Max turned to see Ernie walk in with the Toad brothers.

"You don't get it," Ernie said. "Kryptonite isn't the only thing that can take Superman out. He's susceptible to magic. That's why Captain Marvel could win."

He had been talking so loudly that everyone in the room turned to look at him. Embarrassed, Ernie sat down in the first available seat. Unfortunately, Catalina's Bounder Faerie was already sitting there.

Scuttlebutt yowled, and Ernie shot into the air. His pants were covered in mucus. Ernie reached down to wipe it off, but that only made things worse. The slime was now stuck to his hands, stretching between his fingers.

"That smells disgusting!" Ross exclaimed.

Catalina jumped up and grabbed the imp before running out of the room.

"What am I supposed to do?" Ernie called after her as he wiped his fingers on the front of his shirt.

Everyone in the room was laughing.

Natalia pulled out the front page of the New Victoria Chronicle before tossing it to Ernie. "Of course, you can use this as a towel," she said. "You might want to read the cover first. It's about a bunch of juvenile delinquents running around New Victoria. The chief constable thinks that they're changelings from Iron Bridge. Can you believe that?"

Ernie's eyes shot wide open, and his jaw dropped. Then, recovering, he furrowed his thick eyebrows into a frown, pressing against the top of his aviator goggles. "I don't really care what the chief constable thinks," he said.

"Sure you don't," Natalia said. The final bell chimed, and Natalia turned back around before Ernie could say another word.

The door opened, and all eyes turned to the procession of changelings walking into the room. Yi Lu, the pyrokinetic, was first. Kenji's drake hissed at him, and Yi responded by snorting flames. Denton was next. His lion's tail swished behind him as though it had a life of its own. Hale, the girl with the green skin and antennae, was right behind him, followed by Raven. She looked as frustrated as ever, not that anyone could blame her. Dean Nipkin was lurking over her shoulder.

"Take your seats," the dean said.

"We saved you a seat," Natalia said, waving to Raven.

When Natalia learned that Raven could talk to inanimate objects, she decided to enlist her to help solve the mystery of the Clockwork King, Otto Von Strife. The only problem was that Raven had a well-earned reputation for having a prickly personality, so Natalia decided to befriend her first. She figured the old saying was true, that it was easier to catch flies with honey.

It was a disaster at first. Raven had found Natalia to be annoying, but Natalia's persistence not only earned Raven's help, but the two had also somehow become friends, or at least as close to friendship as Raven could get.

Raven hesitated, but she decided to join them.

"Have you met Brooke?" Natalia asked.

Raven shook her head.

"It's nice to meet you," Brooke said.

Raven's eyes went from Brooke to Honeysuckle and then back to Brooke. "Yeah, nice to meet you, too."

The door creaked open one last time. A stout man walked down the aisle before placing his briefcase on the empty desk at the front of the room. He was dressed formally in a brown suit with a gold vest, a white shirt, a bow tie, and a bowler derby. His shoes were polished, his grey beard was trimmed, and his round spectacles glinted in the lamplight.

Then he smiled at the students, revealing a peculiar set of wooden teeth.

THE RELIC HUNTERS.

"Obadiah Strange?" Ernie asked with raised eyebrows.

The man removed his hat, then bowed. His bald head looked like it had been buffed and waxed. "In the flesh, Mr. Tweeny," Strange said. Then he took a moment to look around the room. When his eyes fell on Dean Nipkin, he cocked his head to the side. "I didn't expect to see you today, Connie. To what do I owe the pleasure?"

"We have a strict policy regarding changelings," the dean said. "Since you have elected to conduct your class outside of Sendak Hall, I thought it would be prudent to join you. For safety precautions, of course."

Strange broke into a wide smile. "Though I appreciate your offer, I'm afraid that won't be possible."

Dean Nipkin frowned.

"It does my heart good to know that you've taken such an interest in your flock," Strange said, "but we'll be fine. The students will return directly to Sendak Hall. Good day."

There was a collective gasp.

"Excuse me?"

"I'm quite certain that you heard me," Strange said, his tone pleasant. "Your eavesdropping skills are legendary. Now if you don't mind." He waved his hand as though shooing an annoying insect away.

"Well, I..." The dean was so flustered that she was incapable of forming a coherent thought. She grabbed the front of her jacket, straightened it, adjusted her hat, and then turned to leave without another word.

Before she could exit, Catalina Mendez came through the door with her bedraggled imp in her arms. Behind Catalina was a tall boy with mahogany skin and long dreadlocks held in place by a pair of brass goggles pushed up on his forehead.

"I didn't know that Xander Swift was going to be in this class," Todd said as though he'd just spotted a movie star.

Dean Nipkin looked put out. "If you don't mind," she said, before forcing her way between Catalina and Xander.

"Such a charming woman," Strange said as the dean stomped her way across the lawn. "Oh, and please. Come right in, Mr. Swift. That goes for you as well, Ms. Mendez. We have plenty of seats for everyone."

"How's it going, Sumner?" Xander said after he took the seat behind him.

"Hey, Xander."

"Now where were we?" Strange asked. "Ah, yes. Welcome to Archaeological Reconnaissance and Excavation. Does anyone know what we'll be studying?"

