“Oh, that’s nice. A chocolate-based liqueur with a nice savory sweetness. You’ve outdone yourself,” Quark said.
EB smiled, “Thanks. Coming from you is a huge compliment.”
Nova let out a controlled sigh and then asked, “Can you give a report now?”
“Sure. I just needed a pick-me-up. I found the region of reality that EB and Dr. Fagan ended up in. Took some serious cross-realm searching. It’s nearer to our realm that I expected.”
Nova asked, “What can you tell us about it?”
“Not much. It was... unusual. It was like a shadow.”
Nova’s face lost some color as he heard this. “Shadow?”
“Yeah. It appeared to exist, and yet it felt as if it wasn’t real. The only thing I could sense there was pure morphons. The energy of our universe comprises several factors, but morphons are a tiny portion of that. There, it was all morphons. Though it could take shape, formed into creatures of some sort that attacked me. It was angry.”
Chase asked, “Angry? About what?”
“I couldn’t tell. I just sensed a perpetual anger, a loathing that simply existed.” He took another big drink from his chocolate cocktail and then said, “Sorry, Nova, I wish I had more to tell you.”
Nova stood up, obviously rattled. “You’ve told me enough. I need to contact someone right away.”
“Who?” Chase asked.
Nova turned toward the lift. “Chase, EB, I want you to help Dr. Henderson however she needs it. We need that scanner on line yesterday. Quark, if there is anything you can do to help them, do it. I will be in my office.”
“There’s one more thing.” Quark said.
Nova paused and looked back, “What?”
“EB said that The Avatar of Supernatural was there when they arrived, and that he threw them out of the realm.”
EB hopped up, standing on the table now, “Yeah. He was all superheroey and slammed the doors shut, and then we went zooming until crashing into the beach in Michigan. It was a wild ride. Kinda fun if we weren’t so scared.”
Quark said, “The Avatars are highly concentrated with power. If he were there, I would have known it.”
Chase asked, “What does this mean?”
Nova said, “We might be facing a bigger problem that I imagined. Get to work.” Nova nearly bolted away.
EB said, “Wow, to see him run kinda makes a guy scared. Nova never runs.”
Quark said, “Hey, if you can make me another one of those drinks, I’ll join you guys in the lab. I have some ideas to help with the scanner.”
“Sure, coming right up!” EB gleefully hopped back over to the kitchen area where he had some of the special stuff stashed in secret. The station did not actually allow alcohol for the students, so this was a secret.
Two younger BADGE agents sifted through the debris of the laboratory under Carlingford, Ireland. They both wore heavy suits in case of dangerous chemicals.
“Hey, Phil, is this a morphon crystal?” Andrew picked up a shard of something and held it up.
Phil walked over and scanned with a gun-like device. “Nope, just more glass.”
Andrew tossed the glass toward a pile he had started. “Leave it to me to get this job as my first assignment outside London HQ.”
Phil picked up a chunk of crystal and put it in a container. “Get used to it. Do you know how many clean-ups I have been involved with since I got this job? Back during the World Corps situation, it was a daily problem. And don’t get me started about the Fenrir battle... they wrecked an entire countryside. But, hey, the pay is unbeatable.”
Andrew stood and kicked aside a fallen table. “I hope to work up into the science department. I got my degree in advanced computer engineering. To work with BADGE would be amazing.”
“Good luck with that. Now, hand me that grabber, I can’t reach the crystal back behind this.” He held out his hand as he leaned over a pile of rubble.
Andrew handed him a long stick with a clasp on the end that was controlled by a handle.
“Find me a suitable host,” a voice said.
Phil said, “What was that?”
Andrew looked around. “I said nothing.”
“Yes, you did. Something about a host?” Phil was still working to get the shards with his grabber.
Andrew made a squeaking noise.
“Trying to say something?” Phil finally looked up and then jumped back.
A woman with antlers on her head and glowing eyes took shape from the wisps of smoke in the air. She looked at each of them with a silent examination and no emotion.
“Lady... you can’t be down here. This is a classified clean-up.”
She said, “Unworthy.” And then walked toward the back wall.
“That’s not the way - “ Before Andrew could finish, she walked directly into the wall, absorbing into an exposed section where the wall revealed dirt and rocks.
“What do we do?” Andrew asked.
Phil said, “What do you think! Call BADGE!”
Nova sat at his desk in his office and called up a holographic screen. Almost instantly, Dr. Hermes, aka the Oracle of Tech, appeared.
“I understand you’ve found something,” Dr. Hermes said.
“You really monitor everything.”
“I’m not omniscient, but I am keeping a closer eye on what you are doing. Do not worry. I will not use information for nefarious reasons.”
Nova refrained from explaining how many villains have done things thinking it was for good, even though it was evil. He still trusted this man and the oracle. “Then you know we have found evidence of people being targeted for having supernatural morphons.”
“Yes. That alarms us greatly. This fits the logical deduction of how the Malevolence would act.”
Nova said, “I sent a man into the realm that EB got stuck in. He explained it as if it were shadow, I can’t help but think he was describing what you were talking about.”
“That is even more alarming. We have seen that you are trying to track several entities that are stalking these heroes and civilians. Likely, these are the seekers, the hunters for the Malevolence to find what it needs.”
“One team successfully destroyed a creature in Louisiana, but not before taking some heavy damage. This seeker was the only one who died.”
“Dispersed, perhaps, but not destroyed.”
“What?”
“Destroying these beings is not so simple. They’re manifestations of the Malevolence’s various parts. They represent its supernatural side. Once destroyed, they can simply be remade. Only by destroying the Malevolence can they be truly destroyed.”
Nova sat back and asked, “What else can you tell me that you haven’t already told me? You seem to know a lot about this.”
“Knowledge comes from learning, Director. I am collecting the data and surmising logical conclusions based on that data. I could tell you how I have deduced these hypotheses, but it would take time.”
Nova said, “Fine. But I know you’re not telling me everything. There’s more about this you know, and you’re afraid to tell me. I have people at risk out there! Some have already died! Do not hold anything back!”
Dr. Hermes nodded softly and said, “I told you that the avatar is finally feeling emotion for the first time since it bonded with a human. Well, that is not entirely true. They already knew some emotions. One was fear. They are all deathly afraid of the Malevolence. Even Legion feared it after they once tried to harness its power and realized just how dangerous it could be. If the Malevolence ever destroys one of the Avatars, it might cripple the balance of morphons in all existence. This is probably the most important reason they stay out of the fight as much as they do.”
Nova leaned forward and said, “What, exactly, would happen if an Avatar were to be killed by the Malevolence?”
Dr. Hermes’ head jerked to the side slightly, and his eyes glowed brighter. The Oracle was taking center stage now. “All morphons aligned with their element would be in disarray. A void would form, a vacuum that would need to be filled. Even worse, the dark morphons of the same element could infuse the lifeless remains of the avatar, and they would take control of both the dark and light morphons of that element, and the balance of power in this universe would be utterly corrupted. Potentially beyond repair.”
“Then I have troubling news.” Nova said. “My people reported seeing the Avatar of Supernatural in that dark realm.”
“We know. We saw the report sent to you. We have been waiting for his return with great concern.”
Nova said, “Then you haven’t sensed him return?”
“No.”
“Strange Quark went into The Malevolence.... he didn’t sense him there either. The Avatar of Supernatural is gone.”
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