A Most Unlikely Hero, Vol. 2

by Brandon Varnell

  “Alex!” Selene smiled at him. “Are you here for your… or… der…?”

  “Is something wrong?” Alex asked as Selene trailed off.

  Selene pointed at Gabrielle, who was firmly attached to his arm. “Alex… who is this?”

  “I’m Gabrielle!” Cheery as ever, Gabrielle beamed at Selene. “It’s nice to meet you!”

  “Uh…” Selene took a moment before responding. “Nice to meet you… too.”

  Seeing how Selene still looked confused, Alex extrapolated. “Do you remember when I told you about the friend I was helping? This is her.”

  “Uh-huh…” Selene looked back and forth between them, her expression slowly morphing from befuddled to flat. “You two look like a lot more than just friends.”

  It didn’t take Alex long to realize that Selene was referring to the way that Gabrielle had wrapped her arms around his left arm. She did it so often that he’d grown used to it, but for someone who’d never seen how Gabrielle acted, they could have easily mistaken his and Gabrielle’s relationship for more than what it was. He blushed and opened his mouth to say that they were just friends—

  “Alex is my fiancé!”

  —when Gabrielle beat him to the punch.

  “Oh, I see,” Selene said, nodding several times. “He’s your fiancé. That makes sense.”

  One second passed. Then two. From the slow widening of Selene’s eyes, it seemed like she had finally realized what Gabrielle had just said.

  “YOU TWO ARE ENGAGED?! WHEN DID THIS HAPPEN?!”

  Selene’s shout was heard for kilometers.

  6

  Alex had never been more embarrassed than he was now. If shame could have been ascribed a physical feeling, he would have said that it felt like having several buckets of machine grease dumped on his head, and then lit on fire.

  It took him nearly fifteen minutes to explain Gabrielle’s situation to Selene, and that was without adding in the whole “alien princess whose father controls most of the galaxy” issue. That was a matter that he didn’t want to get into.

  He and Selene were sitting in a booth. Gabrielle had wandered over to the display case sometime during his explanation and wasn’t paying attention. As he finished his tale, Selene rubbed her head and sighed.

  “You really haven’t changed at all since you were in primary school, have you?” she asked. Her expression was weary, as though his story had exhausted her.

  Alex frowned. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  The look Selene gave him made Alex lean back. “It means that you still recklessly jump headlong into a situation that’s really none of your business. Honestly, Alex, I know you want to be a hero like your dad, but helping every person you come across is only going to end up with you biting off more than you can chew.”

  “What was I supposed to do? Leave an innocent girl to fend for herself?”

  “I didn’t say that. I’m just saying that one of these days, you’re going to help someone and find yourself in more trouble than it’s worth. You might get hurt, or worse.”

  “I’m not going to abandon someone in need of help.”

  Alex and Selene had been over this argument many times in the past. She had never understood his desire to help others, or how much helping people meant to him. It was always, “what if you get hurt?” or something similar. He wished Selene could have been a little more supportive, but she’d been like this for as long as he could remember.

  “I never said you should abandon someone who needs help,” Selene defended herself. “I’m just saying that you should be more self-conscious of who you help and how you help them. Don’t forget that you also have a sister to look after. If something happened to you, then Alice would have to go and live with your grandfather, and I know how much you’d love that.”

  Grimacing, Alex conceded to her. “Fair point. But you don’t need to worry about me. I’ve trained every day for the past seven years. I’m not going to let myself be hurt that easily.” He paused. “Besides, if something actually did happen to me, Alice could always move in with Grams.”

  Grams was the nickname that he had given to Alice’s grandmother. He supposed that she was also technically his grandmother, but neither she nor his grandfather were related to him by blood, much like Alice herself. Still, Alex liked Grams better than Alice’s grandfather. That man could go to hell for all he cared.

  “If you say so.” Selene shrugged.

  “Hey, Alex?” Gabrielle grabbed his attention. “Which one of these is the strawberry cheesecake parfait?”

