Introduction: Years ago, I created and ran a Mighty Protectors Superhero RPG campaign called SAVE (short for Special American Volunteer Expedition). It was set during World War II, starting in March, 1941 and ending in the 1950's. It was the primary campaign for play-testing the MP rules and ran for about five years, from 2011 to 2016.
The heroes included: Brimstone (a half-human-half-demon Brick), Dynamo (an electrically-powered Blaster and inventor), Enigma (Harvard physics professor and Energy Blaster) and Winged Victory (a flying Scapper-type heroine with a pet gargoyle and minor magical abilities). You can see their character sheets here.
The SAVE campaign was eventually put into book form -- a WWII supplement for Mighty Protectors that has yet to come out. You can see the original pencil cover artwork by Scott Sackett below.
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| Pencil Art for War Heroes Cover |
The episode recaps were originally posted on the MHG forums. I'm cross-posting them here for convenience purposes, and for anyone interested who has not already read them.
Episodes: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8-10, 11-12, 13-14, 15, 16, 17, 18-19, 20, 21, 22-24, 25-27, 28-29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75, 76, 77, 78,
ISSUE 1: “DEATH by DR. VOLTMAN!” (real date:3-1-11)
March 18, 1941 -- Pursuant to Section 2(a) (5) of the recently signed Lend Lease Act, U.S. Army Brigadier General Thomas C. Shipton is put in charge of the Special American Volunteer Expedition, aka SAVE. He and his aide-de-camp Lieutenant Lance Delpozo set about recruiting their first American super heroes. Brimstone, Dynamo, The Enigma, and Winged Victory agree to join the team and to fight for Liberty!
General Shipton assigns the newly found team with the daunting task of stopping whoever is assassinating U.S. Generals! Generals David Wright and Herman Ferguson have already been killed.
The SAVE team travels to the site of the first murder, the on-base house of General Wright. The heroes search the house but find nothing out of the ordinary. At the house of the second victim, General Ferguson, Dynamo finds a magnetized pen, which he keeps for himself. He tells his companions that the killer must have magnetic powers. Dynamo senses a mild magnetic field on one of the walls in the study, the room where the general was killed. The Enigma throws a handful of paperclips which fly to the wall. “Shipton dies next” is the phrase that is revealed.
The heroes hatch a plan: they disguise Brimstone as General Shipton and have him wait in the General’s house while they wait in a house a couple of blocks away.
That night, Voltman shows up. He blasts “General Shipton” with a powerful electrical bolt, but fails to kill him. The other heroes swoop in, and after a brief fight, they defeat the German villain.
They remove his devices and unmask him. To their surprise, they learn that he is not VOLTMAN – he is URS OTHMAR, a member a German spy unit operating in the United States called the Triple S.
ISSUE 2: “LET FREEDOM RING!” (real date:3-25-11)
Winged Victory asks the agents if she can look over the OSS’s files on the encryption, and they agree. The next day, Winged Victory returns to the War Dept. building and informs Gen. Shipton that she has cracked the code.That night, the heroes listen in on a high-powered radio. Around midnight, they pick-up the encrypted radio signals. After using Vicky’s newly created cypher to unscramble the message, they learn that the saboteurs plan to blow up the LIBERTY BELL!
The SAVE team leaves Washington and flies to Philadelphia. As they arrive at the Pennsylvania State House, they reconnoiter the scene. They find two unconscious guards who had been dragged out of sight, to the side of the building. After making sure the guards are ok, they rush into the building where they see numerous German 5th Columnists wiring the place with explosives.
Also on hand are two Nazi super-villains: AUGENBLICK, a knife-wielding super-speedster and DER GEIST, a non-corporeal villain with the power to possess others. After a close fight, the heroes emerge victorious, saving the Liberty Bell from destruction.
April, 1941 --German 5th columnists, perhaps members of the mysterious “Triple S,” have been sabotaging American infrastructure. A major bridge has been damaged and a munitions factory has been blown up. Gen. Shipton tasks the SAVE team with stopping the saboteurs.
In Room #33 of the War Department building in Washington, D.C., the unofficial “base” of the SAVE team; General Shipton introduces Paul Hallman and Howard Hooker, agents with the OSS. They inform the heroes that the saboteurs are using encrypted radio signals to communicate and to coordinate their attacks. The OSS, they say, has spent months trying to break the code, but their code-breakers claim the encryption is ‘unbreakable.’
ISSUE 3: “STURM, DRANG and SEA-MONSTERS?!” (real date:4-15-11)
May, 1941 -- Reports from survivors that a “sea monster” has been sinking U.S. merchant ships in the last two weeks comes to General Shipton’s attention. He calls in the SAVE team and he and Lt. Delpozo brief the heroes on the situation. The SAVE team’s orders are to utilize the U.S. Navy Cruiser Helena to patrol the Atlantic seaboard and find and neutralize the “sea monster.”
On the third night of the mission, the Helena is blasted by twin vibratory beams. Water begins pouring thru the gaping holes, but Dynamo uses his magnetism ability to press steel sheets against the gaps in the hull, preventing the Helena from sinking.
Meanwhile, the other SAVE members search for the source of the attack against the Helena. The Enigma, using his X-ray infrared visor, a gadget he developed, is the one who locates the source of the attack. He radios his teammates to inform them of his finding.
The others move to the Enigma’s spot, dive under the water, and are immediately attacked by another vibratory blast! Brimstone and Winged Victory are hurt but not knocked out. The team continues to move toward the source of the attacks. As they close in on the attacker, they realize that the “sea monster” is in fact some sort of hi-tech submarine that has been made to look like a creature.
Brimstone rips open a hatch, and as the heroes make their way into the sub, they discover that its defenders are armored and armed with advanced weaponry. As the sub rises to the surface, the team battles their way to the control room. The sub’s defenders, they learn, are members of the STURM KORPS, the fanatic followers of Dr. Voltman.
The troopers are eventually defeated and the SAVE team escapes to the ocean surface. The KRAKEN MK I, the first of DR. VOLTMAN’S newly constructed “super” vehicles, sinks to the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean.
Note: This play session included vehicles created using the new vehicle construction rules of V&V3.0.
ISSUE 4: BOOK of the DEAD, Part 1 (real date 5-27-11)
June, 1941 -- Winged Victory, in her secret ID as Carol Daily, works at the FBI’s Division of Super-Powered Affairs (aka Division S). Samuel G. Whittier, the director of Division S, asks Carol to accompany him to the Smithsonian Museum of History, where a new exhibit of ancient Egyptian artifacts is about to open.
After the museum has closed for the day, Director Whittier, Mr. Lawrence (the museum curator), and Ms. Daily are walking through the museum discussing the exhibit. Mr. Lawrence is asking the director why he hasn’t provided more G-men to protect the exhibit when they are suddenly attacked by machinegun-wielding men.
As Mr. Whittier and Carol attempt to hold off the attackers, another group of thieves escapes from the museum. Once the fighting ends, the museum curator learns that the Egyptian exhibit was the target of the attackers. He tells the FBI director and Carol that the ‘Book of the Dead’ has been stolen!
Whittier tells Carol and Mr. Lawrence not to worry. “It’s all part of the plan,” he says. The FBI was expecting the “book of the dead” to be stolen, so they hid a wireless transponder in it. The SAVE team is then ordered by Gen. Shipton to follow Director Whittier’s lead in this operation. Whittier orders the SAVE team members to accompany him and some of his agents as they track down the robbers.
The signal leads to a waterfront warehouse. As the FBI agents are spreading out, they come under attack. The Enigma, using his X-Ray visor, sees that the warehouse has at least a dozen machinegun-toting 5th columnists and several of Voltman’s Sturm Korps Troopers as well.
A huge fight ensues, one which the heroes eventually win. However, they are unable to stop all of the rocket pack wearing SK Troopers from flying away, and one of them is carrying the Book of the Dead…
ISSUE 5: “BOOK of the DEAD! PART 2” (real date: 7-8-11)
June, 1941 -- Unbeknownst to the SAVE team, the Book of the Dead was taken onboard a NAZI submarine that was waiting offshore; and once the sub submerged, the FBI’s tracking signal was lost.
Back in room #33 of the War Dept. building, Winged Victory explains that the Book of the Dead is a legendary mystical artifact, one capable of great harm in the hands of a mystically trained individual. “It must be recovered or destroyed,” she says.
OSS agents Hallman and Hooker are also present: they inform the heroes that one of their agents in Cairo has told them the Italians, and at least two AXIS supervillains, have been spotted excavating a hitherto unknown tomb deep in the Egyptian desert. “Maybe it has something to do with the theft of the ‘dead book’”, says Agent Hallman. “Of course, if the Bureau hadn’t bungled the operation we wouldn’t have this little problem,” says a smirking Agent Hooker.
“Gentlemen, that’s enough” says the mild-mannered General Shipton. “There is no sense in arguing over spilled milk. Needless to say, the FBI is no longer involved in this case.” The two OSS agents look at each other and nod.
The General continues: “Since it is the only lead we have, the SAVE team must travel to Egypt and meet the Cairo agent,” says the general as he eyes the OSS men.
“Your orders,” says Shipton as he turns to face the SAVE team heroes, “are to find and recover the book. I’m sure you will succeed; God speed and good luck.”
That night, the heroes board the cargo ship named “Dakota,” which immediately embarks on its trans-Atlantic voyage. A week later, the Dakota is about one hundred nautical miles from the Straits of Gibraltar when it comes under attack.
Brimstone, who is in the crow’s nest, and has been vigilant looking for enemy subs, spots a U-Boat periscope several hundred yards distant. Simultaneously, two torpedoes are fired at the Dakota. The big hero leaps three hundred yards away splashing into the water, right in front of one of the torpedoes. He punches it, which triggers a huge explosion; he takes a lot of damage but is not knocked out.
Meanwhile, back on the deck of the Dakota, Dynamo uses his magnetism ability to divert the path of the second torpedo, causing it to miss the ship.
Brimstone takes a deep breath, pushes his swimming speed, and quickly catches up to the sub. He moves to the sub’s hydroplanes and bends them, causing the U-boat to ascend to the surface.
Once the U-boat is on the surface, the other SAVE
team heroes arrive and lend a hand in securing the enemy Kriegsmarine sailors.
The commandeered NAZI sub then follows the Dakota to Gibraltar, where the crew
is taken into custody by British forces.
Also while in Gibraltar, the team meets Britannia, a British superhero who agrees to help the Yanks on their mission. That night, the British base where the heroes are staying is attacked by a large force of Italian frogmen. The heroes help repel the attack and, apart from a few scrapes and bruises, no one is badly hurt. The next morning the group boards a flying boat and flies towards Cairo.
ISSUE 6: “BOOK of the DEAD! PART 3” (real date: 7-22-11)
June, 1941 -- The British flying boat takes ten hours to fly from Gibraltar to British-controlled Cairo. However, as the plane flies near the coast of Sicily, it comes under attack by three AXIS fighter planes. On the first pass, the enemy pilots fire their guns, their bullets ripping into the flying boat, but luckily do not deal critical damage.
Winged Victory, Feddy, and the Enigma immediately fly
after the warbirds, engaging in a spectacular dogfight. After a minute of
intense aerial action, two of the enemy planes are downed, but the third
escapes. The Enigma and Feddy take the brunt of the damage but their protective
abilities keep them from being seriously hurt. The flying boat is patched up by
Dynamo and the team continues flying towards Egypt.
Once the heroes’ plane lands near Cairo, OSS agent Moe
Fairbanks is there to greet them. That night, the agent leads the heroes deep
into the desert and into enemy-held territory. The team arrives at an
archeological dig site guarded by Italian soldiers. The team silently takes out
several guards and makes their way down into an ancient Egyptian tomb.
In the tomb, the heroes are confronted by several
Sturm Korps troopers. Two Italian members of the MASTER MEN – the AXIS super-team
– are also present. The FASCIST PHARAOH, once a prominent Italian Egyptologist
who gained his powers from an evil spirit, holds the Book of the Dead, and is
chanting some sort of spell. Standing near him is a strikingly beautiful young
woman with raven-colored hair. She is known as REPRISE, a super-agile, master
swordswoman who wields a poisoned fencing blade.
Feddy sneaks up behind the Fascist Pharaoh and takes
the Book of the Dead out of his hands. But Feddy is too late: the “Pharaoh” has
already finished his spell – he has summoned forth an ancient Egyptian
demi-god!
Despite the bad odds, the heroes route the SK
troopers and force the two overmatched AXIS supervillains to flee. The
“demi-god,” however, is another matter altogether, as it knocks out both Britannia
and Brimstone in quick order. The other heroes realize that they cannot last
much longer.
“Vicky, use your knowledge of the arcane arts to find a spell that will defeat this thing!” says the Enigma as he flies around the creature, blasting it. The gargantuan beast, not liking the psychic damage inflicted upon it by the Enigma, plucks the hero out of the air with one enormous, clawed hand.
Winged Victory frantically searches the pages of the
Book of the Dead. As the Enigma is about to be skewered by the creature’s
razor-sharp claws, Vicky finally finds and casts a spell that sends the monster
back to its own dimension.
ISSUE 7: “The BUTLER, the BEAUTY, and the BOMB!” (real dates: 8-12-11)
June, 1941 -- The SAVE team, still in Cairo, Egypt, is once again tasked with a mission by GENERAL SHIPTON, this time by long range radio. He orders the team to travel by flying boat to London, where they are to meet with members of the Royal Order of Supernal Englishmen, Great Britain’s premier superhero team. The General ends his transmission by saying that the team is to be briefed on their next mission by EXCALIBUR, the leader of the ROSE.
The trip from Egypt to England is uneventful, but as the heroes fly into London, they see that the city is under attack by a squadron of German bombers. The team springs into action: Winged Victory carries Dynamo, Feddy carries Brimstone, and the Enigma flies under his own power. The heroes damage or destroy several enemy bombers.
One of the bombers is taken out of the fight after Feddy drops Brimstone on the fuselage. He rips open the cockpit cover, grabs the pilot, and throws him out*.
Eventually, the SAVE team is met by Excalibur, the weather-controlling hero and Great Britain’s foremost champion. He greets the American heroes and then escorts them to LAIRD MANOR, his team’s base. The great house is a 300 year-old mansion built on a wooded, 800 acre estate in the countryside just outside of London.
At Laird Manor, the American heroes meet the other current members of ROSE: Britannia, Towre, Twopence, and Yeoman Blue. Britannia, who had already met the SAVE team members in Gibraltar and fought beside them in Egypt, is the legendary spear-wielding protector of Britain; Towre and Twopence are size-changing heroes, one large and one small, respectively; and Yeoman Blue is a mystically-trained, Avalonian archer.
The Americans quickly learn about two recent, strange events. First, there are rumors of a ghost roaming the halls of the manor house! Second, Mr. Taylor, the stable master, was recently killed by, of all things, a horse. Some members of the staff believe that Mr. Taylor may have been killed by the ghost.
Excalibur dismisses the ghost story as hogwash but he is not as sure about the death of Mr. Taylor… although it does appear to have been an accident. Several days ago Benjy Stewart, the stable boy, found Mr. Taylor’s body lying in the stable. His body smelled of alcohol and he appeared to have suffered a kick to his head.
As for the ghost, the Yanks are intrigued; they set about trying to see if the “ghost” really exists. Winged Victory talks to several manor personnel, Dynamo and Brimstone search the manor grounds, and the Enigma searches the mansion.
Using his infrared visor, The Enigma is able to find the ghost, who turns out to be a Russian superheroine, code-named WHISPER! The Russian beauty turns visible and explains that she was sent to England on a mission to stop a NAZI super-spy from assassinating Excalibur.
Meanwhile, Dynamo explores a copse of woods where he finds branches covering a shallow grave. He removes the branches and some of the dirt, discovering a partially decayed corpse. He takes the body back to Laird Manor where Excalibur identifies the body as that of the butler, Mr. Howard. Everyone immediately realizes that the butler, who is still quite alive, must be an imposter.
The real Dominic Howard was murdered weeks ago by the DOPPELGANGER, a member of NAZI supervillain team known as the MASTER MEN. After killing Mr. Howard, the villain used his shape-changing ability to assume his identity.
When Ed Taylor accidentally stumbled upon “Dominic” radioing his NAZI masters, the Doppelganger killed the old stable master. The villain carried the body to the stables, where he staged a scene to make Mr. Taylor appear to have been drinking and his death the result of a horse’s kick to his head.
The Doppelganger had spent the last few weeks secreting large amounts of explosives in the old tunnels that run under the manor. When his murders are revealed, he makes his way into the tunnels, where he is confronted by Brimstone. Doppelganger paralyzes the big American hero, and then sets the explosives’ timers to go off in one minute.
It takes Brimstone thirty seconds to recover from being paralyzed. He has just enough time to warn the others about the explosives. As the last staff member comes running out of the great house, the explosives detonate, destroying a large part of Laird Manor.
* The German parachutes to the ground where he is apprehended
ISSUES 8-10: OPERATION: HIMMELS BLITZEN (real dates: 8-19-11, 9-3-11, 9-10-11)
July, 1941 -- With Laird Manor badly damaged, Excalibur convenes an early morning meeting of the American and British superhero teams at a nearby RAF base. While standing in front of a large map of Europe, Excalibur goes over the mission briefing:
We have recently received photographs, taken by one of our spies in Germany, that detail a top-secret Nazi plan – code-named Himmels Blitzen1. The four-phased plan is over a year old but we can safely assume that phases one through three have already been implemented.
In the plan’s first phase, the Germans were to build a fortified installation somewhere on the European coast. In the second phase, Dr. Voltman was to construct a ‘Lightning Cannon’ – a gigantic version of the lightning rifle used by his Sturm Korps troops. In the third phase, a massive electrical reflector was to be built, and according to the plan, ‘conveyed to an altitude of approximately 4.8 kilometers.
Unfortunately, our spy was unable to photograph all of the plan’s pages. Consequently, we don’t know the location of the Nazi base housing the lightning cannon. Nor do we know how the German’s plan to put the reflector into the air. We do, however, know the date on which the 4th phase was to occur: that date is… today.
We can assume, and MI6 concurs, that the ‘4th phase’ of the Himmels Blitzen plan is to destroy English cities. Our best scientists have determined that it is theoretically possible to bounce a sufficiently powerful electrical bolt off of a reflecting surface. With our level of technology we don’t know how it is possible to construct such devices, but Dr. Voltman has already proven he is capable of producing such ‘wonder’ weapons. Provided the reflector was at the correct altitude and in the right spot – such as the English Channel, the ‘Lightning Cannon’ could easily devastate large sections of London…
Our mission today is two-fold:
First, the flyers among our ranks will carry with non-flyers, and patrol the airspace above the English Channel, where we will be looking for anything unusual.
Second, we must learn the location of the hidden Nazi base and destroy the lightning cannon, if possible. We expect that both the reflector and the lightning cannon installation will be guarded, probably by Voltman’s Sturm Korps Rocketeers and/or Master Men supervillains.
To help us pinpoint the location of the lightning canon, our science chaps have created a backpack-carried gadget that, when the weapon is fired, can calculate the coordinates of the beam’s origin. It will take approximately ten seconds to adjust the gadget’s settings and another ten seconds for it to work. It’s somewhat fragile, so it will have to be protected.
Twopence and I will accompany the SAVE team while the other ROSE members will stay in London, helping to save lives should our worst fears come true.
The heroes prepare to leave as Excalibur ends the mission briefing. The flying heroes pair up with the non-flying heroes: Feddy carries Brimstone and Winged Victory carries Dynamo. The Enigma volunteers to carry the beam-locator device and Twopence, who stands about half an inch tall while shrunk, hitches a ride on the Enigma’s shoulder.
Before heading to London, Britannia, Towre, and Yeoman Blue wave goodbye and bid good luck to their compatriots as they take off and fly towards the English Channel.
The heroes spend the next few hours flying high above the water of the Channel. Around ten o’clock in the morning, they see in the distance a large cloud formation moving in a westerly direction.
Unbeknownst to the heroes, Dr. Voltman and his New Science Society scientists had developed a cloud-producing device to hide the giant reflector from Allied radar.
Excalibur uses his weather-controlling ability to disperse the cloud, revealing four giant zeppelins. Huge chains extend from each zeppelin to the corners of a gigantic rectangular object – the reflector.
As the heroes begin flying towards the zeppelins, the lightning cannon is fired. Its beam bounces off of the reflector’s surface, likely hitting a target somewhere in England. More determined than ever at the thought of innocents being killed, the heroes grit their teeth and charge forth!
In a fight that takes place in the sky, three miles above the English Channel, the Allied heroes begin a battle with super-powered Axis forces; the fate of London, and the course of the war hinge upon the battle’s outcome!
With the sky battle raging around him, the Enigma turns on the gadget he is carrying. As it whirs into life, clicking and humming with power, Enigma asks Twopence and Excalibur to keep the rocketeers from blasting him as he adjusts the knobs on the device to account for time, distance, and altitude.
While the Enigma, Excalibur, and Twopence are dealing with the rocketeers, the other heroes land on the surface of the giant reflector. Brimstone, Dynamo, Feddy and Winged Victory square off and begin fighting against Master Men supervillains2, including: Augenblick, Fascist Pharaoh, Pagan3, and Reprise.
Meanwhile, in the aerial battle with the rocketeers, the Enigma’s beam-locator device finally finishes its calculation. Enigma memorizes the latitude and longitude coordinates displayed on the gadget. The beam’s origin turns out to be a spot near the northern coastline of France!
Ultimately, the heroes win the Battle of the English Channel – as it would later come to be called. When the last massive chain is cut, the mirror tumbles through the air for three miles, finally crashing into the sea. The remaining rocketeers flee – as do the supervillains. The heroes then fly to a location in northern France where they hole up to rest before continuing on to the Nazi base.
Once at the base, the heroes smash their way inside. While Excalibur and Twopence deal with the non-super-powered base defenders, the SAVE team heads to the room housing the lightning cannon, where Bastion3, Geist, and the real Dr. Voltman4 are waiting for them.
After several rounds of combat, Geist and Bastion are defeated, but Voltman, although somewhat weakened, is still as deadly as ever. In another few rounds Voltman is on the verge of victory when Excalibur and Twopence join the fight.
Although Voltman is extremely powerful he is also overly cautious. His lightning cannon has been destroyed and all of the base defenders have either fled or been defeated. So when Excalibur and Twopence show up to aid the SAVE team, Voltman decides to flee. He vows to extract revenge upon the heroes and then disappears, presumably teleporting miles away.
The victorious heroes, battered and bruised, then return to England.
ISSUES 11-12: “PROJECT PANDORA!” (real dates: 9-23-11, 10-21-11)
August, 1941 -- The SAVE team, back in the good old USA after spending a couple of months fighting in Europe, receive a summons from General Shipton. The team arrives once again at the War Department building, and in room #33 the General briefs the heroes on the secret, super-soldier project code-named PANDORA.
The scientist in charge
of the project, the brilliant Dr. Hoffman, has created the ‘Genzyme’ formula, a
means of enhancing human abilities with animal traits. The project’s
volunteers, a small group of scientists and Army personnel, have already
received the serum, and testing has been ongoing now for a couple of months.
Our friends in British
Intelligence have decoded a Nazi message that mentions Project Pandora. As a
precaution, I want the team to travel to Arizona to check things out. You are
to fly to Fort Huachuca, Arizona and meet with the fort commander, General
Bisby. From the fort you will travel to the nearby Thunder Mountain base, where
the project is based.
Using Dynamo’s newly
constructed DYNAMOBILE, the team flies to Fort Huachuca, where they meet with
the base commander, General BISBY. The General assures the heroes that
everything at Thunder Mountain is fine; they are free to travel there and check
it out for themselves, if they wish.
As the heroes are
leaving the fort they are approached by what appears to be a large ape-like
creature. The “creature” is U.S. Army Sergeant James McNeil, a.k.a. APE
COMMANDO. He is one of the super-soldier members of the BEAST BRIGADE*.
Sgt. McNeil informs the
heroes that Dr. Hoffman’s chief assistant, Dr. Markin, has stolen samples of
the Genzyme formula. After modifying the formula, he used it on himself,
gaining powers and turning into a reptile-like monster.
As the evil REPTILIAN,
Markin used his new-found hypnotizing ability to enslave Dr. Hoffman and the
other members of the Brigade.
“Markin tried to
hypnotize me too but it didn’t work – apparently I’m immune to his mind control
power,” says Sgt. McNeil. “I managed to escape and I’ve been lying low for a
few days now. I would have gone to General Bisby but I think he may also be
enslaved by Markin.”
Markin is a German
scientist and spy – a member of the Triple-S. His orders were to steal the
Genzyme formula and return to Germany; instead, he used it on himself. As
Reptilian, he intends to create an army of beast-men, all under his control.
Markin has used the last of the Genzyme formula on his fellow Nazi agents. These Nazi beast-men, who call themselves the RIPPERS, include: ARACHNIA, GUNK, FERAL, and SAWTOOTH.
Markin has used the last of the Genzyme formula on his fellow Nazi agents. These Nazi beast-men, who call themselves the RIPPERS, include: ARACHNIA, GUNK, FERAL, and SAWTOOTH.
APE COMMANDO leads the
SAVE team up to the THUNDER MOUNTAIN facility, where they confront Markin and
his minions.
Ape Commando and the
SAVE team members eventually defeat Markin, the mind-controlled members of the
Beast Brigade, and the evil beast-men. Unfortunately, Dr. Hoffman is mortally
wounded by REPTILLIAN, taking to the grave the secret of the Genzyme formula.
*Note:
The BEAST BRIGADE includes the following individuals: Ape Commando, Bear
Commando, Cat Commando, Hawk Commando, and Crab Commando.ISSUES 13-14: “RISING SUN!” (real dates: 11-11-11. 11-18-11)
September, 1941 -- At 0800 hour in room #33 of the War Department in Washington D.C., the SAVE team is once again present for a new mission briefing. General Shipton turns the meeting over to HALLMAN and HOOKER, the two Office of Strategic Services (OSS) agents affiliated with the SAVE team.
The
OSS, they say, has smuggled a Japanese propaganda film out of China. In the
film, members of the Japanese IMPERIAL GUARD, a group of supervillains
operating under the direct orders of TOJO, are shown committing atrocities
against Chinese soldiers and civilians.
The
agents explain that the Imperial Guard is led by the IRON SHOGUN, a powerful
villain who wears a suit of mystical samurai armor and wields a magical sword.
There is also PYROCLASM – a fire-based villain, and GLYPH – whose mystical
kanji come to life. There is also MURK – a young woman with the power to
control water and KAMIKAZE, an air-controlling villain. Lastly, there is YAMA –
a former Yakuza thug whose primary power is super-strength.
After
the film has ended, General Shipton gives the team their mission: travel to
Japanese-occupied China and rescue a Chinese hero known as LOTUS STAFF LI.
The
team once again travels by “flying boat,” taking six days to reach Hong Kong,
where they meet an attractive Chinese-British woman known as AGENT X. The spy
leads the heroes to the Japanese-occupied city of Nanjing.
Once
in the city, the heroes travel through the sewer tunnels in order to evade
enemy patrols. Eventually, the team arrives near an ancient fortress in the
heart of the old city. The Imperial Guard has been using the fortress for their
base of operations while operating in China.
The
fortress also has a dungeon, which is where the Chinese superhero is being
held. The team thanks Agent X for her help and then proceeds to assault the
fortress during nighttime hours. They fly in, easily taking out the Japanese
soldiers in their way.
The
team defeats two members of the Imperial Guard on their way down to the
dungeons, where they unexpectedly come across the cell of BRAINWAVE, a
scientist from the legendary underwater city of LEMURIA.
Brainwave
then tells the heroes a brief story about how he became a prisoner:
I
was in the process of searching for various rare plants on an island when I was
accosted by super-powered surface dwellers, people who you call the ‘Imperial
Guard.’ I fought them, but I was no match for their combined might, and I was
defeated. When I awoke, I found myself in this dungeon cell.
Brainwave insists that he be allowed to find his belongings. The heroes agree, and everyone makes their way to quarters of the Imperial Guard’s leader. The powerful Iron Shogun almost single-handedly defeats the heroes, but the villain is hurt and eventually turns tail and runs.
Brainwave insists that he be allowed to find his belongings. The heroes agree, and everyone makes their way to quarters of the Imperial Guard’s leader. The powerful Iron Shogun almost single-handedly defeats the heroes, but the villain is hurt and eventually turns tail and runs.
Brainwave
retrieves his costume and his gear. He then “summons” his highly advanced scout
ship. As the heroes return to the dungeons, they fight more Japanese soldiers,
eventually finding the cell of the Chinese hero, Lotus Staff Li.
The
American heroes free the Chinese hero from his cell by smashing open the
reinforced steel door. All of the heroes then escape the fortress. Li thanks
his rescuers and vows to continue fighting against the Japanese invaders.
ISSUE 15: “SIEGE! Part One of the Lemurian Saga” (real date: 12-2-11)
September, 1941 -- Moving at Mach 4 in a super-advanced Lemurian flying craft, it has taken the SAVE team about four hours to travel over 5000 miles – from China to an otherwise unremarkable spot in the South Pacific Ocean.
Brainwave,
the Lemurian “scientist hero” the team rescued from a Japanese dungeon, slows
the craft as he lowers it to the surface of the ocean. The craft submerges and
in mere minutes the heroes behold a magnificent sight – the legendary city of
LEMURIA!
Even
at a great distance, the heroes can see something is amiss. Numerous gigantic
creatures surround the city and appear to be attacking it. Several Lemurian
warships can be seen blasting the creatures with their “ray guns”, but their
attacks seem to have little effect upon the gigantic creatures. As their craft
gets closer, the heroes can plainly see that the creatures are smashing their
fists down upon a shimmering field – the “force dome” that surrounds and
protects Lemuria from the crushing weight of the ocean.
Brainwave
tells the heroes to put on the life support belts stored in a side-panel of the
ship and to prepare to exit. Everyone but Brimstone, who does not need to
breathe, fastens one of the belts around their waist. Brainwave slows his craft
as it nears one of the creatures. The heroes exit the ship through its rear
airlock and then move to attack the gigantic monster.
As
the SAVE team heroes attack the behemoth up close, Brainwave deftly moves his
ship around the creature, blasting it with the ship’s energy beam. For almost
two minutes, they strike it over and over again, but because the creature is
invulnerable to all but psychic damage, it is never knocked out. The creature
is hurt, however, and decides to flee, swimming away at great speed.
Brainwave
follows the creature for miles, eventually coming upon an undersea mountain.
There, he sees the ruins of Emnaria, Lemuria’s twin city that was destroyed
eons ago. Near the ruins, at the base of the mountain, the monster swims into
an enormous cavern.
Brainwave
continues to follow the creature; inside the cavern he sees dozens of gigantic
cocoons -- presumably containing more creatures. The Lemurian hero decides that
has seen enough. As he is turning his ship around he comes under mental
assault. Luckily, his psychic shields hold and he shakes off the mental attack.
He maximizes the thrust of his SOPOD-Class scout ship, moving it far away from
the ruins, and escapes from the psychic entity that tried to take over his
mind.
Once
back near Lemuria, Brainwave picks up the SAVE team heroes; he then maneuvers
his ship through a gigantic “airlock” and enters the city. Brainwave is anxious
to report to the HEPTARCH, the seven individuals who rule LEMURIA. They must
learn how the treacherous ‘surface dwellers’ known as the Japanese attacked and
imprisoned him. They must also be told about Emnaria, the cavern of giant
cocoons, and the mysterious psychic entity that assailed him.
Brainwave
leads his new-found friends to the HEPTARCH SPIRE, where they meet with the
city rulers. After introductions are made, NALA, a member of the Heptarch who
is “first among equals,” explains to the heroes the situation confronting her
city:
Lemuria
has been under attack for two weeks; each new assault has included more
attackers than the last. These gigantic creatures, which we call ‘Leviathans,’
are highly resistant to damage, but eventually we drive them away. During the
first encounter with the leviathans we forced them to retreat, and several of
our warships followed.
At
the ruins of Emnaria, our fighters came under psychic assault. Our ships were
forced to retreat… but they were not quick enough. We lost two ships that day:
one exploded and the other one never returned. Since that time, we have given
strict orders that none of our warship captains are to pursue the creatures
back to Emnaria. As Brainwave has experienced firsthand, there is a malevolent
psychic entity that dwells within the ancient ruins.
As
for Lemuria, our "null field," the dome which surrounds Lemuria, is
impenetrable… but only so long as our power generators continue to function.
The generators transform a powerful and exceedingly rare substance called
"viridium" into energy, but our supplies are being exhausted.
We
are in the process of evacuating the city, but by this time tomorrow, we will
run out of viridium: the generators and the force shield it powers will fail.
Uncountable tons of water above our heads will come crashing down, instantly
killing anyone left here, and utterly destroying the city.
In
order to avert this disaster the Heptarchy agreed to form an expedition, with
the goal of obtaining more viridium. A week ago, we successfully used our
“Omni-Wave Detector” to locate a new source of viridium in a land you surface
dwellers call the “Amazon.” In his last communication, the expedition leader
mentions finding a vast, deep valley, ringed by mountains and covered by a
strange fog. Since that time, there has been no further communication from the
expedition. We can only assume that they failed.
NALA
then asks the heroes to travel to the Amazon and to bring back several pounds
of viridium ore. They have twenty four hours to accomplish the task; if they
fail… Lemuria is doomed.
The heroes gladly agree to help the Lemurians,
vowing to do whatever they can to save the city from destruction. Brainwave
volunteers to fly the heroes to South America and do what he can to help them
acquire Viridium.ISSUE 16: “The TYRANT and the T-REX!” Part Two of the Lemurian Saga (real date: 1-13-12)
September, 1941 -- Cruising at 1400 mph in Brainwave’s LEMURIAN scout ship, the heroes travel the 7000 miles from Lemuria to South America in five hours. Once there, Brainwave pinpoints the source of the viridium, a spot that lies somewhere within a vast valley. While descending, the ship’s engines begin malfunctioning. As the ship falls, Brainwave wrestles with the controls to keep it from spiraling out of control!
The Enigma, Winged Victory and Feddy quickly fly outside and
bring the ship to a rough landing. The heroes are unaware of the fact that they
are now in the primeval jungle of the SECRET LAND. As the heroes explore their
surroundings they come under attack by a beautiful, scantily-clad young woman
and her “pet” – an enormous sabre-tooth cat. The girl’s weapon (bow and arrows)
is no match for the powers of the heroes and the fight ends quickly.
The girl, whose name is RAINNE, attacked the heroes because
she believed they were more of the vicious invaders who for weeks she has been
fighting against. With the heroes’ curiosity piqued, they ask the girl about
them. She tells the heroes that the invaders have built a large fort near the
‘fire mountain.’ They have also enslaved many members of the BUSACO tribe, whom
they force to dig in the mines under the mountain.
The Enigma asks Rainne to lead them to the invader’s base
and she agrees. The girl then guides the heroes out of the jungle and to the
invader's fort. In the distance, the heroes are shocked when they see a SWASTIKA
flying from a flagpole in the center of a large, walled compound.
The fort is a large compound with several buildings. It is
surrounded by two tall, electrified fences and guarded by Sturm Korps troops,
who man the towers erected at each corner and at the entrance. Pacing back and
forth between the two fences are two enormous Tyrannosaurus Rex dinosaurs.
Devices attached to the back of their enormous skulls seem to indicate they are
being controlled – made into “guard dogs” by Nazi super-science.
The heroes decide against trying to sneak in to the
fortification, believing a frontal attack to be the best strategy. When the
heroes attack, they go in hard and fast. They knock out the dinosaurs and the
SK Troopers manning the towers. They also destroy the room-sized device that
was interfering with Brainwave’s vehicle. Winged Victory finds a VIRIDIUM SWORD
which she takes for herself. The heroes then head into the mines.
As they search the mines for viridium, they come across many
of the enslaved villagers, whom they free. They also come under attack by
MASTER MEN supervillains, including: COUNT EISENFAUST, BASTION, PAGAN, and WARFORGED,
a hulking monstrosity who was created by the confluence of Dr. Voltman’s
super-science and the dark magic of the CRONE.
The team defeats or drives away the supervillains after
about ten rounds of combat. They continue searching for, and eventually find, a
sizable quantity of viridium ore. The heroes return to Brainwave’s scout ship,
escape the SECRET LAND, and return to LEMURIA.
