|
by Bob Young Originally presented at DC/Marvel: The Merging as Justice Society of America #4-6, Annual #1, and DCM Showcase #1-2 |
The Spectre walked foward, toward the Mansion. He walked through the wall, and entered the dwelling without anyone knowing. Now it was time to observe these mortals up close and see if his faith is justified.
The first team members he saw were Queen Hippolyta and Prince Namor. The Queen was looking at one of Miss Venus’ antique Greek vases as if it brought back some poignant memory. The sea prince had just entered the room and was staring at the amazon with a lustful intensity.
“Greetings, good Queen,” Namor said. “It is an honor and a pleasure to set eyes on such beauty upon my arrival.”
Hippolyta turned and raised her eyebrows in suprise. She wasn’t used to men and their ways yet, and was continually taken aback by their reaction to her appearance.
“Greetings, Prince Namor,” she responded. “I trust you are well?”
“I am excellent!” he exclaimed. “In every way!”
Namor heard a laugh coming from the doorway. He turned to see Wildcat standing there, very amused at something.
“You know, princey, the only thing bigger than your ears is your ego,” Wildcat said. “I’d work on my opening line if I was you.”
Namor’s face contorted in anger and he marched over to Wildcat.
“I am the lord of the seas, heir to mighty Atlantis!” Namor snarled. “I will not suffer disrespect from the likes of you!”
Wildcat was having too much fun at Namor’s expense to realize the danger he was in. Wildcat didn’t like Namor’s pomposity and took any opportunity to take him down a peg.
“Relax, Mr. Ears,” Wildcat grinned, “I respect you. I respect you for your fashion sense. I gotta love anyone who walks around Washington, DC in a little green bathing suit. Surf’s Up, everybody!”
Namor grabbed Wildcat roughly, almost dislocating his arm. Wildcat suddenly realized that Namor did not like to be heckeled.
“No one speaks to me that way!” Namor roared.
Hippolyta recovered from her surprise at this display of adolescent male behavior. This had gone too far and she was determined not to be the reason that Namor killed Wildcat. With all her speed she raced over to the scuffling pair. Namor had pulled back his fist and was about to knock Wildcat’s head off. Wildcat was struggling to free himself but wasn’t having much luck. Hippolyta grabbed Namor’s arm before he could deliver the fatal blow. Namor was about to lash out at this person who had dared interfere in an affair of honor until he realized that it was the lovely amazon queen. His face softened at the sight of her, and he bowed gallantly to her. Wildcat used the distraction to slip free.
The Spectre watched all this with deep concern. These were the people he had trusted the future to? Had he made a mistake?
Namor and Wildcat stared at each other furiously as Hippolyta tried to be the voice of sanity. The situation was abruptly resolved by the authoritative voice with filled the room.
“At ease, everyone. Stand fast!”
Captain America had arrived, and everyone was cowed by the power of his voice. Even the Spectre was impressed by his inner strength.
“We have business to attend to,” Cap ordered. “Everyone assemble in the meeting room immediately.”
A few minutes later and everyone was seated at the table in the meeting room. The Flash, Black Canary and the Sentinel had arrived. Dr. Mid-Nite had been there all the time but preferred to stay hidden and observe his team mates. Only Dr. Fate was missing. The members in attendance awaited Cap’s instructions. Cap addressed the group.
“We won’t wait for Fate. I’ll begin. I’ve just met with the head of the CIA. We have an assignment. Several months ago,” Cap began, “British Intelligence got word that the Nazis were experimenting with something called Cold Atoms. We weren’t sure what is was until an ace spy called the Angel got us some information. I won’t go into details but Cold Atoms is designed to be a weapon. We naturally wanted to have a defense to it. The government sponsored the work of a robotics genious named Phineas T. Horton. His goal was to create a robot that was basically a mobile flame thrower, code-named the Torch! I’ve been told that he succeeded. The Torch was being shipped by plane to meet with the European Intelligence Agency, and it’s American liason. Unfortunately, the plane was damaged by German fighter planes and it went off course. Indications are that it went down in the French Alps. We can’t let the Nazis get their hands on such a dangerous weapon. We have to find the Torch and bring it back.”
“That lets us out,” Flash said. “We can’t go to Europe.”
“Right,” Sentinel said. “The Spear of Destiny!”
“I know,” Cap said. “I’m only taking a small team: Canary, Wildcat, Mid-Nite and myself. That’s all. Sentinel, if you could use your ring to transport us there it would be a big help.”
“Of course!” Sentinel said.
“I wonder what they’re wearing in the French Alps?” the Canary quipped.
“Why have I not been included?!” Namor fumed.
The Captain didn’t want to tell the proud and easily angered Namor that he didn’t include the sea prince because he wasn’t good at covert activities. Namor was very loud. Cap had to think of a good excuse.
“Well, your highness, as you know, Queen Hippolyta is on a probation period, dictated by the goverment. That’s why she can’t come. As for you, I want you to . . . ah . . . oversee her training and orientation.”
Namor smiled. “I apoligize for my tone, Captain. It is a wise decision.”
Cap felt bad. It was a nasty trick to play on their new member, but it was all he could come up with. Nearby, Dr. Mid-Nite was smiling. He was impressed by Cap’s handling of Namor. Cap continued to impress him.
“All right team, let’s move!” Cap ordered. “Sentinel, you’re in charge until I get back.”
“I’ll take care of things. Are you ready to go?”
“We are. Fire away.”
The Sentinel engulfed the foursome in a sphere of green energy. In a moment, they were gone. The Spectre felt that this would be a good opportunity to watch the JSA in action. He slipped the bonds of the material world and followed the others.
It was basically in the shape of a man but it was composed of fire. It flew throught the skies, leaving a trail of flames behind it. As it flew passed the small cottages, they caught fire. The flame creature swooped down and grabbed a tree, causing it to burn, then it landed and stalked some locals who ran for their lives. It uttered some gutteral sounds as it watched the town burn. A small boy was running and tripped. He looked back and saw the flame thing coming closer. He froze in panic.
The sound of gunshots woke him from his trance. Usually that sound was a threat to these simple people. Now it was his salvation.
Everyone looked and saw the soldiers coming - American soldiers. The stocky man who was obviously the leader wore a Sergeant’s uniform. He charged into battle, his men close behind him.
“Okay, firebug,” the Sergeant yelled, “let’s see if you’re so hot against people who cant fight back. And believe me, Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos can dish it out!”
The bullets didn’t seem to have any effect on their flaming foe. Fury wondered if his eyes decieving him or were the bullets melting as they stuck their target. A few got through and hit the mark but didn’t appear to do any damage. The boy managed to get away. Fury was relieved about that but had a bad feeling about this.
The fire man raised it’s arm in their direction and suddently a wave of flame spit out toward them, worse than any flame thrower Fury had ever seen. The commandos dived for cover. Three of them caught fire. Some if the other tried to help put them out while Fury and the rest distracted their foe.
“We got trouble, howlers!” Fury said. “We’re gonna have’ta put a little overtime in on this one!”
The Howling Commandos resumed their offensive.
“I guess the Ratsies found old Torchy first,” Wildcat said. “Couldn’t have happened to nicer guys.”
“Look at those bushes,” said the Canary, pointing.
Cap looked and saw the still smoldering greenery. “This didn’t happen to long ago. The Torch probably isn’t far from here.”
Suddenly Cap snapped to attention, he gestured for silence from his team. They all stood quietly as he listened. Soon the rest of them heard the footsteps as well. Lots of footsteps. A platoon. Cap gestured for them to go into hiding. They all ducked out of sight.
Peeking out from their hiding places, the saw the American troops arrive. The big, tough looking Sergeant was leading the group and signalled for them to halt. He looked at the charred remains of the German soldiers.
“Man oh man!” the Sergeant said. “I know a few goose steppers who had a bad day.”
Cap nodded to his teammates and the stepped out of hiding. The Sergeant and his soldiers were alarmed by their sudden appearance and pointed their guns at the JSA members. But a look at the Captain’s red-white-and-blue costume helped the sergeant to relax.
“Captain America?” the big Sergeant asked.
Cap nodded. “We’re the Justice Society.”
The Sergeant nodded back. “Yeah, I guessed that. My name’s Rock. These guys are the best soldiers in this man’s army . . . Easy Company! Any idea what happed to these goose stepping bastards?”
“One or two,” Cap said. “In fact, we’re here looking for the thing that did this.”
“I say we give whoever or whatever it is a metal,” Sgt. Rock Said.
Sgt. Rock glanced back at his men and noticed the they were all looking at the Black Canary’s legs. He couldn’t really blame them for that.
“I don’t suppose you’ve seen anything unusual?” Cap asked.
“Most unusual thing that’s happened today is what we’re heading for now,” Rock said.
“What’s that?”
“I just got a call on the field radio. A sergeant I know named Nick Fury is calling for reinforcements. I’ve know Fury for a long time and he never asks for help. This must be something big!”
Cap rubbed his chin. ”Hmmmm . . . ”
The flame being took to the air again and was circling the commandos. Fury was anticipating an attack. He was relieved when he saw the colorful shield skimming through the sky. It struck the flame man, knocking him out of the sky.
“Good news, Howlers!” Fury yelled. “Reinforcements just got here!”
He knew the shield was the hallmark of Captain America. He looked across the road and saw the star-spangled hero catching his returning shield. He spotted the other costumed characters with him and even his old pal Sgt. Rock.
“Hiya, Rocky.”
“Ho there, Nick,” Rock called back. “Imagine you calling for help! I’m never gonna let you live this down!”
“Up yours, Rocky!”
Cap took charge. “Rock, Fury! You and your men clear the civilians out of the area! We’ll handle the Torch!”
The flaming Torch picked itself up off the ground. Dr. Mid-Nite noticed that it rubbed itself in the ribs where it got hit. It stood up and looked around. Dr. Mid-Nite got the impression that it was confused.
Cap charged toward it. It held it’s arms up foward and grunted again. Dr. Mid-Nite took in the body language. Flames shot foward from it’s hands. Cap crouched and used his shield to cover himself. He dived foward and rammed shield first into the Torch. the Torch fell over backwards. Cap flipped to his feet and put some space between him and the red- hot robot. The Torch rose up again. His arms flailed and he made another noise. Cap was surprised. This wasn’t an attack posture. What was it doing?
The Torch detected something moving to it’s left and turned towards it. It saw the Black Canary dragging a wounded man to safety. The Canary placed herself between the man and the robot, ready to take the flame burst herself to save the innocent man. But the Torch didn’t do anything. It titlted it’s head and stared at her in fascination.
Wildcat approached Cap. “Don’t just stand there, boss man,” Wildcat said. “Let’s take him down before he hurts the Canary.”
“No!” Dr. Mid-Nite snapped. “We’ve all made a terrible mistake!”
The Black Canary lifted up a stick and prepared to defend herself. “Hey guys, I could use some help here!”
“Put the stick down!” Dr. Mid-Nite yelled. “Don’t do anything aggressive. It won’t hurt you!”
“Are you sure?”
“Trust me!”
The Black Canary took a deep breath and dropped the stick. The Torch stepped a bit closer. It reached out towards her. She cringed and was about it jump backwards out of his reach. But then . . .
. . . the man of flame lost his flame. The fire went out and everyone could now see that that underneath those flames was a very human looking being. He appeared to be totally human. The Canary’s jaw dropped. This didn’t look like a robot. He was handsome.
He looked scared. The gutteral sounds he was making started to take form. “Uhhh . . . ahhhh . . . I . . . I . . . I am . . . scared.”
Black Canary felt a rush of pity for it . . . for him. She reached out her hand. “Don’t be scared. It’s all right. Come on. Come with me. I’ll take care of you.”
