Chapter 3: A Little Problem
Nova, holding his key card in front of him to hide his nakedness, ran
as hard as he could around the now enormous room. “HEY, COMPUTER,
AREN’T YOU LISTENING TO ME!” He tried, again and again, to get
the computer to respond to his voice, but it remained dormant.
“STUPID COMPUTER!” Insulting it never helped, but he always tried
at least once.
Suddenly he felt his grip on the card change. He grew bigger by a few
inches.
“Okay, this is better.”
Another growth spurt he was around two feet tall.
“Computer!”
It beeped, “Access code please.”
“Wonderful.” He held out the card, “Scan my key card!”
“Unable to process information. State in a clear voice your
request.”
Nova fumed, “SCAN THE CARD!” His little voice was too high
pitched for the computer to recognize as him, and yelling only made
it worse.
Just then the doors on the other side of the room opened and Gar came
in, “Director Nova, I have sent… Director?” He turned around
twice.
“Gar!” Director Nova ran over, holding one hand over himself, and
the other waving.
Gar looked at the two-foot-tall director and frowned, “Hey! You get
mad when I go without clothing!”
“I don’t want to be like this, you stone brained idiot! Have you
noticed I’ve shrunk?”
Gar leaned over, “I thought you looked different.”
“Critical thinking is not exactly your strong suit,” Nova
muttered. “I was in the lab with Dr. Henderson and some water
spilled on me, it had morphons in it. I guess it is messing with me.
We...” He looked up and saw that Gar was giving him a strange,
worried look. “What?”
“Uh, you are vanishing?”
Nova held up his arm and could see right through it, “Oh, great.”
Gar now looked around, “Where did you go?” He walked around.
“HEY, WATCH IT, YOU’RE GONNA STEP ON ME!” Nova dodged the giant
stone feet.
Gar stood still, “Where are you?”
“I’m right beside you. Here, look at this.” He held up his
card, which was still visible.
“I can see card.”
“Good. Let’s get back to the lab and get this fixed. Now that I
can’t be seen, I can walk there without embarrassing myself.”
Gar held out his arms, “I could carry...”
“You pick me up and it’ll be the last thing you do for a long
time.” He growled this out and then headed for the door. All Gar
could see was the card being swiped across the scanner and the door
opening. They walked together back down the corridor toward the
laboratories.
***
***
Gar waited while that floating security card swiped again and opened
the laboratory sector. Both immediately headed for the special lab
where Dr. Henderson worked with the water specimens.
“Dr. Henderson!” Nova called out.
“Oh, good, Director Nova...” a woman entered the lab and turned
around, “Uh, Gar… I thought I heard the director's voice.”
Gar smiled, “He is invisible.”
She frowned at him, “Okay.” Her tone lacked any belief and
perhaps a little concern for the stone man.
Director Nova spoke up, “He’s right, I’m invisible.”
She turned toward the voice, “You sound strange like you’ve been
inhaling helium.” She paused and looked around, “Where… are
you?”
“Over here.” He waved his card around.
“I see… OH MY!” She quickly turned back around and covered her
eyes.
Director Nova became visible again, still only two feet tall. “Oh,
drat.”
She cleared her throat, “Why… um… sir, you don’t have any
clothes on.”
Gar seemed to sense Nova’s embarrassment and quickly pulled down
his own shorts in an effort to help, “It is no clothing day here at
BADGE.”
“Oh, goodness.” Now she had both hands up like blinders.
“Put your pants on Gar!” Nova barked. “Dr. Duleny, I shrunk and
my clothes fell off. Dr. Henderson can help. Where is he?”
She had her eyes closed as she took off her lab coat and held it in
Nova’s general direction. “I was just looking for him. The
computers are acting up. I can’t get into anything. Something has
locked down all the passwords.”
He accepted the coat and put it on, looking like a two-year-old in
his father's clothing. “This will have to do.” he yanked up the
arms, “I can unlock the computers with my password. I...”
Just then Dr. Henderson’s voice came over the comm, “Director
Nova, come to the main lab right now.”
Nova sneered, “What gives him the balls to command me around? Dr.
Duleny, go to the main computers and see if you can get something to
work there. I’ll be there shortly.” Storming out he headed for
the main labs, with Gar right behind him.
They found Dr. Henderson standing at a main terminal in the middle of
the laboratories. His hands flew over the controls while he muttered
at it angrily.
“Dr. Henderson.” Nova stood behind him, “I need your help.”
“Director, I...” He turned around, looking forward right at Gar
and then down at the short man, “Oh, my goodness.” He couldn’t
contain a humorous smile.
Nova’s one good eye twitched, “Glad you find this funny. Now fix
it!”
Dr. Henderson leaned over and looked at Nova, “I see, how
interesting. Truly a marvel. Right now, Sir, I need you to give me
your all-access codes for the BADGE systems.”
“I know the computers are acting up. But, right now we need to get
to your lab and fix this problem.”
“Sure, right away. Just, give me your codes first. I can’t do
anything without your codes.”
“Yes, you can. Your personal lab isn’t entirely connected to the
system. We can...”
“JUST GIVE ME THE DAMN CODES!” Henderson bellowed.
Gar took a threatening step toward Henderson while Nova stood back,
“What was that… doctor?”
Dr. Henderson practically growled out, “I need your codes, give
them to me!”
Nova began to answer, but shrank again, sinking into the lab coat. He
came out of it, just as naked as before, “Great, just great. Look,
Doctor, I don’t know what you’re up to, but you will...”
Dr. Henderson grabbed up Nova in both hands, squeezing him around the
chest, “Give me the codes or shrinking will be the least of your
concerns. I will...” A stone fist hit the doctor in the face and he
crashed into the computer terminal, at the same time Gar retrieved
the Director and set him back down.
“Are you well, director?” Gar asked.
“Other than being cold, I’m fine.”
Dr. Henderson laughed from his crashed position. He slowly rose into
the air, electricity crackling around him with small bits of metal
orbiting his body, “Nice one, stony, I didn’t see that coming. I
guess I need to watch my temper. But, I have always had a bit of a
volatile attitude. Now, director, you will give me those codes.”
Nova, attempting to look threatening at 18 inches tall and nude,
said, “Not on your life. COMPUTER, INTRUDER ALERT!” Nothing
happened.
Henderson laughed, “Oh, this is precious. It can’t understand
you.”
Gar smiled, “Computer, intruder alert in laboratories.”
This set the system off and large metal panels sealed all the
doorways while lights flashed overhead.
Henderson cocked his head at Gar, “Always getting in the way.
Enough of that.” He thrust his hand out and a bolt of lightning
shot at Gar.
Gar crossed his arms in front of him. The energy hit him but did
nothing. He dashed right at Henderson and slammed him into one of
those new defense doors. He punched with all his might, but Dr.
Henderson dodged it and Gar’s fist made a sizable dent in the metal
plating.
Suddenly an entire metal door ripped loose and slammed into Gar,
pressing him against a wall. It encased him in this, a Gar shaped
bulge where the man was now part of the décor.
“Disappointing.” Henderson mused at the defeated hero. “Now,
where’s the pint-sized director?”
What will Nova do? Is this the end of BADGE? Find out tomorrow as the story continues...
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