Berlin, Germany:
The unstoppable Asgardian Destroyer had been unleashed by Loki! The monster, made of impervious Asgardian metal, lumbered menacingly toward his American and British enemies. The creature had been made by a king of Gods to be an unbeatable killing machine. The Justice Society had faced it once before and barely survived the experience. Today, it was defending the Third Reich.
Captain America had dared to believe that the battle for Berlin was over. After defeating the Nazi Uber-Force led by Captain Nazi, and the German army led by Colonel Kreighund, Cap had thought that sacking Berlin would be easy. He knew Loki would have some tricks up his sleeve, but he hadn't expected anything like the monstrous Destroyer of the Aesir!
Cap and his JSA, along with many other heroes, had fought valiantly to reach this far. There had been injuries and casualties, but the rest soldiered on, undaunted. They had nearly had Hitler in their grasp. They had reached the city limits of Berlin only to be faced with an indestructible threat.
Cap's remaining team consisted of the Sentinel; the Flash; Hercules; the Black Canary; the Human Torch; Doctor Fate; Toro; the Star-Spangled Kid; the Fury; the Atom; Hawkman; Uncle Sam; the Guardian; the Whizzer; Miss America; the Patriot; the Spirit of '76; the Fighting American; the Liberty Belle; Weapon X (Logan); Johnny Quick; Mr. Terrific; Judo Master; Zatara the Magician; the Fin; Marvel Boy; Amazing Man; Wildcat; Aquaman; Hourman; Plastic Man; Union Jack; Spitfire; the Fogg; the British Destroyer; Sir Justin the Shining Knight; Sgt. Nick Fury and his remaining Howling Commandos; Sgt. Rock and his remaining Easy Company soldiers; Jeb Stewart and his Haunted Tank; and the Losers Battalion.
Cap knew he still had a formidable fighting force. But would they be enough against the lethal Destroyer? Cap took a deep breath and put on his game face.
"We've got one last obstacle in our way, team," the Sentinel of Liberty yelled, "He's a tough one but we haven't come this far to be stopped now. Sentinel, take Hercules and Doctor Fate. You make the first strike! Go!"
Without hesitation, the Sentinel gestured to the Olympian Prince and the Avatar of Order, who followed him into battle. The trio charged the Asgardian killing machine. It was focused on its first foes.
"Now, while, it's distracted, we move!" Cap yelled to the rest of the team. "Split up. Half of you move in from the right and half from the left! We'll surround it!"
While the team of heroes flanked the creature, it was dealing with Hercules. The Prince of Power had rammed head on into the metal monster, striking it with his mace. It was a staggeringly powerful blow, but the Destroyer barely shuttered. It retaliated with a direct blow to Hercules' mid section. The Olympian was send hurtling a hundred yards and crashed to the ground, stunned senseless. The rest of the team was shocked to see Hercules manhandled so easily.
Sentinel and Doctor Fate unleashed their combine powers on the creature. However, the Destroyer was a construct of Odin, king of the Aesir Gods, and he had built his metal warrior to be immune to mystic attacks. Neither the spells of the Lords of Order nor the power of the Starheart were sufficient to slow the Destroyer down.
The Destroyer's face-plate slid open and it released a massive bolt of Odin-Force energy. Doctor Fate barely got his defenses up in time. But he was stunned by the unexpected blast and passed out, falling to the ground. The Sentinel created a large hand via his ring power and caught Fate in the air, placing him gently on the ground. But while he was distracted, the Destroyer grabbed a shard from a shattered wooden fence and tossed it like a javelin. Since wood could not be affected by the Starheart energy, the javelin pierced the Sentinel's force field and imbedded itself in the hero's shoulder. He screamed in pain. He backed off, needing to regroup and stop the bleeding.
"Ha! Excellent!" Loki yelled, watching from a distance. "Well played, mighty Destroyer! What sport this is!"
The Destroyer had won the first round, but he was immediately besieged on both sides by an army of attackers. The Human Torch moved in first. The ghostly incarnation of the former Jim Hammond was a fire elemental, and could summon prodigious amounts of flame and heat. He unleashed it all upon the metal monster. The Aesir Destroyer amazingly withstood the assault without a singe on its shining form. Toro and spitfire added their power to the assault but it did no good. The Destroyer grabbed a large chunk of dirt from the ground and threw it at the three flaming heroes. Toro's flame was extinguished and Spitfire was stunned. The fell to the ground, but were caught by the Flash and the Whizzer. The Human Torch faded a bit after the soil hit him but then reignited. He hovered, confused, uncertain of his next actions.
