Back at the park where he and his friends made their meet-up spot, Conner was spending his Saturday evening eating lunch with John and Lana. With their meals finished, the three were on their way to grab desserts.

After waiting through a line of kids, their parents, and other teenagers, the trio reached the park’s ice cream truck.

“Hey, if it ain’t my favorite full-grown half pints. How you all doing? The usual for each of you?” Franky, the ice cream man, asked Conner, John, and Lana.

|X|

Conner and his friend group had known Franky since they started coming to this park in middle school, and he had always been welcoming and kind to them and the rest of his customers. By now, he was middle-aged, about five or so years older than their parents.

|X|

Smirking, Conner took out a twenty and said, “Thanks, Frankie. That sounds good. And we’re alright. How about you?”

Handing Conner a scoop of chocolate/vanilla swirl in a waffle cone, Franky told him, “Eh, just living one day at a time, kid. Same as most others.”

As Lana was handed her blue raspberry ice pop, she added, “I hear that. With Carl and Will gone, everything’s getting to be more of a drag to get through.”

“Oh yeah, good ol’ Bleach. What’s it been now? Two years?” Franky asked as he handed John his bowl of green tea ice cream.

Taking his treat, John answered melancholically, “Just about. Fortunately, Conner and I’ve been saving up money from our part-time jobs. And Will’s adding to the pool with his military pay. If things go well, we should have enough to pay his bail by the end of next month.”

Genuinely surprised, Franky exclaimed, “Really now?! Well, darn, that’s some good money management on your parts. Shoot, Bleach is surely blessed to have friends like you guys!”

Taking a lick of his ice cream, Conner swallowed, smiled melancholically, and said, “Heh... Hey, what else is family for?”

Smiling brightly at Conner’s remark, Franky told him, “Darn straight, Conner. You’ve really gotten your head on straight these past couple years.”

“You think so?” Conner asked with genuine appreciation.

“Uh-huh. Your security work has given ya focus and drive. You were always so… I dunno, less out there when you were a runt,” Frankie explained.

While Franky praised Conner, John raised his eyebrows before seeming contemplative.

“Huh… I hadn’t thought about that. Thanks, Fr-,” Conner started to reply before being cut off.

“Hey, there’s still a line behind you!” A mother with two kids snapped at Conner and his friends.

Flinching at the verbal lash, Conner quickly stepped aside and said, “Sorry, sorry! I’ll see you later, Franky.”

“Bu-bye, Franky!” Lana exclaimed while stepping away with Conner.

“Have a good day, Franky,” John told the ice cream man half-heartedly while following his friends.

“Good luck, half pints!” Franky called out to them before turning his attention to the mom and her kids.

Quickly finding a place under a tree in a more isolated section of the park to sit, Conner and his friends dug into their frosty treats.

Once he was done with most of his ice cream, John spoke up, “So… I know I wasn’t able to help you with your last project, Conner… But I guess it still worked out in the end.”

Picking up on John’s meaning as he chewed up his waffle cone, Conner swallowed and replied, “Oh… Well, yeah. Sorry, I guess, but I was short on time, and you weren’t available.”

Crunching on her ice pop and flinching at the brain freeze, Lana asked, “Wait, are you- erg- talking about the… the… Uh, the thing with the bridge?”

His eyes widening, Conner quickly shifted his gaze around their surroundings and took a breath before answering, “Yes, but… Don’t just say that stuff out loud without making sure it’s safe first.”

“I did,” Lana lied. “I just don’t get why you’re saying sorry.”

“Because we’re supposed to be partners,” John answered indignantly as he set his styrofoam cup on the ground.

Without warning, Lana poked John in his face with the end of her ice pop wrapper and told him, “We were in class. And Conner had to rush out without telling anyone. And he saved a ton of people.”

Embarrassed, John tried to reply, “But… Erm…”

As John looked to Conner for support, Lana told him with a smarmy smirk, “Seriously. Someone as smart as you should’ve picked up on that.”

Glancing between Lana and John as the latter tried to devise a defense for himself, Conner eventually gave John a look that told him Lana was right.

Sighing in defeat, John picked up his bowl, stood up, and said, “Alright… Well, sorry then… I’m gonna throw this away, but there is actually something else important I need to tell you when I get back.”

“Oh, can you take my wrapper too?” Lana asked while holding her garbage up for John to take.

“Sure,” John replied as he put the wrapper in his bowl.

