With effort, the Empress fought her way out of the darkness. She couldn't be sure just how long she had been held inside the seemingly living patch of shadow. The elemental heroine lacked the physical strength to break free and had no discernable target to attack. Inexplicably, the darkness began to fade and the Empress found herself back on her balcony.

"That bimbo is going to rue the day she messed with me!", the Empress cursed as she gathered her bearings. Angie was still on the balcony that served as her guard post during the Heroes for Hire mission.

The Empress turned her attention to the hall below her and sought a target to attack. Much to her surprise, the auditorium below was completely empty! Blizzard and Impact were nowhere to be seen. Likewise, Foxbat and Shadow Queen were gone as well.

The signs of battle still remained. Patches of melting ice marked Blizzard's handiwork. Chairs had been overturned and smashed in several places. But all the combatants were gone and an eerie silence had come over the hall. Just how long had the Empress been held captive inside that patch of blackness?

The Empress rose up into the air, flew forward, and then gently landed on the walkway the models had been using to show off their summer attire. At first Angie had been hesitant in doing this job for Sheila Grace. She hated the idea of having competition around to take the spotlight away from her. However, the money was more than she could refuse.

While the Empress pondered what to do next, Sheila Grace peaked out from the behind stage area. Finding the area deserted save for the Empress, the famous supermodel came sauntering forth. Sheila was still dressed in her last outfit for the fashion show: a tiny tiger striped bikini and high-heeled sandals. Several rather expensive pieces of jewelry finished her minimal attire.

"I figured it was safe after everything went quite," Sheila casually remarked. Her voice, like her figure, was perfect. It irritated the Empress to no end. "Where did everyone go?"

"I don't know, Ms. Grace," the Empress answered simply. Angie kept her own personal feelings in check while dealing with the world famous celebrity. After all, there might be future contracts from Ms. Grace and Angie wasn't about to ruin a good thing. Don't bite the hand that feeds you, especially one that provided the Empress with a great deal of personal wealth and money for her men to spend on her. "I turned my back for one minute and everyone disappeared on me."

"Oh dear," Sheila said, genuine concern in her voice. "I hope that nothing bad happened to Blizzard and that other man."

"His name is Impact."

"When you see Blizzard again, express to him my gratitude and thanks for a job well done. None of those criminals got close to my girls or stole anything. Tell him to stop by my office and pick up your check at his convenience."

"I'll mention it to him when I see him," the Empress replied. "Now if you'll excuse me, I need to locate the boys."

"Of course. Oh, and Empress, you may want to stop by my offices as well. I have a business proposition I wish to make to you. I can go into greater detail at that time. Good luck in finding your teammates."

The Empress was all set to fly off once more when that comment made Angie stop in her tracks. 'The Sheila Grace' wanted to talk to her about some business dealings? Perhaps Angie had misjudged Ms. Grace after all. Perhaps she did recognize someone with talent, style, and flair. The Empress wanted to find out more about this mysterious offer, but also wanted to find Impact and Blizzard. If anything happened to either one of them, Angie didn't know what she would do. She would have to find someone else to take care of her.

"I'll do that, Ms. Grace. And thanks."

"My pleasure." Sheila flashed her million-dollar smile for good effect. The Empress turned and departed the hall in her quest to find her missing lovers.

#21- "Graduation Day"

Shock and surprise played across the faces of those currently inside the Communications Center within X-Factor's underground base. The team had been settling in for a rare group meal when they were distracted by a news update from Gyro Jim. They had just watched Hornet give a very brief statement stating that the long time Guardians were disbanding!

"That certainly came out of left field," Spectrum remarked.

"I don't believe it," Morning Star said in astonishment. "I knew that something serious was going on based on the call Spin got, but I never imagined anything like this."

"This is almost unthinkable," Mockingbird quietly added.

Icicle didn't know what to say. A week ago she might have applauded such a happening. A week ago Icicle was still working for VIPER. For the present, Jennifer decided to simply remain silent on the subject.

"You certainly know more about the Guardians than any of us, Morning Star. Can you think of any reason why they would have disbanded?"

Morning Star continued to look at the main monitor while Gyro Jim was giving his additional comments. Mercifully, the volume had been lowered so no one could actually hear them. The lavender-clad heroine didn't bother facing Shockwave to answer her question.

