KAI

"Hey, Kai," I try not to groan at my best friend and roommate's voice echoing in my ear. I've been looking for different ways to terminate this conversation since she mentioned going to her ex-boyfriend’s gallery opening. Unfortunately, I can't hang up because I don't want to deal with her wrath when I get home. So instead, I just have to endure until she's done talking.

"I'm listening, Zazie. What do you need... again?" I ask.

I see her through the phone, rolling her eyes, batting her long, artificial lashes at me. "Can you come to his gallery with me?" I open my mouth to object but she continues. "And before you say no, just remember you owe me for the time I saved you from your crazy ex."

How did I know she was going to pull that shit? Everytime I try to say no to her, she brings up my stalker.

"It's not the same. You want me to come with you because you know Hartley hates seeing me with you," I say as the waiter gestures towards my empty mug, I give him a nod as a go ahead to refill, and continue my conversation with Zazie. "We'll talk about this when I get home, I'm busy at the moment." That's just a polite way of telling her to fuck off.

"With what? Anyway, I don't care, just remember to pick up dinner before you come home."

"Why do I always have to be the one to buy dinner? You and Lee live in my house for free, and you demand I buy you everything. I refuse to do that today, it's a new year and I'm making some changes." 

"Does that include getting a girlfriend? Don't answer that, I already know what your answer would be. Today is cheat meal day, so I'm thinking pizza, fries, ice cream–"

"Didn't you hear what I just said, Zazie? I–"

"Love you, see you tonight. Don't be late, muah." She ends the call after the prolonged kissing sounds. Argh!

How did I get so lucky? Or more accurately, unlucky.

I shake my head and drop my phone on the table beside my laptop. My eyes roam  the screen and the project I'm working on glares back at me. It's my day off from work, I should be resting. I deserve it after working my ass off for the past ten years. I shouldn't even be here this morning. I'm supposed to be in my house, sleeping the day away but Lee, my third roommate, is so loud. I had no idea how bad he was until his screaming girlfriend almost ruptured my eardrum off.

I sip my coffee and type away on my laptop. I don't know how much time has gone by since I arrived, everything is a blur, something that tends to happen when I have my mind focused on something. That is until I hear the murmuring around me, I try to ignore them but it's hard when I can hear all them at once. I break my concentration and look around the coffee shop, where I notice everyone on their feet staring out the window. I close my laptop and put it safely in my bag before grabbing my phone and walking out of the booth, at the back of the shop. I didn't want any distraction, that's the sole reason I picked the place.

"What's going on?" I ask no one in particular but I don't get any reply, they are all focused on what's happening outside.

Out of curiosity, I stare out the window to see what's captured everyone's attention. That's when I see her...

A woman in the middle of the road fighting some men, I count seven. Judging from her outfit and her choice of weapon, she is not from around here. I watch a man kick her, which causes her to fly backwards. I cringe when her back hits a metal pole, rather than her being injured, the pole breaks on impact.

My eyes go to the seven men, who are also dressed like her chase after her. There's no doubt that they won't stop until she's dead. 

The woman stands up straight like she didn't just get kicked in the gut and her back slammed against a metal pole. She shouldn't be on her feet and she sure as hell shouldn't be standing straight. I watch her take a deep breath before tossing a dagger at one of them, he dodges it. And I'm left wondering where the dagger came from. I could have sworn I didn't see her hold any weapon.

She begins to walk towards them and does something with her hands like she's trying to throw a frisbee. I watch the chakrum leave her hand and head straight for the men, they didn't see it coming, just like I didn't see her holding it. The weapon beheads six of them and they vanish before the body can land on the ground. The last man turns his heels and makes a run for it. She shakes her head and begins to go after him.

I don't know what just happened but I know that woman is dangerous, she just murdered six people without moving. I need to find out what just happened. I leave the cafe to follow her, not missing the confused look on everyone's faces.

Jogging behind her, I see her aim what looks like a shuriken, but before it can hit him, the man jumps into a portal that appears in front of him out of nowhere. The woman moves with an impossible speed, and from my point of view I think she's trying to get inside the portal but it closes before she can jump in.

"No!" She screams.

"Hey lady, are you okay?" I ask as I walk closer to her, hoping to get a read on her.

She stills at the sound of my voice and turns around to look at me. The first thing I notice is how dark her eyes are. Her face is expressionless, not a look I see a lot on women.

Who is she? Where did she come from?

Her gaze drops from my face to my chest, staring hard at it like she's trying to figure me out. I look down to see if there's anything fascinating on my shirt and that's when I see the 'you don't owe man shit' boldly printed on my shirt. Courtesy of Zazie.

"Where am I?" She demands.

I don't know what to make of the question. She just asked where she is. I don't mind the question, but the way she asked, her tone, it sounded more like a demand than a question making me feel as though I needed to answer her.

"Answer me lesser being before I make you!"

Lesser being? What the hell is wrong with this woman? 

"Ask me nicely and I might think about answering you. Do away with the tone." I advise her. If she wants her question answered, then she should ask with some respect.

