This was not part of the plan.

 Blake was in the last place he expected to be. He was in the Medina Ballroom. And he was dancing.

 Aleshia moved in a little closer and put her head on his shoulder. He lightly stroked her golden hair. She turned her head and their eyes met. They smiled. This was only their first date, their first slow dance, yet Blake felt that he had met someone very special. And their was something in her smile, in the way she looked at him with her beautiful brown eyes that made him feel that she felt that way too.

 He couldn’t believe his luck.

 Blake had moved into the Twin Cities only two months ago. He set up a small electronics shop in the warehouse district of Minneapolis. He intentionally picked an out-of-the-way corner for he really didn’t want many customers - the shop was mainly a place for him to pursue his own projects. But he did get customers. One of them was a perky blonde named Aleshia. She had brought in a broken VCR. Diagnosis revealed a fried circuit board, probably caused by a power spike. As it was a quick repair (a simple board replacement) she decided to wait.

 She watched as he worked. Normally he detested this, but unlike the usual customer, who is understandably in a bad mood, she was bright and cheerful. He actually enjoyed explaining things to her for she asked intelligent questions and seemed genuinely interested in his answers. He wished he had more customers like her.

 His wish came true about a week later. She appeared again this time with a CD player. Like the VCR, it had a fried circuit. It was close to closing, but he stayed and repaired it. Again they talked, but the conversation drifted away from electronics. She was doing some volunteer work for the Salvation Army and was looking for a spot to set up a shelter. Being new to the area, he couldn’t help much, but she didn’t mind. He learned that this was just one of the several projects she was involved in. He was impressed. Most do-gooders are just talkers, just trying to make themselves feel good. But Aleshia was seriously dedicated to helping people. In spite of himself, he found that he was beginning to like her. He was tempted to sabotage the CD player so she would have to come back.

 It wasn’t necessary. A week later it was stereo problem. Blake began to suspect that her house had dirty power, causing the power spikes that were wrecking havoc on her electronic appliances. It wasn’t until the VCR had been brought in for the second time that he got the hint and asker her out.

So here they were slowly swaying to the music. She was his unexpected sweet surprise. When he came to Minneapolis finding a woman was the furthest thought from his mind. He was here for other reasons. He was here to…

 Sirens. Then more sirens. And then even more. It sounded as if the entire fleet of city emergency vehicles was roaring down the street outside the building. That could mean only one thing – a paranormal fight. The music faltered. The dancers began to crowd towards the window, murmuring. He took Aleshia by the hand and pressed through the crowd to the window.

The long line of police and fire vehicles roared past then turned towards downtown. There was fight, but it was not visible from the window. Someone turned on a radio.

 "… with a street light pole. It didn’t even phase him! Rhino is winding up … What a blow! Hammer is knocked across the street and into a store front!"

Hammer! He was the reason Blake came to Minneapolis. Blake had spent months preparing for him and here was a golden opportunity! He suddenly became aware of the hand he was holding. He turned to her. He needed to get out there before the fight ended. But what could he say to her? What excuse could justify his running out on her? Not the truth of course. Maybe if he… no that wouldn’t work. He could try… no that would insult her. What can he do?

 "Excuse me, my pager is vibrating", Aleshia said suddenly. She reached into her purse, pulled out a pager, read it and said, "Oh, no, it’s an emergency. I have to leave right away." She quickly kissed him and added, "I had a great time. Call me in the morning." With that she hurried out the door.

 He couldn’t believe his luck.

 As soon as she was out of sight, he quickly left through a side door. He hit the sidewalk running. He took a remote control out of his pocket and hit a button. One block down the road, a nondescript Ford Taurus responded. It started, turned its lights on, and switched license plates. As Blake neared, the door opened. Blake slid into the driver’s seat. The hidden police band radio was on.

 "Rhino is now at the corner of 5^th and Nicollette proceeding south"

 "Do not engage… repeat… do not engage. If he gets too close, hit him with tear gas and fall back."

 "Captain, we are position on Washington Avenue. Orders?"

 "Stand by. Morgan, what is the status on Hammer?"

 "He still buried underneath a ton of rubble on 3^rd street. Wait…. Movement…. He’s OK! He’s digging his way out…. He’s standing…He’s activating his hammer! Alllll-right!!

"Stay on it. Hammer is our best bet in stopping that psycho"

 Blake switched off the radio. Blake had memorized the downtown layout and knew a perfect spot in which to set up. He pulled out into traffic, quickly turned into a side street. He skirted a police blockade and turned into an alley. A glance at the scanner showed no people in the area, so he stopped and got out. The trunk sprang open. He grabbed his gear from the trunk and quickly donned it. Then he pulled out from the trunk a long wooden case. He looked up, did a quick mental calculation and activated his jump pack. There was a muted whoosh as the air jet strapped on his back propelled him up to the roof of the building.

