Author's Note:
The last time I wrote and published a chapter for this story was when I lost all my data and notes.
I recovered well from that unfortunate event.
Anyway, I'm sorry I can't write chapters more regularly for the [Kaleidoscope Adventure] series, but I'm one man and I have so many stories and even more ideas.
I have three folders on my phone of CYOA story ideas, Jumpchain builds, and other crazy stuff.
As a kid, I wanted to have Wolverine's powers; as a teenager, I wanted to be Iron-Man or Loki.
But, nowadays, as a writer, I wish I had the power of duplication.
Quick tip: After talking to a pen pal, I decided to change my writing style.
There will be a change, I hope for the better. Let me know if you notice an improvement and if you like it.
But my chapters will definitely get a little longer.
XXX
Story Arc: A Journey to America
Episode 2: Five Bad Women (III)
Chapter 6: The wrath of heaven
Plot: Round two has begun, our heroes now have to face more female supervillains to save the day.
XXX
POV Narrator
BANG!
Galahad, hearing the sound of the shot, turns sharply towards his allies.
His eyes hidden under his knight's visor catch one good piece of news and two bad ones.
He sees Killer Frost defeated, lying on the ground and motionless, a relief, one less problem to worry about.
He sees how Superman, Wonder Woman and Rider are trapped, encased in a grip of crystalline ice that shines with blue reflections.
Superman and Wonder Woman were lucky, they are halfway blocked, from the waist down, although in the case of the Amazon Princess, part of her stomach is affected.
Rider, she got the worst of it, she's almost completely submerged in ice, if anyone happened to pass by they'd say she's an ice statue.
The Amazon Princess is in the middle of the pack, but she's the most energetic, already raising her hands to shatter the frozen prison and break free.
Finally, he sees a bright green projectile hurtling towards the Last Son of Krypton.
Even an idiot would understand the equation: Kryptonian + green light = Kryptonite.
"I can't accelerate fast enough to catch up to him on foot. I hope I have enough Steve Rogers in me to make it." Galahad thinks, trying to keep a cool head despite the chaos around him.
He digs his foot into the ground, feeling the ground give way under his weight as he searches for the perfect pivot.
The right arm bends backward, the tendons taut like violin strings.
Galahad is perfectly aware that every second and every millimeter counts: a mistake in calculating the trajectory or in the force of the throw, and Superman will be in mortal danger.
Maintaining his concentration, Galahad forcefully throws his circular shield.
The shield, decorated with stars and stripes, comes away from his hand with a sharp metallic hiss.
Spinning so fast it becomes a blurry disk, a comet of vibranium and will that defies physics to intercept the Kryptonite projectile.
CLANG!
The impact is violent and precise.
The shield intercepts the projectile in midair, deflecting a blow that could have seriously injured, if not killed, the Man of Steel.
With a trajectory calculated down to the millimeter, the metal disc bounces and lands right in Wonder Woman's hands, giving her the leverage she needs to shatter her icy prison.
The projectile, an antimatter caliber, lodged itself in the ground nearby, digging a small crater blackened by energy residue.
Although the blow was deflected, the proximity of the Kryptonite has already left its mark: Superman appears visibly pale, shaken by sudden dizziness that clouds his vision.
"I'm better than I thought... I'm ordering a whole cake tonight." Galahad comments with an optimistic tone that clashes with the tension of the moment.
But the relaxation lasts only a blink of an eye. Galahad pulls out his Tesla pistol and points it at the cars parked nearby.
A violent electromagnetic beam shoots out from the weapon, striking the vehicles and dragging them with a clanging metallic sound until they form a semicircle barrier in front of the heroes.
As soon as she is free, Wonder Woman is joined by Galahad.
"Are you okay?" he asks, keeping his guard up.
If another projectile is fired, Galahad will be able to stop it using defensive magic.
"Thank you for your help, but Superman and Rider need immediate attention." The Amazon Princess replies, returning the circular shield.
The Black Knight of Romania grabs the disc and places it behind his back: the shield instantly adheres to his armor without the need for hooks, perhaps by a spell or a sophisticated use of electromagnetism.
With a devastating punch, Wonder Woman finally shatters the remaining block of ice, freeing Superman.
The hero falls to his knees, weakened, but Diana's strong arms catch him before he hits the ground.
"Kryptonite... it really hurts." The Man of Steel whispers, trying to regain his strength.
