Time for a Change
By Les Bonser
This is a work of non-commercial fan fiction. The characters used in this story remain the trademarked property of their respective owners. No trademark infringement is intended and no profits are made by the author for writing or distribution of this work.
No permission is given to anyone other than the author to archive this on any website. No permission is given to anyone other than the author to repost this on any newsgroup.
Chapter 16
USS Enterprise, in the Beta Quadrant
Lieutenant Dax lead the tall stranger in black through the corridors of the Enterprise. He was stoic and silent, just like Worf.
She finally arrived at the section of the ship where the visitors were being quartered. Tony Stark's cabin was next to the one they were assigning to Batman. Before going into the cabin itself, Ezri stopped at the large directional display that was present in nearly every corridor.
"If you get lost, these panels can direct you. Just indicate where you're going and the ship's computer will tell you how to get there."
The tall man nodded. He seemed taller than before. In the light of the ship, he stood out instead of blending into the night as when she and Data had first met him.
"And your cabin is over here." She showed Batman how the announcer pad worked and the door to the cabin slide silently open.
Inside the cabin was spartan, but functional. She showed him the refresher and toilet facilities. Throughout the entire tour of the cabin, the man had yet to say a word.
"You know, I'm not scared of you," Ezri said.
"Are you trying to convince me of that?" Batman asked, "Or yourself?"
"Maybe both," the young woman said.
"You can hang your cape in the closet. I don't know if you want to send it through the clothes recycler--it might not return it."
"Thanks," Batman said. "I'll keep it on."
"Just because you don't want to tell us your name, doesn't mean you can't change clothes. I'm sure we could find you something else to wear."
"I'll be fine."
"I'm sure you will."
Ezri then walked to the replicator. "We have a mess hall, but if you want to eat by yourself, or need just about anything else, this is your replicator."
"How does it work?"
"Just tell it what you want," Ezri said. "We'll program the computer to recognize your voice." She stood a little closer to the replicator and said, "Water, cold, with ice." A second later, a glass of ice water appeared in the slot. "See? And this panel here allows you to pick from a menu if you don't want to use the voice interface."
Batman nodded.
"And over here is the computer terminal. There are limits to what you'll be allowed to access, of course, but most of our music and literature library has no restrictions."
Batman nodded again.
This guy makes Worf look like a chatterbug, Ezri said.
She sat down in front of the terminal. "Computer, this is Lieutenant Ezri Dax. Please configure an access profile for a visitor, designation: Batman, no first name, no last name." She looked up at the man towering over her. She felt so small, so short lately. It probably had something to do with Jadzia having been so much taller and the symbiont had Jadzia's memories now. Her perception was skewed by the symbiont's remembrances of prior hosts.
"Sir, please state your name out loud. The computer will identify you by voice."
"My name is Batman," he said.
"Voice recorded. User identified," the computer terminal said. "Welcome to the Enterprise, Batman." It was a female voice. Batman wondered what Oracle would think of this setup.
"You know, I have a friend you'd probably get along with," Ezri said. "He talks about as much as you do. He's a Klingon."
"What's a cling on?" Batman wondered.
Ezri turned back to the computer. "Computer, please display the service record of Commander Worf, currently strategic operations officer of Deep Space Nine."
The computer displayed a stern looking alien. The man's skull ridges reminded Batman a little of Jon Jonzz. But in this case, the man had dark skin instead of Jon's green.
"This is a Klingon," Ezri said.
Batman noticed the change in her voice. He assumed the man meant something to the young woman. "Who is he?" Batman asked.
"He's my husband...no, that's not right, he *used* to be my husband. No, not really. Well, it's complicated," she said. "He's a friend."
Batman stood impassive. The young Trill squirmed in the chair. "He used to be the husband of Jadzia Dax," she tried to explain.
Same last name, Batman noted. "Your sister?" he guessed.
"No. I'm a Trill. Some of our race are joined with a symbiont. I'm Ezri. The symbiont is Dax. Together, we're Ezri Dax. Jadzia was Worf's wife. She died and they put the Dax symbiont in me." She looked up at the still impassive Batman. "I told you it was complicated."
Surprisingly, he nodded his agreement. "But then, I'm guessing you've got your own story, don't you. Not everyone runs around dressed up like a giant bat..."
"It's complicated," he said.
"Oh, great, now you're a comedian."
Batman decided it was time to change the subject. "Your captain said something about a briefing?"
