"'Tis strange—but true; for truth is always strange, stranger than fiction."
- George Byron

Shadow

"Agent."

He raised his head from his book to the secretary calling him.

"He's ready to see you now."

He gave a nod, closed his book, stood up, and entered the office. Stepping through the door, he saw the Director at his desk reading whatever was on the tablet in his hands, nearly his own height despite being seated. "Sir." he said as he shut the door behind him.

"Agent. Have a seat, please."

They shook hands before he pulled out the chair and did as asked. "I came as soon as-" he began to say, but the Director raised a hand and gave him a nod.

"Don't worry Shadow, I understand; this is rather impromptu after all. Sorry it was so late."

"It's not an issue; I don't sleep, literally."

"Right, 'Ultimate Life Form' and all that. Still, thank you for coming on such short notice."

Instead of continuing on like expected, the Director remained silent and looked off to the side for a moment before looking back to him. The unnatural pause on top of the urgency with which he was called to report here made it clear that this was no ordinary assignment. "Last night, A C-X80 along with two fighter jets escorting never made it to an airbase."

He raised an eyebrow. "With all due respect sir, I'm not exactly sure why I'm here then. A plane crash, as awful as it is, is not really my purview. Not much I can tell you other than the obvious; save whatever survivors there are and salvage whatever of the cargo you can."

The Director sighed and massaged the bridge of his nose. "I wish that was the case, Shadow. The problem isn't that they crashed, the problem is that this C-X80 wasn't transporting typical cargo, it was carrying a top-secret project; it's gone missing and we've no idea how, let alone where it is. That's why we're involving you."

"I see..."

"There are also some strange details that indicate something anomalous happened."

The Director handed him the tablet and he began scrolling through it; just as he had said, several strange details stood out. "No signatures picked up on radar, no word from any of the planes before they went dark..," then he came to a detail that was especially abnormal, "None of the black boxes have been recovered?", he looked up at him after saying that.

"That's correct."

"Ed, that's not possible."

"Before last night I would've agreed, but now? That's simply the fact of the matter."

"These planes have both a standard black box as well as a deployable one. If an attack happened, they would've ejected the latter and it would've separated. We should have at least one of the six."

"Indeed they do, indeed they would've, and indeed we should. But, unfortunately, we don't. Keep reading, there's a few other things"

He returned his red eyes to the tablet. "One Skystream recovered, relatively intact and with no signs of scorching, bullet holes, or any other standard damage. However, no wreckage of the other one nor the C-X80 has been found…", he massaged his forehead with his gloved hand as he read it; this situation was becoming more confusing by the second. "Why does it say you didn't recover any of the black boxes and then says you recovered one of the jets? Who wrote this synopsis?"

"It's not a mistake. We have a jet, but not its flight recorders; they were both absent from the plane. The emergency transmitters weren't detected on satellite radar and the underwater beacons didn't show up on sonar."

"How did you find a jet without the black boxes then? In both senses of the question."

"For the first sense, you can thank both the missing project and Mother Nature for that. Thanks to the project, ground control was eyeing this flight like a hawk and after about two minutes of silence they scrambled a wing to check it out, which got there in about half an hour. Now normally that would've been too long, but luckily for us the jet we've got plunged into the sea over the continental shelf, less than 500 feet; recovery crews that night were able to quickly get a hold of it. As for the second sense, well that's why we're bringing you in; we've got no damn idea. The jet is set aside for you to look at, the base it's at has even got orders to not touch it till you get there."

He nodded at that, it was probably the best news he'd heard so far. "Good, I'm glad I'll have something concrete to examine. I was afraid I was just going to have to go off on pilot testimony."

The Director, who hadn't exactly been a beaming ray of sunshine so far, took on a sombre look as he shifted his eyes down. "No testimony from the pilots, Shadow; in fact, no testimony at all. No bodies have been found, let alone recovered."

He shook his head and looked down to the ground; it was never easy to hear of the casualties, less so when there were no survivors. "Any other bombshells you wanna drop?"

"Well, I'm not sure if more good news counts as a bombshell, but I've been told to inform you that you've got carte blanche going forward. Any and everything you deem necessary to complete this investigation and, hopefully, recover the project they'll get you."

"Well that's good to hear. What was this project anyways? I don't see anything about it here."

"I could give you the usual spiel of 'Need-to-know basis', but the fact of the matter is I don't fucking know. Tower was zipped-lipped, more than usual. Whatever it is, it's something important."

"So I have to try and figure out what happened to this project and then try to recover it despite knowing nothing about it?"

