May 15.

            "Ch-ch-ch!  Later, Zero!"  He put his Molecular Transformer on his bolt-hand and clapped it into his left hand.  His unstable molecular structure was rearranged so that he transformed into a mosquito; he then zipped into Hawkhaven.

            * * *

            Hawkhaven.

            Once in the hangar, he transformed into a fly and flew up the stairs to the Command Centre.  Quicksilver, Stargazer, Moonstriker, Condor, the Thunder Kittens, and Snarf were present, but Lion-O was not.  Hee, hee!  Perfect! he thought.  He transformed into a flea and hopped for Steelheart's office.  He slipped in through the titanium doors and hopped to the door leading into the office.  He slipped in, and Lion-O was sitting on the couch and watching a news broadcast on the viewscreen; the newspeople were talking about a presidential campaign.  No one else was present.  This, too, is excellent!  Hee, hee!  Taking care to avoid Lion-O's excellent sight, Mo hopped into the chair in front of Steelheart's desk.  He transformed into a stream of light, which turned into Jaga.  The unstable being perfectly disguised his voice as Jaga's.  "Lion-O?"

            Lion-O saw the appearance of 'Jaga.'  "Jaga?  What is it, friend?"

            "Lion-O, the evil A-Tom-U-Lar is able to destroy all ten of the Silver Hawks.  It is only a matter of time before he does.  They are all unable to stop him, but you may be able to."

            "How, Jaga?"  Mo was enjoying this, but he managed to remain composed.

            "He is hiding on the planet Fence.  It is dangerous there, as those given the appellation space-scum frequent that place.  The Eye of Thundera will be able to transform him back to normal.  Remember what the Silver Hawks' records said about his transforming into mirror-images of objects.  You must defeat him, Lion-O.  The galaxy depends on it."

            "Very well, Jaga.  Thank you.  Anything else I must know?"

            "You should go alone.  He will get too suspicious if he sees three Thunder Cats there, along with any Silver Hawks.  Take care that he does not fool you with his backwards disguises."  Mo disappeared as Jaga normally would.

            "Bye, Jaga."  Lion-O left.  Mo-Lec-U-Lar transformed back into himself when Lion-O had left and closed the door.

            "Hee, hee!  That fool fell for it!"  He transformed into a flea and leapt out of the office and back to the Command Centre.  He got an idea, and obtained a perfect hiding spot on Wilykat's boot.

            Wilykit was a tad sceptical about Jaga's most recent conversation with Lion-O.  She was developing something on the order of Cheetara's sixth sense.  Unfortunately, her simple scepticism also annoyed Lion-O to an extent that he could not believe.  "You're positive it was he?" asked Wilykit.

            "You've never posed that kind of question before, Wilykit," Lion-O said in a warning manner.

            "Don't mind me.  I just have a strange feeling about this.  It just does not feel right, somehow."

            "Well, unless you get some concrete proof, I'll do what he says."  Wilykit let out a nervous laugh.

            "How the devil am I supposed to get concrete proof?  I cannot see him!"

            "I'm going to come along, Lion-O," Quicksilver said.  "But I'm not going to enter with you.  I'll just be around outside that stinking Sini*Star Diner and keep hidden in order to listen to what's going on.  If you get in trouble, you might need some help."

            "Okay, Quicksilver.  Come along."

            Wilykit persisted, "Maybe you should at least remove our Space-Boards from the Feliner before you leave so Wilykat and I can come to your aid if necessary!"  Lion-O wanted to find this amusing, but he found it annoying.

            "Insistent, aren't you?  Well, I will, just to avoid arguments."  Down at the Feliner, Quicksilver was leaning the Thunder Kittens' Space-Boards against the wall as Lion-O was starting up the Feliner.  Quicksilver entered just as Lion-O finished the final take-off adjustments.  The door closed behind Quicksilver, who went to sit next to Lion-O.  "Ready, Quick?"

            "Yes, I am."  Lion-O piloted the Feliner out into space.

            "Could you lead me to that planet?"

            "Set course for ten mark twenty degrees."  Lion-O input the changes.  The Feliner flew steadily on that course.  "What's your speed?"

            "Hyper 12, or warp 1.2."

            "It won't be long, then.  You seemed a little impatient on Wilykit."

            "She doubts what Jaga told me.  It bothers me."

            "I'm glad you controlled yourself, Lion-O, but what if you'd snapped at her simply because she had doubts?"

            "I'm not supposed to, Quicksilver.  Thunderians have complete freedom of expression.  I just don't feel comfortable with her doubting what Jaga says."

            "I think I know what that's like.  I wouldn't feel comfortable with anyone doubting what Stargazer says.  However, you know Wilykit and her brother have abilities you don't."

