“Get in,” I say, swinging my thumb over my shoulder. I blankly stare at the ground as the so-called Asteria walks past me. She parks her butt on the couch with her head back, eyes closed, and fingers interlocked on her lap. I close the door and chug my beer to prepare my mind for another issue.
“Could I get whatever you’re having?” Shar’I says with her head still back and eyes closed.
“After you satisfy all of my questions.” I head into the bedroom to grab a notebook and a pen to write all my questions on. These are the things I want to be answered.
Who is the woman with blonde hair that has your technology?
Is she an actual goddess?
Who and what is she?
“Here,” I say, handing Shar’i the notebook. Her eyes carefully read each answer several times over, moving left to right, up and down. Sometimes she stares at one before glancing at the other ones. “It’s only three simple questions.”
“They are not simple,” she lashes out, tossing the notebook to her right side.
“Just,” I pause to prevent myself from yelling. “Just answer them, for god’s sake.”
“I’m an Ovese. I come from a planet that’s almost like this.”
A what?
I can’t believe I’m talking to a real alien. She looks nothing like how movies and conspiracy theories make them out to be. She looks like every other fit-looking woman. If the world knows who she is, the world will lose their shit.
“You’re an extraterrestrial?” I say.
“What is that?”
“Y’know… someone from a different planet. I thought we were only in the universe.”
“Well, you’re wrong. There’s so much out there.”
She briefly talks about Earth-like planets far away that no human technology can reach. Their names are Vulcry, Vulmyth, and Vultunda which is her homeworld. Her planet has pink skies and doesn’t rotate, but is comfortable to live on both sides of the planet. The idea of a planet not rotating and being habitable sounds fucking crazy. But then I remember about habitable zones around stars. If the star on Vultunda isn’t like the sun but older like red giants, then it’s pheasable.
“So, next question?” Shar’I says as if she is unsure if she should move on. There are tons of questions I want to ask because of the first answer. For the sake of time, I push them aside so my original ones can be answered first.
“Yes,” I nod and point to the paper with my eyes. “Who’s the blonde-haired woman? She knew your name.”
“She’s an Ovese named, Tinara. She took the role of the Roman goddess of vegetation.
“What would the Romans call her?”
“Flora.” One realization pops into my head from all the crap I’m hearing. Since they’re truly aliens, then the threat she keeps warning me about must be about Tinara and that stupid name I can’t remember.
“Remind me of the dude who wants to end the world,” I say, snapping my fingers as I try to think of the name.
“Elagabalus,” we say together, but I butcher his name.
“Is that his real name?” I say.
“Yes,” she sighs, bowing her head.
“He was a… unusual emperor.” When she says unusual, she smiles for a split second. “His people wanted him dead for being an absolute perverted deviant.”
“Really?” She nods.
“After I saved his life and faked his death so he could come to live with me in my world, his twisted mind kept evolving.” The way she is describing this guy is making my stomach turn. “But, he goes by Shendour and he isn’t a god.” Now I’m thinking of more questions to ask. Who is he? Why isn’t he acting like a god? Why are they here? How long have they been here? Lastly, why is there an apocalypse?
“I have so many questions.” I chuckle out of frustration. “Why are y’all here? Why does Shendour want to start an apocalypse?”
“Nikki,” she says, looking at her hands. Her left hand goes up to her right upper arm to soothe it. She looks towards the balcony, closes her eyes, and then says, “I lied. There isn’t an actual apocalypse coming.”
“What?” I stare at her, frozen, without blinking my eyes. She hides her right eye and folds her lips into her mouth. “Why would you say that?”
“I only said that to make you help me. But, what he’s doing is wrong.”
“Answer my second question,” I say to keep myself on track before asking more questions.
“I fled here to escape wrongful imprisonment.”
