JSA: Atrocity
By Bruce Wayne
DISCLAIMER: Most of the characters portrayed in this story are copyright by DC Comics, an AOL/Time/Warner company. They are used without permission for entertainment without profit by the author.
An Elseworld's story: Stories, situation or events involving familiar characters in unfamiliar settings.
Chapter 14
The Atom hammered his fist into the wall of the meeting room in the headquarters of the Justice Society of America. "Dammit!" He looked to Dr Mid-Nite then at Hawkman. He looked at Mid-Nite longer. "They what?"
Dr Mid-Nite smiled sheepishly. "Bunch of criminals stole eight helicopters. Four of them were those big monster-sized cargo jobs. Everybody swears one of the men was a well-known brigadier general named Franklin. Anyway --"
The Atom cut him off. He walked to the other side of the room. "They just waltzed right into a goddamn Army base and stole eight helicopters, then took a nice little flight a hundred miles or so --"
"One hundred eighteen miles," Hawkman told him.
"Right," The Atom said, turning to look at his fellow crimefighter. "Took this little one-hundred-eighteen-mile junket and just bodily picked up four trucks."
He turned around again, stopping his pacing.Then he shrugged. "So a gang of thieves led by a U.S. Army general stole four truckloads of VX nerve gas. Enough nerve gas to effectively, let's see now ..."
"Wipe out half the country, Atom," Hawkman volunteered.
"Right," The Atom said again, raising the index finger of his right hand, jabbing it skyward, then staring down at his red boots. "Right. Enough deadly nerve gas to kill every living man, woman, and child in New York, Gotham City, Washington, Gateway City, Los Angeles -- whole bunch of places."
The Atom laughed. Then he wheeled half left, his right fist punching out into the wall again. His knuckles ached as he made contact, snapping his hand back. "Damn!" He screamed the word. "If Khrushchev and Ruskies find out we have have so much VX nerve gas missing, who knows? Maybe they'll start an attack." His voice rose and fell. "So what have we got? Seven dead truckers or whatever. Eight dead Military Policemen. Rex almost getting himself killed. And we got nerve gas in the hands of a bunch of killers led by a U.S. Army general."
"According to one of the survivors at the base, Atom, well --"
"What?" he snarled, turning to Dr Mid-Nite.
"Well, the man swore the general took a pistol with a silencer and shot the base commander in the head, Colonel Arden." He closed his notebook with a loud slapping sound.
"Oh, goody. We wouldn't want a rogue general who does things halfheartedly, now would we? No, much better this way. Every damn crook --" and he spoke slowly, spacing his words now "-- in the whole world is going to go after that nerve gas. Every petty dictator -- instant destruction available on a grand scale. And then we're supposed to go find it. Don't alert the press, don't alert the local cops. Just us go after four truckloads of VX nerve gas!" He shook his head. His fist still hurt from the last time, but he hammered it into the wall once more.
It hurt again.
The JSA headquarters was located in an old mansion in Queens, New York, that was close to and had easy access to the growing Idlewild Airport.
Hawkman turned to Dr Mid-Nite. "How soon until the others make it, here?"
"Shouldn't be long," Mid-Nite replied. "Green Lantern went to pick Hourman up in New Mexico. Batman and Wonder Woman will be flying in with their planes. I expect Wildcat, Spectre and Sandman at any moment. The rest are currently working on their own urgent cases. In fact, Green Lantern won't be able to stay. International narcotics, you know."
The Atom sniffed. "Are a few pounds of heroin more important than the fate of the world?"
Hawkman looked to The Atom. "They'll be enough of us to start the investigation. If we need more help, we can call for it."
"Sounds to me like we're going to need all the help we can get," Atom replied sarcastically.
***
On the East Side of Manhattan, Wesley Dodds walked out the back door of his large, three-story, stone home to his complex at the rear of his property. Dodds lived on a corner of a busy street in a commercial section of Manhattan. Facing the street was a rather nice home. To the rear was a mish-mash complex of interconnected buildings that appeared to be an abandoned auto repair shop. The corner complex was laid out in an L-shaped pattern. A driveway off the side street on the dark corner was the entrance to the old repair shop.
Dodds walked to the side door of the nearest building and with a special key, turned off the alarm system. With another key, he opened one lock and then used, yet, a third key to open one more lock.
Inside the complex of buildings was the headquarters, workshops, laboratories, storerooms and garage of The Sandman.
Dodds flipped a light switch and a dim light lit the room. He walked into another room and began to dress in a green business suit. After the suit was on, he whipped a long purple cape over his shoulders and fastened it at the neck. Next, he put on an ominous-looking gas mask that covered his face. To top off the costume, he placed an orange fedora hat on his head.
