Besides being a lot hotter than it looked from the Planetscape Radar and the fact that Kurt felt about 45 kilograms heavier, it wasn’t half bad. (He could feel the semi-toxic air seeping into his pores and poisoning his skin, but he had Extra Strength Protecting Moisturizer for that, and besides, it wasn’t nearly as bad as Myrtle, a planet he’d previously visited - his flesh had caught on fire after only 48 hours.)

Kurt was actually kind of nervous about arriving on Earth. It wasn’t the first time he’d visited a planet without company before, but there was apparently an intelligent and dominating life form here, and he was worried they might catch on that he wasn’t from around there.

Where he was from was Neo: a small planet with minimal gravity and hardly any water in the Hydra Constellation. He loved his planet (well, he found it tolerable on most days, but there were things about it that simply could not be found anywhere in the universe - yet), but he knew its entirety like the back of his hand. As soon as he reached the age of four (approximately sixteen years on Earth - one Neo year equaling four Earth years), he’d begun training with some elite Space Travelers, learning and perfecting the craft.

But now, two Earth years later, he was the fourteenth person from Neo to land safely on Earth, and out of all of them, he was the youngest yet. Landon, who had visited six months prior, had been five Neo years.

Originally, Kurt and Landon were scheduled to make the trip together. Kurt had actually been really psyched to spend two months alone with Landon, exploring the (semi-) Great Unknown, finding new and undiscovered technologies, and possibly, maybe even falling in love. His crush on Landon traced back to when he’d gotten his hormone injection, one Neo year prior, and had chosen the medicine that wouldn’t change his voice too much (scared to lose his flawless singing ability), inevitably making him attracted to boys. Even though Landon also chose an attraction to males for his injection, it deepened his voice and even let him grow thick, brown hair on his face and chest. Kurt never imagined himself being as lucky.

About eight Earth months earlier however, Landon was asked to join a traveling league since he was one of the very few people on Neo who knew how to control weather distractions when entering the orbit of a planet with the ability to precipitate on its own. Kurt also knew how to do this, but the required age to join the league was five, and he just didn’t make the cut. He begged Landon to wait it out and go with him as soon as he acquired the proper machinery, but it was too good of an opportunity, and he wouldn’t pass it up. He hadn’t spoken much to Landon since.

Kurt was getting his payback however. Sure, he was a little lonely, traveling at speeds faster than light in space for two weeks, but it was so going to be worth it. Not only would he be beating Landon as the youngest Earth lander, but he’d also be exploring a world that so few Neons had gotten to see, and that was really the thrill of space travel for Kurt.

Kurt carefully chose his location to land his ship on the side of Earth facing away from its star (which his Radar told him was called Sun), because he knew that the dominant life form was like him in that it saw better in the light, therefore sleeping in the dark. It’d be easier, he figured, to conceal himself to blend in with the Earthlings if he had a chance to see what they looked like before any of them saw him.

This was actually what Kurt was most worried about. He knew a lot about Earth - its creatures relied heavily on water, there were many “manmade” objects covering it, thousands of different languages (that Kurt had spent years learning) were spoken across its lands, the air, although thick, was plenty breathable - but he did not know what the creatures looked like. No photographs had been taken of them (actually, Kurt was pretty sure that there were millions of photos taken, but none that were ever shown to the public), so he was really worried that it might be incredibly difficult to disguise himself, despite the technologies that were built into his ship to do just that.

As soon as he landed, he had to go outside. Nervous as he was, his curiosity always got the best of him.

It was then that Kurt really felt the weight of the gravity pushing down on him. Simply walking a fair distance would be considered an exercise on this planet, and Kurt was unsure if that was anything he wanted to experience. Not to mention the fact that his breathing had shallowed a bit as his lungs adjusted to the reduced Nitrogen in the air (Neo contained 100% Nitrogen, where Earth was only about 78%).

From a distance, Earth had been mainly blue, but Kurt recognized the color as water and knew not to land anywhere near it. He’d chosen a greener/browner area that looked similar to much of Neo, but when he touched down, he wondered how the green had even shown through. Sure, there were trees and grasses and other water-intaking plants, but the ground he was settled on was completely black, and from the looks of it, it seemed to go on for kilometers.

Kurt heard sounds all around him. Sounds that he recognized from his studies, such as specific animals, and other sounds like he’d never heard before in his life, like something that sounded like rushing water, but he’d been so careful in choosing where to land, he doubted that’s what it was.

Figuring his ship had had enough time to adjust to Earth, he went back inside and made his way to the back chamber where he could program in the details of the most intelligent life form on the planet. Standing naked inside the chamber, he closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He always hated this part as it often made him feel awkward or uneasy.

Suddenly, Kurt felt the changes in his body begin to take place. His feet were in minor pain, and Kurt couldn’t help but look down to see what was going on. After a moment, small, finger-like limbs appeared on the far side of his feet, and he wiggled them to make sure they were working properly. He’d have to look up what they were called later.

