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A World of Our Own

a story set in the universe of Champions Online

Tom Waits once sang, "There's a world going on underground." He was referring to the world of the night, a world inhabited by strange, shadowy creatures who don't have regular nine-to-five jobs. They're alive and awake while the rest of the world is asleep, Tom said. It's a world that runs parallel to the daytime world: connected to it, using the same implements it does, but different somehow—distorted and sinister. It has its own rules, and it's home to things the daytime world fears and shuns. Things like me. Hi, I'm Nightmunk. How ya doing?

Why does the daytime world fear and shun me? Well, for one thing, I'm a manimal—a genetic recombination of human and animal DNA, created on Monster Island in the South Pacific in the laboratory of the mad geneticist Dr. Phillipe Moreau. In my case, the animal DNA came from a chipmunk, so I'm three feet tall, with a stocky, furry body and a short muzzle ending in a pair of big buck teeth. I don't have back stripes or a tail, though. I'm one of three chipmunk manimals Moreau created, and he named us Alvin, Simon, and Theodore, after Ross Bagdasarian's famous singing chipmunks. We sang for Moreau too, for a while, until he got bored with us and consigned us to his fight pits, where his creations would kill each other in bloody gladiatorial combat, because Moreau was a good little Darwinist who believed in survival of the fittest. Simon and Theodore didn't last long there. I managed to survive, somehow, and escaped from Monster Island to this place, Millennium City, a metropolis built out of the ruins of Detroit after it was destroyed by the supervillain Doctor Destroyer.

Did I mention that I live in a city full of superheroes and supervillains? Well, I do, and I am one. A superhero, that is. I call myself Nightmunk to honor the only humans who ever believed in me—Nighthawk and Lady Nighthawk—and because it was the best name I could come up with. They took me into their fold, trained and equipped me, and made me part of Team Nighthawk. Me, a three-foot talking chipmunk. I'll never know what they saw in me, but I'll always be grateful that they saw it, because they gave me a place to belong in the world. So now we fight crime together in Millennium City, and I wear the same gray-and-black body armor with a hood, cape, wrist talons, and gold hawk emblem on the chest that they do.

Which brings me to what I was doing breaking into an office in Westside at three o'clock on an icy December morning.

I dropped in through a skylight, after removing a pane with a glass cutter and a rubber suction cup, and landed on the carpeted floor in a crouch. I tapped the earbud stuck in my left ear beneath the hood that covered my whole head except for my face. "I'm in."

"You want the third door on the right," I heard Nighthawk's gravelly voice say.

"Alarms?" I asked.

"Standard home security. Nothing you can't handle."

I walked down the hall, my talon-toed boots sinking into the carpet, my ears perked up, alert for trouble. At the third door on the right, I removed a freon sprayer from my belt and froze the contact between the door and the frame that I knew would be located halfway down. That would prevent the alarm from firing when I opened the door. As for the lock, it was nothing to me. I picked it in twenty seconds, opened the door, and was inside, closing the door behind me.

"I'm in Bouchet's office," I told Nighthawk, shining a small flashlight around the room. "He really needs to hire a better decorator. Lime green walls with maroon carpeting is a no-no."

"Never mind that," said Nighthawk. "Check his computer. Search for anything relating to Kevin Poe or the New Purple Gang."

I sighed. Nighthawk has many attributes I greatly admire, but a sense of humor isn't among them. He wouldn't know a joke if he saw it through a magnifying glass. "Doing it," I said, climbing up onto the chair before the desk. I plugged a little gadget into the USB port, and it quickly identified the user's password. I tapped it in and started reviewing his files.

"Well well," I said, "Bouchet's been a naughty boy, doing business with Poe and his gang."

"You found something?" Nighthawk asked.

"Enough to justify a warrant for his arrest."

"Copy it. We'll send it to the cops and let them handle it."

"You know Bouchet's lawyers will have him out on bail before the fingerprint ink is dry."

"Doesn't matter. He's just the bait. I want to see if this brings Poe up out of whatever hole he's hiding in."

"You're the boss," I said, copying the incriminating files onto a thumb drive.

"What did I tell you about that?" asked Nighthawk, sounding annoyed. "I'm not your boss. We're partners."

"Which is why you nixed my idea of investigating ARGENT's kidnapping and enslaving of manimals," I said, hopping down off the chair and heading for the door.

"Alvin, I know that's a matter close to your heart, but ARGENT is a multinational corporation. We just don't have the resources to take them on at this time."

"Then maybe senior partner and junior partner would be a better way to define our relationship."

"I did start this outfit," Nighthawk said. "And I defined the rules. Rules that keep us alive."

I stopped at the door, hearing movement outside, and swore under my breath.

"What was that?" asked Nighthawk.

"Company," I said, sinking back into the shadows.

"Need backup?"

"No, I've got this."

The knob turned, and the door opened to reveal four big, beefy men wearing suits and fedoras. Even by the dim moonlight coming through the window, I could identify them as members of the New Purple Gang. One swept a flashlight around the room, and the beam landed squarely on me. I snarled and exploded into action, launching myself at them, swinging my fists. I caught one in the cheek and another across the nose. They both staggered back, howling in pain. The third one swung at my face, but I twisted out of the way. The fourth pulled out a pistol and fired at me. The bullet hit my chest, but my body armor absorbed most of the impact.

I landed on the carpet and lunged at the one who had fired, slamming my fist into his groin. He groaned and doubled over, clutching himself. At the same time I aimed a roundhouse kick at the one who had tried to punch me, my foot striking him in the gut. He grunted and swung again, but I ducked under his punch and landed one of my own in the middle of his chest. As he fell, the first two rallied and came at me, both now armed with switchblades. I dove aside, rolling as I hit the floor, came up with a handful of sleeping gas pellets from my belt, and hurled them at them. The pellets burst on impact, enveloping them both in a cloud of knockout gas, which had them on the floor in seconds. I backed away, putting a small gas mask over my muzzle so I wouldn't breathe the stuff in too.

"Th-th-that's all, folks," I said.

"Are you cold?" asked Nighthawk.

I sighed and shook my head, even though there was nobody there to see it. "No, I'm fine. Coming out now."

I left the office and went down the hall, shot a grapple line up to the skylight and was winched up to it, and then clambered out onto the snow-covered roof. Nighthawk was standing there beside the hovercraft we'd flown here in, his long cape blowing in the frigid wind. I walked over and handed him the thumb drive. "Special delivery."

"Thanks," he said. "I'll see that it finds its way into the hands of the MCPD. Those thugs give you any trouble?"

"Nah, they went out faster than the lights on my Christmas tree."

"Good. You did excellent work tonight, Alvin."

I swallowed and blushed beneath my fur. Nighthawk didn't hand out praise very often, so when he did, it meant something. I wanted to say, "Thanks for believing in me," or "Thanks for giving me a chance when no one else would," or "Thanks for taking me seriously and not treating me like a joke," but instead all that came out was just, "Thanks."

"Shall I give you a lift back to your apartment?"

I checked my watch. "Yeah. Julie should be getting off work at Sherrera's just about now."

Nighthawk's eyes narrowed slightly. "You're still seeing that girl?"

"What about it?" I asked defiantly.

"I don't think it's a good idea."

I growled. "Nobody asked you! I may be a member of Team Nighthawk, but my private life is my own business."

"It's dangerous, Alvin."

"Everything we do is dangerous! Just because you don't have a girlfriend doesn't mean the rest of us have to be ascetics too. I need someone to be with. Unlike you, I can't just take off my costume and pretend to be a normal person."

"That's exactly why it's dangerous," Nighthawk persisted. "For both of you."

"Is that another one of your rules that keeps us alive?"

"Consider it friendly advice."

I snarled and turned away, walking toward the edge of the roof.

"Do you still want that ride?" Nighthawk asked.

"Forget it. I'll make my own way home." I shot a grapple at a nearby rooftop and swung away, leaving him standing on the roof alone, his Grinch-feet ice cold in the snow.

Rattle big black bones

In the danger zone

There's a rumblin' groan

Down below

There's a big dark town

It's a place I've found

There's a world

Going on

Underground!

--Tom Waits

I arrived back at my apartment, entering it through the window and tracking snow across the carpet. It was cold and dark inside, so I switched on the lights and turned up the thermostat. Then I went to the kitchen, where a slow cooker full of beef stew was bubbling away on the counter. The aroma of it filled the room. I tasted the stew and added a little pepper, then filled a pot with water and put it on to boil. Then I went to my bedroom, stripped off my costume, and put on a T-shirt and sweatpants. When I returned to the kitchen, the pot of water was boiling. After adding half a package of egg noodles to it and setting the timer, I left my apartment, went down the hall to Julie's, and knocked on the door. It was a coded knock, because she can't see me through the peep-hole.

Julie answered the door, looked down at me, and smiled. She was wearing a red-and-green tartan robe, sky-blue pajamas, and red-and-white striped socks. Her brown hair was a mess. "Hi, Alvin," she said.

"Hi," I replied, smiling back. "Dinner's ready."

"Bring it on over," she said. We'd been having dinner together almost every night for the past couple of months, ever since I'd rescued her from her abusive ex-boyfriend, Carl. I went back to my apartment, turned off the slow cooker, dumped the cooked noodles into a colander, and brought the noodles and stew over to Julie's place, setting them on her dining room table.

"What are we watching?" I asked.

"How does Night of the Lepus sound?" she asked, grinning.

I grinned back. "It sounds awful." We'd discovered that we both enjoyed watching really bad movies. "What's it about?"

"Giant mutant rabbits attack a small town in Arizona."

I scratched my head. "Didn't that actually happen a few years back?"

She shrugged. "In this crazy world, it's entirely possible." We each filled a plate with stew and noodles and sat down on the couch in front of the television to watch while we ate. As I'd predicted, the movie was gloriously horrible, a total cheese-fest that tried desperately to scare us with shots of cute, doe-eyed, floppy-eared bunnies stampeding over miniature sets. As an added plus, it had DeForest Kelley from the original Star Trek and Janet Leigh from Psycho hitting low points in their careers. We laughed and joked all the way through it.

"Well," I said as the end credits rolled over a supposedly ominous still-shot of a pair of bunnies in a field, preparing to start the cycle of death and destruction all over again, "that was really bad."

"Putrid," said Julie, nodding. "I especially liked the part where the guy was attacked by what's obviously a man in a rabbit suit."

"Yeah, I don't think hysterical laughter was quite what the filmmakers were going for there."

We cleared away the dinner dishes and Julie poured us each a mug of hot apple cider. We sat on the couch together, sipping our ciders and enjoying the warm feeling of the drinks in our tummies, and just generally relaxing.

"I really enjoy being with you, Julie," I said.

"I like being with you too, Alvin," she replied.

"I've been thinking," I said, deciding to finally broach a subject that I'd been holding in the back of my mind for some time now. "Have you ever considered the possibility of us becoming more than just friends?"

She sighed. "I'd been wondering when you'd get around to this."

"So, you have thought about it."

"Yes."

"And?"

"You're putting me in a difficult situation, Alvin. If I say no, you're going to think it's because you're a manimal, and you're going to be hurt. And I don't want to hurt you."

I bit my lip. I couldn't deny that was probably true. "Is there some other reason you'd say no?"

She moved a bit closer to me. "Alvin, you're a great guy. You're warm and caring and kind and funny. Your friendship means a lot to me. I'm just worried that if things don't work out between us, we could lose what we have."

I looked at her seriously. "I'll never stop being your friend, Julie, no matter what happens. You let me into your life. You don't know what that means to me."

She nodded. "I can imagine how lonely you must feel."

"No, you really can't. You're human. You can walk down the street without people looking at you like you're a freak or a monster."

She reached out and stroked my hair. "I don't think of you that way, Alvin. To me, you're just a guy I know—who happens to be short and furry and have a muzzle."

I looked at her earnestly. "A short, furry guy with a muzzle who really, really likes you."

She gazed at me for a moment, then lowered her lips to my mouth and kissed me gently. I kissed her back, and the thrill of the contact sent a shiver through my whole body. Our mouths parted, and we sat looking at each other for a long moment. Then Julie blushed and grinned sheepishly. "I never kissed anyone with a muzzle before. Except for a dog I had when I was little."

I grinned back. "I hope I'm a better kisser than your dog was."

She nodded. "You are." She leaned in and kissed me again, and I cupped her face with my hands, holding my mouth to hers. I could feel her lips exploring the shape of my mouth and my big buck teeth. A soft moan escaped me, and I felt her hands on my neck and back, pulling me closer. She lay back on the couch, pulling me down with her, so we were lying side by side, facing each other. We kissed again, locked together in a snug embrace.

"Your fur is so soft," she said, caressing the side of my face.

I grinned. "I use conditioner."

She raised an eyebrow. "On your whole body? You must go through a lot!"

I nodded. "A bottle a week."

"Well, I like the result," she said, stroking my cheek.

"Then it's money well spent."

We kissed some more. Then she stood up, holding my hand in hers.

"Come on," she said, leading me toward the bedroom. I just nodded, going with her.

I won't go into what happened next, because that's between me and Julie. All I'll say is that I never felt happier or more at peace with myself and the world than I did that night with her.

I woke up late the next morning, and stretched and yawned, feeling wonderfully relaxed and lazy. I looked over at Julie. She was still lying there asleep. I leaned over and kissed her gently on the cheek. Her eyes flickered open, and she looked up at me.

"Good morning," I said, smiling at her.

She smiled back. "Is it still morning?"

I checked the clock. "For another half-hour or so. Sleep well?"

She nodded. "Eventually." Then she grinned. "You're a real tiger once you get going."

I chuckled. "Well, I am part beast." I put my arms around her and hugged her close. "Thank you, Julie."

She ruffled my hair. "For what?"

"For accepting me. As a person."

"I did that months ago, Alvin."

"Well, thanks anyway."

"You're quite welcome."

I climbed out of bed and started picking up my clothes and pulling them on. "You want to go out and get breakfast?"

She glanced out the window. It looked cold and dreary outside. "I'd rather stay in here where it's warm. I'm feeling lazy." She smiled.

"Then I'll make you breakfast in bed," I said, grinning. "What do you want?"

"Toast, juice, and coffee."

"Coming right up, madam." I marched out of the bedroom to the kitchen and got to work, humming happily to myself. This was starting out to be a great day.

As I puttered around the kitchen, fixing breakfast, the cell phone in my back pocket rang to the tune of Leslie Gore's "Sunshine and Lollipops." I took it out and glanced at it. It was a text message from Nighthawk. It read, in his usual terse, no-nonsense style, "Turn on your TV, Channel 4."

I did so, and the screen lit up with the face of Rob Mahogany, Millennium City's most beloved newscaster, blathering over an image of industrialist Victor Bouchet leaving the Millennium City courthouse and refusing to talk to the reporters thrusting microphones at him. Bouchet didn't look happy, which was understandable, as according to Mahogany he'd just been released on one million dollars' bond after being arrested for trafficking in illegal black-market technology. I grinned as I watched him loudly protest his innocence and duck into his limousine. Then my cell phone rang again. Another text from Nighthawk. It simply read, "Following. Meet me at Bouchet's in 30 minutes." I sighed and put my phone away, picked up the tray of breakfast I'd prepared, and walked back into the bedroom.

Julie must have been able to tell I was unhappy by the look on my face. "Something wrong?" she asked as I set the tray down on the night table beside her bed.

"Duty calls," I said. "I have to go."

She nodded. She knew about my nocturnal activities. There wasn't much point in someone like me trying to maintain a dual identity. She leaned over and kissed my muzzle. "Too bad. I was hoping we could watch Plan 9 From Outer Space together."

I grinned. The granddaddy of all bad movies. "Later tonight, okay?" She nodded and kissed me again, and I left her apartment, went back to my own, and suited up.

A few minutes later I was soaring over the wooded countryside on the outskirts of Millennium City on my hoverbike, a neat little gizmo that employs state-of-the-art anti-grav technology. It's gray and black, bears the bird insignia of Team Nighthawk, and is built for someone my size. It was a gift from Nighthawk, something to increase my effectiveness as a crimefighter. It comes in handy when I have to get places in a hurry, especially places that don't have any tall buildings to attach swinglines to. I checked the navigation screen and saw that Nighthawk's hovercraft was parked in the woods just ahead. I came in low over the leafless trees, landed beside it, and dismounted. Nighthawk was standing a short distance away, surveying Bouchet's mansion through a pair of binoculars. I walked over to him, boots crunching on the snow and dead leaves.

"Any sign of Poe?" I asked, my breath misting before me.

"Not yet," Nighthawk replied, "but he'll be here."

"Have you figured out what it is he's planning yet?"

"Whatever it is, it involves quantum inversion technology."

"What's that?" I asked. Science isn't my strong point.

"Exchanging atoms with their counterparts in other dimensions."

I blinked. "We can do that?"

"Apparently."

"What would Kevin Poe want with atoms from another dimension?"

"That's what I'm hoping to find out."

I sighed and shook my head. "Crazy villains."

I went over to a nearby rock and sat down on it. The air was bitterly cold, so I activated the heating elements in my body armor, thinking how nice it would be to be back with Julie in her warm apartment. Then I took out my cell phone and began reviewing all the information I had on Kevin Poe. He was the son of the nefarious scientist Dr. Sebastian Poe, founder of the criminal Parapsychological Studies Institute—PSI, for short. His older brother, Simon Poe—a.k.a. Psymon—was the current leader of PSI, and there was no love lost between the two. Both had been subjected to genetic experimentation by their father, which had activated their latent psionic potential. In Kevin's case, it had given him the power to generate and control dark energy, turning him into a kind of psychic vampire. He was the leader of the New Purple Gang, one of Millennium City's largest criminal organizations, and an utter psychopath, obsessed with the destruction of PSI and the control of Millennium City. In short, your run-of-the-mill megalomaniacal supervillain.

I checked up on the location of Kevin's father. He'd been captured some time ago and was currently wasting away in an institution for the criminally insane. That seemed like a dead end. Then I looked up Psymon. He and his PSI buddies had been responsible for a number of crimes around Millennium City, and it was rumored that he was the brains behind the alleged self-help organization Mind Inc., though that remained unproven. His chief partners in crime were his mother, Madeline Poe, a.k.a. Medusa, and his girlfriend, Stacy Turner, a.k.a. Mind Slayer, both powerful mentalists themselves.

"Psymon, Medusa, and Mind Slayer are probably all hiding out at Mind Inc.'s headquarters in Millennium City," said Nighthawk, binoculars still fixed upon the mansion.

I sighed. Of course he'd already researched all this. "You think Kevin's planning an attack on Mind Inc.?"

"Seems likely, given his adversarial relationship with his brother. Classic case of a younger sibling trying to upstage the older one."

"Yeah, they sound like a real happy family."

"Someone's here," said Nighthawk, tensing.

