Americana looked up at the spectre floating above her.

"Umbra."

The word had barely formed on her lips when the shadow-woman's hand erupted in a stream of ebonfire.

"Holy - !"

Americana hurriedly pushed up from the ground with her left hand and flipped over a mailbox, as the night-black ray disintegrated the sidewalk. She grabbed a light pole and whirled around it, landing ready to -

"Aaaoooo!" Americana howled, grasping her leg as she fell over!

Geez - she had forgotten! Her leg was still injured from her last battle with Razorback - and the pain was excruciating!

"Too bad, sugah," the phantom intoned, unleashing a burst of ebonfire; the blast seemed an extension of her arm, so seamlessly did the two blend in shadows.

The blast struck Americana square in the chest, knocking her backwards into the wall of a dry cleaners. The heroine moaned and fell to the ground, dazed.

Unnn... why... wasn't she still... in jail?

Why did she attack?

And why did she just hear Umbra speak with a Southern accent?

"Goodbye, Americana," said the silhouette, raising her arms, her ragged black cloak swirling around her.

At least, Americana thought it was her cloak - her entire body, hood and cloak included, was one jet-black shadow.

Except for when, the heroine remembered, she attacked. Then, for a moment, she was vulnerable.

Americana rolled onto her shoulders and pushed off from the ground - but instead of somersaulting she suddenly flew forward, smashing her feet into Umbra's jaw!

Caught flat-footed, the shadow-woman arced backwards and flew across the street, slamming into a black iron light pole!

Umbra slid down the pole, but caught herself, awkwardly hugging the pole. Before she could recover Americana's left fist crashed into her skull, sending her tumbling to the ground.

Umbra's face showed only slits of purple fire for her eyes and mouth, but as she achingly raised her head off the ground there was but one emotion showing clearly on her pate - fear.

"Lady, you picked the wrong night for a fight," Americana growled, floating toward her. She was more than a bit cautious - she still was in pain from the surprise attack, and she knew that she couldn't afford to get hit again.

Umbra wasn't about to even try to hit her. She desperately glanced to her left, to her right. Then, she saw it - a dark alley, just thirty feet down the street.

She staggered to her feet - then turned and ran.

"Wh-what are you - ?" The stunned heroine took a few seconds to register that her enemy was fleeing - and those few seconds were enough.

Umbra leapt into the darkness, with Americana right behind her!

The heroine lunged to grab her, but was left clutching smoke as Umbra literally vanished into the darkness.

"D-damn," the heroine breathed.

She walked over and picked up her remarkably-undamaged plaque. She knew full well Umbra could teleport between darkness-enshrouded places... and there were a lot of those at this time of night.

"Never find her now," she muttered.

"No... but I can."

Americana whirled - and saw a familiar form come fading into view.

She was fair-skinned, with a hooded black cloak and a wide black mask. White trimmed her cape, boots and gloves. Her dress was cut in a rather bizarre fashion, with the front cut like a triangle high on her legs.

Americana blinked. "Cameo? What... are you doing here?"

Cameo tilted her head, as if listening for something.

"We have to move. I'll explain on the way."

She lifted into the air and zoomed down the street, her cloak extending to a point behind her.

Americana quickly caught up with her, just as was descending toward a roof.

Again, her head tilted.

"What - "

Cameo held up her hand... then let it drop.

"She can only teleport so far. I'm following her."

Again the two women rose into the air.

"Okay, so-o-o, mind explaining why you just showed up when you did?"

"Huh?"

Americana smiled slightly in spite of herself. Somehow it seemed a real witch wouldn't use "huh?"... more like "come again?" or "pardon?" or...

"Seems pretty convenient. I mean, why didn't you show up five minutes before? Could have saved us a lot of trouble."

Cameo stopped suddenly, then glanced to her right. "Hold on..."

"Turn left," she pointed, then banked. Americana followed.

"I think 'five minutes before' I was unconscious," the witch-woman said.

She glanced over, noticing the puzzled look on Americana's face.

"I was in Philadelphia on business. A few hours ago I started getting... visions... of the Orb of Shadows - first good contact in months. I followed the trail of magics, a winding, looping trail, until I ran into the shadow-woman - "

"Umbra - it's the shadow of an eclipse," Americana said helpfully.

"Umbra, then. She clobbered me."

She paused.

"Sorry," she said, looking around in several directions before deciding on one. "This isn't as easy as it looks."

Americana nodded sympathetically; she had gotten her clock cleaned by Umbra herself.

Why, then, had Umbra fled? That wasn't like her at all.

"Umbra's no push-over, I know. No shame in getting beaten up by her."

