The rest of Wednesday night seemed like a blur for both Sid & Ronnie Anne. Having found out about Yoon Kwan leaving Twelve is Midnight after Friday's concert on the pier. While Sid & Ronnie Anne were both upset, Sid was so depressed that her parents allowed her to stay home from school on Thursday. After school, Ronnie Anne decided to head home to check on her. Nikki & the others wanted to go too, but Ronnie Anne reminded them they needed to help Casey's dad set up his booth. Reluctantly the group agreed & made Ronnie Anne promise to call them if she needed them, which she agreed to. Ronnie Anne made her way home, stopping in her apartment. Ronnie Anne dropped off her stuff but suddenly heard noises from above her. Knowing Sid's bedroom was right above hers, Ronnie Anne knew this had to be her. Heading to the next floor, Ronnie Anne knocked on the door only to be greeted by Sid's little sister Adelaide.
"uh, Hey Adelaide, is Sid feeling okay? I heard something above me."
"sorry that was me, froggy 2 & I were playing, and as for Sid, that depends on your definition of okay," she replied,
"Say what now?" Asked Ronnie Anne.
"You'll see she's downstairs in The not-so-secret room," she replied.
Ronnie Anne nodded, making her way downstairs to the laundry room; she found the entrance to the room.
"Hey, Sid, are you? Whoa!"
Ronnie Anne was hit with a big surprise; the room was turned into a conspiracy board filled with pictures of Yoon Kwan. Sid is in the center, surrounded by pins and strings, writing on a notepad.
"uh, Sid?"
Sid turned to see Ronnie Anne; her hair looked a mess & there were dark circles under her eyes, signaling she had been at this for hours.
"Ronnie Anne, when did you get here?"
"I just got here. What's all this?"
"my research."
"on what?"
"Why is Yoon leaving Twelve is Midnight?"
"Oh boy."
"hear me out, bestie, there has to be a reason why he would leave the group; they're like brothers; he wouldn't abandon them like that."
"Sid, I know you're upset, and so am I." reasoned Ronnie Anne.
"I'm telling you something is wrong here. Why else would Yoon just up & leave? Or date Alisa." She said with bitterness in her voice.
"SID!" scolded Ronnie Anne regretting that she blabbed about Alisa & Yoon.
"I'm sorry…I'm sorry that wasn't me talking; that was jealousy."
"Sid, don't turn into the same jerks who framed Lincoln."
"I'm sorry. But I know something is going on that might need Lady Shazam."
Ronnie Anne sighed; she didn't want to hurt her friend's feelings & was trying to figure out a way not to.
"Okay, Sid, look, I can't act on this unless you have some concrete evidence. Otherwise, I'd be no different than Lincoln's 'sisters,' and I'm not going to be like them."
"oh, don't worry, I'll find some."
Sid went back to writing while Ronnie Anne decided to give her some space. Ronnie Anne kept to herself for the rest of the night until she started a video chat with Lincoln.
"so, how are things with your 'sisters' Linc?"
"They've been leaving me alone, this time for good reasons. I think they've been helping Lori get ready for her tournament, but I haven't asked or been asked to do anything, so I can't say for sure. On another note, I might know where the White Dragons are hiding."
"Really?"
"I went to see the police chief for any update & he told me he may have a lead in Hazeltucky. Once he confirms it, he'll contact me on this old beeper he gave me."
"The police chief still uses a beeper?" Ronnie Anne asked.
"I was surprised too," Lincoln replied.
"Well, we better get ready to-."
Suddenly their chat was interrupted by someone wanting to join the discussion. Ronnie Anne saw that it was Sid & quickly linked her in.
"guys, I'm so glad you two are up. I've got news!"
"Really?" asked Lincoln
"Ronnie Anne, I know you said you need evidence. Well, Bestie, I found it."
"Well, what is it?"
"An hour ago, Yoon Kwan posted a video recording to explain his leaving. Throughout his explanation, things kept getting weird; here I'll show you."
Typing something on her keyboard, she brought up the video she had recorded. As they watched, Ronnie Anne was a bit confused, unable to see anything weird. However, she noticed that he was tapping the table with his left hand & twice with his right at different times before he stopped it. After a short while, Sid paused the video to get their opinion.
"Well, did you guys see it?"
