Workers pushed hover-carts carrying the avatars still in their holding cages toward the laboratories on the BADGE space station. Heroes gathered near the sight, each watching with shock and dread in their eyes.
“Director Nova?” Agent Leslie approached.
“Yes?”
She gulped as the Avatar of Supernatural was pushed by, “are...they dead?”
EB hopped up and down between them. “Nope. Just sedated. They are gonna be so sore when they wake. I might make a chocolate with aspirin in it, or something stronger. I…” Nova grabbed him by the ears.
“Not the time for candy talk.”
“Sorry.”
Nova dropped EB. “The situation is bad. They aren’t dead, but we don’t know how to free them.”
A young student hero came up with about a dozen other people with him. “Sir, um, are the protests still happening? Can we go planet side yet?”
Nova took a moment to see the timid eyes of the inexperienced heroes. “The protests are growing in frequency. There’s an evil organization preying on new morphonic people. You need to stay here until it is safer down there. For now, BADGE will continue working to protect everyone.”
Just then, Chase and Gar walked up. Chase said, “Sir, Quark has some info up in operations.”
Nova looked back at the student heroes. “Study and remain calm.”
EB hopped over to the heroes. “As an instructor here. I think I should...woah!” Nova had grabbed him again.
“Come on. You need to be part of this.”
EB threw his arms out and foil wrapped eggs scattered all over the place. “Have some chocolate, it makes everyone feel better!”
***
The skies boiled with rolling clouds over Washington, D.C. A rainstorm had just soaked the city and was about to break. Cars and people still trudged through the sloppy streets, always busy with something important to be done. Even on this cold, wet early autumn day, the political engine of the USA had to continue churning.
Three figures appeared high in the clouds and flew down as if carried by invisible strings. They showed no effort to move other than a slight turning of their heads. Each was a male with a brightly colored super suit and glowing eyes. Their skin was almost devoid of color, making them nearly as gray as statues.
At first, this grabbed little attention, but soon enough, people noticed these strangers getting closer to the ground. Those that paid the most attention to them were an angry mob of protestors outside the gates of the White House. A woman leading the protests aimed her megaphone at them with one hand and held up her anti-BADGE sign in her other hand.
“GO HOME, HEROES! WE DON’T NEED YOU!”
The three men hovered directly over the crowd, their emotionless faces scanning the people.
A military vehicle stopped, and a man stepped out. “Heroes! No heroes have unlimited clearance for this airspace. Please return to your HQ and contact proper authorities.”
The protest leader smugly added, “SEE, YOU AREN’T WANTED!”
Finally, one of the trio spoke. “BADGE doesn't need authorization. We may go where we wishes. BADGE is under its own authority and you will accept that or die.”
“I’D RATHER DIE!” she screamed into her megaphone.
The super next to him held up his hand, and the woman dropped both her megaphone and sign to grab her throat as she gagged for air. The protesters screamed and threw objects at the trio. The woman lifted from the ground, still gasping for air. There was a great crack, and she went limp. Tossing his hand to the side, her body flung away, sprawled across the rain-soaked pavement.
The super leader nodded to each of his companions and they flew away from him. He then spoke to the camera phones trained on him. “BADGE needs no further cooperation with those nations beneath us.”
Everyone yelled and ran as there came a tremendous explosion to their right and then another to their left. Massive balls of fire rose into the sky.
***
Quark pointed at the screen behind him. “Our sensors have scanned the rubble of that lab to the quantum level. Our people have scoured everything we can. We have come up with nothing.”
Nova scoffed, “great. We need a lead…”
Quark interrupted him. “What we do have is this.” He held up his hand as a shard of metal appeared. “A chunk of metallic debris from the lab. I took it from the rubble in front of the central computer station.”
EB hopped up and sat on Gar’s shoulder. “That’s where Dr. Fatso worked all the time. He also played Fort Knight there a lot, while his bosses weren’t watching.”
Quark handed it to Chase. “You’re the best at looking at the past. Give us something to go on.”
She took the metal and focused.
EB said, “she’s so hot when she does this.”
She cast a glare sharper than her shuriken at EB. As he forced his mouth closed and covered it with his paws, she refocused. “Okay. I’m back to when this was part of the floor. Now, I can see the lab. Yes, Dr. Osteen spent a lot of time here. I….I can see the computer screen. But, it’s distant from this angle. I don’t see the data itself. I see a world map… with dots all over it. Major cities, smaller cities, no, I see some words on the screen...military compu...no, compound. Oh, god, they’re targeting nearly every major military location on the planet. Wait, Dr. Osteen and his men are moving a bunch of sedated people out of the lab. They are all dressed like heroes, the sedated men. Strange.” She let go of it and rubbed her face. “That is all I could get.”
Nova took the shard of metal from her. “It was enough. Our enemy is planning a major coordinated attack. But, when?”
“Alert! Alert!” The computer blurted out as all the screens flipped on to images of Washington, D.C.
“Report?” Nova asked.
“Media: on screen.” A robot announced when the screen flipped to the news.
A news woman spoke while the shaky camera scanned the billowing smoke on the horizon. “Moments ago, three heroes from BADGE leveled the two largest military installations near Washington, D.C. The Pentagon was not targeted, but bases were, limiting military response. There are no casualties reported yet. By the blast zone, the numbers are expected to be high. The military has scrambled a counter assault. Five fighter jets have been dispatched...they are approaching the...oh god!”
The camera shifted to the three heroes hovering over the city. Bolts of power came from the heroes and blasted each of the jets. Seconds later, more explosions scarred the streets and buildings of Washington.
“This is...unthinkable. They hardly moved a finger and...I can’t believe what I’m seeing.” Now the image was of three tanks being helplessly lifted by unseen forces. They then threw the tanks through the air and crashed them into approaching military transports.
One hero looked directly at the camera and spoke. “BADGE IS IN CHARGE NOW. STAND DOWN, U.S. MILITARY, OR SUFFER THE CONSEQUENCES!”
Nova grabbed his comm and hit the call-all button. However, Chase held his arm before he could make the call. “Sir, we can’t send heroes in...they will blame us for all of this.”
Nova shook her hand away, “I don’t give a damn about bad PR. I’m not letting all those innocent people be in danger.”
EB said, “Buddy, those guys are pumped with a lot of power. I mean, serious power. It’ll take a heck of a lot of strength to bring them down.”
“We have no choice.” Nova clicked the comm again. “Leagues, Heroes, everyone, head to Washington D.C. Bring those men down, now!”
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