Misguided Genius by Bek D Corbin

Dreamer wrote:

SPOILER ALERT
Below is a stream of conscious commentary I type up as I read the story. There will be details from the story included in it. If you have not read the story yet and don't wish to have details of it spoiled, read no further.

Misguided Genius Part 1 comments

Warning: Spoiler!

Back to the Diogenes once more with Clare Bernard-Gagny wondering when they can go aboard, but having to wait for Dr. Chase to arrive. Eric Newell, the Security officer is back, along with Glynis and Isobel and three new rookies. After the disaster of last year, I hope they can get through this one without any fatalities.

Forgot Dr. Chase had that upgrade and is an energizer superwoman because of it. Tom Chase shows up with his mother, but Linda isn't there and Collier was supposed to be with the Chases. Tyler Collier shows up with an advanced gilder of some sort, thrill-seeker it seems. Tyler has taken to her changes well. Tyler got something made for her by Mal, Jadis' brother, dang. Aww, no idea if he is a supervillain or not.

Yikes, always forget the issues with PFGs until someone spells it out as Tyler does here.

“Oh, this thing works off the secondary field that I create when I fly, super-speed or use super-strength. I am the battery. Okay, I’m still working on a way around the radio silence aspect.”

Very nice devise that Mal came up with. Dr. Garland and the Havocs showing up, Dr. Havoc really doesn't trust Jadis and thinks she would do something like that to Tyler, good grief.

All this information from Dr. Chase and Tyler and Prof Havoc and his daughter Melody still won't let it go. Linda going on this tour of the ship and her family is being pigheaded about Tyler's exposure to anything connected to Dr. Diabolik, let it go already. I love it when Dr. Chase stands up to them, the Havocs need to learn they can't push others around. When your wife is being reasonable and says you are going home don't argue.

Raquel Santoya, our new Director of Filming

I forget, did the previous Director of Filming survive last year and just decide to quit or what? Heike Zernike and you didn't discuss his being part of this with Dr. Chase. D'oh, she got three new students when Dr. Chase already chose three new students, this is bad.

Tom Tsung, grandson of one of the original Wiz-Kids, Maynard Lingies, and Geoffrey Boothroyd, interesting bunch. Heike, a 10-year-old polymath, oh boy. Mordecai Shearer, hhm, something about him sets me off. Mike Kung is the last of them. Tyler is just making friends by annoying Linda right off the bat. Double-up cabins, oof.

But that was more than made up for by confirming one of the recurring suspicions on the boy’s side: yes, the girls’ cabins were slightly larger and nicer than the guys, and the girls’ ‘head’ was noticeably larger and nicer.

If the boys ever find out they are going to be annoyed.

Buttercup, Clare's codename is Buttercup. Oh, good. The Foundation is already being dug out of the financial hole those crooks got it into, Lyle Korman is going a great job already. Yay, more science. Clare isn't wrong, this ship has a target on its back now for ego-driven supervillains. Without Hugh, I fear the stress of working together aboard will get to them faster. Suzy is getting off too lightly imo. Interesting plans and having the help of Tyler will get her far.

Tom is Cowboy. Confirmation of more supervillains in the future, darn it.

The California SA’s case against Suzy was badly undermined by the fact that she was ‘arrested’ by Jadis Diabolik and her cronies.

That is Jadis Frost and she has committed no crimes, you can't blame her for her father's actions. And now he is bashing Tyler, I hope his mother has some choice words for him later. Talk of throwing himself into dangerous situations, Tom has serious self-esteem issues.

Tyler is Rockhound. I'm glad Tyler is standing up for Jadis as she stood up for him. Tyler, you are too good for this world, still wishing to be friends with Suzy after everything that happened. The whole case involving Tyler was a horror show of the justice system being abused and gone wrong. Ah, the complications of being a changeling with it being public knowledge and having to deal with it at the same time.

Ouch, hundreds of letters from girls, and Tyler never knew it when she was still male, that is just cruel. Ouch, done research about teen lesbians and her situation. Eep, that old complication between dating a normal person and someone with super-strength. Dang, his projects really would help change the world for the better.

Tyler handed off to Izzy for the next interview, Clare, Izzy, and Linda going into Los Angeles and invite Tyler along, no sitcom stuff thankfully.

