Sanctuary does not ever shut down-- nor does its staff. Case-in-point: Pooka, the head administrator of all of Sanctuary, was being briefed about an ongoing situation in the Medical Infirmary. Well past standard office hours, Pooka was still on the job.
"Let's get down to it, Angelique," Pooka stated. He was always one for the direct approach. Seemingly he no longer had enough hours in the day to cover all of his duties. He cut unnecessary time where he could. Such as chitchat.
Dr. Angelique Marin was long accustomed to Pooka's eccentricities and paid them little notice. "Nightingale attempted a mind probe on Nemesis-- to try and help her recover her lost memories, or at the very least, the cause of her amnesia."
"What went wrong?"
Dr. Marin paused. She glanced over at the bed holding the unconscious form of Christina Blackledge, a.k.a. Nightingale. "I don't know. 'Gale seemed to be making progress when she suddenly cried out in pain. She's been unconscious ever since. All in all, more weirdness from Jennifer."
Pooka paced back and forth. "These new recruits of Gladiator's are becoming more trouble than they are worth! First the boy raises a volcano on the firing range, and now this! I can't wait to see what sort of disaster Tempest unleashes!"
"It's the pressure talking," Dr. Marin mused to herself. Pooka was a control freak seeking to dominate every aspect of his life and job. If superbeings dislike anything, it was being controlled. It was a vicious circle-- Pooka trying to maintain order, the others doing as they felt anyway. "It's only a matter of time before he has a break down..."
"I'm finalizing the results of the DNA test even as we speak," Dr. Marin reported out loud in an attempt to change the subject. "You should have a copy by tomorrow afternoon. There are some things I wish to double check."
Coming to a brief stop, Pooka let out a loud sigh. "Keep me advised, doctor." Pooka turned and stalked out of the room.
Dr. Marin made one last check on her patient. Vitals were normal. Everything seemed fine, at least physically. Whatever was keeping Nightingale unconscious was going on inside her mind, a place that Angelique could not reach. "Come on, Chris, snap out of it. You're scaring me..."
After the examination, Dr. Marin slowly made her way to the door. She reached out for the light switch and paused. A look of concern covered her face as she stared at her unconscious friend. The lights went out with a flick of the switch. Dr. Marin closed the door leaving the room in darkness.
Christina's condition was most troubling to Sanctuary's doctor, as equally as troubling as the DNA tests. Jason's test results, apart from one instance, were nothing all that unique. But Jennifer's were downright shocking. Angelique would have to run those again. She had to be sure of her findings before revealing them to the others...
Jason entered the bungalow he shared with Archangel to find his roommate still up. It was quite late by now and Jason was mildly surprised to find his winged teammate awake. Archangel was relaxing by watching music videos.
"Workin' late?", Archangel asked as he munched on potato chips.
"Yeah-- I sort of lost track of time." Jason plopped into the nearest easy chair and sighed. Archangel offered the bag to Jason, who withdrew a handful of chips.
"You're lucky you've got a job you like to do."
"What did they have you doing today?", Jason asked between bites.
"Got to play tour guide for several guests from Europe. Flew them all over the immediate area-- including the out lying islands. Talk about dullsville."
"My day was anything but dull." Jason spent the next several minutes recapping his encounter with the IMAGE recruiter Proteus. "I have to say that Tigress is pretty easy to get along with. She's just a bit of a hot head at times."
Archangel seemed to be impressed. "You lucky dog! I've never been able to make any time with the Tigress at all."
"I wouldn't call it 'making time'," Jason answered, a bit embarrassed. "We just talked while I worked."
"Still, you've gotten farther than I ever have. She barely gave me or Starbolt the time of day."
"Why all the interest in Tigress?"
"Why? You don't know why?" Archangel couldn't believe what he was hearing! "She's a girl and we're guys. And she's a fox. Do I have to say any more?"
Jason gave a sheepish grin.
"After all, who would you rather make out with? Tigress or Sapphire?"
"Well, if you put it that way..."
"Saph is pretty hot and definitely exotic, but with her heavy trip on combat, you'd probably have to fight her first before going out on a date," Archangel explained. "She'd probably break every bone in my body in the throws of passion."
"Yeah, but what a way to go!" The boys laughed out loud at Jason's remark.