Another minute passed, and Kurt hadn’t felt any other changes to his body. Automatically assuming something was wrong with the machine, he pressed the Form button a few times again to make sure it hadn’t just stopped with his feet before shutting off. Kurt hadn’t bought the best machinery ever since he was so young and didn’t exactly have the payment to get anything close to what a traveling league could afford, but he was at least sure that it worked.

Still, nothing happened.

Suddenly, Kurt realized what was going on. This was how Earthlings looked. It all made sense! No one involved in space travel on Neo would want the people to find out that somewhere else in the universe, there were creatures that looked exactly like them (besides the weird fingers on the feet, of course). Neons would go absolutely crazy, and everyone would want to visit, and then of course there’d be those that didn’t believe it, and fights would break out, and all that could possibly lead to would be war. No wonder Kurt had never seen photos from Earth! Previous visitors had hidden them on purpose.

Kurt stepped out of the chamber and got dressed again, now even more eager to find the dominant Earthling. He wasn’t precisely sure how long it would be until light returned to this side of the planet, but considering the shortness of the Earth year, he figured it wouldn’t be long.

Going to the main cabin of the ship, Kurt opened his Planetscape Radar and researched the new body parts he now owned (toes, they were called). Switching to the Finding Dock, Kurt noticed that literally all around him were living things. Blue dots, indicating creatures with flight, soared above him. Thousands of small yellow dots, pointing out land-bound creatures, either stayed motionless or moved at a very slow speed around him. He watched the screen intently, wondering what these creatures could be, but knowing it would be pointless to go out and see in such darkness.

A few minutes passed, and Kurt was not nearly tired enough to sleep, so he stayed at the dock, watching the fascinating dots. Not so many creatures lived on all of Neo!

Out of nowhere, a large yellow dot came from the right side of the screen and was moving at quite a substantial speed. It only took Kurt a moment for him to realize that this was it! This must be the life form that looked so much like him!

Quickly getting out his ship, Kurt looked over at the right, and a bright light nearly blinded him. He squinted and tried to make out its shape or size, but could hardly see a thing. The object raced towards him, but he didn’t move.

A loud sound then came from the object, and Kurt recognized it as the same sound he’d heard earlier that reminded him of rushing water. Was this a language that Kurt had not yet studied? No, there was simply no way that a creature that resembled Neons so closely could make such a noise. Then again, he was millions of kilometers from his home planet, so really anything was- oof.

Before Kurt knew it, he was on the ground, tumbling and rolling over onto his back. What had just happened?! If pushing someone on to the ground was the best way to greet a person on this planet, he wasn’t sure he wanted to stay for long.

Blinking open his eyes, Kurt heard the sound of a door slam shut, and then someone was yelling at him. It took Kurt a moment to realize he recognized the language being spoken, or in this case, shouted.

“What the hell are you doing, man?! I mean, shit, are you okay?”

Kurt moaned in pain and he was pretty sure he’d broken all ten of his new toes, as well as the entire left side of his body.

“Dang it, I’m- oh my god, are you alive, dude? Should I call an ambulance?”

Kurt was positive he was still alive. There was no way he could possibly have been in that much pain if he’d died already. Still, he didn’t know what an ambulance was and managed to shake his head. When he finally stopped seeing triple of everything, he made out the face of a man kneeling down next to him.

“Are you okay?”

Kurt could do this. He’d practiced just about every language on the planet. He could speak this. “I’m fine,” were his first words spoken to an Earthling. Placing his hands up next to his sides, he tried to sit up straight, but found out he was still dizzy and fell back down.

“I’m am so sorry,” the man continued frantically. “I just, what were you thinking? I could have killed you!”

“Well then, I am glad you did not kill me,” Kurt tried once again to get up, this time successful in only finding enough balance to rest on his elbows. He looked down at himself, and besides some ripped clothing and scrapped up hands, it wasn’t such a bad sight. No bones were protruding at least.

“Here, let me help you up,” the Earthling offered, standing up himself before offering a hand to Kurt.

Hesitantly, Kurt grabbed it, and allowed himself to be pulled up so he was standing again. After closing his eyes tightly for a few moments, he shook his head to clear the headache and took a deep breath. He really hated this terrible gravity!

“What are you even doing out here? It’s one in the morning! Do you even... where’s your car...?”

Kurt racked his memory, but either he’d simply never learned the word or it had something to do with the fact that he’d just had the wind knocked out of him, but he could never remember learning the word ‘car.’ Whatever it was, he surely did not have one. Still, the man seemed to believe that he did, so telling him he didn’t might seem too obvious.

“I, uh, lost it,” Kurt provided.

One of the man’s eyebrows rose, and Kurt just clenched his jaw in anticipation.

“Maybe I hit you harder than I thought,” the man said, looking behind Kurt at his ship. “What’s that?”

Kurt flipped his head around and realized he’d forgotten to hide his ship! Then again, he had not known where to hide it since there were so many living creatures around him at the moment. “Oh! My car! You found it!”

