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Post by Admin on Nov 22, 2020 1:01:33 GMT
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Post by Admin on Nov 22, 2020 1:07:18 GMT
Nuclear Furnace IntroductionDr. Lambda faces an old foe, newly enhanced, and meets some new allies - all before dinner with the PresidentSetting
Chicago, Illinois : September, 1942An Exciting OfferNed Quest walked into a room at the University of Chicago. A U.S. Army general who had been seated at the desk in the room rose to greet him.
“Welcome, Dr. Quest. I’m General Leslie Groves. It’s a real pleasure to meet you!”
“Thank you, General. I’m pleased to meet you as well. Can you tell me why I’m here? The War Department mentioned a secret project, but I’m still in the dark about the purpose of the project.”
“Good to know the War Department security is good, Dr. Quest, even with trusted Department employees. On behalf of the United States government and the War Department, we would like you to act as a consultant to the top secret Chicago atomic energy research project. Are you interested?”
Ned’s eyes lit up. “You bet! Atomic energy is a favorite interest of mine. But why are you asking me? Nobody’s ever paid any attention to my theories and papers before.” He thought for a couple of seconds and added a disclaimer. “I'm not interested in working in weapon development roles, though. I understand the necessity, but there are other ways to support the war effort, and I would prefer to work in those areas. You may be familiar with my current work?” In the months since his observatory had been destroyed, and he had been physically and mentally enhanced by an alien medical potion1), Ned had vastly advanced radar technology, and had also developed a system to encrypt radio signals that he thought might prove to be unbreakable.
“I understand your concerns, Dr. Quest, and we do indeed have many projects in areas other than weapons. And I would hardly say nobody pays attention to your theories. Your unpublished paper on the theory of stellar thermonuclear reactions is of intense interest to the leading physicists in this project, including Doctors Einstein and Fermi.” Ned was stunned to hear that these two famous men had taken an interest in his work. He’d been resigned to not completing that paper until after the war.
“In particular, we think that your recently burgeoning talent as an inventor can be put to good use by the project.” So Groves was familiar with his current work for the Department of War. “And finally, President Roosevelt himself recommended you to the project. He didn’t divulge his reasons, but I’ve found that he always has good reasons.” Ned was sure that the president’s recommendation must have something to do with his being Dr. Lambda. He was equally sure that Grove was aware of his heroic identity, and appreciated the effort to keep his secret a secret.
“General, I’m honored by the offer and flattered to hear that you, Albert, Enrico and the President think so highly of me. Why don’t you tell me more about what you have in mind?” A short time later Ned was signing a contract to work on the Manhattan Project.
Next: Late Night Treachery |
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Post by Admin on Nov 22, 2020 1:08:54 GMT
Nuclear Furnace Late Night TreacheryAugust 1942Ned had arrived in Chicago by train from from Marble City this morning, to visit the University of Chicago headquarters of the Manhattan Project. Tomorrow morning he was scheduled to demonstrate his latest device, the RadCAM. Some biomedical researchers had approached Project with a program to investigate the effects of controlled exposure to atomic radiation, and they needed a controllable radiation source. Dr. Lambda also had an unusual appointment scheduled in Chicago tomorrow - he had been invited to have dinner with the President! Ned had no idea why Roosevelt was in Chicago or why FDR wanted to meet with Dr. Lambda, but he wasn't going to turn down such an invitation!
RadCAM stood for radiation controller and modulator. It contained a sphere of enriched uranium and electronically focused the radiation emitted by the uranium into a beam. The beam could be controlled precisely: dispersed or tightly focused, the intensity varied, and even modulated or pulsed. The circuitry in the RadCAM was based on similar circuitry in Dr. Lambda's Stellar Scepter.
Ned set up the prototype in the laboratory of the two-room Quonset hut on campus which had been designated for his use and tested it thoroughly to make sure that it had not been damaged in transit. The desk in the lab was buried in his schematics, blueprints, and construction notes. After he demonstrated the device tomorrow, the project’s machine shop was going to build four more of the devices for the research teams. Ned was particularly proud of the RadCAM; it gave researchers a flexible tool unlike anything they had ever had access to before.
