Hi everyone! Just two more chapters until I've finished the first season. And without further ado, I present the next one.

Chapter Thirty-Nine

Do You Believe in Magic?

Sydney Museum-10:53 AM

As the crowd settled down, waiting for the the massive tarp that covered part of the wall to be lifted, the curator of the museum stepped up to a podium and cleared his throat into the microphone.

"Ladies and gentlemen," he began, gesturing to the tarp. "Never seen before outside of China, I give you the famous Ming Dynasty Tapestries!"

The tarp fell, revealing three large tapestries kept in equally large display cases. Each tapestry was embroidered with the image of a tiger. The crowd was in awe.

"This priceless artwork is protected by the most advanced security system in the world," the curator continued. It had been very difficult to procure these tapestries from the Chinese government. They had only relented when the museum had guaranteed that they would be just as safe abroad as they would be in their home country.

And the curator was not only showcasing his museum's newest exhibit, but he also intended to demonstrate just how these national treasures would be defended against any potential theft.

"If someone was to get too close..."

One of the curator's assistants demonstrated what would happen with a long stick touching the display cases of one of the tapestries. The tip of the stick instantly caught fire.

The applause and cheers of the crowd were soon drowned out by a powerful blast of wind. Horror replaced curiosity as a miniature, but still powerful whirlwind kicked up inside the museum, ripping off hats, jewelry and even snatched up the tapestries before escaping into an open window near the ceiling, leaving behind a baffled curator.

Beverly Hills High School-2:33 PM

In the red light of the darkroom, Sean carefully lifted his almost-finished photo of the the tub of fluid and pinned it to the wire that Sam had strung up in the room.

"Remind me," Clover said from behind him, still working on her picture. "Who's idea was it to enter this lame contest anyway?"

"Uh," Sean reminded her. "Mine. And you only agreed to help me when you found out Mandy was entering it too."

Clover blinked. "Right."

The school was holding its annual photoshoot contest, and Sean had suggested they enter it. But to his surprise, each had their own reason for wanting to enter.

Sam shared his reason for wanting extra credit, Clover wanted another chance to one-up Mandy, and Alex just loved taking pictures.

Sean looked in admiration as his photo came into focus, revealing Sam posing in front of the Chinese Theatre that the four passed occasionally while on their way to the mall.

He smiled just as Clover's complaining tone brought him out of another fantasy that he dare not tell anyone about.

"Like, yuck! This is so not good."

"I guess you don't like your picture for the photo contest," Sam said, turning around.

"No," Clover denied. "My picture's great! But this developing goop is like nightmare on manicure street."

She look at her hands, examining her nails for any signs of damage.

"I guess that's what they mean when they say you have to sacrifice for your art," Alex said.

Clover wrinkled her nose in disgust.

"Why couldn't we just use a digital camera?!" she asked.

"Because it's against contest rules," Sean said. "And besides, I think this is kind of fun."

"Yeah," Clover agreed sarcastically. "Fun like spending a day with Mandy!"

As if on cue, the door to the darkroom opened, much to the horror of Sean and the girls.

"Hey!" Clover shouted, her jaw agape.

"Oops!" Mandy said, standing in the doorway triumphantly. "Were you guys working in here?"

Sam closed the door too late. Mandy was already inside and all of the pictures developed so far looked completely faded due their premature exposure to light.

"Nice one, Mandy!" Clover growled. "Now our photos are totally ruined!"

Mandy just scoffed. "What does it matter? The judges weren't gonna pick your amateur snapshots over my professional prints, anyway!"

"Yeah?" Sam asked, crossing her arms in anger. "What makes you so sure?"

"The fact that I am a winner, Sam. And you four are losers! But don't worry, it's not all bad. I'll still wave to you from the stands when they're awarding me first prize."

She left the room, waving at them mockingly.

"Ta-ta!" she said.

Sean grit his teeth before tearing up the one photo he took of Mandy (which he snapped by accident, and they had to get the whole roll of film developed anyway.) and unceremoniously dropped the pieces into a nearby trash can.

"This is so unfair!" he complained. "She ruined our photos on purpose!"

Sean was fuming. Mandy had done things to sabotage his progress in contests and in school before, but this was worse than the time she stole his short story draft and presented it as her own.

"Now she's gonna win the contest no problem!" Alex added, just as angry.

"Not if we do something to stop her," Sam suggested.

"Like what?" Clover asked.

"Like show our damaged pictures to Principal Jenkins. I bet he'll be interested in our story."

"Good idea," Sean agreed.

But the plan could be discussed no further before the doors to the supply closet opened, creating a vortex of wind that sucked them inside and into the familiar tunnel that would undoubtedly take them on another mission.

When the closet doors slammed shut, Mandy, who thought she heard screaming peeked back inside the darkroom.

She found nothing but an empty room and papers strewn everywhere.

Shrugging, she closed the door and went on her way to her next class.

Meanwhile, the four teens rode screaming down the chute, their plans for getting back at Mandy momentarily forgotten.

"Jerry!" Alex shouted. "This is, like, way bad timing for a mission!"

The ride ended in Jerry's office as they each landed on four pink chairs.

"Whoever's working the WOOHP away machine really needs to work on their aim," Clover complained as she landed on her chair stomach first, probably bruising a rib.

Jerry turned around, getting straight to the point.

The screen behind his desk lit up to show the Ming Dynasty Tapestries being sucked up by a tornado.

"This is security footage of the most recent of international art thefts," he explained. "The Ming Dynasty Tapestries."

"Why would someone want to steal a bunch of ugly throw rugs?" Alex asked.

"Alex," Sean said. "Their over a thousand years old and worth $10,000,000."