Slowly the Torch reached out to her. He took her hand. She smiled at him.
The sides of the Torch’s mouth began to twitch. For the first time ever, he smiled. this was, after all, the first time that he had ever had anything to smile about.
“How did you know?” Cap asked Dr. Mid-Nite.
”I put it together,“ Mid-Nite said. “The first time I ever heard of Phineas Horton, he was working on an artificial intelligence. He couldn’t finish the project because they stopped his funding. Now, suddenly he has unlimited funding to work on this Torch - the first ever Android. I suspected that Horton might have used some of that funding to finish his AI project.”
“So when he perfected the android, he programmed the Artificial Intelligence into it,” Cap said.
“Exactly,” Dr. Mid-Nite said. "I noted from the Torch’s actions and body language that it was hurt or confused. This android thinks and feels. It thinks!”
“So why’d it attack the village?” Wildcat asked.
“He didn’t mean to. He was activated prematurely, probably by the crash. He isn’t used to using his powers yet. I heard one of the locals say that he was flying and grabbed a tree before he landed. I think he was having trouble directing himself and had to use the tree to stop himself. He’s like a child, he needs to be taught to use his powers.”
“Who’s gonna teach him?” Wildcat asked.
Everyone looked over at the Torch. He was being led by the hand by Black Canary.
“I . . . I didn’t . . . Didn’t want to hurt anyone,” the Torch said.
“It’s all right,” the Canary said softly.
“I think it’s best she does,” Mid-Nite said. “He seems quite smitten with her.”
“Smitten?” Wildcat cried, confused. “He’s a freakin’ toaster!”
“He is an artificial lifeform. His emotions may be simulated, they may be created in a different way than ours, but they exist nonetheless.”
“This is too weird!”
Sgt. Rock and Sgt. Fury came back to the former battle ground. “What the hell is goin’ on here? Where’s fire guy?”
Cap didn’t want to explain. He looked to Dr. Mid-Nite. “Would you . . . ?”
“Of course," Mid-Nite said.
As Mid-Nite explained to the Sergeants, Cap whispered to the Canary. “Could you take him out of here? The villagers seem a little upset by his presense. Just take him for a walk or something while I straighten things out here and see to the wounded.”
The Canary nodded. “Come on,” she said to the Torch, “let’s take a stroll.”
The Torch obediently followed.
Over the next twenty minutes, Cap and the others tried to restore order to the ravaged town.
Order didn’t last long.
A white, misty beam shot into view and engulfed one of Easy Company in a block of ice. Spear-like icicles flew toward the assembled group, impalling some of them and wounding others.
“First fire, now ice!” Wildcat grumbled. “An evil weatherman must be behind this!”
A man came into view. He was ghostly white, even his clothes. He looked like he was made of ice.
“I am called the Icicle! I have come to find the object that crash landed in a plane two days ago. It’s not near the wreckage. So one of you has it! Hand it over and I may just let you live. No promises mind you, but I might.”
“I guess we know what project Cold Atoms was all about,” Dr. Mid-Nite said.
Cap nodded.
“But this guy's not a German!” Wildcat said.
“I’m a defector!” Icicle said. “Volunteering for this Cold Atoms experiment was part of the deal. But enough talk. Where’s the Item!”
Cap called out to his teammates, “Let’s get this guy!”
The three JSA members, backed by Fury and Rock, attacked the Icicle. Wildcat and the two Sergeants were quickly encased in ice. Cap threw his shield but the Icicle froze it in a pillar of ice. Dr. Mid-Nite used his black-out bombs to buy them some time. Cap and Mid- Nite fell back to regroup. Icicle spears whizzed passed them, coming perilously close.
“Listen. You stay here. All right? Stay here!”
The Torch looked at her dumbly. She hoped that he got the message. He raced away to help her partners. The Torch watched her go.
“Canary, stay out of sight!” Cap shouted.
The Canary saw the Icicle, but unfortunately, he saw her at the same time. He tried to run for cover but an ice spear hit her in the leg. She toppled to the ground, bleeding and in pain. The icicle fired another freeze ray at her. Suddenly Cap leaped in the way and took the hit himself. Cap was frozen in a cube of ice. The Canary was alone, and wounded, and the Icicle had her in his sights.
“Noooooooo!!” an angst ridden voice yelled.
The Icicle turned in suprise to see the flaming form of the Torch flying towards him.
“What the . . . ?”
Massive burst of flame spit out at the ice man. He tried to erect shields of ice but they melted. The Icicle counter attacked with ice spears, but they melted before they got near the torch. The Torch mimicked the Icicle’s style and threw fireballs at the icicle. Bursts of flame exploded around the Nazi agent. The Icicle was suprised at the power of the Torch. He hadn’t expected this. This was going to be difficult. The Torch flew in a circle around Cap, and the ice started melting. The Canary kicked at it with her good foot to help it crack. Cap suddenly broke free. After a moment of disorientation, he got his bearing again. He noticed that the Torch's proximity has loosed his shield from the ice pillar. He yanked it out and went to join the Torch against Icicle.
The Icicle was falling back, waiting for an opportunity to take the Torch down. But then he saw that Cpatain America was back in action. He knew immediatley that the Captain's military cleverness combined with the Torch’s power would be a potentially unbeatable combonation. He knew his Nazi masters wouldn’t like this but he had no other choice. “He who fights and runs away . . . ”
The Icicle bid a strategic retreat.
Later, after the Torch had used his flame to free all the others . . .
“So what do we do with him now?” Black Canary wondered. “If he’s intelligent, we can’t just hand him over to the feds like some piece of hardware.”
“I have a bit of clout with the government. Maybe I can arrange something for our android Torch,” Cap answered.
“Not ‘Android’ Torch,” Canary said. “Call him a Human Torch.”
The Spectre watched this and nodded in satisfation. Not only was the JSA getting more poweful with the addition of new members like Wonder Woman and the Human Torch, but their humanity was growing stronger every day. He hadn’t made of mistake. These were the best mortals he could have chosen. The saviors of the race.
Hawkman led the way, as grim as ever. Beside him flew his wife, who was known as Hawkwoman. Close behind glided the scarlet clad Starman. Young Johnny Thunder rode astride his Thunderbolt, acting like a cowboy, with a big, boyish smile. He had his Thunderbolt create a platform for Atom, Star Spangled Kid and Stripsey to ride on. The house which the JSA main team used as an HQ came into view and the reserve team descended to the street.
Hawkman barged into the mansion without knocking, determined to learn immediately what the emergency was. He looked around. No one was there.
"It looks like no one's home," Hawkwoman said.
"Evidently," Hawkman added. "So who sent the message?"
"I did," a sultry voice said.
They all turned to see who was speaking and saw the most beautiful women they've ever seen . . . The woman known as Miss Venus. The men hesitated, momentarily overwhelmed. When Hawkwoman saw this, she stepped to the front.
"And you are?" Hawkwoman asked.
"Miss Venus."
"Ahh, yes," Hawkwoman said. "Our benefactor. Pleased to meet you."
Hawkman came to his senses and slipped back into his stern, official mode.
"You summoned us?" he demanded. "You may own the building but you have no authority to send out a class-1 emergency signal. Only Captain America can do that. Where is he?"
"I don't know," she answered. "That's the trouble. The Justice Society is missing!"
"Missing!" Johnny Thunder shouted. "Holy cow!"
"How long?" Starman asked.
"Two days," Miss Venus replied.
"Then we should . . . " Starman began, but was cut off.
"Just a minute!" Hawkman interjected. "Two days isn't a long time in our business. Our operations don't run on a schedule. Sometimes they take days. What makes you think there's a problem?"
"They were only going from here to Opal City," she said. Starman's eyebrows raised at the mention of Opal. His Opal.
"It should only have taken them a few hours. They never brought back what they went to get and they never reported to the government. No one has seen or heard from them."
"That still doesn't mean . . . " Hawkman began, but this time it was he who was interrupted.
"Hold on just a second," Starman snapped. "If Opal is involved, I want to hear more. Tell me everything you know!"
The main JSA team had been called together by Captain America. Sentinel, Flash, Wonder Woman, the Sub-Mariner, Wildcat, Dr. Mid-Nite, the Black Canary and Dr. Fate were all seated at the meeting table, awaiting Cap's arrival. Miss Venus watches it all. She is not in the room, but in this house, the rules of physics are different..She sees all that occurs here.
Wildcat yawned. "If Mr. America called us together on such sort notice, the least he can do is show up on time."
Namor sneered at Wildcat. "One such as you should not criticize a man of Captain America's stature."
"Back off, elf ears!" Wildcat snapped. "I respect Cap, but I can gripe if I feel like it!"
"I do not want to hear your ‘gripes' and I do not like the way that you address me. I am Namor, Prince of Atlantis and I shall have respect!"
Wildcat was leery of Namor's anger and strength, but he was not one to back down from anybody. "I'm tired of this royalty crap. You don't get respect until you earn it."
Namor stood, fuming. "Then let us settle this in combat, to see who is the better man."
Wildcat knew he couldn't fight Namor one-on-one, but was stuck for a way to get out of it gracefully.
"Stop this at once!" ordered Sentinel, second-in-command of the JSA, but Namor was too angry to listen to him.
Hippolyta listened to this impatiently. Her people have often settled disagreements by combat, but this was pointless. She knew that part of the reason for this show of testosterone was her presence. Namor was putting on a show for her. He couldn't allow himself to be dishonored with her watching. She believed he would kill Wildcat. That was the way it is in a duel of honor. Wildcat didn't understand Namor. She did. She decided to use Namor's attraction to her to end this idiocy. She took Namor's arm and pulled him back to his seat.
"It's very rude of you to ignore me this way, Prince Namor," she said. "Is Wildcat more interesting than I?"
"Surely not!" he said, becoming aroused by her touch and her interest. "But honor demands . . . "
"Wildcat doesn't understand those of noble birth. Forget him. You flatter him by acknowledging his jibes. You should be talking to me instead."
Namor was so enthralled by Hippolyta he forgot about Wildcat. "You are quite correct, your highness. You have my full attention."
Wildcat was disgusted by the display and annoyed that he had to have another of these royal pains-in-the-butt pull his fat out of the fire. But deep down he was glad for having gotten a graceful way out.
Dr. Mid-Nite watched all this with the keen eye of a specialist in human nature. This team had the potential for greatness, but the volatile egos had to be carefully handled or it could all self destruct.
Flash sped over to the other side of the table where Wildcat was sitting, and whispered in his ear. "Sometimes silence is a good thing. If you don't like Namor, just ignore him. This constant bickering isn't helping anyone." Before Wildcat could answer, Flash was back in his seat. Black Canary was lost in thought, barely noticing any of this. She was worried about the welfare of their recently discovered android friend, the Human Torch.
Dr. Fate sat impassively, as if he were above it all.
Captain America arrived. Black Canary sat up when she noticed the Human Torch - in his non-flaming, human form - walking in behind Cap. She'd taken a sisterly interest in the Torch's welfare. He was like a scared little puppy and her heart went out to him.
"Sorry I'm late, gentlemen," the star-spangled hero began. "I would have been here much sooner but I had an overlong, tedious debate with the powers-that-be at central intelligence. Fortunately, the final result was a positive one. They are allowing the Human Torch to remain with us. We are to 'use' him . . . 'use' was their word . . . in our fight against the Axis forces. He is assigned to the JSA for the duration of the war. We are to teach him how to be a super-hero."
"Good," Black Canary said. "I was afraid they'd want to dissect him or something."
