Eight Hours Ago
Andy was asleep in his bed in his home when he heard a noise downstairs. His dad was home finally, after taking a long business trip. Andy rushed downstairs and found his father talking on the phone.
"No, the boy's upstairs asleep," Kartheiser said. "There's no need to perform the enchantment on him, he'll willingly serve us, father, I'll make sure of it. Our plans are going perfectly, soon we'll have this entire city enslaved, and with all ot it's superpowered beings under our control, we'll-"
He noticed Andy sitting on the stairs, his eyes widened in panic.
"I'll call you back," Kartheiser said. "Now, Andy, that phone call was just..."
"You're going to make me a slave?" Andy asked. "I thought you loved me."
"I do," Kartheiser said as he came closer to Andy, who backed up against the wall. "But you know your grandfather. Well, actually, you don't know the *real* him-"
"Stay back," Andy said.
Kartheiser reached his hands out as Andy's power suddenly erupted, sending electricity rushing through his father's body, sending him flying back, crashing against the wall. Andy ran out of the house in a panic, crying as he went, thinking his father hadn't survived the shock.
Now
"It's me, son," Kartheiser said as he looked at Andy. "And you're in very big trouble for hurting me."
"Hold the phone," Ace said as he looked at Andy. "The alien overlord who wants us to take the over world is your father?"
"Andy is my personal experiment," Kartheiser said as he looked at the boy. "He's not biologically my son, but he is heir to the empire. His real parents were... taken out of the equation when Andy was born. I needed an heir to succeed me someday, and I chose him."
Walker grabbed Andy and took him back to their side. "Andy, what do you want to do?"
"He- he took me away from my real parents," Andy said with tears in his eyes. "He's lied to me this entire time," Andy wiped the tears away and got a stern look on his face. "Let's take him out."
Walker set the boy down as the seven kids took a battle stance.
"This is pathetic," Dark Heart said as Kartheiser, Automaton, and the shadow demons gathered close. "Forget banishment, DESTROY THEM!"
Automaton charged forward, as Victoria caught his robotic hands, as the two struggled together, while Sam pulled out a calculator and a small handheld chalkboard, calculating numbers and figures.
Dark Heart fired his staff at Jesse and Carol, who jumped out of the way. Carol tossed a light blast, temporarily blinding Dark Heart as Jesse rushed forward and grabbed the staff as the two struggled.
Walker started fighting off the shadow demons, using his superspeed to zip around them, collecting them in a whirlwind, sending the creatures flying.
Kartheiser came closer to Ace, who had his hands up, ready to fight. He swung at Kartheiser as his hands started to glow with a blue icy energy as the sorcerer blocked the blows with his staff. He swung and hit Ace in the arm with the staff, then swung again and knocked the boy to the ground.
"Nobody takes my son from me," Kartheiser told him.
"I'm not your son!" Andy shouted as he punched Kartheiser in the stomach, using his energy to blast the villain back. "You took my parents away from me!"
"Your parents didn't understand," Kartheiser said as he stood up. "They would have been afraid if they knew what you were. They would have left you, anyway."
"You're wrong!" Andy shouted with tears running down his face. "My parents loved me!"
"I'll gladly send you to join them, if that's what you want," Kartheiser said as he prepared to fire. "I want you to rule this world at my side. Three generations of evil, banded together."
"I'm not evil," Andy said as he charged up his hands. "I'm not like you."
"One day, you will be," Kartheiser replied as he fired his staff at the boy, but Ace pushed him out of the way, taking the blast. Ace screamed in pain as he hit the ground.
"You think you can defeat the ultimate evil?" Darkheart asked as he struggled with Jesse. "I won't be done in by a child!"
"I know I can beat you," Jesse said as he heated the staff in Dark Heart's hands. "Not because of what you did to me and my friends, but-" Jesse knocked Dark Heart across the room with his own staff. "Because I believe in good triumphing over evil."
Jesse broke the staff over his knee, then screamed in pain because it hurt. "OW! I immediately regret that decision!"
Victoria and Automaton were evenly matched struggling against each other, before Victoria swung the robot over her shoulder, sending it crashing to the ground behind her.
"Today, brain boy!" Victoria shouted as Sam continued to make his calculations.
"Let's see... carry the seven, divide it by the positronic composition... Got it!" Sam said as he bent over, picked up a tiny pebble, and tossed it at Automaton, hitting a small spot of the robot, causing it to fall over to the ground. "Found the weak spot."
"That was anti-climactic," Victoria said as she looked at Sam.
"What do you want? I'm a thinker, not a fighter," Sam replied.
Darkheart stood up as Walker rushed by with the trail of shadow demons behind him, sending them crashing into the villain, causing them all to hit the wall. Kartheiser joined his father and saw the Guardians closing in as the villains stood up.
"This might be a good time to retreat, father," Kartheiser said as a portal opened.
"Our next meeting won't go so well for you," Dark Heart promised as they entered. "This isn't over, not by a long shot!"
The two villains rushed through the portal, closing before the Guardians could get to them.
"Ace!" Andy said as he sat over Ace's body, as the others gathered around. "Is he-?"
"He's alive," Jesse said as he felt Ace's pulse. "Let's get him home."
The Dark Dimension
"We may have failed in our first attempt to bring the Guardians over to our side, but we still have plenty of time," Dark Heart said, lowering his hood. "The enchantment can only be performed in the right place at the right time. It's imperative we get Andy back before that."
"Yes, father," Kartheiser told him.
"Summon my other assistants," Dark Heart instructed. "We won't waste time on our next strike. We'll send everything we have against the Guardians. They'll be run ragged fighting our allies, then we will destroy them."
Later, at the Mall of Justice
"He's got nowhere else to go," Jesse said as he looked at Carol, Victoria, Sam, and Walker. "And he needs someone to help him learn to control his powers."
"And he's taken a liking to Ace," Carol added as she looked into Ace's room, a sporting goods store. Ace was laying in a bed in a large camping tent, where Andy was sitting by Ace's bedside with his ball cap in his hands. "I say we let him stay."
The others agreed as they looked into the tent. Ace slowly opened his eyes, seeing Andy sitting next to him.
"I- I was keeping your hat warm," Andy said as he looked at the older boy.
"Thanks," Ace replied in a weak voice, still out of it. "You know, you kind of remind me of my little brother. He's... not here anymore. Position's open if you want it. Great benefits and two weeks paid vacation."
Andy smiled as he looked over at the others.
"Welcome to the team," Jesse told him.
Down the empty corridor elsewhere in the mall, a low laughter came from behind the locked door.
