Agent Wanda Mason knew she was being followed. Someone had been tailing her since she left FBI Headquarters. She'd had the feeling since she began this case that someone had been watching her, but this was the first time she'd seen somebody. The man in the hat and trenchcoat, on a day that wasn't very cold, stood out very obviously. Who was it?
She ducked into an alley and pulled out her gun. When whoever it was came around this corner, he'd be in for a surprise. She waited, weapon at the ready. She kept waiting. The man in the trenchcoat never appeared. She peeked around the corner. The man was gone. He had obviously guessed that she was on to him. He was clever, whoever he was. Agent Mason knew that this just had to be connected with her investigation of the Doom Patrol, and their last battle with Dr. Doom. This was getting stranger and stranger.
Agent Mason arrived at the estate of Dr. Clark Savage, the legendary Man of Bronze, and rang the doorbell. When last she was here, she saw the Atlantean princess Namorita come crashing through the window, badly injured. Her only words were that Dr. Doom was responsible. When Mason left, Doc Savage was seeing to her wounds.
When the door opened, Agent Mason saw a small robot hovering in the air. It had no legs, and air jets kept it aloft. It had thin, erector set-like arms and it's head was like a computer monitor. The screensaver was a big smiley face.
"Hello," the robot said. "Can I be of service to you today?"
"Uhhhh, yes. I'm Agent Wanda Mason of the FBI. I'm here to see Dr. Savage."
"Of course, Agent. I was told to expect you. Please enter."
"I didn't see you the last time I was here," she said.
"No, ma'am. I was given the day off to get a polish. Allow me to introduce myself. My name is HERBIE. It stands for Housekeeper, ERrand Boy, Interior-decorator, Electrician. I take care of things around the house, freeing the doctor's mind for important matters."
"Interesting. Anyway, would you take me to the doctor?"
"Certainly, ma'am. The doctor is in his laboratory. Come this way."
HERBIE led Agent Mason to Doc Savage's amazingly advanced lab. The elderly legend was seated on a chair study the controls to the tube wherein Namorita was floating. Doc Savage had put her in there when she arrived injured. The tube was full of water, and sensors monitored her vital signs.
There was a young man with Savage, also studying Namorita's condition.
"Who's that?" she asked HERBIE.
"That is James Lockhart the third. He is a member of the Sea Devils. His Grandfather was Jim Lockhart, Who was better known as . . . "
"The Red Torpedo. I know. My grandmother knew him. He was a masked adventurer from the 40's who used a self-made sub-marine to fight Nazi's and smugglers."
"I could not have said it better myself, Agent Mason. His grandfather was a brilliant engineer, who taught his son, who in turn taught his own son. He and John Savage founded the Sea Devils. Mr. Lockhart built the Sea Devils vessel, the Ocean Quester. Doctor Savage asked him to come and help with the reprogramming of the tank to maximum efficiency."
HERBIE floated over to Doc Savage. "Doctor. I am sorry to disturb your work, but Agent Wanda Mason is here."
"Ahh, Agent Mason. I'll right with you," Doc Savage said.
Agent Mason nodded. HERBIE floated back to her. "May I get you a beverage, Agent?"
"No, thank you. I'm fine."
"Very well. If you want me, pull the red cord to your right, and I shall come immediately. And now, if you'll excuse me."
HERBIE hovered out of the lab. Doc Savage and Lockhart spent the next few minutes working on the tank. Finally, Savage sat back and sighed. "Well, I guess that's all we can do. The tank is working a hundred percent efficiency. We've done all that medical science can. It's up to her now. She'll live or die by virtue of her own will to live."
"Maybe we should summon one of her relatives," Lockhart said. "Aquaman or Namor?"
"I've already contacted the Avengers League and asked them if they could get in touch with Aquaman. It seems that he's off on some sort of quest."
"What about Namor?"
"Definitely not!" Savage said, "I know Namor. If he heard about Namorita's injuries, he'd declare war on the surface. No, no. If we can't find Aquaman, then we'll handle it."
Soon, after Lockhart was given a quick introduction to Agent Mason, he had to leave. Agent Mason and Doc Savage settled down in Savage's sitting room. HERBIE brought them tea.
"Thank you HERBIE," Savage said. "And now, Agent Mason. What can I do for you?"
