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.”
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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