the songwriting was done by Liza, their lead guitarist. She couldn't do what she did without the band behind her. With those thoughts in mind, she walked into the offices of Liberty Records, determined to get a fair deal for her bandmates.
She passed by a fountain with a centerpiece that looked oddly like a jellyfish extending its tentacles in the Liberty Records atrium. A receptionist at the front desk locked eyes with her. "Miss Cooper, you're just in time!" He was a cute boy with a nice figure. Boys like that would flock to her once she hit the big time. After all, wasn't getting dick like half the reason she ever picked up a guitar in the first place?
"Yeah?" Haze tried to look and sound confident, like she was a star already.
The receptionist had a friendly smile on his face. "Miss Abrams will see you right away! Just take the elevator on your left to the thirteenth floor and you'll find her office right there."
Haze nodded to him and confidently, always confidently, strode to the elevator. It opened immediately when he walked in front of it. Huh, nice hospitality. Maybe they were serious about Dolphin Drama?
At the top, there was a little sign that read "Azure Abrams, Talent Acquisition, Dev-" and the door opened before Haze had time to read the rest.
"Come in, come in!" a young woman greeted. Azure Abrams had blue hair styled in an elegant updo, wore a slick business suit, and looked young enough to still be in high school.
Whatever Haze thought about that, she tried to keep it off her face. Geez, these nepotism cases. The fate of Dolphin Drama was in the hands of some rich producer's niece. It sucked, but that was show business, she guessed.
"Can I get you something to drink?" the rich girl asked politely.
Haze wasn't particularly thirsty, but supposed it was polite to accept. "Sure, just water, please. It's hot today."
Azure Abrams smiled. "Texas summers, am I right? Please have a seat, Miss Cooper. Our talent scouts tell me your little band is quite popular on the indie scene. With just a little push and the resources of Liberty Records, I believe we can take you to the next level."
That sounded good. What was the catch? "We like our independence," Haze said.
Abrams held up her hand. "Don't think of it as giving up your independence. You'll retain full creative control. You're musicians. We want you to make music. All we ask is that you make music for us."
"And what do we get out of it?" Haze pressed.
"Access," Abrams said simply. She slid a contract across the table. Haze looked down to read it, but the blue-haired woman spoke up again to get her attention. "Physical albums, recording studio time, digital downloads. Wouldn't you like for your songs to be available on iTunes? We can do that. We can get you interviews on television. We can get you booked as the opening act of popular artists on our label. We can get music videos made. All that boring business stuff? We'll take care of it. No more day jobs. No more negotiating gigs on your own. All you have to do is play."
It sounded too good to be true, but the blue girl painted a hell of a picture. Haze Cooper, opening for the Belladonas? Playing on MTV? Liberty Records could do that. She knew they could. "What do you need me to do?"
"I need you to sign this contract in blood!" Azure said cheerfully. For a few seconds, Haze just sat there, stunned. Was this bitch serious? "Just kidding!"
"Haha, funny joke." Still a high school girl, she thought. Oh, what the hell. Haze bent down and signed on the dotted line. Her bandmates would understand.
Azure clapped her hands. "Wonderful! Now there are a few things that need to be arranged..."
She went on and on, but Haze stopped listening and just sipped on her water while the blue girl rambled. It tasted funny.
***
Deep in the basement laboratory of the Fekete household, the first meeting of the Future Force commenced.
"Mom!" called down a child's voice. "Can we have cookies?"
"NO!" Reka yelled up the stairs. "Cookies are for closers! You can have sweets when you win the next science fair!"
Rich laughed. "A little harsh, aren't you, Mrs. Fekete? They're kids."
"My kids!" Reka specified. "They are quite intelligent, even more intelligent than I was at their age, and they called me the new Neumann when I was a child in Hungary, I'll have you know."
Huh, so Reka was Hungarian. Well, mystery solved. "Still, kids need time to play, Reka."
"They can play after they win the Nobel Prize!" she snapped.
Richard and Rebecca had nothing to say to that. "Okay, so have you found anything out?"
"Pureheart Power is absolutely real," Reka announced. "Positive emotive energy that can shape reality. Manipulating it freely is still beyond me, but I've made progress. Your ring is some kind of supercomputer, by the way."
Rich held up his hand. "This thing?"
"Yes. The crystal takes your emotions as input and recalibrates them into the Endram Armor. As for the computation itself, the energy of your emotions passes through some manner of precise geometric filter, more precise than anything I can recreate in this little lab. My goddess, the topology of it..."
Rich allowed Reka about a minute to be lost in thought before he spoke up again. "What about a weapon? Could you make a raygun or something that ran on this stuff?"
"Not yet. The problem is translating emotive force into actual working Pureheart Power. It's a computation problem. Refining crystals to that degree will take time and advanced instruments I don't have here. Never fear, something is on the way. For now, have this detector."
