Chase helped clean up one of the
storage rooms EB’s energetic search had wrecked. Crimson Guardian
helped out. He had already cleaned up the main hallway.
Crimson
said, “You hear that?”
Chase
frowned, “Yes.
Thump,
thump, thump.
“What
on Earth?” She carefully stepped over another fallen case that held
night-vision goggles and came closer to that sound.
Thump,
thump, thump.
It
came again, this time a little louder. She listened closely to the
wall and realized it was coming from the other side. “The War
Room?”
“Need
help?” Crimson asked.
“No.
Head down to med labs and see that they are all in good order.
Thanks.” she left the storage room and turned a single corner to
find the door to the war room.
Inside,
five robots were busy repairing the damage around the room. EB sat on
the table, playing with his big feet. “Okay, okay. That was too
easy. This time I really got a good one. Were the first french fries
cooked in France? Hun...huh?” He scooted closer to where Nova was
standing facing a wall.
Nova
said, “Shut...up.”
“No,
silly. The first french fries were cooked in….GREASE! HA!”
Thump,
thump, thump. Nova slowly pounded his forehead against the wall.
“Director?”
Chase slowly approached the man. “Weren’t you going to send him
away?”
Nova
actually whimpered, “The shuttles are all out with agents searching
for the Hooded Man.”
EB
piped in, “Besides, we’re having a great time here right now.
Wouldn’t want to run off in the middle of the party.”
“This
isn’t a party,” Nova stated.
Chase
sensed the growing rage in Nova. He might do something he could
regret later. She stepped in. “So, EB. You’re the Easter Bunny,
that must be fun.” she sat down near him.
He
rocked a little on his fuzzy rear as he nodded, “It was a blast.”
“Was?”
“Oh,
I stopped the whole hiding eggs shindig years ago.”
Nova
sat down next to her, “EB here is probably the most active of all
the mythical figures. He operates three of the largest chocolate
companies in the world.”
“Really?”
Chase looked at the bunny.
“Yup.
I came up with the most amazing recipes for chocolate years and years
ago. Back then, the only time people really got to taste my candy was
when I left it in the eggs on Easter Morning. But, with retiring from
the whole hiding egg business, I changed over to manufacturing.”
“Which
companies?”
Nova
answered, “He owns Galaxy Candy, Zen Chocolate of Japan, and Milko
in Germany.”
Chase
pulled out a candy bar, “You mean the MoreFun candy bars that’s
made by Galaxy Chocolate...”
EB
hopped up and down, “One of my best. Both a confection and energy
bar!” He materialized a large basket and pulled out one of those
decorated eggs. “The chocolate in these is my special recipe.”
Just
then, one of the formerly broken monitors came back on. A signal
blared from it as a window waited to be opened. Nova slapped a button
on the table, and the screen activated. The Chef, a superhero and
cook, spoke. “BADGE this is The Chef, do you copy?”
“Nova
here.”
“Oh,
thank goodness. I’ve been trying to get through for an hour.”
“We
had a few...complications here. What’s the problem?”
The
Chef held up one of EB’s eggs, “We were searching for any signs
of the Hooded Man and this egg set off the sensors. It has the same
energy signature as the one we’re following to find the Hooded Man.
I’ve spoken to dozens of other agents and heroes, they’re picking
up thousands of signatures now, all false leads.”
Nova’s
good eye twitched, and he quickly grabbed EB by a leg and dangled him
upside down in front of his face. “YOU PUT MAGIC IN THE CHOCOLATE!”
EB
grinned, “Makes it taste better.”
“THAT
SIGNATURE IS OUR ONLY WAY TO TRACK THIS MONSTER!”
EB
finally looked scared for the first time, “I was only trying to be
nice. Honest.”
Nova
dropped him, and he hopped over to Chase and held her out of fear of
Nova.
Chase
said, “Calm down, sir. It was an honest mistake.”
“He
makes a lot of them.” Nova fumed for a moment and then calmed, “I
guess it was a mistake, sorry.”
“Hugs?”
EB held up his arms.
“Don’t
push it.”
Chase
asked, “Do we need to get the eggs out of the field?”
“Yes.”
Nova said, then asked EB, “How easy is it to find those eggs?”
“Oh,
they are quite the little hiders. I made them extra hard to find
since your heroes are so powerful...and...” his joviality faded,
“And, that’s a problem.”
Nova’s
face reddened a little, but he contained himself, “Is there an
easier way to find them?”
EB
hopped over to his basket, “It’s always easier to hunt for Easter
Eggs with an Easter Basket,” he snapped his fingers and a duplicate
basket appeared. “Just for my buddy Nova.” he held it up.
Nova
snatched it from EB and then handed it to Chase. He kept his eye
contact with EB as he growled out, “We’re going to need a lot
more.”
EB
snapped his fingers and two more baskets appeared. He was about to do
this again when he paused. “There’s one more thing.”
“What
now?”
“You
see, I...uh...had this awesome idea. Really, it was just a cool
notion and I went with it, I thought you would like it,”
“GET
TO THE POINT!”
EB
quickly rattled off, “When the last egg is found it will grow to a
giant egg and they will have to break its shell to get the goodies
inside.”
Nova
pinched the bridge of his nose, “Chase...”
She
grabbed an armful of baskets, “I know, I know, I’m on my way.”
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