Countess Maximoff wandering the snowy streets of London. She observes how London is preparing for Christmas…and mentally states that this will be the last Christmas on Earth…
It had been several days since the incident onboard the airship. The sky had returned from a yellow tint to a natural blue, the robotic policemen have disappeared from the streets and the citizens are back to acting normal. On the streets of London, Litefoot and Ellie are making their way to the New Regency Theatre to see Jago’s Christmas pantomime of Robin Hood. Whilst they are excited to see the show, they are both just as intrigued by a mysterious V.I.P. from the aristocracy that is supposedly in attendance…A V.I.P. whose identity would only be revealed to even Jago himself until they arrived.
In the New Regency Theatre, Jago was worried off his feet, despite his calm exterior. As it was Christmas Day, most of his usual staff were taking the day off and he had to hire relief staff to cover them. His dour mood improved when he saw Litefoot and Ellie arrive in the foyer and he greeted them warmly. However, his mood soured slightly once more when he hurriedly tried to escort Litefoot and Ellie to their theatre boxes away from the packed foyer. Jago quietly tells Litefoot that he has a problem that no one else should hear…
Now that all three of them were alone in the V.I.P. box, Litefoot noticed that Jago was agitatedly glancing over at the V.I.P. box opposite them. He asks Jago who his special guest could be that would make him so nervous. Jago responds that it is the Countess Maximoff…which he and Litefoot realise makes no sense considering she was one of the confirmed fatalities onboard the airship. With the auditorium now filled, Litefoot tells Jago it may be a good idea to meet with the V.I.P. so Jago does so and leaves his guests. But now Litefoot’s mind was brimming with thoughts about what Maximoff’s arrival could possibly mean for him and Jago…
Jago arrived in the foyer to find half a dozen policemen standing around. He spots Inspector Quick amongst the crowd, who explains that they are security detail for Countess Maximoff on orders of Chief Inspector Frant. Quick confirms that the Countess has just seated herself in the V.I.P. box reserved for her. Jago asks Quick if it is truly the Countess, but Quick is not sure as the V.I.P. was wearing a veil. Quick ushers Jago to return to his friends as the Countess does not wish to be disturbed.
Jago returned to Litefoot and Ellie in their V.I.P. box, both watched the opposing V.I.P. box intently. Sure enough, a woman wearing a veil took her seat in the box. The woman lowered her veil to reveal a sinister smile and a pair of undead eyes staring at the Infernal Investigators. There was no doubt now, Countess Maximoff had returned from the dead. But there was no time to do anything as the Robin Hood pantomime was about to start. As they watched the play unfold, the trio failed to notice until it was too late that an uninvited guest had slipped into their V.I.P. box behind them. The intruder quietly announces himself to them. Jago and Litefoot do not recognise the intruder, but Ellie looked at him in fear, she knew who he was…
Jago is outraged by the man’s intrusion and warns him that there are police all over the theatre. But the stranger reveals that he was the one who stationed them for he is Chief Inspector Frant. Frant tells the group he has reason to suspect that one of Jago’s staff has plans to assassinate Maximoff during the pantomime…and he is here to make sure the attempt is carried out. Frant orders Jago and Litefoot to head backstage to meet with the assassin and aid them in any way possible or Ellie dies. Litefoot tries to bargain with Frant to leave Ellie out of their quarrel, but Frant reveals that he is aware that Ellie is the leader of the Red Hand. If she dies, he can simply explain that she was resisting arrest. With no choice, the Infernal Investigators concede to Frant’s demands and leave the V.I.P. box with him and Ellie alone...
