A Most Unlikely Hero, Vol. 1

by Brandon Varnell

  “The key to the crises suit’s design is in how the fibers are woven together,” Gabrielle explained as she manipulated Mr. Designer. “The Venus Fibre is a plant with the same durability as your durasteel. However, a single strand, or even thousands of strands, can’t do anything on their own. The interlocking method of weaving strands to build the suit is what gives it its durability.”

  “What about the synthetic synapses that you were talking about?” Alex asked.

  “That comes after the suit is made, and it’s important in syncing your body to the suit. The way the synapse system works is almost like how certain plants form a symbiotic relationship with other plants and animals. The system feeds off your bioelectric energy to power itself. Unfortunately, because you’re a human, the suit will likely only remain powered for ten or so minutes at a time. We’ll eventually have to find an outside power source to install into the suit so it can last longer.”

  He and Gabrielle had already made the unitard, which was the most important component of the suit. Alex had no idea where Gabrielle had gotten the raw material to build it. He assumed that her D-space contained all the needed components, though he hadn’t seen her take them out. Gabrielle had finished making the unitard before he’d even woken up. Currently, she was designing the armor with Alex’s help.

  “What does the armor do?” Alex asked. “Is it just for extra protection, or does it serve a specific function outside of defense?”

  “It’s mostly for aesthetic purposes,” Gabrielle admitted. “But that doesn’t mean it doesn’t serve a greater purpose. While the fibers of a Venus Fibre are strong, they’re still fibrous in nature. They are vulnerable to piercing and cutting attacks, as well as blunt force trauma.”

  “And that’s what the armor is for?”

  “Right. The armor protects you from the things that the unitard can’t. Angelisian armor is particularly strong. It’s made from an alloy found only on a certain meteor that orbits Angelisia, and it’s not only twice as strong as the durasteel that you humans use, it’s also a lot lighter.”

  The armor designs they’d come up with barely had any similarities to Angelisian designs. Alex had taken inspiration from various ancient history holobooks. The chest plate wasn’t as bulky as the kevlar vests that old S.W.A.T. members had used, but it covered more than a regular Angelisian’s breastplate. The vambraces and greaves were done more in the traditional Angelisian style. Alex felt those were light enough that he wouldn’t be slowed down by them.

  “Phew!” Gabrielle wiped some of the sweat from her forehead. “I think we’re about done with the design, don’t you?”

  “Yeah,” Alex said after studying it for a moment longer. “I think it looks good.”

  “Then we’ll work on building the armor later. For right now, why don’t we finish the unitard? We’re almost done with it anyway.”

  “Right.”

  The unitard for the crisis suit was inside of a glass container, Mr. Calibration, which was what Gabrielle would use to calibrate the suit’s specs for his use. Lights flashed along the container, dozens of them. They didn’t seem to serve any function that he could see, but given Gabrielle’s personality, he wouldn’t have been surprised to discover that they were just for decoration.

  Gabrielle walked up to a console jutting up from the ground in front of Mr. Calibration. As she began typing on it, she said, “Your bio-data was analyzed a while ago, so I’m going to input it into the crisis suit. We can even begin the testing phase once the calibration is done.”

  “That sounds good. You mind if I watch while you calibrate the suit?”

  “Not at all.” Gabrielle’s brilliant smile told him that she thought it was a fabulous idea.

  Alex moved up behind Gabrielle as she typed away on the console. Angelisian keyboards were a lot different from human ones. For one, the symbols were different, though Gabrielle had changed them to the human alphabet for his sake. He was still learning the Angelisian writing system, while she’d already learned human writing.

  As he stood behind her, Gabrielle’s scent invaded his nose, a combination of his sister’s shampoo and her own natural scent, which was sweet but unidentifiable. Alex stepped back, out of her range. He gritted his teeth, struggling with the overwhelming desire that he’d only felt a few times before.

  Why?

  Alex didn’t know why Gabrielle aroused him so much. Though perhaps it wasn’t Gabrielle herself, but simply his own lack of experience. Alex had never had a girlfriend. The girl that he was closest to was Selene, and their relationship was unlikely to progress beyond friends.

