Today’s has another appearance of a Golden Age Timely character, and a ghost pirate! Also a clue that you don’t need to solve. -JP

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The chalky hand holding the dagger pushed through the water towards Venus. She darted from her position to another section of the pilot house. More shapes arose from the black, shapes she knew to be people possibly, but she couldn’t make out anymore than that. She easily outmaneuvered them and found the door she swam in. One of the shapes was trying to close it, but Venus braced her foot against the wall and pulled with everything she had. Her would-be trapper fell away, and she made it back out to the Cutter’s deck. Now the shapes started emerging from the doorway behind her, and she thought to ascend as fast as possible. Afraid these attackers would somehow be gone upon another investigation, she turned to get a look- maybe she would see something that would help her teammates with this stolen ship case. As they moved out into the light still being sent from Marvel Boy on the water’s surface, their forms coalesced to reveal themselves. They were skeletons like the one who nearly ran the team down with a plane back at the shipyards. Upon visual identification, Venus’ legs went stiff, and her arms stopped moving. The same hypnotic suggestion or whatever had bound them before was at work again. She also couldn’t open her mouth to cry for help, and her friends likely wouldn’t have heard that anyway.

The skeletons advanced. There were six- no, seven of them altogether. Three of them had daggers like the first had, one was carrying the blade clenched in its teeth. Venus thought of how much she relied on her sway over men in dealing with danger, and how at this moment it seemed to not even be a power at all. The skeletons now were only about fifteen feet away, lurching steadily forward. They had no ability to swim, but with little body mass to create resistance, they could walk almost as fast as they might on dry land. They were ten feet away when a large shape plunged between them and Venus, ringing a loud boom upon contacting the deck. As bubbles dispersed around it, it was clearly M-11. His torso turned to the side and his right arm extended twelve feet. Then his torso pivoted quickly in the opposite direction so that his arm shattered the skeletons in one movement. Skulls spun in an orbit and drifted out through the water. The effect on Venus ended and she began moving. Her first act was to try to hug the robot, but M-11′s mass proved difficult to embrace. The robot turned its head and looked upward, and Venus realized that M-11 couldn’t get back up to the ship. “Hang on,” she said, though she wasn’t sure if the robot could understand her speech here. She made her way quickly to the surface.

“Hey! Going my way?”

“Venus! Are you okay?”

“Yes, thanks to M-11. He came down just in time! There was a whole skeleton crew coming for me, and I couldn’t move -just like before! But he broke up the party. Say, he can’t swim– do we have a way to bring him up?”

Gorilla Man hopped over to grab a steel cable and hit the release on the winch. “Here ya go. Take this down there and wrap it around him- hook it good, he’s heavy!”

Venus took the cable back down to the Coast Guard Cutter’s deck where M-11 stood as before. She wound the line around him under the arms and pulled the hook tight onto it. After she gave the cable a couple of tugs, Ken Hale began cranking the winch, soon using both arms once the slack went out of the line. Marvel Boy helped Venus back onto the hovercraft and the robot began to emerge from the sea. Jimmy Woo watched, and thought how much this reminded him of M-11′s recovery by the Atlantean Princess Namora. The robot wasn’t functioning then, and was covered with barnacles and other sea life that had attached to his body. This time was very different. Water rolled off the android, but none poured out from inside him. His head turned slightly to see where Gorilla Man was operating the much simpler machine that retrieved him now. The ape snapped his fingers as he held his hand out in the gesture of a pistol.

“That was a close one,” said the woman as she raked salt water from her silvery hair.

“Yeah, sorry,” said Jimmy Woo. “Not long after you went under, we were talking and then it occurred to us that if a skeleton could fly a plane, that might be what took the boat as well. Since M-11 clearly isn’t affected, we elected him next to go down. Like Bob said earlier, he doesn’t rust these days.” Jimmy turned to the robot who was now coming to a stand on the hovercraft. “M-11, did you detect anything else down there– besides skeletons, I mean?”

The cyclopic eye glowed slightly as M-11 made a rare utterance. He could speak, but no one could predict when it might happen. Such communications were almost always directed to Jimmy Woo.