No matter how many times he is exposed or how much he tries to resist, that green stone is his Achilles heel, slowly killing him.
"You said you're a healer, can you help them?" Wonder Woman asked, her voice thick with apprehension as she looked at Rider.
The purple-haired woman was now an ice effigy, motionless and cold to the touch.
Superman was sick, but Kryptonite was an old acquaintance; for a theoretically rare mineral, an absurd number of criminals always seemed to find a way to obtain it.
"Give me a second," Galahad replied. He knelt beside the small crater and picked up the radioactive fragment.
In theory he should have destroyed it or isolated it, but he knew that, once the battle was over, the Justice League would demand the relic be handed over.
In a lightning-fast move that left Diana and Clark petrified, Galahad opened his mouth and swallowed the Kryptonite shard whole.
"Did you... just eat Kryptonite?" Superman asked, his gaze a mixture of disbelief and horror.
Throughout his heroic career, Superman has seen many strange things and just as many creative uses for Kryptonite. But never anyone who eats Kryptonite.
"Being a genius doesn't mean always making smart choices, especially when you have to improvise," Galahad retorted dryly.
He knew that tomorrow the "porcelain throne" would present him with the bill, but at least now that little piece of mineral was safe... unless his stomach decided to digest it.
"This is a risky experiment. Maybe I should throw up when I get home." Galahad thinks, slightly worried, as he touches his stomach.
Mash Kyrielight's heir wants to be Skipper/Kowalski, but instead he'll have to learn to be Rico and figure out how to vomit on command.
Wasting no time, Galahad reached out to the Man of Steel, concentrating hard enough to activate his Magic Circuits and do his duty.
His body was originally that of a Homunculus, but for unknown reasons it became the vessel of his soul and several extra elements, producing interesting effects.
Galahad's body, his clothes, even his shields have the ability to absorb surrounding energy and convert it into Prana, which in turn can be transformed into electricity.
Galahad is not limited to producing only electricity, with the right effort it could also emit other types of energy.
"Here's a refill of yellow sunlight and a pinch of invigorating magic." Galahad announced, putting his Healing skills to use.
The signs of the activation of his Magic Circuits appear on his forearm, and from his palm a short, but intense beam of solar energy erupted, filtered by a small emerald green magical circle that floated in front of his fingers.
A simple trick that combines Galahad's natural talents and his magical affinities.
The effect was instantaneous: Superman jumped up, his muscles swollen with power again and his gaze vivid, as if he had just woken up after a perfect rest.
"Thank you! Where have you been all my life? You would have saved me a lot of trouble." The hero of Metropolis joked, feeling his newfound strength.
"In Romania." Galahad replied, before shifting his worried gaze to the frozen form of the purple-haired woman.
Rider, aka Medusa, is a Heroic Spirit: an ice trap can immobilize her, but certainly not kill her.
This information is well present in Galahad's mind, but seeing such a scene fills the Black Knight's heart with a slight anger.
"She is too altruistic," Galahad thought, looking at Medusa trapped inside the ice.
"If she drew more forcefully on my reserves of magical energy, she could free herself, but she doesn't want to expend more energy than usual until the situation is desperate," Galahad thinks, momentarily annoyed by Medusa's kindness.
Of course, Galahad hasn't found a way to gain an infinite supply of magic, but he's far from being an ordinary Magus.
He could probably maintain and feed Seven Servants in battle at the same time and still have enough energy to participate in the fight.
Galahad pointed both hands at her, drawing a larger magic circle in the air, which glowed a bright red.
In moments, the heat released melted the frozen prison, reducing it to a steaming puddle. Rider stretched his limbs with lethal elegance.
"Thank you for your assistance, Master," the blindfolded woman said in her usual stoic voice, impassive as ever.
Galahad, despite trying to maintain a professional demeanor, couldn't help but notice how her dark, soaked dress clung perfectly to her sinuous curves.
'Those souls weren't lying... the effect of wet clothes is deadly.' He thought to himself, quickly banishing the evil thought.
At times like these, a teenager's body is more of a nuisance than an asset.
Remaining serious, Galahad continued to emit controlled heat to quickly dry her, preventing the residual cold from bothering her.
"The lightning woman and the ice woman are out of the game." Galahad summarized, coldly scanning the battlefield.
"Behind us is a sniper with Kryptonite bullets. Ahead is S.T.A.R. Labs, and the fact that Flash hasn't come out yet means someone in there is holding him back," Galahad said, keeping all these factors in mind with ease.
