JSA: The Face Of Evil

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.

CHAPTER 8

Batman stood near the barricade. The President of the United States stood near him by the front doors of the school, looking heroic, the Caped Crusader thought. It somehow seemed very appropriate. Selina sat at Batman's feet, curled up -- like a cat -- her legs tucked under her skirt.

The detonator was on the table beside the public address system console.

"Just what is that detonator if it isn't a detonator?" the President asked.

"Push the button, Mr President -- go ahead."

The President picked up the detonator. Hesitantly he pushed the button at the side. A voice crackled from the detonator -- "Hey, Batty, you got everything under control, buddy?"

The President hit the button again, and the "detonator" turned off.

"That was the Atom calling me," Batman explained. "He's expecting me to call him."

"You've got gall, Batman," the President said as he smiled.

Batman felt Selina's right hand squeeze harder against his left thigh.

"Just what do we do now, Batman, if you don't mind my asking?"

"No, sir, and I'm honored that you ask, sir. With your permission, I have a plan. And unless somebody can think of something else to do, it's the only one we've got, the only way to get out of here. But it's contingent upon one consideration."

"Which is?"

"We've got to disarm the bomb."

"How?" It was Selina.

Batman turned to her. "I'll take a look at it. I told my 'friends' outside I'd be a while negotiating your surrender."

"And assuming we can disarm the bomb, what happens then?" the President asked.

"Well, Mr President, I walk us out of here. I pretend to be False-Face, and you and Catwoman pretend to be my prisoners. But we've got to hurry. Last night they called a joint session of Congress because of the emergency your abduction precipitated, sir. And -- well --"

"What?" the President insisted.

"False-Face was disguised as the under secretary of agriculture, Dr Horn, and he has the entire Capitol building mined with VX nerve gas weapons. He detonated one large conventional bomb, I understand, in Nevada."

"My God," Selina murmured.

"The explosion went off harmlessly in a ghost town," Batman reassured her. "But he's holding the entire joint session hostage. He controls the entire United States government, and he thinks these clowns still have you."

"Well, they do in a manner of speaking," Batman turned to look at the speaker. It was a chubby nun holding a submachine gun. "This is just for show," she said, smiling. "I use only chairs for weapons."

"Oh." Batman nodded. "Of course." He decided that Selina had taken up with a strange crowd. He turned to the President. "I've got to see about that bomb now. I've had some experience with The Boomer's electronic marvels. Maybe I can do something with it."

"Why don't we just destroy the detonator and be done with it?" It was the chubby nun again.

Batman asnwered her. "Sister, it might be possible, but more likely. destroying the detonator would activate the timer in the bomb. And there's always the possibility, while the facility for exploding the bomb exists, that it could be detonated by some of the Nazis. They're not above suicide to further their cause."

"God pity such demented minds," the nun spoke as she nodded soberly.

"Yes," Batman answered as he started toward the bomb.

The nuns and nearly all the children crowded around him as he detached a side panel from the rectangular case that held the bomb. Attached to the side was a five gallon canister that held the VX nerve gas. His hands eased up one side of the panel and then the other.

For a bomb, it was beautifully constructed. Done with fine craftsmanship. One had to admire The Boomer -- he did great work. It also seemed impossible. There were even more wires in the device than in either of the highly sophisticated and complicated bombs he had encountered on the subway train in Gateway City and at NASA headquarters in Florida.

Batman decided that he wasn't even going to try.

"Catwoman, could you hand me my detonator on the table? I think I'm going to need a little help from my real friends," Batman said.

Selina retrieved the handheld device and gave it to the Gotham Goliath.

Batman pressed the button on the side. The voice crackled to life again. "Hey, Batty, what gives? Was that you who called before?"

"We were just testing the communication device, Atom. I've looked at the bomb and it's a no-go. Has our 'special friend' arrived?"

"Ya bet he did, Caped Crusader!" the cheery voice replied. "Ya want us to send him over?"

"If you would, please."

"Ya got it, Batty!"

Batman clicked off the communication device/detonator.

"What was that all about?" asked the President.

But before Batman could answer the question, a swirl of smoke seemed to rise from the floor in the middle of the room and a man wearing gold and blue started to materialize. All of those who witnessed the dramatic entrance stood in awe.