"Sid, I didn't see anything except his hand tapping in."
"I noticed that too, but he wasn't just tapping randomly. He was using morse code." Informed Lincoln.
"you know morse code?" asked Ronnie Anne.
"My grandpa, Leonard Loud, taught me, and if I'm not mistaken, his left hand saying "help," his right was saying "me," but near the end, his right hand changed rhythm, and I think he was saying "mind" instead."
"Help, Me, and Mind,"" what does that mean?" Ronnie Anne Asked.
"I don't know, but it may have something to do with this part."
Sid played the rest of the video. As Yoon Kwan was closing out his message, he reached for the camera for a moment, and his eyes changed. They were becoming bug-eyed as he turned off the camera surprising Lincoln & Ronnie Anne. It was really quick; if you didn't know what to look for, you would easily have missed it.
"Now you see?"
"Okay, maybe this does look like a job for Lady Shazam." Ronnie Anne agreed.
Friday came, and Ronnie Anne & Sid spent the school day trying to figure out what was going on with Yoon Kwan. After school, Ronnie Anne & Sid called Lincoln hoping that he could help. Unfortunately, Lincoln was contacted by the chief & had to help capture the White Dragons, so for now; he was preoccupied.
"Well, it looks like it's just us." Said Sid.
"We'll be fine."
Heading home, Ronnie Anne informed Bobby of their plan to investigate Yoon and asked if he could watch Adelaide.
"No worries, sis, go do your thing."
The girls headed to the roof after making sure no one was there; it was time to power up.
Shazam!
Powered up, Ronnie Anne picked up Sid and flew off to start their investigation.
"Okay, where should we check first?" Asked Sid.
"Let's start in his hotel room; we just need to figure out which one."
"Oh, it's the same one where we crashed through the vent."
"How do you know... forget it? I don't think I want to know." Ronnie Anne replied.
Reaching the hotel, the two had a stroke of luck as the window in question was not locked, allowing them to slip in unseen. The two got in and searched the room, noticing that the floor felt very sticky, which was weird since these rooms were carpeted.
"Is the carpet made of velcro?" Ronnie Anne asked.
"Hold on, let me find a light switch." Said Sid.
Moving through the dimly lit room, Sid managed to find a switch; though she managed to flip it, her hand pulled away upon touching something wet & sticky.
"gross."
Suddenly the lights turned on, revealing to their shock & horror the room was covered in some sticky green slime.
"Ronnie Anne, what is this stuff?"
"I don't know, but it stinks. It's like something Luan Loud would create. we better-"
Suddenly Ronnie Anne started sniffing the air, as she was sensing something. Her hunting skills somehow alerted her that the source of this green slime was close by & was getting closer. Thinking fast, Ronnie Anne shrunk herself before grabbing Sid and hiding them both in the vent. A second later, Yoon Kwan walked, moving around both Sid & Ronnie Anne could see he was suspicious of the room.
"Why was the light on?" he asked. "probably those idiots snooping again, no matter after the concert tonight, I'll be rid of those fools." He said with a sinister grin.
"What's he talking about?" asked Sid.
"I don't know."
Ronnie Anne didn't want to say much; she sensed something coming from Yoon, two life forces & one was evil. Placing his glasses on the dresser, Yoon began laughing; first, it was normal. But it soon turned frightening as his eyes changed, becoming bug-eyed just like in the video. After a few minutes, his eyes returned to normal before grabbing his glasses & left. Once in the clear, the two landed on the floor while Ronnie Anne returned to her average adult size.
"See, I told you something was wrong," Sid exclaimed.
"Okay, you were right; something is very wrong here. My powers were telling me that there was something in Yoon's body with him. Like he's possessed by a demon or something."
"You don't think he's gonna do something to the rest of Twelve is Midnight? Like, put demons in them too? Or maybe in the audience of the concert?" Asked Sid in a panic.
"I don't know, but it sounds like it."
"So what do we do now?" Sid asked.
"We? Sid, I'm taking you home, then I'm heading to the concert."
"Ronnie Anne, you can't do this alone & Lincoln is busy."
"Sid, whatever is going on, it's bad. You know it, and I felt it; something evil is involved. I don't want you to get hurt."
"Ronnie Anne, I want to help."
"Okay, can breakfast-bot analyze this gunk?"
