I slept maybe a total of 3 hours last night. I couldn't stave off the feeling of being watched the entire night, even when I finally gave up on sleeping altogether and headed to the top of the half-pipe haphazardly placed within the centre of the mall to watch the sunrise. In the meantime, I had been brainstorming ways to find Providence; despite Providence being one of the largest government organizations with one of the largest militaries in the world, they were extremely secretive and the locations of every single Providence base across the world was completely unknown to anyone outside of the organization itself. Just as the sun had risen above the horizon, I made my way over to the Park and met with Grandpa Max privately within the Rust Bucket.
"Providence, huh? I wish I had answers for ya on that one, kiddo," Grandpa Max told me, sitting at the table across from me.
"So even the Plumbers don't know anything about Providence?" I asked. "I thought the Plumbers knew, y'know, everything."
"Unfortunately not. Nothing useful to you, anyway," Max explained, "Sorry, kiddo."
I sighed and let words stumble out of my mouth, "What about, I dunno, Rex? I mean, he helped me once right before the invasion begun, is he around? O-Or any of the other EVOs around the world? Hell, I'd take Van Kleiss or that weird girl with 4 arms that's always with him, I'm certain either one of those guys would know how to get in there!"
"Trust me, you don't want to deal with Van Kleiss, and you especially don't want to deal with Breach," Max said, "Rex, though… that's an interesting proposal. Ben might know."
"Well, it's a start. Where's Ben?"
"Offworld Plaza, last I heard. The Space Port Infected Zone is a bit volatile, however. I don't know if the three of you should get over to Offworld Plaza before you're ready. I could try to call Ben, but he's not known to pick up very often."
"It's our only lead, Grandpa Max. Please."
"Right. Well, again, he's not known for pick-"
"All due respect, sir, but that's not what I meant."
Grandpa Max's eyes narrowed. "I'm going to have to advise you against this, Nova."
"Do you have a better idea?" I asked.
"Maybe we don't need Providence. We have the Plumbers and Kids Next Door and Mojo, we could hope that White Knight comes to his senses and joins us on his own."
"We need Providence. We can't just hope that I dunno, they realise that they need everyone else to survive and everyone else needs them."
Grandpa Max sighed. "You could try Bellwood, instead. Last I heard, Gwen and Kevin were still out that way. They could help you."
"Bellwood would require us going through the Wilds. Maybe even Nowhere. That's arguably more dangerous than whatever is in store for us at the Space Port."
Grandpa Max sighed, "You're right. Fine. Just… keep an eye on Kerry, alright?"
"Kerry?" I asked.
"There are things at the Space Port he isn't ready to see yet. That's all I can say," Grandpa Max responded.
"I… I think I understand. I'll keep an eye on him, sir. You have my word," I responded, my mind already racing.
"Thank you. I have a feeling this might be the last time we see each other for a while, Nova, so good luck," Grandpa Max finished.
"Good luck, Grandpa Max," I repeated.
I returned to the mall just in time for Athena and Kerry to be waking up. They noticed me waking over from the Park and I realised immediately that I'd have to explain myself. I was not looking forward to that, to say the least. The two of them dusted themselves off and made their way over to me as I climbed down the stairs into the mall.
"Hey!" Athena shouted groggily. I gave a nervous wave in response.
As we stood face to face, Kerry asked the question I was afraid of. "Something wrong?"
I groaned and explained, "Just couldn't sleep. Felt like I was being watched. I needed to get my mind off of that so I tried to figure out what we should do about Providence. I just got back from talking with Grandpa Max."
Kerry and Athena looked at each other, then back at me. "So? What's the word?" Kerry asked.
"We're heading to Offworld Plaza," I replied, thankful they looked over the part about feeling like I was being watched.
"Offworld Plaza?" Athena asked, "For Providence?"
"Indirectly. Grandpa Max recommended we go talk to Ben Tennyson about where we could find Rex," I explained. They both looked sceptical. "It's the only lead we have."
"And if Ben's not there?" Athena asked.
