Post by dans on Dec 4, 2023 0:52:13 GMT
I'm trying to fill in some plot holes in the story of Dr. Lambda, Lady Lambda, and Kid Lambda, so here's one of them. No super powered action or anything, so I suppose this could be considered to be just an interlude...
In last month’s exciting issue of All-Star Adventure Comics, the valiant Dr. Lambda (Ned Quest) was seriously injured in a battle with a new mystery villain named Bashlight, who claimed to have received his weapon, an energy projection device that resembled a military TL-122 Tactical Flashlight (often used by paratroopers), from Dr. Daytona. The powers of the Bashlight appeared to be very similar to those of Dr. Lambda’s Stellar Scepter, adding fuel to Ned’s suspicion that at one time, Dr. Daytona had somehow obtained the schematics for the Stellar Scepter. While he was in the hospital, Ned’s Doctor, Ridley Jones, (who has known Ned's secret identity for several years) had estimated that his alien-enhanced physiology would be healed to the point where he should be able to walk unassisted in a few days, and has strongly suggested that Ned refrain from any super heroics as Dr. Lambda for at least two weeks.
Before he left the hospital, Ned had another chat with Ridley. He made sure Krista was there, too – he didn’t want her to think he was hedging or anything if the talk turned out the way he hoped it would. “Is there any reason why I can’t fly during my recovery? The Stellar Scepter does all the work – it wraps my body in a force field and lifts it, and supports it in my horizontal flying position – so there is really no strain on my body when I’m flying.” And then he paused, and continued excitedly as another possibility occurred to him: “In fact, I don’t have to be in that horizontal position to fly – I rotate into a vertical position and float down to the ground every time I make a landing. I could command the Scepter to let me hover an inch or so off the floor while I’m still vertical, and then slowly fly me around like that wherever I want to go.”
Ridly looked thoughtful. “Second idea first… floating places rather than walking seems likely to stress your back less. But as soon as you _can_ walk, I want you to walk instead of float. Having to support your weight most of the time will help your lower back heal correctly. Come back in 3 days so we can be sure you are healing as well as I expect.” He paused for more thought.
“As to actually flying, I’ve got to say no. Human bodies are not built for flying, and the unusual stresses might confuse your healing. And if you had to make any sudden twists or turns, there’s no way of knowing how that would affect your back. Doctor’s strongly-worded advice, same as before, as I know actually giving you orders is useless: No flying for 2 weeks. Or any other mystery hero stuff either!”
“Thanks, Ridley!” Ned was moderately pleased – moving around inside the house would be a lot easier floating than using crutches or a wheel chair, though he had some ideas about making the chair more mobile as well.
While the living room of the Quest mansion had been extensively damaged, the wing that included most of the bedrooms was undamaged, so until the rest of the mansion was repaired, the Quests could use one of the spare bedrooms as a living room. Ned’s workshop in the basement was undamaged. When he got home, he used a Stellar Scepter to float himself and his wheelchair to the basement, and spent a couple of hours building a copy of the flight control circuits in his Lambda outfit into a box he could strap to the wheelchair to make it self-propelled. Then he had to eat a gigantic lunch, and take a long nap – his body needed extra fuel and raw materials for the self-repairs it was undertaking. Then he got on his Alliance of Mystery Heroes communicator (one of his own inventions!) and got hold of Major Power and Captain Catapult, and arranged for them to fill in for him for a few days each over the next two weeks. He’d have to hope nothing came up on the other days that would require Dr. Lambda, but he figured he could let the authorities know that he was busy elsewhere on AMH business on those days. That night, he put a lot of serious thought into retiring, and he was ready to discuss it with Kris the next day.
