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   A Star Avenger Is Born

A Star Avenger fanfic.  All major characters in this and the Queen Justice/Colmaton
universe are the intellectual property of TRAIN.  Ji-Lin Hue/Crimson Cur is the creation of
CD.  Alice Daniels/Lone Wolf/Shodata is a joint creation of CD and myself.  Dr. Patricia
Arnoe/Mystic Cat and Dunston Howe/Dyno-Donkey are my creations.  This work of fiction is
meant as entertainment only and not meant to infringe on any known copyrights.

---

"Dr. Arnoe, welcome to the faculty of Union University!" Professor Hoofnagle, a smiling
suit wearing gazelle, said to the feline hybrid dressed in a drab purple blouse and matching
skirt.

"Thank you for giving me this opportunity to be a part-time lecturer here," Patricia Arnoe
said with a forced smile on her face.  Inside, she was fuming with anger as she thought to
herself.  "Damned agency!  They bust me down to the rank of Operative for six months so now
I have to actually hold down a secular job.  At least here at this school, I"ll command
respect while making enough money to pay my rent."

"You are quite welcome, Doctor.  With Professor Sinclair on maternity leave, we needed someone
to teach her classes.  I read your dissertation on the theory of Quantum Physics and Time
Travel and it was very impressive.  We were lucky that you was available on such short notice."

"Shorter than you think," Patricia grumbled under her breath.

"Anyway, I wanted to welcome you to Union personally on your first day.  I know you have a
class to teach in twenty minutes, so I will leave you to your work.  Perhaps you would be
willing to join me and other faculty members at the cafeteria for lunch at one."

"Thank you, no," the feline-hybrid said tersely, "I already have other plans."

"Oh, perhaps another time then, good luck!" Professor Hoofnagle said as he left her small
office.

"I plan to keep to myself as much as I can," Patricia grumbled and then thought to herself,
"it"s bad enough I have to teach snot nosed teenagers four days a week but to get stuck with
this tiny office is a slap in the face.  After all, I"m Dr. Patricia Arnoe!  I"m a hell of
lot smarter than all the other teachers on this campus put together!  Teaching Physics and
Calculus is so beneath me, but at least it"s better than asking people if they want fries
with their combo meal."

Patricia"s office was a short walk from the Bradberry Lecture Hall, where forty four students
were seated and waiting for the arrival of their teacher.  The class went quiet as the shapely,
brown furred feline-raccoon mix entered the hall.

"Hello students," she said with a noticeable lack of enthusiasm in her voice.  "My name is
Doctor Patricia Arnoe and I will be your instructor for the semester."

"What happened to Professor Sinclair?" a white furred whippet in the front row shouted.

"Two rules you WILL respect in MY class, young canine.  Rule Number One, NEVER interrupt
me!  And Rule Number Two, if you do, it better be for a damn good reason!  That"s two
strikes against you already, Mr. Green, care to try for three?"

"No ma"am, but I was just wondering..."

"Wonder on your own time, nerd boy," Dr. Arnoe grumbled,  "This is Differential Calculus
and I will expect each you to give me your best effort.  You there, the impala in the front
row, Miss Price."

"Actually, that"s Mrs. Price, Doctor Arnoe." Heather Barnes-Price said politely.  The
newlywed student was a freshman at Union.  Patricia had no idea that the tall, beautiful
impala seated in the front row was actually Colmaton"s newest superhero, Star Avenger.

"Rule Number Three in my class, MRS. Price, no one EVER corrects or contradicts ME in class!
You"re quite a tall woman, and with those horns on your head, you"re actually a bit too
tall for the front row.  Fursons in the second row might not be able to see my gorgeous
face over you.  Take your stuff and find a seat in the back row, NOW!"

Without saying a word, Heather packed up her laptop, grabbed her backpack and walked up
the aisle searching for an empty seat in the back.  

"There"s a seat back here, please join us!" a petite, smiling Bernese Mountain dog said as
Heather walked towards her.

"Thank you," Heather whispered as she took a seat beside of her.

"Rule Number Four, NO TALKING IN MY CLASS!" Patricia yelled as she spotted the student who
had spoke out.

"No, not HER!" the feline hybrid said to herself, "Ji-Lin Hue?  Crimson Cur is in THIS
class?  Well, she did keep me from getting kicked out of the Bureau.  Guess I should treat
her a little nicer."

"Sorry, ma"am," Ji-Lin said timidly as Heather got settled in.  Helping the smiling impala
to plug in her power cord was a Doberman-Wolf mix lady named Alice Daniels, Ji-Lin"s roommate
and secretly the superfur known as Lone Wolf.

"It"s alright, Miss Hue.  Now that everyone is seated, let me begin my first class lecture."

Dr. Arnoe delivered a speech on the history of Calculus, dating back to the time of the
Golden Age of Islam in Medieval era North Africa.  The boring lecture nearly has every
student in class asleep.  A sheep lady in the front row interrupted the lecture when she
gave out a loud snore.  Patricia walked off the podium and stood directly in front of the
sleeping white woolen sheep.

"Am I BORING you, Miss Rodrigues?" Patricia asked as she slammed her fist down on her desk,
causing her give out a shout as she instantly awoke.

"oh.. sorry Dr. Arnoe.... I...."

"Let me guess, you kept counting yourself and drifted off to sleep?  With all that extra
rest, you"ll be wide awake for the additional homework I"ll be assigning to you... AND THE
ENTIRE CLASS!"

"What the hell?" Heather said under her breath.

"That"s not fair," Alice whispered over to Ji-Lin but loud enough for Heather to hear.

"Class, be sure to thank Miss Rodrigues for your extra assignment!  Each of you will turn
in all the sample exercises in Chapter One next time we meet!  That"s all for today!  Class
dismissed!"

As Dr. Arnoe left with a satisfied grin on her face, Ji-Lin and Alice turned towards their
new classmate.

"You look like you"re new on campus.  I"m Ji-Lin Hue and this is my roommate, Alice Daniels
and we always like to make new friends because I know its hard to be new on campus without
knowing anyone and how I liked it when other students would welcome me and..."

"Pleased to meet you both, I"m Heather Barnes-Price!" the tall impala said as she shook their
paws.

"So, you"re married, that"s great!" Alice said with a beaming grin, "how long?"

"It"s been only a year, but I"m loving every minute of it!" Heather said as she closed
her laptop and placed it in its carrying bag.

"Ji-Lin and I are heading over to the cafeteria for lunch, wanna join us?"

"Sure, I"d like that, thanks Alice!"

"AWESOME!  This is going to be fantastic to make a new friend and share a meal together
because it"s not often that I get the chance to...."

"Does she always ramble like that?" Heather whispered to Alice as Ji-Lin kept on talking.

"You get used to it after a while," Alice whispered back as the three walked across campus
to the cafeteria building.  Moments later, the three students sat together as they began
eating.

"These tater tots are cold, I should"ve went with the fries instead," Alice said as she took
a sip of soda.

"Really, this food"s not all that bad," Heather said as she took a bite of her fish sandwich.

"So Heather, tell us a little more about yourself," Ji-Lin said as she took a bite of her
salad.

"Well, there"s not much to tell.  I was born in Beverly Hills and both of my parents are
former professors here at Union.  I left home and moved to Washington D.C. a few years ago
and that"s where I met Diedric!  He worked for an investment firm near the Capitol and
we accidentally bumped into each other at Starbucks.  The moment I saw that smiling antelope
I KNEW he was the man for me.  We got married and then moved back to Colmaton where Deidric
started his own investment firm and I decided to go to college!"

"It"s really great how you met your future husband I sure wish I could have a steady
boyfriend but I"ve had few dates and none of those guys ever wanted a second date and one
of them made me mad when he said the reason he didn"t want to be with me was because I
talked too much can you imagine a guy rude enough to say something like that to me...."

"I can imagine it," Alice and Heather both said to themselves as they continued to eat.
Ji-Lin noticed Patricia Arnoe walking by with a tray of food as she took a seat all alone
in the back of the cafeteria.