Backstage, Jago and Litefoot awaited the assassin whilst the play continued thankfully with no one the wiser to the heinous plot revolving around them. They are met by the Sheriff of Nottingham himself, The Amazing Marvolo. To their shock and horror, Marvolo reveals himself to be the assassin and plans to murder the Countess during the archery contest segment of the play. He hands Litefoot a hooded cape and instructs him to follow him on stage and hand him his sharpened arrow when he gives the signal. He plans to make a volunteer out of the Countess…
On the stage, Marvolo calls out to the Countess and requests her to be his volunteer. The Countess stands up and accepts his offer. Jago and Litefoot notice that the Countess’ voice sounded different. The Countess made her way down to the stage from her box. Marvolo instructs her to stand under a prop apple unconvincingly hanging from the ceiling. Before walking over to adjust the apple so it sat on the Countess’ head, he hands Litefoot his bow and arrows and instructs him to hand over the real arrow when he returns from the stage. Jago was routing through the props to find anything he could use to halt the proceedings. He eventually finds a police helmet to which he promptly places on his head and rushes out onto the stage. Much to Marvolo’s surprise and the humorous applause from the audience. Jago was trying to buy time for Litefoot to come up with a plan to foil the assassination, and as such started adlibbing humorous dialogue to distract the audience and Marvolo. Marvolo manages to compose himself and play along with the unwelcome intrusion for the sake of the crowd by pretending that ‘Constable Jago’ doubted his character’s skills with archery, and thus decides to demonstrate anyway. Before Jago could do anything…Marvolo fired his arrow right through the Countess’ heart…
The audience fell silent as the Countess stood there with an arrow embedded in her chest. Strangely, she felt unphased as if she did not realise what had happened. The Countess looked down through her veil and pulled the arrow out of her chest, a golden glow of gas emitted from the wound before dissipating into nothing and handed the arrow back to a surprisingly non-plussed Marvolo. Whilst the audience applauded the trick, Litefoot conferred with Jago. The small emission of gas from her arrow wound did not go unnoticed by him and he promptly concludes that the Countess standing before them now is not human…
With her part in the play over, the Countess returned to her V.I.P. box to a standing ovation from the crowd. With the assassination attempt failed, the Infernal Investigators returned their worries to Ellie’s welfare as Frant had threatened to kill her instead if things went wrong. They hurried back to their V.I.P. box and came face to face with Frant, who was not concerned in the slightest and assumed that Marvolo will have a backup plan that will require Jago and Litefoot’s assistance. Ellie warns Frant that Jago and Litefoot have beaten far worse monsters than he could ever dream of and begins name dropping some of the enemies from the past. One name in particular piques Frant’s interest in a sense of familiarity and aggravation…The Master. Not pressing further, Frant simply states that Jago and Litefoot are ideal…
Backstage, Litefoot catches the attention of the actor Johnny and asks him to get a message to someone. Once he relayed his message, Johnny dashed off. Meanwhile, Jago has a more pressing matter as a foyer staff member comes running to him asking for his help with an upset child who was scared of the forest spirit props. Jago calmly reassures the boy and imparts some wise knowledge about being brave, which calmed the boy down greatly. With the boy happily returned to the theatre, Jago rushed off backstage to find Litefoot.
Backstage, Jago reunited with Litefoot. Litefoot observes how Frant and the Countess have been staring each other out and disregarding the pantomime. Litefoot assumes that the Countess was unaware of the attempt on her life, and Jago assumes that Frant does not want to kill the Countess as he seemingly wasn’t concern when the assassination failed. Litefoot assumes that Frant, the Countess and Marvolo have a much bigger scheme going on between them all. Jago realised that the forest spirits were due on stage as the actors paraded by the stage doors ready to make their entrance. Jago recalled that one of the actors was missing his spirit costume, yet somehow all the costumes and actors were all accounted for before him. Jago noticed the individual in the missing costume staring directly at him. The individual gave a knowing nod to Jago before the spirits entered the stage. It dawned on the Infernal Investigators that they were so caught up in Frant’s officers that they did not think about whether or not he had agents among the staff and actors ready to assassinate the Countess. Jago recalled the prop box where he found the police helmet and realised something disturbing…all the prop swords were missing…
The Countess watched Marvolo and Frant with amusement, all the while savouring its masterplan to bring down the universe…
Litefoot fails to see the urgency of the missing prop swords, but Jago informs him of the possibility of Marvolo lacing the blades with poison to throw at the countess during his magic act. During his search, Jago trips over a long hose and falls into a bunch of props and a large cabinet. After recovering, Litefoot asks about the hose, to which Jago has no idea what its purpose is. They find it attached to the large, metallic, cabinet Jago fell into. Jago recognises it as part of Marvolo’s vanishing act. After they stand the cabinet back up, Jago comes to a sudden realisation, this cabinet is how Marvolo is going to kill the Countess! Litefoot however has made a much more disturbing deduction, this cabinet is the stone casket he and Jago saw the police robots guarding on the airship! The Countess must have used it to survive the crash and gifted it to Marvolo for his vanishing act! Without a shadow of a doubt, Frant, The Countess and Marvolo are all in league with one another. While the Infernal Investigators have managed to connect the conspirators to one another, one question remains…what is their endgame? They decide to start by following the hose from the stone casket to where it leads…
In the V.I.P. boxes, the Countess and Frant detect that someone is threatening the casket. Frant gets up and prepares to leave but warns Ellie that he will execute her should she try to escape the V.I.P. box.
