Heroes Rising Fiction: Eye of Fenrir Part 10

 

The sun darkened as if a solar eclipse were happening. The land grew ominously shadowed with red glowing light seeping out of every crevasse. Fenrir, at least a shadowed version of him, left by Lady Echidna, slowly took shape as a behemoth dog with terrible fangs, dark fur, and glowing red eyes.

Chase, still holding the injured Midgard, felt her wrist buzz. She quickly clicked it on. “This is Chase. We have a situation down here.”

Justin came through, “Yes. A strange shadow is forming at your location. We cannot figure out where it is coming from.”

Midgard said, “Fenrir is eating the sun. It is destiny. But this isn’t the real Fenrir. That creature is dead. I killed it long ago. This thing is just a shadow demon, a monster emulating the real thing.”

Justin asked, “Can you stop it?”

“I doubt it.” Midgard said, “I hate to admit this, but we’re gonna need help.”

Bonnie rushed over, her BADGE agents taking aim at the forming monster. She spoke for Justin to hear, “We’re registering a power level much greater than the Shadow Krampus.”

“Understood.” The comm clicked off, and then the alert system buzzed and his voice came from all the comms present and across the world. “Acting Director Justin to all heroes. We have a code red in Tullstorp Sweden. I repeat, a code red in Tullstorp, Sweden. Respond with all force.”

“WATCH OUT!” Bonnie screamed as the giant head of the dog reached down to snap up everyone.

Midgard suddenly transformed into his massive size and grabbed it by the mouth, holding it off. He screamed with a painful yell and threw Fenrir away. “Don’t just stand there, KILL IT!” He yelled.

EB formed eggs in his hands and threw, “TAKE THAT YOU UGLY MUTT!” Colorful explosions rained across the side of its body.

Chase couldn’t help but notice the bleeding gash in Midgard as he fought. This was hell for him, but he wasn’t backing down. For the first time, she truly had respect for this loud, obnoxious monster. Today, he was truly a hero.

“You heard him!” Chase ran at the thrashing beast and threw her magic blades directly for its glowing eyes.

The agents stood back and took aim with their weapons, pouring fire at it. Gar ran fast and took to the skies. He swooped around Midgard, dodged a thrashing motion of Fenrir, and smashed it in the side of the head with one stone fist.

Fenrir whipped its head to the side and slapped Gar to the ground with a hard crash. It then rammed into Midgard, shoving him back. His feet scraping across the ground. Everyone below had to dive to avoid being crushed. The impact destroyed the BADGE shuttle, with Fenrir continuing to shove.

Midgard, working his best to keep it at bay, “WE CAN’T LET IT GO, IT WILL DESTROY EVERYTHING! AND I’M NOT LOSING TO A FAKE VERSION OF SOMETHING I ONCE ATE!!” He let out an enormous grunt as he head butted it right back, and then grabbed it around the neck.

Chase stopped fleeing the catastrophe and looked for an opening to hit this. “It’s not enough. I can’t do... we can’t do this.”

Bonnie ran up next to Chase, blasting away with a handgun. “Hit it in the eye again!”

“It won’t do anything.”

“We have to try. That thing will crush every city in Southern Sweden.”

The agents joined them and were firing.

Chase readied herself to fight, even if this was her last fight. She crouched slightly and was ready to run and throw her blades until she had no strength left.

EB ran up, with an egg almost as big as him. He threw it quickly to the ground just as Fenrir took a
step. The egg exploded with a massive ball of fire and Fenrir staggered to the side. “HA! Take that!”

Fenrir roared and let out a blast of red flames at Midgard and then turned its head toward the ground, ready to incinerate EB.

EB dashed around, avoiding both the flood of flames and the now burning patches of grass. “Hey. watch it! No burning the bunny!” He jumped, flipped over, and threw another egg at the dog, which exploded with a purple cloud that surrounded its face. “Like that smell? Now you sleep!”

Fenrir wobbled and Midgard grabbed it by the neck again and threw it over himself and slammed it into the ground behind them. The misty black cloud around it swirling about.

“WE GOT IT!” EB hopped around in joy.

The cloud reformed as a standing dog and it bit down on Midgard, its teeth digging into the existing sword wound. Midgard screamed in pain, perhaps for the first real time in centuries.

Chase threw blades at Fenrir while EB threw egg after egg at its face.

“LET OUR FRIEND GO!” EB yelled.

Fenrir hardly noticed their onslaught and shook its head as it almost bit Midgard in half.

Bonnie ran up to Chase, “We can’t do this! If Midgard can’t fight it, we’re lost.”

Chase looked down at her comm unit, it was blinking blue, “We aren’t lost, we just got backup.”

Portals and flashes of light appeared as heroes came running toward the battle. Ten BADGE shuttles rushed by with heroes diving out of them and taking flight. Dozens of speedster heroes rushed in from all directions. One hero, who was three feet tall, came running and met a large troll-like hero who threw the small woman in the air. Her hands became giant stones that crashed down on the abdomen of Fenrir. They forced it to release Midgard as she thrust it into the ground.

Chase yelled, “HEROES, TAKE THAT THING DOWN, I DON’T CARE HOW YOU DO IT! SOMEONE, HELP MIDGARD!”

She ran toward the bleeding legendary hero, who was slowly shrinking down.

Midgard lay on the ground, holding his stomach as greenish red blood poured out. “Heh, betcha never thought you’d see me bleed.”

Chase said, “Listen, you are a true hero today. I never thought you’d be like this. So selfless.”

Midgard laughed, “Don’t tell anyone you said that, you’d ruin my reputation. Besides, I’m not here to save this world. I’m her to get revenge. Nova is my friend, and that bitch has him under her spell. I’ll crush her little shadow demons and then I’ll crush her.”

A hero in shining silver armor ran in and knelt next to Midgard. “Can I help?”

“You think you can heal a god?” Midgard asked.

“I can accelerate the healing process, but it will hurt like hell.”

“Just do it.” Midgard cringed.

The man put his hands on Midgard and closed his eyes. A bright light appeared in the wounds and they healed up. Midgard refrained from any outward sound of pain, but Chase could tell this healing was agony.

“Thanks.” Midgard got to his feet and looked up at the giant Fenrir as all the heroes battled it. “Time to tame this mutt.”

Chase said, “A worthy foe?”

Midgard scoffed, “Never. It just got lucky. Now to pound this puppy to a pulp.” Midgard cracked his knuckles and dashed toward the battle. With each step he grew bigger.

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Heroes Rising Fiction: Eye of Fenrir Part 9

 Chase ran to Midgard as Nova stood, holding the Eye of Fenrir.

“Oh, God.” She gasped at the sight of all the blood.

Midgard growled out, “I’ll live, but that bastard will not get away with this.”

Nova looked down at his victim. “I could have killed you. I wanted to see if you could take genuine pain for once in your life.”

“PAIN! I’LL SHOW YOU... ACK!” Midgard tried to move, but his wound prevented him from his attempt at throttling Nova.

Nova turned around and strolled away. “It is over, BADGE. There is nothing left for you to hope for.”

Chase stood and pointed her gun at Nova. “I will not let you take that to her. I saw your past. I know how dangerous it will be.”

Nova looked at her with a dismissive gaze. “What are you prattling about?”

“I know you were the one who brought that here, that you had it hidden. It scared you, which means I cannot simply let it go.”

Nova came close to her, the gun inches away from him. “I don’t care what you think you know. But, I do know that you... none of you, have it within you to kill your beloved Director. I am going to turn and walk away, graciously allowing you to live for today. But know I will bring you down if you try to stop me.”

Chase had tears in her eyes as she looked at him, the terrible image of pulling that trigger flooding her mind. Her hand trembled as it lowered.

Midgard said to the others, “Listen to him, you’re no match for what he is. I should know.”

Nova quietly turned from her and walked away. Everyone lost heart at the sight of his exit. So they had spent so much time searching for him, and now he was right there before them and all they can do was watch him leave again.

The echoing sounds of sonic booms broke the moment. Each one grew louder than the last as something approached. Even Nova stopped and turned around at the sound of this.

“What trickery is this?” He asked.

Before anyone could figure out what was happening, a white blur hit him so hard that he flew fifty yards across the ground and rolled. A final sonic boom echoed around them, destroying trees, scattering gravel, and forcing everyone to grab their heads in pain.

When Nova came to a stop in the field, EB sat on his chest and was yelling, “I FOUND HIM! I GOT HIM! BUDDY! I’M HERE TO SAVE YOU FROM THAT NASTY, AWFUL, HORRIBLE, UGLY, NASTY....I ALREADY SAID THAT, UH...OH, WHO CARES! I FOUND YOU!!!” He grabbed Nova and held him like a sad puppy finally in his owner’s arms.

“GET OFF ME!” Nova shoved and fought against the bunny.

“I’m never letting you go, buddy!” EB stayed attached as Nova got up and attempted to pry the bunny off his chest.

Chase called out, “EB! You can’t help him! Get back here!”

“Listen to her, you annoying little rodent!” Nova yelled.

EB dropped off and smiled at Nova. “Oh, you don’t mean that. Though it’s so nice to hear that irate tone again. I missed you.”

“I didn’t miss you. Go, leave. I’m done here.” Nova turned around and bounced off an invisible barrier.

EB clapped his paws together and a golden cord around his waist trapped Nova. “Nope. I gotcha. You’re coming home with me. We’re gonna make you all better and then go give that witch what’s coming to her.” As he said this, he was dragging Nova across the ground by an invisible force connected to that cord he had materialized.

