Aquaman, prince of Atlantis, was swimming toward the surface as fast as was possible. He was desperate and was seeking help from the only person who could conceivably aid him. He looked back, because right on his heels were two of the most vicious creatures in the seas.
Tiger Shark and King Shark!
Tiger Shark was once an Atlantean like himself, but was exiled years ago for criminal activities against the people of Atlantis. King Shark was merely a shark. But they had been mixed into composites, in a way unknown to Aquaman, and become shark-men. And they were after Aquaman. Sent to kill him by the villains who Aquaman has come to hate, but who he couldn't fight alone. Not even a prince of Atlantis could fight the odds he faced by himself. But two princes . . . Yes, maybe two could win where one had failed. If only he could reach the other prince. Tiger Shark and King Shark were close behind him. He was weak from hours of battle against numerous enemies and was in no shape to fight them both. If they caught him before he found help, Atlantis was doomed!
The secret agent known as the Angel ran across the top of the train car. His pursuers were searching the train for him. The train would pull into the Washington station within an hour. He had to evade his enemies until then. He had to reach JSA headquarters.
He looked back. One of the assassins had also climbed up on top of the train car and had spotted him. The assassin called down to his partners. They'd be coming up to get him. He had to get off the train.
As the train passed a high tree, the Angel leapt and grabbed a branch. He swung his legs and found a stable perch to land on. He shimmied down the tree. The three assassins saw him as the train passed. The Angel knew they'd be coming after him. He took raced as fast as he could in the direction of Washington, and the JSA.
Captain America was wandering through the halls of Miss Venus' mansion, which was used as the headquarters for the Justice Society. He had finished his daily two hours of training, reported to his superiors in the war department and checked the mansion for microphones. At present, he was out of things to do. He partly wished he could go to Europe and join the troops in battle. But he understood President Roosevelt's orders to remain in the USA until otherwise assigned by the government. The JSA needed their leader nearby and ready in case an emergency requiring the whole team arose. Cap was more use as the commander of the Justice Society than as a single soldier in the European theater of war.
Miss Venus was nowhere to be found, as was usually the case. Most of the other Society members had lives of their own and didn't remain in the mansion when there was no case or meeting. The only ones who frequented the mansion were the ones who lived there. Queen Hippolyta and the Human Torch. The Torch was a nice fellow - if "fellow" was the appropriate term for an android - but not a very good conversationalist. And Queen Hippolyta was involved in a prayer session devoted to her Greek gods.
Cap had cut ties with his family and friends to avoid having to answer any awkward questions about his physical changes due to the Super Soldier serum, and about his frequent disappearances. He had no one. He had nothing. He was bored. He wanted a life. He wanted to be Steve Rogers again, not just Captain America.
And he would be. He was determined. He left the mansion and headed for the war department.
Captain America confronted his superiors in the war department.
"I must insist, sir, that I be allowed to have a life outside the JSA. I need to be Steve Rogers once in a while. To be just a man and not a symbol or icon. I want to have a job and friends I can talk to about normal things, not about fighting the Shade or the Icicle. I want to be average."
"Captain," The General said, "I sympathize with you, but there is a war on and you are our greatest Public Relations weapon. You're also necessary as the leader of the Justice Society. We all sacrifice. I make sacrifices too."
"I understand that sir," Cap said, "But you go home to your wife in the evenings. I don't want to quit the JSA or cut down my time as Captain America. I just want something to do in my spare time that doesn't involve being a super hero. It could be war related. In fact, that would be better. I could work here in the war department. That way, I'd be near JSA headquarters if they need me, and you could arrange for me to be able to leave when I'm needed and take time off for JSA business as I need to."
The General sat back and thought about it. "Well, I suppose it could be arranged. All right Captain. Come back tomorrow and I'll have a job for Steve Rogers."
"Thank you, sir."
Later that evening, the Sentinel arrived at the JSA's mansion HQ in response to a summons by Captain America.
"What wrong, Cap?" Sentinel asked.
