Part Ten

They exited at the bottom of the stairs into a mechanical room. It was dark and filled with the muffled sounds made by the near-idling equipment which supported the building.

"Now what?" said Energia, as they stood just inside the huge room.

"Don't like this," said Gadgetive, looking around warily. "No mechanical room in a legitimate business should be this clean."

They suddenly tensed for battle when a robot in coveralls, denim shirt and cap rounded a corner and marched towards them. They all relaxed with grateful sighs when it continued, unheeding, past them.

"Just a maintenance drone," said Gadgetive, with a nervous laugh. "No wonder it's so clean in here. Though don't take those for granted. They're not designed for fighting, but they're strong and tough and can be remotely repurposed. They're also against union rules."

"We should all look around as best we can for a tunnel, a concealed elevator, whatever," said Blue Impact. "Keep your ears open, as well as your eyes."

"Hold it," said Vic, raising a hand.

She closed her eyes and started walking forwards. The others looked at each other. Then back at her, in time to see Vic spread her arms and maneuver as if herding something into a corner which very much didn't want to go there.

"Gotcha'a!" she said, triumphantly, opening her eyes and smiling.

"Are you telling me..." said Blue Impact.

"There's... something... someone there," said Energia, frowning.

"Got it," said Gadgetive waving a scanner in that direction.
"Human female. Meets the physical parameters of Artemis Franks."

"So, you've improved your powers enough to created a full MYOB effect," said Blue Impact, impressed.

"How the fuck did you find me?!" Artemis snarled, at Vic specifically, as she became visible.

She was dressed in a fancy - and expensive - business pants suit. Her makeup was not merely normal, but subdued.

"Ancient martial arts technique," said Vic, not mentioning that her sense of perception worked through a different part of the brain than those Artemis' powers affected.

"How much do you want?" said Artemis. "I'm a legitimate businesswoman now, but I used to run with the villains. I'll pay you twice what whoever hired you did."

"Bad news," said Vic, pointing to her badge. "I'm a fed; they're with me. There's FBI upstairs."

"What?" said Artemis, obviously confused.

She's a good actor, thought Blue Impact.

Vic proceeded to formally arrest the woman, including zip tying her hands behind her back.

"More bad news. Given what your fiance just did - to your building and the the street outside - we have more than enough probable cause to search the entire place," said Blue Impact, when Vic was finished.

"Oh, no," said Artemis, looking genuinely upset. "What's that idiot done now?"

"So," said Blue Impact, very deliberately not giving her an answer. "Let's get to the stairs. It's going to be a long climb to the top."

"Wait, wait," said Artemis. "There's an executive elevator which goes from down here straight to my office on the top floor."

"So that's how you got down here so quickly," said Energia.

"Down? No, no, I was going up. I just got here. Parked in the executive garage and took the private tunnel to here. There were some panicked messages from security about a fire at one of our warehouses so I was coming in to handle that. You can check the security videos for when I came in."

Artemis continued to babble as they walked. None of them believed more than a small portion of what she was telling them. However, they did let her lead them to the elevator. It wasn't even concealed; at least, down here. The ride up was surprisingly quick. As it turned out, three of the FBI agents on scene were already in the penthouse office. They were only mildly surprised when what appeared to be a solid wood panel behind the office's desk slid aside and the elevator behind it disgorged five people from the crowded volume.

"Wow," said Energia, as she saw the opulence of the room. "This job must pay really well. Just look at the size of that desk!"

"I'd say she designed a lot of what's in here herself," said Gadgetive, impressed. "Also, people should be very careful about using any of her equipment. At the very least, most of it's meant to only work for her."

"Got that right," muttered Artemis, with more than a trace of pride.

"Ah," said agent Tanaka, as she moved to intercept them. "That's where the elevator is. And you got her! Good work!"

"She been through the process?" said agent Fred Hagen.

"Yeah," said Vic, nodding.

"All right, first and foremost," said Tanaka, "where is Emil Logsdon?"

"Who?" said Artemis, the image of innocence.

"Listen," said Tanaka, very firmly, "if he dies you'll face a manslaughter charge. Maybe even first degree murder. Where. Is. He?"

"My suite is the next floor down," said Artemis, quickly. "I mean, if my people have stashed him anywhere, it'll be there. The stairs are over there, through the unmarked door opposite the bathroom."

She looked around at them.

"Look I only just found out there was anything improper going on. I was coming in - not going out - to get up here and see just how bad the mess was."

"Tell it to the jury," said Tanaka.

Vic and the members of Tricorne followed agent Fred Hagen to the private stairs down which their unwilling host had indicated. However, Blue Impact had a thought before they descended.

"Vic, you better stay up here and keep an eye - and a whatever is it you have - on Miss Franks. Just to make sure she doesn't pull that disappearing trick again."

"Disappearing trick?" said agent Tanaka.

"I'll tell you all about it," said Vic, a bit upset to be missing out on what they might find below, but realizing the necessity of staying up here.

