May 18, 1996: AlertForce is back!

After almost a year sitting empty, AlertForce mansion once again rang with the carefree banter of our favorite heroes. Thermo, Iron Knight, and Jack of All Trades each arrived back at the mansion after long absences, and promptly noticed that some changes had occurred. Each noted slight differences in phisiology and power manifestations. Thermo and Iron Knight commenced an investigation, using HAL, to find the cause. HAL reported detecting energy signatures in the Los Angeles Area that indicated time or dimension travel had recently been conducted.

Further investigation led our heroes to five banks that had each been robbed in the last five days. A review of security camera tapes revealed that three masked perpetrators had committed the crimes. Thermo and Iron Knight programmed HAL to monitor all alarm frequencies, hoping to catch the criminals in the process of their next robbery. Like clockwork, the next day HAL alerted Thermo that not one, but two robberies were in process. Thermo and Iron Knight sprang into action, one rushing to each crime scene. Iron Knight managed to blast five gang members into submission (almost killing them in the process), while Thermo was faced with his old enemies, the Time Pirates. He managed to battle them to a standstill, with the skillful use of ice walls, but eventually was defeated by the powerful foes. Iron Knight rescued Thermo, and managed to save his life, although the Time Pirates got away scot free.

Two days (and two robberies) later, AlertForce finally managed to deduce that the criminals were not only using AlertCorp's own security system to decide which banks to rob, but had also busted Perpetual Motion Man and Claymore (two more of AlertForce's old friends) out of jail to assist with the robberies. Thermo, Jack and Iron Knight decided to try to spring a trap, and Thermo hid inside the bank vault at the next bank AlertForce believed would be targeted, while Jack and Iron Knight staked out two other banks.

Sure enough, the Time Pirates hit the bank Thermo was hiding in, and Claymore and PMM hit another. Again, Thermo managed to hold the Pirates at bay, this time staying up and fighting until the cavalry arrived, in the form of Iron Knight and Jack. Nevertheless, the intensely powerful Time Pirates (Malcolm the Great, Forte, and the Ebb) managed to put down both Jack and Iron Knight (if only momentarily) and make good their escape. In the midst of the battle, AlertForce learned, to its chagrin, that the real mastermind behind the scheme is none other than Lord Transient.

Many questions remain, and AlertForce has vowed to bring these criminals to justice, whatever the cost!

May 24, 1996: Let's Make a Deal...

Tensions between Thermo and Iron Knight grew during this adventure, as AlertForce stumbled toward solving the mystery of the string of bank robberies, and how Lord Transient was involved.

This adventure marked the return of Chameleon to AlertForce mansion. He returned not quite the same, though. Like the other AlertForce members, Chameleon has changed over the year since he last stood with the team. He now looks the part of his name, because he no longer has the shapeshifting powers he had in the past. Chameleon now appears to be a six foot tall, walking, talking lizard man. Team members quickly gave him the nickname "Sleestak," which led just as quickly to a Danger Room confrontation between Chameleon and Thermo. Surprisingly, Chameleon fought Thermo to a standstill, and after Iron Knight joined the battle, Jack grew irritated, and ended the fray with timely intervention from the danger room systems (knocking out Thermo in the process).

Soon, the alarm was sounding again, indicating that yet another robbery was taking place. This time, PMM and Claymore were acting alone. AlertForce managed to use strategy (for once) and subdued the thieves by using a slippery floor, and some teamwork. Interrogation of the two villains yielded little useful information, though, and AlertForce was forced to play another waiting game.

With only six banks left on the "hit" list of banks protected by AlertCorp security systems, AlertForce decided to take matters in hand. Jack of All Trades took a preemptive strike, and removed all funds from the remaining banks, under cover of night. The next day, the thieves robbed another bank, but got away with nothing for their trouble. The rest of the plan was that HAL was to monitor the electromagnetic frequencies, scanning for the particular wave associated with Lord Transient's teleporter. Iron Knight suggested that the team follow when the Time Pirates teleported away, at a discreet distance, in order to discover the thieves' secret hideout. Thermo, in an uncharacteristically impulsive move, blundered the plan, when he directed HAL to teleport AlertForce to exactly the location of the villains. This provoked a premature confrontation, in which the only casualty was the thievs' Ford Van.

Notwithstanding Thermo's blunder, Jack was able to salvage the plan, by hiking up the gain on the scanners, to discover the location of the secret hideout anyway. Iron Knight surveilled the location, discovering that Lord Transient had somehow disabled the Time Pirates' time machine, and was forcing them to cooperate with him.

