#17- "Caught Between a Hammerhead and a Hot Place"

Mockingbird couldn't believe her eyes. Having just learned that she was being given the chance to begin work for LawTech, the sonic heroine had gone out on a celebratory flight over Los Angeles. Her elation was short lived as an explosion and the sounds of battle had suddenly drawn her attention back to the ground below.

Flying closer, Mockingbird quickly discovered that she had stumbled across a battle between two supervillains. One wore odd-looking armor with unusual projections emanating from his helmet. It made the man superficially resemble a hammerhead shark. Mockingbird immediately identified the criminal as Hammerhead.

Hammerhead was a current member of the Thugmaster's Elite. The Elite was a training ground for wannabe criminals, a sort of villainous version of the Young Champions. At the moment, Hammerhead appeared to be on a destructive rampage. The villain stood on the rooftop of a small building firing his weapon with reckless abandon.

The identity of the second combatant did not come as easily to Mockingbird. It was a man whose body was ablaze with yellow and orange flames. He flew through the sky with a trail of fire following behind him. Mockingbird was no expert when it came to identifying criminals. The only flaming man who came to mind was Feur, a member of the dreaded Terror Incorporated.

As Mockingbird watched, Hammerhead fired the cannon mounted on his right forearm. A horrible screech filled the air as an orange conduit of energy exploded out of his weapon. The energy lanced out at Feur, but sailed harmlessly past the fast moving target.

"Oh my goodness!", Mockingbird cried out in surprise. "Hammerhead is fighting Feur! What am I going to do now?"

"Stand still you flaming freak!", Hammerhead shouted. "It's only a matter of time before the Hammerhead blows you clean out of the sky!"

"Dream on, fishhead!", the flaming man retorted. "You couldn't hit the broadside of a barn with that peashooter!"

Much to Mockingbird's surprise, the man did not have a French accent. It was well known that Feur hailed from France and had a noticeable accent. If he wasn't Feur, then just who was this man? Was he friend or foe? For now she could only watch and wonder.

"As for me," the fiery stranger continued, "I'm gonna have myself a good old fashioned fish fry! Char broiled shark is one of my favorites!" The flaming man streaked towards Hammerhead unleashing blasts of fire as he passed.

In spite of his bulky appearance, Hammerhead was quicker than one might expect. The attacks missed the villain and impacted on the roof of the building. Gapping holes were blown open in the roof from the attacks and small-scale fires started.

"Ha!", Hammerhead laughed as he took aim on his enemy once more. "You talk a good fight, but can't back up your words! Here's where I put my name on the map by kicking your sorry butt!"

Hammerhead fired yet another blast from his forearm cannon. Accompanied by a horrible screech, the orange energy streaked forward towards the fiery man. And missed. The airborne target suddenly flew straight up and away from the potentially lethal attack.

Instead, the blast continued on and clipped the corner of a building right below Mockingbird. Before her horrified eyes, tons of brick and other building material began to plummet towards the sidewalk below! Down below three children looked up as the debris started to fall towards them, each of them frozen in place from fear!

"NO!", Mockingbird screamed and launched herself into a power dive. Pushing her flying harness to its limits, the heroine streaked past the falling rubble and towards the petrified children. Pulling out of her dive, Mockingbird flew under the plummeting debris and was pelted by a few bricks in the back in the process. Shrugging off the pain, Mockingbird opened her arms wide and drew the children in, flying them to safety a second before the rubble slammed into the sidewalk with a thunderous crash raising a thick cloud of dust.

Mockingbird slowed down, pulled up, and landed on her feet. Her heart was beating a mile a minute and her hands were shaking as she set the three tykes down on the sidewalk. Those bystanders who had witnessed the daring rescue applauded while a few moved closer to congratulate Mockingbird.

"Are you okay?", Mockingbird panted as she faced the children. "Anyone hurt?"

"No, ma'am," one boy answered.

"That was fun!", another boy added with a giggle. "Can we go flying again?"

"Kids," Mockingbird smiled to herself. "So resilient."

Another explosion off in the distance snapped the heroine back to reality. Hammerhead and his unknown foe were still fighting it out, without regard for the damage they were causing. "Take cover, everyone! I'll see what I can do to stop these madmen!"

Mockingbird took off once more and rose rapidly into the air. "I've got to stop these two before someone gets seriously hurt!" Filled with determination, Mockingbird easily located the combatants. Hammerhead had moved to an adjacent roof while the flaming man was still airborne.

