Part Seven

"While you were gone we gathered a lot more data on the New Breed," said Blue Impact, once Energia had returned to the old bakery and briefed the others. The team leader was looking very serious. "Turns out they are responsible for at least twenty deaths. The various law enforcement agencies are accused of not hunting them as diligently as they should. That they are holding back because the New Breed has gotten rid of so many costumed villains. However, that lack of attention is now changing.

"Seems the New Breed is much more active - and dangerous - than any one law enforcement group thought," said Blue Impact. "Once we started compiling data from several agencies that became obvious. They're suspected of criminal activities - including being implicated in as many as twenty deaths, most of them criminal masks - in twelve states. It was the fact that they were acting in such a broad area - never staying long in one place - which kept any one organization from realizing just how much they had done. However, pretty much everyone in the northeast is now looking for them. Including at least two federal agencies."

"Wow. Any idea who is behind this? 'Cause from what I know of the members who have been identified, it's not any of them."

"Which is a good point," said Vic. "So far, we have nothing firm about a leader of or sponsor for the group. Our idea of a single mastermind being behind them and the museum meteor theft still holds, since so far nothing disproves it."

"So for now we just have to wait, while keeping ready," said Blue Impact.

* * *

Waiting around for something to happen was not good for a finely honed team. Fortunately, Tricorne and Vic were all veterans, and knew how to take the waiting in stride. Though sometimes the particular method of dealing took the form of pranks and joking around. Later that afternoon Energia walked into the lounge area at the bakery and into the middle of a friendly argument.

"Okay, I'm confused," said Vic. "You kept pestering me to let you work on my car, but now that I've agreed to let you do something, you won't install that new subframe brace."

"It's against my religion."

"Welding is against your religion?!" The martial artist was now very confused.

"Pig iron is non-kosher," said Gadgetive, straightfaced.

"This from someone who likes to occasionally sneak some of my breakfast bacon," said Blue Impact, dryly.

"I can't help it," said Gadgetive, striking a dramatic pose. "It's... bacon!"

"How long have you been waiting to use that joke about pig iron, anyway?" said Energia, smirking.

There was a buzzing from the com center. Blue Impact excused herself and hurried over while Gadgetive and Vic amiably argued. Suddenly, the situation turned much more serious.

"Red alert!" came the call from Blue Impact. "Suit up and get ready to travel. We have been specifically requested to help with an emergency!"

* * *

The team was in the large apergy flyer and on the way in well under ten minutes. It wasn't until the team was flying high and fast that their leader was able to provide details.

"There is a problem at the Adirondack Anomaly," said Blue Impact, finally. "This is a facility built to examine the Phlogiston Well, which is the actual Anomaly. They had 'an excursion' which caused an explosion. Extent of damage unknown. The fire department is already there, and they have asked for supers to both help get stranded employees off the top of the facility and inspect the damage. They specifically asked for a gadgeteer with a solid foundation in theoretical physics. They also wanted a team which could get there right now. Which is why we got the call.

"The Principal Investigator on the scene is a fire captain named Edmund Forest. I suspect they may also be worried that the Anomaly itself might react somehow to the disturbance."

"That's not likely," said Gadgetive, dryly. "People have tried without success for over a century to get some sort of reaction out of that thing."

Thanks to their flyer, the quartet arrived not long after receiving the call. Blue Impact circled the facility, the main building of which turned out to be a tall, slim tower. This had smoke pouring out of a hole in the side about two-thirds of the way up. They landed in the parking lot, out of the way of the emergency vehicles. As the team walked towards the command table which had been set up near the facility's administration building, they were directed towards Captain Forest.

"Thank you for coming. We have already cleared the lower levels. The fire seems to be confined to the two levels where you can see the smoke coming out. Some of the facility personnel had to go up to the roof. We have a helicopter on the way, but it is still nearly half an hour out and we would definitely like to get them down sooner."

"Captain, Energia can fly up and check the damage," said Blue Impact. "She can send back images so we can see if the tower is still solid enough for our pod to make a pickup from the roof. If it is, I can take the stranded personnel off right away."

"That sounds like a plan."

As she turned to Energia, however, she noticed that the younger mask was frowning, and appeared distracted as she looked up at the smoke.

"What?" said Blue Impact.

"It's... weird. I've heard about the Anomaly, but I've never been close to it before. It feels... like a hole."

"A hole?" said Gadgetive, perking up.

Energia nodded.

"It's a bit like the one holding der Schmale... only it's not..."

"There have been a lot of things claimed about the Phlogiston Well," said Gadgetive, now also frowning. "Most are just unverified speculation. Best guess is that the Anomaly is some sort of spatial distortion coupled physically to this location."

Energia nodded, absently, but continued to look around.

"Analyze later," said Blue Impact, firmly. "Get up there and check the situation now."

"Oh. Right."

Soon, the only person present who could fly was equipped with a lightweight video camera and filter mask, both courtesy of Gadgetive.

