Original Series - Page 9 #88 - September 2005 "Partners" Cover On her way into work Sara meets Molly, a cleaner form her old precinct, she’s come to ask for Sara’s help in finding her 11 year old granddaughter Keisha who’s gone missing after school. Once inside Sara meets her new boss, Captain Peyroux, who allows Sara to investigate the disappearance. Sara and Gleason canvas the girl’s neighbourhood and get nowhere. After grabbing some lunch someone comes forward with a lead, which leads them to Keisha’s body. Elsewhere in the city a group of Russian gangsters have their party interrupted. #89 - October 2005 "Fugitive" Part 1 of 3 Cover Sara and Gleason are sent to investigate the murders of a group of Russian gangsters and prostitutes. There’s one survivor and they want to go speak to her but are stopped by two Feds who had the Russians under surveillance. They all head to the hospital, all the girl can tell them is that her attacker was a ‘beast’. While she’s there Sara drops in on Jake who’s still in a coma, she talks to him for a while with no response but when she leaves his hand moves slightly. Sara and Gleason decide to look for their killer in the sewers near the crime scene, they find blood on the walls and a monster lurking in the darkness… #90 - November 2005 "Fugitive" Part 2 of 3 Cover Gleason gets attacked by the monster in the sewers, Sara fights him off but comes in for some grief from Gleason over the Witchblade and her use of it. Their Fed friends then reappear and start asking a lot of questions, Gleason gets the pair of them away from the situation while Sara discovers a new lead. On Liberty Island Sara and Gleason find their quarry, his name’s Michael and he was a soldier who volunteered for an experimental program to create an army of ‘super soldiers’. Initially the treatment was a success but then the side effects of the program began to show themselves and his superiors decided to terminate him so he went on the run. The ‘Feds’ then reappear and try to take Michael and the Witchblade… #91 - November 2005 "Fugitive" Part 3 of 3 Cover The two agents try to use Michael to take the Witchblade but working together Sara, Michael and Gleason retain the Witchblade and take care of the female agent whose psychic powers were controlling Michael. Michael then charges the male agent and the two of them end up in the river. Gleason is seriously hurt and again Sara tries to use the Witchblade to heal him, he refuses at first but then relents on the condition that Sara does her best to learn more about the Witchblade. Back at the office Sara gets a visit from a government official, Samantha Argent, who has some questions over what exactly happened on Liberty Island and the lack of the bodies of Michael and the male agent. Elsewhere Michael is just beginning to take his revenge. #92 - December 2005 10th Anniversary Special Cover Sara pays a visit to the Curator to try and get to the bottom of what the Witchblade truly is and where it came from. At first the Curator refuses to enlighten her but when she threatens to abandon the Witchblade he sees he has no choice and Sara’s taken on a journey through time where she sees many former Witchblade wielders right back to the creation of the Witchblade. Created by the Darkness and the Angelus as a balance between the dark and the light, the Witchblade is a male entity but needs a female bearer to balance it. Sara is reborn with the lives and souls of all those past bearers within the Witchblade. #93 - February 2006 "Reflections" Cover WWLA Cover Whilst swimming laps Sara meets an old friend from the academy. Hearing about her husband and children makes Sara conscious of the things missing from her life, partly due to the Witchblade. Things don’t improve at the diner where she eats breakfast or later that day in her apartment. The next morning at the pool Sara encounters a lost part of the Witchblade which just wants to be whole again. Sara agrees realising that when it comes to the Witchblade she never has much choice. #94 - February 2006 "Artifacts" Part 1 of 2 Cover NY Comic Con Cover Joins together with #95 to give complete image. Sara’s woken early on her day off by a call from Gleason; the Curator's been in touch to report an item stolen. When they visit him he gives them an address for the people who’ve taken the item, a statue of a multi-armed sword wielding goddess. Sara and Gleason arrive at the address and find the door open and several dead, bloody, bodies inside. What they don’t realise is there’s something else in the room... #95 - March 2006 "Artifacts" Part 2 of 2 Cover NY Comic Con Cover MegaCon Cover NY Comic Con Michael Turner Cover Sara and Gleason notice the statue, which is now about 10ft tall, in the room just as it decides it isn’t finished yet. Sara rescues Gleason by sending the statue down to the basement, and then follows it down. With the Witchblade Sara reduces the statue to its original size and state and they return it to the Curator, with Sara warning him not to set her any more tests. Back at the station the pair are taking a break when Captain Peyroux lets them know they have the killer of Molly’s Granddaughter in custody (see #88) and would Sara like first go at the interview… #96 - April 2006 "True Confessions" Cover Sara and Gleason interview the man responsible for Keisha Sims’ murder, he’s saying nothing but eventually he confesses, with a little not so gentle encouragement from the Witchblade. After a long day Sara just wants to go home but Gleason persuades her to come out to dinner. When Sara arrives at the restaurant Gleason’s lost for words and as the two look over the menu a kiss seems a certainty, until a person comes crashing through the window, Ian Nottingham. #97 - May 2006 "Old Habits" Part 1 of 2 Cover Ian’s crashing through the window and back into Sara’s life spoils her date with Gleason, especially when Ian’s pursuers catch up with him. Between the three of them they get rid of Ian’s attackers, Yakuza killers, and then head to Sara’s place to clean up. Gleason stays for a while and then leaves them to it. Ian then confesses he’s got himself into some real trouble and needs Sara’s help. He’d also like to rekindle their romance but Sara’s not interested. She gives him the address of the Curator’s and says to meet her there in the morning, and then asks him to leave. Ian breaks into the Curator’s, and helps himself to the ‘Blood Sword’ (see #86)… #98 - June 2006 "Old Habits" Part 2 of 2 Cover Wizard World Philadelphia Cover Sara catches up with Nottingham who’s been on a killing spree with his stolen sword, she gets him to agree to solve his problems with her help and without violence. They go to meet Nogawa, the Yakuza who wants Ian dead, and while Sara fights off his bodyguards Nottingham fights Nogawa to the death. Sara’s furious with Ian who confesses to doing it all to take over Nogawa’s operation and invites Sara to start a new life with him, she arrests him. Gleason is moping in a bar over his failed date with Sara when she appears next to him and they agree to give it go but their kiss is interrupted again, this time by a call from the hospital to say Jake has come out of his coma… #99 - July 2006 Cover Jake seems to be fine when Sara and Gleason go to visit him, ready to get back to his life. The next day Sara and Gleason are made permanent partners, assigned to all the cases no one else wants. Later that day Sara picks Jake up form the hospital and on the way home they pay a visit to the Empire State Building. Once up at the top looking out over the city it becomes obvious Jake isn’t fine – he’s been possessed by a creature like the one Sara fought at the church (see #80 – 85), a living God with designs on Earth…