“YAH!” Nova thrust his arms out and the cord burst apart. “Enough of this! I am leaving, and if you don’t stop trying to keep me here, you’re going to see exactly how mad I can get.”

EB turned, a strikingly angry look on his face. “You don’t realize that I am not the Easter Bunny, I am a Vexillian. I fought off Legion and survived to tell the tale. I faced Jinn, Krampus, and all the other jerks who have come up against BADGE. Don’t mess with me. You are coming back to the station.” EB thrust his paws forward and a magical force struck Nova.

“EB stop! You don’t know what you’re dealing with!” Chase said.

“PSSH! I can deal with this.” He summoned two eggs and threw them just as Nova got back to his feet. Both eggs exploded on contact, emitting clouds of colorful gas.

Nova wavered and seemed as though he were about to collapse when he shook it off and pulled out his sword.

EB laughed, “Weapons against me! HA! Just try to hit me!” He went to top speed, dashing around Nova, throwing eggs periodically as he went by.

Nova swung his blade, but kept missing. He would stumble to the side this way and that as eggs exploded against him. Another golden cord appeared and wrapped around him ten times, binding his arms to his sides and pulling him down into a sitting position.

EB stopped, holding the end of that cord. “See, I gotcha.”

All at once, Nova became a blinding light, and the surrounding cord dissolved away. Everyone had to cover their eyes at the sight of his power. The light rose, growing brighter as it did.

Chase looked up into the light for a brief moment and then cried out in pain.

The voice of Nova, now a thundering boom, came through the light. “I will not be stopped! You are nothing compared to me!”

EB shrunk away, covering his eyes. “Buddy... please, stop.”

The light vanished, and Nova stood there, simply in his exquisite suit. However, he was just as bewildered as everyone else.

“What just happened?” He asked.

Helicopters appeared from visibility blocking shields and lowered. A dozen finely dressed soldiers descended on ropes, each brandishing AMA weapons. A cloud of black smoke appeared. From within strode Lady Echidna in a red dress with a devilish mask on her face. Her diamonds sparkling in the light of day.

“Now, now, my love. What did I say about using your real power?”

EB threw an exploding egg at Lady Echidna, but Nova swiped his cane and deflected it.

She turned with a chortling laugh. “Nice try, little bunny.”

Nova carefully pulled out the Eye of Fenrir from his pocket. “My lady, I found what you desire.”

“Ah, the beauty. I did make such wonderful trinkets back in those days, did I not?” She did not touch it just yet.

Chase said, “please, don’t.”

Midgard, still on the ground, said, “Don’t let her touch it.”

The BADGE agents moved to stop her, but her soldiers drew closer.

She smiled at Midgard. “It is not time for the end. There is so much more to do. But for now. Perhaps a taste.” She snapped her fingers and her soldiers all grabbed their ropes and returned to the helicopters that brought them.

Nova stood next to her and smiled at them. “It’s been fun. I do hope you live through this.”

With that, Lady Echidna held his arm, and both vanished in a puff of black smoke. The smoke did not blow away, but continued to grow. In fact, it grew exponentially. Two red eyes appeared within.

EB ran toward Chase, “It’s another Krampus!”

Midgard whispered, “No, that’s not Krampus. This is much, much worse. That’s Fenrir.”

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Heroes Rising Fiction: Eye of Fenrir Part 8

 Nova paced in front of the stone, the sun setting behind him as he fought to think of the answer. The riddle played again and again in his mind.

He muttered it aloud as he thought, “This stone is impervious to all you do, but answer this riddle to get through. To death, the gods tried to have me put, where the battle their lives I took, know the answer without fail, if you know where they say I bit my tail.” He looked at the carving for clues. “So, the gods sent everything at him and tried to kill him, but where? They threw him in the sea... that’s it...” He yelled at the stone, “SEA!”

Nothing happened.

Growing more frustrated, he said, “Ocean.”

Still nothing.

“Maybe he used old Norse. That would make sense.” After a moment of recollection, he said, “Harr, Sear, Sand-himinn, vidir,... come on, those are all words for sea. These stupid Vikings loved their water!” He hit the stone.

There was a bright flash of purple behind him and footsteps in the gravel. A smooth, deep voice said, “The Nova I knew would never punch a rock just because he was angry.”

Nova turned around, his face red, “Jormurgandr. Pretty bold of you to show up.”

“You know me, loud and present. I like being where the action is. If I knew we were fighting rocks, I would’ve punched a few mountains on the way.”

“Don’t make fun of me, you pathetic snake. You know I can put you down.” Nova struck a bold pose.

Midgard smiled at him. Even in his small, human form, his smile was devilish. “The last time we stood here, in this land, I was weak and recovering from battling the gods and their minions. Today, little man, I’m much stronger and you, Nova, are much weaker. That woman has taken the strength out of you.”

Nova refused to back down. “I’m not weak. I’ve never shown this world my fullest strength. If you want a fight that you’ve never truly faced, Jormurgandr, I will give you one that will rattle even your immortal bones.”

“I’m not scared of you, Wink.” Midgard prepared to fight.

Nova spoke with a booming voice, “ON YOUR KNEES, SERPENT!”

Midgard stepped back, shaken by that power, but he merely smiled. “Nice try, but you know that would never work on me.”

Nova bellowed, “ON YOUR KNEES!”

Midgard laughed, “Keep trying, Wink, it’s funny watching you fail.”

“If you won’t take my command, then you will have to be put down.” A large, beautiful sword appeared in Nova’s hand, a sword he once used to fight Jinn.

Midgard chuckled, “Oh, gonna poke me with your toothpick?” He began to grow in size.

“Not today!” Nova held up his hand, and a white glow came from his palm. Midgards size change stopped, and it forced him back into a human size.

Midgard staggered back, holding himself. “Okay, that... was unexpected. I didn’t know you could do that.”

“There is little I can’t do, Jormurgandr.” Nova rushed toward Midgard, his sword ready to strike.

Midgard dodged a swing, then another, and with a third dodge, he planted a fist in Nova’s side. Nova stumbled away and Midgard grabbed him by the coat tail and threw him across the grass. “I JUST BODY SLAMMED A TEN STORY KRAMPUS, YOU’RE NOTHING, LITTLE WINK!”

Nova bounded up from his laying position, spinning directly into the air with his sword acting like a mower. Midgard attempted to dodge, but the tip met him.

Midgard fell, holding his face. When he pulled his hand away, he saw greenish red blood. “Okay, that’s new.”

“YAH!” Nova was coming down for a killing strike.

Midgard barely dodged it and kicked Nova in the gut, throwing him across the yard and slamming him into the Runestone.

A BADGE shuttle flew in, the door opening before the ship had fully landed. Gar flew out. Chase dropped to the ground and running. When the shuttle actually landed, Bonnie joined them with four armed agents.

“Nova!” Gar called out.

Chase asked, “Midgard, why are you here? We needed you back at HQ.”

“I’m here for my friend, not you.”

Bonnie, who held a small laser pistol, said, “Looks like your friend isn’t so friendly.”

Nova stood there, holding his sword at the ready. “Ah, BADGE, just in time.”

Midgard actually said, “Oh, no.”

Nova called out, “Your enemy is yourself, fight for me!” His voice echoed and everyone, except Midgard and Gar, grew dizzy and then looked at each other with fear.

“DON’T LISTEN TO HIM!” Midgard called out.

“Too late.” Nova laughed.

Chase threw her blades at Gar, whose stone body deflected them. Bonnie shot at Chase, but Chase dodged the attack. The four agents fought each other.

Midgard yelled, “HEY, BATWINGS! STOP THEM, I’LL STOP NOVA!”

Gar got the message and rushed in to keep everyone from killing one another.

Midgard ducked his head down and ran toward Nova, who had his sword ready for the attack. Midgard’s arms grew green and scaly and a tail shot out the back of his outfit. He wasn’t able to grow to full size with how Nova kept him at bay, but he wasn’t human either. Nova swung his sword, but Midgard’s scaly arms deflected the blows with clever swings.

“You’re not my friend!” Midgard said as he dodged swings of the sword.

Nova spun around and went for Midgard’s tail, but missed. “You were nothing but a tool. Didn’t you know that?”

Midgard grabbed Nova’s arm and then head butted him, staggering him away. “I know my friend, Wink. The director I know...” he kicked at Nova’s leg, forcing him to a kneeling position. He grabbed the arm with the sword and twisted. Nova managed to maintain his grip on the blade, but it wasn’t much of a threat in this position. With Midgard’s other hand, he grabbed Nova by the hair and yanked his head back, “The director I know was my friend, and I say that about few living creatures across this universe. He hasn’t called me Jormurgandr for ten centuries. He gave me a new name, one that I hold with great respect and honor.”

The power of Nova over the other people vanished as his focus was tested by this ignominious position. They stopped and looked up from their haze to see Midgard ready to kill.

Nova, his head being forced back, looked at the stone from this upside down position and whispered, “The answer...it was right in front of me.”

“What, Wink?”

With uncanny agility and strength, Nova pulled his hand free from Midgard’s and swiped across with his sword. It hit Midgard in the chest and he stumbled back. Then, with his newfound freedom, Nova shoved the sword into Midgard’s gut and whispered, “I know the answer to your riddle... Midgard.” He ripped the blade out.

Midgard held his midsection as he fell to the side, defeated. “This is not possible.”

Nova looked at the stone, “This world, that is where the gods tried to kill you, where you fought their demons, and where the legendary Jormurgandr wrapped around the planet and bit his own tail. This world...Midgardsormr.”

