The Spectrum Vol. 01

Chapter 18: The Shade is Born

Chapter 18

The Shade is Born

Phase was back at Blur's lab, looking for Bruiser and Convex. Bruiser stumbled in through the back door, "Anybody home!" "In here, Leonard!" He walked into the lab, "Whoa! Veloci left his mark, didn't he. Yeesh. Multiple marks actually." Bruiser was covered in blood. "Hey, anybody here!" The voice had come from the back of the house. Phase walked out to check on it, and found Convex dragging The Refractor through the mirror. Bruiser walked out. "He's still breathing," said Convex. "Well," said Bruiser, "looks like I'm not the only one who needs the hospital."

Dwight Howard woke up. He was in the hospital. He sat up and looked around, and found the nurse staring at him. He looked at himself in the mirror, and froze. His skin was black as night. He looked at the nurse, "How long have I been out?" "About four weeks sir. I'll go get the doctor." He sat back in thought as the nurse left. How did he get here? Then, he remembered. Alex and Nick had activated the controls at work. The window opened, and the light poured in, burning his skin to a crisp. He began to grow angry. This was all Alex's and Nick's fault! They had done this to him. He stood up and walked into the bathroom. Suddenly, he felt very strange. He looked at himself in the mirror, and gasped. He wasn't solid. He was just a cloud of blackness. He was just a shadow. He liked it. "Hmm. I should pay Alex and Nick a visit. I'll enjoy ending their lives." He walked out of the room. He looked at the paper. On the front page was the headline, 'Rogue villians Wesley Kropp and Nick Armoth captured!' "Hmm," he read the article about Kropp. "Maybe I should go see this guy first." He chuckled to himself, "Look out you two. The Shade is coming for ya!"

At Tropside prison, Blur was struggling to fall asleep. He was fuming. The Refractor had ruined everything by dragging him into this. "He should be dead," he said to himself, "If only I had just killed him when I had the chance." He finally managed to fall asleep. "Hey, buddy. You Kropp?" He woke up and looked around. He couldn't see who was adressing him. He laid back down, "HEY!" Kropp sat up again. Someone was definetly talking to him. "Who's there? Where are you?" "I'm right in front of you." Kropp looked closer. All he could see was the blackness of the night. Then he saw it. There was the shape of a man, but he could see right through it. "Sup Kropp? You don't know me, but I understand you know my buddies Nick and Alex." Nick. Just the name sent waves of rage shivering down Kropp's spine. "Now, I know that it was Nick's fault that you're here. I also know that you're a smart guy, and that you probably want Nick dead just as much as I do." "Why? What did he do to you?" Dwight became solid so that Kropp could see. "He did this." Dwight Howard stepped into the light, and Kropp saw that his skin was charred and completely black. "What do you want from me?" "The article in the paper said that you admitted to designing weapons for some gang a few years back. Tell me. Are there any of those weapons here in Tropside?" Kropp thought for a moment, but then slowly, a grin began to spread across his face. "Back at my lab, in the back, there is a full-length mirror. Behind it is a loose panel in the wall. Tear it off, and there's a key hanging there. It goes to my safe. I think you'll absolutely love what you find in there."