CHAPTER 2 : THE MAN WITH THE PERFECT PLAN

His brain's a powerful weapon

He charges a zillion a plot

A mastermind that's second to none

The man with the perfect plan!

Lurking in some darkened doorway

Or crouched on a rooftop somewhere

In the next room, or this very one

The man with the perfect plan!

Wit is required whenever he's hired

From the start up to the kill

No-one can catch him, no villain can match him

For his zillion-dollar skill!

One perfect plan means another evil scheme

Will reach a successful end

For his plan he'll defeat anyone

The man with the perfect plan!

His eye may be

On you or me

What does he want?

We shall see!

Wit is required whenever he's hired

From the start up to the kill

No-one can catch him, no genius can match him

For his zillion-dollar skill!

One perfect plan means another evil scheme

Will reach a successful end

And if you ever doubt that he can

The man with the perfect plan

Will get it done

He'll beat anyone

With his peeeeerfect plan!

Back in the day, Kelvin Castle used to be quite the sight – perhaps not a wonder of architecture, but definitely an oddity in the North-American continent. At a point, however, Professor Cold Heart had taken it over, renaming it Cold Heart Castle. No-one would want to approach such a dangerous place – the fear the insane inventor had inspired to the world had been so great that, even after nearly two decades during which he had been absent, the castle had remained deserted. But Cold Heart was back now, and catching up with much progress in the scientific field – with all the new machines being installed, the castle was even more of a mess than usual.

"Well, what do you know!" exclaimed the Professor. "It appears that No Heart and his niece were kicked out of their own castle! And by a neophyte no less!"

"Is that a good thing or a bad thing, boss?" asked Frostbite.

"I don't know. I've never had a very high opinion of that sorcerer, but he did keep the Care Bears busy. We'll have to see what this Checkmate Warren plans to do. But in the meanwhile, we will ourselves go back to our nefarious business – we've been inactive for far too long!"

"Then what do you plan to do, Professor?" asked Auntie Freeze.

"Well, technology has progressed immensely during all the years we were frozen. The human genome has been decoded, computers have become amazingly powerful, and, last but not least, there's this new 'Internet' concept: I've checked it, and I'm sure we can use it for evil! I'm currently working on it…"

As he said that, he noticed he had gotten an e-mail. He was surprised – who could possibly have his address? The sender's name was "Villain-dot-com", the subject "A proposition". He opened it:

"Dear Professor Hart,

It was a pleasure to hear of your return to the world of arch-villainy. We at are always interested in finding additional allies who don't allow themselves to be burdened by the moral considerations of the common man. Your reputation as an inventor and menace to society is unmatched, and, as such, you are of utmost interest to our organization; it is our belief that we, too, can be of substantial interest to you…"

In another rather cold place, stood the laboratories of project FLUUTE – and inside the big, well-guarded lab, the director was explaining the situation to another man:

"As you probably know, project FLUUTE has been dealing with the control of electromagnetic fields for decades. Not only do our discoveries have much significance for pure science, but the technology we've developed has various applications…And some of them interest the military."

"I can imagine. Creating EMPs, or defending from them…Affecting the Earth's magnetic field…Over half your funding in the last five years came from the Pentagon, I believe – without counting your security."

"True. But you understand why we were worried when we received this:" he handed the man a letter, on which it was written: "I'm coming to take it".

"There was that chess pawn included…The one you told us to destroy before you came. Do you think it was bugged?"

"Absolutely. It's part of Checkmate Warren's modus operandi – he often arranges for his victims to receive some object he's filled with miniature scanners. Those spy devices he uses can compete with the best we have – impressive, really. I wanted you to get rid of it before I came so that he wouldn't know I was involved."

"Just how dangerous is he, really? I've heard stories, but…"

"Dangerous? Hard to tell – his plans generally result in little to no collateral damage. He is diabolical, though. What I find interesting is that he's even bothering stealing your machine – why not just build his own?"

"Sir, with all due respect, making such a device is hardly child's play!"

