They peered through the bay doors at the blue horizon and the clouds below. They were high enough that there weren’t any winds but they were still within Earth’s atmosphere. Astra still carried the damaged limb from the Skaleen armor.

“First, I’ll probably need a little more mass,” Astra used her nanobots to turn the armored limb in her hands into liquid-metal and absorbed the module into her body, making her a bit larger. “I need a little more,” she turned toward the second suit of Skaleen armor on the floor. The armored suit had been cut in half and while the small alien slug was flopping around in a vein attempt to take back control, half of the armor was free to use. She stretched out a hand, grasping the severed portion and dragged it across the room before absorbing it as well, doubling her size. “That should do it,” she said as she turned to Wally and Kim. Wally adjusted his glasses, “Okay, so why did you -“.

Astra grabbed both Kim and Wally in a bear hug, her arms shifting into a large metal sheath covering both of them. She then tilted her large, cylindrical body toward the open bay doors and toppled out. Wally and Kim screamed in terror inside her as they dropped toward the clouds. “You wouldn’t be able to survive the cold for long,” Astra explained despite Wally and Kim being unable to hear her, “You’re safe inside me but the almost complete lack of oxygen might be a problem unless I can get us out of here faster.” Her feet rounded out, forming turbine casings. Inside, blades began spinning rapidly and as she formed a torpedo shape, it made her descent much faster, “I’m doing my best to filter enough oxygen inside the casing,” once again she spoke despite her passengers being unable to hear and still screaming, “We’re dipping into an altitude where there’s more oxygen but it gets windier. Sorry.” As they passed through the clouds, Astra could see a field below. Small wings emerged, allowing her to steer a course. Once they reached a safe distance, she turned off the turbines and went into freefall. Minutes later, a very thin layer of metal rippled along her back and twin foil-parachutes emerged, slowing her descent. From there, she let go of the metal casing and held onto Wally and Kim’s arms. “Ah, Jesus!,” Wally shrieked as he saw the ground rising up to meet them. “Kick your legs as you land,” Astra said and they ran along the ground, finally falling into some grass. Astra let the parachutes go, returning back to her normal size once she removed enough mass.

“That was… the worst thing you could have done!,” Wally shouted.

“A little wanring next time, please?,” Kim asked.

“Sorry,” Astra appeared sad, “I thought you two would realize what I was doing. We had to get off the ship quickly before the Skaleens recovered.”

Wally looked out over the field, “So,… We have no plane. What now?”

“I’ll send a quick text to Rawlings,” Kim took out her phone, “I won’t go into detail since he’ll probably not believe us. I’ll just say the jet malfunctioned and made an emergency landing. I don’t want to just casually drop aliens in the conversation just yet.”

“I’m still trying to process hanging out with a robot and now… aliens,” Wally muttered under his breath.

“The Skaleens might trace our phone signals and come after us again,” Astra warned, “We probably need to keep going. I’m supposed to meet your boss, correct?”

“Yeah, Jennifer Sawyer wants to meet you,” Wally sighed, “… And likely won’t be happy to hear about her private self-flying jet.”

“Astra’s right about keeping a low profile, though,” Kim admitted, “We’ll rent a car and drive the rest of the way. Astra, how far until we get to a car rental place?”

“Checking…,” Astra tilted her head slightly, “…Three miles.”

“Not too bad of a walk, I guess. Lead the way.”

“I could make a car but I need more metal,” Astra explained as they followed her, “Oh, and by the way, when I absorbed Skaleen armor, I absorbed their cannon components. I not only have some knowledge of alien technology but I think I know how to make cannons now. You know, in case we get attacked again.”

“Great to know, Astra,” Wally groaned as he trudged along.

In Lyon, France, Director Sean Pierce walked briskly through a hallway and into the debriefing room of the IMD (Interpol Metahuman Division). In the room, sat Dave Bronson (Codename: Brick), Dafne Mansoor (Codename: Intrepid) and Nadeem Alam (Codename: Shift). A little over 24 hours earlier, the IMD satellite picked up strange movement in the skies: a beam of energy destroyed a Nantox lab in Montauk, New York. The attack was likely from an advanced weapon in the sky but no object was visible. Upon further investigation, they learned the explosion was officially blamed on a gas leak which was more than suspicious. Earlier that morning, a private jet belonging to Jenifer Sawyer, the CEO of the Nantox Corporation, disappeared over Pennsylvania according to air traffic control. Pierce wanted to look into the situation further. “Good evening, Badges,” he greeted his team, “What have you learned about our little alien mystery?”