Moving closer to the flaming man, Mockingbird called out to him. "Are you insane?! Don't you realize the damage you're causing!"

Cutting loose with another blast of fire, the flaming man unloaded on Hammerhead once more. The blast connected, sending Hammerhead flailing back across the roof.

"Hey, don't look at me!", the fiery man objected. "Fish-face is the one causing all the destruction. Well, maybe not all the destruction, but most of it anyway. So who the hell are you?"

"I could ask the same question. The name is Mockingbird. I'm a member of X-Factor."

"Starbolt," the fiery man responded. "Never heard of any Mockingbird."

"Well, we're even then. I've never heard of Starbolt. Your antics nearly got some children killed!"

"Hey, don't get your feathers ruffled, birdlady," Starbolt shot back. "I was just out minding my own business when fish-face opened fire on me! I'm just defending myself."

"While burning the town down in the process!" Mockingbird pointed to the fires currently burning below.

"If they bother you that much, then go put them out. In the meantime, get out of my way! I've got a shark to frag!"

"If we double team Hammerhead, we can get this over with faster. Before anyone else gets hurt!"

Starbolt glanced back at Mockingbird. "I don't need your help to slag this guy, birdlady. If you want to help, go ahead. Just stay out of my way."

Not waiting for an answer, Starbolt surged forward once more towards Hammerhead. The armored villain was waiting for him and fired his cannon again. Yet again the horrible screech filled the air and a blast of orange energy ripped through the air. Starbolt evaded the attack and the bolt sailed harmlessly up into the sky.

"Talk about a hot-head," Mockingbird muttered to herself. This Starbolt seemed to be oblivious to the destruction the fighting was causing. "Well, I'm getting involved in this whether he likes it or not." Mockingbird rose higher into the air and maneuvered into a position well behind Hammerhead.

"Don't try anything funny, skirt," Hammerhead threatened as he glanced over his shoulder. "You can't sneak up on me like that!"

Hovering some 150 feet away from Hammerhead, Mockingbird activated the targeting systems in her battlesuit. Once locked on target, Mockingbird screamed! Her shoulder carapace converted the scream into a powerful sonic assault that homed in on Hammerhead.

Hammerhead tried to dodge the attack, but Mockingbird's aim was true. The sonic scream impacted on Hammerhead, causing his armor to vibrate in response while tossing him across the rooftop. It was rather painful to the man inside the suit of armor.

"Never thought she could hit me from that far away," Hammerhead muttered to himself in amazement. He vainly tried to fire back at the hovering heroine, but was wide of the mark. As per her plan, Hammerhead's clumsy assault sailed far away from any potential target.

Mockingbird pressed her advantage and screamed once more. Aided by the targeting system in her battlesuit Mockingbird's sonic scream struck Hammerhead square in the chest. The force of the impact drove Hammerhead back once more. His ears were now ringing quite loudly.

Before Hammerhead could recover, Starbolt flew in and attacked at point blank range. A powerful blast of fire engulfed Hammerhead, momentarily causing him to disappear from sight. "Your ass is mine!", Starbolt cried out in triumph.

When the fire dissipated, Hammerhead was on his knees. Burn and scorch marks covered his armor. "You haven't won yet, hero!", Hammerhead angrily responded. "Next time I will be victorious!"

Activating his jet boots, Hammerhead streaked off the roof before the startled eyes of Starbolt. "I didn't know he could fly," Starbolt uttered in surprise. The fiery hero recovered from his astonishment and chased after the fleeing Hammerhead.

"I better not let those two out of my sights," Mockingbird thought to herself as she joined in on the chase. "At least Hammerhead's rampage seems to be over with. Now to see if I can apprehend this criminal."

Hammerhead flew as fast as his armor would carry him towards the ocean. Starbolt trailed behind the villain, liberally trying to blast him out of the air but so far failing to do any serious damage. Mockingbird kept pace as best as she could. Long minutes passed as the chase continued.

Finally, Hammerhead streaked over the beach and dove into the ocean. Starbolt continued to give chase, but slowed down and hovered over the waves. Mockingbird joined him a moment later.

"Come out of there and fight like a man!", Starbolt challenged shaking his flaming fist. "You hear me!?"

