A Mary Marvel Story

[dans]

Part 1: Third Period Puzzle

This year, Third Period for Mary Bromfield, a senior at the Frannie Fawcett Academy of Social Elegance, was Study Hall. As a senior and an honor roll student, she had some extra privileges, and one of them was to use her Study Hall time to stroll around the perfectly tended park-like campus of the ritzy private school for young ladies, rather than being forced to sit at a desk under the supervision of a strict teacher, and, well, study… Of course, being late for her Fourth Period class in Creative Entertaining would result in severe penalties, but she had never run afoul of any of the school’s regulations before, and wasn’t about to start now!

She walked around the wooded pond and was passing by the statues of Frannie Fawcett, daughter of Wilford Fawcett, the first mayor of Fawcett City back in 1858, when suddenly the peace and tranquility of the cozy park was rent by a thunderous sonic boom. Startled, Mary looked skyward and the shouted a single word – “SHAZAM”

Even faster than the growing downward-stabbing threatening finger of flame and smoke left by the blazing meteor that was about to smash into the campus, a brilliantly blinding bolt of magic lightning crashed down from the heavens, struck the attractive brunette. She was outlined in a brightly glowing, electric aura, and Mary Bromfield vanished! To be replaced by the dynamic, red, white and yellow-clad figure of… Mary Marvel!

Before she could reach the giant falling meteor, it exploded, sending tons of molten rock in a shower that would devastate the entire campus.

“Are even the Fleetness of Zephyrus and the Skill of Ariadne enough for me to save the school?” the trim, attractive girl wondered as she flashed into action with all the Fleetness of Zephyrus and all the Skill of Ariadne that she could muster. And yet, even as she started smashing the flaming shards to smithereens, she knew she wasn’t going to be fast enough to prevent all of the deadly rain from crashing to Earth, crushing everything underneath and then starting additional fires across the entire wooded campus!

But suddenly she wasn’t alone in the sky. A girl she’d never seen before was flashing through the air on the other side of campus! Mary could hardly believe it when the other flying girl smashed through the rain of blazing debris and duplicated her own performance, smashing the deadly fragments into harmless dust. This new heroine was somewhat smaller than Mary, and somewhat on the thin side; she had red hair done in a pompadour and was wearing a yellow blouse and green culottes.

“I’ll take this side, Mary, and you get your side! We’ll be done in a jiffy – Mary Bromfield won’t even be late getting back to class!”

‘She knows who I am!” Mary thought in alarm, but even her stunned apprehension didn’t keep her from zipping across the sky, pulverizing the meteoric remains before they could cause damage. She didn’t bother with the flaming pieces that were going to fall into the pond or the small river that meandered though the campus, and she was relieved that with the help of her new, unknown ally, they could keep the school grounds, buildings, and most of all, people, undamaged and safe! She smashed the last of the debris, did a quick circuit around campus and nearby in case the two mighty heroines had missed anything, or anything dangerous had landed in the pond or the river, and then looked for her new ally – who had vanished.

“Ta ta, Mary Marvel Bromfield! Don’t worry, we’ll meet again!” Although the unknown girl’s voice in her ear was chipper, cheerful, and friendly, Mary couldn’t help but wonder if that was a threat… Someone new who knew her secret?

“I hope she’s not an enemy! It’s just the kind of trick Georgia might pull on me, pretending to be a new super girl-friend so she could attack me later!”

She’d never seen the petite woman before – a thin redhead wearing a yellow shirt and high waisted green sailor shorts. Or had she? Before she changed back to Mary Bromfield, Mary Marvel put the Wisdom of Minerva to work on the problem. “I do owe her a ‘thank you’ though – I would certainly have missed the start of Fourth Period without her help, and that would get me at least 30 demerits!”

[dans]

comments on continuity adherence please, also, is the style suitably Earth-S ish? thanks!

[johnreiter902]

This is so interesting. I can't wait to see more.

