"The Sensational Night Shadow in… The Camping Tale"

Chapter 1

Created by The Spectacular SpiderDom

This Episode has been updated as of 10/10/2019

In the city of Seattle, Washington, 2035…

Mason Moonstone: The Sensational Night Shadow, was fighting against his arch-nemesis, Technolocity. The two combatants were fighting in a landmark called Artist's Park, where art pieces from various genres were displayed; from sculptures, photographs, drawings, paintings, etc. It was the middle of the day and Night Shadow was running as fast as he could, saving people and doing his best to protect the artwork from his enemy.

"Come on, Techno!" he quipped. "You can do better than that!"

Technolocity: a forty-two-year-old man wore a large, bulky silver suit with a helmet in the shape of a giant 1980's computer. His virtual eyes were a bright green and so was his mouth. He had green lights around his arms and legs, and sculpted lines in the suit that looked like microchips.

He landed on the ground and popped open a missile launcher in his arm, shooting an armada of missiles at his blue/black rival.

Night Shadow slashed each of the projectiles with his twin Sai; his demon, Dunnere helped out by grabbing them with his tentacles and throwing them back at the technologically advanced villain.

"Hey, Technolocity!" Night Shadow called. "Smile!"

As ballistic missiles thrown by Dunnere launched back at Technolocity; the latter panicked and moved out of the way. The missiles exploded as they hit the grass, they knocked over a few stone sculptures of the Justice League getting their butts kicked by the Avengers.

"Ballistic missiles attacks!?" Technolocity shouted with a query. "Why would I ever smile at that?"

Night Shadow rushed towards the tech-controlling villain, as he slid between his legs and slashed his legs with his blades. Technolocity dropped to his knees, but using his Nano-technology, his right gloved morphed into a large hammer. He smacked the black and blue vigilante in the chest before he grabbed him by the throat.

Lifting Night Shadow a few feet into the air, Technolocity activated his jet boosters and flew upward. He spun the hero around and chucked him across the sky. Behind him, some people evacuated into their flying cars whereas others stayed behind, recording the donnybrook with their phones.

Night Shadow flew across the sky before a black wave of darkness wrapped around his arm. Using his Shadow Manipulation, Night Shadow's arms stretched to a nearby building covered in rainbow colors.

He shot himself at supersonic speed and kicked Technolocity in the chest.

Jumping off his enemy, Night Shadow hacked and slashed until Technolocity fired an uppercut.

The superhero flew backward and crashed against a spray-painted wall, making a small crater in the middle. Night Shadow jumped off and collapsed on his knees. Dunnere, whose face looked like a blue salamander with a black beard, reached his hand out and patted his master's head.

Getting up on his feet, Night Shadow fist-bumped his demon and smiled.

Technolocity flew towards him, as Night Shadow used his shadowy powers to move at super speed. The technological villain gave chase, shooting missiles and other projectiles at him.

"Shooting things, shooting things, how I love shooting things," Technolocity sang. "Shooting things, shootings things, I wish Night Shadow would stay still. Shooting things, shooting things!"

Night Shadow turned over his shoulder. "Nice tune, Techno. You've been taking those music lessons?"

"Yes, I have," Technolocity engaged into a fistfight with Night Shadow. "I think they've been working out for me. I've gotten so good; I hit a high note and broke all of my glass cups!"

Night Shadow didn't know how to respond to that. He punched his villain before finishing him off with a volley kick. "That's… interesting. Anyways, you're not getting away with… with… whatever is you're up to… why did you come out here in the first place?"

"Because I plan to… to… huh, I don't know. Do I need an excuse to destroy you?"

"Aside from wanting to steal my superpowers, I don't think so."

"I guess you're right… where was I? Oh, yeah! Hand over Dunnere, Night Shadow! I want to have the power of all the Elementals!"

"Over my dead body!"

"Funny you should say that!"

A set of twelve oval-like drones popped out of Technolocity's back and they surrounded him. The villain raised his hands and they started glowing green. The drones did the same thing before they shot a tsunami of energy at their target: Night Shadow.

Said superhero gasped in panic and prepared to run away, but Dunnere created a field of darkness that deflected the blasts. A huge explosion blinded Technolocity, as his drones resided on his back. He squinted his digital eyes, waiting to see if his nemesis survived the explosion.

At first, nothing happened…

But then, Night Shadow emerged from the smoke and boosted towards Technolocity; a black aura covered his body.

