Nova sat in the passenger seat of a BADGE shuttle with a robot piloting. They sped through a sea of puffy clouds rising above late winter weather below. On a screen in front of Nova were Justin and Gargoyle.
“I wouldn’t bring this to your attention if someone hadn’t died,” Justin said.
Nova nodded, “I understand. What about the local leagues? Anything from them?”
Gargoyle said, “The league in Georgia hasn’t been able to find much more. And the two leagues in Italy have found even less.”
Justin said, “I was ready to dismiss the encounter in Georgia as a hoax or drunkenness after the league couldn’t find anything at all. But the story from the fishing boat off the coast of Italy is too similar. A strange, almost mythical creature appears and attacks. There were a dozen eyewitnesses, and this time someone died.”
Nova said, “Any connections between the two incidents?”
Justin shook his head, “Nothing tangible. I haven’t got the medical data from the autopsy of the victim on the boat, which might shed more light. However, no connection exists between these people. We can’t find anything other than a mildly elevated morphon signature in the area.”
A chilling worry ran through Nova’s blood. After his conversation with the Oracle of Tech, this seems like it couldn’t be a coincidence. “I want all our morphon sensors going full force. If we see another elevation, I want to know about it.”
“But that could be anything. We pick them up all the time. Normally, it’s nothing.”
Nova said, “Someone has died. We can’t rule out anything that might provide us with a head start before someone else is attacked.”
“Understood. Will you be cutting your trip short?”
Nova said, “No. I will inaugurate this new league in Petoskey, Michigan, and then I will head back. This shouldn’t take long and will likely be highly uneventful. I’ll be back in three days.”
“I will keep you informed if anything happens.”
“Good. Nova out.”
EB followed Dr. Fagan through the small village out into the hills. The evening sun was setting beneath a calm winter cloud bank. He knew the area well, more than he wanted her to know. In the distance, surrounding an area, was a permanent security zone set up by BADGE. It marked the location where Leprechaun’s home was and where the incident happened where he lost his powers when Jinn betrayed him.
Dr. Fagan walked up to the robot at the border of a laser wall restricting access to the area. She held out her special badge, and the robot let her through. The robots’ programming recognized EB’s authority as a BADGE official, so he didn’t need to show anything.
“You run faster than anything I’ve seen, but you’re lagging behind me.” She looked back as EB slowly followed.
“This is a hard place for me.”
“This place?”
EB picked up speed and walked along with her, heading for an opening in the ground dug out to reveal the cave underneath. “How much do you know about the Jinn incident?”
“Who doesn’t know about it? He nearly destroyed the world.”
“And Leprechaun?”
She smiled, “I know. Leprechaun was part of his plan. I get to see some levels of secure information in my job. Especially since I work right here where it happened.”
EB said, “Did it tell you that Leprechaun wasn’t a real leprechaun, but a Vexillian?”
“It didn’t make that clear. It explained he was an alien, but I didn’t have clearance for the information.”
EB stopped at the edge of the hole in the ground, looking down at the well-lit, pleasant home buried under the ground. “He was a Vexillian, just like me. He was... a good friend once. His betrayal hurt badly, and his death... was hard for me. For centuries, we Vexillians lived here pretending to be your myths. We kept away from humans and only had each other to talk to, even though it was rare. He was one I got to talk to more than others, at least for a while. Coming back here reminds me of a man who I knew well and who I miss.”
“Oh, I’m so sorry. We don’t have to go in. I just had some questions and.. we don’t have to. Come on, let’s get a pint and talk.”
He said, “No. I have avoided coming back here for too long. I want to remember him again, and let that memory rest.”
“If you are truly okay with going in.”
EB didn’t answer; he walked down the path into the small home. She followed behind, hunching down to get inside. They had dug it out bigger than it used to be, but a lot of the items remained.
Stopping near the old sitting room with a little hearth and shelves of books, a chair, and a pipe, EB slowly put a paw on the pipe and picked it up. “I can still smell the stench of his smoke. I remember how he loved to read human literature, especially fables about him. You should have heard him laugh, he had a friendly laugh.” A tear fell down EB’s face.
“He was a mighty good friend, which is a treasure to have,” she said.
EB nodded, “Yes. He made a fatal mistake and chose a path that was... unfortunate. He made amends by sacrificing himself to stop Jinn. But there is so much more about him I wish you knew.”
She said, “I knew him.”
EB put the pipe down and looked up at her with shock. “What?”
“You know when I said there was something else in my past? When I was a little girl, hardly in my first year of school, I loved fantasy and myths, especially Irish myths. I wanted to meet a leprechaun. Living here in Carlingford, leprechauns are a big thing. One day, I got scared when a bully threatened me at school. I ran away and came here. I didn’t know there was a leprechaun living under my feet, but I sat down and cried. I kept saying I wish I had magic like a leprechaun, then I wouldn’t fear bullies. It was raining, and I was soaked. Then, a little hand rested on my arm and the nicest little voice said, ‘Why all the tears, lassy?’ “
EB frowned, “He showed himself to you?”
She nodded, “Yes. He was so kind and nice. He told me that magic was real and that I had it in me. He said that all I had to do was believe in myself and I could do anything. I believed then that I had strength in me, magic in me. My ma and da both said I was dreaming and scolded me for running away. The kids at school made fun of me, but I never gave in. I always believed it really happened. When everything came out with Leprechaun five years ago... I knew it was real. Then, I discovered I had morphon powers, and I thought it was all coming true, I really had magic in me. But...”
“Your powers are too weak.” EB finished the thought.
“I was sad about that. But I devoted my studies to understanding morphons better. And what better place than this. His old home is filled with them, and back here, let me show you what has happened.” She walked him back to another room, this one dug out considerably more than the others. In fact, she could stand up straight. A single piece of equipment sat in the middle, with a screen showing readings from sensors. However, it wasn’t the equipment that mattered at this moment.
A green glow covered everything, pouring out from dozens of impressive morphon crystals growing on the ground, the walls, and the ceiling. EB gasped and ran over to one. “This is amazing! These weren’t here when he was here, I know that.”
“The BADGE people started noticing them a couple of years ago and we’ve been studying them ever since.”
EB asked, “Why are they green? Morphon crystals are typically a purplish hue.”
Lily touched one, “They are almost entirely supernatural morphon resonance. And they have grown exponentially in the past four months.”
EB asked, “How did you discover they are all supernatural morphon-based?”
She waved her hand in the air, and the crystals all flickered with glowing light along with her movements. “My signature is supernatural, so they respond.”
“Wow.” EB clapped his paws and created a chocolate egg. The crystals all burned brighter green. The sensors in the middle of the room beeped wildly in response. “Wow, just... wow. I have never seen anything like this, I.... Lily?”
She held her head and swayed. “I feel something odd.”
EB jumped when green tendrils of electricity jumped between the crystals. “Okay, that is super not normal.”
A dozen of the tendrils hit Lily, and she shook for a moment and then fell on her knees.
“LILY!”
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