"The Sensational Night Shadow in… New Friends, Old Enemies"

Chapter 1

Created by The Spectacular SpiderDom

In the city of Seattle, Washington, 2035…

Fire…

Smoke…

Ashes…

Rising heat…

Mason Moonstone: The Sensational Night Shadow opened his red eyes and literally saw his entire world on fire. Everywhere he looked, bright orange flames were everywhere, and wooden structures were falling like dominos. He found himself lying on his back, trying to regain his vision. His Elemental Demon, Dunnere: Shadowy Companion, gently tapped his face and shook his shoulders in an attempt to wake him up.

Moaning, Night Shadow tenderly lifted himself up until he sat on his rear. Shaking his head, he looked his demon in the eyes and gazed at the environment around him. Another set of wooden structures fell over, which created a massive hole in the ceiling.

"Oh, my god," he whispered to his demon, as he carefully stood up on his feet.

Brushing off his shoulders, he looked down and realized that his entire suit was covered in ashes. Most of the blue parts were now black.

"Ugh, this is gonna be a pain to wash off," he hissed, as he forcefully wiped his black-gloved hands against his chest. Shockingly, he was able to get most of the ashes off of him, but some decided to stay stuck to him. Dunnere was kind to help him out by brushing his tail against the stains.

But suddenly…

CRACK!

They heard a loud noise come from their right.

Night Shadow and Dunnere stopped what they were doing and gave a brief glance towards each other. Within a matter of seconds, the creaking noise got louder, and a large shadow was cast over the duo. The former quickly looked up and widened his digital red eyes.

A giant structure was coming down.

"YIKES!" He shouted at the top of his lungs, as he shot two dark whips at a nearby platform, which thankfully wasn't covered in flames, and leaped out of the way.

The structure crashed through the floor and created another gaping hole.

Performing two front flips, Night Shadow quickly bounced off of a burning wall before he landed on the ledge. Panting, he squatted down and took a look around him.

What once was a laboratory was now a burning disaster.

Documents were nothing but ash, desks were slowly burning from top to bottom, and various pieces of lab equipment were barely recognizable.

Night Shadow's eyes were about to pop out of his sockets. His jaw was wide open, and his stomach felt tight. He knew he'd seen multiple fires in his life, but none of them compared to this. But he took a deep breath and cracked his fingers. Exchanging a glance with Dunnere, who sat tightly on his shoulder, he quickly analyzed the area with hopes of finding something that meant a lot to him.

"Monsoon Gal, Pyro Lad, Frosty Beetle!?" he called at the highest pitch his voice could go. He sounded both scared and concerned. "Where are you!?"

Due to the crackling sounds of the flames, he couldn't hear a response.

He tilted his read to the side and cupped his hand around his ear, praying he'd hear someone respond.

But there was nothing.

"HEY! MG, Pyro, Frosty! Can anybody hear me!?" he shouted again. "Sagittarius, Valentine, Poncho Mom! Can you…" There was a loud crack to his right. He turned around and his eyes lit up with shock. "HOLY SHIT!"

Another structure crashed against the platform he was standing on and it launched him across the room.

He screamed and waving his limbs around like a maniac before he caught ahold of himself and used his Umbraportation to soar through the air; he teleported to a few different spots and ran across the walls as fast as possible. He wrapped his boots in shields of darkness to prevent himself from getting burned. Running as fast as he could, he searched the area for any signs of his friends, but he just saw more the same; objects burning to a crisp.

"EVERYONE!?" he cupped his hands over his mouth and called once again. "SOMEBODY SAY SOMETHING! WHERE ARE YOU GUYS!?"

There was still no response.

Damn it! Where they can be!?

Night Shadow leaped to the side before the wall he was running on suddenly collapsed. He planned on landing on the ground, but it was covered in flames that would burn him in a split second. So, he clapped his hands together and shot two dark whips forward. Both of the tentacles attached themselves to a pole on the ceiling, and he began swinging around.

Shooting one whip to another, he summoned a shadowy tentacle from his shoulder and grabbed a small green handheld computer with pink keys.

"Hannah!" he yelled, as he shot himself between two poles that were about to fall on top of each other. "Hannah, are you there!?"