"Fudge Nuggets!" Technolocity snarled. He cracked his metallic fingers and flew towards Night Shadow.

The two leaped into the air and prepared to square off until…

RING! RING! RING!

A cellphone went off in Technolocity's communication systems. A robotic female voice suddenly spoke to him. "Incoming call from Melody. Repeat: Incoming call from Melody."

The two combatants were standing still in mid-air, as they awkwardly eyeballed each other.

"Sorry about that," Technolocity said. "I thought I told her not to call me during work hours."

"Wait, how are we magically floating in mid-air like we're in a cartoon?" Night Shadow asked. At that moment, he and his villain fell on their butts. Getting off the ground, they brushed themselves off.

Technolocity uploaded a holographic image of his minion; a twenty-three-year-old girl named Melody. She had blonde hair, blue eyes, and a costume that resembled that of a music sheet. Treble clefs and other musical notes were printed all around her white bodysuit. She wore a white mask with a black outline and a flute on her back holster.

Night Shadow waved to the scullion before Technolocity apologized to him.

"Sorry, Night Shadow. Give me one second," he said. "What is it, Melody?"

"Sir, we have a bit of a situation," Melody reported.

"What could it possibly be this time?"

As the armored antagonist spoke to his assassin, Night Shadow checked his watch. He was hoping this would end soon, so he could get back to doing what he does best; fighting bad guys and saving people. Dunnere popped out of his shoulder and rubbed his beard, giving his master a look of curiosity. The latter shrugged his shoulders and the demon shook his head.

Just then, Technolocity shouted, "WHAT!?"

Night Shadow and Dunnere jumped.

"What the hell do you mean Tender Soul's in the hospital!?" Technolocity snarled.

Melody aimed the communicator to show a purple-costumed man with dark skin, green eyes, and blonde hair sitting on the hospital bed. He had golden lightning streaks on his arms and legs and an atomic energy logo on his chest. His sleeves on his arms and legs were a lighter purple than the rest of his suit.

On this right was a man dressed up in a black cloak made entirely out of feathers; he wore a brown and white bodysuit underneath, and he had a mask that looked like a crow.

These were Technolocity's fellow assassins; Tender Soul and Raven.

"Tender Soul was testing out his super-speed until he stepped on a Lego," Melody replied.

"Ouch!" Night Shadow cringed. "Was it the Batman cowl? That the worst one to step on."

"Not-to-worry, Boss, I'll-recover-as-quickly-as-possible!" Tender Soul said. He spoke as fast as he could run.

"Are you going to be okay for camping this weekend?" Technolocity asked.

The speed demon was silent before he said,"…have-I-told-you-that-I-love-you?"

"Useless!" The armored supervillain shouted. "You're all a bunch of donkeys!"

Hanging up the call, Technolocity kicked the ground and blasted a few craters into the ground. He grabbed the sides of his computerized head and growled like a hungry dog. Night Shadow and Dunnere glanced at one another before they watched as Technolocity sat himself down on the bench.

He huffed and puffed.

Dunnere went back inside his master's body, as Night Shadow sat next to his enemy.

"Hey, Mr. Grumpy Robot," Night Shadow smiled.

"Shut up. And don't call me a robot, you know I'm just a guy in a robot suit."

"Come on, Techno. Talk to me. What's the problem?"

Technolocity sighed. "Whenever the first week of Spring comes around, I always take the Void League to New York, so we can go camping in the mountains."

"Huh? What a coincidence. Sydney and I do the same thing."

"Seriously?"

"Yeah, we go with her sister and my best friend. Except we don't camp in New York, we camp in France. It's expensive to travel to New York nowadays if you don't have a flying car. Well, not as expensive as Minnesota."

"Who the hell wants to live in Minnesota?"

Night Shadow shrugged. "Well, it's been nice talking to you, Technolocity. But I gotta get going, my partner and I have an art project we're working on. See ya!"

As the superhero started walking away, Technolocity sulked in his self-pity. He couldn't believe one of his scullions was stuck in the hospital. Rubbing his digital eyes and stroking his chin, he thought of an alternative solution to his problem.

Just then, a light bulb went off in his head; he had an idea.

Activating his jet boosters, he landed in front of Night Shadow with a huge grin on his face.

"Hold on a second, Night Shadow!" he said. "I think I got an idea!"

"Could you make it quick?" Night Shadow asked, checking his watch. "I need to get back to work."

"Not to worry, this will go fast… how about you and I go camping together?"

"EGAD!?" Night Shadow shouted. Dunnere popped out and gasped. "You and I go camping? No way!"