"I intend no offence…But, for this kind of man, few things aren't child's play. He's one of the world's greatest inventors."

"Perhaps. But understand…An electromagnetic controller isn't something you can design with just one stroke of genius. There are thousands of parameters to take into account, thousands of little problems that arise as you go and require separate solutions. Even if that man was Edison and Tesla combined, he would still need a good decade to reach the same results. Maybe five years if he was really on the verge of superhuman intelligence."

"I see. But don't you have blueprints he could steal?"

"Negative. We built the thing as we went – the blueprints are in the research team's heads. The only way to steal our research is to either kidnap us and make us talk, or take the controller itself."

"The latter sounds more his style. Well, I guess I'll just have to stop him."

"How? Do you even know how he plans to steal it?"

"Not really. He's too tricky for that. Instead, we'll let him come – and steal the wrong machine. I need you to make a realistic-looking fake."

"That will stop him?"

"No, but it will give me a chance to stop him. I'll be hiding inside the fake, thus allowing me entrance into his base. Then, I'll defeat him on his home ground."

"That…sounds pretty reckless."

"Not reckless, merely bold. After all," the man smiled, "I am John Bolt."

In Care-A-Lot, Tender Heart and Grams were watching Hugs and Tugs play.

"Were we that full of energy as cubs?" Tender Heart chuckled.

"You'll have to ask True Heart and Noble Heart, dear – but from what I've heard, yes, you were."

That peaceful moment was interrupted by Wish, who ran toward Tender Heart, clutching her star-o-scope.

"Tender Heart, something's going on!"

"What is it, Wish?"

"Well, remember how you asked me to watch over No Heart's castle every now and then, to see if anything was happening? Well, a helicopter just took off from there. It looked a lot like Warren's helicopter, except that the colors were different…"

A few minutes later, two cloud cars were leaving Care-A-Lot and following the helicopter; aboard were Tender Heart, Wish, Grumpy, Champ, and Swift Heart.

"I don't know what Warren is planning to do, but, after last time, I think we ought to watch him closely," explained Tender Heart. "Wish, you said the colors were different?"

"Yes. Last time, he had a black one; this time, he's using one with camouflage colors, like a military chopper."

"Odd. Has anything else been going on at the castle?"

"Well, he's been installing more and more machines…No Heart tried to take back the castle a few times, but the defense system always swats him away. I also noticed all the shadows have gone missing."

The helicopter landed near FLUUTE's laboratories. The man who came out was dressed in a colonel's uniform. He asked to speak to the security chief, and explained to him that the military, worried about the risk of the device being stolen, had decided to relocate it somewhere safer. A few minutes later, a large machine was brought outside, and then carried away by the helicopter. The cloudmobiles followed from a safe distance.

Inside the machine, John Bolt was communicating with his superior: "I'm on my way to infiltrate the lair of our favorite mastermind. Interesting way for him to steal the device – that helicopter was exactly like the ones the military use, and according to the security chief, the written orders from the Pentagon looked genuine. It's somewhat frightening that he has our military infiltrated well enough to pass himself for them…But I'm putting an end to his plots today. Also, we'll have to check who that fake colonel was – Warren in disguise, or some accomplice. Bolt out."

After an uneventful flight, the helicopter reached what appeared to be a huge warehouse, not far away from a lake. As it landed, mechanical systems took the machine and brought it inside the warehouse. The Care Bears watched intently.

"That's not No Heart's castle. Do you think it's another base of Warren?"

"Only one way to find out."

"Of course," Grumpy rolled his eyes. "Why do I always end up with the team that does the dangerous job?"

"Because you volunteer?"

The Care Bears looked around, fear mixed with awe. From the outside, the place had looked like an old warehouse. From the inside…They weren't sure what it was, but it had high-tech from top to bottom. A factory, perhaps?

"Too bad Bright Heart isn't here."

"Yeah. Hey, isn't that the machine they took from that base?"