"Nothing," Cap said. "I'm sorry to use the emergency signal but I have no other way to contact you."
The Sentinel looked surprised. "I see. So what did you want to see me about?"
"I want you to chair the next couple of meetings." Cap said, " I'll be . . . busy for the next few days. If I'm needed, just use the emergency signal and I'll be here within twenty minutes. Otherwise, I won't be around for about a week or so."
Sentinel nodded. "Yes, all right. Good luck with whatever you have to do, and I'll see you when you get back."
Cap smiled and shook hands with the Sentinel. "Thanks. My notes for the next meeting are in the study. You can look them over. See you soon." He patted the Sentinel on the shoulder and then left.
Namor the Sub-Mariner was swimming toward Washington, DC. The next meeting of the JSA wasn't until morning but things were dull in Atlantis and his mother, Queen Fen, could handle things. More than that, Namor wanted to spend some time with the lovely Queen Hippolyta. He was having trouble getting her out of his mind. She was magnificent. She would be a fitting mate for the avenging son of great Atlantis.
But suddenly, to his surprise, Namor received a telepathic distress call. He recognized the mind that was contacting him, although it had been years since they had seen each other. He changed direction and swam to the rescue.
Aquaman was caught by his monsterous pursuers while climbing the dock to get to the shore. They battled fist and fang under the dock. Aquaman was putting up a good fight but he was being ripped apart by his foes. Tiger Shark grabbed Aquaman's hand in his fangs, bit down and yanked . . .
Aquaman screamed as his hand was ripped off. Blood floated out of his arm into the water. This drove the two shark-men into a wild frenzy. They no longer just wanted to kill Aquaman . . . They were hungry! And in Aquaman's weakened condition, it seemed that he would be their next meal.
Or would have been, if not for the timely arrival of the Sub-Mariner. Namor rammed into the two beasts. He proceeded to pound them before they could recover. He had taken them by surprise and they were tired from battling Aquaman so Namor had a brief advantage, but he couldn't count on that lasting. Aquaman was weak and only half conscious. He'd be of no help. And he needed medical attention. As much as it pained Namor to do it, he'd have to flee the battle. He grabbed Aquaman and shot upward. He breached the surface, and then the wings on his heels began beating. Namor began flying and he carried Aquaman to JSA headquarters.
The two beasts watched the Atlanteans fly away. King Shark, who was nearly mindless, wanted to go after them, but Tiger Shark stopped him. They had their commands. They weren't to pursue Aquaman onto the surface. With a dissatisfied grunt, Tiger Shark led King Shark back down to the depth of the ocean.
The Black Canary was the first to arrive for the meeting. It was very early in the morning. She parked her motorcycle and was about to go inside when she heard . . .
"Black Canary!" a voice yelled. "Wait! I need your help!"
She turned and saw a man running toward her. He collapsed into her arms. "I've got to warn you. It's important. Must tell you . . . "
"All right," Black Canary said. "Let me get you inside. Then you can tell me whatever you want."
She leads him inside and seats him in a kitchen chair. She gave him some water. He got his breath back. The Canary took a good look at him. He was extremely handsome, with his dark hair and eyes and his stylish mustache. Under his trench coat was a skin tight blue costume with an angel emblem on the chest. She noticed he had a good build.
"Thank you," he said. "I feel much better."
"Good," she answered. "Now let's talk. You can start by telling me who you are."
"The name I go by is the Angel. I'm a US secret agent."
"So you're the Angel," she said. "You're the one who leaked us the information about the Nazis' work in Cold Atoms. The thing that created the Icicle."
"That was me," he responded. "I've been in Europe gathering information since before the war broke out."
"I guess you have something else for us now, hmmm?" she wondered.
"Yes," he answered. "And I nearly got killed getting here. There were three hired assassins after me but I think I lost them."
"So what's the big secret?" she asked. "Spill."
"The Nazis have a secret lab here in the US," he said. "They're short on certain supplies over there and they're getting them off the American black market. That's why they're working here rather than in Europe. Anyway, they've sent one of their greatest scientists, a heartless fiend named Baron Heinrich Zemo. He's working on two separate weapons. One is a substance called Adhesive X, and the other is some sort of human experimentation. He's building some kind of super army. I knew immediately that the JSA had to be warned."
