"Oh my God!!" Anne squealed in excitement as she grabbed Jules by the face.
"You have super strength!" She seemed seemed rather overly excited.
"Oh..umm.." Jules awkwardly pulled her arms away from his face.
"What's that?" He asked curiously.
"Seriously man?" Chris stared down at Jules in shock.
"You're super strong now!" He exclaimed. "Not that I'm that surprised that my best friend is such a strong man now but...."
"Shut it Chris" Anne pushed him away by the face thereby cutting him short.
"I see his ability is much more important than your master's life huh?" Master Benjamin walked towards them.
Anne and Chris stood erect and gulped nervously.
"Um..we're sorry sir" Anne said with evident guilt.
"We hope you didn't get hurt sir" Chris spoke, his head faced down.
"Haha" Master Benjamin laughed. "You both are so silly" he said cheerfully.
Both Anne and Chris sighed in relief realizing he wasn't angry.
Master Benjamin walked towards Jules who stood up from the table and politely bowed at him.
"I'm sorry for what I did sir, I didn't realize I had this strange power" he said guiltily.
Elise glared at him angrily. "Sorry won't cut it you idi...."
"Oh it's alright" Master Benjamin brush it off with a smile.
"Don't be so hard on him Elise" He patted her on the shoulder. Elise simply scoffed and rolled her eyes.
"I can tell this kid is gonna be a nuisance" she muttered to herself.
Jules stared at Elise for a while. 'She obviously doesn't like me' he thought.
Elise noticed his stare and glared back at him. He abruptly looked away in embarassment.
"Now enough of that" Master Benjamin spoke, his smile not wavering.
"Do you have any idea what this means kid?" He asked Jules.
Jules stared at him and shook his head. He had no idea what was going on and why he had this strange power. For some reason he wanted to scream and run away from this place but he decided to listen to what the middle aged man in front of him had to say. Besides, he had no idea where he was, so escaping was bound to be difficult.
"What's your name young man?" Master Benjamin asked.
"Oh..uh..Jules!" Jules replied. "Jules Martin!. I'm 16 years old and at my second year in high school" He added abruptly.
'I ended up saying too much' he thought.
Master Benjamin smiled. "That makes you the youngest here" he said, a hint of warmth in his tone.
"I heard you're classmates with these three" he added and Jules nodded.
"Yes sir"
"Not just classmates, we're best buds" Chris chuckled.
"Alright then, I'll get to the point" Master Benjamin said. He then stretched out his hand towards Jules.
"Join us Jules" He smiled
"Join...you guys?...for what?" Jules asked. He felt the intensity in Master Benjamin's words which scared him for some reason.
"You're gonna be fighting crime" Anne spoke excitedly.
"Huh?" Jules became even more confused.
"Ha" Elise sighed. "Not exactly fighting crime, we're gonna be battling some very powerful and dangerous enemies called the dark associates whose plans we're yet to know of" She said blandly.
"It may even cost you your life" She then stared at him seriously. It was obvious she was trying to scare him.
Jules was stunned from what he was hearing. He turned to Master Benjamin who nodded indicating that all what Elise had said was true.
"But not to worry, we all work together and someday we may actually defeat them" Chris said with enthusiasm.
"Hold on" Jules spoke. "None of this makes sense" his eyes looked from one to the other with shock and confusion.
"I mean, powers?, Fighting some evil organization?" he spoke, his expression remained the same. "Besides, I barely even know any of you so how am I sure I can trust you guys?" He asked.
"Hey, what's that supposed to mean?. I thought we were friends" Chris clutch his chest in disbelief.
"For a day, yeah" Jules turned forward awkwardly after saying that. 'What am I even saying right now?!. But I've got to question them, besides none of this makes sense' he thought.
Master Benjamin sighed and smiled slightly.
"Jules Martin" he called out.
"Um..yes...sir?" Jules replied.
"Once again, would you like to join us?" He asked. "I know you have a vague idea of what's going on but I promise to explain it all to you if you agree to join us" He added reassuringly.
