Heroes, Villains, and Renegades Fiction: Light and Dark Part 16

 The early morning over Carlingford, Ireland was brisk in late winter. Signs of life sprouted up from the ground here and there, but the last vestiges of winter remained for now.

A barrier made up of metal poles with energy fields protected the dig site around Leprechauns former home. BADGE robots patrolled endlessly. The local police had also created their own barrier, but this one was further away and only made to denote to tourists and locals where not to go. Since the reappearance of the strange woman, half the county was now on high alert. Fortunately, the locals had the wisdom to pack up and take vacations during this time.

A great green streak of light flew in a great arc and crashed into a hill overlooking the dig site. All the robots went on alert and moved toward the crash. Sirens woke up and screamed for anyone else to either get ready or leave the area.

“Sensors indicate a lifeform present.” A robot announced.

The silhouette of a man with demonic wings walked as a shaft of early morning light broke through the heavy clouds. His heard bore sharp antlers and his fingers were those of claws. His eyes beamed a green light, piercing through the darkness that followed him.

“Cease movement! This area is secure. Do not approach.” A robot stepped up and called out the command.

The shadowed man lifted a clawed hand, and roots shot up from the ground and pulled the robots down. The robots broke through the roots only to find more wrapping around them. Tighter they were bound until the roots broke the robots apart like toys under the tender care of a wild child.

Flying, the light of the barrier illuminated the man. It was Drachenflügel, only his body had changed into this monster. He tore his arm through the air and vines spun up around the metal poles, pulling them over. Drachenflügel quickly dismantled the barrier. He flew in and then hovered directly over the hole in the ground where Leprechauns home had been. The crystals within flashed and beamed brightly. He lifted his claws up and smiled as the energy crackled out of the ground and into his body.

Around him appeared dozens of the same two figures that had been attacking heroes. Duplicates of both appeared like ghosts, quietly watching. From them, energy flowed, all focused on his body.

Heroes around the world waited with bated breath for what was to happen next. The battles against these strange creatures had come to an abrupt stop. Many heroes sustained injuries or had their energy stolen. Then, all comms when active with a word from Nova.

“Heroes, we have an emergency in Carlingford, Ireland. This is a global alert. Able heroes, move toward Carlingford and be ready for a fight. I have put all national military units on alert across the planet.”

Nova watched a small screen that had a live feed of these exact events in Carlingford. A drone, from a suitable distance, watched the new creation draining power from the ground and its minions.

“This can’t be good.” Chase looked over his shoulder at the small screen in his hands.

They flew on a BADGE shuttle toward the planet with EB, Gar, and Strange Quark.

Nova said, “Nothing that this thing does can be good. I just hope we get there before he finishes whatever he has started.”

“Why are you coming with us?” Quark asked. “Normally, you direct from the station. You are the Director.” His attempt at a little humor fell flatter than normal.

Nova said, “The Oracle of Tech made it clear, we are in danger if the current situation continues. I can’t just sit by and watch.”

Gar asked, “Why aren’t we just zapping ourselves there? Quark can do it, so can EB.”

Quark said, “This Malevolence has certain control over powers. I don’t even know how it works, which sorta bothers me like heck.”

“Yeah, it messed me up bad.” EB said, then punched his little paw into his other like a fist. “I’m gonna get some revenge.”

Nova was about to say something about EB’s threat when Chase took the tablet from him, “Wait, I know that guy.”

“Who?”

She pointed to the image of the man over Leprechauns home. “That’s Drachenflügel. Back when I worked as a thief, he and I pulled a few heists in Monaco.”

“You did what in Monaco?” Quark asked.

She flashed a devilish smile, “We fleeced the fabulously rich. He was a male stripper and I the sexy vixen. He got the old ladies, and I took the slimy old men. They got some eye candy and then found all their valuables missing the next morning.”

Nova said, “I hate to interrupt this journey into your lurid past, but we have a mission to focus on.” Taking the tablet back, he said, “I believe we can confirm that this is our target, the Dark Oracle of Supernatural.”

“He must have absorbed the essence of the real Avatar. Even found a guy with wings like the avatars.” Quark said.

Chase asked, “What should we do?”

Nova spent a moment watching the view as he saw those green eyes look up, as though it was seeing them. “We have one goal.... kill him.”

The BADGE shuttle swooped out of the sky, and five figures came flying out of the side. Gar carried Nova on his back. Nova held his divine blade ready to strike. Strange Quark flew with EB and Chase floating beside him, being carried by his blue energy.

“Hold back, let me strike first!” Nova called out.

“Why?” EB asked.

“Just do what I say!” Nova yelled and then jumped from Gar’s back.

Nova’s body turned into a bright light with his sword growing slightly and cutting through all shadows. He darted straight down with a massive swing over the head of their enemy.

A great, powerful crash followed as he plunged his sword into the ground. The enemy, hit by the power of the strike, careened hard backward and slammed through the sod and rock of a nearby hill.

Gar landed near him, Nova now standing with his blade ready for the next strike. A great gash of soil stretched before him, leading all the way to where he had sent their enemy. Far behind them, and nearly surrounded by the strange creatures, the others landed.

“Is it dead?” Gar asked.

“It’s never that easy.” Nova said just as the ground sprouted vines under his feet. He quickly dodged them and sliced through with his blade. Gar, on the other hand, was trapped.

Drachenflügel rose from the ground where he had been thrown and casually flew toward them. He spoke with a voice that sounded as if two or more were there. “Ah, the Nova. We knew we would face you. The inexplicable one.”

“The undefeated one,” Nova said.

“You will bow, like all of creation. Our time has come.”

Nova snorted, “I’ve heard that before from far more menacing enemies than you.”

A hint of anger crossed its face. “There are none like us. We are the darkness, we are the Malevolence.”

“You’re nothing but another petty tyrannical force trying to conquer. And, just like all the others, you will fail.” Nova smiled as he heard the distinct sound of the heroes coming. “This world is defended.”

An unsettling, wicked gleam crossed the man’s eyes. “Good.” He flicked his hands out, and his still minions suddenly launched themselves at Nova and his team.