ISSUE 17: “KEL’THUM the MAD! Part Three of the Lemurian Saga” (real date: 1-20-12)
September, 1941 -- Brainwave and the SAVE team depart the SECRET LAND and return to LEMURIA, where they once again meet the leader known as NALA. She thanks the heroes for the VIRIDIUM, instructing technicians to immediately make use of the substance.
With
the city saved from imminent destruction, the Elder gives the heroes a brief
history lesson about the LEMURIA-EMNARIA WAR, and the man responsible for the
attacks against her city.
Eons ago,
EMNARIA was as powerful and prosperous as LEMURIA, but everything changed when
a sorceress named NI’OOR N’KY schemed her way to the pinnacle of power,
claiming sole ruler-ship of EMNARIA. Promising glory and riches, she commanded
her military leaders to attack Lemuria. She struck too soon, however, and her
forces lost; her war against the LEMURIANS was over almost as soon as it began.
As a last ditch
effort to defeat the advancing LEMURIAN forces, the sorceress performed an
ancient ritual of black magic, calling
upon the OLD GODS to destroy her foes. Instead, the evil other-worldly beings
destroyed Emnaria, killing every citizen. But even though her physical form had
been destroyed, her ferocious WILL survived in the form of a bound spirit, bound
to the confines of the ruined city.
A man named
KEL’THUM was once a member of the HEPTARCH. Long ago, his wife developed a
wasting disease; one which our advanced science could not cure. After months of
sickness, she died.
Science had
failed him, and in seeking to restore life to his beloved wife, Kel’Thum turned
to forbidden magic. In his searching of ancient documents, Kel’Thum came across
information about EMNARIA. He journeyed to the ruins of Emnaria, where his mind
was ensnared by the still potent psychic force of Ni’oor, and he became a tool
of the sorceress in which to destroy Lemuria.
As
NALA ends her story, she tells the heroes that KEL’THUM advances upon LEMURIA
with a horde of LEVIATHANS. She asks the heroes to fight KEL’THUM, who is
travelling in a captured LEMURIAN warship, and capture him if possible.
The
SAVE team agrees to perform the mission and head off in BRAINWAVE’S scout ship.
They manage to get close to the MAD HEPTARCH’S ship where WINGED VICTORY uses
her power of non-corporealness to get onboard. After dispatching a summoned
monstrosity, an “EMNARIAN AGGRESSOR,” Vicky then opens the airlock and the
other SAVE members get inside the ship.
The
heroes move to the ship’s command bridge, fighting other-worldly EMNARIAN AGGRESSORS
along the way. At the bridge they find the MAD ELDER, and after a brief fight,
they defeat him.
The
LEVIATHAN army flees and the threat to LEMURIA is ended. The heroes return to
the domed city where they are greeted as saviors.
EPILOGUE: The heroes leave Lemuria and return to Washington, D.C., where Moses Drummond (aka Dynamo), Jake Everson (aka Brimstone), and Riol’Quh (aka Brainwave) enjoy a steak dinner at Sal’s Steakhouse. Because they forgot to bring their wallets, Sal asks them to pay for their meal by signing some autographs and doing the dishes.
In his secret
identity as Harvard physics Professor Dr. Quantrain, the Enigma pays a visit to
his kid sister, the vivacious Boston Globe newspaper reporter Donna. While at
the Globe offices, the Enigma meets Donna’s new friend, the beautiful Brazilian
newspaper heiress Miss Polixena Banuelos Ornelas. The Latin beauty has come to
Boston to enroll at Harvard University (and is secretly the heroine O COMETA).
ISSUES 18-19: “FREAKSHOW!” (read date: 2-10-12)
October, 1941 -- At 0630 military time, General Shipton once again briefs the SAVE team heroes about a series of facilities that have been sabotaged: a rail-yard, an arms factory, a granary, and a steel mill. Lieutenant Delpozo shows the heroes a large map of the United States. On the map are numerous X marks, wich each ‘X’ marking the spot where a facility was sabotaged. The last attack occurred about three weeks ago; the General wants the heroes to investigate the crimes and to apprehend the culprits.
The heroes decide to split up, each one traveling to a separate location. Brimstone goes to Kansas City to investigate the bombing of a rail-yard. Dynamo travels to St. Louis to investigate the bombing of an arms factory. The Enigma travels to Indianapolis to investigate the destruction of a large granary. Winged Victory travels to Pittsburgh where a large steel mill was destroyed.
When the heroes reconvene back in Washington, they meet back at the War Department building. In Room #33, they go over their findings, and they quickly realize that all of the cities had one thing in common: a carnival was in town the night of the sabotage!
VOLAN’S SUPER CIRCUS was in each city the week that the sabotage took place. Luckily, Winged Victory picked-up one of the carnival’s flyers. The next show is happening in Philadelphia.
Sam Whittier, director of the FBI’s Division S, is once again present. He tells the heroes he can back them up with a few agents. The team flies to Philadelphia in the DYNAMOBILE. Once there, they find the carnival and begin to sneak about.
Winged Victory turns non-corporeal, travels through the earth, and pops up in various places such as wagons, to check for anything abnormal. In one of the trailers she finds a high powered radio and a map. The New Jersey Shipyards are circled in red. Vicky radios her teammates to tell them what she has discovered. Everyone agrees to immediately fly to the shipyards.
At the shipyards the SAVE team encounters “carnival” super villains: FAT LADY, ROUSTABOUT, HORNET QUEEN, and the FLAT MAN. After a brief fight the villains are defeated, except for the Hornet Queen – who escapes. The FBI then takes the unconscious villains into custody.
The heroes travel back to the circus where they are confronted by the COSMIC RINGMASTER! The Ringmaster uses his advanced weapons to defend himself, but ultimately is defeated. The heroes learn that the Ringmaster is not human – he is a member of the crustacean alien race known as the FARASHI. He was sent by his government to sow dissension amongst the primitive Earthlings. He had given otherwise down-on-their-luck circus performers their abilities via devices.
ISSUE 20: “DAY of INFAMY!” (real date: 2-24-12)
PROLOGUE: Riol’Quh, aka Brainwave, is visited by his Lemurian friends Tor-Hattan and Tasoria. The SAVE team, along with Brainwave and his friends, are asked by General Shipton to meet with President Roosevelt. At the meeting, the President lets it be known that he wants the United States to establish diplomatic relations with Lemuria. Brainwave tells the President that he would be delighted to pass along the request to his superiors.
As
the heroes are listening to the President tell one of his amusing stories, the
ghostly image of Psimon appears in the room, and he dramatically states that
the United States is about to be attacked!
December 7, 1941 – Forewarned about an attack on
Washington D.C., the heroes rush to defend the WASHINGTON MONUMENT and LINCOLN
MEMORIAL!
DYNAMO, ENIGMA, WINGED VICTORY, and TASORIA
(Brainwave’s friend) fly to the Lincoln Memorial. BRIMSTONE, BRAINWAVE,
TOR-HATAN (Brainwave’s friend) and PSIMON travel to the Washington Monument.
The JAPANESE IMPERIAL GUARD, a group of
supervillains led by the nefarious IRON SHOGUN, has snuck up the Potomac River
via submarine.
IRON SHOGUN, YAMA, and GLYPH attack the Lincoln
Memorial. The Memorial is damaged somewhat when GLYPH uses his Shaping power to
animate a column, using it as a weapon against the heroes. Winged Victory
proves her fighting prowess by almost single-handedly defeating the IRON SHOGUN!
KAMIKAZE, PYROCLASM and MURK try to destroy the
Washington Monument. Although the
Americans win the fight, BRAINWAVE is badly hurt.
While the IMPERIAL GUARD fails in their mission to
destroy irreplaceable landmarks in Washington, D.C., the JAPANESE IMPERIAL NAVY
inflicts a crushing blow against the U. S. Pacific Fleet at PEARL HARBOR.
EPILOGUE:
General Shipton asks the heroes to protect Churchill while he is in
Washington. The general believes the
Axis powers may be planning to kidnap or kill the Prime Minister.
ISSUE 21: “NIGHT of the NIGHT MASTERS!” (real date: 3-30-12)
January, 1942 -- The team is once again in room #33 at the War Department where they are briefed by General Shipton about a new mission. He informs them that a man, whose identity is still unknown, was found lurking about the BRITISH EMBASSY. On a note pad he was found to be recording arrival and departure times of embassy personnel and noting things like the number of guards. The General would like the heroes to interrogate the man to find out who he is and who sent him; he is being held at QUANTICO Marine base.
The heroes make the quick trip to Quantico, where they begin interrogating the prisoner. Despite threats of violence from BRIMSTONE, the man does not break, refusing to answer questions.
“Let me try a more subtle, yet highly effective method…” says BRAINWAVE.
“Hey, what’re ya gonna do to me?!” says the prisoner, a man in his 30’s who sports a Hitler-like moustache and has premature greying hair.
“Do not worry, my friend,” says the LEMURIAN, “This won’t hurt a bit.”
BRAINWAVE proceeds with his MIND PROBE, spending the next few minutes accessing the man’s memories.
“This man's name is Joseph Davis. He is a plumber and… a member of an organization known as the NIGHT MASTERS,” says Brainwave. “He doesn’t know what his ‘masters’ intend to do but he does know the location of one of their hideouts: an automotive garage located on Monroe and 18th Street.
The heroes quickly fly to the garage where they find and defeat a dozen Night Master Thugs (who are armed with magical, fire-spitting staves).
While searching the garage for clues, the heroes find a large pentagram and a “mystic portal” guarded by a demonic creature. After fighting and defeating the creature, the heroes decide to destroy the pentagram.
The heroes continue searching, eventually finding a man who is gagged and bound. After freeing him from his bonds they learn he is Frank Bigelow, a reporter for the BOSTON GLOBE.
Frank says that he and his partner, MISS DONNA QUANTRAIN (the ENIGMA’S kid sister), were investigating suspicious crimes which led them to this garage and warehouse. They were discovered and captured by the Night Masters. Frank tells the heroes that the Night Master HIEROPHANT ordered his men to attack the heroes then he took Donna and escaped through the “mystic portal.”
EPILOGUE: Using her knowledge of the Occult Arts, Winged Victory recreates the pentagram and repowers the dimensional portal. The heroes step through the gateway and find themselves in another world – the surreal SHADOW REALM!
ISSUES 22-24: INTO THE SHADOW REALM! (real date: 4-20-12, 5-11-12, 5-25-12)
Shadow Realm (Earth Time Unknown)
The heroes arrive in the barren and dismal dimension known as the SHADOW REALM. Hearing the frantic screams of a woman, the team rushes into action and quickly finds a young woman trapped by giant insects.
The heroes make quick work of the over-sized arachnids and turn their attention to the young lady, whose name is TSULYA. The girl says she wandered too far from her village and was on her way home when the BONERACKERS attacked.
The girl offers to lead the heroes back to her village of DHARLERIN and they agree. Once there, in the Elder’s house, they learn that the Shadow Realm is ruled by an immortal and immensely powerful tyrant named OVERLORD ARKOR.
“The Overlord rules us with an iron fist,” says the village Elder, whose name is MASYM.
“Why don’t you just gang up and defeat this Overlord?” asks BRIMSTONE.
“We are just simple farmers,” says the old man, “but there are those who occasionally strike against him and his demons.”
“Who might that be?” asks WINGED VICTORY.
The Elder tells the heroes about the rebels and the woman who leads them: she is known as the BANDIT QUEEN because she steals the Overlord’s supplies and gives the goods to the people.
As they ponder all they have been told, the village comes under attack by demon soldiers and their ENFORCER masters, the “shock troops” of the Overlord!
The team jumps into action once again, taking the fight to the demon-soldiers. To their surprise, the heroes are aided by resistance fighters!
After the battle is over, BLACKTHORNE the so-called BANDIT QUEEN, introduces herself to the heroes. She notices that Brimstone wears a silver cross and asks him where he got it.
“I was told by FATHER AUGUSTIN that my mother gave me this cross… I have worn it my whole life,” says the big hero.
The Bandit Queen leads the SAVE team to her secret base within the TWISTED FOREST and introduces them to her second-in-command: AI’KALH, an UTURASHI* warrior.
There she informs BRIMSTONE that she is his mother and that OVERLORD ARKOR is his father!
It turns out that the flow of TIME in the SHADOW REALM is eight times slower than on EARTH. While it has only been 10 years since Emily Latimore Thorne (aka BLACKTHORNE, the BANDIT QUEEN) gave birth to her son in 1861, nearly 80 years have passed on Earth!
BLACKTHORNE tells the heroes that the only way back to Earth is through a PORTAL located deep under OVERLORD ARKOR’s fortress.
With the aid of the BLACKTHORNE, AI’KALH and his UTURASHI warriors, the heroes boldly attack OVERLORD ARKOR’s Fortress. They defeat PRINCE URGROD (Brimstone’s half-brother), the VIZIER (who had been posing as the GRAND HIEROPHANT of the Night Masters!), and countless demonic soldiers. They also find and free DONNA QUANTRAIN, intrepid BOSTON GLOBE reporter and the sister of Dr. Jack Quantrain, aka THE ENIGMA.
The heroes make their way deep under ARKOR’S fortress and finally see the portal. The BANDIT QUEEN tells the heroes that once they enter the portal she will destroy it so that they will not be followed. The heroes bid goodbye and jump through the portal as BLACHTHORNE blasts it with eldritch fire.
Unbeknownst to the heroes, the force of the blast disrupted the space-time continuum. Consequently, the heroes are flung into a different time and dimension!
ISSUES 25-27: “FIVE AGAINST the REICHWORLD!” (real dates: 6-1-12, 6-22-12, 6-29-12)
The heroes notice something is amiss when they arrive in Times Square, New York City, and notice swastikas flying from nearby flagpoles. A giant TV screen plays a video montage of an elderly Hitler while the commentator remarks how all REICHWORLD citizens are so happy to be celebrating the Fuhrer’s 90th birthday.
“Shicklegruber is 90?” asks an incredulous DYNAMO. “I guess we’re not in KANSAS anymore!”
“You might be the Tin Man,” says Winged Victory with a smile, referring to Dynamo, “but I’m not Dorothy and this is definitely not OZ!”
“We must be in another dimension where history is different,” says the professorial ENIGMA. The BANDIT QUEEN’S blast must have disrupted ARKOR’S dimensional portal, sending us into this altered dimension; if Hitler is 90 that makes the year 1978.”
“Wow! I wonder if everyone has their own gyro-copter…” says BRIMSTONE rather too excitedly.
"You surface-dwellers are so strange..." says the bemused BRAINWAVE.
Unbeknownst to the heroes, an NYPD officer, wearing a swastika armband, has approached them from behind, and says: “Hey! What’s going on here? You can’t dress like that. I’m going to have to take you people in…” The officer unstraps his pistol from its holster and begins drawing his pistol.
But WINGED VICTORY is quicker! She draws her VIRIDIUM SWORD lightning quick, swinging it and expertly striking the cop’s gun -- slicing it neatly into two, non-functioning parts.
Brimstone then grabs the officer, knocks him unconscious, and slings the unconscious body over his shoulder.
As the heroes are pondering what to do, a stranger wearing a turtleneck sweater and suede jacket runs up to them and says: “I know who you are and I’ll help you but you need to follow me!”
The heroes then follow the stranger, who quickly leads them to an alleyway and then into the sewers. Eventually, the team is led into a secret underground facility used by the RESISTANCE.
The Good Samaritan who led them to the hidden base turns out to be the leader of the New York Resistance: DR. CARL SAGAN. Once the heroes had exhibited powers, Dr. Sagan deduced their true identity.
“Probably because you disappeared in January of 1942, the AXIS were able to utilize the wonder weapons created by DR. VOLTMAN and won the war one year later in 1943. Chief amongst these weapons was a “super” tank that was three times larger than the Tiger tank. Designed by Voltman’s chief engineer, Dr. Ulrich Strauss, the DRACHEN proved too formidable a weapon and it helped the NAZIS win the war.
Sagan tells the heroes how GERMANY conquered Russia, the Mideast, and then the Americas. ITALY rules much of Africa and JAPAN is the master of Australia and the Orient, including all of Oceania, China, and India.
“Although,” the professor says wryly, “there are rumors that the Third Reich and Imperial Japan may soon go to war.”
“In order to get back to your own timeline,” says Professor Sagan, “you will somehow have to get to the NAZI moon base, where it is rumored a trans-dimensional gateway is located.”
"But first," he says, "I'd like your help in freeing GAUNTLET, one of our super-powered Resistance fighters who is imprisoned in a swastika-shaped prison outside of BERLIN."
“Gauntlet is scheduled to be executed tomorrow morning,” says Sagan. The prison is guarded by the most advanced and powerful robots the enemy has created – REICHBOTS!
The heroes, along with freedom fighters MOUSER and VIBRON, travel to Germany. They smash their way into the prison, defeat many guards including REICHBOTS, and free Gauntlet.
Once back in the USA, the heroes learn that the CRUSHERS have a SPACE JET, a vehicle capable of reaching the moon. The team decides to go to CENTER CITY in order to steal it and get to the moon.
At CRUSHER CITADEL, the heroes battle against and handily defeat: SPYDER, MERCURY MERCENARY, STORMLORD, HORNET, MACE, and the VULTURE. BULL and MARIONETTE are never actually fought.
The team makes it to the Space Jet, straps in, and blasts off! In a few hours they arrive at the moon.
On the MOON BASE the heroes defeat: MOCKER, F.I.S.T., SAMHAIN, and NIGHTMARE, along with a couple of dozen “ordinary” guards.
At the last minute, VIBRON decides to betray the heroes. However, his attacks prove insufficient and he is also defeated.
The SAVE team eventually finds and uses the Inter-dimensional Portal Generator to return to their own dimension.
EPILOGUE: The heroes return to their own dimension, 18 months after they left!
ISSUES 28-29: “OPERATION: DESTROY the DRACHEN!” (real dates: 7-13-12, 7-20-12)
June, 1943 -- When the SAVE team members – who have been MIA since January, 1942 – arrive at room #33 of the War Department, General Shipton is shocked to see them alive.
The
heroes inform the General about everything that befell them in their recent
adventures (Issues 21-27). They also inform the General how Germany will use a
super weapon called the DRACHEN, a house-sized mega tank with enough firepower
to destroy entire battalions, to win the war.
The
General states that the team must travel to Germany, destroy the DRACHEN, and retrieve
the engineering blueprints.
Using the DYNAMOBILE the team flies to England first,
where they learn that the ROSE team is away on their own mission. They then fly
on to Germany, and once there, they blast their way into the underground NAZI
base, nicknamed “The Dragon’s Den.”
They find and restore the TENTH MAN (an immortal
super-powered French resistance fighter) to his normal state (he had been
mind-controlled into helping the NAZIS). He then fights alongside the Americans
against the villains.
The team goes on to defeat dozens of German soldiers
and many NAZI supervillains, including: The CRONE, PAGAN, WARFORGED, the FASCIST
PHARAOH, the BLOOD VALKYRIE and her two immortal dire wolf pets.
The heroes also capture DR. STRAUSS (the designer of
the DRACHEN) and obtain the plans to the tank. Ultimately, the team (with the
Tenth Man’s help) destroys the entire base, taking with it dozens of the
monstrous tanks.
ISSUE 30: “THE CURIOUS CASE of the MIGHTY STINKBUG” (read date: 8-3-12)
July, 1943 -- In room #33 of the War Department building, GENERAL SHIPTON introduces the team to ELMORE ELSNOFF: a balding and cigar-smoking dynamo who is the CEO of AMERICAN REPUBLIC PICTURES.
Mr. Elsnoff is in Washington DC to get the final
approval from General Shipton and the U.S. ARMY. He wants to “borrow” the SAVE
team heroes and have them star in his motion picture. “WINGS of HEROES,” says Mr. Elsnoff,
“is a movie that will show the greatness of America’s homegrown, red-blooded,
All-American super-heroes!”
General Shipton, who thinks the movie will be good
for the morale of the American people, allows the team to be in the film. The
team flies off to California with “EE,” as he likes to be called, and they stay
at Mr. Elsnoff’s Hollywood mansion.
While in Hollywood, the team learns that a string of
robberies has occurred; they are determined to stop them. They stake out a
jewelry store in downtown Los Angeles. Late at night, the MISFITS – a group of
super-powered thieves – show up to rob the store.
The MISFITS gang is run by the Mighty Stinkbug, a
villain who wears an armored, weapon-laden, steam-powered battle suit. Other
members of the gang include: Australian ex-patriot Privateer*, Second Hand Rose*,
and The Mole*.
All of the thieves, except for the Stinkbug, are
beaten and captured, and the heroes return to Mr. Elsnoff’s mansion.
*These characters are copyright by Hero Games and
included in their WW II supplement Golden Age of Champions
ISSUE 31: “The SILK DRAGON STRIKES!” (read date: 8-25-12)
August, 1943 -- While in LOS ANGELES to film Wings of Heroes, Elmer Elsnoff’s movie about American superheroes starring members of the SAVE team, the heroes foil a plot by a Japanese supervillain to steal an experimental bomb.
The
SILK DRAGON, a mutant martial artist and a dozen of her “dragon ninja” have snuck
onto Norton Army Air Field, which happens to be the same base where the SAVE
team is performing stunts for their movie “Wings of Heroes!”
The
heroes defeat the ninja and thwart the Silk Dragon’s plans, preventing her from
stealing the bomb.
ISSUE 32: “SAVE TEAM No. 2” (read date: 9-16-12)
September, 1943 -- The SAVE team members are ordered by General Shipton to attend a demonstration of the powers of the newly formed SAVE TEAM #2 at Quantico Marine Base. Attendees include: Gen. Shipton, Capt. DelPozo, various U.S. Army personnel (including scientists), and lastly Senator Tucker, who is well known for his weekly “Patriot Hour” radio broadcasts.
The members of the new team include: LIBERATOR (Super Strength and Emotion Control), THUNDER BOY (Super Speed and Weather Control), CRACKERJACK (Gadgets, Heightened Stats, HTH Fighting), and O COMETA (Flight and Flame Powers).
Unbeknownst to our heroes (or anyone else) Senator Tucker is not who he appears to be... he is really the German super-villain DOPPELGANGER! The villain previously used his shape-changing abilities to modify the new teams’ radio harnesses. He wired each harness with a miniaturized, VOLTMAN-created mind-control device.
As the demonstration begins, Doppelganger activates the mind-control devices. He whispers his orders: “KILL the members of SAVE.” As the mind-controlled members of SAVE Team #2 begin to attack, he and his “aides” get in a large sedan and drive away.
The SAVE team heroes quickly subdue Crackerjack and O Cometa. Suspicious about their new-fangled radio vests, the ENIGMA takes one apart and discovers the mind-controlling unit.
He tells his companions what’s going on as they knock-out Liberator and Thunder Boy. DYNAMO then constructs a crude device to track down the source of the radio wave transmitter.
The heroes fly off, tracking down the “messages of death,” and they soon catch up to “Senator Tucker.”
Brimstone uses his great strength to rip the engine out of the car. Doppelganger and his STURMKORP guards (who were posing as the Senate staffers), then proceed to fight the heroes. After about a minute of fighting, the heroes stand victorious. They gather up their knocked-out foes and fly back to Quantico.
EPILOGUE: A Lemurian warship lands and ten armed “Servitors” (android servants of the ancient undersea city) exit the vehicle. “BRAINWAVE, you are to accompany us back to Lemuria. If you refuse, you, and anyone who aids you, will be terminated…”
ISSUE 33: “MADMEN, MONSTERS, and TWO SMOKING BLASTERS!” (real date: 10-6-12)
September, 1943 -- After a brief fight and with the aid of two of the SAVE Team #2 members, the LEMURIAN androids known as the SERVITORS are defeated. DYNAMO then responds to an urgent call from WINGED VICTORY, who needs help defeating the powerful supervillain killer known as the FERRYMAN. He and BRIMSTONE fly off to the Duqette Estate in upstate New York.
When Dynamo and Brimstone arrive, Winged Victory and Feddy lead them back to the Duqette Family Crypt. There, they confront the villain, who has finally found what he was looking for: the TABLET of DESTINY!
As he turns non-corporeal, the Ferryman laughs at
the heroes, telling them they are too late. But Winged Victory also turns
non-corporeal and the two begin to fight for control of the tablet.
After struggling against the villain for a couple of
rounds, Vicky finally succeeds in wresting the Tablet of Destiny from the
villain’s grasp and turns solid. The
Ferryman is then forced to turn solid again; this allows Dynamo and Brimstone to
fight the Ferryman. After receiving
heavy blows from the two heroes, the villain creates a dimensional portal and
flees to the PLANE of HELL.
Undaunted, Dynamo and Brimstone follow the Ferryman,
jumping through the portal and into Hell, and defeat him. Brimstone knocks him
out, the force of his mighty blow hurling the villain’s unconscious body back
through the dimensional gateway. The
gateway then suddenly disappears leaving the two stalwart heroes trapped in
Hell.
Using the power of the Tablets of Destiny Winged
Victory reopens the gateway, enabling Dynamo and Brimstone to return to Earth. Unfortunately, while the heroes were
occupied, the Ferryman wakes and escapes.
Meanwhile
back at QUANTICO…
BRAINWAVE and The ENIGMA have been busy dismantling
one of the disabled Servitors. They
manage to find and play back the android’s visual and audible recordings. They learn that Lemuria had been taken over by
a powerful villain of the city’s past: GENERAL Z’THAR.
Z’thar had somehow returned to Lemuria and, with the
aid of a handful of super-criminal followers, had gassed the citizens of Lemuria
into a deep sleep. Z’thar also took total control of the thousands of the
Servitor androids.
The SAVE team, along with CRACKERJACK and O COMETA, commandeer
the Lemurian Cruiser. The heroes travel to Lemuria, eventually fighting their
way into the Servitor Control Room of the COTERIE of SCIENCE building.
They defeat the Lemurian super-criminal known as SEA
URCHIN and they destroy the Servitor control machine, rendering all of the
androids non-functional. Brainwave learns that while the populace of Lemuria
has been sleeping some of their psychic energy has been slowly drained from
them.
EPILOGUE: General Z’thar surveys Lemuria from the
ancient throne room in the Royal Grounds and he turns to a humanoid form suspended
within a large tube. Power from numerous cables seems to be surging into the
tube. “Soon you will awaken and the
world will tremble…”
ISSUE 34: “LORDS of LEMURIA!” (real date: 11-3-12)
September, 1943 -- The original SAVE Team members, along with SAVE Team #2 members CRACKERJACK and O COMETA, make their way from the Coterie of Science building to the Lemurian Royal Grounds. Once there, they smash their way through the back wall of the ancient throne room. Inside, they see GENERAL Z’THAR and his super-criminals (ABYSMAL, GLADIATRIX, QUANTA, and KATOTH) standing near machinery and a large (man-sized) opaque tube. Cables run from the tube to the machinery.
“Give
up, Z’THAR” says BRAINWAVE, “with the Servitors disabled you cannot hope to
win.”
The
General laughs and says, “So, stripling, you would dictate terms to the
greatest military mind in LEMURIAN history? I think not.”
“Greatest
criminal mind, perhaps,” says
Brainwave. “But since you will not listen to reason then force will have to
suffice!” And with that said the two sides proceed to engage in a vicious
battle.
Although
the heroes are ultimately victorious over the LEMURIAN super-villains, Z’THAR has
one trick left. He concentrates and a bright light envelops the large tube.
When the light dies out, the heroes can see a humanoid form rise from the tube.
“Behold
the child of my genius: PSYKON!”
For weeks, the
psychic energy of sleeping Lemurians has been siphoned into the body of an
android created by General Z’thar. Now that Psykon has awakened, the General
orders him to destroy the heroes!
The
heroes, however, wait to see what happens: they do not attack Psykon. Their
patience is rewarded when Psykon decides to disobey the General’s order.
Instead, the newly-created super-being decides to leave Earth to travel the
endless space-ways of the cosmos.
Z’thar
goes berserk with fury but the heroes nevertheless defeat him after several more
rounds of combat.
EPILOGUE 1: Brainwave decides to stay in Lemuria to assist its citizens in rebuilding
the damage caused by General Z’thar. Crackerjack is given permission by the
United States government to stay in Lemuria to act as a duly authorized agent
of the American government.
EPILOGUE 2: In Room #33 of the War Department building, the heroes are met by General
Shipton, Captain DelPozo, and the Russian superhero known as WHISPER. The
Russian beauty tells the heroes that her team-mates have fallen victim to
invaders from outer space!
ISSUE 35: “FROM RUSSIA WITH DEATH!” (real date: 11-24-12)
December, 1943 -- The Russian superhero known as WHISPER tells the tale of how her country’s super-team, RED SHIELD, had been ordered to a remote part of Russia called TUNGUSKA to assist with the recovery of an alien spaceship.
“The Russian Army,” she says, “was unable to
penetrate the hull of the alien vessel. Using atomic rays, COMRADE GAMMA burned
a hole through the alien ship’s hull...”
“That sounds like something you would do,
Brimstone!” says an amused Winged Victory.
“…This is how we got inside the ship. But once in,
were quickly assaulted by robots,” says the Russian beauty. “I was able to
escape but, one by one, I saw my comrades defeated and dragged away. Russians
are a proud and stubborn people, but even we know when we are beaten. And so I
am here to ask for your aid.”
General Shipton, after talking with President
Roosevelt about the situation, orders the SAVE team to assist Whisper and her government
with the crisis. The General tells the heroes they must travel to Russia and
provide whatever aid they can muster in order to rescue the captured members of
RED SHIELD.
After days of flying the eastern route in a B-17
Flying Fortress, the heroes finally arrive in TUNGUSKA. Carefully stepping
through the large hole burned in its hull, the team enters the alien ship. They
quickly begin looking for clues as to the whereabouts of the missing Russians. Dynamo finds himself in a section of the alien
ship which oddly enough has signs printed in English...
As the heroes explore more of the ship they are suddenly
attacked by a robot. They manage to
destroy the robot but are then assaulted by the mind-controlled members of Red
Shield, whose members include: COMMANDER Z, COMRADE GAMMA, GENERAL FROST, SOVIET
STAR, COSSACK, and ALOSHA.
After several rounds of combat, neither side has the
clear advantage nor has anyone been knocked out. The fight between the
Americans and the Russians is suddenly interrupted by a man wearing a space
suit.
“Enough! Let the fighting stop!” says the mysterious
stranger. “I’ve deactivated the AI defensive sub-routine. You are all now free
of its control.” The man then takes off his helmet revealing himself to be Dr.
Jack Quantrain.
This Enigma, however, is from an alternate
timeline. The older Enigma tells the
story of how, in his history, the Russians and the Americans destroy each other
in an atomic war – all because of a mistake.
Unbeknownst
to the U.S. government, the Red Shield member known as Comrade Gamma had been
building up atomic energy in his body for years. In 1955, the buildup became
too intense: the atomic-force explosion claimed his life along with most of the
citizens of Moscow.
The
Russian military mistakenly believed that the explosion was the result of an
American nuclear attack and they consequently launched a full nuclear attack at
the U.S. The Americans reacted to the
Russian attack with their own massive nuclear attack against Russia. Although much of the rest of the world was
not directly affected, the nuclear winter which occurred ultimately killed 99.9%
of humanity and destroyed human civilization.
The
older Enigma tells the heroes how his ship, the Excelsior, was begun as a
post-war project – intended to launch the Space Era. After the nuclear holocaust occurred, Enigma
decided that he had to prevent Comrade Gamma from destroying Moscow. In turn, the
sequence of events that resulted in the destruction of human civilization would
never occur.
He
flew the Excelsior to PERATOR -- FREEDOM EAGLE’S home planet. With their help he managed to create a time
machine. The Peratonions also helped the
Earthman by installing advanced robots, healing technology, and advanced computer
AI technology into the Excelsior.
Once
back upon the devastated Earth, Enigma initiated the time travel device. But
time travel is fraught with danger and the ship was subjected to a violent
tachyon storm. Instead of travelling to 1941, the ship appeared in 1908…
As
the ship entered the Earth’s atmosphere the tachyon energies that were released
caused a huge explosion that devastated the Russian countryside for hundreds of
miles. The ship survived but it was buried deep under the cold Tunguska tundra.
Ever
since the crash landing in 1908, the Enigma from 1955 has been in suspended
animation and the Excelsior AI was in “low power mode.” When the Russian Army began their excavation project
(codenamed: Korotb), vibrations around the ship “awakened” the ship’s
artificial intelligence. And when the members
of Red Shield breached the hull, the ship AI perceived this as an attack. The Excelsior AI captured the Red Shield
members and brainwashed them into becoming guards for the ship. During the
fight between SAVE and Red Shield, the future Enigma was finally awakened and
was able to shut down the Excelsior AI.
EPILOGUE : The Enigma from an alternate future goes
home to his own dimension/timeline. The
Russians agree to the Americans’ desire to isolate Comrade Gamma and to work on
“curing” his energy buildup. In exchange
for their help with Comrade Gamma, the Russians ask for help in stopping a Nazi
super-villain known as “The Night Terror” from preying upon the citizens of the
besieged Stalingrad.
ISSUE 36: “RATTENKRIEG, Part One” (real date: 12-22-12)
January, 1944 -- Prologue: The SAVE team arrives in the Russian city of Chelyabinsk where they are escorted to Stalin’s HQ. Whisper is on hand to act as an interpreter between the Americans and the Russians. Copious amounts of Vodka, Beluga caviar, and sweet meats are offered to the American heroes. Stalin then toasts his new friends and orders newspaper photographers to take pictures. Once the pleasantries were over, Stalin and his advisors leave.
The SAVE team (along
with Russian superhero WHISPER) eventually arrives in Moscow. There, they join
a convoy of Russian Army trucks laden with food and supplies and bound for STALINGRAD
(aka Leningrad aka St. Petersburg). During the trip, Dynamo improves the DYNAMOBILE
(which is being hauled on a tank-carrier) by making it bigger and faster.
While the convoy is
travelling across the frozen surface of LAKE LADOGA, the so-called “Road of
Life,” Enigma spots a flash of light to his left about half a mile away. He
radios his team-mates who immediately spring into action. Brimstone hops out of the truck he is riding
in and leaps, landing moments later on the turret of a German tank. Meanwhile, Dynamo picks up Winged Victory,
Feddy, and Enigma in the Dyna-mobile Mk II.
The heroes, especially
Brimstone, destroy the five Panzer tanks, and knock-out the German soldiers. The Panzer group commander empties his pistol
into Brimstone’s back but the bullets just bounce off the big hero’s
hard-as-bronze skin. Brimstone wraps a cannon barrel around the fanatic.
After destroying the
Panzers, the heroes rejoin the convoy and soon arrive at the besieged city of
Stalingrad. Once inside the city, they
meet with General VOROSHILOV, who is in charge of defending the city. The
general briefs the Americans on the “Night Terror.” He shows the heroes a map
of the sewers and tells them that if any of his men are alive they will be
somewhere “down there.” He cautions the Americans, telling them that whoever is
responsible for the killings may be some sort of vampire or “STRIGOI.”
The heroes descend into
the sewers of Stalingrad and after hours of searching come upon a locked iron
door. Brimstone rips the door off of its
hinges, revealing a large dusty room and four surprised vampires, one of whom is
draining the blood of a young woman…
ISSUE 37: “RATTENKRIEG, Part Two: The NIGHT TERROR” (real date: 1-19-13)
January, 1944 -- In the sewers under Stalingrad, the SAVE team and their Russian interpreter Whisper, finish off the STRIGOI minions. As Whisper begins to ask questions to the surviving victims about what had befallen them, BRAINWAVE suddenly appears. The Lemurian had spent almost 18 hours following their trail – from Tunguska, to Chelyabinsk, and finally to Stalingrad, where he was told by General Vorolov that the SAVE team was in the sewers looking for vampires. It took Brainwave an additional hour of searching the sewers before he finally heard the sounds of battle and tracked down his comrades.
The heroes
leave the sewers and return to VOROLOV’S HQ. Once there, they tell the General
the information that they have learned: a master vampire named DUCATUS is
responsible for the abduction s. Furthermore, they learned that Ducatus and his
minions are headquartered in the WHITE PALACE, a place once frequented by Catherine
the Great, former TSARINA of Russia. They learn that the palace is in
German-controlled territory outside of the city. The team is then given approval
by the Russians to assault the palace and, if possible, to destroy Ducatus.
Before they depart, Winged Victory asks a priest to bless a silvered cross that
she sharpens into a stake.
