It was time for the showdown! The Flash raced to the hidden maze of tunnels within the Appalachian Mountains. The former mineshaft was converted into an elaborate fortress by the brilliant Blue Diamond, who built it to repel all intruders. It was called the Diamond Mine and it was a death trap.
But that wasn't going to stop the Flash from going there. It was time to settle matters with his traitorous ex-best friend . . . The man who had set up the Justice Society and almost succeeded in killing them all! The man who engineered the death of the Hulk and the destruction of the Human Torch!
He had to pay! Flash reached the mountainous region, paused for less than a moment and then entered the Diamond Mine, bursting through the boarded up entryway. The impact caused a set of automated machine guns and poison darts to fire at the entrance. This would incapacitate many an intruder, but the Flash was moving at such speeds that he was long gone before the weapons even fired.
At top the speed, the Flash could have searched the many miles of tunnels in a microsecond. But he was moving slower, cautious of a trap. He also wanted to make sure he checked in every possible hiding place. He didn't want to pass his enemy by. It took him over ten seconds to check everywhere in the Diamond Mine. Everywhere except the lowest level. That was where the Blue Diamond would be!
Flash found and entered the main control room of the Diamond Mine. Inside, he saw the Blue Diamond, standing calmly, as if he knew when the Flash was going to arrive.
"Hello, Jay," the Blue Diamond said. "I've been waiting for you."
Flash sneered. "I didn't come here to banter with you or to discuss anything. You get no special treatment from me! What you did was unconscionable and unforgivable. So surrender now and come along with me or I will get rough! You know what I'm capable of!"
"I do indeed," the Blue Diamond said. "I've researched you and your team very well. But I'm wondering about something. If you arrest me, what is going to stop me from revealing the identities of yourself and the rest of the Justice Society to the world? I know who all of you are, if you recall."
"I've considered that, Elton," Flash said. "No one said you were going to jail. I doubt any jail would hold you anyway. But Doctor Fate can send you someplace you won't bother anyone again. I promise it will be someplace you don't like!"
As Flash spoke, he felt a sudden nausea and dizziness. The room started spinning. What was happening to him, he wondered.
"I can see that you are very upset," Blue Diamond said. "Understandable. We've had about as serious a falling out as two friends can have. I don't expect any reconciliation. You've suffered the loss of some teammates. I've suffered worse! Believe me, I have!"
Flash was so dizzy he almost fell over. He grabbed a console to steady himself. The Blue Diamond could tell by his body language that the Flash was ailing.
"I believe you are feeling a little under the weather at the moment," the Blue Diamond said. "It's to be expected. The moment you entered the Diamond Mine, a toxin was pumped into the air through some hidden vents. The chemical is spread too thinly across the miles of tunnels for anyone to be affected, unless they've run all over the mine, like you did. Also, the toxin usually takes hours or days to affect a person, but due to your incredibly fast metabolism, you absorbed it in a matter of seconds. In short, you are about to pass out, while I am perfectly fine. I'm truly sorry to have to do this to you, old friend, but it's the only way to square myself with my beloved Amora. You see, the Enchantress left me when I failed to destroy you as I promised. But killing you all now will make her love me again. Forgive me. You must die!"
Flash could barely stand. In a desperate effort to escape, he tried to run. He stumbled down the hall, not going much faster than twenty miles an hour. As he passed a chasm, overlooking a subterranean stream, he tripped and fell down the deep gorge and into the cold water.
Blue Diamond ran to the edge and looked down. He waited for the Flash to resurface. He never did. It was logical to assume that the toxin made him pass out under the water. The Blue Diamond felt a pang of regret. "Drowning. What a sad way for a hero to die! Goodnight old friend. 'May flights of angels sing thee to thy rest'. Adieu."
Blue Diamond turned his back on the chasm and made plans to deal with the rest of the Justice Society.
