New(ish) Metahuman? We need YOU for an interview!

ID: 36312

Have you recently 'discovered' your powers and been recruited by  B.A.D.G.E?  Or maybe you consider yourself a villain?

Hero News Network, an affiliate of The Sentinel, LLC, would like to give YOU the opportunity of introducing yourself to the meta-human community.

Contact us at HNN and one of our reporters will happily interview you for publication.

(Editor's Note: you will receive valuable cards as a reward for being interviewed.)

(pictured are Rankin Phyle and Krystal Fae)

Continue the Story

Heroes Rising Fiction: Between Worlds Part 14

Torrik ran his hand under the seatbelt across his bare chest. It seemed to amuse him. EB hopped around the cabin of the shuttle as it zoomed down toward Antarctica. A team of medical robots and Dr. Henderson sat in the back with boxes of first aid supplies.

“Remind me again why we’re strapped down?” Torrik asked.

Dr. Henderson said. “Standard safety procedure. If we crash, then you’ll have less chance of being hurt.”

“Then why is that one bouncing around?” Torrik pointed at EB.

EB scoffed. “I’m perfectly safe. Besides, unlike you, I can teleport myself with magic. Not too far, and not as well as Quark or others. But, I can.”

Chase finished talking to the Mayor of New Meta City on a tablet and looked up. “Good news. They have several people who can help defend with super powers. So, the city is stable for the moment.”

Torrik asked, “Is this another place where your leagues of magic hero’s work?”

“Not magic, superpowers.” EB corrected him.

Chase said, “No. New Meta City is a place where people who developed powers can go if they don’t want to use them, or can’t use them. Some use simple powers for daily activities, but aren’t really strong enough to fight with them.”

“So, is it a prison for them?” Torrik asked.

“Not at all.” Dr. Henderson stated. “New Meta City is a choice. People can leave if they choose. However, it is designed to adapt to those with morphonic powers. It is safer there for them and can help.”

EB added, “Also, there are bad people who like to get their hands on morphonic people and use them for experiments or to try and turn them all evil and stuff. Lotsa jerks out there who see people as tools and want to harvest these types of people. That’s why New Meta City isn’t exactly on the maps. Few know of it, so keep it secret.”

“Okay, I got it. I do have one other question. You said there are people using their powers to defend it. That woman the mayor mentioned used a power to blast a wyvern away. That is no small task. Surely, she could put her powers to use for the common good?”

Dr. Henderson said, “Some people have incredibly powerful abilities. However, using them is a danger to themselves. I know of this woman. I helped study her powers when she first came to BADGE. Debora has an extremely strong eyebeam power. But, it nearly kills her to use it. I’ll be checking on her right away when we get there.”

“Approaching New Meta City!” The pilot announced.

“Good, get ready...” Chase had to grab the arms of her seat as the shuttle was suddenly veering to the side.

“Incoming fire!” The pilot announced.

They watched as a wyvern swooped past them after unleashing a volley of fire.

“It’s chasing us! I can’t seem to lose it!” The pilot darted their shuttle all over the skies as they continued to take fire from the beast.

“Does this airship not have weapons?” Torrik yelled.

EB, who slammed into the bulkhead over and over, grabbed Torrik’s leg to stop his next crashing. “Nope!”

Dr. Henderson held the medical supplies from flying all over the place. “This is a medical shuttle.”

Chase said, “We do have some weapons!” She was looking directly at EB.

The bunny, still clinging to the goat leg of Torrik, snarled. “Damn.”

Justin stood in silence as he watched the ongoing battle of creatures against the dome of New Meta
City. Hero leagues were organizing and moving toward Antarctica, but none had made it there yet.

“Has Gar reached the surface yet?” He asked.

A robot announced, “Affirmative. Strange Quark has transported Gargoyle to the planet’s surface.”

“Good.”

A different robot announced, “Agents compromised. Security Force seven seven nine has been compromised at Security Post Seven.”

“Do we have any confirmation on if they have been killed?” Justin asked.

“Negative. Signs indicate they have been manipulated. Mental sensor devices are offline.”

Justin let out a hard scoff. Dr. Henderson and EB developed a small device that all agents now wear to alert BADGE to any mental manipulation, especially from Nova or Lady Echidna.

Another robot announced, “Computer system compromised. Unauthorized access to BADGE computer systems detected at Security Post Seven.”

Justin let off a little smile. “So, they’re trying to get into our computers. With Nova and brainwashed agents on the site, blocking them will be impossible. But I suppose we shouldn’t let them just waltz right into our mainframe. Robots activate counter hacking protocols against access via Security Post Seven.”

The robots all went to work, energetically fighting the attempts to access the BADGE main computers. It would be a tit-for-tat battle between them and the ancient, brilliant mind of Nova, and they would lose. But Justin didn’t seem too worried.

Torrik held a leather strap that was attached to the roof of the shuttle as the whole cabin rolled. The pilot masterfully navigated around the attacks of the wyvern.

“Do I have to?” EB moaned.

Chase yelled, “Do it!”

“Fine. Here,” He jumped up and held tight to Torrik’s neck. “Are you ready?”

“As I’ll ever be.”

In a flash of sparkles, both vanished from inside the cabin. Instantly they were outside, tumbling down in the sky as the shuttle zoomed away.

“HOLD ON!” Torrik yelled and straightened himself out in their freefall. A giant leaf appeared under him and he stood on it, riding it like a surfboard. It zoomed down and then swooped up, gliding through the air.

“The shuttle!” EB yelled, still clinging to Torrik’s neck.

The wyvern was dangerously close to the shuttle. Torrik leaned forward, and they sped through the cold, thin air toward their target.

EB produced an egg in his paw and said, “GET US CLOSER!”

Torrik made a great swing in the sky, speeding up even faster as he headed directly for the beast. When it blasted the shuttle with a fireball, EB launched his egg. It met the mid-section of the monster and exploded with a great flash of light. The wyvern lurched to the side, and the shuttle had a clear path away.

“Aw crap, it’s pissed.” EB said as he watched the irate wyvern get back on its wings and stare daggers at them.

Torrik laughed, “This is gonna be fun.”

“You and I have completely different ideas of what’s fun,” EB said just as Torrik flew directly for their enemy.

The wyvern unleashed a torrent of flames at them. Torrik made a corkscrew spiral around the flames, getting ever closer to the beast. The moment they got within a few feet, Torrik jumped off the leaf, causing it to evaporate. He landed on its back, running down it a short way before grabbing one of the protruding spikes to keep from falling.

EB lost his grip on Torrik and went sailing away. He quickly grabbed at the tip of the tail, getting a grip on it with all the strength he could muster. “TORRIK!”

The wyvern swooped down in an effort to dislodge its new passengers. Torrik threw one hand toward the front of the beast and a great vine shot out and wrapped around its head, coming into its mouth like a bridle. With that grip holding him in place, Torrik sent another vine back toward EB and caught the bunny before he went sailing into the cold, clear sky.

“DO IT EB!” Torrik yelled.

EB, the vine around his waist, formed a purple egg in his paws and threw it toward Torrik. “Get it to this thing’s face!”

Torrik caught the egg and waited while they went into a spiral toward the ocean. Yanking hard on his bridle vine, he got the wyvern to swoop up before crashing them into the raging Antarctic sea. Once they were back into a climb, he threw the egg directly ahead of them and let it smash into the face of the beast. A purple ooze spread across it and the wyvern writhed around for a moment in rage and then calmed down.

“It’s falling asleep! Get us down!” EB yelled.

Torrik looked ahead and then back at EB, “I... don’t know how.”

“Gah! You shaggy piece of...” A dirigible zoomed up close to them, with a rope ladder hanging down.

A voice piped over the speaker from Furious Squirrel. “Get on!”

Torrik grabbed the ladder. EB was not far behind. They left the descending wyvern just as it crashed into the surface of the ice shelf, creating a long path in the snow.

The dirigible flew toward New Meta City with several hundred heroes arriving all around them, some in vehicles and others flying, a few coming out of portals.

EB shouted, “WOOT! CAVALRY HAS ARRIVED!”

Continue the Story

Heroes Rising Fiction: Between Worlds Part 13

Justin led the team into the Operations center where the main viewscreen was covered in small video feeds already.

“Oh my God, what are those?” Chase paused at the sight of the monsters attacking the city.

Justin frowned. “Are those... dragons?”

Torrik walked down to the front of the room. “No, those are Wyverns. And those other creatures are

wild goblins, and...” He seemed lost for a moment as the images played out. “This isn’t possible. This is simply not possible!”

“Do you know what this is?” Justin asked.

Torrik nodded, “There is a space between our worlds. We call it The Great Divide.”

EB said, “You told us about that. It keeps the bad people from getting across.”

