The Starlight Sentinels: The Amusing Story of a Struggling Superhero Team

Chapter 5: Master May I?

An elderly man with a cane, a colorful scarf, and a top hat knocked on a door. He stood patiently, adjusting his scarf as he heard someone inside moving to greet him. Answering the knock was a sharply dressed older man in a two-piece suit. He removed the cigarette from his mouth and carefully examined the elegant stranger standing in front of him.

"Let me guess," said Nick. "You're out tonight collecting donations for the nineteenth century?"

"No, I'm the Investor, here on behalf of the Order," answered the man in a friendly voice.

"Really? Well, you got here awfully fast." Nick motioned for the Investor to come inside. "Seriously, didn't Daryl just call you people like thirty minutes ago?"

"I move quickly. Always have since a certain experiment gone awry gave me the power of teleportation." The Investor removed his hat and scarf, then looked for somewhere to place them.

"You don't say? I'm starting to think I overreacted when I hassled Daryl to contact you people so soon. A spaceship must not seem like much to someone who can move around like you do."

"Well, I only can teleport when I have plenty of time and somewhere peaceful to concentrate. I also got this limp from the same experiment. So it's not all it's cracked up to be." The Investor placed his hat and scarf on a nearby table. "This place is so quaint," said the Investor as he studied his surroundings. "I love how open and natural it feels. So much better than the sterile walls of computers and instruments I always see at Pyrgos."

"So, Mr. Investor?" asked Nick.

"Call me Charles."

"Charles, I'm guessing you're here to see the alien my team recovered?"

"Yes, do lead the way." Nick led Charles up the spiral staircase, which Charles took one hobbled step at a time.

"I'm Nick Tetra, I'm the Starlight Sentinels' sponsor."

"Yes, I assumed."

"I wanted to ask you about the Order's policy regarding cooperating with private entities for research purposes."

"That's not my department I'm afraid, I just handle first introductions." Charles and Nick spotted Daryl heading for his room.

"Daryl," called Nick. "You've got company. The—"

"The Investor," greeted a surprised Daryl. "I just sent in my report to the Order, I didn't know they were coming tonight."

"The top brass wanted to make contact ASAP," said Charles. "Which means I have to make contact because I'm the one who would get here first. Speaking of which, where is our newest off-world immigrant?"

"Just down the hall." Daryl motioned for Charles to follow him.

"I'm curious. How is young Eric doing?" asked Charles.

"He's fine. Anxious as ever to grow up," answered Daryl

"That boy will miss his entire childhood if he's not careful."

Daryl stopped at the last door in the hall. "He's inside. We found him—"

"Hold on a moment." Charles removed an unusual looking watch from his wrist. Unfolding it revealed four mechanical arms with tiny propellers attached to the ends. Charles pressed a button on the device and it suddenly buzzed to life. It zipped into the air like a giant metallic mosquito and turned to face Charles.

"Mnemosyne? Are you there?"

"Affirmative. The Mnemonic Device is operating at nominal levels." A small blue light blinked in sync with the monotonous, almost mechanical voice emanating from the pint-sized drone. "Proceed." Charles motioned to Daryl, who opened the door. The group stepped inside to find a short alien with light yellow skin sitting on a bed listening to Olivia play guitar.