"Wow, this thing is tall," said Energia, voice muffled by the mask, as she flew a slow, upwards spiral around the tower, pointing the camera as directed.

"It's under a hundred stories," said Gadgetive, from where she had set up a display so she and the fire department structural expert on scene could get a good view. "You've flown to the Moon and back. Several times."

"Yeah, but it's still tall. Okay, I'm coming up to the hole. It's pretty big, actually. I don't see how this thing is still standing. The hole is completely through to the inside and nearly half the way around."

A gusty wind frequently blew the smoke away from the hole well enough for both Energia and the camera to see inside. Unfortunately, it also occasionally blew the smoke directly at her. She was very appreciative of the mask. She was also disappointed she couldn't actually see anything which corresponded to what her super senses were telling her.

"They had to build it tough," said Gadgetive. "Okay, from what we're seeing in the video feed the damage definitely came from the inside. The way the rebar is bent outwards is pretty telling. They were just lucky it all went in one direction, instead of radially."

"Do I need to do anything?"

"Just finish the survey then get to the top," said the structural expert. "So far it looks like it's holding, so we'll leave repairs - or demolition - for later."

"No bodies, fortunately," said Energia, as she hovered at the hole. "Okay, I'm heading to the top."

Also fortunately, there were only five members of the investigative team to rescue. They waved, standing as far away from the hole as they could, with shirts and handkerchiefs over the mouths and noses.

"Hang on!" she shouted. "We'll have a vehicle up here to get all of you down in just a few minutes!"

The structural guy on site quickly okayed a pickup. Blue Impact flew the team's transport to the scene and hovered at the edge of the tower's top - carefully, with Energia on her port side, augmenting the view from the exterior cameras with radioed advice - while the five crowded in through the rear door. Given the smoke pouring up the side of the tower they were very eager to get off their perch, despite the flyer having no perceptible means of support. Blue Impact then closed the rear door and flew the craft to where the paramedics were waiting.

"All accounted for," said Captain Forest, after speaking briefly with the head of the facility. "They were the only ones above the location of the blast, and everyone else got out by the stairs."

"Good news," said Blue Impact.

"Your gadgeteer gave us a copy of the video of the damage and her evaluation. Thank you. You saved us - and those five - at least twenty minutes of smoke exposure. Possibly even some injuries."

"Our pleasure," said Energia, smiling.

They were asked to stand by, and then to help with putting the fire out. This was largely a matter of routine, and again the help of the supers meant the fire fighters could do their jobs more quickly and safely.

"Not bad," said Energia, as they were cleaning up before boarding the pod to return. "Nobody dead or even seriously injured. One of our less unpleasant rescue missions."

"Yeah," said Gadgetive. "The facilities head and their chief engineer are already talking to a contractor about repairs. They could be back in operation before the end of the month!"

However, as Tricorne and Vic prepared to leave, a very serious Blue Impact gathered them together in the rear part of the flyer. She also called The FX and put Ma on speaker.

"I just heard that - and this isn't official, so keep it quiet - this wasn't an accident," said Blue Impact.

That sobered the others quickly.

"Some of the workers say they spotted some people in colorful costumes running from the tower, right after the explosion. Descriptions are sketchy, but could fit members of the New Breed."

"Why would they be there?!" said Ma.

"There's a lot of very expensive equipment inside," said Gadgetive. "Could have been cover for a robbery."

"The same thing occurred to Captain Forest," said Blue Impact. "He's already notified the county sheriff's office. They're going to have people out here in shifts keeping watch until the company which sponsors the project can arrange for private security. We'll have to wait for an inventory before anybody knows for sure if there's anything missing."

* * *

"Something important," said Gadgetive, several days later at the bakery, shortly after breakfast. She called up an image on the large wall display in the main room. "See these pilings, in the master plans? They put those in due to caves and sinkholes in the area. They go deep. Really deep."

"That's... a lot of building to put on ground like that," said Blue Impact, surprised.

"Well, this was where it had to be, since that's where the Anomaly - the Phlogiston Well - is," said Gadgetive. "The structure is actually quite stable, even after the accident. They had to rush to make some serious inspections, underground as well as above ground. That included a complete survey before they could even let anyone inside. That in turn meant lots of spelunking and lots of drones. They confirmed that it's safe to start repairs. However, one of the things they discovered was that the actual explosion was a result of sabotage, and not explosives."

"What sort of sabotage could cause an explosion like that?" said Energia, puzzled.

"The report put the cause as 'gross existential negligence.'"

"What does that even mean?!" said Blue Impact, scowling.

"That they let the quantum foam get so stimulated only a single quantum tunneling event was needed to trigger a cascade."

"I repeat my question."

"Everything was stable and safe, unless something disturbed their containment and let what they were containing loose. Then something did."

"For those of us who don't speak advanced physics," said Vic, wryly, "what were they doing there?"

