Copyright 1999 -- Robert Baer Jr. The Renegade Files - "Magic Act" PROLOGUE > > >This is the story of a superhero, The Computer Renegade, as told through >the eyes of his faithful bionic German Shepard Otto. Disguised as >Accountant Nathan Lovejoy, the Renegade and his friends fight a never >ending battle against crime, injustice and danger. This is yet another >entry from Otto's 'personal' log. > The Renegade Files - "Magic Act" Sometimes my master and I have gone to great lengths in our mission to fight crime and evil, but last week was one undercover operation that I'll not soon forget. We all travelled to Munich, Germany and met with the local authorities there. There had been reports that an old Bavarian castle owned by Baron Von Klink was being used as a front for the Leader. What made the castle even more suspicious was the fact that neither I, Starlight nor my master could scanThe Baron's annual autumn ball was to take place that night and we were all asked to go to the castle undercover as a travelling magic troupe. So, it was set. We borrowed a horse-drawn wagon to ride in, Starlight would be our horse and the Computer Gila Monster (in holographic disguise) would be the 'driver." The rest of us were all going to be a part of the act. We quickly rehearsed the act and later that evening our horse-drawn wagon slowly approached Baron Von Klink's castle. When we were stopped by the security guards, Nathan explained that we were the entertainment for the evening. It's a good thing our translating devices were all working, they made us sound like we were speaking German while enabling us to understand their language. It fooled the guards perfectly, they opened the gate and let us all in. Nathan, Wanna, Xeren Zzoom, the Computer Counsellor, my wife and I entered the servant's entrance of the castle while Starlight and the Gila stayed in the stable area. The Baron's assistant, Gwen Schimmer, gave us a quick tour of the castle, and showed us where we were all to wait until our act was 'on.' "Scanning," I said outloud,"no listening devices present, we can talk here." "Otto," Nathan asked,"have you scanned the entire castle?" "Yes," I answered,"nothing unusual above the basement, however I'm getting many strange energy readings from one specific area of the castle, approximately fifty feet below our present position!" "Below us?" Wanna asked,"what kind of readings?" "Trace amounts of nuclear radiation!" I said excitedly,"also there are some energy reading that don't match any known sources of energy." "Oh NO!!" Samantha barked,"what are we going to do?" "First, we'd better prepare for our act," Xeren said,"while one of us tries to find a way to the basement." "Can't we just 'zap' ourselves there?" Samantha said. "It's not that simple, honey," I said to my wife,"without being able to scan the area, we have no idea where to teleport to. These energy readings are making it difficult for me to scan what's down there." "I have an idea!" the Counsellor suggested,"why not let Otto and Samantha go out and find a way down? They can make themselves invisible and return before we go on!" "Great idea," the Renegade as he attempted to open the door,"hey, this door is locked!" "Locked?" Wanna asked,"why would they lock us in?" "Otto," Nathan urged,"contact Starlight and ...." Before my master could complete his order, the floor of our room gave way like a huge trap door, making all of us slide downward deeper into the basement area of the castle. At the end of our 'slide' armed guards were awaiting as Baron Von Klink came towards us. "So!" the Baron bellowed,"you are a group of performers, HA! You take me for a fool! I know who you are, SPIES!!" "We're not spies!" Wanna protested,"you've made some sort of mistake!" "I don't think so, young lady!" the Baron grumbled,"you've come to discover the secrets of my castle! Well, you and your pets will never see daylight again!" Meanwhile, in the stable area, the Gila Monster is acting natural, removing a feedbag from Starlight's head when she had fiunished eating. Slowly, three figures slowly crept towards them. "Do you see them?" Starlight whispered to the Gila. "I can smell them goonies a mile away," the Gila whispered back as he reached for his 2 x 4. The three men pounced on the Gila Monster, who instantly threw them all to the ground. Two of them stood up to fight, only to be knocked down again by the Gila's swinging 2 x 4. The third man got too close to Starlight, who kicked him in the shoulders with her strong hind legs. "Looks like our cover is blown!" the Gila Monster growled,"we better get inside the castle quick!" "Wanna and the others may be in grave danger!" Starlight shouted as she activated her black box circuitry and teleported herself and the Gila into the castle. Meanwhlie, back in the basement Baron Von Klink was still grilling his captives. "So, you are magicians!" the Baron scoffed,"well then, why don't you just make yourselves disappear!" The Baron and his men laughed, but the laughter turned into astonishment when (thanks to my invisibilty screen) we all did precisely that. "I don't believe this!" the Baron shouted,"find them! FIND THEM NOW BEFORE THEY DISCOVER OUR SECRET!!!" The Baron and all of his men left the room, I made us all visible again. "I'm getting good reading now!" I announced to the others,"it appears that the Leader is experimenting with nuclear energy again. His reactor is located 300 feet straight under us!" "What are we waiting for?" the Counsellor urged,"a device like that in his hands can be dangerous!" "Someone's coming!" I said as I reactivated our invisibility screen. We watched as the Baron, the Leader, and their henchmen ran past us, screaming in terror. In the distance, we all soon heard the reason why they were all fleeing. "Come back here, you goomers!" the Gila Monster yelled,"I ain't done clobbering y'all yet!" I made us all visible again just as the Gila Monster and Starlight came running towards us. "Excuse me folks," the Gila Monster growled,"I've got more attitude adjustments to make!" "We were attacked," Starlight explained,"that's why we zapped ourselves here! The Leader has a nuclear reactor down there, fueled with stolen plutonium rods. I've contacted the German police, they're on their way here!" "Good work, Starlight!" Nathan said,"Wanna and I better get into our costumes before the police arrive!" "The rest of us better go stop the Gila Monster," the Counsellor said with a smile,"Otto, better contact the local hospital, you know how much the Gila loves his work!" "Good idea!" I giggled. Minutes later, the German authorities arrived and arrested the Baron, the Leader and their men. A special team came into the castle to safely remove the plutonium, and the Baron's 'party' was over. "Awwwww!" the Masked Melitta said in sadness,"I wanted to do our magic act!" "Yes!" Samantha giggled,"it would have been fun!" "Well, gang, our next 'act' have better be a disappearing act!" the Renegade said as he pointed,"here comes the press!" With a loud BOOM!!!!!!!!!! we were all back home. I must confess, it would've been quite fun to have gone on the stage with my master and friends. Oh well, perhaps they'll be another time for our 'magic act.' -------------------------------------------------------------------------