This chapter was ridiculous to write, the PLANNING document itself was about 2,000 words, usually being under 500-1,000. Anyways, a little closure, this chapter looks into Alex's past, with some flashbacks and such. Bare with me, it's the most complex thing I've probably wrote so far.
If you read this chapter, you here by declare your devotion to leave a review, failing to obligate to these terms will result in severe punishment. (This is not a joke folks)
"Hey sleepy head, don't want to miss breakfast, do you now?" A joyful voice sounded into Alex's bedroom. A young, barely nine years old, Alex yawned, opening his eyes slightly. A young father stood up from his knees and yanked the covers off of Alex. "Kyler's gonna beat you to the pancakes!" He yelled and sprinted out of the room down the hall, headed to Kyler's room.
"No he isn't!" Alex laughed as he sprung out of bed in his pajamas, skidding into the hall and bouncing down the stairs. Alex looked back up as Kyler ran out of his bedroom, sliding his paw across the railing of the balcolny.
"No fair, you woke up Alex first!" Kyler scolded his father, who was laughing, jogging behind the two young wolves. Alex dove onto the stool at the kitchen island, making it wobble back and forth.
"First." He said happily with a smug grin as Kyler grouchily took the seat next to him. Their father took to the counter next to the stove, taking a cloth off the already prepared plate of pancakes.
"Second." Kyler muttered, just before inhaling deeply, a smile finding it's way onto his face. He looked over at the plate of pancakes in excitment.
"Okay, I'm sorry, that was unfair of me. How about..." Their morning loving father reached into the cabinent and retrieved two fancy glass plates. He laid out three pancakes on each, and drizzled syrup on both. "You both get your plate at the same time." Both plates slide in front of the hungry wolves, both satisfied. Their forks were already placed in front of them on the island in foresight by their father.
"Father, can we play baseball after school?" The two children asked in unison, making them giggle. Father stood over his pancakes across the island, leaning with his elbows as support.
"Only if you finish your pancakes." He instructed, knowing full well that both of them had no plan to leave anything left on their plate.
"You're on!" They both said once again in unison before devouring their pancakes, making 'mmmh' sounds every few seconds. Not barely a minute later, two burps erupted from the wolves, and father took their plates and laid them next to the sink.
"I gave you extra syrup, so make sure to brush extra hard." He insisted as he grabbed the morning paper off the edge of the island.
"Sir, yes sir!" Both pups said as they bolted out of the kitchen. Alex grabbed the tooth paste and spread it upon the tooth brush, then handed the tooth brush to Kyler, who began brushing. It was then that Alex picked up his own brush and slapped the tooth paste on. After an entire minute of feriously brushing, Alex and Kyler grabbed their bookbags and a new set of clothes from their bedrooms and ran downstairs. They grabbed their lunches on the counter seperating the kitchen from the living room, which was prepared for them in brown bags.
"Bye father!" Alex said as they left the house. Kyler closed the front door behind them and they began their path to the bus stop. The two brothers were early, just like always, to pass the time they messed with the bugs in the grass near the street pole. They were the only two at their bus stop, as most the children that attended their school lived elsewhere, in fact, their neighborhood didn't have many children, and ones that it did have were too old for the two wolves. After a good twenty minutes of giggling and messing around in the grass, the bus halted on the street before them. They boarded the school bus and sat right in the seat behind the bus driver, Alex taking the window seat.
"You ready to present for Ms. Popkin?" Kyler asked with a smile, Alex looked down and shrugged his shoulders, Kyler seemed like he was ready, but Alex felt nervous about the whole thing.
"I forgot to practice last night. My stomach feels twisted." Alex sighed, looking back to Kyler. They were supposed to present a speech that day in the classroom. The darker of the two brothers chuckled and placed a paw over Alex's shoulder.
"Don't worry." He comforted him, "If you truly try your toughest, no trail can't be traveled." Alex remembered that one, but it wasn't too reassuring. Alex was giving a speech on why television is bad for your eyes and what to do about it, which meant the whole class was going to be critical of his words. Not much else was spoken during the bus ride, only a short while later, the bus parked in front of their elementary school, Maple Leaf Elementary School.
