「クロシ + ヒャテ: クロニクル」

'I see that you are pretty surprised with your new abilities,' Senior Tutor Elmore Grant spoke out of the blue from behind his desk. The Bond Teammers jumped.

'You knew?' Ben asked in a hushed tone.

'I had to keep an eye on all of you,' Mr. Grant replied in a matter-of-factly tone. 'Because your abilities may be a danger to everyone if you do not know how to control them.'

'I don't want to have such abilities,' Ben was furious. 'I'm not a freak!'

'Calm down, Ben. Actually, it's sounds kinda cool. Maybe we can be the new superheroes of 2060s.' Eddie quipped.

'I am out of this,' Ben shot and turned to leave.

'I'm sorry, Agent Stanton, you are not,' Mr. Grant spoke coldly. Ben whipped around and glared at him.

Mr. Grant continued as if there was no interruption, 'We will keep your abilities a secret. But of course, all of you will undergo some special training, and then you will be assigned some special missions.'

'By the way,' Lori frowned. 'Where's Jen?'

* * *

They were briefed about each of their abilities. Ben could control plants, and Mr. Grant concluded that he controlled earth. Lori controls water, and Jake's fire. Cally was psychic, Jennifer showed signs of being a shape-shifter, but Eddie's true ability was unknown.

'Why?’ Eddie asked.

'We can't deduce from the evidence we have gathered. Time will tell.' Mr. Grant spoke with finality and ushered them out to begin their new training.

'Aw man, not again,' Eddie complained.

'At least you have me to accompany you,' the raven-haired ghost spoke as she grabbed his hands. Eddie nearly jumped out of his skin.

'What the –?'

'What again, Ed?' Ben was annoyed.

'N-no…nothing.'

* * *

'You know what, Lo, having powers is pretty fun. Though I know that we shouldn't use it for fun, anyway,' Bex spoke as she threw herself onto her bed. 'Oh, I do have to control my temper too, because my mood affects the weather.'

'I hate to be telepathic,' Cally muttered. 'I just can't block out those voices in my head.'

Lori was controlling the water fairy she created from her glass of water. 'We've lots to learn.'

'I agree with Ben. I really wished that I'm normal,' Jennifer snapped out of the blue.

'It takes some time to get used to, Jen,' Lori replied. Her water fairy suddenly splashed on Jennifer.

'Yeah, Lo, it does,' she shot sarcastically.

'Cool it, Jen, you've got whiskers on your face,' Bex rolled his eyes and tried to keep her face straight. Jennifer glowered at her.

* * *

'I think Ed's gone a little nutty,' Jake started as he applied some cream on his burns. 'I mean, he has been talking to himself too much lately.'

'Jake, you know him. We know him. What do you expect from a brainless git like him?' Ben replied through gritted teeth as he wrapped up his bruises.

'He was talking to someone, but I can't see him or her.'

'Why do you want to know so much?'

'I think Eddie can see ghosts.'

'Him? See ghosts? 'Scuse me, Daly, I think you watch too much horror movies. And I don't give a damn who the hell he's talking with. He can talk to the wall as far as I'm concerned.'

'You really hate him, huh?'

'He shouldn't be in Spy High in the first place. Why Grant wanted to choose him? So what if he's the best SkyBiker among us? What other skills does he really possess?'

* * *

Eddie had no idea how long he had been sitting among a thick bush, talking to a ghost for the first time in his life. Her name was Roxanne, but she preferred to be called Rose. She died when she was sixteen, but she had absolutely no idea how she died. She has been haunting Spy High ever since it was built forty years later after her death. Of course, no one could see nor hear her, until Eddie came back with overdose of cosmic rays that mutated his DNA and gave him the ability.

'So, seeing and talking to ghosts is your ability?' Rose asked as she scratched the earth absent-mindedly with a twig.

'I dunno. And I hope not.' Eddie replied as he looked dreamily at her stunning beauty.

'It's great to talk to someone. There's so much I wanted to tell you.'

'Yeah. I wonder how you could bear the silence for sixty years? I think I would rather not die.'

She laughed. 'But you will have to go in the end, right? Just like everyone else.'

Eddie gazed into Rose's bright brown eyes. 'Well, yeah, I'm not immortal.'

She edged closer to him. Their faces were only an inch apart. Eddie could see a faint red on her cheek.

'Rose?'

'Aw Eddie, you're so dense.' She pushed him down and kissed.

He stopped and leaned against a tree, closed his eyes at the peace and quietness of the surroundings.

