#31 - "The Morning After"
"Quiet you!" Irritated, Stephanie blindly reached out and slapped the snooze button on her alarm. Next she fumbled for the television remote control sitting on the nightstand and hit the power button after a few tries. The TV on the other side of the room flared to life. A local morning news program was currently on.
As she laid there, eyes still shut, Stephanie became more and more coherent. Steph had never been one to fall asleep while watching TV anyway. The noise from the TV set would help wake her up.
The minutes passed by and the top local news stories were recapped. One of these attracted Stephanie's attention. She forced herself to open her eyes, sit up, and watch the television.
"It seems that Seattle has yet another new hero in town. Last night someone described as a figure in 'golden armor' thwarted a robbery attempt at a local convenience store. Three men armed with handguns were defeated and taken into police custody. Fortunately the establishment's security camera's caught the incident on tape giving us a glimpse of this new hero. Here now is exclusive KRWN footage."
The image changed from the news anchor to a grainy, poorly focused shot from inside the convenience store. The image partially showed a glowing golden figure. This was not armor in the traditional sense. There were no distinct lines between the various pieces; no seams could be seen. It seemed to be more like solid energy than hard metal. Even stranger, the golden figure was gender neutral in appearance. The golden shell was large enough to easily contain a man or a woman without revealing their sex.
Stephanie watched in stunned silence. Beams of white energy leaped from the eyes of the golden figure and downed one of the robbers. A second joined his buddy a moment later. A third man was downed outside of the cameras' view. The golden figure looked about for a few seconds and then walked off camera.
The image then returned to the TV newsman Mark McMillan. "The hero disappeared before he could be thanked or questioned by the authorities. When asked about this new hero, Catalyst of the Emerald Citizens claimed that this newcomer was unknown to him and unrelated to his team. The Seattle police have dubbed this newcomer the 'Golden Turtle'. And if you're out there watching, Turtle, we'd love to do an exclusive interview with you. Don't be shy. Give us a call. Now here's Rick with our weather forecast..."
Stephanie thumbed the remote once more and shut off the TV, disbelief still clearly etched on her face. The golden figure seen in the news story had been described to her before. It perfectly matched the golden shell that Stephanie had generated while under the influence of Hexmaster. (Editor's Note: Back in Spectrum #25)
That had been several weeks ago by now and up until this morning there had been no sign that those powers given to her by Hexmaster had remained. Bryan still had his, but Stephanie had hoped to be free from these unwanted superpowers. She had a nice, normal life going for herself here in Seattle and didn't want to ruin things with what she considered more of a curse.
But now, Stephanie didn't know what to think. She couldn't deny the evidence right before her eyes. The figure certainly looked like her, but Steph had no memory of the events she had just witnessed. Could it be that her powers were there all along, but beyond her conscious ability to control? That thought frightened Stephanie even more than the idea of having superpowers. She shivered involuntarily, wondering just what she should do next.
With a yawn, Jim Sculley struggled to open his eyes. He could tell that it was daytime outside. Slivers of sunlight penetrated the blinds on the windows brightening the bedroom. Jim was quite comfortably lying in his bed and was in no hurry to rise and start a brand new day.
In hindsight, Jim had to admit the night had gone even better than he had hoped. The dinner had almost been a disaster through his own carelessness, but Whitney had managed to salvage the situation. The concoction she had come up with out of the burned salmon was not only edible, but also tasted rather good.
After dinner the couple had gone out to a few clubs for some dancing and drinks. After all, Whitney was spectacularly dressed for the evening. It seemed a shame to go through all that effort and not show off a little. They returned to Jim's house a few hours later and then spent the evening in each other's arms.
Reaching out, Jim grabbed the clock on his nightstand and flipped it around. He always preferred his room as dark as possible when he slept. This included placing his alarm clock face down so that its LED display didn't illuminate the bedroom. Of course since he had gained the powers of Spectrum, Jim could see in the dark like most people could during the day. Flipping the clock over was a habit that he hadn't broken yet. According to the timepiece it was almost noon.
"Jeez!" Jim blinked a few times making sure that he wasn't reading the time incorrectly. He had not. "Looks like we slept in really late, Whitney."
