July 6, 1987 (Monday)

Scott headed in to the office to enter Manta Master into the K. Robeson database, and because he wanted to talk to Felix.
    "Good morning, how are you doing today?" he greeted Stephanie.
    "Oh, I'm doing very nicely. "
    "Morning, boss," Sphinx nodded.
    "Morning."
    "Looks like you had an interesting weekend. Um, I have two words for you?" He turned his chair slightly.
    "What?"
    "'Count Bastard?'"
    "Not my fault," Scott shrugged as only a heap of sentient liquid metal can. "That's what he said his name was. Six foot tall black man dressed in full evening gear, wielding a trumpet with a number of powers, including mind control and sonic blast. Oh, and a sonic force field."
    "High tech," he admitted. "Wonder where he got that from."
    "That's one of the things I want to have a meeting about. Is Larry in?"
    "He should be in any minute."
    "Oh, I got a question for you. You heard anything about a sunken Egyptian culture somewhere in the Indian Ocean?" Back in the day, when the Sphinx led a more... active lifestyle, some of his work had been done with what he'd always claimed was "advanced Egyptian technology."
    Felix spilled his coffee. "No. Nothing at all, why?" His tone was far too casual.
    "There should be an exhibit at the museum in a month or so," Scott told him, watching carefully. "I'd almost think you were lying to me."
    "Now, why would I lie to you? Boss," he added pointedly. "Can I have some more coffee, please?" he asked as Stephanie passed by.
    "Well, I'm not sure why you would lie to me, the fact that you actually had a physical reaction that seemed slightly outside your immediate control, however, seems to be an indicator."
    "Nonsense." He got the coffee himself.
    "Some of that secret Egyptian technology that nobody ever found in Egypt, huh?" Scott didn't give up easily.
    "Sorry, I was getting coffee, did you say something?" Felix replied innocently. "Have to mop this up, excuse me."
    "Did it have to do with shark control?"
    "No."
    "Oh. I was wondering if he got that there."
    As Scott had expected, the Sphinx's nature did eventually get the better of him. "Why, has someone... just out of curiosity to continue this intriguing conversational thread, has someone found such a city?"
    "I just said that there's going to be an exhibit at the museum in a month." He'd never seen Sphinx anywhere close to rattled before. "So, yes."
    "It could have been at the MFA, someone could have been working on art about it. Who?"
    Larry arrived, cutting off Scott's reply. "Good morning! I'm away from my home, life is wonderful! I have to let you know, unfortunately, in a couple of weeks I'll be going on the road. It's a shame, but for once I'm in a touring company where I'm not doing Our Town." His voice dropped to a whisper. "They're actually doing Hamlet, I get to play Claudius again. Life is good." He resumed his usual volume. "I'd wanted the ghost, but then I considered the implications and decided... no. Besides, it's been years since I got to do Claudius, years! Felix, you spilled your coffee?"
    "It was nothing," Sphinx replied firmly.
    "Oh. Okay."
    "He wants to have a meeting."
    "Very well. What's running through your wonderfully artificial mind, good sir?"
    K. Robeson Enterprises got down to business. "Well, the first thing I wanted to ask is, you're not running an outsource agency for supervillains, are you, Larry?"
    "No."
    Of course, Larry was incredibly good at poker. But Scott didn't think he'd lie about something like this. "Take a look at this." He handed over the Henchmen packet.
    "Nice brochure. Ooh, testimonials," he drawled.
    "They made those up," Felix remarked.
    "How can you tell?"
    "Syntax is wrong. Also because one of the mooks uses the word 'hypothetically.'"
    "Good point. When did this turn up?"
    "Well, I first ran across that one out in Seattle, but apparently they've established offices on the East Coast," the boss explained.
    "This would be the 1-800-HENCHMEN people you mentioned?" Felix said. "And they're operating out here? Oh, did you hear about the....?" He looked at Larry.
    "Count Bastard? Yes, I saw it in the paper."
    "And his two-man Jazz Trio," Scott reminded them.
    "He has to work on the 'counting' thing."
    "He said he was working on a third member, I really would have thought he would have gotten the full complement and then the robbery, but...."
    "Who knows. And then there was this manta fellow?"
    "Manta Master."
    Larry nodded. "And there was one question I had about the 'Manta Master,' as it were."
    "Yeah, the big question, the thing that always comes up," Sphinx seconded.
    "Yes?"
    "So, his body... vanished?"
    "Oh, obviously eaten by sharks." No one could deadpan quite like Scott.
    "We know he's not dead."
    "Yes. Although there was his mask left behind."
    "I have to give him points for that," Larry conceded.
    "You should have heard the full report," Sphinx informed him. "Apparently he specifically told his henchmen to leave alone the ladies in bikinis."
    "That molesting them was beneath them," Scott said.
    Larry smiled broadly. "It just warms the cockles of my heart."
    "Your heart has cockles?" Felix inquired.
    "Yes, I bought them last week. He's still go the money," Larry pointed out.
    "Quite possibly," Scott agreed. "Wasn't on him."
    "It wasn't on him, the Blood Boards didn't have it."
    "We never found where his base of operations was. I'm pretty sure he didn't actually show it to the Blood Boards."
    "I would certainly hope he wasn't that foolish."
    "Well, he did tell us where his last attack was going to be...."
    Muse switched tracks. "Did you know that your teammate came in to talk to us the other day? Something about checking in on Paul Page?"
    "Oh, the whole beaten up by Toy Man thing?"
    "Of course, we let him know that we'd be interested in working with the standard contractual rates, with group discount, however if you want to override that...."
    Scott shrugged. "He hasn't asked me."
    "We have done some basic research already, and just reminisced about Paul for a few hours...."
    "... Just drinking at the bar," Felix clarified.
    "Exactly. So we're not going to charge him for that. But if there was one thing that Paul was particularly good at, he was an absolute master at finding secret headquarters. If this guy, whoever he was, has some sort of base where he was able to build a giant house underground in the middle of nowhere, Paul could do that. Of course, there are other people who could do that, according to the pamphlet you just showed me, but.... It certainly looks as if these people are going to be expanding in here, I trust you want us to look into this?"
    "You haven't heard anything yet?"
    "No, but my ear hasn't exactly been to the ground for it. I could go investigate some seedy establishment—"
    "Like your house?" Sphinx remarked.
    "Stop being—"
    "Don't say it."
    "But I will certainly charm some people, gather some information, find out what's going on."
    "Apparently they are recruiting in bars." Scott shrugged, not particularly happy with Larry's speculative expression.
    "It's certainly worth looking into. Almost enough to make one consider... performing one's duty as a law-abiding citizen," he finished serenely.
    "If you were actually interested in being in the Game, you would be," his employer told him.
    Larry sighed a bit. "This is true, this is true. We all find our excitement in different areas now. I'll try and look into this before I begin this Claudius, but you know where my heart is going to be."
    "Stage?"
    "Where it always is. Since I have moved off the grand world stage... I need more coffee. Stephanie?"
    Great. My villains are going rogue, Scott thought as close as he could come to morosely. That didn't stop him from telling Sphinx that the Egyptian artifacts had been found by the Mariner Corporation. Something like a test, that.

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