Chapter 15: Crisis Averted

Agent Black sat with her back to one of the pink-leaved trees. Agent Monroe was next to her, watching as the sun slowly rose above the eastern horizon. It had been a night of wonder and jubilation. When they had returned from the lake they had each been approached by various races of magical creatures. Nidhogg had danced around the clearing with her with a grace and finesse that had set her heart fluttering.

The strangest part was that they never got tired, which turned out to be due to the Yuccas Fitter. They had danced the night away and played strange games with the leprechauns from thousands of years ago. She couldn’t remember a time when she had enjoyed herself so much. As dawn stained the horizon, she felt a sense of poignant regret that their time was running out.

“I definitely didn’t imagine this assignment turning out like this,” Monroe commented wryly. “I thought we were going to get firmly rebuffed by Rhapsody and spend our time in a cheap hotel trying to get her to accept an apology she knew was made out of fear, rather than sincerity.”

Black snorted a laugh as she tilted her head sideways to look at Monroe. “I’m pretty sure they’ll dock our pay if they find out we’ve just been partying the whole time.”

“I’ll bet we’ve gotten more information than someone from the CIA or FBI would have gotten,” Monroe declared with a smirk. “I’m pretty sure Rhapsody doesn’t need to be able to see our alignment to know if we’re evil bastards. I heard most of the operatives at the CIA are back at the drawing board for covert ops now that their alignment is visible to everyone. I’m not sure how it is at the FBI—they don’t seem to have as many evil bastards in the rank-and-file as the CIA.”

“I would imagine it’s hard to maintain positive alignments when you’re propping up dictatorships throughout the world,” Black noted philosophically. “Regardless of the justification.”

“How much should we tell Burns about what we’ve learned so far?” Monroe asked cautiously. “I feel like revealing the full effects of Yuccas Fitter might not be a good idea—especially the immortality aspect. If they find out Rhapsody has immortality juice, they’ll throw everything they have at getting in here, regardless of how outmatched they are.”

“Yeah, let’s leave Yuccas Fitter out of the report,” Black agreed pensively. “As far as the rest of it, I’m not sure there’s anything else that would trigger some kind of precipitous reaction from the bigshots.”

“Should we check in now?” Black asked reluctantly. “It’s past eight in the morning in Fort Meade right now.”

“Five more minutes,” Monroe begged in a plaintive voice. “Just until the sun comes up all of the way.”

Black laughed ruefully. “Fine. I don’t want the night to end either. I don’t think I’ve ever had so much fun.”

“What was up with Rhapsody suddenly growing over two feet taller?” Monroe asked with an incredulous laugh. “I thought she had an older sister or something when I first saw her.”

“Yeah, me too,” Black smiled at the memory. “I guess if she’s a projection of the world tree, she can appear however she wants.”

“Speaking of projections,” Monroe began with a dreamy smile. “Nidhogg makes a very attractive human.”

“And those elves,” Black commented with a dreamy smile of her own. “I couldn’t understand what the hell they were talking about, but damn if they weren’t hot.”

Monroe laughed, shaking her head slowly. “One of them tried to tell me how the energy of the Earth complemented my chakras in a symbiotic synthesis of fertile inspiration and creative potential. I wasn’t sure if it was a compliment, a pickup line, or a philosophical observation.”

“Yeah, elves are more attractive when they keep their mouths shut,” Black noted with a wry smile. “Declan mentioned that they have festivities like this three or four times a week. Talk about a great place to de-stress and really enjoy life. I still can’t believe we are actually inside the ring and how amazing everything is. It’s going to be hard to return to normal life after experiencing something like this.”

“You’re welcome back any time you like,” Rhapsody informed them as she popped into view in front of them. “You’re our diplomats after all, aren’t you?”

Black jumped in surprise at the unexpected interruption. At Rhapsody’s words, she felt a warm glow of hope spring up in her chest. Maybe this wouldn’t be a one-time event.

