by Doc Quantum
After three months of living in Baltimore, Captain Thunder finally began to start feeling like this was his home. Sure, it was a far cry from Binderbeck City, but there was nothing he could do about that except make the best of what he still had.
It turned out that what he now had was far more than he had ever expected when he’d first been rescued from the void. He had a family in Grandma and Uncle Rufus, he had a friend in David Knight, the current Starman, and he had an ally in Detective Bill Parker of the Baltimore Police Department. For only three months, that wasn’t bad.
But there was one thing still on the horizon that he hadn’t anticipated — a place to belong.
One night, when Detective Parker summoned Captain Thunder with the red flare-gun, a woman was with him. As the hero flew down to meet them, he took a good look at the woman, trying to sense if he could trust her before she even said one word.
She was a devastatingly beautiful white woman with long, lustrous blonde hair. She was dressed in a sharp green business suit with a miniskirt and light green hosiery, along with black high heels. At her side in her left hand was a black briefcase. She was smiling, but she was all business as she stood with her right hand extended out to the hero.
“Captain Thunder!” she said, without even waiting for Detective Parker to speak. “Pleased to meet you. My name is Diana Dare, and I’ve got quite an offer for you…”
There was silence for a few moments as the woman stood there with her hand extended for a few moments more, until she finally cleared her throat uncomfortably and made an awkward motion of brushing off her coat.
“Hi, Bill,” said Captain Thunder to the police detective. “What’s this all about?” he asked, gesturing in the woman’s direction with his thumb.
“I’m just here to make introductions, Cap,” said Bill. “Diana, here, is the real deal. She may not look it in her business suit, but she’s a super-hero like you. She’s called–”
“Queen Arrow,” said Diana, somewhat chagrined. “And I’d like to personally invite you to join a new team, called–”
“Hey, aren’t you that lady who started up a new Law’s Legionnaires team, only to quit when the original team got back together?” asked the Captain. (*)
[(*) Editor’s note: See Law’s Legionnaires: The Deadlier of the Species and Law’s Legionnaires: Soldiers of Victory.]
“Yes, that was me,” said Diana. “But I’m not talking about that team. I’d like to invite you to join a team of international–“
“Right, right,” interrupted Captain Thunder. “Whatever happened to you, anyway? I wasn’t around back then, obviously, but I’ve done my reading about this world’s super-heroes, and it seemed like you were this big deal for awhile a couple of years ago, appearing almost everywhere, it seemed, until you just vanished. (*) I haven’t read a thing about Queen Arrow in any news stories since mid-1986 or so.”
[(*) Editor’s note: For the first modern-day appearance of Queen Arrow, see Arrowette: Who’s the Arrowest of Them All?]
“Look, kid, will you let me finish?” said Diana, exasperated. “I made a lot of mistakes back then, one of which was jumping the gun on using the name of an existing team. I should’ve known they would reunite eventually. But I’ve also done a lot of soul-searching, and I realized that, as great as the JSA is for America, the rest of the world lacks its own team of heroes. I’m looking for a few good men and women to step up and create a Justice Society International, if you will. We’re still working on the name, but I’d love to have you on my team.”
Captain Thunder stared at her for a few more moments before he asked, “Do I have to leave Baltimore?”
Detective Parker looked alarmed at the possibility of losing the city’s new hero. But before he could say anything, the former Queen Arrow continued.
“No, not at all,” assured Diana, shaking her head. “You can stay here — or live wherever you want, really. After all, only a couple of the JSAers live in Gotham, where that team is based. And with your speed, kid, traveling to our headquarters in Europe shouldn’t be a problem. So, are you in, or should I go calling on Insect Queen, instead?” (*)
[(*) Editor’s note: See Showcase: Insect Queen: The Last Laugh, or Cocoon.]
Captain Thunder grinned, smiling at her sheer audacity. “I’m in,” he said, extending his own hand, “as long as you promise to stop calling me kid.”
“Deal,” said Diana Dare, shaking his hand. “Welcome to the team, Captain.”
The End