The Rise of Supremus - Chapter Five

It was a day later, and Reid and Colossus sat in the monitor room, busily working the computer. A few minutes later Watt and White Knight entered.
    “Anything?” asked Watt.
    “I’ve got the computers working overtime.” Reid replied. “It’s linked to almost every satellite that is in orbit, and I can still find no trace of Supremus.”
    “It may be possible for Supremus to disguise himself from sensor devices.” said Colossus.
    “I doubt it.” said Watt. “Supremus was pretty beat up by the time you lot finished with him. He may be trying to find a way of restoring his power somehow.”
    “Perhaps at a power station, or some other facility that uses a great amount of power.” said Reid. “I remember reading in the file that Supremus was not a real ‘human’, that he was a genetically engineered being. It would not be illogical to assume that he would survive by using some sort of power to gain his strength, and not food as we do.”

    It was then that Ultare Amarus entered the room. He had in his hand a small tool.
    “What have you been up to?” asked Watt.
    “Trying to modify the computer.” Amarus replied. “As you know, many part of my ship were salvaged by Dr. Magus, including parts of the sensor array. I thought it would be possible to use those parts to try and locate Supremus. If you would allow me, Doctor?”
    “Certainly.” said Reid, vacating his seat.
    Amarus began to operate the computer. As he did Reid began to examine the Traxxon’s tool.
    “What is this?” he asked.
    “On Traxxor it is known as a delai.”
    “Which means?”
    “I believe on Earth you call it a screwdriver.”
    Reid quickly put the tool down. Amarus continued to operate the computer for a few more minutes, but then he stopped and sat back in the chair.
    “Nothing.” he said. “Although the sensor array works well with your computer, and we are now able to scan this entire country I can find no trace of Supremus.”
    “Then there is only one logical conclusion.” said Reid. “Supremus has been destroyed.”

    The deep vegetation began to stir slightly. The only sound that could be heard in the forest were those of birds flying in the skies above the trees. Only now were they returning to their nests after the disturbance some seven days ago. Seven days ago a bright light, shining with energy, came crashing through the forest, disturbing everything in it. Only now was everything returning to normal. But was it?
    The high winds had blown many leaves down from the trees, and they had covered what had been blown through seven days ago. Only now did it begin to stir, to move. It took a few minutes for the leaves to move again, but suddenly, in  one fast movement, all of the leaves went flying. When they settled down again a figure could be seen. The figure was ten feet tall, and had now regained some of it’s energy, energy lost in a battle some seven days ago. Supremus lived?
    Supremus may have been alive, but he was far from well. He may have regained some of his energy during the previous seven days but his power levels were greatly diminished. There was no way he could withstand another battle like the one he had just had. He needed power, he needed power to defeat those who had just defeated him, but first he had to find a way of getting that power.
    Supremus looked towards the sky, and a few seconds later he took off. He moved high into the sky, almost leaving the Earth’s atmosphere. He began to slowly turn around, slowly moving in a circle, as if he was looking at the area beneath him. There were many places where he could obtain power, but none of these could give him the power he desired, the power that would make him the most powerful force on the face of the Earth. Then it hit him, hit him like a ton of bricks, although a ton of bricks hitting him would have no effect on him, even in this weakened state. The power he needed was right below him, the power from the Earth itself, from the Earth’s core. Surely he could use his vast intellect to construct some sort of machine, a machine that could harness the power of the Earth’s molten core. Others, not of this world, had tried it before without success, so he knew it could be possible. But there was one thing that suddenly crossed his mind. It wouldn’t make him the most powerful force on Earth, because after he had finished there wouldn’t be an Earth left!

    “It was that!” said Solo. “The energy reading that matched that of Supremus was on the screen for a few seconds.”
    Watt and Reid approached the computer screen.
    “It came from the Surrey countryside.” said Solo. “It was definitely Supremus.”
    Reid began to operate the terminal.
    “There’s nothing there now.” he said.
    “We dare not take any chances though.” said Watt. “You two, along with Arthur and Steve, take the sky-jet to that area. I want to be sure about this one. If Supremus is there when we’ve no choice by to capture him.”
    It was a few seconds later when a sky-jet left the hangar and was soon on it’s way to the Surrey countryside.
    It didn’t take them long to get there. Before they landed in a clearing Solo circled the area to see if they could get a visual sighting of Supremus. They couldn’t. After landing in the clearing Reid, detection instrument in hand, headed into the woods. White Knight, as field commander, was right behind him.
    “Anything?”
    “Nothing.” replied Reid. “I can’t tell if he was or wasn’t here.”
    “All the same, carry out a full sweep of this area.”
    Star Man was kneeling close to the ground. He called White Knight over.
    “What is it?”
    “These leaves and sticks have been disturbed recently.” said Star Man. “As if something underneath them suddenly shot up.”
    “You mean like a man or woman perhaps?”
    “Maybe.”
    Reid joined them a few seconds later and began to scan the area.
    “Still nothing.”
    White Knight turned to Solo.
    “Can you sense anything?”
    Solo shook his head.
    “I can’t detect anything.” he said. “But then again Supremus would have the power to block my telepathic powers and disrupt the Doc’s scanner.”
    “That is true.” said Reid. “But he would have the power to disrupt the larger scanner at the mansion, especially with the added Traxxon technology.”
    “If here’s nothing here then we might as well return home.” said White Knight.
    “Agreed.” said Reid.
    It was then they moved towards the sky-jet. As they boarded the plane they didn’t notice a shimmer in the light as a partly-faded Supremus watched them leave. Solo was right, he had been blocking his telepathic powers and Reid’s scanner, but he was also cloaking himself from the larger scanner.