Since James MacDonald Hudson inducted her into Gamma Flight, a division of Department H, Lillian Crawley had been in many adventures. Not the least of which was when she was a member of the villainous Omega Flight attacking Alpha, and then fighting alongside Alpha Flight defeating the Dream Queen. Now, it looked like she was face-to-face with a new menace, this time a powerful ninja that could knock both her and her beau, Madison Jeffries, unconscious within seconds.

Opening her eyes slowly, she realized she was no longer in the apartment that she shared with Madison. Leaving Jeffries behind meant that this ninja and whatever faction he belonged to wanted her and her alone. Madison was an obstacle that had to be removed. Using a gas grenade was the best possible way to deal with him. Original, yes, but it wouldn't work a second time, if she had anything to say about it.

Looking around, she saw that she was in a dungeon of some sort with her as the sole occupant. This reinforced her theory that this ninja wanted only her. Possibly to torture her and dissect her. She cringed at the thought. She also saw that she was chained to the wall with the added restraint of twin bracelets on her wrists. The more she thought about her recent imprisonment, the weaker she became.

Suddenly, a man clothed from head to toe in a yellow outfit entered the dungeon from its sole entranceway. "Hello. Miz Crawley. Welcome to your death!"

Lillian shuddered when she knew what faction this man and the ninja belonged to: A.I.M.

This A.I.M. agent was soon accompanied by more of his kind and they proceeded to unchain her, carrying her to whence they came. She was too groggy to resist; they must have drugged her after she was kidnapped. She thought that she'd better hear what they had to say (super-villains were glad to rant and rave, detailing their newest master plan) and deal with them later. By this time, Madison had already contacted Alpha and in no time at all, she would be rescued. Right? Sometimes, she had to convince herself of this.

One of the A.I.M. agents (they all looked the same to her) whispered in her ear, "Don't try to resist. Those bracelets that we placed on you have a dampening effect on your powers, rendering your diamond hard skin inoperative. Resistance would be a big mistake."

"I'll take your word for it," she said. "Where are we going?"

"To the Scientist Supreme. He wishes to speak with you."

"Oh, joy."

Pushing aside the stone wall, the agents dropped Lillian in front of an A.I.M. agent that looked quite different from the rest, marking him as the Scientist Supreme. The room they were all in now was in the design of a huge laboratory. Only A.I.M. could construct a hideout with both dungeon and laboratory. How? She had no idea.

"What do you want of me, scum?!" she asked harshly. "What do you want from me? Why have you kidnapped me??" As the AIM agent encircled her, perhaps seeing if she was as weakened as she appeared, Lillian asked these questions of her captors. She hoped that they would give in and at least give her a straight answer. "And who was that ninja that took me? Is he a new agent of yours?"

The Scientist Supreme seemed to laugh. "Silly girl, Kamikaze is no agent of AIM. He is merely a pawn to achieve a new end, the end of Alpha Flight. As you are merely another in a long line of pawns. Through you, we will devise a new powerful group of weapons to dominate the world, as is our birthright."

"All you world-conqueror types are the same to me. What's the difference between you and Doctor Doom or even the Great Beasts? In case, you haven't noticed I have a very powerful husband who is probably worried sick about me right now and gathering the rest of Alpha Flight to kick your butt. That's not to say I wouldn't do my fair share of butt kicking today, too, if I wasn't feeling so weak."

The Scientist Supreme smiled or what may have passed as one. "One particular faction of our organization led by MODOK, had an altercation with your team, Alpha Flight, not too long ago. We have decided to continue what they couldn't get from your leader, Hudson. If you will cooperate, the pain would be less."

One of the A.I.M. agents brought a metallic device the size of her cranium over to the Scientist Supreme. He held it, signaling for another agent to bring Lillian to him.

"What is that?" Lillian asked.

"A device that would divulge all of Alpha Flight's secrets to us, procured from your brain. If you please..."

As soon as the device was placed on her head, passing electric current through her, Lillian began to scream.

"Would you care to run that by me one more time, Hudson? And from the beginning this time, if you please!!"

Guardian sighed. Gentry was fuming, but if he pushed Hudson one more time, pushed the right buttons, then he couldn't be held responsible for what happened next. He wouldn't kill the man outright but he and the other Alphans didn't like government agents, especially of the Canadian variety, throwing their power around.

"Okay, here it is," Guardian said. "Kane turned out to be nothing more than a robotic construct, a simulacrum of simple design. I believe that it is a by-product of AIM and they are after us again."

"And then?"

"I - uh, had to blast Kane to prevent him from killing my wife. You do have a wife at home, now, don't you, Mr. Gentry? You must know what it is like to want to protect her at all costs, knowing your very dangerous career choice."

Gentry threw Guardian a side-ways glance that nearly melted him right where he stood. "Don't you dare speak to me in that tone of voice, Guardian. You had direct orders to deal with the Kane threat."

"I did. If you wanted me to capture him you should have been more specific." Guardian paused until what he had just said settled into Gentry's mind. Vindicator and Puck were silent all this time, not offering a word or rebuttal otherwise, waiting for this argument to end. "But before you decide to shout at me again, I think the robot had a destruct mechanism within its mainframe. Usually, when I blasted Kane he would enter unconsciousness, but this time, he seemed to self-destruct."

"So, you think that this was part of AIM's plan, after all?" Gentry offered.

"Exactly. Now-"

But Gentry finished a thought that Guardian hadn't expected. "Now, you can find what Kane was doing there!"

