|
|||||||
|
|
|
|||||
|
|
|||||||
|
|||||||
|
|
|
|||||
|
|
|||||||
Outsiders
Working Girl
Part 1
Vivian D'Aramis had lost the drawing, and was thus representing the family interests at Stagg Enterprises. The old man who owned the huge company, Simon Stagg, had threatened her as the Crimson Fox with legal action and possible identity exposure if she did not agree to "go to work for him." The threat was due to the fact that while under mental control of a madman, the Fox had been forced to abduct the greedy, old con man.
"This arrangement is brief, oui?" she had asked.
"It ends with my signed assurance that no legal and no civil action will be taken against you for the crimes you committed against me. That is... when you complete a little job for me," he said with a decidedly evil grin.
"What must I do?" said a worried Crimson Fox as she perched on the desk.
"Before my own brutal abduction, my baby daughter Sapphire," actually a woman older than myself, mused Vivian, "received a similar attempt at kidnapping. She escaped, due to the police actually being of use for a change. Now, this must end! I want you to bring down the gang that threatened her even if they no longer want her. They need to be taught the cost of angering Simon Stagg!"
And I need to pay Constance back for this, thought Fox. "How do I track them?" she asked.
"That's your problem. Just do it. Or I'll see your pretty face revealed in a CNN-covered courtroom!" he said.
I just bet you would, thought Fox. She signed and said, "For now I am yours to command!"
Part 2
Jimmy "Mr. Action" Olsen was eager to get a lead on a new story involving weapons of high-tech nature in the hands of small time thugs. The gang had been striking from Metropolis to Gateway City to Coast City. The triangulation of the places hit made a neat little center in the aptly-named location of Central City. Jimmy had discovered this himself and was rather proud. He felt he was closing in on a big scoop.
He drove across country to Central City and checked into a hotel under an assumed name. He hoped his freckled-faced youthful features would help him blend in with this All-American mecca. He also wished that Ralph Dibny was in town; however, the world-travelling Elongated Man was nowhere to be found. He and Ralph shared a power on rare occasions since as Elastic Lad, Jimmy could also stretch a pliable body. Perhaps they even got the power from a similar source? Still, Ralph and the new Flash were out of town, so it was up to Jimmy to crack the case.
Part 3
Sapphire Stagg was dressed to thrill in her hot pink minidress. Her jewels shined as did her blonde hair. Her designer sunglasses added just the right air of wealthy boredom. Java, the caveman-turned-bodyguard, lurched around her impatiently. "This sun-tanning stuff is for the birds. I mean you're dressed for a ball or somethin', not the beach." She ignored him as they sauntered through the park.
Then a car zoomed up and out jumped four men with cheap suits and odd rifles. "Get the broad in the car! I'll handle the stiff," ordered one man. They raced toward Sapphire, who screamed demurely. Java pounded one with his massive fists. He did not move again. The second one grabbed Sapphire and hurried the heiress to the car. She lost a high heel, but kept moving as he ordered. Java slugged the second man before he could aim his long gun.
The third man blasted away but the cavemen agilely dodged the heat ray. He grabbed for Sapphire's closest abductor and she delicately kicked her high heel into his path. He hit the shoe and tripped as the thug rammed the gun into his skull. He fell dumbly as he did most things.
Sapphire was rushed off with the gang in the car. "Your daddy is gonna pay us big time," said one gleefully.
"Eek!" screamed the heiress. She thought to herself, Vivian, they fell for it! They think I'm Sapphire. That oaf, Java almost messed up my plan. Now we'll see where the "boss" lives.
Part 4
Jimmy walked through the streets of Central City and stopped short -- he saw someone he knew. The man was a shifty little bald guy named Rex Rinker. He was a known gangster. Superman had put him away years ago. He could be involved with the high tech gang. Jimmy faded back as much as a guy in a plaid green jacket could fade.
He watched Rinker go down a seedy back lane and saw a second man ahead of Rinker. Rinker was following him. Jimmy scanned the empty streets. This looked bad. Maybe it was a mob hit. No witnesses. No real stores around. No reason to take this neglected path so determinedly. He was uncertain how best to handle this situation. He decided to just follow along to see what would turn up.