"How do you know the way?" asked Energia, as Fred opened a concealed door and they hurried down the steps beyond.

"We studied the blueprints to this place," said Fred. "That's how we knew about the hidden elevator. They didn't show many details of the interior, though, and we found some differences once we got in here."

As they entered the room at the bottom of the stairway they woke a woman who was laying on a fold-out couch.

"What's going on?" she muttered, sleepily.

"FBI," said Fred, flashing his badge. "Where's Emil Logsdon?"

"If you mean my patient, he's in the bedroom. What's..."

"Energia, you better keep an eye on her," said Blue Impact, as the rest of the group hurried in the indicated direction.

The door was open. They barged in... and froze. After a moment, Fred got on his radio.

"It's like a miniature emergency room in here. The old man's alive, but I'm afraid to touch anything. We better call an ambulance."

There really wasn't anything they could do in that room; the old man was unresponsive and none of them were qualified to evaluate his condition. They returned to the den and began questioning the nurse.

"I'm Amelia Modena. I'm a nurse practitioner. I was hired by Doctor Kleinert to watch over the patient. He stops by here every day to check on the old man."

"You didn't think it was strange that someone so ill wasn't in a hospital?" said Fred.

Modena looked increasingly worried.

"I was told he was an eccentric board member who took ill while visiting the city. That he so hated hospitals that he would be more likely to recover here. That I couldn't even be told his name, because if it became public knowledge that he was ill it would ruin several business deals."

"Who told you all this?"

"Miss Franks!"

"So much for her not knowing," said Gadgetive, smirking.

The ambulance crew arrived quickly. After a brief examination, they recommended calling a doctor. Agent Hagen nodded and radioed his boss. He then explained to those with him that the local FBI office had a doctor they worked with in such situations, and that he was available on Sundays. The paramedics said they would stay with the old man until the doctor told them his recommendation. They left Modena with them, agent Hagen telling the paramedics to keep an eye on her. The supers and agent Fred went back upstairs and told Vic and Tanaka about the nurse fingering Franks. Who seemed completely unconcerned about this.

"Any word on Major Grow?" said Blue Impact.

"Oh, there's another team of paramedics working on him," said Tanaka. "He shrank back to normal under the neutralizer. Which made treating him much easier. They say he's not seriously hurt. Except in the ego."

Franks actually seemed relieved at this.

The doctor the FBI had called arrived soon after this. He spent nearly an hour examining Mr. Logsdon and checking the charts, before recommending the paramedics transport him to a specific hospital. He came upstairs and briefed those waiting, then went back to help the paramedics move the old man. Blue Impact - with agent Tanaka's permission - called Sammy to give him the news. He thanked her, and said he was on his way to the hospital the doctor recommended.

"So, his prognosis isn't good, but it's not terrible," said Tanaka, glaring at Franks. "The doctor says you had him given good medical treatment. You are still facing a lot of charges, including kidnapping. Talk."

The woman remained stubbornly silent.

"I think a lot of her motivation is jealousy," said Blue Impact, smirking, when she saw this. "She's a good designer, but there's nothing here which holds a candle to Sturgeon's mechanical house."

Artemis' manner suddenly became substantially different.

"Mechanical house?!" she snapped. "Mechanical playground, you mean! All that stuff is just clockwork trivialities!"

"Yep," said Energia, grinning. "Jealousy."

"They gave all that publicity to toys!" Artemis shouted. "My father and grandfather spent their lives and their careers working on important, useful contributions to the state of the art, and all that museum cares about is amusements!"

"So instead of building your ancestors up, you decided to tear someone else down," said Blue Impact, angrily. She leaned in. "What happened to Emil Logsdon?"

"He... he got sick!" said the now obviously frightened woman. "It wasn't my fault!"

"The stress you put him under makes it your fault," said Tanaka. "Then there's all the assaults and thefts committed under your name."

"Hey! Nobody was seriously hurt! I made sure they all used non-lethal weapons!"

"Boobytraps are illegal, no matter what type of weapon they are," said Blue Impact. "Robots or drones acting on their own internal programming without supervision have been ruled to be the same as boobytraps. People have died in nets or from pepper balls, as just two reasons why. Assault is still illegal, as well. So, you still are going up for the full charge."

* * *

The initial interrogation lasted until agent Sanders and his crew arrived. He was briefed, approved what had been done, then declared that Artemis Franks needed to be put in a federal facility equipped with neutralizers, immediately.

"Do you have to?" she said, almost whining. "Those things make me feel so... fuzzy."

"Tell me about it," said Gadgetive, in a stage mutter.

Their protests were ignored. The neutralizer Sanders and his crew brought to the penthouse office with them was applied to Franks, and transport arranged. Artemis Franks was soon on her way.

"Well, this is quite the mess," said Sanders, sighing as he looked around at those present. "Just uncovering where everything she had stolen is stashed will take days or weeks. Untangling the whys, wherefores and hows will likely take months or years."