Somewhere, under the sea:
Namor the Sub-Mariner was swimming back to the surface. He had thought quite a lot about the recent situation that led to his injuries. During his period of recovery, he decided to leave the Justice Society. But before he did that, he needed to have a face-to-face confrontation with Wonder Woman. His beloved Hippolyta had turned against him, for the sake of a weak little mortal human . . . For this Steve Trevor, who she had gone soft over. He needed to know what she was thinking. Why would she throw him over such a pathetic being? Namor had to confront Wonder Woman, so that he could leave with his questions answered.
Captain America was alone in the JSA mansion. He walked through the empty halls, wondering grimly about the future of his team. Two casualties, an injury, some quitters, Wonder Woman's loss of power . . . This was a terrible blow to the JSA. Could they recover from it? Cap wished he could find the Blue Diamond! That man had to pay!
The phone rang. Cap hoped that it would be some good news for a change, but his instincts told him otherwise. "Hello?"
"Cap? It's Joan," Said the familiar voice of Joan Garrick, the Flash's wife, "I hate to bother you but . . . "
"Don't be silly," Cap said. "We've all appreciated the hospitality you've shown the JSA. The holiday parties you and Jay throw are great for our morale. Anything I can do to help, name it."
"It's Jay. I'm worried. He went out a few hours ago to fight the Blue Diamond. He figured out where Elton was hiding but I haven't heard anything since. I know Jay can handle himself, but . . . "
"Wait!" Cap said, excited. "Flash knows where the Blue Diamond is?"
"Yeah, he figured it out earlier today."
"Do you know where he went, Joan?"
Olympus:
Typhon the Titan sat on the throne formerly belonging to Zeus, ex-lord of Greco-Roman Gods. Since he had exiled the Olympians, the majestic city of deities was all his. As he had expected, news of the fall of Zeus and his pantheon had spread through the realms of magic and elder beings. Many of the dregs of far-off worlds arrived to pay homage to the Titan who sacked Olympus.
Demons, trolls, nether-beasts, and assorted creatures of the night came and offered their allegiance to Typhon, lord of Olympus. A grotesque army was forming, under the rule of the most ruthless of Titans.
"Hail, mighty Typhon!" they shouted, offering their vile powers to his cause.
Typhon smiled a broad, triumphant smile, looking over his growing legions and the city that was now his province to do with as he pleased. "I thank you for your service, good friends! I promise that if you continue to serve Typhon well, glory and riches beyond your ken shall be yours!"
The army of darkness cheered. Typhon turned to the smaller throne, situated next to his own. It used to belong to Hera, former Queen of Gods. Now, it was occupied by a new but unwilling Queen. She was better known as the Queen of Amazons, but now she had reluctantly become Typhon's Queen. She was Hippolyta, also known as Wonder Woman.
"I told you, my beauteous one, my army would grow," Typhon said. "My glory shall one day exceed Zeus himself!"
Wonder Woman stared a hateful stare at the Titan. Had she not lost her Amazon powers, she would deal with Typhon personally. But recent events had stripped for of all her strength. Even simple tasks were an effort now. She was powerless against the nearly unlimited strength of mighty Typhon, and she knew it!
"You disgust me, Typhon," the Amazon hissed. "You conquered Olympus by deceit. You defeated Hercules by using me as a hostage. You are no warrior. You are a coward! If I had my strength back . . . "
"You do not!" Typhon said. "But you do still have that Amazonian fire. I like that. You will make an excellent Queen for my new Olympus!"
"When the Gods return . . . " she began.
"They shall not!" Typhon insisted. "The curse of the eternal flame has seen to that!"
"Hercules will find a way back!" she said.
"Do not fool yourself, woman! Hercules and his ilk are gone forever! And you will be mine for as long as I want you. After I attend to my soldiers, you and I will consummate our relationship!"
Hippolyta gasped. She felt a shutter. He plans to ravage me! she thought, nervously. She wondered how she could get out of this. She couldn't stop Typhon on her own. She could only hope that help was on the way. Perhaps Hercules would return. She wished she could summon her partners in the Justice Society. What were they doing now?