"Sure, I upgraded him to analyze any substance."
"then I need you to give some of this to him & see what it is." She asked, creating an energy sphere around some of the slime & handed it to Sid.
"What will you do?"
"I'm going to scout ahead to see what I can find."
"How are you going to do that? You can't sneak in as Ronnie Anne & if you go there as Lady Shazam, he might suspect something." Sid reasoned.
"Then I won't be either of them." Replied Ronnie Anne, confusing Sid.
Later,
After taking Sid home, Ronnie Anne headed to the pier to find a safe spot away from the crowd; Ronnie Anne thought now was the time to put her shapeshifting to the ultimate test. Closing her eyes, she began focusing & her body started glowing like before. The harder Ronnie Anne focused, the brighter she glowed until it stopped. Ronnie Anne opened her eyes and checked herself; in a mirror, she didn't see herself as Lady Shazam. Ronnie Anne had transformed herself into Alisa right down to her clothes & voice. Luckily, she didn't have to worry about the real Alisa since she left to spend the week with her family before going back on tour.
"Ok, "Alisa," time to get backstage."
Strolling into the crowd, Ronnie Anne was immediately let in, and people started cheering, seeing her while she tried to match the real Alisa's grace. It wasn't that easy because while Ronnie Anne wasn't a stranger to walking in an adult body now, Alisa's body had different proportions and build to it, throwing off her balance.
"Focus, girl, just get backstage." She thought.
Making it to the stage, the stagehands happily let her in the back & told her where to find Yoon Kwan's dressing room. As she moved, she noticed the rest of Twelve is midnight sitting in another dressing room, all with saddened expressions. Now even more determined to get to the bottom of this, Ronnie Anne made her way to Yoon's door & knocked.
"Who is it!?" Said Yoon Kwan in an annoyed tone.
"It's me, Yoon, Alisa."
The door opened quickly & Yoon Kwan stuck his head out. "What do you want?"
"I want to talk. May I come in."
Yoon nodded, letting "Alisa" in; Ronnie Anne noticed that there was no sign of the slime she & Sid found in his hotel room. It was clean, too clean, especially for a room that a celebrity was staying in. Yoon Kwan offered her a seat on the armchair while he sat back at his vanity.
"I guess you're here to convince me not to leave the group."
"Well yeah, you guys have been together for a while now, so how can you just leave?"
"Look, I'm done with this K-pop nonsense. I'm moving on to something better."
"But they're your friends, your family."
"They are neither of those, but then again..." He said, snapping his fingers.
Suddenly, restraints popped out of the chair, locking Ronnie Anne to the chair. Ronnie Anne was about to use super strength to break free when Yoon Kwan vomited the same green slime all over her before it quickly hardened into a shell.
"Gross! What the hell is this stuff?" Said Ronnie Anne trying to break free. But because she was using Aphrodite's Beauty, she couldn't switch to super strength without revealing her true self.
"Don't bother trying to break free; you can't, Alisa. Or should I say, "Lady Shazam?"
Ronnie Anne immediately stopped as she looked on in shock while he smirked back at her.
"I take it you were the one in my hotel room."
"How did you know I wasn't the real Alisa?"
"Simple, I spoke to the real one 20 minutes before you knocked on my door."
"Damn it!"
"Don't feel bad; your impression was spot on; if I were as naive as you humans, I might have actually fallen for it."
"You humans?" She thought, "Okay, buddy, you seem to know who I am, but I don't know who you are & how rude is that."
"Oh dear, where are my manners? Allow me to introduce myself formally." He mocked.
Sitting down on his vanity chair, Ronnie Anne watched as restraint appeared, tying him to the chair to her confusion. Yoon Kwan's eyes rolled to the back of his head before his head slumped over. Ronnie Anne watched as Yoon's right ear twitched before something started crawling out of his ear. Freed from the ear, the thing made its way to the top of Yoon's head. To Ronnie Anne, the creature looked like a cross between a caterpillar, a slug, and a beetle; around its neck resembled a tiny speaker.
"My name is Maxivermis Mind, but you can call me Mister Mind."
Ronnie Anne raised an eyebrow. "So the great evil that I was sensing before... is just a worm?"
"Oh no, I am far more than a mere worm. Now please lose that ridiculous form; you insult me by keeping that mask on."
