by Mikel Midnight

with thanks to Jean-Marc Lofficier

Monsieur T

He had once strode the heavens like a god, dreaming of ruling the world from his orbiting satellite. Now the man known to the underworld only as "Monsieur T" huddled in his underground bunker, his plump fingers typing deftly into a computer keyboard.

He grunted with pleasure, his lips closing around the long tube of his pipe as the site he was invading yielded up its secrets like a shy lover.

This was child's play, barely a challenge to one of his intelligence. As he read the profiles within, probing for weaknesses amidst the confidential information, the sharp light of a plan sparkled in his eyes. Having revenge on those who had dared oppose him would be almost too simple, particularly that fool Langelot.

"J'ai pitié de l'imbécile," he muttered aloud, running his hands over the gold jewelry he wore around his neck, and laughed.

***

Capitaine Angleterre

Arthur Mitouret, a.k.a. Capitaine Angleterre, soared effortlessly through the skies of Londres. This was the best thing, he thought to himself. He felt himself come across an updraft, and relaxed, letting the warm air push him ever higher until he felt as weightless as a cloud. He retracted his force field, letting the harsh, thin air of the high elevation burn into his lungs in a curiously pleasurable sensation. The rest of his life, all the losses and the seemingly endless battles, were all worth it for this.

The city was illuminated below him like a parade of lights. He tuned his helmet to scan the police radio. Nothing unusual being reported. Maybe this evening would be quiet. He heard a mechanical roar behind him and turned around mid-air to watch as the passenger flight flew by, and saw the people in the window shout and wave at him. His privacy disturbed. he decided to take himself off patrol, and flew above the clouds to head one hundred and eighty miles northwest towards his lighthouse headquarters.

He noted a window on the upper level was open, and flew into it, landing deftly. His composure was shattered by an earsplitting shriek.

The lights went on, and he saw two of his teammates glaring at him from beneath a quilt. Capitaine Angleterre removed his helmet, using the faceplate to cover his eyes. "Oh, I'm so sorry, I didn't think ... "

Langelot and Françoise Dupont (a.k.a. Fantômette)

The blond man sighed, "Non, you never think. You always make a lot of noise, Arthur. Is there anything wrong with using the front door on occasion? It was a nice night, Françoise and I thought we'd enjoy it.."

Françoise sheathed the small blade she had removed from the broach which she always wore. She turned to her companion. "Langelot, we *did* leave the lights off and the window open ... maybe he was trying to be quiet?"

Arthur Mitouret shrugged, feeling cloddish. "I'll leave you two alone, sorry again for disturbing you."

Françoise looked at the other, and he nodded slightly, with a slight roll of his eyes. She stood up, her bare flesh illuminated in the soft light of the lamp, and walked to Arthur, taking the helmet from him and putting it on the deck beneath the lamp. "Don't be silly, come and join us, sweetheart. Just ... knock next time, yes? "

Arthur leaned down and kissed her, and then smiled, crouching onto the quilt to press his lips to Langelot's. The latter pinched Arthur's cheek, "Silly man," he said, and ran his hand down Arthur's neck as he and the woman removed the rest of the uniform.

Marie-Ange Colbert a.k.a. Tarot

Downstairs, Marie-Ange Colbert shuffled a deck of cards. She closed her eyes, letting the tips of her fingers lightly feel the contours of the cards. This was an old deck, and she knew every wrinkle and fold, every irregularity in the edges. Still, she didn't let it influence her decisions as she lay them down on the tabletop in precise patterns.

She was interrupted, too. A young man came out of one of the bedrooms, wrapping a robe around himself and yawning. "Tarot? Is everything all right? I saw the lights on."

She shook her head. "Go back to sleep Bevatron, I'm sorry I woke you."

He walked over and kissed her. "Where are the others?"

She tilted her head, indicating the upstairs. "I think they're together."

He nodded. "You didn't want to join them?"

She wrinkled her nose. "No. I ... I miss Souhi, is all."