Batman simply said to the new arrival, "Doctor Fate, I presume."

***

"This is Doctor Fate, Mr President. He is another member of the Justice Society," Batman said as an introduction. "He is one of the most powerful of all known sorcerers, capable of virtually any kind of magical feat."

The President shook Doctor Fate's hand. "I'm certainly glad that you're on our side, then."

The gold metal helmet that Doctor Fate wore didn't allow anyone to see his facial features. He also wore a large, round, gold amulet around his neck. The gold cape seemed to make Doctor Fate larger than life.

"I'm glad to be able to assist you, Mr President," the Man of Magic replied. The helmet made the sorcerer's voice sound somewhat muffled.

Doctor Fate turned back to Batman and gestured to the table. "Is this the troubling device, Caped Crusader?"

Batman nodded. "If you could just safely get rid of it for us, please?"

Everyone could hear the smile in the voice of the mage as he replied, "It would be my pleasure. I will deposit it in deep space where it will be unable to do any harm to those, here, on earth."

Doctor Fate stood next to the table with the bomb and nerve gas canister. He said to Batman, "I may have another mission to carry out, old friend. So, I may or may not see you later. If you require my assistance, just call."

Batman nodded. "Thanks for coming now."

Doctor Fate looked to all in the room who were staring at him. He looked first to his right and then to his left. The powerful sorcerer waved his arms in a dramatic fashion and white smoke from seemingly nowhere began to envelope him and the bomb. The smoke became so thick that both man and device were obscured. As quickly as the magical crimefighter had appeared, he was suddenly gone -- and so was the ever dangerous device that threatened everyone in Reddington, Illinois.

***

Selina walked slightly ahead of Batman. The President of the United States was between them as they headed away from the school building and toward the Nazis at the far end of the horseshoe-shaped driveway.

Batman carried the phony detonator in his right hand. It was his flute, and he was the pied piper. But his followers were human vermin rather than rats.

"All right, stop there!" Batman ordered in his best False-Face accent.

The President, shoulders appropriately bowed, stopped and looked back at Batman. He was a good actor, the Caped Crusader thought. Selina stopped and looked directly at Batman. "And what now, Herr False-Face?" she asked.

"That is none of your concern, Faulein," he told her pointedly. He walked past her to the frail blond Nazi named Goldstein. Batman handed him the detonator. Placing his right arm across Goldstein's shoulders, the Masked Manhunter from Gotham City began to walk the man away from the knot of other Nazis. "Earlier," he said in a low voice to Goldstein, "I was testing you. I sense that in you burns the fire of our cause."

"Herr False-Face," Goldstein began, clearly pleased.

"Please -- this detonator will function on time delay. You are to order all the men, except for three, who will stay behind with you, to accompany me in a convoy out of the city. Once we are clear of the town and at highway speed, activate this switch," and Batman showed him the button that would turn the radio on. "As soon as you activate this switch, you will have nine minutes to overtake the convoy and effect your own escape."

"But Herr False-Face, the nerve gas --"

"Once it is detonated, the Americans will know that I do not bluff. I will have their most important hostage, and other of my men will still control the joint session of Congress, which is the prisoner of our new Reich. Soon all elements of my master plan shall come to fruition."

Batman tried to think how a power-mad Nazi butcher would speak. "This entire area will be covered with dead bodies -- a monument to those who might still be so foolish as to attempt to thwart our efforts." He clapped the man resoundingly on the back, then turned and walked away, calling over his shoulder, "You will have the presidential limousine brought here immediately for my use."

The World's Most Dangerous Man -- as Superman described Batman -- stood by and watched, waiting, hearing the shouted orders as the limo was called up and three volunteers selected.

Batman looked at the dark-haired Nazi. "You will take charge of the security detail that shall surround us as we leave the town. All our personnel, with the exception of Herr Goldstein and his three volunteers, will be part of the motorcade. This is clear?"

"Yes, Herr False-Face," the dark-haired man responded, coming to attention.

Batman nodded. "Excellent. Your efficiency will be remembered. Begin to prepare the motorcade at once. And then await my signal. We will maintain a constant speed of twenty miles per hour until we have left the confines of the town here. Once we have departed Reddington, you shall order that we accelerate to fifty miles per hour."

