Heroes Rising Fiction: Out of the Dark Ages Part 14

 David’s heart throbbed as sweat poured down his face. Sue lay on the ground near him, out cold. He wasn’t sure of the extent of her injury. But that mattered little if this robot got to them. It was just a few feet away. Only this strange sphere from Ren Tech stood between them. Yet, something was off. There were no more heavy footsteps, and the blasting beams coming from the robot were gone.

“Okay, I have to check.” He carefully bent down and looked under the sphere. To his shock, he saw the feet of the robot standing on the other side. It was facing them, or really it was facing the sphere. But it was completely still. “What the hell is that thing doing?” Hoping it was out of power and had simply stopped moving, David leaned around the side and see if its glowing eyes were dark.

The moment he stepped to the side, the robot turned its head, and those eyes lit up. Before he could move, or it could fire, a giant wave of water crashed into it and sent the robot sprawling across the park. The moment it stopped rolling in the water, its eyes emitted the beams and sent two red lasers harmlessly into the sky.

Captain Aqua landed near them, having ridden a wave across the ground. “Are you okay?”

“Sue is hurt.”

Jolt ran over to them. “No time for conversation. It’s getting up!” He ran to the side and thrust his hands up. An electro-static barrier formed in the air that met the lasers from the eyes. The shield exploded, but stopped the lasers.

Aqua yelled, “Get her outta here! We’ll take care of this!”

“On it.” David scooped Sue up into his arms and ran.

An enormous wolf ran by with a man riding its back. Kal, a metamorph, carried Brevis, who held out two sabers made of pure energy. “CRY HAVOC! AND LET SLIP THE DOGS OF WAR!” Brevis bellowed as he jumped off the giant wolf and flipped over the Robot, slicing at its left arm with his blades. Brevis cut the arm of the robot clean from the shoulder and it crashed to the ground.

Undeterred by the loss of a limb, the robot spun around, swinging its remaining arm. It nailed Brevis before he could reach the ground and he flew across the park and crashed into a pond. The wolf got to the robot, only to be kneed in the chin and then slammed in the head with the left arm.

“TAKE THIS!” Jolt sent out a bolt of electricity that ripped a metal lamp post from the nearby street and flung it at the robot. The pole made contact with the face of the robot and it staggered backward, falling down a hill toward the ocean.

David paused in his retreat, hoping the battle was finally over. Aqua ran to help Brevis while Kal and Jolt waited to see as well. Then the robot’s head appeared as it walked back up the hill. Jolt and Kal were both about to attack when the robot released a bright green beam of energy from its face. It didn’t target any one person. It sprayed the surrounding ground with unrelenting power. Sod, dirt, trees, rocks, and heroes went flying every which way. Fires exploded up from areas and smoke mixed with dust clouded the park.

“Sweet Jesus! That thing is going to destroy everyone,” David whispered.

A weak voice in his arms said, “You have to stop it. The city is in danger.”

David looked down at Sue and said, “But I’m not a hero.”

“You can be, just this once. Please.”

The ominous stomping of that monster roared around him as the park turned to ruin. He was the last hero standing. He gently put Sue down and bolstered himself with a primal scream as he rushed toward his enemy. More bright green beams hit the park in other areas as it went to level every inch of goodness nearby.

Grabbing the lamppost on the ground, David muscled up his morphonic strength and got right up to the robot. “HEY, YOU RUST BUCKET. LET’S PLAY SOME BASEBALL!” He swung and hit it in the side. It staggered and then turned to fight. Before it could respond, he swung again, and again, and again. He slammed it left and right. Crunching through ancient metal and breaking free its armor.

The robot leaned forward and blasted a laser beam at him. He jumped out of the way, but the explosion rolled both him and his improvised weapon across the ground.

“Challengers defeated. Annihilating unworthy opponents.” The robot said as it turned to finish him.

“Not yet!” David grabbed the post and thrust it straight forward with every ounce of effort possible. The post pierced the robot in the chest and sent it crashing backward. On the other side of the post, now free of the robot’s body, was a green glowing energy generator. The robot was now completely off line.

“Challenger defeated!” David yelled at it.

Five BADGE shuttles surrounded the battle zone in King’s Park. Medics helped the injured while investigative teams checked the robots’ remains and the damage done. One group walked around, registering the radiation levels. Torrik and Krystal Fae were already working to restore the park where they could.

Director Nova walked up to David, who sat on a park bench with Dr. Henderson looking him over.

“Captain Aqua tells me you stepped up willingly.”

“I saw a need and did what I could.”

Nova smiled, “Like a genuine hero.”

Dr. Henderson closed her sensor device and said, “I understand the mayor of Perth wants to award you a medal?”

“Yes. But, I turned it down. I don’t want to be on the news and get big awards. I just want to go home.”

“So, you still want to turn down our offer to help train you to be a hero?” Nova said.

“Look, I wish I could be a hero. And I rather enjoyed using my new powers. But, to be honest, I was absolutely terrified.

Nova said, “You have the right to your choice and I won’t stand in your way. But, understand something. Heroes don’t lack fear, they simply choose courage over fear. You chose courage today and saved a lot of lives, including all the heroes around you.”

David said, “I’ll think about what you’ve said. But I still want to head home.”

“You have our number. Contact us if you change your mind. Now, head for shuttle Five. It’ll take you home and set you up with the morphonic suppression system.”

“Got it.” David stood, shook Nova’s hand, and left.

Dr. Henderson said, “That boy has the makings of a great hero.”

“I know. And I wager he’ll figure that out soon enough. Now, onto other matters. What happened here?”

Dr. Henderson walked with him toward the center of the area, which was where the Ren Tech Sphere hovered. “We have reports from David, Aqua, and Jolt. They all saw this robot stomp its way into this park and then simply stop and stare at this sphere.”

“Any idea why?”

“You got me. These spheres still defy our ability to scan them. My sensors all say it is a giant, floating lump of metal. That’s all.”

“I don’t like this. I want these things studied.”

Dr. Henderson said, “The moment we touch them, BADGE will be in court.”

“And we wouldn’t have much of a case since there seems to be nothing wrong with them.”

“We would lose international support and, once again, our PR would be tanking.”

“I hate social politics,” Nova grumbled.

“I know. However, we occasionally require them to maintain our work.”

Nova pointed at the sphere. “Use everything you can within the law. I want information about these things.”

“I’ll try.”

David returned to his apartment in Detroit. Life seemed so much simpler now. Detroit was never a quiet place, but tonight, it feel utterly silent. It wasn’t. In fact, it was normal. But, life has been so chaotic recently, it put this into a whole new perspective.

“Where are you?” His cat had gotten out the moment he returned. She was running around in the park by his house.

Rounding a corner, he stopped when he saw one of those silver spheres hovering. It had appeared while he was away, so this was completely new to him. It intrigued him. The world didn’t know how much these things frustrated BADGE, but he was fully aware.

Walking up to it, he could see his warped reflection on the curved surface. It was so smooth, shiny, and silent. It hovered effortlessly above the ground. He paused as he looked at the small patch stuck to the side of his neck. It was the one item he had to wear that made the morphon suppressor work. He touched it with his finger, looking at it through the reflection.

“I guess this will be a part of my life from now on,” He said.

A beeping noise came from inside the sphere. That turned to a humming.

“Weird.” He leaned in closer. Dr. Henderson had told him that the spheres were oddly silent, giving off nothing to study. “Maybe I should call them and let them know.” He turned to go back to his apartment.

A bright light appeared behind him and his body lurched under some invisible force. His feet left the ground and his body flew backwards. For a moment, he was in nothing but darkness. Piercing pain flooded his body and oozy liquid filled the surrounding space. He screamed, he flailed his arms and legs, but to no avail. Soon, he succumb to the darkness and the world fell away.

TO BE CONTINUED... 