"I'm being followed. I ditched him on the way here. Or rather, he ditched me when it became obvious that I was on to him"
"Probably one of Doom's men."
"That's what I thought, doctor. Why would one of Doom's men be following me?"
"Ever since Doom returned, I've been waiting for him to come after me. Now that the Doom Patrol has broken up, I'm an easy target. A ninety-nine year old man, alone. After what happened to Larry Trainer and Namorita, I began feeling that Doom is closing in on me. If he saw you with me, he's probably wondering what your connection is. Be careful."
"I will. Thank you, doctor. And now there's something else. I gave my report to my superiors about what happened to Namorita. They weren't happy with the lack of detail and information. They demanded I get more. Have you deduced anything else about what happened to Namorita? I don't suppose she's said anything?"
"No, no. She's still unconscious. I wish she could talk. And the only thing I've been able to deduce about her injures is that they were caused by a laser pulse of the same heat refraction index as Dr. Doom's gauntlet blaster. But we knew Doom was involved, so that's hardly news."
"The authorities have very little information about Namorita. Can you tell me about her? Maybe it will come in handy."
Savage nodded. "I don't suppose that could do any harm. Well, as you know, she's the cousin of Namor and Aquaman, a Princess of Atlantis. Back in the fifties, Namor's mother Queen Fen discovered her long-lost brother Marinus. He attempted a coup, where Atlantis got help from a surface woman, a super hero called Tsunami. Her real name was Penny Prentiss. At one point, Marinus raped Prentiss. Nine months later, Namorita Prentiss was born. Penny decided to send Namorita to live with Namor in Atlantis. But Namorita was always curious about the surface. Despite Queen Fen's orders for her to stay away from the surface, she frequently made trips to our world. On one of those trips, she met the Sea Devils."
Five years earlier . . .
John Savage, James Lockhart, and their team of Sea Devils (consisting of a Marine Biologist, an Oceanographer/Cartographer, an Undersea Photographer/Relic Hunter, and a former Navy Frogman) were investigating sightings of a prehistoric Ichthyosaur sighted off the Greek Islands. The Sea Devils found the creature and were in the process of capturing it harmlessly for study.
Just then, they saw her for the first time. She rose up from the darkness like an avenging spirit from the depths. The beautiful blonde Atlantean carried a spear with which she started to cut through the net that held the Ichthyosaur.
"Who or what is that?" one of the Sea Devils asked.
"She's hot!" Lockhart remarked.
"I think she's an Atlantean," John Savage said. "She favors the Sub-Mariner."
"She's cutting loose our great discovery," Lockhart said.
"Let me talk to her," Savage said.
John Savage swam nearer to her. She immediately pointed her spear defensively at him, but then she softened when she saw his handsome features. She surfaced to hear what he had to say.
"Hello," he said. "My name is John. Who are you?"
"My name is Namorita, Princess of Atlantis. And I defend my subjects in the sea. This poor creature is the last of it's kind. I will not see it caged!"
John Savage smiled at her. She blushed. John turned to his men. "Let it go."
"But . . . " they protested.
"Do it," Savage said. Reluctantly, his team obeyed. The Ichthyosaur swam away.
Namorita smiled. "I knew you would be nice the moment I saw you."
"I hope we can be friends," John said.
"Me too," she answered.
The Present . . .
Doc Savage sipped his tea as Agent Mason listened to his narrative. "And they did become friends. She and John became very close. She joined the Sea Devils on many an adventure. She was like an unofficial member. I got to know her rather well over the next four and a half years. I like her. She's very nice. Not nearly as headstrong as Namor."
"Is that why you asked her to join the Doom Patrol?" Agent Mason asked. "Because you liked her?"
"No. I like a lot of people. I asked her to join because I knew she was trustworthy and capable. I asked her because she's an outcast who needed closeness and purpose. And I asked her because I knew she wanted to get even with Von Doom for what happened to my nephew John. Those are the reasons she was in the Doom Patrol."
"Were she and John romantic? Were they lovers?"
"No. At first she was a little attracted to him because she hadn't seen too many handsome, full grown surface men up close. John was a fine physical specimen. But John had a lady friend and he was very loyal to her. And so, as time passed, they became just close friends. I don't think Namorita ever knew love. Except maybe the unrequited love she had for Michael."