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Heroes, Villains, And Renegades Fiction: Light and Dark Part 15

 The Utter Freaks Squad League darted around the floating old man creature as it focused in on one of their own. Blazerface shot a series of bursts from his eyes, but the creature swiped up a hand and a wooden log rose and took the impact. With a swift jut of its hand, a root shot out of the ground and hit Blazer in the chest and pinned him to the ground.

“Stop him!” The leader of this league called out while she shielded one of their own, who seemed to be the target of this creature.

TheDude flipped and jumped through the air using his enhanced athletics skill and slammed down onto the top of the creature with a double-fist crash.

The creature hit the ground and then turned to blue smoke, it reformed in the air and swiped a claw across the chest of the handsome athlete. His uniform tore, and blood trickled down his perfect pecs.

Bold-er ran in and threw a massive stone she had been carrying. The stone hit the creature, but it merely fazed through it as though it weren’t there. It continued toward their colleague hiding behind the leader. “What the hell can stop these things?”

“We have to find something.” PrismGuard said while she crafted a rainbow shield over herself and Darkmouth, who was obviously the focus of their enemy.

At the moment that three of their own were about to strike at the enemy one more time, it simply stopped moving and looked up. It seemed to listen to something, or look at something they couldn’t see. Then, with no warning, it flew straight up and vanished into the sky.

“Oooo-kay?” PrismGuard lowered her shield. “Anyone got an explanation?”

“Nope,” Blazerface said.

“I want a full report from the commander of the Pacific office.” Nova spoke into his comm as he sat at a computer in Operations.

Another comm opened, and a Japanese man in a BADGE uniform said, “Director, we have a reported encounter two hours ago. The enemy drained two heroes and then vanished.”

“Get them to a BADGE hospital immediately. Dr. Henderson has a treatment plan that should work, but they need attention right away.”

“Understood.” The comm clicked off.

Nova had been working through rotating calls from the Leagues, Rangers, and national offices for a full day. They were still trying to get a scanner working so they could locate all supernatural heroes and protect them. For now, it was a ground effort, and he had the responsibility of directing.

“Director!” Gar called out from the front of the room.

“What now?” Nova looked up.

“I don’t understand. We are getting reports you need to see.”

Nova stood up, looking at the screen as dots slowly vanished one by one. “Is the scanner online? Are we shifting over to a location mode?”

“No, sir. Listen.” Gar nodded to 10915.

A voice recording from the field played, “This is MindHawk in Kentucky, we were facing a strange creature and it just stopped fighting and ran.” Another voice came through with a thick Russian accent, “This is PolarKin, the enemy abandoned the fight without warning and vanished into the sky.” One after another, these reports came pouring in.

“What’s going on?” Nova left his desk and joined Gar.

Gar smiled, “This is good. Right?”

“I don’t know. When an enemy stops fighting, and there is no reason they should, it can only mean something is about to happen that we will not like.”

A fresh voice joined them, “Dr. Henderson to Nova, I have good news.”

Nova muttered, “Perfect timing.” He clicked his comm, “Nova here.”

“The scanner is online. However, you need to come to the lab, we have rigged it through the bio scanner system down here.”

Nova said, “I’ll be there in a moment.” Shutting off his comm, he left Gar in charge of Operations and headed for the bio lab.

As soon as the door opened to the bio lab, a white blur hit Nova in the chest, bounced off, and zoomed back into the room. Nova now had a chocolate egg stuck in his mouth.

EB bounced around the room, “Woot, woot, woot. We did it. Really, it was Strange Quark who made this work. But it works! We’ve already begun scanning. I wonder if they’ll feel the scanning? Wouldn’t that be weird? You’re out fighting crime and suddenly you feel a strange buzz. It might feel nice. Or, it could feel like...”

Nova pulled the egg out as he stomped into the room. “This is not a time for celebrating when people are at risk.”

EB frowned, “Sourpuss. This was hard work.”

Nova addressed Dr. Henderson, who stood before a holographic representation of the globe. They dragged a new computer station into the room and hooked it into the bio scanners with two dozen cords and cables.

“We’re using a medical scanner normally used for specialized scanning on subjects at close range. But with some quantum work from Quark, it can now scan at a much further distance. Relaying it off all BADGE satellites and ground stations, we can now scan the entire planet.”

Chase walked over and said, “We can now protect our people.”

Nova said, “That’s wonderful, and you did good work. However, something has changed.”

Strange Quark, drinking another chocolate liquor drink, said, “Why is it that nothing sticks around long enough for us to get ahead for once?”

Nova answered, “Life never seems to work that way.”

“What has happened?” Dr. Henderson grew pale with worry.

Nova said, “The attacks have stopped. Our enemies seem to abandon their fight. There is no explanation or rational reason, they just stopped.”

Chase asked, “What can this mean?”

EB said, “That they know we are on the case and we always win.”

“I wish that were true.” Nova said, “I can only assume that our enemy is about to make their next move. What that will be, I do not know. But we have to be ready.”

“Then the scanner is no longer needed?” Chase asked.

Nova said, “It is needed. I don’t know their next move, but I’m certainly not going to leave our people in harm’s way. Scan the planet and identify those with primary supernatural natures. We are going to alert them to the risks. Can the scanner determine if the person is a known hero?”

Dr. Henderson shook her head. “No. It will only show if the person has a high margin in that area. However, using the BADGE computer system of assignments and known locations of heroes, we could figure out who is a hero and who is a civilian who hasn’t discovered their powers yet.”

Chase said, “Would that be an invasion of privacy to be going after those who haven’t discovered their powers yet?”

“They are at more risk than those who are heroes. All we are doing is making sure they are safe. Do the scan. Connect with the BADGE system.”

Dr. Henderson and Chase worked the computers to make all the proper preparations. Then, with a single button, the scanner saturated the world with the detection scan. Small dots appeared all over the place, some brighter than others. It was only a few seconds before the computer made a loud noise and a warning sign appeared.

“What is that?” Nova asked.

Dr. Henderson turned off the warning and said, “Strange, that is the bio-meter giving a warning. This sensor is for medical cases here. So, if someone has a critical level of morphonic energy and could be at risk, it warns us. It shouldn’t be sensitive enough to show that from here unless the person was abnormally strong.”

“How about ten to the sixth power?” Quark said as he looked at a large, glowing spot.

Dr. Henderson walked over. “That’s not possible. That’s the maximum scan. Over a million morphonic level power. This can’t be right.”