Continue the Story

Heroes Rising Fiction: Out of the Dark Ages Part 13

 David watched the other heroes ready themselves for a fight as the shuttle swiftly sped toward Perth, Australia. His heart raced, and he wasn’t even joining them.

As the hero walked by, David stopped Captain Aqua and asked, “Will you send me back to the station? I…” The shuttled rocked hard with systems flashing and sparking.

“We’re under fire!” The pilot yelled over the buzzing systems.

Smoke filled the cabin from an electrical fire as the shuttle’s systems tried to fight it.

One of the other heroes jumped into the co-pilot’s seat and held onto the secondary controls. “Why is it looking for us? I thought it wasn’t even supposed to be hunting heroes?”

The pilot sprayed fire extinguisher on part of his panel. “I don’t know. It even saw through our cloak.”

“I don’t know. INCOMING!” The hero drove the shuttle to the right and then the left as bright red beams shot from the surface at them.

David held back a scream when one beam cut right through the floor, pierced the ceiling, and almost cut his foot off. A siren buzzed as the shuttle spun out of control.

“Warning, warning, navigation systems off-line. Warning...” The computer announced.

David held his seat and felt the safety belt pressing into him, keeping him from being slammed against every part of the interior. When the shuttle was hit again and part of the aft section exploded, a girl jumped out of her seat and rolled across the floor. Once she was on the floor, she slapped both hands against the surface and a white hazy energy burst out from her and the shuttle slowed down. She gripped the floor with her hands, straining every muscle.

“This isn’t gonna be a soft landing!” She said just as they hit a road in Perth, skidding down through town. Sliding to the side, the shuttle finally came to a stop, and the girl let go of the floor.

“Good work, Sue. That was quick thinking.” Captain Aqua said and then asked, “Is everyone okay?”

The trainee heroes and pilot were fine. David controlled his urge to vomit and then gave a thumbs up.

The pilot ripped off his safety belt and said, “Get out. The power systems are about to blow.”

“Move, people!” Captain Aqua yelled.

David saw two people yanking on the door, but it was damaged and couldn’t be opened. “Here, let me!” He balled his fists together and swung. With a hard slam, the door flew off the side of the shuttle and hit a nearby building.

Everyone ran from the shuttle, heading down a long, empty street in the middle of the night. Captain Aqua quickly used his own powers to summon a thick orb of water to surround the shuttle. It exploded, but the water cushioned the eruption and protected them and the nearby structures.

“Well, there goes our ride home,” One trainee muttered.

The pilot clicked his comm. “Damn, I can’t get BADGE.”

“I can’t get anyone. This dampening field is blocking all comms, even local.” Captain Aqua stated.

A police care raced up to them, sirens going strong. The moment it stopped, a man jumped out with a gun. “Stand down!”

“What? No, we are with BADGE.” The Pilot said.

Captain Aqua approached, his hands held up. “Sorry, officer. We did not mean to alarm you.”

“You didn’t alarm us. We have the city on lock-down. There is a dangerous robot coming in and we cannot call out for help.”

“We’re here to stop it. Apparently, it’s sending out a jamming signal. We can’t call BADGE for backup.”

The officer clicked his walkie on his shoulder, which made a fuzzy whine. “We can’t talk to anyone.”

“We need to find this robot and put it down.” Captain Aqua said.

“Last report I heard, it was heading for King’s Park,” the officer said.

“Okay, trainees, spread out in pairs and head in different directions, but focus on getting to King’s Park. Mr. David, you go with the officer...”

“No, I’ll go with a trainee and help. You have an odd number. I’ll make it even.”

Aqua thought for a second, then said, “Fine. We need all the help we can get. Go with Sue. No one engages the robot until we can ambush it together. This may be ancient tech, but it is still Legion tech. If you find it, use a holoflare to notify the rest of us. Now, move.”

David joined the girl who saved the shuttle and ran down a street toward another road. The officer gave each group directions, based on different ways to get to King’s Park. Their GPS systems on their BADGE comms or cell phones were completely useless, while the dampening field was in place.

After going down several roads and through some alleys, they both heard a distinctive stomping sound.

“I think we’re getting close to it,” Sue said.

David paused and closed his eyes. “It’s walking that way, I think.”

“Good.” Sue ran ahead of him and rounded a corner.

The moment she did, both nearly were under the foot of the stomping robot. David grabbed her arm and swung her back around him into the alley.

Sue said, “I think we found it.” Pressing a button on her BADGE comm, she aimed it upward and a small ball of red light shot into the air.

“What is that?”

“Standard issue BADGE comm unit. It has a holoflare built into it. Plasma point light.”

“Nice.”

Someone yelled, “GET OUT OF MY CITY!”

David looked around the corner. “Aw, crap. Idiot!”

Sue joined him and saw a young man with a metal baseball bat running at the robot. “DON’T ATTACK IT!” she yelled, but it was too late.

The boy slugged the leg of the giant robot with the bat and then fell over from the repercussion.

The robot stated, “Weaklings will be destroyed.”

“Oh, hell.” David ran around the corner and grabbed a man-hole cover in a swift grab. He flung it with all his might, and discus training in college. The heavy metal cover hit the robot just as it shot a red laser to obliterate the boy. The laser, instead, blasted through a brick wall of a building.

“Challenger, prepare to fight.” The robot slowly turned to attack David.

Sue ran past David with her hand on the side of a car. It was hovering in the air under her unique power. With one throw of her arm, the car flew at the robot and crashed directly into its chest. It staggered backward and nearly fell over. “Run, kid!” she yelled.

The boy scrambled to his feet and rushed away down a dark alley.

“What do we do now?” David asked.

Sue smiled. “It wants a challenge, then let it chase us down. Come on, to King’s Park.” She ran hard.

David ripped a concrete parking pillar out of the ground and lobbed it at the robot, hitting it in the leg and causing it to fall over. It was enough to give them time. He followed Sue as fast as he could, passing the disabled monster and rushing toward the open park at the end of this street.

A red laser beam blasted beside them and the road exploded in an eruption of asphalt.

“Crap, crap, crap! It’s targeting us,” David said and started moving in a less direct run.

Sun ducked as a beam went right over their heads. “Good thing its aim is garbage.”

“Yeah, but it only takes one hit.”

“The park!” Sue yelled as they exited the into the grassy park space.

A red blast of energy went right between them and contacted a tree. The old tree exploded from the inside, sending flaming wood showering down over the area.

David stopped in the grass and looked around. “I got nothing to throw and I’m sure as hell not going to fight that in hand to hand.”

Sue ducked as another laser beam sped toward her. She barely avoided death, but then the ground behind her exploded, thrusting her forward. David could see blood and wounds all over her. Grabbing her up, he ran as hard.

“Where are those other heroes?” He muttered.

Ahead of him was one of those Ren Tech spheres. He hid behind it, Sue in his arms. “This thing will not protect us for long. Where are those trainees?”

Continue the Story

Heroes Rising Fiction: Out of the Dark Ages Part 12

 Nova walked out in front of the screen of the theater on the station. Several dozen people, who had been assessed over the past few weeks, sat in front of him. David was in the front row.

“Hello, again. I’m glad to say that the assessment phase is now completed. Each of you has decided on your future plans and I wish you the best. I wanted to personally apologize for the extreme conditions recently. However, you all got a full education of what it is like to be a hero, a BADGE agent, and a member of ATLAS. I couldn’t have planned a better demonstration of all those facets. However, I would never have put you in that kind of danger on purpose. I thank you for your calmness and ability to follow directions clearly. Now, those of you who have joined ATLAS, you will follow Arx to the ATLAS area where he will begin you orientation and hand out your class assignments. Those who have joined BADGE as a hero recruit, Agent Justin will lead you to a classroom for your orientation. All others who have decided not to accept our offer will be taken by Dr. Henderson to the laboratory section of the station. She will guide you in understanding how to control your powers while you live a normal life on earth. Again, thank you.”

David clapped along with the others and then watched the room break up into sections. The number of people who joined ATLAS surprised him. Before he could find his group, Red Fury walked up to him.

