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The Shadow Thief has Manhunter, Phobia, Merlyn, and the corpse of the Monocle in his grasp. Betrayed by his once allies, Shadow Thief discards Monocle's body, briefly acknowledges the unconscious Phobia, and turns his attention to Merlyn. In the grips of the Shadow Thief, Merlyn states that the assassination attempt was initiated to prevent Carl from giving information to the authorities. Carl adamantly denies revealing anything. Merlyn spits in the Shadow Thief's face and tells him that he knew that he would break. Carl responds by breaking the right arm of Merlyn. Meanwhile, Kate is using Carl's distraction to break free and retrieve her staff. As she attempts to grab it, Carl pulls her away, tendrils choking her, and begins to make unwanted advances towards her. On the verge of unconscienciousness, Kate reaches out and, surprisingly, her staff returns to her hand. She activates it and blasts the Shadow Thief out of the courtroom window. Shadow Thief is relatively unscathed and returns to kill Kate. As his shadow approaches to snap Kate's neck, an arrow fired by the fractured arm of Merlyn deflects the blow. Kate swings around and blasts Merlyn in the arm, disarming him. The Shadow Thief seems confused as Kate tries to reason with him, to appeal to Carl Sands and not the forces driving him. Kate informs Carl that he will get a just sentence. Carl, in disbelief, cites the fate of Copperhead and gives in to his inner voices, attacking Kate.

Kate repels his attacks, and realizing the disadvantage of the environment, blasts a hole in the ceiling and then retreats into it. The Shadow Thief viciously attacks the ceiling and hears Kate's pained cry. Upon investigating, he is met with a blast from Kate's staff. The staff propels him to the floor, where Lorraine Rielly, using her Firehawk powers, delivers the final blast to put Shadow Thief down. Lorraine, once again, states that she is finished with the "hero" business and that she, as a senators daughter, cannot go around killing people -- no matter how much they deserve it. She then encourages Kate to continue her fight, to continue doing what the other heroes want to, but don't. Kate exits the building, leaving the authorities to handle the semi-comatose Shadow Thief.

Chase Lawler awakes in an abandoned warehouse, in his Manhunter costume. Bound and badly beaten, he is approached by a shadowy figure that informs him that no one can hear him. The figure positions himself behind Chase and tells him to relax... to accept what is happening. Chase realizes, as a knife is placed to his throat, that his kidnapper is Dumas. Dumas states that number three on his list of wants is to see Chase dead. A tear streams down Chase's cheek as Dumas slits his throat.

From his job, Dylan witnesses the media attacks on Kate both professionally and personally in light of the Shadow Thief trial. He retreats to smoke a cigarette and call Kate. After a bit of innuendo-laced banter, Kate informs Dylan that she is going on patrol to track down Merlyn and Phobia, she also applies a nicotine patch to curb her urge to smoke. Kate then comments on the new magnetic enhancements to her gloves that allowed her to retrieve her staff during the battle. Dylan informs her that he has made a few more upgrades to the Manhunter gear as she heads out into the night on patrol.

Peter calls to check on weekend plans, but reached Kate's answering machine. Peter proposes taking Ramsey out as a family the next weekend. He questions himself once the message is through.

Kate discusses upgrades with Dylan as she proceeds with her patrol. Dylan inquires as to why Kate did not kill the Shadow Thief while she had the chance. She states that he was in custody, in mid-trial, and she wanted to let the system work. Kate goes on to clarify that, if he beats the charges, he is fair game. Dylan is called back to work and Kate resumes her patrol.

The Calculator, having dispatched an assassin to the hospital to finish off Carl Sands, changes his mind and decides that the Shadow Thief's new powers may yet be useful.

In Las Vegas, Mark Shaw walks lonely streets returning to his hotel. Checking his mail, he finds a letter addressed to "The Elusive Mark Shaw." Opening it, the message reads, "So happy to have finally found you." Discovering that his hotel door is unlocked, he enters to find the corpse of Chase Lawler, propped up in a chair in the corner.





On the bed, his Manhunter costume is laid out and a warning, written in blood...




is painted across the walls....




"YOU'RE NEXT".




To be continued

Characters:

Carl Sands (Shadow Thief)
Merlyn
Phobia
Monocle (as a corpse)
Kate Spencer (Manhunter)
Lorraine Rielly (Firehawk)

Chase Lawler (former Manhunter)
Dumas

Vincent Diaz (anchorman)
Dylan Battles
Peter Robinson

Calculator

Mark Shaw

Issue summary written by: The Scratchman