Julian and Penny were allowed to move back into the house so Tyler wouldn't have to kick his mother out to be fair. And Mom is trying to convince her not to have the IRS involved, to have Uncle Curtis do it, good grief. Julian trying to threaten Tyler with legal action, after all the shit that creep did, Julian is lucky Tyler has good self-restraint not to put him in traction.

A second call to her dad and left with a bad taste in her mouth and exhausted afterward, this family needs serious counseling. Paperwork in order is a good cue to take from Jadis and can save a lot of headaches in the future. Julian really is a sleazebag, none of that will hold up in a court of law. Parker Dunmore is that good at contract bridge, dang.

Ouch, Isobel's grandmother ripped her off and didn't even ask if she wanted to save any of that money for her own future. I don't like the sound of Isobel's grandmother. Clare's father better not let her uncle get his hands on her money. Good suggestion, Linda, a trust fund that can't be touched until you come of age will be safest.

Oh man, poor Jake, to die like that. Ray sounds like he is doing well, I wonder what school he is going to. 'Zap might get his conviction overturned, hooray. Luke aka the Mighty Pulse gaining control over his power is good to hear. Barbara doing better as well, nice. Dang, I knew Mittens had an impressive power but not that impressive. And to gain that much control already, she is a quick learner.

Culver City sounds like an interesting place to visit. Ugh, no respect for other people's property, taking the wing harness right off Tyler's shoulder like that. A nice trip into town and they have to deal with a supervillain attack in the area. And Tyler is smart, looking out of his league, but protects herself and the other girls from harm with the PFG.

4 more power frames and 6 other figures and all heading their way, dang it! Oh, some of them are heroes trying to stop criminals. Tyler gets a good look at one of the skaters, a very pretty redhead, I wonder why she doesn't have a proper helmet on. Big power armor, female cyborgs, and slip on the spray, but the power armor's weapons start discharging randomly, that is a dangerous design flaw where a slip and fall can trigger that.

A small crowd hides behind them so Tyler tries to extend the field by extending the wings, the PA wearer takes that for an attack and opens fire, but thankfully none gets through. Tyler goes to draw fire only for one of the rebounded shots to surprise the flier and send them into a dive. Tyler to the rescue and catches her, a near-duplicate of the skater who is gob-stopped upon seeing Tyler.

Tyler prioritizes the unarmed civilians over her own safety, takes out one of the cyborg's pivot guns, and then the power armor's pivot gun, then continues to take out the other cyborgs' energy weapons. Tyler lets the cyborgs get away since they aren't endangering civilians anymore, it is up to the police to arrest them, oh boy. Now they have to stay and answer questions for the police, this is going to suck. Oof, all those lawyers, a good idea to stick to the facts.

Three-and-a-½ Hours Later

Smart move, always have your lawyer present when speaking with the police even if they say it isn't a hostile interrogation. Tyler is doing perfectly hear, just answer with the facts and nothing more. Seesh, I forgot the kind of hell those producers of the show put those kids through in the name of ratings. And the perfect explanation for why he let them escape, Tyler knows his laws well.

Hayley and Holly, twins, now that is just cruel. Hayley and Holly Hellion, please say that is a codename and not their actual last name. Helen and Dr. Hector Hellion. *groan* And the father is a criminal scientist and the daughters are in Reality TV, arrgh. *hits head on desk* Celebrity heroes, those two girls need help before they get someone hurt or killed.

Ewww, who uses GoodBuzz, definitely a Goodkind chat program from the sound of it. Oh, good, just a bit of paperwork and they can go. Close one.

Hayley, when you care more about the celebrity than being a hero you aren't trying to redeem the family name. Ow, the more I read her thoughts the more it hurts, it is like she thinks everything is like it is on TV shows and Reality shows. And Holly has figured out who Tyler is and fills in her sister.

Oh no, Holly, this is a plan that is cruel to Tyler just so you can latch onto her celebrity status instead of actually liking her in that way. If you hurt Tyler I hope someone teaches you a harsh lesson. *hits head against desk again* These two make my head hurt with their scheming. And Holly gets Hayley to go along with the plan, this is going to backfire so badly on them.