  There was also Jasmine, who Alex would admit was attractive. He would even admit that several of his erotic dreams had featured her, though he’d never admit that out loud. She was his sister’s friend. Thinking about her like that bothered him, so he tried not to.

  “Alex, aren’t you going to watch me work? I thought you were interested in seeing how this equipment functions.” Gabrielle was looking at him curiously, and Alex forced himself to calm down.

  “Yes, I did. Sorry, my mind was wandering for a second there.”

  Alex steeled himself as he stepped into Gabrielle’s personal space again. Her overpowering scent made his knees buckle. She was still wearing that unitard of hers, which didn’t help in the slightest. Her small, shapely butt was right next to him. He’d be able to touch it if he just reached out.

  What the hell is wrong with me?

  Alex was disgusted with himself. Sure, like most guys his age, Alex looked at girls. However, the overpowering lust that he had for Gabrielle—and Selene and Jasmine—was appalling. She was such a kind and innocent person. She didn’t deserve to be treated like an object.

  Calming down, Alex watched Gabrielle while she worked. The OS that she was using to calibrate the suit was a lot different than anything he’d ever seen. He’d once invented a power suit that was currently being used for mining. It relied on an NPN operating system.

  Neuron Pneumatic Newtonian operating systems were a standard for robotics. Alex had taken the standard OS and heavily modified it for human use. Since it was a suit, it didn’t have a true artificial intelligence, but because it required a certain level of intelligence to operate, Alex had replaced the AI operating system with a standard sensor system and a multi-level OS, which performed the basic strength control and movement functions required for such a suit.

  That particular invention earned him a hefty royalty fee. Alex made anywhere from 20,000 to 50,000 credits a year from it alone. Technically speaking, if Alex wanted to, he could have retired and lived off just the royalties he accrued from his inventions.

  However, Alex had gone into the cadet academy because he didn’t want to just live in the lap of luxury. He wanted to make something of himself. He wanted to ascend beyond his current station, to become something that people looked up to and admired. In short, Alex wanted to be like his father.

  His father. The person who he admired most. Even to this day, Alex still looked up to that man, who’d been hailed as a hero. He wanted to be like that man. He wanted to be a hero.

  He looked at Gabrielle as she continued to type. She’d already calibrated the OS and was now installing it into the suit. Thin blue lines, like veins or a circuit board, glowed brightly as she powered it up.

  Could I become a hero if I protect Gabrielle?

  It was true that Gabrielle was not in physical danger, but she was still being forced to marry someone against her will. Surely, if he protected her, kept her from being forced into a loveless marriage, he would become a hero.

  “It’s ready!” Gabrielle cheered.

  Indeed, the suit’s calibration appeared to be complete. Glowing lines like the circuits in a motherboard lit up the suit. Those lines were part of the network known as the Nerve Synapse System. Alex had learned that this was one of Gabrielle’s personal inventions. She’d apparently created it at the behest of her father when she was five.

  Being near h
er makes me feel stupid.

  Oddly enough, Alex didn’t mind. Her intelligence was something that he appreciated about her. Her passion for machines and inventing, so similar to his own, was something that he cherished.

  “Should I put it on now?” Alex asked.

  “Oh, there’s no need,” Gabrielle said cheerily. “The suit will put itself on you.”

  “What?”

  Alex barely had a second to comprehend her words when, like a ravenous space monster, the crisis suit leapt out of Mr. Calibration and latched onto him. Pain flooded his nerves. Agony lit his veins on fire. Alex tried to scream, but his throat was closed. Gurgles emerged from his mouth. He could feel the suit as it connected with him, as if thousands of needles were stabbing into his pores.

  He thought he heard screaming. Was that his voice? No, it was too soft, too feminine. Gabrielle? He couldn’t… why couldn’t he…?

  The last thing Alex saw was bright silver hair and green eyes.

  1

  Alex was scowling as he cooked breakfast. His entire body still tingled from having the crisis suit synchronize with his nervous system. Simply moving hurt.