Captain America was filling in his partners on the Flash situation. Present in the mansion were Sentinel, Doctor Fate, the Star-Spangled Kid, Toro, Hawkgirl, Doctor Mid-Nite, Starman, and Fury. They all listen attentively to Cap. Almost all of them had a personal motivation to tear the Blue Diamond apart.
" . . . Flash is facing him in the Appalachian Mountains right now!" Cap said, rallying the troops with a short speech.
He was interrupted when the door opened and in came the Sub-Mariner. Everyone was surprised but pleased. Everyone except Toro, who had recently received a beating from the sea prince.
"Namor, good to see you," Cap said. "Perfect timing. We have a situation!"
"I need to see Wonder Woman immediately!" Namor said.
"She's gone," Dr. Mid-Nite said. "She went off with Hercules somewhere."
"Then I will wait until she returns!" Namor said.
"In the meantime, how would you like a taste of revenge?" Mid-Nite said, baiting Namor by using his famous temper and ego.
"Revenge?" Namor asked.
"We're going after the Blue Diamond. Want to come?"
Namor sneered at the name of the traitor. The Blue Diamond was the mastermind behind the scheme that led to Namor's injuries and lengthy convalescence. Namor had been unhappy over the fact that the fiend had escaped his wrath. "Yes, I shall accompany you! The traitorous Blue Diamond shall fell the fury of the Avenging Son of Atlantis!"
"Then what are we waiting for?" Cap asked. "Let's move!"
In a dark nether region . . .
Hercules walked through the gloomy, dark, foggy landscape that seemed hatched out of a nightmare. He had fought indigenous creatures so horrible that the sight of them would drive most mortals insane with terror. Hercules defeated the beasts and pressed on, hoping to find his fellow Olympians, who had also been exiled here.
"How long must I wander these mist enshrouded tracts of unholy land?" he wondered aloud. "Where, in this land of shadows, are my fellow Olympians?"
He continued his search tirelessly. He had no sense of time. He just walked, hoping to find his fellow Gods. Just as despair was taking hold, he succeeded. Gathered on a hilltop, he saw the assembled pantheon of Olympus.
"Father!" Hercules cried. "All my brethren, here and safe. I does my heart good to see thee hail and well!"
The other Gods were equally surprised to see the Prince of Power. "By mine eternal scepter! Tis mine own son!" Zeus bellowed.
"I have come hither to help thee in thy hour of direst need, father," Hercules said.
Ares, the God of War, scowled under his dark helmet. "Overbearing braggart? What canst thou do?"
"Be at peace, Lord Ares," Aphrodite said. "If any may break the curse that brought us here, it is Hercules!"
"I thank thee for thy words, dear sister," Hercules said. "I have come from a battle with the Titan Typhon. Twas his treachery that did cause thy unhappy lot."
"Typhon?" Zeus repeated. "Aye, I should have expected as much. Since eons past, he has vowed vengeance for his long exile. It seems he has kept that vow."
"Close was I to defeating the vile coward," Hercules said. "But twas tricked into a portal which led me hither."
Zeus put an affectionate hand on Hercules shoulder. "Thou hath once again proven that thou art my most noble offspring."
"I am thy faithful servant and loving son," Hercules said. "And I am ever a loyal son of Olympus!"
"Well said, Valiant one," Zeus replied, "You make a father proud.
Ares couldn't bear all this loving father/son talk, but if Hercules could possibly get him out of this, he was willing bear with it. Aphrodite had an idea.
"Hercules, I have a plan," she said. "You have been near the Amazon Queen Hippolyta recently. I still feel her essence upon you. We can use that to our advantage."
"How so?" Zeus asked.
"I can possibly contact someone," Aphrodite said. "Like a chain, from you to Hippolyta to someone else. Someone who can battle Typhon and re-light the eternal flame!"
"Who is his warrior?" Hercules asked, "What is his name?"
Aphrodite's answer surprised everyone.