"He's gone," Mockingbird simply stated. She had already lost his blip on her sonar. "Apparently he can survive underwater for long periods of time. Hammerhead can come up again just about anywhere now." Mockingbird turned away and started to fly back towards shore. She would stop back at the battle site and offer assistance as necessary.

That took some of the fight out of Starbolt and he relaxed. He flew off after Mockingbird and pulled up alongside of her. "I suppose driving fish-face off is going to have to be good enough for now. Still, an impressive Los Angeles debut, wouldn't you say?"

"If aiding in wide scale destruction was part of your goal, then you succeeded. Ask the three kids I saved from being crushed by falling debris what they thought of your battle performance."

"Geez, lighten up, birdlady! You act as if I burned a whole building down. Sometimes destruction of property can't be helped. Read the riot act to the guy with the cannon on his forearm. He did a lot more damage than I did."

"Maybe, but..."

"No buts about it," Starbolt interrupted. "This is a great win for me and I think we should celebrate. After all, you did play a minor role in this victory. How 'bout we go get some drinks, have a little dinner, and see what happens from there? My treat, of course. What do you say?"

Mockingbird slowed down in her flight and stared incredulously at Starbolt. "Have you even heard anything that I've been saying? There were people hurt and buildings damaged during your battle. I'm going back to help out as best I can." Picking up speed once more, Mockingbird surged ahead of Starbolt. "Men," she muttered under her breath.

With a confused look on his fiery face, Starbolt pulled up and watched Mockingbird fly away. "Jeez, what a strange bird. I wonder what's eating her? Too bad, she was kind of cute." Without a second thought, Starbolt flew away.

Angie Szymanski donned her Empress mask and regarded herself in the full-length dressing mirror. Night had fallen and it was just about time for the Empress to depart to LawTech for tonight's Heroes for Hire job. The Empress was not thrilled about working, but the money was good and usually nothing much happened anyway.

After waking up, Angie had a light dinner and showered. As her departure time neared, she started to change into her Empress costume for tonight's job. Mentally, Angie ran down her appearance checklist. Her makeup was perfect, as was her hair. Reaching down, Angie pulled her left boot up to the same level as her right one. She made a slight adjustment to her crown as well.

The heroine moved in front of the mirror, examining her reflection from a variety of angles. "Hmm, maybe it's time for a new costume," she mused. "This one is nice, but it's not..." Angie paused, trying to find the right word. "Sexy enough. Yes, that's it. Not sexy enough."

Once satisfied with her appearance, the Empress slipped out onto her patio. The darkness protected her from any potential onlookers. After making sure the way was clear, the Empress took flight, rose above her apartment complex and flew towards the distant LawTech plant.

Blizzard had called her a little while ago, to remind Angie about going out to LawTech. He claimed that he had some exciting news to tell her, but was going to wait until they were at LawTech. Angie shrugged it off. Things that were important to Tom were not necessarily important to her. He seemed to pay more attention to his business concerns than to her at times. That simply would not do.

Nor would the potentially bad publicity that had been hounding X-Factor as of late. First there was the arrest of Spectrum and then later he and Morning Star siding with Icicle against PRIMUS. Just what in the world were they thinking? Icicle was a criminal! They should have turned her over to the authorities and been done with it. That's what Angie would have done.

This was Hollywood after all, where image was everything. Angie's career as the Empress was only to be a stepping-stone to even greater things. Having no desire to be a criminal left only being a heroine open to Angie. Lady Blue successfully walked the fine line between hero and criminal, but that was not a road the Empress really wanted to go down. One misstep and that could be it for her.

No, Angie's goal was to be famous. To bathe in the public spotlight. That was where she felt she truly belonged. Anything else was simply a means to an end. Like her time as the Empress, her involvement in Heroes for Hire, and being a member of X-Factor. Being a famous, well-loved, and wealthy celebrity was her ultimate goal. Then she could have her choice of men to keep her company and party, party, party.

Make no mistake; Angie thought Blizzie was a swell guy. He treated her nice and paid attention to her, but there was room for improvement. There were better looking men in the world after all. One of whom she was going to be working with tonight.

That thought brought a smile to the Empress' face. Tonight was going to be the first night that Impact worked for Heroes for Hire. Impact, Bryan Sculley, was Spectrum's younger brother and one serious hunk. He was tall, muscular, and very handsome. That was a winning combination in her mind. Too bad that Blizzie was going to be there as well.

