Derek Shiningstar was in his room. Darkness spread across like sharp knives. It was almost absolute, a black hole. He felt the coldness, the chilling air from the outside. It must be from the snow, he thought.

The moon streamed trails of incandescent light through the small window. It cast shadows against him and the wall. He looked at the moon and the moon smiled at him and winked at him. The man in the moon.

He was sitting Indian style on the cement bar that was supposed to be his bed. Hey, it wasn't a cot, but it was all he had. The shadows surrounded him and moved and went bump in :the night. They crept and crawled all over and snuggled and cuddled next to him. They were alive and breathed on him.

"Who's there?" His voice echoed.

"I am." Derek looked around but only found the shadows.

"Who's there?" he repeated.

The same voice called out. "Over here. Over here." There was a pause. "Here, you stupid piece of--"

Derek stared at a figure that was standing right in front of him. He was extremely tall and was wearing a three-piece suit. A smile formed on his small mouth.

"Who're you?"

"Don't you recognize me after all these years?"

"Oh."

"Exactly. Now, do you want out of here or not?"

"Sure, sure." Derek smiled, excited. "Whatever you say. Can you really do it, break me outta here?"

"I wouldn't be here if I couldn't, now would I?"

"I guess not."

The man's eyes glowed, light glinting off of his lenses.

Derek couldn't wait.

"Ah, Derek Shiningstar, now I shall bring about your deliverance."

She sits there in the lounge, in casual clothing. She seems to be looking out the window, the one that can show the landscape of the city. She looks at the tall buildings, the skyscrapers. I hear that they are not as impressive as the ones in other places but it is still a sight to behold, a wonder among wonders. I'm standing by the door, gazing into her face, trying to hide behind the soda machine. It works and this surprises me.

She takes my breath away. Since I first met her-- oh, it seems like decades, millenniums, now-- I have loved her. She was so innocent in her maturity, so childish in her adolescence. A fantastic sight. It wasn't a physical attraction, I'm not sure what it was but something clicked, and there it was.

She was very young when we married, probably in her early twenties and I, deep in my thirties. She was the child, the little girl, and I the full grown adult. That is the curse of me being Solarman and she, Jenny.

"Oh."

She sees me. I quickly saw a brief glance of her spotting me, nearly cringing behind the machine. Her head turned slowly, her hair waving in the air, and her eyes a clear definite blue. Her "oh" was almost a gasp.

"Sorry," I say. It seems natural. What were you thinking, Jenny? Of me, of what?

"S'okay. I was just daydreaming. I hope I didn't scare you."

"Me, too." I try to smile, to alleviate the obvious tension in the air. What has happened to us? Why have we changed? Why did we have to change?

She pats her hand on the couch. It was almost rhythmic, like the beat of a drum. I smile and take a seat next to her.

"How was the meeting?" I ask. I wonder if she notices my nervousness.

"Hmmm, petty boring. I like Judge Justice but he makes the worse speeches. I mean, he can inspire you a lot but he beats around the bush. He never makes his point right away."

"I haven't noticed that in him. But since I left, he could have changed, altered his--"

"I know, I know." She seems impatient, rushed, as if she wants me to shut up. As if she hates me.

"What were you looking at?"

"Nothing much." She stares out the window, as though to illustrate her point. "Just the sky. It is beautiful. Just where I am."

"Why? Do you not know where you are?"

"No, it's just that--" She stops suddenly. Looking at the door, she thinks this over and starts again. "I'm not sure. Is it just me or--" She pauses. "Forget it."

"Tell me." Maybe if I am insistent, she will-- !

"No. Sorry but I better not."

"Nice conversation we're having, Jenny. Is it just me-- and correct me if I'm wrong-- but are you avoiding me? Because I'm an adult while you are forever young. Is that it?"

"Ben, I--" She begins to stand up but glares at my face. She's about to say something but doesn't.

I lean closer. Maybe I should convince her I love her. So I kiss her. A light peck on the lips, she can hardly feel it. Neither can I. But it's the thought that counts.