"Fortunately for us," said Blue Impact, with a bit of a smile, "that's your job. Though Vic may be involved in a lot of it."

"Thanks for reminding me," said the martial artist, with a sigh.

"You four may still be called on to testify at the preliminary hearing," said Tanaka. "Possibly for the trial as well."

"Anyway," said Sanders, smiling tiredly and extending his hand, "thank you - all of you - for your help. We likely would have needed much longer to catch her without you, and it would certainly have been much more painful."

"On behalf of Tricorne and the Bureau of Special Resources, you're welcome," said Blue Impact, whose smile was definitely not tired.

They shook hands all around.

* * *

"What a busy day!" said Energia, as the quartet reentered Blue Impact's lair.

"Busy but productive," said the facility's owner. She gave the other three a satisfied smile. "Now we can return to our schools with clear consciences."

"I haven't been in so many fights in such a short span since the Bureau sent me to talk to Granny Cyprus," said Vic, with a tired laugh.

"The swamp witch?!" said Blue Impact, startled. "Were you even able to find her?!"

"Yeah. Turned out she was being menaced by some wizard or other, plus minions. I helped Dr. Piano with them - me handling the minions, him and Granny the wizard - and in gratitude she gave us both a boon." Vic shook her head and favored them with a wry grin. "She said she liked me. That my connection to nature through my use of ki made me - What was the word she used? - harmonious, that's it."

"What did you pick for your boon?" said Energia.

"Honey," said Vic, her grin turning impish. "I'd heard she had this wonderful honey, and asked for some. Wow. Stuff is borderline orgasmic. At least, to some people."

"Impressive," said Blue Impact.

"Well, it took us until Sunday," said Energia, smiling, and stretching as she returned to her point, "but we got it done before school restarted."

"Now we have to hurry and pack so we can be where we're supposed to be when we're supposed to be there," said Gadgetive, with an aggravated sigh.

"Remember, I have more prep to do than any of you three," said Blue Impact, a bit irritated at her griping. "Not only do I have to pack, I have to shut down the lair and get Beefeater in the carrier."

"We'll help," said Energia, before Gadgetive could complain yet again about the cat being named by "an outsider."

* * *

Two weeks passed. Another video conference was underway, this time with Vic joining Energia at the Intrepids' base.

"So how goes the case against Artemis Franks?" said Blue Impact, after the preliminaries were completed.

"Well, she's blaming everything on her fiance and his 'friends,' claiming they were responding to her complaints about the exhibit on their own initiative, and were either unaware of the legalities or were assuming they could simply get away with the crimes," said Vic.

"So she's hanging them out to dry," said Energia.

"No, actually. She's making sure they get good legal representation. Like you've said before, she's a smart mastermind."

Vic shook her head and gave them a wry smile.

"They still haven't even found all the stuff taken. They think she's holding back to have some bargaining power."

"The Tuesday Ruby alone could earn some serious sentence reductions, if they play their hand well," said Blue Impact.

The four spent a few minutes catching each other up on what was happening in their lives. Then one participant called for their attention in regard to a special topic.

"If folks don't mind," said Energia, "before we talk about getting together for the Summer I'd like to discuss our plans for the future."

"Tricorne should just be the three of us!" said Gadgetive, loudly.

"That's not what I'm talking about. What I mean is, do you two really want Tricorne to go full time as a team when we're all ready?"

"I don't know," said Blue Impact, actually looking tired. "Tricorne is a force for good in the world, but does it really need another permanent super team?"

"I've been thinking about that," said Energia. "Yeah, we should make Tricorne a full time super team. However, we should also do a lot more than fight crime."

"Such as what?" said Gadgetive.

"You've heard of teaching hospitals?" said Energia. "Tricorne could be a teaching team. Vic says she's asked at the Bureau, and if we meet their requirements we could even certify teams as Bureau compliant. As well as getting paid for doing that."

"That would make it hard to maintain the secrecy of the lair," said Blue Impact, pointedly. "Not to mention our own private lives."

"I was checking the other resources in the area," said Energia. "I wondered - after the fact - what other supers or teams might have been available to help us with the Artemis Franks case that we wound up - fortunately - not needing. Turns out there's just one other team in the city; a local hero team: The FX. They've only organized since the war, but they have a good rep and already have a public headquarters. They could use both financial help and advice from seasoned supers. I've already talked to them about both things. My suggestion is, we - Tricorne - rent part of their building as an office where folks can contact us, and also help them with security and so forth. We use the rented part to train them and other heroes, especially in team tactics. Sort of what the Pine Island Academy does, only with adults. It could even be profitable. Like a martial arts school."

"That actually sounds workable," said Blue Impact, impressed.

"I think the Bureau would support that effort, too," said Vic, nodding.

"Okay," said Gadgetive, nodding. "That sounds workable, interesting and acceptable."

She jabbed a finger sternly at Energia.

"Just as long as it's just us three as Tricorne!"

"That's the plan," said Energia, grinning at her friend.