“I know how worried you get when I’m active as Dr. Lambda, Kris,” he started off the conversation. Actually, he wouldn’t find out just how worried she really was for over a year, but that’s a different story… “So I’m willing to retire as Dr. Lamba.” She looking absolutely stunned, then followed with a giant smile, but he continued. “But… I don’t want to actually announce to the world that I am absolutely retired – it would embolden Marble City’s underworld too much. And I want to give that same underworld a lesson before I go. You know how Captain Catapult went on a two week crusade against crime last year in Chicago?” That one-man crusade had brought the crime rate in Chicago to virtually zero for a few weeks as Catapult had introduced himself to the public, and let wrong-doers know they needed to beware of him full time from now on. That crusade had been a big topic of conversation at Alliance of Mystery Heros HQ for weeks, and the Quests and the Trasks had discussed it several times when the Trasks (the mystery hero team the Stormbirds) had spent the night for ‘Game Night’ after a couple of AMH meetings.
Kris nodded, uncertain but apprehensive about what might be coming next. “I’d like to do something similar before I publicly announce my semi-retirement. Crack down hard on crime here in Marble City for 2 weeks, so next year, or the year after, any bad guys will think twice before they break the law.”
“I’ll worry like crazy that whole two weeks, Ned. But it will be worth it. OK, as long as you promise to be extra cautious those two weeks!” Kris was relieved and more worried than she let on, at the same time.
Ned didn’t know whether to feel successful or like a heel… he hadn’t actually promised to retire as Dr. Lambda – but she thought he had. It was what he wanted… but why did he feel so sneaky about getting what he wanted?
Something unusual and extremely unexpected happened during those next two weeks. Ned continued to heal, at about the pace Ridley had predicted, and, suitably disguised, Captain Catapult and Major Power had each spent 3 days combatting crime as Dr. Lambda in Marble City. If anyone noticed that during those days, the city’s hero had depended solely on his physical super powers rather than the powers of his Stellar Scepter, nobody had publicly raised any questions. But the most exciting event was a long distance phone call to the Quests from Michigan City, Indiana – from Cody Mason! For a short time, in the early years of the war, Cody had used his own copy of the Lambda gear as Kid Lambda. Until he had been seriously injured, after which his family had disappeared from Marble City and none of their friends had ever found out where they had moved to. (see: The Short, Sour Career of Kid Lambda). Until the phone call!
Cody had just turned 18 and graduated from high school. He was coming back to Marble City for a few days to see some of his friends from before the move and he wanted to talk to the Quests. Although he didn’t say why on the phone, both Ned and Krista knew he wanted to talk about getting the Lambda gear back. He would arrive the day after Ned was presumably cleared by Dr. Jones to resume Dr. Lambda activities, and since the repairs would be completed by then, they offered to let him stay with them – if his parents approved. They didn’t need another black mark with the Masons!
Cody brought it up first. “So, back then, you guys promised me that if it was OK with my folks, and I still wanted the Lambda gear back, you’d let me have it. I talked it over with them – they are really against it, worried that I might get hurt or killed, but I pointed out that I’m old enough to enlist now, or take up a dangerous civilian job like cop or firefighter, and I could get hurt or killed doing any of those things, and they wouldn’t stop me – they’d even be proud of the good I was doing! Or even something like being a race car driver, or a stunt pilot. So they said they wouldn’t stand in my way. I’ve had 4 years to think about it – and I’ve decided I don’t really want to be a mystery hero.” He laughed at the stunned relief on their faces! “Yeah, that’s what my folks thought, too – they were sure I was going to come out here as Cody and come back home as… well, I couldn’t be Kid Lambda any longer, so maybe they thought I’d be Lambdaman? Anyway, I’m starting school at the University of Chicago in their Nuclear Engineering program in the fall, and for now, I’m going to be satisfied to be a full-time student!” Then, hesitating and sounding somewhat shy, “But, I wonder… Can you keep the offer open for a while in case I change my mind?”
Both Quests were relieved; even though they knew that anyone who became a mystery hero had to be aware of the dangers and decided to do it anyway, if Cody was hurt or worse using the Lambda gear, they would both feel guilty about it. But Ned felt compelled to add the part they had left out years ago. “One thing I didn’t tell you back then, Cody, about the alien potion that gave me my super strength, speed, and durability – I have two more vials of that same potion available. I offered one to Kris years ago, but we weren’t sure at the time that they were the same, and now that I’ve analyzed them and we’re sure, she’s retired. But if you did decide to take up the gear again, we had both decided we’d offer you one of those vials as well. Does that change your mind?”