I step back while pulling my hair out of frustration. There is an alien wanted fugitive in my apartment, the people after her are fucking insane, and Sam is gone to India on a family emergency. If these aliens find out I’ve been talking to Shar’I, they’ll probably think I’m against them and come after me. Or go after Sam. I can’t protect her if she’s thousands of miles away. Plus, what if the government is already investing in their shenanigans? I might have to lay low to avoid being stalked.
“I need another beer,” I say. “I can’t comprehend this shit I’m hearing.”
“Do you plan on getting drunk today?” Shar’I says. I don’t plan on becoming intoxicated, but drinking helps me relax. Being drunk is a terrible way to handle the shit I’m in, and I don’t want to experience the after-effects. “Nikki?”
“No,” I say and grab a bottle. “I’m stressed!” The bottle lasts five seconds before I crave another one.
“I think you should stop.” She warps behind before the wind has time to catch. Her hand reaches for my drink, but I quickly move before she can grab it. She attempts a second time and fails. On the third attempt, she snatches it out of my hand before I can move. She chugs it all in five massive gulps, then hands the empty bottle to me.
“Asshole,” I say, annoyed and slightly impressed by the feat. I’m lost on what to do or say, so I head into the bedroom to lie down. Shar’I follows me as an annoying dog, curious to see what its owner is doing.
“Nikki.” I hum to let her know I’m listening. “Do you mind if I continue explaining why I’m here?” I grunt as I way to say yes. “I feel… I feel…”
“Feel what?” She looks all around the room and behind her before staring at my drawer.
“Uh,” she says, pointing at the top drawer. “What’s in there?”
“My underwear,” I say as I sit up when I realize that’s the drawer with the meteorite. There’s a faint glow emitting through the small gaps. I’m certain that’s what she’s seeing. Our powers are alike, so I’m assuming our eyes can see in the dark and the meteorite’s pink glow.
“Nikki,” she says, opening the drawer with telekinesis. My underwear lifts in the air alongside the meteorite. “Ah, so that’s where this one went.” It floats into her hands while my underwear goes back into the drawer. “The substance is almost drained in this one.”
“What are you talking about?” I say after standing close to her to look at the meteorites. “Are you talking about that glowy stuff?”
“Sourmeda,” she says in a deep accent I’m unfamiliar with. She explains it is a genetically altering liquid that gives anyone who consumes the abilities I know. Then, she reveals herself to be the leading scientist studying it. “I thought this one would never be found.”
“There are others?”
“Sourmeda Cada. It’s a temporary form of our power I created using Sourmeda. Shadow Ghost had it,” she confirms. “But parts of it were missing.“
“Someone wants a piece of our power,” I say sarcastically as a joke. Unfortunately, she’s not laughing or giving me the slightest smirk. “That’s not good…”
“No,” she says, shaking her head. “It’s not. I believe that man is disturbing it like… like…”
“Like?”
“Like it is fucking candy.” Some spit flies out from her mouth. “I got to find the rest of it and destroy it.” She stares at the meteorite, examines it in all directions, and then floats it towards me. “Hold it between your hands, please.”
“Okay,” I say with caution as I carefully reach for it. Once I grasp it between my hands she suddenly slams my hands together, breaking the meteorite into pieces. The veins in my hands and forearm light up pink for a few seconds. “What just happened?”
“Now you have all of it. Do you feel odd?” My hands sting from her slapping them, but that’s it. I shake my head no after squeezing my hands.
“Did it make me stronger?”
“Kind off,” she says, tilting her head side to side. “Your potential has increased but not much.” All of my abilities still work and look the same. “You’ve put those to good use in your time having them.” That comment reminds me of the training I want to do with Eddie. I’m curious to know if our contract has been made.
“I plan on seeing my potential.”
“Oh?” She lightly smiles. “I can help you with that. I’m an expert in what we share.” Her experience might be useful since we seem to have the same power, but I’m going to go with my gut with this one. It is telling me to keep her arm at arm’s length and do what I can with Eddie first. But, I’ll keep her expertise in my back pocket for later down the road.
