The Brave and the Bold: Jade and Brainwave
Mind Out of Time
by HarveyKent
Prologue
“Hank? Hello?” Jade called, her voice echoing through the entrance hall of Infinity, Inc. Headquarters. She had arrived to relieve Hank King Jr, AKA Brainwave II, from monitor duty. But he was nowhere to be found.
Jade passed the communications room. It was empty, but a light was blinking on the console. It meant a news story was waiting for an Infinitor to retrieve it. Al Rothstein, the mighty Nuklon, had programmed their news-monitoring system to digitally record news items containing certain keywords, such as “invasion”, “terrorist”, and “Sportsmaster”. Jade pressed the button to play back the broadcast.
The passive face of a pretty blonde newscaster appeared on a monitor screen. She showed no emotion whatsoever as she read from the teleprompter.
“Tonight, a daring criminal met justice in a higher court. Karla DeVoe, daughter of longtime super-villain Clifford DeVoe, alias the Thinker, died in Los Angeles County Prison while awaiting trial. Ms. DeVoe was a longtime sufferer of acquired immune deficiency syndrome, and passed away from pneumonia accelerated by her condition. Just last month, Ms. DeVoe, in her guise as millionaire software baron ReNee Keith, nearly turned public opinion against the Justice Society of America. Ms. DeVoe was also responsible for the death of Jonathan Crane, known to Gotham City residents as the Scare–”
Jade clicked off the broadcast. This was nothing that required immediate attention. Where the dickens was Hank?
Part One
“Hank!” Jade called, at the top of her lungs. She had searched Infinity, Inc. Headquarters completely, and he was nowhere to be found. She began to worry. If some crisis had come up that required his attention, he would at least have left notice. Had the headquarters suffered an attack? Had Hank been–
“Hello, Jen,” Hank’s voice came from behind. Jade screamed involuntarily, startled, and whirled on her heel.
“Hank!” she cried. “There you are! Where have you been? I’ve been looking all over for you, and I couldn’t find you!”
Hank smiled. “I was right here in the headquarters — last year,” he said slyly.
Jade shook her head. “You — what?”
“I was here in the headquarters, but a year ago,” Brainwave explained. “I’ve been practicing something in secret, Jen, a new talent I’ve been trying to develop with my mental powers. You know, my powers increased exponentially when my father transferred his powers to my mind upon his death. I’ve never really had the chance to explore them, but lately I’ve been trying to see just what I can do.”
“So what’s this about last year?” Jade asked, not comprehending.
“I’ve been trying to pierce the time barrier with the force of my mind,” Brainwave explained. “And I did it!”
“What?” Jade exclaimed. “Hank, you mean you can travel through time, just with your brain-power?”
“Exactly,” Brainwave said. “I’ve only tried short distances, so far. I’d hate to go back too far, and get stranded! I just went back one year, and that’s the farthest I’ve gone so far.”
“Wow,” Jade said, awed.
Part Two
“So… how far back do you think you can go?” Jade asked.
Brainwave shrugged. “No telling. Perhaps as far back as I can imagine. But, as I said before, I’d hate to think my way back a long time and then find myself unable to return!”
“Yeah, that’d be a bummer,” Jade agreed. “Hey, I’ve got an idea! Can you take passengers along?”
Brainwave thought about that. “I don’t see why not. After all, my clothes go with me so why not anything else, or anyone else, I happen to be in contact with? If I will it hard enough.”
“Then take me,” Jade said. “We’ll go together, and really test your new skill to the limit. If we find you can’t think our way back, I can always bring us back with my power-pulse!”
“That’s an excellent idea!” Brainwave enthused. “It’d be a great chance to see what I can really do! All right, how far back shall we go?”
Jade thought for a second. “You know, I’ve always wanted to witness the first official meeting of the Justice Society! That would be so cool!”
Brainwave grinned. “That was November 22, 1940, right?”
“Right!” Jade said, taking her lover’s hand. “No time like the present — or the past, hey?”
Part Three
Brainwave took Jade’s hand in his. “OK, I want you to close your eyes, and remain absolutely silent,” he instructed. “I’m going to try to move us back in time with the force of my mind alone. Just relax and go with the flow.”
Jade giggled at the pun, then composed herself. Brainwave unleashed his mental power, letting it build, letting it flow. He concentrated on 1940, fixated on it. Jade slowly felt the world dissolve around her, felt herself losing all sense of solidity, of dimension. She felt herself moving; it was like flying in a dream. Faster and faster she felt herself go; it was exhilarating. Suddenly she felt a lurch, as if they were being yanked to one side. This quickly passed, however, and the floating feeling returned. Jade felt herself slow down, then gradually stop.
“You can open your eyes now,” Brainwave said. Jade did so, and gasped.
“Um, Hank… I think you overshot the mark a little.”