"But, Herr False-Face, the military --"

"They will draw back, because we have their President. That is what they must do!"

"Yes, Herr False-Face."

"Then be about your business," Batman nodded curtly. The dark-haired, solidly built Nazi raced away barking orders, shouting commands.

Batman turned to Selina Kyle and the President of the United States. Under his breath he muttered, "So far, so good." At least he hoped so.

Four Nazis and one automobile, to which they had access, remained in the town. Batman had ordered that none of the Nazis were to enter the school. That was to make certain that no one saw that the bomb was gone.

The Caped Crusader looked at the hilltop overlooking the school, he knew a couple of his real friends -- the JSA kind -- was keeping him covered.

Batman sat in the rear seat of the presidential limousine, behind the Nazi who drove. A second Nazi sat in the front passenger seat with the President behind him. Selina Kyle sat between Batman and the President.

The limousine's windows were open, and the slipstream around them was cold even at their modest speed. Ahead, Batman could see a roadblock manned by U.S. Military Police. He leaned forward to the driver, saying, "Hand me the microphone unit for the PA system -- be quick about it."

"Yes, Herr False-Face!"

Batman took the microphone, tested the length of the cord and leaned back comfortably in his seat. A few remaining military units ringed the town, just as he had planned with General Pauley. The Masked Manhunter spoke into the microphone, hearing his own voice echo back from the concealed exterior speaker for the PA system. "This is False-Face. I am your master. I have your President. Unless you wish his life to be on your hands, you will withdraw and quickly."

The motorcade had stopped.

A field-grade officer standing beside a Military Police Jeep shouted through a bullhorn. "You heard the man! Withdraw to Point Bravo! Move out!"

The officer threw his bullhorn into the back of the Jeep and got in after it. He executed a high-speed reverse, flick turning, and roared off down the road. The other military vehicles peeled off into a ragged convoy after the lead Jeep.

Two hundred yards down the highway, the lead MP vehicle turned left, onto a side road, and continued on. The other vehicles turned after it, one after the other, with two tanks rolling at the end of the column.

Batman estimated that the evacuation of the troops had taken some twenty minutes. The last of the tanks was invisible behind a dust cloud on the side road.

The Gotham Goliath spoke into the microphone for the PA system again. "We will proceed along this road. Assume highway speed previously designated."

The Nazi in the front passenger seat had a gun pointed at the President and Selina.

The limousine began to roll ahead, and cold morning air streamed into the passenger compartment. Batman ordered, "You, driver. Raise the windows."

"Yes, Herr False-Face."

"And you, take this microphone," Batman commanded the second man. Not waiting for a second reply, he leaned forward, across Selina, shielding her from the muzzle of the gun with his own body, patially shielding the President, as well. The gunman reached across his left hand to take the microphone, leaving the gun resting on the seat back.

"Even now, Herr Goldstein should be activating the detonator," Batman said to the man. Then in his own voice he added, "And I'm activating my own little detonator!" His left hand grabbed the gun and dropped it to the backseat floor. Batman grabbed the Nazi's head in his hands, twisted it so the man's face faced him and head-butted the thug hard. So hard, the man was knocked unconscious.

Selina jumped behind the driver and wrapped her arm around the man's neck. The limousine swerved as the driver lost control of the vehicle.

Batman threw himself over the front-seat back. His left hand wrenched at the door handle, while his right went for the wheel. The Caped Crusader threw his body weight against the driver as the door sprang outward, pushing the man into the road.

His right hand fought the wheel, and the limousine sideswiped a pickup truck in front of it. The Nazis in the bed of the truck raised their weapons but hesitated to fire at the careering limousine.

Batman's right foot found the brake pedal and tapped it as he cut the wheel away from the truck, then moved to the accelerator, stomping it to the floor. He was in the incoming lanes now, and the limousine's speedometer wavered over seventy.

"Catwoman," shouted Batman, "get rid of the other guy. Mr President, please keep down. -- we got a ways to go yet!"

Parts of the Nazi convoy were already in pursuit. Gunfire echoed from some of the trucks and cars, and lead pinged against the armor-plated body of the presidential limousine.

Selina climbed into the front seat, and Batman felt the momentay rush of cold air as she shoved the unconscious Nazi gunman into the road.