"Bellwood. But Grandpa Max seems pretty certain that-"
"Are you okay, Nova?" Kerry interrupted.
I took a step back instinctively, "W-What do you mean?"
"You said you felt like you were being watched last night. And let's not forget that you were feeling really down on yourself just 3 days ago. Or that you were being really fidgety on our supposed 'day-off' yesterday," Kerry expressed.
I looked between my two comrades and said, "I'm fine, really. I got it all out of my system when I vented to Max. And I've just been focused on trying to find Providence."
"And last night?" Kerry asked.
I shook my head and answered honestly, "I don't know. I know what I felt, though. That's not a concern right now."
"If you say so," Kerry said.
"Then let's start making our way to Offworld Plaza. If we start now, we might be able to learn something by the end of the day," I stated.
I wasn't sure where Kerry's question had come from, but I knew that at some point it would be a concern. I somehow knew what I had felt was real, and I knew we'd need to get to the bottom of it soon. For now, though, we rented hoverboards and began making our way to Offworld Plaza, passing through the slightly busier Townsville streets once again. Now that Infected Zones had been established all over Downtown and the Suburbs, people had begun to leave their homes again, and some bigger businesses had reopened. It wasn't completely safe, though, as we learned as we passed through Tech Square. A small shopping centre for the volunteers had been set up near the fountain that separated the DexLabs and Mandark Industries Headquarters, and it had been surrounded by a pack of mutated DexLabs machinery that had taken the form of bats, hornets, and spiders. The three of us dismounted as we passed by this and rushed to the scene. Just as we arrived, a group of 3 other kids our age charged in and began fighting the abominations.
"I've got the Tech Drones! Taylor, take out those Tech Wings! Don't let them get near the Dexbots and Mandroids!" shouted a boy with short blonde hair wearing a strange brain tank on his head.
A boy wearing a Cannonbolt-esque costume drew a toy robotic claw and jumped at the nearest bat-like creature, using the claw to pick at the monster, ripping off the Dexlabs machinery and exposing the Fusion Matter underneath. Eventually, the bat exploded into goo that was absorbed into the boy's wrist. At the same time, Kerry extended his right arm and grabbed three of the spiders in a large vine, smashing them on the ground as hard as he could. All three exploded immediately. I took out 2 of the hornets, then heard one of the volunteers shout something.
"Cyberus, 12 o'clock!" shouted a girl in an orange hoody, who threw a... blender, I assumed?
The blender exploded on contact with a large mutated Cerberus-like beast that was approaching from the north. The three-headed monstrosity flinched and roared in response, charging towards the girl. Suddenly, Athena ran forward and struck the Cyberus across the side of one of its heads. The momentum it had gained from running instead went in the direction of Athena's swing, and it went careening off to the side, sliding into a pole and exploding on impact. I looked around and saw that the other volunteers and Kerry had easily dispatched of the remaining Fusions, only to notice the Brain-Tank-Hat boy waving to me and running over.
"Hey! You guys did great!" he shouted.
"Uh, thanks. You too," I said, shaking the boy's hand.
"I'm Garret Firestorm, by the way," he said.
"Nova. Nova von Zon. Um, nice to meet you," I replied.
"You guys were on the news recently, weren't you?" asked the boy in the Cannonbolt-inspired armour.
"Yeah," I responded, rubbing the back of my neck, "Team UNITE. Working on uniting everyone around the world to fight this stuff."
"Oh, dang. I don't envy you, that's a big task," said Garret.
"Yeah, no kidding. Who are you headed off to see now?" asked the girl in the orange hoodie.
"Right now, we're trying to find Providence, but we-"
"Providence?" repeated the girl, "Man, you're doing in the exact wrong direction for Providence!"
"Wait. Do you know where Providence is?" Athena asked.
"Well, not exactly, but my cousin's a scientist for Providence. I know it's not much, but she goes to work somewhere in the Nowhere Desert."
I looked at my two teammates and said, "That is so much more than we had like, an hour ago. Thank you so much!"