"Yes," Ezri said. She stood and headed for the door. Batman followed her.
As they walked through the corridor, the young woman wouldn't stop talking. It was obvious to Batman that she was nervous and probably less experienced than the remainder of the crew. "You seem young for a Lieutenant," Batman commented.
"I'm the ninth host for the Dax symbiont," she explained. "I have the memories of all the previous hosts, and some of the experiences. Starfleet respects that experience," she paused. "Well, actually, the rank is basically honorary. I'm the station's counselor."
They had arrived at the turbolift. The doors opened as they approached. "Bridge," Ezri said.
"Counselor?" Batman asked. "Like a psychiatrist?"
"Sort of."
"That explains it."
"Explains what?"
"Why you're so interested in my motivations. Why I dress like this and do what I do."
"Well, that's part of it," Ezri said. "Actually, my boyfriend is a big history buff. Loves your time period. Oh, here we are."
The elevator, the turbolift, she'd called it, stopped and the doors opened. Ezri lead Batman out and onto the bridge of the Enterprise. "Permission to enter the bridge, sir?" Ezri asked.
"Permission granted," Riker said. The tall bearded first officer stepped forward. "You must be Batman? Captain Picard told me about you. My name is Commander William T. Riker. I'm the second in command here."
The two men eyed each other, almost a contest of wills. Riker realized Picard had been right about this guy; he was the human equivalent to a Vulcan. "The briefing room is back here," Riker said finally. He walked up the ramp leading from the lower part of the bridge and past the rear workstations. Batman and Ezri followed.
As they walked across the back of the bridge, Batman looked around briefly. There was a large center view screen. On the screen was a picture of deep space. When he'd arrived, the black man operating the transporter had mentioned something about a 'starship.' Batman had realized that were on a spaceship, but seeing the stars, just hanging there like that, brought the realization home.
The bridge was roughly circular in shape. The view screen was considered the front. A couple small stations at the front were manned by two officers. The bridge was basically bisected by a large curved rail. In front of the railing were several chairs. The largest chair was the one in the middle. The one Riker had been in. Obviously the captain's chair, used by whoever was in command at the moment.
The three walked into the briefing room. Captain Picard was there, as was La Forge, the one that had greeted Batman when he'd arrived. And the pale Mr. Data, the brunette Counselor Troi, and the redheaded doctor, Crusher, was it? Batman noticed that there were a couple other people he didn't know. There was a dark-haired man with a thin moustache and a curly hair man. And beside Picard was a black man with a sharp goatee and a bald head. Two empty chairs waited. All the people were seated around a conference table.
Picard stood as they walked in the room. "Uh, Batman, I hope Lieutenant Dax has shown you to your quarters," Picard said.
"Yes, she was extremely efficient. Thank you, Lieutenant," Batman said.
"Thank you, Dax. You're dismissed," the bald black man said.
"Yes, Captain," Ezri said. She gave Batman one last look and left.
Captain? Batman wondered. I thought Picard was the captain, he asked himself.
"Please, have a seat, Batman," Riker said.
Batman sat in one of the open chairs and Riker sat in the other.
Picard spoke up. "You've already met some of my crew," he said. "Those that you haven't met are Commander Riker, my first officer. This is Captain Benjamin Sisko of the USS Defiant. The Defiant is here on this mission with us. And this is Chief O'Brien and Tony Stark." Picard pointed out each as he said their names. "Gentlemen, this is Batman."
The Dark Night Detective nodded to each in turn as they were introduced. "Mr. Data mentioned something about 'temporal disturbances'?" Batman asked.
"Yes," Picard said. "I'll let Mr. Stark begin."
The dark haired man with the moustache stood and walked to the display screen at the end of the room. Everyone turned their chairs to see.
"My name is Tony Stark. I'm from the year 2000, but apparently in a different universe. I'm an engineer." He pressed a section of the display screen. A picture of the gold and red armor that Batman had seen briefly appeared on the screen. "I invented this exosuit of armor. When I wear it, I'm known as Iron Man. I understand Batman's reluctance to share his real name or remove his cowl. I had the same reluctance when I got here. But, since I'm the only one here from *my* universe, I guess it's safe for me to do so."
"You're a vigilante?" Batman said.
"I guess you could call it that," Stark agreed. "Anyway, as Iron Man, I had a little run in with a character called 'Mandarin'." He pressed the display again and the group watched the video display of the fight.