Alex and Kyler exited the bus, both wishing a good day upon the bus driver just like they do every day. They crowded with every other kid into the school, lucky for them, they were taller than most the other mammals, as they were not only wolves, but also fourth graders, so they could easily see over most mammals heads. Schools systems had trouble applying an equal learning experience to all mammals since some could be held in the palm of one's hand, while others could crush you with their size. Typically kids were sent to schools dedicated to a certain height demographic, but some schools had sections for certain mammals, as this allows an elephant to have a school friendship with for say, a wolf.
Maple Leaf wasn't a sectioned school, it really shouldn't have to be, since most mammals don't experience drastic height differences until later years, however policy is policy, and wolves were one of the largest mammals accepted to the school. Kyler and Alex made their way into Ms. Popkin's classroom. Ms. Popkin was an Armadillo, who was old, but energetic and enthusiastic. About half the class was already present, sitting quietly on the floor, all facing a small wooden block set near the front wall of the class, where a student would soon stand. The two wolves sat behind everyone else, since they could see regardless. of who was in front of them, with the exception of Felix, the one other wolf in the class, who towered them by a few inches. They waited patiently until the bell rang, the rest of the students arriving by then, to which Ms. Popkin got up from her desk and walked to the front of the classroom. The armadillo began taking attendance, to which each student raised their arm upon being called. Not a single mammal was absent that day.
"Today we are going to begin our presentations." Ms. Popkins said with a bright smile. "Remember, if you present without your paper you get bonus points!" She informed everyone. Alex quietly took off his backpack and unzipped it, looking inside.
"Kyler, I can't find my paper!" Alex whispered in alarm. Making Kyler shrug his shoulders.
"Don't be a pussy, you'll do fine." Kyler whispered just as quiet back. Alex gasped lightly, looking up from his backpack.
"Father said not to use that word!" He warned Kyler in anger. As this unfolded, Ms. Popkin took to the whiteboard, where a wooden wheel was nailed up. The wheel contained a slot for every students name, and was spun to choose from them at random. The classroom halted all noise as she spun the wheel, turning Alex's attention from Kyler. The wheel slowed to a stop, the label made Alex's heart sink.
"Alexander Howlard!" Ms. Popkin exclaimed with glee, every single mammal turning their heads to face him, making him gulp. The wolf slowly rised onto his trembling legs. He walked over the wooden block, paperless. "Going for bonus points? That's the spirit!" This only made Alex even more nervous, his breathing unsteady. "You may begin." She gave Alex the go ahead. The poor wolf's mouth opened, but no words were heard. After a few seconds, he managed to get something out.
"I I, I Uh." He stammered, watching a couple mammals in the audience hold back laughter, sealing their mouths shut with a smile, while others rolled their eyes. Alex looked to his brother for hope, only to see him just looking in his bookbag. A muffled chuckle was heard from the crowd, then another, the culprits burrying their mouths into their arms to make it look like a cough, or at least anything but a laugh. A tear began to form in Alex's eye, he felt ashamed, embarrased, like he'd failed everyone. As colorful as Ms. Popkin was, she didn't realize the most simple form of torture.
"Owww!" A screech echoed throughout the room, the crowd of faces spinning away from Alex, his jaw opened in shock as he looked to the back of the audience. Kyler stood up in front the class and dropped a pair of scissors to the carpet, a large cut across the top of his arm, blood staining his fur.
"Oh you poor thing! Let's take you to the nurse's office." Ms. Popkin pushed Kyler past the still sitting students towards the door. Kyler gave a slight smile to Alex as the teacher and him passed by. Only a few moments of silence after they left was interupted by all the other students cheering, geting up to socialize with whom ever they pleased. A wide smile spread across Alex's face, his white teeth showing in relief. He wiped the tear from his eye, still staring out the classroom door from upon the wooden block, knowing full well what his brother had done.