“Thanks!” Lana replied sweetly.

“No problem.”

While John walked toward the nearest garbage can, Lana scooched closer to Conner and asked him, “So… New topic. Are you planning on telling Carl and Will about your powers when they get home?”

A bit puzzled, Conner asked back, “Yeeeaaah? Why?”

|X|

Since Conner had gained his powers after Will joined the Marines and Carl was sent to Juvi, he hadn’t found a good time to tell either of them he’d become the Shining Darkness. As for Lana and his immediate relatives, Conner informed them within a month of obtaining his powers.

With William, he hadn’t come home aside from a brief visit after finishing boot camp. Conner hadn’t had a moment alone with Will at the time, and he didn’t feel comfortable talking about secretive topics over the phone.

When it came to Carl, similar to his feelings about phone calls, Conner didn’t feel comfortable bringing up his powers during a visit to Juvi. He had told Carl that he was working out a new angle that was paying more, but he couldn’t go into specifics while there.

Carl wasn’t pleased about being kept out of the loop initially but relaxed when he learned how much this would expedite his sentence.

|X|

Relaxing her posture, Lana told Conner, “It’s just been annoying not being able to talk about it with them.”

With a depressed chuckle, Conner replied, “Heh… Yeah, trust me. I know… But it’s necessary.”

“Right. For your safety and all that stuff,” Lana replied as she looked up at Conner.

Patting Lana’s shoulder, Conner explained quietly, “Hey, I’m the one who can walk through gunfire. I don’t care much about me getting in danger. It’s more about keeping everyone else safe.”

Moving with Conner’s gentle pat, Lana leaned her head against his shoulder and told him, “Hey, I care about your safety.”

Blushing slightly, Conner smiled at her and said, “Heh. I appreciate that.”

“Jeeze, guys. I was gone for two seconds. Get a hold of yourselves and wait till you’re actually alone,” John exclaimed as he trudged back toward them with a purposefully slow gate.

Sitting up while pushing Conner back slightly, Lana made an attempt at yawning and said, “Oh, sorry, John. I just started falling asleep out of nowhere.”

“Totally… And I didn’t think it’d be comfortable to leave her on the ground,” Conner added jokingly.

Giving the two an amused grimace, John replied, “Riiight… So, can we talk about the thing I mentioned?”

Sitting up straight, Conner answered, “Yeah. What’s up?”

“Not more complaining, right?” Lana joked.

“No! I’m trying to help here,” John told her insistently while pulling out his phone.

|X|

Conner and Flint had been worried about John using his regular phone in Mask business. However, the tech head fixed that problem when he revealed he’d rewired his phone to make it untraceable and immune to viruses.

Soon after, John did the same for Flint and Conner. As such, Conner had considered using this boon to tell William the truth, but the fact that outsiders could still be listening in from Will’s end of the line killed this idea out the gate.

Scrolling through his phone notes, John said, “Have you guys noticed that there’s a lot less families in the park recently?”

Scanning through his photographed memories while Lana looked around the park, Conner said, “I… Huh. Now that you mention it, there’s less than half the normal amount here today.”

“Yeah… Franky’s line was a lot shorter today. I just assumed we got lucky with our timing,” Lana added while staring in the ice cream truck’s direction.

Standing up to speak with John at eye level, Conner asked, “I assume you’re about to tell us what’s up with that? Does it have anything to do with those Illuminati guys I theorized on?”

Frowning, John replied grimly, “Er, no… I don’t think it has anything to do with our secret big bads. But the shorter line is relevant… Well, it’s something you’re gonna wanna hear, but it’s nothing good.”

Hopping up, Lana remarked with hesitant humor, “Ominous.”

“Yeah, um… So, I spent the last couple days looking into whatever crimes are still happening in Miracle City because… Well, just because… Anyway, apparently, a kid went missing in this park a few days ago,” John explained hesitantly.

Putting his hands in his pockets, Conner inquired, “A missing kid…? I guess I could help look for them. It shouldn’t take me long if I can see a picture of them.”

Shaking his head, John explained, “No, it’s… It’s not just that. She was just… She was the only kid that was reported missing.”

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With this info, Conner thought he had an idea of what John was implying but still chose to ask, “What are you getting at?”

Clearly uncomfortable, John stuttered out, “I… Uh… Okay, this is harder than I thought it’d be.”

Eager and irritated, Lana stated, “Come on! If it’s important, spill it already!”