"While invisible?" Cameo smiled slightly. "Didn't seem to do me much good. Anyway, I came to right before you hit her."

"Oh."

Americana followed her as she turned toward the northwest.

"Why didn't you... call me? Before confronting her, I mean."

"Would have liked to, believe me," she said with a faint Boston accent. "I was just following the Orb, remember. She just popped out of nowhere. Never had the chance."

"Sounds like Umbra, all right."

Cameo glanced to her right, hesitating just a moment before continuing. "I hear you were having dinner with the President... nice dress, by the way," she grinned.

Americana involuntarily glanced down - she was still wearing the skirt and blazer combo she had worn for the dinner. Strangely, neither looked the worse for getting blasted.

"Thanks," she said drily. "It's for fighting villains on formal occasions."

"Heh."

"Why are we stopping?" Americana asked.

"She seems to have stopped teleporting," Cameo said, tilting her head as if listening for something. After a moment, she said, "Either I've lost her... or she's in... there!"

Americana stared. Ahead of them stood a four-story monstrosity of Medina sandstone, flanked by twin towers, each nearly two hundred feet tall. The towers each boasted four corner turrets and steep copper roofs, punctuated with dormers.

The building sat, alone and dark, surrounded by acres of magnificent maples and unkempt lawn, as if no other building dared sit next to it.

"The Buffalo Asylum," Americana breathed.

"You know that place?"

"Ohh, yeah."

Know it? She had helped raise the funds with which to save it.

The government had pledged some twenty million dollars to stabilize the building and turn it into a teacher's college, but budgetary cuts made it a stark gothic monument.

"Millard Fillmore made the cornerstone. Turn of the century - the last century - it was considered one of the leading institutions in the world."

"Looks abandoned, now."

Americana nodded. "Closed in the seventies. Forty, fifty years before, it was so popular they kept sending people there. Had three thousand residents in a space built for three hundred."

Cameo looked at her. "Three... thousand? In there? Where'd they put them?"

Americana stared at the building. "Anywhere they could - closets, kitchens, outside. Stacked them three deep in the halls.

"So much misery, for so long. I think that's why they never did anything with the building."

"Sorry," she half-smiled, embarrassed.

"Don't be," Cameo was slowly moving her head upward as she looked at the building. "It has seen misery... so much so that no one has come near to break a window... in forty years."

There was something in her voice that actually made Americana uncomfortable; it might have made her shiver had she actually believed Cameo to be a witch.

"Tell me... what's in those towers?"

"Nothing," Americana said. "They were strictly for show."

"Your Umbra's there...

"...and so is the Orb of Shadows!" she said excitedly.

"What is this Orb, anyway?" Americana asked, folding her arms.

"Long story short, it's reputed to be an artifact, a sphere, that holds a terrible evil, dating from before the Dawn of Man. On occasion it's been released, usually by someone willing to exchange part of their soul for power."

She shrugged. "Fact of the matter is, I'm not entirely sure what's true and what's delusive. One legend has it that Pangaea was broken into the continents in to dilute its power - "

"Which would place it way, way before mankind supposedly appeared."

"Right. All I do know, is that I have to destroy the Orb."

"And who told you that?"

"Believe me," Cameo said, thinking of her cat, "You don't really want to know."

Americana sighed. Well, she had her secrets as well...

"Before we... go in there," Cameo said hesitatingly, "There's something I want to try first."

"Okay," Americana said - right before Cameo blasted her with a brilliant white bolt!

The blast sent Americana flying back thirty feet before she regained her equilibrium.

"What the heck was - !"

Cameo held up both her hands at about chest height. "Waitwaitwait! I can explain! Are you hurt?"

"No, I'm not hurt - not much, at least! Now what was that for?"

"Look - I saw Umbra blast you and it looked like it really hurt. But when she blasted me, well, it hurt, but it didn't hurt to my bones, see?"

The star-spangled woman paused. She didn't see.

"Now, I just blasted you full-force and you bounced most of it off like you do everything else - but Umbra's, you didn't. They hurt you. Since they didn't really hurt me, at least so much..."

Americana blinked.

"You're saying... I feel Umbra's blasts... worse than other people?"

"You're vulnerable, yes," Cameo nodded, hands on her hips. "It had been bothering me since I saw how badly her bolts hurt you."

"Not nearly as much as it bothers me," Americana said drily.

What a weird idea... but it would explain a lot, she supposed...

"Maybe you should, you know - "

"Hang back? Not get hit?" Americana asked, raising an eyebrow.

Cameo sighed and smiled slightly. "I take it you've had run-ins with this Umbra before."