Something prickled his neck and Ben snapped his eyes open. He turned his head to see a tendril caressing his neck slyly.

How on earth could plants move at their will?

A sharp pain on his arms made him look down.

The tendrils on the tree trunk seemed to have sprung to life and snaked around him, binding him to the tree. He struggled, trying to break free, but the tendrils only tightened their hold. He started to feel breathless. The tendrils were cutting into his skin as his blood oozed out of the cuts mercilessly.

'Back off!' he hissed.

The tendrils, to his greatest amazement, slackened their grips and retreated. Ben examined the deep red cuts on his arms. This isn't true…it must be just my imagination…

* * *

Bex reeled back as a thick cloud of dust rose when she dusted her table in the Bond Team girls' dormitory. Seemed that they had been away for too long. She coughed and spluttered and shook her head.

The dust was getting into her nose. Her nose twitched. She raised her hand and rubbed her itching nose. Before she could stop herself, she sneezed.

A strong gust of wind whirled in the room, upturning furniture and picked up papers and dust in the whirlwind. As sudden as the uproar, it died down instantaneously.

Bex surveyed the wrecked dorm in utter shock. A small voice echoed in her head: did I do that?

* * *

Jake lighted a candle and sat down on the floor in the empty rec room. He closed his eyes and began to meditate. He pictured the flame on the candle dancing eerily, his shadow crept across the wall.

A sudden flash of light followed by a deafening boom snapped his eyes open.

The flame of the candle somehow turned into a huge fire tornado, shooting towards the ceiling.

'What the –?'

The flame snuffed out suddenly.

* * *

'Awesome run, Cal,' Lori congratulated.

Cally simply laughed. 'Nah, Lo, Eddie's still the best. At least he got the cheek to do stunts right in front of Keene's face and get away with it without a scratch.'

Lori patted her back. 'You're still great, anyway.'

'I dunno, Lo,' Cally shook her head. 'I've been thinking…about what had happened on Solaire IV.'

'What about it, Cal?'

Cally looked up and gazed into Lori’s brilliant blue eyes. Suddenly, Lori’s childhood memories flooded her mind with a roar. Her head throbbed.

She let out a scream of agony.

* * *

Jennifer hurried down a dark alley. She just wanted to think. She stopped abruptly and thumped the brick wall in frustration. Bond Team had screwed up their last mission big time. And they deserved to die.

She closed her eyes and slumped against the wall. Suddenly, she jumped and stood rigid and alert.

A cat mewed loudly as it slid past her legs.

Cats, she thought and laughed silently. But she stopped suddenly. She felt her heartbeat speeding up, and her molecules began to slide and shift. She dropped on all fours on the ground and her back arched.

She opened her mouth to speak, but only a loud hiss escaped from her lips. The cat spitted menacingly at her and shot off.

She had turned into a cat.

* * *

Eddie flung himself onto his bed. He winced painfully as he stretched his limbs.

Mr. Grant purposely (yeah, he really did that on purpose, he thought) for extra sessions of unarmed combats in the virtual reality room. Honestly, he preferred to spray sleepshots on a SkyBike to kicking those bad guys' butt with his bare hands. Mr. Grant should pick Lori and Cally instead, because though they had better academic results compared to him, but he will always beat them in unarmed combats, without breaking a sweat.

His thoughts began to drift. He thought about the incident on Solaire IV. He just didn't understand. Think, Eddie, think.

Then someone sighed.

He got up too fast and soon he regretted it. His head began to spin. He shook his head and shut his eyes. He then turned to the source of the voice and jumped.

He saw a girl (a very cute one, Eddie noted) shaking her head emphatically, her dark raven curls swayed madly behind her. She wore a hot red top and a shiny black miniskirt with knee-length black boots. Seeing Eddie's shock, she blinked her bright brown eyes innocently.

'How d'you get in here?' he demanded.

'I've been here for more than sixty years and…hang on,' she frowned. 'You…you can see me?'

'Of course I can,' Eddie rolled his eyes. 'And you say you've been here…'

'For more than sixty years, yeah.' She continued to survey him with interest.

'Sixty years? How on earth did you retain your youth?' Eddie stared at her disbelievingly.

'I'm already dead.'

'You what?'

'I'm dead. And I'm a ghost. You know what, you're the first live person who has ever talked to me all these years.'

Her head was spinning. She was aching all over. The feeling of pain reminded her that she was still alive.

She turned sideways. Even such a simple action gave her a splitting headache.