The Black Knight turned to the two Justice League heavyweights and asked, "What's the plan?"
Superman looked at him for a moment, smiling slightly.
"Has anyone ever told you that you talk like Batman, but in a much more sociable way?" Superman asked, sensing a certain similarity between the two.
"We're both knights in black armor. Only I'm old school, he's decidedly more modern." Galahad retorted with a shrug.
Wonder Woman watched the exchange in silence, a glint of satisfaction in her eyes.
"I was right to convince him to join the Justice League," thought the Princess, confirming her intuition had been a good one.
Despite his appearance and witty quips, Galahad hid an analytical mind dangerously similar to Batman's.
Eating the Kryptonite had not been a reckless impulse, but a calculated move to steal and preserve valuable tactical material.
And Medusa wasn't the only pawn on his chessboard, though he doesn't like to think of Servants that way.
'Hassan of the Hundred Faces, you followed us here in spirit form... were you able to discover anything?' Galahad asked through the mental link.
The one who answered him was Asako, the most diplomatic and sociable personality of the Servant Assassin, the one who acted as the true "manager" for the entire guild of personalities.
"We've scattered into the shadows, Master. We've observed everything." Assassin's voice answered in his mind.
"Rider is being far too complacent, but you're acting like a worthy strategist," Asako reports, not too pleased with Medusa's performance today.
"Time is a resource we cannot waste. Give me the facts," Galahad cut him off.
The Black Knight doesn't want to hear an Assassin complaining about the Vanguard in his head.
"Flash rescued several scientists and put out some fires, but now he's pinned down. He's facing a hybrid creature, half woman, half cheetah. They've stolen advanced technology and classified documents from the labs." Asako paused briefly before adding the crucial tactical detail.
"The sniper is located one kilometer northeast, on the roof of a seven-story apartment building. She is a woman with purple hair; her right arm can transform directly into a high-caliber firearm." Asako provides vital information.
Galahad wastes no time and calls upon his strongest shield, Lord Camelot.
XXX
Perched on the roof of an apartment building a kilometer away, a new participant observes the "game" between heroes and villains.
She's lying on her stomach, as still as a panther: Lady Nagant, an elite mercenary specializing in long-range sniping.
Codename, Lady Nagant, Real Name Kaina Tsutsumi, she is an imposing thirty-year-old woman, 171cm tall and with sinuous muscles.
Her tousled hair, a deep mix of indigo and pink streaks, frames her strong face as her white-pupiled violet eyes peer through a natural viewfinder.
She wears a two-tone sleeveless dress and a long, wide skirt that reaches her ankles, cinched at the waist by a massive, garnet-colored utility belt, where she keeps her special projectiles.
Lady Nagant is beginning to regret taking this job.
'Providing support to four clients while they burgle S.T.A.R. Labs seemed easier,' Lady Nagant thinks, recapping her work for the day.
'The Justice League has arrived, it's even scarier than the reports say, but I still have two more Kryptonite rounds left.' Lady Nagant thinks, not having accepted the job if she hadn't received three Kryptonite rounds.
Using his right eye, which acts as a powerful biological binocular, he scans the battlefield.
The view is partially obstructed by the barricade of cars Galahad has created, but Kaina manages to peek through the reflections in their rearview mirrors.
"The Flash, Wonder Woman, and Superman are known variables. But that Knight with the shield and the woman with the purple hair are total unknowns." He muses with annoyance.
In mercenary work, surprises and unknowns are among the greatest impediments to success. At least Lady Nagant had the good sense to get half the sum paid beforehand.
"I saw them on the news, European heroes... the Justice League is looking for new blood? Well, they're not the only ones," Lady Nagant thinks, knowing that many new talents have started to emerge lately.
Lady Nagant herself only gained her powers in the last six months, under unfriendly circumstances.
From across the range, he sees Galahad emerge into the open.
He holds the cross-shaped shield firmly in front of him, leading the way for Superman and Diana.
The Black Knight makes strange gestures with his hands, as if consulting an invisible compass, then looks up and fixes his gaze on a specific point.
Galahad's hand is pointed straight at her.
Lady Nagant feels a cold shiver down her spine.
'He found me?! Impossible... I have to change position, now!' thinks the alert female sniper.
Just as he scrambles to his feet to reposition himself, a hiss cuts the air.
Out of nowhere, a black knife flies toward her with surgical precision. It's not aimed at her throat, but at one of the stun grenades hanging from her belt.