Archangel rose and moved to the window. Off in the distance, the bungalow shared by the Tempest and Nemesis could be seen. "So basically, that left me and Starbolt with Tigress as the only superpowered gal around. Charcoal wasn't our type and didn't seem interested in romance anyway. But now all that has changed with your arrival."
Jason caught the implication in Archangel's words. He joined him at the window. "Jess and Jennifer have expanded the playing field."
"Indeed. I would consider Jen to be hands off for the time being. But your sister, she's fair game. So whatdaya think, Jason? Would she'd go for a guy like me?"
"I'm not sure. I've been separated from Jess for so long that I don't know if I really even know her at all..."
And off in the bungalow of Tempest and Nemesis, a surprisingly similar conversation was taking place. The Tigress, Nemesis, and Tempest were sitting on the back porch sharing a bowl of popcorn.
"...and then after making me look like a fool, he flew up behind me and put his arms around me!", Tempest explained. "Can you imagine the nerve!"
"I know what you mean," the Tigress said in agreement. "Guys are so grabby. At least your brother's antics were an accident."
"I told you so." Jessica swallowed another helping of popcorn. Jennifer sat on the steps silently mimicking the swaying of the palm trees in the breeze.
"At least with you and fruit loop here, the boys have a few others to chase."
"I am not a breakfast cereal," Jennifer shouted in protest. "I'm a highly respected psychologist and heroine."
"Uhm, yeah, whatever you say there, Jen." Jessica did a 'she's crazy' gesture towards the Tigress. The feline heroine nodded her head in agreement. "So you think Archangel's hot to trot for me?"
"From what you've told me, I'd lay money on it. It must come from the frustration of chasing me around for weeks, but never catching me."
Jessica looked directly at Erica. "Okay, I'll bite-- what's wrong with Archangel? Why the cold shoulder treatment?"
"Well, it could be our natures: he's bird-like; I'm cat-like. There's a natural conflict there. Or maybe he's just too pushy."
"For the birds is more like it, but I can see what you mean. Guys that come on strong like that are just a turn off for me. I changed into water after he grabbed me."
Erica laughed, nearly choking on her popcorn. "You got him all wet. I love it!"
"What about that other guy," Jessica asked, "Starbolt?"
"Greg? If you think I fly off the handle, then you've never seen 'Bolt in action. Real hot stuff there." The Tigress looked up into the night sky, reminiscing about her former teammate. "Greg was handsome, rich too. However, I think at some unconscious level I still have a cat's fear of fire."
"Gee, this is some hormone inhibited environment I've found myself in. You find the most available guys around here repulsive. No wonder Archangel is being so grabby."
"The situation has changed with your arrival. 'Wings gets a new target for romance, as do I."
"You mean you and my brother are--?"
"No," the Tigress stated flatly. "Maybe if he was a bit older something could happen. I don't plan on hanging around here that much longer, anyway. Like Starbolt, I'm getting to the point where I'm ready to cut out on my own."
"That's a relief. I can't imagine you and Jason as a couple."
"Why not? He's kinda cute and seems like a nice guy. Needs to get over his shyness, that's for sure, but other than that..."
Jessica shrugged and stood up. "I guess. He's my brother so I don't think about him that way. Anyway, I'm bushed. Think I'll call it a night."
"Yeah, sounds like a good idea." The Tigress rose as well. "Thanks for letting me crash here tonight. I'd never get any sleep back at my place with Sapphire sawing logs."
"No prob. The gossip session was worth it." Turning to her roommate, Jessica added, "Come on, Jen. It's beddy-bye-boze time again."
"Goody!" Jennifer cheerfully flew into the bungalow through the door held open by Jessica. She landed close to the Tigress who was moving towards the couch. "I wouldn't worry about your phobias Tigress. They're most likely a psychosomatic reaction to your powers. With effort you should be able to overcome them."
Both Erica and Jessica stared at Jennifer, their jaws nearly fallen. Neither could believe what they had just heard from the usually child-like Nemesis. "Uhm, yeah. Thanks Jen..."
With a cheerful, "Niters!", Jennifer disappeared into her room leaving behind two very puzzled heroines...
Elsewhere, the Peace Keeper was on patrol. In appearance, the android resembled the master villain Mechanon. However, appearances can be deceiving, for Peace Keeper was as different from his creator as night was to day. The android had been liberated from its location in one of the many Mechanon Reconstruction Base. Unknown parties altered its programming and left it on Sanctuary's doorstep. After gaining the trust of the staff, Peace Keeper was allowed to join and joyfully performs his duties to this day.
