Manhattan

It was evening. Dr. Carter Snow was sat in the interrogation room in a building located south near of the Protectors Tower. The room was gray, appearing dull and bleak. Dr. Snow kept his hands on top of the table, as he was instructed to. A few minutes later, The Watcher entered the room, and took his seat on the chair in front of him.

“Dr. Carter Snow.” The Watcher said. “I know you were planning to use the Red Crystal for Mist’s interests. Tell me, what were you going to use it for?”

Snow smiled.

“You already have me captured, and I suspect you know what we have planned. You think you’ve won? There’s so little you know about Mist.”

“And I’m about to find out.”

“With the fury of a thousand suns, my efforts shall be remembered.”

“Really. What makes you say that? You will be forgotten, I can tell you that.”

Dr. Snow smiled again, with a devilish grin that took up half of his face. That made The Watcher worried that something wasn’t right, to say the least. Snow acted as if everything was going according to plan, not once panicking since he was arrested. Now he was determined to find out what was happening, now more than ever.

“Because you played directly into our hands.” Dr. Snow said, unable to contain his excitement. “And now so many people will pay the price.”

The Watcher slammed his fist on the table next to the doctor, leaving a dent in it once it was done. He angrily looked into Dr. Snow’s eyes, which remained unchanged from the smug satisfaction from before. Then he started laughing. The Watcher decided he had enough of this.

“Tell me what’s going on now, before I make you regret it.”

“We fooled you! The Red Crystal you got was a duplicate with only a fraction of its power. The real Red Crystal? It’s at a Mist base, getting charged and readied for use any day now.”

The Watcher gripped his hands together into fists. He wanted to strike down the scientist in front of him, but he knew Dr. Snow was still needed, and he must practice restraint.

“Tell me where they are, and please be honest with me. If you want to live to see tomorrow, you will give us the location of the base the Red Crystal is being stored at.”

“Alright… alright, I’ll tell you. Only because I want to see you try. The location of the Red Crystal is in the forests of Myohyang Mountain, in this wonderful country we call North Korea.”

“Shit…” The Watcher said under his breath.

“Brilliant isn’t it? Good luck trying to save the day without causing an international incident and war!”

The Watcher didn’t acknowledge him further as he exited the room, moving quickly through the hallways after ordering two guards to keep Dr. Snow in their sight at all times with nothing more than hand signals. He was angry, frustrated, and worried about what could happen. He had to return to the tower, and figure out just he was going to do in this situation.

Once he arrived, The Watcher stormed through the entrance while paying no mind to the others on ground level. He rode up the elevator to the top, where the conference room is. This was the time to call a meeting, and one that had to be done quickly. The door to the room slid open after punching in a code. A large black table was in the middle, with chairs on all ends, and a large computer in the front.

Time to initiate Squadron 10.

Squadron 10 was the top secret covert ops branch of the Protectors, a division made up of members that were trusted to undertake such tasks. This was one of those tasks. Should the world know that North Korea was hiding a Mist outpost, it could lead to catastrophic results.

The Watcher knew that the Protectors walked the line between sovereignty and justice, and such a branch would never pass under any law. That is, if they knew about it. No one outside the Protectors’ most trusted members were aware that Squadron 10 existed. Not UN, not the President, or anyone else.

With the press of a button on the computer, an order was issued out to the members of Squadron 10.

Meet me at the tower.

That was all that was needed for the various members of the New York-based Squadron 10 to arrive at the conference room. Some were already in the tower, some were in New York. After an hour passed, the members were in the room. It was starting to feel crowded.

“This had better be worth it.” Blindshot said. “I’m disappointing my wife over something I can’t even tell her.”

“I could say the same thing.” The Watcher said. “But when lives are at stake, and no one else can do it, that only leaves us.”

“Yeah, I know.”

“What is it?” Phase said. “My kids aren’t happy that I had to leave either.”

The Watcher turned to Phase, or Robyn Knight, the 27-year-old mother of two. Her long raven-purple hair alongside her violet eyes appearing unique among the crowd.

“Mist fooled us into grabbing a fake Crystal, and now they’ve hid away with the intent to strike soon. They’re in North Korea.”

“That is a bit of a problem.” Blindshot said.

“Putting it one way, yes.” The Watcher said.

“Then we must depart immediately.” Swarm said.

Manuel Felix del Santo, or Swarm, was a hooded figure, known for the dark glasses that covered his eyes. His long jacket was a good way to hide what he kept underneath. He wanted to get things like these done as quick as he could, but knew to be patient with the job at hand.

“Mist isn’t exactly going to wait.” Cyber said. “As soon as they can use the Red Crystal, they will.”

“It’s true, we have no time to waste.” The Watcher said.

“Then let’s get going.” Blindshot said.

The others nodded. They could rest easier knowing that Mist won’t be able to cause countless deaths with a superpowered crystal. It was just a stressful time for everyone. The fact that they could fool them by swapping the real crystal with a fake made The Watcher worried they could do it again. Nonetheless, they couldn’t sit around and do nothing, either.