"Strike now!" Cap yelled to the assembled heroes, "Hit him with everything you've got! No hold's barred! Get him!"
All the super soldiers struck, catching the metal warrior in a cross-fire. They gave it all they had. Being in enemy territory, they had no fear of damaging property or injuring passers-by. They could use every ounce of power without restraint. The lashed out with unbridled force!
But it did no good. The savage Destroyer was undamaged and it battered them away as if they were ants. There appeared to be no way to stop it!
Meanwhile, in a strange astral realm . . .
The Spectre was watching. He could see across great distances and dimensional divides. There was no hiding from his omnipotence. He watched the battle on Earth, knowing that the end of the war was at hand, and thus the end of the White Council's long struggle with the Dark Council was also near.
He felt a wave of anger as he watched the metal juggernaut called the Destroyer overwhelming Earth's mightiest heroes. These champions of justice were being battered by the illegal interference of Loki, a member of the Dark council. It violated the rules set down by the Living Tribunal. Loki had interfered before, as had other representatives of the Dark Council, but this was going too far.
"It cannot be permitted!" the Spectre said aloud.
The Phantom Stranger and the wizard Shazam, also members of the great council of White, overheard his angry comment.
"What do you mean, Spectre?" the Phantom Stranger asked.
"You must know what is happening on Earth," the Spectre said. "It cannot be allowed."
"We cannot interfere," Shazam said. "Not directly. I wish we could but we can't. The Living Tribunal . . . "
"Loki has interfered!" the Spectre cried. "Repeatedly. As have others sent by the Dark Council. We have sat vigil for far too long, allowing the Dark Council to run roughshod over the rules. We have been fools. If the Living Tribunal will not act to deter the villains, why should he punish us? I will no longer stand by and allow them to take advantage of our truce. I must intervene!"
"That is foolish!" the Phantom Stranger said. "You must not . . . "
"Enough talk!" the Spectre announced angrily. "I will do what must be done, though the Heavens fall!"
The Spectre vanished from that far away realm of Gods and Angels.
Shazam smiled. "This should be good!"
Berlin: Fortress Europa
Hitler was in his private chamber, curled up in the fetal position on a chair. He had just received information that the Soviets were approaching from the North. This was disastrous! He had recalled all armed forces from the perimeter around Berlin and used them on the battlefield to stop the Justice Society and their super powered army. All his troops had since been soundly defeated. There was no one left to hold off the Russians. They would March into Berlin and nothing could stop them. To make things worse, other information indicated that the Americans lead by General Patton were only a day away from Berlin, and would arrive not long after the Russians. They would overrun Berlin.
Hitler bit his nails, sweating nervously. His only hope was Loki. The Asgardian had to come up with something quickly otherwise all was lost. He just wished he knew where Loki was and what he was doing. Loki was his last chance!
A few miles away on the outskirts of Berlin . . .
Loki laughed merrily as his unstoppable Destroyer cut a path of destruction through the ranks of the JSA and their allies. There was nothing they could do to stop it! Their defeat was assured!
"Ah, what a lark," Loki laughed. "Tis a fine and glorious day."
The Destroyer continued to pummel the heroes, injuring some. He broke Aquaman's arm and harpoon. The Victorian was caught in one of the Destroyer's Odin-Force blasts and was immediately incinerated. The Fogg, shocked by this, resumed his human form to cradle the fallen body of his friend. It was a mistake. Another blast caught him and sliced him in half.
Logan was injured several times but his healing abilities allowed him to continue the fight. A few more members of the Howling Commandos and Easy Company were slain or injured.
"Pull back!" Captain America yelled. "We need to regroup! Back off!"
"We'll give you time!" a voice yelled. "We'll distract the tin man!"
Surprisingly, it was the members of the misfit squad generally known as the Losers Battalion. The four of them charged forward valiantly. Sarge, a 30 year army veteran; Gunner, the young rookie of the team; Johnny Cloud, an ex-air force man known as the Navajo Ace; and Captain Storm, a former PT Commander, who had one eye, one wooden leg, and yet was still the most formidable soldier of the lot.
They all charged, and they did as they promised. They gave Cap and his team time to regroup. And they died for their heroism. The Destroyer killed them all, ripping them apart or frying them with an energy beam. But their sacrifice allowed the JSA and company to pull back safely. They were called the Losers, but in the end they were winners.