“Satellite imaging picked up a strange object falling out of the sky not long after the jet disappeared,” Mansoor brought up a blurry image on a holographic screen, “Once it landed, we got a good look at what it was,” she brought up an image of Kim, Wally and Astra.

“That metal lass certainly makes this our business now,” Pierce studied the image, “Do we have facial recognition of her two companions?”

“Kimberly Park and Wally Cooper,” Alam explained, “Spoiler alert… They work for Jennifer Sawyer.”

“And do we know where they are?”

“Kim Park just hired a car a few miles from where we last saw them,” Bronson brought up credit card information on Kim.

“Go ask them a few questions.”

In the US, Kim was driving with Wally in the passenger seat and Astra in the back; they crossed state lines into Ohio just as the Sun began going down. They were currently making their way down a highway with scattered cars on the road and endless fields on either side. “If either of you get tired, I can drive,” Astra offered, “I just learned how to drive and I don’t sleep, so -“

“I’m not sure that’s legal,” Kim explained.

“I’m not sure hiding a robot from the authorities is legal, either,” Wally added, “Or not reporting an alien encounter.”

“Who would we even call?”

“I dunno, but it’s weird not telling someone.”

“It’s Sawyer’s problem, though, right? She wants us to stay quiet and bring Astra to LA. We’re just doing what we were told.”

“Historically, that doesn’t hold up well in court.”

“I understand you’re having a conversation and I understand it’s rude ot interrupt,” Astra began politely, “But there’s an aircraft approaching.”

“Oh, no. The aliens are back already?,” Wally frantically began looking out the windows.

“No, this one is different.”

The Cloudburst, the IMD ship, flew over the car and stayed low along the highway before turning in the air and landing, blocking off traffic. Kim stomped on the brakes and the few cars behind them did likewise. The cars on the other side of the highway began slowing down to gawk as they passed in the opposite direction

“Oh, I saw this on the internet,” Astra leaned over the seat and shoved her finger at the windshield, “That aircraft is called the Cloudburst and it belongs to the Interpol Metahuman Division. IMD for short. The agents call themselves Badges as a nickname.”

“Okay, so maybe calling the authorities was a good idea,” Kim said nervously.

“This is the Interpol Metahuman Division,” Bronson said over the loud speaker, “Please exit the vehicle with your hands in sight.” The three of them slowly stepped out of the vehicle with their palms raised. Soon after that, the three agents stepped out of the ship and stood in front of it. “I am Intrepid,” Mansoor greeted them, “This is Brick and Shift. We have a few questions concerning your companion there. We can take you and your vehicle into our ship for now.”

“Okay, we can do that,” Kim complied, “No problem.”

“I’m sorry but we need to get going,” Astra said politely which elicited nervous glances from Wally and Kim, “We have an urgent meeting and we’re not supposed to talk to people about it.”

“I’m afraid it’s not an option at the moment,” Brick said, “When we’ve assessed the situation, we’ll let you on your way.”

“Wait a second, let me look up the laws,” Astra tilted her head as she began to search the internet.

“In a situation in which an unidentified metahuman is being transported across state or provincial lines, we can detain the suspect for up to 24 hours to ensure it is not a threat to the public,” Mansoor assured her, “Especially in situations concerning -“

“Oh, well then, I’m not a threat,” she waved happily, “Bye now.”

“It’s not going to be that easy I’m afraid, please come with us,” Alam told her in a calm manner.

“Otherwise, we will have to use force,” Bronson added.

Astra turned to Wally and Kim with a smile, “Self-defense,” and clenched her fist.

“Wait, no. No!,” Wally shouted, “That’s not -!”

Wally’s plea went unheard as Astra’s fist shot forward, into Bronson’s chest with enough force to send him into the nose of the Cloudburst. Mansoor raised her gun and begin firing, the bullets bouncing off Astra harmlessly. “Look, I’m bulletproof,” she said to her friends, only to see them ducking behind their car. Alam cupped his hands, generating a ball of telekinetic energy and released it, blasting Astra into the air. Next, Mansoor flew into the sky and hovered several feet above them and watched Astra hit the pavement, then she dropped. As Astra got up, Mansoor landed at high velocity, embedding her into the pavement. Astra swatted her off and stood up in time to see Bronson racing toward her, so she tucked her head down and formed a long shield with her arm. “Let’s play a little pinball,” Bronson called out. Alam telekinetically shoved Bronson forward so Astra buffeted herself, swatting Bronson into the air with the shield. Bronson flipped into the air and Mansoor swooped in, catching his hands as she looped around and dropped him. Bronson landed with a flying kick to Astra’s back, knocking her to the ground again. At that point, she began to get angry which made her feel more defensive.