  “The parfait isn’t in the display,” Alex said. “Since those are made to order, they’re kept in the back. Selene, would you mind grabbing my order, please?”

  Selene gave him a look that all but said, “This isn’t over yet.” Fortunately for his peace of mind, she didn’t bring up his hero complex again.

  “Sure thing.” Selene and Alex stood up. Before she went to the backroom, however, Selene paused and turned back to him. “Before I forget to ask, what’s up with Gabrielle’s outfit?”

  Alex looked at Gabrielle’s outfit, which was an Angelisian crisis suit. It was a light pink unitard with blue veins running through it, referred to as the Nerve Synapse System, which enhanced the wearer’s physical strength by several factors. A pair of silvery wings also protruded from her lower back at about hip level. While they were long, easily spanning half a meter per wing, it didn’t look like anyone could fly using them, but as Gabrielle stared at the many desserts inside of the display, her wings flapped up and down as if they were real wings.

  I wonder what Selene would say if she knew those wings weren’t fake?

  He looked back at Selene. “That’s the only outfit she has right now. Is there something wrong with it?”

  He had bought her some clothes a few days ago, but all of them except one had been destroyed by Mr. Recycle Doggy, an invention of Gabrielle’s. Her only remaining pair of human clothing was being washed.

  “Is there something wrong with it?” Selene parroted, her expression deadpan. “Yes, there is something wrong with it. It looks weird. Only police wear ridiculous-looking unitards, and those wings… who the heck adds wings to their outfits?”

  “I think her outfit looks cool,” Alex mumbled.

  Selene pressed a hand to her face. “Of course you do. Anyway, I’ll grab your order. Be right back.”

  “I’ll be here.”

  As Selene wandered into the backroom, Gabrielle walked over to him. “She seems nice.”

  “She is,” Alex agreed. “Selene has been my best friend since childhood.”

  “Do you think she and I can become friends?” asked Gabrielle.

  “I’m sure you and she can become friends, if that’s something you want.”

  Gabrielle clasped her hands together in front of her face, which had taken on an expression that could only be considered dazzling. Her eyes were shining, and her smile was so wide and hopeful that Alex was nearly blinded by its brilliance.

  “I’d really like to be friends with her,” she said.

  “Then you should talk to her before we leave.”

  “Kay!”

  A chime echoed through the pastry shop, a soft ding! that alerted the people inside to a customer's arrival. Alex turned to the door. A familiar figure had walked in. Shoulder-length black hair. Dark eyes. Dark skin. He was wearing civilian clothes at the moment, basic pants and a T-shirt, but Alex would recognize him anywhere.

  “Darrick,” he greeted.

  Darrick worked in the Mars Police Force as a pilot. He and Alex had met before then during a bank robbery where Alex had beaten the crap out of the robbers and caused a couple hundred thousand credits worth of property damage. For one reason or another, Darrick had decided to join the police after that. Since then, he had always taken to calling Alex senpai despite being older.

  Alex had no idea what senpai even meant.

  Darrick froze. Slowly craning his neck, he looked at Alex like s
omeone who was staring down the barrel of an A-22 advanced assault rifle. “Uh…”

  “Is something wrong, Darrick?”

  “Um… no?”

  “I didn’t know you shopped at Metronome’s.”

  “I don’t…” Darrick started, and then paused before adding, “… usually.”

  Alex frowned at his friend, who was acting a little strange. Whenever they interacted, it was normally Darrick who enthusiastically greeted him, not the other way around. Yet here Darrick was acting like he didn’t even know him.

  “Is everything okay, Darrick?”

  “Yes. Everything is fine.”

  Even his voice sounded odd. Alex couldn’t put his finger on it, but there was a sense of dissonance in his voice, as though two people were speaking at the same time. Did Darrick have a cold?

  Selene came out several seconds later with two pink bags in her hand, which she handed to Alex. “Here’s your order.”

  “Thanks.”

  “Selene!” Gabrielle stepped into Selene’s personal space. “Will you be my friend?”

