A DE-23 Christmas

Ryan Jones

DE-23 was, yet again, gathered in my living room, looking exactly the same, but for the Christmas tree in the corner and the tinsel my mom had hung on the walls around the room in colors of gold and red. It was Christmas Eve and we'd all agreed to do Kris Kringle, so the day of giving gifts had arrived, and everyone had decided my house would be the venue.

Eleven pairs of eyes looked at me eagerly. I sighed. "You don't need my permission." Everyone waited. "Give your gifts," I mumbled, and the room came to life. Everyone swarmed to find the person whose name they had picked out of my hat, and because no one seemed capable of doing this in silence, my living room resembled the school's assembly hall before announcements began.

Aberdeen emerged from the crowd in front of me and handed me a stick wrapped in wrapping paper. "I got you a gift. You're welcome."
I looked at it. "It's a stick-"
"Open it!" he interrupted.
I sighed and unwrapped the gift. I looked at it. "It's a metal sti-"
"It's a pointer!" Dean enthused. "It will make pointing at things so much easier from this day forward. I repeat, 'you're welcome'."
"But-"
Dean put his arm around my shoulders. "Go on, point at that picture over there." Dean referred to the picture of Ember and myself playing at the park when we were both younger that was on the wall a few meters away. I lifted my arm and pointed to it. "No!" Dean yelled, drawing the attention of a few people around us. "Actually touch it."
"I can't exactly reach from here."
"Come one, Jones! Think! You have telekinesis."
I stared at the picture then looked down at the 'pointer'. Dean wasn't going to let me go until I did it, so I concentrated and let the stick float above my hand. I let it hover above the heads of everyone in the room until it tapped the glass over the picture. I let it float back until I could grab it. Dean smiled, obviously satisfied.
"Thanks, but what do I need to point at things for?"
"Because, leaders point at things, and you're our leader."
"I never made myself leader."
"No, but the rest of us did. No one who makes themselves leader ends up staying leader for very long. They are very rarely a good leader when they appoint themselves."
"I think that's only true in some cases-"
"I'm so glad you like the gift!" Dean walked off before I could say anything else. Oh well. I still had my gift to give anyway.

~DE-23~

Mary Flynn

I watched everyone talk and laugh. I wanted to give my gift; I needed to give my gift, but what if he didn't like it? What if he didn't want it? These people were my only friends in this country. Making them was hard enough; I couldn't afford to lose them. Maybe I could just pretend I'd forgotten. It would give me a chance to get a proper gift. I could ask more questions. I-
"Mary."
I turned. It was Ryan. "Uh, hi."
He handed me a package. "Surprise." He smiled. I tore the paper and held the packet of coloring pencils in my hand. "I remembered from when you were telling us how you discovered your powers that you were going to draw," he explained. "I like to draw too. These are the kind of pencils I use. They're quite good. They come in lots of different colors, they're easy to sharpen, and I really like them, so I thought you might too. I dunno, it was a guess, but-"
"I love them." He was a great deal taller than me, so I had to look up at him. "Thank you."
He smiled and gave a nod. "So," he began, "did you find a present for 'you know who'?"
"Yeah, but… I know you told me he plays base guitar and he likes rock kind of music, but I can't help feeling he won't like my present."
"To be honest I don't think he'll care about what you get him. You could probably even have gotten him a fluffy pink unicorn toy and he would have just thanked you and put it somewhere in his room." Ryan shrugged. "It doesn't really matter that much what you get him. He'll just remember that you got him something and tried hard to get something he'd like, and that will put you in his good books."
"His good books?"
"It means that he'll keep your gesture in mind whenever he sees you, and he'll like you."
"Oh."
I noticed Kage on the other side of the room talking to Adele. Ryan noticed as well. "Now's your chance." Ryan pointed to Kage with some sort of metal stick.
"Um, what is that?" I nodded at the stick.
Ryan lowered his arm. "Oh, uh, Dean gave it to me. Just, go give your present."