Everywhere they looked were crude wooden buildings. Horse-drawn carts rambled down wide dirt roads. People in rustic peasant dress meandered along, carrying dirty vegetables or live chickens.
“Just a little, huh?” Brainwave asked.
Part Four
“Let’s find out when we are,” Brainwave said, walking toward the center of the village square.
“Wait!” Jade called. “Don’t you think our appearance would cause a commotion? They might even think we’re witches, or something!”
“Don’t worry,” Brainwave said. “I’m using my mental power to make everyone see us as normal citizens of the period.”
“Oh. So, what do we do?” Jade asked. “Can’t exactly look for a newspaper.”
“No, and most of these people wouldn’t be educated enough to even know what year it is; it wouldn’t matter to them,” Brainwave said. “The local church would be the most likely place.”
“Or we could ask her,” Jade said, pointing to a figure in black. A nun, a young one, most likely sent to buy provisions for the others in the abbey.
“Excuse me, sister,” Brainwave said, approaching the young nun. “My friend and I were wondering how long it had been since Christ walked the Earth. Would you be kind enough to tell us what year this is, please?”
The nun smiled at the young man’s devotion. “Certainly, my son. This is the Year of our Lord nineteen hundred and forty.” The nun made a quick sign with her fingers. “May God bless and keep you.” She went about her business, selecting turnips from the market stall. Jade and Brainwave stared at her, then at each other, then at her, gape-mouthed.
Part Five
“1940?” Jade exclaimed to Brainwave. “But — but — this looks like the set of The Three Musketeers or something! What’s going on?”
Brainwave was grim as he considered. “Jen, did you feel something pull us to one side as we travelled?”
“Like a sharp left turn or something?” Jade asked. “Yeah! I didn’t say anything at the time, but — what was it?”
“It seems to have been our entrance into an alternate timeline,” Brainwave said. “A timeline where the Dark Ages never ended. We went back to 1940, but not the 1940 we knew!”
“Oh, man!” Jade said, her head spinning. “And now what do we do?”
Brainwave shrugged. “You power-pulse us back, I hope.”
“Nice try, Hank,” Jade said, “but I don’t know how to get us back to our own timeline! I could do a straight line between years, but now I don’t know where we are, dimensionally, or how to get back! I could try, but we could end up even farther away from our own timeline!”
“I was afraid of that,” Brainwave said. “Let’s keep our cool, there has to be a way out of this. We just have to–”
“Hank!” Jade cried, pointing up at the sky. “Look!”
Brainwave looked up, and gasped at what he saw. A shape, black as it was silouhetted against the sun, but definitely a man. A man with huge, feathered wings.
Part Six
The flying man began to descend, and Jade and Brainwave could see that he carried another man under his right arm.
“I guess this alternate timeline has its own Hawkman,” Jade whispered to Brainwave. But when the flying shapes landed the timelost heroes saw that, while there were similarities, there were vast differences as well. This winged man wore a golden chain-mail bodysuit, similar to what they had seen the Shining Knight wear. Over this he wore a scarlet tunic emblazoned with the familiar black hawk’s-head symbol. Over his head he wore a cylindrical helmet of polished black metal, topped with a shining metal hawk.
The man the winged man carried was commonly dressed, and visibly shaking with fear. He was obviously petrified with terror.
A man of about thirty, dressed somewhat more elegantly than the rest of the citizenry, rushed to meet the winged man.
“Caught another one, Sir Falconer?” he asked.
“Aye, Sheriff,” the winged man said, tossing the terrified man at the newcomer. “Will these varlets ne’er learn that the highways leading to Middlesex are under my protection?”
“‘Twould seem not,” the sheriff said, taking custody of the terrified highwayman. “Well, I’ll find lodging for our new guest, fear not!”
“See that you do,” Sir Falconer said shortly, then took to the skies again.
Jade and Brainwave looked at each other briefly, then watched the winged lawman fly away.
Part Seven
“Did you see that?” Jade asked, bewildered. “That — that was Hawkman — but it wasn’t!”
“I imagine nothing is exactly like we know it, in this world,” Brainwave said calmly. ” ‘Sir Falconer’, didn’t the sheriff call him? Interesting.”
“How can you be so calm?” Jade demanded. “We’re stuck here in this backward timeline, with no way of getting home! Maybe you’re ready to do a road company of A Connecticut Infinitor in King Arthur’s Court, but I’m–”
“Relax, Jen,” Brainwave said. “I’ve figured out how we’re going to get home.”
“You have?” Jade stared at her lover. “Well, how about letting me in on the secret, because I’m about one step away from panicking, over here!”
“If this world has a Hawkman,” Brainwave said, “it probably has a Doctor Fate, too. If we can find him, he can probably use his magic to help us find the right way home.”
“Probably,” Jade repeated, simply.
“I never said it was a perfect plan,” Brainwave said. “But unless you have a better idea…”
“No, I don’t,” Jade said. “So how do we find Sir Fate, or whoever?”
