Question Meanwhile in Castle Groenwald

Lillian von Groenwald, having to pass on reports of active operations, including Operation Candidate, interesting. Bwahahaha, Operation Slavic Bozo, at least Agent Sandmann has a sense of humor. Crud, surveillance photo of Erica, Penny, and Ruby out shopping. *facepalms* Lillian still thinks there is a chance to get her cousins on her side, even after this incident, she is delusional at best.

Just what is in the underground level, sounds scary. Herr Achziger still...alive, at least he is still recovering. Poor Agent Baumgartner, wouldn't wish that fate on my worse enemy. Kessel part of new generation for this mad organization, just great. *facepalms* Dermal substitute, 'It Works', using Greasy's invention to help out Herr Achziger, *skin crawls* And making their own modified version to patent just to undercut a mutant inventor, sickening. Doing that to Greasy and his mutant clients, monsters doesn't seem strong enough to describe them.

Switching persona's that easily, scary to watch. George Richards-Greenwood, is she really his mother or is this an act as well, hard to tell with these two. And a cover for Lillian Groenwald as Lily Richards-Greenwood, living in Greenwood, Iowa, no wonder it is so hard to find her. Great, even worse than I first thought, one of many refuges for her people.

Carrying the closed casket to bury Agent Mauer, Lillian's half-brother Lorenz. Thinking it is just one of many debts of blood Adolf and his wife will pay for. Sandmann and Glas removing the remains from FBI custody, another in their list of crimes. A retrieval mission in Chicago, why do I have a bad feeling this is connected to Bianca somehow.

Sandmann complains about hunger when his nerves get to him, heh. Dang, that dangerous and those kind of individuals operating in Chicago neighborhoods. All to target an up-and-coming scientist with a basement lab in the slums, I would be bored as well. And the lab being under that kind of diner, talk about protection.

Twin mothers, no wonder I thought these two were brothers with the way they act and look. Glas having to put up with Sandmann's antics, it speaks volumes of him to have the self-control not to sock him one after a while of this. Pulling out a firearm like that, Sandmann has guts to do that in a Chicago neighborhood. Killing all 5 men that quickly and deftly, scary power and skill combination. Intimidating Old Jim into revealing what they want to know, Sandmann is the blunt force to Glas's subtle technique.

Brian standing guard, yet makes Old Jim look young in comparison, just how tough is this old guy. Good grief, this lab is ridiculous, mad sciencing out of there must be a pain. Getting the data that easily, going to leave, Sandmann losing his appetite, and minions in ill-fitting purple jumpsuits rush in. Ill-fitting purple jumpsuits, add a mask and it almost sounds like the old Foot Clan outfits from the original TMNT animated series.

Sandmann going CQC with just his fists on the minions, these sound worse than typical street thugs with how they handle their weapons. Down and some dead that fast, brutal. The leader of these minions sounds like a joke, Glas intent on killing him, only for a new player to show up and bowl over the minions. Mutant teen with some GSD, African American with a glowing aura around him.

The kid using one minion held by the ankles to spin around and wipe out the others, classic. And this kid is Jim's nephew, oh boy, Franklin Post finds out what Sandmann and Glas did and they have another problem on their hands. Charged them when he found out the truth, only to get KO'ed by Sandmann's power, too bad.

Lillian in Washington, DC and needing a guide to navigate the place. Persephone Elfmann, interesting how only clients with the proper words and names to back them up can get close to her office, name sounds familiar for some reason. And Ms. Elfmann stands out in her own unique way, sounds like she gets sun than even me.

Lillian's plan, what they will do to the candidate isn't right, ruining someone with a scandal. And that pendant of Ms. Elfmann's, seems to suggest it has some sort of power but what. Manipulating politics for their own ends, sickening.

Old moniker Pelf, wonder if that is important, will we see Persephone Elfmann in a story set in the past of this. Who is this other voice speaking through Persephone, thinking Lillian wants and needs too much. AVARITIA on the back of the pendant, speaking to it and says he/she/it never chose her for her timid nature. Mammonas, oh this is a lot worse than expected, sounds like an ancient entity and bad news to me. And drive more desperate souls to them, never a good thing.

