A Most Unlikely Hero, Vol. 2

by Brandon Varnell

  “It’s fine. Since it’s Friday, I don’t have school tomorrow, so I can stay up as late as I want.” Alex gave his sister a flat stare. After several seconds, she looked away. “F-fine, then I’ll only stay up until twenty-three hundred.”

  “That’s my little sis.”

  After ruffling Alice’s hair once more, Alex wandered into the lab, where Gabrielle was still working, her butt on a bench, engrossed in studying something on a tablet that was sitting in her lap. She was still wearing her crisis suit.

  Alex hoped that she and Selene would go shopping tomorrow when they hung out. Such a pretty girl should wear something nicer than a unitard, regardless of how good she looked in it. This was even more true now since her last outfit had been destroyed by Mr. Spatula today.

  “Are you still looking at my bio data?” Alex asked as he walked over to her.

  “Oh! Alex!” Gabrielle greeted him with a smile before looking back at the tablet. “Yeah, I’m still trying to figure out why it hurts you when you put on the crisis suit.”

  Alex sat down beside her. “Have you found anything?”

  “I have found something odd, which might explain why the suit isn’t properly calibrated to you.”

  Gabrielle tapped on the tablet several times, bringing up a holographic image of a human’s body. There were hundreds of lines running through it, which Alex recognized as the various human systems, though he didn’t know which systems they were. He had said it before and he would say it again: Biology was not his strong point.

  “This is my body, right?”

  “Yes. I’ve found something here that may be the cause of why your suit doesn’t sync properly. See this area right here?”

  Alex looked at where she was pointing, at a particular cluster of what he believed were nerves. “I see them.”

  “This cluster of nerves are centered around your core. The core is like the engine that sends bioelectric energy through the body. Now, look at this right here.” She manipulated the image, zooming in to show a closer view of Alex’s core, or more specifically, the cluster of nerves surrounding it. “Right here. See these symbols here?”

  Alex needed to squint, but he eventually found what she was talking about.

  Nerves were like a cluster of pathways that traveled throughout the body, sending electric signals from his brain to the rest of his limbs. Even he knew that much, though Alex wouldn’t be able to explain anything more than that.

  His nerves were represented on this diagram as light blue lines. However, within those myriad of lines, there were several red symbols that passed through them at periodic intervals. They reminded him of characters, but they didn’t belong to the English language, which had been adopted as the official human language during the early 2100s.

  “I see them,” he said.

  “These symbols might be the reason why the crisis suit isn’t syncing with you,” Gabrielle announced.

  He studied them further, biting his lip. “I’ve never seen these symbols before.”

  “I’m not surprised. They’re part of the Angelisian alphabet,” Gabrielle said, her tone more serious than he’d ever heard it. “There’s a certain branch of writing called sealing, which is an archaic and rarely used ability in this day and age. Ariel knows more about it than I do. I only know that it exists.”

  That was… interesting. Sealing. He’d never heard of that before, which didn’t surprise him, but it sounded more like a type of magic than a form of technology.

  According to Gabrielle, Angelisians had a unique power called aura manifestation. It was the ability to manifest their aura and use that power to either enhance their already impressive physical capabilities, or to create ethereal objects—provided one had the imagination and power to do so.

  She had shown him a bit of that power by creating a simple sphere after her explanation, but she’d also mentioned how she couldn’t use it for very long. Gabrielle apparently had more power than most Angelisians. Since she was so powerful, her abilities were difficult to control. She had told him that she didn’t want to accidentally blow up his planet.

  Alex didn’t know what was worse: That she had all but admitted she could blow Mars to smithereens, or that he believed she could.

  While all that was interesting, it didn’t tell him anything. For example…

  “Why would I have these Angelisian seals on me? I’ve never even left this planet, much less been outside of this solar system. And you’re the first Angelisian that I’ve run into…” he trailed off after seeing the look in her eyes.

  “Are you sure about that?” she asked.

