Minerva and Dave walk quickly toward the main entrance. Dave frowns.
“Uh… did I miss something?”
“No idea. But like I said, if the Hero says we need to leave, it’s time to go.
Arc nods. “I’ll explain later. This is bigger than I originally thought.”
Minerva frowns. “If you say so.”
Turning a corner the pair nearly walk into a pair of security officers. They hold out their hands, motioning for the pair to stop.
“Just a moment, miss.”
“Is something wrong?”
The officer nods. “We need you to come with us.”
Dave appears confused. “Huh? But what did we…?”
Rose narrows her eyes. “Arc, something’s wrong here.”
“Just a minute, Rose. Let me take care of these two.”
He speaks into the radio.
“Just play along with them, Miss Moore. I’ll handle this.”
Arc reaches out his hand. A moment later he frowns.
“This is… strange.”
Cherry gasps. “Arc, why isn’t it working?!”
“I don’t know. They should be asleep.”
Rose looks over her screen. “These readings can’t be correct. I think… no… no that can’t be right.”
She continues to reprocess the data for a few moments as Minera and Dave follow the uniformed security officers down the corridor. Rose suddenly opens her eyes and calls out.
“Arc, get them out of there NOW!”
“What? How?”
“Any way you can! Just run if you have to!”
Arc chuckles. “Alright. I guess we’re doing this the hard way.”
Recalling his armor, Arc quickly puts away his magic cloak and pulls out the navy blue one he took from Stingray. Groaning, he puts it on.
“This is going to get messy quick.”
Cherry calls out nervously. “I hope you know what you’re doing, Arc.”
“So do I.”
Sighing, he speaks into the radio.
“When I give the word, run.”
Minerva grimaces and turns to Dave.
“What should we do, Miss Smith?”
Minerva offers him a pained smile. “Just follow my lead. Everything will be fine.”
Dave sighs as they continue on. A few minutes later they arrive at the security office door. As one of the officers pulls his keys from a pocket Arc Blinks to the floor in front of him. Quickly returning to normal size he roughly shoves the pair to the ground and rushes forward past Minerva and Dave.
“This way! HURRY!”
The pair do as they are told. The security guards quickly get up and give chase. One of them speaks into his radio.
“We have a Code Gray outside of Security! Suspects currently fleeing down the corridor toward the south exit! Should be considered very dangerous!”
Doctors, nurses, and even visitors quickly move to the side as Arc and the others pass them. Minerva calls out to Arc.
“What’s the plan?!”
“Get out fast!”
Dave grits his teeth. “Not much of a plan! Why don’t you just show those guys back there what you’re made of?!”
“Less talking, more running!”
As they round a corner they spot a guard running toward them. Arc calls forth his gauntlet and opens a portal. Casting a Telekinesis Spell the guard is hurled through the portal’s swirling energies.
“Don’t stop! Keep going!”
Turning around, he allows Minerva and Dave to pass. Pulling down several overhead lights with his magic, Arc finishes by knocking over two nearby carts forcing the guards to watch their step as they advance. Blinking back to the reporters Arc rejoins them.
“The main entrance in just ahead! Hurry!”
They round a corner to find nearly a dozen security guards waiting for them. Spotting the fugitives they run toward them. Minerva frowns.
“Not a good choice!”
Dave takes a step back. “Now what?!”
“Put some distance between us and them! This way!”
Arc leads them toward the stairwell. Rushing through the door he presses his body against it as he turns to Minerva.
“Get to the roof! I’ll hold them here!”
“What about…?!”
“I’ll meet you there! Hurry!”
Running up the stairs the security forces reach the door. Together they push against it. Arc grunts.
“What the…?”
Cherry gasps. “They’re pretty strong!”
“There are over a dozen of them out there though!”
A few moments later they push the door open and hurry toward Arc. One of them takes a mighty swing at him. Arc blocks the blow with his gauntlet before countering with a Telekinesis Spell. The guard flies toward his allies, knocking them back momentarily. Arc Blinks to the top of the stairs to meet Minerva and Dave at the door to the rooftop. Minerva turns to him as he materializes.
“The door’s locked!”
Activating one of his gauntlet’s magic blades Arc deftly slices through the locking mechanism.
“Not anymore! Outside, quick!”
Dave pushes the door open. They run through as Arc slams the door shut. The sound of boots running up the stairs can be heard on the other side. Putting his back against the door, Arc raises a gauntlet and opens a portal.
“Get in!”
Minerva gasps and steps back. “What?! But where does it…?!”
Arc frowns as the guards reach the door and begin attempting to force it open. “No time to explain! You have to trust me!”
