#6 - "Investigating Spectrum"

"I can", Spinnerette answered. The wall-crawling Guardian had removed her full-face mask while lounging in private. In another mirror, she tried to brush out her long black hair. "I think I'm going to cut my hair shorter. It's starting to become unmanageable. I have no idea how you can get by with hair all the way down to your waist."

Morning Star shrugged. "It's not that bad, provided you take proper care of it. Still, I get the same notion when it gets really hot out."

"As for your costumes, what do you expect? You're tough, your clothes are not. Maybe you should consider something stronger? I hear they're doing some pretty impressive things with ballistic cloth these days."

"I don't know. Seems kind of silly to me to spend all that money for damage resistant clothing when I'm naturally tougher anyway. And I could probably buy a dozen outfits for the same amount of money."

"Suit yourself, Denise," Spinnerette answered, tossing her brush down in disgust. "Me, I think I'm going to call up the salon tomorrow. With summer coming, a short cut will be back in style."

At that moment, a story on the television attracted the heroines' attention:

"In an exclusive interview earlier this morning, Gyro Jim has learned the reason why so many heroes are currently present in Los Angeles."

The picture cut away from the announcer and showed the tape from Gyro Jim's interview with the criminal Pulsar in the Gyrocopter.

"That's right, Jim," Pulsar stated dramatically. "I, the great Pulsar, nearly single-handedly thwarted an alien invasion! It was touch and go for a while, but in the end I managed to prevail!"

"Why that rotten, lying little weasel!", Spinnerette cursed. She couldn't believe what she was hearing. "That dirty rat is taking credit for stopping the Crimson Claw!"

"It might be better this way," Morning Star offered. "No one is going to believe a wild story cooked up by Pulsar anyway. And it's far better that the general public remains unaware of what really happened. The news of a demonic invasion would only cause wide-scale panic."

"Maybe, but the idea of that-- that little toad getting all the glory just frosts me!" Fuming, Spinnerette turned back to listen to the rest of the story.

"What about the dozens of heroes spotted in the area? What was their involvement in all of this?"

Pulsar shifted uncomfortably as if trying to come up with the right things to say. "They were an immense help, Jim. I never could have done it without them."

"For the sake of my viewers, I must ask this: Why you? Why did Pulsar save the world?"

"What kind of stupid question is that?! I may be a criminal mastermind, but I'm not about to let the world get taken over by a bunch of slimy insects! I'm strictly in it for the wealth, the power, and of course the babes!"

The TV set suddenly went black, turned off by Spinnerette. "That's enough of that blowhard."

"I couldn't agree with you more."

Just then, Spinnerette's Guardians communicator started to beep. Removing the small, 'pack of gum' sized device from a hidden pocket, the heroine answered the call. "Spin here, go ahead."

"Sorry to bother you, Spinnerette," answered the voice of the Guardians leader, the Hornet. "Would you happen to know the location of Morning Star?"

"Sure thing. She's about five feet from me, wondering if all the chocolate she's been eating has gone straight to her hips."

"Tori!", Morning Star chided in a astonished stage whisper.

"Relax," Spin uttered in between chuckles. "I was just kidding."

"Uh, yes," Hornet answered. "Anyway, one of her X-Factor teammates is trying to get a hold of her."

Morning Star closed the distance between her and Spinnerette. She gave the wall-crawler a light punch in the shoulder. "I'll get you for that."

"Gotta catch me first, slow poke." Spinnerette handed her communicator to Morning Star and stepped back.

Suppressing an annoyed look, the lavender clad heroine spoke into the device. She was familiar with its function as she used to have her own when a member of the Guardians. "This is Morning Star, Hornet. What's going on?"

"Hello, 'Star. Anyway, I'm out here at Bryn's clinic right now. I'm not sure how to put this, but it appears that the leader of your new group has been arrested by PRIMUS."

"WHAT?!", both heroines stated in surprise and unison.

"I'm not really certain of the details at this time. Anyway, Shockwave asked me if I could find you."

"Thanks, Hornet," Morning Star answered once she had regained her composure. "Tell Shockwave that I'll be at the Carstairs Estate as soon as possible. Morning Star out."

Spinnerette accepted the communication device back and replaced the device in her costume. "Now that was certainly a surprise." After a pause, she added, "Or maybe not, if you really think about it."

"I know." There were many lingering questions regarding Spectrum that Morning Star wanted to get answered. Nagging issues that she hadn't had the time to investigate. Everything had been happening so fast lately that there hadn't been any time to catch her breath. Reaching for the telephone, Morning Star announced, "I'm going to make some calls and find out what's going on."

