The Spectrum Force by Heather Ray (good inspirational books .TXT) 📖

"Scatter!" Rachel shouted, diving away from the powerful sphere of light flying in her direction. The five other Enforcers did the same, just avoiding the pulsing energy sphere. It streaked past them all, and crashed into a bridge crossing the river. It reduced the construction to splinters and pebbles, leaving the small remainder of it covered in a foot-thick layer of ice.

"That was close," Craig muttered.

"Where did that come from?" Matt asked.

"Stay on your guard," Jocelyn said, "It may throw another one!"

However, the tentacles slowed their circular motion, and dove back into the water. The whirlpool collapsed, and the river appeared calm again. But only for a moment. Two more tentacles broke the surface, and began flailing about.

"Here we go again," Craig sighed, thrusting his fists at the tentacles. He fired a wide beam of blue energy, which once again had no effect. He then flew out of the tentacle's way, and continued his attack. The Yellow, Purple, Orange, and Green Enforcers followed suit, but the Red Enforcer hung back.

"Our light beams aren't working," he muttered, "Maybe we'll have better luck with the Elemental Armory?"

To test his theory, Keith summoned his Flame Daggers, and dove down into the fray. However, instead of firing light beams at the tentacle, a river of flame spewed from the razor tips of the weapons. The fire struck the tentacle, and the tentacle dove beneath the water's surface urgently.

"Bingo!" Keith declared proudly, pumping his fist, "Guys, try your weapons!"

At the silent command of the Force, the Lightning Saber, Wood Boomerang, Ice Bow, Wind Nunchucks, and Earth Lance appeared. The team then redoubled their efforts, converging their elemental energy onto the second tentacle. That one too dove into the water, obviously injured.

"This isn't over yet," Rachel said, "That thing is still down at the bottom of the river."

"How do we destroy it?" Matt asked.

"Well, we definitely use the Spectrum Storm," Jocelyn commented, "The creature doesn't seem to have a problem with our light attacks, but the elemental attacks hurt it."

"Too bad we can't use the Storm below the water," Craig said, "but we need air to serve as the medium. Water would put out the fire before the energy even reached the monster."

"Then we wait for it to create that whirlpool again," Keith said, "We'll aim the Storm for its mouth!"

"Perfect," agreed Tamara, "but how do we get the monster to fire that energy sphere again?"

"We'll have to let the monster build up its energy," Rachel said, "But we'll get our cue to use our Spectrum Storm when the seven tentacles start revolving around the center point."

Just then, two more tentacles broke through the surface, and began flailing about.

"Weapons away!" Rachel ordered, "Just use light attacks, until its vulnerable again."

The Spectrum Force obeyed, and used their usual light attacks to fend off the tentacles as they had before. Suddenly, however, during the heat of the battle, a wave of green light erupted around Matthew, reverting him out of costume.

"AH!!" he screamed, plummeting towards the freezing water below. Jocelyn, the closest Enforcer, managed to catch him before he struck the river.

"What happened?" she asked, lifting away from the surface and watching her friend worriedly.

"I... I guess I used up a lot of energy before," he said, "My Spectrum Stone's running low."

"Can you Sync again?"

"Put me down and I'll try," he answered. Jocelyn nodded, and flew to the edge of the river, placing him down on his feet and landing beside him.

"Spectrum Sync... Green!" he cried, holding his ring to the sky. The stone flashed with green light, but nothing else happened.

"You've got to concentrate harder!" Jocelyn said, "Without the Green Enforcer, we can't create the Spectrum Storm and destroy that monster! What did you do to use up all your energy anyway?"

"Well... I did shift into a beam of light," Matt said sheepishly. Jocelyn frowned.

"That explains it," Jocelyn sighed. She glanced towards the river, and saw all seven tentacles sprout from the river. "Try again! And hurry!"

Matt nodded, a determined frown on his face. He raised his ring to the sky again, and squeezed his eyes shut. "SPECTRUM SYNC... GREEN!!!" he screamed.

Matt's arm began to shake as the green gemstone on his silver ring began to glow. At first, it flashed once, but then, it remained steady, glowing brightly. Jocelyn stepped back, and watched as Matthew transformed into the Green Enforcer. He then collapsed to his knees, panting heavily.

"You did it!" Jocelyn cried, hugging her friend tightly. She then pulled away from him in surprise. "My God, your heart's pounding like a drum!"

"I... I can't maintain the transformation for... much longer," he whispered, "The strain's... incredible."

