Post by redsycorax on Sept 3, 2022 3:20:04 GMT
On Earth-590, history diverged from our own after 1960. Richard Nixon won the US presidential election that year instead of JFK. As a consequence, unready to assume the burdens of power and responsibility, Nixon blundered badly when it came to transatlantic relationships, with the consequence that NATO broke down. At the same time, the Soviet Union became destabilised in a power struggle between Khruschev and hawks within the Politbureau. Consequently, Nixon made a crucial misstep, which resulted in a 'limited' nuclear war between the Soviet Union and United States. As a consequence, Gotham City, Central City, Coast City, Ivy Town, Star City and Washington DC were all hit. A kryptonite-laced ICBM killed Superman en route to intercept the one that targeted Metropolis.
The damage was largely restricted to the two combatant superpowers but had lasting consequences. China dominates the postwar world, with Europe now a consolidated superstate. The other consequence was that a Justice League was never formed on this Earth, given that many of its prospective members were killed beforehand in the 'limited' nuclear strike. Without the Justice League, the Law Enforcement Initiative took its place, or tried to do so. But the Black Dwarf (Simon 'Shorty' Wilson), Captain Atom (Evan Holyoake), Doctor Omega, Firebrand (Raymond O'Light) and Wolfgirl were no match for the higher technology and cosmic scale of the adversaries that they faced, as well as the social divisions that they encountered in New America...
+++
PHILADELPHIA, F.D:
As they strode the Hall of Sacrifice, Wolfgirl and Firebrand remembered fallen friends. There were far too many of them these days, but losing Evan (Captain Atom) had been the hardest to take. Without him, only the supersavant Dr Omega was able to provide technological assistance on the advanced scale that they needed and there was evidence that the good doctor's longevity drug was wearing off. With Black Dwarf long dead after facing the cosmic conqueror "Starro", their effective membership was now down to three and they were being run ragged. Added to which, they perceived themselves to be weak and inferior replacements for the heroes of yesterday whose places that they had taken. Yes, they had been lionised in the mass media and the LEI preserved morale and self-respect in the ramshackle frontierland ethos of post-war New America, but the world now had changed and hardened. And that hurt. Granted, they were still the subjects of veneration and respect for the sacrifices that they had made, but each death or severe injury was harder to come back from. At some point, another one of them might not come back and if that happened to either Wolfgirl or Firebrand, the survivor would not stay with Doctor Omega. They loved one another, but Wolfgirl was reminded all too well of the legacy of the formidable third New American President, Lois Lane. After Superman's death, she became an icon to the survivors of the war and achieved much while in office. But she never married and there was an obvious reason why. Superman had her heart and when he perished saving Metropolis, so did part of her own soul.
Wolfgirl and Firebrand entered the Omega Labs building, clearing their throats as the distracted elderly savant looked up from his cluttered desk. He managed a weary smile, but there was a lump in his throat. The winter sunlight provided little heat and Wolfgirl was glad for her lycanthropic pelt. There had been some indication that the world might have headed for accelerated climate change if either side had managed to 'win' the Cold War, but even the limited nuclear war of 1961 had produced enough residual atmospheric dust and dirt to provide brutal Northern Hemisphere winters and blistering hot summers. The laboratory had a neglected, forelorn look, which was habitual these days. Rather like the Great Depression of the thirties, "New" America had to deal with post-'superpower' life and economic constraint on a regular basis. Some of the more 'radical' periodicals, such as Exploding Ticket on the left and Freedom and Enterprise on the right debated the merits of having a national superhero forum. One Exploding Ticket author had even derided the Law Enforcement Initiative as 'second stringers' 'promoted beyond their means and capability.' That said, not all superheroes were represented within the LEI. One particular holdout was Ralph Payne, the Scarlet Arrow. He had been one of the earliest 'mystery men', although not all agreed with his hardline tactics, such as the use of a 'black arrow' for disposal of particularly dangerous underworld or subversive individuals. Countess Syrune was another such figure, often luring susceptible corrupt men to their doom and suspected of being a supernatural agent or harbinger of death itself. No-one knew quite how old she was. Wolfgirl and she worked together sometimes, albeit uneasily.