"Of course! Oh, right, I'm Iris by the way. Well, good luck with that. We gotta go let Dexter know we've taken care of this, let us know if you're ever doing stuff Downtown again, 'kay?" she responded, giving us a small two-finger salute and walking off with her two teammates.
I turned to Kerry and Athena. "So. Anyone know how to get to Nowhere?"
We spent the next two hours going back to City Station and, from there, taking a S.C.A.M.P.E.R. to the Kids Next Door Jungle Outpost at Mount Blackhead. Upon landing at Mount Blackhead, we were greeted by a small precession of KND Operatives led by Numbuh Four and Numbuh Three. I asked Kerry and Athena to do me a favour and take care of any paperwork or whatever else we needed to do while I went to ask around about getting a ride to Nowhere, either from one of the newly established Moneky Skyway Agents or by way of hitching a ride with a fellow operative. The first place I thought to check was my brother; I hadn't heard from Victor since I had left Sector V, but I knew that someone like him would've definitely ended up here; he loved animals and hated bad guys, and if the biggest bad guy Earth had ever faced was going to be harming the animals in the Wilds, he would've eventually ended up protecting them. Even if that meant brute-forcing his way in. I lightly touched the small frog pendant I hadn't taken off since my mission had begun, smiling once more, and started asking around.
By the time Athena and Kerry returned, I had a pretty solid idea of where he was thanks to the little tidbits of information I had gotten from some of the Bean Scouts, KND Operatives, and Monkey Minions that had taken up residence at the Jungle Outpost. From them, I learned that Victor was, indeed, stationed at the Jungle Outpost, but had been assigned to help quarantine the Jungle Training Area in the Blackhead Foothills to the west. I now knew that Victor was a great pilot thanks to him flying me to and from Marquee Row and I hoped that he wasn't too absorbed in setting up an Infected Zone so he could at least get us closer. A Bean Scout showed us the Monkey Lines, specifically one that would drop us off right at the entrance of the Training Area, and the three of us purchased some Zip-Liners so we could make proper use of them.
The view from the Monkey Line was truly one to behold. Soaring above the trees, the fresh wind hitting our faces and the early afternoon sun turning the green leaves below a flaming orange and yellow, made the world below seem so small and yet so much bigger than anything Downtown. A large river flowed amongst the trees, blue in some places, brown in others, and sickly fusion green in others. In the distance, we could see the walls of an Infected Area surrounding a large lake that had been turned entirely into this green fusion water. Rocks inside were floating up and down, back and forth, dripping and oozing with Fusion Matter. I wondered whether or not a similar event to what had happened at the Zoo had happened at that Lake and shuddered at the thought that Bean Scouts and Kids Next Door operatives would've been the only line of defence against an invasion on the scale of what had transpired at the Fissure. We were nearing a clearing now, and down below I could see trees coated with fusion matter sinking into the ground, which itself had turned black and cracked, green goo slithering between the cracks.
Mutated trees slowly marched around the perimeter, disrupting the group of Dexbots, KND Operatives, and volunteers working to set up the forcefield. My crew dismounted from the Monkey Line and climbed down, meeting with a Dexbot who scanned us to verify our identity. Halfway through the scan, a familiar face approached.
"Q-93, that won't be necessary, they're friends," Victor said. The Dexbot replied with an affirmative and bounced its way back to the Infected Zone.
I ran over and gave my older brother a hug. "It's great to see you, Vic."
"Hey, hey, yeah, you too," he replied, pushing me back. "What brings you out to our neck of the woods?"
"We're trying to find Providence," I explained.
"Well, all you're gonna find here are people actually trying to fight back against these things," scoffed my brother.
"We have a lead, actually. We just need a pilot to get us there. Apparently, their Headquarters are in Nowhere."
Victor laughed. "Yeah, if I wouldn't get shot down as soon as I crossed over Devil's Bluff, maybe I could help once we sealed this place up. I mean, there isn't much out there for most people and almost the entirety of it is restricted airspace. I mean Los Soledad, Area 51.1, the Nowhere Triangle. It makes sense that Providence HQ is out there, too, when you think about it."