The next day, when Lord Transient and the Time Pirates left their hideout to rob yet another bank, Iron Knight and Thermo stole into the secret hideout and made off with the Time Pirates' prize possession: their time machine. They also discovered that Lord Transient is so obsessed with destroying AlertCorp that he is simply burning the money he stole from the banks.

After the Time Pirates found that their time machine had been stolen, they confronted, fought, and escaped Lord Transient. AlertForce, who was secretly watching the confrontation, managed to track Lord Transient's teleportation to somewhere in the jungles of Africa. Without any confidence that they could defeat Lord Transient, however, AlertForce did not pursue him. Instead, Iron Knight and Thermo attempted to draw the Time Pirates out into the open, in order to make a deal with them for their help in fighting Lord Transient. After several failed attempts, Thermo managed to succesfully make contact with the Time Pirates by setting up a fake public appearance. The two groups arranged to meet at the old fish warehouse on pier 17, just like the old days.

The Ebb showed up and agreed with Iron Knight (over Thermo's objection) to help AlertForce capture Lord Transient, if AlertForce would return the time machine. He agreed to hand over the key mechanism to Thermo, to insure that the Time Pirates would cooperate. So, the next day, AlertForce traveled to Africa and awaited both Lord Transient and the Time Pirates.

The two foes arrived together, giving great alarm to AlertForce, who sprang into action, attacking Lord Transient with exceptional teamwork. At the last moment, true to their word, the Time Pirates wheeled, and, doublecrossing Lord Transient, joined AlertForce in the Attack. The battle raged hotly, and both the Ebb and Jack of All Trades were rendered unconscious. Malcolm the Great, working with Iron Knight and Forte, however, managed to put down the powerful Lord Transient with several fortuituos blows.

Just as the dust was settling, though, Thermo grabbed the time machine and flew away. No one knew that he had secretly vowed not to allow the Time Pirates to regain possession of the time machine that they had used so long ago to ruin his life. The Time Pirates had no time to contemplate Thermo's actions, though, for at that same moment, Lord Transient sprang back to his feet and joined the battle once more.

Fighting for his life, Iron Knight was forced to improvise a new alliance with the Time Pirates, while at the same time trying to help Jack back into the fray. He managed to keep his feet and hold the situation together, showing that he has the qualities of a true leader. Lord Transient proved too much for even the combined forces of AlertForce and the Time Pirates, but when he disappeared, the Pirates turned on AlertForce, demanding revenge for Thermo's deceit. As if on cue, Thermo reappeared at that moment, holding the limp form of The Ebb as hostage against a new Time Pirate attack. Iron Knight and Jack siezed the moment, and pressed the final attack against the stunned Time Pirates. When the battle was finally over, although Lord Transient managed to escape, AlertForce captured the Time Pirates, and brought them to justice.

Although the struggle ended on a positive note, dark clouds still hover over AlertForce. Lord Transient is sure to be looking for revenge, and a confrontation is brewing between Iron Knight and Thermo, to be sure!

June 8, 1996: Yesterday and Tomorrow

The latest adventure brought interesting twists of fate, both from the past, and from the future.

At the outset, Loup Garou returned to AlertForce mansion from almost a year of absence. His greetings with Jack and Iron Knight were characteristically warm and friendly (NOT)! He explained that he had been attending to family matters, and settling the affairs of a deceased relative.

There was no time for lengthy reaquaintances, though, as HAL soon alerted the team that there was a major disturbance at the Los Angeles Zoo. Seven animals had somehow grown to giant proportions and were on the proverbial rampage. AlertForce sprang into action, and Iron Knight, Jack, and Loup raced there to gain control of the situation. Loup, however, had a strange feeling of deja vu, since the first battle he ever had with AlertForce was when the diabolical Doctor Feldon had used a growth ray on zoo animals. (as a point of reference, Doctor Feldon was the original mentor of AlertForce and the Inventor was a villain in the alternate reality from which Thermo and Jack of All Trades were transported by the Time Pirates. However, in the dimension/reality from which Loup and the other AlertForce members come [and in which AlertForce currently exists], the Inventor was AlertForce's original mentor, and Dr. Feldon was the villain.)