"I'm still unsure..." Jules looked down in confusion.
"Look, you're either in or out. You get it?!" Elise snapped at him in irritation.
"Elise, I told you not to be so hard on him" Master Benjamin scolded.
"He's being annoying" She rolled her eyes and glared at Jules who looked down in embarrassment.
"Tch" she scoffed.
"I'll....I'll think about it" Jules said.
The others looked curiously at him.
"Please, give me some time and I'll think about it. I...I. just wanna return home for now" He added.
Master Benjamin heaved a huge sigh of relief. "Ha, for a second I thought you were gonna reject my offer" he laughed.
"Yeah, same here" Anne sighed.
"Umm..what happens if I reject?" Jules looked from one to the other I'm curiosity.
The others stared at him with unreadable expressions.
"Umm..." Chris stammered.
"It's simple, you die!" Elise bluntly said.
Jules leaped back with widened eyes. "I...I die?!" He gasped.
'There she goes again, always cutting right to the chase' Master Benjamin facepalmed.
"Alright little one, let's get you back home" He smiled, he was obviously trying to change the topic.
"But..wait...what did she.." Jules tried to speak.
"Alright bestie, come with me" Chris grabbed his arm and stretched out a similar object to what Elise had used previously and a portal opened before them.
"Let me....woah!" Jules was previously trying to get out of Chris's grasp and was stunned by the sight of the portal.
"Oh, don't forget these!" Anne rushed towards them to hand over Jules's groceries.
"Oh, my groceries" Jules took them from her. "Thanks Anne" he smiled.
"Thanks for the kind act Anne, now if you'll excuse us" Chris said and grabbed Jules sending them both to the other side. The portal immediately closing right after.
Anne turned to Master Benjamin.
"You think he'll agree to join us?" She asked.
"There's an 80% possibility that he will, I'm sure of it" Master Benjamin smiled.
At the other side...
"Oh my God!" Jules yelled from the impact of the little travel back in the portal.
"As long as you don't puke on my clothes, I'm fine with whatever happens next" Chris said with raised arms.
"I'm fine now" Jules breathed heavily.
Chris stared at him for a while. "Say Jules, are you always this awkward?" He asked.
"Huh? Awkward?" Jules raised his head in curiosity.
"I mean, it seems you find it difficult to communicate properly" Chris snickered.
Jules turned red in embarrassment. "I'm not..always this awkwa...". Before he could complete his sentence, Chris grabbed his waist and lifted him up.
"It's alright pal. As long as I'm here, there's never gonna be an awkward moment in your life" He chuckled.
"Alright, I get it. Now..put me down" Jules was finding it hard to breath.
"Alright" Chris laughed and placed him back on the floor.
"Best buds?" He asked, stretching out his fist for a fist bump.
"Umm...I guess so" Jules said and accepted his fist bump. 'Best buds?, With me?!' He thought.
"Alright, we need a good excuse to tell your parents" Chris said.
"Actually, it's just my mum" Jules corrected.
"Oh" Chris realized. "Sorry, about that" his expression dimmed a little.
"It's alright, i barely even remember him" Jules reassured. "And I think I may have the perfect excuse"
"My mum's away on a business trip so it'd just be my big sister and she'll buy any excuse we give her as long as I introduce you as my friend" He said.
"I see, then we'd tell her we ran into each other and decided to hang out for a little while. Brilliant!" Chris snapped his fingers after saying that.
"Hehe, I guess so" Jules laughed awkwardly.
"But, you can't go looking like that" Jules turned from Chris' face to his clothes.
Chris stared down at his outfit and sighed in realization.
He was currently in his Saviours uniform which didn't look entirely pleasant for an introduction to his supposed best buddy's sister. One would look at him and think he was a criminal.
"Alright then, let's take a quick stop at my apartment" Chris smiled and grabbed Jules whilst leaping happily.
"Ah, you're too fast" Jules was taken off guard and tried to keep up with him.