            "You're right.  I guess that, as the leader, I just don't want to be wrong, Quicksilver."

            "I can understand that, Lion-O."

            They passed a dark Automata.  "This planet is down.  What's it called?  Automata?"

            "Yes.  The others are coming to take care of it.  A-Tom-U-Lar must've attacked here and moved on."

            "Yes.  Well, our mission's on Fence."

            * * *

            Soon, the Mirage arrived at Automata.  It did not have as high a maximum speed as the Feliner.  "Automata's pretty darned dark," Bluegrass said.

            "A-Tom-U-Lar must have taken over," Steelheart said.  "Prepare to launch, Silver Hawks."  She flashed on her visor.  "Ready."  All the others flashed on theirs.

            Steelwill announced, "Ready."

            "Ready," announced Kidd.

            Bluegrass reached for the four-pod release button.  "Okay, Hawks.  Re-. . ."  A red music laser blasted the Mirage.  "What the devil. . . the Mob!"  The Limbo Limo and Zoomer were approaching.

            Melodia aimed the head of her Sound Smasher at the Mirage.  "How about an encore, Silver Pigeons?"  She hit several chords on the keyboard of the Sound Smasher with her left hand, and red music laser fired from the head once more and just missed the Mirage.  "Curse it!"

            "Let us out, Bluegrass," Steelheart said.

            "Yes, Steelheart."  Bluegrass pressed the four-pod release button.  "Releasing!"  The canopies of the Steeltwins' and Kidd's pods opened, and the three Silver Hawks zipped out.

            "Silver Hawks, wing-it!" ordered Steelheart, who winged it along with her brother and Copper-Kidd.  Bluegrass pulled a lever to the right of his chair, and the Hot Seat, the central control pod, separated from the main part of the Mirage.  Bluegrass then pressed a button on his steering mechanism with his left thumb.  A beam shot out of the back of the Hot Seat and cloaked the main body of the Mirage.  Bluegrass got Side Man, opened the canopy of the Hot Seat, pressed a button on Side Man, and flung him out.  Side Man's neck shrank so that his head became closer to his body.  His blue wings popped out, and his hawks' feet, along with the talons, formed as well.  May-Day joined him.  Bluegrass made his Laser Guitar ready.

            "Will, you and I will go in to stop A-Tom-U-Lar," said Steelheart.  "Bluegrass and Kidd, you two, Side Man, and May-Day will stay up here and keep the Mob occupied."  The Steeltwins went down to Automata.  Melodia tried to blast them, but Side Man countered her blast with his blue music laser.  Hardware attempted to blast the Hot Seat, but Kidd countered with a shoulder-laser.  Down in Automata, the Steeltwins flew into the control room, where MonoTone was down.  They landed, clipped in their wings, and flashed off their visors.  "A-Tom-U-Lar's around here somewhere."

            "The only questions," said Steelwill, "are where. . . and what?"  He examined MonoTone's vocal area, the entrance to her computer.  He felt something.  "Ah-ha!  A compact disc drive of some sort!"  He tried to grab the disc inside, but he had no success.  "Hmm.  Let's see. . . we need an ejector of some sort. . ."  He continued to feel around.  He felt something like a button and pressed it.  A-Tom-U-Lar, in disc form, popped out and right into Steelheart's hands.  "And voilà!  A compact disk!  "Or, should I say a captured A-Tom-U-Lar?"

            "Heh, heh!  Not bad work, li'l bro!"  The disc began to glow.  Steelheart released it, and in mid-air it turned into A-Tom-U-Lar.

            "Not a chance, Silver Hawks!" A-Tom-U-Lar snapped.

            Steelwill clipped handcuffs on A-Tom-U-Lar and began, "You have the right to remain silent."

            "You may have stopped my plan, Steeltwins, but you'll never stop me!"  He put his Atomic Transformation Ring on his bolt-hand and touched it with all fingers but the thumb of his right hand.  He transformed into a rocket and blasted off.

            Steelheart thrust her right fist into her left hand and exclaimed, "Fudge!  He got away again!"

            "He sure is elusive.  For the moment, let's get out of here."  They flashed on their visors, winged it, and flew back out.  Bluegrass, Kidd, Side Man, and May-Day were whipping the Mob into terrible shape.

            Knocking out the Limbo Limo's cannon, Bluegrass laughed, "Ha, ha!  Try to blast us now, little lady!"

            Melodia aimed her Sound Smasher at Bluegrass.  "Blast you, cowpoke!"  Bluegrass blasted the Sound Smasher out of her hands with a laser blast from his Laser Guitar.  "Oooh!  I'm going to say something I shouldn't, since I'm going to Inferno anyway.  Damn you, cowboy!"

            "Ooh!  Cursin', Melodia?  Not very ladylike!"