“I understand you made your choice?”

“I did, sir.”

Red Fury rubbed the back of his neck with one of his four arms. “Sorry to hear you’re leaving. You have real hero potential.”

“Why would you say that?”

“I saw how you instinctively helped the old lady during the crisis.”

“I just made sure she got to the bay. That wasn’t superhero stuff. I hardly used my new powers. I could have carried her before I got super strong.”

“Look, being a hero isn’t about having powers, it’s about doing what is right instead of what is easy. You saw a person at risk and you instantly did the right thing.”

“I guess. But, after that crisis, I realized I was not ready for this life.”

“No one is. Training, practice, and experience make us all seem ready for anything. But even I get a knot in my stomach when there’s a class ten distress signal.”

“Really?”

“Sure, I ain’t made of ice. I know how to feel fear.” Fury put two hands on David’s shoulders, “Just know, suppressing your powers isn’t permanent. If you decide to give this a try, BADGE will take your call. I know you can be an asset to us and the world.”

“I... I will think about that. Thanks.”

“Good luck.”

Nova walked over at that moment, “Son, you need to...“ His comm activated and EB yelled through it.

“NOVA, WE GOT PROBLEMS!”

“Sorry,” Nova said and walked away. “What is it?”

David looked back, unsure what to think of Director Nova looking uncertain. A kind woman approached, “Ah, David, good. Come with me.” He knew her. She gave him a complete physical when he arrived as part of his assessment.

Nova stepped into the Operations room with Gar and Justin standing in command while EB hopped up and down near Nova.

“I told you this would happen. We should’a blown that ship up the moment we saw it. Then again, it probably wouldn’t have blown up too easy. Whatever. You see! You see! A Legion Deathbot!”

Looking at the main monitors, Nova saw an ancient robot standing outside of Purgatory Penitentiary.

“I haven’t seen one of those in centuries.” Nova whispered.

Justin asked, “What is it?”

“A LEGION DEATHBOT!” EB bellowed.

Nova said, “EB is right. That is a robot from Legion. At least, back when Legion sent those things in to pre-test a world. They stopped that practice eons ago. It looks damaged.”

Justin said, “Our sensors show it has suffered damage from the crash. And it appears to be... rusted. I didn’t think Legion tech could rust, but this one is in terrible shape.”

“My guess is that this robot is at least a thousand years old. It can’t be in good condition. What is it doing?”

Gar said, “Talking to the prison.”

“What?”

Justin clicked a button and a monitoring station outside the prison let them hear the deep, metallic

sounding voice saying, “I represent Legion. There are powerful people within the walls of this stronghold. Send them to be challenged or pay the price. I represent Legion. There are powerful...” Justin cut it off.

“It has been repeating that for five hours.”

“Why weren’t we notified five hours ago?” Nova asked.

“Interference from the wrecked piece of the ship near the prison. As it cooled down, their signals got through. But, so far, it has done no damage.”

“It will,” Nova said. “Tell Purgatory to enable the diffusion shields.”

Justin sent out the message.

Gar asked, “What are the diffusion shields?”

“They block sensors from reading inside the prison. We normally don’t need to use them, only when someone is searching for a secret prisoner. Its purpose is to seek the strongest people and attack them. It is reading the villains inside purgatory pen. If we block that, then it might stop sensing them and head back for its ship.”

EB happily added, “Which is in a billion atoms right now, so it will be lost and confused. Easy target!”

“My thoughts exactly.”

Justin said, “Purgatory Pen has responded. They have activated diffusion shields.”

Everyone watched the screen as the robot continued challenging the prison. The energy barrier around the prison changed to a bluish color. The robot stopped moving for a moment, its eyes changed to green, and it turned and walked away.

“Got you.” Nova whispered.

“WOOT!” EB hopped around the room. “That deathbot’s brain is now scrambled eggs.”

Justin asked, “What do we do now?”

“Now, its systems will search for the ship’s communication signal, which doesn’t exist. Until it contacts the ship, it will continue to search. Send some heroes down to assess it and take it out if possible.”

EB asked, "Won't it detect heroes if we send them down? I want it blown up, but those deathbots were really, really nasty pieces of work."

Nova answered, "Now that we have confused its initial search for an opponent, the computer should be searching for a new signal to give it another command. Since there are no Legion signals on Earth, it won't get the command. So, it won't be searching for opponents any longer."

“Don’t you want to alert Perth?” Gar asked.

Nova said, “No. This is no longer a viable threat. We scared the world with a class ten warning. I don’t want to rattle frayed nerves this soon. Just tell our team to be discreet and find a way to either destroy or at least deactivate that robot.”

“On it.” Justin pressed his comm and started handing out orders.

Nova said, “I’m ready to turn in for the night.”

“Me too.” EB hopped along with him. “I could use a good, stiff drink after these past few days. I’m think’n a double thick hot chocolate with loads of marshmallows. You?”

“A bed and a good book.” Nova walked into the lift with EB.

David sat in the passenger seat of a BADGE shuttle as it zoomed toward the planet. He leaned over slightly to get a better view out the front window. This was likely his last chance to be in space, and he wanted to enjoy the experience. Around him sat four other heroes.

“So, you heading back home?” A woman asked.

“Yeah. But I’m still thinking about joining.” He was hesitant to admit this.

She gave him a friendly smack in the shoulder. “Don’t feel blue about struggling. It’s a big choice. We all gave it loads of thought.”

“Sure. But I’m one of only three that gave up on the chances. And the other two are both over eighty.”

“We all lead our own lives how we want.”

He wanted to change the subject. “Why are you heading down? Joining a league?”

She said, “No. Brevis, Kal, Jolt, and I are working with Captain Aqua. He’s our instructor. We have a field assignment to deal with some broken robot. Nothing special. We get a trip to Australia out of it, so that’s nice.”

A man in a blue spandex suit with a flowing cape stood in the aisle. “Okay, people. This shouldn’t be a big job. But, this robot is old Legion Tech, so it won’t be a walk in the park either. Reports are that its systems are confused, and it is meandering. If all goes well, we can knock it down and shut it off before dinner. Questions?”

David said, “Are we going to stop by Detroit before we get to Australia?”

“Oh, sorry. No, we’re going to be dropped off first. Then, the pilot will take you home. Sorry about the big detour. We only had a few shuttles that didn’t need repair after the explosion in space damaged their systems.”

“No problem.” David sat back, wondering when he would get home.

“Sir, we have an issue.” The pilot announced.

“What?”

“The robot appears to be heading into Perth.”

“What? Has BADGE seen this?”

The pilot punched in a command and got nothing but a strange buzzing sound. “I can’t get BADGE.”

Jolt looked at a device on his suit and said, “No, this isn’t good. There is a powerful jamming signal coming up from the planet.”

Captain Aqua said, “Legion always enjoyed killing communications.”

“Should we return to the station?” The pilot asked.

“No, this could be a real danger. Sorry, people, this looks like it’s going to be a bigger fight than I thought. Get us to that robot and then get back to the station.”

“Understood.”

Continue the Story

Heroes Rising Fiction: Out of the Dark Ages Part 11

 The ancient Legion battle cruiser tilted toward the planet. Parts of the ancient Legion battle cruiser burst into fires as the radiation inside it slowly destroyed what was left of the ship. Arx watched in horror as it headed for the upper atmosphere. His people were still blasting it with everything they had, but it was not enough. The shields of the ship were simply too strong.

“Arx… I don’t feel good.” A woman stopped firing beams from her hands and drifted into space.

Another person’s voice came through his comm. “Arx, the radiation is going to kill us before we can do enough.”

“We can’t do enough. But we have to try. Form up and… wait, what was that?” Something buzzed past him. Then another and another. Hundreds of objects zoomed toward the ship.

“Sir, those are satellites,” a man said.