"Michael Holt," she said. "Mr. Terrific. She was attracted to him, wasn't she?"
"Oh yes. She had a major crush. And she didn't hide it."
"Did he ever take her up on it?"
"No. Michael saw her as a little sister. Anyway, Michael and Rita - that's Elasti-Girl - had quite a thing going on."
"Hot and heavy?"
"Romeo and Juliet level, at least."
"Larry mentioned that. It was a sore point for several people, it seemed."
"Yes, I'm afraid so," Savage said. "Larry was very jealous of Michael back then, and Rita Farr had been a fantasy of his since her days as a movie star. When she choose Michael over him, he was not surprisingly irate. And as for Namorita, she was a princess and used to getting what she wants. When Michael hooked up with Rita instead of her, she was insulted and shocked. And very jealous."
"Sounds like a team with a lot of excess baggage, doctor."
"Yes, it did cause some problems."
"Did those problems have anything to do with the break up of the team? Did anything peculiar happen on that last day? The day Doom and Mr. Terrific vanished."
"You're very persistent Agent Mason. Very well, let me tell you what I know about that day. The last day of the Doom Patrol."
Six Months Ago . . .
The Doom Patrol had only been together for a week. All they had done so far is train. They were training again. Doc Savage was watching from a distance, on a monitor screen. His protege, Mr. Terrific, who was designated the team's field leader, was supervising the session. In the Training Room, he was having Negative Man, Robotman, Elasti-Girl, and Namorita run an obstacle course made of lasers and traps, while trying to capture Terrific's T-spheres, those small floating orbs that follow Mr. Terrific around.
Larry Trainer, having released Negative Man from his body, was kneeling on the ground, weakened by the separation. Once Negative Man finished the course, he returned to Larry's bandaged body. Larry looked over at Terrific angrily. "This is a ridiculous waste of time. If I have to go through the pain of letting Negative Man go, it should be for a better test than this."
"Timing and precision are paramount to combat and teamwork," Terrific answered, as his T-spheres returned to his side. "After you learn them, we'll practice combat tactics."
"Aye aye, Captain Bligh!" Larry said sarcastically.
"Simmer down, mummy puss!" Robotman said. "You don't hear the rest of us griping!"
"I'm tired of you always sucking up to Michael and the Doc!" Larry said.
"Let's see you do something about it!" Robotman snapped.
Immediately, Larry released Negative Man again. Negative Man shot straight for Robotman, intending to phase through his body and disrupt him. But Robotman released a foam spray that he used to neutralize radioactive materials. Negative Man backed off.
"That's it! Fly away ya radioactive pest!" Robotman said, "Cause if I get my hands on you, I'm gonna shove a carbon rod up your -- "
Suddenly, a gigantic hand slipped between them. It was the enlarged hand of Elasti-Girl.
"Stay outta this, Rita!" Robotman said, "Lemme at 'em, and I'll . . . "
"Children!" Rita yelled. "You're both like children. Grow up!"
"Let Negative Man get back to Larry's body, Cliff!" Terrific ordered. "You know that it could be lethal if they're separated for more than ninety seconds."
"I wouldn't want that to happen," Cliff Steele, the Robotman said. "Then I wouldn't have the satisfaction of killing him myself!"
Negative Man returned to Larry, and Larry rose back to his feet. "Big talk, you clanking pile of gears! Go kiss a steam shovel!"
"Cut it out!" Terrific yelled. "We're supposed to be partners."
"Are we?" Larry asked. "Aren't you our great leader? Above us. Looking down at us."
Namorita stepped in front of Larry, meeting his eyes with an angry glare. "That is enough, Larry! Stop treating Michael so disrespectfully. He's our leader and should be treated with honor."
"Oh for God's sake . . . " Larry began.
"I just want your cooperation," Terrific said. "We're expecting an attack. If it comes before we're ready . . . "
As if on cue, an explosion is heard. "Damn it!" Terrific grumbled.
Doc Savage contacted the team over the intercom. "It came from outside. The front!"
"We're on it!" Terrific responded.
"Be careful!" Savage said. Savage watched the team run outside, regretting that he wasn't forty years younger and able to race into action with them. But he'd just be a liability in battle. Better to let them handle it alone. He silently prayed for them.