His smile faded, and a look of deep thought took over. Surely when she got back she'd return to their regularly scheduled program, which in this case was a train wreck. Alex walked over to Kyler's bookbag, which lied alone on the floor, the prancing students roaming around it. A twisted thought took over, what if he just read his brother's paper? He shook his head, telling himself no, his brother put his neck out for him. He'd probably get a good grade, and no embarrasment would come of it. He slowly pulled the top of the bookbag up, a folder present, and a loose paper inside. He felt ashamed as he slowly pulled it from it's rightful place. Upon looking at the only slightly wrinkled paper, he read the title, "Television Vs. Our Eyes". Alex was in utter surprise, his smile returned. He had his doubts, but little did he know that Kyler had accidently switched up their folders when they did their homework the night before, they did look the same after all.
"Okay class, back to presentations!" Ms. Popkin exclaimed, reentering the room, making everyone sit back down, no shame for being loud and obnoxious. "What do you say we spin the wheel again?" She said excitingly, making a few mammals groan.
"What about Alex?" Felix asked with a frown, who would have thought a wolf would try to throw another wolf under the bus.
"He can go tomorrow, no big deal right?" She stuttered, clearly trying to think of an excuse as to why Alex shouldn't go.
"That's stupid!" Felix accused, looking at me sitting in the back. "He gets a free pass because he stutters like a mad mammal?" He groaned.
"Felix! Alexander will go tomorrow, end of story!" Ms. Popkins insisted. Alex slowly rised to his feet, holding the paper tight in his paw.
"I'll go." The wolf proudly spoke, making everyone squint in confusion, all except Ms. Popkin. Alex walked over the wooden block, closing his eyes with a pause before stepping upon it. He coughed once before looked down at his paper.
"No bonus points?" He heard Felix whisper to the bunny next to him, who responded with a light chuckle. Alex took the paper into both paws and held it up in front his face. In a split second, he smashed the paper with both paws, crumpling it into a ball, making a few mammals gasp. Ms. Popkin had no reaction, keeping a smile on her face. Alex tossed it to the floor, the impact not making a sound, but meaning so much.
"Bonus points." Alex whispered boldly, making Felix let out a light growl. Time seemed to slow, everyone waiting in anticipation for Alex's speech. He heard his brother's voice in his head, 'If you truly try your toughest, no trail can't be traveled!'.
"My 'paper' is titled 'Wolf in Hero's clothing'. He said proudly, making everyone eager to hear the next word uttered from him. He waited a solid six seconds, glancing over at Ms. Popkin.
"What's it about, Alex?" She followed up, knowing that's what he wanted. He took a breath, and looked back to the students.
"Glad you asked, Ms. Popkin." The wolf paused, "My presentation is on why when I grow up, I want to be a hero." This made Felix snort a bit, smiling in a not so nice way. "More specifically, why when I grow up, I want to be a police officer." The crowd ate it up, everyone except Felix. "The world is full of evil, and a lot of people want to be 'the good guy', but some mammals consider just following the law to be enough. Well I decided I want to take it a step forward and ensure that not only I follow the law, but others do just that." Each word empowered the wolf more and more. He wasn't reading from a sheet of paper, he wasn't reading from his brain, he was reading off his heart. Alex turned a slight glance to the door as he spoke, seeing Kyler standing in the doorway, with a bandage over his arm. "You can have lots of heros in your life, even heros have heros. My brother and I, Kyler, are each other's heros." Alex explained, pointing to the smiling wolf in the doorway. "When I grow up, I don't want to be just any hero, I want to be the hero that everyone looks up to, similar to a celebrity, but for bold, heroic actions, not just a crappy song that tone deaf twelve year olds listen to." Many mammals in the crowd laughed, not against him, not with him, but for him.
After Alex's speech, he concluded with a bow, the whole thing went on for over five minutes. Every mammal in the crowd began clapping, some cheering, all with the obvious exception, Felix. Class eventually came to a close, no student coming close to Alex's level of pride and enthusasm. Ms. Popkin was left alone in the room, she eyeballed a piece of trash from her desk and walked over to pick it up. She tossed the paper ball in the trash can, but continued staring. She looked behind her at the door before retrieving the paper ball. She slowly unraveled it until it was legible.
"Television Vs. Our Eyes." She muttered with a smile, knowing that Alex wasn't speaking from the paper.