"Several," Americana said, pulling off her blazer, blouse and skirt. She wrapped them up in a neat pile with her plaque, and floated over to place them atop an apartment building's roof storage.

"You all right?" Cameo frowned.

"Just... hurt my leg in my fight with Razorback. Nothing to worry about."

She turned toward the Buffalo Asylum. "Let's go."

Silently, the two woman floated down almost to ground level, keeping the darkened buildings behind them. Then they rose up, toward the gothic towers stabbing toward the skies.

Both were surprised to find the windows well-lit; they had seemed dark from twenty feet away! They split up - Cameo turned invisible and went to the left, and Americana swung around upside down at the upper right-hand corner.

Inside of the tower, they could see a room with four brick walls, and no discernable entrance.

Americana did a double take. Instead of Umbra, there were a half-dozen young women, all wearing high-necked, jet-black unitards that covered every inch of their bodies but their heads.

From what she could tell, they all looked fairly... normal. Aside from the fact that their skin was unusually pale, not one of them possessed glowing eyes or the kind of build that screamed "super villainess".

A woman with short dark hair held a small sphere that seemed to glow... black; that's the best Americana could describe it. She couldn't tell of what it was made, or any other thing about it, save that its unearthly glow... was black.

The other five were lined up in a crude semi-circle around the first, berating her.

"Didn't we tell you? Didn't we?" a blonde demanded, pointing at the first accusingly.

"Ah just wanted to try it," the brunette said softly.

"Goddess!" a redhead fumed. "I told you all that replacing Roberta was a bad idea."

"We are the Six," another blonde spoke, this one with short choppy hair. "Not the Five. The Sisterhood is at its peak... at Six."

"Well, we didn't have to choose her!" the redhead pointed at the girl with the sphere.

The brunette held the sphere close to her heart. "Ah did as you asked. Ah returned her to her prison... "

"Yes, yes you did," the blonde with the short hair said as she calmly removed her spectacles. "No harm done. Please hand me the Orb, Eden."

The brunette relaxed and handed over the glowing sphere.

"H-here you go, Nan."

"Thank you," the blonde smiled.

The relieved smile fell from the dark-haired girl's face as the other five raised their hands toward her. "Oh, no. No..."

She stepped backwards as five beams of grayish energy erupted toward her.

"N-n-o-o-o-o-o-o!"

The five beams of gray never made it to their intended victim.

Instead, they impacted on the chest of a woman in a star-spangled leotard.

Americana winced as the bolts hit the large white star in the center of her chest. She used her flight instead of her legs to avoid being slammed backwards, but still, it hurt!

"Americana?" the stunned redhead mouthed, as if she couldn't comprehend the heroine's appearance. "What in - "

"Dammit," the short-haired blonde said sullenly. "Eden. I thought you said you didn't run into anyone interesting."

"Mebbe a little..." peeped Eden.

"Party's over, girls," Americana said, standing heroically between them and their intended victim. "I've got you for conspiracy, attempted murder...

"And trespassing," she smiled slyly.

Nan peered over her spectacles and smiled back.

"I don't think so, Americana," she said. "The Sisterhood of Shadows has invested far too much to allow ourselves to fail now."

"Did you now?"

The other Sisters looked to the blonde, who in turn looked at Americana.

"Were you looking for Umbra? We are Umbra!" she said, gesturing with her arm to encompass the Six. "Each of us has exchanged portions of her soul for power!"

"Oh, come on..." Americana rolled her eyes.

"Oh, it is true! You have until now faced but a fraction of her power! When all six of us have given a portion of our souls, Umbra -the real Umbra - will be made whole!"

Americana smiled to herself. Why villains always felt the need to explain thmeselves and their plans, she'd never know.

"So-o-o. Assuming that this isn't some pipe dream you came up with to scare little kids... you haven't all 'given' yourselves, yet, right?"

"Yes!" Nan held aloft the sphere. "But contained within this, the Orb of Shadows, Umbra awaits! She awaits the final sacrifice - "

Suddenly the Orb shot up and out of her hand.

"Wh-what?!"

Cameo grinned as she grabbed the Orb. "You aren't the only one who's been looking for this, Shadowmistress!

"Now, why don't you be a good girl and - "

"You know my title - now know my power!"

Nan promptly flashed her hands in a spectral pattern, and a ring of grey fire sprang to life, rapidly expanding to about two feet wide. Then it began spinning and hurtled, not rolling but sideways, into Cameo!

"Aaagghh!"

"And people call me overconfident," Americana muttered as she leapt forward - only to be slammed in the stomach and lower legs by another fire-ring called up by the redhead.

