Spy Smasher

From the Ashes

by Libbylawrence

A balding blond man with the easy assurance of a born aristocrat and the natural grace of a superb athlete paced restlessly back and forth within a luxuriously decorated living room in a sprawling Southern mansion in the green hills of Virginia.

Alan Armstrong managed a thin smile of thanks as a heavyset woman in her fifties peered into the room around an ajar door and nodded down to a tray of sandwiches and drinks she was propping against the door.

“Thank you, Mrs. Copeland. I’d almost forgotten to eat today with poor Eve like she is!” he said as he moved forward and took the heavily polished tray from the cook’s plump hands.

Mrs. Copeland nodded and said, “I’m so sorry, sir. Miss Eve has had more than her fair share of troubles!”

Alan put the tray on a small table and patted her hand.

“Yes, she has at that. Still, I know her burdens have been eased by having such a good friend like you around to take care of us both!” he said.

After the cook returned to her kitchen domain, her employer looked over to his guest.

A sultry Egyptian woman with ravishing good looks and a cool but penetrating intellect sat nearby in a dress made of an exotic fabric quite possibly lost to modern knowledge. She stood up and moved closer to where Alan offered the meal.

“Alan, you are as ever the perfect Southern gentleman and host but you must not allow your concern for Eve or your natural inclination for playing the gentile host to prevent you from eating as well. Starving yourself will do nothing to help your mate!” she said in a musical voice that echoed with hints of far off lands and ancient wonders.

“Taia, I know. I’ll eat. I guess I just feel so guilty. Eve’s life has been ruined by my actions. Her very sanity has been threatened by my deeds or those of my foes. She would have been better off if she had never met me,” he said.

Taia frowned and lowered her expressive eyes. Heavy but expertly applied mascara darkened her lashes but failed to conceal the sorrow in her eyes.

“Dear Alan, your Eve loves you as strongly as my own Prince Amentep loves me and our passion was vital enough to survive the grave itself or a sleep nigh unto such a final rest. I am not your bride but I am a woman in love and I can assure you that with a passion like the one shared by Eve and yourself, any sacrifice is worthwhile!” she said.

Alan nodded and said, “Taia, you are a remarkable woman and a good friend. I only hope Ibis can help Eve!”

Taia said, “You may rest assured that he has not earned the title “the Invincible” by lightly failing any task or turning away from the direst of perils!”

Alan sighed and sank down into a plush armchair and idly ate a sandwich without fully tasting the food or thinking about anything but the woman he loved and her current plight.

2

Upstairs in a beautifully decorated room, Ibis himself attempted to live up to his wife’s faith in his prowess. The Egyptian Prince wore one of his customarily elegantly fashioned suits and a red turban. His regal features were clouded as he whispered softly and held an ornate wand over a restless woman who moaned softly in a fevered sleep. She was lovely but her features also showed care and strain. Eve Corby Armstrong came from a proud line of Virginia aristocrats and like her wealthy husband Alan, she was made of stern stuff; however, as Alan had lamented to Taia in the room below, Eve had also suffered extraordinarily over the years!

Ibis spoke again and a faint glow suffused her body before a look of peace came across her face and her slumber became heavier and more tranquil!

“Ibisstick heal her! Ibisstick soothe her troubled psyche!” he said.

He knew that the magic power within his talisman could perform nearly any deed no matter how bizarre or fantastic in nature. Still, he knew magic had its limits and other more intimate weaknesses originating from the frailty of the woman herself could prevent him from performing the wonders expected of him!

He closed the door and came down stairs to face an eager Alan Armstrong and an expectant Taia. He read the old look of faith in him that was on his wife’s face and he silently blessed her for her loyalty.

“Is she?” began Alan.

Ibis spoke in a commanding tone that still carried within its stentorian force an all too evident compassion.

“Eve is much improved; however, she needs her rest. Upon awakening, she may find herself in possession of both her faculties and her memory.”

Alan nodded in relief.

“Thank you! I was at my wits end! She didn’t know me this morning! She looked at me with the gaze of a madwoman! I thought it was just a relapse of her old problem from the Suspendium Trap but it was much worse! She didn’t just think it was 1953 again! She had no memory of the year or who I was or of her own identity!”

Ibis nodded and gently but firmly ushered Alan to a chair.

“Alan, we can do nothing more for her until she awakens naturally. I suggest we occupy that interval as best we can. Would you tell me more about Eve’s history? I fear I have been remiss in contacting you so infrequently since we all were revived from that devilish trap of Dr. Sivana’s nearly a decade and a half ago! When we have met it has been to vanquish other fiends like that mad but brilliant scientist and not to merely partake of the joys of friendship!”

Alan sighed and said, “Well, I’ve been as much to blame as any of you. I have only suited up a dozen times or so in the last 12 years and most of those cases were more cosmic things like that business with the Justice Society! No wonder we old allies have fallen out of touch with one another! Plus, with the Marvels around it’s not like masked acrobats have been that necessary for a long time! Now, I regret even leaving Eve those few times!”

Taia said, “Alan, you must listen to my Love, he is wise beyond all measure! And yet even that wisdom did not prevent him from falling victim to the wicked schemes of Dr. Sivana in 1953!”

Alan smiled as he took her gentle hint to get around to answering her husband’s questions. The Egyptian Royals made a good team. They understood one another completely.

“Well, I guess the story of Eve’s problems started long before the Suspendium Trap. You see, she first learned my secret identity before the war. She was my fiancé and the fact is, she found out my secret by stumbling upon me at close range during a case. I wanted to calm her down so I just raised my goggles.”

Ibis said, “What was her reaction? Since she knew you well, no doubt, she had realized you possessed the skills and the motive to assume such a role!”

Alan shrugged and said, “So, it’s You! she cried.”

“My rather understated reply was something like, “I afraid it is! Tom Trix, the taciturn cowboy star had nothing on me when it came to being strong and silent!”

“She had no time to adjust to the shocking concept that her wealthy fiancé was really a slightly notorious masked avenger before having that fact thrust upon her all at once! I’d managed to stay in the shadows or hide myself behind my cape or mask when I’d encountered her prior to that one case. However, once she learned the truth, she was a real rock! She supported me as best she could all the way through the war. She even dressed up like me once to help protect my secret, bless her heart! When the war ended, I gave up the costume for around 6 years and solved a few cases as plain old Alan Armstrong although I toyed with using the nom du crime of Crime Smasher but that never really caught on with either the press boys or my supporters!”

Taia said, “Fascinating! I never knew you worked without your mask! Of course, your skills and deductive mind would have served you well in any capacity!”

Alan said, “I was really just playing at being a P.I.! Too many noir flicks seeped into my mind, I guess!”

Ibis said, “And yet, like so many of us, you decided to attend the celebration held in 1953 to pay tribute to the Marvel Family. Dozens of ordinary citizens along with many of us from the mystery-man life came that day and fell victim to what has become known as the Suspendium Trap!”

Alan nodded and put down his glass.

“Eve and I were there as was Jack Weston, Brian and Rob Butler, and a couple other heroes or allies to various do-gooders. Dr. Sivana and his evil brood took advantage of the moment to engulf the whole crowd in a substance called Suspendium. It put all of us in a kind of waking sleep for twenty years! We didn’t move, or age a second until the Marvels managed to escape and free us all! While we thought mere moments had passed since we arrived at the celebration in 1953, in truth time had passed us all by!”

