Where In The World Are The Killers?

Out of this World Murder

"Anders nagged us so much to get ready, and what does he do? Take twice as long!" Jack rolls his eyes, adjusting his necktie.

The members of the Bureau, except for Anders and Fili, were waiting in the lounge for the last two agents to arrive. The time had finally come for the Intergalactic Summit, where Earth hoped to be approved for integration into Universal Society. Anders had informed his teammates that the G.I.A. Earth Branch wanted the team to attend the summit as guests of honour to help support their proposal. Everyone was ecstatic to go to space and visit the G.I.A.'s central HQ and meet other aliens, even if they had to dress formally for the event.

Some were less enthusiastic about the dress code than others.

Speaking of getting dressed up, Fili arrived at the lounge in his nicest clothes, soon followed by his husband, who was carrying Loki. As the Assistant Ambassador of Earth, Anders was required to dress more formally than his teammates, and he didn't disappoint. He wore a beautiful red dress made of a flexible leathery material. It had a halter top with short, gold off-the-shoulder sleeves and a diamond keyhole cutout in the centre of his chest with a small gold Earth charm hanging in the middle. The matching red skirt was opened in the front to reveal the tight, darker red pants he wore underneath.

For accessories, he had gold high-heel boots that reached his mid-calves, a gold chain belt with a few gold chains hanging from his hip that featured small star charms, cuff-style bracelets and ear climber earrings shaped like trails of stars. For his hair, the upper half of his dreads had been tied back to create a half-updo and gold rings were clamped around the ends of the lower dreadlocks. Lastly, his makeup was simple: gold eyeshadow, black eyeliner, and dark lipstick.

"If you're trying to be fashionably late, congratulations, you've succeeded!" Oberon teased.

"Sorry," Anders apologizes sheepishly, "it took longer than I thought it would to lace up this dress!"

"How do you lace up a dress when the corset is in the back?" Carmen questions.

Anders smirks, "it helps to have a husband who enjoys tying you up."

"... I regret asking," she groans as most of the other members blush (especially Fili). Thankfully, the statement went over the children's heads.

He shrugs, "you asked, I answered! Can blame me for being honest!"

"We'll see about that...."

"Anyways," Chief Ripley spoke up, "are we now ready to go, Anders?"

"If you guys are, we'll leave right now!" Anders replies.

"We were waiting on you and Fili," she informed, "proceed."

Anders nods, placing Loki on his shoulder before summoning a portal in front of him. From the portal, he withdraws Hofund and grasps the hilt while lowering the sword so the blade tip touches the floor. Since the distance to G.I.A. HQ in the Tranta System was further than he could travel with a regular portal, he needed the sword's magic to open a Bifrost Portal to the HQ.

After envisioning the landing point, he opens the portal beside him. Once the gateway was stabilized, he moved one hand off the hilt and gestured for the team to walk through it. Fili leads the way, and the others follow behind the pilot. Anders followed behind them after the last person had crossed over and closed the portal once he was on the other side.

The Bureau found themselves standing inside the large lobby of the Galactic Courthouse. The room had a polished marble floor with the balanced scales symbol printed in the centre. The tall metal walls were a light gray, and flags for every planet in the universe hung from the ceiling in organized rows. At the side of the lobby opposite the doors was a line of turnstiles with a G.I.A. agent standing beside each one. Behind the turnstiles were a dozen giant elevators to take visitors to their desired floor.