Chapter 1: Better Late Than Never

A hand grasped onto the doorknob of a wooden door and twisted it. As he turned the knob to the right, he applied force and pushed open the wooden office door to reveal the darkness inisde. This was not total darkness, however, as a deep blue tint was slightly visible. Still, for what appeared to be an office, the room was unusually shaded.

The figure walked into the room, his dark blue business suit camouflaging with the blue shade. He looked around the room for a familiar figure or two, but couldn't locate any.

"Hello?"

Suddenly, a voice spoke. "You're late, Cole."

Cole snapped his head to the right, the direction where the voice came from. Right then, there was a small swirl of darkness about the size of a normal man. The swirl whirrled about like a mini tornado, then settled into the form of a humanly man in a dark robe.

"Oh, there you are," Cole began, acknowledging the being's presence. Two other Avatars then appeared as the first one had. Cole turned his head towards them, and nodded.

"What took you so long, Turner?" one of the Avatars inquested, his eyes focused onto Cole.

"Nothing.. I, uh, just ran into someone. That's all."

"Was it Phoebe Halliwell?" the other Avatar wanted to know. Cole shifted his eyes at him.

"What does it matter? You asked me to come for my first assignment, and here I am. Can we get on with it, please?"

"It figures that you're still not over the witch," the same Avatar remarked, his face displaying the disgust he felt. Of course, Cole took offense to that.

"Excuse me?" he demanded as he glared threateningly at the obnoxious Avatar. "Run that by me again?"

At that point, the Avatar that had teleported to the dark room before the others approached Cole in an effort to provide cooler heads. "Cole, please, relax. I'm sure Milo meant no offense."

Cole's eyes remained firm, but ultimately he listened to reason and calmed down. He nodded at the Avatar before him. This Avatar, Swetow, seemed to be the most reasonable out of the bunch, and was probably the only one he could trust. He was the same man who had bestowed unlimited powers upon him several days ago.

"Now then," the Avatar continued as he stroked his goatee. "As a new member of the Avatars, you are required to have a full knowledge of your powers. We're quite confident that it won't be a problem for you to master them, but --"

Cole put up his hands and glanced at Swetow with a slight hesitation in his eyes. "Wait, wait.."

The Avatar paused in response and listened to the new member's inquiry.

"Hold on a minute... what are you talking about? You're saying that my powers are different?"

The Avatar nodded. The other two behind him rolled their eyes in repugnance.

"But I thought you only upgraded my existing ones? Are my old powers gone?"

"No," Swetow replied. He walked past Cole and towards the windows in the office. Shades had covered it from allowing any sunlight from outside to seep in. The Avatar of Power grabbed the string to the shades and promptly yanked them, revealing bright light into the dark blue room.

"Your powers -- your old powers -- are still very much a part of you." he calmly explained as he looked down at the streets outside. The height of the environment outside revealed that the room they were in to be 2 stories high. "If you desire to hurl fireballs, then fireballs are at your command."

Cole looked at Swetow, his eyes blinking. He was still unsure about what was going on with his abilities, but he began to comprehend.

"But along with your... average... powers, however, I've appointed the powers of the Avatars within your being. These are the abilities that are truly deserving of the word 'power', for they will allow you to obtain all that you require."

Upon hearing this, Cole lifted his hands toward his face and glanced down at them. "...you mean, anything I want?"

The Avatar nodded. "Of course, you do remember that our powers are not to be used for personal interests."

Cole's eyes darted towards Swetow upon hearing the reminder.

The Avatar of Power turned from the window and began to slowly walk back to Cole. As he rotated back to the location, he looked up onto the ceiling above. "At least, not until you've fully realized their potentials. That, Cole, is your first assignment. A misson, if you prefer."

Cole stuffed his hands into his pants pocket and glimpsed up at the ceiling with Swetow. Basically, he'll have to master all of his powers, but until that happens, he's free of whatever boundary the powers come with? This.. could be interesting.

"Do you have any questions?" Swetow asked, his focus now onto Cole.

"Yes," was the response. "Exactly, what do these powers do?"

"There are some that you've experienced, and many that you have not. You've already learned how to twist reality, and that's quite a huge start. Now, you will learn how to manipulate time."

"Time?" Cole repeated, his face displaying the fascination/hesitation he felt. "How do I do this?"

The Avatar smiled. "That will be your first lesson. Listen to your powers, and you will know."

Cole's sight remained on the Avatar of Power as he blinked with uncertainty. Suddenly, his eyes whited out and the pupils faded away. Cole's mouth hung open in shock, and he disappeared with a darkened shimmer similar to the Avatars' teleportation method.

Swetow smirked as he watched his "apprentice" depart. "He's going to make a very interesting subject." The other two Avatars behind him shook their heads in repulse and dark shimmered out.

*[Note: The name "Swetow" is based on the name of Joel Swetow, the actor who played the Avatar of Power in "Son of Sam" and "Centennial Charmed".]