Still, Angie looked forward to renewing her friendship with Impact at some point in the future. After all, they already had a past history. Lots of things had changed since they were in high school when Angie was a cheerleader and Bryan a football star. Pity Bryan had not recognized her as of yet. Angie was a bit older now and better filled out in all the right places.

Angie had thought there was something familiar about Spectrum's secret identity of James Sculley. It didn't click immediately, but eventually she realized that he was the older brother of a boy she had dated briefly in high school. It truly was a small world after all.

Angie had kept that fact to herself, planning to use it when a good opportunity surfaced. So far, none had. And with the way X-Factor was going, the Empress wasn't going to be around too much longer anyway. They were beginning to look bad in the public eye and that would simply not do.

The LawTech plant now came into view. It was a dirty looking place, especially at night. If not for the adequate sum of money she was being paid to come out here, the Empress wouldn't be caught dead in a place like this. At least there were only two more nights and she'd have the company of two guys to pass the time as well.

The Empress pulled up and landed on the roof of the tallest building. This was the place where she and Blizzard typically kept their watch. It gave them a good view of the entire plant, and they could make out without being spotted from down below. The roof still felt warm underneath the Empress' boot. It had been a hot and sunny day, so that was no surprise.

"I'd better not get tar on my boots," Angie growled in annoyance.

A moment later, Impact streaked onto the scene. He wore his new costume that was a tremendous improvement over his original one. It was primarily red with gray metallic accessories including shoulder protection. Impact slowed up and tried to land. Unfortunately, his skill at flying was not very good and the rookie hero tumbled across the roof before coming to a stop.

"Oh! Are you alright?", the Empress called out as she moved towards Impact. She seemed to be genuinely concerned. "Here, let me help you up."

"Don't mind me," Impact replied sheepishly as he got to his feet and started to dust himself off. "Still don't have the knack of this flying thing down. Actually, it's not so much flying as landing."

"Well, then we'll just have to get you some practice." The Empress flashed her best seductive smile. "I certainly wouldn't mind giving you a lesson or two."

"Really? You'd do that for me?" Impact seemed surprised by all of this. It seemed very unlike the Empress he remembered from last night inside VIPER's Nest.

"Oh yes. If you're going to be working for us, then I'll have to do some polishing up of your skills. It would be bad for business to have you crashing into things left and right." As she spoke, the Empress helped dust Impact off. She helped wipe away the dust from his arm, chest, and back. Impact was indeed a prize!

"Is it my imagination, or are you enjoying this?" Impact asked, a goofy grin on his face. He was beginning to suspect that the Empress was flirting with him by the way her touch lingered on his arms and chest.

"I can imagine all sorts of things," the Empress coyly responded. "All of them quite pleasurable."

Impact gulped audibly as the Empress faced him and stared into his eyes. She was quite a woman. She was beautiful, sexy, and very self-assured. A response died in Impact's throat. He couldn't think of what to say next.

"Hey guys!" another voice called out breaking the spell. Impact and the Empress turned to discover Blizzard coming towards them on an ice slide. "I have got fantastic news!"

The Empress turned and sashayed over to a waiting Blizzard. They embraced and shared a kiss. After what just happened with the Empress before Blizzard arrived and now after, Impact didn't know what to think. The Empress was certainly a very big flirt. He just wondered if she was playing with him as the rookie on the staff or was there something else going on in her devious mind?

"Well, come on, Blizzie," the Empress encouraged. "Don't keep us in suspense."

"Hey, what's up, boss?" Impact moved closer to hear a little better.

"You simply will not believe who I have an appointment to see tomorrow night about a Heroes for Hire gig. You just will not believe it!"

"Tell us already!", the Empress cried out, annoyance thick in her voice.

"Sheila Grace."

There was silence for several moments on the rooftop. "The Sheila Grace?", Impact inquired incredulously. Sheila Grace was very well known as a multi-talented superstar in the entertainment industry.

"You know another one?", Blizzard shot back.

"Man, she's like just SO hot! I've got all her posters!" Impact moved forward and high-fived Blizzard. "You scored big, bossman!"

"We know who she is," the Empress interrupted, that annoyed tone still with her. "What does she want with Heroes for Hire?"

"Not sure, but I'm certainly hoping that it's our next contract. She just set an appointment at the corporate offices of 'A Touch of Grace' for tomorrow night. So, I won't be out here at LawTech until late. I'm sure that you two can cover for me for a couple of hours."

