Heiress 1

"The Alesia Wang-Haines?"

"You heard of her?" Nathan said.

"Of course, I've heard of her. Unless someone's been living under a rock, who hasn't heard of her?" Darren replied.

"When I worked for King Laboratories, I worked with her mother, Aisha Wang. She was a brilliant woman. God rest her soul," he said as he made a sign of the cross with his fingers. "Alesia was also brilliant that her father asked me to be her genetics teacher after Aisha's passing." Nathan's eyes fell as he spoke, a look of sadness covering his face. He smiled sadly as he remembered those days. "She became like a granddaughter to me." He looked at Matt from the corner of his eyes. "God knows my sons won't give me any grandchildren to hold while I still live."

Matt sipped his drink, averting his eyes. "God also knows we got that from you," he whispered into his mug.

"Did you say something?" Nathan asked.

"I said, she was a brat," Matt said. "A jack-of-all-trades and a know-it-all. No adult wants to see a twelve-year-old pick apart their life's work."

"Matt," Nathan warned. "Anyway, she owns the company that created the Titan Athletics Laboratory, built especially for Veteri athletes and individuals to train their powers without restraint. She may have a lab that she'll let us use."

Darren nodded absentmindedly as he tried to wrap his head around the whole scenario. His best friend, Tora, was not only an officer for the US Air Force, but she was once one of NASA's top engineers. While in the Air Force, she met and became the adopted daughter of two decorated US military officers, Miriam - a surgeon from the US Army - and Jordan - a general for the Air Force.

Miriam and Tora were friends with Jonathan McGee - a world-renowned geneticist on the Vetus gene - through his wife, who was Tora's professor at the Academy. They often come to doctor McGee's house on vacation. That same Doctor McGee was the teacher of the young genius of the millennia, Alesia Wang-Haines, and he used to work for her mother.

As his eyes darted at the characters in the living room, he suddenly felt like he was in a room full of celebrities. Each of them was famous and accomplished in their own right.

Darren smiled softly. His life was exciting because of Tora, who was also an alien princess. He chuckled under his breath. Had he not met her that Fall day in 12012, his life would be quite uneventful.

"Yeah, it's fine," Darren replied.

"I'll give her a call," said Nathan.

"Call who?" Everyone turned when they heard the groggy voice coming from the kitchen. They found Tora awake, standing on the barefooted as she wiped her eyes. She drank a glass of water from the tap before making her way to the living room.

"You're awake," Miriam said.

"Who are we calling?" Tora sat beside Miriam, hooking her arm into her mother's as she sat on the sofa with Miriam, resting her head on Miriam's shoulder.

"Alesia Wang-Haines," Darren replied.

Tora's eyes widened for a moment, but she returned to normal and remained close to Miriam.

Darren continued. "Nathan thinks that it would be best to train in her athletics lab to gain more control of my powers." He looked at Tora. "What do you think?"

Tora sat up straight, her eyebrows knitting in the middle of her forehead. "I'd rather not have a lot of people know about Darren's new abilities, especially with Rouen tracking us." She looked at Nathan before she continued, "But if Nathan thinks Alesia can be trusted, then I think it's a good idea."

Nathan nodded, but Matt was the one who said, "I think she can be trusted. Alesia and her family are some of the most supportive of the Vetri. Their research has helped understand the Vetus gene and Vetri powers. The reason the Titans Athletics Laboratories was established was not only for research but to also train people to control their Vetri abilities."

"Okay," Tora said. "Make the call."

"Hestia," Nathan shouted.

An orange line passed through the black screen of the television above the hearth. A docile flame formed on the screen, pulsating as a voice came from the speaker of the TV. "What can I do for you, Nathan?"

"Make a video call to AWH."

"I understand. Calling AWH." The computerized voice was quite soft and nurturing as the flame kindled on the screen. As a virtual assistant AI, Hestia was quite different than the models on their phones.

Named after the Greek goddess of the hearth and home, Hestia was represented with an orange kindling flame and a motherly voice. There were no robotic undertones as Hestia's voice was recorded by an actress and programmed to answer any questions asked with that voice. She was the number one AI sold in the US in the past few years.

"I'm sorry, Nathan. The call failed."

Matt and Darren, who had been holding their breaths, released it as a collective groan.

Hestia pulsated again. "Nathan, you have an incoming call from an unknown number. Would you like to accept or decline this call?"

Nathan smiled, almost as if he was expecting another call that same moment. "Accept."

The black screen opened to the image of a young woman. Her long raven hair was tied up in a bun, with a pair of goggles shielding her eyes as welding sparks flew close to her face. She raised her head to the screen before she raised the glasses over her forehead.

Alesia raised an eyebrow as her eyes moved across the screen as she looked at the people around the room. Her eyes landed on Nathan. "You've gotten old," she said.

"Alesia, what are you doing?" Nathan asked sternly, ignoring her previous remark. He stood in front of the monitor to look closely at her face. He nagged, "Where are you right now? What time is it? Have you been eating? You haven't been sleeping, have you?"

"As you can see, I'm swamped." Alesia left the weld alone and moved before a different background as the screen moved with her. There were several mechanical arms behind and beside her, moving parts of metal through what looked like a factory. "I only took the call because it's you. What do you need?"

Nathan sighed as she ignored his questions completely. He turned and motioned to the people in the room. "These are some friends of mine: Miriam and Etora Carlisle, and Darren Kershaw. You remember my son, Matthew."

Alesia said, "Hey, Matt, long time no see."

"Alesia," Matt replied raising his glass to her.

"It's nice to meet you all," said Alesia to the others.

"Alesia, Darren has developed new abilities…" Nathan started.

"And you want access to the Athletics Lab to test and train him," Alesia finished. "If you're asking me for that, it means you trust these people."

Nathan looked around the room before turning back to Alesia on the screen. "I do. They're like family."

Alesia nodded. "Nate, you know I've always had a sweet spot for you," she said. "But I need more information. You have to explain everything."