Clover and Sam looked at him, surprised.

"What?" he asked defensively. "I know my art history."

"Okay, Alex conceded. "So they're fancy ugly throw rugs."

"As documented by this tape," Jerry continued to explain. "Each theft has had a unique magical flair. Somehow the artwork just vanishes into thin air without a clue. The international art world is up in arms over the thefts. Countries are starting to point fingers at each other."

"So, how can we help?" Sam inquired.

"An upcoming millionaires only art auction hosted by Spain's royal family is the thief's probable next target. Agents, we need you to go undercover as wealthy art connoisseurs."

Clover was delighted at that announcement.

"We're undercover millionaires?!" she asked excitedly. "That is so cool!"

"Do we get to fly first class?" Alex added onto Clover's question eagerly.

"Sort of," Jerry admitted.

Jerry's idea of getting them to Madrid turned out to involve blasting them in a capsule into the upper atmosphere.

The journey from the W.O.O.H.P launchpad was a rough one and nearly gave its five occupants whiplash.

"Just how is this first class?" Sean asked when his teeth finally stopped chattering.

"It has a vent," Jerry stated. "Anyway, sorry about the bumpy ride. But we had to get you to the auction in a hurry. And now for the gadgets."

Jerry opened a panel in the wall, pulling out the gadgets he would be assigning them.

"For this mission, we've given you Headband Illuminators, Portable Reporter Recorders with CD Throwing Stars, one Hairpin High Jumper Extender Pole, four pairs of Suction Cup Gloves, and Bolas Wrap A Belts."

"I'm almost afraid to ask," Sam spoke up. "But how do we get from up here to down there?"

"Oh, well that's quite simple: we deploy a stage two re-entry disengagement."

"What's a stage two re-entry disengagement?" Alex asked nervously.

"I'm glad you asked me," Jerry said as he reached for a lever behind him. "It's this."

He pulled it and the spies fell out of the rocket, enclosed in a pink landing craft that would parachute its way down to Spain.

"Next time, Alex, don't ask!" Clover exclaimed as they plummeted back to Earth.

Madrid-3:16 PM

Straightening his tie, Sean observed the plaza that made up the courtyard of the Zarzeula Palace. To his right stood Sam, looking very much like she belonged here with her purple dress, green necklace and earrings with matching purse, elegant cream-colored opera gloves and her beautiful red hair tied up in an elaborate bun.

Alex and Clover found disguises suited for the situation as well, with Clover wearing an orange dress that showcased her neckline, a white wrap clinging to her arms and a blue necklace. Alex's outfit consisted of a white dress with shoulder straps, a flower necklace and a red wrap.

Sean's own disguised was simpler but very sharp in its own right, he reasoned. It was a black suit with a white undershirt and blue necktie.

"Now, this is what I call a garden party," Clover said happily, very much lost in her role.

"Remember," Sean reminded her as well as the others. "Any one of these millionaires could be the thief. So stay alert."

"After all," Sam added. "No one would suspect a rich art snob of stealing things he could just buy."

"If we're making a list of potential rich, snobby no-goods," Alex interjected. "I'd like to add Mandy's name at the very top."

"Mandy will have to wait," Sean said, though he silently agreed with her. "Right now, we have to get inside that auction before the thief strikes again."

They walked down the steps as Clover put on the snobbiest accent she could muster.

"Yes, darling. But of course."

The auction took place in the palace theatre, which had once hosted opera and many other presentations for the royal family. The stage was outfitted with a podium complete with microphone, allowing the auctioneer to address the crowd more efficiently.

The auctioneer was a middle-aged man with gray hair and a dark gray suit with red necktie. He tapped the microphone, testing it as the spies took their seats.

"The royal family welcomes you to the 17th annual winter auction," he said. "First up for bids, Carlos Carmelita's famous Vase of the Unknown Soldier."

Another man wheeled out an enormous urn that the auction catalogue indicated was completed in 1939 in honor of a soldier who died in the Spanish Civil War, but was too disfigured to be identified.

"We start the bidding at $500,000."

All at once, an Arab man raised his hand in front of the spies.

"Thank you," the auctioneer said, taking notice of the bid. "We have 500,000. Do we have six."

Another man further down raised his hand.

"And we have 600,000. Is there a bid of seven?"

While the auctioneer continued, Clover began to sniff in a way that suggested she was about to sneeze.

"Whoa!" she exclaimed softly. "Who is wearing that eau de way too strong?! It's totally choking my sinuses!"

Instantly, Sam and Alex turned to Sean, the only one who put on any type of fragrance before entering the palace.

"What?" he asked defensively, before realizing that the cologne he wore was too strong for Clover. "Oh."

"Guys, pay attention!" Sam snapped gently. "The thief could strike at any time."

"Still looking for 700,000," the auctioneer said, oblivious to a certain spy's struggle not to sneeze. "600 going once."

"All I'm saying," Clover continued, directing herself to Sean in particular. "Is that it's hard to focus on work when I'm gagging... gagging on-"

It was too late. Clover sneezed the loudest sneeze she had ever given off in her life, catching the attention of everyone in the room, including the auctioneer.

"We have 700,000!" he announced. "Will anyone bid eight?"

Clover stood there stunned. She and her teammates had certainly not expected to bid on anything at this auction. Even Mandy couldn't afford most of this stuff.

"Please let someone bid higher," Sean prayed, but it was all in vain.

"700,000 going once. Going twice."

The auctioneer pounded his mallet indicating a sale.

"Sold to the young lady in the second row!"

Clover sat back down, gritting her teeth nervously.

"I think our mission just went over budget!" she exclaimed. "Nice going, Sean!"

