Paperinik gets arrested by the Time Police for his actions during "Carpe Diem", and he is told he had been condemned to have his memory erased of all information about the Time Police (including Lyla). While Photomas tries to defend his case, Time Ø prison is attacked by the Raider, who plans to free all the criminals working for the Organization.
Tropes Present In This Issue:
- A Father to His Men: The Time Police commander is not exactly a nice guy, but his first priority is keeping his men safe and sound.
- Always Save the Girl: Or the villain: Paperinik would rather give back the device that keeps the Raider alive to him, rather than use it to save Time Ø.
- Arrested for Heroism: While it's true that Paperinik helped the Organization and stole from a Time Police's station in "Carpe Diem", he did that to save the universe. He even lampshades that to the commander, who admits this is the reason he didn't get a worse penalty.
- Batman Gambit: Kronin has no trust in Nash's plan to create a black hole, but thinks that if he gets along with it, it could cause the destruction of the Time Police; meanwhile, he'd escape with a spaceship and, thanks to a signaler, return to the XXIII century and become a hero for the Organization.
- Cardboard Prison: Averted. Time Ø is a really tight jail: the only way for the Raider to make his accomplices escape is by threatening to blow it up with a bomb.
- Chronic Backstabbing Disorder: Holy crap, there is a lot of them. First Kronin states that the reason he was arrested in the first place is because the Raider betrayed him in order to gain his title, then Fulton betrays the commander and forms an alliance with the criminals to save Time Zero, and he's planning to betray them too, after everything comes back to normal. Finally Kronin betrays everybody and leaves them to be sucked inside a black hole while he escapes.
- Continuity Nod: Photomas is back from "Fragments Of Autumn" and the events of "Carpe Diem" are referenced. Even the timepoliceman that recognized Paperinik in that issue makes an appearance.
- Darker and Edgier: One of the darkest issues of the series.
- Easy Amnesia: Inverted and parodied. Photomas may be a brilliant lawyer, but he can't remember names and dates for his life. After a bad hit of the head he suddenly remembers everything, but the doctor reassures him that it's just a temporary effect.
- Enemy Mine: The chronocriminals and the timepolicemen must team up to save Time Zero. Of course each side is planning to betray the other.
- Evil Counterpart: The Raider is a criminal but also a Noble Demon. Kronin has all of his abilities and none of his redeeming qualities.
- Friendly Enemies: No issue better shows Paperinik and the Raider's relationship as this: the Raider tries to persuade his fellow criminals to not involve the hero, while Paperinik starts attacking them only after they seriously wound the criminal. Heck, Paperinik cries when the Raider does his Heroic Sacrifice.
- Laser-Guided Amnesia: What the Time Police plans to do to Paperinik in order to make him forget its (and Lyla's) existence.
- Legacy Character: We discover that Raider is actually a title given to the best agent of the Organization and meet Kronin, the former holder. It's also a subversion, since he is not the least bit happy about losing its title.
- Living on Borrowed Time: Since he is a cyborg, the Raider uses a tachyon decelerator to power himself, and would die quickly without it. Unfortunately, the others need it to create their artificial black hole, and Kronin is all to happy to take it.
- Nice Job Fixing It, Villain: By attacking the Raider, Kronin activates the bomb he placed on the anchor of Time Zero, which explodes and sends the prison driving around the time-less void that surrounds it, thus preventing the criminals from leaving.
- Noodle Incident: Apparently Kronin once robbed Cicero.
- Prison Episode: Except for Paperinik's flashback, the whole issue takes place in the prison of Time Zero.
- Revenge Before Reason: Kronin in a nutshell: after being freed from his cell he decides the best moment to settle his problems with the Raider is right there in the prison, instead of waiting for when they are all safe somewhere else. He also activates the bomb that prevents them from escaping (granted, he didn't know about that, but still...)
- Screw This, I'm Out of Here!: Believing that Nash's plan is too crazy to work, Kronin flees with a little spaceship and the signaler that the Organization plans to use to retrieve the criminals. Unfortunately for him, his device stops working and he's sucked into the time-less void.
- Shoo Out the Clowns: Photomas disappear as soon as things get serious.
- The Starscream: A non-villainous example: Fulton, the second in command of Time Zero, betrays his superior when he refuses to ally with the criminals to stop the prison from drifting into the void. Fulton only wanted to get along with their plan to later betray them when the station was safe again (and he said that much) but the commander didn't want to risk his mens' lives.
- Unrealistic Black Hole: Nash's plan to stop the derive of Time Ø consists of creating a miniature black hole to attract them to it and then connect the prison to his original anchor point before they are sucked in.
- Villain's Dying Grace / Heroic Sacrifice: the Raider sacrifices his life to stop Time Ø from being sucked into a black hole.