“Really?” Monroe asked excitedly. “We could return?”

“Of course,” Rhapsody replied with an affectionate smile. “There’s a new option in your interface under your profile called: Visit Circle. Just focus your intent on that and you’ll be teleported back here. There’s an open slot below that one you can choose to teleport home. You’ll have to think of the place you want your home location to be in order for that slot to have a selectable option.”

“Wow,” Monroe breathed in amazement. “Thank you, Rhapsody.”

“Thank you,” Rhapsody returned with a dimpled smile. “I’m kind of picky about who I’ll let inside of the circle. You are both pure souls with exactly the kind of personality we need in order to hold a cordial dialogue with the governments of the world. I don’t know who picked you two, but they managed to choose the perfect team.”

Black flushed at the compliment, feeling the warmth in her chest spread out and fill her with happiness. Her life at the NSA had grown monotonous over the last few years. She had been contemplating finding a new career path for a few months now. She was glad she had remained—this was exactly the kind of change she needed to make her life more interesting. Hell, maybe she could even find her Mister Right if she wasn’t working late into the night all week long.

“I see you’ve met the trees,” Rhapsody noted with a small smile. “These trees are sentient. They’ve enjoyed having you here with them.”

Black shared a wide-eyed look with Monroe before twisting to look at the tree curiously.

“There’s a neural network that connects the root systems of a cluster of the trees together with a fungus that has integrated with the trees to create a state of sentience,” Rhapsody explained helpfully. “They use something similar to echolocation to see their surroundings. It’s the cluster of trees that makes up a single individual, not the individual trees.”

Monroe was tentatively laying her hand on the bark, her lips parted in wonder as she stared at the beautiful tree.

“You’re more than welcome to come and go as you please,” Rhapsody told them with a friendly smile. “And help yourself to as much Yuccas Fitter as you like. Just don’t take any outside of the circle.”

Black shared a stunned look with Monroe. They were being offered the equivalence of immortality while they were... ‘diplomats’. Monroe was only twenty-six, but Black was starting to feel the years at thirty-four. She felt a thrill of excitement that she would have a chance to rewind her biological clock.

“I’ll leave you two alone now,” Rhapsody told them with a wink. “I have two insatiable fairies to wind up some more.”

Rhapsody vanished as she finished speaking, leaving the two of them in awkward silence.

“So that’s got to be an interesting arrangement,” Monroe commented idly.

“What do you think the deal is with the trauma they were dealing with?” Black asked curiously. “It sounds like her father was working with the CIA in whatever was going on.”

“I was wondering about that too,” Monroe said with a shiver. “Knowing some of the things the CIA has done in the past with medical experimentation makes me think it could have been pretty bad. It sounds like Harnketi did something to her father and his team.”

Black’s phone started ringing before she could continue. She looked at the caller ID and sighed. “Here we go.”

“This is Agent Black,” she answered in her best professional voice.

“Agent Black, I have the President with me,” Burns announced curtly. “Can you give us an update on anything you have learned?”

Black felt a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach. She was on the line with the President? The same asshole that had tried to nuke them? The asshole that had tried to nuke a collection of fantasy creatures who were as far from aggressive as they could hope?

“Yes ma’am,” Black replied, maintaining her professional tone. “We’ve discovered several other species that live here, as well as one species that appears to be from another universe that briefly visited. So far, we have cataloged leprechauns, elves, dragons, mermaids, fairies, fauns, and a forest of trees that are sentient.”

“What can you tell us about this creature that is from another universe?” a voice she assumed was the President asked intently.

“It had the appearance of an angel,” Black answered, glancing at Monroe with a frown as she tried to decide how much she should tell them. “It had wings, glowed with an etheric light, and had a presence that was so intense that we fell to our knees. It’s hard to describe, but it felt like being in the presence of divinity.”

“What did this creature do?” the President asked, a frown in his voice.

