Dawn of an Age, Part 2
Note, the parenthesis indicates languages other than Japanese, in this case, English and German. The brackets indicate the Spectre talking simultaneously in English and German.
White Cliffs of Dover
England
November the 9th, 1940
Asuka felt tempted to avert her eyes from the slaughter. The deathblow the Spectre dealt on the might of the Reich power was humbling. Even her beloved Unit-02 would be hard pressed to cause such destruction (1).
But no, she refused to do so. Next to her, Shinji watched the events with fearful eyes. The Spectre was practically a force of nature personified. She took strength from his determination, and watched as the giant loomed over the flagship, his dead white eyes shining from inside the shadows of his hood.
A sailor raised a trembling arm, as if pointing at the ghost, and shoot a gun. The Spectre stopped his search, and wrapped his gloved fingers around the unfortunate man. As he was lifted to face the Spectre, a multitude of tendrils of white smoke detached themselves from the giant's forearm. At the end of each tendril of smoke, a smaller hand formed, each one covered by a green glove.
The hands pushed the sailors over the edge, towards the merciless sea. The voice of the Spectre rang again as he dropped the unfortunate sailor to his death.
Asuka covered her ears, gritting her teeth, as the full weight of the Spectre's power washed over her. Even as an insubstantial witness, the sheer force of the apparition's power threatened to crush her. Somehow, the Spectre's words reverberated inside her head, speaking perfect German under the New York accent of the voice.
"[It is not you I seek among the shipboard multitudes, sailor. But your Commander!]" One of the smoky hands returned to the arm, carrying the ship's master. The man struggled against the fingers that now held him like a simple toy.
"(What are you? What d-d-o you want from me?)" he yelled, his defiance cracking. The Spectre held the man close to his face, his white eyes nailing the German commander.
The answer came back with merciless calm. "[I want you to look into my eyes, Admiral. Tell me what you see there for your unholy armada.]"
The man paled at whatever he saw inside the white orb. "(I… I see death!)" the spectre released him between his own hands, the man floated there, wrapped in burning light, screaming at the top of his voice, "(ONLY DEATH!)"
The Spectre whispered, "[And what you see this night, ]" a cold smile creased the cadaverous lips, "[… is that you have also reaped.]" under the cold gaze, the German Admiral screamed. A scream full of pain and enduring horror. A horror that seemed to stretch into an eternity of suffering.
To the horror of all present, the German Admiral's flesh melted off his bones, falling from his bloodied uniform in ghastly chunks as the man screamed, even after his body was physically unable to breathe. With a disgusted movement, the Spectre let bones and clothes fall into the ocean. All around him, the few survivors on the damned ships soon followed their commanding officer into death.
"(So sayeth one doomed to walk this Earth so long as evil thrives. But now,)" he turned away from the wreckage of dozens of ships, and the carnage unleashed casually at a single gesture, "(I must speak to certain mortals who heard the same clarion call as I did. And if I am to approach them, it were best done in their own scale.)" with supreme indifference, the Spectre turned his back to the smouldering wrecks and the sinking globs of decaying flesh floating in the waves as they returned to a tense calm.
Cautiously, Asuka uncovered her ears, as the double voice of the Spectre returned to a single one, speaking again in English. She realized Shinji held her by the arm and shoulder, as is fearing she would faint. She pushed him away, "I'm fine!" she hissed through clenched teeth.
To his credit, he released her immediately, and nodded his agreement. For a moment, it looked as if he was about to say something, but finally decided not to.
As the giant waded towards the blood-stained beach, his titanic body shrinking with each step. Hawkman flew around the ghost, trying to find some weakness, in case the Spectre… he shook his head. With an effort of will, Hawkman relaxed his fingers, and hung his mace back on his belt, there was nothing he could do against the Spectre's might anyway. "(You wrecked the whole fleet! Alone! Who are you?)" he said, as he flew closer to the late comer, who at this point, was down to a more reasonable size.
He was tall, but still well withing human limits; in stark contrast, the small figure of the Atom seemed even smaller next to him. Before the Spectre answered, Atom added, excitedly, "(Whoever he is, I'm sure glad he's on our side!)" a hint of doubt in his voice as he continued "(er… you are on our side; aren't you, fella?)"
"(I am the Spectre. You need only know that, although for your standards, I am a dead man; I serve the cause of life.)"
Sandman walked closer to the small group, and commented ironically, "(Not everybody's life, I notice,)" he put a new cartridge in his gas gun, securing it with a satisfactory click. He then put it back into its holster.