“We begin looking,” Brainwave said. “I tried a brief mental scan of the townsfolk, but they’ve never heard of anything like our Doctor Fate. But I suppose news doesn’t travel much from town to town, here, what with no newspapers or mass communication. We should just strike out on our own, start looking.”
“Better than nothing,” Jade sighed.
Part Eight
“So where do we begin looking?” Jade asked. “I don’t guess we can call directory assistance…”
“We could try an aerial search,” Brainwave suggested. “Maybe get our bearings, figure out where on the continent we are. That could help us find Salem, Massachusetts, and presumably his tower; if the Fate of this world has similar headquarters.”
“Works for me,” Jade said, using her power pulse to lift herself and her lover into the air.
“Careful!” Brainwave cautioned. “We don’t want to be seen flying! Even if they are used to that Sir Falconer character–”
“Relax, I’m also making us invisible,” Jade said. And so they flew. They headed east, for about an hour, trying to determine where they were. Then Jade pointed down.
“Look!” she exclaimed. “Down there!”
“What?” Brainwave asked, looking.
“It’s some kind of town fair, or something! See that musician? And the people dancing around him?”
“Oh — yes,” Brainwave said, looking closer. “It’s very interesting, but it doesn’t get us closer to home, does it?”
“Let’s have a closer look!” Jade insisted. “I’ve always enjoyed the renaissance fairs in California; it’d be fun to compare them to the real thing!”
Brainwave didn’t protest. What good would it do, since Jade was “driving”? They began arcing down to the town square.
As they landed, however, they noticed something strange about the townsfolk. Though they danced around the minstrel, they had blank expressions on their faces, and their eyes had a glassy, hypnotized look to them. They had seen this sort of thing before.
The minstrel wore the motley outfit of the traveling musicians of the period, all in green. His hair was long, stringy, and white as snow. A maniacal look was on his face as he strummed his lute and sang.
“Come gather around me,
Townspeople surround me,
Hark now to the song of the Balladeer!
My word’s your command,
You’ll be my merry band,
Now gather me riches from far and from near!”
Jade looked at Brainwave. “Some things are pretty constant from one Earth to the next, I suppose.”
Part Nine
Jade and Brainwave watched the man calling himself the Balladeer. The townspeople circled around him, glazed, hypnotic looks on their faces, moving to his instruction.
“What are we waiting for?” Jade asked. “This may be a crazy alternate timeline, but a super-villain’s a super-villain!”
“Patience,” Brainwave said, holding up a hand. “I have a feeling this Balladeer will be dealt with any second now.”
“Huh?” Jade asked. “What do you–?” And then she saw it. A red and blue blur coming up the lane and gaining quickly. As quickly as her eyes could register the presence of the blur, it had resolved itself into a man; a man clothed in the costume of court nobles of the Middle Ages, in deep scarlet and midnight blue, with a golden lightning bolt emblazoned on his chest.
The Balladeer grinned wickedly as he saw the new arrival. “Ah, the Lord of Lightning! It never takes you long, does it?”
“I could say the same of you, Balladeer,” the Lord of Lightning countered. “You escaped the King’s Gaol not a fortnight past, and already you’re back at the mischief that put you there!”
“You’ll not be taking me back to the Gaol, king’s lickspittle,” the Balladeer sneered. He again strummed his lute and raised his voice in song.
“The rage you now are feeling
Is so powerful it’s frightening,
And the only way to stop it
Is to kill the Lord of Lightning!”
The blank expressions on the faces of the townspeople changed to blind fury. They swarmed at the Lord of Lightning, ready to tear him to pieces. With super-speed he avoided their grasp, but as soon as he avoided one, another was upon him.
“Hahahaha!” the Balladeer laughed. “Sooner or later, one of my slaves will catch you, Lord of Lightning! You can’t avoid them all forever, and I know you won’t fight back!”
But the villain’s chuckle of triumph was cut short by a beam of brilliant emerald light suddenly washing over him.
Part Ten
Brainwave’s head snapped around to stare at Jade, when he saw the emerald light. But he saw that it was not her doing. She was staring wide-eyed into the sky. Brainwave followed her gaze, and saw what she was staring at. A man was flying into the scene. A man in full knight’s armor, with visor down; the armor was all a bright emerald green, and glowing. A green plume curled up and back from the top of his helmet. He held in his left hand a sword with a glowing green blade, and it was from this that the green beam shone.
“The Knight of the Verdant Flame!” The Balladeer cried. “Unfair! Y-you’re not supposed to be here!”
“Nor are you, villain,” the Knight boomed, as his green beam formed glowing chains around the Balladeer’s arms and torso. “You are supposed to be in the custody of the king’s justice. And I shall remedy that situation anon.” The Balladeer thus subdued, the Knight landed in the square. The hypnotized townsfolk came to their senses with the end of the Balladeer’s song, and wandered off in a daze. The Lord of Lightning stepped up to the newcomer.
