Vanity Project (IC)

[Avenger Assembled]

Lacking much knowledge of the Circus of Crime, Caradoc simply 'hmmed' through the radio link, scanning the house as they entered: while he saw no obvious weapons, his armor's sensors were not so powerful they could not be easily fooled. If Melvin's mother was a former criminal, this might be a dangerous situation. But when no obvious threats presented themselves, he concentrated on paying attention to the other two heroes and their discussion with the Thackery family. Melvin's mother was just saying that, "....I appreciate all your help, Miss Americana, Bishop, and, uh, Caradoc, but my son is not getting sucked into crazy super-science. We've had enough trouble with that in this family!"

As Melvin wandered unsupervised, she added, looking at Miss Americana, "You're a woman, you understand. I work very very hard to make sure my boy stays on the straight and narrow path. There are SO many problems he could run into!"

[Bishop]

As he politely listened, Bishop was busy calculating tactics in case things went badly. He assembled a mental map of the area including cover, lines of sight, and obstacles to maneuvering. His mind quickly prioritized objectives and effective responses to the most likely vectors of attack. [bg=#404040]"If things get violent, I will secure Melvin's safety so the two of you can focus on any threats."[/bg] Given his confidence that Miss Americana and Caradoc could handle anything an apparently retired acrobatic super-criminal could throw at them, it seemed the most effective roll for him in this situation. But, even given the mother's criminal background, he held out hope that reason would prevail.

Hoping to give the others an opportunity to talk without Melvin in earshot and to advance his general plan of keeping Melvin safe, Bishop called out to the boy, "Hey, I'd really like to see that lab you told me about. Are you still up for showing me?" Turning back to Melvin's mother, he asked, "Would that be okay?"

[Electra]

Miss Americana tilted her head ever so slightly to listen to the radio broadcast, then gave Melvin's mother a reassuring smile. "Mrs. Thackery, there really isn't a need for pretense between us, is there? We know about your, mm, double life in the past, and we're not here to bust you for it. As far as I'm concerned, nine years of good behavior is enough to let bygones be bygones. You must have been very young, and it's pretty clear why you left when you did. But from the notes the school has, it sounds like you may be having a harder time putting the past behind you. Do you want to talk about that?" Her voice was warm and concerned, inviting confidences.

[Avenger Assembled]

Mrs. Thackery's eyes widened at the reveal of her secrets, her hand going over her mouth. For a moment, it looked like she was going to be trouble before she cursed and looked away. "I'm not the one with the problem letting go of the past, honey. It's Melvin's dad who's causing all the trouble." She folded her arms over her chest defensively and looked away. "Johnny was a real funny guy, you know? Smart, too. He used to make me these little robot clowns that would always be laughing and follow me around wherever I went. Those damn little clowns!" She shook her head. "He wanted Melvin born in jail. Said that would make him tough when he busted out. He's been after us since he got out." She shook her head again, evidently a nervous gesture. "I did a lot of bad stuff. Even when I was pregnant, before I was thinking. I just want him to have a normal life! Without any of those...things!"

---

Upstairs, once you got past the hidden door in his closet, little Melvin had a quite an impressive lab, at least for someone working on an eight-year-old's budget: he'd slapped together several high-end electronic toys to make a respectable computer, and constructed a small workbench out of a mismatched set of mechanical tools he probably had not acquired legally. "I had to hide all this from my mom," he admitted to Bishop. "She thinks science is going to kill me or drive me crazy or something!"

[Bishop]

Bishop monitored the conversation downstairs though the communications link and was relieved. It was sounding like there were no immediate threats, though Miss Americana might have her work cut out for her.

As to the sights Melvin presented him, Bishop openly admired the young boy's work. "This is... amazing. You know, Melvin, people consider me a pretty smart guy, but I have no clue how you did what you've done here. It's way beyond me. Can you show me what some of this stuff does?"

