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Post by Admin on Apr 16, 2022 14:56:53 GMT
Legion of Super Teens
World War II was over, and the Allies won... and then the world ended. When the skies had turned red, a week after the surrender of Japan, everyone thought that maybe some leftover Axis scientist had invented the final doomsday weapon, but when the pink curtains had started dropping from the sky, sweeping over random sections of the world, simply 'erasing' everything, touching all countries heedless of their alliances during the war, no one could pretend any longer that this was a doomsday invention by man. The world was ending - scientists said the universe itself was ending! There seemed to be nothing anyone could do, and yet, billions did all they could to resist, often joining in desperate alliances with those who had recently been enemines, though it proved impossible to resist the irresistible devastation. There were a few - a scant few - who seemed to be immune to the destructive effects of the pink curtains. A small group of teens, each of whom had amazing super powers. The small group banded together and continued to fight, until the day when everything just... ended.
And suddenly, the world was restored - almost exactly as it had been the day before the skies had turned red. And no one remembered the end of the world, or the devastation that had preceeded it - except those scant few who had been immune to the destruction. They remembered it all... including the comradehsip they had formed during their brief alliance at the end of the world. No one else around them remembered the end of the world, and no one believed their stories. Eventually, to retain their sanity, they had each sought out the others, And as they gathered together again, with the world alive again, they had determined that they would remain as allies - and fight to defend their world. Thus was born... the Legion of Super Teens!
Appearing in this story: Wonder Boy, Bingo the Wonder Boy, Captain Truth, Dynamic Boy, Golden Lad, Golden Girl, Super Ann
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Post by Admin on Apr 17, 2022 16:01:45 GMT
Even in a team of super heroes, jealously can rear its ugly green head. Even in a team of the greatest heroes the world has ever known... Even right after they had just completed the most difficult mission of their careers... defeating the Axis of Awful!
"I can't believe the others made that phony Wonder Boy the leader!" Bingo the Wonder Boy groused in his secret sanctum <his tree house>. "He stole my name and what does he bring to the team that we don't got already? Nuthin! He gets knocked out by a good punch to the back of his head, and he can't even fly! Why, if it weren't for the magic talismans my 'genie' Ka-Bang..." The tree house rattled, there was a flash of light and a sound like lightning striking - and Bingo was replaced by his other identity, Jerry Jones Jr. He didn't miss a word, though, "... whipped up for everyone on the team, to transport us instantly to the clubhouse in Philadelphia, he wouldn't even be able to make it to a meeting! I don't know why everyone thinks he's so special!" He stopped talking for a moment, and then his dour expression changed as a sly smile spread across his face.
"Yama Lama Ka-BANG!' he chanted, but this time Jerry didn't change. This different chant had a different effect. In a corner of the room, an awesome magical being appeared in a flash of light and the roar of lightning striking nearby... an Asian man, under a cap of off-white fuzzy fur that made him seem a foot taller than he was, wearing a blue silken lounging robe which was decorated with mysterious Eastern Asian mystical symbols and trimmed in black fur. He radiated a subtle blue flow, and the air around him popped with snaps and crackles of mysterious mystical energy.
"You called, young Master Jones?" the genie Yama Lama replied, in a high piping voice. Jerry was afraid to say so, but that voice actually hurt his ears.
"Yeah, I want you to make me a magic television and show me the greatest boy hero of them all! Then I'll convince the rest that we should invite him to join the team - and THAT will show that big shot Wonder Boy!" As the genie began to gesture, Jerry spoke up again hurriedly. "Make it in color, like the Wizard of Oz movie, OK?"
"As usual, Master Jones, your wish is my command!" The genie gestured, there was another brilliant flash of blue-white light and a roar that should have deafened anyone nearby, yet didn't, and with a 'poof' and an explosion of vapor, a TV stand appeared across the small room, and on top was an RCA Victor TV with an 8" screen, showing a color image.
"This boy hero does not exist in our own world, but on another, but I can transport you to his world - or him to ours!" the genie offered.
"Boy, oh boy! Are we going to teach that stuck up Wonder Boy a lesson! Steal my name, will he? He'll pay for that, and for being such a snot!" Jerry exulted.
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Post by Admin on Apr 19, 2022 16:42:34 GMT
“Alright, gang, we’re approaching the Fortress of Fear, the dreaded lair of the Axis of Awful. Stay low, below radar, and wait for my signal!” Wonder Boy, the leader of the Legion of Super Teens, updated his team via the mystical communication/transportation gems which were part of the Legion emblem insignia they each attached to their chests while they were on Legion missions. While most of the Super Teens were capable of flight, Wonder Boy and Amazona were not, so they were riding in the cabin of the small, super-fast two seat jet that had been designed for their use by the boy genius Dickie Dean, a close affiliate of the Legion. Wonder Boy could run as fast as any Legionnaire could fly, but the air rushing past him at those speeds made communication impossible - so he flew in the jet with Amazona. Each of the Legionnaires had recently battled and defeated powerful members of the Axis of Awful. By adding up small clues gleaned by each Legionnaire, Golden Lad and Golden Girl, whose powers included super-wisdom, had figured out the location of their base, square in the middle of the Sahara Desert, over a thousand miles from any inhabited areas. "We're pretty sure we didn't defeat ALL of the members of the Axis, so there are likely a few of the rats still hiding out in this dump," Wonder Boy reminded his teammates. "Crystal Queen and Rubberman are still on the loose. And we don't even know who the leader is - but whoever it is, is probably still inside and very dangerous!" "You should sit this one out, Wendy! You'll just get knocked out again, and one of us invulnerable fliers will have to rescue you," the voice of Bingo, the Wonder Boy, sneered back over the gem-communicators. Bingo had actually supplied the gems - courtesy of his genie, Yama Lama Ka-Bang. He was bitter because he felt that Wonder Boy had stolen his name - and he resented anyone telling him what to do. "Keep your mind on the fight, Bingo!" Wonder Boy replied tightly. "Hey, I see the place with my electric vision!" Golden Boy yelped in excitement. "And there's a guard. Someone 12' tall, wearing black armor and carrying a sword... and, oh, great... he's got a big swastika on his belt buckle." "That sounds like the German robot they called Black Mail!" Wonder Boy noted. He had the most experience dealing with Axis forces overseas during the war; most of the rest of the team had dealt more frequently with more 'local' threats to their cities. "The rest of you guys, surround the place and be ready to attack on my orders. Golden Girl and Dynamic Boy, you guys go in first against the robot. See what you can learn about him, and how tough he is, and the rest of us will back you up if you need us. I'm going to put this bird down, and Amazona and I will make the rest of the approach on foot." Golden Girl was the most mature of member of his team, and he thought Dynamic Boy might be the most durable, though he also tended to be one of the more reckless. But he had nothing on Bingo. "Hi HO!!" Bingo yelled, and charged the giant robot at top speed, well in advance of his teammates. "You guys try and keep up!" "Goldy, Truth, see if you can keep that idiot alive!" Wonder Boy snapped. Three Legionnaires should be enough to handle the robot. For an instant he debated keeping the rest of his forces hidden in reserve - but the sudden appearance of the rest of the Legion when three of them are already on-scene wouldn't surprise anyone, especially an evil mastermind. "The rest of us, keep an eye out for other bad guys, and let's find a way into this place!" It was too late to stop Bingo now. 'I hope he doesn't get hurt!' Even though he had more problems with Bingo than any other two Legionnaires, Wonder Boy considered him to be one of the Legion's most important 'secret weapons'. Though the overall power sets of the various members of the Legion were pretty similar from one Legionnaire to another (super strength, enhanced durability, super speed, and flight for most of them), each of them had at least one unique power or ability that they tried to keep secret from their enemies. Bingo's 'secret ability' to call on a magical genie was the most versatile of these hidden powers.
The three Legionnaires fighting Black Mail were easily holding their own. Amazona and Super Ann had triggered a trap that had released a cloud of Mental Fog (created by the Beard, and then improved by Boss Silky) and had begun fighting with their teammate Captain Truth, who was immune to external mental control. Fortunately for Captain Truth, Mental Fog not only dominated the will of those who were affected by it, it also considerably lowered their intelligence and ability to act independently, and he was able to drive his teammates from of the cloud of gas, though it would take them a few minutes to recover their normal strength.
Wonder Boy and Golden Lad were battering through a barred entrance when Golden Girl contacted the team through their insignias.
"After the fights we just went through, this seems like it is really too easy. My intuition tells me it's a trap!" she spoke with authority. Golden Girl's 'secret power' was her intuition - when she said "My intuition tells me..." none of the other members could remember an instance when she had ever been wrong. Golden Lad was using his electric vision to examine the interior of the Fortress of Fear. "There's nobody inside!" he yelled. "And... I think that thing's a bomb!" Wonder Boy didn't hesitate. "SKAT!" he yelled at the top of his voice. It was a trigger word, and it activated ALL of the insignia devices - and the Legionnaires instantly vanished, to appear instantly in their brownhouse headquarters in Philadelphia.
As soon as they arrived, after he'd made sure his entire team was safe, Wonder Boy dispatched Captain Truth to the Sahara Desert to see if they had fled an actual trap, or simply been scared off. In less than an hour, Truth was back to report that there had been a giant explosion in the middle of the Sahara Desert - and as he was reporting, the Hot Line phone to the White House rang. Wonder Boy answered, and was not surprised when it was the President. Nobody else had access to that phone!
"Wonder Boy, thank the Lord you're safe! There was an atomic bomb explosion in the Sahara Desert a little while ago, and the Axis of Awful has claimed to the press that they've destroyed The Legion of Super Teens!" The President insisted that the team needed to make an immediate public appearance to avoid public panic. "Every TV station in Washington, and every news agency we can contact, will have representatives in the National Mall in a half hour. You'll be there, and we'll go live nationwide." He didn't give them a choice, and none of the Legionnaires was willing to argue with the President. "I guess the plane is good and gone," Amazona noted. The transport spell only worked on people, so the poor plane had been atomized in the explosion. "We'll meet you guys there! Bet I get there before you do!" She vanished. She couldn't run as fast as some her teammates could fly, but she had a good chance of winning her bet. It wasn't the first time someone had boasted of destroying the Legion of Super Teens, and it wouldn't be the last. It WAS their first appearance on coast-to-coast TV... but not their last.
