Secret Origins: The Books of Magic

Times Past, 1951

Founding Fathers

by CSyphrett, with Martin Maenza

Earth-S:

A dark haired young man stood at the machine at the corner of the newsroom, checking out the piece of paper with typed information as it spooled out. “Holy Moley!” Billy Batson exclaimed as he read the ticker tape. The news he was about to read on the air distressed him greatly. “San Francisco was under attack by something!”

A few moments later, the young man was on the air, broadcasting the story across the airwave to all the radio listeners. As soon as his newsbrief was finished, he ducked out the door of the broadcast booth.

“Billy, where you going?” asked his program director.

“Uh, family emergency,” the boy lied. “Be back in a bit!” He hurried down the hall, but, instead of turning to the stairs, he ducked into a small storage room that contained a window. He closed the door tightly and opened the window. “No time to spare. Shazam!”

Out of the heavens, a bolt of magic lightning struck down and into the room, hitting the lad. In a blinding flash, he was gone.

In his place stood a tall, muscular man in a tight red costume with yellow trim and a cape. “Time to fly!” said the world’s mightiest mortal as he climbed out the window and took to the skies.

Captain Marvel, using the speed of Mercury, streaked across the country. “If the problem is a serious as what came over the wire, I hope I get there in time! It certainly sounded strange, indeed!”

In no time at all, the hero arrived in San Francisco. His eyes narrowed as something appeared on the horizon. “Good golly!” he exclaimed. “What’s that?” Something about ten stories tall and green had emerged from the bay and was poised to strike the hilly city.

“Time to throw that catch back!” the Captain said. All joking aside, he racked his brain using the wisdom of Solomon, trying to think of the best way to push the creature back into the sea without causing any injury or damage to the city.

Suddenly, the giant lizard opened its blunt snout and breathed out. Fire swept through the skyline like a hot knife through butter. The spines on the monster’s back glowed with the discharge.

“Oh no you don’t!” Captain Marvel swept in under the creature’s lower jaw, his fist wound back. His punch struck upward with all the strength of Hercules and power of Zeus. The maw snapped shut as the creature staggered backwards from the blow. “Looks like the direct approach is best after all!”

Reptilian eyes regarded the small flying object circling about its head. The creature lunged several times at the annoyance, trying to bite it in half with its powerful jaws and razor sharp teeth. The red thing, however, hovered just out of range. The creature stared at its small enemy malevolently.

Captain Marvel squared off against his large problem. That thing has shrugged off my mightiest blows with a few shakes of its head, the hero thought. He looked about. A section of the city was on fire. People were panicking in the streets. I have to stop this now!

Marvel soared to where the beast’s giant tail crushed parked cars in the street. “That’s enough!” he shouted as he grabbed the end of the tail. The creature let out a mighty roar. He ignored it and flew upwards as fast as he could. The sudden yank caught the monster off-guard.

“If you didn’t like that, you’ll really hate this!” The world’s mightiest mortal swung the creature by its tail, around and around. The monster roared and flailed but Marvel’s grip was firm. “You want me to let go? OK!” He let loose his grip and hurled the giant lizard out to sea.

Now for the fires! Marvel had at least a minute to put out the fire, hopefully, before the monster could make its way back to shore. The hero spiraled over the cold waters of the bay at his top speed, creating a waterspout that he then drew into the air. Then he swept it down on the fires, putting the majority of the flames out. Then he quickly snuffed the rest of the flames out with loud claps of his hands. Luckily no one was hurt by the battle so far, he thought. I better deal with that big palooka before it can get back here to cause more problems.

Captain Marvel flew out across the bay just as the monster was raising above the waves once more. His enemy breathed fire at him with a thunderous roar. The speed of Mercury was enough for him to avoid the outburst of flame.

“Back you go!” The world’s mightiest mortal slammed against the giant bipedal lizard, dumping it on its back in the water. Captain Marvel took a deep breath and dove into the ocean. His opponent was off-balance, and the hero wanted to press the advantage. He slipped underneath the huge body and lifted the creature into the air.

The water displaced around them and dripped off the massive form as he flew high in the air with the struggling animal. “Just calm down!” the hero said. Captain Marvel headed west over the Pacific Ocean. He recalled, as Billy, the reported sightings of the creature. Now that he had subdued the menace, all he had to do was backtrack along its original path until he found where the creature had come from.

I hope this baby is a natural but unheard of anamoly, he thought. The idea of someone like Sivana growing such a thing is unsettling, to say the least.

***

Earth-Four:

A handsome, tall man wearing a turban walked confidently down the streets of San Francisco’s famed Chinatown. Yarko the Great was often visited this city and the immediate area around it. People waved at him as he passed, recognizing him instantly. They honor me with their well wishes, he thought. It fills my heart greatly.

Something hissed in the air, drawing Yarko’s attention. What was that? He quickly scanned the neighborhood for the source of the noise. He looked first left and then right. Nothing obvious in the streets. He looked to an alleyway.

Black shadows shimmered and moved, coming together as black garbed figures. They moved out into the street and blocked his path. “What is this?” Yarko said aloud.

The shadow warriors did not respond with words. Instead, they let fly a barrage of fiery throwing stars. As Yarko charged forward, some of the deadly projectiles shattered the shows of nearby windows.

“Do not think I will let you get away with wanton acts!” the hero cried.

Several of the shadow demons responded by pulling flaming swords from out of thin air. The embers danced where eyes should be in the featureless faces of the ninjas. They stood on guard, awaiting the man’s attack.

