Featuring Sentinel

"As you can see, we have a visitor," Cap said, indicating the Sentinel. "One of the founding fathers needs our help. I trust you'll all give him your attention."

Sentinel stepped up to the podium. "Thank you, Cap. I have a story to tell all of you. It's not a pleasant one for me, and the worst is yet to come," the Sentinel said and began his story.

Sentinel sat in his self-made orbiting space HQ. Ever since the law that made super-heroes illegal had been passed, many of the legendary heroes had retired. Others found ways to circumvent the law. The Sentinel noted that the United States had no authority in space. Alan Scott could still be the Sentinel in the stars. And so he built this little base to act as the world's protector against any alien invaders.

Normally, he used his ring to scan space for incoming threats. But occasionally, he checked out the Earth to see that everything was okay. On this particular day, he got more than he bargained for. Something was about to happen that would affect him forever.

She was on a freighter, heading toward New York Harbor. They'd arrive at the buy port in an hour or so. She had taken one of the Shadow's autogyros out to intercept the ship. Now she was trying to handle the vicious crew single handedly. She had little confidence in her ability to do this. She knew she was out of her league. She became a heroine for the attention and glamour of it. I'm a chick in a bathing suit, for crying out loud! she thought to herself. I can't do this alone!

But she was not alone, although she didn't know it. Also on board was CIA agent Jimmy Woo, who was undercover among the Asian smugglers. While the rest of the crew was distracted by Phantom Lady, Woo tried to dismantle the bomb.

Unfortunately, Woo was assailed from behind by a hired Merc. Woo managed to defeat his opponent, who he dragged to the bow and threw overboard, hoping that the propellers would take care of him. He returned to his task but to his shock, he found that the bomb had been activated by the intrusion. Fearful, he desperately tried to haul the bomb to the railing. With an adrenaline surge, he somehow lugged the bomb to the rail and pushed it overboard. He hoped that the ship would be far enough away by the time the bomb finally activated.

Meanwhile, the Merc who Woo had thrown overboard was still floating in the vicinity of the bomb with no way to escape. Minutes later, the bomb exploded. The ship was far enough away and had been lined with lead for just such an emergency, so the crew was fine, as was the Phantom Lady.

But the man in the water was not! He was enveloped in a wave of Cobalt energy.

She was tied to a chair by the Asian smugglers. They conversed in a foreign tongue, probably deciding her fate. She shivered, fearing what would come next. Would they kill her quickly, or would they rape her first? Or perhaps torture, to find out who sent her? None of these scenarios sounded very good to her.

Sentinel came down to Earth and observed the blast area. The water was radioactive. Sentinel used his ring to create a force bubble, to contain the contaminated water. He sent it floating out into space. Unbeknownst to the Sentinel, the radiation had obscured his scans, and so he didn't detect the man inside. The Merc, trapped in that bubble, found a small pocket of oxygen but it wouldn't last long.

After the Sentinel had eliminated the threat of radiation, he checked the nearest ships. On one ship, he saw someone flagging him down. He recognized special agent Woo. The Sentinel joined him.

"I can use your help," Woo said.

And then, suddenly . . . A savior! The Sentinel appeared.

"That's no way to treat a lady," he said, using his ring to restrain the smugglers.

Phantom Lady smiled. "I think I love you!"

After scanning the bubble, she detected the irradiated man within. She wondered about the Earthlings and why they would exile this man in such a way. He must be a criminal of some kind. Whoever he was, his remaining air was running out and he was about to die. Primaid had an idea.

She transported the man to her base. She then commanded her robot surgeon to do genetic surgery on the radioactive man, making him into a storage battery of Cobalt energy. Finally, they encased him in an armored shell, like a suit of armor, which would help him control and utilize his vast power better.

<"Rise,"> she said to the Earthman. <"Begin your new life as a creature of power!">

The man stood up. He could feel the power coursing through him. He was a super-being. "Thank you for your help, Miss . . . "

<"I am Primaid,"> she said. <"I am an Avatar of Mars. It is my duty to study the Earth. I . . . Do not like what they did to you. I have given you the power to avenge yourself.">

The man smiled. "I'm grateful. And I'm going to do just that!"

Primaid transported him back to Earth, and laughed. The truth was that she didn't care what happened to the man, but she needed to monitor the Earth, in preparation for the eventual Martian conquest of that world. She couldn't tell much about Earth from this distance, except for some intercepted communications and stolen satellites. However, this man with the ring who stood guard above the Earth could be a problem. Having read the mind of the Earthman and found that the man called Sentinel was responsible for his plight, she delighted in sending her agent to eliminate the threat for her.