Dave turns to Minerva. “It’s this thing, or get caught! Which should we do Miss Smith?!”
Minerva thinks for a moment. Arc groans.
“I can’t hold this forever! Hurry!”
“We don’t have a choice! Let’s go!”
The pair run through the portal. Arc leaps towards it, but turns at the last second to deliver one last Telekinesis Spell in a final attempt to slow the guards down. Jumping through Arc falls to the ground on the other side. Rolling over he quickly turns to the portal and watches it close before slowly getting up and turning to Minerva and Dave.
“You two okay?!”
Minerva nods. “We’re fine. But why didn’t you just do that wormhole thing in the first place?”
Arc sighs. “I didn’t want to leave your ride there. Guess that was pretty silly of me though. Although I didn’t think they’d follow us with such vigor.”
Dave sits up weakly, his camera on his chest. “Yeah. Security sometimes hassles reporters, but that was really over the top!”
“Doctor Rieper probably called them. I, uh… may have taken something from him.”
Minerva raises an eyebrow. “What was it?”
Arc removes the laptop from his ring.
“This.”
Dave gasps. “You STOLE it?!”
“I suppose so.”
Minerva frowns. “So that’s why security was after us?!”
“Yeah, sorry about that. But what I saw initially made me believe it was worth the risk.”
Dave eyes the device warily. “Why? What’s on there?”
“Several names that I recognize.”
“We can take a look back at my apartment if you want.”
“Sounds good. Uh… what about your van?”
Dave sighs. “The office can send someone over there to pick it up.”
Minerva chuckles. “Right. It’s not like this is the first time it’s happened.”
“Yeah. I’ll get that ball rolling at the office. But how are we getting back?”
Minerva pulls out her cell phone. “I could call us a cab. That is, if one of you knows where the nearest road is.”
Arc clears his throat. “I can take you both there.”
Dave looks to him, confused. “How?”
He gestures to the sigil on the ground. “A similar portal-less method.”
Minerva shrugs. “Let’s go.”
They step onto the sigil. In the blink of an eye they find themselves on the roof of the Channel 7 News building.
“Think you can get the van back, Dave?”
“I’ll have a couple interns take care of it. But what about the footage we took?”
“Edit it and send it to the boss.”
“There isn’t really that much there.”
“I know. But he can use it as stock footage. If he starts asking questions though, tell him I was using it as cover to investigate a potentially crooked doctor over there.”
Dave grins as he steps off the sigil. “Alright. That’ll probably smooth things over with him.”
Minerva turns to Arc.
“Shall we be off?”
“Sure.”
The pair vanish as Arc powers up the sigil. Dave walks over to a nearby door and shakes his head.
“What are you up to, Miss Moore? Working with the Hero isn’t too safe. This is the second time he’s gotten us in hot water, after all.”
Meanwhile, Arc and Minerva reappear on her apartment building’s roof.
“Nice view for up here.”
Arc nods. “Your apartment is directly below us though.”
“That may be. But it just feels like were so much higher up. Probably just the lack of walls and windows though.”
“Maybe. But let’s get inside. Judging from those dark clouds, it looks like a cold front is moving in.”
As if on cue the heavens open up. As the pair are immediately soaked Arc puts his hands on Minerva’s shoulders and Blinks them to her apartment. No sooner does he do so than a low rumble reverberates outside. The pair stand there dripping for a few moments. Eventually Minerva breaks the silence.
“I, uh… think I’ll go put on something a bit drier.”
Cherry giggles. “I’ll come with you. Can I borrow your armor, Hero?”
“Sure, Cherry.”
Touching his ring, Arc calls forth Eidolon’s Ward. It melts away to allow him to step out. Minerva looks down at the puddle forming under him.
“Can I… offer you some dry clothes? They’re just baggy sweatpants and a shirt, but…”
“Thank you, but I have some spare outfits in my ring.”
“Alright. I’ll get changed in my bedroom. You can have the bathroom if you’d like.”
“Alright.”
They part ways. Eidolon’s Ward closes the door as Minerva heads for her dresser.
“Today went well.”
Minerva sighs as she removes her wet clothes. “Kinda.”
“Something wrong?”
“Not really, I guess.”
She opens the drawer and pulls out fresh undergarments.
“You don’t sound too sure of yourself, Minerva.”
“I just find it kinda… odd.”
“Which part?”
“The Hero’s going to a lot of trouble to help someone.”
“That’s kinda what he does.”
Minerva blushes slightly as she walks over to the closet for fresh clothes. “I know that from firsthand experience.”
“That night at the pizzeria?”
Minerva nods as a smile spreads across her face and her arms wrap around herself.
