The Mark of Miss Scarlet! by Bek D Corbin

Good grief, just sign off on the documents, Prof. Havoc, it isn't as simple as you seem to think it is. Especially hearing what happened on a previous recovery job she did, Dr. Ridgeway sounds like a sleezebag. Give, Linda, using the fact you are six years old against Helen Smart, this whole family gives me bad vibes. Ooo, they have Prof. Havoc now, what he says next could make or break his reputation.

This new guy, something is off about him, but I can't place what. Cambion, who names themself after a human-demon hybrid, unless he is one. No one likes him and everyone has a tale of how he screwed them or someone they care about over, great a scumbag. Ack, keeping Krystal's blows at bay, this guy is no slouch in the fighting department. Bwahaha, Doc Atlas at 10" tall yet still trying to act like he is huge is hilarious.

Doc Atlas beating up Cambion, please say someone is recording that. Doc Atlas may be a criminal, but he is a true scientist and can back up his research, have to respect him for that. And Helen seems to slip away with the Eye of Lemuria.

Ah, Dennis has it and is trying to figure out the perfect hiding place for it right now. Jeannie Yes getting a view of Dennis like that and nothing to take a picture with. Jeannie, firing on those two right now would have made things a lot worse, Dennis did you a favor by taking your carbine away. Jeannie, Dennis needed the carbine more than you right now, it wasn't a betrayal, you are reading way too much into his actions here.

Jeannie, you need to learn to reign in those hormones, or they will keep distracting you at critical moments. Okay, Cambion trapped in a globe, frozen in mid-swing, good. How did Doc Atlas return to his full size and break free from the globe like that? Ah, Mr. Fixit fired the projector to imprison them, but it was stolen from Atlas who has a defense against his own creation.

Both things Fixit is exhibiting at the event were stolen from supervillains, he isn't a superhero, he is nothing more than a thief with good PR. Atlas and Photon, I hope they teach him a lesson about stealing and taking credit for others' inventions he won't soon forget. Huh, Atlas is reasonable when working with a fellow supervillain. Bwahaha, I was wondering where the rest of the SS had disappeared to. This is just too perfect, bound and gagged while hidden under a cloaking field, the SS has a lot of enemies because of Fixit.

Dr. Roy Koestler, Fixit stole from a non-supervillain scientist as well, this whole team needs to be locked up for various crimes at this point. 'Tek Raider' takes off with the antenna with the power gems on it and Dr. Roy is pissed. Oh, crud, Jeannie Yes has an idea how to catch Tek Raider, this won't end well.

Jessie, lecturing yourself right now won't do any good, there were too many unaccounted-for and unpredictable variables for the plan not to go far off the rails. Eep, just what happened to Dr. Macabre's Three Witches? Yeah, at this point it is best to flee, Jessie. Just what did the gun setting do to the hag stone this time? Jessie, if you are going to exit stage left you are required to say the line out loud.

Jeannie Yes having to watch Helen Smart and Krystal Doam arguing like that. They are acting like a pair of high school girls arguing over some trinket, it is painful to watch.

Still not down to the Starvorite, this operation is riskier by the second at this point. So, Jessie and Viv haven't left because it might make things worse when the thieves who started it all are concerned it is bad. Jessie, tucking all that away right now, make sure no one can see you or this will bite you in the butt. Oh no, not the Miss Champion disguise, here comes the cheese. Good, deal with Doc Cambion, he is the biggest wildcard right now.

Jeannie sneaks over and thinks she swiped the Eye of Lemuria for safekeeping, oh brother. Darn it! She falls for Grant Havoc's looks and he just takes the EoL right from her. Game, they think Dr. Helen Smart was playing games, you have documents that need signing and call that games, you are all nuts. Uh oh, what happened to Doc Havoc when he looked into the pupil of the EoL?

A Goop Gun, that is Jeannie Yes expects to catch Tek Raider, this is going to be a disaster. Persephone Hayes grabbed the gun right out of Jeannie's hands and tried the same idea, do any of these science hero types have any respect for ownership at all? And it failed, Tek Raider blew through the goop bubble like it was nothing. Dr. Adam Baum sets off his electromorph and it begins to drag Tek Raider towards it, I see Looney Tunes antics ahead.

Kid Galahad confronting AB, this whole fight is a mess. Baum's creation is a menace, it is more Shimmelhorn creation than a scientific invention with how it acts without him giving attention to the controls. Miss Champion dealing with Doc Cambion when a 2nd Miss Champion in a slightly different costume shows up, what the heck is going on? Jeannie, stop trying to make yourself look good instead of doing something because it is the right thing to do. And she is stolen from again, this time by the younger Havoc kid, Jeannie can't catch a break today.