He pulled up a seat at the table and took her hands as they reminisced about their teammate. "Me too. I hope she's happier now that Widget returned her to her home era of 4188, but ... she was really the emotional connection between us and the others."

She squeezed his hand, "That's ... that's it exactly. Arthur I can halfway speak to, but the others ... without Souhi, I feel like ... they're from another universe than us, somehow."

He peered at the cards in her hands. "Something seems to be bothering you. A premonition from the cards? Are they telling you anything?"

She bit her lip unconsciously. "I don't know. I see a number ... 616. It's something bad, having to do with us. You and me. It's a number that seems like death."

Bevatron

Bevatron floundered, looking for words of comfort, when the telephone rang. He stood, "Who would be calling at this hour?" and at her shrug, walked over to the receiver to pick it up. Feeling foolish, he said, "Hello?"

The voice on the other end was hard to interpret through the static. "Is ... Arthur Mitouret there?"

Bevatron blinked, and pressed a button to put the voice on speakerphone. "Um ... no ... but I believe I can contact him. Can you leave a message?"

The voice said, "Please tell him to contact Michel Thérais. It's an emergency." With a click, the voice was gone, to be replaced with a dial tone.

After he replaced the phone on the cradle, Tarot asked him, "Who knows Arthur Mitouret lives here? The Capitaine has never given out this number, so far as we've been together."

"I think ... I think the name Michel Thérais is familiar. The Capitaine 's mentioned him, I think they had some adventures in the past." Bevatron grins, in an attempt to lighten the mood, "Probably typical kid stuff ... getting drunk, going after girls, you know."

Tarot forced a slight smile. "Boys and boys," she stuck her tongue out at him.

Bevatron looked up the stairwell. "Shall we tell him? They said it was an emergency."

She shook her head. "No ... something is funny about this. Let's at least wait until they come out of there." She sighed. "This is the pits."

***

In his bunker, Mr. T listened on his monitor. "Let's at least wait until they come out of there. This is the pits."

He turned to his companions, and arched his fingertips underneath his chin. "We will easily defeat these perverse children. Leave it to my guidance."

***


Fantômette

Later, as Françoise floated gently through the roof and landed like a feather on the floor, she smiled at the pair. "Oh, there you two are." She walked over to give them each quick, affectionate hugs, before noticing Tarot's face. "What's the matter, hon?"

"Good morning, Fantômette. We got a phone call while you were busy. An old friend of the Capitaine 's."

Françoise blinked, "Oh?"

Bevatron nodded, "He said his name was Michel something ... Thérais. He said it was an emergency. I'm sorry we didn't alert you before, but you were busy, and ... " he shrugged. "Something about the call sounded suspicious. Tarot certainly thought so."

Françoise stroked her chin. "Maybe, but still ... no, it doesn't matter. Let me get Arthur, and he can decide what he wants to do." She ran back upstairs, muttering "Michel Thérais" under her breath.

It did not take long before Capitaine Angleterre had the team assembled in the lighthouse's control room and back in uniform.

"Tarot and Bevatron, I appreciate your desire for my privacy, but if anyone connects Arthur Mitouret with Escalibor, I need to be told immediately. Is that clear?"

The two teens nodded, looking repentant.

The Capitaine punched out a map on the viewscreen of the team's control room. "I've been making repeated phone calls but haven't been able to contact anyone from the Thérais residence. So we're going in. We'll be heading down the western side of the République Française, a region called Picardie. There's an historical castle there, named La Marguillerie, near the village of Corbie. That's where Michel lived when I knew him. Langelot?"

"Mon Capitaine ?"

"You still have contacts within the Service National d'Information Fonctionelle, no? Can you find out whether there has been any unusual activity in the area?"

Langelot nodded, "Obviously. I will do it en route to Corbie. Anything else you need?"

He shook his head. "Only a prayer. Let's be careful, my loves."

En route, aboard the sleek black aircraft they named the Merle, Capitaine Angleterre regaled the team with stories of his and Michel's adventures from their youth, stories of industrial spies, saboteurs, smugglers, forgers, and bank robbers.

