Lord Dragon sat on a large stone in the middle of the Arboretum. Around him were the other Mythics, save Santa and EB. There was a timid quiet in their eyes as he looked at them.
“My friends. It has been too long since we gathered such as this. It is a sad reality that the reason is so terrible.”
Cupid asked, “is there any good news?”
“None that I offer.”
Quetzalcoatl asked, “what is the dire news, my old friend? Please, tell us.”
Director Nova walked up just then. “Lord Dragon, you asked to see me?”
“I did.”
“Please, make this short. The situation is quickly getting out of hand.”
Lord Dragon looked around to all these people. “I made contact with Lady Phoenix with the help of BADGE. What I learned is worse than we thought possible.”
Maneki-Neko asked, “what could be worse?”
“Krampus used Legion technology to bring out the evil within the heart of Lady Phoenix.”
Nova said, “we know this. Skelanimal divulged that bit of information.”
Lord Dragon said, “what he, nor Krampus, realized, is that during the process of her regeneration, she tapped into us. She drew from us power. I believed this was merely a siphoning of our magic to help her become stronger. The reality was that the combination of that horrid technology and her unstable state, she drew from us the most wicked desires, evil thoughts.”
Cupid said, “but, we aren’t evil. We contend against evil.”
Lord Dragon said, “in all of us resides the capacity to do evil. Wicked thoughts enter out minds. However, we do not react to these thoughts and emotions. The ability to choose evil is as much a part of us as the choice to be good. However, she drew from us those evil thoughts and intentions, whether or not we ever acted upon them. That machine uses such wickedness to drive the mind into a state of pure corruption. Her soul is twisted, her mind darkened. We must draw her from Chase if we hope to have a chance of saving all of us.”
Director Nova said, “Your intentions are noble, but if she resists and we can take her down...”
“You do not understand,” Lord Dragon stated. “Her power is catastrophic. She is too blind by her own evil to understand that she is unstable. She will continue to feed off of wicked thoughts and evil of this world. Her power will grow until it collapses. In that collapse, it will destroy the Earth. In fact, it could destroy this entire solar system. Saving Lady Phoenix is the only hope of saving every living person under the light of this star.”
Everyone paled. Nova said, “this is what you meant when you said it was worse than you thought.”
“Yes. However, I have a plan.”
Nova said, “I hoped you say that.”
Lord Dragon looked around. “We must perform a special spell, a ritual that will require all of us to cast. We will take hold of her energy form and separate her from her physical form. Once we have her energy, we can remove the corrupting influence.”
Ananzi said, “but, that won’t do much. She will need a physical form, or the energy will still explode.”
Lord Dragon solemnly said, “I will give her my physical form. I will relinquish my energy and take hers. My soul will perish, but she will survive.” There were gasps and whispered refusals from the group. “My friends, I do this of my own accord. I accept my fate.”
Quetzalcoatl said, “please, there must be another way.”
“If there is, my friend, we do not have time to locate it. This will work. However,” Lord Dragon directed his attention at Nova, “it will require a distraction. We must have her attention entirely spent on another source, otherwise she could become aware of this too soon.”
Nova cracked a smile. “Funny you should say that. She has made it clear we must accept her challenge. We will send in heroes right away. Krampus is to be her champion.”
Lord Dragon said, “you must make sure that this truly draws her attention away.”
“I don’t know. She has displayed uncanny powers. I’m reluctant to let heroes get slaughtered by her.”
Quetzalcoatl said, “if this spell is the one I believe Lord Dragon wishes to use, then once we begin, she will immediately lose much strength. If you catch her off-guard long enough to not draw her ire, then we can begin. Once she realizes you aren’t following her rules, she won’t have the strength to stop you.”
Nova gave him a nod, “sounds like a wise plan.”
Lord Dragon said, “once your heroes have begun their attack, let me know immediately, and we will begin.”
Nova turned and looked around the group, “should I have Santa and EB brought in?”
“No. This act will mean the death of Chase, instantly. Truly, we will feel her death as if we were holding her in our arms. I cannot bring myself to force Santa to do this to his own daughter, and I know that Easter Bunny maintains strong feelings for her as well. We can accomplish this without their help. There is enough pain and suffering at this time, at least in this we can prevent a portion of it.”
Nova replied with a nod and took one step to leave. He paused and looked back, “it isn’t just Santa and EB who has strong feelings for Chase. I care for her. She was a good agent and a fine friend. Even more, Gar and Quark... they made a connection with her that surprised me. I know this is hard for you, but I want you to know that we face this pain as well. We will all mourn together. And, we accept that this is the right thing to do... even though it will hurt.”
***
The collection room was dim while the three consoled each other. Santa sat on the ground near his sleigh with Gar and Quark on either side of him. EB continued to produce eggs for them in various flavors and colors.
Quark drank from an egg that was filled with fine whiskey. “Good stuff. Where’d you get it?”
EB smiled, “magic. It’s just a replica of a fine whiskey.”
“Tastes the same.”
Santa held a gold wrapped egg in his hand, “you know, Christmas Eve is just a few days from now. I doubt I will be going out this year. I am too weak to make the trip.”
EB asked, “what will happen to Christmas?”
“Oh, it will happen. I didn’t invent Christmas, and I don’t make it happen each year. I merely help. But, how can I bring cheer to others when I feel not cheer in my heart?”
The door of the room opened and Nova walked in. He had a grim look on his face. “I thought I’d find you guys here.”
Gar, who had been as silent and still as a statue, looked up. “Any news?”
Nova sat down and let EB actually hug him. There was a tear in his eye. “Yes, actually. I wasn’t sure if I should tell you before it happened, but I realized that it is your right to know.”
“Oh, no.” Santa whispered.
Nova gulped back the lump in his throat, “I just ordered the invasion of the floating castle. The heroes are to attack Krampus while your people...deal with Lady Phoenix.”
Santa sat back, holding his chest, “then...it’s almost time.”
Nova softly nodded, “in a matter of hours, it will all be over.”
Gar yelled, “NO! PLEASE, NO! NOT ANOTHER PERSON I LOVE!”
Quark said, “well, I’m going...”
“Please, don’t.” Nova held up his hand.
“What? You can’t stop me!”
“I know. But, I ask that you stay here. The plan is good and you won’t be needed. For centuries I have been blind to the pain that loss can be. I worked alone for so long. Now, I have you, my friends...my family.” He put a hand on Gar’s arm. “We... we...” he struggled, “we must let ourselves mourn. To go would be too much pain for all of us. I don’t want any of you to watch what is about to happen. Please, stay here.”
Quark said, “I... will stay.”
EB said, “so will I.”
Santa, with tears coming down his face, reached over and put a hand on Gar’s shoulder. A red glow came from him. “A gift, my friend, of something you have needed for too long.”
For the first time in his existence, actual tears fell from Gar’s eyes.
Moments before:
The Closer waited with all the heroes gathered. A thick line of meta-humans circled the castle, ready at a moment’s notice. The only sound was the crashing of waves below.
Then came the sound of the full-alert. The comm devices all turned on at once. Nova’s voice came through. “Heroes, it’s time to take action. I want you to invade that castle and focus on Krampus. If Lady Phoenix calls you to compete, let her believe you are in agreement. Then, move in. Take Krampus down. Do not, I repeat, Do not attack Lady Phoenix. This is our once chance to do something, do not fail.”
The Closer yelled out, “FIFTH PRECINCT! MOVE!”
Other heroes followed suit, and soon the mass of gathered heroes converged on the demonic castle of Lady Phoenix.
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