“NO CARGO. NO FOREIGN MATERIALS. FUEL TANK EMPTY.”

“Thanks,” said Jimmy. “Not sure what to make of this, gang. A bunch of skeletons steal a ship, go until they run out of gas, then sink it.”

“I have a theory,” said Ken Hale, retracting the winch completely. “I think they had a diabolical scheme involving a fast ship, they took it, then forgot what the plan was because they don’t have any brains in their heads!”

“I’m feeling like I don’t either, right now.” said Jimmy. “Okay, I don’t think there’s any more we can do here. Let’s get the Navy their vessel back and tell them where the Cutter is. Though they’ll probably just leave it here to become a reef.”

The gorilla pulled the throttle back and the engines roared. The hovercraft lifted up noticeably, and the team made their way back to the mainland.

* * * * *

Later Jimmy Woo and his unusual band of Federal agents were mulling over the events of the morning at Ling’s Tea Room. Jimmy poured another round of hot tea as he went over the details again. Bob Grayson waved for their regular waiter to see that his bowl was empty. The young man nodded and disappeared into the kitchen. “I don’t know why they don’t have sizzling rice on Uranus,” said Marvel Boy as he spooned out the last bit. All our food there is the same texture.” Since the formation of the team and establishing of the group in San Francisco where Jimmy had been based, Ling’s had been a regular stop during their weekly duties. Ling was a family friend of Jimmy’s and his restaurant was accessible through certain underground passages in the city that Marvel Boy and the Human Robot connected to their own base of the Federal Building. This allowed them to go to Ling’s without too much attention, as the FBI had asked them to be discreet in public appearances. A private room in the back was always made ready for the group.

Jimmy took another sip of tea before speaking again. “Everytime we get a straight-on look at one of them, the spell kicks in. Or hypnotic suggestion. Whatever it is, we need to shake this thing off so M-11 doesn’t have to do all the work when a skeleton shows up.”

Marvel Boy looked to be preoccupied, touching his headband often. Whatever his concern was, it was put aside as the waiter brought him another bowl of sizzling rice soup. “Thank you,” said the young hero.

“I know someone who may be of help, ” said Venus. “This kind of thing is right up his alley. His alley is in Manhattan, though. ”

“No problem when one our pals has a rocketship,” said Gorilla Man through a mouthful of dumplings. Bob Grayson sat up more attentively, a bit surprised to hear Ken Hale refer to him as a pal. Maybe he had been taking the gorilla’s ribbing too personally, as Jimmy often said. The colonists on Uranus didn’t tease one another, as a rule, and the practice was alien to Bob.

“Great,” said Jimmy. “Can you give him a call and let him know we’ll be over soon?”

“He doesn’t open for business until night time. And I don’t think he has a phone, but he’ll probably be there. I guarantee that when we show he’ll say he was expecting us.”

“Well, then we’ve got a few hours to kill. It may be a late night, so I’d suggest everyone take a nap when we get back to the building.” Jimmy Woo then added: “Try not to dream.”

* * * * *

No one saw Marvel Boy’s rocket when it landed directly behind the Statue of Liberty. The Silver Bullet was a bit shorter than the copper-plated lady, and was well hidden by it at night. A private ferry came to take the group over to the main island, where a private cab was waiting to transport them the rest of the way. The driver had taken the odd bunch into town several times, but was still unsettled at having a gorilla in the front seat. He tried to focus instead on the young woman who smiled pleasantly at the sights outside her window. The oversized cab made its way up further to Midtown, and over to 387 Park Avenue. The Packard motored into an alley where it would wait for the five to return, and the team piled out.

Venus held Ken’s arm on one side and M-11′s on the other, and made a bounce like she wanted to skip down the street. “We’re off to see the Wizard!” Hale made an amused grunt at her joke. “I ain’t a lion, and I ain’t cowardly. Or was he the one that needed a brain?”

“No, that was the Scarecrow- right?” offered Jimmy.

“Yes, and the Tin Man needed a heart.” explained Venus.

“Just like ours,” said Ken.