The team's actions in subduing the animals were uncharacteristically efficient, and when the dust cleared, only one person had been killed, by a giant gorrilla. Loup felt responsible (although there was nothing he could have done to save the person), since he had been tasked with subduing the Gorilla. The death triggered one of his minor psychoses, however, and the gorilla was one of the unfortunate casualties of the day. Jack was also forced to kill a giant cobra that was threatening a crowd.

In searching for clues after the battle concluded, Iron Knight found a newspaper from 1979 tucked in a garbage pail. It was Mid-City edition, announcing the formation of AlertForce. The confusing part was, the picture contained the wrong team. Iron Knight remembered that the Inventor was a founding member of the team, and should have appeared in the picture, but did not. He showed the picture to Jack, who replied only with a knowing look.

The team then returned to the mansion, when HAL informed them that he had detected that an intruder had been in the mansion. After an intense investigation, the team concluded that there had been three unknown intruders in Thermo's room, that they had somehow disengaged the security cameras, and that they were, for some reason, searching for a DNA sample from Thermo. None could postulate the deeper purpose behind the intrusion.

Just around the time that Jack, IK, and Loup were trying to figure out the break-in, Thermo called in from Alaska, where he was spending several days. He reported that he had sighted the villian Fire&Ice, but when he moved to intercept the foe, he had disappeared. None could offer any explanation.

As the team was trying to figure out all of these dilemmas, HAL reported even more bad news. On the news, it was being reported that Jack of All Trades was the prime suspect in a break-in at Fort Knox, in which an unknown device had been used to transform the entire gold reserve into lead. Captain America (see and copyright Marvel Comics) was present on-site overseeing the U.S. Army team of investigators. Jack, Loup, and Iron Knight travelled to Fort Knox to conduct an investigation of their own. IK switched to his secret identity, Nick Brundle, and Jack switched to one of his many identities, John Richardson, each of which are top scientists and have high level security clearance. They quickly used their credentials and some persuasion to join the Army's investigation team. Loup tried the direct approach, and asked to be let in to the facility without any subterfuge. Captain America refused Loup's request, instead questioning him as a known accomplice of Jack. No answers were forthcoming from the wolf, so Cap turned him away.

Cap then invited Brundle and Richardson to join him in examining the interior scene of the crime. Once there, Brundle managed to discover a minute rubber scuff on the floor that had gone overlooked by the other investigators. Samples were taken for analysis. Brundle knew that the scuff did not match the leather boots Jack typically wore.

At that moment, outside the facility, a car crashed through perimeter fences, and began careening toward the main gate. Loup jumped out to block the car, but was shocked to find his old nemesis, Sabretooth (again, see and copyright Marvel Comics) crouching on the hood. Loup blew a gasket, and stood dumbfounded while the car barrelled toward him. At the very last instant, the car faded and disappeared in a whiff of smoke, doing no harm to Loup.

Captain America, Brundle, Richardson and Loup policed the area, and found a small lead box, buried about 500 yards away. Brundle investigated, and determined that it could be a hologram generator. However, when one of the Army bomb experts tried to open the box, a small explosive device detonated, destroying the box and injuring the lieutenant. Brundle and Richardson managed to save the man's life, with quick trioge and treatment.

The team then returned to AlertForce HQ, and began analyzing the security tape that implicated Jack. Using the Danger Room computers, they reconstructed the scene with the real Jack and noted several small inconsistencies in the tape which suggested another culprit.

HAL, ever the bearer of bad news, then reported that the mansion was being surveilled by an unknown device. Using triangulation and wave dissipation, Jack deduced a general location for the device. The team moved quickly to catch whomever was spying on them, and searched a stretch of coastline where Jack's calculation said the watcher or watchers were. Iron Knight finally managed to detect the cave in which they were hiding, using his special vision powers. However, just before Chameleon could break down the rock doorway, the watchers managed to teleport away and elude capture. AlertForce did manage to capture the contents of the lair, but in Chameleon's enthusiasm, the computer inside the was destroyed.

Analysis of the computer and the lair's contents gave several interesting pieces of information. The team found what appeared to be an antique AlertForce communicator, but with several advanced modifications not yet implemented in the current cummunicator design. Metallurgical analysis of the device indicated that it was over 700 years old. The team also found female clothing, as well as pulling some information from the computer device's memory: two names... "Diva and Presto," as well as one snippet of a sentence... "Thermo......................assist in climate control....."