Astra rolled on to her back, then released an elongated spike from her hand, which failed to penetrate Bronson’s invulnerable body. “Sorry luv, must try harder,” he said as he pushed the blade away and struck Astra across the face. It was then that she remembered the recent upgrade she had acquired from the Skaleens. She opened her hand, turning it into a cylindrical form with a barrel, then she raised the canon, energy forming inside the weapon just before she fired, blasting him across the field. As Mansoor flew overhead, Astra turned and fired a shot at her as well, but Alam thought quickly and raised a telekinetic shield to protect her from the blast.

“Wait!,” Kim rushed out, waving her hands, “Astra, put your weapons away!”

“Isn’t this self-defense?,” she asked as the canon dissolved into her hand.

“You attacked us first,” Bronson rejoined the group on the road, no worse for wear.

“She doesn’t understand what’s going on!,” Kim said, “She’s… basically just a day old.”

Mansoor landed next to Astra, “Are you ready to talk, yet?”

“Say yes, Astra,” Wally said, exhausted.

“Yes?,” Astra tilted her head curiously.

Sometime later, the Cloudburst landed on the other side of Ohio, its back hatch opening so that the rented car could be backed out onto a mall parking lot. It was night now so there was plenty of room for the ship. The two groups met by the car. “We’ll look into the alien threat,” Mansoor assured them, “But it’s not wise to travel with her. She will attract attention.”

“I agree,” Wally sighed.

“We’ve already come this far,” Kim said, “She’s saved our lives.”

“Sorry I almost killed you all,” Astra apologized sincerely.

“Happens all the time,” Alam assured her.

“I’ve dropped you off not too far from the state line,” Bronson told them, “Indiana isn’t far off, so that should make up for lost driving time. In the future, do try to make sure Astra doesn’t get herself in trouble.”

“To be fair, you guys kinda landed in the middle of the street,” Wally said snidely, “It was a pretty tense situation. In the future, maybe you could try to -.”

Bronson shot a glare at him but said nothing.

Wally quickly changed his tone, “Let’s just say mistakes were made and leave it at that.”

“We’ll be checking up on you in the future,” Mansoor and the agents retired to the Cloudburst, “Meanwhile, we’ve been instructed to contact Jennifer Sawyer ourselves.”

The three watched the Cloudburst fly off into the distance. “We need to find a hotel and get some rest,” Wally sighed, “This is easily the most stressful day of my life.”

“Mine too,” Astra placed an inquisitive finger on her chin, “Although it’s the first day of my life. I’m wondering if it’ll get more complicated.”

“That’s been my experience,” Kim put an arm around her and lead her in the car, “But we’ll help you out as long as possible.”

Wally got in the passenger seat, “And considering the IMD will be contacting Jennifer Sawyer, I’m not sure we’ll have much of a future anyway.”

The next day, Mary nervously stood in the center of Jennifer Sawyer’s office, clutching her tablet to her chest as if holding on for life. “I-it seems the IMD has contacted us, ma’am,” she pushed her glasses higher on the bridge of her nose, “They want to know… about the lab explosion… and the entity.”

Sawyer sat behind her desk, looking out over the LA skyline, “Tell them the entity was created in my lab so I have every right to claim ownership even if it was created by accident. As for the lab explosion, the official cause was a gas leak according to both the fire department and local police. Any strange occurrences surrounding the event is coincidental and beyond our reach.”

“Ma’am,… they say there might have been extra terrestrial involvement. According to our scientists’ testimonies, they were briefly captured and had to escape.”

“Whoever may or may not be after the entity is not currently our issue. Not until it is in my possession. If anything happens to the two scientists, it will be unfortunate but we’ll have plausible deniability.”

“B-but… um…,” she began sputtering.

“Was is it, Mary?”

“What if, when we get the entity in our possession, we get attacked or… maybe the entity does not want to be in our possession?”

Sawyer shot to her feet, an expression of offense crossing her face, “I have taken precautions. As always.”