"I'm sure Impact and I can keep ourselves amused," the Empress simply answered, as she gave Impact a sly side-ways glance. The possible double meaning of her statement was not lost on the young hero.

From the perspective of the Empress the rest of the night passed very slowly. Blizzard and Impact seemed to talk about nothing but Sheila Grace and football all night long. It annoyed Angie to no end. "Men!", she cursed as she balled her fists.

Marcus Dupree ran down the dimly lit alley with wild abandon. He ran past the winos, the stoned out druggies, and the working girls. None of them paid Marcus any attention as they were far too wrapped up in their own little worlds.

Most of them knew who Marcus Dupree was. Marcus had the street name of 'Ears' as he heard a great deal about what was going on around the city. Information that he would happily sell for the right price. This wasn't the first time that Ears was seen running. Those he squealed upon were seldom pleased with the man.

Panting heavily, Ears rounded a corner and came to a stop. His breathing was labored, his heart pounding like a drum. Wearily he leaned against the building, hoping the shadows would hide him. He hoped he had lost her in the six block long chase. Luck was not with Ears on this night.

"I hope you're quite finished with this exercise in futility, Ears," a woman's voice announced from seemingly out of nowhere. Ears looked around frantically to find the source of his terror. A woman in a black costume emerged from the shadows across the alley. A large red spider rested on her left hip, it's legs stretching across her chest, along her back, and down her leg. "'Cause I'm through being nice."

"Spinnerette!" Ears cursed as he turned and started to run back the way he came. Ears escape lasted a total of three steps as he ran smack into a lavender and purple clad woman. The impact knocked Ears off his feet.

The woman remained standing, her arms folded. The impact was inconsequential to her. There was an amused look on her face. "Going somewhere?", she innocently asked.

"Morning Star!"

Spinnerette was on Ears before he could get to his feet. With ease, the small woman picked Ears up by the scruff of the neck. "You're two for two, Ears! I dearly hope you can keep that average up for us."

Spinnerette flipped Ears around in her arms and held him aloft by his shirt upside down. In this position she webbed him to the side of the closest building. "There. Now we can talk without worrying about you running off on us."

"I get the distinct impression that you don't like us," Morning Star noted.

"Let go of me!" Ears struggled mightily, but to no end. Spinnerette's webbing was too strong for him to escape. "What do you want from me?"

"The same thing everyone wants from you, Ears: Information. Specifically about Thugmaster and his Elite. I'm not in the mood to play around, so spill it!"

Having little choice, and being nowhere near brave enough to stand up to Spinnerette, Ears started to talk. "Word on the street has it that the Elite are in town. Several students are getting ready to graduate."

"I already knew that," Spinnerette growled as she got into Ear's face. "Tell me something I don't know."

"As part of their final exam, the students are going to be pulling crimes over the next few days. There's going to be a gathering where those looking for superpowered muscle can go and get recruits for their organizations. The Elite will also being trying out new students."

"Where, Ears? Where is this gathering going down at?"

"I don't know."

Spinnerette wasn't buying that for a moment. "Come on, Ears, you can do better than that. Where are they holding the meeting?"

"I'm tellin' ya the truth! I don't know! They're not going to announce the sight until a few hours before the gathering. You gotta believe me!"

Spinnerette stood up and took a few steps back towards Morning Star. "What do you think?", Morning Star whispered to her friend. "Is he on the up and up?"

"It does make sense to keep the meeting secret for as long as possible," Spinnerette noted. "To keep us from crashing the party."

Spinning on her toes, Spinnerette stalked back towards the webbed up Ears. "We're going to buy your story for now, Ears, but if I find out that you've been jiving me, I will be back. And this time I won't just web you to the side of a building three feet above the ground!"

With that, the two heroines walked away leaving Ears alone. He sighed in relief. Then he realized that he was still stuck to the wall!

"Hey! Come back here and get me down!"

"Don't worry about it," Spinnerette's mocking voice could be heard to say off in the distance. "The webbing will wear off. In an hour or three."

"Good morning!", Lisa Horton happily announced as she stepped into Sara Redmond's laboratory at LawTech. There was a noticeable bounce in the woman's stride as she entered. Lisa carried a large duffel bag that held her Mockingbird costume.

