The Mark of Miss Scarlet! by Bek D Corbin

Dr. Smart has to deal with hero worship at a science fair where she is one of the judges, the price of celebrity. Drs. Hong, Leftkowitz, Lefebvre, and Mendez, that third name, never heard a last name like that before. Why are Jane and her mother in identical haircuts, is this Vivian and her mother in disguise? Jane made a virtual keyboard using hardlight, impressive.

Dennis Hawkins and the mother and daughter react to him like that, probably not Vivian and her mother in disguise. Dennis is right, this could easily become a hostage situation if someone gunning for Dr. Smart decided to take their revenge using innocents. Seesh, they should have known inviting a known celebrity like Dr. Smart would attract such attention and prepared for it instead of complaining about her looking at her fan's exhibits first.

Never let someone build a large framework like that at a science fair, boom tube anchor, so this is how the villains raid the science fair. Darn it, this is the Harrow family, that is Vivian and her mother in disguise. And they came prepared to deal with Dr. Smart. Booby-trapped the junction box and Dennis is out, ouch. Jane and her mother are taken as hostages by cybernetic women, Dr. Smart thinks it is Doctor XXX, but nope.

Doctor Lucifer who has Doctor XXX captured, never break the rules of hospitality when dealing with a criminal who has a relative who knows magic. And Doc Lucifer is returning the Stinger, huh. An honorable villain who doesn't blame a hero for doing what they think is right, there is a change. The Skulljacker, but he has no plans to use it on anyone, what did he do to it?

They confirm it is a model used by the Transhumanite in 1993, and Doctor Lucifer asks what Dr. Smart would do with it if given the device. Smash it so thoroughly no one could ever reverse engineer even a part of it, good, I would do the same, too many rich people would use that to steal the bodies of the young and healthy. Doctor Lucifer says it is the perfect answer and gives her a sledgehammer to wreck the horrid thing with. 15 minutes to reduce it to a pile of rubble, nice.

Used the Skulljacker and regrets it, that is the kind of thing that leaves a stain on your soul. It is just tech, not a devise or Schimmelhorn Device, now that is truly terrifying.

“Because the Skulljacker threatens a basic and necessary aspect of the Human Condition: no matter how poor or wretched, we still own our own bodies! But in his- or its- zeal to leave the limitations of Humanity behind, the Transhumanite dreamed of ‘liberating’ Humanity from its carnate existence, to become beings of pure thought!

“PAH! I know people, and if the Transhumanite had ever truly perfected that technology, and it fell into the wrong hands, it would have been disastrous! And there are NO right hands for that thing! The technology would have been monopolized by the ruthless, the scheming, the unprincipled!”

I know what he means and the people would rise up and burn such people at the stake once they heard of the first use of such tech to steal someone's body for a rich person.

And Doctor Lucifer spells out the nightmare of letting the Skulljacker fall into the hands of the rich and immoral, *shudders*. Heh, the only way out of having villains, criminals, and nutjobs coming after him for the Skulljacker even if it was destroyed was to do all this. I think that poem to Dr. Smart from Doctor Lucifer was just him messing with her.

Jane and her mother were Jessie and her mother Mara in disguise, glamour masks, huh, no wonder Dr. Smart didn't recognize them. JD, no teasing Jessie. Uncle Luke is lucky the plan worked, but a few weeks for word to get out, ouch, still more hiding for him. I knew the poem meant nothing, a sneaky way to keep a foe busy.

A woman at the Colombia Jewelry Exchange, Dora Stanhope, says to tell the manager she is here. Just how important to them is she? Mr. Baxter has to deal with her, all that security, for what is inside a case. All that expensive jewelry is held in trust due to her grandmother's will, only to come out once a year, yet Dora defies that to see them now. Trying to break the provision so they can be hers, and says she received information they swapped some of them out with fakes, this sounds like a con job by Dora.

Of course, right then a robbery just happens to take place, the doors blown off their hinges, the alarms and lights killed. Minions in bulky red suits to blend in with red smoke, expanding adhesive to disable, but not injure the guards. And a woman dressed up like Carmen Sandiego with a carbine, a red scarf mask, and a set of high-tech goggles walks in. She disabled the trap on the case, a useful gadget for a thief. Now who is this costumed hero who shows up? Even references the creators of Carmen Sandiego video games.

Miss Scarlet gets her introduction in and Kid Galahad as well, uh oh, don't tell me this is an underage hero without proper training. Ouch, knocks him back into the red mist and still her henchmen can't take Kid Galahad down. Those clues point to what her crime could be and KG got some riddle nerds to help him figure it out from his reaction. Miss Scarlet has the goods in a bag and goes to leave only to be stopped by Kid Galahad.

Okay, who is the guy who rose out of the ground, took the case from MS, and blasted KG? Two foes, but which one to blast is MS's issue, and time is running out. Then Miss Champion shows up and makes a mess of things by jumping KG and the Man in Blue. MS gets the case and flees with her men, the Man in Blue fleeing in the opposite direction, so Miss Champion goes after MS while KG goes after the Man in Blue.

Vivian has her dad Nick checking out the jewels, only some of the jewelry is real, the rest is fake or crappy reproductions. The Phantom Highwayman is JD, of course.

