#30 - "The Empress' New Clothes"

It was the middle of the night in the City of Angels. Spectrum soared above the light traffic out at this late hour. But this was no casual joy flight. Spectrum was in pursuit of a pair of criminals and he was determined to stop them.

Spectrum had been out minding his own business, not even on patrol or looking for trouble. A moment after making a withdrawal from an automatic teller, Jim was violently thrown aside. His assaulter was Titania of the Thugmaster's Elite. As he watched, the superstrong woman ripped the ATM out of the wall and deposited it in the back of a large pickup truck and then drove off.

In the back of the truck, along with several other ATMs was Chaos, another member of the Elite. His power was the ability to grow or shrink with little or no control. Chaos' height was always shifting from one moment to the next. He was aptly named as he grew from three feet in height to six.

Titania was behind the wheel as she maneuvered her truck through the city. So far they had escaped the notice of the LAPD. Her costume of choice left little to the imagination. It was basically a black swimsuit with silver trim with a matching facemask. She wore black slippers and short silver gloves. Her hair was dark brown in color and cut very short. Titania, while powerful, was not the most attractive of women.

The truck was six blocks away by the time Spectrum caught up with them. In spite of the vehicle's rapid speed, it was no match for Spectrum. The colorful mutant easily pulled closer to the fleeing vehicle.

"We've got trouble!" Chaos shouted to Titania. The strong woman glanced back and saw Chaos pointing to the rapidly closing Spectrum.

"Not him again!" she cursed. Titania couldn't help put recall how poorly the first time she encountered Spectrum had gone. In fact, she and Hammerhead had ended up in PRIMUS custody! Thankfully, the other members of the Elite had sprung them. "He could be trouble!" (Editor's Note: Back in Spectrum #15.)

"Don't worry about it, toots. I'll take care of him." Chaos turned around and faced Spectrum. "Beat it, hero or I'll have to mess you up!" Chaos moved his clenched fist around in a threatening manner.

Spectrum pulled closer and prepared to fire his stunning light attack. "The only thing about you that frightens me is that God-awful costume! I mean, yellow and purple diamonds on white? And what do concentric diamonds have to do with Chaos? It makes absolutely no sense."

Chaos growled angrily and as he did, he suddenly shrunk to three feet in height. Spectrum launched his attack, but missed as Chaos changed size making him a more difficult target. The villain reached down and grabbed one of the stolen ATM machines and easily lifted it up over his head.

"Laugh this off, lightboy!" Chaos threw his makeshift missile but missed Spectrum by a mile.

"Hey, that's destruction of private property!" Spectrum pointed out as the ATM smashed into numerous pieces on the street below. "Now you're really in trouble!"

"What are you doing?" Titania yelled. She couldn't believe that Chaos had started to throw things at the hero. "You could have hurt somebody and there was money inside of it still!" Titania was not the most desperate of criminals and had no desire to see innocents hurt. It was those in positions of authority that she wanted to see crushed, not the general public.

"I'm trying to ditch this hero!" Chaos shouted back to his partner. "We go to jail, we flunk!"

Titania gritted her teeth. As annoyed as she was with Chaos right now, she couldn't fault his reasoning. There was a lot riding on this little joyride as far as both of their criminal careers were concerned. "Then we'll ditch him!"

The pickup unexpectedly swerved to the right, nearly crashing into two parked cars in the process. A third vehicle did get sideswiped and was sent careening onto the sidewalk. Once in the clear, Titania floored the accelerator and the truck pulled away into the night.

"What are you doing, you crazy broad!" Chaos cursed. The sudden change in direction had caused Chaos to lose his footing. The pint-sized villain tumbled towards the side of the bed and over the railing! Fortunately, he was able to secure a handhold and pull himself back inside before being crunched between the truck and a parked car. "You just about got me killed!"

A moment after climbing back inside the truck bed, Chaos grew to nine feet in height. "There, that's better. Now I can crush that clown if he shows his face around here again." Chaos looked about, but there was no sign of Spectrum.

"Hang on!" Titania called out. The truck swerved once more and sped through a dark alley. Those few inhabitants in the alley, homeless, drug addicts and the like, scrambled for safety as the truck streaked past. Chaos was ready for the sudden change in momentum, but was still forced to hang on for dear life.

The gaudily clad giant scanned the night sky, looking for signs of their pursuer. There were none. The blocks whizzed past and still there was no sign of Spectrum.

"I think you did it, Titania! There's no sign of him anywhere!"