"Come on, it'll be fun! We could kayak, hike, swim, build a fire, roast marshmallows, sing campfire songs, play Spin the Bottle, and sleep under the stars! Come on, what do you say, come on?"

"B-but… we're enemies!"

"We're friends on Facebook."

"Yeah, but that's because… because… I… you… Grr! Son of a bitch!"

Technolocity got down on his knees and grabbed Night Shadow's shoulders. He started crying and begging. "Please, Night Shadow. I want to go camping with someone. We can go camping in Paris, I don't care! Just please, please, please let me go camping with you! Have mercy on my dying soul!"

Night Shadow rolled his eyes and Dunnere facepalmed. "All right, all right!" said the superhero.

Technolocity wiped his digital eyes and stood up.

"If I say yes," Night Shadow continued. "Will you calm down?"

"Yes, yes, I promise!"

"Okay, okay! Save your batteries!" said Night Shadow, as he folded his arms. "But just so you know, this is me and Sydney's vacation. She's been working hard as a stand-up comedian, and I want to treat her to a nice time in Paris. I love her just as much as she loves me, so whatever you do, do not get in the way of my relationship!"

Technolocity shrugged his shoulders and smiled. "Hey, don't worry, NS. You won't even know I'm there. I'll be quiet as a mouse." Technolocity placed his hand against a bench, but because of the massive weight of his suit, he cracked part of the wooden chair. He almost tripped on his feet, but he managed to catch himself.

Night Shadow chuckled when he saw that.

Technolocity levitated into the air and waved goodbye. "I'll pack my things! Text me when you're ready!"

The black/blue superhero gave a thumbs up and a grin.

Technolocity flew away from the area, leaving a few burnt marks on the grass. Night Shadow stepped on them with his black boots, as he watched his enemy fly away.

Dunnere popped out of his shoulder and shook his head; he was displeased with Night Shadow's decision.

"Don't give me that look," Night Shadow said.

Dunnere gave him a blank stare.

"Look, I know this was supposed to be me and Sydney's trip, but I feel bad for Technolocity. The dude has no one to go camping with," Night Shadow began to run down the streets at super speed, looking up at the flying cars that zoomed across the bright skies. "I'm sure Sydney will understand."

Sydney Connor folded her arms. "I don't understand why you're inviting Technolocity on our trip."

Inside the Cabano Hotel, Mason was packing his necessities for his camping trip; his girlfriend was doing the same. Mason grabbed a few pairs of underpants and stuffed them into his suitcase.

"Listen, Syd," Mason replied. "I don't want to take him either, but the poor guy's friend, or minion I should say, is in the hospital. He doesn't want to go camping by himself."

"Still, I don't like this," Sydney replied. "What if he has some kind of an evil plot to kill you? You know how I would feel if I… I… I…"

Mason frowned, as he watched his girlfriend freak out about a scenario where he was killed. He hated when she felt this way. The dark-skinned girl rubbed her hair and wrapped her hands around her chest, gripping her red shirt.

Smiling, Mason wrapped his arms around Sydney, giving her a gentle hug.

"Not to worry, honey," Mason said. "If anything does happen, I'll be on top of it."

Sydney sighed before she returned his smile. "For the record, I still hate the fact we're taking Technolocity camping with us, but… I trust you."

Just then, a knock was heard at the door.

Sydney released her boyfriend. "It's open!" she replied.

A dark-skinned man near Mason's age opened the door. He was a German male with blonde/auburn hair. For attire, he wore a dark green jersey with the number, 75, on it. His jersey matched the color of his jeans. His shoes were yellow with white laces and his eyes were green. He also wore white, fingerless gloves and a pair of sunglasses on his head.

With him was a Caucasian girl around Sydney's age. She mostly had blonde hair, but the lower streaks were a green color. She wore a light green shirt with a red star on the right corner, and navy-blue jeans with music-themed patches on it. She wore brown boots and wore dark blue eyeshadow.

The man was Mason's best friend, Jerry Vanderhoff, and the female was Sydney's sister, Amber Connor.

"Hey, Jerry. Hey, Amber." Sydney greeted the two.

They both had large suitcases in their hands; Amber had one in her right hand and an acoustic guitar in another.

"Was ist los, lad and lass?" Jerry greeted. "You guys ready to go camping? I got the trailer outside!"

"And I got my guitar, so we can sing campfire songs," Amber smiled.

Sydney and Mason exchanged a nervous glance.