Yarko gestured with his two hands. Mystic, glowing letters appeared before him as he uttered an incantation. The symbols drew the fire from the shops into a blade that appeared in his hands. “I shall fight fire with fire!” He fell into an on guard position with his glowing sword sparkling in the evening light.

The ninjas started forward, swinging their blades. He warded off one blow with his own weapon, and then another. He moved in anticipation of the attacks, but the shadow men were much more skilled with a blade than he.

“Yaaaaah!” he cried out as one swipe of their weapons caught his arm. Yarko realized very quickly that he needed to change the odds in this fight if he were to survive.

With sword in one hand, Yarko bent down and carved a symbol in the asphalt with his free hand. He then stepped on it and waited patiently. By challenging them with their own flames, I hope to keep them focused on me, he thought. But they will continue to attack. Something drives them! Some unseen force!

Still, Yarko had seen their type before. They only know attack and defense. They do not know guile. At least, he hoped, his hypothesis was true.

The shadow fighters surrounded the mighty magician, stalking him and waiting for his next move.

That’s it! Closer! he thought, waiting.

The shadow warriors moved in for the kill.

Yarko stabbed the symbol he stood upon with his flaming sword. Light flared from the ground and wrote on the shadows, wrote them out of existence with broad strokes of an unnatural brush! There was a wild, horrid hiss as they faded from view. Yarko smiled. “I love how well that trick works.”

***

Earth-X:

A reddish-blonde haired woman dressed in a sparkly costume bowed on the stage to a round of applause. “Thank you, thank you,” she said to the crowd of inlisted men and others gathered to see her perform. She stepped off the stage and started to head for her dressing room.

A man in a uniform approached her, some flowers in hand. “These are for you, Miss Margo,” he said shyly.

Margo the Magician leaned in and gave him a peck on the cheek. “You’re sweet,” she said, accepting the gift. She then headed for her dressing room of the make-shift theatre to change out of her performing dress.

I’ll miss doing the USO shows, Margo thought to herself later as she walked down the street. I have a number of other bookings across the country, but its so satisfying performing for our fighting forces. The war with the Nazi scourge continued to drag on. No one knew when it would ever end. Even with folks like the Freedom Fighters helping out, those Nazis still manage to keep in power. Will we ever see peace in my lifetime?

Margo walked towards the guard checkpoint for the Presidio, gave the soldier a little wave as she passed, and headed into the city proper. She decided it best to concentrate on her next booking instead of heavy things such as the war.

As she walked down the blackened streets, her shoe heels clacked against the cobblestone walk. In the distance, a ship horn sounded. Fog was rolling in off the bay.

Margo suddenly was a chilled, and she pulled her jacket collar tight. A feeling came with the fog. Strange, she thought. Then she felt a tugging, a calling of sorts. Something was landing at the wharf, something that hated living things!

I don’t know what to make of this, she thought, but its too strong a sensation to avoid! Margo hurried down to the ocean. Her magic was more than smoke and mirrors as some assumed; this lady was more than a mere stage performer. She possessed real magical talents, and she felt she would be needed to draw upon all of them soon. Whatever called to her seemed strong and evil!

She paused when she saw a pair of glowing eyes approach along the street. A silver fish hook glinted in the waning light from a street lamp. “Who are you?” Margo called out in a commanding voice.

***

Earth-Two:

Doctor Occult, dressed in a brown suit, white shirt and dark tie, looked out of the window of his office in New York. He stared off into space, concentrating on something. Something brushed gently against my mind, he thought. The feeling brought up his mental shield urgently. I need to look into this!

The handsome, dark haired man pulled the symbol of the Seven from his jacket pocket. It was a talisman of great power, one which he had learned over the years to wield well. He concentrated on the feeling, letting the power of the Seven amplify and lock onto it. The West! He crossed over to the coat rack in the corner and pulled on his tan trenchcoat and white fedora. Once completed, he invoked the power of the Seven once more and opened a mystical doorway before him.

Doctor Occult stepped into the astral plane, crossing the intervening distance from Manhattan to California almost instantly. He appeared in Golden Gate Park. San Francisco! he thought. Its been awhile since I was last here.

He frowned slightly as he searched for the source of the probing emminations. It should be around here somewhere. He turned. The woods perhaps?

Sudden waves of emotion washed over him, waves which battered him down to his knees. “Aaaaaaagh!” Occult groaned. He tried to stand against the flood of mental battering; the waves increased, driving him against a nearby tree. What is this?

“Hello, Doctor,” said a voice with a mental echo. A pale woman stepped into view. She held a single flower in her right hand. “My name is Rosa. I wish to make all of you part of me. I will be gentle if you submit willingly, but things can go very harshly if you refuse.”

Doctor Occult had met a number of strange individuals in his time investigating the occult. This newcomer did not throw him in the slightest. He pushed himself to his feet, holding himself up with his back against the tree. “You’re just a vampire,” he stated. “And I only have one use for vampires.”

“Defiance,” Rosa sneered, as she glided forward. “I guess that is to be expected.”

Doctor Occult waited until she was in arm’s reach before drawing out the symbol of the Seven. “Always expect the unexpected,” he said as he pressed it against her face when she tried to press her lips to his.

“Skkaaaaaaah!” Rosa hissed. She tried to recoil from the burning touch, but the mystic detective held her head in place with his other hand until her struggles ceased. A column of smoke and a flash of light marked her passing.

