Girl Genius XXVIII: Dancink! Ve is here for de dancink!

[Radar]

Ah, captain Strongarm Armstrong. How your unique brand of insanity lights up a room.

Well... this brand of insanity has been passed down the Armstrong line for generations. I guess they did have time to refine it.

[Traab]

I will never stop laughing at how they both, at the same time, decided "Im going to throw him into the ceiling." Like it was the most rational method for finishing off an opponent.

[Fyraltari]

You say that like it isn’t.

But really, if you have the ability to finish off an opponent by throwing him at the ceiling, why wouldn’t you?

[Traab]

You say that like it isn’t.

But really, if you have the ability to finish off an opponent by throwing him at the ceiling, why wouldn’t you?

Because PHYSICS EDWARD ELRIC! Had they hurled him at the floor as hard as they hurled him at the ceiling its entirely likely he would have exploded from the sheer physical impact!

[Vinyadan]

It's on!

I hope it devolves into grappling.

If this brought to Zeetha betraying Higgs, I would be OK with it. More drama is better than less drama.

[xroads]

No matter who they blame, his cover as "Jack Tar random sailor #127" is in danger of being blown, right?

I think if it boils down to either...

1. protect her spymaster's secret or
   
   
2. use it to start unravelling the secrets of time as a stepping stone to saving Mechanisburg,

...Agatha is choosing the latter. And I wouldn't doubt if Higgs whole heartedly agrees. Now with Looney Lucy out of the picture, he doesn't have to worry as much about blowing his cover.

[HandofShadows]

I don't think Bang is out to kill yet. This is a fight for "fun" and maybe to get some more info.

[Traab]

Im wondering if she is going to start "letting things slip" to try and trigger a confrontation or otherwise confirm that zeetha really is the person she is after. Now that she has had the fear of agatha drummed into her skull she doesnt want to just lash out at zeetha without being VERY certain its her. It would suck to burn all her bridges and make some powerful enemies only to later realize she killed the wrong person.

[Rogar Demonblud]

I think if it boils down to either...

1. protect her spymaster's secret or
   
   
2. use it to start unravelling the secrets of time as a stepping stone to saving Mechanisburg,

...Agatha is choosing the latter. And I wouldn't doubt if Higgs whole heartedly agrees. Now with Looney Lucy out of the picture, he doesn't have to worry as much about blowing his cover.

Plus, all Higgs would have to do is not work in Britannia for a couple decades until the knowing people inevitably get themselves killed through some poorly thought out Sparkery.

[wingnutx]

Plus, all Higgs would have to do is not work in Britannia for a couple decades until the knowing people inevitably get themselves killed through some poorly thought out Sparkery.

Yup. He's playing a very long game.

[Shining Wrath]

Plus, all Higgs would have to do is not work in Britannia for a couple decades until the knowing people inevitably get themselves killed through some poorly thought out Sparkery.

I was going to say "What about Albia?", but I think Albia knows who Higgs is, and is amused. There probably aren't that many people who can even begin to impress her.

Im wondering if she is going to start "letting things slip" to try and trigger a confrontation or otherwise confirm that zeetha really is the person she is after. Now that she has had the fear of agatha drummed into her skull she doesnt want to just lash out at zeetha without being VERY certain its her. It would suck to burn all her bridges and make some powerful enemies only to later realize she killed the wrong person.

I think she's pretty sure. The number of people who single-handedly wiped out an entire fleet of pirates is presumably low.

[HandofShadows]

I was going to say "What about Albia?", but I think Albia knows who Higgs is, and is amused. There probably aren't that many people who can even begin to impress her.

Where is there any evidence of this?

[Traab]

Where is there any evidence of this?

As evidence I offer.... albia. No seriously, this is one of those, "We are told the character is all but omniscient in her realm, therefore its easier to assume she just knows than to try and come up with excuses why maybe she doesnt know this time." She has clearly focused on higgs and zeetha at least once during the dance, and she is able to tell a lot about agatha and her intentions with just as little effort, so the odds of her knowing about higgs secret isnt that low.

[Agi Hammerthief]

"We are told the character is all but omniscient in her realm, therefore its easier to assume she just knows than to try and come up with excuses why maybe she doesnt know this time."

she might have put the memories of him in long term storage

[Shining Wrath]

Where is there any evidence of this?

Albia looked at Higgs and Zeetha dancing, and was able to detect Zeetha's joy. And also detect that Agatha had no ill intent. That is, if she so much as looks at someone, she can read their mind with little or no effort.

She looked at Higgs. She's probably looked at him before. If she has ever cared to know what he was thinking, she knows who he is. And I don't think "identity of the Heterodyne chief spy in England" goes into long term storage.