"Hang on," Batman told Selina and the President.

He goosed the accelerator again, and the speedometer hit ninety.

***

The Atom and Mr Terrific watched the Nazi.

The Nazi was frail, blond and very thin. He held binoculars to his eyes, looking down toward the road out of town.

The Nazi dropped the binoculars, raising a device that was unmistakably a two-way radio. From his position perhaps fifty yards away, crouched in a bracken of northern pines was the two JSA members.

Mr Terrific could hear the crackle of of static from the set. And he could hear the Nazi talking into it.

"Get the car ready -- something has gone wrong with the presidential limousine. The troops have pulled back from ringing the city, but the limousine is racing away from the rest of the vehicles. It looks like two bodies have been pushed from the car. I'm activating the detonator now!"

The Nazi threw down the radio set and raised the object that looked like a detonator from a flat rock beside him.

The Atom raised a similar device to his lips.

With a dramatic flair, the Nazi pushed the button on the side of what he thought was a detonator. He was quite startled when he heard a rather high- pitched male voice come from the device.

"Hiya, buddy! It's time for you and your goose-stepping friends there to lay down your arms and give up! The jigg is up for you Nazis. You just lost the town and the President," The Atom informed the man over the radio.

Mr Terrific and the Atom began to circle around the four remaining Nazis in an effort to come up from their rear.

"W-who is ... is this?" the Nazi spoke back into the device.

"Oh, we're just your worst nightmare, friend. Ya see, I don't like Nazis. I thought I fought enough of those guys about twenty years ago," the Atom continued. "And then, here come you losers -- back from the grave, so to speak. Well, we'll take care of that."

The two crimefighters made quick progress and managed to sneak up behind the men who were very preoccupied with the radio communication conversation.

Trying to maintain his composure, the frail Nazi asked again, "Bu-but w-who are you?"

Coming out of the concealment of a row of hedges, the Atom proclaimed without the assistance of the radio, "We're from the Justice Society of America. You want to come along peacefully or perhaps ya like to scrap with us? Your choice, fellas."

The Nazis raised their guns toward the heroes.

The Atom dived right and Mr Terrific dived to his left.

"I guess that's their answer!" The Atom yelled as bullets hit the ground where he once stood.

Mr Terrific came out of the dive in a roll and with a tremendous amount of speed continued to approach the Nazis who were unable to acquire a good target on the red-and-green clad hero from Gateway City.

One of the gunman took direct aim and Mr Terrific dived into a forward roll toward the would-be killer. The rifle shot just missed the crimefighter who tackled the Nazi hard and sent him to the ground.

Because Mr Terrific was now entangled with one of the thugs, another Nazi heistated in firing toward the hero out of fear of striking his friend.

Meanwhile, the Atom was confronting the appointed leader of the four Nazis, Goldstein, and a punch to the jaw sent the man into dreamland without too much of a problem.

Trying to use his M-1 rifle like a club, one of the Nazi thugs tried to hit the Atom over the head. The diminutive crimefighter from Calvin City easily ducked the attack. Being only five-feet, one-inches in height actually worked to the Atom's advantage in this case. It made him a harder target to hit.

The Atom rolled to ground and struck his opponent in the legs, bringing the man down to the ground. The blue-and-yellow costumed hero continued his roll and then jumped to his feet. Like a Mexican jumping bean, he leapt onto the back of the Nazi and began to pummel him into unconsciousness.

Mr Terrific finished off the battle by grabbing both heads of his opponents and crashing them together. The two men crumpled to the ground.

The battle for the town of Reddington was now over.

"I suppose that takes care of that, Atom," Mr Terrific declared.

"You betcha, 'errific, ol' buddy! Whatcha say we find ourselves a car and go chase that Nazi convoy down the road? I'm itchin' to clobber myself some more Nazis! I get dibbs on drivin'!"

Mr Terrific just smiled at the enthusiasm of his fellow JSA teammate. But then the thought of driving in the same vehicle with the Atom -- and his known driving record -- crossed his mind.

"Let's say we tie these four up before we go after the convoy, my friend."

For many years afterward, the residents of the small town would speak of their terrible dilemma and tell how they were saved by the incredible costumed heroes of the Justice Society of America.

To be continued ...