Only a few guests were out at this late hour. The beach party had been going strong for several hours, leaving the middle of the island mostly deserted. Unexpectedly, an internal alarm sounded in Peace Keeper's system. Tracking the alarm, Peace Keeper traced it to an unauthorized access in the Medical Infirmary. Activating its Anti-Grav units, the android flew to investigate.
Peace Keeper landed before the Medical complex and entered. Oddly, the nurse on duty was not at her assigned post. Puzzled, the Peace Keeper made his way towards the source of the silent alarm. The android moved methodically down the corridors until it reached its destination.
The door to Dr. Marin's private office was now open. Peace Keeper entered without hesitation. Inside, the android immediately spotted Nurse Eileen Compton and two costumed individuals, a man and a woman. Peace Keeper was unable to make a match with any other known super in his database. "This is a restricted area," Peace Keeper stated. "You will cease your activities and accompany me to the Security Station."
"Not bloody likely!", the woman shouted. She wore a forest green body stocking with black accessories. Dominance brought her mental powers into play, centering her efforts on the Peace Keeper. To no effect. "It's not human!"
"I am the Peace Keeper. Sworn protector of Sanctuary. Surrender or I will be forced to act."
"It's a robot," the man replied. He wore a lose fitting robe with black exercise pants. He held an elegant flute in his hands. "You cannot control a machine."
"Machine or not, bullets will kill it!" Dominance sneered as she drew her pistol out of its holster. Laughing hysterically, she pumped several rounds into the Peace Keeper. The bullets struck Peace Keeper and harmlessly ricocheted off.
A portion of Peace Keeper's chest plate slid back to reveal a pair of jet-like tubes. A sticky mass was fired from those tubes and completely enveloped Dominance. The villainess vainly tried to pull free from the sticky mess, but was caught fast. "My Molecular Bonder will keep you out of mischief", Peace Keeper responded.
The man with the flute began to play.
"You are incapable of harming me," Peace Keeper stated, turning towards the man.
"I do not doubt that, my friend." Virtuoso continued to play nonetheless. "That is why we are departing." The tune suddenly stopped. When it did, Virtuoso and Dominance were gone.
The Peace Keeper vainly tried to scan for the duo, but they completely eluded his sensors. Nurse Compton moved unexpectedly, as if coming out of a trance. "Wha-- What happened? What am I doing here?? Peace Keeper?"
"Fascinating..."
The beach party had broken up several hours ago. However, not everyone was ready to retire for the evening. Some still had affairs of the heart in mind.
Sanctuary can be many things to many people. Among them a most romantic of settings. One of the more popular sites for romantic interludes is the lighthouse located at the southern tip of the island. Atop the seventy foot tall tower is a small walkway that offers an unparalleled view of the island.
Taking advantage of this attraction we find Panda and Raccoon. The couple is relaxing on the walkway, Raccoon leaning against the tower, Panda resting in his lap.
"It's always so lovely 'ere...", Panda said with a happy sigh. The last few months had been trying for the pair. As always, they were on the run from the forces of VIPER and PSI. At times it seemed like they had spent their lives on the run.
"Anywhere is lovely as long as you are there, my dear," Raccoon whispered. Panda smiled and the two shared a lingering kiss. The mutants had been married for almost four years now, since that day when fate brought them together. Panda was an operative for PSI who was assigned to slay a VIPER operative who had been targeting PSI's Mid-Western United States operations. That VIPER operative was Raccoon of course. The two felt an instant attraction and they defected from their respective organizations to be with each other.
The last few months had been particularly difficult for the couple. First they had been captured by Genocide and used as guinea pigs in their bizarre Arena. (Editor's Note: As shown in Spectrum #1-5.) Later they became involved in the Great Super Villain Contest debacle. Now all they wanted was some rest and relaxation. Sanctuary fit the bill nicely.
"Look at that," Panda said, pointing off into the distance. Raccoon followed the gesture and saw an extremely bright light emerging over the horizon. "We've been up 'ere all night-- the sun's rising."
"So we have, Ginger." Raccoon paused, a look of realization coming over him. "That can't be right..."
The two rose to their feet all the while continuing to stare at the light on the horizon. "What's the matter, Robin?"
Raccoon pointed towards the light. "Whatever that is, it's rising from the west... the sun comes up in the east!"