"Gladly." Ronnie Anne replied.
Shazam!
The shapeshifting faded, and Ronnie Anne's appearance was now that of Lady Shazam.
Mister Mind could not smile, but Ronnie Anne got the impression that he was pleased. Yoon Kwan, however, slumped like an unused marionette. "Now that's better. So tell me, how do you plan on stopping me? Don't tell me you're okay with the idea of the primates here being led to believe their superhero assaulted a beloved pop star."
"Tell me why you're controlling Yoon Kwan in the first place. What do you want with him?" Ronnie Anne demanded. She knew she should break free, but if she played along, she could get him to reveal more, so she stayed trapped in her slimy shell.
Mister Mind laughed. "Is this the part where I monologue and unveil my evil plan to the hero? Sorry, I had to focus on a stupid concert and only skimmed that script. What's my line here?"
"Wow, an evil body-possessing demon who's sarcastic, but I can just step on. You must be popular wherever you came from." Ronnie Anne noted dryly.
"Oh, I'm not a demon, but I'm only telling you that because it's so redundant, I'd rather not hear you call me that again. I am far superior to what you call demons."
"I take it you're from the same world as Mr. Atom."
"Don't insult me, human, although I do have to thank that metallic fool; if it weren't for him, I wouldn't have been able to sneak in undetected."
Ronnie Anne's eyes widened in horror at the realization that this thing had been lurking in here since her and Lincoln's battle with Mr. Atom. "You've been here that long?"
"Now you see the power of my intelligence, primate? Although I am a little impressed you figured that out, considering."
"Considering what?"
"That well-endowed female primates tend to lack intelligence."
Ronnie Anne thought for a second before her face turned red. "That's a myth, you bug-faced creep."
"Whatever, the fact remains, my plan will work & you can't stop it."
"I still don't know what your plan is, bug, & if you were so sure it was going to work, you wouldn't have a problem with revealing it."
Mister Mind thought for a moment, then chirped in a way that sounded delighted, knowing there was nothing she could do.
"why not primate? I do like mocking those who believe they can match wits with me." He mocked. "To put it simply, I'm going to kill Twelve is Midnight."
"What, why?"
"Their deaths are an important part of my plan to conquer the world."
"You... a talking caterpillar... is going to take over the world... by killing a K-pop band?" Ronnie Anne summarized slowly. "Well, that does sound like the kind of plan I'd expect from someone with a brain the size of an ant's foot."
"Do not mock me, mammal. My brain is far more advanced than you give it credit for and I know magic you could only dream of knowing." Mister Mind hissed.
"I would hope so, considering the body it comes in." Ronnie Anne mocked.
"As I was saying, once the others are dead, with Yoon Kwan being the only survivor, their grieving fans will flock to him like moths to a flame. Forming a cult around him, then in a year, all I have to do is move to politics; my followers will support me & convince others to also. Within two years, I'll be president, then spread my influence across the rest of the world, then this whole world will follow me."
"Why Yoon Kwan?" Asked Ronnie Anne. "Why any of this?"
"I saw how popular he is; his charm & charisma made him the perfect host. As to why such a brilliant plan, I'll put it in a way your underdeveloped mind can understand; unlike you humans & that fool Atom who conquered by force, I find it easier to take over when the ones I seek to conquer willingly follow me."
"Oh really?" Replied Ronnie Anne with sarcasm.
"I conquered the Monsterlands with this strategy, and I'll conquer this realm the same way. Eventually, I'll conquer every one of the magic lands & then the Rock of Eternity itself."
Ronnie Anne then watched as Mister Mind crawled back into Yoon Kwan's ear, taking over his body again as the straps around him unlocked.
"Now sit tight; I'll deal with you after the concert; once the spell I cast takes full effect and the magical circle fully forms, parts of the pier will collapse & my conquest will truly begin."
"Are you crazy? Innocent people will die too!"
"Well, as humans say, you can't make an omelet without breaking a few thousand eggs."
"And I think I've humored you long enough." Ronnie Anne stated, deciding now to break free of her prison of hardened slime. To her surprise, it didn't work. Confused, she tried again, this time putting more strength into it. But it didn't work. She was still trapped.
"What? This is impossible."