As he worked late into the night, Ned was surprised by a knock on his lab door at about 1:30 A.M. The caller was Jason Heber, one of the machinists for the Manhattan Project, who had worked with Ned briefly on other projects. “Sorry to bother you so late, Dr. Quest. I was working late, too, and when I saw your light on, I thought maybe you and I could go over your blueprints real quick? I want to make sure I understand everything before I get started building these things tomorrow.”
Obligingly, Ned turned to the desk where he had emptied his briefcase. Then something hit him in the back of the head, and he slumped onto the table, unconscious.An Old Foe, RenewedWhen he woke up, Ned Quest was lying on the floor, bound and gagged. There were two men in his lab, Jason Heber and another - he was stunned to recognize the German saboteur ElektriFeuer, who he’d captured in early 1942 in Dr. Lambda's first major public appearance. They were just finishing stuffing Ned’s drawings, plans, and schematics into a suitcase. As Ned watched, they turned to the RadCAM itself.
ElectroFire adjusted the settings, then drank from a flask and stepped in front of the instrument. He ordered Heber to “Turn on the machine!”. He stood motionless as the RadCAM came to life and a pale blue beam, almost invisible, flashed out of the machine and struck him. At first, there didn't see to be any effects, and Heber increased the intensity. The German mystery man started to look uncomfortable, but he didn’t say anything. Heber turned the gain up again, and finally, the effect was obvious. ElektriFeuer started screaming and twisting in agony, screams as loud as any Ned had ever heard. Then they cut off abruptly as ElektriFeuer passed out and fell out of the radiation beam.
Heber panicked. Grabbing up the case of documents, he ran out the lab door. ElektriFeuer lay on the floor, moaning softly. As Ned watched, he gradually started to glow with a blue light, which Ned recognized as the same blue as Cherenkov radiation. As difficult as it was to believe, there was a nuclear reaction going on inside this man!
Ned’s briefcase had been knocked to the floor. Even though his wrists were tied, if he could reach the Stellar Scepter in a secret compartment in the bottom of the bag, he could get free. As he reached the bag, ElektriFeuer stopped groaning and painfully struggled to sit up. Ned slid his hand into the bag and grasped the Stellar Scepter. A quick mental command and he was free.
Whatever was happening to ElektriFeuer, right now, the change was out of control. He shook his head, and raised his hands from the floor, and glowing blue beams shot out, exploding against the wall and blowing up the RadCAM. The Stellar Scepter was clicking loudly and violently; Ned had added a Geiger counter to the Scepter when he had begun working routinely around radioactive materials. Whenever ElektriFeuer gestured, a beam blasted out, and whatever that beam hit exploded with a burst of radiation. The Stellar Scepter automatically created a strong force field to protect Ned from radiation, though it decreased the power available to him for offense.
The building around them was starting to collapse in flames. ElektriFeuer stood untouched in the falling debris - anything that touched the glowing heat shield around him vanished in a flash of light and heat. The RadCAM treatment had apparently increased his power significantly over his first encounter with Dr.Lambda, when his shield had weakened quickly.
The German saboteur blasted his way out of the rubble and began walking northeast toward downtown and the lake. Actually, staggering northeast would have been a better term. And every time he waved his arms to help his balance, a blue beam would burst from his hand, and something else would explode.
Next: Help is on the Way |
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Post by Admin on Nov 22, 2020 1:10:45 GMT
Nuclear Furnace Help is on the WayNed used the Stellar Scepter to up the power to his own shield, and took a few seconds to don Dr. Lambda's costume. He usually wore the body suit under his civilian clothes these days, and it only took an instant for the Scepter to disintegrate his outer layer of clothing, and another few instants to don the helmet. As always when he made a forced switch, he was momentarily distracted by irrelevant thoughts. 'There should be some way I can use the power of the Scepter to save my clothes - maybe compress them down into a pellet or something. Even on my new salary, I can't afford many quick changes like this!' He took another couple of seconds to wrap the burning debris of his hut inside a force field ball, which robbed the fire of oxygen and doused it. Then he raced after ElektriFeuer. And quickly realized he had a dilemma on his hands.
