SG-1

Despite the introduction of Omega Red as the new substitute teacher, the next few weeks at Hawkins Middle School were rather uneventful. Papa Smurf didn’t return to school for several days, but when he did, the bullying had stopped, and instead he gradually developed himself as a different kind of menace altogether: a womanizer. For Zuko and his friends that didn’t matter much: they were no longer the target of his bullying, and Wanda was outside his range of interests where the opposite sex was concerned.
Still, their new teacher was doing things very differently compared to other teachers and his methods took some getting used to. There also was some distrust concerning his nationality. It was the middle of the Cold War after all, and the Soviet Union was anything but popular in the world. The childrens’ parents distrusted the Russian teacher and projected that distrust on their children. But Omega Red proved to be a strict teacher who prided both discipline and results. But at the same time he was also a fair teacher and quickly won over most of the students, despite the feelings of distrust going around.

Zuko wouldn’t have any of it and called for another group meeting, this time at school, in the currently empty gym. There wouldn’t be another class for the rest of the day so they had the room to themselves; it was a better alternative to their usual meeting spot, which was outside, but rainy weather made that less than ideal.

“All right, glad that you could all make it,” Zuko said, “We’re here to discuss our substitute teacher, Omega Red.”

“We are not all here,” Wanda corrected, “The Joker is not here; he didn’t come.”

“That’s another situation, something we need to discuss another time,” Zuko replied.

“And what about them?” Gaston asked, gesturing at the two Lannister siblings, “Why are they here?”

“A common cause,” Zuko said, “But we’ll get to that in a moment. Is it clear to everyone why we’re here?”

“You think Omega Red is a Russian spy,” Anakin said, and from the tone of his voice, he didn’t sound too convinced of that, “And you want to unmask him.”

“Exactly,” Zuko replied, not catching on to Anakin’s tone of voice, “For a while now I’ve suspected Omega Red, and I want to uncover the truth of it all.”

“The brat is correct,” Jaime Lannister said, “Omega Red is a Russian spy. I’ve seen the evidence of it with my own two eyes.”

“And my brother never lies,” Cersei added.

“Yes, yes,” Zuko said, “We’ll get to that in just a minute; but first I want to lay out my own reasons for suspecting our teacher, tell you why we’re here.”

“This ought to be good,” Gaston commented; he didn’t believe anything of Zuko’s claim at all, and considered their presence here a waste of time. 

“Quiet, Gaston,” Wanda hushed, “Tell us then, Zuko.”

“It was a few days ago,” Zuko began, “I was still at school, because, you know, I had detention so I needed to stay after class with the school caretaker. But after I was released, I got sidetracked; and I caught Omega Red; I heard him speak Russian.”

“You heard our teacher from Russia speak Russian?” Gaston taunted, “What a shocker. Well, I’ve got news for you, Zuko: My mom speaks French!”

“I know,” Zuko replied.

“That’s enough of that, Gaston,” Wanda scolded again, then turned to Zuko again: “But I have to agree with Gaston on this one, Zuko; speaking Russian is hardly anything substantial.”

“I know,” Zuko said, “But here’s the deal: I speak Russian as well.”

Gaston made a mock gasp. “You do?” He said, “Then you must be a Russian spy!”

“Gaston…” Wanda sighed.

“I took some Russian classes the last few years,” Zuko went on, “It was my mother’s idea. She thought we would be invaded by Russians before the turn of the century, so figured it would be a good skill to have; my point is: I could understand what he said.”

“And what did he say?” Jaime Lannister asked.

“He was talking to someone I couldn’t see,” Zuko said, “Said the base was nearly complete, and that they had already started to break open the dark lands.”

“That doesn’t seem to make much sense,” Wanda said, “But the bit of a base does sound worrying. Are you sure that’s what he said?”

Zuko nodded: “I am. I may have misinterpreted some words, or maybe I didn’t catch the exact proper meaning. But of that word I’m sure.”

“Then what does it mean?” Cersei asked, “Do the Russians really have something going on here? In Hawkins?”

“It could be an advance base for something larger,” Jaimie guessed, “Or maybe it is a major spy operation; there’s some important industrial areas in the next state.”

“But then wouldn’t they be in that state?” Zuko said, “It makes no sense for them to be here.”

“Assuming there is a them, not a single person,” Jaimie pointed out.

“The mention of a base seems to indicate that,” Anakin deduced, “Maybe they’re testing some sort of secret weapon; or a nerve gas.”

“But how do they get that here?” Cersei asked, “Or are they producing it here? Somewhere in the woods?”

