The Atom
Atomic Attraction
by Libbylawrence
Chapter 1
Darin and Stan McIntyre could not believe their luck! The siblings had managed to steal an armored car full of payroll money meant for the Drake Foundation. It was a remarkable theft since the two young men had never pulled off a robbery before. “Oh man, Stan! This is like something from a McQueen flick! We got the stuff of dreams back there! We ditch this baby and make off with the cash to our cabin in the woods, and then in a couple of months we’ll be living like kings!” shouted Darin.
Stan nodded. “It’s good to be as young, smart and rich as we are!”
They drove rapidly and soon cleared the city limits. They turned off the road and entered a dark forest. They parked and rushed out to unload their ill-gotten loot. “You see some kind of light? It’s getting bright and hot!” said Stan as he brushed sweat from his brow.
“Our futures are bright. Now get moving!” said Darin.
Then they gasped as a white light drew closer and blinded them. “Something is flying! A U.F.O.!” whined Stan.
A feminine laugh dispelled that notion as the white light dimmed enough to reveal a woman. She hovered before their startled eyes and then landed. “You punks robbed the Drake Foundation. I frown on that kind of antisocial behavior… unless it comes from me!” she said.
Stan pulled out a gun and yelped as her mere proximity melted it to liquid. “Darin! She’s inhuman!” he cried.
Darin moved to flee as she turned and waved one muscled arm towards his path. Instantly, a bolt of white heat sliced through the woods and brought a tree crashing down in his path. “Naughty boy! You must not realize that what I can do to wood can also be done to your skeleton!” she said as she flew closer and knocked him through the air.
Stan dropped to his knees and pleaded with her. She loomed over him, although he was over six feet tall himself. She was powerfully built, and her costumed body rippled with muscles. She wore a blue and gold costume with an atomic emblem on the chest and a red fin on her hood.
“You… you’re dressed like that JSA guy! The Atom!” gulped Stan as she lifted him in the air with one hand and pressed her lips to his. He melted to bone and then to pulp as she wiped her mouth and flew toward the truck in a nimbus of white light.
“Of course I am. The Atom is my lover!” she declared.
Chapter 2
Janice Kane had been chief of police in the college comunity of Calvin City for over fifteen years. She looked as young as a woman half her age because of her intensive regiment of diet and exercise. She was capable and respected and had never encountered even a hint of sexism. No one messed with “Killer” Kane, as she was called by her men. She ran a hand through her short blonde upswept hairdo and sighed. “We’ve have three robberies in the last week. All have involved super human power, and every site has become radioactive after the robbery. The one witness we have claims that she saw a woman dressed like the Atom. I’ve called the JSA Headquarters, and they deny his involvement. He should be here soon to make a statement.”
A fat cop named Len Blush said, “Do you think this is some gal sidekick gone bad? Or maybe one of his kids turned crooked!”
Janice stood up and said, “We know nothing about his family life. He has operated here since the early forties and possesses a so-called ‘atomic punch.’ The female perp dresses like him. That’s enough for us to ask him about her but hardly enough to bring charges or allegations against a national hero like Atom. No JSA member can be lightly accused of anything.”
Blush said, “Yeah, but didn’t Atom go mad a while back? He was on a rampage at a power plant. And that big guy in Infinity, Inc. mimics his atomic motif, too. Could be that runt has a litter of glow-in-the-dark brats!”
The Atom entered and stood behind Blush. He crossed his muscular arms and waited. “I do! They’re names are Sparky, Killo, and Volt. Volt’s the youngest. She’s getting her own fuse box any day now!” he said with a laugh.
Blush jumped back and whirled around. “Sorry, pal. I was just… just…!”
Atom eased him aside and said, “You were shooting off your big mouth. Now, if you’ll hit the pavement, I’ll talk to an adult!” Blush blushed and ran out.
Janice Kane smothered a laugh and asked the Atom to sit down. “Atom, please forgive Blush. You can understand why he’d make the connections. You know about this woman in a copy of your costume?” said Kane.
The Atom frowned. “Look, lady, if you dressed in a harem outfit, it would not necessarily make you kin to Barbara Eden! I have no idea why some super-powered woman would copy my costume.”
Kane leaned forward. “I know you are not a criminal. I hoped you’d help us catch her and eliminate any possible doubts the folks on the street might have about you.”
The Atom shook his head. “Sure I will. Sorry if I bit your head off. My height is not the only thing short about me. My temper is short too!”
Kane nodded. “I noticed. She has hit places for large amounts of cash. Her radioactivity makes me feel a guy like you could track her. How about doing what my force can’t do?”
The Atom stood up and said, “I appreciate your candor. I’ll try to track her down and solve the mystery.
