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Visionary was looking forward to a quiet night at home. The kids were at a sleepover at the Lair Mansion with Samantha Featherstone under the watchful care of Nanny Greenwood. Kerry was out with her teammates in the Junior Lair Legion, and Hallie had gone out with some of her art classmates from Parodiopolis U. Vizh had already called in his daily location report on Kerry to the fire department and all was well.
The Lighthouse was quiet, something that was very rare for the Regulars' home. Vizh turned on the television to drown out the silence.
Armed with a crossword, a steaming cup of cocoa, and wearing the bunny slippers long ago bestowed upon him by Yo, Visionary settled into his recliner and prepared to relax.
He was startled by the sound of his door being kicked down and many booted feet pounding through the hallway. "Freeze, FBI!" shouted a burly man in a riot gear. "On the ground with your hands over your head!"
Years of duck-and-covering asserted themselves as Visionary threw himself to the floor. "Not even five minutes," he sighed to himself, bemoaning his lack of private time.
"Visionary Shepherdson, you are under arrest for the unlawful siphoning of funds from the ZOXXON oil corporation!" shouted the squad commander as one of his men handcuffed the Legionnaire's hands behind his back.
"The what? I barely have enough in the bank to cover my fire insurance," asked a puzzled Visionary.
"Oh really?" The squad commander pulled a print-out from his chest pocket. "You must have some insurance pal, since your bank account currently has 178 million dollars in it."
Visionary looked over the document before him. "I guess I should be glad you guys got to me before the IRS."
* * * * *
"I feel really good" Hallie yelled, leaning in towards Tandi as they danced (though the A.I. was less than rhythmic at this point.) "I mean, like... really good."
"See? I told you we should do this more often!" the robosapien said, shimmying to the music.
"Maybe... but I have responsibilities" she noted. "Lair work... s'important. Saves the world. Sooooooo much to do behind the scenes to keep everything running smooth...ish."
Even taking the night off, Hallie was still a multi-tasker. So while she walked across the bar to talk to a young man named Jeremy, whose grandmother had passed away in the afternoon, she was also handling some of the Legion's financial work.
She noticed Visionary's account was a little low, so she shrugged and decided to top it up a little.
* * * * *
Visionary sat and thought about who to call with his one phone call. Lisa's cell service was kind of sketchy when she wasn't slumming on the mortal plane. Fleabot would just make fun of him. And he didn't want to face a scolding from Nanny Greenwood if he called the Mansion.
Not seeing an alternative, Visionary dialed Hallie. Considering she was her own cell phone, he knew she'd pick up.
Or that's what he thought. After several rings, Hallie's voice came on. "You've reached Hallie, but you haven't, because I'm taking the night off! Sit on it and rotate, sucker!" As Hallie signed off, "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun" played over the phone speaker.
"Ooookay, not what I expected," Visionary muttered to himself. "Well, that leaves me with one alternative."
To be continued by...?
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