The classroom fades to nothing, nothing but darkness. A familiar wolf lies in bed once again, the sun having long been up. However, this wasn't the same wolf from before. It techincally was, but no longer of nine years of age, but rather fourteen. The wolf opened his crusty eyes, hitting the wall behind his bed while stretching. After a minute or so of lying still he threw the covers off and climbed to his feet. His hunched over back, the crusty eyes, and the general look of exhaustion was a clear indicator that he was up late the night before, he was still shirtless and wearing athletic shorts. He traveled down the stairs and entered the kitchen, opening a cuboard and pulling out a bowl.
"Don't touch me, jackass!" His mother growled from the living room, which was only right next to the kitchen. Alex paid this no attention and grabbed the milk from the fridge, then the Lucky Chomps from the cabinent on the island.
"Honey, I don't see why it's such a big deal, just a little extra cash." Father retorted, trying once again to gently grab her shoulder, which he pushed away.
"What about our kids!" She yelled as Alex poured his milk, his eyes still half closed. He then placed the milk back in the fridge and grabbed the box of Lucky Chomps to put it away.
"They're fine, it's not like we speak to them on a daily basis anyways!" He raised his voice, directing it into the kitchen. Alex placed a spoon into his bowl and carried it out of the kitchen, into the hallway and up the stairs, not even looking at either his parents.
"See what you did to them?" Alex heard his mother whisper very loudly from the living room, making him roll his eyes.
"Oh! So it's MY fault, where were you when Kyler was crying on my shoulder last week?" His dad boomed. It was true, Kyler did cry on his shoulder, his girlfriend broke up with him, and he would have chosen Alex over father any day, but he wasn't home at the time.
"He had no choice! You were home alone being a lazy piece of shit, I was out working to pay the bills!" She screeched, making Alex wince, his ears hated his parents more than ever. The wolf entered his bedroom and kicked the door shut, making sure to balance his cereal with both paws. His desk failed to bare a keyboard and monitor, but rather an assortment of comic books, paper, pencils, and other art supplies. After a few minutes of deliciousness, Alex laid down his empty bowl aside.
Grasping a pencil, he laid a piece of paper in front of him. The pencil was dull and missing an eraser, but it was good enough for him. As the pencil slowly made its way throughout the paper, a sketch of a wolf was present, standing boldly with his chest out. Sure, it wasn't the most visually appealing, but it was just a sketch. Alex then drew a cape on his back, flailing behind him. The wolf then selected a green colored pencil from the unorganized mess of stuff on his desk, coloring in the eyes on the wolf, then moving to the costume he wore. After a few more minutes of hunching over his desk, Alex grapped a small tap roll from on top of a comic book. He taped the drawing on the wall right behind his desk, smiling at what he drew. It was a wolf in a green super hero costume, with giant, bold letters above it, 'Wolf in Hero's Clothing'.
Alex then took to the bathroom, placing his bowl on the counter as he stared into the mirror at himself. The sun light coming through the small window above the shower drifted to darkness, only moonlight present, confusing Alex, then the sun took over, then the moon, day, night, day, night. Days passed in seconds as Alex stared into the mirror, deeply watching his figure. His spine straighted upwards, his ears grew slightly, his legs expanded vertically. Alex grew a few inches in height, his previously tiny arms revealed muscle, his cereal bowl long gone, and the previously clear counter was covered in a mess of grooming appliances. This was no illusion, and made Alex back up, placing his paws on the wall behind him, still staring into the mirror in shock. He was now wearing a pair of blue jeans, an unbuttoned blue plaid shirt, and a plain white undershirt. Another wolf entered the bathroom, making Alex yelp and back up to the bathtub, which was also a shower. He loosened his shocked expression as he watched the wolf stare into the mirror like he did just moments ago. It was him, but how?
"Umm." I stammered, getting no reaction from myself who was just about in arms reach. I watched myself comb the top of his head and leave the bathroom with a smile. I hesitated, but followed my other self towards the stairs, as we descended towards the bottom, A flick of my paw told me I couldn't touch me HIM. Damn it, that was confusing. As we both turned the corner, pulling the kitchen into view, I instantly remembered this moment. My mother was crying, leaning over the island, burrying her face into her arms.
