Global Guardians: Death in Miniature!
By lawrenceliberty

Prologue
Prince Mark of Sardonia was a capable monarch with compassion for his people and the ability to govern selflessly. He was popular and one of the reasons his subjects loved him was that he made very careful use of the small European kingdom’s resources. He was a conservationist but he did not fear progress. When he arranged for his private estate and the castle that dominated the hillside upon which it sat, to be donated to the international team of super heroes known as the Global Guardians he was acting for the good of his people. He was also ensuring that Sardonia gained direct access to the resources only such a team of technologically and magically enhanced heroes could offer. Sardonia was a peaceful nation and had been since Superboy himself helped remove the evil Lord Hawke from a position of power but now who would dare to attack a land that could boast occasionally occupancy by super strong beings like the Olympian or the Seraph? Of course, the tiny kingdom also had access to brilliant scientists like the Mexican champion Iman or the Japanese heroine called Hikari.
Of course most of the heroes lived in their own nations but they all visited the spacious castle HQ from time to time as needed and the enigmatic Dr. Mist who seemed to know everything and everyone had made it easy for them to travel to and from the castle by creating magical portals that did more than connect their homelands to the Sardonia castle. The ancient castle façade was impressive but the structure was not that large. Oddly enough, the interior was far larger than any observer would deduce by merely looking up at it from the grounds below. This was due to the magical portals that connected the castle to a realm beyond the purely physical. These remarkable access portals enabled the chosen members to bypass the material realm and reach a pocket dimension that provided the group with an unlimited amount of space in which to conduct experiments, build various devices, or in the case of some more exotic members cast magical spells!
Dr, Mist had spent eons in isolation out of a desire to protect himself from the temptation to abuse the incredible magical powers he possessed. He had lived with guilt for most of those centuries because of one such abuse in the distant past. Recently, he had sacrificed both his immortality and most of his power in order to stop another power mad immortal from ruling the world. He did not regret his actions. He felt liberated by them. He was a genius and a tactician who had organized various teams of agents to act on his behalf for centuries. Most of these champions had not known his true name or his true nature. He liked it that way but now he was becoming more open and was eager to take a more active role in the world. He was certainly no brawler and he still controlled magical resources that would overwhelm the majority of wizards; however, he was occasionally found in the HQ’s gym working out. These days Dr. Mist was not averse to punching a criminal if necessary. He rather enjoyed the sensation!
Now, as the regal Dr. Mist concluded one such workout, he looked up to greet the New Zealand hero called Tuatara. Jeremy Wakefield was a family man with a loving wife named Lucy, a small daughter named Renee, and a very happy home life. He was also a hero gifted or cursed with the ability to see through time and space itself via what he called his third eye. This eye was what led him to name his heroic identity after the lizard of the same name. The protected species had a third eye of sorts on the top of its head. Jeremy was a mutant and he also had a third eye which gave him his unique powers to perceive things beyond normal time. Mist nodded slightly before Wakefield even opened his mouth. Even with a lower level of abilities at his command, Mist knew what had brought his old friend here. He had worked with Wakefield’s equally gifted grandfather years before and he understood the powers the man possessed as well as he did.
“You have seen something that disturbs you. Is it something we may yet avert or are you troubled by a past wrong that cries out for justice?” he asked.
Jeremy swallowed hard and said, “Right as always! I saw the world but it was shaped oddly like it had horns on the exterior of the globe. It was also smaller than normal and rested inside a lab or some sterile looking facility. I saw it grow and grow until it smashed our world to pieces! You know my visions are literal as a rule but this one struck me as being symbolic!”
Dr. Mist said, “Worlds within worlds! I think your powers are beginning to evolve. When I worked with your grandfather he had visions that were poetic. It may simply be that your own time visions are becoming as subject to creative interpretation as his were.”
Tuatara nodded and said nothing. His grandfather had also suffered from a nervous breakdown although he eventually recovered from it. He wondered if the old man had merely given up temporarily when faced with visions of World War II, the Atomic Bomb, and all the inhumanity that followed those events like a parade of death and despair. Now, as he thought of Lucy and his daughter he shook his head and vowed that he would not give in to such phantoms of the spirit.
Dr. Mist said, “A miniature world. That description could actually apply to more than location. Superman has one such shrunken city within his Fortress although the beings that inhabit it are not native to it. I think this threat calls for the services of Dr. Irigoyen!”
A pretty woman with dark hair and exotic looking horn-rimmed glasses hurried into the room. She wore a stylish business suit with a short orange skirt and matching heels. She was pale but in good health and she looked up eagerly as the two men spotted her approaching figure.
“You have work for me to do? I had a feeling you were about to have me summon some of your paladins! I have already alerted Iman,” she said.
Dr. Mist smiled and said, “Correct as usual, good Belphegar. I indeed wanted Iman to come here. We shall talk as we go to the communications center.”
Tuatara knew that the petite French woman known only as Belphegar possessed vague psychic abilities of her own and was in fact one of Dr. Mist’s oldest allies. He wondered if the two shared a distant romantic past. They certainly communicated in a rather instinctual manner like lovers or very close friends. Despite her beauty, he wondered if she too was as ageless as their leader? It was one of many mysteries associated with the enigmatic Dr. Mist. Not even Tuatara’s third eye could see through the aura of mystery that surrounded the former African King.
1
Dover – South East England
The British heroine called Godiva (Dorcas Leigh) had witnessed many bizarre and frightening sights since her contact with the legendary comb of the original Lady Godiva had granted the girl the ability to alter the length, texture, visibility, and formation of her long blonde hair and had also given her the power to turn the hair as hard as metal. She had used the ability to become a costumed heroine and had earned a well-deserved reputation for courage and intelligence as a solo champion, a member of the British Paladins team, and as a frequent member of the larger Global Guardians group. She had worked with the Americans Batman and Green Arrow and was generally calm in the face of peril.
As the blonde beauty in the white swimsuit with blue trim stared off into the distance from a pier in Dover toward the foggy Straits of Dover and the English Channel beyond, she whispered a prayer.
A massive tidal wave was roaring toward her homeland and as impossible as it seemed this tsunami was actually altering in size and scope in order to better fit within the relatively narrow channel. This tsunami was strange in more ways than one. It was apparently being guided toward Dover by a flying craft that resembled an ancient pirate ship! She could see colorfully costumed men aboard the ship and she heard their laughter as they led their weapon of mass destruction toward her vantage point.
“Thank goodness they listened to the calls some scientists made for the installation of an early warning system in case of a tsunami. Most folks got to safety but that leaves the likes of me to deal with a wave that could do a lot more than give me a bad case of the frizzies!” she thought.
She shook her head and wrapped both arms around herself to try to fight off the chill that swept over her as she imagined what the tidal wave could do to her country.
“There were floods in 1607 along the English Channel that may have been caused by a tsunami and some witnesses claimed to have seen storm surges caused by a tsunami in 1858 along Kent. I only hope this one can be stopped by stopping those creeps on board that flying Jolly Roger!” she said softly.
She turned to where a beautiful woman with blonde hair worn with bangs, delicate but lovely features, and a skimpy yellow dress and slippers stood by herself with her hands on her hips in a defiant gesture. The heroine of Wales called Guinevere or the White Lady stared at the ship through a lens that worked as a miniature telescope. It was a remarkable piece of advanced technology just like her personal force field, energy-blade, and laser blaster. The fact that her technology like herself came from the year 3020 was almost as amazing as the fact that the heroine insisted that she was the daughter of a reincarnated Queen Guinevere and a reawakened King Arthur from one possible far future. In any event since her arrival in Wales a few months ago, she had made a name for herself as a true champion.
“That ship is primitive by the standards of my era but it is advanced for this time. My scan-lens enables me to see the technology behind the quaint facade!” said Guinevere.
Godiva said, “Come on! We better take the fight to them! I can fly you up there or do you have a Dan Dare rocket pack under that slip?”She referred to the fact that ever since an amazing accident involving the legendary comb of the original Lady Godiva, Dorcas had possessed the ability to alter the length, texture, visibility, and formation of her hair which had also gained the power to become as hard as metal!
Guinevere said, “Your ideas of modesty surprise me. This may be a backward era but your attire is rather revealing as well.”
Godiva nodded as she expanded her blonde hair into a winged shape and soared upward with the other blonde holding her hand.
“Sorry! I’m worried. My mates in the Paladins are away on a case that took them to another dimension. I’m honestly not sure I can handle this crisis alone!” she admitted.
Guinevere said, “We shall defend this isle to the death! To do less would be beneath the sacred trust of the Pendragons and I am a Pendragon!”
