#16 - "One From The H.A.R.T."

"What a mess." Spectrum looked over what now remained of the Tanghal Tower. The building had been in the process of being torn down over the last several days. The gigantic free-for-all that had erupted less than an hour ago had virtually finished the job.

The local branch of PRIMUS Agents had been here and took three of the villains into custody. Three out of at least a dozen that had converged on the tower. Fortunately, allies had lent a hand to the Heroes for Hire. Otherwise, the results could have been vastly different.

Hammerhead and Titania, of the Thugmaster's Elite, had been taken out early in the fight. The last villainess, Blue Jay, was turned in by the legendary American Eagle. Blue Jay didn't offer any resistance and was taken away peacefully. Spectrum could have sworn he saw the two speaking for several minutes, but was unsure what the conversation was about. American Eagle did look somewhat concerned, however.

It was apparent that the cornerstone of the now torn down tower held something of great value. In the span of several nights, Spectrum and his associates had encountered VIPER agents and their allied supers, the odd, multi-colored Hexmaster, and the mysterious figure seemingly observing from a distance. However, the object of everyone's desire was now missing. Shockwave found the cornerstone to be empty. Another mystery was added to the pile.

The Heroes for Hire chatted with their unexpected allies for some time. "I have to tell you one thing," Blizzard boasted, "when we throw a party-- we throw one mother of a blow out!"

"It was nearly your last," the Empress chastised. With all the assaults on heroes that had been occurring lately, she couldn't believe that anyone would be so dimwitted to actually announce their location on TV. It was just asking for trouble.

Spectrum mostly listened to the talk. He was tired and the disappearance of his father had more than put a damper on his spirits. Jim was familiar with American Eagle. Who wasn't? The original American Eagle fought against the Axis powers back in World War II, aided by his teenage side kick, Winger. Winger became the new American Eagle when the original retired. It was like being in the company of a legend. Everyone present listened when he spoke.

"There is something very sinister going on," American Eagle announced. "Villains going out of their way to battle heroes and trying to capture them is not normal."

Likewise, the newer heroes present were in awe of the American Eagle. Spectrum had vaguely heard of Sabre before, but Goshawk and the Empress were new ones on him.

"Tell me about it," Goshawk muttered. "That's how we got together." Goshawk gestured to himself and the Empress. "We banded with Starburst for protection."

"That didn't seem to help much. Now they've got Starburst," Empress added. "I wonder where all these missing heroes are disappearing to?"

"The problem is wide spread," Jo-Tan stated. "Supreme, Obsidian, and Peregrine are already among the missing. Our own Dimension Man and Hard Hat have disappeared as well."

"I think the lad here has the right idea." American Eagle placed his hand on Goshawk's shoulder. "We need to band together in greater numbers. For mutual protection and to uncover what is really going on. To that end, I'm offering tutorship services to you new heroes."

Empress and Goshawk exchanged looks, as did Shockwave and Blizzard. "That's a very generous offer," Sabre stated. "I shall consider it."

Goshawk advanced on the American Eagle offering his hand. "Count me in, sir!"

The Empress considered a bit longer, but ultimately decided to accept American Eagle's offer. "Hey, why not learn from the best?"

"I don't know about this," Blizzard replied. "We'll have to get back to you on that."

"What's the matter," the Empress stated in a mocking tone. "Afraid of not getting a pay check?"

"Oooh...", Blizzard responded. "Jealous, are we?"

"I can understand your hesitation," American Eagle answered in a reassuring voice as he stepped between the two heroes. "The offer remains open. Just stop by our headquarters should you decide to accept. A good night to you all!" The American Eagle stepped away, spread his wings, and soared off into the night.

The discussion broke up from there, with the heroes going their own way, leaving Blizzard, Shockwave, and Spectrum to their task.

"This is always the part I hate about parties," Spectrum said eyeing the area. "Cleaning up."

Shockwave placed her hand on Spectrum's shoulder. "Fortunately, there are others who'll do that task. Since whatever it was that everyone was trying to get is now gone, I'd say the rest of the night's going to be quiet." She could sense that something was wrong with the hero. She had felt it before the free-for-all had erupted, but didn't have the time to pursue the issue.