This information led Jack to posit that the watchers were some kind of archaeologists from the future, here to study AlertForce. He still could not, however, determine why Thermo's DNA would be of interest. In a rare moment of friendliness, the team decided not to treat the watchers, whomever they were, as enemies. Jack placed a message in the cave-lair, indicating that AlertForce would be willing to talk to the watchers, should they decide to reveal themselves.

Just at that time, Philip Dalton made his dramatic reappearance at AlertForce HQ. Formerly Trickshot, and also formerly Hammer, Dalton revealed that Loki (again, see Marvel) had again exercised a whim and influenced Dalton's life, this time taking away the mystic hammer and transforming Dalton into a water spirit. Dalton's body is now comprised of water, which he can both control and manipulate, along with any other water in the area. This gave Dalton no end of pain, since his new body form does not need to eat, and Dalton will now be deprived of the joys of pizza and donuts he loves so much.

As always, though, there was no time for teary greetings, as AlertForce was quickly summoned downtown LA, where their old nemesis from Mid-City days, Mechanon (a giant rampaging robot), had reappeared and was doing its best to knock down some buildings. Quickly, the team secured the area by removing all the bystanders, and set out to destroy Mechanon.

Initially, Mechanon used a massive sonic blast to incapacitate the newly constituted Dalton, who promptly became a puddle on the street. Chameleon, Thermo, and Iron Knight cooperated to blast, slash, and knock off one of Mechanon's legs, while Loup hopped onto Mechie's shoulder, and gave the robot an earful (of fist, that is). Mechanon was a tough customer, though, and grimly tried to smash Loup by digging a giant hole and slamming himself into it at high speed.

At that moment, AlertForce was aided by a most unlikely trio. The air shimmered suddenly, and three beautiful women appeared and entered the fray. One extended biomechanical claws and leapt into the hole after Mechanon, while another pulled out a laser and began blasting a volley into the dark hole after the mechanical beast. The third promptly headed for cover, and set about hot-wiring a getaway car.

Mechanon was soon incapacitated by the combined efforts of Iron Knight, Loup, Dalton, Thermo, the unknown women, and Chameleon, who had used a herculean effort to grab one of Mechie's feet and hold him near the surface, so the robot could not disappear completely down the hole and make good an escape. Iron Knight and AlertForce knew (and the women quickly learned, by some strange ability to sense remotely) that Mechanon's programming was to explode with great force if defeated in battle. Iron Knight quickly moved to yank the metal monster up out of the hole and fly him into the atmosphere where his blast would do no harm. In the process, however, he accidentally knocked the clawed female who had jumped down into the hole unconscious. Thermo quickly pulled her free and tried to protect her from the blast as the others scrambled for cover from the impending explosion.

Jack, sensing an opportunity to get to the bottom of things, jumped into the car that the third woman was in. He managed to convince her to let him drive, and they pulled behind another building, safe from the blast. At the very last moment, Iron Knight did manage to pull Mechanon free and get him away from the city before the explosion. Iron Knight's defenses even managed to shield him from the worst effectsof the blast.

After regrouping, it was agreed that the injured woman needed immediate medical attention. Jack, Chameleon, and the three women teleported to AlertForce's infirmary, while the rest of the team stayed behind to help clean up the street and repair the damage Mechanon had done.

While treating the woman, Jack finally got them to open up and tell him who they were. The leader identified herself as Presto, the injured woman as Julia Beckman, and the "driver" as Diva. She said that they were from the future, and that they were members of a team called "the Twilighters" (Twilighters characters are used with permission. See the Twilighters HQ website for more information). She went on to state that the future is a bleak place ruled by giant corporations, where the common people and androids suffer great oppression. One of the main problems is that during nuclear wars and other disasters in their past (and possibly in AlertForce's future) the Earth's ecological balance was nearly destroyed. They told Jack that their world is rocked by wild climatic shifts and erratic weather patterns that cause immeasurable harm. Their team had stumbled onto some intact archives from the early days, in which they found reference to AlertForce. Further investigation and some archaeological work let them discover that one member of AlertForce (Thermo) had the mutant ability to control weather. The leader of the Twilighters had tasked them to travel back in time (using a device that was unknown to the three women and known only to the Twilighters' leader) and obtain a sample of Thermo's DNA, in hopes of either replicating the weather control mutation, or creating some kind of serum or device that might enable the Twilighters to help control the devastating weather systems of their world.

