As you may have guessed, these posts were pre-set to go up while I’ve been out of town. I just got back and found out the sad news about Dave Stevens. I want to write about him, but I’m not up to it yet so I’m going to keep running the serial until it’s done and talk about Dave next week. Here’s part five.

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Jimmy Woo wound his watch as he and his team walked back to the cab that awaited them. “Okay everyone. Let’s hightail it over to Lady Liberty and catch the Silver Bullet. We can put in some facetime at the Bureau in the morning, see if they’ve turned up anything.” Suddenly a flash went off from across the street, and everyone but M-11 recoiled at the bright light. The robot shined a light of its own at the tall dark-haired man with the camera, and the beam grew brighter. “Wait M-11, it’s just a photographer, turn down your ray.” This came from Marvel Boy, whose eyes were used to adjusting fast to sudden changes in light. The man stood in place as the group approached him, realizing that fleeing would be useless anyway.

“Say, why are you lurking around here snapping our photo?” asked Jimmy Woo.

“Kind of obvious, isn’t it? I mean, I don’t know who you- people- are, but you look like news to me,” answered the burly young man. “I haven’t been back in the states for a while, but last I heard it was still a free country.”

“You’re… Pat, right?” asked Gorilla Man. The man with the camera was stunned.

“Uh. Yeah. That’s right. How do you know-”

“You used to hang around Jann of the Jungle some, I think.”

“Yeah, good ol’ Jann!” said the man, relieved. “We saw some gorillas together, but never one who talked! I haven’t seen her in a while, do you know how she’s doing?”

“She seemed fine when I saw her last. She’s the reason I’m working with this bunch. That’s a nice one. Can I see that?” Surprised to have found someone who knew of him, the man called Pat handed over his camera with almost no consideration. Ken Hale looked at the device for a minute, then crushed it in his hand.

“You wanna shoot wildlife, head back to the Congo. Now beat it.” Ken turned and climbed into the cab. Venus made an apologetic shrug before Pat, who stood with his mouth open. Jimmy Woo turned quickly so no one could see him stifle a laugh.

* * * * *

Upon touchdown at the secret location in Arlington, Virginia, a government driver pulled up to escort Jimmy Woo’s team in to the District of Columbia. Assistant Director Wall welcomed the five at the front door of the Department of Justice Building on Pennsylvania Avenue, making several quick asides to employees warning them not to stare. Once in Wall’s office everyone sat down except M-11, who stood vigilantly at the window. “Good to see you again, Agent Woo. So what brings the FBI’s top dog unit to our offices?”

“Thought we’d see if you boys have made any progress on this stolen ships case your agents brought to us,” said Jimmy as he leaned back in the leather chair.

Wall stared at Jimmy Woo blankly as if waiting for more information that never came. “Stolen ships.”

“Yeah, the ships that all went missing at once last week. Derskin and Oglethorpe gave us a file full of photos and notes.”

“Derskin and Oglethorpe.”

Gorilla Man was growing annoyed at Wall’s unresponsiveness. “You know, that Abbot and Costello team who works outta here. Short stocky guy and a taller one.”

“We don’t have any men working out of this branch by that name.”

“Could you look through your files?” asked Jimmy, now leaning forward in his chair.

“I don’t have to. I know every agent in Washington, and we don’t have any named Oglethorpe or Derskin. When did these men come to you?”

Jimmy felt blood drain from his face and was uncharacteristically uncomfortable. “I don’t get it. The front desk in the Federal Building sent the guys up like business as usual. ” The arm of the chair Ken Hale sat in crunched under his grip. “Somebody played us like prize chumps! I knew I didn’t like those guys. I should have shook ‘em down for more I.D.”

“I blame myself,” said Marvel Boy. “I could have scanned their minds and picked up any deception.”

“You came in late,” reminded Venus. “When you arrived we were already talking to them like it was official business- you had no reason to be suspicious.” Jimmy hopped up from his chair, now much more animated. “That’s right. In fact, one of the men started in on an argument with Bob almost as soon as he got in. Probably to keep him on the defensive and too busy to use his headband.” The young agent paced around the desk and came to a stop next to the Human Robot. “Somebody sent us on a wild goose chase. For what? We weren’t working on a case at the moment.”

“They wanted us dead,” said Ken matter-of-factly. “The skeleton pilot was supposed to take us out, and if that didn’t work, there was the backup of the ones on the Coast Guard cutter. All ready to work because of the dream whammy they threw on us. Classic villain stuff- everybody wants us dead because we’re good guys. End of story.”