The runes flashed and flickered as the stone crumbled apart, revealing a glowing red ruby.

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Heroes Rising Fiction: Eye of Fenrir Part 7

 “Are you absolutely sure about this?” Justin asked.

Chase spoke to him from the Stockholm location with Gar and Bonnie on either side of her. “Yes. I saw it myself. Nova gave this Eye of Fenrir to Midgard a long time ago and told him to hide it. Now, Nova is looking for it. And, trust me, if he gets it, bad things will happen.”

“Fine. I’ll try to get him. But you know Midgard really only paid attention to Nova.”

Chase said, “If he’s a problem, get me on his comm.”

“You think you can convince him?”

“I don’t know, but I will try.”

Justin huffed and pressed a button on his tablet, shifting the view screen to footage from Ka’an Dorado. Heroes sat around on rooftops as they cheered on the fight between Midgard and another incarnation of Shadow Krampus. This looked more like a pro-wrestling event, not heroes protecting the world from harm.

“Sheesh, this is getting out of hand.” Justin muttered. He pressed a different button. “Krystal, are you there?”

Her voice came through, with a lot of noise in the background. “Justin, I can barely hear you.” After she said this, he watched Midgard pile-drive Krampus into the city square as the heroes cheered.

Justin waited a moment and then said loudly, “I need to talk to Midgard!”

“You want me to find the local city guards?”

“NO I NEED TO TALK TO MIDGARD!” He bellowed into the comm.

“Oh, uh... that could be a problem.”

Justin stopped, changed the volume output on her end through his computer, and then said, “It is a matter of dire urgency. Get to him.”

“Okay. I’ll try.”

Nova waited while the runestone reacted to the key he had inserted into the face. The etching of Fenrir over a viking boat was a perfect example of the style for the age. He couldn’t help but be amused at the craftsmanship put into this. Slowly, a glow traced the etching, like someone lighting a long fuse.

“Who are you?” A woman rushed down the path.

Nova turned and smiled at her. “Just a tourist.”

“Do not touch that stone... what have you done!? Stabbed a knife into it? This…”

“Go away.” He commanded. “Do not remember anything of me. You were never here.”

She gained a glazed look and walked away.

“Good.”

He continued with his work. Nova tried to figure out how to open it.

“How did he do this?” Nova looked all over it. As his hands ran over the surface of the glowing lines, he felt the power surge in it.

A voice came from the stone. “This stone is impervious to all you do, but answer this riddle to get through. To death, the gods tried to have me put, where the battle their lives I took, know the answer without fail, if you know where they say I bit my tail.”

Nova stood back, “What on earth does that mean?”

The stone repeated, “This stone is impervious to all you do, but answer this riddle to get through. To death, the gods tried to have me put, where the battle their lives I took, know the answer without fail, if you know where they say I bit my tail.”

Nova grew angry. “I don’t have time for riddles and games.” He reached his hand out and a blinding light came from him, but the moment he did this, he grabbed his head and fell to his knees in pain. “What... what is wrong with me?” The pain left his head as he sat there.

The voice of Lady Echidna came to his ears, “My beloved, you aren’t trying to harness your power, now are you?”

“My lady, I only wish to use it to advance your plans.”

“No. You betrayed me once before. I’ll not have this again. Figure this out without using your full strength, or I’ll bind you forever in my dungeon and complete this task on my own.”

“No, do not forsake me, my love. I’ll do as you ask.”

“Good. Now, bring me that eye!” Her voice faded into the distance.

Nova recovered quickly and stood once again before the stone. “So, I must figure this riddle out. Fine, how complicated can it be coming from that oaf?”

“TAKE THAT YOU PATHETIC CHRISTMAS CRACKER!” Midgard, in his massive serpent form, grabbed Krampus from behind and then leaned back, tossing the shadow beast over him and slamming it headfirst into the ground. This time, the Krampus exploded into a black mist and the fight was over. It was night and most of this part of the city was vacant, except for the heroes. They had brought lights in order to shine down on the battle so the viewers could see better. Fortunately, BADGE kept the media from turning this into a global spectacle. Justin figured League Wars was enough entertainment from the heroes, the citizens didn’t need to watch this foolishness.

The crowds cheered, exchanged bets, and left to get refreshments. Midgard strutted around, taking in all the glory.

“WANT TO SEE ME DO IT A FIFTH TIME TONIGHT? HUH!” He egged on the crowds and they grew into a rowdy roar.

Krystal flew up near his head. “No time. You’re needed.”

He batted his giant hand at her, “Go away, gnat!”

She dodged his hand and came up closer. “Look, this is all fun, but they need...” she dodged his hand again.

“BAH! I’M HAVING FUN!”

Krystal recognized a lost cause, so she had to resort to Plan B. She tapped her comm unit, told Justin what to do, and then cast a spell that sent the small video feed from her wrist come as a floating image many times bigger. Chase appeared before Midgard on a flat, misty cloud.

“Midgard, we need your help.”

“What is this? I don’t...”

Chase held up the rune stone. “The man who gave you the name Midgardsormr is lost and in need of all of us. The woman who has bewitched him is using him to find something you hid a long time ago.”

Midgard’s demeanor suddenly shifted to shock and a little sadness. “The Eye of Fenrir.”

“Yes. I know of it. He shared with me memories of the day he first met you. Now, we need you before everything goes to south.”

Midgard looked around, seeing all the heroes paying attention to this giant conversation. He softly nodded. “I’ll be there.” He threw his hand out, destroying the image and grabbing everyone’s attention. “ENOUGH OF THIS! WE HAVE A LEADER TO FIND! NO MORE GAMES!”

Heroes balked at this. Some even threw their paper cups at him. He reached back and let out a massive, ground shaking roar, and said, “YOU HEARD ME! UNLESS YOU WANT TO BE DINNER, GO!!!”

This changed their attitudes quickly. Midgard transformed back into his smaller self, standing in the middle of the street that he had turned into an arena for too many days.

Krystal flew down and joined him. “Are you ready?”

“Yes.”

“Where do I send you?”

He thought for a moment and then said, “Send me to Tullstorp, Sweden. Tell Chase and the others to meet me there. If Nova is looking for the stone, that is where he will be.”

“Tullstorp it is.” She waved her hand, and a portal appeared in front of him.

With unusual reluctance, he stepped through, traversing the planet in three seconds.

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Heroes Rising Fiction: Eye of Fenrir Part 6

 The man calling himself Jormurgandr stood next to the rock Nova’s unique power had thrown him off of. There was a true ounce of fear in his eyes as he gazed at Nova.

“What do you want of me? What could I possibly help you with?” Jormurgandr asked.

Nova put his hand in a pocket of his robes and said, “You know of the beast the Nords call Fenrir?”

“Yes. It was one of the monsters they threw at me. I killed it and ate its pitiful form long ago.”

Pulling something out of his pocket, Nova said, “There is another being in this world who equals my power, the only other sent to watch over this place. However, she has turned wicked and delved into darkness. Evil is a trap for my kind. Once you‘ve tasted of that kind of power, your soul is eaten and your heart destroyed.”

“Sounds like a woman I’d like to meet.” Jormurgandr joked.

Nova gave him a chilling gaze. “No, she is far more sinister than you can believe. She would not entertain you. She would destroy you for being a rival.”

“I’D LIKE TO SEE HER TRY!”

Nova’s eye flashed a bright light and Jormurgandr lost some of his zeal, “Even at your strongest, you would not be a match for her alone. As you are now, you would not survive.”

“Then why come to me for help?” Jormurgandr asked.

“She wants to begin an age of darkness in this world and use it as her divine realm of evil with which to spread the darkness across the universe. Her heart touches the darkness, and the more she has, the stronger she will become. She has begun this effort by crafting demonic creatures of great power based on the myths and legends of the humans. Her most powerful creature thus far has been a recreation of Fenrir, made of shadow.”

“I may not be strong enough now to fight such a creature.”

Nova laughed, “No, you are not. However, I was able to overpower its darkness with my light. I destroyed it... or so I thought. It is mere shadow, a being that cannot be destroyed while she lives. But I have contained it to the object that she used to cast it.” Now Nova revealed a ruby in the shame of a rhombus.

“Is that Fenrir?”

“It is... or rather was its eye. Once I destroyed the body, this is all that remained. She just needs to touch it and it will revive.”

“Do you want me to destroy it?”

“You cannot, neither can I. Only on her death can it be destroyed, and I fear nothing of this world can kill her at this time. So, I’m forced to find ways to contain her power. She does not know of you. Your conquests over the titans of old caught my attention, but she was focused more on her own burgeoning realm. Once I realized you could be an ally of mine, I made certain she never knew of you. With your power reduced, she is sure not to easily find you, or even know to look for you.”

“Is she out there seeking this?”

Nova shook his head, “Not at this time. I defeated not only her version of Fenrir, but her as well. I cannot destroy her, I have reduced her to a weaker state. However, she will regain her strength in time. I need you to take this and hide it, seal it so that it cannot be found easily. Do not even tell me.” He held out the stone.

Jormurgandr did not immediately take it. “Why would you trust me? You say I have goodness in me...bleh! I am the world eater! I killed the titans to amuse myself, not to make life better. I like killing things...that means I’m not the good guy.”

Nova held the stone closer to Jormurgandr. “You are a loud, brash, arrogant creature, and you enjoy being so. But, for someone who proclaims he enjoys killing things, you have left the humans relatively untouched. Why?”

“They aren’t worth killing.”

