Delta stepped into a darkened room where two people sat behind a long desk. Judge Alpha and Marshal Gamma watched tablets on the desk as the news reports were feeding through.
“Delta, I see the laboratory has been compromised.” Marshal Gamma stated as he held up his tablet, showing footage from the explosion at sea.
Delta nodded. “BADGE was able to track the Easter Bunnies location. Dr. Osteen was forced to use the self-destruct.”
Alpha asked, “what of the Avatars?”
“We lost them as well. Osteen survived.”
Gamma fumed for a moment. “We have lost a lot of expensive property in this project. Three Laboratories.”
Delta smiled, “Don’t worry. Osteen completed the army project in time. I evacuated all the subjects. We no longer have use of the Avatars. Dr. Osteen’s research with them is finished.”
Alpha waved a dismissive hand at him, “then eliminate him.”
“Don’t be so hasty. His skills with the weapons are invaluable. He helped design these guns for North Onnotangu. We may still have a use for him.”
Gamma asked, “what is the next move in this? Are we ready for the takeover?”
“Not yet.” Alpha stated. “The people of this world aren’t falling in line as quickly as we anticipated. They still have some faith in BADGE. However, the next phase of this plan will hopefully erode that faith enough to give us what we need.”
Delta nodded. “Agreed. I have selected the trio that will instigate the plan. When Dr. Osteen is ready, we will prep the weapons.”
Alpha said, “then, move. We don’t have time to waste.”
Gamma said, “I will prepare our secret prisons and ready the teams for the arrests.”
Delta gave a quick nod and turned to leave. However, he turned back and asked, “where is General Beta? I have not seen him once since we started this process.”
Alpha answered, “He is exactly where he needs to be. Don’t worry about Beta, just make sure this plan continues with no further glitches.”
“Understood.”
***
Chase lay back inside an oval-shaped object, bobbing and rolling as the sound of water crashed around her. Laying next to her was EB, smiling like he had just won the lottery.
“Are you sure you can’t zap us out of this egg you created?”
EB shook his head. “I made an especially powerful shell to protect us at the last minute. Can’t teleport outta here. Besides, this is kinda the perfect ending to my personal secret agent movie. The babe, in a boat, floating away on the ocean.” He put his paw on her thigh. “Wanna neck?”
She calmly said, “you touch me like that one more time and I will make you eat a throwing star. Got it?”
He slid his paw off of her. “Fine. Don’t have to be so stuffy about this. Just wanted to kiss and all. Not like Gar would see us.”
“Why would Gar care?”
EB gave her a frank look, “duh, he’s totally still into you.”
“I’m not blind. I know he still has a boyish crush on me. But, we agreed to be just friends a long time ago.”
EB smiled, “so, that means you’re available. I mean, the only guys around you are Gar, Nova, and Quark. If Gar’s outta the picture, then that leaves Nova and Quark. Nova is waaaaaay too old for you. Like, that dude is really freaking old. I don’t even know how old he is.”
Chase laughed, “he’s not my type.”
“And Quark is...well….”
Both said at the same time, “Strange.”
Chase said, “I don’t need romance. I’m too busy. And that includes necking with a flirty little bunny.”
“Fine. I know I’m cute, you know I’m cute. I could have any girl I wanted, except the one I want the most. The hottest vixen I have ever met. You are so cool, and strong, and HOT!”
Chase was about to tell him what she thought of his assessment when they both were jerked around. The egg stopped bobbing in the waters and was now flying.
“What’s going on?” EB asked.
“Like I should know.”
They were set down, and suddenly a stone fist punched through the shell. Gar reached in and ripped more of the shell away and revealed the sunny blue skies over an island in the middle of the ocean. The smoking husk of the lab nearby. “Oh, good. Chase! I was worried!” Gar helped her out.
EB said, “sure, worry about the chick but not the traumatized bunny. You don’t know what these jerks did to me. I’ve been thrown in cages, yelled at, threatened, forced to watch naked guy after naked guy get altered. Then they strapped me to a table and totally tried to slice me in two. But, sure, worry about her first.”
Nova walked over and pulled EB up out of the broken egg. “You okay?”
EB gained the broadest grin he had ever had. “You were worried about me?! Little ole me! NOVA BUDDY!” He hugged him around the neck.
To everyone's surprise, Nova hugged him back. “You may be the most annoying hero I have ever had to work with, you’re still my friend.”
EB said, "You came all the way here, from the station, just to make sure I was safe."
Nova quickly removed the hugging bunny. “I needed to be here, to check on the info...not because I was worried about you." No one was convinced by that statement, so Nova shifted into his normal stern mode. "We have a problem. This lab is a complete loss. Nothing left to give us any info. As always, these people know how to clean up their tracks.”
Chase asked, “did you save the Avatars?”
Gar said, “Santa has them. We got them out just in time. The place blew, and you guys went flying out inside that egg.”
Nova said, “Santa got the Avatars into his gift sack, cages and all. He’s bringing them to the station with orders for our people to find a way to free them from their special bindings. Right now, we need to find something to go on. I know these people are up to something and it has to be big. But, I don’t know what it is.”
Quark asked, “EB, what happened in there? What can you tell us?”
“Loads. First, they zapped me with this beam that hurt like the dickens. Shot me several times, then everything went black. Well, more like blurry, then I was dreaming, had this wonderful dream where Chase and I were on a beach and…”
“EB, FOCUS!” Nova barked.
“Oh, sorry. So, um, yeah, they dragged me here, put me in a small cage with an anti-magic field around it. Made it impossible for me to get out. It was terrible. I was treated like a common animal. But, I suppose you want to know the juicy stuff. Okay, so, they got these people, don’t know where. All guys, all big and muscly, and naked. Like, free hanging wing-wang dangling in the wind naked...ew. They jammed them in holding cells and pumped them full of chemicals. Their bodies drained of color and their eyes gained light in them, each one different. They must’a done like two hundred a day. Lots and lots of them. Then they all disappeared, and that’s when they tried to murder me. They put something in their heads. I...I could sense them dying.”
“Dying?” Chase asked.
EB nodded, a sorrowful look on his face. “Their conscience faded, like a person who dies. Whatever they did to these people, they killed the person inside them. What’s left is an automaton, programmed and changed. Cold and emotionless. It really hurt me to feel them going like that, one after another after another.”
Quark said, “the missing people!”
Nova nodded. “I had the same thought. These must be the people who have been going missing all over the planet.”
“What now?” Chase asked.
Nova headed for the landed shuttle. “We plan for their next move. I don’t know what it will be, but it will be soon. This is the first time they have failed to cover all their evidence. EB survived. That means they will move quickly. Quark, get back to the station, put the Leagues on high alert and tell the robots to get our sensors over the planet to work triple-time. “
“On it.” Quark flashed away.
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