“Like I told you , Cherry. No one’s ever stuck their neck out for me like that before. He even went so far as to risk his life to save mine. Twice, I might add.”
Minerva sighs before continuing.
“And then I… I betrayed him AND you!”
“It’s in the past, my friend.”
Eidolon’s Ward walks over to Minerva and puts the gauntlets on her shoulders.
“He doesn’t hold that against you anymore. And neither do I.”
Minerva nods sadly. “I still feel as though I’m going to be paying for that mentally and emotionally for some time though.”
“The Hero’s not much for other’s suffering needlessly.”
“Even after what I did?”
“Yes.”
Minerva is silent for a time.
“You… you remember what we talked about last time, Cherry?”
“Of course.”
“And you’re okay with it?”
Eidolon’s Ward nods. “I am. Now why don’t we pick out something nice for you to wear?”
She looks down at Minerva’s bare skin and giggles.
“You can’t really go out there like that.”
Minerva forces a smile and blushes. “No, I suppose not.”
Meanwhile, Arc steps into the bathroom. Removing the soaking wet navy-blue cloak he looks it over and sighs.
“Leave it to me to stand in a downpour while wearing a dry-clean only cloak.”
Tossing it over the side of the tub unceremoniously, Arc removes his clothes and sets them in the sink before pulling fresh ones out of his ring as he mutters to himself.
“Ever since that night at Rarity’s place I’ve seen fit not to leave home without fresh clothes.”
He blushes slightly and smiles.
“But then again… that truly was a night to remember.”
Quickly dressing, Arc pulls out his original black magic cloak and puts it on. Walking out of the bathroom door he heads over to the large Living Room window overlooking Angel Grove. A few minutes later Minerva and Eidolon’s Ward step out of her room. They walk over to join him. Eidolon’s Ward is the first to speak.
“Looks like that’s shaping up to be quite a storm.”
Minerva shudder. “That it is.”
Arc nods. “I for one am glad none of us are driving. But we should get down to business.”
Minerva and Eidolon’s Ward nod in agreement. Arc leads them to the kitchen table. He sits down and pulls the laptop out of his ring.
“When I entered the office, Doctor Rieper was going over something on this.”
Minera opens the laptop and powers it on. “What’s so suspicious about that?”
Eidolon’s Ward nods. “Yes. I’m sure he was just going over patient files, or something.”
“He was, yes. But it was his emails that really concerned me.”
Minerva presses a few keys. “Let me see…”
A moment later she frowns.
“Looks like the session timed out. We’ll need his password to get back in.”
Eidolon’s Ward sounds confused. “Is that like a key?”
Arc chuckles. “Something like that Cherry, yes.”
Minerva reaches for her purse. “True. But I just might happen to have a digital lockpick right here.”
Rummaging around for a moment she pulls out a flash drive and plugs it into one of the computer’s USB ports.
“Let me just open this up in a special browser.”
Eidolon’s Ward tilts her head to one side. “A what?”
Arc turns to the armor. “It’s how one views the Internet. Through a browser.”
“Right. But we have to be careful someone doesn’t track us via the ISP address. This browser will redirect it several times.”
Minerva giggles as she works.
“If anyone tires to track us, they’ll think we’re standing on the moon!”
Eidolon’s Ward gasps. “Really?!”
“Well… a middle eastern country at the very least. Okay… now let’s see if we can’t crack this password.”
Activating another program on the flash drive, Minerva sits back and stretches.
“Now all we have to do is wait for the program to figure out the password. Shouldn’t take too long.”
Arc frowns. “How do you know?”
“Most people are pretty lax in their cyber security. His password is probably pretty weak.”
Arc shrugs. “Makes sense. That and he was physically locking it up to treat you.”
Minerva shakes her head. “Amateur.”
A short time later Minerva gives Arc a thumbs up.
“We’re in.”
Arc leans over. “Take a look at his address book.”
Minerva shrugs. “Fine. But that’s usually a pretty boring…”
She stops talking as she reads the list silently to herself before responding.
“Now that IS surprising!”
Eidolon’s Ward sounds confused. “What is?”
Minerva turns the laptop toward the pair and points. “This list is a lot more than I thought it would be. For starters, none of the names on the list start with the prefix ‘Dr.’.”
Arc frowns. “A doctor whom doesn’t email other doctors. That can’t be right.”
Eidolon’s Ward looks at the screen. “Well then, who IS he… mailing?”
Minerva frowns. “Quite a few people actually. However most of their names are in some kind of code.”
Arc nods as he looks over the screen. “Yeah. Let me take a look at those names again though. Earlier I thought I saw a very familiar one.”
He pulls the laptop toward himself and begins scrolling. A few moments later Arc frowns angrily.
