The warrior princes were in chains. Prince Namor the Sub-Mariner and Prince Arthur the Aquaman were shackled and put on display for all of New Atlantis to see. It was hoped that the sight of the two mighty heroes chained and helpless would break the spirit of everyone in New Atlantis who hoped that their conquerors would be overthrown. They were guarded by an army of exiled criminals from Atlantis, New Atlantis and another undersea kingdom called Lemuria. Also present were the two mutant shark-men, Tiger Shark and King Shark, who had been the secret weapons of the conquerors, and who had turned the tide of battle against Namor and Aquaman when they came to liberate the captured city.
Presiding over all this was Attuma, once a trusted general in the mother city of Atlantis. With him was prince Krang, a member of the royal family and a traitor to his kingdom. Attuma's hope that the population of New Atlantis would be driven to despair by the capture of the princes seemed to be coming true. They had seen their only hope of freedom crushed. There was no hope left.
Namor and Aquaman had their bravest faces on. They refused to show fear or sadness, even when whipped by Attuma's Minister of Pain. They gave reassuring nods to the citizens who could only turn away in hopeless despair. Aquaman and Namor glanced at each other and communicated silently via their telepathic bond. They were both weak from the battle and from the torture. But the nurturing feel of the ocean waters was helping them recuperate. Soon they'd be strong enough to break their bonds. But what then? Could they succeed this time where they failed before?
Attuma watched from the window of the tower of the royal palace. Krang smiled widely.
"You were right," Krang said. "He went to Namor for help, just as you said he would."
"The actions of warriors who are bound by their honor are always simple to predict," Attuma said. "Just as my plan to conquer New Atlantis worked perfectly, so did my trap for the Sub-Mariner."
"And when Queen Fen hear's that her beloved son is dead--which he soon will be--she will have no other choice than to make me the official heir to ancient Atlantis!" Krang exclaimed. "And soon after that, she'll meet with . . . An accident! And I'll take over Atlantis!"
"While I shall continue to rule New Atlantis!" Attuma said. "And eventually, we'll conquer Lemuria, too. We'll rule the entire seven seas!"
In came Mera with a tray of food for Attuma. She was being forced to play serving wench. Mera was a mysterious woman who was found by Aquaman wandering the seas. He brought her back to New Atlantis and she has since become the royal ward of the King, Vulko. Unknown to Aquaman, she had fallen in love with him. Like him, she had pinkish skin, but her hair was red, not blonde. As she listened to Attuma's words as she served him, she shivered.
In the very next chamber was King Vulko, former ruler of New Atlantis who was now under house arrest and confined to his bedchamber. He heard every word that Attuma and Krang said, and he was afraid that they were right. What could stop them?
Meanwhile, Mera was sent out of the city. She had earned Attuma's trust by acting submissive. Attuma thought that she was too weak-willed to defy him. Also, since she was an outsider, Attuma believed that she had less loyalty to Vulko than others of the city did. And so Mera was sent out of New Atlantis to bring a fake message to Queen Fen in the old city that Namor was killed by surface men.
But Mera didn't go to old Atlantis because that was exactly what Attuma wanted. She had to get help from somewhere else. But where? Wait! The last time Queen Fen visited New Atlantis, she mentioned that Namor had formed an alliance with some surface people. Surface men with super abilities. Using special undersea tracking abilities, she was able to trace the path that Aquaman took to get from the surface to Atlantis.
The Human Torch's artificial intelligence network came back online. He could move and think again. But where was he? The last thing he remembered, he was betrayed by the man he called "father" -- by Phineas T. Horton, his creator. The Torch was now inside a tank of water. He didn't need to breath but he couldn't ignite his flame power in the water. The hatch on top was locked and the glass was too think to break. He was trapped. Why had Horton done this to him?
He looked across the room. Horton was talking to some men. The Torch couldn't hear what they were saying, but Horton pointed in his direction every so often. They were obviously talking about him.
Across the room, Horton was continuing his debate with the two men, both of whom spoke with German accents.
"Just let me keep him here!" Horton said. "Having him here as a model helps me with the other models."
"And we told you that the Baron wants him sent back to Berlin," one of the Germans replied. "And when the Baron speaks, there is no room for debate. We are taking the android and that is final!"
"I must take a contrary position," a new voice said.