BLAM!
The blinding explosion hits her full on, enveloping the roof in a cloud of smoke and light.
XXX
Wonder Woman and Rider sprint towards the sniper's position without hesitation.
Galahad's pinpoint guidance and the sudden explosion on the roof made the target a beacon in the darkness.
The Amazon Princess soars through the air, gaining altitude, while the purple-haired woman hurtles across the ground with supernatural speed.
Superman, still vulnerable to a possible Kryptonite blast, remained on the ground in front of S.T.A.R. Labs along with Galahad.
The Black Knight watches the two warriors walk away towards the North-East.
'I hope I made the right move.' Galahad muses, his mind already calculating the next variables.
"Hassan of the Hundred Faces is my private spy network; keeping it hidden is the only logical choice. He must never be seen, only orchestrating "unfortunate accidents" for my enemies." Galahad thinks, having decided how to use Assassin in this game.
The Shield Knight knew full well that revealing the presence of a professional cutthroat to the Justice League would raise too many ethical questions. Only Medusa knew the full truth.
"Making Wonder Woman and Superman believe they have a compass-like locator spell was a great improvisation. It explains how I tracked down the sniper without exposing Assassin." Galahad continues to himself, hoping that little white lie doesn't backfire on him in the future.
"Wonder Woman and Rider go after the sniper, we go in and see what's happening to Flash," Superman said, ready to fly into the building.
Before the Man of Steel can enter a glass building, Flash speeds out of S.T.A.R. Labs, stopping short in front of the Kryptonian and the Demi-Servant.
"Speak of the devil and you'll see horns coming out." Galahad muttered under his breath.
The fastest man alive is not in his best shape: his red costume has deep gashes across his chest and arms, unmistakable signs of a close fight with someone with razor-sharp claws.
"Sorry for the delay, guys! I had to stop a very unfriendly cat from getting her claws on this stuff." Flash exclaims, holding up a metal cylinder containing several glowing vials.
"Flash, who did this to you?" Superman asks, his voice filled with an almost brotherly concern.
Despite the fact that the Fastest Man Alive is a veteran and a first-rate hero, the Man of Steel can't help but worry. His heart of gold is both his greatest strength and his most vulnerable point.
Galahad watches silently, his analytical mind already ready to intervene with his shield or a healing spell.
The answer to Superman's question is not long in coming, emerging fiercely from the shadows of the labs' main entrance.
'I'm truly fortunate to meet only beautiful and deadly women today.' Galahad thought, tightening his grip on his shield as he focused on his new opponent.
From the shadows of the laboratories emerged Cheetah in all her feral magnificence.
Standing 175 centimeters tall, with a sinuous body entirely covered in thick spotted fur: a hypnotic and wild hybrid between a predator and a woman.
The fur and animalistic features make it difficult to determine his age, but he appears to be 26 years old.
Over his shoulder he carried an experimental laser rifle, clearly stolen from the STAR warehouse.
"I've never been a member of the furry fandom, and you're not giving me a good reason to become one." Galahad began, stepping forward, undaunted by the retractable claws that glistened in the sunlight.
The Black Knight's words made Cheetah's hair stand on end, and she responded with a menacing, guttural growl.
It's a pity that he didn't have an easy prey in front of him, but a Knight who carries the legacy of Mash Kyrielight and the Original Galahad, plus some special individuals.
This time, the cat didn't find a mouse, but an Ankylosaurus.
"I'm not a fan of Juujin (Beastmen)... too much fur. I prefer the classic Kemonomimi: ears and a tail on a beautiful woman. Ideally, red hair and yellow eyes." He continued, letting that mix of brutal honesty and nerdiness of his original self and Mash Kyrielight's preferences shine through.
In Galahad's whimsical dreams, the ghost of Gudako is a presence that appears many times.
"Kid... you have no idea who I am, do you?" Cheetah hissed, finally finding the words between growls.
"You are Barbara Atehna, the fourth woman to hold the title of Cheetah. A brilliant researcher who sought to augment humans with animalistic traits. Underfunded and blinded by ambition, you used yourself as a guinea pig, transforming yourself into... well, this," Galahad recited in an almost bored tone.
"The classic cliché of the scientist with too much intelligence and too little common sense. Experimenting on your own body is a terrible move for a myriad of reasons," Galahad said, criticizing Cheetah for her poor choices.