Chapter 3
That night, as Al Pratt, alias the Atom, worked in his lab and frowned over a small device, a pretty blonde wearing a black teddy entered and shook her head in irritation. “Al! Come out of the lab! It’s after midnight! I’m feeling a bit neglected!” said his wife Mary.
Al grunted and continued to work for another few minutes. “Sorry, Mary. Almost got this thing done. Now, you were saying?” he said as he glanced up to see an empty doorway. Another door slammed shut down the hall and indicated that Mary James Pratt was more than a little upset with her husband.
“Man! I’ve been so busy with my classes and the JSA that I’ve been leaving Mary and Grant out of my life for too long! I hope I can sweet-talk her into letting me into our room. That couch is too small, even for a guy my size!” he mused.
***
The next morning Al woke up next to his wife with a contented smile on his face. He had indeed managed to charm Mary into forgiving his neglect. He hoped to use his device to track the energy emitted by his female foe and end her career quickly, so he could take his wife out to dinner that night and maybe go bowling with their son Grant.
“I’d like to think this woman has a pattern to her crimes, like spelling her name in the targets she hits or something, but that old plot was getting smelly back in the 1940s. I guess she robs for money and that’s all. Her costume and powers may be all that lifts her above the common crook,” he said.
Mary lifted her head from off his chest and said, “Huh? Shop talk again? I’m getting jealous of this mystery-woman.”
Al laughed and kissed her. “No need for that. She’s heading for a prison cell with lead lining when I catch her!”
Mary rolled over and propped herself up on her elbows. “Al, could she have any connection to Albert’s late grandfather?” she asked.
Al said, “Let’s see. Terry Curtis was a blackmailed scientist who reluctantly adopted the costumed identity of Cyclotron in the forties in order to get funds to cure his daughter of her own radiation sickness. When we fought, his energies altered my metabolism and eventually produced my own super powers years later. He died and I helped raise his baby, who in turn later married and gave birth to our godson Albert. Albert is in Infinity, Inc. with other JSA kids. My current costume and the one this woman is wearing are both based on the one Curtis wore back then.”
Mary frowned. “I’m your wife. I know all this. I just meant could Terry Curtis had had other children?”
Al grimaced. “Sorry about the recap bit, honey. It helps me think to talk out loud like that. I don’t think old Curtis had any kids except for Terri, Albert’s mom. Remember that he was a good parent in his way and wanted to keep Terri safe if possible. If he’d had other kids before her, he’d have been worried about them, too, plus they would lack his nuclear powers anyway.”
Chapter 4
The next morning found the Atom driving around the city on a motorcycle. He was trying to locate any unusually high level of radiation; however, his efforts were failing badly. Nothing is showing up on the detector. She’s not active now or at least she must not emit radiation continually, he mused.
He stopped as a man in a dark suit waved him down from the sidewalk. “Mr. Atom? There’s a crime or something going down on 36th Street. The scanner just announced it!” he said.
The Atom smiled. “Thanks for the tip, pal!” He raced off and hoped to find the mystery-woman and not a group of petty thugs. Nice to see that ordinary citizens still trust me. That cop wanted to lock me up in spite of my years of service to this city. I guess it takes all kinds! he thought.
The detector beeped as he screeched onto the street in question. Sure enough, he saw the costumed woman blasting away as she melted the walls of a bank. “Hold it, sister! Your little shopping spree ends here!” he called.
The powerfully built woman was dressed in a copy of his costume, and she smiled eagerly as he saw the Tiny Titan. “My love, I’ve wanted to meet you for years! I’ve dedicated my life to you!” she said with a fervor both sincere and frightening in its intensity.
The Atom said, “I appreciate a fan, but I don’t know you. You have to come with me. You’re dangerous to those around us!”
She said, “Call me Cyclotron! Its a name that shows my desire to be connected to you!” She flew closer, and her reddish hair swept back from beneath the finned hood. She glowed whitely as her energy pulsed. “I have to steal in order to fund my experiments. I need them to make myself worthy of you!”
The Atom frowned. He felt her energy and knew it was deadly to anyone except for himself. He had displayed immunity to such radiation before, but he hated to imagine what the blinding fire could do to an ordinary person. “Let’s talk this over. What’s your real name? Why do you admire me so?” he said as he inched closer. This was no time for his occasional rashness. He was a seasoned pro and could play it cool when necessary.
She smiled and landed before him. She towered over him and drew closer. “I grew up here. As Calvin City’s champion, you were and are my idol. I realized that we were meant to be together, and I used my gifts for science to acquire powers worthy of you!” she said.
The Atom grabbed her wrist. “About those powers, turn them off. I can’t let you hurt folks.”