“Aw, ours does too have a heart!” said the young woman looking up at M-11. Marvel Boy didn’t know what everyone was talking about, and made a mental note to ask later. He was more concerned that they were about to meet a practitioner of the occult, which he was never comfortable with. He liked things that were science-based, logical and orderly. After leaving Ling’s he had confided in Venus that he felt he confused about his abilities. He thought he should have been able to undo the effect of the shared dream with his headband’s help, but it seemed to be limited- unnaturally so. “It’s an impressive piece of technology,” he had told her. “But sometimes I think I’m not getting the full use out of it, like I’m wasting it.” Venus assured him that everybody feels this way about their abilities at times. Bob Grayson thought that she didn’t quite get his meaning and he didn’t know how to express himself more clearly on the matter. Nonetheless, her assurance had consoled him some. The group had reached the top of a stairway, and stood outside a door with an onyx plaque. Engraved golden letters stated simply and directly:

MAGAR THE MYSTIC

Jimmy reached out to knock on the door, and it swung open quietly before his knuckles could connect. He looked back at the group and then back to the door. “Come in,” said a measured voice. “You have been expected.”

A sophisticated man wearing a suitcoat and a dark green turban appeared from around the corner. He knelt to kiss the back of Venus’ hand. “Good to see you again my dear. You honor me by bringing along such esteemed guests.”

“These are my friends, Magar. I’m working with the FBI these days, and Jimmy Woo here is my team leader. The charming gorilla is Ken Hale, and you probably have heard of Marvel Boy before. Our personal Univac there is called M-11.” Hands were shaken and the mystic led the group over to a round oaken table that had seven candles. Everyone but M-11 took a seat as Magar instructed. Magar said something quietly that no one could understand.

“Mister… Magar, we’ve recently been put under some kind of hoodoo,” began Jimmy. “Somehow we all had the same dream of a skeleton, and now when we encounter them- which is surprisingly common lately, we freeze up. No one can move, except M-11 of course.”

“Yes,” replied the somber man. “You have been the targets of Dream Hypnosis- a very potent form of suggestion, since it is placed in the subconscious during deep sleep. I could see it when you entered, and I’ve already removed it.”

“You saw it?” asked Marvel Boy.

“This practice leaves a psychic marker, if one is able to see such things. And I am. You each had a small floating skull beside the left temple. Dispelling the suggestion was a simple matter. And one that was more scientific in nature than magical, if that lessens your concern, Mr. Boy.”

“It’s actually Grayson,” returned Marvel Boy, “and are you reading my mind, now?”

“No, I read your face. It is very revealing.” Bob Grayson felt a little embarrassed and yet relieved that his telepathic abilities seemed to still be unchallenged. Magar opened a brass box and took something out. When he turned around, he was holding a human skull.

“Move your arms please.”

Each of the agents was satisfied to find full motion in any tested body part even as they stared at the skull. “Not bad!” said Ken. “Jimmy, slip this guy an extra Hamilton. Wait ‘til those bonebags try to get the drop on me again.”

“Well great, I guess we don’t need to take up anymore of your time, sir.” Jimmy Woo started to push himself up from the table and Magar held out a halting hand. “No one comes to Magar for mere jinx and hex removal. Any gypsy witch could do that.” Marvel Boy frowned. “No, whether you know it or not, you have sought me out for greater answers. Please, enlighten me to your quest.”

Jimmy sat back down and turned more towards the mystic. “Well, we’re investigating a number of stolen sea vessels, that all went missing at the same time. The one we’ve found so far was crewed by a group of living skeletons, I guess you’d call them.”

“I have encountered such acolytes. In great numbers, they can be very dangerous.”

“Tell me about it. I’m guessing the other ships were taken in a like fashion. So the reason for the hex is pretty clear. But we couldn’t find a reason for the theft.”

“Ah,” said Magar, now reaching to remove a thick piece of red velvet from an object on the table. From the size, Ken expected to see another skull. What he did see was a crystal ball, reflecting the candlelight of the table. The glints of light seemed to swirl inside the orb, moving as if by choice. Magar put his fingertips on either side of the sphere without touching it, and the clear ball became opaque, not mirroring the candles at all. “Venus may have told you of my gift- the ability to commune with the formerly living.”

