Siryn, Meltdown and Moonstar were dressed for an outing at the mall. They wore shorts and blouses, and had their purses with them. "Me wardrobe is seriously depleted." Siryn said. "Tab, Danni and I are going shopping." Woe be onto the person who stood between Theresa Roarke, Tabitha Smith, Danni Moonstar and the shopping mall. The three of them jumped into their 1959 El Dorado and went down to the mall. "I take no prisoners here." Meltdown said. They tore into several women's clothing stores, selecting the best dresses that fit them. Then they went to the best store of all, and fate. Meltdown pulled the others into Bikinis Unlimited. "God, it's been forever since I had a new bikini." She told the others. Moonstar agreed. "Yea, I haven't been to the beach in ages. We should go sometime." Well, the three of them went and changed into bikinis. This caught the eye of Garrett.

Garrett Horsberg was perhaps one of the best model scouts in the bay area. Almost every model he discovered went on to pose on numerous covers. Garrett saw our heroines in the bikini shop, and started to salivate. He turned to his personal assistant and said: "Frank, we've hit paydirt." Garrett and Frank went into the shop and approached the X-Force ladies. Meltdown at first was too absorbed in seeing herself in a new bikini to notice them. Fortunately, Moonstar wasn't, and turned to Garrett. Garrett spoke first. "Excuse me ladies, might I have a moment of your time?" The three ladies turned to Garrett. "Yes, what ye be wantin'?" Siryn said. "Hmm ... beautiful, and that Irish brogue ... I've really hit the jackpot." Garrett thought. "My name is Garrett Horsberg, and I represent the agency of Siegrest, Horsberg, Windair, and Thrakstein. My card." Garrett then proceeded to give each of the ladies his card. "The most successful modeling agency outside of LA or Paris." Moonstar read from the card. "That's quite a boast." Garrett was unfazed by Moonstar's hesitation. "It's a reputation that is well-earned, miss. I've conducted nationwide searches for ladies like the three of you. I think you could have a bright future in modeling." Moonstar wasn't impressed. "We already have good paying jobs, thank you." Garrett wasn't about to let them get away. "But think of all the benefits you'd have: You'd get to travel the world to exotic places, be with important people, and you'll be with more hunks than you'll ever know what to do with." Meltdown was starting to join Moonstar's resistance. "I've already got me a boyfriend. I've seen the world over and some other lands, too." Garrett was beginning to get flustered. He'd never met such resistance before. "Look, we'll think things over, and let you know if we're interested." Siryn said. She hoped this would make him go away. Garrett finally realized that he wouldn't have them today. "All right, I understand." He said as he and Frank left. When they were a considerable distance away from the bikini shop, Garrett told Frank: "Tail them. Find out where they live." He knew that if he could get them to sign, he'd have three Cindy Crawfords on his payroll. Meanwhile, Siryn, Meltdown, and Moonstar changed back into their clothing and went home, armed with numerous sacks of their purchases.