She laughed. “That is one of the many things I love about you! Your concern for inferior creatures. We children of the atom should be ruling them, not protecting them!”
The Atom said, “I think you misjudge me. I would rather die than see anyone else be hurt. Now, tone down the energy!” She kissed him suddenly, and he felt a massive surge of energy. “My atomic punch! It’s releasing energy without my hitting anything. She’s setting off my powers by her proximity!” he gasped as he pushed her backward.
A blinding glow swept across his vision, and he bent low to try to contain the explosive power that erupted from their struggling figures. He shook his head slowly and sat up. He saw a scene of horror. All of the buildings on the busy commercial distrct called 35th Street were now rubble.
“No! That explosion leveled the street! Can’t feel any radiation, but the sheer force must have knocked down the buildings. It was after business hours and the cops had cleared the scene of battle, so I pray nobody got hurt, but still, I can’t stand the idea that my powers were partially to blame!” he gasped as he rubbed his eyes and scanned the scene. There was no sight of Cyclotron.
***
The Atom spent the night with the police. He made his statement and took some comfort in learning that no people had been harmed nor had the radiation of the blast actually been evident. Cyclotron had absorbed that aspect of their energies in herself and fled in blissful delight.
Kane shook her head. “I know you did all you could to stop her, but even without the radiation that kind of explosion could destroy the city. I need your word that you can either stop her or that you will leave Calvin City. I can’t risk your having another encounter with her. You could do more harm than good.”
The Atom jumped to his feet. “I’ve defended this city for over forty years. How could you ask me to leave? I’ll stop Cyclotron and prove to you just how much you need the Atom!” He stalked out of the office and kicked himself mentally for his anger. Still her words, though justified, hurt him. “I am not a threat to anyone. I’ll prove it by bringing Cyclotron in,” he vowed.
Chapter 5
That night Mary held him as they snuggled near one another. “Al, you aren’t to blame. She stimulated your powers. She is the one who caused the damage, not you. She’s the bad person,” cooed Mary.
Al nodded. “She’s sick. Deluded. I’m some object of hero worship or fantasy for her, and she claims to have developed these powers in order to be worthy of me. She claims to be robbing in order to fund more experiments. That means I am to blame for her. You might say I gave birth to her. I wish Terry Sloane was still living. He’d know what to say or do. I admit that I’m feeling more than a bit uncertain.”
Mary hated to see her normally confident husband so troubled. She knew an inferiority complex and desire to overcompensate for his short stature drove most of his actions; however, in the decades since he had first become the Atom, he had matured and replaced most of that motive with a sincere desire to do good. Now she ached as she felt his pain.
Chapter 6
The morning news gave Al little comfort. He, Mary and their son Grant saw a newswoman speaking to a group of local citizens who sat before a screen that displayed his costume with a red circle and an “X” across it. “Look at that! They have my costume up there marked like I’m poison! I can’t listen to this!” he said as he walked out of the room.
Mary shook her head in worry. She heard the group called “Atom-smashers!” make a case for the danger having Atom in their city posed.
“He’s a living human bomb! I say he could be responsible for things ranging from tainted water to birth defects or illness in our kids!” said Jameson Jonah, head of the group.
Grant turned pale, and he turned to his mother with concern and emotion on his face. “That’s crazy! How can they turn on him after his service to the city? I know my powers were seen as a curse by me when I first had them, but they can also do good. Those folks need to see that any power can be used for good as well as evil, depending upon the intent of the guy who possesses it!” he said.
He stalked off and called over his shoulder, “I can’t listen to that jerk any longer! I’m going to go see Amanda!” he said.
Mary clicked off the set and began to weep.
Chapter 7
The Atom frowned as he kicked in a door in a suburban home outside Calvin City. He jumped over a small table and confronted a waking woman. She was frail and grabbed for a pair of wire glasses as she pulled a blanket over her pale body. “Atom! What is it? How can you just barge in my home?” she sputtered.
He gazed down at the woman who was no taller than he was. She seemed scared and nervous. “Miss Delp? Deanna Delp? I checked your records along with those of other Calvin City College students from the last decade or so. You were the finest physics student in the school’s history. That kind of brain power is rare. You were one of only three women who attended the college and had that kind of I.Q. I know you are behind the woman called Cyclotron. She claimed to have lived here all her young life, and I knew only someone with your kind of skills could have created her. I also know you’ve got the kind of lab needed for such dangerous experiments. The Drake Foundation told me they’d funded you until you became irrational.”
Deanna frowned and said, “I admit that I made Cyclotron, but in a way so did you! She adores you and wanted to be as powerful as you. Only through controlled radiation absorption could she be born!”
