"Glad to have you back with us," Agent Mason said.
Rita Farr, the Elasti-Girl, woke up, rubbing her jaw. It was very sore. It had been struck by a powerful man . . . A robot man. Someone she trusted. She looked around. Agent Wanda Mason was nearby. They were in a wooded area, near the beach. She smelled the sea air. There was no sound of cars or other civilization in the area. Something about the place looked familiar. Suddenly, it struck her.
"Doom's island!" she exclaimed. "This is the man-made island that Doom created for his first attempt to revive Godzilla. But why did he bring us here? Why aren't we dead?"
"I'm not complaining about that part," Agent Mason said.
"We should be ready for trouble!" Rita said, and began to grow into her giant form.
"Stop!" Agent Mason yelled.
Rita's head reached a point where she felt something cut into her. An invisible force sliced into her forehead. She stopped growing. She stuck her finger in the air, and the same invisible force sliced the skin from her fingertip.
"I don't know what it is but it's all around us," Agent Mason said. She picked up a rock and tossed it. Before it could go ten feet, the rock was ground into dust by something unseen. "It's some sort of force field. I think it's coming from over there."
Rita looked to the direction Mason was pointing in. There was a small mechanical device nearby. A small disc, like a satellite dish, was aimed in their direction.
"One of Dr. Doom's famous traps," Rita said, as she reverted to normal size. "Whatever it is, it'll slice me to ribbons if I grow to maximum size. We're stuck here."
The wind blew the leaves of a tree and gave Rita a better view of what was on the other side of the tree. It was a metal cross with a large dish on top of it. Hanging on the cross was a man. A man wrapped in bandages.
"Larry!" Rita yelled. "It's Larry!"
Agent Mason got a look at him and nodded. "Larry Trainer. The Negative Man."
Trainer moved slightly at the sound of her voice, but he was too heavily seated to respond.
"What are they doing to him?" Rita asked.
"I don't know," Mason responded.
They heard a noise in the bushes. Two metallic figures came out of the brush. One was the armored figure of Dr. Victor Von Doom and the other was Cliff Steele, the Robotman. Cliff was carrying a large crate of equipment. At a gesture from Doom, he put it down. Then he stood as still as a statue.
Doom noticed that Rita was awake. "Ahh! I see you've rejoined us, my dear. Welcome back to my island. It's been six months since you were here last. You lost your beloved Mr. Terrific last time you were here. I'm afraid that this visit will be even less pleasant."
"Doom, you scum!" Rita hissed. "When I get out of here, I'm going to tear you to pieces!"
"You're not going anywhere, Madam," Doom replied confidently. "The molecules of the air around you have been sped up. They will rip through the slower molecules of any solid object that passes through the field. If you try to escape, you'll be ground into microscopic remains."
Rita looked at the Robotman. "Cliff! Why are you doing this?"
Robotman didn't move or react.
"I don't think he's acting of his own free will," Agent Mason said.
"Well spotted, agent," Dr. Doom replied. "You are quite correct. Clifford Steele is my slave."
"What did you do to him?" Rita asked.
"I merely made him less irritating. I've turned him into much better company. He doesn't talk now."
Rita sneered at Doom. "He's a better man than you are any day."
"Then why is he the slave and I the master?" Doom asked.
"What'd you do to him?" Agent Mason asked.
"I took advantage of my opportunities," Doom said. "I returned to earth several weeks ago. Your friends Robotman and Namorita were here. They had brought flowers here for some reason."
The anniversary, Rita thought. They were here for the six-month anniversary of Michael's sacrifice. They brought flowers to the last place he was seen.
Doom continued. "While they stood with their heads bowed, they were unaware of my presence. I took them totally by surprise. And with my new, modified weapons system, it was easy to defeat them. I deactivated Robotman. Namorita was very badly injured. She crawled away, into the sea. I let her go. I never thought she'd make it to Savage's home, halfway around the world. I underestimated the child. But no matter. I've seen to it that she's dead by now. As for your crude, metal friend the Robotman, I altered him. I put a computer chip in his head. When I activate it, he basically goes to sleep. He has no memory of what happens while the chip is activated. His mind is turned off. As for his primitive metallic body, it served my purpose. I was able to control it, via an implant I placed inside him.
