In the office of Harry S. Osgood, Agent to the Stars, Lancelot Steele and Osgood himself sit late at night watching a video tape on an absurdly large screen television. The tape is of a performance featuring Alison Blaire – The Dazzler glowing brightly and singing her heart out. Harry slams his fist on the arm of his couch and tells Lance that, no matter how many times he watches the tape, he still remains puzzled. Lance says that he thinks Dazzler has some explaining to do.
Meanwhile, unaware of her impending turmoil, Alison Blaire is busy in her meager apartment, attempting to make a meal in the kitchen and failing miserably. Pots are overflowing and other containers have spilled all over the countertop. Alison is disappointed that she finally had time to buy some decent groceries and prepare a nice dinner for Paul, her doctor boyfriend, and now she ruins it.
At that moment, the buzzer goes off and Alison realizes that she’ll have to let Paul in, despite the shabby state of her kitchen. As she lets Paul in, Alison jokes that she hopes he isn’t hungry and Paul lightheartedly says that it smells like a disaster area happened there. Alison changes the subject and asks Paul to just let her hold him for a second. The two embrace, instantly relieving Alison’s stress. Paul and Alison enter the kitchen disaster area and Alison remarks jokingly that she thought she had found a great recipe for Veal a la Greque. “And it turned out to be research notes from the Manhattan Project,” finishes Paul. He then offers to take her out to eat instead. Alison admits that she’s a singer not a chef.
Suddenly, the phone rings and Alison answers the phone. It’s Harry on the other end. At first, she seems happy but abruptly her mood drastically switches, as she argues with Harry, trying hard to get a word in. Finally, she gives in and tells Harry that she’ll be right over. Alison hangs up the phone and tells Paul that was her manager on the phone; he needs to see her right away and he didn’t sound like he wanted to present her with a Grammy Award. She then apologizes and says that, between Paul’s hospital crises and her off-the-wall career, they never get any time together. Paul assures her with a comforting touch and tells her that one look at her can keep him going for weeks. He then offers to give her a ride to Harry’s office.
After a tension-filled ride, Paul drops Alison off in front of the office building while she complains about the butterflies in her stomach. Paul continues to comfort her by reminding her that Harry has always been fair to her in the past, so he probably has a good reason to insist that she rush over. Paul offers to stay outside and wait for her but Alison interrupts him midsentence to tell him not to, since Harry isn’t exactly a man of few words. She adds that she has a feeling that, after the meeting is through, she won’t be fit company for anybody. Paul complains that he is leaving tomorrow for a week-long convention in Vancouver. Alison apologizes and says that she’ll make it up to him when he gets back. As Paul’s car pulls away, Alison thinks to herself that, if he finds someone else, she only has herself to blame since she sent him away but she’s so upset by this surprise meeting that she couldn’t put him through that.
While Alison walks through the door, a taxi pulls up to the building. The driver tells his passenger that he tailed the car like he asked, so now he should make with the big tip. The passenger is revealed to be the same man that has been following Dazzler around for the past few days. He tells the driver to take the money but keep his voice down. The man thinks to himself that his employers have given him orders. Soon surveillance will be over and he will move in on Dazzler.
Upstairs in the reception room of Harry’s 39th floor office:
Alison enters the room and says to the receptionist sitting at the desk, “Hello Cassie. I’m here to see Harry. He…” At this point, she is cut off by the receptionist who tells her she knows very well why she is there because Harry has been fuming about it all day. She then coldly adds that her name is Cassandra. Alison thinks sarcastically to herself that Cassandra is as adorable as ever, as she walks into Harry’s office. She surveys the room from the door and notices that Lance is there too and they are watching her performance tapes. Alison announces her presence by clearing her throat and Harry makes a comment about the “secretive chanteuse” arriving. Lance chips in by saying it’s about time.
Harry, in his own longwinded manner, says that this meeting will be brief if she answers one question. Lance then asks abruptly how she uses those weird light tricks in her act. Harry says that they have a right to know, as he is the person who employs her to which Lance adds that he is the guy who does all the dirty work of lugging around her equipment. While the two men give their credentials, Alison is thinking about how she has dreaded this moment but knew it would happen eventually.