The Atom said, “I thought as much. Dr. Pratt at the college recalled you as one of the few people capable of such work. Your connection with Drake was the clincher. Where is she? Is she a sister?”
Deanna stood up and said, “You mean you have not guessed? Controlled radiation can mutate a body, like so!” She concentrated, and her demure frame began to expand until the confident, mighty form of Cyclotron replaced the pale, frail woman. “I can become Cyclotron at will. The radiation gave me this superior body all to be your mate!” she said madly.
The Atom said, “I have no choice but to subdue you here and now! The city’s half turned on me because of you!”
Cyclotron laughed and kicked him backward. “Let them mock what they fear. We shall be the only couple in this burned out burg when I use your wonderful metabolism to destroy the others who would keep us apart!” she said.
The Atom twisted aside and jabbed as his superb boxing skills came into play. Three rapid blows left the taller woman dazed. “Your powers blunt my force, but I don’t need to use my powers to stun you, lady!” he vowed.
He grunted as Cyclotron’s white glow filled the room. “Too late! I’ve activated the energy slumbering within you, my love!” she screamed.
The Atom glanced around the room and tackled her roughly. They crashed through the floor and landed in a basement lab. Heavy lead and other shielding metals lined the secret lab. Got to get her to expend her energies here. She must need to replenish them from time to time. That’s why she spoke of more experiments and the need for funds! he thought.
As they fought, the madwoman’s eyes gleamed. She was thrilled by any contact with her idol. She glowed brightly, and the Atom slammed her down with more force than he’d normally use on a woman. “Deanna! I am married. I can’t love you. I’ll get you help, though!” he said.
She frowned and said, “I am not in need of help. I’ll make you love me by burning up this town!”
The explosion left Atom dazed and destroyed the house. He gasped and crawled over to where a still Deanna Delp lay. The glow was gone, as was her enhanced body. “She expended her power. Got to get her in a cell at some lab so she can’t recharge. Poor sick woman!” he said.
Chapter 8
Days later, after Deanna Delp was safely locked in a governmental treatment facility, Al Pratt slammed his fists into a punching bag at the Calvin City College gym. It was long past closing, and the short man was working out in solitude.
“Easy, Champ. You’ll make an old pug like me look bad!” said a rough voice as Ted Grant entered.
Al grinned at his old friend. “You are, or were, the Champ. I’m just a guy who likes to hit things!”
Ted caught the swinging bag and said, “Uh-uh. Nope. Don’t feed me that line. I know you. I read about this whole Cyclotron thing and talked to Mary. She and the kid are worried sick about you. I also nabbed a pair of punks at a bar. The city needs the Atom.”
Al said, “He’s retired. He’s a relic of the pre-atomic age. There’s no place for him these days.”
Ted stopped the shorter man from hitting the bag again. “Hold it, pal. You are not to blame for that nutty chick. You know that. Secondly, you know you are needed out there,” said Grant firmly.
“You don’t get it, do you? My powers almost killed folks,” said Al with a pained look.
Ted shrugged. “And what if Atom stays in retirement? Don’t you think folks will suffer? Gangsters and punks and the Rag Doll, for instance, will still show up and hurt people unless the Atom is around to shut them down!”
Al nodded. “Yes, I know. I realize that I can do good, and I realize that my powers will never be a threat to anyone I love again.”
Ted led him aside and tossed him a towel. “What do you mean?” he asked.
Al looked up at the rough featured boxer. “I drained them away during the last fight. Cyclotron absorbed all the energy from my metabolism. It may return in time, but then again it may never come back. I’m kind of glad. Now, those ‘Atom-Smasher’ people can’t claim I’m a danger to the city. I’m just a sawed off pug now!” he said.
Ted’s eyes widened. Then he nodded. “Wrong. You were made a member of the JSA before you had any super powers. You saved FDR himself before you had any powers. You faced down the first Cyclotron back in the forties before you had any powers. You can still be the Atom with just your original athletic prowess. You know, you’re nearly as tough as guys like Mr. Terrific and Wildcat!”
Al grinned. “That tough? Maybe you have a point. Joe Morgan did a good job with you, pal!”
Ted grinned back at the mention of their common trainer. “Joe did good work! Now, let’s go see that pretty wife of yours!” he said.
***
Later, after Ted “Wildcat” Grant had departed, Mary Pratt held up a colorful costume while Grant looked on approvingly. “See, honey? I modified your original costume. The solid blue mask, sleeveless yellow and blue body suit and brown trim and wrist bands look good,” she said.
Al hugged her and said, “I like it. Plus, the long pants are a big improvement on the shorts from the original version. I like the idea that the Atom can reclaim the old look and shed any association with the second Cyclotron.”
Mary kissed him and said, “That’s my hero!”