“Don’t lie to me. I may only have one eye, but I can see the truth in you. You understand the concept of justice. This is why you seek balance in the universe. Justice is balance.”

“Okay, maybe you’re right.”

Nova took Jormurgandr’s hand and put the stone in it. “I have few I can trust, but I know you will do what is right. And, in the future, when this is all done, I will help you.”

“How can you help me?”

“We will see. Just know, if you betray my trust, I will be as ruthless as you, and you have had a taste of my power.”

Jormurgandr said, “Fine.”

Nova turned to leave, but paused. “What do the humans call you?”

“I am Jormurgandr, the great serpent...”

“No, what do they call you to your face?”

“Oh, Ulfr the Loud.”

Nova laughed, “I like that. Fitting.”

“You will call me Jormurgandr.” His tone was demanding.

Nova said, “No. That is the name of a demonic force for fear and death. You are here, protecting this world as much as I am now. Another name for Jormurgandr is Midgardsormr, which is a way of saying this world. So, I think I’ll call you Midgard. That way you will know it is I who speaks to you.”

“MIDGARD!” He pondered that for a moment and then smiled. “I like it. If a man comes to me and says that name, I’ll know it is from you, and no other.”

“Good luck, Midgard. I go to continue my protection of this world.”

As Nova walked away from the weakened form of Midgard, the vision faded away around Chase. She watched the current world come into focus around her, with Lieutenant Bonnie and Gar both watching her.

Bonnie asked, “Well? What just happened? You were standing there silent for a long time.”

Chase fell to the side and was caught by Gar. She said, “That took a lot of my power to witness. Nova... left me a message, a piece of his past.”

“Why would he do this?” Bonnie asked.

Gar set Chase up and held her gently by the shoulders. “Is this a trick?”

“I don’t think so. I think Nova is trying to help us. He just showed me what he is here for, or rather, what Lady Echidna has sent him here for. Just like she recreated Krampus, she once created a version of Fenrir that Nova battled. He defeated it and reduced it to a single stone. If she gets it, she can use it for her own evil.”

“We defeated Krampus. This will be no different.” Gar proudly proclaimed.

Chase shook her head. “I think this is much stronger and much more powerful. We have to find where it was hidden before Nova can get to it.”

Bonnie asked, “Okay, so where do we look?”

“He asked someone else to hide it and never tell him where it was hidden.”

“That’s bad.” Bonnie said. “He already has a head start on us.”

“True. But I think I know who we need to ask.”

Continue the Story

Heroes Rising Fiction: Eye of Fenrir part 5

 

The wind cut sharply around Nova as he approached the small park. The countryside was barren this time of year, with old piles of snow still resting in corners and shadows. There were no tourists or docents around this archaic stone, but it wasn’t in need of much protection.

Nova stopped before a circular path that had benches all directed inward. Everything gazed directly at an ancient runestone planted on a small mount of grassy earth.

“I wonder, is this it?” He muttered under his foggy breath.

Approaching the stone, he read the ancient script that ran around the outside of the image. With a clever smile he read, “Raised in monument to Ulfr. You sneaky snake, you made a monument to yourself to hide the keyhole.”

He pulled out the key and leaned in, looking at the face of the canine monster depicted at the center. The shape of the key, almost like a cookie cutter, matched the head of the beast.

“You can be clever, but not clever enough.” He whispered as he pressed the key into the face.

Chase held the stone in her hands, concentrating on her powers. She was ready to describe her vision, as normally she merely experienced the history in her mind and would be able to talk to those around her. However, the moment she truly began digging into the latent memory buried in this stone, she gasped and froze.

She was now the invisible observer of history. Her sight followed a man she recognized well as he walked along the grassy ground. Director Nova stood there, in rustic clothing from an age long ago, an eyepatch on his face, and a little more color in his hair. He approached a man who sat on a large stone, dressed in a roughly spun blue tunic with heavy boots and thick, grey pants of the same material. He had long hair and a thick beard. This person would blend into any crowd among the peoples of this land Nova had met. Only his eyes stood out in stark contrast, as they were a strange, glowing green hue.

The strange man smiled at Nova. “Another god of this world come to finish me?”

Nova paused and spent a moment sizing up this person. “Are you up for a fight?”

This drew anger from the strange man and he stood with a threatening posture. “I will not be bested by any pathetic creature of this world. I have eaten their strongest demons and crushed their most powerful myths. You, little human, are nothing to me.”

Nova was not intimidated. “If you’re so confident, why did you call me a god?”

“I sense something about you, something... strange. You aren’t like these pathetic meat bags.”

Nova casually approached the hulking man, “Then I have found the man I was looking for. You too are not of this world and are far greater in power, at least you once were.”

“I WILL GET MY POWER BACK! THERE IS NO SUNSET ON MY STRENGTH.”

“Just a pause.” Nova added.

The man plopped back down on the stone with irritation. “It shall only last a few more centuries, ten at most. Until then, I will enjoy the hospitality of those meat bags that call themselves Vikings. They understand a good fight, a good drink, and pride.”

“They are also thick headed and doom driven half the time.” Nova added.

“Ah, but that’s what makes them fun. I don’t get attached to my pets, so it matters little to me.” The strange man laughed with a deep, hearty bellow.

Nova wasn’t laughing, his demeanor was cold and calculating.

The Strange Man’s humor lessened and turned to concern as Nova quietly observed him. “What do you want with me?”

“First, why are you here?” Nova asked.

The Strange Man gestured around him. “I told you, I like these Vikings. Their pitiful gods tried to have me killed, and I put them all to their own death. So, I celebrate their freedom with them.”

“You can lie to many people, but not me. For a man who claims to have killed the gods, you seem weak.”

“I AM NOT WEAK!”

Nova calmly said, “Why are you here?”

“Are you hard of hearing as much as you are hard of sight, winky? I said I like these Vikings!”

“I don’t mean these lands, I mean this world. I know who you claim to be. I know what the humans called you, Jormurgandr. You are a sign to the Nords of the end of time, Ragnarok.”

“BAH! I don’t care about their silly religion. I’m not the sign of the end of time. I’m just...”

“Extremely dangerous, unpredictable, and capable of killing many of the ancient titans who set themselves up as gods to the young humans.”

Jormurgandr snickered, “So, I am somewhat of a world ender. The word of false gods and pitiful deities. They tasted good, if I might add.”

“But why are you here, living as a man? I can sense your power. You aren’t nearly as strong as you could be.”

The Man leaned back on his palms against the rock’s surface. “I came here as I have to many worlds, seeking challenge, seeking balance between good and evil. I like things on an even field. I grew weak after the last world I balanced, and a creature called Loki summoned me here. He was what you call a god, but truthfully, just one of the titans of old who set himself up as a god among many in a pantheon called Asgard. I was fine. They were heavy drinking, partying, fun-loving people. That is, until the head guy, Odin, grew fearful of me once he realized who I really was. He threw me into the ocean and called on all the other titans to kill me. They threw everything at me, but they had nothing to compare. I ate up their demons and monsters, then I killed them. No titans, no problem. But, it cost me a lot of strength. Now I’m like this. I am not weak by the measure of a human, but I am certainly not the man I once was.”

Nova smiled. “I know of your story. I too came here to rid this world of the titans setting themselves up as gods. I and one other set out to bring peace to these people. The humans have a great potential they don’t even know yet.”

“Bah, who cares? When I am stronger, I will rid this galaxy of this world and move on to the next.”

Nova turned to him and said, “You will not. I will defend this world from all threats, including creatures as powerful as you.”

Jormurgandr leaned forward and said, “Just how do you plan on stopping me?”

Nova raise both arms and his body became a brilliant light that sent Jormurgandr tumbling backward off his rock and hitting the ground. Nova spoke, his voice booming like a great thunder rolling across the ocean. “I AM MORE THAN YOU CAN IMAGINE AND YOU WILL NEVER CHALLENGE ME OR YOU WILL FACE A WRATH UNLIKE ANY YOU CAN FATHOM!”

The light died down and Jormurgandr trembled as he sat up. “What are you?”

“You have not earned the privilege of knowing my true identity. However, I see in you a kindness you hide well, a sympathy you hold in a secret place in your heart. This is why I sought you out, Jormurgandr. I need your help.”

Continue the Story

Heroes Rising Fiction: Eye of Fenrir Part 4

 Nova stepped out of the limo with no small amount of curiosity from the locals. He smiled at them and strode down the street with all the flair bestowed upon anyone wearing such expensive clothes. His wife would have it no other way.

The path was gravel and grass as it led to a recreated Viking Fortress. He paused just before entering the museum and turned with a quick snap of his fingers. “No pictures.”

Several locals had just taken pictures of him on their phones. Now, they couldn’t help but delete the images.

He then said, “That’s enough. Go away.” His command was instantly followed, and the people left him as though they had never even seen him.

With that interruption out of the way, he pushed on the door to enter the historic recreation. The door was locked. He tapped it with his cane and the lock undid itself and he was allowed in.

The place was a nice replica of the ancient style of fortresses the Vikings used to build. They made most of the structures of wood. There was some stonework and flags fluttered in the breeze here and there.

“Where to begin looking?” He walked around the grounds for a moment, considering his options.

A woman rushed out, fury on her face. In Swedish, she yelled at him. “We’re closed until April. You shouldn’t be here!”

He casually turned to look at her. “Ah, a docent. How useful. Perhaps you can answer some questions.”

“Absolutely not. I said...” she shook and then her eyes glazed over.

He smiled again. “As I said, I have questions to be answered.”

“How can I help you, my lord?”

Nova walked toward the longhouse. “Where do you keep the genuine relics?”

