“Come on, Cynthia, we don’t want to take long.” The woman grabbed the small child’s hand.
“It’s cold!” The girl whined.
“I know. But this is my job and you will do this one day.” She pulled her around the side of the dome and stopped at a box. “These are environmental units. They monitor the conditions both inside and outside, so we are certain everything under the dome stays warm and nice. But, they can break down, so we just do a weekly check on them. See this... are you listening?”
The little girl made a whimpering sound and then screamed as she pointed away.
Turning quickly, the mother saw a blue scaled wyvern bearing down on them. It unleashed a torrent of blue flames, but missed as it was flying past.
“Run!” The woman grabbed the child’s hand and dragged her toward the entrance.
Both staggered and lurched to the side with the moving ice beneath their feet as the wyvern hit the ground in a heavy slam. It leaned its head back, preparing another blue fire blast.
The woman turned and ripped off her googles. She unleashed a steady beam of yellow energy that hit the wyvern in the face and sent it tumbling backward across the frozen wasteland. The beam continued for a long time and then came to a stop. Instantly, the woman fell over, completely passed out.
“MOMMA! MOMMA!” Cynthia pushed on her mother’s body.
A sensor on the woman’s wrist beeped and a robotic voice announced, “Unauthorized use of meta powers detected. Unauthorized use of meta powers detected...” this continued as the little girl cried over her mother.
Arx walked into the Arboretum to find Chase, EB, and Gar chatting while they sat in the grass.
“Guys? What’s up?” He joined them in the grass.
Chase, who had thrown the blade, said, “You want to see my ugly side again?”
EB gulped and smiled at her. “No. I like you calm and sweet as well.”
Arx asked Chase, “You told him off! Why?”
“He’s out of control. He’s getting worse and worse at barking orders and telling us we aren’t doing enough. I... well, I lost my temper when he started berating Gar, and then he turned on me and said we are just playing around. I probably shouldn’t have let it get under my skin so much.”
Gar said, “Justin needed to be told. I don’t mind being yelled at. I make mistakes a lot. But, I learn and do my best. Nova understood, but Justin is just angry all the time.”
Arx asked, “Are you guys really quitting BADGE over this?”
EB said, “Maybe. Hey, we should start our own organization. I know we can call ourselves the Avengers... wait, that’s taken. Um... what about Chase’s Intergalactic Agency, the CIA... wait, that’s taken too. Nuts. Oh, wait, we could all use one of my factories. Or better yet, we could work out of the North Pole. Your dad would let us use his factory as a staging...”
“We aren’t quitting!” Chase interrupted EB.
Justin and Torrik walked up at that moment with Justin saying, “I’m glad to hear that.”
Chase said, “We may not be quitting BADGE, but I’m not ready to hear you berate us about this. Go away.”
“I’m not here to yell or berate. I’m here to apologize.”
This took them all by surprise. EB said, “Wow! We should’a quit sooner.”
“Shut up, EB.” Chase said.
Justin walked over and sat with them in the grass. “I knew it would be hard filling Nova’s shoes. In fact, I knew it would be impossible. Somehow, he always succeeded. He always seemed to have an answer. If he didn’t have it right away, he would find it. I cannot seem to find any answer. Everything was okay at first. We were on a global hunt for him, and I was sure if we found him, we could undo whatever Lady Echidna did to him. When we did find him, it all went to hell. He nearly killed Midgard and set off that Fenrir beast. He was right there. My chance at handing this job back to him slipped away, and I suddenly felt the pressure.”
Gar said, “But he helped us. Gave us clues about the Eye of Fenrir and then gave us that other stone that I hid.”
“That only made it worse. Nova, what part of him that remains on our side, expects me to solve this. He is putting faith in me, and I just don’t know if I have what it takes. So, after the Fenrir incident, I truly understood the responsibilities expected of me.”
Chase asked, “And because of this, you became a jerk?”
“It wasn’t intentional. I just felt I needed to be Nova, be in charge. He was so solid, so stern. I had to be like that. But, instead of being a great leader, I was an idiot. The harder I pushed you, the more I lost control over things. So, I only pushed harder, hoping it would fall into place. All I did was push you away. Truth is, I do know what all of you have done for BADGE. It exists because of the sacrifices and work you’ve put into it. Nova was an outstanding leader, but it was you who made that possible. I need you, BADGE needs you. I can’t replace any of you.”
EB hopped over and smiled at Justin. “You’re also part of the team. When Nova was leading us, you were right there.”
Justin smiled at him, “And our friend Torrik reminded me of that fact. I can’t be Nova, but I am Agent Justin. I need to focus on my strengths as a leader and do my best. You’ll do your best in spite of my inexperience.”
Chase looked around the group and then said, “Apology accepted. What are your orders, sir?”
A beeping came out of Justin’s command comm. A robotic voice announced, “Distress Signal received from New Meta City.”
Justin slapped his comm. “Report?”
“New Meta City sensors indicate direct assault on the exterior. Reported injury count, one. Unknown enemy.”
Justin turned around and looked at his team. “Time to get back to work.”
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