She handed him something that looked like the antenna on a radio, just an innocuous metal rod. "What am I supposed to do with this?"
"Detect. What else is a detector for? You mentioned the opposite of Pureheart Power is Corrupt Power, the stuff of Stinger. Since I assumed you'd have little use for sensing yourself, I tuned that rod to sense the opposite. When Stinger is near, it will vibrate. Later, I might be able to make you something more involved, something that could indicate direction and distance, but alas! 'Near' will have to suffice for the nonce."
Well, that was better than nothing, Rich supposed.
"Why am I here?" Becca asked. So far, the Future Force was just a conversation between Rich and Reka.
"To be my lab assistant, young Miss Rice. You are a bright young lady, and I require another pair of hands from time to time. I would use Brad, but he's busy with the children. This year, you shall learn physics at my feet, physics, and much more. I shall fashion you into a competent assistant and quickly."
"But what about football?" Becca complained. "How am I supposed to balance schoolwork, football, a social life, and...and...this!"
Reka scoffed. "You shall be far ahead of what is taught in those paltry classes at PLUH soon enough. Calculus, physics, computing, all these and more you shall have from me by the end of the summer. Rich shall be the field operative, and we his support. You want to help your brother, don't you?"
Becca sighed. "I guess so..."
Mrs. Fekete clapped her hands. "A fine young lady! Now, if you'll follow me..."
Those two went off on their own to do something or other, leaving Rich alone in the lab. He hadn't expected Reka to offer Becca private lessons. That was nice of her, not that his twin would appreciate it. He made a note to nag her into taking it seriously. The more she pushed herself in academics, the better.
His Razr phone vibrated in his pocket. It was Julie. "Hi, honey! We're helping our neighbors, the Feketes, today. You know Mrs. Fekete, the science teacher?"
"I do," Julie said back. "Listen, my Mom has connections with Liberty Records, and she got me tickets to a concert tonight. Local band, the hot new thing. Their name is Dolphin Drama. Rumor is they just got signed and are having one last show in Plano before they head to LA and the big time. We've even got backstage passes!"
"I-"
"Let me finish," Julie continued. "I've got a ticket for Becca, too. There will be a lot of cute boys there. Maybe she could meet someone. How about it?"
They weren't working tonight. Julie knew that. His girlfriend had his schedule taped to the wall of her room. He'd seen it.
Hell, why not? "Count me in!" he said enthusiastically.
"Awesome!" Julie replied, then her voice softened, sounding almost shy. "Could you do something for me?"
"Anything, babe," Rich agreed easily.
"Okay, uh, could you dress a little slutty tonight? I kind of want to show you off. It's normal for boys at a concert anyway. Didn't know if a mollygirl like you would be comfortable."
"Slutty" in this world just meant a tight V-neck that clung to his pecks and shoulders. Rich had no problem wearing something like that. "For you, Julie, anything!"
"I love you," she blurted out.
"I love you too," Rich replied automatically. Shit! Did they just drop L-bombs on each other? Just like that? Oh well, too late to take it back. He liked Julie a lot. Maybe he really would fall in love with her eventually.
***
"You're so fucking hot, Rich," Julie whispered in his ear while they waited in line. She was being extra handsy tonight, her long-fingered hand drifting from his shoulder to his chest, lightly brushing with the tips before climbing back up. She even leaned down and kissed his neck once. Rich was not ready for that one!
His girlfriend was wearing more makeup than usual, looking a bit like Nyte with that dark eyeshadow. Eh, it was probably nothing.
"It's normal for girls to wear makeup at concerts like this. This whole scene has kind of an androgynous style," she explained. "By the way, do you like my skirt? Does it make me look like a Spartan warrior?"
Rich just smiled. Skirts were considered badass in this world. Julie didn't look bad in her skirt, just the opposite. Her long legs looked even longer as they towered over the crowd.
Becca was off to the side, looking somewhat uncomfortable with Rich and Julie's PDAs. The three of them were the giants of the crowd. It looked like most of the attendees were boys, many almost a foot shorter than Rich. The girls in the audience weren't terribly big either. At that moment, Rich realized his circle of friends was almost completely large jocks, and it had given him an inaccurate perception of the size of the average person.
"Hey sis, don't be afraid to talk to people," Rich encouraged. She deserved some socializing after working so hard with Mrs. Fekete.
"My brain is fried, Rich," Becca said tiredly. "You weren't there. Reka gave me a little 'diagnostic test' that she wrote herself, then she made up this crazy lesson plan, all on the fly, didn't even think about it. Then she'd teach me something for five minutes and stand over me while I did a problem for her. This went on for like three hours! I don't know how much more I can take!"
"Stick with it, sis, please. It'll be good for you in the long run. If you can't talk, just stand around and look handsome. Maybe a boy will talk to you."
"Think it'll work?" Julie whispered in his ear. The line was moving now, and people were filing into the venue.
