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At the Fortress of Science, Lois Luthor mourned the loss of Alexander Luthor, her beloved husband and the father of her unborn child. She had been a strong woman as a reporter and a stalwart support to the brilliant man as a wife. Now, however, it was all she could do to get through the painful necessities of grieving.
Near her wept a lovely blonde girl. She was Lena Luthor, Alexander's young sister. She had foreseen his death, but the prophetic vision had done little to assuage her grief when the real event had apparently taken place.
A six-inch-tall man waited by her side with attentive care. His chosen name was John Smith, although Brainiac had been his designation upon creation in Luthor's lab. He had brought the news of the hero's death to the family, and he had tried to comfort them. As it was, he himself felt helpless and lost.
"Alex was so good to me after Power Ring killed our folks. I can't imagine life without him," wept Lena.
Brainiac said, "He was more than a friend to all of us. He was this beleaguered world's best defense against evil in all its myriad forms."
Lois said, "His allies in the Society still carry on his good fight, but he kept us apart for security reasons. They have no idea where this Fortress is located, nor do they know of us. They think the alert John sent to them came merely from an automated computer link to Alex's armor."
Lena said, "Should we reveal ourselves to the Lynx and her allies?"
John shook his head. "I prefer to respect the wishes of Luthor in the matter. He preferred to keep his allies separate as a matter of safety."
Lena said, "I wish Myth could have stayed here, but since the same energy ray that killed Alex also killed Lady Shrike, the Thanagarian outlaw he was seeking, he had no need to remain here on Earth."
Brainiac said, "I only wish our Earth would produce new champions to challenge the Crime Syndicate. They seemed ignorant of what robbed us of Alex, but they rejoiced at his death."
Lois said, "Alex had a brilliant peer who sought solitude but was a deeply motivated humanitarian. I've often heard Alex claim that this scientist was even smarter than he was."
Lena frowned. "What was his name?"
Lois replied, "Dr. Thaddeus Atlanta."
The Crime Syndicate did indeed rejoice at the news that their old enemy had perished. Owlman sat silently brooding, while Johnny Quick and Power Ring bantered happily.
"Listen, P.R., that feathered babe of yours did us a good turn after all by offing Luthor," said Quick.
Power Ring rubbed one hand across his balding hairline and frowned. "Watch your tongue. She may have killed him, but she also left me trapped when she could have rescued me. She used me, and I don't like it a bit."
Superwoman lounged languidly nearby. She laughed harshly. "It is all you deserve. You've toyed with countless females in your time. I enjoy seeing one play you for a fool."
Owlman suggested, "What if he's not dead? She was an alien. Perhaps that was no death ray. It might have transported him through deep space. It didn't necessarily atomize him."
Ultraman slammed his fists through the wall and shouted. "Why would you assume that? He's dead. He's gotta be!"
Microbe grew to his normal height from his six-inch size and sneered, "No, he most assuredly does not have to be dead. Owlman has sense. He's correct. I only regret I lack any energy tracings to allow me to determine the exact nature of the energy that struck Luthor and Lady Shrike. If I had such a reading, then I could easily tell you his condition."
Quick sighed. "You lab jockeys -- talk, talk, talk! Man, I'm sooo glad I stole my powers from my stiff old boss, Barry Allen. He was just like you, Palmer -- he'd use any excuse for babbling on and on in nerd-ese."
Microbe said, "As I recall, Allen -- in his identity as the Rogue -- left you trapped in a mirrorverse until I used my intellect to free you."
Power Ring shrugged. "He's got you there. My ring could trace old Luthor if any residual energy from that beam remains."
Ultraman said, "I'll go into space and grind his bones to pulp if he's alive. I'm restless."
Owlman smirked coldly. "Your pretty little cousin has you worked up. You can't stand having another Kryptonian flaunting her powers on earth. Still, in spite of her rejection of you, she's kept her word. She's left us alone to pursue her own criminal career."
Superwoman said, "She has an Amazon's spirit. She's already reshaped Mount Rushmore to depict her own image in place of those of Booth and Arnold and the rest."
Quick sneered, "Shows ya a doll's vanity, that's all."
Ultraman said, "This is crazy. We should be celebrating Luthor's death, not fighting. We can take his little Society apart and then rule this world like in the good old days."
Superwoman nodded. "Indeed! By Hera, we'll remake this world according to our every fancy."
Owlman said, "Bah! Gotham City is enough for me... and it is mine alone -- remember that."