As the girls flew upward toward the strange ship the pirate crew became more distinctive. In keeping with the stylized flying ship’s old fashioned riggings, the crewmembers were also dressed like pirates out of Treasure Island or some other traditional literary or cinematic tale of swashbuckling peril on the high seas. They brandished swords and antique looking pistols and were dressed like extras from Captain Blood. They opened fire at the two heroines but Godiva was faster and managed to avoid their attack or shield them with her miraculously expanding hair.
“It can become as hard as metal which comes in handy at times like this!” she explained as they landed on the deck and charged at the jeering pirates.
“Well, well, you lovelies are welcome additions to the ship!” said a brown haired man who bowed low in a mocking manner. He grinned roguishly and said, “Captain Edward Windsor at your service! Folks call me the Wind Pirate and this fine ship is my pride and joy!”
Godiva casually sent one lock of her hair across the deck and slapped him down.
“Land the ship and stop that wave now!” she demanded.
Nearby, Guinevere had dropped to one knee and was firing her blaster! She effortlessly struck one pirate after another and smiled with satisfaction as they dropped to the wooden deck.
“I set the ray to stun but they do not deserve my show of mercy!” she announced as she rolled acrobatically across the deck and rose upward to slam the side of the gun into a pirate’s face.
Godiva glanced down to see that the Wind Pirate was still stunned and then she gripped the rigging with one extended lock of hair and swung herself up and over to crash into two more pirates.
One of them staggered backward under the impact but the other man who was dressed in orange and brown managed to rolled back with the blow and regain his footing.
“I’m Captain Cutlass and you won’t sweep me off my feet that easily!” he said.
Godiva smiled coquettishly and placed one hand on her hip.
“Now that’s an intriguing suggestion, Luv but for another time! How about stopping that nasty wave for me?”she said.
She didn’t know if she could “flirt” her way into getting past him to where she assumed some internal machinery was generating the wave but she was willing to try.
He grinned and stepped forward confidently. He moved gracefully and was clearly a skilled acrobat in his own right.
Godiva yanked suddenly on one tendril of her hair which she had made transparent before wrapping it around his leg. As he lurched backward, she belted him with all her might and he collapsed at her feet.
Guinevere said, “We can always engage them in combat but we must stop that tidal wave first!”
She studied the ship and with her greater knowledge of technology the Welsh heroine soon detected a startling fact.
“The wave is not being created by the ship! I see nothing that could do such a thing and my scans enable me to see below the surface of the ship’s deck. I see controls that guide its flight and it has a weapons system but nothing to make a tsunami!” said Guinevere as she kicked a pirate to the ground.
At that moment both women were rocked off their feet by a burst of red energy that came down from above.
A dark figure stepped into view and stood before them. He wore a black suit with a metallic helmet that was dominated by gleaming red sensors on its front.
“I am Black Manta. For all of the Wind Pirate’s inane posturing this ship and this crew are not truly his to command. They are mine!” he announced in a voice that contained no emotions due to a combination of the helmet’s distorting effect and his own nature.
Godiva said, “You fought Aquaman before. Why would you want to create such senseless destruction?”
He laughed and said, “My reasons are my own! I do not bother to explain myself to lesser beings!”
His helmet lens flashed again as red energy blazed out toward the two women.
Godiva cursed and hurled a broken railing at him but his beam shattered it to sawdust.
Guinevere grunted as the red beam bounced off her chest.
“My personal force field blocked it but I do not wish to suffer that kind of impact again!” she mused.
She raced forward and fired upward to bring a section of the sails down on the villain’s head.
He was shielded from serious harm by his own helmet but he fell forward beneath the broken sail and the heroines exchanged hurried glances.
“Does his armor contain controls for the wave?” asked Godiva as the wind whipped at them and they saw the wave rushed closer to shore!
As Black Manta burned his way to freedom a newcomer stepped into view. He wore a gold and purple armor with a strange helmet all his own that covered his upper face. He glared at them with rage and his muscular body seemed to bristle with anger.
He raised a golden trident in one gloved hand and said, “I am the Ocean Master and I am the source of your fears! My trident created the wave and it obeys my will as all who survive its might shall soon do!”
Below several newcomers had arrived to fight the threat of the raging surf.
A pretty red haired woman in a black tam o shanter hat, a white blouse with a black ribbon-tie, and a short red and green kilt with dark boots flew off the pier and followed them.
“My name is Tartan Lass. I came to help!” she said in a rather thick Scottish brogue.
“I keep telling her that that name is bloody stupid!” said a weird looking humanoid who surfaced from the water itself. He looked like a giant sized combination of man and frog. His own voice also had a Scottish accent to it.
“Glamis is more than happy to be using his own name but I do not choose to be so direct. I have magnetic powers but I’m not about to call meself Magnetta or Polestar. I’m Tartan Lass and that’s all there is to it!” she announced.
She raised her rather dainty looking hands and concentrated! Waves of magnetic energy surged out from her petite form and gathered metal from the structures along the pier. Incredibly the Scottish girl assembled the rubble into a make-shift barrier that she shoved outward to slow the roaring tidal wave’s progress.
Strain showed on her features and her green eyes widened with pain. Tartan Lass may have chosen an odd name but she was clearly a powerful and capable heroine in her own right. The young mutant’s real name was Sharon Campbell and her ancestors were amongst the grandest and most celebrated clans in Scottish history. She loved her country and would not allow any threat to harm any part of the U.K..
The froglike Glamis was another Scottish hero although the deformed nobleman was less comfortable with his powers and the mutated appearance that accompanied them. One of his own ancestors had previously been the source of a legend about a reclusive aristocrat who looked like a monster. He now carried the same burden but he was determined to use his amphibian powers for heroic purposes.
He swam through the choppy sea and searched for his signs of anyone in jeopardy. The alarm sirens had given advanced warning of the storm’s approach if not of its unnatural creation. There were no boats out in the waters but the so-called Monster of Glamis searched anyway. He hated to see anyone suffer and beneath his inhuman exterior he had a caring nature.
Tartan Lass gasped as her crude shield shattered before the force of the storm and she almost slipped from her perch on the wet pier.
A flying man in purple and green swooped in and caught her in time. He wore a dark mask that covered his face in spite of the brilliantly glowing lantern he carried. He spoke in a rather musical tone of voice.
“I have you! Don’t worry! Jack O’Lantern won’t allow any harm to come to one as fair as you are!” he said in an Irish accent.
She smiled gratefully as the famous champion of Ireland carried her to safety.
“I just need a wee moment to catch me breath!” she said.
“Take your time! I’m not alone!” he said.
He gestured toward a blonde woman with gossamer wings and a brief leafy green costume. She glowed a golden hue as she peered over his broad shoulders.
“Glamour here is a loyal friend. Her magic will be useful to us!” he said.
The Faerie woman smiled bashfully but said nothing.
He nodded to another odd being. A woman with rather shaggy black hair was leaping through the air in incredible bounds beyond those any normal human cold accomplish. She wore a ragged long skirt and dirty boots with a stained blouse.
“This lass calls herself Miss Hyde! She claims to be a descendent of the literary ogre called Mr. Hyde!” he explained.
“I’d say they figured as much from the name, you half wit!” sneered the woman.
Jack O’Lantern (Daniel Cormac) was a farmer who befriended the legendary fairy folk out of his characteristic kindness. Inspired by the young man’s good deed, Queen Maev of the Faerie Folk in turn granted him use of a magical lantern. He embraced their gift with his customary good natured willingness to help those in need and became famous as Ireland’s own magical hero.
He flew down and faced the huge tidal wave. He whispered a prayer and then raised his lantern over his head.
The magical energies cascaded into the wave and Jack trembled with the effort to use the magical item’s power to teleport to disperse the monster wave harmlessly.
He shuddered as the sheer scope of his task began to take a toll on his body.
Finally, the tidal wave fell apart as Jack passed out and dropped into the waters below.
The Monster of Glamis swam furiously and caught the stricken hero and dragged him to shore even as the waters began to churn once more.
Ocean Master was simply conjuring up another tidal wave!
Aboard the ship, Godiva and Guinevere were ready to confront the villains once more.
Ocean Master was cocky but powerful. Black Manta was lethal as well.
The women knew that they had mere seconds to act before the villains would use their magical trident to create yet another deadly tsunami.
Godiva nodded and then charged forward with her hair surrounding her body like a shield. She ignored the impact of some type of energy weapon and lashed out with all her power.