“You did your research, but you didn’t read between the lines. The reason that Olivia Stanhope arranged that bizarre entailment scheme with the Homecoming Queens at Faber getting to use the Stanhope Jewels for the parade was that Olivia couldn’t stand her granddaughter Dora’s guts! Olivia hated the thought of Dora getting the Stanhope Jewels, but because she’d only gotten custody of the jewels, she couldn’t cut Dora out of her will. So, she tacked on that bizarre ‘usage’ provision onto her will. The thing is, the way that’s set up, it would be amazing if people weren’t snitching bits and pieces away from Dora, one bit at a time.”

So Dora was right with her accusation, great, just don't tell her that. So many people involved in stealing and replacing the jewelry over the years, Dora will never get her hands on them.

And Jessie was Miss Champion there to distract KG from chasing after Vivian and her crew. You should have saved more for the job and not gotten such an obvious trunk for a getaway vehicle, Vivian. Bwahaha, if Jessie only knew who the real Miss Champion is. All that for 4k, ouch, I can see why Vivian is upset. Seesh, I see a supervillain with a crew with good gear, and a good hideout, I know it is expensive, they just can't steal everything they need.

JD, even I know if it isn't a lot of bigger cut gemstones it isn't worth nearly that much. DeBeers Company, ruining diamonds for everyone, but the wealthy and ruining other countries in the process. Ugh, what Nick describes is why I can't stand jewelry companies. 30 to 50k is still good for a quick job like that, JD. 7 million in bullion-grade gold, Jessie came out way ahead and knows more about the Columbia Jewelry Exchange than her siblings, she did the research.

Hehe, they all knew Vivian was going to hit that place, she needs to learn how to be more subtle. Dam, Jessie used 30k on a hacker and made a huge profit. 8 more bars but no place to put them, oh well. 300 lbs. of 12 bars of gold and jumping around like that, Jessie "borrowed" the Iron Ox power harness, and returns it now, sneaky. Asking for advice about what to do with the gold and Nick says to talk to his Gran'Pere, someone with that much knowledge about the gold market is invaluable. Darn it, Dora gets her money anyways and Baxter gets off scot-free. Now Dora is a bigger pain to their mother's plans.

The Raider is being used to break into the Montclair Police Department Evidence Locker, what are they after? Robots like that, I hope he has a good lawyer as Disney might go after him. Major Speed, Captain Intrepid, Guiding Light, Moonbeam, Maxiwoman, Silver Sorceress, and Mr. Fixit, a good superteam with a nice mix of powers. Remote-control drones, what is the point of raiding this place? Is it the 'Trojan Horse' scam or is something else going on? Costigon, the evidence locker honcho, has to deal with a lot of idiots in his line of work from the sound of it.

Wait a minute, it was a 'Trojan Horse', but on the Sensational Seven's HQ. The drones still intact work together and have the Raider back up and running quickly. Miss Scarlet comes strolling in through a gate with her minions in tow. The superheroes are already awake and confront the villain and she gets called Carmen Sandiego once again, she really should have thought of a better and less iconic costume for herself. Oof, Clue game reference to mess with her now, it is just not MS's day.

Oh, that is playing dirty, MS. Taking them out like that, a power-neutralizing beam. She takes them out one after the other, their powers neutralized and the heroes all but helpless. Why didn't the power neutralizer seem to work on Captain Intrepid? All American Girl, she plays up the stereotype and even asks if MS is a Commie, good grief. MS and her minions are forced to retreat, tearing through the garage door with the rammer. And All American Girl is so annoying the Sensational Seven want nothing to do with her with how they glowered at her.

Turned their switches off with her PK, huh.

Luke waved at Mr. Fixit’s helmet, Guiding Light’s bracelets, Maxiwoman’s shoulder pads, Major Speed’s belt, and the disk that had been on Moonbeam’s back. “The major effect-generating components for their power sets were somewhere else, probably so they’d be powered without all the drawbacks of carrying the power supply with them. These just anchor those effects to the operators, and allow the operators to control the effects. No, Major Speed’s belt does have major effect-generating components, but then of the six units, his is the only one that directly affects him.”

A team of nothing but power device users, is interesting. I should have known All American Girl was Jessie, she keeps coming up with fake superhero identities to scam the heroes with.

Jessie once again comes back with a big haul, a lot of power items. The originals used to build all the SS's power items, and the team had plans in case their current gear went down, but not prepared for someone who knows about their backups and plans. Ugh, Captain Intrepid would have killed because he thinks he is facing lethal opponents and is alone, not much of a hero if that is his first resort.

A variant of 'Dyna-Bud' technology.

“Basically, you take a functioning dynamorph and ‘bud’ it off into a receptacle,” Luke explained. “You get a second unit that has that dynamorph’s properties, but they’re usually noticeably weaker than the original, and the source dynamorph is also weakened.”

Don't dynamorphs have some form of sapience, that is twisted to do to an essentially living being. They have no idea what the base dynamorphs really are, yet mad scientists experiment on them, ugh.

Ouch, only half of the technology, she needs the actual power source to make the units worth anything. Vivian, just give Iron Ox back his belt, act like a fangirl who stumbled upon it after a supervillain incident, and then run off shyly after giving it to him, he will fall for it. And Nick is right, if you don't have the powers to help protect you from the 'speedster' abilities when things go wrong a bit of road rash is the least of your worries. For the world, it is a good thing 'dyna-bud' technology isn't easy to mass produce.

