The Stuff of Legends - Part 2

The next day at the Warehouse, Dialga's Adamant Orb slid off the shelf toward the Dark Vault, only to be caught in a psychic shield from the Mind Plate and returned to its place while simultaneously alerting Artie to unusual activity. Aden follows and raises a curious eyebrow at the pink slab of stone, but ignores it as he spies the PokeBall wiggling again. "I'll deal with you later," he told the Plate as he held the ball closed and rushed outside, where the other agents stood waiting.

Aden set the red and white sphere on the ground and backed away. It replied by unleashing a blast of silvery-blue wind, followed a burst of spectral fire which took the shape of a phoenix. "Aeroblast and... Sacred Fire, that means Lugia and Ho-oh," Aden commented as he searched on his phone. "Ho-oh's a Fire bird, Lugia's a water-dwelling Psychic bird; but they're ultimately harmless, both carrying the title of Guardian instead of Embodiment. Lugia's item is a silver-colored feather, the Silver Wing, which apparently is similar to that of a penguin's. Ho-oh's item is a feather that changes color depending on the angle you look at it, appropriately named the Rainbow Wing," he explained.

"So what exactly should we be looking for while searching for these 'Wings'?" Claudia asked, pulling out and opening what looked like a mini-Farnsworth crossed with a cigarette case.

"Well, since the two represent guardians, probably somebody walking away from fires or drowning, maybe even saving others from them."

"Got it," Claudia stated after a moment of fiddling with the device. "We've got pings for a firefighter in Nashville and a swimmer-lifeguard in Chicago."

"Great," Aden said before pausing for a moment. "Would it be fine if I sit out of this particular grab? I'm still a bit burned out from collecting the Weather Trio."

"Not at all," said Artie, garnering astonished looks from the other agents, especially Claudia. "Alright, let's get to work: Pete, Claudia, you two go get the Wing in Illinois; Myka, Steve, grab the one in Tennessee." Noticing the four still standing there staring, he added "Now!"
The two groups went off to their given locations while Aden slipped back into the Warehouse to replace the Ball. When he got there, he caught the Orbs flashing slightly at each other. "And what are you all up to?" he asked as he set the PokeBall in its place and browsed the Plates for a pair he thought might come in handy, plucking out the Ground- and Rock-Typed ones.

When the four agents returned to the Warehouse, they saw Aden messing around with the Earth and Stone Plates, apparently doing landscaping, as Artie watched intently. He generated a beautiful rock garden, as well as what appeared to be a labeled parking lot near his and Artie's cars. After slipping the two tablets into bags, Aden hopped onto a flat stone and surveyed his work with a smile. "Perfect!" he commented as he slipped down.

"You made all this?" Claudia asked, shooting yet another incredulous look at Artie.

"Yep!" Aden replied happily as he tossed the PokeBall in his hand up and down. "So, was I right about the Wings?"

Steve unveiled a feather-shaped opal charm with a golden shaft. "Pretty much. This apparently acts a bit like the Phoenix down in the Warehouse, though it doesn't seem to take anything as a price. The fireman who had it was able to walk into a fire at the Pantheon (incidentally caused by lighting from the crazy weather we just stopped) and come out completely unscathed. What's more, the boy he rescued had sustained extensive third-degree burns, but as soon as he got him out, all of his wounds instantly healed and he regained consciousness on the spot."

Pete revealed the solid silver charm. "Ditto for us. [Aden failed to suppress a smirk at the remark.] The swimmer this belonged to saved a small girl. She had been swept into a drainage ditch by flood waters (caused by a downpour courtesy of the same freaky weather) and he jumped in after her. An hour later, he came back up with the girl's body, with absolutely no signs of almost drowning or suffocating himself. He apparently attempted CPR on her, and as soon as his hands touched her, all of the water she had inhaled was expelled from her lungs and she woke up on the spot."

"Whoa." Aden's eyes widened as he gazed at the Wings, then glanced at the Ball in his hand, which was pointing at the Silver Wing. "You might wanna set the Silver one down." After Pete quickly did so, the PokeBall unleashed three glowing orbs, which struck the ground around the charm forming a triangle. After a moment, the orbs dissipated into bursts of embers, snow, and sparks, to which the charm responded by resonating with six notes that Aden informed the group as the Song of Lugia. "Looks like the other three Birds are up." he sighed.

Claudia pulled out her laptop and looked up "Fire; Ice, Lightning; Bird; Lugia" and immediately came up with the Legendary Bird Trio. "Those would be Articuno, Zapdos, and Moltres, right?"

"Yep." Aden confirmed. "Those three are occasionally said to be Titans, (although that could be just one group), or Winged Mirages. They are said to be associated with the seasons. Articuno with Winter, Zapdos with Spring, and Moltres with Summer."

"Then who is Autumn?" Myka questioned.

"Nobody. Don't know why."

