Heroes Rising Fiction: Tiny Nova 4

Chapter 4: Drained

“Stop!” Nova called out in that tiny voice, he held a gun in his hands.

Henderson snickered, “Now, now, wouldn’t want to harm poor doctor Henderson.”

“What?” Nova was caught off guard by this, “Who are you?”

“Oh, you can put it together. This foolish doctor was messing with water infused with power beyond anything a pitiful human can comprehend.” He walked around, tapping his chin, “Let me see, what creature has magical powers and can change his size to get into anywhere he desires?” Now he turned licking his lips, “Can… get to any child he hungers for.”

“Krampus,” Nova whispered.

“Congratulations, my dear Director. I’m not really him, but a shadow of him, a piece of him from his powers left in that snow. Still, even as just a shadow, I’m smarter and stronger than anything you have here.”

“Is that why I’m shrinking?”

“Oh, and here I thought you were as dumb as you looked. Bravo. Yes, you have a taste of my power. Alas, it is just on you, it will come off eventually. This fool, he ingested it. I have him now. But, enough of this. Give me those codes or die.” He took aim with his hand, power flickering on his fingers.

“Over my tiny dead body!” Nova shot.

Henderson dodged the blast and returned fire.

Nova dove behind the crumpled up lab coat, avoiding the blast.

“Seriously! Hiding behind that. Pathetic… where are you?” Henderson couldn’t find Nova. He took a gentle step back, “I see, so my invisibility was also blessed on you. Clever, very clever. But, there is nowhere you can go. Your overgrown garden gnome sealed the labs. You’ll become visible, eventually. Where are you!” His rage grew as he looked around in vain. “Blast these worthless human ears!”

Nova silently crept toward the one lab that was now open, since this Krampus/Henderson hybrid ripped the door off. He had to find something to stop it. This was a weapons testing lab, but it didn’t have any weapons in it. They only tested the weapons brought in from villains. Then he saw something promising, a set of cables hanging off of the main table. He grabbed the purple-colored cable and pulled on it. “Damn my tiny size, this shouldn’t be this...”

“GOTCHA!” Henderson lunged at where Nova was, his hand swiping across the ground. He still couldn’t see him, but it wouldn’t take long.

Nova pulled the cord down and when that hand went by, he stabbed the open end into the wrist. For a moment power surged out of Henderson and into the cable. He lurched back and flew across the room. “YAH!” Cradling his arm he said, “You infuriating little menace. I’m going to squash you flat!”

Nova reappeared and quickly scrambled to get that cable again, “Crap!” he was now a visible target.

Just then a hand punched through the metal casing in the wall and grabbed Henderson by the neck. Gar kicked, ripped, and punched his way out of the metal wrapping around him. “You will not hurt Director!” He flung the man across the room, against a wall.

Nova yelled, “GAR!”

Gar grabbed Henderson by the leg and swung him over, slamming him face-first into the ground right next to the director. Nova jammed that cable into him, “HOLD IT THERE!” Gar reached down and held Henderson down with the cable against him.

“YAAAAAAAAAH!” Power flooded out of Henderson into the cable.

Once the activity stopped and Dr. Henderson went limp, Nova held up his hand, “Remove it.”

Gar removed the cable, but still held the doctor down, “What happened?”

“That cable drains power from weapons. I gambled that it would take his power.”

“Is he dead?” Gar relaxed and slowly turned the doctor over so he was on his back.

Just then the answer came when Dr. Henderson opened his eyes, "What have you done to me!" Straining his eyes up toward Nova he yelled, "I'm not done with you!"

Nova stood over him, “No, I doubt we’re done with the real Krampus, but we’re certainly done with you.”

Weeks later:

Dr. Henderson sat at his desk in the lab, looking over the schematics he had drawn up. He had several large bruises on his face and a cast still on his foot where Gar had broken several bones.

The doors of the lab opened and both Gar and Director Nova walked in. Nova was now three feet tall and sporting a skin-tight super suit. “You wanted to see me?”

Dr. Henderson smiled, “Yes. Hey, they got that suit made for you. Does it work?”

“Yes. Dr. Duleny and the clothing department were able to design a suit that can instantly adapt to size changes in a hero. The first time they were able to create that. Might come in handy. As for me, I can’t wait to get back to normal.”

Henderson held up a different computer tablet, “I calculated that the effects will wear off in about a week. You’ll slowly return to normal size permanently over the next week.”

“Good, at least I stopped vanishing. I’m glad we could get Santa Claus to come down and help remove Krampus from your body.”

“You’re glad! I wanted powers, not to be turned into a villain.”

Nova looked up at Gar and gave him a look that was a request. Gar reached down and set Nova on a stool near Henderson. Nova said, “About that. You will have a note in your file about this whole incident. I understand that you didn’t want to summon a version of Krampus and try to take over BADGE, but you attempted to give yourself powers. That violates several laws. If we didn’t need your impressive mind here, you would be out on the next transport. As it stands, you’re going to have to earn our trust back.”

“I know.” Henderson let out a sigh, “I just feel… weak around here. I’m surrounded by heroes and I...”

“Doctor, it doesn’t take powers to be a hero. This will sound corny, but you are a hero. You help us do our job. It is all the little people doing their part that truly make something like BADGE work. We need you as a scientist.”

Dr. Henderson smiled, “Then you’ll be glad to know that the tests show that my powers were temporary. When you sapped my powers, you took them away. I’m as ordinary as I have ever been.”

“Good. Now, what did you need to see me about?”

“This!” Henderson held up his tablet with a weapon schematic on it.

“What’s this?”

“I was studying the shrinking ability we found in that water and how it reacted to you and I was able to develop this gun. It shrinks people down.”

Nova didn’t look too pleased at that notion, “Really? What good is this?”

“Think about it. A ten-ton monster rampaging through town reduced to the size of a chihuahua.”

Nova stroked his chin, “I can see the benefits. Good work. See about developing a prototype.”

“Great! I’ll get right on it.” Dr. Henderson got off his stool and limped over to the 3D printing work station.

“Gar, let’s get back to the conference room.”

Gar set Nova back on the floor and then waited while the small man left the lab. “Director, we have five leagues who want to come visit.”

“No. I will not be gawked at by these people, they have jobs to do.”

“Some want to help,” Gar said.

“Who?”

Gar added, “Quark wants to see if he can help you get back to normal.”

“Absolutely not, he knows nothing about normal. You tell the others I am not a side-show.”

Yes, sir.” Gar and Nova left the labs for the main rooms.