Shinji watched the four heroes on the beach, "They fear him."
The Phantom Stranger nodded. "The Spectre's power is, by its very nature, disturbing. He wields the anger, the wrath, of the murdered dead. It is a miasma that surrounds him. Few are the mortals who can be around him and not feel the cold of the tomb."
A green sphere of light landed next to the group. Green Lantern, Dr. Fate, Hourman and Flash descended to join the other heroes. After the introductions, Atom asked the obvious question, "(Well, the Spectre here just finished the Nazi fleet, can we go home now?)"
Green Lantern answered, worry in his voice, "(Hardly, Atom. The rest of us have been mixing it up with, well, Valkyries. Hitler managed to conjure some, and as long as they are on the loose, Great Britain is very far from safe!)"
Dr. Fate added even more bad news to the mix, "(My mind's eyes perceive another threat. The German tyrant is even now, expanding the scope of his boundless ambitions.)"
Fate contorted his fingers and an image appeared in the air. Still holding the Spear of Destiny, Hitler ranted orders, sending and experimental bomber, a prototype that couldn't be replicated for years, to attack the very capital of the United States of America.
"(So,)" Green Lantern asked, rising his left fist in front of his face, his power ring glowing with purpose. "(how do we tackle this?)"
Dr. Fate rose in the air, "(The Spectre and I will lead the fight, as the same power that conjured the Valkyries is also capable of twisting time and space to a degree. We must strike now, for every moment counts. Green Lantern, create a platform for those among us who cannot fly, the Spectre and I will open the way.)"
The group flew upwards and to the west, hurrying to reach the bomber before it delivered its deadly cargo. As they crossed through a cloud, they saw not only their target, but also the very city endangered by the Nazi envoys of death.
Predictably, the Valkyries intercepted the heroes, while the bomber rose more and more, the crew aware that their only hope to fulfil their mission was to take advantage of the fight to deliver the deadly payload the plane carried.
Gudra, the Valkyries leader, laughed cruelly
Sandman was the first to feel the effect of the Valkyries "(My sisters and I are the chosen guardians of a cargo of death! Destined to rain down this night upon those who lead the Führer's foes!)"
A wave of hopelessness enveloped the heroes, Sandman was the first one to feel its effects, attuned as he was to dreams and nightmares. "(Never felt so helpless! What can fists and a gas gun do against real Valkyries?)"
Atom was next, "(The capital is a sitting duck! And we are not even at war with Germany!)"
Gudra laughed again, "(Perhaps you should have considered that, little man, ere you assaulted the Führer in his own citadel: Berlin!)"
"(She's… right.)" Hawkman mumbled under his helmet.
Dr. Fate's voice broke the spell, "(Do not listen to them, my friends! For the Valkyries' weapons are not only their spears, but fear and terror! Let the images that now flood your minds renew your courage! Your determination!)"
Dr. Fate weaved a spell of his own. One created to instil a sense of duty and courage in the souls of the heroes. A spell created in the Golden Age of Ancient Egypt. Images of duty, honour, courage, and loyalty filled the spirit of each one of the costumed mystery men, renewing their souls for the fight they faced.
Shinji wondered aloud, "What are they seeing, Stranger?"
"I do not know." He answered, "The spell brings forth the examples the recipients most admire. Figures of duty and heroism. The very things they need to resist the Valkyries' spells."
"Look!" Asuka pointed, "Green Lantern's hand is on fire!"
An angry glare could be seen, even behind the purple mask that covered his eyes. Green Lantern's ring flared with green flames! "(Listen to Fate! Don't let Nazi magic cloud your minds! It even sapped my main weapon, my will power..!)" A ball of green energy formed around the ring, crackling in the crisp night air, "(… But as God is my witness! It will NEVER do it again!)"
A tremendous bang broke the night, as the collected energy blasted the bomber out of the sky. The bombs it carried exploded with it, vaporising the plane and the crew along with the bombs themselves. The shockwave hit the hero with the force of a cannon, knocking him out. His last thought before losing awareness was for his companions, still standing on the platform he had created. "(…But if I fall… so will…)" and blackness enveloped him.
In the sky above, the Spectre, Dr. Fate, and Hawkman had fought the Valkyries, protecting their companions. As the bomber exploded, and their mission failed, the Valkyries disappeared into the air, returning to wherever they had been summoned.
Hawkman saw his companions fall, helpless to the ground. He gasped in horror, extending a hand as if he could stop their fall. "(Green Lantern and the others!)"