The pair turned into a blind alley, and sure enough, Rinker pulled out a miniature gun. It looked like a space movie blaster. Very high tech. Very suspicious. Jimmy ran forward and shouted, "Stop! Police!"
Rinker whirled and aimed the gun at the reporter who dived for cover. The man Rinker was following cursed and leaped to his aid. He tackled Rinker with near-Olympian skill and pummelled the little man quickly. "Thanks," offered Jimmy.
"No problem. But what do you think you're doing? A reporter, I see." He had palmed Jimmy's ID with smooth grace.
"Hey! How'd you do that?"
"I am a man of many talents. Now listen, kid, bug off. This is dangerous. The mob doesn't play games," urged the grim dark-haired man. He turned and wallked off, leaving Jimmy more curious than ever.
Part 5
Vivian dressed as Sapphire allowed the thugs to drive her to a building in Central City where they shoved her into a room. She heard a door click shut and was alone.
"Wait 'til the Boss sees her," said a thug.
"Non! Wait 'til moi sees the boss," she said.
Meanwhile, Jimmy Olsen tried to find anything on the man who had saved him from Rinker. This dark, handsome man did turn up in a mug shot book at the station as Nick Kovack. "That's the guy. For a mobster he seemed an okay guy. Could be an undercover agent," mused Mr. Action.
He checked the hotels in Central City and found one where Kovack was registered. He staked out the place, and sure enough one morning out came the man himself. "Now look, kid -- I told you not to get involved," he said, whirling rapidly.
A shocked Jimmy gasped, "How? You must have eyes like Superman to see me through those crates!"
"It's simple. I'm on a case for the Government. Now buzz off!" he urged.
Before Jimmy could respond, a gang backed them into an alley. "Well, Kovack, looks like you're working with the press. This punk is Superman's pal," sneered a greasy man.
Kovacks grimaced and sailed into them. His fists were furious and effective. The gang fell over themselves in the blackened alley yet he seemed to see clearly. Jimmy watched in amazement as Kovacks knocked out every thug. "You've got to be a super hero," said Jimmy.
"If you must know, I do have super-heightened vision. I'm called Argus," explained Nick.
"Cool!" said Jimmy.
Part 6
Argus, now in a dark costume and mask, reluctantly explained his mission to an eager Jimmy. "I'm on the trail of the gang that has been making use of high tech weapons in a nationwide crime spree."
Jimmy smiled. "That's why I'm here too. Let's combine our efforts. They are here in Central City then?"
"Yes. I was almost ready to either 'join' them as Novacks or bring them down. Now, they must have had their doubts about me so I'll just shut them down myself. I never did learn who their boss was or where the tech is coming from either," said Argus.
"How'd you get those vision powers?" asked Jimmy.
"Nosy, aren't you? Off the record?..." said Argus.
"Sure!" replied Jimmy.
"I was hit by a beam... a ray from space."
"That sounds bizarre, but I've seen worse," said the former Turtle Boy.
"I've never known what it was -- only that it seemed right to use the gift for good," said Argus.
"Let's get that gang," said Olsen.
"Hold it. Unless you've got Superman on hold, I'd say you need to sit this out. Could be dangerous."
"Danger is my game," offered Jimmy with a smile.
"Okay. If you're certain."
They went directly to the same building where the Fox had been taken as "Sapphire." "I'm going in fast and direct. Follow closely," commanded Argus. Argus crashed into the building through a window and immediately hit a light switch. As darkness fell, he charged the gang and crashed into them. He swung furiously and they screamed and struggled for a clear target.
Hearing the noise, the Crimson Fox swung open the door which she had filed open. She crouched in vulpine style and saw a fierce battle between a dark man and the thugs. Electric pulses throbbed across the room as the gang used weird weapons. Jimmy didn't know the Fox in or out of costume. He just saw a beautiful blonde in a pink minidress. "Come on, miss," he said, pulling on her hand.
"Non! I do what comes naturally," she said with a grin. She kicked a thug's weapon free and tossed it to the bemused Jimmy. "Use it." He fired wildly and scattered the gang as Argus ducked and punched with lethal skill.
Fox wrestled a thug down and slammed him into a stunned stupor. She leaped through the air, and as the dress split, she continued to fight with rare abandon. "Eet is coming out of the bill," said Vivian as she glanced at the ruined dress. She ducked a pulse bolt that literally illuminated the entire room.
