The rebus image in today’s excerpt was part of a clue that led players to IGN.com for a clue. Golden Age Comics fans will also notice the appearance of a sea-faring Timely character. On to our story…

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Jimmy Woo’s arms and legs wouldn’t budge. He had never frozen in fear before, and he was still sure he hadn’t. Though every instinct screamed for him to run, duck and roll, or jump into the water, he could only stand as the propeller of the Mustang grew quickly closer. The blasts of concentrated light he expected to fire into the plane weren’t coming, neither was the clutch of a hairy arm to pull him out of harm’s way. The distance between the plane and the team closed enough that he could even see missing teeth on the death’s head of the skeletal pilot. The old warhorse of a plane was likely retired from active use, only kept around for training purposes. Still, it flew, and standing in its path was not the best place for anyone who wished to continue living.

Then two projectiles slammed into the aircraft- one at the base of the right wing, and one directly into the engine, jamming the blades instantly. Jimmy could now see the length of the silvery missiles, which were actually the extended arms of M-11, the Human Robot. The arms swiftly changed the course of the Mustang, first lifting its body just before it would have wiped the ground with the five agents. As fast as it all happened, the events seemed slowed down to a crawl. Jimmy could make out art on the nosecone, mere feet over his head. Some overzealous young team had painted a little rebus.

Underneath a slogan was written out. Five letters were faded, but in context of the rebus Jimmy understood it was supposed to say I GUN COMMIES. Jimmy preferred pretty girl art. Then the plane swung around as M-11’s torso rotated 180 degrees and released the four-ton warbird towards the empty section of the shipyards. It slid and spun, spitting up waves of sparks until came to a crashing halt against a supply shack, the wing knocking out a window over an officer’s desk.

“Thanks M-11,” said Jimmy, now fascinated with his ability to lift his arms up and down. “I don’t know what happened- I couldn’t move a muscle.”

“It was just like in that bizarre dream I had last night,” said Venus. “Snakes had me bound so tight I-”

“You dreamt that too?” said the surprised Marvel Boy. “My dream had snakes- I was in this dark hallway walking and I saw a skeleton-”

“Then the big boa constrictors wrapped you up,” finished Gorilla Man. “Either we’re such a tight team that we have all the same nightmares, or someone’s got our number somehow. I knew I was in a dream, too, ’cause a couple a’ stupid snakes can’t hold me in real life.”

“Somebody’s put a whammy on us. We all saw the skeleton, and then the snakes tied us up. Then when we see a skeleton in the cockpit of that plane, we’re frozen just like in the dream.” Jimmy Woo then looked over to where the plane sat, smoke rolling out of its engine from being punctured.

“Good thing M-11 doesn’t have nightmares,” said Marvel Boy, looking at the gleaming figure of the robot. “Of course, he doesn’t do anything that approximates sleeping. I wonder if he did, would he dream?”

Marvel Boy’s musings were cut short by the group now rushing over to the plane, led by an angry gorilla. “That skeleton is behind this! I’m gonna rattle his bones for him!” The plane was already being hosed with water pumped out of the bay by the Naval fire service in case the fuel tank might explode. The men jumped back when they saw Ken Hale leap up onto the empennage and scramble to the front. His huge fingers clutched the hatch and pulled. A bullet spray of rivets shot out as the entire cockpit ripped from the frame. The skeleton tried to evade his reach but Ken Hale soon had hold of its ribcage. As he pulled the pilot out he saw something behind it flashing in the morning sun. The skeleton’s right arm rotated freely in its socket to reach for the flashing object, then returned quickly, plunging an ornate dagger into Gorilla Man’s forearm.

“WAARRROOORRRHHH!!!” The beast roared in pain, whipping the skeleton completely from the plane and slinging it down onto the asphalt to smash into several pieces. The skull rolled several feet to stop before Jimmy Woo, who reached down to pick it up. The death face’s last act was to open its mandible and clamp down with full force on Jimmy’s hand. “YEEOOOWWW!” blurted Jimmy, who then swung his hand back to hit the plane’s wing. The skull cracked into two sections and the jaw popped off. Jimmy held his throbbing hand against his chest and Venus ran closer to examine it.