“Harmony was having a traumatic incident due to some memories from childhood trauma,” Black answered with a frown of her own. “The angel appeared and comforted her. It told her that she was more amazing than she could possibly understand, and to not let the negativity drag her down. Then it said she was indomitable and to remember that. After that, it vanished.”

“What did it look like?” the President asked, a hint of curiosity in his voice.

“She was tall, with large wings,” Black replied, shivering as she remembered the eyes. “She had a face more beautiful than words can describe and long blonde hair. Her eyes looked like swirling violet galaxies. She was wearing pants and a shirt that seemed tailored to accommodate wings. Harmony said she was from another universe and didn’t serve the creator of this universe.”

“How did Harmony know where this entity was from?” the President asked dubiously.

“She seems to be accessing what Rhapsody called soul memory,” Black responded hesitantly. She felt like she was entering territory where they should start holding information back. “After the angel left, Mystery and Harmony seemed to be trying to remember something that we think was soul memory. Harmony called Mystery by the name of Calypso. Mystery seemed to recognize the name and called Harmony by the name of Aria. That’s when Rhapsody appeared in front of them and told them to stop digging into soul memory. She told them that they didn’t have the kind of souls that could be locked into mortality for very long but that they needed to try to last a little longer because we needed them here. She didn’t say what we needed them for though. Agent Monroe and I think that the three of them might belong to this angel race.”

“Leave the speculation to us, Agent Black,” the President stated firmly. “What else have you discovered. How much longer will they allow you to stay there?”

“We believe that Harnketi, a human who has lived in the ring for over six hundred years and is a magic user, may have done something to Harmony’s father,” Black answered slowly. “Rhapsody said she was hunting but became evasive when asked what she was hunting. Harmony guessed that it was her father, who Rhapsody said was released from prison after a few months due to a backroom deal by the CIA, and that he was working for a pharmaceutical company in India. Harnketi appeared shortly after that. Rhapsody said she wouldn’t have killed him because that would be too merciful.”

The line was silent for thirty seconds in what Black assumed was a hushed conversation with someone in the CIA.

“Did you learn how this Harnketi survived for six-hundred years?” the President asked intently.

Black shared a wary glance with Monroe and told them about Rhapsody bringing Harnketi back from the dead and turning her into a Baykok until a few days ago.

“We don’t know what a Baykok is though,” Black finished her explanation. “But it seems like she wasn’t human for most of that time.”

“What is your current opinion on the temperament and threat assessment of this Rhapsody entity toward the United States government?” the President asked carefully.

“I don’t think she thinks about it at all, from what we can tell,” Black answered, feeling a sense of satisfaction at what she imagined was a metaphorically emasculating statement to the previously most powerful person on the planet. “All of her attention seems to be on the former humans she is raising to world trees.”

“How much longer will she allow you to remain inside of the ring?” the President asked in a voice that showed a hint of irritation.

“She modified our interfaces and added a teleport feature that would allow us to teleport inside whenever we want,” Black revealed, fighting to keep a smile from appearing on her face. Monroe smiled enough for both of them. “She said she has accepted us as diplomats for the world governments.”

There was silence again for almost a minute this time. When they returned, the President’s voice was cold.

“You will speak with Rhapsody again and request that she accept a new diplomat that we appoint,” the President instructed her firmly.

“Yes sir,” Black replied, a small smile appearing on her face. She knew Rhapsody wouldn’t accept a different diplomat.

“What have you learned about this Creator of the universe that is supposedly residing in the ring?” the President asked doubtfully.

There was the sound of sudden shouting from the other end of the line, then silence. A moment later, they heard a voice that sent chills down their spines.

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“I understand you wish to know more about me, President of the United States of America,” the voice that spoke shook Black to her core. It was filled with an undercurrent of power that reverberated in her soul, leaving her with a ringing in her ears as She finished.

“Speak, President, what is it you wish to know?” the voice thundered in her soul.