Corbie

The grounds were quiet as the Merle descended over the castle, landing on the front lawn. Capitaine Angleterre rose into the air and did a quick loop around the grounds, returning swiftly to join the companions. "It's deserted ... very unlike the Thérais residence I remember, which was always a bustle of activity."

Langelot added, "My connections at SNIF haven't come up with much. There have been rumors of what appears to be one of the gargoyles from the local church having ... if you can believe this ... come to life and flown about the town."

Langelot at S.N.I.F.'s HQ

Tarot blinked at him. "That sounds like something I would do."

Fantômette nodded thoughtfully. "As always Arthur, I suggest we go through the front door." She phased her hand intangibly through the lock, and with an expert twist the door sprung open.

The team oriented themselves into a circle, back-to-back, and maneuvered their way through the door. Capitaine Angleterre took point. The interior was as deserted as the exterior. "It seems quiet enough," he said.

Langelot added, "For all we know, everyone's on vacation. This may be a wild goose chase."

The Capitaine shook his head. "But I take Michel's name very seriously, if he or someone close to him need help, he and I have been through too much together for me to ignore him."

Bevatron yawned. Fantômette scowled at him. "Let's split up," she proposed. "The quicker we search the place and find a clue, the quicker we can get out of here and help your friend." She kissed Capitaine Angleterre and Langelot, "For luck," she said, and phased through the floor into the basement."

Langelot chuckled, "If she went low, you should go high. You're the flyer, Arthur, you examine the tower, and go down. The kids and I will handle the handle the main floors, and we'll all meet here at the end."

Capitaine Angleterre laid his finger aside his nose and gave a nod, repeating his lover's ritual by kissing Langolet, Tarot and Bevatron. "For luck," and he soared out one of the bay windows to the roofline.

Tarot and Bevatron looked at one another. The girl rubbed her lips unconsciously.

"So, what's the plan then?" the boy asked, his voice awkward. "I think she and I should stick together."

"That's fine, you two watch each other's backs. Just remember this isn't a pleasure jaunt." And with those words he faded into the shadows of the hallway. "Even though," he thought silently to himself, "we're all indulging Arthur with this."

Bevatron fumed, "This isn't a pleasure jaunt! What does he think we're going to do, start necking in the guest bedrooms? Who does he think we are?"

Tarot placed a finger on his lips. "Please don't," she sighed. "Let's just get to work. I'm glad we're going to be together, though. This place gives me the creeps."

Up above, Capitaine Angleterre circled around the bell tower, finally smashing his way through one of the windows. He'd repay Michel later, he thought. His eyes narrowed as he scanned the room. That's odd, he thought, had Michel installed a statuary up here?

From left to right:
Arthur Mitouret (Capitaine Angleterre), Daniel Derieux, Martine Deville &Michel Thérais

He had barely glanced at the trio of statues before orbiting around the circular room and his way down to the stairwell, but something about them caught his eye and he looked again. They were very lifelike, he realised, and then he examined them more closely. Michel Thérais, in a combative mode; the other great friend of his youth, Daniel Derieux, cringing in horror; and the woman he'd thought he'd loved, Martine Deville, looking saturnine.

He exclaimed his horror as he realised the fate that must have befallen his friends. It was all his fault ... had he not delayed coming here ... had he continued to adventure locally rather than moving to Londres and then the lighthouse ... had he not somehow allowed his secret identity to escape ...

He fell to the floor, "Ah Michel, forgive me," he sobbed, suddenly overcome with emotion. "Martine, I'm sorry, so sorry." He could feel the pain and loss like a knot in belly, overpowering him as he was wracked with grief. His willpower fallen, his force field fell with it. Through his tears he did not see, through his sobs he did not hear, the explosive villain known as Timebomb approaching him from behind.

***

And below, as Fantômette landed on the floor of the basement, she reached into her utility belt for her micro-flashlight. She was an expert at playing the cat long before her mutant phasing powers developed in early adulthood, and she moved silently as her light played over the corners of the room.

It wasn't long before it illuminated a couple of familiar faces. She gasped, and as she swept the light back to seek them out, the lights came on, briefly blinding her.