  “I wish you would warn me when something is going to be that painful,” he said to Gabrielle, who was sitting at the table.

  Gabrielle rubbed the back of her head. “I’m really sorry. I didn’t know it would hurt you like that.”

  She seemed genuinely remorseful, so Alex let it go. “It’s fine, I guess. I was just surprised.”

  “So was I.” Looking at the ceiling, Gabrielle placed a finger against her lips and tapped it. “The synchronizing process isn’t supposed to hurt at all. That it hurt you is puzzling.”

  “Do you think it’s because I’m human?”

  Gabrielle thought about that for a second, and then shook her head. “No, the calibrations that I made were done specifically to modify the suit for human use. I’m wondering if there’s something wrong with the map of your biorhythm. I’ll go over it and see if there’s something that I missed.”

  Despite not being well-versed in biology and related sciences, Alex understood what she was saying. The map that had been created by her device must have been wrong. It might have been wrong by only a small margin, such as claiming that his body had a .4% iron content when it was really .5%. Such a variation would be enough to adversely affect a system that complex.

  “We can go over it later,” Alex said as he stirred the eggs on his pan. They were just about ready. “I don’t really feel like taking this thing off so soon after putting it on. I don’t think my body can handle that.”

  “Good point.”

  The eggs were soon finished, the toast popped out of the micro-cooker, and he poured three glasses of fresh orange juice, which he brought over to the table.

  “Dig in,” he said to Gabrielle, who was salivating over the food.

  “Yay! Thank you for the food!”

  Alex shook his head as Gabrielle dug in, eating like a voracious beast, and went up to his sister’s bedroom. Opening the door, he poked his head in and said, “Alice, breakfast is ready—”

  “Kya!”

  “Oof!”

  Alex stumbled back as something smacked him in the nose. He blinked back tears, and then looked down. A clock sat by his feet.

  Did she throw a clock at me?

  Walking back up to the door, Alex opened it again. “Why did you do that…?” He trailed off, his eyes slowly widening.

  Alice stood in the room, her expression horrified and her face red. She wasn’t wearing clothes. Well, did she have her bra and panties on, but she wasn’t wearing anything else.

  Grabbing the sheet off her bed and falling to the floor as she wrapped it around herself, Alice screamed at her brother. “Don’t you ever knock?!”

  “S-sorry!” Alex shouted as he slammed the door closed. He pressed his back against the wall, trying to calm his mind. He had just… and Alice was… ugh, he felt like he’d been scarred for life. Pressing a hand against his face, Alex tried to forget what he’d seen.

  “B-Bro?” Alice said from the other side of the door, tentative and shy. It sounded nothing like his perpetually bored sister.

  “Yes?”

  “Did you need something?”

  Need something? Oh! “Yes, I wanted to tell you that breakfast is ready.”

  … There was a pause. Then…

  “Hold on for just a second.”

  Alex waited as several noises came from the other side. The door soon opened, and Alice, dressed in her school uniform, stepped out. Her cheeks were still red, and she wouldn’t look at him. Alex guessed he couldn’t blame her. She must have been flustered because he’d seen her in her underwear. Truth be told, he was pretty embarrassed himself.

  Desiring to break this awkward silence, Alex said, “So, breakfast is ready.”

  “Right. Breakfast.”

  As they walked down the stairs, Alex could feel Alice’s eyes boring a hole into the back of his head. It was disconcerting.

  “Alex…?” His sister called tentatively.

  “Yes?”

  “Um, do you… think I’ve changed at all? Physically, I mean.”

  Alex paused. He turned back to Alice, who was looking anywhere but at him. Why would she ask something like that? Changed physically? What did she… could she be asking him if she’d gained any weight? He’d once heard from some female cadets that women always worried about their weight, and Alice was at that age where looks were beginning to become important.

  That must be why she was still half-naked. She’d probably been looking at herself in the mirror.

  Grinning, he gave Alice a thumbs up. “Don’t worry. You haven’t changed at all since we were kids!”