"Sorry!" he apologized. "That's the last time I buy cologne on clearance."

"And now the next item up for bids," the auctioneer continued as a marble statue depicting a man riding a horse was rolled out. "Bernardo Vasco da Gama's last creation, the famed Don Quixote statue. We start the bidding of da Gama's only remaining marble work at five mill-"

But he was cut off by a large purple tarp drooping from the ceiling and encapsulating the statue.

"I'd say it's go time, girls," Sean said, taking off the suit jacket. The spies leapt onto the stage just in time for the sculpture beneath the tarp to vanish in a puff of smoke and the tarp itself to twist into the shape of a rolled up rug and and disappear similarly.

"Freaky!" Alex commented. "It, like, completely disappeared."

"500 pound statues don't just disappear," Sam said, kneeling down. She was inspecting a black powder that had been left in place of the statue. "And I bet this powdery stuff is part of the explanation."

She unknowingly pressed down on the floor so hard that she wound up triggering a trap door, one that she would have fallen into if not for Sean catching her wrists.

"Going somewhere?" Clover asked as Sean pulled Sam out of the hole.

"Guess this explains the vanishing act," Sean said as he let go of her. Then he looked down into the hole. "We should get a closer look."

With the Hairpin High Jumper Extender Pole, the spies lowered themselves into the hole, which turned out to lead to the catacombs beneath the palace. Or so they assumed, anyway. It was too dark to tell for sure where they were.

"Can't see a thing," Sam said, as she switched on her Headband Illuminator, the other spies following suit.

"Talk about musty," Alex complained as they reached the middle of the corridor. "Someone needs to open a window down here big time."

It wasn't long before the blinding glare of a headlight illuminated the cave, catching the four spies off guard.

And the roar of a motorcycle engine demonstrated perfectly what was in the catacombs with them.

They jumped of the way as it sped past them and out of the tunnels through a hatch that had opened up in the walls.

"You know, bad guy or not," Clover said as they got to their feet. "He could have at least beeped."

"We've gotta catch him," Sean said as the girls ripped their dresses to a short length to make running much easier.

The catacombs ended at ledge overlooking the road. And the spies came out just in time to witness the thief zoom by. On the motorcycle's sidecar was a large purple tarp that had obviously been used to cover up the stolen statue.

As Sean and the girls slid down, they barely avoided being hit by the motorcycle.

Thinking fast, Sam pointed to a group of mopeds parked not too far away.

They hopped on, catching the attention of the four teenagers who owned them.

"Art theft in progress!" she explained quickly. "Official police business... sort of."

"Hey!" one boy exclaimed as the spies took off with their rides.

"Sorry!" Sean said. "You'll get these back!"

"I think," Alex added, guilty.

The chase led through a marketplace, causing vendors and buyers alike to drop their merchandise. The thief's motorcycle was clearly too fast for the mopeds to catch up with, and the spies stopped just in time to avoid a collision with a horse-drawn cart. And they narrowly averted disaster again when they almost hit a herd of cows being paraded through the streets by a farmer.

Alex and Sean gained enough air by using a cart as a ramp to glide over the cows, but Sam and Clover were still stuck behind them.

Meanwhile, the thief had turned another corner when Sean and Alex finally caught up to him. He had ducked into an alley as the two followed. No one saw what happened next, but there was a puff of smoke and the sound of a teenage boy screaming in surprise.

When they finally caught up, Sam and Clover rushed into the alleyway to inspect the damage. Well, they would if they could find any. The only thing they saw in the alley was a fountain and the same type of black powder found in the auction hall. But there were no wrecked bikes nor was there any sign of the thief. Or Alex and Sean.

Clover and Sam had decided to head back to the scene of the crime to await the results from Jerry about the powder. They had also taken the time to tell him about Alex and Sean's disappearance.

"The residue you found at both disappearance sites," Jerry explained through Sam's Compowder. "Is an explosive compound used in magic tricks."

"So maybe Sean and Alex weren't in an accident," Sam said hopefully. "It was just some trick and they're okay?"

"All evidence points that way," Jerry confirmed, very relieved himself. "And as far as the parachute and tornado illusions go, it appears they were tricks made famous by a world renowned magician, the Great Kandinsky."

An image of a dark haired man in a suit and purple cape appeared on the screen.

"Let's go pay a visit to this Kandinsky guy and see if he's got a few extra paintings hanging around his house," Sam said confidently.

"I'm afraid that won't be possible. He died some years ago in a boating accident."

"Okay," Clover said, crossing her arms. "That definitely gets filed in the 'not helpful' file."

"Perhaps not," Jerry suggested. "His grandson still keeps the family castle open as a public shrine to his grandfather. He might be able to shed some light on these thefts."

"Sounds good to me."

Clover gestured to the empty theatre around her.

"Any place would be better than this boring siesta-ville."

Transylvania-4:57 PM

But Clover was beginning to have second thoughts upon seeing the castle, which had once belonged to a Romanian nobleman before coming into the possession of Kandinsky's family.

The castle was large, situated between two cliffs connected by only a single plank bridge, and had dozens of crows swarming above it. All in all, it reminded her more of Dracula's castle than anything belonging to a famous magician.

"Okay," Clover admitted. "Maybe not any place."

She and Sam had changed outfits before arriving at the castle, and assumed the identity of two magazine reporters. Clover had swapped in her dress for a pink jacket with matching pants and blue undershirt with glasses. Sam wore a purple dress with similar glasses and had her hair tied back in a ponytail.

As they crossed the bridge leading to the castle, Sam gripped one of the giant, lion-shaped door knockers and swung it hard against the wood of the door.

