The First Battle of a New Age – Part 1

Leonel confidently stood in front of his friends, not quite assured of his newfound magical powers or how to properly use them, but he figured that if anyone should defend them from danger, it should be him.

The ghost-like figures made their slow approach, surrounding and outnumbering NYSA. There were about 100 of them, all sentient, all mystifying, and all ready to attack. Leonel hastily checked behind him, eyeing The Messenger with darting blue eyes. It was unattended, and these creatures were blocking any chance of a safe path back to it.

"Ready your energy guns!" Lorentz urged in the centre of their roughly circular formation, which was a largely unorganised stance on the hill where the spaceships once were before they vanished into the darkness of the extent of magic the aliens seemed to have.

The magical projectiles entered the sky at the same time, darkening a large portion of the sky above as they plummeted towards the heart of the pathetic structure the Science Protection Units employed.

They were lobbed elegantly, and they soared through the air like artillery shells, however, these projectiles had a certain strictness with unusual qualities that made them simply supernatural. They were glowing, bright white lights of precise destruction.

They scrambled almost immediately. Leonel took Purity's hand to dodge one of these orbs, running away from the main area and hiding behind a large bush. Simultaneously, Kate grabbed Juno and Phoebe and ushered them the opposite way, opting for an area with more human support, however, it was more open and exposed to attack. Plus, they didn't have the same magical powers that Leonel possessed.

Not yet at least.

"Don't die!" Leonel heard Kate call out as Purity and himself squeezed into a small crevice within the bush.

"Do you think they see us?" Purity whispered, hiding in the middle of the bush and Leonel, concealing as much of herself as possible from the outside world. Leonel shook his head, though he didn't believe it himself.

On the back of his head, Leonel could feel the eyes of the aliens, their twisted minds crafting an evil plan, and their greedy hearts set on the planet Earth and all it has to offer.

Above all, he couldn't let Purity feel unsafe or uncomfortable. If danger befell them, Leonel would make sure to look after Purity. She was only the youngest by about a year, but she seemed considerably more fragile and lonelier than the others.

Plus, this was her very first day in NYSA, whilst Leonel and the others had been there for about a year, ever since they all graduated from the accelerated high school. She had a gentle, unwavering smile, and she kept to herself often, a testament to how she grew up—a childhood that was very sheltered but layered with quiet trauma.

She never mentioned such things to her friends, but it was ever-present in her mind, and a point that had always worried Leonel with Purity was her ability to hold such joyful expressions and speak with such kind intent. She was very down to earth, she tried to enjoy the little things in life and have fun with her friends as much as possible. She enjoyed singing, and dancing, and staring into the eyes of others with a soft, distant look.

There wasn't time to think about that now.

A small group of Aliens were approaching Purity and Leonel, trudging through the long grass, breathing harshly, perhaps due to having to adapt to the atmosphere. Holding her breath tightly, Purity looked up at Leonel with silent despair. She knew she needed to take responsibility for her own safety, and not confide in role models too heavily.

In a parallel fashion, Leonel realised the need for him to break free of his dependence on Kate. After all, she was a large influence on the way he lived his life. Leonel needed to step out from the physical and metaphorical shadows that Kate cast. Perhaps he would become dependent and fully functional by himself. And free to make decisions of his own accord.

One thing was certain.

They were going to be found.

Looking at Purity one last time, he gathered his magic power, not quite sure of its abilities and capabilities, but determined to use them, nonetheless.

As the creatures came within 2 metres of where purity was in a ball, Leonel jumped out to the open and willed a magical bullet into existence. He saw the aliens using this power, why couldn't he also? It had never been done by a human before, but maybe, hopefully, he would manage to summon something to attack back at these invaders.

Bright blue energy quickly formed, shooting outwards at the 3 nearby figures, and knocking them backwards.

It had worked! Leonel was noticeably relieved.

He had successfully attacked another civilisation with magic—their own magic!

Without hesitation, Leonel grabbed Purity's hand and escorted her on the way to a hopefully safer area. They had achieved a better look at what these aliens really were. They were human in form and ever-so-slightly taller than the average person. They wore combat suits, concealing their faces and protecting their bodies, although they felt wispy, with a little glow.

It was like they combined mechanical defence with a magical aura of protection.

Leonel figured they were war creatures, specifically adapted and modified and trained for military operations across the cosmos.

This was anything but good.

On the other side of the grassy mound, there was more action. Laser blasts were meeting pure white, spiralling magic attacks.

This silver, glowing magic reminded him of the glowing orb they found at the heart of the ship. Majestic, elegant, and with an air of mystery.

Leonel wasn't quite yet aware of how the magic structure worked, though he figured the mystifyingly bright, white magic was stronger than the pale blue strands of heavy light that he possessed to utilise in defence and for attacking purposes.

There were aliens in mecha suits blocking Leonel and Purity's path towards their friends. Leonel figured that he had to get back to them, and everyone else in the Science Protection Units. As far as he knew. He had to help them.

He now had magical powers.

What did that make him? A wizard? A soldier? An alien?!

In any case, they had to regroup. Being together will always be a stronger, safer option anyways.

The blue sky was being swiftly invaded with clouds in every direction, rapidly closing inwards on the hill, like an alien spaceship was abducting the hill and everyone on it.

The world went dark save for that hill. And, of course, the battle that was taking place. Sounds of zapping from the energy blasters interfered with the dreamlike whooshes of the alien magic. Chaos ensued in the unsuspecting Canadian remote lands—chaos that the world was completely oblivious to. Neither Crawford nor Lorentz had made contact with NYSA's base recently, so NYSA in general had no idea of the occurring nightmare.

"Let's go, Leonel. We need to help our friends," Purity urged confidently, repeating once more Leonel's thought process.

The two of them started running on the hill, Leonel's hands were producing blue energy in the atmosphere around them, readying his abilities to summon a shield or an attack.

Leonel no longer felt like he was the one in danger.