Call of the Hero: One Day

Chapter 17: Because 16 Is for Squares

Chapter 17: Because 16 Is for Squares

After actually making it through the subways with only a couple beggers aksing hi for money and no one trying to convert hi to another religion, he made itto Zack and Alex’s part of town. They also lived in Brooklyn, so that made it so there wasn’t as long of a ride or as many stops to keep track of. He knocked on the door to their house, where he was greeted after a couple minteus with a frantic Alex. He then saw why Alex was panicing so much with Zack jumped out of the two story window. Azaiah jumped it catching him and gently brining him back down to the ground. He was pretty sure Alex was the only onen who saw what had happened, but even if it wsn’t, then he really just did it on instinct.

Before they could ask Zack if he was allright, he had fallen asleep. “He does this every time, finds some place he can try flying, jumps, and then falls back to sleep.”

Azaiah wondered if he might have been like that when he was younger and figuring out that he could make himself levitate, and eventually fly. He didn’t remember much from when he was so young, except for the time where he got into the penguin exibit at the zoo and wanted them to fly with him, but then was disappointed when they ocuoldn’t. That was the first time he managed to make something else levitate, trying to help them fly. Needless to say, they were not happy about that, and his mom was grateful for the ability to change people’s memory. She didn’t like to use that often, but it was much better than explaining how a five year old was flying and trying to teach penguins how to fly too.

“Any idea what we can do to him?”

Azaiah couldn’t think of anything besides just take him back to bed, and hope this would ware off. He realy didn’t know what htose people did to him, or any of the others. If what Hon said was true, then he wanted to create a type of super soldiers, so maybe Zack was a prototype of that, a person who can fly. However, the experiment went wrong, and he now only thinks he could. That made Azaiah wonder, if he could somehow extend his powers of time to revert the changes.

“Alex, have you had any strange desires, or anything like that today?”

“What do you mean?” Alex asked.

“Like wanting to fly, but not with flying.”

Alex paused to think for a moment, and then an idea came to him. “Yeah, this morning I set my alarm to get me up at 7, but I was really tired, so I wanted it to be an hour earlier. I hit the alarm thinking that I just hit snooze beause it quiet, but I somehow set it back an hour.”

That could have been just hitting the clock in the wrong way, but Azaiah wasn’t convinced it was just that. Especially with Zack acting so weird, it wouldn’t make sense for Alex to not be effected by it at all, no it would make sense that they were both effected, though perhaps in different ways. Especially being brothers and sharing so much DNA, that would make that even more likely that they’d be good canidates to expirment on. Then again, htat could also make Alex a good control for Zack, but considering how few people Hon had, Azaiah couldn’t see him waste them on a control, not this early in expriments.

Alex, can you try to make a clock go back in time again.

“Huh?”

As Azaiah brought Zack back to his bed room, he looked for a clock on the wall, and found one that oculd work. “Hit that and really will for it to go back an hour.”

Alex was a bit confused, but he soon saw what Azaiah was thining of. As he did so, hitting it with the back of his hand, the clock seemed to shift, and did in fact go back in tiem an nhour. “How did I do that?” he asked.

Azaiah now knew that some of those expiriments had worked, however that didn’t mean those who it did work on were out of danger, or even that the others wouldn’t end up worse. Zack had goen insane, Azaiah could rewind time, but he hadn’t heard anything from the others. Granted, he wuoldn’t have heard about Zack, if it weren’t for the fact Alex knew Azaiah might have a clue as to what was going on.

“It might be possible for us to cure Zack, take his body back to the way it was before this happened,” Azaiah said,

“So I should slap him?”

Azaiah nodded. Alex seemed to smile a bit, it wasn’t every day he was told to slap his brother, so he was going to take advantage of this while he could. “This is for killing Leah at the formal!” he yelled slapping a sleeping zack as hard as he could across the cheek. However, that didn’t seem to do much. Though upon closere examination, Azaiah saw there wasn’t a red mark that he’d expect from being slapped that hard, so that must have meant that it had reverted Zack’s body to an earlier time, before he was slapped. “When did this start with Zack?” Azaiah asked.

“I think it was around 8 or so, just after we got up and saw what time it was. Well, I got up, but Zack was sleeping, after I startled him away he tried to fly from the top of his bed.”

Azaiah looked down at his watch. “So, that was 3 hours ago then.” Azaiah held his hand out over Zack’s body, trying to speed time around him. If he could do this right, then between his and Alex’s powers, they could revert Zack back to a time where he didn’t think he was a bird. He never thought he’d be using his powers for something like this, but whatever it took. “Slap him again,” Azaiah said.

“All right. This is for always eatching the last bowl of cookie dough ice-cream!” Once more, Alex slapped his brother as hard as he could.

With that, Zack’s eyes opened, and he seemed to be feeling his face where some pain lingered. “Azaiah, what are you doing here?” he asked. And why is the back of your hand red, Alex?”

“It is a very long story,” Azaiah said, “But I have a question for you.”

“Sure, what is it?

“Can you fly?”

Zack seemed to be even more confused now. “You mean like a bird?”

“Yeah, something like that,” Azaiah said.

“No, not unless something weird has happened to me.”

“Okay, that’s good then,” Azaiah said starting to walk away. Zack seemed to be back to normal. He hoped that be rewinding his body Zack wouldn’t go through the same thing a second time, with whatever mutation was trying to told hold again. If it did, then he could just have Alex slap him with a stronger speed up from Azaaih, though the most he’d been to do was 10 times on someone else. He wondered if he could do more, but wasn’t sure how feasible that was. Though depending on how the mutation took hold, rewinding Zack’s body to before that happened  could also let his body fight it off better, if it was meant ot take hold in the morning. Too many things he didn’t know, but one thing he was sure of was that their other friends could be effected by this, and while Zack jumping out a two story window trying to fly wouldn’t be fatel, there was no telling what some of the others were capable of.

“Alex, we need to head for the school,” Azaiah said.

“Why?”

“If I’m right, Zack might not be the only one of us who us was effected by this like that. We should be able to revert the others back too if you slap them where I speed up time around them.”

“So you want us to go around school with me slapping our friends as hard as I possibly can?”

“Pretty much.”

“This sounds like one of those strange anime you watch.”

“Believe me, this is nothing compared to some anime,” Azaiah said as he and Alex started to leave the house. “Zack, just stay there, no more jumping out windows!”