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(I'm going to go ahead and post the next page even though it looks like the previous pages could use a serious editting job. ;) I'll try and get that done too sometime soon, but it'll be a pain because I like to edit hard copies, and there aren't any hard copies of this at the moment, nor, indeed, are there copies of much of it anywhere but on livejournal. ;) Ah well, I'll take care of it...and I'll get to see how long it ACTUALLY is, since it's definitely more than 10 pages. :) )
Sighing, Alexander Reynolds tried to figure out what to say next. No one was speaking, and no amount of time seemed to be dissipating the shock that had permeated the room in response to his previous comment. "I said," he repeated, "that you have a problem, right? Well, I don't mean this one, I don't mean me, you might want to snap out of it and listen!" It was by far the most frustrated he had felt since he had...gotten here? He wasn't sure what or where he'd 'gone,' or what have you, though he was certainly here now. Anyway, the amused expression on Butler's face certainly wasn't helping, and he just wasn't sure what to do differently than he was already doing.
Unfortunately, his flustered comment did little to help the situation, since another facet of the Mastermind's normal behavior was a cool that was pretty much never ruffled. Still, after a few more moments, Willow gave herself a shake and, the first of the heroes to recover, she spoke up for the group. "Are you feeling alright?" she asked.
It was Alexander's turn to blink. Apparently these people didn't worry much about problems, if that was all that she had to say for herself. Still, he gathered himself up, breathing in deeply, letting it go slowly, then said evenly. "Yes, I'm fine. Listen, I thought a little bit about how best to present the current situation, and thought it might be best to be blunt, but apparently bluntness hasn't conveyed the true seriousness of the problem at hand. You," he said slowly and with a great deal of emphasis, "have a very big problem." Speaking more normally, "and you might wish to be trying to deal with it, rather than sitting there and staring at me."
"What problem might that be?" Asked Riddle, using the time he spent talking to recover, and finally take in something other than the fact that their big secret weapon, the Masterminds name, was apparently utterly worthless.
Smiling in what he hoped was an encouraging manner, encouraging in a "good, good, you're no longer staring at me, keep that up" sort of way, he explained himself. "I'm assuming from your shock that this isn't how you've seen me, the Mastermind, act normally. Of course, that is entirely correct, for there has been a mishap. The nature of the mishap is not currently important. What is important is that as a result of this accident, my current scheme is no longer under my control. This scheme, carefully worked through and almost fully prepared to launch, was to hold the Iberian peninsula and other parts of continental Europe hostage the hopes of gaining a great deal of money. Of course, the penalty for not paying would be destruction of the hostaged peoples." He paused. The heroes looked, well, horrified, which, he thought with a smile, was better than dumbstruck and staring at him. "As I said, I know longer have control of this initiative, which means, incidentally, that if nothing is done, said destruction will occur without my say so. You have a problem,"
"Yes we do," breathed Riddle, and she was echoed by Willow a moment later.
Strong, however, took a different take on this. "What are you up to now?" he demanded. "This is a new angle for you. So why are you doing this? You want the money, right? This mishap will clear up just as soon as you've made the heroes go and get you your just rewards or something? Or maybe this mishap was just part of your plans, it's about time you try to prove to us that you're serious. You've done the ransom thing enough, you figured if you didn't show how serious you are we might start to take it for granted that you wouldn't go through with it," he got up, stormed to Reynolds and picked him up by his color. Terrified, Alex said nothing as he slowly turned red in the face. He couldn't breath! He kicked out, but it seemed to have no effect to speak of. "We have had enough of you, you hear! We've got you now, and we're taking you into custody. I bet that will stop you're plan!" Willow and Riddle and both come up and were imploring Strong to put Reynolds down. Meanwhile, unobserved, Butler was examining the equipment in the room, apparently looking for one piece in particular.
"Can't...breath..." managed Alex in between Strong's rantings.
"Yeah, yeah, like I care. You've caused enough death and destruction, we'll take you in before this plan get's off the ground and..." he stopped abruptly, as arms going taut. For a moment, Alex thought that this was it, Strong was trying to kill him, but then the arms suddenly went limp and Reynolds dropped to the ground. He sat there for a moment, breathing heavily, the girls caught Strong as he fell and Butler came up to join the group, sniffing aloofly.