He immediately switched on the camouflage unit. It flickered on for a moment and he briefly blended into the night sky. Then it cut out. He made a mental note to check out the unit at first opportunity. He silently moved across the roof and got into position. He looked out over the battleground.

 Nicollette Avenue was a mess. Several storefronts had been smashed. Lampposts were bent. A bus was overturned. A geyser spouted from where a fireplug used to be. And there was rubble everywhere. In the middle of the street, Hammer and Rhino faced each other.

 He adjusted a knob on his helmet’s visor. With infrared on, he scanned the area. No bodies, no dead civilians. Good, he had gotten here in time. He opened the case revealing a long, big barreled rifle. He picked it up and checked it over. Satisfied that it was in working order, he reached back into the case and pulled out the ammo. It was a single metal spike. He held it up and looked at it.

 The metal was commonly know as Hammerbane. It was a very rare metal, but it was the only known way of penetrating Hammer’s bio shield. It had taken him months to get enough metal together for this one shot. He activated the gun’s loading mechanism. A metal door slid open and a metallic cradle projected out. He carefully place the spike in the cradle, then the cradle clamped down on the spike and retracted. The metal door slid closed and there was a slight whirring as the bullet was positioned for firing. He put the rifle to his shoulder and turned on the targeting laser.

Rhino had been mopping the floor with Hammer. But Hammer refused to stay down and was now slowly staggering to his feet for yet another futile attack. Rhino, laughing loudly, ripped up a huge chunk of the street, and held it high over his head ready to smash Hammer. Blake’s targeting laser centered on Hammer’s heart.

He pulled the trigger.

 There was a blue flash as Lightning Girl swooped down, grabbed and Hammer and flew off.

He couldn’t believe his luck.

He switched his visor to telescopic and tracked the pair. Lighting Girl set Hammer down on the roof of a building. Upon landing, Hammer grabbed his leg and collapsed. Damn, only a leg wound, fumed Blake. Lightning Girl picked Hammer up and flew off. The police moved in.

The police had hooked up several fire hoses and were blasting Rhino. They were trying to force him backward into an open manhole. It wasn’t working. Rhino lowered his head and charged.

 Blake took advantage of the chaos by slipping back to his car and escaping down a side road.

 Next morning found Blake in his workshop. He had been working all night. Before him on the table was a large sheet of paper full of design sketches and equations. Lightning Girl cost him his only shot at Hammer and the million-dollar bounty. If he is to continue to work in this area, he will need a weapon to dispose of that interfering bitch. The preliminary design he was working had promise, but it was a long way from completion.

 He sat back, stretched, and rubbed his eyes. As he got up to make another pot of coffee, his eyes fell upon the clock. 10:30! He had promised to call Aleshia in the morning! It took a while to locate the phone amid the piles of parts and papers. He found it and started dialing…

Lightning Girl was dead tired. It had been a long horrible night. And it had started out so wonderfully! But the next thing she knew, she was frantically flying a badly bleeding Hammer back to his secret base. Then there was the long fretful wait as the doctor struggled to remove the spike and stop the bleeding.

 But she wasn’t done. Rhino had broken through the police lines and escaped into the night. He had to be stopped. She spent the rest of the night searching for him. Around dawn she heard a strange grinding noise coming from the zoo. Then she heard "Doggie safe now. Mongo bring doggie home." She flew down to investigate and saw a large man walking away from the rhinoceros cage. Looking inside the cage, she saw an unconscious person. It was Rhino. The man had apparently bent the bars, put Rhino in and bent the bars back. She had to act quickly for though Rhino’s costume fooled the dimwitted Mongo, it was not about to fool the rhinoceros. By the time the police arrived, she had nearly drained herself keeping the thick-skinned rhinoceros at bay.

 Finally she was home and back in her civilian identity. It was 10:30, but she was too frazzled to sleep. She was thinking of the evil looking spike the doctor dug out of Hammer. She was thinking of the sniper she had glimpsed on the roof. He had nearly killed Hammer. He had nearly killed her best friend. She was going to find that bastard and nail him. If she only knew where he was…

 Game Notes : The fight, of course, is public knowledge. But both Hammer and Lightning Girl decided not to mention the wound or the sniper to reporters or the police. Also, the arrest report of Rhino does not mention Mongo, it merely reads "Rhino captured by Lightning Girl at 6:21 A.M at Como Zoo."