***

Earth-One:

An African man with a close-cropped beard and mustache and dressed in a suit stood on the deck of a Navy battleship. The sailors thought this black man with his strange accent an odd passenger but kept their distance. This man named Doctor Mist was rumored to be a man of magic, though most wondered if it were true or not.

Doctor Mist held onto the rail and stared out across the water through a pair of binoculars. He frowned slightly as he spied his goal. Grim Island! he thought. He then turned to the uniformed man standing next to him. “What do you expect me to do, Captain Stewart?” Doctor Mist asked.

Toby Stewart, a high ranking naval official puffed on his cigar. “Gareth Gallowglass has gone nuts, and we want you to go in and pull him off of that rock,” explained the captain. “He’s been there for the last three years, and we’re stumped on what else we can do.”

“I don’t understand,” said Mist, perplexed. “You say a 12-year-old boy has prevented the United States Armed Forces from pulling him off an isolated island in the middle of the Pacific for three years? What about his mentors, the Sentinels? Surely they could reason with the boy.”

“The Sentinels were killed when the island appeared,” said Stewart. “Let’s go down to the briefing room, and I’ll lay the whole thing out for you.”

“Let’s do that,” agreed Mist. The two men crossed the deck and descended to the level below.

Shortly, they sat at the small briefing table. Captain Stewart placed a file on the table in front of him, and Doctor Mist opened it, scanning the contents quickly. There were some photos and a few typed reports marked ‘official’ and ‘confidential’. He shut the folder again when he was done.

“The Sentinels were killed by an Army captain, who then had every bone in his body broken by the Sentinels’ mascot. The mascot took over the ground where his friends died. When the Navy was called into deal with the problem, the use of force was out of the question, because you can’t get close enough before the mascot does something with the expanding mental abilities he possesses,” Doctor Mist summarized the information he had read.

“That’s it in a nutshell,” agreed Stewart, “except the problem has gone beyond pulling the boy off the island. He has started affecting shipping all over this part of the ocean! The President wants it stopped any way we can.”

“What if we can’t?” asked Doctor Mist.

“An above ground nuclear test will be conducted over the island that will kill him, high enough that he won’t be able to stop the bombing,” said Stewart solemnly. That was an extreme measure, and one he was not particularly fond of.

“Are you sure about that?” asked Doctor Mist.

Stewart was silent.

“Captain?” said the executive officer, Bridges. “We have an anomaly coming at us from the target!”

“Anomaly?” asked Stewart.

“A waterspout that sprang up from nowhere!” reported Bridges.

A few moments later, Doctor Mist stood on the battleship’s top deck. He shifted uncomfortably in the expensive, Italian-made suit he wore as he regarded the approaching menace on the water. In this type of situation, mixing with prejudiced white soldiers, it was best if he was thought to be a king of some African kingdom or something, though that was not far from the truth. He was shown much more respect when dressed this way than when wearing his traditional outfit. There’s no doubt of the unnaturalness of the waterspout! he concluded. In fact, he thought he heard some type of laughter in the spout’s roar and saw eyes glaring at him in anger on its spinning surface.

A lightning bolt ripped from the top of the spout and crashed against the ship. It has to be the boy’s doing! Doctor Mist held one hand up and recited an ancient incantation, using the smallest fraction of his power, though it was distasteful to him; in any other case he would use agents working on his behalf rather than intervene directly. The rough sea around the boat calmed, and the wind redirected away from them. Protecting the ship is easy! Stopping that will be the challenge! He frowned at the task before him.

The ancient mystic brought his hands together in a loud clap. A silent wave of energy leapt from his hands and projected out to the water spout. The water sprayed away from the impact.

What’s this? Doctor Mist thought as he saw a tiny humanoid fly from the other side of the halting funnel. As the figure did so, the phenomenon collapsed in a swift rain on the ocean.

Doctor Mist glared at the small spirit floating above the Pacific. There’s the culprit! He ignored his wet clothing and discomfort in order to bring a portion of his considerable mental prowess to bear upon the elemental.

The creature waved its arms in the air as if summoning a person to its side. It seemed surprised when nothing happened. It glanced at Doctor Mist, then shook its tiny fist in anger at the magician.

Doctor Mist smiled thinly as he held out his hand. “Come to me!” he commanded.

The spirit floated to a landing in the palm of his hand. The two regarded each other silently.

“Release me, mortal scum!” the spirit finally shrieked in outrage, its voice like nails on a blackboard.

“Answer my questions, and I will think about it,” said Doctor Mist cooly. He wiped the water from his face with a handkerchief as he waited for the spirit to make its decision.

“What do you want to know?” the pale thing finally said sullenly.

“Let’s start with the obvious things, like who you are and why you tried to sink this ship, the Defiant,” said Doctor Mist. “Then we can talk about who summoned you and what is really going on here, beyond a strange island and a mad boy. How does that sound?”

“Do I get a choice?” asked the spirit.

“No.”

***

Earth-X:

Margo the Magician raised her hands to defend herself. Before her, from the fog, came skeletal figures in tattered clothing, each brandishing rusted weapons as they advanced up the darkened street. They sliced their blades at mailboxes and lamp posts as they passed, the weapons easily tearing through the metal.

“You boys mean some serious business,” Margo said, backing up to keep a distance from them. “But then again, I’m not some innocent flower you can just mow over!” The magician gestured with a slashing motion of her hand before her.

The leading pirate fell apart as if taken out by some kind of invisible blow; its cracking bones clattered against the asphalt. The other revenants saw their comrade fall and then focused their eyeless sockets back on the maiden. She felt their rage, the fog swelling up behind them. The cloud reached for her to obscure her movement.