“Maybe another time.”
“But keep this in mind,” she says gently touching my forearms with her somewhat coarse fingers. “You are one of the most powerful beings in this world. Use this accident responsibly.”
“Yeah, yeah. I won’t act like a fool.”
“Promise me,” she says then grips my forearms. “This power can corrupt you.”
“Relax. So far it has been used to help.” I look down at the floor where the meteorite pieces are scattered all over the carpet.
“I’ll clean it up.” She gets on her knees to sweep the pieces all in one pile.
While she cleans the mess, I text Eddie to see how he’s fairing after the fight. He tells me he’s bruised up, but it’s nothing too serious. I’m a bit impressed how by his resilience. He might be just as strong or more powerful than me. I wonder why Shar’I hasn’t bothered him about this Elebala crap. He has been a super for a long time if I’m not mistaken.
Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.
“Shar’I, come here for a sec,” I say. She walks out of my room slapping some meteorite dust off her hands. “I got a question.”
“Yes?”
“How…” I stop to think about how I’m going to word my question. “Do you know how strong Eddie is?”
“From what I’ve seen, he is formidable.”
“So, why do you want to use me?”
“Because,” she sighs with her eyes closed. “He’s not strong to fight them.”
“And I am?” It takes her five seconds to nod her head and say yes. “Why the pause?”
“Because I’m not too sure,” she shrugs with her palms facing the ceiling before pointing both of her fingers at me. “Plus, you’re not a fighter,” she chuckles. “I can easily kick your ass.”
“Bull,” I say under my breath. “You and I have the same power. No way.” I flush the coffee table against the couch to make more space in the living room. “Come on,” I say, putting my hands up to challenge her to a strength test.
Shar’I and I lock hands tightly. I try to push her back but it feels like I’m trying to push a wall. The only thing that is budging is the muscles in her hands. I break away and then go for a waist-high tackle. Her abs are hard like asphalt. I can feel each muscle rub against my shoulder as I try to wriggle for some ground. My right foot digs into the carpet, ripping it off the concrete.
“Jesus!” I strain. I accidentally go into flight after forcing all the strength I can use. She lifts off the ground with me yet doesn’t move a foot.
“Come on now, Nikki,” she says me, swigging us in a slow circle. “Put your back into it.” When she tells me that, she pulls up my shirt and slaps my lower back like she’s playing the drums.
“I’m trying!”
“Okay. That’s enough.” I move away, still floating in the air with her. She crosses her legs and puts her hands on her lap to sit in the air. “I can help you get stronger.”
“I have Eddie for that,” I say to see how she will react.
“That boy knows nothing about you.”
“Well,” I chuckle nearly losing my serious composure. “I’m sure he’ll understand me.”
“Ugh,” she scoffs before clicking her tongue. “We are all doomed!” She flies over to the balcony with her arms crossed and stays there, gazing out into the distance.
“Okay,” I say calmly, walking up behind her. I carefully pull her back into the room and close the door behind me with the heel of my foot. “I’ll let you reach my potential. But, I want Eddie to try first.”
With a sigh, Shar’I agrees to what I want. I drive out to Arizona. I force to her endure what it is like to travel by car instead of stupidly flying across states. From Texas to where Eddie wants me to arrive is over one thousand miles. I don’t know if I’m capable of flying for that long. I’m praying he can see where I am before I’m forced to be under Shar’I’s scrutiny.
Eddie’s location takes me off a two-lane highway and down a dirt road five miles into a desert. I pull to the side the second I reach the coordinates. There are cactus and tall patches of grass in every direction.
“Okay?” Shar’I says, looking through every window. “Where is he?”