And I agree with Mary's caution. This could easily be a Sivana trick (which might be fun, we haven't seen anything from Georgia in a while)

[dans]

thanks, John, working on the next chapter now...

[redsycorax]

Was Mary's ensemble white at that stage? I thought it was red.

[dans]

she had red dress and white cape, with yellow lightning emblem and trim, I believe

[dans]

Part 2: Festival on the Lawn

Classes after lunch today had been cancelled, so that students could participate in or attend a fund-raising performance, which had been renamed to the ‘Frannie Fawcett Festival on the Lawn’ since the end of the War. In the War years, similar student performances had been given at on-campus War Bonds rallies for students, staff, faculty, and their families, and it had quickly become a tradition at the school; after the war the administration had continued the tradition but repurposed the donated funds to support many of the school’s student extracurricular activity clubs and groups. Last year’s presentation had raised over $25,000 from donations from the proud families, and the school administration was counting on even more this year. Mary and her family were sitting on a blanket on the lawn watching members of the school’s gymnastics team perform tumbling routines when things started to go wrong…

A burst of machine gun fire from near the center stage, where some of the school’s staff were announcing the proceedings, drew everyone’s attention, and they were all horrified to see four men on the stage with Tommy Guns, one pointed at the sky. One of the men had grabbed the microphone, while another held the barrel of his gun at the temple of school president Virginia McIntosh.

“Don’t none of you try anything funny or Ginny here plays the pauper!” the one with the mike said. “We’re taking the money, and she’s comin’ wit’ us!”

Mary was startled and horrified and almost instantly began to say her magic word, but she was interrupted by a girl who had been sitting nearby, a girl who was a few inches taller than she and much more solidly built – a weight lifter physique to Mary’s platform diver build. She had decided that this girl must be the sister of one of her schoolmates, though she hadn’t yet decided who she resembled.

“You’ll give away your secret if you say your magic word in this crowd, Mary – this one’s on me. You can thank me later!”

She turned toward the stage and leaped into the air, an amazing leap that would easily carry her over the people seated on the lawn between here and the stage. She did a front flip and while she was flipping, her outline blurred strangely, then cleared to show a young woman in a red outfit with bare legs flying over the crowd at high speed.

“Cripes, it’s that Mary Marvin bimbo – blast her!” the leader of the robbers shouted to his mob. She landed as they were swinging their guns around, and then vanished in a red blur, racing over the lawn towards the villains more quickly than they could react.

Except one of them did react quickly enough, and squeezed off a short burst – long enough to fire 40 or 50 rounds.

To the speeding girl, the 45 caliber bullets seemed to float slowly through the air, but she knew that any that missed her posed deadly danger for the crowd of families seated behind her – and any that hit her and bounced off her could be just as deadly to those nearby and in front of her. She knew a trick for this, though – she paused her headlong rush to the stage and slapped the bullets into the ground. Of course, she was still moving much too fast for anyone to see what she was doing, and after disposing of the first burst, she reached the stage before the rest of the thugs could pull their triggers. where she squeezed each of the gun barrels tightly – these guns would never work again, and would backfire or maybe even explode if the triggers were pulled now. She planned to make sure no one was hurt by exploding guns, though: she tapped each villain gently on the chin – and in real time, the audience saw the villains reacting as if they had been slugged by Joe Louis, the blows lifting them from their feet and sending them sprawling backward, unconscious.

The unknown heroine then raced away in a blur of red. Campus police officers put cuffs on the unconscious villains, and took them away. President McIntosh convinced the students to continue the performance, but nobody was paying much attention after that.The crowd was abuzz for at least half an hour, talking about their marvelous rescue by the red-clad heroine they still believed was Mary Marvel. Only one person in the crowd knew different – and she was now VERY worried that her secret identity had somehow been compromised.

[johnreiter902]

This is beginning to remind me of when Superboy met the Legion of Super-Heroes

[jonclark]

Jun 15, 2023 2:41:37 GMT johnreiter902 said:

This is beginning to remind me of when Superboy met the Legion of Super-Heroes

Had the same feeling. Also had an inkling that this might be a Lt Mary Marvels bit.