"The woman is a colleague, named Black Widow. Don't let the body fool you. She could probably whip the bunch of you. I've tangled with Mandarin several times before. Those rings of his are alien in origin. They pack quite a punch."
Stark paused the display just as his image on screen fired the repulsors, Mandarin fired, and Black Widow shot her Widow's Bite. "At this point," Stark said, "I happened to be standing on a time machine."
Batman shook his head. Just what the young Lieutenant had said, he told himself, it's just too complicated.
"We're still not sure exactly what happened, but somehow the time machine was activated. We speculated that the energy discharge from my armor, and the alien energy from the Mandarin's rings, and from the electrical charge of the Black Widow's blast affected the temporal displacement field of the time machine. Instead of moving through time, the machine and I were moved across dimensions."
Stark touched the display again and the video playback continued. "This is slowed down," he explained. It rolled forward at about 1/10th speed. "I seem to have appeared in *your* universe, Batman. About 50 feet above you and four other people. Before I could fall, the time machine cycled again and I found myself here." The display continued until right after the flash. Stark stopped the display again and rewound it to just before the flash. The image of Batman and the other four people was frozen on the screen.
"Can you identify these other people?" Picard asked. "We think knowing more about who we're looking for might assist our search."
"I know them," Batman said. "The woman in purple is Selina Kyle, also known as Catwoman."
"*Cat* Woman?" Dr. Crusher asked. "Are all the superheroes in your world named after animals?" she asked innocently.
"She's not a superhero. She's a master thief," Batman said. "She had just stolen the gemstone you see in the image. The man in the suit and I were both chasing her."
"Do you know anything about the gemstone?" La Forge asked.
"It's a cat's eye that belonged to the royal family of Great Britian. It's reputed to possess mystical powers."
"Who are the rest of the people?" Data asked.
"The big guy is a colleague of mine. An alien that goes by the name of Superman. The other woman is his wife. They were apparently on vacation; we ran into them purely by coincidence. The other man was a British agent--his name is Bond. Supposed to be protecting the gemstone."
"What sort of alien?" Dr. Crusher asked. "Do you know anything about his physiology? We've speculated that there's something about him that affected the gemstone and the time machine."
Batman nodded. "Possibly. He's a Kryptonian." He could tell by the looks on all their faces that they'd never heard of a Kryptonian any more than he'd heard of a Klingon. "His body absorbs sunlight. He can fly under his own power, he's super strong, can project heat from his eyes. Practically indestructible."
"That explains it," Stark said. "We've studied the flash you saw at the end of the video. It's actually coming from the gemstone. And since he's holding it at that point, we wondered what caused the gem to flare. Somehow, it must have absorbed energy from him. And when the time machine and I came close enough, the temporal displacement energy affected it."
"Makes sense," La Forge said. And both O'Brien and Data nodded agreement.
"What special powers do the rest of these people have?" Riker wondered.
"None. Catwoman's perfectly human. And as far as I know, the other woman and the British agent are too."
"Captain," Data said. "I would like to have a little while to study this. If we can work backwards from this Superman's powers and calculate exactly how much power he might have imparted to the gemstone, we might be able to refine our search."
"Make it so," Picard said. The two captains got up and left. As did Riker and Counselor Troi.
Data, La Forge, O'Brien, and Stark stayed behind to query Batman more about Superman. Dr. Crusher stayed to lend her medical knowledge.
"Since we do not know exactly what this man's biochemistry is, how can we make any assumptions?" Crusher asked.
"Perhaps we can work backward from what he's capable of," O'Brien suggested. "The same way we figure out how powerful a starship's engines are by observing how fast it travels."
"Tell us more about his powers," Stark said.
"He can fly around the Earth in only a couple of minutes," Batman said. "And lift battleships out of the water. He's practically impossible to kill."
"Nobody can do that," Crusher said.
"Maybe not in this universe," Stark said. "But there *are* people in my universe that can do similar things. Have me tell you about the Hulk sometime. Heck, with enough power, my armor can almost do either of those tasks." He saw La Forge smile.
"The amount of energy required to do either of those actions is quite considerable," Data said. "The man seems to suffer no ill effects from being in contact with the gemstone, so we have to assume that the gem either has a power source of its own or that the amount of energy that it absorbed from him is negligible."
Data paused. The android's eyes blinked several times as he performed a number of calculations. "We know Batman's quantum frequency and can extrapolate from his biochemistry the probable wavelengths of his universe's sunlight," Data continued. "We will make some assumptions based on Tony's passage from his own universe and Batman's passage from his. This should allow us to refine the probably location of the others."