“Let me call him,” I say. Once the ringer on the phone line rings, he picks up. “Eddie? I’m here. Where are you?” He abruptly hangs. Out of the corner of my right, I see something flash far in the distance. I look over to it and a moment later, Eddie appears floating above the hood. All I can see are his legs. The car momentarily shuts off from the lightning arching off his body. The gauge clusters go haywire, going up and down for a few seconds. “Bro!” I say loud enough for him to hear. “Don’t fuck up my girlfriend’s car!”
“Sorry,” he says. He floats down the passenger side to apologize to Sam but realizes it is Shar’I. His eyes open further and his mouth puckers inward. “Hey… Asteria.”
“Her name isn’t Asteria,” I say as I’m getting out of the car. “Her real name is Shar’I.”
“What?”
“It’s a long story, Eddie,” she says once she steps out.
“Anyways,” I interject to keep our focus on the topic at hand. “Are we away from people?”
“Yeah,” he says, looking around.
“Positive? I don’t want anyone to take pictures or anything.”
“I’ll go check, Nikki,” she says.
Before Eddie can tell Shar’I to wait, she blasts off into the sky, breaking the sound in two seconds. The rocks from the force explode from her feet with such a force, that I’m shocked there is no hole in the ground. There’s not even a single crack in the ground.
“How did she do that?” I whisper to myself. Shar’I comes back moments later. She hovers next to me with her attention on something off in the distance.
“There was no one for miles,” she says. “He’s right.”
“I told y’all,” he says when he floats in the air. “Follow me.” He points to his left in the direction of a small rocky mouth. “It’s flat on the top. I’ll see you there.” His body poofs in and then a bright single lightning strike hits the mountain two seconds later.
“He’s super quick.”
“Indeed,” she chuckles. “A formidable foe if he were to turn on us.”
“Why would he do that?”
“I’m just saying,” she says then pauses. “Just in case, I want you to work on your speed.”
I dismiss the thought of Eddie ever turning on me for any reason. The warning doesn’t make sense when I think about his heroic, caring, and friendly personality. He’s genuinely an all-right sort of dude. Plus, he hasn’t betrayed my trust yet.
----------------------------------------
For three hours, I uncover more information about my powers. For starters, I can focus my ears on hearing things extremely far. Secondly, with the help of Shar’I’s experience, I can mix fire and ice, breaking the laws of thermodynamics and other crap I’m not aware of. Another big discovery is the maximum input of my strength. I’m strong enough to split the ground open, stomp small craters, and break the sound barrier.
On my way back to them after zooming around in the desert just for the freedom of not having building structures in my way, I botch the landing hard. I crash and nearly rolled off the mountain if not for Eddie’s quick wits. He catches me in his arms when I fly off the edge.
“Good, god girl! Did you forget where the brake was?” Eddie says.
“Padel confusion, I guess,” I say. His light chuckle brings a smile to my face. Once I hover out of his arms, he puts them to his side. “Thank god I’m indestructible,” I say while I dust the dirt off my legs. “Flying is still fairly new.”
“How long have you had these powers?” I hum to think how many days since getting all these powers. It feels like a time ago.
“Four—
“Four months!” Shar’I answers for me as she flies over to us. “And no. You’re not indestructible.”
“I survived hits that would rip someone into pieces,” I scoff.
“But you can still feel pain. Sometimes bracing before impact can’t numb it” I stop myself from saying something absolutely stupid when I remember the times I felt pain from being hit too hard. When I remember the recent monster plant, I see the corners of Shar’I’s lips fold up. “Mhmm,” she hums before lightly chuckling. “You’re near indestructible.”
“So, the only ones that can hurt me or those things, yeah?”
“Anyone or anything that’s strength is above yours.”
“Shit.” If I’m going to help Eddie and Shar’I with their problems, I’m going to have to step up my game. My docile, quiet life might be coming to an end. I hope these damn escapades don’t mess with my job and relationship with Sam. That type of drama is beneath me. I’ll happily quit running errands with Eddie and Shar’I. Their problems are for them to handle in the long run. It is not my duty to fight for their cause. But for now, I’ll be their able body.