Chase said, “It’s moving.”

They watched as this glowing spot flew across the European continent on a direct path for Ireland.

Nova said, “It is possible if this being is part of the morphons themselves. Feeding on the energy of hundreds of others.”

EB asked, “Do you know what that is?”

“I hope... no, I pray I am wrong, but this could be the Dark Oracle of Supernatural.”

“Dark Oracle?” Quark asked.

Nova said, “We have run out of time. We have to destroy this creature before it is too late.”

Continue the Story

Heroes, Villains, and Renegades Fiction: Light and Dark part 14

 Nova, having just told the Oracle that the Avatar of Supernatural is missing and was last seen in the horrid void of the Malevolence, said, “What can this all mean?”

The Oracle of Tech, aka Dr. Hermes, answered, “If the Malevolence has consumed the Avatar, it is only a matter of time before he reveals himself to the world and thus begins his dark reign over the Supernatural. This is only a part of the whole, for the Malevolence will desire all the avatars’ spirits so it can form all the oracles and thus control morphons in the universe.”

“I see he has a long-term goal. Right now, I’m worried about what happens next. If he has taken theAvatar of Supernatural, what will happen?”

The Oracle of Tech paused and then said, “I cannot give you a clear answer. This has not happened in all the memory of the morphons. Deduction allows me to assume that the Malevolence will begin its path. What that path will be, I do not know. However, it can only be terrible. I can surmise with great certainty that this path will be in this realm.”

Nova paused, “What makes you so certain about an assumption?”

“Logic and evidence. People with supernatural inclinations in their morphons are being targeted and having their energy drained. Correct?”

“Yes.”

Dr. Hermes said, “The Malevolence cannot exist in this realm for long. It requires energy from this realm to exist. It is feeding on that specific energy so it can feed its new creation. Thus, that creation will walk and exist here. It will then need to keep feeding on that energy, ever consuming until it has drained every corner of existence of that morphon type.”

“If the Malevolence fulfills its grand plan, it will consume all the morphon energy in the universe.”

The Oracle nodded. “That is logically the right conclusion. And once it has done so, that which prevents it from existing in this universe will be gone. All that will remain here will be the darkness.”

Nova asked, “Is there anything you can deduce that might give me an advantage? Something to work with.”

“Only this, if a Dark Oracle arises, it will be the presence anchoring the Malevolence in this universe. If you can destroy it, you will cut it off from this universe again. It will not destroy the Malevolence, but it will stop its march for a while.”

Nova was hoping for a stronger suggestion, but this was something. “Thank you. I need to get to this.”

“Good luck, my old friend. If I discern anything else that might be of help, I will let you know.”

Nova paused, “I thought the Avatars... or Oracles in this case, do not involve themselves. They are just observers.”

Dr. Hermes said, “The avatar in me only allows me to advise, but I am going to advise as much as I can. It is our life on the line as well as yours.”

“Good to hear that.” Nova shut off the comm.

Nova walked out of his office with a somber gait. Gar stood at the command now as he watched. The map of the world was littered with small red dots showing combat areas.

“Report?” Nova asked.

Gar said, “Many sightings of the strange creatures have shown up. They have attacked thirteen more hero leagues, five Rangers, and ten civilians. Fortunately, no fatalities among the civilians or Rangers. Unfortunately, we lost two more heroes in the leagues.”

10915 called out, “Message incoming: Ranger Captain Constellation.”

A window opened with a starry-clad superhero looking at Nova with a sweating face under his yellow eye mask. “Sir, this is crazy. We just defeated the same creature three times. It won’t stop going after this orphanage.”

“We? Who is present?”

“I have the Sao Paulo Crashers League. They’re doing a damn fine job, but we’re going to wear out. What the hell does this thing want?”

Nova said, “It wants people. Certain people with a certain morphon signature.”

“One of the kids?”

Nova said, “I doubt it. Morphons really only manifest in the late teens, early twenties in most cases.”

“How can we tell who?”

“We’re working on that.” Nova continued before Constellation yelled anything more at him. “I will send five BADGE battle bots down to assist you and send an all-alert for your location. When we have more we can do, we will do it. Nova out.” He pointed at 10915, who immediately went to fulfilling that order.

Gar asked, “What are we going to do? They’re everywhere. What do they want?”

Nova said, “We aren’t certain. The best guess of the Oracle of Tech is that they’re draining energy from people with those morphons, feeding this Malevolence. It can’t be satiated until it has its own Oracle.”

“How do we stop it?”

Nova said, “We might not be able to.”

“Incoming transmission...” 10915 said.

“Tell them the support will get there when it gets there.” Nova barked.

“Incoming transmission: Field Agent Phillip Bigos.” The robot repeated itself, and the tone was almost irritated.

Nova turned to the screen as a new window opened with Phil’s face looking at him, the morning sky over Carlingford, Ireland, a warm happiness in contrast with his terrified eyes.

“Sir, we have a situation here.”

“Did you find something in the cleanup of that Section 9 lab?”

Phil shook his head, “No. A creature appeared in the middle of the lab and then walked right through a dirt and rock wall.”

“A creature. What description?”

Phil thought hard and then described the woman as best he could. “She said something about being unworthy and then walked away right through the wall.”

Nova said, “Okay, seal the lab and lock down the area. Tell the BADGE support there to be on alert.”

“Are we in danger?”

Nova casually said, “You work for BADGE, that is part of the job description. Keep a cool head and follow orders, those are your best ways to keep safe.”

“Understood, sir.”

The comm ended, and Nova headed for the lift.

Gar asked, “What’s going on?”

“More than I have time to explain.” He paused just before punching the button for the lift, “Contact the United Nations and tell them that all nations are now on alert. The non-metahuman military forces might be required soon. Tell them to be ready for full incursion protocols.”

Gar nodded with a fearful tilt as he said, “I will, Director.”

Drachenflügel flew down and landed near a bank in Zurich. He had a dark green leather outfit on his muscular body, and on his back were two dragon wings. He approached the closed back door with a vicious smile and peered through the window.

“Now, where were the safe-deposit boxes?” He asked himself in German. He patted himself for a moment and then swore as he realized he had forgotten the plans.