“What kind of demon are you?” the President demanded in a shaky voice. “In Jesus name I abjure you!”

“How tiresome,” the voice sighed tiredly. “You are going to go on a journey with me now, President.”

The line went silent for several seconds before shouts could be heard as the Secret Service panicked. Black could imagine the chaos as the President vanished, leaving all the security forces scrambling to try and figure out how to handle a threat that could teleport a person far away.

“Do you think the call is over?” Black asked Monroe hesitantly, fighting to keep a smile from her face.

Monroe wasn’t trying to keep the smile off her face at all. “I feel like they’ll call us back if they have any more questions.”

Black nodded and pressed the end call button. She felt an almost irresistible urge to laugh hysterically as she stared over at Monroe’s grinning face.

“Well, I suppose he’s the first president to meet the Creator while still alive,” Black noted thoughtfully. “Maybe even the first world leader.”

“If She’s the creator of all of the worlds in this universe, I would imagine someone like the President ranks pretty low on her importance meter,” Monroe commented musingly. “I wonder what kind of journey She’s going to take him on, and what he’ll be like when he returns.”

Her phone started ringing again. With a sigh, she answered it.

“Agent Black speaking,” she said quickly.

“Where did She take the President?” Burns demanded in a mixture of anxiety and anger.

“I have no idea,” Black answered honestly. “She’s the creator of the whole universe, so She might have taken him anywhere. They could be in a completely different galaxy for all I know.”

“Ask Rhapsody if she can find him,” Burns demanded, her voice just shy of panic.

“Rhapsody is the world tree of a single planet in this universe,” Black pointed out reasonably. “I can ask her, but I’m not sure how much she’ll be able to do about locating the Creator of the universe.”

“I seriously doubt She is the creator of the universe,” Burns stated with skepticism heavy in her tone.

“I would be careful how loud you say that,” Black warned with a smirk at Monroe. “Unless you want to go on a journey as well. I say that in all seriousness, ma’am.”

There was a pause on the line before Burns spoke again. “Find Rhapsody and ask her to locate the President. There are going to be nukes...”

She broke off as she seemed to remember there were no more nukes in the world. She started over, her tone growing more erratic.

“If we don’t get the President back, I can guarantee that there is going to be more fire power than that ring can withstand raining down on it before the day is over,” Burns snapped threateningly.

“Special Agent Burns,” Black began, feeling like she was dealing with children. “I would remind you that Rhapsody will not fight with soldiers and generals. She will come directly for those responsible for any orders that would lead to an altercation like you’re describing. I know you’re anxious about the President, but please think with a clear head. With everything you know about Rhapsody, how do you think an overwhelming show of force will turn out? I will also remind you that the person who has taken the President is unaffiliated with Rhapsody.”

“It doesn’t matter how clearheaded I am,” Burns growled in irritation. “It’s the people still in charge that will be making these decisions, and they won’t be clearheaded. I suggest you use any rapport you have forged with Rhapsody and ask for her help in locating the President.”

“She’s not in the ring right now,” Black responded awkwardly. “But as soon as she returns, we’ll ask her for help.”

“Where is she?” Burns demanded, her voice fraying.

“She teleported away with Harmony and Mystery,” Black replied with a wince, hoping they didn’t guess where they were. “We don’t know where they went.”

“Goddammit,” Burns burst out in frustration. “What about the other magical creatures in the ring? Someone there must have a way of contacting her.”

“I’ll see what I can do, ma’am,” Black replied without a lot of confidence. If this was what being a diplomat was like, she wasn’t sure she wanted the job. Well... just not a diplomat for anywhere else. She could stomach the bureaucratic nonsense for the opportunity to stay in the ring.

“Call me as soon as you learn anything,” Burns rasped before hanging up.

“Well, that could have gone worse,” Monroe observed with a rueful shake of her head.

“How could it have gone worse?” Black asked dryly.

“She might have just killed him,” Monroe pointed out with a smirk. “Isn’t that what the god of the Old Testament would have done to someone calling him a demon?”