"Can't you ladies control that great oaf? He almost killed Mr. Reynolds, which would have been most unfortunate."
"What did you do to him?" demanded Riddle, who couldn't decide exactly who her anger was directed at.
"It was just a shock," replied Butler, "he'll recover soon, and I dare say he will be most angry when he does. However, we should have to explain to you a little more in detail why this isn't a trap, and hopefully your rationality will win over his lumbering singlemindedness."
"We're listening," said Willow, helping Riddle ease Strong down to the ground.
"Are you alright, Mr. Reynolds?" the Butler leaned down, helping him up.
Alex had never really appreciated how nice it was to feel air in his lungs, but he certainly did now. Standing slightly shakily, he wheezed slightly as he answered, "oh yeah, Butler, never better. He..." he paused, gulping in more air, "he certainly is strong, I wonder if I ever have fully appreciated that before."
"Oh yes, sir, indeed you have, there was this one time..." Butler paused, catching himself. "But now is not the time." He turned to Riddle. "You command great psionic power, correct?" She nodded, and he proceeded, "then I would say the easiest way to make it clear how extensive our current problem is, and the best way to quickly impart our own sense of urgency, is for you to do a quick scan of our Mr. Reynolds, our Mastermind, and tell us what you think. I do not need to tell you that the technology that can fool your senses has yet to be discovered, nor do I need to remind you that my master has no powers, nor has he gained any. So please, tell us what you see."
There was a pause as Riddle closed her eyes and extended her feelings. Reynolds adjusted his clothing, tucking in his shirt again, wondering if he was supposed to feel anything, wishing that there was something more interesting going on in his mind, and trying to decide if it would be polite to ask where the nearest restroom was, since his need to use it was getting more urgent, especially after the fright he had just taken. With all that considered, he could think of little else to think of, though, and so he just stood there, knowing that only a few moments had passed yet unable to escape the feeling that it had been a really long time.
Suddenly, Riddle gasped, her eyes flying open. "What is it," Willow asked, slightly concerned.
"He...he's gone!" Riddle stammered. "He's not there!"
"What do you mean?" Willow asked, puzzled.
"The Mastermind...he's gone. This man...he may look like Mastermind, but he remembers nothing! There is nothing there but blank empty space!" She paused for a moment, and then a sick look crossed her face. "And it's all my fault!"
Sighing, Alexander Reynolds tried to figure out what to say next. No one was speaking, and no amount of time seemed to be dissipating the shock that had permeated the room in response to his previous comment. "I said," he repeated, "that you have a problem, right? Well, I don't mean this one, I don't mean me, you might want to snap out of it and listen!" It was by far the most frustrated he had felt since he had...gotten here? He wasn't sure what or where he'd 'gone,' or what have you, though he was certainly here now. Anyway, the amused expression on Butler's face certainly wasn't helping, and he just wasn't sure what to do differently than he was already doing.
Unfortunately, his flustered comment did little to help the situation, since another facet of the Mastermind's normal behavior was a cool that was pretty much never ruffled. Still, after a few more moments, Willow gave herself a shake and, the first of the heroes to recover, she spoke up for the group. "Are you feeling alright?" she asked.
It was Alexander's turn to blink. Apparently these people didn't worry much about problems, if that was all that she had to say for herself. Still, he gathered himself up, breathing in deeply, letting it go slowly, then said evenly. "Yes, I'm fine. Listen, I thought a little bit about how best to present the current situation, and thought it might be best to be blunt, but apparently bluntness hasn't conveyed the true seriousness of the problem at hand. You," he said slowly and with a great deal of emphasis, "have a very big problem." Speaking more normally, "and you might wish to be trying to deal with it, rather than sitting there and staring at me."
"What problem might that be?" Asked Riddle, using the time he spent talking to recover, and finally take in something other than the fact that their big secret weapon, the Masterminds name, was apparently utterly worthless.