The thugs were desperately outmatched by their foes, since even Jimmy was doing a great job at keeping them separated by the pulse blasts. Then a gold ray hit Argus, although he almost reacted in time to dodge it before it flared into visible range. He fell as a golden statue. Jimmy saw a gold-armored man enter and fire a second ray at him. He was hit solidly and also turned into a golden statue.
Only the Fox remained, and she tried a new stunt. She slipped a bug on the coat of her latest foe, and with astonishing speed climbed the head of a thug and leaped out the broken window. She barely escaped being turned to gold herself. "Now, I may return with help and trace the gang," she vowed.
The armored man was apparently the boss. "What is this? Can't the Goldface mob survive without my personal supervision?" asked an angry Goldface. "Take the kid and the super hero and load them in the van. We got to get out of Central before the Flash is contacted by that doll who escaped. I think she was the Catwoman." The men did as directed.
"We got to deliver the item to our employer anyhow or his generous weapons will stop coming."
"You mean you found it?" asked a punk.
"I killed the guards and lab boys who were studying it and found the body of the dead owner as the employer said in a government science lab outside of Central City," explained Goldface.
Part 7
Crimson Fox, now attired in her costume, watched impatiently until the skimmer carrying the Outsiders landed. She had called them in through an annoyed Stagg who apparently had some tie to the team. She was dismayed to see that of the group only Metamorpho, Looker, Halo, and Geo-Force had arrived. "The Goldface gang is gone! They have fled and my bug is fading out," she said hurriedly.
"Look, doll, we got here as fast as we could. It's not like we're at Stagg's beck and call," said the white-faced Metamorpho.
"Now, darling, don't bite her head off. We can boost your little device or something with the computer," offered a bored Looker reclining in the back.
Geo-Force nodded grimly. "The signal should grow as we close in and the lock mode will keep us in reasonable distance."
Halo smiled at Fox. "I think your make-up is rad! How do you get it like that?" Looker frowned, obviously displeased at the addition of another stunner to her circle.
Vivian smiled. "I can teach you much, ma petit."
The skimmer arched toward a warehouse and slid skillfully into an open door. Energy sensors kicked in and guards streamed from all sides. "They must have been expecting someone else," said Halo.
"Don't ya just hate it when unexpected company drops by?" said the grinning Element Man.
Fox pounced out into a mob of thugs. She gracefully kicked out at two while clawing a third. This bettair be the last little job I do for Stagg, she thought after a bruiser hit her directly in the stomach.
Halo sent three thugs floating helplessly aside with her tractor beam. Looker mentally blasted a gang of four into sleepy smiles. "Darlings, there's enough of me to go around," she teased. Metamorpho expanded over the nearest group and his calcified state held them tightly.
The man called Goldface rushed out from a private room. "Not now!" he yelled. His gold armor gleamed as he slammed a fist into Metamorpho, who crumbled into white powder.
This jerk is strong, he mused as a large metal fist swelled up to battle the armored man. Goldface ducked and fired his gun at Looker. She deflected it and blew him a taunting kiss. He felt a hard blow from Metamorpho and he decided to do one thing at a time. He shot the Element Man, who turned to gold... then switched back to normal. "Doesn't work on a special guy like me," he boasted.
"This will!" vowed a newcomer who flew in and literally blasted the skimmer to burning shreds. He flew toward the startled Halo and intense heat radiated from his every pore. "Pretty! So pretty," he said as he crushed her in his arms and ignored her protective halos.
"Get back, you jerk!" she cried, then fainted from his energy.
He fell back as Geo-Force charged up to fight. "By my Markovian ancestors! Your power is awesome!" he cried.
Fox danced over and shoved the armored Goldface to the floor. He got up and grabbed for her. "Too slow, ma cher," she teased.
Part 8
Crimson Fox moved too fast for Goldface to touch, but she could not harm him, either. His massive armor protected him well. He fired his gold gun at the skimmer's burning sides and it collapsed in on itself. Metamorpho saw a few thugs stunned nearby and raced to snatch them out of the burning metal. Nice dude. Kills his own men with no concern, he thought. The slide he formed did scoop them to safety.
