Prologue:

To Blizzard's credit, he did try to concentrate on the task at hand. He really did. However, his concentration and resolve kept slipping away. Seated across from him was Sheila Grace. She was only considered to be the most beautiful woman on the planet. Her light brown hair was perfectly styled. It was easy to become lost in her brown eyes. Her perfume was sweet and her voice was honey dripped. Sheila was like a fantasy given form.

"Did you hear me, Mr. Blizzard?", Sheila inquired.

"Uhm, sorry," Blizzard quickly apologized. "You keep very exhausting hours in my profession." Thankfully his full-face mask concealed his embarrassment.

"I know exactly what you mean. Allow me to reiterate. I have not been pleased with the quality of my personal bodyguards as of late. The incident with Pulsar is just one more example of this. A celebrity such as myself needs to make numerous public appearances and be protected from not only overly zealous fans but also all the nutcases. There are some very sick people out there who would love to get their hands on me."

"I bet," Blizzard smirked silently. "That's perfectly understandable," he stated aloud. "Stars are just as attractive to extremist elements as they are to everyday fans."

"Exactly. After what happened with Pulsar I recalled hearing about Heroes for Hire in the news. It seems to me that I need the kind of protection that only those with superpowers can provide. Therefore, I want to give your organization a trial run. Depending on how well it goes, I may have further use of your services."

"For this jewelry show you were talking about earlier then?" Blizzard could vaguely recall Sheila speaking about some kind of exhibit earlier.

"That is correct. It is a combination fashion and jewelry show to introduce the Touch of Grace summer collection. There will be nearly a dozen other models including myself displaying various summer wear and fashion accessories. Do you think you'll be able to provide the necessary security for this event?"

"Sure. No problem. It's exactly what we do at Heroes for Hire."

"Outstanding," Sheila almost purred as she flashed her mesmerizing smile. "Shall we get down to contract specifics?"

"By all means."

A short time later, Blizzard made his way back to his waiting car. There was a noticeable spring in his stride. He suppressed the urge to shout out at the top of his lungs in excitement. Heroes for Hire had just landed their largest contract thus far for one afternoon's work. Even better they were going to be playing bodyguards to models in swimsuits. Could life get any better than this?

Blizzard had started the negotiations with his usual high bid, thinking that it would get haggled down to the level that he would normally get. Sheila didn't even bat an eyelash and accepted the bid finding it to be fair. At that point you could have knocked Blizzard over with a feather. Of course, Sheila could have talked him into doing the job for free without much effort by this point.

Getting into his car, Blizzard pealed out and raced off into the night. Finally, Heroes for Hire had landed the big one. This was the kind of contract that could make their little company. Heroes for Hire was about the hit the big time. He couldn't wait to reach LawTech and tell Angie about their good fortune.

#19- "Scavengers"

Miles away at the LawTech facility, Blizzard and Heroes for Hire were the furthest thing from the Empress' mind. Together with the other employee of the company, Impact, she was supposed to be guarding the robotics company from potential attack. Agents of Iron Maiden had taken interest in the company and were doing what they could to sabotage LawTech projects. Instead of being alert and on guard the two were arm in arm sharing passionate kisses.

Angie pulled away to catch her breath. "Oh my," she sighed deeply. "Your kissing has greatly improved."

"You're not so bad yourself. Guess we've had plenty of practice over the last few years."

"Practice does make perfect," the Empress cooed. She ran her gloved fingers along Impact's muscular chest. She couldn't help but marvel how much Bryan had grown in the last few years since their high school days. The change from boy to man had been a wondrous one in her eyes. "And I do like perfection."

"I used to love to practice. Anytime of the day or night."

"Now that's the kind of talk I like." Angie felt comfortable and very safe in Bryan's powerful arms. Impact was much stronger than Blizzie had been, not to say that Thomas was a pushover. Blizzard was stronger than the regular guy on the street, but now he seemed puny compared to the larger Bryan. He was even better looking, coming in at a scrumptious nine on Angie's scale. Blizzard had only rated a seven. Bryan was definitely an upgrade all the way around.

