by Doc Quantum
The train arrived in Hamburg, Germany, in the wee hours of the morning after traveling all night. Happy Terrill and Dee Tyler had only enough time to doze through the long journey, but still managed to get as much rest as was possible in the situation they were in. They were still dressed in German soldier’s uniforms and were supposedly headed north with special orders.
“Wake up, Mr. Happy,” Dee Tyler said, grinning sleepily.
“Hm? Are we there?” said Happy Terrill, far too tired to pick up any types of subtle humor, especially at that hour. The sun was just beginning to crack over the horizon.
“We are. I’d suggest you get back into your German soldier look pretty soon.”
The moving train soon came to a stop as it arrived at the train station. Dee looked out the window, watching the people on the sides. “Fairly large crowd out for this hour of the morning. I wonder what–?”
“This can’t be good,” said Happy. “Do you still have those Super-Vitamins of your dad’s handy?”
“Yes,” replied Dee. “I’ve always got them with me, just in case.”
“I think this is one of those cases,” said Happy Terrill, grabbing Dee’s hand and swiftly leaving the compartment.
“What is it? What’s wrong?”
“Just follow me. I think we need to get out of here — fast!”
They stepped out of the train through one of the doors and were immediately recognized by some figures farther down the station, who began running toward them and shouting.
Happy Terrill pushed Dee forward, shouting, “Run!”
***
Roy Lincoln had left his hotel room dressed in a long trenchcoat and was headed down near the train station to a manufacturing plant, where he was to detonate his explosive power before work commenced that day. He passed several people without question, as everyone assumed he was one of the workers.
He was still in the dark as to why he had been chosen to do this at this particular place and at this particular time. All he was told was that, once he completed his mission, he was to rendezvous with someone at a designated spot where he would be taken back home again.
It had been ages since he had seen his friends and allies in the Freedom Fighters, and he hoped against hope that somehow, in some way, he’d be reunited with them. During the last war, he’d gotten used to performing missions such as this one all by his lonesome, but he always looked forward to being reunited with the others, who were really his closest friends in the world, especially considering that it had been years since he’d seen or heard from his old buddy Hustace Throckmorton, the man with the explosive feet. Roy laughed inwardly as he thought about the old guy. Somehow, he could always cheer him up with his antics. He’d been exactly what he needed in a sidekick way back when, especially considering Roy’s usual moodiness. He promised himself he’d make an effort to look him up when he got back to the States.
Roy passed the train station as he made his way to the manufacturing plant, and was just about to blast his way in when he saw someone he thought he recognized running in his direction.
“Happy Terrill?” he mumbled, confused.
***
Happy Terrill and Dee Tyler kept running, but there was soon no place to run, as they were surrounded on all sides by soldiers, and they skidded to a stop.
“I think it’s one of those times you mentioned, Dee,” said Happy as he looked all around at the encroaching swarm.
Dee Tyler quickly popped open a bottle, took a single Super-Vitamin out, and swallowed it.
“How long is that supposed to last?” Happy asked as he motioned for her to cover her eyes, then flashed brilliantly, blinding all the soldiers around them.
“Roughly an hour,” said Dee, who wasted no more time talking and dived into the crowd of blinded soldiers, knocking them down left and right with powerful blows. If they could see, they would have been more surprised to know that a mere slip of a girl was overpowering them, and was stronger than all of them combined.
The Ray, which was Happy’s preferred name when in battle, also took the opportunity to incapacitate as many soldiers as possible in a short amount of time. They needed to figure out where Sam was and couldn’t afford to be captured. He couldn’t help but be impressed at Dee, though, not only because of her sheer power, but the skill with which she applied it. It was obvious that the girl had been trained in several martial arts disciplines. The Ray figured that was fitting, since she had been educated at a spy school for girls, after all.
The two were just barely holding their own against the large number of soldiers, when the force of an explosion blew most of them back and startled the two in the process.
The Human Bomb had come to the rescue.
“Well, I’ll be a son of a gun,” said Roy Lincoln, grinning at his friend. “If it isn’t Happy Terrill!”
The Ray gaped at the Human Bomb, not having expected to see him in such an unlikely place. “Roy!” he shouted and ran toward him, stopping himself from grabbing onto him and giving him a bear hug at the last moment. “I guess that wouldn’t be too good of an idea,” he smiled, looking at Roy’s explosively-powered fingertips.
“Reunion time later, guys!” shouted Dee Tyler as she began running again, gesturing for them to follow. “We’ve got to get out of here now!”
“Give me a minute or two,” Roy Lincoln said as he ran back in the direction of the manufacturing plant.
The Ray and Dee Tyler got out of sight and waited shortly for their friend to return. A loud explosion and the rumbling of the manufacturing plant crumbling to ruins was the Human Bomb’s calling card. He soon joined them, and they were on their way.
***
“What are you doing here?” was the question Roy and Happy tried to ask each other at the exact same time, before cracking up laughing. In the tense situation they’d needed a laugh.
“I came here to rescue Uncle Sam from the Nazis,” said Happy. “What about you?”
“The military sent me here on a mission to blow up that plant,” said Roy. “I had no idea Sam was gone at all. In fact, I haven’t seen the other Freedom Fighters since I arrived on Earth-X.”
“Well, I think it’s safe to say that our plans for rescuing Sam have been officially compromised,” said Dee. “They know we’re here, and they probably recognized you two.”
“Damn!” said the Ray. “Well, we can only hope that perhaps one of the others rescued Sam already. All we can do now is get out of here. There’s no chance of sneaking into the place where he was kept, anyway. The question now is — how do we get out of here?”
“Already taken care of,” said the Human Bomb. “There’s a small tugboat out there on the Elbe River that will take us to our rescue craft.”
“Yeah, as long as we can make it there all right,” said Dee.
“Don’t worry,” said Roy. “Our diversion is here. The bombing of Hamburg has begun!” he said, pointing to the American stealth bombers overhead. The sounds of explosions could be heard in the distance.