The Light That Shines Through the Darkness

Up in the sky, it’s a bird, it’s a plane, it’s a guy in a rainbow morph suit! It can only be: RAINBOW MAN! Rainbow Man leaps through Spectral City, patrolling day or night. Nothing can stop the rainbow warrior! Except, maybe a lack of money. Mark stopped atop a tall building. Right now Rainbow Man wasn’t patrolling for evil-doers, he was patrolling for jobs. He was going to have to get back to work, and Spectral Labs wasn’t looking to be built back up again anytime soon. Being Rainbow Man was great and all, but superheroing doesn’t pay nearly as well as crime does. In fact, he didn’t get paid at all. He and Cynthia were living off her job and his savings. He couldn’t force her to support the both of them forever. He needed to get a job, but not a menial job like a cashier, something more adapted to his skill level. He was a scientist! Scientists need high level jobs. Another time, he’d keep searching anyways.

Mark got home, put on a suit, and went job hunting. He was sure that he would wind up stuck in some remedial job flipping burgers, or pencil pushing, whatever that means. It was a particularly sunny day for what was now mid fall. He never understood how normal people weren’t always covered in sweatshirts, it was quite chilly. The business attire didn’t help much in terms of insolation. Mark kept walking. He was further into the east side of town than he had ever been before. Rainbow Man has to know all corners of the city if he wants to be its hero. It was very dark. Mark took off his sunglasses. He slowly moved his eyes upwards to see the source of the sudden darkness. How had he not noticed this before? It was huge! A skyscraper taller than almost all the buildings in the city, and Mark had never noticed it. He backed up to see if someone had put their name on the building. The building was so tall he had to back up a full block to see high enough up for a name. Nocturne Industries. How had he not heard of this enormous tower? He was not as vigilant as he should be. Mark put away his sunglasses and walked towards the entrance. A giant tower like this has to have a research section, meaning scientists. No doubt they would at least consider him after he showed them his credentials. If the big shot with his name on the building knew anything he’d undoubtedly be begging for Mark to work there. He pushed open the glass doors. The lobby was a spectacle. Two fountains shot water asynchronously across the lobby into the other fountain. Two smaller fountains sat by the front desk. The room was dimly lit with neon lights shining the path to the front desk. Mark was astounded. Such showmanship just while entering the building. “Hello there, I’m Mark Radley. I was a scientist at Spectral Labs, but since its destruction I’ve been out of work and I was wondering if you had any available positions.” Mark said to the chipper blonde front desk lady.

“Here at Nocturne Industries we only take the finest of workers, may I see your resume?” The front desk lady asked. Mark handed her over his papers. She studied the papers quickly. “One second Mr. Radley, I just need to send these upstairs.” The lady put the papers in a tube and placed that tube in the pneumatic tube system. Mark’s tube shot up immediately out of sight. The front desk lady got back to work. Mark took a seat. He knew this would probably take a couple of minutes. He was surprised they didn’t just email information around. A pneumatic tube system? Seemed kind of ancient for a building in the 21st century. But these tubes did seem to move at a much quicker rate. Maybe Nocturne figured out a way to speed up the process? Maybe this was more efficient? It didn’t really matter anyways. Mark’s tube shot back down. The lady at the front desk slide her chair over and grabbed the tube. Mark went back up to the desk. “It looks like you’ve been approved and accepted Mr. Radley. Welcome aboard! My name is Lucy Adams! Looks like I’ll be seeing you a lot more.” Lucy smiled. Mark gave a quick thanks then headed out. “OH WAIT!” Lucy shouted. Mark stopped. “Before I forget, the boss wants to see you. His office is on the top floor. Floor 78.” Mark gasped. This building was over 900 feet tall! He knew it was tall but that’s more than he expected. He slowly walked towards the elevator. He was gripped with a strange feeling of fear. He shook it off. It was just shock over the extreme height of the building. He got in and pressed 78. The light didn’t go off. The elevator closed and he started moving. The light never went off, but he was moving up. It must only be controlled from the boss’ side. The light for 78 turned on. Up he went climbing the building’s full scale up 78 floors to the floor of Mr. Nocturne, or who he assumed was Mr. Nocturne because his name was on the building. The elevator moved much faster than any elevator he’d been on before. Lucy must have pointed him towards Mr. Nocturne’s personal elevator. The elevator stopped. The door opened. The room was dim. Maybe Mr. Nocturne slept all day at work? Mark approached the double doors to the main office. Unlike the glass doors of the lobby, these ones were pitch black. Mark knocked.

“Come in,” A soft voice whispered. Mark opened the doors. “So you must be Mr. Radley.” The voice was now much louder and much more gentlemanly. His doors must be soundproof or mostly soundproof. “Sit, sit.” The boss gestured towards a padded seat. Mark nodded and sat. “I read your resume. Quite a fine list of accomplishments. Scientist at Spectral Labs, number one at Spectral University, built an experiment that failed: it failed but I like the initiative.”

“I didn’t—” Mark stammered.

“I do extensive research. Definitely the kind of worker Nocturne Industries wants to hire. I’m glad to have you on board son.” The man smiled. His black hair was slick like Roger Moore as James Bond. He had a tight jaw that said I mean business, and brown eyes that could kill a lesser man. He couldn’t be older than forty-two, but he gave off a feeling of seniority.

Mark smiled. “I thank you mister-”

“Mr. Nocturne. Nathaniel Nocturne. You were wondering if I was really the guy with his name on the side of the building and I am,” Mr. Nocturne said cutting off Mark.

“Why haven’t-”

“Why haven’t you seen Nocturne Industries before? Because I just bought out some lesser company and decided to move our homebase to Spectral City. We used to be located in Dardusk City but Spectral City is a much bigger market. That’s one thing you should know kid, always move to where the bigger capital can be found. I already feel I’m going to like you. I see a younger me in you. Work hard and maybe this can be your seat one day.” Mr. Nocturne smiled and concluded the meeting. Mark was shocked. Why was this guy acting so much older than him? Twenty-seven wasn’t that young. Whatever. He got a job, and the boss likes him, that’s a win. Maybe he’d go celebrate with Cynthia tonight. But first he had to get out of the creepy dark shadow the building was casting.

“Cynthia, I’ve got a surprise for you,” Mark said. He had been waiting in their shared apartment for her to get off of work at the zoo doing her zoologist thing. He still didn’t understand what she did fully, but she said it was something about animals and science. Mark was never that interested in animals larger than the household dog. Or any smaller than that actually. Except his old pet rat Kurt Rodgers. Whatever happened to Kurt? Not important now. He needed to surprise Cynthia with the big news.

“What is it Mark?” Cynthia asked. She genuinely had no idea what Mark wanted to tell her. It was exciting.

“We’re going out first before I tell you, it’s that big of news,” Mark said. Cynthia changed and the two went off to some fancy French restaurant in the upper west side of town. The two sat down at the table. The atmosphere felt dark. Miniature lights barely provided any lighting whatsoever.

“This a beautiful place Mark,” Cynthia commented. Mark agreed. “So what is the surprise that’s so big we had to go someplace this nice?”

“Have you heard of Nocturne Industries?” Mark asked.

“I can’t say I have.”

“Well, they are a big corporation from Dardusk City, but they recently moved their headquarters into Spectral City. So earlier today I was walking through the city and I stumbled into the Far East side. I had never been that far into the eastern part of the city before. While I was walking the block was covered by darkness. I looked up to see Nocturne on the side of this enormous skyscraper. I saw this building and thought they must have need for scientists, research and development that sort of thing because I’ve been out of work awhile. I go up to the front desk and talk to the lady, nice lady, and give her my application. She sends it up and sends me up to the boss’ office. I go up there and lo and behold Mr. Nocturne, the guy with his name on the building, is there and personally offers me a job. I got a job at Nocturne Industries and the boss likes me! I start Monday.”

“Wow Mark! That’s wonderful news! Even if they do eventually rebuild Spectral Labs, this is great! And the CEO likes you!? That’s even more wonderful! Great cause to celebrate!” Cynthia screamed. She was happy for Mark being able to find work. He had been depressive since he was the cause of himself being out of a job. He didn’t get reprimanded for the accident (it was chalked up to a lab accident in a hazardous environment), but he hadn’t ever been out of work in his adult life. Being Rainbow Man can only take up so much time before more needs to be done. This would give Mark a little variety in his life. Something to do during the day. And it’s something he loves doing. Science. The two enjoyed their meal even more with Mark’s great news at the start of the date. They finished up, went home, and went to bed.