One of ElektriFeuer's blasts had started a project dormitory on fire. And there were numerous other fires scattered around, where the random beams of destruction his foe was unwittingly unleashing were causing explosions. And the German continued to stagger away, although he seemed to be somewhat steadier than he had been a few minutes ago. If Ned saved the people in the dorm, who knows what other damage the out-of-control mystery villain might do?
He had just decided to rescue the people in the burning dorm when the air beside him solidified into a small woman wearing a light blue costume decorated with yellow stylized flames. Though Ned had not yet met many of the other mystery heroes springing up across the country, he quickly recognized her. “Flux!”
Before he could say anything else, she was talking - and talking so fast that even with his enhanced reaction speed, he could barely make out what she was saying.
“What's|up|Doc?|What|can|I|do|to|help?|I'm|here|to|see|FDR|tomorrow|but|I|got|plenty|of|time|to|help|you|right|now.|”
Rescuing people from a burning building seemed to call for speed, so he made up his mind. “Glad to see you, Flux! Can you get people out of that burning building while I try to stop that monster?” Meanwhile, he was thinking 'She's here to see FDR too - I wonder what's up?' “But you have to avoid the explosions and the blue guy as much as you can - he's radioactive!”
“Radiation|can't|hurt|me|my|power|protects|me!|” she sounded confident, if he was actually hearing her correctly. “I’m|off|quick|like|a|bunny!|” And, as good as her word, the super-speedster vanished. Immediately, the burning dorm was engulfed in a faint blue and yellow mist, and even Ned's enhanced reaction speed only let him see her blue and yellow blur swooping into and out of the burning building, and with each swoop, a crowd of bewildered people was growing, well away from the path the glowing man was taking.
Before Dr. Lambda could tackle ElektriFeuer, General Groves ran out of a nearby office building. He was apparently working late as well, as he was still in his uniform, and he was carrying a megaphone. He started organizing the people who were running around frantically. Relieved that there was someone taking charge of the survivors, Dr. Lambda flew to Groves at top speed. “General, you need to order everyone away from the glowing man. Not only is he blowing things up, but the explosions are emitting radiation! People will get sick if they don’t get out of the area soon!”
Groves didn’t seem too surprised to see the red-and-gray-clad mystery-man. “Dr. Lambda! I’ll start the evacuation - you and Major Power stop that maniac!”
'Another mystery hero, here in Chicago, no doubt to meet the President as well? Something big must be up.' he pondered. 'But… no time to wonder about it now. I wonder where Major…'
Ned was distracted when another flying man landed next to him, a black man wearing a green and gray costume. He noticed with envy that the landing was much more graceful than Dr. Lambda normally achieved. “Looks like we're meeting a little sooner than Roosevelt planned,” Major Power observed wryly. “What can I do to help?”
There were now a half dozen fires burning randomly, and ElektriFeuer had started moving more purposefully. If Major Power could handle the glowing man, Ned thought that Dr. Lambda should be able to handle the fires. “Are you invulnerable to radiation, Major?”
Major Power nodded slowly, just a little doubt showing on his face; he really didn’t know for sure. “I haven't run into anything yet that really hurts me. Mountains aren't affected by radiation, so I should be OK.”
That was confusing, but Ned didn't have time to ask. “OK, see if you can slow that guy down, and I’ll put out the fires. Watch out — he has some kind of disintegration shield around him!” Before Ned could say more, Major Power was gone.
Using the gravity-defying powers of his Stellar Scepter, Dr. Lambda trapped a big ball of water in the river within a spherical force-field, scooped it up, and flew back to the fires. He used the ball of water much like a pencil eraser, wiping it over the burning rubble and erasing the fire wherever he touched it. He finished just about the same time that Flux finished evacuating the building, and together they headed to the site where the glowing man was fighting with Major Power.
By now there were about a dozen MPs on the scene, a handful of civilian police, and the first fire trucks were just arriving. General Groves was warning them that radiation was the biggest danger, and the emergency responders worked together to herd people away from the area.
