Heroes Rising Fiction: Dark Renaissance Part 15

 The BADGE shuttle landed near the Ren Tech HQ. The shuttle was invisible to the naked eye and most sensors. Justin was in the lead, with Arx beside him. Dragonborn, Ladyhawk, Dreamlord, and two BADGE defense robots joined them.

Justin spoke to the group before they decloaked and disembarked. “This mission is simple. We go in and arrest Chorad and take any information vital to understanding their technology. If we encounter any resistance from security or other workers, we are to disarm and disable, but no killing.”

Ladyhawk asked, “Shouldn’t we have the police with us to arrest people?”

Arx said, “We tried getting the local police involved. No one answered. It seems everyone is currently being brainwashed by the Ren Wear. This is why we have to get this information.”

Justin said, “This is a priority one mission. Although some of you haven’t graduated yet, I know you’re well-trained and capable. Do your duty, follow orders, and this will go smoothly. Now, let’s get this done.” He pressed a button, and the door opened. The cloaking shields deactivated, revealing their shuttle.

Stepping out into the night air, they found the Ren Tech campus quiet. In fact, the metro area was eerily silent. No cars, no sirens, just the occasional dog barking. Standing around the building were employees, in a daze, watching whatever was on the glasses.

“This is creepy,” Arx said.

Justin pointed forward. “Just move.”

Leading the way, Justin marched toward the main entrance. He had a computer map on his comm that had the layout of the structure. The key card entry system secured the door.

“Allow me.” Dragonborn stepped up and took in a great breath. With a quick yell, a ball of fire exploded out of his mouth and the glass doors were blown apart.

“Good work.” Arx patted the dragon scaled man on the shoulder.

Justin stepped through and continued following the directions. All along their path were many more employees in a trance as they stared into their glasses. The signs of a company party lie around in trash, decorations, and some flickering dance lights. Everyone was trapped behind their glasses; no one was partying.

“He didn’t even spare his own employees,” Dreamlord stated.

“We’ll free them.” Justin walked through several more doors.

The last doors to the gardens were locked behind another keycard. These doors were far more solid. The BADGE robots slammed through them with ease.

They walked up to the opulent office, and the door opened for them.

“You didn’t need to break my things to come in. I would have let you through.” Chorad’s voice greeted them.

He sat in his chair behind his desk. A smile played on his lips as he met them with casualness.

Justin stepped forward. “You’re under arrest and will turn over all data about your company’s technology.”

“You’re just a peon. I want to talk to Nova. Where is he?”

Justin held up his wrist comm and activated it. Nova’s face was on the screen. “Dr. Chorad.”

“Nova. I was hoping to talk to you. Why haven’t you called?”

Nova responded, “The phone lines seem to be down. Regardless. You will surrender yourself to my people and hand over your information. Or they will take you by force. Those are you options.”

“I’m a man who has made it his life to give himself options, even when others don’t agree.”

“Whatever you have planned, forget it. This ends now.”

Chorad said, “You’re correct, Ren Tech is done for. But, this is far from over. Here are my options. First, I will keep you and your heroes busy. Second, I will deal with your little annoying team. Third, I will move onto the next part of my glorious plan.”

“Enough of this. Justin, take him.”

Justin gestured to the others, but Chorad merely pressed a button on his computer. They all paused and nothing happened.

Arx demanded, “What did you just do?”

“You’ll find out soon enough. Well, Nova will. You’ll likely be dead.”

Nova said, “What just happened? We’re showing a spike in morphons on the planet in Detroit. WHAT DID YOU DO?”

Dragonborn and Arx grabbed Chorad and yanked him out of his chair. “TELL HIM!” Arx commanded.

Chorad said, “Oh, how threatening. And, just think, once upon a time you worked for me.”

“What?” Arx asked.

Chorad said, “I would be happy to oblige your little abduction, but I’m not even here.” He vanished away.

“A hologram?” Justin backed up.

Chorad’s voice spoke through his computer. “No witnesses, no evidence.”

A flash of light turned everyone’s head as they watched a fireball explode over part of Ren Tech, the shockwave broke all the windows at the same time. They didn’t have a moment to consider that when explosion after explosion ripped through the entire facility. Justin hardly took in a breath to scream for them to retreat when the final fireball ripped through Chorads’ office.

***

Nova watched from the comm until it went dead.

“Justin! JUSTIN!” He mashed his finger into the comm signal button.

A computer voice stated, “Comm device has been destroyed, emergency locator settings activated.”

10915 Said, “Incoming transmission, Furious Squirrel.”

An emergency comm alert opened up on the screen as Furious Squirrel ran through Detroit, stopping occasionally to fire his weapon. “BADGE, NOVA, WHOEVER. WE HAVE A SITUATION HERE!”

Through the shaky image from Furious’s comm unit, Nova could hear screaming people and explosions. A car flew over Furious’s head and crashed into a building.

“What’s going on?” Nova asked.

Furious ran around into the dark of the shadow from a building and quickly spoke to Nova. “That sphere, the Ren Sphere thing near Comerica Park... well, it just opened up. Something came out. A person, I think. He is half naked and oddly mutilated. He is also as strong and as a pissed Midgard and destroying everything. He just keeps screaming, Kill Me. I can’t get close and my electro blasts aren’t doing anything.”

Nova said, “Damnit. Furious, get people to safety however you can. The civilian population is your goal. I’ll send help.”

“I .... WATCH OUT!” Furious dove, grabbing a woman and then tumbling across the ground. Something exploded behind him. The comm ended.

Nova pressed his comm. “Nova to all heroes who can still hear me. Get to Detroit and clear the area of civilians. There is an enemy that is an eminent threat. Do not engage. Further instructions will follow. I repeat, do not engage until otherwise instructed, just get people to safety. NOW!”

Nova pointed at a robot. “I want every agent that is still with us to get down to the Ren Tech facility. Be ready for fire. Find our people, pull them out.”

“Sending message.” 92628 stated and went to work.

***

“Can’t you do something?” Alex pleaded with Quark.

Quark said, “I’m not a god. I can’t overcome everything with my powers. If I try something to open this, it could kill her and everyone in this city.”

EB hopped around the sphere. “We need to get it to the station.”

Gar said, “I tried to move it. It won’t budge.”

“What’s happening?” Chase stepped back when the sphere slowly rose in the air.

Quark shook his head. “I don’t know. This thing defies all understanding.”

The sphere rose quicker and slowly faded from view as a cloaking shield surrounded it.

“NO! BRING HER BACK!” Alex cried as he rushed to fly toward it.

Alex stopped mid flight, unable to find where it had gone.

“This is bad,” Gar said.

Just then, their comms all activated. “Nova to all heroes who can still hear me. Get to Detroit and clear the area of civilians. There is an enemy that is an eminent threat. Do not engage. Further instructions will follow. I repeat, do not engage until otherwise instructed, just get people to safety. NOW!”

“Now what?” EB retorted.

Chase clicked her comm, “Director, we have further news. The sphere just vanished and flew away.”

“This is getting out of hand.” Nova said. “Get back up here.”

Continue the Story

Heroes Rising Fiction: Dark Renaissance Part 14

 Nova barked out orders, “Robots, alert all BADGE locations! This is a full red alert situation.”

EB rushed into the room. “Are we gonna go get Dr. Chorad? I wanna piece of him!” He tried to look tough by hitting his tiny paws together.

Nova said, “I want his head. But right now, we have other priorities.”

“I can zap you down to his office. Bring your cool gigantic sword and make him wet his pants. That would make an awesome Facetube video. We could go viral... and I’ll shut up.”

After glaring EB into silence, Nova said, “Ren Tech has technology that blocks transportation, even magic. Right now, I need you to teleport people down to the surface to help Alex and Torrik. I contacted Quark, but he isn’t here yet.”

EB quickly saluted. “I’ll do my duty.”

Nova turned to Chase and Gar. “EB will take you down. Quark will join you later. Secure that sphere. I want her back.”

Chase said, “We will do everything we can. You just make Chorad pay.”

“Ready?” EB asked Chase and Gar.

They stood next to him in the Operations. Chase said, “Get us there.”

“Hold your stomach. This is always dizzying.” EB clapped his paws together, and they all zapped away in a flash.

Nova said, “Get me the United Nations.”

Strange Quark appeared next to him, sipping a tall mixed drink. “You called?”

“We have a situation.”

“As usual,” Quark mused.

“This is no time for jokes. Those damn spheres are consuming people, particularly morphonic people. And one just absorbed Krystal Fae.”