The Spectre answered "(The last vestiges of his will power cushioned their fall, so that they now lie unconscious on the lawn of the presidential mansion.)" he sniffed the air, as a hound looking for prey. "(But where is the leader of the Valkyries? The one named Gudra?)"
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
White House Lawn
Washington, D.C.
USA
The Atom stood groggily on the grass, his instincts warning him of a great danger. On uncertain legs, he entered the building, "(…can't.. pass out… now…)"
His instincts were true, Gudra had slipped the fight in the sky, and stalked the halls of the White House, looking for her prey.
In the main bedroom, President Roosevelt played with his dog, Fala, trying to calm him after the tremendous thunder that had just made the whole building shake for a moment.
To the President's surprise, a tall, blonde woman crashed through the window, wielding a spear, her eyes full of bloodlust. His legs, ruined by polio, failed him, and soon he was on the floor. He couldn't get up again in the short time he had before the woman stood over him, her spear pointing down at his heart. His loyal dog barked futilely at the woman, who didn't even deign to acknowledge the animal.
"(I strike! In the name of Hitler!)" she yelled, bringing down the weapon on her victim.
It didn't strike the intended target. The Atom had thrown himself in the way, receiving the fatal blow in his own back. He screamed in pain, twisting himself over the other man's legs. "(You are full of courage, little man, but the touch of Gudra's spear brings death! And thus, I have blasted you from my path.)" she grunted, raising her spear again, and bringing it down on the heart of Roosevelt.
Shinji gasped, how could this be? He knew Roosevelt had lived for most of the war, instead of being murdered in his own home, before the USA even entered the war! Asuka's fists trembled in impotent fury. She muttered several choice words in German. Words that her companion didn't recognize.
The other heroes arrived then, too late to do anything but fight the murderer again. Dr. Fate blasted Gudra with a magical beam, forcing her to fade away, like her sisters had done in the sky scant minutes before.
Hourman helped the Atom to move away from the president's body. "(You okay, shorty?)"
Normally, such words would make the Atom angry, but the sincere worry in Hourman's voice convinced him there was no malice behind his words. The Atom rubbed his chest, surprised to not find a wound, his back was just as whole, though now there was a hole in his cloak, almost the size of a silver dollar. "(I… I think so… God knows why… The President!)"
"(…dead…)" the Flash held his helmet in his hand, while the Sandman removed his own hat in respectful mourning.
For a single moment, Shinji though he saw a strange reflection on the few pieces of glass remaining in the broken window. Behind his own reflection, he caught a glimpse of a pale woman, with an artistically messy black mane, and black make up on her eyes, looking vaguely Egyptian (1). The woman winked at him, and disappeared just as he turned back.
The Stranger caught his surprised look, and shook his head. Shinji closed his mouth. Maybe the Stranger would explain this apparition later, maybe not. But this was not the moment to ask.
Dr. Fate spoke, his deep and disturbing voice firm, even in the face of disaster. "(The nation's leader, struck down in the hour of the country's greater peril, beyond all reach. For even I have never been able to bring a man back from the far side of death.)"
The Spectre seemed to make a choice, "(Nor have I, Fate. And yet, I must try!)" he vanished in a puff of smoke that took disturbing shapes, like mouths and eyes.
There was a momentary flicker, and the whole group reappeared at the Oval Office.
"What was that?" both pilots asked in perfect synchrony.
"I am not allowed to show you the other side. Enough to know that the Spectre argued in favour of Franklin Delano Roosevelt. And convinced the Powers that rule over life and death to allow him a few years of life, so he could steer the country in its hour of greatest need. Except for the Spectre himself, everybody involved, even Gudra herself, believes that she only struck once before being forced to flee. And that her spear only struck once, at the Atom."
"Really? You have shown us all this, and we are to miss the best part of the show?" Asuka huffed.
"There are limits and rules to what I can and cannot show you. Just as there are limits and rules to what I myself can and cannot do. This is one. Great evil can come from trying to go beyond. But that is a story for another day."
"Asuka! Look!" Shinji pointed at the men standing in front of the President's desk. Roosevelt shook their hands, saying "(..and here you stand, eight, if I count correctly, of the greatest heroes any nation has ever known. It's a shame you can't stay together like this. You'd make a snappy Army regiment!)"
Sandman's voice sounded muffled behind his gas mask "(I, uh, I don't think that would be possible, Mr. President.)" Hourman agreed with his colleague "(At this point, I'm afraid we are too used to operate on our own to ever make much of a group.)"