The Destroyed stopped, content to guard the borders of the city, rather than pursuing defeated enemies. It stood waiting, as if daring anyone to try and pass it.
Nearby, Aphrodite stood, cloaked from view by a field of invisibility. She watched horrified by what she had seen. This was war and it was no place for a Goddess of Love. But she had to do something. She couldn't just stand by and let the heroic JSA be crushed while the Nazis win the war.
She had an idea. Her divine senses told her that the soul of Steve Trevor was inside the Destroyer, quickening it to life. That gave her an opportunity. Although the Destroyer was shielded from mystic attack, the human soul inside could still be affected.
She cast a spell, knowing that the soul of Steve Trevor was alive inside, and that soul was in love with Hippolyta, Queen of the Amazons. And love was her forte.
She waved her hands and cast a spell. "Steve Trevor, if you can hear me, listen to me. Wonder Woman is in danger. You will throw off the thrall of the Enchantress to go to the aid of your beloved. Go to her now! She needs you! Go!"
To Loki's amazement, the Destroyer abandoned its post and stomped off for on an undisclosed mission.
"Where art thou going?" Loki shouted. "Thou must remain here!"
When the Destroyer didn't respond to his commands, Loki magically transported himself into the Destroyer path. He held up a hand. "Stop, oh foolish metal slave! Loki doth command thee!"
Loki did not expect what came next. The mighty Destroyer grabbed him by the throat and then choke-slammed him to the ground. The Destroyer trampled over him and continued on its way.
Loki lay there, stunned mentally and physically. He was hurt and angry. What had gone wrong? How had he lost control of his weapon? Where was it going? But before he could come up with any answers, a powerful hand grabbed him and yanked him to his unsteady feet.
Hercules, Olympian Prince of Power, now had a good hold on him and was sneering hatefully at the Asgardian. Loki gulped, frightened. He knew how strong Hercules was.
"Cowardly God of Evil!" Hercules growled. "Long have I awaited such an opportunity. Thou most assuredly has this coming!
Hercules swung him mace against Loki's arm. The snapping sound of breaking bones could be heard. Loki cried out in pain. And before he could recover from that, Hercules lifted him up, prepared to slam him once again into the ground.
"No . . . " whispered the weakened Loki, afraid that he would not survive such treatment. With a great effort, he transported himself into an insect. It was an insect with a broken wing. It flew slowly, in a jerky zigzag pattern, seeking a place of safety.
Hercules lost sight of the tiny insect in the smoke of the battle field. He grumbled, disappointed that he didn't get to finish the job. "Craven coward! There will be a reckoning one day!"
Captain America was watching this. "I don't know what just happened, but there's our opening!"
A few hundred yards away . . .
Doc Savage and Doctor Mid-Nite were seeing to the survivors of the recent battle against Captain Nazi's super army. Starman, Robotman, Johnny Thunder and the Sandman had remained behind to stand guard over prisoners, most of whom were held captive by the combine power of Doctor Fate, Zatara, Aphrodite and the Thunderbolt. A few others were tied up or just too badly injured to try anything hostile.
Starman stood apart, feeling tormented. The sight of all this blood and violence had reminded him of how horrible war and weapons could truly be. And that reminded him of the weapon which he had contributed to. He had been one of the people who worked on the heavy water project. The three bombs called Fat Man, Little Boy and Old Friend. They could cause devastation beyond what he occurred here.
I must have been insane, Starman thought. How could I be party to such a thing?
As Starman stood lost in thought, he did not notice that the savage King Shark was chewing its way through the bonds which Aquaman had used to restrain him. But there was a bigger problem still to come.
The Destroyer arrived, marching with a measured pace through the field. Doc Savage, Doctor Mid-Nite, and the Sandman gathered, alarmed.
"The Destroyer!" Mid-Nite said. "We're in trouble. We need to protect the wounded."
"I'll help Starman and Robotman hold it off," Sandman said. "You two get the wounded out of here!" Johnny Thunder and the Blackhawks should be able to help with . . . "
"Wait!" Doc Savage said. "It's not heading toward us. The direction it's moving in will take it on a path directly past us but it won't trample over anyone at that heading."
Starman and Robotman stood ready to battle the invincible machine. Johnny Thunder nervously joined them. To their surprise, it marched past them, ignoring them. It continued on its way. The Blackhawks, patrolling the skies above to protect the wounded, were ready to open fire on it but when they saw it walking away, their leader ordered them not to fire.