Later that
night, the SAVE team flies out of Stalingrad in the new DYNAMOMOBILE. Landing
about a mile from the White Palace, Brainwave establishes a Mental Link with
Whisper, who then reconnoiters the palace grounds. She learns that the palace grounds
are crawling with German soldiers.
After
deciding that a direct approach is best, the team lands on the roof of the
palace and smash their way in. They encounter, and easily dispatch, a few
German soldiers before finally finding the master vampire.
DUCATUS
seems surprised to see the heroes but in his overconfidence he decides to fight
rather than flee. He tries and fails on several attempts to Mind Control the
heroes. He also fails to convert Brainwave into a vampire minion (although he does
manage to drain some of the LEMURIAN’S blood). In the end, despite his
formidable powers, the Vampire Lord is defeated.
ISSUE 38: “HOMEFIRES” (real date: 2-9-13)
PROLOGUE: At his family estate off of Pleasant View Road, near the town of Greenville, Rhode Island, Professor Ronald Murrell had worked on his Sub-Quantum Mass Reduction project for twenty years. And over those years he had become a recluse obsessed with perfecting his machine. Despite his isolation he and the lovely town librarian, Margaret Allen, had become good friends.
In the last few days Ronald finally perfected his machine. He wanted to test it but he also wanted Margaret to be there for the occasion. Ronald told her about his machine and she came over. Margaret thought Ronald had gone crazy; when he went into the kitchen she called the police. Ronald returned in time to catch her on the phone: he ripped the phone cord out of the wall before Margaret could finish her story.
Officer Roy Cooper knew the professor’s reputation; and had been driving by the gate to his estate for years. He knew the “Doc” had lived in Greenville his whole life and that he had inherited a small fortune from his parents (who had both passed on some years ago).
He had heard the rumors: that Murrell was some kind of “mad scientist” but he never really believed them. When he got the call to check out the situation he drove to the Murrell estate. The gate was open and Margaret Allen’s car was parked out front. Cooper went to the front door and knocked. He could hear the sound of humming coming from inside. When he heard a woman scream he busted the door down and rushed in.
What he saw amazed him. In the living room was this huge machine with cables running along the floor and into different rooms. Murrell was in the middle of it and he had Margaret next to him. She was tied up.
“You’re too late, officer! For years I was mocked, but all of that ends now. My Sub-Quantum Ray has been perfected!” screamed Professor Murrell, his face twisted with anger.
“Hey, Doc, calm down. I don’t know what’s going on here but we can figure things out,” said Officer Cooper.
“Fool! It doesn’t matter, the overload process has started and there is nothing you can do to stop it. Soon it will explode and it and everything in this house will be destroyed! Farewell!”
With that said a brilliant light enveloped the professor and the librarian and they literally shrank out of existence. Roy didn’t know what to do but the machine started sputtering and emitting loud noises. He ran for the door and was running away from the house when a huge explosion knocked him to the ground. As he lay on the ground he could tell he was passing out, but he wondered why everything seemed to be getting smaller…
February, 1944
SAVE members are contacted by GENERAL SHIPTON and asked to check out a strange “anomaly” in the small town of Greensville, RI. Something very unusual has taken place.
The team flies to Greenville in the DYNA-MOBILE MK II. Once in town they land outside the small building that houses the Greenville Police Station.
Captain Maloney of the Greenville Police Department informs the heroes that one of his men, Officer Cooper, has gone missing. Cooper’s patrol car is at the Murrell house, and although it is damaged it is not destroyed; there is no sign of Officer Cooper.
The captain thinks it’s possible that he was killed in the explosion that destroyed the house, but so far no bodies have been found. Maloney also informs the heroes that many of the townsfolk have claimed to have seen a “giant” roaming around town.
The heroes go to Murrell’s house and begin hunting for clues. Using his Radar Goggles to peer under the snow, the Enigma immediately finds gigantic footprints leading away from the house and into the woods. The heroes decide to follow the tracks.
After fifteen minutes they come across a 40-foot tall giant who seems to have used a tent as a makeshift loincloth.
“Are you Officer Cooper? I’m here to help you,” says the Enigma.
“I don’t know who I am… I can’t remember! Stay away from me!” Cooper picks up a nearby boulder.
“Don’t worry, fellas,” says Brimstone, “I’ll get that boulder out of his hands.”
As Brimstone advances on Officer Cooper, he throws the boulder, and hits Brimstone squarely in the chest, knocking him back fifty feet.
“We don’t want to fight you but we will if we have to,” says Winged Victory, who flies up to the giant and punches him.
As the heroes fight the colossus, they repeatedly tell him that he is Officer Roy Cooper of the Greenville Rhode Island Police Department. But it is only when Capt. Maloney shows up that Cooper finally remembers who he is, and the fighting ends.
ISSUE 39: “INTO THE SUB-QUANTUM UNIVERSE!” (real date: 5-18-13)
Earth Time - Unknown:
The SAVE team, along with the COLOSSUS, come through the “anomaly” and arrive inside a huge featureless room with no apparent means of ingress or egress. The walls, floor, and ceiling appear to be constructed from some sort of super-alloy: punches and power blasts have no effect on the metal. Brimstone decides to try his Hellfire against the super metal, which works spectacularly, and in short order a ten foot wide hole has been burned through the wall.
As the heroes exit the giant metal cube they find themselves in an immense (½ mile x ½ mile) open square – the center of a very futuristic-looking city. Sitting in dozens of long columns are hundreds of large vehicles – weapons of war. Although they are flabbergasted by the cityscape, they compose themselves as they see four flying vehicles rapidly approach their position. Inside the vehicles are members of a small squadron of purple-skinned Protectors.
The PROTECTORS are the DOMINION law enforcers and are sworn to protect WARLORD UNKU. The Protectors immediately open fire on our heroes (thinking they are rebels). The fight is quickly won by the heroes.
The Enigma uses his Inventing skill to create a size-reducing gadget. He then uses the gadget to shrink the Colossus down to human size. As the heroes are pondering what to do next they are met by UWA, a rebel fighter. She convinces the heroes to follow her to a safe area. But once there, the heroes come under attack by several exoskeleton-wearing rebels. The heroes beat the rebels and demand to know why they have been attacked.
GALEN, one of the rebel leaders, then makes his appearance: he apologizes for the attack, explaining that they had to be sure this wasn’t some DOMINION trick. He goes on to recount a bit of history to the heroes:
The heroes discover that time flows much faster in the sub-quantum universe than on Earth. Roughly 50 years has passed in the two days that Prof. Murrell and Margaret Allen disappeared.
The purple skinned natives of the Sub-Quantum Universe call themselves the Oku. Murrell and Allen assumed the role of OKUAN gods ORDRU and ORRA, respectively. They conquered the OKUAN world in less than 50 years. Now, their son, calling himself WARLORD UNKU has plans to invade the Earth.
In order to prevent the Warlord from invading Earth the heroes agree to help the rebels defeat UNKU. With rebel help, they make their way to the warlord's mile-high fortress. They fly to the top of the massive building and in an epic battle they defeat Warlord UNKU and his Protector guards.
After they return to Earth, where only a few seconds have elapsed since they left, the “anomaly” winks out of existence.
ISSUE 40: “WHITHER ACHILLES?” (real date: 6-29-13)
PROLOGUE: A German soldier, his uniform stained with sweat and dirt, approaches Herr Eisenfaust, whose mind appears elsewhere and is tossing an ancient Greek coin into the air with his mechanical hand.
“Sir, the men have finally broken into the hidden chamber!”
“Corporal, your uniform is dirty; very unbecoming a soldier of the Third Reich…”
“I’m sorry, sir, but…”
“You will change your uniform while I attend to the matter,” says Count Eisenfaust. The Austrian rises, looks to the ancient ruins in the distance, and then crushes the coin he had nonchalantly been tossing into the air. “Let us see what we have discovered…” Eisenfaust says with a maniacal gleam in his eyes.
April, 1944
General Shipton gives the heroes a new mission: travel to Athens, Greece and prevent the NAZIS from obtaining mystical artifacts.
The team travels oversees again and once at their destination DYNAMO hovers the DYNAMOBILE 3,000 feet above Athens. Down below, near the Parthenon, the heroes can see German soldiers standing about, apparently guarding the ancient Greek ruins.
DYNAMO flies his craft straight down and lands in the middle of the Parthenon. BRIMSTONE (riding FYRE), the ENIGMA, WINGED VICTORY, and FEDDY all fly down on their own power. The heroes land and begin a fight with the Nazis. A few rounds later, all of the soldiers are defeated. Of the twenty odd soldiers who were guarding the Parthenon, only one surrenders (lucky #7).
Highlights of the fight include: Dynamo using his Magnetism to lift a soldier 90 feet into the air while the soldier desperately holds onto his helmet; Brimstone lifting a Panzer tank, ordering a German soldier to surrender, and dropping the tank on the soldier when the fanatic NAZI refuses; and the Enigma blasting for maximum damage the soldier who Dynamo had lifted into the air but had dropped onto the lone remaining structure of the Parthenon.
While none of the heroes are hurt badly in the fight, the DYNAMOBILE is damaged by a machine-gun burst. Consequently, Dynamo flies his craft to a nearby building and sprints back to the Parthenon. Brimstone then commands Fyre to guard the DYNAMOBILE.
The ENIGMA, who had been using a pit for cover, learns that there are ancient stairs leading downward; he proceeds to explore the passageway. He discovers a square room roughly 35 feet wide by 35 feet long. Located along the walls of the room are several bronze statues of Greek heroes and painted on the walls are frescoes depicting ancient Greek battles. He searches the room and finds a secret door. He radios his teammates and tells them what he has found and asks them come down to meet him.
The heroes follow the hidden tunnel and come to a larger room, a room filled with more statues, and at the end of which is a gigantic golden statue of ZEUS. Also in the room, and waiting for the heroes, are three German super-villains: BOMBSHELL, COUNT EISENFAUST, and JACKBOOT.
Count Eisenfaust looks different: he is wearing a strange type of armor and is carrying shield and spear. He arrogantly proclaims “I have the armor, shield, and spear of the legendary hero ACHILLES! I now have the power of a demi-god!”
Brimstone rushes at Eisenfaust, attacking the Austrian twice with his Hellfire, hitting once.
Eisenfaust winces and says, “You are the most dangerous, Brimstone: you must die first!” The Count then thrusts the spear of Achilles into Brimstone, severely hurting the American hero.
Dynamo booms at the Count, “Hey EISEN-FAUSTY, yer armor is made of metal! So… take this!” Dynamo then uses his power of Magnetism to grab ahold of the Count, lifting him into the air and spinning him around.
Eisenfaust orders Bombshell and Jackboot to “destroy the American dogs!”
The battle for the heroes then waxes and wanes for several rounds. Highlights of the fight include: Jackboot taking Winged Victory’s sword away from her and using it as his own weapon, Feddy repeatedly grabbing Jackboot, Bombshell repeatedly blasting Dynamo, and Eisenfaust striking Brimstone so hard he is rendered unconscious and bleeding.
Eventually, Eisenfaust is knocked unconscious by the teamwork of Dynamo and Enigma, both of whom bypassed the Achilles armor by blasting the Austrian super-villain in his feet. Jackboot shrugs off Feddy, moves to the insensate Eisenfaust, and teleports the two of them to an unknown location. Bombshell is abandoned to her own devices and is quickly defeated.
EPILOGUE : The Enigma uses all of his healing charges to get Brimstone back on his feet. One of the statues near Zeus comes to life: it is Alabaster – ancient Greek heroine. She agrees to aid the heroes by mystically tracking the stolen artifacts.
ISSUE 41: “THE SCORPION’S STING!” (real date: 8-10-13)
PROLOGUE: The Enigma uses all of his healing charges to get Brimstone back on his feet. One of the statues near Zeus comes to life: it is Alabaster – ancient Greek heroine. She agrees to aid the heroes by mystically tracking the stolen artifacts. Dynamo then flies the Dynamobile to a small barren island in the Aegean Sea.
April, 1944 -- Although victorious over COUNT EISENFAUST’S forces, the members of SAVE were badly beaten up. They decide to use Winged Victory’s power of Dimensional Travel to travel to the SUB-QUANTUM UNIVERSE. Time flows far faster in that dimension: each Earth day equals 25 years in the SQU.
They find themselves in the vast central square of a ruined city once ruled by WARLORD UNKU. Nearby are giant statues, each in the likeness of a SAVE member. The statues are engraved with each hero’s name and a short inscription that reads as follows: “Our eternal thanks to the Earthmen for their heroic deeds in overthrowing a dictator and restoring democracy.”
The heroes quickly find shelter in a ruined building. Their plan is to rest and recover from their wounds. Hours later, they are attacked by two beasts Winged Victory dubs “grace-hoppers.” The six-legged creatures have superpowers: paralysis ray, vibratory blast, non-corporealness, and heightened agility. One of the grace-hoppers is knocked-out and the other turns non-corporeal and flees. The heroes spend the rest of the night in peace. In the morning, all healed up and refreshed, WINGED VICTORY creates another dimensional portal and they return to Earth’s dimension.
Once back in Greece, Alabaster informs Dynamo that the Achilles artifacts are to the northwest. The heroes get in the DYNAMOBILE and pursue. Seven hours later, at roughly 10:15pm, they find themselves flying over Rome, Italy. Alabaster points to a large Roman villa and tells Dynamo that “the artifacts are somewhere in that villa below.”
The heroes land in the middle of the villa’s garden. Six members of Mussolini’s PRAETORIAN GUARD, immediately attack. Unbeknownst to the heroes the villa is the home of LO SCORPIONE, the friend and right-hand man of Il Duce. SAVE quickly defeats the praetorians; Alabaster tells them the artifacts are in a nearby room.
BRIMSTONE, who is riding FYRE (his summoned, flaming, flying steed), moves to the door and smashes it open. The other heroes enter and discover several super-villains inside. They see LO SCORPIONE, CENTURION, JACKBOOT, REPRISE and two more Praetorian Guards.
Centurion, a villain the heroes have never met, is wearing the Achilles armor and wielding the Achilles shield and spear. Count Eisenfaust is not present, and his location is unknown to the heroes. The heroes and the villains then duke it out.
Highlights of the fight include:
• Enigma immediately blasting Lo Scorpione 30 feet back and knocking him out.
• Enigma blasting Jackboot for maximum damage: knocking him 35 feet, through a granite wall, and a further 55 feet outside
• Winged Victory fumbling her attack against a prone Jackboot and getting her sword stuck in a granite wall
• Dynamo using his Magnetism to free Winged Victory’s Viridium sword from the wall
• Winged Victory interrupting Jackboot’s teleportation, hitting him with her recovered sword, and administering the coup de gras against him
• Alabaster grabbing Centurion and eventually wrenching the Spear of Achilles away from him
Reprise was largely ineffective in the fight, having failed to hurt Brimstone, and ended up running away. Although Lo Scorpione had been knocked-out by the Enigma’s initial blast, he awoke during the fight, and used his power of Illusions to escape. Jackboot and Centurion are both taken prisoner.
Epilogue: The SAVE team, along with Alabaster and the prisoners, fly to England. They meet with Excalibur at the headquarters of the Royal Order of Supernal Englishmen – the restored Laird Manor. Alabaster is accepted as ROSE’s newest member and the SAVE team then flies back to the United States.
ISSUE 42: “LOOSE ENDS, PART I” (real date: 8-17-13)
PROLOGUE #1: PRINCE UGROD has assumed the identity of one William Winston, a wealthy businessman and philanthropist. With the help of his new friends the NIGHTMASTERS, he sends out letters to the War Department and to the QUANTICO Marine Base. The letters are addressed to BRIMSTONE. Each letter praises Brimstone’s “heroic deeds” and invites the hero to appear at a warehouse to accept a check for $5,000 to “a charity of Brimstone’s choice.” All Brimstone must do is show up to receive the money.
PROLOGUE #2: Kurt Mueller, the
leader of the Nazi spies who attempted to steal the ENIGMA RAY machine in early
1941, was presumed to have died when the device exploded. He was not killed,
however, merely placed into a form of suspended animation.
May, 1944 -- When he awakes, he discovers to
his horror that he is buried in a coffin. The shock of being buried alive is
too much for Mueller and his mind snaps, but armed with his Enigma powers he
blasts his way out of the ground before suffocating to death.
Mueller decides to revenge
himself upon Dr. Quantrain with a simple plan: pretend to be the ENIGMA while
robbing banks, causing property destruction, and killing innocent bystanders. He hopes to get the real Enigma arrested and
eventually put to death for his “crimes.”
Scene One:
Having
decided to follow up on the letters he had been receiving, Brimstone arrives at
a non-descript warehouse in Washington, DC.
He is met by Mr. Winston, a snappily-dressed businessman, who is smiling
from ear to ear.
PRINCE
URGROD drops his disguise and snarls out a greeting: “Ah, my dear despised
half-brother, we meet again! Our father,
OVERLORD ARKOR, absolute ruler of the SHADOW REALM, will at long last see that
I am worthy of being his heir… by killing you!”
The two
proceed to have an epic, knockdown, no-holds-barred BATTLE ROYALE! However, as the fight goes on it is clear
that Brimstone is losing, and he knows why: URGROD is using magical items to
boost his powers! Brimstone decides that
the only way he can win is to smash the items – which is exactly what he
does. Brimstone’s tactic works and he
emerges the victor, however, he suffers the worst beating of his life.
Scene Two:
When
reports of the Enigma flying around Boston and causing mayhem (blasting cars,
people, and property) are broadcast on national radio the real Enigma decides
to investigate. He flies to Boston and begins searching for the imposter. When
the fiery superhero O COMETA flies up to him, and attacks him with a flame
blast, he is surprised.
“Enigma,
surrender to me now or suffer the consequences” says the fiery heroine.
“Look,
Miss, I know what you must be thinking but there is an imposter who is causing
this mayhem, not me” says the Enigma.
O
Cometa, however, doesn’t believe him and the two superheroes begin to fight in
the leaden skies above Boston. After a few rounds of combat, the Enigma finally
convinces her that he is on the up and up and the fight ends.
ISSUE 43: “LOOSE ENDS, PART II” (real date: 08-24-13)
May, 1944
Scene One – DUQETTE Mansion in Upper New York State:
Carol Daily (aka Winged Victory) is visited by Mrs. Jacquelyn Fawcett, the widow of Nicholas Fawcett. Mrs. Fawcett has come to New York to give Carol her late husband’s diary, to relate what had happened to her husband, and to try to restore her late husband’s pension.
She tells Carol about her husband Nicholas, a geologist who worked at the AMIC gold mine near White Rock, Utah, and how he had found some kind of new mineral. The mine is owned by American Manufacturing & Industrial Company (in which Carol owns 51% of the stock).
She tells Carol how her husband informed his boss, LUCIAN ROWLAND (Carol’s uncle by marriage) about the mineral. Rowland summarily fired him claiming he had missed a few days’ work because he was inebriated. The next day brakes on her husband's truck failed as he was coming down the mountain. Nick Fawcett died when his truck fell off a 200 foot cliff.
She tells Carol that her husband never drank alcohol as he couldn’t stand the stuff. She also gives Carol the diary that her husband kept. The diary is written in code and Mrs. Fawcett hopes that Ms. Daily can have it de-coded.
Scene Two – The Bronx, NYC:
Moses Drummond, aka DYANAMO, has returned to his Bronx apartment. While he is tinkering in his workshop he hears shouting from outside. When he investigates he learns a large fire has broken out at a nearby tenement building.
Dynamo rushes into the burning tenement building. He rescues a baby girl. He uses his magnetic powers to cause a large water tower to dump its contents onto the top of the building, dousing much of the fire.
Scene Three - Utah:
After two days of travel via the DYNAMOBILE, The SAVE team arrives at the gold mine owned by the American Mining and Industrial Corporation, which is a few miles from White Rock, Utah. A fierce SNOWSTORM swirls around them as Dynamo lands the Dynamobile. The heroes approach the mine entrance and are stopped by armed men…
The SAVE team defeats many Blood and Iron members at the mine complex. At the bottom of the mine the heroes encounter FRAULEIN FEAR and her six STURM KORPS bodyguards. The villains are easily defeated, although Brimstone once again takes a beating from multiple lightning gun blasts.
ISSUE 44: “LOOSE ENDS, PART III” (real date: 09-07-13)
May, 1944 -- The SAVE team returns to the surface of the mine where they encounter and easily defeat more machinegun-wielding Blood & Iron thugs. Inside the large ore processing building they fight a Viridium-enhanced ARYAN ENIGMA. The heroes are injured in the fight but manage to drive off the villain, who like in Boston, flies off into a swirling snowstorm. The Enigma tries to pursue but the Nazi villain is too fast and the snow is too dense.
DYNAMO encounters and captures LUCIEN ROWLAND, the uncle of Carol Daily (aka WINGED VICTORY). Mr. ROWLAND, who is a high-ranking executive at the American Mining and Industrial Corporation, is wielding a VOLTMAN designed lightning pistol, which he uses against Dynamo. After being subdued, Dynamo finds a NAZI lapel pin in Rowland's shirt pocket.
The heroes learn that the VIRIDIUM ore was being trucked to a nearby airfield, which like the mine, is owned by AMIC. Local residents of White Rock report that “funny looking” planes were seen leaving the airfield in the dead of night. The heroes presume the ore was shipped back to Germany.
FBI Division S Director Sam Whittier and his small team of agents arrive at the mine. They take into their custody Mr. ROWLAND, FRAULEIN FEAR, and the BLOOD & IRON thugs.
Epilogue: In Room #33 of the War Department Building General SHIPTON briefs the SAVE team members. Captain DELPOZO, FBI Division S Director Whittier, OSS Agents Paul Hallman and Howard Hooker, and Professor Andrew Eaton are also in attendance. Prof. Eaton informs the heroes that the snowstorm that is covering the entire country is unnatural as it has been ongoing for almost a month. The General then tells the heroes that the President wants the SAVE team members to investigate the matter and if possible to put an end to it.
ISSUE 45: “THIS GOOD EARTH, PART I” (real date: 09-21-13)
June, 1944 -- 0600 Hours, Inside Room #33 of the War Department Building General SHIPTON debriefs the SAVE team heroes. Captain DELPOZO, FBI DIVISION S Director Sam Whittier, OSS Agents Paul Hallman and Howard Hooker, and Professor Andrew Eaton are also in attendance.
The General informs the heroes that the cold weather that
Americans have been experiencing in the last month has also affected the rest
of the world: Europe, Africa, Russia, the Mideast, and the Far East are all
experiencing severe cold weather, he says.
Professor Eaton (the U.S. Army’s chief meteorologist) and his team of
experts are stumped – they have no idea what is causing the severe weather
phenomenon.
“But…” the professor says with an ominous tone “…if this
cold weather continues the entire world will experience another Ice Age… and
mankind may not survive it.”
General Shipton then asks Director WHITTIER (the chief of
the FBI’s Office for Super-Powered Affairs) if his men have any clues as to
what is causing the abnormal weather.
Whittier responds to the General by saying that the Bureau does not have
anything to go on. Whittier does,
however, tell the heroes and the General that Mr. LUCIEN ROWLAND is out on
bail. He has hired the best defense attorney in the country – Clark Clay, of
the law firm CLAY, SHROYER, WILKINS, AND ALLEN.
Gen. Shipton then turns to OSS agents HALLMAN and HOOKER and
asks them if they have any leads. They
both respond to the General by shaking their heads “no.” They do, however, inform the General that the
British are asking for American help.
Churchill wants to form a temporary Allied “super team” that combines
the members of the ROYAL ORDER of SUPERNAL ENGLISHMEN, the members of the
Soviet Union’s RED SHIELD, and the
members of SAVE.
Apparently, Mr. Churchill thinks they can take the attack to
VOLTMAN’S fortress, and defeat him and his “Master Men.” The General says he will discuss this idea
with the President at the earliest opportunity but for now the emphasis is on
solving the weather problem.
The men spend the next several minutes posing various
theories and asking questions. VOLTMAN
is ruled out as a cause for the weather: “Germany,” Agent Hallman says, “is
experiencing the same severe weather as we are and its forces are bogged down
along with all Allied forces.”
At this point BRAINWAVE makes his entrance. He apologizes for being late and says that “I
have been tending to important matters that are occurring in LEMURIA.” Capt.
DELPOZO then chimes in and says, “Say, the LEMURIANS have pretty keen gizmos.
Heck, I bet their technology is way more advanced than VOLTMAN’s technology;
maybe they can help us.”
After another few minutes of discussion it is decided that
Brainwave will contact his leaders and ask for the use of the OMNI-WAVE
DETECTOR, a device the LEMURIANS can use to detect all forms of energy on a
world-wide scale.
The OMNI-WAVE DETECTOR is used and Brainwave relays the
information to General Shipton: a cosmically powerful energy source is
emanating near the small town of Sodus, NY.
The General then orders the SAVE Team to fly to the area and
to investigate. Director Whittier decides to go with the team. He says, “It’s
about time I saw firsthand what you yahoos do on a regular basis!”
The team flies to SODUS, NY in the DYNAMOBILE. Once there they confer with the Wayne County
Sheriff Dwight EDMOND. Whittier had already phoned Mr. Edmond to let him know
that he and the SAVE Team were coming. The Sheriff first asks if their visit
has anything to do with the “missing folks…”
After a brief question and answer period the heroes and
Director Whittier learn that four individuals (Kermit Carter, Betsy Spark,
Jimmy Everett, and Ira Levine) have been missing for a couple of months. Their
houses are all within the outline of the mysterious energy source.
The heroes decide to fly to Mr. Carter’s house and once they
get there they proceed to investigate. The house is dark so Dynamo uses his magnetic
powers to “turn on” the electricity.
They find an ashtray with a half burned cigarette in it. They find some food items left opened on the
kitchen table. They learn that Mr. Carter, who the sheriff said was a mechanic,
had been working on his motorcycle near the back porch. A toolbox and various tools were left on the
ground.
Brimstone commands FYRE (his summoned SHADOWREALM Fiery
Horse) to use its flame aura to melt the snow near the motorcycle. The heroes find tracks, which they follow.
Eventually the tracks end abruptly.
After more searching, Dynamo finds a hidden button and presses it. A 20x20 foot “elevator” constructed of
unknown material rises from the ground.
SAVE get in the elevator and go down.
They guess that they travelled at least 1000 feet underground before the
door opens.
When the elevator door opens, the team sees in front of them
an alien-looking room full of oddly-shaped machines and a “trench” in which is
some sort of energy beam. The beam
travels through a tunnel, which extends in both directions as far as the eye
can see. The room is also even colder
than the surface temperature. The heroes
guess the temperature to be about -45 degrees Fahrenheit.
In addition to the strange machines, the energy beam, and
the endless tunnel are also strange-looking aliens, which immediately attack
the heroes. The aliens attack the heroes
using Mental Blasts. After a brief
fight, which SAVE wins, the heroes find another door. Past the door they find some sort of vehicle
which seems to use a track, but they decide to use the DYNAMOBILE, MK II,
instead. After flying approximately one
mile, they come to another door.
Behind this door is another room – a gigantic room that is
300 feet wide by 300 feet long and 200 feet tall. There are immense machines scattered about and
in the middle of the room, surrounded by what appears to be a force field, is
an even larger machine that pulses with power.
Also in the room are approximately twenty-five aliens.
The SAVE Team, along with Mr. Whittier, proceed to engage
the aliens in a fight for survival.
After a long brutal fight, a fight in which the ENIGMA is knocked out
(but he immediately recovers), Dynamo is very nearly knocked-out, Winged
Victory and FEDDY are injured, and FYRE (Brimstone’s summoned fiery horse) is
very nearly killed, the SAVE Team is victorious. Brimstone uses his Hellfire power to destroy the main machine. Enigma uses his newly discovered Mind Probe power to learn that the
aliens, who call themselves the PRAALTAN, came to Earth in a spaceship. The aliens, who are some sort of cross
between a crystal and a plant, are adapted to an extremely cold
environment. They created the
underground complex in order to TERRAFORM the Earth into a frigid
wasteland. The Enigma also learns the
location of the kidnapped humans: a sub-level of the alien installation. The
heroes rescue the missing people who had been kept in suspended animation
tubes.
With his Mind Probe,
Enigma also learned that the one called PRAALTAN PRIME, the erstwhile “leader”
of the PRAALTAN, is still at large…
ISSUE 46: “THIS GOOD EARTH, PART II” (real date: 10-05-13)
June, 1944 -- The SAVE Team frees the kidnapped humans from their cryogenic suspended animation tubes. However, when they attempt to free Kermit Carter, the retired Marine Sergeant who spends his spare time as an engine repairman, sparks begin flying from the tube and then it explodes. Mr. Carter stumbles out of the device, physically unharmed, but seemingly transformed to someone with ice-related super powers.
Mr. Carter invites the heroes to stay at his house, where they
recover from their wounds and plan their attack on the PRAALTAN MOTHERSHIP,
which is lying on the bottom of nearby Sodus Bay.
The next day, the heroes have mostly recovered, thanks in
large part to Enigma’s healing gadget. Kermit Carter, who has yet to think of a
good superhero name, joins the SAVE team with General Shipton’s go ahead. He
wants to help the heroes out and get revenge on the aliens who kidnapped him.
Brimstone swims down to the alien ship, which looks like a
giant cube. He uses his Hellfire to
burn a hole thru the bulkhead and into the massive alien ship. Mr. Carter uses
his Ice powers to create a dome around the open air section of the DYNAMOBILE
(effectively making it water proof).
After getting inside the alien ship, the heroes find the
gigantic PRAALTAN PRIME alien on the third level. The ship begins to ascend
while the alien “boss” and the heroes fight it out. Eventually, the heroes are
victorious, but by this time the ship is in orbit around the Earth.
Luckily for the heroes, the Enigma figures out how the
controls work and he brings the ship to a stop. Enigma contacts General Shipton
who instructs them to fly the alien craft to a remote Air Force base in the
Aleutian Islands.
EPILOGUE #1 (somewhere in New York City): Sitting in Judge
Augustin C. Ward’s courtroom are three other men: Mr. Lucien Duqette, his
defense attorney Mr. Clay, and the District Attorney, Mr. Riddle.
Mr. Riddle leans in to
Judge Ward and says: “they are on their way back from a top-secret mission;
they should be here in a few days.”
“Alright,” says Judge
Ward. “We will start the trial once the members of SAVE return to the United
States.”
Prosecutor Riddle
turns to Lucien Duqette, “don’t worry Mr. Rowland: you’ll get your fair trial
in due course.”
A smirking Lucien Rowland
says, “Oh, I’m sure it will be a fair trial, Mr. Riddle. I have no doubt about it.”
EPILOGUE #2: Somewhere at a hidden
research facility in the Appalachian Mountains a bespectacled scientist gazes
with pride at his handiwork. The finished machine is enormous, taking up a
large portion of the large building in which it was constructed. “Professor,
the generators are at 100% capacity: we are ready to proceed with Phase One.”
Dr. Ellis smiles and
nods, saying: “Yes, yes… activate the lattice!”
ISSUE 47: “THE TRIAL OF LUCIEN ROWLAND!” (real date:8-10-13)
July, 1944 -- the late edition big city newspapers inform the general public of an explosion at DR. QUANTRAIN’S MIT lab; which is how the SAVE team learns about it.
With the absence of the ENIGMA, SGT. SNOW takes charge of the team. He calls the dean of MIT, George Harper, and inquires about the explosion. Mr. Harper informs SGT. SNOW that DR. QUANTRAIN is nowhere to be found and his lab is totally destroyed. The SAVE team then flies up to Boston to investigate.
At the destroyed lab DYNAMO immediately senses a strong electro-magnetic field. As the team continues to poke around the destroyed lab, engaging in small talk with Ronald Drake (the Boston police officer guarding the premises) a sudden flash of light reveals a young woman in tattered clothes.
DYNAMO says, “Alright, young lady, hold it right there! What have you done with the ENIGMA?!”
“We do not know who that is,” responds the mysterious woman.
SGT. SNOW calls up CAPT. DELPOZO and asks about Jack Quantrain’s kid sister, Donna. DELPOZO informs the sergeant that Donna is on leave from the Army and in Boston. DELPOZO looks up her address and gives it to SGT. SNOW. The team takes the mysterious woman into custody and leaves MIT to investigate Donna’s apartment.
SGT. SNOW asks Dynamo to open the door. Dynamo, using his Magnetism, rips the door off of its hinges.
“Uh, sorry,” says Dynamo, who then places the door on its side and against the outside wall.
As the team explores the apartment the mysterious woman says, “We recognize this place.” Winged Victory opens Donna’s closet and gets a dress for the woman to wear.
Stumped about the situation, SGT. SNOW contacts BRAINWAVE (former SAVE member and current LEMURIAN Ambassador to the United States) who agrees to help his former companions. […] two hours later the team meets Brainwave within the LEMURIAN Embassy. Brainwave spends five minutes “probing” the mind of the young woman. When he is done he turns to the heroes and says, “This woman’s brain contains the combined mental patterns of JACK and DONNA QUANTRAIN!”
Brainwave goes on to say, “The explosion of Dr. Quantrain’s trans-dimensional device released tremendous quantum and magical energies. Because Jack and Donna shared a telepathic bond, their minds were combined into the mind of a wholly new entity. In addition to having a new physical form, she also has tremendous new powers. “But...” Brainwave pauses, “they have lost many of their memories. This new entity is almost like a child and must be re-taught many basic things.”
The LEMURIAN continues: “with time and the aid of other LEMURIAN scientists, I might be able to restore Jack and Donna to their former selves.”
With the mystery finally solved the heroes decide to include the “new” Enigma into the ranks of SAVE. The new entity decides to name herself “Jenara Quantrain.” The heroes thank Brainwave for his help and depart for Carol Daily’s estate in upper New York.
The next day Carol asks her personal tailor, Mr. Dominic Wynn, to create a super-hero costume for the young lady. Jenara decides to call herself QUANTUM.
Monday, 8am: the U.S. District courtroom of Judge August C. Ward in New York City
Despite the non-presence of the ENIGMA, Judge Ward decides to continue with the trial. Lead Prosecutor Mr. Riddle calls DYNAMO as his first witness. Mr. Riddle asks the big superhero to explain the events which occurred on January 17th 1942 at the AMIC-owned gold mine near White Rock, Utah. Dynamo explains that machine-gun wielding “Blood & Iron” thugs were “all over” the place. SAVE dealt with them plus: a NAZI dame named FRAULEIN FEAR, a NAZI super-villain named ARYAN ENIGMA, and some STURM KORPS TROOPERS. Lastly, they encountered “that fella” [editor’s note: Dynamo points to Lucien Rowland, CEO of the American Mining & Industrial Corporation] who “tried to shoot me.”
The trial continues with both sides calling witnesses. Excerpts include the following statements:
Mr. Clay to Dynamo: “Why do you conceal your true identity; what are you hiding? Is it true that you have cavorted with Russians? Is it true that you and your, uh, comrades, were feted by Mr. Stalin? Yes or no, Mr. Dynamo... a simple ‘yes’ or ‘no’ will suffice.”
Mr. Clay to Winged Victory: “Is it true you have a… uh, a gargoyle for a pet? Is it true you practice black magic? Isn’t your costume a bit skimpy? Is it also a true statement that until relatively recently Mr. Rowland was to receive controlling stock in the American Mining & Industrial Company?”
Mr. Clay to Brimstone: “Is it true you are the spawn of a demon? Is it true you don’t age? Is it true you can call forth the fires of hell?”
Mr. Riddle to the jury: “Despite Mr. Clay’s best attempt to besmirch their reputations, it is well known that the members of SAVE are heroes! Shame on you, Mr. Clay!”
Mr. Riddle to Mr. Rowland: “Now, sir, were you in league with this so-called “Blood & Iron” organization or were you not? I have sworn statements and testimony that not only were you in league with them, but that you helped them, and you actively resisted the lawful acts by the members of SAVE in stopping a NAZI plot. You even had the temerity to shoot at Dynamo! Now, ladies and gentlemen of the jury… I ask you: are these the acts of a law-abiding and patriotic American?”
As the lawyers are going back and forth Quantum attunes her mind to the “Cosmos” and asks a simple question: “Did Mr. Rowland bribe any of the jurors?” The Cosmos replies “yes.” Quantum then stands up and blurts out “the jury has been tampered with!”
Judge Ward immediately pounds his gavel and says, “Order, order in the court!” He looks at Quantum and says, “Any more outbursts from you young lady and I shall have you removed from this courtroom.”
