Jack could feel sheer panic rising in his chest as he flew from room to room, ignoring closed doors and walls. He hadn't been this scared since Pitch had…no, not even then. He didn't know it was possible to be this scared, and since when could he fly through solid buildings? Jack's first believer was in danger, he knew that much. But what about Sophie and Margo? Except for Mrs. Bennet, the house was empty.
Jack raced back to the living room, where the others had gathered, and Frozone was talking to the distraught mother. Through the window, he could see Periwinkle pull some purple pixie dust from her fairy bag and shoot into the sky in a flash. Jack blinked, a little stunned. Elsa casually drifted over and nudged him inconspicuously. As mortals with no clue what to look for, both she and Frozone were at a loss for words. Jack shook his head, trying to clear it.
"You said you're with SHIELD?" Mrs. Bennet was asking.
"Yes, ma'am, but on a top secret mission. Not even all the other SHIELD agents know about this, so I suggest not mentioning it to anyone. It could cause trouble and delay our search," Frozone added confidentially.
"But you will find them?"
"Of course we will," Jack said firmly.
"Of course we will," Frozone echoed, taking out an official looking notebook—where the heck did that come from?—and a pencil. "We have some very determined agents on our team."
"Ask her exactly what happened," Jack prompted, balancing on top of his staff restlessly. It sucked to be invisible.
"Why don't you sit down, Mrs. Bennett," Elsa suggested gently. "And tell us exactly what happened. When exactly did the children disappear?"
"Not five minutes ago," she said. "I'm surprised you got here so quickly."
"We have the best technology in the world," Frozone said confidently. Jack glared at him.
"Not the best time to be boasting," he hissed.
"How did you discover they were gone?" Frozone asked, ignoring the Winter Spirit.
"I was in the kitchen, and I could hear them laughing outside. It was so nice out, so I sent them to the yard to play. But then there was a blue flash of light, and they started screaming. I ran out to see what was the matter, but there was another flash just as I reached the door. They were gone when I stepped out, just silence…Sophie would never leave her doll behind."
She clutched the little rabbit tighter and began to cry. Elsa reached out a tentative hand, but pulled back. Again Jack felt a knot of frustration in his chest, and looked at Frozone for help. But even he looked a little awkward.
"Oh, where's Peri when you need her?" Jack groaned. "She's best at this stuff."
Slightly offended, Frozone set down his notebook and sat next to Mrs. Bennet, giving her a consoling side hug. Jack looked out the window and saw Peri crash into the yard and lay there. Obviously, she had not found the kids.
"I swear," Jack said through gritted teeth. "I'll find those kids if it kills me."
Frozone glanced up at him for a second, thoughtful. Then he put one hand to his ear and nodded.
"Yes, sir, I'll tell her. Mrs. Bennet, we've had an agent promise that he will find your kids, including Margo, if it kills him."
"Well I'm touched by his dedication, but I certainly hope nobody dies!"
"We'll do our best, ma'am."
"Wrap it up," Jack said. "Peri's waiting outside."
Without waiting for the others, he flew outside. Periwinkle was lying on the grass, panting hard and looking very confused. Her normally perfect hair was wildly in disarray, parts of it floating with the pixie dust. Jack liked her; it was nice having another flying immortal being who could create ice around.
"So?" he asked shortly.
"They're nowhere within the state!" Peri groaned, exasperated. "I used some of Zarina's fast flying pixie dust; if they were around, I would have caught them. They've simply vanished!"
"That's what Mrs. Bennet said," Jack mused.
He filled her in on the story, Frozone and Elsa joining them midway. Frozone pulled out a very technical looking device—again, where did he keep this stuff?—and pressed a few buttons, walking around the yard. Suddenly he let out a cry of alarm, and nearly dropped the machine. Quickly he whipped a cell phone out of his pocket.
"Call Bob," he said. There was a moment of silence while Peri and Elsa looked on inquiringly. "Bob, I think I've finally found something...why would I be dead?...I couldn't call, there was no cell service at the North Pole!...look, I'll tell you all about it later. Right now we have a national..."
"Worldwide," Jack corrected.
"Worldwide emergency! Children are being kidnapped from all over the world, Bob. We're at the scene of the latest one now, missed it by seconds. Look at these readings."
Jack floated over his shoulder and watched him text the scan's results. There was a moment of silence as the text went through and Bob looked it over.
"Please tell me that it's not what I think it means," Frozone said.
"You read it correctly," Jack heard Bob say faintly. "But it doesn't make sense."
"I mean is there any, and I mean ANY, chance that he could have survived."
"Absolutely not," Bob said. "I saw it with my own eyes."
"But who else could it be?" Frozone said. Silence. "Look, notify Edna and some of the other government people and get them investigating. We'll continue our own investigating out here."
"Who's we?"
"My new team, the Just-Ice League. Man, have I got some stories for you when this crisis blows over."
"Right, talk to you later."
"Bye."
"Who survived?" Jack exploded before Frozone could even hang up.
"A super villain who nearly destroyed our entire city once. We defeated him, or at least we thought we did. If he really is back, then he's out for some serious revenge."
"Who is he, exactly?" Peri asked.
"Syndrome."
Jack needed nothing else. He knew that name-the guy had been on the naughty list since he was eight-knew that this guy had taken away his kids. Jack didn't even realize where he was going, just knew that he was flying so fast everything was a blur.
"Dude! Slow down!"
Jack glanced behind him and saw Frozone, struggling to create an ice bridge and skate fast enough to keep up. Reluctantly, Jack ground to a halt, though he wasn't sure how he did that in the air. Frozone reached him a moment later, panting.
"Bro, calm down. You ain't gonna find him like that."
"If Syndrome really is alive, is there any way to track him?" Jack asked shortly.
"Yes. I do have a plan, but it's not racing off like you just did. We're miles out of Burgess."
Jack looked back at the ice bridge. It was colossal, stretching as far as he could see. As guilty as he felt, it didn't stop that painful, burning desire in his chest to just do something. Before he could say another word, however, Frozone's phone rang again.
"Hello?"
"Oh good, it works!" North said, his voice booming so loud that Jack could hear it. "Go to Kansas, Pitch Black has been spotted. I'll meet you there."
"Hold on, you told me there was no cell service at the North Pole!" Frozone said indignantly. But North was gone. "Who's Pitch?"
Jack turned pale-well, paler than usual. "It seems like both of our supposedly dead enemies are back," he said.
Author's Note: Sorry this is short. Originally it was combined with the next chapter, but it was a little long. Plus, I like leaving it on a cliffhanger. mwahaha!