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Post by Admin on Apr 21, 2022 20:19:39 GMT
So far, it had been a great morning selling papers. The Fawcett City Falcons has swept a double header yesterday from their hated rivals, the Trenton Tip Tops, leaping over their nemesis in the standings, and the Marvel Family had cut the ribbon to open a new amusement park, Marvelland, yesterday to unbelievable crowds. It looked like it might be the biggest sale day since the day Japan had surrendered!
Freddy Freeman, the proprietor of the newsstand, was chatting with two of his favorite customers, Sterling Morris and Joan Jameson, when he heard a crashing noise inside his shed. He turned to see a kid racing away, and he could see that his cash box was missing. He yelled and tried to hurry after the thief, but there was no way he was going to catch the guy. He had to find a way to get away and say his magic word - but there were too many people around. Suddenly, one of the people on the street - a kid a couple of years younger than Freddy, with dark hair and freckles, stuck out a foot and tripped the runner. The guy tripped and fall painfully, and rolled to a stop against the curb - and then Joan caught up with him, and a second later Mr. Morris and the rest of the people who'd given chase. The kid who had tripped the runner scooped up the cash box and carried it back to the news stand, and handed it to Freddy. He leanded closer, spoke so nobody but Freddy could hear him. "There you go, Captain Marvel, Jr. You don't have to worry about giving your secret away now!" "Who, me?" Freddy asked quickly. "What are you talking about?" But the mysterious lad was already getting lost in the crowd on the sidewalk. An hour later, Freddy was taking his lunch break. He'd just come out of Doc Quartz' Malt Shop when he heard a bank alarm blaring. This time, he COULD do something. He ducked into the alley and clearly spoke the name of his hero, "Captain Marvel!" There was a thunderous BANG! as the magic lightning struck, and it was Captain Marvel Jr. who emerged from the alley and zoomed toward the bank. But by the time he reached the bank, there was nothing for him to do! There was a crowd of bewildered people in the bank lobby, buzzing with questions and excitement. "What happened?" "Where'd their guns go?" "There was some kind of a blur, and then their guns flew up into the air, and they fell into a pile!" Indeed, there was a pile of three men in front of the tellers' booths, three men in zoot suits who looked like classic movie gangsters, and when Cap looked up, there were two pistols and a tommy gun embedded in the ceiling. As he was looking up, a cute girl with long, strawberry blonde hair wearing a yellow shirt and green Bermuda shorts jabbed him in the stomach with an elbow. Startled, he turned, and she winked at him. "Nobody say Freddy change!" she said, then slipped into the crowd of spectators, which was growing as people poured in from the streets to see what the commotion was all about. Cap Jr. started to push through to follow her, but he was instantly surrounded by thrilled fans and autograph seekers. 'What's going on?' he thought, as he started signing pads, dollar bills, the brims of caps and occasionally the waist of a shirt quickly pulled out of the belt, while slowly making his way to the exit. 'Do those two really know who I am? Do they really know Freddy Freeman is actually Captain... er... me?' Even in his thoughts, he tried to stick to his habit of not repeating his name - and even with all his care and practice, he still sometimes got in trouble when he changed from his Marvel form to his Freddy form by accident in a dangerous situation! Freddy was shuffling slowly home from work. He was worried about the two kids who seemed to know his secret, worried so much that perhaps he was even distracted and not watching the sidewalk. His crutch came down on a marble, a big shooter that had fallen out of some kid's pocket as he hurried home for dinner - and he lost his balance! His crutch jerked up in front of him and he toppled backward before he could even try to catch his balance, and it seemed like he was probably going to take a nasty whack in the head when a young man, maybe a year older than Freddy and a bit taller, suddenly appeared next to him and easily caught him and stood him back up straight until Freddy got control of his crutch and his balance again. This fellow was handsome, with black hair, wide shoulders, and he was wearing blue jeans and a blue sweater with a yellow star on the chest over a red shirt with button collar. "Glad I could help, Freddy! Wouldn't do for you to maybe end up in a hospital and sideline Captain Marvel Jr. for a while, would it? Take it easy!" He held out a folded sheet of paper. "Here, this is for you!" and then he hurried off
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Post by Admin on Apr 22, 2022 0:18:12 GMT
"Costanza Park, the Black Wolf statue, 7:30 PM" the paper said. "Well, they seem to know who I am - so I think Cap Jr. will be the one who shows up in the park tonight. But they seem to enjoy playing tricks on me, so I think I'll try out a little trick of my own." An hour later, Freddy Freeman made his way slowly into Costanza Park and headed for the the statue of a famous local Native American chief, Black Wolf, who was noted for his incredible courage and exceptional wisdom. (Of course, in 1947, everyone always referred to him an an Indian chief...). Freddy was not surprised when he was greeted by the three teens he'd encountered earlier today who had seemed to know his secret. He was wary - but they seemed to be nothing but friendly. The guy in the blue sweater with the yellow star greeted him: "Don't worry, Freddy! Only the three of us know that you're also Captain Marvel Jr. - and we made sure nobody overheard us when we were teasing you before. You see, we're from... well, I suppose, you'd call it 'another universe'. A universe where there's another Earth, a lot like this one. You've probably read about the concept in some of the comic books you sell - or maybe you've read "Sidewise in Time" by Murray Leinster? If you've got a Murray Leinster here... Or... a Jules Verne, he wrote about it too." Freddy nodded. With the Wisdom of Solomon, he was definitely aware of the concept and as Freddy, he had indeed read many comics and science fiction stories which dealt with 'parallel universes'. And he'd been to the Rock of Eternity a number of times - that place seemed to be in 'another universe'. So if there was one, why not more?
Encouraged, the youth continued. "Well, we're from another universe. We've been watching you on a magic television from our own universe and decided to have a bit of fun with you. My name is Wonder Boy. I'm a hero like you are!"
Freddy frowned. "It wasn't much 'fun' for me! All day I've been worried about what I would have to do if people knew my secret. I'd have to stay as Cap the whole time, or some criminal might come after me as Freddy - and all my friends would be in danger too." Wonder Boy was apologetic. "I'm sorry - I don't have a 'secret identity' so I guess it didn't occur to me that our teasing might not be funny to you. It's totally my fault." Privately he was wondering, though - why hadn't Dynamic Boy said anything? Super Ann also didn't have a secret identity that she protected, but Kent Banning, Dynamic Boy, did. Maybe he didn't worry about keeping his secret as much as Freddy did. Freddy looked at the three, and finally nodded. "Apology accepted. You found out my secret by watching me on a magic television from another Earth in another universe. What are you doing here?" "Hold on a second while we change," Wonder Boy said, while he nodded to the other boy. There was a blur; Freddy wouldn't have seen the two boys move, but they both removed their civilian clothes. Wonder Boy's costume looked a lot like the clothes he'd been wearing - a blue long sleeve top with a red collar and a yellow star on the chest, and long blue tights. The other boy had on a green outfit that covered him completely, except for his head, with black calf-high boots, a black belt, and a red star design collar at the neck, with a red D on his chest. "This is Kent Banning, or Dynamic Boy, and she is Ann Star, also called Super Ann." "Hold on a second while I change too," Freddy replied. "Shazam!" There was a brilliant flash of light and a BOOM! like Thunder, and where Freddy had been standing, now stood Captain Marvel Jr. Cap Jr. wasn't sure, but from the smile Dynamic Boy gave Super Ann, he thought maybe these three had seen through his deception - but it didn't matter now. The four shook hands - and Freddy noted that each of the others spent an instant or two testing his grip. He realized that these three were all VERY strong - stronger than just about anyone he knew except for other members of the Marvel Family - not including Unc, of course!
"Anyway, we're all members of of a Super Hero club that protects our Earth, and we want you to visit our Earth and join our club. We've been watching you, and we think you'd be the greatest hero of us all!" "Um... really, I try to do my best... but there are greater heroes on Earth. Why, there's Captain... er... you must have seen the big guy in the red costume on your magic TV... and there are Mary and the Lieutenant Marvels... and even my friend Bulletman..." Freddy stammered.
"Well, one of our rules is to be a member you must be a teenager, so that leaves most of those guys out," Super Ann said. "We really hope you'll at least come for a visit - I'd love to show you around!" "Yeah, you shouldn't be so modest, Cap!" Dynamic Boy joined in enthusiastically. Actually, Freddy couldn't imagine him doing anything without enthusiasm; the boy radiated energy! "We've seen some of the fantastic things you can do!" "It would only take a couple of hours," Wonder Boy wheedled. "Well... things are quiet now, and Mr. Scarlett and Pinky usually take good care of the city after dark. Let's go! Umm, how do we go? Do you have something like the Rock of Eternity?" "I don't know what that is," Wonder Boy replied. "One of the club members has a genie, and the genie made us these magic tokens." He reached out and pressed an insignia on Captain Marvel Jr's chest. "They're magic. All I have to do is say 'SKAT'" The world flickered; they weren't in a park any longer, but inside, in a well appointed room with a big round wooden table, and there were four other teens seated around the table... "and here we are: The Philadelphia brownstone headquarters of the Legion of Super Teens!"