The two kissed for a while longer before Angie pulled away once more. "Tell you what, lover boy, why don't you save up all that energy for later. After we're done here, meet me back at my apartment. Then we can continue this delightful conversation in private."

"I don't feel much like talking," Bryan admitted.

"Neither do I," Angie responded with a seductive smile. "In fact I doubt that very many words are going to be needed. As much as I'd rather spend the evening in your arms, we do have a job to do and should be doing it when Blizzard arrives. He should be along anytime now."

Impact seemed momentarily confused. From the sound of it, Angie didn't want Blizzard to catch them together. "I thought you said you two broke up?"

The Empress pulled a small compact from her purse and adjusted her hair and makeup. "We did, however it would be in bad taste to flaunt our being together in front of him, especially so soon. Don't you think? We are supposed to be working after all."

The rookie hero considered for a moment. "Yeah, I guess that would be kind of insensitive on our part. Finding his old girlfriend had hooked up with someone else that fast."

"Exactly. Let's just not mention it and try to spare his feelings for the time being. It'll be our little secret. You can keep a secret, can't you? For me?"

"Sure thing. Man, this night is just going to drag though," Impact admitted.

"They usually do," the Empress added as she replaced her compact. "This is very demeaning work for a woman of my stature. Still, the money is good and I'm in no position to refuse. Oh, you should wipe off that lipstick or Blizzie's going to think you've gone punk on him."

"Oh, right. No need to arouse suspicions." Impact reached up and wiped his lips clean with his gauntlet. As he did so, Bryan noticed something in the night sky. There was something moving overhead! The exhaust from flight jets clearly illuminated the night. "Hey, what's that?"

The Empress turned to see just what Impact was going on about. The elemental heroine was annoyed by the interruption at first, but then her eyes grew wide as realization crept across her face. "It's those mini-Mechanon thingies again!" (Editor's Note: X-Factor tangled with Kilbots back in X-Factor #7.)

Overhead, five replicas of Mechanon streaked overhead powered by jets in the soles of their feet. Each was metallic silver in color coupled with golden power cords. The only difference between these and the real Mechanon was that they were a foot shorter.

"Come on, lover boy! We've got to defend LawTech against these things if we want to earn our pay!" With that, the Empress flew off, her dark red cape billowing behind her.

"Mini-Mechanon thingies?", Impact repeated to himself. "Oh crap!" After a running start, Impact took off after the Empress.

Up ahead, the Empress slowed to a hover. A second later, she gestured towards the lead Kilbot and a razor sharp stone-like projectile erupted from her hands. "I owe you tin cans big time for what happened at PRIMUS HQ and the Empress always gets payback! No one makes me look like a fool!"

The Empress' involvement in the previous battle had been quite brief. Her crown had been knocked lose by an exploding rocket. Frantically she searched for her headpiece while the Kilbots rained down destruction all around her, mistakenly thinking that it alone was the continued source of her powers. The heroine eventually did reclaim her crown and then got buried in rubble. In the Empress' mind, she never did get a good shot in on the invaders. Tonight she was would rectify that oversight.

The projectile slammed squarely into the chest of the lead Kilbot and pierced its storehouse of rockets before passing entirely through the construct! Electrical sparks flew from the wound and a moment later the rockets exploded, completely destroying the Kilbot from within. The spectacular display lit up the night sky.

"Damn I'm good," the Empress gloated as she observed her handiwork.

"My turn to run with the ball," Impact shouted as he streaked passed the Empress. "Eric Dickerson, eat your heart out!" The young hero bore down on the four remaining Kilbots. His intent was simple. He would just fly straight through them!

However, the Kilbots sensed the impending danger and adjusted their flight path away from the incoming threat. "Hey! False start!", Impact cried out as he sailed harmlessly through the robots' midst.