"No, Gentry, you have gone too far. I promised Madison that we would find his wife after we dealt with Kane, and deal with him we did. Whatever AIM has planned for us will have to wait until they show themselves. The team will feel a whole lot better when we get Lil back. Then, the whole team can deal with AIM in a manner that we are used to." Guardian paused and looked at his fellow teammates. "And I think the rest of our team agrees with me."

"Lil comes first," Vindicator said.

"You know where our loyalites lie, eh?" Puck commented.

Gentry rubbed his chin in after-thought. "Hmm. I don't think that AIM has other things on their minds besides randomly attacking Alpha Flight. You may have a point there."

With that said, Guardian and his two teammates left the room.

Guardian's plan to retrieve Lillian Crawley was simple enough; Sasquatch and Aurora would search the apartment that she shared with Madison. Jeffries wanted to go himself but Guardian didn't think that would be wise.

Walter Langkowski removed the key from the ignition and pocketed it. Then, smiling, he turned to Jeanne-Marie, who seemed a little bit on edge. "Well, here we are."

"Yeh. We are."

"If you haven't noticed, I'm in such a great mood today. A mood for fighting the guy that took Lil."

"I know how you feel," Jeanne-Marie said, walking from the automobile to the apartment complex that lay mere feet from them. "What do you think would make a man take Lillian from us? What motive could he have?"

"I don't know," Walter admitted, as they crossed the street. Madison had given them a spare key that would allow them entry into his home. He swung the key on one finger, confidant that he could conquer any odds with Jeanne-Marie beside him. "And a ninja, no less. We haven't fought a lot of ninjas in our day. That's more Wolverine's forté than ours. Give me the Hulk any day. That's something I can handle. "

"Don't worry, Waltair. I'm sure my flying abilities and fighting skills will save us, if need be. Though I wish we could have brought my brother with us because together we could blind any enemy we would encounter."

Walter sighed and laughed a little. "You're right. He could be an invaluable asset to us."

Jeanne-Marie laughed along with her teammate. "Yes, I guess so."

Minutes later, Walter used the key to open the apartment door. Switching on the light display, the two Alphans saw that the apartment was a shambles; tables were overturned from the struggle that Walter surmised the ninja and his two teammates encountered. Must have been quite a fight, he thought, as he used his scientific ingenuity to analyze the situation at hand.

"Any theories, Doctor Langkowski?" Jeanne-Marie asked, as she stared at the room.

Walter scratched his chin, thinking about how this crime could have taken place. "I'm no investigator, but it looks like the majority of the fight transpired near the door and entranceway. Since Madison's memories are sketchy at best, he was probably the first to go down."

"Look," Jeanne-Marie said, as she pointed to the open window. "The ninja probably used that as his escape route."

"Right. I'd like to question the neighbors about the fight noises they heard."

Suddenly, a gas grenade was shot forth, knocking out Jeanne-Marie immediately. Her superhuman mutant powers were useless if she was unconscious.

While all this was happening, Walter was sent reeling backwards, slamming back-first onto a lawn across the street. When he finally regained consciousness, he saw a man sauntering calmly towards him; he was an Asian man, broad chested and shouldered, dressed all in black. With a quick glance, Walter spotted a gun holster with a.44 magnum resting on his side.

Body writhing in pain, Langkowski, mustered all of his strength, and bolted up rapidly. "Mister whoever you are," he blurted out madly, "you picked the wrong guy to tussle with."

The Asian glanced quickly at the blond man, as if an insect had come buzzing around him. "First of all, you do not have the authority to order me around. Second, you shall address me by my proper name."

That jerk! Walter screamed in his mind. Feet rapping against the pavement, he raced forward towards the man, who flinched at his sudden movement. Through his sneakers, he could feel his toes burning from the friction and then, something horrible happened. A psychic genetic switch was thrown and a metamorphosis took place. There was a burst of energy within him, an abnormal hair growth overwhelmed him, and Walter was transformed. As Sasquatch, he hurled his arm forward, connecting squarely against the Asian's chest. "And that's Captain Samauri, right?"

As Langkowski lifted his opponent into the air, the gun holster ripped from his pants, along with the pistol slapping onto the cement.

"Wrong," the man in black commented, blatantly. "It's Kamikaze."

With a sudden thrust of his arm, Sasquatch hurled Kamikaze towards the gutter, his body crash-banging against a couple of metal garbage cans. The reverberating echo-clatter resounded throughout the whole block.

Moving quickly, Kamikaze swiped the.44 magnum and pointed it at Walter's massive frame. "I think it is time for you to experience the glory that Japanese pilots with my name felt nearly fifty years ago. Welcome to paradise, " He smiled maliciously as he heard the definite sound of the report of the gun. His face distorted ever more fully when he saw Walter's upper left shoulder and forearm explode in a pool of crimson blood. His heart skipped a beat in anticipation as the colossal beast collapsed onto the road in agony and pain.

For a few seconds, Sasquatch convulsed to and fro. His body became instantly a single quivering, shivering organism. Then, when that finally passed, he gripped his wounded shoulder, trying to stop the tremendous flow of blood. Kamikaze raced across the road and bent down toward the injured man-beast.

The one mistake that Langkowski made when confronting the warrior was underestimating him. He didn't account for his speed and strength. Now, Kamikaze utilized both of these talents to heft the massive beast, cradling his body as he would a newborn baby. Moans and groans escaped Walter's lips.

The Asian 'Winged Warrior' twirled his body around in a perfect pivot many times and let go of his extra baggage. The orange-furred behemoth rocketed through the clean summer air towards the mini-forest of trees at the end of the Canadian street.

Kamikaze had transported Aurora and Sasquatch elsewhere.