Horton and the German's turned and saw Dr. Mid-Nite standing in the doorway. "I would say with a great deal of certainty that the Human Torch isn't going anywhere with you!"
The two German spies pulled out their guns, Dr. Mid-Nite's owl Hooty swooped in from the window and raked one of them in the face. The Nazi dropped his gun and staggered around, clutching his torn face. The second Nazi was distracted by this, so Dr. Mid-Nite threw a small moon-shaped metal weapon ("nite-a-rangs" Wildcat called them jokingly) at the Nazi. The gun was knocked from the spy's hand. Dr. Mid-Nite delivered a kick to the head, rendering the Nazi unconscious. The other Nazi rolled on the floor, still holding his face and sobbing. Dr. Mid-Nite knocked him out with a nerve pinch to the neck. Hooty landed on Mid-Nite's arm. He gave the owl a quick pat and then pointed at Horton. "Don't move, Professor, or Hooty here will do an encore of his face gouging routine."
Horton nodded fearfully. Dr. Mid-Nite put Hooty on Horton's shoulder, and Horton froze! Dr. Mid-Nite freed the Human Torch from the water tank. "You all right, Jim?" he asked the android.
The Human Torch was in no mood to talk. He leaped down from the tank and rushed at Horton. He flattened Horton with a punch in the face. Then he lifted Horton up and prepared to hit him again. But Dr. Mid-Nite grabbed his arm.
"Hold on there, Jimmy!" Mid-Nite said. "Before you break his jaw, we need him to do some talking!"
The Torch hesitated and then reluctantly dropped Horton. The scientist collapsed to the floor. He lay there, wiping the blood from his nose.
The Torch looked at Mid-Nite. "Thank you for helping me. How did you know I was in trouble? How did you even know where I was?"
"I didn't know for certain if you were in trouble," Dr. Mid-Nite said. "But I was getting worried about your prolonged absence. I guessed from what you said before you left that you were going to look for the Black Canary. I figured that you'd need help from someone who knows the ways of the world a little better than you do. And since you didn't ask any of us, the only other person who you would conceivably go to is Professor Horton. So I came to see if he knew where you were. He obviously does!"
Horton looked up, ashamed. The Torch stood menacingly nearby as Dr. Mid-Nite spoke.
"I imagine you have an interesting story to tell us, Professor," Mid-Nite said casually.
Horton nodded meekly. "They . . . They have my younger sister. They said they'd kill her if I didn't obey them. You can check on that. She's missing."
"I'll look into it," Dr. Mid-Nite said.
The Human Torch suddenly felt embarrassed. He was ready to kill Horton. He had punched his "father"! But if Horton's story was true, all he was doing was protecting a loved one . . . Just as the Torch was trying to do!
"Assuming all this is true," Dr. Mid-Nite said, "Who are you taking orders from?"
"His name is Baron Zemo!" Horton exclaimed. "He wants me to build more androids. Oh, and about the Black Canary . . . Zemo has her!"
The Torch's eyes widened with shock. "The Canary!" he said. "Where is she?!"
The Sentinel arrived at Miss Venus's mansion. He was relieved that this was the last meeting he'd have to chair. Cap was due back on full time duty as of the next meeting.
He met Queen Hippolyta, Wonder Woman, who lived at the mansion. They exchanged pleasantries and killed time until the other members showed up. Hippolyta surprised the Sentinel with the revelation that she missed Namor. Just then, they heard on the radio that there was a commotion at the docks.
Mera was shouting in the language of Atlantis. No one could understand her. In frustration she grabbed a human and shook him, trying to communicate. Seeing that she was only terrifying the man, she tossed him away, with more strength than intended. She threw him over a bench. Two policemen arrived and pointed guns at her. She recognized this as a threat and used her ability to control water to defend herself. She caused a giant wave of water to knock the two cops over and push them far away from her.
The Sentinel and Wonder Woman arrived. When Mera saw the flying humans she guessed that these were the very people she was looking for.
"Stop what you're doing or you will be hurt!" Sentinel ordered.
Mera took a non-threatening posture and tried to communicate with the surface people.
"She does not seem dangerous," Wonder Woman said. "We should take her back to the mansion and try to communicate with her."
The Sentinel agreed. They managed to communicate to Mera that they wanted her to come with them. Mera gladly did so.