The Justice Society was transported to the mouth of the Diamond Mine. Cap stepped to the front of the group and looked into the dark tunnels. "Everyone keep your wits about you. We don't know what to expect in here. Namor, Sentinel, take the point!"
Namor and the Sentinel entered the mine first. Again, the bullets and darts shot forward. But Namor's hide was resilient enough to shrug off the attacks while the Sentinel was protected by a force field. The Sentinel blasted the weapons with his power ring. "It's safe to come in, everyone."
The other members followed them in. "Here's the plan," Cap began. "We'll -- "
"I shall not wait!" Doctor Fate suddenly shouted. "This fool known as the Blue Diamond had the audacity to try and kill a Lord of Order. He destroyed my home and caused my host body to be buried alive! I shall wait no longer! I shall seek him out alone and make him pay!"
Dr. Fate levitated and flew off in search of his quarry.
"Fate, wait!" Cap shouted, but Fate was soon out of sight. "Damn! Stubborn fool! All right, the rest of us will split into two teams. Bucky, Toro, and Starman will come with me, to look for the Flash. Sentinel, you take Namor, Fury, Hawkgirl, and Doctor Mid-Nite, and go hunt for the Blue Diamond."
Everyone acknowledged their orders and headed off. There was an ominous silence. They were nervous. The Blue Diamond had almost defeated them before. Two members were dead because of him. What were they in for?
Soon, Cap and his team were creeping down a dark tunnel, with Toro lighting the way. Cap looked back. The Star-Spangled Kid was missing. "Bucky!"
"Where . . . ?" Toro started to say.
"You two stay right here!" Cap ordered, "I'm going to look for him!"
Toro and Starman waited as Cap slipped off into the dark. Toro got impatient. Already the Blue Diamond had cost him the Human Torch, and Toro was not about to stand by and let his best friend Bucky fall into the hands of the traitorous Blue Diamond. Toro burst into flames and left Starman behind.
"Toro!" Starman yelled. The boy didn't answer. Starman hesitated decided that he couldn't let the youngster face danger alone and set off to find the impetuous flaming youth.
Meanwhile . . .
Sentinel and his team were moving down a tunnel, with the Sentinel's ring lighting the way. The Sentinel was impatient to get his hands on the Blue Diamond, due to the way he had manipulated the Harlequin. He decided that walking along the tunnel was taking too long.
"The rest of you wait here," Sentinel said. "I'm going to do a recon. My ring might be able to locate him. I'll be back."
Sentinel flew off. The others stood around waiting, until Namor's impatience got the better of him. "I shall wait no longer!" he said and stormed off on his own.
"Wait here, while I bring him back," Dr. Mid-Nite said, chasing after Namor.
Hawkgirl and Fury waited alone. But then suddenly a metal door slammed down from the ceiling, separating the two. Fury tried to punch her way through the thick, metal door.
Elsewhere, the Blue Diamond was watching all this through a series of hidden cameras. The situation was perfect! The ten JSA members were all separated. It would be easy to pick them off one-by-one. He had prepared for the JSA and had traps set to deal with each of them.
Dr. Fate was flying down a tunnel, using his mystic senses to locate the Blue Diamond. He detected the quarry and thoughts of punishment filled his mind. Careless and overconfident, he increased his speed, entering a cavern. He didn't notice that he was passing underneath a large magnet, the kind used in junkyards to lift wrecked cars. As Fate went under it, it's powerful magnetic field gripped Fate's helmet and yanked it off his head. Without the Helmet of Nabu, he became Kent Nelson again. He fell to the ground with a rough thud. Brushing himself off and rubbing his bruises, he looked up at the high cave-roof of the cavern. The helmet of Nabu was stuck far above. Still, Kent Nelson knew some tricks of his own, even without Nabu's mind to guide him. Uttering an incantation, he levitated upwards, nearer to his helmet.
Just short of his goal, he was hit by a tranquilizer dart. He immediately became disoriented. Inches from his helmet, he lost his concentration and fell to the ground. The impact, combine with the tranquilizer, caused him to pass out.
