From the Stars (closed with cashewmanz)

[Loner]

Michael shifted his backpack on his shoulder as he made his way down Cedar street,
just off the college's Rec Sports Annex where he'd finished swimming. It was
late September, and a bit chilly, but not so much as to be uncomfortable, which was
why he'd decided going for a dip after his last class of the day would be nice.

Glancing around him as he stopped at a crosswalk, he noticed that he'd also stayed
a bit later than he meant to, as twilight had settled across the college campus.
"I really need to remember to set an alarm on my phone," he muttered quietly to himself,
shifting his backpack again as he waited for a walk signal.

His own apartment was a little over a mile away, and while it wasn't too bad of a walk, it did
take him past a few alleyways downtown where there had been muggings lately, and he'd been hoping
to get past them before dark.

Waving as one of his classmates drove by a few moments later, Michael made his way across the street
towards downtown as the wind gently stirred his brown hair, bringing with it the scents of multiple
restaurants in the city's interior - spanning everything from greek and italian, to burgers and fries.

A small smile crossed his features as he remembered meeting Amy, his girlfriend, at one of his
favorite spots, the Northside Bistro, just a few months beforehand. She'd said she was going
to be out of town over the weekend on family business, which was a little saddening since he'd been hoping they
could chill and watch Netflex on the couch, but he supposed he could always spend the weekend
playing one of his videogames.

A lightbulb suddenly flickering on in the back of his mind, he found himself grinning. "Oh, that's
right, I forgot that Evolve should be out by now." Paying little attention as he wandered past
a particularly dark alleyway, he continued talking to himself. "I wonder if I can download it
on my PS4..."

Suddenly, out of nowhere, a rough and muscled arm snaked around his neck and yanked him savagely
back into the alleyway's darkness. As Michael's eyes widened and he began struggling reflexively,
a harsh voice said, "Quiet." A few moments later, the young man felt the barrel of a pistol poking
into his lower back. "Pull out your wallet and toss it on the ground if you don't want to die."

Michael's mind was awash with fear and apprehension as the gun pushed up against him even harder.
"O-okay..." he whispered, his hand trembling as he started to reach into his pocket to get his
wallet out.

[cashewmanz]

Amy watched from above and gasped under her breath as she saw Michael taken from the shadows. She'd felt terrible enough following him around without him knowing. She'd told him she had an interview this weekend, and left him alone, but stayed behind in order to see the sorts of things that he'd get up to without her around. Her parents needed to approve of him, after all, and she wasn't allowed to interfere with the approval process. But she couldn't let this happen. Michael worked hard for his money, and there was a good chance the muggers wouldn't care whether he'd given them a struggle or not. Not my love, you bastards...she thought.

She reached into her back pocket and pulled out a small metal square. There were a myriad of glowing lights and buttons. Pressing one caused the square to fold out to about two square feet. Another combination of buttons caused a grid to light up, and the blueprint of a rifle to appear. After a few seconds, the plans had materialized and the weapon rested in her hands. "Excellent," she whispered as she looked down the sights.

When Michael's wallet hit the ground, the mugger released his grip on her boyfriend to pick it up. That's when he lined up perfectly. She shot an electrical bolt straight into his chest, stunning him temporarily. She leaped from the rooftop into the alley and grabbed the mugger's pistol, which disappeared into thin air along with her rifle. "You leave him alone, or you'll regret it," Amy threatened as stood guard in front of Michael.

[Loner]

Staggering forward slightly as the mugger released his grip on him to bend over and pick up the young man's wallet, Michael blinked in surprise as a few seconds later a multi-colored flash of light seemed arc over his shoulder and slam into his assailant. Immediately thereafter, a feminine form dropped off a nearby rooftop, with what looked like an exotic rifle of some kind in her hands.

As his eyes tracked up to her face, Michael's confusion only grew. "Amy?" he said in surprise, watching as his girlfriend calmly picked up the pistol that had been held to his back seconds earlier and with a flick of her wrist, somehow made it disappear, before threatening the man now sprawled, twitching on his back, a few feet behind Michael.

"Amy...?" Michael asked again, bewildered by the sudden turn of events. "What's going on? I thought you had an interview or something this weekend," he continued, his voice still shaky as a mixture of adrenaline and fear coursed through his system. His eyes flickered briefly over her empty hands that had held some kind of exotic weapon just moments ago.

Maybe it was the adrenaline, or just the sudden terror he'd felt, but he was all of a sudden very aware of all the information his senses were feeding him, from the still damp texture of his hair, to the faint whiff of Amy's shampoo. "What was that brief flicker of electricity just now?" he asked, trying to will his heartbeat to slow down from it's furious rhythm.