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Post by Admin on Apr 23, 2022 14:12:19 GMT
Wonder Boy introduced Cap Jr. to the rest of the Legionnaires: Amazona, Bingo the Wonder Boy, Captain Truth, Golden Girl, and Golden Lad. After he'd shaken hands with Amazona, she turned to move away, and from the World's Mightiest Boy, there came a loud wolf whistle and a hoarse whisper, "Wow, WHAT a VIEW!". Amazona spun back to Captain Marvel Jr. faster than a top, and slapped him in the face - a slap that might have broken the neck of a normal boy. "I'll show you a view - a view of tweeting birdies!" she shouted as she took a step forward and launched a looping punch at Cap. Jr's head as he took a step backward from the force of the surprise slap. The punch slammed into his chest - and now that he knew it was coming, it didn't even move him.The clap of the punch rattled the meeting room like a stick of dynamite! Amazona paused in amazement - nobody she'd every punched had been able to simply ignore her blow - and the pause gave the rest of the team time to react. "Ann!" Wonder Boy roared sternly. "That wasn't funny - in the least! Why, any normal boy would have been killed!" Super Ann was obviously trying not to laugh as well as looking contrite at the same time at being scolded. "Well, if he was just a normal boy, we wouldn't have invited him here, would we?" Wonder Boy turned to the new kid. "Sorry, Captain... Ann, here, has the power of throwing her voice, and she likes to think she's a prankster. And she knows Amazona can't stand fresh men." He turned to Amazona. "Zona, you have to learn to control your temper better. Our guest didn't say a word. If you'd stopped to think for just a second, you would have known it was Ann." Amazona was still fuming, but everyone could see she was trying hard to get her anger under control. She looked at Cap. Jr., who took a step back and raised both hands. "I promise, it wasn't me, I'm never fresh like that. Besides, my girlfriend would KILL me if she ever heard I said anything disrespectful like that to any woman!" This kid had just taken a punch from her without flinching (not her best punch, but pretty high up on the list) and he was scared of his girlfriend? Amazona broke out laughing, then turned to Super Ann. "You and me aren't done yet, 'girlfriend'! We'll 'talk' about this later!" Everyone in the room could hear the quotes around her selected words. The two powerful young women glared at each other. They could hardly have been more different visually - Amazona the tallest Legionnaire, and robustly built, with an almost white complexion, pitch black hair and an expression that almost always seemed serious, while Super Ann was almost a foot shorter, strawberry blonde, always tanned, and seemingly built of twigs and straws. And even just after being introduced to them, Cap. Jr. had immediately noticed a difference in demeanor - Amazona always seemed to be fairly serious, while Super Ann was light and breezy and always joking around. Captain Marvel Jr. was worried that a fight was going to break out any second, and he already knew that a fight between these two could level a city. But none of the teens around him seemed worried. "Don't worry, Marvey, they're both fulla baloney! I keep hoping for a 'rip er' clothes off' catfight, but it ain't never gonna happen. They like to tease us, but they never deliver, goshdarn it all!" Bingo sneered. Both girls glared at him, and he shut up abruptly. "They pretend to 'fight fight fight fight bicker bicker bicker' all the time, but they're really the best of friends," Golden Girl explained, a little wistfully. Solomon whispered to Cap. Jr. that Golden Girl probably wished she had a best friend like these two. Then Super Ann winked at him. "Yeah, 'later', girlfriend!" she said to Amazona. "Right now, it's time to give the Captain here the Red Carpet tour!"
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Post by Admin on Apr 23, 2022 23:03:33 GMT
The Legionnaires who could fly (Bingo, Captain Truth, Dynamic Boy, Golden Lad, Golden Girl, Super Ann) took their guest on a flying tour of Philadelphia. None of them was from the city, so the tour covered only the most famous attractions, which was fine with Captain Marvel Jr. who had only visited the city a couple of times before - and always on a case or mission.
"It looks the same as the Philadelphia on my Earth," he commented as they landed near the "Philly Hero Sandwich Shop" which was just around the block from the brownstone. "I guess the histories of both Earths are pretty similar. But why are we stopping here? I need to get home so Freddy can get some sleep before starting work tomorrow."
"You don't need to worry about that!" Bingo spoke up in a superior tone. "The magic in your Legion insignia will return you to your own world at the exact same time as you left it. I instructed Yama Lama carefully when I ordered him to create it."
"Wonder Boy said that even if you don't join the club, you can keep the insignia," Ann added. She'd been playing the hostess role - she seemed to be very taken with the World's Mightiest Boy from another world.
"But if you don't join, once you're back to your own world, the magic won't work any more," Bingo snarled, annoyed at being supplanted as the center of attention.
As they talked, they had entered the store. None of the employees seemed surprised to see them, though a lot of the patrons were staring and pointing. There were pictures of all the Legionnaires hanging around the room, many of them autographed, and a couple of souvenirs on strategically-placed stands, including a glob that looked like a double handful of machine gun bullets all squished together, a sheath of green papers that looked like oversized dollar bills, each with a picture of Captain Truth performing a super feat, and a pair of dolls that looked just like Golden Boy and Golden Girl. Next to each souvenir was a placard with the story of that item. The menu over the counter had a special section and each of the Special sandwiches was named after one of the Legionnaires.
"If you order something that's not already named for one of us, by tomorrow it will be on the menu with your name!" Dynamic Boy bubbled with enthusiasm. "The Dynamic Boy hero is their most popular sandwich! And we never have to pay to eat here!"
After they had placed their orders, the manager. George Vincent, came over to their table where they greeted him warmly. He politely asked Captain Marvel Jr. for his name - and offered for his signature a form that gave the shop permission to name a sandwich after him.
Cap Jr. was a bit bemused by this. "Someone using MY name for profit? And they pay us back with free food?" This seemed very unheroic to him.
"We're public figures - we can't stop them," Golden Girl explained. "This is the most popular sandwich shop in Philly - in fact, maybe the most popular in the whole world. EVERYONE who comes to Philly has to stop here at least once! And they donate part of the profits from selling the Legionnaire sandwiches to charities we designate. The Philly Hero Sandwich Shop does a lot of good in the world. Seems like a fair trade."
So he signed. 'I wonder if I might get more business if Cap and Mary and maybe the Bullets and Mr. Scarlet were seen buying papers at my stand?' he mused silently. 'They wouldn't have to advertise or do any shilling for me - and I could put autographed pictures on the back wall...' He thought about that for a few seconds, tabled it for later, and asked the next question that occurred to him, since he was now thinking about the adult heroes of his own world.
"So you super teens have your own club... what about the super powered adult heroes of your world? Do they join together in some kind of League or Society or Squadron or something?"
"Actually, there aren't any super adult heroes. We're the first generation of super heroes!" Bingo boasted. This led into a fascinating discussion of what it was like, being the first superheroes this world had ever known, the sometimes overwhelming responsibility to be 'good examples' and 'role models', followed by some quiet lamenting on society's reactions to 'kids' having so much power and constantly being criticized in the media.
"We are well aware that with great power comes great responsibility," Captain Truth said gravely. "We all do our best to uphold our responsibilities with honor - and dignity. But there are always second-guessers. Sometimes it gets depressing."
"But every day, every one of us can look back and say "The world is a better place today because of what I did today." For a change, Bingo sounded sincere - he really believed this. But he was still Bingo. "How many of the jerks that trash us all the time can say that? I'll bet not a one of them has ever done anything worthwhile in his whole life!" Some of the people who were sitting nearby, eating super hero sandwiches, nodded and smiled, and a few even clapped.
As they finished lunch, some of the patrons approached them shyly and hesitatingly asked for autographs. "Just a second," Captain Truth said, and then he vanished, leaving behind a brisk but momentary breeze that blew toward the now open door, and then before the door could swing shut, there was another brisk breeze, this time blowing into the shop, and Captain Truth was back at the table. He was carrying a box, a bit larger than a shoe box, that had a camera lens at one end and a viewfinder at the other. He called back the manager.
"George, can you take a snapshot for us? there's 43 people here right now - let's make it a hundred." George agreed cheerfully. He spun some numbered dials until the number 100 was showing, then stood away from the table. Super Ann arranged the teen heroes at the table, and a lot of the patrons and staff crowded in behind them to be included in the picture too. George clicked, then showed the image that remained in the viewfinder to Captain Truth, who nodded approvingly. George pressed a button on the side of the camera and it popped out a photo - and then another and another, and Captain Truth handed one to each hero.
"These are inventions of Dickie Dean," he told Captain Marvel Jr. as he then handed bulky pens to each. "The Dupli-Camera and the Dupli-writer Pen. Saves a lot of wear and tear on your writing hand! Please sign your face on the photo I gave you. And observe..." He showed Cap Jr. his own copy of the photo - as Jr. signed his own copy, the identical signature appeared on Captain Truth's photo - and each of the others in the hands of the other heroes. In only a minute, every copy of the photo was identically signed, by each of the young heroes. "Now - Voila!" Truth pushed another button on the camera, and it started producing more photos, each one showing all the signatures.
George began handing out autographed photos to all the customers and staff members, and he collected the remainder of the hundred and placed them in a box on the counter. "For customers who weren't lucky enough to be here now," he noted. This time, all of the customers cheered and clapped.
The team finished a pleasant meal, and then headed back to their brown house. They had some important business to conduct!
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Post by Admin on Apr 24, 2022 13:05:41 GMT
When they got back to the brownstone, they landed on a spacious balcony on the third floor, and walked through the glass doors into the meeting room on the third floor. "Invulnerable glass, invented by Dickie Dean," Dynamic Boy boasted. In the meeting room, each Legionnaire took a seat around a large, round table with a top that looked like polished obsidian. There was a placard for each of them, and there were two empty seats at the table, one of which had a placard reading "Captain Marvel, Jr." Against one wall, there was a complex-looking control panel of some kind, and above the panel was what appeared to be a giant TV screen. In one of the walls there was a set of glass doors that opened onto a balcony. The walls were hung with portraits of a number of world leaders - and they were all autographed. After Cap Jr. was seated, Wonder Boy picked up a gavel and rapped it gently. "I'm calling to order this month's meeting of the Legion of Super Teens. You all know why our guest, Captain Marvel Jr. is here. Does anyone object to tabling the usual opening discussion of 'Old Business' and jumping right to the first agenda item under 'New Business'?" There were some chuckles but no one objected. "So moved!" On a desk in a corner opposite the control panel, a mechanical arm scribbled rapidly with a pen across the pages of a stenographer's notebook, then stopped when Wonder Boy stopped speaking. He turned his attention to their guest. "Good. We are here to offer membership in the Legion of Super Teens to Captain Marvel Jr, a teen hero from another universe. Captain, do you have any questions for us before we begin the membership discussion?" "Let's start with some easy ones. I can tell you guys come from all over, I hear New York and Chicago, the South somewhere, Mid-west, and Canada at least - and one accent I've never heard before! So how'd you get together? You said you protect the world - what do you protect it from?"
