Issue
Synopsis:
Issue #5:
As
the two heroes fly through the night sky, Nocturne brings up Lightstar's
comment about him needing a sidekick.
Nocturne makes it very clear that he is no one’s sidekick, let
alone a sidekick to some glory-drunk sell-out.
Lightstar challenges Nocturne to create a plan to nail all the
bad guys, since he’s such a big hero.
Both Nocturne and Lightstar bring up various ideas and
suggestions, but get nowhere due to the fact they keep knocking each
other’s plans out of the water. The
only two things they can agree on is that since the meeting between Mr.
Smith and Midnight was interrupted, more than likely they would try to
reschedule their meeting and they would have an easier time trying to
locate Mr. Smith than they would Midnight and his crew.
Lightstar lands atop a nearby rooftop and suggests that they
bring in a few more heroes to give them a hand with this.
Nocturne is both uncertain of who they might bring in as well as
if they really need the help in the first place.
Lightstar then suggests they simply hide in the building and wait
for Mr. Smith to return. Nocturne
shoots down the idea, saying it’s too predictable, and questions
Lightstar’s actual field experience.
He makes the comment that Lightstar was such a big celebrity and
then suddenly he disappeared from the public eye.
Lightstar explains that he lost his powers and was pretty much
resigned to play the fallen hero, flailing in his own self-pity.
His sponsors, however, had already invested too much money into
him to let him travel down that path.
Lightstar is uncertain of how they did it, but they managed to
give him his powers back, although there were a few slight changes.
While Lightstar tells his story, Nocturne only half listens as he
tries to develop a plan. Once
Lightstar has finished his story, Nocturne suggests that they spend the
night staking out the building. Lightstar,
tired of not being able to agree on this topic, says they should just
blast their way in and beat up the bad guys.
Nocturne reminds him that they are not the police, and an
intrusion like that would likely end up with breaking and entering
charges filed against them. Lightstar reluctantly agrees to Nocturne’s plan and tells
him that Nocturne can have Midnight, he’ll take on everyone else.
The
pair spend all night on an adjacent building, waiting for Mr. Smith to
return. With morning approaching, they spot Mr. Smith and his bodyguard
exiting a limo from the front of the building.
As the two heroes head over to the Smith Trading building,
Nocturne wraps them both in darkness.
Lightstar dislikes the darkness and tells Nocturne that he hates
having to be sneaky. Nocturne
hushes him as they approach the large window that was shattered last
night and try to listen in on the voices inside.
Mr. Smith is speaking to his bodyguard, whom he refers to as
Conduit, and tells him they need to arrange another meeting with
Midnight. Mr. Smith tells
Conduit to contact Midnight and have him meet them at 7:00 p.m. tonight
by the large fountain in Central Park.
Nocturne and Lightstar listen as long as they can, but as the
sunrise continues to grow on the horizon, so does their chances of
getting caught. The two
quickly head off, hugging the shadows of dawn, and find a safe spot away
from Smith Trading to plan their actions.
The two agree to meet in the park fifteen minutes before the
meeting as well as trying to bring in any other heroes they can on this
caper. Nocturne remembers
that Lightstar used to have a sidekick named Starlight and asks him to
bring her. Lightstar
replies that he hasn’t made contact with her since he’s regained his
powers, but he’ll try to find her.
With their teamwork finally beginning to show through, the two
heroes part ways.
On
his way home, Nocturne decides to stop by the Heroes for Hire office to
look into getting some help for this evening.
Nocturne walks into the building, still in costume and speaks
with the secretary. After
turning him down for a job with Heroes for Hire, Nocturne tells her to
have Luke Cage meet him tonight in the park.
The secretary takes the message and says she will convey it to
Cage, but she can’t make any guarantees.
As Nocturne is about to leave, Iron Fist walks into the reception
area. Iron Fist talks to Nocturne about the meeting later that
evening and asks a few questions to get a better idea as to exactly what
will be going down. Satisfied
with Nocturne’s answers, Iron Fist assures him the he and Luke Cage
will help him. Nocturne
thanks Iron Fist and heads off to get some sleep and prepare for the
battle.
After
resting and warming up in his apartment, Nocturne heads to the park to
meet Lightstar and the others. When
Nocturne arrives, Lightstar isn’t there yet, but Luke Cage is. Cage asks Nocturne what’s going on and what’s the plan.
Nocturne talks a little strategy with Cage as Lightstar shows up.
Nocturne notices that Lightstar arrives alone and Luke Cage
instantly recognizes him. Apparently,
Cage doesn’t like Lightstar or the way he plays up to the media.
Nocturne acts as the peacekeeper and helps everyone stay focused.