The glowing man seemed to have recovered from the daze caused by his transformation and having the whole lab fall in on him, and he was shooting beam after beam at Major Power. They beams didn’t seem to be hurting the hero, but Power wasn't able to fight forward through the explosions.
Flux immediately blurred off directly at the glowing blue villain, racing to the attack, rushing into a situation about which she knew almost nothing.
ElektriFeuer only managed to loose one force blast as Flux raced toward him, but that was enough. She ran right into the explosion and was thrown high into the sky by the blast. Dr. Lambda blasted the glowing man with a force-blast of his own, and he turned away from Major Power, who flew to catch Flux before she crashed back to the ground.
Meanwhile, Dr. Lambda and ElektriFeuer exchanged more force-blasts. Dr. Lambda’s Stellar Scepter-generated shield held against the explosions, but his own Scepter blasts didn’t seem to have any effect on the German. He realized that this battle might go on for a long time.
“Ah, Dr. Lambda! I have been hoping to encounter you again! For once and for all, I will demonstrate the truth of Aryan superiority!” This man spoke colloquial American without an accent. Although a large flickering blue flame surrounded him, nothing around him was burning.
“It will take more than words to prove anything to me, buddy! How'd you get out of prison, anyway?” As he was talking, Dr. Lambda used the Stellar Scepter to pick up a parked truck, which he flung at the blue figure. Just before it reached him, there was a blinding flash. A short blast of intense heat washed out from the blue man, igniting some trash on the sidewalks and charring the paint on the cars and buildings nearby. The blue man didn’t even seem to notice the attack.
“Foolish, feeble American! No American prison can hold me. I am reborn the pure blue flame of the Aryan race, and I am going to scour the infestation of your kind from the face of the earth! You will fear the wrath of ElektriFeuer! Before you die in flaming agony, you will beg for our mercy!”
'Well,' Ned thought, 'maybe he doesn’t speak such great American English, after all! Even my most pretentious acquaintances, like Bill Littlejohn, don't use florid language like that.'
For another minute, Dr. Lambda and the Aryan Flame exchanged force-blasts, with little visible effect on either. Suddenly, the Flame pointed both arms at Dr. Lambda and unleashed a double barrage.
Perhaps Dr. Lambda had been a little careless. Though the doubly intense explosion didn’t penetrate his shield, it did throw him backward against the wall of a building. The unexpected impact from behind stunned him, and he collapsed to the ground, almost unconscious, unable to move. His Stellar Scepter’s shield went down, leaving him vulnerable to the Aryan Flame’s blasts. The Flame sneered and took his time aiming his final blast at Dr. Lambda, savoring his victory over this feeble American mystery hero. He then unleashed his blast. But his arrogance in savoring his victory over one enemy while others yet remained to be vanquished saved Dr. Lambda’s life.Round TwoAt exactly that instant, a green and gray figure landed between Dr. Lambda and ElektriFeuer, and the blue blast exploded against him, splashing harmlessly off his mighty chest. Dr. Lambda wasn’t too dazed to realize that Major Power had just saved his life.
“We’ll take over for now, Dr. Lambda!” proclaimed Major Power. Without waiting for a response, he rocketed directly at ElektriFeuer.
The glowing blue German pointed both arms at Major Power and began blasting him, alternating blasts between his left and right arms. Whenever a beam struck Power, there was an explosion, and a sharp spike of radiation. Once again, Major Power was brought to a halt by the constant explosions.
Meanwhile, Flux had recovered and now raced toward the scene of the battle at top speed. She saw that ElektriFeuer was giving Major Power all of his attention, so Mina decided to try the old hit him a thousand times before he can blink routine. She hadn't heard Dr. Lambda's warning about a disintegrating heat barrier that apparently protected ElektriFeuer from attacks.
Dr. Lambda saw Flux approaching and tried to yell, but she was too fast. Suddenly there was a blinding flash, and a wave of intense heat washed over the area, and Flux was nowhere to be seen. The horror of what he had just seen filled Ned Quest’s mind, causing his adrenaline to surge, and he flew from the ground and fired blast after blast at the ElektriFeuer. “You killed Flux, you Nazi beast! You’ll pay for that!”
