Emma's Six

Fighting the Bane

Mummy heads back downstairs with a glass vial to run some tests on the black gunk left behind. Maria is standing by the pillar and the small desk attached to it, admiring the different alien artefacts scattered on it. She picks up the alien communicator that she saw Mummy holding last night. 'What's this, then?' She asks when Mummy returns.
'That's an alien communicator from Arcateen V,' Mum explains. 'The Star Poet, the person you saw us send home last night, gave it to us. She said we can call her if we ever need help.'
'Then let's call her.'
'She meant help with poetry. I'm afraid it's not much use right now.'
'May I see?' Luke asks. Mum nods and Maria hands the communicator to him.
'Be careful,' she warns him.

Luke turns the device over in his hands, analysing it. 'He seems to know nothing about the universe. Everything is new to him.' Mum is observing Luke.
'He might be an experiment like the aliens created him,' Mummy says. 'He's their child.'
'But Luke's still biologically human. Why would they create a human and not someone that is one of their own?' The communicator starts beeping, and Mummy walks towards Luke and takes the device off him.
'If you don't mind, I don't like people looking through my things.' Mummy puts the communicator in her coat pocket when we hear the doorbell ring.
'I'll get it,' I call and run out the attic.

I get to the broken front door to see the postman standing there. 'Hello,' he says with a smile and hands the package to me. He walks away, and I glance down at the address.

The Six Queens
13 Bannerman Road
Ealing
London

I take it up to the attic just as Mummy's scanning Kelsey's bottle of Bubbleshock. 'It's not just an ingredient; it's alien,' Mummy says. 'This is the secretion of... I need glasses... a Bane Mother.' Mummy lowers the arm with her watch on it in shock. 'There's a piece of living Bane inside every bottle of Bubbleshock.' I put the package on the coffee table, deciding we can open it later.
'I've been drinking that stuff, and it's alien?' Kelsey demands.
'I thought you didn't believe in aliens,' I fold my arms.
'Shut up! I've got things from outer space in my stomach. What are you going to do about it?' Kelsey turns to Mummy at that last part.
'That's not my fault!'
'Oh yeah? You got all this stuff, and you sit here talking, yapping all day about planets and monsters. What good is that? Why don't you actually do something?!'
'Alright, Kelsey, just you watch.' Mummy closes her watch and turns her attention to the chimney stack where Mr Smith is hiding. 'Mr Smith?'
'Yes, Sarah Jane?'
'I need you!'

Mr Smith opens with bursts of smoke and a fanfare playing. Maria looks over in shock. 'Mr Smith is a computer,' Mum explains.
'An alien computer,' Maria breathes. Mummy places the bottle of Bubbleshock on the desk attached to the pillar as she joins us.
'Mr Smith, we want a direct visual link to Mrs Wormwood at the Bane factory. Can you get coordinates?' I spot Kelsey reach for her bottle.
'Accessing.'

The doorbell rings again. It looks like we won't get any peace today. 'I'll get it,' I call into the attic and run downstairs, half expecting it to be the postman. Instead, I see a woman standing there. She has long brown hair, sparkling blue eyes, and a warm smile. 'Hi, I hope I'm not disturbing you. Does Ruby White live here?'
'She's my mum,' I say.
'Oh, that's amazing.' The woman's smile grows brighter, and she shakes my hand. 'You must be Emma Smith-White, right?' I nod, barely able to form words at that point. 'I'm Laura White, your aunt. I've travelled halfway across the universe to come and see you.' She stops shaking my hand and strokes my cheek. 'I heard so much about you from Ruby, and I wanted to see you for myself.'
'Listen, Auntie Laura; I'm glad you've come, but...' I bite my lip, trying to work out how I can word things to the aunt I've never heard about before.
'Alien problems?' She guesses. I nod. 'Trust me, Em, I've faced a lot of aliens since I left Qetanish to find your mum. I could help.'
'I guess there's no harm in trying.'