She struggled and then her blue eyes widened with surprise! She had managed to batter Ocean Master with her flailing hair until he had dropped the trident. Her blonde tresses had seemed to be ludicrous weapons against a master villain but her courage had enabled her triumph …for now!
She dived forward and grabbed the fallen trident before its master could conjure a real tide wave!
Guinevere had had similar luck as her gleaming energy-blade had sliced through Black Manta’s own black costume and he now lay prone on the deck clutching his chest.
Ocean Master regained his feet in seconds but he was slammed against the deck as Tartan Lass floated into view and magnetically manipulated the heavily armored villain until he could barely speak.
The scowling Miss Hyde had joined her and the oddly brutish woman had eagerly begun to pound, claw, and basically beat the remaining pirates into submission! Her eyes flashed with an animalistic glee as she unleashed some inner beast.
“This is more like it!” she growled.
In stark contrast to the bestial woman, the dainty Glamour was hovering over a group of pirates who stared at her with glazed looks in their eyes. The fairy had charmed them all into submission.
She clapped her hands together with childlike pleasure.
“What fun!” she said with a giggle.
Even as the reunited heroes forced the flying boat to land and a recovered Jack O’Lantern secured the captive crew of pirates, the villains remained silent about their motives for the murderous attack.
Glamour said, “I think I could make them tell us what they wanted! May I try?”
The others agreed readily and the fairy-woman hybrid approached the glowering Ocean Master and smiled winningly.
“Why did you try to hurt so many people? Why did you create that terrible tidal wave?” she asked as she batted her eyelashes and drew closer to the hardened villain.
He hesitated for a moment and then her magic started to take control of even his iron will.
Before he could speak a burst of glowing energy erupted from thin air and struck him.
The heroes detected no obvious source for the blast and the now still Ocean Master could no longer reveal the truth behind his actions should he desire to do so. He was badly burned and barely breathing.
Godiva said, “I think this mystery is just beginning!”
2
Rome, Italy
Four colorfully costumed figures stood calmly on the elevated observation deck on the top of the Palazzo Unni. There were several men dressed in the traditional uniforms of the Unni Oil Company security staff sprawled helplessly at their feet in various degrees of consciousness. Even though city leaders had opposed the construction of the skyscraper because of the fear that the creation of such a modern looking building would detract from the appeal of the ancient landmarks that still decorated much of the city and surrounding countryside, the money and influence of the powerful oil company had paved the way to its rapid construction.
The four super villains were unconcerned about anything as mundane as aesthetic appeal. They were here in Rome, high above the city, for sinister purposes all of their own.
The Scarecrow (Professor Jonathan Crane) was almost inhumanly gaunt although part of his bizarre appearance was the result of the way his brown costume and mask were stylized with patches of straw and jagged stitching contributing to the overall effect that he desired. He wished to look like a living scarecrow and it was as a stark symbol of fear that the brilliant man had made his nefarious reputation.
He was in charge of this odd assembly and all the group realized it. It was possible that the other criminals were even afraid of the America. He had fought Batman and that Caped Crusader was a legend even in Europe. Of course, Batman had in turn inspired other men and women to become heroes and Italy’s own celebrated Legionary was one such champion who owed much to the image of the Batman!
The icy beauty of the British woman called Phobia rendered her lovely but scornful features devoid of any other emotion but disdain. As the Lady Angela Hawkins she was both an aristocrat and a man hater. Now, in her green cloak and matching skullcap, she stalked across the deck like some regal and cruel queen from a fairy tale. She smiled coldly and said, “Dr. Crane, how much longer will it take for your device to be ready for operation? Surely, harnessing your chemical concoctions, my mutant powers, and the devices used by Rainbow Raider, and Deimos will not take too long? Our common benefactor is clearly a man of genius!”
The Rainbow Raider (Roy G. Bivolo) was experienced as well. He had battled the Flash, the Green Lantern, and other American heroes but he knew that he had lost each and every battle. He scowled as he recalled all of these losses. He was a sensitive man and as an artist, he felt each defeat anew as he relived them through his memories.
“Don’t worry, Phobia. Everything is going according to plan. This device will project our fear causing abilities across all of Rome and no matter if they originate as chemicals or mind altering rays or mutant persuasion, the result will be panic in living color!” he said with a laugh.
Phobia raised one pencil thin eyebrow and rolled her eyes. She really had no used for such a clown but if their leader insisted them work together than she would obey for now.
Deimos ( Alonzo Funaro) was a portly man who wore a black business suit with a fedora and a white domino mask. He was a bit upset by the more colorful costumes the others wore. He felt the whole display was a bit undignified. He also knew that he had little say in the matter. He was new to crime and had only attempted one prior robbery with his fear stimulator gun. It had not gone very well. His arm was still sore and stiff at times from the moment the Italian hero the Legionary had dislocated it when they fought. He had escaped from the Roman hero but he had dropped his stolen money and the whole robbery had been a failure. Now, three months later he was not too confident that he would do any better even with the help of the other three masters of fear!
The Scarecrow said, “The device is almost ready. You would know as much had you read the materials our leader provided before we came here. The simple ability to read and absorb information is a trait today’s society has failed to instill in so many dullards who seek their information from a flashing screen instead of the pristine power of the printed word!”
“You make me wish I had brought my library books back on time!” cried a brash young man who darted forward in advance of a similar dressed older man.
“The Legionary and Milites!” shrieked Deimos as he raised his fear gun.
Milites (Stephano Fabbri) was a big youth. He was as muscular as his mentor the Legionary and in their matching armored costumes they were almost twins.
They both wore the attire of the ancient Roman soldier called the Legionary. Their helmets covered their heads and concealed their facial features and the manica, greaves, and cuirass each wore on his arms, legs, and torso protected their bodies. The tunics and woolen pants each wore were padded as well but the heavy shields or parmas they held were even better protection.
Milites was around 19 years old and he relished every moment he fought by the side of his beloved mentor the Legionary (Guido Sirianni.) Ever since the older hero had met the plucky boy when he was merely a homeless orphan of the streets years before, the two had become the best of friends. Gudio considered Setphano as his son in terms of his affection for the younger man and no father could have been prouder than he was of his ward.
Deimos tried to steady his arm as he aimed his weapon. He failed to do so and the blast of chemical spray misfired! Milites grinned and slammed his shield down on his foe’s hand.
Milites gripped him by his lapels and jerked him forward until he was staggering helplessly in the strong man’s grasp.
“I’ve heard about you. You are more pathetic than I imagined you to be. You must have chosen your name because you are always frightened not because you scare others!” he said.
The Legionary smiled and stepped forward with his own sword raised.
“Surrender! You can not win this day. Your purposes will not be achieved while we stand here to oppose you!” he said.
The Rainbow Raider said, “I disagree! I’d say you are yellow as we say back home!”
A beam of brilliant gold blazed outward from the goggles he wore and the Legionary hesitated as he felt an old and long buried sensation creep to the surface of his mind.
He recalled with painfully vivid details the day in 1971 when as a young man he had witness the sudden and brutal attack by Leftist Red Brigade terrorists in which his parents had been gunned down along with eight other innocent men and women in the Piazza Novana. He had been too slow to save them and he had never forgotten the guilt and pain he carried to this day.
He was certain that he was going to be equally helpless this day. He could not save his ward nor could he save himself or the city he loved. He was no Batman! He was merely a brawler with delusions of grandeur.
He struggled against the effects of the yellow beam. Somewhere inside his mind he knew it was the cause of his memories and the crippling effect they were having on him.
He closed his eyes and listened to the Rainbow Raider’s mocking voice. He withdrew a narrow leaf-shaped blade and hurled it at the sound until a groan replaced the sneering voice and he opened his eyes again to see his foe clutching shattered goggles where the blunt end of the expertly hurled dagger had shattered them! The yellow beam and the fear were both gone!
The Legionary breathed a prayer of relief as he saw his partner standing over the now prone form of the battered Deimos.
As the duo turned to face the remaining villains, they saw two newcomers in familiar costumes confronting them with bravery and flair.
Sagittari the Archer (Max Corti) had been inspired by the American hero Green Arrow just like the Legionary had emulated Batman! The Italian Archer was superbly skilled with his bow or arcus and he and the Legionary were the best of friends. They had been called Italy’s Finest Duo by the popular press.
Sagittari wore his green and gold sleeveless costume and matching golden hat and mask. He laughed in good natured camaraderie as he saw his old pal flash a grin of his own.
“We arrived late but you graciously saved some outlaws for us! That is what I call the spirit of ancient Rome itself! There are always foes enough to go around, eh?” he quipped.
