Title: Hero
Author: Sierra
Rated: G
Disclaimer: I don't own anything! :)
Summary: As he gives his morpher to Jen during Destiny Defeated, Alex reflects on how his life used to be . . .
A/N: Another random story I scribbled down while sitting around the barracks . . . enjoy!
---
I used to rule the world.
I was the hero once. Little children used to look at my face on billboards, TV commercials, hear my voice on the radio, used to admire me and want to grow up to be like me; adults used to respect me, used to thank me whenever they would see me and say I was doing a good job. It was a sure thing that I would be in the Time Force all my life, I would rise in the ranks 'til I was the man in charge, and when that day came, crowds of people would cheer while the woman I loved more than anything in the world stood at my side.
More than any of that . . . the most important thing, was that I was her hero. She stared up at me with those big, beautiful brown eyes and sometimes she looked so in love I thought I was dreaming, because there was no way anyone real could love me like that. Especially not someone like her. She was perfect in every way, a gorgeous girl, smart, a talented soldier, with a bright future ahead of her. And she loved me.
We were going to get married, and start a family. She wanted girls, I wanted boys, so we settled on two of each; she had come from a big family and loved it, I was an only child and always wanted a big family, so that worked out well. The wedding was going to be a small affair, in her hometown, with just her family and a few close friends attending. That was, of course, as far as we got when it came to our plans . . .
Now she was staring at me with those same eyes, only they were so different than how I remembered them to be, and they certainly weren't looking at me like I was the man in her life. Like I was a hero. No, those shoes had been filled by the handsome, blond-haired, blue-eyed man standing just a few meters away from me, watching the two of us with hope in his eyes and a cautious smile on his lips. I could tell . . . I wasn't stupid after all. The way she looked at him, was the way she had once looked at me.
What had changed . . . me, her, both of us? I couldn't tell. But change had come. And I knew in that instant, the moment I handed my morpher to her and she met my gaze for what felt like the last time before taking off to rejoin the battle, and stand at his side . . . I knew then that things would never be the same. They couldn't be.
Children praised the team now, and had no idea who I was.
The men above me now told me maybe it was best if I left the Force before I hurt myself further . . . those injuries left over from my fight with Ransik weren't going anywhere.
And, more than any of that, she was in love with someone else, and I meant nothing to her.
The king was dead.
Long live the king.