“Yes. It is a barrier to protect each side from the other. To cross it is dangerous. There are many guardians who protect it. Those creatures attacking that strange dome in the ice are from the divide. But the problem is, they’re not supposed to leave and they know it. It is a wild and dangerous place, but it actually does have some accepted order.”

Gar said, “Obviously, something has gone wrong.”

A robot announced, “Incoming transmission: New Meta City.”

“Put it through.”

A window on the screen opened that was bigger than the rest. The tired face of a disheveled woman appeared. She had white hair and eyes with no pupils. “Oh, thank goodness. Our communication system has been damaged. We jury-rigged this to get through.”

“Mayor Messenger, what is the situation?”

“We aren’t sure. One of our citizens went out to do a routine check of the system and a dragon attacked her. She barely survived the attack by unleashing her super power, which nearly killed her to use. Fortunately, her power detection system alerted us and we got her to the hospital just before the full assault started. We have been under direct attack for hours.”

There was a loud explosion behind the mayor and she looked to the side as the video feed fuzzed. “Oh, god! The west defense plates are buckling.” The image fuzzed more as she desperately called out, “We need help, send... “ the line was cut.

“Torrik,” Justin turned and gave the Satyr a severe look, “Is this an invasion?”

Torrik shook his head, “No. Not on our end. I don’t know what is happening, but those creatures should not be attacking outside The Great Divide.”

EB said, “I may think he’s a flirt and needs to put on pants, but I trust him.”

Chase asked, “What would Nova do?”

Justin looked at the screen for a moment and then said, “No, what will Justin do is all that matters right now. Chase, EB, take Torrik with you and get there ASAP. Bring with you medical supplies and a portal shield emitter. New Meta City is under our protection and we will not let it fall. I will summon the heroes. This may not be a planned invasion, but it is an invasion and we will stop it.”

Gar asked, “What about Lady Echidna?”

Torrik said, “I know she is behind this. This is just like her, to set off something terrible to distract everyone. Do not devote everything to her distraction. Protect yourselves from whatever she has planned.”

Justin nodded. “I will. But lives are at stake, and that is paramount. Please, hurry, there is little time to waste discussing this.”

Chase led EB and Torrik out of Operations in a hurry, but Justin stopped Gar before he followed.

“No, you stay.”

“Why?”

Justin watched and waited until the others left. “I have a special mission for you.” He walked with Gar up to the door that led into Director’s office.

A blistering wind raced around both Lady Echidna and Nova as they stood outside their landed shuttle. A smile of satisfaction sat on their faces as they watched the many mythical beasts raining terror down on the dome of New Meta City. Some beasts fought with each other while a few raced off into the distance.

Nova said, “It seems we have started something quite amusing.”

“I started it. You’re merely an observer of my brilliance.” Lady Echidna quipped.

“I stand corrected.”

“Ah, but you are correct in calling this amusing. Those beasts have sat far too long, waiting for something to come along and tease their delight. Just a small taste of my darkness, and they are feral beyond control.”

“BADGE will not know how to handle them quickly. This will be quite the job for them.” Nova said.

Lady Echidna asked, “What of the magical members of BADGE? That Easter Bunny is annoyingly strong, and there is the Fae woman, not to mention Santa.”

“They are wise, powerful, and well accustomed to adapting to any situation. I have no doubt they will make containing this problem easier. But this isn’t the same magic they are used to. Besides, the point, I believe, was a mere distraction.”

“True.” Lady Echidna said, “However, I want it to last long enough for us to obtain the Eye of Hydra from wherever they are hiding it. And, possibly, seek the third stone after that.”

Nova said, “Then we shouldn’t linger here. BADGE is efficient.” Nova turned and pressed the button to open the door.

Both stepped into the shuttle. Inside was the small contingent of her brainwashed mercs huddled near an electric warmer. They looked upon her return with the same eyes of a yearning puppy first seeing its master.

“What are your orders, my lady?” The leader of the mercs asked.

She smiled and gestured toward Nova. “He will guide us to the location BADGE has hidden the eye.”

Nova sat down in the co-pilot’s seat and activated the computer. “Take us up, out of this weather. Head for these coordinates.”

The pilot worked his controls, and the shuttle lifted off from the ground, fought against strong winds, and zoomed away from this frigid climate.

Lady Echidna stood behind Nova’s seat. “Where are you taking us? A BADGE vault?”

“No. I doubt they will be so foolish as to hide it in one of the vaults, which I am well aware of. I trained them better than that. We’re heading for Security Post Seven.”

“What is that?” She asked.

He pointed to a blinking dot on a map of the Atlantic Ocean. “It is a defunct oil rig that BADGE repurposed as a security observation post, which was only used when the League Wars Arena was still on Earth. This was to protect the arena from attacks by villains. Now that the Arena has been rebuilt as an orbital station, this post has gone back to being defunct. However, it has access points for BADGE communications.”

“Brilliant as always, my loyal general.” She kissed the side of his face while he worked the computer.

Two hours passed as the shuttle sped quickly over the ocean’s surface.

“Approaching coordinates.” The pilot announced.

The shuttle drew closer to the ocean’s surface and sped along toward a towering structure in the water.

“Damn, I’m detecting a small security force present.” Nova pointed at a blinking read-out on his screen.

“That is no problem. My team of mercenaries is more than a match for that small band of people.”

“We can’t start a fight. That would instantly set of automated distress signals from each BADGE agent on that station. Their body armor is designed to send out a signal the moment they’re attacked.”

She laughed, “Then, I suppose, I should adopt them into my ranks.”

“Good idea. Pilot, take us down cloaked and land on that helipad. Lady Echidna will take it from there.”

The shuttle hovered over the platform and slowly lowered down. Lady Echidna pressed the button to open the door. The four BADGE agents rushed toward the shuttle with weapons drawn. One was reaching to hit his alert signal on his comm when she cast a black fog over them.

“Get this party started, and start it right. I am here to be worshiped all day and night!” She sang these words, and the agents lost their stern faces and descended into a loopy state of mind. They were now in a dance club, swaying and enjoying the music that only they could hear under her spell. She stepped out and walked among them, touching their faces as she went, “Bow before me, that is this scene, obey me as you one true queen!”

The agents knelt down, bowed their heads, and said, “Whatever you desire, my lady.”

She reached down and lifted a woman’s face to look at her. “Tell me, are there others here who haven’t joined our little party?”

“No, my lady, we are the only detachment for this post.”

“Good. Join the others, and remove those abhorrent patches.”

The four stood and ran for the shuttle, ripping their BADGE patches off their uniforms as they went.

She looked back at Nova, who now stood at the door of the shuttle. “Find me the Eye of the Hydra.”

Continue the Story

Heroes Rising Fiction: Between Worlds Part 12

A woman in a thick outfit stepped out a set of doors on the side of New Meta City. Beside her was a smaller person, so bundled up it was hard to tell they were even human.

“Come on, Cynthia, we don’t want to take long.” The woman grabbed the small child’s hand.

“It’s cold!” The girl whined.

“I know. But this is my job and you will do this one day.” She pulled her around the side of the dome and stopped at a box. “These are environmental units. They monitor the conditions both inside and outside, so we are certain everything under the dome stays warm and nice. But, they can break down, so we just do a weekly check on them. See this... are you listening?”

The little girl made a whimpering sound and then screamed as she pointed away.

Turning quickly, the mother saw a blue scaled wyvern bearing down on them. It unleashed a torrent of blue flames, but missed as it was flying past.

“Run!” The woman grabbed the child’s hand and dragged her toward the entrance.

Both staggered and lurched to the side with the moving ice beneath their feet as the wyvern hit the ground in a heavy slam. It leaned its head back, preparing another blue fire blast.

The woman turned and ripped off her googles. She unleashed a steady beam of yellow energy that hit the wyvern in the face and sent it tumbling backward across the frozen wasteland. The beam continued for a long time and then came to a stop. Instantly, the woman fell over, completely passed out.

“MOMMA! MOMMA!” Cynthia pushed on her mother’s body.

A sensor on the woman’s wrist beeped and a robotic voice announced, “Unauthorized use of meta powers detected. Unauthorized use of meta powers detected...” this continued as the little girl cried over her mother.

Arx walked into the Arboretum to find Chase, EB, and Gar chatting while they sat in the grass.

“Guys? What’s up?” He joined them in the grass.

EB hopped over and gleefully said, “We told Justin off. That jerk was totally out of control and Chase got mad, boy is she hot when she gets mad. I mean, if I knew she wouldn’t do something absolutely terrible to me, I’d get her mad now and then just to see that sexiness.” A throwing star hit the dirt right next to EB.

Chase, who had thrown the blade, said, “You want to see my ugly side again?”

EB gulped and smiled at her. “No. I like you calm and sweet as well.”

Arx asked Chase, “You told him off! Why?”

“He’s out of control. He’s getting worse and worse at barking orders and telling us we aren’t doing enough. I... well, I lost my temper when he started berating Gar, and then he turned on me and said we are just playing around. I probably shouldn’t have let it get under my skin so much.”