“My thanks for the assistance, friend Knight,” he said affably. “What brings you to Stone Quay?”
“King’s business,” the Knight of the Verdant Flame said simply. “I come on an errand from King Franklin, an errand of great urgency.”
“Indeed? What would that be, my friend?” the Lord of Lightning asked. “May I assist you, as you have me?”
“I had hoped you would,” the Knight said. “For only part of my errand brings me to Stone Quay; the task of asking for your help.”
The Lord of Lightning spread its arms wide. “For the Kingdom, and an old friend, I am at your service.”
“As I knew you would be,” the Knight said, placing a friendly hand on the Lord’s shoulder. “You are indeed brave. It will be an honor to fight alongside you; aye, and die alongside you, if necessary.”
Jade gasped.
Part Eleven
“Die, Sir Knight?” The Lord of Lightning said. “It’s as grave as that?”
“Aye, and more so,” the Knight of the Verdant Flame said. “The King’s spies in Germania report that Warlord Adolphus plans to invade the Kingdom; perhaps sooner than we can even act!”
“That’s grave indeed, but hardly unexpected,” the Lord of Lightning commented. “He’s been threatening for months now! Surely our armies–”
“I have not told the worst of it,” the Knight said. “A traitor to the Crown has pledged his aid to Adolphus. One well known to both you and I; the evil one known as the Wizard King!”
“What, him?” the Lord of Lightning said, startled. “With his sorcerous might added to Adolphus’ armies, he may prevail at that!”
“Which is why we two must stop him!” the Knight said vehemently. “Are you with me, my friend?”
“Aye, to the death,” the Lord of Lightning promised. “But there are others we may call, whose skills could be of service! Sir Falconer — Thane of the Hourglass–”
“There be not time,” the Knight said. “There was barely time to bring you into the cause! Come, we must be about this now!”
And the Knight shot into the sky, propelled by his glowing emerald sword. The Lord of Lightning followed on the ground, a scarlet blur.
Part Twelve
Jade turned to Brainwave, all excitement and urgency. “Hank! Did you hear that? Warlord Adolphus; that has to be this crazy world’s Hitler! And — and the Wizard King! They’re going to start World War Two on this backward world! We’ve got to–”
“Hold it right there,” her lover said, holding up a hand. “We can’t interfere with this world’s history. You know that.”
Jade gaped at him. “What? You’re serious! I don’t believe this Star Trek Prime Directive nonsense you’re spouting! People could die, and we could do something about it!”
“But tampering with history — well, it’s just wrong, that’s all!” Brainwave protested. “What if some extra-dimensional time travelers had decided to stop that train wreck your dad was in? He’d never have become Green Lantern, and you wouldn’t have been born!”
“Well, how do you know we weren’t meant to be here?” Jade demanded. “That we weren’t ordained to be the force that brings this world’s JSA together? After all, the lot of us traveled back to 1942 in our own timeline, and if we didn’t affect the outcome of history then–”
“All right, all right,” Brainwave said. “OK, I can see you’re going to have an argument for everything I say. What’s your idea?”
“You heard the Flash — er, the Lord of Lightning,” Jade said. “There are other heroes in this world. We enlist their help. Then we tag along ourselves, keeping out of sight unless we’re really needed.”
Brainwave was silent for a moment, thinking it over. “Sounds good,” he finally said.
Part Thirteen
“OK, here’s the plan,” Jade launched into her explanation. “I’ll use my power-pulse to send signals to the other heroes, putting them on the Knight of the Verdant Flame’s trail. They’ll think the signals came from the Knight himself, and follow them.”
“Can you do that?” Brainwave asked. “You don’t know where to find the other heroes!”
“I’ve seen Sir Falconer,” Jade explained. “I can visualize him in my mind, and my pulse will seek him out. The other one, Thane of the Hourglass, will be harder.”
“Maybe not,” Brainwave said. “When the Lord of Lightning mentioned his name, a mental picture of him came to the surface of the Knight’s mind; so strong that I got a glimpse of it. I can transfer it to you.”
“Wonderful!” Jade said. “I’ll start right away; there’s no time to lose!” Jade closed her eyes, and imagined the heroic Sir Falconer she and Brainwave had seen in the village square. She sent out a beam of emerald energy from her power pulse, and it streaked into the sky to find him.
“OK, now for the ersatz Hourman,” Brainwave said. He mentally communicated the hero’s image to Jade. Jade saw the picture in her mind; a tall man in a black chain mail bodysuit, covered with a golden yellow tunic and hood, a stylish hourglass hung from a golden chain around his neck. She concentrated on this image, and sent out another power-pulse beam. It, too, streaked into the sky.
Part Fourteen
In a hidden room somewhere in the village of Middlesex, a man threw punch after punch at a huge burlap sack filled to bursting with soil. The man was tiny by ordinary standards, barely topping five feet; but after a few such punches, the huge, heavy bag split its seams, spilling dirt all over the floor.