A jug of water caught her eyes and instantly she felt very thirsty. She tried to get up, but her body seemed paralyzed. She stared at the water in the jug and willed it to move to her.

The water swirled in the jug and rose into the air. She smacked her dry lips. She beckoned it to her hungrily, but another wave of dizziness waver her attention.

The water splashed onto the floor.

Lori merely closed her eyes and remembered no more.

* * *

Bex had never liked health-checks. In fact, she loathed them. One of the medtechs tried to give her another blood test, but she yelled and screamed at her face with all kinds of vulgarities that would definitely impress her father.

'Cool, Bexy,' Eddie mocked. 'Nice way to start your day.'

Nevertheless, she felt great getting off from her bed.

'Yeah, especially we're all in a coma for, say, nearly three whole months,' said Eddie pointedly.

'But how did we –' Lori began.

'– End up safe and sound instead of being incinerated to nothing by the Sun?' Eddie finished for her. ' 'Course, if it isn't a couple of D-plus space jets tractor-beaming us back to Earth, Bond Team will be history.'

'And how d'you know all of that?' Bex asked questioningly.

'Comlinked Grant first thing first when I woke up from my beauty sleep when you lot are still stretching your limbs,' he replied smugly.

'Sure, Ed,' Ben sneered.

'But hey,' Eddie ignored Ben’s sarcasm and rubbed his chin. 'We had an overdose amount of cosmic radiation, so we should be dead by now. I wonder…'

'Come off it, Ed,' Cally cut him off. 'It's good to be alive.'

'Yeah, Ed. Haven't you babbled enough for a day?' Jake was obviously irritated.

* * *

MEMORANDUM (FILE MR-4847)

TO: SENIOR TUTOR ELMORE GRANT

RE: BOND TEAM’S DNA REPORT

We do not know the aftereffects the cosmic rays have on the students, but there is a sudden change in their DNA. Their genes seem to have mutated but we have no idea what will happen to them. Please monitor them closely.

P.S. DNA reports for each member of the Bond Team attached.

這是我去年是寫的Spy High Fan Fiction``那時，我從圖書館借了Spy High Series 2: Agent Orange，讀完后就隨手寫的小説。後來，因爲發生了很多事情，所以就停止繼續寫``可是，我還是會找時間讓這個小説有個結尾``畢竟，我已寫了三章了，不可能就這麽廢掉吧......

From The Secret Agent’s Guide to the World by E.J. Grant

APPENDIX ONE: THE FINAL FRONTIER

(a) THE MOON

Had the Deveraux College been training secret agents thirty years ago, its graduates might well have found themselves on assignment to Earth's only natural satellite. The 2030s was the time of the Moon Rush. It was a period when the nations of the world were gradually recovering from the social and political upheavals caused by the Great Contamination of the previous decade, when stability and even prosperity were slowly returning, and when people were beginning to look to the future with renewed hope, with aspiration and ambition.

The Moon became a symbol of this new era.

Small, isolated scientific bases had been established on the lunar surface since 2019, fifty years after the original Moon landing, but now colonization on a much wider scale was suddenly envisaged. It was as if recent disasters earthside had made the prospect of a life beyond our atmosphere an altogether more attractive proposition. Sadly, however, the human race was to take with it into space not only those qualities that have helped to create the great civilizations of the past – courage, ingenuity, resourcefulness and sacrifice – but those that too often contributed to their destruction – suspicion, selfishness, aggression and greed. There followed a grab for land the like of which had not been seen since the European powers carved Africa up between them in the nineteenth century. In short, the Moon Rush.

The results were depressingly predictable, and dishearteningly familiar. Individual countries seized upon what they considered to be the most advantageous sites for their own colonies by whatever means necessary. Confrontation and conflict rather than cooperation and collaboration were the order of the day. There was sabotage. There was terrorism. There was loss of life. There was everything a Deveraux agent is trained to tackle.

But time passed, and times changed.

By the end of the thirties it became apparent that the vast majority of the Moon's colonies were simply unsustainable, not least because governments on Earth had seriously underestimated the financial costs of maintaining them. Economic reality meant that the Moon Rush soon turned into a Moon Retreat. Finally, at the Apollo-Soyuz Conference in 2041 it was decided between those nations that still preserved a presence on the Moon that their efforts should be rationalized and combined, that the few remaining colonies should become one, an international scientific and research facility named after the first man to set foot on the lunar surface. Thus was born Moon Colony Armstrong.

The Moon Rush and its sequel provide further evidence to support one of Mr Deveraux's most fervently held beliefs: though human beings seem by their nature inclined towards conflict and violence, they are capable of working and coexisting peacefully together when conditions permit them no other choice.