Quick said, "Old feathers, there, gets all protective of his pet city. Word is he and his boy partner are real domestic there."
Owlman glared at Quick and said, "You tread upon dangerous ground for one so allegedly swift and sure."
Power Ring said, "Ahh, all we need is a new challenge."
They would soon get one.
In his cozy lab, Dr. Thaddeus Bodog Atlanta whistled to himself as he viewed some data on a computer screen. He rubbed his hands together in characteristic fashion and laughed with a warm glee.
"Heh-heh-heh! My calculations are correct. Crystal is indeed stabilizing, in spite of her altered body," said the small, bald man in the white lab coat and heavy black glasses. He had won numerous awards as both a scientist and a humanitarian. He was known in media circles as the World's Kindest Scientist because so much of his time had been invested in helping others in need.
"I can't wait to tell the dear girl the good news," he said as he rushed for the door. He stopped abruptly and smacked his palm against his bald scalp.
"For goodness sakes! I almost forgot to get my parka and mittens," he said as he grabbed the aforementioned gear and knocked at a door near his lab.
A musical female voice answered the knock. "Come in, Thaddeus."
He entered and saw Dr. Crystal Frost as she lounged in her room. The room was very feminine, with dainty furniture, pictures, and flowers. All were specially treated to resist intense cold, since the room was coated with a thick layer of ice. The generation of ice happened naturally as a byproduct of close and prolonged proximity to this beautiful woman, who had lived in the chamber since she first came to Dr. Atlanta for his help. She wore a filmy dress of an old-fashioned design and boots. Her hair and her lovely features were inhumanly white, as her entire body reflected the frozen condition of the room.
She covered her pursed lips with a slender hand and blew him a kiss as her breath froze the very air. "Dearest Thaddeus, you risk a chill coming here so often, but I would be ever so lonesome without you," she sighed.
He smiled and rubbed at his crusted glasses. "My dear, the results are in. Your body has adjusted to the accident. You shall not deteriorate as we once feared. It's not a cure, but it is progress."
She clapped her hands together with girlish pleasure and said, "Wonderful! When my lab accident turned me into this monster who needed constant heat for comfort and made me a living source of numbing cold, I gave up hope. Then I came to you, and you helped me so much. Without your care and encouragement, I might have become a killer."
He laughed, "Heh-heh-heh! Not you, Crystal -- you have a warm heart."
She laughed as well and idly caressed one of the artificial flowers. "I've selected a name for myself for our project -- Frost," she said.
He shook his head. "Too cold -- excuse the expression. A woman of your delicate beauty should be Frost Queen."
She said, "I love it! If I cannot live as a normal woman, then I want to use my powers to serve those who can enjoy a normal life."
Dr. Atlanta nodded. "You and I shall join others
who've been similarly afflicted and cannot live in traditional society.
We shall
honor the late Alexander Luthor's memory by championing his cause. We
shall be a society for good. We shall be those called madmen or
monsters, but our goal shall always be mercy and justice for all."
Later, Dr. Atlanta repeated such words again to resounding cheers as several odd-looking men and women listened and pledged themselves to his new crusade.
"Our Monster Society of Good shall stop the true monsters in the Crime Syndicate! We shall bring Ultraman, Owlman, and their ilk to justice," he vowed.
Their cheers raised his spirits, and he rubbed at one
moist eye. "It's so touching to be among people willing to give their
all for others, even after suffering hardship and loss themselves."
Johnny Quick smirked as he glanced through the Daily Planet. He nudged a rather bored Power Ring and said, "Hey, palley, look at this article. Seems as if STAR Labs is hosting a gathering of eggheads. Imagine if we could snatch them and get their inventions."
Power Ring nodded. "For the good of mankind, right? -- to keep such potent weapons from falling into the wrong hands?"
Quick shrugged. "Nope. I figured we could use them conquer this world."
Power Ring smiled warmly. "Good. That's what I hoped you were thinking."
Thus it was that the team gathered and flew via Power Ring's energy constructs toward the famed research facility.
"This list reads like a who's who of scientific genius -- Hector Hammond, Paula Von Gunther, Otto Otavius," said Owlman as he held up the paper.
Microbe sneered as the tiny man perched upon Owlman's cloak. "Bah! They failed to invite me -- simple jealousy."
Superwoman said, "Perhaps they merely lacked interest in one whose field of study centered around making himself the size of a child's plaything."