She walked him toward the main museum. “We have a lot of genuine relics that date back...”

“I’m looking for something that has been here for more than eleven hundred years. Something that has not been moved from its original location.”

She paused. “Oh, sorry. Our museum has everything moved and cared for inside. Everything outside is a recreation for the experience.”

Nova pulled out the key and showed the end to her. “This, do you know where I could find an image matching this?”

She put on her glasses and gazed at the end. “It appears to be part of a rune, perhaps of an animal. It might even be Fenrir.”

“It is Fenrir. Where do I find the rune that matches this?”

“I’m not sure. I’ll check. Give me a moment.” With that, she ran back toward her office, eager to fulfill her new lord’s wishes.

Nova smiled as he waited for her, always amused at the power of obedience.

Just then, five superheroes appeared around him. Three flew down, one teleported, and one sped up and stopped. He was surrounded.

“Whoever you are, we are the Nordic Wind, the official League of Southern Sweden.” The leader, a man in a caped suit, hovered nearby.

The woman who ran in at blinding speed said, “I can sense morphonic powers. You’re off the charts, sir. Do...wait...no, it can’t be.” She gasped and covered her mouth.

Another flier came closer. “Nova, is that you?”

With a slow turn, he looked up at the hero and smiled. “Yes.”

The leader clicked his BADGE comm unit, but it merely buzzed. “What, it’s not working.”

“Mine is dead as well.” Another hero stated.

Nova casually laughed at them. “Don’t worry, you won’t remember a thing. But I think you have a pressing engagement at the south pole.”

The team all winced as their minds were being invaded by his powers. They struggled and held their heads. Three succumb quickly, but two resisted.

“What are you doing?” The leader flopped to the ground as he tried to shed the power overtaking him.

Nova stamped his cane into the ground and a wave of energy exploded out from him that covered their bodies. His voice came from his mouth like a thousand echos of the same words. “You will obey me. You have a mission in the south pole, GO!”

Everyone was now entirely controlled, and they headed out to fulfill this bogus mission he had planted in their minds.

The docent rushed out, “What was that?”

“Oh, just sending some pests away for a while so I can finish my work uninterrupted. Now, about this key?” He turned to her.

She smiled and held up a printout of a rune stone. “I found it. At least, I think this is it. The face matches that key end perfectly. But I don’t believe it can hold a keyhole.”

“Don’t worry about the details. I’ll deal with them. For now, you really want to go take a nap. When you wake, you won’t remember a thing about my visit.”

Her eyes drooped, and she swayed. “Suddenly, I’m very tired. I think I’ll go rest. Thank you for visiting the museum.” With an enormous yawn, she staggered away from him.

Nova left the recreation and headed back for his limo driver.

Once he sat down, the driver asked, “Where to, sir?”

Nova answered, “Tullstorp.”

“Right away, sir.”

Nova looked over the key as he mused about the impending success.

“My darling.” A sultry voice spoke around him.

Nova closed his eye and found himself standing in the shadows of a dark throne room. Lady Echidna sat upon a throne with her soldiers standing around her in their finest suits. “My lady, I am close to my goal.”

“Are you sure? I need to know you’re being faithful to me.”

Nova walked closer, though he was a shadowy figure in this room. “At this moment, I sit in a limo, riding toward the probable location of the eye. It will soon be yours.”

“Good. Do not disappoint me. That eye is important for step two of this plan.”

“Why not come and see the glorious moment of revelation when I retrieve it? The winters are so lovely here in Sweden.”

She stood from her throne and reached up with a gloved hand as though she were stroking his face. “Ah, my darling. I need to know you’re truly mine. You need to bring me the eye on your own, then I shall know your heart truly belongs to me.”

“It pains me to think you would doubt my loyalty.”

Lady Echidna walked around him. “You betrayed me before. You shoved me into the darkness of The Void and left me to rot for centuries. Trust, my darling Nova, must be regained. You’re under my power, but I know your strength as well as I know mine. I know you are clever. Hand me the Eye of Fenrir, and I’ll know where your heart truly lies.”

He reached out, and his shadowy hand met her face. “I will not fail you, my lady.”

“See that you don’t.”

All at once he was back in the limo seat, truly having not left. The driver was looking back at him through the mirror with a befuddled expression. He asked, “Did you say something to me?”

“No. I was speaking to someone else. Just drive.”

“Ma’am, we have a problem.” The agent in the Stockholm Operations center announced.

Lieutenant Bonnie asked, “What is it?”

“The daily update from the Nordic Wind did not happen. When I tried to contact them, there was no answer. They locked their base down and our sensors do not show any of their comm signals in the country.”

Chase, still there, asked, “Do you not have them on any tracking?”

“I’m expanding our sensor range to see if I can pick up their signals.” He ran his calculations and then answered, “I’m getting five pings, all the league is showing up... heading south.”

“South?” Bonnie asked.

He said, “Yes, they’re moving at top speed and their path is directly south. They’re currently over Morocco.”

“MOROCCO!”

Chase said, “This is getting stranger by the moment.”

Bonnie looked at the monitor, which now displayed the five signals traveling across the globe. “This does have one dangerous impact. The Nordic Wind was our only local league in southern Sweden. With them gone, we are much weaker.”

Chase said, “We need answers.”

Gar came in holding the rune stone like it was a precious prize. “The analytical people checked it all out. It is not dangerous.”

Chase said, “I need to use my power and explore this memory to see what this is and why it was left here.”

Bonnie asked, “Are you sure? You could take it back to the station and let the labs up there take a look. I know you just spent time in a coma because of someone tampering with your powers.”

Chase looked at Gar and then at Bonnie. “We don’t have the luxury of time. I have to try. My intuition tells me this was meant to help us.”

“I hope you’re right.”

Chase held the stone tight and focused on her powers.

Continue the Story

Heroes Rising Fiction: Eye of Fenrir part 3

 Nova walked down the hill from the ancient vault and paused to take another long look over the landscape. It was beautiful and peaceful at the same time. The sea roared with waves and many boats going to and fro on daily routines. The nearby city bustled with activity.

“Where did you hide it, my old friend?” He asked the wind and then pulled out an ancient map.

The map, scribbled onto a roughly cut piece of sheepskin flipped at the edges in the breeze. There was little writing on it, but something slowly appeared as he held the key over it. The surface gained more definition as red marks appeared. The coastline formed, and then mountains and a path.

“This is older than the cities here. But I don’t need to know where the cities are, just where this is.” He held the map up and established the orientation so that it matched. With a small smile, he saw that the dot was directly ahead of him.

“Sir?” The driver was now halfway up the hill, nervously waiting for his master to answer.

“What is it?”

“Should I drive you somewhere?”

Nova smiled, “Yes. Take me into Trelleborg. I wish to explore the city.”

“I will take you anywhere, my lord. But tell me what you wish to see. I can help locate anything.”

Nova walked beyond the man, back toward the limo. “You cannot tell me where to find the Eye of Fenrir, but that is okay.”

“I can try.” The man stated, desperate to please his master.

“Just drive.” Nova got into the car and waited while his driver hurried to please him by jumping back into the driver's seat and heading back toward town.

Chase stepped out of the BADGE shuttle that rested on top of the Stockholm HQ. A team of agents managed the landing pad, preparing to move the shuttle to a safe location. Gar stepped out next, which always drew some surprise by people who had never seen a walking statue in person. He smiled at them and then joined Chase.

Lieutenant Bonnie met them on the roof. “Welcome to Stockholm, Chase, Gar.”

Chase shook her hand. “Glad to be here. Wish this was just a vacation trip.”

“BADGE agents never really get to have vacations, do we?” Bonnie said and then led them to a stairwell.

Chase and Gar followed as she asked, “Do you have any further information for us?”

Bonnie pressed her security badge into a panel, and the door opened to the main operations center. “A few additional details that might help, though they mostly just raise further questions and concerns.”

“Like what?” Gar asked.

Bonnie pointed at one of her people at a computer and he put a video on the monitor, which was a quarter the size of the one on the station. Footage showed a man, nicely dressed, appearing out of nowhere. The screen flickered, and the next thing was him walking away.

“Who was that?” Chase asked.

“That’s what I’d like to know. His hat covered his face enough that we couldn’t get an ID. His clothing was all expensive, but unremarkable in any specifics.”

“What do you mean, expensive?” Chase asked.

Bonnie looked back at her agent. The young man put a still image from the footage on the screen and small windows opened that showed information, each with prices and names. “We have a Brioni suit with hat, Neiman Marcus leather gloves, Louis Vuitton Manhattan Richelie Shoes, and that is what our visuals could determine. You’re looking at over twenty thousand dollars in apparel. Not something you see everyday just walking around.”

Gar said, “Lady Echidna wore expensive clothing and so did her army.”

Chase looked at the screen. “But her henchmen weren’t this well dressed. This is opulent to the point of decadent. I’d say we have someone special to her, someone important.”

Bonnie asked, “Do you think this is Director Nova?”

“Look, he is using a cane. Nova uses one for special occasions.” Gar pointed at the screen.

The agent said, “We couldn’t get a maker on the cane, so no info there.”

“Doesn’t matter. Gar’s right. It’s a strong hint that this is Nova. But...what was he doing here? Why did he come and leave without a trace?”

“He didn’t. We do have something else.” Bonnie said.

Chase asked, “What is it?”