"You wanna tell them?" Sydney asked.

Mason let out a low sigh. "We're adding a new addition to our camping trip."

"It's not Nelson, is it?" Jerry asked.

"Or your cousin, Dustin?" Amber added.

"None of the above," Mason shook his head. He pressed his hands together and nervously chuckled. "Technolocity's coming camping with us."

A moratorium occurred in the room; both Jerry and Amber were silent.

Mason and Sydney wondered if they were planning to say something, but they were frozen as ice; they didn't even blink. Dunnere swopped out of Mason's backside and approached the two. Snapping his fingers and waving his hands, he tried to get their attention, but he failed miserably.

He stroked his beard and shrugged his shoulders, giving his master a "Well, that's all I could do" look.

Sydney snapped her fingers and got both her friends out of their trance.

"Sind se Nusse!?" Jerry shouted. "Why would you take your arch-nemesis camping with you!?"

"Because his assassin's in the hospital for stepping on a Lego, and he has no one to go camping with," Mason answered, folding his arms.

"First off, ouch. Second, he's gonna ruin our entire trip!"

Amber shook her head. "Actually, Jerry. This might be a good thing. It could give us a chance to see Technolocity's good side. I like to believe there's good in everyone, so Mason made the right decision bringing Technolocity along."

"Amber, I know you like to be innocent," Sydney said, facepalming herself. "But there's no good in Technolocity whatsoever."

"To be fair, he can be scary and intimidating but deep down inside, he's just a big goofball," Mason said. "I'm just hoping Monsoon Gal and Pyro Lad don't find out about this."

Jerry pointed to the glass door that lead to a large balcony. "I think you spoke too soon, lad."

Mason and Sydney turned around and saw two superheroes sitting on top of the black balcony.

One was an African American female with a navy-blue suit with white and light blue ocean-themed details on them. Her pants were sky blue with faded white stripes on them with black combat boots. She wore blue gloves with white fingertips and her brunette hair was tied in two short pigtails. Last but not least, she wore a light blue mask over her face. She was twenty-nine-years old and her eyes were hazel.

To her right was a male of the same nationality, that stood around her height and was the same age as her. But unlike her, he wore a bright yellow bodysuit with maroon orange sleeves on his arms and legs. He had a shoulder cape on his right side as well as a dark red scarf over his face. Over his eyes were a pair of yellow goggles and he had dark red boots. His dreadlocks were dark brown, and he had triangular icons around his bodysuit.

These two were named Alyssa Cordelia aka Monsoon Gal and Steven Adara aka Pyro Lad; the latter gently knocked on the door.

Mason rolled his eyes and gave a "Come in" motion.

Monsoon Gal opened the door; she and her partner stepped through.

Amber geeked out when she saw the two approach Mason.

Sydney and Jerry exchanged nervous glances.

Mason looked up at his fellow heroes, smiling and waving like a ninny.

Pyro Lad folded his arms; Monsoon Gal returned the kind gestures.

"Bonjour, Monsoon Gal… Pyro Lad… how do you guys do?" Mason asked.

Pyro Lad took out a rather large phone; it looked like a tablet and showed Mason a holographic image of Technolocity's latest Facebook post. "Can you explain to me why Technolocity just posted on Facebook, 'Lookin' forward to camping with my best bud, Night Shadow? #roadtrip, #bestfriends4ever?' "

Mason rubbed his eyes. "This is getting repetitive." He mumbled to himself.

He then whispered the reason why his enemy was tagging along for the trip.

"This is the stupidest decision you've ever made," Pyro Lad said, shaking his head.

"I wouldn't word it like that, but I do agree with Pyro," Monsoon Gal nodded. "Knowing you, Mason, you would think twice about this situation."

Mason rubbed his eyes and moaned. "Look, I know this sounds bad and I've certainly talked it out with Dunnere, but-"

Just then, someone else knocked on the door.

"It's open," Sydney replied.

Technolocity, who was wearing a light brown jacket and a grey hat, came into the apartment. He had two suitcases in his hands and a large backpack on his back. "Hey, everyone! Sorry to intrude."

Mason started to get annoyed. "Okay, how did you find out where I live?"

"I used Social Media! Can you believe how much information you can learn about other people on this thing?"

Monsoon Gal reached behind her and took out her turquoise and green-colored bo staff; Pyro Lad's left hand ignited with fire, as he reached into his belt and pulled out a pair of auburn nunchucks.