From the conversation downstairs, it was seeming the real trouble might be from a technological direction after all. With his computer interface, he reached out to Melvin's homemade computer to search for any sign of 'Johnny.'

[Electra]

"Arleen," Miss A began by leaning in, her voice soothing and confidential, "I understand that you want the best for Melvin. You want safety, security, friends, all those good things for him, and that's very admirable. But you've seen what your son can do. He is never going to have an entirely normal life, no matter how much either of you tries. That doesn't mean he can't have all those things you want for him." She sat up once more, crossing her legs casually at the knee. "There's a school in Freedom City for children like Melvin, children with special potential. He'd receive guidance and training there from people who aren't afraid or in awe of him, and who can challenge him in age-appropriate ways. He'd still get the experience of having peers and going to school, but without all the problems he's having right now."

[Avenger Assembled]

Genius though he was, Melvin was putty in Bishop's hands at those words. Here was an adult praising his intellect and asking what all his science gadgets did. He was only too happy to show Bishop everything he'd built, all the way from a few simple AIs powering little Tinkertoy dogs that could woof electronically and sniff Bishop's hand, to the homemade computer that was comparable to anything a college kid could make in a collegiate computer lab: and this was a preteen working in secret! As far as Bishop could tell, Melvin had a strong intuitive grasp of computer science and electrical engineering, ranging from parroting words he'd obviously learned off the Internet to casually demonstrating how he'd made his own soldering kit! Melvin's computer wound up being the only downside; much to Melvin's chagrin, his internet connection wasn't working. "It looks like something's blocking the signal!" he exclaimed with a boy's wide-eyed excitement.

Downstairs, Arleen frowned at Miss Americana, but she was obviously being won over. "Well, I guess it couldn't hurt to try him there for a coupla weeks. I mean, he's already moved around so much, going to another school isn't going to hurt him any. And being at a school where he can learn science and isn't going to drive him crazy _would_ be good..." Without much to add to the conversation, Caradoc was on his feet and listening when he heard footsteps on the porch. He took a few steps, peered through the bars, and exclaimed

"CLOWNS!" A moment before a red rubber ball erupted through the barred window and hit him in the chest in a flare of electricity! Though it exploded over his body, the cyberknight looked unhurt by the attack.

[Bishop]

Bishop crouched down to eye level with Melvin, took him by the shoulder and looked him in the eye. "You heard that downstairs. Things just got dangerous here. I'm going to get you and your mother to safety, okay?" Melvin nodded and before he even finished the gesture of assent -- zzzut!

The two of them appeared in the upstairs office of the Clarion Chess Club, Clarion Street, Philadelphia. Mike was sitting at his chair behind his desk watching YouTube videos and almost fell backwards at their sudden appearance. Bishop stood up from his crouch next to Melvin and faced Mike. "Mike, this is Melvin. Melvin, Mike. No time to explain, Mike. Superhero stuff. I'll be right back." Zzzzut!

In an instant, Bishop was standing in the living room, right next to where Melvin's mother had been sitting. "Arleen, Melvin is safe. I'll take you to him."

[Avenger Assembled]

Caradoc worked his sword and fired a blast of glowing cosmic energy out the already broken window, striking one of the advancing clown robots in the chest. Sparking and hissing, the robot dropped like a stone, a massive crater in its brightly-colored chest. But there were so many of them, and the rest were still advancing. "There are a great many clown robots. This is an unexpected situation," said the armored 'knight' , surprise in his voice. "If you have relocated the boy, I agree that relocating his mother is a fine idea as well." Another rubber nose came flying through the window, but this time he was ready and batted the electrical bomb away before it could explode, sending it sparking away into the corner.

[Electra]

"Hold a moment, Bishop," Miss Americana instructed, looking intently at the robots outside. She circled her wrist with her fingers and made a twisting motion, then repeated the gesture with the other wrist. "I suspect that Arleen may be an integral part of solving this little encounter." Extending her hands towards the robots, she shot a blast of white light that blew the automatons back, sparking and jittering and falling over. She took a moment to admire her work, then looked to Arleen. "We'll protect you," she told the 'civilian' woman. "Your child is safe, and we'll send you away if you want. But if you keep running, you'll never stop being afraid."

