Once the fight was over and the AIM agents had departed via their teleporter devices, Alpha Flight remained at their abandoned headquarters to find the origin of their recent abduction and what their plan was. The group separated into different factions, with Walter Langkowski, the man-beast called Sasquatch, leading the discovery of what secrets this facility held.

"Any clues, Walter?" James Macdonald Hudson asked of his friend, who was also a renowned scientist. "What do we have here?"

Walter adjusted his wire-thin glasses that he used for reading purposes only and rubbed his chin in after-thought. He had much to ponder over this entire situation. "Well, Mac. It seems, as the Scientist Supreme told us before I went absolutely berserk about that agent attacking Jeanne-Marie, that they were developing super beings of their own and using our costumes and apparatus as the catalyst."

"And?" James asked to get a straight answer out of him.

"And... it seems that is definitely related to the kidnapping of Snowbird earlier. As we discussed before, I don't know exactly what they were doing with Narya, maybe a cloning experiment, but it could be more than that. What I want to know and what we have to find out is what is the sudden interest in Alpha Flight. A resurgence of old enemies, perhaps, or maybe something far more sinister."

"Good, Walter. Let's search this place for any clues and I want you as the point-man."

"Gotcha, boss-man."

As Walter searched through the computer terminals and their databases, Puck approached Hudson, with a smile painted on his face. "Hey, look, Guardian, I found where they kept our false costumes. Maybe Walter should analyze this."

Hudson looked up from his present standing position to stare where Puck was standing near a table where the costumes were located. He returned Puck's smile of joy and thanked his fellow Alphan for bringing it to his attention. Turning to Langkowski, he instructed him, "Walter, why don't you try to access their computer files and see what lies within their mainframes? I'm sure they must have left some traces of their data that we can use to translate into our own computer, Alphanex."

"I'll try my best, boss," Walter answered him, as he pulled up a swivel chair to what he assumed was the main computer terminal, the one that the head scientists used when they escaped from their dungeon.

Using his computer ingenuity, Walter Langkowski typed in a series of encryption codes to access the data, but what he found out stymied him. He rubbed his chin in thought. He adjusted his glasses and brought what he found out to his leader's attention. "I hate to say this but it looks like all their data is in code and I don't have their advanced computer skills to break the codes. This is going to take a while. If only we had some of their teleporter devices to bring this stuff home with us, then I could work it with more careful precision."

"Okay, that sounds good, but-" Guardian looked around the main view screen, only to find a LED display that was counting off towards one. "Look over there, it's a countdown of some sort. They must have a planted a failsafe bomb to rid their lab of any intruders! Move it, team!"

As one unit, the entire Alpha Flight team proceeded to exit from the destroyed laboratory. For those who couldn't fly under their own power, those who could carried them to the outside grounds of London, Canada. Once out of harm's way, the team saw that instead of exploding as they expected, it simply vanished. It looked like it vanished with the use of their teleporter devices. AIM was too self-sufficient to let one of their most important labs be destroyed by a bomb, especially a lab with the plans for doing away with the Canadian super-team, Alpha Flight, one of their main interests.

"I guess it was too much to hope that we could get one step closer to solving this AIM mystery," Guardian said, as he watched the last embers of the lab dissipate from its teleportation. "So, Walter, were you able to memorize those access codes that were on the screen?"

Walter shook his head. "Sorry, Hudson. No can do. I only got a second glance at them. Didn't look at them long enough. Kinda wish I had."

"Don't worry, Waltair," Jeanne-Marie Beaubier remarked, patting him on the back. "You did the best you could. I'm sure none of us could have done better. You are one of the world's leading scientists."

"C'mon, team, let's go back to the Alpha Complex to see what Gentry has for us. I'm sure he won't be too pleased with us. Just a hunch." With that, Guardian and the rest of the team returned to their Omnijet and flew home.

When Alpha Flight returned to the Alpha Complex, Gentry was patiently waiting for them in the conference room. As the team walked into the room, Guardian noticed that sweat was beading down his face and his shirt and tie were untucked because he was in a state of absolute nervousness waiting for them to return. Gentry bolted upright upon seeing them enter.

"So, how went your mission?" Gentry asked, wiping a handkerchief upon his sweated brow. "Were you successful in apprehending AIM? And that ninja, too?"