Walking around the building in the dark of night, he flattened against a wall and used his dark wings and dark outfit to blend into the shadows as people walked by in the distance. Suddenly he recalled the location of his heist.

Placing both hands on the wall, he concentrated. It’s a good thing he rents himself out as an exotic stripper for the fabulously wealthy. After that rich elite woman had finished feeling his muscles, he snuck into her room where she had a silk case for her special diamond necklace that would go back into this box. Three seeds, that was all he needed to place in that bag.

“There they are.” He felt their presence.

Using his power, he called the seeds to grow exponentially. The vines broke through the casing and then cracked through the walls. This bank was old, outdated, and needed its vaults upgraded. Good thing for him, his vines broke through the concrete and bricks and delivered to him not just a box full of antique heirloom jewelry, but all the papers he would need to blackmail this family for years.

A hand touched his shoulder, and he quickly turned, ready for a fight. “You have no idea who... what the...” He saw the strange woman with antlers looking at him with those glowing eyes.

“You are worthy.” She grabbed his face.

He tried to fight her, but found his body quickly not responding to his own desires. Then something else filled him, and he dropped the valuables. She vanished, and he now had glowing eyes and a flickering body that was emitting a strange mist. His clothes changed, antlers grew on his head. He was no longer the same man he had been moments ago. Roots sprang up from the ground to throw him into the air, and he took off at a speed he had never flown before.

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Heroes, Villains, and Renegades Fiction: Light and Dark Part 13

 Strange Quark took a long drink from the straw in his cocktail that EB made for him. They were not in the mess hall, with Nova impatiently waiting and Chase nibbling on chocolate.

“Oh, that’s nice. A chocolate-based liqueur with a nice savory sweetness. You’ve outdone yourself,” Quark said.

EB smiled, “Thanks. Coming from you is a huge compliment.”

Nova let out a controlled sigh and then asked, “Can you give a report now?”

“Sure. I just needed a pick-me-up. I found the region of reality that EB and Dr. Fagan ended up in. Took some serious cross-realm searching. It’s nearer to our realm that I expected.”

Nova asked, “What can you tell us about it?”

“Not much. It was... unusual. It was like a shadow.”

Nova’s face lost some color as he heard this. “Shadow?”

“Yeah. It appeared to exist, and yet it felt as if it wasn’t real. The only thing I could sense there was pure morphons. The energy of our universe comprises several factors, but morphons are a tiny portion of that. There, it was all morphons. Though it could take shape, formed into creatures of some sort that attacked me. It was angry.”

Chase asked, “Angry? About what?”

“I couldn’t tell. I just sensed a perpetual anger, a loathing that simply existed.” He took another big drink from his chocolate cocktail and then said, “Sorry, Nova, I wish I had more to tell you.”

Nova stood up, obviously rattled. “You’ve told me enough. I need to contact someone right away.”

“Who?” Chase asked.

Nova turned toward the lift. “Chase, EB, I want you to help Dr. Henderson however she needs it. We need that scanner on line yesterday. Quark, if there is anything you can do to help them, do it. I will be in my office.”

“There’s one more thing.” Quark said.

Nova paused and looked back, “What?”

“EB said that The Avatar of Supernatural was there when they arrived, and that he threw them out of the realm.”

EB hopped up, standing on the table now, “Yeah. He was all superheroey and slammed the doors shut, and then we went zooming until crashing into the beach in Michigan. It was a wild ride. Kinda fun if we weren’t so scared.”

Quark said, “The Avatars are highly concentrated with power. If he were there, I would have known it.”

Chase asked, “What does this mean?”

Nova said, “We might be facing a bigger problem that I imagined. Get to work.” Nova nearly bolted away.

EB said, “Wow, to see him run kinda makes a guy scared. Nova never runs.”

Quark said, “Hey, if you can make me another one of those drinks, I’ll join you guys in the lab. I have some ideas to help with the scanner.”

“Sure, coming right up!” EB gleefully hopped back over to the kitchen area where he had some of the special stuff stashed in secret. The station did not actually allow alcohol for the students, so this was a secret.

Two younger BADGE agents sifted through the debris of the laboratory under Carlingford, Ireland. They both wore heavy suits in case of dangerous chemicals.

“Hey, Phil, is this a morphon crystal?” Andrew picked up a shard of something and held it up.

Phil walked over and scanned with a gun-like device. “Nope, just more glass.”

Andrew tossed the glass toward a pile he had started. “Leave it to me to get this job as my first assignment outside London HQ.”

Phil picked up a chunk of crystal and put it in a container. “Get used to it. Do you know how many clean-ups I have been involved with since I got this job? Back during the World Corps situation, it was a daily problem. And don’t get me started about the Fenrir battle... they wrecked an entire countryside. But, hey, the pay is unbeatable.”

Andrew stood and kicked aside a fallen table. “I hope to work up into the science department. I got my degree in advanced computer engineering. To work with BADGE would be amazing.”

“Good luck with that. Now, hand me that grabber, I can’t reach the crystal back behind this.” He held out his hand as he leaned over a pile of rubble.

Andrew handed him a long stick with a clasp on the end that was controlled by a handle.

“Find me a suitable host,” a voice said.

Phil said, “What was that?”

Andrew looked around. “I said nothing.”

“Yes, you did. Something about a host?” Phil was still working to get the shards with his grabber.

Andrew made a squeaking noise.

“Trying to say something?” Phil finally looked up and then jumped back.

A woman with antlers on her head and glowing eyes took shape from the wisps of smoke in the air. She looked at each of them with a silent examination and no emotion.

“Lady... you can’t be down here. This is a classified clean-up.”

She said, “Unworthy.” And then walked toward the back wall.

“That’s not the way - “ Before Andrew could finish, she walked directly into the wall, absorbing into an exposed section where the wall revealed dirt and rocks.

“What do we do?” Andrew asked.

Phil said, “What do you think! Call BADGE!”

Nova sat at his desk in his office and called up a holographic screen. Almost instantly, Dr. Hermes, aka the Oracle of Tech, appeared.

“I understand you’ve found something,” Dr. Hermes said.

“You really monitor everything.”

“I’m not omniscient, but I am keeping a closer eye on what you are doing. Do not worry. I will not use information for nefarious reasons.”