He drew back his bow and released a shaft that pinned Phobia’s flowing cloak to the deck even as his sidekick and wife Ballista (Trista DiNuccio Corti) raised the crossbow that gave the sexy woman her own crime fighting name. Her long blonde hair flowed down her back and she smiled as she listened to her spouse’s bantering. She adored him. Nothing made her feel quite so alive as racing through the Roman night by his side or in his arms. She was as good as he was with her weapon of choice and she caught Phobia’s eye as the light glistened off her crossbow and flickered across her rather revealing green and black dress and matching heels. Her domino mask failed to hide to light in her blue eyes as she whispered to the British woman.
“Nice outfit but rather impractical for combat!” she said.
Phobia concentrated and each of the archers felt her mutant power touch their minds. Oddly enough what they saw when her phobia creating power caressed their minds was the same exact image. They saw the other’s death! Max saw Trista die while she saw him perish!
Phobia laughed harshly as she felt them suffer. She enjoyed it. She savored the pain she caused others to feel. It numbed her own pain!
“Not so cocky now, are you?” she shouted.
Before either of the Archers could react a newcomer emerged from the shadows and smashed a fire extinguisher over Phobia’s head! She groaned and fell as much as the arrow that pinned her cloak would allow her to move.
When she looked up she saw herself! Another identical Phobia stood above her and brandished the red extinguisher she had plucked from the wall of the building’s hallway that led to the deck.
“What cheap trickery is this? You witch! You won’t live to regret this masquerade!” cried the fallen villainess.
As Ballista jumped forward and kicked Phobia with one high heeled boot, the mutant passed out and the four heroes turned to face the other Phobia!
“I seek no battle here! I am the one and only Phobia! I came here on vacation only to feel something that led me here. Her powers are like my own as are her features and her voice but she is an imposter! I am the real Angela Hawkins and I gave up my life of crime a while back! I mean you no harm but I must find out who this fiend with my face and figure truly is!” she cried.
Sagittari said, “We’ll find out. We owe you our thanks though I know we would have resisted her mind games in time!”
Legionary clapped his friend on the back and said, “Modest as ever, old chum!”
Milites said, “What about the other one? I saw four of them when I first got here!”
The Scarecrow laughed as he emerged from out of the darkness. He had stepped into the recessed area behind the looming machine he had been constructing atop the deck and waited until an opportune moment to strike. In the heat of combat amidst the effects of the respective mind altering or emotion generating weapons of his allies, the heroes had failed to react quickly enough against him. Though, even he had been surprised by the arrival of the second Phobia. Who was she? Who was his fallen ally for that matter?
A cloud of gas swirled around him and his powerful fear gas threatened to envelop them all!
The heroes were all stunned as the chemical toxin caused them to experience hallucinations and to feel raw terror!
Suddenly, as the Scarecrow started to adjust the machine and prepared to broadcast waves of terror across the city itself, a final newcomer dropped on the roof and casually bent the metal device backward in her arms until he shattered and the explosive impact floored the Scarecrow himself.
The beautiful young woman had long black hair and smiled winningly as she casually stepped across the rubble and dispersed any lingering fear gas with a spinning lasso. She wore blue leggings with silver stars down each side, blue high heeled boots, a red corset with a stylized gold eagle emblem and a blue jacket.
Milites whistled appreciatively!
“Wonder Woman!” he gasped.
The heroine shook her head and said, “I am her sister. You may call me Artemis. I do wear this rather new costume in her honor though!”
Phobia said, “You hound me even now that I have renounced crime?”
Artemis said, “No. I didn’t even know you were here. Raven told me you had mentioned that an encounter with her gave you second thoughts about your old way of life. I’m glad you decided to turn over a new leaf!”
The Legionary said, “Artemis, thank you for your timely help. What brought you here if you were not chasing down an old enemy?”
Artemis said, “Personal business. This is a real mystery. A good friend told me that Scarecrow had also reformed! If this second Phobia is clearly an imposter perhaps the Scarecrow we just fought is also not the original!”
Artemis (Donna Troy Long) was really in Italy with her husband Terry on a brief vacation but she felt no need to share such personal data with the others.
“One of the guards hit an alarm before he fainted. I was nearby and offered to look into the matter for the local police!” she said.
She scooped up the stricken Scarecrow and ripped off his mask.
“He looks like Crane the original Scarecrow but then I expected as much since our faux Phobia has Angela’s features!” she said.
She frowned as a burst a energy erupted across the deck from out of the air and left the defeated villains in near lifeless comas!
Sagittari said, “Those bolts came from nowhere! I detected no sniper!”
Artemis nodded and said, “I also doubt the real Scarecrow would embark on such a stunt as building some kind of fear making on a public building in Rome of all places! This is a weird one and I think I better make some calls to some friends back home in the States!”
3
Berlin, West Germany
The Berlin Wall (the Berlin Mauer) or the Berlin Fascist Protective Rampart as those in East Germany called it was an ominous barrier by any name. It towered over eleven feet high and the concrete walls were lined with trenches, flood lights, guard stations and other symbols of the ways and means to separate people from recognizing their common humanity. Estimates varied as to how many people met their deaths trying to cross over the stark barrier but the guards were stoic and expressed little emotion during their typical patrols.
This could not be said on the day the American super villains called the Demolition Team began an assault on the wall itself! The villains were dressed in the brown and yellow garments of typical construction workers but the material was heavily armored and their tools had been modified to perform incredible acts of destruction that were far beyond the ordinary pieces of equipment that gave Riveter, Steamroller, Jackhammer, Hardhat, and Scoopshovel their colorful names! Oddly enough, in their way the diverse group represented the kind of togetherness the wall sought to stop. The burly woman called Rosie the Riveter was actually their leader and the other men came from different regions but they worked well together.
Now they united their bizarre powers in an assault on the Berlin Wall itself! The guards had been helplessly against them. Gunfire had been effortlessly deflected off their heavily armored costumes. This posed a direct danger to the innocent people who watched in awe or tried to flee from the crowded area.
The German super heroes known as the Verteidiger or Champions had closed in on them with their characteristic speed in times of jeopardy! The Wild Hunstman led them into battle with a broad smile on his weathered face. He looked like the legendary figure that gave him his name- his long red hair and bushy beard blew in the wind as he galloped through the sky on his black horse Orkan! The brawny man was shirtless and his fur cloak and loincloth did little to protect him from the elements but he seemed to savor every moment of action. He yelled, “These foolish men think they may invade our sacred soil with impunity! We shall teach them their folly!”
No one really knew much about the laughing titan! He made no excuses for his zest for battle but he could also be caring and paternal when he encountered a child or helpless person in peril. His own teammates had speculated endlessly about his origin. Was he really the legendary King Karl V who was said to emerge from deep within the interior of the mysterious Odin’s Mountain when people needed help or was he the doomed Count Ebernburg who broke religious customs and was punished with eternal wandering? For that matter was he the mortal host of some ancient Germanic god from myth? No one knew and the Wild Hunstman merely laughed or glowered depending on who asked him when such questions were raised!
He brought his black steed down to the pavement and charged directly at the man called Steamroller as the former Chicago stuntrider aimed his modified vehicle at the hero. His steamroller could shatter a building in minutes but he gulped as he stared up at the grinning warrior who bore down on him with a gleaming ax raised in one hand!
“Drink deep of the glories of combat!” shouted the Huntsman as he brought his weapon down on the steamroller and shattered it to fragments before it could reach him or his angry horse!
The driver of the demolished vehicle was stunned as well and his still body rolled across the pavement in the wake of his manic foe!
Two attractive blonde women flew nearby the spot where the Huntsman calmed his magical steed. The first woman wore a gray and black feathered costume with a cowl that allowed her long blonde hair to trail down her back. Malena Janson was known as Reiher (the Heron) and her younger sister Karolina who wore a matching costume of gray and white was called Fischadler (the Osprey). They flew through means of micro-circuitry within their feathered capes/wings and they were superbly skilled acrobats and fighters.
Reiher was more serious than her slightly superficial sister and she felt protective toward her sibling although Fischadler was only two years younger. The two were in their late twenties and shared a passion for social justice that came from a sense of family guilt. They knew that their grandfather had been a commandant at an infamous Nazi concentration camp during World War II and their beloved but troubled father had taken his own life over his own sense of shame because of his father’s actions. Now, the Jansen sisters dedicated their time and talents to protecting the people of West Germany from crime and bizarre threats like the Demolition Team!
“They are called the Demolition Team and the American Green Lantern battled them once just as he did Germany’s own notorious villain Javelin!” announced Reiher.
Fischadler smiled and said, “Of course, my sister the schoolmistress knows all as always!”