Having created a mind lock with the man, she was able to see everything that happens through his eyes.

Sentinel hadn't allowed himself to get interested in the opposite sex since the whole Harlequin thing went sour.* Still, the Phantom Lady was clearly on the side of the Angels and she was stunningly beautiful. And she seemed to like him. He wondered if it wasn't time for him to break his self-imposed abstinence.

*(JSA #39)

The following day found them in bed together, in Alan Scott's penthouse. After they finished copulating, they lay together in the king-sized bed.

"This is the life!" Sandra Knight, a.k.a. the Phantom Lady said. "In a big, beautiful penthouse, in a big, comfy bed, and boffing a handsome millionaire. Life just doesn't get any better than this."

Alan Scott smiled. "We can do it again any time you want."

"A girl could get used to this," she said, stretching.

They were suddenly distracted by an explosion from outside. "What the . . . " she asked, as they ran to the window. Outside, they saw the man in the blue armor, floating over the city, unleashing energy blasts.

"Where is he?" the armored man asked, furious. "Where is the Sentinel! Tell him to come out and face the Cobalt man!"

"Who's the Cobalt Man?" the Phantom Lady asked.

"I haven't a clue," the Sentinel said. "But I'd better get out there and stop him."

"I'll wait for you in bed," the Phantom Lady said, grinning seductively.

Sentinel used his ring to instantly don his costume. He flew out to meet his radioactive challenger.

"Here I am!" the Sentinel shouted. "What the heck do you want?"

"You don't know?" the Cobalt man asked, further enraged. "That does it! You'll die painfully!"

The Cobalt Man unleashed a powerful blast that the Sentinel blocked with a force field. The ring-wielding hero was started by the awesome force of the Cobalt man. This guy is powerful! Sentinel thought.

They exchanged power beams, both taking everything the other had to dish out. The Sentinel feared that his ring would run out of power before he defeated the Cobalt Man. He tried to come up with a strategy.

The Phantom Lady watched this from the window and couldn't stand on the sidelines any longer. She didn't know what she could do but she put on her costume and ran to the roof. She watched the two titans of power battle in the air like Gods. Their power was unbelievable. "Be careful!" she cried out.

The Cobalt Man saw her and remembered that she was partly responsible for his near-death. A beam of radiation shot out at the buxom beauty. The Sentinel desperately tried to protect her. He blocked the ray before it incinerated her, but an explosion of radioactive energy hit her.

Angry, the Sentinel encased the Cobalt Man in a force bubble. The wrathful Cobalt Man unleashed all his power, trying to break out. The backlash was painful to the Sentinel. It took all his formidable will power to keep the force field from shattering. The energy inside was staggering.

And just as suddenly, it stopped! Cobalt Man's assault ceased. Inside, he lay still. He slumped, dead weight. The Sentinel cautiously released him, and he fell to the roof below. The Sentinel landed and examined his body.

"He . . . He's dead!" the Sentinel said. "He must have burnt out all the oxygen in the bubble. I killed him!"

The Phantom Lady put a reassuring hand on his shoulder, letting him know she was there for him, whatever happens.

Sentinel concluded his story. "And so, the Cobalt Man was buried in a lead container. But his radioactive attack on the Phantom Lady had affected her. You see, I had gotten her pregnant that day. And the child became a radioactive mutation. We got Doc Savage to help us with the birth. But even he couldn't save my poor Sandra. She died during childbirth.

"As for the baby, it was an uncontrolled source of radiation. Doc Savage deduced that it would grow more and more powerful as it was exposed to all the sources of radiation on the planet, including harmless ultra-violet. I reluctantly had to agree to have the boy placed in a cryogenic capsule that would keep his power under control until a cure could be found. It never was. I had the capsule buried in lead and had a building constructed on top of it. I never allowed anyone to live in that building. It was just a warehouse. I spent millions on scientific research, hoping to cure the boy."

"That's horrible!" Wasp said sympathetically.

"What do you think they want with your son?" Batman asked. "To harness his power or to use as a weapon?"

"It may be worse than that," the Sentinel said. "If he's exposed to more radiation . . . "

Just then, Jarvis came rushing in, agitated. "Sirs, excuse me, but there's a crisis. We've just gotten word that someone has attacked the Opal City Nuclear Reactor."

Sentinel looked stunned. There was a moment of uncomfortable silence.

"This can't be a coincidence, can it?" Flash asked.