~DE-23~

Kage Vega

"It'd be cool if we made a band," Adele stated.
"I suppose," I replied. "But it would be hard."
"Yeah," Adele agreed, the idea already dismissed and forgotten.
"Uh, hi." I turned to see Mary standing with a small, flat, square present in her hands. "Um, this is for you." I smiled and took it from her hands.
"Thanks." I smiled warmly at her.
She smiled back, and seemed relieved. "I hope you like it. I asked your Ryan what you liked, because I know you two are close, and…" Mary rambled on nervously as I tore at the wrapping paper until it revealed the cover of the 'My Chemical Romance' CD.
Before I could say anything, the disc was snatched from my hand. "Oh my god!" Adele exclaimed. "This is their new album. I didn't even realize this was out yet! This is amaz-" Adele was gone. At first I was stupefied, but then I remembered her ability. She had teleported.
"Well, there goes my Christmas present." I sighed. Mary was staring down at the floor and she looked disappointed. "Hey, I'll get it back from her. You know, later. But I do really like it." She looked up. "Thanks." She smiled.

~DE-23~

Brandon Wolfe

… That's certainly an interesting gift…

I tried holding my hands over my ears, with my elbows sitting on my legs, but it didn't block out the voices.

… Ugh, I'm so hungry…

It didn't matter how hard I tried, the noises were coming from inside my head.

… I hope he likes it…

There was no way of stopping them. I just had to tune them out.

… There he is. Hopefully he likes this book, it's all I could think of… Is he okay?…

"Hey! Brandon? Dude, you alright?" I looked up. "You got a headache or something?" Kage asked. His face showed a combination of concern and curiosity.
"Yeah." I sat up and placed my hands on my knees as Kage sat down next to me. "Just trying to block out everyone's thoughts."
"I guess it's tougher than it sounds?" he asked.
"Yeah. It's easier if I focus on just one person's thoughts, but I feel like I'm intruding."
"Well, focus on mine," Kage suggested.

… Here's your Christmas Present…

He handed me a wrapped up rectangle. "Wow, thanks."

… I hope he doesn't notice it's the book we had to read in English this year…

"It's the book you had to read in English this year."

… What? You haven't even opened it yet!...

"I'm reading all of your thoughts. I don't know which one's I'm meant to hear and which ones I'm not."

… Oh. Dammit. I'm so stupid…

"No you're not. Thoughts are confusing. I didn't even realize how confusing until… you know." Kage nodded.

… Not everyone is happy about what's happened, but it's the cards we've been dealt. We just have to make the most of what we have…

I nodded in agreement, and smiled. "You're more philosophical than you make yourself appear to be."

Kage returned the smile. "Thanks."

~DE-23~

Adele Toro

I looked around. Where was I? Dammit, stupid teleportation. I really had to learn to control it.
I was in a bathroom. Probably the Jones' bathroom, I couldn't teleport that far. I sighed and followed the sound of voices, more than likely the rest of the little group we'd made, down a long hallway.
Once I emerged and turned the corner, Casey immediately saw me and came skipping over, with Ashleigh not far behind. Well, not really. She just sort of walked over too quickly for it to be defined as walking, but too slow to be called running, and she looked so excited.
"Merry Christmas! I'm your Kris Kringle! Surprise!" She looked down at my hands and her happiness was snuffed out in less than a second. "Oh, you already have it?"
I was still holding the My Chemical Romance CD. "Oh, uh, no. This is Kage's."
"Give me that!" Kage walked past from behind me and grabbed the CD from my hands before being submerged by the crowd again.
"So you got me the CD?" I asked.
"Yeah, I know you feel the same about My Chemical Romance, as I do to Doctor Who."
"It's true," Ashleigh put in.
Casey wrapped her arms around me in a hug. In return, I licked her face, because I knew how much it irritated her.

~DE-23~

Casey Knight

As I was wiping Adele slobber off of my cheek, I felt a tap on my shoulder. I turned to see Rose. She was standing before me, her head cast down. I looked at both Adele and Ashleigh in turn, and they both looked confused and curious.
Rose, without looking up, handed me a present. She was my Kris Kringle!
"You're my Kris Kringle!" It was clear it was a book, so I neatly unwrapped the gift, taking care not to tear it at all, but as soon as I saw the corner of a blue box on the cover, I tore the rest away. "Oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my-" Ashleigh nudged me. "Thank you! Thank you so much! I love you!"
"What is it?" Adele asked, peeking over my shoulder.
"This book contains facts, quizzes, images, behind the scenes info and more on Doctor Who!"
"Of course," Adele sighed, giving a knowing look in Ashleigh's direction, and she smirked back.
I turned around to give Rose a hug to thank her properly, but she was gone.