"Can you at least get us out to Devil's Bluff, then?" I asked.
"Maybe, but Devil's Bluff was dangerous before the invasion, not to mention you'd be aimlessly wandering the desert looking for Providence. I'm not gonna let my sister - or her new friends, for that matter, I'm Victor by the way - die of heatstroke after I drop them off in one of the most dangerous places in the world."
"Victor," I said. "Please."
"I'm sorry, Nov, but no, I can't."
"Well, I can't just walk away without Providence. We need them, whether or not we want to admit it."
Victor sighed, "Look. I... I might be able to drop you off near the entrance to a place called the Catacombs. They're absolutely terrible, and you shouldn't go there unless you absolutely have no other choice, but there is an ounce of civilization near the entrance out there in the form of a tiny town, so the airspace isn't entirely restricted. There might be someone there who knows more about the surrounding area."
I gave Victor another hug, saying, "Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you!"
"Don't mention it. Seriously. If someone figures out I flew out to Nowhere... I won't finish that thought, but rest assured, I'll know if someone finds out."
"Got it. Let's go, we're wasting daylight," I pushed.
The town of Nowhere was indeed tiny and, even in the middle of the day, most people were not out and about. As soon as Kerry, Athena, and I were on the ground, Victor left, stating that he needed to get back to the Jungle Training Area before anyone missed him. A tumbleweed comically rolled through the main street, and Victor had, indeed, left us near the entrance to a well that led down into pitch darkness. Down the road, I could see a farmhouse with its lights on. The wind blew harder here and the first large gust we felt nearly tipped me over and pelted my face with stray grains of sand. A lone cloud hung overhead the country town, partially blocking the sun positioned directly at the top of the sky. It was blisteringly hot here regardless of that one cloud and the heavy breeze, so much so that I tied up my messy brown hair into a bun and Athena stuffed her Ranger vest into her backpack. We decided to just walk into the first storefront we saw and start asking around.
Inside, the shopkeeper told us, albeit grumpily, "Yeah, we seen weird things out here all the time. You city folks got yer superheroes and whatnot and we got our militaries an' aliens."
"Have you ever seen Providence out here, sir?" Kerry asked.
"Sure. Think they gots a base 'round these parts. Down south, more than likely, 's'where all them other milit'ry bases is," replied the old shopkeeper.
"Good to know. That'll be all, thanks," Kerry said.
"Ya not gonna buy nuthin'? Bah, whatever," groaned the shopkeeper, batting his hand at us as we left.
The next shop gave us exactly the same information, the next less than that. A dirt devil formed in the street as we made our way to the fourth just as we heard engines overhead. Looking up, we watched a military jet fly past, going southeast, followed by four others. At the same time, a green meteor created a sonic boom as it entered the atmosphere, landing right in the middle of town just seconds later. The three of us ran to investigate immediately. Rising from the ruins of an abandoned movie theatre was a column of smoke, and from the hole on the roof came a small horde of Spawns.
"How do we respond, Nova?" Kerry asked.
"Let's get back and hold off for now. If the military doesn't come to intervene, we step in. Better yet, if Providence feels threatened by this meteor landing so close to their home base, we might be able to catch a glimpse of them," I replied.
The others nodded and we ran off to hide in an abandoned library across the street. Moments later, a number of jeeps and trucks pulled into town, followed shortly by a tank. The three of us ducked out of sight as the military began scanning the town, eventually rushing into the movie theatre and loudly dispatching the Spawns within. A minute later, two futuristic, pristine white motorcycles rode up to the scene. Two unmistakeably Providence soldiers in their trademark white and black uniforms stepped out of the motorcycles and approached the soldiers that had set up outside the movie theatre.
"I have an idea," Kerry muttered, pressing a small button on his collar. A red spaceman-like helmet with a large green visor rose up and covered his head. "I'll be back. Keep my seat warm."
With that, he stood up and left the building, approaching the soldiers and Providence agents. He discreetly tapped a button on his wrist and suddenly my NanoCom lit up with what he was hearing. I quickly turned down the volume and set it on the ground in between Athena and myself.