"Can you summon your Nunchucks?" Jocelyn inquired, glancing again at the river. By now, the remainder of the Spectrum Force hovered above the monster, their weapons at the ready. The tentacles had begun revolving, starting to create the whirlpool.

Matt held out his hand, and the Wind Nunchucks appeared. Jocelyn helped him to his feet, and gazed at him intently. "Can you fly?"

"Not for long," he said, slowly rising off the ground. Jocelyn followed, and the six Enforcers stood in a row.

"Matt," said Tamara gently, "are you okay?"

"Fine," he wheezed, "let's get this over with."

"Spectrum Storm!!" the Spectrum Force cried out in unison.

The entire team held their weapons to the sky, and encased them in bubbles of colored light. Once the bubbles became opaque, the six heroes threw the bubbles into the air simultaneously. The six bubbles joined in sky, forming a white sphere crackling with the power of the elements. The sphere sailed into Shiva's open maw, and the creature's eye widened in surprise. The seven tentacles stopped moving, and plummeted into the water. For a few seconds, the water was calm, but then a column of bright energy blasted through the water, throwing the freezing river water in all directions. Then, the six weapons returned to the Spectrum Force, and all was quiet.

"Let's get back to Cloud Castle," Jocelyn said, unconsciously grabbing Matthew's arm in case he should collapse again.

"Yeah," agreed Tamara, gazing up at the black sky, "we're running out of time!"

"Oh, Lord," Monica Maloy whispered, shaking her head in defiance as she paced across the room on the verge of panic, "This can't be happening. It can't. Things like this don't happen in real life. They just don't

!"

Connie watched mutely from her seat on the couch as her mother continued her nervous pacing. The darkness had become almost complete blackness, as the electricity had expired not long after her father's departure. The armies outside must have hit the power lines.

The inky blackness of the outdoors, coupled with the darkness within, was petrifying for Connie. She was too scared and worried to even move from the couch. Instead, she sat there, the room dimly lit by aromatherapy candles Monica had intended to give her son as a birthday gift. The candles flickered with the slightest breeze, and any alteration in the lighting cast imposing shadows on the walls.

While Monica vented her terror through nervous action, Connie kept it within, a blank look of emptiness shining in her large blue eyes.

"Where's Stephen?" Monica asked, pausing in front of the large window. She leaned her forehead against the glass plane, as if a closer look would somehow open up the thick blackness for her inspection. "He left hours ago!"

She let her head rest against the window, sniffling quietly as she folded her arms. "Wh... what would I do if something happened to him?"

Connie sighed deeply, calming herself enough to rise to her feet. She carried the comforter with her, and gently draped part of it over her mother's shoulders. "Don't think like that," Connie scolded her mother gently, "He's probably still at the High Rise with Keith. I mean, it'd be too dangerous for him to come back now, especially now that it's pitch black outside. And the phones don't work, so how can he contact us? I'm sure he's waiting out the storm, and he'll come back when things cool down."

Just then, there was a knock at the door. Both women jumped slightly in surprise, and hurried to the door, anxious to see Stephen again.

Both were greeted to a shock as they opened the door, and saw a slender but fit man dressed in black, white, and gold spandex.

"Hi," he said, clasping his hands in front of him, "Are you the Maloy family?"

Connie swallowed, and pulled her mother away from the door to make room for the visitor to enter. "Yes," she whispered, "and who... or what... are you?"

"I'm one of the Spectrum Force," he answered, entering the room and closing the door behind him.

"The what?" Monica asked, befuddled.

Connie's eyes narrowed in thought. "I remember my brother mentioning the Spectrum Force before," she revealed, "I just assumed it was some kind of urban legend or something. I mean please... color-coded superhuman warriors?"

Chris shrugged slightly. "Well, seeing is believing, I guess."

Monica then grabbed Connie's arm in sudden panic. "Why are you here?" she demanded in fear, "Is it about Keith or Stephen?"

Chris bowed his head slightly. "Y...yes. Yes it is."

Monica's grip tightened on her daughter, and she held her breath expectantly.

"Stephen Maloy was attacked by Denebian soldiers... the invading aliens... right outside the hotel," he reported quietly, "I found him about twenty minutes ago in the snow."

"Oh... no..." Monica whispered, her grip on Connie fading as she slid to the floor heavily.

Connie took ragged breaths, her wide blue gaze switching back and forth from her mother to the costumed hero. "Is he...?"

"He was alive," Chris answered quickly, "He is

alive. I immediately flew him to the hospital, and made sure he was taken care of. Then I