“Squire Smallbody!” a voice barked. “Are you dirtying up my clean floor again?”
“Sorry, Sir Falconer,” the small man apologized. “We need to buy a better grade of punching bag; these cheap things give me no workout at all!”
“You’d be better served testing your muscles against highwaymen than bags of soil,” Sir Falconer noted.
“Indeed?” Squire Smallbody shot back. “And who was it who captured the brigands what had kidnapped the Mayor’s daughter last month? And the month before that–”
The exchange was cut off by the appearance of a glowing green light, a floating halo of emerald brilliance in the air.
“Sir Falconer — what be that?” Squire Smallbody asked, in amazement.
“I-I don’t know!” Sir Falconer said, awed. “It has the look of sorcery — aye, or the Knight of the Verdant Flame!”
“Perhaps its a signal from the Knight!” Smallbody said. “Perhaps he wants our help!”
“It could be,” Sir Falconer admitted. “I’ve never met the man, but words of his deeds have reached my ears. If he wants our help, he’ll have it!”
***
At the docks of the harbor of New Yorktown, a collection of roughly-dressed thugs lay across the stank-smelling boards of a pier, unconscious. Over their prone bodies stood the man Brainwave had regonized as Thane of the Hourglass, and another man, this one dressed in long purple robes and wearing a strange metal helmet, one with a long tube at the mouthguard. The two men shook hands friendlily.
“My thanks for your assistance, Duke of Dreams,” Thane of the Hourglass said. “Your arrival was, if you’ll pardon my joke, most timely.”
“‘Twas my pleasure, Thane,” the Duke said. “Ruffians such as these must not be allowed to plunder the cargo of our merchant ships, else they–”
“Duke!” Thane gasped. “Look!”
A glowing ball of green light appeared in their midst, hovering before their eyes.
“Witchcraft?” Thane asked in awe.
“That — or the Knight of the Verdant Flame,” Duke said.
“Oh, aye! I have heard of him,” Thane said. “If this is his work, what does it mean?”
“Perhaps he is trying to contact us,” Duke offered.
“Well, he is known for routing the foes of the Crown,” Thane said. “If that’s his business, he will find Thane of the Hourglass eager to aid!”
Part Fifteen
The Knight of the Verdant Flame flew along, leaving a trail of emerald energy in his wake. The Lord of Lightning ran behind, a scarlet blur racing over the countryside. Jade and Brainwave followed at a safe distance, made invisible by Jade’s power pulse.
“Now remember,” Brainwave said, “we keep out of any fighting unless it looks grim. We only intervene directly if absolutely necessary.”
“Right, right,” Jade said, dismissively. “Wow, this is exciting! Just think, Hank! We’re about to see the birth of this world’s Justice Society!”
Brainwave shook his head and sighed. Jen seemed to have lost all sense of the fact that they may never get home, never see their friends again.
“I recognize the land below us,” Jade said. “On our world, this is Long Island Sound!”
“So it is,” Brainwave agreed, looking. “Wonder what it’s called here?”
Before Jade could answer, the Knight stopped his flight, hovering in the sky. The Lord of Lightning came to a stop on the ground; the Knight lowered himself to just above his head.
“There,” the Knight said, pointing with his sword. He indicated a small fortress or castle, standing on the edge of the water.
“That?” the Lord of Lightning said. “‘Tis a small place; one would almost overlook it.”
“Which makes it a perfect place for the Wizard King to plan his evil schemes,” the Knight said. “I never would have thought to look for him there, had not King Franklin’s spies uncovered the truth.”
“If the Wizard King is in there,” the Lord of Lightning said impatiently, “why stand we here? Let us visit the King’s justice upon him!”
The Knight nodded agreement, and together they approached the castle. They had not gone ten yards, however, before armored guards armed with swords, maces, and all manner of medieval weapons boiled out of the surrounding brush, ready for battle.
“The Wizard King’s hired miscreants!” the Lord of Lightning exclaimed. And then he was invisible, a scarlet blur moving among the angry men, striking them in a dozen places at once. The Knight joined the fight as well, beams of emerald energy lancing from his glowing green sword to smite the men one by one.
Jade watched the fight with glee. “Look at that, Hank!” she squealed. “My dad’s a top fighter in any world, isn’t he?”
Brainwave almost commented that they did not know if this Knight of the Verdant Flame were this world’s Alan Scott; after all, on the world that calls itself “Earth-One”, Green Lantern was a man named Hal Jordan. But he kept silent.
Suddenly, an ear-splitting shriek cut through the dusk sky, drowning out the clamor of battle. All eyes turned to the sky, to see an enormous winged shape descending on them.
“A dragon!” the Lord of Lightning cried. “The Wizard King has set one of his hellish creations on us!”