That evening in the city of Reno, a young man is walking back to his home when a car races through a nearby puddle, spraying him with water. As he shakes himself down in frustration, he notices a strange warmth coming from the backpack he was carrying. Taking it off and rummaging for a moment, he eventually extracts a red glass sphere. The moment he removed it, the warmth spread across his body, quickly drying his clothing. Before he could marvel at this event, the sphere began to glow brilliantly, and his skin began smoking and blistering rapidly. Unable to drop the sphere, he could only scream in agony as his entire being erupted into flame, garnering the attention of those in the nearby apartments. By the time any of them had called the authorities, all that was left was of the make was a blackened skeleton.

When the group of Agents arrived at Reno, they headed to the local police station of the area where the incident had occurred. There they met with the officer in charge, a Captain Jensen, who filled them in on what was found at the scene.

"Victim is Clark Thompson, 20 years of age and attendant of UNR. His remains were found on the route he apparently favored when returning to his off-campus apartment, just a pile of ash and blackened bones. No sign of any accelerant or other flammable material, nor any kind of explosive. Strangely, his backpack was found at the scene completely intact, though was damp as though it had been sprayed with a good amount of water."

" Huh, that sounds interesting ." Aden commented as they listened.

Before they could press the Captain for access to the evidence, he received a call and waved them off, claiming it was important and had to take it. Mere moments after he walked off, the buzzing of the Farnsworth rang fourth from Claudia’s pocket.

“Have you gotten a hold of the Artifact yet?”

“Not just yet, Artie,” Myka replied over Claudia’s shoulder. “We were about to ask for access to the belongings of the man who combusted when the Captain had to take an important call.”

“Well, the computer just picked up two more pings in Reno: a comic book store apparently just froze over and pawn shop has just transformed into a thundercloud.”

“And that answers what was so urgent in the call the Captain received. We’ll get on that right away Artie.” Claudia stated before closing the Farnsworth.

“Disturb not the harmony of Fire, Ice, or Lightning…”

“Disturb what?” Pete asked, hearing Aden mumble to himself.

Aden turned to look at the other three agents. "It’s part of a prophecy about the birds made in the movie Pokemon 2000. Essentially it stated that if one of the birds were to be disturbed in some way, it could result in a war between the three that could escalate dangerously. From what the Captain said, the backpack they found with the body remains was soaked with water. My guess is that Mr. Thompson got drenched somehow while returning home, and in his frustration he somehow triggered the Fire Treasure to dry himself; however, because it was triggered during the summer, its output spiraled out of control to the point it caused him to combust. That burst of energy tripped off the other two Treasures, who are currently responding.”

"So we’d better contain them ASAP," Pete noted. “Alright, I’ll take the one at the comic store; Myka, you go for the one at the pawn shop. Aden, you and Claudia find a way to snag the Fire Treasure from the evidence lock-up. We’ll meet in the alley by our rental once we have them all.”

“Wait, before you go,” Aden started, “you may need these.” He produced three of the Plates from his pocket, handing the Flame Plate to Pete and the Earth Plate to Myka while keeping the Splash Plate for himself. “These should help protect against the energies the Treasures are now likely giving off.”

After the two senior agents departed, Aden had Claudia look up where the evidence lock-up was in the building. He then utilized a Teleport to take him straight into the room "So that's what flash-stepping feels like." he commented as he looked across the shelves, finding the Treasure in a box that was half melted. When he attempted to contain it, however, the snag bag surged with heat and disintegrated the moment the sphere touched it. Not wanting to risk getting caught, he decided to pull another Teleport to the designated meeting place. He did so, only to find Pete and Myka already there, the Articuno and Zapdos Treasures respectively in hand.

"Let me guess," Pete stated slightly sarcastically, "when you tried to bag the Treasure, the bag obliterated."

"Yes, unfortunately." Aden repliedin a slightly irritable tone. “I guess there is only one thing to do know.” He then proceeded to reveal the Silver Wing, which he had been wearing under his shirt. “Lugia’s Song is the only thing that can calm the birds, so I’m hoping this Wing will have the same effect.

He held out the Wing, but nothing seemed to happen. Just when he was about try to stop the spheres in some other way, the sound of what seemed to be a flute came echoing down the alley, playing the very song Aden had been thinking of. After several seconds, the Wing began to shimmer started to resonate the very same song. It was at that point the three Treasures dimmed back to normal.

“OK, what was that all about?” Claudia asked out loud.

“I have no idea!” Aden replied, completely at a loss for words.

Hours later, Aden shelved the three treasures next to the Orbs along with the Rainbow Wing. He then turned around and watched the other Legends flash a greeting at the trio, who responded in kind. Aden smiled at them then stomped on the Adamant Orb's cord as it rolled off toward the Dark Vault. "Not today, pal!" he said as he replaced the artifact. "Nobody tease him; just keep him on the shelf." Aden then proceeded to place the Silver Wing on the shelf as well. When it touched the surface of its display, it emitted a brief tone that sounded like the music from before. At this point, the Adamant Orb once again began rolling, but this time it was to bump into the Wing’s display. “Now you are after Lugia and his song too? But that song doesn't have anything to do with time.”