  Alex opened his mouth to answer, but the expression on Gabrielle’s face made him pause.

  “Alex,” she started before making the most shocking comment she could have ever made, “I think you might be an Angelisian.”

  CHAPTER 3

  HAZING FOR THE SLEEP DEPRIVED

  Alex hadn’t slept much last night. He’d been plagued by worries. There were so many issues on his mind: The knowledge that he might be an Angelisian, his continued desire to become a hero, the issue with Gabrielle’s marriage candidates, and, of course, Gabrielle herself. All of his issues had been compiled together, one on top of the other. He’d spent almost all night thinking about them. It hadn’t been until really late that he had fallen asleep.

  On a side note, Gabrielle had been sleeping in his bed when he woke up the next morning.

  After getting out of bed, going out for his morning exercise, taking a shower, and getting dressed, Alex decided not to go down to the lab. Gabrielle hadn’t been sleeping in his room when he’d returned to get dressed, so she was probably in the lab. Alex went into the kitchen to make breakfast instead. While inventing helped clear his mind, Gabrielle’s presence right now would’ve only muddied it.

  What should I make today… eggs? No, I need something with more substance… pancakes? Too boring… Ah! What about waffles?

  All the ingredients that Alex needed for waffles were present. Plus, this would be a good opportunity to see how his waffle maker, which he hadn’t had a chance to use yet, worked. It looked like it was time for another experiment.

  Whistling a cheery tune, Alex gathered all of the supplies and ingredients necessary to cook, including his automatic waffle maker. Unlike Gabrielle, he was not of the habit of naming his inventions, so it was just a waffle maker. Of course, it was far more than just an ordinary waffle maker. With one bowl tethered to a box, the invention had multiple hands, mixers, and other limbs jutting from it.

  The bowl had a pair of hands on either side. The hands were supposed to automatically take the ingredients and add them into the bowl. The ingredients would then be mixed together, and then the batter would be added into the waffle maker through a tube. After setting the ingredients in front of the bowl, Alex flipped the switch that would turn it on, and then waited in anticipation to see if his invention would work.

  There was something interesting about technology that Alex had noticed. Humanity had created all kinds of awesome inventions: Ships that traveled the stars, warp points that deconstructed matter, quantum engines that propelled objects through space, and guns that fired lasers instead of lead projectiles.

  However, no one had ever bothered inventing items specifically designed to help with mundane aspects of life, such as chores. Sure, there were robots, but there was a law against the use of robots. Only people who had permits could own one, thanks to the Robotic Sentience Laws of 2234.

  There was also a law against their creation, so only a few people in the entire solar system could build them. He was one of those people.

  This lack of convenient technology was why Alex was so interested in creating devices to help accomplish everyday activities like cooking and chores.

  Then again, maybe I’m just inventing these so my sister doesn’t have to work when she grows up and moves out.

  It was a given that his sister wouldn’t live with him forever. The thought made his chest
ache since, even though they were not blood related, he still thought of her as his little sister. At the same time, he was realistic enough to understand that she would eventually leave. He wanted to create inventions that would make her life easier.

  A strange scent filled the air as he reminisced, snapping Alex out of his thoughts. Sniffing several times, he tried to figure out what the smell was. It was a quite acrid, almost like… smoke? Burning?

  He looked down.

  “Oh, crap!”

  Alex panicked when he realized that smoke was wafting from his waffle maker like fire from an engine’s fuselage.

  “This is not good! Not good!”

  In his panic, Alex flipped all the switches and hoped it would turn off. He couldn’t think of anything else to do. Unfortunately, that only caused more smoke to pour from it, but his waffle maker also began shaking erratically. His eyes widened as sparks skittered across its surface.

  Shit! It’s going to—

  1

  Gabrielle stopped working when a loud noise came from upstairs. As the ground rumbled, she paused, tilted her head, and then looked up as though seeing through the ceiling.

  “Hm? That sounded like an explosion.”