Outside the building, the five members of the Doom Patrol appeared on the front lawn. They looked around. No one was in sight, but there was damage to the building from the blast.
"What the heck?" Robotman asked, "There's nobody here?"
Mr. Terrific looked around, and up. His eyes were very special. They could see things that others couldn't. Only he could see the vessel above them.
Circular metal object hovering at 50 meters. Diameter 25 meters. Ambient surface temperature 44 degrees. Object cloaked.
"Scatter!" Terrific yelled. "There's a cloaked ship directly above us!"
The team broke formation just in time. Another small explosive was launched and hit the ground just where they had been standing. It rocked the area and the power of the blast stunned the Doom Patrol members.
The vessel de-cloaked and a hatch opened. The Lethal Legion emerged. "Go!" shouted the Wizard. "Kill them now, while they're stunned!"
Icicle, Madam Rogue, Mallah, and the Modular Man all descended from the ship.
Icicle created a block of ice around Robotman. He tried to break out but his joints were freezing. He was having trouble moving, and the ice was swallowing him.
Namorita saw Mallah the ape assassin coming at her and hopped back to her feet. It was Mallah's knife that killed John Savage and she wanted revenge. She charged him fiercely. But he was ready for her. He had a magnesium flare which went off in a blaze of light. Namorita's eyes were accustomed to the darkness of the seas, and she was momentarily blinded. She backed away from Mallah who pulled out a saber and attacked her.
Larry Trainer managed to release the Negative Man who targeted the Modular Man, but Morden - the brilliant engineer inside the Modular Man armor - was prepared! Negative Man found that the Modular Man's armored hide was radiation proof. Negative Man hovered in the air, unsure of how to proceed. Morden launched a half dozen biohazard, radiation absorbing sheets. Taken by Surprise, the Negative Man was caught in them. The radiation absorbing elements in the bio-sheets started to drain his energy away. And if he didn't get back to Larry in about ninety seconds, then Larry Trainer would die!
Rita Farr, the Elasti-Girl, started to grow to giant size but it was too late. Madam Rogue stretched out her pliable body and wrapped herself around Elasti-Girl's neck. Elasti-Girl started to choke. She couldn't get her fingers between Madam Rogue and her skin to pull the enemy off. Madam Rogue constricted. The Elasti-Girl was being strangled to death.
The Wizard threw one of his anti-gravity discs at Mr. Terrific. His plan was for the disc to attach itself to Terrific, making him float weightless and helpless in the air, where he would be easy prey. However, things didn't go quite as the Wizard had planned. The discs would not home in on Terrific. They couldn't get a sensor reading of him to lock onto. The Wizard was shocked. "What . . . ?"
"I'm a walking blind spot for technology," Terrific said. "I can't be scanned, filmed or photographed. No mechanical device can see me."
The Wizard quickly tried to grab his laser blaster but Mr. Terrific yelled,"Defense 3!" and suddenly one of his T-spheres let loose a shock ray that caused the Wizard to drop his gun. The Wizard dived for the gun. It was a mistake. He should have remained safely in the air, out of reach. With amazing speed, Mr. Terrific was upon him. And although the Wizard was brilliant, he was no match for the strength of Mr. Terrific, who pummeled him. Terrific turned to see that his team was on the verge of defeat. There was no time to save them all. There was only one thing to do . . . Make a deal!
"Call off your thugs, Wizard, or I'll snap your neck!" Terrific threatened.
"You won't kill me!" the Wizard countered. "You're too pure and noble!"
"Are you so sure?" Terrific replied. "You killed my friend John Savage and now you're going to kill my whole team? Have you seen what a civilized man in the grip of despair is capable of?"
The Wizard hesitated, unsure of the right move to make.
"If you let them live, I'll be your hostage," Terrific said. "You can take me! You have my word! Now, let them go!"
Minutes later, the four remaining members of the embarrassed Doom Patrol reported to Doc Savage. Savage was devastated by the news of Terrific's capture.
"They said they'd trade him for you," Rita informed him.
Savage nodded. "I thought so. All right. I'll go. I'll . . . "
Savage caught sight of one of the T-spheres floating into the room. Savage stood up, smiling. "The T-spheres are all connected. One can always tell where the others are. If the others followed Michael, this one can track him!"