More relieved than anything, Titania eased up on the gas and slowed to a more normal rate of speed. She directed the truck back onto the main streets. "We did it. We actually got away."

"Now, I wouldn't say that," Spectrum announced as he unexpectedly appeared in the back of the pickup truck. Before either Chaos or Titania could react, Spectrum fired a light blast at Chaos, catching the now large man fully in the chest.

In spite of Titania's best efforts, they had never lost Spectrum. Instead, when she had accelerated, the leader of X-Factor had simply turned invisible and followed them. Once they had slowed down, Spectrum landed and made himself visible again. At point blank range, it was almost impossible to miss Chaos.

"I love it when a plan comes together."

However, the fact that Chaos remained standing had not been part of Spectrum's plan! Howling in anger, Chaos grabbed Spectrum around the chest with both hands. "I'll crush you!"

'Hey! Hands off the merchandise, you big galoot!"

Up in the driver's compartment, Titania screamed, more startled than anything by the sudden appearance of Spectrum. She floored the gas once more in an attempt to escape. The truck surged forwards in response.

Both Chaos and Spectrum lost their footing and fell. Spectrum slipped free of Chaos' grasp as the big man tried to catch himself. Chaos landed on several of the ATMs further crushing them and the tailgate as well. Spectrum just went with the momentum with the intent of flying to safety.

Chaos would have none of that as he reached out and grabbed Spectrum by the leg. "You're really beginning to annoy me," Spectrum uttered upon realizing that he wasn't going to get away so easily. The colorful mutant fired another blast of light, this time striking Chaos in the face.

There was no response from Chaos, just another unintelligible growl. He whipped Spectrum around, slamming him into the back of the driver's compartment. The impact knocked the wind out of Spectrum. "I'll rip you limb from limb!" the villain threatened.

Anger etched on his face, Chaos came at Spectrum once again. But as he approached, the villain suddenly shrunk to about eighteen inches in height!

Spectrum recovered quickly from the impact, his force field saving him from most of the damage. He regarded the change in Chaos with amusement. "Now that's what I call downsizing!"

Spectrum fired an orange energy blast at his now small foe. He connected once more, sending the tiny villain backwards and out of the truck bed taking one of the ATM machines with him. Chaos hit the concrete and then rolled for nearly thirty feet. Spectrum lost sight of him as the truck continued to move along at a high rate of speed.

"So much for the munchkin," Spectrum mused as he tried to get up on his feet.

Suddenly, Titania reached back through the opening in the cab window and locked her arm around Spectrum's neck! "You're ruining everything!" Titania cursed as she tried to drive and strangle Spectrum all at the same time. "This was a sweet deal we had going down, but you had to stick your nose in where it didn't belong!"

Spectrum's hands went up to try and pry himself free from Titania's grasp. He quickly realized that he was no match for the strong woman. She was easily in the same strength class as Sabre or Shockwave if not more. "Just doing my job," Spectrum managed to respond.

"Yeah, well my job is to make you pay! Taking down a hero will make me look good!"

"Lady, a plastic surgeon couldn't make you look good!"

Titania screamed and cursed in anger as she continued to apply pressure to Spectrum. In the process, she started to pay less and less attention to her driving. The speeding truck quickly began to drift off course. "You'll pay for that! I'm Titania and I'm going to be someone! Not you nor anyone else can stop me!"

Spectrum threw his hand up towards the voice he was hearing. "Here's light in your eye!" he said as he generated a blinding pulse of light.

"You moron!" Titania thundered in astonishment. "I can't see!" The villainess relinquished her hold on Spectrum and placed both hands on the steering wheel as she blindly drove along.

"I can't get anything past you," Spectrum taunted as he tried to catch his breath. "Amazing how you just picked that right up. I'm honestly-"

Spectrum didn't have the chance to finish his train of thought as the truck suddenly slammed into a parked car at high speeds. The unexpected impact sent Titania hurtling though the windshield and tumbling down the sidewalk. Spectrum was sent flying out of control and he landed on top of another nearby car. The rear of the truck was lifted into the air and sent tumbling onto the sidewalk and other parked cars.

"Ouch," Spectrum uttered a few moments later. The impact had momentarily knocked him out. The colorful mutant sat up and took stock of the situation. A quick look around failed to locate Titania. The strongwoman was pretty tough. The crash shouldn't have harmed her.

"She must have gotten away while I was out of it," Spectrum rationalized as he stood up. "Rats!"

