Megan meets me by the alley, not more than a few blocks away from our school. It's out behind the public library and is devoid of life as the bottom of the ocean. To add to the unsettling shadow cast by the nearby buildings, there's also the hole in the back of the alley, a doorway leading to nowhere.

"So you're sure this is the one?" I ask her, my breath still heavy from the run over. "I came as fast as I could."

Megan tilts her glasses, examining the hole- the panes of glass reflect graffiti and three brick walls, with no black void in sight. "There's no 'one'. The voice just told me that I needed to get to 'a' portal."

"Did the voice mention dragging me along?" I ask.

She shakes her head, "No, but if everything goes south, it'll be better to have back up. Right?"

"Guess so." I turn the stone a few times in my hand and look ahead at the gaping hole in reality with an almost alarming ambivalence. I suppose there's only so many times you can panic about even the strangest of occurrences, but it might just be that I've kind of figured that there's no way this is the end of the weird shit I'm going to have to deal with.

Still, standing in an abandoned alleyway, staring into a gray hole in reality itself is pretty unnerving. The void generates no heat, no light, and from what I can tell no one else has noticed it's there yet.

You caused this, I think, turning the stone again.

I tried dropping the thing on the floor (correction: I chucked it in the trash while walking home and then picked up the pace a little) but it appeared in my pocket as soon as I got home. It was on the dresser drawer in the morning, too, and in my backpack when I decided to wear an outfit with no pockets that day.

Whatever this thing wants from me, it's very determined to get it.

"Okay," I assure myself. "Everything else is still the same, I already searched this up on the Internet and there's nothing that matches my symptoms. The portals are way too specific to be some retinal issue and I'm not creative enough to imagine any of this. Given, I still have no idea what's going on, but I'm still thinking straight, so... not crazy."

"What are our other options?" asks Megan.

"The other option is that this could be something legitimate. Magic. Aliens. I don't know." I sound crazy. The adrenaline is kicking and I feel crazy. "So. What did 'the voice' say to do next?"

Megan smiles, "You're going to hate me for this."

"We have to go through?"

She nods.

I don't know what inspired us to go through with it. Curiosity? A sudden stroke of madness? Some desire to end whatever waiting game the thing was playing with us? Whatever reason, without a word, we reach out together.

When I get my hand in there, something grabs hold from the other side and the next thing I know, I'm lying in a dark room with no exits in sight, sprawled across the floor in the most undignified manner imaginable.

Note to self: never put any body parts through mysterious portals ever again.

I groan, getting to my feet, and notice at once that my clothing feels stiff. I touch the fabric and notice that it feels different. It's definitely softer, but it's not silk or cotton. In fact, I have no clue what I'm wearing. In other news on the What The Heck Is Going On Channel, the room's not pitch black either. It has a dull, magenta light that seems to shine through the walls, as if I'm separated from the rest of the world by some thick fleshy membrane. That actually might be the case, as the room itself seems to be more of a hallway, organic in shape and structure.

Like any teenager, I head straight for my phone. I click the flashlight on and cast the light on Megan. She's wearing a dress that seems to undulate beneath her, as she gets to her feet, like waves on the ocean. She must have ten layers on it, but they're made of a light, almost tissue-like fabric, and she's got a mask on that resembles one that might be found at a masquerade ball. I have no idea what practical use the outfit could serve. She still looks gorgeous, though, even if it's gorgeous verging on ridiculous.

"Do you have any clue where the dress came from?" I ask her.

She shakes her head. "You've got quite the uniform on, yourself."

"Well, it's official. We've just boarded the crazy train and are now hurtling over the rails at a speed of eighty miles per hour." I inform Megan, then slide my phone open. "Think we could call someone, or-" There's no service. Big shock there. "Never mind."

The phone screen has a moire effect over it, as if I'm trying to shoot a photo of it with another phone, and the rest of my vision's just as strange. Not only have my eyes adjusted really fast, but I can see every minute movement of Megan's dress and feel the walls compress and release around us, which is as claustrophobic as it sounds. I press a finger to my eyes, and find that there's a sheen of either glass or plastic over my eyes, which I'm assuming is making my field of sight and everything contained within weirdly tinted.

