Starman

Jack Knight and Clarence O’Dare stared at the scene of the crime. A lone security guard, obviously surprised, was imprisoned in a pillar of solid ice. Whether he’d suffocated or frozen would be something that only the coroner could decide.

“It looks like something the Icicle would’ve done,” O’Dare said as he and Jack circled the body. “We’re checking security footage from bus terminals and airports now, but considering that he may have just driven in… We’re not sure if we’ll find anything out or not.”

“Great,” Jack said. “I’m only back in town for a couple of days and this happens.”

“The crazy thing is that this plant’s been abandoned for years,” Clarence’s sister Hope said as she walked over. “It’s good to see you, Jack.”

“You too,” Jack replied.

Hope continued, “The plant went into receivership after the previous owner died under mysterious circumstances. Apparently he wound up taking a bath in one of the cats of chemicals underneath that catwalk.” She pointed up at the catwalk in question. “We’re checking the place out, but we haven’t found anything yet.”

Clarence nodded. “Thanks, Hope. Let me know if you find out anything else.” She nodded and walked back to join the search.

“Looks like the O’Dare police tradition is alive and well,” Jack said with a smile.

Clarence looked down. “More than ever,” he said. “After what Barry did, well, I think it refocused the three of us that are left.”

Jack nodded. “I understand,” he said. The wounds from that dark event that had also resulted in the death of his father were still raw for him as well. “Keep me informed,” Jack said as his staff began to glow. “I’ll keep my eyes open, too.”

Clarence watched as Jack lifted into the air and flew off into the night.

Below the city streets, the Icicle slowly made his way through the sewers. A thin sheet of ice formed on the surface of the muck as he walked forward. Finally he reached a door, as promised.

The Icicle stepped inside and closed the door behind him. Lights flickered on in the ceiling to reveal a different world. Gone was the chipped stone of the sewers. He was now in what appeared to be a normal living room. He even stood on a welcome mat.

The Icicle looked around further. “Guess I haven’t gone jumping worlds,” he said as he felt the wallpaper. His fingers still detected the rough stone beneath it. He frowned as he looked further and spotted a poster of the Rag Doll’s mask hanging on the wall. “So I’ll have that thing staring at me all the time,” he muttered. “Wonderful.”

He walked into another room and discovered a bed. With nothing else to do, he lay down for a nap. The police were too active right now. His next target would have to be hit after dark.

Above, a man hurried through the streets. He was almost nondescript – an average-looking man dressed in average clothes. The difference was that he also did the bidding of the Rag Doll. Well, at least as long as the Doll kept bringing cash to him.

The man quietly entered an apartment building, leaving the world outside behind. He walked into his apartment and locked the door before unlocking a cabinet. Inside lay the various tools of his trade. He picked up one mask and smiled in satisfaction. The repairs to it were going wonderfully after that woman had damaged it months before. He replaced it on its head and walked into the bathroom.

The mask of Paco Ramone’s face stared out into the room with empty eyes.

Jack was flying across the Old Town section of Opal when something caught his eye. He landed and saw a woman in a red and yellow costume. “Flamebird?” he asked. “I haven’t seen you since I painted you for your Titans West picture.” He paused a moment. “You’re a long way from California.”

“It’s a long story,” Flamebird said. “I’m staying here for the time being and I wanted to meet you – professional courtesy, you know.”

“That’s nice of you,” Jack said. “I heard about what happened to Terra. I’m sorry.”

“Thanks,” Flamebird said. “It was a really bad time.” She paused a moment. “Can you come with me? There’s somebody else you need to meet.”

Jack’s eyes widened as Flamebird led him inside a darkened room. Even the windows had been painted over. He was preparing to activate his cosmic rod for light when a cold hand touched his. “Don’t,” an unfamiliar voice said.

Jack squinted as an electric light was switched on. Before him stood a man with pale skin, red eyes, and long black hair. “Meet Dagon,” Flamebird explained. “He was one of the Titans with me.”

“So what do you do?” Jack asked. In response, Dagon smiled. His lips pulled back to reveal his elongated canine teeth.

“Sorry I asked,” Jack said.

“Your first vampire?” Flamebird asked with a smile on her lips.

“Yeah,” Jack replied.

“Don’t worry,” Flamebird reassured him. “It happens to us all.” She sobered. “But we need to tell you about something that may be happening here.”

“We need to talk about a woman known as Mary, Queen of Blood,” Dagon began.

Jack flew silently across the darkening sky. Dagon and Flamebird had told him of Mary and their beliefs that she was somewhere in Opal City. He finally flew up higher so that he could feel the air currents brushing him as he hovered beneath the full moon.

