Bringing Silly Back

El Goonish Shive Story Arcs
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Bringing Silly Back is the fourteenth story arc in the main canon of EGS. It opened on March 1st, 2010 and closed on July 1st, 2011 for a total of 218 comics making it the longest story arc to date. This arc dealt with the effects of Pandora's plan to change the world and had Elliot, Grace and Noah meet each other.

Indiana Elliot and the Temple Of Swedish Furniture

This storyline was the first one told from the first person view of Elliot. It started in Tedd's basement, where he ran a series of tests on Elliot's abilities to transform into a girl. After testing showed that things like clothes and hair that Elliot transforms remain transformed even when separated from his body, Tedd advised Elliot to make sure no one is in the restroom when he transforms in a bathroom stall, because Moperville has become a hotbed for paranormal enthusiasts.

Later that night, Elliot told Ellen about his day, and she revealed that she had a new beam ability. She then proceeded to point her hand at Brownie and gradually transformed into a copy of Brownie. When Ellen started talking while still in the Brownie form, Elliot was so surprised he cursed loudly and fell off his bed. Ellen explained that her new beam allowed her to transform into the person or animal she points it at, she can speak in their voice if they have one and her clothes turn into the clothes they are wearing if any. Since Brownie did not have a voice or a collar Ellen retained her normal voice and her clothes remained untransformed. Mr. and Mrs. Dunkel came upstairs after Elliot's loud outburst of cursing, only mildly surprised by there being two Brownies. Mr. Dunkel announced that they were buying a new TV (and a Wii console by the sound of it), and were moving the old TV upstairs to the kids' room. However, his parents said that Elliot had to go to Swedekea to buy a TV stand which they would pay for and which he would assemble himself but of which there was only one left according to the store website. In order to do this, they said Elliot would have to navigate through a maze of passageways and furniture to reach a warehouse where the TV stands would be stocked.

Upon arrival, Elliot met up with Noah, an androgynous boy who happened to be looking for the same TV stand. The boys quickly realized that the other was a rival for the last stand, and thus began a race for the end of the store. Elliot got the lead up the only escalator in, but Noah somehow beat him to the top and used his knowledge of the store to pull ahead. They tried to distract each other with various items in the store, and used various other techniques to distract the other.

In the end, Elliot managed to pull ahead just in time to get to the slot first, but found it empty. It seemed that the last stand had been sold the day before, and the store website did not update in real time. Elliot and Noah were told that the next shipment of stands would come in on Tuesday, and that there would be enough for both of them. Feeling awkward at their pointless race, Elliot proposed they race again on Tuesday, which Noah quickly accepted. A stressed security guard quickly told them that they would be banned from the store if they were caught racing again and that they had to pay for the pillows they used for their pillow fight during the race.

After that, Elliot and Noah ate Mac and Cheese at the food court and talked with each other. Elliot explained he needed the stand for his room, and Noah said he was getting it for his girlfriend. That fact the Noah had a girlfriend surprised Elliot and he was unable to cover his astonishment which Noah seemed fine with. Noah explained that she was not really his girlfriend, they simply provided close comfort and pleasure for each other. This candidness surprised Elliot and Noah revealed that he didn't like secrets because his parents were killed due to the keeping of them. This made Elliot uncomfortable but Noah apologized and the two formed an uneasy friendship. At the end of the day, Elliot talked about this encounter with Ellen while Noah talked about it to Raven.

T-Minus The Demon Ally

This storyline consisted of a brief interlude that revealed Magus's point of view after being abandoned by Pandora Raven. It was revealed that he was looking for an ally who was not an immortal, but who could be used against immortals. Meanwhile, in Chicago, a mysterious being was shown to be linked to a mysterious old man.

Hammerchlorians

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This storyline started with an earthquake, sending Sarah to search the Internet and Grace into Tedd's arms. While Susan woke up, she quickly went back to sleep. Susan and Catalina went to visit Justin at the Salty Crackers comic book shop, which was busy during Spring Break. When they got in Catalina was surprised that Justin was not grapefruit shaped. Catalina went to watch some nerd girls play Xena while Susan stayed up front with Justin. While Susan was standing there, two nerds talked about how they thought she was an alien there to procreate. After talking about her hair and figure, they insisted that she should have dressed more slutty. When Susan attempted to summon a well deserved hammer, she could not. In the meantime, Catalina attacked the nerds with a non-magical toy hammer. Realizing something has gone wrong with the hammers, Susan contacted Sarah about it.

The next day after Susan's work shift, the two set off to restore the artifact that enabled hammer summoning with Susan convinced that the recent earthquake knocked it down. However, Sarah required a guardian at least 18 to go on the trip, so she brought Grace along. As the trip began, Grace asked why this was so important and Sarah let slip that she was jealous of Elliot's magic, as it turned him into girls more attractive than her. Susan reasoned that it was more a nature of sexual attraction than a mental block.

When they stopped at a local restaurant along the way, Susan said that they had at least three more hours to go. Using this information and some help from Tedd, Grace calculated that the earthquake wouldn't have had enough strength to knock down the artifact in the first place. After Grace succeeded at a pancake diner challenge and the three were on the road again, Susan considered the possibility of something else, mentioning that a monster from her mysterious trip to France was weak to the hammers. Finally fed up, Sarah insisted that Susan explain the details of her France trip to them at the hotel.

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When they first arrived at the hotel, Susan sprayed sterilizer over the entire room, while Sarah noticed that there were only two beds to sleep in. After arguing over who would sleep with Grace, it was decided that Grace would sleep in squirrel form; back in Moperville Tedd was disappointed about it, but he didn't know why. After settling on the sleeping arrangements, Susan explained that, one summer, the French clubs from Moperville North and Moperville South went to France on school trip, Nanase was allowed to go because she was fluent in French and Susan was also allowed to go. Susan did not tell Sarah and Grace why but a flashback showed that it was because her mother strong armed the principal. Nanase and Susan where paired together due to their age.

While in France, Susan was attacked by a monster, that resembled a vampire and had to be rescued by Nanase. When the girls tried to tell their fellow students, they were met with disbelief. Later that night in their hotel room, Nanase and Susan met two elderly-looking immortals who told them that the girls needed to find and defeat the monster or it would go on to kill others. Nanase had her latent magic powers awakened, while Susan was given a tattoo that allowed her to summon items from a box with the same mark as her tattoo. At this time, Nanase and Susan were also taught how to summon hammers. The next night, Susan and Nanase fought the monster and only via the flashback was Susan revealed to have killed it.

After the story, Grace asked what items Susan currently had in her magic box. Susan explained and demonstrated that she had a few swords, some tools and other junk including the fairy doll Nanase left at her house during the events of The New Students storyline. However, when Susan summoned the doll, it was able to fly around like it was alive. After a call to Nanase, Susan figured out that the doll was tied to her subconscious. Even though the doll was showing Susan's emotions, she decided to keep it around to put Sarah's mind at ease. Over dinner Sarah apologized for being insensitive.

