Homecoming | sequel of "Home" [✔️]

Chapter 9

A blue aura enveloped Ali's figure, the opaque layer intertwining and flowing with unspoken life. As the boy turned up to face the monster, his feet lifted off the ground, his palm facing the creature, his posture never tense, but calm.

His gaze paralleled steel, subtle glare fixated on the creature. It pulled its tentacles from the ground, staggering and lunging towards his young enemy.

As futile as his attempt might pose, Ali had the element of surprise. His jaw clenched shut, his muscles tightening in fury. Balancing himself in mid air was no hard task. It was something he'd always worked with in his time as an agent.

His fingers curled as the monster lunged.

Inches from Ali's face, the monster's humungous body was frozen in air, layered in a coat of blue energy. Though it made no sound, its one eye darted around, flickering with panic.

Ali scowled. He raised his other hand, and plunged it into the creature's massive eye, and gripped the power sphere tightly. "I'll be taking this," he growls, alien blood splattering onto his face as the power sphere was yanked from the creature's eyeball.

A hiss boomed from the monster's flesh, which sounded like a balloon deflating. Soon, it began to shrink in size as noxious green gas deflated from its broken eyeball like a hot air balloon, its tentacles flailing wildly in air.

He dropped the creature, causing it to plummet to the ground like a meteor. However, as soon as its flesh touched the slimy grounds, it dove back to the underground, to the depths of its hiding spot, now reduced to the size of a regular squid.

Ali sighed. The power sphere in his hand squeaked, still covered in eye slime, panicked of a newcomer's intrusion.

"I'm not here to hurt you." Ali's voice was monotone, turning his eyes onto the sphere. "I'm from TAPOPS. You heard of it before?"

It released a sound of an armpit fart, followed by what seemed to be a happy dance.

Ali grunted, remembering his insolent days back on Earth. Those impractical jokes never caught his humor, and it never will.

"I'm taking you back." Ali released his gravitational hold on the sphere. The power sphere chirped and circled him, showing no signs of resistance as it hovered around him, delighted of its freedom.

Ali held his arm out, and the power sphere powered down and fell onto his hands. It was the size of a baseball, so there was no trouble holding it. He turned to look for the two humans, and found them not too far away, clothes splattered with slime and dirt.

"We're heading back," Ali said, purposefully ignoring the expression of shock on the Invisio agent's face.

Bobby's eye twitched, expression frozen between shock and disbelief, as if only now realizing the threat of their alien enemy. There was no comparison. TAPOPS was on a league of its own. They were only alive because their captor commanded it.

Ali started to head back, but his prisoners did not follow. They traded unreadable glances from across the field, their legs unwilling to move. For seconds, Ali did not realize their hesitation. He only noticed the lack of footsteps then he turned to them.

"Are you two coming?" Ali coughed into his hand. The poison's effects were returning. He needed to get back to breathable atmospheres soon, at least until his human body fully burned away. "You won't survive nightfall. The condensed poison clogs your masks. So either you suffocate, or you follow me back."

With no other choice, they followed him into the ship.

If they were still alive, they would make a chance.

On the ride back, no one spoke. Gasbot was deactivated, plopped in the universal power sphere charging station. Only indication of its activeness was the glowing lines that ran along its crevices.

Ali kept his eyes at the front. His arms set on the rests, as he'd already placed the coordinates back to TAPOPS. He could see the two, using reflections on the ship's glass as his unintentional albeit useful mirror. They weren't talking either. Just staring at the floor in silence.

Was he too unsympathetic? Bakar's always been there for him. Even until now. Perhaps he was sympathetic of him. Perhaps he was too kind. That couldn't be healthy for his training for Vice Corporal. Nobody with power should possess unbound sympathy. Especially not someone that helps family regardless of their oppositions.

He sighed. He laid back on the chair, his fingers drumming on the armrest. There was nothing out there. Just endless seas of stars and infinite galaxies he had yet to explore. One of these days, he will visit to every one of them. He had all the time in the world. That was the goal he was after. To seek out every world that existed. To see new places and adventures.

But for now, he had two humans to tend to.

Ali sat up and turned to them. "Is anyone hungry for some space McDonalds?"

The two stared at him.

"They serve tomato fries instead of potato ones. Don't ask where the meat came from. Do I hear any answers?"

No one answered him.

"Alright then." Ali turned back to the front. "Guess you're having prison food for dinner."

When they returned to TAPOPS, things weren't as peaceful as they used to be. As the ship docked in the bay, Ali noticed that it was empty of life. Save for the whirring ships, there were no life forms in sight.

Humming, Ali left his seat, never turning the engines off. Bakar and Bobby seemed unnerved by the silence, but Ali wasn't.

"Did something happen?" Bobby frowned.

Ali shrugged. He unlocked the door, but he didn't walk out. "I'd explain, but I don't think you'll survive whatever's coming if you get out."

From somewhere in the station, the blast of an explosion echoed, followed by the station quaking. Bakar and Bobby tripped and fell from the ship's exit.

Ali didn't turn. "There's a raid happening." He closed his ship's doors with his keys. "Guess we're calling a Galactic Uber for food."

"A raid?!" Bakar shrieked.

A figure crashed through the docking walls and landed in front of them, their body digging a trench of molten metal in the ground, liquid, melted iron splattering around like slime. His clothes were smoking, but the person was still alive and moving.

Boboiboy growled, pulling himself up. His body was coated in melted iron, his clothes singing, but it barely affected him. His bright gold eyes were fixated on the hole he'd crashed through, his fingers curling as ribbons of fire danced around his skin.

Through the chaos, he didn't notice Ali and the prisoners. His body was covered in melting metal, but he had no wounds nor bruises. With a scream, he darted back to where he came from, launching himself in the air with nothing but his physical strength, kicking up liquid metal to the direction of the three.

An invisible barrier blocked the splash of iron from splattering onto the three, the liquid safely trickling down to the ground in front of him. Ali retracted his hand, and the liquid metal splattered on the floor, sounding almost like jelly.

"Shouldn't you be helping?" Bobby stared warily at the curved hole that Boboiboy created. He'd dug through iron like it was mud.

Ali yawned. "They can handle this," he said apathetically. "Besides, you're in no position to ask me how TAPOPS deals with raids. You're still a prisoner, and letting you know about TAPOPS is dangerous. I'd rather keep you alive for a few more days before they decide to execute the both of you because you know too much."

From another side of the station, screams blared through the wall. It belonged to strangers. Pirates, perhaps? They were well-armed, otherwise they wouldn't have bypassed the perimeter checks.

Ali saw no reason to worry. He already knew how it would end. It would not be the first time that they faced a similar raid. Repetitive, even.

"Since the station's busy," Ali noted, "I'd say we'll take a trip back to Earth."