"No reason I can think of," Morning Star finally answered. She had once served with the Guardians a few years back. At that time, it had been the second hero team she had been a member of, the first being the now defunct Crusaders. 'Star served on the Guardians for nearly two years, until her accident at the Empire State Building. Since recovering from that injury, Morning Star had been more comfortable with operating as a solo heroine or as a partner with Spinnerette until the formation of X-Factor.

"There was some tension in the group, of course, there usually is when dealing with others in this business," Morning Star continued. "For the most part, the team got along with each other. At least when I was around. There are members that I haven't had much contact with over the years, so things certainly could have changed. Although, I think Spin would have clued me in to something like that. Some major rift must have just opened up to cause something this dramatic to occur."

"It is a shame," Sabre spoke up. "I followed the Guardians activities for many years. Their presence will be sorely missed. It is truly the passing of an era."

"Hey, it's just an opportunity for us new guys to take over the center stage," Satara suggested. The looks that the Blood battle maiden received made her quickly add, "It's too bad, though. I would have liked to have been a Guardian one of these days."

"What's going to happen to them?", Shockwave couldn't help but wonder. "Are the individual members going to continue operating in the area or what?"

"I really don't know," Morning Star answered, still a bit shocked over this sudden news. "We'll all just have to wait and see what happens next, like everybody else. This however makes our presence in Los Angeles all the more vital."

"There's nothing like being needed," Spectrum quipped.

A long silent pause followed. Everyone present was momentarily lost in his or her own thoughts. A few nibbled at their meal. Finally, SIMON broke the stillness.

"Forgive the interruption, Master Spectrum, but I have received a call from the PRIMUS operatives at the garage entrance. Someone desires to make contact with X-Factor. Shall I connect you?"

"We've got a visitor at the front door?" That notion took Spectrum aback. The location of the new base wasn't public knowledge just yet. Who would be coming here to see them? "Sure, patch me in."

The image on the main monitor flickered and changed. The view was now inside the repair garage that served as the secret entry to the monorail that led to the main base. One of the undercover PRIMUS agents appeared on screen. Standing beside him was a woman who looked familiar.

"Is that the Empress?", Morning Star wondered. The person was familiar, just not the outfit she was wearing, nor her hair. The majority of the team had yet to see the Empress since she quit the team. Since that time she had changed her costume and her overall look.

"It is," Mockingbird quickly spoke up. "That's what she was wearing when we ran into her a few nights back at LawTech."

Mockingbird could have said more, but it was not her place. She and Shockwave had seen Impact and the Empress kissing while testing the new LawTech security system. Sara was still grappling with what to do about this information. While she considered herself to be Blizzard's friend, her dislike of the Empress was well documented. Just how to tell Blizzard what was going on behind his back and not come across as being petty and vindictive was a dilemma she had yet to resolve.

"What's she doing here?", was Shockwave's immediate comment. It had been so nice without that self-centered egomaniac around. Did she want to re-join X-Factor? Shockwave seriously hoped that was not the case. "Talk about the proverbial bad penny."

"Ah, there you are," the PRIMUS Operative said once he realized he had been patched through to the team. "This woman showed up demanding that we let her in. Can you--?"

"I can speak for myself, junior G-man," the Empress said cutting the operative off. "As much as it galls me to admit, I need your help. I don't know where else to go or who else to turn to. Blizzard and Impact are missing."

Looks of puzzlement and confusion were exchanged among the members of X-Factor and Satara. Blizzard was one of their own and Impact was Spectrum's younger brother. The teams' concern was obvious.

"Send her in," Spectrum instructed.

"The next thing I know, I'm back on the balcony and everyone is gone," the Empress explained. "No trace of Blizzie or Impact."

Almost ten minutes had passed since the Empress had arrived. Once joining the others in the Communications Center, the elemental heroine laid out the situation to her former teammates. She recapped the job for Sheila Grace and how Foxbat and Shadow Queen had showed up and the fight that followed.

"Obviously, something happened to them while you were indisposed," Morning Star reasoned. "They wouldn't have just left you by yourself for no good reason."

"I just find it hard to believe that a fruitcake like Foxbat could take out both Blizzard and Impact," Spectrum commented. "Even with Shadow Queen's help. They both seemed too wrapped up in their own little world to be much of threat."