This drew a genuine gasp from Quark. “But she’s so powerful.”

“I know. Get down to Christchurch and see if you can help free her.”

Quark took a big swig of his drink, gave off a bad salute, and then vanished away.

Nova barked, “Where is the U.N.?”

10915 stated, “United Nations not responding.”

“Damnit, Ren Tech controls all the phone lines. Fine. Use BADGE emergency channel black alpha that is not on the cell network. We haven’t used that since the USSR days.”

He waited with silence filling the room.

10915 stated, “United Nations not responding.”

“What? But that is the highest alert channel. That ALWAYS gets through.”

Arx rushed into the room from one of the conference rooms. “Sir, we have a situation.”

“What now?”

Arx said, “I’ve been trying to gather all the ATLAS volunteers among the heroes and only about one-third are responding. I can’t get through to hundreds of heroes.”

“What’s going on?” Nova was about to order one robot when Arx showed him his tablet.

“I received this from Madam Opal in Seoul.” The image on the tablet was a short video of several heroes sitting in a lounge of an HQ, wearing Ren Wear, smiling and looking around in a daze.

“Those glasses. They’re controlling the people. This is serious.”

Arx said, “I noticed one of the staff in the mess hall was sitting at a table, just staring. I thought she was watching a video or something. But I think she had the glasses on.”

“Nova to Mess hall coordinator.”

A woman answered, “Director, what’s the problem?”

“Is there a worker down there using Ren Wear?”

After a moment of silence, she came back. “Yes. Charlie has a pair on. I’m sorry. I told them not to wear them, as per your orders.”

“Remove them, now.”

There was another silence, and then screaming.

“Maple!” Nova called out.

Maple spoke again, “I took them off of her and she started having some kind of attack. A stroke or something. The med team has been called.”

“Get her to the infirmary. Nova out.”

“This is seriously bad,” Arx said.

Nova said, “This is worse than I imagined. We have a planet full of people who are nearly comatose, and if we remove the glasses, millions could die.” He pressed his emergency comm signal, “Nova to all heroes. Those who can hear me, do not put on the Ren Wear and do not remove them from anyone who is currently wearing them. All heroes, we are at full alert status. Move to the Spheres and keep anyone away from them who is not BADGE. Nova out.”

Arx said, “I will go down and join my teams. We will use all of ATLAS to keep people away from the spheres.”

“Move ATLAS to defend the spheres. However, I need your help.”

“With what?”

Nova spoke into his comm, “Agent Justin, come to Ops.” A moment later, Agent Justin came in with two computer tablets in his hands.

“Sir, we finished the analysis of the Ren Wear. Dr. Henderson thinks they take control of the mind of the wearer. Put them in some kind of daze or trance.”

Nova said, “We know.”

“But we just figured that much out.”

Arx said, “My people are reporting this to us. Most of the planet is currently in a trance.”

“Oh, no.”

Nova said, “Right now, your mission is to cut the head off this snake. Justin, Arx, gather a team and get down to Ren Tech. Shut down their operation however you can and bring me Dr. Chorad and any of his scientists. Bring his computers, his lab equipment, everything. We will end this nightmare.”

Just said, “Don’t you want to lead this mission?”

Nova answered, “Yes. But this is a critical situation. My place is where people can find me and I can have my finger on the pulse of what is happening. This is up to you two.”

“We will not fail you.” Arx said.

“I have faith you won’t. End this crisis, now.”

Justin set down the tablets. “Right away, sir.” He turned and hurried away with Arx, both jumping into the lift.

***

Quark appeared near the team around the sphere. He paused as he looked around at all the civilians in a daze.

“Those glasses are nuts.” He commented.

EB said, “Glad you could finally make it. We have to get her outta that thing.”

Alex and Torrik were carefully examining the sphere while Chase and Gar used the equipment to study it. Quark cracked his knuckles and approached it.

“So, this thing acting like pac-man, eating people.” Quark said.

A tear-stained Alex said, “Please, can you do anything?”

Quark walked up to the sphere and tapped it with his hand. “I sense... magic? There is a force field of some kind around this.”

Torrik said, “I wrapped it in a sealing spell. It slows things down inside. I hoped it might help.”

Quark stood back and held out his hand, “Time to turn this ball into a goose... no, I think I want it to be a hippo, and I’ll make that hippo barf up Krystal.”

“EW,” was EB’s comment.

Alex said, “I don’t care what you do. Just bring her back.”

Quark closed his eyes and then snapped his fingers. A blue wave of energy spread across the surface of the orb and then shot back at him and he transformed into a hippo, nearly crushing Chase.

“Aw, nuts. That wasn’t supposed to happen.” Quark flashed and was back to his normal self.

EB asked, “How did it repel your powers? You are like completely abnormally powerful.”

Quark said, “I’m no god, there are things even I struggle against. But... this shouldn’t repel me. It is just human tech. Or is it?” He held out his hand again and this time, a blue light simply glowed in his palm.

“What are you doing?” Torrik asked.

Quark answered, “Trying to understand this thing.”

Gar said, “We have tried everything we have. Magic, technology, hammers.”

EB said, “I tried to zap her out of it, but I couldn’t find her... oh, sorry, Alex.”

Quark’s eyes went wide, and he grabbed a comm unit from Alex’s hand. “Nova!”

Nova’s voice came through, “Report.”

“These spheres... they are... quantum condensed.”

“What does that mean?”

Quark walked around it. “The inside is in a state of quantum flux. Quantum flux has compacted the atomic structure, squishing the space together. Basically, what is inside is far, far greater than it should be. This is so dense, it should have its own gravitational pull. But it is quantum leveled.”

Nova asked, “Can you break it open?”

“No, and I don’t suggest it. If we find some way to break them open and fracture the quantum condensed structure, it could explode like a thousand nuclear bombs. The energy inside this is terrifyingly powerful.”

“This is bad.”

“No, Nova, this is far worse than just bad. I have only ever encountered technology on this level once before. Legion.”

Nova said, “That’s not possible. Legion is gone. We destroyed it.”

“Then we are facing something just as bad, if not worse.”

Continue the Story

Heroes Rising Fiction: Dark Renaissance Part 13

 Krystal sat cross-legged in front of the sphere, her chin in her hand as she pondered what sort of new spell she could create to open it. Alex ran his finger around the opening in the middle, still looking for anything to help. Torrik lay on the grass watching a butterfly.

“This is infuriating.” Krystal leaned back, putting both hands behind her.

Alex stopped and plugged some numbers into a computer tablet. “We’ll figure it out.”

“How? It finally did something, and yet it remains as much a mystery as it was before.”

“I have an idea.” Torrik put out a finger and let a butterfly land on it.

“What?” Krystal looked back at him.

He flicked his hand, and the butterfly fluttered away. “Why not take it back up to the station and let the lab there have a crack at it?”

“If we move it, then we will violate the rules. And then Ren Tech will tie BADGE up in court. That’s why we’re doing this in secret.”

Torrik sat up and said, “But, with the spell around this, no one can see it. If we get a shuttle down here, all we have to do is make sure and move the sphere inside this spell, and no one will be the wiser. I can cast another perception spell over it on the shuttle and it will stick to it until we get it into the laboratory at your station.”

Alex said, “That’s risky. Many things could go wrong. But, it might work.”

Krystal mulled this over in her mind for a moment and then nodded. “It will be stretching it, making our job of keeping this under the radar that much harder. But it would give us a lot more tools to work with.”

“Then, let’s do it.” Alex said.

Krystal held up her comm. “First, we need to clear this plan with Nova.”

Alex took out his BADGE comm. “Let me. I will signal Chase, which should be safer and less noticeable.”

“Good idea.”

He tapped into his comm controls and then frowned. “This is odd. I can’t get through.”

Krystal tried hers. “Same here. How can we have no signal? The BADGE system is global and powerful.”

“Guys...” Torrik was too his feet.

“I can’t get anything. Try restarting it.” Alex tapped his harder.

“GUYS!” Torrik grabbed Krystal and turned her.

The sphere was now opening, a bright light shining from inside.

“This is it! The camera still works. Alex, get footage of this.” Krystal took a step closer to the sphere.

They watched as the sphere opened wide, splitting in two hemispheres. Amid the wires and compact computer technology, there was a bright blue mass of energy.

“Is that pure morphonic energy?” Krystal asked.

Torrik, magic filling his hands, said, “Examination is later. I want to know why it is opening. We didn’t do this.”