Just as they said that, the machine burst open, and out of it came a man holding a gun. He seemed athletic, determined, on the good-looking side…And his gun was aimed at them. They jumped back in surprise.

"Whoa-whoa-whoa! Don't shoot! We're just here to…"

"Care Bears. And a Care Bear Cousin." The man lowered his gun. "May I ask what you're doing here?"

"Well…We saw a helicopter leaving No Heart's castle, and decided to follow it. We've been a bit suspicious ever since Checkmate Warren took over, and…"

"Took over? So my suspicions were correct – that mastermind has placed his new HQ in the flying castle."

"He has. But who are you?"

He smiled. "You may not have heard of me – my name is Bolt. John Bolt."

Tender Heart's eyes lit up. "The not-so-secret agent?"

"You do know who I am? I'd have thought that with your long absence…"

"We have a lot to catch up, but I have heard about you. We'll be glad to have your help."

"Likewise – I often work alone, but I could use the assistance of the world's greatest heroes. I intend to catch Checkmate Warren – and if that device is important enough that he stole it, then he's probably here."

"Device?"

"The place he took this fake from was the laboratory of project FLUUTE – he tried to steal an electromagnetic controller, but I had it replaced with this thing."

"Electromagnetic controller?"

"Don't ask me what he wants to do with it – too many possibilities."

"Fine, but what is this place?"

"I've been studying Warren's plots for a while. I believe he has many bases spread throughout the continent, maybe throughout the world – this one must be one of his factories. Some of the things he designs he needs to have in massive amounts, so he builds them in automated, robotic factories such as this one. Now come – we have an arch-villain to catch."

As they proceeded, Grumpy asked Tender Heart: "Who is this guy? Maybe you've heard of him, but I haven't."

"He's a real hero. He was a secret agent – a really good one, too. A few years ago, he even stopped some big political assassination – but, because he only managed to do it at the last minute, he ended up doing it in public. So, now, he's a secret agent who's not secret at all – but he's still a real hero, who keeps saving the day from all kinds of dangers."

"Well, good thing he's here" said Champ.

At FLUUTE, the phone rang.

"Yes?"

"This is John Bolt. I'm progressing here, but I think Warren may have a backup plan. It's only a matter of time before he discovers the treachery, so, in the meanwhile, the NSA will move the device somewhere secure. Their helicopter will reach you soon. Oh, and just to make sure it's really Uncle Sam's boys this time, and not the evil mastermind, make sure they know the password."

"What is the password?"

"Doublethink. Wish me luck."

"There don't seem to be any people around here," noted Wish. "Just those industrial robots."

"Checkmate always minimizes the number of accomplices he has to rely on," explained Bolt. "He's always afraid that they might screw up, betray him, or something of the kind. Usually, he does the delicate parts himself, has machines handle the parts that don't require intelligence, and manipulates his enemies into doing the rest. Hold it!"

Bolt's sudden cry stopped them dead in their tracks. Bolt looked on the ground.

"Collapsible floor. A trap."

"He's trapped his own factory?"

"He's careful. Meaning we'll have to be even more."

Bolt then proceeded to free a long metallic bar from a nearby structure, and, before the Care Bears' amazed eyes, ran toward the danger floor, and stuck the bar in front of him, allowing him to jump a good distance beyond said floor. He then moved a crate in front of the dangerous area, put one end of the metallic bar on it, and the other end on the other side of the area, in front of the Care Bears. They walked on the bar, reaching him on the safe side.

"Nice work, sports fan!" complimented him Champ. "Do you always do this kind of stuff?"

"Only when it helps. Unfortunately, there are probably plenty more traps ahead."

"No problem, I'll just scout for them" said Swift Heart.

"You'll what?"

"Like I always say…Swift Heart Rabbit is unbeatable!"

And with those words, the blue bunny launched, going at a speed Bolt had never guessed was possible for any living creature.

"Is he…Is she always like that?"

"She's usually a bit less cocky – after that time with the Great Race, anyway. But really, at this speed, what could stop her?"

