The Atom
Times Past, 1952
Mystery Squad
by Libbylawrence
MYSTERY SQUAD: Part 1
Al Pratt kissed his bride Mary James while a crowd of encouraging on-lookers clapped. The small Calvin College Church was full of the happy young couple’s friends and family. It had been a beautiful wedding and the June sunshine filtered through the glass windows in lovely patterns.
The groom gazed at his new wife, Mary James Pratt, and admired her laughing eyes and stunning blonde hair. That took some getting used to, since she had only “gone blonde” in the last few months or so. Still, she looked wonderful. Al didn’t even let the fact that Mary stood a few inches taller than he did in the wedding photos bother the short but sturdy hero.
He was feeling wonderfully happy on this summer day in June 1952. He had known Mary for many years now since they first met at Calvin College around 1940. She had been like the other students on campus in her disdain for “Atom” Al, the smallest person on campus.
It had been Mary’s very scorn for him (along with bullying classmates like Truck Bronson) that had motivated the short young man to devote months to training his body, until under the able tutelege of Joe Morgan, he had turned into a real powerhouse. He had donned the mask and costume of the Atom soon afterwards, and had made a name for himself as a mystery-man and a member of the legendary Justice Society!
Now, after years of slowly earning Mary’s respect as Al and the Atom and finishing grad school, he had won his true love. She had accepted him and his long kept secret identity and now he looked forward to a long life with his blonde bride.
His JSA buddies had wished him well, but only three had attended the actual wedding. Carter Hall (Hawkman), Terry Sloane (Mr. Terrific), and Ted Grant (Wildcat) were his closest pals in the group of heroes.
Hawkman had been an inspiration to him from their earliest days together in the Society. He looked up to him as a heroic example. Mr. Terrific had been a close friend as well. The scholarly Man of a Thousand Talents had been a surprisingly good friend for the physics major. Their mutual pal Wildcat shared their more down to earth style of crime-busting. Grant had even shared Morgan as a mentor though neither knew this at first.
They watched happily as the ceremony and reception closed.
Trouble loomed in their immediate future.
MYSTERY SQUAD: Part 2
“Carter, where’s your better feathered half?” asked Ted Grant as the reception died down.
“Shiera needed a new wardrobe, so she’s raiding New York’s fashion district as we speak. She sends her best to you and Mary, Al,” said Carter.
“If she’s anything like my Lysette when she spots a sale — look out!” said Terry.
The pretty blonde Lysette Andrews Sloane punched her husband and said, “I do quite well at resisting sales, thank you very much!”
Terry hugged his wife and said, “Just kidding. I’d really like you to spend more. My business earnings keep us secure, even on a professor-writer’s pay!”
“Any new books in the works, Professor Sloane?” asked Al.
“Always in the works. Just not ready for publishing,” quipped Terry.
Ted Grant grinned. “I guess that means, coming from you, that they’re only best sellers, not Pulitzer Prize winners, huh?”
He and his friends laughed and talked and wished the newlyweds well. “Not much action these days,” mused Ted.
“With the JSA pretty much disbanded and this new Mystery Squad making the news, we don’t get out all together in costume much,” said Carter.
“What kind of dopey name is Mystery Squad?” asked Ted.
“Don’t laugh! They may be oddly-named, but the press loves them, and even the government seems unconcerned about them.”
“No wonder. They don’t wear masks! They look like one of those new perfect TV familes we see these days,” said Al
No family is perfect, thought Carter.
MYSTERY SQUAD: Part 3
Al and Mary drove off happily enough and eventually reached Las Vegas.
“I’m not a gambler. Ted’s told me enough about the corruption involved in that activity, but it will be nice to catch some shows,” said Al as he snuggled against his new bride.
“I just hope we can get a nice few days alone… without any masked party-crashers!” said Mary.
“I doubt we’ll have that problem… of course, I’ve been wrong before!” said Al as he spotted police cars surrounding a casino.
“Al, let them handle it!” insisted Mary James Pratt.