"I'll see what I can turn up as well." Spinnerette turned and walked out of the room. The operating offices of the race track were located directly next to Morning Star's home. They would be deserted at this late hour. Spin would be able to use a separate phone line.

Both heroines had contacts inside of PRIMUS. Morning Star had worked with and for PRIMUS Agent Thomas Dowd in the past. This was the very same agent who suggested that Morning Star investigate the HART Company. It was also during this adventure that Morning Star had first met Spectrum. There was something about his eyes that she found very attractive. He seemed like a liability at first, but quickly turned out to be an asset. Could it be that she felt an attraction for him? (Editor's Note: Back in Spectrum #16-18)

The PRIMUS Receptionist answered Morning Star's call . "PRIMUS Headquarters, how may I help you?"

"Agent Dowd, please." PRIMUS was a military organization and operated in that style. The majority of agents and operatives lived on base. Agent Dowd was no exception. Unless he was out on a case, he should be 'at home'.

"Just one moment." A short pause followed while the receptionist checked to see if Agent Dowd was available. "I'm sorry, ma'am, but Agent Dowd is not currently on base. Can I direct your call to another Agent?"

"No, thank you. It was a personal matter. I'll try again later. Goodbye." Replacing the phone, Morning Star grabbed her bag and headed toward the offices to meet up with Spinnerette. Perhaps she was having better luck.

Angie Szymanksi just stood under the showerhead, letting the warm water splash over her. She smiled to herself as she thought about how her afternoon had turned out. "Blizzie's a swell guy, but I'm a gal that needs full-time attention," Angie thought to herself.

While Blizzard was out making points with the boys, the Empress decided to get a little more personal with the Comet, a member of the Superior Seven. He had been reluctant at first, but Angie's charms eventually won him over. It was an afternoon that the Empress would not forget soon, nor one that she would ever talk about. "Why shouldn't I have a good time? I have the right, don't I? If Blizzie wants to go out with the boys, well then I'll just have to find my own entertainment. There are lots of hunks in spandex who would just love to spend time with me. Who am I to disappoint them? It's not like me and Blizzie are engaged or anything."

Her shower completed, the Empress toweled herself off, then brushed and blow-dried her auburn hair. It was still several hours before Blizzard was supposed to be over. "He'd better be on time," the Empress thought to herself. "He needs me more than I need him."

After tidying up a bit, Angie decided to take a quiet nap. The Comet had been more energetic than she had first imagined. After all, she had to look her best for when Blizzard arrived...

"From what I've found out, while we were up in the hills hip deep in crooks and demons, a group calling themselves 'Terror Unlimited' robbed the First National Bank of California," Spinnerette explained. She was currently perched on top of one of the desks in the small office. Morning Star paced back and forth before her.

"Terror Unlimited?", Morning Star repeated. "Can't say that I've ever heard of them."

"No one had, until last night anyway. Their known membership consists of Scorpia, Shamrock, Mind Slayer,... and Spectrum. But he was dressed as the Spectrum that had been in Terror Incorporated last year. You know, that icky striped abomination."

"Let's try and make some sense of this. Professor Muerte and his band attacked the Guardians Mansion and were captured." (Editor's Note: Back in X-Factor #1)

"All except for Scorpia," Spinnerette added. "Only Muerte, Feur, and Giganto were involved in that. Spectrum hadn't been part of the group for a long time."

"Right. So Scorpia goes and forms her own band. Shamrock seems like an obvious choice, as does the Spectrum who had previously been in Terror Incorporated."

"Mind Slayer might have been a last minute addition."

"Could be," Morning Star conceded. "We're just speculating anyway."

"Well, if I had to guess, I would say that there are actually two people going by the name of Spectrum," Spinnerette declared.

"How did you reach that conclusion?"

"The robbery occurred approximately the same time that we were inside the Claw's Citadel. From what you've said, you and Spectrum ended up as part of the group that took on the Claw."

A look of relief came to Morning Star's face. "So, X-Factor's Spectrum really is innocent and PRIMUS grabbed the wrong man."

"It's a reasonable possibility anyway. Unless, of course, he can somehow duplicate himself so that there could be two of him. I really hope that this isn't an 'evil identical twin' cliche."

"Come on, Tori, we've got to get to the bottom of this." Morning Star grabbed her bag and headed for the garage.

Spinnerette sighed, replaced her hood, and bounded after her friend. "Is this one of those times where you drive across town like a maniac?"