“Break-In at Spectral Military Base Lima India Golf Hotel Tango,” The newswoman reported. Mark was still mostly asleep, but jumped when he heard the words ‘break-in.’ Mark sat up in bed staring at the news broadcast. “That’s right Spectral City, last night there was a break-in at the city’s main military base. The criminal broke in to the armory and stole a massive amount of military-grade weaponry. The base commander when asked about the break-in reported that it would be highly unlikely that anyone would be able to break-in to the compound and steal the weaponry. With people like Rainbow Man out there, we have to assume that the thief was a Superpowered individual. No one saw the perpetrator, but if you have any leads, you are urged to call local police, the military base, and our news station. Spectral City News saying good morning and keep a vigilant eye out.” Someone broke in to a military facility? This is not good. Mark wasn’t any kind of detective, but he would need to check this out. Maybe he could talk to the base commander, see what details anyone might know. Another supervillain, Mark knew it was only a matter of time before someone other than Hector showed up, but he wasn’t expecting this level of criminal. Whoever it is, now had a cache of military weaponry. He needed to make connections. See if the weaponry gets sold underground. No way would the perp want to keep that amount of loot on him. He would start his research tomorrow after work. Today, he was going back to sleep. Best to let the authorities see if they can find any leads first. Don’t want to upstage them right away. They get a head start, and he gets his last off day for possibly a long time.

First day at the new job. If only he could use his super speed in public, then getting to work would be no hassle at all. Instead, morning traffic. Traffic sucks. Tomorrow he’d bike to work, see how that is. But for today, he was sitting in the early morning traffic.

Mark pulled up to the parking lot behind Nocturne Industries. He couldn’t find an open spot. What’s this? His eyes had to be deceiving him. He rubbed his eyes and blinked a few times before checking again. His eyes had not lied to him despite the early morning sleepiness. An open parking spot with the words ‘Mark Radley’ written in black paint. He pulled into the spot, stepped out of his car, and investigated the words. ‘Mark Radley,’ his name was on a parking spot. This had to be some kind of prank. He’d ask Lucy. If this was some prank on the new guy, she’d tell him. Mark walked to the front entrance. “Hey Lucy, can I ask you something?”

“What is Mr. Radley?” Lucy asked. She was chipper even in this early hour.

“Um, why is my name written on a parking spot outside in the lot? Is this some sort of office prank on the new guy? Because if it is, I have to move my car,” Mark asked.

“Nope, no prank. That’s your personalized parking spot. Why do you not like it? Tell me what it is and I’ll have maintenance fix it up right away.” Lucy replied. She seemed hurt that Mark didn’t like his parking spot.

“NO, it’s great. I just don’t believe that I have my own parking spot. I haven’t even worked here a day,” Mark replied.

Lucy looked relieved. “Mr. Nocturne personally requested you get your own parking spot. He said to me, ‘Lucy make sure you get Mr. Radley his own parking spot. Prime position next to mine.’ And I told him, I said okay boss, will do Mr. Nocturne sir.” Mark gasped. Mr. Nocturne the CEO personally made sure he had a parking spot? Wow, the boss likes him more than he thought. He must really want to keep him around. Mark smiled and went to his floor. The common elevator was still faster than most other elevators. The building was extremely efficient. Mark arrived at his lab floor and was astounded. The lab was beautiful. State of the art equipment in the most pristine condition. Every piece of equipment looked like it was just made within the past hour. It all had that sheen of freshly polished glass. The floor was speckles. Not a micro spot of dirt, grime, or any other muck was visible. The tables were just as spotless. It was as if no one ever worked here. But, Mark knew this wasn’t the case. A couple of his new colleagues were already here getting set up. Mark put his stuff in a cubby and got dressed.

“New here buddy?” A scientist said.

“How could you tell?” Mark replied.

“Well, besides the fact that I’ve never seen you here before? The look in your eyes. That’s the look of someone who’s never seen this lab before. Douglas Dusk, head scientist of Nocturne Industries. Nice to meet you,” Douglas said.

“Mark Radley, I came from Spectral Labs. I mean, used to. It blew up. Mr. Nocturne accepted my application. It’s my first day. I look forward to working with you Mr. Dusk,” Mark said while shaking Douglas’ hand.

“Please, it’s Douglas. From what I’ve heard, I look forward to working with you,” Douglas shook Mark’s hand with ferocity. The kind of ferocity that said lead scientist. Mark was giddy. Today was going to be a fun day.

By the time Mark was done with work he was exhausted. But not too exhausted to patrol for a bit as Rainbow Man. The city needed him to patrol as Rainbow Man. Especially with a mysterious new villain stealing military grade technology around. The police had all day to look for clues. He should go talk to one of them. Make friends with a cop maybe? It would be like Batman and Commissioner Gordon. Maybe. He’d have to decide on that later, but for now he needed to ask someone for details. Best way to start a conversation about an ongoing investigation? Go directly to the source. The Police Station. Spectral City’s finest would probably be nice to him: he’s Rainbow Man.

Mark suited up and made his way across town to the Police Station. No other way then just walking in. He strolled casually into the station and up to the front desk. “Hello hard working officers, I was wondering if you could share any of the information you’ve gathered about the stolen military weaponry.” Mark asked in his hulking superhero voice.

“Sorry guy, but we can’t just give that kind of information to any Joe Blow who walks into the department. Now if that’s all you want then I’m going to have to ask you to leave,” A lady detective said.

“But, I’m Rainbow Man,” Mark whined. “I’m the city’s superhero. I help out with matters such as these to make your lives a little easier.”

“Look, anyone can walk in here with a rainbow morph suit and claim to be Rainbow Man. You wouldn’t believe the kind of weirdos who stroll in here every night,” The detective replied. Her face gave that look of, why do I get all the weirdos.

“Proof? Is that what you’re asking for? No problem.” Mark pointed his finger then searched the room. Pew. A little fireball flew across the room and burnt a hole through the left center of the office dartboard. “Damn, I missed. Do you believe me now?”

“Okay, now I believe you.” The detective eyes widened.

“Good, now, Ms. Detective, would you mind sharing the information you have about the robbery?”

“Green. Detective Holly Green. The captain loves you so I don’t think he’d mind. We don’t have much, just a soldier who keeps rattling on about the darkness.” Detective Green replied.

“The news said there were no witnesses.”

“Well there was one. You can see him if you want, but I must warn you, if he knew anything, he’s mentally broken now. Whoever or whatever did this seriously destroyed this guy.” Holly walked Rainbow Man over to the solitary cell where the soldier was being held for evaluation. “Guy’s right here. He was on guard duty in front of the armory. His commanding officer said he came out in the morning to find him cowering in the sunlight screaming about the darkness. The darkness was going to get him. Must stay in the light. Stuff like that.”

“Thank you Detective Green, if I could just have a minute or two with the soldier if that would be okay?” Mark asked. Detective Green nodded and backed up. Mark turned towards the soldier cowering next to the cell lamp. “Hey buddy, I’m Rainbow Man. I wanted to ask you a few questions about what happened last night. Someone broke into the armory of the base you were on. I need to find that guy. I need to find him so I can kick his butt.” The soldier was staring directly into the lamp muttering. “Do you mind speaking towards me? I need to find the perp who did this. Bring him into justice.”

“Darkness,” The soldier muttered. “So much darkness.”

“Darkness did this to you?” Mark asked in clarification.

“Scary evil darkness. Engulfing my soul. Need the light.” The soldier had the lamp shade covering his face.

“What happened? Did the darkness attack you and then steal from the armory?” Mark asked gently.

“No escaping the darkness. The darkness is here.” The soldier removed the lamp shade to move mere inches from the lightbulb.

“What did the darkness do? Did the darkness do this? Did the darkness steal weaponry from the military base?” Mark asked raising his tone.

“The darkness is here.” The bulb was almost touching the soldier’s eyeballs.

“Did the darkness steal the weaponry?!” Mark shouted.