“Dead people, I call ‘em.” Said Ken.

“It depends on your point of view. That is not my greatest gift, however. More valuable is the ability to know which ones to talk to. Merely being in a spirit realm doesn’t qualify a being to answer any question. More often than not, they seek answers from us. Since your mission concerns piracy, I believe it logical to go to the greatest of that number.”

Magar began chanting words that Jimmy couldn’t understand and that seemed to make Venus momentarily dizzy. Clouds of obsidian formed inside the crystal and began to swirl at great speed. On Magar’s last word, the candles on the table flared a couple of feet high, producing a haze of smoke over everyone’s heads. Though the window by the bookcase was open, the soft night breeze didn’t affect the cloud, which now looked like the ones in the sphere. In the smoke a dark shape began to approach from some distance. Near it’s head were small flashes of light. At once the figure became clear, clothed in a long coat with its fists resting on a large belt around the middle. A scabbard hung from the being’s left hip, and its head sported a large hat with a curling side brim. The flashes of light were now distinguishable as burning matches twisted into the man’s thick black beard.

“YAHRR!!! Who be of such hardy stock that would summon the shade of Edward Teach!?”

“Dread specter, you are here at the request of Magar the Mystic. I summon you on behalf of these mighty heroes. They are the ones who have business with you.”

“Ahrrh… such a motley bunch I’ve not seen in over two hundred years then,” said the spirit, his eye widening as he looked around the table. Uncharacteristically, Ken Hale was unnerved by this development. He had assumed he was seeing something that worked like television, and wasn’t expecting the vision to acknowledge his own presence. The pirate then made an expression similar to the ape’s, and Ken followed his gaze to see that the object it studied was Venus. “Shiver me timbers.”

“Great Captain,” said Venus, even being sweet to the long dead Scourge of the Seas. “We are seeking stolen ships. We do not know the culprit, but he appears to be using magic. We cannot discern the motives either. The first vessel we found was sunk for no apparent reason. Can you offer insight?”

The thickly garbed spirit stared at her some more, and then resumed its former manner. “Remember lass, not all pirates steal for treasure, and not all commandeers mean to keep the ship. When me crew and I fired upon the HMS Scarborough the first time, we were not after the King’s Man O’ War. Me other vessel plundered two Merchant ships right out of port! Ha-har, ‘twas a good day!” Amused with his past victory, the pirate pulled out a long pistol and fired it off into the air with a loud report. Ken Hale noticed that an actual blast mark was left in Magar’s vaulted ceiling.

The boisterous pirate then broke into laughter and his image fade into the murky smoke.

“Now I’m more confused than before,” said Jimmy.

“Spirits and oracles are rarely direct in communication. Being cryptic is how they judge the tenacity of mortals. When you begin to understand them, you often earn the bond of the spirit.

“Do I really want a bond with a murderous pirate?” asked Bob.

“That is always a question worth asking,” said Magar with a smile. The smoke over the table began to drift apart, then stopped and began swirling. Another dark shape drew closer and an aged woman’s face appeared, her eyes wider than seemed possible. She had been groaning softly and now the sound built to a shriek as she blurted:

“WE RQSA JE MXUHU OEK VEKDT JXU HUT REN!”

The image then vanished and the smoke blew apart. The crystal ball became clear again.

“What was THAT?” asked Venus.

“Other spirits often invade openings to our world with their unwanted communications.” Explained Magar. “I would pay it no attention.”

The team got up from the table, each shaking hands with Magar while mulling over the visions just seen. As they walked out the door, Jimmy turned suddenly. “Oh, I’m sorry. How much does that session cost?”

“My services are always free to friends of the lovely Venus. Were it not for her powers of influence, I would be but a shrunken head hanging from a tree in New Guinea today.”

“Thanks again,” said Jimmy from the bottom of the staircase. They exited onto the street where the cab waited, its driver leaned back and snoring. No one noticed the shadow across the street studying the team intently.