Toro had gotten himself lost. He flew with desperation down random tunnels, hoping to find either one of his partners or the Blue Diamond himself. He heard a sound. It was the sound of running water. To his shock, a giant wave of water bore down on him. Hundreds of gallons of water flooded toward him like a juggernaut.
Toro turned and tried to out-race the wall of water. He didn't succeed. He water overtook him and engulfed him. He was drawn along helplessly inside the massive tide, until it finally reached the bottom of the incline, where that underground stream sat. Toro was dragged by the flood into the waiting stream. The wake pulled him under. He couldn't breath. He was drowning!
Sentinel was using his ring to home in on the Blue Diamond. He swooped down a tunnel, hurrying toward a confrontation with the man he sensed deep below. Suddenly, he came across a thick, wooden barrier blocking his path. His instincts told him that this was the beginning of something bad.
He looked around. He'd been going so fast that he hadn't noticed that this entire area was lined with wood, top and sides. Somehow, the Blue Diamond had manipulated him into a wooded trap. Sentinel turned and tried to retreat out of the wooden tunnel but another wooden door slammed down, trapping the Sentinel in, essentially, a giant wooden box. The Sentinel's power was useless against the wood, so he tried to ram the wooden door with all his momentum and weight, hoping to break down the door, but it was too thick. His only option left was to use his sharp belt buckle to scratch a hole in the wood wall and then use his ring power to grab rocks from outside the box and break down the walls. He began to scratch.
While he worked, he was exposed to the effects of a high frequency sound wave attack. He didn't hear it with his ears, but it affected his brain. The attack was called a 'Neural Chaff' and it affected his thinking processes, giving his thoughts the equivalent of the flu. His once mighty will power was weakened and shattered. He was left with the will of a non-repentant drug addict.
Sentinel could barely concentrate on digging his hole. However he did finally manage to make a small hole to stick his arm through. But when he did, he found that he had almost no will power left to command his ring. He tried vainly to concentrate, but he couldn't get anything more than a sputter out of his ring. Trapped in his wooden cage, dazed and confused and unable to use his ring, the Sentinel was powerless.
Namor flew up the slope of a high tunnel, using the tiny wings on his heels to propel himself. In his anger, he almost didn't realize that the temperature in the cave was very high. Finally, he began to feel the heat. He needed to find some water soon, or else he would be too weak to fight the Blue Diamond.
Turning a corner, he saw a small device on the floor. He passed it cautiously, but the Blue Diamond was watching on a hidden camera and detonated the device, which was a firebomb. Namor was caught in the burning wake of the fiery blast. He fell to the ground, stunned. He rose, but unsteadily. He was feeling dehydrated and needed water desperately. The cave was extremely hot now, due to the explosion. The smoke was not helping either.
Namor abandon his search for the Blue Diamond in favor of a search for water. His keen ears detected the sound of running water. He was hearing the same underground stream that the Flash and Toro had both sunk into. He tried to find it. He didn't make it.
He carelessly blundered into a crossfire of flame-throwers. Although the Sub-Mariner was mighty enough to survive the attack - albeit badly burned - he was in the throes of severe dehydration. He could not even stand any longer. He tumbled to the ground and tried to crawl onward toward his goal. To his dismay, he found his path blocked by a metal gate. He was too weak to bend the bars and get passed. Namor sat on the floor contemplating his options until the fatigue overtook him and he passed out. He lay there, slowly dying of dehydration. Like a fish out of water!
Dr. Mid-Nite and his owl Hooty were stealthily creeping along, looking for Namor and trying to avoid any traps. Mid-Nite was comfortable in the darkness. His sharp mind was calculating the odds of every course of action he could think of. His thoughts were abruptly interrupted.
A deafening, high-pitched sound blared through the tunnel. Doctor Mid-Nite, a blind man with keen hearing, was shocked and pained by the sudden sonic attack. He covered his ears but it did little to block out the sound. Even Hooty was disoriented by the sound.