He reached for the personal access data display on the table before him. Data spent several minutes entering in a series of numbers.
"Geordi, I think we can alter our search to only these quantum frequencies," he said after a moment. He showed La Forge and O'Brien a list of numbers he'd hastily entered into the PADD. They nodded and passed the PADD to Stark. He likewise nodded.
From the Journal of Thomas Magnum:
What can I say. Sometimes, my little voice is right.
Something about Mary told me that she was going to be a problem. If only I'd known.
Oahu, Hawaii
Selina Kyle left Robin's Nest in the middle of the night. She successfully exited the main house without waking Higgins. And the Ferrari wasn't in front of the guest house, so she assumed Thomas was out late. And the dogs weren't a bother. Somehow, through some canine instinct no doubt, they knew she didn't belong here and were actually scared of her.
She slipped into her Catwoman costume; the dark purple bodysuit and black boots helped her blend into the night. Not as good as Batman and his cronies, but still. She had several changes of clothes--Bless Higgins. Look out Honolulu, Catwoman is on the prowl, she thought as she headed up the road.
USS Enterprise, somewhere in the Beta Quadrant
Batman removed his costume and headed into the space age bathroom. Diego had offered all the hospitality possible, but early nineteenth century Spanish California just wasn't the height of bathing technology.
As he understood it, the ship's systems could take dirty clothes, reduce them to their component molecules, recycle everything, and then regenerate the clothes clean. Apparently the replicator worked the same way with food. And the transporter worked on an even more sophisticated level to move a person from point to point.
But Batman wasn't willing to subject the major portions of his costume to the process, even if he wanted to. Like Stark's armor suit, the costume originated in an entirely different universe. The android Data had suggested that as much of the original material from each universe had to be returned to that same universe to reverse the temporal disruptions.
Stark had been here for a couple days now. He'd shown Batman how to replicate the basic undergarments and toiletries that they were familiar with. But the cowl, cape, and bodysuit of the costume couldn't be cleaned any other way than by hand.
So, Batman was in the bathroom, washing his costume by hand. And then, he'd head to the shower himself. If only Alfred could see me now, he thought. His butler had often teased him that he couldn't take care of himself.
After cleaning his costume and showering, Batman put the costume back on. It was one of the advantages of the kevlar and synthetic materials--they dried almost instantly. Batman had designed the costume that way; he was often out in the weather, rain, snow, whatever, and preferred to be as dry as possible as quick as possible.
He knew the crew was about to attempt another retrieval. An "away mission," they called it. He headed to the transporter room. If anyone was going after Catwoman or Superman, he wanted to be in on it.
He walked into the transporter room just as Riker and Picard were getting ready to leave. Dr. Crusher was there, as was Commander Data. "Captain," he said.
"Yes?"
"You're going after the remaining people." It was a statement, not a question.
"Yes," Picard said.
"I know all of them. I want to go along."
"I don't think I can allow that," Picard said.
"You let Stark go."
"That was different."
"No it wasn't," Batman said. "Catwoman is my responsibility. She stole the gemstone once and I stopped her. I would have stopped her again if Bond hadn't gotten in the way. And none of this would have happened. And Superman is a friend."
Picard listened to the man talk. It was the most Batman had said since arriving. Just like himself, and Stark, it was obvious to Picard that Batman felt responsible for what was happening. No one understood that more than Picard. All along, he'd assumed that Q was somehow involved, and that made it *his* responsibility. But there was no doubt about the roles Stark and Batman had inadvertently played in the events leading up to the temporal anomaly.
"Doctor?"
"Yes, Jean-Luc?"
"When Batman came aboard, you said he had less cellular damage than you expected?"
"Yes. Considering that he spent two weeks in that universe, he had very little cellular deterioration. It's possible that universe was just very similar to his own, or it could be something unique to his metabolism, I can't say."
"How does he compare to the rest of us?"
"Better than you, if that's what you're asking. As Chief Medical Officer, it's my informed opinion that you shouldn't go on anymore away missions."
"Will?"
"He's doing better. It might have something to do with your relative ages."
"Well, Number One, how do you feel about trading partners on this away mission?"
Riker looked first at his captain and then at the costumed hero. "I *would* prefer that you stay on the ship, Captain. I can work with this Batman." Riker took it as a point of pride that he could work with anyone. Early in their mission aboard the Enterprise-D, he'd even served aboard a Klingon vessel for a short time.