Helen Hellion is here and Dr. Chase and her do not like each other just from their body postures, hitch one in the girls' plan. Hehe, I think Tyler is right, Dr. Hellion is still in prison because he wants a break from his wife. And the twins butt into the girls' night out and even butter up their mom to let them.

The Next Day

Glynis is upset and Tyler thinks it is because she is eating a lot of the pancakes to fuel her nanites. Nope, it is an image of Tyler with the twins trying to "flirt" with her. Tom is a bit uneducated about girls acting like the twins are in those images and gets teased about it. A solution to the 3 extra students situation that fast, please say no voting people off.

A competition to determine if they have the qualities to be a WizKid, after last year they should do it to each prospective student. The best they could do, let's hope no one is maimed or killed.

Tyler gives Heike a flight down to the testing area, the kid already has memories that will last a lifetime. 3 teams of 2, but with each challenge, they change up the teams and there are 4 challenges, dang, she is amping up the stakes right at the start. Ooo, the first challenge is a fun one. Jamie Hyneman and Adam Savage from Mythbusters as the judges, and they went all out for this challenge. Tom Tsung and Geoff Boothroyd, Heike and Maynard Lingies, and Mike Kung and Mordecai Shearer, time for the fun to start.

It is so much fun to watch these kids at work, find the components, and design on the fly. Oof, Tom, and Geoff, then Mike and Mordecai both in the drink. Heike and Tank's jetpack doesn't look like much, but it flies through the first hoop as the other two teams race to finish their flying gadgets. Jetpack through the third hoop while the other teams are still working on their flying gadgets, just has to get through the other two and back to shore.

The other two teams are finished and trying to make up lost time, but the jetpack team has gotten through the fifth hoop and is back to shore. The other two teams are having trouble, while Heike is ready to put out the fire on the jetpack and has parts ready to replace what burned out. Saucer team through the first hoop, Bike team as well, but Hieke is up in the jetpack and on the second lap.

Darn it, those Hellion twins are photobombing the shoot on a hover jetski from the looks of it. Crud, they are about to mess up the Saucer and the Bike with the suspension field their jetski uses, this is going to be a big mess. They are ruining it for everyone, even little Heike in the jetpack is slowed down by the field. Good grief, this whole mess is like out of a Wacky Races episode.

Heike's lift dome is taken back and it serves an important purpose, the kid is a genius and quick to react. Crap! Holly went underwater and Tyler can rescue her, but she is limp and unresponsive, all this for celebrity status. Tyler gives Holly CPR only for Holly to wrap her arms around Tyler and kiss her deeply. Why do I feel that the twins have some control over their biological processes and this rescue was a set-up for just this?

Darn, everyone did well which means more challenges are needed. Tom is jealous of Holly kissing Tyler, and Dr. Chase needs to have another talk with her son.

The abandoned Hawthorne Shopping Mall and setting it up for the next challenge, how will the twins find out about this challenge and mess things up.

Huh, surprised I've never heard of this place until now, even used in 2 movies and one TV show I watched. MADs is an interesting piece of worldbuilding with that tech. And a great challenge, not damaging them while taking control of a MAD will be tricky. Aww, Hieke wanted to stick with Tank, guess he has to learn how to work with others on the team a lot sooner.

Tom Tsung and Mordechai Shearer, Boothroyd and Heike, and Tank with Mike Kung. Command center all the way up there, how to get to the kids in the event of a disaster or bad accident quickly enough.

“To boldly go, where no man has gone before!” Tyler declared, mimicking William Shatner’s classic catchphrase. The others looked around, took in the vague similarity to the classic Enterprise bridge and gave Tyler uniform dirty looks. “WHAT? Aw, c’mon, Hughie isn’t here, and someone’s got to do it!”

Well that proves Tyler still has her sense of humor.

A lot of one-liner banter, and poor Heike was too embarrassed to go into Victoria's Secret store. Geoff, let your teammate help you! Aww, Tyler sees a young him in Heike and wants to do something for him. Tom, Tyler is not Worf. That evil grin from Dr. Chase, I'm not sure I like what she would call a little fun with the kids. Tyler, no Star Trek-themed singing, please.