I rose from the rock and came over to him, taking out my own binoculars and peering through them. A purple sedan with darkened windows had pulled up in front of the mansion.

"Kevin," I said, "could you be a little more obvious?"

"Subtlety was never his strong point," said Nighthawk.

Sure enough, out of the car stepped a rather short, skinny figure in a purple trenchcoat, fedora, and gas mask. He looked around for a moment, then ascended the stairs and entered through the front door.

"Come on!" said Nighthawk, charging ahead through the woods toward the mansion. I followed him as we ran across the grounds, taking advantage of what cover we could. We reached the large bay windows in the back, swiftly disabled the lock, and slipped inside.

We found ourselves in a large, mostly empty room that had probably hosted countless parties over the century or so this house had stood here, it being far enough from the city to have survived Destroyer's flattening of Detroit. We made our way silently across the polished wood floor to the carpeted hallway and moved down it, a couple of gray ghosts. Nighthawk paused before a pair of double doors. We could hear muffled voices through them. He turned the knob slowly with one gloved hand and eased one door open just a crack. The muffled voices resolved into intelligible ones.

"And where's the equipment now?" I heard Kevin Poe asking impatiently.

"In a warehouse belonging to Trans-Global Industries, one of my subsidiaries, in crates labeled as electronics," said Bouchet.

"Good," said Poe. "That's all I needed to know."

"What about the charges?" Bouchet demanded. "The D.A. has enough on me to put me away for twenty years!"

"That's not my problem," Poe replied. "You shouldn't have left those records where they could be found."

"You said you'd provide security!" Bouchet shot back. "Your men couldn't even stand up to that little rat creature of Nighthawk's!"

I wrinkled my nose. I don't appreciate being called a rat. Not that I have anything against rats, you understand. I had a good friend on Monster Island who was a rat. He saved my life, in fact. But that doesn't mean I want to be lumped together with all the other members of the rodentia due to human ignorance. There's such a thing as species pride.

"You want security?" asked Poe. "I'll fix it so you never have to worry about going to jail."

There was a sudden scream of anguish. Nighthawk and I glanced at each other, and we both burst into the room. It was a luxurious library, with velvet-upholstered furniture and walls lined with books. Bouchet was lying on the floor while Poe stood over him, tendrils of dark energy from his gloved fingers playing over Bouchet's writhing form. Poe's head snapped up as we entered, and the lenses of his gas mask fixed upon me.

"Well, well, well," he said, chuckling, "if it isn't Nighthawk and his pet rat. Why, you're just in time . . . to be too late!"

"I'm not a rat!" I growled, raising a throwing blade to hurl at him.

"Give it up, Poe," said Nighthawk, doing the same. "You can't defeat both of us!"

"Oh, please!" sneered Poe. "Do you really think I'm afraid of you two clowns? You don't even have any powers. But you should be afraid . . . of the dark!" He raised his hands before him and fired bolts of dark energy at each of us. We both leaped aside, hurling our throwing blades as we did. They struck Poe, but his body was protected by a crackling aura of dark energy, and they bounced off harmlessly. I hit the ground and rolled to my feet, coming up with a handful of sleeping gas pellets, before it occurred to me that Poe was wearing a gas mask, so they wouldn't be of any help. Nighthawk was swinging a bola above his head, and now he flung it at Poe. It wrapped around him, pinning his arms to his sides. As he struggled, we both charged at him, Nighthawk going high while I went low, as we'd practiced countless times. We plowed into him, knocking him to the rug, and slammed our fists into his body.

Poe growled with anger, and there was a sudden explosion of dark energy that hurled us both away and tore apart the rope binding him. He jumped to his feet, drawing a pair of automatic pistols from his coat, and started hosing down the room with bullets as he backed away from us. I took shelter behind a bookcase, while Nighthawk ducked behind a couch.

"That's right, cower and hide, you idiots!" shouted Poe. "You can't stop me! Nobody can! I'm going to put the biggest hole in Millennium City since Doctor Destroyer came to town!" Suddenly, the entire room was cloaked in inky blackness. I snapped on my night vision goggles, but even they couldn't penetrate whatever murk Poe was throwing up with his freaky dark energy powers. Then the darkness faded, and my vision returned to normal. I raised my head and looked around the room. Poe was gone. He'd left behind a parting gift, though. On the floor where he'd been standing were several sticks of TNT wired to a timer that was counting down.

Four seconds left.

"Run!" shouted Nighthawk. We both dashed out the door and down the hall as the bomb exploded behind us, knocking us down. I felt searing heat as a gout of flame washed over us. Fortunately, my costume is fireproof. The walls and ceiling shook, raining plaster down on us and filling the air with choking dust. We stood up, shaking ourselves off, and my ears pricked up as I heard the car out front gun its engine and screech away.

"Come on!" I urged Nighthawk. "Let's get to our vehicles!"

"No rush," he replied.

"But he's getting away!"

Nighthawk shook his hooded head. "I stuck a homing transmitter on him while we were fighting. We'll find him."

I grinned. That was Nighthawk for you. I glanced back at the smoking hole to what used to be the library. "Pity about Bouchet, though."

"Yeah," said Nighthawk. "Another death Kevin Poe will have to pay for. Let's go."

We left the mansion and went back to our vehicles. Rising above the barren trees, we flew off into the cold winter sky.

Another warehouse. Sometimes I think I've spent half my life skulking around these things. I've become intimately familiar with all the various designs and layouts of warehouses around Millennium City. I know where all the points of entry are and the locations of all the light switches and junction boxes, which comes in handy. The one Poe had led us to was a fairly typical example, a Kronstedt Construction Model 2E. Nighthawk and I let ourselves in through a side door that led into one of the offices, which gave us the best chance of entering without being observed from the floor.

Kevin Poe was standing before a large crate in the center of the warehouse, along with a dozen or so Purple Gang goons. Two of them were in the process of breaking open the crate with crowbars while Poe watched impatiently, rubbing his hands, and the rest stood around looking bored. As Nighthawk and I watched from the shadows, the sides of the crate fell away to reveal a metallic object that resembled an oversized throat lozenge, about four feet long by two feet wide, with blinking lights.

"All right," said Poe, "attach the quantum inversion bomb to the undercarriage of my hoverbike. I've got a special delivery for Mind Inc." He chuckled as four men carried the object to a nearby hoverbike.

That was our cue. Nighthawk and I charged across the floor from our hiding place. "I'm afraid your delivery has been cancelled, Poe!" shouted Nighthawk, hurling a handful of gas pellets at the Purple Gang goons. They crumpled to the floor like the sacks of meat they were. Poe, of course, was unaffected. Growling, he raised his hand, and tendrils of dark energy snaked out from his purple-gloved fingers, wrapping around Nighthawk and immobilizing him. Then Poe turned his attention on me.

"I'm not going to be stopped by some costumed rodent!" he said, firing a bolt of dark energy at me. I dodged it and leaped at him, extending the fighting claws from my gauntlets and slashing at him. He somersaulted backward, drawing his guns as he did so, and landed in a crouch, spraying lead in my direction. I ducked behind a crate as the bullets splintered it, and readied a bola. I glanced over at Nighthawk, who was still struggling to free himself from the tendrils of dark energy holding him, then back at Poe. He was running for his hoverbike, which was now equipped with a quantum inversion bomb. Whatever that was.

I jumped up and hurled my bola at him, sending it spinning through the air to wrap around his legs and cause him to pitch forward onto his face. At the same time, Nighthawk broke free of his bonds and ran for Poe, only to be confronted by the four conscious thugs, who were coming to their boss's aid now that the bomb they'd been carrying was in place. While Nighthawk dealt with them, Poe slipped free of my bola and headed for his bike. I went after him.

Poe mounted his bike, and the motor hummed to life as it rose from the floor. There was no way I was going to reach it in time, so I fired my grapple gun at it. The grapple struck just as the bike surged upward, pulling the cable taut and yanking me off my feet and my arms nearly out of their sockets. The world was filled with shattering glass as the bike burst through a skylight, and suddenly I was in open air, dangling from a cable as the warehouse roof shrank away beneath me.

I hit the retract button on the grapple gun, and it reeled me in toward the bike, the city racing by hundreds of feet below me. Poe apparently didn't notice that he had a stowaway as he piloted the bike through the air over Westside, heading for City Center, where the Mind Inc. headquarters lay. I reached the bike and grasped the side, pulling myself up. Poe looked back and saw me, and though I couldn't see his face behind his gas mask, I imagined the expression on it wasn't pleased. "You again?" he snarled. "What does it take to get rid of you?"

"Play some rap music," I replied, gritting my teeth as I clung to the rear of the bike for dear life, my cape whipping about in the wind.

"God, your voice is annoying," said Poe, raising his hand and aiming a dark energy bolt at me. I ducked down under the bike as he fired, and the bolt hit the spot where I'd been, causing the bike to shudder and start trailing smoke. I dangled from the undercarriage, a couple of feet from the blinking lights of the quantum inversion bomb, as Poe struggled to keep his damaged craft in the air. In the distance, I could see the twin magenta spires of Mind Inc. drawing closer.

From the sound of it, Poe's hoverbike wasn't long for this world, but we were flying over one of the most densely populated parts of Millennium City, and I didn't want it crashing there, especially with this weird science-fiction device attached. I reached up and grasped one of the bike's directional stabilizers, turning it so the bike would veer toward the hilly countryside north of the city. Poe cursed as we turned, struggling to keep the bike on course for Mind Inc. "Damn it, stop screwing with the controls!"

We zig-zagged across the sky, Poe and I vying for control of a mortally wounded hoverbike carrying a gadget that did who-knew-what. Poe tried shaking me loose, but that only succeeded in making us lose altitude faster. Then he leaned over the side as far as he could and tried to blast me, which forced me to let go of the stabilizer and climb up on the other side of the bike. Regaining control, Poe aimed the bike at Mind Inc. again, but I was on him a second later, punching savagely at his face. His hat flew off, spinning toward the rooftops below, and he threw a punch at me, which I blocked. I slugged him in the gut, and he doubled over, making a woofing noise as the breath was driven from his lungs. He keeled over the side and went to follow his hat.

I grabbed the bike's controls and twisted them to veer it away from Mind Inc., but it chose that exact moment to conk out, the motor sputtering and dying, turning the bike into an inert hunk of metal plummeting from the sky with me and the bomb aboard. Since there was nothing more I could do, I leaped from the bike and grabbed the edges of my cape, spreading it behind me, using it as a kind of makeshift parachute. I guided my fall toward the swimming pool on the roof of Mind Inc., watching as that blue square grew larger and larger.

"I love you, Julie," I said as it rushed toward me.

I hit the water with an impact that shook my molars, and my world was full of bubbles. The water was quite warm, as the pool was heated to keep it from freezing during the winter. Suddenly, there was a bright, white flash. I wondered if it might be a side effect from my brain being knocked around inside my head. I pushed off the bottom and shot to the surface, breaking it and sucking in lungfuls of air as I splashed about. There was nobody around, which was hardly surprising, as it was a cold day for a swim. I swam to the edge of the pool and pulled myself out, standing up dripping wet beside it, and I immediately noticed something.

The city was different.

The towering spires of the Renaissance Center, which should have been looming up to the south of me, had been replaced by much smaller buildings. The architecture was different, too, the buildings being made predominantly of brick and stone, rather than steel and glass. I took out my binoculars and trained them on the unfamiliar skyline. There was a plaza with a large statue looming over it, so I focused my gaze on that, and my jaw dropped.

The statue wasn't human.

It was a mouse.

A mouse wearing a superhero costume, standing boldly with arms akimbo and his feet apart, and what looked like the Greek letter omega on his chest.

I lowered my binoculars and shook my head. This was going to be interesting.

Exploring this new world was going to have to wait, however, as the residents of Mind Inc. had also begun to realize that something was amiss. The door to the roof opened, and four men in black-and-magenta uniforms came running out. I recognized them at once as agents of PSI. They saw me and immediately began activating their powers. Psionic powers usually manifest as magenta-colored energy, for some reason; hence PSI's fondness for that color. The four agents were now all armed with transparent magenta swords created by their minds. They began moving to surround me.

I decided I really didn't have time for this, so I hurled some gas pellets at two of them. They collapsed like dynamited buildings. The other two charged at me, swinging their psychic blades. I blocked one with my gauntlets and slammed the heel of my boot into the belly of the other. While he was doubled over, gasping, I turned my attention to the first one, slugging him in the face and chest. He took it with a grunt of pain and sliced at me with his blade. I had to lean back to avoid it. He lunged, thrusting at my middle, but I twisted aside and threw a flying crescent kick at his head, which connected, sending him down. Then I had to turn to meet the other one, who had recovered and was charging at me, swinging his blade above his head. I went low, barreling into his legs and knocking them out from under him. He fell to the roof, and I rammed my elbow into his back to keep him there.

"All warmed up?" came a voice from behind me. "Good. I wouldn't want this to be too easy."

I spun around. Before me stood a young man in a black-and-magenta costume, his short red hair slicked back, his eyes glowing red. He didn't look that impressive, but I knew that in this case looks were deceiving.

"Psymon," I said. "Take a look around. Notice anything different?" I gestured at the strange city in the distance.

Psymon stared at it, then looked back at me. "What's happened?" he demanded. "What have you done?"

"I haven't done anything," I replied. "It was your brother, Kevin. He used some kind of device that seems to have transported Mind Inc. to another dimension. I just came along for the ride."

"Another dimension?" Psymon turned to look at the distant city again. "Hmm. I wonder if they have superheroes here."

"I think so," I said, "but I also think they look more like me than you."

Psymon turned to look at me. "What makes you say that?"

I shrugged. "Just a hunch."

"Well, it doesn't matter. If they have minds, they can be controlled."

"Is that all you can think of?" I asked, annoyed. "You're not even the slightest bit bothered that you might be stranded on an alien world for the rest of your life?"

Psymon chuckled. "One world is much like another, my friend. Full of inferior minds, waiting to be conquered."

I growled at him. "Not if I have anything to say about it."

Psymon looked at me contemptuously. "You don't, little manimal. You're just a bug to me. Get in my way and you'll be squashed."

I'd had all of his arrogance I could take. I hurled myself at him, wanting to wipe that smug grin off his face with my fists. Psymon raised his hand, and a bolt of magenta shot from it, striking me in the chest and knocking me back.

As I got to my feet, there was a flash of yellow light, and suddenly there were six new arrivals on the rooftop.

They were all anthropomorphic animals, about the same size as myself. One I recognized from his statue, a black-furred mouse wearing a red jerkin with an omega symbol on the chest, along with red trunks, gloves, and boots, his arms and legs bare. Beside him stood a female panda in a sky-blue leotard and boots, with a matching cape. Then there was a muscular, green-furred boar with red eyes, wearing an olive-drab tank top, khaki trousers, and brown leather boots, holding a gleaming steel fighting claw in each hand. Next came a female fox in a red leotard and boots. Then there was a brown-feathered hawk wearing a blue jerkin and boots with red tights and gloves, his arms encased in metal bands, red goggles covering his eyes. Finally, there was a floppy-eared dog wearing a black skin-tight outfit with gloves, boots, and trunks that covered his entire body, leaving only his black-furred tail exposed. His head was covered by a full-face mask, with only small white rectangles where his eyes and mouth would be.

The mouse turned to the black dog and said something in a language I didn't understand. The dog replied in the same tongue. Then the mouse addressed Psymon, and appeared to be waiting for a reply. Psymon furrowed his brow, and a tendril of magenta-colored energy leaped from his forehead to the mouse's. A second later, a magenta burst radiated out from his head, dousing all of us.

"There," said Psymon. "Now we can understand each other."

"Who are you, creature?" the mouse asked, in an authoritative voice. "What are you doing here?" Apparently, whatever Psymon had done had made it possible for me to understand the local lingo too.

"I am Psymon,” Psymon replied. "And you?"

"I am Omega Mouse," the mouse said, "leader of the Heroes of Zoolok. Would you mind telling us why you were assaulting that citizen?"

Citizen? Did he mean me? Of course! Omega Mouse thought I was a native of this world! It was understandable, considering my appearance.

Psymon narrowed his eyes at Omega Mouse. "I don't have to explain myself to anyone, least of all a mouse!"

"In that case, Psymon," said Omega Mouse, "in the name of the people of Zoolok, I place you under arrest."

Psymon smirked. "I think not, rodent." He raised his hand and a bolt of magenta shot forth, striking Omega Mouse squarely in the chest.

It had absolutely no effect.

Psymon gaped, unused to having his powers shrugged off so casually. Omega Mouse just stood there with his arms folded, grinning up at him, incisors gleaming. "Is that the best you can do?" he asked.

Psymon growled and shook his head. "Not even close!" All at once his body was engulfed in a massive, four-armed, human-shaped sheath of magenta energy. I'd seen this effect before. This was what happened when Psymon got mad. Omega Mouse and his companions seemed to have realized that things had become serious, as they assumed ready stances.

"Europa!" Omega Mouse said to the panda. "Can you shut down his mind?"

The panda shook her head. "I've been trying, but I can't penetrate his mental defenses!"

"Then we'll have to do this the hard way," said Omega Mouse. "Heroes of Zoolok, attack!" With that, he flew at Psymon and threw a punch at his energy-sheathed body, striking it dead center. Psymon didn't even seem to notice. A huge magenta energy fist slammed into Omega Mouse, knocking him back about thirty feet. He stopped himself in midair and hovered there, glaring.

The boar hurled himself at Psymon, claws slashing at his energy form, and Psymon swung one of those tree-trunk magenta arms, knocking him away. The fox lit up with flames, while the hawk began to crackle with electricity, and both fired bolts of their respective powers at Psymon, fire and lightning washing over him while he groaned in pain. Then Omega Mouse was on him again, pounding away with his fists, while the boar tore at him with his metal claws. Psymon howled, his psionic energy sheath flailing at the mouse and the boar with its four gigantic magenta fists while the fox and the hawk poured it on. It didn't look as if he'd last much longer.

Unfortunately, the cavalry chose that moment to arrive. Onto the roof strode a slim, pink-haired girl wearing a magenta vest, black shorts and boots, and black leather straps wrapped around her arms and legs. Beside her stood an older woman in a PSI uniform, her bald head wreathed in tendrils of magenta energy. These were Mind Slayer and Medusa.

"What the hell is this?" Mind Slayer demanded. "Psymon's being attacked by animals? Get away from him!" She ran toward her beleaguered boyfriend, a spray of razor-sharp magenta blades flying out from her head. One struck the fox in her side, making her cry out in pain. As she fell to her knees, I ran over to her and slapped a coagulant patch from my belt onto her wound.

Medusa created a psionic lance before her and sent it hurtling at Omega Mouse, knocking him into a nearby wall and apparently stunning him. The hawk turned his attention to her, dousing her with electricity that made her shriek, but then Mind Slayer threw a psionic spear at him, striking him in the back. He screeched and fell, badly wounded. She moved in for the kill, but at that moment the black dog appeared beside the prone hawk, grabbed him, and vanished with him in a burst of yellow light.

