by Libbylawrence
The newly reconstituted Miss America was now confronted by the explosive power of the Human Bomb. Thanks to the magical abilities granted to her, she was able to understand exactly what his odd containment suit was composed of by studying it briefly with her uncanny mystical vision. Part of her alchemical power of matter transmutation involved being able to instantly sense the composition of any object or living creature and replicate it as needed.
She smiled winningly and admittedly exulted in being in her old costume and feeing young and girlish once more. So your fibro-wax suit blocks the explosive power within your hands, she thought. I wonder if a solid block of the stuff would slow you down?
As Miss America waved one hand, the Human Bomb found himself encased in a thick block of the same material that his protective suit was made of, with only his hooded head left uncovered. However, unlike the gloves that Roy Lincoln typically removed when necessary, he was trapped like a fly in amber within the block created by Miss America.
Knowing the hero would be helpless within the containment block, she turned away to check on her friends. I wonder if I could cure the Human Bomb by altering the 27-QRX in his metabolism? she mused. I’ll have to remember to bring it up with him sometime after this is all over.
Looking over at her new ally, she noticed that the Valkyrie was smiling broadly as she grappled with the tall woman with short blonde hair who wore a brown leather costume similar to that of a weightlifter or circus strongman. Our resident Norse goddess seems thrilled that the blonde Amazon there appears to be as strong as she is! thought Joan Dale Noble. I’d better not interfere, or they’ll both be furious at me!
Indeed, Kriemhild had been shocked to discover that the taller, more overtly muscular woman was perhaps as strong as she was. “You have the power of Tyr himself, if not the battle skills!” declared Valkyrie as she used one leg to trip the bigger woman and wrestle her to the ground. Her blonde opponent shoved upward with a roar of anger and tossed the Valkyrie off her powerful body.
Grinning with pleasure, Valkyrie then tackled her foe once more. They exchanged powerful blows for minutes, but neither woman submitted. Finally, Kriemhild brought one knee up into the bigger woman’s face and knocked her down with a right cross.
“What is your name, sister?” she asked. “I would honor such a worthy foe!”
“Sorry, honey,” said the observing Miss America. “She’s out cold. You’ll have to exchange phone numbers when she wakes up!”
Neon the Unknown had been fighting the Super-Vitamin-enhanced Hourgirl, but for once the capable female Freedom Fighter in her costume of yellow, red, and maroon was heavily outmatched. She has the same super-strength and speed as our old ally Hourman, but she can’t hurt me, he said. I think it best that I end the fight now before she does get hurt!
Striking her with a neonic bolt, Neon left Hourgirl stunned at his feet. She’s very lovely, he thought. I hated to do it, but I had no choice.
Next to them, the Red Torpedo was circling the agile red-haired woman wearing the red leotard. Firebrand? he guessed. Obviously, this young girl is copying the male hero from the forties, but that’s all I know about her! “Miss, I don’t want to hurt you,” he said in a placating tone of voice. “Step aside, and I’ll leave you alone!”
She smiled demurely and lowered her fists as he drew closer.
“See? I’m glad you are willing to listen to reason,” he said. “I’d hate to hit a girl!”
Suddenly the young woman sprang forward, butted him in the face with her head, and knocked him flat with a skillful combination of boxing blows.
With a gasp, he drew back as he thought, Good night! That brawling Betty Grable could give the Black Shark a run for his money!
Red Torpedo stood up once again, only to be flattened by a second punch. But as she drew closer, he tripped her and flipped her onto her back. He rolled on top of her and jabbed her neck with a stunning blow he had learned from the Invisible Hood. As he stood up, he rubbed his jaw and grinned ruefully. I think she almost broke it! he thought. Girls sure have changed in the last forty-five years!
“Gang, we’ve won,” said the Invisible Hood, “but surely the other heroes of the planet may be under his spell, too. We could be facing an army of mind-controlled heroes before this day is over!”
Valkyrie raised her gleaming sword and cried, “Let them come! Bring forth the finest warriors of this age! The Hitlerians will fall before us, and so will this new tyrant!”
Magno grinned and whispered to Neon, “Gotta love a girl with spunk!”
***
Meanwhile, a confused Courtney Noble was stammering a reply to John Grant’s casual proposal. “Marry you — me?” cried USA the Spirit of Freedom. “I’m here to stop you, not make out with you!”
The youthful John Grant smiled rather winningly and said, “We’d make a great couple! I’m America’s ruler, and you’re the nation’s spirit of liberty!”
She shook her head. “What do you know about liberty? You’ve enslaved the world! You are no better than Hitler!” she declared.
John frowned and shouted, “Don’t say that! I brought universal peace to a world at war! I put an end to crime! I made everyone happy! How can you call me a Nazi?”
The young man looked oddly frail and rather vulnerable as he approached her. “I better explain. My mother… my mother died a few days ago. My dad died in the service years before. When I lost Mom, I lost the one person who had always loved me. I grieved for her, and in my emotional anguish I also began to manifest super-powers. I realized that I knew things about other people that I should not be able to know. My mind is linked to the collective minds of the whole world population. I think it happened because I was born the moment the Axis brainwashing machines went on line.