[cashewmanz]

"Huh--uh!" Amy grunted as she gave the mugger a swift kick in the ribs. She turned to Michael, feeling a little nervous at having to explain herself. "Shhh, Michael. Just breathe," she said as she hugged him around the chest. "Calm down, everything will be clear soon...we just...can't talk about it here," when Michael asked another question she cut him off with a kiss.

"Be quiet, you. I'll tell you everything once we get to my place. For now, I'm just happy you're okay." She took his hand and led him out of the alley and back across campus to her apartment. She lived on the top floor, so the elevator ride was long and a little awkward given the silence. Once they reached her door at the end of the hall, she shoved Michael in quickly, and locked the door several times over behind them when she was inside.

Finally alone, she looked at him with anger in her eyes. "What were you thinking!" She scolded as she gave him a sharp push. "Going down that way this late at night? You know how many people have been killed around there? And you were alone, too! I thought you were smarter than that! Don't ever scare me like that, I...I can't lose you..." she finished her rant and wiped a tear from her eye.

[Loner]

Michael glanced down somewhat abashed for a few moments at Amy's scolding, but despite the heated words he could feel the undercurrent of worry and concern in her voice. As she finished up, wiping a small tear from her left eye, his feelings of guilt only grew.

"Amy, look, I just thought I would be okay as long as I could make it past there before sundown..." he started before realizing that was just an excuse. In all honesty, she was right in that it had been foolish of him to venture past that section of the city regardless of the time of day.

A slight flush coloring his cheeks, he said, "I'm sorry, and you're right, I...I shouldn't have been out in that area alone." Stepping forward and wrapping his arms gently around her, he asked softly, "Will you forgive me?"

His own heartbeat had gradually slowed down over the last hour, and now that Amy was pressed up against him, a sudden sense of relief seemed to bloom from within his chest, and caused him to sag a little. Just barely, he thought he could feel his girlfriend's heartbeat against his own, mirroring the slow and steady thrum.

[cashewmanz]

"Of course I forgive you," Amy sniffled. She rubbed at his back before pulling away to pace about the room. She started to speak a number of times but couldn't bring the words out to say to him. She nervously bit her lip and twirled her curly red hair around her finger as she looked up at her boyfriend.

"I'm sure you want to know how I made it there...it's, well...it's a very long story. And I'm not sure I even know where to start, Michael. Just, ask me whatever questions you might have, and...I'll do my best to answer you, okay?" She grabbed his hands and ran her thumb over his knuckles as she awaited a response.

[Loner]

Michael hesitated for a few seconds, trying to figure out which of the thousand or so questions running through his mind he should ask first. Everything had seemed to happen so fast that the experience had been surreal.

Looking into her blue eyes, he finally asked, "I really don't understand any of this, but..." Squeezing her fingers gently, he continued, "What was that bright flash of light back in the alleyway? I mean, for a second I thought I saw some kind of gun in your hands, but when I looked again, it was gone."

He could tell that something was clearing making her nervous, and it seemed to be separate from her concern over the mugging, so he led her over to a nearby couch and sat them down. "Baby, you know I won't judge you, so you don't have to hide anything," he said softly, giving her a small smile.

Inwardly though, Michael still felt a little unsure of himself. He wouldn't just pass judgement on Amy, no matter the reason, but at the same time...he felt like there was an ocean's depth worth of information his girlfriend was keeping from him, and it was more than a little unsettling.

[cashewmanz]

"Okay...how best do I describe that..." Amy thought as she gazed off at the ceiling. "I made it with this," she said as she pulled the metal square out of her pocket once more. "I guess you would call it...hmmm...a Materializer, is the best word I can think of that describes what it does. You enter in plans for whatever you want it to make, and it pulls from storage the materials required to make it. When you're done, it disassembles the object and sends the materials back for later use. It can disassemble any non-organic matter you put into it, which is how I disposed of the mugger's gun." She looked nervously at Michael to see if he understood her correctly.

[Loner]

Staring quizzically at the little cube in her hands, Michael huffed out a sigh after a few moments. "Wow." Glancing back up at Amy's face, he said, "I've never heard of anything like that. I wouldn't have thought something like that even existed."

Biting his lip, he blurted out his next question. "I thought you had to go out of town this weekend though, so how did you find me in that alleyway?" he asked, his hands quivering slightly as he recalled the sensation of having the pistol pressed up against his back and a rough arm around his neck. "And how did you manage to jump off a building's rooftop without hurting yourself?" he added, remembering that it must have been at least a thirty foot drop.

[cashewmanz]

"Yeah...it's something that's not too common around these parts, that's for sure..." Amy said, still trying to avoid the absolute truth with him.

"Well, I didn't actually leave. You see...I told my parents about you. How amazing you were, how happy you made me. I told them you were perfect in every way, but they didn't believe me. At first, anyway. So I told them they could see for themselves. But they wouldn't let me interfere, so I had to observe you from afar as you went about your business alone. And as for the rooftop...my body's better equipped for that kind of stuff than you might think."