Far below, the Icicle emerged from a manhole in front of another abandoned factory. He smirked as he saw that the security lights were burned out, just as the Rag Doll had told him. He raised his hands and frost began forming on the chain link fence in front of him. It would only be moments until the already rusting metal was so weak it would shatter like glass.

Jack landed on a roof and fished his cell phone out of his pocket. “Hello?” he asked.

Clarence’s voice held a note of tension. “There’s another break-in going on right now. It looks like the Icicle’s at it again.”

Jack listened to the address. “I’m on my way,” he said before sliding his phone back into his pocket and launching once more into the night sky.

Icicle was inside the office, rummaging around. “Where is it?” he muttered. He shoved a bookcase out of the way and a safe was revealed. A smile spread across his face. He laid a hand on the safe door and frost rapidly spread across the old metal. It would only be moments now.

Suddenly he saw something out of the corner of his eye. The Icicle turned to look out the broken window and saw a ball of light landing on the far side of the factory. He frowned. “Looks like I’ll have to hurry,” he muttered as the frost on the safe hardened and thickened.

Outside, Jack landed on the broken asphalt. As he looked around, the glow on his staff faded and he raised the anti-glare goggles he normally wore. He frowned. There was no light apart from the moon and the occasional flickering security light.

His boots crunched as he walked across the empty parking lot toward the main factory building. Jack’s eyes scanned from side to side. He was well aware of the fact that he was in a prime position to be ambushed.

The Icicle didn’t disappoint. Jack barely had time to put up a shield before ice spears came rocketing out of the darkness. “There you are,” Jack said as the ice splintered against his energy shield. “I knew you were around here somewhere.”

Icicle didn’t respond. Instead, he silently raced through the abandoned building, looking for another position to attack. He knew that Jack Knight was hot on his heels.

Icicle whirled around as a light behind him grew brighter and brighter. He sent a barrage of ice spikes…

…at a floating cosmic rod.

As Icicle gaped, Jack’s boot slammed into his jaw. Icicle fell to the ground as blood flowed from his lip and froze almost immediately. Icicle glared as Jack extended a hand and the rod flew into it.

“That’s about it,” Jack said as he aimed it at the Icicle.

Icicle smirked and raised his hands. “I surrender,” he said.

Jack’s face betrayed a look of shock.

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” Jack said later.

“I wish I were,” Clarence O’Dare replied as he poured another cup of infamously-bad police station coffee. He led Jack back to his office. “We’ve got to let him go. He didn’t have anything stolen from the factory on him when he arrived. The most we could charge him with was trespassing.”

“But what about that guard?” Jack asked.

“I know,” Clarence said with frustration in his voice as he closed the door. “Let’s be honest. You know he killed that guard and I know he killed that guard. But now I’ve got several witnesses claiming that they saw Mr. Freeze sneaking around. That means I’ve got to waste the manpower to search for some villain who’s probably not even within a thousand miles of here.

“As if that wasn’t enough, he lawyered up. Now we’ve got her squawking about our procedures. She even tried to sue you for false arrest until I showed her the paperwork from where you were officially deputized by the Opal City Police Department. I still stuck my neck out and bought him a one-way bus ticket out of town.” Clarence sat down at his desk and lit a cigar. He motioned and Jack took a seat across the desk.

“Things have changed here lately,” Clarence said. “I’ve got a bad feeling and the last time I felt it was when Culp took over the city a couple of years back.” Jack frowned. The ensuing battle for the city had seen the deaths of not only two of Clarence’s siblings – Matt, the reincarnated Scalphunter and Barry, the turncoat who had allied with the Shade’s old enemy – but also Jack’s own father.

Clarence leaned forward. “You might want to pay a visit to the Starman museum. They’ve got your dad’s diaries there. I’ve been spending time going over the last time the Rag Doll cult hit.” Clarence gestured at Jack with his cigar. “It might be a good idea for you to do the same.”

Mary waited as the dog ran up to her. It placed a yellowed notebook in her hand. She accepted it without a word and flipped through a few pages before handing it to the Rag Doll. “Is this what you were looking for?”

The Doll smiled. “Wonderful!” he exclaimed after skimming several pages covered with chemical formulas. “I have this and also the Icicle. He knows that his lawyer was one of my followers, as were the witnesses who pointed the proverbial finger at Mr. Freeze.” Rag Doll laughed.

Mary simply watched silently. She despised the Rag Doll, but if he could really do what he had promised it would all be worth it in the end. And if he had lied to her…

Her lips parted in a sly smile as she anticipated ripping the Doll’s head off with her bare hands.

Next Issue: Jack encounters Mary for the first time. And a familiar face makes his return…

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