To make matters worse, the sound caused the lenses on Dr. Mid-Nite's special goggles to shatter. Strategically placed flood light activated, enveloping the tunnel in a blinding, bright light. Charles McNider, the man beneath the mask of Dr. Mid-Nite, had a unique malady called Day Blindness. He could see in pitch darkness, but not in the light. With his shaded lenses gone, and light shining in his face, Dr. Mid-Nite was completely sightless.
He called out to his owl Hooty, but a net dropped from above and snared the owl. Dr. Mid-Nite stumbled blindly through the tunnel.
Fury was a bit nervous. She didn't like walking in the dark, heading toward possible death traps. She wished Wonder Woman were here. But all she had was the lariat of truth. Its ever-lasting glow helped her see, but she wished it were brighter.
Just then, a bright light flashed and momentarily blinded her. While she was defenseless, the Blue Diamond popped out of a secret door. He grabbed the lariat off her hip and quickly wrapped it around the young blonde heroine.
"Freeze!" Blue Diamond ordered the girl. "You will not move until I tell you to!"
Fury found herself immobilized by the power of the lasso.
Hawkgirl glided down the tunnel, alert to any imminent attack. As she expected, one came. Projectiles and flames spit out toward her. She was quick and agile enough to avoid them all, but her wind wingspan caught the brunt of the attack. The small tunnel didn't give her sufficient room for evasive maneuvers. Her wings were damaged.
Although she still had her belt of Nth metal, which allowed her to float, he could not propel herself forward with sufficient thrust due to the damage to her wings. He reluctantly floated to the ground and walked, holding her mace at the ready, knowing with certainty that another attack was coming.
She was right. She was quickly caught in a net. As she tried to struggle free, an electrical current was sent through the mesh strands of the net. Although her nth metal belt absorbed and released enough of the electricity to spare her life, the shock was enough to render her unconscious.
Starman, who had gone looking for Toro, stopped and considered his position. The team was split up and there were probably hidden dangers everywhere. Using his gravity rod to light up the darkness, he looked around for danger.
He didn't realize that an invisible, odorless gas was being released into the area. He only figured it out when his vision began to blur and his balance began to fail him. He tripped and fell. While he was distracted, another magnet, similar to the one that took Dr. Fate's helmet, yanked the baton out of his slack grip.
Dizzy and coughing, he looked up at the rod which was twenty feet above him. In his current state, and without anything to climb on, he had to way of retrieving it. Without his Gravity Rod, he was powerless!
Captain America was still looking for Bucky. He inadvertently came across a wall unit containing ten monitors. Most of them were activated. Cap was stunned when he saw that, on each of the monitors, was one of his JSA partners. Sentinel, Namor, Starman, Toro, Hawkgirl, Dr. Fate, Dr. Mid-Nite, and Fury . . . all of them defeated. Some were dying!
"Take a good look," Blue Diamond said over a loudspeaker. "Your partner's lives are in my hands. I can kill any of them now. Would you like to see me do so?"
Cap gritted his teeth, "What the hell do you want, Diamond?"
A light turned on, revealing a steel cage. Cap knew it was for him.
"Toss away your shield and lock yourself in the cage," the Blue Diamond said. "Otherwise I start killing them, one by one."
Cap clenched his fists in rage. What else could he do? He knew for certain that the Blue Diamond wouldn't hesitate to carry out his threat. The Hulk and the Human Torch were testaments to that fact. But Cap noticed that Bucky wasn't on the monitors. Could the boy have escaped? Or was he already dead? Cap put his faith in the lad and hoped that Bucky was still out there fighting somewhere and could pull a miracle out of his mask.
Cap tossed away his shield and locked himself in the cell. He was as angry as he had ever been!
Blue Diamond celebrated. "And that's the game! I've won! And now, all that remains is to kill them all and deliver their bodies to the Enchantress! And then, I'll win her back!"
Bucky the Star-Spangled Kid had evaded detection so far. The Blue Diamond had always underestimated him, as so many others did. Bucky didn't mind. That was one of his greatest advantages. No one realized how resourceful he was. Bucky had always been a survivor, even before he wore the make of the SS Kid.