She tells them that she’s sorry but she can’t tell them. It’s a professional secret. She wonders to herself how she could tell them she’s a mutant with the ability to transform sound into light. She then remembers a recent experience when she used her powers in a subway station only to have an angry mob turn on her for being a mutant. Lance is upset by Alison’s reply and angrily tells her that she wouldn’t be a professional if it weren’t for them and asks how big of a deal it could be. Harry states that for once he agrees with Lance and, if she can’t speak her “professional secrets” to him, then she should seek stardom with a more callous consultant. Alison says that she does appreciate all Harry has done for her but then shows outrage of her own. She storms out of the office, completely ignoring Harry’s pleas to her while telling him if he is giving her an ultimatum then she says “Sit on it!”
To put an exclamation point on the confrontation, Alison slams the door so hard that papers fly off of Cassandra’s desk. Cassandra makes a comment about Alison having some nerve but Harry looks more worried than angry. Outside the door, Alison looks dejected and thinks about how she was more scared than angry but had to do something. She wonders if she can trust even Harry, who has always been wonderful to her with her secret and knows she doesn’t want to trust Lance with it.
Sometime later in Harry’s recording studio:
A struggling jazz act also managed by Osgood rehearses while Lance supervises. Lance sits and thinks to himself that Harry knows how to pick talent. He thinks this group sounds great and the female lead singer is a knockout.
Suddenly, the door to the rehearsal studio shatters from a very strong kick and a man in a purple suit flips into the room. He is followed by two more men, one very bulky and the other wielding a lasso. Lance is taken off guard by the trio of intruders and yells, “Holy spit!” The man with the lasso tells everyone to freeze while the acrobat doing flips and knocking over equipment introduces them as the Enforcers and says they are after a rat named Harry Osgood. Lance thinks to himself that Harry is due back any minute so he has to try to get rid of the Enforcers soon. He wonders if he can bluff them and walks confidently up to the Enforcers. He admits their entrance was impressive but tells them that if they want Harry to handle their act, they have to make an appointment like everybody else. Ox, the bulky Enforcer, is not amused by Harry’s bluff and tells him that he is stupid then lifts a water dispenser above his head and sends it crashing down, barely missing Lance. At this, Lance again loses his nerve and backs down.
Montana, the Enforcer with the lasso, announces that it is time for some redecorating and uses his lasso to fling an amplifier through the air and it crashes into the production booth above their heads. Montana brags about his inventive method of destruction to Fancy Dan, the acrobatic martial artist of the group. Fancy Dan admits the damage was not bad but says there is nothing like a little karate to really get things going and chops a piece of equipment in two. Ox then gets in on the destruction by slamming his hands down on the piano keyboard so hard that the entire piano crumples. The pianist from the jazz combo runs away, voicing his horror that Ox just wrecked a hundred year-old Steinway.
At that moment, Harry Osgood approaches the rear entrance to the studio deep in thought about his earlier argument with Alison. He thinks to himself that he hated tormenting her but it is a matter of principle and hopes to have a reasonable reconciliation. Harry, luckily, looks in the window before walking into the studio and sees the Enforcers wrecking things and is devastated, wondering why they would do such a thing.
Back inside the studio, Fancy Dan tells Ox, who is currently jumping up and down repeatedly on the smashed Steinway, to grab Lance. Ox quickly picks Lance up by his tank top and dangles him in midair in front of Fancy Dan. The acrobat takes a puff on his cigar and blows smoke in Lance’s face. He tells Lance to give Harry Osgood a message: that this is only the beginning and Techmaster sends his regards.
Outside the rear entrance, Harry is still watching from the safety of the back hallway. At the mention of the Techmaster, he is so startled that his cigar falls from his mouth. Fancy Dan asks Lance if he’s got the message and Lance stammers out that he does. Fancy Dan tells Ox to let him down which he does rather roughly. As the Enforcers make their exit, Fancy Dan tells Lance to make sure Harry gets the message because, if he doesn’t, they’ll have to come back and give it to Lance again. Once the Enforcers are gone, Lance thinks to himself that he can’t believe they trashed the entire studio in two minutes flat.