I hadn’t counted on that! she thought. Margo knew she could not let them surround her. That would stretch my ability to defend myself! Even though they might not be able to see me, I couldn’t see them to attack either!

Margo the Magician raised one hand, finger snapping a flame to life. “How’s about we play some ball, boys!” She hurled the sphere of flame into the spectral fog, igniting it with her magic. It became a cloud of fire all the way back to the Pacific. The skeletons thrashed about in it, igniting as well! “Back to Davey Jones’ locker for you knaves!”

Margo waited for the fog to burn away before walking down to the water front. Those skeletal sailors could have easily been an Axis plot, she thought, though where would Hitler and his cronies get such mystical power! They reeked of something more ominous than the German forces. She looked out in the bay, feeling with her mind the direction she needed to travel.

The young woman, when she felt she had a good lock on what she sought, reached down into the ocean and scooped out a handful of water. She poured the water slowly at her feet so that it formed a nearly round puddle. She then etched a line around its edge with her finger. The water stayed within that circle. Good, she thought, the spell having taken hold.

Margo stepped into the puddle calmly. She sank out of sight in an instant, disappearing into its sudden depth.

When her top hat vanished completely, the puddle contracted until only a drop remained. Then that too faded.

Margo stepped out of the ocean, completely uneffected by her sudden trip through the watery realm, onto a large rock. Where am I now? she wondered. The rest of an island loomed above her. She scooped up some more water and threw it into the air. A misty staircase formed from the falling droplets, leading upwards away from the small waves that beat angerily against the rocky shore.

“Up I go!” Margo began to climb.

***

Earth-Four:

Yarko the Great arrived at his destination after taking a few minutes to make sure all of the shadow ninjas were gone, and descended to a dimly lit cellar. This was a sacred area where the locals communicated with a wise entity called the Jade Goddess. She will know about those things and where they came from, he thought.

Yarko knelt respectfully on the bambo mat in front of the jade statue. He placed his hands together and silently beseeched the statue to become the vessel for the Goddess.

“Hello, my son,” the statue said in a woman’s voice, echoing from a distance beyond. “What problem has attracted your attention this time?”

Yarko elaborated. “A type of Black Hand has struck tonight, trying to burn parts of Chinatown down. I wish to know the source of the problem so that it may be dealt with immediately.”

“What you seek lies in the west towards China,” said the Goddess. “Something is growing there.”

“I will leave right away,” said the mystic with a bow. “Thank you for your assistance.” The Jade Goddess fell silent.

Yarko the Great stood unsteadily. He walked to the steps and ascended to the main part of his house again. He needed to make preparations and then find the means to travel to the source. He didn’t expect the problem to be resolved without his intervention.

***

Earth-Two:

Doctor Occult held up the symbol of the Seven in his hand. A small wave swept out from the disc. There is the presence of others in the park, he thought. They fled from him in panic.

I should hunt them down, he thought, but I wonder where they are coming from. Occult decided to search for the origin first. If I stop them at the place of origination, then I can come back and chase the small rodents down. Maybe get Rose to help with that. Two heads are better than one.

He concentrated on the red talisman of power. Occult felt it tug further to the West. Something out in the ocean. And it’s building in strength! He gathered that soon it would be reaching for the world.

Occult frowned. Now that Fate had retired, the Spectre had disappeared years earlier, and the JSA had disbanded, he knew it was up to him.

I pray this is the right way to go, Occult thought. I hope I’m not jumping out of the frying pan and into the fire. He stepped into the astral plane and traveled instantly across the weird dimension to Hawaii.

Occult took another bearing with the symbol and stepped again. He didn’t look around at Sydney, Australia, before stepping again to arrive at his goal. “Ah, the joys of magical triangulation!”

***

Earth-S:

The red and yellow form of Captain Marvel flew over the Pacific Ocean, the struggling burden trailing behind him. His eyes narrowed. “Holy Moley, what’s that?” He saw another winged monster approaching from an island ahead. “Great, just what I need!”

With a thought, he made his decision. The hero whirled about and then threw his monster at the other one that approached. Both monsters crashed into the water off shore of the volcanic rock. “Strike!”

The lizard climbed out of the water as his new opponent flapped a tidal wave onto him with massive wings. A giant primate appeared from a cleft in the rock face of the volcano. The creature seemed to be back among its own kind and it focused its efforts now to battle the other larger creatures instead.

“Poor thing was just lost,” Captain Marvel concluded. Still, he took the time to make sure the place was a natural home for the beasts before flying back into the air. “I’ll have to alert the Navy to avoid this little ‘monster island’. Still, I wonder what would make the giant lizard leave the nest.”

Another island was a small dot on the horizon nearby. Only eyes as good as Captain Marvel’s could see the other place at that distance; an ordinary man would need a telescope at the top of Monster Isle’s smoky peak to catch sight of this other place.

Perhaps I better go check that place out too, he thought, since I’m out here anyway. Captain Marvel flew on, hoping the answers he sought were within reach.

A display of burning air greeted him as he flew towards the smaller land mass. Captain Marvel smashed through the specter, shattering it into fiery ribbons. “This just gets weirder and weirder! If someone doesn’t want me looking around here, then I better see what’s going on!” He landed on the island just as a man in a tan coat and white fedora stepped out of thin air.

***

Earth-Four:

Yarko the Great went down to a dock on the bay. He pulled a piece of paper out from under his coat and traced the symbol for boat on the paper with his finger. Then, he threw the paper on the water with a flick of his wrist.