Looker tried a new trick. "Oh, yoo-hoo, tall, shiny, and deadly! I want you to use that little toy gun on some costume jewelry I have. Do you work nights?" She smiled a dazzling smile that slowed him and even attracted him. The last minute led to her downfall, for he waited until he could reach her and belted her swiftly to the floor.
"My armor offers me various kinds of protection," he said.
The long red hair of the newcomer flowed back into a mane as he blasted a sweating Geo-Force. "Can't take the radiation," he muttered then fell as his foe exploded above him with a red glow.
The man reformed after the explosion and he moaned in a childlike way, "So pretty," as he saw Halo to the side.
"Yes, Rayburn. Very pretty. Now blast the freak," ordered Goldface. Fox twisted and knocked his gold gun free. She fired at Rayburn who shrugged off the ray and closed in on the sexy Fox. She felt swimmy-headed from radiation and did pass out. "Now blast the Element Man," ordered Goldface as he pounded Metamorpho from behind.
The radiation hit Metamorpho and he fought to stay awake. "Too strong," he gasped as he melted to a pool.
"Scoop him up. We can bear no followers," ordered Goldface.
"And Pretty?" asked the manchild called Rayburn.
"Of course. Take all the pretties to the transporter." In a flash all were gone and the gang loaded their equipment as well.
Part 9
The Outsiders woke up in a lush, sunlit room where jungle foliage hung decorously above their cell. "Where are we?" muttered Geo-Force. "The heat is intense."
"Halo, are you okay?" asked Looker.
"Yes, but I have quite a tan," she replied.
"It's from that Rayburn," said Metamorpho.
"He's a radiation generator, from what I saw," offered Fox.
"He is indeed mighty," said Geo-Force.
"He joined that Goldface guy after he caught us," offered Jimmy Olsen who along with Argus was also in the tropical cell. "He doesn't realize who he's dealing with," vowed Mr. Action as he pushed a button on his watch. No sound echoed from the signal watch. "Come on... zee-zee-zee!" urged Jimmy.
"They are blocking all signals. I'm already aware that this place restricts some frequencies of light, so why not sound, too," said Argus.
"Correct," said Goldface from a tiny screen. "You rot here in this city for daring to cross me! Just be glad the boss hasn't killed you all already. He may just give you to me, babe," he said leering at Crimson Fox.
"I'd rather die!" she said.
"That's do-able too," he added.
Part10
Looker smiled. "I'm sure we can get out easily enough. I can work my magic on any male guard that comes with food. Just allow a girl to do her thing," she said. She flounced over to the door and posed seductively. She winked to the others as footsteps rang out. "Hello, darling," she said as the door swung open.
She screamed and jumped back from the guard as he came into full view. He was a large, hairy gorilla. "Salutations," he said as he placed a tray in the room and shut the down again.
"That old magic of yours isn't animal magnetism now, is it?" teased the Fox.
Looker frowned and stomped the ground.
Part 11
"We're in some kind of city of the apes," muttered Metamorpho as their hairy guards hushed them down a corridor. Sure enough, their captors were all apes. Talking, human-like apes true, but all the same, apes.
"Welcome to the home of the New Age Movement. I am its founder, Grodd! I am using this base outside the city known to your Flash as Gorilla City, as a staging ground for my bid for ultimate power over that place and the world as a whole. You are privileged to witness the birth of true greatness. You will not be harmed if you follow my orders," he said, almost suavely.
"You're kidding. This some Rod Serling story," said Metamorpho.
"Keep quiet, Rex," urged Geo-Force.
"The power you seek is exactly what? Those high tech weapons you've been giving Goldface?" asked an astute Jimmy Olsen.
"Very good, young man. I did, indeed, provide Goldface with some inventions of my own design in exchange for his locating and bringing the real power source to me. If you behave, I'll show it to you all," continued Grodd.
Oh Vivian, mon cher, what have you gotten yourself into thees time, thought the Crimson Fox as Goldface eyed her passionately from the side.
Halo glanced around the room. There were dozens of apes. She could not stop them all. Rayburn sat sleepy-eyed nearby and gazed adoringly at the teen blonde.
Looker reeled on her high heels suddenly. Geo-Force steadied her. "What is it, Lia?" he asked.
