The Trickster smiled. “You have made a wise choice today, Captain Galaxy, one I am sure you won't regret.”
He snapped his fingers and the energy cage—which had gotten so small that it almost touched the top of Space's dark hair—vanished instantly. Space sighed in relief, while Sparky threw Space's arm off his shoulders and, standing up, said, “Galaxy, no! Don't do it. He's a bad person. He's probably not going to give you power at all.”
“Little robot, I may not always match the inferior standards of 'goodness' that you beings have come up with, but I strive always to be true to my word, because I believe in the important of honesty,” said the Trickster. “And see? I spared you two. I have no real animosity toward either of you anyway. You were nothing more than the bargaining chips I needed for my real prize: Captain Helena Galaxy.”
Then the Trickster turned his attention to Galaxy and smiled, showing huge, blocky teeth in his maw of a mouth. “Now, Captain Galaxy, I know you are a woman of your word. It is time that you go with me so I can teach you how to become as I am. I will teach you the secrets of the universe, secrets that most would never know.”
“Will I ever see my Space and Sparky again?” said Galaxy, trying not to show any weakness in the face of the Trickster.
“Why would you?” said the Trickster. “Once you become as I, your two friends will seem like the ants that crawl along the earth floor. Truly, there is nothing about them that is terribly memorable or important, so you will have no reason to see them again.”
“But they are my friends,” said Galaxy. “You may not see anything in them, but I do, even if Space can be sort of annoying sometimes.”
“Important or not, you will see things differently once you see the world as I do,” said the Trickster. He held out a hand toward her. “Now, as per our agreement, take my hand and come with me. Soon, you will walk among the gods and understand even greater secrets than you do now.”
The Trickster's arm extended until it was right in front of Galaxy. All Galaxy needed to do now was take it. She did not have much choice now, seeing as she had said that she was going to do it and she hated going against her word, even if doing so would get her out of a situation that she didn't like.
So Galaxy raised her hand and reached for the Trickster's. She did it slowly, though, because she did not want to do it at all, even though she knew that she was only delaying the inevitable.
But then a thought occurred to her, and she froze, her hand mere inches above the Trickster's own.
The Trickster frowned. “Captain Galaxy, what are you doing? You have made your choice. It is too late to take back your word. You humans may prefer to have the opportunity to slip out of these situations, but that is not always possible or even preferable.”
Galaxy didn't respond. She instead stuck her hand into her backpack and drew out the silvery disc from before, the one she had meant to ask Sparky about earlier but had forgotten about in the excitement of the last half hour or so. She held it up for the Trickster to see and was pleased to see his eyes following it.
“I found this in my backpack when I first arrived here,” said Galaxy. “Can you tell me what it is?”
The Trickster was silent for ten seconds, as if he was debating with himself whether to tell her or not. Then he said, in an unusually terse way, “A disc.”
“But it's not any old disc, is it?” said Galaxy. “It's something you didn't want to see. Something that someone else placed in my backpack so I could have a way out of this situation like this.”
“It is indeed something that may help you,” said the Trickster. “Something that even I did not know that you had. But I should have seen it coming. This would have been far too easy otherwise.”
The Trickster's hand retracted slightly, just out of Galaxy's reach, but it did not retract entirely. The Trickster's eyes were now fixated on the disc as if it was the bane of his existence.
Galaxy still had no idea what the disc did, but the Trickster apparently thought it was dangerous, which was good enough for her. She held it a little higher as she said, “So, what does this disc do, exactly? Does it kill inter-dimensional entities like yourself?”
“Truthfully, it does not,” said the Trickster. He grimaced. “But I see now that if you were given this, then I am not quite so alone as I thought. You clearly have a friend among my people, Galaxy, one who has a keen interest in keeping you from becoming one of us. Why that is, is as much a mystery to I as it is to you.”
“Is it some sort of talisman, then?” said Galaxy.
“It is … a warning, like the tremors of a volcano about to erupt,” said the Trickster. “A warning that I should not lay one finger upon your mortal body. Otherwise … things might get messy.”
