The Story of Invisible Martian Archer

I have been invisible my entire life. I’m the twelfth son of the Lord of Mars. That’s right – I’m real Martian royalty.

You might think it would be cool having Lord Inric as your father. Wealth. Power. Prestige. But I’ve enjoyed none of that. Honestly, I’m not even sure why my father kept me as a son. He’s only ever spoken to me once and that was to tell me to leave Mars and to never return.

Do you know what it’s like being the twelfth son of a monarch? Well I can tell you. Nobody cared about me or paid any attention to me. Nobody. My eldest brother received all of the attention as the heir to the throne. I think they just kept me around as some worst-case-scenario insurance policy.

Being socially invisible did have its advantages, however. Growing up, my father’s advisers thought nothing of speaking freely when I was in earshot. I was beneath their notice. But I heard everything. All of it. The corruption. The blood. The greed. I realized my father was a despotic ruler and an evil man.

I wanted to see what the world my father ruled was like outside of my high palace walls. I had worked for years to personalize the invisibility technology used hide our Martian cities from the eyes of aliens such as you humans. Nobody noticed my absence as I began to use this technology to routinely sneak out into the countryside. What I found there was abhorrent. While those in the palace lived in luxury my father’s subjects nearly worked themselves to death to pay his tax collectors.

I revealed myself to them and… they actually noticed me. It felt so strange. I quickly made many great friends in the village and I would bring them the leftovers from our royal feasts. Over many months they told me their shocking and sad life stories and I knew that I had to help them. The only way I could see to do that was to kill my father. Then the system could be changed so it would be fair to all Martians.

I planned on striking during the Feast of Phobos. I used my invisibility device to hide on a balcony in the banquet hall overlooking the dining area. The entire royal court attends the Feast of Phobos and all would be in attendance and would witness my father’s downfall. I planned on triumphantly proclaiming that the era of inequity was at an end.

But it all went horribly wrong. When I released that invisible arrow its path was true… but my mother, the lovely Queen Isadora, leaned forward to whisper to my father at the last second and the arrow struck her down. In shock, my invisibility fell and I was revealed to all in attendance there. My father cradled his wife in his arms but looked directly at me. I withered under his forceful gaze. “Beloved son,” He said with great grief in his voice, “What brought you to this treachery? Have I not watched and admired you from afar, providing for your every need so that you might one day become great?” I staggered at his damning words. Before turning to comfort my dying mother he dismissed me , saying, “Begone. Mars is no home to you now. The day you breathe Martian air again is the day you die.”

The weight of the sincere regret in his voice caused me to turn and blindly flee to the rocket bay. With tears in my eyes I launched. The trip is a blur of remorse. Somehow I found myself on Earth. Weeks passed as I remained invisible to hide from detection by the humans.

And then I came to the realization that, although I can’t undo what I had done I can still try to redeem myself. I could fight injustices and corruption here on Earth just as I had attempted to do on Mars.

With a new-found purpose, I set myself to the task of being humanity’s unseen protector. The Invisible Martian Archer.

Just kidding.