"Tell me about it," the Empress complained.

"Foxbat may be nutty, but he should never be taken lightly," Morning Star added. "Underestimating an opponent is an easy way to be soundly defeated."

"It is also apparent that Foxbat and Shadow Queen didn't succeed in their plans either," Sabre suggested. "After all, Ms. Grace did state that she and the other models remained untouched and nothing had been stolen."

"That doesn't make any sense," Shockwave said, adding her voice to the discussion. "If Blizzard and Impact had won, then they would still be there. But what you're saying is that if Foxbat and Shadow Queen had won, they would have continued with their robbery scheme."

"And probably would have let Blizzard and Impact lay where they were," Spectrum inserted. "I don't see any reason why those two would do anything to Blizzard or Impact. It's not their style to be vindictive like that."

"Agreed. Therefore, the only logical conclusion is that some third party is responsible for what happened," Morning Star concluded. "Someone else is responsible for this disappearance. Perhaps even Foxbat and Shadow Queen were taken as well."

"All this guess work is fine and dandy, but it still doesn't help us find Blizzie and Bryan! Are you going to help find them or not?" Having had enough of all this talking, the Empress made her frustration known to all.

"We'll do everything we can to find them," Spectrum reassured his former teammate. "They're part of the family after all."

"It seems to me that we can easily find them," Mockingbird spoke up with a broad smile on her face. As she spoke, the sonic heroine held up her left hand to show off her communication watch. It was the same device SIMON had handed out the night before to all of the team, including Blizzard. "It's just a matter of homing in on his location."

"I'd forgotten about those," Morning Star said, echoing the thoughts of many of her teammates. SIMON, following the schematic provided by his creator Captain Lightning, had constructed the communication watches. In addition to communication and timekeeping capabilities, the watches could be used to track and home in on other watches. "SIMON, if you would please?"

"Already done, Madame," the mechanoid announced. "The location of Blizzard's communication watch has been sent to each of your individual units. The computer is calculating his position now."

"Great! Time to break out the X-Forms and rescue Thomas!" Shockwave rubbed her gauntleted hands in eager anticipation. She loved using the short-range transports the team had appropriated from Hexmaster.

"I have his present location," SIMON spoke up. "Master Blizzard's watch is currently in the Inglewood area of Los Angeles."

The Great Western Forum, home of the NBA's Los Angeles Lakers and the NHL's Kings, was supposed to be quiet tonight. Both professional sporting teams were on the road and no concerts or other special events were planned for this evening. But one event was transpiring at the famous arena, one known only to a select few.

A single spotlight shattered the darkness inside the arena. Standing in the middle of the illumination was a man in dark blue body suit and mask with magenta colored boots, gloves, and trim. A stylized chess piece, a knight, was emblazoned upon his chest. Numerous small throwing disks were attacked to his arms and belt.

"I bid you welcome to these evenings festivities," the Dark Knight announced into his microphone. "I present to you the 1986 graduation class of the Thugmaster's Elite! It is the Thugmaster's sincerest hope that you, our honored guests, will find our graduating class to your liking. As always, our students are backed with the Thugmaster's guarantee of being fully trained in their craft. Let's meet this year's graduates!"

More spotlights were turned on, illuminating even more of the Forum's floor. The arena was currently configured for basketball. In each new spotlight a costumed individual stood. The leader of the Thugmaster's Elite, the Dark Knight, introduced each of the graduates.

Standing in the first new spotlight was a man in an all black outfit with a stylized emblem of a black hole outlined in white on his chest. "The Black Hole who possesses the powers of teleportation."

In the next spotlight was a large man in two-tone gray armor. His helmet was flared out in a way that reminded the viewer of a hammerhead shark. "The armored Hammerhead! His steel battlesuit provides him with a full range of combat options."

The third spotlight shone down on a man with large multi-colored insect-like wings. His eyes were huge and multi-faceted like those of an insect. He even had a pair of antenna. "The monstrous Dragonfly! Watch out for his poisonous sting!"

A man in a dark red costume with blue boots, gloves, and trunks stood in the next spotlight. His helmet was red in color and featured an amber colored faceplate. A skull emblem adorned his belt buckle. "And our last graduate, the Annihilator!"