"You're not afraid, are you?"

"Me? Oh no..."

"LOOK OUT!", Spinnerette screamed. Morning Star's white Porsche raced along the highways of Los Angeles at dangerous speeds. A tractor-trailer loomed before the sports car and they were rapidly gaining on it. Seemingly at the last moment, Morning Star shifted gears and made a lane change, passing through an opening that Spinnerette could have sworn wasn't large enough for the vehicle to fit through. The Porsche whipped up alongside the semi and then left it in the dust.

Morning Star just laughed at her friend's antics. She had been in control the entire time. 'Star had always felt the need for speed and just loved the feel of the breeze through her long brown hair. "Relax, Tori. It wasn't as close as you thought."

"Tell that to my danger sense!" Spin was happy that her full mask covered her face. She could only imagine just how pale she looked right now. "She drives like crazy," Spin started to sing. "Like no one else. She drives like crazy and I'm afraid for myself."

"Oh come on! I'm not that bad. Is that a song or something?" Morning Star weaved her way through three more semi's before emerging from the pack of cars. To Spinnerette's relief there was clear highway before them.

"Just something I heard somewhere. And yes, to us normal drivers, you are very scary!"

All Morning Star could do was shrug. Her late father raced cars most of his life and passed this skill on to his daughter at a rather young age. Driving this fast didn't even faze Morning Star. In fact, she rather enjoyed it. Her superhumanly quick reflexes didn't hurt either. "You can relax, we're just about there."

One quick lane change later, the Porsche was flying down the off ramp. The Carstairs Estate was just a few minutes away. Much to Spinnerette's relief, they merged with regular traffic, forcing Morning Star to drive at more conservative speeds.

Elsewhere in Los Angeles, the man known as Blizzard was making his way home, via an ice slide of his own generation.

"Man, what a day!", he thought to himself. After helping out at the clinic, Blizzard had gone out with several other heroes to celebrate. "Like they always said in my business class, never discount the power of networking. I've just made a whole bunch of contacts with some very heavy hitters! Blizzard, my man, you have come a long way in a short time."

Reaching his apartment building, Blizzard brought his ice slide to a stop on the roof. He would walk the remaining distance to his apartment. "I'm dead tired," he thought to himself as he unlocked his door. "But, the night's not over yet. I promised Angie that I'd stop over tonight and I never break a promise to a pretty woman!"

Ditching his costume, Thomas hit the shower. The warm water invigorated him. "Ahhhh--- that feels great. I feel like a new man. I better, cause I've got a beautiful woman to keep happy!"

After getting cleaned up, Tom put on clothing far more suitable for his late night rendezvous with Angie. Anticipation filled him as he got into his car and drove off. It had been a very long day, and if previous evenings were any indication the night was going to be more than a test of his endurance.

Morning Star eased the Porsche into the driveway of the Carstairs Estate. Sabre and Shockwave were waiting for them.

"We got here as fast as we could," Morning Star explained as she got out of her vehicle.

"And she's not joking!" With the top down, Spinnerette just leaped out of the car, twisted in midair and gracefully landed in front of the Porsche. "I think I left my stomach back out on the thruway."

"I didn't know what else to do," Shockwave explained. "Sabre told me that you two left together, so I hoped that Hornet could reach Spinnerette."

Morning Star couldn't help but notice the concern in Shockwave's voice. "It's all right, Shockwave. You did the right thing. Where are Blizzard and the Empress?"

"I don't really know. Knowing how helpful they usually are, I haven't tried to contact them yet. I can't even believe this is happening. I mean, Spectrum's no criminal! What was PRIMUS thinking? Given everything that he's been through these past few months..."

"What things?", Spinnerette asked curiously. Seemingly Shockwave knew more about Spectrum than anyone else present.

Shockwave caught herself, realizing that she had said more than she had intended. Three sets of eyes bored down on the armored heroine, each expecting an answer.

"I appreciate your concern for privacy, ma'am," Sabre stated doing a dead on impersonation of Columbo, "but if we are going to, ah, help Spectrum out of this, we need to know as much about him as we can."

Shockwave looked down as she considered what to do. "I guess you're right. I accidentally discovered Spectrum's true identity when we first met. My armor has identification capacities. When I stored Spectrum's identity, I discovered it actually matched someone else that I had also met. And, well, that's how I found out who he really is."

Morning Star stepped forward and took Shockwave's gauntleted hand. "I understand your concern, and believe me, I consider all the true identities that I know to be the strictest of confidences. There are a lot of questions about our mysterious leader that need to be answered. And the sooner, the better. It's for his own good."