She raised her gloved hands in mock surrender as her big sister glared at her in annoyance.
“I know! I know! It is foolish to go into battle without being informed about those we must face. Knowledge is power!” she said with a giggle.
“Be careful of the woman! She has a distance weapon! The hot rivets her weapons produce are deadly!” cautioned the Reiher!
The sisters swooped down and skillfully avoided Rosie’s spray of steaming rivets as they separated and veered around the burly woman with impressive agility.
“I’ll pluck your feathers, Pretty Birds!” she bellowed as she whirled around to try to match their speed.
She received two swift kicks in the head as the women lashed out and then dodged again. They were perhaps the most perfectly in sync duo of any team of costumed heroes. They had grown up together and their training enabled them to fight in complete unison!
As Rosie grew increasingly agitated the smaller women easily avoided her attacks and connected with their own blows! Finally, Fischadler dropped to her back and brought both high heels up into Rosie’s stomach! When Rosie gasped in pain, Reiher expertly tossed a small capsule into her open mouth! Moments later the American toppled over and passed out from exposure to the knockout gas in the pellet!
The two feather clad sisters slapped hands as they stood over the fallen foe.
“Could she be a man in drag?” asked Fischadler?
Meanwhile, even as the Alluring Avians had brought down Rosie, Rosie’s teammates had engaged in battle with the remaining German heroes!
Scoopshovel had been a professional jai-alai player in his younger days. Now he used the weapon that gave him his criminal name with the same skill he had displayed on the sporting field.
He aimed his scoop at a pretty woman who stood rather demurely in one spot. She had the delicate features she had inherited from her mother who had been a famous model during the sixties. She wore her pale blonde hair in two long braids that framed her girlish face. She was dressed in a white peasant blouse with a short black skirt. The outfit was decorated with colorful ribbons and she wore white knee socks with black Mary Janes. She looked exactly as she intended to look: namely like a stereotypical German maiden taken from the commercials or folk tales embraced by non-Germans as their concept of what girls with names like Heidi should look like. In fact her name was Heidi Dresderand her incredible powers came from her mother or from her mother’s misconduct!
When she was a young woman the elder Dresder had stripped down and plunged into a secluded stream in an isolated section of the German countryside. Her nudity or her modern disbelief in the legends of the land had offended the stream’s guardian spirit or Nixie who cursed her offspring with a unique spell. When her young daughter Heidi reached the age of sixteen, she displayed a terrible power. Her touch turned matter into gold! She could not turn off the strange ability but in time she learned how to control it. Now, as the heroine called Rheingold Heidi Dresder used the magical power to fight crime! She raised her hands and a glancing touch to the weapon used by Scoopshovel turned it into a liquid gold that cascaded down his arm and then encased it in solid gold! He fell hard as the metal altered his sense of balance and then Rheingold calmly stepped over him and as she idly fingered her long braids, she said, “It will melt in two days or so! You won’t feel a thing but you’ll be in prison by then!”
She concentrated and a golden energy field surrounded her petite body and then flattened out to become a platform that raised her into the air where she could shield the innocent from the occasional bullet the wall guards continued to sporadically fire.
Nearby, the strangest member of the team approached the evil Texan called Jackhammer! Jackhammer snorted at the rather effeminate looking being who walked closer. The man had deathly white skin and long flowing white hair. He wore a red cap and blood red hooded cloak over matching red garments and slippers. His eyes were weird and conveyed an alien power that befitted one who was born on a planet far from Earth!
“What kind of freak are you? You must be one of them New Romantics from the Rock Television!” said a sneering Jackhammer.
The ageless and possibly genderless alien opened his eyes wider and then sang!
A strange music swept over Jackhammer and he fought to control his arms and legs! He dropped his weapon and began to whirl and twitch in a manic manner even as he cried out in desperation!
“Stop it! Stop it!” he pleaded but his enforced dance continued until he collapsed and his tormenter stopped singing. The effect had been focused specifically on Jackhammer and if anyone else heard the song they showed no reaction.
The Wild Huntsman smiled and said, “He didn’t care for your music, did he, friend Rattenfanger? Some men are wallflowers!”
The red hooded alien who had inspired the legend of the Rattenfanger Von Hamelin centuries ago smiled slightly but said nothing. He merely watched his friends and listened to some unheard music all his own. In truth he was always listening for the cosmic songs of his own ancient race. He had been lost on earth for centuries and his musical powers had given rise to myths around the world.
Some called him Orpheus while Germans who whispered about a piper who stole their children called him by his present heroic name. He preferred his true alien name which sounded like Kroma.
The final member of the German team had confronted the last remaining Demolition Team member in what certainly looked like an uneven match!
The ex-boxer with the exo-skeleton harness that boosted his strength called himself Hardhat. He had witnessed the defeat of his friends and now as he faced his own enemy, he gritted his teeth with typical New Yorker determination.
“Youse don’t look so tough to me!” he declared as he circled Sigrun the Cyber-Valkyrie!
Sigrun was a beautiful blonde computer genius named Anna Mueller. She had developed technology that enabled her to mimic the physical and supernatural attributes of a mythical Norse Shield-Maiden or Valkyrie.
Her winged helmet contained cybernetic controls through which she gained enhanced senses and controlled her brief armored costume. The breastplate and ribbed metal mini skirt were capable of generating vast amounts of electrical power and she could channel this energy into the micro-weave circuits she wore under the skimpy costume and within her lace sandals. She could not fly but she could leap over a quarter of a mile in a single bound. Her cyber-sword was not an ancient blade although it looked like one. It was a blade that generated a field that briefly divided molecules though use of a powerful invisible force of her own creation. Her decorated shield was in fact the source of a force field.
Sigrun smirked as she heard him speak.
“What a treasure! You are a genuine example of the American mug! That is the correct term is it not? I would certainly hate to wrongly brand you as something you are not! One does value accuracy in speech!” she said.
He swung at her and she dodged with ease. Her helmet’s internal sensors had already scanned him and fed her a steady stream of data based on predictions of his most likely actions.
He grunted and tried again! She was a babe in that sexy costume but he would let her mock him! He had a rep. back in the Bronx!”
Sigrun rammed her knee below his belt and brought her fists down on his neck. He doubled forward and she sliced through his harness sending sparks into the air.
He staggered backward and she casually almost clinically punched him in the nose.
As he fell the Jewish scientist smiled and said, “Fascinating!”
The German heroes had triumphed but with victory came new questions.
“Why would American super villains try to break down the Berlin Wall?” mused the Heron.
It was a crime doomed to exposure and failure. What did ut really mean?
4
Tokyo, Japan
In the spacious plaza of the Tokyo Kokuritsu Hakibsukan or the Tokyo National Museum that led up to the six huge buildings that together housed over 100 national treasures and contained over 11,00 rare items, the android heroine called Plastic Cinderella gazed up at the sky in dismay. Her overly large eyes matched the Kawaii- or girlishly cute demeanor that her creator’s eccentric father had given her. She looked like a pretty Japanese girl with long blonde hair, delicate features and perfect make-up. She wore a pink ball gown and matching high heels. She was an advanced android and her brilliant creator Rei Ohashi had intended for her to look practical and functional; however, the computer game and electronics genius had returned home after a business trip abroad to discover her toymaker father had fabricated an exterior design and physiological mannerisms that turned his daughter’s android into a sweet natured fantasy princess. Rei had grown to like the modified android and had given her the name Plastic Cinderella. Together, they had become national heroines and had joined Japan’s team of heroes known collectively as Shugosa or the Guardians.
Today Plastic Cinderella shook her head and tossed her long blonde locks in concern as a flock of screeching mechanic birds swooped down on the fleeing citizens who happened to be in the vicinity of the oldest museum in the city.
“I usually think birds are nice!” she said solemnly.
Her partner/creator the high flying Arashi (Rei Ohashi) yelled down from where she lay prone atop her own streaking sky sled and said, “Just smash them! They may hurt someone if we can’t stop them!”
Plastic Cinderella looked sad but with lightning speed she merely snatched two of the metallic birds out of the air via suddenly elongating arms and crushed them!
Arashi scowled inside her red helmet and thought, “I should have realized Cinderella thinks of these robotic avians as being as real as she is! I was insensitive but it is still hard to always remember beneath that puffy skirt, she is an artificial girl who was programmed to respond to life with real emotions!”
Arashi wore her usual skin tight black costume with a protective red helmet. The glass on the front was tinted and no one could see through it. Her voice modulator always distorted her voice as well so no one could recognize her or detect what emotions she was feeling by the sound of her voice. The tight costume looked like black shiny leather but the material was as durable as steel! It was merely one more of the prodigy’s inventions.