Arx watched these satellites link using their solar panel wings. They made contact with the shields on one side of the ship. All together, they burned their rocket thrusters as hot as possible and the ship slowly moved back away from the planet.

“Arx, those things are pushing it away from the planet!” One of his people reported.

“Are they BADGE?”

“No, those are telecom satellites… I think they are from Ren Tech.”

Arx said, “Help them!”

Quark appeared next to him. “Don’t bother. They have already pushed it outside of the danger zone. That ship’s gonna blow before they run out of fuel. Move your people away.”

Arx held up his comm to send out the signal when he noticed large chunks of the ship falling away. “It’s coming apart!”

“If it’s not one thing, it’s another.” Quark said, “But we can deal with the debris.”

“On it,” Arx pressed his comm, “Everyone, move away from the ship, but take out that falling debris.”

The heroes and ATLAS people flew at a distance around the ship, blasting and destroying the larger bits of debris that fell away. Once the remnants were small enough, they would burn up in the atmosphere.

“Warning, detonation imminent. Warning, detonation imminent.” Arx’s suit alerted him.

“Move!” He yelled, forgetting to hit the comm.

Quark clapped his hands and zapped all the people away from their furious attack on the debris, causing them to gather near Arx. Before either could say or do anything, they saw the flash point of the detonation of ten of the most powerful bombs in the known universe. However, they felt nothing.

Arx opened his eyes and was in almost complete darkness. He could only see the little lights on his suit and the suits of people around him, along with the odd bluish glow from Quark. EB floated by with a smile on his face. He pointed up, and the darkness cracked and shattered away. It was a giant eggshell.

Nova and Krystal Fae watched the monitors on the station while drones flew around the cloud of debris from the ancient ship. Shuttles carrying the people from the station returned to the docking bays, and the evacuees disembarked.

Arx left the lift with Chase and EB. He approached and informed, “Dr. Henderson says my people have experienced some minor radiation poisoning, but it can be easily dealt with. The ATLAS sensors on the planet show that only a handful of larger objects made it through and fell to the ground. I have people already going to investigate and offer aid.”

“Good work. ATLAS is proving its worth every day.”

“Thank you. I would like to take credit for the success of this, but we really didn’t make this happen. Those satellites saved the day.”

“I know, and I’m going to find out why.”

Krystal said, “Still suspicious?”

“Not entirely. I believe people can do good deeds. But I also know that big corporations are often working an angle for their benefit first.”

Krystal said, “Always the cynic.”

Chase asked Krystal, “Why are you still up here?”

“Just getting some details for the news report. Being able to be this close to these stories is why I am one of the top reporters in the industry.”

Nova asked Chase, “How are the recruits faring?”

Chase said, “Rattled nerves are all that they suffer from. We don’t normally have a global catastrophe when we assess potential new heroes.”

“A healthy dose of reality is a good thing. Though I’d rather not put the Earth at such a risk.”

10915 announced, “Incoming transmission from Dr. Adam Chorad.”

“Chorad?” Krystal looked at Nova. “When did he get our number?”

“I asked him to contact us. I have questions.”

“Oh, I see. I hope you don’t mind me taking some notes.” Krystal stepped back.

“Just be honest.”

“Always.”

The screen flicked on and they were now looking at the pristine interior of Dr. Chorad’s office at Ren Tech. He had a brilliant smile as he sat behind his desk. “I’m so glad to hear from you, and that you and the BADGE station are okay. Any heroes hurt in the incident?”

“Thank you for your time and concerns. No, the heroes are fine.”

“Good to hear.”

Nova spent a moment gathering himself before he said, “Before I say anything else, I want to say thank you, as do all the members of BADGE and ATLAS. Your system saved us and Earth.”

“So glad we could help.”

“Now, I have to know… how did you know?”

Dr. Chorad said, “There was a global alert. Of course, we all knew.”

“The alert was a general alert, not specific. The was no time for details to reach you. You had enough information to know exactly how to help.”

Chase whispered, “Don’t sound so accusatory. He saved our lives.”

Dr. Chorad laughed and answered, “Don’t worry, I expected Director Nova to be suspicious. After meeting him, I got confirmation of what most people know. Nova has a critical mind, which protects him and us, and provides him with the tools to help defend this world.”

“Thank you for the flattery. Now, please answer my question.”

“No, we did not learn the details of this from any regular news source. However, Ren Tech has over eight hundred satellites in orbit. We have the largest network of telecommunication satellites in the industry. We have been using them to monitor threats. When BADGE sends out a general alert to the population, we comb our own systems to see what we can learn.”

“To what end?” Nova asked.

“I see that critical mind is also filled with rocks,” Dr. Chorad said, losing his cheerful attitude and looking far more serious. “You may not know this, but BADGE alerts send people into a panic. You spread fear with every warning. We all know it is for our own good, like a tornado warning. But it still scares us. The unknown is the most frightening thing. Even a tornado warning tells you what the danger is. Ren Tech has some capacity to help. In fact, in recent times, we have used our tech to enhance the networks in at-risk areas so your teams and the local authorities can keep communicating. You’re welcome. In this situation, we saw that something big and ugly was about to fall out of the sky. My teams also told me that our own radiation sensors were off the charts. We were moments away from a global threat of radiation poisoning… regardless of a giant ship crashing into the ground. I made a decision to sacrifice half of our network of satellites to help you and save Earth. BADGE doesn’t own the right to be heroes, Nova.”

Krystal Fae clapped. Nova turned and glared at her. She said, “He’s right, you know. If BADGE would allow the media to actually inform people about the danger, it might lessen the fear.”

“Not now.” Nova stated, and then turned back to Dr. Chorad. With a lot of strength, and no small amount of humility, Nova finally uttered, “Then, I apologize.” He continued, “I have operated certain ways for centuries and I suppose times and people have changed. I will consider a more open flow of information in the future. Now, is there any way BADGE can help you repair the network you decimated for this act of heroism?”

The cheerful smile returned as Dr. Chorad said, “We were already planning on moving most of the satellite’s functions to the new spheres. This will push that project up quickly, but we can manage. Only the GPS system will remain in orbit, and it should work fine with the smaller network.”

“Good to hear.”

Dr. Chorad said, “Now, I have a lot of on my schedule as I am sure you do as well. Don’t be a stranger. If Ren Tech can be of any assistance in the future, we would be glad to help.”

“I will keep that in mind. Director Nova out.” The comm channel ended.

Krystal said, “Saying goodbye is customary when talking to regular people.”

“You should have all you need for your story.” This was Nova’s way of telling her to leave.

Krystal snapped her fingers and vanished.

EB said, “That guy is really nice. Like, super nice, and his tech is soooo cool. I just downloaded this game that…”

“Not now.” Nova walked toward his office.

Chase said, “What’s bothering him?”

EB casually said, “Nova’s always had a keen eye and great judgement for sniffing out the big bad guys. A handsome, smiling face is not enough mask to protect them from Nova’s famous scrutiny. He was ready to not trust this Dr. Chorad, but is finding… for once… his skeptical mind might be wrong. Having to apologize to someone he suspects is probably really, really sticking in his craw. But this wouldn’t be the first time. There was this one time, back when we were traveling with Captain Cook that… “ EB continued telling his stories while Chase led him back out of the room.

A cargo truck rumbled down a long, flat road in the middle of the night. The driver, wearing a BADGE maintenance uniform, worked hard not to fall asleep.

“Breaker, breaker, this is Big Weasel. Come in.” His comm unit activated.

He grabbed it and said, “This isn’t a CB radio. Stop calling yourself that.”

“Hey, we have the most boring BADGE assignment on the planet. Run supplies to Purg Pen every day from Perth. I gotta find my fun somewhere.”

“Okay, Big Weasel, why did you contact me? I just left Purgatory Pen. I got another hour before I make the city limits.”

“Oh, there was a sighting of some of the space debris falling near you. I was hoping you saw it. Might make the drive a little more interesting.”

