Chapter Twenty One : Assault On The Science Center Of Providence or Acquisition Of A Queen

So we had left off with a room of crying and screaming Red Menace operatives who with the aid of a magical sensor had tipped us off to the location of Amy the daughter of Miracle Mike. I really could not stand all the crying and screaming so I had massed whelmed the conscious ones unconscious while Lucky Ron had been talking with who I presume might have been the Thousand Eye Wizard. Well after a little run in with the Blue Moon Society and quite a nice bunch of fellows I might add we were on our way back to our Organization hideout in Providence. Truth be told there was a little heated excitement with the lone wolf Mickey the Torch but soon enough after resting for a few hours were on our way to the Providence Science Center with the plan being to rescue Amy in order to get Miracle Mike the Immortal out of our collective hair. I should also mention the same location we were heading was also the reputed location of the third blueprint for the creation of the Lightning Gun as well as perhaps a few other useful tidbits. So aided by our Organization ally Fluky Luke well actually he only job was to watch the cars and Alex the Blade leading the way we staged a stealth assault on the Science Center of Providence. I have to admit the facility was almost empty and while we located Amy what was actually fascinating were two of the individuals within the facility one of which was alien who proved to be quite capable. Yeah I know perhaps we could have tried to just talk to him but the reality was we needed a few things from the Science Center and so conflict had ensued. Dirty Anna and I had both confirmed by our own means that the blueprints were in vault within the facility and since the Alien had decided to be difficult dealing with him and acquiring what we sought was going to prove to be quite entertaining but I get ahead of myself so I shall start at the beginning.

My ever smooth and ever the dramatic Slick Rick had just literally brought the roof down on Red Menace and thus any hope of putting up any form of resistance had just been squashed. As far as I was concerned it served them right I mean that very morning these same Red Menace had been busy trying to gun us down in an ambush back at the University of Providence. I will admit for a moment I was a little worried about my Red Menace Fem Agent thrall Anita well to be honest soon to be again since thanks to my amour the lovely possessed Dirty Anna who had disrupted the magic the Red Menace had been using to shield themselves also had disrupted my spell on Anita and the backlash had burned me and caused me to mouth a few choice abyssal curses at her. Thankfully my beloved Alex the Blade was being courteous and escorting my stunned Anita out of the field of destruction he had of course been able to nimbly dance around the falling debris with the grace of a gazelle. Dirty Anna was trying to get to the weapon rack but alas it had been trapped under piles of rubble from the ceiling and sadly we had to leave it. Meanwhile I had spotted an eye attached to a stalk which was attached to a computer monitor moving around in the debris and Lucky Ron was having a go with talking to it. Well I figured I would give the eye which I assumed to be an extension of the Thousand Eye Wizard a chance to answer Lucky but that did not mean I planned to allow the ten or so other Red Menace who seemed to be trying to move a chance to get orientated since the others seemed unconscious or pinned I felt if best if the others joined them. I will give Lucky credit for I will admit I was of course still a little heated since these fools had the nerve to shoot at my Associate but I heard the eye speak and ask what we wanted and Lucky realizing he had the better hand informed the Eye he wanted the location of Amy the daughter of Miracle Mike. Lucky for the Eye it spoke quickly for it no doubt saved the lives of the Red Menace for he told us she was being held at the Science Center in Providence which the Eye said was being currently run by the independent Felz Corporation. I had heard enough and finished my mass whelm spell which stunned the rest of the conscious Red Menace into oblivion which would have left them easy pickings for a rapier thru the eye. I am sure the others had the same idea but since I was still cloaked by my greater invisibility spell and even still hasted Alex the Blade and I could have dispatched them with ease. They were in luck however for it seemed that as I looked back Goes Restaurant was being cleared out ten men wearing trench coats and wide brimmed hats were converging on the scene and cutting us off from our route of escape. It was times like this that I realized I would really miss the Stone of Tongues but alas I also realized it had perhaps become a crutch and we had perhaps grown beyond it Miracle Mike might have actually done us a favor in a way but I of course was not likely to thank him. I told the others telepathically to relax and that I would turn us all invisible with a invisibility sphere spell well with the exception of Slick Rick who was still our lookout while we move out of the room to a nearby office to let them pass by us. Dirty Anna was of course being stubborn as usual and looking sexy as hell while she did it and chose to turn herself invisible with her own spell I of course kept her with my sphere in either case and I also cast the