Lightstar turns to Cage and tells him that if he plays it cool,
Cage will be able to get some free advertising from all this via the 10
o’clock news. Cage
reluctantly agrees and hangs back a little as Nocturne surrounds the
three in darkness. As the
heroes keep a watchful eye out for Midnight and his crew, Nocturne
notices Mr. Smith and Conduit walk near the designated fountain.
Scanning the park, he also notices a large black man in a black
leather trench coat a little distance away heading over towards the
fountain. Nocturne quickly
identifies the large black man as Midnight and continues to watch as he
approaches Mr. Smith and Conduit. While
waiting for the perfect opportunity to strike, Nocturne notices a woman
running across the clearing towards Midnight.
Realizing that this woman is most likely Scanner, Nocturne uses
his powers to knock her out and swiftly cover her in darkness.
Conduit notices Scanner fall out of the corner of his eye and
nudges Mr. Smith slightly, concerned that something might be going on.
Not
wanting their surprise to be ruined, Lightstar generates a blinding
flash to throw the villains off guard.
Nocturne, taking advantage of their surprise attack, grabs
Midnight with a Shadowline. Midnight
grabs the Shadowline and pulls back on it until it breaks. Lightstar blasts Conduit as Cage tackles Mr. Smith.
Iron Fist jumps into the fray from nowhere and assists Cage with
Mr. Smith. Nocturne
attempts to wrap Midnight up once again, but Midnight manages to destroy
these Shadowlines as easily as the last. Conduit gives Lightstar his energy blast back, hurtling him
into the sky while it seems the Heroes for Hire have their hands more
than full with the mysterious Mr. Smith.
A sphere of darkness appears to the left of the battlefield and
Cell emerges from inside it. Apparently
Midnight had summoned him. Nocturne
turns his attention to Cell and begins to attack him.
While Nocturne is distracted, Midnight creates his Darkforce
armor around him - readying himself for the battle to come...
Issue #6:
Midnight,
having summoned his armor around him, surveys the battlefield and
motions to Mr. Smith. Meanwhile,
Lightstar recovers from Conduit's blast and changes directions in the
air, power diving straight into him.
Mr. Smith leads Cage and Iron Fist out of the park and onto the
street as he begins to battle his way to safety.
Cell, armed with strange wristbands, fires a vicious energy blast
into Nocturne, thrusting him backwards and into a tree.
Flipping in mid-air, Nocturne bounces off the tree and flies at
Cell with his Shadowstaves, taking him out.
Before Nocturne can even survey the battlefield, Midnight attacks
him with Darkforce. Noticing
the blast out of the corner of his eye, Nocturne uses a Shadowline to
swing out of the way and back over to Cell.
Nocturne quickly removes the wristbands and headband from
Cell’s unconscious body and puts them on while dodging yet another of
Midnight’s Darkforce attacks. Elsewhere, Lightstar finds himself being overpowered by
Conduit’s assault and he’s taken out of the game.
Iron Fist and Cage begin returning to the park, having lost track
of Mr. Smith. While all
this is happening, another sphere of darkness appears, this time
spawning Freeze-Frame.
Nocturne
blasts Freeze-Frame before he even has a chance to grasp the situation,
all while dodging Midnight’s attacks.
The Heroes for Hire take advantage of Midnight’s focus on
Nocturne and begin to attack him. Conduit
leaves the fallen Lightstar to join the more pressing battle at hand. While Nocturne is exchanging blows with Freeze-Frame,
Midnight easily knocks Iron Fist out, leaving Cage to defend himself
against both Midnight and Conduit.
After knocking Freeze-Frame into tomorrow, Nocturne uses his
Shadow Control to blind Conduit. Midnight
takes out Cage, but due to his blindness, Conduit was not able to avoid
being hit by Midnight's attack as well.
Both victims lay unconscious on the ground.
Using
the powerful energy blast from the wristbands, Nocturne regains the
element of surprise as he blasts Midnight.
The blast knocks Midnight back and destroys the aim of his next
attack, which fires wildly off-target.
Regaining his composure, Midnight begins to taunt Nocturne,
reminding him that his powers can’t stand against Midnight’s
Darkforce. Nocturne charges
Midnight and with one well-aimed hit with his Shadowstaves, knocks
Midnight down and out.
Slumping to the ground, physically and mentally exerted; Nocturne notices that Midnight’s three little lackeys have all disappeared. He forces himself to get up and wearily wakes Lightstar, telling him to hand Midnight and Conduit over to the authorities. Lightstar eagerly accepts, needing all the credibility he can get. Nocturne leaves, thinking of nothing but home and where Mr. Smith weaseled off to...