Ibis said, “And Sivana and his ilk reaped little benefit from his evil schemes since all of the villains there were also trapped by accident in the suspended animation which ensnared all others present!”

Taia added, “In many ways it was a blessing since we all retained our youth and vitality due to the effects of the trap!”

Ibis said, “And yet, while you and I had some little experience with sleeping through eons and emerging to find the world had turned many times while we slumbered, the shock must have been tremendous for ordinary souls like Eve!”

Alan said, “Eve was unable to deal with the fact that she had lost so much time. Her father had died while she was trapped. Her friends had grown older. Fashions, music, popular culture all had changed. She reacted by blocking out the memory of the trap. She acted as if it was still 1953. I tried to help her by playing along at first while I consulted medical experts. Still, the best anyone could do was to guide her back to some sense of normalcy with one glaring exception. She no longer recalled my secret. Maybe, she blamed me for what had happened. Maybe, she felt that if I had not been a friend to the Marvels we would not have been there when the trap happened! Maybe, she could only rationalize loving Alan Armstrong by forgetting he was Spy Smasher!”

Ibis noticed his friend’s rising emotion and said, “And so, after emerging from the trap and trying to cure her, you did in fact, finally marry and reveal your secret. That occurred in my presence when my evil relation the Black Pharaoh used foul magic to turn Eve into a reincarnation of his bride Osira!”

Alan said, “The shock of seeing me brought her out of his mind control! I had to risk it to prevent her from killing us all! I only came to consider that she fell under his spell so easily because some part of her hated Spy Smasher after the fact!”

He said, “We were doing just fine. I’d retired from the business of crime fighting except for helping out with the Mazahs case. We were thinking about adopting a baby since we can’t have children of our own. And, like I said, this morning when we woke up, Eve didn’t recall anything about her own life! I was ready to give up when I thought of you and your magic! I really didn’t care if anyone realized my own secret because of seeing the famous Ibis here. I just wanted to help Eve!”

Ibis said, “The Ibisstick has clouded the minds of all within the house. When we depart, only the three of us will recall that Taia and I were here. I think Eve’s memory has been restored. Still, we must seek the truth about what caused her to lose all sense of self!”

Before he could continue, the entire house was rocked by a series of tremors.

3

Ibis steadied Taia as the house shook around them!

“Eve!” yelled Alan as he vaulted up the stairs!

Ibis said, “Beloved, get the servants out of the house! I fear we are under attack! Virginia is not noted for quakes of this magnitude!”

Taia nodded and rushed out to lead Mrs. Copeland and her staff out the rear of the mansion!

Meanwhile, before Ibis could speak to command his Ibisstick, he was struck by the flying form of Alan Armstrong as he rounded the top landing!

He struck the ground and remained still as Alan groaned and sat up again!

Blood dripped from a cut on his cheek but he ignored it and barely checked on Ibis before racing back toward Eve’s room!

He grabbed a small end table from the hall and raised it in front of his chest as a rough shield.

He grunted as something smashed into the table and kept him back.

“Force beam again! Same thing that knocked me into Ibis!” he mused.

He hurled the shattering table aside and rolled nimbly beneath it to emerge in the now wrecked room! A huge hole now covered the broken wall and Eve was nowhere to be seen!

Alan dived through the hole and even in his haste and concern for his wife, his keen eye noticed that nothing was burning! It was as if the wall had been broken apart by sheer vibratory force!

He landed hard on a smooth metal surface and clawed desperately for a grip on the rising aircraft that filled his line of vision!

He slipped precariously off one side and managed to catch one metal rail as tried to make sense of the sight.

“It makes my Gyroship look like a child’s toy!” he thought.

Alan’s acrobatic skills came into play as he swung his legs up and looped them over another rail.

He wrapped his body around the rail and studied the odd ship.

“Got to be some portal that will let me inside! Eve’s in that thing!” he said.

A roar like thunder echoed from within the craft and a speaker crackled as a powerful voice with a foreign accent but crisp and perfect diction bellowed out!

“Your father’s sin against me has come back to haunt you! No one steals from me and lives to prosper! No thief will go unpunished! I have your wife and she will be but partial payment for the loss I suffered at your sire’s hands!”

Alan gasped in pain as the rail suddenly slid into the ship and left him falling through the air!

He twisted and turned and managed to land safely below as the huge ship vanished into the sky and seemed to fade away like the last of the setting sun!

“Eve!” he roared!

He sank to his knees in despair and remained immobile until Ibis and Taia drew closer to him and gently helped him stand.

“Alan, I fear I was of little use to you. What new madness has overtaken Eve?” asked the Egyptian Prince.

Alan said, “Ibis, I need you to leave. I have work to do alone!”

Taia said, “Dearest Alan, surely my Prince and I may assist you. This abduction may be linked to poor Eve’s amnesia!”

Ibis said, “The Ibisstick could trace her! I am weakened but far from beaten!”

Alan said, “Listen, Ibis, this is personal. I know who took her and why they took her. I can find her and I’m going to do so but I want you out of here. Out of respect for our friendship I want you to trust me this time.”

Ibis stared at his friend’s wild eyes and nodded slowly.

“We will honor your wishes but we will also return at any time should you need us!”

Taia leaned over and kissed Alan’s cheek before stepping closer to Ibis.

“Ibisstick restore the damaged house! Ibisstick return us to our own home!” he said.

The lovers vanished as the wall returned to normal.

Alan stared at it for a minute then raced inside. He ignored a frantic Mrs. Copeland and almost shoved a maid named Kathie aside.

“All of you take a week off with full pay. Leave immediately!” he shouted.

They obeyed out of respect for both his emotional state and his uncharacteristic anger.

Elsewhere, Ibis held Taia and said, “Alan already blamed himself for Eve’s initial plight. It is apparent that something in his past has give rise to her current state. I can not intervene since he expressly asked me not to; however, nor can I leave Eve in peril. Ibisstick take me to Eve Colby Armstrong!” he said as he stepped away from his wife.

Ibis frowned as nothing happened.

“Beloved, something prevents your power from working?” asked Taia.

Ibis took her hand and nodded slowly.

“There is more than science involved in Eve’s abduction. The very magic that separates me from her is a clue of sorts. I must study this matter most carefully. I fear for the Armstrongs if such powers are allied against them!”

Taia rested her head against his chest and made no reply.

4

In spite of his agitated manner, Alan Armstrong knew exactly what he had to do. He opened the locked doors to his study and closed them behind him. He hurried to an oak book case and swung open the faux case to reveal a doorway that led into a passageway that was now coated with webs and dust. He ignored the signs and scents of long disuse and raced down the tight passageway until it opened up within a massive building located beneath the Armstrong Stables.

While the priceless horses far above the underground structure rested or ate as part of their day to day routine, below their home Alan Armstrong was busily bringing the silent HQ of Spy Smasher back to active life.

“I was a dolt to let things fall into disarray like this. With the life I live I should have known my equipment might be vital at any moment. Packing away a worn costume wasn’t enough to end the legacy or curse of the Spy Smasher!” he said.

He put on the famous costume of green and red and slipped the mask and goggles over his eyes. He clipped a red cape around his shoulders and adjusted a heavy belt with a special holster.