see invisibility spell since the last thing I wanted to do was lose track of her. Well our plan almost worked but I had had a feeling about our new arrivals state of dress and I had a feeling they might be Hub Psychics. It seemed that they were fanning out three remained by the doorway which was our exit while five went inside to check on the Red Menace and two had remained almost outside our door. I was about to create an illusionary distraction to open up other ways to exit our current situation but at that very moment Dirty Anna whose mind seemed to be going the same direction as her namesake had taken aim at the head of one of the Hub Psychics and it did not seem that they too kindly to it and within less time than it took blink she had been rendered unconscious and had sprawled to the ground. I had immediately asked Scrounger if she was alright and he had confirmed that she would be fine and while the others had heard her fall and seemed worried. I telepathically told them she was fine for now and I would see if we had to deal with this problem. I was intrigued for at that moment a mind reached out to me and made contact it seemed the Hub were here to protect the lives of those who had been hurt and were part of the Blue Mountain Society. It informed me they were not here to fight and only were here to protect the medics who were on soon on the way. I informed the voice that we had no quarrel with them since the Red Menace had decided to meddle in our affairs and unless they had a problem we would depart. I was informed that they in truth had no love for the Red Menace and had no intention of trying to stop us from leaving. So I bid them a good night and informed the other that all was well while Mickey the Torch a true prize of a man with the stamina and strength of an Ox and the kind and gentle spirit of a Poet picked up Dirty Anna and with Alex escorting the still disorientated Anita who I took a quick moment to dominate since after all she was a good thrall. And the sensual rush that almost overwhelmed me as her will was once again bound to me was something I was going to have to make sure I did not let become an addiction. While we were leaving I noticed that the Restaurant was now almost completely empty and I had figured there was no time the present to acquire some fresh provisions for the road as they say I mean after all never said I was not greedy and we had all spend two dollars ($2.00) each well alright only ten dollars (10.00) total but I never said I was not greedy and I wanted my monies worth they don’t call me Beauty the Brain for nothing I mean someone has to think of the little things.

Slick Rick who was maintaining watch from above made me aware that the coast was clear to make it to our waiting cars were our equally possessed Mongo was waiting and we were off to the Organization hideout in the Patch a region in Providence. Our trip back to the hide out was actually quite uneventful but I did take the time to tend to the wounds of my ever reluctant beloved Alex the Blade with my Wand of Cure Light Wounds. My mind was sadly obsessed with the coming dawn for I realized that all of my thralls as well as those I loved were already being possessed in one form or another by Miracle Mike. Which left only Slick Rick and Alex the Blade and I already had a good idea how they were going to behave. Slick Rick while I did not fault him since I felt he had higher standards and while I am sure he found me attractive and capable but being a Sidhe did not place me high enough on his scale. Well I am sure give time he will wear down but I severely doubted that night would be tonight. Which brought be back to Alex the Blade who while he professed to love me was holding not only to out dated concepts of love and relationships but was still considering himself bound by some silly contract to protect me. So in his mind somehow he justified not being with me sexually when really after I had found out he was actually a Changling and able to alter his physical form to any shape I desired I will admit I was having difficulties dealing with my libido but then again who wouldn’t. So that meant that tonight I might very well have to content myself with a few unseen lovers but a girl could always hope I thought. I should also note my other distraction for it seemed that Fluky Luke had returned which had been obvious by the small car he had drive here. I spoke with him telepathically and informed him of a abridged version of what had happened to us since our encounter with Miracle Mike and the state of Mongo. I basically warned him that he had been right about Miracle Mike and two powerful magic items in his possession had enabled him to gain influence over everyone except Slick Rick, Alex the Blade and myself of course. I continued to inform him to stay out of physical contact with all of the others and to not allow himself to be alone with them until I told him otherwise. I told him of my concern for Mongo and he informed me that he was going to be sent off and that Swami Donnie had not seemed worried. I finished up with making sure he was aware that Miracle Mike might try to use the others or even him to try to gain access to Swami Donnie and to warn him. He seemed to believe that Swami Donnie could deal with him and while he might I was not willing to take that chance and I told Fluky to contact Swami Donnie from next door and make sure he was aware of the situation. I hoped that the enhanced