The Human Torch was staring at Black Canary. He was having feeling he didn't understand. His artificial intelligence simulated human emotions, but he was basically a child. All these sensations were hard to sort out. The most confusing thing to him was why Black Canary dominated his thoughts.
"The Torch has chosen a name," Cap said. "Torch, do you want to tell them what it is."
"James," the Torch said. "I call myself James."
"Why James?" Flash asked.
"I picked it . . . Out of a book."
"Can we call you Jim?" Canary asked.
The Torch shuffled a bit. When she spoke to him he got confused. "Yes. You can call me Jim."
"All right," Cap said. "Have a seat with the rest of the team, Jim. We have a mission. Another mystic artifact reclamation. Dr. Fate, what do you know about the Nemesis statue?"
Dr. Fate spoke in his usual monotone voice. "A powerful icon. It is a repository of evil and of dark magic. The possessor would have incredible power."
Cap nodded. "Rumors on the grapevine have it that someone in the gangs of Opal City has the statue and is auctioning it off. The heads of Intelligence are afraid that Nazi spies may get a hold of it. They're not sure they believe it but they're not taking any chances. They want us to rough up the Opal gangs and bring the Nemesis Statue back for safety."
"Doesn't sound like something that needs the whole team," Wildcat said.
"No, it's a minor assignment," Cap said. "But I want to use it as a test for our newest members: Wonder Woman and the Human Torch. Here's how the mission will play out. Dr. Fate will use his powers to lead us to the statue. Sentinel will lead the assault. Wonder Woman and the Torch will bear the brunt of the battle. Namor will stay by Hippolyta, covering her back, in case she gets into trouble. Black Canary will back up the Torch."
Both Namor and the Torch were very happy to hear that. Cap continued.
"Flash and Wildcat will wait outside as a reserve force in case a rescue is needed. I will be observing the entire operation. Dr. Mid-Nite, I want you to observe this with me. You have excellent insight. I could use it."
Dr. Mid-Nite nodded politely.
"So is everyone clear on what they have to do?" Cap asked.
Everyone was clear. Cap nodded. "Okay, team, let's go!"
Starman nodded. "I heard about that cloud report. I think I know who might be behind it. I hadn't done anything about it until now because I didn't know where to find him. But if he's involved in the disappearance of the JSA, we should find him now!"
"So you think that the Shade is behind this?" Hawkman asked.
"Yes I do, " Starman answered. "And he's not someone to be trifled with."
"So how do we find him?" the Atom asked.
"Johnny," Starman said to Johnny Thunder, "get your Thunderbolt to use his power to sense dark energy, the black forces of the shadow dimension."
"Will do, Mr. S," Johnny said.
"Master!" Smudge yelled. "It is Starman and some of his costumed accomplices! They come!"
The Shade was sitting in his chair reading and sipping ginger tea. As always, he was immaculately dressed. "Are they indeed?" he said calmly. "Then I suppose I should prepare to greet them."
Outside, the heroes hesitated before rushing in.
"How should we handle the incursion?" Hawkman asked. "You know the Shade better than any of us."
"If the Shade has become powerful enough to take on the Justice Society, including Dr. Fate and Sentinel, then he's not the man I knew. I say we hit him full force!"
Before they could bust in, something burst out. Shadow creatures! Shadowy beasts of all shapes, with huge maws, lunged forward and attacked the team. Hawkman and Hawkwoman were immediately entangled. Atom, Star-Spangled-Kid and Stripsey dropped down to the ground to be able to use their mobility and evade the creatures but they were no match for the Shade's power. Starman fought his way forward but his progress was slow.
"Hey, Bolt," Johnny Thunder yelled to his magic servant. "Do something about these things, willya? Use light or something!"
"Yes, Master Johnny," the Thunderbolt created Light-energy equivalents to the shadow creatures. When they ran into each other, both creatures would cancel each other out. The Thunderbolt's trick managed to clear a path to the Shade himself.
"C'mon, Bolt!" Johnny said. "Let's get the jerk!"
Johnny, on the Thunderbolt's back, raced into the Shade's lair. Unfortunately, before he could order the mystic creature to do anything, he was knocked unconscious by a club- wielding Smudge. Thunderbolt watched helplessly as the Shade approached Johnny. The Thunderbolt could not act until Johnny ordered him to.
"Nice of you to stop by," the Shade said. "Sorry it's to be such a short visit."
Before the Shade could deliver a killing blow, he was on the receiving end of blast from Starman's cosmic rod. The Shade was knocked back against the rear wall.
"You want him, you'll have to get through me!" Starman stated.
The Shade recovered and rose to his feet, dusting off his clothes. By now, the rest of the Substitute JSA have joined Starman. The Shade is surrounded.
"Is there something I can do for you gentlemen? Dear lady?" the Shade asked.
"Where is the Justice Society?" Hawkman demanded to know.
"Is there some reason you're asking me?" the Shade said with a smile. "They don't usually check in with me, you know."
"Stop messing around!" Atom growled. "Tell us where they are!"
"Ah, it's the little muscle man," the Shade quipped. "I didn't see you down there. Like a stool?"
"Let me at him!" Atom roared as he raced forward, but the others restrained him.
"Perhaps he'll mature when he grows up," the Shade added.
"Enough of these games, Shade!" Starman said. "It was obviously you who were responsible for the black shadow cloud that swallowed up the JSA! Where are they?"
"Oh, so that's the reason for all this," the Shade said. "Your logic is flawed, as usual. If I could make the JSA disappear, I would have done the same for you as well."
"Maybe we got to you before you had a chance to use the Nemesis statue," Star-Spangled- Kid said.
"The Nemesis Statue?" the Shade said. "This story gets more and more interesting! Perhaps we should sit down and discuss it."
No one moved.
"Then I'll sit," the Shade said as he sat. "Smudge, get us some tea. Now then. I heard the report of the shadow over the city and I believe I also heard about some underworld types auctioning off a statue with - How did they say it? - unnatural capabilities!"
"An auction? When?" Hawkman demanded to know.
"Three days ago I believe."
"Then it was sold already when Cap and the others went after it!" Starman said. "Shade, do you have any idea who it was sold to?"
"All I heard was that it was a foreign power."
"Nazis!" the Atom cried.
"He's so emotional!" the Shade said.
"Can we believe anything this guy says?" Stripsey asked.
"I wouldn't," the Shade answered.
"I believe him," Starman said. "The Shade is a fast thinker. If he had the Nemesis statue, he could have used it in time to do to us what was done to the JSA. I don't think the Shade is our man."
"Well that's sorted out, then," the Shade said. "Ahh, here's Smudge with the tea. Anyone care for a cup?"
"No, Shade!" Starman exclaimed. "But there is one more thing. What do you know about the Nemesis statue?"
"You lot should read more," the Shade asked. "Knowledge is power. It's rather have knowledge stored in my brain than to have a good right hook. Not that you'd agree with that, of course."
""Well can you tell us stupid, musclebound costumed morons about the statue?" Starman asked.
"If you promise to leave here after I'm done and not try to capture me."
"That's agreed."
"Very well then. Gather around children, and I shall tell you a tale. A tale of magic and of a musclebound hero. A tale that begins in ancient Cimmeria!"
Unseen by Doom, someone else had crept into the fortress. An old adversary of Doom's . . . Conan the Barbarian!
Conan had been hired to steal the statue from the fortress, not knowing who the occupant was. Conan didn't like magic and was tempted to just leave. He'd faced Thulsa Doom before and although he'd triumphed, it was not a pleasant experience.
Only two things kept the barbarian from fleeing. One was the large sack of gold that awaited him if he brought the statue back. The other was that his friend Red Sonja was rumored to have come to this place weeks ago and hadn't returned. If she was there, Conan wouldn't leave without her.
Thulsa Doom sensed the presence of a hated enemy. "The barbarian!" he hissed. "Slay that animal, my loyal ones! He must not be allowed to stop me!"
Doom's obedient servants took up arms and rushed toward the Cimmerian who had come out of hiding. Conan drew his broadsword. "If it's a battle you want, toads and insects, then, by Crom, you have found the man to fulfill your wish!"
The servants didn't have a prayer. The mighty barbarian carved a bloody path through the lackeys. Doom noticed that Conan was coming for him, but he had an ace up his sleeve . . . "Come slave!" he cried to his last servant. "Come and kill a filthy barbarian!"
From out of the next room stepped the beautiful, Red dressed, chain-mail clad warrior woman known as Red Sonja! Conan was surprised.
"So there you are girl!" Conan said. "I've been looking . . . "
Sonja swung her sword at Conan. He barely got his own sword up to parry in time. "What are you playing at, girl?!" he yelled. Then he noticed the blank look and jerky movements of Sonja, and he realized that she was entranced. He didn't want to kill her but if he didn't than sooner or later she would kill him.
Doom, in the meantime, had finished the chant and the statue was now capable of delivering him the world. "And now . . . Destiny!"
Doom reached out for the statue. His fingers were inches from supreme power. Conan didn't know what the statue was, but some instinct told him not to let his enemy touch it. He scooped up a sword from one of the dead men and threw it at Doom.
The sword lopped off the sorcerer's arm. Doom screamed in pain and instinctively drew back his bloody stump, clutching it. "I'll make you suffer the torments of the Netherworld for that!"
Sonja almost connected while Conan was looking at Doom. He managed to dodge, although she nicked his arm. He moved away from her. She drew her knife and prepared to throw it at him.
Doom was reaching out with his other hand. Again he was inches from triumph when Red Sonja threw her knife at Conan. Conan avoided it, and it flew onward, hitting Doom in the neck. Doom shrieked again and fell over. Conan raced over and touched the statue. "If this statue has any power, I command it to rid me of this jackal Thulsa Doom forever!"
Flames rose up from the ground and demonic hands grabbed Thulsa Doom. "Nooo!" he screamed. "Please no! Not this! Have mercy!!"
"The torments of the netherworld!" Conan said with a smile.
Thulsa Doom was dragged away to the infernal regions. Red Sonja was about to stab Conan in the back but when Doom vanished, she suddenly came to her senses.
"Ooooh. What?" She looked around and sees Conan. "By Mitra! Conan! What's happening? Everything is foggy. Where's Thulsa Doom!"
"He's gone, girl! He will not be back."
"I have the feeling that I missed something," Red Sonja said. "Why are you here?"
"I came to steal this statue."
"You can have it," she said.
Conan looked at it. "I don't want it now. I don't trust it! I'm going to bury it somewhere! Somewhere very deep, so I won't be bothered by it again! Then you and I can go get an ale and we'll talk about old times!"
The Shade sipped his tea as he concluded his tale. "And so the statue was taken away and buried by the barbarian warrior. No one ever knew where. But I've heard that a mercenary grave robber unearthed in and brought it back to the United States for sale. Apparently, the Opal crime syndicates bought it at a surprisingly low figure and sold it to a foreigner for a huge profit. And that, by little ones, is the end of the story. So now, if you please, leave my home."
"A deal is a deal, Shade. We'll go. Thanks for the info," Starman said. "Come on, team. We'll have to look for the JSA somewhere else."
"I shouldn't waste the time if I were you," the Shade said. "If the Justice Society have not returned, and since we know they were swallowed up by the dark power of the Nemesis Statue, and since the Nazis clearly want the JSA dead, then there is only one logical conclusion . . . The Justice Society of America is no longer with us. JSA . . . R.I.P."
The Society of substitute heroes was shocked into silence.
