/
/
Moesby sat in the Starlight Lounge, drinking an ice tea out of a whiskey glass. He wanted to be sober in case the Black Shade was needed, but at the same time wanted to seem like a regular guy. He had gotten the idea from one of his old comic books. The opening act was up, a comedian named Eddie. Or was it Blake?
"And then Dan said, 'what happened to the American dream?' And I tell him, 'What happened to it? It came true!'"
Everyone laughed. Mr. Moesby let out a chuckle.
"Thank you, everyone," the comedian said, "I've been great!"
The comedian walked offstage, just as the lighting changed to red, and smoke filled the stage. When it cleared, there were six dancers onstage, clad in red sequined costumes.
"Ladies and gentlemen…" the MC said, "Tonight's performance is brought to you from the fiery pits of hell…"
The band started playing upbeat music, and the dancers separated, revealing a redhead in a silver leotard and angel wings. Even with the domino mask on, Moesby recognized her as Ms. Tutweiller.
"Good Lord, Emma," grinned Moesby
"I'm a country girl, I ain't seen a lot," Ms. Tutweiller sang, "but you came along and my heart went pop. You took a little street car to my heart and an apple of love fell off my apple cart! You looked at me, my heart began to pound, you weren't the sort of guy I thought would stick around! Hey, but it don't have to be eternally, my bad, bad Angel put the Devil in me!"
/
After the show, Moesby went to see Ms. Tutweiller in her dressing room. The other girls didn't mind him being there, they knew he was a gentleman. Ms. Tutweiller was changing her clothes behind a screen; Moesby got a kick out of watching her silhouette getting undressed.
"Hello, Marion," Ms. Tutweiller said, "Did you enjoy the show?"
"I did," Moesby said, "I didn't know you could sing."
"I've been taking lessons," Ms. Tutweiller slipped off her wings, and stuck her head above the screen, "Lounge singer is a more suiting profession for the girlfriend of a…"
She mimed The Black Shade's scarf.
"Of course," Moesby said, "By the way, that line about the…"
Suddenly, Moesby's watch began bleeping.
"Excuse me…" he said mysteriously
/
In the Tipton ballroom, there were three chandeliers containing hidden diamonds. Rumor has it, there were worth a million dollars each. For this reason, the ballroom was locked at night.
/
Janine Snauf had worked many jobs before becoming the ship's public relations advisers. With a name like hers, she wasn't allowed to have a normal life. She had been a jewel thief, for example. After going straight, she took the public relations position to stay out of trouble, but then she heard the rumors of the diamonds. For this reason, she was now standing outside the ballroom, picking the lock in a black leotard and Devil-mask. It took Snauf three minutes to get through, since she was out of practice. Once inside, she slipped through the laser-grid, and made it to the chandelier controls. They lowered down to the ground. Snauf walked to the chandelier, and plucked the three diamonds from each them.
"Nice try," said an echoing voice, "Put them back…"
Oh no, Janine Snauf groaned, not now.
At once, The Black Shade revealed himself, rappelling down from the ceiling. He held up his hands in a karate stance. Janine Snauf pulled out a .38 Police Special. Moesby calculated the distance between him and the Devil-Woman, and saw how nervous she was; even The Black Shade couldn't move that fast.
"OK, calm down Devil-Woman," The Black Shade said, "We can talk about this…"
She nervously fired a shot, and hit The Black Shade in the arm. He fell onto the ground, at the Devil-Woman's mercy…
/
Suddenly, the ballroom doors flung open, and revealed a teenager in a blue suit. His face was disguised by a black domino mask, and his chest and arms appeared to be wrapped in wires.
"Don't fire!" he warned
"Or what?" sneered Devil-Woman
She fired a bullet, and would have killed The Black Shade if it wasn't for the teenager lifting up his hand, revealing a powerful magnetic manipulator. He shot the bullet across the room.
"Drop the diamonds and am-scray," the teenager ordered, "And don't let me catch you around here again…"
/
The teenager helped The Black Shade get to his feet.
"Thanks kid," he muttered, "You got a name?"
The teenager thought for a moment.
"Chick Magnet," he replied
"I thought it was you, Zack," The Black Shade noted
"Darn, thought that would give it away," Zack said, "Can I help you get back to your…cabin?"
"Not just yet," The Black Shade groaned, "I have a place I store my equipment. If you could take me there, I would be grateful."
/
Chick Magnet helped The Black Shade down to the lower levels of the ship, to a disused boiler room. The Black Shade opened the door by way of a special key. Inside, the walls were lined with The Black Shade memorabilia. Newspaper clippings, trophies, crime files…Chick Magnet was overwhelmed.
"Wow…" he breathed, "Black Shade, what are you? Some people say you're a thousand-year old Chinese warrior come back to haunt evildoers, but a lot of people are saying that you were a keyboardist in a 80s band who watched his family die and became more than human."
"It's neither," The Black Shade sat on a chair, "I was a kid in a bad neighborhood who used fear to get rid of gangs. I grew up and became a manager of a hotel then a manager of a cruise ship, and found out I was needed as The Black Shade when criminals attacked those close to me."
Chick Magnet let out a small laugh.
"Sorry," he said, "But that sounds just like that jerk Mr. Moes…"
The Black Shade pulled down his scarf, revealing the face of Mr. Moesby.
"Wow!" Chick Magnet gasped
"Yes, Zack, I am The Black Shade," Mr. Moesby said, "I trust you will keep it a secret?"
"Of course," Chick Magnet nodded, "So, just so I know, you don't have any powers, right?"
"No, 'fraid not," Mr. Moesby said, "But I'd like to know what you're using."
"It's a simple magnetic manipulator. I was on the phone with Arwin last week, telling him I was afraid of another attack, and he told me how to build this."
"And how powerful is it?"
"Not very. It can divert bullets and knives, but if it's anything bigger than a candy bar it'll probably short out."
"I see. Now, Zack, if you and I are going to continue fighting crime, you have to understand…"
Zack silently groaned. He knew what Mr. Moesby was going to say, a lecture on how since they were working together Zack would have to shape up, start getting up earlier, do better in school, no more pranks…
"…things are going to be the same between us," Mr. Moesby said
"Huh?" Zack didn't expect that
"People will suspect something if you start respecting me," Mr. Moesby continued, "You'll treat The Black Shade and Marion Moesby as different people. So, pranks, insults, and hurtful nicknames will continue."
"I can do that," Zack said
"But I have one rule. No guns. Understand?"
"Yes sir,"
Zack was surprised. Why did he call Mr. Moesby sir? It was almost as if he…respected him.
"Excellent. Good boy."
"So…the way you say 'Marion Moesby and The Black Shade', it's kind of surreal, a bit scary."
"There's nothing mystical about it, Zack," Mr. Moesby shrugged, "It's just like keeping business and personal life separate."
"Oh, I see."
Mr. Moesby hung up his over coat, revealing his white t-shirt.
"Wait, didn't you get shot?" Zack asked
Mr. Moesby's eyes darkened.
"The Black Shade did," he said mysteriously, "Marion Moesby did not…"
/