"Look!  There"s Dr. Arnoe!" Ji-Lin said excitedly.

"Looks like she"s sitting with all her friends," Heather said with a laugh as she bit into
an oatmeal cookie.

"Good one, Heather!" Alice laughed nearly choking on her soda.

"C"mon guys, she"s not all that bad, is she?"

"In a word... YES!" Alice laughed as Professor Hoofnagle spotted the feline-hybrid and
quickly took his tray and sat with her.

"Good to see you again, Dr. Arnoe!" the gazelle said with a smile, "how is your first day
of teaching going?"

"Well Professor..."

"Please. call me Kevin."

"Very well, Kevin, I don"t wish to complain, but my office is entirely too small."

"I do apologize about that, but it was the only office we had left."

"I see.  Well, some of these students could use behavior training."

"Really?"

"Yes.  Some of them talk during my lectures, I even had one young lady fall asleep on me!"

"Well Dr. Arnoe, sometimes our students have trouble sleeping in their dorm rooms for a
variety of reasons.."

"Like going out and partying all night."

"That"s not necessarily true."

"Anyway, I had a little trouble with a student in my last class.  She was tall but sat up
front where students behind her would have trouble seeing."

"That shouldn"t have been a problem in your lecture hall since the seats are on tiered rows."

"But this girl had horns!  Over six foot tall with horns!  Impalas should know better than
that.  I put her in her place!"

"An impala you say, what was her name?"

"Oh, I think it was Heather something or other, she even gave me a hard time about calling her
MISS instead of MRS."

"Would that happen to be Heather Barnes-Price?"

"Yeah, so you know this troublemaker?"

"I certainly do," Kevin said with a stern look on his face, "Heather happens to be my own
cousin!"

"Cousin?" Patricia said as she did a "spit take" with her coffee.

"Yes, she"s my cousin and very intelligent.  She was admitted with advanced standing for
her strong background in math and science in high school." the angry professor said as
he stood up, "in the future, you better watch which students you label as troublemakers."

As Professor Hoofnagle left a stunned Patricia Arnoe at her table, he saw Heather and Ji-Lin
waving to him.

"Hi Professor!" Ji-Lin shouted as she waved both arms in the air.

"Hello there," the smiling gazelle said as he joined the three ladies at their table.

"Professor, have you met Heather Price?  She"s new to Union University!"

"I sure have, Ji-Lin, Heather is my cousin!"

"COUSIN??" Ji-Lin and Alice said in unison.

"That"s right," Heather said with a giggle, "Kevin flew all the way out to Washington to
be at my wedding!  And Deidric and I still use the microwave you gave us as a wedding gift!"

"You"re quite welcome," Kevin said with a grin, "and how is my favorite student?"

"I"m fine, Professor!" Ji-Lin said as she took a quick sip of her soda, "I really do love
your class."


"I think I"ll be in one of your classes next semester," Alice said with a smile.


"So will I," Heather said with a smile.

"But don"t think I"ll go easy on you because you"re my cousin.  You"ll have to work hard and
produce quality papers just like I expect from all of my students."

"And you"ll get it from me, Kevin."

"Just don"t cheat or plagiarize," Ji-Lin said with a giggle, "just as Debbie Carrington, if
you can find her."

"Quite right, Ji-Lin," Kevin said as he took a sip of coffee, "last I heard of her she had
her records transferred to a university in Switzerland.  Just between us at this table, how
did you ever tolerate that arrogant collie as a roommate?"

"I try not to think about it," Ji-Lin said sadly.

"Now that I"m her roommate, things are much better!" Alice said with a beaming grin.

"Well ladies, if you"ll excuse me, I have a lecture to give at two.  Later today, I"d like
to talk to you three about your experience in Dr. Arnoe"s class."

"Ok," Heather said as she waved, "see you later!"

As she watched Heather wave to her departing cousin, Shodata, the ghostly alien who lives
inside of Alice, began to have a conversation in Alice"s mind.

"Alice, I sense that there is something unsettling about your new friend Heather."

"Unsettling?  What do you mean, Shodata?"

"I can sense that during the course of our table discussion, she was hiding information from
you and Ji-Lin."

"Hiding?   Do you mean lying?"

"No Alice, Heather was giving us an accurate account of her early life.  However, I can also
sense she was not fully disclosing some important facts."

"Oh Shodata, that"s called privacy.  It"s like the way I don"t go around telling everyone
everything about my life, that"s I"m really Lone Wolf."

"I understand, are you saying that perhaps this impala female is really a super powered
furson also?"

"No, that"s not what I"m saying.  Not all of us earthlings have super powers, y"know."

"True Alice, without me merged into your body, you would be just an ordinary canine."

"ORDINARY?"

"I apologize for my poor choice of words.  I"m still learning how language works on earth."

"I have a great idea!" Heather said with a smile, "I"d love for you two to meet my husband,
and I could really use some tutoring on Dr. Arnoe"s assignment.  Would you both be willing
to have dinner at my house tonight?  After we eat, we can work on our calculus together."

"I"m game for that!  How about you, Ji-Lin?"

"Sounds great to me I"d love to come over and study and eat even though I"m better at
studying than eating because I do a lot of studying and sometimes the food here at the
cafeteria is..."

"We"ll be there, Heather," Alice said as she reached over and held Ji-Lin"s snout shut.

"Great!  See you both at six, let me give you the directions..."

---

"Deidric, darling, how was your day?" Heather said to her antelope husband as he entered
the house.  Deidric was wearing his POWER suit, his favorite business wear, as he shared
a quick kiss with his impala wife.

"Another good day on the stock market, my love.  I made a killing with my investment in
Nation"s Bankshares.  Darling, why are you wearing an apron?"

"Because I"ve been working the past hour on a special dinner tonight."

"Yes!  I can smell it!  Your famous meatloaf and green salad!  My favorite!  Does this
great private meal mean you and I are going to be getting it on later this evening?"

"Cool your jets, loverboy!" Heather said with a smile, "I"ve invited two guests over for
dinner and tutoring."

"Oh boy," Deidric said with a disappointed look on his face, "you"ve invited some geeks to
DINNER?  Do these nerds know you"re married?"

"Of course they do, dear, and they"re NOT geeks or nerds.  Ji-Lin and Alice are my friends
and I wanted them to meet the love of my life!"

"Well, since you put it that way," Deidric said as he held Heather close to him, "it won"t
be all that bad."

As the smiling couple looked lovingly into each other"s eyes, the doorbell rang.

"I have to get the door, honey, you have to let go of me."

"Do I have to?" Deidric chuckled as he released Heather so she could answer the door.

"Well, here comes the Geek Patrol," Deidric said to himself as the door opened.  When the
door swung open and he saw Alice dressed in a blue halter top and denim mini skirt, his
eyes nearly popped out of his head.  He ignored Ji-Lin, who was dressed similar to Alice
and standing next to her.

"Deidric, this is Alice Daniels and Ji-Lin Hue!  Ladies, this is my wonderful husband!"

"Pleased to meet you, sir!" Alice said as Deidric quickly reached over and shook her paw.

"My, the students at Union University are certainly pretty!  And you brought your kid
sister with you, that"s nice."

"Ji-Lin is not Alice"s sister," Heather said sternly, "they are both my classmates in
Differential Calculus class and...."

Heather stopped talking when she noticed that her husband was staring at Alice"s cleavage
as he still held her paw.

"Dierdic... you can let go of my paw now.."

"OH OH, sorry about that.  Please come in, any friends of my wife are friends of mine!"

As Ji-Lin and Alice entered the dining room, Deidric walked behind them, his eyes fixed on
Alice"s ass and long swinging tail.

"Dinner"s almost ready, please have a seat and I"ll bring out the salads!"

"Salad?  I LOVE salads because they are nice and green and leafy and natural without any
extra calories because you don"t fry a salad so there"s no extra fats and oils and..."