For some reason, male superheroes couldn't bring themselves to acknowledge that there were female figures of ample villainy out there. Wolfgirl and Syrune might clash over the latter's grim demeanor and deadly intent, but at times they had faced ruthless women on the other side of the morality chasm, such as the German espionage queenpin Irma Vep, the mercenary Madame Doom, and others. Scarlet Arrow and Syrune had been approached to join the LEI, but they resisted the overtures and after a while, the Initiative stopped asking. Truth to tell, though, there weren't many exotic villains in New America these days and the LEI's activities were usually restricted to more quotidian crimefighting rather than fighting the handful of costumed malificents that were still active.
Doctor Omega acknowledged their presence. Looking at him now, it was almost difficult to believe that this gentle, elderly man had been the first human in space, let alone the first to walk on the soil of alien Mars. However, that had been almost seventy years ago and by now, despite his prodigious wisdom, the turmoil of post-apocalyptic New America had corroded even his formidable longevity. There were other tragedies. By cruel misfortune, the good doctor had discovered a kryptonite antidote, but Nixon had declared war on the Soviet Union and Superman had been felled by that kryptonite-laced ICBM before it could be distributed to him. And then there had been his doomed Second World War romance with Faye Morgaine, the formidable Nazi spy, which ended when she threw herself off a ruined Berlin balcony to avoid apprehension and accountability for her crimes. Despite their enmity, they had been the loves of each others lives and after her suicide, Omega had never married.
Omega sometimes theorised that if the War of '61 hadn't thwarted it, there might have been a 'new heroic renaissance' in the early sixties. He had detected the transit of Abin Sur's starship and had contemplated what might have happened if the Green Lantern Corps had been able to encounter a Terran of sufficient courage and determination, or if a flawed and obsessed vigilante had decided to don disguise to combat crime and subversion. Or if Wonder Woman had not returned to Themiscyra after the destruction of Washington and the death of her long-time love Colonel Steven Trevor, concluding that her mission to "Mans World" was foolhardy and doomed to failure. Like him, others might have harnessed the fringes of physics to attain extraordinary speed, the reduction of size, the nullification of gravity or even the creation of artificial intelligence. But in his twilight years, such achievements were now probably beyond him. Instead, reinforced by his longevity drug, the LEI kept perservering, even against major threats to national and planetary security and survival. But there was a limit to the efficacy of his miracle pharmaceutical, and now over a century in age himself, he was encountering it. Before he passed away, he needed to insure that the long delayed 'new heroic renaissance' finally flowered.
OMEGA LABS:
"And so it comes to this. What's the matter, Phineas? Aren't you even going to say hello to me?"
Without turning, he knew who it was: "Hello, Faye. Where have you been since 1945?"
She sighed: "Yes, I thought you might have searched for me. I wasn't onworld at the time, though."
"What do you mean? No, it can't be. That ridiculous nonsense about a Nazi moonbase and UFOs was all conspiracy theory idiocy."
"No, Phineas, it wasn't. And here I am to prove it."
"I've missed you so much."
"And I've missed you, too. I do love you, Phineas. But sadly, you stand in the way of the revival and final victory of the Fourth Reich. I have to do this. Forgive me, my darling."
But at that moment, as she fired, the bullet melted into slag en route:
"O'Light. I thought you might be here."
"Is that any way to talk to an old enemy, Faye? Incidentally, cold. You were willing to kill the Doc, despite professing that you still 'love' him."
And then Faye smelt acrid breath near her as a lupine mouth hissed:
"One more move, blondie, and I'll break your neck in two- Doc's inamorata or not."
"I'm glad of this, actually. We were always too evenly matched, weren't we, Phineas? Perhaps that's why we fell in love despite our polar opposition. Gpodbye, my love." And with that, Faye Morgaine bit down hard on a cyanide tablet in a hollow tooth. Despite hurrying her to an adjacent camp bed, it was useless. The tablet venom had already done its work before the fallen former Nazi agent could be revived and further interrogated.