Technolocity smiled and waved at the two superheroes. "Oh! Hey, Monsoon Gal! Hey, Pyro Lad! I didn't know you guys were coming too."

Mason snarled at his supervillain before he heard Sydney snap her fingers. She approached him and pulled him aside.

"What's up?" Mason asked.

"I got an idea," Sydney whispered. "In case Technolocity is up to something, we should bring Monsoon Gal and Pyro Lad along with us."

"But… I thought this was supposed to be our trip?"

"I know… we can still have our moments together, but we can bring them if they're cool with it."

Technolocity loomed over the interlocutors. "What are you two whispering out?"

Mason and Sydney glared at the supervillain, as they walked towards Monsoon Gal and Pyro Lad. They whispered to them.

"Would you guys like to come camping with us?" Sydney asked the superheroes. "We could probably use your help."

"Camping with Technolocity, who wants to steal our powers!?" Pyro Lad snarled as he whispered. "Oh, sure. And let's invite my air-bending brother while we're at it!"

"Hold on a second, Pyro," Monsoon Gal replied, placing a hand on her partner's shoulder. "Maybe we should go. I mean, Technolocity, despite being a moron, is devious and he'll do anything to steal our elemental powers. We should go, just to protect Mason and his friends. Come on, I know you don't like Technolocity nor do you like nature, but maybe we could have fun while we're stopping evil… what do you say?"

Monsoon Gal's demon; Aqua, a blue creature whose face looked like a dolphin, nodded her head in agreement. She smiled to her master.

Pyro Lad's demon; Molten, an orange creature that resembled a tiger. The cat-like demon stroked his chin and mumbled to his master. Pyro Lad nodded, as he finally made up his mind. Both Molten and Aqua went back inside their masters, as the fiery superhero folded his arms.

He groaned. "Fine, I'll come with you."

Monsoon Gal clapped her hands in happiness, as she hugged her partner.

"Okay, now that we got that settled," Mason said with a smile. "Let's go camping!"

HONK! HONK!

Technolocity was sitting inside Jerry's brown and white caravan. He sat in the front row seat, honking Jerry's horn.

"Come on, my peeps!" he shouted. "Let's get this show on the road!"

Mason, who was wearing his blue and black motorcycle helmet, helped Sydney load their luggage into the back of the trailer. Jerry and Amber helped Monsoon Gal and Pyro Lad to the same thing. Everyone has been packing for a total of four hours. It was 8:07 at night and the stars were shining bright.

The supervillain honked the horn again. "What are we waiting for? We gonna get this party started or what?"

"Touch my horn again and I'll loosen one of your bolts!" Jerry snarled.

Technolocity, thinking that was some kind of inappropriate remark, reframed from touching the steering wheel again.

Mason and Sydney threw their supplies in the back and closed the door.

"I know I should have asked this earlier, but why now are you wearing your Night Shadow helmet? Technolocity already saw your face… don't tell me he knew your secret identity this entire time." Sydney gasped in worry.

Mason shrugged. "It's okay. He knows mine and I know his."

"Seriously?" Sydney asked. She glanced over at Technolocity, who was adjusting his camping hat. "That makes me concerned."

"I know," Mason nodded. "But he and I have an agreement to keep our identities secret. How did we come to this agreement; you might ask. Well… let's just say I helped him out of a tight spot."

The dark-skinned girl nodded and smiled at her boyfriend.

After a few more minutes of packing, everyone was ready to go.

Jerry opened the door and let Amber sit in the driver's seat.

This caught Monsoon Gal's attention. "Hey, Jerry. How come Amber's driving? Isn't this your trailer?"

"Ja," Jerry replied. "But we're gonna need to fly to Paris, and I don't like doing that."

"Using a flying car? How come?"

"Because cars having the ability to fly has always scared the shit out of me."

Jerry sat down next to Pyro Lad and everyone buckled their seatbelts.

Amber started the engine and pulled the gear shift into Drive. She then pressed a button and pulled the gear shift to the right. Just then, a rumbling echoed throughout the caravan; jetpacks spawned below the bottom and lifted the vehicle off the ground. The tires folded in and they were replaced with hover disks. Putting on her left signal, Amber checked to see if anyone was coming; no one was there, and she took off down the road.

But of course, it was rather silent in the car. Amber figured she could sing a tune to lighten the mood, but she decided against it, as she didn't find any real reason to start singing.

Technolocity, on the other hand, sighed and rubbed the back of his head.

"So… have you guys seen any cute animal videos lately?"