Gar said, “Justin needed to be told. I don’t mind being yelled at. I make mistakes a lot. But, I learn and do my best. Nova understood, but Justin is just angry all the time.”

Arx asked, “Are you guys really quitting BADGE over this?”

EB said, “Maybe. Hey, we should start our own organization. I know we can call ourselves the Avengers... wait, that’s taken. Um... what about Chase’s Intergalactic Agency, the CIA... wait, that’s taken too. Nuts. Oh, wait, we could all use one of my factories. Or better yet, we could work out of the North Pole. Your dad would let us use his factory as a staging...”

“We aren’t quitting!” Chase interrupted EB.

Justin and Torrik walked up at that moment with Justin saying, “I’m glad to hear that.”

Chase said, “We may not be quitting BADGE, but I’m not ready to hear you berate us about this. Go away.”

“I’m not here to yell or berate. I’m here to apologize.”

This took them all by surprise. EB said, “Wow! We should’a quit sooner.”

“Shut up, EB.” Chase said.

Justin walked over and sat with them in the grass. “I knew it would be hard filling Nova’s shoes. In fact, I knew it would be impossible. Somehow, he always succeeded. He always seemed to have an answer. If he didn’t have it right away, he would find it. I cannot seem to find any answer. Everything was okay at first. We were on a global hunt for him, and I was sure if we found him, we could undo whatever Lady Echidna did to him. When we did find him, it all went to hell. He nearly killed Midgard and set off that Fenrir beast. He was right there. My chance at handing this job back to him slipped away, and I suddenly felt the pressure.”

Gar said, “But he helped us. Gave us clues about the Eye of Fenrir and then gave us that other stone that I hid.”

“That only made it worse. Nova, what part of him that remains on our side, expects me to solve this. He is putting faith in me, and I just don’t know if I have what it takes. So, after the Fenrir incident, I truly understood the responsibilities expected of me.”

Chase asked, “And because of this, you became a jerk?”

“It wasn’t intentional. I just felt I needed to be Nova, be in charge. He was so solid, so stern. I had to be like that. But, instead of being a great leader, I was an idiot. The harder I pushed you, the more I lost control over things. So, I only pushed harder, hoping it would fall into place. All I did was push you away. Truth is, I do know what all of you have done for BADGE. It exists because of the sacrifices and work you’ve put into it. Nova was an outstanding leader, but it was you who made that possible. I need you, BADGE needs you. I can’t replace any of you.”

EB hopped over and smiled at Justin. “You’re also part of the team. When Nova was leading us, you were right there.”

Justin smiled at him, “And our friend Torrik reminded me of that fact. I can’t be Nova, but I am Agent Justin. I need to focus on my strengths as a leader and do my best. You’ll do your best in spite of my inexperience.”

Chase looked around the group and then said, “Apology accepted. What are your orders, sir?”

A beeping came out of Justin’s command comm. A robotic voice announced, “Distress Signal received from New Meta City.”

Justin slapped his comm. “Report?”

“New Meta City sensors indicate direct assault on the exterior. Reported injury count, one. Unknown enemy.”

Justin turned around and looked at his team. “Time to get back to work.”

Continue the Story

Newbie Survival Guide: Atlas Crisis Part One - Building A Hero Deck

Night Terror
ID: 35973



I haven't done one of these in a while, but I thought it might be helpful for Newbies to make a deck and play in the atlas crisis. I think some people are avoiding the atlas because it may seem complicated, but if you follow along step-by-step, I will show you how to make a simple deck or three and then play them in the game.



Ok, let’s make a deck of cards to use in the atlas. First, let’s click on the "My Hero" tab and go over to the "Hero Deck" sub tab. This will take you to the deck building screen. You need to understand that the decks must be 45 cards strong. If you have less or more than 45, your deck is automatically illegal.

To make sure we have at least 45 cards, and some brand new players do not, find the large red button that says "autofill". This is a useful tool to even see if you have the required number of cards. If you do not, it will pop up a warning saying to go buy more cards.

If you do not have enough, you will need to head over to your 'My Hero" tab and click on the "Train" sub tab. This will show you all of your cards and if you have enough money to buy more. Hopefully you will have learned how to work this section previously and I am not going to get into it in this article, it will require an article all on its own. You may have to buy some more cards, even if it means going into the negatives for the few minutes or hours you play your deck, then selling them back. You should have 21 of each card type to make a good solid 3 decks.



HERE IS THE KICKER: you cannot use more than 3 types of any one card in a deck. So, you only get 3 Shadow Clone, 3 Lightening Fast, 3 Titanium Skin, etc. Not only do you need 21 of each status type, but you need 7 different named sets of cards to make that 21. Gets confusing, right?

If you are only worried about making one deck and using it all the time no matter what crisis type it is, you can get away with only 45 cards, and then you only need 15 types of cards. Still a lot of card types, but better than 21.

"But Ralph, I dont have access to that many types of cards at my level!!!"

Yeah, I know, and that is why you have to grind a bit to get new cards. You can purchase 3 types of MP cards at level 5. Buy 3 of each and tier them if you can. You can join a KOTM and hope that you get high enough to earn some power cards. KOTMs are pretty liberal with handing out power cards so joining them and just participating usually gets you at least a card.

You can do the Tug of Wars to participate and get a free power card. Try for the Fight Club and earn crystal and MP just for joining as well as get a power card for getting a medal. Sometimes it is good to look for a fight club that is about to end and join it, and maybe there are few enough people in that last room you get to sneak in and grab a bronze or better. Almost all of the events we do in Heroes Rising give you power cards. Participate and you might get lucky enough to win some. Buying the bundles in the "Morphons" tab will give you bonus MP cards as well so those are great for beginners.

Ok, lets assume you have 63 cards and are able to make 3 decks. Hop back over to the "Hero Deck" sub tab. and lets make our first deck. The attack deck is the easiest one to make and you can do that by hitting the autofill button we used earlier. This will make you an attack heavy deck and fill in your other two types of cards up to 12.

Each deck MUST have 12 Attack, 12 Defense, and 12 Movement cards. You can then fill in the remaining 9 cards wherever you feel like it, which we want to put into attack in this case. If the autofill did its job, we should have 21 attack cards, 12 defense cards, and 12 movement. You can see those numbers over on the left side in white. You should also see down below the buttons you have cards now filling your deck.

Lets rename this deck by clicking on the small red button labeled "Rename Deck" on the left side. I recommend using "Attack" as we want to distinguish between an attack deck and a defense or movement deck.

GREAT JOB! You have made your first deck of cards, but we are not done yet. There will be 3 types of Atlas events and you need to be prepared for all 3 types. Next to the rename button is a "Create New Deck" red button. Click that and label it "Defense".

Now we are going to make a top-heavy deck that focuses on blue defense cards instead of red attack cards. You can use the autofill again and then adjust, or you can build it from scratch. In this case, I am going to build it from scratch so you can follow along and then do the same thing for a movement deck. You can use these same basic principles when editing a deck as well. So, without hitting the autofill (and if you have already, you can click on "Clear Deck" lets head down under the autofill to the new section called "Available Power Cards".

You can sort by highest stat (which we will be using a lot), switch between your tiered cards, and just look at specific types of cards with the check boxes. You can also enter a power name in the text box to the right, but I dont know the names of most of the cards myself to know what I am looking for, but if you do, you can use that to find it quickly.

If you have tiered any of your cards beyond level 1, you will want to use those first, as they tend to have the higher stat you want, again, we are looking for high defense stats right now. If you click on level 5, it will show you all the cards you have leveled up that high. If there are no cards here, then you havent gotten any at tier 5 yet.

Choose the cards that have the highest defense stat by clicking "add to deck”. If you have more than 3 of these cards, you will only be able to click it 3 times, and then you cannot add any more of that card. This is why I had you get only 3 of each type of card up above.

Click as many as you can in level 5, then move down to level 4 and do the same, level 3, 2, and finally level 1. Now go up and check on our progress. Sometimes we click too many of one type of card and not enough of another. Head back up to the section that shows how many of each type of card you have in your deck, and check if the words above the "Clear Deck" button says you are legal or not. If it is green, and says you have 45 cards, you are good! If it says you have an illegal deck, we need to find out why.

Above the words that tell you if it is legal or not is a sentence that says, "Your deck is comprised of X cards". If it says you have 45 cards thats good, but you can still have an illegal deck with 45 cards. Now go over to the section on the far left that tells us how many of each card type we have.

Remember, we need at least 12 of each card type. If you have 10 movement, that would make it illegal. It means you will have to take off cards from one area to add 2 to the movement cards. So lets assume you have 14 attack cards, 21 defense cards, and 10 movement cards. You need to find 2 attack cards that have the lowest possible defense stat on them. Remember, we are building a defense deck, so we want higher defense stats, even on our attack cards. The easiest one to remove for me tends to be that annoying (super) laser eyes attack card. It has 8 attack points, but only 1 of defense or movement at tier 1. I tend to remove that one first if I see it in my deck. You can remove it by going to the cards officially in your deck and click on "Remove From Deck". It will disappear and go back to the bottom section.