The door opened, revealing a young blond man in a bright orange suit.

"Yes?" he greeted with a smile. "Can I help you?"

While Clover's face instantly became smitten, Sam took on a more professional approach.

"Hi," she said. "I'm Samantha Simpson, Abracadabra magazine. My colleague Clover and I are doing a retro piece on great magicians of the world. Could we ask a few questions about your grandfather?"

Clover zipped up to the man's side, rubbing her body against him suggestively.

"It would be so very so... so very helpful," she said.

"Sure," he said, moving away gently. "Come on in."

The man, who turned out to be named Gregor, guided Sam and Clover throughout the castle. In it, he had collected various items that his grandfather had used in his acts, including a water tank and straightjacket, a box used for sawing someone in half, and even a large scale mirror he had once used to make it look like he had duplicated the Leaning Tower of Pisa.

"And these were probably his most famous stage illusions," Gregor said as he shifted a curtain, revealing an iron maiden-like device and a mannequin in a guillotine. "The Spiked Coffin and the Gruesome Guillotine."

He demonstrated the last one, decapitating the mannequin and sending the head landing at Clover's feet.

"Look at that!" Clover said, pretending not to be terrified. "It slices and it dices!"

Then she absent-mindedly placed her hands on Gregor's chest, where she felt something hard and round in his vest pocket.

Sensing her curiosity, Gregor reached into it and pulled out a silver pocket watch with a gold chain.

"Hey," Clover commented. "Cool watch!"

Gregor smiled.

"It's my grandfather's hypnotizing watch," he explained. "They say he could put anybody in a trance with just one swing."

Clover turned to watch over, examining an inscription on the back in gold letters.

"'Twizzle, twazzle. Twizzle, twake. Time for this one to awake'," she read.

"That's the spell to break the trance. Kind of goofy, huh?"

"Yeah, kind of."

Clover blushed as Gregor gently pulled the watch out of her hands.

"So, anyway," Sam interrupted. "Our readership would die for the inside scoop on a famous Kandinsky illusion, like, um... say the secret behind the tornado or parachute illusion."

Gregor's friendly demeanor melted instantly.

"What kind of reporters are you?" he asked, offended.

Sam was taken aback.

"What?"

Gregor turned around to face her angrily.

"Any real magic enthusiast knows great magicians never reveal their tricks! I'm afraid I'm gonna have to ask you two to leave."

As the girls were shown out of the castle, Sam waved awkwardly at the door.

"Nice meeting you too," she said sarcastically.

"Brr," Clover shivered, apparently over her new crush already. "Could his wind chill factor have gotten any colder?"

And the two began to leave, frustrated over their lack of progress in finding the thief, the stolen artwork and their missing friends.

I hope Sean's alright, Sam thought to herself. But then she stopped herself. And Alex, too!

It was strange, though. She was worried about Alex's well-being, of course. But her heart panged whenever she thought of the idea of Sean in danger, as it had ever since he and Alex disappeared in Madrid.

That's just dumb! she thought. Sean's been a W.O.O.H.P agent longer than the rest of us! He can take care of himself!

No matter how many times she tried convince herself, no matter how much she knew it was true, she couldn't help worrying about him.

"Okay," she said out loud, trying to keep her mind off him. "It's even creepier out here than it was in there!"

"Totally!" Clover agreed as they began to walk away from the door. "Let's get out of here A.S.A.P!

But they weren't even halfway across before the planks gave way beneath them, leaving them dangling from at least a 30 foot drop into a moat beneath the bridge. And the moat was teeming with...

"Those are alligators down there!" Sam exclaimed in fear.

This wasn't what she had in mind when she wanted something to distract her from her worries about Sean. And Alex, she reminded herself.

"Sammy, help me!" Clover cried as the plank she was dangling from began to crack. It wasn't to long before it broke, prompting Sam to catch her friend by wrapping her legs around her shoulders before she could fall.

However, the combined weight of both girls was enough to get Sam's ledge to begin giving way as well.

Sam knew she had to work fast if she and Clover were going to get out of this alive. Taking out her Expandable Cable Bungee Belt, she aimed the buckle at one of the castle's turrets. Letting the buckle latch on, she let go, leaving her and Clover dangling much closer to the alligators, who were looking particularly hungry.

"Quick!" Clover urged. "Hit the 'up' button!"

But Sam panicked and accidentally hit the button that lowered them instead, so that they were now just above the water.

"Oops," she admitted. "Wrong 'up' button!"

She pressed the right button this time, sending them fly back up to the bridge.

They barely had time to catch their breath before several wooden spikes began to shoot up from the bridge's surface.

Jumping over the gap in the bridge, they ran, trying to outrun the spikes... only for one to impale Sam's backpack, trapping her in place.

"Clover!" she cried out. "Help!"

"Okay," Clover said on the other side of the bridge. "Could this bridge be, like, any harder to cross?!"

She pulled out the CD recorder Jerry had given her back in L.A, aiming it at the spike trapping Sam on the bridge.

When she pressed the "eject" button, a CD flew out. Not just any CD, but one sharp enough to cut through steel. Sam ducked, letting the CD sever her backpack strap and allowing her to join Clover on the other side.

As soon as she was sure it was safe enough, Sam turned back to the bridge, surveying it.

"Call me crazy," she said. "But I'm getting this strange feeling that someone at the castle doesn't want us hanging around."

"I was catching that same vibe," Clover concurred, looking up at the castle. "What do you say we do a little nighttime sneak-in and see what the Not-So-Great Kandinsky is trying to hide?"

Sam nodded in agreement.

