"Alchemy of Love"
by Belle Book

Part Five

	When Jaci and Chase had managed to
get off the dance floor, they'd been fortu-
nate to find Touriste Classe, who'd come to 
the entryway as soon as he heard the sound 
of the crash.
	Jaci had no difficulty in asking
Classe if he could get them a wet cloth so 
she could wipe off the frosting stain on 
Chase's cape.
	Touriste had gotten one very quick-
ly and now Jaci was busy wiping off the
stain on Chase's cape.  Fortunately, it was 
not a big stain, and it was easily removed.  
	That's when they heard a voice be-
hind them ask, "Are you all right, Chase?"
	Jaci turned -- in time to see Zack.
Beside him was Ivy.
	"I think so," Jaci heard Chase say.
"I don't know if the stain's gone, but I do
not believe it was a bad one."
	"It wasn't, and it's gone now," Ja-
ci said.  "How are things going with you?"
	"Well, so far Zack has tripped and
fallen three times," said Ivy.  "Fortunate-
ly, he hasn't pulled me down with him any
of those times."
	"I'm glad," said Chase.  "We were
having a fine time, although Moe and Lars
did pester us with a routine called 'Who's
on First?'.  Apparently, it's an Abbot and
Costello routine.  And later on, of course,
there was that crash into the table which
got frosting on my cape, and really ruin-
ed the costume of Professor Sara Bellum."
	Jaci heard Globie say, "So that's
why I saw a woman dressed as the Bride of
Frankenstein gesturing angrily with Abbot
and Costello!"  He and Jasmine had join-
ed the group.
	"Sara's with Moe and Lars?" ask-
ed Chase.  "Sounds like they're in trou-
ble."
	Jaci then noticed Sara and a guy
dressed like Igor dragging Moe and Lars
away somewhere.
	Zack must've seen it too, for he
said, "I agree, for there go Sara and a
guy dressed like Igor, and they're drag-
ging Moe and Lars away with them!"
	"Well, at least I can guess one
thing Sara doesn't plan to do with them,"
said Chase.
	"What?" asked Jaci.
	"A brain transplant," Chase re-
plied.
	Jaci laughed at that, then notic-
ed Carmen coming their way.  "Hey, here
comes Carmen."
	Carmen asked, "How is your cape,
Batman?"
	"Fine, thanks," Chase replied.
	"I'm glad," said Carmen.  "I am
truly sorry about Abbot and Costello's
actions.  I'll take care of them."
	"You might have to do so later,"
said Jaci.  "The Bride of Frankenstein
and Igor have them at the moment."
	Carmen looked worried, then she
shook herself and said, "Well, as long
as you're all right, just continue to
enjoy yourselves."
	And with that, she walked off
somewhere, leaving the detectives to-
gether.
	"Well, now what do we do?" ask-
ed Globie.
	"I know one thing I'm doing,"
said Zack.  "I'm resting for a moment."
	"I'll stay with Zack," said I-
vy.
	"Why don't we do some more dan-
cing?" suggested Chase.  "After an hour,
we can meet back here and decide how to
best proceed.  That is, if Carmen does
not do anything before then."
	That quickly agreed upon, all ex-
cept Zack and Ivy returned to the dance 
floor.