George actually is Lillian aka Lily's son, yikes. Setting off fireworks on the 4th of July, ironic considering his mother's agenda. Freddie Manchester, oldest buddy of George, along with Elektra, Malorie, and the twins Jason and Emma, all there to watch fireworks. Very impressive final fireworks display and way to ask out Elektra. Ah, can see why Elektra would be nervous, wishing it to be George's idea and not his mother's. And way to answer the boy, not shy that Elektra. *groans* Always one in the bunch with a crass sense of humor, had to be Freddie.

Underage drinking and Uncle Rich encourages it, oh brother. And his friends subjected to the Thulean serum as well, just great, how many towns of potential or already superhumans are out there lying in wait. At least it has it limits, physical and mental enhancements plus a single psionic ability, scarier if it were broader than that. All those wishes for power and now George is telling them about Erica, uh oh.

Agents Winslow, Haskel, and Fox all called in by Lillian, she is wondering why Project Prodigal was extended for at least another month. And found the daughter of her brother Jan, and not that simply to take her and bring her in, wonder where she is. Wait, that photo is from years ago it seems, could the girl be Penny?

Kessel may be being raised by a Nazi, but the way he acts when she is gone is like a normal teen. A portable printer, seems to be a devise that can read your thoughts and print them out, images and words, from what it did in response to Kessel's thoughts of Elektra. Better watch is thoughts around that thing from now on. Sandmann and Glas are his uncles Rob and Rick, mad-tech for schimelhorn or devisor tech, interesting. Trip to Des Moines, with the way that boy is thinking I would be scared to be on the road with him nearby.

Yup, I was right, taking an 1 and 45 minute trip in 45 minutes, scary. Safehouse and staging area, they took him on a mission. Scene-screens, market for those I'm sure. They are the Flag Men, local heroes in Des Moines and always have been, yikes, if the public knew who they really were. Destroy the mutant menace, *tries to hold in lunch* Murderous scum.

An energizer with an exotic type of energy, probably a teen who has trouble controlling his powers and everything so far is accidents. A table burning in Union Park, a ruined birthday party from the looks of things and the mutant is a girl, great. Great, Sookie is a friend of the birthday girl who was invited and just wanted a piece of birthday cake, yet the birthday girl's drunken bigot of a father is trying to twist things. And father ignoring his own daughter, ugh. Sara trying to explain it to George, who hopefully can get Sookie out of this alive. Sarabine and Sookie, so Sookie isn't her friend's real name, good.

Sookie, on the run and trying to escape now that she has been outed, wait, Sarabine screw with the video, don't tell me she is a mutant as well. Oh crap! She thinks she can trust the Flag Men because of them saving her father from a mad science experiment gone rogue, this is bad. Glas almost killed her if she hadn't reflexively used her power, purple flames, interesting. And she thinks she can sneak around to avoid them, not knowing they can track her exotic energy signature.

Put to sleep by Sandmann and he just wishes to kill her in cold blood. And giving Kessel the gun to execute the poor girl, at least he got them to leave, maybe there is a way out of this mess. Fires the gun and leaves, saying she might go off so they have to leave.

Yet he spared her, left her a note with instructions and a kit-bashed thing to dampen her energy output, Kessel hasn't been corrupted by them yet enough for cold blooded murder. Sookie Webster, hope this isn't the last we see of her, after what Kessel did for her to have her simply die otherwise would feel like a waste to me.

Great, all those connections to descendants of her grandfather's allies, as if her organization wasn't bad enough already. Ah, good, few contacts in Germany. DeVille Academy, yikes, connections there with Lillian and Green Cross would up the threat big time. No wonder Lillian is so harsh, instructors like those would twist anyone even further.

Underground facilities, typical for these places at this point. Okay, niece isn't Penny, as she is sitting right in front of Lillian and looking much as Lillian did at that age. Madame d'Eon and her niece, Miss van Zyl. Lieke van Zyl, mother died about a year after her father, ouch. 7 years at DeVille Academy and her antics drew their attention in the first place, yikes, sounds like Lillian's niece alright.

Ouch, Lieke ticked off at mention of her father, enraged at him. Negotiating for Lieke to be allowed to leave DeVille without graduating or dying, this is going to be a hell of a deal. Yikes, having a rival with a low-level precog ability intent on killing her, Lieke better leave when she has the chance. Ah, subtle powers only from the sounds of it are allowed, interesting.

Yikes, declared dead and given a new identity just to keep up Deville's reputation. Angelique Greenwood, figures Lillian is ready for this. *eyes bug out* That last part of the deal, brutal doesn't cover it. A path out of the school not known to the student populace, oh course a school like this would have such things as matter of course.