"All right, Françoise," said the voice of her spinster teacher Mademoiselle Bigoudi, from when she was a high school student in the greater Paris suburb of Framboisy, and just starting her career as Fantômette. "Yes, don't look so shocked. I know who you really are. We all knew. And I've brought some other old friends." She felt her wrists being grabbed from behind, and forced into a pair of handcuffs, too stunned to even phase out of them. She looked around wildly and saw local police commissioners Malabar and Maigrelet, also from her home.

Commissioner Maigrelet

"What's going on?" she said, fighting to clear her head. "Why ... "

Malabar sighed. "Don't lie to us, young lady. You come from a long line of villains, Fantômas and his scion Prince Vladimir. Don't even try to pretend you're not following in their footsteps."

"No ... no ... it's not true! I've been trying to atone for their crimes ... I'm nothing like them!"

Maigrelet twisted the cuffs at the elbow painfully, forcing her down to her knees. "You're still lying Françoise. The blood is true."

Mademoiselle Bigoudi opened a book, and started to read a history of the family of Fantômas and their innumerable crimes, and listed every fault of Françoise's personality, proving her case. Fantômette felt a stab of pain with each word, and knew them to be true. She groveled in the dirt of the basement, waiting for the words to stop, but they never did.

***

Langelot's S.N.I.F's alias

Elsewhere, Langelot was adept in the shadows, having been well trained in them from his years at SNIF. The midnight black of his uniform made him nearly invisible as he climbed the stairwell to the second floor.

He passed through room after room, glancing at the tasteful decor. Something about them seemed familiar. He shook his head, unable to escape a feeling of déjà vu.

As he grasped the handle of another door to inspect the room behind it, the sensation of the cool metal against his palm seemed to echo through his skull. He had been here before. But where and when?

He opened the door, and immediately positioned his hands before him. "Sidney la Gélatine and Félix Sousse," he snarled at the pair of familiar faces. "Where are the other five members of SPHINX, or are they hiding in the corner somewhere?"

The amoral billionaire identified as Sidney la Gélatine laughed heartedly. "We hardly need the full complement of Société Financière Internationale X for such a simple job. Though we are flattered you have come to visit us in out humble home away from home."

Langelot did not laugh. "Let's see if my 'hot knives' can shed some light on the matter then." The tips of his fingers burned with energy, which just as quickly extinguished. He blinked, "What ... ?"

Sidney la Gélatine laughed again. "Ah yes, those 'hot knives' of yours. Precious little toys no doubt. Surely you've forgotten that you only acquired them after certain experiments we at SPHINX carried out upon you, last we met? Granted, it was a serendipitous event, but surely you don't think that what we gave you we would be prepared to take away?"

Sidney La Gelatine

Langelot readied himself for a leap at la Gélatine, but the gun merchant Félix Sousse was already armed. Langelot barely heard the shot as he felt the piercing pain in his side, and crumbled to the ground. He was unable to resist as a multitude of hands picked him up and strapped him into a machine, the tortures of which he had felt before.

He moaned an objection. In response la Gélatine took Langelot's chin in his hand, raising the young man's eyes to peer into his own. "We still have much to learn about the process which empowered you, little angel. Surely you are familiar with the predilections of those of us in SPHINX, after all our long battles together: answer one question, and two more invariably take its place."

***

On the other floor, Tarot and Bevatron did not hear their friend's screams. They had opened the large pair of double doors to what they'd assumed was the main dining area, only to find themselves in chaos.

They were in what appeared to be an eighteenth century mansion. Several men were dressed in the clothes of the era, but carrying modern-day advanced firearms. A few women, also carrying firearms, were wearing ludicrously scant lingerie. Surrounding them were a cadre of teens their own age, wearing tight uniforms of red and violet which resembled their own. All were shouting in a language they didn't understand.

"What language are they speaking?" Bevatron shouted over the noise of the battle, "Anglic?"

Sentinelle

Tarot turned, pointing in horror as she saw the giant robots tearing through the walls of the mansion, acting as the focus of the defensive actions of the other people around them. "Les Sentinelles! Who would dare?"