“Ah, Mary… I honestly think they need me! That many squad cars usually means big time villains. I’ll be really quick. OK?” he asked.
“Oh, all right, if you promise to be fast. I want to go dancing later,” she said with a flirtatious smile.
Al pulled out of sight and raced up to the police in his yellow and blue Atom costume. “The Atom! We sure can use you about now!” said a cop.
He ran inside the brightly-lit place where people screamed and helpless police were held back by both panic-filled fun seekers and a group of weird costumed crooks who were “beating the house” their own crooked way!
The Gambler! That figures. But who are his pals? wondered Al. He saw a pretty redhead wearing an ante-bellum style gown with a parasol and large flowered sun hat. Her bare shoulders were pale and her make-up heavy. She was gathering cash while card -emblazoned thugs waved guns at the crowd.
“I do declare, the men heah are not gentlemen!” she cooed in an extremely thick Southern drawl.
“Don’t worry, Magnolia, honey, you can buy your own plantation with this loot!” laughed a fierce looking man with a riverboat gambler costume and a monstrous looking smile.
“Cardshark! I do believe ya’lls right!” said Magnolia.
The Gambler himself watched approvingly as his gang worked the room. He was a dapper man with the look of an old Southern gambler as well.
“OK, Twain — the war is over and your side lost!” quipped Atom as he faced them.
MYSTERY SQUAD: Part 4
“The JSA’s runt of their infernal litter!” roared the Gambler. “Get him, my Full House! Forget all else, but kill the Atom!” he ordered.
Atom ducked under a roulette table and heaved it over. “Let the chips fall where they may!” he joked. With a quick jerk he pulled the wheel loose from its table and charged forward behind it like a shield. He slammed into the gun-wielding Card Men and forced them into a wall with screams and a crash. He whirled around and sent the huge wheel rolling oddly across the floor until it knocked the parasol spinning Magnolia flat. “Will the South rise again?” he joked.
The fierce Cardshark clawed at the JSAer with razor-sharp claws. Al gasped in pain, then slugged him with an “atomic punch” that dropped him through a solid oak table.
The Gambler aimed his own guns at the Atom and he ran out of range. “Come on! I’ve got the dead man’s hand for you, little man!” drawled the Gambler.
“I’m all flushed!” punned Atom as he made a huge leap and swung across the room on a tinkling light fixture. He jerked it and it crashed down on top of the Gambler with a smash of crsytal and glass.
The Atom saw the other six Cards surrounding him and wished for some back-up. He charged into them and fists flew from every angle. They outnumbered him, but they lacked his strength and skill. He kicked and punched until he stood alone amidst the bodies. “I guess they know when to fold!” he announced.
Then, from behind the red-headed Delta Queen, a.k.a. Magnolia, sprayed a red gas from the tip of her parasol. He choked and fainted in dismay with Mary’s name on his lips.
MYSTERY SQUAD: Part 5
As time passed with no sign of her husband, Mary began to worry. The cops had admitted that the gang had escaped, and may very well have taken Atom with them. Mary did not know what to do, so she called the Calvin City Hotel where the JSAers were staying after the wedding.
Ted Grant answered and soon assured Mary that the Atom’s friends would be there quickly. “C’mon! Al’s in trouble at Vegas,” said Wildcat.
Hawkman said jokingly, “What did he do? Pick a fight with the Rat Pack?”
“No, it’s serious!” said a grim Ted Grant.
“Let’s go!” answered a now-serious Carter Hall.
“I’ve got the car ready,” said the always prepared Terry Sloane.
After a hurried consultation with Mary, the heroes did their best to reassure her, and then traced Al’s trail via the cops.
“They know it was the Gambler so I placed a few calls to do a paper trace. He owns an old house outside of Vegas under a few disguised names and dummy ownership papers,” explained Mr. Terrific.
“Good job!” replied Wildcat.
They soon reached the secluded old house. “Let’s divide up. I’ll take an aerial path and you two close in from the sides,” suggested Hawkman.
“Sounds good. From what I learned from the police, he’s got about twelve people in this Full House Gang,” said Terry.