Kandinsky's Castle-2:33 AM

Night fell, and Sam and Clover made their way back to the castle, now decked head to toe in the Feline Streamline Catsuits Jerry had provided them via airdrop. The suits increased their stealth and dexterity, allowing them to sneak through the castle with the grace of a cat. Of course when they got there, the girls were reminded of an inconvenient difficulty that would prevent them from easily accessing it.

Sam looked across the gap, remembering their brush with death on the bridge, and realizing that the same thing might happen if they tried to cross it again.

"Okay," Clover conceded. "So the only way into the castle isn't actually a way anymore."

"No prob," Sam reassured. "One moat crosser coming up."

She took the Hairpin High Jumper Extender Pole out of her hair, then pressing a button on the side, extended the length of the pin to reach across the gap that led to the castle walls.

Carefully stepping on it, the two spies balance themselves on the beam, walking across it like a tightrope.

"Remind to tell Jer we could use a little wider hairpin next time," Clover said just before they reached the edge, trying not to think about the hungry alligators below them.

They made it safely across, but this was no time for them to catch their breath.

"Looks like it's all locked up down here," Sam said, seeing no way in that wouldn't attract attention on the ground level. "Well, guess we're just gonna have to take the elevator up."

"Elevator?" Clover asked. And she soon regretted it.

Turns out the Hairpin High Jumper Extender Pole lived up to its name very well. Once Sam and Clover gripped onto it while it was planted vertically in the ground, it accelerated them upwards toward the castle turrets.

Once the ride was over, Sam landed in a crouching position on her feet on the turret's floor. Clover wasn't so lucky, however, having landed on her butt.

"Clover," Sam said in concern. "Are you okay?"

Irritated, Clover just rubbed her sore backside in response.

"As okay as a girl can be," she replied. "Considering she just landed flat on her ass on some spooky Transylvanian castle roof on a Friday date night while two of her best friends are still missing, okay?"

"Good point," Sam sharply cut off another one of her friend's rants. "Let's go investigate."

Unsurprisingly, the castle wasn't any less inviting at night than it was during the daytime. After about half an hour of wandering through empty corridors, passing ominous looking gargoyles and decrepit suits of armor, the girls were no closer to finding any answers about the stolen artwork or who the thief might be. But Sam did have a strong suspicion as to their identity, though she wasn't sure just yet.

"What exactly are we looking for again?" Clover asked as they came to what had to be the hundredth door they had seen that night.

"Whatever Gregor doesn't want us to find," Sam responded. "Try that door."

Clover pulled the door handle, finding that it wouldn't budge. Then she shoved her shoulder against it, trying to push it open. But it still stayed in place.

After another pull from her knocked an axe loose from a suit of armor next to the door, she gave up.

"I take it that means 'do not disturb'."

"I'm thinking you're right," Sam concurred. "Maybe there's another door we can try."

They walked off, unaware that the eye slit for the armor's helmet glowed bright orange, as if it were watching them.

It wasn't too long before they came to another door, this one unlocked. They had barely taken one step inside the bedroom behind the door before Sam stepped on a tile that contained a hidden pressure plate. The resulting mechanism had activated a hidden flamethrower concealed in the mouth of a gargoyle in the wall to their left.

The burst of fire only lasted a moment, but disturbed a colony of bats hanging from the ceiling. The girls screamed as the bats flew out, then they ducked onto the floor to avoid being hit by them.

"Not to Gregor," Clover said as they got back up. "Dust your castle every once in a while."

When the bats where gone, Sam noticed a trunk in the corner of the room.

"One of us should probably see what's inside that trunk," she suggested when they reached it.

"Probably," Clover reluctantly agreed. "Rock, paper, scissors?"

The girls shook their fists together before unclenching them. Clover had two fingers stuck out and moved them to imitate a pair of scissors cutting. In contrast, Sam's fingers were stuck together and her hand was outstretched.

Defeated, Sam reached down toward the lock, not seeing that the two eyes on the symbol began to glow. As a result, she was completely caught off guard when the trunk opened on its own and a huge purple cape flew out.

As they recovered from the shock, Sam saw the red symbol on the back of the cape: a demonic face with an eerie smile.

"Hey!" she said in recognition. "That's the outfit the motorcycle thief was wearing!"

"Gregor!" Clover exclaimed. "You are so busted!"

As if to prove there were no end to the surprises in the castle, the bed they landed on flipped backwards to the wall, sending them tumbling through a hidden trap door and landing them in what could only be the castle's dungeon.

"You know," Clover said from her position on the floor, trapped between Sam's legs. "I've kind of had my fill of magic stuff for one night."

But when she took a breath to prepare herself in getting back up, she caught a whiff of something familiar. And irritating to her sinuses.

She sneezed so loudly that for a second Sam thought it would give them away. But when no one came, their hopes rose. Especially when Clover realized what it was she was smelling.

"Wait a minute," she said. "I know that cheap cologne!"

"Clover?" a familiar voice came from a door on top of a flight of stairs. It was a boy's voice, and one that sounded very familiar to the two girls.

"Clover, is that you?" a second voice joined the first, a girl's voice this time and equally recognizable.

They rushed to the doors, peeking behind the bars.

"It's Sean and Alex!" Clover exclaimed.

"They're alive!" Sam said in surprise.

Inside were their missing friends, chained to the wall and blindfolded and looking very miserable.

"Hold on, guys!" Clover said, steeling herself. She kicked the door, hoping to break it down. Apparently the doors of this castle were made of thicker wood than she realized because she was knocked down by the attempt.

"Maybe we should use these instead?" Sam suggested, holding a ring of keys that she had pulled off of a nail in the wall.

Snatching the keys from her friend's hand, Clover unlocked the door and ran inside, Sam following closely behind.

