Summary of last chapter:

After hearing a strange noise, Akie, one of Tabby's captors, left in search of its source. Tabby and Mike Holly heard a loud crash and ran out of the room to see what was going on.

They met up with a battle scene between Akie and the Daredevil team. During the fight, Akie turned against Mike and helped the Daredevils defeat Mike Holly, the evil genius behind their problems.

Akie asked Tabby to help him fix the mess he made during the time he was deceived by Mike.


And now Tabby continues her story:

"We'll do it together," I said. "It's the Daredevil Girl way."

"It is also the way I was raised, though I seemed to have forgotten," Akie said.

"Happens, buddy," Bruce said, patting him on the back. "Besides, it's been a long time since you grew up."

"Good point," Akie said.

"We should go join Sally and the others," Nancy interrupted. "She may need your help answering questions, Akie."

"Sure, I would be happy to help. I guess we can leave Mike Holly here. He can't do us much harm tied up."

We all agreed, and headed up the stairs to a chorus of muffled curses from the recently defeated.

As we walked, I slipped in a few quick questions to my rescuers.

"Where did y'all get the weapons and rope?"

"Most of it the boy, Kith, found in the booths," Elizabeth explained. "He had them hidden on the second basement level when we got there. Some of it we gathered ourselves."

"Well, I appreciate all of your efforts on my behalf, especially Sage's," I said. "Whose bright idea was it to disguise her as the goddess Bask? And who got the job of holding her down and shaving her?"

"It was actually my idea," Becky said. "I found different colored hair gels in a booth. I remembered the pictures Bruce had of the different Egyptian gods and goddesses. I joked that we should slick Sage down to look like Bast. Bruce jumped on the idea, and the rest you know."

"So you didn't have to shave her?"

"No, the gel provided that illusion," Bruce said. "I'm just glad it worked."

"It did, and so did her acting job. I'll explain the details later, but suffice it to say she foiled Mike's plans a bit and bought y'all time to get to me. I'm planning to buy her a catnip toy as a reward."

"Meowwwww."

"Okay, a beautiful necklace, Sage."

Everyone was laughing when we got to the security room. There we found Sally speaking to her father on the phone. We could hear his deep resonate voice projecting from the receiver.

"Are you really ready to come home? It's not even 3:00."

"We've been here much longer than you think," Sally said, "but that's another story."

"Aren't y'all having a good time?"

"Code Red."

"Gotcha, I'll be right there."

"What does this 'Code Red' mean?" Akie asked me.

"The Daredevil Girls have an alert system in place, and Code Red means we're in trouble."

"Oh."

"Do I need to call for help?" Mr. Jordan asked.

"Emory is on his way, and the situation is under control," Sally said.

"Let me talk to one of the other girls."

"That's the next step in the code," I explained to Akie, who nodded.

"We're okay," Nancy said, after Sally handed her the phone "There was danger, but it has passed. We'll explain it all when you get here. We just want to go home."

"I'm on my way, kiddo."

Not much later, Emory Settler, followed closely by Mr. Jordan, arrived with his special police force and captured Mike. They took him and Akie to the supernatural offender jail, or S.O.J.. He also brought a regular police force to gather the kids and take them to Houston's social services.

Kith and Jason reunited with their mother on TV as she was making a national plea for their captors to return them. It was quite an emotional scene, and was broadcast and rebroadcast all over the United States for weeks.

After serving a year in S.O.J., Akie was given probation and allowed to open his park, Little Egypt, in League City, where he works to this day. A few years later, he met a woman of Nubian descent who loved ancient Egyptian history. They got married and had several little dark haired kids, which I think qualifies him as the one person who waited the longest to meet his soul mate.

Mike Holly, as far as I know, is still incarcerated for kidnapping and attempted murder.

"And now, my part of the story is over," Tabby said. "I will return the microphone to Nancy. I don't know about all of you, but I'm exhausted."

"Thank you," Nancy said. "I know telling the story was very hard on you, but I appreciate you letting the students hear it from the one most intimately involved."

Tabby nodded and waved a weary hand toward the crowd. They rose to their feet and clapped until Mrs Pierson arrived at the podium and gestured for them to sit down.

"I would like to take this time to express my appreciation to the entire Daredevil Club for their attendance and participation in the stories, as well as to the Daredevil Girl Supporters from our own school," she began.

Again, applause, and again, Mrs Pierson motioned for silence.

"Audience, I would like to thank you, and invite you back next month for another adventure of the Daredevil Girls. But before you leave, please enjoy a special Halloween surprise. Direct your attention, if you will, to the back of the room where new guests have arrived."

As if on cue, the lights grew brighter, and the side door creaked open. A group of men dressed in furry costumes marched in like a troupe of hairy marionettes. They lifted their knees almost to their chests to the beat of a drummer. They fanned out in the audience, still marching in place.

Three voluptuous  women danced down the middle aisle toward the stage. The audience sat captivated as they twirled and twisted gracefully on pointed toes. Mrs. Pierson cackled her approval as she clapped pudgy hands. Distracted by the show, no one saw Bruce grab Tina Alice's arm and guide her quickly behind the curtain, his face betraying concern.