The citizens scattered as the lazar blast struck the city square. The invader's ship was equipped with many weapons, any of which could devastate the Rannian capital city. The Rannians were technologically very advanced, but they were also very peaceful. They had few weapons and fewer defenses. They knew they were no match for the hostile aliens which had taken up orbit around the planet. Only one small enemy ship had landed, to give an ultimatum to the leaders of Rann. Their demands were clear and non-negotiable--Surrender or be destroyed! The invaders wanted the resources of this world to use in their war against some mysterious enemy, and they wouldn't take no for an answer. The leader of the Rannian government, DeGratt G'Karr, wouldn't meet their demands. The furious alien warlord Lynx gave them until dawn over the capital to change their minds. He returned to his ship and left, firing a menacing lazar blast into the city square as a reminder of his power. Now, DeGratt G'Karr had an impossible choice to make . . . Submit to alien domination or refuse and doom his civilization to death! He couldn't see any other option. No one on Rann had the power to fight these creatures! No savior was going to just appear out of the air.
The members of the Justice Society stood momentarily confused. They looked around at the strange landscape.
"Not again!" sighed Wildcat. "It was just a couple of months ago that we got transported to some weird world! We're not back in fiction land, are we?"
"I don't believe so!" said Dr. Mid-Nite.
Their leader Captain America knew it was time to take charge and get everyone focused. "Front and center, everyone! Are we all here?"
They looked around. Everyone seemed to be there. Aside from Cap, Dr. Mid-Nite and Wildcat, there was the Black Canary, the Human Torch, Wonder Woman, the Sub-Mariner, the Sentinel, the Flash and Dr. Fate. All present and accounted for.
"Good!" the Captain said. "First order of business is to find out where we are, and secondly, how we got here."
"The last thing I remember is that black cloud coming at us," added Black Canary.
The impassive Dr. Fate spoke. "I cannot yet tell where we are, Captain, but as to how we came to be here, I believe I can partly shed some light on the matter."
"Go on," Captain America said.
"When we were in Opal City, and I saw the black cloud that was about to engulf us, I knew that it was a thing of dark, evil power. The power of the Nemesis Statue," Fate said, "We would certainly have met with an unpleasant fate had it swallowed us. There was no time to warn the rest of you. I had to act immediately to save us. I cast A quick spell to transport us away."
"Away to where?" Flash asked.
"I had only meant to transport us a short distance. A mile or so, to give us time to prepare to battle the power of the statue," Fate explained.
"What went wrong?" Sentinel asked.
Fate continued. "Something . . . Grabbed us! An unfamiliar force gripped our atoms as we traversed the normal borders of space and time. Whatever it was, it latched on to us in mid journey and transported us here."
"Where ever here is," Flash added.
Cap nodded, taking in the information. He continued to give orders, knowing that hesitation would be mistaken for indecision, and he couldn't let his team think he wasn't confident and in control. "Can you transport us back?"
"Not until I know our position relative to Earth," Fate said. "Even in the astral plane, I need a frame of reference."
"All right," Cap began. "Fate, you and Sentinel use your powers to try and ascertain our location. Flash, do a recon. Namor, there's a lot of water around. Go refresh yourself in case you don't get a chance again. And while you're down there, see if you can communicate with the indigenous sea life. Torch, take to the air and see if you can spot something. If you see anything, don't approach it or try to communicate. Just come back and report to me what you see. Move out!"
Flash, Namor and the Torch dispersed. Fate and Sentinel began to scan the area.
"I have a bad premonition about this situation, Captain," Wonder Woman said.
"You may be right," Cap said. "I wouldn't be surprised,"
The enigmatic villain known as the Shade had given the substitute heroes some information about the power and history of the Nemesis Statue. He also put them on the trail of the man who had bought it from the Opal underworld. However, it was the Shade's opinion that the JSA were already dead. He didn't believe that even they could survive a brush with the Nemesis Statue. The substitute heroes didn't subscribe to this belief. They were convinced that their fellow adventurers were alive somewhere, and the man with the Nemesis Statue was the only way to find them.
Although Hawkman was the official leader of the Society of Substitute heroes, he conceded authority to Starman on this occasion. Opal was Starman's home territory and he knew best who's butt to kick to get results. Hawkwoman, Atom, Star-Spangled-Kid, Stripsey, and Johnny Thunder all followed Starman's lead.
After hours of futile questioning, they finally got a lead from the criminal known as Angle Man. (So named because he knows all the angles and is an expert in playing the game.) The heroes flew off toward the clock tower, where a foreigner in a ‘red skull mask' is hiding on the storage floor, just below the clock. He had arranged, though Angle Man, passage on a boat to Europe. He would be leaving soon and they had to get there quickly and catch him before he leaves.
What they didn't know was that the Nemesis Statue was able to sense their approach from blocks away. The man in question, the man in the red skull mask, was ready for them. He had eliminated the main JSA team, and now he'd destroy the reserves!
"A meteor?" Black Canary asked.
Flash shrugged.
The Human Torch landed. "There seems to be a . . . "
"A city five miles from here?" Wildcat interrupted.
The Human Torch looked sad. "I guess I wasn't very useful."
Black Canary threw an angry glance at Wildcat and then took the Torch by the arm.
"You did fine," she said. "You were much more useful then I was. All I did was stand around and look pretty. No one sets the world on fire every minute. No pun intended. Cheer up. You're doing fine."
The Human Torch smiled. Dr. Mid-Nite watched this with some amusement. The Torch's schoolboy crush on the Canary was rather touching. Dr. Mid-Nite knew that the Canary didn't feel the same way. She felt more sisterly. One day soon, the Torch would get his first lesson in the heartbreak of life.
Namor returned. "I have communicated with the local aquatic life, Captain. They seem to have no fear of the land dwellers, as the marine life on Earth does. This would indicate that they do not fish or eat the sea creatures of this planet."
"Taking it a logical step further," Dr. Mid-Nite. "They're probably not predatory. They may be a very peaceful people."
Dr. Fate and the Sentinel finished their task. "Judging by the position of the stars," Sentinel said. "We're no longer in our native solar system. We may not even be in the same galaxy. The configuration is totally unfamiliar."
"I still have no frame of reference to return us home," Fate said.
"If the population of that city is truly peaceful," Wonder Woman said. "Then perhaps we can ask their help."
"Maybe," Flash suggested. "Their astrologers can help us locate out own universe. If they have astrologers, that is."
"Good call," Captain America said. "We should start now. It looks like night is falling,"
The JSA members made their way on foot, so as not to cause any alarm among the locals. But as they neared the city, they saw several small ships swooping down toward their destination. To their surprise, the ships started firing on the city. Screams and explosions came from within the city.
Hippolyta began to charge forward. "There is a battle commencing! Let us . . . "
"Wait!" Sentinel cried. "We don't know what the situation is! We can't take sides without full information!"
"I agree with ring man," Wildcat said. "This isn't our fight."
"Peaceful people are being attacked!" Wonder Woman said.
"We don't know that they're peaceful!" Wildcat said. "We just think they are."
"Then how come they're not fighting back?" Flash asked.
"It does seem that they're defenseless," Dr. Mid-Nite said.
"They're being slaughtered!" said Black Canary.
"Yes!" Namor snapped. "And such an act is dishonorable! We must intervene!"
"I sense no hostility or aggression in the indigenous population," Dr. Fate said. "All indications are that they are defenseless."
"And we, as warriors, should defend the defenseless!" Hippolyta stated.
"I . . . I agree," said the Human Torch. "We should help."
Cap took a few seconds to make his decision. "Right! We act! We can hopefully apologize later if we need to. Everyone, break and attack!"
The JSA sprang into action. The locals were running in panic and didn't notice the arriving Earthmen at first. But the JSA made their presence felt very quickly!
The Sentinel struck first, blasting a ship with his power ring. He underestimated the resilience of the space craft. It was damaged but survived the attack. It turned and fired at him. He created a force field. He was surprised by the power of the ship. His shield almost collapsed. The alien ship flew past him and came around for another run. This time he unleashed the full power of his ring. This time, he crippled the ship and it crashed.
Another ship spotted Dr. Fate floating in the air and homed in on him. Dr. Fate cast a spell that altered the laws of time and physics around the ship. The alien's personal time-stream slowed. Suddenly, the ship was moving so slowly it appeared to be stationary. Then Fate shrunk the ship down to less than an inch in size. It now appeared to be a speck hovering in the air.
Prince Namor flew up and rammed one of the ships. It was tougher than he thought and he rebounded off, crashing to the ground. Wonder Woman ran to him. "Are you hurt, Namor?"
Namor was embarrassed that Hippolyta had seen him like this. "I am not hurt!" he growled. "I am angry!"
He launched himself again, and this time grabbed the ship as it zoomed by. It dragged him along. He started to pound on it. Hippolyta lassoed the same ship, and she too got dragged along. She pulled herself up and joined Namor in pounding on the craft. They did enough damage to force the ship to crash.
In the center of the city square, a squad of the aliens appeared, having been transported down from the mother ship. They were large green, reptilian creatures with pointed ears.
"Stop this resistance!" one of them said, using his translator to make himself understood. "You cannot win! You must surrender to the Skrull empire!"
Before the Skrull could say another word, the Flash rammed into the group, toppling them like tenpins. The Flash unfortunately underestimated their resiliency. As he ran off to rescue some of the locals, the Skrulls recovered and started to rise. Captain America's shield struck, ricocheting from one to the other, until one of them suddenly changed form. He transformed into a four-legged, fanged, clawed beast. The shield flew over it's head. As the shield started to make it's return trip back to Cap, the Skrull/beast was also charging the star-spangled-hero. It looked like the Skrull would reach Cap first and rend him to pieces. But Dr. Mid-Nite was close by. He hurled a smoke bomb that blinded the Skrull. It took the Skrull a few seconds to change it's eyes into those of a nocturnal creature, and in those seconds, Cap caught his shield. The Skrull lunged at Cap again, but now he was able to defend himself. The Flash returned battered the creature with a thousand blows per second. The Skrull collapsed.
"They're metamorphs!" Dr. Mid-Nite yelled. "They can change form at will!"
Close by, Wildcat charged one of the Skrulls who was just recovering from the Flash's attack. He punched it in the face as hard as he could. The Skrull barely seemed to feel it.
"You're as tough as you are ugly!" Wildcat said. "But I love a challenge!"
Wildcat struck again, with no better results. The Skrull back-hand slapped him away. The Black Canary joined him, and they started to do some damage to the Skrull, when it changed form. It turned into a huge, tentacled creature. It grabbed Wildcat and the Canary, squeezing them.
"Holy mackerel!" Wildcat cried.
"A little help here!" the Canary yelled.
A burst of flame from the Human Torch incinerated the Skrull. The Canary gave him an encouraging wave. The Torch smiled.
Doctor Fate, Namor, Wonder Woman and the Sentinel finished off the last of the ships, while the Flash and the Torch routed the ground troops. The Skrulls all beamed back up to the mother ship. The locals gave a rousing cheer when the invaders fled. The JSA didn't take any time to soak in the adulation. They began rescue efforts, assisted by the Rannians.
Soon, after the wounded were being taken care of, the Rannian leader, DeGratt G'Karr, introduced himself to the new arrivals. After greetings had been exchanged, via a spell of translation cast by Dr. Fate, DeGratt explained that the Skrulls wanted to ravage their planet for it's natural resources.
"We are eternally in your debt! Thank the Gods that you arrived. Where are you from?" DeGratt asked. "How do you come to be here?"
"We're from a planet called Earth," Captain America said. "But we're not sure how we came to be here. We were transporting across the face of our planet and something pulled us here."
"Ah!" DeGratt exclaimed. "That would be the Zeta-Beam. It's an experiment we are trying. Instead of traveling across space in ships, we use the Zeta-Beam to either transport ourselves or to bring alien artifacts here for study. You must have gotten caught in one. But don't worry. When the effect of the beam wears off, you'll be instantly returned to the spot you left from. You'll be back on your Earth."
