Diamonds are a Vamp's Best Friend

7:41 AM Tuesday, April 10th, 2007

VAMP

Mrs. Pierson let that kid in the house who escaped and on the run from Nightfox in the last part, what did he take as I'm been curious for so long about that. The kid disabled their security panel and Gina Lambert snuck in, they have a mesh that is electrified to keep her out, dang. And now having to find another place to stay, Jadis dealing with Jobe, at least she has Bova and the others to help there.

Ooo, Jobe is afraid of his grandmother that lives in New York, a retirement facility, that sounds like a great place to hear some tales. Belphy wants to learn more about Jobe from his dad, this is going to be fun. A periscope in the toilet, what the what! Dr. Insidious, they have such colorfully named foes. Another periscope in the chimney and what was that 'bubble' they used to enter the house?

Damsels of DOOM, great, Dr. Insidious is a cheesy goofball villain with lines like that. Yikes, plastic surgery went wrong indeed when Mal, Buzz, and Charger respond like that. *facepalms* They are idiots and doing a Three Stooges bit over who is going to be called 'Skankerella'.

Jadis was a sport, and made it $75 all told, with a bearclaw, a danish, and an apple fritter.

Three minions bought off for that, Dr. Insidious is an idiot to not pay the help.

Rubber Boy, Ultramax, Bronze, not these morons again. This is forced entry and assault, you boneheads. Now aggravated assault to the list of charges. Powerjack attacking Mal, ugh, I hope these punks get worse than a chewing out. Mal in 'cold fury mode' with one of his 'techno-devil tridents' is scary. Thank you, Bova, for preventing Mal from going lethal force on Bronze for harming his sister.

Tiger Girl and Tower show up and wonder what happened, Bova chews them out for not recognizing Dr. Insidious whose image they saw just yesterday.

“How were WE supposed to-”

“For the hundredth TIME, Bronze,” Tiger Girl said with loud asperity, “Knock and ASK! You keep telling us that you’re working on a Masters Degree; so why can’t you figure out how to remember that?”

At this point I could call it a loss, alert the authorities to how many times he has broken the law like this in pursuit of 'justice', and see him locked up as it seems only a harsh lesson will get it through Bronze's super dense skull. Mal wanting coffee and work overhauling all of the house's defenses and security, even I would find something, anything, to do outside the house all day to keep me away from that.

JADIS

Melody has been messing with Jadis like this since before Melody graduated from Whateley, oh boy, I would get a restraining order so she can't come within 100 yards of me or my home at least. Mrs. Griffin and Empress Wilkins battling for control again, eep. So many things to do in one day, Jadis having to go with Jobe, Belpy, the Empress, and her brother Mal probably has it easier than those stuck at the house with the Cadet Crusaders.

Moving to a new location, new name, and rebranding, but still same stock and business, Shane must have reasons to do this we don't know yet. Pretending to get along with Jobe and his Aunt Lorna, actually liking Belphy, it is hard not to like her. That was close, if Jadis hadn't spoken up first I think Shane and Mal could have talked shop on tech for hours easily. Mal, Belpy, and Shane work together without issue, huh.

Shane actually listened to what Jadis said about being Emperor of Karedonia, now that is shocking.

I was almost as croggled by this as Jobe was. I gave someone advice… and they listened to me? And they aren’t trying to turn it against me?

Hey, it was bound to happen, Jadis. Burglar Boggler, I bet more than a few organizations would love to have one of those. A gift for Jadis for the thing with Jobe last time, good deeds do get rewarded.

“You do realize that that thing is the anchor for a whole raft of new upgrades. If you install it, it may disengage many of the features you’ll need, so you’ll have to get the new upgrades. Upgrades that you’ll have to pay full price for.”

I take it back, Shane is a sneaky, greedy little bugger still.

VAMP

Hehehe, Power Jack trying to get a rise out of Mal, and Belphy comes to the rescue.

