Ten Minutes Earlier…Aboard the Klone Dome, Igor Jr. looked out the window at the red-cowled people standing below. He looked at Joker2 refusing to help them. He watched as Jo, Ed, and Crush walked back to the Dome. Igor’s fists tightened. His jaw clenched. Hitting a button on his gauntlet, Igor felt himself getting smaller… and his cold blood getting warmer.
Activating his rocket boots, he blasted into the shuttle bay, squeezing inside his own private shuttle, which was much smaller than any other shuttle. He and I-2 had made it especially for his use and this was the first time he had ever used it. The shuttle, like his armor, had size variation circuitry, which made it able to slip in and out of radar detection. Once he set off, there would be no way the Klone Dome would be able to track him.
“I can’t believe you, Jo,” Igor said as he initialized the launch sequence. “Refusing help to a Hyperboard in need… it’s against what JAMB stands for, and I won’t stand for it either.” Hitting the red launch button, Igor’s shuttle launched from the Klone Dome as the giant rotating semi-sphere disappeared into another Hyperboard.
Igor landed the craft at the feet of the hooded cultists assembled. As he landed, he started the enlarging process. As the ship grew, the men and women, thinking it to be a demon, dove behind rocks and began throwing spears and blasting at it with hand-held lasers.
Thank goodness for the adamantium-titanium alloy hull, Igor said, activating his personal force field and stepping out of the shuttle. The people became even more frightened and began to fire even more frequently. Holding up his hands, Igor addressed them, using the loudspeaker mic on his armor.
“Good people!” he said. “I mean you no harm! I am Igor Jr. of the Junior Adventurers of the Message Boards. I am the self-appointed liaison to this sector and will aid you in any way necessary.”
The young girl who had treated Crush dropped her cowl and took a step forward. “You are here to help?”
“Yes,” he said, feeling that he was gaining their approval. “If you will take me to your superior officer, I would be more than happy to discuss my aiding with him.”
The man with the red beard leaned over to a thin dark man beside him. “I don’t know if we can trust this one. Something seems all too convenient about him.”
“We’ll take him to the Sovereign, anyway,” the dark man said in a whisper. “If he is insincere, the Sovereign will know… and will dispose of him.” The bearded man nodded. He walked up to Igor and uttered the brusque words: “Follow me.”
Igor followed the cowled men through a series of caves. He noticed that he was passing the same landmarks over and over, obviously to confuse him if he were a double agent. A smirk fell across Igor’s features as the cave opened into a clearing. A large stone table lay out in the middle, cowled men sitting around it’s circular frame. At the head, a lone man sat elevated above all the others. His head was bowed, obscuring his face. His thin hands rested on the rests of his tall chair. The men leading Igor dropped to one knee as they entered the room, kneeling before their superior.
“What is it?” the Sovereign asked, not even bothering to look up. “Can you not see that the Council is in session?”
“Yes, Sovereign,” the bearded man spoke. “But this one came to us offering help, sir. I thought it wise to bring him before you.”
For the first time, the man’s head lifted, his gaze affixed on Igor’s location. Igor gulped audibly as he saw one yellow eye glaring at him from under the cowl. A white beard was also visible as the man’s head continued to rise.
“Heh,” the Sovereign chuckled, looking at the boy standing before him. “If it isn’t Igor Jr.” Igor’s mouth hung open at the mention of his name. How did this man know him? Was he a telepath? Was he a clairvoyant? As Igor’s mind raced, the man spoke again. “I never thought I’d see you again…”
“Sovereign,” the bearded man spoke again, “you… know this one?”
“Indeed,” the Sovereign said, pulling his cowl down to reveal his face. His hair was white and long, pulled back into a ponytail. The face’s thin high cheekbones and deep sunken eyes sent chills down Igor’s spine. A white goatee adorned the man’s face as his one good eye glared at him, it’s yellow iris cutting through the darkness. The other eye, covered with a patch with a scar visible beneath it, stared at nothing, and everything as well. “It’s has been a long time, has it not, Igor?”
“Yes,” Igor said, recognizing the man before him. Despite the change of eye color, the missing eye, and the hard-fought battle with old age, Igor recognized him. From his Hyperboard. From his world. From his TOMB. "It certainly has..."
And Igor Jr. stared into the face of Milliard Kreegan… the Avatar…