“I also realized that I could alter reality. I could literally change history. My epiphany was exactly that. It happened all at once. I knew what I could do, and I knew how to do it! I made the world a place of peace, and I became the rightful ruler of the world. I selected some of the Freedom Fighters to be my personal honor guard, since they were no longer needed to fight crime or the Axis. You seem immune to my power, and that makes you a perfect mate for me!”
USA shook her head. She could fight him; she could use her mystical abilities to combat him, but she didn’t want to do so. She decided her best approach would be to try to talk to this insanely powerful yet fragile young man.
“The happiness you brought was not given freely or accepted by choice,” she said. “You imposed it on everyone. You took over their minds. You can’t force folks to love you. I mean… you probably could, but what good would that do you? It would be fake. It wouldn’t mean a thing!”
Looking at him sincerely, she continued, “John, I am willing to be your friend. I’m sorry about your parents. My Dad died a while back, and I’d sure hate to lose my mother. Let me be your friend. Friends trust one another. Friends also accept each other as they are. They don’t force each other to change. How about we talk this whole thing over?”
John nodded slowly. USA had supernatural charisma, but in truth it was more Courtney Noble’s sincerity than USA’s power that started winning over the young mutant.
All during their talk, USA had been feeling as if there was something just beyond her senses that she could not see or touch, but could still detect. It was a certain proximity to her benefactor, Old Glory, and she suddenly knew exactly how to respond to it. “John, you are an American,” she said, appealing to his better nature. “You may have lived for a few years under Nazi rule — we all did — but you don’t think of yourself as a Nazi. I can tell that you believe in the ideals of American freedom and liberty!”
The young man nodded eagerly and said, “Of course! I told you that already! How can I convince you how much I cherish America and all it stands for in the world?”
“John, I believe you, but I have to show you that, in spite of what you believe, you’ve brought about something that goes against those same ideals!” said USA. “You didn’t mean to do it, but look what happened when your rule started! Look with me inside your mind!”
Taking his hand, USA the Spirit of Freedom looked into his eyes. John Grant hesitated for a moment, then relaxed and allowed her power to work.
Vanishing from his base, they soon found themselves floating in a misty limbo that seemed detached from any reality they could call a material or physical one.
There they saw two figures chained and captive in the misty void.
The man was clad in red, white, and blue clothing and wore a top hat. The ruggedly handsome features of the world-famous Uncle Sam were taut with strain as if he was resisting his chains with an almost superhuman effort. The woman was Old Glory, the elderly benign figure who had appeared in Courtney’s dreams and had given her the locket.
“You see, John, you may be a good American, but when you took control of the world, you imprisoned Uncle Sam and Old Glory!” explained USA. “They can’t be free and flourish under the rule of a being who robbed their nation of freedom!”
John stared in horror at the sight and recoiled in fright. “No!” he cried. “What have I done? This wasn’t what I wanted! I’m sorry!”
“It’s okay!” replied USA. “Just change everything back to the way it was before you took over!”
John Grant nodded as tears appeared in his eyes. “I’ll do it! I’ll do it!” he cried. “Just don’t hate me! Don’t leave me!”
Seconds later, USA found herself standing over a prone figure within a small house in Brooklyn. The grand complex was gone, and only a modest home remained.
Now freed from their captivity, Uncle Sam and Old Glory stood nearby, proud expressions on their faces. “You made us all proud!” said Uncle Sam. Turning to Old Glory, he said, “You sure picked the right girl!”
“USA, child, you saved us all!” said Old Glory, an approving smile on her aged face that soon turned to concern as she saw how upset her young protégé was. “What’s wrong, child?”
Courtney Noble looked up from beside the silent form of John Grant. “He’s in a coma!” she cried. “He is breathing, but he’s not awake!”
Old Glory placed one hand on the girl’s shoulder and said, “He made things the way they were before, but I’m afraid he couldn’t deal with the guilt he felt over what his actions had cost us! He meant well, but he wasn’t equipped emotionally or mentally to deal with the power he has.”
Uncle Sam nodded slowly, and gently picked up the still form of the former ruler of the world. “I reckon I better take him to Doll Man. He might be able to do the boy some good. We owe him that much.”
“If he’d just wake up,” said USA, “he could defeat the Axis once and for all!”
“USA, I think a lesson I learned long ago might apply here,” said Uncle Sam. “There are no easy victories, and for every drop of blood spilled or tear shed in this war, there is also a corresponding good accomplished by it. That good may be found in the inspiration of a noble sacrifice like the boys at the Alamo, or it may be seen in how times of war motivate ordinary folks to do extraordinary things. I’ve seen that a lot in this war. During the great War of Independence I saw another benefit. When things seemed at their darkest, good would somehow triumph against impossible odds. The smallest details would combine to make a victory appear when every sign pointed to certain defeat. That kind of outcome gives a man faith in a higher power. I reckon what I’m trying to say is that I don’t think being given victory because one young man wished it so would really be best for this world. People have to work and fight and dream their way to freedom, and that is hard but necessary work.”
As Uncle Sam carried the fallen John Grant out of the humble home, Old Glory led USA in his wake. USA the Spirit of Freedom knew she had helped win a victory, but she still had tears in her eyes.