perception powers that Swami Donnie seemed to possess would give him an edge and I realized that we would have to talk the next day and compare notes. I made sure that Fluky Luke had communicated our situation to Swami Donnie and when he returned I was somewhat relieved. So perhaps it was a combination of my fantasies that had been occupying my mind and my concern for the Organization for the others had been busy discussing the wisdom of resting the rest of the day or heading out to the Providence Science Center right away. I figured that while the Red Menace were it seemed always quick to respond I also had a feeling that if she was there she was not really being held without some guards of some kind. I even assumed that if she had been left in the hands of what they called on Emerald Mad Scientists then she was not doubt being experimented on even as we spoke. So I put my vote in for resting for the night and everyone seemed to be alright with the idea and so I went to go freshen up for the evening to come and figured I would perhaps paint a portrait of Dirty Anna and Clean Eugene since they looked so sexy together as I of course already knew. So believe it or not I had actually thought we going to spend the rest of the day relaxing so that we could make a move on the Providence Science Center sometime after midnight. Well of course my daring and debonair Mickey the Torch was not going to have that he felt the need to go back to the location where Amy was being held captive and check out the lay of the land as it were. It seemed he and Lucky Ron were having an argument about where she was possibly located and when Mickey the Torch asked me I of course told him. I mean after all I had made a vow not to deceive my friends and as far as Mickey was concerned the smooth and commanding flow of his words truly had an effect on me. I noticed as Lucky Ron gave me a look indicating that he wanted to say something to me telepathically and I found out he had been trying to indeed deceive him since he had already stated that he had wanted to leave and check it out. I of course had thought there was no way he would be leaving alone well as it turned out that was exactly his plan. I of course spoke to him and asked him if he would wait since after a few hours we could all travel together and he said he felt the need to go now. With that he proceeded to walk out the door with the others seeming to not even be worried about it. I had already noticed that Mickey the Torch who I felt carried himself like a noble and honored member of a dragon clan had certain expectations that I realized would be hard for our current group to deal with. As a matter of fact after I followed him outside to ask him what was wrong I was not surprised by his words. He had told me “ I feel the need to go alone since all of the others are filled with deception and always hold back instead of moving forward to victory.” I of course had frowned and replied to him “Even me Mickey” and he had replied “No not you Beauty but the others are really starting to get on my last nerve.”. I looked up to him and asked him if he was really going to leave and he said he was and so I told him very well I am going with you and he opened the door for me and we were off. As we left I telepathically told Dirty Anna that Mickey the Torch would be back in a little while as I looked at his disguise I realized it could us a little work but I also realized that since no one had yet to see his actual features he should be fine. Mickey and I had been driving for a few miles when suddenly Dirty Anna landed on the roof of the car we were driving and I should note it was not a mithral car which is what assured me that Mickey had been serious in his desire to travel to the University. I reached out to her with my mind and asked her if she had decided to come with us and it seemed that she had tried to convince the others to come but since they had decided to stay she had come to ask me to return. I asked Mickey to stop the car so we could talk and I stepped out of the car so Dirty Anna could make her case. I was really in a quandary for a moment there for to have Mickey the Torch needing me on one side of me and Dirty Anna needing me on the other was like the pull of the Sun and the Moon and my heart was torn. In the end it was of course Dirty Anna who won since she had not been holding herself or her feelings from me while Mickey the Torch was still mildly rejecting my advances and I truly expected that to cease soon it had not happened yet therefore I chose the sure thing. I tried to be diplomatic and asked Dirty Anna to go with him but Mickey the Torch did not seem to trust her and Dirty Anna did not really seem up to the idea. I therefore watched as Mickey the Torch drove off to face his destiny as I said a silent prayer to Aphrodite to protect one of the men that I loved. I looked back to Dirty Anna and she apologized to me but she told me she could not stand to have seen me leave and risk my life to protect Mickey the Torch. The two mile walk back to the safe house was a long one it only took us less than an hour to make it back and during that time Dirty Anna discussed a plan she had that she told me might very well kill her. She did not want to go into the specifics but I was pretty sure of what she was going to be trying. I felt for sure that she was going to try to burn her soul to try to dispel the presence of Miracle Mike and his liquid darkness