Hannah: Assistant to Bertram Van Cyrus, appeared as a holographic image. "Do not worry, Night Shadow. I'm still active, but I'm detecting a major increase in temperature. What's happening?"

"Let's just say the fire department's gonna have their work cut out for them!" Night Shadow replied both nervously and jokingly. "I'll explain later. Right now, I need you to track down the others! And hurry!"

"Tracking the rest of the Seattle Strikers and the Dope Squad now, Night Shadow," Hannah replied, as she went back inside her computer and loaded up a green screen with white outlines; it was a map of the building. Three white dots appeared on the screen. "Calculating their exact coordinates…"

"Take your time!" Night Shadow gasped before he dodged another structure. "It's not like I'm getting any hotter!"

"Please, do not give me an attitude. I am working as fast as I can."

"Sorry," Night Shadow huffed before he landed on a nearby platform. "I just hope everyone's okay. Either they managed to escape, or they got themselves into trouble. I'm really hoping it isn't the latter."

"We'll find out as soon as… I've found them!"

"Where!?"

"Monsoon Gal is exactly twenty-five feet away from your location. Pyro Lad, Frosty Beetle, Sagittarius, and Valentine are on the other side of the building. And Poncho Mom is located one floor above you."

Night Shadow heard another creek come from above his head and he immediately moved out of the way. A loud crash came from behind him, and he continued swinging through the fiery building.

"Any way I can get to the top floor without being cooked medium rare?"

Hannah popped her head out of her computer and pointed to a gaping hole to Night Shadow's right. "Swing through the hole in the roof, it should lead to the floor above you. Once you get there, Poncho Mom will be to your left."

"HELLO!? SOMEBODY HELP ME!" Poncho Mom's voice hollered from above Night Shadow's current position. "I'M SCARED!"

"Hold on, Poncho!" Night Shadow landed on a platform and shot two dark whips forward. "I'm coming!"

"Night Shadow is that you!? Help me, I don't know if I can get myself out!"

"Just stay calm, I'll be there in a couple seconds!"

"Stay calm? No offense, but how do I stay calm when THE ENTIRE PLACE IS ON FRIGGIN' FIRE!?"

Pulling himself back so he can get a better distance, Night Shadow took a deep breath before he lifted his legs up and shot himself through the hole. It didn't take long for him to land on the ceiling, but he quickly jumped off after feeling a slight sting from his palm.

"Ouch!" he snarled, as he swung forward with one hand and held Hannah's computer in the other.

"Be careful!" Hannah warned the hero. "Fire is the result of the rapid oxidation of a material and-"

"Thanks for the science lesson, Hannah, but now's not the time!"

"HELP!" Poncho Mom shouted again.

Night Shadow continued swinging and performing front flips before he quickly landed on a sturdy platform. Running across it like an acrobat on a tightrope, he looked up and found one of his new allies. A woman in a purple denim suit with a purple wrestling mask that had gold around her eyes.

She was lying on her back with a large wooden structure on top of her stomach.

"Hang on!" Night Shadow shouted, as he squatted down and pushed himself upward. Front-flipping twice, he landed right where he wanted to go and rushed towards Poncho Mom, who struggled to get what felt like a twenty-ton weight off of her.

The black and blue superhero halted beside her and leaned down to her level.

"Poncho, are you okay?" he asked.

"Y-yeah, I-I-I'm okay!" Poncho Mom replied.

Suddenly, Poncho Mom lifted her right hand, which revealed her puppet companion, BagByte. Poncho Mom spoke in his voice, which was an impersonation of a cartoon mouse.

"Does it look like we're okay!?" BagByte snarled. "The place is on fire, I'm sweating in this stupid sweater, and I'm gonna burn to death because paper bags are extremely flammable! Get me out of here, Night Shadow, or I'll smack you across the head with my bagginess!"

Night Shadow rolled his eyes and pushed the puppet aside, burying his hands underneath the structure. He summoned a few waves of darkness around his hands and the wave mimicked their shape. Planting his boots against the ground, he turned to Poncho Mom and said, "We're gonna need to work together on this one, Poncho. Use your elastic powers to push the beam upward on the count of three! You ready!?"

"I-I don't know if I can do this!" Poncho Mom retorted with a frightened tone, as she shook her head rapidly. "I'm scared! What if we don't make it?"