Swift Heart went from room to room in the blink of an eye. In closed quarters such as these, she couldn't go at her top speed – but that was still very, very fast. She looked around, trying to find anything suspicious – when suddenly, she hit something at full speed, which stopped her in her tracks. She fell backward.

Her head still spinning, and feeling like she'd been run over by a train, Swift Heart looked up to see what she had collided with. There wasn't anything there…Wait! There was something…A glass door. Of course, at her speed, she hadn't seen it until it was too late. No…A glass door would have shattered. It had to be plexiglas or something like that.

Swift Heart got up – but, suddenly, rays of red light appeared around her, at various angles. They seemed to be coming from certain spots in the walls and ceiling. Lasers? Carefully, she touched one – and, with a yelp of pain, put her paw in her mouth. It burnt!

Swift Heart looked around. No way out – those lasers had her trapped. A steel door was closing where she had come through. She sighed sadly – again, because of her overconfidence, she had failed the others. Hadn't she learned her lesson after the Great Race? Yes, she had. But maybe not completely…

The black helicopter landed in front of FLUUTE's lab. A bearded man in black, with shades and a listener in his ear, came to the security chief.

"We have to evacuate the machine in case Checkmate Warren tries something else. John Bolt's orders."

"I know. Password?"

"Doublethink."

"Right. We'll bring the machine. Just be careful with it…"

"You know Swift Heart better than I do," said Bolt, "so you tell me: Is it normal that she's taking so long?"

"I'm afraid not. We have to find her!"

"Not so fast. Rushing in didn't help Swift Heart, did it? Besides, we don't even know what way she went. I don't like it, but I think we're going to have to split up."

"Wouldn't that make it easier to catch us one by one?" said Tender Heart.

"It will. But it'll also improve the odds that some of us will reach either Swift Heart or Checkmate. Once we find the latter, we'll have to force him to free everyone and surrender."

"Hm…All right. Champ, you come with me. Wish, Grumpy, you go with John."

A short while later, Bolt and his two companions were progressing deeper into the lair. "Be careful at all times. Even with my experience, I can still miss some well hidden…"

Before he could finish, the floor opened beneath him. Grumpy and Wish shrieked in surprise – but the superspy, with great reflexes, managed to spread his arms and catch the floor's border before falling all the way in. With some help from the bears, he got up.

"Well, that was an excellent demonstration of what I was saying. Now to find a way to cross."

"Like this?" said Wish with a smile, as her Stare created a makeshift bridge over the gap in the floor.

"That'll do," said Bolt, smiling too.

"Tender Heart, this isn't going to end well" said Champ. "We're not good at avoiding traps. I wasn't there myself, but…Remember your first fight with Cold Heart? Or that time with Dr Fright?"

"I know. There has to be a way…Hey! The air ducts!"

"Air ducts?"

"Sure! We're small enough to crawl through them. We can get anywhere in this place and avoid all the traps!"

"Good thinking!"

"You've been doing this kind of things for a long time?"

"Not as long as your family…But yes. I can't give you details, though…And we should focus on the task at hand."

"Right. Sorry."

Bolt and Wish fell silent for only a moment – noise returned promptly as something in a nearby wall opened; out of it emerged a robotic tentacle, with a big claw at its end, which, before anyone could react, caught Grumpy. The blue bear barely had the time to scream before the tentacle retracted back to where it had come from.

"Grumpy!"

"Wait! Don't follow – rush to the door!" shouted Bolt.

Only a few seconds passed before the mechanical attacker emerged again, this time heading for Wish. Bolt shot, hitting the tentacle, but not harming it. Wish screamed, nearly scared out of her wits, as the tentacle began to retract, taking her with it – and then stopped mid-way: Bolt had caught it, and was pulling back with all his strength.

