May 20th, 2016 (2 weeks later)
"Who's this?"
The man answered with the phone pressed to his ear, dressed in a black T-shirt, gray sweatpants, and black socks, pacing slowly across the room. His voice was calm, deep, precise—someone used to control.
"Kurt, we have—" The man on the other end started.
"You have a mission for me. Let me guess—it's about the alien, isn't it?" Kurt interrupted, almost casually, but the sharp edge in his voice made it clear he wasn't joking.
There was a pause.
"Yes. That's exactly it. We already have a plan, and you're going to be a part of it," the man said firmly.
Kurt exhaled, slow and deliberate, annoyance barely hidden. "Fine. I'll swing by tomorrow." Then he hung up before the other could respond.
May 21, 2016
So far, being on Earth is the best thing to happen to me. It's been two weeks since the school shooting and once we all got back to school I made a lot of new friends and the girls love me even more now. As for my rep as a hero, it has increased a lot.
I sit in my science class, bored out of my mind until I look to my side and see Ashley, who immediately look down at her table after I Caught her staring at me.
After class I sit at the staircase, just thinking about my next move as humanity's savior. I look up and watch Ashley walk up to me, she has her hands in her gray, unzipped, sweater. Strangely enough, even her cheeks were a little.
"H-Hi Ben..." she said nervously "I wanted to apologize for snapping at you a few weeks ago... I just...felt pretty awful for it." Her gaze switched to the floor "I'm sorry. You saved us all and you just wanted to make sure I was okay.."
I continue to stare at her in the eyes. I think I'm gonna give myself a schedule for when I should go out on patrol. Hmmm, I think I'll do Monday to Thursday for when I go on patrol. Sounds reasonable enough, right?
"Don't worry about it." I responded with monotone. I should figure out what I should do on my break days though. Maybe I can....I dunno.
Ashley tilts her head a little, noticing how distracted I look.
"Oh... wait so you forgive me then..? Just like that?" She said with a hint confusion in her voice.
"Uh-huh..." I nod. she nods back awkwardly then turns around to walk away.
Wait a minute, doesn't she still owes me for saving her life? She does owe me! how can I forget that so easily!
"Hey," I said with a louder tone, her head shifting back to my direction.
"Yeah?" She responded back with her brow raised.
"Wanna get ice cream?" I said casually. "I'll forgive you even more if you come with."
She stared at me for a moment, then sighed and tilted her head to the side.
"I guess so...?" Her eyes darted side to side before locking back onto mine.
"Good. After school, we go get ice cream," I said. "You better come, or I'll never forgive you and hold a grudge until you die."
After school...
I stand next to Ashley as she talks to her mom through the phone, telling her about our little date. Hopefully this will be enough for her to finally become my "girlfriend" or whatever these humans call it.
"Alright, love you too, mom..." Ashley said. One day, it's gonna be me who you'll be saying "i love you" to, you'll see.
2 hours later...
Ashley and I stood outside the shop, eating our ice cream and talking. She chose vanilla and I chose strawberry. I paid for them since I know it's attractive when a guy pays for the girl. As long as I get what I want from it, I guess?
"So, Ashley, what would you do if a girl asked you out romantically?" I asked in my usual tone, titling my head slightly. She chuckles softly and gives me a confused look all at once.
"Pfft— what..? I uh... I don't know...I guess I'll be...Surprised?" She smiles awkwardly "what kinda question is that? Hahaha!"
I smile back and look down. I shrug and sigh.
"I dunno..." I said. "I was just wondering alright?" I take a small bite of my ice cream then wiped a bit from my lip with my thumb.
10:23 A.M. (earlier this day...)
Kurt watches the video of me killing the bank robbers from four weeks ago. His face is blank, the kind of calm that belongs to someone who has seen worse — gore doesn't even faze him anymore.
"This thing is bulletproof..." he mutters. "I've never seen anything like this before."
He rewinds the footage, tilting his head slightly to the left as the frame freezes on the symbol on my chest.
"I wonder what the 'B' stands for. Maybe it'll tell us where you come from."
He walked up to the Prime Minister with a straight face.
"This—thing—is going to be hard to find. Very hard. The sources don't give me much to work with, either. I suggest we don't waste bullets on—"
His boss cut him off.
"This 'thing' has a name. Blackpool," the Prime Minister said, his expression stern. "That's what he calls himself. A civilian reported seeing him give a speech on top of a liquor store. He introduced himself as our savior."
"He is not our savior," Kurt snapped, teeth clenched. "He killed four men — over a bank robbery. They didn't murder anyone. They didn't kidnap a child. They robbed a bank. And he decided they didn't deserve to live. He has no right to do that."
"Calm yourself," the Prime Minister replied. "Of course he has no right to kill anyone — that belongs to the courts. The point is we have to capture Blackpool. Aliens exist; that's confirmed. Now we need to know where he came from, how he thinks... and, if possible, we need to own him."
Kurt crossed his arms, breathing out until his voice evened. "Cameras will help us find where he hides. In the news clip, he launched into the sky. If we calculate the angle and distance and track every camera along the trajectory, we can narrow him down."
The Prime Minister gave a faint, impressed smile. "Exactly. This is why you're our best."
Kurt raised a brow. "That's just common sense, Jim. But... thanks, I guess." He sighed and shook his head.
Kurt looks back up at the prime minister, who is now known as Jim.