This is why now, at the time of writing in the mid-sixties, Spy High operatives are increasingly unlikely to visit the Moon during the course of their active duties. For twenty years Moon Colony Armstrong has been a shining example of concord and harmony. It seems improbable that circumstances will change in the foreseeable future.

IGC MEDIA FEED: THE UNKNOWN UNIVERSE

SUB-SECTION: FUTURE SPACE

Since after the Moon Rush in the 2030s, the Moon Colony Armstrong remains to be the only legal international base left on the Moon. But things were about to change.

The MoonRunner Project, which raised an interest around the world, was to build the world first space hotel, space stadium and a space training school on the Moon.

When questioned for details on the project, a NASA spokesperson, who did not wish to be named, said, 'The space hotel is for human beings to experience the feeling in space. The space school is for future astronauts to have hands-on practice for future space exploration. It will also be opened for students from high schools and colleges to get to understand the world out there better. The space stadium, on the other hand, can even hold the next Olympics or FIFA World Cup in a zero-gravity environment.'

Many countries, such as America, China, Russia and Europa are presently working on this majestic project.

When asked for more information regarding how much have the project progressed, he said, 'We will not reveal any more information other than those we have told to the public.'

IN SPACE 08:31_

'Welcome aboard the Solaire IV,' greeted a cool female voice from the intercom.

Cally Cross fidgeted in her tight NASA uniform uncomfortably. The Bond Team was aboard the spacecraft to where the MoonRunner Project was located for some undercover work. They have been briefed about checking out the progress of the project and report any suspicious movement back to Spy High.

She looked at her other teammates.

Ben Stanton. Having a real heat-up row with Jake Daly. With Bex Deveraux as the peacemaker.

Eddie Nelligan. Looking green and complaining of wanting to go back to Earth. With Lori Angel cooing and hushing him like a patient mother coaxing a crying baby to sleep.

Jennifer Chen. Scanning around the main cabin warily with her searching green eyes.

'Are we there yet?' Eddie whined loudly.

Cally looked out of the window. She could see the vast space beyond, but she couldn't see the Moon.

'Um, guys? Does anyone have any idea where we're going?'

Cally's question seemed to stop any further activities from the rest. All of them looked out of the window.

'If we're not going to Moon, then why are we heading towards Venus?' Jake asked to no one in particular. Cally followed his gaze. The shuttle was moving closer and closer towards a bright gold planet. Towards Venus.

'I think I'm gonna have a nice chat with the pilot,' Jennifer spoke coldly and made a move towards the pilot's cockpit.

'Relax, Jen,' Lori restrained her.

'No, Lo, Jen's right,' Jake defended her. 'We should check out the cockpit – '

'– And find no one in but the spaceship is flying on its own?' Eddie voiced out the worst.

'I'll go,' Cally volunteered. She got up from her seat and walked towards the cockpit.

'Wait, Cal,' Ben’s blue eyes glinted icily. 'We’ll all go. Bond Team sticks together.'

'Thick or thin,' Eddie muttered.

'Whatever you say, Ed,' Jake muttered back.

The Bond Teammers pushed open the door and were surprised that it wasn't locked. And Eddie was right. The cockpit was indeed empty.

Cally, who was a natural at computers, took the pilot's seat and started tapping keys on a panel. The rest of the Bond Team looked around the cockpit and tried to help whatever he or she could.

'Damn it!'

'Are you OK, Cal?' Lori asked worriedly.

'It seemed to be impossible to gain access to the system,' Cally frowned. 'And I dunno, this ship is flying on autopilot, and – it has been reprogrammed.'

'Meaning we're flying with a one-way ticket?' Eddie prompted.

Cally tapped a few more keys.

The screen lighted up and read: Access denied.

Beads of sweat trickled down her anxious face.

But the words Access denied were still etched in a ghastly green across the black screen.

'Hurry up, Cal,' Eddie's voice was suddenly tense.

'I'm trying!' yelled Cally irritably.

'Yeah, Eddie, can't you just give her a break?' Jake snapped.

Eddie jerked his chin towards the east-side window and said quietly, 'Not when we're no longer going to be shaded by Venus. And we're not wearing any protective gears, either.'

'Um, Ed?' Bex noticed Eddie's urgent tone. 'What d'you mean by that?'

Eddie opened his mouth. But it was too late.

The cockpit was suddenly flooded with intense sunlight.

'Cosmic rays.'