            "Show me a lady, and I'll show you some bitch who demeans herself by trying to act all primp and proper!"  A laser hit the bottom of the Limbo Limo so that she had to grab the dashboard to anchor herself.  "What the devil was that?"

            Steelheart landing on the hood of the Limbo Limo.  "That was a lady, Melodia."  She blasted Melodia into her seat with a laser.

            "Yah!  Shift into first and get us out of here, Yes-Man!"

            "Beat it.  Ooh, yes, Melodia.  Certainly.  Whatever you say.  Yes, yes, yes!"

            Holding her fist in a threatening manner at Yes-Man, Melodia shouted, "Quit yes-ing, and start accelerating!  We should be moving like a bat out of inferno right now!"

            "Allow me to help," said Steelheart.  She flew to the rear of the Limbo Limo, grabbed it, and swung it.  When she released the Limbo Limo, it hurtled to Brim*Star.

            Mon*Star said, "-Gasp!-  Stop the Silver Hawks, Hardware!  Stop them now!"  Hardware was quickly assembling a weapon.

            "I'm working as fast as I can!" said Hardware.  Steelwill landed on the hood of the Zoomer.

            "Relax, Hardware," Steelwill said soothingly.  "Just calm down."  He blasted Hardware's weapon with his shoulder-laser and destroyed the weapon.

            "Blast you, Silver Hawk!"  Steelwill continuously blasted Mon*Star in the belly area.

            "YAAAAAAH. . .!!!"  He transformed to his pre-transformation state.  "Oh, no!  Get us the heck out of here, Hardware!!  NOW!!!"

            "I'm trying!" the mechanic protested, quickly trying to move the limo away.  Steelwill did unto the Zoomer what Steelheart had done unto the Limbo Limo.

            "Have a nice spin, Mon*Star!!  Ha, ha, ha!"  Bluegrass pressed the same button on his steering mechanism with his left thumb.  The Mirage decloaked, and the Hot Seat rejoined it.  Bluegrass returned the lever on the right of his seat to its previous position.  He pressed the four-pod release button.  The three flying Silver Hawks entered their pods after clipping in their wings.  Once inside their pods, they each flashed off their visors.

            "Good work, Hawks," Steelheart said.  "A-Tom-U-Lar made a getaway after Will and I stopped him."

            "Whereto next?" asked Bluegrass.

            "Home, cowboy.  ASAP."

            Bluegrass input the speed.  "Aye, Steelheart."  The Mirage flew toward Hawkhaven, its mission complete.

            * * *

            Brim*Star.

            At Brim*Star, Mon*Star was infuriated.  "Those darned bird-brained Silver Hawks!  They have to step in and ruin every confounded thing!"  Zero ran into the control room.  "How did it go, Zero?"

            "Perfectly, Planet Master!  Hzz, hzz, hzz!  I s-z-zaw Lion-O going out to Fence in the Feliner.  He'll get there very s-z-zoon."

            "At least Mo-Lec-U-Lar's plan to eliminate that Thunder Cat is working well.  What's next, A-Tom-U-Lar?"

            * * *

            Fence.

            At Fence, the Feliner landed in the parking area.  Fence was a shoddy saloon on a small asteroid just within the former Light-Year Limit.  Lion-O and Quicksilver stepped out of the Feliner.  "Eww!" said Lion-O.  "Not the most savoury place in Limbo."

            "I can't help but agree, Lion-O.  Go on into the Sini*Star Diner, but be careful.  All the riffraff in the star-cluster dines here."

            "Don't worry.  I'll make the Thunder Cat Signal if I need help."  Quick nodded, then hid.  Lion-O approached the door.  He cautiously looked in.  He saw many sources of much noise, and particularly noticed the sign, 'No alcohol.'  This place stinks.  But I'd better get this over with.  And, Lion-O, act tough.  He burst open the saloon-like doors.  The robotic bartender, Harry, who had eyes all around his head, noticed.  Lion-O stomped his way over to the bar and ordered something.  Three at a side table - the Space-Bandits, at the moment employed by Mo-Lec-U-Lar for capturing the Lord of the Thunder Cats - noticed him, then engaged in a hushed conversation.

            "Hey!" said Cyclops.  "Isn't that Lion-O?"  Space Bandit got out a picture given to him by Mo-Lec-U-Lar.

            Space Bandit said, "Yes, it is!  Let's get him while he's off his guard!"

            "Mo said that he'd constantly be on his guard," said Spike.

            "Just as Mo also said, this big cat is alone!  Hee, hee!"

            "I don't like this!" Cyclops said.  "I've heard a lot about the Thunder Cats. . . it's said that the Eye of Thundera in the Sword of Omens is the source of their powers!  It must be very, very powerful."