"Told ya he'd ask that one first!" Dynamic Boy practically yelped. "Told ya, told ya!" Then he quieted down instantly, and in a very subdued tone, asked: "So who's gonna tell him? Not me!"
Golden Girl started to tell the story. The whole group was very somber - they all remembered the horror of the end of their world, and being unable to prevent it. "And almost as bad... NOBODY but US remembers the end of the world, and nobody believes us. So we don't talk about it any more. What if we're all crazy? So mostly, we don't talk about it any more except when we're together. But I know I think about it a lot - and wonder what we can do if it happens again..."
Cap Jr. didn't respond right away. "I SAID we shouldn't tell him," Bingo sneered. "Now he thinks we're all nuts; no way he's going to join up with a bunch of crazies."
"A couple of hours ago, I didn't even know that there were other dimensions," their guest spoke slowly. "The Marvel family and our Earth's other heroes have saved the world any number of times. And there have been a couple of times when we had adventures that nobody but us remembers. The Wisdom of Solomon protected our memories, we think. Something like that could have happened to you." He considered for a while, making use of the just-mentioned Wisdom of Solomon. "I sure don't think you guys are nuts. I'd be scared with memories like that, and I don't think I'd talk about it much either."
The other teens relaxed, and Golden Boy continued the story. "So, we all remembered working with each other, in that other world, and we each thought about seeking out the others - and then, there was a threat so big it took all of us together to overcome it, and we decided to form our club."
"OK, here's another - how'd you guys land such a swell clubhouse?" "The way I heard it," Bingo spoke up quickly, boasting: "after our first mission together, when I wrecked the giant invulnerable tank that was just about to destroy the White House, the President was so impressed that he personally got the government to buy this place and give it to us. Seems he lived here for a few years as a kid and always liked the building, and was sad when he heard it was going to be torn down." "The giant tank WAS pretty nearly invulnerable," Super Ann confirmed. "But Bingo didn't smash it alone; Wonder Boy figured out how to use Golden Boy's locket to transfer some power from each of us into him, so it was all of us!" "Hey, if it weren't for my genie, Yama Lama Ka-Bang..." there was a loud crash that rattled the room, a sound like lightning striking right HERE, and a brilliant flash of light and Bingo was replaced by his other identity, Jerry Jones Jr. "Oh, FUBAR!" he swore vehemently, and then he instantly shouted "KA-BANG!" and there was another crash and flash, and Bingo was back. The other teens chuckled. Cap Jr. was intensely interested - he'd actually seen a magic lightning bolt strike Bingo and then Jerry. It had been similar to but definitely different from his own magic lightning. 'I wonder how that would affect me? Would it turn me back to Freddy, or give me powers like Bingo's on top of my own?' Wonder Boy spoke up, cutting off anything else Bingo might have to say. "The Army Corps of Engineers rebuilt the place, and our boy inventor pal, Dickie Dean, has been working on improving it ever since. We don't use it all the time - we only meet once a month - but there's a full time staff, based in the building next door, to greet visitors and handle security, communications and public relations, and there's always someone on duty in the monitor room watching the Trouble Scanners Dickie invented." He touched a button and the giant TV screen flickered to life with a low hum, showing the familiar Indian Head TV test pattern. He quickly touched another control and the hum was silenced. "Which seems like a perfect segue, actually." He seemingly changed the subject. "Before we can induct you into our club, you need to pass the initiation test. We want to see you in action, to see how good you REALLY are. You'll go on three missions, each time with a different Legionnaire, to see who can complete the mission. We'll use the Trouble Scanner to select your missions!" "Boy, oh boy! This is my favorite part!" Dynamic Boy almost shouted in enthusiasm. "I get to drive!" He jumped up and raced to the control panel, where he started throwing switches and turning dials. A small screen on the panel lit up with the same test pattern, then started showing a series of images which changed each time Dynamic Boy made an adjustment to one of the controls. He twisted one knob around; it had a dozen labeled detentes and he stopped on 'North America', then he started making other adjustments on other controls. "Hold on! Nobody said anything about any initiation test!" Captain Marvel Jr. protested mildly. "Whatsa matter, Cappy? You scared you can't compete with us? I think you're right!" Bingo sneered. Well, that settled it. "OK, fellas - bring it on! Give me your best shots!" second floor: communication room computer room library records room
| third floor: meeting room apartments game room kitchen
| fourth floor:
hanger with retractable roof on upper level
| ground floor: public reception room trophy room medical room secure guest facilities staff living quarters laundry
| below ground garage holding cell emergency generator in heater/boiler room vault Dickie Dean's lab
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The Legion of Super Teens
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Post by Admin on Apr 26, 2022 17:44:08 GMT
"Listen! This is a live news report from Poughkeepsie, NY!" Dynamic Boy announced excitedly. He touched a control, and the image from his small screen was repeated on the big one. It showed a TV news studio and two flustered-looking newsmen - one was listening to the phone and occasionally he would fill in his partner, who would then update viewers with the latest news. "Breaking news from PKPZ! We have received reports that at this moment, a red-costumed woman who calls herself 'the Crystal Queen' has invaded the Museum on the Vassar College Campus. She is armed with a blue crystal about the size of a golf ball that she carries in her left hand, and the crystal is capable of projecting blue rays of INCREDIBLE power. When she uses it to blast people, they turn blue and fall to the ground as if they are dead, and when she turns it on inanimate objects such as walls or vehicles, they explode violently."
The broadcast was interrupted as two men rushed onto the news stage, one from each side, carrying sheets of paper. Each broadcaster took one sheath and read, and then they both started talking at once, and then one shut up and let the other speak.
"New York State Police have records of a woman who called herself the Crystal Queen who broke a condemned murderer from the Welfare Island State Prison years ago, and during their escape, the murderer exhibited similar powers to those used by today's Crystal Queen. But both the murderer and the earlier Crystal Queen, who was later identified as rich heiress Juliet Harris, were presumed dead when her riverside estate was destroyed in a massive explosion - though the bodies were never recovered. Police advise that any connection between these two women is currently only speculation. But one thing is certain - this new Crystal Queen is dangerous, and authorities are advising all civilians to begin an orderly evacuation of the Poughkeepsie area until this villain is apprehended."
The other broadcaster pushed his partner out of the way - now it was his turn! "President Blanding of Vassar Female College has released speculation on the target of the so-called Crystal Queen who is invading the school's Museum even as we speak. From her statement:" he stopped, held up his sheath of papers, and began reading.
"In 1939, Vassar graduate Betty Lotowycz returned from an expedition to Europe where she scaled the Matterhorn. In a cave high up the side of the mountain she discovered some mysterious ruins, which the expedition explored. Betty recovered several artifacts from the ruins, which she donated to her Alma Mater after her return. One of these was the Blue Crystal, reputedly a source of great magical power, which was quickly purchased by a rich private collector, and later stolen by Juliet Harris, who was a classmate of Lotowycz and had accompanied her on the expedition to the Alps." He reached the end of the page, shuffled to the next page, and kept reading. "Those who have studied the Matterhorn artifacts report that one of these was a handbound, handwritten book in an unknown language with carefully-drawn pictures of several of the other artifacts and what some have speculated are instructions for using each of these artifacts. This presumed 'instruction manual' may be the target of the invasion."
The Legion had heard enough, though the broadcast continued. "Golden Boy, you and Captain Marvel Jr. capture that 'Crystal Queen' - get going!"
Both teen heroes were zipping out through the balcony door almost before he finished speaking, and then rocketed into the sky heading north. A second or so later, the others heard a faint sonic boom.
"Well, that one's in good hands!" Super Ann mused. "I'll bet a chocolate malt on Junior, he's so marvey! Any takers?"
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Post by Admin on Apr 27, 2022 0:24:38 GMT
"Hey, Cappy! Slow down a bit for a just an instant!" Within a second of taking off, Golden Lad realized that Captain Marvel Jr. was pulling ahead of him. Marvel slowed just a bit and Golden Lad grabbed his ankle - "OK, let it rip!" In another half second, a sonic boom confirmed that they had just broken the sound barrier. Golden Lad had flown faster than sound before, but only when diving from a great height at full power. "Thanks! Say, do you know how to get to Poughkeepsie?" He wasn't sure Marvel would be able to hear him, they were moving faster than sound, after all. But the magical Legion insignia communicator compensated.
"If New York is at the mouth of the Hudson River on your Earth like mine, I figure northeast to New York and then up along the Hudson should get us close. You're from New York City, right? Can you get us to Vassar?"
"That's how I was gonna suggest we find it. We look for a big bridge, and I think I remember that the college is on the East side, not too far from the river. We shouldn't have too much trouble spotting the college from the air." He changed the subject. "This crystal is supposed to be magical. The last time around, the Crystal Queen zapped a couple of prison guards with a blue ray from the crystal, and they turned blue and fell over dead. And the rays can cause explosions. Pretty powerful explosions, actually, strong enough to blast through the walls of a prison. We should try to get the crystal away from her."
"Good plan! And avoid the blue rays," Marvel replied. By now they could see New York harbor, and Captain Marvel Jr. turned north to follow the Hudson. They passed over a couple of bridges.
"I think it's this one coming up," Golden Boy offered, "and I'll bet that's the college over there - where all the police car lights are flashing!" Marvel adjusted his flight, and slowed down, and Golden Boy released his grip. The two heroes flew toward the largest concentration of flashing police lights and zoomed toward the stately ivy-covered granite building that was surrounded by a ring of police cars - with an army of police officers crouched behind the cars.
"She killed a half dozen people and blasted her way in - and she's been inside for almost half an hour," one of the cops told them. "A bunch of students and staff got out, but we don't know if there's anyone else still alive inside. A couple of our guys tried to sneak in, but we haven't heard from them since. But at least we've got the rest of the campus mostly evacuated."
"You go in the front, I'll go in the back," Golden Lad took charge."I'll give you the word when I'm set. Don't give her a chance to zap you!" He flew around to the other side of the building. "I'll be going through a window, you go through the hole she made. 3... 2... 1... Go!"