  She waited for several seconds. When no more explosions were forthcoming, she went back to what she’d been doing.

  2

  Alex blinked several times as if doing so would get the soot out of his face. His entire front half was covered from head to toe in black. Glancing at the nearest window, which also served as a good mirror, Alex noticed that his hair was sticking up all over the place. He looked like a mad scientist from those old holodramas.

  The rest of the room was also a mess. Waffle batter was everywhere, on the floor, the walls, the cabinets and counters and ceiling, and there were black burn marks where his waffle maker had exploded. He took a gander at his surroundings, and ultimately sighed when he realized how long it was going to take to clean this up.

  Just then, someone knocked on the door to his house. Knowing that no one else was going to get it, Alex wiped his face off as best he could, and then meandered to the entrance.

  “Yes? Can I help… Oh, Comman—Ms. Karen, you almost never visit me. Did you need something?”

  Standing in front of him was Karen Kanzaki, his former police commander. She looked immaculate and professional, even though she was wearing civilian clothing, black pants and a white T-shirt. It was impressive how she always managed to look so sharp.

  “Before we get to that, can I come in?” Karen asked.

  “Huh? Oh, sure. Come on in.”

  “Thank you,” Karen said as she passed the threshold into his home.

  She looked around and, from the nostalgic smile on her face, Alex concluded that she must have been remembering all the times they used to play together.

  Back when he was a small child and Karen a cadet in training, she used to come over and play with him and Alice. This was when Alice still had energy and was enthusiastic. After his parents died, Karen would still check in on them from time to time, though that had stopped after Alex turned fourteen.

  “How long has it been since I lasted visited you and Alice? I hope your sister is doing well.”

  “Alice is fine. The lazy bum’s currently asleep since she doesn’t have school.” They wandered into the living room, where Karen sat down on the couch. Alex walked toward the kitchen. “Can I get you some coffee?”

  “Yes, please,” Karen said as she glanced around the room. Alex wondered if she was looking for family photos or the like.

  She wouldn’t find any. This house had been rebuilt after being destroyed in the fire seven years ago. All of the holograms and photos had been burnt. They were nothing but ash and cinders now.

  Wandering into the kitchen and putting some coffee into a brewer, Alex waited and tried to determine what Karen’s purpose for visiting could have been. It was during this time that Gabrielle burst into the kitchen with childlike exuberance.

  “Alex, I thought I heard an explosion coming from up here. Is everything all right?”

  Gabrielle was dressed in her unitard. Alex was really beginning to hope that she got some more clothes soon. Her unitard made it hard for him to look, mainly because he was trying not to stare at anything inappropriate.

  “Yeah. Everything’s fine. I was just trying out one of my inventions.” He looked at the mess that he still hadn’t cleaned up and grimaced. “As you can see, it didn’t turn out so well. Breakfast is probably gonna be a little late.”

  “That’s fine. I don’t mind waiting.” Gabrielle remained upbeat. “I’m just glad that I get to eat your food.”

  “Ah… heh… thank you,” Alex mumbled. Great. His cheeks felt like flames now.

  The coffee finished brewing and Alex poured three cups, one of him, one for Karen, and one for Gabrielle. He put plenty of cream and sugar in his and Gabrielle’s cup, then wandered back into the living room, Gabrielle following close behind him. When she spotted Karen sitting on the couch, she beamed at the woman.

  “You’re Alex’s former boss. Good morning!”

  “Good morning,” Karen said. “How are you doing, Gabrielle?”

  “I’m doing great!”

  “Are you? That’s good to hear.” Karen’s lips twitched into an amused grin as Alex handed her a cup of coffee. “Oh, thank you.”

  “You’re welcome,” Alex said.

  He and Gabrielle sat on the sofa. Despite there being nearly a meter of space, Gabrielle cuddled up to Alex, while he squirmed uncomfortably at her closeness. Her scent invaded his nose. He was hyper-aware of their proximity, of the feel of her body. He tried to ignore it.