Venus countered in her manner that never gave offense. “No, anyone who would plan so well as to sneak in fake agents, plant a suggestion in our subconscious minds, and hide an animated skeleton at the Naval Shipyards - - that planner would certainly take into account the robot on our team who wouldn’t be affected by the magic.”

Assistant Director Wall took a bromo-seltzer out of his desk drawer and poured it into a glass of water. “You people lost me back at the skeleton pilot.”

* * * * *

The gleaming rocket soared above an ocean of clouds. Its chrome surface took on the golden hues of sunset- a sunset that stretched on much longer than usual since The Silver Bullet was on a westward trajectory. Inside the large cockpit of the craft, the pilot fussed with the instrument panel, though he had already programmed the course into the guidance system and didn’t need to do anything else. Jimmy Woo sat in the copilot’s seat with his face firmly lodged against his hand as he stared out the window. “If you look on Monitor 8 you’ll see the Mississippi river below.” said Marvel Boy.

“Fascinating,” returned Ken Hale, who spun around in his seat and got up. He walked over to the Preservation Cell, a trunk-sized refrigerated chamber that Marvel Boy used when procuring organic samples for study. The ape reached his arm in and pulled out a small bottle of Coca-Cola. “Anyone else want one?”

Bob Grayson grimaced slightly at Ken Hale’s misuse of his equipment, then raised his hand. The variety of flavors on Earth still fascinated him, and he rarely passed up an opportunity to taste anything. For some time, no one spoke. Then Jimmy got up to go get a drink as well, and Venus smiled, realizing her team leader was starting to emerge from the dark mood he had been in since the D.C. visit.

“Sorry I’ve been such a pill, everybody.” Jimmy said. “I’ve been worried that Jerry back in Washington thinks we’re losing it. I guess it’s inevitable when you get talked up as much as we do- everybody slips up some time. I just want you to know the blame lies squarely with me.”

“Hey buddy, we’re not worried what they think. Well, I’m not. And I’m sure the robot isn’t.”

Venus chimed in too. “Besides, we’ve got some clout built up. We did rescue the President after all. That should be good for something.”

Ken grew more animated. “Yeah, the pressure oughta be on him! What’s he been doing since then? All I ever hear about is new places he’s played the back nine.”

As usual, Bob Grayson missed the ape’s gruff joke and gave an actual answer. “He does have a plan in effect to create a new highway system. If you ever plan to motor west, multiple interstate roads will allow for a straight drive.”

“You sure get a lot of weird facts from The Silver Bullet,” said Hale as he swigged his soda.

“I didn’t get that from the ship’s computer, I read it in the New York Times while we were there-after I finished the crossword. They need to make those puzzles tougher, I finished it too fast.”

“Well they ought to post your mug on the cover of Popular Science. In fact, why not go on Twenty-One and make us a fortune.”

“Well, I have a bit of an edge. It would kind of be cheating.”

“Professor Van Doren can do it, so can you,” said the gorilla.

“Aw, now that’s just a rumor,” said Jimmy. “You always think everyone’s cheating, Ken.”

“From my experience, everyone is. At least, everybody who looks to be the best at something. I’m not judging, I’m just saying.”

Venus leaned back in her seat with a grin. Hearing her friends banter about news and trivia again meant the cloud had lifted and they would be ready to get back cracking on the mystery in no time. Their renewed enthusiasm would have to wait until morning though. Upon reaching San Francisco, Jimmy Woo insisted as usual that the group turn in for the night to get an early start the next day. Venus admired this tendency of Jimmy. Other crime-fighting organizations she had known were often insistent on burning the midnight oil, driving their people to the point of exhaustion. With exceptions, Jimmy always tried to keep his team well fed and rested, encouraging any practices that led to being more focused and sharp.

As the group retired to their rooms, M-11 stepped through the large window onto the ledge to begin his nightly surveillance.