The man was hesitant for a moment, but eventually spoke up again. “Look, I feel terrible for hitting you, even though you definitely shouldn’t be out in the middle of the road at this time of night, but the least I can do is give you a ride to the hospital. I’ll miss curfew, but I was going to miss it anyway...”

Kurt looked at the man and was in complete shock. He’d finally managed to see straight again, and his eyes were adjusting quickly to the darkness, and Kurt simply couldn’t believe it. Here he was, millions of kilometers from Neo, yet in front of him stood a creature that looked remarkably like himself! Well, there were differences of course, such as the fact that this guy had much darker and curlier hair and was a bit shorter than Kurt and wore clothes that clung tightly to his body, and oh yeah, Kurt realized his own metal tunic was probably not something that most Earthlings wore. Imagine, he thought, fashion trends being the same in different galaxies. Ha!

“Is something wrong?” the man asked. “I mean, besides the fact that I just hit you with my car?”

Kurt widened his eyes and looked behind the man to see the object he must’ve been in when he ran into him. That was a car? Well, it wasn’t so far off from what his ship looked like, except it was a bit larger and probably didn’t expand into different rooms when you went inside. Then again, what did Kurt know?

“No,” Kurt shook his head.

“Yeah, okay,” the man nodded. “You’re definitely coming with me. You can pick up your... car tomorrow when you aren’t concussed.”

“I will not,” Kurt told him. The last thing he needed to do was go off when some Earthling, leaving his ship to be taken over or invaded by other Earthlings that may find out exactly all that was inside.

The man crossed his arms across his chest and titled his head to one side. “Okay. First, answer me three questions. Just to make sure you don’t really have a concussion.”

Kurt swallowed, but didn’t move a muscle.

“What’s your name?”

“Kurt,” he answered calmly. His head was still spinning, but at least the questions were going to be easy. He just really needed to get away from this man before he caught on, because Kurt was pretty sure he had a lot to learn and observe before he could fully blend in with Earthlings.

The man smirked. “Kurt,” he repeated, “how old are you?”

Before Kurt could answer that he was half way between four and five, he remembered that probably wouldn’t make much sense to any one on Earth. “Approximately... 18 years.”

“Approximately?”

Kurt just nodded.

“Okay,” the man laughed. “What year is it?”

And Kurt was stuck. How would he know the year number? If that’s even what the man was talking about in the first place. If year number was common knowledge on Earth, he wondered just how long these creatures had been around. This planet was ancient, and he had absolutely no clue what year it was! He took a wild guess. “Two billion.”

The man nodded and smacked his lips. “Kurt, you need to go to a hospital. Let me take you?”

And really, what could Kurt do? If he refused and went back to his ship, the man may have followed him, and then he’d have to explain why he couldn’t see inside, and that just couldn’t end well. Kurt was good at making up stories, but not that good. Other than that, he did think it would be a good way to see more of this planet than he would be able to on his own. “I suppose,” he shrugged. “What do I need to bring?”

“Um,” the man seemed to think for a moment. “Shoes?”

Kurt followed the man’s gaze down to his feet, and Kurt instinctively wiggled his new toes. Glancing discreetly at the man’s feet, he saw a type of clothing covering them; and it was a type of clothing that he definitely didn’t have.

“I also lost them.”

The man laughed lightly and waved his hand in the air. “Come on then. Can you walk alright?”

“I can walk fine,” Kurt assured him, glancing back at his ship once more and making a mental note to try and program some way to compact it from his mobile Radar. He’d also need to remember where it was in case something happened where he couldn’t get a signal on its location. He turned towards the man and followed him to the left side of the car.

“Oh, did you want to sit in the back?” the man asked before shaking his head. “Nevermind. Here,” he took Kurt’s hand cautiously and walked around with him to the other side of the car, opening the door and helping him inside.

Kurt sat silent for a moment as he watched the man walk around back to the other side, open his own door, and get settled in the car. As he powered the car up, a light came on for a minute, and Kurt got a real, close-up look of the man. It was so incredibly strange and awkward and just plain weird. This creature wasn’t even a Neon, but in some way(and probably just because he resembled Kurt’s kind so much that it was freaky), the man was actually appealing. And not just aesthetically either. Kurt had seen beautiful, wonderful creatures on other planets, but this was different. This man was, well, attractive (he even looked a bit like Landon with his dark hair, and that was super uncomfortable to notice). It was grossing Kurt out to even think about an Earthling that way, but he couldn’t help it.

The man must’ve noticed him staring, and he grinned like he waiting for some sort of reaction. “Do you have insurance anywhere?”

It took Kurt a moment, but he recognized the word. It had something to do with making a payment in case of an accident, and he had insurance on some parts of his ship, but the man couldn’t possibly be referring to that. He decided to shake his head.

“Okay,” the man nodded, starting up his car. Before they drove off, he turned to him and shook his head. “I am so sorry I didn’t... My name is Blaine.”