Raising his brow, John withdrew from himself slightly and said, “You… Yeah, okay. So, I hacked into the school systems in this area and looked for any kids in grades K through 5th who just stopped showing up without explanation. Excluding kids who got sick, I think somewhere from five to eight kids have gone missing here over the past three months… If I had to guess, they were kidnapped.”

“Huh… But why…?” Conner asked with bewildered horror.

Tilting her head involuntarily, Lana asked, “Wait. Why haven’t the other kids been reported missing? And why haven’t there been any Amber Alerts for any of ‘em?”

With a mixture of sorrow and anger spreading on his face, John answered, “On the easier part, Jericho told me an Amber Alert is gonna be issued tomorrow. The police weren’t sure it was a kidnapping until now. But for all the other kids… The school files explained that, too. A few teachers tried talking to the parents, but they were super evasive. If I had to guess, if someone’s really taking kids, then they’re targeting kids who… who won’t be missed by their parents.”

Once he heard John’s hypothesis, Conner wasn’t sure how to describe his feelings other than sheer rage. Pulling his hand from his pockets, Conner clenched his fists as his face showed no sign of emotion other than the flash of white in his eyes.

“Oh… Oh, now I’m mad…” Taking a few deep breaths as he processed his emotions, Conner asked, “Are you gonna make things easy for our glowing buddy and tell me you know where they are?”

“Sorry, no,” John answered regretfully. “All I know is that all the kids who went missing went to schools near this park, and-.”

“And so they probably got taken around here,” Conner cut in as he started scanning his surroundings.

While Conner rapidly shifted his gaze, Lana asked, “Wait. Wouldn’t that detective lady you work with tell you about this stuff if it was happening?”

“Nah. That’s not necessarily how things work with Masks and cops,” John explained. “Jericho’s only ever contacted us first if there’s a raid to take part in. Investigations are her foray.”

“Oh… So, what are-?”

“But this is different,” Conner cut in, having finished his survey. “We’ll work with Jericho and her forces, but John and I are getting in on this too. With my powers and his brains, finding these kids should take no time.”

A bit surprised, John replied, “Really? We’re really going to-...? Er, okay. So, do you have a plan then?”

Gesturing with his face, Shining Darkness explained, “If we’re really dealing with a kidnapper, then it sounds like he’d need to be able to watch the park and stalk kids to figure out which ones have neglectful parents. I examined the park and all the surrounding buildings and found the best potential places for that. I’ll have you pull up files on these buildings to figure out which ones are the easiest to get into. As for the park itself… The only inconspicuous place is Franky’s ice cream truck.”

“What?! No way!” Lana yelled unintentionally.

“Lana, quiet,” Conner hissed at his friend, taking her off guard.

Realizing her mistake, Lana jerked back, noticed a few people were glancing at them, and whispered meekly, “Sorry...”

After waiting for the few eyes Lana’s outburst caught to move on, Conner told her, “It’s alright… And I’m sorry, too. I don’t think Franky’s the guy, but Death Head always taught me not to let personal feelings get in my way. I can’t rule stuff out just because I like someone.”

Frowning, Lana replied, “Mmmrrr. I still don’t like it, but… This is your job, not mine...”

Waving his hand between his friends, startling them as they turned to look back at him, John said, “Hey, back on topic. So, I’m assuming you’ll move out to investigate these places once I’ve got the info you need. What then?”

“Yeee… Er, actually, first, I’ll need info on these kids. Can you get me anything?” Conner asked as he started visibly thinking harder.

Shrugging, John answered, “Well, probably. I can get their pictures from the school networks, at least.”

“Good, good…,” Conner replied as he squeezed his chin.

Pulling his hand away from his face, Conner asked another question, “Say, would you or Jericho be able to get the address for the most recent kid’s parents?”

“Jericho? Probably. Myself? Definitely... Why?” John answered with some not-so-subtle ego.

Cracking his neck to relieve a bit of stress, Conner answered, “Because if they cared enough to file a report, then they’d likely be willing to answer any questions I have, too.”

|XXX|

Dan and Jessie were a couple married straight out of college. They’d been happily together for ten years, living out of one of the more decent apartments in Miracle City, and the two even had a daughter, Janet, who’d be five years old by now.

However, neither of these parents had been able to find the calm needed for sleep for the past three days. After all, what loving parent could ever hope to sleep when their child has gone missing?