JD shows up in his Phantom Highwayman gear and from the sounds of it has the power source or broadcasting gear for S7's power items. Vivian, never leave your notes and memos about a job where a little sister can find it. Dam, I was right about what JD stole from the S7, now that is a haul. He stole Mr. Fixit's tac-ship, the S7 is without powers, without their ship, and out of the superhero business for now. Ugh, Jessie, please drop the All American Girl from your list of superhero disguises, that line is just horrible.

Oof, low blow there about Yale, Luke.

Juliet had used Jessie’s gift of the Paragon Potion, but she had taken the ‘Silver Fox’ option over a return to her youth or prime.

Jessie, did you have to make your grandmother even more dangerous? Asha is a cutie, even Vivian can't stay upset at her when she swipes things. The school's bicentennial and the Harrow family are there for some reason. William Rush, a statue made by William Rush and insured for that much, now that is worth stealing.

Smoke bombs with a bit of tear gas to make it look like the science building is going up in smoke, good distraction. A crane is being used for repairs on the Humanities building and taken over by Miss Scarlet and her minions. Hoisting straps disguised as celebratory ribbons, Vivian has stepped up her game. The red mist was deployed and 4 campus security down from non-lethal weapon.

The S7 show up and MS mocked them with a red $100 bill, darn her giving clues to the heroes. Great, Mr. Fixit made some mockup units, that poor dynamorph he used. Jessie shows up as All American Girl and Mara just has to ham it up with praise for her. The statue moved to the Humanities building during all the chaos, sneaky move, I wonder if any of the 'heroes' noticed.

“Still in the Humanities building,” Viv answered, her trademark red coat over the back of her chair and her hat on the table in front of her. “In the Balkan Cooperative Activities room. I could leave it there and nobody’d find it for years!”

Now that is just cruel. Three of her guys are in the hospital, and two more with broken arms or ribs, the S7 act like thugs when their power source is threatened.

Arrgggh! All that and they only insured the statue for $4 million, not 10, cheapskates! JD swiped a portrait of Benjamin Franklin done by Gilbert Stuart, that is a big name in the art world. Ouch, $22, 500 instead of $450k for the painting because he has to sell it on the black market.

Preservation spell and laser cutter, just what did Jessie steal this time? A time capsule from the base of the Ben Franklin statue, ooo. A flag like that with the stars being dull silver disks instead, this has to be something big. 1794 Silver Dollars and a 1795 Silver Dollar, are worth a fortune. $30 million for a 1794 Silver dollar a few years ago, dang.

“This. Is. Benjamin Franklin’s. Guest Book… From Philadelphia… during the Second Continental Congress…”

A museum would pay a mint to get their hands on that for display. Flags, coins, and guest book are too big to deal with the crazy collectors out there, let alone the bidding war the guest book would start among the major museums. Oh boy, what can Nick do with the other Franklin papers, the world may soon find out.

So the music was Vic and Bart running around playing it to make everyone think All American Girl was actually fighting while she stole the time capsule, good way to keep those two busy. $14, 700 each for the 1805 pennies, Jessie pays well for a job done right.

“Yes, you have to pay me!” Vic yelled, snatching the coin back. “I’m an Independent Sub-Contractor!” He pointed at Bart. “He’s MY minion

Vic, you just have to start a fight with your brother again, don't you. And Vivian, Nick is right, all that work and you could have walked off with it in the middle of the night. Never over plan or make things too complicated when the simple solution will do.

Cover names for her minions to not depersonalize them, that is one thing I like about Vivian, she treats her minions like people instead of disposable help. Cracking a vault and wheeled drones coming in, that trademark red mist of MS sure makes dealing with threats easier. 5 minutes to crack the remaining combinations, security at the back, and a superhero on the way, just what a thief doesn't need.

Nice, disrupted machines to block the others is less work than trying to take them all out. Rats, means of exit blocked as well, all good plans have a snag or two. An engineering place and they keep the vault cold, cutting-edge stuff obviously. [qupte]“These are next-step liquid crystal AI cores. Before their core imprinting is done, they have to remain frozen.”[/quote] Whoa, that is the kind of tech I would love to see. They are making their escape when the Green Beacon pins them down, please don't be another of Jessie's hero disguises. I want to meet an actual new superhero already in this story.

Ack, it was a Jessie disguise and once again to divert Kid Galahad away from Miss Scarlet, this guy is obsessed with her.

With a smirk, Jessie reached behind her and pulled out a thumb drive that Vivian recognized as the latest mass-market 3-Terabyte external data storage unit. “Next Horizon’s emergency backup disk for their superconductor experiments.”

JD gave Jessie a challenging grin and produced a shoebox-sized and shaped container. “The testing prototype for that very superconductor.”

Ack, one-uped again by JD and Jessie, poor Vivian and her ego are hurting right now. I think Vivian's fences are lying to her about AI cores being a drug on the market right now. Luke and Nick both know this is a transparent attempt to drive down the prices, so help out Vivian even if she doesn't ask. She needs a real win already.

Whoa, Vivian got a high-grade escape vehicle. Everyone else is having fun with all this, except Vivian. All those things, she has a good reason for what is the point if she isn't having fun with all this. Figure out what works for her, well, she stopped giving clues to the heroes or at least didn't for this job, that is a good direction. Don't try to copy someone else's act, you have to make it your own to have fun with it. I hope Vivian figures it out, she is the kind of thief I like, only goes after the rich or well-off, tries not to hurt people, and cares about her own minions. She reminds me a bit of Lupin the Third in some ways or who she themed her costume after, the original version of Carmen Sandiego.