~DE-23~

Ashleigh Harper

That Rose girl was very strange. What I found weird was that she was new here, didn't know anyone, yet she knew the perfect gift for Casey. I knew it didn't have anything to do with DE-23 because all she could do was make fireballs. 'All she could do was make fireballs'. I never thought I would ever say that sentence, and I just said it as casually as if it were normal to do so.

"So, has everyone got their presents?" Casey asked. "I've given and gotten mine, so I'm done."
"I still need to give mine," said Adele.
"I need both," I admitted. "I haven't given my present or received it."
"You should probably give it," said Casey. "You shouldn't expect to be able to wait and get your present, because what if your Kris Kringle is doing the same thing?"
I sighed, "Yeah, you're right. Now where's-"
"Ashleigh! There you are! I have a present for you." I sighed, figures. Ember was coming up to me with a big square present in her hands. "I think you'll like it. You'll be able to use it in training sessions too!"
Oh terrific, something to do with swimming. Everyone only ever thought of me as 'the girl who swims'. I opened the gift, but was surprised to find that it had nothing to do with swimming at all. "Oh!"
"It's an animal book. There are pictures of all kinds of animals from mammals, to reptiles, to amphibians, to aquatic species. You can use it when we're all training with our powers and stuff so you can try different animals. Cool, huh?"
I smiled. "Yeah. Thanks, Ember."

~DE-23~

Ember Jones

I worked my way through the throng of people talking, trying to find Ryan or Kage. Finally, I noticed Kage sitting with Brandon on the sofa. I strolled over and sat next to Kage.
"Hey, Ember," said Kage. "Did you give the book to Ashleigh?"
"Yeah, she liked it."
"What about your present?" Brandon asked.
"Nah, haven't gotten it yet. I'm still trying to figure out who's going to give it to me."
"Me." Brandon handed me a small book. I opened it. All the pages were blank. "A little bird told me you like to draw. So, here's a little book you can carry around everywhere so you can draw whenever you feel like it."
"That's awesome! Thanks!"
"Who's the little bird?" Kage asked Brandon.
"Uh, your brother. I didn't know who else to ask."
"That's fine," I said. "No one knows me better than Ryan."

~DE-23~

Max Power

I sat in anticipation. I was looking forward to giving my present, but I couldn't wait to get mine! No one seemed to be looking for anyone, and no one was looking at me, but someone had my gift. What was it going to be, a comic book, an action figure? Oh I couldn't wait.
Then Abott looked over at me. "No," I murmured. He started walking over. "No." He stood in front of me and stared at me. "No," I whined.
Abott sighed. "I see you're thrilled to see me." He handed me some pens. Basic stationary. "Merry Christmas."
They weren't even wrapped. "Thanks," I mumbled.
"I can tell that came from the heart," Abott remarked sarcastically.
I crossed my arms. "Worst Kris Kringle Ever."
Abott didn't even acknowledge my last statement. He walked away, disinterested in the entire event.

