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Dylan is singing while taking a shower at night in his home. As he gets out of the bathroom, someone says, "Well, you're certainly short enough to be Prince. But how do you look in assless pants?" To Dylan's surprise, Agent Cameron Chase somehow broke into his house and is standing right in front of him. Chase says she needs Dylan and throws Kate's Manhunter mask to him. As Dylan clumsily denies any knowledge about the mask, Chase tells him to save it because she knows Kate's secret and that Dylan is going to help her find Kate.

Meanwhile at Peter's house, Ramsey, Kate's son, is watching TV. As he gets set for one of his programs, the show is interrupted with a breaking news report. The report states that there was an explosion at the Police Headquarters downtown, severely injuring many. Just as Ramsey is about to disregard the news, it is stated that there are unconfirmed reports that "Kate Spencer was kidnapped during the escape of a suspect being questioned." To this, Ramsey cries out to this father, Peter, who rushes to his side. As Peter consoles Ramsey telling him that his mom will be ok, he thinks to himself, "Don't make me a liar, Kate."

Meanwhile, somewhere in the Hollywood Hills, a bloody and battered Kate Spencer finds herself bound as she is woken up by a mysterious figure. Immediately, she is questioned by her captor. "How did you get Shaw's staff? Did you kill him?" Kate quickly responds with a question of her own, "How could I have killed 'Shaw,' when 'Shaw's' standing right in front of me?" And then do we discover that it is indeed Mark Shaw, the former Manhunter, holding Kate captive.

As Kate deals with her predicament, we once again join Agent Chase and Dylan. At the moment, they are at Dylan's house using his computer to access government files. Chase feels safer using a secure location rather than a DEO computer because she feels "something rotten" is beginning to surface. She gained those suspicions when she was given the orders to "neutralize" Shaw by D.E.O. Agent Wayne Howard. When Chase began to question these orders, she was told it was better not to "make waves," especially since she was being watched. So getting to the bottom of the situation would only satisfy her curiosity, if only she could get past the firewalls in the government system. For that, she reluctantly lets Dylan take over, and in mere minutes, they gain access. They quickly open a file named "Manhunter Protocols" and read intently...

As Mark Shaw interrogates his captive, he suddenly finds a moment of clarity, reverting back to his normal self for a second. Kate uses this moment to land a huge kick on Shaw, sending him sprawling and giving her time to loosen her bonds. As Kate begins to look for her staff, Shaw leaps towards Kate, shouting "Now you die!"

We find ourselves back with Dylan and Agent Chase as they read the contents of the "Manhunter Protocols." Inside is an elaborate history of all the Manhunters:

After the Army found the wreckage of a Manhunter Android craft, they decided to use the technology to make an implant described as "pre-nano nanotech." Thier first subject was Dan Richard and his robot dog, Thor, were implanted with this technology. But sure enough, "the implants didn't take." After improving on the technology, the Army made a deal with big-game hunter Paul Kirk to be their next test subject. The experiment was successful, and Kirk went on to work with the JSA and the All-Star Squadron. However, after being kidnapped and brainwashed by a terrorist group called the Council, Kirk was cloned. Eventually, he broke free and killed all of his clones. He died while destroying the Council in an explosion.

Which led to Mark Shaw a district attorney with a "Jones for justice". The technology, at that point, had been refined very well. Yet, still wanting to remain in deep cover, Shaw was "programmed" with a new origin involving "alien cat people and a temple in the Himalayas." For a while, all was ok until Shaw's mind began to fracture due to the "reprogramming" of his mind. Shaw developed multiple personalities, which eventually became the supervillains Star-tsar and the Privateer. After fighting a few battles against the JLA, Shaw was sent to prison, where more tests were done on him. The government upgraded his gear and created a new personality in his head: Dumas. Dumas would become the archenemy that Shaw could never catch, the one that would be able to do the dirty work Shaw couldn't. Shaw then disappeared after a while.

Meanwhile, the Dumas-programmed Shaw and Kate are in mid-battle. As Kate is hurled across the room, she hits the window making it crack. Thinking quickly, she tricks Shaw by faking her exit out the window. Buying herself some time, Kate finds her staff, only to find a Shaw thrown dagger pin her hand against the wall. Shaw once again interrogates Kate, and Kate answers that all the info Shaw is looking for is contained in a chip in her gauntlet. As Shaw touches the gauntlet, Kate blinds him with a phosphorus blast.

Back in Dylan's garage, he and Chase continue to read about another Manhunter subject: Chase Lawler. A D-list musician whose famous musician brother overdosed, Lawler was subjected to the Manhunter nanites when the government put them in his drugs. But the experiment had unintended side effects. Lawler turned into a "spiritual monster" named the Wild Huntsman. Mark Shaw, long thought dead, reemerged and "killed" the Wild Huntsman. Shaw again disappeared, until recently. As Dylan and Chase appeared to have finished reading, Dylan notices a file named "OMAC Project." Just as Chase draws some familiarity with the name, the computer freezes. Something is using overriding programs on the computer, and we find out Brother Eye is involved. Brother Eye scans and finds where the unauthorized access has occurred and starts to activate an OMAC to deal with the problem. Dylan is unable to stop Brother Eye from overriding his system, so Chase is forced to shoot the electrical box, cutting off all the power. The threat is stopped before it starts.

The scene shifts to the battle again, and we see Kate pull the dagger out of her hand. As Shaw and Kate fight, we see Brother Eye scanning for Mark Shaw from space. The satellite locks onto the battle and activates the OMAC nanotech in a man from West Hollywood. The man transforms into an OMAC and immediately sets off towards Hollywood Hills. As this is happening, Shaw has a "moment of lucidity" and once again reverts to his normal self. But that is for a moment as he once again goes on the attack. Just as Kate is about to blast him with the staff, she is hit with a power blast. Wondering how Shaw obtained the ability of power blasts, she is surprised to find an OMAC.





The OMAC's mission:




Eliminate Shaw.

Characters:

Kate Spencer (Manhunter IX)
Mark Shaw (Manhunter IV)
Dylan Battles
Ramsey Robinson
Agent Cameron Chase
Peter Robinson


Cameos:

Dan Richards (Manhunter I)
Paul Kirk (Manhunter II)
Chase Lawler (Manhunter VII)
JLA

News Reporter (unnamed)
Brother Eye
Old Lady/OMAC 3685
D.E.O. Agent Wayne Howard/OMAC 8675

Issue summary written by: Jake1823