Strangely, Jack was moved by their story, and offered to give them all of AlertForce's datafiles on Thermo's bio-genetic structure. Presto quickly agreed, and offered in return to give Jack some data precisely describing the teleportation wave signature used by the Inventor, which the Twilighters team had accidentally scanned into their advanced computing device while observing AlertForce. Jack agreed to the exchange of information and quickly fashioned makeshift data connections to effect the data swap.

Just after the data swap, the remainder of AlertForce returned to the mansion, and began questioning the Twilighters members. They answered no further questions, instead trusting Jack alone with their story, and teleported away, offering only this warning as they went: "Beware, AlertForce... Do not stray from your battle against evil. Our world is bleak and our people miserable, because people like you failed." AlertForce was stunned by the ominous warning.

The following morning, Jack managed to contact a connection at STAR labs (see and copyright DC comics), to determine if certain sensitive scientific equipment which Jack believed the Inventor would use had recently been purchased. Jack's hunch panned out, and AlertForce was soon searching a warehouse where some of that equipment had recently been delivered.

After finding nothing in the warehouse, AlertForce discovered some underground passeges, and Loup detected traces of the Inventor's scent down below. With Chameleon charging out in front, AlertForce slid down into one of the passages (knowing they were probably walking into the teeth of a trap). Hours later, after going through miles and miles of underground passeges, avoiding underground rivers, tripping various traps, and squeezing through holes, AlertForce finally found the Inventor.

Holed up in a throne-like room with eight robot bodyguards and safely behind a massive force field, Inventor seemed to be waiting for AlertForce. Bursting through the huge steel doors with tons of water (courtesy of the newly-named Waterlord [aka Dalton]) AlertForce pressed the attack.

Although AlertForce made relatively short work of the robot guards, the Inventor's forcefield held just long enough for his escape. Just when AlertForce was about to break through, Inventor sneered "To quote a phrase coined by my good friend the Plasmagician... 'I see the odds are against me'" and promptly pressed a button opening a hole in the ceiling and activated his jetpak to fly away. AlertForce tried to follow, but by the time they got the forcefield down, Inventor was gone.

The only clue Inventor left behind was a cassette tape on which he confirmed that he was THE Inventor (from Jack and Thermo's alternate reality), that he believed that AlertForce had been behind pulling him here to this dimension, and that he would destroy Alertforce eventually.

July 13, 1996: CROCODILE TEARS

Alert Force learned of a series of disappearances in a small Florida town situated adjacent to the everglades. Loup investigated (while Jack and Iron Knight blithely ignored the situation) and eventually uncovered the fact that the people had all been attacked in or near their homes by crocodiles from the nearby swamps. While the occasional croc attack is not uncommon in Florida, these seemed unusual to Loup, since the evidence seemed to show that these crocodiles had stalked their victims, even going into their homes to complete the attacks.

Loup tracked one of the crocs out into the everglades, and was attacked there, getting chomped within an inch of his life. He managed to defeat the ravenous crocodile, then took a sample of its brain tissue to Iron Knight for analysis for drugs or other abnormalities that would explain the aberrant behavior.

While Loup and Iron Knight were in Pittsburgh, at Iron Knight's lab, Jack learned that there had been a break-in at the Louvre museum in France, and that the Mona Lisa had been stolen. He immediately knew that his arch-nemesis the Catburgler and her trusted henchman the Cheshire Cat were at work. He sprang into action, promptly deciding that he didn't like art much, and ignored the situation.

Meanwhile, Loup got a communique from the Florida police and was told that there had been more disappearances, this time in Australia. The Australian police had contacted the Florida force for assistance. Loup wondered who could be behind the crocodiles' strange attacks.

Later that same day, Loup heard again from the police, who told him that in Australia, the crocodiles had attacked a small town in force, killing 52 people before they crawled back into the coastal swamp. With this news, Jack and Iron Knight finally got off their butts and joined Loup's investigation. The three of them, and Chameleon, flew to Australia to check out the situation firsthand.

Once there, Loup and Chameleon (who arrived first) split up and started investigating. Chameleon went into the swamp to try to find the source. Once inside the swamp, however, Chameleon was overtaken by a strange compulsion. His will was somehow subverted, and he turned, as if in a trance, to attack Loup. A battle ensued, and Chameleon had to be physically restrained. He was obviously under some kind of mind control. This was a clue to Iron Knight and Loup, who noted that Chameleon was a mutated lizard, and might be subject to the same controlling influence that was effecting the other reptiles.