The looming Martian Murderer remained silent as his allies argued. This Martian warlord often brooded, although it was clear that he preferred life on Earth to imprisonment on his native Mars. J'imm J'onzz was afraid of something from his world, and he failed to conceal it from the keenly observing Owlman, who said nothing but filed this weakness away for future use.
Ultraman slammed his hands together eagerly. A sonic boom echoed as he did so. He was eager for action. He was rarely satisfied if he wasn't using his considerable powers for selfish purposes. Inactivity gnawed at him. Perry White may be the Planet's city editor and my secret informer, he thought, but he's getting to be like an old woman. He claims this whole gathering is not on the level. Old Perry thinks it's a trap. Bah! I welcome any attack. Who could stand against us? Luthor is dead. I fear nothing. That's why I didn't tip off the others about White's concern.
The Kryptonian member of the Syndicate said, "Let me get the door for you." He punched out and shattered the lab's nearest wall. As alarms sounded, he shoved the sides of the hole he had created and cleared a huge space for his allies to pass through into the famed lab.
Johnny Quick smiled. "Look -- test tube jockeys! Let me put a scare into them."
He charged a group of men and women but yelped in dismay as his super-fast feet encountered a narrow track of floor that had been coated with ice. He skidded across the room and cried out as he struck the far wall, bringing down a huge mountain of ice upon his body. His own impact had burned the thin supports of ice that had previously held the iceberg-like creation aloft.
Power Ring's energy flared, and he scowled in anger. "Quick's hurt!"
"To be precise, he's out cold," purred a sultry voice as one of the women discarded a mask and her lab coat to reveal stark-white skin, a lacy gown, and crystalline beauty.
"I am Frost Queen, and we are putting you on ice," she laughed.
Ultraman said, "Perry was right. Well, good -- I want to bust some heads." He flew toward the woman, ignoring the cold that she radiated. He said, "Let me show you how to make chipped ice maidens!"
Then the Kryptonian shuddered in fear. Something made him very afraid. He was out of his league -- this was a trap. They surely were prepared for even his powers. What could he do? He remained in one place and glanced left and right in concern. His fear was almost palpable.
The Martian Murderer scowled. "I detect the projection of fear. A powerful mind is at work here."
"Hiram smash funny spaceman," drawled a deep voice as an inhuman brute with chalk-white skin and a ragged black suit slammed into him with staggering strength. "Hiram Goldman don't like mean old aliens," he roared.
Power Ring noticed another inhuman figure jump out of the shadows to claw at Ultraman, who recoiled in fear. The being was humanoid, yet had the features of a shark.
"I am Great White. My highly evolved mind and body are a match for yours. My fear projection has rendered you helpless," he said as his lips drew back to reveal rows of gleaming teeth.
Ultraman gasped as the creature wrestled him to the ground. He was still too fearful to act.
Power Ring had started to cage the creature when a pair of gleaming, ghostlike forms closed in upon him from each side. They were identical and wore yellow and red costumes with high-crowned hoods. A stark black X slashed across each of their costumes. They struck him with superhuman force and emitted energy blasts that threatened to break his aura of protective energy.
"Excellent, Double-X and Triple-X -- hound him!" cried a third figure from the ground below. He was a gaunt version of the two energy beings that attacked the ring-slinger.
Superwoman scowled and said, "Hera curse them! They attack us from all sides."
She gasped as a huge redheaded woman wearing a leopard print bikini grabbed her in a choking wrestling hold. "Gargantua is my name. I have the power of the female gorilla I once was," she snarled.
Owlman had thrown himself into the shadows as soon as the first figure had appeared. He knew his best tactic would be to bide his time and use the darkness to his advantage. A low, throaty growl startled him as he whirled around to see gleaming eyes.
"I am She-Wolf. You are my prey," she snarled as a female lupine form emerged from the shadows to rake razor-sharp claws across his chest.
"That remains to be seen," he said through gritted teeth.
He caught her wrists and held firm until she drew her legs upward and lashed out at his with equally sharp nails on her feet. Her thick fur protected her from his best blows, and he reeled as she laughed madly.
Microbe had vanished via rapid shrinking to microscopic size. He tried to form a plan by which he could rescue his allies, but for now he was content merely to escape.
Meanwhile, Hiram Goldman continued his near-mindless attack on the Martian, who fell beneath his hammer-like blows before turning invisible. He flew above the brute that scowled and looked around in confusion.
"Where'd funny man go?" he asked with childlike concern.