[dans]

Part 3 - This is a job for... Mary Gold!

Dinner was served an hour later than normal that night. When Mary got to her normal table in the big dining room, several of her friends were already eating and chatting with a girl she’d never seen before. Magnolia Blossom, one of her best friends at the school, introduced her to the new girl as she sat down.

“Mary, this is Marcy Blaine. Her parents just moved to Fawcett City. They came to the Festival today and they are interested in enrolling Marcy here for the rest of the year. They’re off meeting with Miss McIntosh right now to work out the details, and they sent Marcy here to meet some of the students.”

Marcy was a pert, attractive blonde dressed in a pleated plaid skirt, snug fitting sweater over a simple white blouse, white bobby socks and a pair of saddle shoes, wearing a golden heart-shaped pendant dangling from a simple gold chain around her neck and a bow in her hair. Mary’s friends had been excitedly discussing the attempted robbery at the Festival and bemoaning the fact that Mary Marvel had apparently been in too big of a hurry to stop and chat with them – Magnolia in particular had met Mary Marvel several times in the past. Mary waited for a lull in the conversation, then totally changed the subject.

“I bought a new 78 today – Peggy Lee singing ‘It’s a Good Day”. Peggy is just so cool!”

"That's got 'He's Just my Kind' on the flip side, right?" Magnolia sounded excited. "I like that one even better!"

Mary's friends, particularly Magnolia, were jealous - every time a new hit record came out, they had kind of an unspoken competition about who could buy it first, and Maggie usually won. The table discussed popular music for a while and then the subject turned to boys and the weekend. Several of the girls boasted about their dates for the weekend; several others looked wistful. Mary tried to get the new girl involved in the conversation.

“Are you going to be here by the weekend, Marcy? If you haven’t got a date for Saturday night by then, you can join the rest of us wallflowers who are planning to see a movie together? We’re going to go into town to the Crescent Theater to see the new Mike Shayne movie, “The Mystery of the Aztecs”. And I hear that before the main feature, they plan to show that artsy Spanish short “Heart of Gold” with subtitles.”

Before Marcy could respond, Magnolia spoke up: “I’ll bet she has a dozen boys chasin’ after her by the end of 4th period tomorrow! Just like you to get excited over an artsy short import when they're showing that dreamy Lou Fairmont. And besides, you got the name of the Shayne movie wrong, Miss Wallflower Smartypants! It’s called “Mischief in her Heart”! You must be studying too hard!”

Marcy had been looking uncomfortable for a few minutes; now she was practically squirming in her chair. “Sorry, girls, I must have eaten something that didn’t sit well. I think I need the little girls’ room – fast!”

Mary was instantly on her feet and rushed around to Marcy’s chair. “I’ll show you the way, Marcy !” she said solicitously as she helped the other girl from her chair.

“There’s the girl with the real ‘heart of gold’!” Magnolia pronounced. Marcy quickly turned and hurried for the door to the dining room, with Mary a step behind her.

***~~~***

“So, a bit of your own medicine makes you squirm, eh, Peggy?” Mary gently chided the blonde girl as they stepped into the empty hall outside the crowded dining room.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, Mary – it’s just something I ate!” Marcy replied tightly.

“Never mind – if you’re here, something must be about to happen.” There was a loud explosion from outside. “Right on cue! Don’t worry, I’ll take care of it!”

Mary touched her own locket and said firmly and confidently “Heart of Gold!” Instantly she was outlined in the faint image of a red valentine heart, surrounded by golden flames, and then Mary Batson was replaced by… huh? A girl wearing a yellow dress with a brief skirt, trimmed in green, and a green cape?!?! “This is a job for… Mary Gold!”

[johnreiter902]

I see. . . it's the Earth-S version of Golden Girl.

Very nice, though it still doesn't explain how she knows Mary's secret.

I continue to follow, avidly

[dans]

not exactly... more to follow.