"Yes and no," Guardian responded, as the team took their seats at the conference table. "We laid waste to their laboratory but they escaped, Kamikaze included. They employed some sort of high-tech teleporter devices that allowed them to escape to another hideout. Then, we proceeded to examine their lab and the computer files housed within. That was when they used one of their teleporter devices to teleport the lab to another place."

Pointing an accusing finger at the leader of Alpha Flight, Gentry said, "So, after all the money that we trained you people with, you came up with zilch. Now, we know even less about the whole AIM affair than we did when they kidnapped you, Hudson."

"Not true. We do know that they are in the market of employing super -powered operatives, besides MODOK. This Kamikaze character is something of a loose cannon. We need to know more about him, which is why I think that it would be very useful to the team if we try to find him."

"If you don't know where AIM is, how do you expect to find Kamikaze?"

"Simple. This was a failure on not only our part but it was on AIM's and Kamikaze's part, as well. I seriously doubt that AIM would be putting Kamikaze within their ranks. They probably set him free somewhere in Canada to fend for himself. That is where we start looking for him. I think that we should separate into different factions to search for him."

"And that is where I come in," Diamond Lil stated, stepping forward into the circle of conversation. Her expression was stern and there was no doubt in her voice or her facial features. "I'll find Kamikaze on my own. Without your help."

"Lil, are you crazy?!" Madison Jeffries stood up also, turning his wife with both hands to face him, to look into his eyes for consolation. "What are you thinking? That guy tried to kill you, kill most of the team. You're in no position to capture him!"

"No, you're wrong, Maddie. I was the only one who could get through to him. While we were fighting at that AIM lab and I was talking to him, I felt I was getting through to him. I think I'm the only one he would listen to. I'm sorry, Maddie, but you have to trust me on this."

Guardian stepped forward and placed a hand on Madison's shoulder. "Madison, listen to me. She may have a point there. We'll keep her under close observation and if she needs help, we'll send in reinforcements. Otherwise, I think she could be the only one who can talk to him."

"Maddie, please," Diamond Lil said, pleading with him.

Jeffries looked down at his shoes then back up at the face of his wife. "Well, if I can't trust a member of Alpha Flight, then who can I trust?"

"Thank you."

Husband and wife kissed for long seconds and when they separated, Diamond Lil prepared to go on her search.

Diamond Lil's search for the missing Kamikaze, the maniac ninja that first attacked her and her husband, Madison Jeffries, a fellow Alphan, within their apartment, was in London, Canada, not far from AIM's current base of operations. This would most likely be a good place to start since that was where he operated from. If he wasn't here or nearby, she would be at a loss as to where he could be located.

Clad in her civvies, a t-shirt and jeans, with a leather jacket covering her body, she walked through the streets of London, hoping to spot him amidst the civilians, like the Core Flight did with Kane. She sighed. Since that moment at AIM's HQ when she had a chance to talk briefly with him, she got the distinct feeling that his heart just wasn't into this whole villain thing. Maybe he could be turned into a force for good after all, maybe a member of the Flight, like she had years earlier after being a member of the villainous Omega Flight. But then, if wishes were horses...

Before she knew what was happening, she was carried into an adjoining alleyway. It all transpired within a heart-wrenching instant.

"Kamikaze, wait, we can help you..."

"I've heard that line before, Crawley. I've lived my entire life in a life of crime and there have always been those like you who want me to turn a brand new leaf. Well, thanks but no thanks, sister."

With that, he punched her in the mouth, spittle escaping her lips and wounded mouth. She still had no idea how he was able to sneak up behind her with a surprise attack and defeat her so easily. He must have had some tricks of the trade. She made it her duty to find that out before this fight was over.

Before he had a chance to counterattack, Lillian swiped his feet out from under him, tripping him onto the trash-encrusted ground. Kamikaze fell suddenly and underneath his mask, Lil imagined that he was royally ticked off.

"What are you going to do now, Kamikaze?" Lil asked him, as she prepared to renew her attack. "Use another in your large variety of weaponry to attack or render me unconscious. I like the knockout gas the best."

"For you, my dear, I will use the honorable man's way out. Through my fists. That is what my ninja masters taught me."

"Try me."

Seen as a blur, Kamikaze sent a series of punches and kicks all over Lillian's body. She had not the capacity to deal with his attack or his speed. With his left hand, he grabbed onto a tuft of her brown hair and slammed her head against a brick wall.

Then, he prepared to deliver the killing blow.

TO BE CONTINUED...