Sonic The Hedgehog #71

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Story one[]

Story: Evan Stanley
Art: Min Ho Kim
Colors: Reggie Graham
Letters: Shawn Lee
Associate Editor: Bixie Mathieu
Editor: Thea Cheuk
Production: Johanna Nattalie
Special thanks to: Mai Kiyotaki, Afia Khan, Michael Cisneros, Sandra Jo, Sonic Team, and everyone at Sega for their invaluable assistance

Synopsis[]

Amy and Belle talking about Clutch.

Aboard the Restoration Shuttle, Tails and Amy are shocked to see Belle trapped inside one of the lockers. After they free her and reattach her separated hand, Amy asks Belle who did this to her. Belle explains that she was helping inspect the Extreme Gear but was stopped by the Clean Sweepstakes Security, who, according to Belle, had practically taken over the Restoration instead of helping it. Although she did not get a good look at him, she recalls seeing a creepy person giving orders to the security guards, with his hat and coat in particular standing out to her. Recognizing this description, Amy asks if he also had a cane, which Belle confirms, thus revealing to Amy who the leader of Clean Sweep Inc. is.

Jet getting frustrated at Surge showboating.

Meanwhile, in Misty Spire, the next round of Clean Sweepstakes is underway: a game of dodgeball. Surge is once again being cheered on by the audience for her performance, and begins taunting the other races in search of a real fight. This irritates Jet, who is reminded by Wave to calm down and focus on the bigger picture. Sonic, still disguised as the Phantom Rider, prepares to enter the game using the Eggstreme Gear's camouflage feature as Lanolin flies by. Nite is heard attempting to calm the audience and assuring them that the referees will deal with the situation. Another individual wearing nearly the exact same disguise as Sonic but riding a different Extreme Gear has appeared in the arena, holding Duo's scarf as he mocks the Diamond Cutters for being unable to stop him. The new Phantom Rider charges at the racers, knocking one off his board with one hand and catching a ball with the other. He is then surrounded by the Diamond Cutters, only to throw his ball at Lanolin, knocking her off her Heavy Bike, and flee. Surge, Kit, and the Babylon Rogues give chase, with Surge and Jet arguing over who will be the one to take down the Phantom Rider.

Sonic watches from below, only to notice Whisper and Tangle ahead of him. Tangle attempts to comfort Whisper over Lanolin's elimination when they are confronted by a silhouette of Surge. She taunts Whisper about the beating she gave her in Central City and the infamy she would get from doing the same to both her and Tangle this time. Enraged, Whisper chases after Surge and attacks her with her Variable Wispon, only for Kit to intercept. Tangle attempts to intervene but is grabbed and thrown into Whisper's Angel • Devil Gear by Kit's hydro-coil tails. The impact causes Whisper to bump into Jet's Type-J, and the Rogues proceed to enter the brawl. Sonic hides behind one of the area's rock towers, thinking about his next move when Mimic suddenly grabs his helmet from behind, unmasking him and accidentally launching all of the Eggstreme Gear's weapons at the same time, one of which blows up a nearby rock tower. Mimic slips away into the mist before Sonic can see who he is, leaving the hedgehog face-to-face with the other racers. Confused, Tangle asks Sonic why he is doing this, but the rock tower falls over, separating Sonic from the rest of them as they are forced to flee.

Later, the Babylon Rogues discuss the new development over dinner, with Jet calling it an insult to racing and to himself. Storm suggests that Sonic might have been paid off, but Jet finds the idea ridiculous. Wave reminds the two that Sonic is always doing heroic things and stopping bad guys, bringing them to the realization that if Sonic is trying to stop the Clean Sweepstakes, then Clean Sweep Inc. must be at fault somehow. From this, Wave infers that the event is a scam being fronted as a charity event to profit off of the Restoration's good name. Furious that Sonic figured it out before he did, Jet announces to his team that they have a new mission.

Town in Misty Spire — Kit asking Surge how she feels.

Meanwhile, Kit asks Surge if she is angry, to which she replies that it's complicated because of the situation has gotten ever since the Clean Sweepstakes began. A little girl comes up to Surge, praising and admiring the tenrec as well as her performance against the Phantom Rider in both rounds. The girl's mother arrives to take her away, apologizing to Surge, and telling her daughter they must leave the tenrec alone as she is very busy. The girl waves goodbye, saying she will be spiky and punch bad guys too. Surge waves back, then tells Kit she does not think she can keep doing this since she believes they do not deserve it. Despite not understanding the situation either, Kit states how being cheered for by the crowd causes oneself and the world around them to light up, and that he would do anything to see that again.

Meanwhile, in one of the dorms on the Battleship, Lanolin is training with a punching bag while Duo apologizes for being eliminated by the Phantom Rider. He mentions that Tangle and Whisper said the Phantom Rider ran away, but raises the question of if they are hiding something or trying to spare their feelings. He adds that it is hard to say what they would do alone and that they are lucky to have Lanolin guiding them. Tangle, who was listening to the conversation from outside, goes over to Whisper's room. She tells Whisper that she did not tell the others what happened as she could not give up on Sonic and was still unable to believe what she saw. Whisper gives Tangle her mask, explaining that she stopped recording footage after they fought Mimic but started again after Silver was cast out from the Diamond Cutters. Tangle puts on the mask, seeing the footage for herself and the differences between the two Phantom Riders, such as their appearances and the fact that the first Phantom Rider never attacked anyone directly.

Realizing there is more to the situation than meets the eye, Tangle tells Whisper that they are going to figure this out together. The Babylon Rogues also vow to find out who is behind the scam and get even with them. Surge tells Kit that they are going to do the "hero" thing right and earn it. Elsewhere, Clutch is shocked to hear from Mimic that the Phantom Rider is none other than Sonic the Hedgehog. He begins to grow enraged before stopping and apologizing for his temper. He admits to having had too much fun and decides it is time to get back to work, declaring that the next time the Phantom Rider shows himself at the Clean Sweepstakes will be the last.