As Ji-Lin rambled on, Deidric watched Alice sit down, crossing her legs as she sat and
listened to Ji-Lin.

"So Alice, what brings a gorgeous girl like you to good old U.U?"

"My company wanted me to complete my Bachelor"s Degree, so they transferred me to Colmaton
and enrolled me at Union!"

"And what company is lucky enough to have a pretty girl like you in it"s employ?"

"Moates and Associates"

"That"s one of the biggest law firms in California!  Are you planning to become a lawyer?"

"Someday, but for now I"m a paralegal working part time while I"m in school."

"Fascinating," Deidric said softly, still staring at Alice"s halter top, hoping for a
wardrobe malfunction.

"I came here from San Francisco," Ji-Lin said.

"That"s nice, kid," Deidric said, still staring at Alice.

"Deidric, why are you looking at me like that?" Alice said sternly.

"I what... oh, sorry about that, you look so much like someone I know," Deirdic lied as
Heather sat down four bowls of salad on the table.

"Here"s the salads, I"ll be back in a minute with the rest of the food," Heather said as
she returned to the kitchen.  Sensing opportunity, Deidric gently pushed his fork off the
table.

"Oh, clumsy me, I"ll get it," the antelope said as he ducked his head under the table,
glancing up in hopes of looking up Alice"s skirt.

"Alice," Shodata said in her mind, "that male is staring at the lower region of your body."

"I think I"ll give that drooling fellow something to see," Alice thought as she slowly
opened her legs.  As Deidric"s eyes opened wide, a spring loaded boxing glove sprung out
from between her legs and smacked him hard on the nose.

"YEOW!!" Deidric shouted as he bumped his head on the table.

"What"s going on?" Heather asked as she rushed back into the dining room.

"I think your husband hit his head on the table trying to reach his fallen fork," Ji-Lin
said with a giggle.

"Yeah, poor clumsy guy," Alice said, trying hard not to laugh.

"I think my nose is broken," Deidric grumbled as he placed both hooves on it.  

"Alice, what did I tell you about using my powers for malice?" Shodata asked her in her mind.

"Hey, the jerk had it coming to him," Alice thought as Heather brought in the meatloaf,
potatoes and rolls.

"Well, here it is everyone!  It"s not exactly restaurant fare, but I"m sure you"ll enjoy it!"

"I enjoy it already!" Alice said as she reached for a piece of meatloaf, "homemade food
beats the cafeteria anytime!"

"Thank you for inviting us," Ji-Lin said as she reached for a roll.  

"That couldn"t have been a boxing glove," Deidric thought to himself as he grabbed the salt
shaker, "I had to be seeing things."

"This is great meatloaf!" Alice said as she took another bite, "you have to give me the recipe!"

"Thanks Alice!" Heather said as she speared more potatoes with her fork.

"I agree!" Ji-Lin said as she reached for another piece of meatloaf.  As they continued to
eat, Heather noticed how Deidric kept staring at Alice.  After supper, the three ladies went
into the den to study.

"So that"s how you calculate a Taylor series!" Heather said with glee, "I wish Dr. Arnoe made
as much sense in her lectures as both of you do!"

"She should"ve explained this material better," Alice said with a nod.

"And beginning the first day of class with the Taylor series just isn"t right because we
should really be working on derivatives first because they are the foundation for all
Calculus and.."

As Ji-Lin continued to speak, Deidric poked his head through the half open door.  While
Ji-Lin and Heather were looking down at their textbooks, Alice looked up and saw Deidric
staring at her legs and cleavage.

"That does it!" Alice said to herself, "I"m going to give that hormone driven antler head
something to REALLY look at!"

"Do not do this, Alice!" Shodata warned as Alice"s head instantly morphed into a hideous
looking monster head, causing him to scream so loud, it frightened the other ladies.

"DEIDRIC! WHAT THE HELL"S THE MATTER WITH YOU!" Heather shouted as she stood up and walked
over to him.

"I...I.... thought I saw something ... scary..." Deidric muttered as he trembled.

"You"re going to REALLY see something SCARY if you don"t stop ogling Alice!" Heather
whispered as he pushed her husband out of the room.

"I wonder what"s bothering Deidric?" Ji-Lin whispered to Alice.

"I"ll tell you later," Alice whispered back as Heather returned.

"Thanks for all your help with my homework," Heather said with a smile.

"You"re welcome, and thank you for dinner!" Alice said with a nod.

"Yeah, that"s what friends are for!" Ji-Lin added as she stood up.  "Alice and I have to be
getting back to the dorm."

"Would you like for me to drive you back?"

"That"s alright Heather, it"s a clear night so Ji-Lin and I can walk it."

"Yes, thanks for offering though."

"Ok, see you in class tomorrow!"

"Bye!" Alice and Ji-Lin said as they waved their paws and exited the house.

"Heather Barnes-Price is hiding something," Shodata said outloud from within Alice.

"What?" Ji-Lin asked.

"Shodata thinks Heather has some deep dark secret," Alice said with a giggle, "it"s called
PRIVACY!"

"I sense a deeper level of deception within her, Alice, "Shodata said.

"Stop it!" Alice said as she shook her head, "she"s just upset over the way that drooling
husband of hers was looking me over!"

"Oh no!  That"s terrible!"

"How do you think he got that bruised snout?" Alice said with a laugh, "and when I head
morphed into a scary creature face, I thought he was going to wet himself!"

"I disapproved of yours actions, Alice!" Shodata shouted.

"No wonder Heather was so upset," Ji-Lin said sadly, "but he sure never looked twice at me."

"Then you"re very lucky," Alice said with a sigh, "I can"t count the number of times I"ve
had men undressing me with their eyes.."

"One hundred seventy four," Shodata answered outloud from with Alice, "since I have been
merged with your body."

"It makes me feel very uneasy when I am looked upon as a sex object.  Maybe that"s why I
haven"t had a steady boyfriend in a long time."

"None since we have been merged."

"You"re not helping, Shodata!" Alice yelled, then went back to whispering, "So please don"t
feel bad."

"I never saw it that way before," Ji-Lin said with a smile, "you"re right, thank you."

"Hey, what are friends for?" Alice said with a wide grin, "and with me, you actually get
two for the price of one!"

"That is a unique way of phrasing it, Alice," Shodata said outloud as the two canines
continued walking towards Union University.

---

"Ok, here I go!" Heather said to herself as she emerged from a phone booth after changing
her clothes.  The tall impala was now dressed in a majorette style leotard which was white
in the upper chest area and blue with white stars over the rest of it.  Her white gloves
and blue knee high boots shown brightly against her coffee colored fur.  She wore a blue
half-mask on her face that accented her tall horns.  Her white utility belt was loaded with
many different weapons and other items to aid her in crimefighting.

"My first night as Star Avenger," Heather said to herself as she adjusted her gloves that
felt somewhat uncomfortable with all the microcircuits embedded in them.  As she used her
grapple rope and began to swing from building to building, her mind raced back to the
fateful night many years ago when she had received her superpowers.  As a teenager, Heather
was short, but very popular, becoming the typical cheerleader/Homecoming Queen type of lady.
One night, she and a group of her friends decided to break into an old abandoned looking
building.  They discovered too late that it was the lair of elephant supervillain Super-
charger.  Her friends deserted her when Supercharger grabbed her, giving her a high voltage
blast that sent her sailing across the room and crashing into a makeshift chemistry lab.
Barely conscious, she felt chemical liquids dripping all over her fur as Lady Liberty and
Brown Lotus entered the room and quickly captured him.  All she could remember after that
was how she woke up in a hospital bed, feeling pain but at the same time, feeling very
different than she was.  Over time, Heather then realized that her strength and agility
had increased dramatically.  She kept her new abilities a secret, even from her new husband.
One evening after finding Deidric"s private collection of Lady Liberty posters and pictures,
Heather took a long walk in Peterson City Park, dropping a coin into a wishing well and
wishing she could replace the Mighty Mare as the object of her husband"s desire.  Moments
later, she came to the aid of an elderly jackal who was about to be robbed by a gang of
street toughs.  With her super quickness and strength, she easily defeated all the attackers.
The next day when she woke up, Heather discovered that she had grown a foot taller and her
body was much more shapely and sexy than it had ever been.  She even found that she had
the ability to produce electrical bolts from her hooved hands.  It was after this recent event
that Heather made the decision to become Star Avenger.