Mr. Terrific was led into the Lethal Legions New York Headquarters. Using a contingency code, he had ordered one of his T-spheres to stay behind, and the others to follow at a discreet distance. He knew that Doc Savage would figure out how to track his location. He just had to survive the next few minutes. Meanwhile, the Wizard was pointing to a spigot which was above a pit in the floor. The pit was lined with metal.
"I'm sure that, as a fellow scientist, you'll be impressed by this," the Wizard said. "This is the world's first Phlogisten Accumulator, able to distill the liquid form of heat itself."
"Phlogisten!" Terrific said, surprised and impressed. "The thermal fluid? There's never been any scientific proof that it exists. You've discovered it?"
"Absolutely!" the Wizard said. "And you'll be the first one to see it actually form, when I put Doc Savage in that pit and Phlogisten pours out of that spigot and instantly evaporates him."
Terrific raised his eyebrows. His mind was working overtime on solving two problems at once - distracting his enemies, and saving his life. "So you've never done it before? Never tested it?"
"Only in small portions. This will be my first real test."
Terrific laughed. "I can't wait to see the look on your face when you turn this thing on and nothing happens. I can tell by the construction that it won't work. Doc Savage will laugh in your face. And Dr. Doom won't like that."
The Wizard's face darkened with rage. "Well, my pompous young friend, there is an easy way to see who's right. We'll test the machine right now."
The Wizard activated the Accumulator. He smiled with glee as some glowing liquid poured out of the spigot and into the metal pit. It was so powerful it seared the sides of the pit. The Wizard laughed.
"You were saying, you foolish young punk?" the Wizard crowed. But his expression changed when the phlogisten started to flow upwards and out of the pit. It flowed out into the headquarters, incinerating everything it touched.
"You were so excited about your discovery that you forgot about the laws of physics," Terrific said. "Even in liquid form heat does not obey the laws of gravity. It goes up. And liquid heat will flow uphill, if there's some substance to conduct it . . . Like metal."
"It's engulfing everything in it's path!" Mallah yelled. "We've got to escape." Without waiting for the others, Mallah slipped out a rear escape exit. But the others were cut off by the Phlogisten and couldn't follow him.
"Out the front door!" the Wizard yelled. They forgot about Terrific as they raced to safety. But Terrific wasn't about to let them forget. He took the Wizard by surprise and knocked him unconscious with a haymaker blow.
Outside, Icicle, Madam Rogue and Morden - without his armor - reached safety. Or so they thought. The Doom Patrol had arrived. Since Morden was powerless, the other two - taken by surprise - were easily defeated by the heroes. Rita, Namorita and Robotman were relieved when Terrific came out of the burning building carrying the Wizard. Negative Man was not quite so gleeful.
"Well," Terrific said. "All in all, a successful freshman outing."
Soon the authorities arrived to incarcerate the Lethal Legion. Reporters were there as well. Since Mr. Terrific was reluctant to talk to them, Larry Trainer stepped up. He made himself out to be the leader.
"Why are you puttin' up with that moron?" Robotman asked. "This is your moment!"
"It's not about credit or glory, Cliff. If this makes Larry feel better, then more power to him. In the meantime, we have more important things to worry about. I overheard the Wizard talking to Icicle about something going on today at the spot where John Savage was killed. I think we should go and check it out immediately. Just as soon as Larry is finished taking his bows."
The Present . . .
"After that," Doc Savage was saying. "They came back here, reported to me what had happened, and then took my jet to go and follow up their lead. That was the last time I ever saw Michael alive. When the others returned, they said that they had made a vow never to discuss what had happened there with anyone. I didn't press them on the issue. I was sure they had a good reason. They told me that Michael died a hero. That he saved the world. I wouldn't have expected anything less from him. Anyway, that's all I know."
"That'll have to do," Agent Mason said. "Thank you for all your time and hospitality, doctor."
Outside, Agent Mason was walking away from the estate, thinking about all she had learned. Suddenly there was an explosion behind her that knocked her off her feet. She looked back. The estate was ablaze. The injured Namorita and the aged Doc Savage were still inside!
Next issue: Will Doc Savage and Namorita survive? Who is following Agent Mason? Plus, Agent Mason meets the Wizard who has some of the information she needs to solve this puzzle, next month in Doom Patrol #4.