Wish, although still terrified, gathered her wits back; she had, after all, faced scarier things than this; she had just been taken by surprise. She tried to use her Stare…Unfortunately, with the metallic claw holding her, her tummy symbol wasn't free to act. As for Bolt, he was holding the tentacle for now, but he would tire eventually…

As he applied all his strength, Bolt's mind was racing. This thing, even if it had taken one bullet, couldn't be invulnerable. He could probably destroy it if he managed to make it sit still for a moment when his arms were free. But how? He then noticed some pipes going on the wall the tentacle had come from. An idea formed in his head. Slowly, he let the tentacle gain more ground, getting closer to the wall (much to Wish's fright). Once they were close enough, he put one foot against the wall…Then the other…With the tentacle pulling toward the wall, he managed to walk on it, going up, until he reached the pipes' level. But he couldn't free his hands to break them. Instead, he "stepped" above them, then positioned himself upright, so that he was standing on the pipes. With his weight combined with the pull of the tentacle, the pipes broke – Bolt and Wish fell down and closer to the opening in the wall, but Bolt managed not to let go. He stood up again, pulled back a bit, then said:

"Wish, I'm going to give you these pipes. Hold them in front of you, and, no matter what happens, don't let go of them. Understand?"

"Y-yes…"

Fast as lightning, Bolt let go of the tentacle with his left hand, using only the right one to hold it. His left hand picked up the pipes and handed them to Wish in the blink of an eye; as soon as Wish caught them, his hand returned to the tentacle.

"Good, Wish…Now hold these in front of you…Careful…The next part is going to hurt a bit, but don't let go!"

Again, Bolt let the tentacle gain ground, until it brought Wish to the opening in the wall – but this time, between the opening and Wish, there were the pipes, which found themselves pressed between the wall and the bear. Bolt finally let go of the tentacle – Wish found herself pressed painfully against the pipes. But there was enough space in the opening for Bolt to squeeze his head and arm – with the gun in his hand. He aimed carefully, and shot all his bullets – at the exact same spot of the tentacle. The first one grazed it; the second one left a deeper grazing; the last one actually made a tiny hole in the tentacle's metallic shell. Bolt then reached into his pocket, pulled out a pen, and stuck it into the hole.

Next thing, Wish felt a terrible shock. The tentacle then collapsed, letting go of her.

"Are you all right?"

"I…I think so. What happened?"

"I used this little gadget," he showed her the pen. "It's a mini-tazer. The electric current fried that machine from the inside – I'm sorry if it hurt you too."

"It's okay…You did it to save me. But…What about Grumpy?"

"I'm afraid the only thing we can do for him is defeat Checkmate Warren."

"Anything here, sports fan?"

"Nope. Keep crawling."

"Just how many traps do you think he's put here?" asked Wish.

"You can never put enough traps," answered the superspy. "In this line of work, it pays to be paranoid."

They came upon a new room. They began crossing it – but suddenly, a mechanical noise was heard at the room's side.

"Run!" yelled Bolt, proceeding to follow his own advice. Wish did the same, but, small as Care Bears are, most of them can't run very fast. Bolt (having recharged his gun) shot the door's lock from across the room, then hit at full force, entering the next room – but Wish hadn't finished crossing before the trap finished springing into action: The wall to her left went away, revealing some pit, while the wall to her right rushed inside, sweeping across the room, and pushing her into the new pit.

Bolt looked. His last companion was gone. Were they still alive? As far as he knew, Checkmate didn't have a history of killing prisoners…Although there was the infamous "money man" incident. Not a murder per se, but the victim had nevertheless been traumatized…Enough. No time to dwell on it – he had to stop that madman.

"Champ, do you hear something?"

"Now that you mention it…It sounds like…Water?"

Both bears screamed as a stream of water swept through the ventilation ducts, carrying them both away. As he went through the pipes, Tender Heart wondered where it would end – and whether it would be soon enough for them not to die drowning.

Bolt managed to escape yet another trap. This was growing tedious – of course Checkmate was thorough, but still! Finally, he reached a corridor, at the end of which was a door – and this door had a digital lock on it. It wasn't designed to be opened by the robots of the factory – it was designed to be opened by a human who knew the entry code! That meant that, in all probability, it was Warren's office.