Clover ran to Alex's side while Sam went straight for Sean, taking off his blindfold.

Sean blinked, looking up at Sam in gratitude and awe.

Best thing I've seen in this castle so far, he thought dreamily, for once uncaring where he was.

"Are you alright?" Sam asked as she unlocked his chains.

"Well," Sean admitted. "My knees hurt from bending for who knows how long, I'm dying of thirst, and I really need to use the bathroom. But other than that, I'm a-okay."

"About time you got here!" Alex said in relief as Clover freed her.

"What happened to you two?!" Clover asked.

"What do you think?" Sean asked rhetorically as he stood up. "The thief kidnapped us!"

"That's not all he kidnapped," Sam said as she came to a green tarp. She lifted it, revealing the stolen Ming Dynasty Tapestries.

"The stolen artwork!" Clover said as she and her rescued teammates came over.

Sean pulled out his wallet phone.

"We've gotta tell Jerry we found-" he began, but began to inhale uncomfortably. "Found-"

He could say no more as his sentence was drowned out in a loud sneeze.

"-found it."

"Say it, don't spray it, Sean," Clover said.

"Sorry," he consoled. "It's my allergies. Weird, I'm only allergic to-"

But he was cut off by fierce growling noise above them.

"-dogs," he finished weakly.

Above them, in the entrance to the dungeon stood Gregor, holding a chain leash that kept a snarling Doberman Pinscher in place.

"Well," he said menacingly. "If it isn't the magazine reporters."

"Magazine reporters?" Alex asked, confused while Sean blocked another sneeze with his elbow.

"Just what did you two do while we were tied up?" he asked, sounding slightly congested.

"We'll explain later," Sam said as she picked up a sword then threw it at a rope holding a chandelier aloft. The blade cut the rope and send the chandelier tumbling down on top of Gregor and his dog.

As Sam maneuvered around them, she came back to the doorway... only to narrowly avoid being hit by the sword blades that suddenly erupted from either side, blocking the exit.

"Quick," she urged her friends. "See if there's another way out."

They ran back down the stairs into the cell just as a disc-shaped device landed on the floor in front of them. The disc exploded in a puff of smoke that engulfed the four spies. When it cleared, they were stuck very uncomfortably in a small, transparent cube, and their bodies were twisted into various awkward positions.

"Okay," Sean said with his head wedged between Clover's head and Sam's leg. "This is somehow worse than being chained and blindfolded."

A figure dropped down from the ceiling, clad in a purple cloak and red demon mask. The figure lowered its gaze at the spies.

"Who's this guy?" Clover asked.

"Duh!" Alex answered. "He's the thief."

"Thief?!" Sam asked, confused. "No, Gregor's the thief!"

"Who's Gregor?" Sean asked.

Before either Sam or Clover could answer, the thief took of his mask, revealing a middle-aged man with black hair, violet eyes, and a goatee that took up most of his face.

"Gregor is my grandson," the man answered, lowering his hood. Sam and Clover were shocked to see that the magician Jerry had told them about, the one they had informed perished at sea years ago was standing before them... very much alive.

And they weren't the only ones.

"Grandfather!" Gregor exclaimed from his position above them. "You're alive!"

"Yes, dear boy," Kandinsky confirmed as he turned to face his grandson. "The Great Kandinsky lives!"

He flourished his cape and then swished it, causing him and his four captives to disappear in a puff of smoke.

Kandinsky's Dungeon-3:16 AM

"Great," Sean said sarcastically from between Clover and Alex. "Just what I always wanted: being in a real life version of The Pit and the Pendulum!"

After Kandinsky had teleported them out of the cell, the spies had found themselves chained to a massive stone slab with a bladed pendulum slowly swinging down from the ceiling and towards them.

"Why are you doing this, Grandfather?" Gregor asked in horror.

"They know too much, dear boy," Kandinsky responded coolly. "They've already interfered with my plans once."

"Translation:" Clover cut in. "We, the good guys, tried to stop grandpa, the bad guy from stealing famous-not to mention expensive-art."

"Which is why he tried to feed us to the alligators in the moat!" Sam added.

"Alligators?" Gregor asked, confused. "Stealing art? What are they talking about?"

Kandinsky scowled. "Me trying to take back what was stolen from me, Gregor. You see, I was the best in the world until someone revealed my secrets. I disappeared rather than be ruined. But now I'm back to show the world who's the greatest magician of all time!"

As the pendulum inched closer and closer to the four frightened teens, Kandinsky placed a hand on his grandson's shoulder.

"Join me and we shall be the Great Kandinskys!"

But Gregor just turned to face his grandfather, disapproval plastered on his face.

"This is crazy," he said. "Let them go."

"And preferably soon!" Sean added in a panicked tone. He didn't like how close the blade was to them by this point.

"As you wish," Kandinsky said, very calm for a man who had apparently been cowed into submission. He held out his hand. "Take this and unlock them."

Caught of guard by his grandfather's cooperation, Gregor did not expect Kandinsky's hand to unfurl, revealing the pocket watch he was so famous for using in his hypnosis tricks.

The watch twirled, catching Gregor's attention.

"Now," Kandinsky said in a calm, commanding voice. "Will you join me, Gregor?"

Gregor, caught in the trance of the watch, immediately went from lobbying for the spies' release to being Kandinsky's sycophantic puppet.

"Yes, Grandfather," he said in a monotone voice, his eyes completely blank.

"Farewell, children," Kandinsky said. "We're off to make a jet and it's priceless contents mysteriously disappear out of the sky."

"And in English that means?" Alex asked.