Of the locals, Europa and the boar were the only ones still standing, and they were now facing off against Mind Slayer and Medusa. The boar, moving amazingly fast, dodged Mind Slayer's razors and Medusa's psychic lances, and his claws came within inches of lacerating Mind Slayer's pretty face before Psymon, who had caught his second wind, struck him down with a mental blast. Mind Slayer grinned in triumph, standing over the fallen boar—but then shrieked, grabbed her skull, and fell to her knees as a mental blast from Europa struck her. A second later, the dog whisked both Europa and the boar away.

I looked around the roof as I held the injured fox in my arms. Things were starting to look decidedly unfriendly. Apparently, the fox thought so too, because she looped an arm around my waist and roared off into the sky with me, leaving a contrail of flame behind her. Holding onto her tightly as we flew, I watched the Mind Inc. building shrink into the distance. It seemed the effort was too much for her, though, as her fire gave out in midair, and for the second time today I was falling. I could have used my cape to glide down, but that would mean letting the fox plummet to her death, and I couldn't do that. I looked down. There were trees below us. Holding her with one arm, I took out my grapple gun and waited, gritting my teeth, while the ground rushed up toward us. As we fell through the canopy, I fired horizontally, the grapple line wrapping around a tree branch, and we swung down through a storm of branches before tumbling roughly together across the snow-covered ground.

I sat up, brushed the snow off myself, and leaned over to check on my companion. She was still unconscious, but didn't appear to have suffered any injuries from our bumpy landing. I gazed at her a moment. She was a lovely creature, with her russet fur, pointed black ears, and white muzzle. I took a capsule of smelling salts from my belt and broke it under her nose. Her nostrils flared, her golden eyes snapped open, and she sat up quickly, looking around. "What happened?" she asked.

"You passed out in midair," I replied. "Fortunately, I managed to get us both down safely."

She smiled. "Well, thank you for saving me!"

I smiled back. "Thank you for getting me off that roof. I wasn't looking forward to fighting all three of those psychos by myself."

"Who are you, anyway?" she asked. "I don't recognize you."

"I call myself Nightmunk," I replied, "but my real name is Alvin. You?"

She looked at me strangely. "You mean you don't know who I am?"

"Should I?"

"I'm Datura Vulma, Firefox!"

"Sorry, I'm new here."

"Hmph! Well, you must have been living under a rock for the past five years not to have heard of me. I'm the most popular member of the Heroes of Zoolok! My action figure outsells everyone else's, even Europa's!"

I chuckled. "Some things never change."

"Speaking of which, I must check in with the others and let them know I'm all right." She raised her right hand, but then gasped in dismay. Around her wrist was a segmented metal band bearing a flat bronze box about three inches on a side. It had two small buttons and a grid. Unfortunately, it didn't appear to have survived our landing, as it was cracked open with wires hanging out. "Oh, dear," she said. "One of the tubes must have blown."

I raised an eyebrow. "Tubes? You mean vacuum tubes?"

"Yes. Dr. Maklin Teshobi made these wrist communicators for us, using the very latest in super-miniaturized vacuum tube technology. We can speak to each other over a distance of up to ten miles!"

I nodded. "Very impressive."

"Of course! He's a genius!" She looked at me curiously as I took out my cell phone. "What's that?" she asked.

"It's, um, a barometer," I replied, switching it on. "I want to see if there's a storm coming." Unsurprisingly, it wasn't picking up a signal. I put it away.

Firefox got to her feet, swaying a bit, and looked upward. "I could try to fly home," she said, doubtfully.

I stood up beside her. "I'd rather you didn't. You might pass out again, and there might not be a convenient tree for me to attach my grapple to next time."

She sighed and shrugged. "Well, then, I guess we'll have to walk." She took a few steps, but stumbled and would have fallen if I hadn't rushed over to catch her.

"Lean on me for support," I said, putting my hand on her waist.

"Thank you, Nightmunk," she said, grasping my shoulder.

We made our way together through the snow-shrouded forest. It was slow going at first, since Firefox was limping, clearly in pain. I gave her an injection of anesthetic from my belt, and that seemed to help.

"You sure carry a lot of things in that," she observed.

I nodded. "My mentor's motto was, 'Be prepared.'"

"Who was he?" she asked.

"His name is Nighthawk." I figured she'd assume he was an actual hawk.

She shook her head. "Never heard of him, either. Where does he operate?"

"He, uh, moves around a lot. Likes to keep a low profile."

"I just hope Volthawk is all right. He looked like he was hurt pretty badly."

"Fortunately, your teleporter got him out of there just in time."

"Silhouette is a jerk, but he's good at what he does." She sighed. "Though I worry sometimes that he might be a bad influence on Volthawk. Teenagers are so impressionable."

"That can work both ways, you know."

"You mean that the rest of us might be a good influence on Silhouette?"

"He did come back to rescue Volthawk, Europa, and that boar. He could have just cut and run."

"I suppose. By the way, the boar's name is Slash."

"That's fitting. He fights well."

"He was a soldier before he joined us. His powers are the result of an experiment. He's much stronger and tougher than a normal person."

"Your leader seemed plenty tough, too."

"Omega Mouse? He's virtually indestructible. Immensely strong, as well. And he can fly." She sighed again. "I hope he's all right."

"There was nothing we could have done to help him, Firefox. We barely got out of there ourselves." I decided to try to take her mind off that subject. "How did you get your powers? Another experiment?"

"Oh no, mine are natural. They just appeared one day, without warning. I was up on stage performing, when all at once I burst into flames!"

"Performing?"

She smiled. "I used to be a dancer. It was very embarrassing, let me tell you, suddenly finding myself naked and on fire in front of hundreds of people!"

"I can imagine."

"Doctor Teshobi says that stress can sometimes activate latent superpowers." She looked at me. "What about you, Nightmunk? Do you have any powers?"

"Not unless you consider a mean right hook a power."

"You must be very brave, then, to be a crimefighter without any powers."

I chuckled. "I'm not brave. Just stubborn and stupid."

"Do you mind if I ask you a personal question?"

"Go right ahead."

"What happened to your tail?"

"Nothing. I was born without one."

"Oh, that's too bad."

"Why do you say that?"

"I dated a chipmunk when I was in high school. He was very proud of his tail."

I shrugged. "You can't miss what you've never had."

"I suppose not. Oh, look, I think we're coming out of the woods!"

And so we were. We broke out of the forest into a snow-covered field, and I started at the sight of several creatures standing before us. They appeared to be lizards, some eight to ten feet long, but covered with shaggy fur that was presently dusted with snow. They plodded about slowly and placidly on their splay-toed feet, long tails leaving ruts in the snow behind them, their snouts nosing at the snow and tugging up clumps of dry, brown grass, which they chewed with gusto.

"What are those?" I asked, surprised.

Firefox regarded me strangely. "Haven't you ever seen cows before?"

I caught myself. "Of course I have. I meant, what are those doing out here? Shouldn't they be in a barn, out of the cold?"

She shrugged. "Maybe their owner decided to let them out for a while. Come on, let's head for that farmhouse."

We made our way across the field, dodging cow pies, toward the quaint two-story wooden farmhouse. Once there, we ascended the front porch and rang the doorbell. A moment later, the door opened to reveal a rather grizzled-looking orange cat wearing a red-and-white checked shirt and overalls, but no shoes. He stared at us through his glasses, open-mouthed.

"Excuse me, sir," said Firefox, "but we're in need of transportation. Could you possibly give us a ride into Nexasho?" I guessed that was the city I'd seen from the rooftop of Mind Inc.

"You're Firefox!" the farmer cat said, sounding awed.

She smiled and nodded. "Yes, I am, and this is Nightmunk."

"Hello," I said.

"I'm Tesan Vashiel," the farmer said, stepping aside for us. "Please, come in." We thanked him and entered.

The interior of the house looked like something straight out of a Norman Rockwell painting, all cozy, Middle American homeyness. Nothing fancy here, just simple, functional wood furniture. The thing that struck me most was that it was all built for someone my size. I'm used to everything being bigger.

Vashiel ushered us into his living room, which was dominated by a large fireplace in which some logs were combusting merrily. I noticed that there was a radio, but no television set. "You must be half-frozen," he said. "Can I get you something to warm you up?"

"Thanks," said Firefox, "but I never get cold. We are in rather a hurry, though."

Vashiel nodded. "It'll take me a few minutes to fire up the car." He turned and hollered into the kitchen, "Jene!"

A female tabby emerged, wearing a flowered dress. Her feet were bare, too. "Yes, what is it?" she asked, and then stopped, her eyes going wide when she saw us. "Oh my word!"

"These are Firefox and Nightmunk," said Vashiel. He turned to us. "This is Jene, my wife."

"How do you do?" asked Firefox, bowing her head to Jene.

"Nice to meet you, Mrs. Vashiel," I said, smiling.

"Firefox!" said Jene, coming over to us. "I recognize you from your picture in the papers! This is an honor!"

"You're too kind, miss," said Firefox, looking modest.

"I have to go fire up the car for them," said Tesan. "You see to our guests' needs."

"Of course!" said Jene, as her husband left. "Can I get you anything?"

"Do you have a phone I could use?" asked Firefox.

Jene nodded. "It's right over here."

She led Firefox to one of those big, boxy, wall-mounted phones you see in old movies. Firefox put the listening piece to her ear, whirled the crank in its side, got the operator, and asked to be put through to Heroes of Zoolok headquarters in Nexasho. "Hello, Gemma?" she said. "It's me, Datura. Yes, I'm fine. My communicator got broken. I'm at a farmhouse somewhere out in the boondocks. I'm getting a ride into town. Because I'm too hurt to fly, that's why. Oh, that's an even better idea!" She turned to me and Jene. "What's the address here?"

"It's 8346 Lamplighter Way," Jene replied.

Firefox repeated the address into the phone. "Listen, Gemma, is Raoim all right? Oh. Well, I guess we'll just have to wait and see, then. Is Omega Mouse with you? No? No, he's not with me, either. That chipmunk who was on the roof with us is, though." She glanced at me. "Yes, he seems all right. He saved my life, in fact. All right, we'll be waiting. Goodbye." She hung up and came back over to me. "Silhouette will be here in a few minutes," she said.

I nodded. "Someone should tell Mr. Vashiel we won't be needing his car. I'll do it." I turned to leave, and was confronted by two small cat boys, one orange, one tabby. They were both wearing overalls and striped shirts, and they were both barefoot. Apparently these people didn't believe in shoes. They stared up at me, then rushed past me to Firefox and began clamoring for her to autograph their trading cards of her. She smiled at them, rubbing their heads, and obliged. I proceeded into the garage.

When I returned with Mr. Vashiel, Silhouette was standing in the living room, an ominous black presence in this otherwise wholesome setting. He regarded me with that featureless, black-masked face of his, and I had no idea what he was thinking. I noticed that Jene and the boys seemed a little afraid of him, as they were keeping their distance, Jene's arms around her boys protectively. Perhaps it was the costume.

"Thank you for everything, Mr. and Mrs. Vashiel," said Firefox, smiling at the farmer and his wife. "It was very nice meeting you all. I'll make sure you're amply rewarded for your kindness."

"That's not necessary, Miss Firefox," said Mr. Vashiel. "Helping out one of the Heroes of Zoolok was reward enough."

"At least let me send you a special commendation," said Firefox.

"That would be fine, miss," said Mr. Vashiel, nodding.

"Can we go now?" asked Silhouette, impatiently.

"Yes, let's be off," said Firefox. "Goodbye, everyone!" She smiled and waved to the Vashiel family. They waved back; then I felt Silhouette grab my arm, and the world dissolved into yellow light.

When the light faded, we were standing on another rooftop, this one in the middle of a sprawling city. As I said, the buildings were all brick and stone, with none of the steel-and-glass towers you see in modern cities. It looked like a city from the 1930s or '40s, which would jibe with the level of technology I'd seen. Silhouette led us down through a doorway into the building. We descended a spiral staircase, which led to a corridor with a black-and-white checked floor, light fixtures hanging at intervals from the ceiling. We went through a door with a frosted-glass window labeled INFIRMARY in blocky black letters. Inside was a row of hospital beds, one of which was occupied by Volthawk. He was naked save for a sheet across his loins, with wires attached to his arms, legs, chest, and head leading to some kind of device. He appeared to be unconsious, his eyes closed, his beak hanging open. Beside the bed stood Europa, gazing down at him with concern. Tending the device was a beaver wearing a blood-smeared surgical smock and thick Coke-bottle glasses. Slash was leaning against the wall beside the door we'd come in through, his arms folded. They all looked at us as we entered. "Datura, you're all right!" said Europa, coming over to us and smiling.

Firefox nodded. "I'm fine, Gemma. How is Raoim?"

"He just came out of surgery," said Europa. "His condition is still critical, but stable. Dr. Teshobi says the next twenty-four hours will tell." She nodded to the beaver.

"He suffered extreme trauma to the upper thoracic cavity," said Teshobi, in a high, nasal voice. "If Silhouette hadn't brought him here immediately, he surely would have died. As it is, I'd put his chances at around fifty percent."

"I suppose that is one we owe you, Arnulf Jerryl," said Europa, looking at Silhouette. "Pity you could not have rescued Omega Mouse as well."

"In case you hadn't noticed," said Silhouette, "we were getting our asses kicked by those creatures, Europa. I made a call."

"It was not your call to make!" she said angrily. "When Omega Mouse is incapacitated, I am in charge, and I do not leave people behind!" She calmed down. "But your prompt action did save Raoim's life. For that, I thank you."

"It was the least I could do," Silhouette said. He pulled off his mask, revealing that his face was just as black as his costume.

"Isn't that what you always do?" asked Firefox, disdainfully. "The least you can?"

"I didn't ask to join this outfit, Datura," said Silhouette. "I was drafted, remember?"

"Yes, because the alternative was spending the rest of your life in prison!"

Silhoutte smirked. "Not likely. The prison hasn't been built that can hold me."

"Then why are you still here?" she asked.

He shrugged. "It's a sweet gig. There's plenty of booze and broads, and nobody's chasing me."

"Funny," I said, "you don't seem like the type who enjoys following orders."

Silhouette narrowed his eyes at me. "And just who the hell are you, exactly?"

"I'm called Nightmunk."

"Never heard of you."

"I'll vouch for him," said Firefox. "He saved my life."

"And that makes him trustworthy?" Silhouette demanded.

"I trust him," said Firefox. "More than I trust you."

"You're a fool to trust anyone," said Silhouette, and vanished.

Firefox made a disgusted sound and shook her head. "Degenerate."

"You've got to admit," I said, "his power is good for getting the last word."

Europa had gone back over to Volthawk. I went to join her. His feathered chest was rising and falling slowly, but there was no heart monitor, respirator, or other medical equipment attached to his body, only those wires. "What are those wires for?" I asked.

"They're to siphon off the electricity his body continuously generates," said Teshobi. "Without them, we wouldn't be able to touch him without being electrocuted."

"You mean his power doesn't turn off?"

Teshobi shook his head. "He has to wear a special insulated costume at all times to avoid harming people. He accidentally killed both his parents when his powers first manifested."

I bit my lip. I thought I'd had it hard, but that was just about the saddest thing I'd ever heard.

Europa sighed, gently stroking Volthawk's head. "So young, to have so much pain in his life."

Volthawk stirred, and his yellow eyes flickered open. He looked up at Europa. "Where am I?" he asked weakly.

"You're back at headquarters," she said, smiling. "You're safe."

"The others . . . are they safe too?"

"Omega Mouse is missing. The rest are here."

Volthawk nodded and swallowed. "Did I do good?"

"You fought bravely and well, Raoim Coromek," said Europa. "Rest now."

Volthawk nodded again, and passed out.

"We should let him sleep," said Teshobi. "There's nothing more we can do for him."

I felt warmth on my right side and glanced over at Firefox. She was gazing at Volthawk, trembling, her fists balled, her eyes burning as heat rolled off her body. "The next time I see those creatures . . ." she said, clenching her teeth.

"That is what we must all now talk about," said Europa. "Come with me to the conference room. Nightmunk, you are invited to join us."

We left the infirmary and went down the hall together, Europa calling Silhouette on her wrist communicator while Firefox walked beside me and Slash brought up the rear. "It says a lot for Volthawk that his first concern was for his teammates," I said.

"We're the only family he's had since his parents died," Firefox said. "I'm like a big sister to him, Slash is like a big brother, Europa a surrogate mother, Omega Mouse a surrogate father . . ."

"And Silhouette is the lazy, debauched uncle with all the get-rich-quick schemes?"

She sighed. "Well, what family doesn't have its problems?"

We entered a large room with a domed ceiling, containing a circular table surrounded by chairs. The table was painted with a stylized emblem made up of the letters H and Z. Europa, Firefox, and Slash all seated themselves, and I did likewise. Dr. Teshobi joined us, having exchanged his surgical smock for a labcoat. A moment later, Silhouette popped in and took a seat.

"Now that we're all accounted for," said Europa, "we need to decide what our next course of action is regarding these creatures. Who are they? What are they? Where do they come from? Why are they here?"

"From what you told me," said Dr. Teshobi, "they appear to be some kind of giant, hairless primate unknown to Zoolok, possessing formidable mental powers, principally telekinesis. As to where they come from and why they're here, that remains a mystery."

Europa turned in her chair to look at me. "Nightmunk, you were there before us. Did you learn anything that might help us answer these questions?"

"Those creatures are called humans," I said. "They come from a world called Earth, which exists in another dimension. Psymon, Mind Slayer, and Medusa are all criminals on that world. They make up the core of an organization called the Parapsychological Studies Institute—PSI for short."

"How did you find all that out?" asked Dr. Teshobi, puzzled.

"And how did you get there before us?" asked Silhouette. "Nobody gets anywhere faster than me."

"For that matter," said Europa, "what were you doing on that rooftop?"

I sighed. It was time to lay my cards on the table. "I know all this because I'm from Earth, too."

They all stared at me. "You're an alien?" asked Teshobi, flabbergasted.

I nodded. "Yeah."

"But you look like us!" said Firefox.

"A coincidence. I'm what on my world is called a manimal, created by splicing together human and animal DNA."

"What's DNA?" asked Firefox. Of course. On a world at a 1940s level of technology, most people would have never heard of DNA.

"It's the molecule that carries hereditary information," Teshobi helpfully supplied. He peered at me thoughtfully through those Coke-bottle glasses. "So, you're some sort of genetic experiment?"

"More like a sick joke," I said.

"I knew it!" said Silhouette. "I knew he couldn't be trusted!"