“Good point,” Black admitted with a snort of laughter. “I never really cared about the afterlife before, but I’m definitely getting more curious since discovering the Creator is real.”

“Should we go find Taxti?” Monro asked suggestively. “She would probably know how to find Rhapsody.”

“Oh, I know where Rhapsody is,” Black laughed humorlessly. “I’m just not willing to interrupt her right now. I’m not going to be the person to interrupt someone with godlike powers when they’re in the middle of an... intimate moment.”

“Intimate moment?” Monroe repeated in amusement. “Is that your way of saying she’s having wild sex with two other people?”

Black flushed at Monroe’s description and shook her head resignedly. “I just don’t want to say it like that when I know she hears everything we say.”

Monroe blinked, then laughed nervously. “Yeah, good point.”

Black stood up and stretched, glancing at the sun that was well above the horizon now. “Let’s go ask Taxti if she has any suggestions regarding the President. I’m guessing the Creator will return him whenever She’s done giving him a life lesson and this will all be a moot point.”

“Good point,” Monroe agreed as she stood up as well. “Maybe we’ll come across another Yuccas Fitter tree on the way. I think I’m an addict.”

“Definitely,” Black grinned, feeling suddenly lighter as they began walking toward Yggdrasil. “And I want to shed a decade while I’ve got the chance.”

They passed another unicorn as they left the pink-leaved sentient trees. It took every bit of restraint Black had to stop herself from taking a picture with her phone. She didn’t want to abuse Rhapsody’s hospitality. She didn’t really have anyone to share the picture with anyway. Working at the NSA made it difficult to have a personal life where she could find a romantic interest. Between the late nights and the constant scrutiny of romantic interests to prevent any kind of infiltration attempts, love wasn’t easy to find.

Her parents had passed away over a decade ago in a train derailment accident. They had been waiting at the railroad crossing when the train had derailed and crushed their car. She had been an only child, as had both of her parents. She had a grandmother that was in a care home with dementia that she visited every month or two, but they had never been close.

“You have any family waiting for you?” Black asked Monroe curiously.

“Nope,” Monroe replied in a tone that shut any further questions down.

“Sorry,” Black apologized, feeling a moment of regret at prying.

“It’s fine,” Monroe replied with a sigh. “I come from a family of jackals. Every last one of them would happily rob you blind, then come back and rob you deaf as well. My brother tried to convince me he was dying and needed a kidney so that he could sell my kidney on the black market. He was so stupid that he didn’t realize how easy it would be for me to find out that he was lying. My sister tried to play the suicidal drama game and tell me that if I wouldn’t loan her money, she was going to kill herself. I fell for it for a few years. They learned most of that behavior from my parents. I would rather think of myself as an orphan than be related to those jackasses.”

“Ouch, that’s harsh,” Black winced sympathetically. “I guess it goes back to what Rhapsody was saying about young souls being selfish.”

“Do you think that means we’ve been through an incarnation or two?” Monroe asked curiously. “Not to toot my own horn, but I’ve always been more selfless and empathetic than your average person, as far as my subjective judgement can be trusted.”

“I was wondering the same thing,” Black said with an easy smile. “I definitely feel like an older soul. Life just feels kind of heavy to me, like I’ve experienced more of it than could be explained by three decades of life.”

“Yeah, exactly that,” Monroe nodded her agreement. “I wonder just how many times older souls like Harmony and Rhapsody have incarnated.”

“Thousands,” Declan answered, walking out from behind a tree ahead of them. “Possibly millions. Are you two looking for anyone in particular?”

“Yes, as it happens,” Black nodded with a nervous smile. “Our boss ordered us to find Rhapsody and enlist her help in finding out where the Creator took the President. I’m pretty sure I know where Rhapsody is and have no intention of interrupting her, so I thought we would ask one of you for any kind of input you might have regarding what the Creator might do with the President and whether he will be returned.”