"That goes for me as well," Spinnerette added.

"So, ma'am, you, ah, wish to make a statement?", Sabre asked, continuing his impersonation of the television detective.

"His real name is Jim," Shockwave finally answered. "Jim Sculley."

Angie Szymanksi tapped her right foot in irritation. The clock on the wall read 10:05. "He's late," Angie fumed to herself. After napping, Angie got herself ready for her date with Thomas. She styled her hair, applied makeup, and donned her slinkiest black mini-dress with matching heels. "Dressed to kill is rapidly taking on a new meaning."

Then her doorbell rang. Anger melting away, Angie rushed to the door. A quick check through the peep hole revealed it to be Thomas. With her crown safely stored in the bedroom, Angie was essentially a powerless normal person. One could never be too safe.

"It's about time," Angie remarked as she opened the door.

"Wow...", was all Thomas managed to utter upon seeing Angie's attire. She was gorgeous, and better yet, she was all his. After regaining his composure, Thomas gingerly stepped into the apartment, a large bag in hand. "Sorry, babe, but I stopped to pick up a bottle of bubbly to go along with dinner. I hope you don't mind?"

"I'll forgive you, Blizzie..." Angie sauntered slowly into her kitchen nook, giving Thomas time to take in the full effect of her short dress, hose, and heels. "...this time", she silently announced to herself as she retrieved wine glasses. She smiled seeing the flushed expression on Thomas' face. He was putty in her hands and she knew it.

"Babe, you are looking hot tonight." With a small effort, Thomas popped the cork on the wine bottle.

A sly smile etched on her face, Angie presented the wineglasses while Thomas poured. "You think you can cool me off, Blizzie?"

Thomas took a gulp of his drink and sat his glass off to the side, while Angie took a more conservative and lady-like sip. "It'll sure be fun finding out."

"Ohh...", Angie cooed in approval as Thomas took her into his arms. They shared a quick kiss, followed by a more lingering embrace. "What about dinner?"

Lifting Angie fully into his arms, Thomas led them towards the bedroom. "It can wait 'til later..."

"It appears that our Mr. Sculley has a very interesting history," Spinnerette remarked as she ran through her notes. Several hours had passed and she, along with Morning Star, Shockwave, and Sabre had traveled to the Guardians Mansion. The base's computers would be a tremendous aid in their search for information. Spinnerette and Sabre concentrated on finding information on Jim Sculley; Morning Star and Shockwave on Spectrum.

"Not much of note concerning his early history," Spin explained. "Born July 17th, 1961 to LAPD Sergeant Jordan Sculley and his wife Helen. Two years later joined by a sister, Stephanie. Three years after that a brother, Bryan. Graduated UCLA with a degree in journalism in '82. Worked for the Times for a couple of years as a feature writer. Like I said, nothing special."

"Until August of 1984,..." Sabre added, picking up the narration from Spinnerette. He spoke in the voice of respected news anchor Walter Cronkite "When James disappeared without a trace. The police investigated, but eventually were unable to turn up any relevant clues or leads. He mysteriously resurfaced on February 21st of this year. And that's the end of the story."

"That's almost eighteen months," Shockwave observed. "What happened in between?"

"That's a good question," Sabre acknowledged. "According to the papers, he claims to have amnesia."

"Those dates seem to mesh nicely with what we've uncovered as far as Spectrum is concerned," Morning Star reported. "The first known appearance of Spectrum associating with Terror Incorporated was in January of '85. The last was in November, up until the bank robbery last night."

"So what we have is a bunch of circumstantial evidence," Spinnerette concluded. "There's no way to prove or disprove that Jim and the villain Spectrum are one and the same person."

"We're at a dead end, then?", Shockwave asked. She wasn't used to this kind of investigation.

"Possibly," Spinnerette answered. While Shockwave was out of her element, this was right up Spin's alley. She had done stints as a private investigator in the past. "According to the report, our Mister Sculley turned up on the doorstep of Whitney Parks. She's also a PI, pretty good from what I've heard."

"You know this woman?", Morning Star asked.

"Only by reputation. Questioning her seems like the next logical step. I've got her address right here."

"Sounds reasonable to me."

"While I didn't pry into Spectrum's private life, we did talk about a few things," Shockwave added.

"Such as?", Morning Star asked. "We need all the information we can get, Shockwave."

"Jim's father disappeared about a month ago. I don't know if he was ever found or not."