Jade and Brainwave gasped in silence as the monstrous scaled creature swooped down at the heroes.
Part Sixteen
“Hank — it can’t be!” Jade protested. “There — there’s no such thing as dragons!”
“I don’t think anyone told him,” Brainwave snapped. “Look at that thing!”
The dragon was huge, larger than an elephant, with great leathery wings that stirred up whirlwinds every time they beat. Its hide was covered with thick magenta scales; its bulbous eyes were a sickly yellow-green color.
“Does this constitute an emergency?” Jade asked Brainwave. Before he could answer, the Knight blasted the dragon with a bolt from his sword. The beam bounced off the creature’s hide, doing no harm.
“More magicks!” the Knight spat. “The Wizard King has found a way to protect his creations from my power sword! Well, come ahead, foul creature! You’ll find the Knight of the Verdant Flame will sell his life very dearly indeed!”
“Take heart, good Knight,” a voice cried. The Knight turned, and saw two men riding in mounted on horses. He recognized them from their attire.
“By the Flame of Life!” he cried. “Do I behold the Duke of Dreams and Thane of the Hourglass?”
“You do,” Thane cried, leaping from his mount. “Here to give aid in battle to King Franklin’s bravest warrior!”
“Well spoken, Sir Thane,” the Knight said. “And truly, I could use the help just now!”
“As could I,” the Lord of Lightning cried, battling his way through the thugs. “I think the Wizard King has bewitched these brigands somehow; they fight like men possessed!”
“Allow me, good Lord,” the Duke of Dreams said, reaching under his purple robe. He produced three glass globes the size of baseballs, and tossed them into the midst of the thugs. They exploded into a thick, purplish mist. The guards began coughing and choking, then began falling to the ground in large numbers.
In a twinkling the Lord of Lightning was beside the Duke’s horse. “Marry, ’twas wise of me to hold my breath!” he said. “I’ve heard of that mist of yours, Sir Duke; and now I see everything I heard was the truth!”
“Let us pray that tales of my strength were likewise justified,” Thane of the Hourglass said, leaping at the writhing monster.
Part Seventeen
The dragon roared as Thane of the Hourglass struck it in the foreleg with a mighty punch. Its leg seemed to buckle, but did not give way. The dragon’s jaws snapped at the Thane, but his mighty leg muscles propelled him to safety.
“My friends, look to the sky!” the Duke called, pointing. “Is it another monster, come to bedevil us?”
“I think not,” the Lord of Lightning said, straining his eyes. “That flier has the look of one I’ve seen before!”
The new winged shape soaring in from above was in fact Sir Falconer, carrying Squire Smallbody with his powerful hands under the lad’s arms.
“Zounds, what a creature!” Sir Falconer gasped. “Are you ready, Squire?”
“As ever, Sir Falconer,” Squire Smallbody said. “Let us deal this hellspawn a blow for justice!”
Silently praising Squire Smallbody’s courage, Sir Falconer zoomed over the dragon’s head, and let go. The stocky-built Squire plummeted like a missile, and drove his legs down as he connected. They struck the top of the dragon’s head squarely, with a loud crash. The dragon seemed dazed, its motions jerky, as the Squire leapt off, to be caught by a timely Lord of Lightning.
“You’ve given me an idea, Squire,” the Knight said, aiming his power sword at a nearby boulder. “Perhaps my emerald light cannot affect the monster directly — ah, but indirectly? We shall see!” The light formed a giant green hand, which picked up the boulder effortlessly, lifted it high, and slammed it down onto the dragon’s head. The creature’s skull exploded with a loud crash, and the whine of rending–
“Metal?” Jade gasped, watching as the dragon collapsed. Gears and springs and other metal parts burst from its rent skull, and a sickly smell of burning oil filled the air. “It — it’s a robot!”
“Makes sense,” Brainwave commented. “On our world, the Wizard uses sorcery. Here, where true science is as scarce as real magic is on ours–”
“My thanks for the assistance, all of you,” the Knight said, as the dragon lay wrecked and smoking.
“What is back of all this, good Knight?” Sir Falconer asked. “Who created yon monster?”
“The Wizard King,” the Knight said, gravely. “He hides in that fortress, plotting schemes with Warlord Adolphus of Germania against the Crown!”
“Then why do we stand here?” Squire Smallbody demanded, smacking his fist into his open palm. “Let us go in there, and–”
But just then, the dragon weakly raised its head, and opened its mouth. No roar came from its mechanical throat, but a high-pitched sonic whine that instantly had all the heroes clapping their hands to their ears, including Jade and Brainwave. And one by one, they fell to the ground, unconscious.
Part Eighteen
“Jen! Jen, wake up! Wake up!”
Jade gradually came back to herself, from Brainwave gently shaking her shoulders and calling to her. The world, at first a hazy blur of colors, gradually resolved itself into sharp pictures.
“Hank!” Jade exclaimed. “What — what happened?”