"I think I'll take a swing around the perimeter," Blizzard announced. "Check to make sure we didn't miss someone." Generating an ice ramp, Blizzard quickly slid away.

"Good idea." Once Blizzard was away, she turned back to Spectrum. "Spectrum? Jim? Are you okay? You seem-- out of it."

"Yeah, I'm a bit pre-occupied."

"I'll listen if you want to talk about it."

Spectrum considered for a moment. Shockwave already knew who he was, so that wasn't an issue any longer. "My father is missing. I stopped by his house earlier today and found the police there. There was some kind of scuffle, but he was gone."

"I'm sorry to hear that. Were there any clues indicating who did this?"

"Nobody saw anything. I guess a neighbor heard the fighting and phoned the authorities."

Shockwave turned to face Spectrum. "Small wonder you've been so distracted. Who wouldn't be? If there is anything I can do to help, don't hesitate to ask."

"Thanks, Shocky. I really appreciate it."

The rest of the night did pass without incident as Shockwave had predicted. Wearily, Jim returned to his hotel. As he had done the last several nights, he flew in through a window he had left open. After a quick shower, Jim turned in.

He awoke several hours later to a knocking on his door. Groggily, he threw the covers off and staggered to the door. "Who is it?"

"Detective Carter, LAPD."

"Oh geez...", Jim muttered. "Just a minute!" Jim quickly threw some water on his face in the bathroom and ran a comb through his hair. Concentrating, he changed his clothing into blue jeans and aT-shirt.

Returning to the door, he opened it to find Detective Carter standing there alone. "Mr. Sculley. May I come in?"

"By all means, Detective Carter." Jim gestured the police officer in and shut the door behind her. "Has my father been found?"

Detective Carter turned to face Jim. "I'm afraid not. There have been no new developments since we last spoke."

Disappointed, Jim took a seat on the couch. "I see."

Jackie eyed the hotel room, taking in all the details. "Actually, I had a few more questions for you. I gather that I woke you?" It was nearly noon and the bed looked like it had just been occupied.

"Uhm, yeah, that's right. I'm a freelance writer and I do my best work late at night. Coupled with my father's disappearance, I was up pretty late last night." Of course, as Spectrum he had been guarding the Tanghal Tower overnight lately, but he wasn't going to admit that!

"Understandable," Detective Carter replied, taking a seat adjacent to the couch. "I've been doing some research and discovered that you yourself had just returned from a long period of being missing. And that you had amnesia."

The question caught Jim off guard. Had he been more awake, he might have considered the possibility that Detective Carter was going to look into everything related to this case. Including Jim's past. "That's correct. I turned up about a month ago out of the blue, my memories a blur. Some of them have come more into focus since then, but I still don't remember anything about what happened while I was missing."

"That's what the reports I read stated. On the surface, the accounts of your father's disappearance are very similar to that of your own."

A chilling thought struck Jim, shaking away his sleepiness. "You suspect that whatever happened to me, is now happening to my father?"

"It's a possibility I have to consider. What few facts we have in this case are ambiguous at best. Any number of theories can substantiate what little I know. Including that our unknown perp has some vendetta against your family."

That was something Jim had not even considered. "A grudge against my family? Seems a bit farfetched to me."

Jackie shrugged. "Without anything else to go on, I'm grasping at straws here. Unless more evidence turns up, I'm at a dead end. I had hoped that something about your disappearance would give me some clue as to what happened to your father."

"Believe me, if there was some connection, I would tell you."

Detective Carter nodded her understanding. "Well, that seems to cover things sufficiently for now. My apologies for disturbing you."

"No trouble at all, Detective. If there is anything I can do to help, just let me know."

Standing, Jackie made her way to the door followed by Jim. "I'll be in touch, Mr. Sculley. Good day."

Jim watched the lovely detective depart down the hallway before closing the door. "All that did was make me worry even more than I had been..."