"Sounds suspicious," Spinnerette noted. "I'll have to run a check on family members as well. Anything else?"

"Uhm, just one thing. Jim split up with his girlfriend around the same time his dad disappeared. I never knew her name, but it might be this Whitney Parks you discovered."

"Every little bit helps." However, Morning Star wasn't quite sure just how helpful these latest bits of information were going to be. But she had been in this business long enough to realize that vital information may not seem important at first glance. "Now we need figure out our next move. I think that--"

"I just remembered something else," Shockwave interrupted. "I don't know if it's important or not, though."

Morning Star turned to face her armored teammate. "What is it?"

"When Spectrum was being taken away by PRIMUS, I momentarily detected something on my armor's sensors. I tried to get a look at it, but I couldn't see anything there. It might have just been a glitch in the system. My armor has taken a considerable pounding these last few days."

"And yet, this might also be a clue," Spinnerette suggested enthusiastically. "Do you have any way of checking to see if this was genuine or a system malfunction?"

"Sure, I can do that. My armor records what it detects and stores it. It'll take some time to sort out the details."

"Would these storage banks include the battle with the Crimson Claw?", Morning Star asked excitedly.

"Of course."

"That's wonderful! You may have just given us the evidence we need to get the charges against Spectrum dropped." Not receiving a response from Shockwave, Morning Star added, "The robbery took place while we were fighting the Claw. You have evidence that places Spectrum with us, so he can't possibly be robbing a bank at the same time."

"That's brilliant! I'll need to get back to my lab and access my equipment..."

"No need for that," Spinnerette interrupted. "I'm sure that Hornet has whatever you need to retrieve your data right here, provided it wasn't damaged from Ripper and Firewing's attacks. Come on, the lab's this way."

"Great! That'll be wonderful." Shockwave trailed after the wall-crawling Guardian. Knowing the scientific expertise of the Hornet, Shockwave was looking forward to getting a chance to check out his laboratory.

"While you're doing that, Sabre and I will go and question this Ms. Parks," Morning Star stated. "Perhaps she can provide more clues to this mystery."

A short time later, Morning Star and Sabre were outside the Santa Monica apartment of Whitney Parks. At this late hour they were able to reach the front door of her apartment without much notice. Morning Star tapped lightly on the door. "Let's hope that she's still up."

"Don't worry, 'Star, she is," Sabre answered, this time speaking as Humphrey Bogart. He had already scoped out the apartment with his special Blood sight. "Ms. Park's quite a doll too."

"Your impersonations are remarkable, Sabre. But, don't you ever use your normal voice?"

"Oh, once in a while." The voice that Sabre answered in was unremarkable to Morning Star. Most likely, it was his real voice. "I do a lot of voice work in Hollywood, so I like to keep in practice as much as possible. Besides, its a lot of fun to pull these characters out."

Morning Star nodded her understanding. A second later, the door opened the few inches the chain would allow and Whitney peered out. "Can I help you?"

"Good evening, Ms. Parks. Sorry to bother you at this late hour, but we're trying to help out our friend Spectrum and we thought you might be able to assist us."

The query, and the costumed individuals at her door, caught Whitney off guard. "How do I know that you're really Morning Star and not just someone in a costume?"

"Sorry to disturb you, ma'am," Sabre responded, slipping back into his Columbo impersonation. "But we're Spectrum's teammates and are, ah, trying to uncover evidence to clear him of the charges he is facing. If this is a bad time, we can come back when it's, ah, more convenient."

"Teammates? What are you talking about?" Whitney was genuinely confused by all of this.

Morning Star held her right hand before her and balled it into a fist. A moment later, a purplish glow surrounded her hand. It was the energy for her trademark power punch. "Will this suffice as proof of my identity?"

There was no immediate response from Whitney. Instead, she softly closed the door. The heroes could hear her undoing the chain lock. The door swung open a moment later. Whitney gestured for the heroes to come in. "You say that you're Spectrum's teammates?"

"That's correct, Ms. Parks," Morning Star stated as she entered the apartment. Whitney shut and locked the door behind Sabre. "We formed X-Factor a few days ago, along with Blizzard, Shockwave, and the Empress. Shockwave accidentally discovered that Spectrum and Jim were one and the same. We've been looking into his past and your name turned up."

"Then it is true...", Whitney mumbled to herself. She was aware that Spectrum had worked with Blizzard and Shockwave before. But a whole hero team? This was news to her. "James is really under arrest?"

"That's right, ma'am," Sabre answered, still in character.