Smoke erupted from the paper when it touched the sea. A wooden junk formed from the smoke with white sails unfurling from its multiple masts. The symbol for wind was a black mark on the hanging cloth.

Yarko smiled as he jumped from the dock to the deck of the junk. As soon as his feet touched the wood, the sails filled and the boat began to drift from the shore. Yarko grabbed the rudder, steering the craft away from the city. He bent down and inscribed swiftly on the deck with his finger. The junk began to fly across the water with preternatural speed.

Soon Yarko came across a piece of land on the horizon. I sense this is the place, he thought, recalling the sensations and images that filled his head when talking with the Jade Goddess. He dropped the anchor on the boat just off shore.

Yarko tossed a card onto the water, and a small gangplank formed. He stepped on the magical creation and walked over to the shore. I wonder what I will find at this strange journey’s end.

Just then, Yarko noticed a man in a red suit with a lightning bolt emblazoned on his shirt dropping from the sky. He landed near another who appeared as if from out of thin air. Very interesting, Yarko wondered. He did not sense any evil from the two, so he approached them. Perhaps they might know of those threats who attacked Chinatown.

***

Earth-One:

The water elemental, realzing that Doctor Mist’s magic had him suffiently held captive, began to spill what he knew.

“You see, the one in charge has gotten a taste for this reality. When this Valdemir guy proposed his deal, the chief went for it. So he pushed some of Hell over here to show he was carrying out his part of the deal. Valdemir sent these heroes to seal everything up. Everything should have been downhill from there, but the guys Valdemir sent didn’t all get killed like they were supposed to. That atomic converter guy blew himself and his buddy up before we could do them in. The chief was hopping mad. Talk about losing your cool. Here he was with a small piece of real estate in the real world, and no way to get to it and no way to pull it back. What could he do?”

“Then this kid comes into the picture,” said the imp. “He’s made to order. Bitter, angry, hates humanity. He’s also a natural psionic that’s growing in power day by day. All the chief needs to do is get a little assist, and the world is our oyster.”

“The boy hates you too,” said Doctor Mist, not quite smiling.

“With a passion,” said the imp. “No one can get near him before their heads pop like a squished grape. Even top dogs like rhymers. I never seen anything like it.”

“If he is opposing you, why did you cause the waterspout out here?” asked Doctor Mist.

“First off, he’s not really against us, and no way am I giving him a chance to pop my head,” said the imp. “Second, the chief said we can still have fun as long as we stay clear of the kid. So we are. We’re heading for any place away from there we can.”

“I see,” said Doctor Mist.

Captain Stewart interupted the discussion between the man and the little creature. “Doctor Mist, there’s something going on over there!” the naval officer announced, pointing at a small group that had assembled seemingly from nowhere on the island.

Doctor Mist took the binoculars from him and put them to his own eyes. As he watched, a lady in a woman’s suit and top hat walked up. “Hmmmmm. I think I should attend the gathering,” said Doctor Mist. “And, I’ll take my small impious friend with me.”

“What will you need from me?” asked Captain Stewart.

“Time,” said Doctor Mist. “Maybe a few prayers would help too.”

The ancient mage stepped into the air and floated across the water to Grim Island. “Don’t get any funny ideas,” he warned the captive held in his hand. Doctor Mist sensed the potential in these newcomers as allies. Hopefully the task ahead will be easy enough to accomplish without my direct help. Perhaps as simple as asking the boy to leave the island for a time.

The imp shivered in his hand as if sensing something that scared even it.

Maybe it won’t be easy after all, Doctor Mist thought as he joined the four other heroes.

The group exchanged introductions and began to compare notes with one another. The imp in Doctor Mist’s hand laughed at their descriptions of the various menaces. “See, I told you!” it cackled. “The creatures are reaching out to the various Earths. Its the work of my brethren as they try to establish a better foothold.” None of the heroes were as amused as the wispy goblin.

“Let’s talk to this Gareth Gallowglass and see about unmaking this place,” said Margo, deciding that the men would merely keep analyzing the problem to death.

At this the imp started rolling in Doctor Mist’s palm in a paroxysm of renewed laughter. “Talk…to Gallowglass? Ha ha ha ha ha!”

“We will talk to him,” Doctor Occult said firmly. “Your little friend obviously doesn’t think that much of our chances of persuading him to leave, Doctor Mist.”

“I don’t either,” Yarko the Great said solemnly.

“How can you say that?” Margo asked.

“From what Doctor Mist here as said, this boy has suffered a betrayal and will look upon us as a threat to his solitude,” Yarko explained his position, “especially in light of what this world’s government has done in effort to seize him and this island. He will attack us.”

“Let’s do what we can peacefully,” said Captain Marvel. “Maybe we’ll get lucky, and he’s not as bad off as we think.”

“Hold on!” balked the imp, suddenly serious. “I am not going anywhere near that monster!”

“Where I go, you go,” said Doctor Mist.

The five heroes made their way through the brush. The mystic heroes took turns using their powers to remove obstacles from their way while Captain Marvel guarded the flank. Eventually, they found a teenager sitting in a scorched area, a book about the size of a Gideon Bible cradled in his hands.

“Gareth Gallowglass, I presume,” said Doctor Occult.

The man looked up. His one blue eye was as fierce as a bird of prey in his thin, 15-year-old face. Where the other eye should have been was a festering hole leaking pus. His brown hair had grown long and tangled over the three years he had lived on the island.

“Do we really want to be here?” the imp whispered nervously.

“Gareth?” asked Margo the Magician softly. “We have to talk to you.”