Frant enters the theatre foyer and calls some of his officers over. He commands his men to head backstage and protect the casket. He gives his permission for lethal force but advises against it unless necessary. But most importantly, he warns them not to inform Inspector Quick. Once they had left, Frant makes his way back to the V.I.P. box. All the while muttering to himself…
Jago and Litefoot followed the hose and found the other end attached to the theatre’s gas pipeline. Jago proceeds to disconnect the hose, but before he could do so, the sound of several sprinting footsteps came toward him as Frant’s officers surrounded him and Litefoot. The officers trained their revolvers on the Infernal Investigators and ordered them to step away from the pipeline. Outnumbered, Jago and Litefoot run for the dressing rooms with the police in hot pursuit. Jago instructs his friend that they will duck into the left dressing room. Thankfully, the police speed past without as much a glance.
On the stage, Johnny (Simple Simon) in character asks the children to keep an eye out for the evil Sheriff of Nottingham. On cue, Marvolo crept onto the stage with the children shouting “He’s behind you!”
In the dressing room, Jago tells Litefoot that they are in the ladies dressing room, hence why the police did not stop to investigate. With the time to think and collect their thoughts, both men discuss what Frant’s goal is. Litefoot deduces that Marvolo must have known the Countess would survive the airship crash, hence how he did not seem fazed when his arrow failed to kill her. Then the question both men could not find the answer to pressed their minds – Why would Marvolo try and kill her if he knew it would fail anyway? Litefoot assumes Frant is in on the conspiracy as he didn’t seem surprised that the Countess did not die, plus the fact that his officers chased them away from the stone casket. So who are they trying to appease by trying to kill the Countess? The realization dawned on Litefoot…the assassination was for both of them to witness! But in particular…Jago…
Frant returned to the V.I.P. box, where Ellie was still seated. A few moments later, a patrolman arrived and informed Frant that Jago and Litefoot have eluded the police, much to Ellie’s delight. The patrolman explains that they searched everywhere backstage aside from the ladies dressing rooms. Frant irritatingly deplores the efficiency of “humans” and tells Ellie that she and him are going to take matters into their own hands…
Jago is surprised and asks his friend to elaborate on why everything was for him to witness. Litefoot explains the sequence of events. When the cabinet was connected backstage, Marvolo knew Jago would recognise it from the airship, so the Countess stepped in as a mystery V.I.P. to distract him from backstage. Plus, Marvolo has been keeping the show going as the chief villain Sheriff of Nottingham to make sure the crowd suspected no foul goings on. The trio’s villainous machinations have all been distractions for Jago! Litefoot reveals the final reason why they have been distracting him…they have his audience as unknowing hostages. If anything were to happen…Frant and his cabal could gas the audience with the casket. Plus they remember Prince Gerhard talking to the gas entity on the airship, which indicates that it is sentient. Litefoot further deduces that the aristocrats were unwitting lab rats for it’s final stage of its plan – to perfect the process of bodily possession. Finally, with the casket hooked up to the gas supply, it will seep into the audience via the lamps! Upon realising the full extent of their enemy’s plans, Jago turned more furious than he had ever been! It is one thing to threaten him and Litefoot, but nobody threatens his audience on Christmas Day! He and Litefoot resolve to stop their evil scheme, but Jago warns his friend that they must hurry as Marvolo is planning to use the casket in his disappearing act...and they both have a feeling who the volunteer may be. Jago’s urgency increased when he and Litefoot put the pieces together. They recall when the Countess removed the arrow from her body, Jago and Litefoot saw a small sliver of gas escape from the wound, which could only mean the gaseous entity already has her under its control…and if she enters the wired up casket…she can spread it’s influence into the theatre and possess everyone inside…
Both Jago and Litefoot exit the dressing room, but unfortunately come face to face with Frant and a gang of his officers. Ellie was also with them under duress. Frant introduces the gaseous entity as The Eminence. He holds up his revolver and coerces Jago and Litefoot to come with him backstage and he will provide them with front row seats for the end of humanity…
The Eminence watched with giddy anticipation as Marvolo wheeled the stone ‘vanishing cabinet’ onto the stage. Marvolo opened the casket and asked for a volunteer to demonstrate its power, knowingly turning towards the Countess/Eminence’s V.I.P. box…
Backstage, Frant, Jago and Litefoot watched on as Marvolo prepared his evil cabinet. Frant, now with sinister glowing eyes, reveals that it targeted Jago and Litefoot because of their connection to The Doctor. The Doctor had previously defeated The Eminence and sealed it inside his mind. Through his mind, The Eminence saw Jago and Litefoot and the Doctor’s high regard of them both. It also connected another of it’s enemy’s to the Infernal Investigators – the Master. Their collective memories drew it out of the time vortex where it was banished by a future incarnation of The Doctor and The Master. Plus, the fact that the two gentlemen have led similar lives to The Doctor in regard to them both having fought aliens and monsters piqued its interest. Frant’s evil monologue was interrupted when he noticed Jago slowly sidling towards the stage. Before he could stop him, Jago ran out onto the stage…
Marvolo was surprised to see ‘Constable Jago’ back on the stage. But Jago was not playing around and called to the audience that they are all in great danger. The audience, unaware that this was not part of the show, did not know how to respond. The Countess stood in her V.I.P. box, clapped and laughed and gestured the audience to do the same, to which they did. Jago looked back at the side of the curtains and saw Frant holding Litefoot and Ellie at gunpoint. Veritably cornered, Jago rushed off the stage, but he was so fixated on his endangered friends that he failed to notice Marvolo’s cabinet and knocked it over. After taking a moment to re-right the cabinet, Jago reunited with his friends, still being held hostage by the evil Frant.