Nova refrained from explaining how many villains have done things thinking it was for good, even though it was evil. He still trusted this man and the oracle. “Then you know we have found evidence of people being targeted for having supernatural morphons.”

“Yes. That alarms us greatly. This fits the logical deduction of how the Malevolence would act.”

Nova said, “I sent a man into the realm that EB got stuck in. He explained it as if it were shadow, I can’t help but think he was describing what you were talking about.”

“That is even more alarming. We have seen that you are trying to track several entities that are stalking these heroes and civilians. Likely, these are the seekers, the hunters for the Malevolence to find what it needs.”

“One team successfully destroyed a creature in Louisiana, but not before taking some heavy damage. This seeker was the only one who died.”

“Dispersed, perhaps, but not destroyed.”

“What?”

“Destroying these beings is not so simple. They’re manifestations of the Malevolence’s various parts. They represent its supernatural side. Once destroyed, they can simply be remade. Only by destroying the Malevolence can they be truly destroyed.”

Nova sat back and asked, “What else can you tell me that you haven’t already told me? You seem to know a lot about this.”

“Knowledge comes from learning, Director. I am collecting the data and surmising logical conclusions based on that data. I could tell you how I have deduced these hypotheses, but it would take time.”

Nova said, “Fine. But I know you’re not telling me everything. There’s more about this you know, and you’re afraid to tell me. I have people at risk out there! Some have already died! Do not hold anything back!”

Dr. Hermes nodded softly and said, “I told you that the avatar is finally feeling emotion for the first time since it bonded with a human. Well, that is not entirely true. They already knew some emotions. One was fear. They are all deathly afraid of the Malevolence. Even Legion feared it after they once tried to harness its power and realized just how dangerous it could be. If the Malevolence ever destroys one of the Avatars, it might cripple the balance of morphons in all existence. This is probably the most important reason they stay out of the fight as much as they do.”

Nova leaned forward and said, “What, exactly, would happen if an Avatar were to be killed by the Malevolence?”

Dr. Hermes’ head jerked to the side slightly, and his eyes glowed brighter. The Oracle was taking center stage now. “All morphons aligned with their element would be in disarray. A void would form, a vacuum that would need to be filled. Even worse, the dark morphons of the same element could infuse the lifeless remains of the avatar, and they would take control of both the dark and light morphons of that element, and the balance of power in this universe would be utterly corrupted. Potentially beyond repair.”

“Then I have troubling news.” Nova said. “My people reported seeing the Avatar of Supernatural in that dark realm.”

“We know. We saw the report sent to you. We have been waiting for his return with great concern.”

Nova said, “Then you haven’t sensed him return?”

“No.”

“Strange Quark went into The Malevolence.... he didn’t sense him there either. The Avatar of Supernatural is gone.”

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Heroes, Villains, and Renegades Fiction: Light and Dark Part 12

 The great undulating clouds of this dark abyss boiled like an angry pot of water. A blue flash of light became the first fleck of color in this realm since the phone box disappeared. Strange Quark flew in the space between the two masses of darkness.

“Well, this place is cheerful. Wonder if they have a tourism board.” His snark was his only defense against the unmitigated gloom around him.

Even though he was flying forward, he couldn’t really tell. Everything was the same. It was an uneasy feeling.

“Okay, this place is strange, and coming from me that is saying something.” He stopped when a series of lightning flashes crawled through the gray darkness. “What is that?” Holding up his hand, he focused his mind on the surrounding energy. “Morphons. But something is wrong.”

“Who are you?” An ominous voice called through the nothingness.

“Just a lost duck. So, who are you?”

There was a long silence. In fact, he could tell this was a silence born of this realm thinking.

“Hey, I answered you. Who are you?”

Figures of mist appeared. All were animalistic humanoid creatures with antlers, claws, and no faces. They rushed at Strange Quark.

“Oh, I see, you’re a bunch of idiots.” He swept his hand to the side, and a blue flash dissolved two, then he shot a ray from his eyes and another evaporated. Yet, for each he destroyed, two or three would rise and rush at him. He destroyed more and more of them, but he couldn’t keep them away forever.

One grabbed his arm, and he vanished and reappeared at a distance. “Don’t touch the goods. HEY!” More appeared at his feet, pulling him down into the shadows below him. He transformed into a massive version of himself and gave a hard kick that destroyed two dozen. Four dozen replaced them, including several that were just as big as him.

“This is not good.” He turned and flew away, but a sea of these creatures appeared in the distance like a massive wave. They roared toward him, glowing green eyes and claws dripping in shadow.

“Okay, I’m outta here.” He snapped his fingers and became a blue flash. However, he remained in the same place, but now as a large albatross. “Wait, this isn’t right.” Ten of the creatures piled on top of him and pushed him down. Hundreds more swarmed over him. They ripped off blue feathers and yanked at his wings.

“One more time!” He yelled, and this time he flashed and vanished from this realm.

Nova stood with Chase, Gar, and Justin in Operations. While the robots worked, they watched a breaking news report. In fact, they had twelve different feeds from news media around the world, but there was only one with the sound on.

A woman spoke from the International News Network. Behind her were several artistic renderings of the various creatures that had attacked.

“BADGE has issued a strict warning to the world and put all Leagues and Rangers on alert. Unknown creatures have attacked both heroes and civilians across the planet. The creatures have killed two people and hospitalized several so far. It is unclear at this time who these people are or who they are working for. BADGE’s official statement is that they are actively searching for answers. If anyone sees any creature like these, avoid at all costs and report them to the authorities immediately. You can go to our website to download these pictures and find a list of links where you can report them. Now, we have an expert on recent meta-human activity who will give us their view on...”

Nova made a slashing motion across his throat, silencing the audio. “Why do they insist on bringing on supposed experts to form opinions with almost no facts to work from? Are ratings so important that they will spend more time speculating than simply reporting?” Nova let that rant out.

Chase said, “I’m surprised you put that out for the media and not just for the Leagues and Rangers.”

Nova said, “After recent events, we have had PR issues that have crippled us in most illogical ways. I decided we need to be a little more forthcoming with alerts for the public. As long as the alert won’t cause an immediate widespread panic, I think informing the public is okay.”

Justin added, “Plus, whoever is behind this now knows we are aware of this. Put them on the back foot, at least we hope it will.”

