Aegis: Catalyst Grove (32 page)

Graham found himself walking over to the four chairs placed in front of the table where Alex stood.
 
It was like his legs were obeying Alex’s command rather than his own.
 
The others did the same.
 
The way Alex spoke commanded respect and obedience from your subconscious.
 
Not in the same way that Cavaness spoke, though.
 
Alex had a more regal tone.
 
His words were spoken with a similar finality to them, yet they seemed to be combined with a deep compassion.
 

Graham searched his mind trying to find a similar example.
 
Sifting through memories like files in a cabinet, he heard a little boy telling his daddy that he wanted to eat.
 
He then heard his dad say, “You are a special little boy, Graham.
 
You make mommy and daddy very happy and very proud.”
 
That was it.
 
That was the distinction.
 
Alex had a fatherly tone to his voice.
 
It was this tone that kept Graham in his seat.

Once they had each taken a seat, Alex continued.

“Thank you for your trust.
 
I promise not to waste it.
 
Your purpose in being here these past 24 hours is because of a story passed down from generation to generation since the beginning of recorded history.
 
Perhaps you have heard of it.
 
This particular story begins with the provision of two men given to all of mankind as leaders and protectors for the human race.
 
The one known as
The Ancient
gave orders to these two men to shepard his new creation.
 
He christened them for service by giving them the gift of immortality, equipping them with special powers to fulfill this purpose.
 
For hundreds of years after their christening, the two brothers ruled with great strength and authority, allowing the human race to thrive and multiply.
 
Under their stewardship, cities were built and kingdoms were established.
 
They were given wisdom to govern and a vast knowledge of all aspects of life: nature, economics, morality and even the inner workings of the human heart.”

They had all heard the legends before.
 
Every kid gets told this story to warn them of the consequences of greed and the misuse of power.
 
It was odd that a common fictional story was being used for Alex’s explanation.

“As I am sure you know, greed crept into the heart of the younger brother.
 
Instead of stewardship, he slowly transitioned into the desire for dictatorship.
 
His compassion for those under him was poisoned with pride and an unending lust for more authority.
 
A shared authority would no longer suffice.
 
His sole purpose for living was to have complete rulership.
 
His ultimate goal was to destroy his brother, though he did not wage a war.
 
Not a physical one, anyway.
 
Using his knowledge of human nature, he used deception to lead his rebellion through his followers.
 
Through his craftiness, he led a large portion of the human race to believe that he alone was the rightful ruler, but even with the power of the masses behind him, there was still one final roadblock to his ultimate success.”
 

Alex let that statement linger, so they would pay close attention to what he was about to say.

“Back then, special abilities and gifts were given to a select few at the discretion of the brothers to benefit the community as a whole.
 
The two brothers were able to take the power that they were given and bestow certain giftings on other people.
 
Each nominee was given a gift, an object, which enabled them to serve along side their fellow man.
 
Knowing this delegated power would eventually be a potential threat to his rulership, the younger brother slowly convinced the majority through the years that this mantel of power was more of a burden than a gift.
 
Through their constant complaining and demand for removal,
The Ancient
granted their plea and destroyed the objects that provided the power.”

Kel, Damien and Ailey were enthralled.
 
It was like they were still children listening to a bedtime story.
 
Forgetting about what they had just been through, they were transfixed on the story and on every word that came from Alex’s mouth.

“Different cultures have varying versions of what this object was.
 
Though not much was written about how this ‘power’ was bestowed or removed, the description of it’s existence has been spoken of throughout history.
 
The most famous version is illustrated in Greek Mythology.
 
The Greek god, Zeus, possessed a shield with enhanced protective qualities.
 
It was known as The Aegis.
 
Some say it was crafted from the hyde of a monster defeated by Athena.
 
It was used by Perseus to defeat Medusa.
 
One slain, her head was displayed in the middle of the shield to further enhance it’s magical properties.
 

In the Roman empire, they named their breastplate armor after the Aegis, thinking it would give them increased protection.
 
I am sure they also used that name to strike fear into the hearts of their enemies.
 
Anyone who knew greek Mythology would understand the power of protection that the Aegis held.
 
This, however, is not the only version of the object.
 
In the ancient Egyptian culture, their description of the Aegis was not a shield, but a wide golden necklace, usually in the possession of the goddess Isis.
 
You can see how the younger brother kept his true identity veiled throughout history as these stories multiplied.
 
His anonymity ensured his survival and enduring operations.
 
Moving throughout history, other cultures attempted to describe this powerful object as a leather sash, and some a breastplate.
 
In this story, this unique power was given in the form of wristbands.”

All four of them immediately pulled back their sleeves and looked at their wrists at the mention of the armbands.
 
How could they forget?
 
Of course the story had wristbands.
 
Even the pictures showed the fighters with illuminated wrists.
 
They just looked so different from what was actually given to them, that none of them made the connection.

Alex smiled.
 
“Yes.
 
Your assumptions are correct.
 
Most legends are birthed in truth, though the vague details must be amplified by the imagination of the storyteller.”