And after her body was duly examined and cremated, Doctor Omega confessed something to his two surviving companions:
"She might have done me a perverse mercy. I have cancer. Stage III, metastasised."
"Oh, Doc. No."
"It looks like my plan for the 'new heroic renaissance' will be stillborn. A pity."
"How long do you have?"
"Oh, a month or two at the most."
"And what are we going to do about that Ratzi moonbase? It's not as if either of us are a Superman or Wonder Woman class."
"I'm afraid that there's more to this than that. I conducted an autopsy on Faye. There was minimal cross-contamination from human DNA microfauna. However, there was a thanatovirus antigen there."
"You're saying that that Nazi moonbase is full of zombies?!" Firebrand exclaimed.
"Yes, Raymond, I'm afraid that I am. So, preventing their likely dispersal and depredations earthward is now of paramount importance. I'll try to manufacture enough antithanatovirus vaccines, but..."
"Doc, no, not in your condition. You'll work yourself to death."
"I'd rather go this way than fade away. And as for getting up there, before his premature death during the War of 1961, Superman entrusted a precious secret to me. He had a cousin. A 'secret emergency weapon.' Well, now has come the time for more than one revelation. Come out here, Kara, my dear."
And as a consequence, a tall, statuesque blonde woman did so.
"But couldn't she wipe their clocks single-handed?"
Doctor Omega shook his head: "No. Kara here- Power Woman- has a weakness to magic and thaumaturgy was indeed used to reanimate those Nazi cadavers, which has certain consequences. It means that if one bit her, she would become an apex necromorph. Our world would be doomed."
"I can get you up there and stop their flying saucers from attacking Earth. But up there, it'll be up to both of you."
Wolfgirl nodded: "Bring it on."
"Doc, if neither of us come back, it's been real."
"I wish we could save you from this." Wolfgirl said tearfully, as she kissed Doctor Omega gently on his forehead.
"It has been an honour and a privilege. But I am afraid this must be our final farewell."
ARISTARCHUS BASE, LUNA:
As soon as they were deposited in the airlock to the Nazi moonbase, Wolfgirl saw and smelt why she had been assigned to fight alongside Firebrand. Ahead of them lay a hissing, wild-eyed throng:
"Dear god. That smells like bat guano! What are they?!"
"At a guess, genetically engineered 'bat men'. Remember Kirk Langstrom's experiments in the seventies?"
"But didn't they end in futility, Ray?"
"Apparently, either Langstrom or someone else duplicated and perfected his research. Which resulted in these poor wretches."
Wolfgirl's snout elongated, her teeth sharpened and her eyes grew lupine:
"I'd ixnay on the itypay, Ray. They're fanatics. They might have volunteered to have this done to them. Well, bring it on. I wouldn't mind one of your light shows, right about now. I bet if they're myotamorphs, then they share some of the attributes of those creatures. They're probably photophobic, for a start."
"But one, against an army?"
"That's enough for me." Wolfgirl was now fully lycanthropic and bounded toward her quarry. As Firebrand lit up the surroundings, the Bat-Men screeched in defiance and pain, followed by keaning and further screeches as Wolfgirl fought them with claw and fang and every quantum of desperation and fury at her disposal. The Bat-Men tried their best, but long inexperienced against a foe of discipline, preparation and experience, they fell before her. At length, exhausted but victorious, Wolfgirl stood amidst a pile of slaughtered creatures, wiping herself down as Firebrand turned his photonic and pyrokinetic abilities on the secondary airlock.
"At them, my progeny!" The voice belonged to a diminutive yet familiar form:
"Zoro. Oh, that figures. Out of our way, freak. And tell your unnatural deadheads to do likewise. You always were a sick bastard, but this? You've exceeded yourself." Firebrand said, in disgust.
"Such bravado. You do realise that we outnumber you?"
"You do realise that we've faced off against you several times in the past, and won each time? But hey, working for the Nazis too? That's a new low even for you, Heinrich."