She aimed her sky sled’s laser blasters and shattered two of the swooping raptors before they could touch a young family who was huddled to one side of the pavilion.
“You will be safe if you leave this area. They are confining their attacks to the museum grounds!” she said through the amplifier in her helmet.
She grunted as several of the birds landed on her only to bounce off when she activated her force field.
“Those creatures are amazing! I hope to study their design when this is over but duty comes before intellectual curiosity!” she thought.
She piloted the sky sled with remarkable skill! She zoomed back and forth through the sky and avoided impact with any of the looming structures that lined the plaza. She deliberately crashed into one of the larger robots and grinned as it broke apart.
“A faulty design after all! I am gratified!” she thought.
Her impish grin turned back into her more customary scowl as her helmet’s sensors registered the total of robots birds in the area.
“Fifty five! Cinderella does not tire but I do not think we can contain or destroy that many robotic terrors unaided!” she thought.
Plastic Cinderella raced across the pavement and leaped into the air to slam two more of the birds together with a satisfying impact.
“Poor little things break rather easily!” she sighed.
Meanwhile, within the museum’s largest building the Honkan more of the robotic raptors were flying around to the horror of the helpless museum guards.
A guard cried out, “The ancient ceramics can not withstand such rough treatment! The Buddhist scrolls are equally delicate!”
“Then, by all means, allow me to take those troublesome relics off your hands, my fine fellow! Waugh! Waugh!” said a weird short man with a portly figure and the formal attire of a gentleman out on the town from some bygone era!
He twirled a heavy looking umbrella as he waddled into view.
“The American brigand called the Penguin!” said one startled guard.
The Penguin smiled wickedly and said, “My notoriety precedes me! How fitting for the dapper Napoleon of Crime!”
He gestured toward them and the umbrella emitted a spray of knockout gas that left them still on the ground.
“Tsk! Tsk! You simply can’t get good help these days even in a nation so steeped in the concept of honor and tradition! Waugh! Waugh!” he laughed.
“Stopping your kind has been our own tradition!” quipped a young Japanese boy in a bright red, green, and yellow costume and mask!
“Begad, sir! Am I to be hounded by Caped Crusaders and their annoying junior partners everywhere I travel? It is a burden I shall not carry!” he gasped as Tengu the Boy Wonder darted forward to lasso the umbrella with a well aimed rope.
The Penguin twisted the handle of the trick umbrella and electric current surged through it! Tengu gasped and flipped backward in time to avoid being struck.
Suddenly, a dark shadow loomed over the Penguin as Kimouri the Bat Samurai appeared and swiftly disarmed the villain with a tossed shuriken in the shape of a bat!
The Penguin grunted in pain as he glanced down at his now empty hands.
“Now you shall truly realize the burden you spoke of is worse than you imagined!” laughed Tengu as his mentor closed in on the villain.
Kimouri said, “He speaks with accuracy. You men of talent and intellect waste your gifts on petty thievery and a fruitless war on the values of society. It is tragic and for you it shall indeed prove to be painful!”
At that moment the Penguin waddled backward and said, “Let us not be hasty my good man! We shall reason together shall we not?
Kimouri whirled around to avoid the punch aimed at him from the darkness by a huge being that lurched forward and stood protectively in front of the Penguin.
“Zounds! How did he see you coming? He must have eyes in the back of his cowl!”muttered the Penguin.
The newcomer was a giant of a man with deathly white skin and an inhumanly muscular physique. He wore a raggedy black suit and he moved with the lumbering gait of a walking corpse from American cinema!
“Solomon Grundy, be a good fellow and crush the honorable bat’s skull if you will!” shrieked Penguin as an evil gleam appeared in his eyes.
Tengu cried out, “Look out! He is some kind of monster!”
Kimouri ducked under the brute’s outstretched arms and thought, “No body heat and no heart beat or respiration! This creature is a golem or artificial being!”
He punched at Grundy and barely avoided the brute’s next punch as his own blows had no effect on the swamp monster.
“Waugh! Waugh! It must be so annoying when your patented bat –this and bat-that tricks fail to work! “ he crowed.
Meanwhile, in another wing of the museum Shashu the Ace Archer (Lt. Takeo Hiroshi) was expertly destroying the robotic birds with his trick arrows! The green and red costumed bowman was a master marksman and he used these skills to defend Japan when he was not in his other uniform as a police officer.
“We have to bring them down without damaging the sliding doors and the antique decorations stored nearby!” he said as his young partner Gosurori (Amaya Ito) matched him shot for shot with her own long bow and arrows.
The fashion design major from the Jissen Women’s University was dressed in her now famous “Gothic Loli” costume which consisted of a black dress with a bodice decorated with elaborate braiding under a long sleeved open short jacket of matching fabric that accented the dress with its short bubble skirt that stopped around two inches above her knees. The pretty girl wore black high heeled boots to complete the look. Amaya wore heavy mascara and a black wig with neatly trimmed bangs that covered her own shorter hair.
Shashu or The Ace Archer (Lt. Takeo Hiroshi) was a beloved hero and his handsome profile and colorful green and red costume adorned countless Manga posters! He had been Amaya’s late grandfather’s pupil and now he was training Gosurori in the Kyudo or archery skills that had made him so celebrated a hero. Of course Amaya’s beloved Ojiisan had already turned the girl into a skilled archer long before she met her hero!
She shook her head as three more of the robotic birds swooped down at them.
“The birds aren’t really doing anything but making trouble and scaring people! This is a distraction so someone may rob the museum!” she said.
At that moment her mentor pointed toward an older American man who wore a dark suit and hooded mask and held a mechanic device to his chest.
“I suspect we have found the source of this flock of fiends!” he said.
He turned to aim his bow at the thin little man but he was suddenly knocked across the room by yet another costumed villain.
This man was dressed entirely in black and blue and clawed at the archer with taloned gloves!
The first man laughed and said, “The Raven will teach you not to point your antique weapons at me!”
The Raven kicked out at Ace Archer who rolled to absorb the impact on his shoulder and not his ribs.
He brought his own legs around to tried to trip the criminal but the agile man jumped away before he could connect.
“This may take a while!” he thought.
Outside the museum Plastic Cinderella and Arashi were doing their best to destroy the flock but they were making slow progress at best.
Suddenly a beam of blinding light flashed across the sky and shattered a dozen of the birds at one time! The beam gleamed and then shaped itself into a petite but lovely woman whose body glowed a brilliant gold.
“Hikari! Thank goodness!” said Plastic Cinderella as she clapped her hands together with pleasure.
Hikari (Dr. Kimiyo Hoshi of the Tsukubu Science Instute) was a genius in her own right. She also possessed the ability to turn her body into solid light and to alter that radiance as needed. She had once used her powers under the name of Dr. Light but now she was merely Hikari and was happier for more than one reason. The divorced mother of two small children had started attending anger management sessions and the therapy had helped her gain a better control over her own feelings of resentment and rejection. She was a great heroine but she was a very serious woman.
She landed in front of Plastic Cinderella and said, “I arrived as swiftly as possible. I was engaged in battle with a Furutsubakino rei that had been created in a greenhouse by a madman!”
Plastic Cinderella’s pink lips pouted for a moment as she scanned the sky and said, “Did Sora-chan not accompany you?”
Hikari placed her hands on her hips and said, “Sora the Sky Girl is busy with her other job. “
She referred to their teammate Sora the Sky Girl who was in fact with Hikari’s two children Yasu and Imato in her daily role as Yuki Tonabi their childcare agent from the Miyake Educational Group.
Arashi said, “Hikari, these robotic birds literally just swooped down and started attacking museum patrons. We have been fighting a losing battle against them!”
Hikari said, “I do not lose! You should remember that!”
She flew off and enlarged her light body until she was a giant who towered over the city! She hated to transform herself into the larger form because doing so lessened her own control over her powers and in some odd way seemed to cloud her reason and stimulate the anger she was working so hard to master.
She slammed one huge foot down on a group of the now tiny birds and crushed another handful with ease. She growled as more of the beasts appeared to fly at her from all sides.
Arashi could see her friend’s expression and hear her rather inhuman snarl from below due to her helmet and she decided to try something new.
“Plastic Cinderella, try to determine the signal that is guiding the birds from afar and override it. Take control of them with your own technology!” she shouted.
Plastic Cinderella flounced over to the museum and concentrated. As a glazed expression came over her large eyes, she managed to detect and block the control signal the bird’s master- The Claw- was using from within the museum.