"Please, Please-- I gotta go." She exits the room. I remain on the couch, sitting not so comfortably.

Minutes later, Bob White, the half-child, half-adult Captain Hero, like me, joins me in the lounge. At first, he seems to ignore me, not even acknowledge my existence, sitting at one of the white tables. He reaches into an open bag of potato chips and eats some. I hear his loud chewing, the crunch of the chips. "Are you okay?"

I take a deep breath, getting up from the couch. "Yes. I suppose so."

He accepts this, eating some more chips. I sit opposite him in a seat on the table. "Do we have anything planned for today?" he asks, sincerely.

"No," I respond, thinking this over. "Tensen and the Carrington couple haven't said anything yet. I assume this is our day off, finally."

"Are you going to do anything special?"

"Probably not. Perhaps I will stay here and review our results from our exercises and practice sessions in the Workout Room. I think they will prove very interesting and helpful to our training."

He adds a ‘you're right’ and gets up. He deposits some coins into the soda machine and receives a diet Pepsi. He sits back down to drink it. "Have you heard anything about Rodstvow?" he says earnestly and very straight forwardly.

"No, I'm afraid. He, Mindwolf, and the Emmett Proudhawk clone seemed to have vanished off of the face of the earth. They are nowhere to be seen or found."

"That is fortunate, for him. For if I had found them, they would not be tried or sent to jail. I would kill them, tear them limb from limb."

I sigh, almost try to laugh to soothe his savage breast.

"Attention," the intercom booms to life. "Bob White and Ben Tucker, please report to the War Room."

"I realize," he begins, "that you all thought this would be your day off. I regret that I had to summon you here but it is of the utmost importance. I wouldn't have done so if it wasn't otherwise.

"I assure you this is grave, indeed." He snaps his fingers to signal for the lights to be doused and the presentation to begin. "There is an incident that needs to be resolved in New York. A paranormal menace has arisen. You are to contain it and resolve it. The menace has not been identified yet. When you investigate, it will be. On your way out, Mary, the receptionist, will give you the directions. That is all."

I love red tape.

It is a bright clear day in New York, New York a couple of hours later. The sun is shining and the heat is nearly monstrous, the temperature reaching fifty. The ozone layer has depleted some more. Summer in winter, catch that different season fever.

In one of the back alleys, away from one of the main streets of the city, a young man stands by a door. He has not yet reached thirty and he has fiery blond hair and is wearing jeans and a white tee shirt. In back of him, there is a large warehouse, with boarded up windows and locked doors. Probably a crack house or maybe some kind of important governmental or militant meeting is taking place.

He receives a jab to his face. He is sent instantly sprawling backwards, hitting himself on the door. It makes a :popping sound and he falls to the dusty ground. "Ow! What th' hell was that for?" he complains, rubbing his chin and trying to stand up.

Dave Landers, in his Mastodon persona, faces him, his long, brown hair billowing in the slight breeze. His muscles are rippling and he clenches his fists together, slapping them. "Oh, nothing special."

"What are ya goin do ta me now?"

Dave smiles, a bright grimace. "Oh, I dunno. Something simple. Like kill you."

"No way!" The man-- his accent proves that he is British-- gestures his hands gently in the air and a burst of magical energy shoots out. It flows wildly, twirling and twisting in its direction.

Dave ducks and the magic gust disappears. Thank God, my force field held up.

"Yer good."

"You bet." I grin at the man. A second jet of magic issues forth and as a retaliatory action, I release some solar energy that has been stored in my Circlet of Power. It causes the door to explode instantly, splinters of shrapnel flooding the street. "Space Flight Attack!"

The team-- my team-- runs forth. Sonarwoman causes the man to go slightly deaf with her extraordinary sonic powers. He screams bloody murder when he can't hear for the life of him but I don't care. Only the mission matters. And Judge Justice better be accurate to the danger here.

Dave Landers easily overturns them, breaking them with his strength, the crates that obviously hold weapons or drugs under tons of Styrofoam. Captain Hero flies above to make sure we are not taken by surprise. His efforts fail in the end.

