Heroes evacuated the storage facility, what was left of it after the battle. The non-meta humans working for BADGE gathered up the scientific equipment with the help of heroes and got it safely away. A small team of specialists collected up the now dormant Avatar of Magic and returned it to a safe holding unit to escort it back to the station where the other Avatars were kept.
“Director Chase!” Dr. Henderson ran up to her, with Dr. Stone beside her.
“Please, don’t start calling me Director.”
“Nova left you in charge. That makes you the temporary Director.”
“I know. But it feels like we’ve given up on him and I can’t stand that thought. What did you need?”
Dr. Stone stepped up. “Chase, I was linked with the mind...if that’s what you can call it...of the Avatar for a brief time. There’s a living being inside that book.”
“I know. BADGE has declared all the avatars sentient beings, Dr. Henderson filed that report herself.” Chase gestured to the other doctor.
Henderson said, “I determined sentience based on the factors of life according to science, save perhaps the ability to procreate. The Avatars exhibit the qualities of sentience. However, Dr. Stone has tapped into something I never could, the mind inside the being.”
“What’s wrong?” Chase sensed this wasn’t good news.
Dr. Stone softly said, “it’s in great pain. Even in the state of sleep, there’s mental activity at a minor level. I believe all the Avatars are like this. They’re in great pain and sorrow. They are hollow and it is nearly unbearable.”
“What does this mean?”
Dr. Henderson said, “it means we need to find the core stolen from each of them. If we learned anything from this failed experiment, its they need their original core to thrive. They’re innocent beings, infants just learning to live, and they had their hearts ripped out.”
Chase watched a shuttle leave with a large contingent of supers flying along to protect it. “Look, this is scientifically fascinating and I do feel bad for them. But we have a lot on our plate right now.”
Dr. Stone said, “I know, and I didn’t bring this up just to ask for help to save them. I also tapped into another thought within the avatar. Fear.”
“Fear?”
“Yes. It is horribly afraid. Something is coming, something so terrible, so unbalanced in the morphons, that it is scared. If something that powerful, that in-touch with the balance of the morphons, is so scared, we should find out what it is.”
“That’ll be your task, Doctor, when we get back.”
Just then Santa came swooping down. Hovering over the ground in his sleigh, he called out. “I stalled them as long as I could. They’re almost here. Looks like you are nearly evacuated. Get out, now!”
Chase looked around and found the heroes and support staff were nearly all gone. There was but one team coming up and she was worried about this group. Midgard stomped over in his fullest form, with Skelanimal behind him, as well as the others from their teams.
“I DON’T RUN FROM A FIGHT!” Midgard bellowed.
Chase huffed, “you will today. We can’t...”
“I DON’T RUN FROM A FIGHT, LITTLE GIRL, OR DON’T YOU KNOW HOW TO LISTEN!”
Skelanimal cracked his bony knuckles. “I wouldn’t mind punching a few stupid World Corps jerks.”
“I’m the current leader of BADGE, which means you will listen to me...”
“I ONLY LISTEN TO NOVA, AND ONLY WHEN IT SUITS MY PLEASURE!”
Santa kindly interjected, “if you would allow me, Angela?” She gave him a nod, and he lifted higher. “Look here, world eater, Nova has known you longer than any other living being on this planet. You listen to him because there is a genuine fear of him in you.”
“I FEAR NOTHING!!!”
“Really?” Santa waited.
Midgard sneered, not admitting what was behind that fear Santa spoke of. But, by his silence, there was admission.
Santa continued, “now, while my daughter is working in his stead, you’ll obey her as much as you obeyed Nova.”
“Fine.” Midgard shrank down to his human size and joined his team as they left for the station.
Chase said, "I know it is hard to not fight when we all want to, including me. But, Nova's right, we fight back, it will be a war. Sadly, it will kill a lot of civilians. The World Corps will put this world in the middle of that fight and billions of lives will be in danger. We will figure this out, I promise. Just...trust me."
Santa looked at his daughter. “Time to go. They’ll come over that hill in moments.”
Chase joined the others in the last portal crafted by The Wizard that led them away from this place and back to the safety of the space station.
***
Delta coolly watched the screens as the videos from the attempted raid on BADGE’s location failed. Alpha sat with him while Gamma and Beta were on screen in smaller windows.
“All your clever plans, Delta, and BADGE escaped.” Alpha stated.
Delta laughed, “BADGE ran back to their station where they’ll be nearly impossible to assault. But it got them out of the way. What we didn’t see was their pathetic leader. I wanted Nova’s head on my desk, and I’m still waiting for that.”
Gamma asked, “what’s so important about this Nova? He doesn’t seem to be a priority target.”
Alpha held up a computer tablet. “We have our augments stationed in every capital on this planet. Every state, prefecture, province, everywhere except Neo Utopia and North Onnotangu, and they hardly count in the grand scheme of things. What more do you need? Not one leader on this planet can make a move, write a law, sneeze, without us knowing. We can control them...”
“My plans are still not finished.”
Gamma demanded, “what more do you need!?”
“Power beyond anything your little minds can possibly imagine. I’m about to roll out the next phase...”
“Next phase, next phase?” Beta huffed. “We’ve moved to the ultimate phase of this. BADGE is on the run. Their heroes and agents are all wanted and will face prison or death. We control the world. There are no more phases to this plan.”
“There are moves left in this game. Especially with Nova still out there. I have to take him, otherwise all this will fall apart.”
“Pray tell, what are the moves left in this game so we can at least have some notion of when it will finally be done for?” Alpha asked sarcastically.
Delta almost answered, but then lurched forward. His face shifted slightly, gaining scales and a greenish tint for a second, then back to human. “No...it can’t be. This is not possible. He should be dead!”
“Who?”
Delta looked up and whispered, “The General.”
***
The time pocket in Egypt remained held by the four. Quark stood at the threshold of the rip in time while EB, Nova, and Peyton prevented it from breaking any further.
“So...you wanna play a word game while we stand here for eternity?” EB ventured.
Nova groaned, “of all the mythics to be stuck with.”
“Hey, you invited me.”
“I know, and I have forever to regret that decision.”
Peyton chuckled at that comment while EB frowned at him. “Fine, be rude. I’m only helping save your world.”
“I’m sorry, I just...”
There was a great flash of light, and the pocket of time rippled.
Quark cried out, “Something is pushing really hard. I can’t...hold it.”
“But, why?” Nova asked. “The four of us should be able to stop this.”
Quark struggled with the tear. “Something is wrong. Someone in here is connected to this time fracture. It’s causing an inversion.”
“Someone here is part of the time problem?” Peyton asked.
Quark was thrown back when the tear exploded. He landed on the ground between them. The bubble of frozen time burst, and the statues continued reverting to less damaged forms. Quark said, “yes. The time fracture is connected to someone here.”
Suddenly, standing on the plateau above them around the rim of the crevasse, were strange looking robots with heavy weaponry. A figure stepped through the rip in time. As soon as he did, the rift shut itself and all the time fluctuations stopped.
Nova readied himself for a fight, but stopped the moment he saw the man standing before him.
Quark scrambled to his feet, an honest look of shock on his face.
Peyton had his gun out, but stopped short of taking aim.
EB gasped and then said, “but...that’s not possible.”
The man had a craggy face and an eye-patch. He bore red, battle scarred armor and a confident gait. “Hello, name’s General Nova.”
“You...are me?” Nova asked.
“Yep. I’m here to save our future by helping you stop someone who is not even supposed to be here. I think you know him as Delta.”
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