“The odds are in our favor. Foolish for a guy called the Gambler!” said Ted Grant.
With a practiced ease born of years of teamwork they each found an entrance point (sky light, window and back door) and crashed through almost simultaneously.
MYSTERY SQUAD: Part 6
Mr. Terrific found himself in a room with three gang members. “Who?” asked one in shock.
“I’m here to take a census. How many awake people are in the house? Three? Two? One?” he said.
He tossed a skilled right hook that knocked out the nearest thug. A second reached for a gun only to be tackled by Terrific before he could get it out. A swift left dropped him as the third leveled his gun at Terry Sloane’s back. Glancing up into the ornate mirror on the wall, Terrific saw his danger and scooped up a vase. He tossed it over one shoulder using the mirror to aim. It slammed into the last gunman’s hand and disarmed him. Terry sprinted across the floor and jerked the rug out from under him. He hit the floor and a final punch kept him still.
As the Man of a Thousand Talents ran down the plushly carpetted halls, he met a beautiful blonde with perfectly styled hair and a short green dress on. An “M” was on her costumed chest.
“Mr. Terrific! Nice to meet you!” she said with a smile.
“Mystery Lady! I’ve read much of you lately,” replied Mr. Terrific.
“We’re here to bag the Full House!” said the pretty blonde.
“So are we. Plus, our chum the Atom is here as a prisoner.”
“Don’t worry, my family will help you all and he’ll be free in no time!” she said perkily.
MYSTERY SQUAD: Part 7
Wildcat charged into a room full of costumed figures. The savage Cardshark was one, while four other Card Men made up the rest. He found himself immediately engaged by the almost animalistic Cardshark, who bit at Grant’s arm with monstrous fangs.
“You got to wok on that overbite!” quipped Wildcat as he twisted out of the biting thug’s path.
A powerful right landed on those raking teeth and one shattered! Cardshark’s friends held back… not out of fear but out of necessity. A green suited, handsome man was pummeling them with amazingly dispatch. Mystery Man! thought Ted as the strong hero sent the thugs to a swift rest.
“Ah, Wildcat. This is an honor. Bill Weaver — a.k.a. Mystery Man,” he said.
“Yeah. Pleasure’s all mine,” replied Wildcat as he swung a hard left to Cardshark’s gaping mouth. He spun and landed a kick that floored the beastial man.
When Cardshark tried to grab the ebony hued avenger, he received a sudden blow to the top of the head by the boxing legend and he too moved no more.
“Hey, Buzz! Come meet a real hero,” called Mystery Man.
A huge boy (Fred “Buzz” Weaver) who actually towered over his father and Ted entered dragging a stunned Card Man. “Yes, Pop?” he asked as a boyish grin filled his freckled face.
“Mystery Boy, meet the famous JSA’er Wildcat. Son, he was a hero in the last war. He also was in the All-Star Squadron. Remember them from your lessons? he said.
“Gosh, Pop! He’s almost as good as you are!” gushed the boy.
“Excuse a son’s paternal pride!” said a modest Bill Weaver.
MYSTERY SQUAD: Part 8
Hawkman soared down to see the rest of the gang. Three Card Men, Magnolia, and the Gambler himself reclined in leisure until the Feathered Fury crashed in on them.
The Atom was spread eagled on a card table near them. “Hawk!” he murmured groggily.
Hawkman flew straight for the Gambler and lifted the man off the ground. “You won’t mind this trip, since you’re the original High Roller!” he said. The struggling Gambler fought by made little progress against the muscled Hall. He dropped the Gambler into the frantic Card Men with ease.
He started to free the Atom when a pretty teen girl ran inside. She wore a green short skirt and had an “M” on her chest. Her blonde locks were held back with a green hair clasp. “Hawkman! Oh Wow!” she gushed. She pointed at the remaining Card Men and they found themsleves trapped in icy bonds.
The Atom sat up with Hawkman’s help. “Look out!” he called to his buddy.