The team searched the bog near the Australian town, and soon found a giant mound of mud and rock in the middle. Iron Knight used his X-ray vision to determine that there were 20 huge crocs guarding the mound, and inside was a humanoid lizard who seemed to be in command. Under the new leadership of Loup Garou, a brilliant plan was hatched. With the familiar refrain of "Get Him!" echoing in the misty air, AlertForce jumped into action.

The battle was a ferocious one, and saw Jack practically eaten by no less than three huge crocodiles, but when the dust settled, AlertForce had defeated the crocodile lair and captured the crocodile man lieutenant. Unfortunately, Chameleon took everyone by surprise and released the croc man back into the swamp, and AlertForce was never able to recapture him. The team returned to the US, somewhat dejected.

Iron Knight had managed, however, to steal the strange medallion that the croc lieutenant was wearing during the battle. It seemed strangely familiar to him, so he ran the symbol through the computer and discovered that the zigzag logo on the pendant was similar to one used by an obscure villian AlertForce had fought once in the past, called the MindSplitter. MindSplitter was a master of hypnosis, mind control, and other mental disciplines. Iron Knight could see the connection, but couldn't help thinking that AlertForce's old reptile nemesis, Slither, was somehow involved, as well.

The team didn't have to wait long to find out the answers to their questions about the crocodile behavior, because almost as soon as they arrived home, they discovered that the crocodiles in Florida were mounting an organized attack there, too. AlertForce rushed to the scene, and found an army of no less than 35 crocs advancing down the main street of the small Florida town, led by another of the humanoid croc lieutenants.

The team confronted the advancing foe (with the help of two brave cops with a massive flamethrower). Iron Knight encircled the crocs (and, accidentally Loup Garou) inside a large force field, entrapping them. The plan worked brilliantly, and no other townspeople were harmed, but Loup Garou was mauled within a heartbeat of death by three particularly large crocs, while the other AlertForce members looked on, helpless.

During the battle, Jack had gone into the swamp to locate the base of the crocs. He found another mound, and determined that ten crocodiles were there, along with one human being and one large lifeform of an unidentified type. Jack tried to send up a flare to alert the team of his position, but accidentally threw in enough C4 plastic explosive to level a city block. The mound went up in a huge mushroom cloud, and Jack was buried in 4 feet of mud. When he dug himself out, he found that an underground cave mouth had been exposed by the explosion, and that the only things left alive inside were the human and the other large unidentified being. He decided to wait for the rest of the team to investigate.

Meanwhile, back in town, Iron Knight finally released the force field and jammed the electronic signal being emitted by the strange medallions. With that, the crocodiles broke formation and started running, and Iron Knight managed to wrest Loup's unconscious and bloody body out of the mouths of three of them. The battle had ended, but Iron Knight was surprised to see that Chameleon had, once again, abandoned the team and headed into the swamp.

Finally, after Chameleon had been located and subdued (because he was again under the effects of the strange reptillian mind control) the whole team gathered at the mouth of the cave entrance, and decided to investigate inside. Once inside, Iron Knight's fears were realized when they saw Slither battling the MindSplitter. The scene was a strange one, indeed, because Slither was trapped by his feet in a large block of ice, and had some kind of electronic apparatus around his head, but was still ripping rocks and ice out of the ground and throwing them at the MindSplitter, who was hiding behind some rocks on the other side of the large chamber. Another epic battle ensued.

During the battle, Slither looked at Chameleon, and again used his mind control powers to compel Chameleon to attack MindSplitter. Eventually, MindSplitter was killed by Chameleon while he was under Slither's control. After that, Jack (who had been sitting tight and awaiting the outcome of the fight between Slither and MindSplitter) started firing his weapons at Slither, who was totally enraged. The concussion from Jack's weapons knocked Slither free from the ice that was holding him, and Slither promptly disappeared. What AlertForce did not know, however, was that Slither didn't really disappear -- he just transformed himself into a tiny salamander and crawled away. Slither, you see, has the ability to change into any reptile. In this way, he made good his escape.

AlertForce returned to home base, satisfied that they had thwarted MindSplitter's plan. They investigated the scene before leaving, and after computer analysis, determined that MindSplitter had found Slither frozen in the block of ice in the antarctic (where AlertForce had placed him after their last battle) and had determined that Slither could control reptiles with his mind powers. Mindsplitter also knew that he could use his own mind powers to control Slither, if he could only keep him at bay physically. So MindSplitter took Slither, ice and all, to the cave, and attached some electronic device to his brain that only woke Slither partially, so MindSplitter could use the reptile's mind control, but not enough to bring the giant lizard to consciousness. The plan backfired when Jack's bomb broke open the ice, and the water flooding into the cave as a result kept melting the ice even more. Slither went into a murderous rage when awakened, with the result being the death of MindSplitter.