"Very well, Number One," Picard said. He was loathe to relinquish his position on the away team, but the doctor had some good points. And it would give him time to contact Starfleet again and update them on Data's revised estimates. "Batman, you can go. But Riker is in charge of the mission. Do you understand?"
"Yes," Batman said. "But if we run into Catwoman, she's *my* responsibility."
The two men stared hard at each other. Picard was the first to blink. Sometimes the best way to lead was to know when to back down. "You said she's a thief. It's not like she's a super-powered mass murderer or something."
"No. But she is sneaky. I can only imagine the damage she's done if she's landed somewhere where people don't know what to do with someone like her. Stark told me about your 'Prime Directive'," Batman said. "I can guarantee you that where ever she is, she's causing trouble."
Picard moved out of Batman's way, clearing the way for the Dark Knight to step up onto the transporter platform. "Good luck, Will," Picard said.
"Thank you, Jean-Luc. Energize," Riker said.
From the Journal of Thomas Magnum:
The last three nights, a cat burglar has struck three different times. Now, I have absolutely nothing to prove it, but I have a feeling that Mary is the cat burglar.
Well, not nothing. I remember that costume she was wearing when we found her. At the time, Higgins and I had assumed it was a scuba suit. But how many scuba suits come with leather boots and lock-picking tools. And the hood of the costume had ears on it. Cat ears.
As crazy as it sounds, I think Mary is some sort of costumed criminal.
All three of the robberies occurred from museums and private art collections. I've got Rick looking into what Icepick might know about someone wanting to fence some high-value artwork. But in the meantime, I'm trying to figure out where she might strike next.
Robin's Nest
"You know, Magnum," Higgins said. "If you're right, I might be able to help you."
"How so, Higgins?"
The two were in Higgins' office in the main house. "Look," the older man said. He laid out the current day's newspaper on the desk. The front page article was about the robberies. "All of the items have had a cat motif. A cat's eye gemstone from the Contemporary Museum, an Egyptian gold cat from the Arthur P. Jones estate, and some rare ancient coins from Admiral Newton."
"The coins don't have a cat motif, Higgins," Thomas pointed out.
"They were from the island of Manx. Where do you think the Manx cat comes from?"
Thomas scowled. He hated it when Higgins was right. "So?"
"So, Mrs. Ethel Tulving, a friend of Robin Masters, has probably the most extensive collection of jade on the island. The centerpiece of the collection is a Chinese carving of a tiger. It could very well be her next target."
"We need to contact this Mrs. Tulving. Have her beef up her security..."
"No, Magnum. I'll contact Mrs. Tulving. But I think we have to catch her in the act. If we scare her off, she'll just go somewhere else."
That night, Thomas Magnum camped out in the penthouse suite owned by Mrs. Tulving. It had taken Higgins nearly an hour to convince the woman that their plan would work. In the end, Mrs. Tulving had accepted Higgins' invitation to remain at Robin's Nest for the evening and to allow Magnum to stake out her suite.
Thomas crouched in the dark. He was behind the couch, across from the balcony window and door. If someone was going to try and get into the penthouse without tripping the alarm, the weakest point of entry was the balcony.
It was a few minutes after 2 am when Thomas heard a noise. A very small noise, but a noise that didn't belong. He resisted the urge to look up over the back of the couch and instead waited.
A moment later, another sound. Someone was on the balcony. How that was possible, Thomas had no idea. It was a 15 floor climb from the ground floor to the penthouse. Regardless of how they did it, someone was trying to break into the suite.
Batman and Riker materialized in an alley. It was dark. Based on his years of experience, Batman thought it was sometime in the quiet of the early morning. Maybe 2 or 3 am. It was dark, the type of dark that only comes in the deepest hours of the night. And it was fairly quiet. Most people, even dedicated night people, tended to quiet down after 1 am or so.
Riker had his tricorder out as soon as they materialized. "Got it!" he exclaimed almost instantly. "There's a strong reading."
"Where?" Batman asked.
Riker turned around, sweeping the tricorder in a complete circle. "Looks like we're right on top of it."
"No," Batman said. "It's right on top of us."
"What?"
The man in black pointed straight up. The two were standing in the alley behind a high-rise building. Batman took out his night-vision goggles. He really couldn't see much of the upper stories of the building, but he could tell it was a residential building, not a business building.