[Avenger Assembled]

Caradoc kept a tight grip on his glowing sword, being experienced in the ways of mad geniuses. Sure enough, a secondary system sprang to life from the depths of the broken robots, projecting the holographic image of a blotchy-faced man in elaborate clown makeup: he seemed to favor the Emmet Kelly look. "C'mon," the image said, seeming to peer in the window. "Where's my little boy? You've been a very bad mommy Arleen..."

"Don't...don't you come any closer!" yelled Arleen, pointing at the hologram and seeming to draw strength from all the nearby heroes. "You're not ever going to get your hands on him, you clown-faced freak!"

"Cmon, baby," said the former Clown Constructor, winking at her and sticking his tongue out at the heroes at once; his Tim Curry impression was not very good. "Don't be like that. You know I can find you eventually, but you can't find me! Just let me have my boy and I won't need anything from you anymore."

[Bishop]

Bishop acknowledged Miss Americana's instruction with a curt nod, then seconds later was admiring her handiwork. When the Clown-man finished his spiel, he crossed his arms and gave the hologram a skeptical look. "Can't find you? Seriously?" He gestured to Miss Americana. "I know you probably don't know me, but surely you know her. Do you really think we can't find you and stop you? Oh, and your son is safely away from here, by the way. Miles away. You've already lost. Don't tell me you're not smart enough to realize that."

[Electra]

Miss Americana looked at the construct and laughed, even her derisive peal of laughter oddly compelling. "Oh, honey," she told the projection, shaking her head. "You did not just tell us to come at you. The fact that you're old enough to have phreaked pay phones doesn't make you a legend, it makes you old and busted. Bee are bee," she told the others, locking her knees and closing her eyes for a moment on a long exhale.

It wasn't more than a few seconds before she opened them again with a beautiful and feral smile for the villainous clown. "Ronald McDonald here is in unit 1501 of the Shady Pines Trailer Court, about fifteen miles west of here. I'm sure you'll be able to recognize him, he'll be the one in dirty boxer shorts and an Atari t-shirt, with orange Cheeto-fingers permanently curled up from-" She coughed suddenly. "Anyway, go teach him a lesson," she instructed Bishop.

[Avenger Assembled]

With the signal traced, Caradoc went into action. Now that there was no reason to spare the robots, he went about the efficient process of their destruction. He climbed out the window with a slow, methodical grace and raised his sword, slicing the mechanism to bits just as the startled clown projection disappeared with an "Awp!" On the plus side, he hadn't looked like he was particularly good at running in meat-space. Bringing the blade up and down, he cut the smashed robots into gradually segmented pieces until finally he hit their respective power cores and they stopped twitching. "Best to make sure there are none left," he said flatly.

[Bishop]

A gleeful smile broke out on the chessmaster's face. "With pleasure, Miss..." and with that, he vanished.

Within seconds, Bishop had sighted the trailer from above, locked in to the villian's room, and with a zzzzut, teleported directly behind him. He casually rested the tip of his scepter on the clown-maker's shoulder. "I strongly suggest you sit right there and not move until the police arrive." After a short pause, he added, "Yeah, I know you have no idea what this thing can do to you, but you're a smart guy. You can probably figure it wouldn't be pretty."

[Avenger Assembled]

Suitably intimidated by Bishop's arrival, especially with his equipment in a bad way in the wake of Miss Americana's arrival, the Clown Constructor sat back and tried to look like the master of the situation, but the way he flinched at Bishop's every glance more than ruined the impression. "Oh yeah? Well, I'll...I'll get out of jail one day," he dared, "but you'll still have that eye!" Evidently Melvin had gotten his potty mouth from his dad, but what was mildly annoying from a child was downright pathetic from an adult supervillain. Well, villain anyway; Miss A hadn't been exaggerating about the pizza boxes and Cheetos. With sirens sounding distantly, it looked like Melvin's dad hadn't left the place in a while.