"To this day, I can"t believe a simple wish in a wishing well did all of that to me," Heather
said to herself as she landed on an apartment rooftop.  "Wait a minute, my radar sense is
detecting someone coming towards me from behind!"

As Star Avenger turned around, she saw Lady Liberty swinging up and landing beside her.

"Excuse me, I don"t think we"ve met," Lady Liberty said with a welcome smile, "you must be
new to the superhero business."

"Actually Miss Liberty," Star Avenger interrupted, "we have met before, about a year ago
before I put on this costume."

"You do look familiar."

"I was upset because my husband lusted after you, so I gave you a hard time about it."

"Oh yes, NOW I remember!  He had that secret photo album and posters of me, and you told
me it was all MY fault,"

"I know, but what you told me that night was right.  It"s not YOUR fault when guys idolize
you.  All this time, I"ve owed you an apology for all the angry things I said that night."

"It"s ok," the Mighty Mare said as she shook Heather"s hooved hand, "I can understand your
uneasiness.  Are you still married to him?"

"Yes, and later that night, I found a love letter he wrote me.  My Diedric wasn"t planning
on leaving me after all!  He truly loved me, and still does to this day although he still
has wondering eyes."

"So you"re a superhero now."

"That"s right, I"m Star Avenger and this is my first evening in costume."

"I"d like to offer you a few words of wisdom if I may," Lady Liberty said as she and Star
Avenger spent the next half hour talking, only to be interrupted when Heather held up her
gloved hoof.

"Wait, my radar sense is detecting something approaching us from the air coming due east."

As Lady Liberty and Star Avenger turned to look in that direction, they saw a brown furred
feline in a magician"s leotard costume floating down towards the roof.

"Don"t look now, rookie, but here comes trouble," the Mighty Mare whispered as Mystic Cat
landed beside them.

"Lady Liberty!" the feline hybrid said with a wide grin, "I don"t believe we"d met, my name
is..."

"I know all about YOU, Mystic Cat," Lady Liberty said tersely, "you"re that registered
superfur who"s out to get the rest of us!"

"Now now Miss Liberty.  You"ve got me all wrong!  I would like to offer you and your new
trainee full membership with our organization.  Two patriotic superfurs like yourselves
could better serve America as being a part of the Bureau of Superheroes."

"First of all, kitty," the Mighty Mare said in an agitated voice, "this is Star Avenger,
she"s my new friend and not my sidekick.  Secondly, we know all about your attempts to
unmask Hotspot and how you"ve been giving Lone Wolf and other superfurs a hard time."

"Yet another new freak in a costume," Mystic Cat said under her breath.

"Look cat, we want no part of you or the Bureau." Lady Liberty said.

"That goes for me too!" Star Avenger added.

"Let me remind you both that operating as unregistered superheroes is illegal and punishable
by up to..."

"Oh can it already!" Lady Liberty shouted.  "How can you stand there and talk about laws
when you fabricated evidence against Hotspot and had to make a public apology for it!"

"That"s past history," Mystic Cat hissed. "Besides, I was disciplined by the Bureau for it.
All I am saying is the two of you have two choices, either join the Bureau or continue to
break the law and be subject to arrest and trial."

"You"ve got to be kidding me!" the Mighty Mare yelled, "after all the good my kind has done
for Colmaton you"d want to lock us all up?"

"You ARE operating illegally, Miss Liberty.  That can be easily remedied by submitting your
applications to join the Bureau, I happen to have several membership forms and..."

"And YOU can shove them all RIGHT UP YOUR ASS!" Lady Liberty shouted.

"You was right about her!" Star Avenger said as she took a defensive stance, "she really
is an arrogant bitch!"

"HOW DARE YOU CALL ME THAT, BAMBI!" Mystic Cat hissed, "I"ll show you!"

Mystic Cat quickly snapped her fingers, magically creating handcuffs that fit on Lady
Liberty"s and Star Avenger"s wrists.

"You have to right to remain silent, you have the right to an attorney.  In the event that.."

Lady Liberty and Star Avenger flexed their wrists and arms, instantly shattering the metal
handcuffs.

"I don"t think so, bitch!" Lady Liberty said as she drew out her sword.  "Try that again
and we"ll see how you can handle my blade!"

"FOOLS!  Do you know who I am?  I"m Mystic Cat, master of magic!  Come quietly or I will
unleash my full powers upon you both!"

"How about we turn up the juice?" Star Avenger asked as she pointed a finger in her
direction and shot out a electric bolt that struck the floating feline hybrid, causing her
to scream as she fell to the rooftop.

"You have electric powers?" Lady Liberty asked in amazement.

"I call them Star Bolts, but yes, they are electrical in nature.  I also have radar sense
as well as super strength, speed and agility."

"Are you as fast as Crimson Cur?"

"No, not THAT fast, but I can outrun cars when I have to."

As Star Avenger spoke, Mystic Cat opened her eyes and began to stand up.

"Those two are too strong for me to arrest, but if I can focus my mind long enough, I can
read their minds and find out their secret identities!"

"WATCH OUT!" Lady Liberty shouted as she quickly produced an air horn from her utility belt
and blew it right in Mystic Cat"s right ear.  The booming sound caused the feline hybrid
to yell loudly in pain as she rolled across the rooftop until her body ran into a nearby
brick chimney.

"Why did you do that to her?" Star Avenger asked.

"Because she was about to read our minds, rookie.  Mystic Cat needs full concentration to
do that.  It"s always a good idea to carry one of these around just in case you run into
her."

"Sounds like good advice," Star Avenger said with a smile, "thanks!"

"Anytime.  I think we better leave in different directions.  It"ll take her a few minutes
to recover, and neither of us better be here when she does."

"Another good idea," Star Avenger said as she produced a grapple rope from her utility
belt, "bye for now, and thanks for everything!"

---

"Good morning, Dr. Arnoe, you asked to see me?" Ji-Lin Hue said as she gently knocked on her
open office door.

"Yes, come in and shut the door," Patricia said as Ji-Lin closed it and took a seat.  "Look
kid, I"ve been wanting to talk to you for the past week.  I know you stood up for me in front
of my tribunal last week and got my punishment by the Bureau reduced.  This isn"t easy for me
to say, but... thank you."

"You"re welcome Dr. Arnoe I just didn"t want you to get into trouble because I know you love
your work and although you haven"t treated me very well lately I still felt that I needed to
speak up for you and..."

"Don"t ruin the moment, kid," Patricia said sternly as she held Ji-Lin"s snout shut and began
to whisper.  "That"s not the only reason I called you in here.  Dunston contacted me and
told me to tell you that supervillain Count Montahue is here in Colmaton, and may be hiding
out on this very campus!"

"Count Montahue?" Ji-Lin whispered, "I never heard of him."

"His real name is Pierre LaBlonc and he really isn"t royalty.  He was one of the greatest
actors in all of Europe until he began using his acting tour as a cover for illegal activities.
I battled him once in France several years ago.  He"s a antlerless deer who"s a master of
disguise.  I busted him when he claimed to have created a gas that would dissolve gold and
tried to blackmail the French government with it."

"Did he have the formula when you arrested him?"

"No, we think he was bluffing.  Good thing we didn"t need it as evidence in his trial.  A
week ago, he broke out of a Paris prison and disappeared.  Rumor has it he came to Washington
disguised as a French diplomat and left the capitol and made his way here.  Pierre does
hold a Master"s Degree in molecular chemistry, so he does have the knowledge to try to
recreate his gold dissolving formula."

"Oh my!  If he succeeds, it could cause chaos in the world economy!"