When they got there, They were greeted by Warpath and Sunspot. "I hope you had a good time." Roberto said. "About as well as can be expected." Moonstar said dryly. Warpath and Sunspot helped the ladies carry their massive amount of purchases in. "Good thing I've got superhuman strength." Warpath thought. After settling down, the phone rang. "I'll get it." Sunspot said. "Hola?" Sunspot listened to the phone. "What!? Are you out of your mind!?" The others were concerned now. "Drooga!! You people are utterly incompetent! We had a deal, remember!?" Now the others were starting to get worried. "I am coming over there right now!!" Sunspot then slammed the receiver down on the phone, breaking the device into several pieces. Moonstar voiced everyone's concerns. "This doesn't sound too good, Bobby." She said. "DaCosta international's board of directors has voted that they cut off all our funding. They said they posted a $21 million dollar loss this quarter." The others were solemn. "So we're back to being poor again, hm?" Sunspot turned to Meltdown. "I'm going down there now to see what's going on. I suspect someone's foul hand in this." Well, Meltdown then thought about Garrett's proposal from earlier. Well, about two weeks later, the money was running very low. The members of X-Force were out in their El Dorado when suddenly a drunk driver jumped a median and ran into them head-on. Even though they were obeying the speed limit, the drunk wasn't, and the impact was like hitting a brick wall. Good thing they were wearing their seatbelts. Otherwise, it would have been a mess of bodies on the street in various pieces. The drunk didn't even seem to notice that he had ran head-on with the El Dorado, and drove his car off, even if the car was hobbling and about to fall apart itself. Siryn received a very nasty cut on her forehead. Some of the others suffered bruises and cuts as well, but fortunately, there were no major injuries. Suddenly a Ferrari Tessarosa, red with black stripes stopped. Out of it jumped a man in his mid 20's, with well-chiseled features and wearing a suit and tie. He looked like a 1930's actor. "Ohmigawd! Are you alright?" The voice was very familiar to the team. "Uhn ... Wade?" Siryn said. Deadpool then deactivated his hologram to show himself in his uniform. He knew that they were in trouble, as the police were coming in. Deadpool then resumed his hologram. "Sorry, got to go incognito here for awhile." He told them. Well, the police came out (as they had been in the doughnut shop two doors away) and surveyed the situation. "What happened here?" The policeman asked. "Some guy was swerving around and then jumped the median and hit us head on." Moonstar told the policeman. "I would say that he was drunk, because he didn't seem to notice that he hit us head on. In fact, he drove his car off even though it was seriously damaged, and the wheels looked like they were about to fall off." Deadpool added: "Yea, I saw the whole thing. He was swerving quite a bit. I'd say the driver was stinking drunk. Good thing I wrote down his license number." The policeman had a first aid kit, and managed to bandage up the cuts and treat the bruises. "I'll get on this right away. He then went to his car and ran a check on the license. "Damn." The policeman said. He then returned to the members of X-Force. "I'm afraid your drunk driver stole his car. It was reported stolen two weeks ago." The members of X-Force were disconsolate.

Well, The next week Deadpool helped them out with their situation. He then found Garrett's card on the floor where Meltdown had dropped it earlier. "The modeling agency of Siegrest, Horsberg, Windair, and Thrakstein? What would they be wanting with this place?" Meltdown took the card away. "We got proposed for some modeling work a couple of weeks ago. We turned them down." Deadpool, in his usual mind-in-his-pants style, smiled at Meltdown. "Well, you ladies certainly have the look for it. I know I'd pay you a lot to model swimwear." Siryn, like Queen Victoria, was not amused. "Wade." She said with enough coldness to freeze the oceans solid, "Mind yer own business." Meltdown thought for awhile. "Guys, this could be our big break. We just take a couple of modeling jobs here and there, then leave. Just until things get sorted out." Deadpool wanted Meltdown's position to be the majority. "That's the spirit." He told her. "You just pose in a few bikinis, and pretty soon you'll have more money than you know what to do with." Suddenly Firelasher teleported in. "Al told me you'd be here. Wade, what are you doing with them? You told me you had no interest in her." Deadpool turned and panicked. "Teri? You're home early. It's good to see you again." Firelasher, like Siryn, was not amused. Firelasher grabbed Deadpool's ear and lead him off. "All right mister, we're going to have a little chat about your libido here." Deadpool was in pain. "OW! Not the ear! Please not the ear!" Firelasher teleported herself and Deadpool away from them. "That can't be right." Meltdown said. "Deadpool has a girlfriend?" They looked at each other in stunned silence for a moment. "Nah!" They all said at the same time. Well, Meltdown told them: "I tell you what. Why don't I go first, and then if things are bad, I'll pull out." They thought about it, and agreed.