Ouch, having to stick at that school and put up with the inane gossip, no wonder Vivian is going stir-crazy. Asha is there with choice information to sell, that little girl is going to be a great information broker in the future. The old 'I know something I won't tell' chant, a classic. A heist for a magical power jewel, oh boy, don't do it, Vivian. A power jewel that size, Vivian, if Jessie had plans to get at it she knows information you don't about the security, etc. protecting it, and also the dangers of said jewel. Don't mess with things you don't understand territory right now.

The Heart of Azdaja! Crud, Vivian, this is an extremely bad idea to go after that power jewel. The Gatewarden, Vivian, back out now before you get yourself killed or worse, when magic is involved there are always things much worse than death. The Key of Cinvat as well and he is a super-sorcerer, all the warning alarms going off now. Triple crud, the mention of the mystical 'gate' under his house, and now I'm worried Vivian is going to screw up and open it, letting something or someone loose into the world.

Ugh, just because something is called a key doesn't mean it is a key to something. And the heart of something can be a key to something, such as a mystical 'gate'. This went from a horrible idea to a potential threat to the world being unleashed.

The Heart buffed the Gatewarden’s ability to scry and sense and see through illusions, and all like that.

Oh boy, this could be the biggest mistake Vivian will ever make. Lure him outside his manor, oh boy, this is going to get messy.

Halliwell Refuge for the Troubled, oh boy, abandoned insane asylums are bad places to go looking for unbound dynamorphs. More likely to find a restless spirit. S7 is desperate for a new dynamorph to power Mr. Fixit's Effects Generator. A lot of paranormal phenomena don't like light, that checks. They are there illegally, I knew it, anything to have powers and be 'heroes'. I can't believe Captain Intrepid quoted Ghostbusters. And whatever they are tracking is heading toward where the 1980s incident happened, get out now!

“Okay!” Moonbeam snapped. “But if 1960s bubblegum pop starts playing, I’m leaving with Shaggy and Scooby!”

Should have left now when you had the chance.

Police scene tape is still on the wooden doors leading into the chapel, leave now before it is too late. Who did Silver Sorceress just call in for backup with potential supernatural? Shiny brass oil lamps hang in the air like that, reading not like those from dynamorphs and Maxiwoman just goes right over and toss them to the others.

“Thanks Babe,” growled a low raspy male voice with a noticeable accent. “It would’a really screwed me over if I’d broken those free of their plat m’self. But since yer mundane, it worked like a charm.”

Idiot just released a supernatural evil that had been sealed here after the 1980s incident.

Oddly tricked-out biker denim, uh oh. 6 men and four women, That armor, Fulthark runes, there are Viking berserkers! S7 is doomed. Who is the blonde woman though, she seems different from the rest. Skjaeren, the Blood Viking, yup, S7 is toast. He is going to do a working that needs the blood of heroes but will use the S7 media whores blood instead. And I thought it would be Vivian with that darn power jewel that would bring about a potential supernatural threat.

Captain Intrepid was cut by SBV's axe and only got a gash on his chest, please don't let SBV be one of those who can manipulate the blood of those he has wounded. Silver Sorceress gets a beatdown and sets up a PK force wall to call for backup, demanding they get there. Whoa, who is the new guy who came out of the portal SS made? A lithe woman in that kind of costume with that kind of gear, they deal with the supernatural all the time, don't they?

Crap, the blonde woman going after the new girl who just showed up.

Bringing up the rear, brandishing a staff with an elaborate clockwork instrument at the head, came an athletic man in his prime.

Now that is a cool staff. Skjaeren turns to face the newcomer, ignoring the big man who was fighting him as 5 of the Berserks dogpile the big man. Alchemist versus Skjaeren, pistol-woman against leather-blonde, the big man stuck under 5 Berserks still, and 3 female Berserks keeping the S7 busy.

What is that door made of or is magic reinforcing it, because Maxiwoman should have been able to batter it down by now.

Finally, Skjaeren snapped, “ULRIKE! Enough of this shit! Get them and GO!”

Ulrike is the blonde woman, huh. Maxiwoman is stuck in the chapel with her, but the Alchemist uses his staff to summon an entity to rip the doors off their hinges. They need the lamps for the ritual Skjaeren has planned. The entity snatches the lamps from Ulrike but then is sundered by Skjaeren with his axe, darn it. Cha-Cha, one of the female Berserks is named Cha-Cha, oh well. Now they are going to cut and run after getting the lamps, this is bad.

Wait, the guy with the staff is Gatewarden, now I really don't want Vivian to steal from him or Jessie. Aslan is the big guy, and Demetra is the pistol-woman, good team but I wonder what the payment will be for this. Eastern Gate of the Bridge of Cinvat, sounds like the key can be used to open gateways of a sort. Gatewarden sent them there on the chance it had a dynamorph, but that is far from what they found.

if Skjaeren arranged that to break these out of a plat, but didn’t want to risk it himself- then exactly what ARE these, and how did they establish that plat?”

“Plat?” Aslan asked as he shucked out of his armor. His English was very good for someone who spoke Turkish as his mother tongue, but English was always coming up with new words to spring on him.

“A ‘plat’ is an archaic term for a plan or design,” the Gravewarden answered. “In Metaphysical circles, it’s used as a term for the cyclical patterns that some ghosts and other repetitive phenomena develop. You can break the pattern and disrupt the plat, but it’s dangerous, and even more dangerous for the magically active.”