Outside the studio, Harry has decided to run from the area to make sure the Enforcers don’t find him. Inside, the lead singer from the jazz combo swoons over Lance, saying he was in such danger. Lance’s ego immediately begins to puff back up and he admits aloud that he was pretty heroic.
In a plush office within the World Trade Center:
The Enforcers stand in front of a desk belonging to the Techmaster, who remains unseen other than his gloved hand on the armrest. Fancy Dan reports to the Techmaster that they went to Osgood’s and since he wasn’t there they gave the place a first class going over. The Techmaster indicates that he is pleased with this and Fancy Dan asks if he wants them to check Osgood’s house. Techmaster says Harry is too smart to run to his house but time is on his side and he can afford to wait.
Techmaster begins to take off his gloves as he says he wants Harry to squirm for a while. The Enforcers are shocked at something they see when the Techmaster gets his gloves off. The Techmaster’s hands are not flesh and blood, but rather completely mechanical. He says that he wants Harry to suffer the same way Harry made him suffer for so many years. A shot of the Techmaster’s face reveals that he has been severely disfigured with skin hanging off his face in many places. In awestruck silence, the Enforcers await their employer’s next instructions.
Back in Alison Blaire’s apartment:
A despondent Alison sits in her pajamas, eating her botched meal from earlier in the day. She grumbles to herself about what a bad day it has been. Not only is she eating the “gourmet” meal, but she managed to alienate first Paul then Harry. In the middle of her meal, someone starts ringing her buzzer like crazy, making Alison wonder who it could be. She cautiously pulls the door open, leaving the chain in place and sees Harry standing outside her door looking very frightened. Alison asks what Harry is doing there and he excitedly tells her she has to let him in right away. Alison complies and lets him in but still seems overwhelmed by his erratic behavior.
She says that she appreciates Harry coming over to discuss their problem but Harry completely ignores her, as he rushes into the apartment. He mutters aloud to no one in particular that they’ll never think to look for him there, so he’ll be safe. Alison thinks to herself that something must be really wrong, because Harry is talking like a normal person instead of constant alliteration. Alison asks who Harry will be safe from, to which Harry explains that he will be safe from the most dangerous enemy he has in the world – the Techmaster. Alison tells Harry to slow down and suggests he tell her the whole story. Harry agrees and says that recounting the story will help him think things out clearly.
(flashback)
Harry begins the story several years ago, during the height of the disco craze. He explains that he was promoting a spectacular New Year’s Eve concert in the Dreamland Disco in Queens. The chic Manhattan crowd thought it quaint to visit Queens for a party which promised to be the greatest one of all. Harry recounts that his lighting and electronics expert then was Billy Bitzer, who called himself the Techmaster because his “magic hands” were known worldwide. Bitzer was a very handsome man, drawing the eyes of all the ladies at the party.
Harry states that Bitzer was as much of a celebrity as those he did technical work for. The evening of the party, Techmaster came up with the idea to create artificial lightning bolts inside the disco to wow the crowd but he had never tested the effect before. Since he wasn’t sure of its safety, Harry told Techmaster in no uncertain terms to forget it. Bitzer argued with Harry that the effect would be the most spectacular display of all time. When the clock struck twelve, actual lightning would fly across the ceiling of the hall. Harry did not buckle and still remained resolute that the stunt was just too dangerous. Techmaster eventually caved in and told Harry he won but remained furious.
Harry recounts that the New Year’s Eve party was a huge gala, with the top disco singer Donna Gaynor as the headliner. The crowd was having the time of their lives and the party was becoming the greatest event Harry had ever promoted. Then midnight came and the Techmaster deliberately ignored Harry’s orders, releasing the artificial lightning bolts across the hall ceiling. Harry recalls that there was no denying the breathtaking effect of the display but, despite the crowd’s enthusiastic response, he was still furious for being disobeyed. But Harry’s anger quickly turned to grief as the Techmaster’s lightning went astray and killed one of the revelers.