They felt a voice in their heads, which they sensed was coming from a tall blonde woman in white lingerie before them. "Stop blabbing and join in formation, you two," the meaning of the telepathic communication transcending language. "Trevor Fitzroy's going to wreck the school if we don't ... "

Tarot never heard the rest of the command as a blast of energy from one of the robots tore through her. Bevatron screamed. Tears running down his face, radiant discharges of high-voltage bio-electric energy channeling into his fists, he took aim at the murderous robot, but it was too little, too late. His personal storage of energy blasted through the room as he was struck down.

***

- Arthur.

- No. Go away.

- Arthur, the body is in danger. You must take action.

Arthur Mitouret recognised the voice of Mastermind, the sentient artificial intelligence created by his father, which he had incorporated into the circuitry of his uniform after it had been originally destroyed

- No. I can't. It's my fault, all my fault.

-Arthur, I am switching the armor to automatic. I am in control now.

Capitaine Angleterre's fist lashed out, slamming into the unprepared Timebomb, who crumbled to the floor.

- Arthur, you are being influenced by subsonics which are affecting your judgement and emotions.

- What?

- Arthur, we have to rescue the others now.

- What about my friends? Michel and the rest?

- We will rescue them later.

- But ...

- I am going to attempt to generate a null noise field over the helmet which will cancel the subsonic attack. Your emotions should return to normal soon.

Capitaine Angleterre soared down the bell tower's stairway, into the front of the house. His heightened senses scanned the floors, looking for signs of life.

He found Langelot first, tearing open the doorway to see him sprawled awkwardly against a wall. He landed before him, and touched his cheek gently. "Langelot?" But the young man's eyes were glazed, and did not register the voice or touch.

- Mastermind? What's wrong with him?

- It appears there is more than subsonics at work here. He is clearly hallucinating. I will attempt to detect -

The message was cut short as the Capitaine felt a great weight land on his shoulders. He crashed to the ground, only to feel immensely powerful hands pick him up and hurl him against the far wall.

He looked up at his attacker. "What ... who are you?"

A grotesquely muscled, hunchbacked figure stood before him. "Half-Mad, they call me, Half-Mad!" It leapt up with appalling agility, grabbing hold of a heavy metal lamp pole and swinging it into Capitaine Angleterre's face.

Half-Mad

The Capitaine 's hand reached up and caught the end of the pole. "I'm sorry to hear that," he said, as he swung the pole outwards. The kyphotic mutant was hurled out the window. The Capitaine soared over to see his opponent crash into the ground. His senses assured him that the figure was merely unconscious. "You may have been a worthy foe for Langelot but not for me," he said, before returning to his friend. The Capitaine walked over and kissed him gently.

- Mastermind? Can you do anything?

- No. You will have to find the device which is causing the hallucinations. I can detect the wave pattern which is interfering with Langelot 's sensory input, but it is also interfering with my ability to track its source.

The Capitaine nodded, scooping Langelot up into his arms and travelling down to the main floor. He quickly located Tarot and Bevatron. Tenderly he lay Langelot on the surface of the floor next to them. Appalled by their pallor, he felt for their pulses.

They were still alive. But whatever they were experiencing was hitting them a lot harder than Langelot . They appeared almost in a comatose state. He leaned down to kiss them both. Now, where was Fantômette?

- Mastermind, I can't sense Françoise. If I can tap into the castle's security system, do you think you could infect it and locate what's causing these hallucinations and subsonics?

- It is possible.

Capitaine Angleterre flew through the main hall, circling the interior of the castle until he found the circuit board for the new security system. He tore off the faceplate, and removed his left glove. Pinching some of the fine crystalline mesh made from Otherworld technology free from the circuitry of his costume, he connected the two systems, allowing Mastermind access to every electrical system in the house.