Well, the next day Meltdown called the agency, and Garrett's assistant Frank answered the phone. "We'll have a limo over as soon as possible." He said. Sure enough, four minutes later a stretch limo arrived at the warehouse. The team climbed in and went into fate. They gave Meltdown a makeover and her first assignment. "We've got a wonderful woman's business suit assignment to start you off with." Garrett told Meltdown. "I'd really like your friends to join in on this." Well, three weeks later and numerous changes in apparel, Meltdown had completed her assignment. "It was fun." She told the rest of the team. "You should try it, guys." Well, the rest of the team agreed to try it out. Warpath and Siryn got an assignment for modeling romance novel covers. The first cover was called "Native Love" and was about a woman who fell in love with a Native American. Oddly enough, this job required Warpath and Siryn to be in each other's arms for three weeks straight. In the middle of the second week, both of them were feeling the stirring of love. "It feels good to be in Jimmy's arms. But we agreed to be just friends." Siryn was very torn about her feelings. So was Warpath. The art director said: "O.k., we need you to kiss now." Those words invoked a tumult of emotions from both Siryn and Warpath. Panic, anticipation, fear, lust ... both of them knew their relationship would never be the same again. But they kissed. This brought about a wild reaction from the two of them. While the photographer clicked away, they became very passionate. "That's perfect." the art director said. "You're really throwing your hearts into this one." Well, when they parted lips, Siryn let out a soft moan. "Jimmy..." She started. "Don't talk, Terry. I might just explode." Warpath retorted. // Sam Guthrie wasn't too much into fashion. Heck, he figured that as long as he was warm and had his clothing match, he'd done a good job. He was sitting in the X-Men's war�room, wearing his favorite overalls and a shirt. It took him a long time to get those overalls broken in just like he liked them. Well, he missed Tabitha dearly, even if the last time he saw her she was in someone else's arms. It was very ironic�when Marrow came in with the mail. "Yo, mail call hayseed." She said, then threw the mail on the table. Marrow didn't want mail, nor had anyone she could write to. Having to fight all her life, she had little time to learn reading and writing, let�alone make well-adjusted relationships. Her reading level was about that of a third grader. But that was all irrelevant now, as Sam saw what was on the top of the pile. It was a catalogue that Rogue had ordered. A catalogue of bikinis. Guess�who's face was on the cover.

"That's Tabitha!!" Cannonball shouted as he picked up the magazine. "Ah can't believe it! She went and became a model!?" Marrow and Storm entered the room as Cannonball held up the catalogue. Storm was concerned about Sam's outburst. "Samuel, what is wrong?" Storm asked. "Mah frands -Tabitha, Theresa, Danni - they're all in this catalogue!" Storm took the catalogue and looked it over. Marrow read over Storm's shoulder. "Well, looks like the kids fell into a trap." Marrow said. "Personally, I never understood why people place such a high value on appearances." Storm looked over the catalogue in disbelief. "You are right, Samuel. These are Tabitha, Theresa, and Danielle." Storm then set down the catalogue. "Well, they have left us, and if they chose to be models, that is their decision." She turned away, hoping that she had calmed him down. Cannonball, for his part, wasn't moved much by Storm's statement. "Ah can't believe she'd do this�to me. Tabitha was mah girlfriend!" It was pretty clear that Cannonball was getting hysterical. Storm tried to calm him down. "Sam, calm yourself. I may sound callous, but that is their choice. They have decided to live their lives without us, so we must respect that." Sam Guthrie went haywire. "Ah'm gonna find her, and Ah'm gonna give her a piece of mah mind!" Cannonball then stormed out of the place. Marrow turned to Storm. "I don't get it. Everyone says they want to date a model, but when they do ..." Storm interrupted Marrow. "Samuel is not acting properly, Marrow. We just have to let him work it out of his system." It was about two weeks later when the gang got things back. Each of them had earned a lot of money. "This should be enough until Bobby's setup is sorted out." Moonstar said. "Although I'll be the first to admit it was fun posing, even if it was�long hours in the hot tropical sun." Siryn was pragmatic like Moonstar. "Well, we did agree to do this only once, Danni. We should