            Space Bandit pointed to the sword in Lion-O's Claw Shield.  "Yes, and that's it.  Let's get him!"  Outside, Quick inched to the door and looked in.

            Everything seems okay, thought Quicksilver.  I. . . wait a minute!  Space Bandit!  Space Bandit was clandestinely aiming his right hand, a laser pistol, at Lion-O.  He was readying it to fire.  Quicksilver acted on impulse and burst in, shouting, "Look out, Lion-O!"  Lion-O turned and saw Space Bandit.  He dodged and missed the laser from Space Bandit's pistol.

            "Darn it!" shouted Space Bandit.  He turned to Quicksilver.  "A Silver Hawk, too!  This'll definitely give us some money with Mo!"

            "Mo," said Quicksilver.  "As in Mo-Lec-U-Lar!"

            Cyclops got out his laser pistol.  "Yeah, Colonel, and he'll pay us well for destroying you!"

            "Not if I have anything to say about it!" Lion-O snapped.  "If we're going to fight, we'll do it outside."

            "Like heck, Thunder Cat!" exploded Spike.  He blasted at Lion-O with his laser pistol.  Lion-O barely missed the shot.  However, Cyclops blasted Quicksilver in the chest and knocked him on his back.

            Lion-O aimed the Sword of Omens at Cyclops and exclaimed, "HO!"  The Sword blasted Cyclops.

            "Okay, kitty!" Cyclops said.  "Take this!"  He blasted at Lion-O with his laser pistol, but he missed.  Then, Space Bandit blasted at Lion-O and hit him, almost knocking him out.

            Falling on his back, Lion-O groaned, "-Moan.-  This isn't good."  He put the hilt of the Sword of Omens to his eyes.  He then held up the Sword.  "Thunder, Thunder, Thunder, Thunder Cats, HO!"  The Sword extended in vertical height at each 'Thunder.'  At 'Thunder Cats,' the Cat's-Eye opened.  At 'HO!' the Thunder Cat Signal shone out of the Eye.  In a moment, his consciousness left him, and he dropped the Sword on the floor.  The Eye closed, but the Signal continued to shine.  Quicksilver attempted to get up, but he also lost consciousness.

            "Ha, ha, ha!" laughed Space Bandit.  "Pretty good, pretty good!  One Thunder Cat and one Silver Hawk!  Mo-Lec-U-Lar will definitely be pleased!  Call 'im now, Spike!"  Spike did so.

            * * *

            Command Centre, Hawkhaven.

            At Hawkhaven, the Thunder Kittens were keeping an eye on the monitors.  Mo-Lec-U-Lar was still a flea hiding on Wilykat.  Moonstriker looked out the window and saw the Thunder Cat Signal.  "Look, Thunder Kittens!" he said.  The Kittens turned and saw the signal.  When they saw it, their eyes and insignias glowed, and everyone in the room heard the powerful Thunder Cat Roar.

            "Lion-O needs us!" Wilykat exclaimed.

            Wilykit said, "Let's go, Wilykat!"  They rushed into the elevator.  When Wilykat had told it to take them to the hangar, Mo-Lec-U-Lar got off him and transformed to normal.  "Mo-Lec-U-Lar!"

            "In the molecules!  Ch-ch-ch-ch!  Since I'm going to kill you, I might as well tell you what I'm doing.  I've promised the Space Bandit's team I'd pay them well for delivering Lion-O to me, dead or alive.  I came to transform into Jaga and tell Lion-O that A-Tom-U-Lar was on Fence so the Space Bandit's team would get him!  Ch-ch-ch-ch!  Wasn't that evil?  Now. . ."  The Thunder Kittens pinched their noses shut, and Wilykit blasted Mo-Lec-U-Lar with a sleep capsule.  "Hey!  What is that. . ."  He began to snooze.  Just after that, the elevator doors opened.  Wilykit grabbed Mo-Lec-U-Lar, dragged him to the exit from the hangar, and tossed the molecularly unstable being into space.  In the Silver Hawks' time, the technology to fill a solar system with air needed for breathing was available, as it was for creating artificial gravity away from planets.

            "That ought to take care of globe-brain!" said Wilykat, running up to the exit with their Space-Boards.  He gave the pink-edged one to Wilykit.  "Let's follow the signal."  Wilykit nodded.  As soon as they had zipped out, they saw the Mirage.  "The other Hawks are back!"

            In the Mirage, Steelheart saw them and asked, "What are the Kittens doing?"

            Bluegrass looked over his shoulder to his left, the direction where the Kittens were headed.  "Goin' after Lion-O!"  Steelheart, Steelwill, and Kidd saw the signal.

            "Kidd, get your Space Racer and follow us on that."  Kidd flashed on his visor.