"Not going to lie, I'm panicking a little right now. Not much, just..." Megan shrugs. "Y'know. Not as much as one would think, though. Think we're in more trouble if we stay here or move around?"

I pick up my phone and deposit it in my backpack. I slump it over my back to find that it rests uncomfortably there. I reach behind me to get it off and pull forth not only my backpack but also a whole sword resting in a extravagant looking scabbard, which clanks unceremoniously onto the floor before me.

"Do you usually carry swords on you?" she teases.

"You're not going to believe this, but no. No I don't." I sling my backpack back on first and put the sword over it. "If we run into anything that looks like it's going to kill us, I guess this should hold it off for a good ten seconds before it realizes I have no idea how to use it."

"I took fencing for a while. Pass it over."

"Nice." I say, passing her the sword. She throws it over her own back with no regard for her dress, a wide smile spreading across her face.

"Mind holding my hand?" she asks after some hesitation. "You know, it's kind of a cliche. In horror films, you'll be walking with someone down a dark hallway, and then whoops! They're gone. If some huge adventure's really about to happen to us, I just want to make sure I'm not the guy who dies first. That would really, really suck."

"Uh, no problem." I say, threading her hand through mine. The feeling is electric, not in the usual romance kind of way (I've held hands with girls... twice) but more in the way sliding down a slide or touching a plasma ball might shock you. I guess a better metaphor might be putting two magnets together.

We click.

"I'm not going to lie, this dress is the best that's happened to me during this whole ordeal. I look like something out of an anime." She grins. "You look strapping, by the way."

"... Thanks." I decide to take it as a compliment.

"And I mean, I know this is an unceremonious way to go about it, but at least I know now that it's all real."

"What?"

"I don't know. Anything. Everything." Her hand clenches mine tighter. "I always wanted to believe there was something more out there. Guess we found it."

"Or it found us. Whatever's out there, it was looking for us first."

That's not the only thing that's found us- at that instant, a bolt of fire speeds through the hall. We both look towards the source and see a horned, bestial looking shape in the hall, approaching at breakneck speed. Megan unsheathes the sword but as soon as she's done wrangling it out of the case, the person before us has slowed substantially. He steps into the dull light and snaps, setting his fingers ablaze with bright, potent fire.

"Are you the welcoming committee?" he snaps. "What do you want with me? I'll use this, don't think I won't."

He's wearing a leather jumpsuit and the 'horns' from earlier are just part of his mask, or at least they appear to be. His skin is somewhere between chai latte and milk chocolate, although a bit more... burnt? It's just too dark to be a tan.

"No, we're from Earth." Megan tells me, before dropping my hand contact altogether. "Wait, seriously? Evan, you're in this too?"

It takes me a moment to realize where I've seen him before. "You were the kid who was stalking me during P.E. the other day, from the bleachers."

"I wasn't stalking you. You spent all class staring at me."

"I thought you were part of this."

"What would you know? Guess I am." Evan tsks, "That aside, out of all the people I'd expect to find in an underground alien bunker, you'd be pretty high on the list, Briggs. Kind of sucks to know I'll die surrounded by fangirls, but whatever."

"You know each other." I state.

"He's from Scarborough Middle, same as Amanda and I. He spent most of his time there standing in the corner as well." Megan says with a knowing smirk.

"Alright, so everyone's already acquainted. We're also working on not dying right now," I inform Evan. "I'm not a fangirl either, for the record. So, do they do a lot of pyromancy at Scarborough, or...?"

"I fell through a portal and next thing I know, I could do this." He points his finger down the hall and tilts it up with a click of his tongue. A tiny ball of fire, no larger than a pea, trails down the narrow passage before hitting a wall and exploding. "Nice outfit, by the way, nerd. Both of you."

"Awesome! Wait, do you think we get any powers? Please tell me we do." Megan says. She closes her eyes and focuses, trying to reach out with her other hand and call something into being, but nothing happens. "Okay, felt something, but I have no idea what I'm doing. Just for the record." She casts a wry glance at Evan, "Bet my powers are better than yours, though, Drake."

Evan throws his hands up in the air. "Wow. Ten minutes into a goddamn alien encounter and you're already throwing shade. Thanks, Megan. Thanks a lot."

"Bet it's magic. Aliens would've showed up by now."

"Good to know you're such an expert."