“Oh, someone obtained a sample of your nanite mesh- well, what we thought was a nanite mesh, it’s actually quite different- and well, samples of that sample have been making the rounds at the Whateley Advanced Technologies labs. Pity, it was a such a small sample, and well, simply everyone is all interested in examining it. Fantastic potentials there. Where did you obtain it?” She leaned in dangerously, giving him that ‘you know I’m irresistible; so why are you resisting?’ pout, and drawing little circles on his heroic chest with her finger. “So… what could I possibly do to… persuade you into giving me another, larger sample… of the mesh?”

He is doomed!

Belphy just smirked triumphantly at her sister?/mother?/ progenitor? “I didn’t expect to. But now I have a good idea what his buttons are, and he’s been slightly trained. When I choose to, I can get Jackie-boy so wrapped up that Mal will be able to walk up with a complete analysis suite and scan his entire rig, without him noticing a thing.”

Belphy is sweet, cute, sexy, and can be terrifying when she tries.

That expression was a classic ‘what do you mean, Belphy has a toy, And I Don’t?’ look.

Aww, just get her to teach you how to do that, Jobe. Oh no, sibling rivalry and Jobe is trying the technique on Mal, badly. And it is a complete fail, even gets taunted by Sapper as Mal walks off. Vamp spells out the major reason it failed: Mal thinks of Jobe like a sister, still thinks of Jobe as a male, and has a girlfriend already, Erzili, who is right there as Jobe tried this, and Jobe was as unsubtle as a sledgehammer, ouch.

No video camera to film it, rats. Jobe wants to be taught how to seduce boys by Vamp, this won't end well. Boiling down seduction to that for Jobe, this is going to be even worse than I expected. Ooo, Vamp can be so evil, doing that to Jobe as an example of seduction.

JADIS

Coming in to see the aftermath of Vamp messing with Jobe, oh boy, at least Jobe isn't ranting yet. Jobe refuses to give up the sapphire, who is this 'Astaroth' and why do they seem to be messing with Jobe's mind about the sapphire?

Fresh air away from Jobe, I just hope this outing doesn't result in another attack on Jadis. Going through where her old girl-geek-gang lived, uh oh. Ashley Diamond, parents forbid her from contacting Jadis ever again, aww. Oh great, rumors stating Dr. Diabolik killed Trevor Goodkind, should have known such things would spread. And even Tansy, another of their group of friends who up and disappeared who Jadis can just state is okay and going through some things.

Karedonia, time/share lair, makes you wonder how many supervillains have one of those there. Boy, Ashley is impressed by all the famous people Jadis has met. An owl that looks like a tattoo brought to life, not the weirdest thing, but why purse snatching? Oh boy, and it is a guy who is Jadis' type, the universe is taunting her so it seems. Hexwing, I wonder if he is related to Hexbreaker.

“My name is Arsene Pellegrini-St. Germaine.” I gave him a little more stone. “My mother is Madam Hex.”

She followed Dr. Insidious into the Diabolik home, his mother has guts at least. Concerned for his mother if she keeps going after the sapphire due to professional pride in completing a job. What kind of plan can do all that? Nightlord, you idiot!

And the moron thinks Ashley is a supervillain, jumping to conclusions based on his own bias.

“What I think he’s trying to say, Nerdlord,” I cut in, “is that we’re honest, law-abiding citizens trying to have a civilized conversation, and you have no standing to interfere. No crime is being committed, there are no Wants or Warrants out on any of us-” okay, I’m guessing about Arsene, but hey, I’m on a roll, “-and even if there were, you have neither standing nor due cause to hold us while a search for any such Wants or Warrants was conducted.”

Yes, read this nutjob the riot act.

I love the banter going on, Ashley and Arsene would have a whole bit and it would be a fun read. Nightlord and Hexwing going at it because Jadis said Nightlord might be jealous, good grief. Literary Club seeing each other regularly, that is good. MCO creeps taking a photo of Ashley, if they do anything so help me. Darn it! Now Ashley can't come in to visit, darn MCO goons.

“Ashley, you have to come inside. If you can’t go sneaky, go BIG.”

Well, that is one way to deal with it. Ack! Seeing Freight Train first, Ashley got thrown in the mutant encounter deep end. Wait, Jadis is using Vamp for her plan, she is desperate.

