Chapter 7 – It’s a bird. No, it’s a plane. No, it’s…

By the time Michael got home from school, he had a wonderful feeling of euphoria. Not even his feelings of guilt and remorse over his illicit activities of the morning seemed to diminish his euphoric rush. He had used only a small percentage of his stored power during the dodge ball game. Riding home with the sun still up had seemed to top off his reserves. He couldn’t wait to find out what else he was capable of! Big Bro had mentioned this morning that he could fly. Maybe now was the time to fulfill his life long dream – to soar through the sky! He had always wanted to fly, but his need for glasses had cut that dream short. 20/20 vision was a pre-requisite for people who made a career out of flying.

Hey, big bro, you in there!

<<And where else would I be, young one?>>

I don’t know, I thought that perhaps you might have gone off to a corner somewhere to ‘ponder’.

<<I was merely awaiting for an ideal time to tell you something I have learned about myself.>>

What do you mean? I thought you knew everything there is to know about yourself?

<<It appears that just like you, I have acquired some rather unusual skills of my own.>>

Really? That’s great! What can you do?

<<When you reached out with your Shiza-haran senses, it appears that I can follow the path your senses take and actually leave your body for a short time.>>

Cool, so you’re not totally stuck to me? What else can you do?

<<I am not sure how to put this delicately, since you seem to have intense negative feelings about this morning, but when you used your senses to explore the body of your housekeeper, I was able to enter her mind.>>

Whoa, so you’re like a mind reader or something?

<<Nothing quite that dramatic. I could hear her active thoughts as if I were conversing with you. But I could not ‘read’ any deeper than that.>>

Ok, I can guess some of what she was thinking. Was she thinking of anything else other than lecherous thoughts of my parents?

<<Actually, her thoughts about your parents were not lecherous. In fact, she admires and loves your parents very much. Many of her thoughts seemed to centre on a memory of your parents all dressed in black along with several people in uniforms.>

Not lecherous?! What do you call the way she was looking at their pictures?

<<Young one, perhaps you put much thought into the reproductive processes of your species. However, just because you do, does not automatically make everyone the same.>>

In other words: get my mind out of the gutter, yeah, I get the point! Go on, what’s this about my parents dressed in black and people in uniforms?

<<It was not very clear. I cannot interpret images as well as coherent thought, however, the perspective was from a low level, and I only assumed that the other people were wearing uniforms because they were all dressed alike.>>

Ok, that really piques my curiosity! I didn’t even know my parents had black clothing! Maybe my Dad was wearing a tux, and my Mom a dark dress? And the image from a lower perspective, maybe Serena was on the floor lying down?

<<Perhaps, but as I said, the image was not clear. It is, however, something to ponder on.>>

Well, let me ‘ponder’ that later. I’ll try to figure out a way to squeeze that from Mom and Dad when they come home. But right now, I want you to teach me to fly!

<<Are you sure you are ready for this, young one?>>

Absolutely! After what I did this morning…well, I can’t change what I did, and I guess it was understandable since I am a normal red-blooded male, but I don’t think I want to misuse my powers like that again.

<<I cannot understand your feelings on this. What happened this morning was just another way of exercising your powers. Your powers are now a part of you. Would you close your eyes and walk around blind just because you can see something that you think you should not? Besides, I fail to see what is so important about watching a female of your species disrobed.>>

To quote Uther Pendragon from one of my favourite movies, ‘You wouldn’t understand, you’re not a man!’

<<Ah, from the entertainment video, Excalibur, is it not? The Pracetorians had such things as well. Give me a moment while I refer to your reference.>>

Michael had the oddest sensation as his big brother sorted through his memories. The movie Excalibur was pulled out from his memories, and images played through his mind. It was like calling up a fond memory, but these images were much clearer and sharper than any memory. If fact, if he didn’t know better, he would think that he were watching the movie off the DVD. The images fast forwarded to the point where Michael got his quote. Uther was in the process of begging Merlin to use his magic so that he could have one night with Ygraine.

<<I believe I begin to understand now. You humans are very preoccupied with reproduction, are you not?>>

Lust is a very powerful thing.