Now you can go down and find 2 more movement cards to replace the 2 attack cards you took out. Of course, you need to find 2 movement cards that you haven’t used 3 times in the deck up above. If you did get all your cards like we talked about up above, you should have 2 left over to use.

Go back up and check, and your deck should be legal now!!!

You can now create a movement deck using the same method we did to make the defense deck. Label it movement and you will have 3 decks ready to go depending on what type of crisis gets thrown at us.

Next week in part two, we will go over actually using your deck in an atlas crisis and how to best benefit your deck during play.

Continue the Story

Heroes Rising Fiction: Between Worlds Part 11

“So, that’s what the word BADGE stands for. Interesting.” Torrik sat at a table in the mess area with Chase across from him.

“Yeah, it’s kinda a secret, but it is pretty obvious at the same time.”

Torrik sipped some hot chocolate and then said, “So, the humans of this world gained strange magics... “

“We call them super powers.”

“Oh, okay. Super powers. I guess that makes sense. It really isn’t magic. But, Legion sent those Morphons to your world, and that caused some of your people to have these powers. And thus BADGE formed to help organize and oversee these heroes.”

“Yeah. Nova has been protecting this world for a long time, much longer than BADGE has been around. And that’s the core purpose of BADGE, defending this world. But, we do it through cooperation between the heroes and BADGE. Unfortunately, there has also been a rise in people who gained powers who use them for evil, and BADGE has to deal with them as well.”

Torrik said, “One thing is for certain, when people have power, there are always those who use it for selfish reasons. Magic, superpowers, political powers... any kind.”

“Sadly true.”

Torrik took a big drink and then leaned back. “This really soothes the soul. I...” he looked up, his eyes widened, and he stood so fast the chair fell over. “Demon!”

“What?” Chase turned around just as Torrik cast a spell.

Gar walked up when vines sprung up and ensnared him. In a matter of seconds, he found himself tethered to the ground. Gar struggled for a moment before falling over. “Help!”

“Stop, no! Gar is not a demon!” She ran over and was pulling on the vines.

Torrik cocked his head. “He has demon wings, is made of stone like a wicked construct. And I sense powerful magic in him.”

“Gar is a good friend, and he wasn’t made of evil magic. His soul is from a Vexillian. Let him go!”

“Slita!” Torrik cast his counter spell, and the vines vanished into mists. “Sorry.”

Chase helped Gar to his feet. “You okay?”

“I think so. What’s that?” Gar pointed at Torrik.

“Oh, right, you’ve been away.” Chase smiled and held out a hand. “This is Torrik Treeleaf. He is from another realm and is here to help us.”

Gar smiled, seemingly unfazed by being attacked. “Nice to meet you.”

A white blur zipped up and hugged Gar’s leg. “Buddy! Glad you're back.”

“Hi, EB. Why are you acting strange? You never hug me when I come back from a mission.”

EB let go and frowned. “Things are bad up here. Justin is being a butt, and this guy is... well, I’ll fill you in later.”

Chase rolled her eyes at the bunny, but asked Gar, “When did you get back?”

“Just now. I heard you talking, so I came over to see you.”

“What are you doing here?” Justin walked up with a computer tablet in his hand.

Gar said, “Oh, hello. I just got back, I...”

“Obviously. I cleared your shuttle for docking. You should have come directly to me for a mission report.”

“Sorry.”

“Don’t be sorry. Follow the rules. You may have rock for a brain, but even you know procedures. Torrik ...” He had just turned to the Satyr when Chase interrupted him.

“Apologize!”

“What was that?”

Chase came closer and looked Justin directly in the eyes. “Apologize to Gar.”

“I have nothing to apologize for. If people would do their jobs according to the rules, then I wouldn’t have to reprimand anyone. Now, I have to talk to Torrik.”

“I’ve had enough!” Chase startled everyone with that outburst. “None of us can be good enough for you any longer.”

“If you would do your job and not just play around like this is some kind of game.”

EB said, “Well, actually...”

“Not now!” Chase stopped EB and then came dangerously close to Justin. “Playing around. Is that what you think we’ve been doing? I’ve put my life on the line for BADGE and this planet more times than I care to count. If you don’t appreciate what we do for you and BADGE, then you don’t deserve our support.” She whipped around and left.

EB hopped up on the table and said, “Yeah, you’re being a total jerk.” With that, he left.

Justin looked up at Gar. “Well, you have any pithy words for me?”

Gar spent a moment with reluctance written all over his face. Finally he said, “Nova was like a father to me. He yelled at me, but always with good reason. I do my best, but it isn’t good enough for you.” He, too, left in the direction of Chase.

“Dammit!” Justin blurted in a fit of rage and went for his comm. His hand hovered over it for a second, and he merely snarled at it. “Damn, Arx is in a meeting with FEMA.” He looked at Torrik. “I’ll get back to you when I have a proper team of agents.” He marched off toward the Operations center.

Torrik casually sipped the rest of his hot chocolate and stood up. He brushed himself off and headed for the lift.

Torrik walked out of the lift and found Operations cold and quiet, save light clicking noises from the robots operating the computer consoles. Justin stood in the center of the room, watching a large map of the world before him.

“I’m not ready for you.” Justin stated.

Torrik walked down the steps toward the lonely director. “I’m not here about my mission. I have something important to discuss.”

“What would that be?”

“You.”

“Not now,” Justin stated.

Torrik snapped his fingers and all the computer screens went blank. “Right now.”

Justin huffed, “What’s this about?”

“A lot of things. I don’t know you well. In fact, I hardly know you at all. But since I arrived, you’ve been short-tempered and downright rude to those you lead.”

Justin turned away, looking back at the still blank screens. “We have work to do. Besides, you don’t have the right.”

“No, I don’t, but I do have the privilege.”

With a sarcastic tone, Justin said, “What?”

“I’m working with BADGE, but I’m not a member of this organization. I’ll follow your orders at my discretion. However, I remain an outsider.”

“We don’t have time for this.”

“We don’t have time for you to act like a tyrant. Your attitude is not only getting in the way of a properly running organization but also in stopping our enemy.”

Justin turned on him. “Look, Torrik, you have no idea what I’m up against. You have no clue what I was handed when I was thrust into the command of BADGE.”

“You think I’m just a silly magical man who grows flowers? I’m the leader of the most prestigious magical military in all of Yohan. I know about pressure and risk, I know about the struggles of command. Don’t you dare think you’re the only person who has felt those pressures.”

“I know how to handle pressure. I just have to be strong.”

Torrik said, “Being strong has nothing to do with being an ass.”

“What did you call me!”

“Stubborn mule. Funny thing, I found out that both worlds have a lot of the same animals. Mules are among them.”

“I don’t need this. We have work to do. Either we do it, or you leave.”

Torrik smiled. “I’ll decide what work we do right now. Right now, you have people out there who trust you, care about you, and are worried. You aren’t being yourself. Even I can see that something is festering under your skin, driving you to be ill-tempered.”

Justin looked Torrik dead in the eyes and said, “You don’t understand, and they have no clue. This job isn’t normal. It’s the hardest damn job in this world. I’m not Director Nova. He isn’t human, he is...now we know... something ancient and powerful. I’m just Justin, the human. And, right now, I’m in charge of the one organization that stands even the slightest chance of stopping an evil villain from destroying our world, and yours. Everyone is expecting me to find Nova and bring him back, while saving the world, and also manage a crisis team dealing with natural disasters. Do you know what kind of pressure that is? Do you realize what I have to deal with every damn day? Leagues fighting with each other over petty arguments. Bank robbers, military coups, alien invasions, floods, earthquakes, meteors, and a maniacal woman with god-like powers hell-bent on ripping apart this world. All of that is on my shoulders. ALL OF IT! I’M NOT DIRECTOR NOVA! I CAN’T DO THIS!” Tears were in his eyes as he screamed these words, not at Torrik, but at the fates themselves.

Torrik reached out and put a hand on Justin’s shoulder. “No one is asking you to be Nova. They’re doing their jobs at the best of their abilities, and that is all you can ask of them. They don’t expect you to solve all the problems, just be there to guide them. You may not be Nova, but you are Justin. You have strengths, use them. A lot of those strengths aren’t in you, but in those around you who want to help you succeed.”

Justin looked up at the darkened screen, his reflection staring back at him. “I really did make an ass of myself, didn’t I?”

“Yup.”

“How do I convince them to come back and help?”

Torrik laughed, “True loyalty is often tested. You’ll find they aren’t as done with you as even they want to think. A leader guides not only by orders and planning, but sets the tone of emotions and focus. Now comes your biggest test as the substitute Director of BADGE, humility.”