At this moment, King Shark chewed through his restraints and charged at the nearest moving object. The sea beast didn't know what the Destroyer was and didn't care. King Shark was mad and wanted to attack something. Big mistake!
The Destroyer battered King Shark, breaking all his bones and then burning the rest with an energy beam. It left very little of King Shark behind as it stalked onwards to its destination.
Not far away, on another part of the recent battlefield . . .
Wonder Woman was still immobilized by the Enchantress' spell. The smoke and fog swirled around her and the lack of battle sounds was ominously silent. She was very worried, mostly about her beloved Steve Trevor who had been ensorcelled by Amora the Enchantress. She had taken Steve with her and the frozen Amazon could do nothing but watch them leave together. She had never hated the Enchantress more than now. If she could move, she told herself, she would hunt down the Asgardian and wring her scrawny neck!
Just then, her attention was diverted by someone coming out of the smoke and mist. It was a man's form. She recognized him immediately. It was Colonel Kreighund, the leader of the armed forced that had attempted to defend Berlin but failed. Krieghund's forces had been killed, capture, injured or simply fled the battlefield. Krieghund found himself alone, wandering the battlefield with only his pistol for company. He was afraid that one of the Allied super soldiers would find him.
Kreighund came upon Wonder Woman. He was startled for a moment and was about to run but then he realized that she wasn't moving. She stood like a statue. Her eyes darted about in their sockets but the rest of her was as stiff as a board. Kreighund smiled. He figured it must be the doing of Loki or one of his Uber-soldiers. They had neutralized the Amazon Queen.
"Ah, excellent," he said, smiling. "The great Wonder Woman is powerless! And they talk of the spoils of war. Ha! This will be fun!"
Queen Hippolyta tried her best to move but she couldn't budge a finger. Her eyes stared hatefully at the approaching Nazi. She wished she could kill him. If only she could move.
Just then, someone else came out of the mists. This was a form that Wonder Woman knew well. The muscular, pointy-eared figure that stepped into view was no other than the Sub-Mariner.
Namor! she thought. Just in time. I could almost marry him!
"Nazi!" Namor sneered. "You will not touch her"
Kreighund turned, just in time to see Namor's fist approaching his nose. That was the last thing he would remember for a long time.
Namor looked at Hippolyta. "Ah dear one. I have been looking for you since the battle left. This accursed smoke is harder to see through than the darkest seas. If not for my sonar I may not have found you in time. But what has befallen you! It seems that you are afflicted by some strange immobility. Well, I shall take you to the others. Whether your troubles are scientific or mystical, surely one of them will sort out what afflicts you."
If Hippolyta could speak, she would have thanked Namor gratefully. There was a lot of history between them. She was glad Namor was there for her when she needed him. Namor picked her up and was about to take off to find the others. But the sound of heavy foots steps heralded the arrival of a frightening sight. The Destroyer lumbered out of the smoke, walking directly toward the two heroes.
The Destroyer! Wonder Woman thought, alarmed.
"By Neptune's Trident!" the Sub-Mariner yelled. "A fiercer foe I could not imagine. But thought it goes against the grain to flee, I must get you to safety first, my good lady. Come, my lovely."
Namor took to the air, but the Destroyer was not about to let Wonder Woman out of his sight. The metal warrior now had one single-minded obsession . . . to find Wonder Woman and to protect her! From everyone, friend or foe!
With surprising speed, the Destroyer reached up and grabbed Namor's leg. It yanked them back down. With its other hand, it grabbed the immobilized Amazon and yanked her away from the sea prince.
"Metal fiend!" Namor yelled. "Return the Amazon to me or I will . . . "
The Destroyer struck out, connecting a solid blow against the Atlantean Prince. Namor was knocked back a few hundred yards, and hit a tree. He was stunned senseless. The Destroyer cradled Hippolyta gently in its large, metal arms and carried her off.
Hippolyta wondered why it hadn't hurt her and where it was taking her. What was going on here? And just then, an answer to her question appeared out of the ether.
A ghostly white, hooded figure now stood before the Destroyer. The Spectre had come and this time, he was prepared to interfere!
"Stop, vile engine of death!" the Spectre ordered. "You will do no more harm!"