“DR. DARK IS HERE!!” The soldier screamed as he rammed the lightbulb into his eye socket. Detective Green came running down the hall calling for immediate back-up. Mark sat back against the wall behind him. Dr. Dark? Who is Dr. Dark? Why did he steal the military’s weapons? Why did he attack this soldier? What did he do to scare him so badly of the dark? What could Dr. Dark do? Why was he doing it? Mark shuddered. At least The Negative had motive. Motive that came from the wrong place, but still motive. What was Dr. Dark after? The mystery surrounding this new villain scared Mark.

“So, any idea who this Dr. Dark fellow is?” Detective Green asked. Mark forgot about her. He thought she would have left with the medical team to look after the soldier.

“Not a clue. But I’m going to find out. And I’m going to stop him. It looks like the news got one thing right,” Mark said as he stood up.

“What’s that?” Detective Green asked. She looked up at Rainbow Man.

“He’s got powers. Whatever happened to that soldier, whatever terrified him enough to do that, that was caused by Dr. Dark.” Mark walked towards the exit and left the Police Station. He needed to go home. Sleep would help him right now. Maybe he could discuss the new Dr. Dark with Cynthia. She’s smart.

“The soldier really did that? Right in front of you? While screaming Dr. Dark? That’s insane,” Cynthia remarked. Mark told her the events that went down at the Police Station. He left out the less important parts with Detective Green. “This Dr. Dark seems like a serious supervillain. No problem for Rainbow Man though. You got this Mark. I know that’s why you brought it up.” Mark froze. He didn’t feel like his tone inflected he was afraid. Maybe Cynthia had superpowers? Maybe she could read his mind? He’d put serious thought into that later. “You don’t have to be worried about being afraid. What Dr. Dark did to that soldier is terrifying. The dark is something that a lot of people are afraid of. But don’t worry, when the time comes, I know you won’t be afraid. You’re tough.” Cynthia pulled Mark down and kissed him goodnight. Mark calmed down a bit. Cynthia had real faith in him. That gave him hope.

Work. He loved work. Being a superhero might be scary, but working in a research lab provided a nice escape from the terror of Dr. Dark. Here, he had the freedom to explore. Failure was an option. That was the only way to reach success eventually, failure leading to changes, leading to success. Mr. Nocturne was nice enough not to limit him to specific research and development. He said, anything to help this company. Mark would start small. Nothing too ambitious until he got a few wins under his belt. Gauge out Mr. Nocturne’s level of excitement with each invention. Small. What was small enough to work, but not too small as to be unimpressive? Damn, his pen ran out of ink. That’s it! Small enough! A pen that would never run out of ink. It would have to hold less ink at a time to accommodate for half the pen being used to mix the ingredients together. A control button that you clicked on the pen to start the mixing process. It wouldn’t make ink forever, just until the ingredients ran out. It should be approximately, five pens worth of ink in one pen. Small enough indeed!

Rainbow Man knew the name, but not how to find Dr. Dark. He would have to wait for Dr. Dark to be sighted before jumping into action. Mark sat on a rooftop in the middle of the city. Waiting was boring. He wasn’t even sure if Dr. Dark would strike tonight. He didn’t get how Batman could do detective work. Too much waiting involved. And even if Dr. Dark showed up, and that’s a big IF, Mark had no idea what this guy would be like. How strong is Dr. Dark? Could Mark handle him? Only one way to find out. Patience. That’s the key to stakeouts. Mark made sure his police scanner was full of brand new batteries. He was probably going to be there almost all night. At some point, he’d have to go home. Where would Dr. Dark be most likely to strike next? He got military grade weapons last time. What do bad guys like? Today was not the day, nobody was showing up, nothing was happening. Mark needed some sleep. Maybe tomorrow. Who knows?

Mark decided to work on his super pen to fill his time at work. He wouldn’t take him more than three days to construct a prototype, test it, fix it, and be ready for the real deal to present to Mr. Nocturne. What would he do next? One project at a time. Get distracted, nothing gets done.

Night after night of sitting on that rooftop half asleep with no sign of Dr. Dark making a resurgence. Maybe he was gone? One and done. It had only been two days. Mark needed to stop getting so ahead of himself. Eventually, he would have to resurface. No one just steals military grade equipment then does nothing. That just doesn’t happen. Even petty criminals strike again. Criminals keep striking until they’re caught. And they’re all caught eventually. No one gets away. Especially not in Rainbow Man’s city. Maybe in a city without Rainbow Man, but not in his city. Not in Spectral City. Dr. Dark would face justice. As soon as he shows his face. It was getting late. Mark decided to call it a night. Maybe tomorrow. Ever vigilant.

At least on the Mark Radley front things were going well. He finished his super pen and was ready to go to Mr. Nocturne and slightly wow him. Not too much, got to butter him up before giving him the truly remarkable stuff. Douglas had his nose to the grindstone, he was probably inventing something amazing at this very moment. Mark got a little giddy before heading towards the elevator. It was always such a long ride up to Mr. Nocturne’s office. Seventy-eight floors. Mark shuddered when he thought of the height of this monstrous building. “Mr. Nocturne, sir, it’s Mark Radley,” Mark said. The doors to the office slowly opened. Automated doors, too cool. Mr. Nocturne was sitting in his darkened room quietly the way he was when Mark first entered this room. “I came up here to—”

“I know why you’re here Mark, and I must say I couldn’t be more proud. You’ve been here less than a week and you’re already showing me a finished product. Hiring you was the best decision I ever made,” Mr. Nocturne said. He appeared to have a smile on his face, but Mark couldn’t tell because of the lighting.

“Yes, that’s exactly why I’m here. I’m here to introduce to you, the Super Pen! This pen cannot fly, it cannot lift ten times its own weight, but it’s still super. How you might ask? Because this pen is the first pen to create its own ink! This button right here near the top when pressed will start to combine the ingredients needed to produce ink. Overall, this pen will carry when fully drained, over five times as much ink as a normal pen!” Mark exclaimed. Mr. Nocturne sat back in his chair. Mark was frightened. He hated it. Why did Mark come up here to the boss with just a super pen? The pen couldn’t even fly! This was a terrible idea. He was going to be reprimanded, or possibly fired. Oh crap, he could get fired for wasting the boss’ time.

“This, this, this is a perfect start for you at this company Mark!” Mr. Nocturne exclaimed. He motioned for the pen; Mark handed it over. He looked at it marveling its design. The inner workings of the pen excited Mr. Nocturne. “Something so small, yet so large in importance! Nocturne Industries prides itself as being a company that fills your needs, and this meets that standard! A pen with five times as much ink? I could sell it sell it for twice the price of a normal pen, no, three times as much as a normal pen. Market it as something only made by Nocturne Industries. Raise our stock by telling investors that this is just the tip of the inventions Nocturne scientists are inventing. Something new, something different, something novel. People will eat this up! They think they’ll be getting more bang for their buck, but really, I’ll be getting more bang for my buck! Brilliant! Mark I already love you son! Making me more money in your first week! You really know what you’re doing! A couple more ideas of this magnitude and you might end up sitting in my chair! I love it kid, here’s a bonus check for the invention. Just my way of saying thank you.” Mr. Nocturne scribbled some numbers on a check and handed it over to Mark. Mark accepted the check and stared at it. He felt faint. For just the pen? That much? He was going to pass out. So much money. He just made a quarter salary for the butter. Twenty thousand dollars. Just for the butter. He would be swimming in money by the time he made his real inventions. If he couldn’t find Dr. Dark, maybe he could lure him out with all this money. Ha. That’s funny. Sometimes Mark could be funny. Even if he doesn’t find Dr. Dark tonight, he can live a little more comfortably. This could be his morph suit budget.