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Post by Admin on Apr 27, 2022 11:39:11 GMT
"3... 2... 1... Go!" Before either hero could move, like a runner anticipating the starting gun, there was a tremendous noise, almost like a volcanic eruption, from within the Museum as the Crystal Queen used her blue beam to smash almost instantly through the floors above her, and then the blue beam blasted upward through the chaos of the exploding building, followed by a flying human. She was wrapped in a blue glow that protected her from the violent chaos caused by the explosions, and being lifted by the brilliant blue beam piercing into the sky from her extended left hand. Instantly both heroes were flashing through the air, racing to use their invulnerable fists and bodies to smash larger chunks of rubble to smaller smithereens, or to catch the largest chunks and hurl them into the Hudson when there was time, to try to protect the ring of cops and other spectators. They were incredibly busy for the next several seconds, and while they were able to pulverize or divert many of the largest pieces, there was still a rain of rocks and gravel falling from the sky, and many of the nearby people were struck by falling debris. Meanwhile, the flying woman had come to a quick stop high above campus and then flashed away to the south.
"I'll see if I can help anyone who's injured - you chase the Crystal Queen and stop her! I'll catch up asap!" Golden Lad ordered over the comm link. Marvel had been about to suggest the opposite assignments, but these made sense. Nobody on this world knew who he was, so it might be easier for Golden Lad to assure an injured, possibly panicked victim of his good intentions, while Cap Jr. was faster. He didn't want to win by default by capturing Crystal Queen when Golden Boy was tending to the wounded, but STOPPING her right now was by far more important than an initiation contest! He zoomed away to the south.
Crystal Queen was easy to spot, as she was preceded by a blue ray which pointed back at her like an arrow, and she wasn't as fast as he was. He caught up with her over the river, a few miles south of the bridge. She was a dark haired woman wearing a red long-sleeved costume with yellow shorts, gloves, and boots. He zoomed past her and came to a stop, standing on air, carefully out of the blue beam. Though he was very confident in his invulnerability, evil magic almost always had unpredictable effects.
"I suggest you give up right now," he commanded. "You've already killed people and destroyed millions of dollars of property - don't make it worse!"
"Stupid boy! They can only execute me once! Anyway, you are pitifully far too late to stop me now. Before I obtained the Mystic Book of the Matterhorn, you might have had a slim chance, but now my powers are vastly increased. If you attempt to interfere with me, you are well and truly doomed to no more than abject failure and painful death!"
"I've heard that at least a hundred times, and I'm still here. Hand over the crystal... NOW!"
"BAH!" she snarled, and waved her fist. Captain Marvel Jr. hadn't really thought through how quickly she could target him with her beam, and as soon as the beam touched him, there was a violent explosion that tumbled him backward through the air. The explosion was seemingly continuous. It was like getting battered by Captain Nazi a thousand times a second. He couldn't concentrate enough to regain control of his flight! Suddenly he stopped flying, and dropped like a stone and for a few seconds he was out of the beam. Crystal Queen swung her arm around and managed to sweep the beam across him again, but all it did was drive him down faster, and then he splashed into the river and the beam cut off.
It took his several seconds to regain his concentration... and when he did, he blasted upward like a missile. He wanted to be moving fast enough that she couldn't target him again. But she was nowhere to be seen. He spun in place - there she was, several miles farther downriver. Marvel pushed himself to his highest speed and curved up underneath her, smashing into the blue glow and driving her upward. She seemed stunned for a few instants, and then she reacted, and where Cap Jr. was touching the glow, it exploded, knocking him away again.
She pointed her arm at him, and the blue beam changed into a giant fist, which closed around him - and changed to the stickiness and consistency of melted marshmallows! It couldn't hurt him, but he couldn't see, and his every move was hindered. He tried to wipe it away - and couldn't. He tried to fly out of it at super speed, but it flew along with him. He set the Wisdom of Solomon working on the problem as he tried to claw his way clear - and then he concentrated on flying UP as fast as he could. Although he had no way of knowing just how fast he was going...
Crystal Queen hung in the air, watching the glob containing her foe rocket skyward, and just laughed, then turned to continue her flight to the south - and turned right into the outstretched fists of Golden Lad, who had seen much of the fight as he approached, and decided on an all-out blitz attack. His fists slammed into her blue glow at somewhere over 500 miles per hour, and even through the protection of the glow, she was knocked unconscious. Her fist unclenched and she dropped the crystal, which fell toward the Hudson River, unnoticed by Golden Lad, who was now diving to catch his unconscious foe.
Thirty miles up, it finally got cold enough to freeze the blue goop, and Captain Marvel Jr. was able to shatter the glob encasing him by stretching powerfully. He zoomed straight down, and was gratified when he got close enough to see that Golden Lad was carrying their foe, now wrapped tightly in his cape.
"Looks like YOU win the first test," he greeted his new friend.
"You distracted her long enough for me to catch her by surprise," Golden Lad replied modestly. "It took both of us - you should at least get a tie!"
"So what do we do with her now that we've caught her?" Marvel indicated their unconscious prisoner. "And, do you have the crystal?"
"Well, FUBAR!" Golden Lad swore as they realized Crystal Queen no longer had the crystal. "She must have dropped it when I knocked her out. It must be somewhere in the river by now! We'll never find it. Darn, I knew this was too easy!"
At Poughkeepsie, the Hudson River is over a half mile wide, and over 200 feet deep... they'd never find something the size of a golf ball! "I don't think we need to worry - NOBODY is ever going to find it," Marvel tried to reassure his new friend.
One of Golden Lad's powers was '... wiser than any man in the world'. He could sense the truth of these words. "Yeah, spilt milk, I guess. Let's go back..." He was reluctant; he knew that when Bingo found out, he would tease Golden Lad incessantly. Well, he'd been saving up some of Bingo's bloopers; if he reminded the younger hero of one or two of these, Bingo would shut up... probably.
"What do we do with her?" Cap Jr. repeated.
"Take her back to the clubhouse and turn her over the Feds next door," Golden Lad replied. "Sometimes it's really convenient having them there!"
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Post by Admin on Apr 28, 2022 20:14:25 GMT
The meeting room seemed to be filled with tension when Golden Lad and Captain Marvel Jr. flew in through the balcony doors. The Legionnaires were all standing, watching the big monitor, which showed a widespread raging fire spewing incredible billows of black smoke. Strangely, one edge of the fire seemed to be almost perfectly straight, though the thick smoke clouds blocked out almost everything else. Amazona seemed to be the mostly highly agitated viewer. Wonder Boy had just started to talk to her when the others flew in.
"Just in time!" he yelled. "Marvel, you're with Amazona!" She rushed to him, almost crushed him in both arms, then released him again almost instantly. The room around them had vanished and they were now in what was probably a park that Cap Jr. didn't recognize, although he could see city buildings in one direction and a large body of water in the other. And not far away, an immense column of roiling, thick black smoke.
"What's going on? Where are we? Why'd you bring me here?" he asked, although the Wisdom of Solomon was already suggesting 'Why' - to fight the fight that tremendous fire.
"Cleveland!" she snapped back. "The FUBARred Cuyahoga River's on fire again! We gotta help put it out!" Solomon was right again. He didn't waste any more time talking. Making sure he wasn't being fresh, he picked her up and flew towards the mountains of smoke.
"Cleveland's where I live," she explained as they raced smokeward. "The insignia can always send us home. The rest of the team won't be here for a while."
"Well, let's see what we can do without them, then!" he suggested. "I guess this is another way our Earths are alike - the Cuyahoga on my Earth sometimes catches fire too."
"So do you know how to put it out?" she asked eagerly. "Mostly what they do here is try to limit the damage on the shores, and let the fire burn itself out. But that can take hours."
"That's mostly what they do back home, too," he agreed sadly.
Being from Cleveland, Amazona had more familiarity with these river fires than Captain Marvel Jr. who had only heard about them in the news. "It's only the gunk on top the river that's burning," she mused. "And the current keeps pushing more gunk into the fire from upstream..."
By now, they were close enough to make out details. The fire had apparently started near the mouth of the river, where it emptied into Lake Erie, and was slowly spreading back upstream. As the river entered into the lake, the river waters spread out and the fire was breaking up into smaller patches on the Lake, each of which quickly burned out as all the floating pollutants were consumed.
"Suppose we could somehow get 'behind' the fire, and push it out into the Lake?" she asked hesitatingly. "And maybe block the current from pushing more gunk into the fire?" She snarled in frustration. "FUBAR! I can stop the flow of the gunk for a few minutes, but I can't figure out how to push the burning gunk out into the Lake." He was flying upstream, and by now they could see the far upstream end of the fire, which was slowly pushing upstream into the continuing supply of new fuel being delivered on the current.
Captain Marvel Jr. was thinking fast. "I can help with that. Cleveland's a port, right? Where are the docks?" She pointed. "OK, you see if you can block the gunk from coming downriver. I'll be right back!" He set her down on the riverbank and zoomed back to the Lake. He had no idea how she was going to 'block the gunk' but he couldn't wait to watch.
Amazona raced upstream maybe a quarter mile, and then turned and started moving across the river. She had both hands outstretched, and in front of her, the polluted, gunk covered surface of the river... changed. The floating gunk she was pointing at, within about 15 feet of her, instantly froze solid. She raced across the river, her arms spread in front of her, creating a strip of frozen gunk and running on it. By the time she reached the far side, her bridge had shattered on the other side, so she turned around and raced back, restoring the frozen strip and making it wider. Gunk from upstream, pushed against the barrier, was starting to pile up, she had to move more slowly but when she got to the other side, her 'floating dam' was higher and stronger than on her first pass.
She raced back and forth a dozen times, and then she had to stop - her freezing power was exhausted. But there was already a wide patch of water on the harbor side of her floating dam that was relatively free of gunk floating on top. That would temporarily stop the fire from spreading further upstream But if the fire wasn't out by the time her dam broke when the piled-up gunk behind the dam caught fire, the danger would be worse than ever!
But Captain Marvel Jr. had been busy. She saw a Lake Freighter, moving into the river much faster than a freighter ever moved - and she could make out that it was being towed behind Captain Marvel Jr at the end of a long steel cable. He flew upstream until he spotted her and landed nearby. "Hold this for me for a minute, will you? Nice job straining that crap off the river, by the way!" She braced herself as he handed her the cable. "Let it go when I get back to the ship. When I start pushing, can you see what you can do about stuff that slips around the sides?"