"-lumbers? Man, y'all got here quick," said a gruff voice through the speaker.
"I live 'round here," Kerry responded quickly, lowering the tone of his voice. "My colleagues'll probably be here soon. I watched that meteor land. Situation taken care of?"
"Affirmative. Just some of those spawns. You're welcome to take a look," answered the same man.
"Roger that. Say, what's Providence doing out here?" Kerry asked.
"Just keeping the perimeter secure," responded a new man.
"Thought y'all were staying out of this one," Kerry said as we watched him enter the theatre with one of the Providence agents.
"We are," replied the Providence agent, his voice almost accusatory.
"I mean no offence, of course. Just surprised y'all are out here at all. We could really use you, but I digress."
The Providence agent loudly groaned, "Between you and me, I wish we could. We're under strict orders to not get involved."
"Really? Thought Providence's whole thing was protecting humanity."
"I did too, but apparently since something is blocking new EVOs from being created, we don't 'need' to get involved. I personally think that's bull, and I'm not the only one. Rex got away from us near the start and no one has seen him since. Scientists are going mad, desperately trying to at least let some samples be brought in. None more so than Doctor Holiday. She's been bugging White Knight every damn day about it," the Providence Agent laughed dryly.
"I hear ya," Kerry responded simply, "Suppose I can't blame Rex for ditching. Where's he now?"
"We lost track of him somewhere around Los Soledad. I wouldn't put it past him to be all the way to Sherman by now."
I heard Kerry rustling and then a loud crash, followed by the Providence Agent shouting a series of expletives and Kerry shouting, "The hell was that?!"
"That! What is that?!"
"Fusion Doppelganger of Rex! Get down!" Kerry yelled in response. We lost the feed after that, but seconds later, a vine crashed through the wall of the theatre, sending a Fusion Rex flying into the street.
Athena and I immediately ran outside, weapons raised. The military opened fire immediately, but it managed to block all of the incoming bullets with its tiny mechanical hand that resembled one of Rex's own. Kerry and the Providence Agent jumped out after it, with Kerry hurtling a fireball at the Fusion. On contact, the Fusion sizzled and exploded. We ran over to Kerry's aid as the Fusion fell, the Providence Agent raising his gun as we arrived.
"What the hell are you!? An EVO!?" he shouted.
"Half-alien. I'm the kid of some Plumbers. My name is Kerry Thompson. Please, lower your weapon," Kerry replied.
"That ain't gonna help much! If you haven't noticed we're being invaded by aliens right!"
"I swear on my life, I'm on your side. Please-"
"And who the hell are these two?" asked the agent.
"My name is Numbuh 790,000.1 with the Kids Next Door. I'm the leader of Operation U.N.I.T.E. This is Plumber Kerry Thompson and Ranger Athena Fancyfancy, my teammates. We've been looking for Providence. We really need you," I answered, raising my hands in surrender.
I looked around us to see a crowd had formed. The other Providence agent stood amongst the crowd of soldiers and citizens alike. The first Providence Agent swore under his breath and lowered his gun.
"Look, I'm sorry kids, but like I told your friend here, we can't join you."
"Why not?" asked one of the people in the crowd. The crowd parted to let through a Latino teenager in a red jacket who looked very familiar.
"Hey, it's you!" I shouted.
"In the flesh," Rex replied. "Bring these kids to see White Knight or I will. They're right, the world needs Providence. And Providence needs the world. At some point, that Fuse guy will come after us, and we aren't gonna be able to stop him on our own."
"You know what White Knight said, sir! I can't," replied the agent.
"Of course I do. I mean, I ran away because of what he said. He'll have to listen to us eventually. How much has Doc Holiday been bothering that germaphobe?" Rex responded. The agent was silent. "Exactly."
"Alri-" the agent replied, putting his finger up to his ear before he could finish his thought. "Yes, sir. Alright, White Knight heard that entire conversation through the radio on Agent Huron's motorcycle. He's willing to talk, but only one person can go with you."