The flirty but deadly Magnolia the Delta Queen had pulled a fan from her low cut gown. “Ah, have the vapors!” she cooed. The fan was razor sharpe and she suddenly cut at Hawk’s arm. He blocked her with his wings and disarmed the lethal Belle. “Gambler, help me. Ah’m in distress!” she cooed.
Her parasol came up, only to be blow out of her manicured grip by a strong wind. The wind came from the gesturing Mystery Lady who ran in with Mr. Terrific. Wildcat, Mystery Man, and Mystery Boy followed.
“Can I, Pop?” asked the boy.
“That’s ‘may I’, Fred,” corrected his mother, Mystery Lady.
“Right, Mom,” he said.
“Go ahead, Son,” she answered with a demure smile.
Buzz ran up to the Gambler who instantly grabbed the big youth. “Arrrg!” screamed the Gambler as the green costumed boy glowed with sudden electricity.
“I guess you didn’t know about current events!” he punned as the stunned villain fell.
“Atom, are you hurt?” asked Grant.
“No. Just my pride. Thanks, fellows,” he said.
Introductions followed, and the Mystery Squad led them out.
MYSTERY SQUAD: Part 9
The Weaver family explained that they, too, had been tracking the Gambler’s Full House gang for some time now.
“We appreciate the help. We may be a bit rusty,” offered Hawkman.
“Your Mystery Squad sure has been in the news lately,” said the Atom.
“We know. It’s all a bit much for an ordinary family from the suburbs,” said Mystery Lady as she patted her blonde do.
“I guess you know our story,” said Bill Weaver as he put an arm around his daughter Patty.
“Tell us. I’ve missed the details,” said Wildcat.
“We were driving near a government base when our car stalled. It took us just a moment to pull over to let Bill check the engine, when we were caught in some weird atomic… is that the word, honey? You know what a featherbrained blonde I can be…” started Mystery Lady.
“Yes, darling. An atomic test site was where we inadvertantly parked. The blast gave us our powers, and as Americans we felt it would be best to suit up as the Mystery Squad and help fight crime.”
“Oh, Mom, he’s just dreamy!” cooed Mystery Girl as she stared at Terry Sloane.
“We appreciate the aid,” said the Atom as they departed.
“Oh, wait! Could our daughter Patty have your autographs? She’s too shy to ask,” said Bill.
“Oh, Daddy!” said the pretty teen girl.
“We’d be happy to oblige such a lovely young woman,” said Mr. Terrific.
This was not to be the last time the JSA crossed paths with the Weavers.
MYSTERY SQUAD: Part 10
The Pratts enjoyed a blissful honeymoon while the three other JSAers stayed on in Vegas to see the sights.
“Lysette doesn’t mind you going on this mini-vacation solo?” asked Ted Grant.
Terry replied, “I owe her a trip of our own as soon as I get back!”
“Shiera’s still blissfully shopping, so I’m a ‘free agent’ for a while,” mused Carter.
It was one of those odd flukes of timing that placed four JSAers in Nevada at that time. They were soon eagerly listening to radio reports of danger close at hand.
“Hey, the Raymond-Stein Atomic Plant is in some trouble!” yelled Wildcat around a week later.
“That’s a leading place for government atomic research,” said Al, the physics professor.
“I heard the radio blare out that the place has been seized by some radical group,” said Ted.
The blonde and beautiful Mary Pratt leaned against the door and said, “Don’t ask. Just do what you need to, honey.”
“Thanks, love,” said Al as he kissed his pretty bride.
The four JSAers ran out to see just what was happening at the plant.
“The place has been taken over! The staff was forced out!” yelled a nervous guard outside the plant.
“How’d it happen?’ asked Hawkman.
“We were giving a tour to some local big shots, and they just took over with sudden brute force.”
“Big shots?” asked Atom.
“Super powered big shots, I’m afraid,” offered Terry as he held up a sign-in sheet. “The tour group consisted of the Weaver family — or the Mystery Squad, as their press prefers,” he said.
MYSTERY SQUAD: Part 11
The JSAers exchanged concerned glances as they entered the Raymond-Stein Nuclear Power Plant.
