by Dan Swanson
Together, Valerie Coppersmith, Spooks, and Bensonhurst quickly formed a plan. Val called the Squadron of Justice hotline (Spooks had never used a dial phone, much less heard of a ten-digit phone number, much less a 1-800 number), and pretended to be Velvet.
Meanwhile, Spooks turned his attention to reviving that battered young lady. It didn’t take Val long to convince the hotline operator that she was serious. The operator was intrigued enough to contact Captain Marvel, because she knew that Cap had prior experience with Aunt Minerva.
After she hung up the phone, Val’s attention was strongly drawn to a small object on the rug. While Ripper was reviving Velvet, she picked it up and recognized that it was the clasp from the Ghast’s cape. It still had a very strong aura of magic around it. As she slipped it into the top of one of her boots, it became invisible. Then, as planned, Val slipped out the door.
There had been enough money in Ripper’s wallet for her to buy a train ticket back to Rowayton. During the ride, Valerie Coppersmith had time to examine her memories, and she realized that much of what she remembered of the 1960s was false — and that not only she, but the whole world, had somehow had their memories of the Super Squad suppressed. She could sense that strong magic gone awry had been released, and she was getting a sinking feeling that she might have had something to do with it. (*) Maybe it would be best to try to forget again.
[(*) Editor’s note: See Super Squad: Times Past, 1972: Not With a Bang.]
While Velvet was still confused, Spooks walked over to the other thugs, still unconscious on the floor, and left Ripper’s body. The body collapsed to the floor, almost as if it had been there all along. Spooks and Bensonhurst departed, only half-satisfied with their day’s work. They’d saved Val and Velvet, but failed the Ghast. Of course, this only made them more determined to succeed the next time.
Captain Marvel arrived not long afterward and found a totally confused Velvet, who didn’t even remember calling the Squadron of Justice Hotline. After he’d secured the scene and turned everything over to New York’s Finest, he managed to calm her down and get her story. The way she told it, there was a new super-hero on the scene, a short woman with a grotesque costume and weird powers who had waged war on the criminals of New York City. It was a short-lived sensation, and Velvet got a lot of media attention. Her sudden celebrity was good for her; she’d originally come to New York to be an actress, and her publicity got her some extra attention at tryouts for some small Broadway plays. That, in turn, allowed her to save enough money to go to night school, pursuing a degree in education.
And, of course, Aunt Minerva and her gang all ended up in prison. This was, after all, a comic-book story.
The End