At this point, Mr. Clay holds up a small metal gadget and shows it to the judge, the jury and the guests in the gallery. He says “your Honor, we have new information: it has come to our attention that Mr. Rowland was the subject of this Mind Control device!”
A loud murmur goes through the courtroom which the judge silences by hitting his gavel. He says, “In light of this new information, court will be in recess for 15 minutes. Mr. Clay, Mr. Riddle, please meet me in my chamber.” Before they leave, Dynamo uses his Magnetism power to take the mind control device out of Mr. Clay’s pocket.
While the court is recessed, Sgt. Snow and Quantum decide to snoop around. They manage to make their way to a room adjourning the jury recess room. Sgt. Snow uses his Ice Shaping power to create a glass, puts it against the wall and listens intently. He can barely hear the jurors talking, but he learns that two of the jurors, Cindy and Steve, think Rowland is not guilty.
Sgt. Snow tells Mr. Riddle about this situation and Mr. Riddle convinces the judge to delay the trial until tomorrow morning. The heroes then leave the courtroom and head outside onto Pearl Street. While standing on the sidewalk discussing the case, they see the villain known as the MIGHTY STINKBUG come flying towards them.
ISSUE 48: “THROUGH A MIRROR DARKLY!”
August, 1944 -- 9:05am: The arrival of SHIELDBUG and the fight with the DYNA-BOTS
Dynamo immediately uses his Magnetism to grab STINKBUG, holding him in place. Traffic in both
directions slams to a stop with the shocking arrival of a large, flying,
armor-suited individual hovering and magnetically “held” 20 feet above the
street. Several taxi drivers begin honking their horns.
“You must listen to me! Things are not what they seem!” says
the STINKBUG. As he says this four blue and gold colored robots fly down from
the sky. In unison, the robots, sounding somewhat like an emotionless Dynamo
talking through a radio speaker, say “SHIELDBUG – per the orders of the Dark
Dynamo: you, and anyone who aids you, are to be eliminated. Once you are dealt
with we shall retrieve the detonating device and return it to our master.”
The robots then attack but are no match for the SAVE team
members. The heroes learn that the man they thought was the villain STINKBUG is
really SHIELDBUG, a man from an alternate dimension. SHIELDBUG explains that in
his dimension everything is the opposite from this dimension: The American
Empire rules the Earth and SLAVE – Supreme Law and Values Enforcement – is the
super-powered group that enforces the Emperor’s will.
He continues: “At a secret research facility in the mountainous
region of ATLANTICA, what you call West Virginia, our Dr. Ellis has continued
to sabotage the trans-dimensional gateway device the Empire has been trying to
build for years. Thusly, on my Earth, the gateway has never worked. But on your Earth, with your Dr. Ellis, a trans-dimensional gateway was constructed… and it was successfully turned on!
Consequently, SLAVE has been here, on your Earth, for weeks.
In that time Dark Dynamo and The Question have been working on a bomb
that will destroy your planet. On my Earth, our Resistance had managed to find
out about this event. We assembled a strike team to take out the portal. Lightning Lord, the heroic version of
your Dr. Voltman, was the team’s leader, but I was the only one who managed to
make it alive through the portal. I stole the detonating device of the E-BOMB
and came looking for your help.”
After hearing Professor Ledbetter’s story the SAVE team
decides to travel to West Virginia to confront SLAVE and to destroy the E-Bomb.
12:00pm: Secret U.S.
Government Research Facility somewhere in West Virginia
When the SAVE team arrives at the research facility, there
are four SLAVE members present: DARK DYNAMO and four of his eight DYNA-BOTS
(the other 4 had been sent after SHIELDBUG), THE QUESTION, BRIMSTONE, WINGED
MAYHEM and her pet dragon, SPYTE. The two teams immediately engage in a
ferocious battle. The hard-fought slugfest only lasts a minute, but once it is
over, the SAVE team is victorious.
After the fight has ended, SHIELDBUG stands before the SAVE
team members and says, “Now that I have helped to save your world perhaps you
will return the favor and help me save my world…”
[GM NOTE: I ran the combat for 2 more rounds after everyone
left]
Highlights of the fight include:
- BRIMSTONE taking a
pounding from his evil doppelganger
- The DYNA-MOBILE being
“knocked-out” by DYNA-BOT energy blasts
- QUANTUM hurling DARK
DYNAMO half a mile (512”) into the air, straight up
- DARK DYNAMO being caught
by one of his DYNA-BOTS, but is knocked-out by the force
- SGT. SNOW being knocked
out by WINGED MAYHEM
- SGT. SNOW waking up the
next round and blasting WINGED MAYHEM
- A delaying FEDDY knocking
out SPYTE, as the dragon tries to flame-broil DYNAMO and QUANTUM.
EPILOGUE: At the War
Department in Washington, D.C., Three-Star U.S. Army
General George E. Cobb is sitting down at his desk signing papers and handing
them to his aid, Colonel Mitchell, when Two-Star General Thomas C. Shipton
enters the room. General Shipton salutes Gen. Cobb and says, “Hello, George.”
“Ah, Tom, good to see
you again; have a seat,” says General Cobb. “Would you like some coffee?”
“Thanks, but no,” says
General Shipton, who then sits down in a chair. “Mind telling me why I’m here?”
“Of course, Tom; it’s
about your special unit… the one with the super-heroes,” says General Cobb.
“S.A.V.E. is the
name,” says General Shipton.
“Right, S.A.V.E.… well
they have done exemplary work, really great stuff, and the President thinks it
is time for them to do some morale-building with the USO. After a two-week
R&R he wants them to go on the road around the country. They will sell a
ton of war bonds! Well, I guess that’s it.” General Cobb salutes General
Shipton then goes back to signing papers.
“I’ll see to it at
once,” says General Shipton.
“Oh, one more thing,”
says General Cobb, “we will be rotating in some new blood while your boys are
with the USO.”
General Shipton
stands, salutes General Cobb, and then says “Yes, sir. I’ll see to my folks
ASAP. Goodbye, George.”
ISSUE 49: “Seeds of Destruction” (Real date: 04-26-14)
Note: This adventure was inspired by a scenario in Ben Robbins “Evil Genius” of Lame Mage Productions. Certain details were modified to fit my campaign. The Stranger subplot and many of the NPC’s were entirely of my own concoction.
PROLOGUE
September 26, 1944 -- United Farm Industries (UFI) is a major American agricultural products company. Dr. William Bartlett is a somewhat bitter scientist who works for the company at their headquarters in Bloomfield, Iowa.
September 26, 1944 -- United Farm Industries (UFI) is a major American agricultural products company. Dr. William Bartlett is a somewhat bitter scientist who works for the company at their headquarters in Bloomfield, Iowa.
When a mysterious
stranger offered to sell Bartlett a “miracle” chemical that vastly accelerated
plant growth, Bartlett was suspicious and incredulous. That is until the
stranger demonstrated his chemical by pouring it over a handful of seeds as Gordon
watched them burst into full grown flowers.
“Take this and use it
on your company’s seed,” said the stranger. “You will be ignored no longer.
Riches, power, women… all will be yours.”
Needless to say
Bartlett greedily accepted the stranger’s deal. What he didn’t know is that the
stranger had ulterior motives…
The SAVE team is in Des Moines, Iowa for another USO show.
The next morning, while having breakfast at their hotel and shooting the breeze
with the press, they hear rumors of “aberrant” crops. The heroes and newspaper
reporters who have been following their tour decide to check it out. They drive
out to a farm in Ames, Iowa. Farmer Edward Jordan shows the heroes and the
newshounds the crops that are “aberrant.” Certain areas of his corn crop are
horribly twisted and malformed. Ed has no idea why.
Capt. DelPozo gets a report of a large accident outside of
Jefferson, Iowa. The heroes fly off to investigate. They find a 50ft tall plant
monster heading towards power lines. Dozens of vehicles are piled up along the
highway with civilians dumbstruck.
Highlights of the adventure include:
- The team saves dozens of
motorists from a rampaging plant creature
- Brimstone saves farmer
Ed’s prize-winning sow Esther from a plant monster
- Scientists enlisted by the
heroes to study the plant tissue report that the plant tissue is “like
nothing on Earth”
- Dr. Bartlett is arrested
by the heroes
ISSUE 50: “The Brain Taker” (Real date: 05-03-14)
Note: This adventure was inspired by a scenario in Ben Robbins “Evil Genius” of Lame Mage Productions. Certain details were modified to fit my campaign. The Stranger subplot and many of the NPC’s were entirely of my own concoction.
PROLOGUE:
November, 1944 -- Gordon Bockhurst achieved success the old-fashioned way: he stole it from others. In his university days he plagiarized and cheated on exams. When he moved into the scientific community, he became a master of taking credit for the work of others, gracefully using his peers as stepping stones along his path to greater and greater recognition.
November, 1944 -- Gordon Bockhurst achieved success the old-fashioned way: he stole it from others. In his university days he plagiarized and cheated on exams. When he moved into the scientific community, he became a master of taking credit for the work of others, gracefully using his peers as stepping stones along his path to greater and greater recognition.
Shortly
after the U.S. entered the war, Dr. Bockhurst got a job as a scientist and
began working on a top-secret project at a Kansas army base. The goal of the
project was to create mind-affecting weapons for the Army. Bockhurst, and the
other scientists were not making any progress creating weapons that worked and
the project was almost cancelled.
The “Stranger”
arrived at Bockhurst’s house and offered Gordon the plans for a mind-siphoning
device. Gordon couldn’t believe it, but after perusing the plans he knew they
were genuine. He quickly began building the device Bockhurst dubbed the “Mind Siphon,” an apparatus that
collects mental energy from other creatures over a broad area and then
concentrates and invests that energy in the recipient (Bockhurst himself). The
device is bulky, but portable enough to be transported in a truck or van,
allowing him to move around discretely as he tries it out on the unwary public.
Once the
device was finished he decided to test it out. He had been given a ticket for
jay-walking in the town of Cheyenne, Wyoming. So he decided to enact his
revenge on the townsfolk by testing his device. He stole a truck from outside
the military base where he was employed and drove to Cheyenne with the
Mind-Siphon laying in the bed of the truck and covered by a tarp. Once there, he
activated the device; it worked and soon he felt his mind expanding, bursting
with newfound power. The people affected by the mind-siphon were reduced to
simpletons, but Gordo didn’t care. In his excitement at leaving town he lost
control of the stolen truck and wrecked it just outside of town. Gordon decides
to name himself Overmind. He returns to the base in Kansas and begins taking
over.
The SAVE team is in Cheyenne, Wyoming for another USO show
when they discover that some sort of sickness has affected a large number of
people in the town. They find an overturned pickup truck on the outskirts of
town. They track down the license plate; find it is licensed to a person in
northwest Kansas who had reported it stolen. They check on the nearby army base
where they find and defeat OVERMIND.
ISSUE 51: “LUCKY LOU” (Real date: 05-10-14)
Note: This adventure was inspired by a scenario in Ben Robbins “Evil Genius” of Lame Mage Productions. Certain details were modified to fit my campaign. The Stranger subplot and many of the NPC’s were entirely of my own concoction.
January, 1945 -- The SAVE team arrives in San Francisco for the final show of their USO tour. They immediately begin looking for anything unusual. Brimstone and Winged Victoria go the San Francisco Examiner, the biggest city newspaper, and begin digging though old issues looking for any unusual stories. Dynamo and Quantum head to the local university and make inquiries. The newspaper doesn’t turn up any clues but at the university the heroes learn about a disgruntled mathematics professor, Dr. Harry Sorenson, who was recently fired. The heroes investigate Sorenson’s modest house and find a Golden Casino cashier’s check for $1,000.
They follow up on the clue and fly to the Golden Coin
casino. Once there they quickly find timid Dr. Sorenson. He informs the heroes
that he is employed by Louis Scallato, the owner of the casino. Sorenson tells
them that Scallato has plans to take over all of the gangs using “wonder”
weapons.
“Lucky” Lou Scallato is a gangster and owner of the Golden
Coin casino. Lou is another beneficiary of the mysterious Stranger. When
the heroes demand Scallato give himself up he laughs at them. Lou has no
intention of surrendering to ‘super-chumps’ because he is armed with a powerful
blaster and protected by a force field and darkness field gadget.
A fight ensues: the gangster hurts a couple of the heroes
but is cowed into submission by Winged Victory. The heroes demand the gangster
tell them about the Stranger. Lucky for the heroes Mr. Scallato had one of his
men follow the Stranger down to the docks that saw him disappear under water.
The SAVE team travels to the docks and immediately begin
searching underwater for clues. They quickly find an alien spaceship sitting at
the bottom of San Francisco bay. Dynamo figures out how to open the airlock and
the team enters the ship. They are met by “General Shipton”, or rather a robot
that looks like the general. They destroy the robot and proceed further into
the ship. Another robot, this time one that looks like Capt. Delpozo, assaults
them; they easily defeat it. They find the real Captain Delpozo and General
Shipton locked into small rooms and, judging by their full grown beards,
seemingly have been held captive for months.
Brimstone decides to exit the ship but when he opens the airlock door he is sucked out into space. Quantum flies after him. Dynamo and Winged Victory are left onboard the alien craft as it speeds away at faster than light speed…
Brimstone decides to exit the ship but when he opens the airlock door he is sucked out into space. Quantum flies after him. Dynamo and Winged Victory are left onboard the alien craft as it speeds away at faster than light speed…
ISSUE 52: “THE WOLF’S LAIR, PART I” (real date: 10-19-13)
PROLOGUE:
February 25, 1945 -- 0600 Hour; Room #33 of the War Department Bldg.: General SHIPTON tells the SAVE team that their primary mission is to save CORPORAL DONNA QUANTRAIN. Their secondary mission is to defeat and capture as many Axis super-villains as possible. They are to travel to ROSE HQ (Royal Order of Supernal Englishmen), located outside of London, and once there consult with EXCALIBUR – the leader of the British super team. The General tells the heroes that a new type of cargo plane, a Douglas C-47 SKYTRAIN with a modified cargo door big enough for the DYNAMOBILE, awaits them at Quantico.
Feb. 24, 0630 Hour: The team arrives at QUANTICO MARINE BASE where they meet the crew of the “Mother Goose”: Capt. Sutton, Lt. McClain (co-pilot), Lt. Lee (navigator), and Lt. Strong (radio operator).
Feb. 24, 1530 Hour: Mother Goose arrives at St. John, Newfoundland.
Feb. 25, 0130 Hour: The ENIGMA and WINGED VICTORY provide a lift for the Mother Goose, which has run out of fuel 15 minutes out, allowing the cargo plane to safely land near Reykjavik, Iceland. The heroes and the crew then sleep four and a half hours.
Feb. 25, 0630 Hour: Mother Goose leaves Reykjavik bound for England.
Feb. 25, 1300 Hour: Mother Goose is attacked by three German bombers which are part of a rare daylight bombing raid by the Luftwaffe. The SAVE team destroys the Axis war planes, but the DYNA-MOBILE is slightly damaged.
Feb. 25, 1320 Hour: Mother Goose lands at Laird Manor airfield outside of London, England.
February 26th, 1945, 1:30pm: At LAIRD MANOR, the headquarters of the ROYAL ORDER OF SUPERNAL ENGLISHMEN, EXCALIBUR greets the Americans with a hearty handshake. The leader of the ROSE super-team leads the Americans into the Laird Manor ‘War Room’ where the other British heroes (TOWRE, TWOPENCE, YEOMAN BLUE, and BRITANNIA) are waiting.
Excalibur says “As most of you doubtless know the Prime Minister’s initial plan was to mix American, British, and Russian superheroes into one super team that would take out most of the Axis super-villains. However, the Russians are not playing ball, and have refused to co-operate. MI6 thinks that Stalin believes the plan is risky and that he does not wish to risk his super team in such a gamble.”
Excalibur continues, “Despite the fact that the Russians will not be helping us President Roosevelt and Prime Minister Churchill have agreed that we should continue with a slightly modified plan. We are to rescue Corporal QUANTRAIN, a reporter with Stars and Stripes, who has been kidnapped by the German super-villain known as the ARYAN ENIGMA…”
Towre interrupts his leader and says, with a smile and a thick Scottish accent, “What does anyone expect from a Russian… I mean it’s so cold there the Reds ‘ave always got cold feet, eh?!”
“Foolish boy!” exclaims Britannia, “this is no time for levity.”
“Ah, Britty, yer nay fun! Twas a wee joke!”
Britannia simply glares at Ben but says nothing more.
Excalibur brings the discussion back to the mission. “Ahem. Ladies and Gentlemen, with the information given to us by The Enigma, as well as information from our best commando unit, we have ascertained the location of Miss QUANTRAIN. And yes, we know it is a trap. Nevertheless, the location is known as LAUCHHAMMER Castle, which is approximately 90 miles south of Berlin.”
“Our plan,” Excalibur continues, “is to fly to LAUCHHAMMER Castle, rescue the girl, and defeat and capture as many Axis super-villains as we can.”
February 26th, 1945, 2:45am: Members of the elite American commando team known as the ODDBALL EIGHT, who parachuted deep into Germany are supposed to find some red castle but so far are unsure where they are… Three members of the Oddball Eight team are missing. Colonel James “ODDBALL” Odkowski, Lieutenant R.R. “SHAKES” Winton, and Private Dwight “DEUCE” Gamble are presumed to have landed in a different spot.
“Hey Major,” says CAP a bit too loudly, “maybe the Colonel and the others got caught by the Krauts…”
“Hey Cap,” says Major Jack “JUNIOR” Stanton, seeming a bit perturbed, “pipe down!”
Before Cap can reply the distinctive sound of a kick-started motorcycle engine is heard. Silently, the commandos move out towards the direction of the noise. They come across a small German patrol: two motorcycles with sidecars and a cargo truck full of soldiers. The Germans are talking and looking at their map. The Oddballs decide to attack.
After a brief firefight in which all of the Germans are killed or left dying, the Oddballs dispose of their bodies and move the two motorcycle/sidecar vehicles off the road. Junior and the Red Bear decide to appropriate German uniforms.
After examining the German map the commandos decide to head NE down the road. In about 20 minutes they leave behind the forest and see a checkpoint in the distance. There are five German soldiers at the checkpoint. One of the checkpoint soldiers walks up to Junior, who is wearing a German uniform and hat but does not speak German.
“Was machst du hier so früh? Fanden Sie die verdammten Amerkanischen soldaten?” says the German soldier, oblivious to the fact that Junior is not a German soldier. [Translation: What are you doing here so soon? Did you find the damn American soldiers?]
Junior pulls out his corncob pipe with one hand and puts it in his mouth while grabbing his submachine gun with his other hand. The German’s eyes widen in surprised shock as Major Stanton unloads on him, killing him instantly. The other Oddballs then jump out of the back of the cargo truck. Cap lobs two grenades through the window of the checkpoint shack. One German soldier manages to leap clear but the other three are blown up along with the shack.
The Red Bear runs up to the prone soldier and proceeds to beat him bloody. In the distance, a town can be seen. Junior, using binoculars liberated from a dead kraut, can see that there is probably a Company’s worth of German soldiers (100-200 men) in the town, along with Half-Tracks, Trucks, and Panzers. Past the town, nestled high on a hill is a castle. And it appears to be constructed with red stones.
“OK, boys,” says Junior in his Iowa drawl, “we got our INTEL but we don’t have our radio. DEUCE has the radio and we don’t have Deuce.”
The commandos decide to head towards the castle in a circuitous route. They eventually come across a fast flowing river. They can see the castle is not too far from their position but it is on top of a steep hill that has sheer cliffs at least two sides.
On the other side of the river they notice that someone is moving towards them. Out from the underbrush comes PAGAN, one of the members of the MASTER MEN!
The Oddballs immediately open fire on the German super-villain. Cap goes first and lobs two grenades that explode but Pagan is still standing. Next up is Junior who fires a burst of machinegun fire hitting him three times – but Pagan is still up. Next up is Josephine “Jo-Jo” Rosenberg who fires her sniper rifle and hits Pagan squarely in the chest. At this point, the Axis super-villain falls down.
The Red Bear jumps across the river. The big Russian is prepared to beat the German to death but he doesn’t detect any signs of life. Coming from the castle can be heard a warning klaxon. The Red Bear leaves the bruised and bleeding super-villain lying in the snow and rejoins his friends.
To avoid being detected the Oddballs move out…
February 27th, 1945; 6:30pm; Laird Manor: In the hours that were spent waiting for darkness, the Mother Goose was outfitted with newly invented miniaturized RADAR technology so that it can fly better at night. As the sun sets, the Mother Goose takes off. On board is the crew, the team members of ROSE, SAVE, and the DYNA-MOBILE. Three and a half hours later the Goose arrives at its destination.
Feb 27th, 1945; 10pm; LAUCHHAMMER CASTLE: With the strike team finally at their target the heroes egress the Goose. FLAK seems to be exploding all around them but the Goose is lucky and is not hit. The heroes rapidly descend upon the castle, land in the “inner” courtyard, and immediately spring into action.
WINGED VICTORY turns non-corporeal and enters the Great Hall. Once inside she sees the following super-villains sitting at a large table: GEIST, BLACK BISHOP, BLOOD VALKYRIE and her dire wolves, WARFORGED, and the FASCIST PHARAOH.
The ENIGMA orders TWOPENCE to search for DONNA QUANTRAIN. TOWRE grows to his full height of 19 feet and guards the DYNA-MOBILE. BRITANNIA smashes open the doors to the Great Hall. YEOMAN BLUE, who remained outside, immediately shoots an arrow through the opening made by Britannia. Upon getting hit by the arrow the Bishop says in a raspy voice “why would you attack a feeble old man?”
The ENGIMA, SGT. SNOW, DYNAMO, BRIMSTONE, and EXCALIBUR enter the Great Hall. FYRE (with Brimstone riding her) charges at the Black Bishop and kicks him, sending him reeling back into the table, but he maintains his balance. The Bishop hisses in anger, rises, and then spews forth a caustic cloud of venom at the spot where Enigma, Dynamo, Excalibur, and Winged Victory were standing but all leap clear.
ENIGMA mentally blasts GEIST but does not drop him.
SGT SNOW then Ice Blasts one of the dire wolves – freezing it in place, while Dynamo and Excalibur blast the Black Bishop who is knocked back across the hall and presumably knocked-out.
WARFORGED then rises and brings a huge fist down upon FYRE, who is injured but not knocked-out.
BLOOD VALKYRIE then strides forth, swings her mighty two-handed axe, and lands a vicious blow on BRIMSTONE.
Finally, the GEIST moves to BRIMSTONE and POSSSESSES him!
Meanwhile in the Inner Courtyard, the MASTER MEN member known as AUGENBLICK, a super-villain with super speed powers, runs up to Britannia and stabs her.
ISSUE 53: “THE WOLF’S LAIR, PART II” (real date: 11-23-13)
Note: This episode was a special featuring the Oddball Eight Commandos!
February 25, 1945
9:30pm; Near
LAUCHHAMMER, Germany:The Oddballs, who have spent the last 16+ hours evading
detection by German forces, hear in the distance anti-aircraft cannon fire. The
commandoes look to the night sky, which is clear and in which hangs a full
moon, and see a TUPOLEV Tu-2 Soviet bomber. The plane is on fire and rapidly
descending. Jo-Jo sees someone with a parachute jumping out of the plane. The
Oddballs decide to investigate: they quickly find the parachute but no one is
in the harness. The beautiful Russian super-heroine known as WHISPER turns
visible and greets the commandoes.
“Greetings, comrades, I have come here, against the orders
of my superiors, so that I might assist EXCALIBUR, his team, and the American
super-hero team called the SAVE. I shall assist you as well if you will let
me.”
CAP whistles, and says a bit too loudly, “Say, look at the
gams on her! I bet she’s a real hoofer!”
JUNIOR grimaces and says “CAP, you GOTTA be quiet! You’re
GONNA bring every Kraut in 10 miles down on our position…”
The Oddballs agree to “take in” the Russian super-hero. As
they leave the area Whisper turns to the Red Bear and says to him in Russian:
“what are ‘gams’ and do I look like a ‘hoofer’ to you?”
Major Stanton, who has assumed command of the unit since Lt.
Col. Odkowski went missing, has decided the team needs to investigate the “red”
castle. He tells the others that they now have two goals: to find their missing
teammates and to send out a radio confirmation to HQ. The group trudges off in
the snow and soon comes near the castle.
Red Bear uses his near-superhuman strength to catapult
Whisper up near the crenellations of the southern castle wall. Whisper grabs
the edge and swings herself up. Because of her invisibility to sight and sound
it is easy for the Russian super-heroine to sneak into the tower without being
spotted by Kraut guards. Meanwhile, Jo-Jo, the Oddball’s sniper, patiently
waits at the tree line – ready to take out one of the two German soldiers who
guard the tower. Once Whisper gets into position she and Jo-Jo then
simultaneously and silently take out the two German soldiers that were guarding
the castle’s SW tower. The women then eliminate the guards in the SE tower.
Whisper drops a rope and the rest of the Oddballs clamber up
the castle wall. When Red Bear notices a radio antenna sticking out from a
nearby rooftop a plan is formed: find the radio room and send out a message.
The Oddballs quietly proceed to drop down into a small
courtyard that is separated from the larger Inner Courtyard by a thick stone
wall and a cast-iron gate. In the small courtyard are a well, two doors, and
the gate to the Inner Courtyard. The team waits while the invisible and silent
Whisper scouts the interior. The Russian beauty finds the German radio room and
takes out the German radioman. The Oddballs then send their coded radio message
and receive new orders: to scout the German castle interior and to assist the
SAVE/ROSE strike team.
The Oddballs make their way, by means of a kitchen cellar,
down to the castle catacombs where they quickly find a dungeon. Inside they
find Lt. Col. Odkowski being tortured by a Gestapo officer. The officer and the
jailor by his side are quickly dealt with by the Oddballs. Junior takes the
keys off of the dead jailor and goes looking around the dungeon. He finds and
frees Deuce and Shakes, both of whom were imprisoned in separate dungeon cells.
Major Stanton also finds and frees the castle chapel priest, Gottfried Isidor.
The Germans discover the dead guards in the SW tower and
sound the alarm. The Oddballs soon come under attack from two different
directions: the kitchen cellar and a nearby spiral staircase. A German grenade,
that American GI’s have nicknamed the “potato masher”, lands near Little Joe’s
feet. Little Joe fails to jump clear in time but an invisible Whisper throws
herself onto the grenade. When the grenade explodes the brave Russian takes all
of the damage and is knocked unconscious, but is not killed. Meanwhile Cap
throws numerous grenades at the Germans in the kitchen cellar. After a few
rounds of combat the first small group of German soldiers is defeated and the
Oddballs move into the catacombs.
As the commandoes move deeper into the catacombs they are
bewildered and somewhat disgusted to find dozens of shambling undead – aka
“zombies.” Since they are already technically dead, the zombies are very
resistant to damage from exploding grenades and sub-machinegun fire. The Oddballs quickly discover that shooting
them in the head is much more effective than simply shooting them in their
torsos or limbs. The Red Bear likewise discovers that grabbing two zombies and
smashing their heads together is a similarly good tactic for destroying the
undead.
As his fellow Oddballs are battling the hordes of zombies,
Junior finds – and goes down – another set of stairs. At the bottom of the
stairs is another level of catacombs… and even more zombies.
As the last of the zombies are being destroyed one of them
manages to get next to Jo-Jo and bites her on the arm. While the bite itself is
not very serious, a purplish-black skin discoloration soon begins to spread
outward from the bite…
EPILOGUE: The distant
sound of gunfire and explosions can be heard as the ASGARDIAN sorceress known
as the CRONE turns to an aristocratic-looking German officer and says,
“Colonel, the Fuhrer personally approved the creation of your commando team. I
trust you and your team-mates are up to the challenge?” MAXIMILLION Von ZEIT,
whose handsome features are marred by a long scar running down the right side
of his face, smiles, and says in a crisp baritone voice, “Of course, my lady.
The SIEGFRIED SQUAD was created to
destroy the Oddball Eight – and destroy them we shall!”
ISSUE 54: “THE BATTLE OF CASTLE RED!”
Featuring members of: the ODDBALL EIGHT, SAVE, ROYAL ORDER OF SUPERNAL ENGLISHMEN, MASTER-MEN, and the SIEGFRIED SQUAD.
February 25, 1945 -- The members of the SPECIAL AMERICAN VOLUNTEER EXPEDITION, the ROYAL ORDER OF SUPERNAL ENGLISHMEN, the ODDBALL EIGHT, the MASTER MEN, the SIEGFRIED SQUAD, a Greater Demon (summoned by the Crone), and dozens of Nazi soldiers engage in a battle royal.
When it is finally over, the defeated Axis super-villains include:
Aryan Enigma, Bastion, Bi-Polar, Black Bishop, Blood Valkyrie (and her dire
wolves), Doppelganger, Ebbe, Geist, Gunter, Fascist Pharaoh, Pagan, Warforged,
Petrus, Sebastien, and Walder. Augenblick, Reprise, Lo Scorpione,
Colonel Von Zeit, Thor, Lenz, and the Crone escape. Curiously, VOLTMAN never
once made an appearance.
Britannia, Deuce, and Jo-Jo are the only casualties on the
Allied side. The heroes have no way to stop the zombie rot that Private Rosenberg had been infected with and she…
dies. The ENIGMA, however, had recently developed a new formula, based upon his
healing serum, with the potential to
restore life to the recently deceased. He warns his friends that the elixir may
not work...
He injects Jo-Jo’s body with the experimental elixir. After
a few tense moments Jo-Jo’s body twitches and then her eyes open. “Geez, I hope
this isn’t Heaven... I don’t want to spend Eternity with you palookas!”
The American and British super-heroes leave the Red Castle
behind. There is no room for the members of the Oddball Eight, so they decide
to leave the castle in a German cargo truck. They figure they can find a nearby
airfield, commandeer a plane, and fly back to England.
EPILOGUE #1: The defeated Axis
super-villains from the battle of Castle Red are distributed between the
DYNAMOBILE and an ODDBALL EIGHT commandeered German truck. The villains taken
prisoner by the superheroes include: Aryan Enigma, Bastion, Bi-Polar, Black
Bishop, Doppelganger, and Geist. The villains taken prisoner by the Oddballs
include: Ebbe, Gunter, Fascist Pharaoh, Pagan, Warforged, Petrus, Sebastien, and
Walder.
A day later the heroes arrive
back at LAIRD MANOR, the HQ of the Royal Order of Supernal Englishmen. The two
teams spend a few days recovering from their wounds. Yeoman Blue agrees to take
custody of Der Geist and to take him to his home in mystical AVALON. The other
German super-villains are taken into custody by the British Army.
EPILOGUE #2: Meanwhile, in the Sanctuary Keep of mystical Avalon, the Lady Ailin
stands upon a high tower in order to gauge the damage done to the Keep by the
recent attack by giants. She notices a knight approaching and turns to meet
him, “What have you learned?”
The knight bows and says, “My lady, we have checked the Vault and… the
Eye is missing.”
ISSUE 55: “THE BIGGER THEY ARE… THE HARDER THEY HIT!”
March, 1945 -- After their victorious battle against the Master Men – the SAVE team flies back to England. Yeoman Blue had previously agreed to help the Yank superheroes incarcerate the prisoner Geist, the ghostly NAZI super-villain. The archer reminds his American friends that Geist can be imprisoned in Sanctuary Keep, which is located in mystical Avalon. Avalon, he explains “is where I grew up. It is like England… only different.”
The SAVE team agrees to let Yeoman Blue guide them to
Avalon. He performs a spell, opening a dimensional gateway; the heroes walk
through it.
“Welcome to Avalon!” the archer cheerfully exclaims. Yeoman
Blue’s smile quickly evaporates as he notices his home, Sanctuary Keep, is
besieged by a force of thirty FORMARIAN GIANTS.
The heroes rush to defend the Keep. First up is DYNAMO and
he decides to fly straight for the nearest group of giants. But as he is flying
toward the Keep, the engines in the DYNAMOBILE begin to sputter and spark.
Dynamo quickly lands his craft on a Keep tower and jumps out. Dynamo attributes
the engine failure to sabotage.
The battle with the small group of giants is quickly over.
As the heroes look about they see that all of the other giants have retreated.
WINGED VICTORY flies to where she had left Geist but finds that he has
disappeared. She and BRIMSTONE immediately begin searching for the escaped
villain. After ten minutes of intense searching they give up and return to the
Sanctuary Keep.
The SAVE members then meet with the Keep’s commander, Lady
AILAH the BLUE, who also happens to be Yeoman Blue’s mother. She informs them
that the artifact known as the All-Seeing-Eye has been stolen.
“Stealing the Eye is something the giants would never have
done on their own accord,” she says. “They did not know of its existence and I
suspect another hand is behind this attack…” She tells the heroes that she will
lead a force of her Pegasi Knights to the giant’s fortress. “Once we get there,
my knights and I will create a diversion while you strike at Balor and retrieve
the Eye.”
After an hour of flying, the strike force arrives at the
giants’ “fortress” – a ram-shackle collection of huge wood and stone buildings.
In the center of the town lays Balor’s lair. Brimstone smashes a huge hole in
the roof and the heroes drop down to confront Balor, the Crone, and several
giant guards. The Crone is holding an orb that radiates power – presumably the
All-Seeing-Eye.
Enigma orders everyone to immediately attack the Crone,
saying “she is the most powerful; drop her fast!”
Although she is hit once, she is not knocked out, and
despite her apparently ancient body, she moves very quickly. The Crone creates
a dimensional gateway and escapes. Balor and his giant guards remain and they
begin attacking the heroes.
Highlights of the fight include:
- Dynamo blinding BALOR’S
third eye with a destructive lightning blast
- Brimstone grabbing one of
the giants around his ankle, and using him as a bludgeon against another
giant
- Yeoman Blue is knocked out
- One of the giants crawls towards Brimstone and
attacks but misses
ISSUE 56: “TWILIGHT OF THE GODS!”
March, 1945 -- On the advice of Knight Commander AILAH, our intrepid heroes travel to the Green, a vast forest which is the domain of Morgan, Queen of the Fay. The heroes ask MORGAN LE FAY if she will help them get to ASGARD. She tells them yes… provided they accept, and win, a fight against her champion – the STONE KNIGHT. Should they lose, one of them must agree to be her slave.
The heroes agree to the Queen’s bargain and decide that BRIMSTONE
will fight the duel. With Morgan, the heroes, and the assembled FAIRIES,
SPRIGGANS, and BOGGANS looking on, the fight commences. Eventually, Brimstone
is victorious: he smashes the Stone Knight about fifty feet into the massive
keep doors, cracking them, and knocking-out the knight.
Disappointed in the outcome of the fight, the Faerie Queen
nevertheless lives up to her bargain. She takes the heroes to her scrying room.
The CRONE is seen destroying the ADAMANTIUM chains that bind the gigantic wolf
known as FENRIR.
Morgan turns to the heroes and says, “Ah, this MYRKALFAR
wench is trying to free FENRIR. She wishes to start RAGNAROK! I have no desire
to see the worlds destroyed… therefore I shall aid you again.”
The fairy queen creates a dimensional portal and says, “This
portal will take you to the IRON FORTRESS, wherein FENRIR is imprisoned.”
The heroes bid farewell to MORGAN LE FAY and step through
the portal. At the fortress they see the huge fire giants attacking IRON
GUARDIANS. They proceed to the last room where FENRIR is kept and begin to
fight the CRONE and her giants.
The SAVE team is victorious in a brief but nasty fight. With
fighting continuing between fire giants and iron guardians, they retreat to an
alcove where Yeoman Blue casts a spell that takes them back to Avalon.
Highlights of the fight include:
- Enigma being grabbed by
one of the fire giants
- Dynamo trying to use his Magnetism to bend a link of
ADAMANTIUM chain… and failing
- Yeoman Blue shooting the Hel Rod from the Crone’s grasp
- FENRIR biting, and
knocking out, Feddy as the gargoyle tried to shove the Hel Rod into the
wolf’s mouth
- FENRIR choosing to bite
the Crone over Winged Victory [random chance], and nearly killing her
EPILOGUE: The heroes return to ROSE HQ, spend a day recovering from their wounds, and then fly back to Washington D.C. General SHIPTON and Captain DELPOZO arrange a meeting to debrief the heroes.