**************************************************************************

In another room --

	Sara Bellum was practically fur-
ious.
	Thanks to these two stooges, not
only was her costume ruined, but so was
Frank's!  And Carmen had asked her not
to hurt Moe and Lars, on top of that!
	Well, maybe the request wasn't
unreasonable, she reluctantly thought.
After all, Sara was likely to cause a
great deal of harm when she became vin-
dictive.
	Besides, she had made this lo-
cation into a temporary lab and placed
her rats here so that when she chose to
leave the dance floor, she could work
with them.  And this was the perfect
revenge for Moe and Lars!
	So now she turned to Frank and
said, "Prreparre ze rrats!"
	"Yeth, Mithtreth," said Frank,
imitating Igor's lisp perfectly.  But
then again, imitation and disguise was
always Frank's specialty.
	As Frank left to get the rats,
Sara turned to Moe and Lars.  She grin-
ned evilly as she saw them shaking in
their shoes.
	"You know vat happens to hench-
men who get my costume rruined?" she
asked.
	Moe and Lars trembled.  While
they didn't know what happened to the
henchmen who had done this before, they 
also didn't want to find out.  A snarl-
ing cougar wasn't as dangerous, in their 
opinion, as was the wrath of the Profes-
sor.
	Frank then came in, saving the
Professor a response.  He said, "They
are all ready, Mithtreth!"
	He put down a cage in front of
Moe and Lars -- a cage full of Sara's
rats!  Moe and Lars began to plead for
mercy.
	But as Frank went to a tape re-
corder, put a tape in, and pressed the
PLAY button, all Sara said was, "Vell,
you two vill soon find out."
	She then opened the cage, as
cheesy music began to play.

*************************************************************************

About forty-five minutes later --

	Chase got off the dance floor
with Jaci, both of them laughing.  He
thought to himself, 'Perhaps only Ja-
ci can make a case seem more than just
a job, but fun as well.'  She sure had
done so the last time they chased Car-
men, though it was more of a job than
it was now.
	They then saw Carmen standing
near the doorway leading out of the
room.  She was talking to Zack and I-
vy, who had gotten off the dance floor
some time before.
	As Chase and Jaci approached,
they could hear Carmen say, "I have to
check on something upstairs.  If you
will excuse me --"
	The two nodded, and she left
the room.
	Chase knew this was a golden
opportunity to follow Carmen and find
a possible clue to the location of the
three artistic masterpieces she stole.
	And he and Jaci had to follow
Carmen.  The thief had been focusing on
them during this case.  Stealing stuff
she'd stolen during that earlier case,
getting the Batman and Catwoman cost-
umes -- that pointed to some interest
in Chase and Jaci, which might explain
her cryptic remark to them while steal-
ing the "Tristan und Isolde" score.
	But why was Carmen so interest-
ed in Chase and Jaci?  He didn't really
know -- and he suspected the two of them
wouldn't know unless they found the sto-
len goods.
	Ivy then said, "Come on, Zack!
Let's find out what Carmen's up to!"
	"Actually, I believe that Jaci
and I should find out where she's go-
ing," Chase said.  "She's focusing on
the two of us for some reason, and for
that reason, we should find out where
she's going, and what she's up to."
	"He has a point, sis," Zack ag-
reed.  "Carmen does seem to be taking
a special interest in them."
	Ivy thought for a moment, then
said, "All right, Chase.  You and Jaci
can follow Carmen.  We'll tell Globie
and Jasmine."
	"Thanks," said Chase.
	"Yes, thanks," said Jaci.  "We
will see you as soon as we find Carmen
or as soon as we find the stolen goods,
whichever comes first."
	Chase took Jaci's hand and to-
gether, they left the room and went af-
ter Carmen.
	They soon saw Carmen going up
the stairs.  So they secretly followed
her.

*************************************************************************

A few minutes later, outside a room on the second floor --

	Jaci looked at the door which Car-
men had gone through minutes before.
	Both she and Chase believed that
Carmen was going upstairs to check on the
stolen goods.  Now maybe they'd get some
answers!
	Chase turned the knob, saying to
her, "Be prepared."
	"I'm prepared," said Jaci.  "And
looking forward to getting some answers."
	"So am I," said Chase.  "Ready?"
	"Ready," said Jaci.
	Chase opened the door and as the
two entered, Jaci saw no sign of Carmen!
	"Where'd she go?" she cried out.
	"I don't know," said Chase.  "Un-
less -- this is a very old house.  There
are probably secret passages connecting
rooms and corridors.  I'd bet that's how
Carmen gave us the slip."
	That's when Jaci realized there
was soft, romantic music playing in the
room.  Looking around, she gasped.
	The room was creamy white in co-
lor, there was no light except for a can-
dle, sitting on a table, and there was
a radio playing soft, romantic music.
The table also had a vase with roses in
it, and was covered with a creamy white
tablecloth.  In short, a room fit for a
romantic rendezvous!
	"Chase, look at this room!" she
cried.  "I think Carmen arranged it as
a romantic rendezvous for some couple."
	In that instant, an odd feeling
crossed her mind, but before she could
place it, it was gone.
	Turning to Chase, she saw him
staring ahead in a strange look.  Then
he cried, "What an idiot I am!"
	"What do you mean?" Jaci asked,
alarmed.
	Before Chase could explain, the
door suddenly slammed shut -- and lock-
ed!
	"We're locked in!" she cried, a-
ware she sounded quite a bit like Fred
in the Scooby-Doo TV series.