“The dragon,” Brainwave said grimly. “It was equipped with some kind of sonic stunner! Knocked us out; and, I have to assume, all of this world’s heroes too! They’re gone!”
“They must be in the castle!” Jade said, struggling to rise to her feet. “We’ve got to — oooh.” Jade wobbled, still a little woozy from the sonic cannon.
“Hang on, hang on,” Brainwave said. “We’re not sure of anything yet; we’d better not go charging in half-cocked. Besides, if this world’s Wizard could take out six heroes, we’d better at least have a game plan!”
“Can you see if they’re in there?” Jade asked. “Use your powers, tune in on their minds?”
“I can try,” Brainwave said, closing his eyes. He sat back on his heels, palms resting on his thighs, and concentrated. Jade watched him, silently, for long minutes. They were unaware that another pair of eyes, dark, shrouded eyes, were watching them.
“Yes — yes, I see them,” Brainwave said at last. “They’re in the castle, all right! I think I’m picking up Squire Smallbody’s thoughts, because he’s the only one I can’t see! They’re all chained to a wall in the castle!”
“All of them?” Jade asked. “What about Da — the Knight of the Verdant Flame?”
“He’s chained, too,” Brainwave reported. “But his chains seem to be of heavy wood, not metal. His power sword is sheathed in its scabbard; probably goes there automatically if he’s knocked out, and nobody else can draw it, kind of like your dad’s power ring!”
“What about the others?”
“The Lord of Lightning has some kind of glass helmet over his head, and its filled with a kind of pinkish vapor. He seems weak, like he can barely stand. Thane of the Hourglass is wrapped from head to foot in chains, like a mummy. The others are just chained at the wrists.”
“And the Wizard King? Do you see him?”
“I think so,” Brainwave said. “I see a big guy in black robes, with long black hair and a bushy black beard, and the most hateful, malevolent eyes I’ve ever seen! If that’s not the Wizard King, it ought to be! I–”
“Hank!” Jade suddenly screamed.
Part Nineteen
Jade’s scream brought Brainwave back from his mental state. He opened his eyes, and found himself staring at what appeared to be a man in clothes similar to those worn by the sheriff in Middlesex. The man’s skin was chalk-white, and his eyes were shrouded by the hood of the cloak he wore. There was an expression of calm on his face…dead calm.
“Do not be troubled,” the man spoke, in a hollow voice. “I intend no harm toward you.”
“Who — who are you?” Jade asked, in a tremulous voice.
“I am known as the Ghost of the Moors,” the white-skinned being said. “I once had another name, but it belonged to another life; a life that was stolen by a highwayman’s knife. Now, Ghost of the Moors is the only name that fits me.”
Brainwave nodded. “What do you here, Ghost?”
“I am unable to quit this sphere,” the Ghost said, “until my mission on Earth is completed. My mission to seek out evil, in all its forms, and smite it wherever and however I find it. The great evil being contemplated therein–” the Ghost indicated the castle with a white finger “–drew me like honey draws the fly. I do not know what form it takes, only that the evil is very great indeed. And I sense no evil in yourselves. Therefore, why would you be in this evil place, save to confront that evil? If I am correct, and our purposes correlate, perhaps we may join our strengths.”
“Indeed,” Brainwave agreed. “The evil within takes the form known as the Wizard King.”
Something like a frown flitted across the Ghost’s expressionless face, for a heartbeat. “I have heard of him. A truly evil man, who uses forbidden magicks to accomplish his ends. I knew that, one day, my mission would bring me into conflict with him.”
“That about sums him up, all right,” Jade agreed. “What say we go in there and smite him together?”
The Ghost simply, silently, nodded.
Part Twenty
“You sick fiend,” Squire Smallbody spat at the Wizard King. “Why don’t you just kill us now, and quit gloating about it?”
“All in good time, my tiny friend,” the Wizard King sneered. “Your death will come in due season. But my goal was to capture, not kill, as many of the Kingdom’s heroes as I could. I must say, though, even I did not expect six of you.”
“You planned this?” Sir Falconer demanded.
“Of course,” the Wizard King said smoothly. “Why else would we leak the information of my headquarters to King Franklin’s spies? Ah, I see the surprise on your faces. Yes, we knew of them, the spies. They were so valuable, feeding them false information as we did. And now we have the six of you. Adolphus’ alchemists are anxious to study each of you, learn your secrets. Once they do, Adolphus will have an army of men like yourself to march on the Kingdom!”
“You’re a traitor to the Crown!” Knight of the Verdant Flame cursed, straining at his wooden chains.
“And what has the Crown ever done for me, but persecute me for my beliefs and my experiments?” the Wizard King snarled. “No, Sir Knight, the Crown is the traitor, and I will dance on its grave!”
“You will visit no grave this night, save perhaps your own, Wizard,” a sepulchral voice boomed through the castle.