Seeing no point in trying to go back to sleep, Jim decided to get busy. There was a lot he wanted to accomplish today. Gathering up his few belongings, Jim prepared to check out of the hotel. With his father missing, he might as well stay at the house for the time being. It was certainly more reasonable than the hotel!

A cab was summoned while Jim paid his hotel bill. "It's a good thing I'm getting a tidy check this afternoon-- these rates are steep!"

The cab ride out to Van Nuys passed quickly. Jim was too tired and too deep in thought to pay all that much attention to the passing scenery. Much to his surprise, a familiar white Turbo Conquest TSi was parked out front. Whitney Parks sat behind the wheel. Jim had not spoken to her since their falling out nearly a week ago.

Somewhat leery about the situation, Jim disembarked the cab and paid the driver. His belongings were quickly placed on the curbside. During the unloading, Whitney had gotten out of the car and was now standing beside it. She appeared just as uneasy as Jim felt.

Jim gave Whitney a friendly wave. "It's not like I've got much to loose, so why not be nice?", was his thought on the matter. After a pause, Whitney returned the greeting. As Jim moved his few belongings to the front door, Whitney approached.

"Hello, James."

She was as lovely as ever. Jim couldn't believe that he actually would do something that would hurt her. And yet he had. "Uhm, hi, Whitney. This is certainly unexpected." After a pause, JIm added, "How are you doing?"

"Okay, I guess. I've been keeping pretty busy with work. I heard about your father. I'm sorry..."

"So that's what brought her out," Jim thought to himself. To Whitney he replied, "Thanks-- It was quite a shock."

"Are you doing okay? Do you need anything?"

Inside, Jim smiled. She still cared and he reasoned that their relationship might still yet be salvaged. "I've been better..."

An uneasy silence followed, as if Whitney was waiting for the Jim to make the first move. He gulped, and leaped into a full-blown apology. "I wanted to say that I'm really sorry for being such a jerk. I really appreciate you coming here." Whitney smiled slightly in response, but it was evident to Jim that he wasn't going to get out of this that easy. He wished that he had prepared some speech for this moment. Something to say how much he cared, how much he needed her, but the words wouldn't come out.

Jim sighed and changed the subject. "Why don't we go inside? Excuse the mess-- the maid's been out all week."

"Okay." Whitney grabbed one of the boxes as Jim unlocked the front door. "Let me help you with your things."

"Thanks."

Whitney took two steps into the house and come to an abrupt stop. She was not prepared for the condition of the house. Very little had been done to straighten up the place since Jim's visit here yesterday. "What happened in here?"

"I did warn you, Whitney. The police are still not sure just what transpired." Jim sat his burdens down inside the door. Another trip brought the rest of his belongings into the dwelling. "The neighbors heard a scuffle. The police were called and they found the place like this." Jim gestured towards the disheveled room. "My dad nowhere to be found. Not really any clues-- no real suspects."

After taking in the scene, Whitney absentmindedly started to tidy up. A small table was righted, and a nearby lamp placed upon it. "It's going to take a lot of work to get this place back together again."

"Tell me about it," Jim muttered. "It wasn't exactly clean to begin with." Jim disappeared into the kitchen and returned with several garbage bags. He quickly began to fill up the first bag with trash that littered the floor; empty bottles and cans, old newspapers, and other things that he could not identify.

"Yes, I do remember. Hopefully the police will be able to turn something up."

"I agree. But there are some things that they don't know that could complicate matters."

That piqued Whitney's interest. No doubt her private detective skills were shining through. "What are you getting at, James?"

"I think my father has super powers too."

That made Whitney pause in her cleaning. "I see. So you think his disappearance could be the work of a superpowered individual?"

Jim placed a recliner upright and then turned to look at Whitney. "I really don't know. When I did finally get to see him-- it was not a pretty sight. He had been hitting the bottle pretty hard."

"Have you told the detectives about all this?", Whitney asked matter-of-factly as she replaced the cushions on the couch.

"Well, not exactly..."

Finished with the couch, Whitney faced Jim. "They can't help you if you don't give them all the information, James."