"Right you are, kid.  So if he"s here at Union, it is essential that we find him and shut him
down quickly.  Remember, he could be masquerading as anyone, even current students or faculty."

"Yes ma"am, I"ll be on the lookout for him."

"You don"t have to call me ma"am now," Patricia said sadly, "for the next half year, I"m an
operative, same as you."

"If you say so, Dr. Arnoe.  I have to get to my next class now, bye!"

As Ji-Lin left her office, Patricia began typing on her office PC.

"Let"s see if there have been any other recent hirings by the University..."

"So, what did Dr. Arnoe want?" Heather asked as she walked up to Ji-Lin.

"She wanted to apologize to me for..."

"DR. ARNOE?  APOLOGIZED?" Heather said in disbelief, "I didn"t think that was possible."

"Miracles do happen!" Ji-Lin laughed as Alice walked over to them.

"Hi Alice, did you know that Dr. Arnoe actually apologized to Ji-Lin?"

"Whoa!  Did I wake up in Bizzaro world today?" Alice laughed.

"Guys, I have U.S. History class in five minutes, gotta run, see you later!"

"Bye!" Ji-Lin and Alice shouted as they waved.

"Ji-Lin, there may be a master criminal on campus," Alice whispered as she pulled her canine
roommate into an empty hallway.

"You mean Count Montehue?" Ji-Lin whispered back.

"Yes, how did you know?"

"Dr. Arnoe told me. How did you find out?"

"One of my sources on the street told me while I was on patrol last night."

"Not exactly, Alice," Shodata said in a very hushed tone, "I read the young rat"s mind when
you placed your paw on his head."

"Ok ok, you"re right," Alice whispered outloud.

"What did you learn from him?"

"That the Count snuck into Colmaton as Ram Hawkins, fullback for the Colmaton Waves.  He
was even signing autographs at the Starplex yesterday."

"How did the rat know he was a phony?"

"Because the Count told him the real Ram Hawkins was on a spiritual retreat in Tibet."

"Did the rat know exactly where the Count"s hideout is?"

"No, he just heard him say something about having to get back to campus to finish some
research."

"Research!  That"s it!" Ji-Lin shouted, "there"s a group of visiting chemists from Bern
University that arrived a few days ago.  One of my friends at the Science Lab told me all
about them."

"You think the Count may be one of them?"

"It makes sense, we need to sneak over there tonight."

---

"Pay attention to me!" a snooty looking beaver woman shouted as she stood behind the lecture
podium, "some of you students look like you have fallen asleep!  VAKE UP!  I didn"t come all
dee vay from Switzerland to be ignored!"

As the visiting professor continued her lecture, Heather Price fought to stay awake.  The
yawning impala seated in the back of the lecture hall struggled to stay interested in what
the angry beaver was saying.

"GAWD, how much longer is it till noon?" Heather asked herself as she glanced down at her
watch.  When she looked out the nearby window, she noticed an odd looking panel truck being
unloaded by several blue uniformed rhinos.  "Those guys don"t look like the regular delivery
fursons.  What"s in that big crate marked LAB SUPPLIES - DR. KROTZ?"

"YOU DARE IN DEE BACK!  QUIT YOUR DAYDREAMING ON MEIN TIME!" the beaver woman shouted.

"Oh my...." Heather said with a look of pure embarrassment on her face as the dismissal
bell rang, "whew!  Saved by the bell!"

"Vait students, I"m not finished yet!" the beaver lady shouted as everyone began to exit
the lecture hall, "COME BACK HERE UND LISTEN TO ME!  I HAVE VONE MORE HOUR TO GO!"

As the lecture hall emptied out, Heather glanced once more out a window in the direction of
the truck and uniformed rhinos as she walked.

"I have a gut feeling that something"s not right here, maybe I should..."

Suddenly, Heather collided with a light brown furred goat in a white labcoat who was also
not looking where he was going.  Both Heather and the goat fell on their butts to the floor.

"Oh, I am SO sorry sir," Heather said as she quickly got to her feet and helped the angry
goat up.

"DUMKUFF!  YOU CLUMSY FEMALE!" the goat shouted as Heather read his security nametag.

"Dr. Helmut Krotz!" Heather said with a warm smile, "you must be one of the visiting Swiss
professors and..."

"Und I have no time for dee likes of YOU, vile voman!"  Helmut roared before noticing that
one of his small black horns was on the floor at Heather"s feet.

"Oh my, this must be yours," Heather said as she quickly picked the horn up and handed it
to him, "this must be embarrassing for you, I won"t tell anyone about..."

"GIVE ME DAT!" Helmut said as he snatched the horn and tried to place it back on his head,
"JUST LEAVE ME ALONE!"

"Why would a visiting professor bring a crate full of lab equipment here and wear a fake
goat horn?" Heather said to herself as she watched Helmut scamper away.  "And why is my
radar sense detecting danger when I picked up his horn?  I have to go with my gut on this
one, I think I"ll pay his lab a visit tonight..."

Later that night, Heather, now dressed in her Star Avenger costume, snuck through an open
window into the research wing of the Science Building, carefully avoiding all the hallway
security cameras and the sleeping turtle nightwatchman near the front door.

"I"ve never been in this place before," Star Avenger said to herself as she quietly roamed
the hallway.  "A crate that big could only be loaded into that room with the garage door
opening, so it must be on this floor."

The costumed impala opened several doors until she found a room with a garage door on the
far wall.  As she entered the room and shut the door behind her, she stopped for a moment.

"My radar sense is detecting another presence in this room, better hide for now," Heather
said to herself as she ducked into a closet.  Holding the door open slightly, Star Avenger
peeked out and spotted two figures near the far wall.  In the dimly lit room, she couldn"t
see that they were Lone Wolf and Crimson Cur, using Shodata"s power to pass directly through
the wall and into the room.

"Are you sure this is the lab used by the visiting professors?" Lone Wolf whispered.

"Yes, I know this building like the back of my paw, Alice. I know we"re in the right place,
trust me." Ji-Lin said as the two costumed superfurs moved closer to the center of the room.

"Four unidentified figures are approaching the room door," Shodata said softly outloud as
Crimson Cur pointed to a closet door.

"We can hide in there," she said quickly as she grabbed Lone Wolf by the wrist and zipped
inside just as the front door opened wide.

"I can"t stand anymore delays!" Dr. Krotz shouted as he and three blue uniformed rhinos
walked over to a lab table.  Arrayed with a collection of test tubes and hoses, it shook as
the Doctor removed his horns and slammed them on top of it.

"Damned fake horns!  I hate masquerading as a goat!  It was hard enough to glue those big
ram horns on my head a few days ago, but these things are just as annoying."

"But Count, don"t ya have to keep pretending to be Dr. Knotz till ya get that formula done
that you was workin" on and..."

"I"m almost there, horn nose!" Count Montahue shouted at the rhino who had spoke to him.  As
the antlerless buck continued scolding his henchmen, Star Avenger, Lone Wolf and Crimson Cur
discovered how small the closet they chose to hide in was.  With the red suited speedster
trapped in the back of the closet, Lone Wolf and Star Avenger stood face to face, staring at
each other in near darkness.

"Who are you and what are you doing here?" Lone Wolf whispered.

"I was going to ask you the same question," Star Avenger answered back.

"Guys... I"m being crushed..." Crimson Cur said as the closet door swung open.

"INTRUDERS!" the Count shouted, "AND THEY"RE SUPERS!  USE THE GAS PELLETS ON THEM NOW!"

Before any of the costumed ladies could react, two rhino henchmen tossed two gas pellets
into the closet, slammed the door and held it shut.  The chloroform gas quickly filled the
small space inside and quickly caused all three superfurs to pass out.

"So, the supers have found me already," the Count moaned, "good thing I nearly have my
gold dissolving formula done.  That chloroform gas will keep them sleeping for hours.  Take
them downstairs and lock them up.  No one will stop me from achieving my goal tonight!"