"Oh, you're a fine one to talk!" Firefox snapped at him. Even so, the expression on her face when she looked at me now was decidedly unfriendly. I really couldn't blame her.

"All right," Europa said, "let's say we accept your claim that you're from another world. The presence of those humans would seem to support it. Why have you all come here?"

"It wasn't by choice," I said. "We—along with the Mind Inc. building and a good chunk of the surrounding grounds, from what I saw—were transported here by Psymon's brother Kevin, using a device called a quantum inversion bomb. And please don't ask me what that is or how it works, because I have no idea."

Her eyes widened. "He dropped this bomb on his own brother?"

"They're not real close."

"Evidently. Do you know what Psymon intends to do now that he's here?"

"The same thing he intended to do back on Earth. Conquer."

Firefox growled. "No giant pink-skinned alien is going to conquer our world! We already have someone trying to do that."

"You do?" I asked.

She nodded. "Maxoran, an evil super-scientist."

I sighed and shook my head. "Some things never change."

"Can these humans control minds?" Europa asked me.

"That's Psymon's specialty," I replied. "He loves manipulating people."

She nodded, looking grim. "Then we must consider the possibility that the most powerful being on Zoolok is now under their control."

"Omega Mouse?" asked Firefox, her eyes wide.

"He may be able to fold a tank into a ball as easily as a child wadding tin foil," said Europa, "but he has no more resistance to mental attacks than anyone else. We must therefore assume that PSI now knows everything he knows."

"Oh, that's just great!" said Silhouette. "What do you propose we do about that? None of us is even close to being a match for him, not even Slash!"

"I may be able to break him out of Psymon's control," said Europa, "depending upon which of us has the stronger will. But it will require total concentration. I will need protection."

"You can count on us," said Firefox, looking over at Slash. The boar nodded.

"You can count me out!" said Silhouette, standing up. "I'm teleporting as far away from here as I can go!"

"Yeah, I guess we can just count you out of everything," I growled.

"You bet!" he shot back.

I stood up, glaring at him. "Coward!"

Silhouette blinked. "What did you call me?"

"You heard what I said. You're running out on your team when they need you most. On any world, that spells 'coward!'"

Silhouette stared at me for a moment, then shrieked with rage and lunged, throwing a punch at me. I ducked it and rammed my fist into his stomach. He groaned and staggered backward, then snarled and vanished in a flash of yellow light. I saw a second flash reflected on the wall in front of me and realized that he'd teleported behind me. It figured that he'd use his power to cheat. I whirled around, my right foot describing an arc through the air and connecting with his muzzle. He yelped, and clutched his muzzle with both hands as blood gushed over his fingers. "My nothe!" he whined. "You broke my nothe!"

Europa stood up, her black-and-white face darkened by a scowl. "Enough! We have big enough problems without fighting among ourselves!" She looked at Silhouette. "Arnulf Jerryl, I could force you to stay by dominating your mind, but there would be little point to it. As soon as I relaxed my control, you would leave. Besides, such actions are repellent to me. Therefore, go if you want to. I will not stop you."

Silhouette nodded to her, then turned to face me, his eyes narrowed with hate. Then he disappeared in a flash.

"Good riddance!" said Firefox, folding her arms. "We're better off without him!"

"Unfortunately," said Europa, "we are now down to three members."

"I'm willing to come, if you'll have me," I said. "I may not have any powers, but I know PSI, and I've got a few tricks up my sleeve. I may be of some help."

"Any help you can provide would be greatly appreciated, Nightmunk," said Europa. She turned to Doctor Teshobi. "I think it is time to activate Project Safeguard, doctor."

Teshobi nodded. "It will take at least a half hour to make fully operational."

"You'd best get started, then."

Firefox looked puzzled. "What's Project Safeguard?"

"A contingency we prepared," said Teshobi, "in case Omega Mouse ever went rogue."

She furrowed her brow. "Does he know about this?"

"It was his idea," said Europa. "He doesn't know the particulars, however, since that would defeat its very purpose. Only Doctor Teshobi and I do."

As Teshobi left the room, I addressed Europa. "Do you have someplace I could dry off? I fell into a swimming pool when I arrived here, and I'm still all wet inside my costume. It's very uncomfortable."

She nodded and turned to Slash. "Please escort Nightmunk to one of the guest rooms, Slash."

The boar rose from his chair, and I followed him out of the room and down the hall. He led me down a flight of stairs to another corridor, and we stopped before a wooden door labeled "Guest Room One."

As I moved to go inside, I felt his hand on my shoulder, stopping me. He felt very strong. I turned to look at him. "Th-th-thank you for s-s-saving her," said Slash, his voice both higher and softer than I would have expected. Now I knew why he'd been silent this whole time. I'd begun to wonder if he could talk at all.

I nodded to him. "No problem."

I went into the room, closed the door, went into the bathroom, stripped off my costume, and rubbed myself down with a towel, touseling my fur dry. Then I started drying off the inside of my costume.

As I worked at sopping up the water with a towel, I thought about what I'd said just before I'd plunged into the pool. Had I meant it? Was I in love with Julie? Certainly, we'd become more intimate with each other over the past few months, particularly as of last night (good Lord, had it really been less than twenty-four hours?), but did that add up to love? I honestly wasn't sure. I'd never been in love before. I bit my lip at the thought that this might all very well be academic, since there was a good chance I'd never see her again. I sighed and shook my head. It would be just my luck to fall in love and then end up marooned forever on another world.

My musings were interrupted by a knock on the door. "Who is it?" I asked.

"Firefox," came her muffled voice from the other side. "Are you decent?"

I was naked, so I said, "Just a minute." I ran into the bathroom, took the terrycloth bathrobe I'd seen hanging there off its hook and put it on, and came back out. "Come in." Firefox entered, and we stood looking at each other for a moment.

"Well, you must feel very clever," she said sardonically. "You certainly put one over on me."

"Strictly speaking," I said, "I never told you anything that wasn't true."

"A lie by omission is still a lie!" she snapped.

I couldn't argue with that. "Put yourself in my position, Datura. I'm alone on a strange world. Would it have made any sense for me to tell you the truth about myself when I had no idea how it would be received?"

She apparently couldn't argue with that. She simply sighed. "It's too bad, really," she said, leaning back against the door frame. "I thought you were a nice guy. I even sort of liked you."

I shrugged. "I still like you, Datura. I don't see any reason why we can't be friends."

She came over and looked down at my costume, which was lying spread out on the bed. "That's a strange-looking material. What is it?"

"It's a synthetic polymer, very strong and light. It's bulletproof and fireproof."

She picked up one of the sleeves and flipped it back and forth. "I've never seen anything like it."

"Well, my world is a few decades ahead of yours, technologically."

She sat down on the bed. "Tell me about it."

"From what little I've seen of Zoolok, it's not all that different from Earth. It's winter in Millennium City, too, so I'm guessing our planets both have the same axial tilt. The main difference is that on Earth, humans are the dominant species. My kind are mostly confined to one small island."

She nodded. "Do you have any family back there?"

"I was made in a laboratory, Datura. I don't have any parents. I had two brothers, but they're both dead."

"Oh, I'm so sorry!"

"It's okay. I've moved on." Yeah, sure I had.

"Do you have a girlfriend?" she asked.

"Why do you ask?"

"Just curious."

"There's someone I'm very fond of."

"Another chipmunk?"

"No, she's human."

"Oh, I see."

I couldn't tell if that was veiled disapproval or not. "I was under the impression interspecies romance wasn't taboo here, since you said you dated a chipmunk in high school."

"It depends where you are," she said. "Some places are more accepting of it than others. I'm considered a bit radical for dating outside my species." She giggled.

I grinned. " A rebel, hmm?"

"If you like. Gemma, on the other hand, comes from a place where that sort of behavior is frowned upon. Of course, that doesn't stop her from being in love with Omega Mouse."

"She's in love with Omega Mouse?" I asked, surprised.

Firefox nodded. "She tries to hide it, but when you work this closely with someone, you start to notice things."

"She must be very distraught at the thought of him being in the clutches of PSI."

"She is, but she's highly disciplined. It was part of her training as a telepath. She had to learn to control her gift so she could shut out other people's thoughts. Even so, she has to take daily doses of a psi-suppressant drug to keep from being overwhelmed by all the minds around her."

My eyes went wide. "You have a psi-suppressant drug?"

She nodded. "Yes, it—" And her eyes went wide, too. "Oh my goodness! I can't believe I didn't think of that!"

"Where can we get our hands on this stuff?"

"Downstairs, in Doctor Teshobi's lab."

"Give me a minute to get dressed, and we'll head down there."

Firefox left the room. I quickly donned my costume and joined her out in the hall, and then she led me to an elevator. It had a folding metal lattice door and was much noisier than a modern elevator. I half-expected there to be a uniformed operator at the controls, but there wasn't. We descended eight floors to the basement and exited into Doctor Teshobi's lab.

It looked just like what you'd expect a mad scientist's laboratory from the 1930s or '40s to look like, with giant tubes and coils everywhere and lots of machines covered in switches and dials. This was where BIG science was done. Doctor Teshobi, Europa, and Slash were there, standing around a hulking metallic monstrosity that looked like something straight out of an old Flash Gordon serial. Fully six feet tall, it towered over the Zoolokians and me, its man-like body made of some dull, bluish-black metal. There was nothing sleek or elegant about it; it was all big clunky gears and rivets, with massive screws holding its arms and legs to its body and a pair of huge claws for hands. Its face was blank, save for a pair of round glass eyes and a grill where the mouth would be.

"Project Safeguard, I presume?" I asked as Firefox and I walked over to join the others. "What is it, some kind of robot?"

"Not quite," said Doctor Teshobi. "No machine yet built can match the behavioral flexibility of a living creature. This is an advanced suit of powered battle armor."

"And you think someone encased in this can beat Omega Mouse?" I regarded the thing doubtfully.

"Well, its servos can match his physical strength, and its armor should be able to withstand his punches. The main problem, from a tactical standpoint, is that he can fly and it can't."

"So all he has to do is stay away from it," I said.

"Easier said than done," said Teshobi. "It's equipped with photonic cannons powerful enough to hurt even Omega Mouse."

"I see. And who's going to pilot this thing?"

"Slash would appear to be the most logical candidate," said Teshobi, taking off his glasses and wiping them with a handkerchief. "He's a trained combatant and tough enough to withstand being knocked around a bit." I glanced at the boar, who folded his arms across his chest and nodded. "In any case, he doesn't have to defeat Omega Mouse, just outlast him."

"Outlast him?" I asked.

"Omega Mouse's body is powered by atomic radiation," said Teshobi. "He needs to recharge himself periodically by exposing himself to a source of it. We have a vault full of radium that he normally uses for that purpose."

I remembered how many of the early researchers into radioactivity, like Marie Curie, had died of cancer. "You do know how dangerous that stuff is, don't you?"

"Oh, I always take precautions to avoid contamination," Teshobi said.

I felt myself relax a bit. "How long before he needs a recharge?"

"Usually around twenty-four hours; less, if he's exerting himself heavily."

"Like if he's fighting someone in a suit of powered armor."

"Exactly. Now, he can fly into space and recharge himself by using the ambient radiation up there, though that takes quite a bit longer. To prevent him from doing that, I've equipped the suit with a sprayer full of lead dust that will cling to his body and prevent any external radiation from reaching him. Once his energy reserves are exhausted, he'll simply be a normal mouse again."

"What about his radium pill?" asked Firefox.

I raised an eyebrow. "Radium pill?"

"Omega Mouse carries a small radium pellet in a lead-lined compartment in his belt," said Teshobi. "If he needs an emergency recharge, he can simply swallow it. I confess, I'm not sure what to do about that."

"The plan was to have Silhouette teleport in and grab his belt from him," said Europa, "but, well . . ."

"Any plan that depends on Silhouette isn't a good plan," I said. "I might be able to sneak up on him while he's busy fighting Slash . . ." Then I remembered why I'd come down here. "Doctor, Firefox said you have a psi-suppressant drug."

He nodded. "Yes, it's called psiphon. I'd considered using it against the humans to neutralize their mental powers. The only problem is that it has to be injected directly into the bloodstream to be effective."

"That could be done with a dart pistol," I said. "Except that they can all project telekinetic forcefields around themselves."

"It doesn't sound as if a dart would be a very effective delivery system, then."

"No," I said, rubbing my chin, "but there may be another way."

At that moment, Europa's wrist communicator buzzed. She switched it on. "Yes?"

"This is General Tomba," came the thin, distorted voice through the device. "Omega Mouse is attacking the troops we sent to surround the alien base! What's going on?"

"The aliens possess mental powers, General," replied Europa. "Omega Mouse is under their control. We are preparing countermeasures to deal with the situation."

"Well, deal with it quickly! He's tearing through our men like they were a bunch of toy soldiers!"

"Understood, General. Europa out." She switched off her communicator and looked at Teshobi. "We have to go."

Teshobi nodded. "Without Silhouette, we'll have to dust off the Ark."

"The Ark?" I suppressed a giggle.

"It was our primary means of conveyance before Silhouette joined the team," said Europa. "It's an armored vehicle with complete medical and laboratory facilities aboard. Slash, would you carry the suit, please?" Slash hoisted the battlesuit—which must have weighed at least a thousand pounds—over his shoulder and headed toward a large door, followed by the rest of the team. We walked down a long corridor to another door, which Europa opened, revealing a garage containing the Ark.

It was a pure Art Deco creation, as sleek and streamlined as the battlesuit was awkward and clunky. Thirty feet long, with eight wheels, a blunt rounded nose, a tapering tail, and a sleek fin along its back, it would have made Hugo Gernsback gush. Teshobi pressed a button on a remote control he was holding, and a door flipped down from the side, forming a ramp.

"Nice car," I said to Teshobi as we entered its crew cabin, which contained only six seats facing forward. "Did you make it?"

He nodded. "It's amphibious, too, able to submerge to depths of up to a thousand feet."

"What if you have to go someplace without water or roads?"

"Then Omega Mouse carries it," he replied, sitting down and strapping himself in. We all did likewise, Europa taking the driver's seat. She pressed a button on the console, and the garage door opened; then she pressed another button and fired the Ark up. There was no roar of an internal combustion engine, only a soft hissing sound from beneath us. It turned out that the Ark was steam-powered, just as some early 20th century cars on Earth had been, and that that was the norm for this society. She released the brake, and the huge vehicle heaved silently forward and out into the city streets.

As the Ark ghosted through the slush-filled streets of the city of Nexasho, I gazed out the window at the faces of the people staring at us as we went by. It was weird, seeing all those animals dressed in early 20th century clothing, like an old Warner Brothers cartoon come to life. I half expected to see Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck among them, though their nudity probably would have gotten them arrested here. The Zoolokians appeared to be exclusively mammals and avians. They ranged in height from three to five feet, the taller individuals belonging to traditionally larger species like bears, horses, rhinos, and elephants. There were even a few species that are extinct on Earth; I saw a saber-toothed tiger manning a newstand as we whizzed by. I found myself wondering, if I were stuck on this planet permanently, would it really be that bad? I'd certainly fit in here a lot better than I did on Earth.

The buildings began to thin out as we neared the outskirts of the city, and soon we were racing along through the snow-covered countryside. I turned to Dr. Teshobi. "Europa mentioned there was a lab aboard this thing?" I asked.

He nodded. "In the rear compartment."

"Mind if I use it? There's a little experiment I'd like to try."

"By all means."

I unbuckled myself and made my way to the rear compartment, switching on the light as I went inside. There was a cabinet riveted to one wall, filled with jars of many types of chemicals. I found the ones I was looking for and started mixing. Teshobi was apparently curious about what I was doing, because he came back to join me. His eyes widened behind his glasses when he saw. "That's a clever idea," he said.

"Thanks, I thought you'd appreciate it. Of course, I'm having to estimate the proportions."

"I'd suggest about eight to one, to account for the greater mass."

"Let's make it five to one, just to be on the safe side."

He nodded. "So, you're a scientist, Nightmunk?"

"Not really. My training did include a basic knowledge of chemistry, though. It's a skill that comes in handy in forensics work."

"Indeed. You know, it's occurred to me that you might make a very useful addition to our team."

I chuckled. "You're very trusting of someone you've known for less than an hour and who comes from another planet."

"I like to think I'm a pretty good judge of character. Plus, you did save Datura's life. And gave Silhouette a right proper thrashing."

"Yeah, that was fun. Look, why don't we discuss this when the current crisis is past? Assuming any of us survive, of course."

He grinned, his buck teeth gleaming. "I think our odds are considerably better with you on our side."

"I wish I shared your optimism. Right now all I can think about is all the ways we could die. The folks at PSI are killers, you know. They won't pull any punches."

He nodded. "Yes, I saw what they did to Volthawk close up. But we've dealt with killers before."

"Ones that had an atomic-powered supermouse on their side?"

"We can handle Omega Mouse."

"With that tin-can suit?"

"Remember, I built it. I know what it can do. It's the humans I'm concerned about. There are too many unknowns with them."

"I'll see what I can do about cutting down on those for you."

Our conversation was interrupted by the sound of gunfire in the distance. We emerged from the back to find that the Ark was now going cross country and was headed into what looked like a full-scale war. There were Zoolokians outside dressed like soldiers and carrying rifles, and ahead of us I could see tanks and artillery. Europa brought the Ark to a halt, and we descended the ramp to the snowy field.

"Where is General Tomba?" Europa asked a ferret soldier, who was clearly terrified.

He pointed. "Over there, at the command post, ma'am!"

We made our way across the mud and snow, Slash carrying the tin-can suit over his shoulder. The command post was just a couple of tents with a portable radio tower and generator, and it was a whirlwind of activity, with Zoolokian soldiers seated at radio consoles shouting orders to those commanding the field units. In the center of it all stood General Tomba, a rather imposing-looking grey wolf with a cigar stuck in his muzzle. Things quieted down as the Heroes of Zoolok approached, the soldiers looking at them with awe and wonder. Here we were to save the day.

"What took you so long?" Tomba asked Europa gruffly.

"We've been having some difficulties," she replied. "What's the situation, General?"

Before he could reply, there was a cry of alarm from somewhere and a tank came hurtling through the air, spinning slowly end over end, to crash thunderously to the ground a couple hundred feet away. It bounced twice and then lay still and silent, upside down.

"Not good," said Tomba, gesturing at the shattered tank. He turned to one of his aides, a stork. "See if any of the men inside are still alive." Then he turned back to Europa. "I hope there's something you can do. Nothing we throw at him has any effect."

Europa turned to Slash. "Put on the suit. The rest of us will try to buy you some time." She looked at Firefox. "Datura, can you fly?"

Firefox nodded. "I think so."

"Then you take point. Nightmunk and I will follow on the ground. General, order your men to fall back." With that, Europa and I set off across the snow-and-mud-covered ground, following the flaming contrail Firefox left in her wake.