The adventures were far from over, however. AlertForce soon learned that yet another of their old foes was back in action. The Living Magnet was reported to have broken into both the TMI nuclear facility, and the Chernobyl reactor, and stolen radioactive materials. Iron Knight again put on his thinking cap to determine why. Eventually, he theorized that LM was trying to cure himself of the condition of having metal skin, by making a radioactive ray gun to try to change his skin's atomic structure. In a rare moment of compassion, Iron Knight and Jack decided to try to help LM.

After tracking down Living Magnet, and offering to help, the three worked together, under the watchful eye of new team leader Loup Garou, and eventually completed a prototype ray that they thought might have a chance to cure the Living Magnet. Without even testing it first, LM demanded to try. Jack obliged, and when the smoke cleared, a badly burned (but alive) Living Magnet was standing in the middle of a pool of molten steel. It will take years of physical and psychological therapy, but the Living Magnet has a chance, at least, to finally be free of the steel encasement he has lived with for so long.

September 7, 1996: LEGACY

This adventure started out with a bang. AlertForce was forced to spring immediately into action when it was discovered that no less than six huge hurricanes had suddenly materialized just 70-100 miles off the coast of southern Florida. Loup Garou, WaterLord, Spexx, and Thermo (for some reason, disguised as his third alter-ego, the Weather Wizard) raced for the coast to save the day.

When they arrived, they found that other superheros, most notably Superman himself, had also arrived to assist. Weather Wizard set to the task of calming the mighty storms. While Loup and Spexx strove to move citizens out of harm's way, Weather Wiz and Waterlord, with a little help from Superman, managed to bring the storms under control.

After the episode, Waterlord, Loup, and Spexx, continued cleaning up, while Weather Wizard (Thermo) flew to Pittsburgh, to seek the help of Iron Knight in solving the mystery of the storms, but most importantly, to get some needed sleep (calming six hurricanes is tiring work). When he arrived at the secret Pittsburgh base of Iron Knight, Thermo found that Iron Knight was in the shower, so he went to sleep. Much later, he awoke to discover that the shower was still running, so he went in to check out the situation, only to find Nick Brundle (Iron Knight) unconscious on the floor, reaching for a ring lying next to his hand. However, no one has ever accused Thermo of being any kind of detective, so the vital clue of the ring was missed in Thermo's rush to get medical assistance for Brundle. The medical staff hired by brundle, who work in the labs far above the hidden base, managed to stabilize Brundle's condition, but could not bring him to consciousness.

While Thermo/Weather Wiz was dealing with that crisis, the rest of the team learned, much to their chagrin, that while they had been in Florida fighting the mysterious storms, an unexplained tidal wave had struck Seattle, Washington, wreaking havoc, and killing over 30O people. None could explain the cause of the disaster.

Soon thereafter, Weather Wizard learned that the Avengers (see Marvel Comics) were seeking to question him with respect to the disasters. He went to New York, and submitted to questioning. The Avengers were seeking information on Thermo, whom they believed had caused the disasters. The Avengers showed Weather Wizard (who they did not know was also Thermo) a satellite image showing Thermo (or someone who appeared to be Thermo) flying above the ocean in Seattle just before the tidal wave struck. Weather Wizard feigned ignorance as to Thermo's whereabouts, and was released. However, unbeknownst to either Weather Wizard or the Avengers, Waterlord had tailed Wiz to the Avengers HQ, and was hiding in his natural water form in the pipes, and listening to the Avengers' conversations.

At this same time, Loup was playing a hunch, and checking out some unexplained storms in Africa -- the Sahara desert, no less. When he sensed wolvesbane in the area, he knew he was in trouble. He tried to radio the team for help, but when Thermo answered as the Weather Wizard, and tried to clue Loup in that he was traveling incognito, Loup was too caught up in the danger of his situation to pick up on the ruse, and unwittingly blew "Weather Wizard's" cover, by calling him Thermo over an open frequency.