“What can they be thinking?” asked Wildcat.
“I noticed something weird about them before. They never blinked… not from sun or the gas that came out of Delta Queen’s parasol when Mystery Lady blew it out of her hand. They didn’t cough or clear their throats or blush, or even show any visible sign of normal autonomic reactions. I attributed it to their altered metabolisms, but it still made me wonder if they concealed some secret,” said Mr. Terrific.
“Plus, there is no record of any government test near the area they named. Sure, could be hushed up, but it made me curious,” added Al Pratt.
“The Mystery Squad’s very open ID as a perfectly ordinary family made them seem so above board and their crime fighting sure gave them credibility. I assume that’s why they were allowed inside the plant so easily. Could still be OK. Maybe they have been taken over by some thug like Brain Wave,” suggested Hawkman.
“That’s a dirty rotten lie!” yelled an irate Mystery Boy as he and his costumed family appeared to block the JSAers path.
“Mary, what’s going on here? Explain your actions,” said Mr. Terrific.
“We have to do this. Bill insists it’s right… and a family trusts their leader,” said the attractive blonde.
“He’s tampering with the reactor! It looks like he’s trying to activate the atomic reactor!” said Terry.
Indeed, Mystery Man was working desperating at the controls.
“Are you mad? You’ll blow this place sky high!” yelled Wildcat.
“You can trust Bill, and we’ll fight to protect him!” voiced Mary Weaver.
“Then it’s a fight you’ll get!” said Atom.
MYSTERY SQUAD: Part 12
Wildcat charged forward, only to be blocked by the huge youth called Fred “Buzz” Weaver. “Look, kid, I don’t want to rough you up. So move out of the way,” he said.
Buzz laughed, “Sorry, Pops, but I’m just too shocking to handle!” He shocked Wildcat with his flat palms.
“There’s only one problem Sparky! I don’t need to touch you but one… ugh! time!” he replied as his swift right caught the large teen and dropped him flat. “Burned my knuckles, but it did the job!” mused Ted Grant.
The Atom let Mr. Terrific and Hawkman handle the others while he ran past them to face Mystery Man. “Bill, stop it! I’ll fix things up, but you have to stop!” he said.
Mystery Man moved from the altered controls and punched Atom into the nearest wall. He groaned and powered up to deliver an atomic punch. “If you insist then, I’ll shut you down and the reactor!” said the determined Al Pratt. He sent the green costumed man spinning across the room. He then saw with a grimace that his foe had instantly gotten back up.
Meanwhile, a solid burst of rock-hard wind from Mary Weaver, Mystery Lady, slammed into Hawkman and drove him down to the floor. Ice spread across his muscled form as the youngest Mystery Squader, Patty, generated her cold.
Mr. Terrific tried to reason with the fighting females. “Ladies, this is senseless. People may die! Stop now,” he offered.
“If he’s right, then we should stop and talk,” said a hesitant Mystery Girl.
“Mary Weaver! You’ll do as your father and I tell you to do, or you’ll be grounded!” ordered her mother.
Mr. Terrific swung reluctantly and as he planned his fist went through the now intangible mist form of Mystery Lady. He rolled aside and let the daughter’s freezing spray solidify her shocked mother’s air form into frozen crystal.
“Now see to your mother. She’ll need you to protect her until she thaws out.”
MYSTERY SQUAD: Part 13
As Mr. Terrific and Wildcat freed Hawkman, the battle between the Atom and Mystery Man raged on. This guy is as strong as I am! thought Atom as he landed another punch.
As he struggled against the green suited foe, Mystery Girl tried to free her frozen mother with the aid of the now-awake Mystery Boy.
After trading a few more blows, Mystery Man suddenly summoned his now recovered family to his side. “It is time for the final programming to kick in!” he said.
The others stiffened and began to close in on their leader. Slowly, laboriously, they merged one by one. Mystery Man combined with his son and wife until their forms blurred into a massive figure that resembled nothing human.
“Join us, daughter!” it intoned metallically.
“They’re robots!” answered Hawkman.
