Early in the morning, Judge Justice received a telephone call through his private number that a new criminal had escaped jail at the Paranormal Prison. There was word on the street that he may be reforming his operation. The Chief of Police insisted that he contact his best agents to solve this new crime. Judge Justice assembled a meeting of Space Flight, a government agency within a division of NASA called S.P.A.C.E., Super-Powered Astronauts in Connection with Enforcement. Space Flight was all present, including Steve Carrington, Lynda Carrington, Ben Tucker, Jenny, Stephen Beckley, Wendell Elvis Vaughn, and Bob White. What this meeting was about was still a mystery to all members of Space Flight.

Judge Justice directed his gaze at Steve Carrington, who was leader of Space Flight. Steve was super strong, could fly at great speeds, and fire force blasts out of pure sound. “It’s very important that you gather your team, Steve. It seems that Rodstvow has escaped from the Paranormal Prison. He has deep plans for you and your team. He has seemed to have developed human cloning experiments. He has unearthed the dead and wants to clone Emmett Proudhawk.”

All members of Space Flight, both male and female, eyed one another, in suspicion. Then, Steve’s natural anger and affinity for battle took over.

“What the devil are you talking about?!” Steve shouted at the man who until now he was proud to call friend. Uproarious chatter between all members of Space Flight interrupted the conversation, if one could call it that, between Judge Justice and Steve.

Judge Justice said, “To put it simply, he is setting up shop in the Big Apple. He has even brainwashed Emmett and wants to use him, the undead him, to attack us.”
Steve said, “We will solve your cloning case within the week.”

Judge Justice stood up and turned his back to Steve and the rest of Space Flight. He then stopped at the door to face the leader of the team. “Good, good. I’ll make a note of that. But be forewarned that you may not know who is real or the clone.”

Steve nodded and acknowledged the warning. For all he knew, there were no psychics or telepaths within their ranks.

But then, tomorrow was a new day.

Ben Tucker’s awareness of his solar powers afforded him the greatest luxuries in life. His best friend and partner, Steve Carrington, the leader of Space Flight, told him to take it easy and carry on as if life was normal. No sense getting all worried over nothing. Not one of Space Flight knew which one of their members was the clone or when this unknown criminal would strike. So wait it out, it was.

Ben flew over the New Jersey skyline, looking at the array of cars and traffic below him. Since he was a teenager, he gained the ability to fly. He only had a driver’s license and bought a car, a red El Dorado like his friend and favorite gal pal, Jenny, who had solar powers like him. She didn’t need to drive either. It was a simple matter for her to ride on the airwaves.

Ben Tucker worked with Jenny, his best girlfriend, at JC Penney’s at the Manhattan Mall. They lived in the same apartment. They were not married and that was the way they liked it. She always seemed to want to be a member of Space Flight but couldn’t because she had no powers. Now, that has changed.

Changing back into plain ol’ Ben Tucker, minimum wager, did not put him in a better mood. He was in a fine mood when he arrived at Penny’s but now that mood was ruined when he found out that Stephan Beckley didn’t show up after the meeting with Space Flight today. Stephan Beckley was his best friend. They did everything together, hung out together. They were inseparable. Like two fingers crossed.

He wasn’t going to make the same mistake that he did at Penny’s earlier today. Now he was going to interrogate his best friend in broad daylight in his work duds. So Ben Tucker, Space Flight member, it was.

“Can I help you, sir?” the hostess asked, who was a hot blonde whose job in life was to take names and numbers of parties to seat them at a later date.

Ben tried not to smile. “I’m looking for Mr. Beckley. It should be a party of one. Anyone here know where I can find him?”

“Yes. He’s right over there.” She pointed to a table in the back.

“Thank you, miss. I think it’s a good idea if you vacate the premises. This could get messy.”

She nodded and slowly, in an orderly fashion, did as Ben instructed. She didn’t want anyone to get needlessly hurt.

What Ben saw as he walked through the exiting patrons was a true pitiful sight. He saw his best friend in ruins. He sat at his table, eating his pasta and meatballs (a special at the diner), drinking a Sprite, and waiting for a check that would never come. Ben walked over and sat down in the lonely booth beside him.