[Loner]

He studied her face for a few seconds before looking away. He had a sneaking suspicion that there was still a great deal that his girlfriend wasn't telling him, but he didn't want to make Amy uncomfortable by pushing the issue too hard.

Forcing a smile, he leaned over and enveloped Amy in a hug. "Well, whatever workout regimen you're using, I'd love to give it a shot if it can offer results like that," he said, pulling back and getting to his feet to stretch. Bending over, he retrieved his backpack from the floor and pulled a Gatorade out of it, taking a sip and then offering it to Amy in case she wanted any.

Neither of them had ever really spoken about their parents much, or where they came from, and Michael had always figured that the subject would come up at it's own leisure. But...

"So when do I get to meet your parents?" he asked, trying to coax a smile from his girlfriend. "It's kind of hard to try and make a good impression on someone you've never met," he joked.

[cashewmanz]

"I'll have to show them the footage of you. I can cut out the part where you got mugged, that's a clear outlier and they don't need to see that. They'll see you were working out and staying fit and be very impressed with how healthy you are." She took one of his biceps and gave it a playful squeeze. "As for meeting them, well, whenever they're willing to come down I'll let you know."

[Loner]

Michael nodded with a faint smile. "Just give me a heads up so I can clean up my place first, it's really a wreck at the moment," he said, feeling kind of sheepish after thinking about the dirty clothes strewn all over his apartment.

Stretching lightly again, he winced as he felt a little twinge in his neck. Touching the sore spot gingerly with his fingers, he suspected that he was probably going to wind up with a bit of a bruise sometime soon.

Grabbing his backpack from the floor, he walked over and gave Amy a small kiss and a wink. "Well, I should probably head home, I've got an exam tomorrow, and I should study first." Catching himself before he did something stupid, he added, "Don't worry, I'll catch a cab."

[cashewmanz]

"Are you sure? You could stay here if you wanted," Amy said, not wanting to be alone just yet. But she could sense that Michael needed time to think about what had happened on his own, and she let him go. "Make sure you call me tomorrow!" She couldn't let him go just yet, so she ran after him and gave him a longer kiss to let him know she still loved him despite their awkward conversation.

[Loner]

"I'll call you every day if you want," Michael said playfully, sweeping Amy up in his arms and kissing her back. The feel of her in his arms, warm and soft and alive, soothed his worries and helped reassure him that everything would be alright.

A few moments later he let her go reluctantly, and with a wave, headed outside and caught a cab back to his apartment. Over the next few weeks, things gradually returned to normal, what with his studies and the occasional get together with friends, until the mugging barely seemed real at all.

[cashewmanz]

Several weeks later, Amy and Michael had a special date night planned out. She'd suggested the whole thing: they'd go to the nicest restaurant in town, go dancing, get some drinks, and then spend the night at her place. She was doing her best to get herself ready. She'd put on a red dress and done her makeup, and was waiting for Michael to arrive so she could drive him wild by pretending she wasn't ready yet.

[Loner]

Adjusting his tie somewhat nervously, Michael knocked on the door to Amy's apartment, then looked around him. His girlfriend's apartment complex was a bit more upscale than his, not to mention bigger, and he felt somewhat out of place.

When the door opened a few moments later, his eyes widened slightly at the sight of Amy, looking beautiful in a red dress he'd never seen before. "Wow, you look awesome," he said, stepping inside and giving her a kiss.

[cashewmanz]

"Oh, you're too kind, really..." Amy blushed as she returned with a kiss on the cheek. "Besides, you're the one who's looking all sharp and handsome. You're like a regular James Bond!" She complimented Michael, reaching out and straightening his tie a little bit. "Are we ready to go?" She said, placing her arm through Michael's to be led downstairs.

[Loner]

"Ready and willing, now and forever," Michael replied with a smile, placing his hand over hers and leading them down to his car. It was a white Mazda RX7, one of the earlier models from the eighties, and though he'd bought it in terrible condition, he'd been doing what little he could to restore it over the past year.

"So what's the restaurant like?" he asked a few minutes later, as they pulled onto the highway for a brief stint. Their destination was a place he'd never been before, but that Amy had recommended, named Khaavren's. It had only opened up about six months beforehand, but was already the talk of the town from what Michael could tell.

[cashewmanz]

"Oh you'll love it! It's almost like a 'global experience' and they have a rotating menu so the chefs can try cooking different regional cuisines. I went on opening day and it was a sushi night. There's no telling what it'll be until we get there, though. I'm hoping for Middle Eastern food." Amy was grinning with excitement, and was incredibly grateful that they'd made a reservation when she saw just how full the parking lot was. "Thank goodness we have a table!"