Two of the Kilbots turned and slowed in mid-flight as they watched Impact fly off. Their chest plates opened up to reveal the interior rocket launchers. A split second later, rockets were launched towards Impact. A colorful metaphor was Impact's only comment on this development. He continued to fly off, the rockets chasing after him.

The remaining two robots continued to fly forward and opened fire on the Empress with their built-in gauntlet lasers. Realizing the danger she was in, the Empress flew off with the laser fire chasing after her. Fortunately the heroine was fast enough to avoid being hit.

The Empress flew down closer to the ground, using the buildings of the LawTech plant to shield her from the Kilbots. However, there had been no additional fire since the heroine had flown to cover. Angie slowed and turned, half expecting the Kilbots to have chased after her. However, there was no sign of pursuit.

"Stupid, single-minded munchkins," the Empress muttered in disgust. Apparently the Kilbots were more intent on carrying out their objective at LawTech, whatever that might be, than to pursue her. Clenching her fists in annoyance, the Empress flew higher into the air in an attempt to re-locate the invaders. That task turned out to be even easier then Angie first imagined it would be.

Off in the distance, a piercing sonic shriek could be heard. Two of the four remaining Kilbots were spotted as they flew along towards their unknown destination. The sonic scream exploded around the Kilbots with devastating effect. The Kilbot closest to the epicenter of the attack exploded immediately. The other Kilbot, heavily damaged by the assault, plummeted from the sky and detonated upon impact with the ground. Scratch two more of the invaders.

Looking back towards the source of the scream, the Empress could see Mockingbird moving across the dark sky. Only the white of her costume and her wings could be made out against the black of night.

"Hi, there!", Mockingbird waved in greeting as she flew closer. "Good thing I was working late tonight. These things don't seem to be so tough."

"Bloody showoff," the Empress muttered underneath her breath. "Who asked her to help out anyway?"

Elsewhere, Impact continued to try and outpace the rockets chasing him. While his skill and maneuverability while flying were still quite poor, Bryan had no such problems when it came to speed. He was quite fast in that aspect. Maybe not as fast as his brother, Spectrum, but Bryan wasn't complaining.

However, the rockets continued to dog him. The missiles keep getting closer and closer, homing in on their target no matter what Impact tried to do. Even worse, he was beginning to tire. It was now a race between which one of them would run out of gas first.

"As the fly boys say, 'if you can't lose 'em, use 'em'!" Impact made a wide turn and started to fly back the way he had come. With any luck he should catch up to the other robots momentarily. With their jet exhaust illuminating the night, it was easy to spot a pair of Kilbots flying in the sky.

"They must've split up," Impact mused as he changed course. A quick look over his shoulder confirmed that the rockets pursuing him were still there. "Let's see if I can get the angle on them."

As Impact bore down on his target, one of the Kilbots suddenly split off from the other and dove down away. It happened so fast that Impact was unable to pursue that one. Instead, he continued forward towards the robot in front of him.

This time Impact didn't attempt to simply smash into the flying Kilbot. Instead, he flew underneath it and once past the construct he started to turn upwards. As Impact did so, the rockets chasing him altered their trajectory and locked onto a new target. The missiles exploded upon contact with the Kilbot. A few seconds later, more explosions followed as the Kilbots weaponry was obliterated.

"And the quarterback goes down!" Impact circled overhead as he watched the pieces of the Kilbot plummet to the ground.

"Not bad for a rookie," the Empress teased. Looking up, Impact could see the Empress and Mockingbird flying closer.

"Is that all of them?", Mockingbird inquired.

"No, there's one more," Impact quickly explained. "But I lost track of it in all of the excitement. What are you doing here, birdlady?"

"Just working late. Come on, we've got to find that last Kilbot!"

The lone remaining Kilbot came in for a landing in another part of the LawTech plant. It approached what its creator, Mechanon, had identified as the main storage area for components used for the various robotics projects currently in production. The Kilbot, being a mindless construct, had no idea why Mechanon needed these parts, nor did it care in the slightest. Its singular function was to carry out Mechanon's orders with emotionless efficiency.