Time passed disconcertingly. - Arthur, I have her. Françoise is in the basement. I have discovered the security system itself has been reprogrammed in a quite sophisticated manner, and is being used to generate the subsonic bombardment. I can disengage the system. The hallucinations are being generated independently through an isolated system in the basement, and you will have to shut it down yourself. However, the others should be able to form more rational assessments of their surroundings now.

The Capitaine nodded, and thought for a moment to recall the layout of the castle. He soared out the front door and around the back, crashing through the wooden gateway with a shout of anger.

Fantômette lay on the floor, clutching at it with her hands and mumbling under her breath. Watching over her from what appeared to be a computer system was an obese one-legged man in a wheelchair, a slim young woman in a yellow bodysuit from whose right hand emitted a green glow, a powerful mustachioed man clad in purple, a man in a white and blue uniform, and a small stout woman with wings and horns.

The crippled man looked up, pursing his lips. "Welcome, Monsieur Mitouret, to the humble headquarters of the Nouveau Maîtres du Mal. Or at least the rest of them, since you made short work of Timebomb and the pathetic Half-Mad. Ah well, he was always intended as cannon fodder."

Capitaine Angleterre stood before them, assessing the situation. He gestured towards Fantômette. "Release her and then we can talk."

Mr. T pursed his lips again, shaking his head sadly, "I am afraid not. In fact," while the Capitaine waited for him to finish the others lunged into an attack. "Face zee feet of Batroc zee Leapair," said the largest of them, leaping from a standing position, a powerful kick knocking Capitaine Angleterre off his feet.

Batroc

Diadem shook her head, following up the point man's attack on the disoriented Capitaine with an emerald blast from a gem she carried in her hand. "I wish you would speak proper French, Batroc."

The hero's reflexes managed to protect him from the paralyzing effects of the blast by raising his force field, though he felt the languor through his body. He braced himself to attack her when he felt another kick from the back of his head, and suddenly felt himself slammed against the wall by a burst of wind from Cyclone.

Cyclone - Diadem

Batroc leapt powerfully over the Capitaine to crouch by his allies. "I am zee most skilled battler of all," he proclaimed, "You 'ave no right to impugn my honair, I weel speak as I weesh!"

As Capitaine Angleterre attempted to fly above the whirling winds, he felt clawed hands at his shoulders, and the Gargouille Grise leapt on him from above. She removed a glove and placed it on his shoulder, spitting her disappointment at him. "He's protected from my touch of stone, Mr. T!" she detached from him just as Diadem fired again.

Mr. T tutted sympathetically. "Come sit by me, child. Once we have stripped him of his armor, you can add him to your pretty gallery in the tower." She flapped down to kneel next to his chair, murring grotesquely as he stroked her head, his other hand playing over the keyboard.

The Capitaine tried to fight his way free to attack Mr. T directly but was caught by a miniature tornado. In the commotion none of them noticed Fantômette.

With a cry, she burst upwards and lunged towards the control board at which Mr. T was operating. She phased through it at the last minute, landing on the other side. Sparks flew as Mr. T cursed, and the system deactivated. "You ... always make a lot of noise, Arthur," she mumbled, kneeling on her hands and feet while she fought her way back to full reality.

The Gargouille Grise lunged towards Fantômette but her hands passed through her. She howled in frustration, and flew to attack the Capitaine again.

"Sacrebleu," shouted Batroc, "Gargouille stand back! Zis situation was under control!"

Diadem cursed under her breath, forced to withhold her attack while the Gargouille wrestled with the Capitaine. He soon fought his way free, tossing her directly at Mr. T, who ducked with surprising speed. The Gargouille's wings flapped powerfully, soaring straight at the Capitaine's exposed face before she was struck down by a hot, knifelike burst of energy from the doorway.

The Capitaine smiled, but didn't have to turn around. "Welcome back, Langelot," he said.

Langelot nodded grimly, "Thank you, mon Capitaine . And you, Mr. T, I thought you died when your satellite was destroyed by one of Roche-Verger's rockets?"

Mr. T pfahed. "You fools at SNIF always underestimated my intelligence. I teleported myself out at the last minute. You should never have expected anything less. Mr. T is an expert at cheating death."