A man jumps in front of us as we make our way through the wrecked and abandoned building. Another magician makes his advance to us. "I'll handle David Blackstone," Dave suggests, as he races forward. He thrusts his fist at the man’s head but Dave is repelled backwards.

"Nothing can stop Black Magician," the man utters, as if this fact was not too obvious by his mode of dress. A strand of magical energy lances out from his fingertips and holds fast Dave’s hands.

"Really? Wouldn't've figgered that out by myself." Dave tries and tries again to release his hand but it is to no avail.

"Captain Hero, help him now!" I bark at him. I almost regret it.

The two of them give it their all to remove Dave's hand from this paranormal... creature, all the while Black Magician was laughing. I walk past them. This place must have a leader. Why are these people here? What is the paranormal menace? Why was Judge Justice so hyper about us being here?

I see a back door in front of me. There is a light on, but most of the room is enveloped in pure darkness.

I feel the dusty chrome of the door. It is old.

Outside, Lynda is screaming, screaming for her very life. The blond is fighting her, with his weird magic power. He is resisting, despite his deafness. The door opens suddenly.
He stands before me in his garb. It is all black. His eyes glow brilliantly. His eyes and his grim mouth.

Outside, the silence is deafening.

"To what do I owe the pleasure of this untimely visit?"

The word Copperstone escapes my lips, as I stand there stunned.

"I--I--"

"Speak or forever hold your peace."

"I was told--"

"You were told nothing. Why have you intruded here? Why??"

I slowly back away from him. So, this is your paranormal menace, Judge Justice. The New Hex Squad. What a surprise. Jack Magniconte told Dave Landers all about it and he told us. "I am here to halt you. I am here to stop you."

His eyes flash a glance at the Black Magician. "I see you have successfully succeeded, Solarman. Now, will you leave?"

I think of Jenny.

"You have been warned. Now... die!!!"

The world ends.

I awake up and the world is still ending. There is light, earth, wind, and fire. There is creation and destruction all around me. I burn and freeze. I die and am reborn.

Augh, God, I can see it-- it's there-- the light at the end of the tunnel-- the light-- it flashed right before my eyes--

I see the light and embrace it and love it and hate it and--

God, please dear God, Jenny-- I love you, no matter what-- Lynda, I'm sorry, he'll pay he'll pay he'll--

NO!!

Arrggghhh....:

I open my eyes. The building is burning up, smoke and fire consume the whole thing. It is ablaze and I am on the ground, in dreaded pain. Pain like I've never felt before. '
The smell is unbearable, it hurts--

Beside me, Dave lies unconscious.

"No!!"

The scream came from Bob White. Lynda has bruises and some burn marks all over her. He rushes to her aid.

The Black Magician moves some of the rubble aside so that he can be free. His strength is unbelievable. But Copperstone is dominant. He is unscathed, lucky bastard. He probably used a force bubble. He walks toward me, as if he is ready to finish what we started. Why did we attack him?

"Juh-Justice..."

"Yes," he says. "I know the man. So he put you up to this. He does not understand the purpose of the war."

"The one in Iraq..."

“No, the paranormal war.”

I breathe in smoke, coughing it out.

"Yes, the war. The one where I shall be the victor. The pressure and stress and prejudice had reached abominable terms now. It is out of control. I must be the factor that ends it all."

"Buh-by killing everyone...?"

"By showing that it can be done. That someone must be on top and hatred and rage and the human race are not any of the choices. A war that started with the first Cro-Magnon and will end when nuclear warheads blow up the planet. I just want to make sure the world understands my purpose and goals." He pauses, taking in a deep breath. "You have met my new comrades-- actually, most of whom I have allied with before-- my Hex Squad. I have allied myself with many men and women in the past.”

“What do you want?’ I ask him.

“This was only the first strike. Now, that we will return and we will not be so gentle then. Know that. Know it well."

It is at that moment that Copperstone and the rest of the New Hex Squad exit the warehouse. I have to report this to Judge Justice and Sonarman. They will not be pleased.