When there was no response from Whitney, Jim rolled over to face her. Perhaps she was still sleeping? Much to his surprise, the other side of the bed was empty. There was no sign of Whitney. Then he noticed a note had been placed on her pillow.
Jim pushed himself into a sitting position and then grabbed the note. The paper had been folded over and there was a lipstick kiss placed on the front. The paper smelled of Whitney's perfume and Jim couldn't help but smile. He opened Whitney's note and began to read.
"You looked so peaceful sleeping that I didn't have the heart to wake you. I must have really worn you out last night."
"I have a few errands to run and matters to attend today. I'll stop back over later this afternoon and we can do something. I figure this will give you some time to work on your book. Then we can spend the evening together."
"All my love,
Whitney
"My Dearest James,
"That's something to look forward to," Jim grinned to himself. The afternoon was going to drag, but Whitney was correct. There was work that Jim needed to do. He had an appointment with a prospective literary agent this coming Friday, so he really needed to get as much work done on editing his novel as possible.
Jim had managed to put a few hours in on his book Sunday afternoon. He was about halfway through the manuscript at this point. If he could put in a couple of hours each day, he should just about be done come Friday morning. Of course that all depended on how much time he spent as Spectrum. Being a hero meant that he couldn't keep regular hours.
"Oh well. Let's get the show on the road here." Jim rose from his bed and made his way to the bathroom. A hot shower should finish waking him up. After a shower and a shave, Jim headed downstairs for something to eat. Then he'd get to work on his book.
Bryan Sculley let out a yawn and stretched. He sat up and glanced around the bedroom searching for a clock. This was the first time he had been in this particular bedroom and wasn't sure where Angie kept her clock located. Assuming that she even had one.
That last day had been one wild ride in Bryan's mind. His job with Heroes for Hire was working out better than he could have ever imagined. He hit it off very well with the boss, Blizzard, and was making some serious cash. Nothing like he could have made with an NFL team, but now that he possessed the powers of Impact, Bryan couldn't have gone pro anyway.
It was the situation with the Empress that had come from out of nowhere to surprise Bryan. He had seen her in action when he helped X-Factor in sacking a VIPER's Nest. Bryan found her to be very sexy and self-assured. Then later during his first night at LawTech as Impact, Bryan had the distinct feeling that the elemental heroine was flirting with him. Unfortunately, she was also Blizzard's girl and he was Bryan's boss. All in all, one very convoluted situation!
A situation that only got more complicated on the next night. The Empress made no secret that she was very interested in Impact and he tried mightily to resist her considerable charms. However she claimed that her and Blizzard had broken up earlier in the day. Not only that, but she revealed her true identity to him of Angie Szymanski whom Bryan had actually dated in high school!
From that point it didn't take much encouragement to get Impact to reciprocate the Empress' affections. After all she was free from any entanglements now, they had a past history, and she had grown up in all the right places. What red-blooded male could have resisted such a pleasing package? Not Bryan, certainly.
The lovers' reunion was interrupted when a squad of Kilbots arrived at LawTech. The reason that the mechanical constructs attacked remained unknown to Impact. All he knew was that he did his part and helped stop the automatons. All seemed well in the world at the point. He had done his Heroes for Hire job and gained a fabulously sexy girlfriend in the process. What could be better? (Editor's Note: Covered in greater detail in Spectrum #30 and X-Factor #19)
It was Angie's suggestion to not mention anything to Blizzard when he arrived. Bryan could see her point. It would be bad form to move in on your boss' old girlfriend so fast after they had broken up. So he played along and didn't mention all the hugging and kissing they had enjoyed before Blizzard arrived on the job site.
It was after Blizzard arrived that Impact's suspicions began to grow. For one thing Blizzard certainly didn't act like his relationship with the Empress was over. In fact, he seemed about the same as he was the night before! Sure, he was excited by the new contract with Sheila Grace, but so was Bryan for that matter.
The clincher came in the morning when Blizzard asked Angie what she wanted to do. Angie claimed to be tired and just wanted to get some rest. Blizzard respected her wishes. Besides he had paperwork to finish and a bill to deliver to LawTech for services rendered. He promised to stop by later on with Angie's pay. Good-byes were said and everyone headed home for some well deserved rest.