ElektriFeuer was having trouble battling both Major Power and Dr. Lambda at the same time, and both were forcing their way through a barrage of explosions, getting closer and closer to the villain, with vengeance on their minds.
Suddenly, Flux popped up next to Dr. Lambda and Major Power and said, “You|guys|be|careful|about|getting|too|close|to|him!|There’s|some|kind|of|invisible|fire|around|him,|and|the|closer|you|get,|the|hotter|it|gets!|I|almost|got|flash|fried!|If|I|hadn’t|been|able|to|change|directions|fast|enough,|I’d|be|dead|now.|But|they|don’t|call|me|the|First|Lady|of|Fast|for|nothing!”
Their horror at Flux’s apparent death vanished. Major Power turned to Dr. Lambda and asked him, “Must be her press agent that calls her the First Lady of Fast?”
Dr. Lambda, looking equally puzzled, replied with a grin, “I wonder what the real First Lady would say about that?”
Meanwhile, ElektriFeuer aimed both arms, and the ground where the three mystery heroes were standing blew up with the most powerful explosion yet. When the smoke cleared and the debris stopped raining down, Dr. Lambda and Major Power were still standing casually in exactly the same place and pose, both were floating in midair over a big hole in the ground. Dr. Lambda’s shield surrounded them, and neither man looked the worse for wear.
Flux zipped back from wherever she had run to and commented, very slowly (for her) and pointedly, “I'll tell you exactly what the 'real' First Lady would say - she would tell you that you really shouldn't ignore a villain who can shoot death-rays!”
This episode was starting to get very dangerous. The explosions caused by ElektriFeuer were getting stronger, apparently as he grew more used to his power, and the radiation bursts were becoming more frequent. Too many more of them, and the entire population of this part of Chicago would be hospitalized with radiation poisoning.
Ned had an idea how to stop this villain, but he needed a few minutes to gather some materials together - materials to contain an atomic reaction. Since the Manhattan Project was doing atomic energy research, Ned was hopeful that he could find the stuff he needed on the UC campus.
“Can you guys keep him busy for a while?” Dr. Lambda asked quickly. “I’ll be right back!”
“Get to it!” Flux yelled.
“We’ll be fine,” said Major Power. “Go with the power of the mountains!”
Next: Flame in the Box |
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Post by Admin on Nov 22, 2020 1:11:53 GMT
Nuclear Furnace Flame in the BoxDr. Lambda flew back to the campus. He needed some lead sheeting and boron. He knew that there was several tons of boron in a storage room, but he wasn’t sure where to get the lead. As he flew over the domed auditorium, he remembered from a tour on his initial visit that the roof of the auditorium was covered in lead plates like shingles. He didn’t want to wreck the auditorium, but his need was great. He used the Stellar Scepter to tear off a bunch of the lead plates, and stacked them on the ground. He then ripped the roof off the storage building and picked up a couple of tons of boron metal.
Since boron absorbed neutrons, it was used in the control rods that control nuclear reactions. The Manhattan Project was well-prepared to build new reactors. 'But they're going to need to order more boron after tonight. If there is an after!' Ned thought grimly.
Dr. Lambda carried both the boron and the lead plates back to the scene of the battle. Major Power was attempting to keep ElektriFeuer’s full attention, and every time the German tried to blast something, Power tried to get between the blast and its target. Flux had discovered that, whenever the blue blasts hit something solid, they exploded, even if they had not yet reached their intended targets, so whenever Major Power failed to intercept a blast beam, she was trying to block these beams with pieces of rubble.
Between the two of them, they had managed to prevent total destruction of the surrounding neighborhood, but the street where they were fighting resembled a battlefield. Explosions had pocked the street with smoking craters, parked cars and trucks were burning, and all the windows facing the street had been shattered.
Dr. Lambda put down his materials and swooped up to Major Power. “I need your help! Can you build a big box out of those lead plates? Leave the top off, and then crush enough boron to fill it, and then fill it halfway with the powdered boron. I’ll keep this guy occupied!”
