No One to Blame Ch. 02

He also tested his strength levels extensively. After early positive results pushing his physical endurance to previously unachievable heights, Robert now was finding he had the strength of 20 men. After going into the garage late one night, he lifted the front end of his mother's Chevy Malibu and held it up until he realized he could hold it indefinitely. Robert was running 20 miles every morning with little to no exertion. He had to be careful not to be discovered after he found he was now most likely the fastest human on the planet. Running at superhuman speeds was something that was sure to acquire him unwanted attention so he ran at night with a face mask and non-descript clothing.

This worked well until one night he ran past a speed trap at 150 mph. When the police officers manning the trap saw Robert run by they looked at each other to verify they both saw the same thing before they took off after him. Robert felt a tingling in his spine so upon looking back he realized he was being pursued by local police. So he sped up to 200 mph, rounded a bend and, being in a blind spot, immediately hid behind a large tree on the side of the road. After watching the squad car speed by in search of him, Robert doubled back and ran home.

A week later, July 31, he received a phone call from his favorite uncle. "Bobby you 'sonofagun', both of those things we discussed panned out and we made out big time. You'd be surprised to learn how well we did." Sal enjoyed keeping his nephew in suspense.

"Well at 20 to 1, my $500 should have netted me 10k. Which is going to fund my summer activities nicely." Robert happily announced.

"Well actually I turned your $500 into $1500 on the Magic Johnson info you gave me and then parlayed that into 30 large on the ending of the strike. How do you like them apples?" Sal asked with great satisfaction.

"That's effin amazing! How'd you make out?"

"800 large, which I want to break you off a piece of. How does 100 large in addition to the 30 large sound? That should make for an 'Epic' summer, as you kids like to say. Just please don't let your mother know what we did or how much you got. I love my sister but she always was a 'little miss goodie two shoes'. So you gonna tell me how you did it or what?" Sal finally asked the one question that's been eating him alive.

"I could tell you but you would just think I was lying. I got a proposition for you. Would you rather me tell you or would you rather know who's going to win the world series?" Robert knew his uncle was not stupid and would choose wisely.

"Kid, you do not play fair! Alright, it's obvious you'd rather not tell me how you're doing it and the inside scoop on the series is too good to pass up. So let's hear it." Sal asked.

"Okay... Yankees vs Dodgers. And get this, the Yankees will win game 1 and game 2 then go on to lose 4 in a row. That means we make bets on each game and once the Yankees win the second game, they will be heavily favored to win the series. That's when we bet the series and make out like bandits." Robert explained to his stunned uncle.

He knew that his nephew was honest to a fault so Sal accepted that Bobby must have a good reason why he won't tell him how he's coming by this info in the first place. "Okay I won't place any bets until the two teams to play in the series are known. To do otherwise would lead to too many questions. But as soon as the bookies are accepting bets on the series, I'll get the ball rolling. Hey, you need any walking around cash?" Sal inquired.

"Actually I could use 20k but I want you to wager 110k on the series!" After a brief pause, Robert decided to further trust his favorite relative. "After the series is said and done, we'll discuss some stocks we might be interested in." He said with a knowing grin.

Sal once again found himself speechless and after a moment realized he had stopped breathing. Following a long drawn out inhale, he smiled and stated more than asked, "Who better than us."

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Alien vessel in orbit around Mars.

"You must leave! If you stay they will punish you or worse." 469 begged 183.

With the ship now cloaked and in orbit around the fourth planet, the WATCHER council was better able to study the anomaly known as Robert Spinelli without worry of being discovered. The council still hadn't reached a decision on what form of punishment should befall WATCHER '183' but there was no need to rush things since '183' was not aware of his impending judgment. At least that's what they thought.

"I will not abandon you to their wrath. If I leave, the council of fools will take measures against you for aiding me just as they intend to punish me for aiding the anomaly. We will take a shuttle to the planet's surface and camouflage ourselves." 183 pleaded with his life mate.