"Hi," Sara responded as she looked up from her work. Sara was standing before her workbench; a multitude of open crates and boxes filled the area. SIMON, the robotic major domo of X-Factor was helping out by opening up those crates still sealed.

"Pleasant morning, Ms. Mockingbird," SIMON greeted. "I am most pleased that you are going to be working with us."

"Me too," Lisa nodded in agreement, the wide smile on her face having yet to fade. "What's all this stuff?" Lisa gestured towards the boxes and crates.

"Today's project," Sara explained. "This is all part of the security improvements that arrived from CII. We get to put it all together and try it out."

Lisa peered into one of the crates. To her surprise it held a metallic sphere that was about the size of a basketball. Other crates contained more of these spheres. There appeared to be two different sizes of spheres, about a dozen of each. "This doesn't look like any security system I've ever seen before."

"I should say not, madam," SIMON chimed in. "This is a state of the art system."

Sensing that a better explanation was required, Sara related just how she had come to work for LawTech. How CII had purchased part of LawTech to help them combat a takeover bid from Kord Industries. There had been numerous acts of sabotage as of late at LawTech, including a Navy project that had almost been ruined by Terror Unlimited. (Editor's Note: Covered in greater detail in Scarlet Sabre #1-2)

"Heroes for Hire has been acting as security for the last week or so," Sara continued. "They were never meant to be a permanent solution. This system is."

"What are these things?"

"The smaller spheres are called Monitor Drones," Sara explained. "They are essentially flying cameras. The large ones are Security Drones as they also carry weaponry."

"Cool!" The whole thing rather impressed Lisa. Of course, she was still excited about having a real job again. "Where do we begin?"

The morning passed quickly for Sara and Lisa as they worked on their project, chatting the entire time. TJ Junior showed up to see how Lisa was doing and brought paperwork for her to fill out. As it grew near to the time when X-Factor was going to meet at the office of Heroes for Hire, the group piled into Sara's oversized van and stopped for a quiet lunch. SIMON remained inside the van while they ate.

Once at the Heroes for Hire office, both women changed into their heroine costumes in the back of the van. A few moments later it was Shockwave, Mockingbird, and SIMON who entered the office.

The rest of the team was there already. Blizzard and the Empress were talking, while Sabre, Morning Star, and Spectrum were engaged in their own conversation.

"Pleasant morning," SIMON announced as he ambled inside, after holding the door open for Mockingbird and Shockwave. Everyone glanced the heroines' way and all conversation came to a sudden halt. "Oh dear. Is there a problem? Are we late?"

"Whoa!", Blizzard exclaimed as he approached Shockwave. "Cool makeover, Sara!" This was the first time that the rest of X-Factor had seen Shockwave's re-painted and modified armor. "Hey, Angie, check this out."

The Empress sighed to herself and rolled her eyes. Apparently the 'dull little mouse' had some backbone after all. "Yes, yes. Very nice." That settled it in the Empress' mind. Right after the meeting she would stop off at Superstarz and get herself a new costume too. Then it would be the Empress getting all the attention.

"I like it," Spectrum commented as the rest of the team approached. "When did you do this?"

"Oh, it just sort of happened," Shockwave answered in all modesty. The annoyed look on the Empress' face pleased her to no end. "It wasn't something that I had planned on doing."

"Very fashionable," Sabre added. "You should check out the outfit Spinnerette put together for my sister some time. Most impressive."

"Why do I get the feeling that I missed something," Morning Star mused as she took in the scene. She knew that things between Shockwave and the Empress were tense at best, but now she got the feeling that something else had taken place between them. Just what Morning Star couldn't be certain.

The heroes chatted for a few more moments before Spectrum brought the gathering to order. "Okay, guys and gals, let's get down to business. Morning Star and I have a couple of announcements to make."

"What happened after we left you guys in VIPER's Nest?" The query came from Mockingbird.

"We'll get to that in a moment," Spectrum promised. "Right now, Morning Star has the first announcement."

Morning Star stepped forward and began to speak. "Thank you, Spectrum. It's come to my attention that the Thugmaster's Elite are in town looking to cause trouble. There have already been several reports of their activities so far."

"I personally ran into Titania and Chaos this morning," Spectrum inserted. (Editor's Note: Covered in Spectrum #29-30)

"I drove off one of the other Elite last night," Mockingbird offered. "Hammerhead was causing trouble. Oh, I should probably warn everyone that I ran into some hothead calling himself Starbolt. I thought it was Feur at first, but apparently this is a new hero in town."