"Fan-friggin-tastic!" Wildcat yelled. "How long does this Zeta-thingy last?"
"About a solar day."
"We've been here for several hours. It can't be that long before we vanish," Sentinel said.
"Uh, Governor G'Karr, do you mind if I have a word alone with my partners?" Flash asked.
"Certainly, certainly," DeGratt said. "Anything for our saviors."
DeGratt left the room. Flash addressed his teammates.
"Listen guys and gals," he began. "The Rannians are too inexperienced with these types of villains to think of this, but the Skrulls aren't going to give up so easily!"
"You're right," Sentinel said. "They'll be back."
"And we'll be gone in a few hours!" Black Canary said.
"The Rannians will be defenseless again!" Hippolyta added.
"Maybe we can do something to extend the effects of the Zeta-Beam," Flash said.
"Hey, aren't you forgetting something?" Wildcat said. "We've got a war going on at home! Every hour we're away is another hour that Hitler's superthugs like Icicle and that Black Llama guy can do a whole lot of damage! Who know's what's happened in the day we've been gone!"
"Wildcat is right," Sentinel said. "The Spectre said that we are necessary to the war effort. Our absence could cause the allied forces to lose the war! We have to get back immediately!"
"But we can't abandon the Rannians now!" Flash said. "We gave the Skrulls a bloody nose and they'll be back in a real bad mood! They'll level this planet. This race is facing genocide and it will be partly our fault!"
"I agree with the Flash!" Wonder Woman said.
"It's up to you, Cap," Dr. Mid-Nite said. "We'll abide by your decision."
Cap thought for a minute. "If we've only got a few hours, then we have to get the Skrulls to attack immediately. Before we disappear. Sentinel, I have something to ask of you that will be very dangerous.
And so his attack began. He fired on the mother ship. He truly felt like David against Goliath. Except in this case, David's sling shot wasn't fatal on the first shot. Or the second. The Sentinel had never unleashed the full, unfettered force of his power ring before, for fear of doing lethal damage. But now he was afraid that the ring wasn't powerful enough. He was damaging the alien ship, but it was far from being destroyed. They started to fire back at him. Even with his force field up, the pain of the ships lasers was excruciating. He knew the force field wouldn't hold for much longer, so he guessed it was time to retreat back to Rann, and hope that the aliens would follow him.
But the Sentinel had never experienced a tractor beam before. When he was caught in it, he was confused. It held him tightly. The pressure on his shield was increasing and the end looked inevitable!
If not for the arrival of the powerful stranger.
He was about to summon his master to this latest world, despite the presence of the Skrull craft. It didn't matter who inhabited this world - the Skrulls or anyone else - they would still make a sufficient meal for the master.
But before he could send out the cosmic summons, he saw the Sentinel appear and engage the Skrulls in battle. The Silver Surfer was curious about this being, this small creature who dared to challenge the mighty Skrull empire. The Surfer had never yet seen the Skrulls defeated, and it didn't appear that they would be defeated now. Still, this man was intriguing. One man fighting a Skrull mother ship.
The Silver Surfer wished there had been some like this man on his home world of Zenn-La. Like this man, the Surfer had been the sole being who could save his world. The Surfer succeeded, but at the cost of his soul, his freedom. Would this being meet a better fate? Or was he about to die?
Something suddenly overcame the Silver Surfer. He was overwhelmed with the desire to see this man win. And so he did something he never did before . . . He defied his master's will, and put the life of another being ahead of his master's hunger.
When the Silver Surfer unleashed the Power Cosmic, it was an unbelievable sight. It was indescribable. He battered the Skrull mother ship with waves of energy that devastated the already damaged vessel. Inside the ship, Lynx recognized the legendary Silver Surfer and knew that his ship was no match for the herald of the space god. If they stayed much longer, the ship would be destroyed. Lynx sounded the retreat and the mighty Skrull empire bid a hasty withdrawal from Rann.
The Sentinel was free of the tractor beam. He watched the badly damaged Skrull ship move away as fast as it was still able. He moved closer to the silver being who had saved him and saved Rann.
"Thank you," Sentinel said. "I'm in your debt."
"No, my friend," Silver Surfer replied. "Thank you. For reminding me that hope still exists in the universe."
"Who are you?"
"A wanderer," Silver Surfer said. "I once had a home. Now, all I have are the stars. Goodbye, noble hero."
Before Sentinel could say another word, the Silver Surfer had sped away at nearly the speed of light. Inwardly, the Silver Surfer vowed not to lead the master to Rann. This good deed will stand untarnished in his mind . . . Rann will live!
Sentinel was thinking the same thing as he headed back to the planet. Rann would live and the JSA could leave without guilt or shame. Suddenly, the Sentinel started to vanish. The Zeta-Beam must be wearing off. The JSA would now be going home!
But the heroes were no fools. They knew that a black cloud had swallowed up their peers, and the Shade had told them about the power of the Nemesis Statue - so they were ready for it. And just as the Red Skull had a statue that could grant him wishes, the American heroes had something similar . . . The Thunderbolt! Johnny Thunder had his Thunderbolt create a defense, a bright glowing orb which swallowed the black Nemesis cloud. The Thunderbolt strained to keep the cloud under control. The rest of the JSA reserve force headed for the clock tower building. The Skull was angry for a moment that he wasn't able to quickly dispose of these annoying Americans, but then he cheered himself up by thinking of how much fun it will be to destroy them slowly. That pink magic thing - the Thunderbolt he believed it was called - was tied up with the cloud. But the Nemesis Statue still had some power left. Not enough to make another black cloud, but enough to create some lethal bodyguards. At his whim, the gargoyles that decorated the building suddenly came to life and attacked the heroes. Hawkman, Hawkwoman, Atom, SSK and Stripsey all engaged the gargoyles in battle. Starman blasted his way through and reached the room where the Red Skull was hiding. Unfortunately, he ran into an invisible force field. He bounced off and was flung out the window of the tower. Unconscious, he almost fell to his death. But he was caught by an energy beam shaped like a human hand - This was Sentinel! The main JSA team had returned.
Sentinel, Namor, the Torch and Wonder Woman easily disposed of the gargoyles, while Dr. Fate helped the Thunderbolt dissipate the dark cloud. The Flash carried Captain America up to the room where the Skull was. Having seen what happened to Starman, the Flash decided to enter by vibrating them in through the far wall.
The Nemesis Statue warned the Skull that the Flash and Cap were coming, but the Flash moved so quickly that he never got the chance to react. The Flash snapped Cap around, sending Cap lunging forward. With gymnastic grace, Cap flipped in the air and drop kicked the Red Skull. He stood over the Skull, waiting for his next move, while the Flash blocked his access to the statue.
"It's over!" Captain America said.
"It is, for now," the Skull said with a laugh. The Skull had previously commanded the Nemesis Statue to transport him and the Statue away if danger threatened. The Skull couldn't understand why that Black Llama cretin had insisted that he not transport back to Germany to begin with. It would have been much easier to just will the statue to send them instantly back to Germany. But he respected the Fuhrer's wish to follow the Llama's instructions. So he made arrangements to get home by boat. But now that he was caught, he figured that the Fuhrer would forgive him transporting home under the circumstances.
Suddenly, he realized that he had made a mistake. As the statue started to transport him, he screamed . . . It felt like his soul was being ripped apart. Now he knew why he was told not to transport with the statue. No human could bear this! He was drawn inside the statue, sucked into it. The way the statue transported a person was by absorbing the person inside itself, making him a passenger inside the statue. The statue started to disappear. Fortunately, Dr. Fate arrived and used his own power to give an alternate command to the Nemesis Statue.
"Where'd it go?" Flash asked.
"I changed the statue's instructions," Dr. Fate. "I commanded it not to go to Germany, but rather to Limbo. The statue will drift in limbo forever and the Nazi who dared to try and control it will remain trapped in it eternally."
Outside, Starman had recovered and was thanking Sentinel for the close save. "Glad you guys are back," Starman said.
"Good to be back," Sentinel said. "Although our trip was rather fortuitous for a certain group of people. And I met the most interesting man. A silver man who travels throughout the stars on a surfboard."
"You're joking!"
"I'm not," Sentinel said. "It seems that heroes are everywhere."
Lately, he was making mistakes. He's almost let one of the demon agents of the Lords of Chaos get the better of him, and he hadn't really been earning his keep as a member of the Justice Society of America. The problem was concentration. He needed to concentrate to use his magical powers. The stronger his concentration, the greater his power. The less focused his concentration, the weaker his power. And recently he'd been very weak. He just couldn't concentrate.
Kent Nelson returned to his tower home in Salem, Massachusetts. Once inside, he removed the helmet of Nabu. Kent Nelson was less of Dr. Fate when he wasn't wearing his helmet, but he still had some of Fate in him. Fate was always a part of Kent Nelson's life.
As he walked through the large, quiet structure, he was struck by that feeling he'd been having so much lately. The feeling that something was missing. Something important, something he needed. What was it? And was it connected to the dreams he'd ben having.
For weeks he'd been dreaming about...Her! He didn't know who she was, but every night, she was there, in his dreams. He had a feeling when he saw her that he had never experienced before. A feeling of warmth and contentment he never knew was possible. And whenever he woke up and realized that she was just a dream, his heart sank. He so wanted her to be real. But that was just a fantasy. A stupid fantasy for people who could indulge in such things. Dr. Fate had no time for fantasy. These dreams were just a distraction. He had to find a reason for them.
Suddenly, he had a feeling that he was no longer alone. He put on the helmet of Nabu to better utilize the power of Fate. Once the helmet was on--once he was completely Fate again--he could tell where the feeling was coming from. He could see what was previously invisible to him. He could see the Spectre.
The mysterious being who once was the mortal named Jim Corrigan--now known as the Spectre--stood across the room looking at Dr. Fate. Fate returned his gaze.
"Spectre." Fate said, "This is unexpected. I assume that you have a purpose here."
The Spectre displayed no emotion and spoke with a voice that could be felt like a cold wind.
"I am here," He began, "To answer your questions."
Fate was momentarily confused, but then it struck him as to what the Spectre meant.
"The dreams." Fate said, "Her!"
The Spectre nodded. "You are important to the world, Dr. Fate. You are needed. But you are addled by these feelings you have been experiencing. This problem must be solved."
Fate felt an unaccustomed feeling of excitement. At last, he'd know!
"Once," Said the Spectre, "This world was not as you know it today. All though few in the universe remember, things were once quite different."
"How so?" Fate asked
The Spectre continued, "This world is an amalgam of two separate universes. They existed independently of each other, very similar in many ways but very different in others. It remained that way until something happened.
Fate struggled to remember. "Yes. There was something. Some kind of...Crisis!?"
"Exactly," Spectre said, "And after the Crisis, the two universes merged. The merging was retroactive. As far back as the dawn of time, two universes became one."
"And she," Fate said, "She was...She was my wife, wasn't she? Her name was Inza!"
The Spectre nodded.
"Where is she?" Fate asked eagerly, "Is she here, on this Earth?"
The Spectre shook his head. "When the Universes aligned, they did their best to combine elements of both worlds into a world that equally represented both of it's original parts. But there must obviously be changes. People of different worlds were combine into one, some who didn't exist before suddenly sprang into being, and some who existed before...Ceased to be."
"Inza," Fate muttered, "She never existed in this reality."
"She was erased from time." The Spectre said. "But the mystic power of the helmet of Nabu allowed you to get glimpses into what never was. You saw your old life. With Inza."
Dr. Fate sat down, suddenly feeling weary. He took of the helmet of Nabu. "At least I know now. I can deal with the pain now."