[/b]VAMP[/b]

Vamp sees Ashley as all the prettier because she isn't like the Exemplar hotties at Diabolik manor, Vamp has her good points and this is one of them. Plus she picks up on a plan pretty fast. Oh god, introducing Ashley to the Empress first while she was in a verbal sparring match with Mrs. Griffin, what have you done, Vamp?

ASHLEY

Ashley has a good read on the Cadets, Tower is about the only one of them I respect. Introduced to Jobe and her mother, poor Ashley in over her head. Vamp is manipulating the Empress to call Ashley's mother and get this thing all sorted out for them, she could teach a master's class on subtle manipulation. Sabella Griffin said to take a selfie with her so her mother won't be a problem at all, pitting her ego like that worked. And the plan actually worked, for something put together that quickly by Vamp it is very impressive.

SUPERBAD

That is Madam Hex, poor Hexwing has a mom that hot and probably hears it all the time from a lot of his friends. Marco aka Brainstorm did work for Jadis and now Madam Hex wants her phone number so she can chat with Jadis. $100 to pass along a message to Jadis, hope it isn't something that will get Jadis upset at the messenger.

[And the message is: WAA- Kismet99. ACRIS 138J56D114R. 12+ 2200. Whatever the fuck that means]

Madam Hex deals with all types and oh boy, she sounds like trouble when she is around. Kismet99 is about someone who was in Melville years ago, Fixer, and probably Madam Hex's old handle while at school. Interesting.

JADIS

Backstage at a fashion show, I would rather deal with angry badgers I think. Cadet Crusaders to deal with threats the professionals can't, I hope the fashion show is well insured.

VAMP

Vamp might be gaining depth, oh, the horror. =P Seamtress just assuming Vamp is one of the models, she deserved to be scared. Ashley is having fun at least. And the Cadets, I wouldn't wish telepathy and this situation my worse enemy, Aurora is going to need some downtime after this event. Hehe, Belphy wants the 'suit' of Power Jack to study. Sapper, don't you dare talk Mal into doing something stupid.

And if Belphy is gaming PJ for another sample… oh, crap, Erzili is noodging Mal into going for another sample, before Belphy can beat them to it.

Danger, Will Robinson, Danger! Extreme Stupidity Immanent! Danger!

D'oh! This is going to be a three-way fight if not more at the rate it is going. Nice plan to distract Belphy from Power Jack's suit, now to distract Mal and friends. And another bit of trouble avoided, Power Jack's nanite-based suit, who knows how it would interact with devisor-tech.

I may be new to Whateley, but I’ve hung around the Workshop enough to realize that the ‘I am a GENIUS, and must prove it to the world!’ cliché is very real. Which may explain why Whateley grads do so well at MIT.

Heh, at least Mal isn't ranting about it, Diedrick's in the mix would make it so much worse. Buzz distracted by a model, he goes to Whateley and this gets to him, making you wonder if he thinks he has a better chance with women who have never met him before.

Why did Charge switch the two stacks, what are they up to?

I haven’t been in there myself, but I’ve heard that the Bad Seeds have a large picture of Dick Dastardly with a list of ‘Don’t Dos’ in their clubhouse.

I have to know if what Vamp heard is true. Remote control in Mal's breast pocket, I love how Vamp figured out the most logical place it would be.

Bwahaha, Vamp pulled the old switcharoo on Mal, priceless. Nice to see Jadis bonding with Tiger Girl, she has met someone who knows the pain of having to deal with handling a group that doesn't always listen to them. Oh good, Mrs. Griffin kept Steff out.

JADIS

Ashley gave me an inquiring squeak, which I just answered with, “Personality politics. Just be glad that you don’t have to cope with the Wilkinses any more than you have to.”

Ashley, if you had to deal with Jobe as much as Jadis does you would be begging to escape within a day or two.

ASHLEY

Ashley loves the fashion show, it is nice to see things from her point of view.