He walked out of his costume room and moved through his crime laboratory and store room. He entered his garage where his hi-tech Sandmobile was located. Sliding into the driver's seat, the Sandman started the vehicle and the powerful engine rumbled to life.
He pushed a button on the dashboard and the large, brown garage door started to rise. Putting the car into gear, the Sandman quickly exited his headquarters and was on his way to meet with his JSA counterparts.
Within minutes he was speeding through the Queens-Midtown Tunnel. The noise inside the tunnel was deafening as the Sandmobile screamed on its way eastward.
Sometime later at the JSA headquarters, there was a car at the gates beeping its horn.
"Who's that?" The Atom asked, peering through the curtains.
Though he could see in the dark as easily as anyone could see in light, Dr Mid-Nite was unable to see inside of the vehicle, but he knew who it was anyhow. Mid-Nite smiled. "It's Sandman," he answered. He then went to the panel beside the front door to activate the gate-opening device.
***
False-Face had known that once the theft of the helicopters was connected to the theft of the VX nerve gas, the fuel range would be calculated in order to set up a preliminary search area. He had planned ahead for that, refueling the helicopters prior to the theft of the nerve gas, then proceeding.
After the VX nerve gas had been deposited at a chosen site, the aircraft were flown back into the search area. They landed at a point to make it appear as if lack of fuel made the landing necessary.
Trucks loaded with with sandbags of the same weight as the nerve gas in their containers were waiting there. The trucks were driven to a desert area where the sand was carefully scattered. Once they reached a highway where their tracks could not be followed, the trucks returned to their point of origin.
False-Face, still disguised as General Franklin so none of his men would see his face and know his true appearance, stood now at the entrance to the sole hanger on the abandoned country airfield. He was immediately pleased with himself as he finished reviewing the beautiful simplcity and genius of his planning.
Flyboy was standing beside him, saying, "You have done it again, F.F."
"Yes, I have," False-Face agreed. Then the corners of his mouth turned down. "Except for that man who --"
"Made that obscene gesture to you," Billy Mason put in.
"Yes," False-Face said. "I hope we killed him. But -- I think he got away from us, Flyboy."
False-Face started to walk down the center of the hanger. His men, more than a dozen of them, were already at work, repacking the nerve gas into other disguised containers. The work was under the personal supervision of The Boomer.
The Boomer looked up as False-Face passed him. False-Face waved, and Boomer called out, "If I wanted to work this hard, I could have got a steady job in a defense plant." The Boomer laughed.
False-Face walked on. "Does he know anything, that man who escaped. Did we say anything?" Billy Mason asked.
"Nothing he could use. I made a vague reference to the site I have chosen as our first target, but I doubt he understood me. He was more concerned about dying or escaping at the time, I'm sure. At any rate, it was such a slender clue. Even if it was properly understood, it would be -- the American expression best serves -- like looking for a pin in a haystack. And by the time we first use the nerve gas, many of these canisters will be out of the country."
"But how?"
"Relief supplies for underdeveloped African nations. Medicine, typewriters, medical-analysis equipment and some other things," he added, deciding he had said enough.
"But surely customs will --"
"No, they won't. And several of the nerve gas canisters will stay here, of course."
"But what do you plan to ... what --"
"To restore the glory, to obliterate all enemies, to seize and hold supreme power, and these --" False-Face gestured expansively to the canisters containing the VX nerve gas "-- these are the means, the keys to the kingdom, as it were."
"I don't understand," Billy Mason began. He reached out to touch False-Face's right forearm with his left hand, but False-Face moved his arm away, smiling.
"You are not supposed to -- to understand it all."
"But you will use all this nerve gas?"
"No, unless, of course, that becomes necessary. Then I would without compunction. But, no, the early use of the gas will just show the world governments of my sincerity."
"But --"
"Flyboy, dear Flyboy. The United States can tell no one this nerve gas has been stolen. Perhaps a handful of their agents will pursue me, but they do not even know it is me. They cannot trust the security of their allies. One leak and a possible attack from the Soviet Union. Certainly a war-alert status, DEFCON three or better --"
"DEFCON?"
"Defense Condition. DEFCON Five is war itself. But they can tell no one. What do the American fools tell their friends in Europe? Somebody stole four truckloads of VX nerve gas? 'We are sorry, but we promise not to let it happen again?' I doubt they can say anything. They cannot stop us, and soon they will realize that. And when I make my demands, they will agree. Or every living thing on the planet will perish."
"You really ... would use the nerve gas?"
False-Face stopped walking, turning to look at Billy Mason. "Of course, Flyboy, of course."
TO BE CONTINUED ....