So Skjaeren and his crew weren't imprisoned there like I previously thought but after those lamps. Either way, this is very bad.

Ulrike was part of a cult called 'The Wolves of Ragnarok' who got raided by the California Raiders last Christmas, and they practiced a form of lycanthropy, crud. Ouch, St. Hubert's Root into each and every scratch for Demetra. Aslan is using elixirs to empower himself, Gatewarden is right, keep on top of tests to see what it is doing to you. Seesh, Aslan, not all women are like those in the tales.

That is the source of Gatewarden's vials, yikes. Gatewarden analyzes the lamps, that is some array of tools he has there. Crud, it's a raid! Somehow Skjaren and his crew tracked the lamps to Gatewarden's home and their base. A charm to get past anti-bullet spells, darn it, as if Skjaeren wasn't enough of a threat already. Ulrike has Mrs. Bezhukoz as a hostage, and they are just there to rip off the Gatewarden.

Ripper, Tommy-boy, Cha-Cha, Huldra, Foxy, Hoss, Torch, Slats, that is some crew. Cultured crystals, balms, and elixirs, those lamps are genie bottles! This is worse than I thought. The Heart of Azdaja is stolen from the Gatewarden, when Vivian finds out I hope she doesn't go after Skjaeren and his crew. Wait, genies in their bottles, is that what he calls the entities that Gatewarden uses? So what are the lamps?

Wait, they are getting paid to do this, please tell me Vivian didn't send them to get the Heart of Azdaja for her. Ugh, Cha-Cha trying to get Demetra and Ulrike to finish their fight from earlier and Skjaeren has to remind them they are in the middle of a raid. Great, he is giving them what they want, I hope Demerta kicks Ulrike's ass. This is a brutal, bloody fight between two tough and stubborn women.

Now where did those screamer missiles come from? Magnetic spike missiles to draw the weapons and guns to them, nice little projectile. It is Miss Scarlet and her minions, she doesn't like it when someone tries to doublecross her.

“That wasn’t our deal,” Miss Scarlet said severely. “I set up the Halliwell sting, you set the hook, we make the raid together. I get the Heart of Azdaja, you get the rest. That was our deal.”

MS, you are dealing with someone who tends to take what he wants and only honors a deal as long as he feels he benefits more from it than his 'allies'. That is some potent holy water, washing away their blood magic was smart.

3 crates with the brass bottles, wait, has Gatewarden been collecting genie bottles? Crud, Skjaeren releases the unclean spirits from the bottles, those are what Gatewarden processes to make his vials. Skjaeren has a horn that can control the spirits, this situation just gets worse and worse. Demetra does the smart thing and gets the staff and key so Gatewarden can free himself.

No! He is not killing any of Vivian's minions to get the blood to control this spirit monster. Lightbringer, another of Jessie's superhero cosplay disguises. Dang, she actually hurt Skjaeren with a light beam from the lantern on her staff, where did she get that staff? Ulrike seeing everything going on hightails it out of there, Skjaeren isn't going to be happy with her. A crazy fight and getting everyone free from the spook, but Miss Scarlet finally orders a retreat since they have what they came for.

The Berserks dealt with, the mega-spook ensnared by Gatewarden with the Key of Cinvat, and Lightbringer plunging her lantern into its form and pulling it out after a while causing it to dissipate so they can lower it into a cistern, somehow the lantern comes out seeming stronger than before after all this.

Lightbringer tries to turn her charms on Gatewarden, but Demetra is having none of that and escorts her out of the laboratory.

Aslan and the Gatewarden exchanged uneasy looks. Several minutes later, Demetra came back and fixed the Gatewarden with the annoyed look that every girlfriend and wife has down pat. Aslan carefully stepped away from the confrontation.

Oh boy, Gatewarden is in the dog house now.

Cardsharp meets up with Miss Scarlet, Lightbringer aka Jessie, and another woman, probably Mara. So for the horn and $80k in cash they traded Cardsharp the Heart of Azdaja, what is the horn worth? Jessie gets half of Vivian's cut, she had to come in and rescue you, again. Gran'pere is the only man allowed inside the tower. Aww, who wouldn't have a hard time saying no to Asha. Horrid Horn of the Darkling Horde, an olifant, huh. A device to call and command trooping spirits, in Skjaeren's hands could be very dangerous.

Wait, the Gatewarden didn't have a chance to pull off his big 'whoops', was he in on this whole plan or what? A Rose fully restored, what type of Rose? And enough of the Heart Monad the spirit collective became to jumpstart Grand'pere's athanor. A glowing rose of purple energy, what did that do for Jessie?

“Nothing,” Mara said serenely. “YOU inserted yourself unasked and uninformed into a delicate magical working, one you exempted yourself from by your refusal to take up the family traditions in the Mystic Arts. We simply made sure that your interference didn’t upset our plans.”

Vivian really shouldn't have known not to mess with magical matters that involve her family.

“The Gatewarden’s estate is NOT built on an extradimensional gate, nor are there vicious demons waiting on the other side to enter this world. Rather, that hideous house was built by a vile mystic at a junction, on a place where multiple streams of Vis, or the flow of mystical energy, which were contaminated by miasma joined. That mystic constructed a cistern under the house which gathered and concentrated it, for… some purpose I’m all-too-willing to ignore.

Oof, that is some dangerous stuff Gatewarden is dealing with without knowing the full consequences of it.

