The Druid's Secret-

Mari and Niko discover that magic is real when they have to tangle with a supervillain who has unlocked an ancient magical tome and appropriated an ancient Proto-British culture.

## Plot (2022)

### The Druid Secret, Part I

The story opens on Petty Island as the Council of ORKO is lambasting Duke Daniel for his failures in Ruritania. Lucien Petty offers Duke Daniel the opportunity to operate his own agenda as a way to stave off the Duke's growing frustrations. This involves being given the use of one of Petty's Elite Units and any supporting equipment. Upon leaving the Council chambers, he encounters Dr. R.V. Leppercott who claims to have discovered a lost treasure in Wales. Initially skeptical, the Duke agrees to use his newly given assets to retrieve the treasure with the caveat that if this was not on the level he would kill Leppercott.

The group take a Petty Transport plane to Wales and eventually reach a cromlech structure near Pembrokeshire where Leppercott reveals that there was no treasure, instead, only an amulet on ancient origin. Realizing that he had been duped, the Duke pulled out a revolver intending to execute Leppercott, however, Leppercott unleashed powerful beams of unknown energies from the amulet which incapacitated the Duke who was left for dead. Leppercott then used the power of the amulet to control the Elite Troops and disappeared to parts unknown. The next day, a farmer discovered the Duke alive but mangled and took him to a hospital.

About two weeks later, Niko and Mari are preparing snacks for a Movie Night at Niko's new house. Initially intended to be a romantic evening at home between Niko and her boyfriend, Charlie Murphy, Mari showed up in that Niko forgot that this was usually Mari and Niko's bowling night. The girls are surprised when an unexpected doorbell breaks the levity. It turns out to be Percy.

Mari begins to chide Percy for inviting himself to the "party," but Percy says that he actually was invited. Mari's mother, Selinda Solinski, had visited the based and made an invitation of the officers there, including Percy, knowing that neither Douglas Mackillroy and Eric Robinson would be able to attend. Mari acquiesces and returns to prepare snacks with Niko as Percy joins Charlie in watching his favorite television program, The Jenny Jeffers Show. Niko and Mari exit the kitchen with the snacks just as the program's host, Jenny Jeffers, presents a video showing a Welsh farmer holding a familiar green uniform, that of Duke Daniel. Niko drops a tray of snacks on the floor in shock and the pair call it in to Major General Kawallis.

Upon calling Major General Kawallis the upper echelons of LION SQUAD meet in the Conference Room of Seeligson Air Force Base to discuss the matter. Capt Mackillroy has attained the tapes from The Jenny Jeffers Show and it is decided that Percy will fly Major General Kawallis to Wales where they will meet with Colonel Harvey Lemmeck, noted US Air Force Scientist, to investigate. Mari and Niko will remain behind in Kingsville until there is something solid for on the Duke.

The next day Kawallis arrives in Wales and Meets with Brigadier Nigel Digby, the commander of Great Britain's version of LION SQUAD, LION FORCE. Digby informs Kawallis that LION FORCE has not yet been funded and also that the person who was brought in has suffered some severe effects in addition to the injuries. Colonel Lemmeck reviews the reports and discovers that the subject's hand seemed to be turning metallic and that there has been some sort of mutations. It is agreed that the DUKE will undergo further observations. As they discuss this it is revealed that the attending nurse is, in fact, Dr. Tara Daffida.

Meanwhile, in Kingsville, Peggy O'Shea is complaining to Robert Seagull about not being assigned a "travel" story like Dr. Lola and Alexandra Sevilla. Seagull replies that the unusual weather patterns being observed around the world would eventually see something happing in South Texas and that he wanted a solid reported at The Lion Gazette in the event that happened. When O'Shea expressed her frustrations that Mari and Niko were getting stories due to their youth and seeking to replace her, Seagull called her out by calling for Mari and Niko were were racing their mail carts down the hallway.

Thinking they were in trouble for basically "horse playing" in the hallways, they entered the conference room and gave excuses for their behaviors which Seagull was not even aware of. He then asked Mari for her opinion of O'Shea. As she was giving it...Emmett Nesbitt, weather reporter, entered the room with some strange news. Charlie Murphy had gone for a coffee in Downtown and encountered something unbelievable that they's have to see with their own eyes...a blizzard had struck South Texas in April.

As Niko began to freak out-seeing the snow storm piling up snow on Kingsville streets Mari, who had suddenly become woozy, fainted and fell to the ground.

## Background

The Druid's Secret is a retelling of a comic book J.E. Carrales, III drew when he was about 11 years-old. Initially an adventure of the F.D.I. Organization, the story was updated and formatted to be an installment of The Improbable Girl and the Wonder Kitty. The initial story of an obscure spiritual evil going by the name "The Druid" and havoc among the protagonists and Organization ORKO on a global scale was retained. Some elements did have to be changed as the the characters from Organization ORKO were not as defined in the modern story as they had been in the original with Druid Secret, Part I being the first time the Organization ORKO was seen aside from references and being hinted at.

## Cameos and Crossover Characters

The Druid Secret story arc host a few crossover characters from intellectual properties loosely associated with Carrales Studios Productions. In this story are we see several characters from Ken Bailey's The Mighty Energygirl and Brian Amstadter's Chief Coffee Cup.