She sniffed, and said softly "I'm going to miss him very much, Jeff.  Malcolm was a good man.  He deserved to get a second chance to live a good life, not have it cut short again."

"I agree Meg...but in the time he was with us, he certainly made his presence felt. I'll never forget him..."

  Meg sighed, and said softly "I will carry his memory for as long as I live.  And that could be a very, very, VERY long time."

"I will too....and share his story with the people I love.." Jeff said, looking towards Candy.

  Candy hugged Jeff, and said softly "You had an amazing friend.  I really wish I could have known him too."

Jeff held her close, then sat back.

"You know...he's not really dead....so long as we remember him...and strive to do what we can to keep his legacy going..."

  Meg said "That's one reason I was watching this.  So that someone will carry his memory into forever.  My Mom will always remember him too."

"So will we Meg..so will we.."

  Candy suggested "Maybe we should make a plaque in his honor?"

Jeff nodded and replied "Yeah..that way any heroes of the future can look back on him as an example of what a hero should be.."

  Meg nodded, and said "I can probably cold forge something unique, like Malcolm was."

Jeff smiled. "That would be nice, Meg...we should place it somewhere prominent, that way everybody can see it."

  Meg nodded, and said "Yes.  Give me some time to locate materials.  I'll make a unique plaque, without doubt."  She clearly was thinking hard already, and padded toward the door in thought.

Jeff nodded. "And if you need any assistance of the cold variety, I'm your man."

He then turned to Candy. "Hey...I'm sorry to be a total downer...it's just that Machinesmith meant a lot to us...but I can see that you understand that already."

  Candy shook her head, and hugged him, then said softly "You're fine, Jeff.  He meant a lot to you.  I can tell.  I really do wish I had gotten to know him!"

Jeff hugged her back warmly.

"Thanks Candy....thanks for understanding. I know this might not have been what you expected...but I'm glad you're here. For that matter, it sounded like all the original Secret Defenders were good peoples. Machinesmith...Brigand...um, I'm not sure who else is their members, but I'd love to find out."

  Candy asked "Maybe we should ask someone who knew them?  Or . . . look around in the records?"

Jeff nodded. "Meg...do we know any way to at least look at the records to see who all was in the Secret Defenders?"

Meg said "Iris has a datadex, but unless MachineSmith kept it all filed somewhere, not unless Ethan lets us into his computers."

Jeff nodded. "Yeah....I know Ethan is pretty busy also these days. Maybe he can give us a tour one day. If you need any cold-variety help Meg, I've got ya covered..."

  Meg smiled, and said "First, I have to take a little supraorbital trip.  Don't freak if you don't see me for a couple hours.  No rush, so I'm not going to break things to get there and back."

"Sounds cool, Meg," Jeff replied. "Do you mind if I show Candy around the place?"

  Meg shook her head, and said "Go ahead.  It shouldn't take me more than a couple hours to get the raw materials.  I can take more gravities than anyone else I know, and stay conscious, so no fears there."  Apparently, she meant to do some gravity-propelled travel of some sort.

"OK....I know you can take good care of yourself Meg...still, be careful OK?"

  She chuckled, and said "Anything actually comes after me in space, you can BET I will be yelling!!"  She waved as she stepped outside, then shot skyward, a sphere of emerald forming around her as she headed out of the atmosphere.