Part 12
Martial
Law sat on a rock, staring out at the crock of gold. His fists were
actually sore he had beat on that stupid barrier so many times.
Around him a few heroes had gathered, each with a gold coin. No one
was certain what to do with them just yet. A car stopped halfway up
the hill and a small creature jumped out, a golden coin clutched in
its beak. Martial audibly groaned at the sight of him.
“Hello,
Zen.”
Zen,
the Penguin, held up his gold coin, “Found this on an iceberg. My
brothers and sisters were making quite a fuss.”
“You
mean other real penguins,” Martial stated.
“Of
course, I said my brothers and sisters.” He held out that coin,
“What do I do with this?”
“Hold
onto it. Nova isn’t certain what to do since the barrier is
preventing us from getting to the crock and he’s worried about
gathering them together. Basically, guard it.”
“Can
do.”
Dr.
Blake swooped over and landed, he ran up to Martial, “We have a
problem.”
“What
now?”
Dr.
Blake pointed down the hill, “We have company, and it’s not
heroes.”
Martial
stood up as he saw a man leading a group of news people up the hill.
“Who the hell is that?”
“Some
guy who thinks he knows all about Leprechauns. He is royally ticked
that we’re here, messing with their protected native environment.”
The sarcasm was thick in Dr. Blake's voice.
“The...what!”
Just
then this man and the reporters all approached Martial Law and Dr.
Blake. A woman shoved a mic at Martial. “Is it true that BADGE has
located legitimate Leprechaun gold?”
Martial
huffed, “We’re not at liberty to discuss any details at this...”
The
man angrily interrupted, “The UN has promised protection of the
Leprechauns and their territory. If BADGE has any information, they
must tell us so we can protect them from gold hunters.”
Dr.
Blake calmly said, “I’m sorry. We’re in a situation right now
that could turn dangerous. It’s in your best interest to leave this
area until the situation returns to normal.”
The
reporter asked, “Does this situation have any relation to what
happened in Paris earlier this year?”
“We
are not at liberty to...”
The
angry man interrupted again, “Of course not. Leprechauns aren’t
evil. LOOK OVER THERE!” He shoved Martial aside and led the
cameraman toward the cliff.
“Don’t
get too close!” Dr. Blake said.
Martial
was about to pummel these people when Dr. Blake stopped him. “Let
go of my arm, I’m going to throw that man into orbit.”
Dr.
Blake coolly answered, “Which will only make things worse. Let’s
just go convince them to leave.”
“What
about the rest?” Martial pointed back where the news crews came
from. There were hundreds of locals streaming up the hills.
“Oh
my,” Dr. Blake sighed, “Come on.” He headed for the reporters.
The
angry man tapped the barrier while yelling, “What have they done!
That is a legitimate crock of gold. WHY ARE THEY KEEPING IT BEHIND
THIS BARRIER!”
The
reporter spoke into her mic, “We’re seeing something...unusual on
an island. It appears to be a real crock of gold. If it belongs to a
Leprechaun or not has yet to be determined...”
“Of
course it’s a Leprechaun’s!” The man yelled.
Dr.
Blake interrupted them, “Please, we have this under control.”
“Why
is BADGE trying to hoard that crock?” The man got into Dr. Blake's
face.
“BADGE
is doing no such thing.”
“We
all know that BADGE has been gathering anything with supernatural
abilities. They’re hoarding power, everyone knows that. Now they’re
going after sacred, ancient powers that belong in this land, not
their greedy hands.”
Martial
came up, red in the face, “Not only did we NOT construct this damn
barrier, we have an agent trapped inside by whoever made it. Her life
is at risk and having you prattle on about some stupid conspiracy
theories about BADGE is NOT HELPING!”
“Oh,
my.” The reporter directed the camera back to the island. “Can
you give us this agent's name and...is that a Penguin?”
Just
then Zen walked up, which drew a few bewildered looks from the news
crew. The Penguin said, “I don’t know what’s going on here, but
we have company.”
Dr.
Blake looked up to see three tour buses arrive and instantly disgorged with dozens of people. “What’s this?”
The
angry man folded his arms and sneered at the heroes, “I told the
world of BADGE’s little discovery. Soon, thousands will be here to
witness the true evidence of real Leprechauns. They’ll see what you
want to hide. Then BADGE won’t be able to conceal their greedy
ambitions any longer.”
Martial
grabbed the man by his collar and held him off the ground. “You
foolish, stupid, little man. I should...”
“Stop!”
Dr. Blake commanded.
Martial
growled at the sweating man and put him down.
Dr.
Blake looked at the reporter and said, “BADGE and associated heroes
will have no comment.” He grabbed Martial by the arm and dragged
him away.
Once
they were far enough, Martial huffed, “You should’ve let me punch
him into the next century. Then maybe these tourists would be scared
to come.”
“I
doubt that’s how Commander Troy or Nova would want us to handle
this. We need to check-in and let them know what’s going on.”
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