"I can arrange for you to forget," The Spectre said, "You'll be free of the pain."
Kent Nelson shook his head. "No. I want to remember her. Even if the memory hurts, I never want to forget."
The Spectre nodded. "As you wish. I leave you to your thoughts. I wish you well. Goodbye, Kent Nelson."
The Spectre vanished. Kent Nelson sat alone. But not totally alone. He'd always have her with him.
Dobj Xio was a Durlan, a greyish humanoid being with antennae. Like all Durlans, he had the power to shape-shift. But he had another, more important power . . . the power of the ring! The ring that symbolized him as a member of the Corps. The ring was the most formidable weapon in the universe and it could do almost anything it's wearer commanded it to do. It could be a weapon of ultimate destruction!
Dobj Xio wore a modified Corps uniform. It was green and black, with a humanoid skull on the back. And aside from his power, he was cunning and experienced. Dobj Xio was a one man attack fleet.
In a glow of green energy, the Durlan entered Earth's atmosphere.
There was one thing, however, that did pique his interest. Stories of the group called the Justice Society of America. It appeared to be some fellowship of powerful beings who guarded this planet. This subject bore looking into. Using the information he'd gathered, he had the ring map out a course to Washington, DC, USA, where the Justice Society were quartered.
"All right, then," The Captain said, "before we move on to new business, I wanted to congratulate everyone on the fine work you did when we were stranded on Rann. I was very impressed and proud of you all."
"Aw shucks, your too kind," Wildcat said.
"Thanks for the compliment, chief," The Black Canary said. "It means a lot coming from you."
"So on to our next order of business," Cap said. "We . . . "
Suddenly, the window shattered and a grenade landed near the group. Casually, the Sentinel used his ring to encase the grenade in a block of green energy. The grenade exploded harmlessly inside. Everyone went to the window. Outside was a person in a blue, metal suit, hovering just above the ground. The bulky outfit was shaped like a bullet. There were eyeholes and armored extensions for the limbs. A jetpack was on his back. He looked so ridiculous, Wildcat and the Black Canary broke into uncontrolled giggles.
"I am the Blue Bullet!" the metal garbed attacker announced. "And I challenge the Justice Society of America in the name of the American members of the Nazi party."
The JSA members looked around at each other amused. "I guess this is a good sign," Flash said. "Maybe the Ratzis are getting desperate."
"The rest of you go on with the meeting," Sentinel said. "I'll take care of this loser and deliver him to the police. I'll rejoin you before you get to the third order of business."
Cap nodded. "Right. Let's get back to business, team."
The Sentinel flew out of the broken window while the rest went back to the table.
High above, Dobj Xio had just arrived. He decided to observe the battle secretly. The Durlan transformed himself into one of the Earth birds he saw flying nearby. He flew down for a closer look.
The Blue Bullet opened a panel in his armor and ejected another grenade. The Sentinel created a baseball bat with his ring and knocked it back at the Blue Bullet.
Dobj Xio was suddenly very interested. This Earthling was a ring wielder! The ring could create objects of green energy, just as a Corps member's could. How could this be? There were no human members of the Corps. Could this Earthling have somehow gotten a ring from a deceased Corps member? If so, the Earthling was an important anomaly in the plan. If not, then what was the secret of this ring that so closely mirrored is own? He had to know!
Below, the Blue Bullet was reeling from the effects of the grenade. He decided not to do that again. He fired up his jet pack and thrusted straight at the Sentinel, just like a giant bullet. The Sentinel created a wall. The Blue Bullet crashed into it, and while his armor may have been designed to break through a normal wall, it was no match for a wall made of the green flame of the starheart. The Blue Bullet's armor cracked, and the concussion knocked the wearer unconscious. The Sentinel scooped him up by creating a giant spatula. He took the Blue Bullet to prison, followed closely by a very swift bird.
Using the incredible power of his ring, the Durlan created a gigantic green beast. The jade monster smashed things, as people ran screaming. In moments, the Sentinel emerged from the police station. He launched himself at the green behemoth.
The Sentinel blasted the beast several times. Dobj Xio felt the force of the blasts and was impressed. He fortified his creation. The Sentinel saw that his attacks were only having minimal damage and so tried a different approach. He grabbed the beast in giant tongs and tried to carry it off. But the green giant broke free. Getting angry now, the Sentinel created a huge samurai sword and sliced the creature in two. And then in four, and six and eight. Dobj Xio re-formed the monster, larger than ever. The Sentinel backed off, and hovered. He appeared thoughtful. Dobj Xio had the impression that the Sentinel had just had an epiphany.
The Sentinel created a force field completely around and under the beast. He effectively cut it off from the source of it's power. The creature began to fade in and out of existence.
Dobj Xio smiled. Very good, he thought. The Earthling had reasoned out that the giant had an external source replenishing it. The Durlan could easily have pierced the Earth man's force field, but there was no point. The creature had served it's purpose. Dobj Xio let it fade. It was time to take matters into his own hands.
Once the giant was gone, the Sentinel looked around. He knew someone or something was watching. Someone was behind this. Was he nearby? Would he show his hand?
A glow of green energy answered the question. The Durlan had resumed his original form and taken to the skies. The Sentinel saw him and drifted closer to the alien. They hovered, about twenty feet apart.
"It doesn't take a genius to guess that you're the one who created that monster." The Sentinel said.
The Durlan's ring translated. "Your tiny Earth brain figured that out, did it?" Dobj Xio said, "I'm impressed. You seem to be a little smarter than I gave you credit for. You surprised me when you figured out that the monster was only a toy."
"A toy?" The Sentinel said, angry, "You almost killed dozens of people."
"Rest assured," The Durlan said, "By the time I'm done here, you'll wish I'd only killed a dozen people."
"Why?" The Sentinel demanded to know, "What's the purpose for all this?"
Dobj Xio raised his ring. "No more talk."
He lashed out with a powerful emerald energy blast. The Sentinel barley formed a force field around himself in time. He was pushed back over 100 yards. He was startled by the power of the attack. And equally startled by his foes ring. This alien had a power ring, much like his own. Was that the reason for the attack? Too many questions. Right now, it was time to focus on battle. And this one looked to be a major one!
Dobj Xio resumed his attack. The Sentinel was ready for it this time. His shield held, but it wouldn't for long under this onslaught. He had to take the offense. He returned fire. To his amazement, the Durlan shape shifted, opening a hole in himself for the beam to pass through. "Just great," The Sentinel thought, ‘What other tricks has this guy got up his sleeve?'
An ariel dogfight commenced. The two ring wielding warriors fired at each other, each one taking evasive actions. The few shots that did hit their mark were deflected by force fields. But of the two, Dobj Xio scored more hits. Due to his shape shifting, he was a harder target to hit. He also seemed to have more experience it this type of battle. If this went on too long, the Sentinel knew that he would ultimately come out on the losing end. Time to change strategies.
The Sentinel let loose with a wild blast that missed by a mile. He guessed that the alien would assume that the blast was panic fire. He was counting on the alien underestimating him. He was right. The Durlan ignored the wild energy burst. But secretly, the Sentinel was controlling it. He caused it to circle behind a tall building and then return. It caught the alien completely by surprise. His force field was up, but he was still momentarily disoriented. The Sentinel had to strike now.
He unleashed a massive fireball made of green flame. It struck and engulfed the Durlan. Then it veered upwards and headed out into space. The Sentinel hoped that the alien would remain trapped inside until the fireball dragged him out of the solar system.
His hopes were shattered when the fireball exploded and his foe hovered unharmed. The alien smiled. He seemed to be enjoying the combat. The Sentinel was not. The alien resumed his attack.
The Durlan fired his ring downward. A beam of emerald light drilled into the ground. It didn't seem to do anything, but the Sentinel knew that it must have some purpose. He couldn't dwell on it though. because the enemy was upon him again. He dodged the alien's lazar blasts. He realized--Too late--that he was being herded into just the spot that his foe wanted him in.
The purpose of the beam which burned into the ground became clear when the sidewalk under them opened up and a geyser of molten lava erupted. The Sentinel was caught in the lava flow. While the lava hit from below, Dobj Xio struck from above, catching the Sentinel in a crossfire. The Sentinel's shield barley held. And worse, the lava flow would kill thousands. But he couldn't help them now. He could barley help himself.
Help arrived, in the form of the Justice Society. They had heard about the battle and came rushing to help.
"Dr. Fate!" Cap yelled. "Do something about that lava flow. The rest of you, clear the civilians out of the area! Torch, you help the Sentinel!"
Dobj Xio was distracted by the arrival of the JSA. Sentinel was able to free himself from his predicament. "No!" he yelled. "The alien's too powerful! The Torch isn't ready! Leave him to me!"
The Sentinel blasted Dobj Xio. "If you want me," he called to his foe, "come and get me!"
The Sentinel streaked across the sky, vanishing in the distance. Dobj Xio smiled, "A hunt, eh? Excellent!" The alien followed the Sentinel.
Cap watched them go. "Damn!" he muttered.
"Should I follow?" the Human Torch asked.
"No!" Cap ordered. "We can use your help here. Let's just hope that the Sentinel knows what he's doing."
He dived down and took cover in the trees. Dobj Xio looked down, but couldn't spot the Earthman. However, he didn't have to. He transformed into an Arcturian BloodHawk, the creature with the greatest olfactory senses in the known universe. In no time, he had tracked the earthling, who was playing hide and seek in the trees. The Sentinel spotted the strange looking bird and realized that it must be the shape shifter. He fired a green flame burst at it, but even in this form, it had its shield up. The Durlan reverted to his usual appearance.
"Shall we resume?" the Durlan asked.
"Now we end this!" Sentinel said.
They fired at the same time. The bolts of energy collided. The resulting explosion knocked over trees, and threw the two combatants in separate directions. They both recovered quickly. They both hesitated for a moment, sizing each other up, with anger and respect.
The Sentinel created a suit of armor for himself. He looked like a green, medieval knight hovering in the air, with a sword and shield. "Care to settle this more directly?"
Dobj Xio smiled again. "That would be most satisfactory."
He used his ring to create a futuristic armored suit for himself. He formed a sword and shield and then eagerly locked up with the Earthling in combat.
The duel lasted a long time. They hacked and chopped at each other, no quarter given or asked. Neither one willing to give an inch. Their skill was impressive, their power extraordinary. Their wills were indomitable!
After about ten minutes, the Sentinel's arms felt like lead. He didn't know how long he could continue. And the alien seemed to have an endurance beyond mere mortals. He was as strong as ever. To make things worse, the shape-shifter had grown four extra arms and created, via his ring, four new swords. The Sentinel was forced to pull back. He was on the defensive once again. 'Damn it!' he thought. 'No matter what I do, he has the answer to it. And how do I counter that shape-shifting power?' The Sentinel was at a loss.
If he were a different type of person, he'd flee and go back to his JSA partners. Together they could all defeat the alien. But that wasn't how Alan Scott's mind worked. He would never run from a fight. He would, however, feign a withdrawal to get some room to fight. And that's just what he did.
As the Sentinel retreated to get some breathing room, Dobj Xio laughed. "We are not done yet, coward! Or is this some type of strategy?
The Sentinel suddenly found himself surrounded by an army of green, winged gargoyle type creatures. They attacked. The Sentinel blasted a few, but there were too many. They swarmed all over him. They ate away at his force field like termites eating through wood.
The Sentinel took a page from his enemy's book. He created his own army of flying creatures. They battled Dobj Xio's creatures for him. While the two armies were busy fighting, he created a Gatling gun and mowed down the beasts.
Before he could make another move, he was grabbed by giant hands. He was shocked to see that the alien had used his ring to create a giant version of himself. The giant pseudo Dobj Xio held the Sentinel in a vice grip and squeezed. The Sentinel's force field was cracking and bending.
