The issue became the tracking of the Astral parasite. With how Astral has changed history, there was no second world war, or at least one where the US isn't a major factor. But the self isolationist US did work on project star a lot slower than the usual months.
Astral would not spend as much time hunting after the parasite like last time. He watched the world and how the parasite never showed itself. The timing felt off. Jaimie noted how it was the nineteen sixties while they sat back and meshed with the world. Preparing to have Astral be a teacher and Jaimie be a psychologist.
The two would settle in and found Project Star. Sending in Anders as their plant to report information back to them. She would inform them on how slowly the project was working. That was their original goal. But they are working on a secondary project in case Project Star fails. Project Striker would be their failsafe.
Anders would be able to help push the project forward in the direction of testing it, the three of them agreed to have the point to release the symbiote before the conception of the next Astral symbiote.
Astral would set up and develop some things he saw as critical. His warehouse to work on projects in privacy outside of the pocket dimension. Putting up the same defenses like the library.
Anders informed Astral and Jaimie the implantation was about to happen. They would watch outside of the facility. Anders had a bad feeling and would just set up a camera or two before slipping away, joining the other two in watching the facility from afar.
So when the Bloody Harvest happened. The entire facility melted down with everyone inside. It was consumed in a pit of darkness, the abundance of corruption and malice flowing from the implant would burst.
The three of them watched from afar as the place blew up. They thought them being near caused it to implode. Not quite, this symbiote was just brooding for a very long time. The three looked back and wondered in awe from this experience.
They could only look at the malice and tendrils as the whip around them. The three felt like it was best to split while they had time. Escaping as Astral flung out a drone to track the infrared energy from the sight.
They would make it home and watch the press avoid it as much as possible. After a month they realized nothing was happening and the next Astral symbiote was being conceived. They were slowly panicking at their lack of success.
Leaning back in his chair Astral would point at the television. "We gotta find this at the right time and not be behind the eight ball when it comes to getting the next symbiote. I'm patient but not that much."
"What's a few dozen years to someone like you?" Jaimie would ask as she would fidget with Astrid's hair.
Anders would pipe in. "Not my place seeing how you guys train for hours a day, but time still flows normally. We want to see the pace of the world with these altered changes."
"Jaimie, we still got a lot to do if we wanna find the current one. Which could be anywhere in the world." His left hand would be busy coding and working on Astrid. His right flailing about conveying emotion as the newscasters switch topics.
"The last two weeks small towns across the globe have been wiped off of the face of the earth. All that is left is the rubble from the town collapsing. The US and World do not have answers for what is happening at this time. Everyone is encouraged to stay indoors at this time. Back to Linda for the weather."
Anders would click off the tv. "Astral, go online and see what cities and countries he has attacked."
"Don't I look busy at the moment?" His right hand would have the globe pulled up as he plotted the towns that have been reduced to rubble.
"There seems to be a common denominator here." Jaimie would point out the trail. "Its been moving linear from some starting spot. Astral put a pin at the Project Star facility." Astral would roll his eyes as it popped up. Using the line to track it all. Realizing their town was up next to be destroyed.
"Its already lapped the planet twice?" Anders was tracking it all, her hands running all over the hologram.
"It is not a person, its the concentrated form of the symbiote lashing out on the world." Astral felt a chill down his spine as Jaimie shuddered alongside him.
"We can stop it right?" Jaimie looked over to Astral who did nothing but stare at the left hologram. Looking at the video footage, he came up with a plan.
"I think one giant flashbang and a well placed grenade will do the trick." He spoke as he summoned the components from the pocket dimension. Putting it together in record time. Astrid would watch in curiosity as Anders did the math.
"Astral we have roughly three minutes based on its current route and speed. Move!" Anders would yell as Jaimie pushed him over the chair, letting Astrid giggle as Astral would glide his way from the ground to outside.
Softly jumping he would be waiting in the dead of night as he shadow approaches. Anders and Jaimie sat back and watched. Its all they could do. Astral would leap up into the clouds forward ramming into a wall of darkness. Pulling the pin on the flashbang. Shoving it deep into the core of the darkness.
The flash of light lit the sky of the entire hemisphere. He watched the darkness fall down as he glided above it. Landing on it as the two fell to the ground, shoving the grenade inside of the same spot as the flashbang.
Astral would launch himself off the darkness and hold himself in the air as the grenade went off and took out the mountain it landed on. The landslide would reach the edge of the town and Astral would hover watching it. A smile growing on his face.
The pile of dark vines would slowly turn to ash and float away. Astral would lay down in the sky. Letting his wings hold him in the sky. It happened and not a day too late as the next Astral was conceived.
They timed it perfectly as Astral hugged Jaimie, a huge weight of dread lifted from their shoulders. Astral and Jaimie would celebrate as Anders documented all of the experiences from the new dark form.