Steve Rogers was enjoying his last day of full-time work. Tomorrow it was back to the old JSA. He'd still be able to keep his job in the mail room of the War Department, and still see the friends he had made. But he'd be working a lot less hours, because leading the JSA took a lot of his time. He'd only be in the mail room when his schedule allowed.
He looked over at young Bucky, his assistant, the department "mascot." Bucky had proven to be not only a great assistant but also had become a friend, despite his very young age. Steve enjoyed the talks he had with Bucky. The kid was smart and mature beyond his years.
To Steve's surprise, his emergency beacon went off. Cap told the JSA to only summon him in a dire emergency. The team must be in big trouble. He had to get there quick.
"What was that beeping noise?" Bucky asked.
Steve struggled for an answer. He should have prepared a lie for an occasion like this. "The beeping? That was . . . that was a timer. The General gave me a special timer to remind me to do something important."
"Like what?"
"Can't say," Steve said. "But I have to go see the General."
Steve went in the direction of the General's office. Bucky was curious. Why does a mailroom clerk need to meet so urgently with the general? Bucky followed Steve, and sure enough, no sooner was he announced to the General than he was allowed in to see him immediately. Thirty seconds later, Steve came out.
"Get Mr. Rogers a car," the General ordered.
The General wished Steve good luck. Steve rushed out, got into a car and was chauffeured away somewhere. Bucky found this all very strange. There was more to Steve Rogers than he knew. And he was going to find out what!
Captain America entered JSA headquarters, fully costumed, shield in hand. The Sentinel and Wonder Woman were there, as was Dr. Mid-Nite, the Human Torch, Dr. Fate and the Flash. There was also a beautiful red-haired woman in a strange outfit.
"What's the situation!" Captain America asked.
"This is Mera," Sentinel said. "She's from Atlantis. Dr. Fate is casting a translation spell which allows us to understand her. She says that Namor is being held prisoner!"
"So is the Black Canary!" the Human Torch yelled.
"Yes," Dr. Mid-Nite added. "It seems that's she's being held by some Nazi mad-scientist named Zemo."
"I've heard of him." Cap said. "He's supposed to be a genius. A sick genius. And a fencing master."
"He's holding the Canary hostage!" the Human Torch said. "And a spy called the Angel. And the sister of Dr. Phineas Horton. He was forcing Dr. Horton to build more androids."
"He's also working on something called Adhesive-X," Dr. Mid-Nite added.
Cap nodded, "All right then, no time to lose! Sentinel, you and Dr. Fate go to Atlantis!"
"I'd like to go to," Wonder Woman said. "Namor and I are very close comrades."
"I can cast a spell that allows her to breath under water," Dr. Fate said.
"Fine," Cap said. "You three go together. The rest will come with me to stop Zemo!"
Wildcat hadn't heard the JSA summons since, contrary to the rules, he left home without his emergency beacon. He was in his civilian identity as Ted Grant, former Boxing champion. He was working out in a local gym, and a crowd gathered to watch him punch the bag. Ted knew what they were thinking. Why didn't he ever try to get his title back?
Ted Grant was framed for a crime, which cost him his belt. He became Wildcat to solve the crime and stayed Wildcat because so many other people seemed to also be victims of similar injustice. Unfortunately, being Wildcat left Ted no time to work on his comeback.
Lately, he'd gotten away from avenging the little man and was too focused on the grand missions of the JSA. And to be honest, he knew that the JSA really didn't need him. What good was an ex-boxer against aliens guys like Dobj Xio or the Skrulls. With the likes of Dr. Fate and Sentinel on the team, Wildcat was not needed.
Baron Zemo was torturing the Angel with an electric chair. The Angel had never been in such pain. And Zemo was raising the power level.
"Talk to me and the pain stops!" Zemo said. "Who have you told about Adhesive-X?"
The Angel couldn't think of a witty comeback. The masked Baron Zemo turned on the power again and the man known as the Angel convulsed in agony.
In the next room, the Black Canary was still tied to a chair. She saw down the hall that there was another woman being held captive. She was locked in a room and Zemo's men occasionally brought her food. From what the Black Canary could overhear, she was related to some important scientist. The Canary kept looking towards Zemo's lab. She wondered what was happening to the Angel. Suddenly, a red streak flashed past, and the Canary found her bonds gone. She was free. "Flash?" she asked.
