Chapter 35

"Are you ready to transmit?" Robert said of Nell as he set up the camera in the Control Room.

"Ready when you are," Nell answered as he adjusted his mask and hair.

"I can't believe we didn't think of this the first time; have you decided what you're going to say?" Robert inquired.

"I'll speak from the heart, and make sure Maryland understands that I'm not King Owl, but I intend to carry on his mission," Nell said, and Robert nodded as he finished hacking into broadcast signals to ensure that this message was seen on every TV, computer, laptop, tablet, and smartphone in Maryland.

"All right, and we'll be live in five, four, three, two, one," Robert stated as he directed the camera towards Kid Owl to begin.

"What's going on?" Jacob said as he entered the Vulture's command center to discover the office in disarray.

Marcus replied, "Sir, some weird signal is taking over the airwaves," just as a recognizable symbol appeared on the displays.

"What the heck is going on?" Jacob raged.

"It appears like King Owl is proclaiming his return," Marcus added, seeing that the Owl sign was now in red.

The sign then altered to reveal the child who had saved Caleb the night before.

"Hello, Marylanders; I know you all think I'm King Owl, but you're mistaken. The Vulture's do their best to protect us in his absence, but it has become clear that they may not be enough against certain threats to our state. That is why, as of now, I am pledging myself to pick up where King Owl left off and help put our state back together. My name is Kid Owl "Kid Owl said this just as the message faded away and the screens returned to normal.

"What in the world was that?" Jacob wondered.

"It appeared like someone discovered King Owl's old stuff and is attempting to start up where he left off," Marcus explained.

"Sir, there's a chance this is just another faker attempting to whip up the city," Samuel, another Vulture, remarked.

"I don't think so, given that they had the ability to break into the system.

I believe this one could be legitimately broadcast over all of Maryland's airwaves "Caleb stated.

"In any case, we're not going to let this want tobe run around Maryland, giving people the impression that they can't trust the branches of law enforcement; we need to find this Kid Owl and lock him up before Maryland starts shining that light again," Jacob said, and Marcus had to fight the urge to grunt his displeasure at his boss's attitude.

Despite his personal reservations, he answered, "Yes, sir." "All right, let's go to work," Jacob remarked.

"Nice speech," Robert observed as the transmission came to a close.

"Please tell me you're going to upload it to YouTube," Nell inquired. "Of course," Luke replied, "and who knows, maybe Microsoft X will see it."

"Perhaps, but now that this is done, I need to go do some desecration," Nell replied as he proceeded to remove his suit.

"You're being far too casual about it," Robert observed. "I need to make sure Jacob understands the truth," Nell explained.

"Actually, before you do that, there's something more you should see," Robert explained.

"All right, what?" Nell inquired.

"I was checking through records to see if there were any other distinguishable differences between this corrupted stanza and the primary one, and I found this," Robert explained as he produced a newspaper article from his pocket for Nell to read.

"Wait, Robert, this also states they never located Ruby's body," Nell remarked.

"Yep, and you can confirm it by looking through your double's memories," Robert continued, "and I'll give you one guess as to what was used to decide that Ruby died in the crash."

"Bone fragments. I'm guessing they found these in the same spot they found the bone fragments supposed to be Kayla Beth Nichole?" Nell inquired.

"Yep," Robert agreed.

"So, it appears that Microsoft X did me a favor by sending me to this universe, because there's a chance Ruby is still alive," Nell explained.

"Nell, keep in mind that even if Ruby is still alive, there's no telling what kind of shape she's in. After all, what if she's like Nichole? Microsoft X and her may have been together, but he's probably accepted her Lady of the Lake in the Central Verse. We can't keep chasing for her, her death caused Microsoft X to leave us for years and let crime spike," Robert said.

"Then I'll cope with it; he was there for me when I had no one for two years, and Robert, what if this was someone you loved we were talking about?" Nell questioned, and Robert sighed.

"That's a cheap shot, Nell," Robert replied.

"I know, but Robert, I now have an opportunity to reassemble his entire family, even if it means incarcerating at least one of them in Microsoft's Data Asylum. Wouldn't you do the same if it was your family?" Nell questioned.

"I would, and I'm not saying you shouldn't look into it; I just want to make sure you're ready to deal with whoever or whatever you find; this isn't your life you're trying to fix; it's Microsoft X's in both verses, maybe in all verses; but remember you are his ally, even if you are his friend; what if one day he changes with even you?" Robert said.

"I appreciate it, but Robert, I'm good; none of that would ever happen; I just need answers to repair everything," Nell remarked.

"All right, you collect the bones, and I'll run the tests," Robert replied, as Nell nodded.

"All right," Nell responded, trying not to sound very optimistic at the thought of reuniting with his closest friends' families. Fixing this will benefit not only this world, but also maybe his world.