"Mom!" I heard my past self say, I know that much now. I slowly approached my mother, who was being pulled up by my past self, who turned her around and held her by the shoulders. "What's wrong?" Past self asked in concern. I looked away, knowing full well what she was going to say, every detail of it coming back to me.
"Yo your father," she said, stuttering every moment she got. "Your father is dead." She finished before bursting into uncontrollable sobbing. I stared at my past self as his face was of pure shock and sorrow. The kitchen began to spiral into darkness, followed by the other two wolves in the room, leaving me alone in darkness. My bedroom materialized, the moonlight shining through the blinds. My past self standing in the middle of the room, a keyboard and monitor laid before the desk, rather than my comic books. My past self stared at the monitor, even though it was off. I took a step closer only to realize he was looking at the drawing, partially hidden behind it. My 'Wolf in Hero's Clothing' drawing was still taped to the wall, untouched in over sevens years.
"No." I said to myself, my present self. I remembered this moment just as well as the last.
"It can be treated, it just won't work, it's too expensive to come out of pocket" I heard a deep clear voice in my head speak. There was no one present to utter these words other than myself and I, but I knew who was talking.
"We can make up the money!" My mother's voice said quickly, my past self was thinking about this just like I was now, I remember thinking about it a few months ago.
"Ma'am, the costs are over a hundred thousand a year, I'm sorry." The doctor said, truly sounding sympathetic. My past self then looked down at the floor in deep thought.
The room collapses around me, my past self fading into oblivion once again. Bricks arouse on either side of me, windows every ten feet or so upwards, an alley forming. I looked ahead and saw my past self's back facing me. I approached the wolf, knowing he couldn't see me anyways.
"How much is the pay, exactly?" My past self spoke, I walked to the side of myself, a fox across from me. I now knew this fox as Elliot, but he was wearing a jacket, long pants, and a hat to help conceal himself.
"If you prove your worth, you can expect at least 150K a year, plus your job as an officer, don't worry, we will take care of all that. So in total, probably over 200K a year." Elliot said smoothly, which I groaned as my past self smiled widely.
"Well then you tell him it's a definite yes!" My past self grasped Elliot's hand and shook it firmly. As the fox and I parted ways, the world began to fade once again, returning me to my dark bedroom, where I was previously. My past self still stood in the center of the room, looking down.
"Don't." I scolded my past self, caring less that he couldn't hear me. I watched as he bared his teeth and sprung up, reaching past the computer monitor, tearing my drawing off the wall. He tore it in half, then again, again, and again. My past self flung the ruined drawing into the trash can on the other side of the desk as the computer, making me cover my face with my paw. I slowly removed my paw in shame, my past self gone, leaving me alone in the room.
"Got anything else?" I heard Kyler from behind me, making me jump.
"What?!" I asked in shock and anger, making Kyler flinch. He was holding my police uniform on his arm, helping me determine that I was no longer having a crazy ass flashback or something.
"Anything else need washed?" He asked slowly, raising his eyebrows. I sighed in relief, handing him my car keys from my pocket.
"Yeah, a few outfits in the trunk of my car." I informed, Kyler then taking to the stairs. I inhaled deeply, holding my breath for a few moments before spewing it all out. I felt tears building up in my eyes, what was this? I felt a paw on my back, and looked down. My mother faded into view, pulling me into a gentle hug. I thought this shit was over, I began to lightly cry.
"You're my hero." She whispered, making my eyes widen. I threw my paws around her back, but they passed right through her, and just like that, she blew away like wind. I slowly approached my desk, and with a swift paw and slammed it down and across, knocking the keyboard and monitor over the edge of the desk, landing on the carpet next to the computer. I pushed my rolling chair aside, throwing open the bottom drawer of the desk. I slammed a piece of paper down on the now empty surface, laying a pencil next to it. I leaned over, using my left arm as support as my right one bolted across the paper, spending not a second in the same spot. This pencil felt smaller than it did eight years ago. After about a minute I felt satisfied and blew a kiss to my own drawing. Something was missing, so I rumaged through my drawer and found the final touch, a green colored pencil. After another shear few moments I retrieved the same roll of tape from all that time ago and placed a small piece on the end of the paper.
