“If this is what Lady Echidna calls a sample of her power, what is she?” Chase whispered.
“WATCH OUT!” Gar swooped by and scooped her. Seconds later, one of Fenrir’s feet hit the ground and would have crushed her.
“Thanks.” Chase said.
Gar landed and set her up on her feet. Before them, hundreds of heroes battled the legendary wolf. Gar had a clever smile on his face.
Chase asked, “What do you have to smile about? We can’t beat this thing.”
“Midgard has a good idea.” Gar said.
Chase groaned, “Yup, this is the end of the world. If Midgard is our strategist, we are all screwed.”
Before Gar could explain, the heroes zooming around the beast suddenly took up more distant positions. Midgard, the only one left fighting it, grabbed it around the neck and struggled as it thrashed against him. He made a massive twist of his body and lobbed the wolf directly into the air. All the heroes took the cue and sent waves of powers at it. Those that didn’t have energy powers grabbed boulders and threw them. This caused Fenrir to roar in pain and fury, but that was obviously the plan. Five BADGE shuttles swooped by, each launching a missile into the mouth of the beast.
“Those are sub-nuclear charges. They’ll level half the planet!” Chase cried out.
“Wait for it!” Gar said with glee in his voice.
Several dozen heroes cast a great bubble around the beast the instant the flash hit. The explosion from within atomized the shadow monster, and the bubble strained, but held the explosion at bay. Sunlight broke through the darkness and the shadows of the world faded away, revealing a healthy blue sky day.
The cloud of radioactive debris remained inside the bubble as the heroes casting it, and a few helping them, rose high through Earth’s atmosphere.
Lieutenant Bonnie ran over to Chase, but looked up with her comm unit active. “Keep that bubble in place until you’ve reached space. Then release the radiation. Solar winds will take care of the rest.”
A voice on the other end said, “We got this, don’t worry.”
Chase looked over at Bonnie. “That was Midgard’s plan?”
She laughed, “Not exactly. I decided we had to take it down, so we would shove sub-nuclear charges down its throat and blow it up from the inside. Then contain the explosion and aftermath so to release it in space. Midgard came up with the idea of how to accomplish this.”
“No one let me in on the plan.” Chase said.
Bonnie laughed, “We didn’t have a lot of time to conference this. Fenrir was pushing us closer and closer to populated areas. Once we crossed that line, innocent lives would be lost and the fight would be almost impossible to contain.”
“Understandable.”
“HELP, HE WON’T GET UP!” EB called out.
Chase rushed over to find the bunny next to a normal sized Midgard, laying on the ground. “What happened?”
EB patted Midgard’s human face, “he was all cheering and acting like the hero and stuff. I came over to tell him off and he passed out. Like, when does this brute ever run outta energy? Seriously.”
Chase said, “He doesn’t. This isn’t good.” She waved at some of the other heroes. “Get him in a shuttle. We need to get him to Dr. Henderson on the station.”
Justin and Chase stood outside the infirmary, waiting on Dr. Henderson. There was a quiet tension between them as they each pondered all the events.
“I’m worried, Justin. If that’s a shadow of her power, what are we in for?”
Justin nodded. “I’ve been thinking about that as well. She has merely been toying with us, and each time, it’s almost a complete catastrophe.”
“I know.” Chase lingered in thought for a moment.
Justin caught this and asked, “Is something wrong?”
“Yes. I saw something that has bothered me, and I can’t explain it.”
“What? Something about Fenrir?” Justin asked.
“No. It is about Nova.”
“Was it something you saw in his memories?”
Chase folded her arms and held them tightly against her. “In a way, yes. First, it bothers me he seemed to give us a clue. That doesn’t make sense. But, in those memories, he displayed to Midgard his true power, but I couldn’t see what it was. It put fear into Midgard and that was enough to startle me.”
“What else?” Justin asked.
“Back in the battle, before Lady Echidna showed up, there was a moment when EB was battling Nova and almost had him. Then Nova revealed that same power to us. He broke EB’s bindings and nearly blinded us with light.”
“What did you see?”
Chase spent a moment and finally said, “I thought I saw wings.”
“Wings?”
“I can’t explain it. I don’t understand it. But, yes, in the light around Nova, I saw wings.”
The doors of the infirmary opened and Dr. Henderson came out as she pulled off her mask. “I’ve stabilized him. Midgard is going to be fine.”
Justin asked, “What happened to him?”
“I wasn’t sure, at first. He seemed fine. But something was keeping him down. His energy was draining. I had to go in and explore a little and I found something. Once I pulled it out, his vital signs all got better and he’ll be on his feet in no time.”
“What did you find?” Chase asked.
“Come with me.”
They followed Dr. Henderson into the infirmary, past the operation room, and into the lab. She directed them to a box with a glowing blue object in it. It was the shape of a large teardrop and seemed to have liquid flowing inside.
“What is that, doctor?” Justin leaned over to look at it.
“I don’t know. It has an incredible power signature, the likes of which I’ve never seen. Stranger still, it was inside the wound where the sword penetrated Midgard’s body.”
Chase said, “But Paladin healed that over.”
“Yes, and Paladin made a mistake. This object was keeping the wound open. Paladin sealed the wound over it, which only caused this collapse.”
Justin said, “If this was inside that wound before it was healed, then it got inside before the major battle began.”
Chase finished the thought, “The only way this got in there is if Nova put it there when he struck Midgard.”
Justin nodded. “This could be another clue.”
Dr. Henderson asked, “If a Nordic runestone was a clue to a Nordic ruin, what would a teardrop full of water mean?”
“I don’t know, but we will need to figure this out before it’s too late.”
Musty old ruins sat in dusty and dirt with only flecks of light coming through cracks in the walls. Hieroglyphs were etched into the surfaces depicting monsters and demons alongside the script of an ancient language long since forgotten.
The sharp click of heels broke the quiet solace of this forbidden place. This was followed by heavier footsteps of soldiers. Artificial lights clicked on and flooded the room with greater illumination.
Lady Echidna and Nova walked through their little private army toward the back wall.
“Will it be enough, my lady?” Nova asked.
She smiled and stopped at a stone door. “All I need is one to gain access. I’ll need the other three to achieve my plans. However, returning here is a dream long since dreamt in the void.” She held the stone up and the ruby took on a brilliant light. The wall of stone responded with a minor point of light and then a portion of it slid down, revealing a staircase.
Lady Echidna basked in the stale air that wafted out and she held up her hand, snapped her fingers, and sconces along the walls burst alive with flames. She strode up the stairs in elegance and grandeur, followed closely by her loyal minions.
The next room was a grand, ancient throne room befitting the most powerful rulers of the ancient world. Carved from stone, marble, jewels, and crystal, this room had seats, tables, and a throne. The throne was made of gold, embedded with rubies, emeralds, jade, diamonds, and sapphires.
Lady Echidna stepped up and sank down into the seat as though it were the most comfortable place in the known universe. “Ah, to finally be home. How wonderful! Now, bow to me, my minions, glorify me.”
The soldiers were first to the ground, bowing as low as they could. Nova walked up, stood before her, and sank down to one knee, bowing with his face toward the ground.
“My lady, it is good to see you on that throne again.”
She laughed, “It is. Pity that they used your throne against you. Perhaps we will retrieve it when I’m done.”
“Whatever is your wish, my lady.” Nova answered.
She sat forward. “My wish, now, my darling husband, is for you to retrieve the next. Off to the Watery Grave. Awaken my precious sea monster and let no one stand in your way.”
“As you wish, my lady.”
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