<<Indeed it must be in order to make an honourable man do dis-honourable things. However, I also believe that you have chastised yourself enough. You are, after all, only human.>>

You’re right. Even King Arthur, who managed to accomplish what his father could not, was not totally immune to lust, and strong emotions.

The images fast forwarded again, all the way to the end. Michael, who had seen the movies dozens of times, was amazed at how fast the alien entity could absorb the movie. Hey, are you watching that? You’re going so fast!

<<A most interesting story, young one. I must peruse through your memories for more.>>

Well, just don’t turn into a movie junkie now, ok? Oh, and stay away from the porn!

<<You mean this?>>

Another movie started up in Michael’s mind. This one was much different from Excalibur. Yes, I mean stuff like that. Stop that!

<<Very well, I shall peruse these at my leisure. Shall we proceed with the flying lessons, young one?>>

Damn right, and what’s with this whole ‘young one’ business? My name is Michael!

<<As you know, Shiza-harans did not have names, so when we were speaking to one who is younger, we always refer to them as young one. Since I was the youngest Shiza-haran, I never had the opportunity to use this form of address. I was always the ‘young one’ to my brothers.>>

In other words, you get a kick out of calling me young one because you finally can!

<<Correct!>>

Heh! I can relate to that! If Mom and Dad ever adopt another child, I’ll call him or her munchkin!

Michael could hear an odd sound in his head. If sounded/felt like a low rumble or vibration. He realized that his big brother was laughing! It seems that the Shiza-haran was developing a sense of humour!

<<In order to fly young one, you must assume your true form.>>

What do you mean? Why can’t I fly like this?

<<First of all, you require much more power than you currently have, and second of all, while flying within an atmosphere, you are subject to the laws of physics – especially gravity. And third of all, in your true form, you will be impervious to a certain amount of physical harm.>>

Oh… Good reasons!

Michael made his way to the back of the house. He slid open his patio door and stepped out into the backyard and into the sunshine. Instantly, he felt the now familiar feeling of warmth flowing through his body. Looking up at the sun, he could see that it was starting to set. He closed his eyes and pictured the way he looked this morning when he first saw himself in the mirror. He applied his power to his image and was surprised at how easy it was becoming to use his reservoir. For just a moment, he could almost feel another presence, but again, it was gone before he could take notice of it. There was a chill in his body as his power level dropped a bit. Opening his eyes, and looking down, he could see that his feathers were back. At his feet, the clothes he was wearing lay in tatters. Oops. There goes another outfit!

Now that he wasn’t so freaked out about it, he took a few moments to really look at his new body. The ‘feathers’ were more like soft overlapping silvery scales and they covered every inch of his body. When he raised a few up, he couldn’t see his skin underneath. He could feel a couple of new appendages on his back. Looking back, his wings were folded in tight against his body. Unlike the rest of his body, his wings were not covered with the scales. Instead, they appeared to be smooth and silvery. Reaching up to touch one, it felt smooth and both soft and hard at the same time.

He found the power socket that was against the back of the wall. Like the one in the boys change room at school, this was a standard power socket and was too small to put his fingers in. This time though, he didn’t have any handy paper clips. Thinking back to the image of the Shiza-haran changing its shape from a round orb to an elongated football, he had a bright idea. He put his right hand up against the power socket. He focused on his index and middle fingers and pictured them becoming longer and thinner. Under his command, his fingers stretched and thinned out. Soon, they were thin enough to fit into the power socket. Inserting them into the socket, he immediately felt the rush of power. However, it wasn’t as overpowering as before. It took a lot longer this time before his body was feeling hot. When he felt that he had enough, he disengaged his fingers and returned them to normal.

Alrighty, lets get this show on the road!

He flexed his wings and stretched them out to either side. He started flapping them like a bird. Faster and faster he flapped them. He had actually cleared about two inches off the ground when he heard Big Bro’s dry voice in his mind.

<<Excuse me, young one. What are you doing?>>

What does it look like? I’m trying to fly!

<<And what makes you think you can fly like that?>>

Well, that’s how birds fly. They flap their wings!

<<As I have said in the past, you are not a bird!>>

Oh. Ok, what am I supposed to do?