Alex walked behind his chair, pushing it under table.
 
He then walked over so that he was standing right in front of them.

“When you first came here, I told you that magic does not exist.
 
Today’s culture uses magic as one way to describe the unexplainable.
 
What these bands provide is power, not magic.
 
The power that created the human race was handed down from
The Ancient
to serve and protect each other.
 
You think the story of the two brothers is a myth; a fairytale perhaps, or even a simple parable of morals.
 
Maybe now you can see there is more truth to the story than you originally thought.”

Alex waved his hand in the air as he did a day ago, illuminating their wrists.
 
“All of these stories throughout history tried to explain a very real truth.
 
At least one version of the story remained correct.”

They all looked down at their illuminated skin.
 
The sun emblem radiated brighter than the rest of the band.
 
They all felt a surge of energy rush through their bodies.
 
This must be what a battery feels like when it is recharged
, thought Graham.
 
It was exhilarating.
 
Graham looked at the others to see that they all had felt the same thing.

“So, you don’t want to take our energy?” asked Graham.

Alex turned to address Graham with a smile and soft, joyful eyes.
 

“No, son.
 
I have no intention to take anything from you.
 
Quite the contrary.
 
I mean to give you more than you could possibly imagine.”

Graham wore a confused expression.
 
They all did.
 
Anticipating their misunderstanding, Alex continued.

“It is amazing what the mind can create when stressed and presented with ill-defined details.
 
Almost every group of people that come through Catalyst Grove have a different explanation of what we are.
 
Take Chase for example.
 
If memory serves me well, he thought I was some variety of alien.”

Chase laughed nervously, with his cheeks becoming redder by the second.
 
“Yes sir, I did, and until now I thought we were the only two who knew that.”

Alex laughed with him.
 
“Well, don’t worry.
 
It is not the worst story.
 
I believe Casey had the best one.”

“Casey Hagan?” said Graham.

“Yes.
 
Do you know of her?” asked Alex.

“Well, sort of.
 
We read her case file.
 
She was the first one to have the bands.
 
It said she was seen here, engulfed in flames.
 
She died here.”

“And what makes you think she died here?” asked Alex.

“Who could survive being in a fire?
 
Plus, Chase said she was dead.”

“She is dead, but not because of the fire.
 
She died in 1987 at the ripe old age of 93.”

“93?
 
You mean the fire that almost burnt this place to the ground happened over 100 years ago?”

“It most certainly did.
 
The Aegis armbands were a new development at that time.
 
Ever since the removal of The Aegis from human history, we have been trying to find ways of bringing it back.”

Alex turned back to the rest of the group.
 
The smile faded from his face and a more serious tone took over as he spoke, as if from memory.

“Once The Aegis was taken from humanity, all of the power rested solely with the two brothers.
 
The eldest never broke his oath to watch over and protect the human race, while the other grasped for complete control over them.
 
He would use his followers as pawns in his fight against his brother, and as generations came and went, he was eventually seen as a god because of his power.
 
Many versions of the Greek and Egyptian gods were developed from the different ways people viewed the younger brother.
 
Seeing the evil and deception, the older brother knew what had to be done.
 
There had to be a way to reintroduce this power to the human race.
 
That is when The Aegis group was formed, and ever since that time, we have been searching for ways to bring the power back.
 
We looked for centuries, all over the world for a sign, for a way to reintroduce the bands.
 
It wasn’t until Casey’s generation that we stopped looking externally and finally decided to look within the body itself.”

Alex paused for a moment to let them process all of the information.

“We scoured the earth for any sign of the source of power, but we found nothing.
 
Without it, the group was powerless to stop the domination of the younger brother, now working behind the scenes in the shadows.
 
We finally learned that all those centuries ago,
The Ancient
did not remove the power along with the bands from history, but instead hid it within each person.
 
The gifts and feats mankind once possessed through the bands now lies dormant within each and every one of us.
 

Once we realized that, we built the warehouse as a type of training facility.
 
We thought that given the right circumstances and education, each person would learn to draw it out, but with each person came failure, time and time again.
 
After years of willing participants, we discovered the need for a catalyst.
 
We needed something that would bring the dormant power to life again.
 
There was no better object to model the catalysts after than the original bands.
 
It was at that moment that we saw the flaw in our thinking.
 
The bands were no longer The Aegis.
 
We are.
 
The bands are now the key, or catalyst as we call them, enabling us to access the gifts inside.
 
Through the knowledge originally given by
The Ancient
to the two brothers, we were and are now able to craft the bands.

“So we are superheroes, then?” scoffed Damien in complete unbelief.
 
Evidently, the story was getting a little far fetched for his taste.

Chase cringed at Damien’s response.
 
“If he only knew who he was talking to,” he whispered to Cavaness.

“I don’t blame you for your unbelief, Damien.
 
Truly I don’t.
 
Casey did not believe either until her catalyst erupted in flames.
 
It wasn’t until afterwards, when she remained unscathed, that she understood.
 
She was the first to become activated.”