As he laid down in his burning forging shop, Alexander couldn’t feel anything except pain in all directions. He’s pretty sure he’s got some burns, his arm was blown off from the Helfire’s explosion, and his pride had been wounded severely. But, he didn’t care about that really. All he cared about was how heavy his eyes felt as the blood from his arm pooled beneath his head. Maybe a quick nap wouldn’t hurt that much. He took a shallow breath, hard with the smoke in the air from the raging flames, and closed his eyes as he exhaled peacefully.

17 Years Ago

Alexander snuck through the lab with a mischievous grin. His mother, Blu Howard, had told her adoptive son to never enter the labs of Gemstone without her with him. Of course, Alexander was a rebellious child, so he didn’t really care for that.

“Where is it?” Alexander whispered to himself as he continued to quietly sneak through the different lab tables.

The tables were covered in machinery. Some things that Alexander had a grasp on, and others he had no clue what they could be. He rarely ever got interested in whatever his mother’s workers did, but there was one project that interested him so much it rarely ever left his mind. In class, his mind would wander to the strange motor his eyes fell upon during one of his mother’s many tours.

The shape of it, and how committed the man working on it seemed, fueled Alexander’s curiosity. Now, he just couldn’t stand being away from it any longer. He just needed to touch, work on it, or do anything with it. If he didn’t soon, he might burst into flames.

He continued through the array of tables until he found the secluded station he’d seen about a year ago. But, this time, the man was still working there. At this time of night?

The man was tall and lanky, almost sickly looking. Alexander had seen him around a few times, but never actually talked to him. He always looked disheveled and tired. Hair in a sweaty mess, his eyes sunken, and the eyebags under his eyes were always pronounced. He also has little, if not-no, muscle on his bones. You could see his veins popping out from underneath the rolled up sleeves of his greasy and barely washed lab coat. Alexander felt like the man was three seconds away from going insane, but chose to quietly move onwards. He just had to see the machine again.

The man had his back turned to him as he worked on his machine, and Alexander took that as an opportunity to move behind other tables in the lab. He moved from table to table trying to get a better view of the machine, but the man was getting in the way.

In frustration, he hurriedly moved to another table, knocking something over. He went still as the man audibly stopped working on the machine. He turned and looked around to find the source of the noise.

“Who’s there?” The man cried out into the void. Alexander covered his mouth with his hands, and stayed very still. If this man caught him, his mother would ground him for a month. To be sneaking around, and scaring her precious workers in the middle of the night?! How ungentleman-like.

The man put down his tools and began to move towards where he heard the sound, and Alexander began to run through a million different possibilities. How could he get to that table without being seen?!

What if I run around the left, he thought, then he won’t see me! He quickly threw out that plan, because of some flaw in it that only he could see, and quickly formulated ten different ones before he felt a tap on his shoulder.

“Ack!” He screamed. The man stood above him with a stern look on his face.

“What are you doing here, boy?” He asked. Alexander was on the floor with this man, who was visibly three times his age, standing above him. He hated to admit it, but he felt kind of small. “Are you going to answer, or am I going to have to call security?”

“I wanted to see your machine.” He answered, innocently. The man’s stern look softened for a moment, his eyes far away as if remembering a long forgotten time.

“So, you snuck into this very dangerous lab to see some old fool’s invention?” Alexander nodded his head. “Young people, I’ll never understand their curiosity.” The old man offered his hand. “Let me show you what I’ve been working on.”

He guided the young boy to the table where his invention sat, and Alexander looked at it in wonder.

It looked like a vehicle engine, but smaller. A large, rectangular device with thick pipes jutting out and connecting the front to the back and vice versa. It was about 3 feet long and thin. It had two thin aluminum pieces in the front, and an added-on socket in the back. This man wasn’t the best at cleanly inserting pieces. Alexander thinks that’s where his fascination comes from, being able to clearly see what parts made what, but not being able to tell what the actual device did.

“What’s it do?” He asked the man.

“It’s a portable, powerful battery,” He replied. “It runs off of kinetic energy as well. It would be perfect for hover vehicles to have.” The man made frantic hand motions as he talked. His hands weaving through the air like a hover car, his fingers tapping the table, and clapping to emphasize certain words. “All it needs is one singular spark, and nothing can stop it except for the off switch.”

“Is it safe?” Alexander asked. The old man scratched his head.

“Does it matter? It’s brilliant!” Alexander stared at the old man’s great, big smile. “Let me show you it in action.”

The man picked up a device from under the table and heaved it into Alexander’s view. He centered the object before putting a coffee cup into its main slot. He opened a panel in the side, and inserted the battery. He flipped the on switch and the machine whirred to life. The man pressed a few buttons before a hot, brown liquid was dispensed into the coffee cup. The man offered the cup to Alexander.

“Want some?” He asked. “Freshly brewed.”

“That’s cool.” Alexander said. “How long did it take you to build it?” The man put down the coffee cup and powered down the machine.

“It took me about three years.” He said. He then pulled down the collar of his undershirt and lab coat, revealing a series of bruises, burns, and other scars. “It exploded a lot, but it was finished.”

“Why did you keep working if it hurt you so badly?’ Alexander asked.

“Because…what else was I supposed to do?” Alexander thought the man’s thought process was nonsensical. He could’ve started a new project, left inventing behind, given it to someone else, a million different other things. But, he chose to keep working on this battery, and it turned out functional. “One thing about us gadgeteers? We never stop working, even if it kills us.”

I wonder if I’ll ever feel that way, Alexander thought as he stared at the battery on the table.

Present day

Alexander’s eyes snapped open, but they burned from the smoke in the air. He gasped as he fought through the haze of death calling his name, and pushed himself upwards. He could barely even sit up, everything hurt inside. His throat felt like it was collapsing, but he managed to call out to his flying companion.

“BB?!” He coughed out. For a moment nothing answered, but his flying robotic turret broke through the falling rubble that was once his shop and quickly came to aid its creator. Alexander grabbed onto BB and coughed out the words, “Get me out of here, buddy.”

BB beeped in agreement and flew quickly, flying through debris and falling obstacles. Alexander held on tightly while fighting off unconsciousness. BB found the shop’s exit blocked by debris, and beeped in worry.

“Blast…it.” Alexander struggled to say. BB activated its red aiming laser and blasted open the exit, the roof violently shook as they flew outside as fast as BB could carry Alexander. The cool, fresh street air filled Alexander lungs, and he took a deep breath before falling off of BB’s back, and gazing into the night sky. The stars filled his vision, and he began to connect them to keep his mind focused. He focused on his breathing as he heard the old man’s words from all of those years ago. One thing about us gadgeteers, he said, We never stop working, even if it kills us.

All Alexander could say as heard the fire trucks and ambulances pull to the front of the building and people beginning to question him about his condition was, “Damn right we do.”

The End...