~DE-23~

Aberdeen Scott

I watched as everyone talked, gave gifts and received them. I decided to keep note of all the gifts. A key way of learning a few things about both people involved in gift transactions.
Super Dude came over and stood beside me. He had some pens in his hands, probably a lousy Christmas present. "Whatcha doin'?" he asked.
"Observing," I said, without looking at him.
"Is that another form of snooping?" he asked after a moment.
"I suppose, in a way."
We stood as I watched everyone for a little longer before he finally asked, "Do you want your present?"
"Yes."
Super Dude handed me a wrapped gift in a strange shape. It looked like two tubes connected in the middle. I quickly shredded the wrapping paper to pieces to reveal the binoculars it had been covering.
"What do I need these for?" I asked. "My eyes are binoculars now."
"Yeah, but think about how far you could see now that your eyesight is so good. You could see to China!"
"Come on, let's go find out!" We maneuvered our way through the group to the front door and out onto the street. Many of the houses along the road were decorate with lights and plastic Santas and reindeers. One particular house near the end of the street had a Santa on his sleigh with four reindeer on their rooftop, and trees covered in lights and tinsel, and baby Jesus in a manger with his parents and the shepherds and some cows and goats and dogs and cats and sheep and other such farm animals. However, I turned to look at the other end of the street where it was less lit up.
I brought the binoculars to my eyes and found a tree that was on the corner of the street, right at the end.
"You see that tree over there, Super Dude, at the end of the street?"
"My name is Max, and yes, I see he tree."
"There is spider, crawling up that tree."
Super Dude's eye's widened. "No way! You can see that far?"
"Only with the binoculars, kiddo." I gave him a pat on the back. "These will come in handy when spying on people. Thanks."

~DE-23~

Abott Doherty

I stood, leaning against the wall of the Jones' living room. I still needed to get a present from someone, but if they were going to give it to me, they had to find me, not the other way around.
Finally, one of the girl's came over to me and handed me a present. "Here you go, Richie."
"It's Abott." I pushed myself off the wall and took the present form her.
"I know."
I wanted to come back with the pet name Dean had given her, but I hadn't bothered memorizing any of them. "What did Dean decide to call you again?" I decided to ask.
"Sarcastic Chick." It came back to me. Her name was Adele. She was one of the especially annoying ones. "You gonna open that?" She looked down at the present she'd given me, and then back at me.
"Yeah, sure." I pulled off the tape and unfolded the paper. "Pens."
"Pens."
"You got me pens?"
"Yes."
"That's a horrible present."
"You got Max pens." She raised an eyebrow.
I frowned at her. "Touché."
She smirked. "See you around, Richie."
I smiled curiously as I watched her go, and I didn't bother correcting her.

~DE-23~

Rose Byrne

I sat alone with my head in my hands. Why was it that Casey always, by chance, worked her way into my life? When I came back to Hartwell High, I thought it would be easy to avoid her, but then she went on the same excursion, then we were in the same group, now we were stuck together because of DE-23, and if that wasn't enough, I pulled her name out of Ryan's hat. She just wouldn't leave me alone, but I was determined not to face her. I doubt she'd want to be friends with me when I hadn't bothered to be a friend to her when she really needed me.

Someone stepped in front of me. Oh no, please don't be her. Fortunately, it wasn't. I looked up and saw her friend, Ashleigh. "Hey." She sat down beside me.
I didn't intend to reply, and she obviously didn't expect me to, because she kept talking.
"I don't know why you ran off before, and it's not my business, but I just want to let you know that Casey really appreciates the gift." Well at least she's happy I remember what she likes. "Anyway, that's not really what I came over here for." Ashleigh pulled a present out of her handbag. "Um, I'm your Kris Kringle, so this is for you." She handed me the gift and I hesitantly unwrapped it. "It's got some good songs in it. I really like them, and I use them sometimes in my singing lessons." I pulled the paper away. It was a book. I flipped through the pages, glancing at the song titles. I'd heard of a few of them. There were some classics, and also some good ones that deserved more attention than they got. "When I pulled your name out of the hat, Casey told me that you were into singing, and you were really good." Casey remembered! "So I thought I'd get you the same one-"
Casey was standing near by, talking to Adele. I leapt up and gave her the biggest hug I could possibly give. I hadn't given a hug in a while, and it felt nice.
Casey stumbled a bit when I jumped her, caught off balance. Adele teleported a meter away, thinking fast before Casey and I could fall on her, but Casey regained her balance.
"Oh, that's ok, thank Casey for the present. I mean, it was her idea, I mean, all I did was find it, buy it and get it delivered," I heard Ashleigh say behind me. I couldn't help myself. I laughed.
Many of the DE-23 team looked at me, with shocked looks on their faces, which should have made me feel embarrassed, but I only laughed harder.
"Christmas really is a time of miracles," said Dean. It was a nice moment. Then Dean gasped. "I finally found a name for you! Giggles!"
Everyone groaned.