"I must say," Dobj Xio said, via his apparition, "this is the best battle I've ever had! You are a worthy opponent! I'm sorry to have to end this. It's been fun!"
But the Sentinel wasn't about to give up fighting just yet. He narrowed his force field on the bottom so that the squeezing caused the shield to be pushed upwards. The Sentinel shot upwards, out of the giant grip, like a bullet. He was free!
"Excellent!" Dobj Xio cried. "Better and better! I'm loving this!"
The Sentinel gritted his teeth, hating this alien creature! No more! This must end, now! It was time for one last assault. Win or lose, live or die, he made his stand here and now!
The Sentinel focused all his will power, absorbed any ambient residual energy in the area and created his strongest piece of fire power yet. A disc of energy bore down on the alien. The alien evaded it easily enough. But the disc changed direction and followed him. Dobj Xio sensed that this disc was powerful enough to cause him significant damage and possibly turn the tide of battle against him. He had to make sure that the Earthling's disc didn't hit him. He zig-zagged around but the disc remained on his tail. He stopped smiling. This was not fun! He made a sudden sharp turn and the disc struck a tree and exploded . . . But did no damage to the tree. The recoil of the blast stunned Dobj Xio. Leaves and grass were burned. The ground shook. But nothing wooden was affected at all.
That was it! Dobj Xio just had his own epiphany! He knew the answer! He knew how to beat the Earthman! His ring created two large hands which ripped a pair of trees out of the ground. The Sentinel reacted immediately, backing off, trying to hide his alarm. But Dobj Xio saw it. He knew!
The Sentinel avoided the trees--Barely. He fired at his alien enemy but Dobj Xio used the trees to block the blasts. It was obvious to the Sentinel that his foe had found out his weakness. The Sentinel was powerless against wood and wood was what Dobj Xio would use.
Banging the two trees together, a spray of wooden debris shot out every which way. There was nowhere for the Sentinel to hide or dodge. The wood passed through his shield and battered him. Stunned, he fell to the ground. Before he could gather his wits, Dobj Xio landed next to him, picked up a stick and pounded Sentinel on the head until he passed out.
The Sentinel had lost.
Dobj Xio raised his fists in triumph, laughing. He'd enjoyed this immensely. He also found it very amusing that a battle between two such powerful weapons--the rings--would be settled by a common stick. How inappropriate. He looked down at his fallen adversary. Should he kill this man? He was a valiant fighter, and his ring was still of interest to the Durlan. He wanted to study it. No, better to just render him helpless for now and come back to examine the ring later, after his partners have been dealt with.
Dobj Xio caused wooden roots to come up through the ground and encircle the Sentinel in a wooden cocoon. That would keep the Earthling immobile and powerless while he dealt with the other team members.
His guessed that they would be coming for him very soon. He decided to use a coveret approach again. He changed his form into an exact replica of the Sentinel.
He did it just in time, because only a moment later, the Flash popped into view. Dobj Xio made a mental note of the Flash's power of speed and began considering tactics to counter it.
"Where is he?" Flash asked.
"He's gone," the imposter replied. "He just left. I have no idea why."
"That's strange," the Flash responded. "But I guess we should count our blessings. Come on, let's get back to the others."
The imposter smiled, "Lead the way. My friend."
Dr. Fate moved closer, as if he was trying to see into "Sentinel's" soul. 'All right,' he thought, 'if you want to see my true colors, here they are!'
With a quick motion of his hand, the Durlan fired at Dr. Fate. His action was so quick and unexpected that it caught Fate completely by surprise. Dr. Fate was thrown across the room and through a door. He dropped limp to the ground, unmoving.
"I knew it!" Captain America yelled. "This isn't the Sentinel. It's the other guy with the ring! Everyone attack!"
The JSA moved quickly, but Dobj Xio was ready for them!
The Flash was across the room faster than the eye could follow, but Dobj Xio had energized his protective shield before he fired at Fate. The Flash bounced off the shield and was flung across the room. Cap's shield also failed to make a dent. The Torch threw fireballs at it. The Sub-Mariner pounded on it with all his strength. The Durlan expanded his field and sent all the JSA members hurtling backwards.
The Durlan laughed. He reverted to his natural form. "Primitive fools!"
Namor was the first to recover. "Coward!" he roared. "Face me without your protective shield, if you have the courage!"
The Durlan obliged, lowering his force field. "Come and get me."
The Atlantean charged the alien, but was met by a blast of green flame. Namor backed off. The Human Torch threw himself between the Sub-Mariner and the flames, absorbing the heat.
Quickly, Dobj Xio reversed his attack, draining heat from the target. The Torch found himself encased in a block of ice.
"Villain!" Namor bellowed, rushing the alien. Wonder Woman had moved around behind the Durlan and was planning to hit him from behind. She thought she was unobserved, but she was fooling herself. Dobj Xio was not easily fooled. He used his shape shifting power to shrink down out of the path of the attack. Wonder Woman and Namor crashed into each other. Before they recovered, Dobj Xio tangled them up in strands of energy. They rolled around the floor, trying to free themselves. Dr. Mid-Nite threw a black-out grenade and surrounded the Durlan in a dark cloud. But the Durlan transformed his eyes into those of a Krotean Fire Bat, who could see in much darker blackness than this. Cap threw his shield again, but the Durlan incased it in a small cage of energy. Cap couldn't get it out and so was deprived of his greatest weapon. Cap watched as Wildcat, the Black Canary and Dr. Mid-Nite were all easily put down by Dobj Xio. Now, Cap was alone and without his shield.
"Shall we end this now?" Dobj Xio asked.
Cap crouched and prepared for an attack. He knew that the odds were against him, but he would never give up. There had to be a way to defeat this creature. There had to be!
"Wait!" someone yelled.
The Flash was back on his feet. "Let me have him first! I owe this guy some lumps! And I want to know what he did with my pal the Sentinel, even if I have to beat it out of him!"
Cap gestured for the Flash to proceed. The Durlan also invited him to come.
The fastest man in the world squared off with a being who had the most powerful weapon in the universe!
He landed about 20 feet in front of the Flash. "We seem to have a standoff." The Durlan said, "I can't hit you, but you can't reach me through my force field. This could go on and on, couldn't it?"
The Flash wasn't interested in bantering with this creature. He picked up a few pebbles and tossed them at the Durlan. Dobj Xio was amused by this act of apparent frustration. But it wasn't that at all. Before the pebbles reached the Durlan, the Flash ran forward and vibrated through them. His passing affected their molecular structures and they became accelerated particle bombs! They hit the Durlan's force field and exploded. The whole area rocked, and windows were blown out. Dobj Xio was taken totally by surprise, and although his force field held, it disrupted his concentration. The bindings holding Namor and Wonder Woman disappeared, as did the cage holding Cap's shield.
Back outside, the Flash was taking advantage of his opponent's disorientation by peppering the alien's shield with light-speed blows. The shield almost collapsed, but the Durlan managed to get his thoughts together and reinforced the shield. The Flash began running in circles around the Durlan and caused a wind funnel which shot the Durlan into the air like a cannonball. By the time Dobj Xio stopped his assent and returned to the ground, the Flash had been joined by Cap, Namor and Wonder Woman. The Human Torch had been able raise his body heat and melt the ice around him. He ignited his flame and flew out to assist the others.
Dobj Xio was very unhappy. He had narrowed his foes down to two, but now they were back up to five. And he still hadn't formulated a plan to deal with the Flash yet. Also, Dr. Fate would be recovering soon, and he was too powerful to be trifled with. If he joined the other Earthman, then they would defeat him.
An idea hit him, he created energy arms and reached inside the mansion. He grabbed the unconscious forms of Dr. Fate, Dr. Mid-Nite, Black Canary and Wildcat.
"If the rest of you don't surrender," Dobj Xio said, "I'll crush these three. And the Sentinel is alive and in my custody. I'll destroy him as well. This is non-negotiable. Surrender to me or watch 5 of your companions die!
The heroes hesitated and looked to Cap for his decision.
"All right, you bastard!" Cap said. "You win!"
"Of course," said the Durlan.
"What triumph?" Cap asked. "You never won anything. We would have beaten you. We're only in this cage because we allowed ourselves to be. The Flash made a fool of you and all you could do in return was to threaten unconscious people. You are pathetic. You may kill us but you'll always have to live with the knowledge that your so-called 'greatest victory' was stolen by the lowest possible means. We'll die, but we didn't lose. You did!"
Dobj Xio tried not to show it but the words hit hard. There was some truth to it. This was not a great victory at all. True, it was the humans own stupidity which caused them to surrender in order to save defeated allies, but that still didn't change the fact that he didn't win this battle by defeating his enemies. It was a tainted victory. he needed to do something to rectify that.
"Very well, earth man," Dobj Xio said, "I'll give you a chance."
The green dome suddenly spit Cap out. He got up and stood face to face with the Durlan.
"You are the leader, and these others are your responsibility," Dobj Xio said. "So you will determine their fate. You and I will battle! And to make it a challenge, I promise not to use my ring. It will be just you and your shield against my shape-shifting powers. If you can beat me, they'll be free. If not . . . Well, need I say more?"
Cap didn't have much choice. Still, if the alien kept his word and didn't use his ring, Cap had a chance. "All right, Let's do this!"
Cap threw his shield. The Durlan changed his form and the shield passed him harmlessly. The shield circled back to Cap. The Durlan created a tentacled arm and tried to grab the shield out of the air. Cap leaped forward and got to it first. He flipped and landed on his feet. The tentacle reached out for Cap, but he hacked at it with his shield. Dobj Xio withdrew the tentacle. He transformed himself into a huge, fanged beast. Lunging forward, he tried to pin Cap to the ground, hoping to rip his throat out. But Cap fended of the fangs with his shield and, with his judo skills, used the beast's own momentum against him. Dobj Xio was thrown against the wall of the mansion. He reverted to his real form. Cap attacked, battering the Durlan. The Durlan changed his limbs into swords and slashed at Cap but couldn't get passed the shield. Cap was a lot more skillful in physical combat than the Sentinel was. Dobj Xio wouldn't win this way. He transformed himself into an Aldeberon Armorsaurus, a 10-foot tall beast with a diamond-hard, spiked exo-skeleton. Cap's shield did minimal damage to the exo-skeleton. The Durlan swung his arm and knocked Cap 15 feet. Cap rolled with the impact and quickly got back to his feet. The beast chased Cap around the yard. Cap hit-and-ran, and eventually his shield began to chip away at the exo-skeleton. The Durlan had expected Cap to get tired before he could damage the exo-skeleton, but he underestimated the Earth man's conditioning. Once again, these Earth people surprised him!
Dobj Xio transformed into a gelatinous mass and splashed himself all over Cap. He then hardened and started to constrict. Cap was struggling for breath. He put up a valiant fight, but eventually passed out. The Durlan resumed his natural state.
"Victorious once again!" the Durlan said. "And this time there will be no reprieve! Goodbye, Earthmen!"
Before he could finish off the JSA, a green beam of light blasted the ground and threw him off his feet.
The Sentinel had returned!
"We're not through yet!" the Sentinel said.
Dobj Xio was getting tired and fed up. Was there no end to human stupidity? How many times did he have to defeat them?
"I have your friends!" the Durlan said. "Do not attack, or they will suffer for it!"
The Sentinel stopped. "What's the game? What do you want?"
"A test," the Durlan answered. "One final test. An ultimate joust. No wood this time. Just the power of your ring against mine. Everything we've got in one supreme moment! I suggest you agree to my terms, or your companions . . . "
"You don't have to threaten my partners!" The Sentinel said, "I'm looking forward to this!"