Kenji raised his hand. "A bunch of junk that's stuck in the dirt?"

Everyone laughed, including Strange.

"I suppose that will be a part of it," he said. "Now you may not know this, but Iron Bridge Academy has a long history of graduates who have gone on to do amazing work in the field of archaeology. Given the current state of affairs, we'll need to find a few more who are up to the task. My hope is that you'll fill that void."

"Does that mean we'll get to dig stuff up?" Ross asked.

"That's the plan," Strange said. "You see, even as we speak, there is a race to find important relics that could tip the balance of power in the world."

"Like the Brimstone Key?" Natalia asked.

"Indeed," Strange said. "Does anyone know who possesses the key at the moment?"

Natalia raised her hand, but Strange ignored her. "What about you?" he said, looking at Raven. "Miss Lugosi, is it?"

Raven nodded.

"You wouldn't happen to know who holds the Brimstone Key, would you?"

"Otto Von Strife."

"And why is that important?"

"Because if he opens a gateway to the Shadowlands, a bunch of monsters are going to pour through and destroy Earth."

"So are we going to try to get it back?" Denton asked.

"We'll leave that to more capable hands," Strange said. "However, there is another object of importance that we will try to discover before Von Strife gets his hands on it. In fact, it may be even more important than the Brimstone Key."

"What is it?" Todd asked. He was sitting at the edge of his seat.

"All in due time," Strange said. "Now I want you to know that this is going to be an unusual class. There will be no homework, written tests, or pop quizzes."

There was a smattering of applause. Ross was so happy that he squealed, earning a round of laughter. Strange raised his hand to silence them.

"Don't misunderstand," he said. "This class will push you to the limits of your abilities, but should you survive, you'll join an elite membership as a Relic Hunter."

"Our great-great-grandfather was a Relic Hunter," Todd said. He had raised his hand, but he didn't wait for Strange to call on him.

"Tobias Toad, if I'm not mistaken," Strange said.

"Yeah, how did you know?" Ross asked.

"I met him, though that was a long time ago."

Ross frowned. "How old are you?"

"Older than I look," Strange said. Then he turned to a map hanging on the wall. "Now, the most famous of the Relic Hunters was Aleric Saxon. He undertook a series of legendary expeditions, including the search for the lost city of gold in Mexico and for the doomsday calendar in Sumeria."

"Is he the guy who used vibration frequencies to find stuff?" Todd asked.

"I'm impressed."

"We tried to make one of those machines he used a couple years ago, but we couldn't get it to work."

"What were you hoping to find?" Strange asked.

Todd looked at Ross, who shook his head.

"It's kind of a secret," Todd said.

"Either way," Strange said, "Aleric was the first to discover that objects have unique signatures. For instance, a religious artifact like the Holy Grail will emit a different frequency than faerie gold, which has a different frequency than pirate treasure."

He went on to talk about Saxon's quest to find the crystal skulls in South America. The students were so enraptured by the tale that they lost track of time. When the bell rang, everyone sat there, wanting to hear the end.

"We'll have to continue next time," Strange said to his disappointed audience. "However, before you go I need to collect your accidental death and dismemberment clauses."

"Death and dismemberment?" Todd asked.

"It's a necessary form, I'm afraid," Strange said. "The world is a dangerous place, but those who survive will divide the spoils."

"I didn't get one," Ross said. None of the other students had, either, so Strange grabbed a stack from his briefcase before giving each student a copy to take home.

"Do you have a moment, Mr. Tweeny?" Strange asked after he gave Ernie a form.

"Sure," Ernie said as the last of the other students left the room.

"How was your break?" Strange asked.

Ernie shrugged. "Okay, I guess."

"Did Santa bring you anything special for Christmas?"

"I don't really believe in Santa anymore," Ernie said. "I'm kind of too old for that."

"Of course. How foolish of me."

"It's no big deal."

"I know it's a bit late, but I got you a little something," Strange said. "It's just a souvenir from my travels, but I think it might come in handy." Strange reached into the desk drawer before pulling out a brass mechanism. It had several dials and a single lever on the side.

"What is it?"

"An Interdimensional Phase Adjuster."

Ernie frowned.

"Watch closely." Strange entered a combination on the dial before pulling the switch.

There was a humming sound. Ernie watched as Strange went out of focus. Ernie rubbed his eyes. Strange vanished. Ernie looked around the room, confused. He reached out to where Strange had been sitting, but all he got was a fistful of air.

"Where are you?" Ernie asked.

Strange materialized on the far side of the room. "I never left you, my friend."

"No way," Ernie said. "That thing makes you invisible?"

"Oh, it does much more than that. You see, the IPA is a favorite tool of the THOR agents," Strange said, referring to the Tactical Headquarters for Operations and Research, a Templar Special Forces unit. "I'm surprised that Logan hasn't told you and the Grey Griffins about it. This amazing bit of technology will turn you into a ghost."

"A ghost?"

"Not technically, of course. It vibrates your molecules at a rate that lets you occupy space in two or more dimensions at one time. You'll be invisible to the naked eye. You can scream and nobody will hear you. In fact, you'll even be able to walk through walls."

Ernie looked at the device. "Are you sure I should have one of these?"

"I'm unaware of any laws that would keep you from owning it, if that's what you mean."