Dateline: Friday, April 24, 1981, 7:50 PM, Pacific Daylight Time.

It was a good thing Violet and Dash had changed back into street clothes before returning home. When they got there, who should be waiting for them but Kimberly Lavender, Dash's girlfriend? Kim knew everything there was to know about her beloved. At least, that's what she thought, because she had no idea Dash was a superhero. But, she did know about him living with Violet, and she didn't think anything of it. It was this strange redhead wearing sunglasses that raised suspicion in her mind.

"Hello, Dashell," she said.

Uh, oh, Dash thought. "Hey, Kimmy," he said nervously, "you ready to go?"

"Who's this girl?" she asked, pointing at Ashley.

"This is…" Dash tried to think of an honest response that wouldn't reveal his secret identity. "…our new roommate. She's just moving in today. Ashley, this is my girlfriend Kim. Kim, this is Ashley."

Ashley seemed to pick up on Dash's cue right away. She stuck out her hand for Kim to shake. "Nice to meet you," she said.

"Uh, I'm over here," Kim said politely. Ashley righted herself, and the two quickly exchanged pleasantries.

"Well, I'm sure you two are pretty anxious to get to the theater," Violet was saying, "so why don't I just show our new roommate inside while you guys get going, okay?"

"Okay," said Dash. "Don't wait up for me!"
"Don't worry, I won't! Bye!"

"Bye-bye!"

SLAM went the door.

"All right," said Violet, "If you're going to be a part of Alpha Force, there are certain things we have to do."

"What, like initiation hazing or something?" asked Ashley.

"No, not quite." Violet left the room for a moment, and when she came back, she placed something on Ashley's wrist that felt kind of strange.

"This is an Alpha Force Radio Watch; it's how we keep contact with each other," Violet explained. She took Ashley's hand and guided it to the different buttons on the unit so she could find her way around it. "And the best part is, it looks like an ordinary watch, so no one will suspect something unusual."

"Are you sure?" Ashley asked. "I don't know, a blind girl wearing a watch is going to look pretty unusual, methinks."

Violet thought about it for a while. "Okay, I think our technical contact might be able to make it talk or something, so it doesn't seem strange, okay? And one more thing, you need a costume."

"How come?"

"So you can keep your identity a secret! Hello? Don't worry, I know someone who can make you the perfect suit."

"Yeah, thanks, that's great, hey, when's dinner?"

"There's plenty of food in the pantry, help yourself."

Violet guided the sightless super to the kitchen. Ashley navigated the room by touch and identified food by smell. She began by snacking on some week-old pizza in the fridge. Ashley didn't use a plate or silverware, which sort of creeped Violet out.

As Ashley raided the kitchen, Violet went to the phone in her bedroom to call Edna. But the phone beat her to the punch. It rang just seconds before she picked it up.

Strange, Violet thought as she answered the call.

It was Mrs. Von Braun. "Hello, Violet," she said. "Listen, my husband just had a medical emergency, so I'm afraid we won't be able to make it to dinner on Saturday. Could we reschedule?"

"Sure, why not? Is Sunday okay?"

"Sunday would be perfect! I'll bring the dessert!"

"Great, see you then!" Violet hung up, and then she dialed Edna's number.

"E, this is Python, and before you say anything, all I need is a new suit for a new member of our team. Do you think you can do that?"

"What do you think, I'm an incompetent kindergartner? Of course I can outfit your newest member! So, when do I meet the new hero?"

"Meet? No, no…"

"You should know better than to make me beg by know, Violet! We've been over this many times, you know!"

E was doing it again, knocking Violet off her high horse and scrambling on herself. Violet struggled to come up with a solid comeback line, but her attempts failed.

"You and your new teammate get to my place first thing tomorrow morning and I'll make you all breakfast, I insist, okay? Okay, bye-bye, Python." Click. Dial tone.

I can't believe she did that to me again!

"Me neither."

Violet was thrown for a loop. "Ashley!"

"I'm sorry. Were you having a private conversation with yourself?"

"Don't ever do that again!" Violet said wagging her finger.

"Yes, ma'am!" said Ashley in pseudo-military style, complete with phony salute. She slowly walked back to the kitchen to finish her meal.

She's just as irritating as Dash was when he was younger.

"I heard that!"

Now Violet was exasperated. Oh, you did, did you? Well, hear this, I'm going to bed!

"But you haven't had any dinner yet!"

"Hmm. Come to think of it, I am kind of hungry."

Violet came out of her bedroom and saw Ashley practically making a floor show out of the kitchen with her telekinesis.

"Having fun?" she asked amid her snickering.

"Why don't you take a picture?" quipped Ashley, "It'll last longer."

Now Violet was laughing her head off. "Who's going to see it? You?"

"That was cheap, Parr!" Ashley screamed. Then she telekinetically flung a dollop of sour cream in Violet's direction. Luckily, Violet projected a shield around it to defend herself. After she dispersed the shield, she grabbed the sour cream in mid-air and returned fire. She scored a direct hit. "That does it!" screamed the one who could not see an inch in front of her.

And the next thing you know, the two girls are having a pretty intense food fight.

That's when Dash and Kim came back from the movies.

"I still can't believe Darth Vader is Luke's father!" Kim said.

"I know, it's mind-boggling!" her beau responded. He went to open the door to apartment 31A. But when he saw what was going on in his humble abode, he shut the door and tried to forget what he saw.

"What's wrong, shnookums?" asked Kim.

"Uh, would you mind if I bunked at your place tonight?"

(A/N: I saw this chapter as being mostly mundane at first. The food fight at the end there didn't show up until I finalized the chapter. I had about 17 Kit Kat bars then and I was on a massive sugar high. I used to criticize sugar-induced creativity, but now I get it. So, did it stink worse than an acre of wet dogs or what? Let me know, and be honest! Chapter 17 is under construction! However it may be a while before I can publish it. I know I always say that, but this time I'm dead serious!)