* * * * *

Venus found herself running through a forest glade. Her feet were bare- in fact most of her was. She almost fell upon stepping onto a patch of damp moss, but managed to balance herself and slide on her feet down a steep but short hill. She began to run again, taking in deep draughts of spring air. She could almost taste honeysuckle with each breath. A field by a stream was thinly filled with grass nearly as tall as she was, and she immediately followed the urge to plunge into it. The blades of the plants wicked gently at her skin, producing tingles that enveloped her body. As the growth turned thicker, she changed direction and raced to the stream’s edge, kicking up sheets of clear water. She enjoyed the mud through her toes until reaching a small lagoon. Arcing her body, Venus dived fully into the still water that had been warmed all afternoon by the sun. Minnows darted out of her path as she propelled herself with long kicks. She paused to watch the plantlife flow slowly back and forth and felt her long hair matching the movements. The lengths of reed cast dazzling patterns of shadows that she could have watched until dark. Instead she pushed upwards to the shimmering surface, dotted with waterlilies. As she breached, several lily pads clung to her body like a garment. She didn’t bother to remove them, they would fall off soon enough after drying out. Venus stepped carefully on her way to the edge to keep from breaking any of the reeds growing there. She soon stepped onto soft grass and sat down to let the sun dry her figure. After a few minutes on her back she rolled over on her stomach and rested her chin on crossed arms. Having indulged most of her senses, she closed her eyes to give her ears equal time with the wonders of nature. In this way she became aware of a family of birds fussing over their nearby nest, as well as a colony of frogs. The next animal to take her attention she wasn’t sure had made a noise at all, but she could tell it was in front of her. She opened her eyes to see a small dog standing in front of her, wagging its tail. The woman smiled and patted at the ground in hopes the animal would take that as an invitation to come closer. It tilted it’s head, and then took a couple of steps nearer. Then Venus felt Marvel Boy’s hand touch her shoulder, and she woke up.

“Ah. Um. I’m sorry to disturb you… but we’re… ah, the dream suggestion. It’s happening again.”

Awash in moonlight from her bedside window, Bob Grayson could see Venus’ startled expression turn to a soft smile. “Really? And I was having such a beautiful dream, too.”

“Yes, you were. I mean– well, I watched some of it, to see where it was going. You know, to figure out what the goal of… whoever… was. You know, the people who made us dream about the skeletons.”

Venus sat up now, gathering her silk sheet up against her. “Bob, I don’t mind that you watched me.”

“It was just work!” He stepped back from the bed some. “Then I thought maybe I better wake you up anyway, before some other suggestion was planted that might endanger you. Which could be happening to the others now, so we better go wake them up.” Venus slipped a robe on and went to knock on Ken Hale’s door as Marvel Boy went to Jimmy Woo’s. Within minutes all of them were standing in the hallway.

“So how do you know this was another subconscious invasion,” asked Jimmy. Grayson tapped at the solid black band on his forehead. “Just as I was falling asleep it occurred to me that our mystery villains might try the trick again, so I took my headband off the nightstand and put it on. I usually don’t sleep with it on. It leaves enough of a ring on my head having it on all day. But sure enough, as I was entering REM sleep, the band alerted me to impulses that didn’t originate in my brain.”

“Nice of you to see to Venus before the rest of us,” Ken Hale smirked. Grayson’s face grew flush, and Venus interjected. “Ladies first!” Jimmy looked around at the paneling on the walls and back to the young man. “Can you tell who did it- where it came from?”

Marvel Boy put his fingers to his temple. “It’s still happening, actually. Like a broadcast.” His blue cape made a swirling flourish as the hero turned to walk down the hall. He reminded Ken Hale of an uncle who used to seek out water sources with a divining rod made of tree branches. Bob turned into the office and walked forward until he realized he was about to hit a wall. Then he went over to the window and stepped up into it. On the ledge outside M-11 turned his eyebeam onto Grayson. “Turn that off, you’re blinding me.” The robot instantly complied. When the flashes disappeared from Marvel Boy’s vision he looked forward as his headband directed. “There.” He raised his arm and pointed at a window across the street. In the corner was a metallic object that looked to be an oscillating fan in the dark. Marvel Boy quietly lifted from the ledge and drifted across the canyon of buildings to hover outside the window. The glass was open, and inside the room a dark figure stood by a machine, busily adjusting controls. The round end of the device was what looked like a fan from a distance. The man’s hands stopped, and he turned to discover the observer floating above him. He scrambled wildly, knocking over other pieces of equipment and kicking wires. Marvel Boy now came down into the room and his wristbands glowed to fill the area with light. The man pulled a gun off a table and began firing repeatedly at his pursuer. Marvel Boy flew quickly to the left in a twisting path that the gunman couldn’t draw a bead on. Then he pointed his flat hand forward and and the weapon immediately grew too hot to hold. As it fell to the floor, the man doubled around to another window on the same wall. Just when Marvel Boy thought he would stop, the man leapt, smashing through the glass and beginning the long fall to the street. From the Federal Building M-11 extended his right arm with such force it seemed another gun had been fired. The expanding bands that made up his limb hit their maximum length just as the man was falling out of reach. M-11’s fingers then also extended, which surprised Jimmy as he hadn’t seen them do that before. The alloyed hand clamped onto the man’s shirt and the robot’s arm began to retract.