More of the bolts went wild, striking parts of the building that had barely passed fire inspections and a raging fire soon raged through the hall. The crowd of party goers panicked, as did Billy Bitzer, who frantically tried in vain to shut off the lightning effect which had short-circuited. Techmaster assumed that Harry had sabotaged him because he wanted Bitzer to fail. Suddenly, a stray lightning bolt crashed into the control booth window and hit Techmaster full force. Harry says that he and his staff did everything to get people to safety until the fire department arrived but many died or were injured.
(present)
Harry is holding his head in his hands as he recounts that Techmaster survived the fire but his handsome face was disfigured and his hands had to be amputated to save his life. Harry says that Techmaster has always blamed him for his misfortunes, believing Harry had sabotaged the console so Techmaster would fail. Harry says that in the last few years, the Techmaster has recovered enough to start his own electronics consulting firm and even built artificial hands out of super-sophisticated components. However, Techmaster never stopped blaming Harry and now has decided to start getting even. Harry then tells Alison about the Enforcers wrecking the studio.
Suddenly, someone outside asks if somebody mentioned their name and punches a hole through the door. Harry can’t believe they found him there and starts to panic. The Enforcers crash through the door, sending pieces of debris flying into the apartment and busting the television screen. Montana tells Harry that they are professionals and, when they want to find someone, they find them. Fancy Dan adds in that they let him squirm like Techmaster wanted but now it’s time to take him in. Harry tells them that they have no right to do this but Fancy Dan tells Ox to show him their “right.” Ox grabs Harry and forcefully throws him against the wall, telling him that they are going for a little ride.
Dazzler cries out Harry’s name, prompting Montana to use his lasso to grab Alison and pull her toward him. Dazzler thinks to herself that Montana controls the rope as if it were a living thing. She attempts to struggle but to no avail. Montana warns her that, if she tries anything funny, she’ll get the same treatment, as Harry and throws her aside to the couch. Dazzler thinks to herself that these guys aren’t messing around. She has read about their battles with Spider-Man. They are cold blooded killers. Harry attempts to protect Alison and tells the Enforcers he will go quietly. As they are leaving, Montana gives a cue to Ox, who grabs Alison’s phone and crushes it with one hand and tosses it aside at her feet.
For long minutes Alison sits in stunned silence curled up hugging her knees on the couch. She worries to herself that the phone could have easily been her. But then she decides that she can’t just sit there and do nothing while Harry is killed. She has to get out to a phone and call the police. As she changes into her street clothes, Alison thinks about how badly she is shaking. She jokes to herself that her iron will must have forgot to tell her nerves to calm down.
Soon, Alison stands in a phone booth on the line with the police, who tell her they will send someone right over. Alison asks them if they would just give her theory a try and send someone to the Dreamland Disco. However, the police say that the Dreamland Disco burnt down years ago and now there is just a supermarket in its place. Alison realizes that the police will be no help and decides to switch tactics and try calling Lance. A dime later, Alison starts rapidly explaining the situation to Lance but then realizes she has only reached his answering machine. She leaves Lance a message but realizes that she will have to check out her hunch on her own.
As she flags a passing taxi, Alison thinks to herself that her theory sounds like the plot of a hundred old movies where the bad guy returns to the scene of the crime. Alison gets in the taxi and tells the driver to take her to the supermarket that is on the site of the old Dreamland Disco in Queens. The driver tells her that the store is closed by now and suggests a different one but Alison adamantly tells him to take her where she wants to go. The cabbie obeys and a frenzied ride later, they arrive at Food Dimension, closed as the driver warned.
Alison gets out and the cab pulls away. She thinks to herself that asking the driver to wait for her would attract too much attention, so she’s on her own again. She notices that it seems quiet but decides to snoop around anyway. Suddenly, a man with a gun appears behind her and tells her to freeze, which she does. The gunman tells her to stay quiet and come with him.
Inside the supermarket manager’s office, the gunman tosses Alison into the room where she sees Harry tied to a chair with Montana twirling his lasso in front of him. Harry is shocked and asks Alison what she is doing there. Alison looks around the room and sees the other two Enforcers sitting behind and on the manager’s desk. Fancy Dan tells Harry that she is about to be taught the lesson of her life. Ox chimes in by calling her a stupid broad. Fancy Dan tells Montana to hogtie Alison and wait for Techmaster to let them know how bad to mess her up. Alison thinks to herself that she was really stupid to come alone and wonders what she’ll do now.