            "Aye, ma'am!  Ready to launch, Bluegrass!"  Bluegrass pressed the button for second-pod launch.  Kidd's pod opened.  Kidd flew out, entered Hawkhaven, got on his Space Racer, started it up, and left to follow the Mirage.

            "Tell the Kittens that we have two empty pods, Bluegrass."

            "Aye, Steelheart."  He activated his radio.  "Hey, Kittens!  Need a lift?  We got two empty pods."  The Kittens looked at the Mirage, then at each other.

            "Okay, Bluegrass," said Wilykit.  The two pods on the left opened.  "Let's go, Wilykat."  Wilykat nodded.  They dropped speed so that they could jump into the pods.  Wilykat entered into Quicksilver's pod; Wilykit entered into Copper-Kidd's.  They laid their Space-Boards to their sides.  "Thanks for the lift.  Now, follow that signal!"

            "That's just what we intend to do, Wilykit," said Steelheart.  "Where is the source, Bluegrass?"

            "It looks like Fence, Steelheart," said Bluegrass after computing.

            Steelheart ordered, "Warp-speed, cowboy.  Now!"

            "Right."  He engaged the engines at a high speed.

            "Would you two mind telling us why Lion-O's out there in the first place?" asked Steelwill.

            "He told us that Jaga told him that A-Tom-U-Lar was there," said Wilykat.

            "He certainly wasn't at Fence, kids," Steelheart said.  "Will and I stopped him on Automata a few minutes ago."

            "We encountered Mo-Lec-U-Lar on the elevator while coming down," Wilykit said.  "He must have slipped in somehow.  He said he turned into Jaga and told Lion-O that A-Tom-U-Lar was on Fence in order to lure him into a trap at the hands of the Space Bandit's gang."

            "Did anyone go with Lion-O?"

            "Yes; Colonel Quicksilver."

            "How did they go?"

            "They took the Feliner.  They left a few minutes ago."

            "We'll save them."

            * * *

            Sini*Star Diner, Fence.

            At the Sini*Star Diner on Fence, the Space-Bandits had Lion-O and Quicksilver locked in steel straight-jackets, devices strong enough to hold the strongest criminal.  Cyclops said nervously, "I'm telling you, Space Bandit, we're making a big mistake in waiting for the other Thunder Cats to get here rather than just take these two to Brim*Star!  Mo-Lec-U-Lar's stuck in space, remember?  One of the others might be more powerful. . ."

            "More powerful?" laughed Space Bandit scornfully.  "Ha!  No other Thunder Cat is as powerful as their Lord!  We can handle them."

            Spike snorted, "What about the Silver Hawks?"

            "We can deal with them, too."

            Quicksilver had just regained consciousness.  "No, you can't!" he said.

            "Shut up, Silver Hawk!"  They were so busy jawing that they could not hear the Mirage and the Space Racer landing outside.  Quicksilver wanted it that way.

            "Okay, guys," said Steelheart.  "Let's go."

            "Wait!" said Bluegrass.  "Shouldn't someone stay out here to keep watch?"

            "That's an excellent idea, Bluegrass.  And, since you came up with it, you get to do it."  The Steeltwins, the Thunder Kittens, and Copper-Kidd ran quietly toward the Sini*Star Diner.  The Steeltwins got flush against the wall on one side of the door; the Kittens and Kidd did so on the other.

            Wilykit peeked in through the slats in the door.  She said quietly, "They have Lion-O and Quicksilver in steel straight-jackets.  They look a little too overconfident.  That can lead to one's downfall."

            "True," said Steelheart.  "Now, let's see what they can do to us!"

            "What're we going to do?"

            "We're going to burst in, me first.  I'm going to place them under arrest.  And we're going to make them regret it if they try to blast us, too."  She burst open the door.  "All right, Space-Bandits!  All three of you are under arrest!"

            "Just try, blasted Silver Hawk!" snapped Space Bandit.

            "My name is not Blasted Silver Hawk," said Steelheart in a successful effort to be a smart-mouth.  "It is Commander Steelheart.  Release Colonel Quicksilver and Lion-O immediately, or you're going to have to face a stiffer sentence."

            "Yeah?" Cyclops said.  "Just try and make us!"  Copper-Kidd got one of his flying discs and whacked Cyclops in the head with it.  "Yaah!"  The disc returned to Kidd like a boomerang.  "Blast you, bird-brain!  I'll get you for that!"  Wilykat got a capsule from his capsule-belt.

            "All right, chubby!" Wilykat said.  "I think you have too inflated an opinion of yourself.  See what you think about this!"  He tossed the capsule at Cyclops.  The powder it released made Cyclops sneeze to death.  "I'm sure you'll soon find that my weapons are nothing to sneeze at!  Heh, heh!"