"How. Dare. You?" She grits out before dropping her arms besides her. I want to give her my reply but I’m not given the chance as she cracks a whip. The leather wraps around my neck, choking the life out of me. "Now, where am I? What realm is this?"

The whip grips my neck and something sharp begins to pierce my skin. I move my hands to try and remove it but I quickly retract them when the blade pricks my palm.

What the hell?

I slap my thighs in surrender, reaching forward for her to stop but she doesn't. She has this look on her face, it's dead, void of emotions. I've met bad people. I've fought villains but the woman standing in front of me is a monster.

"I ca....can't breeeeeaath." I choke out before dropping on my knees. And seconds later I feel the whip loosen around my neck. I place my hands on the ground to keep myself from falling and suck in gulps of air. My hands move from the ground and go around my neck, rubbing what I’m sure is bruised skin. I cough thrice and begin to feel the wound close on my neck, as my breathing begins to regulate.

"What are you?" She asks. I’d say that’s progress since she didn't demand it.

I glare at her and watch her run the whip over the ground, indirectly telling me she's not afraid to use it again. I remove my hands from my neck and hold them out in front of me in surrender. Not sure what or who I'm surrendering to.

"Okay, okay, okay, you are on Earth, planet Earth. New York. You're in New York City." I answer.

She looks away from me to study the environment. My eyes stay on the whip but something strange happens. The whip begins to move upward but as I look at her where her hand should be holding it, I see nothing. I stare hard at her opened palm and realise the whip is going inside her body.

Wow, I've never seen anything like that.

I stand up now that I’m feeling up to it and let out a deep breath. Her eyes meet mine as she begins to move closer. I should run but I know I can't be fast enough. I've seen her move. 

"You heal fast," she comments and stops in front of me. "Who are you? What are you?"

She's asking two completely different questions but I'll just answer it as the same. "My name is Malakai Stark." I give her my name. "Your turn to tell me who you are."

I expect another dramatic display but she surprises me when she introduces her. "I am Lurytendra, El-Laura-El, El-Sah-El Di Hipsodat," She bows to me. 

Lurytendra. El-Laura-El, El-Sah-El Di Hipsodat.

Now everything makes sense. 

I swallow hard. "You are a long way from home... Princess."

†★†

I've heard stories about her. The El Princess. But I've never met her. I probably shouldn't call her The El Princess because that's not how their language works. She's well known throughout the Galaxy. She is one of the most feared creatures. From the stories I’ve heard, I know she's a vicious, unfeeling, cruel monster that plagues her prey with their worst nightmare before killing them off.

It’s been said that she goes from planet to planet collecting bounties, but what is she doing on Earth? That's why I am here, to make sure nothing is threatening this planet. What happened today with the men was unexpected. I wasn't prepared for their arrival.

I take her bow as a truce and gesture for her to walk with me. As Laura and I are walking down the road an awkward silence lingers between us. I have so many questions but I don't know where or how to begin. She's known for nothing but her bad reputation, and after witnessing how she killed those men, I'm not sure I want to talk to her at all. I know she can kill me without breaking a sweat… There’s just one problem with that… I love living.

"You know who I am?" I'm not sure if it's a question or a confirmation. "How?"

I glance at her to find her staring at me, her expressionless face now full of curiosity. She wants to know how I know her. I'm not sure if I should tell her.

"Yeah," I decide to answer the question. "My sister Mala–" she doesn't let me finish as she interrupts me.

"Kaia?" I nod, confirming it. She stops walking, I stop too to watch her reaction. I see her clench her jaw and tighten her fists. Shouldn't have said it, I knew her reaction wouldn't be pleasant. "Malakaia Stark is your sister."

My sister and the princess are old acquaintances. My sister told me all about the princess the time they met. "Kaia and I met when I was sent to execute some people in Predan," She starts the conversation. "Did you know? Is that how you know me?"

That's how I know her. According to what my sister told me, Laura was sent to kill some people on Predan, a realm right next to Di Hipsodat, Laura's home. Laura was going to wipe out the whole place if not for my sister, who stopped her and was able to overpower her before she could. Even though there was a lot of damage done, my sister was joyful that she bested the warrior princess.

"Yes." I confess and add, "she told me what you were going to do and some other horrors about you.”

"If Kaia is your sister, then where is she? Where can I find her?" She demands in a serious tone. 

I haven't seen my sister in a while. We don't keep in touch. I'm stationed on Earth while she remains home, guarding the rest of the multiverse. 

"We are not together at the moment. We communicate when we need each other." I scrunch my nose and proceed to ask the question I've been dying to ask since I found out who she is. "What about you? Why are you here? You didn't even know where this place was, what brought you to Earth?"

She blinks, an action I find strange coming from her. She looks like she's remembering what brought her. "I was sent to execute the Riga but it appears that he fooled me. I should give him more credit than I have. He outsmarted me… He lured me out of Di Hipsodat... I called for the gatekeeper to return but he didn't answer. He has always answered, which can only mean the El Gate is sealed. I saw a portal and jumped in without thinking. The portal brought me here."