At last…Except that he didn't put it beneath the mastermind to fill the corridor with traps. He looked attentively…Then decided: Enough wasting time. He might be able to neutralize the traps slowly, but he had equally good odds of avoiding them by going fast enough.

Going at a speed that no sprinter would have laughed at, John bolted through the corridor, activating multiple traps as he went. He barely avoided the electrical shock, jumped between the lasers…He had gone through three-quarters of the way when the floor beneath him began opening. He jumped to his right, putting his right foot on the wall, pushing, and jumping to the left wall; he put his left foot on it, and jumped from there to the right. It was a difficult way to move about, but he was moving forward, if slowly. Finally, he came in front of the door…But, due to the absence of a floor beneath him, still had to jump from wall to wall. Pulling out his gun, he shot all his bullets but one at the door, shattering it…Then jumped forward, grabbing the entrance, and pulling himself inside the office.

He looked up. A spartan, but well-equipped office. High-tech as the rest of the place. At the other end of the room, a desk; behind the desk, a chair, with someone in it, facing away from him; on the wall the person in the chair was facing, several monitors, showing various parts of the factory.

"Impressive, Mr. Bolt. You are worthy of your reputation. But compared to me, you're little more than a joke, I'm afraid."

"This joke's on you!" answered Bolt, as he jumped at the chair, with his gun ready…But when he swiveled the chair around, he saw that it was empty; what he had thought to be Checkmate Warren was just a wig and a speaker. Aside from that, the only thing on the chair was a mechanism…from which thick steel cuffs jumped, catching Bolt's arm. In a fraction of a second, over twenty guns, held by mechanical means, jumped from all over the room, all of them pointed at Bolt.

"Why did I have to pull an Inspector Gadget NOW!" thought Bolt. He really didn't see how to get out of this one…

Some time later, Bolt found himself attached to some horizontal plate. The plate itself seemed to be made of some kind of really strong plastic, but the cuffs that held him to it were of steel. It also seemed as if the plate was surrounded by some mechanism, although he couldn't tell what it was…He did, however, recognize the Care Bears and the Cousin, all five of whom were attached in some way or another across the room.

"Glad to see you're okay," he said. "Don't worry – we're not done for yet. I'll find a way to get us out of this jam."

The noise of a helicopter landing not far from them was heard. A minute later, a bearded man in black, with shades and a listener in his ear, entered the room. He then removed his fake beard.

"Checkmate Warren. There you are" said Bolt contemptuously.

The mastermind turned his back to them, removed the shades to put back his usual glasses, then faced them again: "Indeed. After a day's work well done."

"Is that so? You haven't won yet," said Bolt.

"Oh really? Why? Because you replaced the electromagnetic controller with a fake? That was part of my plan."

"You're only saying that to make us think you're in control of the situation."

Warren seemed amused. "Oh ye of steep learning curves. Just like everyone else, Bolt, you've underestimated my intelligence. I was counting on you to act the way you did. While you were busy here, I went to FLUUTE and took the real machine…Thanks to the wonders of digital voice alteration:" He then pulled out a recorder, and played an earlier conversation – the voices heard where those of John Bolt and FLUUTE's security chief:

"Yes?"

"This is John Bolt. I'm progressing here, but I think Warren may have a backup plan. It's only a matter of time before he discovers the treachery, so, in the meanwhile, the NSA will move the device somewhere secure. Their helicopter will reach you soon. Oh, and just to make sure it's really Uncle Sam's boys this time, and not the evil mastermind, make sure they know the password."

"What is the password?"

"Doublethink. Wish me luck."

Bolt's face sank.

"They trusted that you knew what you were doing, Bolt – the possibility that it wasn't you didn't occur to them. I have already taken the machine to my headquarters, and checked to see if it was genuine. You've lost."

"But – it doesn't make sense! Why even bother with such a ridiculously complicated plan!"