Almost everyone. Angie had arranged for Bryan to meet her at her apartment earlier in the night. In spite of his own doubts and uncertainties it was an invitation that Bryan could not refuse. Bryan promised himself that he was going to find out what was really going on between Angie and Blizzard. He didn't like being used and manipulated in this manner.
However, all those thoughts and questions were forgotten as soon as Bryan arrived at Angie's apartment. She had changed into some very sexy lingerie and her intentions toward Bryan were quite obvious. They shared their passions before finally turning in for some much deserved sleep.
Finally Bryan located a clock and discovered it to be in the middle of the afternoon. Not totally surprising as they had been up all night. Bryan's endurance and stamina had greatly increased since becoming Impact as well. It was a very fortunate thing as Angie had just about pushed him to the limits.
At first Bryan had been concerned about hurting Angie. After all, this was the first time he had been with a woman since gaining super strength. However, his fears turned out to be unfounded. The incident that led to Angie gaining her Empress powers had made her tougher as well. Fragile she was not.
"Mornin', loverboy," Angie cooed. Bryan looked her way, surprised to find Angie awake. With a wolfish smile on her face, Angie leaned over and kissed Bryan on the cheek. "You were fantastic last night."
"Uhm, thanks," Bryan managed to stammer out. "You were pretty fantastic yourself. I guess I understand what you meant about 'practice making perfect'."
"There's nothing finer than being fussed over by such a handsome man. You made me feel really special last night, Bryan. I just love that feeling. I never want it to end."
"You're welcome, Angie. Look, I've been thinking and..."
Unexpectedly, Angie put her finger up to Bryan's lips. "Shush. What we shared last night was incredible. Don't go and ruin the moment with silly thoughts. Just go with the flow and everything will turn out just fine." Angie finished up with another kiss, this time to Bryan's lips.
Confused and conflicted, Bryan didn't know what to do or say. Angie was right in that aspect: last night had been incredible. But still there were those nagging thoughts and suspicions going through his mind. Even more important, just where did Blizzard fit into all of this?
Before Bryan could put together another coherent thought, he could hear the doorbell going off. A second later, the couple could hear a faint voice calling out. "Hey, Angie! It's Tom. Open up!"
"Give me a minute," Angie casually called out. Turning to Bryan she added, "You better get your things and slip out the balcony. Tom can't see you here."
Panic came over Bryan as Angie's words sunk in. The young man broke out in a cold sweat. "Oh crap. I knew it! You two didn't break up, did you?"
By now, Angie had slipped out of bed and was throwing her housecoat on. She stopped before her dressing mirror, grabbed a brush and began straightening her hair. "Don't be silly, loverboy. Of course we did. I just haven't let Tom in on that secret yet."
"Oh man!", Bryan groaned. This was just great. He was now having an affair with his boss' girlfriend! Not that it would have really changed much. It was almost impossible to resist Angie when she turned on her considerable charms anyway.
Bryan was out of the bed in a flash and quickly struggled to get back into his Impact costume as quietly as possible. All the while, Angie nonchalantly adjusted her appearance while humming a happy tune.
"You lied to me," Bryan accused as he dressed.
"Nonsense," Angie retorted. "You wanted me as much as I wanted you. We had a wonderful and passionate night together. Why ruin everything with pointless accusations? I'll handle Tom and you just keep your mouth shut and no one will be the wiser. Okay, sweetie?" Angie punctuated her little speech with another kiss to Bryan's lips. "There, something for you to remember me by. Until next time, loverboy."
Angie smiled her wolfish grin and swept out of the bedroom, shutting the door behind her. A few moments later, Bryan could hear the front door to the apartment open and Angie greet Tom. Bryan couldn't make out the exact words being exchanged, but their tone was unmistakable. Angie was continuing on with her cruel charade with Tom.
Numbed and horribly conflicted by this whole ordeal, Bryan finished putting his Impact costume on and stepped out onto the balcony. Energy gathered around the young hero, generating thrust that propelled him into the air. As quietly as possible, Impact streaked away from the apartment complex.