"Yeah, you might be right," Jim answered sheepishly. "But, if there were super powers involved in this, they didn't leave behind any evidence. None of the damage here looks beyond anything a normal person could do. He never told me or Stephanie that he had powers. He might have had a reason for not telling us."

"Maybe they meant for it to appear this way."

Jim considered that point. "That's also a possibility. Still, I'm not sure that I should give that secret away. This may all be nothing and all I would do is attract more of his enemies down on him and the family."

"At this stage of the investigation almost anything is a possibility. I don't envy you your situation."

Jim placed a full garbage bag near the front door and tied it shut. Considering how little of the room he had covered, it was going to take many more bags to handle all the refuse in the house. "Yeah-- it's normal for me-- pretty bizarre."

The pair continued the thankless cleaning job. After a time, Whitney spoke up. "You don't look so good, James. Are you sure you're okay?"

"I've only had a few hours sleep... I've been doing a third shift job all week."

"I saw some of it on the news this morning. Maybe I should go and let you rest."

"No-- Please-- I think I'm up for the duration anyway. Nervous energy," Jim added.

Another pause followed as the pair continued to work. With the front room more or less straightened up, they made their way into the dining room and kitchen.

"I got the flowers you sent," Whitney said out of the blue. "Thank you, James. They were lovely."

Jim grinned back. "Pretty flowers for a pretty lady."

Whitney smiled slightly again. "How's the writing going? Generate any new interest lately?"

"I really haven't done much lately. Still waiting for responses."

"I see." At last Whitney finished clearing the dining room table. Miscellaneous plates and dishes covered the table, some having grown mold in them. All the while she continued to be silent.

"This is silly," Jim thought to himself. "We're like a pair of kids on a blind date-- neither one knowing what to say."

Taking the dishes that Whitney had retrieved from the dining room, Jim loaded them into the dishwasher. Perhaps some of them could be made useful again. "I appreciate your help-- anything I can do in return? Maybe tell you everything that has happened to me?"

Whitney glanced at Jim. "To you? Or to Spectrum?"

"Both of us."

"Maybe an explanation will help me understand what happened," Whitney offered.

"I owe you that much."

"Yes...", Whitney answered with a pained expression. "Yes you do."

"Well, it all started with me waking up in your apartment..."

By the time Jim finished his tale, the kitchen and dining room had been straightened up. At least the trash had been picked up and much of the clutter removed. Whitney remained quiet throughout the explanation. Several minutes passed before she finally spoke.

"James, I am sorry to hear all the things that you went through. When you combine the amnesia and the disappearance and this criminal idea, it must have been very difficult for you. I am not denying that. I wish you would have let me help."

Jim took Whitney's hands into his own. "I wish I would have too. Hindsight is such a wonderful thing."

"But I thought things had changed." Whitney looked deep into Jim's eyes. "They did somewhat, but not completely. Maybe the circumstances of you suddenly appearing on my doorstep affected me. I thought I was falling for you all over again. Now I don't know what to think."

"I can't blame you for being confused."

"Either you don't really trust me or else you don't care about me as much as I wanted to believe." Whitney turned away from Jim, her body shaking slightly. "You don't know how much it hurt to be suddenly excluded from you and here you go doing it all over again. I got over you once. I don't want to have to do it again."

Jim moved to comfort her, placing his hand on Whitney's shoulder. "I never, ever meant to hurt you, Whitney. I thought I was protecting you, but instead I was hurting you. I can't blame you for being upset. I certainly wouldn't want to be treated like that."

Whitney turned to face Jim, a tear running down her cheek. Jim wiped it away with his thumb. "Maybe we're just not meant to be?", she said softly.

"Maybe things happened to fast this time," Jim offered. "Like we tried to recapture all the good times and condense them into a few weeks. I really do think that we have something special."

"I would like to feel that way-- but I can't." Whitney glanced at her watch. "It's getting late, James. I should be going."

"I understand," Jim nodded as he escorted Whitney to the front door. "Thanks for all your help. I never would have gotten this far with out you. Perhaps you'll let me treat you to dinner and a movie some time?"

Whitney paused just outside the door. "Perhaps I will. Take care, James."