  “Uh…” Selene took a step back, putting some distance between them. She looked at Alex, then back at Gabrielle, whose eyes were sparkling like two gems being hit by sunlight. “Erm, okay. Sure. Why not?”

  The vivid luster in Gabrielle’s eyes became even more vibrant. She took Selene’s hands in her own, her smile so bright that Alex was forced to look away lest he go blind.

  “Thank you!” Gabrielle said. “I’ve always wanted to have a friend!”

  “Um, you’re welcome,” Selene said, stunned. Alex could tell that she was flabbergasted by how wide her eyes had grown. They were larger than dishboard pucks.

  “Then… then do you think we can do something together?” Gabrielle continued. “I’ve read that friends spend time together and do fun things together.”

  “I… don’t see why not,” Selene said. “Um, why don’t we go out sometime this weekend? How about Saturday?”

  “Saturday,” Gabrielle breathed out, her excitement barely restrained. Her body visibly shivered as though she was just barely resisting the urge to cheer. “Okay. Saturday.”

  “Right. Saturday. So, uh, could you let go of my hands now?”

  Gabrielle promptly did so. She spun around and lunged at Alex, hugging him for all she was worth. A loud popping sound echoed from his back, which Alex was positive had just cracked.

  “Alex! Alex! Selene and I are now friends! Isn’t that great?”

  Despite his physical discomfort, Alex smiled at the girl and patted her head. “It is. I’m glad you’ve made another friend besides me. It’ll be good to be friends with another girl, too.”

  “Mm!” Gabrielle nodded, her smile so wide that it forced her eyes to close.

  Alex was truly happy for Gabrielle. He knew how much she wanted to make friends. Her life before now had been one of isolation. For the whole of her life, unless she was performing her duties as a princess, she had remained locked away in her father’s palace. Her father had not allowed her to make many friends, so aside from her sisters and her inventions, the only friend she had was, supposedly, someone called Thor, a prince from another planet who used to visit Angelisia when his parents were meeting with King Lucifer.

  Alex and Gabrielle left with their desserts in hand. Alex said goodbye to Selene and Darrick. However, as he stepped outside, he looked back at the small shop as something ominous washed over him.

  “Alex!” Gabrielle tugged on his arm. “Come on, let’s go home. I want to eat that strawberry cheesecake parfait.”

  Slowly, reluctantly, Alex turned away from the store and began walking. “Yeah. Okay. Let’s go.”

  Alex and Gabrielle walked to the nearest shuttle station and hopped onto a shuttle. As they sat in their seats, Gabrielle resting her head on his shoulder as she hugged his arm with a big smile, Alex frowned as the chilly feeling from before refused to vanish.

  Darrick acted like he didn’t recognize me. I wonder what’s wrong? He didn’t even call me senpai.

  “Hey, Alex, when can I eat the strawberry cheesecake parfait?” Gabrielle asked.

  “Not until after dinner,” was his immediate reply.

  “Aww! No fair!” Gabrielle pouted. “I wanted to eat it as soon as we got home.”

  “And spoil your appetite? Absolutely not.”

  As Gabrielle pouted, Alex grinned. The sense of foreboding faded to the back of his mind. He was sure that nothing was wrong. His friend had probably been having an off day.

  7

  Selene watched Alex and Gabrielle leave her store with a frown. She didn’t know what to make of Gabrielle yet. The girl acted insanely cheerful, too cheerful. While she felt bad, some part of her couldn’t help but think that behind Gabrielle’s brilliant smile, there existed a woman with a more sinister nature.

  Maybe I’m being too distrustful, Selene thought. But if I don’t be suspicious of her, then there won’t be someone to watch Alex’s back.

  Back when they were little, Alex had always taken the things that people said at face value. If someone told him that they needed money, he would give it to them. If someone said they forgot their lunch, he would either give them his or buy them one. He never once questioned the people around him, never once considered that they might have been abusing his kindness. This had led to him being used and tricked on several occasions.

  Selene couldn’t rely on Alice either. While she was more practical than her brother, Alice was too lazy to be a good protector. It was because Alex had spoiled the girl rotten. She guessed that was what happened when someone had a protective and doting older brother.