The remainder of the spotlights were turned on and the entire Forum floor was now illuminated. Several other costumed individuals now joined the others.

"Honored guests, I present the remainder of the Thugmaster's Elite."

The Dark Knight gestured off to his right where five more people stood. Some of them were part of the teaching staff of the Thugmaster's Elite. The others were students who were not yet ready to graduate.

"The rest of our teaching staff: the super fast Dash and the mistress of light, Lightwave!"

The orange and green clad Dash smiled broadly and waved to the honored guests. He actually didn't know just who were the guests or even how many there were. All he knew was that they were seated up in the luxury boxes taking in the show below. It was confirmed that the Los Angeles Nest Leader for VIPER was here along with representatives from several supervillain groups. It wasn't a big surprise as word on the street had it that the local VIPER's Nest had been sacked. Perhaps the Nest Leader was looking to add some more muscle to his staff of villains.

Lightwave wore a revealing light blue body suit with dark blue accessories. She didn't bother wearing a mask and had shoulder length blonde hair. Her powers of invisibility and shrinking made it easy to protect her true identity.

"And our returning students: Brother Basilisk, Titania, and Chaos!"

The green-scaled Brother Basilisk looked around with great concern. He didn't like the idea of being watched by unknown criminals. It made him nervous and caused him to hunch over even further than normal.

Beside Brother Basilisk and wearing a garish white bodysuit with purple and yellow diamond patterns was Chaos. An unhappy look was locked on the young man's face. He had failed to meet the Thugmaster's high standards and was being held back. As he stood there, Chaos suddenly doubled in size, growing to nearly twelve feet in height.

Titania shared Chaos' feelings. She wore a black swimsuit-like costume with silver trim with a matching mask. Black slippers adorned her feet and she wore short silver gloves. The woman's short hair was brown in color. She was rather plain looking in appearance.

While virtually unknown to the average man on the street, the Thugmaster's Elite was an exclusive training ground for someone with superpowers who was out for themselves. Graduating from the Elite always looked good on a resume to prospective underworld employers. However, both Titania and Chaos failed to currently make the grade.

Titania was particularly crushed by this, but in hindsight should have not been surprised. She had been captured during the action at the Tanghal Tower and then later stopped in her and Chaos' ATM theft scheme by Spectrum. Neither occasion had done much to improve Titania's worth to would be employers. Her own self-confidence was now waning as well. (Editor's Note: Titania's escapades were shown in Spectrum #15 & #30.)

"And lastly and most leastly, our unexpected guests."

At the Dark Knight's direction, two large containers were wheeled out onto the basketball court. The first was a small glass cage on wheels. Standing bound inside the cage was Shadow Queen. Her hands were tied together and stretched up overhead to a ring at the top of the glass cage. Likewise, her ankles were joined together and attached by rope to another ring at the bottom of the cage. A gag and blindfold finished up Shadow Queen's unwanted accessories. She desperately struggled and twisted against her bonds, but was unable to free herself.

Bright lights in the corners of the glass cage, reaching from top to bottom, completely covered Shadow Queen in glaring illumination. There were no shadows available for Sque to use her powers on, provided she could even see what she was doing.

"The alluring and sensuous Shadow Queen who foolishly betrayed the Elite a few years back. Now the Thugmaster will see that she gets hers!"

The second container was the larger of the two. It was essentially a barred cage on wheels. Inside were a trio of costumed men: Foxbat, Blizzard, and Impact. Thick wires were attached to the sides of the cage by large alligator clips. Given their size, they resembled jumper cables for cars.

"And a trio of would be heroes," the Dark Knight said as he concluded his introductions. "Barely even worthy of our attention. We'll deal with them later on. Now, our graduates shall demonstrate their powers for you. As always, graduates of the Thugmaster's Elite come with the highest level of skill and recommendation. We're sure you'll find someone suitable for your needs at a fair price."

"Let me out of here, you fiend!" Foxbat raged but was totally ignored. The loony villain stood very close to the bars, but didn't touch them. He had already learned the hard way that they had been electrified. Even worse, his dreaded Ping-Pong ball gun had been taken from him. Foxbat couldn't help but stare at his lovely Shadow Queen as she vainly tried to free herself. There had to be something he could do to save his beloved honey bun!

