"Wait," Sarah said as she set Maurice back down. "The bright light seems to have left with that vehicle. Does anyone else see that statue on top of the building? It looks like..."

"It looks to me like the spitting image of that hooligan you used to spend so much time with," Dr. Octavius said as he adjusted his glasses.

"Why is there a gigantic statue of Vance up there?" Sarah asked.

"That's what I'm trying to tell you," Maurice said. "You know the big guy in the purple robes? The one who's been stealing all the clues to the treasure? It's Vance!"

"But... how?" Sarah asked in bewilderment.

"Uh, I don't mean to interrupt," Lothar said. "But it looks like the gate is starting to swing shut. If we want to investigate this place we'd better hurry in. Uh, Dennis. You want to take the lead? In case there are any more unpleasant surprises?"

"Sure, sounds like a Dennis job to me," Dennis said. "Besides, that chicken just came running out of there. Should be safe, right?"

"Damn it, Dennis, you're wasting time," Lothar snapped. "Hurry up and run in there and make sure it's safe for the rest of us. You can run your mouth later."

"On it," Dennis said as he hustled through the gate. "Coast is clear! But you guys better hurry! I think the gate is picking up speed."

They ran through and made it with a few seconds to spare before the gate slammed shut.

"What is this place?" Sarah asked as she looked around.

"It's like Vance's secret fortress," Maurice said. "Also it's kind of his personal shrine to himself. That statue is just the tip of the iceberg. The inside of the building is filled with paintings, drawings, photographs, ice sculptures, and life-sized holograms that all look exactly like Vance. I got a chance to poke around a little bit, when I wasn't being blinded by the energy flares he gave off at regular intervals. There's also a big pile of treasure hunt clues in one corner."

"But I still don't understand," Sarah said. "How did Vance get a compound like this? And why is he wearing those purple robes? And driving that weird vehicle? And giving off powerful energy flares?"

"I'm afraid I didn't get to the bottom of all that," Maurice shrugged. "Most of the time he was singing songs about how great he is."

"Did you see if there was anything in the building that could be causing the energy surges?" Dr. Octavius asked. "Like any complex machinery? Or strange glowing objects?"

"No, nothing in particular," Maurice said. "Other than Vance. He glowed quite frequently. Of course you can have a look around for yourselves if you want. He left the building unlocked. I suppose he thinks the gate provides ample security."

Lothar pulled out another one of his little energy meter boxes. This time the bird on the pole spun quickly but didn't explode. "I'm getting some strong energy residuals but nothing like what I was seeing before. This suggests the source of the energy is either that strange vehicle or your friend himself. Possibly both."

"I'm not sure I like the sound of that," Dr. Octavius said. "This seems like an extremely large amount of power. I don't yet understand the nature of it, but the fact that it lies in the possession of Vance is more than a little unnerving. To be perfectly honest I wouldn't feel comfortable with him handling a medium powered blow dryer."

"What are we going to do about this?" Sarah asked.

"We need to gain some level of understanding of exactly what we're dealing with here," Dr. Octavius said. "I was hoping there would be something left behind here that we could destroy that would reduce or eliminate his power. But that doesn't appear to be the case."

"We could still destroy his place," Dennis spoke up. "You know wreck the inside, rip up all the paintings of him and whatnot. If someone wants to give me a hoist onto the roof I'd be happy to try to topple that statue. It might not affect his power, but it would probably piss him off real good."

"Considering the amount of power he currently wields, I'm not sure angering the young man is the wisest course of action," Dr. Octavius said. "He always did seem to have a short temper as it was. But we are most likely going to have to wait for his return. I don't relish the idea of having a discussion with him, but we need to get to the bottom of this and I'm not sure I see any other way than simply taking the direct approach."

"What if he just zaps you into oblivion the moment he sees you?" Sarah asked.

"Perhaps we need a decoy of some sort," Dr. Octavius said.

"This sounds like a Dennis job," Lothar said. "He could stand outside the building while the rest of us wait inside. That way if there's any obliterating going on we would have plenty of warning and could try to hide somewhere."

"Wait, doesn't that mean I get blasted to smithereens?" Dennis asked.

"It's merely a possibility," Lothar said. "On the other hand, you might not. Come on, this is what I pay you minimum wage for."

"Gotta make that floss I guess," Dennis said with a shrug.

"Then it sounds like it's decided," Dr. Octavius said. "Dennis will wait around here and serve as the greeting committee while the rest of us assess the situation from inside the building. Now, Maurice, did you happen to notice if he keeps any snacks on the premises? I believe I'm getting quite peckish."