Yoon Kwan laughed. "Did you think I'd not anticipate this? My slime is strong enough to restrain Hercules; it will take hours before you can break free. I'll be back by then as the sole survivor of a disaster. You, on the other hand..." He mocked, leaving the room.
Ronnie Anne struggled with the slime, but after some more effort, she conceded that it was indeed useless; she couldn't get free.
"Damn it. I wish I had some backup."
Suddenly, the handle to the door started to jiggle as if someone was messing with the lock on the other side. The door then unlocked & to Ronnie Anne's surprise; it was Sid.
"Sid?"
"Hey, bestie, I knew I'd find you here."
"What are you doing here?"
"Rescuing you silly, when I saw Twelve is Midnight about to perform, I figured you might need help."
"How did you even get back here?"
"Oh, Carlota told Alisa how we wanted tickets to the concert, so she left us two backstage passes; Carlota forgot to give them to us."
"I can not believe her; you know what, not important right now. Can you get me out?"
Sid nodded. "Sure, according to breakfast-bot, this stuff is just like a slug slime trail but thicker & more elastic; it can harden to the point where it's stronger than steel."
"I noticed, but I want to know how I get it off?"
Sid looked around until she found what she was looking for, a fire extinguisher; grabbing it, she pointed the hose at Ronnie Anne.
"Like this."
Sid began spraying the hardened slime until its color faded and started to crack. Realizing she could break free now, Ronnie Anne burst through with one jerk, ready to go after Mister Mind.
"Turns out this stuff is weakened when exposed to extreme cold." Sid pointed out.
"And I bet its creator has the same weakness. But I will need to get him out of Yoon Kwan first. Before I go, any ideas on how to get a worm out of someone's head without hurting the person?"
Sid looked confused and disgusted. "Wait, Yoon Kwan's being controlled by a worm in his head?"
"Not just any worm, some talking alien worm with an ego and no respect for women. And he wants to take over the world and get to the source of my power."
Sid put a finger on her chin as she did some deep thinking. "You have magic, right? Can't you just pull it out of Yoon's head?"
"I don't want to risk pulling Yoon's brains out too."
"Then ruin his plans to kill Twelve is Midnight and give that bug no choice but to give up!" Sid insisted.
Ronnie Anne smirked. "Gladly."
Crashing through the back wall, Ronnie Anne flew high into the sky; luckily, no one noticed. She got above where the concert was to take place, seeing the crowd dancing to Twelve Is Midnight, trying to make their last show one to remember. Ronnie Anne saw something strange scattered around the pier. There were lanterns spread around the pier; from a ground perspective, it appeared to be random, but Ronnie Anne could see they were set up in a circle around the pier.
"That's gotta be the circle the worm was talking about."
Ronnie Anne then noticed them lighting up with a green glow one by one in a clockwise pattern, making her realize she was running out of time.
"Where is the last one?"
Looking around, she saw it sitting above the stage just as the band finished their song & the crowd cheered.
"Of course, he'd put it there."
As the cheering died down, "Yoon Kwan" began happily addressing the crowd.
"Thank you for coming out to support us during our final concert. I know my leaving is still a shock, but I promise you all." Said "Yoon Kwan" as he watched the trail of lanterns lighting up, making its way to the stage with glee. "The next step in life I take will benefit not just me but the rest of the world. I can only hope you will continue supporting me."
The crowd started cheering while the rest of Twelve Is Midnight gave uneasy smiles & clapped out of politeness if nothing else. Mr. Mind saw that the spell was about to be completed as he made his host bow. Suddenly, just as the last lantern was about to light up, a lightning bolt came out of nowhere, striking the lantern, destroying it & causing the others to shut down.
"NO!" Said Mr. Mind.
Everyone looked around the sky, trying to find where that lightning bolt came from, but no one saw anything or anyone. Unknown to the crowd, Ronnie Anne had shrunken down.
"Ok, I ruined his plans; now it's time to evict that bug."
Ronnie Anne flew right into Yoon's ear towards the eardrum, Ronnie Anne saw how his inner ear was covered in slime web.
"Eww, how can he hear anything like this? It's like having a roommate that doesn't clean up after himself."
Flying deeper, she found Mr. Mind right next to the eardrum. "Now your little ten-step plan is over before it started; so get the hell out of Yoon Kwan!"