Blizzard and Impact had each taken a seat on the floor of their mobile cell. Both had woken up in cage hours ago. Thankfully, Brother Basilisk's stoning of Blizzard was only temporarily. Both men were confused at first about what was going on and simply decided to bide their time before making an escape attempt. Blizzard did attempt to use his communication watch SIMON had provided, but it had been removed. For now, all they could do was watch the show.

For perhaps the first time in his young life, Impact was afraid. He had never been in a situation like this: held prisoner and at the mercy of a small army of criminals. What were they going to do with them? Even worse, Blizzard was here. Impact felt guilty about having seen Angie behind his back. Not knowing what to do or say, Impact simply remained silent.

The members of X-Factor and their associates made their way across Los Angeles towards the Great Western Forum. They had split up into smaller groups and were traveling by several different modes of transport.

Spectrum led the way through the air, flanked by Mockingbird and the Empress. The trio were making good time, but for the Empress it wasn't fast enough.

"Come on and hurry up! Something awful has happened to Blizzie and Bryan! I just know it!"

By now it was easy for Mockingbird to see why the woman grated on Sara's nerves so much. It was as if her problems were the only significant ones. No one else outside her little world mattered in the slightest. Lisa couldn't help but wonder how the Empress would react if she ever had really trying circumstances thrown at her. Mockingbird would have happily traded her problems for those of the Empress.

Following behind them on an X-Form were Shockwave, Sabre, and Satara. The villain Hexmaster originally created the small flying hex shaped platforms. Shockwave had salvaged a couple of them when the team raided the criminals' base. With some tinkering, she had converted them into a flying team transport. It was a much better way to travel than trying to deal with Los Angeles traffic.

The Blood brother and sister were enjoying themselves as well. Sabre had ridden an X-Form before and was prepared for the experience. Satara caught on quickly and was delighted at the chance to show off in public.

"I guess this is one of those ironic situations," Sabre observed. "A few days ago the Empress had no desire to be part of a team and now she seeks our assistance."

"I know what you mean," Shockwave sighed. "She may have quit the group, but she's still an influence on the team. I just hope Thomas is all right."

"I said it before and I'll say it again," Satara chimed in. "Someone should beat the snot out of that wench. Heck, I'll even volunteer for the job!"

Somewhere down in the streets was the white Porsche belonging to Morning Star. The famous heroine was deathly afraid of heights and wanted nothing to do with the X-Forms. Instead, she drove her own vehicle. Sitting in the passenger seat was Icicle. The icy mutant was sitting on the edge of her seat. She held on nervously. No one had ever told her what it was like to ride with Morning Star!

"Nervous?" Morning Star cast her gaze at her passenger for a brief moment. By now the famous heroine was accustomed to her passengers being uncomfortable.

"Yep," Icicle quickly answered.

"You'll do fine," Morning Star said, trying to reassure Icicle. "I'm sure that we'll have more than enough people to easily deal with whomever kidnapped Blizzard and Impact. In fact, I suspect that there will hardly be any fighting at all."

Icicle just silently nodded in agreement. Those sounded like famous last words to her!

Within one of the luxury boxes inside the Great Western Forum, a trio of costumed individuals watched the proceedings below. Currently a small break was taking place. The graduates had just completed the demonstration of their powers for perspective employers.

The woman known as Scorpia continued to stare out the window lost in contemplation. News of the arrival of the Thugmaster's Elite and their graduating class had reached her ears days ago. With the strange fate that had befallen Spectrum/Lightmaster, the Irish terrorist thought it to be a good idea to see for herself what sort of recruits the Thugmaster could provide. Perhaps there would be someone of use to her. (Editor's Note: Scorpia learned about the Elite graduation ceremonies back way back in X-Factor #13.)

Scorpia, like her Terror Unlimited companions, was dressed in her standard costume. In Scorpia's case, this was a black body suit with high red boots and gloves and a matching cape. On the back of Scorpia's wrists were her dart launchers and her claw sheaths. Both were lethal weapons in the hands of the lovely terrorist.

Lazily sprawled out in a nearby chair was the petite mentalist Mind Slayer. She wore a skimpy satin purple outfit that left her well-toned legs bare. There was also a large oval shaped cutout over her breastbone. Short gloves, ankle boots, and a tied off sash all in white completed her minimal outfit.