            Steelheart said, "Oh, enough with the puns!"

            "Oh, well, excu-u-use me, ma'am!"  Wilykit got a capsule off her own belt.

            "Hey, spike-face!  How about a nap?"  She tossed the capsule at Spike.  The gas in it made him go to sleep.

            Space Bandit said, "I'm not going to let a few brats capture me!"

            "Too bad," said Steelheart.  She whacked him in the face, right between the eyes, smacking some circuitry that made him instantly knocked out.  "Because, if you had been willing to let the Kittens capture you, I would not have had to do that."  Steelwill broke Quicksilver and Lion-O free.

            "Thanks, Steelwill," said Lion-O.  "Sword of Omens, come to my hand."  The Sword of Omens went to Lion-O's hand in such a manner that he could grab it by the handle.  "Jaga told me. . ."

            "Absolutely nothing today in Hawkhaven," Wilykit interrupted with dignity.  "Pardon my interruption, Lion-O, but Mo-Lec-U-Lar was impersonating him."

            "He made a deal with these three slimeballs and tried to have you captured," said Wilykat.

            "Well, that awful molecule-brain succeeded, daggummit, but he never got his hands on me," said Lion-O, sorry he had doubted Wilykit.  "Tell me, where was A-Tom-U-Lar?"

            "On Automata, where Will and I stopped him," said Steelheart.  "-Sigh.-  He got away, of course."

            "Well, these three won't get away with their crime," said Quicksilver.  "They have a nice trial waiting for them, and then it's a nice three-hundred-year-long vacation on the Penal Planet."

            * * *

            Command Centre, Hawkhaven.

            "Picking up any more activity?" asked Steelheart.

            Wilykit said, "No, ma'am.  Not at the moment."

            Wilykat sighed.  "Yeah.  Not at the moment.  Atom-head or star-breath is probably thinking up another plan."

            Steelheart said, "-Sigh.-  Naturally.  Keep a close watch on Dolare and Bedlama, my friends.  They might try either next time.  And we don't want to. . ."

            Wilykit interrupted, "Sorry to interrupt your presidential campaign speech, Steelheart, but I've picked up something!"  Steelheart came up to her.

            "What is it?"

            "Something's plummeting through Dolare's defence shields."  She activated her viewer to show the appropriate location.  Whatever was going through the shields was doing it very well.  "Might be A-Tom-U-Lar."

            "Might be.  We'd better stop it, whoever it is.  Quick, Will, Bluegrass, and Kidd, let's fire up the Mirage and get underway."

            The four responded, "Aye, ma'am!"  The five of them entered the elevator and went to the hangar.  They got in their positions in the Mirage (Quicksilver, Copper-Kidd, Bluegrass, Steelheart, and Steelwill, from the Mirage's left-to-right).  Bluegrass started the Mirage and flew it to Dolare at great speed.

            "I hope that they'll be careful!" said Stargazer.  "It appears that A-Tom-U-Lar is quite damned tricky!"

            Feigning shock, Moonstriker exclaimed, "Stargazer!  Such language!  And in front of the Thunder Kittens!"

            "Hey!" exclaimed the Thunder Kittens.

            "Oh!  Ah, sorry, Moonstriker, everyone.  I meant that A-Tom-U-Lar was quite darned tricky."

            "You'll have to excuse Gaze, everyone," said Condor.  "His mind tells him not to curse, but his mouth does it anyway."

            "Kind of reminds me of Lieutenant Tragg in the Perry Mason novels," Moonstriker said.

            "Yes, same here.  Let's keep an eye on these monitors."

            * * *

            Dolare.

            Dolare was the banking world of Limbo.  This reflective, spherical artificial planet contained all the solar system's money.  On the north pole was a vertical beam that emitted powerful shields to surround the planet's main point of entry, also at the north pole, to keep intruders out.

            At Dolare, A-Tom-U-Lar was breaking through the powerful shields and going to the door to the vault.  When he had reached the door, he found a guard, knocked him out, and transformed into a mirror-image of him.  The guard was nearly perfectly symmetrical, meaning his right and left sides were nearly identical.  "If they don't fall for this disguise, I don't know what they'll fall for!  This guy's sides are symmetrical with unnoticeable differences.  Now, I'll get Lord Cash and make off with Dolare!"  He entered the vault and went into Lord Cash's office.

            "What was that disturbance outside, guard?" asked Lord Cash, a tall humanoid in elaborate robes.  This noble was in charge of running the banking world.

            "It was just a malfunction," said A-Tom-U-Lar, disguising his voice.  "I corrected it."

            "Good.  I'd hate it if the Mob discovered how to get in here!"

            "Well. . ."  He clapped his hands together and transformed back to himself.  Using his normal voice, he continued, ". . .start hating it!"