***********************************************************************

	The passageway Carmen had used
went from the second floor to the first
floor.
	Now Carmen was just outside the
dance room when she got a call on her
communicator.
	"Yes?" she asked.
	"They're locked in!" said Manny,
her computer expert whom she'd placed
outside the door leading to the special
room she'd prepared just for Chase and
Jaci.
	"Good," she said.  "Is the Acme
frequency jammed so that they can't con-
tact either the Chief or the other de-
tectives?"
	"It sure is," said Manny.  "And
I'm supposed to keep the frequency jam-
med until Chase confesses his love for
Jaci, right?"
	"Right," said Carmen.  She pat-
ted her pocket, where her clue to the
detectives lay.  It was time to give it
to them.  "I must deliver my final clue
to the detectives.  See you later."
	"See you," said Manny as Carmen
broke the connection and entered the
room.

***********************************************************************

	Ivy, Zack, Jasmine, and Globie
had gotten off the dance floor and now
were conversing when they saw Carmen
enter the room and pass them, seeming-
ly dropping something.
	They waited until Carmen left
the room, and then Globie went over to
the thing that Carmen dropped.
	When Globie came back, Jasmine
asked, "What did you find?"
	"This," said Globie, showing a
Tarot card with a picture of two lovers
on the front, and a message on the back
of a note that was attached to the card.
	"Another of Carmen's clues," I-
vy said.
	"Before we decode it, we'd bet-
ter get Chase and Jaci," said Zack.
	Globie activated his communica-
tor while the others waited.  After a
moment, Zack saw Globie look up with a
puzzled look.
	"I can't reach them," he said.
"Something's blocking our signal.  And
shouldn't they be back by now?"
	"They're locked somewhere, and
we can't communicate with them!" said
Ivy.  "We should've gone with them!"
	"Calm down, Ivy," said Jasmine.
"Let's try to decode the clue, then we
can try to find Chase and Jaci.  After
all, Carmen won't hurt them."
	Zack said, "She's right, sis.
Carmen won't hurt any detective, even
if they're pursuing her.  Let's figure
out this clue."