“I... wait, I do see something. There is a fire burning and a big plume of smoke in the distance. That’s gotta be it. Nothing else out here to burn.”

“Nice. I...a....ch....a...” The signal rattled and faded.

“Big Weasel, you’re breaking up.” Nothing. “Hey, Bob! What’s the matter with this... WHAT THE HELL!”

He ran the truck right into a giant robot. It turned and powerful laser beams from its eyes were the last thing he ever saw.

Continue the Story

Heroes Rising Hall of Heroes

The Hall of Heroes is an in-game memorial for real-life players who are no longer with us. Located within the BADGE tab under BADGE HQ, you can enter the hall, read the tributes to the heroes and even add personal inscriptions.

If you are aware of any heroes that aren't already included please contact the developers via the Player Group.
____________________________________________

Timothy Earl Wright (aka Spankymaster):
12 November 1966 - 29 June 2023

Sadly, Tim has gone from this mortal coil and now resides in a hero’s hall. There was one final battle he couldn’t overcome, he fell to the ultimate villain, cancer.

A daughter’s father, a teammate, a quiet influence, a friend. 159 mutual friends. I bet if you checked, you would see a similar, if not greater number.

An alumni of Super Hero City and once a valued officer of the 5th Precinct, he left this realm as a key member of the Disenchanted Brute Squad.

Solid and dependable, Tim was never one to shout from the rooftops about his achievements, his accomplishments. In game terms, he went about building Spankymaster into a well-known toon with quiet competence. Always willing to listen and contribute to tactical discussions, to be there when his team was at war. To be there when his team were just shooting the breeze.

Tim knew Spanky’s limits, he never overextended himself, or gave away cheap victories. He strove to be the best he could be at the level he fought at. He would do all that was asked of him. Solid… Dependable...

Tim is sadly missed. Gone, yet never forgotten.

(Written by John Wallace AKA Neach-dìon na h-Alba of the Disenchanted Brute Squad)
____________________________________________

Michael Gibbon (aka Midgardsormr):
8 October 1961 - 5 September 2023

Mike was a contentious figure in the Heroes Rising Community, having one of the strongest toons in the game and an attitude to go with it! He was an ardent supporter of the game ever since its inception, supporting Nick's Kickstarter to get the game off the ground, and continuing to play until his final day on Earth. World Serpent Day is celebrated every October 8th (his birthday), as Justin fulfilled the Kickstarter Reward that Nick promised to him, where he got to create his own in-game holiday. Sadly, Mike left us on September 5th, the month before the innagural holiday celebration. You wouldn't want to get on Mike's bad side, and he could often be found berating others online, but there was a good deal of kindness under his rough exterior, and he would often offer assistance to other players and provide helpful ideas to improve the game. In many ways, Mike helped shape Heroes Rising, and is sorely missed.
____________________________________________

Christopher Lee Evans (aka Krystal Fae):
4 April 1966 - 27 February 2024

Chris was a pillar in the Heroes Rising Community, contributing many pieces of writing and artwork, and prolific in the realm of Role Playing his character(s). His main toon was Krystal Fae, but he had recently started a new character who was canonically the husband of Krystal, Alex Fae-Murphy. Chris was a part of the game since the begining, helping with The Sentinel and Moderation in the Facebook Group, and generally being a great guy. Always was very kind and helpful, often messaging Justin with suggestions for Quality of Life improvements and bug reports. Chris helped shape Heroes Rising, from his many pieces of in-game content that will forever be in use, and by generally being a really nice guy; he is sorely missed.

Continue the Story

Heroes Rising Fiction: Out of the Dark Ages Part 10

 Red Fury yelled, “I want everyone to form a neat line. We’re heading for bay 1!”

Sirens screamed as both agents and heroes scrambled all over the place. People bumped into David several times, and he skillfully avoided a robot that was in a hurry to reach an unknown destination. The scene overflowed with controlled chaos, suggesting that the control would be lost soon. Other recruits gathered around him as the four armed instructor bellowed directions at them like a first-grade teacher organizing their students.

“Move, one two, one two! NOW!” Red Fury jogged with them, guiding them along at a hurried pace.

David followed as close as he could until he nearly tripped over an older woman who was struggling to keep up. “Here, can I help?” David asked.

She said, “I can’t run like them.” A dire fear filled her eyes as she struggled to move.

“I will carry you.” David picked her up and held her in his arms, his new morphonic strength proving to make her as light as a feather in his arms.

They rounded corners and rushed down hallways as the station continued to sound the alarm. Soon, they crossed through the mess toward another hallway. The lights in this room changed to a flashing red and a loud computer voice said, “Class Ten emergency! All heroes, this is a Class Ten Emergency!”

“Damn!” Red Fury bellowed, but then threw several arms over his head as he waved them along. “Keep up, move. Good work Mr. David.”

David followed along, hoping the old woman couldn’t hear his heart racing in fear at this. He did not know what constituted a Class Ten emergency, but it was bad enough to send BADGE into this frenzy and that was all he needed to know.

They raced out into the enormous main docking bay of the station. Several shuttles were being prepped as people lined up to get inside. Krystal Fae and Chase both directed everyone to their locations.

Red Fury stopped the team and spoke directly to Krystal, “What is going on? I thought you were magic’ing them down to the planet's surface.”

Krystal said, “Not safe any longer.”

David asked, “What?”

“There’s no time to explain,” Chase said. “We’ll be putting everyone on the shuttles and moving you to a safe distance while we prepare the Orbital Arena to receive guests.”

David set the old woman down so she could get in line with the others. He asked Red Fury, “What is a Class Ten emergency?”

“You don’t need to know.”

“Yes, I do. I want to go home, I want out of this situation. What is the emergency?”

Red Fury said, “A Class Ten means that the entire planet is at risk. It isn’t safe to go back right now.”

David went numb. He didn’t know when or how, but someone moved him into a shuttle with many others. The shuttle flew away from the station. He couldn’t stop thinking about his friends, his coworkers, his home, his cat. Everything was in grave danger, and he might see none of them again. A great flash of light jostled his rattled mind, and everyone gasped as the shuttle rocked hard.

A woman screamed, “It exploded!”

David couldn’t see. This shuttle didn’t have passenger windows, just the front. What had just exploded?

Ten Minutes before:

“I want information now! Where is it targeting? What missiles will it be firing? Get the heroes into space!” Nova spoke to various people and robots around him at the top of his voice.

EB said, “Come on, this is big. Get those big wings out and go slicey slicey that ship with your super sword!”

Nova scoffed, “I can’t. Not anymore.”

“What!”

“Not the time to discuss this!” Nova looked over at a screen. Five heroes flew into space, led by Strange Quark. “Communications open a channel to Quark.”

“It is open.”

“Quark, we don’t know when it will fire, but the weapon readings are growing off the charts. Can you do anything?”

“Don’t worry, I got this.”

EB said, “Quark, bud, that won’t...”

“Not now!” Nova barked.

“But,...”

“NOT NOW! Quark, do it!”

Quark stopped in space, watching this rusted hulk slowly moving toward Earth. The other heroes around him waited for his next action.

“Okay, one ship, zapped to the surface of the sun, coming up!” He waved his hands and snapped both fingers.

A bubble of energy formed around the ship and buzzed, but then nothing happened. He tried this again, with more flourish in his actions. Nothing but the same buzz.

“Aw, duck feathers! It has quantum shields!” He slapped his comm. “Nova, that thing has super advanced shields.”

EB said, “I was try’n to tell ya. Legion has had Quantum shields for like a billion years. You can’t just zap it away.”

Nova asked, “Anything else we need to know?”

EB said, “I don’t know much more, well, cept that the defense systems aren’t weapons based. But, I can’t remember what they used to defend the ship. “

“Can we penetrate the shields?”

“Maybe. Those things are tough eggs to crack. But, you might...”

“Warning, critical decent!” Robot 12323 announced. “Vessel’s orbit is failing. Impact imminent.”