“That is a bit of a gamble,” Chase said. “Letting our enemy, whoever they are, know might only help them.”

Nova said, “That’s a risk I’m willing to take.”

Gar asked, “Have you heard from Strange Quark?”

“Not yet. I’m still not comfortable sending him, or anyone, into another realm we know nothing about. But he felt he wasn’t in any danger.”

Chase said, “Quark thinks he’s invincible some days. I hope he doesn’t do anything foolish.”

Dr. Henderson’s voice came over Nova’s comm, “Henderson to Director Nova. See me in the Bio Lab, I have some results you will want to know about.”

“On my way.” Nova clicked his comm. “Justin, Gar, keep watch in here. Chase, with me.”

Nova led Chase quickly through the station. First-year students were working on written assignments in the mess hall between classes, while the third-year students were preparing for training missions. They were going to join the ATLAS team and do a survey of flood damaged areas.

With a quick flash of his ID card, Nova walked into the bio lab with Chase. EB rushed up to him, as excited as ever.

“Hey, buddy. Guess what? We found something that is pretty amazing and kinda worrisome. I mean, it’s always worrying when people get hurt. Especially by antlered strange creatures that act like zombies. You know, this would be an interesting superhero movie about zombies. Plant zombies from space... uh... “ Nova patiently waited with folded arms. EB knew this posture well. “Uh, yeah, so Doc Henderson is over here.”

They met up with Dr. Henderson while she worked over one hero from the Louisiana team. Vexvine was awake, but pale and lethargic.

“Sir,” Vexvine tried to salute, but she couldn’t.

Nova kindly said, “Don’t worry. How do you feel?”

“Like someone has given me a dozen doses of muscle relaxers.”

Dr. Henderson checked a tube running into her arm. “This infusion should pep you up soon enough. Just, stay down and get some rest.”

Nova asked, “What happened?”

Dr. Henderson said, “After reviewing all the medical data from each of the affected people, I found a similarity. Morphon vibration.”

“Morphon vibration?” Chase asked.

EB bounced around, “It was my idea. You see, Morphons have certain frequencies. We know that now. Didn’t know it years ago. But recent studies are fantastic about this. With the avatars, we know the Morphons have unique signatures. They don’t really vibrate, but it’s just a way to say it.”

Dr. Henderson interrupted his rambling. “We still don’t know a lot about morphons, only that Legion polluted our atmosphere with them when they first attacked and then Drocha saturated us again for his plot. The impact on humans was to activate certain abilities in a select few. Some are stronger than others. Morphons have types, which we are still learning about. It is still a science in its infancy, but we can tell that people have one type more than another. I ran some scans on morphon types on these people and I found that all of them are primarily using a specific type of morphon. The remains of those two who died also had that same affinity. And finally, Doctor Fagan’s system is currently saturated with an extreme level of those morphons.”

EB said, “So, I had Justin send us the data on the spikes he saw back when all this crap started and guess what! Same type. And, oh, this is cool. Leprechauns cave... it is FILLED with the same type.”

Nova asked, “How does this help us?”

Dr. Henderson said, “We have just discovered this, and I’ll continue researching every angle. However, my best guess at this point would be that these creatures are targeting people with a natural affinity to that specific morphon type. The only problem is that we have never really focused on keeping track of that, so the heroes out there don’t really know their morphon type. I’m going to have to scan through the files. We will need to first identify specifically which morphon type this is.”

“Get on it.”

“I’ve already got the computer processing the data.”

EB said, “It’s supernatural.”

“What?” Dr. Henderson asked.

“That is what filled the crystals in Leprechaun’s cave, and that matches the type for Dr. Fagan. She showed me her limited power, and it set the crystals off in a crazy display. You’ve never seen such a reaction. It was boom, pow, zzzzzzzap. She was all glowy. That’s right before...”

Nova interrupted EB, “If these creatures are targeting people with that type of morphon, then we need to know who to warn and get them to safety.”

Dr. Henderson said, “We have some information about the people who have been through here, but we didn’t do complete morphon profiles until recently. And we must also consider the people who don’t realize they have morphonic abilities. The first two attacked weren’t heroes, but I will bet they had supernatural morphon properties in them.”

“That is your primary objective, find me a way to locate these people so we can get them to safety.”

“I will...”

A loud pop echoed around them, and something appeared in the lab, skidding across the floor. It looked like a bright blue platypus. It spoke, “Ow, that hurt. Wow, what a trip.”

Nova said, “Strange Quark, is that you?”

The platypus looked up and said, “Yeah, it’s me, and things got serious. This is worse than I thought.”

Continue the Story

Heroes, Villains, and Renegades Fiction: Light and Dark Part 11

 Vexvine sat in front of his cardboard screen, eyeing the other players. He said, “Okay, you see a door in front of you with a warning on it. Who has the best passive perception?”

A girl with deep green eyes said, “Mine is a 27.”

“Okay, so you can hear cackling behind the door. It is your only way through. What do you do?”

The four players all nodded to each other and then, one by one, said, “I change into a bear.” “I change into a spider.” “I change into a moose.” “I change into a panther.”

Vexvine put her head in her hands. “You can’t all wildshape, then you can’t communicate with each other. Why are you all always druids?”

They all smiled as a man said, “We are the Natural Wonders League, of course we would play druids.”

“Well, this will get interesting... as usual. Okay, so who goes in first?”

Before anyone could answer, a buzzer sounded on the communication computer in their League HQ. It stirred them all right out of their game, and one rushed to the computer.

“Sensors just picked up a massive spike in the area. It is like the one BADGE warned us about.”

“Okay, put your dice down and let’s get to work.”

The hero team all left their HQ and rushed to a dock where a pair of airboats waited for them. They jumped into the boats and sped out into the bayou. The giant fan on the back buzzed, sending them speeding over the murky waters, each pilot craftily dodging stumps and other natural obstacles.

“WHAT ARE WE LOOKING FOR?” Algea asked Vexvine.

Steering the boat, Vexvine said, “The alert was for a strange creature with antlers, human in shape!”

“Sounds like a druid,” Algaea laughed.

Wildshaper yelled out from the other airboat, “I see something!”