            "Mo-Lec-U-Lar!  I should have. . ."

            "He's my younger brother.  I am A-Tom-U-Lar, proud to be at the service of Mon*Star and his Mob!  And you'd better get this planet moving toward Brim*Star right now, or I'm going to kill you!"

            "Never!"

            "Then, I'll have good noose for you when we get back to Brim*Star!  Heh, heh!"  He coated Lord Cash with A-Tomic-Tar.  "Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha!  Get ready to be hanged by the Mob!  Ha, ha, ha!"  He activated the controls and made Dolare move toward Brim*Star.  When other guards came to try to stop him, he sealed the door shut with A-Tomic-Tar.  The guards were unable to penetrate the tar and, thus, could not stop A-Tom-U-Lar.

            The Silver Hawks were nearing Dolare in the Mirage.  "Whoa!" said Bluegrass.  "Unless I'm crazy, that planet is moving out of its orbit!"

            Steelheart exclaimed, "Good God!  You aren't crazy. . . at least, no more than usual!  It is moving out of its orbit!  Prepare to launch!"  She flashed on her visor.  The other three flying Silver Hawks flashed on theirs.  "I'll go in there.  You four stay out here."

            Steelwill began, "What about. . ."

            "Sorry, Will.  You, too."

            "Yes, Steelheart."

            "Good.  Launch us, Bluegrass."

            "Aye, ma'am," said Bluegrass.  He pressed the four-pod release button.  All four pods opened, and the four flying Silver Hawks zipped out.

            "Wing-it!"  All four winged-it.  Steelheart went down to Dolare and began to blast the electronic shields with her lasers.  Quicksilver, Steelwill, and Copper-Kidd blasted their shoulder-lasers at the point where Steelheart was blasting hers.  Bluegrass opened the canopy of the control pod, aimed the head of the Laser Guitar at the point whereto the others were firing, and blasted the shield.  Soon, a hole formed, and Steelheart went down to the vault, unhindered by the electronic shield.

            Quicksilver bade, "Good luck, Steelheart!"

            "Thank you, Quicksilver."

            In Lord Cash's office, an alarm sounded.  A-Tom-U-Lar cried, "Oh, no!  Those Silver Hawks have breached the shields!"

            "They'll stop you, A-Tom-U-Lar," said Cash.  "You'll do a long stretch on the Penal Planet for this."

            "Who says?"  Some of the glass surrounding the office broke in, and Steelheart entered through the broken area.  "Wha!"

            While landing on the floor, Steelheart responded, "I say!"  She flashed off her visor after having de-winged-it.  "Commander Steelheart, ready to escort you to the Penal Planet."

            "That is what you think, birdbrain!"  He transformed into a huge laser cannon.  Steelheart dodged his three shots and blasted his unstable atoms apart with a super-strong laser of her own.  Painfully, A-Tom-U-Lar, on the floor, reformed.

            "You're under arrest, A-Tom-U-Lar!"

            "No way, Steelheart!  I'm beating it!"  He quickly transformed into a missile and took off.  Steelheart used her laser to burn Lord Cash free, then set Dolare back on course for where it was supposed to be.

            "Thank you, Commander Steelheart.  If he had gotten Dolare to Brim*Star, it would have been terrible!"

            "Well, Lord Cash, we'll not have to worry about that."  She flashed on her visor.  "Steelheart to Quicksilver.  Come in."

            "Quicksilver here, Steelheart.  What is it?"

            "A-Tom-U-Lar has been beaten and has escaped again."

            "He zipped by too quickly for us to catch him, Steelheart."

            "Send Copper-Kidd after him."

            "Will-do, Steelheart.  Over and out."  Steelheart flashed off her visor.

            "Now, let's get Dolare back where it belongs."

            "I quite agree."

            * * *

            Star*Ship Casino.

            A few minutes later, Kidd had followed A-Tom-U-Lar at a distance to the Star*Ship Casino, past the Light-Year Limit, which was no longer a hindrance to the Silver Hawks' catching of perpetrators.  At the door, A-Tom-U-Lar entered the casino and went directly to Pokerface's office.  Kidd decided to hide and call in.  He flashed on his visor.  "Sergeant Copper-Kidd to Commander Steelheart.  Please come in."

            Steelheart responded, "Yes, Kidd.  Where are you?"

            "At the Star*Ship Casino.  I've followed A-Tom-U-Lar out here."

            "You're hiding, yes?"

            "Right."

            "Stay put!  Wait for me.  I'll come out there in the Sprint Hawk."

            "If you insist."

            "I do.  I'll see you later. . . about ten minutes."