  Putting thoughts of Alex, Gabrielle, and Alice out of her mind, Selene turned to the dark-skinned man her friend had called Darrick. His intense stare unnerved her. She put on a smile regardless. “Is there something that I can help you with, sir?”

  “Yes, there is,” Darrick said, and suddenly, his once uncertain face twisted, dark shadows appearing along creases that hadn’t existed seconds ago.

  Selene stumbled back when Darrick’s body morphed. His skin peeled off, tearing as if it had been made of paper, revealing leathery green scales underneath; his body grew to nearly twice his previous size; and his face turned into a reptilian muzzle. Towering over her, the being before her was no longer Alex’s friend, but a monster that appeared to have been conceived by the director of a horrorvid.

  “Wh-what…?”

  Selene couldn’t finish her sentence. Her throat had closed, choked with fear. Her body shook like a high-powered turbine, her breathing hitched as she struggled to comprehend the creature in front of her, and her mind tried to come to terms with what she was seeing.

  “You’re coming with me,” not-Darrick said, his voice a sinister growl.

  Selene’s scream was abruptly silenced.

  CHAPTER 2

  KIDNAPPED

  “Gabrielle, could you pass me Mr. Spatula?”

  “Kay!”

  Alex held out his hand, and Gabrielle placed an object in it. Mr. Spatula, as they called it, didn’t look at all like a spatula. Made of adamantine, it was a gleaming contraption with a cylindrical handle and various implements sticking out of one end. The other end looked like a tapered bulb dial switch. This particular device could act as a spatula, tongs, a fork, and several other utensils with the flip of the switch.

  “Ready to initiate the test?”

  “Ready!”

  Gabrielle, wearing the only remaining clothes she had, a white T-shirt with a heart on the front and jean shorts, watched Alex with anticipation as he flipped the switch at the bottom of the handle. The contraption whirred as the tongs were exchanged for the spatula. Alex then used the spatula to flip the Sunshine Angeln, a fish that dwelled in the oceans underneath Mars’ surface.

  “Test one: Spatula complete.”

  “Yay!”

  Alex and Gabrielle shared a high-five. Sitting on a pan covered in oil, the fish sizzled and popped. The
scent wafting from it was mouthwatering. A glance at Gabrielle revealed that his companion was actually drooling.

  “Are you ready for test two?” Alex asked.

  Gabrielle pumped her fist into the air. “Yes!”

  “All right. Test number two is now commencing!”

  Alex flipped the switch again. Whir! went Mr. Spatula as it switched from a spatula to a pair of tongs, which he used to grab the veggies and rotate them on his nuclear fusion grill—a fancy and unnecessarily powerful grill that he’d built with his own hands when he was ten.

  “Test two: Tongs has been successful!”

  “This is great!” Gabrielle cheered. “There’s just five more tests left.”

  “Right. Test number three: Fork is about to commence.”

  Alex flipped the switch again, his anticipation building. This might have been a small invention compared to his other ones. However, it was the first original item that he and Gabrielle had invented together.

  … Nothing happened.

  He frowned. Then he flipped the switch again.

  Still nothing.

  “It’s not working?” Gabrielle inquired curiously.

  Alex flipped the switch several more times. Nothing happened. “Seems that way. Do you think the gears used to turn it might not be working properly?”

  “Mm…” Gabrielle, a thoughtful demeanor about her, placed a finger against her lips. “I don’t think that’s it. We triple-checked all the parts. There was nothing wrong with them.”

  “True.” Alex studied Mr. Spatula, flipping the switch some more as if doing so would help him figure out what the problem was. “It could be something with the OS, but we’re using such a basic program to operate this, so it shouldn’t be causing any issues. Maybe one of the circuits blew out. I know that we used simple circuits instead of the more advanced ones that you have.”

  “I think something simple would work best for this, though,” Gabrielle said. “After all, using complex circuits with such a simple operating system could have disastrous results. Also, since Mr. Spatula doesn’t need much power, it doesn’t need the complex circuits.”