Sirens could be heard off in the distance. The police would be on the scene momentarily. There was nothing else for Spectrum to do, so he rose up into the air and flew off. The hero conducted a quick search for Titania and Chaos, but both members of the Elite had fled.

Disappointed that the villains had escaped, Jim continued on with his evening shopping as he had planned. Spectrum flew home with his purchases and then called it a night. Whitney was going to be so surprised when she came over tomorrow night.

The next morning passed by in a blur to Jim. The fact that he didn't get up until going on eleven AM might have had something to do with that. A quick makeshift breakfast managed to get his day going.

The first order of business was contacting the office of Rachel Moret. Ms. Moret was a literary agent that Jim was hoping to get to take on the task of selling his books to potential publishers. Jim spoke to a secretary for a few minutes and made an appointment for Friday morning at 10 AM. That gave Jim almost a week to get ready for the meeting.

Almost everything was set for Whitney this evening. The house was cleaned and most of the shopping had been completed. Jim had a couple of things to pick up on his way home later on. Fresh flowers and Whitney's favorite wine would complete the evening.

His immediate concern was a gathering with the rest of the X-Factor this afternoon. They had not yet been informed of the team's new base or of the addition of Icicle to their ranks. Granted, Icicle was not going to be a regular member of the team. Part of her probation was to perform community service as a heroine. This was going to be accomplished by Icicle going along on some team missions.

It was hard to say just what the team's reactions were going to be. Of course none of them knew Jennifer like he did. She had even won Morning Star over, so things should work out okay. Still, there were bound to be problems. Jim was confident that they could be overcome in time however.

As the time for the team meeting approached, Jim changed into his Spectrum costume and slipped invisibly out of the house. He carried with him two large duffel bags. The bags held his brother's belongings. Ever since Bryan had secretly moved into the Heroes for Hire offices, Jim had been transporting his brothers' stuff to the new location. This was the last of it.

"What's he got in these things anyway? Rocks?" Jim couldn't help but wonder. At least Bryan's stay with Jim turned out to be mercifully short. In that aspect, Jim could not complain in the least. Peace and quite had been restored to the Sculley household.

Spectrum landed before the offices of Heroes for Hire and stepped inside ignoring the looks he received by those passing by. Seated in the outer office were Morning Star and his brother Bryan.

"Hi, guys," Spectrum greeted as he set down his burdens. "How's it going?"

"Jimbo! You brought more of my stuff! Great! Thanks!" Bryan eagerly picked up the duffel bags and disappeared with them into the back of the offices.

"You're welcome," Spectrum muttered. Once Bryan was gone he turned towards Morning Star. "I hope he didn't bother you too much."

"No, not at all", Morning Star stated as she rose to her feet. "We were just chatting is all. Your brother is certainly very eager when it comes to using his powers."

"That's not all he's eager about," Spectrum said sarcastically. "Anyway, how are you doing?"

"Everything is fine. Spin and I only had marginal success last night in coming up with information on the Elite." (Editor's Note: Covered in X-Factor #17)

"I think you might be on to something about them. I ran into two of the Elite myself."

"Interesting. What happened?"

Spectrum quickly re-capped his encounter with Titania and Chaos to his teammate. "I overheard them talking about making a good impression and not flunking."

"That does seem to tie in to all the information that we've uncovered thus far," Morning Star mused. "If we can only find out where this gathering is going to take place."

Before Spectrum could respond, Sabre walked in the door. "Hello," he stated in greeting. "What's new?"

"From what I saw on the news last night, apparently quite a bit with you," Morning Star coyly stated. "That was quite a reward Sheila gave you."

"Just part of the never-ending danger and peril we heroes have to endure," Sabre responded in all modesty.

"What happened, Sabre?" Spectrum had missed the news and was in the dark as far as this conversation was going. "Did I miss something?"

"Ms. Carter and myself were out enjoying the day late yesterday afternoon when we encountered Pulsar trying to kidnap Sheila Grace. Ms. Grace's reward was, shall we say, unforgettable."

"Not to mention front page material for the tabloids", Morning Star added with a smile. "We have a celebrity in our midst."

Bryan came back out into the front waiting area. "Hey, was that Sabre I heard out here?"

"Afternoon," Sabre greeted as he emerged. "Something I can do for you?"

"Man, I just got to shake your hand!" Bryan eagerly explained. "Anyone who gets that kind of serious lip-lock from an oh so fine babe like Sheila Grace is the tops in my book!"

"Thanks," Sabre modestly replied as he shook Bryan's hand. "I think."