“We get in, get out, no nation knows we were ever there.” Paladin said.

“As we say,” The Watcher said. “Complete the mission, don’t get caught, save the world.”

“Well, let’s go save the world.” Blindshot said.

He was leaning against the wall with his arms crossed. Brad really hated having to disappoint his wife by suddenly announcing he was called in for Protector business. He would prefer this be done as fast they could manage, so she would be happy. He was at least glad that Cécile understood why he had to leave, even if he couldn’t give the specifics.

“We will depart in an hour.” The Watcher said. “A Condor will be waiting for us on the roof of the tower. Be ready.”

Everyone was in agreement. The Watcher departed from the meeting room, and quickly made his way to his private quarters. On his way, he thought to himself how it would go down. They were to attack the Mist outpost and retrieve the crystal. However, they were walking a thin line by invading the most isolationist country on Earth, who were housing terrorists to gain more power.

The last thing the world needs is for this to be uncovered. It could lead to an all-out war, and if Squadron 10 was uncovered by UN, there will be consequences.

Inside of his office, The Watcher sat down, taking a moment to breathe. Then he used his computer to make a call to the other leaders. It had to be made clear what was going on, to make sure everyone was on the same page. If one is to take monumental risks, they might as well do so while coordinated.

“Dr. Snow told us that Mist is hiding the Red Crystal, the real one, in North Korea. We’ll be heading out soon to retrieve it.”

“That does make things a little difficult.” John Baen said.

“Indeed.” Green Gadget said. “I don’t think I need to tell you how catastrophic it will be if the world finds out about this.”

“Which is why we’re going to take it back.” The Watcher said.

“I don’t know what Mist is planning, but they clearly have motives for going through all this trouble.” Spectrum said. “Make sure our ‘friend’ is telling the truth.”

Spectrum was the founder and head of the Cosmic Protectors, and one of the leaders of the Protectors as a whole. He appeared concerned, his expression displayedthat he was worried about what Mist would do with such a powerful source of energy. Spectrum himself had seen no shortage of strange things out in the cosmos, either.

“We will.” Cobalt said. “We’re not letting him out of our sight.”

“Well, if you’ll excuse me, I have a mission to undertake.” The Watcher said.

“Understood.” John Baen said.

Transmission ended. It would soon be time to take on Mist once again. The Watcher hoped that one day he can put an end to their terror, and everyone involved will meet justice. But for now, he just had to focus on the task one step at a time. Mist was in North Korea, and they had to be dealt with immediately.

The Watcher departed from his office, it was time. Soon enough, he was at the top of the tower, where the Condor awaited him with the other members ready to go. He nodded at them, knowing they had a job to do. The Condor’s hatch opened, everyone boarded the ship. Soon enough, it would take off into the skies, with North Korea as its destination.

In the cockpit, he sat back as the ship was in autopilot. The Watcher wanted to relax before the mission starts, as much as he could anyways. As he sat back, looking at the night’s sky, he received a call. It was none other than his wife, Kim. Her face displayed on the screen in front of him.

“You know I worry about you.” Kim said. “I get scared that one day you’ll be killed. Imagine how Adele would be, living in a world without her father?”

“I’ve been doing this for over half my life.” The Watcher said. “I’ll be fine, as I always am.”

“It only takes once to kill you. I also worry of Adele, it’s not all fun and games out there. I wouldn’t be a good wife or mother if I didn’t fear for my loved ones’ safety.”

“Adele became a Protector because she wanted to be, because she knew she was capable. It’s a responsibility that not everyone can live up to, but we can. I don’t plan to die, nor do I plan to let Adele down.”

“But you know she doesn’t want to be right now. Her interests have changed, but you still keep those lofty expectations of her. I just don’t want to live without my husband or daughter. To be honest, I miss the days when we were all together.”

“I miss them too, and after this I plan to make more of them.”

The Watcher leaned back in his seat. He truly did want to spend more time with his daughter, the only one he has. After his arguments with her, and his disgust when he learned of her boyfriend, he has gained perspective. He shouldn’t be so distant from Adele, and she made some good points. Ever since her youth, Adele has lived in her father’s shadow, and he expected a lot from her, too much in fact.

He planned to change that.

“Good luck on your mission, whatever it is.” Kim said. “I hope you come back.”

“You would kill me if I died on a mission.” The Watcher said, jokingly.

Kim let out a little laugh. “Alright then, I’ll see you later.”

What his wife said held true. Byron needs to be closer to Adele if he still wants her to respect her father. Realizing that he’s been too separated from her, he plans to be closer in her life, to prove that he’s both a good father and a role model. The fact that she thinks Blindshot is cooler than him was a low point, putting it one way.

But that would have to wait until after the mission was over. Right now, all of his efforts must be put into stopping Mist. The Condor soared through the skies, and they would be in North Korea in a matter of hours. This was where the real mission would begin.