“And you think I can—”
“You’re not the best candidate by any means, but you just might be the right one. I need someone who won’t back down, someone who can take the fight to Walter if it comes to that.”
“And what do you get out of this? There has to be a catch.”
“All in good time, love. I need to know if you’re with me.”
“I don’t even know who you are.”
“I am the one who can give you more power than you ever imagined you could ever wield, but I can make you better than Walter.”
“How could you do that?”
“Walter has had no training. I’m not sure he even knows the extent of his power yet. I can teach you everything. You will have an advantage.”
“Why would you do that?”
“All the reasons might be beyond your feeble ability to grasp. Let’s just say that my rival has empowered someone and he may have more of an agenda. I need someone on my side, to counter that agenda, someone I can rely on if it comes to that.”
“What do I need to do?”
“Just stand still and look this way. The light may be a bit bright, but the headache won’t last long.”
16
Walter took a beer from the fridge, put his phone on the charger, and sat down in his recliner, not even bothering to turn on the TV. The day had been an emotional roller coaster, and the last thing he wanted to see was the coverage of the plane crash. He was still beating himself up over not getting there fast enough. Sure, he had managed to save the other two, but he couldn’t shake the image from his mind of that plane diving into the ground, and he knew he would never forget the screams of the passengers right before impact.
Three beers later he wished his super metabolism would allow him to get drunk, but he was as sober as he was when he started. He went to the kitchen for another and when he returned, a man was sitting on his couch.
“Hello Walter.”
“How the hell did you get in here?”
“That’s no way to treat a house guest,” the man said.
“I’d hardly call you a guest. I never heard the door.”
“I didn’t feel like using the door.”
“Then how…”
“It’s a long story.”
“We have time. You’d best start and start by telling me how you know my name and how you got in here.”
“I’ve been following you and admiring what you’ve done so far.”
“Well, I have a few admirers around, but none have managed to appear in my house.”
“It’s a skill I can teach you, if you want to learn.”
“Seriously?”
“Yes.”
“How about a name? You got a name?”
The man uttered a polysyllabic word that made no sense at all to Walter.
“Come again?”
“That’s my name, but you can call me Mike if that would be easier.”
“What language was that?”
“Not any that you’re familiar with.”
“Try me…better yet, don’t bother. Where are you from?”
“I’m…not from around here.”
“What, you from Pittsburgh or something?”
“Not exactly, a bit farther away than that.”
“Overseas?”
“Farther.”
“No…you don’t tell me you’re from…”
“I’m not from this planet, if that’s what you’re driving at.”
“Yeah…it’s where I was headed. You come in here with that story a month ago I would have thought you were fruit loops, but after what’s happened to me, I don’t know anymore.”
“You have me to thank for that.”
“Huh…you did this to me.”
“Well, I wasn’t really aiming for you, but that’s what happened.”
“Okay, spaceman—”
“Just call me Mike.”
“Okay, Mike, you zapped me with these powers, but you meant to hit someone else?”
“Hey, it was dark, I was a bit drunk…my aim was off a bit. There was a young female walking there a minute before.”
“Blonde hair, not much over five feet tall?”
“Sounds like her.”
“I met her not long after.”
“I saw that. Good job by the way.”
“Tell me this. Since I got like this, I can’t get drunk for anything, but you said you were too drunk to see who you were zapping. What the hell were you drinking?”
“Something from home. The stuff here doesn’t do anything.”
“Anyway, you zapped me and made me into some kind of Superman…what for?”
“Preparation.”
“Preparation for what?”
“My people.”
“More of you are coming?”
“Possibly. I’m not sure how many or when, but one is here already.”
“There might be more?”
“There probably are, but I only tracked…you can call him Jack.”
There was the sound of a key in the lock and a couple seconds later Franklin and Kendra walked in, grinning from ear to ear.
“Hey kid, what you two been up to? No good from the look of it,” Walter said.
“Just been playing ball,” Franklin replied.
“Yeah, we’ve been at the gym,” Kendra said.
“That doesn’t sound like too much trouble. I guess you saw the day I had.”
“We heard about the planes. Sad about the one in Kentucky.”
“I was this close…a few seconds earlier…”
“You did your best…but excuse me for being rude. Who’s the guest?”
“I’m…Mike,” the man replied, getting off the couch and greeting Franklin and Kendra with a handshake.
“You sure about your name, Mike?”
“That’s not his real name,” Walter said.
“What’s your real name?” Kendra asked.
Mike said his real name.
“Come again?”
“That’s why you can call me Mike.”
“Thanks. What language was that?”
“Mike’s an alien,” Walter said.
“Okay,” Franklin said, “Maybe we should start from the beginning when I get back from the kitchen.”
Franklin came back with three bottles and a bottle opener, handing one bottle to Mike and the other to Kendra.
“Perhaps we should forego the intoxicating beverages for the time being,” Mike said.
“Just root beer, not intoxicating, and hopefully as good as Kendra says it is.”
“Pardon me. I still have some things to learn about your culture.”
“This is the best root beer you can get around here. My dad loves it.”
“You get it from that new place in Norwood…what’s the name?” Walter asked.
“B.J’s.”
“Yeah, that’s it. Keep meaning to stop in there. I hear their beer’s decent.”
“So, we gonna