Albia has also done something "magical" to Zeetha's swords. I think we've got Chekov's modification - that's going to be important at some point.

Bang is ready to start fighting seriously now - as is Zeetha. It's SHOWTIME!

[Agi Hammerthief]

And I don't think "identity of the Heterodyne chief spy in England" goes into long term storage.

I don’t think he is filed as such from previous encounters.
I do think he is able to shield his thoughts better than average mook.

[Shining Wrath]

I don’t think he is filed as such from previous encounters.
I do think he is able to shield his thoughts better than average mook.

I will agree he's probably better than average mook. As good as a mega-Spark like Agatha? Maybe. But not a lot better - and if Albia detects the fact of shielding, you're probably dead before you can think about dropping the shield. You have to be able to shield without it being noticeable that you are shielding, and that's rough.

So the question arises - has Higgs ever, in decades of coming and going in England, ever drawn Albia's attention to the point where she'd actually try to scan him? I'll admit that's unknown.

[Vinyadan]

I will agree he's probably better than average mook. As good as a mega-Spark like Agatha? Maybe. But not a lot better - and if Albia detects the fact of shielding, you're probably dead before you can think about dropping the shield. You have to be able to shield without it being noticeable that you are shielding, and that's rough.

So the question arises - has Higgs ever, in decades of coming and going in England, ever drawn Albia's attention to the point where she'd actually try to scan him? I'll admit that's unknown.

Higgs worked for the Heterodyne for centuries. They probably turned his mindscape in such a mess, that an external observer would only see recollections of visits to the brothels of half Europe.

However, this does lead to questions on how Albia's remote link works, and whether Higgs has a decoy form installed (otherwise, he would be recognisable as a fake English sailor).

On the other hand, Gil did manage to pass for a Jack Tarr thanks to his uncanny skill with accents, so I might be thinking too much.

[Manga Shoggoth]

Albia has also done something "magical" to Zeetha's swords. I think we've got Chekov's modification - that's going to be important at some point.

I don't think "Albia did some kind of magic thing to them" means "Albia made me some cool magic swords", it's more "Albia made me some cool swords using magic". I suspect that the swords are quite normal (if high quality).

We'll find out later. For now there is a fight to enjoy.

[Rogar Demonblud]

Way to go, Zeetha! I hated that hat.

[Agi Hammerthief]

Way to go, Zeetha! I hated that hat.

but now it can’t be claimed by a Jäger

[Rogar Demonblud]

Considering it's a plain and ugly hat, I'm not sure they'd want it.

[InvisibleBison]

Considering it's a plain and ugly hat, I'm not sure they'd want it.

The worst jaeger has to find a hat somewhere.

[SZbNAhL]

Considering it's a plain and ugly hat, I'm not sure they'd want it.

It's not about the hat, it's about its former owner.

[Rogar Demonblud]

And yet you never see a Jaeger with a plain ugly hat.

[Shining Wrath]

If this does turn into a fight to the death, Zeetha may claim the hat and have it fixed. Or, perhaps, bury Bang with it.

Detail not yet mentioned: Zeetha also broke Bang's dagger. She'll be fighting with one blade against Zeetha's two. That's assuming there isn't a hidden blade somewhere, which is actually a pretty bad assumption.

[geoduck]

If this does turn into a fight to the death, Zeetha may claim the hat and have it fixed. Or, perhaps, bury Bang with it.

Detail not yet mentioned: Zeetha also broke Bang's dagger. She'll be fighting with one blade against Zeetha's two. That's assuming there isn't a hidden blade somewhere, which is actually a pretty bad assumption.

We've seen time and again that Bang carries countless knives around with her. And no, it doesn't matter she's wearing a more skimpy costume. She's still got tons of them.

[Shining Wrath]

We've seen time and again that Bang carries countless knives around with her. And no, it doesn't matter she's wearing a more skimpy costume. She's still got tons of them.

Actually, Bang is down TWO blades - one from panel #1, one from the penultimate panel. I agree that she's got lots in her boots / hair / bodice / pants / hammerspace, but still, it looks like Zeetha can casually break them. Let's see what happens.

[Rogar Demonblud]

I'll admit I'd kind of like that as a poster for the game room.

[Deliverance]

We've seen time and again that Bang carries countless knives around with her. And no, it doesn't matter she's wearing a more skimpy costume. She's still got tons of them.

And easy quick access to them as well, apparently.

In today's comic I count 9 parried knives, 3 missed, and one nailing Zeetha's boot just as the pendulum is swinging her way.