She smiled winningly as all the birds dropped to the pavement and remained inactive.
“You know they would make very nice pets! We could make ribbons and tie them to their legs!” she said eagerly.
As Arashi slid off her sky sled and Hikari started to shrink down to normal size, Plastic Cinderella hastily glanced up at the golden giantess and then whispered to Arashi.
“I do not believe I ever thought of this before now but is Hikari-san naked? Her body shines so brightly that I have never been able to tell even with my special eyes!” she asked.
Arashi frowned and then said, “Now that you mention it, beneath all that glowing aura, I think she may be!”
Inside the museum Gosurori had shattered the Claw’s control device so he could not regain control of the robotic birds he had created.
She rolled acrobatically forward and jumped up to deliver a spinning kick that knocked the evil old man out.
Her mentor was doing better in his own fight against the Raven.
As the black-clad killer lashed out at the Japanese archer, the Bowman brought his own long bow up and deflected the talons long enough to connected with a stunning punch of his own.
The Raven collapsed and Shashu the Ace Archer smiled in victory.
“I do not know him from my occasional study of the American crime scene. He was skillful but as the Westerners said, he had a glass jaw!”
In the other wing of the main building, Tengu had noticed the remaining birds as they fell to the ground. He tried to ignore the struggle his master the Bat-Samurai was having with Solomon Grundy as he closed in on the Penguin.
“You bird boys are all alike! You irk me like more than one robin I could name!” he sneered.
Tengu withdrew a sling from his belt and carefully hurled a pellet at the Penguin!
It hit him directly in the nose and he toppled over from the blow.
Tengu said, “And they say I talk too much!”
The Bat Samurai had decided on the best course of action where Grundy was concerned. The creature was not truly alive and could not die in the normal sense of the word so the expert swordsman simply drew his sword and deftly sliced the monster’s arms off with amazing agility and precision! Another two cuts chopped his legs off and left the roaring beast’s toro helpless on the ground.
“My magical blade has served me well this day!” he thought as he stood over the creature.
As the team assembled once more, Hikari could not hide her irritation.
“Sora was busy as I already said but this marks the third time Rising Sun has failed to respond to such a crisis. It is most unlike him!” she said.
Rising Sun was in fact busy with another puzzling aspect of the same crisis although none of his friends knew this to be the case!
5
The missing Japanese hero Rising Sun was an experienced hero who had made a name for himself over the years he had protected his homeland. He was able to generate heat and tap into electro-magnetic energy to achieve flight among other effects. He had had every intention of joining Hikari and the others at the museum when his unique powers enabled him to detect an unusual concentration of electro-magnetic energy in the atmosphere.
He turned away from the museum and flew higher until he reached a secluded spot in a more rural area. A weird device sat in the lonely location and while the expert flower-arranger and former salaryman was no scientist, he could determine that the machine was designed to channel such energies from another location into the atmosphere. A moment’s concentration allowed him to also realize that he could detect other abnormally high levels of energy elsewhere in the world. He assumed someone had also planted other machines around the globe.
“I wonder if the trouble at the museum could in fact be meant to be a distraction from the activation and location of that machine. I shall use my powers to deactivate all of them!” he vowed.
Meanwhile, other Global Guardians in locations ranging from South Africa to Australia to the USA and Canada to name but a few were also experiencing encounters with oddly acting super villains bent on pulling off spectacular public acts of crime or destruction! In each case, the heroes triumphed and the fallen villains were stricken with some kind of energy bolt before they could reveal their purposes.
Artemis (Donna Troy Long), the Legionary (Gudio Sirinanni), Godiva (Dorcas Leigh), Jack O’Lantern (Daniel Cormac), and The Wild Huntsman (Albrecht Von Mannheim) had journeyed to the Global Guardians HQ in Sardonia.
The foreign heroes routinely brought such mysteries to the base where they realized their teammates could offer advice or help solve the riddles they faced. It was an effective way to share information and gain new knowledge.
Artemis was impressed with the HQ. It was lovely in an old world quaint way but it also had remarkable features due to the extra-dimensional nature of its interior.
Dr. Mist, Tuatara, and the Mexican hero Iman (Dr. Diego Irigoyen) stood over the armored figure of the Ocean Master who remained still and nonresponsive.
Iman said, “These beings are remarkable. They look and act like the originals but they are clearly synthetic duplicates designed to mimic the true criminals. They have no blood but they are composed of a type of protoplasm that allows them to become impressive copies of various beings. I suspect each one could be altered from its present appearance and assume yet another identity with the proper conditioning! I have made robots in my time and I have worked with cloning but this is beyond anything I have seen!”
Artemis looked over at where the fallen Phobia, Black Manta, Ocean Master, and the other defeated villains were secured in the lab.
“I may be able to help. Such creations certainly aren’t commonplace even in a world where evil doubles, clones, and alternate Earth counterparts exist. I called the Flash and he was able to access some JLA files compiled by Superman. The Man of Steel enjoys writing and in addition to his array of super powers, he is amazingly reliable about recording his adventures so his allies may benefit from the data he has gathered on various super menaces! Superman and his pal Jimmy Olsen once encountered the remnants of an experiment that originated from N.A.S.A.’s desire to make a miniature artificial planet that would fit within a large room. The idea was to use it for environmental studies but funding never came through and the plans were stored away until a wild scientist named Dr. Dabney Donovan acquired them and built such a miniature Earth! He went beyond anything the N.A.S.A. boys had planned as his kind usually do!” she said.
Iman said, “I bet he created these protoplasm beings to populate the Earth! What a genius!”
Artemis nodded and said, “Yes, he was a genius but a warped one! He wanted to control them totally and he rigged a way for the tiny people to respond to electro-magnetic conditioning projected down on their world in the form of various kinds of external stimuli! “
Jack O’Lantern said, “Cor! What kind of stimuli? You mean some kind of brainwashing?”
Artemis said, “Movies. He showed old monster movies and the tiny people altered their bodies until some of them looked and acted just like old Universal Films movie monsters like Dracula and Frankenstein!”
Godiva said, “Actually, the monster didn’t have a name. Frankenstein was the doctor who made him. An old boyfriend of mine used to natter on and on about that kind of trivia!”
As the others more or less ignored the blonde heroine’s input, she shrugged and listened as Wonder Woman’s sister continued her story.
Artemis said, “Donovan grew tired of these monsters and decided to wipe them clear and give them new identities drawn from some other source. Superman and Jimmy Olsen saved the miniature world and its ghoulish natives from being erased by Donovan by taking the world which they called Transilvane to a secret government lab called the DNA Project. The Flash said that the project was closed not too long ago and there is no way to tell what happened to the odd horned planet Donovan created!”
Iman added, “Someone repopulated it by transforming the protoplasmic natives from movie monsters to super villains! These odd crimes or acts of destruction may not have been senseless. They may have been designed to test how these pseudo-villains would perform in enlarged and released in our world!”
The Wild Hunstman said, “I was in Romania not many years ago and I worked with good natured beings who resembled such American horrors! They became heroes of a kind for that country. I wonder if they somehow came from this miniature world before it fell into the hands of whoever has made the other natives into fake villains.”
Artemis said, “I promised the real Phobia that I would put a stop to the whole plan. She left to resume her own private life after I swore I would keep her double and any other doubles from troubling the world!”
Tuatara said, “Clearly, the horned world I saw was in fact the very same Transilvane your Flash described!”
Iman said, “My armor has been remotely scanning the scenes of battle and these captive beings. They were silenced by stellar energy and I can trace it to its source! The fake villains will remain captive here and the Seraph is downstairs. He will be able to guard them easily enough if you all wish to join me!”
The Legionary said, “Certainly, we should come with you! We would like to see this through to the end!”
Artemis said, “You’ve all been kind to me. I know I am not one of you but may I join you as well?”
Dr. Mist said, “You are one of us. You are a Global Guardian and have been since you were a mere girl. I consider all heroes to be unofficial members of this league of champions!”
Jack O’Lantern listened as Iman gave him directions and in a flash from his magical lantern the heroes vanished to reappear in a large home in the West Virginia countryside.
A huge globe with horned land masses jutting upward sat in the middle of a huge lab on a special platform.
“That is the world I saw in my vision!” declared the Tuatara.
“That is Transilvane and it is mine as are you now that you’ve dared come here!” said a man in a white and blue costume that was decorated with a large blue star on the chest and on the front of his white mask.
“Who are you?” asked Godiva,
“I am the Star Tsar and as I rule Transilvane so will I soon rule the real Earth!”