  Alice stared at Alex for several seconds. Then…

  “Idiot,” she muttered before moving past him and walking into the kitchen.

  Alex remained standing in place for several seconds. “W-what was that about?” He asked, sighing as he, too, went into the kitchen.

  He would never understand girls.

  2

  After breakfast, Alex and Gabrielle walked Alice to school.

  “You’re taking the standardization tests today, right?” Alex asked his sister.

  “Yeah…” Alice shuddered.

  Standardization tests were a series of basic tests that ran across every subject: math, language, physics, engineering, chemistry, psychology, etc. There were over 20 tests in total and each one took one hour to complete. They would start today, and the testing would last all throughout the week.

  Alex remembered taking those tests when he was in primary. He’d struggled with chemical sciences, biology, and psychology the most. The only reason he’d passed was because he’d aced math, engineering, mechanical science, quantum physics, and theoretical science. The rest of his tests had been in the upper middle echelons.

  “Remember, if you get one-hundred on at least five of your tests and pass the others, I’ll buy you a strawberry cheesecake parfait from Metronome’s.”

  “I know.” Unlike during most times, where her face remained bland, this time, Alice looked determined. “You’d better have that dessert ready for me when I finish these tests.”

  “Say that after you take your tests.”

  “I want a cheesecake parfait, too,” Gabrielle declared shamelessly.

  “I’ll get you one after Alice takes her tests,” Alex said—before a devious idea suddenly entered his mind. “In fact, if Alice does poorly, watching you eat a parfait while she gets nothing might be a suitable punishment.”

  “I hadn’t realized you’d become a sadist, Bro,” Alice snarked.

  “I just want you to succeed.” Ruffling Alice’s hair, Alex smiled at his sister. “I know that you’re smarter than you let on.”

  “Whatever.” Alice looked irritated, but she didn’t remove Alex’s hand from her head.

  When they arrived at the school gates, Jasmine was waiting for them.

  “Oh
ho ho ho!” Placing her feet shoulder-width apart, Jasmine put one hand on her hips and raised the other to her mouth. “Good morning, Alexander, Alice… Tramp. I hope you are doing well this fine morning. Oh ho ho ho!”

  “Tramp?” Gabrielle asked as if wondering who Jasmine was talking about.

  “Good morning, Jasmine.” Alex greeted with a smile.

  Alice raised a hand in greeting. “Yo.”

  “Why do you laugh like that?” Gabrielle asked Jasmine.

  “I do not know what you are talking about. Oh ho ho ho!”

  “Were you waiting for me, or are you here to see Alex again?” Alice asked Jasmine, whose cheeks suddenly became stained with crimson.

  “That is… oh ho! I mean, of course, I wanted to thank Alexander for his noble deed the other day.” Regaining her bluster, Jasmine laughed some more. “Oh ho ho ho! Though it is only natural that a man of Alexander’s caliber would look after an elegant young lady such as myself. Oh ho ho ho!”

  “I’m glad you’re feeling better,” Alex said. “I was worried when you suddenly collapsed on us.”

  “O-oh!” Jasmine stuttered. “T-thank you. I—um, having you display concern for me is—h-hey! I wasn’t done talking to Alexander! What are you—let go of me!”

  “Come on, Jas. We’re going to be late for class if you keep talking, and I’m not going to miss out on getting a strawberry cheesecake parfait because you wanted to flirt with my bro.” Alice ignored Jasmine’s squawking as she grabbed the blonde by the hand and dragged her through the gate.

  “I’m glad Jasmine is all right,” Gabrielle said.

  “Me too.”

  “Alex?”

  “Yes?”

  “Do you mind if we go into the city?”

  It didn’t take Alex long to make a decision. “We can do that. I need to head into Mars City anyway.”

  “Yay!” Cheering, Gabrielle grabbed Alex by the arm and dragged him off. “Let’s go! Go, go, go!”

  Alex didn’t complain as Gabrielle dragged him to the nearest shuttle station. His cheeks did become warm, however, because his arm was being pressed into her cleavage.