“Did it break the skin?” she asked. “No,” Jimmy said through a contorted expression. “But it smarts like the Dickens! It feels like I just put my hand in one of those oversized rat traps!”

“I bet it feels better than this,” said Ken Hale through a row of clenched teeth. He grabbed the lavish hilt of the dagger sticking out of his arm, and pulled it free. “Nuts,” said Jimmy. “I wanted to try and get some info out of that pilot.” Marvel Boy made an attempt to ease his team leader’s conscience. “From my experience with animated skeletons, and I have some, not many of them can speak anyway.”

“Just what I was going to say.” added Venus, whose voice helped take some of the sting out of the injuries. “The magic needed to move a skeleton servant is usually temporary. It would have probably gone inert in a few minutes, and wouldn’t have made anything more than a clacking sound if it tried to talk. They’re tough for me because my power doesn’t work on them at all.” Her observations shed little light on the matter but served her goal of soothing her friends’ aches somewhat. A helpful officer brought a first aid kit over to treat Gorilla Man’s wound, and another came to lead them to their original destination, the docking slip where the Coast Guard Cutter had been stolen. Marvel Boy flew over the deck of the Carrier to see if it held anymore kamikaze-style surprises. When he was satisfied that it didn’t, he flew around the shipyard and pondered the history of sea vessels and how they laid the groundwork for spaceships like he often flew now. He saw the light cruiser USS San Diego being stripped of artillery in preparation for being sold into scrap. He thought he should probably update M-11’s technology a bit more than he had a few months ago. Finally he rejoined his team who were talking to the crew members on duty at the time of the theft. They had witnessed nothing; their accounts led Jimmy to believe a sleeping gas had been used on them.

“That’s all we know sir.” finished the young yeoman. “Thanks,” replied Jimmy Woo. “It’s not much to go on, but maybe we’ll scrape up some kind of a lead.”

“To find the location of the stolen Cutter? Because I know where it is, if so,” Bob said as he landed. The gorilla rolled his eyes at the young man. “What was all that about not being able to track ships yet with our primitive technology, then?” Ken growled.

“I’ve found something like the transponder I mentioned,” returned Marvel Boy, a bit happy at having flustered Ken Hale. “That dagger you’re holding has rare earth minerals in its makeup- very distinctive. And I’m picking up similar objects about a hundred miles offshore. The chances are very good they’re related and involve the stolen ship.” Bob Grayson’s wristbands began to glow again and he turned towards the ocean. “I’ll go check it out and tell you what I find.”

“Hold up, Bob,” said Jimmy. “I know you’re still used to years of tackling danger solo, but we do things as a team now. We’re all going out there.”

“Thanks Jimmy, but I think I’ll be fine.”

“And how fine would you have been earlier if M-11 hadn’t been around to stop that plane from cutting us up?” The debate came from Venus, strangely enough. Jimmy was grateful that she anticipated his reasoning and put the idea out herself. Though Marvel Boy generally took Jimmy’s advice without question, there was still always the chance that pride could be hurt or one of the team might feel manipulated. Coming from her, such statements never seemed unwanted. “Point taken,” smiled Marvel Boy. “But I can’t carry all of you with me. How will we get out there?”

“This baby right here!” shouted Ken with glee, scrambling up on top of a boat unlike any Jimmy had ever seen. “Lookit! This is a hovercraft! They’ve been working on small versions of this, but this looks like its got real power behind it. I bet this’ll get us out there in a hurry!”

“Uh—sir, that’s off limits,” stammered the formerly helpful officer. “That’s a prototype we’re fine tuning, and no civilians should even be near it… sir…”

“Except these civilians,” boomed a voice from up the dock. Everyone turned to see a tower-straight man with graying hair marching toward them. The young officer turned perpendicular to the man and his body pulled up as if a cable had retracted over his head. The decorated speaker was Admiral Peter Noble, who didn’t take his eyes off Jimmy Woo’s team even when saying “At ease.” The sea-hardened man rested his hand on the sword at his side and his face made something approaching an approving smile. It was uncharacteristic for swords to be worn, even at full-dress ceremonies, but Admiral Noble always sported his without question. It looked so appropriate that no one mentioned it, even in private.