Krystal, helping out Grant Havoc just so the Havocs can humiliate Helen Smart, you are petty and need to let it go.

Jeannie still kitbashing devices together all to impress others, even if she helps out Helen Smart I don't she would owe you a solid. Darn it, Cambion's looks and power are too effective on a teenage girl like Jeannie, she never stood a chance. At least the Havoc kids take him down, small comfort to Jeannie.

Krystal still trying to figure out how the Eye of Lemuria works, and the Havocs get surrounded by Dr. Macabre and his minions, uh oh. Demands for the Eye, Neal with the Vortex Gun sends Dr. Macabre flying, Grant with Jeannie's sonic weapon to hinder the minions, but too wide of an area so a lot of people are getting hit. Doc Havoc traps Linda in a transparent bubble to protect her, aww.

Troll caught in a containment bubble only to break out and be attacked by Krystal, Persephone Hayes once again is a pain, snatching up the EoL only to be grabbed by one of the trolls.

Grant Havoc looked dyspeptically at Persephone and asked, “Have you considered going into being a hostage professionally?”

Ouch, Persephone should just change her name to Daphne at this point.

Viv, the idea is good, but pulling it off amid all this chaos, I give low odds at best. Hehe, Fixit deserves all the humiliation he can get. Dang, all of that coming together and it just makes sense. Viv has tech skills on her side now, which makes her a lot more dangerous.

Darn it, why did Dr. Macabre's Teen Terrors recover quicker from vertigo? Okay, this is too far, the three Witches turned Hags planning on sacrificing little Linda, they are truly the monsters they appear to be. Jessie going all Big Sister on the Three Hags, Linda reminding her of Asha, they are going to regret messing with a little girl now. Now that was the true fury of someone protecting a small child, when Jessie gets to Whateley I pity anyone who messes with any of the Junior High or younger kids when she is around.

Just how many messes does Persephone get herself into? Whoever this other Miss Champion is just got called out big time, Jessie is the real heroine here and proved it. Jessie comes to and sees two adventuring scientists women beating the snot out of 'Miss Champion', she needs a video of this for later. Has JD gotten into the vault yet or what?

The only way out of Uncle Luke's Boom Tube, there is too much gravitic interference, as if things couldn't get worse. Bwahaha, carrot-for-brains, priceless. Viv is acting weird, and this whole situation is weird, but this stands out.

Oh god, she is already thinking like an inventor and wishing to jot down ideas. Okay, with how Viv is operating right now she is scaring me a little. Did she somehow awaken a Gadgeteer ability or what?

Crap, Jessie's psychic yell got the super scientists thinking about what they were doing. A group in color-coded power frames shows it, nooo, not another element to keep track of.

The Instrumentality of Reason, Jeannie Yes knows them as serious technology thieves, this situation just escalated a whole lot. Jeannie, no trying to bag one of them, they will try and kill you for that. She makes another device only to have it stolen right out of her hands by Krystal once again, no respect.

Hehe, Jessie manipulating the other 'Miss Champion' into going after the IoR, perfect. Yikes, a supervillain team that works well together and has attacks that complement each other, this is a rarity. Persephone is a hostage of the Red IoR member this time, she either has a lot of bad luck or is a danger magnet. Good lord, the rest of the fight is like watching a group of professional fighters curb-stomp little kids who never stood a chance.

Krystal does all that, dealing with Dr. Macabre and his minions and escaping from them with the EoL only to have it snatched by Helen Smart. Oh brother, stop arguing semantics right now, you are in the middle of a fighter. Trapped in a sphere together by IoR Blue and they are still at it.

Jeannie, this is a very bad idea, something that can induce a state of hypnotic suggestion will almost always backfire. Okay, who the heck just grabbed the device right out of Jeannie's hands? I've lost track of the number of times she has had something stolen from her. Great, a tickle ray in the hands of an unknown threat. One of the 'Miss Champions' takes the creep down and Jeannie gets the tickle ray back, fat lot of good it will do her.

Ah, it was Jessie taking out Dr. Koestler, that guy needs to chill before he gets killed. Taking down some of Dr. Macabre's minions only for IoK Blue to trap her in a bubble she breaks out of immediately, that group needs dealing with now. All those adventuring scientists and supervillains freed, I hope they are enough to deal with the IoR.

I don't like Adler, sitting back while people could be hurt just so the SS can make fools of themselves isn't heroic. I'm disappointed in you, Silver Streak.

Fixit, you sound more and more like a scheming glory hound the more you talk. Plans to get your team's gear up and running again, I hope it fails and the authorities have proof of your theft so they can lock the lot of you up for a long time. And Project #4 is just the stolen creation of Dr. Photon and he is furious.