from her body. I had a feeling that if push came to shove I could remove Miracle Mike from all of my companions with a break enchantment spell but I also realized that if what was effecting them was like a permanent magic item now sooner would I remove Miracle Mike then he would be free to try to capture her again unless I had prepared another vessel to contain him or the means to destroy him once and for all. Either way what I really needed was more information on the two artifacts before I began just hurling magic around. So I figured I would keep a close eye on Dirty Anna while she tried her ritual and use it as a learning experience and be ready to revive her with our resurrection scroll if necessary. As we arrived back at the safe house I could see Alex the Blade on the porch waiting for us to return and I will admit the walk had felt good and while from what I had seen the people of Emerald rarely walked anywhere Dirty Anna and I were Hyborian born and walk was refreshing indeed.

Alex the Blade was looking as sexy as ever and while I was pretty sure what his answer would be to my advances you never blame a girl for trying. I shall not even go into the cold words used by Alex the Blade to turn me down as I realized that the evening was indeed going to be a long one. As I entered the room shared by Dirty Anna, Clean Eugene and myself I realized there was yet another mystery that I was going to need to soon solve. Where exactly was Clean Eugene he had vanished when we were at Goes Restaurant but he had not appeared with the Stone of Tongues. I could only hope that if he was truly a contact to the Hyborian pantheon that they were somehow providing us a refuge when we needed it. I proceeded to shadow conjure two unseen lovers for I knew it was going to be a long night and I chose two males forms since I really wanted to try and not think about Dirty Anna and my Red Menace thrall Anita. I also figured since we did not seem to be setting watches I would also shadow conjured a servant hoard which created fifteen unseen servants which I dispatched to each entrance with instruction to alert me if anyone entered I also place two around Dirty Anna with instruction to warn me if her moved since she had started a mystical ritual when we had returned which at time when I cast the spell she was still in a mystical trance like state. I of course did not forget Fluky Luke and dispatched two servants to watch over him with instruction to warn me if any of my possessed companions came anywhere near him. I also went to Alex the Blades room and I informed him very business-like that he needed to disrobe since I needed to cast two spells upon him to strengthen his combat abilities as well as his innate resistances. He balked a little at first not doubt due to my sexy attire but when I insisted he disrobed and I mounted him while I would have loved for him to turn over I focused on the task of shadow conjuring to magical tattoos one in the shape of a dove and the other a dolphin which I was sure would come in handy in a few hours. While I knew they would miss it there was no way I was going to be myself in such a vulnerable position with Mickey the Torch and Dirty Anna since in my mind they were contagious and until the liquid darkness was purged from their systems I was going to be cautious. I also noticed that Slick Rick had given a bottle with smoke inside to Lucky Ron and told him that if he needed a hasty retreat then to open the bottle and a horse composed of smoke would appear to serve him which would be able to move fifty feet per second. While I did not quite catch the spell he had been casting I had actually seen such a bottle before when I had needed to travel to Seelie Court on a errand from the Nymph Arethusa who just so happened to also be a Druid like Slick Rick. I was actually glad to see that Slick Rick was still looking out for Lucky Ron either that or he was just making sure he had an ace up his sleeve either way it worked for me. For the next several hours I let my libido have its way as my two unseen male lovers made my sexual dreams a reality. So alright they are not the most skilled lovers by any means but even thought I can control my sexual urges I realize I function much better when I don’t have to suppress such a vital part of my nature. After about six hours my prayers were answered for Mickey the Torch returned with not that much news regarding the facility but he had by some miraculous means came across a set of keys to the facility. It seemed his guise as a student had paid off and he had been able to blend in quite well for which I was thankful. He told me he was going to get some rest and I told him everyone would be getting up soon for we were leaving in a few hours but to rest and I would be sure to wake him when we were ready to leave and of course take a nap on the drive over. The last few hours before it was time for everyone else to rise and for us to begin our nocturnal rescue passed without incident which for Emerald actually surprised me not that I would have let anyone know that of course. For while I had made a vow to not outright lie to my friends my feelings and concerns were my own and in truth it’s not like any of them really had a hope of keeping up with me mentally anyway so better in my mind to let them ask me when they had questions no need to overwhelm their little minds but alas as I will continue to remind them that’s why the call me Beauty the Brain.