Oh boy, the school drilled into the newly named Angelique constant alertness equal to paranoia. Cafe run by Fils de Reseau, Angelique knows some about them but not all. 2nd time in Paris for Lillian's newly reunited niece, sent on a mission, their field trips take things to a whole new level.

Flashback to last year on the mission, talking to someone named Aurelien and asking where his son is. Lieke going by Evangeline and seducing this man, it seems, with a cover story of being in a nunnery for school before coming there. Nice act of stumbling over her dress skirts to pop the lock on the window and send it swinging open. And leave the room without checking to see if the window is shut properly, Aurelien is being sloppy because of a girl.

Communicator disguised as a gem for an earring, activated by warmth and pressure, nice. Liz annoyed she is behind schedule and got to be with the guy, path clear for Toglia. And Elisabeth la Allard being overwatch, wonder if the fallout from this mission is why she is gunning for Lieke.

Acres d'Allouette, definitely sounds like an old French name to me. And she guessed the nationalities of Aurelien's cousins with ease, one partly due to cologne, the other due to the tag of his shirt sticking out from the collar. Nice comparison to the Three Musketeers. Aaron good at snatching small bits of jewelry unnoticed, sticky fingers that could endanger the mission.

Toglia is very short for his age, though that makes him a good burglar, able to fit into small places with ease. Ugh, attitude on this guy, thinking Lieke is a blonde bimbo. Ruined by an unbalanced urn on an end table setting off the alarm and he is trapped.

Stealing from his own teammate, Aaron is a kleptomaniac. And everyone distracted by Aaron's thefts, at least Toglia might escape. Plan #1 ruined by Aaron and Toglia, all those stolen items falling out as they collide. Plan Zed is to bring in an unpredictable mutant operative called Pantagruel, yikes, that went south fast.

*groans* Aurelian, Albert and Gregory planning to fight...wait, what. A hard-light sword, a side-arm for Albert and Gregory arms surrounded by a PK field, are they all mutants, that is some bad intel not to know that. Okay, only Gregory seems to be a mutant, Aurelian and Albert having gadgets they bought, even a close contact neural disruptor, Pantagruel never stood a chance.

Having to deal with Monsieur la Marque, ouch. Toglia and Aaron both goofed up, as did Liz with the ace she didn't tell her teammates about. Detailed dossier on Aurelian and his two cousins, Aurelian and Albert prop-men like I guessed with Gregory the only mutant. Oh boy, photo of his MID and confirmed he is attending an American boarding school. Whoa, that is an expensive book on the open market, let alone signed by the author.

Figures, she sabotaged the operations with all those things, no way it could that wrong without someone in the know working against them. Empty safe, set-up by the academy to gauge how they would do in such a situation, Angelique is ruthless. No wonder Liz is out to kill her still. At least she realizes the bracelet wasn't worth her life, smart girl.

Sandmann, Glas, Wahrheit, and Sanger all in the same room at once, headache potential rising. Drew Richards is her son's father, always gauging things based on their value to her. Angelique still paranoid even when told her relatives aren't out to get her. Sanger's wife gave birth okay to their daughter who is healthy, great, another innocent for them to brainwash to their beliefs. Named after Sanger's mother, and Lillian still delusional thinking she can bring Hans, Winifred, and Danielle to their side. The kind of mindset that drives the likes of Lillian scares me.

Lillian at what sounds like a political convention in Carrol, IA. Blackmailing their own candidate to go along with their plans, that close to someone in congress, terrifying thought. And releasing it all to the press to ruin him, yet still a lock for 5th District's congressional seat, all to rig things to put their real candidate in place from the sounds of it. Boy, that is a lot of BS she is shoveling to these people. Manipulating them with her power while giving that speech. Don't know how to respond to that, this is on the level of Lex Luthor running for President or another super-villain running for office. Lily aka Lillian in congress would be a nightmare come true.

A lot of details added, some questions answered but a lot more added, and the huge threat Green Cross and Lillian Groenwald really are. Glad her son at least has some morals, not killing Sookie in cold blood, but unless the other kids are like him this is a very dark reveal. How to stop Lillian and Green Cross before they destroy America, talk about a huge goal. Excellent way to reveal all this, introduce us to everyone and show they aren't pure monsters, yet still horrible all the same with their plans.