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The next day, Susan, Nanase and Grace trudged through the forest trying to find the cave while avoiding hazards in the park. They soon came upon a park path that it right next to the cave leading Susan to curse the fact that they could have taken an easier path. After sending the fairy in to scout, Susan discovered that the artifact was right where it supposed to be. Susan rushed into the cave and Sarah followed her, dropping her water bottle in the process. Grace tripped on Sarah's water bottle which prevented her from immediately following them. In the cave, Sarah and Susan met a immortal who was waiting for them. Grace appeared, flying, and in her Omega form ready to fight, but the immortal remained calm, explained he meant no harm, that his name was Jerry and that he was going to die very soon. Jerry explained that when immortals grow old they erase their memories and take back all their power.

Jerry then explained that he would not be able to power the artifact and that led into his explanation of the purpose of the hammers. After hearing the truth about the hammers, Susan launched into an angst-induced awakening which was ended by Jerry's use of his Serenity spell which calmed Susan down. After the Susan's awakening, Jerry gave her a spellbook which contained the spell to summon stun hammers without any prerequisite. Jerry expressed confusion over why Susan's new spell involved the hammers given that the knowledge of their purpose led to her awakening. Susan responded with "Aberrations", which Grace and Sarah then explained.

After hearing Susan's story, Jerry vowed to fulfill the debt that he felt immortals owed Susan for putting her through such an ordeal. Susan said that he owed no such debt but Jerry vowed to be her ally anyway. He then offered to help her friends. Noticing Sarah had a longing for magic, he offered it to her intending to base it off her strong inclinations or desires. He ended up offering her the ability to turn into a man but due to Sarah reasoning that that spell would not be what she wanted, Jerry, finding Sarah did not have any strong inclinations or desires beyond the vague desire for magic, was unable to give her even that.

After Sarah failed to obtain magic, Grace said she did not need magic since her (Grace's) boyfriend could provide her with magic-like technology. Jerry expressed worry at that prospect until he discovered that Grace's boyfriend was Tedd whose father was well respected in the paranormal world. Jerry then mused about how Mr. Verres replacement in the local paranormal division of the FBI would be less helpful than Mr. Verres was and started to describe an individual he would recommend to help with the paranormal when Grace interrupted him to let him know that they already knew of Adrian Raven. Grace went on to explain how they knew of him relating to Jerry her knowledge of the events of Sister II.

Grace finished by revealing her partial alien descent to Jerry's speechless astonishment. Jerry then gave some details about the consequences of Susan's awakening and the process of his death. The three of them prepared to leave, Susan accepted the spellbook, and Grace accepted an offer to take the (now inactive) artifact. They all said their goodbyes except for Susan who was still mostly speechless. Just as they were walking out of the cave, Susan turned, ran back, hugged Jerry and said a tearful goodbye which even got Jerry teary. The next day Susan and Nanase meet in Susan's bedroom to demonstrate Susan's fairy. Also, Susan demonstrated that she could tell jokes other than deadpan snarky ones and could laugh at her own jokes signifying her development to be more open with her friends.

T-Minus Dark Allegiance

This storyline resumed where T-Minus The Demon Ally left off with the mysterious being controlling the old man being revealed as a body snatcher aberration named Sirleck whose host was now brain dead and who was planning to move on to a different host. Magus appeared and Sirleck's involvement in the creation of Ellen was revealed. Magus asked for Sirleck's help in distracting the French Immortals for him. Initially Sirleck refused but Magus threatened to tirelessly annoy him until he agreed to listen to his plan to which Sirleck relented. After listening to his plan, Sirleck revealed he can not leave his braindead host because it would die and he would not be able to revive it. He also revealed that he was busy enough setting up his next host to collect his vast wealth, actually finding a suitable host and doing it all inconspicuously. Magus said that once he had his body back he would be a powerful wizard and alchemist and promised Sirleck large amounts of transmuted gold. Sirleck was not impressed until Magus revealed that no mortal in the Main Universe knew who he was. Upon hearing this, Sirleck agreed to help get Magus' body back. It is implied that Sirleck will attempt to take Magus body when it is restored.

New And Old Flames

New And Old Flames 1

This storyline started with a recap of previous comics namely the ones which involved: Grace's fight with Damien, the shadowed person in The Child Left Behind, Greg's offer to train Grace, Justin telling Susan about his being outed and Mr. Verres theorizing about Elliot's martial arts training.

The previous October, a student named Eric at the ASMA Dojo was angry at Sensei Greg for not teaching him how to access the magical abilities that Nanase and Elliot had and walked out of the class. Six months later, Greg contemplated the nature of his teaching of anime-style martial arts. The next day, Elliot woke up wearing a superheroine costume that he apparently morphed into while sleeping. Ellen asked him to morph up a superhero costume for her on Friday when she planned to have Nanase come over.

Later that day, Elliot, Nanase, and Justin found out from Sensei Greg that he will be closing down the dojo due to the Super Mutant Principle and the fact that they are his only remaining students. Greg would be teaching at a new dojo, could give Grace private lessons, and could help Justin get to the level that Nanase and Elliot have reached. After leaving, Nanase felt they should do something to toast the ASMA dojo, Elliot suggested ice cream and Nanase agreed but Justin chose to leave quickly. Elliot noticed he was taking the closing hard and Nanase explained it was because he and Elliot would not get to do things together anymore. As they walked to the ice cream shop, Elliot suggested they play basketball with Noah. Nanase was surprised and confirmed that it was the same Noah that was dating Melissa which made Elliot decide against inviting Justin to come play basketball with them. He then suggested that he hang out with them at the comic shop but Nanase said he would be bored there based on Ellen's behaviour there.

The next day Nanase, Ellen, Grace and Justin met at school to discuss the closing of the ASMA dojo. Nanase remarked that due to losing her magic it had been more difficult for her at the dojo because she couldn't do her special moves and her physical strength had been diminished. Justin tried to cheer her up but only succeeded in slightly angering her. She told Ellen that she was looking forward to returning to the dojo with once her magic was back but due to its closing that would no longer be possible. Ellen sympathized with her telling her that she was also intending to eventually attend classes at the dojo. Ellen brought up Greg's offer to Grace to train her but Grace vehemently stated that if they encounter someone bad enough that they have to fight she will fight violently otherwise she will attempt talk it over peacefully and therefore diplomacy lessons would be more apt. Ellen was about to start to explain the reasons for accepting the offer but Justin took over. He explained how diplomacy would not work if the people they were trying to stop were not actually evil but rather misguided, being coerced or were not in their right minds. He also persuaded her that even with people who are evil she is not the type of person who is violent or a killer so she needs to learn ways of neutralizing threats without necessarily harming them and that would work where diplomacy would fail. Grace tried to explain that she would not fight unless she had to but Justin pointed out that she had nothing between peaceful talks and violent fighting so non-lethal counters would work in situations between those two. Grace conceded that point and questioned why he didn't just make that point in the first place calling his previous explanation "weird stuff". Nanase brought up the fact that Elliot was considering hanging out at the comic shop and Ellen confirmed Nanase's theory that she was uncomfortable at the shop after the first visit and echoed the concern that Elliot might feel the same. Justin disagreed and started thinking out loud about Elliot's interest in Superman and what was stocked at the store and mentioned the existence of a second store.