“What did he say that earned him the Creator’s ire?” Declan asked with a look of amusement. He stood with his thumbs tucked behind a huge belt buckle that looked oddly out of place with his clothes. Maybe it was a cultural accoutrement?

“He asked her what kind of demon She was and then said in the name of Jesus, I abjure thee,” Black answered with a hint of humor sneaking into her voice. “She said She was going to take him on a journey.”

“Ah, a spirit journey,” Declan nodded sagely. “He’ll be gone for a few days then. He’ll either have a very different outlook on life when he returns, or he’ll go mad.”

“Oh,” Black frowned, sharing a look with Monroe. Would that be good enough for Burns? Or would they start making demands that Rhapsody hunt the Creator down and bring him back?

“Are these spirit journeys a common thing?” Monroe asked curiously, shifting her weight as she studied Declan intently.

“Aye, that they are,” Declan nodded, pursing his lips thoughtfully. “They usually aren’t carried out by the Creator personally, but it’s happened before.”

“Did you hear our phone call with the President?” Black asked hesitantly. She had a feeling that he had.

“As it happens, I did,” Declan nodded with a grin. “Your intuition is strong.”

“Any advice on what we should tell them to keep them from doing something stupid?” Black asked hopefully.

“I feel like you did a good job explaining that Rhapsody won’t be coming after soldiers if they launch a full-scale attack,” Declan replied with a chuckle. “You weren’t wrong either. She’ll pay them all a visit if they start doing things that will get regular people hurt. You might just reiterate that they’ll be getting a visit if they do anything stupid. Samantha already knows that, and I’m sure she’s made that very clear to them. I’m guessing a few examples will have to be made before it sinks in though. Either that, or Rhapsody may just visit them all in a dream and put the fear of the light into them.”

“Thanks, Declan,” Black smiled gratefully. She wasn’t sure what it was, but he felt almost like a father figure.

“Any time, Shelley,” Declan replied with a friendly smile. “I’ll just add that while the Creator of this universe is powerful beyond our ability to comprehend, She doesn’t hold a candle to what Rhapsody can do. She could snuff this universe out with a thought. Keep that in mind while talking with your superiors.”

Black felt an involuntary shiver at Declan’s words. Just what was Rhapsody? Who was this angel race that was visiting this universe and why were they here?

Monroe shared an awed look with her, the same questions clearly going through her head. She felt far out of her depth as she swam in turbulent waters with hidden reefs all around them.

“There’s a Yuccas Fitter tree over there, if you fancy some breakfast before you call Samantha back,” Declan nodded to their right.

Black’s eyes lit up at the sight of the tree. She gave Declan a grateful smile before moving toward the magical tree.

“I went skydiving once a few years ago,” Monroe told her as they walked toward the glorious red fruit. “The primary canopy failed to deploy. I thought I was a goner when I couldn’t get the backup canopy to work. There was an automatic activation device on it that deployed the backup canopy when I reached a certain altitude while still in freefall. Right now, it feels like the moment I realized my primary canopy wouldn’t deploy. I knew I still had the backup, but I was still scared shitless that I was going to be a splotch on the ground.”

Black winced at the thought. “I’m terrified of heights. I think I would have had a heart attack.”

“I’m just a little afraid of heights now too,” Monroe admitted with a rueful laugh. “Or more accurately, I’m afraid of the ground when I’m up high.”

Black inhaled the floral scent of the Yuccas Fitter tree as they arrived under its branches. She pulled one of the large fruits off the tree and twisted the stem. With a grin at Monroe, she tipped it back and drank deeply, letting out a moan of pleasure as her taste buds exploded.

She felt an immediate rush of energy as ethereal energy flooded her system. She remembered feeling like she had shed ten years the first time she drank a Yuccas Fitter. The sensation was even more pronounced this time. She laughed exuberantly as she felt her body grow lighter. Her mood immediately improved, her stress levels plummeting as the magical fruit filled her with an indescribable happiness.