"He called me earlier tonight, asking me to get a lawyer for him. I wasn't sure if it was a joke or not. He has a very odd sense of humor at times."

"So I've noticed, but in this instance it's no joke," Morning Star explained. "We've learned a few things about Spectrum, but we were hoping that you could provide us with more concrete details."

Whitney hesitated for a few seconds. Morning Star had an impressive reputation as far as heroes go. Jim did tell Whitney that he had worked with Morning Star in the past during the HART affair. So, the heroine trying to help Spectrum wasn't completely out of the blue. Whitney would assist them as best as she could. "If you really think it will help James... What would you like to know?"

The next morning, Morning Star paced in the waiting area inside PRIMUS Headquarters. The talk with Whitney Parks, while interesting, did little to clear up some of the concerns Morning Star had. "Our Spectrum is a very secretive person," she thought to herself. It was obvious to the heroine that Whitney still carried a torch for Jim. It was his refusal to divulge information that had torn the couple apart. Whitney was hurt and couldn't understand why Jim wouldn't open up to her. Morning Star promised to keep Whitney abreast of what was going on.

While on the way back to the Guardians Base, Morning Star had formulated a plan. She sent Sabre back to his parents' estate to make contact with Nightingale. The psionic Avenger had been a brief teammate of Morning Star's while she was on the Guardians. With Nightingale's assistance, this whole mystery might finally be cleared up.

Shockwave had uncovered the recorded data necessary to show that Spectrum was elsewhere during the robbery. The armored heroine would bring it to the PRIMUS Headquarters the next morning, along with trying to contact Blizzard and the Empress. She felt that X-Factor needed to be out in force in support of their embattled leader.

Finally, on her way home for the night, Morning Star connected with PRIMUS Agent Dowd. She explained her plan to him and he reluctantly agreed. The stage was now all set.

"It took some doing to get Gray to go along with this," Agent Dowd informed Morning Star. The PRIMUS operative was dressed in a dark blue suit with white shirt and tie. He didn't appear to be anything special if you passed him on the street. A typical businessman, most would speculate. He could easily blend into a crowd, something that was a positive boon for a PRIMUS Investigator. His brown hair was cut short, and his brown eyes looked out from behind glasses.

"That's understandable. I don't quite believe that I actually came up with it myself," Morning Star commented. "This is something more up Spin's alley than mine. I'm not usually this-- underhanded."

"Caught me by surprise as well. Still, it's a well thought out plan. Even if it is sneaky."

The front door to the base opened and Sabre and Nightingale strolled in. The psionic Avenger was dressed in her traditional black and silvery-white costume.

"Ah, there you are," Morning Star noted. "I'm glad you're here."

"Always happy to help out, Morning Star." Nightingale shook the lavender-clad heroine's hand. "Provided a surface scan is all that you're after."

"I just want to know if he's telling the truth or not," Morning Star explained.

A moment later, Shockwave skated up to the building. After retracting her rocket skates into her armored boots, she too walked into PRIMUS Headquarters. "'Morning, all."

"Hello, Shockwave." Morning Star separated herself from the others and faced her armored teammate. The two were roughly the same height, although Shockwave's armor added several inches to her. "Do you have it?"

At the touch of a button, a compartment on Shockwave's arm opened up. A golden miniature CD-Rom popped out. "Here you go. I hope this will do the trick."

"As do I." Morning Star turned away and handed the disc to Agent Dowd. "Here is the information I mentioned earlier. It will clearly show that Spectrum was with us and not at the bank."

The PRIMUS Agent accepted the disc. "We'll check it out. Are you ready to begin then?"

"As ready as I'll ever be," Morning Star answered. "'Gale, you're with me. Everyone else, sit back and relax. Hopefully this won't take long."

With Agent Dowd leading the way, Morning Star and Nightingale passed through a secured doorway and deeper into the PRIMUS Base. He would drop off the information Shockwave procured with the lab boys before taking the heroines down to the basement.

Shockwave and Sabre exchanged puzzled looks before settling into chairs in the waiting area. "I pray her plan works," Shockwave muttered.

"So does she, I suspect," Sabre answered. He settled back into his chair and picked up a magazine from a nearby coffee table. "Still, this is her plan, she'll have to see it through on her own."

Shockwave sighed and leaned back as well. "I suppose you're right." It was going to be a long morning. "I managed to get a hold of Blizzard this morning. He must have been up late 'cause he was a real grouch."

"Are they coming down to lend their support?"

"Believe it or not, yes they are. They should be here any time now," Shockwave announced as she checked her internal clock.