Recycling toxic magical waste is about the sum of it, and like recycling toxic waste any number of things can go wrong. 1836, I knew Grand'pere was old, but just how old is he, I forget if it has been said before. Ah, couldn't just go in and take it, or everyone in the magical community would be upset with him, that sucks. So that is why she sold the Gatewarden's reliquary, to martyr it. 26 roses of power from Akellare, but only 5 viable, oof. Oh, so that is what a Heart Monad is. That is where the term martyr comes from, huh.

A sneaky way for a power boost, Jessie. Crystals, elixirs, and the athanor are all taken by Johnny using Iron Ox's belt. Guiding Light's light generator bracelets, so that is how Jessie pulled all that off. Selling Vivian incomplete information, bad Asha, a good information broker doesn't do that, especially not to family.

“NO, Papa. They have to learn. This is the best way for Viv to learn that she shouldn’t hijack Jessie’s projects- especially when Magic is concerned- and Asha needs to learn to provide value when she deals with Family, and not sell incomplete information.”

Mara is a good mother, knows when to intervene with her children and when to let a lesson play out.

Ouch, Jessie has to go to school and challenge her exams but as J.J., I hope it is just a good disguise and nothing more.

Nick and Mara had used the inevitable sibling rivalry to teach their offspring that victory was always possible; not certain, not easy, but possible, with preparation, hard work and daring.

Better use of sibling rivalry than most parents use it for. Vivian working that hard on research material and plans on how to finally give Iron Ox back his power belt. Ooo, I hope her plan works out, I can't stand the SS and their attitudes.

Yay, back to being Jessie again and back from her exams with good results. Ah, this time she has worked JD and Jessie into her plans since they keep butting in anyways, smart move. Ooo, Viv is aiming high with this raid, messing with an event like this put on by Miles Havoc.

‘Ancient Atlantean Relics’
Dynamorph Technology
Fragments of Slow Glass
Nanotech boring equipment
New Maglev technology
Power gems
Rare samples of exotic plant life
Relics from the ‘Dolorous Garde’ dig
The Skeleton of the ‘Theleme Giant’

All those high-end exhibits, any number of them could make her a mint on the black market, and Viv isn't going after any of those. The Goodkinds hired a black hat hacker to do that, I knew they do some downright evil things, but this is new.

12 Cavorite Anti-Gravity cores

What the hell are the Goodkinds thinking letting those gather dust in a vault?

The Symposium is being held right over the ultra-secure vaults, that is nuts. The specs on those vaults sound like a tank would have a hard time breaking into one of them. Dr. Helen Smart is going to be at this event, Viv, just took this from very risky to extremely risky. I'm with you there, Juliet, a superhero team named SS for short, where did they go wrong? Mr. Fixit showing off two of his gadgets, risky when supervillains might attack and with their recent track record. Another 'Riddler' clue for M5, good grief, at least this time she wants them there.

A new secret identity, the Tek Raider, huh, is that a permanent switch or just for occasional use? This plan is getting more complicated, with so many points of failure where things can go wrong. Oh, the core plan is that simple, good to hear the rest is smoke and mirrors to distract from the real plan. A weak point in the Stavorite sheath, the GKI penetrating bore to get through the reinforced concrete, and even planned for how to get through that Stavorite sheath and the electrified mesh, Viv has done her research on this.

10 minutes to get through, and there is the point in the plan where things can go wrong. $7.5 mil from the Syndicate, not bad for screwing over the Goodkinds. Wishes to avoid casualties, and that is why I respect her, a thief, but doesn't wish anyone to be harmed in the process. Should have at least 3 more backup plans for getting the cores out imo. Super-speed, seesh, Viv, you don't want it, too much of a headache if you don't have it as a power instead of from gear.

3 gravity fluxers in one location, Jessie is right, very nasty might be understating it. Good idea, Jessie, using one of your superhero cosplays too often is bound to get you caught. Miss Champion, heh, I wonder what Mrs. Carson will think if Jessie pulls out that identity while at Whateley? Good, I was wondering how Viv's Redcoats were going to get regular work with her at Whateley, they may be criminals, but they follow her code and I respect that. Hehehe, the twins and Asha need to be kept home and out of trouble, where did Viv get those spheres?

Ouch, Jessie had to go disguised as JJ again for the job, this sucks. Helen Smart and Dennis Hawkins are there, Jessie is right, they would recognize her from the previous incidents. At least it is only an illusion and she didn't have to wear a physical disguise. Arrggh, if Viv hadn't sent a clue and had the place crawling with people trying to find Miss Scarlet Jessie might have been able to go as herself. Dr. Jack Wilde and Dr. Krystal Doam, so many last-minute signers on because of Viv's clue.

“It’s really ‘Kristen Dunn’, but after her hair fell out due to an intelligence enhancing experiment, it was either own the name or let people club her over the head with it.

Ouch, I can see why she decided to own it. The clue was sent to M5, but SS heard about it and shows up, oh brother, they don't like being left out of things.

Sexy Lex Luthor Expy, never thought I would read that anywhere. Figures Krystal has the hots for Dennis, good grief, who doesn't in the scientific world?

Her thing is Analysis, studying the dynamics and principles of Analysis itself. She can tear apart a theory or study just with a glance at an essay.

Yikes, so unpopular among the scientific community for this I bet.

Anachronistic Sites.