"Starbolt?", Morning Star mused. "Where I have heard that name before?" The heroine thought for a few moments and then snapped her fingers. "Of course! Starbolt was a member of the Young Champions. He left the training program right after the incident in El Paso where Comet was killed. As I understand it he is the cousin of the Sorceress."

"Any clue as to what the Elite are up to?", Sabre wondered aloud. "Is there a plan to their activities or simply random acts of villainy?"

"Actually, both," Morning Star continued. "Apparently they are getting ready to graduate their current class. As part of their final exams, they are committing crimes on their own in order to gain notoriety."

"You must be joking," the Empress stated with a laugh. "That sounds so silly. The next thing you'll be telling us is that they're going to have a graduation ceremony where they can meet potential employers!"

"It's no joke, Empress," Morning Star countered. "That is exactly what appears to be happening here. Several local criminal organizations are expected to be on hand to gather new recruits. Our task is to find out where this graduation is going to take place and break it up."

Spectrum picked up the narrative. "So, that brings us up to date on the Thugmaster's Elite situation. Keep your eyes and ears open. Okay, now on to the topic that has been on each and everyone's minds: exactly what went down in the VIPER's Nest after you guys called it a night"

Spectrum paused and took in a deep breath. He glanced at Morning Star and she gave him a supportive smile. "Okay, here goes..."

Shockwave, SIMON, Mockingbird, Sabre, Blizzard, and the Empress all listened intently as Spectrum explained the situation as best he could. He covered how Icicle managed to win her probation from PRIMUS and how she saved Morning Star and himself from Terror Unlimited. The end result was Icicle being the responsibility of Spectrum and Morning Star with X-Factor inheriting the VIPER's Nest to use a base. The icy mutant would also be assisting the team on missions when possible. (Editor's Note: Covered in greater detail in X-Factor #13-14)

Reactions were mixed.

Sabre broke out into laughter. "That's what I like about this group. Always so unpredictable!"

"This is very unexpected," Shockwave muttered. She didn't quite know what to make of this revelation. However, Sara did trust Spectrum and Morning Star to do the right thing. "If Spectrum and Morning Star think that this is the thing to do, then they have my support."

"Mine as well," Mockingbird added. "This should prove very interesting."

"Are you people insane?", the Empress finally cried out, when she couldn't contain herself any longer. "This is madness! Sheer madness! Icicle is a wanted criminal! She should go to jail!"

"Now hold on just a minute, Empress," Spectrum curtly retorted. "I've gotten to know Icicle personally. In fact, I know her better than I do you. She's been on a streak of bad luck, but with help and understanding she can turn it around. Just give her a chance to prove herself."

"If any of this gets out, X-Factor is going to be the laughing stock of the superhero community! Think of your reputations!"

"Yours in particular," Shockwave gleefully added.

"Exactly," the Empress continued. "Are you going to throw it all away over some criminal? Well, count me out! I quit!" With that, the Empress spun and started to walk away, her crimson cape billowing behind her. "Come on, Blizzie, let's get out of here before they take Grond in next!"

"Empress, you are really overreacting," Morning Star stated calmly. "Stay and let's talk about this."

"Well, if she wants to quit, that's her prerogative," Shockwave quickly added. If the Empress was reacting this violently to the situation then it made Shockwave like it all the more. They were doing the right thing. She wanted to add, "Don't let the door hit you on the way out," but refrained.

The Empress reached the door and turned back. Much to her surprise, Blizzard was not right behind her. She looked at Blizzard in confusion. Just what was he thinking? "Blizzie?"

"I--," Blizzard started to say, having difficulty in finding the words. "I just don't want to rush in and make a rash decision without having heard all the facts. If you want to go for now, then go. I'll catch up with you later on."

"This can only lead to bad things for Heroes for Hire."

"Possibly," Blizzard admitted. "Depends on the kind of spin applied to the situation."

"Fine. Stay if you want." The Empress growled and slammed the door behind her. The elemental heroine stepped out onto the sidewalk, ignoring the looks she was getting from passers by. "I knew this team thing was a bad idea from the start. Why can't he see that? Imagine the nerve! Choosing them over me! Well they can have him!"

Puzzled by her boyfriend's actions, the Empress rose up into the sky and over the traffic. "Maybe that new costume will cheer me up," the Empress thought as she flew away.