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Henry stepped forward and shook Mick’s hand.
“Oh, man! That feels good!” she sighed as she felt the waves of energy pouring from him.
Henry paused then frowned. “You seem a little drained.”
“We haven’t had an opportunity to recharge recently. We were going to stop by your place on our way back to New York to take you up on your offer.”
Henry nodded. “We can do it now if you’d like.”
The Sergeant nodded and took his hand as she took Feinberg’s until they’d formed a chain with Yablonski taking Henry’s other hand.
Henry directed the entirety of the flow down his arm into the Sergeant. The energy raced around the loop, back to Henry’s other hand. The excess just flowed from him.
When he felt all of the Soldiers were running at max, he pulled his hands back and heard them all sigh happily.
“Damn, that’s the good stuff!” Yablonski exclaimed.
That got chuckles from the others who were riding a high too.
“Thank you for the energy!” Mick said to Henry.
He nodded to her. “Not a problem. As you can probably tell, I have no shortage.”
She nodded thoughtfully to him. “Yes, you seem to have an increased flow of it.”
He nodded and sighed. “It’s one of the reasons I’m up here in the boonies.”
“Can we meet your silver friends?” Layla called out from inside.
“Ah! Uh, yes, hang on,” Henry started and called back. He looked to the Sergeant. “What you are about to see is currently a secret to protect the families involved.”
“You mean the fact that they’re all Satyrs? That’s beating the odds quite soundly,” she said with a smile. “Have you found a way to choose the race for new transformations?”
“Not with any scientific accuracy, but yes, it seems to work.”
Mick gave Henry an evaluating look. “What’s the catch?”
“Come on in, and we’ll discuss it,” he said.
The Silver Soldiers made their way inside the dome, and Henry closed the arch once more. Layla was all grins as she faced the new arrivals. The kids were fascinated by the shiny soldiers, and the feeling was mutual.
“Danny and Tommy here, and Emily,” he gestured to the two boys and the girl with the glowing eyes. “were all transformed here recently. All the others were transformed during Skyfall when they were exposed to an energy source like mine while being in contact with a Faun. Magic was involved to a large extent.”
He sighed. “The trick is twofold. There needs to be a strong source of Wild Magic, the energy that powers you guys, to saturate the pre-change Humans, so their transformations can be controlled. I only know of two such sources at this time, and you’re looking at one of them. There also needs to be intentional physical hands-on contact from someone who has already changed to be the template. Again, this wasn’t discovered or confirmed scientifically.”
“Still, it’s helpful to know,” Mick stated.
“As long as it’s understood that there are no guarantees on the success rate. There may be some other factors we aren’t aware of,” Henry said.
“How many Satyrs were created during that one instance on Skyfall?” she asked.
“Thirty-four,” Henry said.
“Damn!” Yablonski exclaimed.
“Yes, and if the press got wind of it, they would be under a microscope, and their lives would be completely disrupted, instead of just partially disrupted. They haven’t been able to get together since that night, and this place is a sanctuary for them to relax and be a family once more.”
“Okay, I get it. I do have to ask you about an event that happened yesterday. Several commercial flights reported seeing an enormous flash of light in this area. They thought it might be thermonuclear. Naturally, the brass got involved.”
Henry winced. “Yeah, sorry. That was me, but it was nothing so frightening. I fed too much energy into the shield I put up around the property, and it went incandescent for a second or two.
“Ah, okay. I’ll let the General know,” Mick said.
“How’s Brigadier-General Crane doing with his promotion?” Henry said with a smile.
Mick chuckled. “I get the impression he’d much rather be out here with us, but he’s been able to use his influence to keep us in the field and out of the clutches of the bad people.”
Henry nodded as that was what he’d expected to hear. “Come on back to the house, and you can meet the rest of the family.”
The whole group was walking back to the mansion in a snowfall that seemed to be getting heavier. The sky was so dark the photocell controlling the Christmas lights made them come on. As they left the lane, they saw the house was all lit up.”
“You own this place?” Yablonski asked.NôvelDrama.Org holds © this.
Henry snorted. “No. It belongs to a friend of mine. I’ll be staying here for a while until I can control the energy flow.”
Something roared by overhead quickly, followed by a second. All heads looked up.
“F-18s?” Yablonski asked.
“Those were F-35A fighters,” Feinberg corrected him. “I didn’t see how they were configured, though.”
Mick was on her cell speaking quietly to someone.