Mr. Mind hissed like a furious bee. "You miserable little primate! You ruined everything!"
"yeah, sorry not sorry, so leave now or else!"
"Or else what? I still control this body; I could make him snap his own neck. What can you do to stop me?"
"This!"
Ronnie Anne took a deep breath before exhaling, unleashing a chilling wind much like she had done with Carlos before. Mr. Mind instantly screamed in pain, causing Yoon Kwan to scream, shocking the crowd. Inside Yoon's ear, Mr. Mind was still being hit by Ronnie Anne's freezing breath. He squirmed in an attempt to attack her or escape from her, whichever he could do better, but instead he became a frozen statue. This resulted in Yoon Kwan collapsing and everyone, including Sid, moving in to check on him, they started hearing Yoon groan as he sat up.
"My head, where...? Wait, it's gone; I'm finally free from that thing!"
"What thing? Woo-Yeon asked.
Suddenly, Ronnie Anne appears, having exited his head and grown back to normal size, holding Mr. Mind's frozen body in her palm. Thinking quickly Sid grabbed a nearby camera and pointed at Mr. Mind, revealing the creature on the jumbotron making everyone gasp.
"That little body snatcher has been controlling my body all this time! He tried to kill everyone here in some crazy attempt to take over the world!" Explained Yoon explained as he was helped to his feet.
"Well, he's no threat now." Mocked Sid.
"Don't be so sure, primates; you may have ruined my plans, but a smart conqueror knows when to use force!"
"Oh really & how are you gonna do that?" Mocked Jin.
"Like this, worg ot eht ezis fo raeb."
Ronnie Anne quickly noticed the steam coming off of Mr. Mind's body, causing her to drop him. Suddenly, the ice shattered as he started growing.
"Oh no, everyone away from the stage!" Yelled Ronnie Anne.
Everyone moved away while Twelve Is Midnight jumped off the stage, with Yoon Kwan picking Sid up bridal style as he jumped off. She blushed brightly but smiled just as brightly as well as he carried her off. Ronnie Anne went into a fighting stance as Mr. Mind had grown into a much more terrifying creature, now sporting two extra eyes, his legs were longer along with his mandible, his body was longer like a snake while he was the size of a large bear. Not just that, he now had wings that resembled dragonfly wings and a tail with a stinger.
"Eww, and I thought you were ugly before."
"joke ALL you want; you won't be laughing when I separate your head from your body."
Aiming his stinger, Mr. Mind began firing his slime at Ronnie Anne, who flew into the air. Swiftly dodging each shot, Ronnie Anne disappeared by shrinking, then reappeared by delivering a growing uppercut knocking Mr Mind into the air. The battle was now aerial with Mr. Mind still trying to blast Ronnie Anne with his slime while she countered with her electro-blast.
"You'll have to do better than that bug." Ronnie Anne mocked, enjoying having him on the ropes.
"All you have to do is ask, stsif ygrrne."
Suddenly energy formed around Mr. Mind's top legs molding into two fists.
"Dang it."
The two jumped back into the fight, trading blows, before Mr. Mind delivered a double-fisted punch to Ronnie Anne, knocking her to the stage. As Ronnie Anne was about to get up, her hands were hit by the slime, pinning her to the stage, before the bug landed over her.
"Oh my, you're pretty close; I hope you're not planning on getting fresh with me because you should know you're not my type and I'm spoken for." Joked Ronnie Anne.
"I'm going to enjoy eating your tongue."
As Mr. Mind pulled his head back, he was suddenly sprayed by three water hoses courtesy of Twelve Is Midnight & Sid.
"That's what you get for messing with my favorite band and disrespecting the power of K-Pop!" Said Sid.
Mr. Mind was being drenched as water passed down to the speaker around his neck, causing it to malfunction.
"No…my…voice…box!"
Ronnie Anne noticed his hands started flickering. 'That thing around his neck must be his weak spot.'
Spirit renewed, Ronnie Anne kicked Mr. Mind off her onto his back before using her cold breath to free herself. Moving at super speeds, she jumping on top of him and pulled her fist back.
"Hope this wasn't expensive!" She said before slamming it into the speaker.
"No!" He cried as his voice box burst into a bright light.