We passed through a line of artillery cannons; then through scores of soldiers going the opposite way, as they'd received their orders to withdraw; and then there was nothing ahead of us but open ground. And there, a hundred yards away, stood Omega Mouse, holding a goddamned tank above his head. It was a pretty awesome sight, and I probably would have appreciated it more if I hadn't known that at any second he could have sent it flying straight at me. I really had no idea what I could do against such a being. I felt like David going up against Goliath, minus the sling.

Oh well, nobody ever said being a hero would be easy.

Fortunately, his attention at the moment was on the russet-furred sprite hovering above him. Firefox let loose a searing bolt of flame that washed over Omega Mouse. It melted all the snow around him instantly, but had no other visible effect. Then he let fly with the tank. She dodged it with the grace of the dancer she'd once been, and I really had to admire her courage, since if that thing had hit she would have been reduced to a thin red smear on its hull. As for the men inside, my heart went out to them, but what could I do? That's the hardest thing about this job—you can't save everyone.

I looked over at Europa. "Can you break Psymon's hold on him?" I asked.

She shook her head, her brow furrowed with concentration. "He's too strong for me!"

I wasn't especially surprised. I'd once seen Psymon control an entire police station. I figured the best thing I could do right now was serve as a distraction. I readied something from my belt. This might even the odds somewhat.

Firefox unleashed another bolt of flame on Omega Mouse, but it had no more effect on him than the last one had. He rocketed into the air at her, and an aerial chase ensued, with Firefox darting and weaving like a barn swallow while Omega Mouse followed a bit less nimbly behind. At least it was keeping him busy.

"Bring him over here!" I shouted to Firefox. She obliged, flying toward me, Omega Mouse right on her tail. As they shot past me, I hurled a glue grenade right in his face. It contained just about the stickiest stuff ever devised, and it covered his eyes completely, blinding him. He stopped in mid-air, snarling and clawing at his face, trying to tear the stuff away. Then he howled as a mind blast from Europa hit him. If she couldn't break him free, maybe she could put him down. It was worth a try, anyway.

Omega Mouse responded by landing and pounding his fists on the ground, generating a shockwave through the frozen earth that sent Europa and me flying. I tumbled through the snow, landing face down in it, and looked up to see Omega Mouse standing over me and glaring down at me, his eyes glowing magenta, showing that Psymon still had him firmly under his control. This was very bad.

I rolled aside as he raised a fist and brought it down like a pile driver, slamming it into the ground where my head had been a second before. The impact shook my teeth. I jumped to my feet and hurled a smoke bomb at him, engulfing us both in a cloud of inky blackness. He swung at me, but I dodged it easily, since I'm used to fighting in darkness. Another swing and another miss, and another, and another. I was dancing circles around him. Still, it was only a matter of time until he got lucky.

Apparently deciding he'd had enough of flailing at empty air, he changed his tactics, swinging his gloved hands together with a deafening thunderclap. Twin spears of pain from my ears lanced into my brain, and I fell to my knees, clutching my head. The smoke was starting to clear, and I saw Omega Mouse striding through it toward me, a three-foot vision of death with black fur in a red jerkin and trunks, a white omega symbol on his chest. Omega. The end. How fitting. He loomed over me, raising his fists for the killing blow, and I was in so much agony I couldn't move.

Well, it had been fun while it lasted.

"Goodbye, Julie," I said.

Suddenly, Omega Mouse howled and grasped his big-eared head as a mind blast from Europa struck him. He snarled, apparently forgetting all about me, his attention now fixed upon the panda standing about twenty feet away. A second later, Firefox swooped in and grabbed me on the fly, bearing me away from danger.

"Thanks for the save, Datura," I said as we soared upward.

She grinned. "I figured one good save deserved another. Now we're even."

"But who's going to save Europa?" I asked, turning my gaze toward the ground.

"We are," Firefox said, banking around and flying us straight at the diminutive red-and-black figure that was stalking toward Europa. For her part, Europa was watching Omega Mouse intently but making no move. Highly disciplined—that's what Firefox had said she was, and I could believe it, watching her stand there, her black-and-white face devoid of emotion, as the mouse she loved approached her with murderous intent.

Firefox shot a firebolt at him at the same time Europa unleashed another mind blast. Omega Mouse reeled under the double whammy but kept going, trudging through the snow and drawing closer and closer to the panda, and I found myself wondering if anything could stop this guy. He leaped at her, his fist raised to strike, but Europa dodged aside with astonishing grace and he sailed past, landing face down in the snow. He sprang to his feet and whirled around, glaring at her, as she circled around him to give Firefox an open shot at his back, for all the good that would do.

My attention was grabbed by the sound of heavy footfalls behind me, and I looked back to see Slash in the tin-can suit pounding across the field toward us. He leaped through the air, landing right behind Omega Mouse and bringing his metal fists down on his back, dropping him to the ground. Omega Mouse was far from out of it, though. He swept his leg around behind him, knocking Slash on his back, and then pounced on him, slamming his fists against that armored hull with a resounding clang that must have been deafening inside that suit. Slash responded by dousing Omega Mouse with a spray of lead dust. That would cut him off from any external source of radioactivity, anyway.

Omega Mouse slugged Slash again, sending him skidding across the snow-covered ground, metal limbs flailing. Before Omega Mouse could close with the armor-suited boar, Europa mind-blasted him again. He was starting to look a bit groggy now, like a prizefighter who's taken a few hits too many. It was beginning to look as if we might actually be able to win this. Then I remembered what Teshobi had said about him keeping an emergency radium pill in his belt.

"Get me close to him!" I shouted to Firefox. She obliged, flying toward Omega Mouse, and I hurled one of my throwing blades at him, severing his belt. As it flapped loosely about his waist, I fired my grapple gun. The metal claw seized one end of the belt and pulled it right out of its loops, and I reeled it back to me. It was a little disconcerting, knowing there was something in a compartment in that belt that was fatal to me and Firefox, but as long as it stayed shut the lead shielding would protect us from it.

Omega Mouse was none too happy, though. He started to fly toward us, but Slash body-checked him and they both went down together into the snow. The boar held him down as Omega Mouse struggled and kicked, and it seemed that the mouse's unbelievable strength was indeed fading, as the impacts grew steadily weaker. Finally, he gave up and lay there pinned beneath the armor-suited boar, panting for breath. The magenta glow faded from his eyes, and they widened with horror as he regained control of his faculties, Psymon apparently having decided there was nothing further to be gained by dominating his mind. "No . . ." he said.

"Omega," said Europa, as she, Firefox, and I cautiously approached, "it wasn't your fault. You weren't responsible. It was Psymon."

"NOOOOO!" he howled in anguish, the knowledge of the things Psymon had made him do flooding over him. Europa motioned for Slash to release him, which he did, and she crouched beside the stricken mouse, who was lying on the frozen ground, trembling. She placed a hand on his head, and spoke softly to him. "Kesu, let me ease your pain."

"I'm guessing he has a code against killing," I said.

Firefox nodded. "I don't think any of us are as committed to the preservation of life as he is."

I sighed. "Psymon, you bastard."

Omega Mouse's trembling had subsided, and his eyes had narrowed. "Psymon," he said.

Slash raised a metal hand, pointing. "I-i-incoming!" he shouted. Sure enough, a swarm of black-and-magenta-clad agents of PSI were rushing across the snow toward us. Psymon would have to wait while we dealt with his underlings.

The battle was joined, with Slash leading the charge, a clanking metal juggernaut hurling PSI agents right and left. Firefox flew above him, blasting them with flames, while Europa and I followed behind, the panda hitting them with her mental blasts while I threw my blades at them and mixed it up in melee. We cut a swath through the PSI agents as they hacked at us with their mind-blades and shot at us with mental blasts. I have to admit, it gave me a sense of satisfaction to see the small Zoolokians standing up to the larger humans, probably because they looked more like me than the humans did. Once again, I found myself wondering—between throwing punches and blades—if I belonged more on this world than the one I'd been born on.

The last one went down, and we stopped to take a breather, the snow around us littered with the unconscious bodies of PSI agents. I glanced over at Firefox to see how she was holding up. She grinned back at me and winked. I supposed that meant she was okay. Either that or she was flirting with me. Which was fine by me. It was nice to be flirted with, especially by someone that attractive. Maybe when all this was over with . . . no, no point in thinking that far ahead. It was like what Nighthawk had always told me: Focus on the job at hand; don't permit yourself any distractions. Distractions get people killed.

I saw three figures floating toward us from the Mind Inc. building in the distance. It didn't take a lot to guess who they were. I alerted the others, and we braced ourselves for the final confrontation.

Omega Mouse came up to join us as Psymon, Mind Slayer, and Medusa approached, the three humans hovering in the air above us as if they were gods, wreathed in self-confidence. I offered him his belt back. "You might need this," I said.

The mouse eyed the belt warily. "What if Psymon takes control of my mind again?" he asked.

"That's not likely," I said. "He needs to concentrate fully to control someone, and he can't afford to do that now that he's out on the battlefield himself. He'll want to keep this contest physical."

Omega Mouse nodded and accepted the belt, then moved away from the rest of us so he could safely swallow the radium pill it contained. I had to wonder what was going through his mind right now. Psymon had made him kill, something completely against his nature. Would he retaliate by trying to kill Psymon? And if he did try, did I care enough to try to stop him?

"So, this is the best this world has to throw at us," said Mind Slayer, laughing contemptuously. "A bunch of silly little animals."

"I think they're rather cute," said Medusa. "Perhaps I'll keep a few as pets."

"We're nobody's pets," said Europa, her face resolute.

"Heroes of Zoolok," said Psymon, "you've seen what we can do. Surrender your world, or we'll take it by force."

I clapped my hands. "Bravo, Psymon. Some of these villain speeches get really long-winded and boring, but yours was concise and to the point. Top marks. How long did you practice it for?"

Psymon turned his glowing red eyes toward me, and his youthful face was dark with anger. "You dare mock me, rodent?"

"Oh, blow it out your ass, you punk." I raised a pistol and pulled the trigger. Only this wasn't the kind that fires bullets. Instead, it shot a stream of fluid at him. Since it had so little energy behind it, it largely bypassed his telekinetic forcefield, which gets stronger the harder it's hit, and spattered across his chest, soaking through his costume and into his skin. Almost immediately, his forcefield began to flicker. As his companions watched in disbelief, it went out and he fell to the ground. Psymon gaped and looked at his hands, trying to summon his power, but nothing happened. His eyes had returned to their normal green color.

Mind Slayer whirled on me, hissing. "What did you do to him, you little rat?" She didn't wait for a reply, instead summoning her telekinetic razors and hurling them at me. I dodged as best I could, but a couple found their mark, thudding against my costume, and they hurt like hell even through that. Then I saw Medusa aiming a psychic lance at me. Apparently, she didn't appreciate me taking down her son, and I was pretty sure my costume couldn't withstand her attack. Fortunately, Omega Mouse jumped in the way, blocking the impact with his chest, much to Medusa's displeasure.

The other Zoolokians weren't twiddling their thumbs. Slash shot Mind Slayer with his photonic cannon, and Firefox followed up with a flame blast that apparently hurt her even through her forcefield, since she screeched with pain. Europa hit Medusa with a mind blast, drawing her ire, but again, the human woman's retaliatory psychic lance was intercepted by Omega Mouse, who could soak them up without harm. While Medusa was distracted, I sprayed her with my pistol. Her powers flickered out as well, and she joined her son on the ground.

That left only Mind Slayer, arguably the most dangerous and unpredictable of the group. However, even she realized that five-to-one wasn't very favorable odds, so she fled skyward, abandoning her companions. Firefox swooped down and picked me up, Omega Mouse did the same for Europa, and the four of us sped after her, leaving Slash to guard the two captives on the ground.

It soon became apparent that Mind Slayer couldn't outrun us. She stopped and turned in the air, her face twisted with hatred. "I am not going to be beaten by a bunch of stupid animals!" she spat, and let fly with a burst of her telekinetic blades. Omega Mouse shielded Europa with his body, I protected Firefox with mine, and the blades zinged off us. I was in a lot of pain now, but I pushed it aside and took aim with my pistol, hitting Mind Slayer with a stream of the fluid it contained. Her powers faded, and with a scream she began to fall. Fortunately, Omega Mouse dove down and caught her. I was glad to see his compassion had survived his encounter with Psymon intact. We flew back to rejoin Slash and the other two prisoners, while Europa radioed General Tomba and told him it was now safe for him and his men to approach.

A few minutes later, all of the PSI personnel were surrounded by soldiers pointing rifles at them. I found it rather amusing, seeing the towering humans glaring down sullenly at the diminutive Zoolokians who were holding them at gunpoint. I know from personal experience that people tend to be embarrassed when they're defeated by someone smaller than themselves, and even more so when that person looks like a cute little animal. The humility of it looked good on the arrogant psionics.

"Fine work, heroes," said General Tomba, surveying the captives.

Omega Mouse was standing apart from the rest of us and not meeting anyone's eyes. "Thank you, sir," said Europa, stepping in for the reticent hero. "A lot of the credit goes to Nightmunk, though."

Psymon turned to me. "Yes, what was that liquid you sprayed us with?" he asked.

"A psi-suppressant drug they have here called psiphon," I replied, "mixed with DMSO."

"DMSO?" asked Tomba, clearly unfamiliar with the compound.

"Dimethyl sulfoxide," said Dr. Teshobi, who had rejoined us. "It's a powerful solvent that can be absorbed directly through the skin."

I nodded. "I figured that was the quickest way to get the drug into their bloodstreams."

"So, what's going to happen to us now?" asked Medusa.

"You'll be handed over to the authorities," said Tomba. "They'll decide what to do with you."

"It's a shame," said Europa. "We would have welcomed you if you'd come as friends, instead of would-be conquerors."

Medusa simply snorted disdainfully.

"Uh, speaking of would-be conquerors," said Firefox, pointing at the sky.

My eyes followed her black-furred hand upward. Emerging from a cloud in the distance was an enormous silvery object. It was an airship, just like the ones they used to have back on Earth, only this one had what looked like a battleship gun turret on the underside. It floated in the air, silent and ominous, the turret rotating slowly until the two huge barrels of its guns were aimed directly at us.

"What the hell?" I asked.

"It's Maxoran," said Europa, her voice edged with quiet dread. "He's here."

As I watched the giant airship approach, images ran through my mind of the Hindenburg crashing and burning at Lakehurst, New Jersey. Seriously, what kind of villain would use something so fragile and flimsy as a base of operations? I had to conclude that either Maxoran was an idiot, or there was more to this than I knew. Since an idiot would hardly have inspired the kind of fear I was seeing on the faces of the Heroes of Zoolok, I suspected the latter was the case.

An amplified voice rang out from the airship, echoing across the field. "This is Maxoran. The aliens and their edifice now belong to me. Withdraw immediately, or face the consequences. You will not be warned again."

I turned to Europa. "Give me a rundown on this guy. What can he do?"

"Imagine a genius like Dr. Teshobi," she said, "only with psionic powers of telepathy, telekinesis, and teleportation."

"A triple threat, huh?" I looked at Firefox. "What's stopping you from blasting that thing out of the sky?"

"I've tried that before," she said. "Its hull is made of some kind of indestructible metal. My blasts just bounce off. Even Omega Mouse can't punch through it. It's completely impervious."

I looked back up at Maxoran's airship, and a chill ran down my spine at the thought of those two huge guns pointing at me. "We've got to get up there. We're sitting ducks down here."

"Sitting ducks?" asked Firefox, puzzled.

"It's an expression from my world."

"Your world?" said Omega Mouse, staring at me. "You mean you're an alien too?"

I nodded. "Sorry, I forgot you didn't know. I came here along with Psymon, Mind Slayer, Medusa, and the others."

"But you look like one of us, not one of them!"

I sighed. "That's a long story. Suffice it to say I'm not typical of the inhabitants of my world."

"Of course you aren't," said Firefox, smiling at me. "You're a hero."

I smiled back. "Thanks, Datura. Think you could you fly me up to the airship?"

"I could, but then Maxoran would see we're not withdrawing and start shooting."

I shook my head. "He won't shoot. He wants the humans alive."

"If it were just us, I'd say risk it," said Omega Mouse. "But I won't gamble with the lives of all these soldiers."

"Don't hold back on our account," said General Tomba. "We all knew the risks when we signed up."

Omega Mouse sighed, and I knew what was going through his head. Wracked by guilt and shame for all the soldiers he'd killed while under Psymon's control, he wanted to save as many lives as he could. I understood how he felt. I wasn't able to save my brothers, and I have to live with that every single day. It's part of what drives me to do what I do.

Omega Mouse turned to General Tomba. "General, please order your troops to withdraw," he said.

Tomba looked unhappy with the idea, but nodded. "As you wish, Omega Mouse." He turned and yelled to his troops, "Fall back! Fall back!"

The soldiers began to withdraw, glancing up at the airship anxiously as they did so, and the Heroes of Zoolok moved to follow them, much to the chagrin of the members of PSI. If Tomba had looked unhappy, they looked terrified.

"What about us?" Psymon demanded. "You can't just leave us at his mercy!"

Omega Mouse glared up at the red-haired youth. "If it's a choice between your lives and the lives of these soldiers, then it's no contest. Goodbye, Psymon."

We walked across the snow and mud, leaving Psymon and the others to face whatever fate Maxoran had in store for them. I didn't like it; even a creep like Psymon deserves some consideration. Besides, I resent being pushed around by anyone. But I couldn't argue with the logic of Omega Mouse's choice.

As the gap between ourselves and the humans grew, the airship slowly maneuvered itself over them and began to descend, its shadow blanketing them. A part of the hull opened in the front, like the mouth of some great whale, forming a ramp to the ground, and a cadre of robots emerged. They were clunky-looking things, taller than the average Zoolokian and roughly humanoid in shape, with cylindrical bodies and jointed arms and legs. They moved to surround the frightened humans and began herding them up the ramp into the airship, making it look uncomfortably as if the enormous thing was swallowing them.

I started at a flash of yellow light, and suddenly Silhouette was standing among us. "Well, well," he said, "I never thought I'd see this. The mighty Heroes of Zoolok retreating?"

Omega Mouse scowled at him. "You should talk, Jerryl. Where were you when we were fighting against the forces of PSI?"

"Being sensible," said Silhouette. "There was nothing I could have contributed to that fight. But there is something I can do now."

Firefox smirked. "So you just decided to pop in and save the day?"

The dog shrugged. "Something like that."

"Yeah, well, to hell with you, Jerryl! You're no longer a part of this team!"

"Maybe we should listen to what he has to say," I said.

Firefox turned to me. "Weren't you the one who said any plan that depends on Silhouette isn't a good plan?"

"I did, but right now we need all the help we can get. If Maxoran gets his hands on PSI's 21st century technology, there's no telling what he might do with it."