Rex groaned, "Fine. If that's his terms. Hey, leader girl," he said. His legs turned into a motorcycle and he pulled down his goggles, "get on."
I nodded, hiding a relieved smile. I climbed on and turned to my teammates, "Hey. Don't wait up for me. You don't need to stay here. Let Vic know we needed to split up and get him to take you back to Mount Blackhead. I'll see you when Providence is on our side." I gave them a thumbs-up, which got reciprocated by them both. I turned around and held on to Rex as he sped off down the road the Providence vehicles had come from.
The paved road quickly turned to the sandy nothingness of the desert beyond, signs advising against going any further, progressing until they became "No Trespassing" and soon "Government Property; Trespassers Will Be Shot On Sight". I could see the heat coming off the ground, creating a strange mirage-like presence on the horizon. As the dust cloud following us billowed and became bigger, I leaned up to look over Rex's shoulder. In the waves of heat, I started to see the top of a large tower hanging haphazardly over the ravine we had been following the outline of for a few miles. It seemed to be just as tall as City Station and Mojo's Volcano, and I felt the same intimidation I had felt when I approached Mojo's Volcano for the first time. Two assault vehicles sat just outside the entrance to a large perimeter that was heavily manned and heavily armed, agents and their vehicles patrolling the outside. They didn't even give us a second glance as Rex passed through and entered in through two large doors on the side of the base. He came to a stop as two Providence agents approached. I stepped off Rex's bike as the vehicle absorbed itself back into his legs. One of the agents scanned me, ripping my Pop Gun out of my belt and placing it in a tub.
"You'll get that back when you leave," said the agent.
"Right," I mumbled.
Rex sighed, "Alright. Are you ready to meet White? 'Cuz I'm not ready to see him again."
"Ready as I'll ever be," I breathed out.
Rex nodded and walked forward, opening the door automatically as he passed. He led me through the halls, pointing out things as we passed them.
"That's the Petting Zoo, the lab where Holiday works, my room, White's private office... and this here is the only place I can actually show you, unfortunately. White's public office. He is way too worried about getting nanites in his pristine office, so he only allows people to talk to him through a TV screen."
I nodded, "So, what're we waiting for?"
"Oh, y'know. You just gotta bow and swear your soul over to him before you can enter," Rex said sarcastically. "Honestly though, I'm just stalling. Whenever you're ready."
"Ready," I answered.
The two of us stepped forward and entered an entirely empty white room. On the far side of the room, projected on one big screen, was the headshot of an old, pale man in a white suit. His face was entirely unpleased as he watched Rex and I cautiously step into the room.
"Rex," he started abruptly.
"White," Rex responded.
"KND Operative," he added, addressing me.
"Sir," I said.
"You not gonna chew me out for running away this time?" Rex asked.
"Not right now. Doctor Holiday and Six explained it to me. Extensively. I'll tell you two the same thing I told them; we can't get involved," White Knight stated.
"Why not?" Rex pressed. "I've seen what's out there. The world is fighting back, but even with the combined forces of the Plumbers, those monkeys, the Kids Next Door, and those volunteers that Dexter's been recruiting, it's not enough. The world needs Providence. Who cares if nanites are being disrupted and EVOs aren't forming? Providence is stronger than the Plumbers and all the other ones combined, our numbers are insane."
"Rex, you're not understanding me correctly. I mean we literally can't get involved," White Knight explained.
"What?" I questioned.
"We can't get involved," White Knight repeated, "my... superiors have decided that, if Fuse is preventing nanites from mutating and creating EVOs, then we don't need to be fighting back."
"Wait," Rex protested, "you have superiors? I thought you were the head honcho of Providence."
"Yes. There's a lot about Providence you don't know, Rex."
I stepped forward, "Okay, so your superiors have, what, allied with Fuse? That's ridiculous. The world is fighting back so we don't get consumed by a planet-eating planet, and the people in charge of the largest military force in the world have decided that they're going to protect humanity by allowing the earth to be eaten. That's complete crap!"
