“This is the most secure location on this station.” Nova said, “what is this dire information?”
Santa watched the robots repairing parts of the Arboretum. “I believe Chase has been in my workshop, quite recently.”
Gar lit up, “really? When… where?”
Nova held up his hand. “Please. First, what makes you believe this?”
“I know Chase... better than anyone. I know what she is capable of and how she garnered these skills. She is the only person who could break into my workshop and go unnoticed by almost everyone.” He turned to them and said, “someone broke in, and they stole exactly one item. Krampus’s sack.”
“And, you believe this is Chase?” Nova asked.
“It has to be. There are few people on this planet who can even see my workshop, let alone get in undetected. Most of the other Mythics can’t even find it. Chase is one of those people.”
“Why?” Gar asked.
“For another time, son.” Santa answered. “The fact that she stole the only item belonging to Krampus tells me she is part of his plan.”
“What is this sack?” Nova asked.
Santa sat down, “It is his talisman, the object in which he split his power back when we first arrived seven centuries ago.”
“A sack?” Gar asked.
“To properly represent the myths, we each took on a special talisman related to our new identities. I got the Sleigh whereas Krampus got a sack. The myth was that I would deliver toys to all the good children of Earth. Krampus would snatch the bad children and stuff them in his sack, to be eaten later.”
Gar was aghast, “he ate children!”
“No. That was the myth. The reality was, back in the early days when he wasn’t so wicked, Krampus and I worked together. Some children were especially bad and needed a really good awakening. He would snatch them and scare the living daylights out of them. We would then return them home, leaving them to wake Christmas morning believing they had the worst nightmare ever. They would have no presents and hopefully learn a lesson about being good children.”
“What happened? Why did he change?” Nova asked.
“After a while, he grew to enjoy the fear he instilled in humans. It gave him power. I warned him, before we changed, that taking on the myth of fear could lead to a corrupted mind. I was right. It is a long story, but eventually we had to take away his power and restrict him. Since he is my brother, I was given charge of holding him. We sealed him in the North Pole so I could keep a close tab on him. Lord Dragon sealed his power, and I confiscated his talisman.”
Nova said, “I didn’t know he’s your brother?”
“It is not something I like to admit. He wasn’t always this cruel, but he had a wicked element to his heart that I feared. It was no accident he searched for a fearful myth to emulate. He sought it out.”
Nova asked, “now that he has his sack, does this mean he has his powers back?”
“No. His power is still partly sealed. With the sack, he is stronger, but I don’t know how much. Our talisman only holds our power, to harness it requires power within us. To be honest, I am uncertain what he plans. Though, this can only mean bad things.”
Gar asked, “How do we use this to help find Chase?”
Nova added, “Do you know where he is?”
“I don’t know where he is right now. But, the moment he accesses the power in his sack, we Mythics will know. I am here to help. I am sure EB will be willing to aid us. It won’t take much to find them.”
“What about Lord Dragon?” Nova asked.
“He is... still mourning his wife. He has grown so weak since his talisman was broken that he never leaves his palace. He spends most days sitting in front of the memorial he created, thinking about the woman he loved for so long. I wouldn’t ask him to help, he needs this time alone.”
Nova said, “I can understand. I believe we have enough mythic magic to help. Plus, with all the Leagues back home and ready to work, we will have the planet covered. Just tell me when...” The lights outside in the main room turned red and a loud siren buzzed. Nova slapped a button on his desk, “Report!”
EB came through, “We got some serious crap going down. You’d better get in here.”
Nova stood up and was about to rush off when Santa touched his nose and all three vanished and reappeared in the Operations room.
“Woah.” Gar nearly fell over.
“Sorry.” Santa said.
EB hopped up and slapped Santa on the shoulder, “Hey, big guy. Been a while.”
“Report!” Nova commanded.
“Oh, right. Take a look!”
Everyone watched the monitors as a dozen news casts blasted out from various small screens. Explosions and sirens filled the room.
“They’ve gone mad.” Nova whispered.
Earlier that day:
Skelanimal stood on top of a skyscraper, letting the winds whistle around him. A clever smile crept over his face as Hotwings, DaMon, and The Avenger, approached.
“The others are in place.” Hotwings said.
“And the citizens?”
DaMon smiled, “They’re asking for autographs.”
Skelanimal laughed. “Sure, the winners of League Wars. The most celebrated heroes of Earth... for now.”
The Avenger asked, “Why Tokyo?”
“Dunno. Seems right to have a giant green monster attack this city. Might even make a movie about it.” Skelanimal watched the densely packed population rushing about their daily lives below.
“What are your orders?” Hotwings asked.
“I so love hearing you say that. Okay, here’s the plan. Set Midgard off, let him start this rampage. Then, when all the eyes are on him, you guys destroy bridges and other roads. Keep the people from escaping. We want the world worried about this. After that, just blow crap up. Don’t care what, just make a mess.”
Hotwings gave a quick nod and then flew down from this dizzying height. He swooped off toward the bay. The others descended the side of the building and headed for the edges of the city. Skelanimal merely smiled and sat, dangling his bony legs over the side.
“Man, wish I had popcorn. This is gonna be good.”
The Mighty Morphon Power Ranger signed a newspaper with his picture on it and then took a selfie with two Japanese girls.
“Arigato!” They giggled at him.
He waved back and tossed the pen to them. Just when he was going to sign another copy of the paper, Hotwings spoke into the communicator in his ear. He smiled under his mask and looked up at the waters of the bay. Without saying another word, or acknowledging any further requests for his attention, he simply turned and walked away.
People watched him with great curiosity. His whole demeanor had changed. Then the docks rattled and rolled. The water became turbulent. Boats tossed around, a couple capsized. Then, out of the nightmares of a dozen Japanese monster movies, a giant green serpent rose from the sea and bellowed a horrid cry. Midgardsormr reached out and swiped an enormous claw at a series of docks, smashing them to pieces and sending boats flying. He grabbed up a yacht and threw it like a dart right at a nearby building.
Citizens screamed and ran away in a panic. Cars screeched to a stop. Police and other security officials rushed at the scene, brandishing weapons. The moment they caught sight of the monster, they halted their idea of defending and merely grabbed citizens and ran.
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