"I'm just hoping to get that kind of reward from Sheila some day."

"That's always possible, I suppose..." But Sabre's tone suggested otherwise.

"The odds look pretty good to me!" Bryan explained. "Blizzard's got an appointment with Sheila tonight. Maybe she's looking to hire us? That would be so cool!"

"Wait a minute," Spectrum finally interrupted. "There's just one thing I've got to know. Who the heck is Sheila Grace?" Spectrums immediate response was a trio of unbelieving stares. Everyone knew who Sheila Grace was!

It was after five when Whitney Parks pulled up outside the Sculley household in her white Turbo Conquest TSi. Whitney was feeling weary. The last few days had been especially long ones. The drive back from San Diego, putting all her findings into reports, and then spending most of the day going over them with the officials at Henderson Electronics had worn her out.

In spite of all the time and aggravation, it had been worth it. She had earned an impressive commission on this job. The bonus check and the party tickets had been unexpected, but were eagerly accepted. The people at the electronics giant had been impressed by Whitney's work and promised to call her if they needed her services again. Bagging a big time customer like Henderson Electronics was quite the feather in Whitney's cap.

But now Whitney was putting all thoughts of business out of her mind. She planned on taking the next few days off to simply relax and spend time with James. Whitney was looking forward to seeing James again. Ever since the post-hypnotic suggestions had been removed from him, James was a changed man. More importantly, he had become the man Whitney always thought he could be.

While they had no special plans in place for this evening, Whitney felt like celebrating. So instead of driving directly to James house, she had returned to her apartment to freshen up and get dressed up for the evening. Whitney styled her hair in an elegant manner, putting it up. Ringlets of platinum blonde curls framed her delicate features. Dangling diamond earrings suspended from her ears. After applying her make-up and strategically misting herself with a fruity scented body spray, Whitney had chosen a suitable dress. This was the first time she had worn the silk keyhole halter dress. It was low-cut in back and hung just to her knees. It was a light golden orange color that accented her hair and tan quite nicely. Adding a few pieces of jewelry and having already repainted her finger and toenails, Whitney had slipped on a pair of golden high-heeled sandals to complete the image. Everything was perfect. Dressed to the nines, Whitney now got out of her car and sashayed towards the Sculley home.

The front door swung open just before Whitney reached it. It was not that surprising, as Whitney had alerted Jim that she was on her way. Jim was standing there, casually dressed, and with a look of astonishment etched on his face. "Oh my...", was all he managed to utter. "Whitney, you look absolutely breath taking. If I were to get door to door salesmen that looked half as good as you, I'd buy whatever they were selling."

"I see that I've achieved the desired effect," Whitney coyly responded with a pleased smile as she stepped into the house. The two shared a long embrace and then a kiss. "It feels great to be back in your arms again."

"Hmmm... You smell wonderful," Jim whispered into Whitney's ear. "I've really missed you."

"I'm back now and I don't have any plans for the next several days. Plus, I've gotten a sizable bonus check that's just burning a hole in my purse. Shall we go out and spend it?"

"Actually, I have something else in mind. Why don't we stay in tonight?"

Whitney chuckled lightly. "Aren't we the eager one, James? I was planning on that for later in the evening."

"Definitely later on," Jim agreed. "I've got a special surprise in store for you."

A pleased but surprised grin played across Whitney's face. She was not expecting anything like this. Whitney had figured on going out to a nice dinner, some dancing, before more intimate activities. It was their typical evening out. "Alright, you've piqued my interested, James. What did you have in mind?"

"Close your eyes."

"Why?"

"Please, just close your eyes, Whitney."

A smile formed on Whitney's beautiful face. "What are you up to?"

"What's the matter? Don't you trust me?"

"Implicitly."

"Then close your eyes." With a sigh of resignation, Whitney complied. "Good. Now keep them closed." Jim took Whitney by the hand and gently led her through the house. Finally, he came to a stop and let go of Whitney's hand.

"Can I look now?" If Whitney was remembering the layout of the house correctly, then they should be currently in the dining room. What was James planning? Whatever it was he had in mind, Whitney was very intrigued. She always did like mysteries.

"Not just yet." Jim's voice was further away this time. Whitney could hear him go out into the kitchen and then return a moment later. Soft music started to play in the background. A few moments after that Jim spoke again. "Now you can look."