The Black Canary thought for a minute. She should warn the rest of the JSA about this, but something kept her from doing that. She'd felt for months that she wasn't earning her keep as a member of the Justice Society. This could be a chance for her to show what she could do. If she and the Angel could stop this Zemo by themselves, she's prove her worth. At the very least, she could scout out the situation and give first hand intel to Cap. And the idea of going on an adventure with the handsome Angel was an appealing idea.
"Do you know where this lab is?" she asked.
"Definitely!" he said.
"Before I call in the troops," she said, "I'd like to take a first hand look at it."
"What on Earth for?" he asked. "I can tell you all about it."
"Have you actually been inside the lab?" she asked.
"Well, no. But . . . "
"Captain America likes to have as much information as possible before he undertakes a mission," she insisted. "I should go and see this for myself."
"All right," he said with a weary sigh. "I can see I'm not going to win this argument. Let's go."
The Canary smiled. "Just let me leave a message with my friend Hippolyta and we'll be on our way."
Soon, the Black Canary had departed with the Angel. Only about a minute later, the Sentinel arrived. He was mentally preparing himself to chair his first meeting. He'd chaired meetings before in his civilian life as Alan Scott, so it was not a big deal to him, but still, he always liked to be well prepared.
Queen Hippolyta came into the room with the Human Torch following behind. "Hello, Sentinel," she said. "You beat The Captain here."
"Captain America won't be here," The Sentinel said. "I'll be chairing the meeting."
"Oh, In that case, I should give you the message," she said. "It's from the Black Canary. She has gone to investigate something and may not doesn't know when she'll be back."
"She was here?" The Torch asked.
"Yes," Hippolyta said. "She gave me that message and left."
The Torch looked sad. "She didn't even say hello to me."
"I'm sure it wasn't anything personal," the Amazon Queen said.
"Thanks for letting me know," Sentinel said. "We'll get the meeting started as soon as -- "
Namor came crashing through the window, carrying the limp form of Aquaman in his arms.
"This man needs help!" Namor demanded.
Dr. Mid-Nite arrived at that very moment. His medical instincts immediately took over and he rushed over to the wounded man. "Put him on the table!" Mid-Nite ordered. "Get me the first aid kit. Sentinel, before he bleeds to death, I'll need you to use your ring to seal the wound."
"He is one of my people," Namor said. "He is an Atlantean."
"I see," Dr. Mid-Nite said. "That could inhibit my ability to help him. We'll see. You'd better prepare your water tank. He may need it."
Flash arrived to assist Dr. Mid-Nite in his efforts. Dr. Mid-Nite did his best and seemed to have done a good job. The wound was sterilized and sealed. They covered the stump with a metal gauntlet--one of Miss Venus' antiques--melted into shape by the Torch. Other wounds were cared for. Then Aquaman was put into the large glass tank that had been built for Prince Namor in case he ever needed to submerge in water. Aquaman rested in the water. He seemed to be getting stronger. He looked at his handless arm and the metal half-glove covering it. He was not happy.
Namor stood near the tank watching Aquaman. The Sentinel, the Flash, Hippolyta, the Torch, and Dr. Mid-Nite waited patiently on the other side of the room.
"The doctor says to wait a few minutes more, Arthur," Namor said loudly, "and then we'll talk."
Inside the tank, the blonde haired Atlantean nodded.
"So what's the story on this guy?" Flash asked. "Who is he?"
"He is my brother," Namor said.
"I didn't know you had a brother," Hippolyta commented.
"I am not disposed to discuss matters of a personal nature," Namor said. "But some of you may have heard of him. He has become known to sailors as the Aquaman."
"Aquaman!" Flash said, surprised. "I thought he was a myth. Like the Loch Ness monster."
"I thought you were Aquaman, Namor," Dr. Mid-Nite said. "I had assumed sailors had seen you and created the Aquaman legend."
