In the end, it was actually the lack of:
Sunshine, blue skies, moonlight, stars, wide open spaces, friendly faces, familiar places, family, friends, my precious Speeder, life without security cameras, junk food, fast food, a red emergency phone with Batman or Pizzaman on speed dial, a nightlight by my bedside, a comfortable mattress, an unlocked and slightly open bedroom door, my stuffed dog, my real dog, not hearing The Headmasters voice making an announcement every few minutes, not having to follow a ridiculously strict schedule, drawing paper, any color other then black and white and our super suits and natural skin or hair color, freedom of any kind, and basically a life style that wasn't totally the evil scientist's secret creation's way of living, ect. That really drove us over the deep end into all out "WE'VE GOTTA GET OUT OF HERE!!!" mode.
But after spending more than 72 hours living, laughing, and being with Erik, Tekan, Miko, Sheran, Jewel, Marietta, and Vanna, we'd really fallen in love with The Headmaster's future world disaster causers.
Now, as you recall, this was all part of the The Headmaster's plan. He had hoped we would form an attachment to his little creations so that we would give our powers to them willingly... But while he was right about the attachment thing, his estimate on the outcome couldn't have been more off.
Honestly, would we, as superheros-- Defenders of justice, guardians of the innocent, the good guys who get put on hit-lists just for showing up, really let our personal feelings and attachments get in the way of stopping terrorist conquest?.. Heh, Nuuuu! But neither would we forgo those aforementioned personal feelings and attachments. So, our plan to escape was formulated with seven extra escapees in mind.
Since Lavender is a genius when it comes to freeing herself and others from enclosed spaces where law-offenders are usually kept, she was in charge of the plan. She chose the ventilation shaft in the recreation room/indoor-park as an exiting point, preparing for the fact that it may be both booby-trapped as well as too small for actual entry, as well as lead in the opposite direction we wanted to go in order to be pumped through a purifying machine-- All of which it did.
Boy! Lav sure understands the criminal mindset of someone who doesn't want their prisoner to escape!
So how'd we do it?... To be honest, it wasn't a quiet getaway, but the amount of force required to bust our way out made so that no one could stop us.
In the end, we left a huge gaping pit where a seemingly unsuspecting well had once been, in the middle of a vast yet empty field... We also figured out why they called it "The Old House", apparently the proper entry/exit point that the scientists always took to get back into the world and go home was the front door to a very spooky, supposedly abandoned, unsuspecting house in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by gnarled trees... Yes, I know I used the word "Unsuspecting" twice, but it really was! Seriously, if I hadn't gone from the inside-out, and was just a passer-by, I would've thought it was nothing more then an abandoned cottage where a farmer used to live; complete with untended, overgrown cropland and crumbling barn a mile or two behind the house. There was even a worn down clothes line beside the well we destroyed!!!
A little bit like this.. Only worse..
I never would've guessed that just behind the front door was an elevator that led hundreds of feet under the earth into a gigantic laboratory- Of which I discovered that the kids, Lav, Gen, Peg, and I only ever saw a tiny bit.. It was more then just those small hallways, our bedroom, the mess hall, the indoor-park, and the training room. Like YIKES! How long have they been building that place? And do they have earthquake insurance? Because the first whopper that shakes that place in going leave a canyon full of scientific gadgetry and illegal inventions of every freakazoid-kind imaginable in it's wake! Believe me, it was totally creepy.
But in the end, we made it home safe and sound...
And I promptly got in trouble with my probation officers for disappearing. What gives?! You know, if they had been doing their job correctly, Peg, Gen, Lav and I would never have gotten snagged like that without anybody seeing or knowing!.. But come to think of it, we also never would've met the kids, so hurray for slackers... This time.. <_<
Anyway, after that was all figured out, I then got in trouble with Nick Fury and SHIELD! I told them everything that had happened, but instead of charging out to go arrest Headmaster and end The Old House operation for good, they wanted custody of the kids! OF ALL THE NERVE!!! "Dangers to humanity" my left eye! ((No pun intended)) They're just kids! I've dealt with worse who knew better! These kids can and will learn, The Mythical Gang and I will teach them, SHIELD's services are NOT required!
...Okay, while there was a big argument, Nick actually consented to letting us train these kids for the better. He also agreed to let Catnip and Bluebird- Who just happened to appear out of the random wood-work and get me into even more trouble, to stay too. I'm so happy to see those two again! At his suggestion, we've started the Mythical Gang Apprentice Program, or MGAP.
It was hectic the first week, but after assigning one kid per teacher all jedi-like, it's going a lot better.
!!! Dern it!! Miko broke something again. I'll be back to introduce all the kids and explain MGAP a little better later. Till then!
Lloyd out!
