“Did you make this costume for the contest, or is there a movie being filmed?” A woman ran up to Torrik. She had on a pair of the Ren Wear glasses.
He smiled and flexed his muscles. “This is all real.”
Krystal poked him in the back. “Don’t flirt. We don’t have time.”
“Oh, let them have their fun.”
More people were gathering around them as they tried to make their way through the village. A different woman got close to Krystal.
“Your skin is amazing. How did you get that pearlish hue? Your eyes... those contacts must be specially made.”
Alex said, “Ladies and gentlemen! We are not here for a movie or costume event. This is just a visit. Please, step aside!”
The crowds parted. Some seemed dejected, most remained extremely curious.
A man wearing rustic clothing and walking with an impressive wooden staff approached them. “Well met, fair travelers. You are too early. The costume contest isn’t until Saturday.”
Krystal let out a heavy sigh. “We’re not here for the fantasy village. We are ... inspecting the Ren Tech Spheres.”
The man’s mood quickly shifted. He grew worried and hurried them away from the gawking crowds. “Sorry for the greeting. I’m Mayor Harold Smith of Overhill.”
Alex frowned. “The fictional town of Overhill has a mayor?”
Mayor Smith gave a curt nod. “Overhill is the nearby community. It was just Green Village until the movie garnered us so much tourism and attention. We changed it to Overhill, just like this small village. They are now both part of my community.”
“So, the mayor spends his day play acting?” Krystal asked.
“Look, there are seven hundred residents of Overhill. We don’t exactly have a booming metropolis. Most of our community works the tourist angle. It’s big profit and lots of fun. However, I don’t think you’re here to judge how we run our small community.”
“Fair point.” Krystal pointed at the sphere. “I sense there is some concern about this sphere. You’re worried.”
He walked them toward the floating sphere. It was near this fictional village, but from it they could see the modern small community nearby.
Mayor Smith said, “This appeared a few months back, when they appeared all over the world. I was shocked to see them put one in such a small area. But it has provided us free internet access and amazing cell service, both of which are scarce out in the backwoods.”
Torrik said, “Sounds like you’re glad it’s here.”
“I am... or was. But, around a month ago, we had something bad happen. A tourist arrived with his family. They paid to spend the weekend renting one of the movie set rooms. On the first day, he discovered he had powers. His powers were immediate and seemed to cause him stress. I told them to take him to Christchurch, from there they could get in touch with BADGE authorities. They left... but from what I was told, he never arrived.”
“He died?” Alex asked.
“I don’t know. He simply vanished. His family contacted the authorities, and they did an extensive search. Nothing. They scoured our area, and there was nothing. He is just gone.”
“What makes you think his disappearance has anything to do with the sphere?” Torrik asked.
“I saw him around it, touching it, looking at his reflection in the surface. Thing is, he didn’t want to be here. The movie sets bored him to tears while his family played around. He just wanted to use his new Ren Wear and play online games. No one in my village was ever willing to get near that thing, and no one ever touched it. He is the first, and he vanished. That is not a lot to go on, I know, but I just feel there is a connection.”
Alex said, “There have been other incidents around these spheres, so your concerns might be valid.”
“I’m curious about something else.” Mayor Smith looked at them with a deep examination in his eyes.
“What is that?” Krystal replied.
“You don’t look like Ren Tech representatives. I don’t even know what you are. And that is the most amazing satyr costume I have ever seen... one might think it is real.”
Krystal said, “We aren’t from Ren Tech, but I cannot tell you who sent us. I can tell you we are here to find out if these pose any danger.”
“So, you’re here to help us?”
Krystal nodded, “Absolutely.”
The Mayor let out a heavy sigh. “Looks like we’re attracting attention. Damn. We lost two-thirds of our tourists when that boy went missing. We just got everything booked again. I don’t want people worried about being around here.”
Krystal said, “They want pictures and to play a fantasy, let them. Torrik, why don’t you go with the mayor and let the people meet you? You’re the best costume any of them will ever have seen.”
“It would be my pleasure.”
Alex said, “Don’t have too much fun. We have work to do.”
***
“I need everyone’s attention! Yes, everyone! Come over here!” Justin called out to the agents and returning student heroes.
Dragonborn walked up. “We completed our part.”
“Yes, thank you. However, we have a situation.” Justin paused and scanned the crowd with his eyes, which caused a bit of confusion and nervousness among the people.
HighFligher asked, “Sir, what’s the matter?”
“It seems we had a stowaway. Someone came down from the station who wasn’t supposed to be part of this crew.”
“A stowaway from the station?” A BADGE agent asked. “Someone trying to leave the program without proper authorization?”
“No. Someone who shouldn’t be down here right now. A woman named Adrianne. She works with the ATLAS teams. Give me a moment. I’ll call up her profile and show you her picture.” Justin grabbed a tablet from one of the folding tables they had set up.
Dragonborn stepped up, “Sir, is she in trouble? Like, is this bad?”
Justin ran through the files as he answered, “She isn’t in trouble as much as she is at risk.”
“I don’t understand.”
Justin continued looking up the profile for her picture. “You don’t need to. We simply need to find her, for her own sake.”
“I may have seen her, but I need to know if she is in trouble or what kind of risk.”
Justin frowned at him. “You saw her, didn’t you?”
“I may have.”
Justin said, “She isn’t in trouble as much as we are worried about her. Her brother died recently, and we haven’t found his remains. He died... near here. In her grief state of mind, finding his remains might be detrimental. We need to find her and get her to a safe place.”
“He was part of the people who died during the Antaeus attack?” Dragonborn asked.
“You might say that. If you know where she is, tell me.”
Dragonborn looked down at the tablet. The picture of Adrianne from her profile was on the surface. He pointed at the screen. “That’s her, I saw her. I helped her get on the shuttle. I thought she was part of the crew for this mission.”
Dragonborn pointed the direction she left. “She took a scanner and went that way. I saw her leave and promised not to tell. I honestly didn’t know what was going on. She seemed so focused and...”
“You were flirting and didn’t consider the ramifications of your actions.” Justin stated.
Dragonborn nodded, “Maybe.”
“You need to get that tendency under control. While working as a hero, you have to focus. You let a single individual walk out into god knows where with BADGE tech and didn’t think there might be something you should tell me.”
“I’ll do better.”
Justin said, “Yes, you will. I’m charging you with bringing her back.” He slapped a sensor into Dragonborn’s arms. Then he grabbed an official BADGE comm unit. “Here, put this on.”
Dragonborn snapped the comm unit on his arm. It was something he would get only if he graduated and joined the BADGE defense team. “Are you sending me alone?”
“Yes. Adrianne is no threat. She is in mourning. You seem to have garnered some trust from her, so seeing you approach will be less stressful and hopefully she’ll be more receptive. Go, find her, and get her to come back. If she won’t listen, contact BADGE and send us her direct location.”
“I’ll get her back.”
“Don’t waste any time, go!” Justin pointed off into the wilderness.
Another agent came over and asked, “Shouldn’t we send out more people?”
“No. I doubt she has gotten too far. Besides, if he cannot find her, the BADGE geo-tagging system will find her.”
“Why not just use the geotag now?”
Justin watched Dragonborn leave. “She is upset. I think this is the more gentle way of getting her back. Some days, our operations can be cold and direct, and that is necessary. But, sometimes they need to have compassion.”
“What about Arx?” Ladybug asked.
“What about him?”
“Everyone knows he and Adrianne are an item.”
Justin said, “That’s the problem. He’s too close. She could persuade him to keep looking. For now, we have our own job to do and I want to get it done.”
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