Frontier #35 - Showtime! pt. 3

                The sun had set an hour ago, and still Natalie stood on the rooftop overlooking a poorer section of Hopling. Ever since the super villains’ attack on Hopling city, an investigation into a string of dead bodies has been under way. Every victim was a lowlife criminal, and every crime scene showed signs of a reverse mugging gone wrong. But instead of the usual signs of attack, the autopsies proved there was no external damage done to the bodies. It was as if each of them dropped dead suddenly from heart failure in the middle of mugging someone. When murders appear that seem to defy normal explanation, the GMA is contacted and a search is put in motion to find the killer. Frontier was alerted, but Natalie kept the information to herself for now. She decided there was no need to concern Steve, since he had his hands full with the Western Frontier team, and Marian and Matt were off saving a couple of rich idiots. Besides, no one had any solid description of the killer since it appeared to be happening during random muggings. Natalie just kept her eyes open during patrols, and hung near the poor sections longer than usual, all in an attempt to apprehend this new metahuman serial killer.

                Marian and Matt were not out of the plane for five minutes before people started walking up to them and asking questions and demanding autographs. The attack on Hopling last month spread across the globe, and the members of Frontier became an international hit. Despite trying to hide behind his glowing energy, it was not hard for people to identify Matt as the glowing new powerhouse of the team. Matt tried desperately to avoid these fans, but Marian reveled in the fame.

                When they finally ducked through a door and were alone, Marian was laughing and having a great time. Matt, on the other hand, was desperate to get away.

                “What’s wrong, Matt?” Marian asked, noticing for the first time Matt’s irritation.

                “I hate the attention,” he grumbled. “How did so many damn people know we were coming?”

                Marian shrugged, “I don’t know, word gets around I guess. But what does it matter? You’re on Frontier now, you should be getting used to the attention.”

                “It’s different in Hopling. Crowds aren’t swarming around us, I’m in the sky most of the time, and I can take off whenever I want. Plus I try to hide in the light.”

                “I don’t get why though,” Marian said as they exited the airport and quickly dashed to a waiting car that was to take them to the celebrities’ beach house. “You’re such a powerful hero, Matt. You should let the whole world know who you are.”

                Matt hesitated, realizing he had yet to tell Marian, or anyone for that matter, what actually happened to him all those years ago that convinced him he wasn’t superhero material. Matt went to begin, but stopped. He really liked Marian, but he was sure this wasn’t the time or place for that story. Plus this wasn’t the first time she had tried to convince him to become licensed, and after the few weeks with her he seemed to be slowly changing his mind. But for now he deflected it, which was second nature to him by this point.

                “It’s too complicated. I’m not licensed, and I have my family to think about. If my dad’s old enemies knew his son was out and about, it might cause problems.” Both things were completely true, Matt knew, but it wasn’t the whole story. It was good enough, however.

                Marian nodded that she understood, but Matt could feel a shift in her energy. She wasn’t happy with Matt’s reluctance to be known.

                “I’m sorry Marian. Perhaps I’ll come around to it soon. You seem to love it!”

                Marian’s smile returned. “Hopefully! Especially if I’m going to be hanging on your arm out in public.”

                Matt settled down into the seat and picked up the file once more. He was not happy with himself for not telling Marian the whole story, but it wasn’t the first time he felt this way. Not many people outside of his family made him feel so guilty for not joining the superhero spotlight. None of them tried to cause that guilt, but it was always the same. He could feel the confusion and unease in their energy, and hated it.

With his recent spot on Frontier’s team, and his soon to be official status with Marian, Matt had been rethinking his ideas of licensing. There were many, many drawbacks in his opinion, but at least he wouldn’t need to hide anymore. This wasn’t an easy choice for Matt, who had been against becoming licensed for most of his life.

With a sigh Matt forced himself to concentrate on the surrounding suburbs they were driving through. The quicker they could find the celebrities and get back home, the better. Maybe then he could consult with his father and make his decision on gaining a license once and for all.