"You will die, Firebrand. You and your young lady companion."
"You didn't tell me he was a sexist fool as well, Ray."
"I thought working alongside Faye Morgaine might have blunted that idiocy on his part." Wolfgirl bounded toward the unco-ordinated, clumsy and slow zombies, tearing at them as they tried to fight back with their only real strengths- their instinctive post-human viciousness, ravenous appetite and lust for consumption of human flesh. However, given their over-reliance on olfactory and auditory cues, the creatures faltered before the ferocity of Wolfgirl as Firebrand stalked toward Zoro, delivering an uppercut to his opponent. However, from the adjacent airlocks poured more of the undead, leading them to realise that Zoro wasn't the only zombie hordemaster.
"Spook, Green Devil, Gray Ghoul, Countess Tubre, Docs Dread and Death?! What is this, creep time hoedown at Necromancy Castle?"
"You surely did not think that idiot Zoro was the only asset that the Reich has at its disposal?"
"That's debatable. Your slavering, dilapidated, shambling friends there are no good against lycanthropes and sheer volume can only carry you so far."
"Perhaps enough." As they dispatched themselves, however, they were joined by some unexpected friends:
"Hi, Amy. Hi, Ray. Doc Omega mentioned you might be having some trouble with these characters."
"Di Dawn, the Black Orchid? It's been too long, amiga. Good to have you at our side again!" Wolfgirl exclaimed.
"And your undead friends are useless against me, remember, Doc Dread?"
"Damn you, Will O'Wisp! I thought you had retired!"
"Nice to have you onboard, Gale."
"Blue Tracer! Boomerang! Human Fly! Spider Woman! Good to have the numbers even up a little!"
"Oh, this is ridiculous! Retreat, my...oof!" Green Devil was the first to fall as Human Fly soared across and hit him with an upper cut. The next was Gray Ghoul, as Will O'Wisp penetrated him and squeezed his reanimated head until it fell apart like an overripe pumpkin. Doctor Dread levelled a blaster at his long-time nemesis, but was blindsided as Boomerang slammed into his form. Countess Tubre scowled at the fallibility of her colleagues: "Never send a man to do a woman's work. None of you boys will hit me, will you?"
"Do shut up, Tubre. They might not, but one of us will!" Spider Woman said as she swung toward the scowling zombie mistress. As it happened, Wolfgirl was the first one there, as the Countess malevolently smiled and levelled a silver knife at the lycanthrope. Spider Woman knocked it away with a surge of high tensile thread and between them, Wolfgirl and Black Orchid removed the distaff threat from their midst.
"Well, that's awkward. Looks like the Nazi moonbase was a cardboard threat after all this." Firebrand said, as they felled the last of the zombie incursion.
"Where did all of you come from?" Wolfgirl asked, as she hugged Black Orchid and Spider Woman.
"Doc Omega called in some favours. And anyway, he's right. It is about time for that new heroic renaissance he's been talking about. He wanted to surprise you two."
"It was quite a pleasant surprise. Gale?" Will O'Wisp had rematerialised with a pensive expression on her face:
"Trouble! This base is on a short fuse. Tracer, how many will your AEV over there seat?"
"As many of you as possible. Come on, there's no time to waste."
EPILOGUE:
And thus, the last Nazi threat to Earth-590's security was vanquished and with the windfall of the hoarded and now liberated ex-Nazi advanced technology, the world was now safe and able to recovery from the trauma and suffering of its immediate past. And while, sadly, Doctor Omega- Professor Phineas Potter- was unable to resist the depredations and ultimate toll of his cancer, by the time that he finally passed into the mists of memory and history, he had saved the world from the thwarted zombie incursion through his breakneck roll-out of antizombie vaccines to a grateful world. He also had the boon of his ultimate ambition rewarded before he drew his last breath, with his Law Enforcement Initiative now expanded to include several new members- Firebrand, Wolfgirl, Spider Woman, Will O'Wisp, Black Orchid, Blue Tracer, Boomerang and Power Woman became renowned warriors for freedom, justice and diversity and any residual doubts about their fitness to succeed to the legendary mantle of Superman and Wonder Woman faded into gossamer oblivion- but then, any such doubts were the stuff of phantasm and fancy anyhow.