“I don’t think...” Alex jumped when the swirling vortex flashed and flickered. “What’s happening?”

Krystal turned to say something when that blue light beamed so brightly it forced all three to cover their eyes. A crack of light, a popping sound, and Krystal was pulled toward it and sucked inside. The sphere slammed shut.

“Krystal!” Alex threw down his comm unit and pounded on the surface. “KRYSTAL! CAN YOU HEAR ME! LET HER GO!”

“Alex, stop!” Torrik went to grab his hands, but Alex avoided him.

Rage boiled to the surface and Alex charged his hands with power and went to slam the sphere. “GIVE MY WIFE BACK NOW!” He hit it over and over.

Torrik grabbed him by the collar and yanked him back. “What are you planning on doing, killing her to free her? She’s inside that thing.”

Alex screamed in a wet, sobby voice, “Get her out!”

“I don’t know if we can. We need to get Nova. We now have proof these things are stealing people.”

Alex crumpled up on the ground, burying his face in his arms. “Krystal. I’m sorry. It should have been me.”

Torrik turned and held a hand up. A bubble formed around the sphere and then vanished. “We have to find a way to contact Nova.”

“I’m not leaving this.”

“Don’t worry. We’ll stay right here. I have an idea.”

***

“Director, I have something.” Chase walked over with a computer tablet in her hand.

“What is it?”

She flicked her fingers across the surface and put a log of information on the screen. “The ground station nearest David Millar reported they continued to check in on him. Our agents on the ground aren’t full BADGE agents, just members of the fight clubs that work with us.”

“And?”

They don’t follow all the rules you impose on BADGE agents. David Millar was a class 4 suppression case. He is powerful, but his powers weren’t a significant risk if they went uncontrolled for too long. So, according to regulations, the check-in was only once a month. We can’t find any cell or computer activity for him since he left us, and the first check-in was a month later. Reginald Barkley was the man sent to check, see his most recent photo.” She changed the image on the main screen.

Nova saw a middle-aged man smiling with friends at a birthday party. All, including Reginald, were wearing Ren Wear.

“Where are you going with this?”

She said. “The spheres started going inert after the Ren Wear came on the market. Missing persons cases are all reported long after the fact, people just happen to notice someone is missing. No one is seeing anyone abducted. If the spheres are pulling people in, someone should have noticed by now. Some might have been at night, in a place where no one was around but a victim. But I can’t believe all got that lucky.”

Nova put her logic together. “92628, I want a cross-analysis of all reported missing person cases near the spheres. Were any of the missing persons seen being abducted?”

The robot ran the numbers. “Forty-seven cases of child abduction reported, five cases of car theft abduction.”

“What about known morphonic people that went missing? Any of them seen taken?”

“Negative. No cases of morphonic humans being abducted have been reported by any witnesses present.”

Nova pressed the comm on his wrist, “Doctor Henderson, have you finished that follow-up analysis of the Ren Wear?”

She answered, “Not yet, but you need to see this. I will pipe this up to you.”

The screen changed to a view inside the high-tech lab on the station. Dr. Henderson and several other scientists worked around a table with dissected Ren Wear glasses. She looked at the screen while holding up a thin cable.

“This is a normal cable used for cell technology. All external scans told us this was nothing abnormal. We dismissed this as regular tech the first two times we examined the glasses. But Dr. Franklin had a brilliant idea to rip them apart. Inside this cable, in side the computer chips, and even the plastic of the glasses themselves, is technology I haven’t ever seen before. It is microscopic. It runs on morphon energy, and it is doing things we still haven’t determined.”

“Could this technology alter the perception of wearers?”

She frowned at him. “How did you know?”

“A hunch.”

“Well, we don’t know if that is true, but we are seeing something like that. This is... well, we don’t know how... it seems to filter reality to the viewer in subtle ways. My guess is the longer they are under the power of this altered perception, the deeper it digs into their mind. Long-term exposure could lead to a comma-like state, where the mind depends completely on the Ren Wear. At least, that is what all our projections show.”

“Damn. Then Ren Tech controls what people see.”

Dr. Henderson said, “It goes deeper than that. This tech seems to scan for morphons, seeking them out. Again, it is far too sophisticated for us to make any conclusions, but I know this is seeking something.”

“Send me all your current data. I think we have enough to make a case at the U. N. to let BADGE truly find out what Ren Tech is hiding.”

“We haven’t finished our examination yet.”

Nova replied, “This is enough to prove our point. Keep working. We need to know all we can.”

“Will do. Good luck, sir.” The screen changed back to normal.

“Chase, when we get that data, I want you...”

“NOVA!” EB zoomed out of the lift and was up in Nova’s face, holding him by the collar.

“WHAT THE! GET OFF ME!”

EB said, “It’s Torrik! He just sent me a magic message. They can’t contact you, the signal is being blocked or something. It’s bad, really bad!”

“What’s going on?” Nova asked, pulled EB free of him.

“It’s Krystal. The sphere just ate Krystal!”

“Alert! Alert! New data!” 92628 called out. “Sensors indicate Ren Tech spheres are going inert across the planet at an accelerated rate.”

Nova looked up at the world map. The dots were slowly changing color as more of them lost their morphon signature. “Dear God! We’re too late.”

Continue the Story

Heroes Rising Fiction: Dark Renaissance Part 12

 Krystal Fae typed in the special comm code for her link to Nova. Pressing it up to her ear, she paced.

“Why isn’t he answering?” Torrik asked.

Alex said, “This links to a computer in his office. Maybe he’s not in there. The signal is going through.”

Krystal said, “You two, keep trying to get that to do more. We have to get it apart as soon as possible.”

“On it.” Alex flipped through an old spell book he had brought with him from Krystal’s personal library while Torrik attempted to get a vine to grow through the crack into the machine.

Nova’s voice came through finally, “Krystal? I told you not to contact me. I would contact you.”

“Sorry. But we finally have something.”

The feed cut off.

“What the?” Krystal looked at her comm.

It came back on. Nova said, “There, I reversed the signal. Hopefully, your contact didn’t raise any alarms. Now, what do you have?”

“See for yourself.” She showed him the sphere.

“It’s open?”

“Not quite. It split and some lights are flashing, but we can’t get it to budge any further. And, even with the split, our sensors and spells still can’t see inside the damn thing.”

“Keep working. I can’t send any help. We still have to keep your work under the radar.”

“We will do all we can.”

“That’s all I ask. Nova out.”

***

Arx walked in with Chase, both looking over tablets. EB hopped around Nova while Gar looked at the world map with a curious frown.

Chase said, “We’ve been pouring over the missing persons reports around the inert spheres. Sadly, with them being in heavily populated areas, there are a lot of missing persons to look at.”

“Any morphonic ones?” Nova asked.

“A few that registered on the system, but they were weak and didn’t even require a trip to BADGE.” Arx said.

Chase handed over her tablet. “There is one. And I don’t know how we have missed him all this time.”

Nova looked at the image of David Millar. “He was with us during the Legion robot attack.”

Chase said, “Yes, but he elected to have his powers suppressed and wanted to go back to a normal life.”

“He’s missing? How did we not know this? Our people are supposed to be paying attention to the suppression lists carefully.”

Chase said, “His neighbors reported him as missing for several days. But we investigated the reports and our BADGE people monitored him for months.”

“Then... he’s not missing?”

Chase said, “He was missing, which is what alerted our search. I have signaled the BADGE office nearest him to send out an agent and make sure he’s fine.”

“Why? They already know he’s fine if they’ve been checking in on him.”

Chase pointed at the reports. “Thing is, the name on the filings for that report is from an agent who doesn’t know anything about checking in on Mr. Millar, and our attempts to contact David have come back silent.”

“Find him.”

“We’re doing just that.”

EB said, “Hey, Gar, whatcha looking at?”

Gar, who had been silently staring at the screen for a long time, said, “This is strange.”

Nova asked, “What is strange?”

Gar said, “The numbers. I recognize these numbers.” He pointed at the bottom of the screen.

Nova looked at the readings from the morphonic sensors. “Those are just the saturation levels of the morphons. Why do you recognize them?”

Gar said, “When I was first awakened, when Legion arrived and used those portals to seed the world with the morphons, my father kept an eye on the numbers since we lived near a portal. These are those numbers.”

Nova’s face drained of color as he looked at it. “Why didn’t I see it before? Gar’s right. These morphon levels are almost exactly what they were when Legion first saturated our atmosphere for their arrival.”

Arx said, “But BADGE defeated Legion years ago. So, this is just a coincidence... right?”