Jim Sculley sat at his computer desk, deeply engrossed in his words. His fingers danced over the keyboard, moving almost faster than the human eye could follow. One of the many benefits of his transformation into Spectrum was that he was simply now superhumanly fast. Not as fast as people like Fleet Foot, Speedster, and the Dash, to be sure. But Jim was not a lightweight in the speed department either. In his own estimation he could type about twice as fast as the fastest normal typist. It was a tremendous help as he could now just about type as fast as the words formed in his mind.
Work on editing his book was proceeding very smoothly. The pages and chapters simply rolled past without any great effort. There were times where additions, changes, and corrects had to be made, but even these were relatively painless in nature. The end of the book was now in sight. Finally, his first novel was going to be ready to go. Excitement couldn't help but grow inside him.
"James?"
The voice coming from the doorway into Jim's writing office went unheeded at first. So engrossed in his task was he that Jim didn't even notice it. Indeed, the loud music he was playing in the background had been filtered out in his mind. The only thing that existed in the world was his book and it received his total concentration.
"James?!"
This time the voice spoke out louder with more authority. Startled, Jim looked away from this monitor to find Whitney standing in the doorway. "Whitney! I didn't hear you come in!" Jim rose from his chair and went to greet Whitney properly with a hug and a kiss.
"I had noticed," Whitney admitted. "When you didn't answer the door, I let myself in. I hope you don't mind."
"No, not at all. I guess I was lost in my work," Jim responded. "I'm making real progress now. The book is just about done. Perhaps another half hour or so of work."
"That's wonderful, James. Don't let me interrupt you if you're this close. Go ahead and finish your book."
"That's okay, I doubt I could focus on it with such a lovely woman close by. It's hard to concentrate on anything else but you when you're near."
Whitney smiled and the couple shared another kiss. "That's a very sweet thing to say. Provided you don't mind, I've taken the liberty of planning the afternoon's activities."
"Now you've got my interest. What did you have in mind?"
"Something that we haven't done in a very long time: an afternoon at the beach. I've even packed a picnic basket lunch."
Jim put his hand on his chin to consider for a few moments. "Let me see now: the sun, the sand, the surf, and you in a bikini. I can get behind that. Okay, let's go!"
"Give me a moment to change first," Whitney smiled back. She picked up her handbag and slipped into the bathroom. Jim stepped away to save his work, shut the computer down, and turn off his CD player.
With the background noise now gone, Whitney called out from behind the bathroom door. "Oh, James, there's something I forgot to mention last night. We've been invited to a party next Thursday."
His interest piqued, Jim walked up to the bathroom door. "That sounds like fun. What kind of party?"
"It's to the opening of the Hentronics Building. Quite a few VIPs are going to be present. It's an excellent opportunity for me to do some networking and perhaps land future contracts."
That wasn't quite what Jim was expecting, but should be interesting nonetheless. Just recently, Whitney had landed the task of running background checks on perspective HE employees for the new West Coast operations. Her employers were most pleased with her efforts. The party invitation must have been their way of showing their thanks. (Editor's Note: Covered in more detail in Spectrum #28 & 30)
"I guess I'll have to be on my best behavior then," Jim joked.
"Please do."
Next morning, Jim was flying through the sky as Spectrum. The time spent with Whitney was very enjoyable as always. They had spent a few hours at the beach simply relaxing and taking in the sights and sounds. From there they did some shopping and then took in a movie, before calling it an evening. Whitney had her usual errands to run in the morning and early afternoon. With the work Jim put in on his book yesterday, that was no longer a priority. Now was a good opportunity to spend some time at the new X-Factor base as Spectrum.
In a way, Spectrum felt guilty for not spending more time with the team and with Icicle in particular. He hadn't seen anyone related to the team since Monday afternoon. All day Tuesday had passed by in a blur between working on his book and being with Whitney. Unfortunately, all three were a priority in Jim's life and at times one of them had to give.
His writing career was very important as it was his primary means of income. Being a writer also gave him the luxury of not having regular hours to keep. No co-workers to get suspicious of long, unexplained absences. With his fast typing speed, he could get quite a bit accomplished in just a short amount of time.
Naturally, Whitney was very important to Jim's life. He was deeply in love with her and was almost ready to take their relationship to the next level. Once his writing career was just a little further along he was going to ask Whitney to marry him. So spending time with Whitney was vital to Jim's sense of well being.