Reaching the entryway, the Kilbot dug its fingers into the metal reinforced door and ripped it off its hinges. Once free, the door was casually thrown aside. Turning back to the opening, the Kilbot started to step into the storage facility. That was until a silver and gold clad fist struck the robot! The Kilbot was hurtled away and landed in a heap on the concrete.

"As much as I hate to admit it, that felt very good!" Shockwave emerged from the storage facility and advanced on the prone Kilbot. "You robots ruined my old armor. Let's see how you like the new and improved Shockwave!"

The Kilbot did not respond to the armored heroine's challenge. Instead it raised its left arm and pointed its metallic fingers directly at Shockwave. A sticky paste was shot out from the Kilbot's digits at Shockwave, expanding as it approached.

Seemingly at the last second, Shockwave dodged to her right, just narrowly avoiding the sticky mass. The paste hit the side of the storage building with the grace of a spitball. "Don't know what that was, but I'd probably rather not find out!"

Shockwave closed and struck once more with a resounding clang, forcing the Kilbot back further. Sparks began to play around the construct as it was breaking apart from the damage Shockwave was dishing out. Forcing itself to stand, the Kilbot raised its gauntleted hands over its head and attempted to violently bring them down on its enemy.

The armored heroine stepped back from this physical attack, just narrowly avoiding being hit. In missing the clumsy attack the Kilbot stumbled forward off balance. While doing so, the damaged robot staggered and fell over with a loud metallic clang.

"These things aren't as tough as they seemed before," Shockwave noted. "Of course there's only one to contend with, not an entire squad. Not to mention that my armor isn't breaking down either."

Reaching down, Shockwave placed her hands on the back of the prone Kilbot. Powerful vibrations began to resonate within the robot. The construct immediately began to violently shake. The Kilbot tried to stand but it was far too late. It literally fell to pieces as the powerful shock waves shook the mechanoid apart.

"And that takes care of that." Shockwave stood up once more and searched for more Kilbots via the radar in her armor. While no more of the robots were spotted, she did pick up three airborne targets closing in on her position. Shockwave let out a sigh of relief when her onboard computer identified them as Mockingbird, Impact, and the Empress.

Mockingbird led the way in. The white winged woman pulled up and gracefully landed beside Shockwave. "That's the last one unaccounted for. Looks like you don't need our help after all."

"I've got everything under control here," Shockwave reported. "But thanks for backing me up."

"How did you know it was going to show up at the storeroom?"

"Just a lucky guess," Shockwave admitted. "I just tried to figure out what Mechanon would want from LawTech and the first thing that came to mind was spare parts. So I came over here and got the drop on the Kilbot."

The Empress landed next, nearly a dozen feet away. Impact crashed in a most undignified manner a few seconds later. Pausing only to adjust her dress, the Empress sauntered forward to inspect the destroyed Kilbot. "If you ask me, good riddance to these stupid things. All they do is annoy me."

Recovering from his crash, Impact joined in on the conversation. "Wow! Looks like you laid one monster of a hit on this thing! It went to pieces."

"It took a couple of shots before it went down," Shockwave added. "They didn't seem so tough this time around."

An uncomfortable silence followed. There never had been any love lost between the Empress and Shockwave to begin with. Just this morning Empress had resigned from X-Factor in a huff. And not more than fifteen minutes ago, while testing the new security system, Shockwave and Mockingbird caught Impact and the Empress making out behind Blizzard's back.

"Looks like these two did our job for us," the Empress announced. "For free even. Come on, Impact, let's get out of here." With that, the Empress rose into the air and flew off.

Impact trailed after her a few moments later, pausing only to wave goodbye. "Thanks for the assist, gals."

"You're welcome," Shockwave grumbled quietly.

Mockingbird watched the Heroes for Hire fly out of sight before speaking once more. "So how come you didn't say anything about what we saw earlier?"