"Uhm, exploring how to tap the quantum foam to generate free energy," said Gadgetive. "They were mainly doing basic research, but hoped to have a commercial project on the market soon to help fund the work. They planned to use what they learned to build electrical generators of various sizes to help further replace polluting energy sources."

"Why bother?" said Energia, confused. "I mean, we're only just now getting fusion power plants added to the electrical supply network, and those are already replacing just about everything that's non-renewable."

"Fusion is clean," said Gadgetive, "but it's not completely clean. There's still some pollution, and not just from radioactive contamination of the parts. The manufacturing process for some of the components and fuels are far from clean. Same problem with solar power. Manufacturing anything out of silicon is messy. Quantum foam power would be very close to zero emissions. Though some equations show it might destabilize the structure of space."

The lair alert sounded, making them all jump, in part due to that announcement. Blue Impact hurried to the com center.

"I don't believe this," she said, astounded. "Remember how they expedited repairs on that tower? Well, as soon as the structural workers left and the regular crew moved back in to start equipment repairs, the facility was attacked again. All the investigators are dead. No alarms or signs of forced entry; nobody noticed anything was wrong until the people working there didn't come home. Since they were expected to be working late that took a while."

The others hurried to join her and read over her shoulder.

"Damn," said Vic, astounded. "Seems like the attack started as soon as the repair crew was out of sight."

"We need to get out there now!" said Energia.

"Yeah," said Blue Impact, nodding as she rose. "Even if the attackers - whether the New Breed or someone else - are long gone, we need to check the scene of the crime while the evidence is fresh."

"Especially since this is the second attack on the facility," said Energia. "Someone doesn't want them in operation!"

* * *

The team's apergy pod - in full stealth mode - halted well above the cluster of buildings and let Energia out the rear. She was wearing her own stealth jumpsuit and nearly as hard to notice as the flyer. With Energia and the pod both flying slowly and silently, the team plus Vic carefully scanned the area with eyes, ears, super senses and instruments.

"Looks clear," said Energia, finally. "Nobody here, though I see signs of recent activity."

The pod landed - stealth features still fully active - in the parking lot and the trio disembarked. They rendezvoused with Energia - already at the front door to the administration building - as she turned off her jumpsuit.

"Wow," said Vic, as they entered the reception area through the unlocked door. "This place is still a wreck from the original explosion."

"Looks like they focused on getting the tower back into operation," said Gadgetive, idly poking around. "This place has hardly been touched."

"Gadgetive, you and Vic to check the tower," said Blue Impact. "Energia, fly around the area and see if you can spot anything. I'll check the offices here."

"Roger," said the last of those, with a mock salute.

Less than an hour later Blue Impact finished and called for reports.

"Nothing here was taken that I can see," she said, over their coms. "From what I can see, the New Breed - or whoever it was - just walked in and killed everyone here. Including the two security guards. Fortunately, they were running with a skeleton crew.

"The offices have seen a lot of activity, though. First they were cleaned a bit and used some. It looks like all the computers are still here; some are still on. The workers were doing their jobs when they were killed. Pretty cleanly and quickly, from the lack of blood and disturbances. The emergency workers checked them, saw they were beyond help, and called the CSI folks. They took photos and samples for evidence, then the coroner's office picked up the bodies. There's evidence tape blocking each doorway. I didn't go in."

"Nothing to see from the air," said Energia. "I spiraled out pretty widely, too. Coming back to the admin building."

"Looks like the reports we got were behind the reality of the situation," said Gadgetive, calling from the tower. "Contractors put in structural reinforcement and then patched the hole with shotcrete. They left and the investigators replaced all the damaged equipment with spares. This thing is ready to go!"

"Would the attackers have known that?" said Blue Impact, startled.

"No way to tell from the evidence," said Gadgetive, "but I'd bet that way, since they didn't damage any equipment."

"So. It's not that whoever is behind the attacks wanted this to not work, but that they wanted it to work for them," said Energia. "Without interference from the staff. Why?!"

"I don't know," said Blue Impact. "I have a strong suspicion we better find out.

"Meanwhile, Gadgetive, figure out a way to keep this thing from functioning which doesn't do any actual damage but would be hard to repair quickly."

"Roger. From what I saw earlier, they used all their spares and still had to order some stuff to finish. That's what all those crates in the dumpster out back of the admin building were for. So, just remove a couple of small but important components and take them with us..."

"That could be called theft," said Blue Impact. "Better to hide them somewhere here. Then we need to arrange for a watch on this place."

"Hey," said Energia, over their coms. "I found something. A piece of paper with an address. Just laying here on the receptionist's desk, in the lobby."

While Gadgetive set to work the others joined Energia. She held the small sheet of notepaper up in her gloved hand for them to see.

"I'm getting a bit of deja vu here," said Vic, as she looked at the paper. "From what I can see, it was placed in plain sight, on top of the dust and debris from the original explosion. It's also not the same as any of the other note paper on the desk."

"Yeah," said Blue Impact. "Like that was meant for us to find. We still need to check it out."