THE END
TO BE CONTINUED [12.30 PM, SEPTEMBER 5, 2022]
The damage was largely restricted to the two combatant superpowers but had lasting consequences. China dominates the postwar world, with Europe now a consolidated superstate. The other consequence was that a Justice League was never formed on this Earth, given that many of its prospective members were killed beforehand in the 'limited' nuclear strike. Without the Justice League, the Law Enforcement Initiative took its place, or tried to do so. But the Black Dwarf (Simon 'Shorty' Wilson), Captain Atom (Evan Holyoake), Doctor Omega, Firebrand (Raymond O'Light) and Wolfgirl were no match for the higher technology and cosmic scale of the adversaries that they faced, as well as the social divisions that they encountered in New America...
+++
PHILADELPHIA, F.D:
As they strode the Hall of Sacrifice, Wolfgirl and Firebrand remembered fallen friends. There were far too many of them these days, but losing Evan (Captain Atom) had been the hardest to take. Without him, only the supersavant Dr Omega was able to provide technological assistance on the advanced scale that they needed and there was evidence that the good doctor's longevity drug was wearing off. With Black Dwarf long dead after facing the cosmic conqueror "Starro", their effective membership was now down to three and they were being run ragged. Added to which, they perceived themselves to be weak and inferior replacements for the heroes of yesterday whose places that they had taken. Yes, they had been lionised in the mass media and the LEI preserved morale and self-respect in the ramshackle frontierland ethos of post-war New America, but the world now had changed and hardened. And that hurt. Granted, they were still the subjects of veneration and respect for the sacrifices that they had made, but each death or severe injury was harder to come back from. At some point, another one of them might not come back and if that happened to either Wolfgirl or Firebrand, the survivor would not stay with Doctor Omega. They loved one another, but Wolfgirl was reminded all too well of the legacy of the formidable third New American President, Lois Lane. After Superman's death, she became an icon to the survivors of the war and achieved much while in office. But she never married and there was an obvious reason why. Superman had her heart and when he perished saving Metropolis, so did part of her own soul.
Wolfgirl and Firebrand entered the Omega Labs building, clearing their throats as the distracted elderly savant looked up from his cluttered desk. He managed a weary smile, but there was a lump in his throat. The winter sunlight provided little heat and Wolfgirl was glad for her lycanthropic pelt. There had been some indication that the world might have headed for accelerated climate change if either side had managed to 'win' the Cold War, but even the limited nuclear war of 1961 had produced enough residual atmospheric dust and dirt to provide brutal Northern Hemisphere winters and blistering hot summers. The laboratory had a neglected, forelorn look, which was habitual these days. Rather like the Great Depression of the thirties, "New" America had to deal with post-'superpower' life and economic constraint on a regular basis. Some of the more 'radical' periodicals, such as Exploding Ticket on the left and Freedom and Enterprise on the right debated the merits of having a national superhero forum. One Exploding Ticket author had even derided the Law Enforcement Initiative as 'second stringers' 'promoted beyond their means and capability.' That said, not all superheroes were represented within the LEI. One particular holdout was Ralph Payne, the Scarlet Arrow. He had been one of the earliest 'mystery men', although not all agreed with his hardline tactics, such as the use of a 'black arrow' for disposal of particularly dangerous underworld or subversive individuals. Countess Syrune was another such figure, often luring susceptible corrupt men to their doom and suspected of being a supernatural agent or harbinger of death itself. No-one knew quite how old she was. Wolfgirl and she worked together sometimes, albeit uneasily.
