Captain Comet's Rehab Squad: The Beginning of the End

• Credits: by Libbylawrence
• Published: September 19, 2000
• Link: Captain Comet's Rehab Squad: The Beginning of the End

May, 1986: Golden Glider is kidnapped by Flash's Rogues Gallery, who use a false Golden Glider to commit robberies across the country in a scheme to turn her back to crime. The Female Furies retrieve Gilotina and injure Melisande. Captain Comet and the Rehab Squad battle the Rogues and a new Mirror Master (the Batman villain called Mirror Man), who sends Cheetah II, Dolphin, Golden Glider, Mayflower, and Moonbow into the Mirrorverse for a few moments during which time hours pass for them. They return changed and go on a rampage, while the Golden Wasp (the former Killer Moth) is released after having been captured earlier. With his help and the help of Nadir, Captain Comet manages to change the women back to normal. But Golden Glider and Starman both quit the team. [“Captain Comet's Rehab Squad: The Beginning of the End”]

• May, 1986: Lisa Snart (Golden Glider) is kidnapped by the Flash's Rogues Gallery, which she was formerly a member of. Meanwhile, in Bludhaven, the Golden Wasp (Cameron Van Cleef, formerly Killer Moth) hopes his heroic career lasts. At the Meta-Human Rehabilitation Agency (MHRA), Captain Comet becomes worried about Lisa's absence after a few days. A figure dressed as the Golden Glider uses her powers to commit robberies across the Midwest, and Comet gathers his team to discuss the situation. Captain Comet finds evidence that Lisa's brother Captain Cold and the Rogues kidnapped her, and someone else has been posing as the Golden Glider. Lisa Snart, kept in a warehouse, is angry at her brother for keeping her there. The person posing as the Golden Glider is revealed as Kolossal Kate Krasher, a roller derby-themed villainess who once fought the Flash. Meanwhile, the Female Furies return to Earth and retrieve their member Gilotina, who is freed from Maxima's brainwashing. They battle and apparently kill Melisande. [“Captain Comet's Rehab Squad: The Beginning of the End, Chapter 1: Going Rogue”]
• Captain Comet and the Rehab Squad burst into the warehouse the Rogues are using as their headquarters and battle them. Captain Boomerang's hands are broken. Among the Rogues is the Mirror Man – an old Batman villain now posing as the Mirror Master – who sends Cheetah II, Dolphin, Golden Glider, Mayflower, and Moonbow into the Mirrorverse. They return seconds later but changed, along with the Golden Wasp, who was earlier captured by the Mirror Man. Returning to the MHRA after defeating the Rogues, the Rehab Squad discovers the lifeless body of Melisande, but Metron of the New Gods arrives and explains that she is merely in a death-like coma and brings her back with him to New Genesis to be restored by Highfather. Golden Wasp, whom Captain Comet can tell is Cameron Van Cleef, reveals how he took his heroic name and motif. [“Captain Comet's Rehab Squad: The Beginning of the End, Chapter 2: Done With Mirrors”]
• While traveling across the country, Golden Wasp explains to Captain Comet and Starman what happened to him in the Mirrorverse. There, he was approached by the Batman – the worst criminal in Gotham City – who wanted a cut. The Golden Wasp attacked him, then led him to the lair of his counterpart in the Mirrorverse whom Batman attacked. The trio reaches St. Louis, Missouri, where they meet Nadir and June Moone (the Enchantress), who has become his assistant now that she is cured. Nadir had sought out the Earth-1 version of Sargon the Sorcerer's Ruby of Life and used it to create his mansion. In the Mirrorverse, Dolphin had traveled to a militaristic Atlantis ruled by the tyrannical Aquaman, who was her counterpart's lover. After witnessing a squabble between Aquaman and Aqualad, who was also her counterpart's lover, Dolphin was struck by a mental blow from the Mirrorverse's Captain Comet, who caused her to go on a rampage upon returning to the real world. Golden Glider had battled an evil Flash, Moonbow had battled an evil Green Arrow, Cheetah II (Debbie Domaine) had battled an evil Wonder Woman, and Mayflower had been confused by a good version of her father called the Plant Man. They were each also struck by mental blasts by the Mirrorverse's Captain Comet. Now, the real Captain Comet tracks the mind-altered women to Debbie Domaine's mansion. After a brief battle, Nadir manages to remove the hypnotic spells of the Mirrorverse Captain Comet, and they return to normal. At the MHRA, Golden Glider quits the team after first being framed and then being mind-altered. Starman also quits, revealing that he and Dolphin have split up. [“Captain Comet's Rehab Squad: The Beginning of the End, Chapter 3: Tales of the Mirrorverse”]