Chase stepped out with Quark close behind, drinking straight out of a bottle of champagne. He stopped, burped, and then said, “man, he had some good stuff stashed in this limo. Maybe I’ll…” he went to go back in and retrieve a selection from the bar.
Chase grabbed his arm and yanked him back. “Later.”
Just then Gar landed next to them. He gave a small wave and smile at a crewman that was grinning at them. “What is this place?”
Chase said, “this is a movie set.”
“Wow? Where do they keep the monsters?” Gar looked around as if he expected to see giant monster actors waiting for the cue.
Quark laughed, “they keep them in computers back in California.”
Chase said, “right now, I’m just concerned with where Arx is.”
A man rushed up to them, as giddy as he could be. “There they are, the superstars of the world. Real heroes, right here, on my set.” He pumped Quarks hand. “Love the skin, love it. Give me your makeup artist’s number.” Without giving Quark a second to retort, he went to Gar, “Love the wings, baby. So, alive, so natural. And that stone skin, fantastic. You must be that living statue person I’ve heard so much about. You’re amazing.” Finally, he grabbed Chase’s hand. “Gorgeous, love the look. Mysterious vixen. I could make you a star, I could…. YEOOOOOW!”
Chase had him on his knees with how she bent his wrist. “We aren’t here for a screen test. We are here for Arx.”
Quark interceded for the poor man. “Chase, please. Don’t injure the man.”
She let go. “Sorry. I don’t like pushy people. And I don’t like Hollywood.”
Just then the glamours figure of Arx came walking through the crowds, wearing his signature spandex super suit. His suit was designed to reveal more of his chest than was necessary, just a strip of form fitting spandex from his belt up to his neck, only about five inches wide the entire way. “Friends! So glad you could make it. I see you’ve met my director. Ben here is the best, been directing all my action movies since I was in The Vindicators.”
The Director, having quickly recovered, introduced himself. “Benjamin Steven Mastrovito, but you can call me B.S.”
Quark snorted, holding back a guffaw, “B.S... really?”
B.S. sneered at him, “yes, I’m the hottest directors of tinsel town. Wherever you find Hollywood, you’ll find B.S.”
Quark muttered, “That’s for certain.”
Before the director could tell Quark where he could stick his comment, Arx said, “come on, lets have some lunch in my trailer. I have a few hours to kill before the next shoot. You can look over the script and tell me what you think.” He directed the three genuine heroes through the throngs of workers and extras as he chatted about the script.
B.S. pulled a walkie from his belt, “I need extras to set three, we’re going over…” he walked on, giving his marching orders to all the underlings of this production.
***
Chase said, “must be nice to be a superstar.”
Arx walked in. “It has its benefits. Though, don’t get me wrong, it’s a lot of work.”
Quark plopped down into the plush, leather massage chair, “sure it is.”
Arx walked over to the bar, “care for a drink?”
Quark said, “always.”
Gar quietly watched Arx while the silver superstar mixed some hard drinks. Finally, Arx asked, “what’s up, big fellow?”
Gar cocked his head, “I am trying to understand why Chase finds you so attractive.”
Chase blushed as her eyes widened, Quark snickered, and Arx gained a smile. “Oh, she does, does she?”
Chase said, “I just...it’s just that...oh we were watching the movie you sent, and I said I enjoy watching you...I mean your movies.”
Gar said, “no, you said to me the other day that you thought he had a great body.” he then cocked his head more when Chase covered her face.
Arx came around the bar, handing a drink to Quark, and then brought one over to Chase. He handed it to her as he bounced his pectoral muscles. She took the drink and glanced away. He laughed, “It’s okay. When I bought this body from that scientist, I wanted to impress girls. I guess I succeeded.” He looked at Gar, “But, then again, you’re just as impressive. Could use a little extra shine. Maybe a wax.”
Quark muttered, “or a rock tumbler.”
Chase sat down and said, “okay, we’re here because you said you had info on the scientist. At least I hope that’s true. You mentioned something about a script out there, and you should know BADGE…”
“I know, I know. BADGE heroes aren’t allowed to take contract deals for movies and commercials and stuff.”
Gar said, “too busy being heroes.”
Arx said, “the whole script thing was for the others. I couldn’t let them know why you were here. That scientist dude, he’s totally top secret. And don’t deliver Nova’s scolding for having some BADGE monitoring equipment still. I know it upset him, but I keep it well hidden and only use it to help keep my eye out. I may be a celebrity, but I still think of myself as a hero. And, in this case, it paid off.”
Chase asked, “give us the details.”
Arx picked up a remote and clicked it. Small screens covered the windows as a larger screen rolled down from inside the ceiling. A projector lifted from the table. Arx used the remote and showed them images of Dr. Osteen in the town. “I was out, doing a ribbon cutting with the mayor at their new Dinosaur fossil museum, and I saw this guy. I got as many shots as I could with my phone and then brought them back and checked them against the BADGE database. There’s no doubt, it’s him, this Dr. Jason Osteen. What the heck he’s doing in this backwoods town, I don’t know.”
Chase said, “it’s unlikely he’s just in hiding, he’s using this place as a cover for his work.”
Arx said, “my thoughts exactly. I borrowed a drone from the camera crew and did a few fly overs of the area. I saw this place,” He clicked, and they had an aerial view within the nearby mountains. A small, unassuming shack sat in the middle of a rocky field.
Gar said, “that could be just a normal place.”
Arx said, “I thought about that. I did some checking. This town is only forty years old. They built it to house the coal miners after they made a find. That building looks too old to be out here, unless someone wanted it to look old. So I checked all the land and building permits... that place shows up on nothing. According to all local and province records, that doesn’t exist. It has to be his secret location.”
Chase said, “wow, you really did your homework.”
“I’m not just a pretty smile, fantastic pecs, and incredible actor. I’m a superhero as well.” He smiled and a literal glint of light twinkled off his teeth.
Before Chase swooned, Quark said, “thanks for the info. We’ll look into this.”
Arx shook his head, “I’m coming with you.”
Gar said, “that might not be a good idea.”
Arx said, “I’m going in to find this jerk, with or without you.”
Quark looked at Chase, “what do you think?”
She was biting her lip, staring at Arx. “I think it’ll be okay. Shouldn’t be too hard to deal with. And Extra help can’t hurt.”
Quark rolled his eyes as Gar remained a little curious about Chase’s attitude.
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