She realized what he was about to do, and her enthusiasm filled her with a adrenaline and a sudden surge of renewed super power. "Got it! I'll take care of it!"
He zoomed away, reached the ship a hundred yards away, and waved at her. She released the cable, which dropped into the water, and Marvel got busy again. He pushed the bow of the ship around until it was sideways to the river, and then started pushing it toward the harbor. It was one of the most difficult feat's he'd ever performed, way harder than towing it had been - he'd towed and even carried larger ships before. But the current pushing against the sideways hull helped, and they started to pick up a little speed. A gigantic bow wave formed in front of the crosswise ship and as they moved downstream, most of the burning river was pushed toward the lake.
Amazona raced along the banks of the river - running right across the surface of the water when she got behind, or racing through the flaming gunk when she got ahead - and when she came across a batch of burning gunk that had slipped around the wave created by the burning ship, she used her powers to extinguish it. She spent a lot of her time swimming in that filthy water - she had to be close to a burning patch to freeze it, and she discovered that by swimming through some of the larger patches at super speed, she could cut them up into smaller patches that often burned themselves out on their own.
The fire was cut off from new fuel by the 'firebreak' Amazona had created in the river and as Captain Marvel slowly pushed the remaining fire into the Lake, it spread out and died.
It took seemingly forever - pushing a ship sideways took a lot of effort, and the faster Cap Jr. pushed, the more of the fire tried to escape around the edges, so he finally settled on a fairly low speed, and he only had to go about half a mile - fortunately they had arrived before the fire had managed to burn farther upriver and under some of the many bridges that crossed it.
After the bulk of the fire had been pushed out into the Lake, Captain Marvel Jr. turned his efforts to aid Amazona, and the two of them sped up and down the affected banks near the mouth of the Cuyahoga River, putting out building fires and locating victims and making sure they got medical attention. Finally, they met up in the park where they'd arrived.
"Geez, you look like crap, and smell even worse!" Marvel quipped at his new friend.
She laughed and slapped him, playfully this time. "Fresh! I could say the same for you. Tell you what, come with me!"
She raced away, he followed. In almost no time, she'd reached one of the Republic Steel smelting plants located near the city's waterfront. They raced inside - and she ran up to one of the giant blast furnaces, opened the armored door, and plunged inside. He followed, and an instant later the two emerged, the crud they had been coated with vaporized by the roaring flames in the furnace.
"After we cool off for a few minutes, we'll head back to the clubhouse and report," she suggested.
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Post by Admin on Apr 30, 2022 13:41:44 GMT
When they got back to the clubhouse, they were congratulated by the other Legionnaires, who had been able to watch some of their fire-fighting feats on the Trouble Monitor.
"That was great work, Cap!" Wonder boy confirmed to Captain Marvel, Jr. "Glad you're back so soon. You're just in time to zoom off again with Captain Truth, if you're ready for Test #3? It might be even harder than the first two."
"You guys really put a guy through the wringer!" Marvel Jr. complained jokingly. "Sure, I'm ready. Lucky I've got the Stamina of Atlas! What've you got?"
"I need your help next, Cap," said Captain Truth, almost meekly. "I've got a really scary thing to do today, and I could really use some courageous backup!" Marvel nodded uncertainly. So far, his assessment of Captain Truth had been "confident and self-assured". What could scare such a powerful hero so badly? But he had the Courage of Achilles; if Captain Truth could face whatever it was, Captain Marvel Jr. could as well.
"So what's this scary task?" he asked, wondering if he was going to regret agreeing to this test.
"No time to talk right now; gotta be there in 16 minutes! I was just about to go by myself." Truth reached out and touched him and they popped out of the meeting room. And instantly popped into a wooded setting - as Marvel was coming to expect. "This way!" Truth urged and leaped into the air. "We're just outside of Niagara Falls, Ontario, and we're due in Crystal Beach in 15 minutes."
"What's in Crystal Beach that's so scary?"
"We're going to be the stars in a charity event, with thousands of people attending." Captain Truth noted the questioning look on Captain Marvel Jr.s' face. "I'm scared stiff of public appearances!"
Marvel barked laughter, and nodded his head. "I understand that. I used to feel that way, too. You'll learn; it's part of being a super hero: sometimes you have to make public appearances in front of large audiences. And even if you're STILL scared, you have to do it anyway." He thought for a second. "Sometimes it helps to tell them how scared you are; everyone gets a good laugh and you all feel more comfortable. Don't worry, you'll figure it out. Tell me more!"
"I'm an orphan," Captain Truth started. Marvel nodded again, a little sadly this time: he was an orphan too. "I grew up at the "Thunder Water Home for Boys and Girls". 5 years ago when I first got my powers I left the place. Well, Thunder Water's money is running out - they're a private operation, paid for out of a trust fund left them in the will of Camille Pelletier. She was the widow of Andre Pelletier, and they were both orphans who grew up to be one of the richest couples in Canada during the 1800s. When she died in 1909, she left the entire fortune to the Thunder Water orphanage. But the trust fund is finally running dry, and they need more funding, so they organized a charity event. They don't know that I'm Ken Elliot, who used to live there, of course, but when I heard about the event, I volunteered to help - and they jumped at the chance, and suddenly I was the main attraction! So now I've gotta show off in front of a crowd of thousands of people! And, since you volunteered, so do you!"
By now they were approaching a large amusement park on the shore of Lake Erie, which was crowded with people. The park was running full throttle. "Half the park's proceeds from today are going to Thunder Water, and the full proceeds from ticket sales for the stadium, where we'll spend most of our time. But I'm obliged to put on a air show, too, so all the fair patrons get a chance to watch." He angled toward a medium sized stadium, on the waterfront only a short distance from the park. From the air they could see that it was also jam-packed. "Sill ready for this, Cap?" Truth asked.
"As ready as I'll ever be, Cap!" Marvel quipped back, and they zoomed in for a landing on a bandstand in the middle of the stadium playing field.
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Post by Admin on May 1, 2022 0:23:13 GMT
The crowd was already buzzing when the heroes arrived, speculating on the very unusual stuff already on the field. On the infield inside a track with banked curves were a big car motor, some anchor chains from a ship, 3 Canadian Army heavy tracked vehicles, and a pile of heavy bronze rods. The volume went up with a puzzled buzz when they saw a flying hero they didn't recognize.
The festival organizers were excited and bemused when Captain Truth arrived with a friend. They had worked out a carefully choreographed schedule of exciting feats for their singleton super hero Truth to perform, and now they had to quickly come up with some feats that featured both heroes.
"What can he DO?" one asked plaintively, unaware that the closest microphone was turned on and the entire stadium could hear the question.
"Anything I can do, he can do too," Truth reassured the man.
The committee put their heads together, while the MC introduced one of Canada's most famous heroes to the wildly enthusiastic crowd, and in turn, Captain Truth introduced his friend Captain Marvel Jr. whose appreciation was mostly polite applause. It wasn't the reception he was used to! Truth then made a joke about how he was terrified to be speaking to an audience, and was reassured by the universal laughter and even more thunderous round of applause. He thanked them all for coming - and gave them a quick briefing on all the good things Thunder Water Home for Boys and Girls would do with the money they were raising today.
"The first event will be a one-hundred yard dash race between the two Captains!"
"Keep your time at around 6 seconds," the head of the organizer committee whispered to the two competitors. "You're Marvin, right? You take the early lead, but let Captain Truth catch you just before the finish line. They paid to see him, not you!"
Captain Truth already knew about the 6 second requirement: it wouldn't be very exciting if he went flat out and finished before the retort from the starting gun had even faded - nobody would even be able to see him move. Captain Marvel Jr. only nodded, he'd already decided to let Captain Truth win - for the same reason.
"Then Captain Truth will try the high jump. While he's jumping, Marvin..."
"His name... is Captain Marvel Jr. Please get it right!" Captain Truth interrupted, sounding a bit annoyed, along with a little amused.
"While he's jumping, Captain Marv... el, can you mold that engine block into a ball, and attach it securely to that chain?" Cap Jr. nodded, a little mystified, and the organizer went on to explain the other events they had come up with.
There were half a dozen other feats scheduled, and then the exhibition would end with a game of sky tag and aerial acrobatics, that would take place high over the amusement park, so all of the park patrons and literally hundreds of news photographers, from all over Canada and many from the US and the rest of the world, would be able to see it, as well as the crowd in the stadium.
Captain Truth barely won the hundred, in an easy world-record time of 5.6 seconds, passing Captain Truth at the finish line with an extra lunge. He easily broke the world high jump record, while some of the crowd oohed and aahed as Captain Marvel molded the engine block into a fairly smooth ball, a couple of feet in diameter, and attached it securely to the anchor chain as the organizers had requested.
The next event was a quarter mile race - the two heroes against a high speed motorcycle, which roared into the stadium already at high speed, taking full advantage of the banked corners. It was halfway around the track before the heroes were allowed to start. The result was a three-way photo finish - and even after the photo was developed and enlarged, it was never clear who actually won that race. The motorcycle racer got a lot of nice free publicity out of THAT photo!
All attention turned to the hammer ring, where Captain Truth was cautiously twirling the hand-made hammer, testing it for safety. "Folks, before Captain Marvel Jr. agreed to join us, we planned to ask Captain Truth to take it easy in this event, the hammer throw, for safety reasons - but now, he can just turn it loose! That hammer weighs 600 pounds, folks! The world's record for the 16 pound hammer throw is just under 200' - let's see just what Captain Truth can do!"
Truth whirled across the ring, spinning twice with perfect form, then released the hammer on an arc that easily cleared the top of the stadium, headed southwest out over Lake Erie. Captain Marvel Jr. was already in the air and he rocketed away, closely pacing the zooming hammer, which was already almost out of sight.
"Captain Marvel Jr. will make sure it lands safely in the Lake, folks, and not hit and sink some unlikely boat out there!" the MC announced over the hushed awe of the crowd. "He'll be back soon to announce the NEW WORLD'S RECORD for the 600 pound hammer throw!" Which Captain Marvel Jr. reported was just over 15 miles! "Meanwhile, let's check out our hero Captain Truth - what is HE doing now?"