[dans]

All Star Action Comics!!

A couple of miles away, across the Fawcett River (which meandered to the east until it emptied into the North River just opposite Manhattan) in Fawcett River Park, a pillar of smoke was rising. A blur of blue and red, moving almost faster than Mary Gold could see, flashed past Mary from that direction, and for the briefest of instants, Captain Marvel Jr. gave her a thumbs-up before he vanished. She zoomed off towards the smoke; she smiled after a brief backward glance showed her that she was being followed by another flying girl also dressed in a brief yellow sundress with green cape; she knew the tardy flying girl was named Golden Girl.

At super speed, it didn’t take long to reach the park. At the spot where the smoke was rising from, there was no evidence of an explosion, but there was a free-standing artist’s easel with a large canvas on it, and by the time Golden Girl landed, Mary Gold had donned an artist’s beret and picked up a palette and paint brush and was standing back from the easel, holding out her thumb and squinting seriously at her creation.

“Peggy – good to see you! I think Ann and Zonya should be here any second, right?” Mary greeted the incoming Golden Girl. There were two twin sonic booms, and there they were – the smaller girl who had helped Mary with the meteor, and the larger girl who had stopped the machine-gun toting mobsters. “Hold on – I need to change my clothes!” Then… “SHAZAM” in a calm, confident tone.

The Magic Lightning struck, and Mary Gold was changed into Mary Bromfield, who spoke again instantly “SHAZAM”. There was another mystical crack of magical thunder, and where Mary Gold, and then Mary Bronson, had stood, now stood Mary Marvel – the World’s Mightiest Girl, in her short red tunic with the yellow lightning bolt on the chest and white cape streaming majestically behind her in the wind created by the supersonic arrival of the two newcomers.

By now, Golden Girl was inspecting the painting Mary Gold had been working on – and she broke out laughing!

“She’s been on to us all along, girls – look at this!” She pointed at the picture. “You’re pretty sneaky, Mary Marvel – and very smart!”

The picture looked like the front cover of a comic book, titled “All-Star Action Comics”, and this was issue No. 5, the ‘Summer Issue’. This issue was “Introducing the Legion of Super Teens!” Below the logo, eight people, all seemingly in their late teens, each wearing a colorful costume, sat around a large round wooden table. On the table in front of each of them was a name plate. There were five boys and three girls – the three girls who now stood in front of Mary’s painting, identified by their name plates. The petite thin redhead was Super Ann, the muscular girl was Amazona (‘Zonya’) and the blonde was Golden Girl!

The boys were identified as: Wonder Boy, Dynamic Boy, Captain Truth, Golden Lad, Bingo, and… Captain Marvel Jr.

“Not all along, no,” Mary Marvel admitted. “After my encounter with Super Ann I was worried and mystified – but I figured it out after Amazona showed up. Before dinner I checked in with Captain Marvel Jr. and he helped me set up my masquerade and the phony explosion. And he and my brother have been on patrol ever since, keeping an eye out for the real problem you guys expected for my encounter with Golden Girl. So the two of us won't be needed to solve that problem - whatever it was.”

“Geez, Mary, you and your friends really had me going at dinner!” Golden Girl recalled ruefully. “When you started using my name and throwing my magic words around and the Aztec source of my powers, I was going nuts trying to figure it out!”

(Editor’s note – Golden Girl’s identity is Peggy Shane, and the magic phrase that activates her powers is ‘Heart of Gold!” – and her powers were bestowed on her by the spirits of thousands of Aztecs who were murdered by the Spanish conquistadors, over five hundred years ago…)

“I thought I deserved a little payback – you have no idea how worried I was when Ann knew my secret!” Mary’s tone was very strict for a few seconds. “Anyway, I hope we’re even now – and we can all be friends!”

[dans]

I'm game - let's GO!

“As you’ve cleverly already figured out, Mary, we’re from the Legion of Super Teens, a group of teenage super heroes, all with similar powers, from the Earth of a parallel universe,” Golden Girl confirmed. “We’d like you to come back with us for a try-out. We think a try-out is a waste of time and you’re a shoo-in, but we have to follow the rules in the Legion Constitution.”