Bonnie walked over to the wall and pressed a button, revealing the code pad. She put in a code and then used a key to open a small door. “This is a highly secret, secure vault we use for extremely sensitive materials. When this place was first built, Director Nova insisted that we put one object in here and never let it out without his personal permission. A special key, which we have no idea what it was connected to. It was ancient and the only time I ever saw it, I couldn’t tell why it was so dangerous or important.”

“If he asked for to be this secure, there was a reason.”

“Whatever the reason, it’s gone. It’s the only item in this entire facility that is gone. We’ve checked everything ten times over. Nothing else is missing. And, we don’t have any computer files that he couldn’t obtain on the station or other locations. That was his only objective. However, something was left in the vault.”

“What, he left something?” Chase walked closer to see what Bonnie was pointing at.

Gar frowned. “A pebble?”

Chase leaned in and looked at it. “It’s not just a rock, it’s smooth and has something etched on the surface. Have you taken it out and examined it?”

“Not yet. We wanted to show you before we did that. I was worried it would do something to us.”

Chase looked back at Gar. “I know someone who can probably handle it without being hurt.”

Gar got the hint and walked over to the vault. He carefully picked up the small stone and held it in his hand for a moment. Nothing happened. The agent rushed over with a small scanning device and checked it several ways.

“I’m getting nothing. This is just a piece of granite, polished and etched. Nothing more.”

Bonnie looked at it in Gar’s hand. “What’s on the surface?”

The agent looked at his scanner. “It’s an ancient Nordic etching. The computer is having a hard time identifying it. Wait... I have something. I think this is an ancient symbol for Fenrir.”

Chase frowned. “Fenrir, the mythological dog from Nordic religion?”

Bonnie nodded, “Yes. It is said to be destined to swallow the sun at the end of time. But what on earth is this doing in the vault? Who left it?”

The agent scanned the stone again. “No fingerprints, DNA traces, or anything else to identify who left it.”

Chase asked, “Did anyone get into this vault prior to the discovery of the missing map?”

“No. That vault is under constant surveillance. Except for the twelve minute blackout of all data and memory, no one has gotten into that vault in two years. And since the blackout, I only opened it just thirty minutes ago when we found that stone and the missing map.”

“Then... Nova left this?” Chase walked around, pondering this. “That doesn’t make sense. Why would he leave this? Some sort of joke from Lady Echidna, a ploy to get us to be confused?”

Bonnie said, “Maybe he’s just teasing us, toying with us. Like a criminal who leaves a card behind to thumb their nose at the police.”

“That’s not like him.” Chase said, “But, then again, burglary is not like Nova either.”

Gar said, “He might be trying to help us?” He handed the stone to Chase.

“I doubt that.” Bonnie said, “With all the information we have, he is as mind-controlled as all her other soldiers. This lady Echidna wouldn’t let him...”

Chase’s eye’s widened, and she gasped, “Maybe he is trying to help us.”

“Chase?” Gar leaned in.

She looked up at him. “I sense... a memory. Something is buried in this object. My powers are connecting to it. I’ve never felt something like this before. It’s... strange. Very old. The only thing I know for certain, this memory is from Nova. He’s trying to show me something.”

Continue the Story

Heroes Rising Fiction: Eye of Fenrir part 2

 The cool air mixed with a harsh cold from the north. People walked by dressed in thick coats. More than one person took note of the finely dressed man walking among them. Nova, in his black suit and top hat, strolled down the old streets of Stockholm. He paused near a limousine parked outside a high-end jewelry store. The driver stood at the side, waiting to open the door for his employer.

“Good afternoon, sir. May I help you?” The driver asked.

Nova smiled. “I need a ride.”

The man blinked and held his head as the power of Nova sunk in.

A woman in exquisite clothes, draped in a golden silk shawl, walked out. “What are you doing to my driver?”

Nova turned and held his hand out, “You will leave and I will take that shawl for my wife.”

“I will most certainly not. POLICE!” She called out and then went silent.

Nova stepped closer, “Now!”

She smiled and handed him her scarf and merely walked away. He folded it up and then turned to take a seat as the driver had opened the door for him. The driver closed the door and then rushed to fulfill his new boss’s orders.

EB hopped in a circle around Justin much as he often did to Nova. Justin appreciated with the same enthusiasm as Nova.

“Would you stop that? You’re making me dizzy!” Justin barked.

“Oh, sorry.” EB stopped and then asked, “So, you alerted all the leagues and stuff. Now what? Huh? I was thinking that we could access all the cameras and computers in the world. There are like billions of little cameras attached to EVERYTHING. We could see if anyone sees anything. I know, it breaks lotsa laws and stuff, but it would mean we would have eyes everywhere. Just, don’t look in locker rooms, I don’t need to see that much man-stuff, and bathrooms, that would be super creepy and kinda icky. You know, this one time I followed this hot babe all around town and accidentally ended up in the girls’ bathroom at a bar. It was weird. They were screaming, someone called animal control, and I... why are you looking at me like that?”

Justin waited a moment for EB to stop rambling. “We aren’t going to spy on every camera on Earth. Even if we did, we don’t have enough people to watch all that footage.”

“It was just an idea.”

Gar walked into the room with Arx beside him. “We’re back.”

“I know. I saw the shuttle docking. Do you have anything to report?”

Arx said, “No. We scoured every last inch of the throne room and questioned all the remaining witnesses, which weren’t many. Nothing to help figure this out.”

Gar said, “And the Shadow Krampus is like a game now. Heroes are coming just to beat him up and train.”

Justin looked up at the screen, which still displayed the ongoing battles with Krampus. “Let them train. As long as no one is getting hurt and no major property damage is happening. Besides, if Nova or that Lady Echidna shows up in Ka’an Dorado, we’ll already have a pretty powerful force there to tap.”

“What’s the next move then?” Arx asked.

“I don’t know. Patience... I suppose.”

“Incoming Transmission: Stockholm BADGE office.” Robot 10915 announced.

“On screen.”

The woman in charge of that office came on screen. “Acting Director Justin, we have a mystery on our hands. Something just happened here and no one can remember it. There was an alert that someone was here without permission, and then he simply disappeared. I first considered it nothing, but then we found that twelve minutes of time had lapsed that were not only erased from all our computers, security footage, and sensors, but our memories as well.”

“Is there any indication of what happened?”

“No.”

Justin thought about this for a moment. “Our enemy used mind control in Ka’an Dorado to manipulate people. This is too much of a coincidence to not be connected. I will send Gar and Chase to check on this. For now, your office is on top level security. Activate your robot forces. They can’t be mind controlled as easily.”

“Already have the robots working.”

“Good. Alert me if you discover anything before my team gets there.”

“Understood, Stockholm out.” She turned off the signal.

Justin turned around. “Gar, go get Chase and prepare to leave immediately.”

“Right.” Gar left the Operations center.

Arx asked, “What about me? I’d love to help.”

“You’ve done enough so far. You’re in charge of the ATLAS program, and that needs your attention here. If we need your help outside of that, I’ll let you know.”

“Okay.”

EB hopped up and down. “SEND ME! I can help. I know I can. Mind control doesn’t work so well on us Vexillians. I could be there and make sure no one else is hurt or mentally controlled. They won’t get me!”

Justin said, “I need you here. We’re down Nova, who was far more than just one man. With Gar and Chase going, and Arx in charge of ATLAS, I need someone here if something happens.”

“Gotcha... WOW, I get to be like your first officer, your Spock, Riker, or Chewbacca. SOOO COOL!” EB bounced around the room in glee.

Stepping out of the limo in his Louis Vuitton Manhattan Richelie Shoes, Nova gazed up at a hillside.

“Are you sure you want to stop here?” His driver asked from inside the limo.

Nova smiled as he put on a pair of Cartier sunglasses and put them on. “This is exactly where I want to be.”

He walked up the hill and looked out across the bay from this elevated position. The ferry boats scurried in and out of the docks as they transported people. The sun glimmered in the partly cloudy sky, and the winds were chilled, but pleasant. For a brief moment, the arrogant face of this new Nova turned into a softer smile. But, that didn’t last long. He climbed the hill and pressed his hand into a rock. His hand print remained behind and the rock sunk down. Dirt and grass fell away from an ancient door that parted, revealing a short set of stone stairs.

Walking into a long, narrow cave, Nova passed pedestals with artifacts on them that had gathered so much dirt and dust it was hard to tell what lay beneath. The last pedestal at the end of this tunnel was just as encrusted with natural debris as the others. Nova stood before it was a gleam of greed in his smile. He reached down with his gloved hand and picked up a strange iron key that had a shape on the end like a cookie cutter, not a key. It was the shape of a small face of some kind of beast.

“One step closer to the eye.” He whispered.

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The Origin Story of Kamakaze

ID: 36204



The life of a Shinobi. The rising Sun used to be assigned a fulfillment and peace. It was no more. The evil black clan hand have now grown to power. By destroying the peaceful Shinobi of the ancient tradition rising Sun Shinobi. In a quest for power and domination engulfed in darkness the black hand have defeated all enemies on a quest to gain all their power scrolls and be the overpowering ninjutsu clan of all. Without the others and without the power scrolls there would be no choice that their power would stretch across all the lands. With going towards the new vicious ways of the world assassination and evil deeds which fit more in part with the world today.

However just as always Nina was reckless and wish for more free freedom then her brothers and sisters are discipline and training. Once again Nina secretly skipped ninja class and and went to the forest to drink sake with the animals. But on this day it was one that was not the same.

The evil black hand clan had planned their attack and with full force destroyed and murdered the entire village. The squirrel is gone and everyone dead. Nothing was left but the blood in the streets. Nina's life completely turned upside down. It was all too much to. And yet she still cannot believe that it is only her and she cannot understand. But in the way of Shinobi it was clear there was only one thing left to do against all odds no matter what.