Jake Wilde spots one of Doc Cambion's minions near a table and it seems she might have found the 'Atlantean Relics' box, darn it. Good plan with Alden and Carine, but this girl is way too agile, but at least Jake can use the McKettrick Crystal to mind-numb the girl. Darn it, now Jake has the EoL, when will this game of hot potato stop!

Dr. Venus, get over yourself. There is combat going on, no time to ogle you.

SS has plans, but Fixit is acting overconfident in them once more. They did all that just to steal the gauntlet from Miss Champion, they are the farthest from heroes right now.

“The Greater Good,” Cap grunted. “Good isn’t always NICE.”

The Greater Good doesn't mean you get to have powers and play superheroes, you bunch of glory hounds. Who is this other Miss Champion besides Jessie?

Doc Cambion, you have burnt a lot of bridges over the years and now are paying for it. He can't even recall the names of those he calls his chumps, the worst supervillain ever. Great, Cambion knows who Jake Wilde is and thinks taking stuff from him is For the Greater Good.

So little time on each of their power gadget charges, Fixit doesn't realize those aren't real power gems he took from the gauntlet. Be a laughingstock, Maxiwoman, you already are. Heh, at least Moonbeam has figured out what M5 is doing. I don't like that grin on Fixit's face, he plans to take the dynamorphs for himself, always felt he was a villain pretending to be a hero.

Red Frost spying on the SS and can't quite tell what is being said. And no idea what the SS is up to yet, they should act before the SS makes things a lot worse.

Fixit, you complete and total lying ass! That isn't the only way to keep Dr. Photon from stealing them, you just want them for you and your team.

Rushing through interfacing, someone stop him before this blows up in everyone's face. Major Speed creates a whirlwind he can't control. Maxiwoman is causing more damage than the supervillains at this point, poor Guiding Light, and what happens to her, I hope it can be reversed. Red Frost got it all on video, the SS is done at this point.

A smart idea by Adler aka Golden Eagle, take down the supervillains causing chaos and leave the IoR for now. Doc Macabre has that many warrants for 1st-degree murder, the death penalty is too good for him. And he transforms his minions and makes them think only he can cure them, I don't know what fate he is deserving at this point, something out of JoJo's Bizzare Adventures maybe.

Jeannie, listen to your father and get out of there now. Rats, Dr. Smart shows up and wants to use Jeannie's replica of her Stinger, but Krystal took that first. Krystal is stealing from another high school kid, she has no shame. Noooo! If Dr. Smart reacts with horror to what Jeannie has just created this is bad news for everyone.

Viv built a teleport sphere from parts around the place and a power supply. This has me questioning if she is a gadgeteer, devisor, or is something else going on now.

Ack! Interactions between Viv and Jeannie's devices, Gravity Grenade is a bad idea in the first place. Yes, what did you put into that thing, Jeannie? Because you just screwed up.

Oh, good, the package arrived as planned, at least Jeannie's device didn't screw them over. Good, now to not get caught and get out of there. How is JJ going to get out of this mess? Help the SS look like clowns, but they already do, anything more will destroy them at this point. Hehe, a smart move to hand over the units to Doc Atlas, you did agree to him getting them earlier.

Crud, surrounded by the SS and they know Tek Raider has all their original gear. Neat bunch of gadgets Viv got to use, I wonder how the 'Green Lantern' item functions. Cyber Lariat by Jeannie Yes and she highspeed drags the girl behind her for the trouble, Jeannie, you should have thought that through better. Darn it! Crash into Cambion's bubble breaking him free and the creep steals Iron Ox's power belt right off her for the trouble. Darn, and the superspeed belt as well, at least Viv boobytrapped it and came prepared.

Dang, the exit strategy is solid, though I feel for JD having to pass through all that while holding his breath. JD, you will make it, or else your mother will make sure you never live it down. Darn, all that and the Atlantean relics are missing, Jake Wilde has much to answer for. JD disguised as Miss Scarlet, you better believe JJ would never let you live this down.

What the hell is Adam Baum thinking!?! Grow to 50 ft. tall and finds he has trouble breathing, or so it seems, and his body can't support its own weight as multiple body parts are broken, idiot. He ignored the Inverse Square Law and didn't figure out how various superheroes and villains do it before trying it himself, he will be lucky to survive this. Dang, no go with shrinking him back to normal, have to get him on his back, this idiot made things a lot worse for everyone there. Seesh, if they don't shrink him in time he will die.

Viv is cornered and JD comes to the rescue with an attack only to be targeted by Doc Magnum. Icing up the floor behind you is a classic trick for use in escapes. Icing up Adam Baum and it melts that fast, JD hands the freeze gun to Doc Magnum and tells him he has to keep icing him up as he is 105 F, good lord.