“Go away,” the boy tiredly said. “Get off my island.”

“You can’t stay here alone, Gareth,” Margo said, gently hoping a woman’s touch would do the job. “You are causing things to happen, and not just on this world but on four others. This place needs to be put back where it belongs.”

“This is my home,” said Gallowglass, getting to his feet. “I won’t leave it.”

“We’re not giving you a choice, son,” said Doctor Occult. “You are becoming a danger to our Earths and to yourself. We have to put an end to it!”

“Poor choice of words,” the imp commented. Doctor Mist could only agree as Gallowglass’s power angrily manifested across the visible and invisible spectrum.

Yarko the Great was prepared for this turn of events. He wrote the symbol for wall in the air as the world exploded around them. He felt a hand on his shoulder, another will joining his to form a shield from Gallowglass’s sudden fury.

“Holy Moley,” Captain Marvel exclaimed, shielding his eyes from the glare.

Gallowglass advanced on the five, light spilling from his empty eye socket. His hair floated around him as pieces of the ground and small rocks began to levitate in the influence of his aura. “I warned you to leave! Now, I will make you go!”

Gotta buy us some time, Doctor Mist thought. He hurled the imp at the psionic as a distraction.

“What are you doing?” the imp cried out as he flailed through the air.

Doctor Mist, meanwhile, tried a simple sleep spell to end the fight before someone was seriously hurt.

The imp, meanwhile, decided it had to help itself. It grabbed air in its vaporous hands, and suddenly a tornado roared down on Gallowglass, spitting dirt and debris as it moved forward. “Oh, the glory I will receive for destroying the likes of you!” the imp cried.

Gallowglass paused as Doctor Mist’s spell struck. “A sleep spell? Oh please!” Then he sliced his hand through the air. A wave of energy swept over the heroes and the tornado.

The funnel of air shattered as the imp was thrown against the ground. It impacted so hard that the imp became a puddle of white liquid. The magicians were thrown off their feet, Yarko’s shield coming apart under the strain. Only one stood firm against the assault, the strength of Hercules and the resolve of Achilles at his command.

Captain Marvel lunged forward, trying a gentler punch at first. He hoped to knock the boy out without using too much force.

“Get away from me!” he heard.

With a wave of a hand, the costumed champion went flying backwards. Marvel’s body dug a trench along the beach, his head hurt from the sudden whatever had been used on him. Time to take off the kid gloves, Marvel thought as he took flight again.

***

In the brush nearby, moments before, a platinum blonde woman fell to the ground hard as she materialized from thin air. “Ooooof!” she cried. Abby Cable got painfully to her feet, still weak from her recent illness.

She took a quick assessment of herself. Those fireballs had burned marks in my clothing, she thought. She picked up a broken tree branch to use as a makeshift cane for support. She glanced around her. Still on the island. At least I didn’t end up halfway around the world.

Suddenly, Abby heard a thunderous clap in the sky and the sound of a rushing wind. What the…? She hobbled to where the sounds came from, a clearing nearby.

There, a boy was fending off a storm! The young man’s profile turned so that Abby could make out the face. She saw one eye was missing.

“Gallowglass?” she exclaimed.

She did not recognize the others around him. The ground rocked under her feet. Something had moved slightly. She could sense expectation and a hungry want. It was doing something with what the others felt, feeding on it.

Abby Cable winced as the man in the red suit flew into the young Gallowglass with a terrific punch. The attacker reminder her a bit of Superman.

The boy flew backward a few feet, then stopped in midair. He rotated to a standing position, suspended by his mind. The flying hero flew into Gallowglass again, almost immediately to press his advantage. A small fist smashed him into the ground as the psionic blocked the charge.

The thing shifted under Abby. She felt the rage pouring off the boy in a near berserker frenzy. Someone was bound to get hurt if he kept building up his energy to express his anger. She limped forward carefully.

“Stop it!” Abby yelled over the roar of the battle. “You must stop your fighting!” She held her hands away from her sides, trying to look non-threatening to both sides of the conflict.

All parties turned at the newcomer. “Who is she?” asked Margo, still trying to hold up the shield with Yarko and Doctor Mist.

“Gallowglass?” asked the woman. “What are you doing? The whole island is coming apart!” The fighters paused at this interruption by a platinum blond woman with black streaks in her hair.

Gallowglass frowned, still lit by the glowing aura that suspended him in the air. “Who are you? Have you come to attack me too?”

“Please,” Abby Cable begged, keeping her eyes on Gallowglass. “You all must stop fighting.”

“I won’t leave my friends here!” said Gallowglass. “I won’t leave them alone!”

“Can you explain?” Abby said. “I don’t understand. What friends? Are you talking about the Sentinels?”

Doctor Mist gathered the magicians and Captain Marvel together as Abby had the man distracted. He extended his power to help the woman and knew the others were doing the same thing. She seemed to be persuading him. If they could help Gallowglass believe her, perhaps they still had a chance to end this.

“The Sentinels still remain here,” said Gareth Gallowglass sadly. “They can’t go to their final rest.”

“Tell me about them,” Abby Cable said, seeing that the boy’s rage was easing.

Doctor Mist nodded. That explains the boy’s anger. The look on the other’s faces told him they were drawing the same conclusion. Could they negotiate with him?

Doctor Mist telepathically contacted the others. The magicians spread out in a circle, with Captain Marvel watching out for the woman in case things went bad. They began to exert their influence on the landscape with the various disciplines at their disposal. Silence reigned as a feeling of calm was spread and held in place by the four masters.