"Let's give Becca some space. The last time she was talking to boys, they all ignored her for me."
Julie laughed at that. "You are super interesting, even to boys, I bet."
People were packed tightly in the Hellfire Club while they waited for the band to take the stage. Just when Rich thought this might turn into a normal, fun night out, he felt the detection rod vibrate in his pocket.
Corrupt energy, Stinger is near.
The boys in the audience went absolutely insane when Dolphin Drama took the stage.
"Hey, look at that, their lead singer is completely covered in purple body paint, that's pretty cool," Julie said idly.
The rod vibrated even harder. Shit. Stinger was at work here. What was their angle?
He didn't have to wait long to find out. As soon as Dolphin Drama strummed their first chord, a mania ran through the audience. Teenage boys were ripping their clothes off, rushing the stage, damn near foaming at the mouth for these girls. Security was fighting for their lives to control the riot.
All this for a generic band that sounds like My Chemical Romance? Emo had never been Rich's favorite genre of music.
Julie looked at him with approval. "Not your type, I guess?" she asked hopefully.
"You're my type, Julie," he said sincerely. They were a little island in the chaos of the crowd. He stood there while his girlfriend hugged him from behind, and none of the wild boys dared get too close.
The venue was hot and sweaty and entirely too loud. Whatever evil magic the Stinger band was using didn't affect him, Julie, or Becca, but the others? Not so much. Everyone else was completely under Dolphin Drama's spell. If Stinger was allowed to take this band national, Rich didn't want to imagine what kind of damage they could cause.
"Plano, you've been great! Thank you all for coming!" the singer announced in that mellifluous voice that had charmed so many.
"You want to use those backstage passes now?" Julie asked him.
"Do you?" Rich asked back.
"Not really," she admitted.
Good, that makes this easier. "Me neither. I need to go to the bathroom. How about you go bring the car around? I'll be out in five or ten minutes. Maybe more if there's a line."
"I don't want to leave you alone!" Julie said possessively as she tightened her grip on him.
That was what Rich was afraid of. "Becca can walk me to the bathroom just fine. I promise, if there's a line at the bathroom, I'll call you."
Julie didn't look exactly pleased with this arrangement, but she agreed when Rich crossed his legs and pretended to really need to pee.
"So, Becca, talk to any cute boys?" he asked while they walked to the bathroom.
"You know very well I didn't," his sister replied tightly. "Everybody was obsessed with that purple girl. What does she have that I don't?"
Evil Stinger energy, Rich wanted to say. "Just wait outside the bathroom. I've got FH business."
The boys' bathroom was crowded and chaotic, but they parted like the Red Sea for Rich. He commandeered a stall for himself and raised his ring:
"From a future dark
To a post not set,
Stinger hasn't won just yet,
With Pureheart Power, a noble mission,
Come forth! Future Hero! Henshin!"
Future Hero wasted no time and headed for the backstage area. He arrived just in time to see the purple girl groping a shirtless boy whose eyes were completely glazed over.
"Unhand him, villain!"
Purple girl sneered. "Mind you're own business, Future Zero!" She strummed a chord on her guitar, and it crashed through Future Hero like a wave of agony.
IT HURT! IT HURT! IT HURT!
Corrupt energy flooded his ears and into his very soul. Every nerve fired with electric pain. Future Hero dropped to his knees. The detection rod in his pocket vibrated so violently it felt like it might explode. There was so much corrupt energy, it was about to overload the sensitive instrument.
That...that was it!
Future Hero grasped the metal cylinder and could barely hold it. With one last burst of strength, he flung it at the Stinger mutant, and it exploded when it collided with her guitar.
Suddenly, the dressing room wasn't a dressing room anymore. When Future Hero and the purple girl crawled out from under the rubble, they found themselves in a quarry.
"You broke my special guitar! How am I supposed to get dick now?" The mutant demanded.
"You've got bigger problems than that, you defiler of innocents!" Future Hero wasted no time and engaged the rock star mutant at close range.
BAM! BAM! BAM! He nailed her with punches and kicks and chops, moves he'd trained thousands of times in Alice-sensei's dojo.
"Ow! Ow! Ow! Stop hitting me! It hurts!" Without her guitar, the rock star mutant wasn't very strong at all. Rich easily had the upper hand.
Future Hero raised his fist, and it vibrated with Purple Pureheart Power. "Future Punch!"
Like the crack of a whip, the Endram Armor assisted Richard Rice in uncorking a devastating blow that sent the Stinger monster sprawling.
"I'm a...lover...not a...fighter..."
What followed was not a theatrical explosion, but a pathetic little fizzle, as the purple rock star woman smoked and melted like a defective firework.
"And you're music sucked!" Rich taunted the stain on the rocks.
Seeing where he was, Rich sighed. This again. He called Julie. "Listen, babe, there's a long line at the bathroom, so it might be thirty minutes before I can get back. Yes. Yes. I love you too."