Perhaps it was but a trick of the flickering lights but Alan Armstrong also seemed to put aside certain nuances or mannerisms that were such a part of the Virginian’s customary persona. He seemed to assume a far more confident even threatening manner as the last shreds of Alan Armstrong disappeared beneath the heroic guise of the Spy Smasher! Oddly enough, an observer might have decided that the man was more alive in costume than out of it!

He approached a sleek golden aircraft and jumped up to swing into a portal on the hull.

Spy Smasher piloted the craft skillfully and soared out an automatically sealing passageway to emerge through heavy doors behind the stables.

“They locked behind us on my signal as always. No one will be able to get into my base in my absence!” he said softly.

He clinched his fist as he cursed the fact that Eve had removed her wedding ring during her earlier mad condition. A signal device within the gemstone would have made tracking her even easier!

He adjusted a series of dials on a control panel and smiled bitterly as a red blip appeared on the grid.

“The Gyroship can track that horrible craft that took Eve! It can locate it easily enough since devices aboard are meant to pick up certain signals only a craft of the same design would emit!” he said.

“The same design. Father what has your greed done to us?” he cried.

His cry went unanswered.

5

As Spy Smasher piloted his Gyroship in pursuit of the craft that had abducted his wife Eve, he thought about how it had all started. He knew that based on the design of the massive ship that had taken her and the mocking words that came from that craft about his father, there could only be one source for his current misery: his late father Jack Alan Armstrong.

He remembered the elder Armstrong and two sensations came to mind. He felt that same old sense of pride and awe in exactly how incredibly strong his father had been and he felt the shame and grief that he had never managed to truly connect with the harsh and passionate man!

Alan knew his father had been a man of remarkable courage and confidence. Bravado would have been a better word since the elder Armstrong swaggered through life with a larger than life ego and appetites to match. He had never known struggle or hardship since the Armstrong family had stood shoulder to shoulder with the Colonial aristocrats of Pre-Revolutionary War Virginia. Washington, Henry, Randolph, Campbell, Armstrong! The names had been bandied about in familiar tones in the small circle of elite planters who turned the rich land of Virginia into their private version of transported British estates and privilege! Armstrongs had ruled men. Armstrongs had owned men. Alan knew this with a sense of inherited shame. He still found it ironic that patriots like the original Armstrong men could fight for liberty and withhold that precious commodity from some men and women based purely on something as superficial as race!

In any event, Armstrongs had been loyal to the Continental Army and had served with distinction throughout American history. They had been community leaders in government, law, religion, and commerce. During the War Between the States, they had worn gray and fought to uphold a way of life that was threatened with destruction. Finally, these forces had shaped the character of Jack Alan Armstrong and he embodied all that was powerful and yet merciless in that breed.

He had never needed to work for a living. The very idea was as foreign to him as it had been to his own grandfather. Money poured into the family coffers and champion horses among other goods made that easy wealth a certainty from one generation to another.

Now, Alan recalled one specific childhood memory with a fresh regret and bitterness that caught him by surprise!

6

1925

Two young boys were laughing loudly and cheering wildly as a rugged old man slowly brought a fiercely bucking horse into a state of submission!

The boys were identical twins and they looked up at the grinning rider with matching gazes of admiration!

“Gosh, Johnsie, that was great!” said Alan Armstrong.

“You’re better than any of those movie cowboys!” said his twin Jack Armstrong.

Before Johnsie could reply a newcomer raced forward and pushed past the boys to leap over the fence and confront the old man.

“Get off. I’ll show that horse who owns him! I’ll make it learn to obey the touch of its master’s hand!” said J.A. Armstrong.

The boys frowned and exchanged glances of concern as each grew quieter and seemed to almost shrink into their selves like wilting flowers.

Their father didn’t notice their reaction. He was far too busy asserting himself to both hired hand and horse!

Johnsie dismounted and said, “Mr. Armstrong, I wouldn’t be so abrupt-like around him. He’s still jittery!”

J.A. Armstrong smiled coldly and said, “Good. I like things I own to be afraid of me!”

He leaped on the horse’s back and fought with tremendous strength as the frightened animal reared and raced around the enclosure.

Johnsie saw the boys follow their father’s progress and he shook his head.

They clearly admired his raw power and courage but they had felt his overwhelming personality more than once and were obviously cowed by his ways.

“A boy should respect his old man but not be so scared of him that he can’t rightly be himself!” thought Johnsie.

Meanwhile, in a shattering display of power J.A. had brought the horse down and had barely rolled aside before it fell.

“Stupid brute! I’ll put him down!” roared the angry Virginian.

“You can’t do that! It’s your own fault that he fell!” yelled Jack.

Alan winced as he realized his brother had spoken without thinking.

J.A. jumped the fence and gripped Jack by the arm.

“Don’t you ever presume to tell your father how to act. I’m a man. You’re a punk kid. When you can look me in the eye and stand face to face with me, then, maybe, I’ll listen to you but if you grow up to be as soft as you act now then I’ll still think nothing you say matters!”

He released the boy and shoved him aside.

As Jack rubbed his arm and tried to fight back tears, Alan tried to lead him away from the scene where J.A. was yelling orders at Johnsie.

The boys reached the stable and sat down with their backs pressed against the rough wood.

“He’s not so big! I hate him!” said Jack.

Alan said, “You don’t mean that! We have to love him. He’s all we have left except for each other!”

Jack said, “Well, maybe I don’t hate him but father or not, I don’t like him!”

Alan shook his head sadly and said, “You know something? I don’t either!”

Alan said, “Jack, do you think there’s something wrong with us? A guy is supposed to like his Dad!”

Jack said, “No! A real Dad loves his kids and shows it in how he treats them. Buying us stuff isn’t enough to make up for the way Dad bullies us!”

Alan nodded and said nothing as a gunshot echoed from beyond the stable.

1930

Alan and Jack were working on a crude model of an airplane when their father entered their room and stood over them.

“Oh, Dad. We were just putting together a model. Do you need us to do something?” asked Alan.

J.A. said, “No, I wanted to tell you that I’m going to be out of state for a few weeks. If you need anything the staff will provide it. Dithers can reach me in case of a crisis!”

Jack hesitated and then said, “Dad, we were thinking of joining a new science society dedicated to astronautics? Could we hold a meeting here? The house is big enough and all!”

J.A. frowned and then said, “Sounds like a bunch of nonsense. Astronautics is not even a proper word.”

Jack said, “If you’d read something once in a while you’d know it is a real word. In fact, a guy named Valier is working on a rocket car motor! If that could be applied to air travel then imagine the possibilities!”

Alan cut in and said, “We know you are too busy to indulge in hobbies like that but we sure would appreciate it if we could invite some others who like that kind of thing here!”

J.A. nodded and said, “Invite them. Have the staff prepare whatever you need. I’ll be gone anyway so it won’t annoy me!”

“Thanks!” cried both boys at once.

J.A. stopped and turned around to face them.

“Your old man has more going for him than you dreamers imagine! This business in North Carolina might just make you two realize that. It might also make this family a global name!”

They nodded and remained silent until his heavy footsteps indicated that he had departed.

Alan said, “So, what’s in North Carolina?”

Jack shrugged and said, “Who cares? The old man’s only interested in chasing women. He lets Dithers run the business. In spite of his big talk, he doesn’t know anything about science or industry!”

Alan said, “I don’t know. For just a minute there, I thought he was really trying to get through to us. He wanted our approval!”