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Heroes Rising Fiction: Eye of Fenrir Part 1

 A blinding blur raced across the dusty ground in the Savanna with animals hardly able to move before something buzzed by them. The white dot zipped by with amazing precision and speed. A hero in blue tights came running along and met up with this blur. Both moving at almost the same speed.

“Hey, EB, any luck?” Spark asked.

EB, as focused as he had ever been, shook his head, “No. I’ve been everywhere I can run, which is a lot of places.”

“The UCH League has been helping with the search as well, bupkis.”

EB charged ahead even faster, his feet now creating a spray of ocean water as he zipped over the surface of the Atlantic. “I’m not giving up.”

Spark rushed ahead to keep up with EB, “I know you want to find him, but this isn’t working. We aren’t going to just stumble across Director Nova, obviously he’s hiding.”

“He won’t be hiding. He will want to be found. I will find him. He’s my best friend.” He lost that determined look as his face fought not to cry again.

Spark yelled over the spray of water between them, “Justin wants you back on the station. They aren’t giving up, trust me.”

“No.”

“Please. They’ve lost the Director, they can’t lose you as well.”

EB yelled, “We haven’t lost him forever! I’ll find him!”

“Yes, but let them help.”

EB turned slightly and headed for a small island. He came to an abrupt stop. Spark blasted right by him and had to turn around and come back.

The blonde hero stopped and held his knees as he huffed and puffed, “Man, you’re fast, and coming from me, that’s saying something.”

“Tell Agent Justin that I won’t stop looking.”

Spark said, “They aren’t giving up. But working together will be a better choice. They need everyone. When Nova left, it created a bigger hole in the organization than just one person.”

“Nova’s shoes are impossible to fill.” EB said and then snapped his fingers and a BADGE comm appeared, “It’s time. EB to Quark.”

Quarks’ voice came through, “Oh, good. They found you. I was looking in Australia for you.”

“Nope. I was in Africa. I left Australia like twenty minutes ago. Anyway, can you zap me and my friend to the station?”

“Sure. Stand still.”

“Wait...” Spark started to protest when a blue blast of light surrounded them and they were instantly on the station.

Spark looked around. “Oh, uh, I have to get back to my league. I was just called to find you because I could keep up.”

“Oh, sorry. Where’s your league?”

“Knoxville, Tennessee.” He said.

EB said, “Oops, sorry. Call Quark. He’ll get you there pronto.” He dashed up to the Operations center and found Justin talking with Chase while Gar was on a video feed.

“EB!” Chase called out, extremely happy.

He smiled at her without an ounce of his normal, flirty attitude. “Hi, everyone. Sorry I was gone for so long. I tried to find him, I really did, but he’s just not out there. I mean, he is out there, but I can’t find him. And, I will.”

“We will.” Justin said.

“Any luck so far?” EB asked.

Justin said, “No.”

Gar, with the city of Ka’an Dorado behind him on the screen, said, “No evidence here. The shadow of Krampus is still hanging around, but it only responds to heroes approaching it. It’s like a simulation on the station. He isn’t attacking until provoked. Once defeated, he can be summoned repeatedly. I think he’s just a distraction.”

They watched as yet another hero approached the city center, only to have a monster appear and attack her. No one seemed fazed by this.

“What’s the point?” Justin asked. “Why create this monster we can summon all the time? Only to then steal our Director and disappear?”

EB looked up at Chase. “Do you know more about what Director Nova left you in your thoughts? Have you sorted through the memories?”

“Not entirely. Nova and this woman are not from this world. However, they are ancient. They both were here long, long ago. What I can sort out is that they came as observers and helpers. Both were sent for honorable reasons. But she turned wicked, and he had to stop her. The rest is a hard to sort out. I think he didn’t want me to see everything yet. He is using my own powers to help me. I don’t know what he showed me, but I will discover it as we move forward.”

“What did he mean, ‘be clever’?” Justin asked.

“I don’t know. But I’m sure we’ll figure it out.”

Justin looked up at Gar. “You and Arx keep searching for clues. Anything out of the ordinary that might have been left behind. We need something to go on.”

“Will do.” Gar’s image faded.

“What do I do?” EB asked.

Justin said, “You know Nova better than anyone. Try to think of something we can use to figure out how to find him.”

Chase said, “But he told us not to look for him. It would be too dangerous.”

“I know what he said, but he’s not the Director any longer. I am. And, I say that our enemy has had him long enough. She needs him for her plans, then we need to take him away. Any tool we deprive her of will only hinder her all the more.”

“YES!” EB hopped up and down.

“I hope we know what we’re doing.” Chase whispered.

BADGE agents worked at desks and computers in a rather ordinary office. Without the insignia on the walls and stitched to their clothing, it would appear as just another office space. The people chatted with each other in Swedish while sipping coffee this early morning.

Justin came over the monitor, and his words were auto-translated for them. “This is Acting Director Justin to all BADGE offices. Be on the lookout for any signs of Director Nova. Your leagues are asked to create a dragnet to ensure if he is spotted, we will know about it. Remember, he is with Lady Echidna, a class 10 villain that is not to be approached. Justin out.” The screen changed back to a picture of the Swedish countryside.

A woman with the rank of lieutenant stitched under her badge clicked on a comm line. “BADGE office Stockholm to Nordic Dashers and Ice Bears. We have orders to search for Director Nova. We...”

“Ma’am!” An agent rushed over and tapped her arm.

The Lieutenant looked down at a tablet and saw a video of a man walking through their security checkpoints without any resistance. “Who is that?”

“I don’t know, but the guards aren’t answering me any longer. The security system is inactive.”

The Lieutenant grabbed the tablet from him, “That’s impossible. We have the best security system in the known world. It cannot be hacked or deactivated without... this...this is impossible.” The tablet showed her a complete shutdown of their perimeter security sensors.

“What do we do?”

She shut off the signal and pulled out a gun. “Agents, this is a priority alert. We have a potential intruder.”

The office quickly changed from simple clicking and chatting to full action. These office workers grabbed hidden weapons and prepared themselves. A buzzer sounded in all the corridors, alerting the security officers to go into action.

The intruder strode into the main office. He was dressed in an exquisite suit with a diamond studded cane in one gloved hand while he tipped a top hat in greeting. His eyepatch was stitched with a gold thread that created the outline of an eye.

“Director Nova?” The lieutenant whispered.

He smiled, “Obey me!” His voice boomed and a wave of energy infected every mind in the room. All the agents slowly lowered their weapons and stood up with dazed expressions.

The Lieutenant approached and stowed her gun inside her coat. “What do you wish of me?”

“The secret vault, I want in...now.”

“As you wish.” She turned and led him through the office.

They walked up a short flight of stairs and passed through several security barriers before entering a high-tech room not unlike the Operations center on the station. She punched in a code and a small door opened, hidden in the wall. Inside, she pulled out a key.

“Here, my lord. Take this to the secret vault in Skane County.”

Taking the key with a greedy glint in his one eye, he said, “I know where to take this. Thank you.” He reached over and shut the door on the wall.

Together, they returned to the office area where the people remained in a dazed state. He reached the door and said, “You will not remember anything.”

Moments later, she woke up and was looking down at the tablet again. “What...what were you showing me?”

He looked down at the screen. “There was someone there, but...I guess he’s gone.”

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Fan-Fiction - March 2023 - League Battle Play (A Visionary Story)

"How are you able to switch forms that quickly?" asked the woman calling herself ᛖץร₮ίČ. Her mouth was agape at seeing Elijah channel a defensive energy shield only to mold it into a ball of crackling light and propel it towards the stationary target at the other end of the training room.

Elijah wiped his brow, then grabbed a towel. "No idea. Guess it's just hard training."

"Nonsense," she replied. "You're naturally gifted, bud. You're going to do more than hold your own in this competition." She patted him on the shoulder before walking to the women's locker room.

Face concealed by the towel, Elijah whispered to himself, "Maybe..."

-

It wasn't exactly a 'cobbled-together' side, but the SOB Free City squad had a clear plan and reasonable expectations. The few pre-tournament sessions that Elijah was able to participate in showed that despite a relative lack of battle experience, he more than made up for it with determination and quick wits. Each of his teammates readily encouraged him while sparring and he was more than ready to compete. He thought he briefly saw Chandra looking on, but put the thought out of his mind. To him, distractions of any kind would only weaken him.

As the competition began, he found himself quickly at the advantage. It was as if there was no pressure to perform, and he could feel the flow of battle at a comfortable pace. Round 1 went quickly and Elijah noticed he felt little fatigue.

"We may pull off an unexpected table-topping," smiled ᛖץร₮ίČ.

"You think so?"

"There's a seeming lack of mini-monsters among us, which means anybody has a realistic chance, bud. And we,... are going to make the possible, into reality."

She got up, and dashed to the arena, but not before punching Elijah softly on the shoulder. "Follow IѦᔕᴉƚҽ's lead!"

Elijah rose to his feet, still perplexed at how she was able to pronounce the names of his teammates so easily.

-

Victory came, and again. Elijah was part of a championship team at the first attempt.

Later, he was seated at a table, taking a slight break from the raucous celebrations of the SOB faithful.

"Not bad, but what do you have planned next?" came a voice. Elijah turned, and saw in the distance a shadowed form, but with a familiar voice. He rose and silently walked towards it.

"Keep growing, keep pushing," Elijah smiled.