Megan clenches my hand and pulls me in the other direction. I follow, and Evan grabs my other hand. I expect it to be like having my hand prodded by a live coal, given that it was on fire just a minute ago, but in reality it's just mildly warm, almost cozy.

"Right. So... aliens or magic, Adam?" asks Megan.

"I have no clue." I admit. I'm more focused on getting out of here than holding a debate between these two. "We can find out when we figure out whatever brought us here to begin with."

Evan starts, "The rock, I think. Did you two have a-"
"Yes," we answer in unison.

"Good to know."

"Someone out there?" yells a familiar voice from not far away. I recognize her- the tryhard from my Math class. If you'd offered me the possibility of being stuck in an alien being with her a few days ago, I might have declined, but now the thought of seeing her is enough to spur me into action.

"We're here! Come this way." I yell back, which is probably unhelpful given I have no idea what 'this way' is but I assume they can at least follow the sound of my voice. I turn to Megan and Evan, "Okay, I think I recognize that voice. There's this one girl in my math and French- you know, two hardest classes. Her name's Serena, she seems okay, and-"

"Seriously? Did they abduct our entire high school or what?" asks Evan.

"I feel like we would've found more people by now." Megan says.

"Oh, thank God there's someone down here." says Serena as she runs down the passage we currently stand on. I guess 'this way' was an adequate enough direction for her after all. She looks disheveled (like we all do) but there's still that same stern intelligence in her eyes. She's clutching the hand of a kid who must be a good half foot shorter, wrapped tightly in a cloak that obscures their face. "Do you have any idea-"

"No one knows what's going on." I confirm.

The person next to her draws back their cloak to reveal cropped black hair. "We're not dead. That's something. I'm Harper, from Prince Academy. Before you ask, no, I'm not an alien." She casts a quick glance over at Serena.

Serena mutters, "I didn't say 'alien'."

"Prince Academy is the private school up the hill, right?" asks Megan.

Harper nods. "I'm in eighth grade there."

"We're all in ninth." I say.

"That's a start." Serena says. "A clue, I mean. Whatever wants us, it clearly just wants teenagers. If we can figure out why..."

"I think we're about to find out what it wants right now." Evan says.

Something about five hundred meters away is lighting the whole hallway up. Its footsteps, which are more like the clatter of hooves than anything, sound sharp off the soft, flesh-like walls. While Evan almost fooled us when we first saw him, there's no way this is another kid. It walks with purpose, with intent, whatever that might be.

Whatever stands before us is not human and not of this world at all.

Evan snaps and his fingers light up with bright, potent fire. Megan brandishes the sword from earlier, getting into a stance for battle.

They don't look like confused kids who just got dropped into this by any stretch of the imagination.

No, they look like they've been waiting for this their whole lives. It's just some part of them that's never kicked into gear before now.

Harper, Serena, and I stand back to give them space.

From the blinding light comes a creature no taller than your average cat, with a long body like that of a ferret. Its fur is a radiant white, with its only markings being gold, tear-like stains around its eyes. It has two stubby horns and ears that extend far off either side of its head, and it bares a golden collar around its neck inlaid with decorations of eyes. It surveys us with cold, scientific interest, and announces in a feminine voice, "Do not be afraid."

I know I shouldn't feel calm. At first, I attributed it to shock, then to relief that I had someone else down here with me, but throughout the experience, I don't think I ever came close to panic. Even Serena, who judging by her expression wants to be here the least, looks more aggravated or confused than anything.

"Did you bring us here?" Serena asks, stepping forwards from the group. "Are you an alien? What do you want from us?"

"I am no alien." the creature reassures us.

"Told you." Megan whispers.

Undisturbed by the interruption, it continues, "I'm a Cherub. My name's Anthem. I could go into what that means and where I'm from, but I'm afraid that's not too relevant. All you need to know is that you've fallen into a realm directly below your own, known as the Veins. It is a place of shadow and passage, little more, though my kind does possess some level of control over what is created here. As for what I want from you... A few days ago, did you not all find stones of an unnatural variety, and not long after begin to see holes in the very fabric of your world?"

"You can have it back soon as I find it. Is that all this is?" Serena asks.