"Ooofff!"

Then, as she pitched forward, another spinning ring hit her from behind, across the shoulders and her back!

"Guuuhhh!"

Americana rolled forward - ahhg, her leg! Damn it!

She struggled to get up, but the other blonde slammed her to the ground with another ring. Oww-ww!

Heavens, those rings or circles or whatever they were - hurt! Okay, Astie, time you stopped taking it and began dishing it out!

The patriotic heroine suddenly flew from where she had been lying, and arced up under a brunette's chin! The girl moaned and flew straight up - and Americana belted her in the stomach! The brunette gurgled and flew back until she crashed into the wall, then collapsed and lay still.

The heroine grabbed one of the large wooden trusses that crisscrossed overhead in place of a ceiling, whirled around it and reversed direction - right into the blonde that had smashed her into the ground! Her fists crashed into her foe, sending her skidding along the floor, unconscious.

That's how to do it, Americana smiled. Let's see how Cameo is doing...

She turned just as the cloaked heroine was making a grab for the slowly tumbling Orb of Shadows.

"Got it!" she cried happily - just before two rings slammed into her, one in front, one in back. Cameo shuddered. The rings dissippated, and the caped crimefighter collapsed to the the cold floor.

"Cameo! Hang on, I'm - ooooofff!"

Americana was slammed to the stone floor by a ring of gray fire - and this one didn't dissipate. It stayed, spinning, pressing down on her chest and stomach. "Wha -?"

A second ring descended over Cameo, crushing any resistance. "Uun-n-n..."

"Urrrk," Americana gasped as two more rings appeared and, merging with the other rings, pinned her to the floor.

"You see, Americana," the Shadowmistress said, picking up the fallen Orb. "All too easy. Our shadowrings shall crush you, slowly... I do want you to suffer before you die. And you will die."

She...wasn't kidding, Americana gasped. Those spinning, burning rings... crushing her chest... can't breathe...

She tried to move her arms, her legs, but they were firmly pinned. Panic began to well up inside of her.

Cameo was already out... and she struggled to keep the blackness from claiming her, too.

No, no, focus, dammit... she couldn't...

The Shadowmistress smiled slightly as she formed yet another ring on top of Americana.

It was up to her... if she passed out now, she knew she would never be allowed to wake up again.

She strained, but she couldn't lift her arms off the floor -

The... floor?!

That was it! She had been trying to escape in the wrong direction!

Just as the redhead kicked her contemptuously in the head, Americana focused every bit of her remaining strength and flight straight down!

The old stone floor, which had never been designed to support much more than an occasional workman, gave way with a roar, and Americana and Cameo tumbled away into the blackness below.

The Shadowmistress peered over the edge into the darkness. Nothing moved.

"Well. That's that, I suppose.

"Anna, Morgana, why don't you go recover the bodies. The rest of you," she turned with a smile toward Eden, "We still have a little job to finish."

"N-no," the dark-haired girl stammered, raising her hands defensively.

The redhead and the other blonde strode around the hole in the floor while the two remaining girls descended into the darkness.

"You broke the rules," Nan said, smirking. "The Sisterhood of Shadows will replace you with one who will follow the plan unquestioningly."

"I didn't question," Eden said, her hands still raised. "I just wanted to be Umbra for a while."

"See? Power corrupts," the Shadowmistress chirped. "Now if you choose to defend your self, well... you will feel the Shadowrings too. Lower your arms. Death will be a lot quicker."

"Talk about your lousy incentive plans," Americana said as she burst from the hole and pasted the redhead in the jaw, hard!

The blonde whirled, her arms raising as fire formed in her fists - only to be wiped out by a blast of white magic!

"What?"

"Your fire-rings pressed in one direction - toward the floor," Americana growled. "A little twisting and we fell right out from under them."

"It's over, blondie," Cameo said sternly. "All you little girlfriends are seeing stars."

"All except me!" Eden shouted as she blasted Cameo in the back, sending her tumbling into the wall!

"Wha-at?" Americana cried.

"And I have the Orb of Shadows!" Nan exclaimed, holding it aloft. She began to chant "Mighty Umbra, hear my plea..."

Americana zoomed toward her and tried to grab the Orb from her, but somehow the Shadowmistress held on!

"Cameo! Get... the other one!"

"Oh, sure," Cameo said, holding up a field of force against the other girl's magic. "Uhh! Is it me or is this one more powerful or something?"

"The Sisterhood's powers are one!" Nan crowed as she struggled with Americana for the Orb. "With each defeat the power flows into those who remain!"

