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

Out in Parodipolis Sound on Parody Island stands the Lair Legion Mansion. The mansion's hunchbacked butler, Flapjack is retuning to the Mansion from the mailbox with that day's mail.

In the mail are some Bills, various Death Threats (which is nothing new), a couple Restraining Orders (Most if not all were addressed to him), Hatman may already be a winner of a brand new car if he sends in 300 dollars in non-sequential bills to a company in Guam that Flapjack has never heard of.

He manages to make it in the side the Mansion before the security systems go off. As the Stunulators go off behind him, he continued his look through the pile. In there was this month's TV Guide (They have a cover story on the latest season of the reality show: Surviving Hollywood), the latest copy of Modern Malefactor (The Hooded Hood is the cover story once again), a magazines addressed to CrazySugarFreakBoy! which were sealed up in black opaque plastic (Flapjack will take a look at those before he hands them off to the wired wonder). At the bottom of the pile was an invitation.

Flapjack looks up from the mail & sees who the invite was addressed to down the hallway.

"Hey!" He calls out.

"Hey meatstick!" He says as he runs down the hallways towards him.

Ham-Boy looks around to see who might be addressing him. "Yes?"

"Congradulations." Flapjack said with a creepy smile. At least it was creepy to Ham-Boy.

"On what?"

"Now being an official member of the Lair Legion: your not getting mail addressed to you care of the Mansion."

Flapjack handed over the white rectangular envelope. Ham-Boy looks to see who it was from. It has a Goth Haven postmark. HB flips over the envelope to see a sticker holding the the flap closed. On the sticker were three letters: JSX. As Ham-Boy opens the envelope, Flapjack looks at the envelope from behind him. This was making Ham-Boy nervous.

"Who's it from?" The Carpathian asked.

"I'm invited to the 8th annual Jet Starscream Experience Gala."

"Fancy. Only a select number of people are invited to that each year. I've been trying to get into that for years."

"Really?"

"Yeah. Pictures from that event always sell real well & I think if I could get into I could make a bundle…"

Ham-Boy interrupted him. "No. It's really that exclusive."

"Yes. Didn't you know that?"

"No." Ham-Boy said with a shrug of the his shoulders.

"I wonder why you get to go?"

"Starscream & I did meet up recently."

"You & him had a team-up?" Flapjack said with a hint of disbelief in his voice.

"Yeah. I didn't think much of it. it wasn't that big of a deal but I guess it was."

Flapjack looks at the invite before & asks. "It says you can have a +1."

"A what?"

Flapjack sighs & then says. "A plus one. That means you can bring someone with you. Got anyone in mind?"

Ham-Boy thinks for a second or two. "No. Not really. The person I'd ask I'm not sure where she is."

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

The Badripoor International Airport.

Betty Stevens is sitting alone waiting for her flight. She is sitting with her lone bag & is writing in her journal. She knows that it's dangerous to be in Badripoor alone, especially if they were an unaccompanied female. But she's on a mission. She is looking for her cousin who had gone missing. She knows that if she fell off the face of the earth with an notice he be looking for her so she's taking this risk. But she is not unprotected. Not only does she have some fight training of her own but her cousin left something behind. Something he went to battle many a time.

There was announcement made, It was that her flight was boarding. This flight would take her half way to her next stop on her quest. She was heading off to Shangri-La & hopes that once she gets there they might have some answer to whatever happened to her cousin, Jasper. Betty puts her journal back in her bag & picks it up to get on the plane. Hanging out of the bag was the corner of what appeared to be a bright red apron.

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

TO BE CONTINUED….

Will Ham-Boy go the Gala? Who will he bring as his +1? Will he go in costume or not? Does Ham-Boy own a tuxedo? What will Betty find in Shangri-La? Will it be a Yeti?

Some of these questions & more will be answered in further issues of The Ham-Tastic Adventures of Ham-Boy!

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

FOOTNOTES:

-The meeting of Ham-Boy & Jet Starscream that HB reference happened in the story called "Hometown Heroes".

- In the last issue of this series, after finding out that Ham-Boy had joined the Legion Jet made a mental to invite him to his Gala. Here we we see that he did.

- Betty Stevens & Fred Harris (Ham-Boy) grew up together in Piney Oaks, Iowa. Betty is one of the few people who do know that Fred & HB are one in the same. Years ago, it was established that Betty Stevens was the cousin of Jasper Stevens (Kid Produce). It was not established if she knew his secret identity but as we saw here in this issue she apparently does.

- I know this issue is a bit short but I wasn't sure what else to add in. Plus, It had been a few weeks since the last issue or any story from & had felt I needed to post something so this what you get.

Interesting story.

Looks like the might be a new heroine in the making too.

The world needs more heroines.

I have a feeling Ham-Boy will take anyone *except* Flapjack to that party.

Thanks. I'm trying to make as interesting to read as it is to read.

About there being a "new heroine in the making": she might be but she has an end point in mind so her super hero career might be short lived.

Yes. It was never my intension to have Flapjack come with Ham-Boy as his +1, that doesn't means Flapjack won't ask & ask & ask & ask again.

This Issue sets up two of my more larger plot lines: as I have it planned out The JSX Gala will get it's own issue (lots of stuff happens at it) & we'll see that in an issues or two. I'm thinking of the Gala as a tent pole event in the series so if I can do all I have planned for the Gala it should be awesome or at least pretty good.

The Search for Jasper Stevens will take take a bit longer. We'll see a number of places Betty searches for her cousin before this plot line is resolved. I've got the end point in mind, just need to plan out her stops along the way. I will say this Betty will rack up some search frequent flyer miles on her world tour.

I'm sure he could meet a nice girl that way.

Looking forward to his trip to the big gala! Here's hoping he doesn't turn into a pumpkin.

Who his +1 will be is still unknown at the moment. What with all that I have planned for at the Gala I'm not sure I'll have him ask anyone.

With the Gala as planned HB will not be turning a Pumpkin but this could change.

But they will eventually meet up & will have a +1.

Thinking about it bringing a +1 to a superhero gathering has to be slightly awkward because if you have a secret identity it rather defeats the point. I hope he finds someone in time.

It's going to be awkward anyways just because it's a date but there is your reason also, Ham-Boy does have a secret identity to protect. Of the people who know the secret, most of them are either unavailable or Ham-Boy doesn't think they'd accompany him to the event.




He might & he might not. This will be addressed in future stories.