Without a word, Power flew to his task. He used his super-strength to mold the lead into a big box, and filled it partially with boron. Meanwhile, Dr. Lambda had enclosed ElektriFeuer in a spherical force-shield with his Stellar Scepter. The German was blasting the shield continuously from the inside, and Dr. Lambda knew he couldn’t hold the shield for more than a few more seconds.
Major Power flew back to him. “The box is ready, Dr. Lambda!”
“Now we need to get him into the box, and then bury him with the rest of the boron, and then seal the box shut!“ Ned gasped out. “Major Power, will your invulnerability protect you from the flame shield?”
“It will,” Power said with certainty.
“OK, I’m going to let him go. Flux, you distract him while I get the rest of the boron ready. Major Power, when I say go, you pick him up and drop him in the box. I’ll dump the rest of the boron on him, and then you close and seal the box! Got it?” His two allies nodded, and Dr. Lambda said, “OK, let’s do this!”
Dr. Lambda dropped his shield. Flux started throwing pieces of debris at ElektriFeuer at super-speed. As each piece of rubble came close to him, it flared in a bright light and vanished. The First Lady of Fast was throwing stuff so fast that the glare seemed constant. Dr. Lambda used the Stellar Scepter to pick up the rest of the powdered boron, and then yelled, “Go!”
Major Power swooped behind ElektriFeuer and grabbed him. The fire-shield flared brighter than any prior flare. The tires on the nearby cars melted, and some of the gas tanks exploded. Flux sped to try and put out the fires as Major Power lifted ElektriFeuer violently in the air, then dumped him in the box before he could react, and Dr. Lambda immediately filled the rest of the box with powdered boron until only ElektriFeuer's head was left exposed. Power picked up the top of the box, put it in place, and then squeezed the edges until it was sealed.
Dr. Lambda quickly surrounded the box with a force-shield. The three heroes watched for a few seconds, half-expecting the box to explode and ElektriFeuer to emerge from the explosion, more enraged than ever. Nothing happened right away, and the three started hoping that perhaps this battle might be over. Dr. Lambda’s Stellar Scepter measured decreasing levels of background radiation, and within a few minutes, the radiation level had returned nearly to normal. There wasn’t any indication that the German was going to break out of the box.
The Astral Avenger turned to Major Power, who was covered with soot, but otherwise seemed OK. “Are you all right?” asked Dr. Lambda. “That was a pretty powerful flare you just lived through!”
“It sure was. That’s the most painful thing I’ve felt since I became Major Power! But I'm fine. Do you think it’s over?”
Dr. Lambda lowered his force-shield and said, “The blue glow around ElektriFeuer appears to be Cherenkov Radiation, which means that there was a nuclear reaction going on inside him. He seemed to be getting more powerful as time passed. I was hoping that we could dampen that reaction, and it looks like it worked.” He turned to Flux. “Right now I'm more worried about the First Lady of Fast, I just want to be sure her power really does protect her against radiation.” He aimed the Stellar Scepter at Flux, but the Geiger Counter remained silent.
“Toldja|so|Doc!|Huēhuecoyōtl|set|it|up|so|that|that|radio|stuff|goes|right|through|me|like|grass|through|a|goose!|My|powers|make|me|pretty|much|immune|to|the|effects|of|light|and|heat.|” The other mystery heroes thought the high pitched hisses she was making might be laughter, but it was hard to be sure.
“Who is Huey Coyote?” Dr. Lambda was puzzled. He didn't know much about magic or myths, as they weren't explainable by scientific theory.
“Huēhuecoyōtl was an Aztec god associated with music and mischief,” Major Power replied, pronouncing the name correctly. Since he had acquired his own powers from Aduadu2), he'd done some reading into the various mythologies from around the world - and because of his association with an ancient African god, he knew that mythologies were about more than just myths!
“Getting back to the problem at hand, I wish we could see inside the box!” Dr. Lambda changed the subject to something he was more comfortable with, science! “We could kill him if we keep him there long enough. But even x-rays can’t see through lead.”
Flux crowed, '|My|turn|to|shine|boys|” Her outline blurred, and she moved into the box like a ghost and then moved right back out again and become solid.