The mutants continued to watch. The strange light rapidly grew closer and closer. As it approached, the shape took the form of a man surrounded by flames in the shape of a great bird.
Panda let out an audible gulp. "It's Firewing!"
"We've got to keep moving!!" The young girl, visibly frightened and shaking, paused long enough to let Jennifer catch up. Standing before the edge of the forest, the girl concentrated and fired another mental blast towards their pursuers. Weapons fire discharged around Stacy, but none came close to the mark.
Jennifer reached back and pulled Stacy into the forest. "Come on! We've slowed them down enough!"
Stacy nodded in agreement and joined Jennifer in flight. The hounds were mostly land bound, taking to the air would give the girls a chance of outdistancing them. They rose to just above the tree line and flew towards the distant city lights. Sounds of pursuit dimmed until all was quiet.
"I don't sense any minds near us," Jennifer reported.
"We did it!", Stacy shouted in joy. "We actually did it!" The two friends hugged and continued onward.
They reached the city in short order. Turns out it was Buffalo, New York. Being the middle of the night, things were fairly quiet. No one spotted the girls as they moved overhead.
"We need food and money fast. We can't afford to stop any longer than necessary."
Jennifer pointed to a spot in an alley below. "There." The girls flew down into the alley and hovered before what they guessed to be an apartment house. Someone's laundry was drying in the summer breeze between the buildings. Jennifer and Stacy hovered over the alley, selecting garments that would be passable on them. Their training uniforms would make them stick out like sore thumbs.
"Now what do we do?", Jennifer asked. "Where do we go?"
Stacy seemed to consider the query. "The airport. Stow away on a flight-- It doesn't matter where-- just far from here."
"All we have to do is find the airport."
Unexpectedly, a blast of energy separated the two girls. Jennifer landed hard in the alley below. Stacy was thrown back, but remained airborne. "End of the road! No one escapes PSI!"
"Hounds!", Jennifer cursed. "Stacy! Help me!"
Overhead, Stacy hovered in a confused state. Together, they might overcome this latest group of PSI Hounds. Or they could be captured again. That was something Stacy could not risk. She would rather die than go back.
"I'm sorry, Jennifer..." Stacy turned and flew away leaving her friend behind.
"Stacy!", Jennifer screamed. "Don't leave me!" Looking back at the Hounds, Jennifer could see they had their weapons at the ready. They fired. "NO!!!"
Shortly before dawn Peace Keeper returned to his patrol. The situation at the Medical Infirmary had been resolved, but not explained. Nurse Compton was of little help in shedding light on this mystery. It was as if her time with the intruders had been erased from her memory. All that they seemed to be interested in was Dr. Marin's private files. In particular those belonging to the newest recruits in the Young Champions program.
Unable to solve or explain this problem, Peace Keeper stored it away in his memory circuits. It would be daylight soon. The android did not see the need to disturb those who were currently resting. He was confident that the situation would be unchanged between now and then.
That's when a new problem presented itself. The paranormal called Firewing had arrived. Wrapped in pseudo-flames in the shape of a great bird, the powerful villain landed on the main path.
Kicking in his Anti-Grav units once more, the android rapidly approached Firewing. "Attention. My sensors indicate that you are the entity known as Firewing. You have been previously barred from Sanctuary Island. I must insist that you depart immediately."
"I do not take orders from machines," Firewing stated. He was a large man, easily 6'6" with bronze hair and skin. A glowing nimbus of orange and red flames burned about his body. Ignoring Peace Keeper's directive, Firewing strode forward. "I seek the gladiator who I have heard dwells here. I seek the other Champion of Malva."
Peace Keeper kept pace with Firewing. "That is not possible. There is to be no violence on Sanctuary. Those who do so are barred from the island. Have you not learned that lesson before?"
"I care little for your petty rules and regulations. I seek glory and honor. Nothing else matters!"
Reaching out, Peace Keeper grabbed a hold of Firewing's arm. The alien gladiator paused and then turned to face the construct. Looking directly into its optical sensors, Firewing growled, "Unhand me."
"Depart Sanctuary Island peacefully and I shall comply with your request."
Firewing howled a cry of frustration and unleashed a powerful blast of fire at Peace Keeper. "You shall not stand between me and my goal, machine!" Peace Keeper's grip was broken, the android blasted several dozen yards away. However, it remained unharmed in spite of the impressive pyrotechnics.