Whitney opened her eyes and gasped at the scene in front of her. The dining room lights had been dimmed. The table was perfectly set and illuminated by candles. A bottle of white wine was being chilled in an ice bucket, just waiting to be sampled. "How romantic," Whitney sighed. "You did all this for me?"

"And more, dear lady," Jim promised. "Here, these are for you." Jim handed Whitney a fresh bouquet of flowers consisting of white and red roses.

"They're lovely, James." Whitney accepted the flowers and took in their aroma. "I really don't know what to say. I'm very touched by all of this."

"I just wanted to show you how special you are to me."

"You've more than succeeded in your goal, James. Words fail me in describing how wonderful you've made me feel." Whitney laid her flowers on the table and hugged James once more. The couple then shared a few more kisses.

"I could say the same thing," Jim admitted as he reluctantly pulled away. "As much as I would like to spend the entire evening in your arms, I probably should get back to preparing dinner."

"Let me give you a hand," Whitney offered.

"I've got it covered. You're my guest tonight. I won't allow you anywhere near the kitchen. This is my special gift to you. So, just sit yourself down and have a glass of wine while I put the finishing touches on everything."

"As you wish."

Jim helped Whitney to her seat and then popped the cork on the wine bottle. He poured Whitney and himself a glass.

"What is on the menu for this evening?" Whitney wondered as she sipped from her glass.

"Your favorite," Jim responded between sampling his wine. "Salmon, rice, and squash."

"I have to give you credit, James. You seem to have thought of everything."

"Just trying to please my lady."

"She is most impressed and pleased. You've put a lot of thought and effort into this." Whitney took another sip of her wine. So far the evening was not turning out as she expected, but having such attention lavished upon her couldn't help but make Whitney feel good.

Then, an unexpected smell reached her nose. "James? Do you smell something?" It was the odor of something burning.

"That's probably just dinner." Jim shrugged off Whitney's concern for a brief moment. Then his eyes grew wide when he recognized what he smelled. "Dinner!"

Jim set his glass of wine down and rushed into the kitchen, Whitney following close behind. A light layer of smoke filled the kitchen. Jim swished it away as he made for the stove. He hastily grabbed the offending skillet and moved it to a different burner. The blower was turned on to help clear the room of smoke.

"Oh no!" Jim complained as he examined the contents of the pan. The salmon steaks had been charred black. "It's ruined! Everything is ruined!"

"James?" Whitney called out as she entered the kitchen. "Is there a problem?"

"Depends on how extra crispy you like your salmon," Jim answered despondently. "I'm sorry. I tried so hard to make this a memorable evening and then I have to go ahead and burn dinner. I've wrecked everything. I messed up like I normally do."

Whitney crossed the short distance between her and Jim and put her arms around him. "Now don't you say that. You've put a lot of effort into making this a special night and you have succeeded beyond your wildest dreams. The flowers, the romantic atmosphere and ambiance were absolutely perfect. They way you've made me feel, I'd be perfectly happy to have a hamburger."

"That's sweet of you, Whitney, but you don't have to be so nice."

"I'm being truthful, James. The food is just one small element of what you've accomplished here. It's not the most important one. You've captured the moment and my heart and turned this into an evening that I will never forget. You're not a failure in my eyes by any means."

"I really don't know what to say," Jim admitted.

"Then don't say anything." Whitney gently kissed Jim on the cheek. "Sometimes words just get in the way. Now, shall we find out what can be salvaged from this?"

Impact flew across the darkening Los Angeles skies. It felt good to be out and about once more. Ever since his transformation into Impact, Bryan had spent most of his days hiding out trying to avoid the media. A projected first round NFL draft pick inexplicably quitting the sport and dropping out of college will do that. Bryan was not comfortable when it came to dealing with the press. So he had taken the approach of simply avoiding them until he was forgotten about.

It was sort of ironic in Bryan's mind. He now had more freedom as Impact than he ever had as Bryan Sculley. Bryan Sculley would have ended up just another football player. If he was good enough, he might have become a household name and gotten endorsement deals. But gridiron glory was fleeting. The typical career lasted only a handful of years.

As Impact, Bryan had a much brighter future. There were more football players on the planet than superbeings. There was the chance to shine brighter in a small group. Plus, he enjoyed having superpowers. Impact was strong, he was tough, and he could fly. Bryan always liked to hit opponents on the football field, now he could put down supervillains the same way.

On this night, Bryan was flying towards the LawTech installation. His brother Jim had put a good word in for him with Blizzard, who ran Heroes for Hire. Last night Blizzard had put in his first work with that organization. It had gone well, as Bryan and Blizzard hit it off pretty good.

