Dateline: Thursday, April 30, 1981, 3:02 PM, Pacific Daylight Time.

"How could we let them get away like that?" Loren Kriznek asked nobody in particular. "And more importantly, how is it that they are not affected by my spells?"

"Well, I'm not sure, but I think they have some form of anti-magic," Vox said.

Loren looked on his only friend with contempt. "Anti-magic? Don't be ridiculous, Vox! The only one who has anti-magic is my sister, and she lives in South Carolina!"

"Forgive me, sir," Vox apologized. "So, challenging them didn't work, trapping them didn't work, so what plan shall we try next?"

"I have an idea, although it's pretty lame."

"Let's hear it. Remember, no idea is a bad idea."

"Well," said the Wicked Wichard, "we could just find out where they live, knock on their door, and pretend we're delivering a package."

"It's genius!" Vox exulted.

"Thank you, I needed someone to kiss my ass today. Now, what did you really think of it?"

"Oh, that plan sucks!"

"That's what I thought."

While this discourse was going on, Herr Cannon was driving his weapon to the site where he saw yesterday's triumph of Alpha Force. It wasn't easy, inasmuch as his arm was still in a cast, but he was determined to destroy whatever monstrosity was inside that house. Besides, if his plan was ever going to be a success, he had to vaporize this house anyway. He positioned his weapon to fire right at the front window (the front door had already been demolished). With the weapon in place, he filled the chamber with gunpowder. Then he loaded the barrel, albeit with difficulty. He lit a match and ignited the powder.

Back inside, Loren and Vox were still discussing a plan to capture the young band of super heroes, when a deafening sound, like a thousand peals of thunder, arose from the direction of the kitchen. The two ran there to see what was going on. What they saw was a mess of wooden boards, bricks, and shards of glass. The entire wall was gone now. In its place, there stood a tallish man with his right arm in a sling. Beside the man was a large cannon, obviously the source of the noise and the damage.

All at once, Loren was scared out of his wits. "Who are you? What are you doing here? Are you with Alpha Force?"

"Relax," the stranger said. "I am the enemy of your enemy, but not your friend. My name is Herr Cannon!"

"Wait, if you and I are both villains, then why are you attacking me? We should be working together to destroy our foes, right?"

"Wrong!" Herr Cannon bellowed. "The way I see it, Alpha Force isn't big enough for the both of us. So here's what's going to happen: you're going to give me your powers, and then I'm going to destroy Alpha Force alone."

Naturally, the Wicked Wichard was suspicious. "What will happen if I don't give you my powers? What are you going to do, kill me?"

"No, that would be to easy…" Herr Cannon grabbed Vox by the arm. Then, holding him with his bad arm, Herr Cannon produced a butcher knife from his pocket. "If you don't give me your powers, I'll kill him!"

Loren was shocked! How could this man have the nerve to slaughter an innocent person over a dispute he was having with someone else? Well, I'll just have to teach this monster a lesson, he thought. He cast a spell of intensely hot fire and launched it right at Herr Cannon's feet. To his surprise, nothing happened.

"Impossible!" he breathed. "You should be collapsed in anguish by now, releasing my friend in the process!"

"And yet, here I stand," Herr Cannon teased. "Now this is your last chance, whoever you are! Your power or your friend?"

Feeling defeated, Loren fell to his knees. "Please, don't hurt him. He's the only friend I have. I'll do anything you say." The Wicked Wichard was on the verge of bawling.

"You know what I want," Herr Cannon said as he let Vox go. "How do I get your powers?"

"First," Loren explained, "you need to have an open wound."

Mr. Von Braun transferred the knife to his bad hand. Then he dragged his good hand across the blade, wincing in pain as he did. He made a fist so that the blood would flow. "What next?" he asked.

"Now give me the knife," Loren answered.

Jurgen was reluctant to surrender his blade. "How do I know you won't pull a fast one on me?"

"If I wanted to kill you, you'd already be dead." It was a lie, but Loren said it to gain his trust. Jurgen handed him the knife. Then Loren cut his own hand in a similar manner. Herr Cannon and Vox alike were surprised to see that Loren's blood was purple.

"What the hell kind of witchcraft is this?" Herr Cannon asked.

"It's not witchcraft; it's the source of witchcraft. Now hold out your wounded hand."

"Which one?" Herr Cannon joked.

"Please don't make jokes. This is hard enough for me as it is. Your bloody hand?"

Mr. Von Braun held his hand face up. Loren gripped his fist tightly and poured his violet blood onto Herr Cannon's wound. In an instant, Jurgen's blood changed color to match the Wichard's.

"You can use your new power to heal yourself," Loren suggested.

Taking this to heart, Herr Cannon focused on his open wound, willing it to sew itself up. To his amazement, it did! Next, he healed his still broken arm, knocking the cast off in the process. "This is great!" he said.

"This is terrible!" Loren said, staring at his gaping wound. He was horrified, and yet he knew this would happen. Gone was the soft lavender hue of his lifeblood, replaced with a rusty red. His powers were gone, because he had shared them with another. But, he knew it was the right thing to do. He had to save his friend.

"Now to finish the job!" Herr Cannon bellowed. He picked up the knife where Loren dropped it. Then he rushed at Vox, forced him to the ground, and held the knife aloft, as if to cut his prey open.

"What the hell? We had a deal! You said if I gave you my powers, you wouldn't hurt him!"

Herr Cannon grinned an evil grin. "No, I said if you didn't give me your powers, I would kill him. You may have sacrificed your power to save him, but I'm going to kill him anyway!"

"NO!" Loren charged Herr Cannon in a fit of rage. With his newly acquired power, Herr Cannon immobilized Loren, so he wouldn't interfere. Then he drove the knife deep into Vox's chest and carved a long gash into his midsection. Screams of ultimate agony arose from Vox's throat.

As soon as he was finished, Herr Cannon released Loren from his spell. Loren rushed to Vox's side and wept over the monstrous actions of this malevolent beast.

"Look at you," Herr Cannon said with disappointment. "You value your friend more than you do your powers. Some villain you are!" He picked up his cannon with ease and left the scene.

Loren was still in tears as Vox moved slightly. "Please don't die on me, buddy!" he said. "Don't you die on me, dammit!"

Vox coughed up blood. "I wish…" He coughed again. "I wish I had been a hero." He groaned as he breathed his last.

Loren looked up and saw Herr Cannon walking away. "You'll pay for this, you murderer!" he vowed amid the tears. "If it's the last thing I do, I'll see to it that you are destroyed!"

Meanwhile, over on New York Avenue…

"…And then, who should come up to our table but his family!" Violet said.

"Oh my gawd!" said Kim. "I don't think much more could have gone wrong!"

Just then, the phone rang. "I'll get it," said Ashley. "Hello?"

"Who is this? Are you with Alpha Force?"

"Yeah, who is this?"

"This is Edna. We're all finished."
"Uh, great, wh…"

"You will come over in one hour, I insist, okay? Okay, bye-bye now."

(A/N: Sorry it took me so very long to update. I'm back in school, and you know, duty calls. Don't worry about me though! I'll be just fine! Review please, and be constructive, okay? Until next time…)