"The famed King Tut exhibit is on a plane bound for New York as we speak. The Great Kandinskys are going to intercept it."

"Yes, Grandfather," Gregor repeated as the two began to leave.

"Hypnotizing your own grandkid?" Clover said as soon as they were gone. "Please! That is like, so 80s!"

"So," Sean said. "Anyone have any ideas on how we can get out of this mess?"

Sam looked up at the ceiling and at the blade descending toward them at a rapid pace.

"That pendulum is so sharp it could probably slice through anything," she mused.

"Uh, thanks for the gory visual, Sam," Alex said in disgust.

"No," Sam corrected. "I mean, like, slice through chains. Clover, can you reach my hairpin gadget with your head?"

"Yeah, I guess," Clover replied.

Sam smiled. "Good. Now, when I say 'three', activate it and follow my lead. One, two, three!"

Just as the pendulum was inches above them, Clover rammed her head into Sam's, activating the hairpin and extending it to the point it hit the switch that rotated the slab. In this new position, the pendulum would be less likely to strike human flesh.

"Quick!" Sam urged. "Everybody lift your chains!"

They did so, and the blade cut through them, freeing the spies.

"Okay," Sean said. "Now roll, before it swings back!"

They rolled off the slab and onto the stone floor, just as the pendulum hit the slab, jamming itself in.

"Note to self," Clover said, rubbing herself in pain. "Rolling off tables onto floors is not good for the butt."

Sean stood up, pulling out his wallet phone.

"Jerry," he said, calling his boss. "It's Sean. We need a plane. And fast!"

Above Atlantic Ocean-4:22 AM

The plane was there in a flash, and the spies had wasted no time hopping in. As soon as they were over international waters, they began to track the plane Kandinsky had spoken of and was planning to hijack.

"How long until we see the Tut plane?" Sam asked Alex, who was monitoring the controls.

"I'd say just about-" but the roar of a jet cut her off. The plane in question soared over them and the resulting g-force knocked them off balance. "-now."

Sean looked out the cockpit window.

"We're gonna have to do a midair jump," he said.

"Midair jump?!" Clover asked, horrified. "As in go outside our plane and leap hundreds of feet?!"

"No," Sean denied. "We'll have a rope ladder. It'll only be, like, 50 feet."

That didn't sound any better to Alex and Clover, who smiled nervously.

Sam put the plane on autopilot while Sean unfurled the ladder out of the hatch. Seconds later, the spies were clinging to the ladder while preparing to throw themselves onto the plane below.

"Any chance we could just follow the plane until it lands?!" Clover asked, shouting over the roar of the engines.

"Too much time for Kandinsky to do his dirty work!" Sam answered just as loudly. "Suction Cup Gloves in place?"

"Check!" Sean, Clover, and Alex said, each holding a hand up.

"Okay," Sam said. "I'll go first!"

She let go of the ladder, falling backwards onto the plane and barely missing the rotors. Sean followed her, diving onto the fuselage and gripping the wing beside Sam with his gloves.

"Okay," he said as he and Sam struggled to hold on. "We didn't exactly stick the landing."

"You think?" Sam asked.

Witnessing all of this from above, Alex and Clover looked at each other nervously.

"Youngest first!" Clover insisted quickly. "You go!"

"No, oldest first!" Alex denied. "You!"

"How about rock paper scissors?!"

But the two couldn't argue any more before their jet's autopilot brought them dangerously close to the blades of the other plane's rotors.

Panicking, both let go at the same time and the force of the engine blew them off course from their intended landing zone, causing them to slide off the wing and grip onto their friends' legs.

Sam had picked up a stowaway in the form of Alex clinging to her left calf, while Sean had a similar problem but with Clover.

"I hope this Tut guy appreciates what we're doing for him!" Alex shouted in fear.

Once they were in a safe enough position, the spies used their gloves to climb the fuselage to a side door, which Sean opened. He snuck in, followed by Sam, then Clover and finally, Alex.

Clover slid the door closed as the four began to explore the plane.

"P.U!" Clover exclaimed as they passed a row of Ancient Egyptian artifacts. "These artifacts smell like old socks!"

"They're over 3000 years old, Clover," Sean said dryly. "Did you expect them to smell nice?"

The sound of footsteps echoed through the plane.

"Someone's coming!" Sam whispered and the spies hid in the shadows of the cargo bay.

Peeking out from his hiding place behind an ark with a statue of Anubis, Sean could see Kandinsky strolling through the plane like he owned it and Gregor following closely behind him, still expressionless.

"To the victor go the spoils," Kandinsky gloated mostly to himself. "The Kandinsky name will go down in history!"

"Yes, grandfather," Gregor said, still not in control of himself.

Clover took that as her cue to leap into action, hopping onto a crate and twiring her Bolas Wrap a Belt.

"Uh, not so fast, gramps," she said.

Taken aback, Kandinsky looked around him, only to find the other three twirling the same devices, all aimed at him.

"Your magic act is over, Kandinsky!" Sam said as they all threw their bolas at him. Clover's hit Gregor, while Sean's, Sam's, and Alex's wrapped themselves around Kandinsky, who held up his cape in defense.

Wrapped up in his own cape and the spies' bolas, the magician fell to the floor of the plane.

"Direct hit!" Alex said as she and the others rushed over.

"Let's see you get out of that, Houdini," Sean taunted.

As if to call his bluff, when he unwrapped the cape, Sean was surprised to see that Kandinsky was gone.

"Where'd he go?!" he asked.

"Now you see him," Kandinsky's voice said from behind them, prompting them to turn and see him standing on a crate. "Now you don't."

"How did he-" Alex tried to ask but was interrupted by the magician raising his hands and in turn dozens of sarcophagi levitated into the air.