"But if you lose," the Durlan said, "I'll contract the cage and crush the Justice Society!"
The Sentinel nodded. "Don't you think we should go somewhere where we've got more room?"
"Lead the way, Earthman."
After the Sentinel and Dobj Xio left to settle things, the Flash ran to the still unmoving Dr. Fate. "We've got to wake him up," The Flash said. "He's the only one who can get us out of here. C'mon doc, wake up!"
He started to glow, slightly at first, then the glow got larger and brighter. He soon appeared to be a giant fireball! Similarly, Dobj Xio had powered up and now looked like a giant orb of energy. Then the joust began. The two balls of energy charged each other on a collision course.
They collided! The explosion was massive. Building around the city trembled, windows were shattered for miles and people were knocked off their feet. A glow of dispersed green energy covered the city.
"What was that?" The Human Torch asked.
"The Sentinel," Wonder Woman replied.
"Doc," Flash said, "You've got to get us out of here!"
Dr. Fate began to cast a spell that would transport them away.
Namor's sharp eyes spotted something. He pointed. "Look!"
Someone was falling from the sky.
"Oh God!" The Flash gasped. "I think that's the Sentinel!"
Whatever the reason, they had proven unworthy.
"Earth is not ready," he said.
The Durlan left Earth and never looked back.
"What's the verdict, Doc?" The Flash asked.
"He's badly hurt," Dr. Mid-Nite said. "He may die."
"He will not die!" Dr. Fate said, and waved his arms over the Sentinel. "All that has been done, let it now be undone. Let his wounds be healed!"
Miraculously, all the Sentinels's injuries healed within 30 seconds.
"Incredible!" Dr. Mid-Nite said.
"How are you doing' buddy?" The Flash asked the Sentinel.
"I ache all over, but I'm alive. Thanks, Fate!"
"What about the alien?" Cap asked.
"I do not sense his presence on Earth," Dr. Fate said.
"He got what he wanted," The Sentinel said. "Whatever that was. He's gone! I just hope he never comes back. I never want to see him or any of his ‘Corps' again! Let's hope that's the end of them!"
He'd heard about the mysterious man known as the Shade before, but they'd had no encounters with each other. Logan hadn't given the Shade a second thought. He was a big shot super villain, and usually the Justice Society of America dealt with him. When several underworld punks over the last few days told Logan that the Shade wanted to meet him and would be waiting for him in the lobby of the Grand Hyatt of Maine, he was rather surprised. What did the Shade want from him?
Logan entered the hotel cautiously. He was ready for anything. All his acute senses were at full alert for any sign of an ambush. He couldn't spot anything threatening, and that made him feel even more uneasy. He continued to study the lobby. There were about a dozen people loitering in the lobby, and a few others passing through. He examined them all.
He spotted the man who just had to be the Shade. No one else would dress like that. He'd heard about the Shade's fancy, Victorian fashion sense and the Shade didn't disappoint. He was attired like and 1890's English upper-class gentleman. The Shade saw him too, and nodded at the suspicious mutant. Logan took one more glance around the room and then walked over to the Shade. The Shade was seated in the biggest, most comfortable looking chair. Logan sat in the smaller chair next to that one.
"Good evening, Mr. Logan," The Shade said, with an elegant British accent. The Shade was lighting a cigarette in a holder.
"I guess it's a safe bet that you're the guy who's been looking for me," Logan responded, pulling out a cigar.
"Light?" The Shade asked politely.
"Got one," Logan said, lighting his cigar.
"In response to your previous comment, yes, I've been looking for you," The Shade said. "I must admit, I was doubtful that you'd come. You no doubt suspected a trap."
"What am I, stupid?" Logan said, "Of course I did. But I hadda know what the great Shade wanted from me."
"You flatter me, sir," The Shade replied, "And I never meant to imply that you were stupid. If you were, I wouldn't have asked you to come here tonight."
"Okay, Mr. English prettyboy," Logan began, "Let's cut the crap. No more mutual admiration or polite conversation. You got something to say, then say it so I can get outta here."
"Your manners may be lacking but your directness is refreshing," The Shade commented, "Very well. To business. I've come upon some information that rather surprised me. I chose at first to ignore it, but upon reflection, I think this news must be acted upon."
"You're putting me to sleep," Logan said.
"Perhaps this will wake you up," The Shade responded. "Captain America is going to be killed."
The Shade now had Logan's full attention, although Logan tried his best to appear disinterested. "That so. And who's gonna do the dirty?"
"That's the interesting part," The Shade said. "The mastermind is not going to do the deed himself. You see, I found out that the Nazi criminal known as Master Man has escaped from the federal prison that Captain America placed him in. Captain America has been hunting him for over a week and the trail is getting warm. However, it's getting warm intentionally."
"You're saying that this Master Man guy wants Cap America to catch up with him? Sounds pretty stupid to me." Logan said.
"Not necessarily," The Shade continued. "He plans to bait the good Captain to a certain spot and engage him in what the Captain believes will be a fair fight. It won't be. The Nazis have sent several assassins to assist Master Man. Four of them to the best of my knowledge. They'll shoot the Captain from hiding. Captain America will either die from the bullet wound or at the very least, the wound will leave him vulnerable to Master Man's vengeance."
Logan didn't like what he was hearing. "How come you know all this?"
"I know things," The Shade said. "Many criminals come to me for aid or advice, and they talk too much. Also, when you can blend in with the shadows, you can eavesdrop easily."
"You say a lot of thugs go to you for help. That's cause you're one bad-ass villain," Logan commented.
The Shade nodded.
Logan continued, "In that case, why are you tellin' me this? Why do you care if Cap get's waxed?"
"The purpose for killing the leader of the Justice Society is to cause the ruination of that group," The Shade said. "Captain America is considered the glue that holds the team together, their inspiration, their master planner, the embodiment of their country. If he is killed, the Nazis believe that the JSA will be disheartened and disorganized. Generally weakened. That's what Hitler wants. The JSA have prevented his super powered henchmen and magic talisman from tilting the war into his favor. If he weakens the Justice Society, he feels he can win the war."
"And why do you care?" Logan asked.
"Opal is part of the USA," The Shade said. "I've taken a . . . liking to Opal City. It's my home. If the United States falls, so does my Opal. I don't want that to happen."
"So why not do something about it?" Logan asked.
"I am not a hero," The Shade answered with a polite smile, "I will not earn the ire of the fraternity which I have chosen to ally myself with. If I did, then I would have enemies on both sides of the law. I'm risking enough by telling you this."
"One more question. Why me?" Logan asked. "Why not warn Cap himself? Or one of the JSA?"
"I'm keeping a low profile," The Shade answered, "So I'm keeping clear of high profile heroes. You're low profile. You work in the shadows, just as I do. You're an outsider to the super-hero fraternity. You're not even an American super hero."
"I'm no super-hero!" Logan stated.
"Exactly!" The Shade said. "You're perfect. You can do this without anyone knowing. That's my condition for telling you where the assassination will take place. No one must ever know!"
Logan shrugged, then nodded. The Shade smiled again.
"The assassination will take place on the roof of the Macy's on 34th Street in Manhattan, tomorrow night at midnight," The Shade said. "It's all on your plate now. Do what you want. Good night."
A shadow enveloped the Shade and he was suddenly gone. Logan wasn't impressed, but he was thinking hard about what the Shade had said. For whatever reason, Logan found himself believing the Shade's story. And it is logical that's Cap's death could hurt the JSA's war efforts. And the ides of the Nazi's ruling the world was not a pleasant prospect. The full impact of it suddenly hit Logan. He has to save the world!
Captain America had spent almost a week tracking down the escaped Master Man. He had finally narrowed down his search to Manhattan. Today, he had managed to find Master Man's contact, the guy who was arranging Master Man's passage to Europe. Cap treated the Nazi sympathizer very roughly.
Cap's fist smashed into Flannagan's face. Flannagan was sent flying about 5 feet.
"Where is he?!" Cap roared. "Where is Master Man?!"
Cap yanked the traitor to his feet and was about to strike him again.
"No more!" Flannagan yelled, "Please, I'll talk! I'm meeting him at midnight on the roof of Macy's on 34th!"
"Thank you," Cap said, and then punched Flannagan again. "I hate traitors!"
"Master Man!" A powerful voice said.
Master Man turned and saw Captain America standing there. Stupid American! Too foolishly noble to attack from behind.
"At last!" Master Man said, "Time for all the issues between us to be settled at last!"
"Then let's not wait!" Cap said.
Without any further delay, the two enemies locked in combat. Cap was normally more cautious than this, more aware of his surroundings. But Master Man had a way of getting under the star spangled hero's skin. Also, Cap didn't realize that Master Man had so many allies in the US. And so, Captain America was totally unaware of the four assassins.
They were on four nearby taller buildings, overlooking Macy's . . . The team of expert mercenaries called the Killer Quartet--Sniper, Cowboy, Darkshot and Gunn. Each one was armed with a rifle and was taking aim at the Captain. They were having a hard time getting a clear shot at the American hero as he wrestled with the Nazi. But sooner or later, an opening would appear.
Gunn was the first one to see an opening. He smiled and was about to pull the trigger, but something blocked his sights. He looked up and saw a stocky, hairy man standing there.
"Hiya bud," Logan said, "I'm bad news."
Gunn tried to swing the rifle around towards Logan, but Logan grabbed the muzzle of the weapon and yanked it, pulling it--and Gunn--toward him. He then let loose with a series of devastating blows that took down the mercenary very quickly.
One down.
The second building was smaller, and right next door. Logan looked down at the second hitman, Cowboy, and leaped!
While Cap gained the upper hand in his battle against Master Man, he was unaware that the Man named Logan had just taken out a second assassin.
Two down.
The third building was quite a ways away, a very long jump and Logan wouldn't survive the fall if he missed. But he could tell by Darkshot's body language that he was about to fire. No time to waste, no time to think...Logan leaped across the chasm!
He stretched out with his fingers and just barely managed to grab hold of the ledge. As he pulled himself up, he deliberately let out a roar. Darkshot was startled, and turned to see who was there. He saw Logan pulling himself up to the roof. He spun the rifle around to fire at Logan. Logan leaped forward.
Master Man was getting battered by Captain America. While on a nearby roof . . .
Three down.
The fourth and final assassin, Sniper, was on the roof across the street. Logan couldn't reach him in time. Logan looked down. He saw Cap finish off Master Man. With the fight over, Sniper had a clear shot at Captain America. He stood up, took slow aim, and was about to pull the trigger . . .
Logan looked around. He saw the knife in Sniper's belt. He quickly grabbed the knife, turned and threw it. The distance was impossible for a normal man to throw a knife across but Logan was a mutant and quite strong. He was fairly sure he could make the distance but would he hit the target? And would he hit it in time?
The knife flashed across the street. Sniper pulled the trigger and . . .
And the knife pierced Sniper's chest before he got a shot off. Sniper fell, dead.
Four down.
Logan sighed, and sat on the ledge. He looked down and saw Captain America dragging the unconscious Master Man away. Logan lit up a cigar.
A shadow appeared and a hand reached out of it. The hand dropped a note, withdrew into the shadow and the shadow vanished. Logan picked up the note. It said...
‘Nicely done. I knew I picked the right man. I'm sure we'll meet again. Goodbye. Yours truly, S.'
Logan crumbled up the note. Yeah, he had the feeling he'd be meeting the Shade again. In the meantime, at least Captain America and the JSA were still going strong. For right now, he just wanted to get back to Canada and have a rest. It's been a long day. He looked down at the unmoving forms of the four gunmen.
"A good night's work."