Before Vexvine could look, a massive series of roots shot straight up and sent the boat with three in it

flipping through the air. All three heroes jumped free before it crashed. Wildshaper transformed into a hawk, Algea grabbed the side of a think dead tree trunk, and Vexvine called up a series of vines to catch her and carry her.

The other boat zoomed ahead of them and kept going, unaware of the attack. Hovering over the water was the strange old man with no legs who attacked the boat in Italy.

“Feed the will.” He said as he reached out his hand toward Vexvine.

She twisted around, sinking down into the bayou and then springing back up behind him. Vines came up around him, but he flew straight up and then shot at an angle toward Algaea. The Hawk dove and hit him across the face, throwing him into the water.

Wildshaper quickly transformed into his human shape as he sat on a branch of another tree. “Get your algae together, this thing moves-“

Wildshaper felt a great crash of water, and the impact threw him out of the tree. Springing up from the water was this creature. It still had its eyes on Algaea. She gathered green muck to herself to form a giant monster, but she was stopped. Energy came pouring out of her head, and she went limp.

Wildshaper transformed into an elephant, stomping through the bayou, but another tendril of energy hit his head, and he transformed back into a human and fell flat on his back in the water, floating on moss.

Vexvine commanded a series of vines to entangle the creature, but it caught them and held tight. More of this energy flowed along the vines, and Vexvine seized a tree to prevent falling and drowning in the water.

“Feed the Will!” he called out as he drained all three.

The buzz of an engine roared toward him. Through the thick brush and moss came the second airboat, which crashed right into the creature and slammed it into a tree. He screamed in a strange, unholy screech and then exploded in a puff of greenish-blue smoke.

“Got him!” Gol yelled from the front of the boat.

Darlene at the helm backed up, “What about the others?”

Vexvine yelled in a weak, mumbled tone. “Help... I can’t... stand any longer.” She slipped from the tree and fell into the water.

“Aw, crap.” Gol held up his arms and green energy appeared. Twigs, leaves, roots, and moss gathered into several ten foot tall golems under his control. They went to work scooping up the fallen heroes and placing them on the deck of the remaining airboat.

Nova walked with EB and Chase through the station toward the infirmary. Chase had a tablet out where she was talking with several people.

“I know... yes, the Petoskey league got an inauguration.” She said to one person.

Another said to her, “What about us? We have everything planned.”

Nova took the tablet and looked at it. “Right now, we’re at a heightened security globally. There is no time for parties and celebrations. Get your teams in gear and keep your eyes open. After this settles down, you can have your inauguration. Is that understood?” The new league leaders all nodded and answered in agreement.

Nova shut the comms down and thrust the tablet back into Chase’s hands.

“Was that tone entirely necessary?” Chase asked.

Nova said, “This isn’t a social club, Chase, this is BADGE. We’ve had a pleasant stretch of peace after the Renn Tech incident, but that’s no reason to turn this into a party. Those heroes signed up to be protectors, and that is what they need to do right now.”

Chase asked, “What’s got your eyepatch in a twist?”

EB replied, “Oh, he’s just bitter because he doesn’t know what’s going on. The less he knows, the grumpier he gets. This one time, back in the 19th century, he was all mouth with the President of the United States when...” EB saw the look on Nova’s face and calmed down.

Chase said, “EB’s right. You get angry when you feel you don’t know enough.”

Nova said, “I’ll admit, I get annoyed when things happen that we’re in the dark about. And I get even more annoyed when I believe someone knows something and isn’t telling me, especially when it is putting this world at risk.”

“Who is keeping information from you?” Chase asked.

“The Oracle of Tech knows more than he is telling me. I’m sure of that. And right now, we have two deaths and one doctor who is being targeted by something we cannot even begin to explain.”

“I’m sure he’d tell you anything that is important.” Chase said.

EB said, “Weeeelll, these Avatar guys are weird. It’s like they don’t really want to help, but they do help. I can’t figure them out. This Oracle, he is just an avatar and some human mixed up. So, the avatar is the one who knows stuff, and I don’t know if he cares to tell us everything.”

Nova stopped at the door to the infirmary and said, “EB, that was the wisest thing you said. I need answers, and I know he is keeping them from me.”

The door opened, and they walked in. Doctor Henderson leaned over a bio-bed with Dr. Fagan lying on it. Dr. Fagan was currently connected to medical devices, and several hovering scanners monitored her.

“Report,” Nova announced himself with this one word.

Dr. Henderson left her patient and joined them. “Doctor Fagan is still alive. In fact, there is no medical reason she shouldn’t be awake right this minute. I can’t figure out what is wrong with her. I can say that her morphon levels are off the charts.”

“Wasn’t she a low-morphon case when she came here a few years back?” Chase asked.

Dr. Henderson took them over to a monitor near Dr. Fagan. She accessed two different recordings that had graphs on them. “These are the readings from her last visit. Minimal morphonic levels. Her abilities were so weak that it was determined she could go on with her life with no check-up or suppression. This other chart is from over a hundred scans I have done to make sure they are correct. Right now, her morphon levels are incredibly high. The only other people here with morphon levels higher than this are yourself and EB. I’d say, if she were to wake and try her powers, they would be incredibly strong at this point.”

Nova asked, “Do you have any explanation?”

Dr. Henderson said, “Nothing concrete. The only piece of evidence that might explain this is what EB told us about the morphon crystals in the cave. They hit her with something, and that might have supercharged her own natural abilities. But this theory has little to work with.”

“What about the two other people who were killed?” Chase asked.

Dr. Henderson said, “We received their bodies. I intend to run autopsy scans on them soon. But we haven’t started yet.”

“Get started. I need answers. We-“

Everyone’s comms activated as well as a communication over the infirmary comm system. A robotic voice said, “Infirmary, incoming wounded. Shuttle seven arriving, docking bay. Send medical support.”

Dr. Henderson rushed to her people to get them moving.

Nova slapped his comm, “What’s going on?”

Agent Justin said, “Sir, we’ve had three attacks across the planet. Almost the entire New Orleans team was taken down, and paramedics sent them up here for emergency medical attention. There were also attacks in Beijing and in Greenland.”

“Send out the code red alert. Tell all the leagues to be ready for anything.”