Bucky was drawn instinctively to the sound of running water. Finding the underground stream, he saw Toro, struggling against the undertow, unable to break the surface. Toro wasn't a very good swimmer. But Bucky was. The Star-Spangled Kid leaped into the water. He grabbed his best friend, and swam with all his might. Against all odds, he fought against the rip-tide and pulled Toro out of the stream.
Toro was choking. Bucky squeezed the air out of Toro's lungs. Toro gasped for air and lay on the bank, grateful to be alive.
"I never want to go through anything like that again!" he croaked. "Thanks, Buck."
"What are buddies for?" the SS Kid asked. "Rest. Get your breath back. Then we'll help our friends."
"Yes, we will!" another voice said.
Toro and the Star-Spangled Kid turned and saw the waterlogged form of the Flash dragging himself out of the water. "You're right. No more casualties! You two find the others and help them out. And tell them not to worry about the Blue Diamond. He's mine!"
Blue Diamond was standing before the panel that controlled the entire Diamond Mine. Just as he was about to hit a button that would deliver a new casualty to the JSA, he noticed on his monitors that Toro was no longer in the water. While he'd been distracted talking to Captain America, Toro had somehow escaped drowning. And where was The Star-Spangled Kid? The Blue Diamond still hadn't found him. Bucky had been the first one that the Diamond tried to pick off with a drugged dart and a net, but the boy surprised him and evaded the trap, slipping into the shadows and evading detection. He underestimated the kid. Could he have rescued Toro? Could those two possibly present a threat to him?
Before the Blue Diamond could come up with an answer to his new dilemma, he was suddenly struck by an unseen force. His sharp mind determined that it was a vibration wave. Only one person could be the source.
"Jay!" he said. "So you're alive. I forgot how resourceful you are."
Flash stood several feet away, staring a hateful stare. "This ends now, Elton!"
Blue Diamond tried to stall for time. "How did you survive? Shouldn't you be drowned by now?"
"You forgot one thing, Elton. The same as my super-fast metabolism absorbed the gas quickly, I recovered from it just as quickly. I got enough of my wits back to paddle and keep my head above water until the effects of the gas faded. I swam to shore and headed back here. Now, Elton, it's the showdown! And stop moving towards that control panel. I'm not letting you get to it."
Blue Diamond smiled. "I know what you're capable of. But I'm as durable and solid as a diamond. Don't underestimate me, either."
Blue Diamond leaped for the control panel. Due to his massive body weight, he wasn't very fast. To the Flash, he was moving in slow motion. The Flash lunged forward and grabbed the Blue Diamond's ankle, tripping him up. The Blue Diamond toppled. He tried to scramble toward the panel, but the Flash grabbed a nearby crescent wrench and destroyed the panel. Then, at top speed, the battered the Blue Diamond ten thousand times with light-speed blows from the wrench, and anything else he could get his hands on. The wench and the other objects bent and broke after being smashed against the Diamond-hard body of the traitorous Blue Diamond. As for the Blue Diamond himself, he was highly resilient but the volume and momentum of the attack stunned even him. He was hurt, and parts of his body began to ache, which rarely happened. The Flash was battering him and he couldn't even see his attacker.
While the Blue Diamond was staggered, the Flash unleashed a sonic boom. The Blue Diamond covered his ears and let out a cry of agony. The Flash followed his up with another vibration wave, knocking the Blue Diamond off his feet.
Blue Diamond tried repeatedly to reach a weapon or hidden button that could possibly save him. But the Flash never let him get to any of them. He was too fast and too powerful, even for a man as hard as diamonds. The Blue Diamond knew he was in trouble!
Flash used his vibration powers to turn some pieces of rubble into accelerated particle bombs. The small but powerful bombs hit the Blue Diamond and sent him hurtling into the tunnels of the mineshaft. The Flash spun his arms like a propeller and caused all the dust and dirt in the area to blow into the Blue Diamonds face, choking him. The Blue Diamond stumbled toward the edge of the same chasm that the Flash had fallen into earlier. He tried and fell down the gorge and into the stream below.