“Oh for crying out loud!” Gaston suddenly shouted, ending the whole discussion, “The Shadow Realm! They’re after the Shadow Realm!”

“Of course,” Zuko agreed, “Dark Lands. I might have mistranslated; both words could be interpreted differently, and then it would literally mean Shadow Realm. Why didn’t I think of that until now?”

“It’s only been upsetting our lives for two years,” Gaston grumbled.

“So the Shadow Realm again,” Anakin said, “But the gateway is closed.”

“What is a Shadow Realm?” Cersei asked.

They took a moment to bring the two Lannisters up to speed with whatever had happened the last two years, telling them the whole story, incredible as it sounded. The twin siblings were skeptical, but went along with it for now. 

“So the Shadow Realm again,” Gaston said, “So, more monsters?”

“But the Shadow Realm is sealed, as Anakin pointed out,” Zuko said, “And there is no way to open it; is there?”

“The rift was opened more or less by accident by Frieza during an experiment,” Wanda said, “And Frieza is no longer here. So that won’t work.”

“There is another way,” Anakin said almost immediately, “What if the same force that could close the rift could also reopen it? Or create a new passage?”

“You talk about your own power,” Wanda guessed, “So the Russians would be here for you then?”

“I don’t think that either,” Zuko said, “Or they would have grabbed Anakin and be done with it; no, there is something more complicated to it than that.”

“A set of conditions that need to be met perhaps?” Anakin guessed.

“Wait…has anyone seen my sister?” Jaime asked suddenly; the woman had been there with them before, but she had wandered off moments ago, even he didn’t know where. And it caused him concern. 

They looked about the room, their discussion over for now as they attempted to find Jaime’s sister. Then finally, she appeared from the hallway, calling out to him: “Over here, brother. I think I have found something.”

“What is it, sister?” Jaime asked as he approached her; the others followed as well, struck with curiosity. 

“I figured we could be speculating all we wanted about this whole situation,” she said, “Or we could find some sort of evidence to back our claim; and I might have something. With me!”

They followed her out of the gym and through the school building which was already becoming more empty, given the hour was getting late in the afternoon. She brought them to an office at the far end of a hallway, which was empty and rather lacking in decoration. “Omega Red’s office,” she announced.

“That is bold,” Anakin said, “If we don’t find any proof here, this could really get us in trouble.”

“I am already ahead of you,” Cersei said, “Look out the window.”

“What good would observing the weather do here?” Jaime asked.

“Not the sky, down below, doofus,” Cersei scolded, “Omega Red specifically requested this office, I heard; so I figured there would have been a reason for that.”

“How did you know that?” Zuko asked.

Cersei smiled slyly: “A girl has her sources and her ways.”

Anakin made his way to the window, peering outside and to the grounds below, looking for anything suspicious. “And, Anakin?” Zuko asked, “Do you see anything?”

“Nothing,” Anakin said, “All I can see are the main entrance and the courtyard. There’s nothing special out there.”

“Then why would Omega Red ask for this office specifically?” Cersei asked herself, “Surely there must be some kind of reason, right?”

“Perhaps he wanted an overview of the main entrance,” Jaime suggested, “See who’s arriving at the school grounds and such?”

“Or perhaps the answer isn’t found outside, but rather inside this office,” Anakin proposed, moving away from the window, “Anything in here that seems off?”

“Nothing at first glance,” Wandy said, surveying the room, “Just that our teacher seems to have a boring taste in decorating. Almost nothing personal, just general paintings and a few sculptures. Well, all except for that one.” she pointed at a small bust on Omega Red’s desk, representing Gorbachev, the new president of the Soviet Union. It was the only patriotic symbol in the room, perhaps Omega Red was proud of his motherland after all.

“Just because it ugly doesn’t mean it’s suspicious,” Gaston said, walking up to the bust and observing it from a close distance, “But if it makes you feel better, I can accidentally drop it out of the window if you like.”

“No, don’t!” Wanda said hurriedly, “Don’t break it!”

“Why not?” Gaston asked, “He’ll probably notice, but he’ll never know it was me.”

“You’ve got a hunch, don’t you?” Zuko asked, “What is it, Wanda?”

“That bust is of Gorbachev, the new president of the Soviet Union; he took up the position only this year,” Wanda said.

“So? It’s a new bust and not an old model then,” Gaston commented.

“Gorbachev is a symbol of renewal to many in the old Soviet Union,” Wanda said, “Of change but whispers also call him the lord of shadows. It can’t be that this bust is here just because, it has to have some kind of meaning.” 

