Chase Henson was timid by nature. He was quiet. He didn't like to be the center of attention, not like his friends Malcolm or Clay. But he was always the first one to step up when someone needed help. And when he saw the president of the chess club, Garth Taylor, getting picked on by a group of wannabe tough guys, Chase jumped in to save the day.

"Let me go, I didn't do anything!"
"Hold still, or this is going to hurt..."

"What are you doing? What's that knife for?"
"I'm going to feminize you! Hehehehe!"

"Stop it! Leave him alone!"
"Looks like we've got two now. Hold them down! Take their pants off!"
"Hey! Let us go! Someone help!"
"Don't worry, you're going to learn to enjoy this."

"No!"
"We're giving you a choice, boys. We can take you to heaven or we can send you to the morgue..."
"Help! Help!"
"If you keep screaming I'm gonna kill you!"

"They're getting away!"
"I've got you, Garth!"
"Get back here! I'm going to kill you! I'm gonna chop you up!"

"Run!"
"Run, man! Run!"
"Aah... ahh..."

"Chase, you alright?"
"I'm fine. What did they do to you?"
"Nothing. Come on, let's go home."

Garth was tormented by the so-called Scorpion Gang every day, and Chase became a target too after standing up for him. They would torment the young men at lunch, after and before school, sometimes even in class right in front of the teachers. Chase got his friends Clay and Malcolm involved too by convincing them they had a chance to be the new top dogs at the school if they teamed up to stop the Scorpions. It was working until the Scorpions got their older brothers to join in. That was when things turned nasty. North Grandebelle High School became an all-out warzone. Kids were getting stabbed, hospitalized, or arrested every single day. There were even a couple of suicides. And the administration just watched, uncaring, while all of this brutality went on under their very noses.

One day Garth came to the clubroom with bruises all over his body and a notebook detailing his plan to end the Scorpion's reign of terror once and for all.

"The Chosen Ones?"
"They're a criminal syndicate. I paid this homeless guy for some information about them... he used to be one of them. He gave me the phone number for one of their recruiters. If we join them, no one's ever going to bother us again."

Clay, Malcolm, and Chase were amazed at the audacity of the idea. Who knew little Garth Taylor had it in him to think of something so bold?

"You think they're going to let us join? Crooks like that aren't going to give a second glance to four stupid kids like us."
"If we don't do something, we're done for anyway. The Scorpions know where we live. Even if we drop out, we'll still have our lives destroyed by them, so... we might as well try."

No one had any faith in the plan. They pretty much just went along with it to make Garth feel better. But much to their surprise, they got a response from the Chosen Ones within hours. And they met Dr. Tuske the very next day to discuss becoming full members of the organization. All they had to do to join was test out a new drug the Chosen Ones were developing.

And then, everything changed. The boys developed psychic powers. Their minds began to expand and evolve at an extraordinary rate.
It was hard to describe. They felt a kind of energy growing in their heads. They experienced all kinds of new sensations and emotions. Sometimes it was horribly painful. Sometimes, the world around them just disappeared. Sometimes, the whole experience felt blissful and perfect. It was difficult for them to make sense of what was happening to their bodies. They had difficulty managing their weight. They lost hair. They had trouble sleeping and staying motivated. The changes continued as time passed, slowly but surely taking a toll on their mental and physical health.

But it was all worth it in the end. Their new powers allowed them to defeat the Scorpions' leader and destroy the gang once and for all. And they never forgot who helped them do it. Garth, Clay, Malcolm and Chase owed everything they had to the Chosen Ones. So when the Chosen Ones' general manager called them to offer them a place in a special new team she was creating, the four agreed without a second thought.

"What was the boss lady's name again? Jennifer?"
"It's Jessica, idiot."
"We're supposed to call her Miss Planner. What are you two wearing? This is a job interview. You two look like you're on your way to rob a convenience store."

Malcolm shook his head, laughing.