"You don't seem to be particularly fond of the Empress," Sabre observed.

Shockwave was momentarily startled by the observation. "Does it show that much? Yeah, she's not among my more favorite of people. But that's my problem. I'll just have to deal with it."

Elsewhere in the base, Morning Star and Nightingale were escorted into a small chamber across from the cell block area. "Nightingale can wait in here," Agent Dowd stated. A large window looked into a room next door. "This is the observation chamber for our interrogation room. It's one way glass, so you won't be seen."

"I hope you know what you are doing, Morning Star," Silver Avenger Joseph Gray stated as he entered the room. "You're one of the few people that I would go to all this trouble for."

"I'm very grateful to you for letting me try this," 'Star explained as she shook the Avenger's hand. "Hopefully, we'll get to the bottom of this matter and all of our questions will be answered."

"I wish to be perfectly clear on all of this," Gray stated. "What exactly are you hoping to accomplish?"

"You're going to bring Spectrum out for questioning. I'll be waiting in the room when he arrives. From there, I'll ask him some questions under the pretense of waiting for his lawyer to arrive. Nightingale will be able to determine the validity of his answers."

The Silver Avenger was dubious of this whole arrangement. But Morning Star's reputation was impeccable, as was Nightingale's. He felt certain that they were on the up and up. "Let's get this over with."

Nightingale took a seat before the one way mirror. She watched as Morning Star greeted Spectrum when he was escorted into the room. As planned, she began to question Spectrum. (Editor's Note: As shown in Spectrum #24)

"So far, all of his responses have been truthful," Nightingale reported. "Wait a minute-- there's something wrong in there!" Pointing into the interrogation chamber, Nightingale could sense a sudden panic in Spectrum. He stood up and tried to get away from Morning Star. "He's not in control of himself!"

"Get him sedated!", Gray ordered.

Spectrum tried to get away from Morning Star, but the agile heroine easily caught the colorful mutant in the tiny room. PRIMUS Operatives stormed into the room a few seconds later. One of them injected a sedative into Spectrum. It was all over in a matter of moments.

"What the hell is going on?", Blizzard demanded as he entered PRIMUS HQ. The Empress was at his side. "They arrested Spectrum?!"

Shockwave was up from her seat and quickly approached her teammates. "Settle down, Blizzard. Going off half cocked isn't going to solve any problems."

"I may not know Spectrum all that well," the Empress noted, "but I don't believe he's capable of what he's charged with. He seems like one of those dull, straight arrow types."

"I'm not a little kid, Shocky. Quit treating me like one!" Blizzard hated when Sara got like this. Sure they were friends, but that didn't give her license to boss him around.

"Could have fooled me," Shockwave shot back. "Look, this is PRIMUS were dealing with. Huffing and puffing isn't going to get them to back down."

"So why are we here than," the Empress asked, her arms folded against her chest. She could sense the tension between Blizzard and Shockwave. It didn't make sense to her that they could only be 'just friends'. After all, Thomas was about a '7' on her hunk rating scale. Why hadn't they been lovers? Unless Shockwave was hideously scarred or something like that. Maybe that was it. Maybe Shockwave was really just jealous of Angie. After all, she had what Shockwave never could have. The Empress just filed that knowledge away for another day. At some point it would prove to be useful to her.

"We are here to lend moral support," Sabre explained. "Morning Star is inside trying to get Spectrum released."

"So what are we supposed to do in the meantime?"

"We wait," Shockwave said in answer to Blizzard's query. She gestured for the new arrivals to take a seat.

From the interrogation room, Spectrum was taken to the base's infirmary and placed in a bed. Nightingale performed an examination, while Morning Star, Silver Avenger Gray, and Agent Dowd looked on.

"What's your prognosis, doctor?"

Nightingale rose, and walked to face the trio of onlookers. "Physically, there is nothing wrong with him. The problem is mental in nature."

"What exactly do you mean?" Morning Star found 'Gales answer rather vague.

"While you were talking to him, Spectrum was trying to truthfully answering your questions. But something was holding him back, trying to tailor his answers. I'd say that he's either been mind-controlled or has hypnotic blocks in place."

"Mind control?", the Silver Avenger repeated.

"Can you remove it?", Morning Star asked.

"I should be able to," Nightingale explained. "However, I will have to go deep into his mind. Far deeper than I normally would care to. But, I seem to have no choice in this matter. Its the only way I can free his mind from this conditioning."

"Deep enough to find out if this Spectrum was the same one at the bank?"