Nova said, “After all my years on this world, I know that there is little genuine coincidence in matters this important.”

Arx asked, “Remind me, why did Legion give us morphons? Did they want to turn humans into superheroes?”

EB said, “No. Legion powers their bodies with morphons. They breathe them in to fuel their weapons, armor, and powers. If the atmosphere is full of morphons, then Legion becomes endlessly powered. They didn’t intend on giving humans powers. That was a side effect that gave this world a fighting chance. On my world, the morphons only poisoned our air. It made our magic harder to cast... but we still kicked them off our planet and nearly beat them.”

“What can this mean?” Gar asked, fear in his voice.

Nova looked at the screen with deep scrutiny. A million thoughts rolled around his ancient brain. He whispered, “Morphons power the spheres, morphons powered the members of legion... wait... if morphons are the power source of ren tech spheres, then....” He pointed back at one of the robots, “92628, I want the morphon sensors turned up to the highest possible resolution. I want to see them at the most miniscule level possible.”

The robot began programming the computer.

Chase asked, “What are you thinking, Director?”

The robot announced, “Running refined scan. Stand by.”

They watched as the map filled the screen again, and this time, several dozen lines crisscrossed it repeatedly.

Nova said, “If ren tech is using morphons to power their spheres, then they might have incorporated them into other elements of their tech.”

The map lit up with millions of tiny red dots. 92628 announced, “Scan complete, six billion detected anomalies.”

“Six billion!” Arx gasped.

Nova said, “Six billion. EB, how many Ren Wear glasses have you sold or given away as of today?”

EB softly said, “My marketing teams tell me that Ren Tech crossed six billion last night, at four A.M.”

“Why would they do this?” Arx asked.

Nova said, “Simple. They have put morphonic generators on the face of nearly every human alive. More than just internet and phone calls connect the glasses and spheres. We have a surge in morphons, a surge in heroes, both of which we had years ago when Legion first seeded this world. Now, someone is doing it again, and they have done it right under my nose. If they opened portals or sent some dark legion tech, we would have known. But, this is genius.”

Chase asked, “Why do this? Legion filled our atmosphere with morphons for when they arrived. Legion is gone. What purpose would anyone have for doing this?”

“I don’t know. But, I will find out. This will not go unchecked. We have to find a reason to investigate them, something to convince this world that we are doing this for the right reason.”

“Good luck, these guys are totally on top of the PR game,” EB said.

“We will find their weakness.”

***

Dr. Chorad sat at his desk in his office. The large windows and dim lights bathed the opulent white office in darkness from the night sky. The glow of several computer screens flickered in his eyes.

On one screen, he watched the ongoing conversation in the BADGE operations center. The view was distant, like a fly on the wall far away, but he could hear everything.

“They’re getting close. Too bad, really, I was enjoying toying with them.” Sitting back, he let out a tired sigh. “I guess step two will have to be completed sooner than later.” He pressed a button on his desk. “Mark! I want to see you now. Bring me the Ren Wear numbers.”

“Which ones, sir?”

“All of them.”

“On it.”

Chorad casually looked over at another screen, which was a perfect view of Alex, Krystal, and Torrik working diligently around the sphere in Christchurch. “I need her. She is perfect for the role. I can’t wait any longer.”

A man walked into his office with a computer tablet in one hand and Ren Wear on his face. “Sir, the numbers are spectacular, as predicted.”

“How many are out there?”

The excited geek looked over his numbers, “Six billion, nine hundred thousand, seven hundred... give or take fifty.”

Chorad smiled with his shining teeth glinting in the dim light, “Good, you all have done so well. This is our most successful project yet.”

“I was wondering, if you don’t mind me asking...”

“Ask away.”

Mark asked. “I’ve looked over the numbers. Now I’m not an accountant or in marketing, but it seems we have lost trillions on this project. How are going to make that back?”

“Let me worry about that. Trust me, I will see a tidy profit in time.”

“I don’t see how...”

Chorad stood up and walked around the desk. “Mark, Mark, Mark, I have led this company into being the most important tech company in history. I know how to make this work. And, to thank everyone for their amazing work and diligence, I’m going to ask you to throw the biggest, most lavish party you can. Spare no expense, here use my personal company credit card. Go wild.” He handed Mark a gold credit card.

“Really, when?”

“Tomorrow, all day. Invite all employees. Let them know they will all receive a special bonus at the end of the day. Their reward is going to be more than they can imagine. If anyone isn’t present, they won’t receive the reward, so make sure they all are here.”

“Yes, sir!” Mark dashed out the door.

Chorad casually said, “Computer.”

DING “Yes, Doctor Chorad?”

“Activate the accelerated phase two of the Legion Plan. Start with Christchurch, New Zealand.”

“Activation commencing.”

Continue the Story

Heroes Rising Fiction: Dark Renaissance Part 11

 

Nova paced in front of the large screen in Ops as he listened to the INN anchorwoman. Justin walked in with two computer tablets in his hands. He listened in.

“We have footage coming in from across the globe. BADGE encampments around Ren Tech spheres are breaking down and moving out. Local authorities and international pressures forced BADGE to stop attacking the spheres. BADGE has declined to explain why they were so interested. However, spokespeople from Ren Tech claim that several competitor internet and cell phone companies are influencing BADGE. To celebrate this, Ren Tech announced that a whole new batch of Ren Wear has arrived in stores and is on sale. Market projections show that Ren Wear will soon become the best-selling technological tool in history.”

Justin asked, “Why won’t you talk to the media? Set them straight?”

Nova said, “I know how this works. Ren Tech people will twist whatever I say.”

Setting one of the computer tablets down, Justin said, “This reminds me of the problem with the World Corps. They used misinformation and twisting of our words to constantly get the public on their side. I can see why you want to choose how you respond carefully. But, I would advise you to respond with something. Right now, Ren Tech has all the screen time while we sit here and look bad.”

Nova asked, “Did you find anything to help me? Or are you just going to attack my decisions?”

“I’m sorry, sir.”

Nova turned and said, “No, I’m sorry. You are just considering what you think is the best course of action. Right now, I want to snap at someone and you got in the way. Did you have something for me?”

“Yes, I have something. It isn’t much, but it can get us started in a new direction.”

“What is it?”

Justin tapped on his computer tablet and a new window opened with data on it. “We scanned the sphere with Dr. Henderson’s new multiphasic morphon scanner. It gave us a clear picture of just how the morphons are acting around the sphere. My idea is, if we program our scanning system to use MMS, then we will see which spheres are still clouded by morphons and which are clear.”

“And that could give us some kind of pattern to follow.” Nova said.

“Precisely.”

“12154, Get the MMS information programmed into the primary sensor array. I want a global scan.”

Robot 12154 said, “Reprogramming will take approximately four hours.”

“Get to it and scan as soon as it is ready.”

***

Alex walked through the park in Christchurch with a breakfast burrito in his hand. His gait was casual, but his eyes kept a keen watch for the surrounding people. Several chatted with each other about the missing sphere. A few approached where the sphere had been and then walked away.

In front of him was an open space in the field. Children played soccer in the distance, a jogger blazed by, and several birds made their way toward crumbs a grandmother was scattering on the ground.

With a glance around to be certain no one saw him, he stepped through a magical barrier and instantly the sphere appeared, with Krystal and Torrik at work around it. He could still see the surrounding park, but no one saw them.

“This is freaky. I feel... I don’t know... like I’m taking a bath in public.” Alex said.

Torrik frowned, “I don’t understand. Where do you bathe?”

“In a private bathroom in my house.” Alex said.

Torrik shrugged, “Earthers are weird. We Satyrs like communal baths.”

Krystal, who was the only one working right now, said, “Yes, and Satyrs are naked.”

“I have fur in all the right places.”

Alex said, “Moving on... how is it that no one has accidentally walked through this invisible barrier?”

Torrik said, “Perception guise. People and animals that get near it suddenly feel a need to move away from it. They don’t realize it, but they just do it.”

Alex asked, “So, what’s the verdict on the morphon levels?”

Krystal answered, “Strong. This sphere is a cloud of morphons. The magic ones around this are far greater than any other I have encountered so far.”

“Anything else?”

She brushed her hand against it.

Alex quickly said, “Watch it! Don’t touch it!”

“Don’t worry. I’ve been touching it all morning. So far, it has done nothing to me. I can say that I feel something odd about this.”

“Magically odd?”

