6.47am. He finally sat up, half naked on his bed. It was later than he usually got up, yet he still felt tired. Probably because he didn't want to get up in the first place. This morning he had an important job to do, a job which his employees had refused to do when ordered, which left it to him. Dr.X had to train the newbie. He groaned.

The training annoyed him more than he through it would. At one point he manage to fling the newbie across the room, hoping the sound of breaking bones would make him feel better. It didn't. The man they referred to as 'Stupid' (and sometimes 'Quake' when he was actually in the room) was protected by his thick amour that couldn't even be removed.

Sometimes he wished it was Action Man that got trapped in it. At least he could put a trillobug on him. Trillobugs wouldn't work on Quake, there was no brain for them to feed on.

Dr.X shifted his cyber enhanced body into an offensive mode. At least if this little slug didn't get it next time, he could just kill it.

He was thankful when it was over. Besides, he was hungry anyway. His cyber enhanced body was faster, stronger and better than humanly possible which of course meant his metabolism was also. It took a lot more than most to keep X at the top of his game. There were times in moments of urgency during missions that he would be on the verge of starvation. When he set his mind on something he often forgot to eat, which could be deadly for someone who burned more calories blinking than a regular human being did running.

He was interrupted by Quake again, black eyed and miserable.

"Do you know what your assassin did to me?" said Quake.

X looked him over and simply said "Well you shouldn't have touched."

"Ever thought of adding face protection to this thing?"

"If I did you wouldn't learn anything."

"I get it, boss." said Quake, "She's yours right?"

"I'm afraid I don't get your meaning."

"I mean, come on. Don't have to be a rocket scientist to know what's going on there." said Quake, "You seen her, right? You know. First dibs? What did she have to do for you to join?"

X's eyes flashed. He put down what he had been holding as the cybernetic parts of his body shifted to attack mode "Are you insinuating something?"

"What? I'm just saying, I really like you, doc and you seem like the kind of guy that has really good taste. I mean come on...Asazi..."

X couldn't decide if he should be offended, "Asazi and I don't have that kind of arrangement. I once hired her to get rid of some vermin for me and I was impressed by her skills. Anything else is coincidental and irrelevant. Besides, a change in body hasn't changed her opinion of me, not that it matters." She still though of him as a dirty old man and always had to remind him.

"So who has first dibs?" said Quake, "Can I still call it?"

"I have no interest in being involved in personal relationships within the council." X snapped, "You are free to do what you want with your life as long as it doesn't affect your work. And quite frankly I don't want that sort of thing shoved in my face. Now if you don't mind I would prefer to be left alone."

After being kicked out of the kitchen by a very bitchy cyborg, Quake wondered the halls of the airship for someone to dump more of his filthy jokes on. His first stop was Gangrene, the Council member that he got along best with. It was probably the Professor's sick sense of humour that bought them together. Gangrene still didn't seem to like him that much, but then, the entire Council of Doom all hated each other.

"What's the deal with boss and Azasi?" was the first thing Quake said to him.

"Regarding what?" the professor said in a slight slurr, possibly drunken.

"I mean the doc hasn't tried it on with her yet? He seems like the kind of guy that gets what he wants."

"From what I know, Dr.X has never tried." said the Professor, "But I bet Azasi 50 bucks he's gay. I mean look at the guy. Looks like either a pedo or a 70s gay porn star, and have you seen cleaner finger nails on a guy?"

After spending some time with the insane professor he wondered back to his Quarters. On the way he met Tempest. Now he hadn't been in the same room as the boy before, let alone spoken to him. But everyone on the Council told him exactly the same thing: Don't talk to Tempest. He's a little shit. Even X told him that and the doctor was the only one of them that actually liked Tempest.

The kid only smirked when he saw him.

"Hey kid." said Quake, "What's up?"

"What was that? Maybe if you got out of that tin can once in a while I might be able to hear you." the boy said as he tapped his armour with a long white stick.

"Funny, kid." said Quake, "Hey, can I ask you a question?"

"Let me guess, you need more donuts, right Fat Albert?"

They were right, this kid was a little shit.

"Do you know the deal between the doc and Azasi?"

The boy raised an eyebrow, "Why do you want to know about that?"

"Curious."

"Azasi is a cow!" said Tempest, "I've never cared to know anything about her. She shouldn't even be on the council. She even said she was leaving as soon as X paid her. She's pretty much a whore."

"Right." said Quake.

"I think I know why X keeps her around though." Tempest continued, "Dr. X is tough. Nothing can knock him over, he's not scared of anything. Anything except...Azasi."

"The doc is scared of a woman?"

"You know how sometimes she gets really bitchy, she can get in X's face and eventually he caves into doing anything she wants him to." said Tempest, "I don't even know why I'm telling you this. I mean its not like your tiny little brain can understand it."

"You know, Gangrene bet her 50 bucks X is gay?"

That actually made the boy laugh, "I'll be sure to let them know when I find out."

As Tempest passed him Quake wondered if he really should have had that conversation with him. The kid was like what, 12?