Continue the Story

Heroes Rising Fiction: Between Worlds Part 10

Torrik chomped down on an apple while sitting on the grass in the arboretum. Chase was next to him, looking through several books on mythologies.

“This is truly amazing. I haven’t had an apple like this ever.” He was engrossed with the rosy fruit.

Chase laughed, “It’s just a red delicious apple. They’re extremely common.”

“Not where I’m from. We have loads of fruits, but nothing like these.”

“What is your favorite fruit?”

“Honey Bark,” He said without hesitation.

“Bark?”

“Yeah, it’s this special type of tree that the bark grows a thick layer of sticky sap on the inside that gets really thick around fall when we harvest it. It is almost exactly like honey, perhaps a little thicker and less sweet, but it is exceptional.”

“Sounds wonderful. I’d love to try some.”

“I wish I could take you back to my world and show you some. But that would be forbidden.”

Chase asked, “Why can’t you just grow some here? You were growing a lot of vines and other plants.”

“That’s because I’m a nature mage. All Satyrs are nature mages. But, our magical plants are just like the trees grown by Wood Elves, not real. They cannot bear fruit or seed. And they will evaporate eventually. So, even the wood itself is useless. Temporarily, it is very useful, but in the long run, it’s worthless.”

“Too bad, that honey bark sounded delicious.”

He took another bite of the apple. “This is just as good, maybe a little more tart, but...here, you gotta try some.” He pulled out a knife and sliced some off for her. He reached over and put it between her teeth.

Not far from Chase and Torrik, a seething little bunny hid behind a tree, which he was gnawing on as he growled. His green eyes were witness to the flirty scene between Chase and Torrik.

“Dude, you’re tearing all the bark off the bottom of that tree,” Arx said.

EB let go and spit out chunks of bark. “That naked furry piece of goat-cheese is making moves on Chase!”

Arx huffed, “So? It’s not like she’s your girl.”

“She is my girl, well maybe not my girl like a total girlfriend situation. I’m working on that. But, they hardly know each other and he’s feeding her apples, and she’s giggling at him. It’s disgusting!”

“She’s just try to make him feel welcome.”

EB snorted, “Welcome, my lucky foot! That jerk is all over her. Right now, they should be working! Not sitting there, giggling and eating apples!”

“I agree.” Justin surprised both of them.

Justin walked toward the Chase and Torrik. Arx and EB sheepishly followed behind him, both caught spying.

Chase greeted Justin with a casual, “Hello.”

Torrik held up the apple core and was about to announce the glory of this fruit when Justin started in. “I sent you here to work. I questioned the idea of coming into this place to get anything done, but I thought better of it. Looks like I should have gone with my gut.”

“Hold on there, Master Justin, we have something.” Torrik said.

“Director Justin, not Master. And just what do you have? Plans for a picnic.”

Torrik stood up, tossed the apple core aside, and came dangerously close to Justin. “I’m here to help you. I have been a military leader for over a hundred years, which I have learned is a long time for your kind. Now, either you stop with the attitude or I can take my findings and go this alone. Got it?”

Justin glared at Torrik, not backing down. “What did you discover?”

Torrik said, “Looking at the information we dug through, there are several possibilities of creatures that she once tried to summon in our world that she could have replicated here. There is this...” Chase handed him a book. “This creature your people call Scylla is described very similarly to a monster she once summoned.”

Justin looked at the open book. “Great, a myth from a legend that has no basis in real geography. Do you have any idea where that monster’s location would be?”

“No. I hoped that you, being from this planet, might have a better grasp of the map.” Torriks’ tone was purposefully rude, almost to a challenging point.

Chase hopped up. “Considering the location of the legends, we can narrow it down considerably.”

Justin spent a moment looking at the artist's rendition of the legendary monster. “Are you sure about this?”

“No. But it’s the best we have.”

“Fine. I’ll have the computer start working on sorting through historical data and see if we can find anything to give us a lead on a location.” He turned and left, not giving them any sort of parting statement.

Torrik waited a moment and then asked, “Why is he so brusque? I know I arrived ready to fight, but we understand each other now.”

“It’s not you.” Chase said.

EB agreed. “Justin has been real rude and strict for a while now. Don’t know why. I tried giving him some really good chocolate and all, but he refused it. I mean, he refused MY best chocolate. You haven’t had anything like that. It’s just the best, and... what was I saying?”

Arx said, “Director Justin was acting this way before you arrived. I’m considering moving the TALOS initiative to the United Nations, or at least a BADGE location off this station.”

“You’d leave?” EB asked.

Chase said, “He’s not the only one. Have you seen Strange Quark around recently? Even Krystal and Chaz have stopped coming for news info. They just pick up the standard media wire from the computer. Justin has been rubbing everyone wrong for weeks. I’ve even thought about going home to my father for a while and working for BADGE on Earth.”

EB yelled, “Don’t leave!” then realized he shouldn’t have yelled that and said, “sorry.”

Torrik asked, “What is BADGE exactly? Is it just a global defense guild? A military force working for your kingdom? I don’t know much about your world and even less about BADGE. I just knew it was the security force keeping the Eye of the Hydra.”

EB said, “It’s a military organization, a reeeealy strict one. You know, you gotta wear pants... unless you’re a little cute bunny... and no fraternizing, and...”

“EB, shut up,” Chase said with a dismissive tone. She smiled at Torrik and took his arm, “Come with me, I’ll show you around and tell you about BADGE. It is an interesting place. I doubt you have anything like it where you come from.”

Arx and EB watched them leave, both a little green eyed at the sight of the pair. EB far more jealous than Arx.

“I’m going with them.” EB stated.

Arx said, “No, why don’t you go help them research locations for this next monster? I gotta go check on TALOS and make sure things are quiet.”

“But, I wanna...”

“Spy on them. Sure, I want to know what they are doing and I don’t want her and him being a couple, either. But she is not interested in me, and by now you should know she doesn’t like your advances.”

“Nothing of the sort. She likes me flirting. I mean, that’s why she is after that hunky goat. She likes furry, cute, magical people. Well, I’m all that and a bag of carrots. She’ll come around. But, I suppose nosing in on them isn’t the best thing. I’ll go help Justin... no, wait, he’ll just yell at me again. I’ll go and...ugh...read more myth books.”

Continue the Story

Heroes Rising Fiction: Between Worlds Part 9

The dark of night bathed Nova as he watched Lady Echidna tear at the magical barrier preventing them from accessing the portal. The darkness of her shadowy magic only drank up what little light was left in this icy wasteland. Then, the fabric of magic broke wide open and the barrier split apart as though it were a thin layer of glass. The shards shattered and then evaporated in the wind.

Lady Echidna stopped, a glint of greed on her perfect face at the sight before her. “Come, we have work to do.”

Together, they walked through the portal and left the blisteringly inhospitable world of Antarctica. They stood in a strange land of broken mountains and dirty ground. Echoes rang out in the distance of roars and grumbles from beasts much larger than either of them.

“The Great Divide.” Nova whispered as he took in the sights with a hint of fear on his face.

Lady Echidna was basking in the surrounding glory. “Such a fabulous purgatory they created, and just for us.” She walked onward.

Nova followed her. “They created this to prevent anyone from entering their world without permission.”

“Don’t be so foolish, my pet. They crafted this in response to us. We inspired fear so terrible that they went to lengths such as these to stop us.”

Nova almost responded to her when both heard a terrible screech and then a great shadow fell over them for a moment. A dragon-like beast swooped over and flew away. Nova whispered, “Wyverns.”

She chortled as she observed the creature flying away. “They filled this divide with the most powerful creatures they could find. I’m sure we would encounter many awful things. I would love to harvest their blood and craft my own creations to wreak havoc.” She held up her hand.

“My lady, don’t...”

Her shadowy magic came out of her hand for a moment, then a red energy hit her and she stumbled back to be caught by Nova before falling to the ground. Holding her hands up against herself, she swore under her breath, “Curse that fool Merlin.”

“Apparently, that banishment spell is still active.”

“Obviously,” she retorted as she shoved her way off of him and back to her feet. “Soon, that spell will begin to eat at both of us. The closer we get to Yohan, the stronger it will be.”

Nova said, “We wouldn’t get the opportunity, look.”

Creatures of all descriptions rushed toward them from a distance. Wyverns, led by the one who passed over them moments ago, were the front line of this charge.

“I see the welcoming committee is on its way.”

“We can’t stay. Without our magic, they will devour us in moments.” Nova pulled her back toward the portal.

She laughed, “No, my sweet. They wouldn’t harm their queen.” Holding up the Eye of Fenrir in her hand, she blew across it. A mist of dark red became a billowing fog. She then spoke into it, her voice booming across the entire land. “Minions of great might, turn now to my evil delight. Stand strong and storm the Earth, give us time to seek rebirth.”