“So what’s next for me?” I ask to anyone listen. Eddie gets a call from Polaris right before he opens his mouth. I look to Shar’I, hoping she’ll say something insightful.
“Training,” Shar’I answers as she eyeballs Eddie. He’s quietly talking on the phone. I watch her clearly eavesdropping without the slightest care. I try to ignore his conversation but it’s hard to not focus after training my ears to detect impossible sounds. Polaris is asking for him to go on another undercover investigation. She wants him to investigate a small community neighborhood called Willlingbrook. According to her, cops are arresting people selling some drugs they can’t identify but are giving people temporary unnatural abilities. She wants him and someone named Pam to check what’s going on.
“Christa,” Eddie says softly. “You’ve got to be kidding.” I can hear Christabell laughing through the phone without needing to use my super hearing. He moves his phone away from his ear until she stops laughing. “Can I do this by myself?”
“No. I’ve already told Pam what she will be doing. Get over to HQ so we can review the plan further.” She ends the call abruptly. He shoves his phone deep into his pocket and lets out a long sigh.
“Guys…”
“Duty calls?” I say.
“Yup,” he says, popping the letter P. “Got to go.”
“Well,” I say, glancing at Shar’I. “Can you take her with you?” He gives me a double glance then scratches his head as if he’s having a tough time understanding something. “I gotta drive back with this bore,” I whisper with my hand blocking the side of my face so Shar’I can’t see my lips.
“You know I can hear you, right?” Shar’I says.
“She can’t even take a joke,” I say whispering louder. She rolls her eyes and scoffs with a grunt.
“Um,” he chuckles slowly floating away. “This flight is fit for one person. And that’s the flyer.” He bolts away then a lightning bolt makes me disappear. I can hear rumbles of thunder in the distance, fading in and out as it moves away from me. It still amazes me he can do that without needing to create a cloud or a storm to travel.
“Well, I’m heading home,” I say. “Let’s go.”
“We should go see what Eddie and Pam are doing,” Shar’I says. She hovers a foot off the ground with her eyes set on the horizon. Her dress starts swaying back before her hair does. The air is still around me. I don’t hear anything or see things moving in the wind except for her. “Are you coming?”
“No?” I say, keeping my eyes on the weird wind manipulation surrounding her body. “I got to drive back. Plus, that’s Eddie’s business.” She takes a quick deep breath with her eyes closed and blows out the air through her nose with her eyes open. “Hey, if he needs me, I’ll come.”
“Fine,” she sighs. “I’ll see you later.” She flies straight up into the sky at unimaginable speeds. I lose sight of her in two seconds. If she can do that, then somewhere down the line I might be able to get there. I might have to let her take me under her wig to figure out what I can do instead of letting Eddie figure it out for me. For now, I’ll continue exploring with him. I trust him more than I do with her.
I drive straight back to Texas and continue life without hearing anything from Eddie or Shar’I for several days. I’m not curious enough to call him or get in contact with her to find out if there’s any news with Shendour. Yet, I answer his call to observe a potential drug exchange in Willingbrook with him. He doesn’t tell me what we will be looking for over the phone. It is not until I meet him in someone’s backyard does he tells me.
“Someone is getting their hands on pieces of that rock,” Eddie whispers in my ear. My heart rate jumps for a short second. This is exactly what Shar’I fears. Someone is disrupting Sourmeda Cada around here.
“Did she tell you what’s going on?” I say before looking around in the skies to find her.
“Yes.”
“So, why am I here?”
“Because we’re close to finding the dealer,” Shar’I says appearing out of thin air from behind Eddie. She lets go of the ring device around her forearm to cross her arms. “Your friend is still combing the streets in her skimpy outfit,” she says, looking at him.
“Magnetite,” he says, touching an ear device in his right ear. “Anything?”