"Once his conscious mind was non-functional, I used his body as my agent. It was his body I used to capture Negative Man. That fool Larry Trainer was so glad to see his old friend Cliff Steele that he didn't expect to be attacked by him. He was as easy to defeat as you were, Miss Farr. I also used Robotman to place the bomb in Clark Savage's home. It was an unlucky coincidence for me that you, Agent Mason, were present to pull him to safety. And you foiled my second attempt to kill him, when I sent Mallah to the hospital. But soon you'll be out of the way as well, and I'll kill my enemy Clark Savage at my leisure."
"Someone has been following me?" Agent Mason asked. "Was it Robotman?"
"No, my dear. Robotman is not built for stealth and speed. I had other agents tracing you. Many of them work at the Latverian embassy. I understand that you did an excellent job losing them. I was hoping that you'd discover where the Oxygen Destroyer is during your investigation and lead them to it. It's the only thing that would be a threat to Godzilla when he awakes. Miss Farr was gracious enough to deliver the plans right to me. I've destroyed them. Now nothing can threaten Godzilla. When he rises, he'll be unstoppable!"
"Why are we still alive?" Agent Mason said. "The four of us? Why haven't you killed us?"
"I have a reason to keep each one of you alive," Doom said. "In your case, Agent Mason, I'll need to interrogate you later. To find out how much you learned and who you told. As for the lovely Miss Farr, I want to do some experiments on you. I want to learn about your growth ability. If I can duplicate the formula, I can possibly make Godzilla even bigger and more powerful than ever. And then there's that simpleton the Robotman. He's a useful pawn for the time being. I'll kill him later. And finally, there's Larry Trainer, the Negative Man. He's the key to all this. A storehouse of radioactive energy!"
Rita realized what Doom was planning. "You're going to use Larry's energy to revive Godzilla!"
"Exactly," Doom said. "On my last attempt, six months ago, I was able to regenerate the emaciated husk of Godzilla, but I was interrupted before I gave him sufficient energy to awaken. He has lain in a coma ever since. Your friend the Negative Man contains enough energy to wake Godzilla up. He is food for the beast! The trigger that will signal the end of the world you know, and the beginning of the age of Doom!"
"As long as one of us is alive, you haven't won, Doom!" Rita said.
"None of you will be alive for very much longer," Doom said. "I will kill the four of you when I am done. As for young princess Namorita, she is surely dead by now!"
Back in the lab of Doc Savage lay the shattered remains of the crystal medical tube wherein Namorita had been recuperating. Dr. Doom had ordered Robotman to sabotage the controls so that the Atlantean Princess would choke, due to lack of oxygen in the water. Doom assumed that her dead body would be floating in the tube by now. But the tube had been shattered. Shattered from the inside!
Back at the Island . . .
Dr. Doom walked away from Rita and Agent Mason. "I must leave you ladies. I have some adjustments to make on equipment. Behave yourselves while I'm gone, or the baby-sitter will have to punish you."
"Baby-sitter?" Mason asked.
Doom pointed up in a tree. Rita and Agent Mason hadn't realized until now that Mallah was sitting up in a tree, covering them with a weapon. He grinned down at Rita. Rita sneered up at him.
Doom gestured for Robotman to follow him. The controlled body of Robotman lumbered behind Doom as he headed to the cross where Negative Man was hanging. Doom opened a panel and began making his adjustments. Mallah kept a close eye on the women.
"Even if we can get out of this trap, we still have to deal with him," Agent Mason said. "Things don't look good."
"I wish I could argue with you, agent," Rita said, "but you seem to have summarized the situation correctly. Things don't look good."
The two women sat on a stone. "Tell me something," Agent Mason said. "I've been beating my brains in trying to find out what happened during the last mission of the Doom Patrol. You couldn't tell me before. But now that we're going to die, it can't do any harm to tell me. I'm very curious and I'd like to hear the story before I die."
"Why not? I guess you deserve to know the truth. About everything."
Six months earlier . . .
Doom Patrol was flying over the Pacific Ocean in their new jet, the Science Flyer, a flying lab that can exceed the speed of sound. They were looking for traces of Dr. Doom and the mysterious project that he had been working on. A clue from the Lethal Legion had led them to this region of the ocean. Now the Doom Patrol needed to pinpoint Dr. Doom's location and stop him.