For some reason, male superheroes couldn't bring themselves to acknowledge that there were female figures of ample villainy out there. Wolfgirl and Syrune might clash over the latter's grim demeanor and deadly intent, but at times they had faced ruthless women on the other side of the morality chasm, such as the German espionage queenpin Irma Vep, the mercenary Madame Doom, and others. Scarlet Arrow and Syrune had been approached to join the LEI, but they resisted the overtures and after a while, the Initiative stopped asking. Truth to tell, though, there weren't many exotic villains in New America these days and the LEI's activities were usually restricted to more quotidian crimefighting rather than fighting the handful of costumed malificents that were still active.
Doctor Omega acknowledged their presence. Looking at him now, it was almost difficult to believe that this gentle, elderly man had been the first human in space, let alone the first to walk on the soil of alien Mars. However, that had been almost seventy years ago and by now, despite his prodigious wisdom, the turmoil of post-apocalyptic New America had corroded even his formidable longevity. There were other tragedies. By cruel misfortune, the good doctor had discovered a kryptonite antidote, but Nixon had declared war on the Soviet Union and Superman had been felled by that kryptonite-laced ICBM before it could be distributed to him. And then there had been his doomed Second World War romance with Faye Morgaine, the formidable Nazi spy, which ended when she threw herself off a ruined Berlin balcony to avoid apprehension and accountability for her crimes. Despite their enmity, they had been the loves of each others lives and after her suicide, Omega had never married.
Omega sometimes theorised that if the War of '61 hadn't thwarted it, there might have been a 'new heroic renaissance' in the early sixties. He had detected the transit of Abin Sur's starship and had contemplated what might have happened if the Green Lantern Corps had been able to encounter a Terran of sufficient courage and determination, or if a flawed and obsessed vigilante had decided to don disguise to combat crime and subversion. Or if Wonder Woman had not returned to Themiscyra after the destruction of Washington and the death of her long-time love Colonel Steven Trevor, concluding that her mission to "Mans World" was foolhardy and doomed to failure. Like him, others might have harnessed the fringes of physics to attain extraordinary speed, the reduction of size, the nullification of gravity or even the creation of artificial intelligence. But in his twilight years, such achievements were now probably beyond him. Instead, reinforced by his longevity drug, the LEI kept perservering, even against major threats to national and planetary security and survival. But there was a limit to the efficacy of his miracle pharmaceutical, and now over a century in age himself, he was encountering it. Before he passed away, he needed to insure that the long delayed 'new heroic renaissance' finally flowered.
OMEGA LABS:
"And so it comes to this. What's the matter, Phineas? Aren't you even going to say hello to me?"
Without turning, he knew who it was: "Hello, Faye. Where have you been since 1945?"
She sighed: "Yes, I thought you might have searched for me. I wasn't onworld at the time, though."
"What do you mean? No, it can't be. That ridiculous nonsense about a Nazi moonbase and UFOs was all conspiracy theory idiocy."
"No, Phineas, it wasn't. And here I am to prove it."
"I've missed you so much."
"And I've missed you, too. I do love you, Phineas. But sadly, you stand in the way of the revival and final victory of the Fourth Reich. I have to do this. Forgive me, my darling."
But at that moment, as she fired, the bullet melted into slag en route:
"O'Light. I thought you might be here."
"Is that any way to talk to an old enemy, Faye? Incidentally, cold. You were willing to kill the Doc, despite professing that you still 'love' him."
And then Faye smelt acrid breath near her as a lupine mouth hissed:
"One more move, blondie, and I'll break your neck in two- Doc's inamorata or not."
"I'm glad of this, actually. We were always too evenly matched, weren't we, Phineas? Perhaps that's why we fell in love despite our polar opposition. Gpodbye, my love." And with that, Faye Morgaine bit down hard on a cyanide tablet in a hollow tooth. Despite hurrying her to an adjacent camp bed, it was useless. The tablet venom had already done its work before the fallen former Nazi agent could be revived and further interrogated.
And after her body was duly examined and cremated, Doctor Omega confessed something to his two surviving companions:
"She might have done me a perverse mercy. I have cancer. Stage III, metastasised."
"Oh, Doc. No."
"It looks like my plan for the 'new heroic renaissance' will be stillborn. A pity."