Mark sat on the rooftop waiting. He was still in a good mood from the big bonus he got earlier today. Nothing could bring his mood down. Static. His police scanner was picking something up. He grabbed the box and tuned the frequency. Break-in—be alert—possible—Dr. Dark—midtown—. That was enough for Mark. He leapt from his roof and ran towards midtown looking for any sign of a break-in. Dr. Dark alerted someone this time. He’s already getting reckless. That’s good. Reckless means asking to be taken down. Mark was already near midtown so it didn’t take him long to get there. Unless Dr. Dark also had super speed, then Mark could catch him. He looked around. Broken glass! Clear sign of a break-in! Where was he? A pharmacy? Drugs! Of course behind weapons a villain would be looking for drugs. He should have thought of that. Alright, time to be sneaky. Mark crept over the broken glass into the store. It was dark. Dr. Dark had to be around here somewhere. Mark snuck slowly towards the back where the counter was. All the prescription drugs would be towards the back. No doubt Dr. Dark would only want the good stuff. He hopped the counter then fell back. What was that? He definitely saw something behind the counter. Mark hopped back over the counter. Huddled in a corner staring into a digital watch was the store owner. Oh no. The watch was emitting a faint light. Just like the soldier. Dr. Dark was just here. He could still be here. Mark would let the incoming police take this man in, he needed to find Dark. Mark went back to creeping. Dr. Dark had to be hiding somewhere in the back. There were no other exits other than the front door. He was in here. But where? Not too many hiding spots. Mark entered the back room. The back room was nearly as large as the rest of the store. The corridors would make finding Dr. Dark difficult, but not impossible. Mark’s heart was beating rapidly. Where are you Dark? Somewhere here. Rattle. Mark jumped! Nothing but a mouse knocking over some pills. He was too jumpy. Dr. Dark was here. He HAD to be. Mark snuck between the corridors until he reached the end of the final corridor back towards the door to the front of the store. Nothing. Mark stood up. Nothing. How could there be nothing. Dr. Dark WAS here. He attacked the store owner. There was nowhere for him to run. It didn’t make sense. When did he leave? How did he leave? He would have had to pass right by Mark, or at least make some noise. Nothing. There was nothing indicating he left. No footsteps in the dust other than Mark’s, he didn’t touch anything other than the stuff he stole. He was a ghost. Why didn’t he leave footprints? And on top of that, it was impossible for him to steal drugs from the counter without leaving some trace he was here. Extra displaced dust? There wouldn’t be any fingerprints. Undoubtedly he would be wearing gloves. Anyone not wanting their identity known wears gloves. Mark was wearing gloves right now. Well, he was wearing a suit that acted like gloves. Close enough. Mark examined the areas around the missing drug containers. No displaced dust. Nothing. Impossible. Of course, he’s a supervillain, nothing is impossible. Mark could do a variety of amazing things, nothing was impossible anymore. He lived in a world with superpowered people. If only he knew what Dr. Dark could do? He’d go home and ponder this. Today was a failure as Rainbow Man. Mark left, then the authorities showed up. They would do their best to take care of that poor man in there. Dr. Dark narrowly escaped today. He wouldn’t be so lucky the next time Mark found him. Next time, Mark would throttle him. He’d even throw in a little extra for the soldier and the store owner. People who didn’t deserve to be tormented like that. Innocent people. Dr. Dark was hurting innocent people for no reason other than his selfish desires. He would pay.

Mark walked back home. He wasn’t in the mood to super jump or super speed home. At least with the weekend coming up he could rest. Then he would have time to come up with a new research idea too! Good. He needed to blow off some steam. Science would help.

He needed a new project. Something he could work on to really impress Mr. Nocturne. Hyper intelligence in animals? No, that never turns out well. He could rebuild his light changing machine. The one that gave him his superpowers. It worked. It wouldn’t have blown up either if not for Hector. That would take a while and be spectacular. That’s it. His big project would be the machine he thought would be his greatest achievement. Manipulation of the world’s natural color scheme. The end to crop failure. Or at the very least it would make painting houses easier. Either way his invention would be worth millions. Mark could taste the bonus check coming his way. He’d no doubt get promoted. Possibly all the way up to lead scientist. Mark started salivating slightly. A plan was made. His professional life was sorted out.

He and Cynthia hadn’t gone out for a while, it’s time he spent that bonus check. “Cynthia, grab a bag, we’re going on a surprise trip,” Mark shouted down the hall. Cynthia was puzzled. She grabbed some things and headed into the living room.

“How much of a surprise is this going to be?” Cynthia asked. She was trying to see how much she could get out of Mark. Usually he let whatever he was planning slip. He wasn’t very good at keeping secrets.

“A big one. Big enough where I am not telling you anything,” Mark knew what she was up to. Gauging what he said, hoping to get him to slip up and tell her. Not today. He wouldn’t tell her about the surprise trip to Tropical Islands Water Park. She might figure it out when she sees the plane destination. No way would she piece the two together. He’d call in sick Monday and start on his great project on Tuesday.

They arrived at the airport, it was still pretty early in the morning, and their flight was in an hour, if they could get tickets. Mark walked up to the counter. “Two tickets to Germany,” Mark said. The lady behind the counter shook her head. They were sold out. All except the first class seats. Mark smiled and gladly handed her his card. She handed Mark two tickets and he was off.

“Germany? Don’t you have work on Monday? We got first class? That’s a lot of money Mark. How much money is that?” Cynthia said. She still didn’t know where they were going specifically. He was winning.

“I’ll call in sick.” Mark said. He ignored the other two questions for now. Cynthia was worried. He’d tell her everything when they got on the plane. For now he’d let her stew. With the amount of money he’d be spending, they’d still have half his bonus left. The two went through the standard security process, got their passports ready, and headed towards the boarding area. They got priority boarding with the first class tickets. Cynthia was worried. Mark couldn’t be more relaxed. They were on a plane to Germany and then to the largest indoor water park. Life couldn’t be sweeter.

Cynthia looked at Mark relaxing and punched him in the stomach. “Ow.” Mark exclaimed. “That really hurt you know.”

“That’s for ignoring me! You blatantly ignored two of my questions! Now tell me Mark, how much money are we spending, and how are we spending this much money?” Cynthia said. She was starting to get angry. Mark had enough fun and told her about the bonus check. “Just for one invention? That’s amazing Mark! Sounds like an amazing job!” Mark also told her that this trip would cost about half that bonus check. She wasn’t as worried anymore. Cynthia happy to be in the loop, lounged back and went to sleep. After almost half a day, the two arrived in Germany.

Monday afternoon Mark was looking for his phone. He’d need to call Mr. Nocturne and tell him he wasn’t going to be in to work today. The flight back to the US was leaving in a few hours. He and Cynthia had the most wonderful time at Tropical Islands. It was something he was happy spending half his bonus on. His phone was somewhere in the hotel room, but he didn’t know where. He hadn’t needed his phone for the past couple of days. Ring. That was his phone. Why was his phone ringing? He set his phone to busy. It shouldn’t be ringing. “Hello?” Mark answered.

“Mr. Radley, it’s Nathanial Nocturne. I am taking the day off today. It’s my company’s policy that if I don’t show up, my employees don’t have to either. Congratulations, you’ve got the day off. Enjoy your extended weekend.” Mr. Nocturne said. He then immediately hung up. Well, that was something. Mark was shocked. At least he didn’t have to call in sick now.

The flight back was long. But the trip did do one thing right for Mark, it relieved his Rainbow Man stress. Now he could pursue Dr. Dark with reignited vigor. He could recreate his light machine with the same joy he did the first time. He could do it all.

That night Mark was hunting. Dr. Dark hadn’t struck again for a while; he had to strike soon, all villains do. Mark posted near the Spectral Bank. Dr. Dark had already stolen military grade weaponry and pharmaceuticals, money should be his next top priority, unless he was rich, no way. This time Mark would not let him get away.

Ding ding ding! The bank alarm was going off! He knew it! It had to be Dark! Who else would strike the bank? No one should be brave enough to attack the bank, they always get caught, it’s too cliché. Mark hopped down to the ground, careful not to do a superhero landing and give away his position. Slowly Mark snuck onto the bank floor. The guards were in a panic. They did not know what was causing the alarm to go off. Mark knew. Amidst the panic one guard was shaking in the corner: Dark. He was here for sure. Mark crept along the wall until he reached the bank vault. No one could know he was here. No one saw him. Dr. Dark couldn’t have seen him. Mark walked slowly towards the center where the money was stacked. No sign of anyone touching it. The money was safe, Dark wasn’t here, yet. He walked back towards the wall and leaned against it. His body was facing the only entrance. Dr. Dark couldn’t enter the room without Mark knowing. Mark kept his eyes open and stared down the money. He couldn’t look away, he couldn’t blink. Dr. Dark could not steal this money without him knowing. Seconds started to tick by. Soon. Dr. Dark had to show himself soon. He couldn’t steal the money without Mark seeing him. He was trapped. He may have gotten away with a couple of robberies but not this one. Not tonight. Tonight he would be caught. Tonight Mark would win. Mark stared intensely at the cash pile. He would not remove his eyes for any reason. Thud! The lights started to fade from Mark’s view. He couldn’t see the money. It all went black.