“Nothing yet,” Magnetite says slowly and quietly. “Wait! I see something. Come to the intersection at Mag and Fork, quick!” I hear faint shouting in the distance behind me. They sound as if they’re fighting over something. They are grunting more than shouting.
“Is Mag and Fork over there?” I say, pointing in the direction of the yelling.
“Yeah,” he says then flies over there with us close behind. “Have you been here before?” I tell him to listen out for what sounds like people fighting. “Is there someone fighting?”
“We got a bigger problem, Eddie! There is something wrong with this guy!” Magnetite says franticly and out of breath. “Get over here now!”
“I’m coming!”
Eddie uses the power to reach the intersection. His body turns into yellow electricity. It coils around the lines and once it reaches the Mag and Fork, he zaps to the ground, appearing in a flash of light. His arms are up like he’s ready to fight but I don’t there’s no one close. No one is around for hundreds of feet but that changes the second I stand next to him. Magnetite comes running down Fork Street to us with some freakish creature thing sprinting after her.
“Eddie!” Magnetite screams.
“What the fuck is that?” He says. The creature-looking man doesn’t have a shirt on. It’s huge and green. It’s bald, ugly, and huge like a massive bodybuilder.
Magnetite runs into Eddie’s arms. He tries pulling her off of him but she won’t let go. I ready myself to punch it in the face once it gets closer but Shar’I beats me to it in a spectacular way. She lands a solid punch directly center of its face. The impact sounds like someone cracking a bullwhip in a soundproof room. It leans back on one foot and swings its arms to balance itself. She doesn’t give it a chance to regain it and slams the back of its head into the concrete. Then after that, she stomps her foot in its face. Her foot and its face go into the ground above her ankle. She pulls it out of the ground by the throat and goes to punch it again. It clocks on the side of the face, throwing her into a parked SUV.
“Oh my god!” Magnetite screams in horror.
I jump on top of the thing before it can get its head out of the road and punch its head deeper into the hole. It kicks me in the back of the head hard enough to make me flip four times down the road. On the last flip, my face skids on the asphalt. I grab my face, thinking all my skin is gone or shredded into mangled pieces.
“Oh god,” I say, trembling. I touch every inch of my face. When I look at my hands, all I see are small pebbles from the road. My face is intact and I’m not in pain. “I really am indestructible.”
“Guys!” Eddie screams. “Are y’all okay?”
“I’m fine!” I look over to Shar’I to see if she’s alive. She stumbles out from the wreckage of the SUV with her hair all in her face, then suddenly tackles the thing to the ground.
“Nikki, come help me!” Shar’I says.
“What is that thing?”
“The result of overdosing on Cada. I have to kill him or he’ll kill others.”
God! We have to deal with Rayan’s monsters and this?!
I don’t disagree with that idea. Shar’I knows better how to deal with this mess. Its strength seems to match with mine. I’m no fighter. We trade a lot of blows as if we are having a school fight. It is wild and uncordial without any basic fighting techniques. She jumps in when I start losing ground and mops the floor. Her strength and speed have doubled. Nothing that thing does can harm her. It’s like trying to punch an immovable wall or trying to push over a gigantic tree.
She slams its face into her knee, knocking it out cold, and slams both of her feet into its chest after leaping high into the air.
“Jesus Christ,” Magnite says. Shar’I hovers out of the chest cavity while looking down at it. “Why did you kill him?”
“Because it would have ripped you limb from limb,” Shar’I says. She takes a slow deep breath into her nose. The blood on her foot glows green. It denigrates into dust when the veins in her feet begin to glow the same color. The color travels up her legs, body, arms, chest, and neck.
“What are you doing?” Eddie says.
“Absorbing its Cada to strengthen me.”
“Why? Aren’t you already super strong?” I say.
“Yes, but Shendour could be stronger.” She looks deep inside the chest cavity inches from her face, “Eddie, does your team have tissue samples of the monstrous plant specimens?” Eddie nods and asks why she wants to know. “I just had a terrible thought.”