The Destroyer could only react with primal instinct . . . the instinct to protect a loved one! No one, not ally or enemy, was going to take Wonder Woman away from the monstrous Aesir warrior. Its reaction to the Spectre's arrival was to fire another energy blast.
The Spectre turned himself intangible, like a ghost, and the blast passed harmless through him. He raised his hands and began to use his vast mystic powers. "There is a soul trapped inside you. It quickens you to life. That soul must be freed and returned to its rightful form. And you, creature, will be left empty."
Before the Destroyer could react, the Spectre's power worked its magic. A spectral form rose up out of the metal Warrior. It was the ghostly form of Steve Trevor. The disembodied soul smiled at his beloved Hippolyta and then faded away.
Steve! Wonder Woman thought, horrified, as she watched the spirit of her lover vanish.
The Destroyer froze, as still as a statue. It was nothing more than a metal shell now, powerless without a soul to quicken it to life. It was no longer a threat! "The deed is done! This menace is eliminated. And as for you, Queen Hippolyta, you shall be free from the Enchantress' spell."
With a wave of his hand, the Spectre removed the Enchantress' curse. Wonder Woman was able to move again. She leapt out of the Destroyers arms.
"Thank you, Spectre," she said. "But what happened to my Steve? Is he still alive?"
"He lives for the moment," the Spectre answered. "His soul has been returned to his body, which is in Adolf Hitler's Fortress Europa. You must go to him."
"I shall indeed," she said. "Nothing will keep me from him. Will you care for Namor?"
"The Atlantean will not die today."
"Then I must go!" Wonder Woman announced, running. "Steve needs me!"
Back at Fortress Europa
The Enchantress was in the hidden occult artifacts room, where Steve's body lay. She was watching these events through a crystal orb. The defeat of the Destroyer and the direct intervention of the Spectre was a bad omen. She could see their best laid plans come crashing down around them.
A bug buzzed unsteadily into the room and then morphed into the form of Loki. He collapsed to the ground, clutching his broken arm. "Accursed Olympian swine! He'll regret this!"
"The game appears to be over, Loki," the Enchantress said. "It is time to leave this pitiful realm behind. I welcome our retreat. I reek of Midgard and mortals. Let us away!"
Loki reluctantly nodded. "Aye, it does appear that we have been checkmated."
Unnoticed by the two gods, the prone form of Steve Trevor started to move. His soul had been returned to his body by the Spectre and he was awake and aware. He looked over at the two Asgardians, who were so engrossed in their conversation that they were oblivious to his recovery.
Steve saw a sword hanging on the wall near him. He didn't know that it was the legendary Singing Sword of Galahad. He assumed, however, that if it was here, it must be a powerful mystic weapon. And Loki seemed to be hurt. Perhaps he was vulnerable now. Perhaps a mere mortal could kill him!
While Loki and Amora were occupied looking into the orb, Steve leapt to his feet. Loki's back was turned. This was his chance! He grabbed the sword and lunged at Loki, prepared to impale him!
Unfortunately for him, the Enchantress spotted him. With a gesture, she caused the sword to pop out of Steve's hand and ram into his chest. Steve stood for a moment, in shock. He looked down at his chest and the sword imbedded in it and he knew he was about to die.
"Almost . . . had ya. Damn!"
Steve collapsed, dead. Loki glanced down at him, unmoved. Even amused. "Thank you, Amora."
"It was a pleasure to kill the beloved of Hippolyta," she said. "She will be so heart broken. If only I could be here to see it. But it is time to go. We shall gather the Executioner and travel to places that befit the dignity of the gods."
Loki nodded and the two Asgardians took their leave of Earth in a puff of black smoke and mist.
Captain America and his remaining allies had finally penetrated the borders of Berlin. They stormed the city in force, but they weren't the first. The Russian army had already arrived and was rampaging through the streets like a savage hoard of Huns. There were almost no soldiers left to defend the city. The ones who remained either surrendered or fled. Berlin offered no resistance to the Red Army or to Cap's team of masked adventurers. The heart of the Third Reich had fallen!
"We won," Cap said, finally daring to believe it. "We beat the Nazis! I wonder what Hitler is thinking now?"
Back in Fortress Europa
Hitler cried like a baby, hiding in the bunker under the fortress. His officers delivered the bad news. The city of Berlin had been overrun by Russians and Allied superheroes. Loki's great defense had failed and Loki himself was nowhere to be found. It was a good bet that the God of Evil had abandoned the sinking ship. Hitler's officers were burning files and Eva Braun had killed herself with poison. The Third Reich had failed!