“While I’m not at liberty to reveal specifics, this group recently did our country a great service,” announced the military figure. “If they need to borrow one of our vessels, they can do so for as long as they wish with the Navy’s blessings.” It seemed perfectly natural for this man to speak for the Navy with full authority, and several sailors hustled to make sure the hovercraft was full of fuel.

“Thank you sir,” said Jimmy. “The FBI appreciates your help.”

The old sailor saluted, turned 90 degrees, and left.

* * * * *

Spray kicked up behind the hovercraft as it raced behind the flying figure of Marvel Boy. Beams of light aimed down in the water from his wristbands, and smaller beams fed up to his headband. He began to slow down, and Gorilla Man dropped speed accordingly. Soon the craft came to a rough stop, gliding around the area that Bob Grayson had pinpointed. The caped man flew over and landed on the boat’s deck as if his task were done.

“I thought you said the Cutter would be right here, Bob.”

Marvel Boy shrugged. “It is. Whoever stole it must have sunk it.”

Ken moved his furry hands around on the controls to bring the fans to low throttle, and it became easier to hear his remarks. “Kids. Always stealing Coast Guard Cutters for joyrides and sinking ‘em in the Pacific when they’re done. Whatcha ya gonna do.”

“Shoot,” said Jimmy. “I wish Namora were around. This would be the perfect time to have her along.” Jimmy referred to the cousin of Prince Namor, known more commonly on the surface as the Submariner. Her actual name had been Aquaria, and she was one of the very rare Human-Merman hybrids like Namor.

“No use thinking about her, she sent you packing when you asked her for help rescuing the President. She ain’t gonna show up to check out a shipwreck for us.”

“Well, she is royalty in the undersea world,” answered Marvel Boy. “I believe there was civil unrest in Lemuria and she felt she was needed more there after helping surface people for years.”

“I’m betting she’s got a fella down there,” said Venus with a wink.

“Besides, she found M-11 for us- she’s okay in my book,” added Jimmy, still staring down at the waves. “How far down is the boat, Bob?”

Marvel Boy touched his hand to his headband. “It’s only a little more than seven fathoms deep, at the top. We could pull it up with a trawler, or inflate gaseous bladders inside its hull to-” His speech stopped with the sound of a splash. Quick glances around revealed that the only person not on the hovercraft now was Venus. Everyone turned to look at a spot of foam on the water that was quickly growing calm.

“Hey, what gives? That water’s freezing!”

“She musta got tired of hearin’ Bob talk.” Marvel Boy glared at Gorilla Man, largely in disbelief that anyone could joke when a team member was possibly in trouble. “I’m kidding, son. Remember our lesson on jokes and what they are? You all need to cool your jets. She’s a goddess or whatever- they don’t drown.”

It would take a minute before her eyes would adjust to the dark sea. Daylight still had yet to take a foothold in the Pacific. She swam all the way down until she felt bottom, and began to move along gradually from there. Her hand felt masses of coral, part of a reef system. She hoped it hadn’t been hurt by the ship. Schools of fish darted out of her way as she progressed, leaving a tickling sensation on her skin. Her hand came to rest on something that had a tough surface, yet was amorphous in shape. She drew her arm back immediately and the thing drifted down her side. She felt the Octopus Press against her leg, and its suckers began to adhere to her skin. “Hey, no getting fresh,” she thought as she peeled the cephalopod from her. Doing so caused the creature to use its primary defense, and a cloud of black enveloped her.

Suddenly a light cut through the sea, penetrating even the natural defense of the octopus. “Thanks Bob,” thought Venus, who could now make out the hull of the Coast Guard cutter a mere twenty yards in front of her. She swam to its side and upward. Not at speeds like Namora, she thought, but she could get along pretty well underwater. There were no signs of life on deck, which sat at a slant. She coasted around a bit and then decided to venture in to the pilot house. Without the aid of Bob Grayson’s light her eyes would have to adjust again. It didn’t take long- she was already starting to distinguish an instrument panel. On a round glass she saw the movement of a shape, and then a sparkle. Realizing she was seeing a reflection of something behind her, she spun around in time to see an alabaster hand brandishing a knife similar to the one Ken had pulled from his arm.