It short order everyone was awake and after informing Fluky Luke I wanted him to come and to drive his own car we were on our way to the Providence Science Center. I was thankful that Dirty Anna had mentioned to the others that the very facility where we were heading was the same location where we would likely find the third blueprint for the Lightning Gun as well if we were lucky a Elder Thing Crystal and perhaps even a few jars of Iben Gazi. So alright the blueprint was a must acquire while the Elder Crystal were going to be of use when we needed to start using Mythos Magic while the Iben Gazi powder which seemed to be for some reason plentiful on Emerald basically was dispelling magic dust and as I thought of it might be a worthwhile acquisition. My original plan had been to rescue the pawn Amy and within a short span of time acquire a thrall inside the facility would lead me to the Lightning Gun blueprints anything else we acquired would be icing on the cake as they say. I was actually happy after we had parked near a small area with tree cover at the University and started to discuss the plan that everyone was on board to attempt at the very least to acquire the Lightning Gun blueprints. We had left Fluky Luke in his car to watch our three other cars and planned to leave my thrall Anita behind as well to protect him but I was of course wary. So I had informed Fluky Luke that I would stay in telepathic contact with him and to remain in his car as lookout only if Anita ever left her car without him being under attack to drive off and we would get in contact at a future date either in Ugly City or the hideout in the Patch. He under stood and as I turned back to the group I could see that my reluctant beloved Alex the Blade was making his preparations and taking the keys that had been offered by Mickey the Torch and I decided I would cast a few spells in preparation myself. I started off my taking a few minutes to shadow conjure myself a phantom steed for just in case since if I needed to retreat I wanted to have a steed fast enough to outdistance anyone flying or driving the bottled steed Slick Rick I realized was quite a good idea and mine would be even faster as well as invisible well after one additional spell of course. I then proceeded to cast an invisibility spell upon Alex so that he would have a better chance to enter the grounds undetected. Slick Rick then cast a spell that enhanced all of our abilities to perceive our surroundings. Our next step was to call upon the sensory powers of Mickey the Torch and his Dragon Senses as well as the keen sense of smell possessed by Scrounger in addition Slick Rick was coming with us and had assumed the form of a huge and beautiful sleek black panther and with their combined enhanced perception they were able to give us a good sensory view of the occupants inside. Basically the facility had five floors and each floor was currently occupied with one male on the first, a male and a female on the second, four males and a woman on the fourth and one male on the fifth. From what could be determined they were all of Emerald stock with the exception of one male on the fourth floor and if we were in luck our woman on the fourth floor would be our target Amy. Alex the Blade had reached the entrance and using the key was able to make his entrance unseen. Meanwhile while Dirty Anna was using her ability to see the unseen as well has her innate ability to perceive magic and she told me she could detect some kind of magical field around the Science Center which seemed to connect it to the University Palace which was a large actual palace like structure at the center of the campus grounds. I therefore took the time to cast two spells I never like to be without in a pinch see invisible as well as arcane sight which while limited in duration would give me abilities far superior to Dirty Anna’s natural ability and invocation. Of course my only drawback was of course was the limited duration so for the next ten minutes I would be able to perceive magic in all is wonders and power and for around one hundred minutes all things invisible would be perceived. We had give Alex the Blade enough of a head start and he confirmed the that first floor was clear and he was heading to the second and therefore I told the others to gather round and I cast an invisibility sphere which rendered everyone with ten feet of me invisible. I of course also cast a greater invisibility upon myself since I did intend to misbehave in the near future. In short order with Alex the Blade doing an excellent job as scout he had determined that the occupants on the first as well as second floors were nothing more than guards and therefore we moved quickly to the third floor for while Alex was still preparing to check it out I had a good feeling about the floor with the alien on it. He came to the door and opened it and slipped inside he left the door open and we could see that inside