The world is burning, heroes are missing, and all I can hear is my babies cry. Hello, my name is Alex Fae Murphy. This is the story of how I lost my wife, my Krystal Fae. But, I think we should start at the beginning.
***
Agent Justin and Director Nova rode the lift down from Operations to the main levels.
“I don’t like this. Antaeus’s remains simply vanished, and it’s been three months without even a trace. There was a lot of stone he left behind. Where is it?”
Justin said, “I don’t know. We’ve tried everything, every league is on alert and every BADGE sensor is checking the world for clues. Nothing.”
“Complete this job and get back up here.”
“Understood.” The lift doors opened. “One more thing, Director. Adrianne?”
“What about her?”
Justin said, “She wants to come down and help look for his remains.”
Nova shook his head. “I still don’t want her down there with this. I know Antaeus was her brother, but she is still not ready for BADGE, and her counselors have not approved her participation. You don’t need to deal with a traumatized woman while doing your job. Tell her we will inform her the moment we find any clues to what happened to him.”
“She knows.”
Nova said, “I know it’s hard. We have to make tough choices.”
“I understand. Good luck with the speech.”
“I hope you find something down there.”
They parted ways, Justin heading for the docks while Nova went into the heart of the BADGE station.
Director Nova approached the mess hall. He wore his best outfit, which was hardly different from his normal apparel. Several students were carefully studying a new piece of tech, quickly hiding as he approached.
He stopped and gave them a stern glare. “What is that?”
One sheepishly showed him the box. It had the Renn Tech logo on the side.
The teen girl with glowing blue hair said, “It’s the new Ren Wear. I got it for Christmas.”
Nova looked up at one of the security robots and waved it over. The clunky drone approached with a heavy, metallic footstep.
“Oh, come on. Don’t do it.” The girl protested.
Nova said, “You know the rules. No Ren Tech items are to be on this station. I don’t trust them.”
“Boomer.” The boy next to her muttered.
Nova chuckled, “Hardly. We’ll confiscate that and return it to your civilian address on the planet immediately. You can have it there, just not up here.”
The robot stopped and said, “Ren Tech gear is prohibited. Please, surrender your item. It will be safely returned to your home on the planet. Thank you for your cooperation.”
She begrudgingly slapped it into the outstretched robotic hand. “This isn’t fair.”
“We have rules we all live by,” He said and walked on.
Chase joined him when he turned down a corridor. She wore a BADGE officer’s formal uniform. “What was that all about?”
“They had one of those new Ren Wear glasses.”
She straightened out the insignia pins on her chest. “Are you sure we need to go that far? It is just another smart phone... glasses... thing.”
“I don’t trust Ren Tech. We have reasonable suspicion of their motives and I don’t want to risk our security up here. It is a well-known fact smart tech spy on their owners.”
She said, “For advertising purposes.”
“I don’t care. Ren Tech is banned until further notice.”
They stepped into a new lift and transported up to a different deck. Chase said, “EB is miffed about the new rules.”
“He’ll live.” Nova muttered.
She laughed, “You took away his smart phone, his tablet, and three Ren Wears he has smuggled up here. He’s hardly talking to you.”
“I see that as a bonus.”
She poked Nova in the side, “He’s your best friend, everyone knows that. You shouldn’t be mean to him.”
“I’ll act according to the rules everyone has to follow.”
“That’s easy for you to say. You haven’t ever even used a smart phone.”
The doors opened, and they approached a conference hall. “I don’t need them. I have the most advanced technology in this solar system at my fingertips. Regardless, everyone follows the same rules.”
Chase said, “There haven’t been any incidents since the Antaeus situation. The uptick of new heroes has leveled off and started to dwindle, and the Ren Tech people have been busy with their new gadget. Maybe you’re wrong about all this. Maybe things are just fine.”
Nova paused before an enormous set of doors. He fixed his formal gloves and eyepatch as he said, “An ancient Legion starship appears just as those spheres come online. Then a legion robot attacked Perth, attracted by one of those spheres. A dozen people died after they were morphon supercharged near those spheres. And we still haven’t had one second of time to look inside a sphere to find out if they are as innocuous as Ren Tech claims. Peace is fine, but there is something simmering under the surface and I know it means trouble. I won’t let my guard down for a moment.”
“Could you be connecting dots that are not actually connected?”
He answered, “I am thousands of years old and have seen many, many forms of evil in this universe. I know how it thinks and acts. Something is coming and we’ll be ready for it. If a few kids can’t play with toys for a while, so be it. Right now, we have heroes to train, so the world is ready for whatever is coming.” He pressed a button by the door and it opened.
Both walked into an auditorium filled with students and teachers. The first two rows consisted of people in superhero costumes, smiling broadly but also looking a little nervous.
Nova stepped up to a podium. Arx was on one side, while Chase was on the other. Nova spoke into an invisible mic that projected his voice throughout the room. “This is a wonderful time that I never cease to enjoy. Graduation. The class before me has passed all our tests, spent hours in grueling training simulations and fieldwork, and has proven themselves to instructors and myself to be worthy of calling themselves superheroes. Some of you will join a league; many are already members of one. Some have chosen the independent path of Ranger, a vital role in securing remote and special places. Each of you will walk out of here ready to protect the freedom and security of this world from threats that grow increasingly dangerous. Remember, you may be individually strong, but together, you can achieve greatness. Stand with your heads held high. Today, you are superheroes!”
***
“Alright, team, get that sensor equipment on the shuttle now. I want to be down there and working before sunset.” Justin checked over a computer tablet while BADGE agents and scientists loaded equipment into a shuttle. A few trainee heroes worked alongside the agents as part of their required field work.
“Those are relief supplies. Put them over there. They go in last.”
“Relief supplies?”
Justin said, “Yes. The tribe that was affected the worst by the Antaeus event needs some help right now. So, BADGE is bringing them medical and food supplies while their people get their lives back together.”
“Cool. Glad to help.” The young man walked away.
Stacking the boxes with the others, he jumped. “Hey! Who are you?”
Adrianne looked at the boxes. “I was just... helping.”
“I didn’t see you in the trainee team briefing. Aren’t you part of ATLAS?”
“Sure, but I’m doing some extra credit work. Few natural disasters to worry about right now.”
“Oh, great. We can use the extra help. The names Dragonborn.” He stuck his hand out.
She took his hand. “Adrianne.”
“Wow, your hand is freezing.”
“I have ice powers.” She looked around, “Where is agent Justin?”
“Back there. You need to see him?” He turned to find Justin.
“No, no. Just... wondered. Hey, I’ll help put these in the shuttle.”
“Good. I’ll get the others. Have to put these muscles to work. Don’t freeze anything while I’m away.”
Adrianne hardly noticed his well-practiced flirting as she hid from the sight of others. When Justin got near, she slunk behind the boxes and waited.
“Okay! That’s the equipment. Get these boxes on the shuttle and get ready to leave.” Justin called out.
Dragonborn came back and worked with Adrianne to get the shuttle loaded. His flirtations blinded him to what should have been obvious. She kept out of the sight of most and then took a seat in the back, hiding among the boxes.
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