Synopsis
The Avengers Resistance/New Warriors invaded the Initiative's Camp Hammond to rescue Night Thrasher (Donyell Taylor), but Taskmaster sent brainwashed Penance (Robbie Baldwin) to kill them. And the issue ended with Nightmare taking over his son Trauma (Terry Ward).
But this issue starts with a flashback 20 years to when a teen called Naomi was in a cult of Nightmare because she fancied the leader Karl. He told her she was chosen to bear Nightmare's son but she just wanted to have sex with him. But she realised the truth when Nightmare took Karl over. 2 weeks later she escaped with a youth named Jerry Ward. Nightmare told Karl to let them go so that they'll marry and raise his son. He'll grow up to have the power of showing someone their greatest fear, by becoming it. This will wreck his life, and when he's at his lowest ebb Nightmare will take his body and be able to turn reality into nightmares.
Now Terry is trapped within his father and trying to hold on to the memory of who he is, which turns into a voiceover for parts of this issue. He remembers that he's the counsellor for the Camp and he sees 1 of his patients Penance (who's forgotten he's Robbie Baldwin/Speedball) attacking Gauntlet (who used to be the Camp's head trainer) and Justice, Rage and Ultragirl (3 of Robbie's friends from the old New Warriors, who don't recognise him because of his new uniform and total face mask). And Terry knows that he helped brainwash him. He should have quit the Initiative with the others instead, but he justified staying to himself because trainees still here needed his help. But really it was because Norman Osborn promised to cure his mother who was in an asylum due to some of the things Trauma did.
Penance hangs back because he vaguely remembers who Justice is, but Taskmaster tries to convince him he's just a terrorist enemy he's heard about. But Justice, Rage and Ultragirl attack *him*, calling Penance 1 of Osborn's criminals from the Thunderbolts. He reflexively responds by protesting that he's a hero trying to make amends for his past, and equally reflexively blasts the last 2 into a wall. Then he starts a duel with Justice and Gauntlet. TM eggs him on but Robbie snaps and blast *him*.
During the end of that fight weird things start happening and Nightmare appears in Trauma's body. Everybody has to stop fighting each other to defend themselves from spooky creatures. But NM concentrates on Penance who he'd hoped would have killed some of his friends by now. Nevertheless he goes ahead with his plan and makes Robbie remember the truth:- Surviving the Stamford disaster and being blamed for it. His mother disowning him. The attempted assassination which the Government pretended had succeeded so they could reinvent him as Penance and put him in the Thunderbolts and then the Initiative. The only bright spot is that he realises the cat Trauma gave him is *really* his old cat Niels.
Nightmare also unleashes on Taskmaster trainees he sent to Prison 42 to die (in #27):- Johnny Guitar, Slaughter Boy and Firearms. Elsewhere in the Camp he confronts Hardball with the brother he was supposed to get Hydra to cure. Random ghouls attack Cloud 9 but she recognises the Trauma within Nightmare and reminds him that they were friends. Trauma starts to rebel against his father but NM says he's getting tired of all this because he's got a new Sorcerer Supreme (Brother Voodoo) to crush. Hood chooses this moment to join the fight with his demonic guns, saying that *he* almost became the SS. But NM claims to take revenge for him lying to Terry about curing his mother by showing him *his* greatest fear - causing the death of his ex-wife and daughter.
Meanwhile Tigra, Slapstick and the last surviving Scarlet Spider are breaking into the Research Building to find Night Thrasher. Greer Nelson sends Slapstick to see what all the noise is outside. Then she and Spider enter and find Donyell in the 'care' of Baron Blitzschlag. SS's creator greets him as a long-lost son. He says they can have NT but begs Patrick to stay, promising to grow some new clones to replace the 2 'brothers' he's lost. Patrick declines the offer and they leave with the man they came for.
Outside Slapstick is facing *his* worst nightmare - being a faceless office drone. Taskmaster tries to revive Penance who's almost catatonic. Justice tells him to leave him alone but TM reckons that the foe took him out straight away because he fears him. So they need him back in action. Tigra has arrived with Spider and Thrash, and she uses her empathic power to sense what's happened to Penance. She seems to have a plan to help him.
Elsewhere Constrictor is holding off NM and telling his love Diamondback to flee, but she won't leave him. But then a revived Penance shows up to tell the baddie that his revealed past hit him in a rush - but a rush fades. He attacks Nightmare who threatens him with his worst fears, but Robbie says he's lived through them - as Trauma well knows. He tells the teen inside that Tigra used her empathic power to let him know that Terry suffered from great guilt too. But he figures that Terry *made* his father restore Robbie's memories to *heal* him, and now he urges Terry to take control of his life rather than letting others control him. And Trauma breaks free from his father, who fades back to his own realm.
The Resistance are left facing the villainous Initiative (who now include Quicksand, Ringer and Scorcher) with Penance and Trauma between both sides. Penance causes a gas main to rupture erecting a wall of flame between the duo and the Initiative. He suggests to Justice that the Resistance leave before reinforcements turn up. Vance Astrovik tells Terry Ward he can come with them, but he says he's leaving to find himself. He also makes the same offer to Penance. Robbie Baldwin doesn't tell Vance who he is under the mask and also turns the offer down, but tells Justice it meant a lot to him.
As the good guys leave Terry asks Robbie why he doesn't go with them, but Robbie says he can't burden them with his problems. He tells Terry he forgives him for his part in the brainwashing because he knows how they manipulated him. And he thanks him for sneaking in his cat Niels. Terry tells Robbie he must forgive himself for Stamford. Robbie suggests Terry needs to forgive himself too, and maybe someday 1 of them will succeed in doing it.
All the time Hood's been firing magic bullets which get melted in the heat of the gas flame. Then it clears and Hood blames them for letting the Resistance escape. But then he says he doesn't care about the Initiative anymore and tells them they can both quit if they want. He leaves Taskmaster in charge and goes off to do his own stuff (which probably includes seeing his ex-wife and kid). Trauma walks off too but Penance says he's going to his quarters and he doesn't want to be disturbed.
Some hours later the Resistance are back in their HQ and Rage tries to convince Donyell that everything's OK. Gauntlet checks in with their mole in Camp Hammond who we now discover is Diamondback. But Constrictor arrives early for a date and hears Rachel Leighton planning to plant malware in their computer system.