“I was right!”
“About what?”
Arc points to the screen. “Diva’s name is on here!”
Eidolon’s Ward gasps. “What?!”
Minerva pulls back nervously. “He’s in contact with HER?!”
“Yes. See if you can find any messages between them.”
Minerva nods as she takes back the laptop. “Shouldn’t be too hard. I’ll just do a quick search.”
Thirty seconds later she frowns and turns the device back toward Arc.
“Looks like they correspond pretty regularly. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say from the sheer number of messages they were lovers.”
Eidolon’s Ward gasps. “But he’s so much older than she is!”
Arc grimaces. “Age is just a number, after all. But I’ll admit that is a scary thought. Now then, let’s take a look at what we have here.”
He opens several messages and reads their contents silently.
“Looks like they’re working together on something big.”
Minerva furrows her brow. “Like The Rider’s?”
“There is mention of them in here, yes. He keeps asking for more detailed reports on test data regarding what he refers to as ‘The Project’. No concrete indication on what that might be though.”
Eidolon’s Ward turns to Arc. “Do you think he might be the one behind what happened to The Riders during your battle with them, Hero?”
“Maybe. But the events of that night were like something out of a science fiction novel.”
Minerva sighs. “If I hadn’t seen it for myself, I wouldn’t have believed it.”
Arc clenches a fist. “Yeah. If he was responsible for that, there’s no way he acted alone.”
Eidolon’s Ward sighs. “Many hooves make for light work.”
“Someone must have helped him with manpower and resources.”
Minerva nods soberly. “Yes. No one could have developed that serum… or whatever it was, alone.”
“Right. To say nothing for testing and production.”
Eidolon’s Ward pipes up. “The Shards certainly helped with some of that.”
Minerva nods. “That factory in the mine, yes. But I doubt they had anything to do with developing the formula or testing it.”
Arc grimaces. “Right. The Shards produced it while The Riders were the guinea pigs for testing. That still leaves the question of who helped Rieper create the formula. Anything else in there regarding that, Miss Moore?”
Minerva calls out as she reads over several messages. “Hmmm… it says here that Diva was to assign someone with the codenames of Stingray, Hammer, and Mio the task of overseeing production.”
Eidolon’s Ward sighs. “They were certainly doing that in the mine.”
Arc seethes under his mask. “Right. But then they left the others down there to die.”
Minerva shudders. “Yes. And it says here they were told to deliver the completed formula to… The Rider’s Hideout?!”
Eidolon’s Ward gasps. “Minerva! That syringe you found!”
Arc turns to Minerva. “What syringe?!”
“When Cherry and I were looking around the abandoned hospital we found a syringe in the leader’s desk.”
Eidolon’s Ward nods. “But where did the rest of them go?”
Arc shrugs. “Probably stored somewhere in the hospital.”
Minerva sighs. “So they’re probably history.”
“I doubt it. After all, why would Diva go through all the trouble to make that substance only to blow it up?”
Eidolon’s Ward puts a hand to her helmet thoughtfully. “She did have several helpers with her that day.”
Minerva’s eyes grow wide. “You think there were there to collect the product and destroy the evidence?”
Arc nods. “Makes sense. Judging from the state of the building when I got there, no one’s finding anything in that charred mess. Blow the place up and make it look like an accident. No loss of life from an abandoned building means no real investigation. Anything they accidently left behind forever sits under several tons of debris.”
Minerva shudders. “That’s a sobering thought.”
Eidolon’s Ward sighs. “Agreed. But all we know for certain is that Diva is in cohorts with Doctor Rieper, and that he had something to do with that substance.”
Arc turns to Minerva. “I admit it’s not much to go on.”
“There might still be other things to find on this laptop. Emails and files alike.”
Arc turns to her. “Do you think you could look for information regarding an individual on there?”
“I can try. What’s their name?”
“Frank Fontaine.”
Minerva stops typing and looks up at him.
“I’m sorry, what?”
“You heard me right.”
“The leader of the Shards?!”
Eidolon’s Ward nods. “He’s an old friend of the Hero.”
Minerva sighs as she goes back to typing. “Alright. I’ll see what I can find on him.”
Quite a bit of time passes. Arc stares out the window absentmindedly. Minerva looks over to him.
“I’ve found something.”
Arc walks over. “Good.”
Minerva sighs. “At least I’m assuming it’s him. The label is ‘F. Fontaine’.”
“That’s got to be him.”
Eidolon’s Ward looks to Arc nervously. “Um… I’m kinda hoping it isn’t.”
“Oh? Why not?”
Minerva shudders. “Because this is kinda creepy.”