Galaxy glanced at the disk. It still had the faded Starborn writing on it, which puzzled her until, without warning, everything clicked.
Then she looked up at the Trickster and said, “You're a Starborn, aren't you?”
The Trickster's expression did not change in response to her question. He stroked his chin with his other hand. “Yes.”
“So the Starborn aren't dead after all,” said Galaxy. “Are the rest of your people Starborn as well?”
“So you would call them, but we have a different name for ourselves,” said the Trickster. “Of course, to call us the Starborn implies that we were borne of the stars, when in truth, our origin is not quite so dramatic. But yes, the Starborn still exist and still live, though my people have since departed for other universes, as I have said.”
“I can't believe this,” said Galaxy. She found it hard to contain her own excitement, even though she was well aware of the Trickster's dangerousness. “I am talking to an actual Starborn. I think I might be the first person ever to talk to one. I wish that my Space and Sparky were here so they could talk to you as well.”
“Yes, well—” said the Trickster, but Galaxy was on a roll now and she didn't even notice him say anything.
“You should come back with me to my universe,” said Galaxy, feeling giddier than she should have given the current situation. “I can take you to the Universal Scientific Conference, where you can share your obviously-advanced scientific knowledge with the sharpest and best minds in the entire Universal Alliance. I can't even begin to imagine what kind of great scientific leap forward that our society will take once you—”
“Enough,” the Trickster said, the threat in his voice enough to make Galaxy shut up. “You treat me like I am some kind of scientific experiment, to be played with and dissected like a frog. No. I am still your superior and I will never go with you anywhere.”
Galaxy's shoulders slumped. “But it's for science.”
“I do not care,” said the Trickster. “Anyway, it appears, then, that I must leave you be for now. I would still prefer to take you with me, but if that disc is on you, then it is clear that one of my fellow Starborn have chosen you instead. Someone else sees your potential just as much as I do and that disc is a warning to me and the others not to touch you. That much is clear.”
The Trickster's outstretched hand retracted completely, thus restoring his arm to its normal length. He then shrank back to his original size, though there was a disgruntled look upon his powdery face now.
“And it is just as clear that I will have to return you to your home dimension, as well,” said the Trickster.
“Really?” said Galaxy. “That's awfully kind of you.”
“Consider it a favor, Captain Galaxy,” said the Trickster. “After all, the best way to gain the favor of the ladies that you court is to give them wonderful gifts with no strings attached. Otherwise, I would have been content to leave you and your counterpart stranded in your separate universes.”
Galaxy looked at Space and Sparky. They were still huddled together on the floor, staring at her and the Trickster with their mouths gaping.
“You aren't going to hurt those two while I'm gone, will you?” said Galaxy as she turned to look at the Trickster
again. Her voice was hard. “Because if you do, then God help me—”
“I will not touch even one hair upon Space's head, nor one servo on Sparky's body,” said the Trickster. “Truthfully, I only threatened their lives in order to manipulate you into joining me. I do not take great enjoyment in threatening the lives of children, although I hope you understand that it was necessary at the time in order to secure your compliance.”
Galaxy did not think that it was ever 'necessary' to threaten the lives of innocent children or teenagers. But then, she supposed that she was not a 'superior' life form like the Trickster was.
“Now, are you ready to return to your home?” said the Trickster. “With but a snap of my fingers and a click of my shoes, I can send you back home in an instant. Would you like to leave now? You will probably never return if you do.”
Galaxy wanted to immediately head home without another thought, but then she looked at Space and Sparky and said, “I have a few unfinished things to do first.”
The Trickster shrugged. “Do as you will. There is plenty of time for you to return. It is no big hurry on my part.”
Galaxy nodded and then walked over to Space and Sparky. Now that the danger was over, the two of them had ceased huddling together. Sparky was no longer sobbing like he had before, while Space looked tired, but the two of them otherwise were not harmed from what she could see.
“So …” said Space. He coughed. “I guess this is goodbye, then.”
