The next morning, Luca, Aiko, and Lefn were up early getting ready for the day. Luca turned to Aiko, his face stern. "Aiko, me and Lefn are going into the city today. I really need your help and your powers to track down the Naxons."
Aiko's face went tight. "The last time we were there, we almost died."
Luca nodded. "Almost doesn't count."
Aiko let out a sigh. "But you know what I mean."
"I do," Luca said, serious. "But this time I know how to keep you safe. Please-I need your help."
Aiko hesitated, then nodded. "Alright, I'll come."
Luca then went to see Lefn, who had to be told of their plan. With their supplies in hand, they left for the city. There, the three made their way onto the rooftops, peering over its abandoned streets.
Luca asked Aiko, "Did you hear anything?
Aiko shook her head. "No, there's nothing and no one here. It is clear."
Luca frowned. "The last time we were here, there were dozens of them."
Aiko raised an eyebrow. "Why are you telling me that as if it was a good thing?
Lefn spoke casual, but She was evident to be nervous. "A couple of Naxons would be good for a warm-up." But in her mind, she was thinking, Dozens of Naxons? I hope they don't show up.
"Let's go deeper into the city," Luca finally decided.
Hours more passed by, and yet there was no trace of any other life or Naxons. Night started to set in, and Aiko's fear could be felt. "I'm getting scared, guys."
"Let's camp somewhere," Luca said.
Lefn nodded. "Let's go to the top of a building so we're safe from any attacks while we sleep."
"That's a good idea," Luca said.
Luca easily picked them both up, Lefn and Aiko, and jumped to the top of a nearby building. As he set them down, Lefn and Aiko glared at him.
"Jeez, if you do that again, I'm going to kill you," Lefn said with a razor-sharp voice.
"Come on, Luca," Aiko chipped in, "You have to warn us before you do that."
"Sorry," Luca replied with an amount of contrition in his voice.
Lefn looked around nervously. "Uh, guys, Naxons are strong, fast, and have a great sense of smell. What if they find us here?
"That's no problem," said Luca, "Aiko has superhearing, besides being able to detect the tiniest ground vibrations. And I can raise a fortress in here. No small Naxons could get in."
Lefn looked at him bewildered. "How are you going to create something out of nothing?"
Luca snapped his fingers and a sword appeared out of the air. "Is this real?" asked an amazed Lefn.
luca flicked the sword to Lefn, who caught it, her eyes wide. "That's my power," Luca explained. "I can make anything out of sound. The stronger and louder the sound, the more durable it is."
He clapped his hands roughly and made a big bell, then did it again and made a big hammer. "Cover your ears," Luca instructed.
Aiko and Lefn hastened to follow the instruction as Luca struck the hammer onto the bell, generating a deafening sound. From the sound, he made a powerful barrier encasing the rooftop.
Lefn stared with his mouth agape. "What did you do?"
Luca formed a small rock and casually tossed it softly to Lefn. "Throw it out of the rooftop."
Confused, Lefn tossed it, but something invisible blocked it. Approaching and laying a hand on the barrier, her eyes widened. "What is this?"
"I can control the sound and bring things forth with it," Luca explained. "I can make them visible or invisible."
Lefn gazed upon him in wonder. "That's pretty cool."
"I know, right?" Luca said, flashing a grin. "By the way, what's your power?
Lefn hesitated, then confessed, "The things I am able to do are changing the weight of objects. I am able to make them heavier and lighter alike."
Luca was curious. "Can you make a plain sword like I did a moment ago?"
Lefn obliged, laying the sword on the ground and using her power to increase the weight of it. The ground cracked under the strain. "Try to lift it," Lefn said.
He crouched and sprang up with the sword in his hand as if it weighed nothing. "Well, there's nothing here," he said nonchalantly.
Lefn's eyes widened. I increased that sword's weight to 500 kg. Is this guy even human?
Luca started swinging the sword around and threw it to Aiko. "You try."
"No, don't!" Lefn exclaimed. As the sword flew to Aiko, instinctively Luca caught it with his telekinesis and brought it back to his hands. Lefn and Aiko didn't even notice the stopping of the sword in mid-air.
"That sword weighs 500 kg," Lefn said in awe. "For me and you, it's easy, but for others, it's not."