                The grounds of the beach house were deserted, and they could tell the local police had already torn through everything looking for evidence. Matt floated slightly above the compound and concentrated, trying to sense for metahuman energy signals somewhere off grounds. Meanwhile Marian walked around the grounds, trying to focus but finding herself dreaming of one day owning a place as beautiful and rich as this. Suddenly from inside the house she heard a door close. Marian went to check it out, since she and Matt were supposed to be the only two people there.

                As she quietly moved through the house, Marian could hear the shuffling of feet coming from the basement. Then she heard a person’s cough. Marian clicked on her communicator and whispered, “Matt, there’s someone here...”

                The basement door was kicked open. Out poured a stream of men with guns, all of them shouting and taking aim. Marian reacted instantly, kicking down the first armed gunner. She bounded forwarded and vaulted over the next in line, tackling another attacker. Attacking with trained speed and accuracy, Marian began taking the gunners down one at a time. She counted a total of eight armed gunmen, and methodically disabled them one by one. As she smashed her elbow into the neck of one, another took aim and fired. The bullet grazed Marian’s side and struck the gunman in front of her. Before she could retaliate, a flash appeared behind the shooter and his body fell limp to the ground.

                Matt was glowing brightly as he expelled a wave of energy that knocked out any attackers who weren’t already. He walked up to Marian and put his hand on the wound to stop any bleeding.

                “I’m okay,” she said as she took out gauze from a little med kit on her back. “The bullet only grazed my skin. Give me a second to bandage it up.”

                Matt nodded and then looked around. None of the men had any IDs or insignias on them, but they were clearly well armed and somewhat trained professionals. “You really handed them their asses, huh?”

                Marian smiled then winced as she applied antibiotic ointment and tightened the gauze. “That’s from a lifetime of having to fight with my hands instead of fancy powers.” A pause, “You’ve never really seen me kick ass before, have you?”

                Matt shook his head and he looked into the basement. “Nope, we always seem to be fighting on opposite ends of the battlefield. But seeing these guys makes me glad I’m on your side.”

                Marian put her hand in Matt’s and leaned in to kiss him on the cheek. “That’s sweet, Matt. You’re the first guy my age who actually acknowledges my power as something useful for more than bedroom pleasure. But I’m no powerhouse, and I know it.”

                “Tsk, having power doesn’t matter if you can’t use it. You can’t let anything limit you, Mare.”

                Marian laughed, “Now you’re sounding like Alex.”

                Matt turned suddenly, breaking the conversation off. He sensed a metahuman approaching fast, and went outside to see what it was. Marian went to follow him, but didn’t get far. The meta running towards them plowed into Matt and sent him flying back through the house, destroying much of the living room. The metahuman skidded to a stop and lifted his domed head, smiling through gray wrinkles of skin.

                “Fancy meeting you here! Looks like I get to give you a good bashing!”

The Eagle #3 - High Voltage pt. 3

                The loud buzz of the engine generators drowned out any chance of conversation. John was waiting patiently for Alexander to exit the generator room. Once a week, Alexander went around to each anti-gravity engine and re-charged the generators. These generators did not just supply electricity to the engines; in fact, the engines took very little electricity. Instead most of the electricity was sent out to the areas surrounding the engines. There was also a seventh generator, the largest of the group, and it was located in the heart of the city. Alexander visited this one last, and afterwards he needed to rest until the next day. Of all his duties, this was the most important.  Without his weekly charge, the Eagle as the people know it would soon run out of power. Normally John saw to it that nobody disturbed Alexander on this day, but an emergency had arisen that definitely required Alexander’s attention.

               

                The hovercraft sped down the emergency lane on the highway leading towards one of the many parks on the Eagle. As he looked ahead, Alexander could see the smoke from the plane crash. John had told him the firefighters and police were already there working on containing the panic, and a squadron of Eagle Men were battling the crazed metahuman who flew a plane into their floating city. As he got closer, Alexander saw a bolt of electricity flash up into the sky.

                Hopefully the Eagle Men can take him down quickly, Alexander thought as he pushed the hovercraft to go faster. I don’t want to lose any more of my people.