"If it's Catwoman, she's up there, stealing something right now."
"And if it's one of the others?" Riker asked. He aimed the tricorder at the top of the building and confirmed that the reading was coming from the top floor.
"Then they must be living here."
"So how do we get up there?" Riker asked. He started to walk away, thinking of finding an entrance to the building.
"Stop," Batman commanded.
"Now look here..." Riker started to say. Before he could continue, Batman pulled some sort of gun from under his cape and fired it straight up. A grappling hook shot up to the top floor, trailing a thin, but strong line after it.
Without asking for Riker's permission, Batman reached out and grabbed the Starfleet officer around the chest. Holding the grapple with his other hand, Batman pressed the retract trigger.
The two men leapt into the sky, pulled by the retracting grapple line. Before he knew it, Riker found himself on a balcony 15 stories above a city. Far in the distance, he could see water. They were somewhere near an ocean.
"What the...!" Riker started to say, recovering his voice, but Batman clamped his gloved hand over the Commander's mouth. The dark knight held his finger over his lips to tell Riker to be quiet.
Reluctantly, Riker accepted the vigilante's command. If nothing else, the guy seemed to know what he was doing. Riker had never seen anything like their ascent up the building. Even the Starfleet Marines would be hard pressed to gain entry to a building with that ease.
Batman immediately took in their surroundings and realized that the balcony door was propped open. He motioned to Riker that they were going in. Riker pulled out a phaser. Batman squeezed the officer's wrist and growled, "No guns."
Riker had just about had enough. "Now look here, you ..."
Just then, they heard the sound of a fight from inside. Batman let go of Riker's wrist and slipped quickly into the penthouse suite.
The sound was coming from down the hall. Without hesitation, Batman headed toward the sound of the fight.
"Look, Mary, or whatever your name is, I can't allow you to do this," Thomas Magnum said. "Now, stop, or I'll shoot." He raised his .45 caliber service pistol and reluctantly pointed it in the general direction of the woman.
On the other side of the room, Catwoman stood defiant. She had the jade tiger in one gloved hand and a leather whip in the other.
"Mary, please, put the statue down and we'll talk about it. If you're in some sort of trouble, I can help."
"I don't think so," Catwoman said.
"Mary, please," Thomas pleaded.
"Her name's not Mary," a voice came out of the dark. "Is it, Selina?"
"Damn," Catwoman hissed.
Two men in black stepped out of the dark hallway. One was covered in a black cape, the other was in a form-fitting black and red jumpsuit. Thomas kept his gun raised. The men had surprised him, but he had enough experience in combat to know not to lose his cool. "Who are you?" he asked.
"I'm Batman," the man in the cape said. "And Catwoman is coming with us!"
"Selina? Catwoman?" Thomas said. "Mary, what the hell is this all about?"
"My name's not Mary, you idiot," Catwoman yelled. She lashed out with the whip; it caught Thomas' hand and he dropped the gun. As Catwoman was occupied with the whip, Batman leapt forward and pinned the woman. He grabbed the jade tiger statue from her hand and tossed it onto the floor. The statue belonged in this universe, and it couldn't come back to the Enterprise.
Riker stepped forward and put his hand out to touch Batman's shoulder. He pressed the recall button. A second later, the three vanished.
"What the?!?" Thomas said. He stood here, dumbfounded for several minutes. He eventually stepped forward and picked up the jade tiger and then a moment later, he reached down for his gun. As he did so, he felt the stinging of the whip burn on his wrist. If not for that evidence, he'd have convinced himself that the whole thing had been some sort of hallucination.
From the Journal of Thomas Magnum:
Some of my cases turn out okay. Some turn out, well, ...uh, ...not so okay.
I'm not sure how to categorize this one.
On the one hand, Mrs. Tulving didn't lose her prized jade tiger. And Icepick gave Rick a lead that I was able to use to find the crooked pawn dealer that was fencing Mary's, ur, Selina's stolen goods. The police were able to return everything to their rightful owners.
And, apparently anyway, Selina went home. The two guys I saw, or thought I saw, were as strangely dressed as she had been. They arrived, and departed, as strangely as she'd arrived. Not exactly dropping into my lap as she had, but I think disappearing right in front of my eyes qualifies as 'strange'.
But I've got this feeling. My little voice is still saying something, but I don't know quite what it is. All I know is something still isn't right.
I just hope where ever she is, Mary or Selina or whatever her name is, finds what she's looking for.