"You have made a grievous error," Peace Keeper stated, activating its weapon systems.
The Tigress stirred in her sleep. Her eyes flickered open to discover that it was still night time and that she was on the couch on Jessica and Jennifer's bungalow. That it was still dark out was of little consequence as the Tigress could see just as well at night as most could during the day. In spite of it still being night, a bright light moved over the bungalow.
"What the heck was that?" The heroine rose and stretched. Making her way to a window, the Tigress was unprepared for the sight that greeted her. Off in the distance, the light had landed and it belonged to none other than Firewing! "Oh hell..."
The Tigress had never met Firewing personally, but she was more than aware of his reputation. He was an alien gladiator much like Sapphire. In fact, he was the previous undisputed champion of the same arena that Sapphire had come from. Her purpose for originally coming to Earth was to determine who was the better champion. A battle between two such powerful foes could only spell bad things for Sanctuary. "Mom told me that there would be days like this..."
A shrill cry of "NO!!!", suddenly reverberated through the immediate area.
"That sounded like Jennifer...", the Tigress thought to herself.
A split second later, a terrible explosion ripped through Jennifer's bedroom. The force threw the Tigress backwards, but the nimble heroine flipped in the air and landed on her feet. Regaining her wits, the Tigress could see that the wall that separated Jennifer's bedroom from the living room no longer existed. As was the case with much of the roof in that area.
Off in the far distance, the Tigress could see Firewing and Peace Keeper exchanging ranged attacks. "Firewing must've done this!", the Tigress concluded. "That maniac!" Frantically, the heroine began to dig through the debris in search of Jennifer. "Come on, fruit loop-- where are you!?"
A pile of debris shifted as Jennifer unburied herself. She looked about in puzzlement, wiping the dust from herself. Her eyes locked on to the Tigress. "Do you suffer from the pain of hemorrhoids?"
"No damage done there," the Tigress mused. "Jen's acting normal-- for her anyway. Everything must've landed on her head."
"What's going on out here?" Turning, the Tigress could see Jessica come out of her own room still dressed in her nightshirt. Seeing the extent of the damage and the distant combatants, Jessica's eyes shot wide open. "Oh my God..."
"I don't know about you," the Tigress said, "But this is one tussle I'd rather sit out."
News of the battle between Firewing and Peace Keeper spread like wildfire across the island. The sounds alone were enough to let the guests know that something big was in progress. Many kept far from the battlefield, others were more than eager to watch.
"Five hundred on Firewing!", Ankylosaur shouted.
"I'll take some of that action," Binder, leader of the Ultimates responded. "No way that a copy of Mechanon is going to loose to some fiery freak!"
Pooka, Charcoal, and Gladiator were quickly on the scene as well.
"It's one disaster after another!", Pooka shouted in frustration while watching the conflict. "Sometimes I wonder why I even bother! They're bound and determined to destroy Sanctuary!"
"Calm yourself," Gladiator replied in a neutral voice. "They have done no serious damage."
"Yet," Charcoal piped in.
"Oh great. Things just got worse." Pooka pointed off in the distance. Dawn had already passed, lifting the veil of night. The others with Pooka turned to see that Sapphire had been awakened by the conflict.
"Don't be so quick to judge," Gladiator chastised. "Sapphire can control herself."
The Azurian leaped into the midst of the fray, landing between Peace Keeper and Firewing. "Cease this battle!" Her sudden intervention made the combatants pause.
"You are the one I seek!" Firewing pointed an accusing finger at Sapphire.
"As are you, former Champion of Malva," Sapphire stated, no trace of fear in her voice.
"Then let us settle for once and for all, who is truly the undisputed Champion of Malva." Fire played around Firewing's hands.
"I agree, but we must honor the tradition of the Great Arena." Sapphire's statement took Firewing aback, the fire fading around his hands.
"What do you suggest, woman?"
"You have already engaged in a long and hard battle," Sapphire stated. "Rest for a time. When the sun is high in the sky we will engage in battle, both full rested. We shall take our battle to a nearby island so that none may be injured, where no dwellings will be damaged. Just you and I in a battle to crown the true Champion of Malva."
A hush fell over the area as Firewing considered Sapphire's words. "In honor of the Great Arena, I do accept your conditions. Let us retire for the time being. When the sun blazes on high, let the battle begin!"