                In the park, the Eagle Men were attacking the super villain using powerful electric guns. They had surrounded the metahuman and were blasting away at him, yet with each electric blast the villain seemed to grow larger in both size and power.

                “Electricity isn’t stunning him!” The Eagle commander shouted into his headpiece. “Switch to sonic frequencies!”

                The Eagle Men obeyed the order, and with a quick push of a button their futuristic guns switched from emitting electric bursts to sonic waves. With a dozen high frequency blasts hitting him, the metahuman’s ears began to bleed and he fell to one knee. He slammed his hands to the ground, sending out an electrical wave that knocked most of the Eagle Men back. As the metahuman intruder struggle back to his feet, a horn blared from his right. Suddenly a hovercraft crashed into him, burying the metahuman under the crushed vehicle. Weakly he tried to crawl out from underneath, but the Eagle commander reached him first and delivered a massive sonic blast which rendered the metahuman unconscious.

                Alexander stared intently at the metahuman bounded before him. The Eagle Men brought the prisoner to the cells right away, locking his feet and hands inside metal clamps along with a energy dampening clamp around his torso. In this position, the metahuman was suspended in midair, unable to move anything but his head. It’s rare for these cells to contain prisoners, and this was the first time the supercell was being occupied. Yet it was necessary, given the enemy. As the metahuman opened his eyes, an evil grin spread across his scarred face at the sight of Alexander.

                “Fancy meeting you here, hero. I thought you’d still be helping out your dear friends in Frontier.”

                Alexander looked upon the face of Volt, the super villain that nearly beat Frontier and killed Steve almost six months ago. Alexander himself had to go down and help his old team, which was the first time in eight years he had associated with Frontier. Since then he had crossed paths with Volt once more, in the big battle of Hopling city a month ago. Volt escaped in the chaos, vowing to have another battle with the Electric Eagle.

                “You should not have come here,” Alexander’s voice was hard as diamonds as he controlled his rage. Never before has anyone attacked the Eagle.

                Volt laughed as best he could, “But how else could we have this conversation? You never return my calls.”

                Alexander’s hand rushed out, backhanding Volt across the face. A trail of blood drooled out of the corner of the super villain’s mouth. “I am very close to throwing you off the Eagle and ridding the world of you once and for all.”

                “You wouldn’t do that,” Volt chuckled, “you’re a hero, buddy.”

                Alexander grabbed Volt’s chin, forcing the two to look eye to eye. “I am the protector of the Eagle’s citizens first, a superhero second. And you are a threat to the people. Now what are you doing here?” Alexander’s voice rose to a roar. “You couldn’t have believed you could do any permanent damage. Tell me the truth!”

                Volt spit blood out of his mouth and smiled. “I’m here to destroy your world, hero.”

                Alexander snarled as he turned and walked away, signaling for the guards to remain and keep a vigilant watch. A messenger hurried next to him, ready for a statement. “Summon the council members. We need a quick decision.”

                “On the fate of the prisoner, sir?”

                “No,” Alexander said, his fists clenching tight as he thought of the wounded Eagle Men and destroyed park. “They need to decide which side of the Eagle to throw him off.”

                Thirty minutes later, as the Eagle’s council members were assembling to decide on what to do with Volt, the guards were leaning against the walls, making small talk as their shifts drug on. Guarding prisoners was a terribly boring duty, but it was necessary all the same. Suddenly a crack was heard, followed by a shining light next to Volt. The guards leveled their weapons and turned, but instantly fell to the ground. Volt looked over and smiled.

                “Right on time.”

                “You didn’t tell us you’d be in a cell.” A slender woman in her early thirties stepped out of the light and tossed her long black hair over one shoulder. “I’m assuming you have a plan for escaping?”

                “Do you think I’m an idiot, Mind Queen?” Volt sounded angry. Despite only knowing each other for two weeks, his little band of villains should know he was not a man to mess with, physically or mentally. “Once you free me, I’ll be glad to share it with you.” After a pause, “Nice dress by the way. I didn’t know this was a social event.”