Hitler sat alone in a room, imagining what the Soviets would do to him if they captured him. He cursed the fates. How had everything gone so wrong? How had his master plan failed? Why did Loki and his fellow dark Gods abandon the Fuhrer? Why had he been denied his destiny to rule the world?
Just then, he felt heat coming from the roof. Something hot was above the bunker. The stones started to glow. Hitler froze in fear. Then the roof burst open and hot stones fell in on him, pelting and burning him. He fell to the ground. The panicky Fuhrer looked up and saw a flaming humanoid figure floating above the opening. The fiery being descended into the bunker.
"What are you?" Hitler screamed, terrified.
The Human Torch didn't answer. The fire elemental simply pointed a blazing finger at the Nazi leader and released an intense burst of flame and heat.
Nearby, other Nazis heard their leader scream. They ran to the room and forced the door open. They gasped when they looked inside. There was nothing left of Adolf Hitler except a scorched, smoking husk. The would-be ruler of the world had died a painful death!
The Nazis panicked and ran. It was time to flee the Bunker. It wasn't safe. All over the Fortress and the Bunker, German officers ran frantically, desperate to escape their leader's fate. Things became even more chaotic when Wonder Woman broke in and started to tear up the place. Nazis ran from her, terrified.
She grabbed one and throttled him. "Where will I find the man the Enchantress brought here?"
The man pointed to a large, vaulted door. Wonder Woman tossed him aside, ran to the door and ripped it off its hinges. She rushed inside . . .
. . . and she howled in anguish! She saw the corpse of her beloved Steve lying in a heap on the floor, a sword in his chest. Horrified and disbelieving, she fell to her knees and cradled the fallen soldier.
"No!" she cried. "This can't be! By Zeus and all the gods, this can't have happened! Not to my Steve! Not him! I can't lose you, my love!"
Fury entered, having traced Wonder Woman's rampage into the occult room. She gasped when she saw her mentor holding the dead form of Steve Trevor. After a moment of hesitation, she moved next to the Amazon Queen and put a sympathetic arm around her. Wonder Woman didn't react. All she saw was Steve's body. There was a sad silence in the room.
In the field outside Berlin . . .
Doc Savage and Doctor Mid-Nite had stabilized the wounded soldiers on both sides. (Such as the Blue Bullet and Sandy.) Nearby, the surviving seventeen members of Captain Nazi's Uber-Force were held by a mystic field created by Doctor Fate, Zatara, Aphrodite and the Thunderbolt. Johnny Thunder ordered the Thunderbolt to keep watch on them. Although he had failed to stop the Executioner from being spirited away by the Loki and the Enchantress, the rest were strangely complacent. It was as if they sensed that their side had lost and knew there was nothing left to fight for and nowhere to run.
Even the Thunderbolt was taken off guard when the Spectre appeared. What was the he doing there? It didn't bode well for the seventeen captive enemies in the mystic prison cell.
"You all deserve to face the vengeance of justice!" the Spectre said. "But I will allow most of you the undeserved privilege of facing the legal justice of mortals. But there are four of you who are much too powerful to risk your remaining on Earth. You would escape and wreck devastating havoc. Therefore, four of you will face the personal judgment of the Spirit of Vengeance!"
The Spectre waved his hands and suddenly four of the prisoners convulsed with pain. Captain Nazi, Ultra-Man, Psycho-Pirate and the Manotaur all seemed to be in pain. They screamed and vanished from sight. The Thunderbolt could do nothing. He had only been commanded to keep the prisoners from escaping. Unless otherwise ordered by Johnny Thunder, he could not intervene. And besides that, the Spectre was more powerful than he was. He watched the foursome fade away. The other thirteen prisoners were stymied, unsure of what to do or say. And they were also scared!
"The fate I have in store for these four will be a nightmare beyond your most horrible imaginings," the Spectre said. "As for the rest of you, do not try to escape or you will join them in their suffering. Behave well, and you will escape my judgment. For now! But sooner or later, all of you will face the Vengeance of Justice!"
The Spectre faded. The remaining thirteen prisoners (Blitzkrieg, Reich's Mark, Warrior Woman, the Swastika, the Thinker, Count Vertigo, the Reaper, Icicle, Junkman, the Fiddler, Granch, Tiger Shark and the Yellow Wasp) were terrified of him. They sat and behaved very well. They would offer no resistance to anyone else for a long time.