"That's the hand you've been dealt, Shadow. But, I do have some, er, how'd you phrase it, theories about it."

"Like what?"

"Well first, I don't think it's a weapon; there was nothing signifying anyone was on watch for say a terrorist plot or a war or anything of that sort. Second, I don't think it's ready or even close to it; the way Tower was talking about it made it seem like he was baffled at why someone would attack us and risk war over the thing. I'm guessing it's pretty high tech, too, so whoever's behind this is definitely not your run-of-the-mill dictatorship or mercenary thugs; this definitely involves one of the big powers. That's about all I can think of."

"Alright, thanks. I'll start with examining the jet. Where exactly is it being held?

"Mercer AFB. But before you do that, there's one more thing. I think you should go talk with your friend, the Station Square one."

"Why?"

"There's nothing about it that relates to this, that I can see anyways, but uh well…, let's just say I don't believe in coincidences that crazy."

"What is it?"

"Check the news."

Confused, he tapped on the tablet's screen a few times and opened an app; what he saw immediately helped him understand Edward's suggestion. One thought immediately came to mind.

"Oh-"

Simulacrum

"-shit, he's gonna be pissed."

She looked up from the tablet detailing what had occurred last night to the employee who had brought it to her attention and asked the first question that came to mind: "Does he know?"

The human shook his head, a fearful look on his face as they walked down the hall. "I'm not sure. I've been searching, but I couldn't find him. I just came across you first."

"Oh dear. Well, it's your lucky day then I guess, it seems I'll have to be the bearer of bad news." she said to him as they reached the elevator. She called it and quickly it arrived. They entered and she pressed the button for Subfloor 7, where she knew he was at. The doors shut and they began the rapid descent.

"You know where he is?"

She let out a small chuckle that echoed in the massive elevator, thanks to the fact that only the two of them were in it, and she gave him an amused look. "Did you seriously just ask that?"

Her rhetorical question made him look to the side and scratch the back of his head. "Right, of course. Sorry, ma'am."

"First, don't apologise, you're fine, and second, don't call me ma'am, or miss for that matter; I'm like half your age." she said, punctuating the request with a smile before she brought her deep green eyes back to the tablet in hand.

"Sure thing."

She raised a finger to her ear and remained silent for a few seconds before a voice from the other end spoke

"Yellow."

"Hey Bun, it's me. Look, it's imperative that you head over to the Metropolitan, like right now."

"Is it about thuh Bhavna?"

"Yeah, it's about the Bhavna."

"Stolen?"

"Yup, last night."

"Oh boy…, has sugah heard?"

"No, I don't think so; I'm going to tell him right now."

"Ah wish ya thuh best of luck, Nikki. Ah know how he can be."

"Don't worry, I've got it. Also, please stop calling him that, at least when I'm around and can hear it."

"Ya know Ah try my best."

"I'd hate to see your worst…"

"Oh Ah'm certain; be over at thuh museum lickity-split."

"Good. Make sure that they don't disturb the scene too much, he's gonna want to see it himself."

"Don't worry, Ah'll make sure they don't screw nothing up."

"Alright, thanks."

"Luv ya, Nikki."

"You too."

She hung up the call and almost immediately he spoke to her. "Hey, I've got a question, if you don't mind me asking."

She turned to him and gave a little nod. "Sure."

"How do you always know where he's at? This building is massive and I swear some of the floors seem like a maze."

She smirked and rubbed her chin, 'The number of times I've been asked that...'. "I like to call it my 'special sense' ."

They both shared a brief chuckle and before long the elevator finally reached Subfloor 7. The doors opened to reveal a long hall that they walked through to come to a vast open space. In front of them lie a massive, cylindrical metal structure, likely a section of the supercollider she had been hearing about for several months now. A great deal of people were working on it, some on the ground, some on scaffolding, some inside, and some in specific places along its height, suspended by ropes and harnesses. She spotted who she was looking for: a two-tailed fox. The ochre fur and white tips of said tails stood out distinctly against the dull colours of everyone else. He held an arc welder in his gloved hands and a fountain of bright lights and sparks sprang out from before him. "Dad." she called out, but it went unheard over the sounds of all the work. She brought her free hand to her mouth and cupped it to amplify her voice as she yelled again. "Dad!"