New And Old Flames 2

When Justin got to Salty Crackers he relieved George and warned him that Elliot would be coming by and that he didn't know much about comics. When Elliot entered, George asked him if he had any reason to be at the shop other than to hang out with Justin; when Elliot could only think of superman and scrabble George called him a fail. After George left, Elliot and Justin talked until Dex, a regular customer, came to Justin for his monthly comic orders, while Elliot wandered around the comic store he saw people arguing about comic books, trading cards, sci-fi TV shows, and silver age superman.

Later in the day, Elliot was overcome with the need to transform, so he asked Justin to were the bathroom was, once he left, George appeared and was mad that Elliot was using the bathroom, his rant was interrupted by a "EEEEEEEEK!" outside. When Justin jumped over the counter top to see what was happening, he discovered that there was a large fire guy outside. Justin tried to talk to him but the fire guy just attacked him. Justin managed to avoid the attack and punched the fire guy into a parked car. The fire guy responded by spitting a fireball at Justin which was blocked by Elliot in his superhero form. Justin tried to talk to the fire guy again but fire guy just spat more fireballs at him. Finally Elliot punched the fire guy towards Justin, who roundhouse kicked him into the river, defeating him.

After the fight was over, Elliot was surprised by Justin's fighting ability and George was distraught with his car being ruined. Justin told him he needed to leave because he looked like Ellen and Elliot flew away. Mid-flight he realized the significance of being able to fly and got lost in the thrill of flying.

New And Old Flames 3

A cop approached Justin and asked him what happened but before he could answer the three junior high kids, who were regulars at the shop, answered for him. Justin berated George for not getting the customers away to safety but George protested that they wouldn't leave and pointed out the damage to his car. The cop expressed his disbelief at this but the customers countered with the fact that they had recorded it on their video cameraphones and some of them had uploaded it to YouTube already. One of them, Dex, had recorded it in HD. Just then, Carol dropped out of the sky by parachute and asked to interview Justin while her cameraman landed on the roof of a nearby building. It was revealed that someone was very displeased by the fact that Elliot and Justin's fight with the fire guy was recorded and posted on YouTube, and that someone decided that their response would be to "adapt or die" which meant the situation was very bad indeed.

Meanwhile, Elliot decided to stop at a gas station washroom which was surprisingly clean and discovered his superhero spell came with a mild mannered alter ego form. Elliot decided to got to Tedd's house in that form and when Mr. Verres opened the door Elliot proved his identity by speaking Uryuomoco and by relating how he learned it during Tam Eh Tedd. When Elliot came in Mr. Verres zapped him with a spell that allowed him to verify Elliot's identity and discover the nature of the spell he was under. Elliot revealed he hadn't read his spell book since March which annoyed Mr. Verres.

When the got downstairs, Elliot discovered the spell only made him act mild mannered by affecting his subconscious behavior and that he could override it if he consciously thought about it. Grace and Tedd, who were already in the basement, told Elliot what they had been able to figure out about what had happened at the comic shop. When they replayed Carol's interview with Justin, it was revealed that she was Sarah's older sister but everyone present already knew that. Elliot was worried that he had endangered Ellen because he looked too much like her while fighting the fire guy summon but Grace and Elliot reassured him that that wasn't the case. Mr. Verres questioned Elliot about the fire guy summon and Elliot confirmed that it was not noticeably light and did not burn.

They watched the part of the interview when Carol asked about Justin's relationship to superheroine who was Elliot and the about the fact that "she" was in the store prior to saving him. Justin claimed "she" came to him for costume advice, was new to being a superhero and came to him specifically because "she" didn't know who to ask and he worked at a comic shop. Justin mentioned that Elliot's skirt looked like a cheerleader's which led to the internet community calling Elliot's superheroine form "Cheerleadra". Elliot was outraged at the name but Mr. Verres was more concerned about the repercussions of Justin's statements and angrily declared he should have feigned ignorance instead of going with the excuse he did.

Justin called Mr. Verres to let him know he was on the way there and corroborated that the fire guy summon was not as light as he claimed during the interview; he had said that to cover up the power and aura of his attacks. Mr. Verres noted it was a flimsy excuse and some people would notice the aura was not coming from the fire guy summon.

Elliot proceeded to watch the video's and explained his still being in his mild mannered female on wanting to show it to Justin when he arrived. Tedd mused about Elliot's transformations and in a flash of glowing (while Elliot and Grace had their backs turned) came up with a theory about them. Tedd explained that when Elliot was awakened his subconscious was imprinted with the idea that female transformation was a reflection of his personality and to get different spells the female aspect of one of his spells needed to be a genuine reflection of his personality in some way so the imprinted part of his subconscious could be reintegrated with the rest of it and could move on. Grace suggested that Elliot go somewhere private with a mirror and morph into an attractive form to have the female aspect reflect Elliot's heterosexual desire to see attractive women. Grace then suggested he morph into an inexact likeness of her which embarrassed Elliot and Tedd into changing the subject to what they were currently doing and immerse themselves in it to attempt to distract themselves from her suggestion.

10 minutes later, Justin arrived and Elliot, under the influence of the mild mannered form, was momentarily attracted to him. Mr. Verres prepared to explain how they knew the fire guy was a summon but Grace preempted him by explaining it concisely. They discussed the summoner's motivations and Tedd explained he would go on a zapping rampage if there were no consequences. Just then, Agent Cranium called Mr. Verres and told him that Arthur was about to go on TV. Everyone except Mr. Verres sat on the sofa to watch the TV. When he appeared Tedd recognized his face and Mr. Verres explained who he was. Justin questioned Mr. Verres giving them this info and Mr. Verres told him since he was among main eight he was comfortable sharing that kind of info with him. When the talk show host asked Arthur about the fire guy summon and Elliot's superheroine form, Arthur responded with a blunt declaration that it was real which surprised both the host and Mr. Verres. Arthur added that the summon was a golem whose creator needed to be found and that Elliot was a good Samaritan who could fly. The host asked Arthur to elaborate but he declined and instead got up to leave. Arthur then donned a cape and a wizard's hat and received a staff with a knob on the end from his assistant. While he did this, Arthur said his words would grow in weight and mentioned that there were people with power they did not ask for and could not explain who were currently hidden and who the misinformed would call wizards. Justin said that Arthur's strategy was brilliant because he discredited the story but Mr. Verres disagreed saying that Arthur's goal is most likely not to cover up the truth. Justin's attempt to sit more comfortably on the crowded sofa made Elliot again feel unwanted attraction to him leading to Elliot abruptly getting up off the sofa, loudly announcing his intention to morph back and doing so while returning his clothes to normal. Tedd commented that Elliot's behaviour was random and Mr. Verres said Elliot and Justin should go home to talk to their families about the day's events. They then realized no one had called the Dunkels because of mistaken assumptions.