While Marvel was chasing the hammer, Captain Truth turned his attention to the pile of bronze rods. By squeezing, he was able to mold the rods like modeling clay. It wasn't long until he'd created a diorama, with statues of 2 kids being greeted with open arms by a pair of adults, who were standing just outside an open door, with a sign above it that read "Thunder Water". The action paused for a few minutes, while he made a dedication speech. The director of Thunder Water was practically crying as she accepted the statue - and the donations made by everyone in the stadium. An hour or so into the show, a crew of men came out onto the infield. Two of them, in Canadian Army uniforms, went to one of the tanks and climbed in. The others, who were wearing outfits of asbestos that fully covered them from head to foot and backpacks that each sprouted a hose, took up positions in a half circle near the middle of the field. Captain Truth landed in the middle of the half circle. With a roar, the tank started up and moved out onto the field. Outside the stadium, Captain Marvel Jr. picked up an open-topped steel box the size of an 18-wheel trailer that was filled with sand and flew it inside, where he hovered near mid-field.
"The other 2 are a Ram Kangaroo, and a Mark 1 - and that one is a RAM Badger," a Canadian Army Tank Corps veteran whispered hoarsely in astonishment to those around him as he pointed at the moving tank. "Holy Moley!! I do not believe they are really going to do what I think they're going to do!" But 'they' did.
The Badger rumbled to a stop a dozen yards from the waiting Captain Truth, and the turret rotated slightly, adjusting the aim, and then FIRED!
Literally FIRED! The Badger spit a tongue of burning liquid, which clung to and licked over the flamboyantly-costumed teen hero. The flaming stream cut off after about two seconds, leaving Truth totally engulfed in a column of flame. The people seated in the seats nearest the pillar could feel the tremendous heat, even from more than 50 yards away. The crew in their insulated costumes used their backpack chemical fire extinguishers to smother small spots of fire that splattered off of Captain Truth; Marvel hovered over the field and spilled sand on any larger splatters. Finally the flame covering the hero burned out. To the tremendous cheers of the crowd, the totally unaffected Captain Truth lifted 15 feet into the air, then turned to all quarters of the stadium, bowing several times.
As he touched down again, he heard a loud shout from behind him: "Hey, Cappy! THINK FAST!"
He turned, and the second of the tanks was already flying through the air at him, tossed by Captain Marvel Jr. As the 'surprised' Captain Truth barely caught it in time, Marvel lifted the third tank and tossed it at his friend as well. Captain Truth hastily threw the second tank high into the air in order to catch the new one, then tossed that one into the air a bare instant before he caught the one coming down. Meanwhile Marvel had moved to the Badger, and after he was sure the crew was out, he tossed it at his friend as well. For a few minutes, Captain Truth easily juggled the three tanks.
Then he hollered. "Hey, Cappy! Comin' at YA!" and one of the tanks flew toward Captain Marvel Jr. who caught it, and the flying tank exchange was repeated, until Captain Marvel Jr. was the hero juggling all three tanks. After a few minutes he threw them back to Captain Truth, one at a time. Truth carefully set them down. Tanks weren't made to be juggled, and these three were all much the worse for the wear, dented with hand prints, the turret barrels bent, and the treads torn. It was clear they would need a lot of work before they could be used again.
"Don't worry, folks, these are all obsolete models. They were on their way to the scrap heap when we requisitioned them for this show. In fact, we promised to return them as scrap, saving the Army the cost of demolishing them!"
The two Captains got to work. They landed 3 heavy dump trucks near the tattered tanks and then proceeded to tear them to scrap, carefully filling each truck. They were finished in an amazingly short time.
As the trucks left, they left deep ruts in the turf. By now, the infield of the stadium looked a lot like a war zone, burned by the flamethrower and torn up by the heavy vehicles. "Don't worry, folks, we were due for new grass anyway, and Captain Truth has promised us he'll be back tomorrow to help us put in the new turf. Let's hear it for our heroes!" the MC cheered, and the crowd joined in. The applause, cheering and foot stomping was shaking the stadium!
The MC waited for the stadium to quiet down a bit. "For the grand finale, our Captains will take to the air, and give us an aerial show you're guaranteed to remember forever!"
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Post by Admin on May 2, 2022 11:18:39 GMT
For the finale, the pair of Captains donned bulky backpacks under their capes. Captain Truth gave a hurried explanation of the devices inside the packs. "Two inventions of Dickie Dean, named by his friend Zip: The Ionator and the Neonator. I'm not a genius inventor, but this is what Dickie told me. Or actually, the part I think I understand from what he told me. The Ionator produces an electro-magnetic field that ionizes 'disturbed' air nearby. For us, that's the air behind us as we fly. The Neonator produces a weak radio signal that causes ionized air nearby to glow. The signal changes at random intervals, which changes the color of the glow. As the Ionator field moves away, and the ionized air starts to dissipate, in a few seconds the colors fade away."
Captain Marvel Jr. put the Wisdom of Solomon to work on that explanation. "More and more, I'm starting to think that your friend Dickie Dean is your Earth's version of my inventor friend Dexter Knox." He paused, as he figured out what effect Dickie's inventions would have. "So, when we wear these inventions while we fly, we'll leave behind colored trails, which fade away after a few seconds..." The effect wasn't as esoteric as some might think - Marvel was familiar with the vapor trails he and the other Marvels sometimes left behind them when they flew really fast.
"Exactly!" Truth was excited at his friend's quick understanding. "So when we play tag and do acrobatics, we'll be filling the sky with color. And the last stunt is skywriting. That will take some high precision flying!" Captain Truth was justly proud of his precision flying skills - and from what he'd seen today, this was probably the only power or ability where he might actually hold an edge on his new friend. "Tag - you're IT!" With no warning, he touched his friend and rocketed straight up into the sky, leaving behind a pillar of red light. An instant later, his area of the sky was filled with varied colored loops, twirls, and swirls, as he looped, twisted, and curved. Almost instantly, a second pillar, this one blue, grew from the infield, and within seconds the sky over the fairground was filled with colors! Nobody had heard the word psychedelic yet - but when they did, everyone who was near Crystal Beach that day knew instantly what it meant!
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Post by Admin on May 2, 2022 17:21:46 GMT
The show was over, eventually. The tag game ended in a tie - and not because one or the other player threw the game, but Captain Truth's superior flying precision just offset Captain Marvel Jr.s' superior speed. The skywriting went well - Truth's handwriting was neater than Marvel's. Cap Jr. barely stopped himself from writing "Surrender, Dorothy!", but he WAS the guest here, not the star. Together they wrote a nice tribute to Thunder Water, all the people who had donated, and all those who had helped make the event so successful - and then Captain Truth had broken from the script and added a personal message to all the orphans - who were cheering enthusiastically from the stadium section reserved for them. Both heroes signed autographs for all the Thunder Water residents who wanted them, relying on the super speed, rather than a Dupli-Writer, to get through the task.
Captain Truth realized that he had really enjoyed performing in front of thousands of people - although he also realized he'd probably be just as terrified the next time, and the time after that, and the time after that. As the happy crowd was filing from the stadium, he had flown down to the the infield to confer with the stadium maintenance crew to confirm tomorrow's appointment to help re-sod the stadium. And then an alarm started blaring from somewhere near the stadium entrance.
He flashed up and out of the stadium and then curved back down to the entrance lobby, accompanied by Captain Marvel Jr. Just before they landed, the doors exploded outward! A blood red ray lanced through the explosion and when it touched the two heroes, there were more explosions, and they were thrown backward and across the facing street. Captain Marvel Jr. smashed through an electric pole, tearing down the wires, while Captain Truth was blasted halfway through a brick wall in the building across the street.
Captain Truth cautiously extracted himself from the wall, relieved to see that doing so wouldn't cause the instant collapse of the building. For the moment, Captain Marvel Jr. was busy dealing with the live electrical wires, so Truth would have to deal with this danger himself. Which was actually the way he preferred it - whatever this was, it was disrupting HIS festival! Whoever was throwing explosions around was going to regret it - and pretty darned fast!
A man stomped through the smoke, a large, bald man with a strangely flat-topped head, wearing a three-piece suit and a curious apparatus like a pair of headphones with antennae sticking up slightly above his head from each earpiece, and connected with a heavy wire to a box that hung from a strap around his neck. There were several buttons and a knob on the top of the box, and on the front what appeared to be a zoom lens for camera. He was holding the box in his right hand, and when he spotted Captain Truth, he pressed one of the buttons, and the blood red ray lanced out again, and exploded against the front of the hero!
With an instant to brace himself, Captain Truth wasn't blasted through the air this time, but he was still knocked on his can and it HURT!
"Ah, Captain Truth, 'Canada's Hero'!" the man sneered. "I was hoping to encounter you! How better to prove the power of Dr. Electra?!" He shifted the aim of the box. "Have another taste of my dreaded... Atom Ray!"
Truth was startled - the man's voice was familiar, and that finally triggered recognition! Dr. Electra was Ned "Knuckles" Socco, another orphan who had once resided at Thunder Water. He was about 3 years older than Ken Elliot, and he was always in trouble, He was a genius inventor, but he never used his inventions for good. Still, Ken had admired him for his genius, and was following in his footsteps as a troublemaker, when he'd finally been expelled from the orphanage... only a few days before Ken got his powers, in fact. Away from the bad influence of the older boy, Ken had turned his life around and soon began his career as Captain Truth.
His instant of startled hesitation gave Dr. Electra the chance to attack again. Electra spun the dial with his thumb and the red ray lanced out and struck Captain Truth - and though he felt an instant chill, nothing else happened. Electra stepped forward and lead with a punch from his left hand, which slammed into the side of Catain Truth's head, spun him around, and knocked him down. In the five years since he had mysteriously gained his powers, nothing had hurt him that bad, not even blows from his powerful teammates. Jr felt even more pain when he hit the ground, and suddenly he realized...
'The Atom Ray has somehow neutralized my powers!'.
