Chapter 23 - The Escape

            There were games, a few seasons of Sex and the City, and the Sex and the City drinking game to go along with it. The girls ate hors d'oeuvres and drank wine, and gave themselves makeovers. There was no training to bother with the next day; even Emily's training was done with as leader. Soon, there was a knock at the door.

            "Who is it?"

            Heliodor's voice, poorly disguised, called, "We are Venom!"

            "Oh, no!" cried Grace. She was joking, obviously.

            A man came in, in a black Spider-Man suit carrying a black bag. Emily stifled laughter and came over. She knew it was Heliodor. She pulled of the mask and kissed him.

            "Okay, what's he doing here? This is a women's party."

            "I had to come and get you. We're going to get out of here."

            "What do you mean?"

            Grace was stunned. "You mean this isn't a striptease?"

            Disregarding Grace's statement, Heliodor continued.

            "I snuck behind Beryl to find Metallia. I heard Metallia had a plan to posess your bodies."

            "How did you get in there?"

            "I was outside and sent a spyglass."

            "No - I mean, how did you sneak behind Beryl?"

            "Haven't you heard? Beryl has no psychic powers."

            "What? That's crazy. How does she know what she knows?"

            "Metallia tells her, but recently Beryl has held back a secret from it and Metallia is angry."

            Juliana chimed in. "It must be Janelle."

            "Who's Janelle?"

            "Shhh. Someone could hear," whispered Emily. She did not want Janelle to get caught up in Metallia's evil plans.

            "Well, let's all get out of here. Did you ward the room from being seen?"

            "Of course. We're like Vegas in here. Whatever happens here, stays here."

            Juliana chimed in. "Well, since you two hung out at my Inaugural Ball so much, let's leave you two alone."

            Heliodor shook his head. Then he pulled up the black bag he was holding and set it on the bed. He pulled out some winter coats and passed them around to the girls, making them put them on.

            "I had winter coats and suitcases packed for the journey out of here. We're under the magnetic North Pole, and we'll need them."

            "How will we get to land?"

            "I have transporter crystals. They'll get us out and then to the nearest civilization."

            "Do we know if we'll end up in Norway, Greenland, Siberia or Alaska?" asked Blossom.

            "What about Canada?" asked Grace.

            "We'll find this once we get out. Does anybody have a relative to call?"

            "I've got my parents. They're in Kentucky."

            "Anybody else?"

            "No, not really," came the chorus from the others.

            "Well, I found your ID cards, and I've got some money, too. We'll get everything right somehow."

            "Okay. Let's get our stuff."

            The girls grabbed their bags, packed for a few days. They then grabbed some food and disguises. Blossom suggested they make false forms of themselves. All of them created forms from jewels they conjured, arranged in bed. Heliodor wanted to lay his form next to Emily, but she said to put it on another bed. They put on disguises, and left the room.

            Once they got out of sight of Beryl's castle, into the chilly mountains, and put themselves in an ice cave to transport themselves to an iceberg large enough to carry all of them.

            After that, they used the other crystals and found themselves on the outskirts of a town.