***
Come visit me and/or Chris Dee and the other fine writers at Gotham After Dark Message Board at: http://pub101.ezboard.com/bgothampm
By Bruce Wayne
DISCLAIMER: Most of the characters portrayed in this story are copyright by DC Comics, an AOL/Time/Warner company. They are used without permission for entertainment without profit by the author.
An Elseworld's story: Stories, situation or events involving familiar characters in unfamiliar settings.
Chapter 14
The Atom hammered his fist into the wall of the meeting room in the headquarters of the Justice Society of America. "Dammit!" He looked to Dr Mid-Nite then at Hawkman. He looked at Mid-Nite longer. "They what?"
Dr Mid-Nite smiled sheepishly. "Bunch of criminals stole eight helicopters. Four of them were those big monster-sized cargo jobs. Everybody swears one of the men was a well-known brigadier general named Franklin. Anyway --"
The Atom cut him off. He walked to the other side of the room. "They just waltzed right into a goddamn Army base and stole eight helicopters, then took a nice little flight a hundred miles or so --"
"One hundred eighteen miles," Hawkman told him.
"Right," The Atom said, turning to look at his fellow crimefighter. "Took this little one-hundred-eighteen-mile junket and just bodily picked up four trucks."
He turned around again, stopping his pacing.Then he shrugged. "So a gang of thieves led by a U.S. Army general stole four truckloads of VX nerve gas. Enough nerve gas to effectively, let's see now ..."
"Wipe out half the country, Atom," Hawkman volunteered.
"Right," The Atom said again, raising the index finger of his right hand, jabbing it skyward, then staring down at his red boots. "Right. Enough deadly nerve gas to kill every living man, woman, and child in New York, Gotham City, Washington, Gateway City, Los Angeles -- whole bunch of places."
The Atom laughed. Then he wheeled half left, his right fist punching out into the wall again. His knuckles ached as he made contact, snapping his hand back. "Damn!" He screamed the word. "If Khrushchev and Ruskies find out we have have so much VX nerve gas missing, who knows? Maybe they'll start an attack." His voice rose and fell. "So what have we got? Seven dead truckers or whatever. Eight dead Military Policemen. Rex almost getting himself killed. And we got nerve gas in the hands of a bunch of killers led by a U.S. Army general."
"According to one of the survivors at the base, Atom, well --"
"What?" he snarled, turning to Dr Mid-Nite.
"Well, the man swore the general took a pistol with a silencer and shot the base commander in the head, Colonel Arden." He closed his notebook with a loud slapping sound.
"Oh, goody. We wouldn't want a rogue general who does things halfheartedly, now would we? No, much better this way. Every damn crook --" and he spoke slowly, spacing his words now "-- in the whole world is going to go after that nerve gas. Every petty dictator -- instant destruction available on a grand scale. And then we're supposed to go find it. Don't alert the press, don't alert the local cops. Just us go after four truckloads of VX nerve gas!" He shook his head. His fist still hurt from the last time, but he hammered it into the wall once more.
It hurt again.
The JSA headquarters was located in an old mansion in Queens, New York, that was close to and had easy access to the growing Idlewild Airport.
Hawkman turned to Dr Mid-Nite. "How soon until the others make it, here?"
"Shouldn't be long," Mid-Nite replied. "Green Lantern went to pick Hourman up in New Mexico. Batman and Wonder Woman will be flying in with their planes. I expect Wildcat, Spectre and Sandman at any moment. The rest are currently working on their own urgent cases. In fact, Green Lantern won't be able to stay. International narcotics, you know."
The Atom sniffed. "Are a few pounds of heroin more important than the fate of the world?"
Hawkman looked to The Atom. "They'll be enough of us to start the investigation. If we need more help, we can call for it."
"Sounds to me like we're going to need all the help we can get," Atom replied sarcastically.
***
On the East Side of Manhattan, Wesley Dodds walked out the back door of his large, three-story, stone home to his complex at the rear of his property. Dodds lived on a corner of a busy street in a commercial section of Manhattan. Facing the street was a rather nice home. To the rear was a mish-mash complex of interconnected buildings that appeared to be an abandoned auto repair shop. The corner complex was laid out in an L-shaped pattern. A driveway off the side street on the dark corner was the entrance to the old repair shop.
Dodds walked to the side door of the nearest building and with a special key, turned off the alarm system. With another key, he opened one lock and then used, yet, a third key to open one more lock.
Inside the complex of buildings was the headquarters, workshops, laboratories, storerooms and garage of The Sandman.
Dodds flipped a light switch and a dim light lit the room. He walked into another room and began to dress in a green business suit. After the suit was on, he whipped a long purple cape over his shoulders and fastened it at the neck. Next, he put on an ominous-looking gas mask that covered his face. To top off the costume, he placed an orange fedora hat on his head.