"I really don't know what to do about that. Besides, letting her know that I know didn't seem like a good idea at the moment. I guess I'm going to have to tell Blizz. Somehow. But, that's a worry for another time," Shockwave continued. "It's late. I'm beat. I think I'll just crash in the lab tonight. I'm too tired to drive home."

"Yeah, I guess I'll cut on out of here myself." Mockingbird prepared herself to take flight, but then stopped. "If you're going to stay here tonight, do you think I could borrow your van? I can empty out what few things I have in my apartment, load them into the van, and drop them off on the way in tomorrow morning. I should only take one load."

"Uhm, I guess that would be all right. Come on back to the lab and I'll get you the keys."

"Evening all!", Blizzard cheerfully announced as he reached the rooftop via his ice slide. The owner of Heroes for Hire was still ecstatic from the outcome of his meeting with Sheila Grace. "What a great day!"

"Hey, boss! How'd it go?" Impact moved towards Blizzard upon seeing him arrive. The young man was clearly excited about learning the results of the meeting with Sheila Grace. The Empress, meanwhile, kept her distance.

"Better than I could have ever hoped! We've got a high profile assignment for Thursday afternoon that is to die for. Even better, we're drawing top salary as well."

"So what does this little job involve?" The Empress finally began to make her way towards the guys. She walked in a slow, deliberate manner. The 'top salary' remark did attract her interest, after all.

"This is the best part," Blizzard continued. The icy hero started to say something and then suddenly stopped. This was the first time he had seen the Empress since she walked out of the X-Factor meeting earlier in the day. He had just now realized that Angie had changed her attire. "Say, is that a new costume?"

"I was beginning to wonder when you were going to notice," Angie snorted, a bit annoyed that Blizzard hadn't picked up on her new outfit sooner. "But yes it is. You like?" The Empress turned slowly to give Blizzard the full effect.

"I like. Hot and sexy."

"Silver tongued devil," the Empress answered seductively. Impact couldn't help but notice that. For a couple that was supposed to have broken up, they sure weren't acting like it. "So what does this next job involve?"

"As I was saying, we're going to be handling security for a summer fashion and accessory show. Sheila is going to be one of almost a dozen models. Were talking swimsuits and jewelry here."

"All right!", Impact cried out. He exchanged a high five with Blizzard. "Playing bodyguard to a bunch of models in swimsuits is my idea of work!"

"You got that right! This is going to be one dream of an assignment!"

Blizzard and Impact continued to talk about the upcoming assignment, much to the Empress' annoyance. Finally, growing tired of their almost schoolboy-like excitement she wandered off. "Men," she grumbled. "They can be like children at times." While the money was going to be lucrative, the idea of having to compete with world famous fashion models did not sit well with the Empress. At least when it came to superpowers, none of those overpriced bimbos could compare to the Empress.

Next morning, Mockingbird was busy unloading the van inside the PRIMUS garage. A concealed monorail in the back of the garage was the main entrance into the X-Factor base. The winged heroine was engaged in the tedious task of transporting her belongings from the van to the monorail car. Fortunately, the carapace and harness she wore amplified her natural strength many times over making the task a bit easier. Picking up another stack of boxes, Mockingbird gingerly made her way over to the waiting railcar.

"Perhaps I can be of some assistance?" Turning, while trying to steady her burdens, Mockingbird saw Sabre walking up towards her.

"I sure wouldn't mind some help. Guess our PRIMUS keepers don't have to lend aid unless absolutely necessary."

Effortlessly, Sabre took the stack of boxes from Mockingbird. His Blood born strength was even greater than that of his teammate. "Always glad to be of service," Sabre answered gallantly. "Unless I'm mistaken, it appears that you are moving in."

"Yes, I am," Mockingbird answered as she retreated to the van to fetch the next load. "It saves me paying rent and will also give Icicle someone to talk to. I imagine that it must get pretty lonely down there for her."

"That is most considerate of you. Indeed, I was stopping by to check in on Icicle before heading off to work myself. I had planned on asking my sister to stop off for a visit as well. They're about the same age and might hit it off."