“How strong is that dome?” Yablonski asked nervously.
“Strong enough to keep out anything those jets can drop on it,” Henry said, then looked to the surrounding forest. “Would they have incendiary bombs?” The soldier nodded, so Henry closed his eyes and adjusted the properties of the dome spell.
“I don’t want them setting fire to the neighboring forests,” Henry explained but received confused expressions.
“What did you do?” Feinberg asked.
“I-” Henry began, but the scream of the jets drowned him out as they pulled up sharply after firing their missiles at the property below. The falling snow lit up with a bright splash of brilliant colors as the dome rang with a deep tone in response to the missiles striking it.
“OOooo!” the kids all cheered and danced around.
“What the-where’s the big boom?” Yablonski asked. Henry just shook his head with a smile.
“Are those what I think they are?” Mick said, staring up at the sky where four intact missiles seemed to be hovering.
Henry flicked his fingers as if brushing the weapons away and the outer surface of the dome rippled, carrying the missiles to the edge where they rolled down to fall into the snow. He looked to the Sergeant. “The field absorbs all kinetic energy and fries their electronics, but they’re still dangerous and filled with explosive stuff. Can I ask you to get someone to dispose of them?”
She nodded in shock.
“I think those guys will likely try again. Can you ask the General to make them stop?”
Mick got her brain working once more. “I asked him about the jets, and he said he’d contact the Air Force about it. I’ll let him know we’re being fired upon.” She dialed once more.
The parents of the kids started coming out. “What’s this I hear about firework-” Brian froze when he saw the Silver Soldiers.
“Hey. These are friends of mine. They came up from Washington to look into a report about a flash of light I made yesterday with the dome. Today we seem to be under attack by two jets. The Sergeant is looking into it now.”
“Their shooting at us?!?” Kristen cried, and several other mothers scrambled to collect their kids.
Brian moved closer to Henry. “Uh, shouldn’t we get to cover?” he asked.
Henry looked to him. “We are under cover.” He gestured up at the invisible dome.
Tish patted his arm. “Everyone, let’s go back to our homes while this gets settled. Henry will knock on the doors when it’s over, and it’s safe to return.” He nodded, and the parents got their children moving. The young ones weren’t too happy about leaving as they were enjoying the light show.
Roy and Mary approached. “Who’s attacking us?” he asked.
“I think they’re US Airforce jets, but who would order an airstrike on a residence in New York State? I have no idea. General Crane is looking into it.”
“So, the force field is holding?” Roy asked.
Henry was listening for the jets return pass. “Huh? Oh yeah, I have it neutralizing any missiles fired at it, so they don’t explode and cause any damage to the forest around us.”
Roy nodded. “So, what’s your plan?”
Henry looked at him and paused. “Plan? Uh, they have a limited amount of ammo, so… they’ll eventually run out and go away. Or General Crane will reach the right person to get them to recall the pilots.”
Roy tapped his chin with a finger as he thought about that. “But they might just go back to the base and reload with stronger weapons. Is there something you might do to discourage them from doing so?”
Henry thought about that for a bit as the Silver Soldiers watched him nervously.
“I don’t want to harm the pilots. I also don’t want the planes to crash as that will make a mess of the forest and might start a fire,” he said.
“A warning to send them back to base?” Roy offered.
Henry thought about that, and a wicked idea came to his mind. Baba’s dirty bag of tricks was always ready to provide ways to punish. With a few adjustments, he could make a less lethal version that would suit his purposes nicely. He rapidly spun the program he’d require and readied it as he moved to an open space on the drive and prepared two large fireball spells that floated next to him.
Mick got closer. “You’re going to shoot plasma at them? How is that not harmful or dangerous?”
Henry kept his eyes on the sky as he waited for the jets to return. “Touch it.”
Mick tentatively reached out and put her hand close to one. She frowned as there was no heat. She passed her hand through the edge and nothing. She boldly pushed her hand into the middle, and still nothing.
“There’s no fire here!” she exclaimed.
Henry was ready this time as the jets passed by overhead. He jabbed his index finger on each hand to pretend to touch the tail of each fighter but set an anchor on each with his will. The fireballs immediately shot from the ground to get within ten feet of each plane like heat-seeking missiles with attitude. The jets peeled off in opposite directions trying to elude the rockets on their tails.
The second phase of Henry’s attack kicked in. Through their magic tethers, the spell overrode their radios with a message for them to return to base. They were told their safety would be guaranteed if they returned and landed safely.