“Oh, Ben, bud, what’s up?” Stephan Beckley asked.

“I missed you at the meeting today.”

“What are you talking about? You’re not even supposed to report to the meeting today. What d’ya care?”

“I care because I am your friend. And as a friend of yours or as your best friend, I want you to do well for yourself and others. Why don’t you tell me what’s going on or I could bring this up at the next meeting.”

“I don’t think that this is Space Flight business,” Stephan Beckley whispered. He still didn’t want people to know that he was a member of Space Flight. “Besides, what are you going to do about it?”

“This.”

Ben punched Stephan Beckley in the nose, making it bleed a little. He didn’t pull his punch and he wasn’t lying when he told the waitress that this could get ugly. He watched as his best friend clutched his nose, blood rushing out, and gave him a glare that could move mountains.

“I know, I hope that loosened your lip or nose a bit, so I can drag you back to HQ and you can go to work.” Ben took Stephan Beckley’s arm and started to pull him out of the diner booth. But Stephan Beckley didn’t move an inch.

“No, man, I ain’t going anywhere with you.” Stephan Beckley used his powers of comet propulsion and hurled bolts of comet blasts into Ben’s face, blinding the fellow completely. Ben put his hands in front of his eyes, seeing nothing but spots for minutes.

“Aaahhh! I’m blind!”

“Look, I’m sorry, man, but you deserved it.”

“Not!” Ben smiled and threw solar bolts at the man called Stephan Beckley. By now the diner was deserted, so that they could now really cut loose.

“So you were playing possum,” Stephan Beckley said. ”I can play that game, too.”

“I’d like to see you try.”

Stephan Beckley faked him out by shooting comet blasts at the window and flying through it. He was gone within seconds.

“Well, I really fouled that play, now, haven’t I?” Ben said, as he told the hostess to bring the customers back inside and that she should bill Space Flight for the damages. He sent her his business card.

The NSC Team and Space Flight were taking a flight over the city of New York, when they saw that they were being attacked by a clone of Emmett Proudhawk. Gene Proudhawk who had memories of his long-lost brother and the memories of the Psi-force children couldn’t believe that a person, any person, could have cloned a long dead man.

Solarman was the first to attack him. He used his circlet of power to blast his enemy with solar energies. He was probably the most powerful member of the team next to Sonarman and his sonar bracelet.

“I don’t know who you are, Proudhawk,” Solarman said, addressing his enemy. “But I get the feeling that you are not here to help us. And my time in Alpha Flight and then, Space Flight has taught me to act first and ask questions later.”

Emmett Proudhawk transformed into a fourth Psi-hawk with his gold medallion around his neck. This was a replication of the medallion that the Psi-force children had and gave to Gene. He was unusually silent. Probably the people who constructed him didn’t give him vocal patterns or a voice box. He was as mindless as a clone could be.
The fourth Psi-hawk covered Solarman’s circlet of power, downing the super hero. He changed back into plain ol’ Ben Tucker and plummeted to the waiting streets below. He fell with a thud, into unconsciousness.

Sonarman blasted Emmett or fourth Psi-hawk with his sonic blasts. He hoped that this worked on him. If not he had Sonarwoman and Solarwoman to back him up. When he didn’t succeed in this venture, the two women who were the girlfriends of their male counterparts helped him out and all three of them were able to down the Psi-hawk.
Sonarman rushed to protect Solarman from the ill effects of fourth Psi-hawk’s attack.

Now it was up to Gene Proudhawk to down his brother. Psi-hawk versus Psi-hawk. Brother vs. brother. A true civil war to the nth degree. It was a long battle that took several minutes until it seemed that neither quarter would be gained. Could Rodstvow be this vicious? Only a resounding ‘yes’ could be the answer.

With the fourth Psi-hawk, the one and false Emmett Proudhawk, down for the count, Ben Tucker woke up from the deep sleep that Emmett claimed him and Sonarman used his sonar waves to carry Emmett back to the Paranormal Prison.

Their mission was done.