Equally important was his role as leader of X-Factor and in Icicle's rehabilitation. Jim had never considered himself to be the leader type. He lacked the know-how of someone like the Guardians' Hornet or the command presence of someone like the Freedom Squad's American Eagle. It seemed to be a role that he had just fallen into and none of the others seemed to mind.
In Jim's mind, Morning Star was the ideal leader for X-Factor. She had more experience than everyone else put together. But being up front and in the spotlight didn't seem to be of interest to the lavender clad heroine at this point. 'Star seemed more comfortable in a second in command role and as an advisor. So be it.
After presenting his ID card to the PRIMUS Guards, Spectrum flew rapidly down the monorail tunnel. In short order, Spectrum arrived at the base and stepped inside. The first thing that he saw was Morning Star dressed in old painting clothes. The heroine was energetically going over the dreaded VIPER green with a much more pleasing pale blue. 'Star's long hair had been pulled back out of the way in a loose ponytail. About twenty feet of the hallway had been painted so far.
"Looking good!", Spectrum complimented as he approached. Jim wasn't sure if he consciously meant the heroine or her painting efforts.
Morning Star stopped and looked back. Seeing Spectrum she set down her roller and turned to face the colorful mutant. "Thanks. Going pretty good so far. Although I could use a hand." With a hopeful smile on her attractive face, Morning Star held up a second paint roller.
"Sure thing. But let me say hello to Icicle first," Spectrum promised. "Anything new going on around here?"
"Not a lot," Morning Star reported. "Nothing new on the Thugmaster's Elite front. Shockwave and Mockingbird ran into a small group of Kilbots, but were able to destroy them with the help of Heroes for Hire."
"Yeah, I read about that in the paper. Only half a dozen of them or so this time out instead of a whole mob. I wonder what they wanted out at LawTech."
"Seems pretty obvious," 'Star countered. "The last time we ran into them they stole Halfjack's remains from PRIMUS HQ. LawTech is into robotics, so if I were to venture a guess they were looking for parts to rebuild Halfjack." (Editor's Notes: The first Kilbot encounter took place in X-Factor #7)
"When you put it that way, it does make sense," Spectrum agreed. "But I thought Halfjack was dead? Killed by those shadow things in the Claw's Sphere?" (Editor's Note: Back in X-Factor #4)
"His human side was killed and his robotic side was inert, so PRIMUS thought him dead."
"Oh, I didn't know that," Spectrum admitted. "But then again, you've always had a much better relationship with PRIMUS than I've had. Still, I got to wonder what Mechanon would need someone like Halfjack for?"
"Another powerful ally, most likely," Morning Star answered with a shrug. "Whatever Mechanon's intentions, they will not be pleasant."
"I can hardly wait," Spectrum answered sarcastically. "Where's SIMON? I thought he'd be helping you?"
"He's locked himself in the old VIPER Command Center. Something about a secret project he's working on. SIMON wants everyone here tonight for the unveiling."
"That could be interesting. I wonder what he's up to? I did hear that Captain Lightning programmed him with plans to build and repair electronic gizmos," Spectrum added. "Maybe he's remodeling the room or something. Okay, let me go say hi to Icy and I'll be back."
"Sounds good," Morning Star answered with a grin. "I think I'm going to need all the help I can get."
"Hey, how's it going?", Spectrum smiled as Icicle opened the door to her quarters.
"Spectrum!", Icicle beamed. "I missed you yesterday. Otherwise, I'm doing okay." A hug followed and then Jen stepped back to allow Jim access to her modest room.
"Yeah, sorry about that. Life sort of got in the way. But I'm gonna be around for most of today. What's new?"
"Down here? Not much," Icicle snorted. "Pretty boring at times."
"I can imagine. We'll have to see if we can go on a walk outside or something."
"That would be lovely," Jennifer sighed. "At least Morning Star is going to take me out shopping tomorrow."
"Oh, I hadn't heard about that. When did this come up?"
"Last night. Morning Star stopped off while Mockingbird and I were having dinner."
"That was awfully nice of Mockingbird to do," Spectrum stated. "I guess she must have stopped on her way home from work."
"Oh, you don't know?"
"Don't know what?", Jim countered. "Why do I get the feeling that I missed a whole bunch of stuff yesterday?"