Later that day, Dr. Jack
Quantrain, aka the Enigma, returns to his lab at Harvard University. He begins
experimenting with dimensional energies. His goal is to connect the magical
realm of Avalon with Earth.
Jack’s little sister Donna,
reporter for the Stars and Stripes and on leave from the Army, invites herself
to her brother’s lab. Jack is, as always, pleased to see his sister. When she
asks him what the big gizmo is for, he smiles and says “I’ve been working on
this machine for two straight days: I’ve been messing with the very fabric of
reality itself!”
“Uh… that doesn’t
sound too good,” says Donna, making a face.
“No, you don’t
understand. When I am finished this will revolutionize…” Jack is suddenly interrupted when he notices
his machine is beginning to smoke. He quickly checks numerous dials and gauges,
all of which are seemingly going haywire. “Donna! Get out of here! Something is
terribly wro…”
The resulting
explosion is heard in a half-mile radius and only a smoking ruin is left of Dr.
Quantrain’s laboratory... and there is no sign of Jack or Donna.
ISSUE 57 VOLTMAN SUPREME!
April, 1945 -- The SAVE team is summoned to Room #33 in the War Department in Washington. General Shipton informs them that the members of SAVE Team #2 (Crackerjack, Liberator, O Cometa, and Sgt. Snow) have been captured and are being held at VOLTMAN’S underground base near ERFUT, Germany. Captain DELPOZO thinks it is a trap.
QUANTUM flies to
England by herself. Once there she spends some time with Excalibur. Brimstone
also flies off by himself, only he flies to Ireland, where he gets drunk with
some rowdy Irishmen. Dynamo, Winged Victory, and Feddy fly on the MOTHER GOOSE
(the modified C-47 specifically acquired for use by the SAVE team). On April 5th,
the Goose lands at the small airfield near the British super teams’ HQ.
At ROSE HQ, OSS agents
Paul HALLMAN and Howard HOOKER go over what they know about VOLTMAN, with most
of the information coming from a recently captured SS agent:
The SAVE team decides
to fly alongside a RAF bombing mission to disguise their flight into Germany.
They quickly arrive outside of ERFUT and begin their assault on VOLTMAN’S base.
The heroes blast their way into the base with relative ease; once inside they see
a rather large “flying saucer” on the far side of an immense chamber. They also
immediately come under assault by STURM KORPS TROOPERS, but the heroes are too
powerful and they quickly knock out most of the NAZI fanatics.
VOLTMAN makes his
appearance when he teleports to the top of the spaceship; he casually blasts
Brimstone while engaging in “small talk” with the heroes. Quantum then attacks
Voltman, dealing him several quick blows. Brimstone picks up the “saucer” and
smashes it against Voltman.
Meanwhile, Dynamo enters the (now upside down) flying
saucer and learns that the members of SAVE Team #2 are inside the alien craft.
Also inside are stacks of dynamite which are on a countdown. Dynamo uses his
Sense Magnetism power in an attempt to locate Voltman but finds nothing.
Around the same time
that Dynamo makes his discovery of the bound SAVE Team #2 members, Quantum
knocks a SK Trooper into a shelving unit in which a box of hidden dynamite that
is wired to explode is dislodged. The heroes have no time to escape and can
only brace themselves as all of the explosives detonate at the same time. The
resulting massive explosion collapses the entire base complex burying the
heroes under thousands of tons of granite. Amazingly, all of the SAVE team
members (except for the pets) remain conscious!
Quantum (who carries
Sgt. Snow and Liberator) manages to escape as does Winged Victory but Feddy,
Dynamo, O Cometa, and Alpha are trapped.
Almost killing himself,
Brimstone melts a tunnel to the surface [he crawls out of his hole with 0 Power
and 1 Hit Point]. The trapped heroes use the tunnel to escape. Unfortunately, Alpha
had already succumbed to his wounds and is dead.
EPILOGUE: May 1947 -- The war is over
and the heroes of the Special Allied Volunteer Expedition have long since
disbanded. Each of the heroes receive a letter inviting them to the wedding of Harold
Royston “Excalibur” Laird and Jelena “Whisper” Denisov are to be married on
the Laird estate, outside of London, England, on June 1st, 1947. The
newspapers are already declaring the forthcoming wedding to be the “Wedding of
the Century!”
ISSUE 58: WEDDING OF THE CENTURY! (Real date: 7-12-14)
June 1, 1947
Prologue: Shortly after the end of World War II, the
SAVE organization was disbanded and its offices in room #33 of the War
Department were re-purposed. CAPTAIN DELPOZO was promoted to the rank of colonel
and has continued serving in the U.S. Army. General Shipton retired and was
given the Distinguished Service Medal by President Truman. In the same
ceremony, President Truman awarded the SAVE team members the nations’ highest
honor, the Medal of Freedom. RIOL’QUH, aka Brainwave, remains the LEMURIAN
Ambassador to the United States.
After receiving his medal, Dynamo retired from the
superhero business. Brimstone, Quantum, Winged Victory, and Sgt. Snow continue
to fight crime while new heroes, like the gadgeteer Gadfly, have appeared on
the scene.
On the cover of the
April issue of Life magazine is a picture of Excalibur and Whisper. The
magazine details many of their famous exploits and expounds upon their upcoming
wedding, which the magazine has dubbed the “Wedding of the Century.” Harold
Royston Excalibur Laird, age 33, is a
wealthy English Lord who owns a large 300 year old manor with an 800 acre
estate. As Excalibur, he is the leader of Great Britain’s Royal Order of Supernal Englishmen. He is described as having
battled NAZI supervillains for years before the U.S. got involved in the war.
He used his weather-control powers to help evacuate British soldiers at
Dunkirk, helped to protect London during the Blitz, and fought against the
German supervillain team known as the Master
Men throughout the war.
According to Life
magazine Jelena Denisov “is 27 years old, has movie star good looks, has extensive
training in the martial arts, and has the power to turn invisible.” Code-named Whisper, she fought the NAZI threat
along with her compatriots in the Red
Shield – the Soviet “super team”. She first met Excalibur in 1941 when she
was sent on a mission to prevent his assassination at the hands of Doppelganger,
a NAZI supervillain. In late 1946, Whisper defected from the Soviet Union and
became a citizen of the United Kingdom. Shortly after defecting to Great
Britain, she and Excalibur became engaged to be married.
May 29th,
1947
Brimstone opens an
account with the National Bank of New York City when gangsters attempt to rob
it. The bank robbers wield “ray” guns which are unlike the Voltman lightning
guns that Brimstone is familiar with. Three of the robbers are knocked out but
the other two elude Brimstone in their getaway car.
May 30th,
1947
The day before the
wedding, Brimstone and Quantum fly to Great Britain by themselves; Gadfly and
Winged Victory arrive by passenger plane. Dynamo, Sergeant Snow, and Brainwave
are unable to attend the wedding. Brimstone spends the day drinking in a pub in
Ireland; Quantum spends time visiting White Oak, the village near Laird Estate.
June 1st,
1947
At 3pm, while the
couple is saying their wedding vows, members of the Soviet super-team known as Red
Shield suddenly appear out of nowhere. Commander Z, the erstwhile leader of the
Russian group, states that “Comrade Whisper has betrayed the Soviet state by
illegally defecting and must be returned to Russia to stand trial.” He demands
that she surrender immediately or be taken by force.
Naturally, Excalibur
and his friends from SAVE are not going to agree to the Russian’s demands.
Whisper denounces Commander Z and flatly refuses to his demand… and turns
invisible. A huge fight then ensues.
First Commander Z is
rendered unconscious, then Hammer, and then Sickle. Ultimately, the Russians
flee when Comrade Gamma teleports all of his teammates to an unknown
destination. Despite damage to the Great Hall, the wedding is resumed and Excalibur
and Whisper become married.
Epilogue; Location Earth, Time Unknown:
On a platform are three small, green-skinned
humanoids, each with an enormous bulbous head, and each is encased in a
floating glass-like bubble. They observe their large robotic servant as she
enters the area.
“Masters, why have you summoned me?”
The middle humanoid says, “The great machine is
dying and the slaves are agitated. We need new material: you shall collect the
material.”
The robot servant nods her head and says, “When is
the destination?”
The Master says “1947.”
“Who is the target?”
“A meta-human known as Dynamo; our records indicate
he will be perfect for our uses.”
ISSUE 59: FUTURA AND THE BRAIN-LORDS OF TIME
November 4, 1948
Prologue; At Jake Everson’s Apartment, Brooklyn, New York City, Quantum receives a telephone call from Colonel DelPozo, who asks for her
help. Quantum agrees to help her old friend and she and Brimstone take the Army
car that is awaiting them outside. At exactly 8:38pm, while traversing the
Brooklyn Bridge en route to the airport, a medium-sized earthquake strikes the
city! A blackout ensues when one of the electrical power stations blows a fuse
which sets off a chain reaction.
Rough Timeline of Events in Issue 59
- COLONEL DELPOZO contacts QUANTUM; asks for her help
- Earthquake hits NYC
- QUANTUM saves fuel truck and driver; BRIMSTONE saves 28 subway car passengers from drowning
- Brimstone and Quantum arrive in Nevada. DELPOZO deputizes Brimstone and Quantum, and then escorts them to the TIME TUNNEL
- Time Tunnel, located deep underground, is powered by four Atomic reactors
- JAGUARUNDI and WINGED VICTORY are the super-powered guards for AREA 47
- Heroes are introduced to Dr. William P. Harris, chief Time Tunnel scientist
- Heroes learn that the TIME TUNNEL technology is the result of years of reverse-engineering PRAALTAN tech
- TIME TUNNEL built by government because of perceived Cold War Time Gap
- Quantum asks the Cosmos if Time Tunnel is activated will it cause destructive “CHRONAL” waves. Universe says “no.”
- Cup of Tea sent one minute into the future
- After one minute, cup of tea reappears as do members of the All-Star Squadron
- All-Star Squadron: DR. MIDNITE, HAWKGIRL, HOURMAN, STARMAN, and WILDCAT
- STARMAN is knocked-out by machinegun fire from trigger-happy guard
- Brief fight between our heroes and All-Star members
- JAGUARUNDI knocks out WILDCAT with a one-two punch to the face
- QUANTUM heals STARMAN and WILDCAT
- DR. MIDNITE tells heroes they are tracking a criminal (FUTURA) who has kidnapped ROBOTMAN
- Heroes learn of fight in Bronx; disappearance of DYNAMO
- All heroes fly to New York City
- Dynamo’s destroyed apartment is investigated; DYNAMOBILE intact
- Witnesses tell heroes that a giant, golden female robot abducted DYNAMO
- JAGUARUNDI can smell the lingering odor of the robot and her time travel power
- STARMAN uses his Cosmic Rod to take all heroes to All-Star Squadron dimension
- All heroes then travel ONE MILLION YEARS INTO FUTURE!
- Heroes find themselves on the outskirts of a huge underground cavern; a weird, futuristic-looking city is visible in the distance
- Heroes notice what appear to be human slaves mining rocks
- Robot guard punishes slaves for stopping work, then continues making its rounds
- JAGUARUNDI can smell robot woman: he leads heroes to a tall tower in the center of the city
- At Tower of the Great Machine, heroes confront FUTURA and three BRAIN LORDS
- A BRAIN LORD is immediately knocked out
- FEDDY is knocked out by FUTURA
- QUANTUM is hurt by BRAIN LORD’s reflection power
- QUANTUM heals herself several times
- QUANTUM heals WINGED VICTORY
- JAGUARUNDI runs up FUTURA and attacks her head
- BRIMSTONE grabs FUTURA’S foot and knocks her down
- While trying to smash BRIMSTONE, FUTURA gets her fist stuck in the floor
- JAGUARUNDI finds and frees DYNAMO
- QUANTUM finishes what BRIMSTONE started and destroys FUTURA’S right arm
- The heroes win after one minute and forty seconds of fighting
- FUTURA smashed to pieces; STARMAN keeps one piece of her
- ROBOTMAN is found and freed
- QUANTUM flies to planet surface, finds it poisonous and unlivable; throws FUTURA’S remains into the Sun
- DR. MIDNITE decides to stay and try to help the enslaved humans
- The other All-Stars return to their time
- WINGED VICTORY uses her Dimensional Travel power
ISSUE 60: BURIED TREASURE, BANDITS, and BUREAUCRACY!
Prologue:
April, 1949: In 1887 Doc Holiday hid a box of gold coins somewhere in the
Arizona desert. Doc was dying and he wanted his pal Jacob Everson, aka the
Santa-Fe Kid, to have the gold, but the Kid was unavailable. Doc wrote a letter
to the Kid detailing just where he hid the box of gold. He then employed a
young man named Franklin Williams to deliver the letter to the Kid. Unfortunately,
Mr. Williams was killed by bank-robbers before the letter could be delivered.
William’s belongings, including the letter written by Doc Holiday, were put in
a steamer trunk where it lay unknown and untouched for 61 years.
In 1948, the letter is found by Franklin William’s grandson, age 26.
Frank Williams III travels to New York City where he tracks down the famous
Jacob Everson, once known as the Santa-Fe Kid but now known as the WW II
superhero Brimstone. Frank tells Brimstone the story of how in 1887 his
grandfather Frank Williams was given a letter by Doc Holiday and how his
grandfather was supposed to have delivered the letter but was killed by
bank-robbers.
Buried Gold
Brimstone reads the letter and then hands it to Quantum.
“Well, I guess we’re heading to Tombstone!”
With Quantum acting as his personal rocket ship, the heroic duo fly into
space and then back to Earth, and arrive in Tombstone, Arizona in about an
hour. As they hover over the town, Quantum spots two Army trucks, but decides
it isn’t important. In the letter, Doc
Holiday states that he buried the gold two hundred paces due east from the
center of Boot Hill. Brimstone marks off
the paces and once he hits 200, he starts digging. After quickly excavating a
large section of dirt, Brimstone finds a metal box. He opens it, sees that it
is full of American “Golden Eagle” coins, and realizes that he is now quite
wealthy.
SNAFU – Situation
Normal, All Freaked-UP
Near the town of Pearce, Arizona, strange things have been
happening. First, Jeremiah Grant had some of his sheep killed and mutilated by
(presumably) wild animals. At least, that’s what Jeremiah thinks happened
although he’s not too sure: the wounds don’t look like anything he has ever
seen before. The Army has been patrolling the area lately, and Two-Star U.S.
Army GENERAL WADE P. DIX is in charge, but he only says that his soldiers are
“performing a training mission.”
The Rock
After hearing various rumors from the Pearce townsfolk,
Quantum and Brimstone decide to do some investigative work. Each heads out on
their own, looking for anything unusual. Brimstone finds nothing unusual: just
a lot of rocks, cactus, and varmints. Quantum, on the other hand, has better
luck and finds some sort of base on the top of a mesa out in the middle of a remote
desert. On her communicator she hears warnings to turn around or be fired upon.
She can clearly see rocket weaponry on the mesa. She decides to fly back to
Pearce.
Cosmically Aware
The two heroes meet again at the local diner where they
previously had eaten lunch. Quantum tells Brimstone what she found. Quantum
then uses her Cosmic Awareness to find out what is going on. After several
rounds of questions she gets her answer: the mysterious base on the mesa is a
prison that was built to hold supervillains. A jailbreak has occurred, however,
and many of the prisoners have escaped. Quantum and Brimstone decide to try to
capture some of the villains.
The Big Finish
Quantum again uses her Cosmic Awareness power to find the
closest escapees: the two heroes quickly find an abandoned mine in the
mountains west of Tombstone. By the time they get there, it is dark. They
decide to wait until morning to pursue the villains, but while preparing to
sleep for the night they are attacked by REPTILLIAN and his beast-men:
ARACHNIA, FERAL, GUNK, and SAWTOOTH. The fight is close but the two heroes
emerge victorious. The next day the two heroes fly back to Pearce where they
hand their prisoners over to Gen. Dix. The General reluctantly thanks the
heroes who then head back to New York City.
ISSUE 61: A CRACK IN THE EARTH!
Prologue: In 1942, the SAVE team disrupted an alien plot to terraform the Earth. The alien PRAALTAN – whose icy home-world had previously been destroyed by the TECHNOCRACY – had come to Earth in order to make a new home for their race. In secret, they created a huge underground complex, and they used their ENERVATOR BEAM to “drill” deep into the Earth’s core in order to strip the molten core of heat energy. Ultimately, they were defeated by the SAVE team and their base was left abandoned.
Years
later, the U.S. Army took custody of the empty PRAALTAN base. The government,
in an attempt to utilize limitless geothermal energy, began their secret
project: code-named PROMETHEUS. By
the autumn of 1950, Prometheus was finished and ready to go; the only step left
was to penetrate the Earth’s seemingly impenetrable inner core.
Utilizing
atomic weapons, Army scientists were able to crack the “scab” that had formed
over the Praaltan-created hole in the Earth’s inner core wall. At first, the
event was deemed a great success, but after a few days the Army scientists
realized something terrible had happened:
the Earth’s mantle had been cracked. Army scientists theorized that if
the crack was not somehow stopped, it would continue to spread across the
earth, bringing with it unimaginably strong earthquakes that would eventually
destroy human civilization.
Complicating
matters was the fact that a section of SUBTERNIA, the hidden underground realm
ruled by a man named PLOUTON, had been devastated. PLOUTON blamed the humans,
the “surface dwellers,” as he referred to them, for the damage and had vowed
revenge.
PLOUTON has taken over FORT HAMILTON in New York
City and intends to detonate its arsenal of atomic bombs. It is up to the
heroes to stop him! The heroes arrive at Fort Hamilton and begin fighting
hordes of troglodytes. Eventually, they find and defeat Plouton. In quick
succession the heroes learn about Operation: Prometheus and how it has caused a
crack in the Earth’s mantle.
The crack has been spreading and causing earthquakes
on the eastern seaboard of the United States; New York City has already had
several earthquakes.
President Truman tasks the heroes with saving the
planet. The plan is to use Plouton’s burrowing vehicle to travel 7 miles below
Iceland and once there to detonate 6 H-Bombs. It is hoped that the force of the
bombs will stop the crack and save the Earth.
The heroes agree to try. Quantum rigs a detonator
that will explode the H-Bombs after a set amount of time. They have little
trouble reaching the correct depth and location deep under Iceland. Winged
Victory uses her power of Dimensional Travel to open a portal to the mythical
realm of Avalon. Quantum activates the timer and the heroes jump through the
portal.
Epilogue:
In the distance, the heroes see a mountain whose upper reaches are shrouded in
mist. Not far away is what appears to be some sort of temple with pristine
white stone columns. Suddenly, and without warning, a man appears before the
heroes.
“Greetings,
mortals! I am called Mercury and my lord Jupiter requests your presence. Tarry
not for the Lord of the Sky does not like to be kept waiting…”
ISSUE 62: GODHOOD’S END! (Real date: 8-23-14)
PROLOGUE:
May, 1950 -- President Truman tasks the heroes with saving human civilization. Using a captured burrowing vehicle, the team travels seven miles under Iceland. Once in position, Quantum rigs a detonator that will explode the six A-Bombs the Army crammed into the vehicle. The heroes then jump through a dimensional portal created by Winged Victory.
Instead of arriving in
Avalon as Vicky had intended, the heroes instead arrive in a pocket dimension
called Elysium. They are met by the god Mercury who commands that they follow
him to his master, Lord Jupiter.
Jupiter greets the
heroes and tells them that they are stranded here. He explains that roughly
1600 years ago the Oracle ceased to function and has been unable to be fixed,
even by Vulcan. Because the Oracle does not properly function they, and anyone
that accidentally arrives at Elysium, are unable to ever again leave. Jupiter
gives the heroes free rein to explore Elysium.
A visibly irritated
Juno appears and chastises Jupiter, nor does she seem happy to see the heroes;
she quickly departs.
Winged Victory tries to
create another portal to Avalon but fails; the heroes seem to be stuck in
Elysium.
When the heroes meet
Mars, he and Brimstone decide to fight. Brimstone yields after taking a mighty
blow from Mar’s axe.
Venus is taken with
Jagaurundi and the two have intimate relations on the spot, with Jagaurundi
pleasing the goddess.
Quantum asks the Cosmos
if these “gods” are evil and the universe answers “yes.”
The heroes learn that
the Oracle is some sort of super-advanced machine. Quantum and Winged Victory
decide to investigate: they spend all night looking through the innards of the
vast machine, and together they discover that a key part to the machine,
something like a fuse, has been burned-out.
The heroes visit
Vulcan’s domicile and find the god in his workshop. They confront him with the
burned out “fuse,” demand an explanation, and are taken aback when he admits to
sabotaging the Oracle. He explains that in the past, over a span of centuries,
his fellow “gods” had committed countless barbarous and cruel acts against
humanity. Because of their evilness he decided to trap them all in Elysium by
sabotaging the Oracle. And because none of the other gods possessed his
Artificer’s skill, they would never be able to fix it.
Jaguarundi notices that
he has been carefully followed and observed by Mercury. He assumes that his
fellow heroes must also have been followed. So when the all of the heroes are
together again, Jaguarundi tells them that Mercury has been following him, and
presumably has been following the other heroes. The heroes decide upon a plan:
trick the gods into attacking.
Jupiter and the other
gods do show up and a fight ensues, a fight that the heroes eventually win.
Vulcan agrees to fix the Oracle so that the heroes may return to Earth.
ISSUE 63: THE LAST PHAETONIAN KNIGHT
June, 1951
Prologue: Quantum wants
her own planet. So she meditates and asks the Cosmos for the nearest habitable
planet. The Cosmos responds with coordinates that are 78.3 Light-years from
Earth. Once in the vacuum of space, Quantum shifts to light-speed, lighting up
space for a dozen miles as she breaks the Light Barrier.
Surprise, Surprise
When Quantum
arrives at the planet called New Phaeton, a colony of the PHAETONIAN KINGDOM,
she finds that it is inhabited by aliens who look like her. She meets QUEEN BARCA SSYNEC TLAIMHYNR RICHIRH TFERA.
“You have
great power,” says the Queen as Quantum is introduced. “And yet you look like
one of us – a Phaetonian.” The Queen continues, “this cannot be simple
happenstance… you must be the Chosen One!”
‘Chosen One,’ ponders Quantum. “I guess that’s
possible. How may I assist you, your Majesty?”
A Quick History
Lesson
Quantum is subsequently
informed of the decade’s long war between the Phaetonians and the TECHNOCRACY –
a warlike alien empire. She is told how the Technocracy has all but won the war
and only the colony of New Phaeton is left unconquered. “The forces of the
Technocracy have recently become aware of New Phaeton; even now a vast armada
is en route to our star system. When they get here they intend to wipe us out,”
says the Queen. “But we shall not go down without a fight!”
The Last Phaetonian
Knight
The
bodyguard of Queen Tfera is Sebo-Dar, a 5600 year-old Phaetonian who is the last
of his kind – the last Phaetonian Knight. He pledges to aid the Chosen One in
the quest to save New Phaeton. Quantum tells the Queen, “I must return to Earth
and fetch my friend Brimstone; he may prove to be of great aid to your
Majesty…”
“This… Brimstone… is he powerful?” asks the
Queen.
“Well, he’s
my landlord. So, yes, I suppose he is quite powerful,” says a smiling Quantum.
“That’s a joke, your Majesty,” says Quantum with a sheepish grin. The Queen
smiles and beckons Sebo-Dar to her side.
“Sebo-Dar,”
says the Queen, “you are to escort the Chosen
One back to Earth; she must fetch her landlord.” Sebo-Dar’s starship is
fast and the two arrive back on Earth in hours.
The Stone of Sontu
Quantum
tells Brimstone her story and he agrees to help. On the way back to New
Phaeton, Sebo-Dar tells the Earthlings the story of the last great Phaetonian
hero to save the Kingdom. “It is recorded in the Great Archives,” says the
serious-minded Sebo-Dar, “that long ago, the great hero SONTU used a mystical
stone to defeat the IKRANI fleet.” The alien goes on to say, “He saved our
species from extinction but paid the ultimate price. It is written that not
long after the battle, Sontu was killed by an Ikrani assassin, but the stone
was never found. If the stone still exists and if you could find it, we would
have a weapon powerful enough to defeat the Technocracy Armada.”
“I will do
what I can,” says Quantum. She then uses her Cosmic Awareness to learn the location of the fabled Stone of
Sontu.
“The
Universe tells me that the stone is somewhere on Shana III, a lifeless planet 1467
Light-years from New Phaeton.”
“I have set
our course to your coordinates,” says Sebo-Dar. “I only pray we have enough
time.”
Burning up
his engines, it takes Sebo-Dar’s starship almost 12 hours to reach Shana III.
Immediately coming out of FTL speed, the ship scanners detect a Technocracy
warship in orbit. Luckily, Sebo-Dar’s starship utilizes a cloaking device; the
Technocracy warship never realizes they are nearby.
The heroes
quickly zero in on the stone’s location, ancient alien ruins surrounded by vast
chasms. They find the area to be thick with Technocracy soldiers. Commanding
the soldier-drones is a super-powered Technocracy villain known as BLASTWAVE.
Quantum,
Brimstone, and Sebo-Dar – utilizing the weapons of his starship – defeat BLASTWAVE
and his soldiers. They secure the stone and return to New Phaeton just in time
to see the Technocracy armada approaching.
“I am the
last Knight of Phaeton,” says Sebo-Dar as he holds a glowing Stone of
Sontu. “Farewell, my friends” says the
knight. “Perhaps one day we shall meet again!” Sebo-Dar, now bathed in vast
cosmic energy, disappears as an impenetrable force shield shimmers into
existence around the entire planet of New Phaeton.
Epilogue:
Back on Earth, and once
more at his Brooklyn townhome, Brimstone notices that Quantum appears lost in
thought... perhaps even melancholy.
“Are you sad that
Sebo-Dar is gone?” says the big hero.
“Yes, but that’s not
what I was thinking about,” says Quantum.
“Yeah… what then?” asks
a genuinely perplexed Brimstone.
“I still want my own
planet!”ISSUE 64: DARKEST HEART! (Real date: 9-6-14)
March, 1953
Prologue:
The heroes decide to form a new team called the VINDICATORS! Dynamo and Quantum
begin building a flying vehicle with faster-than-light capability. Dynamo had previously
created advanced “cosmic wave” communicator devices which he hands out to his
old friends.
Paul HALLMAN
and Howard HOOKER were formerly OSS agents who briefed the SAVE team on several
missions during World War II. Both men are now agents with the new CENTRAL
INTELLIGENCE AGENCY and they have come to the Vindicators to ask for their
help.
The agents
explain that a dictator in the central African nation of MALAIA, a man named
TENDAI ADEGOKE, so-called “KING MAMBA”, was under CIA surveillance, but their
agent in MBOTU, the capital of Malaia, has disappeared.
Agent
Hallman explains that the king is a great admirer of WINGED VICTORY. Because of
this, says Agent Hooker, finishing where Agent Hallman began, “We feel we can
set up your team with believable aliases and get you all into the king’s
palace. Ms. Daily is the owner of the American Mining Industrial Corporation…
so it makes sense she would be interested in the rich mineral deposits of
Malaia.”
Hallman
and Hooker want the heroes to infiltrate a building inside the king’s palace
grounds that their missing agent was suspicious of but had failed to penetrate.
The missing agent had also reported rumors of “unknown white men” advising the
king.
The
Vindicators agree to help the CIA and the next day all of them, including
agents Hallman and Hooker, fly off to Africa on a U.S. Air force C-47. Two days
later the CIA agents, along with Quantum and Brimstone, arrive at a hidden
jungle encampment outside of the Malaian capital. Winged Victory, Iktomi, and
Jaguarundi arrive at Mbotu airport where they are met by Itri Olufumulo, the
King’s Interior Minister.
Mr. Olufumulo escorts Ms. Daily and her entourage to the
palace, where they meet the Malaian king. King Adegoke expresses his great
admiration for Winged Victory,
claiming to be a long-time fan. The king’s young
son, Leo, is at his side. “I have all of your war posters and even the various
U.S. War Bonds that were created with your picture!” exclaims the King, smiling
broadly. “I even have…” the King pauses and smiles, “a copy of the un-released 1941
film Wings of Heroes that you and your fellow SAVE members made while in
Hollywood!”
That night, the king fetes Winged Victory with an excessively
flamboyant dinner party. Meanwhile, Quantum and Brimstone decide to do some
snooping, much to the chagrin of the CIA agents. Quantum and Brimstone decide
to reconnoiter the nearby volcano, named MOUNT N’GONGO. Quantum flies around
it, and even inside of it, but finds nothing out of the ordinary. Even the
Cosmos is ambivalent when the heroine asks if there is a base under the
volcano.
Later that night, Jaguarundi (who is pretending to be Ms.
Daily’s driver) and Iktomi (who is pretending to be a servant of Ms. Daily) are
attacked by palace guards. Jaguarundi radios Quantum and Brimstone and requests
their aid. The two heroes fight their way into the main palace, taking out
guard after guard. Finally, Quantum and Brimstone show up.
All five heroes move to the upper level of the palace and
enter the first room on the left. Inside they encounter NAZI supervillains
Augenblick and Jackboot! A fight starts. Shortly thereafter, additional
supervillains – Count Eisenfaust, Fraulein Fear, and Reprise – also join the
fight. The Vindicators win, knocking out Jackboot, Fraulein Fear, and Reprise,
but Augenblick and Count Eisenfaust manage to escape.
ISSUE 65: BRIDE of the VOLCANO GOD!
March, 1953
PROLOGUE: The VINDICATORS have been sent on a mission by the newly formed
CIA to the African kingdom of MALAIA. At King ADEGOKE’S palace in the Malaian
capital M’BOTU, things quickly go bad. JAGUARDUNDI and IKTOMI begin fighting,
and easily defeating, palace guards. Soon thereafter, the heroes find and
defeat several NAZI supervillains! FRAULEIN FEAR, JACKBOOT, and REPRISE are
defeated but AUGENBLICK and COUNT EISENFAUST escape. Jaguarundi, however,
trails Augenblick to MT. N’GONGO – a volcano that lays five miles from the city
– and once there, he sees Augenblick, KING MAMBA, WINGED VICTORY, Malaian
guards, and the VOLCANO GOD!
JAGUARUNDI radios his fellow hereos and tells
them what he has found. Unfortunately, he is spotted by Augenblick, who
furiously attacks the Texan. Jaguarundi fights defensively, avoiding all
damage, while his companions travel from King Mamba’s palace to the top of Mt. N’Gongo.
Once all of the heroes are at the volcano a fight between King Mamba and his
forces and the Vindicators begins.
QUANTUM is first to act: she flies towards
her enemies and notices that the “Volcano God” is actually some sort of vehicle
or robot. She tries and fails to snap Winged Victory out of her drug-induced
stupor, and then knocks out two of the guards.
Jaguarundi attacks Augenblick but misses.
BRIMSTONE picks up a gigantic boulder and
tries to flatten the Volcano God but is thwarted when the robot issues twin
power blasts, rendering the boulder into tiny pieces.
IKTOMI begins working on the other guards,
two of whom were filming.
FEDDY tries to “wake-up” his “mom” – Winged
Victory – but is unsuccessful.
ISSUE 66: The WRATH of KING MAMBA!
March, 1953
Prologue: The Vindicators have been sent on a mission by the newly formed
CIA to the African kingdom of Malaia. At King Adegoke’s palace in the Malaian
capital of M’botu, the heroes find and defeat several NAZI supervillains!
Fraulein Fear, Jackboot, and Reprise are defeated. At the top of mount N’gongo,
King Mamba, Augenblick, and the “Volcano God” force the heroes to retreat.
At their secret jungle encampment in the
Belgian Congo, Quantum heals the bruised and battered Vindicators while they
rest and recover their power. Agents Hallman and Hooker want to know if the
Vindicators achieved the mission goal, but the answer is no, they did not
uncover Mamba’s plans.
In an hour and twenty minutes, the heroes are
completely healed and at peak fighting form, and are again ready to face Mamba.
They sneak back to M’botu and manage to evade
the numerous guard patrols to arrive near King Mamba’s palace. They decide they
need a diversion and agree that Iktomi should start a fire at a nearby warehouse.
As the fire spreads, nearby tower guards notice, but they stand their ground,
so Iktomi decides to attack. Brimstone gets a lift from Feddy and he too helps
attack the tower guards.
Meanwhile the other Vindicators storm another
section of the palace complex. They defeat six guards and advance into the
palace. Quantum finds Mamba’s bedroom, complete with WWII propaganda posters
featuring Winged Victory. Jaguarundi picks up Mamba’s scent and begins tracking
him.
After defeating the tower guards, Iktomi moves
to a nearby building and smashes a 12 foot hole in its side. Brimstone jumps
into Lake Kivu to wash off the chemical glop a guard had shot him with. Iktomi,
who is a skilled engineer, concludes that the equipment in the building is just
“for show”.
King Mamba’s scent trail leads Jaguarundi to
an underground tunnel and eventually to a locked steel door. Quantum smashes
the stone around the door and the heroes enter a large room. Once inside, the
heores see a big machine in one corner and several man-sized tubes lined up
against another wall. Control panels with cables leading to the tubes and
machine run along the floor surface. In one of the tubes, the heroes see the
shriveled form of Augenblick, who appears to be deceased.
“Ah, you see the speedster’s body,” says King
Mamba with a chuckle while casting his gaze towards the tube with Augenblick’s
body. Yes, I see you are puzzled,” says the dictator while nodding his head.
“Our dear friend Count Eisenfaust spent years working on this machine behind
me… a replica of Voltman’s Ubermachine. I had wanted to create an army of new
super-powered people, all under my control, but Eisenfaust failed! The machine does, however, have the power to
siphon, ah what would you say, one’s life force… and bestow those energies to
another person. The speedster failed me in life but in death he has restored my
power!”
King Mamba then ferociously strikes out at
Jaguarundi, hurting the Texan with his claws while simultaneously poisoning
him. At first, King Mamba does quite well fighting against the heroes. He
forces Jaguarundi to retreat to the room’s ceiling while he battles Quantum,
Winged Victory, and Feddy, none of whom really hurt him. But once Quantum
manages to grab King Mamba, things begin looking up for the heroes. When Iktomi
and Brimstone join the fight, King Mamba is overwhelmed and ultimately
defeated.
ISSUE 67: The BOX!
July, 1953
Prologue: While in
his basement laboratory, Dr. Nolan Roach had at last finished his project: he
could now teleport! Never once considering testing his machine on anyone other
than himself, he climbed inside the chamber and instructed Unit #1 to activate
the Box. Roach could sense something was not right. “Shut it off!” he commanded
Unit #1. “But sir, the process is not complete,” said the android. “I don’t
care! Turn it off!” Roach opened the door and staggered out of the Box. He felt
somehow different…
Six months later, Brimstone,
while reading the New York World-Telegram, learns of a disturbing story. Over
the last several months, various people in Brooklyn have seemingly disappeared.
He tells Quantum about the story and the two heroes resolve to find the missing
people.
Pencil Pushing Hacks
Brimstone summons Fuego
and flies to the New York World-Telegram building. He wants to talk to the reporter
who wrote the missing person story – a mister Milton Meyer. But before he gets to Meyer, he is mobbed by several
other reporters who pester Brimstone with all sorts of questions and comments
(especially about his cowboy hat, his cowboy boots, and his moustache). The
reporters finally relent, and the big hero makes his way to Meyer, who has his
back turned to Brimstone.
“Are you Milton Meyer?”
“Who wants to know,” says Meyer, who sounds as if he is
annoyed at being interrupted. “Holy smokes! It’s Brimstone!” says the reporter
as he turns around.
“You wrote this piece on the missing people” asks Brimstone,
pointing to his copy of the paper. “I need to know more about it. For instance,
what can you tell me about this lady, Mrs. Jamison?”
Meyer responds in a
thick New York accent, “Uh, sure, big guy” says Meyer as he picks up a stack of
papers from his cluttered desk. “She’s 46, no kids, married to a boxer, and was
reportedly last seen near the Lincoln Terrace Park.” Meyer pushes up the brim
of his fedora with a pencil and says, “Say, Brimstone, you taking up this
case?”
Brimstone nods and says, “Yep, and I may be back with more
questions!” As Brimstone leaves the newspaper building he wonders what the word
‘hayseed’ means...
New York’s Finest
Meanwhile, Quantum has gone to the local New York Police
precinct to ask detective Charles Spencer about the missing person’s case.
Spencer seems to be a fan of Quantum’s and gladly hands over his case file.