"I agree," said Europa. "This is too important to let our personal feelings get in the way. We should listen to his proposal."

"All right," said Omega Mouse, looking at Silhouette. "What's your plan?"

"Simple," said Silhouette. "Right now, there's an opening into Maxoran's ship. I can only teleport to places I can see or that I have memorized. I can drop us right down on that ramp, and we can go inside and take him down."

"What about the robots?" I asked.

Silhouette snorted. "We've fought Max's robots before. They're not that tough."

We all looked at Omega Mouse. He nodded. "Very well. But don't think this changes anything, Jerryl. You're still off the team."

"Team shmeam," said Silhouette. "Gather 'round."

We all got in as close to him as we could stand, and there was a flash of yellow light. An instant later we were standing on the ramp descending from the doorway into Maxoran's airship, surrounded by frightened PSI personnel and Maxoran's robots. The latter reacted immediately, leveling some kind of futuristic rifles at us. The Heroes of Zoolok exploded into action, Omega Mouse and Slash plowing into a bunch of the robots, taking them down, while Firefox's flame blasts melted others into slag. I extended the fighting claws from the arms of my costume and ripped into the robots, tearing gashes into their metal bodies, which sparked like faulty fuse boxes. Europa's mental powers couldn't affect their mechanical brains, but she proved quite adept at knocking them off balance with her martial arts and setting them up for others to finish off. In less than thirty seconds, we'd cleared the ramp.

Omega Mouse turned to Psymon, Medusa, and Mind Slayer, who were standing there staring at us in astonishment. "Run," he said. "Give yourselves up to General Tomba and his troops. I promise you're better off with them than you are here."

They didn't need to be told twice. The humans streamed down the ramp, running across the snow toward General Tomba's troops. Omega Mouse turned back to us. "Now for Maxoran," he said.

"Do you have any idea where on this thing he might be?" I asked.

"None," Omega Mouse admitted. "Much as I hate the idea of splitting up, time is of the essence, and it would allow us to search this thing faster."

I nodded. "Three teams of two each?"

"Yes. You and Firefox, Europa and Slash, me and Silhouette."

"Aw," said Silhouette in mock dismay. "I don't get to be with one of the girls?"

"I want you where I can keep an eye on you, Jerryl," said Omega Mouse, scowling at him.

We ascended the ramp into Maxoran's airship, entering a wide compartment, which was apparently where his robots were held prior to being unleashed upon the world. Conveniently, there were three doors leading into the airship's interior: one on each side and one in the back. Each group picked one, Firefox and I selecting the one on the left wall as we came in. There was a push-button mechanism beside each door, and the door slid aside when it was pressed.

Firefox and I found ourselves in a corridor lined with pipes and wiring, and we made our way down it cautiously, alert for any sign of attack. We rounded a corner, and the corridor emptied into a much larger chamber, several stories high, housing all sorts of humming, whirring machinery and criss-crossed with metal catwalks. Upon one of these stood two Zoolokians.

They were about as different as you could have asked for. One was a lemur, with a tall, slender body, a long, sinuous banded tail, and a black-masked face from which a pair of orange eyes gazed at us impassively. He was wearing what appeared to be a light blue karate gi and holding a curved sword similar to a katana. His companion was an armadillo, squat and heavily-built, wearing only a brown kilt-like garment and also holding a sword. Each bore a bandolier of throwing stars across his chest. They raised their blades as we entered.

"Do you know these guys?" I asked Firefox.

"Unfortunately, yes," she said, clenching her black-furred fists, which were now wreathed in flames. "The lemur is Okiyumi of the Air. The armadillo is Ken-Jo of the Stone. They're Maxoran's henchmen."

"Anything I need to know before we fight them?" I asked.

"Okiyumi can command the winds," she said. "Ken-Jo is invulnerable to any attack he's aware of."

"Good to know," I said.

They leaped from the catwalk, Ken-Jo landing on the deck with a thundering crash while Okiyumi came down light as a feather. The armadillo squared off with me, and the lemur took on Firefox. I guess they figured sending the invulnerable guy to deal with the unknown factor was the smart play. I decided to test that hypothesis by grabbing some throwing blades from my belt and hurling them at him. Ken-Jo didn't even bother to dodge. They struck his bare chest and bounced off harmlessly. He advanced on me, silent as a rock and showing about as much emotion. He swung at me with his katana, a deadly arc of silver slicing the air, and metal spanged against metal as I blocked with my gauntlets. I backed up, keeping my eyes on that blade.

Since it was pretty clear a frontal attack wasn't going to work, I decided to adopt guerrilla tactics, reasoning that if he was invulnerable to anything he could see coming, my best bet was to hit him from behind. Accordingly, I turned and ran, trying to lose myself in the maze of machinery around us. I slipped into the shadows and waited for him to pass by. Ken-Jo came along a few seconds later, sniffing the air, his big rabbit-like ears swiveling about. As he walked past my hiding place, I realized the folly of my plan. Armadillos have shells on their backs. Ergo, any attack from behind would have to get past his natural defense. It seemed Maxoran had known what he was doing when he'd hired this guy.

Okay, time for Plan C. Nobody ever thinks to counter Plan C, do they? I readied a smoke bomb and crept up behind Ken-Jo. When I got within a few feet of him, I threw it to the deck, and we were both enveloped in a cloud of inky black smoke. Ken-Jo whirled and swung at me, and I heard his blade sing past my cheek. I struck out at the spot where I estimated he should be and was rewarded with a satisfying thud as my fist struck his body, followed by a grunt of pain. He was invulnerable only to attacks he could see, and right now he wasn't seeing anything.

Ken-Jo realized this too and retreated out of the smoke cloud. I took the opportunity to hide myself again, and our little game continued. Elsewhere in the room I could hear the sound of Firefox and Okiyumi fighting, and I hoped she'd be okay. Then again, she was a pro, and she'd fought him before. I figured she could handle herself. I concentrated on defeating Ken-Jo.

I looked around for anything I might be able to use to help me, and Plan D formed in my mind. I removed my hood and cape and arranged them just so, holding them in place with a few dabs of super glue. Once I was sure they were secure, I kicked the side of one of the machines, hoping the noise would draw Ken-Jo this way. Then I hid myself and waited.

A few seconds later, Ken-Jo appeared. He saw the hood and cloak, situated so as to be just barely visible among the shadows. He approached stealthily, blade raised, and struck savagely, driving his sword through the cloak and into the mass of electrical wiring beneath. He squealed as the volts surged through his body and into the floor; then he collapsed in a heap, unconcious. I emerged from my hiding place, collected my hood and cape, and went to help Firefox.

She and Okiyumi had reached an impasse. The lemur had some kind of aura of swirling wind around him, which blew aside her flame bolts, effectively nullifying them. At the same time, she was able to stay up in the air away from his sword, and the shield of fire around her body melted his throwing stars into slag before they could touch her. I snuck up behind Okiyumi, but he must have sensed me coming, because he whirled around, slicing at me with his sword. I blocked his cut with my gauntlets, but just barely.

Then he was attacking me, and I was hard pressed to defend myself. My god, he was fast! I like to think I'm pretty good, but Okiyumi was phenomenal! His blade was everywhere at once, a whirlwind of steel, and I found myself giving ground until my back was against a wall. Firefox seemed at a loss for what to do to help me, watching in agony as Okiyumi gave me the Benihana treatment. I liked going to Benihana, watching the chef cook the food right at the table. And that gave me an idea.

"The deck!" I shouted to Firefox. "Heat the deck!" She nodded, shooting a sustained burst of flame at the metal deck, causing it to heat up. Okiyumi, who was barefoot, screeched in pain, and leaped away from me, giving me a moment to catch my breath.

The Benihana analogy had given me another idea. I removed a plastic tube from my belt and shot a stream of something Nighthawk calls liquid teflon onto the deck beneath Okiyumi. It's super-slippery stuff, and the lemur was already off balance, what with his feet having been burned. He flopped on his face, struggled to rise, and fell again. The stuff was all over him now, and he couldn't move without slipping, making him, for all practical purposes, helpless. He looked so humiliated and frustrated I almost felt sorry for him. But not quite.

"Good work," said Firefox. "Come on, let's find Maxoran."

"Why don't we ask him where Maxoran is?" I asked, gesturing at Okiyumi.

"He won't talk, trust me," said Firefox. I shrugged and followed her out of the room, leaving the unfortunate lemur to struggle with gravity.

We went down another long corridor, emerging into what looked like a control room of some sort, with large windows looking out over the Mind Inc. building.

"I think we're on the bridge," I said.

Firefox nodded. "But no sign of Maxoran. I wonder where he is."

Realization struck me, and I pointed at the Mind Inc. building. "Down there!"

Firefox looked at me. "You think so?"

"Don't you see? He wants the technology inside that building! The airship is just a distraction!"

Her eyes widened as she realized I was right. She switched on her wrist communicator, but all that came through was static.

"Damn it!" she said, shaking it. "There must be too much interference from the metal of the ship."

I ran to the controls and tried to make some sense of them. Nighthawk had trained me to be able to comprehend control systems, and this one seemed to be laid out pretty much like the ones back on Earth. I found the levers that operated the gun turret on the belly of the ship, and dials showing the direction and elevation of the guns relative to the ship. There was also a nice little television screen that must have been linked to a camera on the turret, since it showed what the guns were pointed at. High-tech for the 1940s. I rotated the turret so the barrels were aimed at the Mind Inc. building and pushed the firing button.

There was an ear-splitting boom, and the deck lurched under our feet as the guns discharged their payloads, followed a second later by another boom as twin explosions blossomed on the Mind Inc. building, collapsing two sections of wall and sending two plumes of black smoke into the air. I looked over at Firefox and shrugged. "Well, that should have gotten his attention."

It had. There was a flash of light, and suddenly standing in the room with us was Maxoran. I blinked with surprise when I saw him. He was a chinchilla, with iron gray fur, big mouse ears, and a curling poofy tail like a squirrel's that rose up behind his head. Okay, not the first species I would have chosen for a world-conquering supervillain, but then again, I'm a chipmunk, so I'm hardly in a position to talk. He was dressed in a gleaming white jumpsuit with gold trim and purple gloves, boots, and collar. It was belted at the waist, and a number of gadgets hung from that belt, including a holstered pistol. In his arms he was holding the tower of a personal computer he'd probably lifted from someone's desk. His big, round, black eyes narrowed with displeasure when he saw us.

"Firefox," he said, in a surprisingly deep voice. "Nice to see you again."

She growled. "The feeling's not mutual, Maxoran!"

His eyes shifted to me. "I don't know you."

"My action figure isn't out yet," I said. "I'm Nightmunk."

"Mmm. Was it you who fired my own guns at me?"

"If I say yes, do I win a prize?"

He smiled. "Perhaps if you'd had better aim."

I shrugged. "Well, it was my first time firing battleship guns. Go back down and we'll try again."

"Enough of this!" snapped Firefox. "You know why we're here, Maxoran!"

He sighed. "As usual, you wish to stop me. You do seem a bit under-staffed, though."

"The others are on their way," said Firefox, her fiery aura now smoldering around her body. "But I want first crack at you."

I tensed, waiting to see what Maxoran would do. If he was as smart as they said, he would have anticipated the arrival of the Heroes of Zoolok and would be prepared to counter each of their powers. But I was an unknown factor. He had no idea of my abilities. I couldn't tip my hand too soon.

Firefox must have gotten tired of waiting, because she shot a searing blast of flame at him. He tapped a button on his belt, and a bubble appeared around his head, protecting it as the flames washed harmlessly over his body. Apparently, his costume was fireproof.

He shook his head. "Painfully predictable, Firefox. But then, fire is all you do. Neutralize that, and you're completely useless." He lifted from his belt a device that looked like a hair dryer and sprayed her down with some kind of white mist. Instantly, her fiery aura went out. She tried to summon it back, but nothing happened.

"That should keep your flames suppressed for a while," he said, smiling. He turned toward me. "Now, as for you . . ."

But I wasn't there. I'd taken advantage of the commotion to duck behind a console and disappear. I had the notion that I might be able to get in a surprise strike. There was a fair amount of cover in this room, and I was pretty good at moving around unseen, so it seemed like my best bet.

"Hide and seek, Nightmunk?" asked Maxoran. "Aren't we above such childish games?"

That's right, I thought to myself, keep talking so I know where you are. I detected a note of concern in his voice, though. He didn't know where I was or what I could do, and like most scientists, he didn't like dealing with too many unknowns. I had managed to circle around behind him and was now hunkered down in a shadow beneath what looked like a primitive radar screen about ten feet from Maxoran's back.

Firefox realized I could use a distraction, so she rushed at him. "You always were an arrogant son of a bitch, Max!"

Maxoran raised a hand and telekinetically lifted her into the air, where she flailed about helplessly. He shook his head, making a _tsk_ing sound. "Such language from a lady! What would your adoring public think? Ah, well, what can one expect from a former music hall dancer?"

I charged at him from my hiding place, extending the steel claws from my gauntlets as I went. I don't normally use them on living creatures, but this guy was too dangerous to go easy on, so I decided to chance it and worry about my conscience later. Maxoran heard me coming and whirled, but I was already within striking distance. I thrust my fists at his abdomen, the claws piercing his costume and sinking into the flesh beneath. It wasn't a lethal hit, as his costume apparently absorbed much of the impact, but it did draw blood.

Maxoran stared at me in shocked disbelief. I got the impression it had been a while since he'd been hurt like that. He teleported and reappeared on the other side of the room, clutching at his belly, while Firefox fell to the deck, landing nimbly.

"Damn you!" Maxoran swore, his eyes narrowed at me with hate. "That hurt!"

"It was supposed to," I replied. "We're playing for keeps here."

At that moment, there was a screech of wrenching metal as the door to the control room flew inward, clattering on the deck. There in the doorway stood Omega Mouse, Europa, Silhouette, and Slash, who was still in his tin-can suit. They burst into the room and, seeing Maxoran, moved to surround him.

"It's over, Maxoran," said Omega Mouse. "Give up."

Maxoran's eyes flicked from one hero to another. "Oh, I think not."

"You are wounded," said Europa, noting the bleeding holes in his costume. "To fight us all is folly."

"But feel free to try," said Silhouette. "I always enjoy seeing you get your ass kicked."

Maxoran's eyes fixed on me. "I'll be seeing you soon," he said menacingly. And with a flash of light, he was gone.

"Well, that's that," said Omega Mouse.

"What's the range on his teleport?" I asked.

"Unknown," said Omega Mouse, "but at least a couple of miles." He eyed the blood on my claws. "Looks like you hurt him pretty badly."

"Not badly enough, it seems."

Omega Mouse nodded and turned to Silhouette. "Teleport us back to General Tomba's command center, Jerryl."

"Stuff it, Omega Mouse," Silhouette shot back. "I don't work for you anymore, remember?"

"Doesn't that make him a wanted felon," I asked, "since he joined your team in lieu of a prison sentence?"

"It does, at that," said Omega Mouse, regarding Silhouette. "I'm feeling magnanimous, Jerryl. After all, as a criminal you're pretty harmless—just a petty thief who can teleport—and you've been invaluable to us in the past. So, I'm giving you a head start. Make the most of it."

Silhouette chuckled. "As if any of you could catch me."

"We did it before," said Firefox, smirking.

"I'll show you how petty a thief I am," snarled Silhouette. And with another flash of light, he too was gone.

"That sounded like a threat," I said.

Omega Mouse sighed. "I can hardly wait."

We made our way back through the airship to the ramp door, pausing en route to pick up Okiyumi and Ken-Jo. General Tomba, Dr. Teshobi, and several dozen soldiers were waiting for us as we descended the ramp to the snow-covered ground.

"How did it go?" asked Tomba.

"We beat Maxoran," Omega Mouse replied, "but he escaped, like he always does. His henchmen weren't so lucky." He handed Okiyumi and Ken-Jo over to Tomba's men.

"Nightmunk," said Dr. Teshobi, "I found this lying on the grounds around the alien building. Do you have any idea what it is?" He gestured at something lying in the back of a jeep.

I recognized it immediately, though it looked as if a giant had sat on it. "It's the quantum inversion bomb!" I said.

"You mean the thing that brought you here?" asked Europa.

"That's a bomb?" asked Firefox, looking at it dubiously. "Shouldn't it have blown itself to bits?"

"It's not that kind of bomb," I said. I looked at Dr. Teshobi. "Do you think you can fix it?"

Teshobi looked doubtful. "I don't know. It's alien technology, and it's clearly badly damaged. But it does seem to be reasonably intact. I might be able to repair it enough to make it functional again."

"If it could be reactivated, it could exchange the molecules here for the ones it sent to my world!" I said excitedly. "I could go home!"

"Theoretically," said Teshobi. "Assuming it works the way it's supposed to."

"Well," said Omega Mouse, "alien or not, you're welcome to stay with us while you're here, Nightmunk."

"Thank you," I said.

"That could be for quite a while," said Dr. Teshobi. "I have no idea how long it will take to repair the bomb. It may not even be possible."

"I have faith in you, Dr. Teshobi," I said.

"In the meantime," said Omega Mouse, "I think we've earned a reward. How about a night on the town?"

"That sounds wonderful!" said Firefox. "Let us show you the sights of Nexasho, Alvin."

I smiled at her. "I'd be delighted." I noticed that Europa and Slash looked less than enthused, however.

Omega Mouse nodded. "Heroes, let's go home."

We all headed back toward the Ark.

I'd never worn a tuxedo in my life. There had never been any occasions for it. As I stood before a mirror in my room, messing with all the fiddly bits of the thing, I heard a knock on the door.

"Are you ready?" asked Firefox.

"No," I said, sighing. "Could you help me with this?"

I saw her reflection in the mirror as she came in. She was wearing a low-cut green sequined evening dress that left her arms and back bare, along with white silk gloves that came up past her elbows. Around her neck hung a string of pearls. She looked absolutely beautiful. She came over to me and looked at the mess I'd made of my tie. "That's not how it goes," she said, smiling.

"I can see that," I replied, turning toward her. "Could you fix it?"

She nodded and undid it, retying it properly. "Don't they have tuxes on your world?"

"They do," I said. "I've just never been in a situation that called for me to wear one." I gazed at her as she worked on my tie. "You look nice."

She smiled again. "Thank you. I do try to make good impression when I meet my public. There, that should do it." She stepped back, looking me over. "You don't look so bad yourself."

I turned and examined myself in the mirror. She was right. I did look pretty good.

We left the room and stopped off at the infirmary, where Slash was standing vigil over Volthawk, who was still unconscious. We'd been told by the medical staff upon our return that the boy's condition had stabilized and that there was every chance he'd make a full recovery, which was a relief to all of us. Still, Slash had elected to stay with him and forego the evening's festivities, which I suspected he hadn't wanted to engage in anyway. He was sitting beside Volthawk's bed, reading a book, when we came in. He set it aside and stood up to greet us.