“That explains the lack of autonomic reflex!” said Terry Sloane.
Mystery Girl stood silent and stunned; she was a robot, but her humanity seemed stronger. “Mommy! Pop! What… is this?” she moaned.
“Join us as the master programmed,” replied the now-single robotic giant in their midst.
“Fight it, Patty!” called out Mr. Terrific.
“They were masterful creations — programmed with human like feelings and real familial dialogue! No wonder Patty feels real!” said Atom.
The confused girl robot merely shuddered and ran out of the room!
“You violate our directive!” intoned the shining giant robot. He stared (if a machine can stare) at the heroes. “It was ever our plan to trick your society into trusting us, then giving us access to this power source.”
“But with your power you could have just forced your way inside!” answered Wildcat.
“Ah, but that would have deprived me of the fun of play acting like the radio dramas I so loved,” said the now-altered voice from within the robot.
A panel slid open to reveal of green worm with an oddly bright face.
“I am Mr. Mind, and my larvae was left here in 1942 when my pod brother fled to a new earth. I gestated for nearly twenty years before hatching. I’ll use the atomic might of this Mystery robot to drain your atomic resources dry… even without that oddly flawed girl!” he said in their minds.
MYSTERY SQUAD: Part 14
The heroes charged forward to stop the robot from draining the now active reactor.
“I’ll shut it down!” vowed Terry. He worked feverishly at the controls as the other three faced the looming metal giant.
Hawkman slammed a mace into its head while Wildcat leaped onto its back. The Atom pulled a hunch and ran out to find Patty.
“Listen, honey, whether you were made or born is not what proves you to be human. Showing courage and mercy for others is the mark of a real hero… of a true person. Help us stop that thing in the memory of the family you knew… the memories you have,” he pleaded. I guess the memories are all implants, he mused.
The girl listened to him and slowly seemed to agree. “I’ll try to stop it for you,” she whispered.
Mr. Terrific knew he could shut down the reactor. He knew it as well as he knew most things. Still, he wondered how this strange monster could be stopped without pain for some… like Patty.
Hawkman was knocked out of the room by a massive metal fist. Wildcat scrambled to hold on to the slick finish of the beast.
MYSTERY SQUAD: Part 15
Wildcat found himself slipping so he made a last ditch lunge. He caught the worm in his hand and received a shock. “Protection is essential around big clumsy simpletons like you humans!” said the worm. He saw the creature crawl back inside the metal head. He rolled out of the path of its huge feet. Mr. Mind marched forward and prepared to enter the reactor itself. He stopped when Mystery Girl entered the outer chamber again with Atom. “You return… good! Now, join me.”
The robot, who looked exactly like a pretty teenager, merged with the machine as well. Only, instead of making him stronger, she fought to resist his commands. He seemed to be in a struggle internally.
Mr. Terrific closed down the reactor as the JSAers tried to stop the now almost inactive robot. The machine shuddered to a halt and suddenly split apart into its component sections. The Mystery Squad was visible again, but no life was present in the four now human looking creations.
“She did it! Somehow, that brave girl shut down the programming,” said the Atom.
Mr. Mind flew out in a small transport vehicle. “I’ll be back! I’ll pay you all for this!” he screeched.
Hawkman made a sudden lunge and caught the device. He slammed it down against the floor and it shattered to reveal a dazed worm.
“I think we can contain him in this!” said Terrific as he scooped the alien genius up in a containment suit glove from the storage center.
“All’s well here again!” said Atom as he checked over the controls.
“Good work, Mr. Terrific!” said WIldcat.
“Thanks, but Atom’s the one who persuaded Patty to assert herself. I guess she proved her humanity in the end,” he offered as they walked off.
The Mystery Squad robots may as well be stored in JSA HQ, or perhaps Bob Crane could restore them to some level, thought Carter Hall.
“That was weird. It was like beating up Ozzie and Harriet!” said Wildcat.
“Hey, what’s his job anyhow? He never is shown at work!” asked Atom.
“I bet he’s a mystery-man himself!” joked Wildcat as they exited.