And the answer about how someone could be jaded seeing all this is answered in Giles Hubbard of New York Metro News. Only reacting when Jobe and her ladies-in-waiting are announced. Seeing Jobe and the other drow girls for the first time is quite a thing. Bova is enjoying herself, yay. Okay, who sent the shadowy wraiths to the ruin Bova enjoying herself in the fashion show? Because they deserve an ass-kicking. Jobe as always is prepared and Freight Train with the mic stand I wouldn't get near. What is with the jewelry the shadows presented to them?

ASHLEY

Compliance collars, not these things again. Wait, so what Mal was setting up could have helped but because of Vamp nothing, rats. Vamp gets Jobe out of there while Mal and his crew head in to deal with the shadows. Cadet Crusaders protect the audience and are on defense, while Ashley wonders why Bronze is so familiar. Wait till she finds out.

Giles still thinks this is part of the show as the boys fight with the shadows, he is way too jaded. Jadis with one of Mal's tridents helps out and they make short work of most of the wraiths, except a red one. And it takes a girl from the audience hostage and puts one of the compliance collars around her neck, Giles still thinks this is an act, and someone else shows up.

ASHLEY

Ashley is the girl with the compliance collar on her neck, way to ruin her first experience of a fashion show. And she is trying to fight back, thinks she popped a circuit because of what she sees and hears. Okay, who is this who is right out of a fantasy novel with that weapon and strange mount? And he has redcaps among his 'honor guard', so very not good.

A Faerie King! Crap, this is epically bad. Blast the red wraith apart but drags Ashley to him and has her at spear point before Jobe comes out and yells at him about monologuing. She has a good point, villains who do that with a captive audience are overdone.

So Glamour or the audience just likes the drama, I hope it is because of a Glamour.

“What?” The Faerie King shrilled, “You DARE, you.. you trumped up, counterfeit insult to Eldritch Glory? I am SYNDARIAN, the Song of the Night Wind, Darkling Anti-King of the Western Court, Last Prince of the Unseelie Hoard, Marshal of the Host Abominable, Knight Paladin of the Black Glass Tower, the-”

So he is like a dark counterpart to Oberon and probably someone who Aunghadhail wouldn't wish to see has returned.

Overuse of titles, bashes Karedonia, threatens to harm Jobe even if she hands over the sapphire, Syndarian needs to learn this is the modern world and he isn't as impressive as he used to be and can't just demand things and get them. And he can't take an insult, ordering the giants to attack instead of doing the job himself, typical blowhard.

Forks of lightning or something like it from the lighting array, so that is what Mal had set up to deal with Power Jack, at least Vamp had it to deal with the giants. What is with the giants and now Syndarian's gear breaking apart into pixie-dot? Though I didn't think Buzz's power was that potent, dang. Between Mal's friends and robot spiders, Syndarian never stood a chance. Tiger Girl rescues Ashley and her response , such a fan of romantic books thing to say.

Pixie-dots now a pixie-storm and Syndarian sending it into a raging tempest, just when you think he is down. Why is everyone reacting the way they are, especially Vamp? And the Empress is here to take control, even taunting Syndarian. Darn, evenly matched. And a comment by Ashley gets Jadis thinking and remembering something from grade school. Are they going to use iron bells to mess up Syndarian, I loved Gargoyles and what Eliza pulled on Oberon.

And the prop bell being rung just twice hurt him, good. Freight Train told not to be subtle, I hope there isn't too much property damage. I just love Freight Train making the sounds as she pushes Syndarian out of the building and into the street. Tiger Girl has a plan but Jobe has a temper and stabs him with multiple , darn it. Puts on the crown, howling laugh, orders his minions to mete out Sidhe justice.

Something doesn't seem right about all this to me, why did his minions break up into pixie-dots? Almost like they are some kind of computer program made three-dimensional and interactive. Either Syndarian is who he says he is or this is all part of Jadis' plan with Hexwing somehow.

A few minutes and his knights have beaten up everyone, only now does Tiger Girl think it is time to call the Guard, should have called them sooner! Who is wielding that club and how is it hurting Syndarian so much? Miss Liberty and it was a large golden torch, being hit by a woman 50' tall wielding that is bound to hurt anyone. And she is struck down, knocked unconscious if not worse by a cowardly attack. By Wulfin the Purifier, now I see why the twins didn't talk about their birth mother.