---

"Working late tonight, Professor Hoofnagle?" a Basset Hound security guard asked the tall
gazelle as he entered the Faculty Office building.

"No Tess, I just forgot the papers I was planning to grade tonight at home.  With my wife
out of town visiting her sister, I wanted something quiet and relaxing to do to pass the
time.  Besides, I promised my students to have these done by our next class.  I ran out
of here today without them.

"Wow Professor, you are always working overtime for your students.  If I was going to school
here, I"d love to have you as my teacher!"

"Thank you, Tess.  Why not take some daytime courses?  They wouldn"t interfere with your job
here and I"m sure the university would..."

"No no, not me.  I"m too old to go to college."

"Nonsense Tess!  Last year we had four students graduate with degrees who were older than I
am!  It"s never too late to get a college education and Union University is the finest..."

"Whoa whoa Professor!  You"re beginning to sound like one of those TV ads on the local news!"

"Well, it"s the truth.  If you"re interested, I"m willing to help you enroll.  Drop by my
office anytime!"

"I may take you up on that!" Tess said with a smile as she watched the casually dressed
gazelle walk down the hall and into his office.  

"Ah!  There they are!" the Professor said as he grabbed the file on top of his desk just as
Mystic Cat dashed in.

"AH HA!  GOT YOU PIERRE!"

"Who are you and what on earth are you talking about?"

"Oh, you remember me, Count Montahue!" Mystic Cat said as she grabbed the confused gazelle
by his shirt collar.  "what have you done with the real Professor Hoofnagle?"

"I AM Professor Hoofnagle and if you don"t leave I"m calling security!"

"Nice try, Pierre, but I can tell by your voice that you"re a phony!"

"I"m a little hoarse from all my lecturing and the speech I gave tonight at the faculty
reception for..."

"Enough lies!  That"s not even a good disguise!" Mystic Cat said as she grabbed one of the
Professor"s long black horns and began pulling on it.

"YYYEEEOOOWWW!!  WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING, YOU CRAZY CAT!"

"That"s MYSTIC Cat and I"m going to take those fake horns off of you!"

"ARE YOU COMPLETELY INSANE??  GO AWAY OR I"LL HAVE YOU ARRESTED!"

"I"m going to arrest YOU, Count Montahue!" Mystic Cat shouted as she continued to pull on
the Professor"s horns.  "You must have used super glue on these, but you"re still coming
with me to the police station!"

"What"s all the commotion in here?" Tess asked as she walked into the office.

"Good you are here, citizen!" Mystic Cat said proudly, "I have just found the notorious
Count Montahue, escaped super criminal!"

"No ma"am, you just found Professor Kevin Hoofnagle," Tess said sternly.  "I"ve known him
for many years."

"He has you deceived, lady," Mystic Cat said," I KNOW this is the Count!"

"Let me go, or the only thing you"re going to count is how many months the judge will give
you for false arrest!" Kevin shouted as he struggled free of Mystic Cat"s grasp.

"Idle threats don"t bother ME!" Mystic Cat yelled as she used her magic to levitate Kevin
into the air.

"PUT ME DOWN, YOU IMPECUOUS BITCH!"

"I will, I will, as soon as we reach the Police Station!" Mystic Cat said as she rose into
the air and out an open window.

"TESS!  CALL MY WIFE AND MY ATTORNEY!" the floating professor shouted as he followed Mystic
Cat out the window.

"BRING HIM BACK!" Tess screamed, "THAT"S NOT COUNT WHAT"S HIS NAME!!!"

---

"ALICE!!  ALICE!!!  WAKE UP!!" Shodata shouted from within the body of Lone Wolf.  "I
cannot awaken her.  She and the others are still unconscious in this strange chamber those
outlaws threw us in.  If I am reading the sign on the wall correctly, this is a Civil
Defense Bomb Shelter and from the amount of dust and rust on the metal shelving, it has
not been used in a long time.  Since I am unaffected by that sleeping gas, it is up to me
to free us from this enclosure.  To do that, I must take control of Alice"s body limbs."

Still lying on the cold concrete floor of the shelter, Alice"s arms and legs began to move.
Concentration caused the ropes that bound her paws and feet to pass through to the floor.

"This is not going to be a simple task," Shodata said from within Lone Wolf as her body
turned and slowly stood in an upright position.

"There, now if I can just free the others now," Shodata said within Lone Wolf"s body as
she slowly bent over towards the bound and unconscious Crimson Cur.  Quickly losing
balance, her body fell to the floor, her paws now touching both the face of Crimson Cur and
that of Star Avenger.  The Doberman-wolf mix gave off a brief blue glow as she suddenly
woke up.

"Whoa, where am I?" Lone Wolf said as she opened her eyes and sat up, "we"re in an old
bomb shelter, I better untie Ji-Lin and Heather...  wait a minute, how did I know who the
girl in white is?"

"Where are we, Alice?" Star Avenger asked as the masked impala opened her eyes.  "Alice?  How
do I know who you really are, Lone Wolf?"

"We have to get out of here!" Crimson Cur said as she opened her eyes and jumped to her feet.
"We have to figure out how to escape.  Heather?  Alice?  Have any ideas about.. wait, how do
I know who you are because we never met before Star Avenger and ... how do I know you"re Star
Avenger because you never told me and ..."

"I am afraid this is all my fault, ladies," Shodata said outloud from within Lone Wolf.

"You got that right, Shodata!" Star Avenger shouted, "and how did I know who you are and that
you"re an alien living inside of Alice Daniels?"

"You three were all knocked out so I took over Alice"s body in an attempt to break us out.
When I stumbled and Alice"s paws touched each of you, I inadvertently created a mind link
between all of you."

"A mind link?" Star Avenger asked.

"Yes, think of it as a group mind reading session.  I had no control over the data the three
of you exchanged."

"So that"s why we know each other"s secret identities," Lone Wolf said, "and why I know your
favorite color is blue and your favorite flower is the red rose."

"That"s right!" Star Avenger said with a grin, "Ji-Lin"s favorite food is pizza and you have
a fear of snakes, Alice!"

"And now I have memories of the day Shodata entered your body," Crimson Cur said as she
lowered her head, "and the night Heather nearly died at the hands of Supercharger."

"Whoa, this is getting WAY too personal here," Lone Wolf said, "we need to got out of here
fast."

"I can blow the door up with one of my grenades," Star Avenger said as she reached for her waist,
"Damnit!  Those thugs took my utility belt!"

"Yeah, you had extending majorette sticks, concussion grenades, combat knife, throwing
darts and...."

"This is getting scary," Heather said as she grabbed Crimson Cur"s snout and held it shut.
"Why don"t we just walk through the wall using Shodata"s powers or vibrate through the wall
like Ji-Lin did when she shut down the Colmaton nuclear reactor several months ago?"

"Now YOU"RE the one scaring me," Lone Wolf said with a laugh, "that must"ve been one hell of
a mind link."

Crimson Cur nodded.

"Oops, sorry about that," Star Avenger said as she released the red suited canine"s snout.
"Somehow, I knew that"s what your friends do to you when you ramble too much... oh, sorry."

"It"s alright," Crimson Cur said sadly, "nevermind that, let"s get out of here."

"That would be the most prudent course of action," Shodata said outloud as the three held
hands and passed through the thick concrete walls of the bomb shelter.  "The evil ones
who sealed us in are waiting upstairs."

"Did you hear something, boss?" a rhino henchman said to the Count as he poured a blue
liquid from one test tube into another.

"Maybe our GUESTS are awake, go take care of them!" the Count said as three blue suited
rhinos left the room.  "I"m so close to a breakthrough!  By recreating this formula, I can
threaten to melt the gold reserves of every nation on earth!  I can reduce all the gold
stored at Fort Knox to dust!  I could corner the world gold market by buying up all the gold
I can and then destroying everyone else"s!"

As the Count was still speaking, three unconscious rhino henchmen were tossed into the room.