"You're sure you don't want to come, Slash?" Firefox asked.

The boar simply shook his tusked head.

"Well, it's very sweet of you to stay here with Raoim," she said. She hugged him and he hugged her back. Then we left him to his watch and took the elevator downstairs to the garage.

"Not exactly a glory hound, is he?" I asked as we rode down.

She regarded me obliquely. "That's an odd turn of phrase. Well, with his stutter, it's hard for him to socialize. He hardly ever speaks in public. Most people think he's mute."

I nodded. "His actions speak volumes about him, though."

"And what do my actions say about me?" she asked, turning toward me. "Am I a 'glory hound,' as you put it?"

I shrugged. "You were an entertainer. You're comfortable being the center of attention. There's nothing wrong with that, as long as you're not a jerk about it and show a little humility. Which you do."

The elevator door opened and we stepped into the garage, where we were met by Omega Mouse, wearing a tux identical to mine, and Europa, wearing a flowing purple satin gown, cinched at the waist, with a fetching little choker around her neck.

"Ah, there you are," said Omega Mouse. "Shall we head out?" He escorted us to a car, opening the passenger door for Europa in a gentlemanly manner. Not to be outdone, I opened one of the rear doors for Firefox. Omega Mouse sat down behind the wheel and fired up the steam engine, and within a minute we were rolling silently down the street. It had begun to snow again, and the wheels were churning up slush. I gazed out the window as we rode along, watching the streets go by. There were still people on them, and the shops were still open. Unlike most cities on Earth, Nexasho didn't become a ghost town at night. People still lived here; the great exodus to the suburbs hadn't happened yet. I wondered if it ever would.

We stopped the car beside a skyscraper, and Omega Mouse handed off the keys to a rabbit in a valet uniform. We walked into the lobby and rang for the elevator. The door slid open, and inside stood an old possum in uniform. Of course, an upscale place like this had elevator operators. We rode the elevator to the 53rd floor and exited it into a world from the past.

It was a restaurant, filled with Zoolokians, the men in tuxes, the women in evening gowns. Crystal chandeliers bathed everything in warm, soft light. In the center of the large, crowded room stood an enormous glittering ice sculpture of a leaping fish, slowly melting. Tinkling music floated through the air, played by a tuxedoed otter seated at a grand piano off to one side, and a light gray haze hung over everything. Yes, people still smoked here. It felt like a scene from an old black-and-white movie.

The mâitre d'—a portly tiger—came over to us, a fanged smile on his white muzzle. "Ah, Mr. Etojach!' he said in a deep baritone voice, holding out his hand to Omega Mouse. "Nice to see you again! Miss Vulma. Miss Birath. You're both looking lovely this evening." He glanced at me, but since he didn't know who I was, all he said was, "Sir."

"Nice to see you, too, Tomax," said Omega Mouse, shaking the tiger's much larger hand. "We have a reservation for a party of four."

"Of course!" said Tomax. "I have the best table in the house set aside for you. Nothing is too good for the Heroes of Zoolok!"

He escorted us toward the best table in the house, and I felt dozens of eyes upon us as we waded through the crowd. I'm used to being stared at, but this felt kind of odd, since I wasn't the focus of their attention. To them I was just some guy in the company of three world-famous heroes—some hanger-on, or perhaps one of the girls' date for the evening. On this world, I enjoyed an anonymity I could never achieve at home. It was a new experience for me.

We came to our table, and once again Omega Mouse showed his good manners by pulling out Europa's chair for her. I did the same for Firefox.

"Your waiter will be right here," said Tomax. "And on behalf of everyone, let me thank you for dealing with those alien invaders today, and that terrible Maxoran!"

"Just doing our job," said Omega Mouse, smiling at him.

"I understand young Volthawk was injured in the battle. I do hope he'll be all right."

"So do we, Tomax," said Omega Mouse solemnly.

The tiger lowered his voice. "Is it true what the papers are saying, that the aliens are pink-skinned giants who can control people's minds?"

Omega Mouse froze at this, and Europa came to his rescue. "Don't believe everything you read in the papers, Tomax," she said. "They tend to sensationalize."

The tiger nodded sagely and then stepped back as our waiter arrived, an eager young deer who offered us menus and asked what we'd like to drink. Having no idea what to order, I just asked for water, as did Europa, while Omega Mouse and Firefox both ordered things I'd never heard of. Then Tomax and the waiter departed, and we were left to ponder our dinner selections.

"Are you all right, Kesu?" Europa asked Omega Mouse, gazing at him with concern.

"I'm fine," he said quietly, his eyes fixed on his menu.

"You look a little uneasy yourself," I said to Europa.

"I dislike crowds," she said. "It's difficult to keep all those thoughts out."

"Perhaps coming here wasn't the best idea, then," I said.

"Nonsense," said Europa. "It's nothing I can't handle."

"So," said Firefox, "apart from everything else, how are you enjoying our world, Alvin?"

"It's pretty amazing," I said. "It's a lot like a past era of my world, one I've only seen in old movies."

She smiled. "You have movies on Earth? Wonderful! Perhaps you'd like to go see one of ours, later?"

"That would be very interesting," I said, "but this has been a long day. I think after dinner I'd like to just get some sleep."

"A very sensible idea," said Europa, nodding.

Firefox looked disappointed, but she was distracted when a young ewe in the outfit of a cigarette girl came up to our table and asked if anyone wanted anything to smoke. Omega Mouse, Europa, and I all declined, but Firefox purchased a pack of cigarettes, opened it, took one out, and lit it with a flame from her fingertip.

"Well, that's convenient," I commented.

She smiled, holding up the cigarette between two fingers, the very picture of sophistication. "Yes, I never need a lighter."

"You know, in those old movies, that was how men usually broke the ice when approaching a woman they were interested in—by offering her a light."

She nodded. "That's often how it's done here, too. When I want a man to approach me, I don't light it myself. But I figured we're all friends here."

I wasn't quite sure how to take that, so I busied myself studying my menu. None of the dishes were anything I recognized, though some of the ingredients were familiar. Apparently, they had potatoes, onions, corn, and garlic on this world. I decided to play it safe, so when our waiter returned with our drinks and began taking our orders, I just said: "Steak, well done."

The others all ordered what they wanted, and the waiter scurried away, leaving us to ourselves.

"So, Nightmunk," said Omega Mouse, "back on Earth, are you a member of a supergroup, or do you work solo?"

"He seems like the loner type," said Firefox, smiling at me. "All dark and broody."

I smiled back at her. "Actually, it's kind of both. I'm a member of a group called Team Nighthawk, but we're rather loosely organized. Each of us operates independently—investigating crimes, running down leads, and so forth—but we can call on the others for help when we need it."

"How many of you are there?" asked Omega Mouse.

"Just three: me, Nighthawk, and Lady Nighthawk. They're both human," I added quickly, to avoid any misunderstanding.

"Interesting that they call themselves hawks when they aren't," Europa commented.

"It's not uncommon for human superheroes and supervillains to incorporate the names of animals into their aliases," I said. "One of Earth's more notorious supervillains is named Foxbat, though he's really more of a practical joker than a supervillain. All of his schemes are just elaborate pranks. He's basically a harmless nuisance."

Firefox laughed. "We have one like that, too. Calls himself the Giggler."

"Let me guess. Is he a hyena?"

She looked at me in surprise. "Why yes, he is, actually. How did you know?"

I chuckled. "Lucky guess."

"Do you also have an equivalent of Maxoran on your world?" asked Omega Mouse.

"I suppose that would be Doctor Destroyer."

"Doctor Destroyer, eh? Sounds like a dangerous customer."

"By all accounts, he was extremely dangerous."

"Was?" asked Europa. "Is he dead?"

"Supposedly," I replied, "though his minions still pop up from time to time. I've fought them on several occasions. Rumors keep circulating about his return, but they never seem to amount to anything."

"Well, here's hoping he stays gone," said Omega Mouse.

I nodded and raised my glass. "I'll drink to that." And I did.

Firefox crushed out her cigarette, looked at me, and smiled. "Would you like to dance, Alvin?"

I blinked. "You mean dance dance? I'm afraid I don't know how."

"Oh, it's absurdly easy. Come on, let me show you." She stood up and extended her hand to me. I took it and rose from my chair, and she led me out onto the floor, where several couples were already cutting the rug. She gave me a few quick instructions on what to do with my feet, and within a minute or two we were swirling about on the dance floor. I felt like Fred Astaire, dancing around and around in my tux with my lovely partner—though I probably moved more like Boris Karloff's Frankenstein, and looking around the room at all these animals dressed in their evening finery, dancing under crystal chandeliers, all I could think of was that recurring segment in the old Muppet Show with all the muppets dancing in a ballroom while making rapid-fire jokes with each other. I started to giggle. I couldn't help it.

"What's funny?" asked Firefox, looking at me curiously.

I shook my head, smiling. "Nothing. Just a silly thought I had." Then I sighed. "So, this is what it feels like to be normal."

"I don't know that either of us is exactly normal," said Firefox. "We're superheroes, after all."

"True, but on my world, I'm a freak. Here, I'm just like anyone else. I don't even attract any attention."

She nodded. "Do you like being normal?"

"It's a pleasant change from always being stared at."

"I get what you mean. Ever since the day I burst into flames on stage, I've been in the public eye. It's not always fun. I tell myself this is what I always wanted—to be famous and have everyone talking about me—but there are times when I wish I could go back to being a normal person, living a normal life."

"That was never an option for me."

"Until now." She glanced back at our table, where the waiter had arrived with four covered silver dishes. "Oh, it looks like our dinner is ready. Let's go rejoin the others."

We left the dance floor and returned to our table, and I remembered to pull Datura's chair out for her before seating myself. I gazed down at the slab of meat on my plate. I supposed it came from one of those hairy lizard creatures I'd seen on Tesan Vashiel's farm. I cut into it with my knife, and frowned.

"Something wrong, Alvin?" asked Omega Mouse.

"This isn't well-done," I said.

He peered over at my steak. "No, it isn't. Funny, they're usually good about that sort of thing." He raised his hand to signal the waiter.

"Here, allow me," said Firefox. She held her hand just above my steak, palm down, and suddenly her hand was wreathed in flames hot enough that I could feel them on my face. She kept her hand there for about thirty seconds, then turned off her fire and withdrew it. "How's that?" she asked.

I inspected my steak and smiled. "Perfect."

"Mother would be proud," said Firefox. "She always said it was important for a woman to be a good cook." She returned to her own plate.

We ate in silence, for the most part, and I took the opportunity to bask in the ambiance of a time gone by. It seemed impossible that any of this could be real—let alone that I could be here to see it—but there it all was, right in front of me. It felt wonderful to do something as simple and ordinary as have dinner with a few friends in an elegant restaurant. I guess the weirder our lives get, the more we value normalcy. Also, the steak was very good.

Of course, nothing good can last for long, so our peace and quiet were suddenly interrupted by a rather scruffily dressed green duck wearing a fedora, one of those old-fashioned box cameras with a flash bulb attachment slung around his neck. I heard Firefox groan. "Not him again!" she said.

"Good evening, heroes!" the duck said, in a rather grating voice. "Nebus Zemake, Nexasho Tribune."

"We know who you are, Nebus," said Omega Mouse, forcing a smile.

"Picture for the late edition?" Zemake asked. Before any of us could answer, he raised the camera and snapped the shutter. We were all momentarily blinded by the flash from the bulb.

"How did you get in here?" asked Firefox, clearly annoyed.

"The question isn't how," said Zemake, smirking. "It's how much? So, what can you tell me about today's alien invasion?"

"No comment," said Omega Mouse.

"Oh, come on," said Zemake, "there must be something you can tell me, if only to dispel some of the more unsavory rumors."

"What sort of rumors?" Europa asked.

"Word is that one of the aliens took control of Omega Mouse here and turned him against his teammates, not to mention our own military. Is there any truth to that?"

Omega Mouse rose from his chair, glaring at the reporter, his hands on the table. "I said, no comment!"

Firefox glanced at Europa. "Can't you make him go away?"

"And have one of the Heroes of Zoolok interfere with the freedom of the press?" asked Europa. "Yes, that would look lovely, wouldn't it?"

"Well, fortunately, I'm not one of the Heroes of Zoolok," I said, getting up. Before Zemake could move, I was behind him and twisting his arm upward against his back.

"Ow!" the duck protested. "Hey, who the hell are you?"

"I'm the guy who's throwing you out," I said. I turned him around and forced him away from the table. Tomax was just coming over to see what the trouble was. I looked up at the tiger, scowling. "Is it the policy of this establishment to allow its customers to be harassed while they're eating?" I demanded.

Tomax shook his head. "No, sir, it is not. I don't know how this riff-raff got in here. Rest assured, he won't be bothering you again."

"He better not!" I pushed Zemake against Tomax, who took hold of the duck firmly and began guiding him toward the door.

"You can't do this to me!" shouted Zemake, struggling as the tiger dragged him away. "The people have a right to know!"

"Not from you," I muttered, straightening my tie. I looked back at the table. Firefox and Europa were both consoling Omega Mouse, who looked absolutely miserable. I was in a pretty miserable mood myself, so I decided to go out to the balcony to cool off and clear my head. I figured nobody would be out there, except maybe some penguins or polar bears.

Fortunately, there weren't any penguins or polar bears having dinner on the balcony tonight. It was empty. I went over to the railing and leaned against it, gazing out over the nighttime sea of sparkling city lights, my breath misting before me in the chill air. From up here, it looked just like any big city on Earth. If I hadn't known better, I could have thought I was home.

Then again, who said I wasn't?

"Enjoying the view?" came Firefox's voice from behind me.

I nodded. "It's very beautiful." I turned around to face her. "Very beautiful indeed."

"Thank you for dealing with Nebus so we didn't have to," said Firefox, coming over to stand beside me. "Goodness knows what he would have written about us."

"It was a genuine pleasure," I said. "You folks have been through enough today. How's Omega Mouse doing?"

"Gemma's taking him home. It seems you were right. Coming here wasn't the best idea."

"Oh, I don't know," I said, smiling. "At least I got to see you in that dress."

She smiled back. "And I got to see you in a tux. And we got to dance." She took out a cigarette and held it up. "Got a light?"

I gazed into her gorgeous amber eyes as she stood there with the city lights behind her, and suddenly my arms were around her and my mouth was pressed against hers. She responded in kind, and we held each other close, kissing on that freezing balcony with the city's glittering skyline as our backdrop. Then I let go of her and stepped back.

"I'm sorry, Datura," I said. "I can't do this."

"Because of your girlfriend back on Earth?" she asked.

I nodded. "It just wouldn't feel right." I avoided mentioning that there was another reason. I didn't want to get involved in any romantic entanglements that might make it difficult for me to leave this world if the opportunity arose.

She sighed. "I understand. It's rather sweet, actually." She lit her cigarette with a flame from her finger, exhaled a cloud of smoke, and looked at me. "What's she like?"

"She's perfectly normal. She's not rich or famous; she doesn't have superpowers. She works as a waitress in a crummy little bar."

Firefox chuckled. "So did I, once. Is she pretty?"

"For a human, I suppose so. There is one thing remarkable about her, though."

She tilted her head. "What's that?"

"She was willing to take a chance on someone like me."

Firefox smiled. "Well, at least she knows a good thing when she sees it. Come on, let's go home."

She held out her arm to me, and I took it, and we left the restaurant together, going down to the slushy street and saying good night to the old elevator operator along the way. Once at the street, we hailed a cab and rode back to Heroes Headquarters, where I bid her good night, went to my room, ditched my tux, and fell into bed. It had been a hell of a day.

The next few weeks were interesting, to say the least. I became an unofficial member of the Heroes of Zoolok, going on missions with them and fighting a variety of villains, the details of which I'll go into some other time. They were in need of extra muscle, since the team was down two members, with Silhouette gone and Volthawk still recovering from his injuries. Omega Mouse worked alongside Dr. Teshobi at reconstructing the quantum inversion device to send me home. Oh, yes, turns out Omega Mouse was actually a physicist who'd gotten his powers when he'd been exposed to what should have been a lethal dose of radiation. My own background in physics is pretty rudimentary, but I took the opportunity to fill in the two scientists on some of the advances that had been made in the field back on Earth since the 1940s, telling them about quarks, black holes, and so on, at least as well as a layman could communicate these ideas. Anything that might help them understand the device they were working on a bit better. They both took copious notes.

Volthawk was restless and hungry for action, unhappy about being confined to a hospital bed while his wounds healed. We all visited him several times each day, and I got to meet his girlfriend when she came to see him. Her name was Adeni, and she was a hawk too. I had to admire her for going with a guy she couldn't even touch unless he was wearing an insulated suit or had something siphoning off the electricity from his body. It took some real courage and devotion to kiss someone who could electrocute you at any moment. She must really love him. Then again, they were both teenagers, and on any world teenagers have more passion than sense.

I didn't see that much of Firefox, since I spent most of my downtime wandering around the city. It was a real treat to be able to go out in public without everyone staring at me, so I took the opportunity to enjoy my inconspicuousness whenever I could. I'd pass her in the hallway occasionally, and one evening I bumped into her when she was just about to go out on a date with a white rabbit guy. I shook his hand and remembered kissing her on the balcony and envied the hell out of him.

The next day, a call came in from the Nexasho police. Seems a couple of villains had taken the patrons of a movie theater hostage and were demanding a ransom. The cops had the building cordoned off but were hesitant go inside, since the villains had warned them that if they saw any cops in the theater, there would be unfortunate consequences. Apparently, it was up to us. Europa, Firefox, Slash, and I boarded the Ark, and Omega Mouse picked it up and carried it to the theater while I studied the files on the two villains we'd be facing.

They were both women. One was a black cat named Eventide, who possessed darkness powers similar to those of Kevin Poe. The other was an opossum named Halcyon, who could generate light for a variety of effects, including holographic images and something that sounded a lot like a laser beam. They'd both had run-ins with the Heroes of Zoolok before, but this was apparently the first time they'd worked together as a team.

"Darkness and light," I mused as we flew toward the theater. "Interesting."

Firefox glanced over at me. "How so?"

"Their powers are opposed to each other," I said. "What's more, according to their files, Eventide dislikes bright light and Halcyon is afraid of the dark. Logically, these two should stay as far away from each other as possible. So why are they working together?"

She shrugged. "Who can fathom the criminal mind?"

"Criminals aren't usually that complicated," I said. "Their goals and motivations are generally pretty straightforward."

"They want money in exchange for the hostages," said Firefox. "Seems pretty straightfoward to me."

"That's another thing. Neither of them has any history of threatening innocents. In fact, Halcyon once saved a little boy who fell off a roof during a botched robbery attempt, even though doing so landed her in jail."