Arc raises an eyebrow. “That doesn’t make sense.”
Minerva turns the laptop toward Arc as he sits down.
“You’d better just read it yourself.”
Arc does so. He frowns.
“What the heck…?”
Minerva nods. “That’s about what I thought too.”
“This… Rieper WAS experimenting on him!”
Eidolon’s Ward sighs. “Keep reading. There’s more, Hero.”
“From the sound of your voice I’m assuming it’s not good.”
Minerva nods. “Right. Take a look at this archive.”
She takes the laptop back for a few moments and opens a different file before turning it around. Arc raises an eyebrow.
“Part numbers?”
Eidolon’s Ward shrugs. “Perhaps for the production of that substance?”
Minerva shakes her head. “Look at the dates. These records are from more than twenty years ago. There’s no way he was making this stuff back then.”
Arc looks to Minerva, confused. “But what else could this be in reference to?”
“Click on the fifth link down.”
Arc does so. Seeing the contents of the file he gasps.
“Frank as a child?! What the…?!”
Minerva nods soberly. “It shows his address as the Farburg Orphanage. Apparently he was being experimented on back then too.”
Arc grimaces. “Any details on how?!”
“Nothing that I can find on here. But from a security standpoint it wouldn’t make sense to keep all that information on something like a laptop. As it stands, the data on here is pretty much useless as-is.”
Eidolon’s Ward turns to Arc. “Kinda like that formula we discovered, Hero.”
Minerva turns to Arc, confused. “Formula?”
“We may have come into possession of a copy of that substance’s formula a while back. But only half of it. The other half was… elsewhere.”
Minerva grins. “So you could recreate that stuff?!”
“Someone else working with us already has.”
“What… what was it?”
Arc closes the laptop and shakes his head.
“There are some things in this world you’re better off not knowing, Miss Moore.”
Eidolon’s Ward nods. “Trust me. He’s right on this.”
“But the public might be in danger!”
Arc sighs. “Agreed. That’s why we need to figure out what the big plan is for this stuff in addition to what part Frank played or is playing in this.”
Minerva looks nervous. “Um… what exactly are you planning to do with the formula?”
“At the moment, keep it out of the wrong hands.”
Eidolon’s Ward turns to her friend. “Minerva? Are you worried the Hero might try to use it?”
Minerva looks away sheepishly. “Kinda, yes.”
Arc shakes his head. “It’s too risky as it stands. That and there’s supposed to be some kind of secret ingredient to make it usable.”
Eidolon’s Ward nods. “Right. But we don’t have it, or even know what it is.”
Minerva puts a hand to her chin. “Maybe we could have a researcher reverse engineer it.”
“I’ve already done that. The substance is something that doesn’t exist in this world or the other.”
He stands up, taking the laptop in his hand.
“Cherry and I need to be getting home. Thank you for all your help, Miss Moore.”
“Please. Call me Minerva.”
Arc nods as he stores the laptop in his ring. “Very well… Minerva. But sadly I still can’t tell you who I am.”
“I… I understand.”
“Now then, I’d appreciate it if you’d keep all this to yourself for now.”
Minerva sighs. “Sure. No one would believe it anyways.”
Eidolon’s Ward sounds skeptical. “After all we’ve found, I still don’t.”
Arc raises his gauntlet and opens a portal. “We’ll let you know if something comes up.”
Eidolon’s Ward steps through the portal as Arc moves to follow her. Minerva calls out to him.
“Hero?”
Arc turns around. “Yes?”
“I, uh… just wanted to say… thank you.”
“What for?”
“For saving me at that horrid mine for starters.”
She looks down at the floor.
“And after I lied to you, it would have served me right if you would have abandoned me to security at the hospital today.”
“That thought did cross my mind.”
“Why didn’t you?”
“Because that’s not who I am. And the woman who took Cherry from me… you’re not that person anymore, are you?”
Minerva shakes her head. “No. I understand that was wrong, and want to make up for it.”
Arc turns back to the portal. “Someday you may learn the truth about me and the other world. But believe me when I say that you’re not ready yet.”
“But… I…!”
She sighs.
“…I understand.”
“Thank you. Take care… Minerva.”
He walks through the portal and vanishes. Minerva turns toward her couch as the portal closes. She flops down and stares out the window at the falling rain pecking at the window panes.
“I do want to know the truth. And not just because I’m a reporter.”
She smiles weakly.
“Cherry. I hope one day you and the Hero can show me your world. It must be a fantastic place of wonder and delight.”
Minerva closes her eyes and blushes slightly.
“That and maybe… just maybe… I’d be able to work up the courage to tell the Hero how I really feel about him.”