Detective Holly Green was standing over him. Mark looked around frantically. Where was the money!? Where was Dr. Dark!? Dammit! Where was he? He was still on the floor of the bank vault. The money was nowhere to be seen. Dr. Dark had stolen the money and left. Dammit! Detective Green was trying to talk to him. Probably checking to see if he was responsive. His head was ringing. Dr. Dark sucker punched him! How!? He was against the wall facing the only entrance. There was no way Dr. Dark should have been able to enter the room without him knowing. Then to have walked all the way across the room, and sucker punch him in the side of the head!? How the hell did he do it? “Rainbow Man, Rainbow Man, Rainbow Man,” Detective Green was motioning her hand across his face. Pretty soon she’d start flashing her light in his eyes. Wouldn’t do her any good, but it would sure be annoying.

“I hear you,” Rainbow Man said in a haze.

“Are you alright? You were blacked out. Why are you in here?” Detective Green asked.

“I was staking the bank vault out, waiting for Dark. I just don’t get it.” Mark muttered.

“What do you mean? How did he get away? What happened?” Detective Green was standing upright curious about the situation.

“I was standing against the wall facing the ONLY entrance to the vault. The money was here right in the center. It is impossible for Dr. Dark to have entered the vault without me seeing him. I don’t get it!” Mark punched the wall without activating his super strength. He recoiled in pain. His hand hurt.

“Strange. But that means one thing for sure. Dark has super powers. It would be impossible for him to pull off this heist with you here without powers.” Mark glared at Detective Green. Thanks Captain Obvious. Like he didn’t already know that. Times like these he wished he could emote more through his mask.

The soldier feared the darkness after his encounter without Dark. He feared it enough to ram a lightbulb into his own eye. Did he say anything relevant though? The darkness is here. Darkness. Dr. Dark. After another encounter with Dark, Mark was sure he could figure this all out. It would be dangerous trying to fight him without knowing anything about him though. Eh. All good experiments need trial runs. No way to know what he’s up against without some trial and error. He’d have to search out Dark and challenge him to a fight.

Mark left the bank and headed home. No sense looking for him now. Plus his head was still ringing. Over the next week he’d patrol and maybe he’d get lucky and find Dark randomly.

Mark went through his routine of work, home, patrol, for over a week. No signs of Dark. He’d have to try a different tactic. Maybe he could just challenge Dark directly. Leave him a message. That’s brilliant. Mark retired for the night and the next day he went to the paint store. He went down the aisles until he found the spray paint. He grabbed four cans of white spray paint and threw them in a cart. If only he could gain powers through white. That’d be a nice advantage. White would stand out best in the Dark. And it would be an affront to Dark’s name. Mark headed to the checkout stand and received a dirty look from the clerk. Elderly lady. Probably thinking he was going to spray paint someone’s property with graffiti. She wasn’t wrong. But this graffiti was going to be a message to help save the city. Good graffiti. Mark gave the elderly lady a nod and headed out with the cans. He went to the top of a tall building and wrote his message. Dark had to travel along the rooftops too. But, just in case he’d write it on a couple more rooftops. ‘Dr. Dark, come and face me you invisible coward, RM.’ Straightforward and insulting. One-hundred percent should get Dark pissed. Now to wait.

Mark went out the next night ready for a fight. He was rested and pretty sure he was going to get beat down. But whatever, he’d find out what Dr. Dark’s all about. He went to his favorite rooftop atop an insurance building. They had to be insured for super collateral damage. Whoosh. Mark heard a soft landing behind him. He turned around. Clad in an all-black suit looking like Slenderman if he was black instead of white. Even his undershirt was black. It was difficult to see him in the darkness of the night. “I’m going to assume you’re not Sir Bright.” Mark quipped.

“Quite right. I saw your little scribblings. Terrible penmanship. Did no one ever teach you how to vandalize properly?” The man in all black said.

“No, I didn’t go to Criminal U where you get an A for getting away with cheating. Dr. Dark? That’s what you call yourself? Bland.” Mark scoffed.

“I disliked it at first but it really caught on. Now I’m rather fond of it. You know, taking you down was a bit further down my list, but I’ll make do with the adjustment.” Dr. Dark responded. He said everything in such a posh manner. Mark clenched his fists. He was angry.

“Why have you committed the crimes you’ve committed? Stealing weapons, drugs, and money! Murder.” Mark asked in an upset tone.

“It’s none of your business. Maybe after I almost kill you I’ll explain it. Or maybe I won’t. I haven’t decided yet. It will depend on how I’m feeling.” Dr. Dark said. This guy was so blasé about everything. Mark was pissed. He’s right in front of you. You’ve gone through the formalities. Take him down. Mark charged at Dark using his super speed. But in an instant Dark was gone, and Mark went crashing through into nothing. “Super speed? Quaint. Are you like Jay Garrick?” Mark turned around a blasted a fireball at Dark’s feet. Poof. Dark was gone, then he was 15 feet to the left. “And fire expulsion? Peculiar. Nothing original yet.” Mark charged and punched downwards at Dark. He vanished right before Mark hit him. Mark’s fist collided with the rooftop ground. The building shook from the impact. “Super strength as well? My my, seems you have a cavalcade of super powers. Intriguing. Maybe this will be more difficult than anticipated.” Mark was getting angrier by the second. He ran at Dark stopped, side-stepped, and frosted his hand hoping to freeze Dr. Dark. Whoosh. Gone again. “You’ll never hit me. You do realize that? Don’t you? Or are you even duller than I anticipated?” Dark’s taunting was getting under Mark’s skin. He flooded the ground. “Am I supposed to slip? My, you are so desperate it’s starting to get pathetic. If I am to assume right you don’t wear that silly spandex suit for fun. Is it a power source? Are you feeding off of it? Intriguing. Power suit. Or maybe the powers are within you and the suit does something else? Does it activate your hidden power? Come and try to punch me for another five minutes. I’ll figure it out by then.” Mark knew Dr. Dark was goading him, but he couldn’t stop trying to hit him. He was really pissing Mark off. Every time he missed he’d get angrier. After five minutes of punching and hitting nothing Mark wasn’t thinking straight. His rage was beyond reasonable. He was furiously attacking the shadows. “The powers are definitely in you. I’m guessing the suit helps you control them? Tell me if I’m getting closer. Fire punch or freeze punch based on how close I am.” The incessant taunting was starting to break Mark. All Dr. Dark did was vanish. He couldn’t hit him. “I’m getting tired of our little game here. I think I’ll just take you out now.” Mark charged at Dr. Dark again. This time however, Dr. Dark didn’t vanish and reappear on the other side of the roof; he reappeared right behind Mark. With one swift punch he smashed Mark onto the roof ground. The building shook harder than when Mark hit it earlier. Dr. Dark placed his foot on top of Mark’s back. He raised his leg before slamming it down on Mark. The building shook again viciously this time. The roof collapsed from the impact. Dr. Dark left. Mark was under the rooftop rubble down a floor. His back was in furious pain, but it was dulled from him losing consciousness.

Mark opened his eyes barely. The hospital. This place was starting to feel like a second home. Cynthia was in tears next to the bed. He closed his eyes. Dr. Dark. What did he do? All he could remember was a sudden impact, then a cracking, and a lot of dust. And why did his back hurt so much. Later. Now, he was going back to sleep.

