This chapter is kind of a turning point for the story, so I hope you like it. I'm starting to put Isaiah more in line with his story from the comic books, so I guess if anyone reading this knows about that they've been waiting for this. Also, I want 3 reviews before I post the next chapter.
"Are you sure you want to go to this?" Isaiah asked as he paid for their tickets into the lecture.
"Yeah. I thought you were getting excited about it. You were talking about all the alien stuff the whole way over."
Isaiah shrugged. "Ever heard of reverse psychology?"
Mallory laughed. "I promise, if you're bored fifteen minutes in we can leave and do whatever you want."
"Fair enough," he replied, and they made their way inside and found a seat a few rows away from the podium. There were artifacts hanging on the walls, and a screen set up behind the podium.
"Do you really believe aliens were here all those years ago?" Isaiah asked.
Mallory shrugged. "I don't know. I do know that there are plenty of aliens on Earth that look just like us, so who knows?"
The professor came from a back room and stood in front of the podium. "Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen, and thank you for joining me. I'll be talking about the different species of aliens, when I believe that they discovered our planet, and what proof I have for my estimations. But before I start getting into the facts and dates, I should tell you that, based on my research, one in 35 people on this planet have some alien blood in their family tree somewhere, which means that, theoretically, about four people in this room. This is where I believe all of the supernatural powers that we see in certain individuals came to be. Now, while there is no proven way to test that theory, I have developed a way to test some individuals' blood for an alien contaminant, however the test will only register as far back as four generations, so it isn't perfect, yet. In the future I hope to make the device register any trace amounts of alien DNA in human blood, perhaps proving positively that aliens have been living among us since the beginning. Now, the first group of aliens I want to talk about first left evidence of their being on earth in 24 BC. We have these artifacts with their language. The nearest that we've been able to figure out, they are called H'san Natall, and their mission on Earth was to grow food and ship it and laborers back to their planet. There are accounts in languages that we know today of seeing objects in the sky and people disappearing in a beam of light. Now, while most intelligent people might write that off as a tall tale, or maybe as superstition or imagination, I've seen too many accounts of things like this to call it coincidence."
Mallory looked over to Isaiah, who was leaned forward in his chair, staring intently at the professor. She smiled to herself. And he hadn't wanted to come.
An hour and a half later, the professor had started closing the lecture up.
"Now, folks, I'd like to end this lecture with a demonstration. Do I have any volunteers to take the test to see if you're part alien?"
He looked around the room. Two people raised their hands, and he called them up.
"How about two more? We might get lucky and get the four aliens in the crowd. No one else?" He looked around the room. "How about you, ma'am?" he asked a woman in the front row. The woman went up to the podium. "Come on, now, no need to be nervous. Just one more person. Well, how about you, young man? With the pretty date?" he pointed at Isaiah, and Mallory smiled.
"Go ahead. Maybe your great-grandfather was Kryptonian or something."
Isaiah shrugged and went up to the podium. The first three people went with no results. Isaiah stepped up and put his finger in the device. He winced when it pricked his finger, and when he pulled it out he pinched his thumb against it to stop the bleeding. The machine beeped, and the professor did a double take.
"Well, folks, we got lucky. According to the reading, this young man is, indeed, part alien. I couldn't have planned a better way to end the lecture. Well, have a good day, and feel free to join me again."
Mallory stood and rushed to the podium, where Isaiah was saying, "What do you mean, I'm part alien?"
"Well, I thought the statement was rather self explanatory, but you are at least half alien. See for yourself." He showed them the screen, and they read the result for themselves.
"This can't be right. I happen to know for a fact that both of my parents are human," Isaiah said.
"Look, kid, I don't know what to tell you. That little device hasn't been wrong yet. Maybe you should go home and have a nice, long talk with your folks. Have a nice day, kids." The man walked backstage and Mallory slipped her hand in Isaiah's.
"Come on, he's not going to talk to you," she said.
He followed absentmindedly as she led him out of the building. They walked a few blocks in silence, then Mallory looked at him. "I'm sorry I made you go," she said.
He shook his head. "No, it's fine. His thing made a mistake, that's all. Hey, is there some way your team could do a DNA test on me? You know, just to make sure."
Mallory shrugged. "Yeah, I guess, but you might not like the results. At least with this you have some doubt."
Isaiah sighed. "Yeah, uh, I'd just feel better knowing one of my parents isn't an alien, that's all."
She nodded. "Ok, I'll ask Wally if he knows how to do it. He's into all that forensic science stuff."
"Thanks," he said. They walked on down the street on silence.
Two days later, Mallory, Isaiah, and Wally were in the lab at the cave. Wally had run some tests on Isaiah's blood, and he was about to give them the final verdict.
"I'm sorry, man, but half of your DNA isn't human," Wally said. Isaiah stared at him. Mallory looked at her friend.
"So if half of him is alien, that means one of his parents has to be an alien, right?"
Wally nodded. "I ran the DNA against all the aliens in the League, but none were a match. I can keep looking, if you want."
Isaiah shook his head. "Thanks, man, but it's not important." Mallory and Wally exchanged a subtle glance. "Mal, I'm gonna go on home. I'll see you tomorrow, k?"
Mallory nodded. "I'll walk you to the zeta tube," she said. When they got to it, Mallory said, "what are you thinking?"
Isaiah shrugged. "I don't know. I think I'm a freak, that's what, and that my parents lied to me."
"You think one of them is an alien and they aren't telling you?" she asked.
He shrugged. "I don't know, but it explains my powers."
"Except that Nikki doesn't have powers, and neither do your parents."
He nodded. "Yeah. Well, I'm gonna ask them tonight. I have to know what I am. Well, I guess I'm not really anything. I'm a half breed."
Mallory tilted her head. "Being an alien doesn't make you less of a person. Some of my best friends are aliens, and I don't care about it in the least. I don't care that you are either. I love you."
He smiled a little. "Thanks, Mal. I'll talk to you tomorrow." He gave her a quick kiss, then stood in front of the scanner.
"Recognized, hotspot, b09." The computer said, then it sucked him in.
Mallory went back to the lab to see the speedster waiting for her.
"Wally, are you sure?" Mallory asked.
He nodded. "Do you want me to keep looking for a DNA match for him?" He asked.
Mallory shook her head. "No, if he doesn't want it, there's no need to." She leaned against the counter while Wally cleaned out the machine. "Wait, if he has his power because he's half alien, could that be why I have mine, too?" She asked, not knowing if she wanted the answer.
"It could be. And you don't know who either of your birth parents are, so it's a possibility." He turned to face her. "Do you want me to run some tests?" He asked.
Mallory nodded. "But don't tell anyone, alright?"
"Sure. It'll take a while to run this, I'll have to do it a little bit at a time."
"That's fine. How long?"
He shrugged. "A few weeks, I don't know."
She nodded. "Ok, maybe by then I'll have forgotten about it."
He drew a vial of blood and put it away, then he went home and Mallory went to her room to think.
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