"Just give me 3 soldiers. We'll try to follow his trail together. In the mean time, go set everything up." Kurt said "I won't take too long." He puts his hands in his red jacket and turning around to the exit.
After finally locating my position, the soldiers kick the door in and flood the room, guns raised.
Kurt follows behind them, hands still tucked into his jacket.
He scans the apartment—no weapons, no tech. Just stolen action figures scattered across the floor, crumpled chip bags, stacks of stolen books, and far too many empty soda cans.
...This was where it lived.
"Blackpool doesn't seem to be here." One of the soldiers spoke, lowering his gun.
Kurt nods.
"I see that. Well, if he's not here, we'll just have to use more cameras to track him down".
"I swear, when we catch that little shit I hope we get the permission to torture it" another soldier said with annoyance "the fuckers been giving my kid nightmares for days now. My kid was at that same bank with his mom, now they're both traumatized!" He clutches fist and looks to the side.
Kurt studies him for a moment. Then he smiles — thin — and lets out a quiet breath that almost sounds like a laugh.
"Relax," he says calmly. "We'll get him."
He steps past the soldier.
"And when we do... I'll make sure he doesn't scare anyone ever again."
5:06 P.M. (after the date)
I walk Ashley home.
Here's something I've learned: humans turn red whenever you call them "pretty" or tell them they smell nice. Strange, but useful.
The date went well. She talked a lot—about her ex, about how she wishes she never met him. She even talked about her mom.
But none of that really matters.
What matters is the way she smiles when she laughs.
"Hey, Ben," she says, glancing up at me, "you never really talk about your life. What's that like for you?"
"My life?" I hesitate. My breathing slows, and I bite my lip. "It's... uh... it's cool."
Why does that feel harder to say than it should?
"My parents were always there for me," I continue quickly.
"I had good friends."
"I could literally brag about my life all day."
I force a confident smile.
"Oh," Ashley says softly. "That's nice." She pauses. "I had friends too, but after eighth grade we all stopped talking as much. Different classes, different people." Her gaze drops. "They don't really try to hang out with me anymore. Not even at lunch."
I look down at her, my hand tightening into a fist.
Humans are unbelievable. Ignoring someone like her—someone kind, someone who actually listens. It doesn't make sense. None of it does.
I keep walking beside her, saying nothing, already deciding that if the world doesn't see her value, then maybe it just needs to be shown how.
We finally arrive at her house.
"Well, thanks for the ice cream, Ben," Ashley says with a smile. "Can we... do this again? It was really nice and, you know..." She looks down to the side, still smiling.
A wide grin spreads across my face.
"Yes! Of course. Matter of fact—tomorrow. We'll do it again tomorrow."
She chuckles softly and nods.
"I can't wait." She looks up at me, smiling so wide her eyes squint.
"Then you should get inside," I say, pointing at the door.
"Alright, alright," she laughs. "I'll see you tomorrow, Ben."
Her smile softens as she turns and walks to the door. Before going inside, she looks back at me once more, then disappears behind it.
I hope I never have to talk about my life ever again.
I walk away.
Man... today was pretty great. I hope Ashley's thinking about me right now.
Actually—no. Today was horrible. That date was way too short. I wanted more than just eating some damn ice cream.
I keep walking.
I glance at the black van.
...Hold up. Is that van following me? I've been seeing it all day. Whatever. Probably just a coincidence—
A man in a red jacket slams a taser against my neck. My body drops to the pavement. My vision blurs. Sound turns into static.
The human form I'd carefully maintained starts flickering, glitching like a broken hologram. My alien features peek through—my eyes flash purple for a second, my skin flickers, the claws at my fingertips twitch. Electricity courses through me, forcing my body to betray itself.
"Can't believe it worked," a muffled voice says.
Hands grab me, dragging me toward the van. I'm thrown inside.
I try to sit up—fail.
A man in military gear stands over me. He raises his boot and stomps down.
"Fucking alien."
8:34 P.M.
I wake up on a cold floor. There's a collar around my neck.
I groan and rub at it instinctively—pain shoots through my spine. Electricity. I freeze.
I look up.
The man in the red jacket leans against the wall, hands in his pockets, watching me like I'm an experiment.
"Don't try anything," he says calmly. "That collar's a shock restraint. One wrong move and you'll wish you were dead."
I stare at him for a second.
Then I burst out laughing.
"PFFT—HAHAHAHA!" I clutch my stomach. "You think this can kill me? You stupid human. I'm a cosmic being. I exist beyond your planet, beyond your laws—"
I grin.
"I could erase this entire world if I wanted to."
"But I won't because—"
"Because you're stalking a high school girl."
The words hit harder than the taser.
He steps forward, scowling now. "Nobody's unkillable. I don't care where you're from. You don't get near her again. You're not a hero—you're a liability. And my job is to deal with liabilities."
My eye twitches. My fist tightens.
"Who the hell do you think you are?"
"I'm Kurt," he says evenly. "Apparently the best agent they have. In reality, I'm just the one who isn't impressed."
"I'm not losing to some worthless human named Kurt," I snap.
He sighs, pulls a small controller from his pocket, and lets it rest in his palm.
"Then let's stop wasting time. You're going to answer my questions."
A pause.
"Or I turn this up."
My neck still burns from earlier.
I exhale slowly and sit back, crossing my legs.
"...Fine," I mutter. "Ask."