Torrik said, “Not exactly. I felt it too.” He tapped the surface with a knuckle, listening to the thick ding it made. “This metal is incredibly dense.”

“What do you mean?” Alex walked over and brushed his hand over the sphere’s surface.

Torrik said, “I spent some time smithing weapons with the Felionsians, best metal smiths in Yohan. I know a bit about metals. This isn’t just an especially dense alloy. This metal is thick, like something is unusual about it.”

“Are you certain?”

Krystal said, “No. We can’t be certain about anything. But, it just feels... thick, like the metal itself is excessively compact.”

“How, exactly, does that help us?” Alex asked.

Torrik said, “Any new information is useful in an investigation.”

Alex felt across the surface of the large sphere, brushing his hand along it. “I don’t know. Some information is worthless. Also, we can’t be certain we are accurate about this. I... “

The sphere made a beeping sound, two little lights appeared on the surface and a line across the middle split.

“What did you just do?” Krystal asked.

Alex took his hand off and looked at the sphere. “I don’t know. Did I find a button or something?” He looked around where he touched.

Torrik pressed his fingers against it at the thin separation around the middle. “This is a split, an opening. I... will try...” He tugged and pushed on it, his hands sliding against the slick metallic surface. “I won’t budge.”

Krystal held up her hands. “Step back. Let me try something.” When both Alex and Torrik had moved away, she cast a spell that came from her hands with a connected energy. She grabbed the sphere like a plastic Easter egg with giant purple energy hands and tried to pull it apart. After a few minutes of grunting and casting, the spell failed to do anything. “Gah! This thing is impossible! How can anything be this tough?”

“I wish we could bring this to the Feliosians,” Torrik muttered.

Alex said, “We need to report this to Nova now.”

“Yes.” Krystal grabbed her comm.

***

Justin and Nova waited while a giant map of the earth spread out across the massive screen in Ops. Lines showed the scanner sweeping across the surface. This looked similar to their scans for Adrianne.

“Scan complete. Attaching data markers.” 12154 announced.

On the map, thousands of dots appeared across the planet. Some were bright yellow, others were a dull blue.

“Yellow indicates active morphonic signatures. Blue indicates inert morphonic signatures. Sensors could not find any more data on spheres. Do you wish me to scan again for more data on spheres?”

Nova answered the robot, “No, this is enough.”

12154 said, “There is further data.”

“What?”

“Sensors also scanned atmospheric conditions with MMS network. The MMS network increased the precision of sensor data regarding morphon levels, and this information is now available.”

“Put the numbers on the screen,” Nova said.

Justin asked, “What was it saying about this new reading?”

“We’re always scanning the atmosphere for morphon levels. That is how we knew about the increase when we started seeing far more new morphonic people. This MMS scanner has a better resolution, so we have clearer numbers.”

“What about the yellow and blue dots?” Justin asked.

Nova said, “We have a small portion of these spheres that are now inert. I just don’t know why.”

Justin said, “We had a theory. It has no evidence to support it at this time, though.”

“Well, what is it?”

“These spheres are morphon powered, even Dr. Chorad admitted that to you.”

“He did.” Nova agreed.

Justin said, “Then, how can some be without morphons? We know morphons surrounded the one in Onnotangu, yet look at it now. It’s inert. If it were inactive, they wouldn’t have service and we would hear about the outage.”

“What’s the theory?”

“What if these things are taking in morphonic people and using them like batteries?”

Nova looked back up at the screen. “That would be most disturbing.”

“But we don’t have evidence to support this,” Justin said.

“Then we find evidence, either to support it or disprove it. 12154, I want you to scan all missing persons’ reports at every location of a blue sphere. I want to know about each person, no matter how insignificant.”

“There are so many missing persons cases around the world daily, I don’t know if this will be enough.” Justin stated.

Nova said, “It is a start. Right now, we are missing at least one person and I promised Arx I would try everything to find her.” Nova’s personal comm beeped.

“Who is calling you?” Justin asked.

Nova looked at his comm. “Krystal Fae, but she is not supposed to call me. This must be important.”

Continue the Story

Heroes Rising Fiction: Dark Renaissance Part 10

 “What the hell is this thing made of!” Captain Blazer yelled while his hands were glowing bright orange. He had spent three hours using his concentrated fire power to split a sphere open to no avail.

Chase watched him wag his hands around to cool them off. “I don’t know. I’ve never seen anything like this. Even I can’t sense anything about them. I cannot see their history with my power.”

Captain Blazer stuck his hands down in the ice cooler where they were storing bottles of water, a blast of steam exploding up. “I nearly burned my arms off and that sphere isn’t even hot.”

Several of their science officers checked the surface with sensors while Chase ran her hand over it. “How can this be so cold? We’ve used blow torches, lasers, eyebeams, and your firepower, and this thing isn’t even warm. The material’s composition is frightening.”

“Why do you say that?” He asked.

“Think of it. What could craft this kind of metal? What furnace could smelt it? If it was ever used to make armor for someone, they could be nearly impossible to harm.”

One of the science officers held up her computer tablet. “I’ve been searching all metals in our files that might resemble this. I have nothing. Nothing we have on record could withstand all we have thrown at it.”

A BADGE agent approached. “We have trouble.”

Chase looked up and saw a fleet of police cars arriving. One stopped close to the protective ring of agents and heroes. From the back stepped a man in a suit, along with a team of police officers.

“This can’t be good.”

The scientist asked, “Is that a government agent?”

Chase grumbled, “Worse, looks like he’s a lawyer.”

***

Justin walked around the sphere his people were examining. It remained sealed, and he had nothing to report back to Nova.

“Something wrong, sir?” Dragonborn asked.

Justin paused as he simply looked at the blurry reflection of himself on the surface. “You know, I thought the moment we got clearance to crack these things open, it would be a quick process. I was more concerned about how to investigate what’s inside rather than just how to open it.”

Dragonborn asked, “Has anyone been able to open one?”

“Not unless someone succeeded in the last half hour. My latest report from BADGE is everyone is facing the same issue.”

“What’s he doing?” Dragonborn pointed at a scientist using a strange scanner that looked like a baseball bat connected to a box by a cord. The long end of the bat was glowing with a color changing pulse.

Justin said, “That is the multiphasic morphon scanner. Something new Dr. Henderson and her people came up with. It should tell us the morphon levels around the sphere.”

“How does that help?” Dragonborn asked.

“Any data is relevant right now.” He walked over to the older man holding the sensor. “What are your readings?”

“I can’t explain this, but... the morphon levels here are almost zero.”

“Zero? But, all the spheres are exuding extremely high morphon readings.”

“Not this one. And...” he held the scanner near Dragonborn and showed Justin the readings, “This can pick up the morphon signatures of all the surrounding heroes, so I know the scanner is working. If this sphere was as full of them as the early reports, this scanner should light up like a Christmas tree.”

Dragonborn took a step back. “So, what does that mean?”

“I do not know. Ren Tech told the world, and our people, that these spheres run on Morphons. Since this one has none, then that would mean it is inactive. But we are still registering the Ren Tech phone and internet service coming from within.”

“I have another theory,” a different scientist said.

“What is it?”

“This is just a theory, so take it at that. But, if these things run on morphons and they also trap people... then perhaps they are harnessing morphonic individuals like batteries.”

Justin’s gaze turned to horror as he slowly looked back at the sphere, “Then, if this did trap Adrianne inside, she is... being used to power it.”

“That’s only a theory. I have nothing to prove or even test that.”

Justin said, “It is a wise theory, and we need to break this open to find out if it is true. If we find her inside, then that is the smoking gun for BADGE to take down... what is that?”

Everyone turned when they heard sirens blaring their directions. The thumping sounds of helicopter blades rattled the air. Growing dust clouds were kicked up by a fleet of vehicles rushing their direction.

“We have an invasion. Heroes, ready for combat!” The BADGE security leader yelled out.

Heroes formed a ring around the site and readied themselves.

Justin called out, “Scientists and non-combat agents, get to the inside of the circle!” He pulled out a BADGE shock gun and charged it.

The rattling, roaring sounds approached quickly. Military vehicles skidded to a stop, with groups of soldiers jumping out and training guns on the people. Three helicopters circled overhead, weapons ready.

A military man held up a bullhorn and called out, “STAND DOWN! THIS IS YOUR ONLY WARNING!”

Justin headed for the front to speak, but one of the more brash student heroes took it on himself to deal with this. The boy raced forward and jumped. As he arched back toward the ground, his fists grew enormous and he slammed the surface, sending a wave across the ground. The earthquake staggered the soldiers, causing some to fall.