As for the third member of Heroes for Hire, Bryan didn't quite know what to make of the Empress. She was attractive, she was sexy, and she was very self-assured. Bryan found those traits to be very appealing in a woman. He had gotten the impression that she was flirting with him last night. That had just turned Bryan on even more. (Editor's Note: Also in X-Factor #17)

Coupled with the prospect of Blizzard being away at a meeting for a few hours, that meant that Impact and the Empress were going to be alone for part of the evening. Bryan wasn't sure just how to play it. Was the Empress coming on to him or was she just teasing him? To further complicate things, it had been Bryan's understanding that Blizzard and the Empress were an item. Having an affair with your bosses' girlfriend was a sure ticket to getting fired. Impact didn't want to blow this opportunity.

The LawTech installation came up below Impact. He tried to slow his speed so as to avoid crash landing like he had the night before. Impact pulled up and landed feet first and then ran off his momentum coming to a stop after thirty feet. It wasn't a picture perfect landing, but for Impact it wasn't bad.

"Bravo!", a woman's voice called out and light clapping could be heard. "You're beginning to show improvement already. I was beginning to wonder if you were going to show up or not. I just dreaded the thought of being up here all alone."

"You can count on me, Empress..." Bryan started to answer as he turned to face his colleague. Then he saw her standing there, almost posing for him. Impact's jaw nearly bounced off the rooftop.

"See something you like?", the Empress asked coyly, a seductive smile showing on her face.

"You've changed costumes."

"Yes, I have," the Empress admitted, ignoring the understatement. "The old one was nice, but this-- this is much better. Don't you agree?" The Empress pirouetted to further show off her new attire.

The Empress new costume gave Bryan the impression of a throwback to the old Hollywood starlet look of the forties. While she still retained the golden crown which had originally provided her powers, little else remained the same. The elemental heroine wore a full-length midnight blue dress with a high slit that showed plenty of her left leg. The dress lay over just her right shoulder, with a revealing cutout that was curved, starting at her right shoulder and ending on her left side. Long dark red evening style gloves, high-heeled red metallic sandals, and a matching cape finished her attire. She had even restyled her hair and part of it obscured the right side of her face. Gold and diamond jewels sparkled from all over her body.

"It's breathtaking," Impact finally complimented standing stock still in awe of the vision of loveliness before him.

The Empress moved closer to Bryan and put her arms around his neck. "Thank you for the compliment." Unexpectedly, she reached up and kissed Bryan on the lips!

Impact was startled at first, but then got into the act by returning the kiss and putting his arms around the Empress. Finally, he pulled away.

"You didn't have to stop, Bryan. It was just getting interesting," the Empress complained softly.

"This isn't right."

"Who cares? I'm attracted to you, and I know you're attracted to me, so what's not right?" As she spoke, the Empress playfully moved her finger around Bryan's muscular chest.

"But Blizzard-"

The Empress moved her finger up to Bryan's lips, causing him to stop talking. "Blizzie's old news. He had his chances and blew it. So I'm looking for a new man and I've got my eye on you, stud muffin. Are you going to let me down too?"

"I..." Bryan managed to say. This was all happening way too fast. The Empress was here and having her so near was intoxicating. Bryan was having trouble thinking straight. "You mean you've broken up?"

"You could put it that way. If it makes you feel better, just think of this as a reunion of sorts."

That comment just further confused Bryan. "Reunion? What do you mean?"

"Oh come now," the Empress smiled widely as she spoke. "You mean to tell me that you've forgotten me?" She slowly and deliberately removed her dark crimson mask. "Does this help jog your memory?"

Impact was momentarily confused. But then the true identity of the woman before him came to him. "Angie! Angie Szymanski!"

"In the delightful flesh."

"It's been years," Bryan muttered. Back in High School, Bryan and Angie had been an item at one time. He was the captain of the football team, while she was on the cheerleading squad. Their relationship had been short-lived and it was not the only relationship either had while in high school. "You've really grown up."

"And out in all the right places," Angie added. "So just think of this as a reunion with an old girlfriend, Bryan. And possibly the start of a beautiful relationship. So now what do you have to say for yourself?"

"I thought there was something familiar about you," Bryan admitted as he drew Angie closer to him. Her body felt good next to his. It was even better than the first time around.

"Oh, I'll take that as a 'yes'." Angie kissed Bryan once more and this time there was no hesitation on his part. The two kissed passionately, ignoring the world around them...