“Hey, I’m picking up blips and bleeps that don’t seem to want to register. There’s something off going on down there.”

Please say it isn't the twins again. *facepalms* I can't believe Izzy made some of the MADs dance.

“I say if those Hellion girls were really interested in Ty, they’d get her to do something about that HAIR.” Linda insisted.

Tyler is still a new girl, lay off about the hair for now.

Don't treat Geoff like a shopping cart, that is rude and insensitive.

“Okay, Mike’s cute- but I wanna see him in swimtrunks one more time before I make any moves,” Izzy told Clare.

Focus on the task at hand. Missing captured MADs, MADs, acting weird, so help me if the twins are messing with them. Security cameras security feed is off, cycling weirdly, MADs rigging a fog generator, it is the twins!

Dr. Chase sends everyone spread out like that with orders to observe and report, something is up and if it isn't the twin it is something bad. Dang, that is a twist to the challenge and they can't even I.D. the 'Vampire' MAD by sight. Ooo, so that is what she is doing, great plan to root out anyone hiding out here and messing with their control of the MADs.

Just how many of the MADs have been coopted by this unknown individual or group? Tom and Tyler not listening to orders and being macho idiots, oh brother. And now Dr. Chase has to warn the kids the only way she can and thus alert the intruders as well. Linda as well gives chase and the six rookies do whatever they want, Dr. Chase is right.

An outfit to hide the face, but not the body's contours, good grief. Why is she saying those things? What is the skeletal mockup of a high-rise building doing here? Dang, this girl is slippery to keep escaping Tyler's grasp.

Heike and Boothroyd went to capture some of the rogue MADs with their own captured ones, seems to work but for how long.

Crud, two other criminals see them grappling in the office and set off charges to set the office on fire, things just got a whole lot worse.

Tyler speeds them to safety and grapples with the girl's hoodie only to get groped by the girl.

“Now, now, Cutie,” the burglar purred through an eager grin. “Don’t get me all exited and then play coy…”

Oh boy, another complicated situation.

Izzy, no recording that, bad girl.

Geoff and Heike got their MADs infected by the Vampire but they aren't acting like Zombies, everyone run!

Glynis, naughty girl, watching Tyler and the mystery girl instead of staying alert and on the job.

All those things and the wide-area mass-signal synchronizer and router, just who are these people, and what are they planning? Ouch, Linda has an attempted grapple reversed on her and the perp throws her, at least she avoids the worst of it. Dang, Tom's own lariat was used against them and the perp escaped, there has to be someone else in there that helped the 1st perp out. All that chasing around, I think it was two or more perps in the same outfit with similar enough builds and height to fool them.

Using the MADs to move crates on pallets to hand off to a giant, this just adds more questions!

Tyler tries to herd the mystery girl so he could get help from Tom, Linda, or Mr. Newell to catch her. The girl is worse than a greased pig to keep a hold on.

Tom Tsung and Geoff have at least messed up the MADs' coordination, for the time being, nice work.

Glynis is stuck outside, who is in the operations room right now if it isn't Dr. Chase?

A guy in an outfit of mismatched sports gear zipping back and forth knocking over all the prospective WizKids, who is this creep?

Mr. Newell has a plan to shoot up the front tires on the criminals' truck but is stopped by the giant before he has a chance. Fast for such a big guy.

A woman in mismatched sports gear goes to remove one piece of Geoff's signal tower, but why?

Now, who is this guy that Dr. Chase has run into? Don't tell me this abandoned mall was being used by a gang of super-crooks. She goes easy on him, not wanting to cause permanent damage and he uses that to beat her handily and dumps her down an elevator shaft, these creeps need to go down.

Tyler still has her hands full, Tom and Linda are no match for these creeps, and this situation is dire. Clear shots of their faces so the authorities know who they are dealing with, sometimes that is all you can do.

Ugh, this girl is a pervert, and forcing herself on Tyler like this sickens me. And now they've fallen to where the MADs, rookie Wiz Kids and two of the unknown intruders are, just great.