Her face falls, she looks sad. I watch her wrap her arms around herself. "It appears that I'm stranded here. I cannot go back until the El gate opens, and I don't think it's opening anytime soon. I cannot feel my father and Gar anymore, which only means that something is going on there, and I don't think it's going to be okay without me."

I reach forward to touch her, to try and at least comfort her but she flinches and steps back. "It's okay, everything is going to be okay." I assure her, ignoring her flinching.

She shakes her head and glares at me. "You don't understand, they fucking need me there. I'm the only one that can face Riga!" She snaps.

I raise my eyebrows at her choice of words. "Fucking? You just got here and you are already cussing. Tell me, just who did you touch when you first arrived?" 

I learned from my sister that Dihipians don't understand any language except their own, but they learn other languages by a simple touch of someone from the place.

"It's doesn't matter who I touch or didn't touch, what matters is that my people need my help and I'm stuck here in this stupid realm—" I cut her off.        

"It's a planet and it's not stupid." I make a move closer, but she takes a step backwards. Sighing, I hold out my hand. "Look, Laura, I promise to get you back home but, you’re right, for the most part you are stuck here, so enjoy...?"

I don't know what else to say. She's an alien on Earth. I know how dangerous she is, so I decide to make her my responsibility. That way I can keep an eye on her.

"Fine." She agrees almost immediately, she knows she doesn't have any choice. She doesn't know where she is or how to navigate this world.

Now, where to begin. I'll need to take her to my place, but before that… I need... 

My eyes fall on her strange outfit. Nope, this isn't going to work. She looks nothing like a woman. We need to change that, I just–

"Why do you think I don't look like a woman?" She asks, I can see how curious she is.

I'm taken aback by her question. She can hear my thoughts. I know she's powerful but I don't know what her powers are. I should cross telepathy off the list. "I didn't know you were a telepath." She glares. It's not the answer she's looking for. "Fine, what I meant was that you can't go around with that outfit," I tell her. "People are going to think it's Halloween."

I mean she's wearing something that looks like a superhero suit. 

"What's Halloween?" There goes the curiosity again.

"It's this thing we do on Earth every year. The Eve of All Hallows's day, celebrated by children going from door to door in costume demanding candy with menace," I define straight from the dictionary. "But not just kids, everyone celebrates Halloween here."

"That sounds stupid. Everyone going door to door demanding candy with menace sounds like stealing with threat. And this is not a costume, it's my uniform," she tells me and looks down at herself. "It's what I wear to battle."    

"Not stealing, it's a tradition—" I sigh. "Don't worry, baby steps. And about your uniform, you can't go around in that, you'll scare people away." 

"I don't have to scare them, they should be afraid of me. I am Lurytendra, El-Laura-El, El-Sah—" I cut off.

"We get it, you already introduced yourself and I heard you loud and clear the first time."

She doesn't say anything, instead she observes everything around her. Moments later, she drops her arms from her chest to her side and says, "Teach me everything I need to know about Earth."

Okay... That was easy and quick. Too quick. I expected her to fight me on it but since she asked, then I'll teach her, it'll make my job easier.
       
"Here is what's going to happen, I will take you to my home, get you settled in and tomorrow we will tour the city together." I suggest and she agrees. Today is still my day off and I need the rest. "People show some kind of expression here: smile, laugh, frown, anything. Smiling will do you real good. Science proved it."

She nods like she understands me. "We don't lie where I come from. Why should I lie about being happy when I'm not?"

Why did I have to bring it up? Now we're having a conversation about facial expressions. Fuck!        

"Happiness has nothing to do with smiling, some people smile when they are sad," I smile to prove my point. "See?" I ask through my teeth before clearing the smile. "I just smiled. Your turn."       

"You realise that I'm not a child you play games with."

I groan. I have my hands full with this one.       

"It's not a game. You have no idea how to have fun, do you?" I sigh. "I wonder how awful your childhood was," I whisper, looking at her with the corner of my eyes. "Fine, walk with me." I offer.        

She scoffs. "Not like I have a choice."

I hold out my hand, expecting her to take it but she doesn't move. I roll my eyes and move to grab her hand. Her eyes turn full black and at the same time her body temperature increases rapidly. I remove my hand from hers like I've just been burned and glare at her. "What the hell?!"
       
"Never put your filthy hands on me again!" She snarls.

"You could have just said that instead of going hot on me. People don't go around changing their body temperature here." I tell her.

She takes a threatening step closer to me but I stand my ground. "Do that again and I will make you pay. I don't need you. I can make my own way here."

My nostrils flare. "Go on then, be my fucking guest."

What the hell is she thinking? Who does she think she is? 

I see now why my sister said she didn't get along with her. The woman is a walking disaster.

She gives me a bow that looks like a final one before staring up. Next thing I know she's flying away.

I run after her but lose her almost immediately. "What the hell?!"