The Tower (29 page)

The guy in the sky came down to land near Major Freedom. A very large black dude as muscular as Freedom was strode over to survey the scene. His outfit was a riot of red and gold stripes.
Stripes
? Some things never changed.

“Blaster!” Freedom exclaimed. “Good to have your help.” They shook hands, and a few reporters raced up to take their picture while the cops came around to haul the crooks away. The duo spent the next few minutes posing for pictures and signing autographs.

Okay, so there
were
other super heroes here; guess Ori and I had a whole new lot of people to meet and once we checked out the action, we found a lot of new faces. No satellite in the sky, they had group hangouts in Los Angeles, Chicago, and New York, and came out to wherever trouble was happening. Sort of like The Tower Team. Once they got a look at Oriana and what she could do, well, maybe things would change even more. I wondered how this league of heroes, not to mention the general public, would view a shape-changing heroine. While neither of us was sure, for the time being, we decided to keep her presence under wraps.

And now we're almost at the end. Some of you may be thinking, “Cool story, bro, but not exactly epic.” Well, if you read it carefully, it had all the elements of an epic tale: There were fights, chases, feats of derring-do, and aliens; all the things that make a good story great. While I know that it's hard to imagine what went down, and there were times that I wish I'd taken pictures or videos to back this tale up, sometimes it's best to keep it all in your head; that's where the best adventures begin and where they end.

You may also be thinking, “What was with all that romance crap? That stuff belongs in chick-lit!” Well, maybe it does, but if I'd just written “kiss-kiss-hug-hug” then it wouldn't have been very truthful, would it? Suffice it to say that I was “with” and still “am” with Oriana and that, too, should be left to your imagination.

Really, when you think about it, all of us go through what I went through, minus the inter-dimensional travel and the DNA mutation, of course. We all go through school, the first fights, the first wins or losses, the first love of our lives. And if you're thinking, “It will never happen to me” trust me, it will. Sooner or later, it will. That's what I've been trying to tell you over the last twenty-something chapters. It's not exactly Earth-shattering news, is it? No, not really, but that's how it was for me and how it will be for you as well.

I'd missed out on the all-important formative years when an adolescent matures into an adult, learns about life and responsibility and yes, love, but I'd been given back so much more, although in a very unconventional way. Given the choice to do it all over again, I wouldn't change a thing.

As for the DNA-switch, well, that's also something I've finally come to terms with. No telling what my future will hold, but as it is, I'm pretty comfortable feeling the way I do now, and with Ori at my side, I'm sure anything that happens from here on in won't be anything we can't handle together.

The days flew by and then one evening after work, I returned home to find her reading a book and watching TV; she liked watching nature channels, and there was a program on about children or something like that. Whatever—I wasn't all that interested and wanted to watch sports, and I was also a bit surprised to find her not suited up. “Not going out tonight, Ori?”

“Not feeling up to it,” she answered. “Been sorta tired lately and The Invincibles” (that was the name of the group all across the States) “are handling everything just fine without me. I need a break.”

Instantly, the worst thoughts ran through my mind: She'd caught a cold, her DNA wasn't holding up, something was wrong. I'd been feeling okay, but her….

She noticed the look on my face. “Relax, Bill, I've been overdoing it a little. I just feel like resting, y'know?”

Oh, okay, fine…as long as nothing was wrong….

There was silence for a time. She went back to reading her book and I changed the channel. A baseball game was on: The Rebels versus the Blue Stockings.

“There's something I have to tell you,” she began, interrupting my game-watching.

And what was that, I wondered absently, mind on the game. Yeah! The Rebel first basemen had laced a hit to right field. “What?”

“I'm pregnant.”

The next thing I knew, the floor came up to hit me in the face. Yet another shock but for some reason, it didn't surprise me as much as it should have. After a few seconds to get my mouth working, “Are you sure?”

“Bill,” she said, “I think I'd know.” Yeah, that she would, and in five months or so, the world would know as well. How would they react? Probably the same as I had. Or maybe they wouldn't. We'd just have to wait and see. Me? I was as happy as anything. Being married was great, becoming a parent would be even better.

And that's it for the moment. It's night as I write this last entry. Oriana is asleep and in tree mode, spreading her branches in the bedroom, her trunk swelling ever so slightly with our child. Ori is hoping for a daughter, I'd like a son to carry on my name. It doesn't matter—as long as he or she is healthy that'll be enough. And we will teach our child about our cultures, tell our child the virtues of being both human and alien and having the best of both worlds. It will be our gift to our offspring; in turn, our child will give his or her gift to the rest of this world.

My gaze turns up to the night sky. It's quiet outside and clear; the stars are twinkling and I can see the silhouettes of PowerGuy, Miracle Mistress, Black Guardsman and the rest racing past the moon, guarding their world, protecting the people and their universe, doing what they do best until the real Association returns to take its rightful place.

They
were
the real heroes, after all, they still are. Even though I love my wife and I know that we'll love our future child, there's something else I'll always have with me: The memories of the greatest fighting force in the universe that gave a lonely, frightened boy a second lease on life and adventures to the max. More than that, they gave me hope.

Somewhere out there, their adventures go on. Mine are just beginning.

The End