Jack made a loud and rude noise and said, “That’s hooey!”

Two weeks later, the Armstrong boys received some startling news from Dithers the portly and gruff businessman who ran the Armstrong holdings.

He stood before them and for once the rough but capable old man seemed at a loss for words.

“Boys, I wish I didn’t have to tell you this. I’d give anything to make things right. I guess I should just say it. You’re young men now,” he began.

Alan said, “Something’s happened to Dad!”

Jack stiffened as he noticed how pale his sibling had become.

“Easy, Al, “he said.

Dithers said, “He started to feel ill this morning. He tried to brush it off. You know how he is. Well, it was serious. He died before we could even get him to a doctor. Heart failure. I’m so sorry!”

Alan said, “It can’t be!”

Jack cursed and stared wide eyed into the distance.

Dithers continued, “It was quick. He didn’t really know what hit him. You boys meant the world to him.”

Jack said, “Why didn’t he ever tell us that?”

Alan said, “Maybe, he just couldn’t. Maybe, he thought we just knew.”

7

Spy Smasher shook his head as if to free himself from the painfully personal grip of memories of his long deceased father and brother.

He piloted the Gyroship skillfully through the air over North Carolina and lowered it slowly as mountainous terrain rose up around the craft and he spotted a strange landscape below.

A crudely formed valley rested within the craggy slopes that formed a rough basin border around it. From the air little could be seen except for trees and rocks and foliage; however, Spy Smasher knew that for a pilot with his level of skill and a craft with the impressive maneuverability of the Gyroship the seemingly barren terrain below could offer hidden possibilities.

He brought the ship down and allowed it to shatter a path through the trees. He had no concern for damaging the natural setting. He only cared about resolving the matter and finding his wife.

“I can restore it later. After all, Jack and I planted most of those trees decades ago anyway!” he thought.

He landed the remarkable Gyroship within a smooth spot in the basin and hurried out to race across the land until he found a passageway.

“The Great Eyrie is one place I never expected to return to but then again I should have known father’s crimes would eventually come back to haunt me!” he thought.

He dropped down a sheer slope that led out of the steep passageway above.

He landed gracefully below and adjusted his goggles to an infrared setting.

The darkness yielded to his special vision aides and he realized that his hunch had been correct.

The Great Eyrie was far from unchanged. The natural cavern was clean. The old workspace was again functional and new devices dotted the area.

Spy Smasher frowned as he moved into the cavern and swiftly noticed the type of equipment that had been placed in the old base.

“The huge craft that attacked my home and flew off with poor Eve came from plans like these!” he mused as he looked over a sheet of paper that hung from one wall.

“It is fitting that Retribution was born here since your stolen Gyroship came from this womb as well. The craft your crooked sire took from my family will rise like the phoenix to reduce you and all you’ve built upon a false foundation to crumbling ashes!”

The stentorian voice came from everywhere. It obviously came from hidden speakers and the same type of concealed monitoring devices had allowed the speaker to see Spy Smasher’s progress as well.

“You know who I am and I know your secret as well! I know you are connected to Robur in some way. I’ve come for my wife! If you want to punish someone for what my father did all those years ago then you can hurt me. Leave my wife alone!” he yelled.

Laughter filled the cavern and the voice said, “How naïve you are! It is not merely the line of Robur that seeks your death. Look for the truth in your own bloodline!”

Spy Smasher darted aside as a blinding flash of electrical energy erupted to his left.

“Robur may have designed ships like my own years ago but he was declared dead after his revenge schemes failed! My father only bought the land for a real estate deal. He only learned about what was hidden here below the surface after the fact. He died before he ever had a chance to do anything with the plans left here to rot!”

As another blast shook the ground beneath his feet, he gave silent thanks for his insulated costume and boots and moved deeper into the cavern.

A third blast rocked the cavern and rocks rained down from above to bury the hero in smoke and rubble as laughter faded and silence reigned supreme once more.

8

As pain clouded his thoughts, Spy Smasher recalled the first time he had gazed upon the weird environment of the so-called Great Eyrie in North Carolina. He and Jack had made the relatively short trip there a few months after their father’s death. They had been given papers by Dithers that revealed the land near tiny Morganton near the raging Catawba River as their father’s final purchase.

To young men steeped in lore of aviation and aeronautics, the location was almost as much a place of myth and legend as a restored Atlantis would have been. They had read the reports a writer named Verne had spun into fantasy and they relished seeing the location and finding much of what the author had written in his sensational tales apparently had a basis in fact!

“Verne was telling the truth! I mean he at least used a real place for his story although he changed the names. I never connected the land father was looking at during his final business trip with the setting of Jules Verne’s classic tale!” said Alan.

Jack grinned and said, “Yeah, to think that we own a portion of literary history. But, why would anyone connect a place called Molly’s Knob with a made-up setting called the Great Eyrie? Just because the Knob is near the Catawba River like Verne’s setting wouldn’t mean much to casual readers! I wonder what Dad planned to do with it? Dithers said the old man didn’t bother to explain it to him. The surface is too rough for development. Mining doesn’t really come into play here either!”

Alan said, “Well, since Dad scorned books like Master of the World I doubt he saw the land as anything more than an investment. Still, remember, how he said something about the deal might make our fortunes? Maybe, there’s more here than meets the eye! Look below! The whole basin almost tips down to what looks sheer but could possibly lead to a hidden cavern!”

Jack had shrugged as wind swept a lock a hair into his eyes.

“Surely, the locals would have found any valuables hidden here. Verne’s story was popular even though Dad dismissed that kind of reading as a waste of time! Plus, if there had really been odd things going on here like the ones described in the book, the papers would have covered it.”

Alan said, “I know. Still, what if Verne’s fictionalized account was based on real events? I don’t mean that a mad genius named Robur really used the area as a base and launched a deadly aircraft from the vicinity but perhaps, there really are hidden caverns down there like the ones in the book! People wouldn’t have found them because from what I reread last night the whole scene was different in the book in terms of names and directions etc.! I wanted to try to understand what Dad was thinking about when he came here.”

Jack said, “You’ve lost me as usual. What do you mean?”

“Jules Verne wrote a novel about weird events that occurred in these parts. He described the mad genius Robur and his wonderful air ship as being based within the Great Eyrie; however, the whole thing was presented as a work of fiction. What if the setting was a false location? What if the Great Eyrie wasn’t really the place Verne wrote about? I mean he could have deliberately moved it or changed the name from Molly’s Knob!”

Jack said, “Sure, but even that kind of literary misdirection wouldn’t explain why no one ever found this place before. The locals had to have figured out that their Molly’s Knob near Morganton was the basis for Verne’s Great Eyrie near Morganton. You’re not saying a fictional novel about a world dominating criminal and his amazing flying machine has a basis in fact?” Alan said, “All I’m saying is that what if something really is hidden down there? Dad had something in mind when he bragged to us about this deal!”

They began to descend down the steep slope after carefully securing their ropes above.

Jack gasped as he brushed away a patch of heavy moss to reveal a narrow opening into a wide underground cavern.

“Good night! Look at this place!” he yelled.

Alan joined him and the two brothers slowly descended into the cavern below.

They turned on small helmet lights and looked around the cavern in disbelief!

“It looks like the dusty, decaying ruins of a workshop.”