Ever since the Shining Darkness had cleaned up most crime in Miracle City, Dan and Jessie felt more comfortable and safe. In fact, they felt safe enough to allow Janet to play in the local park unsupervised. However, after leaving Janet at the merry-go-round while they went to get ice cream for her and themselves, they returned only to be greeted by their child’s absence.

In the days that followed, Dan would file a missing child’s report with the police. While her husband worked with law enforcement, Jessie would reach out to her local community by making and putting up missing posters around their neighborhood.

|X|

While Dan spoke on the phone with the police, Jessie clutched her cross and watched the news with glassed-over eyes, praying for any mention of her baby.

His hands shaking from exhaustion, Dan spoke into his phone, “Alright. And you’ll announce the-? Yes, I know. I just-. Okay, thank you, officer. I-...” Sighing, Dan finished, “He hung up.”

Clenching her cross nearly hard enough to crush it, Jessie scoffed, “Oh, of course, they did. The cops in this city are useless.”

“Hey, come on, the reforms the Assistant Mayor’s put in place have made all that better,” Dan insisted defensively.

Slamming her cross on the couch, Jessie stated, “That policy only went through a couple months ago! Are you really dumb enough to think that’s enough time to fix a nest of pigs?!”

“Hey! Don’t call me stupid…! The only stupid thing either of us did was trusting that Super Mask would keep us safe!”

“You can’t blame the Shining Darkness for this.” Jessie’s legs and voice quivered as she spoke. “Losing Janet was our fault for being-.”

“Don’t say that!” Dan exclaimed with bloodshot eyes. “We love her! We’d never let anything hurt her! I’d die to get her home safely!” As Dan yelled, he heard a sound like whooshing air as his wife stared at him in shock and horror.

Guilt immediately eating away at his heart, Dan tried to speak as patiently as exhaustion would allow, “Sweetheart, I’m sorry… I just want our little girl back…. Same as you. I-.”

“Ahem.”

Flinching at the noise of a burning, cleared throat, Dan turned around and questioned if his eyes and ears were starting to play tricks on him. Standing just behind Dan was a dark-clad figure with glowing eyes, the face of a monster, and standing over six feet tall with his arms folded casually behind himself.

With a voice like an inferno, the Shining Darkness told the startled couple, “Hello. I hope you know me as the Shining Darkness. Abreviate that however you wish. And if I can trust what you say, then you can trust that I’ll be able to help you.”

Stepping back to get between Shining Darkness and his wife, Dan exclaimed, “Who-?! How did you get in our house?! What are you doing here?!”

With a casual gesture of his head, Shining Darkness answered, “Well, your kitchen window was open.”

“But… We’re on the twelfth floor,” Jessie stated with weak fear.

Nodding, Shining Darkness answered casually, “Indeed we are… Hopefully that shows you both what I’m capable of. As for why I’m here, I’d like to offer my help finding your daughter.”

Staring at the Shining Darkness’ glowing eyes to find some hint of an expression, Jessie asked, “I… You… You’d really help us? Don’t you have… Don’t you have other things to do? Saving the city?” Jessie’s voice was dripping with disbelief. Partially from doubting the Super Mask’s sincerity but mostly from her concerns that this whole conversation was an exhaustion-induced illusion.

However, when Jessie looked into the vigilante’s glowing eyes, she swore she felt more awake. It was as if every second she locked eyes with the Shining Darkness, she got a half hour of sleep. Not only was she reinvigorated, but her sense of panic was lessening and being replaced with sheer calm.

Placing a hand over his heart, Shining Darkness stated passionately, “Saving this city’s residents is part of the job… In addition, the idea of scared and hurt children makes my blood boil, and I believe your daughter isn’t the only victim. Other children have gone missing, too, and I could use your help to save them.”

After the Super Mask made his plea for trust, Jessie and Dan went silent for a moment. They needed time to comprehend and accept this reality. Just a few days ago, their only child went missing, and now a super-powered entity arrived seemingly out of thin air, offering her safe return.

Seemingly understanding their concerns, the Shining Darkness waited with patient stoicism.

Unable to control himself, as tears started rolling down his face, Dan pointed, “N-no! Bullshit! You can’t…! You aren’t…! You…” While his wife jumped at his outburst and Shining Darkness remained composed, Dan fell to his knees from sheer exhaustion and wailed, “Please…! Please save my little girl!”