“If anyone asks, don’t mention where you got this” he says
to her with a wink. “Bring it back in a few days and maybe you and I can have a
drink at Mickey’s” says the portly cop with a crooked smile.
“Perhaps…” says Quantum, who thanks the detective and
leaves. She radios Brimstone and the two meet back at their Brooklyn townhouse.
The Sweet Science
Quantum and Brimstone decide to talk to Mrs. Jamison’s
husband Bob, a trainer at a nearby boxing gym. Bobby tells the heroes he last
saw his wife three days ago. He’s terribly worried and hopes the heroes can
find her before it is too late.
“Shoot, lemme go with ya. I ain’t so old that I can’t pull
my weight… mebbe I can help!” says Mr. Jamison, suddenly looking more hopeful.
“No,” says Quantum, “that’s quite alright; Brimstone and I
can handle this task ourselves.”
Suspicious of Mr. Jamison’s sudden mood
change, Quantum uses her Cosmic Awareness
power to pose the question of Mr. Jamison’s guilt regarding his wife’s
disappearance… but the Universe answers with an emphatic “No!” The heroes bid
Mr. Jamison good day and return to Brimstone’s Brooklyn townhome.
After reading through Detective Spencer’s notes, Quantum
marks up a map of the city. “Here…” she tells Brimstone, “are the areas where
the missing people were last seen. If we canvas this center area we may be able
to find a clue…”
Old Warehouse
After flying around Brooklyn’s warehouse district for an
hour, passing numerous working businesses, the heroes come across something
promising: a boarded-up auto-repair building with a dilapidated sign that reads
“Ray’s Auto Repair.” Brimstone melts the lock on the main sliding doors and the
two heroes enter the building. They snoop around and find a lot of dust and
crates full of auto parts.
Mirage
As they continue to poke around they hear someone clearing
his throat. They turn around and see a police officer standing at the entrance.
“Just what do you think you’re doing here? This is private property! I should
arrest both of you!”
Quantum notices the strangest thing: for a briefest second,
the officer shimmered, like a mirage in a desert. Quantum walks up to the
officer and says “I don’t think so…” As she puts her hand through what is
obviously an image. The police officer then disappears.
Quantum enters a side room and finds stairs going down.
Brimstone un-summons Fuego, who
doesn’t fit down the stairwell, and he and Quantum go down the stairs.
Do Androids Sleep
Standing Up?
The heroes enter a basement with a lone light bulb hanging
from the ceiling. Quantum opens a nearby door and sees a room with four
unremarkable men standing perfectly still. The men look like they could be
quadruplets. The men move in unison and quickly grab ahold of Quantum. They
yell, “Another one for the Box!”
Quantum manages to free herself and punches one of the men
so hard it is sent hurtling back. As it lies on the floor it is clearly
revealed to be some sort of robot… or android… neither hero is quite sure what
they are. Quantum hears muffled sounds coming from a nearby room, asks
Brimstone to take over the fight, and leaves to investigate.
Quantum finds several people behind a locked door in the
next room. She peers at them intently… and decides they do not appear to be
robots. She asks them their names and they reply: Rafael Robbins, John Swift, Michelle Jamison… The names match the
description of several missing individuals, but there are only three people
here instead of the six that are missing. Quantum orders the people to follow
her and says “Don’t worry, folks, I’ll get you out of here!”
The Box! The Box!
Meanwhile, Brimstone is fighting more androids. They have
come pouring in from another room. The androids furiously attack the big hero,
pushing their strength and attacking multiple times. The androids speak in
unison: “The Box! Get this one to the Box! The Master needs his energy!”
Although he takes a beating, Brimstone is eventually the
only one standing: all of the androids are destroyed. He advances to the next
room where he sees what is literally best described as a large box. The Box has
cables running from it to a nearby wall. Brimstone snaps the cables and then
opens another door, revealing a large room with laboratory equipment scattered
about.
Ford Flier
Meanwhile, Quantum has led the rescued folks to the street.
Another illusion, this time of a steel box, tried to trap them, but Quantum
again saw through the ruse. She opens the doors of a nearby Ford sedan. “Get
in,” she tells the people following her, who after suffering weeks of captivity
and the constant threat of death, don’t have to be told twice – they do as
Quantum says. Quantum picks up the sedan and flies it to the nearest police
Precinct. “These folks were kidnapped; take care of them,” she tells the cops
as she flies off and back towards the warehouse.
What a Revolting
Development
Back in the warehouse basement, Brimstone uncovers a
disgusting sight: a living, seething mass of what was once Dr. Nolan Roach, but
is now a fifteen foot wide blob of limbs, flesh, and hair. A hideously
distorted head turns to Brimstone and says “You must be immensely strong to
have defeated my servants… you will provide a great deal of energy!”
The Finale
Quantum returns to the warehouse basement and helps
Brimstone defeat the Matter-Eater Man.
Brimstone was nearly converted to energy after the Matter-Eater Man used his
Elongated limbs and Heightened Strength to place the big hero inside the Box.
Once out of the Box, Brimstone goes berserk: he smashes the box into a million
pieces and then turns his wrath on the insensate mass that was once Dr. Roach, slaying
the Matter-Eater-Man with Hellfire. Still
enraged, he attempts to strike Quantum, but misses. Quantum is then successful at snapping
Brimstone out of his rage, and the two heroes leave the warehouse.
Epilogue:
Several weeks later,
Quantum, who had taken Dr. Roach’s journals and studied his notes and
equations, comes to a startling discovery. Dr. Roach had succeeded with his
teleportation Box, only he hadn’t grasped the subtleties. He had created his
Box with one serious flaw: the device teleported people to other dimensions!
The energy released was simply a side-effect. Roach could have been famous, but
his repeated use of an interrupted trans-dimensional teleportation process
turned him into a murdering monster.
ISSUE 68: MANHATTAN MAYHEM!
October, 1953
Prologue: While
travelling to the Sol system on an urgent mission, Star-Defender KALU’s ship is
damaged by the power blasts of an alien starship, and he crash-lands near New
York City. Although he escapes from his damaged ship, his body is subjected to
strange radiation, and he has no memory of who he is or what his mission is…
Lobster Tale
Brimstone, Quantum, and Iktomi converge near at the Brooklyn
docks to fight what looks like a gigantic, glowing lobster. The three heroes
land numerous blows against the gargantuan beast, but manage to inflict only
minimal damage. Quantum is knocked unconscious, and is knocked into the East
River where she begins to sink, but Brimstone jumps in and saves her from
drowning.
Meanwhile, Iktomi hangs on to the back of the giant beast as it goes
underwater. But as it swims towards the Brooklyn Bridge, it suddenly shrinks
down to its normal size. Iktomi, lobster in hand, runs back to tell Brimstone
and Quantum.
Wild Kingdom
Jaguarundi is strolling past the Brooklyn Zoo when panicked
people start rushing past him. He stops one gentleman and asks him what is
going on. “It’s a giant tiger! If I were you, buddy, I’d get out of here,” says
the wild-eyed man. Jaguarundi heads towards the danger as others dash past him.
Jaguarundi tries to grab and hold on to the super-sized cat,
to no avail. Then he injures the cat to get it to follow him back to its cage.
His plan to capture it doesn’t work. Ultimately, he is forced to knock-out the
cat.
Midtown Mayhem
As Carol Daily exits one of the posh retailers at 52nd
and 5th Avenue, she can’t help but notice the gigantic ape strolling
down the street. Taxis are honking, people are panicking, and Carol just wanted
to do some Christmas shopping. As Winged Victory keeps the giant ape busy, the
other heroes finally arrive. And at about the same time, the giant ape shrinks
down to its normal size.
Putting It Together
Piecing the clues together, the heroes track down the
amnesiac KALU, who attacks. The heroes subdue the alien, who ultimately regains
his memory. KALU then purges the size-changing radiation from his body.
Epilogue: Star-Defender KALU’S spaceship is found
submerged in the East River. Quantum recovers the ship and hands it over to the
U.S. Navy. KALU warns the heroes that the Earth is in jeopardy: the
totalitarian space empire known as The Technocracy plans to attack!
ISSUE 69: The KUPALAN CRYSTAL SAGA, PT. I
October, 1953 – DYNAMO has finished constructing the Mk II
STARJET. Consequently, the VINDICATORS – along with several NY City newspaper
reporters, photographers, a small contingent of U.S. Army personnel, and U.S
Army GENERAL DIX have arrived at Champion Salvage Yard in the Bronx, NY.
“DYNAMO, is it true that you built this spaceship by
yourself?” asks one of the reporters. “Uh, yeah,” says the publicity-shy
Dynamo. “Car.. uh, WINGED VICTORY provided the funds for me to buy the parts,
and over a span of five years it came together. I built it piecemeal in the
boiler-room, then I assembled it here at the salvage yard. Of course, without
Quantum’s HYPER-FLIGHT engine it’s just an oversized jet!
“Say, what is the point of this ship… are you going to use
it against the Commies?” asks another reporter.
“I’ll take that question…” says QUANTUM, “…and I’m afraid
that is classified information.”
“What are you going to call her?” asks reporter Eleanor Hoyt
of the NY Sun.
“I’m partial to ‘Lulu-Bell,’ says QUANTUM, “but the other
Vindicators have vetoed my idea.” The heroes then agree with one of the
photographer’s request to pose for pictures in front of their spaceship.
As the photographers snap pictures, General Dix instructs
his men to load the Starjet with numerous C-Ration crates. Each crate contains
a variety of 24 cans of varying food types including: Meat Stew with Vegetables
(carrots and potatoes), Meat Stew with Beans, Meat & Spaghetti in tomato
Sauce, and Chopped Ham, Egg, and Potato. The general also provides the heroes
with two “accessory” crates that contain: brown butcher paper, sugar tablets,
halazone water purification tablets, a flat wooden spoon, packs of chewing gum,
packs of cigarettes, matches, a can opener, and toilet paper.
“If it’s good enough for our boys in KOREA, it’s good enough
for you,” says the General as he chomps on a stogey while looking at the
Vindicators. “Come on, boys, hurry up; I’ve got a meeting with the President in
two hours!”
Always the suspicious type, QUANTUM asks the Cosmos if any
of the crates have been sabotaged. The answer she receives is ‘Yes.’ Quantum
radios the other Vindicators to start searching for anything out of the
ordinary and to be on their guard.
Earlier, JAGUARUNDI had smelled gasoline, but didn’t think
much about it; now, however, he is concerned. He smells inside the STARJET and
does smell gasoline fumes. He searches the cargo hold: placed in a very
inconspicuous spot, almost impossible to have noticed is a tiny electronic
tracking device.
He sniffs the air outside the ship and picks up the scent,
which leads him to a nearby a group of soldiers. JAGUARUNDI sniffs again and
pinpoints the gasoline source: the pants of a soldier named Henderson.
“You smell like gasoline,” says Jaguarundi with his Texas
drawl, “mind telling me why?”
“Uh, I was filling the truck tank and it spilled on me.
Sorry, sir.”
At this point, General Dix walks up and says “Son, when did
you enlist?”
The soldier says nothing but suddenly throws a grenade-like
object at the feet of JAGUARUNDI, who catches it. A fraction of a second later,
it explodes in a flash of strange colors, and everyone within a 25 foot
diameter is paralyzed.
At this point, a fight begins between the unknown assailant,
his vehicle, and the Vindicators. The assailant’s flying vehicle – the size of
a large car – has a variety of powers (auto-firing power blaster, invisibility,
force field, etc.) and is operated by what JAGUARUNDI dubs a “mechanical
brain.”
QUANTUM flies to the assailant and grabs him, but is
paralyzed by the ongoing effects of the alien’s grenade. IKTOMI, FEDDY, and
WINGED VICTORY grab derelict cars and drop them on the villain. One of the
reporters, Malcolm Jonhnson of the NY Sun, is knocked unconscious and pinned
under one of these thrown vehicles. Later, WINGED VICTORY frees the man.
After a few rounds of combat, the villain finally manages to
get out of the salvage yard and run several hundred feet away, where he mixes
with the normal citizens of the Bronx. Despite numerous attempts to escape
detection by using a shape-shifting device, he is found by the Vindicators.
Quantum, who had been paralyzed for almost a minute, finally frees herself and
flies after the alien. Once she finds him (Iktomi and Feddy had been attacking
him) she plows into him at high velocity, knocking him back about 50 feet, and
rendering him unconscious.
Meanwhile, Jaguarundi was busy clawing his way into the
villain’s ship. Once inside, unable to make sense of the alien controls, he
destroys a cable used by the “mechanical brain.” The alien ship loses all of
its abilities – its force field, life support, engines, etc. – and begins to
fall. The lanky Texan jumps out of the falling craft and is caught by Fuego.
Winged Victory manages to guide the falling ship so that it lands in the waters
of the Eastchester Bay, and where a few minutes later Brimstone finds the
vehicle and drags it to the salvage yard.
The Vindicators come to believe that the assailant is an
alien bounty-hunter who (presumably) was paid by the Technocracy to follow them
and/or sabotage their efforts. The Vindicators bid farewell to Dynamo, to the
reporters and to Gen. Dix, and fly away in the Starjet.
According to STAR-DEFENDER KALU'S starcharts, PERATON is in
the Sigma Draconis star system located 18.5 Lightyears from Earth. Once in
space the heroes engage the Hyperflight engine, accelerate to full speed, and
in just over 10 hours, arrive in the SIGMA DRACONIS star system.
In Peratonian controlled space, the Starjet is confronted by
Peratonian Space Defense fighters. The heroes agree to be escorted to Peraton,
where they land the Starjet at a spaceport in the sky-city A’kohra, the
plaent’s capital. The Sky-City floats above the planet’s surface at a height of
21,300 feet.
The Vindicators meet with a several Peratonians, including a
beautiful female named Kireet. They tell them that they seek to use the city
Portal so that they can reach the Inter-Dimensional Library. The heroes are
directed to Portal Guild Administrator Loerh, who refuses their request
(apparently, he doesn’t like offworlders).
KIREET then offers to help the Vindicators with their
problem. She will get them access to the portal because she is good friends
with Peraton’s leader. In exchange for her help she wants the heroes to help
her regain her confiscated equipment so that she can record their exploits.
The Vindicators agree to help Kireet and head back to space
in their Starjet. Kireet tells the heroes that her stolen items are somewhere
onboard a Technocracy Carrier. She suggests to the heroes that she use her
Holo-Projector to disguise the Starjet to look like a Technocray Skimmer
vehicle; they agree.
Epilogue: The Vindicators spend a day traveling through space. It was generally agreed that the meat stew with beans was the best C-Ration, even though it made the heroes “gassy.” Kireet was repulsed by the C-Rations, but seemed delighted with chewing gum. Eventually, they find the Technocracy Carrier orbiting a planet in the Zeta Cygnus binary star system, 384 Lightyears from Earth. Disguised as a Technocracy ship, they fly closer and are given clearance to land on the main landing deck of the massive ship.
ISSUE 70: The KUPALAN CRYSTAL SAGA, PT. II
October, 1953 -- Sitting in their Starjet, located inside the landing deck of a huge alien warship, the Vindicators are unsure how to proceed. Their Starjet has been made to look like a Technocracy ship, thanks to Kireet’s Holo-Projector. However, the heroes can have their ship disguised or themselves disguised, but not both at once. As they ponder their course of action, several Technocracy soldiers approach the Starjet. Kireet makes a snap decision…
“I bought us some time,” says Kireet, while
looking at her finger nails. “I told them that we are all infected with
Shange!”
“Shange? What’s that,” asks Jaguarundi with a
quizzical smile.
“It’s a highly contagious and painful
venereal disease,” says Kireet, nonchalantly twirling one of her earrings.
“Ewww,” says Winged Victory with a frown.
“Couldn’t you have picked something… less disgusting?”
The alien soldiers, who had been advancing on
the disguised Starjet, stop and begin backing away.
The heroes, who are not happy with Kireet’s
action, decide to attack: they jump out of their Starjet and begin attacking
Technocracy soldiers.
The heroes make their way trough airlocks,
down long corridors, and deep inside the ship, fighting off dozens of
Technocracy soldiers and robots along the way. The small flying security
robots, with their auto-firing blasters and steel-like exterior, are more
formidable than the alien soldiers, but are still no match for the awesome
might of the Vindicators.
Eventually, the heroes get to a spot just
outside of the cargo hold where Kireet’s defense
droids and her pocket-dimension bag
are being stored. Brimstone melts a hole thru the super alloy wall of the cargo
hold, freeing the droids. The heroes return to their ship where they fight and
defeat another squad of alien soldiers and robots.
Epilogue: The Vindicators (in their Starjet and Kireet in
her ship, the Shining Star) escape the alien vessel and return to Peraton.
Kireet makes good on her deal by persuading her close friend, the leader of
Peraton, to allow the Earthlings access to the Interdimensional Library. Due to
a previous adventure by Quantum and Brimstone, the Vindicators were made aware of the cosmically
powerful Kupalan Crystal Shards, but in the Interdimensional Library they learn
how the shards were created…
Approximately one hundred million years after the beginning of
the universe, the planet KUPALA was formed around MACRA, a “red giant” – the
first star in the universe. The KUPALANS were the first sentient species in the
Universe and they achieved a fantastically advanced level of technology. At the
pinnacle of their civilization they created a giant, perfect crystal whose
purpose was to evolve their race to the next level of consciousness. But not
all KUPALANS where happy with this idea and although the KUPALAN CRYSTAL
represented the ultimate level of their technology and was the highpoint of
their civilization, it also represented the end of their civilization. Shortly
after the crystal was formed a devastating civil war began. The war raged for
years but eventually one side was on the brink of defeat. In a last insane act
of vengeance, the losing side used a weapon that caused MACRA to go super-nova.
The resulting explosion destroyed KUPALA and shattered the Crystal into
numerous fragments. In the billions of years since the destruction of MACRA,
the crystal shards have been scattered throughout the universe.
… and the heroes learn that the nearest Kupalan
Crystal Shard is located in the Alkonost Star System 7,600 light years away…
ISSUE 71: The KUPALAN CRYSTAL SAGA, Part III
Earth Date – October, 1953
Prologue: Having used the resources of the
INTERDIMENSIONAL LIBRARY, the heroes learned the location of the nearest KUPALAN
Cyrystal Shard – a star system 7,600 Lightyears from Earth. A distance that far
would take far too long in their Starjet. The heroes leave the library and plan
their next step. KIREET then tells the VINDICATORS about a Vandari named OMAK
TAREE who supposedly can teleport massive distances… but, she tells the heroes,
she has no idea where he is or if he still lives.
QUANTUM then uses her Cosmic Awareness four
separate times over the next 8 hours in the following instances:
1)
She learns that Omak Taree is at
some place called the “Hollow,” which according to Kireet is a hidden base of
space pirates.
2)
She discovers that star-system DM
53-1320 is the location of the Hollow. The Vindicators, along with Kireet,
begin their journey accordingly. The trip would normally have taken about 12 hours, but because of
Jaguarundi’s incessant singing of Western songs, which Quantum and Kireet found
objectionable, the trip was reduced to about 8 hours after Quantum, using her
Inventing skill, super-charged the Warp Drive.
3)
At DM 53-1320, she pinpoints the
Hollow’s coordinates – a half-mile long asteroid hidden amongst millions of
other asteroids. As the heroes closed in on the hidden pirate base, Kireet used
her holoprojector to hide both the Starjet and Shining Star by creating the
illusion of empty space.
4)
Lastly, she learns that Omak Taree
is held by Pirate Lord Yabak. She asks a few random aliens and learns the
whereabouts of “Yabak’s Hole” – a sort of alien dive bar.
Once at YABAK’S place, the heroes mosey up to
the bar. When BRIMSTONE orders a tall glass of milk the alien barkeep responds
with a blank stare. He then asks about scotch and is rewarded with a drink that
costs 10 credits; he pays in gold, which the barkeep accepts. DK-241 then walks
up to Brimstone and puts her blaster next to his head.
“Get out of here, human scum!” says the
obviously irritated alien, but Brimstone does his best to ignore her. “I’m not
warning you again, human filth!”
At this point Yabak walks up to see what the
commotion is about. Quantum steps up and says, “You’re Yabak?”
“Maybe…” says the fat alien pirate, “who
wants to know?”
“I want to know where you have Omak Taree
locked up,” says Quantum heatedly.
“Don’t know who yer talkin’ about, female.
But…”
At this point Quantum punches Yabak in the
face, knocking him across the bar and into a wall where he stays unconscious. A
big fight then ensues between Yabak’s super-powered officers (DK-241, Racha,
Mudakt, and Varo) and some of his normal-powered pirates. The heroes eventually
win, knocking out most of the pirates and all of the officers except for Varo.
They force Varo to lead them to Omak Taree while Jaguarundi takes with him the
unconscious form of the tiny Mudakt.
“Ah… he’s such a cute little feller,” says a
grinning JAGURUNDI with his distinctive Texan twang. “Maybe I’ll keep ‘im!”
They free Omak Taree after he agrees to help
them. Back on their ships and outside of the Hollow, Omak teleports everyone to
the ALKONOST Star System, 7600 Light years distant.
Quantum once again uses Cosmic Awareness to
find the exact location of the Kupalan Shard, learning that it is located under
a large mound on a hot and barren world nearest to the star. The heroes are
then hand-waved thru fighting hordes of creatures (diminutive hive-dwelling
aliens called the Revati) and told they find the shard.
As they take control of the shard a massive
earthquake ensues and as the hive is literally falling apart around them, the
heroes fly up and out of the falling debris to safety, only to confront a 768
foot tall giant robot – a KUPALAN WAR
MACHINE. The reddish “dome” the heroes had assumed was a natural rock
formation, and center of the Revati hive, was really the top of the war
machine’s gagantuan domed head.
As the heroes fly back to the STARJET,
Brimstone (flying Fuego) decides to delay the giant by punching it in the arm.
Brimstone’s blow was largely ineffectual but when the robot responds it hurts
Brimstone and knocks Feugo unconscious, causing Brimstone to fall. Quantum
manages to catch Brimstone before he hits the ground and the two catch up to
the others on the Starjet.
The robot gets in a final, glancing blow that
knocks the Starjet to the ground damaging it slightly, but WINGED VICTORY manages
to keep the ship from crashing and pulls it back into the air. As the heroes
escape through Omak Taree’s teleportation gateway, Kireet’s defense droid sees
one last image of the gigantic Kupalan War Machine as it peers thru the closing
portal.
ISSUE 72: The KUPALAN CRYSTAL SAGA, Part IV or… WHEN STRIKES THE STRANGER!
October, 1953 -- The Vindicators HAVE travelled BACK TO EARTH’S SOLAR SYSTEM and are NEAR PLUTO AWAITing THE TECHNOCRACY ARMADA. ONCE THE ALIEN FLEET ARRIVES, THEY MANEUVER THEIR STARJET IN FRONT OF THE ADVANCING FLEET . wINGED VICTORY THEN GRABS THE KUPALAN SHARD AND USES ITS VAST POWER TO CREATE A THREE MILE tall BY THREE MILE wide TIME PORTAL, sending all of the alien ships 800 million years into the past. She and the cosmic shard then disappear!
Brimstone pumps his fist and shouts, “Take
that, Technocracy!”
Quantum says, “If Vicky is still alive she’ll
show up on our ship!”
“Who’s smart?” asks Jaguarundi as he looks at
his teammates. The lanky Texan then points to Quantum and says ”You’re smart:
get on the scanners and see if the gem just got left behind!”
“The Earth is saved… for now,” says a visibly
relieved Quantum.
MEANWHILE: WINGED VICTORY HAS BEEN TRANSPORTED INSIDE THE POCKET
DIMENSION OF THE KUPLAN CRYSTAL SHARD…
Winged
Victory thinks, Sheesh! Everything is
purple! I don’t think my friends will ever find me. So… I’ve got to get back to
them using my own power. Vicky then begins casting her spell of Alternate
Dimensional Travel. Thirty minutes later the portal is completed; Vicky steps
through it…
PER QUANTUM’S SUGGESTION, THE
STARJET WAS STOPPED, JUST FLOATING IN SPACE FOR 30 MINUTES. SUDDENLY, WITHOUT
WARNING, WINGED VICTORY REAPPEARS ONBOARD THE STARJET!
Brimstone, visibly relieved, says “Vicky, I
thought you were done!”
Winged Victory smiles and says, “I was in a
place… where everything was purple! But what happened to the Shard?”
“I couldn’t smell it anywhere onboard the
ship,” says Jaguarundi. “I guess in space no one can smell you…” says the grinning
Texan with a wink.
Brimstone scratches his head and says, “So…
the gem moved all by itself? Maybe it moved eight seconds into the past… or
something.”
“I think there’s a planet of toad-like guys
wearing loin cloths when the gem goes “plunck” and they go ‘ahhhh’…” laughs
Winged Victory.
Quantum then says, “it is obvious that the
Kupalan Shard is once again lost to the Ages. We should return to Earth.”
THE VINDICATORS RETURN TO EARTH. THEIR FIRST ORDER OF BUSINESS IS TO
FIND STAR DEFENDER KALU AND THANK
HIM FOR HIS WARNING ABOUT THE TECHNOCRACY. TO THEIR DISMAY, THEY FIND THAT KALU
IS UNDER HOUSE ARREST in a room in the newly constructed pentagon. Two-Star U.S. Army General
Wade P. Dix IS IN CHARGE.
“What a bunch of pencil-pushers…” Brimstone
says under his breath as he and the other Vindicators enter the gargantuan
military building.
“Welcome back to Earth, gentlemen,” says
General Dix. The General looks at Kireet and says, “and who might you be, young
lady?”
Jaguarundi salutes the General and says,
“Sir, don’t be confused: I know she looks like an Injun, but she’s A-OK. She
helped us out against them Technocracy fellers!”
Quantum turns to the General and tells him,
“Sir, we’ve come to give thanks to Kalu; without his warning about the
Technocracy, Earth would have been conquered, and we’d all be wearing tunics…”
“Is that some kind of joke?” says the
General. “This alien is under our custody because Intelligence thinks the
Communists may be behind this…”
“We were out there in space and we did not
run into a single Communist,” says Jaguarundi with his thick Texas accent.
“Kireet, can you show the General what we
did? General, I can assure you, the Communists were not behind this – we have
holographic footage!” says Quantum.
“Alright, fine. Show me your Super-8 film –
or whatever it is,” says the General, who seems reluctant to believe what the
Vindicators are telling him.
While Kireet sets up her devices Brimstone wonders what ‘Super-8’ is…
KIREET THEN ACTIVATES HER RECORDINGS AND PLAYS THEM THRU HER HOLO-PROJECTOR. THE EVENTS OF THE LAST FEW DAYS ARE SHOWN TO THE
GENERAL, WHO IS VISIBLY AFFECTED BY THE COSMIC
EVENTS HE WITNESSES.
“General,
I’ve got to tell you… that Kupalan War Machine hurt like a $%#@!” says
Brimstone. “But I thought you higher-ups knew what we were doing…”
General Dix turns to the heroes and says,
“OK, you’ve convinced me. Your friend is free to go. Oh, and good work!”
A MONTH LATER…
The STRANGER, a super-powerful
Technocracy android, has returned to Earth. He seeks revenge against the
Vindicators for sending the Technocracy Armada 800 million years into the past!
The android has tracked down
BRIMSTONE, whose Public Identity, is
his sole Weakness. The Stranger observes Brimstone’s home for several days,
noticing how his mailman, Mr. Green, delivers mail to the big hero’s house
every day except Sunday.
The villain knocks out Mr. Green
and assumes his identity. He also absorbs all of the mailman’s memories. When
he notices that Brimstone has finally returned to his abode, he strikes.
The Stranger, disguised as the
mailman, goes to Brimstone’s front door and rings the doorbell. As Brimstone
opens the door, he is met by twin psychic blasts! Brimstone is knocked back and
falls down after slamming into his living room wall. The villain continues to
blast Brimstone for two more rounds.
When Brimstone finally gets a
chance to react, he leaps high into the air, knocking a hole in his ceiling and
through the roof of his house. The Stranger quickly follows and catches up to
the hero. Brimstone, who is now fully defensive, calls his Vindicator teammates
on his communicator, but no one responds. As the Stranger continues to attack,
Brimstone summons FUEGO, his flying Shadow Realm steed.
Brimstone, now flying on Fuego,
tries to escape, but the Stranger is too fast. Brimstone tries again to contact
his teammates, finally getting ahold of QUANTUM.
“I’m under attack by the @#$
*&^% Stranger!” yells the big hero.
“Brimstone, this is Quantum” says
Quantum, as she picks up her communicator handset, after finally noticing that
it had been beeping. “Where is your location?” asks Quantum.
There is no reply because, though Quantum doesn’t know it, the
Stranger has finally knocked-out Brimstone. At this point, Carol Daily, aka
WINGED VICTORY, returns to her apartment; she had been shopping.
“Vicky! Brimstone is in trouble;
we have to help him,” says Quantum.
“Alright,” says Winged Victory,
“I’ll get my costume and gear!”
Quantum then tries to contact
JAGUARUNDI, but there is no reply. She does, however, contact IKTOMI, who has
been walking around on the streets of Manhattan. As the three Vindicators meet
up, they finally manage to contact Jaguarundi. The lanky hero agrees to meet
them at Brimstone’s Brooklyn house.
Once the heroes get to
Brimstone’s house they stand on the sidewalk as Quantum walks up to the front
door. She is surprised when Brimstone opens the door.
“Hi, friends” says Brimstone.
“What’s going on; why are you here?”
“Brimstone, you contacted me on
your communicator,” says Quantum. “You said you were under attack by someone
called the ‘Stranger.’”
Jaguarundi uses his heightened
sense of smell on Brimstone but finds nothing out of the ordinary.
“I don’t get it…” says the lanky
Texan hero “if this is Brimstone maybe you’re the one who’s the bad guy!” says
Jaguarundi, glancing warily at Quantum.
At this point, “Brimstone”,
begins blasting the heroes. The Stranger returns to his true form and addresses
the Vindicators.
“You somehow destroyed the
Technocracy Armada, and for your egregious crime, you will now pay!” says the
alien.
A KNOCK-DOWN-DRAG-OUT FIGHT ENSUES. WINGED VICTORY SENDS FEDDY
INTO BRIMSTONE’S HOUSE TO SEARCH IT. HE EVENTUALLY FINDS THE BRUISED AND
BATTERED UNCONSCIOUS BODY OF BRIMSTONE. THE GARGOYLE BENDS DOWN, AND SHAKES
HIM.
At this point, the Stanger grabs
Winged Victory and uses her as a club to knock her and Iktomi out. Quantum, who
has been badly hurt, heals herself.
“Wake!” says Feddy, as
Brimstone’s eyes flutter open.
“Feddy!” says the big hero,
“where are the Vindicators?”
“Out” says Feddy, pointing in the
direction of the ongoing fight.
“Thanks buddy!” Brimstone then
runs out of his house, pushes his strength and delivers a haymaker to the
Stranger, badly hurting him and knocking him back.
Jaguarundi (who has managed to
avoid most of the Stranger’s attacks) and Quantum combine their attacks and
finally knock out the villain.
Quantum then heals her
unconscious teammates. The team moves to Brimstone’s garage, taking with them
the unconscious form of the Stranger. Jaguarundi realizes that the Stranger is
regenerating. So, every so often he or Brimstone administers a small amount of
damage to prevent the alien from waking up.
Eventually, the heroes decide to
send the Stranger into the past, as they did the Technocracy Armada.
EPILOGUE: KIREET AND KALU DECIDE
TO EXPLORE EARTH. BRIMSTONE RETURNS
TO HIS BROOKLYN TOWNHOME. JAGUARDUNDI
HEADS OUT ON THE ROAD, BOUND FOR VIRGINIA
WHERE HE HAS SCHEDULED A SINGING GIG. IKTOMI, QUANTUM, AND WINGED
VICTORY RETURN TO CAROL DAILY’S PENTHOUSE
APARTMENT WHICH OVERLOOKS CENTRAL PARK.
ISSUE 73: D-DAY!
Flashback Issue!
PROLOGUE: Months earlier, President Roosevelt had suggested to General Eisenhower that the two S.A.V.E. teams were uniquely qualified to assist with the D-Day invasion. Eisnerhower agreed, and plans were set in motion. On June 5th, Eisenhower briefed the heroes on their mission: they were to destroy six 155mm guns at Pointe Du Hoc, France. Once the guns were destroyed, they were to link up with the 2nd Army Ranger Battalion, commanded by Lt. Col. James Rudder.
0600, June 6, 1944: The SAVE team boarded the destroyer USS SATTERLEE, commanded by Lt. Commander
Joseph WITHEROW. Lt. Henry FONDA, the famous actor, was also serving aboard the
SATTERLEE. The Commander introduced him to the heroes and Mr. Fonda was nice
enough to autograph the Dynamobile.
At 0630 Dynamo and five Army Rangers fly away
in the DYNAMOBILE; they rapidly approach Pointe Du Hoc, France. The other SAVE
members use their own powers to fly. At 0640 Dynamo drops off his five Army
Rangers, Lt. Joe Haines commanding, who immediately begin lowering ropes down
the 100 foot tall cliff. The other heroes proceeded to attack the German
soldiers manning the 155mm guns.
After destroying two of the big guns and
defeating their German defenders, the heroes learn of a SEVENTH gun – a giant
Voltman Lightning gun – when it is fired at the USS SATTERLEE five miles
distant. Fortunately, the ray gun missed the ship; the heroes immediately move
in to attack it. They arrive to see that it is defended by five NAZI
super-villains: NIGHTFIRE, FRENZY, RED KNIGHT, SUPER KOMMANDO, and PAIN-MAKER,
who is in overall command.
After a fight of about one minute, the heroes
defeat most of the NAZI super-villains and take PAIN-MAKER prisoner. Brimstone and Quantum destroy the Lightning
Gun. The heroes then destroy the remaining 155mm guns, several Anti-Aircraft
guns, and several Heavy Machinegun emplacements. Eventually, the Army Ranger
group arrives, and the two forces meet.
EPILOGUE: The SAVE members later learn
that members of britain’s superhero team, ROSE,
led by EXCALIBUR, destroyed two
large gun emplacements at SWORD BEACH but had no super-villain
opposition. SAVE TEAM #2 landed at omaha beach, where they helped take out numerous nazi
machinegun pill boxes. CRACKERJACK,
was badly injured when he dove on two german grenades in order to save a group
of U.S. soldiers -- he lived, but ended up losing his right forearm.
ISSUE 74: PART ONE: IF THIS BE DOOMSDAY…
January, 1954
IKTOMI, QUANTUM, AND WINGED VICTORY RETURN TO CAROL’S LAVISH PENTHOUSE
APARTMENT FROM HAVING DINNER.
Quantum says to Winged Victory, “Vicky, I really appreciate you letting me
stay at your apartment. I want to change the world using an electric engine
that works on the power of the universe.”
As the heroes enter Carol’s apartment, they
notice a body laying in a pool of blood in the lving room. A strange-looking
wolf stands guard over the body.
“That’s my cousin, Zyanya!” Iktomi cries out.
Quantum rushes to aid the girl but is stopped
when she is attacked by the wolf. “Winged Victory, can you do something with this
dog? I can heal this girl… but not while it is attacking me!” says Quantum.
Winged Victory says, “Feddy, go get a dish of
water! Iktomi, the two of us can grab it!”
IKTOMI AND WINGED VICTORY HOLD THE SPIRIT WOLF WHILE QUANTUM HEALS THE GIRL. ONCE SHE
AWAKENS, SHE CALMS HER SPIRIT WOLF AND
THEN TELLS THE HEROES HER STORY. SHE EXPLAINS THAT SOMEONE CALLING HIMSELF THE PROPHET HAS TAKEN OVER A SMALL TOWN
IN ARIZONa. SHE TRAVELLED TO NEW YORK CITY TO FIND HER SUPERHERO
COUSIN AND TO ENLIST HIS AID. SHE WAS SHOT BY SOME OF THE PROPHET’S CULTISTS WHO HAD BEEN SENT TO BRING HER
BACK. QUANTUM CALLS BRIMSTONE AND JAGUARUNDI AND INFORMS THEM OF THE GIRL’S
STORY. THE VINDICATORS MEET UP ONCE AGAIN AND BEGIN FLYING TO ARIZONA IN THE STARJET.