Alan said, “Machine parts! Blueprints! The framework of a vehicle! Robur’s hidden lab is real and we’ve found it!”

Jack grinned and gave a wild shout.

“Dad must have been figured it out. Someone must have told him about it. I bet he thought he could turn the plans left here to rot into a big business!”

Alan said, “There is a journal here in French. Water has damaged a lot of the pages but it does appear to have been written by a scientist named Robur! Maybe, he had to give up his plans for the place when Verne turned him into a character in his book. The real Robur never got to use his plans or build an airship since Verne exposed him!”

Jack whistled softly as they flipped through the worn book.

“Verne was invited here to witness what Robur hoped would be the dawning of a new day of science and technological progress! However, in spite of his use of such fantastic devices in his fiction, Verne reacted with horror and saw Robur’s ideas as being insane or dangerous to the very survival of society as a whole! He vowed to expose Robur and hold him up to global scorn!”

“Robur died in a freak accident shortly after the first chapters went to publication! He never lived to do anything with his plans and Verne allowed the world to think of them as pure fiction!”

Alan nodded and said, “Think of the good a Gyroship like the one in these blueprints could do! Think of how it could be improved upon with the science we have today that was only in the planning stages all those years ago!”

Jack said, “Listen, Dad owns the land. He owns all this stuff too. As his heirs, we own it now. We should study it first. Maybe, we could build a Gyroship! We’ve got the money, the land, and the time! We could even hire help and have a bunch of experts work on separate parts of the project! They wouldn’t have to know what we were planning to do with the finished work!”

Alan said, “I see your point. We could use the plans here and test them before telling anyone else about them!”

Jack nodded eagerly and the boys vowed to keep everything they had found for their own secret project!

The project occupied most of their free time for the next several years. The Armstrong wealth helped them to secure expert assistance and their own ingenuity and Robur’s detailed plans enabled them to gradually create a crude prototype of what would eventually become the Gyroship! As the clouds of war darkened over a changing Europe the young men realized that their creation might be a vital tool to preserve free nations from German aggression!

However, they faced more personal challenges before that option ever came into consideration!

9

1938

Alan and Jack Armstrong had always been close and their lack of a true rapport with their father had brought them even closer; however, where strong feelings were concerned the possibility of being driven apart always existed as well. This eventuality was unlikely until the young men both fell in love with the same woman! Eve Colby was a captivating mixture of the demure and the vivacious. She seemed to be capable of both lingering moments of introspection as well as of wild good spirits. The lovely black haired girl enchanted the brothers and they each vowed to win her heart.

She was content with spend time with both of them and the situation grew more troublesome as each of them began to want time alone with her. The truth of the matter was that while Eve was far from evil or immoral, she was spoiled and pampered and she delighted in playing them against each other. It appealed to her ego and she was in truth a vain and very young girl!

They reacted to the situation in different ways. Alan brooded while Jack tried to deal with the problem through increasingly reckless stunts. He rode furiously across their estate on his horse and began to drink more than he should have done.

Alan finally decided to confront his brother. They had almost given up working on the Gyroship together but each of them spent time alone in the workshop.

“Jack, I love Eve. I want to spend my life with her. I’m that serious about her,” he said in a breathless tone one day in late 1939.

Jack scowled and said, “Yeah? How does she feel about it? Isn’t it really up to her? See, I love her too. She may prefer me, Alan. What then?”

Alan said, “What then? I guess we abide by what the lady wants or at least I will.”

Jack said, “She’ll choose me. I know it. I don’t say that to hurt you. I just want to prepare you.”

Alan said, “You’re all heart!”

Jack said, “Listen, I’m sorry. I’d give up almost anything else for you but Eve means a lot to me. I’m in love with her too!”

Alan said, “We’ve never really disagreed about anything this seriously before. I don’t like it.”

Jack said, “Neither do I but I can’t change the way I feel!”

That night, Eve Colby heard their respective pleas and she immediately realized what she had done.

“I can’t stand the idea of hurting either of you. I always thought of us all as friends. Maybe, it would be better for us all if I didn’t see either of you again! I can’t break up a family!” she wept.

Alan said, “No! Surely, you care for one of us?”

Jack said, “Choose between us. We’re adults. We can take it!”

Eve refused to make any decision that might separate them so she asked them to leave and ran up to her room.

Alan said, “Your little ultimatum caused this!”

Jack said, “I’m in love with her! I don’t care for waiting around! We have to know the truth. I still think one of us could win her heart if he was free to pursue her without the other one reminding her of what she’d done!”

Alan said, “You make sense for a change. How do we settle it? I’m not about to step aside for you!”

Jack said, “I don’t know! I’m better than you are at riding or I’d suggest a race. The winner stays with Eve while the loser agrees to take a trip for a while and leave the winner alone with her!”

Alan said, “The Gyroship. It’s working now. I say we each pilot it a certain distance. The one who makes the trip in the fastest time wins a chance to court Eve.”

Jack smiled and said, “I like it. We could even use this for a practical purpose. We wanted to test the ship and see just what it can do. Nothing would make us put it through its paces at a more drastic rate than a race for love!”

Thus, the brothers equipped themselves with stylized racing outfits and goggles and prepared to race. Alan wore a brown costume while Jack’s was a green color. Alan would later convert the durable costume into the garb he would wear as Spy Smasher.

They agreed upon a course that would essentially take them across country.

The brothers stood before the finished craft and nodded in agreement as Jack clasped Alan’s hand and then darted into the ship.

“I’ll fly to California and wait on you to join me. You can fly it back here and we’ll compare times.”

Alan said, “Sure. I’ll catch a conventional flight today and meet up with you. No matter who wins the race, our creation will be a triumph! The Gyroship will be a real miracle! I feel it!”

Jack grinned in something like his old smile and said, “Yeah! Our baby will break every record guys like Hughes set.”

Alan watched Jack fly off and stared into the sky sadly.

“Good luck!” he thought.

He never saw his brother again.

Jack’s Gyroship vanished. Alan did not let his own feelings for Eve stop him from doing everything in his power to try to locate his sibling. He even vowed to give up Eve if he could just see Jack again. However, no trace of the advanced ship or of Jack was ever found.

Alan grieved for his brother and finally allowed him to be declared dead. He blamed himself. He blamed Eve. He grew bitter. He wept. Finally, when he thought he couldn’t go on any longer, he found a way to do so.

He avoided Eve Colby out of respect for the lost Jack until finally she forced him to see her and she managed to get him to admit his own pain and sense of loss. It was Eve Colby who comforted Alan and gave him the strength he needed to deal with the loss of his twin and the secret circumstances of how he had died.

Alan and Eve gradually became lovers and they helped one another heal after Jack’s death.

Alan also found renewed hope when an idea came to him one morning in 1939.

“The Gyroship has to live again! I’ve got to recreate it. If I can get it to fly again it will be a victory for Jack as well. For Jack’s sake I have to try again.”

Thus, the young Virginian returned to the workshop for the first time in nearly a year.

He took the plans he and Jack had modified over the years and he labored tirelessly until in 1940 the second model Gyroship was completed. It incorporated every modification the twins had refined over the years and without having to go through the trial and error of the initial creation, Alan was able to make use of the duplicate parts they had made and finish the ship on his own.

He tested it again and again and even made a trip across country in Jack’s exact course but he never found any trace of the other ship or his brother nor did he experience any problem.