EB hopped up, “Aw, carrot sticks! That’s it! These ships are suicidal. They don’t launch anything, they charge up and them ram the planet.”

Nova yelled into his comm, “Quark! Tell the heroes out there to blow that thing up!” He then yelled into the comm of the station, “Arx, plan B. Move!”

Arx stood at the edge of a smaller docking bay with a unit of his ATLAS heroes. He wore a rocket-geared space suit, as did all the other non-space-abled heroes.

“This is an ATLAS situation. The call to heroes from the surface has gone out, but they probably won’t make it in time. It is up to us. We can’t let that ship hit the planet! Go, Go, Go!” He jumped through the force-field as his rockets buzzed on. They propelled Arx toward the falling ancient vessel. Behind him flew two dozen members of ATLAS.

Approaching the rusted ship, they could see the heroes already there, blasting away. Beams of energy and even two heroes were punching it. Their attacks hit an energy barrier that flickered with the iridescent rainbow hues like the surface of oil. However, nothing was touching the hull of the ship.

“Pop that bubble!” Arx yelled and then dove straight at it with both fists out. He rammed it, but merely bounced off.

A pair of twins rushed up. One used her powers to create large balls of energy that turned solid. Her sister met the object with a hard kick that sent it zooming toward the ship. When it hit, it would bounce off the shields and then evaporate. Others sent eye beams or blasts of energy from their hands.

Arx heard a loud beeping in his suit, and he checked a monitor on his wrist. Punching the call-button he contacted Nova. “Sir, we have a serious problem… actually several.”

“What is it?”

“We aren’t doing much damage to the shields of this thing. Also, the radiation levels are dangerously high. This thing is going to kill us before we can finish this.”

“I’m sorry, Arx, but you will have to put your team at the risk of death. If that ship crashes into the surface of the planet, a lot of people are going to die.”

Arx’s warning system got even louder. “Damn! It just reached the atmosphere. It will fall in less than a minute and the sub-nuclear systems are about to go critical. If that thing blows, even in the air above the surface, it will spread radiation across the planet. Billions will die.”

“Options?” Nova asked.

“I don’t… wait… what the hell is that?”

Nova heard this statement and then Arx’s voice garbled and the line cut off. All the visuals of the situation went fuzzy.

“Get him back!”

10915 Replied, “Radiation levels near Arx are blocking communications and sensors.”

“Damn!” Nova paced, “Visuals!”

“Visual sensors are being blocked by high radiation.”

“Doesn’t this station have any old cameras?” Justin asked.

“No. Only sensor based. We’re blind and deaf. I need something!”

EB hopped up. “I can go out and look. Be right back!” He vanished away.

“Idiot!” Nova scoffed. “He can’t zap back in. I need…”

The station shook hard, and the power across the entire facility flickered and died in places. Justin caught the wall he was next to while Nova hit the floor.

“Report!” Nova bellowed from the floor.

10915 answered, “Large explosion registered.”

“Oh, god. No.”

Continue the Story

Heroes Rising Fiction: Out of the Dark Ages Part 9

 Nova pushed the BADGE shuttle to its limit. The engines rattled, and the interior grew hotter under the strain of taxing the power systems. A buzzer beeped loudly for a moment, but was stopped when Nova slapped the button. This was the sixth time he has had to shut down that warning.

Krystal cleared her throat. “Sir, I know you want to get back, but blowing us up will not make this any faster.”

“We have to get back there now. If I had not asked you and Torrik to cut off teleportation to the station, this wouldn’t be necessary.”

The windows grew bright orange as they blazed through the atmosphere.

“Do you think this is really Legion?”

Nova said, “I don’t know. But, I have been worried about this for some time. The rise in Morphon’s in the atmosphere makes little sense, except that is exactly how Legion seeds a world before they attack.”

“But Legion fell years ago. We took it down. We killed the last of Legion’s most powerful during that war. There is no one left to resurrect it.”

“Legion is like a virus. Even the smallest part of it can grow quickly. How it returned so fast, I don’t know. But I’ll not have them invade again.” The warning beeped loudly again. “Damn!” Nova slapped the button, but this time, it didn’t shut off.

“Emergency shut-off activated.” The computer announced, and all the power systems went dark. The engines stopped pushing them. Inertial force in space kept them moving forward toward the station.

“Oh, crud.” Krystal said.

“This isn’t good. I’ve lost all control.”

“Don’t worry, I can still help with this.” Krystal put her hands together and then spread them apart. A purplish glow surrounded the shuttle, and she was now controlling its direction. “I’ll let the inertial force keep us going, but I’ll direct our path.”

They zoomed toward the station, the shuttle silent now. The heat inside the cabin softened as the power systems cooled off so they wouldn’t ignite. Suddenly, a great shadow crossed their path as something enormous blocked the sunlight.

The rusty hulk of the Legion battleship drifted by. Its decaying exterior shedding bits of debris as it slowly moved through space. Flashes of sparks buzzed here and there as systems failed to work properly.

“What on earth is that?” Krystal asked.

“That is a Class 1 Legion Battle cruiser.”

“I’ve never seen anything like that before. The cruisers they came in to attack earth looked nothing like that.”

Nova watched it with irritated terror in his eyes, saying, “They used that ship around a thousand earth years ago. I doubt they had any in service when they invaded Earth.”

“But that makes little sense. Why would Legion be using an ancient, outdated piece of junk?”

Nova said, “I don’t know. But it’s part of Legion and that is all I need to know. Keep your eyes forward. We’re getting close to the shuttle bay.” He pressed his comm on his wrist. “This is Nova. Krystal is guiding the shuttle into bay four. Have a tractor beam ready for an unpowered landing.”

Justin answered, “Understood.”

Nova and Krystal walked through the station toward the command level lift. A four-armed man with red skin interrupted their run toward the lifts.

“I don’t have time, Red.” Nova said.

Red Fury said, “Sorry, but there is a situation.”

“I know.”

“I mean,” Red Fury said, “We have a large group of recruits here right now. I don’t have room in the safe area for this number and getting them on a shuttle is not possible with that ship out there.”

“Krystal,” Nova turned to her, “Go with Red and help send as many back to Earth as you can. If they want to just go down and wait this out before returning, send them to the BADGE facility in London. I’ll alert Benjamin they will join him.”

“Yes, sir.” She left with Red Fury for the back of the station.

Nova got into the lift. Moments later, he was stepping out into the Operations center of the station. Before he could even ask for a report, something slammed into him, sobbing and holding him like a scared child.

“They’re back!!! Why! Why are they back?” EB bawled like a child.

Justin said, “I haven’t been able to calm him down.”

Nova let out a controlled sigh and calmly said, “This may not be a Legion invasion. That’s a really old ship. We don’t know enough yet to make any conclusions.”

“They... they... they’re gonna destroy my favorite planet.” A big, wet sniff later, he continued, “They destroyed my first favorite planet and now Earth. WHY!”

Nova peeled the bunny off of him and held him up by his ears. “Calm down!”

EB sobbed less loudly. “Thanks. I needed a good Nova scream.”

“Ugh!” He dropped EB and made his way down to Justin. “Report?”

“I have all of our investigative drones out there scanning every inch of the exterior of that ship. All the station’s sensors are trying to read the inside. We have sent out hailing messages asking them to respond. So far, we know only that this ship is ancient. Its weapon systems seem to be offline, the power systems are at bare minimum, and nothing on board is alive.”

Nova said, “They don’t have to be a living being to be a threat.”

“What?”

Nova walked around and looked up at the screen. Memories of ancient times, wars fought against these very ships, only in far better shape. “That is an early testing ship. A small fleet of them would arrive at a prepared world and do the initial test against the people. Battle drones would attack. If the drones could defeat the warriors of that world, then the ship would simply drop several tons of sub-nuclear bombs, destroy the world from space, and return to the Legion HQ. If the warriors defeated the robots, then Legion would show up to challenge them more officially.”