Thus far Mind Slayer had been bored with this whole thing. She understood Scorpia's desire to add another member of the team. It was a prudent and logical thing to do. Mind Slayer just hoped that it would be a cute guy for her to cuddle with and not another woman. With Lightmaster out of the picture she was becoming lonely.

Rounding out the villainous trio was Shamrock. The green-clad muscleman towered over the ladies and hailed from the Emerald Isle itself. He was Scorpia's lover and followed her orders without question. "Pretty lean pickings, me wild Irish rose," Shamrock observed.

"Aye, lad," Scorpia replied. "The one called Black Hole is the only one with any real promise. His powers could be very useful." Shamrock nodded in agreement.

It was an easy decision to make in Scorpia's mind. She'd never let a deformed freak like Dragonfly on her team in the first place. That monstrosity was something more befitting her former team, Terror Incorporated. Muerte seemed to prefer to surround himself with misshapen and twisted beings. The sole exception to that were Scorpia herself and, for a very short time, Spectrum.

The Irish terrorist found both Hammerhead and Annihilator not to her liking. She was leery of someone who used gadgets or armor as the sole source of their abilities. Such things could break down and malfunction at the least opportune moment. The Annihilator seemed to be a mental case and not someone Scorpia wanted on her team anyway. He probably would have disliked her gadgets as much as he did everyone's.

Movement from down on the arena floor attracted the attention of Terror Unlimited. The Dark Knight was once more moving out to the center of the basketball court. "Looks like they are starting again," Mind Slayer observed.

"While our honored guests are contemplating hiring our newest graduates, I am going to take this opportunity to introduce the newest recruits to the ranks of the Thugmaster's Elite." The Dark Knight gestured dramatically towards the shadows along the side of the court. A trio of dark figures moved forward.

"First among our new recruits is the Powerhouse!"

A handsome man in red wrestling tights stepped onto the court. A loud thud accompanied each step. Not surprising, as the man was at least twelve feet tall in height!

"Hey! I know that guy!" Upon seeing the gigantic Powerhouse, Impact rose to his feet in his cage. Bryan moved closer to the bars, but was careful not to touch them. Blizzard was beside him a moment later. "That's Big Eddie Farkas!"

"Really?", Blizzard responded in surprise. Sure enough, it was indeed the same man. At one time Big Eddie Farkas had been a gridiron terror in college. However, he mysteriously dropped out of sight and never did play a down in the NFL. "I always wondered what happened to him. I can see why they call him Big Eddie."

"Maybe he's a mutant like me," Impact continued. The young man could sympathize with the plight of Big Eddie. He had gone through the same thing and could no longer compete in the game he loved. "At least I didn't become a crook!"

The Dark Knight continued with his introductions. "The lovely Rainbow!"

A young woman with long blonde hair stepped forward. She wore a skimpy one-piece swimsuit-like costume stripped with the colors of the rainbow. However, her midriff was black in color, matching her slippers. The rainbow pattern only appeared on her trunks and chest.

"That almost looks like Spectrum's old ugly costume," Blizzard observed. He shuddered upon recalling that nightmarish ensemble. However on Rainbow, it looked pretty good!

"And last, but not least, the mysterious Revenant!"

The last of the new recruits stepped forward to join the others beside the Dark Knight. It was a woman wearing a black costume that left her arms and legs bare. Green trim outlined the outfit around her 'V' neck and formed a larger 'V' down the front of the costume. Around her waist was a green sash that was tied off. A green mask with black trim covered the top of her head from the nose up. Long black hair flowed from beneath it. On the woman's forearms and shins were bracers that looked like plastic or metal, but yet as neither. Revenant's hands and feet were bare.

"I'm sure we'll be hearing a lot more about these three in the months to come," the Dark Knight concluded. "That just leaves one more unfinished piece of business to attend to before concluding our graduation ceremonies. Would Chaos and Titania please join me?"

Unsure of what was going on, both Titania and Chaos slowly joined the head instructor for the Elite and the new recruits. Why was the Dark Knight singling them out like this?

"As our name suggests," the Dark Knight began to explain, "the Thugmaster's Elite are looking for the best in young professional mercenaries to train. Our training regimen is second to none and the quality of our students is renowned the world over. We strive for the highest level of professionalism. Something which the two of you seriously lack."

