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Kate Spencer, in full Manhunter gear, is on the rooftop of the Peterson Automotive Museum staking out an art museum across the street, asking Cameron Chase over her comlink if she has any more intel on the perps she’s tracking since, as she put it “Bones has me cleaning up the DEO’s mess on this.” Cameron, however, seems distracted, not giving Kate more than “No, look, you got it (hey!) all.” When Kate asks if there’s anything wrong, Cam blames it on her cat and hurries off the phone. Turns it she’s fooling around with Kate’s weapons maker, Dylan Battles, and has been for some time. Which Kate still can’t believe.

Just as Kate starts comparing Dylan to an Ewok, she sees her targets on the museum’s roof, and springs into action. Using her staff as a jet engine, she rockets over the gulf between the buildings and says “Just taking those paintings out for some fresh air tonight?” She then chides herself for such a lame entrance line. Even one of her targets, the clown themed Punch, has a better line with “Aw, crap! It’s Manhunter!” Kate gets down to business by kicking Punch and making him drop his stoles paintings (still rolled up and in tubes) off the side of the building. Punch’s wife Jewelee yells at him to “Go get’em, babe! I’ve got big red” and throws a glitter grenade at Kate, temporarily blinding her.

Punch is repelling down the side of the building with what looks like multiple handkerchiefs tied together as a rope, muttering to himself. “Are there any cities on this damn planet that don’t have superheroes,” he asks himself. “I mean come on!” Suddenly, a shadowy mass engulfs the dropped loot and Punch himself. An appropriately shadowy, cloaked figure on the ground, who the shadow was coming off of says only “Gotcha!”

Punch is thrown out of the shadow, screaming. “Wh-who are you?!” he manages to stammer out. “Wh-what did you do to m-me?” The cloaked man seems almost hurt. “The name’s Obsidian, Punch,” he says as he stands revealed in the light. “C’mon, I haven’t been out of the game that long, have I?” Punch tries to get away but is ensnared by Obsidian’s shadow tendrils. “Where’s your psychotic wife,” Obsisdian demands, but then looks up and sees Jewelee fighting with Kate.

Back on the rooftop Kate and Jewelee are locked in hero/villain combat banter. “Glitter bombs? Mini skirts? What are you—Dark Barbie?” Kate sends Jewelee flying back, but loses her staff in the process, which Jewelee revels in pointing out. She then starts in on a female power/sisterhood/sob story. “I’m only doing this because I have a baby to feed at home,” she says. “This female oppressive society makes me steal!” Kate’s not impressed. “You done” she asks. When Jewelee says “Uh huh,” Kate presses a button on her right gauntlet that sends an electric shock from the staff into Jewelee herself, knocking her out. After Jewelee goes down, Punch’s unconscious form is thrown over the roof’s railings, followed by Obsidian. Obsidian reveals that he’s in town to surprise his boyfriend Damon for his birthday, and agrees to take Punch and Jewelee in to the authorities.

A rainy alley in what looks like downtown Boston. A man in a blue suit is swearing at himself, wondering how his target got away. Then he sees him; a man in a brown overcoat and fedora brandishing a knife. The man, Conti, Takes off after his prey and tackles him to the ground. The knife goes flying, hits the ground with a “Klang,” and then is followed by “And…cut! That was awesome! Check the gate!” Peter Robinson, Kate’s ex husband, is sitting in a director’s chair on the set of a movie based on one of his novels with his son Ramsey on his lap, trying to explain what a “gate” is in movie speak. “Don’t worry, Ramsey,” a pregnant woman says, “I don’t get Peter’s fancy film jargon either.” The woman is Julie, Ramsey’s step mother who seems to be just days away from delivering. She’s there to take Ramsey to his mom’s.

A luxurious home in Silver Lake. Kate’s Manhunter costume is laid out on the bed and Kate herself is taking a shower, thinking to herself that, after the siege in Metropolis a year ago, she’s now a full fledged super hero. What she doesn’t know is that someone has made his way into her home. Kate gets out of the shower, goes to her bedroom and gets dressed, never suspecting that anything is amiss. All she’s thinking about is if Ramsey has had dinner yet. She makes her way downstairs, and is greeted by her staff pointed at the back of her head and a voice saying, ‘Scuse me, miss? Didn’t leaving this lying out get you into trouble once before?”

Who the hell, Kate thinks, and quickly grabs for the staff, kicking the man holding it across the room. “I don’t know who you are, mister, but you’ve just made a very large mistake!” Her intruder, a bald black man in a black suit and gloves, just smiles at her. “Aww, Kate, I’m hurt. Don’tcha recognize me with a little color in my cheeks?” Her intruder is DEO Director Bones. All Kate can think to say is “You look different with skin.” After taking a seat Kate’s couch, Bones lights up one of his trademark cigars. “Those things will kill you, you know,” Kate says as she pours him a drink. “Spoken like a true ex smoker,” he responds. After a little bit of small talk about him being in town to “visit a friend,” they get down to business. He produces a computer disc with all the details on an assignment Bones needs Kate to do.

Suddenly, a very hyper Ramsey (who had five donuts at the Craft Service Table) bursts in going a thousand miles a minute, followed by Julie. He calms down just enough to see Director Bones and ask who he is. “Mr. Skelington,” he replies. “And you must be Ramsey.” Kate says he’s a client of hers. He excuses himself, and asks Kate to let him “know about that job.” Julie decides not to stay either, and before she goes Ramsey hugs her. “Bye, Julie! Bye, Baby Sister!”

East LA, outside of the USC campus. A young woman is walking down the sidewalk, fumbling in her purse for her keys, muttering under her breath about some “jerk! Won’t even walk me to my car.” As she makes it to her car, a hooded man comes up behind her, holding a glowing straight razor. “Only unclean whores walk the streets of this hour,” he says. The woman turns and says that she has a gun in her purse. “Your soul is damned,” the figure yells as he slashes his victim!

Back at the home of Kate Spencer, Kate is getting Ramsey ready for bed. He comes out of the bathroom in his Superman pajamas, and asks his mom when they’ll make pajamas of her. Kate tries to explain to Ramsey that she’s not a super hero, and that she was doing a favor for Aunt Cam. Ramsey relents, but says “Don’t worry, Mom. I won’t tell anyone. It’s our secret!” Kate goes back to her bedroom and takes a look at the disc Bones gave her. What she sees on it disgusts her; images of the villain siege of Metropolis. “He can’t be serious,” she says to herself. “After everything they did. This wasn’t in the job description. Damn you Bones.”

At the bottom of the stairs and the end of the hallway, Kate is greeted by a “Hello, Clarice.” The voice belonged to Dr. Psycho, who is behind a glass partition and is wearing what looks like a psychic dampener on his head. Kate starts to introduce herself, but Dr. Psycho cuts her off....





“I know who you are, Ms. Spencer. What are you doing here.”




Kate, with a pained look on her face replies....




“I’m your new defense attorney, Dr. Psycho.”




To be continued

Characters:

Kate Spencer/Manhunter
Cameron Chase
Dylan Battles
Todd Rice/Obsidian

Punch
Jewelee

Unnamed Actor #1
Unnamed Actor #2
Unnamed Director
Peter Robinson
Ramsey Robinson
Julie Robinson

Director Bones

Mystery Villain (Sweeney Todd - Named in issue 22)
Victim of Mystery Villain
Dr. Psycho

Issue summary written by: phoenix_dragon (Chad Peterman)