Justin said, “They didn’t do that to Earth? Legion showed up and attacked. No testing period.”

EB said, “That would be our fault.”

“What?” Justin turned and looked at EB.

“Well, we tried to hide among your people, to disguise ourselves so Legion would never find us again. We would train your people and help them be ready for Legion. And, I might add that we did a damn fine job since your people were ready. However, our presence didn’t go entirely unnoticed. They could sense our power. That encouraged them to bypass this phase and simply attack. It was kinda like when that one farmer discovered me hiding eggs. He just started picking them up instead of waiting for Easter Morning. I mean, serious... um... sorry.”

Justin asked, “Do you think they’re sending another force to test us? I thought we had finally defeated Legion once and for all.”

Nova said, “I don’t know. Something about this seems... off. Legion didn’t split its forces. It was an all-in situation. They would fight to the death, theirs or their enemies. This doesn’t seem like a precursor to invasion.”

EB said, “Then, what do you think this is?”

“I hope it is just an ancient ship that is lost. Robot 10445, send a communication signal to that ship. Use a focused trifector beam.”

“What is that?” Justin asked.

“It is a type of particle beam that the old Legion ships used. If that doesn’t get their attention, then there isn’t anything alive over there, organic or mechanical.”

“Signal sent.” 10445 announced.

There was a moment of complete silence in the room as all three waiting hoping nothing would answer.

“Signal incoming.” 10445 announced.

“Aw sh...” EB started to speak when all the monitors lit up.

A fuzzy image of a robot stood before them. “Planet below, we are Legion. Prove your worth or face destruction. Send us your strongest. We... we... weweweeee....” Its voice buzzed and scratched. The screen went blank for a moment.

“See... I told you we are in deep crap.” EB was now hugging Nova’s leg. He said, “Come on, go all angle and kick their asses.”

“EB, not now.”

The image returned, and the robot said, “It appears you are unworthy. You will be destroyed.” The image flicked off.

Justin said, “This is bad. Our sensors are reading ten sub-nuclear energy signatures on that ship. That’s enough power to crack the crust of the Earth.”

EB whimpered, “How about now?”

Continue the Story

Heroes Rising Fiction: Out of the Dark Ages Part 8

 Dr. Chorad’s office was as white and clean as the rest of this complex. It was more of a living room than an office, with a sunk-in central floor, kitchen, wet-bar, a fireplace, large television, couches, plants, and a desk set against a long set of windows that had a glorious view of the beautiful garden outside.

“Wow,” Krystal said upon first seeing this enormous space.

Dr. Chorad said, “Everyone has that same response. I entertained the Emperor of Japan last week and even he said that. Have a seat. The couches are amazingly comfy.” He walked over to the wet-bar and started pulling out bottles. “Care for a mixed drink? I make a mean martini.”

Nova stood near the couches and said, “I’m not here for a social call. This is an important matter. Dr. Chorad...”

“Call me Adam.”

Nova cleared his throat, “Adam, we need to have a serious discussion.”

“Yes, I know. You’re worried about my technology.”

Both Krystal and Nova were a little stunned by this. Krystal asked, “How’d you know?”

“Simple. Ren Tech is a telecommunications company in the market to sell trendy gadgets to customers across the world. Not something BADGE would have any need to worry about. However, my new sphere technology probably raised a few alarms, which brought you to my doorstep. Am I right?” He said this while mixing martinis and pouring them.

Nova said, “Mostly. We have some unique concerns regarding the tech as well.”

“I’m sure. Trust me, my people alerted me right away when heroes started inspecting the spheres and entire cities declared emergencies.” He walked over and set a tray of glasses down on the coffee table and then sank into the overstuffed couch. “Look, the truth is, I’m seriously upset about the whole situation. Probably more than you.”

“I doubt it.” Nova finally sat down across from Adam on the circular couch.

“Rest assured, the situation was not arranged for publicity. I know that’s what you’re thinking. I had this whole news conference prepared with fanfare and lots of free stuff. We were going to head to New York, set up a stage in Central Park, and make a big show of revealing the spheres to the world all at the same time. I even had this comically large button to press. This is my gift to this world, not some stunt to increase our stock value.”

Nova mulled that over for a moment in one of his famous long pauses. Finally, he said, “I believe you.”

“Oh, good. I was hoping you would. I really did not intend to scare the world. These spheres represent a passion of mine.”

“And what would that be?” Nova asked.

“I believe education is key to raising communities out of poverty. However, that is hard in the places were services like the internet and phone lines are too expensive, or completely impossible. These spheres will extend our tech all over the world in a wide net that will connect everyone. People can share knowledge freely, without worrying about costs. I’m even offering grants to nations to help them supply tech to the underprivileged sectors.”

“How magnanimous.” Krystal picked up a martini from the tray, her tone betraying a little skepticism.

Adam laughed, “Fine, the grants are a giant tax write-off. But that’s to be expected. I may be generous, but not foolish. However, you understand I didn’t mean to cause any alarm. My teams are still investigating why the decloaking activated prematurely. They also started connecting to wireless sources early as well, which caused even more trouble in places.”

Krystal said, “That explains why the archaic wireless tech in North Onnotangu activated.”

“Yes, I heard about that. I hope no one was hurt.”

She shook her head. “Nope. They had already removed the weapons from the systems. Just loud sirens.”

“Glad to hear it.”

Nova said, “There is one other issue I’m here to discuss.”

“Shoot. Oh, if you want to incorporate Ren Tech into BADGE comm systems, that is something we would love to work with you on.”

“No, this isn’t about that. Morphons power your spheres.”

Adam smiled sheepishly. “It is one feature that makes them so efficient. They can run continuously, no need for recharging.”

Krystal said, “How did you figure that tech out? BADGE scientists have been working on studying morphons for years now and we have nothing that can use them as a power source.”

“That, my dear, is a company secret. As you can imagine, such technology would cause quite a stir in competitors who would love to have access to it.”

Nova said, “I want to know how it works?”

“Ah, no. That is a secret that Ren Tech owns.”

“Morphon studies and tech are under the scope of BADGE...”

Adam said, “Actually, that isn’t quite true. Trust me, I had my legal team comb all the laws pertaining to morphons, both national and international laws. You see, BADGE may keep tabs on people who have morphonic powers, and BADGE has the right to information regarding morphons effects on humans and the environment. However, BADGE has no legal authority to obtain information about morphons as used in technology, as long as that technology poses no threat to the planet or the people on it. I can have our lawyers come and explain this in their legalese. It’s boring, but they get the point across clearly.”

Nova kept his calm, but his irritation was evident. “Look here, Dr. Chorad, morphons aren’t something to toy around with. This isn’t like solar or wind power. These particles are still a relatively unknown substance that we are just beginning to study. Using them as a power source could prove dangerous.”

“And, my scientist disagree.”

Krystal interjected, “They also applied atomic energy before fully understanding it. Many people suffered and died because they didn’t know the true depth of how dangerous the radiation really was.”

Adam held up his hands. “Please, let’s be friends about this. I mean no harm and we have done extensive tests on this technology. This wasn’t just thrown out there without some kind of thought put into it. If it will make you feel better, I will ask our scientists to send all the data on our tests regarding the impact of the technology on people and the environment. You can have your people look it over. If you find any problems, I mean any at all, let me know and we will work with you to solve them. If you find there is a legit danger posed to anyone or anything, I will shut them down immediately.”

Nova said, “Fine. That is a start. Just get me that promise in writing, signed. One flaw, one inkling of a problem, and I will have you shut them down.”

“We agree, then.” The doors of his office opened. “Oh, look, lunch is here. Great, I’m hungry.”

Arnold walked in with a tray that had several boxes on it. “Let’s see, your regular lunch, Doctor. Nothing for Director Nova, and a Greek lunch for Krystal Fae.” He handed her a box while saying, “Big fan, by the way. I read your articles all the time.”