He didn’t even stop to think about it. “Nope! For now, and at least until I graduate, I’m just Cody Mason. Not Lambdaman, not even alien-enhanced Cody Mason, just plain old human Cody.” Again, a little hesitantly, “Does the offer of the vial still hold, too?”
“Not sure I can promise that, Cody, sorry. I’ve analyzed it, but it’s alien, and I haven’t yet figured out how to make more. If I can save lives with those vials, I want to be able to do it without breaking a promise to you. But, if you do change your mind, and I still have one, I promise, it’s yours.”
After that discussion, a cloud none of them had been consciously aware of was lifted from their moods, and it was just the start of a wonderful vacation for Cody.
Ned did announce his retirement as Dr. Lambda, and he did go on his proposed two week crusade beforehand. The crusade story has yet to be written, but it is described this way in the story A New Hero for Marble City
"Dr. Lambda had announced his 'semi-retirement' in October of 1947 in a press conference. It was a very emotional press conference, and unique, because as far as anyone could tell, this was the first time a 'mystery hero' had ever publicly announced his retirement. Before his retirement, Dr. Lambda had embarked on a vigorous 2 week personal crusade against crime, bringing so many criminals to the police that they were almost tired of seeing him. By the end of the second week, violent criminal activity in Marble City had almost ceased. Most criminals decided to go somewhere else, and it was several years before the crime rate returned to normal. Marble City was named 'America's Safest City' in 1947 and 1948."
It wasn't too far into the future when Ned seriously regretted misleading Krista into thinking he had promised to retire - without really promising. You can read that story here: Dr. Lambda No More
After working for a year, Cody goes off to college. This story is an almost direct reuse of a Bulletman story I wrote years ago, but if you want to read it, rewritten for the Eorth universe, you can find it here: The Further Adventures of Kid Lambda
The Return of Kid Lambda
What has gone before
In last month’s exciting issue of All-Star Adventure Comics, the valiant Dr. Lambda (Ned Quest) was seriously injured in a battle with a new mystery villain named Bashlight, who claimed to have received his weapon, an energy projection device that resembled a military TL-122 Tactical Flashlight (often used by paratroopers), from Dr. Daytona. The powers of the Bashlight appeared to be very similar to those of Dr. Lambda’s Stellar Scepter, adding fuel to Ned’s suspicion that at one time, Dr. Daytona had somehow obtained the schematics for the Stellar Scepter. While he was in the hospital, Ned’s Doctor, Ridley Jones, (who has known Ned's secret identity for several years) had estimated that his alien-enhanced physiology would be healed to the point where he should be able to walk unassisted in a few days, and has strongly suggested that Ned refrain from any super heroics as Dr. Lambda for at least two weeks.
Prologue
Before he left the hospital, Ned had another chat with Ridley. He made sure Krista was there, too – he didn’t want her to think he was hedging or anything if the talk turned out the way he hoped it would. “Is there any reason why I can’t fly during my recovery? The Stellar Scepter does all the work – it wraps my body in a force field and lifts it, and supports it in my horizontal flying position – so there is really no strain on my body when I’m flying.” And then he paused, and continued excitedly as another possibility occurred to him: “In fact, I don’t have to be in that horizontal position to fly – I rotate into a vertical position and float down to the ground every time I make a landing. I could command the Scepter to let me hover an inch or so off the floor while I’m still vertical, and then slowly fly me around like that wherever I want to go.”
Ridly looked thoughtful. “Second idea first… floating places rather than walking seems likely to stress your back less. But as soon as you _can_ walk, I want you to walk instead of float. Having to support your weight most of the time will help your lower back heal correctly. Come back in 3 days so we can be sure you are healing as well as I expect.” He paused for more thought.