“That’s the weird thing,” Viv said. “He doesn’t have a theory. He just says that he wants to find the sites of these reports, to see if there are some common aspects, underlying phenomena, possible Germelshausen effect, explanations for lost ships, isolated languages, stranded animals way off their range, blah, blah, blah…”

Hey, in the WAU Wilde could be onto something with this. Wilde's here because Viv put in her clue a mention of the Eye of Lemuria so obvious it is ridiculous.

Crud, fly in the ointment, the security gate for exhibitors kicked up 3 levels, I'm betting this happened after your clue, Viv. Now is not the time to be snarking at Viv for sending the clue. Blue Moon and Golden Eagle of M5 are there and JJ waves them down. Viv is a huge Krystal Doam fangirl, at least JJ has a good reason for saying this. Slip any cold fusion under the radar, why would that be a concern at a science fair like this?

Miles Havoc shows up with 3 of his kids in tow, I don't like Krystal leering at the college boy, cougar vibes. Melody is not there and Gloria, his wife, is off helping with a potential crisis. JJ is good at manipulating people without them even realizing it, Mr. Adler never stood a chance. The telepathic "NYEH" to Vivian, priceless. Twister Buster, dang, I wish that existed in the real world.

Ah, a work in progress, and no patent number yet. Mr. Fixit has a reputation for poaching other researchers' developments, not very heroic. And does Krystal leer at any attractive male who is 18 or older? For someone who poaches other researchers' developments, Mr. Fixit sure likes to look down on others' creations. From what Adler said it would take a whole lot of work to make any footage of his creation even close to usable.

Double majors in Marketing, wouldn't surprise me. A 'future Science Heroine' on the table beside Viv who has a hard light projector, various widgets, and pictures to show off her accomplishments, seesh. Took up half of Viv's table, oh this girl needs to be humbled. An attempt to replicate Dr. Smart's Stinger, oh crap.

Jeannie Yes and JD just has to flirt with her, Krystal doesn't like Helen Smart fangirls, eep. A hard-light figure in the form of Genie from Disney's Aladdin, she is right about it being Fair Use. Ugh, overly proud parents messing with others at the science fair in the name of their child are obnoxious. Anti-gravity levitation using the Norman Dean model of vibratory gravity distortion, and they abandoned it in favor of Cavorite's model. Viv knows her stuff on this and it sounds like it could lead to a change in a lot of things if implemented.

Oh, Uncle Luke told her the whole spiel and she memorized it, still, good job remembering all that word for word. Adam Baum, ouch, the pun on his name hurt. Jack and Jill Hilliard, why do I pity those two for working with Adam Baum? An impressive device, but Baum won't let the kids do it themselves, what an ego. Nice lie about what those things are, she explains without telling Jessie or JD what they really do, stop being so long-winded, Viv. Widen the field of effect for the anti-gravity device and boosters for her red smoke, okay, that is simple enough.

Set-ups are done and time to get on with the operation. That is some kit of gear for her Tek Raider get-up. Too many options, yeah, better to narrow it down to the essentials in the future. Tek-Raider a newbie who makes a lot of rookie mistakes, makes sense. Ouch, having to wear the Tek-Raider get-up under her Miss Scarlet outfit, hope it isn't too hot there. Multiple layers are hot, she should have tested this outfit combo back home to see any potential flaws in it before taking it out in the field.

Mom and Gran’Pere were both real amped about some of the relics from what was alleged to have been the basis for Chrétien de Troyes’ Joyous Garde that he assigned to his fictional Sir Lancelot du Lac.

Those relics, if the real deal, would be dangerous in the wrong hands. Doc Atlas and a group of men under his command, Viv didn't account for him showing up. Established operator, oh brother, the ego on this guy.

Not Kid Galahad. *facepalm* Doc Atlas catches KG but throws him into a growing Electromorph that Dr. Adam Baum is warming up. Never do that unless you know your opponent's powers, KG being a power absorber is about to make things a lot worse.

Dr. Helen Smart has mist-compensating goggles, but they aren't working for one reason or another. Miss Scarlet has a plan for this operation, she is less dangerous than Doc Atlas who seems to be trying to brute force his way through to his goal. Dr. Smart had a plan on how to deal with both supervillains, but she didn't count on Miss Scarlet being able to judo-throw her into Doc Atlas and leave a shocked Dennis open for a blast to stun him. Why did the red mist suddenly disperse?

JS looks for Viv and thinks she is hiding under a table somewhere, and sees Dr. Smart and Dennis Hawkins in trouble with Doc Atlas. So of course she thinks she can be a hero, show Dr. Smart what she is made of, maybe even get recommended for the Diogenes Quest show, oh brother. No, not the faux Stinger, I knew that thing would be trouble. Oh, good, Krystal wrestling it out of JS's hands.

The Twister Buster sucked up the red mist, rats. A chain reaction of events involving the faux Stinger, Doc Atlas, Mr. Fixit, deflected blast, and the Pecos Bill Twister Buster being hit, are we sure there isn't a probability mangler in the area? Mr. Fixit has the gaul to call M5 a bunch of wannabes, I want their egos crushed already. Mr. Fixit has been basically taking dropped supervillain gear from Mr. Atlas and patenting them as his own creations, he isn't a hero at all, he is nothing more than a ego-maniac thief with good PR.

Major Speed takes a bad tumble, could have been worse. Silver Sorceress plays nasty with that 'mandala' trick, so glad Viv blocked it and disabled her. Miss Scarlet and Doc Atlas may not be allies, but they are working well together to take out the heroes, Captain Intrepid got hit hard and KG did as well. Maxiwoman, why did she come into the field with a power device that could glitch so easily if blasted?