Both Chaos and Titania couldn't help but exchange confused and embarrassed looks. What was going on here?

"Chaos, there are extenuating circumstances in your case. You will be given a second opportunity to complete our course. However, Titania, you've proven to be utterly incompetent and a disgrace to the Elite name. You are hereby expelled."

"Now just a minute," Titania stammered out. "I know things haven't gone my way, but I can do better! I-"

"Powerhouse," the Dark Knight interrupted. "Why don't you show us how you take out the trash?"

"Sure thing coach," Powerhouse eagerly responded.

Moving far faster than his large size would indicate, Powerhouse reached out and grabbed Titania with his oversized hand. Before the startled and confused woman could react, Titania found herself locked up in Powerhouse's crushing grip! The giant's strength was on the par of Titania herself!

In a quick motion, Powerhouse rose up the hand imprisoning Titania and slammed her hard to the floor with all his considerable might! Titania screamed and then went silent with the brutal impact. Powerhouse had driven her nearly a foot into the wooden basketball court!

Dazed and hurt, Titania tried to pull herself out of the hole in the floor. She didn't know who that oversized twerp was, but he had picked on the wrong person this time out!

"Time to go for the extra point," Powerhouse called out with a laugh. He took several giant steps backwards and then came running forward. Just as Titania was starting to rise to her feet, Powerhouse rushed in and kicked her right in the torso with his giant-sized foot! Titania was launched into the air and went flying up into the cheap seats. She was quickly lost from sight as she flew back into the unlit portion of the arena.

"A most impressive performance, Powerhouse", the Dark Knight complemented.

"Now that we've completed that piece of unpleasant business, we can get down to the placement of our graduates." As the Dark Knight spoke, Lightwave and Dash joined him. Lightwave passed several slips of paper over to the Dark Knight. While this was going on, all the interior lights were turned on, fully illuminating the arena.

"Hammerhead," the Dark Knight continued. "You're services have been retained by VIPER. The local Nest Leader is looking forward to putting your considerable skills and powers to use."

High above the arena, a small contingency of VIPER agents and the Nest Leader emerged from a luxury box. With the fall of his Nest and the capture of his staff villains, the Nest Leader was eager to gain new superpowered operatives. It was just the first step in his plan of vengeance against X-Factor and that traitorous Icicle!

"Dragonfly, I am pleased to announce that you've been recruited by Terror Incorporated. This is quite the opportunity for you!"

In a different luxury box, a fair distance from the VIPER box, the armored Professor Muerte emerged trailed by the monstrous Giganto. The mastermind behind Terror incorporated had little choice but to leave Feur behind as his body was constantly ablaze.

While Dragonfly and Hammerhead flew off to meet their new employers, the Dark Knight continued on with the ceremony. "Annihilator, I am sorry to say that you didn't have any takers at this time."

"I don't need anyone!", the Annihilator declared with an insane laugh. "I can destroy things on my own! I'll destroy you all!"

"That just leaves you, Black Hole. Terror Unlimited has acquired your services."

A third luxury box opened up and Scorpia and her followers emerged. However, they weren't paying any attention to what was going on down on the arena floor. Their eyes were firmly locked on Scorpia's former associates: Professor Muerte and Giganto!

"You traitorous bitch!", Professor Muerte screamed out in anger. "No one betrays Muerte and lives! Giganto, Dragonfly, destroy them! Rip them limb from limb!" The large rocky monster grunted his understanding and began to move in closer to his target. Dragonfly hesitated at first, but then also flew towards his new enemy.

"I'm going to enjoy this, Professor," Scorpia called out. "I've learned everything I could from you. Now, I'm going to use that knowledge to replace you! Kill him! Death to Muerte!"

By mutual consent, the graduation ceremonies broke out into a full-scale war zone as the forces of Terror Incorporated and Terror Unlimited went to settle their differences. While that was happening, the members of the Thugmaster's Elite and VIPER were wondering just what they had gotten themselves into.

Down in their cage, Blizzard, Impact, and Foxbat watched all this transpire in virtual silence. "Oh, crap," was Blizzard's immediate comment on what was going on. There was nothing like being smack dab in the middle of a war between supervillain teams.