"I was just supposed to take those vials and leave, but now I'm just going to stay here to claw out those naughty eyes of yours!" the beast-woman screamed, losing every shred of self-control.
"Galahad... did anyone ever tell you you had a natural gift for infuriating women?" Flash whispered, watching the murderous fury in Cheetah's eyes.
"American female supervillains must have fragile egos," he replied, shrugging.
Cheetah flexes her muscles, ready to spring forward with lightning speed, but Galahad is quicker.
He raises his cross-shaped shield and Magic Circuits appear on his arms: fluorescent blue lines pulsing with pure energy, while the metal of the shield begins to emit a low hum.
"This battle has no reason to exist; fate is already written. It's better to win without a blow and cement my reputation here in America," Galahad thinks, seizing the perfect moment.
With a solemn gesture, he smashes the lower tip of the massive shield into the ground.
The impact isn't just physical: it generates a shock wave that shakes the asphalt, a micro-earthquake that propagates in concentric circles.
Cheetah is forced to stagger backward, surprised by a force that seems to defy the laws of gravity.
"Listen to me carefully, Furry woman!" Galahad exclaims.
His voice, enhanced by magic, reverberates with divine authority, audible even within the depths of the laboratories.
"Your allies, Livewire and Killer Frost, have already been taken down. Your sniper has been discovered: Wonder Woman and my partner Rider are hunting her even now. You are left alone." Galahad points an armored finger at the speedster.
"The treasure you covet is in the hands of the fastest man alive; he could disappear in the blink of an eye and hide it atop the pyramids of Egypt before you can even take a step," Galahad declares, keeping his voice serious and his demeanor solemn.
"Hey, that's not a bad idea... I could take them to the Hall of Justice right now for safekeeping." Flash muses to himself, impressed by the knight's logic.
"What do you have left? Just claws and a stolen laser toy." Galahad continues, as an aura of blue lightning begins to dance around his armor.
"Your opponents are the most powerful and revered hero in modern history: Superman, America's Hercules," Galahad said, drawing a comparison between the Kryptonian and the famous demigod of Greece.
"...AND ME!" thunders Galahad, being dramatic in the best way possible.
At that moment, his body is enveloped in a crackling aura of blue lightning, illuminating his dark armor. The magic circuits on his arms glow with an almost blinding intensity.
"A holy paladin, blessed by the heavens, with power rivaling Zeus and an absolute defense! I've already made Superman bleed with a single punch," Galahad exclaims, his voice vibrating with supernatural authority.
The sky above Washington DC suddenly begins to darken, as if the heavens are listening to the Knight's words.
"Now that my patience with this senseless heresy is exhausted, I will show no mercy. Who can say what will remain of you if I choose not to restrain myself?" Galahad asks, his voice menacing.
The Black Knight raises his foot and brings it down with such force that it tears the asphalt.
It's not a simple tremor: it's a targeted earthquake, a seismic shock wave that directly hits Cheetah.
The beast-woman, overwhelmed by the physical pressure and psychological terror, loses her balance and collapses to the ground, ending up sitting on the shaking asphalt.
'Maybe I overdid it with the biblical tone, but hey, the Church pays me to kill vampires, I can use those kinds of threats,' Galahad thinks, maintaining an expression of terrifying sanctity.
"Alright, alright! I surrender!" Cheetah yells, throwing away the laser rifle and raising her hands in total surrender.
His ferocity was completely extinguished by terror.
Clearly, the thought of being struck by lightning or facing a Dark Knight aided by two of the world's greatest superheroes is overwhelming for the Furry woman.
"This is definitely news," Flash commented, genuinely surprised.
Seeing a supervillain surrender like that, without even receiving a scratch, was a rare and unique event.
It usually only happened when they were backed into a corner or if they were evil geniuses with a backup plan.
"Kind people are the worst when they get angry." Superman whispered under his breath, still impressed by the aura Galahad exuded.
"Are we sure he's not Batman's illegitimate son?" Flash whispered back.
"I've heard that before he donned the costume, the Bat traveled all over the world. Maybe he had an adventure in Romania while he was learning to hunt vampires?" Flash asks, making a not-so-far-fetched hypothesis.
"There's no time for gossip, Flash! Secure that cylinder." Galahad ordered, his voice still vibrating with iron authority.
The Knight reached into a pocket on his belt, which looked much larger than it looked, almost as if it were magical, and pulled out a pair of massive handcuffs, connected by heavy chains that looked as if they had come straight from the dungeons of the Inquisition.
