Chase ran across a field, blades flying from her hands as she dodged arrows. People around here were shooting energy beams, throwing large objects, or ripping up sod to throw. A cloaked villain laughed as he buried arrows into the hearts of these heroes. It did not kill them, merely dropped them to the ground in misery. Chase felt a terrific fear growing in her as she jumped over a fallen woman and then skidded under an arrow that nearly got her in the heart. She threw her blades, but that strange man swiftly moved at the last moment and shot again.
Suddenly she stopped and waited while the heroes converged on this enemy. The world became foggy, the lines of reality blurring around her. Color drained from everything and it was as though she were merely watching this as a movie.
“Where am I? This feels so familiar. Why am I here?” She asked herself.
“Chase!” A loud, gruff voice bellowed.
She looked around, still on the battlefield. “Who is there?”
“WAKE UP!”
Chase sat up in a chair, her face cold on one side from resting on the metal surface of a table. Krampus stood next to her, an ugly sneer on his normally abhorrent face. She groggily answered, “What...oh, sorry. I must have drifted off.”
“We don’t have time to be taking little naps.” He muttered. “We have incoming signatures. I need you to be ready in case any heroes show up.”
Chase roused herself with stretched arms with a yawn. “Do we have full access to the computer equipment yet?” She walked across the impressive operation center of this new location.
Krampus shrugged, “The sensors are working, that’s all I know.”
Chase checked the computer. “I’m definitely picking up a vehicle approaching.”
“Vehicle? They fly tours over the volcano here all the time.” Krampus pushed some of their equipment into place.
“This isn’t a plane. This is a shuttle. And... yes, it is from BADGE.”
Krampus growled, “This can’t be. How could they have found our new location so quickly? Does this stupid League HQ have any anti-aircraft weaponry?”
“How should I know? This is the WMD headquarters. I still don’t know why we ran up to Iceland and take over their base.” Chase checked over the computers. “If it does, we don’t have access.” Suddenly the computer beeped. “They’re signaling us.”
“Don’t answer.”
“Why don’t you just go out there and use some of your mythic magic to take them down? Or are you afraid to get your hands dirty anymore?” She asked.
He sneered at her, “Even with my magic being bound, I am more than a match for these heroes. Get yourself ready.”
Chase shut down the power to the room, leaving only tiny lights active on consoles and tablets. Each slid into a shadow and readied for a fight. Moments later they heard the distinct sound of engines approaching the landing pad. Once the sounds stopped, there was a long silence before the door opened.
The bright light outside broke through the dark room, and a shadowed figure stood there. Krampus lurched forward, but stopped. Chase threw a blade, lodging it in the intruder's thigh.
“OOOOOOW!” Skelanimal yelled. “WATCH THE BLADES!” he hopped around on one leg, while carrying a body over his shoulder. He attempted to pull the blade out, but the person he carried prevented most of his arm movement.
“Skelanimal!” Krampus barked, almost angry.
Chase said, “Oh, I’m sorry. Here I’ll...” She went to help him.
Krampus got to him first. Yanked the blade out, which drew a louder scream, and then said, “I see my plan worked. Spirit got you out.”
Skelanimal flopped a blue body onto a table and then gripped his thigh with his bony hands. “Yeah. That twerp messed them up good. He left me alone, outside of breaking me out.”
“It was a risk getting his help. I had to convince him he this was just all a big, fun trick for Halloween.”
Skelanimal said, “the plan worked. I got in there by being captured, and then you got me out. Along the way, I got a few treasures.”
Chase frowned at the sight of Strange Quark laying on the table. “I think I know this person. Why did you bring him here?”
Krampus interrupted this question by asking, “Did you get the shards?”
Skelanimal pulled up a sack and smiled under his bony mask, “Of course. Wouldn’t have spent all that time up there without something to show for it.”
Krampus snatched the bag and opened it. He went silent, lost in that glittering greed flickering in his eyes. He turned to the holding device where the other shards waited. Pouring this out, a smile grew on his face. “This is all of them. It’s almost done.”
Skelanimal, limping slightly, came over and went to turn on the machine. “Then, put this sucker back together.”
Krampus grabbed Skelanimal’s hand and nearly squeezed the blood out of it. “NOT YET!”
“YOW! LET GO YOU BIG OAF!”
Krampus threw the hand away. “We can’t force it back together just yet. That would only draw his attention. We aren’t ready for him yet. No. We need to plan this out. Chase!”
Chase, still looking down at Quark, said, “Why is it I want to laugh when I see him? It’s like he’s just told a joke...I...I don’t know what’s happening to me?”
Krampus said, “Chase, I have a mission for you.”
“Who is this blue man?” She asked.
“Not your concern.”
“But...”
“NOT NOW! We have immediate issues. I need something special. And, I need a thief to go get it.”
“What?”
“Here.” Krampus handed her a computer tablet.
She read it and then asked. “You want me to break into Santa’s workshop? That’s impossible.”
“Trust me, you can do it. Just, avoid any contact with anyone, especially Santa. Bring that back to me. Go, time is not on our side.”
Chase resupplied her throwing blades and then left the room.
Skelanimal asked, “Is this wise, keeping her around? I mean, she almost recognized this blue guy.”
Krampus smiled, “She’s still under control. The mental lock will keep her from fully recovering her memories. We have other issues to worry about.”
Skelanimal frowned at Quark, “Why d’you have me get this dude?”
Krampus stood over Quark, “in him is the key to everything. I did not understand where the power had gone. But, when he encountered the shards, I realized it was alive, in him. Now it is merely the matter of extracting it.”
Skelanimal held up a clawed hand, “Let me. This guy has been a pain in my butt...”
“No. We need him alive for the process. Getting this out of him will not be like drawing blood or extracting a kidney. But, I don’t have time to educate you on the finer details of energy dynamics.”
“Energy… what?”
Krampus walked away as he said, “It’s a good thing you’re useful for other things than thinking.”
“Hey!” Before Skelanimal could describe his usefulness to this master plan, several sensors went on full alert. Skelanimal rushed over and activated external monitors. “Oh, crud. Looks like we have company.”
On the screens, the entire WMD league landed on the snow covered rocky shores of this tiny volcanic island. From Midgardsormr to Hotwings, the entire team marched on their own stronghold, a fierce look in their eyes.
0 Comments