“It is,” said Galaxy, nodding. “Though it really isn't, in a way, seeing as I am going back to my Space and Sparky, while you guys are getting your Galaxy back.”
“I don't want you to leave, Galaxy,” said Sparky. His shoulders were slumped and he sniffled, though how he managed to sniffle without an actual nose, Galaxy didn't know. “I wish you'd stay here with us. The other Galaxy is okay, but I like you better than her.”
“Sorry, but I have to go, because my Space and Sparky need me,” said Galaxy. “But who knows? Maybe I'll return someday, after my universe has figured out inter-dimensional travel.”
“Or maybe we can develop inter-dimensional and come to your dimension,” said Sparky, perking up almost instantly. He rubbed his hands together eagerly. “That dimensional mirror would have worked if that old meanie Trickster guy didn't break it. I bet it won't take me long to build an actual dimensional portal by expanding upon Plagiaras's principles. It'll be great.”
“Well, I'm looking forward to it,” said Galaxy with a smile. “Anyway, I wish you two the best of luck. Just take care of your Galaxy for me when she returns, okay?”
“Okay,” said Sparky, nodding. “And we'll bring her with us when we go to visit you guys. And you'll come too, right, Space?”
“I guess so,” said Space. “If my Mom doesn't kill me when I come home late tonight, that is.”
Galaxy shook her head, still smiling. “Well, it's time for me to go. See you guys later.”
With that, Galaxy turned around to tell the Trickster to send her back, but then her entire world went dark and she saw nothing else.
-
The transition from one universe to another was so abrupt that Galaxy at first wasn't even sure that it had happened. Then she realized that she was sitting in her floating captain's chair on the bridge of the Adventure and sighed in relief.
Finally, I'm home at last, Galaxy thought. Then she frowned. But where are my Space and Sparky? I have so much to tell them right away. They have to know that I met an actual Starborn. They'll be so excited.
The bridge of the Adventure looked normal enough from what she could see of it. Galaxy rotated the captain's chair until she was facing the entrance, which slid open at the exact same time that she turned to face it.
At that moment, both Space and Sparky walked in. The two of them also looked normal enough, although Space's hair was messier than usual for some reason.
Nonetheless, Galaxy smiled and waved at them, saying, “Space, Sparky! It's—”
She was interrupted when Space stopped, stared at her, screamed like a little girl, and ran from the bridge as fast as a bullet. Sparky was obviously about to join him before Galaxy shouted, “Sparky, don't run! It's me, this universe's Helena Galaxy. I'm back from the other universe I went to.”
Sparky stopped before he could run. He then looked over his shoulder at Galaxy. Although this universe's Sparky was taller and more mature-looking than the other universe's Sparky, Galaxy still thought she saw a hint of that young child in him, though it was probably just her imagination at work.
“Is that truly you, Captain Galaxy?” said Sparky. “The real Captain Galaxy?”
Galaxy nodded. “Yes, it is. I'll explain what happened after we find Space. Why'd he run off, anyway?”
Sparky turned to face her and said, “Well, Captain Galaxy, you were acting a bit, er, odd for the past day or so. You were acting like—and I quote Mr. Space here, so if this offends you, you should take it up with him—an 'angsty, overly-dramatic teenage girl.' You were quite a handful, to say the least.”
“Oh,” said Galaxy, somewhat sheepishly, even though she had no reason to be sheepish. “Yeah, I can see why Space might decide to run from that. There is very little in the universe as scary as an angsty, overly-dramatic teenage girl.”
“But now you are back to your original self?” said Sparky curiously. “I do not understand what happened or what you mean when you mentioned the 'other' universe earlier.”
Galaxy felt a disc in the front pocket of her jumpsuit. She fished it out of the pocket and held the disc up in front of her eyes. It was the same silvery disc from earlier, the one with the Starborn writing upon its surface. She was surprised that it was with her and wondered if the Trickster had sent it back with her or if that other Starborn, the one keeping an eye on her, had done that instead. She looked up at the ceiling, but saw no one there and so looked at her disc again.