"WHAT THE HELL?" the Count asked as Star Avenger, Lone Wolf and Crimson Cur stood in from
of him.

"GIVE IT UP, COUNT MONTAHUE!" Star Avenger shouted, "wait, how did I know..."

"Mind link!" Crimson Cur and Lone Wolf said in unison as the Count held up a test tube
over his head.

"BACK OFF, ALL OF YOU OR I"LL BLOW THIS BUILDING UP!"

"Better check your hoof again, dude!" Lone Wolf laughed as the Count discovered his test
tube had been snatched by the super speedy Crimson Cur.

"How dare you try to blow us all up because you would have died too and so would everyone
else in this building and there"s a lot of innocent fursons here who would be injured or
killed or worse than that all because you wanted to be so reckless and..."

"GAWD YOU"RE ANNOYING YOU PESKY PUPPY!" the Count shouted as Star Avenger pointed a gloved
hoof at him and sent out a Star bolt, instantly stunning the mad deer and causing him to
fall to the floor in a heap.

"Nice work," Lone Wolf said with a smile, "the circuitry in your gloves help you to focus
your energy blasts into a more narrow beam."

"I found your utility belt!" Crimson Cur said as she zipped over, grabbed it off the wall and
gave it back to Star Avenger.  "Everything"s there, I made a quick search and...."

"You two know WAY too much about me," Star Avenger said with a smile.

"And you know a lot about us too," Lone Wolf said as she began tying up the rhino henchmen.

"Then you know that although I"m a registered superhero, you can trust me," Crimson Cur said
with a smile.

"Well, Lady Liberty told me that already and.... HEY!  Lady Liberty is really..."

"Don"t say it!" Lone Wolf shouted as with an outstretched arm, she held the impala"s mouth
shut.

"Now you know how it feels!" Crimson Cur said with a laugh as Star Avenger nodded.  Lone
Wolf retracted her overstretched arm.

"Fair enough," Star Avenger said, "let"s finish gift wrapping these villains for the police."

---

"Top of the news this morning in Colmaton, an escaped criminal is recaptured thanks to the
efforts of Lone Wolf, Crimson Cur and the city"s newest crimefighter, Star Avenger!"  Carla
Meadows, the skunkette news anchor of the Colmaton Today television show, said on the air.
"I have an exclusive, on the screen interview with her taped yesterday you"ll see later in
the broadcast.  Pierre LaBlonc, better known as Count Montahue, was found at Union University
posing as a visiting Swiss researcher.  Police Chief Max Monroe made the official arrest
at around midnight last night..."

"Turn the sound up, please!" someone shouted from the back of Dora"s Diner, a small sit down
restaurant five blocks from Union University.  Seated together at a table is Heather Price,
Alice Daniels and Ji-Lin Hue.

"Thanks for taking us out for breakfast," Ji-Lin said as she took a bite of toast, "sometimes
cafeteria fare isn"t all that good."

"You"re welcome," Heather said as she took a sip of coffee, "it"s the least I could do after
the wild time we had last night."

"But what about Deidric?" Alice asked, "does he know you"re here with us?"

"Yes, I told him to meet us at eight." Heather said with a smile.

"You two eat out for breakfast all the time," Ji-Lin said, "oh my... the mind link."

"Looks like all of us know everything about each other," Alice said with a whisper.

"I even have memories from Shodata too," Heather whispered back, "I never realized the
Udellian home planet looked so dangerous, or that there was a planet Udellia in the first
place."

"We"ll just have to deal with the fact that we have no secrets," Ji-Lin said as she poured
syrup on her pancakes.

"I am sorry," Shodata said in a very low voice, "this was not meant to happen."

"It"s alright, Shodata," Heather whispered back, "it was an accident, no one got hurt."

"Heather, I have something else to show you, something very important about how you obtained
your powers," Shodata whispered.

"But how could you possibly.."

"My Udellian mind can see things ordinary earthlings miss.  Alice, please place your paw on
Heather"s forehead."

"Alright Shodata, if you say so," Alice said as she complied.  The instant Alice"s paw fingers
touched Heather, her mind saw an image from her past.

"I can see that old jackal I saved from a gang of thugs," Heather said to herself as she
watched further, "wait!  I see it now!  While I tackled that gang, the old jackal began to
chant.  It must"ve been some sort of magic spell he cast on me.  So that"s how I got my
powers fully activated!  It was HIM!  I wish I knew who he was and where I could find him."

"Alas Heather, I do not have that information," Shodata said to Heather in her mind as Alice
moved her paw away.

"Speaking of accidents, look at the TV!" Ji-Lin said as she pointed at the screen where
Mystic Cat"s face was being shown as Carla Meadows continued the newscast.

"And in a related story, registered superhero Mystic Cat is in the news again, last night
while the real Count Montahue was being apprehended, Mystic Cat arrested famous Union
University Professor Kevin Hoofnagle on suspicion of BEING Count Montahue!"

"WHAT??" Heather said as she did a spit-take with her coffee.  "How could that idiot Patricia
think my cousin was a supervillain?"

Ji-Lin and Alice now did spit-takes too.

"Mind link, remember?" Heather said as she shrugged her shoulders.  "Never thought that battle
ax could actually be a superfur."

"Professor Hoofnagle could not be reached for comment and the American Bureau of Superheroes
is investigating the matter.  In the eyes of this reporter, it"s Mystic Cat being her old
bungling self again.  When will she ever learn?  This is Carla Meadows and you"re watching
Colmaton Today.."

"I"ll have to ask cousin Kevin about that next time I see him," Heather said with a giggle.  "Let"s change the subject, shall we?"

"Just in time, here"s comes Deidric!" Alice said as she saw the well dressed gazelle enter
the restaurant and walk towards their table.

"Why did you bop him in the nose with that boxing glove and make that scary face at him while
you was at our house yesterday, Alice?" Heather whispered.

"You know the answer to that question, Heather.  Don"t forget, Ji-Lin and I now know what he
looks like naked," Alice whispered back.

Ji-Lin did a spit-take when she heard what Alice just said.

"I"ll have a long talk with him about that later," Heather whispered as Deidric took his seat.

"Hi!" Diedric said as he reached over and kissed Heather.

"Hello yourself, handsome!" Heather said with a warm smile, "have a big day at the office
all planned out?"

"Actually, no.  In fact, I"m taking the morning off just to spend it with you!"

"With me?" Heather said in complete surprise.

"That"s right, I noticed you don"t have class today till two, so I thought you and I could
take in a morning movie and go somewhere fancy for lunch, what do you say?"

"Sounds wonderful!" Heather shouted.

"Good for you!" Ji-Lin said with a nod as she took another sip of orange juice.

"Hope the two of you have a great time," Alice said after biting a piece of bacon.

"Thanks guys," Heather said as she noticed a number of newspapers her husband was holding.
"darling, what"s with all the newspapers?"

"Research," Deidric quipped as he called for a waitress,

"Really," Heather said as she pulled one of them out of the stack, noticing that it was
today"s edition of the Colmaton Inquirer with a large color photograph of Star Avenger on
it surrounded by several smaller ones.  "And is SHE a part of your RESEARCH?"

"Well... I... " Deidric stuttered with an embarrassed look on his face.

"No need to explain," Heather said softly with a smile on her lips, "I understand."

"The two of us are finished eating now, we really need to be going," Alice said as she stood
up, elbowing Ji-Lin.

"Oh, right, going," Ji-Lin said as she stood up.  "See you later, Heather, nice to see you
again, Deidric!"

"Bye Ji-Lin!  Bye Alice!  See you in class tomorrow!" Heather said as she waved at her
departing friends.

---

"What a long night," Patricia Arnoe moaned as she stepped into the faculty lounge of Union
University and reached for a hot cup of coffee.  "First, I follow that moron gazelle to his
office and arrest him, only to find out that I was wrong.  Dunston chewed me out till three
in the morning over that!"

"What are you grumbling about, Dr. Arnoe?" an angry looking Professor Hoofnagle said as he
grabbed a cup of coffee and plopped down on a sofa.