  “You two look like a happy couple,” Karen commented.

  “Thank you! We’re very happy!” Gabrielle exclaimed.

  Alex wondered how strained his smile must have looked to Karen. “Y-yeah. Super happy.”

  He cursed at how lame his answer sounded. How was it that Gabrielle could act so joyful while he was having trouble? He guessed it was because he knew that Gabrielle was just acting. Part of him wished that she actually wanted to be with him and wasn’t just using him to keep from being married off.

  “Right,” Karen mumbled, and Alex looked away from her gaze, which seemed to say, “I know the truth.” Karen took another sip of coffee before continuing. “I figured I would let you know what happened with Shii-rya, since you two were involved in this incident.”

  Alex perked up. Gabrielle took a sip from her cup, paused, and then took another sip. Her eyes lit up.

  “As you know, our solar system has little to do with the galactic community. We’re on the galaxy’s fringe. Because of that, we have no precedence for what to do with extra-terrestrial criminals. In light of this, we’ve handed Shii-rya off to Azazel, who will be taking your stalker to Karak’van, a planet that apparently serves as a maximum-security prison for the worst criminals in the galaxy.”

  Alex knew nothing about any of this, not the planet or the prison, but that wasn’t so surprising. He hadn’t even known that aliens existed until one week ago.

  Despite their advancements in technology, humanity still did not believe that aliens existed. They had yet to become hyperspace-capable. Thus, they could not travel to other solar systems, which was perhaps the largest reason for their lack of knowledge on extra-terrestrials.

  “I’ve heard of that place,” Gabrielle said. “Papa said something about political activists being sent there for going against his regime.” She turned to Alex. “By the way, what’s a political activist?”

  While Karen wore her best “are you serious?” expression, Alex had already grown used to his friend’s naivety. “They’re people who are involved in politics for the sake of promoting or impeding a specific agenda. If they were against your father, then it means they were impeding his agenda.”

  “Oh. Okay.” Gabrielle accepted his explanation at face value, though from her furrowed brows, he guessed she was still confused.<
br />
  Karen cleared her throat. “In any event, I have another reason for coming over. I know of your situation, both of you. I know all about how Alex has to fend off your suitors, Gabrielle, to prove himself worthy of the Angelisian throne. Also, although I cannot offer you any aid overtly, you can be sure that the Interstellar Police Force will do everything in its power to assist you whenever you’re in trouble. Anyway, that’s really what I came here to tell you.”

  Karen stood up. Alex and Gabrielle followed suit.

  “Thanks, Comman—I mean, Ms. Karen,” Alex said. It was going to take some time for him to get used to not calling Karen by her rank.

  Karen grimaced at him as if he’d said something wrong. “Don’t thank me when I’m half the reason we’re in this mess.”

  Alex didn’t know what Karen meant by that, and Karen saw herself out before he could ask for her to elaborate. Later that night, he would lie awake in bed, wondering what she had been talking about. However, for right now, he still had things that needed to get done.

  3

  Gabrielle had never been more excited in her life. She was going to meet up with a friend, she and her friend were going shopping for cute clothes, and she had an amazing fiancé. While she’d never really complained about her lot in life, the life she had now was so much more fun than her previous life in the palace.

  Alex hadn’t come with her, which was disheartening. She had wanted to ask for his opinion on her outfits. However, he had told her that this was a chance for her and Selene to bond without him. He said that it was an important step in becoming friends.

  Until now, the only people who Gabrielle had spent time with were Ariel, Michelle, and Thor, a playmate that she had been introduced to when she was six. While she loved them, they weren’t friends that she had gained naturally. Selene would be the first person who she spent time with that wasn’t related or hadn’t been sent specifically so she would have someone to play with.

  So exciting!

  While Alex stayed home, Gabrielle waited for Selene, her new potential friend, to show up. She stood in front of a large statue, a giant man hewn from obsidian. He was carrying an axe of some kind. It looked primitive.