Morning Star couldn't believe what Agent Dowd was asking. "After the evidence I've shown you, you're still skeptical?"

The PRIMUS Agent just shrugged. "It would be incontrovertible proof, one way or the other. After all we are seeking the truth here."

"Very well," Morning Star muttered. "Providing that Nightingale is willing, of course."

"No problem on my end. I'll be going deeper than those memories anyway to repair the damage." Turning back to her patient, Nightingale placed her hands on Spectrum's temples and closed her eyes.

As Nightingale performed her task, the soft sound of birds singing filled the infirmary. It was a by-product of intense use of her mental powers. Nightingale would speak every so often, bring the others up to date on her progress. "There is a whole series of hypnotic blocks in place in his mind. Very deep ones. Whoever did this, knew what they were doing. I have found no memories of the bank robbery. He was never there."

Morning Star flashed Agent Dowd an 'I told you so' look. "Okay, okay, you were right," the Agent finally stated. "Now we know for sure."

"I'm going to work on removing the hypnotic blocks."

"You're going to release him and drop the charges then?", Morning Star asked of Silver Avenger Gray.

"I'm not one hundred percent convinced in this matter."

"What other evidence could you possibly need?" Dealing with bureaucrats was never one of Morning Star's favorite things. She was having trouble concealing her annoyance. But when it came to superhumans and the law, PRIMUS was the agency usually called in to handle the matter.

"For one thing, how are we going to be able to tell your Spectrum apart from the criminal one?" That was a possibility that Morning Star had not considered.

"We could inject him with a transponder?", Agent Dowd suggested. "Like we did with American Eagle's friend a while back."

Gray considered the idea for a few seconds. "I would be agreeable to that. Transponders have proven to be effective in the field thus far."

"A transponder?", Morning Star repeated. "What exactly do you mean?"

"It's a small device that we would implant just below the surface of the skin. It continuously transmits a signal, allowing us to determine his location at all times."

"That way, should another crime be committed by the other Spectrum, we would be able to determine if he was in the area or not," Gray added.

"It won't hurt him, will it?"

"Not at all, Morning Star," Agent Dowd continued. "The transponder will work for several weeks before its naturally dissolved by the body. It's perfectly harmless."

After considering for a few moments, Morning Star stated, "If those are your conditions, I'm afraid I'll have to agree to them." You never could be too careful after all.

"I'll arrange it immediately." Silver Avenger Gray turned and departed the infirmary.

The next hour passed slowly as Nightingale performed her task. A PRIMUS Medic injected the Transponder while the heroine was deep at work in Spectrum's mind. Morning Star took the opportunity to call Whitney and tell her what was going on.

"You mean that his strange behavior was caused by these 'mental blocks'?"

"That's what Nightingale is telling us," Morning Star explained. "She's in the process of removing them as we speak."

"I thought he didn't trust me...," Whitney whispered, more to herself. "I blamed James for something that wasn't really his fault. He couldn't help himself."

"You had no way of knowing. None of us did."

"Will he be all right?"

"Nightingale assures me that he will be fully back to normal once she's finished with the procedure."

"That's good to know," Whitney answered. "Thank you for everything, Morning Star. Thank you very much."

That task complete, Morning Star returned to the infirmary to see how Nightingale's work was coming along.

"Boring!" Nearly an hour had passed since Blizzard and the Empress had arrived at the PRIMUS HQ. While the others were content to read magazines, Blizzard kept himself amused by creating ice cubes out of thin air.

"I've got to agree with, Blizzie," the Empress announced. "There is surely something better to do than just sit around and wait."

"We're showing support for Spectrum, that's what we're doing here," Shockwave answered in an annoyed tone. "We are a team after all."

"Perhaps, but I--"

A sudden explosion ripped through the front doors of the PRIMUS Base! Shards of glass and metal went flying everywhere.

"Cripes!" Blizzard acted instinctively and erected an ice wall to shield himself and his teammates.

"I'm picking up multiple incoming targets!", Shockwave shouted to her teammates. Her armor's scanners detected the intruders a split second before the explosion. "Someone is attacking the base!"

Sabre scrambled to his feet. He stared intently through the ice barrier and the wall beyond with his Blood enhanced vision, setting his sights on the attackers outside. "There's a dozen man-sized robots coming our way."

"Finally some action!" Blizzard was elated to have his boredom come to an end. Since they were only robots, he could really cut loose.

"I would not be so eager, comrade," Sabre continued. "They all look like Mechanon!"

...To Be Continued!

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