Mr. Terrific manned the radar scanner as the Negative Man piloted the ship. "I hope this isn't a waste of time!" Negative Man said impatiently.
"So do I," Mr. Terrific answered.
Negative Man sighed, annoyed. Mr. Terrific continued to scan.
"At least we got a chance ta test out this bird," Robotman said. "I helped build the sucker, ya'know."
"I'll get you a nice lollipop as a reward when we get back," Negative Man said.
"How'd ya like me ta tighten those bandages around yer head, kid?" Robotman responded.
Before Negative Man could respond, he was interrupted by Mr. Terrific.
"Wait-a-minute!" Mr. Terrific called out. "I've got something! Head northeast, ten degrees."
"What is it?" Elasti-Girl asked.
"An island where an island shouldn't be," Terrific answered.
"So?" Negative Man asked. "We spotted an uncharted island. Big freaking deal."
"Impossible!" Terrific said. "Doc Savage linked into a military satellite only a few weeks ago and took photos of this whole area, trying to find Doom. There was no island here before. But there's one here now."
"Certainly something we should investigate," Namorita said.
"Ain't it amazin' how Larry boy is always wrong?" Robotman said.
"Up your crank shaft, tin man."
The argument continued until the ship landed. Terrific addressed his team. "Okay everyone, let's disembark. And stay sharp, because if Doom is on this island, he knows we're here. He'll certainly have numerous sensors and scanners combing the area. And he no doubt has a multitude of traps awaiting us."
"If you keep yakkin' like this, Doomsy is gonna die of old age before we get to 'em," Robotman said.
"For once I agree with you, metal head," Negative Man said.
"You do? Then I gotta be wrong," Robotman said.
"That's nothing new," Negative Man responded.
"It'd be new if ya shut yer big trap for a change!"
"Stop it!" Mr. Terrific snapped. "We have a mission to finish, and we're dealing with a dangerous opponent. So stop your bickering and stay focused. Now, everyone follow me. We'll move in a straight row, keeping ten feet between each of us. Cliff, you bring up the rear. Let's move out!"
Mr. Terrific stepped out of the jet. He scanned the area with the nano-tech optical sensors in his iris.
AREA CLEAR OF ANY LIFE FORMS. THE PLANTS AND TREES DO NOT REGISTER AS VEGETATION. 90% PROBABILITY THAT THEY ARE MULTI-CELLULAR CASTINGS DESIGNED TO REPLICATE NORMAL FLORA. NO SIGN OF FAUNA.
"The coast is clear," Terrific said, as he led the group into the artificial brush. "It appears that this entire island is artificial. No doubt created by Von Doom to cover his activities."
"Talk, talk, talk," Robotman said. "When do I get to hit sumthing?"
"Soon," Terrific answered.
They moved further along the island, until Mr. Terrific's eyes detected something.
7 AUTOMATONS APPROACHING AT 7 O'CLOCK. 4 METERS TALL. HEAVILY ARMORED. ARMED WITH LASER WEAPONS. 96% PROBABILTY THAT THEY ARE DESIGNED FOR DEFENSE.
"It looks like you'll get your chance to hit something now, Cliff," Mr. Terrific said. "Trouble's coming."
The seven mechanoids burst out of the bushes and bore down on the Doom Patrol. They fired their laser weapons at the group, except for Mr. Terrific who they couldn't see. No machine could detect Mr. Terrific. He was a walking blind spot to technology.
Robotman locked up with one of the robots. Robotman was only slightly stronger, but was a much better fighter. He disabled the robot easily.
Elasti-Girl grew to her maximum size, lifted up two of the robots and slammed them together, destroying both. She was hit by a laser from another robot. She yelped in pain. The robot was about to fire again, but Mr. Terrific ordered his T-Spheres to circle the robot and disorient it with various frequencies of radio and magnetic waves. While the robot teetered and wobbled, Robotman grabbed the robot and tore its head off.
Larry released the Negative Man from his body. The Negative Man fired a radiation ray at the robot, but it was shielded against such an attack. The silhouetted figure called the Negative Man was basically a photo negative of Larry Trainer. It usually held the form of a man, but it didn't have to. As a being of energy, it could change its shape. It made itself pencil thin and pierced the robot through the laser nozzle. Once inside, it used its radioactive energy to create an electro-magnetic pulse, which neutralized all the robot's circuits. He used the same technique to disable another robot. The Negative Man form returned to Larry's body.