“What is that disc, Captain Galaxy?” asked Sparky. “I have never seen it before. Where did you get it?”
“I'll tell you later,” said Galaxy, lowering the disc into her lap. “Let's find Space first. I have so many things to tell you guys about, but I want to let Space know first that I'm not an overly-dramatic teenage girl.”
“Very well,” said Sparky, nodding. “I shall go and find Mr. Space and inform him of that.”
Galaxy nodded in affirmation as Sparky dashed out of the bridge, calling for Mr. Space. When he left, Galaxy looked at the disc again, turning it over in her hand.
She then looked up at the ceiling again. Whoever you are, whoever gave this to me … thank you.
Spacetastic Interviews with: The Trickster
T.L. Charles: Hello and welcome, readers, to the Spacetastic Interviews series. In this series, I, T.L. Charles, the author, interview a character from The Spacetastic Adventures of Mr. Space and Captain Galaxy series, usually a character who appeared in the last episode. These interviews tend to be short, but entertaining and informative. Anyway, with that out of the way, let’s start today's double interview with the Trickster, the enigmatic and incomprehensible antagonist of this story. Trickster, will you please say hi to my readers?
The Trickster: Greetings, readers of T.L. Charles's fiction. It is funny, is it not, how I, a fictional character, am addressing your real life audience?
T.L. Charles: Um, yeah, I guess it is.
The Trickster: Sadly, I believe this is the pinnacle of your creative abilities. Your creative river runs so dry that you are forced to use self-referential humor to succeed.
T.L. Charles: Hey, this is an interview, not a therapy session. Anyway, Trickster, what was your favorite part of this story?
The Trickster: My favorite part was when I juggled the Saint Bernard puppies while singing the Star-Spangled Banner. It was a deep and obvious piece of symbolism meant to satirize the absurdity of modern American politics.
T.L. Charles: What? I don't remember writing that scene.
The Trickster: Of course y
ou didn't. You aren't good enough to write such a scene, as you lack the creativity and intellect necessary to do so.
T.L. Charles: Are you just going to keep not-so-subtly insulting my writing abilities? Because if you are, I'm not sure I want to keep doing this interview anymore.
The Trickster: Oh, no, no, tee hee. I merely saw an opportunity and went for it. Please feel free to ask me the next question.
T.L. Charles: Uh, okay. Next question: Can you tell us more about the Starborn? Any hints for my readers to puzzle over and speculate on?
The Trickster: Whilst delving into the secrets of the Starborn is a fascinating subject that volumes of thick books can be written about, I shall say nothing about them, except that we are always in sight and yet never seen.
T.L. Charles: What does that mean?
The Trickster: Exactly the same thing as your stories, Charles. That is, nothing at all.
T.L. Charles: (sighs in frustration) Well, would you look at that. We're almost out of time. Trickster, any last words for my readers before we go?
The Trickster: To your readers, I say this: If you are disappointed by Charles's writing abilities, it is nothing to do with you and everything to do with him. I honestly will not be offended if you stop reading.
T.L. Charles: You really can't stop yourself, can you?
The Trickster: I am afraid not, tee hee. It is an immortal aspect of my character, you might say.
T.L. Charles: Actually, I probably wouldn't say that, but whatever. Anyway, that's all for now. See y'all at the next Spacetastic Interview!
Episode Five:
Like Father, Like Daughter
Helena Galaxy—or, as she preferred to be called, Captain Galaxy—strode through the streets of the ring-shaped space habitat known as the Annulus. At her side was her friend, Jason Space, who usually called himself Mr. Space, and he looked quite a bit agitated for some reason, even though Galaxy had told him to keep his cool prior to their leaving the Adventure. He had his hands jammed in the pockets of his jumpsuit and his back was straight as an arrow, like he was trying (and failing) to walk naturally.
The Spacetastic Adventures of Mr. Space and Captain Galaxy: Season Two Page 22