************************************************************************

	When Jaci had cried out that they 
were locked in, Chase went over to the win-
dows.  But they were too small for the pair 
to climb through, not to mention also being 
locked.
	Chase saw Jaci take out the commun-
icator and try to contact the Chief.  But
nothing happened.
	"What's wrong?" asked Chase.
	"Something's blocking my signal,"
said Jaci.  "Most likely, it's Carmen."
	That's when Chase noticed three
things on the table.  Going over, he pick-
ed one piece of parchment up -- and gasp-
ed.
	"Jaci, this is the score of 'Tris-
tan und Isolde'!" he cried.  "And here's
the manuscript of The Tale of Genji, and
the First Folio!"
	"You mean they were in here all
the time?" asked Jaci.
	"Yes," said Chase.  "And I must
say, I'm not surprised."
	"Why?" asked Jaci.  "Does your re-
mark have anything to do with your earli-
er statment?"
	Chase thought for a moment, then
said, "Yes.  And I really should've not-
iced the clues earlier."
	"Could you explain what you're
saying?" asked Jaci.
	"What is the one thing that all
of the objects Carmen stole have in com-
mon?" asked Chase.
	Jaci frowned and bowed her head
for a moment.  Then she started and look-
ed up at Chase, her eyes wide in amaze-
ment.
	"Romance!" she cried.  "The Tale
of Genji is about Genji's romantic adven-
tures -- and misadventures!"
	Chase nodded, glad Jaci had got-
ten the point.  "And the story of Tris-
tan and Isolde deals with lovers, as do
all of Shakespeare's comedies and some
of his tragedies.  And aren't Batman and
Catwoman a pair who are mutually attract-
ed to each other in the comics?"
	"Not only that, in some stories,
they're actual lovers or even a married
couple," said Jaci.  "But those stories
are either not from the comics at all,
or are in comic books that aren't part
of the regular continuity."
	"Wasn't the earliest story of
them as a married couple actually part
of the Earth-II series of stories in
the 1970s and the early-to-mid 1980s,
culminating in the Crisis of Infinite
Earths in the mid-1980s?" asked Chase.
"I remember reading some of the stor-
ies, that's why I asked."
	"Yes," said Jaci.  "Unfortunate-
ly, I never read the stories, but I've 
heard about them."

(Author's notes:  there really was a ser-
ies of Earth-II stories with the DC super-
heroes during the 1970s and 1980s, until
the Crisis of Infinite Earths.  The Earth-
II Catwoman really did marry Batman after
giving up her criminal life.  They had a
daughter named Helena, who later used the
secret identity of the Huntress.  However,
some criminals tricked Catwoman into re-
turning to crime, and when Batman showed
up, Catwoman was shot, lost her balance,
and fell to her death.  I found this on
the Internet.)

	"Well, the romantic theme does
explain why Carmen didn't steal the Rem-
brandt painting," Chase added. "It's not 
part of the theme."
	"But why?" asked Jaci.  "To get
us to fall in love with each other?"
	"No," said Chase.  "She already
knows you love me.  When she approach-
ed me that one time, I told her."
	"You mean she was trying to get
you to fall in love with me?" asked Ja-
ci.
	This was the time to tell her.
Chase knew it now.
	"No," he said as he stepped clo-
ser.  "She was trying to get me to real-
ize something -- and to get me to say
it.  She partly succeeded -- I did real-
ize what she wanted me to realize, but
I never got the chance to tell you what
I realized."
	"What were you going to tell me?"
asked Jaci.
	Chase now stood only a couple of 
feet in front of Jaci, and slid his arms 
around her waist, pulling her against him-
self as he said, softly, "I was going to 
tell you that I love you.  That my friend-
ly feelings for you had turned to love, 
but those feelings never came to the sur-
face until the malfunction of that bridge 
put your life in jeopardy."
	Dimly he heard that the music had 
changed.  Now the song was Whitney Houston 
and Enrique Iglesias's "Could I Have This 
Kiss Forever?".
	"Say it again," whispered Jaci as 
she wrapped her arms around his neck and
smiled warmly up at him.
	"I love you," Chase told her as 
he leaned forward and bent his head down 
to kiss her.

************************************************************************

	Outside the door to the room where 
Chase and Jaci were, Manny overheard Chase's 
confession to Jaci.
	Remembering Carmen's instructions,
Manny contacted Carmen.
	"Yes?" Carmen asked.
	"Your plan worked," said Manny.
	"Chase has told Jaci that he'd fal-
len in love with her?" Carmen asked.
	"Yes," said Manny.
	"Good," said Carmen.  "You can stop 
jamming their frequency now.  I'm on my way 
to Hollywood.  Carmen out."
	Manny smiled as the connection was 
broken.  He then took out a laptop computer, 
put in a code, and a couple of minutes later, 
the screen said, "Acme frequency no longer 
jammed."
	Now that that was done, Manny deci-
ded it was time to change outfits and head 
over to the Costume Ball.
	As Carmen might say, mission accom-
plished.

To be continued