"But I... I have never been off this ship in my entire life span. You know I was spawned on this ship when it was decided a communications officer was needed to replace communications officer '212' when he was promoted." 469 pleaded with the one that held her heart in the palm of his hand.

'183' came as close to showing a scowl as possible for a WATCHER. "You are my life mate! And I will not abandon you. I insist that you accompany me to the third planet's surface. We will seek help from the anomaly." 183 practically growled at his paramore.

'469' tingled from the outburst of her commanding officer. She has never witnessed such passion displayed by another of her kind. It made her feel...odd but also it felt wonderful. "You are a strange one '183'. You move me with strange feelings. I believe studying these terrans is having an influence on you due to their...unique ways and customs. Yes! I will accompany you to the surface and trust you with my well being!" 469 proclaimed.

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Robert

After I got home from the party last night I planned on going straight to bed. No midnight running, no car lifting and no mind walking (which is what I was taking to calling it after last night).

I went straight to my room but when I got there I was thoroughly surprised to find the two OLD ONES '183' and '469' sitting on my bed. I was even more surprised to find they looked human. They appeared to be in their early 20's and both with great genetics. They even had clothing appropriate to 1981 on. The only reason I knew who they were is I could still see their auras, one silver and the other purple.

"Robert, it is good to see you, though I wish it was under better circumstances." '183' greeted me in my mind, since it was late and he did not want to disturb my family. I felt my mind was being made to feel calm so I wouldn't yell out in shock after finding two strangers in my room. I believe '469' was calming me with her mental abilities. As I looked at her I could see she was struggling to do this. Her brows were tight and her eyes were squeezed shut. I sent her a command to relax and she did immediately. When she looked at me smiling she said with her actual voice, "Your abilities are much stronger than the last time we met."

"Thank you, I've been practicing. Not to be rude but, why are you here? Am I going to be sent back? Has there been a decision on my situation?" I asked as I was a little worried.

"I believe the council has decided you are too... unique to eliminate and would like to study you in your natural environment. As for why we are here, we are... 'On the run' as your people tend to say. It seems my kind does not appreciate my involvement in your development. We have cut off our connection with the collective. But it will only be a matter of time before we are located. Our shuttle is deep underground in an abandoned lead mine shaft located in Alaska. It will not be found. I'm afraid the same can not be said about '469' and I." 183 informed.

"So how did you get from there to here? Surely you didn't take public transportation." I inquired.

As soon as I asked, the two OLD ONES looked at each other questioningly. Then '469' turned to me and divulged the following information.

"You are not the only one with abilities. Though you are unique even to our species, your abilities are not, at least the ones that have manifested themselves. We, as will you someday it seems, have the ability to teleport short distances. We can teleport anywhere on the earth from anywhere on the earth. But if we decided to go to your planet's moon we would need a space faring vessel." She explained.

"Let me demonstrate and also solve a minor problem for you at the same time." With that he closed his eyes in concentration and faded out to nothing. In less than a full minute he was back with what appeared to be old food cans. I recognized them from my visions as the discovered gold I was planning on retrieving from California. There was dust on his shoes that must have come from the desert. Upon further examination he looked extremely tired. I wondered why that was.

"I'll answer that, teleporting is usually pretty easy but bringing something back with me is extremely taxing. The greater the mass the more energy I need to expend." He explained having read my thoughts.

I pulled back the tin lid on the can and it snapped off, due to rust and corrosion. Inside were 50 to 100 gold coins of various denominations. There were 7 cans in total.

"I knew of your plans to go retrieve these aged currency receptacles and use them to fund your current and future plans. I was pleased to help." Said 183

"Thank you. I was planning a small excursion in a week or so. Any advice on how to turn these into usable cash? I know how the original discovery was liquidated but without the use of an Internet, I'm at a loss." I inquired.

"Actually your original plan of discovery is still viable. Only instead of acting as if you discovered them in California, which would take a large cut of your profits, you should report finding the coins in Nevada which has less stringent tax laws. When you clear that obstacle, you can then sell them on the auction block to serious collectors." 183 advised.

