Part 1
Chase
dove and tumbled across the floor. Landing in a crouched position,
she threw two wooden blades. The brute dodged them as he quickly
approached. With a large swing of his fist, he went for her head, but
she jumped out of the way and then struck him twice in the gut and
once in the face. He stumbled back, but not as far as she had
anticipated. With a final kick from him, she was caught off guard and
sent down
“Careful!”
Chase yelled.
The
Mongolian Mauler laughed and gave her a hand up. “Sorry. I’m used
to sparring with heroes who can take a hit.”
Chase
rubbed her side, “I can take a hit...well, to a point. Maybe I
should accept that energy-absorbing bodysuit Nova talked about.”
The
Mauler nodded, “Couldn’t hurt. If you plan on getting in fights
with other superhumans, you will need a better advantage. However,
you did well this time. So, another round of training?”
“No.
Three hours this morning is enough. Maybe later.”
“I don't mind training you, but I thought you were Nova’s secretary or something like
that.”
She
shot him a look sharper than her blades, “I’m not his secretary.
I’m his assistant. I don’t file things and deliver memos.”
He
held his hands up, “all right, assistant. But, does he expect you
to fight?”
“In
this job, everyone needs to be ready for a fight.”
“True.”
Chase
glanced at the large man, “Say, do you know what Nova’s powers
are?”
“Not
really. I wasn’t even clear if he had any.”
“I
don’t know. At first glance, I’d say he doesn’t have any. But,
I suspect there is more to that old codger than...” Both stopped as
they saw Nova standing in the doorway of the training room. Chase
cleared her throat, “I...uh...meant,”
“Chase,
meeting room. Mauler, head back to your league.”
The
Mauler left out another door while Chase followed Nova.
There
was a long silence between them. Chase finally got up the nerve to
say, “Sir, I was just kidding about calling you a codger. I...”
“The
answer is yes.”
“What?”
“Yes,
I have powers. More than one, if that matters. However, I will not
tell you what they are. Being who I am means there’s a lot about me
that must stay secret.”
“Oh...okay.”
This only made the curiosity that much more painful on her mind.
***
They
entered the conference room of BADGE where a large circular table
waited with seats all around. Gar spoke with another winged man.
Seated on the other side of the table, with his back to Chase, was a
mostly canine man.
Nova
rounded the table to his chair and then pointed next to the dog-man,
“Chase, take your seat.”
She
walked over and sat down, instantly jerking and leaning away as the
dog-man sniffed her. He stuck out his hand...paw, and said in a
British accent, “Hi, I’m Fleagle.”
“Uh,
hello. Chase.”
Nova
said, “And, this is Gamma Ray.” he gestured toward the other man.
“Hey
there.”
“Enough
introductions. We have a situation.” Nova turned on the tables
holo-imager. A fuzzy representation of the dark-hooded man appeared,
“It has been two weeks since the incident in Paris, and we are no
closer to finding evidence on who or what this enemy is. That he
escaped is bad, but he indicated that his plans are still in motion.
He, alone, was able to take on hundreds of heroes at once and escape
nearly unscathed.”
“What
do you need us to do?” Gamma Ray asked.
Nova
changed the projection to show the entire planet. “Cupid and Santa
Claus have given BADGE information about others of their kind hidden
on Earth. If this man is after their power, then he will probably
strike again. I’m sending you out there to warn these individuals
of the risk.”
Chase
asked, “Wouldn’t they already know of the risk?”
“From
what Cupid said, these people have remained isolated from each other
for centuries. Their connection to the human world is thin. Yes, they
might know of the risk, but we cannot gamble on that. We have to be
certain. Gar, Gamma, head toward our BADGE location in Tokyo, from
there you will head to the hiding place of the Dragon and Phoenix.”
He slid a computer tablet over to them.
“Understood,”
Gar answered.
Nova
then slid a tablet over to Chase, “Chase, Fleagle, head to BADGE’s
London office and then find the Leprechaun.”
Chase
paused in her reach for the tablet, “The...what?”
“You
heard me.”
She
finished picking up the tablet, “all right.”
“Okay
people, get moving.”
Gar
and Gamma both headed out, each talking about how fast the other
could fly. Fleagle bounded off out the door.
Chase
stopped Nova before leaving, “Why send me with the dog? I can
handle something like this alone. I work better alone.”
“First,
I need you to break yourself of that solitary attitude. Teamwork is
important to BADGE.”
“Says
the man who works primarily with robots and a statue.”
Nova
finished his thought, “Second, Fleagle is from that part of the
world and knows it well. He has great tracking skills.”
“Fine.
I can deal with this.”
Nova
held her arm before she left, “Just be warned, Fleagle can take
some getting used to. He’s...not all human.”
“I
can tell.”
Nova
walked out before her and instantly yelled, “FLEAGLE! I TOLD YOU,
WE HAVE BATHROOMS!”
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