"How long do you have?"
"Oh, a month or two at the most."
"And what are we going to do about that Ratzi moonbase? It's not as if either of us are a Superman or Wonder Woman class."
"I'm afraid that there's more to this than that. I conducted an autopsy on Faye. There was minimal cross-contamination from human DNA microfauna. However, there was a thanatovirus antigen there."
"You're saying that that Nazi moonbase is full of zombies?!" Firebrand exclaimed.
"Yes, Raymond, I'm afraid that I am. So, preventing their likely dispersal and depredations earthward is now of paramount importance. I'll try to manufacture enough antithanatovirus vaccines, but..."
"Doc, no, not in your condition. You'll work yourself to death."
"I'd rather go this way than fade away. And as for getting up there, before his premature death during the War of 1961, Superman entrusted a precious secret to me. He had a cousin. A 'secret emergency weapon.' Well, now has come the time for more than one revelation. Come out here, Kara, my dear."
And as a consequence, a tall, statuesque blonde woman did so.
"But couldn't she wipe their clocks single-handed?"
Doctor Omega shook his head: "No. Kara here- Power Woman- has a weakness to magic and thaumaturgy was indeed used to reanimate those Nazi cadavers, which has certain consequences. It means that if one bit her, she would become an apex necromorph. Our world would be doomed."
"I can get you up there and stop their flying saucers from attacking Earth. But up there, it'll be up to both of you."
Wolfgirl nodded: "Bring it on."
"Doc, if neither of us come back, it's been real."
"I wish we could save you from this." Wolfgirl said tearfully, as she kissed Doctor Omega gently on his forehead.
"It has been an honour and a privilege. But I am afraid this must be our final farewell."
ARISTARCHUS BASE, LUNA:
As soon as they were deposited in the airlock to the Nazi moonbase, Wolfgirl saw and smelt why she had been assigned to fight alongside Firebrand. Ahead of them lay a hissing, wild-eyed throng:
"Dear god. That smells like bat guano! What are they?!"
"At a guess, genetically engineered 'bat men'. Remember Kirk Langstrom's experiments in the seventies?"
"But didn't they end in futility, Ray?"
"Apparently, either Langstrom or someone else duplicated and perfected his research. Which resulted in these poor wretches."
Wolfgirl's snout elongated, her teeth sharpened and her eyes grew lupine:
"I'd ixnay on the itypay, Ray. They're fanatics. They might have volunteered to have this done to them. Well, bring it on. I wouldn't mind one of your light shows, right about now. I bet if they're myotamorphs, then they share some of the attributes of those creatures. They're probably photophobic, for a start."
"But one, against an army?"
"That's enough for me." Wolfgirl was now fully lycanthropic and bounded toward her quarry. As Firebrand lit up the surroundings, the Bat-Men screeched in defiance and pain, followed by keaning and further screeches as Wolfgirl fought them with claw and fang and every quantum of desperation and fury at her disposal. The Bat-Men tried their best, but long inexperienced against a foe of discipline, preparation and experience, they fell before her. At length, exhausted but victorious, Wolfgirl stood amidst a pile of slaughtered creatures, wiping herself down as Firebrand turned his photonic and pyrokinetic abilities on the secondary airlock.
"At them, my progeny!" The voice belonged to a diminutive yet familiar form:
"Zoro. Oh, that figures. Out of our way, freak. And tell your unnatural deadheads to do likewise. You always were a sick bastard, but this? You've exceeded yourself." Firebrand said, in disgust.
"Such bravado. You do realise that we outnumber you?"
"You do realise that we've faced off against you several times in the past, and won each time? But hey, working for the Nazis too? That's a new low even for you, Heinrich."
"You will die, Firebrand. You and your young lady companion."
"You didn't tell me he was a sexist fool as well, Ray."