The ruckus of beasts slowed down and then stopped. The fog hid them for the moment, but it was already dissipating.

“How did you do that? Our magic is bound here by Merlin’s curse.” Nova asked.

She put the Eye of Fenrir away. “It wasn’t our magic I used. However, we must return. I feel the sting of that curse growing. I also would rather not be around when this portal breaks wide open.”

Torrik and Justin both stood before a large map on the screen in the briefing room. Arx, Chase, and EB were also present.

Justin pointed at Sweden. “The first stone was there, near Stockholm. Apparently, Nova hid it a long time ago in a statue. Somehow he retrieved the second before that and hid it by stabbing into the body of one of our own.”

“He did what?” Torrik asked.

EB hopped up and said, “Nova and Midgard, who is a big serpent dude who is really powerful, and a big mouth, and is kinda rude, and has been both a bad guy and good guy... long story. Um... what was I saying? Oh, right. Nova fought Midgard over the Eye of Fenrir stone. But during the fight, Nova was able to plant the Eye of the Hydra in Midgard’s body, disguising it as a wound. It was like totally brilliant.”

“I’ll say.” Torrik commented.

Justin said, “We aren’t sure where the Eye of the Hydra was originally hidden...”

Torrik said, “Oh, it was over here, near these islands.” He pointed at New Zealand and Australia."

“How do you know that?” Arx asked.

Torrik said, “When I arrived, I sensed the magic from it and followed the trail to a tomb under the water. It was empty. Someone had already gotten to the stone inside. So, I left a minor spell that would trigger when someone else tried getting to it. I assumed that the Queen of Black Magic would be looking for it, so she would meet a nasty surprise.”

“YOU STARTED THAT FLOODING CATASTROPHE!” Arx was to his feet.

“I suppose so. It would cause the waters to thrash around. What? Did it cause some problems?” Torrik looked genuinely confused as to their anger.

EB hopped up onto the table. “That flooded like five cities and threatened an entire nation. That was really, really stupid!”

“Sorry.”

Justin said, “The floods were a problem, but one that has been dealt with. Now that you’re working for us, we can handle things better.”

EB said, “No. It isn’t dealt with. There are loads of people still mopping out their basements because of this furball.”

Justin glared at EB, “Enough! When I say we move on, we move on. Otherwise, you can go back to your quarters. Is that understood?”

Torrik interjected, “Hey, cool off. He’s right, I probably shouldn’t have used such a potent spell...”

Justin turned his anger on Torrik. “I’m in charge, and I will reprimand my subordinates without your help. Is that clear?”

“Sure, whatever.” Torrik held his hands up in surrender.

“Good. Our next objective is finding the other stones. Do you have any idea where they are?”

Torrik shook his head, “No. I only sensed the one. And, it wasn’t really the stone itself I was sensing, but the search for it. She must have been looking to activate it next and thus was using her own power to seek it. That is what I tapped into.”

Chase asked, “Where do we start looking?”

Torrik thought about that for a moment. “If I could study your ancient mythologies, I might find evidence there.”

“There are so many from all the various cultures of Earth,” Chase said.

Torrik grinned with that handsome smile of his and waved his hand in the air. A thick scroll appeared. He grabbed it and then set it down. Unrolling it, he revealed a blank parchment. “Show me the history of sea beasts called Hydra.” The page gained images that looked like multi-headed beasts, several varieties. “See, we have information about some of the ancient monsters the Queen summoned in the past. She seems to be using a lot of her old tactics. I can cross reference what we know with what you have.”

Justin gave the scroll a critical look, and then with a curt nod, he agreed. “I’ll have all our information brought to you at once.”

“I’ll help.” Both Chase and EB volunteered at the same time.

Torrik rolled up the scroll and smiled at Chase, “I would love your help.” He held out his hand.

She took it and stood. “I know. Let’s go to the arboretum to study. Plenty of room to spread the books out on the grass.”

“Sounds lovely. I do enjoy being in nature. This metal environment is odd and unsettling.”

“Perfect.” She walked him out of the room.

Justin huffed and then sarcastically said, “Meeting adjourned.”

EB came close to Justin and was seething in a jealous rage. “See, I toldja he was nothing but a nasty flirt. I’d keep him away from her if I were you.”

“You aren’t me, so don’t tell me what to do. Go, find books and other materials on myths for them. Arx, return to the TALOS room and keep an eye on things. It is altogether too quiet on Earth right now.”

“On it. Oh, and maybe EB is right, that Torrik is flirting hard with Chase and...”

“I already have one jealous idiot. I don’t need two. Just do your job!” Justin barked at him.

Continue the Story

Heroes Rising Fiction: Between Worlds Part 8

“I don’t like him.” EB said with a touch of bitterness in his voice.

Arx, seated at the same briefing table, asked, “Why?”

EB, the only other person present, said, “I just don’t.”

“But you were the one who convinced Justin to trust him? Do you no longer trust him?” Arx asked.

EB folded his little arms and pouted. “I trust he isn’t our enemy. I’ll grant that. But, he’s too pretty. I mean, those chiseled good looks, all those muscles, and sheesh, put on some pants dude.”

“Oh, I see. You’re jealous.” Arx smiled.

“Am not! He’s just too handsome and, too, I don’t know, flirty. Did you see the way he was winking and smiling at Chase? I mean, get a room... wait, no, don’t get a room. Don’t even think about that. Why can’t we find him a room on the base in Alaska? That’s the perfect place to put him.”

Chase walked into the room and sat. “EB, are you already complaining about our guest? You can’t be jealous of every handsome man who visits the station.”

“You called him handsome! Does he have a spell on you or something?”

She let out a heavy sigh. “He does not have a spell on me or anything. He is handsome. His smile is sweet, his chest is beefy, and he has the most adorable little tail.”

EB hopped up on the table, turned around and wiggled his little puffy tail at her. “What? Look, I have a cute tail, a charming smile, and... okay, so I don’t have all the muscles, but I am a bunny rabbit. I can’t exactly beef up. But, seriously...”

“This is neither the time nor the place to talk about that sort of thing.” Justin walked in with a tablet in his hand. “Where is our guest of honor?”

“I’ll go get him. He might be lost.” Chase said.

“You should be careful around him.” EB muttered.

Chase angrily asked, “Why?”

“Oh, you know, he’s a Satyr. I mean, haven’t you read the myths and legends? Satyrs are sex crazed tricksters. They’re disgusting, lecherous, ...”

Torrik walked in with a cup in his hand. “What else am I?”

Chase said, “EB was just telling us about the ancient legends of satyrs.”

“Oh,” he sat down in a chair, “I see. Most of my kind left this world four thousand years ago with the original migration to the magical realm. A few stayed behind. So, whatever you know about my people would be from those who were here long after the rest of us. I don’t know how they acted or what they did, but they certainly don’t represent those of us who moved away.” He took a drink and wretched, “Oh, that’s horrible.”

“What is it?” Arx asked.

“Something your kitchen maid in the messy place gave me called Caff...cov...um...”

“Coffee,” Chase said.

“That’s it. Coffee. This is terrible.”

“It’s an acquired taste,” Chase said.

Justin cleared his throat and said, “Mind if we get on with this meeting?” Everyone quieted down and looked at him. “Okay, this is the situation. We have all monitoring stations and leagues on the lookout for any suspicious activity from Nova, Lady Echidna, or any of her minions. I have put special measures into place to guard from another situation like the one in Stockholm. However, everything is quiet.”

“Lady Echidna is not on the move?” Arx asked.

Justin said, “I believe her operation is currently searching for the Egg. Gar is currently securing the egg where it will be protected for now.”

Torrik said, “What is this egg?”

EB said, “Uh, it is the... um... well, Justin will yell at me if I say it...”

Justin pinched the bridge of his nose. “It is the Eye of the Hydra you were looking for.”

“Hey, you said we weren’t sup’osed to say that out loud,” EB scolded him.

Justin gave EB a withering glare and then said, “We have it hidden in a secret location that will only be known to one person for now.”

“Then have that person take me to it,” Torrik casually said.

“Not yet. I have a plan. But I need some information first.”

Torrik sat back and asked, “What do you need to know?”

“Everything. Who is this Lady Echidna... or Queen of Black Magic as you called her? What does she plan on doing?”

Torrik said, “It is a long story.”

“Any information could prove vital.” Justin took his seat and waited for answers.

Torrik laughed, “All business, I like that. The Queen of Black Magic was once, long ago, a member of a group called the ArcBlades. They were the most powerful, skilled warriors in all the known universe. ArcBlades were seemingly immortal and had unparalleled powers. They were also honorable and devoted to protecting the innocent. At that time, the magical kinds who currently live in my world were living on Earth. The Queen of Black Magic started a war between the magical and non-magical kinds. However, she then divided the magical peoples against one another with those who believed in her ways against those who did not. We called it the War of Three Sides. It almost destroyed everything. Merlin the Great ended the war, and the Queen was defeated.”