"Sorry sir," Patricia said with a yawn, "I have a rough night last night."

"Not as rough as MINE!" the angry gazelle shouted as he slammed his fist on the coffee table.
"Didn"t you hear about it on the news?"

"Well, I did hear something about..."

"That idiotic superfur Mystic Cat had me arrested!  She even tried to pull off my horns,
telling me they were fake and that I was really some super fugitive criminal in disguise!"

"Imagine that," Patricia muttered as she rolled her eyes.

"She wouldn"t listen to me!  I insisted that I was really Kevin Hoofnagle, but she totally
ignored me!  That evil witch even flew me to the police station through the air, nearly
scaring me into a heart attack!"

"Well, everyone makes mistakes, Professor, no one"s perfect."

"No one"s perfect?  That woman gives imperfection a whole new meaning!  The least she could
do is apologize to me!"

"Maybe she will."

"If her superiors FORCE her to!  Hell will freeze over first before that happens!  Look
Dr. Arnoe, I"m sorry to be venting my anger like this in front of you.  Obviously you had
nothing to do with it at all.  I"m going to my office now."

Later, as the angry gazelle opened the door to his office, he found Mystic Cat standing
in front of him, her hat in her paw, and head bowed low.

"MYSTIC CAT!  YOU HAVE A HELL OF A LOT OF NERVE SHOWING UP HERE!"

"You"re right," Mystic Cat said sadly, "you have every right to be upset with me.  I deserve
every bad name you want to call me..."

"YOU"RE DAMNED RIGHT!  AND..." Kevin stopped in midsentence as he looked up at Mystic Cat,
her facial fur was now wet with tears.

"I"m so sorry, Professor, to have put you through that ordeal last night.  I should"ve
listened to you.  I hope someday, you can find it in your heart to forgive me..."

Stunned by her genuine sincerity, the gazelle walked over and gave the costumed feline
hybrid a gentle hug.  

"It"s ok young lady, I do forgive you," Kevin whispered as Mystic Cat sobbed on his shoulder.

"I made a mistake... I"m truly sorry..." she softly said as she cried.

"I know, I know," Kevin whispered, "it"s alright now."

As they continued their embrace, a fly buzzed out of the office and out of a nearby window.
Flying into an empty phonebooth, the fly suddenly morphed into Lone Wolf.

"Mystic Cat apologizing to Professor Hoofnagle!  Ji-Lin and Heather will never believe it!"

---

"This is the finest champagne we have in our wine cellar, sir," a tuxedoed calico cat said
as he presented the bottle to the couple sitting at the best table of the Blue Oyster
Restaurant, Deidric and Heather Price.

"Very good, thank you," Deidric said as he took the bottle in his hooved hands.  "Only the
best will do for the woman I love."

"You are sweet when you want to be, Deidric, and ordering us lobster tails for lunch was a
very nice touch, but I know all about how you kept staring at my friend Alice yesterday at
the house."

"Oh... that...." Deidric said as he began nervously drumming his hooved fingers.

"How could you do that to her?  More importantly, how could you do that to ME?"

"I"m sorry honey, really I am, I guess I"m just an admirer of natural beauty."

"Well Deidric, if you ADMIRE any more of my friends like you did Alice last night, you"ll
get two NATURAL black eyes from ME!"

"Ok ok, I did go way over the line yesterday, you have every right to be upset."

"You"re damn right I"m upset!  You made Alice feel very uncomfortable!"

"She told you that?"

"Not exactly... but still, it hurts me when you stare at other women.  It was bad enough
when I caught you with that photo album of Lady Liberty photos, but when you get your eyes
full of my classmates..."

"I get the message, my love.  I won"t do it again. I promise."

"Ok Deidric.  Just keep collecting all those Star Avenger photos."

"Huh??"

"I love you, Deidric!"

"And I love you, dear!"

Heather and Deidric share a long, passionate kiss as the waiter returned to the table.

"Excuse me....  I said... excuse me.... oh nevermind, I"ll come back later."

---

"This is getting frustrating," Gloria Summers said as she sat in her executive office at
the Summers Modeling Agency.  "I"ve interviewed seven intern candidates this afternoon and
none of them are right for the job.  It"s nearly four o"clock and ..."

"Miss Summers," the voice of Ariana, her badger receptionist, blared on the intercom,
"there is a young lady here who wants to apply for the intern job you posted."

"Give me a minute, Ariana," Gloria said as she turned on her office TV set, "I want to check
the financial news to see how my favorite stocks are doing today and...  WHAT THE HELL???"

Gloria became enraged when she saw a photo of Lady Liberty as
the smiling face of Odell Riggs during a commercial teaser.

"Be sure to watch Superheroes Unmasked tonight!  New tonight, newly discovered photographs
of Lady Liberty showing off much more of that hot body than usual.  Details at six!"

"DAMNIT!" Gloria shouted as she slammed her fist on her desk, nearly breaking it in half,
"I"ll bet Morgana and Creole are having a big laugh about this!  DAMN THEM TO HELL!"

"Miss Summers!  Is everything alright in there?"

"Yes Ariana, I"m fine, sorry if I scared you," Gloria softly spoke into the intercom as a
knock came on her door.

"May I come in, Miss Summers?" the voice on the other side of the door said.

"Yes yes, enter," Gloria said as she quickly moved things on her desktop to hide the crack
she made in it with her fist.

"Is this a bad time, Miss Summers?" Heather Barnes politely asked.

"No no, not at all, have a seat and let me see your resume," Gloria said as she glanced up
to see the familiar face of the impala, "wait a minute, I know you."

"Yes, you do, in more ways than one," Heather said with a smile as Gloria looked at her
resume.

"Heather Barnes-Price, this is a very strong resume," Gloria said as she continued to read.

"Look Gloria," Heather said in a hushed tone, "let"s skip the run around.  You know who I
really am and I know who you really are, Lady Liberty."

Hearing this, Gloria immediately dropped the resume and had a state of complete shock on her
equine face.

"I found out by accident, Gloria, and I swear I won"t tell a soul, but I really would like
to have this job, and more good advice about being a superfur in Colmaton."

"Are you trying to blackmail me?"

"No no, I"d never do that to you, Gloria.  Besides, it wouldn"t do much good since you know
that I"m Star Avenger, would it?"

"You do have a point there, Heather," Gloria said with a smile, "I have to admit, you"re the
most qualified candidate I"ve seen so far.  But before I hire you, tell me, how DID you
discover my secret identity?"

"It"s a long story."

"I have time, tell me, please."

"Alright," Heather said as she told in detail about her accidental mind link with Crimson
Cur and Lone Wolf through Shodata.

"Oh my," Gloria said with a stunned look on her face, "so then, you know that Brown Lotus.."

"Is really your housemate Kelly Goodwin."

"And that Dame Freedom..."

"Is really Drina Shepherd."

"And that Multi-Mutt.."

"Is Prairie Mason and his wife is really Giant Girl."

"So, you know everything Ji-Lin knows."

"And so does Lone Wolf, but she"s cool, she"s really Ji-Lin"s roommate, Alice Daniels."

"And she"s the one with the alien living inside her."

"Yes Gloria, I know the accident shouldn"t have happened, but it did.  I shared all of their
memories, and they know all about me as well."

"Y"know Heather, I could use my lasso on you and you wouldn"t remember any of this."

"I wish you wouldn"t do that, Gloria," Heather pleaded, "I want to be a part of the superfur
community here in Colmaton.  You can trust me, just like you trust Ji-Lin."

"Well, you did come to me with this, if you had any evil intentions, you would"ve either kept
this discovery to yourself or sold the information to the press or the underworld.  Alright
Heather, the job is yours.  Welcome to the Summers Modeling Agency!  You can work around your
class schedule."

"Thank you, Gloria!"

"And I"ll help you any way I can, Star Avenger."

"I appreciate that, Lady Liberty," Heather said as she shook Gloria"s hand.

---

THE END