"Good idea, Sabre! And thanks so much for the help. I really appreciate it."

"Always a pleasure to help a damsel in distress," Sabre responded with an infectious grin.

"What's going on out here?" Icicle reached up to wipe the sleep out of her eyes. She was currently standing in the doorway to her quarters in her oversized sleeping shirt. The icy mutant had been sleeping soundly when noises from the outside hallway. Barely awake, Jennifer had gone to investigate the disturbance.

"Pleasant morning, Ms. Icicle," SIMON greeted as the mechanoid walked past carrying several boxes. "My apologies for disturbing you, but we are assisting Ms. Mockingbird in carrying her belongings to her quarters."

Icicle continued to stand in the doorway, half asleep. It took her several moments to process what SIMON had just related. By that time, SIMON had disappeared into one of the other quarters a few doors down.

"Hi there, roomie!", Mockingbird greeted as she passed by. The winged heroine was carrying more boxes and was following after SIMON. Behind her, bearing even more burdens was Sabre.

"Good morning," Sabre called out upon seeing Jennifer. "It's another beautiful day in Los Angeles. I trust you are well?"

"Roomie?", Icicle repeated in disbelief. "You're moving in? Down here? Are you out of your mind?"

"Not that I'm consciously aware of," Mockingbird answered back. The heroine set her burdens down before heading back towards Icicle. "Do you have any idea how much it costs to rent an apartment in this town?"

"Uhm, well... No."

"Believe me, a lot."

"Mockingbird is quite correct in this matter," Sabre added as he joined in on the conversation. "Rent is rather extravagant. The surrounding area is currently the eighth most expensive housing market in the United States."

"Between rent and the maintenance costs for my suit I'm just about broke. This way I don't have to pay rent anymore. Besides, I think it'll be fun. I haven't had a roommate since I was in college. I didn't think you'd mind having company."

Icicle considered for a few moments. "When you put it that way, I guess it makes sense. It just sounds kind of weird. The idea of someone actually wanting to stay down here of their own free will."

"I think it's a splendid idea," SIMON chimed in. "Having more team members staying on the base can only brighten up the place."

"I still think it's a bit weird, but what the heck," Icicle responded with a shrug. "Weird seems normal as of late. Do you guys need a hand or anything?"

"Thanks for the offer, but this was the last of it," Mockingbird explained. "I'll be back later on this afternoon to get settled in. I've got to get to work pretty quick here."

"I'm afraid that I must be departing as well," Sabre added. "The burdens of having a career." With his skill at mimicking voices, Sam Carstairs was a much in demand voice-over man.

"S'okay. I guess I'll see you later then. I'm going back to bed. Bye." A moment later Icicle closed her door.

"Thanks for the hand, guys," Mockingbird told Sabre and SIMON as they walked along. "I'd be running around like a maniac trying to get everything done on my own. I owe you one."

"Think nothing of it, my charming companion," Sabre humbly stated. "As you yourself stated yesterday, we're a team. I was glad to be of service."

"I am programmed to lend aid to my masters," SIMON added. "Gratitude is not required."

"Nonetheless you are appreciated SIMON."

"That is all I can ask for, Ms. Mockingbird. Have a pleasant day."

A knock on her lab door drew Sara Redmond away from her current project. It was a little bit after eight in the morning. In hindsight, it was probably a good thing that Sara had spent the night in her lab. She didn't sleep particularly well at first. What to do about what she had seen the night before was very much fresh in her mind. Sara only wished that she had been able to record what she and Lisa had witnessed going on between Impact and the Empress. Unfortunately, the recording equipment hadn't been activated and with the threat of the Kilbots, no thought was given to the matter.

So now it came down to Sara and Lisa's word against that of Angie. Given just how cool her relationship with Thomas had become, Sara believed that Blizzard was more likely to side with Angie. This frustrated Sara to no end. How could she tell Blizzard what she had seen and not come across as being petty and trying to get back at Angie?