From the reaction of the woman, it seems the pervert mystery girl isn't with this group of criminals. The cat-hood girl has the router and sents Geoff rolling into a mass of MADs, she may not be with this group, but she is no good guy either. Tank and Tom Tsung go in to help, bad idea. And Tyler comes in with strength to the rescue. Now the two sports creeps are after the cat-hood girl but she is too slippery for them to catch or hit. Who is the creepy slender man and what did he do to the cat-hood girl?

The Man in Black as they are calling him disappeared, no sign of the others either. Dr. Chase has arrived to save Ace, but everyone else is to leave through the front gate and wait outside until they know if the place is safe to be in. A challenge turned into a nightmare, dang.

The cat-hood girl seems to be in some front of temporal stasis where nothing can move her, but snaps out of it and zips out of there fast. The rest do as well when Glynis insists they leave through the front gate, she can be forceful when she wants to.

Recap for Dr. Chase of what she missed, and they don't know who these people are. Except Jadis shows up and she knows something, Linda needs to stop calling her Diabolik, she isn't her father.

“This is Niles Ridgley, Age 26, Place of Birth: Manchester England, British Citizen and escaped convict.

“He’s a mutant with what’s called a ‘Warper’ trait, the ability to warp the very fabric of reality. In his case, he can dilate or compress TIME for short periods. He can slow down or speed up the passage of time, to make himself move at incredible speeds, or cause other people or things to be stuck where they are. When he stopped that girl in the cat hoodie, he seemed to appear out of nowhere and then touched her. What I think he did was he slowed time around him to get into position, and then sped up time around her, placing her in a form of stasis.”

I knew it!

“Nigel fancies himself a Criminal Mastermind of the Mission Impossible school, with intricate plans, outré maneuvers and split-second timing. Unfortunately for Nigel, but fortunately for the rest of us, he tends to over-plan his schemes and loads them down with too many failure points.”

Ah, one of those types of masterminds, too far in his own head to see the facts and won't listen to criticism most likely. He sounds a lot like the Clock King from Batman: The Animated Series.

Marga Zborov, so those are her powers, and that was just her training outfit, yikes. Escapade. George Warren Mayfield aka Maddash, with speeds like that I can see why. Benjamin Alonzo Torres aka Brawler, this is going to be a tough group to deal with. Matterhorn, crap, not that giant. Appropriate codename.

Ouch, I just winced at what Jadis said, I'm not sure some of the kids would be alive now if those supervillains had been playing for keeps. Hex Kitten, stuck with a name by a reporter, she should have gotten ahead of it. Recovery agent for stolen goods, I still don't like how she treated Tyler and the other kids. All those people looking younger or older than they actually are and that is before powered individuals get involved, eep.

Google Glasses, that is why Hex Kitten was saying those things, oh brother. A job requiring a well-coordinated squad of drones, hhm. All those details about the practice these criminals are doing for a job almost sound like they are planning on robbing a place with a lot of gold bars or something similar. And a smart move by Jadis, don't give the gossip rags and idiots anything more to drag your name through the mud. Another success from the challenge, but they need another challenge to narrow down the candidates still.

Darn, removing all those things there isn't much to do right now for Tyler. Hayley and Holly show up that like, dressed like that, someone help poor Tyler out of this mess. They are trying to use Tyler for product placement, ugh. A Spy Bear, who designed that thing? Teasing by Tom and Linda, Tyler can't catch a break when the twins are around.

Ouch, Hayley, it may be somewhat true, but don't say it to Tyler's face like that. Ack, Clare agrees with them, and Tyler is doomed to a day of clothes shopping. Ugh, Geoff, I thought better of you than that. Glynis is going along as a chaperone, good, less chance of these two getting Tyler into trouble. Tom! No betting pools like that, your mother will find out and take all the winnings away.

Tech-trendy outlets near Tech City and Hayley kept checking her watch, 4 PM and she says they have to go get Tyler's hair done, what are they up to?

Ouch, poor Tyler feels like she might have lost something in the trim. Why did Maddash, Escapade, Matterhorn, and Brawler show up to rob someplace? And how did the twins know this was going to happen, at least it seems they knew. Tyler is being reasonable about the situation and the twins just want their celebrity status, sneaking to find out what the supervillains are up to.