"Nom d'un chien," cried Batroc, leaping across the room to attack Langelot, "We 'ad zee Capitaine well in our grasp, until you interfered!"

Langelot fell to the floor, caught by surprise at the speed of Batroc's attack. The pair wrestled as the man trained in every form of espionage battled ruthlessly with the ultimate master of savate.

Capitaine Angelerre took advantage of the confusion to fly at Cyclone, and had the villain ion the floor until he was caught in the back by another blast from Diadem. He turned quickly, but the distraction was enough for Cylone to catch him in another gale, hurling him up to slam against the ceiling.

Fantômette took advantage of Cyclone's own distraction to walk up from behind him. "Don't forget about me, now," she said, phasing through him. The devices in his uniform started to short circuit, and Fantômette turned her fist solid to strike him a strong blow to the jaw. He fell to his knees, and the Capitaine landed on the ground with a crash.

Fantômette stood in place, suddenly paralysed. Mr. T tutted sadly. "I never should have allowed myself to work with these poseurs." He unclipped from the side of his chair a small device and began to enter a series of numbers to it. "I think it's time to exit gracefully. I think teleporting is such a sad way to end an evening. ... aaah!"

He held his wrist as the control unit was struck from his hand by bio-electric energy. He turned in time to see Tarot and Bevatron standing in the doorway, faces still pale.

Tarot held up a card, "I think," she said shakily, "You've cheated death once too often."

The room was filled with Mr T's scream as the form of the grim reaper descended from the card in Tarot's hand. The scythe passed through man swiftly, leaving him pale and comatose on the ground.

Escalibor made short work of the still standing villains.

(new art by Angel D of Climax Comics, France)

As Fantômette recovered from the paralysing ray, the five of them embraced.

Capitaine Angleterre shook his head sadly. "I am so glad you're all safe. If only my old friends ... "

Langelot looked up to the tower. "I think it will be ok, Arthur. I recall the Gargouille Grise's file from the SNIF archives. The stonelike effect is only temporary. I don't know when they were touched, but they should be coming out of it soon."

Fantômette smiled at him. "It's been a hard day, Arthur. Let's go meet Michel and the rest we've all heard so much about."

Arthur Mitouret removed his helmet. "Langelot, help me secure these intruders and we will all go upstairs." He reached over to hug Tarot and Bevatron again, "I am glad you were able to be here with the rest of us. Escalibor is not a family without you." He spoke to them all, "It's about time for the friends of my youth to meet my loves."

THE END

CAST OF CHARACTERS:

Heroes:
Capitaine Angleterre = Captain Britain [Marvel] + Arthur Mitouret [Michel series - Hachette]
Fantômette = Shadowcat [Marvel] + Fantômette [Fantômette series - Hachette]
Langelot = Peter Wisdom [Marvel] + Langelot [Langelot series - Hachette]
Tarot [Marvel]
Bevatron [Marvel]

Villains:
Mr. T [Langelot series - Hachette]
Half-Mad [Marvel]
Batroc [Marvel]
Cyclone [Marvel]
Diadem [Marvel]
Timebomb [Marvel]
Gargouille Grise = Grey Gargoyle + Gargouille [Marvel smoosh]
Mademoiselle Bigoudi [Fantômette series - Hachette]
Commissioner Malabar [Fantômette series - Hachette]
Commissioner Maigrelet [Fantômette series - Hachette]
SPHINX [Langelot series - Hachette]
Sydney la Gélatine [Langelot series - Hachette]
Félix Sousse [Langelot series - Hachette]
Sentinelles = Sentinels [Marvel]

Guest Cast:
Michel Thérais [Michel series - Hachette]
Daniel Derieux [Michel series - Hachette]
Martine Deville [Michel series - Hachette]
S.N.I.F. [Langelot series - Hachette]
Prof. Roche-Verger [Langelot series - Hachette]
Souhi [Les Conquérants de l'Impossible series - Hachette]
Widget [Marvel]
Mastermind [Marvel]

Others:
Fantômas [Fantômas]
Prince Vladimir [Fantômas]