“How long ago was this?” Chase asked.

“In your years, roughly four thousand.”

Arx asked, “Are you that old?”

Torrik snorted, “No. I’m only two hundred.” He said this as if it were a simple thing.

Justin asked, “If the Queen was defeated so long ago, what happened to her?”

Torrik said, “Our kinds left this world and settled in a new world that Merlin had founded for us. The Queen followed us there in disguise, falling into the ranks of the few remaining ArcBlades. She convinced others among the ArcBlades to continue her original plan for domination over the lesser magical peoples. She was defeated and exiled back here, along with a small legion of her own followers. Five others fell with her back to this world. We don’t know much more after that, only that she cursed four of the others and turned them into terrible monsters. We believe she transformed their power into stones that she used to control the very fabric of magic. Her goal was to return to our world and conquer it. But she was thwarted. Legend says that her first general was the one who stopped her and he banished her to yet another realm and hid the stones. That was the last we had in our history books. Not until recently, when we sensed the use of the dark magic, did we have any idea that she was still even alive.”

Chase said, “Could this general be Nova?”

Torrik shrugged. “I don’t know his name. I doubt anyone from my realm knows it. Much has been lost in all these centuries.”

EB said, “It is true. Nova is an ArcBlade.”

Justin asked, “What do you know?”

“Nova once told me about himself. When he learned who I was, who my people were, he knew that we were like the people of Yohan. My race, the Vexillians, are also a magical kind, but of another world. Your world has many non-magical people, which caused the problems that led to the magical people leaving. The Vexillians lived in a world where all were magical. But, long ago, our two peoples knew each other. He told me that he was a disgraced member of a once proud group called the ArcBlades. Though he lost his honor, he would get it back by devoting himself to defending this world and keeping it safe. He told me never to even say the name ArcBlade aloud. But, now that you all know, I guess it’s alright.”

Chase asked, “Does this Queen want to get back to your world still? Is that her goal?”

“I can’t say for certain, since I never met her or know what she is thinking today. But if history is repeating itself, then she is probably trying to get back.”

“Why?” Justin asked. “If she merely wants to subjugate a world, why go after yours when she is already here?”

“Again, I don’t know what is on her mind today. But, the truth is, she gained her power through an unforgivable magic... blood sacrifice. She murdered many to gain greater power. She even sacrificed her own to craft the stones that control the monsters under her command. Magical blood is powerful. She wants to return to obtain that power again. That, at least, was her original goal.”

Justin asked, “If you take the stone back with you, will she be able to get it?”

“No. She and her general were both banished by extremely powerful magic, which is why she needs the stones to return. Also, there is a great divide between our realms filled with magical beasts to stop any who try to cross it without permission.”

“Then we have our objective. Find the remaining stones and return them to your world for safekeeping.” Justin said.

Chase asked, “How do we do that?”

Continue the Story

Heroes Rising Fiction: Between Worlds Part 7

 The blistering winds circled around the finely dressed pair in the middle of the barren wasteland of the south. The dark, starry skies cast a deep shade over the landscape. However, a glimmering, bluish glow flickered on their faces from a hole cut in the middle of the air.

“This is the exact spot where we first fell.” Nova commented.

Lady Echidna smiled, “Yes. Little did we know that our fall from grace was the greatest gift they could offer us. This world was so weak, so young, so ripe for expansion.”

“The magic was almost completely gone from this world. They stood no chance with us here.” Nova said.

She laughed, “I know. I wish we could go back and experience that utopia again. But, alas, we cannot.”

A particularly blustery gale crashed into them, and each held tight to their warmer clothing. Nova yelled over the gales, “The cold may not affect us as it does humans, but I still would rather leave this place as soon as possible.”

“I completely agree.” She said and waited a moment as that wind passed. “Now, to set new events into motion.” Reaching out, she went to put her hand into the glimmering hole in the air. An energy barrier rejected her. Pressing her palm into it, it appeared like a thick plastic sheet covering the opening. “Clever, very clever. Whoever came through was no fool.”

Nova put his hand on the barrier as well, “This can only mean that whoever came through is still here. This kind of spell cannot be cast from the other side. We should be leaving.”

“I do not fear any little fool who came through. They are no match for either of us, especially me.” Stepping back, she held a hand up and a black energy blasted the sealing spell.

Nova said, “Are you sure about this? It could have been more than one person, or they could alert BADGE.”

“When did Nova, the ArcBlade, become so worried about trivialities?” She mused, not addressing his concerns at all.

Nova let out a deep sigh and then said, “I can break this. You know I have the power... “

“You will not use that power. I will not allow it. Just stand there and look pretty. I shall take this down and then set our minor distraction into motion.”

Justin stepped out of the lift, with Chase beside him. The Mess hall was repaired and cleaned up after the battle. Several carts rolled by with large cuttings of vines piled in them. The broken floor plates where some vines had grown through were cut out and being repaired by the staff engineers.

“Remind me why I’m going to meet this person in our arboretum and not in the brig?” Justin coldly asked.

Chase said, “Because EB said we can trust him.”

“That’s not exactly a vote of confidence I would trust.” Justin stated.

Chase said, “EB may be silly at times and have questionable judgment about some things. But, if he says someone is trustworthy, I would listen to him. We both know how devoted he is to those he trusts.”

“Still, I’m not dismissing the guards just yet.” Justin walked through the mess directly into the large arboretum that made up most of the central level of the station.

Inside was a world completely different from the sterile, mechanical life of the BADGE space station. It was a grassy, tree filled haven for nature to flourish. Flowers were in bloom, honey bees buzzed about collecting pollen and nectar, and about twenty specially armed BADGE agents stood at attention around the room.

In the middle of the room, sitting on a boulder near a pond, was the Satyr chatting amiably with EB as he let a butterfly land on his outstretched finger.

Justin was halfway across the grassy field when EB noticed him and zipped over. “Great, awesome. You gotta meet this guy. He’s really cool and knows lots about magic and fighting, and is from Yohan. Can you believe that? Yohan!”

“What exactly does that mean?” Justin asked.

The Satyr stood and smiled at Justin, “Yohan is short for Yohan’anon’da, the name of the lands in which my people are from. Specifically, I’m from a region of those lands known as the Shakonohey Valley, west of the land of the Jade Elves.” He stuck his hand out. “Torrik Treeleaf, at your service.”

Justin did not shake his hand. “I’m Acting Director Justin of BADGE. Care to explain why you attacked my station?”

Torrik was unfazed by the unfriendly attitude of Justin. “A few months ago, in our world, we detected an ancient magic, one that once nearly destroyed our world and yours. Our scholars consulted the memory mirrors of Idore and discovered the four keys were active again. The four Eyes of Darkness. One had already been partially activated. They ordered me to come and find the others and bring them back to be sealed away so that The Fallen could never get their hands on them.”

“Are you talking about the Eye of Fenrir?”

Torrik nodded. “That was the first. But it wasn’t what we detected that alerted us. Someone is using dark, shadow magic. A forbidden magic that caused great turmoil many, many years ago. The person behind this, The Queen of Black Magic, was sent away during the first days of our realm just after our kind left this world.”

“Your people came from this world?” Chase asked.

“Yes. Eons ago, this was our world as well. We left, but that is another story. Right now, we know that once in the past, The Queen tried to rise to power here and use that power to break the seal that keeps her from returning to our realm. She needs four elements to do this, the four Eyes of Darkness. A noble hero once sealed away them, one of the original ArcBlades, but that was so long ago and somehow she has escaped. Now, here I am to find the elements and stop her.”

EB hopped around, “See, that is sooo cool. We Vexillians knew of the people of Yohan, but that was a loooong time ago. This whole thing is so amazing, like a real fantasy playing out. We could all play along. Hey! Let’s play some DnD. I’m always a Barbarian. Justin, you can be a Paladin, Chase is a thief, and Torrik is a total Druid. I mean, wouldn’t that be so cool? And... I’ll shut up now.” The burning glare of Justin interrupted EB’s exuberance.

Justin cooled down his irritation and said, “This all sounds pretty fantastic. All I know is that you bypassed a lot of security measures and nearly took out all our defenses. You tell us this story and all I have to believe you is the word of this idiot.”

“HEY!” EB retorted.

Torrik took a casual step toward Justin. “I’m here to help you and my people. From what EB has told me, which he told me a lot while we waited for you to arrive, this world is in grave danger. The Queen is up to something terrible and she has a good friend of yours trapped. I’m the Captain of the Royal Special Service and there’s very little you can do will stop me. I’m only standing here, obliging you, because we have mutual interests and I want to believe you are honorable. But if you decide not to listen to me or believe me, I’ll be on my way... and I don’t need your permission to leave.”