Justin yelled, “Stop!”, but the sound of the bullets flying drowned him out.

A hero named Tesla clapped his hands together and an electromagnetic field threw the bullets safely away. Then, he shoved his hands down and the enemy’s guns were all forced to point down.

Justin yelled again, “I SAID STOP!”

The BADGE side halted, but didn’t lower their guard. The enemy were still struggling to lift their guns.

Justin calmly said, “We will release the guns and not fight. I apologize for the reaction. I’m glad that no one got hurt. If you do not stand down as well, we will have to continue this. However, I promise you, it will be a fight you cannot win.”

The soldier with the bullhorn gave Justin a nod and then said, “Stand down!”

Justin looked at Tesla. “Release them.”

The hero lowered his arms and all the soldiers lurched as they had been straining over their weapons, which were suddenly mobile again. The enemy didn’t advance, but they, too, did not lower their guard. Tension filled the air.

“Care to explain?” Justin said.

At that moment, a man in a black suit approached and held up a legal document. “We have a problem.”

***

Nova swore loudly and hit his fist against his desk. “DAMNIT!”

Arx, sitting on the couch in Nova’s office, asked, “How can he do this?”

“He’s good. Clever and knows how to play his game well. Every site, every sphere, is now protected by the local nations and the United Nations. They are willing to go to war against BADGE to protect those damn spheres.”

“Why? People are missing.”

Nova said, “Arx, most humans only care when it actually hits home. A hero goes missing and they are sad, but go on with their lives. Threaten to take away their internet and cell phone service and suddenly we are the greatest villain since Satan.”

“What do we do? We have to find out what is in those spheres.”

Nova said, “There has to be a way. I won’t give up.”

“Can you address the U.N. about this?”

“I already sent messages to our representatives, but getting something done there takes time, and we don’t have time to spare.”

Arx asked, “What about Krystal?”

“Krystal? She couldn’t do much more than anyone else.”

Arx said, “But we haven’t heard from her yet. Everyone else has contacted us about being approached by the local military and lawyers. Has she contacted us yet?”

“No. Her investigation was never on the record, never tracked.” He grabbed his special computer and put in the unique command codes. The screen buzzed and then activated, with Alex on the other side.

“I wondered when you would contact us,” Alex said.

Nova asked, “Has your investigation been interrupted?”

“No. We heard what happened to the other teams out there and waited for local authorities to show up here. No one has come. We didn’t want to contact you first, in case that would alert someone.”

“Smart. My channel is secure. Do not contact me, I will contact you. Right now, your job is to get that sphere open by any means necessary. The only issue is I can’t send you any further help. The moment I move a single piece of equipment your direction, there is a risk Ren Tech will find out.”

The view shook around as Krystal grabbed her husband’s arm and moved the screen to her face. “We have a plan. Right now it is night and Torrik is up to some great magic. The locals will be confused, but they won’t bother us. At least for now.”

“I will get in touch for updates. Stay low, be careful, and work as fast as possible.”

“We will. Krystal out.”

Arx asked, “So, it is still just Krystal and Alex trying to figure this out?”

Nova said, “All we need is one sphere opened. That is it. Right now, Ren Tech knows we are actively ready to do something. But, they think they have stalemated us. Our hopes rest on Krystal. She is smart, powerful, and so are Alex and Torrik. They will figure this out.”

Continue the Story

Heroes Rising Fiction: Dark Renaissance Part 9

 Chase approached the sphere in the middle of Times Square. BADGE officials had already put up barricades around it with robotic and hero forces keeping people away. Joining her were two robots outfitted with welding arms. Several sciences officers joined her with computer tech to analyze any data.

“Let’s break this thing open.” She pressed a button on her wrist comm and the two robots walked up to the sphere and ignited the welding tools on their arms.

Sparks flew from the surface as the robots attempted to cut into it.

Nova, watching this from his monitor on the station, asked, “Chase, are you getting any initial readings?”

She looked over to the science officers, who were actively monitoring this. “What do we have so far?”

“We just started, so there isn’t any data.”

Nova said, “Keep working.”

“The media are right on our heels. What do I do?” She asked.

Nova said, “Nothing. Don’t interact with them. If they try to force an interview or get too close, you are to let them know we are not here for their entertainment.”

“Understood.” There was a glint of glee in her tone at that broad order.

The screen changed to another team using lasers in an attempt to break through the surface of the sphere in Tokyo. Then the view flicked over to Sao Paulo, Brazil, where the team was using various bladed instruments to cut the sphere open.

“Alert, media information relevant to current situation.” A robot announced and activated another window on the main screen.

A man at a desk spoke, “This is Trip Wilson with INN. Reports are flooding in from all over the planet. BADGE is currently attempting to destroy the Ren Tech Spheres. We have footage taken from cell phones, local news stations, and our drones that show BADGE agents, robots, and even superheroes attempting to use many various methods to destroy the spheres. Our attempts at a comment from BADGE about their sudden attack on cell and internet provider technology have gone unanswered. A spokesperson from Renaissance Cell Technology has informed us that BADGE has no authority to do this and they will file complaints with the United Nations and each nation the spheres are currently under attack.”

The video changed to a recorded interview with a member of the Ren Tech staff. “We don’t have any knowledge of what precipitated this unprecedented attack. It seems BADGE is taking certain matters into their own hands.”

The reporter asked, “What matters are those that BADGE would deal with?”

“We aren’t certain. They must feel our growing presence in the industry threatens the other technology companies, companies that have worked with BADGE before. By destroying our equipment, they’re trying to put us out of business. This will not go unchallenged.”

Nova cut his hand across his throat and the screen went silent.

Arx, who had been sitting quietly to the side, launched himself toward the screen. “THOSE BASTARDS! They are spinning this into us being the bad guys! THEY...”

Nova grabbed Arx by the chest and held him at bay. “Calm down!”

“But they are lying.”

Nova patted Arx on the shoulder, “This won’t be the first time the media has entertained false narratives about us to drive ratings and it won’t be the last. Our job is to protect people, not play foolish PR games. And letting them make us angry will only help our enemy.”

“Who is our enemy?”

Nova said, “I don’t know. If Ren Tech is behind this, I do not know why. They have done things I would consider quite positive. They even helped save the planet when that old Legion ship was here. Their services have provided much needed internet and cell service to under represented areas of the globe. On the surface, they’re almost a philanthropic organization. Yet, their secrecy and questionable technology makes me feel there is something sinister about this. The likelihood that their technology is responsible for a missing person is too clear and present to ignore.”

“What do we do?”

Nova straightened up and looked at the windows on the screen before him. “Our job.”

“The media acts like Ren Tech has been trying to talk to us. Have they?”

“No. I’ve sent them several communications in the past few hours demanding answers. They’re silent. That they lie about that to the media only corroborates my bad feelings. 10915 get me Justin on the screen.”

A few seconds later, Justin appeared with his team of heroes, agents, and scientist around him.

“Anything to report?” Nova asked.

“We’ve tried everything to crack this thing open. Drills, lasers, even a few of the student heroes tried their own powers. The surface is made of a material that repels everything. I’ve seen nothing like it.”

Nova said, “Just one. I want just one opened to see what the hell is inside it.”

Justin said, “There is one thing about this one. It’s cold.”

“All the teams have reported that nothing seems to raise its temperature.”

“I know. I don’t mean that it is heat resistant. I mean, the sphere is unusually cold, compared to data analysis of the other spheres.”

Nova asked, “What does that mean?”

“I don’t know. We will keep working. I’m not giving up.”

Nova nodded as the video ended. “10915, get Krystal Fae on.”

Moments later, Krystal Fae stood before a sphere in a dark city.

“Evening, Director. We’re doing what we can to investigate this.”

Nova said, “Do you have something? Anything? All I have outside of the particles of data we know is that one sphere is slightly colder than the others.”

Alex joined her. “We found some spheres are not showing any morphonic signatures, while others are. This one, right here, is glowing with morphons around it, just like the rest before it. However, there is one in a remote area that is completely devoid of extra morphons. I don’t know what it means, but it is something.”

“It is something, but still hardly enough. We need inside that thing. Krystal, I am giving you, Alex, and Torrik freedom to use whatever magic, power, or tech you can think of to break that thing open. I want answers.”

“We’ll get them.”

A new beeping sound alerted Nova. “Finally. Krystal, you have your orders. Nova out.” He quickly pointed at the comm robot.

“What is this?” Arx asked.