"H-holy..." Americana tried to hold on - but it was so slippery, like super-smooth glass!

"Cameo! Hear that?" Americana yelled. "You can't beat her - not yet!"

"W-what? Ooogh!" Cameo took a blast of gray fire in her chest.

"H-hold... out... " the patriotic heroine grunted, forced to her knees. "If you win... we all lose!"

"Great," Cameo said, ducking a wicked-looking punch. "Just great."

The Shadowmistress still had her hands on the Orb - but her legs were still free! She kicked hard at Americana's leg.

"Aaaggghhh!" Tears filled her eyes but she couldn't let go!

A second kick in the stomach hurt almost as much... oh, heavens, her ribs!

"You can't win, Americana," Nan said pleasantly. "I'm at least as strong as you, and I don't have any nagging injuries."

Wham - another kick in the thigh caused Americana to moan.

What... did Cameo want to do to this thing? the heroine thought.

"Let... go... " the Shadowmistress hissed.

Instead, Americana grimaced and squeezed, squeezed as hard as she could.

Then, she squeezed harder.

The sphere... started... to give...

She squeezed harder still with every last iota of strength... some of which she hadn't known she had.

Tears and sweat streamed down her face as her fingers started burning from the Orb... strange dark light started streaming from the cracks...

"W-what are you doing? No! I still have to give! I - "

A thunderous roar coupled with an unearthly scream ripped through the tower, shattering stone and brick and even the air!

Then, silence.

Slowly, Americana opened her eyes. F-funny, she didn't feel dead...

"Hey." said Cameo. "You can get off of me any time."

"W-wha - oh, jeez, I'm so - wait a minute."

Americana looked around. The Buffalo Asylum - minus one tower - was a block away.

She and Cameo were sitting on the sidewalk.

Well, she was sitting on Cameo who was sitting on the sidewalk.

The cape-clad witch sighed. "I was just about totalled when you finally destroyed the Orb - I teleported us out of there right when it blew.

"Now will you kindly get off of me?"

"Sorry," Americana apologized as she helped Cameo up.

"No problem," she said, shaking her head. "I can't believe you actually destroyed the Orb of Shadows - that was... incredible!"

"What about the others?"

Cameo paused. "I don't know. I think they should have retained enough of their powers to survive. Physically, at least."

Americana rose into the air and headed for the Asylum. "What do you mean?"

Cameo followed. "I mean the explosion part was only secondary. The Sisterhood kept giving a part of themselves in exchange for part of Umbra, according to some schedule - moon phases, ancient calendars, whatever. Near as I can tell each girl gave up one sixth of herself, so when all six have become Umbra, the real Umbra could enter this world. The Orb of Shadows was a prison, with an out - a back door, if you will. "

"Yeah, I kind of gathered that," Americana said as she landed besides the soot-covered body of the Shadowmistress. The girl appeared basically unharmed, but she stared out blankly into space.

The patriotic heroine leaned down and waved her hand in front of the woman's face; there was no response. "What's wrong with her?"

"Well... you destroyed the Orb before Umbra could become whole again. Her prison gone, Umbra, the real Umbra, was ripped apart by magics I don't even want to know about.

"These gals were directly exposed to those raw magics - and they've lost a sixth of their souls.

"You do the math."

Americana hung her head and sighed.

"I know how you feel - but they were already dead, long before you met them," Cameo said gently. "Our Umbras were tough enough to handle - the 'real' Umbra would be unbeatable."

"Yeah... "

Americana stood tall and watched the ambulances and fire trucks arrive.

"Cameo?"

"Yes?"

"Would you stay and - I don't know, explain things?"

"Sure - though I don't know why you'd - "

Cameo caught herself. The arrest. It still weighed on Americana, she could tell.

"Certainly. I'll explain as best I can."

"Then - " Americana said hesitantly. "Then, can we just...fly around? Maybe... talk?"

Cameo looked at her friend and smiled gently.

"Sure, Americana. 'Talk' sounds fine."

Roberta Hastings smirked when she saw who had come to visit her.

"Well... look what the cat dragged in."

Americana sat down on her side of the visitors' table. They were the only ones in the room.

"What's the matter? Got a tear in your tights?" Roberta chuckled, then she leaned forward.

"I'm going to get out," she hissed in a low voice. "And when I do, then I'm going to finish you."

She sat back and smirked.

But Americana didn't react. She just... looked at her.

"I wanted you to know," the heroine spoke quietly and clearly. "I've destroyed the Orb of Shadows."

Roberta's jaw slowly dropped.

"You, and the Six, will never become Umbra again."

And Americana stood and walked out the door.