Namorita used her natural Atlantean speed to dodge the laser attack of the final robot. She then used an ability she rarely used, and that she learned from Namor the Sub-Mariner. She generated an electrical pulse, like an electric eel, and fired electrical rays at the robot. The robot shorted out and fell to the ground.
Once the robots were dealt with, Elasti-Girl returned to normal size. Mr. Terrific checked on the wound she received from the laser. "Is it very painful?" he asked her.
"Not too bad," she said.
"Good," Terrific replied. "It doesn't look very serious. The laser sliced through the shoulder very cleanly. The heat, combined with the malleable properties of your expanded form, allowed the wound to immediately close and cauterize. It'll be sore for a while, but you should be fine."
"I love it when you play doctor," she said, smiling.
Mr. Terrific looked embarrassed. "Uhh, anyway, we should keep moving."
Namorita and the Negative Man were upset by Rita's display of emotion, but they didn't say anything. They followed Mr. Terrific as he headed further into the brush.
"Do you have any idea where we're going?" Negative Man asked.
"In the direction that the robots came from," Mr. Terrific said. "They were protecting something. And besides that, my T-Spheres have picked up some power emanations in this direction."
They got to a clearing, where they found some type of giant ray gun, aimed down at the water of the beach. A beam of energy was shooting out and disappearing into the ocean. Three more of the guard robots surrounded the ray. In the midst of it all, tinkering on some sort of helmet, was the armored form of Dr. Victor Von Doom. An area radar security protocol let out a beep. Doom looked up and saw the Doom Patrol heading in his direction.
"Ah!" Doom said calmly. "The children are here. Dr. Savage's little collection of misfits and rejects. I'm surprised that you got past my Doom-Bots. You've arrived on a very special occasion. You are about to witness my greatest moment. In just minutes, a new age will be born!"
"I think I know what you're up to, Von Doom, and I can't let it happen!" Mr. Terrific said.
"My, my, my. Delusions of grandeur," Doom said. "What makes you think that you have any say in the matter, boy?"
"Doc Savage has prepared us for this moment, Doom!" Terrific said. "We've been trained to stop you, and that's just what we're going to do!"
"Doc Savage is a mental pygmy compared to the genius of Dr. Doom!" the armored tyrant said. "He has always been jealous of me. That's why he sabotaged my experiments and ruined my face. He couldn't stand the fact that it is I, not he, that is the world's smartest man. I am, and I have always been, his superior in every way. His squad of pathetic trained minions are no threat to me!"
"We'll see, Doom," Terrific said. "We'll see."
Mr. Terrific made a wide gesture with his hand, and the Doom Patrol attacked. Mr. Terrific grabbed Negative-Man's arm. "Larry, listen! I think I know what that beam is. It's a radiation ray. If it's doing what I suspect it's doing, you have to stop it! Any way you can!"
Negative Man didn't particularly like Mr. Terrific, but he had to admit that the young genius knew what he was talking about. "I'll take care of it!" Larry said.
Larry hid himself in the woods and released the Negative Man form from his body. His Negative form flew up to the radiation ray. He got inside it, just as he had gotten inside the robots, but the device was protected against radiation and EM pulses. It probably had a uranium or plutonium core to power the ray, so Doom radiation proofed the weapon. Negative Man had to find another way to stop it.
Elasti-Girl grew to giant size and charged Dr. Doom. But out of his armor he produced a glob of shapeless goo. He threw it at Elasti-Girl. It hit her and began to spread all over her. She panicked as it began to cover her completely. No matter how big she got, the substance still expanded over her, smothering her.
The three remaining Doom-Bots all ganged up on Robotman. They were powerful, having been created by Dr. Doom. Robotman could handle one of them at a time. Maybe even two at a time, but he feared that three might be too much, even for him.
The Negative Man flew directly in front of the radiation ray and started to absorb the energy of the ray into himself. It was overwhelming at first. It was painful. But he bore the pain and continued to absorb the radiation.
