Galaxy Angel

Synopsis: A teenager, Angelia Marie Farrow is top in her class at everything, except when it comes to being graceful. She's still a little clumsy, but ballet classes help her with balance. One night, as she's watching a meteor shower, a blinding light approaches her and she finds herself aboard a spaceship. The aliens keep referring to her as 'Galaxy Angel' but she isn't sure why until she tries on their 'star guantlet' and transforms into a superheroine with unrivaled power and ability.

"The cosmos are also inside each of us, we're made of star stuff. We are a way that the cosmos can know itself."-Carl Sagan

Chapter 1—Excelling in Everything...Well, Almost

Angelica Marie Farrow had been a 'teacher's pet' since she had entered the public school at the tender age of 5. She had gotten herself into classes no other child had and many were labelling her as a genius. She didn't accept the terminology well. In fact, she found it downright offensive, because she knew her peers wouldn't bother playing with her or socializing with her, and Angie was a proverbial butterfly when it came to making friends. Of course, most of these so called 'friends' always wanted her to do their homework, but she became wise to their schemes. Even from youth, she learned how to be businesslike and professional. Some, she knew she could trust, while others, she kept at arms' length. She could discern good intent from bad and her circle of friends, though small, was enough to steer her through troubled waters of adolescence. However, Angie's blaze existence was about to be transformed drastically when she went on a trip with her astronomy club. Her destiny was about to be altered; permenantly.

After being subject to Ms. Dupree's constant criticism in ballet, Angie massaged her poor sore feet and stretched before taking her leotard, shoes and legwarmers in her Domo-kun duffle bag. She had ambivilance toward the class, even though it taught her the essentials of balance. She felt much happier participating in Tai Chi with Master Hanoi since it was far easier and her clumsiness was not so apparent as it was in ballet. Yoga also helped her tone down her temper quite a bit, since there were times Elana Dupree could irk her.

An evening out at Monacle's Pizza brought Angie into a far better peace. One could say eating pizza was equivalent to zen for her, like so many other enjoyable activities that made her forget about her ballet teacher's somet-mes cruel criticism. Of course, her parents and her little sister, Bella, had to ask her about everything that had happened in the duration of the day, but Angie was all too happy to tell them. Yet, Angie was experiencing an existential crisis. It was so frustrating, she felt as if she would explode. She could no longer pretend around her beloved parents, or her little sister. Unable to hold back, she left Monacle's before melting down completely and rode to the library on her bicycle. Of course, she knew she would be chewed out by mom and dad when she came home. At least at the library she could have some much needed time alone, amongst philosophers and great thinkers of the ages. Maybe she could garner insight from them ?

Chapter 2—Starry Encounter

That evening after savoring the best and tastiest pizza she had ever consumed, Angie went outside to the deck to look through her telescope. Coming here was also an escape from the everyday, blaze, ho-hum, humdrum existence she knew.

Looking through Kepler, her telescope, she viewed planets that normally couldn't be seen by the human eye. Saturn was particularly breathtaking tonight, and it had always been a favorite of hers.

"It's not surprising you are the jewel of the Universe.", she thought to herself. Such a dazzling jem, adored with rings and even tiny moons acting as an entourage. What more could a planet ask for ? She sighed, wondering if life had been present there, as well as any of the other planets, or if there were other Earths in the Universe. She knew that there were, they just needed to be discovered. Suddenly, her eye caught something brilliant and spherical, darting quickly, to and fro. It moved much faster than a comet or meteorite, and it wasn't in a fixed freefall like one of those objects would be.

She wanted to rush and grab her camcorder so she could record everything that was coming to pass just to prove UFOs were still among us. Yet, before she could rush inside her home and grab her camera, a mysterious force pulled her from her porch off the ground.

She gasped, trying to remain calm. She had no idea why she was being taken aboard their craft but she didn't much care for the plan they had in mind. Immediately, she heard a voice, strangely humanoid.

"Do not fear, Angelica. We have come to recruit you to try an experiment.", the lyrical voice said.

"Experiment ?", she thought. Apparently, they were telepathic.