“As to actually flying, I’ve got to say no. Human bodies are not built for flying, and the unusual stresses might confuse your healing. And if you had to make any sudden twists or turns, there’s no way of knowing how that would affect your back. Doctor’s strongly-worded advice, same as before, as I know actually giving you orders is useless: No flying for 2 weeks. Or any other mystery hero stuff either!”
“Thanks, Ridley!” Ned was moderately pleased – moving around inside the house would be a lot easier floating than using crutches or a wheel chair, though he had some ideas about making the chair more mobile as well.
OK – I’ll Retire. But...
While the living room of the Quest mansion had been extensively damaged, the wing that included most of the bedrooms was undamaged, so until the rest of the mansion was repaired, the Quests could use one of the spare bedrooms as a living room. Ned’s workshop in the basement was undamaged. When he got home, he used a Stellar Scepter to float himself and his wheelchair to the basement, and spent a couple of hours building a copy of the flight control circuits in his Lambda outfit into a box he could strap to the wheelchair to make it self-propelled. Then he had to eat a gigantic lunch, and take a long nap – his body needed extra fuel and raw materials for the self-repairs it was undertaking. Then he got on his Alliance of Mystery Heroes communicator (one of his own inventions!) and got hold of Major Power and Captain Catapult, and arranged for them to fill in for him for a few days each over the next two weeks. He’d have to hope nothing came up on the other days that would require Dr. Lambda, but he figured he could let the authorities know that he was busy elsewhere on AMH business on those days. That night, he put a lot of serious thought into retiring, and he was ready to discuss it with Kris the next day.
“I know how worried you get when I’m active as Dr. Lambda, Kris,” he started off the conversation. Actually, he wouldn’t find out just how worried she really was for over a year, but that’s a different story… “So I’m willing to retire as Dr. Lamba.” She looking absolutely stunned, then followed with a giant smile, but he continued. “But… I don’t want to actually announce to the world that I am absolutely retired – it would embolden Marble City’s underworld too much. And I want to give that same underworld a lesson before I go. You know how Captain Catapult went on a two week crusade against crime last year in Chicago?” That one-man crusade had brought the crime rate in Chicago to virtually zero for a few weeks as Catapult had introduced himself to the public, and let wrong-doers know they needed to beware of him full time from now on. That crusade had been a big topic of conversation at Alliance of Mystery Heros HQ for weeks, and the Quests and the Trasks had discussed it several times when the Trasks (the mystery hero team the Stormbirds) had spent the night for ‘Game Night’ after a couple of AMH meetings.
Kris nodded, uncertain but apprehensive about what might be coming next. “I’d like to do something similar before I publicly announce my semi-retirement. Crack down hard on crime here in Marble City for 2 weeks, so next year, or the year after, any bad guys will think twice before they break the law.”
“I’ll worry like crazy that whole two weeks, Ned. But it will be worth it. OK, as long as you promise to be extra cautious those two weeks!” Kris was relieved and more worried than she let on, at the same time.
Ned didn’t know whether to feel successful or like a heel… he hadn’t actually promised to retire as Dr. Lambda – but she thought he had. It was what he wanted… but why did he feel so sneaky about getting what he wanted?
Unexpected Phone Call
Something unusual and extremely unexpected happened during those next two weeks. Ned continued to heal, at about the pace Ridley had predicted, and, suitably disguised, Captain Catapult and Major Power had each spent 3 days combatting crime as Dr. Lambda in Marble City. If anyone noticed that during those days, the city’s hero had depended solely on his physical super powers rather than the powers of his Stellar Scepter, nobody had publicly raised any questions. But the most exciting event was a long distance phone call to the Quests from Michigan City, Indiana – from Cody Mason! For a short time, in the early years of the war, Cody had used his own copy of the Lambda gear as Kid Lambda. Until he had been seriously injured, after which his family had disappeared from Marble City and none of their friends had ever found out where they had moved to. (see: The Short, Sour Career of Kid Lambda). Until the phone call!