When Elliot got home, he explained to his parents and Ellen what happened and his parents responded by chastising him for not staying up to date with his spellbook, for not morphing into more protective clothes while fighting the fire summon and for not calling because it affected their ability to plan supper and alibis. During this lecture Ellen read Elliot's spellbook and commented on his superheroine spell having multiple secret identity forms but refused to let Elliot have the book. Later, Elliot tried out Tedd and Grace's advice by attempting to morph into an attractive girl. He tried picturing Sarah, Grace, Nanase, Carol, Susan and finally a random bikini model but couldn't use any of them because they were based on actual people and he didn't feel comfortable objectifying them. Elliot was about to write off Grace's theory completely when Ellen suggested he pose as one of his secret identity forms. Elliot looked at his spellbook and noted that it seemed to intentionally use large words to pad its own length. Ellen described the three secret identity forms and Elliot initially dismissed them as being cliches before Ellen pointed out one of them was goth which piqued Elliot's interest. Upon trying it out, Elliot expressed attraction toward the forms appearance but disliked its pessimism so he transformed out of it and assumed its appearance using his regular morphing abilities. When Ellen asked about it Elliot said he did it so he would not have angst filled dreams. Ellen asked to see the mild mannered form but Elliot said he would show her on the next day. Ellen then asked to see the third form, that of a party animal socialite, but Elliot didn't think that was a good idea since it would make him act drunk. He then said goodnight to Ellen and went to sleep.

New And Old Flames 4

The next day, Wednesday, Justin arrived at school to find the students treated him differently since he fought the fire summon with the girls fawning over him and the boys either being impressed by him or being jealous he seemed to know "Cheerleadra". Someone asked him if people were acting weird after he had been on the news. When Justin responded a girl came running at him and hugged him calling him a kindred spirit. Justin asked who she was before recognizing her as Rhoda. Rhoda explained that she went back to her old look after the reaction to her appearance on TV. Rhoda explained that she was nervous around people bigger than her but was okay with Justin because he was a friend of Nanase. Noah showed up and tried to talk to Justin. Rhoda seeing Justin's reaction to Noah's appearance fled the scene. Justin assumed he wanted to talk about Melissa and told him he didn't want to talk about or to her ignoring Noah's protests that he wanted to talk to him about a different matter. Justin stormed off after telling Noah to leave him alone after which Noah called him a twit.

Nanase and Ellen discussed the recent events while Ellen retrieved her books from her locker. Nanase told Ellen she was feeling guilty because she was having self-centered thoughts concerning the recovery of her magic when there were more pressing things at hand like dealing with the aftermath of the fire summon battle. Ellen said she couldn't blame her for those thoughts and that they were justified given her circumstances and background. Nanase was comforted by Ellen's reassurance and they kissed. They quickly noticed that Rhoda was staring at them. Rhoda quickly apologized for interrupting and ran off.

As Tedd, Sarah and Elliot walked down the hall at Moperville North, Sarah expressed her excitement at Elliot being a superhero. She asked about and received confirmation that Elliot liked the flying aspect of the superhero spell. She then revealed she had a fantasy of being Lois Lane and Elliot's recent status as a superhero has enabled her to partially realize that fantasy. Upon hearing this, Elliot realized that he had compatible fantasies with Sarah and grinned with the thought. Tedd pointed out that Carol would better fit the role of Lois Lane due to her status as a reporter but received angry glares from both Sarah and Elliot to which he withdrew his statement.

Susan was talking to Catalina and expressed her dislike for the moniker of Cheerleadra and her astonishment that the internet actually dubbed Elliot that. Catalina agreed that it was a bad name saying it was better fit for a sidekick. She suggested that the name should begin with "Captain" and specifically suggested Captain Tiny Skirt. When Susan gave her a questioning glance, Catalina responded that she didn't have a lot to go on. Elsewhere in the school, Liz complained that the first confirmed superhero was cheerleader themed as opposed to goth themed. Her boyfriend said that a goth superhero would probably be too apathetic but Liz countered that Batman was goth. At a unnamed college, the three girls who were shown to be in Dr. Physics Professor's class speculated on Cheerleadra's powers before deciding that they would like to create characters based off Cheerleadra at their next role playing game night.

During lunch at Moperville North, Susan, Sarah, Elliot and Tedd met to talk. Sarah asked Elliot if he was going on patrol after school to which Elliot said he was not planning to do patrols and would be playing basketball with Noah in any case. Susan asked Elliot if it was possible for him to get a male superhero form or at least a better outfit to which Elliot explained Grace's theory and his opinion of it. Sarah expressed surprise that he didn't already do what Grace had suggested to which Elliot explained the reasons he didn't. Sarah said she didn't care as long as he kept it to himself. This led to an argument between Sarah and Susan over whether Elliot's actions constituted restraint or repression and Elliot resorted to his old method of insulating and hiding himself from the world by putting his coat over his head which he called the coat of solitude.

While going around town, Mr. Verres observed the public's reaction to the fire summon. While driving he heard a radio host invite listeners to participate in a poll on whether the fire summon and superheroine were real. While waiting in line, he overheard a couple men discussing the veracity with one saying his neighbor thought it was a hoax while the other pointed out the first man's neighbor also believed they faked the moon landings. Outside, he witnessed a little boy who stole a newspaper with a front page article on the recent events and was hawking it to passersby in the style of overzealous newsies or paperboys from the 1940s. Back in his car, Mr. Verres heard that the results of the poll were in and that an overwhelming majority apparently believed in the veracity of the fire summon and superheroine, much of the rest were undecided and the percentage of disbelievers was equal to the margin of error. At his office, Mr. Verres wondered out loud if Lavender could pretend to be someone who didn't believe in magic to which Lavender responded that she would be anything for him before quickly backtracking.

New And Old Flames 5

After school, Justin arrived at the comic shop to find Dex, the regular customer who had recorded the fight in HD, staring at the parking lot ground. When Justin asked him about it, Dex responded that "a great battle took place here". Justin was about to say something but decided to walk away leaving Dex alone. Inside, Justin asked George about his car to which George responded that his insurance covered monster related damage. Justin thought he was being sarcastic but George said he wasn't joking and explained that the people he bought it from probably didn't think anyone would ever cash in on it but under the circumstances they would probably have to pay on this claim. George told him not to worry about it before offhandedly mentioning that he wouldn't tell anyone his boyfriend was Cheerleadra to Justin's shock. Justin grabbed George's arm and expressed his surprise and shock by babbling incoherently. George explained to Justin his reasons for reaching his conclusion to which Justin tried to claim that it was impossible before George reminded him of the equally supposedly impossible events that occurred the day before. Justin reluctantly conceded George's point and tried to think of a response but George told him if he had any doubt his reaction killed it. George then reiterated that he would not tell anyone because all he wanted was "the back story". Justin expressed confusion at George's meaning and George explained he meant the current situation, the origin of the powers, the general weirdness in the town and everything related to it. Justin claimed ignorance and suggested that continued ignorance of those sort of secrets was safer to which George replied sarcastically that this was the case. George told Justin that it was obvious that he didn't want to tell him and that he had to leave then anyway but also that he would not let up on it and would discuss it with him the next day. Justin tried to protest but George told him that since he knew that much already he may as well tell him the rest.