Smiling in what he hoped was an encouraging manner, encouraging in a "good, good, you're no longer staring at me, keep that up" sort of way, he explained himself. "I'm assuming from your shock that this isn't how you've seen me, the Mastermind, act normally. Of course, that is entirely correct, for there has been a mishap. The nature of the mishap is not currently important. What is important is that as a result of this accident, my current scheme is no longer under my control. This scheme, carefully worked through and almost fully prepared to launch, was to hold the Iberian peninsula and other parts of continental Europe hostage the hopes of gaining a great deal of money. Of course, the penalty for not paying would be destruction of the hostaged peoples." He paused. The heroes looked, well, horrified, which, he thought with a smile, was better than dumbstruck and staring at him. "As I said, I know longer have control of this initiative, which means, incidentally, that if nothing is done, said destruction will occur without my say so. You have a problem,"
"Yes we do," breathed Riddle, and she was echoed by Willow a moment later.
Strong, however, took a different take on this. "What are you up to now?" he demanded. "This is a new angle for you. So why are you doing this? You want the money, right? This mishap will clear up just as soon as you've made the heroes go and get you your just rewards or something? Or maybe this mishap was just part of your plans, it's about time you try to prove to us that you're serious. You've done the ransom thing enough, you figured if you didn't show how serious you are we might start to take it for granted that you wouldn't go through with it," he got up, stormed to Reynolds and picked him up by his color. Terrified, Alex said nothing as he slowly turned red in the face. He couldn't breath! He kicked out, but it seemed to have no effect to speak of. "We have had enough of you, you hear! We've got you now, and we're taking you into custody. I bet that will stop you're plan!" Willow and Riddle and both come up and were imploring Strong to put Reynolds down. Meanwhile, unobserved, Butler was examining the equipment in the room, apparently looking for one piece in particular.
"Can't...breath..." managed Alex in between Strong's rantings.
"Yeah, yeah, like I care. You've caused enough death and destruction, we'll take you in before this plan get's off the ground and..." he stopped abruptly, as arms going taut. For a moment, Alex thought that this was it, Strong was trying to kill him, but then the arms suddenly went limp and Reynolds dropped to the ground. He sat there for a moment, breathing heavily, the girls caught Strong as he fell and Butler came up to join the group, sniffing aloofly.
"Can't you ladies control that great oaf? He almost killed Mr. Reynolds, which would have been most unfortunate."
"What did you do to him?" demanded Riddle, who couldn't decide exactly who her anger was directed at.
"It was just a shock," replied Butler, "he'll recover soon, and I dare say he will be most angry when he does. However, we should have to explain to you a little more in detail why this isn't a trap, and hopefully your rationality will win over his lumbering singlemindedness."
"We're listening," said Willow, helping Riddle ease Strong down to the ground.
"Are you alright, Mr. Reynolds?" the Butler leaned down, helping him up.
Alex had never really appreciated how nice it was to feel air in his lungs, but he certainly did now. Standing slightly shakily, he wheezed slightly as he answered, "oh yeah, Butler, never better. He..." he paused, gulping in more air, "he certainly is strong, I wonder if I ever have fully appreciated that before."
"Oh yes, sir, indeed you have, there was this one time..." Butler paused, catching himself. "But now is not the time." He turned to Riddle. "You command great psionic power, correct?" She nodded, and he proceeded, "then I would say the easiest way to make it clear how extensive our current problem is, and the best way to quickly impart our own sense of urgency, is for you to do a quick scan of our Mr. Reynolds, our Mastermind, and tell us what you think. I do not need to tell you that the technology that can fool your senses has yet to be discovered, nor do I need to remind you that my master has no powers, nor has he gained any. So please, tell us what you see."
There was a pause as Riddle closed her eyes and extended her feelings. Reynolds adjusted his clothing, tucking in his shirt again, wondering if he was supposed to feel anything, wishing that there was something more interesting going on in his mind, and trying to decide if it would be polite to ask where the nearest restroom was, since his need to use it was getting more urgent, especially after the fright he had just taken. With all that considered, he could think of little else to think of, though, and so he just stood there, knowing that only a few moments had passed yet unable to escape the feeling that it had been a really long time.
Suddenly, Riddle gasped, her eyes flying open. "What is it," Willow asked, slightly concerned.
"He...he's gone!" Riddle stammered. "He's not there!"
"What do you mean?" Willow asked, puzzled.
"The Mastermind...he's gone. This man...he may look like Mastermind, but he remembers nothing! There is nothing there but blank empty space!" She paused for a moment, and then a sick look crossed her face. "And it's all my fault!"