I thought that was some sound advice. It looks like my survival and future success is irrevocably tied to these 'OLD ONE'S'. "You said the 'council' would eventually find you. Do you intend to do something about that or are you just going to let that happen?" I wondered with concern.

"You have to understand my kind is not experienced in subterfuge. We are a peaceful race only interested in learning all we can about the universe we live in. That being said, I have placed a crystal chip under '469' and my skin that will temporarily camouflage our presence on your planet." He explained.

"Okay, so how come you now look human? Oh...wait, the same chip right?" I asked and answered.

"Good guess but no. As I said, you are not the only one with abilities. One of ours is shape shifting. We chose these two appearances from your earth's television shows. Actors that do not play leading roles and would not be easily recognized. "183" has an affinity for sitcoms." 469 explained with a knowing grin and a sideways glance at 183.

"So will I develop the ability to shape shift?" I asked, thinking that would be epic.

"Probably not but you never know. You see, millions of years ago my kind evolved from a life form similar to your earth's chameleon, making it one of our natural abilities." 183 explained.

"Where will you be staying? Have you secured lodging?" I asked, masking my disappointment in this last bit of info.

"There is a cabin approximately 168 miles north of here that has been unoccupied for some time and we can easily travel to and from there." Said 183.

"Sounds like a decent temporary solution. What are your long term plans? And out of curiosity, how old are you? So many questions, I hope you don't mind my asking. You probably don't realize how amazing all this is to 'little old human me'." I kind of prattled on.

"You Terrans have a fascinating childlike wonder. So no, I don't mind your questions. I was spawned 870,965 earth years ago. And as far as my long term plans go, It has been my life's work watching your planet and its inhabitants go from one tragedy to the next, always hoping your species survived. If you live up to my... our expectations, then my efforts will not have been in vain. So I would venture to say, "your continued evolution, Robert Spinelli, is my long term plan." 183 confidently proclaimed.

I was concerned that I might not live up to their expectations. On the one hand I was excited about my new found abilities and my second chance at life. Yet on the other hand I was expected to be responsible for the survival of my whole planet and all that resided here. I really just wanted to be selfish and enjoy this second chance at life but if I did that then what would happen to the ones I loved?

"So tell me, how do you keep asteroids from destroying your home world?" I asked both my guests.

"For one we occupy a multitude of planets and none of them are our home world. 1,067,391 earth years ago, our home world died when our molten core cooled down and stopped spinning. When that happens a planet loses its magnetic field allowing all sorts of 'bad things' to happen."

"Yeah, we learned that in junior high. Our earth's magnetic field protects us from solar winds that would obliterate our atmosphere." I proudly acknoledged.

183 smiled and said, "Very good Robert. Your knowledge of such things will come in handy when you take over as this planet's guardian." he said. "As to your question, we have long ago solved our energy concerns and with so much at our disposal we have built force shields around all of our planets. With much larger asteroids, we land a vessel on the surface of the large rock and simply nudge it away." 183 explained.

I was already seeing how with enough money and influence, I could either replicate these same defenses or come up with new ones tailored just for earth. But first things first, I must become the richest man on the planet all while garnering good will. I felt really good about all this for the first time. When I look back on history, I see that very few people or groups of people rise to power with good intentions. The ones that do, usually find themselves in opposition to the richest men on the planet. This is why I'll need to be loved by many through much good will.

"How far are you willing to go to help me rise to power?" I asked the smiling alien couple sitting on my bed.

"We are committed to your plans as long as they don't become corrupted by selfish desires. The only obstacle I foresee is my own people. They are so set in their ways, I believe they can't help themselves from thinking they know better. And with their ability to manipulate time, all could be for nothing. But our help you will have!" 183 stood up and declared.

"Okay, then one of the first things we must do is take away your people's toys!" I announced to one very happy alien and his very concerned partner.