Elliot arrived at the park with the basketball court where he would play with Noah to find he was with Melissa and they shared a kiss as he watched which made him slightly uncomfortable. As Elliot walked toward them he mentally prepared himself to meet her after having learned of her from Justin. As his thoughts progressed he came to the conclusion that Melissa was responsible for Justin's misery and reached her and Noah full of anger. Noah introduced her to Elliot but Elliot could only manage a barely restrained hateful "Hello" to which Melissa responded with a tentative "Hi?". Melissa seeing the hate in Elliot's expression excused herself ostensibly to do homework, kissed Noah on the cheek and left. When she had done so Noah asked about the hateful look Elliot gave Melissa and asked if it was jealousy over him due to his androgyny. Elliot responded that he was friends with Justin to which Noah told him that in that case he knew half of a sad story. Noah then corrected Elliot's knowledge of the events by telling him that Melissa told one person after Justin told her he was gay and that person was her older sister who was a known as a notorious gossip. Noah defended Melissa's actions as an error in judgement made while terribly upset. Elliot pointed out her incessant bothering of Justin which Noah responded that it was a compulsion of hers, it made her feel like a fool and that he was certain she would stop if Justin forgave her. Elliot said that it was a pretty big thing to forgive but Noah responded darkly that there were deeds done maliciously and without remorse that should not be forgiven but rather call for vengeance upon the perpetrator. The tone Noah used was received with surprise from Elliot. Noah then followed up with the claim that Melissa was a friend who made a mistake and that friends forgive mistakes. Noah then changed the subject and suggested they start their basketball game.

In Elliot's car, his phone vibrated and cut off just before Elliot opened the door to retrieve his water bottle. As soon as he slammed the door shut the phone started vibrating again. It was then revealed Justin was repeatedly trying to call Elliot to discuss with him the issue with George. Susan appeared and asked him if something was wrong. Justin realized he could discuss it with her and with her being smart they could figure out a solution to his problem. Justin was so happy to see her he hugged her, lifting her of the ground and exclaiming that she was there and was smart. This was not taken well by Susan given her dislike of being touched and she headbutted Justin. A bit later, they went to a storage room to talk where Susan apologized for headbutting Justin and explained that she really disliked being touched. Justin said it was okay and that it didn't occur to him. He alluded to the events of Grace's Birthday Party as the reason for this which Susan recalled uncomfortably. Justin asked her for advice on dealing George and Susan responded that he should claim ignorance since he genuinely didn't know he could hit like that. Justin said he wasn't buying that to which Susan pointed out that even if he told people they wouldn't believe him because the idea that the new attractive superheroine was actually a guy would be abhorrent to most people regardless of evidence let alone hearsay. Justin suggested the idea that Tedd could make a clone form of Elliot, morph Grace into Elliot and have both Grace in Elliot's form and Elliot in his superheroine form appear together in front of George. Susan told Justin that pulling such a solution like that off successfully was extremely unlikely and was a bad idea since it would allow George to observe and deduce more. She also pointed out the various aftermaths of letting Grace have a clone form of Elliot to use at her discretion. Imagining those aftermaths left Justin feeling shocked and embarrassed but still convinced that the plan could still have validity. Susan disagreed saying a plan that hinged on Grace passing as Elliot would be doomed due to her naturally "bubbly" and upbeat personality.

At the Verres household, Grace was reading a book on depressing historical facts which made her say she hated everything. She asked Tedd what he thought the DGB would do when they found the fire summons's summoner. Tedd responded that his father says they'll try to hit him with a sleep spell and take him in for questioning. He remarked that anything he summoned would disappear if he was unconscious so it was the safest option. Grace asked what if the sleep spell doesn't work and Tedd said that they might have to use deadly force if he resists capture. He added that it was not what they wanted to do but it could happen. Grace considered this very briefly and said that that was just as well that if someone went around trying to kill people that they deserved what they got. She remained angry for a few moments and then realized what she said and felt guilty for it. After this Tedd came over and comforted her. Grace said that everything she knew suggested that the world would be better off without certain people. She explained that she even used math to prove herself wrong but only ended up calculating that the world had a great deal of sadness. She said she could find many reason why killing certain people would make the world a better place but everything she felt told her killing people is wrong no matter who it is. She said she even felt bad that the summoner might die despite him apparently trying to kill her friends and despite the fact that the only reason he would have a possibility of being killed would be if he would try to kill more people. Grace wondered out loud why she even cared what happened to the summoner. Tedd replied that it was because she was empathetic and possibly a hippy. Grace said that may be true but since she had the power to help protect people and she wanted to do that with out killing anyone she has decided to take Sensei Greg up on his offer to train her.

Back at the park, Elliot and Noah took a break from their basketball game and Noah asked Elliot how he knew Justin. Elliot explained that he rescued Justin from bullies and Noah expressed surprise that Elliot was the person who did that. Noah explained how word of Elliot's rescue was a hot gossip topic around the school. Elliot was ambivalent about the whole thing but Noah told him his intervention saved two lives and that he was a hero. At this point Noah was almost overcome with emotion and told Elliot he was resisting giving him a hug which Elliot appreciated. Noah explained the effects of Elliot's intervention on Justin and Melissa and Elliot explained that to him at the time it was just an unfair fight he had to step into. Noah was impressed with Elliot's chivalry and said it was as if Elliot was trying to get him to hug him which Elliot denied. Noah then asked Elliot to tell Justin he needed to speak with him. He said it was not about Melissa but Justin does not believe him. Elliot thought it would be awkward and asked what Noah wanted to talk about. Noah told him he made a promise not to tell others but said it was important. Elliot gave in and agreed, Noah thanked him and they resumed their basketball game.

Later, after the game, Elliot sat in his car and reflected on how worn out the game made him and wondered where Noah trained. Elliot was reaching for his phone to call home when he noticed he had voice mail. Elliot discovered that Justin had left twelve messages for him. After listening to all of them he called Justin who told him they had a problem but Elliot said he already knew everything due to the detail of the messages. Justin apologized for the messages and asked Elliot's advice. Elliot told him to claim ignorance since George didn't know that much and nobody would believe his story anyway. Justin wondered aloud why people were opposed to his wacky hijinks solution. Elliot told him it was because of the wacky part for one and realized Justin must have told others about it and asked who else he told. Justin replied he told Susan and that she agreed with him. Elliot asked if he was going with the ignorance plan and Justin reluctantly said yes. Elliot thanked him and broached the subject of Noah catching Justin completely off guard.

Elliot explained how he met Noah and how he didn't know he and Justin knew each other at the time. Justin said he wasn't happy about Elliot and Noah being friends and wondered what they had in common. Elliot explained how they played basketball and raced. Justin assumed Elliot was beating Noah easily but was surprised when Elliot said they were even and that Elliot felt he was going easy on him. Elliot said he told Noah he knew Justin and that Noah asked him to tell Justin he needed to talk to him about something important. Justin immediately thought it was about Melissa but Elliot said Noah had said it wasn't about her. Justin asked why else Noah would talk to him. Elliot said he didn't know but that Noah had been pretty insistent that Justin forgive Melissa and repeated that it didn't have to do with her. Justin expressed shock that Elliot and Noah discussed him and Melissa and that Noah wanted him to forgive her. Justin expressed rage at Melissa asking Elliot if he knew what she put him through. Elliot replied that he "sorta" knew, that he wasn't saying he held the same view as Noah and that Noah had made some good points. Justin expressed angered disbelief that Noah could have made good points and Elliot said maybe they weren't good as much as logical, that Noah had his reasons and started qualifying his statement but Justin cut him off with an annoyed yell before he could finish. Justin told him he couldn't talk with him right then, said he would talk to Noah when hell froze over, yelled bye and vigorously clicked his phone shut. Justin then thought out loud that someone should make a cell phone that one could slam. Elliot was left cowed by Justin's outburst and weakly tried to respond to it before realizing Justin had disconnected.

