Operation: Dewey Deceptional System
| Dewey Deceptional System | |
|---|---|
| |
| Dates run: | September 28, 2021 |
| Run By: | Dex |
| Read the logs: | Dewey Deceptional System |
Yes, according to Mister Harkness, one of the pieces has some sort of magical significance. I seem to recall your associates having some interest in those... arts.
X-Force goes on a good old fashioned heist to retrieve a dangerous book from the Hellfire Club during a star-studded gala.
Contents
Cast
Amanda Sefton, Clea Lake, Darcy Lewis, David North, Doug Ramsey, Emma Frost, Felicia Hardy, Gabriel Cohuelo, Jubilation Lee, Kevin Sydney, Natasha Romanoff, Topaz, Wanda Maximoff
Timing
Plot Summary
The Book of Cagliostro is a legend in the magical community; a combination of travelogue, self-aggrandizing biography and grimoire written by its namesake. While a full copy of the book is not believed to still exist, the entire text was thought to be broken up between dozens of books by the Dutch occult printer Abraham Willemsz van Beyerland. A chapter was believed to be inserted in a translation of Jan Amos Comenius’ Janua Linguarum Reserata printed in 1801. The book was purchased in the late 1970s by businessman and collector Ned Buckman and as a member of the Inner Circle, he transferred the most significant volumes to the vaults of the Hellfire Club. When he retired from the Inner Circle in the late 1990s, he kept the bulk of his collection with the club. However, after his death a few months prior, as part of his will, many of the pieces were willed to the Empire State University. The Black Court decided to showcase many of the rare books and other art pieces of his collection during their annual gala prior to transfer to the university and other galleries.
The transition was particularly of interest because the book was bought privately by Buckman and thought lost. Within the magical community, there was significant interest because of the pages the book might have contained. The Black Court had largely eschewed magic, and didn’t really grasp the significance of the work. Enter Nick Harkness. The opportunistic mage believed the text might be a ticket into accessing the wealth and power of the Black Court and presented himself as a resource to them. He came to the Black Court to warn them that an attempt would likely be made to steal the book, which would incur significant financial penalties for the Black Court. They agreed and he joined the Black Court for the gala.
Wanda Maximoff immediately recognized the significance of the book and convinced X-Force to take the book, giving the Black Court a kick in the process. They set out to steal the book during the gala, however, right before they have access, alarms sound and they’re forced to abandon the heist.
As the Black Court gathered, they called the White Court to join them, so Nick could explain that the effort to steal the book was in vain all along. revealing that he had had a forgery made and revealed it to all. However, his assertion was challenged as the White Court asked Amanda and Wanda to join them. They charged that the book Harkness revealed was also a forgery and that he had stolen the real book. Police summoned by both courts searched his hotel and discovered the book, which he claimed was also a forgery. Using magic, Wanda was able to certify that the copy found in the apartment was the real one, at which point Shaw decided to not only send Harkness to the bowels of the club for further questioning, but to put the forgery back on display and keep the real book for the Black Court now that he knew its value.
The reveal showed that X-Force had actually stolen the book before it ever left the club’s vaults for the gala. They create a series of forgeries, including the one planted in Nick’s hotel with just enough enchantment to seem significantly more potent magically than it really was. A safe forgery went to ESU, a magical hoax went into the Black Court vault, and the real book ended up in the hands of X-Force with no one aware it even existed.
Related Links
External Links
Trivia and Meta
Trivia
This was Topaz' first heist and Darcy's first mission with X-Force.
Meta
Plotrunner: Dex
The gala was, of course, a homage to the Hellfire Gala of the comic books. Everyone loves a party.
The title is a parody of the Dewey Decimal System, which is a number code used to organize and classify library books, because Dex thinks he's funny.