Eventually Sara did fall asleep. At least by staying at the lab she could sleep much later than normal, so she was somewhat refreshed by the time the morning came around. Lisa was running late this morning, but with her moving her belongings into the new base, it wasn't much of a surprise or a concern.

Sara crossed the lab and opened the door. To her surprise, standing there was TJ Lawrence Jr. The son of the owner of LawTech was looking good as usual. He smiled widely upon seeing Sara.

"Morning!", TJ greeted warmly. "May I come in?"

"Of course!", Sara stammered out. Sara stepped aside to allow TJ access to the lab. Once inside, she closed the door again.

"How are you on this fine day?"

"I'm doing okay. I trust you heard about what happened last night?"

"The incident with the Kilbots? Yes, I have. I am also pleased that it was resolved in such an efficient manner. Using Heroes for Hire for security was a fine idea on your part."

"Well, modesty prevents me from gloating too much," Sara answered with a smile.

"Please feel free to gloat. Only good things have happened for LawTech since your arrival."

"Thank you very much. It feels good to be wanted." It was a feeling that had been missing for a very long time, ever since the incident with ATD that cost Sara her job and led her to create the Shockwave armor. Since that debacle it had been nearly impossible to land a job in her field.

"But anyway, my real reason for stopping by was to see if you had any plans for the evening of the fifteenth?"

The request caught Sara off guard slightly. Was TJ asking her out on a date? Doing a quick mental calculation, Sara realized that the fifteenth was a week from Thursday. "Uhm, none that I am aware of. Why?"

"Donald Henderson is holding a gala opening party for the Hentronics Building that night and I'm on the guest list," TJ explained. "I was hoping that you would do me the honor of accompanying me to the event. Please say yes."

That revelation nearly floored Sara. She could have been knocked over with a feather. From the sound of it, Lisa had been right all along. TJ was interested in her! It was an equally appealing and frightening prospect at the same time.

The name Donald Henderson was a familiar one to Sara. He was the owner and founder of Henderson Electronics, the electronics and computer giant. The Hentronics Building was to be the base for HE's West Coast operation. A party for its opening was bound to attract the wealthy and powerful in Los Angeles.

"I-I'd be honored," Sara finally answered, snapping back to reality.

"Very good," TJ smiled immensely pleased with Sara's acceptance. "No doubt it will be an evening to remember."

"No doubt."

"Now this is more like it!" Mockingbird had just stepped into the revamped Communications Center in the VIPER base. The change in the last few days had been most significant. While there were no longer as many control consoles as before, the ones that remained had been repaired and appeared as good as new. The banks of monitors had been replaced as well, including the larger main monitor.

A new feature was a large circular meeting table that dominated the center of the large chamber. Ten floor-mounted swivel chairs were evenly spaced out around the table. A total of four computers were adjacent to the meeting table for easy access.

Much of the area remained unused. There was simply too much room and not enough equipment at the present time.

"SIMON, you've outdone yourself," Shockwave added in awe. "I knew that Captain Lightning had included many plans and schematics in your core memory, but I never expected anything like this. And so fast!"

It was now Wednesday evening and the team had been summoned for a meeting. Mockingbird and Shockwave were the last two to arrive having just come from work. Everyone else, including Icicle, were already present chatting and partaking from a small buffet that SIMON had sat up.

"I am delighted that the Communications Center meets your expectations," SIMON gratefully responded in his not-quite human sounding voice. "There are many supplementary pieces of equipment that can be added, provided I have the necessary materials."

"He can also put together a killer sandwich," Morning Star added right before she took another bite. "I don't know about the rest of you, but I can definitely get used to this kind of treatment."

"You know it," Spectrum chimed in between bites. "My cooking exploits are the stuff of nightmares."

"That's why we bachelors stay out of the kitchen," Blizzard laughed. This was some of the best food that he had that he didn't have to pay for in a long time. Perhaps there were certain advantages to being part of a team and having a base after all.

"The cuisine is pleasing," Sabre diplomatically added. "However, our mechanical friend has a way to go to compete with my father."