The Legionary thought, “I have worked side by side with the Manhunter Mark Shaw and while he once posed as a Star Tsar it was due to lingering brainwashing by his old masters. He is a real hero now and this weird little man is not Shaw! Apparently, he is but one more person to use that costumed identity.”
He raised his sword and said, “Impress us some more, you prancing chicken!”
The villain glanced left and right as if in search of someone and then shouted “You think you are so smart! I sent those villains from Transilvane to distract your kind so while you wasted time battling them, my agents could plant some devices in all your nations around the world. You must know that these pawns were shaped by the will of …someone… from our world. They became what he…what I…wanted them to be. I grew tired of ruling one tiny world of fakes and decided my subjects could help me gain control of the real world by reversing the electro-magnetic stimulation control. Instead of the world shaping Transilvane, Transilvane shall shape the world and I’m the boss of Transilvane!”
Artemis said, “That makes no sense. The only reason those little beings could be turned into monsters or villains was because they aren’t real people. They are protoplasm! Releasing electro-magnetic power into the world through the devices you planted while everyone was fighting the pawns wouldn’t give you control over anything!”
Iman added, “You would only create a dangerous situation and possibly do a lot of damage!”
The Legionary frowned as he thought, “This man is an idiot with too much power. He could have planted those devices he spoke of at any time in some isolated parts of our nations. Why did he bother having those bizarre crimes be committed? He must be mad!”
As the Wild Hunstman raised his axe and a lock of Godiva’s long hair slinked across the room toward the ranting villain, Artemis touched her lasso and prepared to snare the Star Tsar.
The Star Tsar crackled with stellar energy like the kind that had rendered his pawns unconscious after their defeats but the power seemed to fizzle out a moment later.
“I don’t understand! Why can’t I immobilize you with my star bolts or summon aid from more of my super villain subjects! My powers are gone!” he gasped.
He jumped back and said, “You are too late! Even if you are telling the truth and my plan would not work, I’ve remotely activated all the devices my troops planted. The electro-magnetic field of the planet Earth will either serve my needs or destroy all you love!”
Artemis jumped forward and knocked him flat before looping her lasso around him.
“I have him but what about the weapons?” she asked.
Dr. Mist raised one hand as Jack and Iman started to fly away to try to stop the devices from working. The two men knew him well and remained still as he spoke calmly. Clearly, the mysterious man had sensed something they did not know.
At that moment Rising Sun swooped down on the lawn accompanied by another odd looking man who wore a tall cone shaped helmet and rode a circular flying platform.
Dr. Mist gestured to the newcomers and told the Star Tsar, “Your electro-magnetic devices are useless. They failed because my ally Rising Sun and your own brother Brain Storm worked together to stop them! Your brother gave you your powers to begin with but as you can see he has now taken them back upon learning of your reckless scheme!”
The Star Tsar said, “I don’t understand! My powers aren’t working either. Axel, help me!’ He looked over at the man who stepped off the flying platform and approached the lab with Rising Sun.
“He did nothing, I removed the powers just as I gave them to you to begin with!” said the super villain called Brain Storm (Axel Storm) who was apparently the Star Tsar’s brother. He wore a blue and gray costume with a weird cone shaped helmet on his head. He had dark hair and a pencil thin mustache.
As he stared upward at his infamous older brother in disbelief the StarTsar (Fred Storm) cried, “Axel! Help me!” Artemis removed his mask to reveal a brown haired man with a rather sullen expression on his face.
The Legionary said, “If this was a mystery novel we would all know the villain but I confess I do not know this man!”
Artemis said, “But I recognize his pal. The man who just landed is called Brain Storm a.k.a Axel Storm!”
Brain Storm smiled and bowed slightly.
“I am at your service, my dear! Kindly release my unfortunate sibling Fred. He will do you no harm! This has all been a mistake!” he said.
Stellar energy flashed from his helmet and ripped Fred away from Artemis and over to his brother. The heroine’s lasso remained at her feet now empty of her former captive.
Iman said, “My facial recognition program just identified you. You invented that helmet which channeled stellar energy from the stars to somehow boost your intelligence and grant you other powers! You fought the JLA and Superman among others! You always lost too!”
Brain Storm said, “And yet here I am! I mean you no harm. This is a simple family matter. You need not concern yourselves with it. My brother Fred is a bit of a nuisance but I love him and I look out for him. I purloined that miniature planet, used my powers to shape its natives into super villains and their victims and made them all submission to my brother Fred. I gave him a fraction of my power and enabled him to rule his own little world as the Star Tsar. I thought it was a reasonable way to provide for him!”
Fred Storm said, “I was going to reverse the whole process and take over this world too!”
Brain Storm shook his head in a paternal manner.
“You were all wrong, Fred. You had the science all wrong. You dreamed too big for your meager talents. Nothing you did would have worked. I detected your little scheme and came to fix things before you got in another jam as you inevitably do! The Rising Sun and I shut down all your energy generating machines,” he said.
Fred said, “Kill them all! You can do it!”
Dr. Mist looked at Brain Storm and said, “You know better than to challenge me. You do not know my power!”
Brain Storm smiled and said, “On the contrary, I do. Even in your long seclusion within your ancient, remote and ruined kingdom in Africa, you have been known to step outside the mountain that carries your own likeness to gaze up at the stars. Well, remember this, all of you, when you look at the stars, they look back! I see all they do! I do not fear you, Dr. Mist!”
Dr. Mist waved back the others and said, “And yet I have the means to end this now! I am not the man you think you know. I have changed recently.”
He extended his open hand.
“Your stellar-enhanced brain works well enough for you to see that you have never won a real victory or known true happiness since you acquired the powers you misuse so easily. You have a chance to hear me out and prove that your heart works as well as your intellect. I offer you a chance to join us! Use your great gifts for the good of the world around us! If you are as bright as you think then you will see that I offer you something your own powers have failed to grant you. I offer you hope for the future. I offer you friendship and purpose. Life is very long when you lack these jewels!”
Fred yelled, “Don’t listen to that freak!”
Brain Storm said, “Shut up, Fred. Let me think. Let me think.”
He hesitated for a moment and then as he recalled his past life and every defeat he had suffered, Axel Storm realized that in his own way he had always lived as fake and empty a life as the one he had tried to create for Fred with the fake villains of Transilvane.
He took Dr. Mist’s hand and shook it briefly.
“I am willing to try. You are not the average super hero, Dr. Mist!” he said.
Dr. Mist shrugged and said, “You already stopped your brother’s mad plan and rendered him helpless. You were on the road to redemption before we met.”
Artemis smiled and thought, “What a man! He embraces the Amazonian way of peace!”
Later, after a now powerless Fred Storm had been released upon his brother’s request and his memories of the entire case and his time on Transilvane had been erased by his brother’s helmet, two of the heroes took stock of the case.
Iman said, “As much as I regretted losing the opportunity for additional study of that odd little planet and all the villains we returned there, it only seemed right to give it to Dr. Ray Palmer. He is the world’s leading expert on miniaturization among other topics. He will know what to do with it.”
Tuatara said, “I wonder if he will erase the super villain templates and leave those little beings as ordinary men and women to live their own lives as they see fit? As one who too often feels himself governed by the forces of the past and the future, I hope they do find some peace!”
Iman nodded and said, “As for this Brain Storm, he has done well so far. He helped me stop a drug cartel in Mexico City and he helped one of the Green Lanterns on a relief mission in Haiti.”
“Dr. Mist has seen much of human nature and it encourages me that he still believes that a man can change for the better! He has given many others greater chances than he ever was willing to give himself!”
Epilogue
The Star Tsar’s attempt to use electro-magnetic energy via his remotely placed generators had an effect that none of the heroes realized at that time. The brief surge of power acted as a energy beacon that led a hero lost in time and space back home after six years away from everyone he had ever known! This forgotten hero was a handsome blonde eighteen year old from British Columbia. The man called Triumph (Will MacIntyre) smiled eagerly as he recognized his surroundings.
“Thank goodness! I was afraid absorbing the energy from the last bomb Grax activated after we Global Guardians defeated him would hurt me but being shunted out of this time and space continuum for a couple minutes is not a big deal. I better fly home and tell mom about it. She’ll be shocked to hear all about my new career as a super hero!” he thought.
As he used his own electro-magnetic powers to fly toward Canada, the young hero had no way of knowing that he had been lost for much longer than a few minutes and that his very existence had been forgotten by his mother and everyone else on earth with the possible exception of Dr. Mist! Triumph was back but what kind of homecoming would the eager hero have and how would he react with being a man robbed for his very life history? Those were questions for another time and another story!
The End