“Because a symbol of renewal and fresh starts wouldn’t make sense to a guy who has left the old Soviet Union behind to start a new life and career as a teacher in America,” Jaime said, the sarcasm was obvious. 

“Of course, of course,” Wanda said, as she continued to observe the bust, “But that’s not it, there’s more to it, I feel it. Gaston! The nose!”

“Pardon?” Gaston asked. 

“Press Gorbachev’s nose!” Wanda pressed, “It’s a symbol for release!”

“No it isn’t!” Zuko protested. But Gaston had already pressed the nose.

For a second nothing happened. Gaston opened his mouth to say something, but then the heavy mahogany desk began to vibrate and move, shoving to the side. From the floor below, a massive cabinet arose, from a solid metal of some sort, with a single opening. Then again the room was quiet as all stared in disbelief at what had just happened. “What the actual fuck?” Gaston shouted, uttering the F-Word for the first time since this story began.

“An elevator,” Anakin realized, “Hidden in the teacher’s office.”

“I’ll be damned,” Gaston said, “Something is going on after all.”

“So what do we do now?” Cersei asked, “Inform the authorities?”

“We don’t know who is bought and who is not, now that the Russians are involved,” Gaston said, and stepped inside the mysterious elevator, “Besides, we don’t know yet what is going on.”

“You can’t be serious,” Zuko said.

“Dead serious,” Gaston grinned.

“The dead part is what I’m afraid of,” Zuko sighed. But he got in the elevator as well; then the others joined him as well. It was a tight fit, but they all managed to squeeze inside. “Now what?” Zuko asked, “Is there an activation switch or something?”

“I won’t press the nose again,” Gaston protested.

“Hang on,” Anakin said, spotting something on the wall and touching it, “I think I’ve found it…”

The response was almost instantaneous: The doors of the mysterious elevator closed and the cabinet disappeared into the floor again, yet not as slow as it had emerged, but rather at an incredible speed, forcing everybody to hold on to the walls to keep their balance.
Despite the intense speed, the ride down seemed to take forever, at least over a minute. Then the elevator slowed down and came to a more gradual stop. The doors opened again, revealing an underground passageway that seemed modern and militaristic. 

“This is below our school?” Jaime said, “I always knew the education system was corrupt.”

“This isn’t part of the school anymore, Jaime,” Wanda said, “But it is amazing that this is down here, hidden right underneath our noses. What do you think the purpose of this place is?”

“Invasion,” Gaston said resolutely, “This is huge; much too large for a simple spying operation.”

“Do we go back now?” Cersei asked, “Or press on?”

“We go further,” Zuko said, “Whatever this place is, there aren’t a lot of people here; we have a chance to snoop around and find out more before we alert the police.”

They agreed to keep on exploring this mysterious underground base but also to turn back if things got too dangerous. If this was indeed an underground Russian operation, then they didn’t count on getting caught, or security would have been much, much stricter. Most likely, this base of operations cost enough funding as it is, and spending even more on manpower would be beyond any budget; not to mention that a sudden increase of Russian speaking folk in a town called Hawkins would no doubt gain some unwanted attention.
As they explored deeper into the base, they did run into more people, a scarce scientist, and even some people in military uniforms, but there were still few of them so they could hide themselves easily and avoid being seen. That became more difficult when a duo of soldiers wearing weapons approached, obviously a patrol of some sort. Anakin hinted in silence and they fled into a small room, allowing the two guards to pass by without finding them.

“This is getting risky,” Anakin whispered, “They almost caught us.”

“Should we go back?” Wanda whispered.

“Perhaps it’s for the better,” Zuko whispered, “I don’t think we can go much further than this. There’s too many guards in this part of the base.”

“I agree,” Wanda said, “If we show the police the elevator, they have to believe us anyway.”

“Guys, wait up,” Cersei said, “Come here.”

Cersei gestured to a window on the opposite side of the room. Apparently they had been hiding in a monitoring station of some sort, surveying a much larger room below. They gathered near the window and peered down, trying to get a glimpse of what was going on down below.
The room was massive, yet at the same time very empty, apart from a massive device at the far end, a circular metal archway of some sort with all sorts of symbols carved into it; they were too far away to be able to read them. Some soldiers were patrolling the edges but otherwise the room was empty. “What in blazes is that?” Zuko asked.

“That would be the Stargate,” a man in armor with green robes said, his face obscured by a mask, “And you are trespassing at SG-1.”