Jim watched Whitney approach her car and then drive off. "That certainly did nothing to clear things up," he thought to himself. Closing the door, Jim wasn't quite sure what to make of his relationship with Whitney. It was neither over, nor did it appear to be on either. "My life is disintegrating into a soap opera..."

After Whitney departed, Jim decided that he needed a break from cleaning. It was now late in the afternoon and there should be a sizable check awaiting him at the 'Heroes For Hire' office. Changing into Spectrum, Jim invisibly slipped out of the house through an upstairs window. Once high above the ground, he appeared and flew into Los Angeles.

The offices of 'Heroes for Hire' were on the unspectacular side. Inside the door were several chairs for waiting and a single desk. A curtained off doorway lead into a back area. A bell had been triggered by the opening of the front door. Jim could hear metallic footsteps coming from behind the curtain.

He could hear Shockwave speak before he could see her. "I'll be with you in a moment..." The curtain parted to reveal the heroine in her full armor. "Ah, Spectrum. Nice to see you."

"Hi, Shocky. How's tricks?

"Been pretty quiet so far today. Have you heard anything--??"

Figuring that Shockwave was inquiring about his missing father, Spectrum replied, "No. Nothing."

Shockwave nodded slightly. "I hope something turns up soon for you. Anyway, I assume that you're here to collect your salary."

"To be brutally honest, yes."

"Take a seat and I'll be right back." Shockwave disappeared into the back area once more. Spectrum took a seat and paged through a copy of Sports Illustrated to pass the time.

After a few minutes, Shockwave returned with an envelope in her hand. She handed it to Spectrum. "Here you go. The total amount comes to a little less than twelve thousand."

Jim flipped through the stack of 100 dollar bills and then looked back at Shockwave in surprise. "Not to sound greedy, but I thought that--"

"I know-- some expenses had to be deducted first. Such as the damage to the equipment on the construction sight among other things. Still not bad for a week's work."

"No, not at all," Spectrum responded.

"At this point, we don't have any definite jobs scheduled, but we'll be in contact if something comes up."

"No problem, Shocky. Let me know if you need help with anything else." Spectrum wrote a number on one of the 'Hero for Hire' business cards and handed it to his partner. "You can reach me at this number for the time being."

"Okay, I imagine something will come up soon enough."

"If things are slow for a while, we could always finish the article we began."

"Sure, Spectrum. That sounds great. The more exposure, the better. See you around."

"Bye."

Jim created a pocket in his Spectrum costume and placed the envelope inside. He paused only to pick up some take out for dinner before returning to the house. Dead tired, Jim caught up on his sleep after eating.

Later that evening, a white sports car sat in the parking lot of NuovoTex, a small local textile company. The occupant had a pair of binoculars trained on the warehouse some distance away: the Highland Alarm and Regulation Timer warehouse. She could see that the last car, a black El Dorado, was pulling out of the parking lot.

A few moments after the lights of the car had faded from view, Morning Star exited the white vehicle. She wore her famous lavender costume with purple accents. Morning Star's long dark brown tresses blew in the soft evening breeze.

"I thought those jokers were never going to leave," Morning Star thought to herself. She quickly advanced on the brick building. "Now to see if I can find a way in. Spin would be so much better suited for this than me, but too late for that thought now."

After a few moments of stealthily slinking about the perimeter of the H.A.R.T. warehouse, Morning Star heard a faint sound. She flattened herself up against the side of the building using shadows to hide herself. She noticed someone flying by overhead.

"Oh great," she thought to herself, "it's him again." She watched as the figure began to circle the building at a low altitude, disappearing around the back of the building. Morning Star slipped deeper into the shadows.

A moment later, the colorful mutant known as Spectrum came around the side of the building. Able to see in a variety of light spectrums, he saw Morning Star in plain view, despite her concealment.

"Hey! You're Morning Star!", Spectrum said, flying up to the heroine. Jim was happy to have a full-face mask on, as he jaw dropped in disbelief at the sight of the beautiful heroine.

Morning Star looked heavenward, then shut her eyes and shook her head. "Would you like to just announce it to everyone?", she responded tersely.