Dazzler then notices a box on the desk beside her that she thinks controls the supermarket’s Muzak system which could generate enough sound for her to dazzle the Enforcers. She realizes that now is her only chance, before she is hogtied. Alison makes a lunge for the dial and turns the system up to its highest volume. Suddenly, Alison yells, “April Fool, suckers!” and unleashes a dazzle-blast that takes all three Enforcers completely by surprise, flooring them.
Alison flees the room, thinking to herself that Harry just got his answer about how she creates the lightshows for her performances but she’ll worry about his reaction to her being a mutant later. Alison quickly attaches her magnetic skates to the bottom of her shoes so that she can get away from the Enforcers faster. As she speeds into the darkened shopping area, she thinks that Harry should be safe because the goons won’t do anything to him until the Techmaster arrives. She hopes that she can get the cops to arrive before that happens.
Suddenly, Alison notices a couple gunmen ahead, one lighting the other’s cigarette. One of the goons wonders aloud why they turned on the music and the other says maybe the Enforcers like the song “You Light Up My Life” but then notices Dazzler and yells for her to hold it or… The man never gets to finish his sentence, as Dazzler turns her light powers on the pair of gunmen and sends them hurtling backward into a stack of canned goods.
Alison thinks to herself that she is doing well. She has managed to knock out the Enforcers and the two hoods so getting out of the supermarket should be no problem. However, a gunshot interrupts her silent gloating and she barely manages to duck in time. A man wielding a shotgun yells that next time he won’t miss but Dazzler thinks that she knows she can take this guy out. She tells the man that she’s going to try a new effect on him which she calls the “strobe.” Dazzler starts to flash so rapidly that the man instantly becomes so dizzy that he can’t see straight. The man starts firing wildly in all directions, causing bullets to ricochet all over the store and send the other gunmen scurrying for cover.
Dazzler uses this opportunity to skate around a corner and down an aisle toward the exit. Too late, she notices a barricade of shopping carts barring her path. Alison decides what she must do, builds up more speed, grabs a shelf to get some loft, and leaps over the barricade. In mid leap, Dazzler unleashes another dazzle-blast at the armed thugs and yells her catchphrase, “Go for it!” For a moment, the entire store is filled with astoundingly brilliant light and the last of the thugs is knocked out cold. Alison surveys the battle and thinks to herself that she did it all by herself with no police!
Suddenly, a muscular arm grabs Alison’s face and literally sweeps her off her feet. She looks up to see the burly Ox standing over her, flanked on either side by the other Enforcers. Montana gloats that a little light couldn’t keep them down for long. Alison tries to keep herself calm by telling herself that Lance is probably on his way right now.
However, at Lance’s apartment:
The egotistical stage manager is quite preoccupied by the lead singer of the jazz combo from earlier. The singer is still raving over how brave Lance was during the altercation with the Enforcers. Lance notices that he has a message but the singer tells him it can wait till tomorrow to which Lance wholeheartedly agrees.
Back at the supermarket battlefield:
Ox is manhandling Alison, despite her pleas for him to let go and calling him an animal. Ox thinks the animal remark is appropriate but is interrupted mid-sentence by a lower-intensity laser blast to the chin. Dazzler’s attack works and causes Ox to release her and complain that his head feels like it’s on fire. Dazzler starts to make her escape but is quickly cut off by Fancy Dan, who punches her hard in the gut. He tells her that he doesn’t know what trick she used on Ox but it won’t work on him and proceeds to land another blow to her face.
Dazzler is completely taken off-guard by Fancy Dan’s speed and finds herself on the floor before she realizes what happened. Ox rages toward her demanding revenge for hurting him. He lifts her up in the air by her shirt and says he’s going to mess up her pretty face. Dazzler hangs limply in Ox’s grasp and barely has enough energy left to weakly moan, “no.”