The question remained whether Abby could talk Gallowglass into leaving.

“They were my friends,” explained Gallowglass. “When my parents died, they took me in and gave me shelter. They helped me when my telekinetics first started. Mac and Harv made sure I got some book knowledge, knew about things like science and math. Then they came here.

“The demons were supposed to kill them all, but they didn’t. Only Harry, Hal, and Roland were killed the way they should have been. John and Harv gave up their lives to reverse the initial spell. Mac blew himself and 99 up with his power pack.”

“How do you know this?” Abby asked.

“The Book of Answers,” said Gallowglass. “It knows everything that people have learned over the years that humanity has walked the Earth.”

“Who am I?” Abby asked. “Would the Book know that?”

“Sure,” said Gallowglass, not quite smiling, not quite angry. Pus leaked from his empty eye socket. He began flipping the pages of the Book of Answers with his thumb.

Abby absently wiped his face with the sleeve of her shirt. He accepted the treatment with a grimace as he looked through the Doctor’s book.

“Abigail Cable?” Gallowglass said finally. “You’re the only one listed at the end of Humanity. I think that’s because you haven’t been born yet.” He showed her an entry topped by a small line drawing of her face. Her entire history up to the point of her arriving in the present year was placed down on the paper in small neat script.

“Do you think the Sentinels would want you to stay here like this?” Abby said. “Alone and sad?”

“They say they want me to leave, but I’m not,” said Gallowglass. “Things would have been different if I had been here when things had gone wrong. Instead I have to live with that.”

Abby frowned. There was something there. Something unsaid by Gallowglass. Something else held him here besides the memory of his friends. Something about the island. In her own time, he never visited the outside world even though he could if he wished. What could the answer be, and how was she was supposed to get it out in the open? At least the magicians were giving her a chance to try.

“Why are these others here, Gallowglass?” asked Abby.

“They say things are being caused by the island’s existence, and they want to put a stop to it,” said the boy. “The problem is they can’t.”

“Why?”

“Because the Sentinels have bought this island with their blood, and there is no way to overcome that except by trying to destroy the island itself, and the things that live here won’t allow that.”

Abby thought about the creature in the ground who had been watching the battle. She mulled over the whole situation. She thought she had a good compromise if she could sell it to the magicians. She just needed a way to show them the course that had to be taken was viable and necessary. “Let me talk to the others,” said Abby. “I think things will work out.”

“Go ahead,” said Gallowglass. “As long as the island stands, I won’t leave.”

Abby nodded. She gathered the magicians together in a huddle. She examined their faces. She knew before she said anything that Gallowglass had been at least partially right in his assertions. “What do you think?” said Abby.

“It depends on what was used to call this place up,” said Doctor Mist. “We might not have the ability to send this place back, especially if a blood sacrifice was involved. We might be able to limit its influence on the five Earths it touches.”

“That’s iffy at best,” said Doctor Occult. “It’s pretty clear that a gate is open here, and it’s letting demons out in the world.”

“I don’t think it’s just a gate,” said Margo the Magician, pushing a strand of hair from her face.

The others looked at her, seeing implications that Abby had missed. Captain Marvel seemed to only have a grasp of what she was implying, even though he was not a magician himself.

“I think it’s a piece of Hell,” Margo said.

“Let’s say that is the case,” said Doctor Occult. “It explains the demonic attacks and the atmosphere that I am picking up. How do we deal with it?”

“Can we deal with it?” Yarko the Great asked. “There are many connections here. Some of it is because of what happened then, but I think the boy has also formed a link to it. As long as he is present, whatever we do will be opposed by him in one way or the other.”

“I think he will let you try,” said Abby Cable. “The problem will be what will you give him in return if you can’t do it.”

“What do you mean?” Doctor Occult said, pushing his fedora back.

“I think he won’t interfere if you leave him alone here,” said Abby. “That is, if you don’t succeed.”

“No way!” balked Doctor Occult. “It’s much too dangerous!”

“She’s right,” said Captain Marvel, drawing upon the wisdom of Solomon. “It’s the only chip we have, and there’s no other way to get around it. Otherwise we fight, and he’s proven that he can take what we dish out and come back for more. A peaceful end to this mess is what’s needed.”

“Let’s set the thing in motion,” said Doctor Mist. “We won’t know until we try.”

***

Abby Cable and Gareth Gallowglass were held aloft by Captain Marvel as the magicians prepared for the spell they were undertaking. A deal had been struck with the boy for them to at least make the attempt. If they failed, they would have to leave him alone or come up with another way to accomplish their goal. It was all or nothing in one attempt.

The magicians gathered in a circle of linked hands. Doctor Mist called on their will to seal the land away from the sight of men. Strokes of light erupted from the ground as they tried to bend reality to their will.

A hand of dirt the size of a Buick emerged from the ground. It was followed by the rest of a giant body. A glowing symbol spewed a vile cloud in the air. Other things appeared, digging their way out of the ground. They had various shapes and sounds. None of them appeared to be happy.

“Put us down,” Gallowglass said. “I’ll take care of the woman while you keep those guys back.”

Marvel flew low enough to put them down as he headed for the growing army. He cut through their ranks like a red thunderbolt while the spell continued to work. Bodies flew across the makeshift battlefield as the strength of Hercules took its toll on the horde.

Grim Island began to break up into chunks as the magicians kept going with their spell. The trees and grass died under the stress. Cracks ran across the ground as the earth sheered along the edge of their wills.

