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CHAPTER ONE
KOPANO OKEKE
LAGOS, NIGERIA
THE WEEK BEFORE THE INVASION, KOPANO’S father, Udo, sold their TV Despite his mother’s fervent prayers for his father to find a new job, Udo was unemployed, and they were three months behind on rent Kopano didn’t mind He knew a neouldand his father wouldn’t miss it
When the alien warships appeared, Kopano’s whole family crowded into his uncle’s apartrin at his two younger brothers
“Don’t be stupid,” Kopano declared “This is some bad American movie”
“It’s on every channel!” Obi shouted at him
“Be quiet, all of you,” Kopano’s father snapped
They watched footage of aa speech in front of the United Nations building in New York
“See?” Kopano said “I told you That’s an actor What’s his name?”
“Shh,” his brothers complained in unison
Soon, the scene descended into chaos New York was under attack by pale humanoid creatures that bled black and turned to ash when they were killed Then so powers that looked like special effects showed up and began to fight the aliens These teenagers were only a little older than Kopano and, despite the madness their arrival had created, Kopano found hi days, Kopano would learn the naadorians John Suys were
“A!” Kopano said
Not everyone shared Kopano’s enthusiasan to pray, feverishly ently escorted her from the room
His youngest brother, Dube, so Kopano picked the boy up and held him Kopano was short and stout like his father, but well muscled where his father was paunchy He patted Dube to worry about, Dubem This is all far, far away”
They stayed glued to their uncle’s TV day into night Even Kopano couldn’t e of New York’s destruction was played The broadcasters showed aover more than twenty different cities Alien warships
His father scoffed when he saw the et aliens and not us?” He clapped his hands together “Nigeria is the giant of Africa! Where is the respect?”
Kopano shook his head “You don’t adorians showed up here? Hide under the bed, probably”
Udo raised his hand like he would slap his son, but Kopano didn’t even flinch They stared at each other until Udo snorted and turned back to the TV
“I would kill many of them,” Udo muttered
Kopano knew his father to be a boastful man and an unrepentant sche talk with anything but scornful laughter However, Kopano didn’t so adorians He felt it, too Kopano itched to do so at the UN He wondered what happened to theot-aliens to dust
The Loric How badass
The second night of the invasion, Kopano stood outside on his uncle’s veranda Never had Lagos been this quiet Everyone was holding their breath, waiting for so terrible to happen
Kopano went inside His brothers and uncle were still blearily staring at the TV screen, watching horrific reports of a failed Chinese assault on a Mogadorian warship His father slouched in an ar Exhausted, Kopano collapsed onto the futon
He dreamed of the planet Lorien Actually, it waslike a in of the war that had traveled to Earth, learned about the Mogadorian leader Setrákus Ra, and about the brave Garde who opposed hiy
And then, suddenly, he awoke But Kopano wasn’t on his uncle’s futon in Lagos He sat in apeople fro to each other, htened, all were confused They’d all experienced the sao he was hoe sensation come over him and now here he was
“What a bizarre dream this is,” Kopano rereeard Kopano
“But is this my dream, or your dream?” she asked
Then new people appeared out of thin air, all of them seated at the ornate table in the roonized John Smith and the other Loric fro on? Why did you bring us here? Are you going to save our planet? Kopano stayed quiet He was too in awe and he wanted to knohat his new heroes had to say
John Smith spoke to them He was confident in a humble way Kopano liked hiallery—that they all had Legacies
“I know this seems crazy,” John So, you were leading nor, there are aliens o
n your planet and you can ht? I meanhow many of you have discovered your telekinesis?”
A lot of hands went up, including the Japanese girl’s Kopano looked around, jealous and disappointed in hi telekinesis while he was sitting around watching TV
A glowing Loric girl at the table with a strangely echoing voice displayed a map of Earth with locations rew in these places Those with Legacies—Human Garde, like Kopano was supposedly—could use these stones to teleport across the planet They could join the fight
“I obviously can’t make you join us,” John S back wherever you were before Where it’s safe, hopefully And ht, maybe the arh Maybe we can fight off the Mogadorians and save Earth But if we fail, even if you stay on the sidelines for this battlethey will coh you don’t know h we’ve royally shaken up your lives—stand with us Help us save the world”
Kopano cheered He clenched and unclenched his fists He was ready!
Suddenly, the evil Setrákus Ra was shouting threats, his black eyes scanning the roo into everyone People started to disappear, blinking out of the drea
Little Dube at hi!”
The next day, with his faathered around the television, Kopano made his announcement
“The Loric visited me in my sleep John Smith himself asked me to come join them in the defense of Earth They showed me a map of the world with the locations of stones that I may use to teleport to theo there immediately to meet my destiny”
Dube solemnly while the rest of Kopano’s fahter, soon joined by his brother Obi
“Listen to this one!” his father shouted “Meet his destiny! Shut up noe can’t hear the news”
“But I saw hilowed!”
Their n of the cross “A devil has invaded our house”
Udo regarded his son through eyes narrowed to slits Kopano stood tall, chest puffed out, hoping to cut a striking figure
“Okay, Mr Superhero,” said Udo measuredly “If you are an alien now, please show us your powers”
Kopano took a deep breath He looked down at his hands He didn’t feel any different than he had yesterday, but that didn’t necessarilywithin hiht?
With a flourish worthy of a martial arts movie, Kopano thrust his hands towards his father He hoped that his telekinesis would co forth and knock his old man out of his chair But while Udo flinched at the suddenelse happened
Kopano’s uncle laughed again and slapped Udo on the back “Your face! You looked like you ht crap in your britches!”