Continue the Story

Heroes, Villains, and Renegades Fiction: Light and Dark Part 10

 Nova stood over the still smoking old phone box, staring at EB. The residents of Petoskey, Michigan, as well as the news media and the newest inaugurated League looked on from a distance. The voices of the reporters heard in the distance were already talking about EB, he was very famous now.

“What in the blazes are you doing?” Nova contained his bellowing, though the attitude was obvious.

“There was this strange woman thing that attacked us in Carlingford, sapped all the power in me and the area. Was totally rude. Then she attacked the lab. We had to blow the lab and get the heck outta there. Then this box ended up in some strange realm of mean-looking darkness that tried to eat Lily. And then the avatar showed up and sent us here and... well, that brings us to here.”

Nova said, “That made no sense.”

“We don’t have time. The Doctor is in trouble.”

“Doctor... Doctor who?” Nova asked.

“Dr. Fagan, the doctor I went to see. She’s in here and the darkness touched her, and she is out cold. Still breathing, but not moving.”

Nova finally leaned over to see the woman lying against the back of the box. “Okay. We can sort this out on the station.” Nova’s comm unit beeped loudly, and he slapped it. “What?”

Justin’s voice came through. “Sir, we have a massive spike in Morphons in Ireland and your location. And we have another death on our hands, another attack by an unnamed creature.”

“Damn,” Nova whispered. “We will be right there. Tell Doctor Henderson to be ready for a code red.” He clicked off his comm. “Captain!” He pointed at the leader of this new League.

The man rushed over and stood at attention. “Yes, sir?”

“I have to go right away. The media does not need to know more than we are working on a case, and that is all. Your league and all leagues will soon be on alert. Be ready for that. Clear this gathering up asap. And get to your posts at your new HQ. Congratulations on the new post and good luck.”

“We will do our best.” He rushed back, eager to get to work.

Nova said, “EB, zap us all to the infirmary.”

“Uh, well, I don’t know if I can. My powers aren’t working so well. But... I can try.” EB took a few calming breaths and then clapped his paws together.

A great flash surrounded them, and when it died down, they were all in the middle of the floor of the station infirmary.

“I DID IT! YAY! MY POWERS ARE BACK! MY POWERS ARE BACK!” EB hopped around.

Dr. Henderson rushed over, “What on earth?”

“There is a woman in that box, she needs medical attention right away.” Nova stood back.

The doctor and a nurse rushed in and lifted Dr. Fagan out of the blue phone box. Henderson asked, “Can you tell me how this happened?”

Nova quickly reached out and grabbed EB as the excited bunny bounced around. Dangling EB by his ears, Nova asked, “What happened to her?”

EB said, “I really don’t know. Something in the cave of Leprechauns’ old home hit her. The morphon crystals went all nuts and zapped her. She started having powers. Then, this woman showed up...”

“Short version?” Nova demanded.

“Some kind of darkness touched her, and she passed out. That’s all I know.”

Dr. Henderson said, “Okay, that isn’t much to work with. I’ll do all I can.”

While the medical staff went to work, Nova dropped EB and walked out the door. “With me.” EB bounded after him.

Nova walked into the Operations with EB zipping past him to the main floor. Agent Justin and Gar waited for him.

“Report!” Nova barked.

Justin gestured toward the monitor where there was an image of Whirl from her student file. “Earlier today, our system picked up a minor spike in the morphons in Kansas, United States. I alerted the nearest league in Wichita, Kansas. By the time the Plains Riders arrived, they found her body on the ground. She was... dead. No sign of injury, nothing we can find wrong with her, she was just dead. Her body is being sent up for examination along with the body of the young fisherman off the coast of Italy.”

Nova said, “Good thinking to bring the bodies here. There has to be a connection. I also want to have the hick from Georgia examined again by one of our people.”

“I’ll contact our BADGE office in Atlanta and send out someone,” Justin said.

EB asked, “So, how do you know it was some kinda creature? And what other creatures are showing up? I honestly have no idea what you guys are talking about. I’ve already seen some weird crap. This lady showed up who was wild-looking. Had wooden antlers and some incredible powers over nature. She was twisted... though kinda hot.”

Gar said, “We have had three attacks now... maybe four if yours counts... of strange human-like creatures attacking people. Two have taken lives.”

Nova said, “EB has a good point. How do you know what attacked Whirl in Kansas?”

Justin answered, “The only good thing to come out of this. Since the attack was on the open plains, very easy for our satellite monitors to see. I had the computer focus on every spike and record anything of value. Most saw nothing as the spikes were false alarms. But when I reviewed the images taken from the Kansas spike...” He nodded at a robot.

A window opened on the main monitor, and it showed the creature attacking Whirl. It was a series of still shots, but they were clear enough to see. The system highlighted and expanded several of the shots to provide a better look at the creature.

Justin said, “The description of the attack in Georgia fits this thing almost exactly.”

“Send this image to the office in Atlanta. Have the man confirm this is the same creature.”

Gar asked, “What are they?”

“I don’t know. I have seen nothing quite like them,” Nova said.

Justin said, “I have a theory. What if these are some people that Drocha mutated in those spheres? If they are without his control, they could be erratic and dangerous.”

Nova nodded, “That thought had crossed my mind. However, Krystal destroyed the spheres in space. Our sensors detected nothing falling back to Earth this large. Most is still out there or has already burnt up in the atmosphere. It doesn’t mean that this isn’t somehow connected. Yet, something in me feels this is an entirely new problem.”

“OH, OH, OH!” EB hopped around, waving his paw in the air like he wanted to be called on.

“This isn’t elementary school, what is it?” Nova asked.

“That woman thing that attacked us in Ireland kept talking oddly. She spoke as if she were on a mission. She said something about ‘you will become’ and then stuff about this being part of ‘the will’, oh, and inside that strange place we got stuck in, there was something there going after Lily saying she was chosen or something like that. They were all after her. It was as if they were after something, searching for something. I should hide a bunch of eggs and let them go hunting for those instead of people. I wonder what kinda eggs they would look for. Weird eggs? They were really weird.”

Justin said, “Enough, EB.” Then turned to Nova, who had become oddly quiet and wasn’t even showing irritation at EB’s rambling. “Director? Is something the matter?”

Nova nodded, “It’s something the Avatar of Tech was talking to me about. Something dark is coming... it might already be here.”

Continue the Story