All of the problems in this episode are launched into action when Dr. Venture very innocently invents something that happens to have such incredible power that the Guild zeroes in on it. If the Guild is aware that Rusty has created a teleportation device then of course they’re going to require its abilities. In fact, the Guild is so obsessed with this technology that they’re willing to reward a full Guild EMA Level upgrade to anyone who can acquire it.

The Guild may have their eye on this shiny piece of technology, but the OSI also view this as a supreme threat. In spite of Rusty’s bragging rights, they insist that Dr. Venture can’t go public with his creation because not only could the technology end up in the wrong hands, but Venture’s life could also be in danger. This may seem a tad extreme and a pretty harsh buzzkill to Dr. Venture’s optimism, but they happen to be absolutely right considering that during this discussion there’s literally an evil team scheming to steal this technology.

On that note, the Monarch finds himself stuck in more Guild bureaucracy and attempts to placate his wife and the evil organization. He gets forced to perform some Guild due diligence and fill in for an opening on a heist team that’s full of wild supervillains (Copy Cat, Tunnel Vision, Dot Comm, Ramburglar, Driver X, and Mark Hammil’s Presto Change-o, who is basically his version of the Joker, but on bath salts). It’s fascinating to see the inner workings of this heist team and the idea that they’ve had their eye on VenTech for a while with the hopes that this teleportation project would soon be cracked. I’m seriously curious just how long the Guild’s surveillance had been scoping out Venture’s laboratory!

Copy Cat and his team have a terrific plan put together, but the Monarch is just shoehorned into it at the last minute. What’s even worse is that his job is to be the lookout for the heist—a role that ostensibly anyone could do. The Monarch may come into this heist squad uninterested and belligerent, but he inadvertently comes out the only real winner when the operation is over. Even though the team’s routine is extremely well planned, the Monarch insists that he play by his own rules.

It actually makes a lot of sense that the OSI would have some board of officials that’s essentially their equivalent to the Guild’s Council of 13—the OSI Illuminati, Super Sentinels, whatever you want to call them. These individuals are impressed with Rusty’s ability to crack teleportation and want him to consider joining their shadow organization, but only if he’s eventually willing to donate his new invention to their cause. Rusty’s journey goes in some interesting directions, which happens to include the series’ biggest Kubrick homage to date.