While on the ground, Dan stared up at the huge figure’s glowing eyes, hoping to find some sense that his begging was having a positive effect. The longer he stared into those orbs of light, the more rested and relaxed he felt, just like his partner.

The Shining Darkness stared back at Dan for an instant, which felt as if it were an eternity. He then knelt before the crying father and bowed his hooded head.

“I swear on my life and soul that I’ll save your child. I just need your help, sir,” the hero stated with a tone that was at once begging and confident.

Before his tears could redouble, Dan whipped his eyes and said shakily, “I… Yes! Yes, I- We! We’ll do whatever we can…! What do you need?”

Letting out a satisfied sigh, Shining Darkness stood up, offered Dan a hand, and told him, “Thank you. I’ll need to see any pictures and videos of your daughter you have.”

While her husband was helped up, Jessie replied, “Oh! Alright, I’ll go get my phone.”

|X|

Many minutes later, the Shining Darkness was sitting on Jessie and Dan’s couch as the lady of the house was wrapping up the slide show of her child. The last thing Jessie showed the hero was a video.

Janet was tripping over a football that she tried to run and kick. But instead of crying, she just started giggling at her own pratfall.

Sensing a smile from beneath Shining Darkness’ mask, Jessie listened with pride to him commenting, “She’s a tough little one, huh?”

“The toughest on Earth…,” Jessie answered with melancholic pride.

Finishing some writing as his wife went through the last part of the digital photo album, Dan reached across the table and handed the paper and a physical photo to Shining Darkness.

His hand shaking, Dan told the Super Mask, “This is everything Janet was wearing that day and the real picture of her you wanted. I’m sorry we didn’t take any pictures that day.”

Accepting the list and photo, Shining Darkness responded patiently, “Don’t blame yourself for something like that. No one could prepare for this. Besides, this list should be enough… And you said she was in the southeast section of the park when she went missing?”

“We think so. That’s what we told the police, too,” Dan answered honestly.

Getting to his feet, Shining Darkness folded the paper and tucked it and the picture into his knife belt.

Stretching slightly, the Super Mask told the parents, “Alright, unless either of you can think of anything else to aid my search, I’m heading out.”

Standing up quickly, Jessie grabbed Shining Darkness’ arm and asked him with renewed desperation, “And you’re sure you can find her?! I mean, really sure?”

Pausing briefly, the Shining Darkness nodded, placed his hand on Jessie’s shoulder, and told her, “I can move just short of three times the speed of sound. I’ll be able to search every inch of this city in a week at most. You’ll have your daughter home before then.”

Unable to contain herself, Jessie hugged the monster of a man, surprising him slightly as she wept, “Thank you! Thank you so much!”

Keeping his tone soft, Shining Darkness told her, “Hey. It’s-.”

The hero couldn’t get his sentence out, though, as Dan came running up and hugged him too, balling as he exclaimed, “We can’t thank you enough!”

Unsure of how to respond initially, the Shining Darkness eventually said, “Your child being returned safely to you is all I could ask for as thanks. Now, both of you get some rest. Janet’ll need her Mom and Dad to be strong for her when she comes back.”

|XXX|

As Conner’s Jump Travel carried him across the city, John’s voice crackled through his earpiece, “You think you laid on the benevolent savior act a little too heavy?”

“Hey. I wanted them to trust me,” Conner replied defensively. “I thought a larger-than-life approach was appropriate.”

With a dry wit to his tone, John said, “Okay, Captain Savior. Can you stop moving for a sec and tell me what’s next? I can barely hear you over the wind.”

Stopping on a roof to fulfill his friend’s request, Conner answered, “Right… Okay, I’m gonna bring you the list of attire and the physical photo. Then, I’m heading back out to examine every building surrounding the park, but I’m gonna focus on the southeast section.”

“Burning the candle at both ends, eh?” John replied with a hint of humor.

“You… You remember I don’t really sleep while I’m transformed, right?” Conner replied with a small mixture of concern and exasperation.

“I know… It was supposed to be a joke,” John stated vexedly.

“Oh… Oh! Heh. I get it now,” Conner said with desperate amusement.

After a second of tense silence for Conner, he was relieved when he heard John’s voice, “Just get back here with the physical documents so I can do my job. Then get back out there and get to your work.”

“Of course… I’ll probably need a bathroom break before going back out,” Conner said as he took off with another jump.

“Dude. Too much info.”