"My friends and I have been through thick and thin; I know we can get through this!" the superhero replied with a smile and a wink. "Just help me move this! Are you ready?"

"Quit your crying and get this thing off you!" BagByte grunted. "I gotta pee!"

"You're not helping!" Poncho Mom snarled at her puppet.

"Was I supposed to?" the puppet snapped back.

"Poncho Mom, focus!" Night Shadow grunted.

Poncho Mom placed BagByte in her side pocket and gripped both sides of the beam with her black and blue gloves. She and her new friend exchanged a nod before they slowly started to lift up the beam. The latter was making progress thanks to his super strength, but the former couldn't focus. All she could focus on were the falling structures beside her, the sound of fire crackling in the distance, and the sweat that poured from her forehead and down to the rest of her body.

Closing her eyes, she screamed loudly and pushed the beam as hard as she could.

But no matter how hard she tried…

…nothing worked.

Night Shadow and Poncho Mom slowly placed the beam back down, where the latter felt like a rhino stepped on her chest; she was in pain.

"I can't do it! I'm sorry, Night Shadow, but I just can't!" she exclaimed.

Night Shadow watched her close her eyes again, he even noticed a few tears drip down the sides of her mask. Looking around, he noticed that more structures were falling and the bamboo walls of a dojo room were slowly shriveling. He looked down at Poncho Mom and leaned towards her again, wrapping his fingers around her hand.

"Poncho Mom, I need you to listen to me," he said calmly but boldly. "Okay? Look at me!"

Wrapping her fingers around his hand, Poncho Mom opened her eyes and felt her heart beating like a drum. Her eyes started to sparkle, and her jaw nearly dropped to the ground. She was ready to geek out about her favorite superhero holding her hand, but she figured it would be a bad time.

She listened to his thorough speech. "You and I aren't going to get out of here if you keep discouraging yourself like this! I know you're scared, but you can't let your fear prevent you from pushing forward. Think of everyone else, what would they want you to do? Monsoon Gal wants you to be part of her team because she knows you're a hero, and you're Sagittarius and Valentine's best friend. Everyone wouldn't want you sitting here beating yourself up, NO! They'd want you to get back on your feet so they can see you again!"

The purple-costumed heroine registered all that was said. She was about to nod in agreement, but she slowly stopped, closed her eyes, and shook her head once again. "I-I can't concentrate on my powers! I'm sorry, but I just can't!"

"Then focus on me!"

"What!?"

"Focus on me and my voice! I'll be here with you the whole time, okay?"

She slowly blinked and nodded her head. From there, her face morphed into a warm smile. "Okay! Let's do it!"

Night Shadow released her hand and gripped both sides of the beam. Waves of darkness surrounded his hands and Poncho Mom took a deep breath. Cracking her fingers together, she slowly used her powers of Super Elasticity to stretch the length of her arms and to enlarge her hands. Both of them took a good look at each other before exchanging one more nod.

"Ready?"

"I'm ready, Night Shadow!"

"One!"

"Two"

Both of them shouted, "THREE!"

With their powers combined, it took little to no effort for them to lift the beam off of Poncho Mom's chest and chuck it aside. It broke through the floor as soon as it landed on the ground, which caused the platform underneath the heroes to collapse. Night Shadow and Poncho Mom slipped and fell down through the fire and flames. But before they could touch the ground and become incinerated, Poncho Mom grabbed Night Shadow's hand and stretches her hand forward, gripping onto a pole and swinging herself through the dojo room, where a bunch of rare collectibles slowly burned.

That was except for an indestructible glass filled with penguin figures.

Since that shelf was bulky and immune to the flames, Night Shadow and Poncho Mom landed on the side of it and climbed to the top.

"Hop on my shoulders!" Night Shadow yelled.

"Oh, I've always wanted to!" Poncho Mom pressed her hands together and squealed.

Her black and blue crush raised an eyebrow and gave her a confused look.

"Sorry…" she giggled, rubbing the back of her head. "That came out wrong."

Poncho Mom leaped on top of Night Shadow's shoulders and wrapped her arms and legs around his body. Shielding his hands and feet with darkness, Night Shadow shot multiple dark whips ahead of him and continued swinging.