As the flash disappeared, everyone saw Lady Shazam standing victorious, holding a shrunken depowered Mr. Mind by his tail end.
"Well…well, looks like without your voice box, you can't cast spells which makes you just a worm now." Mocked Ronnie Anne. "Now, what do I do with you? Perhaps I'll put you in a bottle. Or-"
Before Ronnie Anne could continue, a seagull came flying in, snatching up Mr. Mind in one gulp before flying off, leaving everyone stunned.
"Well, I guess that problem took care of itself." Said Jin.
"So what do we do now?" Asked Woo-Yeon.
"We party! Twelve is Midnight lives thanks to Lady Shazam!" Shouted Yoon Kwan.
Everyone began celebrating the defeat of Mr. Mind and the return of the real Yoon Kwan. Even Ronnie Anne couldn't resist the temptation of dancing when Twelve Is Midnight started singing. As she danced, she started wondering how Lincoln was doing on his mission.
Elsewhere
Outside of an old factory, a swat team is surrounding a building laying in wait, ensuring that no one escapes from this raid.
"Okay, do you know the plan?"
"I go in first & take care of any resistance, " answered Lincoln in the form of Shazam.
The cop nodded. "we'll cover you and follow behind you in a few minutes."
Lincoln nodded back before flying into the air; once he was over the factory, he dropped down, performing a superhero landing as he crashed through the roof into the factory.
"It's over August! You & your men are… not here?"
Lincoln was confused; according to the intel the police got, there were multiple sightings of August Smith & his men around this precise spot. However, this whole factory looked like it hadn't been touched in years.
"This whole situation makes no sense."
"It made perfect sense when you arranged it." said a voice
Lincoln instantly went into fight mode as his fists became electrified; however, a hidden projector turned on, projecting onto a nearby wall. On the wall was none other than August Smith staring down at Lincoln.
"My…my, so you're this Shazam I've been hearing about."
"How did you know we found you and were coming?"
"Oh, hero, you never found me because I was never here."
"What!?"
"I sent that intel because I knew they'd contact you & bring you to me."
"So I walked into a trap!?
"Not a trap, a proposal."
"A proposal? Sorry, I don't swing that way."
August looked disgusted. "Not that kind of... Look, your powers could be a major asset to my cause if pointed in the right direction. With you, we can put our people back on top & put these lessers back in their places. Think of this as an alliance, a superhero team-up. I hear kids these days love those."
"You're not super & you're definitely no hero!"
"I fight for what I believe in & for my people; of course, that makes me a hero. How am I different from you?"
"Have you ever helped someone who didn't remind you of yourself?" Lincoln challenged.
"Did you not hear me? I wish to put the lessers in their place." August reminded him.
Lincoln crossed his arms. "That's why you're not a hero. You're just a racist scumbag and I promise that when I find you, I'll take you down."
August sighed deeply after hearing Lincoln's declaration of war on him. "I really thought we could work together to create a better world for our people, but you've been corrupted. No matter, I've gotten what I needed from you."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"Goodbye Shazam, and by the way, you were right, this was a trap."
Suddenly all the windows & doors were closed shut by steel doors, even the hole Lincoln made; the projector then switched to a count down with ten seconds on the screen.
"Uh-oh."
Outside, the chief and his men were moving in; right as he was about to give the order to move in, the building exploded, knocking everyone back. Getting to their feet, the men witness the burning rubble left behind. Suddenly the ground began to shake before Lincoln came bursting out of the tons of rubble he was buried under, landing in front of the chief. Though he was barely injured, his costume was ruined.
"What happened?"
"It was a trap; they were never here."
"What? But the intel...?"
"Was to lure me here." sighed Lincoln.
"why?"
"He thought I might want to be friends. Fat chance, but right now we need to get back to Royal Woods and plan."
"You go ahead; we'll be there in a few hours after cleaning this mess."
Lincoln nodded as he flew into the air, looking down at the remains of the building before flying off.
"NEXT TIME SMITH…NEXT TIME!" thought Lincoln flying off.
Elsewhere
August Smith descended down a flight of stairs into a lab, where he saw a scientist putting the final touches on his armor.
"Well, Ivo, is it ready?"
"It will be fully operational by sunrise,"
"Good, so contact the men & make sure they are in position; it begins tomorrow."
End Of Ch. 13