“Someone who I need to talk to.”

The screen shut all windows and turned to the gleaming face of Dr. Chorad, the CEO of Ren Tech. He sat at his desk in his bright office.

“Director Nova of BADGE. I wish I could say I was glad to be speaking with you. But, the circumstances are... unfortunate.”

“The circumstances are all your fault. All I asked was for you to allow my people to understand how your technology works.”

“Now, you know I can’t allow that. This technology is the core of Ren Tech. I can’t let just anyone see it.”

Nova said, “Then, you leave me no alternative but to get to it by any means necessary.”

“You know your attack on my spheres will only bring about seriously bad PR for BADGE. I’m providing free services to every nation of this world and they’re loving it. Now, you’re the big bad guy who is coming in and trying to take that away.”

“I will not play your game! We have serious questions that need to be answered.”

Dr. Chorad chortled as Nova seethed, “We are a private company that has done nothing wrong. The public loves us. The politicians love us. You’re the only ones fighting us. And even if you tear us down, you will only destroy your credibility. I can rebuild this company. Can you rebuild your reputation?”

“This isn’t about public relations or politics, this is about safety.”

Chorad frowned, “Safety? Nothing is wrong with my technology.”

“You hide, you lie, you conceal, and you spin politics here and there. I don’t trust you, Chorad, and you don’t want that. I have stood firm as entire empires fell around me. I have brought down entities that would haunt your nightmares if you even glimpsed them. Don’t think I can’t bring you down.”

Dr. Chorad’s temperament became sinister. A wicked smile played on his lips. “Trust me, Director, I know you better than you realize.” With that, the comm cut.

“That was ominous.” Arx commented.

Nova said, “Just another petty tyrant with delusions of grandeur. However, I learned something from that conversation.”

“What?” Arx asked.

“We’re getting close to something they don’t want us to find, and I doubt it’s just advanced cell phone technology.”

“How do you think he’ll respond?”

Nova said, “I don’t know. The next move is his. We will be ready for whatever they throw at us.”

Continue the Story

Heroes Rising Fiction: Dark Renaissance Part 8

 “I don’t care. Activate all BADGE scanning stations. I want orbital and ground units focused on her chip id signal. Keep scanning.” Nova gave commands as his team of robots and a few heroes worked the system.

EB rushed out of the elevator. “I have all my candy delivery people looking for her face. Didn’t tell them why. If they see her anywhere, they’ll let me know.”

Arx, who was pacing near the screen, asked, “Why?”

EB gave a weak smile of encouragement. “You know, in case someone nabbed her. I know she’s a powerful hero, but someone can deceive even the best. If someone drugged her and kidnapped her, maybe we’ll get a visual.”

Nova said, “Thank you for the thought. But, our best bet is to locate her chip. This shouldn’t take but a couple full sensor sweeps across the planet.”

“Just try’n to help.” EB toed the ground.

Arx said, “You did great. I wish I could do something. I feel so helpless. What if she’s hurt? What if she’s scared? Damnit! I should be down there looking for her.”

Nova said, “She got lost because she went down without considering her emotional state. Do you want to be the next person we are hunting for?”

“But I should be there.” Arx said.

“We’ll find her. The sensors are coming online now. This will only take a few moments.”

Robot 10915 stated, “All systems are active. Initiating sensor sweep. Please stand by.”

Everyone cautiously watched the main monitor. The monitor showed a world map. A bright light crossed it several times, showing the sensors. There was a negative sounding buzz, and it started again, this time moving the other direction across the map, going from top to bottom. Only the clicking of the robot’s metal fingers on the computer systems made any noise. Then came another negative buzz.

10915 said, “BADGE id tag not found on planet earth or orbital facilities.”

“No.” Arx whispered.

Nova said, “I want a diagnostic of all sensor systems run, now. Have the computer analyze the sensors for anything wrong.”

EB asked, “What’s the matter? Should we tune it to a different frequency or something?”

Nova said, “No. BADGE id tags are damn near impossible to fool, hide, or stop. It is the most simple tracking system ever invented.”

10915 announced, “Diagnostics run, no issue discovered. Analysis run, no anomalous readings.”

Arx was in a state of shock, simply staring at the screen.

EB asked, “Could she be... uh... you know... dead?”

Nova said, “The id tags send a signal the moment someone dies. Any damage to the tag triggers a signal. She simply... doesn’t exist, according to this sensor reading.”

Arx burst into motion and grabbed EB, “USE MAGIC, CAST A SPELL, FIND HER!”

EB said, “I...I will... try.” he was being shaken so hard he couldn’t get his own words out.

Nova said, “Magic won’t help.”

Arx set EB down, “Please, try.”

EB held a paw up at Nova, to stop any contrary argument. He closed his eyes and put his paws together. A golden glowing light grew around him and then exploded out. With one word, his voice boomed in a thunderous echo, “ADRIANNE!”

After a moment of EB floating in the air, glowing a bright gold, he returned to normal and set back down. In a quiet voice, he said, “I can’t find her.”

Arx fell down on his knees, “What. No. I... she... I love her. I never actually said that to her. Oh, god, please, where is she?”

EB looked up at Nova and spoke with a seriousness that was uncommon for him, “There is very little in this universe that can block Vexillian magic like that. In the past seven hundred years, the only thing that could stop my detecting her presence would be one of the Vexillian talisman, like my basket or Santa’s sleigh. But I seriously doubt she is inside either of those. However, there is one other thing that has betrayed all my logic and our magic in recent years. Something that defies BADGE as well.”

Nova looked up at the screen. “Ren Spheres.”

“I don’t know how, but that is the only thing I can think of that could have stopped me from sensing her.”

Nova said, “But the only way those could hide her would be if she were inside one.” A sudden, horrified look crossed his face. “Oh no. What if those spheres are capturing people, morphonic people?”

EB said, “Then, my dear Director Nova, BADGE will have reason to do a much closer investigation on them.”

Arx said, “I don’t care what you have to do. Find her. I will rip those spheres apart with my hands if I have to.”

“You won’t have to. EB’s right, we now have probable cause to launch a larger, more thorough investigation on those damn things. And... Ren Tech gear is once again...”

“NO, don’t say it!” EB backed up.

“Banned on this station indefinitely.”

EB was about to yell comically when he heard the man weeping next to him. He took his Ren wear glasses off and broke them in half. He dropped them on the ground and then created a chocolate egg for Arx.

“Here, buddy, have something sweet. We will find her and we will make them pay, I promise.”

***

Justin and his team surrounded the Ren Sphere in the middle of this African plain. Tents, a shuttle, and dozens of tables filled with sensor equipment wrapped around the hovering, ominous orb. The shard of Antaeus resided in a special box where a few specialists were scanning every atom.

“Okay, student heroes, I want you to pair up with search team members and go out. We’re going to scour this area for any further remains of Antaeus. Dr. Lightfoot, I want you and your team to start the forensics on determining just how this chunk of him got here. I find it impossible to believe a single piece, this large, flew this far from the origin of his demise.”

Dr. Lightfoot, a lanky scientist with a white goatee, said in a dull voice, “We will have to take a lot of meticulous readings of the area around the sphere. There should be no one within a twenty-foot radius of it until we’re finished.”

“Understood.” Justin turned to Dragonborn and the two student heroes with him. “The search for Adrianne will continue from here. BADGE is scanning for her id tag, but that doesn’t mean we should stop looking. If there was any foul play, finding her sooner than later is paramount. The risk that a morphonic person got to her is possible and you might...” his comm beeped with a specific tone. “The emergency call?” He clicked it on. “Justin here.”

Everyone present heard Nova’s voice loudly. “The search for Adrianne has taken a turn for the worse. We cannot find her id tag on planet earth.”

“That’s not possible.” Justin said.

“We understand. It is our belief that, somehow, her disappearance results from the Ren Spheres?”

“But, how?”

“I will send you what we know and all our data. As of this moment, I am lifting all restrictions on investigating those spheres. If anyone from Ren Tech shows up to stop you, you may use any necessary force to hold them back. I want to be absolutely clear about the danger they pose.”

Justin asked, “Are you sure that is wise? You know how they will respond to this.”

“People’s lives are at stake. I don’t care if they bring in every damn lawyer on the planet. They will learn just how little I care about politics and PR when it comes to the sanctity of life.”

“Do you believe she is inside the sphere?” Justin asked.

“It is all theory at this moment, but we have to be certain. Get to work. As of this moment, your investigation site should go to yellow alert. All heroes and student heroes present will remain as protection in case of interference.”

