“So… which league do you want to join?” Gar asked.
“What?” Arx casually checked a small monitor near him, poking at random controls.
Gar said, “you said you wanted to be a hero, so you will join a League and help protect the world. That is what heroes do.”
Arx laughed, “not all heroes. You and this lovely creature here,” He flirted with Chase, who blushed, “work directly for BADGE. That’s what I want.”
Nova scoffed.
Arx continued, “me joining a league would be difficult. I am, after all, THE Arx. How would I possibly choose which league to bless with my presence?”
Nova said, “I think we need some mustard.”
Arx cocked his head, “what for?”
Nova, without even looking at Arx, said, “with the amount of bologna in the shuttle right now, I think we should at least have some sandwiches.”
“And I said you didn’t have a sense of humor.” Arx laughed.
Nova replied, “I’m not laughing. You aren’t joining BADGE or a League. You’re going to give us a full report of what you saw in that lab and then get the hell off our station and out of the hero business for good.”
“I think I’ll make my own life choices, thank you.”
Before Nova could tell Arx what he thought of those choices, the robot pilot announced. “Arrival at BADGE station in forty-five seconds. Prepare for docking.”
The shuttle contacted the airlock, and the back hatch opened. A team of specialist immediately unloaded the gathered anti-morphon lasers and placed them on carts to be moved to the science department.
Nova got up and said, “Gar, I want you to escort Mr. Arx here to the briefing room and have Dr. Henderson bring her equipment for analysis. Chase... Chase…” he snapped his fingers.
Chase had been staring at Arx. She shook her head and looked at Nova. “Oh, sorry. What?”
“Check in with the medical department and then head to the Operations center. You’ll keep watch while I debrief our superstar.”
“Oh, uh, sure.”
Nova left the shuttle, a permanent look of disgust on his face. Gar stepped out and waited.
Chase paused before leaving. “Well, I would like you to stick around.” She winked at Arx and then left.
Gar watched her leave, his face scrunched up with intense curiosity. Arx stepped out and smiled at Gar, “let’s go.”
***
Arx sat at the large, round table in the middle of the briefing room. A selection of specialized instruments beeped and blinked nearby as Dr. Henderson took readings. Nova stepped in and yanked out a chair to sit down near Arx.
“Doctor, you ready?” Nova asked.
Dr. Henderson nodded, “yup, all the systems are online.”
Arx frowned with that boyish smile of his. “You hooking me up to a lie detector or something like that?”
Dr. Henderson replied, “on, no, Mr. Arx. Just doing an initial scan. I can analyze morphonic data, and this brain scanner helps me see if you are being influenced by anything. I have to say, Mr. Arx, it’s such a pleasure to be working with you. I’ve seen all your movies and you…”
“Doctor,” Nova interrupted this.
“Sorry, sir.”
Nova said, “okay, Arx, tell me what happened in that lab?”
“I told the news all about that. Just watch tonight, I’m sure it’s all over the place by now.”
“I don’t want the news report of this, I want your report. I want details you spared so you could flirt with the cameras. Anything could help us.”
Arx said, “fine. I’ll tell you what I saw in there. I got in that old shack and found nothing, but I knew better than that. There I was, surrounded by dust and spiders…”
“This isn’t a movie script. Just the facts.”
“Oh, sorry, force of habit. Okay, I located a hidden door under some floorboards and smashed my way through. I got down to an underground laboratory where this little fat crazy guy was cowering in a corner. This dude didn’t even have a gun on him. I told him to surrender, and that’s when he hit a button and these crazy spider bots showed up and attacked me. I smashed and busted them up quickly. He headed for an escape tube or something like that, and I stopped him. I told him he was going to talk or else. Well, he took the ‘or else’ seriously and hit a self-destruct button. The computers blew first, then the whole place blasted part. Next thing I know, WHAM, I’m being ejected out of the ball of fire like a stunt double.”
Nova asked, “what about those computers, and the equipment? Any indication of what he was doing? What he was working on?”
“Not really. Mostly just tech stuff. I saw some stations with equipment to work on those laser guns. He was running a dyotronic computer processing system, really advanced stuff.”
“You recognized that?”
“Yup. You forget, before I got into the whole Hollywood scene, I went to school for computer tech. I still remember some of that crap.”
Nova said, “Perhaps you could be of further help. Have a look at the tech lab where we’re analyzing those weapons. See if you can recognize anything.”
“Sure thing.”
Nova gestured toward the door. “You can step out now. I’m sure you’d like something to eat, it’s been a long day.”
“No problem. Glad to be part of the team.” He slapped Nova on the shoulder.
Nova coldly stated, “you aren’t part of the team. Just helping.”
“We’ll see.” Arx left the room.
Nova looked at Dr. Henderson, “well, what did you get?”
She said, “I did a complete scan. His morphonic signature is much stronger than the last data we had on record for him. His powers have grown considerably.”
“That would explain how he survived that explosion. Unfortunately, this means we will need to consider him possibly joining a team. Just what we need.”
Arx stepped out of the lift from the operation levels and out into the large food court. Dozens of heroes and workers gathered and were staring at him. Some girls were just about to swoon while a few guys had movie posters in their hands, waiting to be autographed.
Arx waved and gave them his famous smile. “It’s so nice to see I have fans even up here. I…”
Gar peeled EB off of Arx, “Calm down.”
EB, dangling from how Gar was holding him, held his paws out toward Arx. “Don’t you know who this is!”
Arx laughed and patted EB on the head. “I never imagined I’d have a living legend as a fan. I’m honored.”
EB swooned, “he called me a living legend.”
Arx waved at the crowds again. “Hey everyone. It’s so great to meet you. If you haven’t heard, I’m joining you up here with BADGE. And, to celebrate, let’s have a little cocktail party out here, tonight. I mix a mean drink. And…” he walked over and pulled Chase out of the crowd.
EB lost that fawning look, “what’s he doing with Chase?”
Arx said, “I have a lovely date for the party already.” he kissed her hand.
While the crowds applauded and hooted, EB yelled, “HANDS OFF! THAT’S MY HOT BABE! LEMME AT ‘EM!” He wriggled around as Gar held him back from attacking Arx.
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