"I thought working alongside Faye Morgaine might have blunted that idiocy on his part." Wolfgirl bounded toward the unco-ordinated, clumsy and slow zombies, tearing at them as they tried to fight back with their only real strengths- their instinctive post-human viciousness, ravenous appetite and lust for consumption of human flesh. However, given their over-reliance on olfactory and auditory cues, the creatures faltered before the ferocity of Wolfgirl as Firebrand stalked toward Zoro, delivering an uppercut to his opponent. However, from the adjacent airlocks poured more of the undead, leading them to realise that Zoro wasn't the only zombie hordemaster.
"Spook, Green Devil, Gray Ghoul, Countess Tubre, Docs Dread and Death?! What is this, creep time hoedown at Necromancy Castle?"
"You surely did not think that idiot Zoro was the only asset that the Reich has at its disposal?"
"That's debatable. Your slavering, dilapidated, shambling friends there are no good against lycanthropes and sheer volume can only carry you so far."
"Perhaps enough." As they dispatched themselves, however, they were joined by some unexpected friends:
"Hi, Amy. Hi, Ray. Doc Omega mentioned you might be having some trouble with these characters."
"Di Dawn, the Black Orchid? It's been too long, amiga. Good to have you at our side again!" Wolfgirl exclaimed.
"And your undead friends are useless against me, remember, Doc Dread?"
"Damn you, Will O'Wisp! I thought you had retired!"
"Nice to have you onboard, Gale."
"Blue Tracer! Boomerang! Human Fly! Spider Woman! Good to have the numbers even up a little!"
"Oh, this is ridiculous! Retreat, my...oof!" Green Devil was the first to fall as Human Fly soared across and hit him with an upper cut. The next was Gray Ghoul, as Will O'Wisp penetrated him and squeezed his reanimated head until it fell apart like an overripe pumpkin. Doctor Dread levelled a blaster at his long-time nemesis, but was blindsided as Boomerang slammed into his form. Countess Tubre scowled at the fallibility of her colleagues: "Never send a man to do a woman's work. None of you boys will hit me, will you?"
"Do shut up, Tubre. They might not, but one of us will!" Spider Woman said as she swung toward the scowling zombie mistress. As it happened, Wolfgirl was the first one there, as the Countess malevolently smiled and levelled a silver knife at the lycanthrope. Spider Woman knocked it away with a surge of high tensile thread and between them, Wolfgirl and Black Orchid removed the distaff threat from their midst.
"Well, that's awkward. Looks like the Nazi moonbase was a cardboard threat after all this." Firebrand said, as they felled the last of the zombie incursion.
"Where did all of you come from?" Wolfgirl asked, as she hugged Black Orchid and Spider Woman.
"Doc Omega called in some favours. And anyway, he's right. It is about time for that new heroic renaissance he's been talking about. He wanted to surprise you two."
"It was quite a pleasant surprise. Gale?" Will O'Wisp had rematerialised with a pensive expression on her face:
"Trouble! This base is on a short fuse. Tracer, how many will your AEV over there seat?"
"As many of you as possible. Come on, there's no time to waste."
EPILOGUE:
And thus, the last Nazi threat to Earth-590's security was vanquished and with the windfall of the hoarded and now liberated ex-Nazi advanced technology, the world was now safe and able to recovery from the trauma and suffering of its immediate past. And while, sadly, Doctor Omega- Professor Phineas Potter- was unable to resist the depredations and ultimate toll of his cancer, by the time that he finally passed into the mists of memory and history, he had saved the world from the thwarted zombie incursion through his breakneck roll-out of antizombie vaccines to a grateful world. He also had the boon of his ultimate ambition rewarded before he drew his last breath, with his Law Enforcement Initiative now expanded to include several new members- Firebrand, Wolfgirl, Spider Woman, Will O'Wisp, Black Orchid, Blue Tracer, Boomerang and Power Woman became renowned warriors for freedom, justice and diversity and any residual doubts about their fitness to succeed to the legendary mantle of Superman and Wonder Woman faded into gossamer oblivion- but then, any such doubts were the stuff of phantasm and fancy anyhow.
THE END
TO BE CONTINUED [12.30 PM, SEPTEMBER 5, 2022]
