Tommy chuckled at how bluntly Barbara had brushed him off. "Hostility. Gotta love a girl with spirit." It was hardly the first time he had gotten such a reaction to his advances, and by now he had learned to just take it in stride. He also knew she wasn't just making idle threats. Barbara could hold her own, and if it came down to it Tommy was sure she could back up everything she had said. He made a mental note to try a smoother approach with her from now on.

Turning to take in their newest arrival, Tommy cocked an eyebrow at the very... statuesque girl. He couldn't say she was exactly his type but apparently she would be bringing a lot of muscle to the team, which they sorely needed. "Don't let Billy's nerdy handmade costumes fool you. We can hold our own with the spandex crowd. Just because we aren't an official team doesn't mean we can't put the hurt on some bad guys." 

Rising from his chair, Tommy's figure seemed to fade and flicker for an instant and then he was standing there in his costume as well. Looking down at the form-fitting green and white bodysuit, he shook his head and glared at Billy. "Seriously? You couldn't make something that doesn't say 'Hey! Look at my crotch!'?" Tommy sighed, muttering under his breath. "I can't believe I'm going out in public like this."

--------------------

As Quentin closed his eyes the sounds of the city around him and the voices of Franklin and the others gradually became indistinct, first seeming to drift away before fading out all together. He felt his consciousness leave his body as his telepathic senses expanded beyond the realm of the physical. Focusing on the image of Jack he had seen, he concentrated all his thoughts on finding that face. Reaching out through the vast sea of minds all across the city, he saw through the eyes of thousands of people at once as he scanned for someone that had seen Jack.

Remaining intensely focused for several minutes, his brow furrowed in frustration as he came up with nothing. Then, suddenly, a faint image appeared before his mind's eye. It grew clearer, and soon he could make out a face. The place he was seeing was dark, but the more he focused on that face the more it became apparent that it was the same one he had seen in the photograph. It was Jack. His face finally became distinct enough to see his expression, but to Quentin's horror it was one of pain and torment. In the vision he locked eyes with Jack for a moment, and the fear and desperation he saw in the younger boy's gaze were enough to sicken him even as he felt the perverse pleasure of the mind that was inflicting it. A sense of terror and foreboding came over Quentin all at once as he sensed that twisted mind becoming aware of his presence within itself and then he saw nothing but pitch black. Feeling trapped and blind, he wanted to withdraw back to the comfort of his own consciousness, but found that he could not. The terrible mind had his own in its grasp, and it spoke to him as it held Quentin's thoughts within the abysmal void that surrounded his awareness.

[i]"Young, precious Quentin, forget what you saw here.  Never see or speak of it again... Or you're next."[/i]

With that he felt his psychic projection forcefully hurled back to his own mind. As he settled back into the confines of his own body Quentin felt the agony caused by his being expelled explode within his skull. His eyes fluttered open even as he winced in pain, and Franklin, Valeria, and Spider Man came into view once more.

"... -at happened? Did you find Jack? Where is he?" Franklin's rapidly blurted questions were only half-heard as Quentin struggled with the painful ringing the psychic backlash produced in his ears. 

"Give him a minute, Franklin." Valeria approached Quentin looking concerned. "Are you all right? What did you see?"