“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.”
“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...”
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