"Got it," Luca said. "Thanks."
Lefn used her power to return the sword to its normal weight. "What about you, Aiko? What is your power?"
Aiko acted a bit uncomfortably. "I have superhearing. I can detect sounds and vibrations from really far away."
"Nice," Luca said. "That's actually really useful."
Aiko then said, "Guys, I hear something outside the city, east from us. It's not Naxons—it's humans."
Luca's face darkened. "It's the Shifters."
Aiko asked, "What are Shifters?"
Luca explained, "Shifters can make you think they're someone else, but they're actually Naxons."
Lefn shivered. "That's kinda terrifying."
"Yeah, but it's just a weak Naxon," Luca said. "Well, for a normal human, Naxons are strong."
Lefn took a deep breath. "Okay, I'm ready."
Luca said, "I'm going to check it out. Don't move from here until I'm back." Then he took the top of the barrier off for a split second, leaped in the air, flying east.
Using his powers, Luca ran across the air and spotted four people with gear, backpacks, and supplies trudging through the city. He landed in front of them-a great crack in the ground and a cloud of dust were the results.
As the dust finally settled, the four humans, armed and wary, stared at Luca. "Who are you?" Luca demanded.
A towering man, all muscles, with an enormous sword in his hand stepped forward; his voice was low and dangerous. "None of your business, you filthy Naxon."
A girl hiding behind him whispered, "It's the kind that talks and shifts. We can't beat him."
Another man added with a bow in his hands, "We can't outrun him either."
Luca took another step closer. "I am a human."
The big guy sniffed. "Yeah, sure, like we'd believe that.
"I am telling the truth," Luca explained. "I assumed you guys were Symbiote users."
"That's right," said the big fellow, suddenly standing in a defensive pose.
"Believe me," Luca pleaded. "I am a Symbiote too. I am here with my friends looking for Naxons."
The girl asked, "Why would you look for those creatures? You have a death wish?"
Luca's face turned somber. "I'm going to kill them all. So far, I have learned they have races with different powers.
The big man relaxed a little. "You're a human?"
Luca nodded. "I am. I understand you came across a talking Naxon and a Shifter."
"Yes," the big man assured. "We were a group of 20 strong Symbiotes. We killed many surface dwellers, but then he showed up—"
"Who?" Luca asked, cutting in.
"He was huge, powerful, quick, and could talk," the big man said. "He killed our group. We were the only four that survived."
"My name is Leon," the big man said. "This is Mei, this is Narc, and this kid is Mao."
"Nice to meet you," Luca said. "I'm Luca. I'm going to take you to where me and my friends are staying, and we can talk more there."
The group nodded in agreement, and with a wave of his hand, Luca made an invisible barrier up to the rooftop like a stairway. "Come on."
Leon raised an eyebrow. "Where are you taking us? You're flying."
Luca showed the barrier and said, "It's less confusing this way."
Mei's eyes went wide in wonder. "You're amazing, Mister."
"Thanks, but I'm probably your age," Luca said.
As they all reached the rooftop, Leon looked around and then said, "This is where you hang out? It's a rooftop with no protection."
Luca just smiled. "It's a lot more protected than you think it is. Relax.
He released the top of the rooftop and they made a campfire. As they sat around it, Luca asked, "So, how did you outrun the Naxon?"
Leon explained, "Mei has invisibility. Anyone she touches becomes invisible."
Luca nodded. "And the Naxon, did it have horns?"
Leon confirmed, "Yes."
"That must be the same Naxon I fought," Luca said.
Leon was shocked. He fought the talking Naxon and survived?
Leon asked, "How are you alive? Did you run?"
"Run?" Luca said. "No, I crashed his head, he regenerated and ran from me."
Leon shook his head. "You're insane."
Aiko interrupted." Luca we should probably sleep It's getting darker by the second."
Luca agreed." you're right."
"You guys can stay here for the night and continue you're journey tommorrow" Luca offered.
Leon hesitated but agreed. "Alright We will take you up on that offer."
They slept, and then they were awakened by a scream-from Aiko-and when they opened their eyes, all of them were scared and terrified: Naxons everywhere, surrounding the barrier, on top of the barrier, just trying to get in. But there was Luca, grinning about the fact that he encountered Naxons yet again.