"To achieve a triple objective. Obtaining the controller was important, but it wasn't the only thing I needed to do. I have also shown the military and intelligence community how completely I can outwit them…And I've defeated you. I would have had to, sooner or later – of all the high-ranking people there, you're the only one with the guts to face me."

"So what now? Do you intend to kill me?" said Bolt defiantly.

"You'll see. Speaking of seeing, I'd like to direct your attention to this little marvel," Warren indicated a device in the middle of the room. "As you know, I design countless machines. Most of them I put to use in my plans, but some don't turn out to be as useful as I had hoped. This is one of them: A military-grade railgun."

"A railgun? Our army has some of those."

"Prototypes. Mine is at least two years in advance on theirs. As you know, railguns use electromagnetic force to propel their projectiles at very high speeds – an electric canon, if you will. And I intend to use one such railgun on you."

"Do you expect me to talk?"

"No, Mr. Bolt, I expect you to scream."

Bolt barely had the time to realize what was going on: The device surrounding him was, in fact, a huge railgun. It had no effect on him, or the plastic plate, but it did act on the steel cuffs. For the first time in years, he screamed in surprise and terror as he was hurled through an opening in the rough, still attached to the plate, and flew at high speed away from the villain's lair.

"Thank you for using Railgun Airways. We wish you a survivable trip." Turning to face the horrified bears and cousin, Warren said: "Don't worry, I was aiming at the lake. That plastic plate will ensure that he floats – he'll still be alive when they reach him. He will not, however, inconvenience me any further in my plans…"

"He won't give up, and neither will we!" protested Tender Heart.

"John Bolt is a hero!" said Wish. "You won't scare him away!"

"Has it occurred to you that it might not be very wise of you to tell me this?" the mastermind grinned. "No matter. I never intended to scare Bolt away – no, my plan was to neutralize him by scaring some other people away.

By the way…Tender Heart, Champ, you have deeply insulted me. Air ducts! You tried to infiltrate a lair I had designed using the air ducts? ! You thought I would overlook such a tired cliché! What do you think I am, an evil genius, or a Saturday-morning cartoon villain!

Now, if you'll excuse me, I must take my leave. The mechanisms that keep you here will free you in a few minutes – and when they do, I suggest you get out fast, because I have set the whole place to blow up soon afterwards. No point in risking leaving some dangerous clue behind, is there?"

That evening, a recovering John Bolt went to meet with his superior.

"Good evening John. I'm saddened to hear that it hasn't been a very good day…"

"That's the understatement of the year. I am to understand that our foe has successfully acquired the device?"

"I'm afraid so. This isn't much of a loss as far as project FLUUTE is concerned – they know the design, and will have it rebuilt in two weeks at most."

"But it is a loss in that Checkmate obtained what he wanted."

"Yes, about that…"

Bolt's superior then did something on his computer. "Check this. CNN live."

Bolt watched the news. He saw lights in the night sky, forming gigantic, colossal letters, which spelled: "MATE IN THREE." The reporter at the scene was narrating:

"The mysterious message has sparked some panic, but the president is urging the people to stay calm. Now back to you, Jill."

The view switched to a split one: on the left half of the screen, the news studio; on the right half, a man who was identified as Dr Zahn, astrophysicist.

"Dr Zahn, has an explanation for this cosmic, and, shall I say, ominous event, been found as of yet?"

"I wouldn't call it cosmic…Technically, it's an aurora borealis."

"Here! Shaping letters!"

"Physically, it's the same thing. The aurora borealis, or northern lights, happen at the North pole because the Earth's magnetic field doesn't prevent cosmic rays from reaching the atmosphere there; when those rays hit the atmosphere, they ionize the air, creating colored lights. The same thing happens near the South pole: it's the aurora australis. What we're witnessing here is the weakening, or rather, the nullifying of the Earth's magnetic field over specific spots, creating the lights in the sky."

"But it's forming letters, words!"

"Meaning that the field is nullified in spots that form the shape of words. Actually, the term nullified doesn't convey it well…It would be more accurate to say that something is generating a magnetic field in these spots that is the opposite of the natural field, so they cancel out."