The Flash suddenly popped into view. "Hiya, Canary," he said. "You okay?"
"I am now!" she exclaimed. "You alone?"
"Nope," he said. "The others are waiting for me to turn off the alarms."
"How'd you get in?" she asked.
"Vibrated through the wall," he answered, looking for the right controls. "Ah! Here it is."
Jay Garrick was a scientist as well as a super-hero. He was easily able to figure out Zemo's controls. Then he zipped out of sight.
"Flash? Where are you?" the Canary asked.
Having heard voices, the Huntress, Zemo's lackey, came in.
"The Black Canary is free!" she yelled.
"I owe you a butt-kicking, honey!" the Canary replied.
The Canary locked up with the Huntress and they fought in a skillful contest.
Zemo entered the room. At the same time, one of his other henchmen, Sumo, arrived. "Get her!" Zemo ordered.
The huge Sumo lumbered toward the Canary, but never reached her. A swirl of red circled around the big man, battering him a thousand times in a second. The man-mountain fell.
"Guards!" Zemo yelled. "Guards! Where are you, fools? Get in here!"
"No help there," Flash said. "I took care of them already."
Zemo recoiled in alarm until he heard the fiddle music. The Flash saw Zemo's third henchman, the Fiddler. The Flash's knees felt weak. This music had a strange, hypnotic effect. The Flash tried to run but his legs gave out and he fell against the wall. He was being overwhelmed by the Fiddler's power. But the Fiddler didn't see Dr. Mid-Nite creep up behind him. Mid-Nite - who had his own mental techniques to protect him from the hypnotic music - gave a nerve-chop to the Fiddler, who crumbled in a heap on the floor. Zemo pulled out a gun, but a fireball melted it. The Torch had arrived. He smiled to see the Black Canary alive and fighting. The Canary delivered a finishing kick to the Huntress. The Torch created a fire cage around Sumo, Huntress and the Fiddler. Zemo pushed a button and a steel door slammed down, cutting him off from the heroes.
"Flash, can you vibrate through that?" Dr. Mid-Nite asked.
"Just give me a minute to recover," the Flash answered.
"Give me a few minutes and I'll burn through," The Torch said.
"Zemo will have escaped by then!" the Canary exclaimed.
Zemo returned to his lab. It seems there would be no opportunity to force Dr. Horton to finish making androids for him. However, Adhesive-X was completed! Zemo picked up the drum containing the mixture which could immobilize entire regiments, the most powerful adhesive ever invented.
Zemo noticed the Angel, still in the chair, barely conscious. Zemo picked up a gun. "If there really are angels, prepare to meet them!"
A colorful shield knocked the gun from Zemo's hand. It returned to Captain America. "I found your secret tunnel," Cap said. "I got tired of waiting so I decided to come to you."
The masked Baron put the drum of adhesive on a high shelf. "Captain America!" Zemo said, grabbing a ceremonial sword off his belt and holding it out threateningly. "This is a great day. I've finished adhesive-X and now I'll kill the leader of the Justice Society!"
Sentinel and Dr. Fate hit Atlantis like twin storms. The Sentinel, protected from the pressure by his ring, blasted away at Attuma's men. They tried to avoid his blasts but couldn't. He plowed through wave after wave of attacker. Even the new laser beam weapons that Attuma had developed were no match for the power of the Sentinel.
Dr. Fate was doing just as well. He caused the weapons of anyone who attacked him to vanish. He put a sleep spell on another regiment of attackers. But there were still many, many more to go!
Namor's spirit was lifted by the arrival of his JSA partners. He'd recovered enough from his earlier injures. Now was the time to act.
"Now, brother!" Namor shouted to Aquaman. "Let us act now!"
They both strained against their bonds and simultaneously broke free.
They wasted no time in joining the fight. "For Atlantis! Imperious Rex!"
Nearby, Wonder Woman had taken a more covert approach. She and Mera snuck into the city and attacked the guards at the gulag and freed the imprisoned armies of Atlantis. The guards grabbed the many weapons that were dropped by defeated members of Attuma's army. Wonder Woman led them in a rear assault. Attuma's army was caught between Sentinel, Fate, Namor and Aquaman on one side, and Wonder Woman, Mera and the Atlantean army on the other. Attuma's army fought well but eventually realized that they had nothing to gain fighting for this crazed tyrant. Many fled or surrendered. The rest had lost their fighting spirit.