White Knight narrowed his eyes to me and was silent for a moment before finally saying, "Look, kid. You're what, 10, 12 years old? I honestly can't imagine what it's like to be watching this world be invaded by an alien force that we have no chance of defeating. On top of that, you're trying to unite everyone to fight back. That's a lot for a kid to have to take on. So, I'm going to let you in on a little secret. I want to get involved. I've wanted to since the beginning. But my superiors, the Consortium, have intercepted any attempts from Dexter McPherson or Max Tennyson or Professor Utonium to request help or even our presence at meetings, and have forced me to hold back. Were it not for them, I'd join you without question. Providence would join you without question."
Rex smirked, "How about taking a note from my book then, White?"
"No, Rex-"
"Let's start a revolution, White. Who cares if these Consortium guys come after you? You don't have to obey them-"
"Rex, listen to me-"
"You clearly want to join the fight. You clearly want to disobey them. Do it, we can-"
"Rex!" White Knight roared. He rubbed the bridge of his nose. "Declaring war on the Consortium is a huge mistake. And make no mistake, if I disobey the Consortium, there will be war."
"I sense a 'but' coming," Rex smiled.
"Rex. Let Holiday and Six know that you're organizing a splinter group and thousands of Providence soldiers are joining. That's an order."
My jaw fell open as I saw a slight crease at the end of White's lips before he disconnected. I turned to Rex, whose smirk had grown to cover his entire face.
"Well done, hermana. Seems like you got the Providence support you requested. I'll walk you out."
I was entirely speechless as I followed Rex back out of the base and into a garage. Standing near a Jump Jet was a tall man in a green suit, a chimp, and two female Providence agents. Rex motioned to them and said, "Nova, meet Agent Six, Bobo, and Doctor Holiday."
"Nice to meet you all. So... seems we're, uh, finally getting Providence out there. Even if it means we have to disobey White Knight to do so, I mean," I stammered.
"It's okay," said the taller of the two women, "we know what's going on."
I nodded and turned to the other agent. "And you are?"
"Agent Bronwyn, Providence researcher. Doctor Holiday has asked me to join your team. I am at your command, ma'am," the agent said, standing at attention.
"At ease, Agent Bronwyn. I'd be glad to have you join our team," I said, sticking my hand out to her. When she shook it, her grip was much tighter than I expected.
"It's my honour, ma'am," she nodded.
"No need for 'ma'am's or 'sir's on Team UNITE, Bronwyn. You have full permission to speak freely at all times. You can call me Nova," I told her.
"Yes, ma- I mean, sure, Nova. Um, if I may though, I have a mobile research centre I'd like to bring with us. It has self-driving capabilities and is spacious enough to act as a mobile living centre as well."
I smiled and remembered Athena's desire to have a place to sleep that wasn't the ground, "Of course. We'd be happy to have it!"
"Thank you very much," she saluted Agent Six, Doctor Holiday, Rex, and Bobo and continued, "I hope we meet again, sirs. Shall we, Nova?"
I nodded and followed her to a large cylindrical vehicle with four wheels on either side. Bronwyn pressed a button on the side of the vehicle, causing the side to hiss and a door to open up on the side. She climbed in and motioned for me to follow. The door was so far up and genuinely took work to climb up to, but when I had, I joined Bronwyn in the cockpit and watched as she inputted a series of buttons, starting up the vehicle ad opening a large door on the side of the garage.
As we started down through the long underground tunnel, she turned to me and asked, "Where we headed?"
"Oh, uh, my - our - teammates should be at the KND Jungle Outpost at Mount Blackhead by now," I replied.
"Roger that," she said, inputting some coordinates on a small keypad near the steering wheel.
The vehicle jolted suddenly, and Bronwyn stood up out of her chair, moving to the back of the vehicle. I watched as the steering wheel began to steer itself, leading us up a ramp out of the tunnel and into the desert once more. Bronwyn called me to join her in the back of the vehicle.
