The Immortal was the first to feel the vibration on his wrist. It wasn't loud, but it was persistent enough to break his focus mid-conversation. He glanced down at the bracelet, the signal flashing in a steady rhythm signaling trouble that couldn't be ignored.
Red Rush noticed it a fraction of a second later as he was close by with his fellow hero. Right now they wore their superhero suits while collecting some macha coffee, it was a quick refreshment to keep them going in this stressful life.
"What is it?" he asked, already moving before the question fully left his mouth.
The Immortal didn't answer immediately. He tapped the communicator and opened a channel, his expression turning serious. "GDA, this is Immortal. What's the situation?"
A brief pause followed before Donald's voice came through, slightly distorted but clear enough. "Stand by, patching you through to Cecil."
Red Rush crossed his arms, though his posture remained alert and ready for anything they might hear. "If it's urgent enough to ping both of us, it's not something small to say the least, hopefully it's easy enough to deal with...right Immortal man?"
The Immortal nodded faintly but said nothing; he didn't want to entertain red rushes care freeness right now. He waited patiently for the other side to respond as they moved through the streets.
Then Cecil's voice came in, calm but carrying weight behind it. "Immortal, Red Rush…we've detected an unidentified object entering the planet's atmosphere. High velocity, no clear trajectory. Stay on guard in case anything happens."
Red Rush frowned slightly, asking, "You don't know what it is?"
"If I did, I would have told you already, like wise thats why it's said UNIDENTIFIED," Cecil replied bluntly. "Sigh, just be ready ok, we have to make sure we can respond to anything within a minute, no matter where it is."
The line went quiet after that, with Cecil ending the transmission. For a moment, neither of them moved as they stared at each other, wondering what to do next. Splitting up was an option, but that would put them a distance away from each other.
After making up their minds, they split as Red Rush, rushed to the streets, and began scanning the whole country, while Immortal had a better view from high up, watching carefully.
Red Rush tilted his head slightly, listening and feeling for anything out of place, including any vibrations of something moving superfast, he shook his head syaing "I'm not picking up anything nearby."
"Neither am I," The Immortal said, though his eyes scanned the skyline regardless. "But if something came in from space at that speed…I don't think even we can keep up with it"
"Ehhh, you are talking about yourself, right?" Red Rushed remarked his statement as he chuckled. Immortal could only remain silent as he knew what his partner was trying to do, but this still made him chuckle to himself.
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Inside the GDA headquarters, the atmosphere was anything but calm.
Operators moved between terminals, eyes glued to screens as data streamed rapidly. One of them replayed the satellite footage again and again, slowing it down frame by frame, but the results didn't change, even the frames showed only 1 blurry person before they disappeared.
Donald stood near the central console, arms slightly tense at his sides. "Any updates?" he asked the operator, who was slowly losing hope.
"No, sir," one of the analysts replied. "Whatever it was… it already passed through, our systems can't keep up with this thing."
Donald frowned as he pushed her aside and checked the screen himself, saying, "Passed through, you say? Are you sure?"
Before the analyst could respond, Cecil's voice echoed from behind him as he said: "Meaning it's already gone, Donald, no need to act as if there's something we're missing."
Donald turned as Cecil stepped into the room. He was gone before to attend to other matters, but now he was back to take the lead, which made Donald breathe in relief.
This role wasnt really cut out for him, as sometimes even he was faced with decisions he wasn't confident in solving. Cecil maintained his usual composed demeanor, unlike the shaky Donald, though there was a slight tightness in his expression, and it was even more evident by the way his scars contracted together. "It entered…then exited?" Donald asked confused.
"That's what it looks like," Cecil said as he walked toward the main screen. "However thats, good, we dont want any trouble right now with aliens, not when there's a lot on our plate here on Earth."
Donald exhaled quietly and asked, "Should I keep the Guardians on standby?"
Cecil stared at the frozen frame on the screen, the faint distortion left behind from whatever had entered the atmosphere as it came and left. It didn't even bother sticking around, which Cecil found suspicious.
For a brief moment, he said nothing, only processing what was on his mind currently, and ran a hand through his hair smothing it out as he spoke "No. Call it off."
Donald blinked, "Sir?"
"It's already gone, Donald, you can calm down," Cecil repeated. "No point keeping them on edge for nothing, at least now we know that our systems in place are functioning the way we intend them to, good job everyone."
Donald then nodded, accepting the praise. He replied while grabbing a device, "Understood." He turned and opened the channel again. "Immortal, Red Rush, stand down. Situation's been cleared—the intruder has already left the planet."
"That's it? Just like that?" Red Rush's voice came through
"Yeah," Donald replied. "You're clear."
The line cut shortly after, with nothing else to say to them. Around the room, the tension eased slightly; everyone felt happy that the intruder had left the planet. A few operators leaned back in their chairs, others stretched, the immediate pressure fading now that there was no active threat.