[Electra]

Miss A smiled in satisfaction as Caradoc disassembled the robots and Bishop took care of their controller. "It's amazing," she said conversationally to Arlene, "how brave a coward can get if he feels protected by the distance of a computer. Clown Constructor will be learning the error of his ways right about now. We're going to need you to fill out a police report detailing what sort of trouble he's given you, but after that we should be able to tuck him away without internet access for quite awhile. And in the meantime, move you and Melvin to a more secure location. How are you feeling?" she asked the ex-villainess.

[Avenger Assembled]

Eventually the cops came and took the Clown Constructor off Bishop's hands, the hero having so thoroughly cowed the odious villain that he'd offered no successful resistance. They locked up the equipment before they left, leaving the high-tech stuff securely out of the hands of the local trailer park folks, though they were more than happy to leave the ultimate authority in the hands of the nearby superhero.

Meanwhile, Arleen was pacing. "Scared!" she said, spreading her arms wide. "You know how hard it is to find jobs when all your skills used to be hitting people with big hammers and hiding out from the cops? I do medical billing, so I can work from home anywhere we go, but if this gets back to my boss I might be in even bigger trouble. Ex-supervillains are as bad as ex-cons, except most ex-cons don't have crazy clown bastards kicking down the door of where you work looking for you."

[Bishop]

Seconds later, Bishop appeared in the living room. "I'm sorry I had to take Melvin away so suddenly, Arleen. He is in a safe place, I assure you, and will bring him back here..." He paused as he surveyed the mess. "...or to wherever you'd like me to take him. Or, I can take you to him, if you prefer."

Bishop had a sudden thought and held up a finger as he pulled a cell phone out of a utility pouch of his belt. "Actually, let me get him on the phone now." Then he added with a lopsided grin as he dialed the number, "and I owe an explanation to my friends watching out for him. I didn't have much time to explain at the time."

[Electra]

"We can help you, Arleen," Miss A promised, her voice soothing. "I think it's very admirable how you've straightened out your life and the way you're raising your son to be a good man. The school I was telling you about, the one I'd like to see Melvin started at, is called the Nicholson School. It's a private academy for children with superhuman potential, whether that's physical or mental. The teachers there are very good, and I believe Melvin will blossom there, and that his behavioral problems will be solved when he's being challenged and stimulated appropriately."

Miss A smiled and nodded at Bishop. "Go ahead and make the call," she told him. "It should be safe to bring him back here now." She turned back to Arleen. "The school believes that superpowered children need consistent and involved parental support, and that means having the parents close by. There is housing available near the school for school parents, housing that's secure and protected, patrolled by school security and monitored by superheroes. I can put excluders on your electronics to make sure nothing you don't want in your computer comes through. It's a safe place. We're going to put John in jail, but this way, you won't have to look over your shoulder, either."

[Avenger Assembled]

With Melvin's return, information about the Nicholson School in Arleen's hand, and the arrest of the Clown Constructor, the heroes could congratulate themselves on a job well-done. Behind his mask, even the usually-dour Murdock was pleased with what they'd accomplished: perhaps they hadn't inspired that assembly of students quite as they'd hoped, but they'd saved a young boy and his mother from a wrathful father, put the young man himself on the path to right, and they'd done it all with no serious damage to the city, themselves, or the civilians they had been protecting. It had been a well-spent afternoon, for all that it hadn't gone quite the way they'd planned.

With the work done, having done his part by helping destroy the robots, Caradoc made his excuses from the house and headed to leave: perhaps he was not one for grand speeches or mighty deeds, but he'd been there to help and that was what really mattered. He wasn't one to inspire children; just one to save them.