"But, obviously this is the work of Checkmate Warren…"

"So it would seem. I guess he managed to create the corresponding magnetic fields somehow…"

"But how?"

"I don't know. The amounts of energy required are big, but not impossibly so…What amazes me is that he could create them with enough fineness to write a message in the sky."

Bolt's boss turned the video feed off. "Looks like our friend doesn't do things half-way, does he? Huge messages in the sky, no less."

"Mate in three…Only three more steps before his master-plan's completion" said John Bolt, half to himself. "So the electromagnetic controller was an integral part of his plan."

"So that he can use it to send us messages through the ionosphere?"

"Not that. It's an added bonus, of course, but his real use for the machine…That remains a mystery. Another mystery would be how he knew all those things he did about our operation – it could be that we've been infiltrated more deeply than ever before. However, it's a mystery that I will crack before it's too late!"

"Not on this payroll you won't." Bolt looked at his boss, afraid to understand.

"You're not saying…"

"Yes I am, John. The board is unanimous – we're closing the Checkmate case."

"Now, when he's threatening us all! Have you lost your mind!"

"Don't talk to me this way, agent Bolt. We have considered the facts, and concluded that this case was simply too dangerous. We have threats that require your presence, and which our agency is more apt to deal with."

"Too dangerous! What, you think letting him run amok is less dangerous!"

"You're our best agent, Bolt. By a wide margin. But when we sent you against him, he handed you your backside. If we can't do anything to stop him, then we ought to focus on what we can do."

"Or maybe you could be honest, and admit that you're scared out of your skin by him! Just because he can taunt us with oversized neon lights…"

"John Bolt! I suggest that you remember that this is an intelligence agency, not a family reunion! We have a new assignment for you, and if you don't take it, then consider your work here over – as of today, you are forbidden to deal with the Checkmate case."

"Well, the lights are gone now," said Bright Heart, letting the star-o-scope down. "I guess Warren figured he'd spent enough energy by now, and spread the message."

"Creepiest sky I've ever seen," said Bedtime. "And I'm used to the sky at night."

"Bright Heart, do you understand what it's all about?" asked Tender Heart.

"Not yet. Obviously, he needs to be able to control magnetic fields…But I can't tell why. Apparently, he just needs three more steps…

You guys are sure you're okay?"

"I've had better days," said Wish, "but I'm fine. Still, it's scary…"

"The lights?"

"Not that. The way he played us all like a fiddle. Even Bolt. I mean, Bolt was brave, smart, tough, and then some. He had it all, he gave it all, and it still wasn't enough. That's the second time we meet Warren, and the second time we don't even manage to slow him down. What does it take?"

In what used to be No Heart's castle, Checkmate Warren was conducting tests with his latest acquisition.

"It works as well as I need it to. Thanks to this machine, my ultimatum will be more than just empty threats. Of course, there was much pleasure in taking Bolt down a notch…"

"Yeah, you got them good, boss" said Beastly. "I mean, bad, because bad is good to us!"

Warren looked at him quizzically. "Bad is good?"

"Well, since we're bad guys, good is bad to us, and…"

"Oh, spare me. Bad is bad, good is good, two and two is four. Don't give me this No Heart-esque nonsense. Of course, in certain situations, if things go bad for some people…That may be good for us."

"Um, right. So, what next, boss?"

"A plot whose brilliance I am rather proud of…"

Author's note: As the reader has most probably realized, John Bolt is transparently based on James Bond, the world's most famous fictional secret agent – the song at the beginning is a modified version of the song from the James Bond movie "The Man with the Golden Gun". Project FLUUTE is a reference to Project HAARP, which studies the ionosphere. As for John Bolt's reference to Inspector Gadget (a cartoon he may have watched with kids he was baby-sitting as a teenager), it concerns a moment in the show's intro, when the inspector tries to handcuff Dr Claw, only to realize it's not really him in the chair – just a trap.