That got his attention and he turned around to see the source of the voice. Once he realised who it was, he gave a quick thumbs up to assure her he saw before turning back to the other workers and yelling to get their attention, "Everyone, stop working!" he cried with power, his voice boomed throughout the vast space and everyone was soon still and silent after a few seconds. He raised his goggles onto his forehead before he spoke again, "Let's take five!", everyone nodded in understanding. He leaped from the staggering height, over seventy feet from the ground, and spun his tails to turn the freefall into a slow float. Once he gently landed, he approached her and the two hugged, though her face betrayed the embarrassment she felt.

"Daaddd, not in front of other people…"

They broke the embrace and he merely smiled in response to her protest, eyes beaming with pride at her and while hers were averted out of shyness. "What's wrong with a simple hug?"

"I'm not a little kid anymore."

"First of all, last I checked you're still not eighteen, so yes you are in fact a child, and second, no matter how big you get, you'll always be my little girl." he said as he softly pinched her cheek. She rolled her eyes as he turned and looked up to face the man, with both of them extending their arms out to shake hands.

"Vern, good to see you."

"Thank you Mr. Prower, though I wish it were under better circumstances."

He raised an eyebrow at that and Vernon gestured towards her. "Nicole, what's the matter?"

She handed him the tablet. "I think you should see for yourself."

He took hold of it and she watched as his eyes scanned the article and braced herself for what she knew was about to come; she had run the scenario in her head enough times by this point. "Oh, you've gotta be fucking kidding me."

He looked up from the screen to her and Vernon, "Spray paint? Is this real?" he asked with equal parts exasperation and fury as he smacked the tablet with enough force to make a decent crack in the screen. The only thing they could do was nod. "You know how difficult it was to find it? I went halfway across the world and then brought it back to have it cut flawlessly. That thing was worth almost half a billion! Half a billion! And now it's in the hands of that goddamn thief; fan-fucking-tastic!"

The torrent of fury streamed forth from his mouth without pause as he crushed the tablet between his hands; it crumbled effortlessly, almost like paper, into several pieces before he proceeded to slam it into the ground with enough force to shatter those pieces into countless more. Whereas Vernon flinched at his explosive outburst and shattering of the tablet, she hardly reacted; she fully expected it after all. She placed one of her hands on his shoulder. "Dad, relax. Deep breaths. Clear thoughts. Remember?"

He took a deep breath and exhaled heavily as he nodded at her words. "Yes, yes. I shouldn't have let my anger get the best of me like that." he said to her before turning to Vernon. "My apologies."

"It's quite alright, Mr. Prower."

He nodded and returned his eyes to her, they were full of anxiety; she found it rather impressive how passionate he was. "We need to get there, quickly, before the police sully the scene."

"Relax Dad, Bunnie's already on her way. She'll keep them from messing anything up before we get there."

He sighed and nodded as she said that, the stress visibly melting from him as he slouched his shoulders. "Wonderful, that's just wonderful. You may have gotten your mother's eyes, but you've got my brains, you know that?"

She rolled said eyes before quickly retorting, "Only reminded about twice a day..."

They smiled at each other before he turned around and ran to the workers simply sitting about, resting from the arduous labour. "Guys, get everything cleaned up and you can break for a few hours. I'll notify you all when to come back, understood?"

The various workers gave their nods and started the process of returning all their equipment and materials back to their proper storage along with getting everyone down onto the ground safely. The trio walked back to the elevator and, once inside, her father pressed the button for Floor 215 and they began the long ascent to his office.

"Mr. Prower, why aren't you going to the lobby?"

She smirked and looked away to hide her smile as she prepared to hear what he was about to say.

"Look at what I'm wearing, Vern." he said as he gestured to his outfit, a rustic welding jacket and jeans. "I can't show up to the Metropolitan dressed like this. Not in a million years. I require a change of clothes."

"Ah, I see."

"I don't know what you're so bothered about, Dad. I think you'd look a lot better walking around like that rather than in all the damn tuxes."

He raised a finger at her. "Language."

"Oh c'mon, you're not gonna get on my case for that, are you? I'm sixteen, not six."

"I don't care how old you are, you shouldn't curse. It's unbecoming of a soon-to-be woman like yourself."

She crossed her arms and smiled, amused at the opportunity he had just given to her. "Really? You're gonna lecture me on profanity after that explosion down there?"

He looked down and shook his head; she could tell he was cursing himself out mentally for the timing. "Exceptions to every rule; besides, you're supposed to be better than me, you know?"

Vernon awkwardly stood still in silence while she shook her head and rolled her eyes, "Dad, not right now. Look at Vernon, you're killing the poor guy."

He turned to look up at the human. "My apologies, Vern; girls can be so troublesome."

Vernon simply nodded as he scratched his hair. "Well, I wouldn't know."