"We can't all have chefs for fathers, Sabre," Shockwave responded as she helped herself to the buffet. Sara hadn't realized just how hungry she was until standing before the spread.

"This is another perk of living on base," Mockingbird told Shockwave. "You've got someone else to cook and do dishes!" Once finished helping themselves from the buffet, the two heroines joined the others at the meeting table.

"So what's going on?", Blizzard couldn't help but wonder. "I thought that there was something important going down when I got the call." Blizzard had been very busy getting the security arrangements together for tomorrow afternoon's fashion show. "I've got a lot of things to do."

"Actually, this was all SIMON's doing," Spectrum explained as he gestured towards the team's major domo. "I assume it was to show off the new Communications Center and meeting area."

"You are partially correct, Master Spectrum," SIMON spoke up. "In addition to finishing the remodeling of the Communications Center, I have also taken the liberty of construction team communication devices." SIMON ambled over to one of the nearby consoles and returned with a small box. Inside were devices that looked more like wristwatches than communication devices.

"These wrist communicators are identical to the ones used by the Superior Six. They allow instantaneous communication between each of you, along with homing and tracking capabilities. I am sure that you will find them most useful." SIMON preceded to hand the new communicators out to the team. In addition, Shockwave received a computer disk as well.

"In addition, I have taken the liberty of transferring the communications specifics to this disk so that you can make the necessary modifications to your armor," SIMON continued.

Shockwave accepted the card and momentarily eyed it. "I'll check it out and see if there are any problems. Thank you, SIMON."

The members of X-Factor looked over the devices while SIMON provided a detailed description on how to use them. The watch-like devices were controlled by buttons and had a small LCD display window. They even told time as well.

A bit after the demonstration, Spectrum leaned over and whispered to Morning Star. "You know, 'Star, at one point we were unsure just what we were going to do with SIMON. Now, I don't know if we can get along without him."

"He was a very nice gift from Captain Lightning," the lavender-clad heroine agreed.

"Calling Dick Tracy," Sabre spoke into his communicator watch. "Calling Dick Tracy. I've always wanted to say that." That brought a chuckle from those present.

Next morning, Morning Star and Spinnerette were making their way through the new base. The heroines and friends had just disembarked the railcar and were heading towards Icicle's quarters.

"I don't know how I let you talk me into this," Spinnerette complained.

"Because you like to go shopping as much as I do," Morning Star answered with a grin. "Besides, there's not much going on right now. There haven't been any further leads on the Thugmaster situation, so why not indulge in a little R&R? It's not like you need a whole lot of prodding to get you to go out shopping."

"I know, I know. It's just weird to think that we're going to take Icicle out shopping with us. I mean, how often do you socialize with a supervillainess?"

"Okay, I'll give you that one," Morning Star agreed, "but I'm sure you'll change your mind once you actually meet Jennifer. She's a quiet, insecure young woman, but she's nice."

"Aren't we all," Spin muttered under her breath.

Unexpectedly, Spinnerette's own Guardians communicator beeped aloud. The heroine was being called. "'Scuze me a minute," Spin said as she took the small communication device out of her hidden pocket and stepped away for privacy.

Morning Star stopped and waited to see who was trying to contact her friend. There were a great many possibilities that came to the lavender-clad heroine's mind as to just who was calling Spinnerette.

The conversation was brief, lasting only twenty seconds or so. Once completed, Spinnerette informed Morning Star of what was going on.

"Sorry, but I've got to run," Spin announced. "The Guardians are back and they've summoned me to a special meeting right away."

There was a momentarily look of hopefulness on Morning Star's face. At last the Guardians were back after seemingly vanishing. But this was quickly replaced by concern. What had happened to the Guardians while they were gone? (Editor's Note: The Guardians vanished back in X-Factor #10.)

"What's going on?"

"I don't know. Hornet didn't say," Spinnerette admitted. "But from the tone of his voice, I'd say that it's not something good."