            "Okay.  Copper-Kidd out."  He flashed off his visor and grabbed one of his flying discs.  In his native language, which was uncannily identical to Morse code for English, he said, "Like I'm going to wait!" and ascended the steps to the door.  He decided to keep this low-profile, so he quietly opened the door, slipped in unnoticed, and secretly slinked to the door of the office of Pokerface, Mon*Star's gambling boss.  He put his ear as close to the door as possible so that he could listen to Pokerface and A-Tom-U-Lar and still hide.

            Within the office, Pokerface said, "Okay, A-Tom-U-Lar.  Hide out here until you feel you've given the Silver Hawks the slip."  He made it clear in his utterance of 'Silver Hawks' that he held uncontrollable contempt for them.

            "Thanks, Pokie."

            "The pleasure is mine."  He removed his sunglasses.  His right eye showed a spade, and his left eye showed a club.  The two eyes then spun and when they stopped, both showed exclamation marks.  "Those blasted Silver Hawks may have sent someone after you!  I picked up nothing on the scanners, but those bird-brains have slipped past them before."  He pressed a button on his desk.  "Mumbo, get in here!"  Mumbo-Jumbo entered the office.  "Mumbo-Jumbo, I just got this feeling we're being watched.  Look around in every nook and cranny of this casino and catch any Silver Hawks you may find.  Feel free to mutilate them to your content."  Mumbo-Jumbo growled a strongly affirmative response.  He would enjoy mutilating a Silver Hawk.  When Mumbo had left, Pokerface put his sunglasses back on.

            Back outside the office, Copper-Kidd thought aloud, 'Feel free to mutilate them to your content?'  I don't like the sound of that!  When Mumbo-Jumbo had completely bypassed Copper-Kidd, the latter quickly went to the office door.  Okay!  If it must be so, so be it!  He opened the door and burst in.

            "What?!?" cried Pokerface.  "Oh, it's just the Silver Brat!"  Confidently, he got his cane.  "I can handle you!"  He fired at Copper-Kidd but missed.  Copper-Kidd knocked the cane out of Pokerface's hand with a shoulder laser.  "Yah!  Blast you, Copper-Kidd!"  He pressed a button and ordered urgently, "Mumbo, Pokie here!  Get back in here immediately!"  Just after Pokie had cancelled the transmission, Copper-Kidd destroyed the communications console with a flying disc he had been carrying in his hand.  The disc then returned to his hand like a boomerang.

            "Both of you are under arrest!" he said.  The Morse-to-phonetic translator he used constantly hardly ever showed exclamation in his voice, but it definitely did this time.

            "That's what you think, Kidd!" snapped A-Tom-U-Lar.  Before he could transform, Copper-Kidd knocked the Atomic Transformer Ring out of A-Tom-U-Lar's hands with his disc.  "Aah!  Blast you, Silver Hawk!"  The disc swooped down so the ring would land on it and returned to Copper-Kidd's hand.  Mumbo-Jumbo burst in, growling and angry.

            "Grr!  Grunt, growl, growl, grunt, grunt!  Get Copper-Kidd!  Growl, grunt!"  When he charged for Copper-Kidd, Copper-Kidd leapt out of the way so that Mumbo-Jumbo would crash headfirst into the wall.  That knocked the bull out.

            "Including hardhead, all three of you are under arrest!"  The door flew in.  Steelheart's extremely strong body was ready for a fight, and it would have been even if she had not had on her suit.  She was extremely powerful physically and mentally.

            "Okay, evildoers!  Prepare to be. . . what?"  Copper-Kidd smiled.  "Kidd, I thought I told you to wait outside."

            "I couldn't help it."

            "Oh, well.  After what you did here!"  She clipped handcuffs on the three criminals.  "As Copper-Kidd may have told you, you are all under arrest.  You have the right to remain silent.  If you give up that right, anything you say can and shall be used against you in a court of law."

            * * *

            Command Centre, Hawkhaven.

            "And that was it?" Wilykit asked.

            "Yeah," said Steelheart.  "Those evil nuts will have the - ahem - pleasure of serving time on the Penal Planet, though the pleasure may be quite dubious."

            "And I guess that, from now on, the only kind of change that A-Tom-U-Lar will be making is changing the colour of Limbo licence plates in prison!" laughed Wilykat.  Everyone - all the Silver Hawks, Lion-O, both the Thunder Kittens, and Snarf - laughed.

            * * *

            Brim*Star.

            "Those blasted Silver Hawks and Thunder Cats have locked some of our guys back in prison," said Mon*Star.

            "Ooh, yes!" said Yes-Man.  "What shall we do?"

            "Hardware and Melodia," said Mon*Star, "I want you two to go get Pokerface and Mumbo-Jumbo.  We'll get A-Tom-U-Lar later."

            "Got it, boss," Melodia said.  She and Hardware left.