"The woman tried to attack me with some mental power that proved all too futile. You see, I have an advanced brain and psionic gifts. It is these very gifts that allow me to uniquely utilize the power device Goldface found for me at a government lab. I assure you, if he could have used it himself, he would never have turned it over to me," said Grodd pointedly. Goldface looked impassively in his shiny armor.
"I present to you my source of new power," said Grodd, as he held a black ring and demonstrated its power by creating a shadowy, black giant who smashed down a tree and made splinters of its once-majestic form.
"That's a Green Lantern ring," said Metamorpho.
"No. To be precise, my pale friend, it is an Anti-Green Lantern Corps ring. But the end result is the same: Grodd rules supreme!"
Jimmy blinked and noticed for the first time that the man called Argus had vanished.
Part 12
The second that the black ring had filled the room with shadows, Argus had made his move. Uniquely gifted with the uncanny power to fade into and out of darkness as well as see on several levels, he had dodged quietly into the darkness, unseen by any. Now what do I do? he wondered. I'm a gangbuster type of guy but this gang is all too weird! He realized that his time was running out. He could take down some gorillas but not all of them. He suddenly had an idea... if he could just get his man to go off alone.
He remained in hiding, and among so many flamboyant, costumed humans like Looker, Crimson Fox and Metamorpho, who were novelties to the apes, he was not noticed. He climbed high above the others and posed gracefully on the beams that held up the high roof.
Grodd laughed and waved that ring around. "You see, my captives, this ring was once used by aliens called the Anti-Green Lantern Corps! One member fell to Earth and was immediately taken to a government lab for research. He died from battle wounds, you see, and his ring was of no use to the hapless humans, since it is powered directly by mental energy, not will power. It required an alien or greatly-advanced mind to use it. None of them could do so and only I may do so with ease."
"Talk, talk, talk!" said Crimson Fox. All he does is brag. Men are the same, be they apes or humans, she thought.
Goldface said, "May I take my prize now?"
Grodd looked scornful and said, "Yes, yes! Go off and indulge yourself, animal!"
Goldface grabbed the Fox and carried her off over his shoulder. The other heroes were pinned inside a black energy bubble created by Grodd. Vivian allowed Goldface to carry her off in hopes that once alone she could defeat the armored fiend. If he takes off the armor... and I expect him to, then he's mine, she thought, smiling.
They went to his chamber, where he laughed and tossed her onto a plush bed. "I recognized you, babe. From the Central City headquarters when you wore that little pink number. Now I'm eager to know you much better."
"That can be arranged," she purred.
"French," he said as he slipped off his gold armor. "I'll improve international relations." He came closer as Vivian half-closed her eyes behind long eyelashes.
As he climbed near her, she lashed out with both fists. Then she leaped on top of him and clawed furiously across his face. He moaned and tried to fight back but without his strength-boosting gold armor, he was not match for the vulpine vixen. "I improve your relations and your face, non?" she said as she slammed his head against the post.
He staggered toward the armor, but in an amazing show of speed and agility Vivian spun through the air over his head and landed, posed on her hands and feet between him and his gold armor. He growled and rushed for her, only to be tripped and finally knocked cold by a blow to his head from his empty, heavy gold helmet. She dusted her hands together and said, "The gold standard just dropped!"
Then the door swung open to reveal Argus. "You beat him! That's amazing," he said.
"No, that is merely all in a day's work for this poor working girl," she said as she smiled.
Argus tied up the man called Goldface and slipped on his armor. "Now to free the others," he said.
Meanwhile, Halo found herself on the lap of the man, Rayburn. Fires flickered in his eyes as he stroked her long blonde hair and said, "Pretty." She realized he did not want to harm her but she could not break free. Her powers flickered out at his touch.
"It's his radiation," Jimmy said. "Rayburn used to be named Raybourne, and was a good science ace who turned into a rampaging, and now almost-mindless radioactive generator. Superman and Firestorm fought him."
"Mr. Raybourne, remember your past," Halo urged. "Try to remember who you were..."
Part 13
Grodd prepared his army for an assault on Gorilla City. They followed eagerly and carried more of the weapons the Goldface gang had used.
Jimmy kept pushing his signal watch to no avail. They must be screening all frequencies, he mused. I hope Argus got away. I wonder where he is now?