Mark reawakened to see Cynthia not in tears. Either time didn’t pass, or he slept for longer than he thought. It was still the same brightness as the last time he woke up. Time. Who knows how much of that passed? Work! He needs to get to work! But the pain. Too much pain. He’ll just say he got into a motorcycle accident. But you don’t drive a motorcycle? Exactly. He tried it and failed more miserably than he’d hoped. No more riding motorcycles for him. Yeah, they’ll believe that he crashed and failed horribly on a motorcycle. He’s not the type of guy to ride a motorcycle and not crash. Well, that’s taken care of. Now for the big issue, besides his insane back pain, Dr. Dark. He was more terrifying than Mark could have imagined. He couldn’t hit him at all. He just vanished whenever he tried to hit him. And as soon as he got bored of taunting him, he broke him through a roof and left. Worst part was that all Mark learned was that he was overmatched in every way against this guy. How was he supposed to beat someone who can vanish and hit like a semi-truck? He never tried constricting him. Maybe that would work. Or freezing the ground. He could always try burning everything within a mile radius? Not a good plan. He even outspeeded Mark’s super speed. He needed to find out how he vanished. But without the side effects of getting broken enough to be in a hospital again. That was out of the question. He should probably talk to Cynthia. Tell her he’s awake and okay, to a degree. Mark opened his mouth to speak. The pain in his back jolted. He closed his mouth back up. No movement of the back. Too painful. Maybe in another couple of days. Accelerated healing can’t happen quickly enough (even though it allowed him to live getting crushed through a rooftop).

He woke up a couple of days later and opened his mouth. Good, no immediate back pain. “Cynthia” Mark uttered softly. Still kind of hurts to speak.

“MARK!” Cynthia ran over to the bed. “YOU’RE ALIVE AND AWAKE!” Cynthia lightly hugged Mark.

“H-How long has it been?” Mark stuttered out.

“Two months. The doctors expect you to fully recover in another four to six months, but we both know you should be okay in another couple of weeks or at most a month.” Cynthia responded. She sounded less worried now. Almost cocky. Heh. Cocky about recovering twice as fast as normal people.

“Hey, Batman did it in five months, and I think I’m a little more super than him. Just a little.” Mark chuckled. Chuckling hurt. What he really needed were some pain pills, then he could get back out there and find out more on Dr. Dark. There had to be something on him. He couldn’t be a complete unknown. Kind of funny how Dark said ‘almost kill him’ and he did just that. At least he’s a supervillain who’s true to his word. Heh. Ow. Mark needed sleep. Nighty night Cynthia. He passed out.

Mark was broken one floor beneath the top of his favorite insurance building. He was unconscious. He wasn’t moving anytime soon. Dr. Dark had just given him the most thorough beating of his life in just two blows. He would be in major pain if it hadn’t forced him to black out already. It was the middle of the night, no one would find him until the morning. Except, someone did. Mark’s almost lifeless body was picked up and carried. The mystery helper carried Mark in full garb all the way to the hospital. He took the suit off of Mark and dumped it in the nearest trash can. The mystery helper placed Mark inside of an empty ambulance then sounded the alarm inside the truck. Medics rushed out to check the noise. They spotted the man in only his underwear inside the back of the noise creating ambulance. They rushed him into the ER and began looking at him right away. One of the nurses recognized Mark’s face and called the only person he had on file, Cynthia. Cynthia got the news in a horror, and hurried to the hospital. They explained to her that his back was broken but he was still breathing. Recovery should be possible in six to eight months. She cried a little.

Mark woke up and got out of bed. His back still hurt like a bitch. Probably would for a while. He went wandering for his street clothes. “You weren’t wearing any clothes sir.” A nurse told him when he asked where his clothes were. That’s right! He was wearing his super suit! That could have been bad. Damn! He’d have to make another super suit. Probably should make a few. Something tells him that this won’t be the only time he’s rushed to hospital or he loses a suit. Maybe upgrade the suit? Nah, not yet. He’s not creative enough to upgrade it. Cynthia is a better seamstress than him. She could probably make it. Maybe he’ll add a logo? He’ll think about it.

For now he has to get back to work. He went home and got his things and left for work. He entered the front lobby. Lucy smiled and waved him over. He was happy to see her welcoming face. He missed being at work. Lucy got up from her desk and walked over towards mark. “Mark! Oh my goodness gracious! How are you? I heard you got in a big accident! I was so worried! So happy you’re all tippity top shape now!” Lucy gave Mark a big hug. He felt awkward. He gave her a thank you and headed up the elevator. “Wait! Mr. Nocturne wanted to see you when you decided you were ready to come back.” Mark knew this would happen. Of course the boss if worried. He missed over two months in recovery. The elevator ride was as long and as suspense building as ever. He reached the top floor and like always it was pitch black. Mr. Nocturne waved him in.

“Mark my boy! I’m dreadfully sorry about your injury! What was it again? Something with motorbikes?” Mr. Nocturne asked.

“Yeah, I was riding a motorcycle for the first time. It didn’t go too well. Guess I’m not much of an athlete.” Mark replied nervously.

“What happened precisely?” Mr. Nocturne questioned.

“I fell off the motorcycle and crashed at high speed. When I landed the motorcycle crushed my back. Partially broke it.”

“Oh my. Well I’m glad you are alright now. That could have been a very serious injury. Most men would be hospitalized for longer. Or they could become paraplegic.” Mr. Nocturne replied. Mark was suspicious. The way Mr. Nocturne was talking concerned him. He was questioning the motorcycle accident story. But why? What did it do for Mr. Nocturne to question his story? He’d have to look into that. After he found out how to defeat Dr. Dark. The name had to mean something. He isn’t called Dr. Dark for nothing. There has to be a reason. What happened during their fight? He constantly vanished. How? He vanished and could hit like a truck. Dr. Dark. Vanishing. He’s powered by the dark! Their fight, was during the middle of the night. He committed the first crime at night. He robbed the drug store at night. He snuck up on him at night in the bank vault. He hasn’t done anything during the daylight hours.

That was his advantage over Dr. Dark. He would need to challenge Dark to a fight during the day. But how would he do that? Dr. Dark would never accept a fight challenge during the day. He could fight him at dawn? But he probably wouldn’t accept that fight either. He would need to fight him very late into the night and try to extend the fight into the day time. He would need to survive a fight and keep Dr. Dark intrigued enough for a couple of hours until the sun came up. A couple hours of trying to survive a fight against a man who ended the fight in two blows the last time. Impossible. There is no way that he could fight Dr. Dark for multiple hours. Maybe he could challenge Dr. Dark, run away, and play chicken until dawn at which point he could restrain Dr. Dark. That could work. But he can travel through the shadows; Mark would never get away. Artificial light! If he could lead Dr. Dark to Spectral Stadium then rig the lights to come on, maybe he could fight Dr. Dark on a more even ground. If he couldn’t beat Dark on the more even plane, he could stall easier with the artificial light weakening Dark. He’d need to set up even more lights just to be sure that Dr. Dark would be stopped by the light.

Mark loved having a plan. Now that that was taken care of, Mr. Nocturne. What did he gain by questioning Mark so heavily on his accident? He clearly was injured. Why did Mr. Nocturne want to know how Mark sustained the injury? It’s not insurance fraud because he actually did partially break his back. What good did he have in finding out what Mark did? After work he’d investigate. For now he’d get back to work on recreating his light machine. The concept was still sound, except for this time Hector couldn’t secretly sabotage it. Transferring properties through the visible light spectrum. Mark got all giddy. He loved that the thing he wanted to leave as his legacy was still going to be a reality. Now he’d have two legacies. One as Mark Radley, genius inventor, and the other as Rainbow Man, resident superhero of Spectral City. He wasn’t sure yet if he’d ever get credit for that second one though. Oh well, this machine would be all the credit he’d ever need.

After a long day working on his machine Mark looked like he’d head home. He did the same going home routine except for one thing: he didn’t go home. He got in his car and waited around the corner. He was waiting for Mr. Nocturne. Something wasn’t right about him. And City Hall in Dardusk City wouldn’t have the right information he was looking for. Or would it? He’d check that out later. For now, he was going to tail Mr. Nocturne to better understand why his mysterious boss was questioning his injury. Maybe he’s just inquisitive Mark? His tone wasn’t one of the inquisitive type earlier during what felt like an interrogation. Mark made sure to stay a couple of car lengths behind Mr. Nocturne. He never noticed Mr. Nocturne’s car before. It was a Jaguar. Nice fancy car for the head of a company. Makes sense. But he wasn’t British, eh, non-British people drive Jaguars. Mr. Nocturne drove for a bit until he reached his house, it was extremely large. They were just outside of Spectral City proper. There’s a gate. Damn, tail ends here. Better turn around before he sees you. Mark turned around fearing the quick U-turn by Mr. Nocturne. Tailing him got nowhere. He’d have to follow up on that City Hall in Dardusk idea. He’d do it tomorrow, for today he’d enjoy a partial victory sleep for his plan to stop Dark. Mark drove home and went to bed early.

