--Zane and Zoe sat at the kitchen table, not knowing what to think. They stared out at the beach still thawing out. The armor had disappeared, but Zane still felt it becoming more comfortable on his skin. Zoe had been enthralled by the power as well when it rebounded through her.

--"Zane. What does it mean? Does it have some purpose? I don’t sense an evil about it, but…" She shook her head.

--"I don’t know either, but it feels right. Like this armor was always meant to be there. I think it always has been—just hiding." They both jumped to their feet, sensing a presence. A woman warrior stood alone in the doorway.

--The woman said, "I am Astarte, Goddess of War. You will help me conquer the world, young warrior."

--"You’re asking the wrong person. I have a hard enough time conquering my classwork, let alone the world. Besides, who wants to rule the world anyway? Too many headaches."

--She moved towards Zane slowly. "Everyone dreams of power, whether they admit it in the light of day or not. Think of all the things you could do with it—have any comforts you desire, take revenge on those who’ve wronged you, control your own destiny. And, young one, I never did give you a choice." Her hand snapped out, smashing his head into the wall. Her eyes glowed green and then a beam of energy shot from them into his eyes. "You are now mine. Show me your power!"

--Zane shouted, "ARMOR OF TUNDRA! He stood transformed before her, waiting on her commands.

--Astarte was impressed. "A warrior of the ice. Hmm. That reminds me of a god I knew long ago. A creature from the coldest regions, he was cunning and vicious. So shall you be for me, my Loki, Warrior of Tundra."

--Zoe felt strange. She wasn’t totally cut off from Zane, but their connection was barely there. She could, however, still feel the armor’s energy flowing back and forth between them like a strong current. She grabbed his arm and tried to shake him out of his trance. "Zane! Can you hear me? It’s Zoe, your sister. Please! Snap out of it!" When he didn’t respond, she turned on Astarte. "What have you done to him, you witch! Let him go!" She lunged at the warrior-goddess.

--Zane was now Astarte’s devoted soldier—he would do anything to protect her from what he saw as a threat. An ice spear formed in his hand, and without hesitation, he skewered his sister.

--Astarte looked down at the injured girl. A senseless death. Zoe could not have harmed her, but Loki didn’t know that. He had only acted on instinct. She raised her hand and the two of them disappeared.

--Zoe felt herself drifting in and out of consciousness. She felt sorry for her brother. One day he would break free of Astarte’s spell and remember that he’d killed his own sister. He’d never be able to live with that. Voices seemed to float around her. Several figures approached wearing strange armors. Who..?

--"Mia! Sai! Kento! Over here!"

--"What is it, Uli?" Then they saw her.

--"Ah, geez, man. I think we’re too late. The Sentinel’s gone and she’s been stuck all the way through with an ice spear. What kind of guy would do that?"

--"I don’t know, Kento. But we have to help her."

--Sai knelt down beside her to examine her injuries. There was a lot of blood. He turned to Mia, his voice low. "I don’t know, Mia. She looks pretty bad." Kento went to call for an ambulance.

--Sai took Zoe’s hand and tried to comfort her. "We’re here to help. Don’t worry. I’m Sai. This is Mia and Uli. The guy in the orange armor is Kento. Who did this to you?"

--"My brother, Zane. Armor of Tundra. Wasn’t his fault. Woman came…Astarte…made him do it." She could barely keep her eyes open.

--"Maybe you should save your strength now. We’ll find your brother and save him. I promise."

--A cold blue fire flared across Zoe’s body, consuming the spear. She popped up to a sitting position and looked down at herself. No pain. No blood. Not a scratch.

--Sai couldn’t believe it! She should be dying, but instead, had miraculously healed herself by absorbing the ice weapon.

--Mia looked into her eyes and spoke in a tone of authority. "She’s bonded to her brother and the armor. Twins born of the same spirit. I think she just instinctively used her connection to the armor to absorb the spear back into it."

--Kento came back into the room. "So they’re...sharing the armor? That’s crazy!"

--"Not sharing equally, but yes. They are sharing its power in some ways. My Armor of Occlusion both reveals and conceals. Its attribute is truth. Things unknown to others become clear to me sometimes."

--Mia held out her hand to the girl. "I think we’ll need your help. We’re going to fight a great evil--the evil that’s taken your brother. Will you come with us?"

--Zoe took her hand. "I’ll do whatever it takes to save Zane."

--Mia sighed. "I hope the others have found the Warrior of Gaea before the Dark Sisters."