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.
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