As the story opens, Agatha is a student of no particular promise, somewhat scatterbrained and, in her own later estimation, "[ stupid] [[Chronology - Volume #|✣ ]]". This is due primarily to the effects of the Locket, which prevents her from concentrating, and secondarily to the lack of self-esteem that results from repeated failure. Even before her spark breaks through, she is far from weak. She defends herself forcefully against a mugging by the brothers von Zinzer and cleans Dr. Beetle's entire lab with dispatch.