Mr. Terrific focused his attention on Dr. Doom and made a beeline for the Latverian dictator. But before he could reach his foe, he was jumped from the blind side. He managed to use judo to throw his attacker off. The attacked gracefully flipped in the air and landed on his feet. Mr. Terrific got a good look at him. It was Mallah, the simian assassin.
"If you want the good, doctor, my young friend," Mallah said, "you must first go through me!"
Mr. Terrific frowned. This was a delay that he didn't need. A delay that could be disastrous. But he had no choice other than to deal with the threat that faced him first. He locked up in battle with Mallah.
Close by, Namorita closed ranks on Dr. Doom, determined to make Doom pay for the death of her good friend John Savage, the late leader of the Sea Devils. She held her trident in front of her as she charged.
"Die fiend!" she yelled. "In the name of John Savage!"
Doom stood calmly. "Such passion. A pity it is so misplaced."
Doom fired an energy blast out of his gauntlet. Namorita managed to avoid it. Doom let out a volley of energy rays. Namorita dodged most of them, but one finally grazed her. She yelled in pain and fell to the ground. Doom walked slowly over to her. Namorita pushed herself up to her knees. Doom stood over her.
"Poor child," Doom said. "You never had a chance."
She grabbed her fallen trident again, and tried to ram it into Doom. Doom casually grabbed the trident and sent a powerful charge of energy through it. Namorita screamed for a moment, but tried to use her eel-like ability to channel the electricity into a weapon.
But before she did so, she locked eyes with Doom. She was suddenly caught like a deer in the headlights. His eyes bore into her mind, overpowering her thoughts.
"It is not becoming that royalty such as we should fight, dear child," Doom said. "So we will not do so any longer. I have a better use for you. You will fight my enemies for me. My enemies are your enemies."
She couldn't resist Doom's hypnotic abilities. He turned her aggression against her friends. Namorita rose. She looked around for the first person to attack. Her eyes fixed on Elasti-Girl, the woman who had stolen Mr. Terrific from her. Hate filled Namorita's mesmerized mind. She was focused on killing Elasti-Girl!
The Negative Man had successfully absorbed all the radiation out of the ray guns plutonium core, but he was overcome by it. It was like an oxygen overdose. He was dizzy, unable to focus his thoughts. He had only moments left to return to Larry's body or both of them would die. But at the moment, he didn't even know which end was up, let alone where he'd left Larry's body. He knew he was about to die.
Nearby, Mr. Terrific battled Mallah. Mallah aimed his gun at Terrific. Terrific shouted a code number and the T-Spheres released blinding flares. Mallah was momentarily blinded. Mr. Terrific tackled him and got the gun away from him. But Mallah was an animal with a great sense of smell. He knew where his enemy was. He struck out at Terrific without seeing him. He knocked Terrific away. It took Terrific a few moments to recover from the power of a gorilla's punch. In that time, Mallah's eye's adjusted and he got his sight back. He pulled out a knife and lunged at Terrific. Mr. Terrific backed up, into the shallow water. As Mallah leaped at him, Terrific dropped backward. Mallah didn't realize until too late what Terrific was planning. Terrific evaded the knife and used his judo skill to throw Mallah into the deeper waters. Mallah sunk like a stone.
"Gorillas can't swim," Mr. Terrific said. "Not enough body fat. Especially when they're loaded down with weapons."
Mr. Terrific waited until Mallah stopped struggling and had almost passed out. Then he pulled the gorilla from the sea. He wasn't a killer. He cleared the excess water out of Mallah's lungs and left the simian assassin lay there, weak and defeated.
The Elasti-Girl was struggling with the smothering mass that was covering her. Mr. Terrific observed her situation. He called out to her. "Rita! Listen to me. Go into the water! The salt water will dissolve it!"
Elasti-Girl nodded, and rolled her giant body into the sea. Namorita watched her and nodded in hypnotic satisfaction. The sea was her element. That was the best place for her to kill Elasti-Girl! Namorita dived into the sea in pursuit.
The Negative Man energy form had only moments to go before he and Larry both died. A T-Sphere floated above him. It headed to the woods. Although still confused, Negative Man realized that Mr. Terrific had sent the sphere to show the Negative form where it's human body lay. The Negative Man followed the T-Sphere to the spot where Larry lay. Negative Man merged with Larry's body just in time. But their time apart had drained Larry. Weakened, he passed out.