I sighed, the drawing residing in the same spot on the wall as before. Yes, I'm messing with you by not telling you what I drew, but I thought I made it pretty obvious to begin with. Apparently my super abilities include being excellent at drawing.
"Whoa." I turned to see Kyler, who was dumbfounded. He entered the room, completely disregarding the keyboard and monitor flung to the floor, only focusing on the drawing taped on the wall, right behind my desk. "When did you draw that?" He asked in amazement.
"Right after you left with my keys." I said, reminding him to hand them back. The drawing was of course of a bold, courageous wolf, sticking his chest out with his dark green cape and light green suit.
"It looks so real." Kyler whispered, getting closer. I stood beside him and watched as his eyes widened. He turned to face me, I knew what he had just realized. "It was you the whole time." He quietly said with smile. No one could tell I was the wolf in the drawing because it wasn't possible, green eyes doesn't cut it. The old drawing was so lacking in detail the most you could made out of it was that it was a wolf. "You're the wolf in hero's clothing." He said, reading the label on the drawing.
"I wanted to tell you something." I sighed, I did tell him about my powers after all, so he should know the rest.
"Yeah?" He waited patiently, noticing my look of regret.
"You know Dr. Harris?" I asked nervously, scratching the back of my head.
"Yeah, the criminal on the news, right?" He nodded in confusion. I looked away from him, and back to the drawing on the wall.
"I worked for him." I pushed part of the load off my chest.
"Worked for him, like knowingly?" He gasped, sadly, that was a yes.
"Yes." I said, but was quick to explain before Kyler flipped out. "I did it so I could be that wolf." I said, pointing to my drawing. "I did it because it was high paying, and that's how I've been able to support mother all these months." I stuttered. "I felt so terrible about the things I did to be a hero, that I realized I wasn't one, so I tore the drawing down." I was now breathing heavily, looking down in shame.
"That's where it went." Kyler whispered to himself. "You're against him right?" He asked, just being sure.
"Yeah, in fact, I have a big lead on him." I reinforced. "However, I'm a bit scared to find him to be honest." A frown grew upon Kyler's face, making me worried about what'd he say next.
"Don't be a pussy, you'll do fine." His frown quickly turned to a smile. My jaw dropped slightly at that, this time it was reassuring.
"You're right." I said, sucking in all the breath I could, pushing my chest out. "I must save the world." A deep voice emerged from my throat, making us both laugh. "Where's my super suit?" A higher pitch voice came about, refering to my uniform.
"It's in the washer, remember?" He bumps my arm, making me shake my head, oh yeah.
"You know Kyler, you're my hero." I said as cheesy as possible.
"Heros have heros too, you know." He tapped a claw on my chest, he remembered.
Author's Note
Not So Stupid Facts?
1. Deadpool movie reference, did you find it?
2. While planning this chapter, I was concerned about how I'd write about Alex seeing his past self, not to mention the world fading out, but I tried my best.
3. This is the longest chapter by over 500 words.
4. While writing the part where Alex's mother appears and hugs him, I began tearing up and took a small break from writing. (God damn it)
5. We now know more about Alex than Nick and Judy, jesus.
6. This chapter took less time to write than some of shortest chapters, because I was very inspired to write it.
7. Like I said in the beginning, the planning document for this chapter was almost as long as chapter 14.
8. Instead of addressing Alex's father as 'Their father' I sometimes addressed him as simply 'father' to emphasize his bond to his sons, however, their mother is only referenced this way by Alex while speaking to Kyler, as she wasn't as impactful as a parent.
9. Alex broke the fourth wall. (Kill me)
10. A few aspects of Alex are based on me, such as his affection towards drawing.
11. If you didn't catch the incredibles reference, you clearly haven't seen the movie.
If you enjoyed this chapter, or didn't, please tell me why you did or didn't with a review! Don't be shy to make more than a simple single statement in the review, those are the only ones I get to read until next chapter!
P.S. If the next chapter takes awhile to get out, that's probably the writers block kicking in, since we are now returning to what Nick and Judy are up to.
See you next time around...