"Poncho, reach into my pocket and pull out Hannah! Pull up a diagram of everyone else's coordinates!"

"Will do!" the heroine winked and gave a thumbs up, as she grabbed the green handheld and loaded the map on the screen. "Monsoon Gal's not too far from us. Everyone else is pretty far!"

"How close is MG to us? We'll pick her up and find the others!"

"She's-LOOK OUT!"

CRASH!

Not one, not two, but five massive structures rained down on top of Night Shadow and Poncho Mom. Both of them screamed and hurried to make it out before they could be burned…

…but suddenly.

SPLASH!

A tidal wave of water pushed the obstacles to the side and extinguished flames in part of the room.

Night Shadow and Poncho Mom landed on the wet floor and looked around them, seeing splashes of water easily wipe away the fire. It didn't take them long to see a long water slide zoom past them, as a woman inside swung her wooden staff and put out the flames.

That woman was none other than Alyssa Cordelia: Monsoon Gal.

"MG!" Night Shadow gasped excitingly. "Thank god you're okay!"

Monsoon Gal noticed her two friends and smiled at them. As soon as she splashed the last wave, she quickly stored the water back into a capsule on her belt and landed in front of them. She quickly ran over and pulled both of them into a one-armed hug.

"Thank god you two are okay!" she said with a smile on her face, releasing them from her grasp. "I tried calling all of you, but I couldn't hear a response. Do you know where the others are?"

"According to Hannah, they're on the other side of the building," Night Shadow replied.

"Any news on Technolocity and the other villains?"

"Haven't seen them yet," Night Shadow shrugged, taking a few deep breaths. "Knowing Techy, he probably went through some secret exit or something. I don't think we're gonna be seeing him for the rest of the night."

"I bet you twenty bucks he jinxed us," BagByte said to his owner.

"Quiet, you!" Poncho Mom smacked her side.

"Ow!" BagByte moaned.

"I'll clear a path so we can find the others," Monsoon Gal walked in front of the duo and twirled her staff. "Knowing Pyro Lad and Frosty Beetle, they're-"

CRASH! WHAM!

A giant, silver and chrome, mechanical fist came out of the ground and grabbed Night Shadow's leg. It yanked him through the floor, which caused Monsoon Gal and Poncho Mom to fall through it as well. All three of them fearfully shouted at the top of their lungs before Night Shadow used his Umbraportation to break himself free.

Kicking the mechanical hand in the palm, Night Shadow's fists covered themselves with darkness and he punched the hand down until it hit the ground. Monsoon Gal smacked with a powerful wave of water and kicked it into the abyss of flames.

Poncho Mom grabbed both of them and morphed into the shape of a parachute with her chest. Night Shadow and Monsoon Gal, firmly grasping the superheroine's hands, panted for a bit before the latter looked down and opened up her capsule. She waved her hand around until a puddle of water came out of the bottle and levitated around her fingertips. Extending her fingers, she splashed the ground and extinguished the fire.

Once Poncho Mom got close to the floor, the two heroes let go of her and landed on their feet. The elastic woman reverted herself back to normal and fell beside them.

"Thanks for the save, Poncho," Monsoon Gal smiled and gave her a thumbs up.

"You're welcome," the purple-masked woman replied with a grin.

"Does anyone know what the hell that was?"

"Oh… I got a feeling," Night Shadow replied with a stern grunt.

Monsoon Gal and Poncho Mom, who were tempted to ask what he was talking about, looked beyond their line of sight and found the answer themselves.

In the shadows of the flames was a monstrous figure that stood taller than someone like Mojo the Pink Gorilla. There wasn't much to the figure other than demonic red eyes that were big enough to make Night Shadow grip his Sai. Monsoon Gal did the same with her staff, and Poncho Mom increased the size of her fists.

The figure slowly began to step forward, making loud clanking sounds as it went.

The floor shook beneath its feet.

Night Shadow, Monsoon Gal, and Poncho Mom kept their stance, preparing themselves for the worse.

But before they could do anything, they were forced to listen to another one of BagByte's snarky comments.

"Welp, so much for not seeing Blockhead for the rest of the night. Guess you owe me twenty bucks, Poncho. Oh-ho!"