Elliot was rendered bewildered and speechless for a moment and then the phone buzzed. Elliot rushed to answer it but it was only Ellen who was wondering if he was on his way home yet and told him if he didn't come soon their mom would give his dinner to Brownie, the family cat. Elliot said he'd be home soon and Ellen asked him if he would be free on Friday. When Elliot asked about it she explained that Grace was finally taking Sensei Greg up on his offer to train her and that Grace would like to have someone with experience to go with her to meet Greg on Friday but she couldn't go with Grace because she had plans. Ellen elaborated that it was sexy plans and Elliot agreed to go with Grace. Ellen further elaborated that the sexy plans were with Nanase and Elliot said he gathered that and said bye.

At home, after dinner, Ellen noticed something was wrong with Elliot and asked if he was okay. Elliot asked why she asked and Ellen pointed out he was sulking, only mumbled at dinner and hadn't morphed before bed yet. Elliot noted the last point and assumed the non alter ego version of the goth girl form and threw himself on the bed. Ellen asked again and Elliot considered the question for a moment before telling her the events that transpired that day.

The next day, Thursday, in the morning at Moperville South, Justin walked into the school to face a angry looking Ellen to his surprise. He quickly deduced she had been talking to Elliot which she said of course she had. Justin apologized but said Elliot talked to Noah behind his back, then told him that Noah made good points about forgiving Melissa and that justified his reaction. Ellen said they talked about Melissa because Elliot briefly met Melissa and couldn't hide his anger at her at what she did to Justin. Justin was surprised at this because he never heard this from Elliot. Ellen continued that she didn't doubt that Elliot put his foot in his mouth, that she didn't care if Justin forgave Melissa and understood that Justin had a lot of anger towards her but that it was not an excuse to take it out on his friends. Ellen added that Elliot may not realize how much he did for Justin but she had taken a good hard look at his life and concluded Elliot deserved better from Justin. Justin saw that Ellen was right and apologized. Ellen said he should apologize to Elliot and find out what Noah wanted to talk about. Justin asked if he could just do the former but Ellen gave him a look and he relented.

Justin said he would call Elliot before classes started and Ellen hugged him and thanked him. Justin said he wasn't sure when he would talk to Noah and Ellen said now would be a good time as she walked away. Justin was initially confused but Noah surprised him by appearing behind him. Justin asked where he came from and Noah said he was waiting to pounce from the shadows. Noah said while he did wish Justin would forgive Melissa, he did understand what it was to have so much anger. Justin was initially skeptical but Noah explained that the whole reason he could speak with such care is that the extra concentration needed helped him focus and not lose his temper. Justin said that he was so timid though and Noah elaborated that he was good at controlling his temper now but was suspended on the first day of high school for beating up two seniors who were playing keep-away with his backpack. He added that they were now offensive linemen on a college football team now but didn't know what that meant. He quickly said that such things were not what he must discuss with Justin but Justin was shocked at what Noah revealed he was capable of. Justin asked what Noah wanted to discuss but Noah said he would explain somewhere more private. Justin pointed out there was only so much time before classes started but Noah had just spotted what he would later identify as a shade or wraith that only he could see. The creature looked toward Noah, Noah frowned, ignored Justin's question and then started to run at the creature and away from Justin who shouted when he saw Noah running. Noah ran presumably chasing the creature and attracted the confused attention of students as he did so. One of the student's commented that it was "that weird girl". Noah ran right past Ellen to her annoyed surprise and then confusion. When she reached Justin she asked what he did and wondered out loud if he pointed out how ridiculous Noah's hair was or something. Justin said he didn't do anything and that Noah just ran off like a dog who saw a squirrel. Ellen said at least he tried and Grace showed up wondering if she did something wrong because Justin mentioned a squirrel.

At Moperville North, Tedd and Susan were discussing the merits of Firefly and Star Trek and Sarah pointed out that Star Trek doesn't have a naked Nathan Fillion with a dreamy look in her eyes. Elliot's answered a call on his phone and found it was Justin. Justin apologized for yelling at him and not letting him finish explaining. Elliot said he understood because it was a sensitive subject. Justin said he really care about Elliot's opinion and that the thought of him being on Melissa's side made him lose it. Elliot said he understood and Justin said the bell was going to ring soon and he would talk to him later. Elliot said okay and then said bye. When he got off the phone, Elliot said "huh" and reflected on the conversation as in the background Tedd and Susan got into a slap fight and Sarah facepalmed in response.

At the comic book shop, Dex announced it was 4pm, Justin uncertainly thanked him for it and Dex said he was welcome. George asked Justin if he thought about what he said and Justin said he had. Justin said he didn't know what George thought he knew but, even if he knew anything more about Cheerleadra, George would be asking him to betray someone's trust and he would never do that. George considered this for a moment before saying that Justin was right, Cheerleadra's personal information isn't any of his business and unless she went rogue or something it didn't matter. Justin was momentarily relieved and said he was glad George saw it that way but George continued that the rest of it was everyone's business which confused Justin. George said his car got smashed, the guard rail by the river got smashed and people probably got smashed after watching the fight video. Justin protested that he couldn't have prepared anyone for that because he didn't know a fire summon would appear and he had to figure out what to do when it did. George said that was fair enough but that that wasn't all there was to it. He said he didn't know how much Justin and his boyfriend knew and Justin interrupted him to say that Elliot was not his boyfriend. This caught George off guard and he said "He's not?" to which Justin said no he wasn't and Justin added that Elliot was not even gay and had a girlfriend and everything. Justin continued angrily that crazy stuff happened around there and that people would have to play it by ear no matter what. Justin asked George what "magical trivia" George thought he had that would make any difference but George no longer wanted to argue and merely conceded the point. This threw Justin off as he was expecting more opposition from George. George made an excuse to move away by claiming some kids playing cards on the other side of the store were having a rules dispute despite no such dispute was occurring. Justin watched him walk away, said "huh" and reflected on the conversation in the same way Elliot had done earlier when Justin had called him.

Back at Moperville South, presumably after school, Raven was grading some papers and came upon Grace's leading him to remark on her vocabulary. Suddenly a ceiling panel was removed, Noah popped out and called out to Raven as "Sir Raven". Raven admonished Noah for calling him that and reminded him that he should call him "Mr. Raven" at school and Adrian or Raven anywhere else. Noah said he had knighted him but Raven said Noah didn't have the authority to knight people. Raven asked why Noah was still at school and what he was doing up there. Noah replied that he was hunting for a shade he saw that morning. Raven said "A shade?" and Noah said he thought it was a shade or maybe a wraith and that he was about to talk to Justin when he saw it from across the hallway. Raven said he hadn't heard anyone mention such a thing and Noah said that it was odd because no one else seemed to notice it. Raven asked if he was certain he saw something and Noah replied he was certain but now he was confused. Raven asked him if he still hadn't spoken to Justin to which Noah embarrassed he hadn't. Raven told him that asking the questions was important before asking him if he only saw the shade and did not sense it in any other way. Noah asked if Raven thought he imagined it but Raven said he didn't have enough to go on, he should have told him sooner and that he was considering talking to Justin himself. At this, Noah fell out of the vent and protested that there was no need to take that risk because he would talk to Justin at his workplace the next day. Raven approved this noting any action taken would be on the weekend anyway. Noah asked if he could borrow his chair to get back up the vent but Raven told him to use the door.