Flash smiled at the group, his enthusiasm was certainly contagious, "(Hey, we did pretty well tonight, didn't we? I mean we hadn't even met before, but we managed to repel an invasion. Say, what if we meet again sometime, have dinner, and at least talk about it? What about next Friday?)"
Hawkman nodded, his face hidden behind his mask, only his eyes were visible, "(Sounds good to me, team, I think we should band together, for, a special supperbatallion!)"
"(No, Hawkman. Not a batallion. We are not part of any army.)" the Spectre looked around, at the assembly of mystery men gathered a few hours before. "(we fight only in the cause of Justice, and that will give us our name. we are…)"
Even knowing the name beforehand, Shinji and Asuka leaned in, waiting for the Spectre to say the words.
"(The Justice Society of America!)"
Roosevelt smiled, "(A fine name, gentlemen! I trust we can call you from time to time.)"
The Phantom Stranger beckoned the two teenagers to follow him, he opened a door, and the three crossed the threshold.
Asuka walked in silence, in front of Shinji, thinking hard. It was difficult to wrap her head around the events she had witnessed, but something bothered her.
"Hey! Did Hitler use the spear for something else? That thing could very well have turned the war into just a stroll in the park for the Nazis."
Shinji nodded, "Why didn't the Spectre simply go to their HQ and melted everybody?"
"After tonight events, Hitler did use the Spear of Destiny, but in his paranoia and fear, all he could do with it was to make a barrier. A magical wall to stop the Mystery Men from doing precisely that. It was strong enough to stop the Spectre. The only superpowered individuals who could operate behind the barrier were the ones loyal to the Axis powers. World War Two was to be fought by normal men and women. However, the Axis agents could come and go as ordered, mostly for missions of infiltration, propaganda and sabotage. The Justice Society of America, and its wartime successor, the All-Star Squadron (3), operated mostly to counter those infiltrated agents. Only the fall of the Third Reich and the death of Adolf Hitler broke the barrier."
"However, that didn't mean there were not heroes on the battleground." The Stranger waved a hand, and images of men in soldier uniforms appeared. "Sgt. Rock and his platoon, Easy Company (4). It is said they fought in every country in Europe." A French girl, with a striped shirt, black skirt, and a red beret, "Mademoiselle Marie (5), part of the French Resistance." A small tank, incongruously adorned with a confederate banner at the top, "The Haunted Tank (6), its commander accompanied by the ghost of one of his ancestors." A soldier with his face wrapped in bandages, "The Unknown Soldier (7), disfigured master of disguise." A powerfully built black man, "Ulysses Hazzard, nicknamed Gravedigger (8)." A group of pilots in strange planes, all adorned with the head of a hawk, "The Blackhawks (9), pilots from different countries, all invaded by the Nazis." A group of children, none older than Asuka or Shinji, "The Boy Commandos (10), a group of orphans from different countries."
And many more (11). "Not all of them would survive the war. Yet all of them gave their all in the fight."
Author Notes
1. Though she does a very good attempt in End of Evangelion.
2. Yes indeed, that was Death herself.
3. The All-Star Squadron was an incredibly detailed work. Writer Roy Thomas, is a walking encyclopedia of Golden Age comics, and he used that knowledge to weave an incredibly tight story, incorporating many Golden Age stories into a coherent whole. The All-Star Squadron debuted in Justice League of America issue 193 (Aug, 1981) as a 16 page insert.
4. Sgt Rock and Easy Company debuted in Our Army at War issue 81 (Apr, 1959)
5. Mademoiselle Marie debuted in Star-Spangled War Stories issue 84 (Aug, 1959)
6. The Haunted Tank debuted in G.I. Combat issue 87 (May, 1961)
7. The Unknown Soldier debuted in Star-Spangled War Stories issue 151 (Jul, 1970)
8. Gravedigger debuted in Men of War issue 1 (Aug, 1977)
9. Blackhawk and the Blackhawk Squadron debuted in Military Comics issue 1 (Aug, 1941)
10. The Boy Commandos debuted in Detective Comics issue 64 (Jun, 1942)
11. DC has published a lot of comics based on World War Two, many of the characters mentioned here were created long after the war finished. Some of them were originally published by other publishers, and were bought by DC and added to the stable of characters available. Before 1985, most of these characters could exist in their own continuities, but after the Crisis in Infinite Earths in 1985, were integrated into a single timeline. There are many strange characters set in the WW2 era, and these are actually very tame.