Nevertheless, the team came to Loup's aid, and after a strange battle in a soggy desert, against a female assasin who had tried to kill Loup, the dust settled with AlertForce fighting off the attack, but not managing to capture the strange female villain. At the conclusion of the battle, however, as predicted, the Avengers appeared on the scene, and took Weather Wizard into custody for the Seattle disaster.

Loup, not wanting to believe the worst of his longtime friend, travelled to Alaska, where he knew that Thermo often stayed at his secluded training school for mutant teens. Loup thought that if anyone was impersonating Thermo, they might go there. Loup's hunch paid off, when he sensed from afar, that somehow, Thermo was there, despite having just been captured by the Avengers. Loup sprang into action, by radioing Spexx and Waterlord to inform the Avengers of the development. Surprisingly, the Hulk (see Marvel Comics) was dispatched to accompany AlertForce to investigate the imposter.

A pitched battle ensued, centered on Thermo's Alaska school for mutants. An imposter Thermo (who Spexx managed to discover was actuall a cyborg) was commanding Thermo's mutant teens, and fought AlertForce and the Hulk to a standstill, before making good his escape with some kind of teleportation device. The battle served little purpose, but with the testimony of Spexx, Loup Garou, Waterlord, and even the Hulk, Thermo/Weather Wizard was eventually released from prison.

Later that day, however, just as Thermo and the rest of the team were returning to AlertForce mansion in California, alarms went off once more, signalling an intruder. This time, it was some strage box, that materialized right in Thermo's room. After investigating, the team discovered that it was a kind of hologram generator. Thermo activated the device, not expecting to hear the message he heard. When he pressed the button, the image was of Presto, of the Twilighters (see June 8 adventure, described above), and she looked much older and more war weary than she had just three months before, when AlertForce had first met her. She explained that the plan that the Twilighters were attempting when they travelled back in time to find AlertForce (i.e. to obtain Thermo's DNA to create mutants that could assist in climate control in Earth of the far future) had bacfired terribly. The Twilighters had, in fact, managed to create such a mutant, and he resembled Thermo in every way (except for the bio-mechanical implants many future citizens wore), except that shortly after his creation, he went mad. He used his vast powers to enslave the population, and almost destroyed Earth of the future. However, when he stumbled on the archival information that Jack had given the Twilighters about Thermo, the creation (the anti-Thermo is what they called him) stole a time displacer, and disappeared into the past, bent on destroying Thermo, AlertForce, and on conquering the past, as well. The message then faded, and the machine operated no more.

Stunned by this news, Thermo (now no longer in need of his Weather Wizard incarnation) and WaterLord decided to go back to Alaska and investigate further. While there, they found a futuristic computer disc hidden in a secret room that had been created in the mutant school by the Anti-Thermo. When they returned it to the mansion, Iron Knight, who had finally revived from what had actually been his own blunder (he was experimenting with a serum to increase brain capacity, and took too high of a dosage), with the help of Spexx, managed to glean that the disc would activate the hologram projector yet again. When they inserted the disc, the image of the Anti-thermo appeared, and challenged Thermo and Loup to meet him (and the mysterious female assassin) in the Sahara again, to have it out, once and for all. He said that the world was simply not big enough for two Thermo's.

Of course, Thermo accepted the challenge, but instead of going alone, the whole team went along to assist, devising a plan to stay back long enough to draw the Anti-Thermo out, then pounce. Jack, Spexx, and Iron Knight created a gadged that the team believed would prevent the Anti-Thermo from using his teleportion device to escape. With that plan, the team set out for Africa yet again.

Much to Thermo's surprise, when he approached the place where he supposed the Anti-Thermo would be, he found his own students -- his young mutants trained in Alaska -- pointing lasers at him from many hiding places in the desert. The plan had failed miserably. The Anti-thermo attacked, and a huge melee ensued, involving all of AlertForce, the students, the Anti-Thermo, and loads of fog, sand, ice, water, and smoke. When the dust cleared, Thermo and the Anti-Thermo were both unconscious, along with many of the young mutants, and Jack, Loup, Spexx, and Waterlord -- those the Anti-Thermo had overlooked in his plan of world domination, had won the day.

Still unexplained is the identity of the female assassin. Her final message to Loup, contained in a note, was that "the Hunt is not over."

May 18, 1996: AlertForce is back!

May 24, 1996: Let's Make a Deal...

June 8, 1996: Yesterday and Tomorrow

July 13, 1996: CROCODILE TEARS

September 7, 1996: LEGACY

Saturday, March 25, 2006