While enroute to Arizona, Zyanya continues
telling her story…
“The Army,” says the girl, “has been testing
their new H-Bomb. They denied it but we know that it was causing Earthquakes
around our tribal land. It wasn’t long after these earthquakes that this
Prophet creep showed up…
“Back then we didn’t think in terms of bombs
that could destroy cities… so we thought it was fine to bury the Prophet,” says
Brimstone, interrupting the girl. As everyone turns their attention to him he
continues…
“Back in the 1880’s me and Doc Holiday, Mountain
Eagle, and Brigid O’Brien – an Irish lass and the tallest woman I’ve ever met –
were adventuring out near Tuscon. We ran into this Prophet and his Doomsday
cult followers. He’s a madman who thinks God appointed him Christendom’s
saviour. We beat him by tricking him; we
buried him in a gold-lined coffin out in the desert near Tombstone.
“Gold,” continues Brimstone, “is something
the Prophet can’t affect with his Omni-Power…
The Prophet is an @#$%!… so I’m probably going to kill him this time… because he’s
too much of a threat!”
“Brimstone!” says Quantum, “we’re heroes – we
don’t kill!”
“Brimstone, can you give us some idea of what
this Prophet is like? Does he like his followers? How far gone is he?” asks
Winged Victory.
Jaguarundi smiles and exclaims, “It’s time to
rob a bank!” As the others turn and stare at him, he says, “Hey, I’m just
jokin’ with ya’ll!”
Zyanya, aka Red Moon, then says, “You people
are crazy. Don’t you realize that old white man wants to destroy the world?!”
“You know what’s funny… when you all were fighting
the Nazi’s none of them wanted to destroy the world!” says Jaguarundi.
“As millionnaire debutante Carol Daily, I can
withdraw gold from a bank in any large city. How about we stop in St. Louis?”
suggests Winged Victory.
“Ok,” says Quantum, “but it will be the
biggest thing that ever happened to St. Louis when the Vindicators come in
their Starjet to get gold!
QUANTUM spends an hour constructing a gold spraying device. she tries to
explain how it works but her technical JAGON simply flIES over the heads of the
other vindicators. A FEW HOURS LATER, THE VINDICATORS LAND NEAR THE FIRST NATIONAL BANK OF ST. LOUIS WHERE
CAROL DAILY WITHDRAWS SEVERAL MILLION
DOLLARS in GOLD BARS. THE VINDICATORS RETURN TO THE STARJET TO CONTINUE THEIR
TRIP. SEVERAL HOURS LATER, THEY ARRIVE NEAR TOMBSTONE. JAGUARUNDI THEN TRACKS
DOWN THE SITE WHERE THE PROPHET WAS BURIED.
THE HEROES FIND A HUGE CRACK IN THE GROUND BUT NO COFFIN. JAGUARUNDI IDENTIFIES
THE ODORS OF AT LEAST THREE DIFFERENT INDIVIDUALS. JAGUARUNDI FOLLOWS THE SCENT
AND LEADS HIS FRIENDS TO THE OUTSKIRTS OF FORT
HUACHUCA…
“Winged
Victory, I’d like you to hold this device while non-corporeal and use it at the
right time,” says Quantum.
Jaguarundi says, “These people always set up
in military bases! Have you noticed that?”
The Vindicators easily take out the U.S. Airman who had been enslaved by
the Prophet, although Jaguarundi did miss one of the guards quite a few times. The
gold layer around Quantum’s nude form is knocked off by a guardsman’s bullet.
“Jaguarundi, I’m shocked! You never miss!”
says Quantum.
“I missed because of the glare off of your
breasts!” says Jaguarundi with a lop-sided smile.
EPILOGUE: The heroes gather outside of a
large airplane hangar and burst open the door. Inside they see the Prophet and
his enslaved supervillains known as The Freaks. They are standing around what
appears to be a Hydrogen Bomb…
ISSUE 75: PART TWO: IF THIS BE DOOMSDAY…
January, 1954
The Vindicators begin fighting the Freaks.
Quantum grabs the H-Bomb, flies outside of the hangar, and begins flying
straight up. As the fight continues to unwind the Vindicators begin to suspect
all is not as it seems. Their opponents are not talking and are fighting
simplistically, only throwing punches, and not exhibiting powers. When the
first one is defated, it falls apart like shattered glass.
Jaguarundi realizes the creatures they are
fighting are not actual people – they are simply solid energy constructs made
to look like the Freaks. Jaguarundi radios Quantum and asks her to check out
the “H-Bomb”. Even with a casual glance, Quantum realizes the bomb is not real.
Eventually, all of the solid energy shapes are destroyed.
Jaguarundi begins to track the Prophet with
the scent trail leading him to the railroad tracks. He then begins to run along
the tracks at his full speed of 87 mph, continually sniffing the air for traces
of the Prophet.
Meanwhile, Quantum wants to know the location
of the Prophet, so she asks the Cosmos a question. Given the gravitas of the
situation she decides to enter a deep trance, stretching her mind beyond safe limits.The answer she
receives is “Haven.” The name doesn’t ring a bell with any of the heroes, so
Quantum again enters a deep trance, pushing her mind beyond its normal limits.
She comes out of her trance with the answer: Haven is located in western Montana.
The Vindicators FLY in their starjet
TO WESTERN MONTANA, ARRIVING IN A
FEW HOURS. ACCORDING TO QUANTUM,
THEY ARE AT THE LOCATION OF THE PROPHET,
BUT THERE IS NOTHING BELOW THEM EXCEPT FOR A SNOW COVERED MOUNTAIN TOP. AS THEY HOVER IN THEIR STARJET, TRYING TO DECIDE WHAT TO DO NEXT, OVER THEIR COMMUNICATOR COMES A VOICE TELLING THEM
TO “FOLLOW THE YELLOW LINES AND TO LAND IN QUADRANT
ONE OF THE HAVEN SPACEPORT.”
After doing as the voice instructed, the
heroes land in a futuristic-looking “spaceport”, not unlike what they
experienced on Peraton.
As the heroes exit the Starjet, they are met with a humanoid-looking robot.
“Welcome to Haven,” says the robot. “Please,
follow me.”
The heroes follow the robot who leads them
through the huge spaceport. Eventually, they exit the spaceport. Once outside,
they notice that Haven is some sort of domed, undergound city.
“Geez…” says Winged Victory, “this place is
huge!”
“We need to find the Prophet…” says Quantum,
“but we have no idea where he is. I guess I must once again use my Cosmic
Awareness power.”
Quantum again enters a deep trance,
stretching her mind beyond safe limits. When she comes out of the trance, she
has the answer.
“He’s in ‘Gangster City’,” says Quantum.
“Let’s go.”
The TEAM INQUIRES OF THEIR ROBOT
GUIDE AS TO THE LOCATION OF GANGSTER CITY. THE ROBOT LEADS THEM TO a BULDING ON
THE WESTERN WALL OF THE HUGE DOMED CITY. INSIDE ARE A SERIES OF ELEVATORS, ONCE
OF WHICH TAKES THEM DOWN TO THE GANGSTER CITY LEVEL. ONCE THERE, THEY ARE GIVEN
1930 STYLE CLOTHES, SHOES, AND HATS AND TOLD TO ENJOY THEMSELVES. AS THEY EXIT
THE ROOM THEY SEE A “CITY” WITH MOTOR VEHICLES DRIVING DOWN STREETS AND
SIDEWALKS CROWDED WITH PEDESTRIANS.
“Wow!” says Brimstone. “This place looks like
Chicago back in the 30’s.”
“Or New York City,” says Winged Victory.
Suddenly, a 1930’s taxi cab rolls to a stop
next to the heroes. A cabbie rolls down his window and says, “Hey! Youse guys
needa ride or whut?”
“No, thank you,” says Jaguarundi.
“How much for your cab?” asks Quantum.
“Depends. Where ya wanna go, lady?” replies
the cabbie.
Quantum says, “Just a minute…we’re trying to
decide where to go.”
Jaguarundi wrinkles his nose and says,
“Smells like they got mechanical robot cab drivers… so, uh… no thank you! Go do
your robot things!”
Quantum turns to the lanky Texan and says,
“Jaguarundi, use your nose again. See if you can pick up the Prophet’s scent.”
“Alright. I know what to do…” replies
Jaguarundi, who begins running down the sidewalk.
THE VINDICATORS, FOLLOWING JAGUARUNDI, COME
TO A GRAND HOTEL. JAGUARUNDI TELLS HIS FRIENDS THAT THE PROPHET IS INSIDE. QUANTUM IMMEDIATLEY CHARGES INSIDE, ONLY TO BE
STOPPED BY FOUR ROBOT GANGSTERs in the hotel lobby…
A robot Gangster says to Quantum, “You ain’t
allowed in here. Scram!”
Quantum ignores the gangster and punches him,
doing minimal damage.
The gangster rubs his jaw and says, “Dat
hurt.”
“Good,” replies Quantum, “because the next
one will be even harder!”
“The boss ain’t gonna like that,” says the
robot.
“Is your ‘boss’ the Prophet?” asks Quantum.
“Yeah. How’d you know?”
“I know lots of things…” says Quantum.
Jaguarundi, doing a bad impression of
Quantum, says “…everything I know… the Cosmos
told me!”
Brimstone, wondering about the robot
gangsters’ weapons, says “Why’d they give them tommy guns?”
“The Prophet can do ANYTHING!” says a
smirking Jaguarundi. “Maybe he’ll give YOU a tommy gun…”
“Or… maybe the Prophet will turn you INTO a
tommy gun,” says Quantum, who smiles at Brimstone as she hits the robot once
again, sending it flying backwards thirty feet to land upon the carpeted hotel
floor.
The robot gangster, who has suffered massive
internal damage from Quantum’s blows, and has sparks flying out of the gaping
holes in its chest, says in a halting fashion, “Boss. Not. Gonna. Like. This.”
Quantum flies over to the prone robot and
smashes him twice more, totally destroying him.
FOLLOWING
QUANUM’S LEAD, JAGUARUNDI RUNS INTO THE HOTEL,
AFTER FIRST RUNNING THE HOTEL REVOLVING DOOR ENTRANCE A DOZEN TIMES, AND ATTACKS ANOTHER ROBOT GANGSTER. JAGUARUNDI CARVES
THE ROBOT UP AND LOPS OFF IT’S ARM.
THE ROBOT FALLS TO THE FLOOR LIKE SO MUCH JUNK.
Winged Victory then flies into the hotel
lobby and attacks another robot gangster. She damages, but does not defeat, the
robot.
Brimstone then enters the hotel and he, like Vicky,
attacks an undamaged robot gangster. He hits it twice and smashes it into
pieces, totalling destroying it.
“I’m gonna ventilate the dame,” says the
robot who Vicky had attacked. The robot fires a burst from his tommy gun at
Vicki, critcally hitting her in the arm. When his machinegun suddenly jams (due
to a fumble), giving Vicky an opening, she smacks the robot with his own
weapon, doing minimal damage.
At this point, other robot gangsters move up
and attack the heroes. One of the robots steps near Quantum and readies his
tommy gun to fire. As he sprays her with bullets he says, “Eat lead!” The robot
who fires at Jaguarundi completely misses him.
Another robot fires at Brimstone, hitting him
several times, but the bullets simply bounce off of the hero’s chest. Lastly,
Feddy flies into the hotel and attacks a robot that Winged Victory had attacked
earlier, doing minimal damage.
Quantum turns towards a new robot gangster,
flies over next to it and attacks it, missing the robot but damaging her
communicator due to a fumble. Quantum, using her super speed, attacks the robot
yet again, this time delivering a mighty blow that does quite a bit of damage,
knocking the robot back fifteen feet and causing it to fall down.
Brimstone then says, “I guess the Prophet
used his mind control power to control these robots…”
Jaguarundi then rushes up to the new wave of
robot gangsters and says, “Howdy boys!”
One of the robots points his machinegun at
Jaguarundi and says, “Vent-ee-late the hayseed!”
Quantum says, “Jaguarundi, take them down
quick so we can get to the Prophet!”
“Will do!” replies Jaguarundi, who then
triple attacks the robot, slicing and dicing it into a non-functioning pile of
parts.
As Quantum is fighting defensively, she comes
under attack. The robot says, “Stand sill!” as he unloads a burst of machinegun
fire which completely misses her.
“Time fer youse to leave this world,” says a
pink-suit-wearing robot gangster as he levels his tommy gun at Jaguarundi and
opens fire. The incredibly agile and fast-moving Jaguarundi, however, is
completely missed by the robot’s attack.
At this point another robot gangster opens
fire on Brimstone.
Brimstone, trying to intimidate the robots,
yells “Come on, you ugly mugs!”
As the bullets just bounce off of Brimstone’s
iron-hard skin, the robot gangster says to Brimstone, “You ain’t human!”
“Neither are you!” replies Brimstone, whith
no apparent sense of irony.
Winged Victory takes several solid hits but
dishes out enough damage to finish off another robot gangster who had been
knocked into the hotel elevator by Brimstone.
Jaguarundi finishes off another robot then
runs up to the ballroom doors which he cracks open and peeks inside. He turns
to his friends and yells “found ‘em!” He then runs back, hides behind a table,
and then whispers into his communicator, “I found them… the Prophet and them
Circus Freaks… they’re in the hotel ballroom.”
As Quantum finishes off another robot she
says, “Well, what are you waiting for? Let’s go get them!”
“Fair enough! I’m on my way,” replies the
Texan, who rushes back into the ballroom only to be blasted by the already
delaying Freaks. Roustabout catches Jaguarundi just on the edge of his
explosive blast, but does very little damage. Jaguarundi manages to avoid the
Fat Lady’s sonic blast. The Flat Man missess him too but the Hornet Queen tags
him with his claws, doing high damage.
Jaguarundi seems incredulous and says,
“You’re gonna try to claw ME?!”
Winged Victory says to Quantum “I’m trying to
suss what’s going on here… why would the Prophet pick this place to destroy?”
“Maybe the Prophet considers Haven as some
sort of Hell… It makes a certain amount of logic that he would want to destroy
it,” says Quantum.
Brimstone says, “You know, this place is
really quite incredible!” and tips his cowboy hat towards a robot in
appreciatation.
The robot gangster looks at Brimstone and
says, “What is it doing… it is tilting its head gear!”
The Prophet finally speaks, in the manner and
tone of a Southern gentleman, and says to Jaguarundi, “Son, you don’t want to
attack me. We can be friends!” The Prophet’s eyes glow and, for the briefest
amount of time, energy surrounds Jaguarundi.
“Nah, you can’t affect me: my brain is
covered in gold!” replies Jaguarundi, who is obviously not affected by the
Prophet’s transformation ability. But as Jaguraundo rushes towards the Prophet
he runs right past the H-Bomb and cuts himself on his left leg for minimal
damage (fumble).
“You see,” says the Prophet as he notices the
accident, “it is God’s will that you fail in your attack against me!”
“I’m a Jaguarundi spirit of the Navajo!”
replies Jaguarundi, as he cuts the villain with the full force of his claws.
“You
are an uncouth savage, Sir” the Prophet says as he winces in pain after being
attacked by the Texan.
“And your soul has the taint of evil… an evil
which I must cleanse!” says the Prophet.
“Have you smelled yourself? You have a rotten
stench about you and I should know cuz’ I’ve been tracking you all the way from
Texas!” says Jaguarundi in reply. “Get on in here, fellas” says Jaguarundi to
his companions.
“Prophet!” yells Brimstone, as he comes
rushing into the hotel ballroom and right up to the spot where the Prophet is
standing, attacking him with two powerful blows. The Prophet ducks the first
swing but is hit by Brimstone’s second punch and is knocked backwards five
feet.
“Been a long time comin’, pal…” says
Brimstone, in obvious gratification for the effect that his punch had upon the
Prophet.
“Who… who are you?” asks the Prophet, as he
grits his teeth in pain.
“You don’t recognize me?” asks a bemused
Brimstone. “That’s hilarious.”
“Master!” yells the Hornet Queen. “Has this
beast hurt you?”
“Yes – a bit, my dear. Please deal with him”
says the Prophet. The Hornet Queen then flies over to Brimstone and attacks the
big hero twice, cutting thru his iron-hard skin.
Quantum then flies over to the Prophet and
punches him twice, doing minimal damage.
“Don’t you peeople see? Has the Lord not
opened your eyes? Why do you oppose me?” says the Prophet.
“Because you’re a madman,” replies Quantum.
“A deluded madman who wishes to destroy everything!”
“We are in the pit of Hell!” says the
Prophet, with a maniacal gleam in his eyes. “And if you all are demons, as it
appears you are, then you and this place shall soon be destroyed by the
righteous hand of almighty God! Hallelujah!”
“Hallelujah!” yell the Freaks in unisom, in
reply to the Prophet.
“Get away from the Master!” says the Flat Man
as he stretches both arms over towards Quantum, hammering her with giant-sized
fists, and knocking her away from the Prophet.
Winged Victory slashes at a robot gangster
then flies into the ballroom but stops when she sees the Fat Lady. “There’s a
lady in the way,” says Vicky, as she pulls up and hovers, after almost flying
into the Fat Lady.
“That’s right, dollface” says the Fat Lady,
who screams at the hovering heroine, catching her within her sonic blast’s area
of effect and doing considerable damage.
Quantum then heals herself, twice. Feddy
flies into the ballroom and one of the robots follows him, shooting him with
his tommy gun.
Roustabout then tries to blow-up some of the
Vindicators.
“Vindicators, lay them out!” yells Brimstone.
Quantum flies back to the Prophet and attacks
him, swinging and connecting with a punch.
Vicky says to Quantum, “why don’t we gild the
Prophet?”
“Good idea!” replies Quantum. “Give it a
try!” Quantum then flies to Roustabout and grabs ahold of him.
“Hey! Let go of me!” says Roustabout.
“No! You’ll attack me if I let you go,”
replies Quantum.
Winged Victory then flies up to the Prophet
and sprays him with gold, using the device that Quantum had earlier created.
Now covered with a layer of gold, the Prophet begins sputtering in incoherent
rage.
Jaguarundi then runs to the gold-covered
Prophet and grabs him. Meanwhile, Quantum decides to squeeze Roustabout for
high damage.
“Ha! Don’t you know? I’m invulnerable. Your
squeezes just tickle me!” exclaims Roustabout.
“Hey, Brimstone! Come use your hellfire on
this idiot. He just told me he’s invulnerable,” yells Quantum.
The Fat Lady moves back towards Winged
Victory and screams her sonic scream again. This time, Vicky jumps clear of the
area of effect.
Brimstone moves over to Roustabout, who is
being held by Quantum, and says “Want to know what Hell feels like?” The big
hero then uses his hellfire ability on the carny freak for considerable damage,
causing him to writhe in agony.
“Very
good, Brimstone. Keep it up!” Quantum says.
Feddy finally moves in to the ballroom and
tries to headshot the Fat Lady, but misses.
The Hornet Queen moves to the Prophet and
says, “Hold still, Master!” She then carefully scrapes the gold off of the
Prophet.
Roustabout and the Flat Man then attack. The
Flat Man hits Jaguarundi with a mallet-sized fist, doing good damage but no
knockback. Roustabout uses his explosive power on Quantum, Brimstone, and
himself. Brimstone jumps out of the area of effect but Quantum is hit, taking a
good deal of energy damage. Quantum is knocked backwards into a wall and falls
down. Quantum, while lying on the floor next to a wall, heals herself twice. The
Hornet Queen moves to Jaguarundi, claws at him, but does not draw blood.
Now fully healed, Quantum stands up, flies to
Vicky and grabs her, then flies her out of the hotel. “You’re in a bad way,
Vicky” says Quantum. “Let me heal you.”
Jaguarundi lets go of the Prophet and then
slashes at him, hitting him multiple times but not doing enough damage to slow
down the Prophet. “I don’t like the look of this…” mutters Jaguarundi.
Quantum pushes her healing ability and heals
Vicky twice. Quantum then flies back into the ballroom and sets Vicky down.
Vicky then uses the gold sprayer to coat the Flat Man in gold.
Brimstone says, “Vicky, you’ve caught the
Flat Man in a certain pose: I think you’ve created a work of art!”
The Flat Man, who is now free of the
Prophet’s slave-transformation ability, says, “Ugh! I been a puppet to this
creep! He turns to his wife and says, “Betty! Betty, are you alright?!”
Jauguarundi then says, “Flat Man! The gold on
your body will release your friends!”
“No one… ever talked to me like that before,”
says the Flat Man. But, yeah, I can do that. I can stretch out my body and
cover a thirty five foot by thirty five foot area!”
“That’s like a seven inch by seven inch
diameter,” replies Jaguarundi with a grin.
“Yeah, well I don’t do math good,” replies
the Flat Man, who then stretches out his body and wraps it around the body of
the Fat Lady, freeing her of the slave effect.
Winged Victory addresses the Flat Man and
says, “Well, well, aren’t we getting a little fresh with the chubby lady?”
“She’s my wife; I am entitled to take certain
liberties!” replies the incredibly skinny carny.
“Ok… but I can’t un-see that!” says a
red-faced Winged Victory.
“We’re gonna need that gold back, ” says a
joking Brimstone, who joke falls as flat as the Flat Man!
The Hornet Queen, still enslaved by the
Prophet, moves to Jaguarundi and claws at him again, poisoning him.
“Arghh!” says Jaguarundi, as the Hornet Queen’s
poison burns his insides.
The Prophet says “You people are disrupting
my plan…”
“We’re very, very sorry,” replies Winged
Victory, not meaning a word of what she just said.
“Doctor, will you be so kind as to set off
that bomb?” says the Prophet. At this point, Dr. Edward Tellner, who had been
hiding under a table, comes forward.
“Yes,
of course” replies Dr. Tellner in his thick Hungarian accent. Dr. Tellner then
moves to the H-Bomb, activating it’s countdown timer.
Roustabout then tries to blow-up Brimstone,
Jaguarundi, and Quantum. Brimstone and Jaguarundi jump out of the area of
effect but Quantum does not.
“Brimstone, take out the Prophet!” says
Quantum, gritting her teeth from the pain of Roustabout’s blast.
“I’ve got a better idea,” says Brimstone, who
then says “Vicky, hand me that gold sprayer!” Winged Victory hands the sprayer
to Brimstone who then uses it to cover Dr. Tellner with gold.
“My god… what have I done? I’ve activated the
bomb!” says Dr. Tellner, who is now free of the Prophet’s control.
Feddy points to the H-bomb and says,
“Attack?”
“No!” shouts Quantum. “Feddy, don’t attack
the bomb, attack the Prophet!”
Feddy, still dressed as a 1930’s gangster,
flies to the Prophet and tries to claw him but misses.
Brimstone points to the Freaks and says,
“Maybe we can get these “bad guys” exonerated of their crimes. Afterall, they
had their minds controlled by the Prophet.”
The Prophet smiles and says, “Well, my work
is done – I bid you all a fond farewell.” He then disappears, vanishing like so
much smoke, apparently having teleported away.
“Noooo!” cries out Brimstone. “I AM going to
kill him!”
“I HATE that!” yells Jaguarundi.
“Gosh darnit!” says Winged Victory.
“Listen,” says Quantum, “we still have this
hydrogen bomb to deal with!”
“What part of it do you want me to cut off?”
asks Jaguarundi. “What’s the timer set for? Jaguarundi looks at Dr. Tellner and
says, “Scientist, what’s the timer set for?”
“It is set to go off in five seconds!”
responds the physicist. “If you open that panel…” Dr. Tellner points to a
section of the bomb, “…I can tell you which wires to cut.”
“Jaguarundi, use your claws to carefully cut
open that panel!” says Quantum.
“Okie dokie,” says the Texan, who uses his
claws to precisely slice open a section of the bomb’s casing. “My work here is
done!” says Jaguarundi as he pretends to run away.
“Dr. Tellner, isn’t it the red wire that
should be cut?” says Quantum.
Suddenly, the remaining three robot gangsters
have moved to the entrance of the ballroom. One of them then says, “You people
need to die!” As the robots begin firing, spraying bullets towards the heroes
and the H-bomb, Brimstone dives in front of the bomb, intercepting all of the
bullets.
“Yes, I concur” says Dr. Tellner, responding
to Quantum’s question. Quantum then pinches the red wire, snapping it into two
and stopping the timer at 3 seconds.
Jaguarundi moves to the Hornet Queen and
shouts, “Enough!” as he attacks her twice, wounding her but not knocking her
out. “Ow!” yells Jaguarundi in pain as the Hornet Queen responds to his attacks
by clawing him.
Brimstone tosses the gold sprayer to Winged
Victory who then tries to spray the Hornet Queen, but the device overheats and
ceases to function due to a fumble.
“I broke it!” says Winged Victory. “I’m so
sorry!”
“That’s alright; I can make another one,”
replies Quantum. She then turns to Brimstone and says, “Brimstone, get on Roustabout
and use your hellfire to take him down.” Quantum then tries to grab the Hornet
Queen but misses.
Brimstone moves to Roustabout and tries to
burn the circus freak with hellfire. He misses twice, managing only to hurt
himself as he strains his right arm, taking a hit point of damage due to a
fumble.
The Flat Man then stretches over towards the
Hornet Queen and grabs onto her with his enormous-sized hands.
Quantum flies over to the entrance of the
ballroom, punches two of the remaining three robot gangsters, and smashes them into pieces.
Feddy flies over to Roustabout and attacks
him twice, doing minimal damage.
The poison flowing in Jaguarundi’s veins
causes him to fall unconscious. Quantum notices her friend fall so she flies
over to him and heals him multiple times, saving the lanky hero from a gruesome
death.
Brimstone moves over to Roustabout and uses
his hellfire ability on the circus freak.
“Arghhh! You again!” says Roustabout.
Roustabout once again uses his explosive
power blast, catching Brimstone, Quantum, Jaguarundi, and the Hornet Queen in
its area of effect. Jaguarundi is once again knocked unconscious as is the
Hornet Queen.
The Fat Lady fires at her friend, Roustabout,
and hits him with her sonic blast, but does little damage to his invulnerable
skin.
Jaguarundi, after once again being healed by
Quantum, wakes up and says, “I’ve been poisonified!”
“I’m afraid there is nothing I can do about
the poison, but I can heal you again,” says Quantum.
The sole remaining robot fires his tommy gun
at Dr. Tellner, striking the physicist in the chest and knocking him
unconsious.
Roustabout once again tries to blow up the
heroes, but Winged Victory intercepts his attack and absorbs the damage into
her Viridium Sword.
Feddy punches Roustabout, again doing minimal
damage to the invulnerable carny.
“Jaguarundi, are you alright?” asks Quantum.
“Yeah, I’ll be ok” says the Texan.
Quantum then flies over to the last robot
gangster and attacks it. She hits it but does not destroy it.
“You hit like my grandma!” says the robot.
Roustabout once again tries to blow up the
Vindicators but Vicky, who has been delaying, absorbs his damage once again.
Quantum finally smashes the last robot
gangster into tiny pieces. She then moves to Dr. Tellner and heals his gunshot
wound, saving him from bleeding to death.
Flat Man finally wraps his flexible body
around Roustabout, cancelling the Prophet’s control.
Jaguraundi takes more poison damage for two
more rounds but Quantum heals him again.
ISSUE 76: FREE LIBERTE! (Real date: 2-7-15)
FLASH-BACK ISSUE!
July, 1941 – At Laird
Manor, EXCALIBUR tells the heroes about a French Resistance fighter who was
taken by the SS. The team is to fly to France to help the Resistance. WINGED
VICTORY and DYNAMO are in the English country, visiting Carol Daily’s aunt, and
are unavailable for the mission.
Excalibur introduces
First Lieutenant Reginald Rafe Winton, a distinguished stage actor before the
start of the war, and currently a commando in the British Army. In addition to
being a good actor, Reginald speaks German, French, and Italian. It is his job
is to be the groups’ translator.
The ENIGMA, BRIMSTONE, the
GREAT MALINKO (a super-powered gypsy and Resistance member), and Lt. Winton fly
a glider plane to Gorse, France. The Enigma pilots the glider, landing roughly
near the trees outside the village of Gorse.
Enigma orders Brimstone
to hide the glider; he does so. The heroes then make their way to the
rendezvous point. The Enigma easily spots a dozen SS soldiers, two cargo
trucks, and a French family inside a farmhouse.
ENIGMA orders BRIMSTONE
to leap onto the middle truck and destroy the radio equipment that lies inside.
Brimstone complies, but he misses his leap.
Fight at the farmhouse.
Brimstone kicks a German cargo truck 30 feet into the air; when it falls it
lands on one of the SS soldiers. An SS Major threatens to kill hostages. MALINKO
fools the NAZIS using his illusion ability. The hostages are saved.
Brimstone miraculously
finds an SS soldier’s uniform that fits his large frame. MALINKO and Lt. Winton
also dress in NAZI uniforms. Winton wears the SS Major’s uniform. They commandeer
the cargo truck and head to Paris.
FLEUR-DE-LIS tells the
heroes they must find the traitor to find out where LIBERTE is being held.
Heroes travel to France
in a commandeered German truck. Lt. Winton uses his acting skill to get past
the first roadblock. He fails his acting roll at the second roadblock, but the
German soldier fails to notice his bad acting and lets the group through.
In Paris, FLEUR-DE-LIS guides
the heroes to the apartment of the traitor. Enigma locates the man, who is
sleeping in his second floor bedroom. Brimstone hell-fires the lock, and he, Lt.
Winton, and MALINKO silently enter the apartment. They move to the second
floor; once inside MALINKO Ice Blasts the traitor, threatening to freeze him
unless he tells them where LIBERTE is being held. The traitor tells them she is
being held in the Bastille.
The heroes drive in
their German cargo truck to the fortress. They drive by it several times while
Enigma scopes out the towers looking for LIBERTE. The heroes are forced to make
Luck rolls to avoid being stopped by the Germans.
Eventually, Enigma
spots LIBERTE. She is being tortured by HERR HAUPTMAN, a super-powered NAZI SS
officer, whose human head was transplanted onto a robot’s body by PROMETHEUS
SOCIETY scientists.
They get to the top of
the tower where LIBERTE is being held. They bust in, surprising and attacking
the German supervillain. For his first action, he hits an alarm button. A
klaxon begins blaring. Soon, a group of SS soldiers makes their way to the
tower and open fire on the heroes.
While the ENIGMA deals
with the guards, BRIMSTONE, MALINKO, and FLEUR-DE-LIS attack the villain.
Brimstone is hit with acid; he burns. Eventually, the villain is defeated. As
several dozen guards rush to the tower, the heroes escape.
Brimstone jumps into
the moat, removing the acid from his body. The ENIGMA flies FLEUR-DE-LIS to
safety.
MALINKO desires to have
a romantic relationship with LIBERTE. The American heroes make their way to the
French coast, where an allied submarine picks them up.
ISSUE 77: HAVEN MURDERS or…VENGEANCE is an Alien Word Called BIYARMA!
February, 1954: After saving HAVEN from nuclear annihilation at the hands of the fanatical PROPHET, the VINDICATORS are given lifetime passes to the resort facility by its Administrator, DRAALFA MUADO. The heroes have spent the last few days relaxing and taking in all that HAVEN has to offer.
When the Administrator is told about a suspicious murder, he
asks the heroes to come with him to the scene of the crime. On their way there,
the heroes and the Administrator engage is light banter…
Brimstone says, “I think you all should be prepared for the
Prophet. If he finds out HAVEN isn’t destroyed, he might come back! You need to
stockpile some gold… which is his only weakness – he can’t affect the stuff or
anything covered by it.”
“Thank you for your
advice!” says the Administrator.
“What does it cost to come to HAVEN?” asks Quantum.
“We have different tiers but typically our clients buy the
5000 credit package.”
“What is that in U.S. dollars?” asks Brimstone.
“I really can’t say,” says the Administrator.
“You’ve been monitoring the outside to make sure none of us
primitive Earthlings get in… right?” says Brimstone.
“No offense, but until recently you humans have been rather
uninteresting,” says the Administrator. “Ah…” says the alien as he comes to an
apartment door. “This is, or was, the living quarters of MALAK VANKAN. Unfortunately,
it is also the location of his demise.”
“And who was he?” asks Quantum.
“He was part of our organic security team” says the
Administrator.
“And what race is he?” asks Quantum.
“He is the same race as I – SLAORIEN.” says the Administrator.
“It seems the victim was killed by SKORVA…” says the
Administrator, nodding his head and looking very upset.
And what can they do?
“You’ve never heard of
SKORVA?”
“Remember, we’re ‘primitive’ Earthlings” says Brimstone.
“Yeah, where them SKORVA from?” asks Jaguarundi.
I believe they are from the planet called ZAAG-PHILANI…” says
the admin.
“ZAR-FILANY?” asks Jaguarundi.
“ZOG,” replies the Administrator. “The SKORVA are a vicious
insect species with steel-like mandibles.”
“ZOG-PHILANI… that sounds like some kind of Greek dish!” says
a grinning Jaguarundi.
“Wait here,” says Brimstone as he opens the door and enters
the domicile of the murder victim. The room is full of SKORVA. The body of the
murder victim has been mostly eaten. Agitated by the big hero’s presence, the
SKORVA begin to quiver. As they prepare to fly towards the big hero, he changes
his mind, and quickly leaves the room, shutting the door behind him.
“I thought about crushing the bugs…” says the big hero.
“Brimstone, what did you see?” asks Quantum.
“I saw a bunch of nasty bugs and a carcass” says the
disgusted-looking Brimstone.
“Administrator, how do you plan on clearing these things out?”
asks Quantum.
“Yeah, do you guys use fumigation?” asks Brimstone.
“We will use robots to clear out the SKORVA” says the
Administrator.
“How do you know this was a murder?” asks Quantum. “Maybe they
burrowed in from somewhere…”
“No, we believe they were brought into MALAK VANKAN’S domicile
via a box.”
“Does HAVEN have some sort of delivery service, like the
Postal Service?” asks Quantum.
“Or a sorts… our robots make deliveries” says the
Administrator.
“Then perhaps your robots have a record of who sent the box”
says Quantum.
“So, did you know the victim… what was his name?” asks
Brimstone.
“His name was MALAK VANKAN and yes, I did know him; I gave him
his job” says the Administrator with a sigh. “And yes, Quantum, we should have
records about this box.”
“Did he have any known enemies?” asks Brimstone.
“I don’t know… we were just acquaintances” says the Administrator.
Brimstone turns to Quantum and says, “What do you think… a
crime of passion or politics?”
“Nobody sends a box of voracious, flesh-eating bugs as a crime
of passion. No, this was purely some kind of insane, insidious, murder plot”
says Quantum.
“This is not my normal, uh, area of expertise. Perhaps you all
would take over this investigation” says the Administrator. “My last chief of
investigation I had to, uh, let go” says DRAALFA.
“Why?” ask Quantum.
“He was corrupt.”
“So… will you take up this investigation?” says the
Administrator. “I will give you the proper authority to carry out this duty.”
“A moment, if you please, Administrator” says Quantum, who
then falls into a deep trance. She asks the Universe “who sent the box of
SKORVA?” To Quantum’s dismay, however, the Universe responds with nothing.
“Find anything?” asks Brimstone, as Quantum comes out of her
trance.
“No, I received no answer. It’s very odd” says Quantum.
Robots then enter the domicile and begin fumigating.
“It should take two to four hours to complete fumigation” says
one of the robots.
Hours
later, the heroes return to the scene of the crime…
Jaguarundi takes Quantum aside and tells her “I don’t know how
to break this to you… Brimstone may be involved with the murder.”
“You need to re-adjust your nose!” says Quantum. I don’t see
how it’s possible without time travel…”
“Maybe Winged Victory is in on it too!” says Jaguarundi. I
don’t think we can trust either of ‘em...”
Quantum ignores Jaguarundi and beings searching the victim’s
computer system. She finds evidence that one PARMAD ELOK had some sort of
relationship to the victim.
“You, robot” says Quantum, as she points to one of the robots,
“What’s your name?”
“I have no name,” replies the robot.
“Then what is your designation?”
“K-10-17” replies the robot.
“I’m just going to call you ‘Katy’,” says Quantum. “What can
you tell me about the murder victim?”
“The murdered victim’s name is MALAK VANKAN. He was a member
of the HAVEN ORGANIC SECURITY TEAM” says the robot.
Meanwhile, Brimstone has been checking out the corpse: he
notices that the victim’s face is badly desiccated. He waves Winged Victory
over.
“How horrible!” says Vicky.
“Quantum,” says ‘Katy,’ “shall I send out a request for his
partner to be apprehended?”