Mr. Terrific found himself face-to-face with Dr. Doom.
"It had to come down to us, didn't it, Doom!" Terrific said.
"I'll kill you for this, boy!" Doom said. "I spent a fortune buying that plutonium and months building the Radiation Ray. I built an entire island to cover my actions. I've been planning this for years! And you have to come along and disrupt me at this vital time! I'll make you pay, you young fool!"
"It's Godzilla, isn't it?" Terrific asked. "You were trying to resurrect Godzilla!"
"Yes," Doom said. "Ever since I was in college, and found evidence of Godzilla's remains, I've thought about raising the great beast, but other matters always took precedence. Until last year, when I realized that it was my destiny to rule the world. I knew that you and other heroes would be a problem, so I gathered an army of so-called ‘super-villains' to assist me. But I realized that they were too unreliable. They might let me down. I needed an ace-in-the-hole, as you Americans say."
"Godzilla!"
"Exactly!" Doom said. "His limitless power, combined with my technological weapons of destruction and the super-villain army I gathered will be an unstoppable force. No one could stand against me! Not the Avengers League and certainly not the Doom Patrol!"
"And you actually think that you can control Godzilla?" Mr. Terrific asked.
"Doom thinks of everything, you fool!" Doom said. "Godzilla is basically a dinosaur, with a simple brain. When he rises, I will fire a specially built dart at him, which will attach nano-technological receivers to the back of his head. Using the helmet you saw me working on, I will transmit my own thought waves into the beast's simple brain. My powerful mind will overcome the reptilian cortex and take control. I will dictate his every action. He will have no choice but to obey me!"
"Very clever, Von Doom! But I can't let you do it. I -- "
Mr. Terrific was interrupted by an alarm on a scanner. The scanner showed the outline of a giant form. And it was moving. Doom was elated.
"It worked!" Doom said. "I supplied the corpse of Godzilla with enough energy for it to reconstitute and regenerate. It is fully formed and alive! It is moving!"
"It's not moving very much," Mr. Terrific said. "You still haven't given it quite enough power. It's very weak. If I'm reading your scanners correctly, It's in a coma!"
"It is now!" Doom said. "But I have a contingency plan!"
"You have another source of radiation?" Terrific guessed, appalled.
"Yes, and I intend to use it!"
"Over my dead body, Doom!"
"Your terms are acceptable!"
Doom fired energy bolts at Mr. Terrific. Mr. Terrific dodged it, and threw a small ball at Dr. Doom. Doom caught the ball in one hand. Mr. Terrific threw another, and Doom caught it in the other hand.
"What sort of childish attach is this?" Doom asked.
Suddenly, the little balls break open and a type of metallic web covers Dooms hands. The webs were automatically drawn to each other and so they stretch out, connecting to each other. Doom's hands were bound by web-handcuffs.
"Is this the best you can do?" Doom said, laughing. He tried to snap the webs. He stopped laughing when he couldn't. He activated his gauntlet blasters, intending to burn them off. Immediately he realized that this was the wrong thing to do. Energy from the two gauntlets crisscrossed each other, causing a power feedback. There was a crackle of energy, and sparks flew out of Doom's armor. Dr. Doom's armor was completely short-circuited.
"You were saying?" Mr. Terrific said, smiling.
Doom roared with rage and he charged at Mr. Terrific. Terrific sidestepped and used his judo skill to flip Dr. Doom over. Doom was furious and humiliated as he crashed to the ground.
"You can't win this one, Doom!" Terrific said. "I've been too well prepared for you. And you clearly didn't prepare for me at all. You've underestimated me from the start. The decks are stacked against you, Doom. You stacked them against yourself. You've lost, Doom."
Doom was still too calm to suit Mr. Terrific. "Doom is never beaten. I think you should know what's happening to your two female friends at the moment."
Nearby, in the sea, Elasti-Girl had managed to get the ooze off of herself. She was almost out of air and was swimming to the surface. She saw Namorita swimming towards her. She mistakenly assumed that the Atlantean Princess was coming to help. But then Namorita unleashed the electrical energy she had absorbed. Elasti-Girl would have screamed had she not been underwater. If she'd been a little smaller, the electricity would have killed her. But as it was, she was knocked unconscious. She reverted to her normal size. She was drowning. Namorita swam towards her, intent on finishing the job.