At home, in his bed Justin reflected on his childhood experiences with Melissa and wondered what she was thinking when she triggered his outing. He flashbacked to his argument with her and revealed that Melissa had told him that she only told her sister who said she wouldn't tell others but that he had called her stupid for believing her. He reflected on her subsequent apologies and then got angry as he recalled she had since slipped into delusion and confronted him every so often claiming it was a phase. Justin sat up in anger and told himself to stop second guessing himself, that she betrayed him and that she was nuts. He continued that he had every right to stay angry. He then looked down and noticed he was wearing a t-shirt that had a paraphrase of a quote from Yoda from Star Wars that said "To the Dark Side Anger Leads" and noted even that was telling him to get over his anger.

New And Old Flames 6

The next day, Friday, in the late afternoon Grace left the Verres residence and joined Elliot in his car. Elliot noticed she was wearing an uryuom worker's uniform and Grace said she wore it in case she ended up doing any morphing. Mr. Verres had told her that if anyone asked about it she was to say she was dressing up as an Original Character from her DC Comics superhero fan fiction. She asked Elliot how hard the training started out and he reassured her that Greg would base it on what he thought she was ready for. He noted that she had been training with Ellen and she replied that she had and almost knew how to properly throw a punch which puzzled Elliot.

Meanwhile, on the way to the comic book shop, Melissa and Noah walked along the bridge and Noah asked Melissa if she was sure she was okay waiting outside while he talked to Justin. Melissa initially slipped into her delusion of her relationship with Justin before sense-slapping herself and concluding she should really stay outside. Noah told her she should not slap herself but she replied that "Mythbusters" proved sense-slapping works. Noah said they did not intend for people to start slapping themselves but she said he doesn't know that. Inside the shop Duck asked Justin if he was going to kick something today and Justin said he doubted it and he didn't know he'd be kicking anything on Tuesday. Noah walked in and Justin told Duck he might have something. Noah said he had to speak with him and Justin brought up the last time he tried. Noah defended his actions as being sidetracked by a spooky thing but wanted to ask him about the fire summon. Justin was caught off guard by Noah's mention of a spooky thing but Noah continued that if they put together enough information they might be able to figure out who summoned it.

At the same time, at the ASMA Dojo, Eric showed up, was pleased to hear the dojo was shutting down and confronted Greg. He said it was time to settle the score when the flame summon appeared behind him. Initially, Greg was shocked and jumped to the conclusion that Eric was the summoner. He said the training was working but took longer than Eric was willing to accept. Eric looked behind himself and revealed that he didn't summon the creature. Eric continued that he had been training in real martial arts and only wanted to beat Greg in a sparring match. At the same time, at the comic shop Noah was asking Justin who else was in the shop at the time of the attack because the summoner could have been in the store. As Greg wondered aloud who the summoner was since it was not Eric, he heard a creak and Dex walked into the dojo remarking that it was "the giant's dojo". When Greg saw Dex he remarked that he looked familiar and asked if he had been to any anime conventions. Eric questioned the relevance of this and Greg replied that finding common ground was often the fastest way to defuse a situation. Dex asked "Now?" apparently to midair and Greg wondered aloud what he meant Dex levitated and created a fire barrier around himself while asking "Now?" in increasingly exasperated tones.

Outside the dojo, Elliot and Grace were walking up to the entrance when Elliot sensed something. He commented on it to Grace and she asked if it was the same kind of feeling he got when he sensed The Goo under his school. Elliot said yeah and remarked on its unreliability but said he was getting a bad vibe. Grace suggested that it may just be her nervousness about training that he was picking up on but this was immediately discarded when Eric ran out of the dojo screaming about the fire summon and Dex. Elliot and Grace glanced at each other wordlessly then transformed into their Cheerleadra and Omega forms respectively and flew into the dojo. Elliot recognized Dex form the comic shop and Grace noted the fire summon. Greg told them not to attack but keep their guard up since they were not yet aggressive. Grace questioned why Greg called her "Tri-Squirrel" when he addressed her and he responded that he didn't know her superhero name and Marvel Comics already took "Squirrel Girl". Grace suggested "Shade Tail". Dex once again asked "Now?" and presumably got an answer as he promptly summoned two more fire summons to grab Greg, one to grab Grace and a second type of creature to grab Elliot. The creature flew up and crashed through the ceiling of the dojo while Grace shouted "No!". Elliot head butted the creature to get it to let him go and got a headache. He turned around and found himself facing a dragon like creature called a "Taurcanis Draco" or "Bulldog Dragon". Elliot thought that it was small for a dragon but still as large as a small car. While he thought this the Taurcanis Draco turned around and flew away. Elliot considered for a moment on what to do before deciding to follow it.

Melissa was standing on the bridge leading to the comic shop when she saw Elliot and the Taurcanis Draco fly towards her. When it was above the bridge, Dex asked "There?" and the Taurcanis Draco got ready to spit a fireball at the bridge and presumably hit some of the cars on it. Elliot realized this and moved to intercept it. The blast knocked him to the ground and into traffic and rendered him unconscious. The Taurcanis Draco came closer to the ground and Melissa stepped between it and Elliot. She told it that what it did wasn't nice, they stared at each other for a moment then Melissa intentionally let out a large scream.

A little earlier, in the comic shop, Noah noted the sound of the blast wondering aloud if it was thunder. He then noted the honking of the cars on the bridge as they hurried to leave the area where the Taurcanis Draco was. Justin dismissed both these noises but when Melissa screamed they both recognized it and ran outside. Justin wanted to rush into battle but Noah told him he might startle the Taurcanis Draco into attacking. Justin angrily asked what they should do but by the time he finished Noah was gone. Melissa tried pointing out why the Taurcanis Draco's flight shouldn't scientifically work in an effort to cancel out the magic but that didn't work. She told it that it didn't matter because it was already doomed since her scream alerted Noah. Just then Noah jumped in and struck the Taurcanis Draco as Melissa tauntingly announced his arrival. Noah told Melissa and Justin to get "Cheerleadra" to safety and he "will slay the dragon". He was met with shock from Justin and a satisfied smirk from Melissa. Justin asked Melissa if Noah would be able to handle the Taurcanis Draco and Melissa was surprised that Justin could see though the disguise.