the room indeed looked like some strange kind of aquatic zoo. For there were tubes filling the room which was mostly dark which seemed to be about the size to hold humanoid forms. From our position near the stairs and with a quick confirmation from Scrounger I was able to make out that our target was not doubt the figure which seemed to be in a pit filled with liquid. All I could remember at the time was it was time to let my darker nature take over for awhile for I needed to show Miracle Mike just how cold, ruthless and efficient I could be. Alex told me he could see two figures near the entrance and I advised him to go ahead and get things started since we were right behind him. I of course had made sure he was positioned at the extent of my haste spell range and I cast it right before he moved. Alex the Blade therefore stepped up and struck a telling blow to one of the figures and I was not surprised to see that he was still standing. They of course opened fire but were unable to score a hit on Alex who at the very moment was dancing and vanishing into a shadow. At which moment Dirty Anna surprised me by tumbling into the room unleashing two eldritch bolts from her hand and following up with another enhanced eldritch blast from her Colt M1911 pistol. Of course her bolts chained and believe it or not they were both still standing. But of course Mickey the Torch and Lucky Ron were moving into the room and soon both of the door guards were down for the count by the power of Mickey’s mace and Lucky’s katana. Which of course only left the remain figures one who seemed bulky and monk like while the other who Scrounger confirmed was the alien. The monk like figure opened fire and the figure who I will call the Leader seemed to be sizing us up. Slick Rick had moved into room using the shadows to remain unseen and making sure he was ready to assist if he was needed. I took the time to shadow summon a water elemental from the liquid holding Amy and had it pull her form the liquid and bring her to the entrance of the room. Alex the Blade, Mickey the Torch and Lucky Ron pushed our advantage and moved on the two remaining figures and we were able to determine from Alex’s strike on the Leader and Lucky Ron’s swing on that they were both protected by shields while the impressive part was that before that had even happened Mickey the Torch had unleashed his signature breath weapon but the Leader merely reached out his hand and grabbed it out of the air. So be it Mother never said everything was going to be easy so while shadow summoning an air elemental which I dispatched to deliver Amy to Fluky Luke I also noticed that Dirty Anna was blasting away with eldritch blasts which seemed to having trouble getting thru their shields and the next thing I noticed was she seemed to lose sight of where she was. I also confirmed that Fluky was to start driving while I called my air elemental back to my side. Figuring I needed to even up the odds a little bit I cast a dominate person spell upon the Monk and he was mine but while I could feel his will being bound to me I could also tell that I would not be able to hold him long so I figure I would need a more permanent solution so after ordering him to tell me where the important documents were kept and he told me telepathically the safe on the fifth floor I ordered him to depart at his full move and continue moving until he could not move anymore. I was of course maintaining telepathic contact with Dragonfirre and Dirty Anna who seemed to have been able to shake off the mental thought scramble and seeing the Leader occupied with both Lucky Ron and Mickey the Torch moved to a computer terminal and interfaced with it and confirmed that what we were looking for was indeed on site. The plans were in the safe a Elder Thing Crystal was in a lab and a few Jars of Iben Gazi were in another storage area. It was strange for it seemed that while Dirty Anna had used my message spell to inform the other of what she found the she also informed us the Leader was somehow also aware of what she had just done. I therefore asked Alex the Blade to withdraw to the shadows and check on the status of the safe while Lucky Ron and Mickey the Torch kept the facility Leader at bay. I also tried my had at dominating him and while I did not figure I had a high chance of success if I had acquired him we would have been in a much better position. For the next thing the Leader did was pull his mind blank trick on Mickey the Torch and I of course figure he would fail since I myself had tried and failed in the past to overcome his will but alas he failed and literally crumbled to the ground helpless. Lucky Ron was doing a great job of keeping the Leader occupied and I realized I only needed him occupied for a few more seconds in order to liberate everything from the safe. For as my fellow Dragonfirre members would soon learn I always had a plan and when Alex the Blade confirmed my suspicion