"Let me finish." The cherub's voice is louder, echoing at an unnatural volume for its small size. I think I can hear it ringing in the inside of my skull. "The stones you received were sent to you. They are made of Diosite, a material that only exists in my world, and they are the cause behind your sudden change in your abilities and attire. Your Diosite crystal will naturally attune itself to your innermost desires and has adjusted itself as such."

"I'm guessing you don't give out superpowers and sick outfits for free, though." Evan crosses his arms. "What's the catch?"

The cherub seems delighted he's bought this up. "A large crystal of Diosite has also been removed from the Veins and sent to your world against the will of the cherubim within. We do not yet know the cause of this anomaly, but humans have a tendency to be capricious and untrustworthy with materials of this power. Whoever locates the Diosite will not receive abilities as you have, but they will gain immediate access to a nigh unlimited source of power. Your world may be in grave danger. As such, you've been enlisted to stop this threat before it grows to be a noticeable problem or any kind of human intervention occurs with the original finder."

"You want us to take out the bad guys before the government gets involved." I say. "Okay, not to be that guy, but I don't know how much time my schedule has for dangerous, life-threatening superhero missions. There has to be someone else there who can do it."

Anthem sighs. "I'm afraid not."

"Can we take this to a vote?" I ask. "If we're going to be working as a team, we can at least attempt to make it fair for everyone involved."

Evan, Harper, and Megan's hands all go up at once. I look to Anthem, then to the three of them, and think about the rest of the year. There's already a voice in the back of my head yelling yes say yes just to ensure me we haven't gotten off the crazy train yet. I find myself wishing my brother was here, partly because he'd love this stuff and partly because I feel alone, despite being surrounded by people.

Will would have put his hand up faster than any of them.

I raise mine.

I'll tell him later. Maybe Anthem can get him in on this.

Serena has her arm down. "This... this is dangerous." she says, facing the whole team with her arms crossed over each other. "Scheduling is going to be a problem, as Adam mentioned, but I'm more worried about the 'life-threatening'. I- there's no way to put this that doesn't make me look like an ass, is there?"

"You can put your hand up." Evan suggests. "Look. There's plenty of time for the mind-numbing federally mandated education system. We don't know what our hours are going to be or how long this will last. We'll have each other for support, though, and we can take shifts if worst comes to worst. As for the 'life threatening' part, we're going to train or whatever beforehand and if things get bad, we can always fall back. I don't know. I can't believe I have to sell being a freakin' superhero to you, but there you go. We have your back. You in?"

Serena sighs and puts her hand up.

Anthem nods. "You've chosen well. I'll need you back here tomorrow, around the same time, to begin training. Now that you've chosen to stabilize your connection, I should be able to project my intent into your minds more easily and the portals should appear with less alarming frequency."

"You're the voice?" ask Serena and Megan, almost at the same time.

"Yes," Anthem says, "If my presence upsets you, I'll attempt to limit the frequency with which I speak. Furthermore, it will be easier for you to control our connection as you train."

Serena casts me a stern gaze, though there's a nervous desperation behind her pouted lip and lowered eyebrows. There's no backing out of this now.

"Alright," I tell Anthem. "I'm ready."

A darkness grows around us, like falling unconscious, and I fall back against the ground before the portal spits me out and closes, leaving me sprawled out in the alley, one elbow scraped across the ground. The sun is close to the trees, now, with the clouds stained rose pink overhead. The enormity of the sky and the strange texture of my regular clothes are both disorienting as the irrefutable knowledge that all of that just happened.

As if to confirm it all, Megan clasps my shoulder, her glasses askew and a giddy light in her eyes. She holds me still and the world stops spinning around me. "Adam. We're going to save the world. Holy shit."

I shake my head, a ridiculous smile crossing my face, stemming from adrenaline and shock. Holding back a nervous laugh, I respond, "We have no idea what we're getting ourselves into, do we?"

(A/N: AND THUS ENDS THE DEMO MODE! This chapter was adapted from an already-written bit which I edited so please tell me if there are any... weird errors in this one. I will continue to write this story, albeit at a more gradual pace- tomorrow might involve some update, though likely one for another story, and then I go back to my spring schedule. For realsies. That means this story will be updating every Friday and occasionally on Mondays. Hopefully everyone who enjoyed it this far will stick around for the ride. ;))