JD is ready on his end, and Viv makes a deal with Doc Atlas to not get in the way of each other if they aren't going after the same thing. Dr. Smart warns everyone what they are going after, another complication. Those disk grenades are really handy for dealing with large groups without causing severe injuries. The Redcoats are back in disguise and safely away from the fighting, good idea because I think the SS are going to start fighting even nastier now.

JD's part of the plan is underway and a good way to blind a security camera for cheap. Uh oh, JD doesn't know how to operate a penetrating bore, Viv didn't think of that, this could cost precious time.

Viv and JJ to the Arrowsmith kiosk, and those scientists trying to be heroes get tripped up again. Nice distraction as Miss Scarlet by JJ, despite some unexpected problems the plan is actually working. Bwahahaha, Viv as Tek-Raider, is really hamming it up with that announcement. Go to steal from Dr. Thad Nye so the publicity will get him funding for his project, sneaky.

JJ, no, don't go all drama as Miss Scarlet and ruin the plan. Crud, Fixit knows Tek-Raider has their gear and Major Speed goes after her, super speed training from Dad so she could use Major Speed's belt to go at the same speed was worth it after all. Ouch, using Iron Ox's belt so Major Speed slams into her, he is going to feel that for a while.

Gordon Adler has an idea of watching the SS so they can know what Tek-Raider is capable of and can take 'him' down. Jessie goes through all that trouble and it is a cultured power gem, what a waste. The creators what them to be stolen so they can cash in the insurance money on them, and they call criminals corrupt. 'Dimensional purse', nice. The Game Changer, I want to know what it is already.

Viv 'stealing' from Nye to help get publicity for his invention, and someone grabs her from behind. Did Moonbeam's antigravity that Viv just kicked in do all that? Aww, Viv threw the person getting Grabby with the gear off her and he is a hunk, darn it. Magnum, and he showed up because of Miss Scarlet's clue, figures. Niceties to be observed, not when someone like Mr. Fixit is nothing more than a thief who passes off others' inventions as his own.

“And THAT’S why I went renegade,” Atlas said as he pulled off a handstand double-foot kick that caught Magnum by surprise. “Too many plagiarous putzes like Fitzhugh running around, hiding behind lawyers. At least if another supervillain rips off one of my projects, I can kick his teeth in for him.”

Okay, how many 'superhero' inventors are like Fitzhugh in that aspect?

Heh, if Dr. Smart hasn't noticed that Tek-Raider is moving with absolute surety through Miss Scarlet's fog she isn't as observant as I thought. What is up with those teenagers, and why do some want to kill or burn everything? Something strange is going on. After the Atlantean Relics display and Dr. Macabre, noooo! Things just went from bad to "stop the planet, I want to leave before the apocalypse happens" bad.

They were handling an odd glossy black teardrop-shaped stone with a large hole in it.

Something inside me is screaming "Destroy it, destroy it, destroy it." What they used it for, I think it has a lot less benign uses. Jack Wilde just had to call attention to his group including a girl who just made the situation a lot more complicated. Oh, not as helpless as I thought, the girl has some skills.

Yup, I knew that stone had other uses, Maxiwoman finds out the hard way. Ouch, Moonbeam is next to get hit by the power of that stone used by the 3 girls. Guiding Light fires arrows of light the big goon with Dr. Macabre acts like his face was shoved into acid when hit by one, what is he? One of the smaller skaters reacts the same way, Dr. Macabre, don't tell me these are all zombies under his control?

Guiding Light did an evasive loop and let fly with a light ‘arrow’, hitting Dr. Macabre right in the face. He reacted with five different distinct reactions, each with their own voice. None of them were happy.

What the! Does Dr. Macabre have multiple souls trapped inside his form? I kind of wish Guiding LIght would find a new team to be a part of instead of the glory hounds that are the SS.

Darn it! That stone the 3 girls have is doing something to their powers, I don't like Captain Intrepid or Major Speed, but this is too much. Adler, don't take pleasure in others' failures. That stone needs to be taken out already. That stone is messing with probability somehow, it has to be to cause all these things. A copy of the Eye of Lemuria, a smart move to disable those 3 girls and the stone. Fighting over the Eye and Dr. Smart gets it only to tell the Havocs she is giving it back to them.

Silver Sorceress is disoriented, but okay. And all they care about is catching a villain so they aren't made to look like idiots. And no sign of Major Speed in the area, where does a speedster zipping around at 150 mph get off to?

Doc Atlas uses the distraction to take care of business, but as they go to head to the Arrowhead kiosk an African American woman named Dr. Cleopatra Fox has taken out 3 of his henchmen, dang. Is this a reference to the Cleopatra Fox Mysteries books? Rather than fighting back, Dr. Atlas studies the woman in action, her movements seem off to him. Dr. Clarice P. Brown, her panel piece sounds like something that could work. An interesting way of duplicating the Martial arts as well. Too bad Doc Atlas figured it out and disabled her device.

Adam Baum is going to use the 'Gulliver sequence', this is a bad idea. Great, he shrank 3 of the 'trolls', but also Captain Intrepid. This is why you don't create a shrink ray and try to field test it in combat. The twins are way too excited after shrinking a superhero just because it worked.

An operation to rescue CI, but Maxiwoman is missing. Where did she go, the last we saw of her was when the 'witches' messed with her using the stone.