“Who’s his partner?” asks Quantum.
“PARMAD ELOK” replies the robot.
“A partner in what?” asks Quantum.
“They are romantic partners” replies the robot. “Shall we
apprehend her?”
“You should at least break the news of his death” says Vicky.
“Winged Victory,” says Quantum, “why don’t you go talk to his
partner?”
“And Jaguarundi, why don’t you go talk to his family?” says
Quantum.
“Does he have any family?” asks Jaguarundi.
“None” replies Katy.
“I’m done!” says Jaguarundi with a broad smile. “It was a dead
end.”
“Can you give me a list of the last few security breaches he
was assigned to?”
“Yes, I can do that” says Katy.
“Robot Katy, is there any video surveillance of this
domicile?”
“Checking... Yes, there is exterior footage. Shall I play it?”
says Katy.
“Yes, please” says Quantum.
The heroes see a holographic display showing a robot deliver
the box, ring the doorbell, and then depart.
Quantum again uses her Cosmic Awareness to ask the Universe
“who is the killer?” Again, she receives no answer. She again tries her Cosmic
Awareness, asking: “Is Brimstone’s name Jake Everson?” This time, she gets
‘yes’ for an answer.
“Shall we take the corpse now?” asks Katy the robot.
“Yes, go ahead” says Quantum.
Winged
Victory travels to PARMAD ELOK’S living quarters where she informs the alien of
her lover’s death.
“How… what happened?” asks PARMAD.
“It was an assassination. Someone sent him a box of deadly
insects which killed him” says Winged Victory. “Do the insects sound familiar
to you?”
“No! Why should they?” replies PARMAD, who has started crying.
“Do you know of anyone who wanted him dead?” asks Vicky.
“No, not really” replies the alien, who suddenly seems
nervous.
“How did you meet him?” asks Winged Victory.
“We met here in HAVEN” says PARMAD.
“Have you known him long?” asks Vicky.
“Not that long. We met about six months ago.”
“I feel sorry for your loss” says Vicky, who then departs.
Meanwhile,
back at the scene of the murder…
“Robot Katy,” says Quantum “was there anyone else who had a
grievance against VANKAN?”
“Insufficient data” replies Katy.
“Were there any friends of the victim?”
“DRAALFA MUADO and MALAK VANKAN were friends” replies the
robot.
“DRAALFA MUADO? Who’s that?” asks Quantum.
“DRAALFA MUADO is the HAVEN Administrator” replies Katy.
“Jaguarundi, you there?” says Quantum.
“I am here” replies the Texan.
“Go talk to DRAALFA. He’s the only known associate, besides
his girlfriend, of the murder victim” says Quantum.
“Go to his apartment and search it?” asks Jaguarundi.
“Yes” says Quantum.
Quantum again asks the Universe if the Administrator had
anything to do with the murder of MALAK VANKAN. The Universe says “no.”
Jaguarundi
goes to the Administrator’s abode where he sniffs around and smells the odor of
an alien inside the apartment. Jaguarundi rings the “doorbell” and then runs
outside. He runs onto the roof and down onto a landing, where he checks two
doors, both of which are locked. He looks inside and sees a female SLAORIEN,
the same species as the Administrator. Jaguarundi goes back on the roof where
he tries another door which is also locked.
“Brimstone, tell the administrator that his wife is in danger
and that she should leave immediately!” says Jaguarundi.
“Administrator, I just got a call from my compatriot that your
wife may be in danger!” says Brimstone to the alien.
The Administrator says, “Wife? I have no wife. Do you mean my
daughter?” When Brimstone nods ‘yes’, the Administrator calls his daughter.
“My dear are you alright?”
“Yes, but something strange just happened: the doorbell rang
but when I opened the door no one was there” says the daughter.
Jaguarundi breaks into the admin’s house and begins searching
it. He doesn’t smell any SKORVA but he does smell the faint presence of the
murder victim, as if he was here weeks ago. He checks out the daughter’s room
but finds nothing of interest. He then hears robots approaching.
“Intruder, halt or we shall open fire!” says one of the robots
while pointing a blaster rifle at Jaguarundi.
“I’m Jaguarundi! Check your doohickeys and you’ll see that
I’ve been deputized by your Administrator!”
“Checking” replies one of the robots. “Status confirmed:
Jaguarundi, you are free to continue with your investigation.”
Look here, boys, we’re trying to find evidence connecting the
murder victim to anything in this house.” The lanky hero then goes into the
Administrator’s office and sits down in front of his computer. He figures out
how to turn it on.
“Quantum, I need to know the Administrator’s com-poo-tor
password.”
Quantum uses her Cosmic Awareness and the answer she gets is
‘LARASI’.
Jaguarundi then pokes around the computer, finding a letter
dated a year ago in which MALAK VANKAN asks his ‘old buddy’ DRAALFA for a job.
Jaguarundi then leaves the building and meets again with Quantum.
“Jaguarundi, how good is your nose?” asks Quantum.
Meanwhile…
“Hey Administrator!” says Brimstone.
“Yes, Brimstone, what is it?” replies the Administrator.
“What was, uh, what was he doing at your apartment two weeks
ago?”
“He?” says the Admin, who suddenly seems uneasy. “Who are you
talking about?”
“The victim” replies Brimstone.
“The victim?” asks the Admin, “Who are you talking about?”
“MALAK” says the big hero.
“Well, I suppose you should know: we served together, many
years ago, in a military unit” says the Administrator. “MALAK had come over to
ask for favors. He wanted a higher prestige job. But I refused because he was
bad at his job, I regret to say.”
“Jaguarundi, when I asked the first question, the Admin got a
little nervous” says Brimstone.
“He’s gonna find out I was pokin’ around his apartment” says
Jaguarundi. “I’m suspicious of the admin’s daughter, though I haven’t found a
connection yet.”
Later:
Jaguarundi and Quantum meet at the HAVEN Security building.
“Ah, Jaguarundi, here’s all of the collected evidence that the
security robots took. I’d like you to examine each one, particularly this box,
which I believe the insects came in…” says Quantum, “and see what you can find
with that amazing sense of smell you have.”
“Alright” says Jaguarundi.
Jaguarundi then takes a deep breath and smells the box really
well. He picks up a faint odor... “I got something” says the Texan.
Quantum activates her communicator and says, “Brimstone,
Winged Victory, follow our radio beacons as we track the box.”
Quantum closely follows Jaguarundi as he begins tracking the
scent. The trail leads the two heroes through HAVEN, into the spaceport, and up
to the dock of a spaceship named the “Stellar Spirit.”
“Well,” says Jaguarundi, “these bugs did come from outer
space: smells like Stellar Spirit!”
“Katy, can you tell me anything about this spaceship?”
“Affirmative: I am accessing the information now. The Stellar
Spirit is a Class II Cargo ship that arrived in HAVEN two weeks ago. It is
registered to Captain OSEN” says the robot.”
“What information can you give me about the captain?” asks
Quantum.
“He is an independent ship captain who owns his vessel, and
who makes intermittent trips to HAVEN” says Katy.
Jaguarundi turns to Quantum and says, “Should I smell for the
scent of the people we’ve encountered so far?”
“Yes,” says Quantum.
Jaguarundi does not smell the administrator, the daughter, or
the murder victim.
“Ok, nope” says Jaguarundi. “I don’t know what the connection
is.”
Quantum then asks the Cosmos “does the captain know that the
contents of the box were meant to murder someone.” Quantum receives no answer.
Quantum asks the Cosmos another question: “Why is Captain OSEN
called Capt. OSEN?” The answer she receives is: “That is his name.”
Captain OSEN agrees to be interviewed and allows the heroes to
enter his ship.
“I am about to depart HAVEN. What is this about?” asks the
captain.
“Did you know that you had a box on your ship?” asks Quantum.
“I carry many boxes on my ship” says the captain who is
clearly agitated. “I transport people and things. That’s what I do. You are an
uppity human! Why are you interrogating me as if I were some common criminal?”
“Maybe you ARE a common criminal…” says Quantum.
“You dare speak to me this way, human?” says the captain.
Robot ‘Katy’ interrupts and says, “Sir, this human, who is
known as Quantum, has been given full authority by the HAVEN Administrator to
investigate a murder. You should modulate your tone to one of respectful
compliance.”
“What? A human put in charge of an investigation in HAVEN!
Ridiculous!”
“This is our planet after all” says Quantum.
The captain, who is obviously very irritated at the situation,
says: “Fine! I’ll answer your questions. What is it you want to know?”
“Did you know the victim, MALAK VANKAN?”
“I don’t know what you are talking about!” thunders the alien ship
captain.
“There has been a murder. The victim’s name is MALAK VANKAN.
Did you know him?” says Quantum.
“No, I’ve never heard the name before.”
“I want you to check your cargo records. We want the
information you have on this box” says Quantum.
Capt. OSEN complies and checks the ship’s computer files.
“The box is listed as the property of BIYORMA” says the
captain. “Now, may I leave?”
“Do you have any other information on this BIYORMA: a picture,
an address, or anything else?” asks Quantum.
Robot Katy says, “Quantum, there are video logs of passengers
embarking and disembarking from space-faring vessels.”
“Ok, show them to me” says Quantum.
“Very well” says the robot, who then displays a two-week old
hologram. It shows the alien passengers disembarking from the ship and walking
down the landing walkway. One of the passengers is wearing a hooded, dark grey
cloak. The alien is clearly shaped like a humanoid but its face is hidden.
“This is BIYORMA?” asks Quantum. When Captain OSEN nods his
head she says, “Freeze the film there!” The alien is carrying a large box.
Quantum notices that a small area on the alien’s wrist is uncovered.
“Katy, zoom in on its wrist” says Quantum. As the camera zooms
in, the heroes can plainly see that the alien has light-blue skin. “Katy, can
you give me a list of aliens with light-blue skin?”
At this point, Jaguarundi pipes up and says, “Captain, have
you been parked here since that alien left your ship?”
“Yes” replies the captain.
“Take me to that person’s room” says Jaguarundi. When he
arrives he takes a good whiff around the cabin.
“I got a unique scent” says the lanky Texan.
Over their communicators they hear Brimstone say “Guys, a
second murder has just occurred… someone named CRUGE HEMAK. His body is here at
the EMPEROR’S CLUB.”
“One last question, captain” says Jaguarundi.
“What is it?” says the captain.
“What planet was this BIYORMA person from?”
“I do not recall” says the captain.
“That’s alright. They all got different life-support
requirements, right?” asks Jaguarundi.
“Yes.”
“Uh-huh. So, what were the special life-support requirements
of this person?” asks Jaguarundi. “I betcha you haven’t changed those settings
yet since you haven’t left HAVEN!”
“Nothing special” replies the captain.
“None at all?” asks Jaguarundi.
“None.”
Jaguarundi says, “You sure? Did you check? I didn’t see you
open no panels or check no T.V. screens…”
“Yes, I am quite sure” replies the captain, who has obviously
grown tired of the seemingly endless questions.
“Alright” says Jaguarundi, “I’m off to see if I can’t track
down this bee-yarma fella.” Jaguarundi then leaves the Stellar Spirit and runs off through the HAVEN spaceport. But as he
is heading through HAVEN, he loses the scent.
A little
bit later…
All of the heroes arrive at the EMPEROR’S CLUB, a den of
gambling and prostitution on the PARK ROMANA level of HAVEN. They are taken to
a booth where they see the body of the victim. After Jaguarundi once again
picks up the scent of BIYARMA at the club, he leaves the place and begins to
track the scent.
The owner, a female PERATONIAN, walks up to the heroes and
introduces herself as SATI, the owner of the club.
“May I help you gentlemen?” says SATI.
Robot Katy says, “SATI, these humans have been deputized by
Administrator DRAALFA in the matter of these murders. You must comply as best
you can with their requests.”
“Do you have any footage of the victim?” asks Quantum.
“Yes, of course” she says.
“Fine, let’s see it” says Quantum.
“Come into my office.” As the heroes follow SATI she looks at
Quantum and says, “You do not look human to me…”
“I’m not. I’m the superhero known as Quantum. I protect the
Earth and the Sol system.”
“Well, Earth does need a lot of protection, doesn’t it?” says
the alien with a smile.
“Here is video of the
last 24 hours. Where should I start?” says SATI.
“Let’s start with the reason CRUGE HEMAK was here” says
Quantum.
“CRUGE is… a regular” says SATI.
“And what does he regularly do?” asks Quantum.
“Well…”
“Does he have sexual relations with the girls” asks Quantum.
“Upon occasion” replies SATI.
“I see. I noticed that he is a SLAORIEN” says Quantum.
“Yes, indeed” replies SATI.
“Katy, are you with us?” asks Quantum.
“Yes, I am here” replies the robot.
“Can you give me any information on CRUGE HEMAK?” asks
Quantum.
“CRUGE HEMAK is a member of the HAVEN ORGANIC SECURITY TEAM”
replies the robot.
“Did he know MALAK VENKAN and… did he work for the
Administrator?” asks Quantum.
“Insufficient data” replies Katy.
“Can you give us his apartment address?” asks Quantum.
“I can take you to his domicile” replies Katy.
The heroes then watch the club surveillance video provided by
SATI. They see aliens coming and going from the club. They see CRUGE HEMAK
enter the club and then stop when a female approaches him. She gives him a
small device and he gives her some credits. CRUGE walks away, sniffing at the
device he has apparently just purchased. CRUGE walks to the back of the club,
sits down in a private booth, and then begins to twitch and jerk. Eventually,
he slumps over and lies still.
“You have quite the surveillance system here” says Quantum as
she looks at SATI. “Do you know what drug he took?”
“I can’t say that I do” replies the alien.
“Did you know that drugs are given to your patrons on a
regular basis?” asks Quantum.
“No,” says SATI, “I did not know that.”
“Katy, what was the name of the Haven Security Chief who the
Administrator recently fired?” asks Quantum.
“A’ANUR” replies the robot.
Meanwhile,
in a different part of HAVEN…
Jaguarundi has been tracking the scent of the SKORVA box. It
leads him to one of the numerous elevators that run along the outside “wall” of
HAVEN. Jaguarundi sniffs the elevator buttons and picks up the scent again. He
presses the Level 5 button and descends to the Desert Level.
Jaguarundi activates his communicator and says, “Jaguarundi
here. I’ve gone down to the desert level. Our box-carrier “BIYARMA” took the
elevator from the club down to the desert level.”
Brimstone replies to Jaguarundi and says, “Jaguarundi, did you
know that the former security chief was named A’ANUR?”
“Oh, boy…” replies Jaguarundi, “Don’t ever try to make me say
that name!”
“Good work, Jaguarundi” says Quantum.
“I could probably use some backup at this point” says
Jaguarundi.
Back at the club, SATI asks the heroes if they are done with
their investigation.
“Katy, will you summon the appropriate robots to take care of
this unfortunate individual?” asks Quantum.
“Of course, Quantum” replies Katy.
A short time later, “medical” robots arrive and take the
victim away. Brimstone, Quantum, and Winged Victory then travel down to the
Desert Level and join Jaguarundi. Jaguarundi, with his friends following him,
tracks the scent to an underground “bungalow.” The scent he is tracking ends at
a frost-covered door.
“Winged Victory,” says Quantum, “can you turn non-corporeal
and go through that door to see if it is a trap?”
Vicky responds to Quantum’s question by uttering the phrase E-Pluribus-Unum, turning into a ghost,
and walking through the door. Winged
Victory sees a small room that is covered in frost. Sitting in a chair, frozen
solid, is another SLAORIEN alien. She leaves the room and rejoins her
teammates.
“What did you find in there?” asks Quantum.
“It’s full of ice and snow and it appears that someone has
been frozen” replies Vicky.
“Brimstone, smash the door open” says Quantum.
The big hero complies, easily pushing the door open, despite
the fact that it had been totally frozen. The team then enters the room.
“Katy, who is this person… or do you have any records of who
this victim might be” asks Quantum.
“Of course, Quantum: accessing HAVEN records… this
individual’s name is G’LAL” says the robot.
“Who did G’LAL work for?” asks Quantum.
“G’LAL is part of the HAVEN ORGANIC SECURITY TEAM” replies the
robot.
“Who else has worked with G’LAL, CRUGE, and MALAK VANKAN?”
asks Quantum.
“Can you re-phrase that question” says the robot.
“Do you have records on any other co-workers that ever worked
with CRUGE, G’LAL, and MALAK at any time?” says Quantum.
At this point Quantum uses her communicator to once again
contact the Haven Administrator, DRAALFA MUADO.
The Administrator answers Quantum’s call and says, “Quantum,
how may I help you?”
“The first murder victim, MALAK VANKAN, you said you knew him
in the past?” says Quantum.
“Yes, we were friends together in the military long ago”
replies the alien.
“What military unit did you both serve in?” asks Quantum.
“We served in a unit we nicknamed ‘REIVERS’” replies the
Administrator.
“Did you know CRUGE, HEMAK, or G’LAL?” asks Quantum.
“Why, yes, I did know them” says DRAALFA.
“Did you give them jobs as well?” asks Quantum.
“Yes, I did: they needed jobs so I provided them” replies the
Administrator.
“This looks really bad, Administrator!” says Quantum. “Tell us
what heinous crime you performed while a member of the REIVERS!” demands
Quantum.
“The only thing I can think of is the time we had to leave
behind one of our soldiers on a hostile alien world…” replies the
Administrator. “But he was killed…”
“KOVAR was his name… he was SEFAVIRI while the rest of us were
SLAORIEN” says the Administrator.
“SEFAVIRI…” replies Quantum, “what do they look like?”
“They are humanoids with light-blue skin” says DRAALFA.
“Why didn’t you tell me this information earlier” asks
Quantum.
“Why should I?” asks the Administrator, “It didn’t seem
pertinent at the time.”
“Are you ashamed that you left KOVAR behind on the alien
world?” asks Quantum.
“Well, none of us were happy about it… but we didn’t have a
choice: he was dragged away!” says the Administrator with some heat. “He was
quite clearly going to be killed and there was nothing we could do about it!”
“Dragged away by whom?” asks Jaguarundi, who has been
listening in on the conversation.
“Some sort of fungal alien creatures” replies the
Administrator.
“Were they intelligent creatures?” asks Jaguarundi.
“Not that we were aware of…” says the Administrator, “but they
could not be harmed by any of our weapons...”
“Well, we may have learned the killer’s motive…” says Winged
Victory.
“Was that the planet them bugs came from?” asks Jaguarundi.
“SKORVA?” asks the Administrator, “No, no… they come from
ZAAG-PHILANI.”
“Did you bring back KOVAR’S body?” asks Jaguarundi.
“No, it was quite impossible” replies the Administrator.
“What race was this fella?” asks Jaguarundi.
“He was SEFAVIRI” says the Administrator.
“Are they blue?” asks Jaguarundi.
“Yes, they have light blue skin” says DRAALFA.
“Do we still have that movie footage of the box-carryin’
alien?” asks Jaguarundi.
“Yes” says Katy.
“Why don’t you show it to the Administrator?” says Jaguarundi.
K-1017
“shows” the video to Administrator DRAALFA.
“So… what am I to make of this?” asks the Administrator.
“That box carrier has light blue skin; he could be your old
pal KOVAR…” says Jaguarundi.
“How could that be possible?” replies the Administrator.
“What is the meaning of “BIYARMA” in the SEFAVIRI language?”
asks Jaguarundi.
Katy turns to Jaguarundi and says, “It means ‘vengeance’.”
“There you go!” says Jaguarundi.
“Good!” says Brimstone. “Now we know that SHE is the killer!”
“There’s no reason to believe the killer is a she” says
Jaguarundi.
Quantum says, “Administrator, are there any other members of
your former military unit to whom you gave jobs to here in HAVEN?”
“Yes, there is one more…” says the Administrator, “his name is
VILG.”
“We need to know exactly where he is at now” says Quantum.
Katy says, “Accessing HAVEN records… VILG works in the
Maintenance area, Level 10.”
“Katy, can you call this VILG and warn him he is about to be
attacked?” asks Quantum.
Robot Katy says, “Yes, Quantum. I am calling him now…”
Meanwhile…
Jaguarundi has already run to the nearest elevator and clawed his way through
its floor. He ran down to the Maintenance Level and found VILG, who is
thrashing about on the floor. Some sort of device had been attached to his
head, crushing it slowly… Jaguarundi uses his claws to slice the device in
half, causing it to fall off of the alien’s head. Jaguarundi then checks for a
pulse, finding the alien is still alive.
Jaguarundi gets on his communicator and says, “Found our
latest victim… I got to him in time and saved him. It looks like he’ll be ok
for a while.”
Jaguarundi
again tracks the killer’s scent, which leads him back to the elevators and
ultimately back to the Desert Level. He follows the scent into the desert where
he finds a house-sized, undulating, alien blob which forms a pseudo-pod and
strikes Jaguarundi, causing him biochemical damage.
Jaguarundi points at the creature and says, “No point
fightin’, BIYARMA, if that is indeed your name! My companions are gonna be here
soon, so you might as well give up!”
At this point, the other Vindicators show up.
Quantum says, “You, creature, surrender yourself!”
The creature says nothing, but Quantum’s communicator begins
beeping.
Quantum answers her communicator: “Yes?”
An obviously distressed Administrator says: “Quantum! My
daughter has been kidnapped! You were right: it is KOVAR! He taunted me, saying
that he is taking her to the desert.”
Quantum replies, “Well, we’re a little busy at the moment
fighting a giant, gelatinous monster in the desert!”
Jaguarundi says, “You heard KOVAR’S voice?”
“Yes, I am sure it was him” replies the Administrator.
“He said that I must appear or he will kill my daughter! I am
on my way.”
The heroes then spend the next few rounds trying to damage the
giant blob, but nothing they do has any effect on the creature. The Haven
administrator, DRAALFA MUADO, and two other aliens arrive at the scene of the
combat.
“So… you found my companion, did you?” says the
sinister-looking KOVAR RAASA, who is holding the arms of the Administrator’s
daughter, LARASI.
“Is that what it is?” says Jaguarundi. “It did smell like
you…”
“Very clever of you” says the alien.
“Alright, surrender now!” says Jaguarundi.
“There’s one more thing that must happen… DRAALFA must pay
with his life!”
“Well, DRAALFA’S not gonna pay with his life, so give up!”
says Jaguarundi.
“And who are you?” says KOVAR, staring at the heroes. “You are
the ones who have been interfering with my plans!”
“Well… yeah… but…” says Jaguarundi. “We thought ‘Vindicators’
was a little punchier!” cackles Jaguarundi. ‘The ones who interfered with my
plans’ don’t really fit on the side of our spaceship!”
At
this point Quantum flies down to KOVAR and attempts to wrestle away LARASI from
his grasp, which she fails to do. Due to her super speed ability, she quickly
tries again, this time pushing her strength. The second time she succeeds.
“Lookout, everyone, he’s super-strong” says Quantum, as she
begins flying away, the Administrator’s daughter in her protective grasp.
Jaguarundi runs up to the alien villain, assumes a full
defensive stance, and says, “You are under arrest, sir!”
Winged Victory then says, “Feddy, come help me!” She and Feddy
attack KOVAR but Vicky misses and Feddy fumbles, losing the rest of his turn.
“Ha!” says KOVAR RAASA.
Jaguarundi interrupts the villain and says, “I rescued your
last victim. Your crime-spree is over!”
KOVAR cries out in rage, screaming “Nooooo!” Tentacles spring
forth from KOVAR’S body, and as they lash out at the Texan’s body, they miss.
“Administrator, did you know he could do this thing?” asks
Jaguarundi.
“No!” says DRAALFA. “Until a few minutes ago I did not know
that he was alive!”
“Is this what the creatures on the planet where he was lost
look like?” asks Jaguarundi.
“Yes!” says the Administrator.
“How do you defeat them?” asks the Texan.
“That… was the problem. We could not defeat them!” replies the
Administrator. “They were immune to all of our weapons.”
At
this point, Quantum uses her Cosmic Awareness ability to ask a question: is
there a way to defeat this creature? The answer she receives is ‘drown it.’
Quantum activates her communicator and says, “Vindicators
listen up! Find as much water as you can and drown that thing!”
“What are we supposed to carry water in?” asks Brimstone.
“Use your imagination, Brimstone! Find water – that’s its
weakness” says Quantum.
“On the Desert Level?” asks Brimstone, as he is hit by a
tentacle of the blob, which injures badly burns his skin.
Winged Victory says, “The Swamp Level is below the Desert
Level. Maybe we should make a hole so the creature will fall through…” She then
attacks KOVAR RAASA with double slashing attacks, doing minimal damage to the
villain.
“Hold on, Vicky” says Brimstone, “I’ll go get the water!”
KOVAR turns to Winged Victory and says, “You should join us!”
Tentacles come from his body, striking Vicky, and transforming her into a slave
of the alien.
“Administrator, come with me!” says Jaguarundi as he grabs
him, hoists him onto his shoulders, and runs to the elevator.
“Hang on!” says the lanky Texan as he runs through a
ripped-open elevator door, runs along the wall and heads to the elevator
carrying his daughter, LARASI.
Jaguarundi operates his communicator and says, “Quantum, I’ve
got the Administrator and his daughter and I’m takin’ both of ‘em down to the
bottom level.”
“What’s your plan?” asks Quantum.
“The plan is to lure the creature to a level where there is
water!”
“What if they won’t follow?” says Quantum.
“Let’s hope I’m right!”
Brimstone
hops on Fuego and flies away, heading toward the Swamp Level of HAVEN.
Meanwhile Quantum has travelled to the GANGSTER Level to search for a water
tower. Eventually, Winged Victory throws off the spores influence and manages
to regain control of her faculties. She then turns non-corporeal, sinks through
the desert sand, and appears on the “swamp” level of Haven.
Jaguarundi tells the Administrator to get KOVAR on the phone
and get him to come to his location.
“KOVAR, this is DRAALFA… I’m here on Level Six... don’t you
want to come kill me?”
Jaguarundi says, “Administrator, are you willing to challenge
him to single combat? It won’t be single combat because you’re gonna lie, but
if you’re willing to lie we can help you out…”
The Administrator uses his communicator again and says,
“KOVAR, It is I, DRAALFA. I challenge you to single combat. Come to me on the
swamp level!”
“You think me a fool?” responds KOVAR.
“Yes, you are a fool! You’re a fool for coming back! I’m sorry
we did not try to save you… we thought you were dead!” says DRAALFA.
“I didn’t die, you fool! I gained god-like powers!” responds
KOVAR.
Jaguarundi says, “Administrator, ask him where he’d like to
fight and we’ll go there.”
“KOVAR, where would you like to meet so you can kill me and
your vengeance will be complete?”
“Come back to me then” says KOVAR.
Meanwhile…
Quantum has given up on her plan to carry a
water tower since it won’t fit through the HAVEN’S elevator shafts. Instead,
she flies to the frozen “bungalow,” the location in which the third victim was
killed by freezing temperature. She finds the device that caused the freezing
effect and re-engineers it to create a “condensation bomb.” Quantum then meets
up with the other Vindicators, who have reformed and are almost ready to fight
against the villain.
“Jaguarundi, take this device!” says Quantum. “It is a
condensation bomb and will generate roughly 10,000 pounds of water when you hit
this button. Throw it at KOVAR and make sure you hit!”
Jaguarundi takes the bomb, runs up to KOVAR RAASA, and throws
the “bomb” at him, hitting him with a critical, and dousing him with hundreds
of gallons of water! Tentacles and pseudo-pods begin flailing about as the
creature begins to dissolve, but he is not quite destroyed.
Brimstone then runs up to the creature and dumps the contents
of his makeshift metal cone, filled with water, over what remains of the alien.
The last bits of the creature dissolve away to nothingness.
Jaguarundi says, “Administrator, get your robots up here and
scoop up all this sand! It’s gonna have to be kept in a secure location for a
long, long time.”
“Or throw it into the sun…” says Brimstone.
As the heroes are basking in their well-earned victory over
the murderous alien hybrid, Quantum’s communicator begins to beep. When she
answers it, she hears laughter.
“Who is this?” asks Quantum.
“It is I, YABAK*!”
“Why are you laughing?” says Quantum.
“Because I have something that was once yours…”
“And what is that?” asks Quantum.
“The Vindicators’ STARJET and it will fetch me a pretty
penny!” gloats the alien.
THE
END
ISSUE 78: THE WORLD’S GREATEST FAN
PROLOGUEThe ROYAL SOCIETY, the world’s oldest scientific academy,
wishes to award Quantum the Copley Medal, their most prestigious award. In the
past, it has been given to scientists such as Ben Franklin, Louis Pasteur,
Charles Darwin and Albert Einstein. The Society would also like her to give a
speech about faster-than-light physics. Quantum agrees and she and Brimstone
travel to London, England.
QUANTUM’S PHSYSICS
The next day, Quantum stands at a lectern in the Society’s large hall, and gives a speech detailing her discovery of faster-than-light physics. At the end of her speech, the members of the Society give her a standing ovation.
Later, both heroes are given a tour of the Royal Society and are introduced to many of the society’s members, including Dr. William Frost. Hoping to please his daughter, Dr. Frost asks Quantum if she will spend some time with her. He says Brimstone is welcome to come as well.
“My daughter is a great admirer of yours, Quantum, she is your greatest fan” says the man.“I would be delighted to meet your daughter,” says a smiling Quantum.
FAN IS SHORT FOR FANATIC
That evening, Quantum and Brimstone arrive at Dr. Frost’s house in central London. Dr. Frost and his wife, Abigail – both with big smiles on their faces -- greet the heroes and invite them in.
“Karen,” says Dr. Frost, raising his voice so he would be heard, “they are here; come on down.”
A young girl, about fourteen wearing a powder-blue dress and sporting long black hair, walks down the stairs and over to the heroes.
“Hi, I’m Karen” says the girl who smiles at the heroes. “Quantum, you’re really famous and rich. I’m going to be famous and rich like you,” says the girl matter-of-factly.
Quantum looks at Brimstone and says, “Hello, dear. Well, I’m not really wealthy…”Interrupting Quantum, Karen Frost looks up at Brimstone and says “I want you to kill your friend.”
Dr. Frost, whose face is now ashen in color, says “I’m terribly sorry… we had no choice!”
STIFF UPPER LIP
Brimstone, now mind-controlled, swings at a surprised Quantum and connects. He knocks her through the wooden door and twenty feet out into the street.
The two heroes continue to fight for several rounds with Quantum trying to snap her friend out of his mind-controlled state. Failing to bring Brimstone back to his senses, Quantum decides to jury-rig an electrical device to shock Brimstone out of his controlled state.
Her impromptu invention completed, she flies over to the big hero and zaps him. Brimstone stops, shakes his head, and says “Thanks, Quantum, I couldn’t control myself. That girl is pure evil. What do we do now?”
“I have an idea. Listen…”
PARTY OF THE APES
Meanwhile, back in New York City… The millionaire debutante Carol Daily (a.k.a. Winged Victory) is giving a party at her posh penthouse apartment. Her friend, singer/songwriter Ira Klein (a.k.a. Jaguarundi) is providing entertainment to the guests. Suddenly, the door bursts open and a costumed woman and four 800 pound gorillas rush in.
“Well, well, well… if it isn’t the rich and fabulous!” says the masked girl with a smile. “Hand over your valuables if you don’t want to end up on the bad side of my pets!” Several of the female guests scream and there is a general panic amongst the shocked and terrified party-goers.
In the confusion Ira slips out a window and runs up to the balcony where he quickly changes into his superhero costume. Down in the apartment, the huge apes are systematically going from guest to guest, taking their cash, jewelry, watches, and other valuables, and throwing it all in a cloth bag that each carries.
After the gorillas have taken all of the guests’ valuables, the Gorilla Girl turns to Carol Daily and says, “Ok, toots, you’re coming with us…”
And as she says this, Jaguarundi bursts into the living room and exclaims in his thick Texas accent, “I’m sorry, ma’am, but I can’t allow you and yer hairy pets t’ get away!”
And with that said a big brawl occurs.
SKIVE TIME
Back in Jolly Old England, Brimstone returns to the Frost’s estate carrying Quantum’s limp body. As he drops her body in front the young Karen Frost, the girl says “Oh, good. You’ll make a nice pet, I think.”
“Grab her, Brimstone. I’m going to put our little Miss Frost out of action” says Quantum as she suddenly springs up. Brimstone grabs the girl while Quantum places a jury-rigged device on her head. “This should block your mental powers quite nicely.”
WRAPPING UP
In London, Brimstone and Quantum manage to defeat the future Motivator while in New York, Jaguarundi and Winged Victory defeat Gorilla Girl and her pets.
QUANTUM’S PHSYSICS
The next day, Quantum stands at a lectern in the Society’s large hall, and gives a speech detailing her discovery of faster-than-light physics. At the end of her speech, the members of the Society give her a standing ovation.
Later, both heroes are given a tour of the Royal Society and are introduced to many of the society’s members, including Dr. William Frost. Hoping to please his daughter, Dr. Frost asks Quantum if she will spend some time with her. He says Brimstone is welcome to come as well.
“My daughter is a great admirer of yours, Quantum, she is your greatest fan” says the man.“I would be delighted to meet your daughter,” says a smiling Quantum.
FAN IS SHORT FOR FANATIC
That evening, Quantum and Brimstone arrive at Dr. Frost’s house in central London. Dr. Frost and his wife, Abigail – both with big smiles on their faces -- greet the heroes and invite them in.
“Karen,” says Dr. Frost, raising his voice so he would be heard, “they are here; come on down.”
A young girl, about fourteen wearing a powder-blue dress and sporting long black hair, walks down the stairs and over to the heroes.
“Hi, I’m Karen” says the girl who smiles at the heroes. “Quantum, you’re really famous and rich. I’m going to be famous and rich like you,” says the girl matter-of-factly.
Quantum looks at Brimstone and says, “Hello, dear. Well, I’m not really wealthy…”Interrupting Quantum, Karen Frost looks up at Brimstone and says “I want you to kill your friend.”
Dr. Frost, whose face is now ashen in color, says “I’m terribly sorry… we had no choice!”
STIFF UPPER LIP
Brimstone, now mind-controlled, swings at a surprised Quantum and connects. He knocks her through the wooden door and twenty feet out into the street.
The two heroes continue to fight for several rounds with Quantum trying to snap her friend out of his mind-controlled state. Failing to bring Brimstone back to his senses, Quantum decides to jury-rig an electrical device to shock Brimstone out of his controlled state.
Her impromptu invention completed, she flies over to the big hero and zaps him. Brimstone stops, shakes his head, and says “Thanks, Quantum, I couldn’t control myself. That girl is pure evil. What do we do now?”
“I have an idea. Listen…”
PARTY OF THE APES
Meanwhile, back in New York City… The millionaire debutante Carol Daily (a.k.a. Winged Victory) is giving a party at her posh penthouse apartment. Her friend, singer/songwriter Ira Klein (a.k.a. Jaguarundi) is providing entertainment to the guests. Suddenly, the door bursts open and a costumed woman and four 800 pound gorillas rush in.
“Well, well, well… if it isn’t the rich and fabulous!” says the masked girl with a smile. “Hand over your valuables if you don’t want to end up on the bad side of my pets!” Several of the female guests scream and there is a general panic amongst the shocked and terrified party-goers.
In the confusion Ira slips out a window and runs up to the balcony where he quickly changes into his superhero costume. Down in the apartment, the huge apes are systematically going from guest to guest, taking their cash, jewelry, watches, and other valuables, and throwing it all in a cloth bag that each carries.
After the gorillas have taken all of the guests’ valuables, the Gorilla Girl turns to Carol Daily and says, “Ok, toots, you’re coming with us…”
And as she says this, Jaguarundi bursts into the living room and exclaims in his thick Texas accent, “I’m sorry, ma’am, but I can’t allow you and yer hairy pets t’ get away!”
And with that said a big brawl occurs.
SKIVE TIME
Back in Jolly Old England, Brimstone returns to the Frost’s estate carrying Quantum’s limp body. As he drops her body in front the young Karen Frost, the girl says “Oh, good. You’ll make a nice pet, I think.”
“Grab her, Brimstone. I’m going to put our little Miss Frost out of action” says Quantum as she suddenly springs up. Brimstone grabs the girl while Quantum places a jury-rigged device on her head. “This should block your mental powers quite nicely.”
WRAPPING UP
In London, Brimstone and Quantum manage to defeat the future Motivator while in New York, Jaguarundi and Winged Victory defeat Gorilla Girl and her pets.
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