He walked out of his costume room and moved through his crime laboratory and store room. He entered his garage where his hi-tech Sandmobile was located. Sliding into the driver's seat, the Sandman started the vehicle and the powerful engine rumbled to life.
He pushed a button on the dashboard and the large, brown garage door started to rise. Putting the car into gear, the Sandman quickly exited his headquarters and was on his way to meet with his JSA counterparts.
Within minutes he was speeding through the Queens-Midtown Tunnel. The noise inside the tunnel was deafening as the Sandmobile screamed on its way eastward.
Sometime later at the JSA headquarters, there was a car at the gates beeping its horn.
"Who's that?" The Atom asked, peering through the curtains.
Though he could see in the dark as easily as anyone could see in light, Dr Mid-Nite was unable to see inside of the vehicle, but he knew who it was anyhow. Mid-Nite smiled. "It's Sandman," he answered. He then went to the panel beside the front door to activate the gate-opening device.
***
False-Face had known that once the theft of the helicopters was connected to the theft of the VX nerve gas, the fuel range would be calculated in order to set up a preliminary search area. He had planned ahead for that, refueling the helicopters prior to the theft of the nerve gas, then proceeding.
After the VX nerve gas had been deposited at a chosen site, the aircraft were flown back into the search area. They landed at a point to make it appear as if lack of fuel made the landing necessary.
Trucks loaded with with sandbags of the same weight as the nerve gas in their containers were waiting there. The trucks were driven to a desert area where the sand was carefully scattered. Once they reached a highway where their tracks could not be followed, the trucks returned to their point of origin.
False-Face, still disguised as General Franklin so none of his men would see his face and know his true appearance, stood now at the entrance to the sole hanger on the abandoned country airfield. He was immediately pleased with himself as he finished reviewing the beautiful simplcity and genius of his planning.
Flyboy was standing beside him, saying, "You have done it again, F.F."
"Yes, I have," False-Face agreed. Then the corners of his mouth turned down. "Except for that man who --"
"Made that obscene gesture to you," Billy Mason put in.
"Yes," False-Face said. "I hope we killed him. But -- I think he got away from us, Flyboy."
False-Face started to walk down the center of the hanger. His men, more than a dozen of them, were already at work, repacking the nerve gas into other disguised containers. The work was under the personal supervision of The Boomer.
The Boomer looked up as False-Face passed him. False-Face waved, and Boomer called out, "If I wanted to work this hard, I could have got a steady job in a defense plant." The Boomer laughed.
False-Face walked on. "Does he know anything, that man who escaped. Did we say anything?" Billy Mason asked.
"Nothing he could use. I made a vague reference to the site I have chosen as our first target, but I doubt he understood me. He was more concerned about dying or escaping at the time, I'm sure. At any rate, it was such a slender clue. Even if it was properly understood, it would be -- the American expression best serves -- like looking for a pin in a haystack. And by the time we first use the nerve gas, many of these canisters will be out of the country."
"But how?"
"Relief supplies for underdeveloped African nations. Medicine, typewriters, medical-analysis equipment and some other things," he added, deciding he had said enough.
"But surely customs will --"
"No, they won't. And several of the nerve gas canisters will stay here, of course."
"But what do you plan to ... what --"
"To restore the glory, to obliterate all enemies, to seize and hold supreme power, and these --" False-Face gestured expansively to the canisters containing the VX nerve gas "-- these are the means, the keys to the kingdom, as it were."
"I don't understand," Billy Mason began. He reached out to touch False-Face's right forearm with his left hand, but False-Face moved his arm away, smiling.
"You are not supposed to -- to understand it all."
"But you will use all this nerve gas?"
"No, unless, of course, that becomes necessary. Then I would without compunction. But, no, the early use of the gas will just show the world governments of my sincerity."
"But --"
"Flyboy, dear Flyboy. The United States can tell no one this nerve gas has been stolen. Perhaps a handful of their agents will pursue me, but they do not even know it is me. They cannot trust the security of their allies. One leak and a possible attack from the Soviet Union. Certainly a war-alert status, DEFCON three or better --"
"DEFCON?"
"Defense Condition. DEFCON Five is war itself. But they can tell no one. What do the American fools tell their friends in Europe? Somebody stole four truckloads of VX nerve gas? 'We are sorry, but we promise not to let it happen again?' I doubt they can say anything. They cannot stop us, and soon they will realize that. And when I make my demands, they will agree. Or every living thing on the planet will perish."
"You really ... would use the nerve gas?"
False-Face stopped walking, turning to look at Billy Mason. "Of course, Flyboy, of course."
TO BE CONTINUED ....
***
Come visit me and/or Chris Dee and the other fine writers at Gotham After Dark Message Board at: http://pub101.ezboard.com/bgothampm