                Mind Queen sighed and rolled her green eyes. She folded her arms across her busty chest and tossed a look back towards the light, which was dying down. “Just get him down from there. We don’t have all day. Eventually someone will radio in and find the guards unresponsive.”

                A short skinny man walked over to Volt. Once he left the fading light, it vanished and in its place stood a fat, angry looking girl. The short man looked completely incapable of helping at all, but with a grunt he began growing in size. Soon he stood nearly ten feet tall, his body bulked up into a behemoth man. With little strain, he cracked open the metal clamps that held Volt, freeing the villain.

                “Thanks Augmento. Now let’s bring this ship down.”

                “The hell am I supposed to do?” The fat girl folded her arms, snorting as she talked. As much as Volt needed her teleportation ability, he despised this little angry girl. He knew, despite her obnoxious protests, that her abilities had nothing to do with her short, fat, ugly look.

                “Stick to the plan, Pinpoint. Find a nice place to hide and be ready to get us out of here when we call you.” Volt walked out of the supercell room with the others, leaving Pinpoint to pout all on her own.

                “Remember the plan, you two,” Volt said as they snuck out of the prison into the late afternoon’s light. Mind Queen’s psionic blasts were extremely useful in subduing the guards they came across. Volt had a moment of gratitude that he was able to persuade her to his little team. Very nice to look at too, he thought, stealing a glance at her round butt through her skin tight red dress.

                “This isn’t my first time, Volt,” Mind Queen said, catching Volt checking her out and giving him a light mental slap. “I know what to do.”

                “And my part’s easy,” Augmento mumbled through the pain of increasing his size further. Now that they were outside he was growing to the size of a three story building. “I am the muscle that’s destroying this boat.”

                Volt smiled cruelly, thinking of the pain he was about to cause Alexander. “Let us begin.”

Frontier #34 - Showtime! pt. 2

                The sea breeze blew over Tony’s body as he stretched out on a folding chair. The beach’s sand was warm to his feet, and despite the fact it was closer to autumn than summer, the temperature was still enjoyable. As he took a drink, he continued gazing out over the ocean waves. Before Steve left for West City, he told Tony to take some time to himself. Steve didn’t give him a date to return; he just said to come back when it feels right. So Tony took some money and went down south. For the past three weeks, Tony has been relaxing on the beach, enjoying his vacation. At least, that’s what it looks like on the outside.

                Internally, Tony was still unsure of how to react to the past events. He had felt a change start to come over him, and he was actually caring about his life and the superhero business. And then…it was hard for Tony to even think about. He reacted on instinct, doing what he thought was necessary to stop Land Slide’s attack. Whether he didn’t know his own strength or he did it subconsciously, he couldn’t tell. But the moment Tony broke the super villain’s neck, he felt things he had never felt before in his life. Tony felt alone and ashamed. An entire world stopped what they were doing to see what he had done, and it was a horrible act. Yes, Land Slide was going to destroy the city, but there is always another way. He could have knocked the villain out, or grabbed and carried him into the middle of the ocean, or anything. Anything but kill him.

                Tony shuddered despite the warm breeze. Cure had tried to help ease his mind, and while she was there he forgot about his deed. Yet when she was gone and Tony was alone, it was all he could think about. He didn’t know what to do now. How can he go back to being a hero with someone’s blood on his hands? If you had asked him before, Tony would have laughed and said that he could kill someone no problem if needed. Now that he actually did, however, he realized it wasn’t something to laugh about, no matter how much the villain deserved it.

                Tony downed the rest of his beer, hoping to drink himself to sleep like he had been doing lately. There wasn’t anyone else on this part of the secluded beach to bother him, and a few nights Tony had woken up in the middle of the night after passing out, still sitting in his chair but under a foot of water from the rising tide. As he cracked open another beer, he heard a cough from behind him. Tony didn’t flinch, nor look up when someone unfolded a chair and sat down next to him.

                “Mind if I help myself?”

                Tony waved his hand. “Why not, it’s not my money.”

                “I know,” the gruff voice boomed in the relaxing ocean’s silence, “it’s mine.”