about both guard and the vault being shielded if realized I would have to fall back to my back up plan but then again since I had decided to live up to my new alias I realized while we might not be able to depart with everything on our shopping list the plans would be mine. About that time the Leader’s Monk friend returned and tried to fire his sexy pistol but it misfired in his hand and he dropped it and continued his move and attempted to threaten Lucky Ron. Well it seemed as was often the case today was once again a namesake day for Lucky Ron for I had the jump on him and using my fey gifts I placed him into a magical deep slumber and had my Water Elemental grab him and drag him into the liquid goo that had once held Amy. I have to admit the look on the Leader’s face as he saw no doubt one of his most powerful companions rendered helpless was priceless. Alex the Blade came upstairs and informed me that he was going to borrow a uniform from one of the fallen Science Center Guards and suddenly the Leader seemed to lose his mind and become enraged and suddenly became obsessed with destroying a love of my life. The Leader seemed to reach out and attempt to hurl Alex the Blade out of the nearby window but Alex the Blade danced nimbly out of the way losing only a shoe. I realized at this point that were dealing with yet another of Emeralds psionics and therefore I tried a feeblemind spell on him which even thought the spell was designed with just his kind of powers in mind failed. A moment later Alex the Blade was once again assaulted by the Leader and once again Alex the Blade made him look incompetent although he did lose his other shoe. Well Alex had finished stripping the body and was rising to leave while Lucky Ron continued to attack him but his infernal shield seemed to still be in place. I tried one again to rob the Leader of his mind with my feeblemind spell but once again he resisted and I informed the others we were going to need to withdraw and I would see to the plans after I dropped a solid fog spell right on top of the Leader which would give me twenty four seconds to clear out the vault and withdraw I figured between Slick Rick and myself plenty of time. The Leader seemed to have given up on the whole ranged attack option and rushed off to engage Alex the Blade hand to hand and while Lucky Ron struck at him as he rushed by he seemed obsessed which would of course be his downfall. Slick Rick dropped a flame strike right on top of him figuring as I would have that Alex the Blade would of course evade it with ease but somehow I can only figure it was the loss of his shoes threw off his balance and the spell struck him and threw him to the ground. Well it was time for us to make our move and I called my air elemental to rescue Alex the Blade and fly him away out the widow toward the nearby trees where our cars were waiting. He made it to the tree line but of course the Leader was still obsessed and I have to assume letting Alex the Blade get away was not part of his plan for he struck my air elemental with a telekinetic bolt which of course disrupted it. It of course had served its purpose after all and as the other started to withdraw with Lucky Ron grabbing Mickey the Torch who sadly was barely capable of even standing. I remained back with Slick Rick as I cast a solid fog spell right on top of the Science Center Leader I then turned to Slick Rick and told him we had work to do.

So with the Leader contained I figured it would soon be time for Slick Rick to put the vault defenses to the test and honestly I really doubt the Lightning Gun plans with be able to stand up to my intellect in addition to the insight of Slick Rick. Also the others would within moments be heading out and catching up with Fluky Luke. Either way Slick Rick, Lucky Ron and I had the fastest ways to withdraw so I really felt we were in a good place. And my mind started to wander ahead for the confrontation to come with Miracle Mike who I had found out when I had asked his advice and he had said once we had Amy to run that he was deep down a coward with powerful artifacts backing him up and nothing more. So really since I had never gave him my word I figured why not propose a new deal. In other words he release every member of Dragonfirre as well as the Stone of Tongues since he was also endangering countless Fey who had be banished from the Realm within Stone. In return we would not have my Associate silence his daughter Amy the recently promoted and captured Queen in our little game forever and then turn the Stone of Tongues over to the Red Menace and see how he liked that proposition. He might feel that he had the upper hand but if the Red Menace had been so easily able to control him by using his daughter it was about time Dragonfirre and Beauty the Brain did so as well and I of course would give him the option of being an ally but like Father always had said never negotiate from a position of weakness.