walk away while we still have the chance." Meltdown was crestfallen. "I really liked it too. But I guess sooner or later they'd find out about our mutant powers ..." Suddenly the door burst open and Cannonball stood there. "Tabitha! Ah want a word with you, now!!" He shouted, anger coming through loud and clear. "Sam?" Meltdown was confused. Cannonball took her by the hand and lead her out of the room. "What's going on here, Sam?" Meltdown asked. Cannonball was like a man who saw his daughter die at Meltdown's hands. "How could you do this to us!? You've turned the dream of the Professor into a laughing stock!" Meltdown got the picture. "Sam, this modeling stuff was only temporary. We've got enough money to last for awhile." Cannonball was still incensed. "Ah can't believe you'd do this to us." Meltdown put her hands on Cannonball's shoulders. "Sam, there's a lot of myth out there that all mutants are freaks and deformed aberrations of nature. I wanted to show people that mutants can be beautiful too. Please, don't be angry. I'm done with it now." Cannonball turned away from Meltdown. "First you go and kiss mah best frand, then this. It's over, Tabitha. We're finished!" Cannonball stormed out of the room. "Sam! Please!" Meltdown's words fell on deaf ears as she went after them. Siryn, for her part, then turned to Sunspot. "What was this about ye kissin' Tab?" She asked him. Sunspot knew that he had been caught. "Well ... it was something that just happened, all right? Neither of us wanted it to happen."

Back with Cannonball things weren't going any better. Meltdown stopped him in front of the door. "Sam, please try to understand. This has nothing to do with me and you." Cannonball was seeing red. "Ah said it's over, Tab. Leave it!" Meltdown managed to turn Cannonball around by putting her hand on his shoulder. "Sam, we've come so far, done so much to drop this now. All right, maybe what I did was wrong. Maybe we should have starved. But I can't go undo it now. I was wrong to be with Bobby. I know now that I love only you." Cannonball looked at her with jaundiced eye. "Ah've let it go, Tab. You should to the same." But upon turning around a young woman about Cannonball's age suddenly fell into his arms from the doorway. She had pink hair, purple eyes, and numerous cuts and bruises on her. Meltdown recognized a face she hadn't seen in years. "Ohmigawd!" She shouted. "That's Ariel!!" Cannonball carried Ariel to the couch, and laid her down there. All the other members of X-Force gathered around her. Siryn was the second to recognize her. "Ariel? What's she doin' here? She was supposed t'have left for the Coconut Grove years ago." Cannonball was as confused as the rest of the team was. "Ah don't know, Terry. All Ah can tell you is that she suddenly appeared from a door, and then fell into my arms." Sunspot suggested they call 911, but Meltdown stopped him. "She's from another planet." Meltdown said. "Would you like to explain why she's different from us?" Cannonball was flustered. "We can't just let her die." Siryn had the idea. "We should call the professor, talk t'him." Well, ten buttons pushed later, they are talking to Ceclia Reyes on the other end. "She's probably in shock from loss of blood. You've got to raise her feet so that the blood will rush to her head." Doctor Reyes wasn't used to having alien patients, but she didn't let that deter her in the least. X-Force did as she said, bandaging the wounds on Ariel. Reyes was pragmatic. "Keep her immobile as much as you can until I get there." She said. Suddenly Ariel sat up. "Uhn ... where am I?" She asked. Meltdown and Siryn approached her. "Ariel, you're back on earth now." They said together. Ariel looked them over. "Boom Boom? Siryn? Is that you?" Siryn responded. "Aye, it's us, Ariel." They laid Ariel back down. "You should rest, you look like you've been through hell." Meltdown told her. Ariel was near tears. "My planet has been invaded." She said. "I don't know if anyone else of my race is alive. They came so quickly. so fiercely, we had little time to react or prepare for it." X-Force knew they had a call to action; but they needed to know one thing. "Who did this t'ye?" Siryn asked. Ariel turned toward Siryn, but Didn't face her completely. "I don't know. They just came in their ships and attacked. We never actually saw them." They could tell she was serious about this. Moonstar stepped in. "Perhaps if I used my power, we could see what these ships looked like, and identify the race behind them." X-Force was pragmatic. Siryn said: "We'll help ye, Ariel. Just get us t'the place." Ariel stared at Siryn: "I need to rest. I've been hurt."