                Tony look over and almost fell off his chair. Sitting next to him, barefoot and wearing shorts and a tank top, was Kenneth Bridge, aka Eternal, the head of the GMA. Tony stared as Ken cracked open a beer and kicked back with a sigh. He looked over at Tony, “Of all the places you could have sped off to, you picked some plain jane beach.” Ken paused as he put sunglasses on. “It is a nice view though.”

                Tony was stunned, but after a quick look around to see if there was anyone else here he tried relaxing. “So um, what brings you here?”

                “You do, kiddo. I came to check up on you.”

                “B-but…me?” Tony knew that’s why Ken was here, but he couldn’t begin to fathom why. “Why? Did something happen back in Hopling? Is the team okay?”

                “Relax kid, everything’s fine.” Ken took a drink, “Good stuff. I prefer liquor personally.” The two men sat in silence for a few minutes. Tony had no idea what was going on, but the head of the GMA did not make house calls for no reason.

                Finally Ken broke the tense silence. “How’s your spirit?”

                “My…spirit?” This question only confused Tony more.

                “Yeah, your spirit. Your drive, your will, the thing that makes you get up every morning and keep going out to put your life on the line for the greater good. How’s it doing?”

                “It’s…alright,” Tony lied. He saw what Ken was getting at, and hoped to avoid that conversation.

                “Don’t lie, Tony. Especially not to me. Now I want the truth: do you feel like you can continue fighting the good fight? Or are you hanging up your tights for a life of booze and bad dreams?”

                Tony waited for a moment, hoping the courage to answer strongly would come to him. When he realized it wasn’t coming, he whispered, “I don’t know.”

                “Well you better make up your mind,” Ken said tapping his fingers on the arm of his chair.

                “Why?” Tony asked, suddenly scared where this conversation was going. “You gonna kick me off the team?”

                “Don’t be ridiculous, Tony, and don’t act childish either. We’re both adults here. I don’t kick people off of Frontier; that’s Steve’s job.”

                “Then why are you here? You don’t check up on licensed superheroes unless there’s a damn good reason.”

                Ken eyed Tony up. “There is a reason I’m here, and it’s one hell of an opportunity for you. As long as you don’t make me regret it.”

                Tony waved Ken on, so the older man continued. “I’m not here to scold or punish you, Tony. I’m here to offer you a job.”

                Marian rolled over amongst the sheets and watched Matt pour them drinks from the bar. The public relations manager for the metahuman celebrities insisted they take the official MetaMornings private jet, which consisted of its own minibar and sleeping quarters. Marian was eager to take advantage of both things as much as possible. As she watched him, Marian was once again hit with the notion that she was really starting to fall for Matt.

                Matt looked over and caught her gaze with a smile. “You sure you want to start drinking before we even get there? We might need to keep our heads about us. Plus you’re not even legal yet.”

                He finished mixing and walked the drinks over to her. Taking one, she smiled and sipped it. “Just because they sent us to their fancy resort in style doesn’t mean they’ll send us home the same way. I’m using it while I can. And seriously, you’re gonna pull the illegal card on me, mister no-license?”

                Matt watched Marian get up and walk into the bathroom. She was naked, despite the flight attendant right outside their door. Matt knew how attracted to Marian he was, but wasn’t sure if it was true attraction, or if he was just projecting his feelings for Jasmine onto Marian. He shook his head to clear Jasmine’s memory from it, then realized that he was still smiling. Matt had been smiling more in the past few weeks he’s spent with Marian than he remembered smiling in the past few years.

                Crap, he thought as she walked back into the room, her black curly hair framing her face and her toned yet sexy body radiating the heat of passion. I am totally falling for her.

                Marian took the glass out of his hand and straddled his lap. “You’re right though. We shouldn’t be drunk when we get there. But I can think of something else we can do.”

As she kissed him, Matt pulled back. “We should go over the reports. Make sure we know where we’re flying to.”

Marian sighed and climbed off him. “I guess you’re right.”

“It’s nothing about you,” Matt started to explain, but Marian waved him silent.