“Gotcha, goofball.” Hale’s long arm grabbed the man’s collar as M-11 brought him to the ledge. He was short and wiry, and kicked and flailed with such energy that even the gorilla had trouble containing him. “Where do you think you’re going, idiot? I don’t see a parachute on your back.”

“He was already headed to the street, ” said Venus. “He must really not want to be taken alive. Calm down, sir. We just want to talk to you.” As usual Venus was casually employing her effect so as not to alert her target to what she was doing. If someone knew about Venus they might be able to employ a mental exercise to hold her influence at bay long enough to escape. The thrashing man seemed so completely unaffected that she dropped any subtlety and began to sing one of her favorite traveling songs covered by Nat King Cole a few years back. Jimmy instantly plugged his ears. Since Ken had one hand occupied with the culprit, he launched into a series of grunts and hoots as a natural ape might. Besides helping mask the infectious tones of his teammate, this would often frighten criminals to the point of excessive release of information. Jimmy relaxed slightly, expecting a long confession to begin pouring from the captive. Instead he saw a flash of moonlight glinting from an ornate dagger that was clearly of the same make that the skeleton pilot brandished the day before. Just as Venus reached the lyrics “looks mighty pretty,” the small man’s arm swung out, raking the same spot on Ken’s arm that the pilot had hit with his own knife. The ape howled.

“SON OF A-”

Jimmy’s leg fired upwards and his foot knocked the knife from the man’s hand with such force that it stuck in the wall by the window. Continuing the motion, Jimmy’s body turned with the kick in a complete spin, and his fist landed squarely between the man’s eyes. Had M-11 not still been holding onto the man’s shirt, the punch would have certainly sent him back out the window. Instead the man’s head flopped forward and his body slumped towards the floor, still dangling in the robot’s grip.

“Shucks, I didn’t want to knock him out. Now we’ll have to wait a while to get anything out of him. I was sure once you started singing he’d be spilling his guts to us in minutes.”

“You have to get your kicks,” joked Venus. Her smile dropped upon looking closer at the man. “Ooh. I don’t think I could have had any effect on him,” said Venus with a look of repulsion. She knelt down next to the unconscious man and pointed to his ear. Like the other, it was disfigured with scar tissue as if someone had melted candlewax in it. “He’s been made deaf,” said Jimmy. “Look, there’s some other scarring around his nose too. He either went to the world’s worst face doctor or someone prepared him specifically to be immune to you.”

“He’ll get worse than that from me when he wakes up!” roared Hale as he closed the medicine cabinet. The gorilla poured the rest of a bottle of Witch Hazel onto his reopened wound. Marvel Boy floated through the open window, careful to not hit the glass with the long device he bore under his arm. He sat the machine down on Jimmy’ s desk and switched on the lamp. For better illumination he adjusted the bendable arm of the lamp, briefly thinking how it was a crude version of M-11’s arms. The light revealed a device around four feet in length, with a conical dish at one end. The part that had looked like a fan from outside.

“It’s a gun,” growled Gorilla Man.

“Yeah, but what does it shoot?”

“Images. Ideas. Dreams.” Marvel Boy peered around the device, nodding as he looked at various sections. “Impulse creation.” Jimmy realized that in a strange way his Uranian-born friend was approving of the thought that had gone into making the machine, if not the purpose for which it was built. “It runs on standard current.” He opened a small red box in the middle, then finding it of little use, closed it. Finally he came to the other end of the invention, which housed a glass canister full of liquid. Several wires ran into a small flexible shape that floated in the solution. It was roughly the size of a nearly-finished bar of soap. The space hero regarded this for a moment and then said simply, “Gosh.”

“That looks kind of familiar,” said Hale. “But I can’t place it. You going to let us in on the gag?”

“Yes,” answered Marvel Boy in a hollow voice. “You’d recognize it if it were in context of the whole thing it comes from, though.” The others leaned in to see the floating object. Jimmy studied the creases running through it. Venus thought it looked like a sponge. “Well?” she asked.

“It’s brain tissue.”

* * * * *