“Oh, thanks. That’s why I write them.”

Nova had a scowl on his face as he watched Krystal sink down into a part of this huge couch and open up the box of lunch. This wasn’t supposed to be a social meeting, but Adam turned it into one. So, Nova asked a question he didn’t expect an answer to. “I’m curious about something else.”

“What’s that?”

“These spheres defy all attempts at scanning. None of our tech and even our BADGE heroes with unique powers cannot penetrate the surface with any form of sensor or scan. How did you manage that?”

“That’s another company secret. But, I can tell you why we keep it detection-proof. The stuff inside those spheres is some of the most advanced tech ever conceived. It revolutionizes a lot about telecommunications technology. My competitors would give anything to learn their secrets. I may be generous, but not foolish. Ren Tech is the hottest name in popular technology today, with the newest, most advanced stuff available… and I mean, to keep that standing for a long time.”

Nova wasn’t happy with that answer, but he accepted it. Before he could ask another, his comm activated. “Excuse me.” He stepped away to take this. “This is Nova.”

Justin came through, “Sir, we have an emergency. An ancient Legion Warship just entered Earth Space and is near the station right now.”

“We’ll be right there.” Nova clicked his comm off. “Krystal, we have to go now.”

“Something wrong?”

“Yes.” He looked over at Adam. “Thank you for your time. We will be in touch.”

“Anything I can do to help?”

“No. Just make sure BADGE gets that information you have.” He nodded to Krystal.

She packed up her boxed lunch and then stood up. “Let’s move.” She snapped her fingers and both she and Nova zapped back to their shuttle.

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Heroes Rising Fiction: Out of the Dark Ages Part 7

 David walked out of the simulator, drenched in sweat. DaMoN joined him as they headed toward the locker rooms.

“Wow, that was exciting.” David brimmed with energy as he came down from the thrill of a simulated battle with Fenrir.

DaMoN laughed and slapped him on the back, “The real battle was a hell of a lot harder, but even more fun.”

“Really? How much harder?”

“Oh, you know how it is in the real world. These simulations can’t risk your life, so they pull some punches here and there. When something that big is hell-bent on killing you, the battle is something else. So, which league are you?”

“I’m not in a league. I’m not technically part of BADGE yet.”

“Oh, another recruit. Been a lot of those lately. You put in a good fight. You deserve to be a hero.”

David said, “After that fight, I’m really considering it. Wow, that was fun.”

“Don’t let the excitement of victory go to your head. The simulator is great training, but the real world is something else. Cool off, get yourself a shower, and think.”

David was about to say that he had already thought he would cool off before signing anything. However, just then, the entire station rattled. “What was that?” David asked.

DaMoN frowned. “I don’t know. It takes something big to rattle this place.”

Red lights flashed and a robotic voice called out, “Emergency alert, heroes to station one, repeat, heroes to station one. Cadets and agents report to station two. Recruits, report to security check-in.” A siren blared loudly, and the recording started again.

DaMoN said, “Head for the theater room, Coach Fury will be there to tell you what to do.” Without another word, he raced off for the main level.

David’s jubilant attitude shattered and worry set in. The real world was coming for them now, and he wasn’t sure what to do. He lost all sense of location and forgot how to get back to the theater room. So, he just ran down a corridor, hoping he would recall this place soon.

He turned a corner and followed a corridor that had an extensive set of windows to space. He paused mid-step and slowly turned to see what was outside.

A giant space cruiser drifted by. It was nothing like anything David had ever seen. It was long, bulky, and had weapons dotted all over the surface. However, it was rusty; the hull was cracked in many places, and as it moved, it dribbled bits of debris as though it were disintegrating from old age.

“What the hell is that?”

Justin barked orders out, “I want all security drones in space now. Set the station’s shields to full power. Sensors, get me every scrap of data on that.”

The robots manning the stations worked with speed, fulfilling each order efficiently.

10915 stated, “The power systems on the unidentified vessel are at a minimal status. No weapon systems online that we can detect.”

“Lifesigns?”

“Negative. Sensors are not detecting any known form of a living organism on that vessel.”

On the screen, ten small egg-shaped drones zipped out from the station. They had small weapons for combat.

14001-A spoke, “Query: Signal for heroes to leave station and confront?”

“No. Not at this time. We don’t know what that is and I don’t want to cause any problems by being foolish. Just tell everyone inside the station to be on full alert. Where’s EB?”

10915 said, “EB is currently en route to...”

The elevator doors opened and EB burst out at top speed. “Sorry, I was just in the training area, working with the new recruits. Several have already signed to join BADGE and one is asking to train with ATLAS. Nice people. This one lady is like eighty, but she can use telekinesis like a pro. I mean... oh, what are all the sirens for?”

Justin said, while pointing at the monitor, “That.”

EB screamed and backed up, “No, no, it can’t be!”

“You know what that is?”

EB trembled and nodded quickly. “A fleet of those destroyed my homeworld seven centuries ago. Blow it up, blow it up now!”

“What do you mean... wait?” Justin had an icy feeling run through his body. “Legion destroyed your world.”

“Yes.”

Justin pointed at a robot. “Full alert status. Activate all Leagues. Send a call to all Rangers. Get me Nova, now!”

The warning sirens across the station changed to something that only sounded when the situation was dire.

An hour before:

Krystal and Nova followed the perky representatives of Ren Tech through the halls of the sleek, modern company complex. Workers walked around in jeans and company T-shirts as they talked on Ren Phones or used Ren Tech Tablets.

The interior of the building was not unlike the exterior. Sleek white walls with clear glass ceilings/floors so you could see all the way up through the building. Holo-screens on the walls displayed information.

They paused at the door to a room filled with people using strange glasses. Stacy said, “This is our next biggest thing. Ren Wear. High-tech glasses that can display images like VR to the person wearing them. Just imagine being able to join a meeting across the planet as though you are there at a moment’s notice. Or, using just one lens, you can check the news, look at a recipe, or even relax by the beach.”

Krystal asked, “How far along is the research?”

Arnold said, “We hope to have them available by summer this year. Should be the biggest event of the season. That is, if we can work out a few of the bugs.”

“Oh, I want one,” Krystal said.

Nova cleared his throat, “Fascinating, really, but we have important business to discuss with Mr. Chorad.”

“This way.” Stacy guided him along.

They navigated the unconventional building, passing many amazing new things, as they approached the heart of this sprawling complex. Their guides led them through glass doors and out into a beautiful garden. The garden brimmed with blooming roses and tiger lilies. A river ringed the outside of the area while a grassy lawn sat in the center with a diamond shaped structure seated in the middle.

“What is this?” Krystal asked.

Arnold said, “Dr. Chorad’s office.”

“A little ostentatious,” Nova muttered.

An unfamiliar voice said, “Yes, it is pretentious. But why not splurge when you’re the richest man of the richest company in the world?”

Krystal and Nova turned to find Dr. Chorad standing behind them, a big smile on his face.

Nova said, “I suppose. We have important business to discuss.”

Dr. Chorad said, “Yes, I know. I was in a meeting with investors, explaining the whole sphere situation. Ugh, what a bunch of money-grubbing idiots. They don’t know the first thing about generosity. I was glad when my intern alerted me you were intent on a meeting now. Got me out of there. So, why don’t we head into my office and... oh, Arnold, could you bring us some lunch? I’m starving.”

“Right away, sir. What would you two like?” Arnold asked.

Nova said, “We don’t need anything.”

“Speak for yourself. I could use a bite to eat,” Krystal said. “I’d love some Greek food.”

“Right away.” Arnold and Stacy left in a hurry.

“Come on in. My office is my home. So, let’s get cozy.” Dr. Chorad walked them toward the lone building.

“He’s nice, and kinda handsome.” Krystal said.

“Stay focused. We have a mission.”

“I know, I know. Big rich company equals bad.”

“I didn’t say that.”

“Not with words, but your face is speaking volumes.”

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