Attuma ordered his new Swimming-Saucers to be unleashed. The disc shaped attack crafts fired their powerful weapons. The Sentinel and Fate battled them, while Wonder Woman and the Atlantean soldiers saw to the remaining enemy army. Just then, Tiger Shark and King Shark made their return appearance. Namor and Aquaman had been looking for them and spotted them immediately. They'd been waiting for a rematch. Aquaman charged King Shark, who had taken his hand. Namor clashed with Tiger Shark.
Zemo wasn't doing well in his fight against Cap. His sword hadn't been able to get past Cap's shield. Cap was just too strong, quick and skillful, even for a master fencer like Zemo to overcome. Cap's fist flashed out and collided with Zemo's jaw. Zemo toppled backwards. His head hit the shelf, and the drum of Adhesive-X fell over. It hit him in the head and the impact caused the lid to loosen. Zemo caught the drum of adhesive but then it splashed all over his head and mask. Zemo dropped the Adhesive and clutched at his mask in panic. "NOO!" he screamed, trying to remove the mask. He stumbled towards the secret door.
The Torch burned through the steel door. "You okay, Cap?" he asked.
"I'm fine," Cap answered. "Mid-Nite, Angel needs some medical attention. I'm going after Zemo. The rest of you stay here. He's mine!"
Zemo was running through the escape tunnel, cursing fate, knowing that he'd never be able to remove the mask from his face! Suddenly, he heard footsteps behind him. He saw Cap chasing him. He opened a panel in the tunnel wall, pulled out a grenade and prepared to throw it. Cap's shield knocked it out of his hand. Cap ran for cover. There was an explosion and the tunnel collapsed down on Zemo!
Attuma watched as the Sentinel and Dr. Fate defeated his Swimming-Saucers. Their combined power was too much even for Atlantean technology. And his army was on the verge of defeat. Krang came up beside him. "It doesn't look good, Attuma. We should flee now!"
"You flee if you want, coward!" Attuma said, "but I won't give up so easily!"
Attuma went to join the battle and Krang fled the city. Meanwhile, Namor was battering Tiger Shark. The shark man was strong and fierce, but Namor had his own levels of strength and ferocity. And he was much more motivated. Tiger Shark realized that all was lost. He gouged Namor's eyes. While Namor was momentarily blinded, Tiger Shark lost himself in the melee and escaped.
Aquaman was battling King Shark. Aquaman shoved his harpoon down King Shark's throat and pushed! The point past through the roof of King Shark's mouth, and into his brain. The shark monster screeched in agony and then went limp.
Attuma was heading to the scene when he ran into Wonder Woman. "You have attacked a friend and ally of mine!" she said. "You shall regret it!"
Attuma laughed and assumed that this woman would be easy prey. He attacked. He was surprised when Hippolyta met him with a level of skill he had never seen before! But he still had the advantage in the water!
All around, the invaders were fleeing or defeated! Aquaman stood with King Vulko and shouted to the exuberant Atlanteans, "Victory is ours! Imperious Rex!"
As the Atlanteans cheered, Namor looked around for Attuma. She saw the former conqueror battling Wonder Woman. Namor rushed to join her. Together, they pummeled Attuma and tied him in Wonder Woman's golden lasso. Namor laughed. "Well done, my beautiful Amazon queen. You do me much honor by coming here."
"It was getting quite dull on the surface without you," she answered.
In a moment of excitement, Namor and Hippolyta shared a kiss. Things would never be the same between them again.
The Atlanteans continued cheering. The battle was over. They had their freedom.
Dr. Horton had gotten a phone call from the Torch. His sister was fine and the Torch had forgiven him. The Human Torch wanted to spend more time with Horton, getting to know his "father" better. Horton was relieved but he wasn't really happy. Something was bothering him. He had another problem that was not so easily solved. He went down to his private basement lab. He turned on the lights . . . and there, still and silent, were eight more super-powered combat androids! He had made them for Zemo, but what should he do with them now?
Next issue: The world is in chaos as the dark council's plan begins to unfold. Guest star's galore appear in the first chapter of Prelude to Twilight, the first installment of the epic Gods Trilogy!