About 3 hours later Ariel was well enough to lead X-Force back to the Coconut grove. She stood in front of the closed door. The X-Force members (and Cannonball) were with her, wearing their uniforms. "Let's go, Ariel." Siryn said. Ariel opened the door, and they stepped into the Coconut Grove, or rather, what was left of it. The place was a mess, with destruction everywhere. In the sky there were numerous ships, and the members of X-Force recognized them immediately. "Those are Shi'Ar battle cruisers! What are they doing here?" Meltdown said. "I donna know, Tab. But I'd like t' find out." However, before they could, a gas came from nowhere, engulfing all of them. "Sleep gas!" Cannonball said as their lungs filled with the gas.

It was about 2 or three hours later when Moonstar woke up. She took the least amount of the gas, so she was the first. "Uhn ... what happened?" She asked. She then realized that she was dressed in a white cloak, and nothing else. She looked around; Meltdown, Siryn, and Ariel were with her. Across a hallway, she could see Sunspot, Warpath and Cannonball. All of them were in the same white cloak. "If I had a dime for every time I woke up in a strange place..." She thought. "Well, this isn't going to get us out of here." She then tried to wake up Siryn and Meltdown. "Uhn ... not tonight, Sam." Tabitha said, being almost completely asleep. This did not amuse Moonstar. "Tabitha, wake up!" she said. Meltdown woke up and nursed her head. "Uhn ..." She said. Siryn was in a similar state of mind. "Uhn ... I havena felt this bad since I gave up drinking." Theresa observed. Moonstar helped them stand. "Look alive, guys. We've got to get out of here." Meltdown made a small explosive ball. "Easy as pie." She said. Ariel woke up as well. "Where are we?" She asked. Meltdown then put the explosive ball into the lock on their cell door. Seconds later, the ball exploded, and the door opened. "That was easy. Too easy." Moonstar said. "I'm not about t'look a gift horse in the mouth." They went over to men, who were starting to wake up as well. Meltdown told them: "Stand back, guys." She then put another explosive ball into the lock. It blew the door open. "Well, whatever's taken us, they know we're awake now." Cannonball said. "Would you rather stay in that prison?" Meltdown asked. "Come on, we should get out of here." Siryn said. They all came out of the area and into the main hall. "Why hasn't anyone come to stop us from leaving?" Moonstar observed. "Do you really want to get into a major fight?" Meltdown asked. It was interesting that they continued to exit the place, and came to a clear barrier. On the other side was something that they did not expect. "What are those creatures?" Ariel asked. They definitely weren't Shi'Ar officers. "Ah've never seen anything like them before." Cannonball said. Ariel was pragmatic. "They're the ones who are ruining my home. We should stop them." X-Force agreed. Unfortunately, the barrier between them and these creatures was impenetrable. Despite the use of their powers, the barrier was a solid rock. "There's got to be a way around this thing." Meltdown said. Moonstar then noticed a doorway on the other side. "Ariel, try using your power on that door over there." She said. Ariel led them to another doorway. "Sure thing, Moonstar. Here we go." Ariel opened the door and they stepped right into the hornet's nest. "RE#OSZ@SFRf E& ;P'Tw+ yQZ* 4R!!" The alien said. "Something tells me that we're in for a fight." Warpath said. He was right on that part. All the aliens were armed to the teeth, and pulled their weapons. They opened fire, only to be met by a sonic shield, courtesy of Siryn. The rest of X-Force fanned out, and attacked. Cannonball did the most initial damage, as he flew around, blasting his way through the aliens. Meltdown threw several explosive balls, hitting several of the aliens. Sunspot blasted them further, destroying their weapons mostly. Moonstar went after the captain, and hit him with a psionic arrow. Warpath ran roughshod over the aliens, striking