Chandra smiled. "I am beyond happy to hear it. Stay with this clan, they are constantly encouraging each other and have little fear of failure. We - I - will keep watching you and cheering for you."

Elijah fought hard not to blush, instead raising his glass in appreciation, then walked away before he fumbled a response.

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The Hanzo Ninja Clan Presents: Raid Raiders!!!!

25104



Raiding has made a huge impact for those players willing to break away from traditional toon building "rules". Unfortunately, I see so many players ingrained in the old way of building, where you either had to patiently wait for an eternity to develop a strong toon, sacrificing play time, enjoyment, and overall power as other players level past you, or spend a large amount of money to allow you the freedom to level without outgrowing your power base. Raiding has given us the ability to level almost with impunity and actually grow our toons as we do. No more are we required to level into empty levels which then need to be filled with powers. Raiding has allowed us to gain powers as we level.

Now, to be fair, Raids are far better for players as they increase their levels than they are early on for developing toons. This is because experience points are given for each hit, rather than the amount of damage done. Since lower level toons tend to be weaker, their hits tend to do less damage. So they are going to be gaining more experience for the same amount of damage as a toon that does more damage per hit, because the other toon is using fewer hits for the same amount of damage. Because of this, lower level and weaker toons will have a lower reward per experience ratio than stronger hitters. But as your toon gets stronger and learns how to do more damage, your rewards per level increase will increase dramatically.

Before we get into how to do more damage or get more rewards, let's take a minute to look at Raid Etiquette.

In order to be successful at raids, it's important to find a like minded group of players to mob up raids with. These players don't have to be part of your team or league. They can be anyone your group of raiders feels is right for the group.

Aside from just hitters, you also want players who can hunt down summon items and AMA parts for raid tokens. In my own group, all of us fit this category. Try to do your part in collecting tokens and summon items. Many players use multiple utility alts for this purpose.

Once you have a good group together, you'll discover not everyone is adding summon material for every raid. That's ok. As long as they all are always trying, it will even out over time. Some days you will hunt all day long and get back minimal returns. Other days, summon material will seem to be behind every corner. That means some days your friends will carry you, and some days you will have to carry them.

BUT........ when this happens, pay careful attention to who has added summon material to the raid. Learn what their damage requirements are and let them get what they need before claiming any for yourself. That doesn't mean wait till they are done. It simply means that if each of the 3 players that added summon material want 200k damage a piece, make sure there is enough left over when you are done to allow them to get that damage in, and a little more for an overages cushion. How much damage you can do should be agreed upon beforehand with your raid team. You should also consider what your own needs are from the raids, and discuss this with any potential raid partners. This will be critical on how much damage you need to do, and how much damage you need to do is critical in determining how many toons can be in a raid and everyone effectively get everything they want. Some players are looking for gear. Some are trying to fill their decks with every card they can. Some are hunting specific cards. How much damage they need to do plays a huge factor on building raid teams. Generally speaking, the gear is by far the 1st thing most players really hunt for. But most of the gear require huge damage at low return rates. But, even though the cost is high, the premium gear from raids very much hold their own against uber gear from the Nova Shuffle. And for players that already have their fill of such gear, the MP resell value can put some decent MP in your toon's pocket. The power cards and cons are also of great value. In order to get your best chances at getting ALL the drops, I recommend doing 1/3rd of the total damage required to kill the raid. But if you are only looking for specific pieces, you'll need to do a little math. Look at the piece you want 1st off. What is the damage requirement to obtain a chance at it? The Windswept power gives a 2% chance per 6000 damage done. That means for the 1st 6000 damage I do, I get a 2% chance to win that card. But thanks to progressive rewards, those odds increase each time the reward threshold is met. So when I get to 12000 damage, I now have made a 2% roll and a 4% roll. If this is the card I am hunting for, I want to do damage in damage increments of 6000, because 6000 is the damage requirement for a roll to get it. IDEALLY, you want to get to a 50% roll. That's not going to be easy. For Windswept, that would be 25 x 6000 for 150,000 damage. But if you want all 5 that are available, you will have to do that 5 times, for a total 750,000 for the absolute guarantee. But I have found that 11x for 5% drops, 26x for 2% drops seems to do the trick. After deciding what kind of rewards you're hunting and which raids are best to get them from, start tallying up your damage requirements per raid with your raid team. You don't want a team that needs more than the raids provide. So limiting participants is important. Only have enough members on your raid team so that they can all get what they are looking for. After an agreed upon time limit or after all members have gotten their desired damage in, go ahead and share with others.

While it might seem like a good idea to make these raids public by inviting everyone on your friends list, consider instead leveraging these raids to other raid teams, in return for the ones they are finished mining. Your team is your 1st raid wave. Your raid trade partners are your 2nd wave. And vice versa. If you still need more hitters after 2 different raid teams have taken their swings, go ahead and release the raid to the rest of your friends list, or list it on the player's page, or finish it off with utility alts.

The biggest problem with being a successful raider are the massive energy requirements. You only have a maximum of 48 hours to do all the damage in a raid as you can get in. Daily energy gifts only give 480 energy. You're probably going to have to start looking at upping your energy stat skill points. Mine has 100 sp in energy. That gives me 110 energy. Combined with my HQ bonus, I get 120 energy. Using the 5 point energy refill option, now becomes worth using. Furthermore, the mp cards and gear I get from raids, that I don't want, can be sold for the MP I buy refills for. Between the gear and the large numbers of power cards, using raids to build a strong competitive toon is extremely possible. My main toon is almost entirely built off raid and bux cards. The amount of power cards one can acquire is relative to the amount of work one is willing to put in towards it. The gear is absolutely great.

Raiding certainly isn't for everyone, especially those who wish to polesit in the lower levels. But if you plan on taking your toon to over level 500 cheaply, Raids certainly are a great way to compete cheaply.

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THE WEAPON MASTER'S ARMORY: TECHNODASH

BY: Todd Goode id# 12205



It has been nearly three months since Miyamoto began working and training with Mitsurugi. Mitsurugi stands by young Miyamoto as he trains. They are working on strength training. Mitsurugi making sure no exercise is cheated.

Mitsurugi says, "You have come a long way in a short time. You are much stronger than when I took you in but you still have far to go. You have added muscle mass but are you strong enough? When you have finished these 1000 push-ups come to me in the center ring of the dojo. We will test your strength."

Soon, Miyamoto has finished his push-ups and meets Mitsurugi in the center ring.

Mitsurugi says, "Ahh, there you are. Why are you breathing so hard Miyamoto? It was only 1000 push-ups. You must learn to control your breathing, so you don't get winded so easily. I have an exercise for that but at the moment, I will test your strength."

"What do you want me to do?" says Miyamoto, still catching his breath.

Mitsurugi replies, "I am standing in the center of the Mound Ring. It is a confined space about 10 ft by 10 ft, large enough for only two fighters. The center of the ring rises upward the longer we're inside it. Your test is simply this, push me from the center of the ring and take over the spot where I stand."

"It will not be easy, there is a three-minute time limit and I do not like to lose, even to a kid. This will test your physical strength, balance and problem-solving skills. Enter the ring and start when the bell sounds."

Miyamoto enters the ring as Mitsurugi stands there like a statue in his Fudo-Dachi stance and the bell rings.

Miyamoto shouts, "Here I come! I will take your spot! I'll push you out!"

Miyamoto tries to push Mitsurugi back, but he doesn't even move in the least or lean in the slightest way.

Mitsurugi shouts, "Think! Why didn't that work? Try again! Your time is running out and the ring is rising. You will be off balance!"

Miyamoto thinks to himself, "I have an idea. I'll just pick you up and move you."

Miyamoto tries to lift Mitsurugi by the knees and then by grabbing him around the chest as the ring was rising. Miyamoto grunts and breathes harder from trying to remove Mitsurugi from his spot but there is nothing but failure and then the bell rings and the test is over.

Mitsurugi laughs and says, "Come, sit and rest. Do not be disappointed young one. For a small boy of 12 years, you nearly moved me."

"Really?" Miyamoto asked excitedly.

Mitsurugi chuckled, "No! You didn't even come close. I am nearly seven foot in stature and weigh over 300 pounds. You trying to push me back is like trying to move a mountain. Then you tried lifting me at the knees when the ring was flat and tried again to lift me around the chest as the ring rose up."

"You don't have balance like that. Strength comes from balance. You needed to have balance and make me lose mine when you lift or throw anyone or anything. Don't forget that!"

"I will give you an exercise to do after we talk for a minute. I have a new set of scrolls to sell."

"What is it Weapon Master?" asked Miyamoto.



Mitsurugi says, "It is a new movement scroll. I call it, Technodash. It gives a warrior the power to travel through cyberspace at a thousand megabits per second, processing information about any opponent. Then they can Technodash. They will have the ability to move in space time at even faster speeds. They can process situations faster than milliseconds and even as fast as the fastest presumed span of time. They will move in Planck Time. They'll be so fast; their opponent can't even see them much less hit them."

Miyamoto says, "Wow! That's incredible, how much will it cost?"

Mitsurugi says, "I've already made the posters with the power scrolls name, description and costs. A single scroll will cost 72 gold pieces. I give a deal for 5 scrolls for 288 gold pieces. I can upgrade scrolls and train warriors for 24 gold pieces per scroll. It is some of my best work. For that kind of speed, warriors will want many."

"You can hang the posters in the morning in the town square. Then I'll give you those exercises that will improve your strength and breathing I spoke about."

, "Have you ever heard that rolling stones gather no moss? If you haven't, you will. Oh, you will.

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