"Right, so. Welcome aboard," she said, taking off her balaclava to reveal her incredibly attractive face underneath. Her ginger hair was styled into a pixie cut that was shaved on one side. Freckles dotted her face. What I noticed most prominently, however, was how her eyes were an unmistakably rosy red. She spoke suddenly, snapping me back to reality, "I have six beds here, as well as built-in stovetops and a mini-fridge. When we've got free time, I'll likely be studying how nanites have been affecting these fusion aliens, as per the request of Doctor Holiday. As for specs, this thing was brought in from Paradise Base up north, so it's built to last and serve as a temporary residence for Providence researchers in severe climates. It has an auto-cannon mounted on top and can drive up to 100 miles an hour, as well as up and down slopes at 75-degree angles. Um... make yourself at home, I guess. We'll get to Mount Blackhead in about an hour at the speed we're going."
I smiled at my new teammate and said, "It's great to have you on the team, Agent Bronwyn. You - and this mobile research centre - are going to be excellent additions."
Bronwyn blushed, "Thanks. Um, by the way, this is Oswald. You can say that instead of the mobile research centre if you want."
"What?" I asked.
"This research centre. I, er, named it Oswald when I got him after I transferred from Paradise Base," she laughed.
I smiled and joined in on her laughter. I could tell I was going to like Bronwyn.
We arrived at Mount Blackhead just under an hour later. We parked Oswald near the landing pad, watching as various other Providence vehicles landed and came to a stop nearby. I wasn't entirely sure how many Providence agents White Knight had "split off from" Providence, but judging by how many vehicles were arriving and departing from Mount Blackhead, I assumed a sizeable portion had been siphoned off and provided for the war effort. On the way over, I had emailed Numbuh One, Numbuh Five, and Grandpa Max about getting a "splinter group" of Providence without even needing to answer any direct demands, and by Grandpa Max's tone in the email he had sent back, he clearly never even expected us to find Providence, let alone convince them to join our side. I met Athena and Kerry near the large purple tree in the centre of the base and introduced them to Agent Bronwyn, who in turn introduced them to Oswald. Within Oswald, we informed our other teammates about the real nature of the situation and asked them to keep it on the down-low. Kerry also installed a holo suite in Bronwyn's lab so that we could directly talk to other people in real-time while also being able to see a 3D projection of them.
Not long after setting up that holo suite, it began beeping rhythmically and a voice came from the device, "Nova? Are you there? It's me, Doctor Anthony Automata."
I quickly made my way to the machine and accepted the call. "Doctor? What's happening?"
"We would like your presence at DexLabs at once. We aren't in a secure channel, so I'll tell you more when you get here. Automata, over and out."
I turned to Bronwyn. "Agent, I need you to get us to Tech Square. DexLabs Headquarters."
"Copy that," Bronwyn replied, jumping up from her work and starting up Oswald.
"White Knight," spoke an all-too-familiar woman's voice, "we are extremely disturbed to hear of this little rebellion."
White Knight's face remained ever stoic, unflinching, as he spoke calmly to the board of shadowy faces in front of him, "We're trying to get them back, Black. I can't say it'll be easy, though; they have Holiday, Six, Bobo-"
"Not to mention Rex. Your supposed secret weapon. The hell happened, pardner?" interrupted the man with the southern accent.
"A group of agents organized it - their identities are currently unknown to even me - a plan to join the fight against our alien guests. Many agents found the arguments they made... compelling," White Knight told the Consortium.
"And you say you've lost nearly 80% of your manpower?" asked the Russian.
"Affirmative," White Knight confirmed.
"Get them back, White. Whatever you have to do. This is the last straw. If you can't..." began the woman, "well, if you can't, I imagine there are other people to run your little organization that are better are quashing these... revolutions."
She then hung up, followed by every other member of the Consortium.
"I don't doubt it," concluded White Knight.
Another Chapter down! I'm currently working on art for Victor von Zon, Agent Bronwyn, and Oswald the mobile research centre, so expect those in the next author's note! Okay, that's literally all I wanted to say for this author's note, see you all whenever I'm able, thanks for reading!