Dazzler struggles with the urge to just let things end this way and embrace the swarming darkness but somewhere beyond the pain and weakness she hears the Muzak system playing the Electric Light Orchestra’s “The Impossible Dream.” The Muzak stirs Dazzler back to her senses and she manages to create another extremely bright light blast that temporarily blinds the three Enforcers. The three hired guns start yelling for each other to find her but this time Dazzler isn’t running. She announces her presence to them by launching herself, knees first, into both Montana and Fancy Dan, knocking them out.
Ox, the last Enforcer left standing has regained his sight and tells her that he’s not going to let her take him by surprise again. Weak from the battle and Fancy Dan’s punches, Alison is on her hands and knees on the floor but grabs a can of peas and tells Ox that he should’ve killed her when he had the chance. Ox tells her he always has the chance and asks her if she thinks she can stop him. Alison simply replies, “Yep,” and Ox then asks her if she plans on hitting him with the can of peas. She says that she knows that wouldn’t hurt him but she has a better idea.
Suddenly, Dazzler whirls around and flings the can through the market’s front window. The results are immediate: the alarms start ringing like crazy and Ox is momentarily distracted by the unexpected move. Dazzler tells him that the police will be there any minute but, before they do, she and Ox have some unfinished business, sounding hard and bitter. Ox notices the glow dancing around her body as if her power is so great she can barely contain it and sees in her eyes that she has the will to use that power. Like a frightened animal, Ox reacts instinctively and suddenly lunges but Dazzler is too fast for him. She releases her strongest blast yet and taunts Ox by telling him that with all the sound pouring into her now, she could handle a dozen like him. The blast is enough to send Ox flying backward, out cold.
Suddenly, Harry enters the shopping area and yells Alison’s name. Allison asks if Harry is all right and he lets her know that he’s fine and managed to free himself. The two don’t talk much but Harry’s face is full of awe.
Outside, the police have arrived at the supermarket and are observed by the Techmaster from the back of his limousine. He thinks to himself that it is fortunate he arrived late, since the Enforcers did not live up to their reputation but there will be another time. He tells his driver to take him home.
At the police station, the officer is having a hard time believing Harry Osgood’s explanation of the events in the supermarket. Harry had told the officer that the Enforcers fought among themselves, knocked each other out and accidentally tripped the alarm. Harry tells him that is his best guess since he was tied to a chair at the time. The officer says it still sounds fishy to him but allows Harry and Alison to leave anyway. The two exit the station, silently ignoring the obvious issue of Alison’s powers.
The next morning, Alison is back in Harry’s office and things are looking up. Harry tells her that, when he saw her last night, not just her powers but her courage and bravery, he gained a new respect for her. Alison thanks him but asks him to keep it a secret because she isn’t ready for the world to know she is a mutant. Harry asks her why, since it’s nothing to be ashamed of and it might even boost her popularity. Alison tells him that most people aren’t as understanding as him. He agrees to keep her secret safe and thinks to himself that she has a friend in him – forever.
Suddenly, in Harry’s reception area, Lance bursts through the doors in a panic. He yells to Cassandra that there is big trouble! “Harry has been kidnapped and Dazzler has gone to …” Cassandra cuts him off and asks him what he’s babbling about. At that moment, Harry and Dazzler come out of the office and Harry asks if someone mentioned their names. Lance is surprised to see them both and Harry tells him that he missed all the merriment. Harry kids Lance and tells him that he was cravenly kidnapped but Alison turned into the Hulk and beat the stuffing out of his kidnappers. Alison chips in that Harry is such a kidder but Lance thinks to himself that Cassandra will really think he’s a jerk now.
Later, Alison is leaving the building thinking about how Harry ordered Lance to leave her alone about the lightshows and even sprang for the repairs on her apartment. Suddenly a man gets her attention and asks if she is the Dazzler. She says she is and the man tells her that his friend in the nearby car is a big fan of hers but is really shy. The man then pulls back his suit jacket to reveal he is carrying a handgun and says his friend asked him to introduce Alison to him. At first Dazzler tells him to flake off and calls him a creep but then she notices the gun and agrees to go with him. On the way to the car, the man tells Alison not to bother trying to dazzle him, because he has specially filtered glasses. Alison climbs into the car as the man introduces his friend as Mr. Meeker – the same man that has been following Dazzler for the past several days.