Part Twenty-One
The captive heroes and the Wizard King watched as the eerie white-skinned figure walked through the castle wall to appear in their midst.
“The Ghost of the Moors!” the Knight gasped, straining in his chains. “But — but I thought he was only a legend!”
“I’ve heard the same said of you, Sir Knight,” Thane of the Hourglass said.
“Be you now free, to strike in the cause of justice,” the Ghost intoned, with a flourish of his hand. Instantly the chains and other binding devices vanished, leaving the heroes free to fight.
“Meddling specter!” the Wizard King spat. “You’ll not snatch victory from me so easily!”
No sooner were the words spoken then dozens of armored warriors, armed with swords and maces, charged into the room. The heroes instantly joined them in battle, and quickly the room was a boiling mass of limbs and bodies.
Jade and Brainwave had hung back, watching from the window, at Brainwave’s insistence. “Hank, look!” Jade gasped, watching as Squire Smallbody ducked a sword-thrust from one warrior and the blade sliced through the body of another. Not blood but black oil spilled from the wound. “The Wizard’s men — they’re robots!”
“The battle is going pretty one-sided,” Brainwave commented, watching the Knight bowl over six robot warriors as the Lord of Lightning kayoed another four. “But, you know, one member is still missing from the gathering.”
Suddenly, a bright golden light shone over the young timelost heroes. Jade turned her head, to stare into a shining golden mask. She gasped sharply.
“D-Doctor Fate!” she stammered.
“No,” the golden mask said, simply.
Part Twenty-Two
Jade and Brainwave stared past the golden helmet and saw billowing blue robes beneath them. The robes floated in the breeze as the being hung suspended in air, floated so freely that Jade wondered if there were a body beneath them at all.
“I am not the Doctor Fate you know, Jennie-Lynn Hayden,” the apparition spoke. “I am known as Goldenhelm the Mage.”
“You — know our names?” Brainwave asked.
“There is little I do not know, Henry King Junior,” Goldenhelm said kindly. “And I know you seek a way to return to your home world.”
“Can you help us?” Jade asked anxiously.
“I can,” Goldenhelm said with a small nod. “I can help speed you on your way back to the world and time from whence you came.”
“But — but what about the battle here?” Jade asked. “The Wizard King, the heroes? We–”
“You have set the wheels in motion for a golden age of heroes to dawn,” Goldenhelm said. “You have done what was destined of you to do. There is no further need for your presence in this world.”
“You knew?” Brainwave demanded. “You knew we would come here, do what we did?”
“As I said,” Goldenhelm said, “there is little that I do not know. Now, prepare yourselves for the journey back.”
As a golden light began to shine from Goldenhelm’s forehead, Jade looked back through the window of the fortress, taking one last look at this world’s heroes. What she saw made her gasp with surprise. “Hank — look!”
The Wizard King had taken a direct hit in the chest by a bolt from the Knight’s sword. He fell to his knees, clutching himself with pain. His form shimmered, like a heat image, and seemed to collapse in on itself. It changed; gone was the form of the tall man with long black hair and bristling beard, replaced by a tiny, shrivelled dwarf with a bald head and thick, round glasses.
“Hank — he wasn’t the Wizard at all!” Jade said with awe. “He was–”
“The Wizard… King,” Brainwave whispered.
And then everything vanished in a blaze of golden light.
Epilogue
On a stage in a popular theater in New York City, a live television show was being beamed to millions of homes as the actors performed their carefully-rehearsed skits. The set was made up to resemble a low-budget talk show, with a stained-glass window behind the host’s desk. The host was a male comedian, dressed up to look like a prudish woman of middle age. Her guest for the evening was a professional basketball player, wearing his team uniform.
“We like ourselves, don’t we?” the comedian asked the basketball player. “I wonder who inspires you to jump around in your spandex shorty-shorts, getting all sweaty and tingly. Hmm, I wonder, could it be…”
Just then, in a flash of golden light, Jade and Brainwave appeared on the stage. Silence ruled the theater while everyone tried to figure out if this were part of the sketch or not.
“Oops!” Jade said, embarrased. “Right timeline, wrong coast! Sorry about that, folks!” The young heroine raised her hand, and in a burst of emerald light, she and her companion were gone.
“Well now,” the comedian said, still in character. “Wasn’t that spatial?”
***
Back in Infinity, Inc. Headquarters, Jade and Brainwave relaxed over coffee and tried to assimilate all they had seen.
“I still don’t believe it,” Brainwave said. “All along we thought that was their world’s Wizard, and he was… he was…”
“Someone else,” Jade insisted. “You know, Goldenhelm said we were destined to bring his world’s heroes together. I wonder what ever happened there? Did they go on to become as legendary as our own Justice Society?”
“We’ll probably never know, Jen,” Brainwave said, taking a sip. “We’ll probably never know.”
“Probably,” Jade agreed, a mischeivous look in her eye.