After work the next day, Mark put his things in his car and grabbed his yellow wristband. Why drive to Dardusk when running is faster? He took off. Dardusk was a good deal away from Spectral City. It only makes sense since Dardusk is almost as large as Spectral City. Can’t have two big cities right next to each other. He entered the City Hall building and approached the front desk. “I’d like to see all public records of one Nathaniel Nocturne.” Mark asked the front office attendant. He didn’t look too happy but went to the back to retrieve them. He got the records and Mark frowned. The stack was barely anything. He said thank you and left. Outside of the building he looked at the two papers. One birth certificate and one paper talking about Nocturne Industries. Maybe the local news outlet? Mark jogged over to the Dardusk Daily office. “Hey there, I am a fellow lover of the written word and am looking to write a piece for the Light House, Spectral City’s paper, mind helping me out?” Mark asked to the first reporter he saw. She gave him the look. She knew he was lying but decided to play along with it.

“Looking to write something about the new terror I’ve heard about over there? Dr. Dark. Did you know we used to have a shady ghost story going on in Dardusk City? Dawn Richards, reporter.” The lady said to him.

“Oh really? Shady ghost stories are my favorite kind of ghost stories.” Mark replied. This could be going somewhere.

“Yeah, lots of hearsay, no hard proof of anything. Well, all except the supposed victims of the ghost. They all shared the same fear of the dark after their encounter with the shady character. But, there was no proof to back up anything, so it became a ghost story. We haven’t had an incident in months. I used to be a firm believer in the story, but now, now I’m a skeptic just like the rest of them.” Ms. Richards explained.

“Would you happen to have any stories that you’ve written on this shady ghost story? That’s exactly the feel I want to give off with my Dr. Dark story. Shady ghost in the night, lurking.” Dawn went to the back and grabbed a pile of newspapers. She folded them up and handed them over to Mark.

“This is every story written about the shady ghost story case. Hope it helps you future writer.” She smiled and waved Mark out. Mark went to the nearest store and bought a backpack. Should have brought a backpack with him. He put the papers in the bag, zipped it up, and took off.

All of the information he had right now was: Dr. Dark has the power to vanish, and can cause serious injury in just a couple of hits. Dr. Dark must be powered by the darkness. Nathaniel Nocturne, a former resident of Dardusk City, questioned how he got his injuries that were sustained by Dr. Dark. His tone didn’t fit concerned, more like he was trying to deduce something. Dardusk City used to have a shady ghost story character who caused people to fear the darkness after their encounter with it. That account, which is recorded in detail in the paper stories, sounds eerily similar to how the soldier acted after his encounter with Dr. Dark. Leading him to believe that Dr. Dark must have taken previous residency in Dardusk City. The strangest part and key tie to all of the information is that the shady ghost stories stopped happenings months ago. Nathaniel Nocturne has only been in Spectral City for approximately seven months. The last recorded paper story of a victim of the shady ghost character was eight months ago. Right before Nocturne left for Spectral City. The main question he had now was why did he leave Dardusk City? No one there defeated him. No answer to that. But he did have great and terrible news. Nathaniel Nocturne was more than likely Dr. Dark. His boss is the villain he’s been trying to stop. Ironic. At least now he knows who Dr. Dark is. Now it’ll be easier to get Dark into his trap. But now he had to not let Dark know he knew his secret identity. That was going to be hard.

The next day, Mark shared his idea with Cynthia. She was shocked to say the least. She couldn’t believe that the elusive Nathaniel Nocturne was Dr. Dark. It didn’t seem possible. Especially since he was Mark’s boss. And he was so friendly towards Mark! What does he have to gain from being Dr. Dark? She repeated throughout their conversation. Mark didn’t know that yet but he figured it out, he would have closure. He didn’t need any reason to take Dark down more than he was a criminal, a criminal who thought he could escape the hands of the law.

Mark went to work in fear of talking with Mr. Nocturne. If they were face to face, would he be able to keep his cool? Could he really face Dark at any moment? He wasn’t ready. Maybe working on his machine would help ease his mind off the whole my boss is also a supervillain thing. He spent the day tinkering away at his machine trying to remember how he built it the first time. It was such a meticulous job, one wrong move could have potentially disastrous consequences.

After work, Mark put on his Rainbow Man suit and went to the hardware store. He needed to buy industrial lights and lots of them for his plan to work. It probably wasn’t the best idea to be dressed in costume at the store. Oh well, people would just think he’s a fanatic. After some looking, Mark found the industrial lighting. He grabbed as many as would fit in five shopping carts. At checkout he once again received a dirty look from the clerk. This lady must really hate her job. Mark payed the hefty price and loaded the lights into his car. They didn’t all fit so he called Cynthia. The two of them drove to the Spectral Stadium home of the Lightning Bolts. They strategically placed the lights all around the stadium. Mark’s main fear was that the power would surge and cause a blackout, giving Dark the clear advantage. But he prepared for that. In addition to the power of the football stadium, Mark was high jacking power from the baseball stadium right next to it. Everything he needed for his plan to stop Dr. Dark was ready. All he needed to do now was get Dark here. Oh boy.

Mark bided his time working on his machine until the thing that he knew was going to happen, happened. A note came for him. It read go up to Mr. Nocturne’s office. He was ready. His costume was on underneath his street clothes, his mask was in his pocket, nothing to do know but play a little cat and mouse with a very dangerous cat. The long elevator ride felt even longer now. If his plan didn’t work, he was going to die. Dr. Dark would kill him this time for sure. He broke him last time, most likely as a warning blow. Mark shivered. He was afraid.

Mark stepped off the elevator towards the ultra-dark lair of Mr. Nocturne. The sun was setting quickly. Night quickly approached. Perfect for Dark. Mark stood outside of Mr. Nocturne’s office, waiting for his wave in. He approached the visitor’s chair and took a seat. Mr. Nocturne sat in his usual seat of power. “My good boy lovely to see you again. How have you been? Recovered fully I hope.” Mr. Nocturne said.

“I’m feeling just fine. In fact, I feel perfect.” Mark said with a grin. The two exchanged looks. He knew. He knew Mark was Rainbow Man just as Mark knew he was Dr. Dark. He also knew that Mark knew all this.

“Perfect! Wouldn’t want you to be broken for too long now would we? That’s not potential vice president material.”

Mark turned his head. “Vice President?”

“I never repeat myself Mark. I want to make you my vice president. At least, if you accept your new position. Of course this will be a job in title only. You’ll still work the same job as you do now. Science. Did you know I used to be a scientist? I even have my doctorate. If I really wanted, I could be called Dr. Nocturne.” He gave Mark a look. Mark winced.

“Really? Tell me more.” Mark said waiting for the moment to strike.