Suddenly the effect reversed itself, flinging the magicians to the ground in different directions. The island seemed to pull more earth onto it as it repelled the effort to shift it.

“Plan A is out,” said Doctor Occult, spraying mystical flames across the approaching horde. “Anyone have a Plan B?”

“Join with me,” counseled Yarko the Great, scratching symbols in the dirt. Light ran in the symbols as they summoned the forces he needed. Doctor Mist and Margo the Magician concentrated their abilities on assisting the mightiest magician of Earth-Four. Doctor Occult raised the symbol of the Seven high, letting it draw their will together in a mangible form.

Captain Marvel kept the demons away with mighty blows as green energy became a column of light around the magicians. Suddenly the swirling column began to wrap fiery tendrils around the assorted creatures. The monsters were sucked into the whirlwind and held as the miasma whirled in place. “What do we do with them?” the world’s mightiest mortal asked.

“We still have our problem,” said Doctor Mist, gazing at the swirling energy trapped by the group of magicians, “and proof of a capable counter attack if we try to release the island. Any suggestions?”

“We could create a barrier of wards around the island,” said Yarko the Great. “I do not think it would last long without monitoring though. Not with the amount of power we have seen displayed.”

“If we could do that, it would be great,” said Doctor Occult. “The island could stay, but threats to the outside would be negligible. The only thing needed is to warn shipping away from here.”

“We would all have to stay to make it work,” frowned Margo the Magician. “I could make that sacrifice, but could all of you?” The others grumbled about committments and responsibilities of their own.

“Could I make a suggestion?” Abby Cable said quietly. “I think Gareth would be able to watch over anything you put in place. It would grant him the solitude that he wants and a task to keep him busy.”

“I think that would be dangerous in the extreme,” said Doctor Mist. “If he were to lose control, it would endanger our Earths.”

“I think it would be worth a try,” said Captain Marvel optimistically. “Everyone needs a second chance. I’ll come by and check on him every once in a while, that kind of thing.”

“He’ll need more than that,” said Doctor Mist. “He’ll need constant supervision.”

“I don’t think so,” said Gallowglass. “I’ve done fine on my own for the last three years. That’s the way I would like to continue.”

“How about a compromise?” Margo the Magician put in before Doctor Occult could say what was on his mind. “Gareth stays here and does something with others here, like a farm or sanctuary?”

“How about a school for gifted children?” suggested Abby.

“That would be extremely dangerous,” pointed out Yarko the Great.

“I don’t know anything about teaching,” Gallowglass said uneasily.

“You’ll learn,” said Abby knowingly. “Have faith. If anything, I’m sure you will be far better at it than you think.”

“And you won’t have do it alone,” said Margo. “We’ll help you get started, and maybe you can teach us a trick or two.”

Abby Cable smiled, standing off to one side of the small group. The magicians and Gallowglass were haggling about the details, but the idea was in place. All it needs is nurturing, she thought. Still, she was confident that it would come to bear. It has to! Otherwise, how could I be here? Still, she felt a bit sad. If only there was a way back to the future.

She did not want to have the accept the fact that she would be stuck many years before she was even born. Then a lightbulb flashed in her head. The Book of Answers! Maybe it would know a way to for me to get back home! “Gareth?” she said. “Could I borrow your book for a moment?”

“I guess so,” Gareth said. “What do you need?”

“I was wondering if there was a way to return me to my own time and place,” Abby said.

“I’ll take you home easy enough,” Captain Marvel said with a smile. “The crisis is over. I think I can be spared for the trip.”

“You can?” Abby blinked. It was so simple as that? “Thank you!”

The world’s mightiest mortal hoisted her in his arms. “Hold tight,” he said as he took off into the sky with lightning-like speed. The pair headed for the one place where he knew he could travel through time and space. “The Rock of Eternity!”

Abby Cable gazed in wonderment at the rock that jutted up before them. “A rock can get me home?” she asked.

“Just watch!” Captain Marvel said. They began to fly about it. The starry firmament that surrounded the Rock of Eternity reeled passed like a drunk falling down a set of stairs.

She had talked with Captain Marvel, telling him the year she needed to be as they sped away from Grim Island. The Captain grinned calmly. He had assured her he would check on Gareth Gallowglass when possible. He seemed a man of his word to Abby, and sincere.

They sped around the Rock twice and then headed back to Earth. It was as simple as that? she thought with a doubt. Abby recognized the continents as they sped past, and then they headed over the Pacific Ocean towards Grimoire Island. Are we going back? Did it fail?

That thought washed away the moment she saw the familiar buildings approach at a blinding pace. “It is the Grimoire School!” Abby exclaimed. “Head for the park with the statues, please.”

Captain Marvel nodded, looking for the indicated spot with his eagle eyes. “You’ve got it, miss.”

Epilogue

1952. Earth-One:

A man in a brown suit stepped up to the dias on the auditorium stage. Before him was a small group of children, all excited and anxious. He cleared his throat and leaned into the microphone. “Good day,” he began. “This is the first commencement of the Grimoire Academy of Applied Knowledge. I will keep the speech short since there is a lot to do even on this day, January One,Nineteen Hundred and Fifty-two.

“The first thing on the list is that the school year runs from this day to October 31st. There are three weeks in the year where you will be able to go home and visit with your families. If you do not wish to start class with us or feel you are not up to the academic challenge, be at the dock on the beach tomorrow at 8 o’clock.”

He looked over his charges, hardly younger than he was, with a great deal of confidence. And so, Gareth Gallowglass presided over the first class of Grimoire Island.