Marvolo checked over the cabinet for damage. Once he was satisfied, he called for a volunteer to demonstrate his disappearing cabinet act. He called for the Countess to once again join him on the stage, to which she does so. Now on stage, the Infernal Investigators can see now that she bore less than human features. Frant explains that the Countess is the first, true Infinite Warrior born from this strand of the Eminence. He explains that when it escaped to this time after it’s altercation with The Doctor and The Master, it was wounded from it’s time in the vortex. It’s powers were greatly diminished and its attempts at creating Infinite Warriors failed as they only lasted a short while. So it turned to mechanical augmentations to support the process, which resulted in the robot police and Inspector Angus Gilhooey. Frant explains that Gilhooey was a more successful experiment in making less conspicuous implants, but his defective programming was his downfall, but he did warn the Eminence about Jago and Litefoot and that they will bring it down. Eventually, the Eminence was able to finally give birth to a new fully blooded Infinite Warrior – The Countess Maximoff. Soon, everyone in the theatre will be the first new Infinite Warriors. Then humanity will be subjugated and turned into Infinite Warriors as well…
Marvolo gestures for the Countess to enter the cabinet, to which she willingly does so. As he closed the cabinet, Marvolo caught a glimpse of her eyes glowing as she prepared to unleash her gas. As if on cue, the theatre lights dimmed to set the mood. Frant closed his eyes in anticipation for the empire of the Eminence was mere moments from reality…but nothing happened. Frant demands to know which of them has interfered with the plan. Jago quickly instructs Litefoot to pull the stage trapdoor lever when he tells him to. Frant, not wasting time with his prisoners, rushed out onto the stage and called for Marvolo to get the Countess out of the cabinet. But it was too late as on instruction, Litefoot pulled the lever and the cabinet fell through the stage trapdoor and got stuck in the hole, wedging the door shut. Jago explains that when he went out onto the stage, he fell into the cabinet on purpose to get it moved onto the trapdoor. With their enemy now desperate, the Infernal Investigators rushed out onto the stage to end the villains plot once and for all, using the darkness to their advantage. Before Ellie could question how the lights dimmed, a man in a goat mask and forest spirit costume appeared behind her and revealed its identity to her…
Frant was now thrashing madly trying to open the stuck cabinet, screaming that the Eminence must survive. Jago and Litefoot arrived and disarmed the villain. Then a horrifying scream came from the cabinet, which evolved into a beastly, inhuman roar, until eventually it sounded like a booming demon. The Eminence declared that it will rise and turn humanity into Infinite Warriors. The cabinet began to glow a bright gold hue and eventually exploded! The explosion destroyed the Countess, along with Frant and the cabinet. The audience suddenly stood up and applauded the spectacle! Miraculously, they all believed it to be a part of the show! Marvolo stood confused as to where he was and what he was doing, he recalls the last thing he remembered was seeing the airship crash. Both the Infernal Investigators congratulate each other on another villain foiled, but one question remained…who dimmed the lights? On cue, the mysterious forest spirit in the goat mask appeared on the stage and revealed himself…as Inspector Quick!
In the foyer, Quick explains that after he received Litefoot’s message from Johnny, he infiltrated the production by borrowing a forest spirit’s costume to help Jago and Litefoot in secrecy. In fact, the police helmet Jago found in the props box was his own helmet! He was the forest spirit staring them out before they took to the stage. After the forest spirits finished their routine, Quick noticed the Infernal Investigators being pursued by Frant’s officers. So, he followed them as well and saw them end up in the dressing rooms, so he hid in the room next door and overheard their deductions. After he heard about the Eminence gas, Quick took a heavy weight he found in the room and placed it on the hose to block the gas flow. Jago and Litefoot congratulate Quick on his resourcefulness. But Jago reminds the group that they have one more pressing matter to attend…the show must get through the second half. And with Marvolo suffering from amnesia, he cannot remember his lines…so Jago has offered to step in as the Sheriff of Nottingham, much to the surprise of his friends. Jago offers his V.I.P. box space to Quick. But before Jago leaves, he wishes his friends a Merry Christmas and promises to give a performance they will never forget.