"Oh, sorry," Spectrum said quickly, realizing his blunder. "I think the area is clear. I didn't see anybody."

"I didn't see anyone either. That doesn't mean there isn't surveillance equipment around. You are just floating there out in the open."

Spectrum landed and moved up to the wall alongside the lavender-clad heroine. "You've got a point there." He noticed that she was almost as tall as he was and had an extremely impressive physique.

"Is there something I can do for you?"

"You're investigating the H.A.R.T. warehouse?", Spectrum asked after ruling out even uttering several of the responses that had gone through his mind.

"I was. Until you interrupted me, that is," she responded curtly.

"Me too," Spectrum quickly answered. "Maybe we should compare notes."

Morning Star thought for a moment. She wasn't too sure what to make of this newcomer. Spinnerette had mentioned her brief encounter with the new hero the last time they spoke. "It may be against my better judgement, but okay, what do you know?"

"That the Highland Alarm and Regulation Timers is a front for VIPER?"

"VIPER, huh?" Morning Star thought for a moment. "What makes you think that?"

"Let's just say that I have it from a very good source." Of course, that source was Icicle who was currently a VIPER Operative.

"I see. It makes sense. I suspected it was VIPER, but have been unable to verify that so far. The last warehouse I staked out was bombed by a small plane, destroying the whole place," Morning Star explained.

"Bombed? Now that's not something that happens everyday."

"No. Very conspicuous in fact."

"So what's our next move?", Spectrum asked.

Morning Star looked at Spectrum. "What do you mean 'our next move'?"

"Well... It makes more sense for us to work together on this." Spectrum shifted uncomfortably under Morning Star's gaze. "I can be helpful."

Morning Star considered her options for a moment. "I think I have the situation pretty well under control. I was just looking for a way in before you arrived on the scene."

"Seems to be sealed up pretty tight to me. In fact, all the doors have some sort of an infrared light around them. Maybe an alarm?"

"Most likely." Morning Star regarded her new acquaintance with a slight admiration. "That's something I wouldn't have been prepared to deal with. Perhaps you could be helpful after all."

"Great! You won't regret this."

"I sincerely hope not."

"Not to worry, I grow on people." Spectrum looked about the place. "Very high tech for a warehouse, don't ya think?"

"Quite. Looks like your VIPER informant was right on the money." Morning Star looked around for a moment. "Short of ripping a hole in a wall, I'm at a loss for how to get in. This sort of operation isn't exactly my forte. Spinnerette usually did the security circumventions."

"Well, there is a hatch on the roof that doesn't seem to have an infrared alarm."

"On the roof...?", she asked warily.

"I could carry you," Spectrum offered hopefully.

"I think I would be better off getting up there on my own, if you don't mind."

"You're the boss." Spectrum took to the air once more and landed easily on the roof. Morning Star, meanwhile, stepped back from the warehouse and gauged its height. The building was about 25 feet high. The heroine took a deep breath and with a short running start, launched herself upwards.

Morning Star managed to jump high enough to grab a hold of the edge of the roof. She pulled herself up and over the top. Spectrum watched, noticing that she had closed her eyes for this last part.

"Talk about doing it the hard way," Spectrum said off-handedly. Morning Star just gave him a shrug.

"There's the hatch," she said finally.

Spectrum flew over and gave it a closer inspection. As he had said earlier, the hatchway was not protected by an infrared alarm. He grabbed the handle and gave it a tug. It refused to budge. "It's locked."

"Allow me." Morning Star grabbed hold and lifted the hatch effortlessly. Her other hand reached out and caught the falling lock as it dropped off the hasp.

"Now that is fast," Spectrum said, quite impressed.

"Thanks. See anything inside?" Inside the building was pitch black. Morning Star figured correctly that her companion would not be hindered by that fact however.

"There's a ladder going down and a bunch of shelves. A few crates, but most of the shelves are bare." Spectrum peered further into the hatch for a moment. "That's all I can see from here. What me to take a quick look-see?"

"By all means,..." Morning Star watched as Spectrum flew into the building. "See if you can find a light," she called after him.