“If the other Gyroship exploded or crashed in a remote area, there would be no way to track it. I suppose Jack’s memory will live on through this new Gyro! Every thing I do with it will be dedicated to him!” he thought.

That vow was a large part of Alan’s motivation to become Spy Smasher. With every meeting with Eve’s father Adm. Colby, Alan learned more and more about the crisis America was facing. No one really doubted that the Axis powers would eventually threaten America and loan or lease aid would turn into actual warfare.

Thus, Alan became a mystery-man. He started to use his athletic skills and investigative knowledge to fight crime. As a wealthy Virginian with plenty of free time, he was able to establish a DC apartment and use it as well as his family home to launch a personal crusade against crime of every type.

Why did he do it? What series of ideas moved him from being an inventive pilot and wealthy sportsman to becoming one of the first of a new breed of heroes?

Patriotism played a part in his decision. The need to do something more with his life than live the idle rich scenario so common among his social set was part of it as well. Finally, a desire to make up for Jack’s loss by living more than one life figured into his choice.

“I’ll fight for others with the same courage Jack would have drawn upon. Rather than let his loss diminish what he might have given back to the world, I’ll double my own efforts to make a difference! I owe him that much and more!”

Spy Smasher became something of an urban legend. Adm. Colby learned about him and admired his work but Alan did not reveal his secret to his future father-in-law or to his fiancé Eve.

These memories flashed through Alan’s mind as the cavern crashed down around him and his quest to rescue Eve from the heir of Robur faded again to black!

10

Later, a battered Spy Smasher felt a strange sensation against his face as he slowly sat up and realized that he had been pulled out of the shattered cavern and now rested on a grassy area back above the deeply recessed region.

“Eve!” he moaned softly as he adjusted his goggles and made the darkness a bit brighter.

He realized that the cave-in had completely buried the old workshop.

“I suppose Robur’s heirs didn’t need it anyway not with a huge craft like the one that took Eve away!” he thought.

“Odd, while those energy blasts brought down the cavern around me, someone or something pulled me to safety. My mystery foe is toying with me. What he doesn’t understand is that Eve’s life is no game to me! He’ll pay when I find him!” he said.

“He’s right here! And the reason I didn’t leave you to die below was that I wanted to let you see the face of the man who finally brought your crimes back to haunt you!”

The words came from above on a slight ridge where a muscular costumed man stood in a defiant position! He wore a brown costume that matched Alan’s own green costume in every way but the color!

“You have your nerve wearing that outfit! You’ve made this entirely too personal!” said a grim Alan.

The other man said, “Why shouldn’t it be personal? After all, it is a family feud!”

Spy Smasher said, “I know that! You hate me for the way my late father took the remnants of your relation Robur’s plans. Robur wanted to use those ideas for personal gain. I used them for justice!”

The man in brown sneered with contempt.

“Robur? Robur is nothing but a name from the past. He died and he had no heirs. The family feud I mentioned is far more personal, brother!” he cried.

He removed his mask to reveal handsome features that were identical to Alan’s own!

“Jack?” gasped Spy Smasher as he looked at the hate filled features of his late brother.

Jack Armstrong dived at Alan and they grappled furiously until Alan finally shook him off and backed away.

“I referred to J.A. Armstrong as your father because I’m nothing like either of you. I reject all he stood for and all you became! You left me to die and robbed me of my part of the family fortune! You seduced Eve and took her from me! Why, the very costume and name of Spy Smasher could rightfully be mine in a matter of speaking!” yelled the angry brown-clad man.

Alan removed his own helmet and said, “This ends here!”

The Gyroship sailed into view and emitted a vapor that clouded the land below and left Jack dazed.

Alan knocked him cold and carried him into the waiting ship.

“The remote control gasser did the trick. This fraud lacks my immunity!” he thought.

Later, as the Gyroship raced across the sky on autopilot, Alan Armstrong looked down on the bound figure in brown.

“I can tell you’re coming around! You’ve got the constitution of a horse! You can’t fool me”! he said.

Jack opened his eyes and said, “I don’t need to fool you. I’ll make you pay yet!”

Alan said, “Seeing your face shocked me but I’m a trained detective. I know how to reason things out. You aren’t Jack Armstrong. You may say you are. You may believe it but you aren’t my twin. You’re too young. Even if he had been trapped in Suspendium like I was, he would look older than you do!”

“I’m Jack Armstrong! You rigged my Gyroship to blow up so you could steal Eve but I survived to heal and to hate you more and more!” yelled the bound man.

Alan shook his head.

“You’re mad! I never rigged the craft. I couldn’t do that to Jack! If you are Jack why haven’t you aged a day since we last saw each other? Why didn’t you try to contact me or claim you share of our family wealth if you are Jack and you lived after your accident?”

Jack said, “You try to buy time for yourself. You always were cunning! Well, I’ve got Eve and you’ll never get her back.”

Alan raised his fist above the young man’s head but lowered it slowly soon after.

“I can’t do this alone. I realize it now. I’m man enough to admit it. For Eve’s sake, I have to ask my friends for help!” he thought.

He walked over to the controls and adjusted them rapidly.

“I was a stubborn fool to think that concern over keeping father’s secrets was more important than using every resource I could to find Eve!” he thought.

“Ibis offered to help. Well, I’ll gladly accept that offer now!” he said.

11

Later, as Spy Smasher watched from one side, Ibis carefully studied the bound Jack Armstrong and fingered his mystical Ibisstick.

“My own efforts to find Eve were thwarted. The fact that black magic was stopping me led me to realize that supernatural forces were arrayed against us. I was able to discern the nature of the infernal powers working to stop us and I found their mystical energy signatures to be all too familiar. The self-same forces that empowered the swine Ibac are preventing me from locating Eve. Those dark beings want you to fail in your quest for some reason. They do not play games of crime and punishment. They want something more from you than your money or petty revenge,” he said.

“Ibac? We fought once or twice but I thought he was nothing more than a meek man turned into an evil brute by wizardry. Why would he play mind games with me?” asked Spy Smasher.

Ibis said, “Ibac is not involved. I spoke with Captain Marvel and he assured me that Ibac was returned to his normal role of Stanley Printwhistle. In fact a new Ibac named Slaughter Slade recently fought the good Captain and failed as well!”

Spy Smasher said, “You may wonder why I didn’t fly off the handle just now when you mentioned your efforts to find Eve after I made you promise not to get involved. Well, I’ve sobered up so to speak. I’m not ashamed to ask for help!”

Ibis smiled and said, “And help you shall have! The infernal powers that block me also seldom take personal action so I wager that it is some pawn of theirs who took Eve and involved this misguided young man!”

He gestured to where the brown clad Jack sat bound to a chair.

“Ibisstick, liberate this man’s mind!” he cried.

As magic flashed over the struggling man, his expression changed and he grew calmer.

“Where am I?” he said slowly.

“Father? It can’t be!” he said as he looked up at the unmasked Alan Armstrong.

“No, son. I’m not your father. Jack was your father wasn’t he? I’m his brother. I’m your Uncle Alan!” said Spy Smasher with newfound compassion in his voice.

“It was not magic that made this young man so full of rage and madness. An artificial device clouded his mind and made him think he was his father!” said Ibis.

“The stick enabled you to clear his mind! That told you it was not magic working in him or it wouldn’t have worked! It would have been blocked like your attempt to find Eve!” said Alan.