She spotted someone swimming in her direction. It was another member of the Doom Patrol. It was Mr. Terrific. The mental commands Doom placed in her brain took over once again. She must kill Mr. Terrific. As Elasti-Girl drowned, Namorita swam to kill the man she loved.
Back on shore, Dr. Doom opened a case. Inside was a bomb. An atomic bomb. It would destroy the island and everyone on it. But worse than that, that radiation it released would bring Godzilla to full strength. The beast would rise and help Doom rule the world. Doom set the timer on the device and headed to his pre-planned escape route. But there was one more obstacle he didn't count on.
Robotman! The Robotman had managed to defeat the three Doom-Bots. He received some damage, but he was still walking. He was walking towards Dr. Doom.
"Goin' sumwhere, Doomsy? Not!"
Dr. Doom backed up nervously. His armor was short-circuited and he had no tricks left to deal with the towering Robotman. He looked around desperately for an equalizer. He grabbed the gun that Mr. Terrific had taken away from Mallah and fired at the mechanical hero. The gun was powerful and Robotman was damaged already, so the attack was effective. Robotman was staggered, but not stopped.
"Ya better come up with sumthin' better than this, Doctor Doof!"
But Doom had an ulterior motive. He was maneuvering the Robotman, herding him. He guided Robotman to the hatch over the munitions pit. Doom pressed the button that opened the hatch, and Robotman fell inside. It wouldn't kill him, but it would keep him out of the way for a while.
Doom headed for his planned escape.
In the water, Namorita was all over Mr. Terrific. In the water, he was no match for her. She was about to kill him. But just before she could land the killing blow, she got a look in his eyes . . . And it all came back to her. This was the man she loved. Her friend. Her leader. She couldn't hurt him. It was Doom! He had done this too her. She immediately grabbed the unconscious Rita Farr and Mr. Terrific to the surface.
They got to the surface. Namorita was humiliated. "Oh, Michael. I'm so sorry!"
Mr. Terrific kneeled down beside Rita, who was unconscious. Her lungs were full of water. "Forget that now. Rita's dying. I've got to . . . "
"No! Let me!" Namorita said. She kneeled down and touched Rita. Miraculously, all the water that had been in her lungs began to come out through her mouth. Rita started breathing again. Mr. Terrific was relieved. He looked around and saw Doom escaping. "Take care of Rita. I've got to end this!"
Mr. Terrific ran after Doom. Doom was activating his escape transporter. He had only to punch in a few more number calculations and he would transport away safely. As Terrific ran towards him, he saw the Atomic bomb. Terrific was horrified. That was Doom's plan. Eliminate the Doom Patrol and bring Godzilla to life at the same time. The countdown on the bomb timer had only seconds left.
"It's an A-bomb!" he yelled to Namorita, and Rita, who had just regained consciousness. The two women saw him lift a nuclear bomb out of the case.
"Oh my God!" Rita gasped.
Mr. Terrific had only seconds to act. He saw that Doom had finished programming his transporter. Doom hit a button and the transporter hummed to life. A transport beam engulfed the tyrant. Mr. Terrific acted quickly. He threw the bomb at Doom. Doom caught it and was about to throw it away, but Terrific launched himself at Doom, and crashed into the metal monarch. Inside the small transporter device, they wrestled. Doom tried to get the bomb out, while Terrific tried to keep it inside. With a deft hand motion, Terrific managed to change the numbers on the calculations of the transport coordinates.
"No!" Doom screamed.
But it was too late. The transporter beam swallowed them both and they vanished . . .
Back to the present . . .
"And that was the last I ever saw of Mr. Terrific," Elasti-Girl said to Agent Mason. "I thought he and Doom were both dead. I see that Doom is still alive."
"Which we won't be for long," Agent Mason said. "Doom seems to be almost done. There's no way for us to stop him. Godzilla will rise and we'll be dead! It looks like Doom had won!"
Next issue: What did Dr. Doom do during the months he was missing? What was Mr. Terrific's final fate? Will Godzilla rise? And what happened to Namorita? The answers to these questions will be in Doom Patrol #8!