Point at the four teens, Kandinsky sent them flying at them.

The spies dodged the sarcophagi with relative ease, although one did hit Gregor, who managed to get free and left him dazed with a mummy's arm around his shoulder.

They charged at Kandinsky, who next sent a flurry of swords and two ornamental shepherd's crooks flying at them.

Sam and Alex were tripped by the crooks wrapping themselves around their ankles while Sean and Clover backed themselves against a crate as swords impacted the wood on either side of them.

Sean came out unscathed, but one sword managed to cut off a small snip of Clover's hair.

"Really, really don't like this guy," she growled.

Kandinsky pulled out a wooden pole from his sleeve, extending it. The girls activated their hairpins to extend to the same length while Sean just picked up another pole from not too far away.

Charging at him once again, the spies landing blow after blow with their respective weapons but Kandinsky managed to block every single one of them.

Finally, Clover was able to use her hairpin to launch herself at Kandinsky's midsection, knocking him to the floor of the plane. He looked up as the four spies glared down at him.

"Time to take your last bow, Magic Man!" Clover exclaimed.

However, Kandinsky's cape was flung over them and pulled them to the floor before they could apprehend him.

Kandinsky silently congratulated Gregor, who pulled the cape in the first place.

"No," he corrected the spies. "It's time for you four to be crushed. Abracadabra!"

The spies untangled themselves from the cape in time to see seven boxes floating in midair and surrounding them in a circle.

"Sticky situation here, Sam," Clover said nervously.

"Any ideas?" Sean asked.

In response, Sam took out her hairpin.

"It's a very sticky situation," she said. "Suction Cup Gloves, guys. Now!"

She threw the pin at a panel on the nearby wall, hitting the button that opened the cargo hatch and sending several of the artifacts flying out of the plane... and Kandinsky along with them.

Gregor almost was almost sent falling out as well, but not before Clover caught him with her legs.

"Let him go, Clover!" Alex shouted, her gloves holding her in place. "He's bad news!"

"Only when he's hypnotized," Clover countered. "Otherwise, he's kind of cute."

Kandinsky so far had been holding on to his staff, which had been caught in the gap created by the open cargo hatch. But that wasn't going to last long.

Sam managed to inch her way over to him and hovered her fingers over the button that let him extend it.

"Now you see him," she said, pressing the button. "Now you don't."

The staff retracted and Kandinsky fell into the clouds below.

"Noooo!" he shouted as braced himself for the end... only to land in a net held by one of two W.O.O.H.P helicopters, the other of which had already rescued the artifacts from the plane.

Sam closed the cargo hatch while Clover knelt down in front of Gregor, remembering the words used to break the trance.

"Twizzle twazzle, twizzle twake," she recited. from memory. "Time for this one to awake,"

But nothing happened.

"Hey, come on!" she exclaimed, shaking him. "I said 'awake!'"

"Maybe you have to snap your fingers," Sean suggested as he came over.

Clover took off her glove and placed her hand in front of Gregor's face. She snapped her fingers and Gregor's distant look faded and he looked more alert and aware now.

"Good tip," she complimented. "How'd you know?"

Sean smiled.

"My grandpa took me to a hypnotist show when I was seven," he explained.

Gregor looked around, very disoriented.

"What happened?" he asked. "How did I wind up here... with you?"

He directed his attention to Clover, who blushed furiously.

"Just lucky, I guess," she said.

Beverly Hills High School-2:16 PM

The next day was the photo contest, which Alex and Sean had completely forgotten about due to their abduction and Sam and Clover had no time to worry about thanks to their mission. Which meant they also had no time to take more photos for their entry or explain to the principal what Mandy had done to them.

And to make matters worse, Mandy herself had decided to show up early for the contest to gloat about her seemingly imminent victory.

"Ooh, nice display," she said sarcastically as she looked at their light damaged photos. "A picture's worth a thousand words!"

The four glared at her, scowling.

"Too bad you couldn't even complete a sentence!"

She walked off, leaving Sean and the girls fuming.

"Unfair much?!" Alex exclaimed. "We're out saving the world and here at our own school, the worst villain of all wrecks our photos and gets away with it?!"

"There's nothing we can do, Alex," Sam said.

"We'll see about that," Sean argued. "When those judges come by, I'm telling them about that stunt she pulled in the darkroom."

"But we can't prove it!" Clover said.

Sean just narrowed his eyes.

"I'll think of something."

The judges, consisting of two men and one woman, came over and inspected their pictures.

"Are those pictures light damaged?" the woman asked.

"Yes," Sean answered. "And the reason why is standing right-"

"Tremendously unique presentation," one of the men said sincerely.

"Say what?" Sean asked.

"Exposing flaws as opposed to hiding them," he continued. "I think we have our winners!"

The four teens were shocked.

"We won?!" Alex asked.

Mandy took this about as well as Sean expected. She barged over with a look that he never got tired of seeing on her: utter humiliation.

"But how could they?!" she demanded to know, outraged. "My work was supervised by the internationally famous photographer, Danny Lebowitz!"

"A technically marvelous photographer," the woman informed. "But commonplace. Much like your photos."

Mandy fainted.

Later, the principal gave the four friends their trophy and a bouquet of flowers.

"First prize to Alex, Clover, Sam, and Sean whose outside the box photo development shows a creativity that must be awarded," the principal said as the four beamed with pride.

"This is so unfair!" Mandy whined, clinging to one of the judges. "I demand a recount! Come on, how about a tie?! Pretty please! I'll pay you!"

"Now that's something I wish I had a camera for," Sean said, satisfied with Mandy's punishment.