"How's this?" Spectrum concentrated and his form began to emit a strong light. It was powerful enough to brighten a major portion of the warehouse. "Have light, will illuminate."

Morning Star slowly climbed down the ladder. "Looks normal enough at first glance. Nothing overly suspicious." The two wandered around the aisles for a few moments. On a far wall, the pair noticed a few stacks of crates.

"J301," Spectrum read from one of the crates. "H.A.R.T. Desk Alarm. Seems ordinary enough."

"Let's just see," Morning Star said, stepping up to the stack of crates. She dug her fingers into the lid and pried it off with ridiculous ease. Pushing aside some packing material, she inspected the contents, pulling one of the implements from the box. "This doesn't look like a desk alarm to me." In her hands she held a blaster rifle.

"Umm, no," Spectrum agreed. "That pretty much confirms our suspicions."

"Indeed, now to locate..." Morning Star was suddenly interrupted by a voice behind the heroes.

"Alright, freeze!" The two turned to see a man holding a blaster rifle pointed at them. It was giving off a slight hum. Morning Star noticed the telltale red aiming dot of the laser sight placed directly on her abdomen. "You guys just got yerselves a heap of trouble."

"From one guy with a gun?", Spectrum said, moving in front of the heroine. "Get real!"

"I warned you!" The man opened fire with the weapon, hitting Spectrum a number of times with the laser blasts. Spectrum flinched, more from the number of hits he took than the damage of each. His force field absorbed most of the laser energy from the blasts.

"You can't hurt me with lasers, you silly man." As Spectrum was about to return fire, he saw a crate fly in and smash into the man. It drove him to the ground and shattered upon impact. "Nice shot," he said turning to Morning Star.

"Kind of hard to miss someone with something that large," she offered. "I wonder if there's anyone else around here."

"I can take a quick flight around." Spectrum took to the air and flew about the entire warehouse.

Meanwhile, Morning Star opened more of the crates. She found other assorted weaponry including magnesium flare rifles, grenades, thermex blasters and others. A crate containing a number of small black boxes with white buttons on them got her attention. She picked one up and turned it about in her fingers, studying it.

"The offices are over this way, Morning Star," Spectrum announced as he flew up. "What d'ya got there?"

"I'm not sure."

"In that case, I would advise against pushing any of the buttons."

"Most likely some good advice. Lead on, perhaps we can find some more information regarding where these weapons are headed. Obviously, this is just a storage and assembly area."

On the opposite side of the warehouse, the pair of heroes examined the offices. In the main office, the computer terminals required passwords to enter the system. "I don't know about you, 'Star, but I'm not that big on computers myself. I can run one, but that's about it."

"Afraid we're out of luck then." Morning Star sifted through the contents of a desk. "But sometimes low tech solutions are just as effective." She held up a pile of envelopes from the mail basket. The two heroes began tearing them open and examining the contents.

After a few moments, Morning Star spoke up. "Here might be something. It's an expense voucher for office supplies and ammunition." Morning Star stashed the envelope in her boot.

"Uh oh. That doesn't look good." Morning Star looked over to see what Spectrum was talking about. He was pointing at the computer screen. It flashed a message:

"Remote destruction of facility activated."

"Base will self-destruct in 20 seconds."

Below it a timer had already counted down to 10 seconds. "Oh hell! Time to move!" Spectrum flew over to Morning Star and was about to grab her, when she suddenly grabbed him instead.

Moving over to the brick wall, she held her fist up for a second. A bright purple light began to glow around it as she slammed into the concrete wall. Almost in one motion she continued out the hole in the wall, carrying the startled Spectrum.

A moment later the entire structure erupted in an incredible explosion. The heroes were thrown through the air and landed roughly on the ground some yards away.

"That's not what I expected," Spectrum said, brushing himself off. Rolling over, he looked at his companion. "But thanks anyway."

"Sorry," Morning Star apologized. "It was just reflex."

"I don't mind at all. So what do we do now? They destroyed all the evidence."

Morning Star pulled out the envelope from the top of her boot and looked at the name above the address. "Looks like we'll have to pay a visit to this Lily Garrot."