Back at the dojo, Greg was fighting off the fire summons with ease while Grace escaped their grip by going full squirrel. Greg confronted Dex but was burned by Dex's heat barrier. Dex said that to save this world he brings an apocalypse which confused Greg. Grace attempted to sneak up behind Dex and attack him, but was stopped by Greg who thought she was going to get hurt by Dex's heat barrier. Greg told her that he thought Dex was unaware of his location, kept being replenished with power and was being manipulated. Grace explained she was going to knock him out so that the summons would be dismissed. Greg said he had a sleeper hold that would work but he could not get though the heat barrier. Grace said she could handle the heat but did not know how to do a sleeper hold. Greg then began to teach her how to do a sleeper hold using the fire summons as practice.

Agent Cranium ran up to Arthur to tell him that a dragon or demon was attacking Moperville. Arthur said he knew but would not dispatch agents since it would raise to many questions about magic. Cranium tried to argue magic has already be revealed but Arthur said that the accessibility of magic was the real secret, that the police could handle it and that a few causalities would not disrupt their long term goals.

Near the comic shop, Elliot regained consciousness and tried to tell Justin about Dex and the fire summons at the dojo but only managed to get a few words out to which Melissa cracked a Star Wars joke. During Noah's fight with the Taurcanis Draco he managed to break its neck but it snapped back. This surprised him and the Taurcanis Draco knocked him to the ground. The Taurcanis Draco attempted to do a final attack but was kicked away by Justin who told Noah that the Taurcanis Draco was summoned at the ASMA dojo, which Noah thought was just a gimmick. Justin said they had to defeat the Taurcanis Draco then get to the dojo but Noah realized that the Taurcanis Draco was unbeatable since it could not be un-summoned through physical harm so they had to go after the summoner. Noah flew away knowing that the Taurcanis Draco would follow him.

At the dojo, Grace finished learning how to do the sleeper hold and she and Greg proceeded to fight their way to Dex through the fire summons, while Noah lead the Taurcanis Draco back to the Dojo. Dex received an order to get the Taurcanis Draco to attack the dojo even though that would kill him. Noah flew into the dojo just before the Taurcanis Draco launched its fireball attack. Before the attack could hit anything, Grace managed to properly use the sleeper hold on Dex, knocking him out and dismissing the Taurcanis Draco, its attack and all the fire summons.

Grace asked Noah who he was and Noah was shocked to see that Grace was at the dojo and in her Omega form. Greg asked him if he was OK and assumed he was not a bad guy since he was in the blast zone, otherwise he would have to punch him in the face. Grace asked how "Cheerleadra" was and Noah told them that she was knocked out at the comic store but Justin took care of her. Greg left to call Justin and told Noah not to do anything evil otherwise he would punch him through the face. Noah asked about Dex and Grace told him that he seemed out of it and that the power was coming from somewhere else. Noah asked if Dex was wearing any jewelry and Grace said she felt something when she used the sleeper hold. When Dex's shirt was opened a pendant with a jar on it was revealed. Noah told her they needed to take it off immediately because that is how the power got in.

Near the comic shop, Melissa was checking Elliot over while Elliot tried to go back to the dojo. Melissa commented on how fast he was healing and Elliot said he had a confusing user manual. Justin came to check on them and told them that Greg called him to tell him that they knocked out the summoner and was calling him now. Justin yelled that Elliot is OK and Greg said not to shout.

Greg said everything was fine, thus Noah's face is safe from being punched. Noah told them there was something else under Dex's shirt and revealed a magic mark revealing the source of Dex's magic. Noah theorized the Dex was lonely and learned to summon so he could have a friend. Greg wondered how that could lead to him causing an apocalypse, but Noah explained that it could mean a great revealing of things. Dex woke up and wanted know where he was. Noah explains that he was at the ASMA dojo, and Grace introduced Greg and herself referring to herself as Shade Tail, which shocked Noah. Noah asked where Dex got the pendant and Dex revealed he found it in his apartment but could not manage to take it off. Noah explained that Dex was pumped with power every time to he tried to take it off making him disoriented. Greg wondered how Noah knew about these things and Noah explained he tried gaining power using those kind of things among others but was stopped each time. Noah asked how Dex got his magic mark and Dex said it just appeared one day. Noah said he did not like the idea of someone giving power without consent. Dex told them he did not know he could summon fire summons and showed he could summon a fairy. Dex asked if Noah would take the fairy away but Noah said Dex's mark allowed him to summon it and that could not be removed. This made Dex happy that he would get to keep the fairy.

Near the comic shop, Elliot needed a ride home, and Justin needed to get back to watching the shop so Melissa offered to give Elliot a ride. In order to hide from the reporters Elliot was forced to assume his party girl secret identity. Elliot liked his new form and rushed to meet Carol while Justin told Melissa they needed to talk. Carol asked Elliot about Cheerleadra and Party Elliot did a good job at not giving anything away. Carol asked about Noah's cloaked form and revealed no video existed of him. Melissa called Elliot calling him Heidi so Elliot kissed Carol on the cheek and met with Melissa.

Greg told Grace that Elliot was on his way with Melissa, so Grace started looking for her stuff while Noah helped her. Greg talked to Dex and offered to stay in touch with him since they both like anime. After Grace found her stuff she asked Noah for the pendant. Noah was reluctant but agreed to give it to her if she made sure no one wore it. Noah left and Greg went to check if Dex drove to the dojo. As Elliot arrived, still in Heidi form, Melissa told him not to kiss her goodbye. Elliot thought that was silly until he remembered he kissed Carol. When Elliot met Grace he made sure not to kiss her and they both transformed back into their normal forms while Elliot wondered where his keys went when he transformed.

Carol reported that a large reptile was in downtown Moperville, the cops reported they received a note that the summoner had been stopped, people argued over what was happening and everyone realized they are not ready. Ellen and Elliot just worried that Elliot kissed Carol. Elliot admitted they he liked the party form because it was fun not to be uptight.

The next day, in the morning, at the comic shop, George was sad that he missed a dragon fight while Justin was struggling over whether or not he should tell people about magic. Justin pointed out it was because of knowledge of magic that the dragon was defeated, but George countered that it was obviously more complicated. Justin wondered why George had changed tack after finding out that Elliot was not Justin's boyfriend. Justin guessed it was it because Justin having a boyfriend made George defensive, and George said he learned a valuable lesson. Later, in the afternoon, Elliot talked to Sarah about what happened. Sarah wondered why he picked the party form and Elliot said it seemed like a good idea. Elliot apologized for kissing Carol and Sarah forgave him and said he should not use that form again.

The next Monday, in the morning, at Moperville South, Justin went to talk with Melissa first telling Noah he would not tell anyone about his powers. When Justin met Melissa, Melissa did not want to talk since it took Melissa saving his friends life before Justin forgave her for what she saw was a mistake and they could never go back to what they once had. Later, Raven thought back to Friday when Noah was talking with him about the pendant and immortals. Noah thought the immortal was foolish to try such a convoluted plan, but Raven said bored immortals want the potential for failure and its hard to tell exactly what is planned. Raven did figure out the Noah's presence was desired for whatever reason. Raven pondered what Pandora's plan was and how reckless it was. He noticed it was too simple for her tastes and it had only just begun. Justin was revealed to have a magic mark on his back.

Trivia

• Despite its tone and intention of a more comical story arc, Bringing Silly Back is actually one of the most dramatic arcs of El Goonish Shive.