Dr. Electra stepped closer and launched a kick at his head. Truth wasn't able to dodge. Electra's ankle cracked against the side of Captain Truth's jaw and he rolled backwards and stopped moving, unconscious.
"That was a cowardly attack!" came a voice from above. "How brave are you against someone who can fight back?" Captain Marvel Jr. asked coldly.
Dr. Electra didn't bother to reply. He flipped his hand around and buttons, and the ruby-red ray slammed into Marvel again and an instant later, he fell from the sky. Another kick, and he, too, was unconscious.
The two awakened, and quickly realized they were in the bottom of a row boat, bound together with heavy chains. Dr. Electra was standing over them, gloating.
"As always, my plans succeed. The orphanage will fail without the donations, my revenge for being expelled, and I will become famous as the man who killed Captain Truth - with Captain Marvin thrown in for good measure! My men are going to sink this boat, and without your powers, stolen by my mighty Atom Ray, you two won't be able to escape! And your last thoughts, as water fills your lungs, will be of the mighty man, soon to be Emperor of Earth, who defeated you like the two children you are!"
"It's "Captain Marvel!" Cap replied, with his fingers crossed. Would Zeus even be able to hear him in another universe? The magic lightning flashed from the sky, but it fizzled harmlessly away before it reached him.
"My Atom Ray projector produces a field that blocks lightning!" Dr. Electra crowed. But this display made him a little nervous. He hadn't know that Captain Marvin could call lightning bolts. Of course, lighting couldn't hurt him as long he had the Atom Ray projector, but who know what else Marvin could do? He kicked Captain Marvel Jr. in the head, knocking him out.
"I take my leave. Today, I'm Dr. Electra, but soon, using my incredible genius, I will take my rightful place as Ruler of the World!" He stepped out of the boat and onto the rope ladder hanging on the side of a much larger cabin cruiser that was pulled alongside the rowboat, pulled out a pistol and emptied the clip through the floor of the wooden rowboat, then climbed aboard the cruiser which sped away.
Even with the water rising fast, Captain Truth kept fighting, but he quickly realized it was useless. He shrugged mentally. 'I always wondered if this would work, but I never needed the power before...'. Out loud, he shouted as loud as he could:
"Ka-BANG!"
A different flavor of magic lighting flashed, and a figure appeared, his feet floating in air an inch above the already ankle-deep water in the sinking rowboat. A figure we've seen before, the awesome genie Yama Lama of Ka-Bang! "I am the Yama Lama of Ka-Bang. You have just summoned me, Ken Elliot! What is your wish?"
"I'm in a bit of a fix, here, Lama. Can you give me powers like Bingo, just for a while, just this one time?"
"Certainly, my son, certainly! You are his equal in all respects. Although I perceive that you are much more modest than he. It's a fault that is going to lead to trouble for him. I've tried to talk to him about it, but you know how he is..."
Captain Truth had to turn his head and spit out water. "We don't have much time, oh mighty Lama. The powers, please?"
The genie looked abashed. "Certainly!" he snapped his fingers. "It's done - you have powers equal to those of my master, Bingo the Wonder Boy, for an hour. When they fade, your natural powers will be restored." he snapped his fingers again, and was gone.
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Post by Admin on May 4, 2022 0:01:09 GMT
Captain Truth felt his strength surge, and easily but carefully broke free of his chains. Out over the water, he could see the speedboat throwing up spumes of water as it circled the sinking rowboat at high speed. Dr. Electra was the only person aboard - apparently Dr. Electra wanted to watch the show! The speedboat's name was written large across both sides of the hull: Sovereign. When he saw Captain Truth sit up, Electra hurriedly aimed the Atom Ray and the ruby ray blasted out again, and the rowboat exploded violently in a cloud of steam and wooden splinters.
Captain Truth and the shackled, unconscious Captain Marvel Jr. appeared in the meeting room in Philadelphia. "Lost his powers, knocked out by a kick in the head, take care of him! He'll probably be back to normal in an hour," Truth hastily told his teammates and disappeared again. He wasn't worried about Marvel - his teammates would easily free him, and the Legion had on-call access to some of the top medical professionals in the country.
He popped into the park near Niagara Falls, and pushed himself to the best speed Bingo's power would provide. He couldn't tell right away if Bingo was faster than he was, but any difference wasn't significant right now. It took a lot of zooming back and forth over the Eastern end of Lake Erie but eventually, from a mile away, he spotted a boat that must be the Sovereign, zooming towards the New York coastline of the Lake. It was hardly inconspicuous, the bow high out of the air with a high, long rooster tail of frothing white water and mist thrown into air behind it.
So far he hadn't been spotted again. 'I can't risk getting hit by that ray again! Not sure how I'd get even more powers on short notice!' he thought. 'Gotta take him by surprise and get the Atom Ray away from him. Hope Bingo can hold his breath for a long time!' He got behind the boat, still a long way off and dove into the water, then pushed himself to the highest 'flight speed' his powers could generate. It wasn't long before he reached the turbulent wake, and then he slowed - he didn't want to overshoot!
When he could see the propellers, he braced himself. When he'd first gained his powers, he'd discovered that there was often no good way to test his invulnerability in dangerous situation without just 'doing it'. He'd just have to trust Bingo's powers (which hadn't let him down so far). He reached out stuck his hands into the propeller blades... and they shattered! (And even more importantly, they didn't hurt him...)
At the best speed he could muster, he popped up out of the water and flashed forward into the speed boat's cockpit. Dr. Electra had been standing behind the large helm wheel when his boat instantly lost most of his speed, and he'd crashed forward into the wheel, and then tumbled over into the console, and currently his feet were pointing at the ceiling. There was no way he could react before Captain Truth reached him and easily crushed the Atom Ray generator into junk. He then turned back to his foe to check him for injuries. The wheel was bent and mangled, and the console was crushed where his head had struck - but Dr. Electra was climbing to his feet, seemingly uninjured!
"Fool! Even without my Atom Ray, I am as invulnerable and immovable as you!"
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Post by Admin on May 4, 2022 17:31:32 GMT
Dr. Electra (Knuckles Socco) stepped forward and slammed a powerful punch to Captain Truth's job. He hadn't earned his orphanage nickname as Knuckles Socco for nothing. By itself, that blow that would have knocked out almost any normal man, and it was somehow enhanced to the point where Captain Truth actually felt it! It felt as if he had been hit by a fist covered in something as hard as diamond, and it stung mildly, about like a mild sunburn. He was a bit shocked - was this somehow related to Bingo's powers rather than his own? Knuckles followed up with a punch to the solar plexus and again, it stung mildly - but it didn't really hurt. Truth punched back, pulling his punches as he normally would with a regular human - he didn't want to kill his foe, after all. And was shocked again as Knuckles simply shrugged off.
"My invention saved me! A flexible, though indestructible plastic. I'm coated with a surface that cannot be penetrated! Once I've disposed of you, I'll build a new and better Atom Ray - and rule the world!"
It was a strange fight. The hardest blows Knuckles (Dr. Electra) threw stung Captain Truth a bit, his punching power slightly enhanced by the invulnerable covering on his fists. But merely human strength couldn't really hurt Captain Truth. But his own punches, even when he unleashed his full strength, even when he used his speed to deliver dozens of blows in a second, didn't bother Knuckles. If he enjoyed fighting as much as some of his teammates (notably Bingo and Super Ann) the fight might have gone on until Knuckles dropped of exhaustion. But his powers gave Captain Truth other options.
"Don't go away, I'll be right back," he quipped. Where would Dr. Electra go from here, anyway, on a damaged boat a couple miles offshore? But before Electra could snarl a response, he was being wrapped in the Sovereign's docking lines. "You may be invulnerable, but you don't seem to be any stronger than anyone else. I'll bet you can't get loose!" And he was right. "And now - let's turn you over to the Mounties."
The proceeds from the stadium sales were recovered and delivered to the Mounties along with his prisoner, and Captain Truth popped back to Philly. It was time to vote on membership in the Legion of Super Teens for Captain Marvel Jr.
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Post by Admin on May 5, 2022 0:38:27 GMT
Captain Marvel was seated in a small room outside the meeting room for a LONG time while the Legion discussed his initiation and voted on his admittance. A LOT longer than he expected, whether they were going to accept him or not. He hadn't 'won' any of the tests, but he felt like he'd acquitted himself well - though he was a bit embarrassed about Dr. Electra managing to neutralize his powers. But it could have been he who called on Bingo's powers, with a little luck. Maybe they would hold that against him - but what was taking them SO long? There was a TV in the waiting room, and a lot of magazines and some books, but none of them held his interest. What could they be talking about?
Finally, Super Ann came to get him. She wouldn't tell him anything, but she looked furious. In the meeting room, nobody looked happy. Nobody wanted to talk - but it was Wonder Boy's job, so he finally started.
"We all apologize for keeping you waiting so long, Cap. Every one of us was impressed with your performance in our tests. You showed courage, power, skill - and most importantly, you always acted like a hero, and a teammate. But..."
Everyone groaned, and none of them would meet Cap Jr.'s eyes.
"But... our constitution specifically states that every member must have a unique power. Your powers are very impressive, in fact, you may be more powerful than any one of us. But all the powers you HAVE exhibited - super strength, super speed, invulnerability and flight are already duplicated by at least one other of our members. By our rules, we cannot offer you membership. We're all very sorry, Captain Marvel Jr."
Marvel's mind raced, at the speed of Mercury, to no avail. They were right! He'd never felt more miserable.
'I wonder if I'll ever see any of these guys again,' he thought sadly. 'The communiporter magic won't work again once I've been returned to my Earth. I'll really miss them.' He suddenly perked up a bit. 'Hey, wait - I can get back here by going to the Rock of Eternity first. Even if I'm not a member, I can still hang out with these guys occasionally.' He stood up and prepared to say 'Au Revoir' to his new friends - and then a thought struck him like his magic lighting!
"The ROCK OF ETERNITY!" he yelled. "I DO have a unique power that none of you guys have. "You need to use the magic gems in your Legion to reach my universe, but I can get from there to here on my own! None of you guys have the power to travel between universes by yourselves - but I DO!!!"
He was IN!
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