"Superman, take these and immobilize the cat before she regains her senses." Galahad added, handing him the dark metal restraints.
'When he puts his mind to it, his personality becomes incredibly intense and stern.' thought the Man of Steel.
He watched with amazement the transformation in the attitude of the teenager who, at their first meeting, had seemed a little nerdy and a little eccentric, but absolutely harmless.
'Thank goodness Diana took him under her wing,' Flash thinks with a shiver of fear.
'If Batman had trained him, we'd be dealing with a mini-Dark Knight with powers. A nightmare.' Flash thinks, shuddering at the very possibility.
"Move, son of Hermes!" Galahad thundered suddenly, little blue sparks still dancing in his white hair.
"I'll be back in a heartbeat!" Flash exclaimed, vanishing in a scarlet trail before the echo of Galahad's voice had even faded.
"Hassan of the Hundred Faces, have there been any changes?" Galahad asked, keeping every sense alert.
The presence of a sniper was synonymous with planning, and planning, in his world, almost always meant the existence of backup plans and layered strategies.
Galahad, who under his armor hid the intuition of a little Sherlock Holmes, began to mentally map the opposing group's pattern:
Cheetah was clearly the pinnacle: the leader, the most lucid scientific mind, despite her feral nature.
Killer Frost was the other scientist in the group; unstable and driven by a deep hatred of men, she nevertheless possessed a brilliant, if maniacal, intellect. She could be a second-in-command, but her volatility made her unreliable for logistics.
Livewire represented the loudest arm: a former radio host with a big mouth and a terrible attitude. Pure energy muscle hired to make a racket.
The female sniper (Lady Nagant) whose stage name Galahad does not know: no information in the classic databases, but from Hassan's description she appeared to be a high-level professional, a contract killer much more lethal and precise than Livewire.
'There's a piece missing.' Galahad concluded in his mind.
Two of those present had superior scientific intelligence, but their attack plan lacked the strategic finesse one would expect from such minds.
There was a power vacuum, or perhaps a shadow that had not yet come out into the open.
Just then, Assassin's mental connection vibrated with new information.
"Master, Wonder Woman, and Rider neutralized the sniper. She was still stunned, so capturing her was a breeze." Assassin's voice reported.
'One less enemy... have we truly won?' Galahad wondered, but his instincts told him the curtain had not yet fallen.
When something difficult proves too easy, there's a chance there's a catch somewhere.
"Inside the abode of science is a woman who shows no sign of panic." Assassin continued, being scattered everywhere in the vicinity in Spirit Form.
"She's very tall, with red hair. She looks like she just finished extracting sensitive data from the mainframes," Assassin said, providing a description of the woman.
'Let me see through your eyes.' Galahad ordered, activating a sensory sharing spell, one of the most basic yet effective spells in his repertoire.
In the blink of an eye, the Paladin's vision was overwritten by the images transmitted by Hassan: a woman of statuesque beauty, almost two meters tall, with a cascade of fiery red hair, long and wavy, that fell to her shoulders.
"If I've learned one thing since walking this world, it's that the most attractive women either have immense power or are immersed in extremely serious affairs," Galahad thinks, certain that this woman will bring trouble.
In his experience, the list of the most beautiful women he had ever seen coincided almost perfectly with that of dangerous, rich, or powerful people who were best left unpunished.
"Follow her. Keep an eye on her and alert me the moment she leaves the building." Galahad announces, giving his instructions to Assassin, who is proving more useful than Rider.
Maintaining his alert posture outside, Galahad reached into one of his belt pockets and pulled out a lump of amorphous material resembling magical clay. His fingers began to shape it rapidly, using skill and magic.
'Let's see if I can pull off a magic act worthy of Las Vegas,' Galahad thought with an inward smirk that didn't befit his title of Paladin.
Ultimately, Galahad is much more than just a knight with a big, flashy shield: he is an individual who, if he wanted to, could become Sherlock Holmes or Professor Moriarty, or a combination of the two.
Continues ...
XXX
Author's Note:
This is a day that needs to be written in the calendar.
For the first time in my career, I've had to split a chapter into two parts twice in a row, because it seemed too long for my style.
The second part, which will be the conclusion of the episode [Five Bad Women] could be released on the same day as the first part, or on Saturday evening.
It all depends on whether I've taken the time to put the finishing touches on the second part.