Geo-Force strained to burst the black, shadowy bubble that encased him and Metamorpho. "No use," said Rex Mason.
"I will never quit trying," said a grim Geo-Force.
Looker was now chained at Grodd's feet. "I am oddly interested in you, little one. How did you acquire your own mental gifts?" he asked.
He is attracted to me! That time I met his mind did the trick, she mused and curled up next to the ape. "It's such a long story. Have you anything to drink?" she asked.
Goldface returned and announced, "The girl was pleasing."
"Bah! You and your petty urges," sneered Grodd.
At that moment, following a look from Halo, Looker sent a mental bolt to Rayburn. She stopped immediately, since she feared Grodd was sensitive to any use of her powers and would detect a long use. Rayburn's eyes cleared up. "What am I doing?"
"Shhh! Help us, Dr. Raybourne," begged the blonde teen as she whispered to the suddenly stable man.
"I will," he said. "I know myself again." He stood up and approached Grodd. "I wish you to release these people. Your political strife is your problem or Flash's. Let us go," he urged.
"Goldface! He has slipped the mental bond I placed upon his addled brain," roared Grodd. "You did this!" he said as he tugged on Looker's chain.
"Darling, little ol' me with my futile mental gifts? Surely not," she said.
Jimmy watched nervously. He slammed a vase against an ape's head and grabbed his blaster. He fired directly at Grodd, who dodged angrily. The ring flared up and black spears shot toward Mr. Action, who dodged behind a startled ape who died on the spot. Gosh! I didn't mean to endanger the species, thought Jimmy as he fired at the other guards.
Jimmy had an idea. He saw the bubble that held the heroes and purposefully ran in front of it. Energy flared out at him from several sides and he rolled aside just in time. The energy broke the bubble which was fading as Grodd's concentration was divided. Metamorpho flew out on silvery wings and dropped over the room in vaporous form. He carefully avoided his pals and his narcotic form sedated the apes and human gang memebers.
"You freed us, Olsen. Nicely done," offered the stiff Geo-Force.
Jimmy said, "It was easy!"
Goldface fired his gun and the gorillas turned to gold. He doffed the helmet and revealed his true ID as Argus. "Alright!" shouted Jimmy as his friend flashed him a thumbs up sign.
Looker's chain snapped as Geo-Force ripped it apart. "Thanks, honey. It was so tacky," she said.
Grodd blasted Rayburn with his ring's shadowy energy. The human reactor merely moaned and charged the ape. Black light raged against radioactive fire. Halo aimed a tractor beam at Grodd and shoved him forward. He was unhurt but now was distracted. Rayburn flared up and embraced the ape. "I'm losing cohesion again, but I'll take you with me."
He flew off with the shadow energy-covered ape and in the sky an explosion occurred that shook the base. Neither Grodd nor Rayborn could be seen in its aftermath.
"That poor man. He died to save us," said a tearful Halo.
"Kid, he had become a freak and he didn't want to live that way. Nobody would," offered Metamorpho.
Argus said, "The screening device is down. I see that all frequencies of light and sound are now coming in and out. I guess Grodd used them to hide from his countrymen near in the city."
Part 14
"I don't think I'll need it since we took down Grodd and his pals," said Jimmy, looking down at his signal watch.
"And these apes are here to arrest the traitors!" said Fox as she entered with a group of apes from the hidden city. "Argus gave me directions on how to locate these gentle apes. He saw through their hidden defenses."
"Thank you all for your services to us. As friends of Superman and Flash, you are honored guests," said an old ape.
The team departed and dropped Fox off at Stagg's building. Tramp! thought Looker as Fox swished off.
Too much make-up on that one, mused Vivian.
"Well, kid, you got your story," said Argus.
Jimmy grinned. "Yes, but I'll have to leave out the best part about the ape city and all. I'll just leave it at Goldface supplied the weapons and let the courts deal with the rest."
Fox smiled as Stagg raged at her. "You forced me to call in a man I hate. You still owe me services or else."
She sat on his desk, leaned in close and said, "If I could get to you while mentally controlled and take you out unstopped, then imagine what a girl like me could do if she had real motive and free will. I am a working girl no more," she said, waving her claws.
"Get out!" he roared.
What a way to earn the living, thought Vivian as she left.