Cody had just turned 18 and graduated from high school. He was coming back to Marble City for a few days to see some of his friends from before the move and he wanted to talk to the Quests. Although he didn’t say why on the phone, both Ned and Krista knew he wanted to talk about getting the Lambda gear back. He would arrive the day after Ned was presumably cleared by Dr. Jones to resume Dr. Lambda activities, and since the repairs would be completed by then, they offered to let him stay with them – if his parents approved. They didn’t need another black mark with the Masons!
Unexpected Decision
Cody brought it up first. “So, back then, you guys promised me that if it was OK with my folks, and I still wanted the Lambda gear back, you’d let me have it. I talked it over with them – they are really against it, worried that I might get hurt or killed, but I pointed out that I’m old enough to enlist now, or take up a dangerous civilian job like cop or firefighter, and I could get hurt or killed doing any of those things, and they wouldn’t stop me – they’d even be proud of the good I was doing! Or even something like being a race car driver, or a stunt pilot. So they said they wouldn’t stand in my way. I’ve had 4 years to think about it – and I’ve decided I don’t really want to be a mystery hero.” He laughed at the stunned relief on their faces! “Yeah, that’s what my folks thought, too – they were sure I was going to come out here as Cody and come back home as… well, I couldn’t be Kid Lambda any longer, so maybe they thought I’d be Lambdaman? Anyway, I’m starting school at the University of Chicago in their Nuclear Engineering program in the fall, and for now, I’m going to be satisfied to be a full-time student!” Then, hesitating and sounding somewhat shy, “But, I wonder… Can you keep the offer open for a while in case I change my mind?”
Both Quests were relieved; even though they knew that anyone who became a mystery hero had to be aware of the dangers and decided to do it anyway, if Cody was hurt or worse using the Lambda gear, they would both feel guilty about it. But Ned felt compelled to add the part they had left out years ago. “One thing I didn’t tell you back then, Cody, about the alien potion that gave me my super strength, speed, and durability – I have two more vials of that same potion available. I offered one to Kris years ago, but we weren’t sure at the time that they were the same, and now that I’ve analyzed them and we’re sure, she’s retired. But if you did decide to take up the gear again, we had both decided we’d offer you one of those vials as well. Does that change your mind?”
He didn’t even stop to think about it. “Nope! For now, and at least until I graduate, I’m just Cody Mason. Not Lambdaman, not even alien-enhanced Cody Mason, just plain old human Cody.” Again, a little hesitantly, “Does the offer of the vial still hold, too?”
“Not sure I can promise that, Cody, sorry. I’ve analyzed it, but it’s alien, and I haven’t yet figured out how to make more. If I can save lives with those vials, I want to be able to do it without breaking a promise to you. But, if you do change your mind, and I still have one, I promise, it’s yours.”
After that discussion, a cloud none of them had been consciously aware of was lifted from their moods, and it was just the start of a wonderful vacation for Cody.
What Comes Next?
Ned did announce his retirement as Dr. Lambda, and he did go on his proposed two week crusade beforehand. The crusade story has yet to be written, but it is described this way in the story A New Hero for Marble City
"Dr. Lambda had announced his 'semi-retirement' in October of 1947 in a press conference. It was a very emotional press conference, and unique, because as far as anyone could tell, this was the first time a 'mystery hero' had ever publicly announced his retirement. Before his retirement, Dr. Lambda had embarked on a vigorous 2 week personal crusade against crime, bringing so many criminals to the police that they were almost tired of seeing him. By the end of the second week, violent criminal activity in Marble City had almost ceased. Most criminals decided to go somewhere else, and it was several years before the crime rate returned to normal. Marble City was named 'America's Safest City' in 1947 and 1948."
It wasn't too far into the future when Ned seriously regretted misleading Krista into thinking he had promised to retire - without really promising. You can read that story here: Dr. Lambda No More
After working for a year, Cody goes off to college. This story is an almost direct reuse of a Bulletman story I wrote years ago, but if you want to read it, rewritten for the Eorth universe, you can find it here: The Further Adventures of Kid Lambda