The elevator reached the floor, bringing an end to Vernon's awkward misery as the other two stepped out. Her father turned back to face Vernon. "Thank you for bringing this to my attention, Vernon. You can go."

He nodded and pressed a button on the elevator, the doors closing and now leaving just the two of them. "Nicole, get me another device."

"On it."

He entered into a bedroom, out of sight, while she headed to the compartment where more tablets were stored. "Oh, and tell the Azure Blur that I probably won't be able to make it to his race!"

She shook her head as she retrieved a new tablet. "You did not seriously just call him that!"

"Nicole!"

"I'll do it, I'll do it! Relax will ya?"

She shook her head once again before walking out onto the balcony that overlooked a broad stretch of Station Square. She then brought a finger to her ears and waited a little bit for a voice to speak.

"Hey Nic-Nac, what's up?"

"Bad news, sadly; Dad's not gonna be at the circuit for the race. Something's come up."

"Damn, really?"

"Afraid so."

"Real shame, was hopin' to see him there. What happened?"

"Remember that ruby he found?"

"The one from India?

"Yeah."

"What about it?"

"It got stolen-"

"It's 'was stolen'!"

She rolled her eyes at her father's correction that sounded from behind her.

"Was stolen last night."

"Oh man, he must be blowin' a gasket."

She smirked and turned around from the sight skyline to the sound of him changing out of sight. "You know him, rolling with the punches."

"Hope you guys can figure that mess out."

"Oh, I'm quite certain he's already thought of a million different things to do."

"Make sure that train of thought of his doesn't get derailed. It goes so fast sometimes, even for me."

"Trust me, I know."

"And let him know that the new engine for my ride is perfect. Wanted to thank him in person, but seeing as how that won't be happening…"

"You bet. Speaking of relaying messages, tell Sal he says hi, he misses her."

"She'll love to hear that. Let T2 know we miss him too. Both of you. Also Bunnie."

"I'll be sure to let him know, maybe he'll remember to call you himself."

"Don't promise miracles."

"Oh, but I've got the magic, you see?"

"What, you're some kinda genie?"

"Yup! Dad rubs his computer once a night and I come out to grant him three wishes."

She heard his laughter over the line and smiled.

"Can I get a wish?"

"Maybe. Hit me."

"Cure him of his workaholism."

"No can do; even I've got limits. Besides, you'd be eliminating most of what I do in my free time."

"You two are a real pair of workaholics, huh."

"We prefer the term 'energetic and passionate'."

"Like father, like daughter, I guess. See ya around, Nic-Nac."

"You too."

He hung up before she did and it now dawned on her that her father wasn't finished. "Hurry up, Dad!"

"One second, I'm buttoning the shirt!"

"Just do it when we get there!"

"And have UNN or FBC capture and circulate some picture or video of me doing so? I'll be damned if I let those media hacks catch me like that!"

She chuckled as she leaned onto the railing, the morning Sun shined onto her and the wind blew in her hair.

"Oh, tell Sally I said hi!"

She shook her head. "Already did."

"Thank you, darling."

After a few more moments, he finally stepped out. He saw her standing on the balcony and gave a tilt of his head, the white fur of his face stood in stark contrast to the all-black tuxedo he was wearing. "Why are you out there?"

She turned around and merely tilted her own head in response to his. "Oh, c'mon, don't pretend. I know you wanna do it, so let's go."

He smiled and walked out onto the balcony, shutting the glass door behind him. "Well if you insist…"

"Like you would turn down a chance to fly..."

"You know me so well."

"He said that the engine is perfect, by the way."

"Of course, I made it after all."

"Also they miss you, and me, and Bunnie."

"It's 'You, Bunnie, and I'."

"Yeah, yeah, I know; I just like irking you."

He shook his head as they climbed onto the railing. She gazed down at the streets that lay over 3,000 feet below before looking back to him. "We should probably go visit them once we settle business with this thief lady."

He held out his right hand and she grabbed it with her left. "That sounds like an excellent idea; hopefully something else won't come up. They are wont to do that."

They leaped off the balcony and plummeted down to the ground. He quickly spun his tails and they went from falling in the air to soaring through it, between the buildings and above the streets. Their gloves, her purple and his white, were locked in a vice-like grip and she looked up at him to see his face, brimming with genuine joy and excitement. It was always nice to see him while flying, there weren't many other things that made his blue eyes light up with childish wonder. It was enough to melt even her heart; metaphorically speaking, of course.

'Love you Dad'

"That our daughters may be as pillars, sculptured in palace style."
- Psalm 144:12