She noticed her species changed from Human to Immortal Entity after drinking the fruit.

“Monroe, look at your species tag,” Black told her partner excitedly.

Monroe gasped as she saw the species change. “Holy crap, we really do become immortal for a while.”

“That sounds like an oxymoron,” Black noted with a chuckle.

“Yes, yes it does,” Monroe agreed with a wry grin. “I guess we’re invulnerable for a while. It’s seven AM. Let’s see when that tag changes back to Human so that we know how long this stuff lasts.”

“Good idea,” Black congratulated her admiringly. “I love what it does to our eyes.”

“Right?” Monroe agreed with a bright smile. “Your irises are huge.”

“Okay, now I feel up to a call with Burns,” Black declared in a confident voice.

Monroe nodded her agreement as Black pulled out her phone and called their boss. She blinked when she noticed her battery was still at full. Did Rhapsody give them everlasting batteries as well?

“Tell me you have good news,” Burns asked in a tired voice.

“Sort of,” Black responded carefully. “We talked with the king of the leprechauns, and he said this was called a spirit journey and usually lasted for a couple of days.”

“I’m afraid that’s not good enough, Black,” Burns sighed, frustration clear in her voice. “We need him returned immediately. There is already a strike team headed your way. I suggest you use your teleport ability and get out of there now.”

“Declan told us to reiterate that it wouldn’t be the soldiers Rhapsody goes after,” Black warned gravely. “I’m not sure what you can do to convince them of how outclassed they are, but they are all going to be getting a visit in the near future if they don’t stand down.”

“I made that very clear,” Burns growled in frustration. “It’s not penetrating their heads. The Vice President is getting sidelined by the cabinet. The Secretary of Defense has made the claim that there is no evidence the President has been abducted, so the VP doesn’t have authority over him. The Attorney General is bottlenecking the legal process as well, claiming they don’t have enough evidence to enact the twenty-fifth amendment. The Speaker of the House has declared the whole thing as a national security crisis that requires congressional oversight and is refusing to recognize the Vice President without a formal certification, which the Attorney General is delaying. We’re essentially at war with Rhapsody right now.”

“Well, I guess it was nice knowing them,” Black muttered darkly. “We were told that Rhapsody could snuff our universe out with a thought, and I believe it. I would--.”

“Hello, Samantha,” Rhapsody’s voice could be heard from the other end of the phone. “Let’s have a talk with the other cabinet members, shall we?”

Black shared a startled look with Monroe and a moment later they heard cries of surprise and terror.

“Gentlemen, or whatever you are, I’m afraid there’s been a misunderstanding,” Rhapsody’s voice declared in a cheerful tone. “You are operating under the assumption that you have some kind of authority over me. I want to make it abundantly clear that your continued existence is at my pleasure. You will call off all hostilities immediately. If you fail to do so, you will be sent to a world where your poor judgement can’t harm other people. It’s a nice world, with all the food you need growing on trees in the wild. The weather’s always nice and the water is clean. You may even come to enjoy being marooned on that world in time. You have five minutes to make your choice before I start making choices for you.”

The line went silent. Agent Black stared at her phone uncertainly, wishing she could see what was going on.

“Are you still there, Special Agent Burns?” Black asked tentatively.

She was met with an explosive breath. “Okay, I guess there isn’t going to be a war after all,” Burns breathed in an awed voice. “You didn’t tell me it felt like being in a room with a god when you spoke with Rhapsody.”

“It doesn’t, normally,” Black replied slowly. “I’ve only felt that presence when the angel, Emily, visited Harmony. I think we mentioned that we think Rhapsody is one of those angels though.”

“I’ll talk with you more later,” Burns told them quickly, disconnecting the call.

“Well, that’s that,” Monroe said in amusement. “Crisis averted.”

“I guess so,” Black agreed, feeling like her backup canopy had just deployed.