“I know, I know. I’m sorry I just…it’s been awhile since I’ve felt like this towards someone. With Tony is was nothing but physical attraction, and it left me feeling empty after each time. But it’s so different with you.” She looked over at Matt, a little smile on her face. “I really like you.”

Matt smiled and stood up, pulling her into a hug. “These past few weeks have been unimaginably fun, and I would hate for something to happen to ruin it.” He gave her a kiss, “But we really do need to focus. There’s two missing metahumans out there that potentially need our help. Let’s finish this mission as professionals. And when we get back,” here Matt took Marian’s hand and held it tight, “we’ll figure out what to do about us.”

Marian’s smile beamed back, “As long as that’s not a veiled attempt to run off after having your fun with me, I agree.”

Matt shook his head with a smile and picked up the file. “I would never dream of it, Mare.”

“Are you getting all this?”

A few keys were tapped. “Hell. Yes. This is gold. Who would have guessed these two were bumping uglies? I thought this was a family superhero team.”

“Not everyone’s in the family, apparently. But good God, this is incredible. No need to edit in a love story anymore.” A click of a mouse and more keys were tapped. “We are going to make cinematic history.”

The Eagle #2 - High Voltage pt. 2

                Alexander walked through the corridors towards the research facility onboard the Eagle. As he walked, his golden robe swayed with each step and scientists smiled politely as they stepped aside. Alexander was not the king of the Eagle, nor was he one of the council members. Instead he filled more of a presidential role, acting as a check and balance to the council’s decisions, and vice versa. The legislative process on the Eagle was a perfected example of what America had tried to do. The three sections, citizens, council members, and Alexander, each voted for new legislature and kept one another from gaining too much power. Still, with his official title of “The Eagle”, Alexander gained a lot of love from the citizens, in addition to well-earned respect.

                Upon entering the facility, Alexander was met with a bustling scene. The facility was one gigantic room split off into three different sections by retracting walls. In each section were workstations and offices, including some walled off areas where volatile or fragile experiments were taking place. The first section dealt with technology and advancements in machines and man-made wonders. Alexander walked through the tech section, nodding his approval at the busy engineers. The technological advancements were the reason the Eagle could afford to be built; originally Alexander took many loans from many people to fund his dream. Now that his researchers were inventing the future, he could afford to sell the ideas and pay back the loans. Once the nearly completed monetary obligations were met, the Eagle could truly be free from the earthly realm.

                Before leaving the tech section, Alexander stole a glance over to one of the room’s corners. A large group of scientists were hard at work developing a new system of anti-gravity engines, and have been for the past six years. So far, their breakthroughs have given the Eagle hovercrafts, floating furniture, and even an accidental invention of a working teleportation device, which has since been perfected. However they have yet to crack the key to keeping the Eagle afloat once the current engines die, and it was the most concerning aspect of the research facility to Alexander.

                The next section dealt with biology, and was much more orderly than the tech section. Plexiglas cubicles lined the open area, each one enclosed to contain any accidental spills. Some cubicles were large enough for multiple biologists to inhabit, and that was where various chemicals were being created. The Eagle did not have a large military force, but they were well-prepared, through chemical and biological advancements, to defend their city. Gene–therapy to enhance a person’s physical and mental abilities was currently being researched in full force onboard, with positive results in both the theoretical and actual world. Using chemical advancements, the agricultural workers on the Eagle were able to yield nearly a perfect crop every season. Waste was also non-existent, as everything was broken down and recycled.

                It was the third and final section which Alexander was walking towards. In this section, scientists strove to unravel the mysteries of life, including the greatest mystery of all: the Illumination. One week ago, Alexander issued his request to the council for research into shadow energy. After witnessing the power the metahuman named Sombra exhibited in the attack on Hopling, Alexander wanted to learn all he could about this new dark energy. At first the researchers were skeptical, since never before has anything in the world led them to believe shadow energy even existed. However after reviewing the footage of the battle, they all agreed that there was something different about the darkness Sombra controlled. The fact that the superhero Echo was able to absorb the darkness from her was another astounding fact. Given everything that happened, Alexander did not like being in the dark, and wanted answers.