“Understood. What about the investigation into the Antaeus situation?”

“You can assign the specialists to continue their work on the search for Antaeus’s remains. But the other specialists with you are to do whatever they can to crack that damn sphere open.”

Justin said, “As per your orders, sir, it will be done.”

“Get to it.”

“Justin out.” He clicked off his comm and looked up at the shocked faces of the surrounding people. “You heard him. Our orders have changed. Team, get ready for a full dissection of this sphere. Dr. Lightfoot, get your forensic work done as soon as possible. Student heroes, your mission has changed. Protect this position. Unless I clear them, let no outsider within the perimeter of this site.”

Dragonborn asked, “What if Ren Tech people show up? What are we allowed to do?”

Justin said, “Whatever is needed to keep them at bay. As of this moment, Ren Tech people are active enemies of BADGE.”

Continue the Story

Heroes Rising Fiction: Dark Renaissance Part 7

 “This place is beautiful.” Alex mused as they drove down the road toward the sprawling city of Christchurch.

Krystal focused intently on her sensor information while she said, “Yes. I love the mountains. Do you think the population density could be part of the reason for the lower morphon reading?”

Alex said, “You aren’t paying attention. Just look at those mountains, and the bay is gorgeous from here.”

Krystal looked up and smiled. “Yes, it is pristine and glorious. But, we have a mission. We can sightsee later.”

Torrik leaned forward from the back seat. “Didn’t you inspect a sphere in the middle of the Australian Backup?”

“Backup?” Alex frowned.

Krystal laughed. “You mean outback?”

“Yeah, that.”

“Yes, we did. It was one of the most remote spheres we inspected and it had a strong morphonic signature. Good point. I just can’t figure this one out.”

Alex said, “Maybe if we scan the one in Christchurch, we can get more data.”

“Doubt it.” Krystal grunted. “Scanning these things is useless. All I can learn is what kind of morphon density is around it.”

“True.” Alex drove into the town, blazing down the road. “Okay, so do we know where the Ren Sphere is here?”

Krystal looked at her cell phone. “The news reports from the local paper say it is in Victoria Square, a city park. I have the GPS ready.”

“Great. Take us there.”

***

Dragonborn squinted in the bright afternoon sun. If there was anyone near him, he would detect it. His sensor kept telling him he was alone for miles.

“It’s a good thing my scaly body can’t sunburn,” He muttered to himself.

His choice to have his superhero costume be nothing but a skimpy pair of briefs, to show off his body, was now showing how foolish that was. It was hot, sunny, and he was practically naked. However, he was also a fire breather and heat wasn’t as much a problem for him as it would be for others.

“ADRIANNE!” He bellowed into the winds, hoping she would call out.

No response.

He grumbled at his luck and kept going. “I can’t go back without finding her. She might not be in trouble, but I was the one who let her get on board without checking. It’s my hide Nova will tan if she’s lost.” He smacked the side of the sensor. “Come on, pick up on something!”

The sensor had a warning on it. Something powerful just spiked the sensor nearby.

“What the what?” He looked at the readings.

His BADGE classes on science were fresh in his mind, and he processed this. It was a morphon spike, an extremely powerful one. The human body cannot contain more than a 60 on the morphon scale before the particles break down the cell walls. This spike hit 3000 for a full minute and then faded.

“Either this sensor is crap or something horrible is happening.”

He clicked on the BADGE comm. “Agent Justin, this is Dragonborn. Come in.”

“This is Agent Justin, report.”

He looked around, seeing nothing out of the ordinary. “I don’t know what I just saw, but my sensor showed a massive flux in morphons near me. It peaked at near 3000. Should I investigate?”

“Have you found any sign of Adrianne?”

“No.”

“Send me the data and I’ll send someone out to check. If you can keep going, find her.”

“I can keep going. Sending the data.”

“Thanks. Please find her. She has been gone long enough. Her health might be in danger.”

“Understood. Over and out.”

“Just say out.”

“Out.”

Dragonborn clicked the comm off and walked in the direction he assumed she would be going. After a few moments, he picked up another ping on his sensor. It wasn’t a morphon spike; it was something else.

“No, it can’t be.” He looked at the chart. If he was reading this correctly, this was picking up something from Antaeus. Possibly his remains.

“Sweet! Justin will be glad I found this.” He ran ahead, that ping still blinking on the map readout.

In the distance there was a glinting of sunlight off of something shiny. At first, he assumed it was a car. However, as he approached, it was obviously not on the ground. The closer he got, the more he realized it was a large metal sphere.

“Dude, is this one of those Ren Tech spheres?” He asked himself.

He slowed down and looked at his reading. The ping and the sphere were in the same place. Approaching it, he saw what looked like a boulder on the ground near the sphere. The sensor device was reading the boulder, not the sphere.

“A single rock? Antaeus was huge. Oh, wait, didn’t he explode or something? Gross. But what is it doing here? What is this sphere doing here? This is like the middle of nowhere.” He turned around, checking the map on the sensor. The nearest inhabited locations were hours away. “This is crazy nuts. What the hell is going on?”

He clicked his comm again.

“Dragonborn to Agent Justin, come in.”

“You don’t have to say ‘come in’. This isn’t a military movie.”

Dragonborn said, “This might sound crazy, but I found some weird shit out here.”

“Language.”

Dragonborn groaned, “If this sensor is working, I found a rock from Antaeus’s body.”

“What? Is it reading on the molecularity morphonic sensor?”

“Yes. And that’s not the craziest part... it’s right next to a Ren Tech Sphere in the middle of nowhere.”

Justin said, “And you still have found no sign of Adrianne?”

“No. Not anything.”

“Okay, you stay there. Our team is on their way. I’ll get in touch with Nova about this.”

***

“I’m not playing a game. I’ll not use those glasses. I have work to do, and so do you.” Nova argued with EB, who was holding up another pair of Ren Wear for him. Both were in Operations for their duty shift.

“Oh, come on. You would be awesome in Hero City. With your tactical mind, you could really stomp some balls. There’s this one guy who keeps knocking me off the mountain. I hate that guy. His mommy must really like her credit card being used by that loser. Did you know he got caught cheating in the last Clan Wars? I mean, I think he was cheating. They took his credits away and all. I got the platinum. And... uh... you really don’t care.”

Nova was glaring a hole into EB’s head with his one good eye. “Get back to WORK!”

EB said, “Oh, fine. You wanted me to monitor the transactions for Ren Tech, right? I have my marketing teams from two of my companies keeping close watch on their stocks and how they are gaining new things. I should get in touch with them and see what they have found.”

“You do that.”

EB held up the glasses, “You know, if you wear these, you can check the internet for...”

The view screen changed as a window opened with Justin on location. “Nova, we have a situation.”

“What is it?”

“We found a bit of Antaeus’s remains. However, they are much further away from the battle zone than expected. Also, the one piece we found is near a sphere that is 240 kilometers away from any settlement. To make it worse, there is no sign of Adrianne at all.”

“I don’t like this,” EB said.

Nova nodded in agreement. “Take your team, secure the area around the sphere. I’ll have our system scan for... stop it... for her... EB NOT NOW!” EB was tugging on his pant leg. Nova finished his thought, “I will have our sensors scan the planet for Adrianne’s BADGE ID chip.”

Arx, who had just arrived and why EB was trying to get Nova’s attention, approached, “What is this about Adrianne? Is she missing?”

Nova said to Justin, “Get to work. I want reports as soon as you have anything.”

“Understood, Justin out.”

The screen went dark and Nova turned to Arx. “She found a way to sneak down to the planet on the last investigation team for her brother’s remains.”

“No.”

“I’m afraid so.”

“Where is she? Why are you having to scan for her chip?”

Nova said, “She went missing yesterday and now we can’t find her. She has been in the African wilderness for over 24 hours.”

“Find her!”

“We will.”

Arx said, “I will get ATLAS down there and we will...”

“You can’t.”

“I CAN!”

Nova grabbed his arm. “Losing control will not help. Our sensors can pick her chip up no matter where she is. We implant them for that reason.”

“And you waited until now to use it?”

“We had hoped she would be easy to find. I didn’t want to send the cavalry. I...”

“You made a mistake, and that could cost her life.” Arx said.

EB hopped up, “Hey! That’s not fair!”

Nova said, “I made a choice. Sometimes I make the wrong choice. We hoped she would be found by a friendly face, which could be gentler and easier to get her back here.”

“Find her.” Arx demanded.

Continue the Story