Difference between revisions of "Summary:Lux"

Two years pass, and Zeff has taught Jax and Paige stealth, acrobatics, observation, and firearms. Paige is revealed to be a much better shot than Jax, and her confidence grows as a result of her success. Zeff starts having Jax and Paige train in close quarters combat with older Reckoners. Jax does horribly against the older kids, and Zeff often has him outnumbered or otherwise disadvantaged. He let Jax and Paige fight side by side together, though they sometimes had to fight up to seven enemies at once. Over the course of several nights, Jax and Paige invent what they called a coiler, which reverses the effects of motivators. They test it out on a water magnet motivator, and the water is forced away from the device instead of being drawn towards it. Jax uses this to fix a motivator made from the DNA of an Epic called [[Slingshot]], who had teleportation powers. Before, teleporting an object would cause the object's molecules to disassemble because of the instability. With the coilers however, Jax is able to teleport and object, then reverse the motivator and teleport it back, without the object disintegrating.

They arrive back at the Coop, which seems silent and empty. Jax shows them the different motivators, and displays his skill at throwing his sword. Hershel shows Jax his [[Bucket book]], where he lists things he wants to do before he dies. Jax adds to the list, joining in the game. Jax shows them the disassembled fathom motivator, which can scan areas and create a 3D image of it. Abigail later shows Jax a propaganda flyer, which tells people about the wondrous paradise of Lux. It says which cities Lux will be stopping at, and that it will drop ladders. Supposedly, Lux allows people to climb the ladders up into the city to live there in a paradise. Jax says that he needs a good tech expert to help him map out Lux. Hershel mentions Wade, who is a brilliant but young hacker who has been living in a bunker by himself the past few years. Abigail and Hershel express doubt about his fighting skill, but Jax offers to train Wade in basic combat skills. Wade joins them at The Coop a while later.

Back in the present, after the [[Galveston|events in Galveston]], Jax sits on the beach with Hershel and watches the city burn in the distance. Abigail calls, telling them that Brigand is badly inured by shrapnel and that they need to prep the med kits. Brigand and Abigail arrive, and Brigand’s face is horribly disfigured and damaged by the shrapnel and fire. Despite the fact that his injury was caused by Jax recklessly firing rockets without permission, Brigand says he doesn’t blame Jax. Back at the Coop, Jax and Wade start working together on the Mitosis motivator.

A few days later Abigail talks to Jax, and says that she forgives him for what he did in Galveston, though she tells him to be more careful. Afterwards, the Reckoners have a meeting and survey Lux using schematics provided by their fathom radar. They figure out that there’s another Epic on Lux controlling the weather. Jax says that he and Wade could build a motivator from [[Wingflare]]’sWingflare’s DNA to allow them to take control of the city’s movements. To take control however, they need to hook the motivator up to Lux’s power grid in order to get enough power. Jax shows them how he plans to deal with Lifeforce. Jax shows them how he reversed the powers of Mitosis using coilers, making a unique motivator. [[Lawrence Robert|Mitosis’]]Mitosis' power had been the ability to make copies of himself. The coilers make it so that the motivator reduces copies. Jax shows them that using the mitosis motivator on a singular object causes that object to cease to exist.

Thousands of hopefuls wait for Lux in the town of [[Wikipedia:Sweetwater, Texas|Sweetwater]]. As the Reckoners wait, they discuss what they think is up there. Brigand is hopeful, and believes that Lux is actually a paradise, just as its flyers claim. Hershel and Jax, however, think that it’s all a lie and that it’s as awful as everywhere else. Hershel says that if Lux turns out to be all full of ponies and campfire songs, he will lick Brigand’s boots clean. As Lux approaches, Wade is assigned to be the first up the ladder. As the ladders drop, people mob around them and some start fighting to be the first ones up. Jax uses the martial arts skills that Zeff had taught him and defends the ladder against the other people, letting the other Reckoners get up onto the ladder. Jax hurries up the ladder, and once the Reckoners get high enough, they start using repelling gear to ensure they don’t fall.

Jax and the rest of the team are two miles above the earth, still climbing the ladders. Up that high, it is freezing and windy. They climb up into a thick cluster of black clouds, obscuring their vision. An hour later, they reach the top, emerging into sunlight. They are greeted by two [[Ravens]], who welcome them to the city, though their voices are distorted by a voice modulator in their helmets. they are ushered into a processing room, where at least a hundred Ravens wait in formation. Ravens come forward and begin searching them, though all their weapons are hidden in Scorchnotes. The Ravens take any metal objects away from them. They scan their bags, which detects something in the packs. The Ravens confiscate the bags, and Jax worries that the scanners are detecting the Epic DNA in the Scorchnotes. As Hershel is searched the Ravens unsure what do do about his metal leg, a Raven lieutenant with three red stripes is watching at Jax from across the room, their face obscured by the helmet. The new Raven walks over, and tells the other Ravens that he will personally escort the newcomers to their home. Seeing the three red rank stripes, the other Ravens obey. The lieutenant leads the Reckoners out of the processing room and into the sunlgihtsunlight again.

They stand on a hill, gazing down at a real carnival down below, complete with carnival games, cotton candy, and a ferrisFerris wheel. Brigand tells Hershel that now he has to lick Brigand's boots, per their earlier deal. Rows of houses are layedlaid out in neat neighboorhoodneighborhood, and Jax is shocked and discomforted that Lux actually is a paradise like its flyers claimed. Jax feels conflicted, knowing that he is here to end this paradise. They enter a suburb, and the Raven lieutenant leads them into their new house, which is clean and pristine.

Jax, shocked and overjoyed, hugs Paige. She has grown more confident in the last six months, and seems more grown up. Abigail hugs Paige, and asks how she survived. Paige recounts how she had been lying next to a van when [[Wingflare]] dropped the concrete slab on her. The concrete cracked and folded around her, leaving a small pocket of space. She found her way out of the rubble, and defeated a Raven in close-quarters combat using his own knife. The other ravens gathered around as Paige killed him over and over. [[Lifeforce]] was impressed by her fighting skill, and granted her a place among his Ravens, and she advanced through the ranks quickly.

Paige leads them downstairs to a basement, which Paige has transformed into a temporary base of operations, complete with weapons, equipment, and computers. Paige says she has leanredlearned to cook, and tells them to rest and settle in. Paige asks how Hershel lost his leg, and she is introduced to their guessing game about it. She and the others all make lasagna together, and they enjoy a delicious meal before discussing the plan.

Paige tells the others about the four Epics in Lux: [[Lifeforce]], [[Languish]], [[Cloudbreaker]], and [[Wingflare]]. She says she doesn't know much about Lifeforce, as he is secretive. Jax explains their plan to Paige, as well as summarizing what has happened since Arlington. Paige tells them that the power grid is underground, along with the Raven tunnels. They look at the tunnel blueprints, and find a storage closet thirty-five feet away from the power grid. They realize that they can get into the storage closet, then dig five feet through the rock, using a reversed [[Motivator#Sonic Snare|sonic snare]] to keep them from being heard. Then, they would be close enough to use the [[Motivator#Boomerang|boomerang watches]] to teleport in an out of the room, and be able to work for thirty seconds at a time. Paige says she can get them into the storage closet through the ventilation system. Abigail assigns Brigand to help Jax with the power grid when the time comes. They set the day of the attack to be in seven days.