“|Well|Doc|I|need|you|to|shine|actually|while|I|just|show|off.|He's|not|glowing|any|longer|so|its|as|dark|as|Hitler's|soul|in|there.|”
Ned was distracted; he was trying to figure out a scientific explanation for how she had managed that trick. But making a light inside the box was easy; he concentrated and said “Done!” She blurred and disappeared again. And was back and solid again a couple of seconds later.
“|He's|not|glowing|blue|any|more.|He|is|unconscious|and|still|breathing.|But|you|should|put|a|couple|of|holes|here|and|here.|” As she touched the spots, Major Power poked holes at those spots with his fingers.
Seeing Grove and the military police approaching cautiously, Dr. Lambda figured it would be safe to turn ElektriFeuer over to the scientists of the Manhattan Project. He gave the whole story to General Groves, who called up some special radiation containment equipment that was kept by the project and took custody of the German.
Next: Laying the Foundation |
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Post by Admin on Nov 22, 2020 1:13:00 GMT
Nuclear Furnace Laying the FoundationThe 3 mystery heroes were left alone for a while as General Grove organized the cleanup effort. “So|we're|all|here|to|see|the|President|,” Flux chirped.
“Can you slow down a little and speak at normal speed?” Major Power interrupted her. “I apologize, but it is really difficult to understand you.”
She nodded, and her face took on a look of concentration like a drunk trying to keep from slurring words. “Sorry, I'm still learning to control my powers. It takes a lot of concentration to use my speed in other ways and still speak at a normal rate. Just another one of Huēhuecoyōtl's little jokes. He IS known as a prankster, after all.” She smiled brightly. “So anyway, what|do|you|guys|think| about why FDR wants to see us all?”
“Seeing how well we just worked together, I wouldn't be surprised if he wants us to form some kind of a mystery hero team,” Major Power deduced. “I like the idea, what do you guys think?”
“I|like|it!|” Flux chirped. Then more slowly “An Alliance of Mystery Heroes! We can have a secret headquarters, and meetings, and decoder rings and a secret handshake and |all|sortsa|other|neat|stuff!|” She looked abashed. “Sorry, when I get excited, I sometimes lose control.”
Dr. Lambda agreed. “There have been times when I needed help - it will be nice to know I have powerful allies to call on if required.”
“So, let's work out the details, and we can surprise FDR tomorrow,” Major Power suggested. “I've already got a suggestion for more members.”
“I do too,” Dr. Lambda agreed, and Flux was nodding. “But given that we are on the campus of the top secret Manhattan project, surrounded by military police, scientists, and no doubt at least a handful of Secret Service agents, I doubt if he'll be too surprised. By the time we meet for dinner tomorrow, he'll no doubt know more about the details of our new team than we do!”EpilogueThe story of the meeting with FDR and the official formation of the Alliance of Mystery Heros is told elsewhere. However, there is a bit more to this story as well…
A few days later, General Leslie Groves convened everyone in the Manhattan Project to let them know what had been discovered about ElectriFeuer and Jason Heber.
The German mystery man had never awakened, and passed away shortly after after he had been captured. His body was ravaged by radiation poisoning - he had been destined to die shortly whether he'd been captured or not, though he could have done a lot more damage if he'd remained free. Some scientists theorized that he might actually have exploded if he hadn't been dumped in boron.
The FBI had found Jason Heber, caged in the guest bedroom in his own apartment. He'd been imprisoned by a German spy, who seemed to have the chameleon-like power of adapting the appearance of another person. He'd been impersonating Jason for about a month. Jason was in the hospital for over a month, recovering from his horrible treatment by the spy. The spy himself had escaped, presumably with the plans for the RadCAM.
Ned was very dissatisfied that his invention, designed to further medical science, had been used as a weapon - and that its misuse had likely killed a man. He was further disappointed when Jason Heber was released by the Manhattan Project over concerns that he was now a security risk, and a couple of months later, he resigned from the Manhattan Project as well, though he continued to build instrumentation for the Department of War - instrumentation with no connection to atomic power. And he devoted ever more of his attention and dedication to his role as Dr. Lambda. |
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