“Well, I was really into one thing in particular, the dark. Its potential filled me with joy. So much potential good out of something that’s associated with evil. I saw this as my opportunity. I already had a company that made lots of money so I funded my own research into harnessing the power of darkness. I created a machine that could capture darkness out of wherever it was. I tested it out in a room with no lights. I turned the machine on and almost instantaneously the room became light again. All of the lights were still off. My machine could absorb darkness. That part worked. What didn’t work however, was the conversion part. I hadn’t quite gotten all the bugs out and while in the process of converting, my machine exploded. I woke up in my lab several hours later. I feared the worst. I feared that I may have been vegetablized and what I was seeing was all just a dream. But it wasn’t a dream. It was a nightmare. I didn’t turn out to be a vegetable, but I became something worse. My hands weren’t connected to anything; I couldn’t see my arms. What I didn’t realize at the time was that I was wearing a black undershirt that extended all the way to my wrists. In the darkness I vanished. In my fear I grew enraged and punched the wall. The wall broke down. I didn’t know what exactly had happened, but I became a monster. I was a monster, but I could still help people. I tried. But they feared me. They didn’t understand my gifts that made me superior; they all made me so angry. One man made me so angry I decided to just snap his neck. It was a split second decision, one of those moments when you look back on and think would I do this again? I snapped his neck and I felt great. In fact, I felt so great that I decided I would do more stuff we’re all told not to do. I said screw it and did it. And you know what? I enjoyed it. I enjoyed my time in Dardusk City. That is until I heard of the Rainbow Man. A man who in a rainbow morph suit was saving the Spectral City from whatever came about. I had to see this for myself, so I moved. I uprooted my company and we moved to Spectral City. What I heard amazed me. What I heard underground was even better. I heard fear underground. Criminals feared the justice of the Rainbow Man. I saw these cowering little rodents and thought if I defeat the Rainbow Man I’ll rule over all the criminals as the one who defeated their biggest threat. But in order to do that, I needed to do some favors for them. Basic stuff: guns, drugs, money. Money, now that one was fun. I decided the Spectral Bank would be the obvious and easiest place to rob. And here comes the best part, I snuck into the bank, unseen, as I do in the dark, and saw Rainbow guarding the money. He thought he could stop me! Hilarious! So I walked straight up to him, scoffed, and hit him in the back of the head. He was unconscious! In one hit! I walked out with all the money, taking out any pesky guards along the way. I don’t think he really appreciated it though, since he wrote me little notes sometime after. I thought, despite his terrible penmanship, I would humor him and say hello. He was on my list anyways. All he did was move my timetable up. Nothing too big, but it was a slight annoyance. I wanted to do more crime first, build a bigger reputation. Alas, I decided to meet him atop a rooftop. He tried so very hard to hit me. It was a fruitless effort, since I am much faster than he is.”

“He never made contact?” Mark asked.

“Not once. I’m sure he thought he was making contact and that I was just intangible; however, he would be mistaken. The darkness does me many things, intangibility is not one of them. Just seemingly perfect invisibility. When he attempted to attack me, even with super speed, I just dodged and moved to a different point on the rooftop. I wanted him to know that he couldn’t land a single blow, all the while, I was scouting him out. All I knew were fables from scared criminals. I needed the firsthand experience. When I was done, I crushed him. Left him for dead. Didn’t care if he got up. I was done fighting. I knew at the very least he was broken beyond immediate repair. Most likely he would be out of commission for a while. Funny thing was, you didn’t come into work the next day. I didn’t take you for a slouch. Then Mark, when you came into my office a week ago with that story, it confirmed my suspicions. I must say, I’m surprised the man I was looking for was right under my nose the whole time. Ironic. I employed the one person I needed in my plan for power. And here I was thinking I hired you for being a scientific genius! Funny how things work out isn’t it? Now then, the sun is down. How would you like your death? Quick with only a few strikes? Or are you going to drag this out?” Dr. Nocturne politely asked.

Mark gulped. This was it. Plan in motion. Just need to get out of the building. No way could he take the elevator. And they didn’t have stair up this high. Only one option left. “I think I’ll take air service please.” Mark said. Dr. Nocturne looked confused. Mark sprang right at Nocturne. He dodged. Perfect. Mark waved goodbye as he shot through the window. Well, that worked. Now for the fall. Eight hundred plus feet straight down. Not the best plan. But, it was the only plan. So I guess also the best? Maybe if he timed it right, he could jump right when he landed, use the impact in his spring back up. It was the only thing that would absorb all that force. He needed to time it right or die. He loved how he always got into situations like these. First things first, mask, he grabbed his mask from his pocket and slipped it on. The ground was getting closer by the second. Mark shifted his body position and prepared to jump. He hit the ground and sprung. Losing momentum was not going to be easy. Plus, where was Dark? He left him behind thinking he’d catch up, but Mark didn’t see him. Mark prepared for another landing, this time on top of a smaller building, hopefully not as much spring. He bounced. Almost out of spring. Good. Landing won’t be so hard the next time. Mark prepped his final landing. As he hit the ground, he flew backwards. What was that!? He looked back to where he was. There was Dr. Dark. He caught up! Already!? Wait, did he just punch him as he was about to land? Dick! Mark didn’t have much time to be angry because he collided with a building. Mark braced his head with his hands. He concentrated and bounced off the building.

Even with that setback, not too far away from the stadium. Time to run. Dr. Dark may be faster than him, but that wouldn’t matter if he could just get to the stadium. The stadium would be his equalizer, if he didn’t take too many hits. Mark kept his eyes open for Dark. Speak of the devil. Dr. Dark, in full costume was right behind Mark. Just a few more blocks to sanctuary. Mark needed to be erratic. Instead of running in a straight line, Mark ran to the side of the building. He got to the building ran half way up before back flipping back down to the street. Dr. Dark was on top of the building trying to cutoff Mark. Mark waved goodbye before dashing towards the stadium. Taunting would definitely help infuriate Dark. Mark ran past the gate and stopped at the fifty-yard line. He was right on the lightning bolt logo. Perfect spot. Dr. Dark came whizzing in. “You’ve stopped running. Realized that this chase is pointless? I applaud your realization; however, for forcing me to chase you this is going to be extremely painful.” Dr. Dark said eagerly waiting for a response.

“And Rainbow Man said, ‘Let there be light’.” Mark quipped. Dark was confused. Mark stepped down hard on the lightning bolt. Flick. All of the stadium lights turned on. He stomped again. Flick. All of his back up lights came on. There wasn’t an inch of darkness to be found inside the stadium. Dr. Dark was stunned. Mark knew this would be his best chance. He reared back and launched a punch. Dr. Dark was still shocked about the overwhelming brightness, he didn’t dodge. Dark flew back hitting the ground hard. He got up.

“So, you think you can beat me by taking away my darkness? Clever boy. I knew I liked you for a reason. I chose a splendid nemesis.” Dr. Dark said. After he finished speaking he didn’t wait for Mark to respond, he just attacked. Mark put his arms up to stop the assault. Even without the darkness, Dark was a fearsome opponent. He struck with such anger and ferocity. Mark didn’t think he could block for much longer. He dropped backwards and swept out Dark’s legs. Dark hit the ground. Mark reverse bounced back up going on the offensive. He fired up his fist and brought it down hard. Dark rolled to evade. The field was black beneath his fist. He struck at the continuously rolling Dark. This wasn’t working. Mark stopped punching and instead froze his hands. Dr. Dark jumped back up, but Mark was ready and froze Dark’s feet. This only seemed to anger Dark. Dark kicked at Mark and broke the ice boot on Mark’s stomach. That backfired. Hurt. Dr. Dark flung a roundhouse at Mark as he fumbled backwards. He connected the kick with Mark’s face. Mark hit the ground hard. He wasn’t hitting as hard as in the dark, but Mark was still pretty sure that kick broke his jaw. He needed to end this here. Mark got up and got into a boxing stance. Dark chuckled. He charged at Mark before dropping a spin kick. Mark jumped and retaliated with a super punch straight down. He hit Dark’s right leg. He heard a snap. Good. He deserved a couple of bad injuries before going to jail. “Guess you’re not such a pushover after all. Good.” Dark said after the hit. Mark was not going to let Dark off with just a broken leg. He broke Mark’s back. He needed at least a few more bruises. Mark pummeled into Dr. Dark’s chest. Dark was in severe pain but he still managed to elbow Mark roughly in the back. Dr. Dark collapsed. Mark spat to the side. He constrained Dark with his purple power and sat down. He called Detective Green to come pick up Dr. Dark at the football stadium before collapsing.

Dr. Dark was placed in a constantly lite cell specially made for him. It was right next to Hector King’s bright white padded cell. Nothing either of them could do with that. They were too dangerous of criminals to be let out walking, so they got their food brought to them three times a day. Dr. Dark would have to learn how to sleep with the light on from now on. Detective Green put Rainbow Man in her car when she picked up Dr. Dark. She took him back to the police station not knowing where to leave him.

Mark woke up and smiled through the mask. We did it, he stuttered out. His jaw was going to feel like shit for at least a week. Nobody breaks Rainbow Man’s back and walks free. Hope he rots in prison. Mark proved once again that no matter who decides to threaten Spectral City, Rainbow Man will stop them.