The young man said, “I’m Jack Smith. My late father was Jack. You look so much like him! He was always talking about you.”

Alan untied his nephew and said, “Jack survived the crash during our race. Obviously, he lived to father you. Why didn’t he try to contact me? I searched for him for months!”

Jack said, “I only know this from what I’ve pieced together since my mother died a few months ago. Your brother was a pilot. Well, he tried something unexpected. He stayed on a planned course at first and then he flew higher until he was in the upper atmosphere of the planet! Something went wrong and the craft began to break up! He crashed in the Pacific Ocean and was washed up on an island named Rygola. My mother, an English woman, found him and nursed him to health. It took months for him to rally and even then he had no memory of his name or background. The crash hurt his mind!”

Alan whistled softly. “Poor Jack! Reckless to the end!”

Jack said, “My mother Emma and Jack fell for one another and married. He never tried to return to the mainland or cure his memory loss. He was too happy with mother. War broke out and he vowed to stay on the isle and protect mother and her friends from Japanese invaders! He weathered the war safely and they started a family. I have three older sisters. Finally, I was born 25 years ago. Dad was pretty active until the very end. He passed away when I was a year old. I never knew him!”

Alan nodded slowly. “I would have been in Suspendium during many of those years! When Jack died I was still trapped! I never knew he had lived! Amnesia explains why he never tried to return home!”

Jack said, “Mother died last year and I vowed to find out the truth about my Dad. I came to America and started studying aviation. I came across photos of you. That is, I came across photos of you as Alan and you looked so much like Dad with a bit of difference ’cause of the way you each aged in separate ways! I read up about the Armstrong family. I even found out that you had had a twin who was presumed dead decades ago. That and a bit of luck led me to figure out that Jack was my father. You see, since he didn’t know his real name, Dad started using the name Smith. He did name me Jack as if he still had some faint link to the name!”

Alan said, “I don’t understand one thing. Why didn’t anyone on your island have the resources to help Jack regain his memory?”

Jack said, “Perhaps, some did but Rygola was and is a very small and primitive isolated isle. The fact is mom had the impression that Dad was happy to hide away down there.”

Alan said, “He may have been staying away because of Eve. The poor noble fool! Some instinct may have motivated him even when he couldn’t recall the truth.”

Ibis said, “Mr. Smith, how did you come to impersonate your late father?”

Jack said, “I don’t know! I recall my life until a few months ago. I had figured out Jack’s identity and I’d decided to come visit you and learn more. That’s the last thing I recall before I found myself here!”

Spy Smasher said, “Son, I can’t make up for the time I lost with your father but I promise that I’ll use every resource I own to help you. I’ll do that after I find my wife and the fiends who did this to you! Magic may be blocking Ibis but a machine was used on you and someone used a huge version of the Gyroship to take Eve. That means he’s mortal enough for me to defeat and I will or die trying!”

Ibis said, “I agree but I must warn you that something made those infernal powers involve themselves with this mortal agent. That can only mean something is planned for you beyond the mundane scenario of a criminal wanting revenge!”

Spy Smasher nodded and said, “I know. I’ve been in the business too long to doubt that. Robur was a false lead. Regardless of Dad’s use of his plans, that evil genius died without issue. So, who is it that posed first as Robur’s heir and then made Jack here pose as my brother returned from the grave? Who?”

Ibis said, “I think I can help you learn that!”

12

Spy Smasher frowned as Ibis continued speaking.

“I believe I can help you learn who is behind this plot against you and your loved ones. We know he or she is receiving supernatural help from the trio that empowered the beings known as Ibac but this mortal agent of theirs could be traced as well through the power of my Ibisstick!”

Spy Smasher nodded slowly as the suave Egyptian said, “This foe must be someone you have crossed in some manner in the past. The words his pawns parroted to you when you were led to believe it was an heir of the dead Robur or even your own lost sibling returned to life, indicated an old grudge!”

Alan said, “Then, the answer rests in my past career. I know my old Nazi enemy America -Smasher died in 45 in Berlin. The sultry temptress Angel is still active according to Mr. Scarlet. She is still young because of a variation of the Suspendium effect. Still, she always relied upon sheer cunning or manipulation of men through her sexuality. This doesn’t ring true for her.”

Ibis said, “False leads, personal knowledge of you, and a machine that alters the mind. These are the threads my Ibisstick will attempt to weave into a pattern if you will allow me to use the talisman ‘pon your mind!”

Alan said, “I trust you Ibis. In fact I now regret that so many of us old Mystery-Men never really connected regularly to get to know one another and share information, resources etc.”

Ibis lowered the golden rod and said, “Ibisstick, bring forth the interlinking memories within this man’s mind. Produce from what he has experienced, the truth we seek!”

The magical talisman glowed and Alan’s eyes grew wider!

“Great Scott! You did it! Only one man could be behind this. He learned my secret in 1940. He once used his “brainograph” to turn me into a killer until Captain Marvel cured me! He could be using the same type of machine on Jack here and on Eve! Her amnesia might have stemmed from remote emission of such a mind scrambler! Plus, he loved deception as befitted the top Axis spy in the nation in those pre-war days!”

Ibis nodded and said, “The Mask! Your sworn enemy from the dark days! It makes perfect sense!”

Spy Smasher slipped his mask back into place as he said, “My first foe and perhaps, my greatest foe! However, I wrongly thought that I killed him while under the rage- inducing influence of his “brainograph! Perhaps, it was just one of his doubles or perhaps, I was not as thorough as I thought!”

Jack Smith said, “I want to come with you. He used me as well. Let me help you!”

Spy Smasher hesitated and then said, “Fine. My days of going it alone are over!”

Ibis said, “I will join you as well if only to shield you from the infernal beings we spoke of before!”

Jack said, “Uh, one question, where are we going?”

Spy Smasher said, “We’re going to the last place I fought the Mask. I think he’ll be there since he would relish the irony of hiding where he’d once been found before!”

Soon, the Gyroship landed outside an old skyscraper.

“This old place near the Naval Shipping Yard was his original base. He delighted in being right around his preferred target! It was closed down when most of the main shipping contracts went North!”

Ibis said, “Ibisstick, reveal what rests within!”

The building glowed and then became transparent from the outside looking in!

Uniformed figures, technological equipment, and the huge Gyroship that had taken Eve all filled the interior. The bound Eve Armstrong paced restlessly within a locked room. At the center of the building stood a tall man in a dark suit and a solid white cloth that covered his face.

“Eve and the Mask! Plus, the ship itself!” gasped Spy Smasher.

“I’m counting on you two to get Eve to safety while I deal with the Mask!” said Spy Smasher.

Ibis said, “I could not locate her via my magic but I can bring her to me now that we have spotted her!”

“Do it! I’m going in after we shake things up a bit!” declared Spy Smasher.

Jack Smith watched his uncle and marveled at the man’s determination. He had admired his father based upon what little he had gathered from his late mother’s memories and from his personal research but he now saw a kindred spirit in this living and heroic reminder of the lost Jack Armstrong!

Spy Smasher adjusted the controls on his Gyroship and blasted away at the building! He was careful to avoid hitting the section Eve was in!

Ibis spoke clearly and triumphantly.

“Ibisstick, bring Eve Armstrong to me safely!”

The glow filled the ship and Eve appeared and fell into his arms.