The Martian Murderer fired a beam of energy from his eyes and watched in dismay as Goldman ignored it completely. "The creature appears to be some type of golem. He is invulnerable to my energy," he mused.
Goldman waited and then turned to tug on Ultraman's cape. He drew the alien villain closer and said, "You fly? Goldman help you fly."
He tossed the struggling Ultraman across the room and smiled as he hit the invisible Martian and crashed to the ground. J'imm reappeared as he lay stunned near the fallen Ultraman.
Great White smiled and said, "Good job, Hiram. His fear stank so that I could detect him and mentally tell you where to throw my petrified foe."
Goldman grinned, "Great White is Hiram's friend!"
She-Wolf tore at Owlman's cape as he agilely fought to avoid her claws.
She's a lycanthrope, he thought, a woman who can change into a wolf. Knowing her origin gives me a clue as to how to tame this beast. He retrieved a small pellet from his belt and swung upward to the rafters. He scraped at the pellet and desperately worked to achieve a goal as his female foe climbed up the walls using claw holds to support herself.
"Here -- all women enjoy silver!" he cried as he hurled a pellet into her snout. She screamed and toppled backward as the silver nitrate caused her intense pain. She changed to a pretty blonde girl as she struck the floor. "Next?" smirked Owlman.
Superwoman elbowed her taller antagonist in the ribs and snarled, "You fight like a Titaness. Still, brute force will never be enough to overcome one such as I."
She continued to struggle in the brawny woman's grip.
In truth, Diana was becoming angry and was feeling more than a little
bit humiliated. The former Amazon princess did not care for losing her
dignity in battle or in peace. Thus she raged inwardly at how easily
the mutated gorilla was handling her.
She reached for her lasso and willed the morphing fiber to form a tight hood. It obeyed her mental command and snaked around Gargantua's head. As it began to close around her and blind her, Gargantua released Superwoman. Superwoman spun around and delivered three swift kicks to the muffled head of her foe until she staggered and began to fall.
Superwoman smiled coldly and placed one boot on top of the beaten woman. "Now who is queen of the jungle?"
Power Ring was trying to overpower the twin energy beings, but he failed because, for every blast he absorbed or blocked with an energy shield, they delivered another. He feared their inhuman forms needed no rest. Maybe I should just make a retreat, he thought.
He frowned as the twin ghosts followed him easily. They match my speed! he thought. They resist my efforts to contain or destroy them.
Owlman darted forward to chop the neck of the man who directed his energy twins. He easily stunned the little man and watched as his ghostly doubles faded away. "Remove their master, and they vanish," he said with a thin smile.
"Clever. Still, for all your calculated skill, you leave me cold," cooed Frost Queen as she touched him, causing him to stiffen in an icy sheath.
Power Ring returned and sent a green battering ram toward the sensual ice maiden. She screamed and tried to block it with a row of icy walls. He grinned. "Maybe I should defrost you, babe."
He blasted away at her with a huge green hairdryer. She smiled as the heated air swept across the room and forced her backward. She seemed to enjoy the sensation. Crystal Frost savored such warmth and relished his actions. "More -- give me more!" she cried.
Superwoman charged at her but yelped as Goldman tackled her from behind. "Goldman like pretty woman!" he grunted. She punched him in the face, and he hesitated before embracing her once more with crushing force.
She passed out, and he stroked her dark hair tenderly. "Goldman keep pretty-pretty?" he asked.
Great White said, "Sure -- if you help me stop our fearless flyer."
Power Ring said, "Nope -- I'm no fool. I'm out of here." He burst through the roof but stiffened as a bubble closed around him. It came from a hovering ship above the lab.
Dr. Thaddeus Bodog Atlanta smiled from the cockpit. He fired more bubble projectiles and announced, "Victory -- the Crime Syndicate sleeps within my Suspendium! Now we may leave them on the moon, where they shall never again bother the world."
Goldman sighed like a spoiled child as his leader left even his pretty-pretty dozing in a bubble of the substance he called Suspendium on the moon.
Dr. Atlanta and his team received cheers as he declared victory for his Monster Society of Good.
"Never fear, friends -- Simon and Summer will be fine.
We stand ready to protect all in need. Heh-heh-heh!" he chuckled.
The heroic scientist had won quite a victory. Even Microbe could only watch in horror from the Eyrie of Evil in Happy Harbor, Rhode Island, as the victory was revealed on television worldwide.
Now what do I do? thought
Ray Palmer.