"No," Namor said. "My brother is Aquaman."
"He's another prince of Atlantis?" Hippolyta asked.
"He is the prince of a different Atlantis," Namor said.
"There's another Atlantis?" Sentinel asked.
"It is a long tale," Namor replied.
"We have some time to kill while we're waiting for your brother to recover," Flash said.
"Tell us, Prince Namor," Hippolyta added.
Namor couldn't refuse the Amazon. He nodded. "Very well. The Atlanteans are one of the oldest civilizations on the planet. For centuries, we lived in peace and prosperity. But hundreds of your years ago, a schism took place in our land. The king died and two factions vied for control of the realm. A civil war broke out. It lasted for months. Eventually, a cease of hostilities was arranged but the reason for the problem wasn't settled. And so, half the population of Atlantis abandoned their home and went in search of a place to form their own city. They were nomads for years until they found the remains of a sunken continent, which was once part of the surface world. They settled it and built it up into a city almost as grand as my Atlantis. They called it Poseidonis. It existed separate and apart from Atlantis until a group of warriors from Atlantis were attacked by a group from Poseidonis!"
Inside the tank, Aquaman was straining to hear. He didn't like what he heard. "It was the people of Poseidonis who were attacked!" he yelled. "They were on a mineralogical survey!"
"It matters not who started it," Namor replied, "The result was a war between the two kingdoms that lasted for 100 years. It was brutal and bloody, but ultimately, Atlantis won."
Aquaman frowned but didn't refute it. "We were subjugated, and our freedom was kept from us for centuries!" he insisted.
"They were a colony," Namor said, "and were treated fairly."
Aquaman floated up and rose out of the water. He stuck his head over the top of the tank.
"Poseidonis was forced to pay tribute to Atlantis. And our name was taken from us," Aquaman said.
"The tribute was to the royalty who ruled both cities." Namor said, "And it was re-named Atlantis minor to show our unity."
"But when Atlantis needed help, it came swimming to us," Aquaman said with a grin.
Namor sneered. Hippolyta was curious. "What happened?"
"Atlantis had another rebellion," Aquaman said, "and they needed our help to stop it."
"An ambitious fiend named Attuma was one of our greatest generals," Namor said. "But he was too lustful for power. At the beginning of this century, he attempted to overthrow our mother, Queen Fen. With our military divided, my mother was forced to call on Atlantis minor for assistance. They blackmailed us."
"We took advantage of a chance for independence," Aquaman said. "The military governor of Atlantis minor, Lord Vulko, came to empathize with his new home. He refused to help Queen Fen unless she promised to grant independence to the colony. She had to agree. We turned the tide and Attuma was driven out. He fled and his army was exiled. Peace was achieved and Atlantis Minor was free! We started calling ourselves New Atlantis. Lord Vulko became it's first King. As part of their peace agreement, Queen Fen and King Vulko both agreed to exchange their first born sons with each other. King Vulko's bride was pregnant but Queen Fen was without a mate. Soon, she had a dalliance with a surface man named Arthur McKenzie. She got pregnant and bore two sons."
"You and Namor," Dr. Mid-Nite said.
"Yes," Namor said. "We had the pink skin of a surface man but were stronger than either Atlantean or Human. I was a bit more Atlantean looking and so was named after my mother's father, while Arthur here was named after our human father."
"Didn't she think that a human name would be a stigma against him?" Hippolyta asked.
"I already had blonde hair," Aquaman said, "Which is considered bad luck in Atlantis. The name could be no worse than that."
"So you were the first born of the two, Aquaman," Sentinel asked, "And were exchanged with the child of King Vulko?"
Aquaman nodded, but Namor interrupted, "Not quite. My mother has since told me that I was the eldest."
Aquaman looked curiously at Namor. Namor continued, "My mother was worried that if she sent me away and Arthur was the heir, then the people of Atlantis wouldn't accept a blonde haired king. So she told Vulko that he was born first and he was exchanged with Vulko's son Krang."