Hours later:
For hours, Cap had watched the Soviets raging like Mongol hoards across the city. Led by Russian General Chukoff, they pillaged the city, beating on German non-combatants. The horrors of war never seemed to end. Cap hadn't realized that they were sexually assaulting women, too. By the end of the first, day, hundreds of women would be raped. The heroes stopped some of these assaults but only a small portion.
Later, with the help of newly arrived American troops led by General George Patton, a semblance of order was restored. The Soviets were satisfied by having hung their hammer-and-sickle flag from Hitler's HQ. Cap looked over all this and strangely felt no feeling of triumph.
Doctor Mid-Nite and Doc Savage joined with the American medical corpse and oversaw the treatment of wounded citizens, and especially the victimized women. Patton and Chukoff took the Nazi officers into custody. There was no resistance. The battle had been fought and won. The Reich had fallen.
Wonder Woman stood and looked at the unmoving form under the white sheet. It was the dead body of the man she loved. Doc Savage had officially pronounced him dead. The Amazon Queen choked back tears. A Queen shouldn't cry in public. The Fury remained at her side, a constant source of comfort. Hippolyta had never loved her young student more.
Not far away . . .
Black Canary offered her condolences to Hippolyta and then went out to look for the Human Torch. She looked in the air and spotted him hovering. She knew that he would be leaving for the last time and that thought was sadder than she could describe. She stared at him like he was a star above the city. The Fire Elemental looked down at her. There was a long moment of connectedness between them.
"Goodbye, Jim," she said sadly. "I'll miss you."
The Torch wrote a message in skywriting above her. It said, "I love you". And then, with a wave, he faded from the physical realm for the last time. The Human Torch was gone. Black Canary cried.
Somewhere in another realm:
The Spectre had rejoined the other members of the White Council. Zeus, Odin, Zuras, Highfather, Shazam, the Ancient One, the Phantom Stranger, Zauriel the Angel, and the Master of the Lords of Order listened to the Spectre speak.
"I have spoken to Neron, who acted as representative of the Dark Council," the Spectre said. "They agree that the war is lost for the Axis. Germany and Italy have fallen and Japan is predicted to collapse within a matter of months. Whatever mysterious reason they have for instigating this war, it is over now. We have mutually agreed to call all Gods and supernatural beings from the planet Earth. Aphrodite, Loki, Hercules, the Enchantress, Doctor Fate, Etrigan the Demon, all of them. The Earth will be off-limits to both sides for an amount of time to be specified by the Living Tribunal. I have returned the Destroyer to Odin and Aphrodite has hidden the Spear of Destiny away. Therefore, our war is over. The humans will finish the war in the pacific on their own soon enough. It is over, my friends. We can relax now. There will be peace!"
Epilogue:
The soldiers celebrated in the streets. Victory was theirs. Even some of the indigenous Germans, who hated the repressive Reich, joined in the celebratory mood. The city which had been overwhelmed by violence hours earlier was now a giant party. Even some of the Super Heroes joined in the merriment.
Not all of them enjoyed the moment. Wonder Woman and the Fury sat vigil near Steve's body. The Black Canary joined them, to get her mind off the Torch. Nearby, the Sandman sat with the wounded Sandy. Doc Savage and Dr. Mid-Nite attended to the innocents.
Only Nick Fury, 'Dum Dum' Dugan and Gabe Jones survived from the Howling Commandos. And only Sgt. Rock, Flowers and Wildman survived from Easy Company. The deceased troop members were laid to rest near the bodies of the Losers Battalion.
As for Captain America, he was not in a jovial mood. True, the battle was won but there were a lot of casualties. And though the war in Europe was over, there was still Japan to contend with. Despite the defeat of the horrible Nazi Reich and the death of Hitler, Cap just couldn't muster any feelings of joy. Relief yes, but no joy. There was no good here.
A group of happy American soldiers saw Cap and rushed to him, shaking his hand and patting him on the back. They raised him up on their shoulders and carried him around the city. He was the living embodiment of their country and their victory.
Cap allowed himself to be toted around. The soldiers had fought hard and were rightfully happy that peace now reigned in Europe. Cap wouldn't spoil their moment. Let them celebrate.
The Third Reich was gone and the war in Europe was over!
To be continued in the final issue of All-Star Comics, where the War in the Pacific comes to its dramatic conclusion! Then, come back here for Justice Society of America #49, where a legend falls!