Blue Diamond hit hard, and his extreme weight dragged him to the bottom. He was too heavy to swim and knew he was going to drown. He was going to die! Perhaps, he thought, he deserved this.
Flash looked down and saw that the Blue Diamond didn't come back up. He was going to drown. As furious as he was at the Blue Diamond, he couldn't stand by and let an old friend drown. He had to do something.
He raced down the side of the cliff, and then hydroplaned across the surface of the water. He ran in a circle, creating a whirlpool. He formed a waterless vortex in the stream, an "eye" or hole in the body of water which was clear of water. The Blue Diamond coughed out the water in his lungs and saw that he was surrounded by walls of water, which was being held back by the swirling form of the Flash.
"This is more mercy than you deserve, Elton," Flash said.
"You're right, it is!" Blue Diamond said. "Jay, let the water go. I don't want to live exiled to some nether realm by Dr. Fate, and I certainly don't want to live without my Amora. I'd rather die right now. I've thrown away everything, Jay. Let my life be next. Release the water. Let me die!"
Jay hesitated. Could he do that? Should he do it? Elton Morrow used to be his friend. Could it end this way? Was Elton right? Should he die? The Flash debated and made the hardest decision he'd ever made.
"Goodbye, Elton," the Flash said.
"Goodbye, Jay. You were a good friend."
Flash stopped his vortex. The water fell back into the "eye" and flooded the Blue Diamond. The Diamond didn't even try to get to safety. He choked and gurgled, gave one last wave . . . and died!
Ten minutes later . . .
The rest of the JSA, all of whom had been freed by Bucky and Toro, came running into the control room. They saw the Flash kneeling over the dead body of the Blue Diamond. The Flash had tears in his eyes.
"What happened?" Captain America asked.
Flash stared down at the Blue Diamond. "It ended, Cap. It's over. There are no happy endings anymore."
Later that evening, the Flash was sitting on a deck chair in the back yard of his Pennsylvania home. He asked his wife Joan to leave him alone for a while. He sat unhappily, writing in a diary.
I lost a friend today. I killed him. We were best friends for years and today I killed him. This, I believed was justice, but I just don't know now. What was the appropriate response? What should I have done? Maybe I'm not cut out for these kinds of decisions. Maybe the answers are too big for me. I need to get away from the JSA for awhile. I need to think. No one should ever be in the position where they had to kill an old friend. Despite everything that happened, I'll miss him. We were very close once. Why did it have to end this way? Why are there no happy endings any more?
Flash closed the diary and looked up at the sky. Did someone up there know the answer?
Olympus:
Typhon was done with his military business, and turned his attention to Hippolyta. "Come, fair one, it is time I had intimate knowledge of my queen," he said, grabbing her wrist.
"No! Release me!" she insisted, "I will not allow this!"
She struggled, but try as she might, she couldn't free herself from his grip. He dragged her from the throne room to Zeus' bedchamber. He ignored her protests. Typhon threw her on the bed.
"Struggle all you want, woman," Typhon said. "Typhon will not be denied."
Wonder Woman was determined to show no fear. "A coward and a violator of women. Your pathetic!"
Just then, there was a commotion outside. The sounds of battle! Someone was fighting Typhon's demon army. Typhon quickly left the bed chamber and went outside. There, he saw his demonic minions laying battered and defeated all over the main plaza. Only one person was standing. One woman!
"I've come for you, Typhon!" the woman said. "My name is Diana, daughter of Hippolyta and Princess of Themescara. I've come to rescue my mother! Release Hippolyta or face the wrath of the mightiest Amazon!"
Next issue: There's a new Wonder Woman in town, as Diana battles Typhon for the life of Hippolyta. Also, Captain America teams with the Seven Soldiers of Victory to stop the sinister Brain Wave!