Aquaman was shocked by this. He had never known that.
"And so," Namor said, "I am heir to Atlantis and Arthur is heir to New Atlantis. We have only met a few times, during imperial conferences. We haven't seen each other in years. Whatever made you seek me out must be important."
Aquaman climbed out of the tank. "Serious enough to sacrifice my hand for. It's Attuma!"
"Attuma!" Namor growled. "Ever since he escaped and his army was exiled, we have feared that they would unite again and attack Atlantis. We didn't expect them to attack New Atlantis."
"He's holding a grudge against us for helping to defeat him," Aquaman said. "And he had inside help. Krang!"
Namor was aghast. "Krang! I knew he was resentful because the exchange had cheated him of his right to rule New Atlantis. And he wouldn't rule my Atlantis either, because I am the rightful heir. I always sensed his hostility but had no idea he'd go to such lengths."
Aquaman continued, "He was invited in on an imperial visit. His entourage was part of Attuma's army. They attacked from within while Attuma attacked from outside. And they had those two shark creatures with them. The three front attack was too much for us. New Atlantis fell. I was the last one free. I tried to fight alone but realized that I needed help. And since both Atlantis' have a mutual defense pact . . . "
"Enough!" Namor said. "I will accompany you!"
Aquaman nodded satisfied. Sentinel turned to Namor. "Do you want us to -- "
"No," Namor said adamantly. "This is not a matter for surface dwellers. My brother and I will handle this. Tell Captain America that I will be taking an indefinite leave of absence. My first responsibility is to the sea!"
Before Aquaman and Namor left, Aquaman looked at the antiques on the walls. He spotted an ancient harpoon. He asked the Human Torch to weld the harpoon tip to the metal covering on his stump. Namor appeared in the blue battle armor that Miss Venus had left for him as a gift. Now, armed, armored and ready, the two Atlanteans headed for the sea, to free Atlantis or die trying!
Elsewhere, the Black Canary and the Angel were on her motorcycle. "How much further is it?" she asked.
"Not far," he said. "Turn down this alley."
They drove through the alley. Suddenly a massive man blocked their way. He was a huge, heavy Japanese man in sumo wrestler shorts.
"It's Sumo!" The Angel said. "The assassins have found me."
The Canary increased her speed and intended to plow right through Sumo. But a dart pierced her tire. The bike flipped over and the duo were launched right into Sumo's arms. He held them both with unbelievable strength. The thrower of the dart made her appearance. She wore tiger striped tights and carried a crossbow and dartgun. She was called the Huntress. "Hold them tightly, Sumo," she said. "The Angel is tricky and the other one belongs to the JSA."
The Angel pulled out a spray, something like mace, and sprayed it into Sumo's eyes. Sumo dropped them. The Angel kicked Sumo in the stomach but it didn't even faze him. He backed up as Sumo moved toward him. The Black Canary took a defensive posture, ready to lock up with the Huntress.
But then they heard music. At first they didn't think anything of it, but then they started to get groggy. A dapper man with white hair walked down the alley, playing a fiddle.
"The Fiddler!" The Angel exclaimed. "We've got to stop his playing. His music has hypnotic power!" The Angel made a lunge for the Fiddler, but Sumo grabbed him from behind. Angel tried to spray him again but his reflexes were slow due to the hypnotic music. Sumo delivered a powerful blow that knocked the Angel unconscious. The Black Canary was unable to concentrate and then got distracted by the Angel's defeat. This was all the opportunity that the Huntress needed. She gave a few well placed kicks to the Canary. The Black Canary was out of the fight. The fight was over.
"Pick them up, Sumo," The Huntress said. "They wanted to see Baron Zemo, so that's where we'll take them. They should've been careful what they wished for. They got it. And they're gonna regret it!"
Next issue: The dread Dormammu strikes, and only the mysterious being known as the Vision can save them. Plus, Namor and Aquaman reach Atlantis; the Black Canary is in the hands of the Nazis; and introducing . . . Bucky! All this and more in the action packed eighth issue of Justice Society of America!