Nova walked into the conference room on the Station. Quark and EB were discussing the best tasting liquor filled chocolate. Dr. Henderson and Agent Justin looked over several computer tablets. Arx and Gar sat near each other without saying a word to the other.
“Good, everyone is back.” Nova said, and walked up to the front of the room.
EB hopped up and stood on the table. “Is Santa here?”
Dr. Henderson said, “Yes. He’s with Chase at this time.”
Nova took his seat at the front of the room. “Give me a brief update on Chase.”
“She’s stable. Her vital signs are all good. I simply cannot wake her up. However, my sensors indicate she’s being held by some kind of arcane energy.”
EB said, “Santa’s really good with that stuff. Better than me, just don’t tell him I said so. If anyone can break the curse or spell on Chase, it will be him. Though I still think a kiss might do the trick.”
“Enough of that. Sit.” Nova pointed at the seat next to Quark, which the bunny reluctantly plopped down in.
“Quark?” Nova looked over at the blue hero. “What did you find in New Amsterdam and Paris?”
He shook his head. “With the help of local leagues and the police, we checked every last detail. I looked into the local energy spectrum as well. I could only see a residual trace of strange energy. But it’s the same energy I’ve seen at every attack. So, I know it’s connected to this Shadow Krampus. Unfortunately, it doesn’t help much.”
“Damnit. We need something. I know this isn’t the last of that thing.”
Quark sat forward. “There is one thing we did find...or rather, never found. At no time did we see any of the former World Corps goons involved. I gathered every speck of footage from New Amsterdam, security cams, ATMs, traffic cams, even cell phones. We ran everything through tracers and not one face pegged the sensors. There doesn’t seem to be a connection.”
Nova said, “I think we found the World Corps goons. They have overthrown a small country in Central America, Ka’an Dorado.”
“Ka’an Dorado? That’s like a spot in the road.” Arx piped in.
Agent Justin said, “Ka’an Dorado is one of the world’s leading gold resources. It is a small country, but they are extremely wealthy. They have never challenged any of their neighbors, but they aren’t weak. Their military is bolstered by the most expensive mercenaries money can buy. The fact that these world corps soldiers could so quickly overthrow them is...odd.”
Nova said, “Investigator Barnaby spoke with the United Nations security office and found that Ben Talos is not talking, however he hasn’t had any visitors since they incarcerated him. But, as we have seen before, masterminds can do things behind bars that defy logic.”
“Are you assuming that Ben Talos is behind this?” Agent Justin asked.
“I don’t know, but it does make sense. He would want the funds that controlling Ka’an Dorado would bring him. He would also automatically have the loyalty of the former World Corps Goons.”
Strange Quark asked, “What do we do?”
Nova said, “Simple. Ka’an Dorado sent us a distress call. We’ll answer it. Strange Quark, take BADGE representation with you and go remove the World Corps goons from this situation.”
Arx asked, “Just a few BADGE people. Not like a bunch of Heroes or a few leagues? These goons were a problem to fight before, and they just overthrew a whole country.”
Nova laughed, “They’re still using AMA weapons. We have enhanced our heroes and even agents to resist those weapons. This should be an easy extraction.”
EB stuck his hand up and waved it around.
Nova let out a soft sigh. “What?”
“Do ya think that these world corps idiots are behind Shadow Krampus?”
“I doubt it. We haven’t seen the connection yet. I’m beginning to think these two incidents might be separate after all. So, the objective is simple. Quark, you and your hand-picked team will go and deal with the World Corps. If you need backup, you’ll have access to the BADGE comm system. We will continue to investigate the Shadow Krampus situation and move forward with that.”
EB added, “And have a big wake-up party for Chase when she comes around.”
“No. We won’t. Just...get to work.”
Quark said, “Arx, Agent Justin, EB, you guys are with me. “
Arx cracked his knuckles, “Good, I’ve been wanting to smack around some of these world corps goons.”
Nova said, “Son, BADGE isn’t about revenge, only justice.”
“Hey, sometimes they are the same thing.” Arx said as he followed Quark out of the room.
head and was focusing on his magic.
“Nova?” Santa looked up.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to interrupt you.”
Santa stood up and held his head. “This is...powerful magic.”
“I knew it was powerful magic, but Vexillian magic is the strongest.”
Santa walked out of the room and got himself a cup of coffee at a little station in the waiting area. “You know that isn’t entirely true. There are other magics in this universe. Some of which are terribly powerful.”
Nova stepped into the room and quietly watched Santa for a moment while the old man sipped his black drink. There was a deep concern written on both their faces. Finally, Nova said, “It can’t be. The last of the darkest magics were destroyed a long time ago. I know, I did it personally.”
Santa sat down and wiped his hand across his sweating brow. “I’m worried, my old friend. Something changed recently, something that gave me reason for pause the moment it happened.”
Nova gently took his seat across from Santa. “I had hoped we solved that problem before it became a problem.”
“A force of pure darkness tore a hole in space. But you and I know that it wasn’t living in a void. It was from the darkest depths of the layers of space that anything can possibly live. The place where the most vile of evils has seethed for millions of years.”
“The Darkness was connected to Legion. Their actions formed it.”
“That may be true. But it wasn’t Legion that created the realm in which The Darkness thrived all this time. Why do you think it wanted to open a hole in space and spread darkness across this universe? It wants what that realm has wanted since the dawn of time....dominion.”
Nova stood and walked away. “We have been monitoring that tear in space since The Darkness first appeared. NightShadow has been in constant contact with us about it, to ensure that it was dormant. It will close, naturally, and be done with.”
Santa pointed a finger at Nova. “Since when do you underestimate evil? Since when does the amazing Director Nova not plan for the worst? It’s because you worry she has returned.”
“No.”
“Don’t lie to yourself! You’re scared to your very heart she has returned, and that’s why you’ve turned your remaining eye away from thinking it possible. You’ve let technology and other people’s opinions rule this situation. That hole was torn, and it leads to a place where you banished her.”
Nova walked toward the door, back to the main hallway. “If she had returned, I would know it.”
“For the sake of humanity, I hope you’re right. But blithely ignoring the possibility is dangerous.”
Nova paused just as the door opened from his push of the button. “Look, I’m not completely unaware of the possibility. I just...desperately want it to be anything else. I would rather it be Jinn right now, or even Krampus. But if she has returned, then I’ll need your help. The heroes...they don’t...they are strong, but they don’t know what true evil looks like. They haven’t faced the kind of horrible wickedness that lives in the heart of such a person.”
“I will be there for you. But her power is beyond mine. You know this.”
“I know. Just, for now, bring your daughter back. I need my first in command back at her station.” With that, he left the waiting room.
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