"Yes, I remember that," said Europa. "She flew down and caught him in midair when she could have fled. A surprisingly noble act for a villain."

"My point exactly. These are not cold-blooded killers. They shouldn't be doing this."

"Maybe they've changed?" suggested Firefox.

"Both of them? To this extent? At the same time? No, I don't buy it. This whole thing smells fishy to me."

"What do you suggest?" asked Europa.

"Be alert for any indication of what's really going on, and keep an ace up your sleeve."

"You mean you."

I shrugged. "Can you think of a better one? They've never encountered me before."

"I agree," said Europa. "Nightmunk should hang back while the rest of us confront the villains."

Firefox smiled at me. "Well, at least we finally get to go to the movies together."

"Speaking of which," I said, "how did your date go last night?"

"Oh, it went fine," she said. "He was a delightful fellow."

I nodded. "He seemed nice."

She chuckled. "But not too nice."

"Yeah, that was more than I needed to know." Then I felt my stomach rise as the Ark descended abruptly toward the street.

There was a crowd of reporters around the Ark, snapping pictures of us as we exited. One, I noticed, was Nebus Zemake. He gave me a dirty look, which I ignored. We made our way through the crowd to the Nexasho chief of police, who updated us on the situation. There were about a hundred and twenty hostages and, as far as anyone knew, just the two villains. The theater had two back exits that opened into adjoining alleyways. I suggested I go in through one of the back ways while the rest of the team came in through the front, and Omega Mouse agreed. We would coordinate by using the team's wrist communicators, one of which had been entrusted to me.

I went around to the back of the theater, walking through the trash-strewn alley. The lock on the back door presented no obstacle, and soon I was inside, skulking about in the shadows behind the movie screen. I peeked out around the side of it and surveyed the room. The two villains were standing on opposite sides of the theater. Eventide wore a skin-tight indigo bodysuit with a white belt, a green and gold jeweled pendant around her neck. According to her file, that was her Amulet of Darkness, the source of her power. Halcyon wore a grey leotard with a navy blue cape, hood, gloves, and thigh-high boots, her white-furred arms and legs bare, her hairless pink tail snaking behind her. Between them cowered a hundred and twenty civilians, many of them children with their mothers. Neither of the villains looked especially happy.

"Where are they?" Halcyon asked, sounding exasperated.

"Be patient," said Eventide, her voice deep and silky. "They'll come."

"They better," said Halcyon. "I'm not sure how much longer my nerves can hold out!"

"Just be quiet and think of what you're going to spend all that lovely money on."

As I watched from the shadows, the double doors facing the screen were flung open, and there stood Omega Mouse, Europa, Firefox, and Slash. "There won't be much to buy where you're going," said Omega Mouse, folding his arms.

Eventide gave a sigh of relief. "Finally! We were starting to wonder what was keeping you. My partner here has been worried sick!"

"Are you going to come quietly?" asked Europa. "You are outnumbered two to one. You cannot hope to win."

Eventide and Halcyon simply exchanged glances and nodded, and each pressed a button on a small device they'd been concealing in their hands. Instantly, the theater was flooded with greenish gas issuing from tanks they'd concealed in various places. It looked a lot like the knockout gas I use. I slipped my gas mask on and saw that the two villains were doing likewise. Europa, Firefox, Slash and all the civilians were coughing and collapsing, unconscious. Omega Mouse, not needing to breathe, was unaffected.

"Now who's outnumbered two to one, Omega Mouse?" asked Eventide smugly.

Before he could reply, there was a flash of light, and there on the stage before the movie screen stood Maxoran.

"Make that three to one," the chinchilla said, grinning.

So, it had all been a set-up. I wasn't overly surprised, considering how suspicious the situation had been. I debated revealing myself, but I wasn't sure the time was right for that yet. I had no doubt Omega Mouse could deal with Eventide and Halcyon. It was Maxoran I was worried about.

Omega Mouse scowled. "Threatening a theater full of innocent people just to lure us out? That's a new low for you, Maxoran."

The chinchilla shrugged. "It worked, didn't it? Where's your new friend, Nightmunk? I was looking forward to seeing him again."

"I imagine so, considering how badly he hurt you the last time you fought."

Maxoran rubbed his stomach. "Yes, that was annoying. And I intend to pay him back for it. But first things first. Eventide. Halcyon. If you would."

The two villains sprang into action. Eventide created a web of shadows around Omega Mouse that entangled his arms and legs, while Halcyon fired a laser beam that struck him squarely on the chest. He grunted as the beam hit. Apparently, it was potent enough to cause even him some discomfort. I didn't want to think about what it could do to me. Omega Mouse tore himself free of the entrapping shadows and launched himself at Halcyon, who flew backward, away from him. Suddenly there were a dozen of her hovering in the air in the middle of the theater, and Omega Mouse paused for a moment, stymied as to which one to attack. Eventide took advantage of the distraction, firing a bolt of darkness from her hand that hit him in the back. All the while, Maxoran just stood there, watching the fight. Cautiously, I started moving up behind him.

Omega Mouse flew into the midst of the swarm of Halcyons and slammed his hands together in a deafening thunderclap. All but one of the Halcyons vanished like puffs of smoke, and the one that remained plummeted toward the seats below, stunned. Of course, hero that he was, Omega Mouse couldn't let her fall to possible death or injury, so he dove after her and caught her in midair, lowering her gently to the floor. Once they were down, Eventide blasted him with another darkness bolt. Omega Mouse turned his attention toward her as I crept closer to Maxoran. I knew he was a telepath, so I kept my mind as blank as possible to prevent him from picking up any stray thoughts.

Eventide englobed Omega Mouse in a sphere of darkness, but he burst out of it almost immediately. She blasted him again as he flew toward her, but it barely slowed him down. As a last resort as he closed in, she created a field of darkness around herself, but this trick did her no more good than Halcyon's illusory duplicates had. Omega Mouse did his thunderclap again, and down she went. Then he turned toward Maxoran. "You're up, Max."

Maxoran smiled and furrowed his brow, and Omega Mouse howled as a magenta-colored psionic blast hit him. This was the opening I'd been waiting for. While Maxoran's attention was on Omega Mouse, I extended the claws from my gauntlets and moved up behind the villain to strike. Suddenly, there was a flash of light from behind me and an explosion in the back of my head as something hit me there, hard. I stumbled and fell to the floor. Looking up through a haze of pain, I saw a pair of familiar, black-suited, floppy-eared figures standing over me, each of them holding a crowbar. They quickly resolved themselves into one.

"Payback's a bitch, ain't it, Nightmunk?" said Silhouette.

"Screw you, Jerryl," I muttered. I tried to rise, but he slugged me and left me sprawling at his feet, barely conscious. Then he gave me a kick in the groin for good measure. Fortunately, my armored costume absorbed most of it, but it still hurt like hell. I glanced over at Omega Mouse. Maxoran had him in some kind of psionic hold, paralyzed. Yeah, this was not looking good.

"I have to admit I'm surprised, Jerryl," I said. "I always knew you were scum, but I never figured you for a traitor."

Silhouette shrugged. "Money talks, and Max has tons of it. Though, if we're being candid, I'd have done you for free."

"See? Money isn't everything."

By now Eventide and Halcyon had recovered and had come over to stand on either side of the immobilized Omega Mouse.

"Take him down!" Maxoran ordered.

They both started hammering Omega Mouse with darkness blasts and laser beams, and it was clear that even he couldn't stand up to this kind of punishment for long. I glanced up at Silhouette, who was apparently enjoying watching his former leader get the snot beaten out of him, and slowly moved my hand to my grapple gun. There was a way out of this, but it was risky. Then again, risk is our business.

I fired my grapple gun at Omega Mouse. It latched onto his arm, and I pressed the retract button, yanking him away from Eventide and Halcyon and toward me. His paralyzed body thunked into me, and I grabbed his belt buckle with my free hand. Maxoran and Silhouette both looked down at me in alarm.

"You know what's in here, right?" I asked, my thumb poised to flip the buckle open.

Maxoran nodded. "Omega Mouse's radium pill. Open that and you'll kill all three of us."

I shrugged. "These things happen. Frankly, I'm not so sure it isn't worth my life to rid this world of someone like you."

"Why don't you just paralyze him?" asked Silhouette, flustered.

I replied for Maxoran. "If he does that, he releases Omega Mouse, and even in his weakened state, he might be too much to deal with."

"We appear to be at an impasse, then," said Maxoran.

"You can always just teleport out and we can call it a draw."

He frowned. "You're really starting to annoy me, Nightmunk."

I grinned. "That's me, a fly in the ointment, a pain in the ass." I was stealing from Bruce Willis in Die Hard, but he had no way of knowing that.

At that moment, the double doors facing the screen were flung open. There stood Volthawk, in costume, electricity crackling around him like a fireworks display.

"Did I miss the party?" he asked.

Maxoran groaned. "Oh, for pity's sake! Eventide! Halcyon! Deal with that!"

As they both turned to do so, Volthawk hurled a bolt of lightning that struck Halcyon, knocking her out, and then arced to Eventide, causing her fur to go all poofy. The cat snarled and fired a blast of darkness at the boy. It struck, staggering him, but he still managed to get off another lightning bolt, which laid her out flat. Volthawk fell to one knee, clutching his side, which was darkening with blood. Eventide's blast must have reopened his wounds. It was crazy of him to have come here at all, but as I said, on any world, teenagers have more passion than sense.

"Fine," said Maxoran, drawing the pistol from his belt and taking aim at Volthawk. "I'll do it myself."

There was no way I was going to let Maxoran murder Volthawk in cold blood, even if it meant fatally irradiating myself. I tried to flip open Omega Mouse's belt buckle, but I found I couldn't move my hand. Maxoran had paralyzed me! I saw that Omega Mouse was free from his control now, but he was groggy. He'd never stop Maxoran in time.

"No!" shouted Silhouette, knocking the gun aside. Maxoran was surprised, but only for a second. He grabbed the dog telekinetically and hurled him against the wall with a bone-crunching impact. Fortunately, that released me from his hold. I swept a leg under him, knocking him flat on his back. A second later, Omega Mouse leaped upon him, raised a fist, and brought it down with a thud. Maxoran was out cold.

I stood up and helped Omega Mouse to his feet. He was still in bad shape after the beating he'd taken. We both looked at Silhouette, who was lying against the wall, clutching his chest and groaning. I went over to him and knelt beside him. It looked like he had a few broken ribs.

"Are you ever going to figure out which side you're on?" I asked, giving him an anaesthetic injection from my belt.

"He's just a kid," said Silhouette, waving his hand dismissively. "I don't like seeing kids get hurt."

I remembered reading in his file that Silhouette had been abused by his father before his power had surfaced. "Evidently. This is the second time you've saved his life."

"They should give me a medal or something."

"More likely a serial number and a striped suit."

"Nah, stripes make me look fat."

"In that case, you'd better clear out."

He looked up at me. "Would you have really opened Omega Mouse's belt buckle?"

I nodded. "I tried, but Maxoran froze me."

"Wow," he said. "You're even dumber than I thought." And with a flash of light he was gone.

Like I said, great power for getting the last word.

It was Christmas Day. Well, back on Earth it was, anyway. They didn't have Christmas here, though they did have a holiday celebrating the winter solstice. I was lying on my bed, reading a book on the history of Zoolok—which was truly fascinating—when there was a knock on my door. I put the book down and told whoever it was to come in.

The door opened, and there stood Omega Mouse, looking tired but grinning. "I think it's ready," he said.

I sat up straight. "Are you sure?"

He shook his head. "I've never been sure of anything on this project, but I honestly don't see what more we can do. Either it will work or it won't."

"When do we make the attempt?"

"Whenever you like."

I nodded. "We should probably get Psymon and the other members of PSI in on this."

"You want them back on your world?" he asked, surprised.

"Not especially, but it wouldn't be right to strand them here. Besides, they're our problem. You have enough of your own."

"I'll go telephone the police commissioner."

He left to do so, and I hopped off the bed and got into my costume. Then I went downstairs to Dr. Teshobi's lab. The beaver was smoking his pipe, gazing at the device that had occupied practically his every waking moment for the past several weeks. It sat there on the table, blinking silently, like a prop from some crappy science-fiction TV show. He turned his coke-bottle glasses toward me as I entered.

"Hello, Alvin," he said.

"Hi. Omega Mouse tells me it's ready."

He turned his gaze back toward the thing on the table. "Ready as it will ever be. We had to do some guesswork. Unfortunately, there's only one way to test whether our guesses were correct. It might send you home, or send you someplace else, or scatter your atoms across the universe. Or it might not work at all."

I nodded. "Whatever happens, I know you did your best. And I appreciate it."

He puffed on his pipe. "I've learned a lot working on this thing—concepts decades ahead of where our science is now." He glanced at me. "Who knows? Maybe we'll come visit you someday."

I chuckled. "That would be interesting."

"A permanent gateway between two worlds," he said, musingly, "so you could travel from one to the other as easily as walking through a door." He shook his head. "Until recently, I would have dismissed the idea as something out of one of those silly pulp stories. But now I'm not so sure."

"Science fiction does have a way of becoming science fact," I said. "On my world, there were several writers who predicted things that ultimately came to pass, including the creation of animal-human hybrids like myself. Alternate dimensions were also written about long before they were proven to exist."

He nodded. "Perhaps I should look into some of those silly pulp stories."

"At the very least, you can get a good laugh out of them."

Omega Mouse came in to join us. "I just got off the phone with the police commissioner. He's having Psymon and the others brought to the Mind Inc. building. We'll activate the device there. If all goes well, it will switch the building and its grounds and anything on them with the chunk of Zoolok it sent to Earth, thus reversing the original exchange."

"What if there's someone standing on that chunk of Zoolok when we activate the device?" I asked.

Omega Mouse shrugged. "We'll just have to hope there isn't. It's just a piece of farmland. There's nothing terribly interesting about it."

I imagined someone having a picnic on that misplaced piece of farmland and suddenly finding themselves whisked away to a world of talking animals. It didn't seem very likely. The police would probably still have it cordoned off. Besides, who picnics in Millennium City in December?

An hour later we were standing in front of the Mind Inc. building, which was half collapsed from the two big holes I'd blown in it with the guns of Maxoran's airship. Europa, Firefox, Slash, and Dr. Teshobi were with us, along with Psymon, Medusa, Mind Slayer, a few dozen PSI agents, and a battalion of cops. Volthawk was not present, his girlfriend having moved into the infirmary to make sure he stayed in bed until his wounds healed. He sure had a winner in that one. I hoped they'd have a long and happy life together.

"So," I said, turning to Psymon. "Ready to go home?"

"More than ready," said Psymon, nodding.

"Yes," growled Mind Slayer. "If I never see another talking animal, it'll be too soon!"

"I think they're rather cute," said Medusa. "And they've been excellent hosts. I daresay we've been treated better here than we would have been back on Earth."

I smiled at her. "That's because they don't know you like we do."

"Let's get this done," said Psymon impatiently. "I have a brother in need of some payback."

"I don't think you're going to be paying anyone back for a while, Psymon," I said, gesturing at the cuffs on his wrists that linked him to all the others so none of them could run off. "You're a wanted criminal. The moment we're back on Earth, you and your followers are going straight to Stronghold."

"I've escaped from there before," he said, smirking.

I sighed and turned to the Heroes of Zoolok. "Well, I guess this is it. Goodbye, everyone."

Europa nodded. "Good luck to you, Nightmunk."

Firefox stepped forward and gave me a hug and a kiss. "Be safe, Alvin."

"Farewell," said Dr. Teshobi.

"B-b-bye," said Slash.

"Come on," I said, leading Psymon and the others toward the building.

Omega Mouse came with us, carrying the quantum inversion device. Once we were close to the building, he placed it on the ground and pressed a button on its side. "It will activate in thirty seconds," he said, turning to me. "Good luck, Nightmunk. It's been an honor working with you."

I nodded. "Thank you for everything, Omega Mouse."

He rose into the air and flew back to rejoin the others outside the radius of the device's effect. Now all we could do was stand there in the snow and wait while the clock counted down.

At eight seconds to zero, there was a flash of yellow light and suddenly Silhouette was standing before us. "Room for one more?" he asked.

I stared at him. "You're coming to Earth?"

He shrugged. "Why not? I can make a fresh start there. Nobody's looking for me."

I didn't have time to reply. The timer hit zero and there was a bright white flash. When my eyes cleared, I immediately looked to the south. Before me stood the towering spires of Millennium City. It had worked. I was home.

"Wow," said Silhouette, staring at the gleaming city. "Looks like a lot of rich people live there."

I turned to face him. "You've got a second chance here, Jerryl," I said. "Don't blow it."

I couldn't see his face behind his mask, but I knew he was smiling. Then he vanished in a golden flash. Well, at least I'd gotten the last word for a change.

Our arrival hadn't gone unnoticed. People were already gathering around the edges of what a moment before had been a patch of farmland in the middle of City Center. A second later, a familiar figure zoomed up to us, stopping in front of me. He was a black man in a red costume with white lightning bolts emblazoned across it, wearing a helmet and goggles. His name was Kinetik, and he was a member of the Champions. We'd met some months ago when I'd been investigating a disappearance linked to PSI. "Nightmunk!" he said. "You vanished along with Mind Inc. weeks ago. Now you're both back. What gives?"

"That's a long story," I said. "Why don't you ask Psymon, here? Don't worry, his powers have been neutralized for the moment. Same for all the others."

Kinetik grinned. "Well, well—the whole leadership of PSI, signed, sealed and delivered. Thanks for the Christmas present!"

"You're welcome," I said. "Could you take charge of them, please? There's someone I have to see."

Kinetik nodded. "No problem. Nice to have you back."

"Nice to be back." And I headed off down the street in the direction of Westside.

Ten minutes later I was standing before the door of Julie's apartment. I gave my coded knock. A few seconds later the door flew open, and there stood Julie, staring at me, open-mouthed, wearing her pajamas and bathrobe, her brown hair a mess.

"Merry Christmas," I said, waving.

"Alvin!" she cried, going down on one knee and hugging me. I hugged her back, resting my head upon her shoulder. Damn, but it felt nice.

"What happened to you?" she asked. "Nighthawk told me you'd disappeared along with that Mind Inc. place, but he couldn't tell me where you'd gone!"

"Would you believe I've spent the last few weeks in another dimension?" I asked.

"You're a superhero," she said. "I'm prepared to believe anything."

"I'll tell you the whole story later. Right now, all I want to do is snuggle up with you and watch a movie."

She smiled, pushing back my hood and stroking my hair. "We still have Plan 9 From Outer Space to get through."

"I was thinking maybe The Wizard of Oz might be more appropriate."

She looked puzzled. "But that's a good movie."

"I know, but I can relate to Dorothy right now."

She smiled. "Sure, why not?" And then she kissed me, and I realized Dorothy was right.

There's no place like home.