Justin spent a moment sizing him up and then said, “Chase is correct. If EB says you’re trustworthy, then I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt. But, don’t take us for weak. You might have bested us before, but you haven’t faced the strongest heroes allied with BADGE.”

“Oh, don’t be a spoilsport. Torrik ain’t gonna start any fights, are ya, buddy?” EB said.

Torrik smiled at the excited little bunny. “No. I’ll do my job and try to stop this catastrophe from happening.”

“Fine.” Justin said, “But while you’re here, I’m in charge. This is our world and BADGE is my responsibility. You’ll work with us and listen to my orders.”

“I will be glad to be part of the team, for now.” Torrik said.

“Good. Chase, find him quarters on the station and then bring him to the briefing room so we can all get on the same page about what’s happening out there.”

“My pleasure.” She smiled coyly at Torrik.

EB noted this and instantly lost his zeal.

Torrik stepped over to her. “Chase, that is an interesting name. I love chasing things.”

She blushed and said, “This way, I’ll show you to the guest quarters.”

EB followed behind them as they walked ahead, muttering to himself the entire way.

Continue the Story

Heroes Rising Fiction: Between Worlds Part 6

“I want people down there, now!” Justin yelled into his comm.

He watched as all the security camera's active footage was on the screens before him. Legions of BADGE agents and robots filled the docking bay. Several trainee heroes were also there.

The supply shuttle’s back hatch opened and everyone took aim. The pilot stepped out and instantly jerked upright and put his hands in the air. “Don’t shoot!” He cried out.

Justin quickly tapped his comm. “Team leader, inspect that shuttle. Take the pilot...” He paused when suddenly vines came growing up out of the metal flooring with roots spreading out across the flat surface. People and crates were shoved around. Something dashed out of the shuttle just before all the footage was of vines and leaves.

Yells, gunfire, and a strange clopping sound came through the audio.

“He’s so fast!” “What is that?” “I’m tangled!”

“Report!” Justin yelled.

The team leader’s voice came over his comm. “Someone just exited that shuttle and we couldn’t get a single shot off. He was moving so fast. These damn vines are everywhere and they’re holding us down. We need backup.”

“Do what you can. We have to contain this intruder.” Just clicked off his comm.

Chase, next to Justin, readied her own blades. “Whatever this is, it has just made a mockery of all our defenses.”

“You and EB get down to the main floor, join the team down there. Do not let whatever that is get any further into our systems.”

EB hopped over onto Chase’s shoulder and put two pawed fingers up at his eyes and then back toward Justin. “We’ll go handle this, and then we’ll discuss with you just how replaceable we really are.”

“Not now.” Chase tossed the bunny off of her and headed for the lift.

Chase ran out of the lift with EB bounding ahead of her at his unnaturally fast pace. The remaining defense forces of the station joined them. They sealed doors in all the high security sections, leaving very few places the intruder could go from the shuttle bay.

Arx came running in with members of the TALOS team, “Justin just activated us. What’s up?”

“Intruder alert,” Chase said.

Justin came over her comm. “We’re reading the magical signal heading in your direction.”

“We’re ready and waiting.” Chase held a throwing star in her hand.

EB materialized two exploding eggs while Arx got his fists primed for a good fight.

For a moment, there was just silence around them. Then, a creaking alerted them to something happening. All at once, vines burst up from under the deck plating, breaking parts of the floor. Several agents had become entangled and thrust up into the air as they were at the mercy of these plants.

“This is magic! Here!” EB let his eggs vanish and then slapped both paws on the deck plates. A wave of blue energy spread out, and the vines were all stopped, then shriveled, and ultimately crumbled away as old, dead plants. EB continued to hold the decking. “I have to keep this up. There’s a powerful magic trying to make this place a jungle, which is kinda cool, but really annoying at the same time.”

The clicking of guns and sudden tension caused Chase to whip around and see their enemy approaching. She was taken aback by the sight before her. A man who was half goat from the waist down, and half man from the waist up, approached. He had horns on the sides of his head, and long, chestnut hair flowing down around his shoulders. His cloven hoof feet making a distinct clop with each step.

“My god, is that a satyr?” Chase whispered.

The man smiled at her. “So, you know what I am. But I’m not entirely sure what you are. Witch, sorcerer, demon... I don’t really care. I’m here for the Eye of the Hydra, and you won’t stop me from getting it.”

Chase took a bold step forward with Arx right beside her. “I don’t care what you think I am, but you aren’t getting anything from us.”

“I have fought many more powerful than you. Don’t push me. Just give me what I came for and I’ll leave your strange flying fortress.”

Chase said, “You’ll stand down.”

“Not today.”

Chase threw her blades at him, intent on cutting a few of those long locks away from his head as a threat.

“Slita!” He said with a strange, echoing voice, and the blades vanished.

She waited for them to return to her hands as they always did, but nothing happened. “What?”

He laughed, “Pretty weak magic.” Crouching, he prepared to run. “Okay, enough of this. I have a job to do.”

Chase calculated his movements and at the moment he dashed, she moved to the side and whipped around with her elbow meeting him in the chest. He flew back and skidded across the ground. The moment he came to a stop, Arx was right at him with a fist swinging at his face, but the Satyr ducked one swing and then dodged the next. However, the third swing met him in the gut and the Satyr fell to his knees.

“Take aim!” Chase commanded, and all the guns in the room were ready to strike down the enemy.

“Nice, you’re worthy fighters. But, not worthy enough.” He slapped a hand onto the decking and a vine grew up quickly, throwing him into the air. The laser fire from the agents’ guns hit the vine where he had been.

He came down with a hard smash into Arx and then quickly kicked Arx into Chase. Both tumbled away. The agents were now firing wildly at him, but he dodged their weapons with incredible agility. With one last slide across the ground, he blew across his palm. A spray of what looked like sparkling pollen bathed the room and the agents all fell into a stupor and acted silly. No longer were they even concerned about the enemy, they were more concerned about playing patty-cake with one another. Even Chase was dazed by this cloud of magical dust.

The Satyr stood up and laughed at them as they played with each other. However, a fist met him in the back of the head and he staggered forward.

Arx grabbed him by the arm and swung him around, and threw him across the room into the dining tables in the mess area.

Tangled in chairs, the Satyr rubbed his head as he said, “Why didn’t that work on you?”

Arx smiled. “I’m resistant to a lot of things. I guess your little sparkle attack is one of them.”

The Satyr smiled and fought with the chairs for a moment. “You are a well-built man. Nice chest, great legs, and some rock hard abs.”

Arx smiled as he flexed a little. “I know. Award winning body. You aren’t so bad yourself. What do you bench?”

The Satyr was to his feet, brushing his shaggy fur on his legs off. “Bench?”

“I am around 800lbs.”

The Satyr smiled with a sneaky grin. “You don’t look that heavy, but you certainly could use a prize for such a fine body. Here, have a flower.” With a quick stomp of his hoof, a flower erupted from the deck plating and wrapped around Arx with binding vines. The massive sunflower on the top came down and pressed Arx against the decking.

“Hey! Not cool, bro!” Arx struggled with all his fine muscles, but he was no match for this floral opponent.

“Now, where did they hide the Eye?” He looked around, only finding a bunny blocking his path. “What... someone lost their pet?”

EB glared at this man, “Pet! I ain’t no one’s pet!” He quickly threw an exploding egg at the Satyr.

With little time to respond, the explosion threw the Satyr back into the tables again. However, this time, he responded with an explosion of rose vines that flew at EB.

EB hopped up high and then came down quickly. A wave of purple energy blasted from him and the vines all vanished. He then threw five more eggs at the Satyr.

“SLITA!” The Satyr ran to the side, his echoing voice caused three of the eggs to vanish, but the last two erupted in blue flames where he had been standing.

EB hopped around, “You like them eggs, Mr. Goat Cheese! Try these!” He zipped around the Satyr throwing egg after egg, each one exploding either with smoke or fire as it hit.

“HLIF!” The Satyr cried out and a bubble of energy formed around him and blocked the attacks.

EB stopped his circular path and merely stood in one place and threw a steady stream of exploding eggs at the barrier around his enemy. “TAKE THAT YOUR HALF-NAKED PATHETIC EXCUSE FOR A FARM ANIMAL!”

The Satyr slapped his hands together, “ENOUGH!” A wave of energy erupted from him. Both EB and this Satyr were flung away from each other. The barrier and egg attack were both cut off.

EB sat up and saw his enemy getting to his hooves.

The Satyr looked back at EB with shock and surprise in his face. “You’re magic… you are...”

EB didn’t give him the chance to speak. He threw one last egg and hit the Satyr in the head. He went down and held his face.

“Had enough!” EB ran over, two exploding eggs ready to strike.

The Satyr sat up and said, “You’re Vexillian.”

“Yeah, so?”

“I’m from Yohan.”

The eggs in his paws both evaporated and EB stepped back, “No... It can’t be...”

Continue the Story