"Yes, but not in the sense that you so mistakenly think of now. I do not know why people think we're perverts.", the voice said, with a hint of humor. Angelica knew what the alien was referring to and laughed a bit.

"We have been watching you and no one else comes to mind for our expiriment. Please consider this a gift as well as a challenge.", the voice stated. Soon, she found herself inside the craft and face to face with a race of aliens that had multiple eyes on each side of their igthiod faces. They had webbed fingers and gills but seemed to breathe without aid of water helmets. Obviously, they were amphibian humanoids.

Chapter 3—The Igamphid Race

The leader of the alien race began to explain their plight and pleaded her case to Angie. "We Igamphids need someone pure of heart and quick of intellect, swift of foot and strategic.", Ia stated.

Ia was possibly the most lovely creature Angie had ever seen, but then again, these were the first extraterrestrials she had even been in contact with.

Angie remembered the addage 'be careful what you wish for'. She had been longing for excitement and adventure for the longest time in her short existence, but she never thought it would be on an intergalactic scale.

"What if, in all your research, you have chosen incorrectly ? What if I am unable to provide what you need ? And besides, shouldn't there be others besides myself to assist in the cause of protecting our Universe from evil ? The Universe is vast and ever expanding.", Angie stated, observantly.

"We knew you would be asking all these questions. We feel you are the best candidate. You have a good aura and much potential. Of course, you haven't discovered this yet, Galaxia.", Ia responded.

She wasn't certain what Ia had meant by calling her Galaxia, but she was about to find out.

Chapter 4—The Gauntlet of the Cosmos

As soon as the starship docked in its hull, the Igamphid aliens gave Angie the grand tour of their living establishment. Though the planet Igamphibios was far more advanced than that of Earth. The people here lived in harmony with everything around them. Even their pets seemed to provide a sort of symbiotic relationship.

Ia and her lifemate, Ib led Angie to their geodesic habitat. In the den, prismatic in architecture, a glass enclosure sheltered the gauntlet, which looked like it had been untouched for centuries. A light shone on it from their blazing multiple suns, causing the jellyfish dust motes around it to scatter and seek darker places to hide.

"This gauntlet has not seen a hero in eons.", Ib said, straightforwardly.

"I noticed.", Angie retorted, with a chuckle. The aliens laughed in a rather amphibian way. The sound reminded Angie of peepers in her backyard and she couldn't help but smile. With a wave of Ia's webbed hand, the enclosure sank into the nature surrounding it.

"Go ahead. Try it on, and see if it is a fit.", Ib gestured. Angie wasn't very sure this was such a brilliant plan, but she couldn't help feeling as if she was pulled to the gauntlet magnetically. The force itself was irresistible.

Angie picked up the golden gauntlet. In the light, it seemed iradescent, translucent and prismatic. Without even hesitating, she slipped it on her left hand. The overwhelming surge of power she felt was indescribable. Her awareness expanded beyond anything humanly possible. Yet, she knew now what she had to do. She was now, as the Igamphids had labeled her, Galaxia. The onus would be massive, as vast and expansive as the Cosmos itself. Yet, she knew no other person was going to do this for her. Back on earth, somehow, she knew someone else would substitute for her. She could see a baby sister in her future, a Raye. She would ease her parent's pain and agony. Though Angie would always be in her parent's consciousness, Raye would help them overcome her absense or, as they understood it, 'death'.

Chapter 5—Phenomenal Cosmic Powers

It wasn't always easy being the 'Savior of the Cosmos'. Every threat, no matter how small, was thwarted and swept away by Galaxia's cosmic ray. Whatever her mind could envision, she could enact, much like Hal Jordan of Green Lantern lore. Yet, she had no idea that being so powerful could be lonely. Of course, she received thanks from all the countless worlds she saved day in and day out and she had been able to take 'power meditations' before other realms were attacked by militant forces. Yet, after a while, she was really starting to contest whether she wanted to continue being Galaxia or not.