“When he got back from his own try-out, Freddy told me all about it, and showed me the souvenir photograph you guys gave him,” Mary agreed. “So once I connected Ann and Zonya to the picture, the rest was easy to figure out. I’m surprised that you guys were surprised, though – did you think Freddy wouldn’t tell his girlfriend the whole story?”

“You’re Captain Marvel’s girlfriend?” Amazona asked. A look of surprised realization crossed her face. “No WONDER he was more worried about how his girlfriend would react to him being a chauvinist than me clouting him again!”

All four girls laughed. Then Mary turned serious again.

“But I already know that your Constitution says that each new member needs to have a unique power.” She sounded sad. “My powers are the same as Freddy’s powers – even the ability to reach to the Rock of Eternity, which got him in.”

“We’re all trying to get the rule changed – it’s really dumb!” Amazona snorted, and the other two nodded enthusiastically. “But you know how government agencies are…” This time Mary nodded ruefully. “So we’ve figured out a technicality,” she continued with satisfaction. “The rule specifically states that a new member must have previously demonstrated a power not already demonstrated by another member. But… it doesn’t specify that this power must actually be UNIQUE to the newcomer. So even if you and Freddy share a power, but he doesn’t know about it yet, and you do, and none of the rest of us has either exhibited that power yet, we can let you in. Even if it turns out after that one or even all of more of us can do the same thing, once we’ve accepted you. So, if Goldy here figures out how to get to the Rock of Eternity on her own, that won’t bounce Freddy from the club. Or if Ann were to figure out how to project cold beams, they wouldn’t kick me out.” She winked at the others and made a ‘no way’ gesture with her hands.

“I’ll betcha I could easy!” Super Ann objected. Then, seriously, “We watched some of your earlier adventures on Bingo’s “Crosstime TV” and found this, and the whole club has already agreed that it qualifies you. You used your powers to give that awful Dr. Sivana an electric shock. None of us has used the power of ‘super lightning’ before, although Bingo has been boasting ever since he saw you do it that he could too if he wanted to. But the rules say we can let you in!” She held out a small device, apparently a TV screen the size of her hand, about as thick as a deck of cards. “Dickie Dean invented this – just watch!”

Mary instantly recognized the scene being replayed on the device – her earliest encounter with Dr. Sivana, when he had tricked Mary Batson into wearing earrings that prevented the magic lightning from giving her powers. Earrings that she was unable to remove, too… So she’d used her wits and utilized the magic lightning in a different way, allowing Sivana to grab her and then calling the lightning. This gave him a powerful electric shock, allowing her to escape his clutches. (* see the lead story in Mary Marvel #1, December 1945)

“I’d totally forgotten about that!” Mary laughed in relief. “So you want to give me a try-out, huh? I’m game. Let’s go!”

[dans]

"Let's GO!"

Golden Girl touched a small patch of something to Mary’s costume below the left shoulder – a blue and gold insignia that clung to her uniform. “Don’t worry, it comes off easily! This magic insignia will transport you instantly to Legion of Super Teen headquarters in Philadelphia on our Earth – you just touch it with your right hand and think the magic word ‘Bmus’." A slight pause. "Don’t ask me what that word means, Bingo’s genie Ka-Bang made it that way.“ She continued. “And as soon as the emblem touched you, it became ‘attuned’ to this park – so when you are ready to come back, all you have to do is touch it and think 'I want to go home!' and you’ll instantly be transported right back here.” She paused again. “That Ka-Bang is kind of a joker, I guess! But his magic always works exactly right.”

“Let’s GO!” Super Ann shouted enthusiastically. “I can’t wait to see the initiation Wonder Boy’s got in mind for her. Betcha it’s a DOOZY!” All 4 women touched the ensigns just below their left shoulders, and with small ‘bamf’ sounds of displaced air, they vanished.