"Mockingbird moved in to the base yesterday. She's going to live down here with me. Just like roommates, or so she says. I think she's crazy myself." (Editor's Note: This happened in X-Factor #19.)
"Well, isn't that a kick in the head?"
"Surprised the heck out of me too," Icicle admitted. "Although, I do admit that it's nice to have her around. Even SIMON. Doesn't make it feel so lonely and empty down here."
"Told you everything was going to work out okay," Spectrum grinned. "Right now, how would you like to give me and Morning Star a hand?"
"Sure! At least it'll be something to do. It'll break up the boredom. What's going on?"
"Oh, I think your more than capable of handling this. In fact, this is right up your alley."
"Very funny," was Icicle's response after being given a paint roller. Spectrum's idea of her helping out was to have Jennifer help him and Morning Star in re-painting the base. Without much enthusiasm, Jennifer joined in on the project.
"I though you liked painting," Spectrum answered innocently. The colorful mutant had taken his own paint roller and was hovering near the ceiling. At least by being able to fly he could get the high parts without needing a ladder. Flight certainly made it easier to perform such a mundane task as painting.
"I just wish I would have thought about asking you earlier," Morning Star chimed in. "I must be brain dead at times."
"I suppose that it's the least I can do," Jennifer continued. "And I do have to agree that this VIPER green has got to go."
The trio continued to work and chat as time passed by. The task didn't seem so bad as part of a small group. It was almost even fun. In fact, none of them even noticed Sabre's arrival until he spoke up.
"Now this is an interesting sight," the Blood swordsman announced with his infectious grin. Good morning, my friends. Considering an extra career on the side?"
"Is everyone a comedian in this group", Icicle asked rhetorically as she cast her gaze to the ceiling.
"Hey, Sabre," Jim responded as he landed, set his roller down, and shook the young man's hand. "What's happening?"
"I've got extra rollers if you want to join in," Morning Star hopefully asked. "Misery loves company after all."
"Normally, it would be my honor and pleasure to assist a maiden in distress," Sabre stated extravagantly. "But I am due at the recording studio shortly. I merely was stopping off on the way to see what was new."
"Not much," Spectrum reported. "I guess SIMON wants everyone on base this evening. Why, I'm not exactly sure. Some surprise he's cooking up I guess."
"Most intriguing," Sabre admitted. What sort of surprise SIMON was up to was anyone's guess at this point. As far as anyone knew, he had been working around the clock. "I wouldn't miss it for the world."
"Yeah, really."
"Spectrum, would it be possible for me to have a word with you in private?"
"Sure thing, Sabre." Spectrum led Sabre further down the hallway away from Morning Star and Icicle. The two women exchanged puzzled glances and then went back to work. "What's on your mind?"
"I wished to ask your opinion on something," Sabre stated. "Given the isolation being experienced by our young ward, I was wondering if you thought it a good idea to have my sister come and visit. She and Icicle are around the same age after all."
Spectrum considered for a second, and then shrugged. "We can try it and see how they get along. It certainly couldn't hurt."
"It would only hurt if my sister got mad," Sabre corrected with a grin. "She has her mother's temper after all."
"Good point. I'm sure that Jen won't do anything to upset Satara."
"Besides I think she wants to show off the costume that Spinnerette created for her."
A disturbance from further down the hallway interrupted the conversation between the two heroes. PRIMUS Lieutenant Franklin had just stormed into the base. Franklin was a large, muscular looking man who had been placed in charge of overseeing Icicle's incarceration and was the official liaison to X-Factor. As was typical, he did not look happy. Spotting Morning Star and Icicle, the Lieutenant stormed towards them.
"Time to earn your keep, heroes," Franklin announced. "We've got a situation."
Upon hearing that, Spectrum and Sabre rushed to join their teammates. "What's the problem, Lieutenant?"
"Good, there's four of you," Franklin continued. "That should be enough. The Destruction Crew is robbing a bank branch just a few blocks away. It's up to you four to stop them!"
"I'm supposed to go with them?", Icicle wondered in disbelief. "To fight these guys?"
"That's part of the deal," Franklin explained. "Time for you to start earning your keep."
"Great," Icicle muttered under her breath.