After entering her geodesic home, not far from the Emperoress' living establishment, Galaxia's vestiges vanished and her home dress appeared. The clothing the Igamphids wore was gossamer in consistency and quite breezy. Everything flowed to the movement of the body and was like wearing nothing at all. Typically on a night like tonight, watching the blazing constellations of Igamphid, seeing the triplet moons made her sad, and quite homesick. Unable to sleep, she wearily walked over to Ia's 'Illuminiarium' (what they called the library, all Igamphids were connected to it) and decided to have a sit down with Ia.

"You're troubled by your responsibilities.", the Empress said without missing a beat. Her shimmering eyes, much like that of a fish, blinked with a fwip-fwip sound, a sort of sticky noise as she opened and closed her four-fold eyelids.

"What gave me away ?", Angie questioned, a bit surprised. Even now, having lived here for years, Ia's psychic tuning was unpresidented.

"Your aura is dim. You aren't happy whatsoever. Ib and I never should've put so much pressure on you. But now we know why there are so few Galaxy Angels in the Universe. It truly is a lonely calling.", she said, sadly.

"Why couldn't you do it ? Don't you have the capability ?", Angie asked, almost without thinking. She quickly covered her mouth, feeling the question blasphemous, and perhaps rude. Ia chuckled, not taking offense to Angie's inquiry.

"We will have to hold counsil about this and ponder the inquiry more throughly. If you still consider relinquishing the gauntlet of the Cosmos, it would not be taken harshly.", Ia said, openly.

"I didn't mean for it to come to this.", Angie said, with regret in her tone.

"We were wrong to think an outsider wouldn't become homesick. It's rare that we find someone as selfless and altruistic as you. You did make our finest heroine yet. I will admit to that bias.", Ia stated with a broad, gummy grin.

"Let me sleep on my decision for a while. If I decide to stick with it, please return me home.", Angie said. It was with that that Ia did something uncommon. She drew the human close and kissed her on the forehead.

"Good. Sleep then, Galaxia. Tomorrow you'll be in a better frame of mind to think things through clearly.", Ia said, reassuringly.

With that off her chest, Angie returned to her home and her bedroom, opened the chamber and set herself into suspension for the night.

Chapter 6—The High Council Makes its Decision

That night, Angie had a dream about her sister, Raye. Raye often talked to the stars at night, feeling that a part of her was missing. She wanted to reach out and embrace her sister just then, but since it was the astral plane, she could only do so in spirit. Somehow, though, she was certain she made an impact, since she could feel the wetness of her sister's tears upon her cheek.

The following day, Angie dressed in the clothing she had arrived in since the close encounter. Oddly, it still smelled of roses, slight musk and a hint of jasmine and nothing of sweat. It was her favorite color, royal purple, and the headband kept back her curly raven tresses. As she ran to the library, she informed the Empress of her decision, and Ia nodded, with a gentle, maternal smile.

"It is done then. We will have you sent home via teleport immediately. Ib, my husband, shall take you to the transport room.", Ia said. After she had left, she had already started gathering a council of Elders to choose a new savior who wouldn't mind leaving her former life behind and 'maintaining the balance' as it were.

Epilogue

It seemed that all of the defending Angie had done was a distant memory; like a past life that had resurfaced in her current existence. All the flash and opulence mixed with humility she had incarnated was now only a dream. Her only connection with Igamphid was a psychic link she and Ia had formed. Angie marveled that brain waves could travel through light years. She remembered what she understood of string theory, realizing that from the moment she and Ia touched, they were connected. Nothing could change that. Not even time or distance. Maybe later in life they would be connected in a new, interesting way in a manner neither one of them would've ever guessed. But now, Angie was pleased to be home with her sister, providing her the role model and friend she had wanted and prayed for since she could speak.

The world Angie existed it, though it hadn't changed much, had become even more dynamic than she could've ever predicted. Everywhere she walked, love lived. And now, being sage to a little sister was the greatest gift and perigrination she could've ever desired. Again, she heard the wise words of Ia echo in her consciousness, as she had since the departure;

"Always trust your heart to make the correct decisions in life. It is often times the heart is wiser than the mind. There is where true intuition dwells". Knowingly, placing her hand over her chest, she beamed an ecstatic smile, and ran with her sister across her favorite field, savoring the change and dew that spring brought.

The End