                As Alexander strolled into the room, the lead researcher walked over and shook his hand. “Thank you for stopping by, Mr. Jackson. I didn’t think you’d rush down here so quickly, however.’

                Alexander looked behind the researcher at all the screens analyzing data. “This is important to me. I witnessed firsthand the power of this new energy, and I hate not knowing how to handle something. Have you found anything out yet?”

                The researcher, Dr. Muahitl, shook his head. “Nothing concrete yet. This is uncharted territory. I’m sure the GMA has done some research into it while the metahuman was in custody, but we are flying blind here, so to speak. We didn’t even get a sample until late last night.”

                Alexander was visibly stunned. “What do you mean, a sample?”

                “Of the shadow energy,” Dr. Muahitl replied, waving his hand towards a black cube. “Inside that glass box is all the shadow energy we have been able to collect from the atmosphere around us. We’re not really sure why, but it seems last night a sort of cloud rolled by, and our instruments went wild with readings. We managed to collect some before the cloud dissipated completely.”

                Alexander eyed the doctor closely. “This cloud didn’t exhibit any unusual attributes, did it?”

                Dr. Muahitl shook his head, knowing where Alexander was going with this. “Don’t worry, Mr. Jackson. We closely monitored it the entire time. It acted exactly how a passing cloud would. No human traits whatsoever.”

                Alexander breathed a sigh of relief. The last thing he needed was to discover Sombra was still alive and in control. The last thing anyone knew, Echo had triumphed, and Sombra dissolved into a cloud of shadow energy that scattered into the wind. If she had somehow survived and was merely laying low, then she would have even more power than Alexander imagined.

                No mortal can dissolve into nothing, only to reform as the same being. Alexander steadied himself with that logical thought, but deep inside he knew that anything was possible.

                Dr. Muahitl brought Alexander out of his reflections. “We might not know much about the energy itself, however we did learn one valuable bit of information.” At Alexander’s nod, Dr. Muahitl continued. “We figured out its unique wavelength. Given this information and our equipment, it is entire possible for us to find and track shadow energy.”

                Alexander nodded, his mind calculating the possibilities. A new form of energy is always a global phenomenon. “Excellent work doctor. Keep at it and continue sending me updates.”

As Alexander turned to leave, Dr. Muahitl coughed. “Sir,” he said hesitantly, “if this work is so important, we could use some more minds. Perhaps pulling some researchers off the anti-gravity engines? I understand that is a top priority as well, but…”

“Absolutely not,” Alexander cut in. He was very always very adamant that the anti-gravity engines were the top priority of the research lab.

“Of course Mr. Jackson. I just fail to understand why you don’t share the blueprints you used to build the first six.”

Alexander sighed. Nearly every time he came to the research facility, he was asked the same question. “How will those researchers learn how to do it if I give them the answers?”

“Science is built on top of the research of others, though,” Dr. Muahitl countered, as usual. “How can they improve on the original design when you won’t show them what that design is?”

“That is a problem they will have to figure out on their own.” With that, Alexander walked out of the research facility, lost in his own thoughts.

John knocked before entering Alexander’s private quarters. He found the Eagle standing on his balcony, looking not over the city, but out to the nearest anti-gravity engine. Its quiet hum was barely audible right next to it, much less three hundred feet away. John joined Alexander on the balcony, where they were alone for the moment.

“They continue badgering you about the engine blueprints, especially now that it has been over two years since their latest breakthrough.”

Alexander nodded. Quietly he spoke, “At times like these, I wonder if I did the right thing.”

“You can’t think like that, Alex. This is exactly what she would have wanted; to soar high above the ground amongst the soft white clouds.”

Alexander continued staring solemnly at the engine. “No one can ever know, John. Not a soul except you and me.”

“What about Steve?”

Alexander sighed and turned towards John. “Steve is no fool. I’m sure he knows as well, but my secret is safe with him.”

John nodded, gazing out towards the engine. “Then your secret is safe, my friend. No one will ever find out how the Eagle really flies.”