<<In order to fly in atmosphere, you must first conquer gravity. Gather up your energy and direct it under you.>>

Reaching inside, Michael was startled to find that his power level was actually much higher than it was earlier. His ‘true’ form seemed to be capable of absorbing more energy! Taking hold of the power, his pushed down towards his feet. Slowly, he began to rise off the ground. Wobbling a bit, he instinctively stretched out his wings for stability.

<<Very good. Now before we proceed, do you not think it would be a good idea to turn on your camouflage once again? The last thing we need is to have someone see you!>>

Chagrinned, Michael imagined himself to be transparent, and immediately disappeared. As he floated higher, he flipped his body so that he was parallel to the ground. The force he was directing at his feet now propelled him forward. Almost at once, he started to sink back down. He directed some power straight down and he leveled off. No wonder Big Bro had said he needed more power! He knew that if he kept this up, he would use up his reserves in no time at all!

Man, this is taking a lot of effort! I wonder if…

Before he could complete his thought, he was already making the modifications to his body. He reshaped the leading edge of his wings so that they became rounder with a curve on top and a flat side on the bottom. He felt a shudder course through his body as his wings acquired lift. He now had his own personal airfoil!

I’m flying! I’m really flying! Wooohooo! This is cool! Uh-oh, what’s that up ahead? Shit! It’s a telephone pole! Turn, turn, damn it! Too late!

With an audible thunk, Michael hit the telephone pole and slid to the ground.

Well, that didn’t go too well. How the hell am I supposed to steer? Can you clue me in, big bro?

<<Actually, you are doing quite well young one. The idea of using your solar sails as an airfoil to generate and maintain lift did not occur to me. In the past, I always used my power to change direction and to move up or down.>>

Kinda like ‘follow the bouncing ball’ eh?

There was silence in his mind. Big Brother was not amused!

Alright, sorry about that crack. I just couldn’t resist! Hmmm…I don’t want to rely too much on my powers. That’s going to drain me too fast. Wait a minute! Gliders can stay up in the air for hours on end and they don’t have any engines! All they have are the basics to fly. Let’s see, they have wings, flaps, rear stabilizers with elevators and a rudder.

Michael levitated himself back into the air. This time, he went higher up to avoid any more telephone poles. Once again, he re-oriented his body to a horizontal position. Before he pushed off, he made some more modifications to his body. Large rectangles appeared on the trailing edges of his wings. They split apart from the main wings and moved up and down.

Ok, that takes care of the flaps.

His feet melted away and in their place were two flat upside down right angle triangles. Small rectangles also appeared on the trailing edges of the triangles.

And that takes care of the rudders.

Two more triangles appeared from where his ankles used to be. Once again, small rectangles appeared on the trailing edges.

And that takes care of the stabilizers and elevators! I think I’m set! Let’s push off!

With that thought, Michael gave himself one final push behind him and then released his power. His wings shook and vibrated and he knew that they had caught hold of the wind and had acquired lift. He was flying!

<<Once again, you have amazed me, young one! You do things no Shiza-haran has ever done or thought about!>>

Thanks! This way I can reserve my power for emergency moves when I need to cheat the laws of physics! Let’s see if I can steer.

Experimentally, he tried a few banks and turns. Then, using his elevators, he rose up into the air. Suddenly, his wings shook even more and he could feel his speed slowing.

Oops, I’m stalling! Better give myself some juice!

Pushing behind him with his power, Michael was soon climbing up into the air. Soon, he was rising up through the thin evening cloud cover.

This is SO AWESOME! This is way better than the time Dad took me up in that Cesna!

<<You begin to understand some of the joys we Shiza-haran felt when we soared through space!>>

Damn right! Flying in an airplane is one thing, but flying with your own body is a whole new ballgame!

Higher and higher he soared through the air. He passed over Buttonville airport and could see a small single engine plane taking off far below him.

Hmmm, I better stay away. I wouldn’t want to crash into someone while I’m up here. Besides, the Air Traffic Control tower can probably pick me up on radar.

<<I would not be too concerned with that! You are too small and if they see you on their radar, they’ll just think that you are a bird!>>

I’m not a bird! I’m not a man! I’m a freaking awesome Shiza-haran! Wooohooo!

<<I am glad you have finally come to your senses on this issue!>>