"Relax. This is what I wore to our interview with Dr. Tuske. That worked out, didn't it?"
"Yeah dude, lay off. Jessica isn't going to care. This shirt shows off my muscles."

Garth was the only one who bothered dressing up for the interview. He was wearing a button-up shirt, slacks, and a gray jumper. Not the most professional outfit in the world, but he looked like a CEO compared to his buddies. Clay was wearing a black tanktop and jeans, Malcolm had on an intimidating black jacket and a pair of sunglasses, and Chase was wearing a blue sports jersey with his name on it in big, bold white lettering.

"She's been making us wait for ten minutes already."
"You think she's trying to scare us or something?"

"Nah... she'd ask us to come in one by one if she was doing that. She's probably just busy. Maybe she's with a man or something."
"Ooh, I bet she is. I'd kill someone to go out with some big mob boss lady."

"Hey, why don't we go in there and interrupt her? Show her how much we want to work here."
"You're an idiot. Just sit and be quiet. She can hear you guys talking."
"We're not allowed to talk?"

The four young men were waiting in the North Grandebelle Notary as patiently as they could. The receptionist behind the front desk kept glancing over at them. She had brown hair in a perfect ponytail, a cute face, bright red lipstick, and a revealing yellow dress. It was almost impossible to resist staring. Her body was so perfectly shaped it looked fake.

After what seemed like a few hours but was actually fifteen minutes and twenty seconds, the door to the manager's office opened. Out came a pale-faced, skinny man in dress clothes that looked two sizes too big and a little blonde girl in a black business suit that fit just right.

"Meet me here tomorrow at noon and I'll take you to the Tower of the Chosen to be formally inducted. Welcome to the Chosen Ones."
"It's an honor, Planner."

"Ghost Knife, I'm happy you're finally becoming one of us."
"Hmph."

The man called Ghost Knife left the building without even looking at the four boys waiting their turn. He had a horrible expression on his face, like someone had just killed his puppy. Miss Planner didn't seem to notice. She just walked out into the reception area with a big smile on her face.

"It's so nice to see you boys again! Garth! Chase, Clay, Malcolm! Just give me a minute to get ready, okay? We're running a little behind schedule today."
"Um, no problem, ma'am. We're not in a rush or anything."

They all sat in terrified silence. Miss Planner ran in and out of her room several times. At one point, she went to another part of the building and grabbed another woman by the shoulders before asking her a series of complicated sounding questions. The second woman was taller than Miss Planner (although she was still short) and she looked incredibly nervous.

"What can they contribute to..."
"Yeah..."

"...describe their employment history, what they know about..."
"...the script?"

"No, we have to make them think about..."
"O-oh."

It seemed like Miss Planner was coaching the taller woman on what to say. They whispered back and forth for quite a while. Garth was confused why they didn't just have their little conversation in the office where no one would be able to hear them. Maybe they really were trying to scare them? But it didn't seem like they were talking about anything that important...

Then, at long last, the two women approached them. Miss Planner's eyes were shining brightly and she was practically vibrating with excitement. The other woman had her head down. She looked defeated.

"Thanks for being patient. This is Erica. She's a manager-in-training, and she's going to be helping me out today."
"Hi, I'm Erica. Pleased to m-meet you."

The boys exchanged worried looks.

"Come on in! We're going to the manager's office, second room on the right."
"Yes ma'am. Thanks for having us here today."

"I'm sorry about our bad table manners the other day, ma'am."
"Oh, my! You're all such polite young men! Here, take a seat, everyone! Do any of you want anything to drink? Please, make yourselves comfortable! We've got tea, coffee, water, and juice, as well as snacks, cookies... mmm, they're very tasty."

She was trying her hardest to be friendly. But the boys were still a little rattled from seeing the strange man leave with such an awful expression on his face. Chase couldn't even sit up straight in his chair. Neither could Erica. She was visibly anxious and shaking.