*facepalms* Changing into costume out in the open like that, the twins have no common sense. Crud, that many aerial drones and MADs and all of them armed, this situation just got a whole lot worse. Demolition Packets and using civilians are meat shields, now even dire doesn't seem enough. And Hayley shows off how intelligent she actually is.

Too dangerous to try anything without endangering the hostages, Ridgley thought of nearly everything, darn it. Arrggh! Hex Kitten just made this situation a lot more complicated, and no easy way to block the demo packets' signal. I hate it when the hero's hand is forced.

Getting Hex Kitten to listen to Tyler, please let her be reasonable and not a flippant jerk. Hex Kitten gets past the criminals and is launched by a catapult to a higher floor, a fun way to travel if you can survive it. Tyler wrecks it though, rats. Maddash gets tricked into revealing the location of the router to one of the twins. And how the skater twin messes with them and escape is classic, I love Looney Tunes' antics.

A gel that is sticky and slippery, now that is ingenious. Can't even push a button because of it, very handy stuff. That gray dust messing with Maddash sounds like it causes zero friction so no traction to even stand up. The Skater twin is back with the router and taunts them before taking off, priceless.

Brawler fought with Hex Kitten and knocked her back but not out. 8 rolls of what, just what are they stealing? Precision knows what to do, as Brawler is tossed towards the van and uses the matt as a catcher's mitt to catch the rolls Matterhorn throws his way. A girl in a flight rig, most likely Tyler, using a 'gun' that causes a whirlwind to catch the rolls and stop them from reaching Brawler, good.

Vortex gun and the only heavy things in the area are the rolls, so much for that plan. A warp disruptor to make Precision freeze himself for 10 minutes of subjective time, nice one, Glynis. A stolen News van with a communications tower is too obvious of a hiding place once you know the details.

Maddash and Escapade are free and in time to see Matterhorn being kept busy by one of the twins, Tyler, and Hex Kitten. Maddash and Hex Kitten throw by Matterhorn, Tyler goes after them, and the rest of the criminals making their escape, Hayley plans on skating down after them but has never done this before, crud.

Brawler is pinned by an armlock from Tyler and SWAT trying to cuff him with multiple cuffs, only for Maddash to knock the SWAT members down, and Brawler to be picked up by the Vortex gun again. Marga deals with Hex Kitten with no help from Mr. Precision so he goes running away only to get jumped by Tyler.

Breaking away he runs for it again only to run into a BMW and be caught by Tyler, he shouldn't have taken this job as his friend Hazard did. Brawler tries to escape only for Tyler to blind him and then Hayley zips in with a paralytic baton, nice teamwork. Marga, your pride will be your downfall.

You were going to kill Hex Kitten, you need to be locked up, Marga. Point-blank dazzling flare by Hayley and Marga is left open for Tyler with an energy-draining net, it is super-effective. No router for Hex Kitten and Matterhorn barreling towards her, but Tyler blasts him hard enough he shrinks back to human size.

The threat of being dropped 40 feet kept Matterhorn under control until Holly flies up with a Choke Collar, finally stopping his rampage. An argument over the router and Tyler has to break it up, Hex Kitten doesn't realize the name the press has given her, oh boy. Even 5% on those rolls is worth a lot more than the routers from the way the criminals were talking about them.

Unformatted Messingite, no wonder they were trying to steal so many rolls of it.

“Dr. Amos Messing, the inventor of Messingite™, was all-too aware of the practical difficulties of Messingite as it was,” Dr. Chase explained. “So, his most recent development was a change in his process where he could make a unit of Messingite without locking it into shape, keeping it in a malleable, workable state until it’s set.”

*eyes bug out* Okay, that is more valuable than gold imo. Melinda Martin, so glad she is around, buying such wonder material only to shelve it would have been a waste.

“Kids, there is a consortium of 12 marketing firms in New York, London, Berlin, Tokyo, Sao Paolo, Mumbai and Hong Kong that all kick in to pay Melinda $10 Million US dollars a year to stick to being a superheroine and wiping Amos’ nose.”

“And she takes it?”

“Kids, with all the super-scientists and uber-geniuses running around, WHY do you think we only have the International Research Station on the moon, and just three orbital platforms?”

So a bunch of rich firms and individuals pay to keep the world from advancing too quickly, rats.