“Ibisstick, grant her slumber!” he cried and then carried her to a resting place in the rear of the craft.

“Is she hurt?” yelled Spy Smasher as he fired again and again at the building.

“No! But, I felt it best to sedate her since she still writhes under the madness of the brainograph!” said Ibis.

Jack cried, “They’re returning fire!”

Indeed, the dozens of men below were firing away at the Gyroship and their blasts were damaging the craft!

“What kind of shells are they using?” he cried.

Spy Smasher said, “The Mask has had decades to upgrade his weaponry. I guess he knows how to penetrate my ship’s defenses!”

Ibis said, “That situation shall cease as I command it thusly! Ibisstick, contain the troops below!”

A glowing sphere enveloped the troops and left them helpless!

“They will revive when I remove the sphere!” explained Ibis.

Spy Smasher said, “Ibis, can you take the wheel? I hate to use autopilot in combat!”

Jack said, “I can! I’m a trained pilot. I’ve been studying for months now!”

He raced to the cockpit and listened as Spy Smasher gave him a rapid series of instructions!

“It almost flies itself. That’s the beauty of it!” he said.

Jack nodded as his eyes grew brighter and passion filled his face.

“This is amazing! I’ve dreamed of a ship like this baby!”

Spy Smasher smiled briefly.

“You’ll get plenty of time to fly it when this is over, son!”

He said, “Ibis, put me inside! I want the Mask now!”

Ibis obeyed and Spy Smasher materialized in the flaming building and faced his old foe.

“It has been too long, Alan Armstrong! I never imagined we would meet again!” said the Mask.

Spy Smasher said, “Come now, you must have been planning this for years! How did you make that nightmare over there? Did you really find Robur’s old plans or copies of them?”

The Mask said, “That esteemed gentleman gave me his plans prior to my release!”

Spy Smasher said, “What? Robur is dead. I know that now!”

The Mask said, “And so was I! It was in the inferno in which we dwelt upon our demises that we exchanged secrets and learned of our common enemy. I was granted a return to life by my justly worshipped benefactors! That release from the land of the dead was the release I spoke of just now.”

Spy Smasher thought, “I did kill him in 40! Those infernal powers brought him back to life to attack me! But, why?”

He rested gracefully on the balls of his feet and prepared to spring either right or left depending upon what his white-masked foe did!

“I used the plans and created my ship. I used my awareness of your identity to find your loved ones. The boy Jack Smith came to your Virginia estate seeking you but found me instead. I abducted him and used my brainograph to make him think he was his own late father and that you were to blame for his near death!” You see, I have watched your property for some time in preparation for this day!”

The Mask said, “Now, with a single flip of a dial, you die!”

He clutched at a small palm held device and the Gyroship exploded!

“No! Eve!” cried Spy Smasher!

“Foolish one! I planted a self-destruct device within the controls of your stolen ship when I claimed the man Smith! I knew I could blow it up at any moment and what better moment then one when you wrongly thought victory smiled upon you! Your rescued wife and your allies are no more!” gloated the Mask.

Spy Smasher screamed in fury and tackled the masked Asian!

“You’ll die right now!” he bellowed.

He pounded the Mask again and again and finally stood over his still form as smoke and flames filled the crumbling building!

A roar shook the structure as the massive Gyroship itself rose up and created a huge hole in the remaining wall!

“Get in! We’ll all aboard!” yelled Jack Smith as he poked his head out an opening portal!

Spy Smasher gripped the battered Mask and carried him into the ship he had designed.

Ibis and Eve sat within the huge ship and Ibis smiled as his friend entered.

“The Ibisstick shielded us all and teleported us within this ship itself! While I had no idea of the peril that lurked within your craft, young Jack did! He deduced that the only place he could have run into your old enemies was at your very home. That suggested that access to your estate meant equal access to your equipment! I responded barely before the blast and used my talisman to put us in the other ship!”

Jack grinned as he piloted the ship skyward.

“This ship the Mask made flies even better than your destroyed one!”

“Ibis also teleported the captive thugs to jail!” said Eve.

“Darling!” cried Spy Smasher as he embraced his wife.

“I’m better now! The Mask used that machine to cure me! He said he was responsible for my memory loss!” she said as tears poured down her cheeks and she kissed her husband.

“He wanted you to die with your mind intact. He always was a cruel monster!” said Spy Smasher.

Ibis said, “Your old foe still lives. I detect life in his battered form! It was clearly those dark beings we feared that brought him back!”

Eve said, “I don’t care who did what as long as we are together!”

She frowned as she saw Jack Smith for the first time.

“He looks so much like you did when you were younger!” she said.

“He’s Jack’s son. He’s Jack Armstrong!” said Spy Smasher.

Jack said, “I hoped you might feel that way. My sisters and I are the only family we have and knowing our real name is Armstrong means a lot to me! They’ll be thrilled to learn we actually have living relations!”

Spy Smasher said, “You’re family now. You all are. I’ll use my wealth to help all four of you in any way I can! I owe it to poor Jack!”

Ibis remained aloof from the rejoicing family. He still wondered exactly why the infernal powers had done so much to enable the Mask to strike at Spy Smasher?

In a veiled limbo, the four evil beings discussed that very topic.

“Curse them all! We used our power to give the Mask a second chance to hurt Spy Smasher since it was our hope that the deeds would break the hero and drive him so into bitterness and hate that he would become our chosen champion. By making him turn to evil, we would secure an even better host for the newest Ibac than ever Printwhistle or Slade were!” said Borgia.

“He would have been perfect! He is a true champion but he retained his morality. Did you see the fool carry the Mask to safety? Bah!” cried Caligula

“There will be other choices to be made. We will yet find the ultimate Ibac!” said Attila.

Ivan the Terrible merely laughter a barking laugh in reply.

Epilogue

Days later, at the Armstrong estate in Virginia a refreshed Eve Armstrong stood arm in arm with her husband beside their car.

Alan smiled at Jack Armstrong (the former Jack Smith) and said, “I am looking forward to meeting my nieces when Eve and I return from our vacation. I know you’ll do a fine job looking after the place, Jack!”

Jack said, “I’ll do my best. It’s a bit shocking to go from a small humble island home to a mansion!”

Alan said, “You’ll be fine! Remember, our scans showed neither you nor Eve have any lingering effects from the brainograph. Plus, the Mask is in a prison hospital and his Gyroship is secure in our workshop!”

Jack said, “I can’t wait to study it in detail!”

Alan said, “Son, you’ll be welcome to do so. In fact, I wanted to wait until our return to broach this topic but this may be a better time since it will give you time to mull over my offer.”

Jack said, “What offer?”

Alan exchanged a glance with Eve who nodded eagerly.

“Jack, I want to spend the rest of my life with Eve and I want that life to be a normal one. I want to enjoy a normal life. With that in mind, I’d like to ask you to become my heir. I’d like you to take on the role of Spy Smasher after an appropriate period of training. You’d have plenty of help from me and other non-retired heroes since I also want to finance a central HQ where any hero could come to exchange news, ideas, and help one another out.”

Jack gasped and then said, “Yes! I want to do it. It would be like a dream come true.”

Alan said, “It would be the culmination of what should have happened years ago had Jack and I not separated!”

With those words and the promise of a new beginning for all, the Armstrongs literally drove off into the sunset!

The End