JD, Viv, and Jessie were out safely, out of their costumes, and Jessie illusioned up as JJ, time to get out of there. Atlantean Relics lost to Fog of War. Destroying their costumes and messing with the SS one last time, perfect. Jake Wilde and his crew getting dogpiled on, I wonder where the Eye of Lemuria will end up after all this.

Darn, need to get Iron Ox's harness back from Cambion. So, take down Doc Cambion, Dr. Macabre, and IoR, a tall order. All those hard light projects and exhibits, just what are you making, Viv? Those groups trapped in hard light constructs, JD and JJ go for Iron Ox's belt and get it back only for JD to fall for Dr. Venus and hand her the belt, arrgggh.

Great, Dr. Photon taking over the hard light device and flying away with it, rats. Dang, that was some quick chemistry by JJ that hinder the IoR. 35 G bubble, whoever is inside the IoR rigs is going to be feeling that for some time. Dang, Viv forced one of the units to open. That is a highly unusual disk, I wonder what its origin is?

So all those crystals on the disk the IoR use in their power units seem to be power gems, dang. Viv with that purple power gem is an even bigger threat, Dr. Venus stood no chance. Now can Iron Ox finally get his belt back, please.

Cambion goes after Viv to steal what she has acquired, Deicide made the IoR gear, and I wonder what other wonders he can make. Cambion, you keep underestimating others today, suffering a broken bone is the least you deserve. Finally, Iron Ox has his belt back, but Golden Eagle insists Viv give him the purple power gem and she relents. Only for her to be nabbed by Dr. Macabre right after, I was wondering where he got off to.

JD and JJ rush to the rescue, but Viv somehow breaks free and breaks the troll's arms, then lifts the 500 lb. brute up, what is going on? Iron Ox and Viv against Dr. Macabre, I say they end him and his threat once and for all. And from the reactions of others, it was brutal. At least it made the other supervillains realize it is time to go.

JD has to fight Cambion over the EoL decoy and everyone gets in on the act, only for Cambion and the EoL to disappear in the mess. And the box of Atlantean relics. I hope Dr. Macabre gets the death penalty, if anyone deserves it he does.

Nick and Mara along with Julia and Luke worried about JD, Jessie, and Viv, Vic, Bart, and Asha know something is wrong. Gordon Adler is there to meet Nick, and he has Viv, JD, and JJ with him, yay. I don't quite understand Viv's new super strength without the harness or the power gem on her either. Jessie and JD are bruised up, yet all of them are laughing and say the raid went great.

Figures Nick would geek out over those Instrumentality plates. Bwahaha, so that is why they gave the scientists the plates, the easiest way to get them out and retrieve them. I knew it, I knew Viv had to have activated a Gadgeteer trait to pull all that off. Darn, Dr. Macabre is paid up in his Syndicate due so they will break him out. Dang, all 3 of those wanting to pay Viv way through Whateley, she really impressed a lot of big people today.

Jessie hooking up with the Bad Seeds, is not a bad idea. Viv as Intrepid, girl adventurer, ouch, my sides can't take much more laughing. Smart reason for joining them, learn how superheroes think so you can better deal with them. Jessie, why? Jeannie Yes should be Viv's nemesis, not yours.

“So, what the lab rats at Whateley will really need, more than just another eager young genius, is someone who can arrange funding, materials, various resources, and keep them focused, so a team guided by someone who understand the principles involved will be more effective than the same number of brains all going their own way. And, of course, as just such a leader, MY name will be the first one on any report or published paper.”

Viv is right, the workshop kids need someone to help them focus and work together better for bigger projects.

Doctor Savant, Viv, you are planning way ahead. Vic, don't get into an argument with Viv about the codename, you have years to think of a new one. Oof, Mara plays hardball with who gets to use that codename. So Doc Cambion having the mock Eye makes it child's play for Mara to find it and him, goodie. Cap'n Ransack, listen to your mother and let your father blow off some steam.

This was a fun story from start to finish. I loved seeing how the family is together, the sibling rivalries, how the kids are taught, and more. Each job was a glimpse into their mindsets and so much fun going along for the ride. Even Jessie and her superhero cosplay, yes, even Miss Champion if I still think she played it way too cheesy, was good.

But even as criminals it was good to see they have principles, lines they won't cross, and no endangering innocents. Viv's own rules, and treating her hired minions well, is one reason I respect her. The last job of the story, so chaotic, with so many moving pieces with more being introduced even up till the end, made it hard to keep them all straight sometimes, but also fun. It was like watching a movie with a huge chaotic fight scene and getting close-ups of bits and pieces.

I hope we see more of the various characters in the future, well, maybe not Dr. Macabre. But especially the Harrow family and I want to know the fate of the Sensational Seven after the fallout of this event.