one into another. "Re%w SEo^uEQQ R#S@++O!!" The alien captain said. "Turn on the translator." Siryn said. Sunspot was closest to the translator, so he turned it on. "Make it stop!" The alien captain said. "Who are you and why are you attacking my planet!?" Ariel demanded. "I never asked for this. I just wanted to feed my wife and six kids!" The alien chief was near tears. Siryn looked at Moonstar. "Just how hard did ye hit the lad?" She asked. "That wasn't a very powerful psionic arrow. It shouldn't have affected him this much." Moonstar responded. Ariel was face to face with the alien chief. "Who are you and why are you attacking my planet!?" She demanded again. The chief then turned and saw Ariel for the first time. "We ... we are the Fl'ke$le&. We were given these cruisers by the head who ordered that we take over this planet." Ariel wanted the truth out of him. "Who is this head and where do I find him?" She asked. "He's ... on the 3rd moon of Zubenelgenubi 3-6. That's all I know. I don't know where that is!" Ariel stared daggers at the alien. "Call off this attack force now." She ordered. "All right, all right. He then turned to a radio. "All units, pull back. I repeat, all units, pull back." Siryn gave a light smile. "That's a start." She said. Ariel turned to the members of X-Force. "I need your help. I don't know where this Zubenelgenubi 3-6 is. Any ideas?" Moonstar faced Ariel. "I do. It's in the Milky way Galaxy, in the constellation Libra." Ariel smiled with a sinister grin. "Then let's get out there and find out why they've been attacking our planet." Ariel went to a doorway. "Everyone, come on through." She said as the members of X-Force stepped through with her.

Zubenelgenubi 3-6's moon was almost the size of Earth. It was about 1 kilometer less in circumference. The moon was a 50-50 ratio of water to land. Most of the life there was peaceful and tranquil. That is, except for the Hellhole. The Hellhole was a cesspool of the slimiest of the slime of the planet, and only those convicted of terrible crimes were sent there. The only way into the Hellhole was being thrown off a 500 foot cliff with a parachute. Otherwise, this valley was impenetrable. The place made Madripoor look like the heart of the bible belt. Everyone was in a desperate race to survive. However, there was a hierarchy of life. The head, as the leader was known, was not a man you could mess with and get away with it. Well, he was the one behind the attack on the Coconut Grove. Ariel managed to teleport the team into the chamber where he sat in a chair. "This is the place." Ariel said. "And he's behind it all." They approached the Head. "Well, someone from the Coconut grove has decided to come to me." He said. "No matter. Your planet will be under my subjugation any minute now." Siryn grimaced at him. "We got yer ships t' leave the Coconut Grove. The people there are rebuilding their planet." Being somewhat empathic, the Head knew Siryn was telling the truth. "Who are you and why did you order an attack on my planet?" Ariel demanded. "I am the head, the leader of this area where the criminals are thrown in. I needed a mineral called Jethrium 233. This planet has none, but your Coconut Grove has plenty of it." Ariel was angered. "Why didn't you just trade for it?" The Head was pragmatic. "There's nothing here your planet could want. Besides, why trade for something you can take?" This incensed Ariel no end. Ariel got a dagger from a shelf and plunged it into the Head's chest. "Ariel, don't!!" Meltdown's words were too late. Ariel dropped the knife, then turned to the others. "Time to go home." She said.

Well, Ariel took the members of X-Force back to their home in San Francisco. After leaving, the team turned back to each other. "Well, where does that leave us now?" Meltdown asked. Cannonball walked away. "Ah got to get home." He said. Meltdown stopped him. "Not without a goodbye kiss first." She said milliseconds before planting her lips on those of Cannonball. After a short while, they parted. "Goodbye, Tabitha." Cannonball said.