Chapter 10.

SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH

(JUNE 7, 1940)

"Your astronomers refer to it as M-33 or The Triangulum Galaxy, " explained Fero to the erstwhile Kendall Richards. "But, to my people, it is simply the Galactic Republic. This ship came to your solar system with the aid of a subspace navigational beacon planted on the surface of your outermost planet, Pluto. It's destination: Venus. It's cargo: Sanatas. Criminal henchman- -and host body- - for a sentient parasite known as 'Mr. Mind.' A parasite first brought back to our galaxy by a Zabrak bounty hunter from the planet Iridonia!"

"And you want my help finding him?" replied the self-styled Bogey Man somewhat incredulously.

"Well, him... and the Jedi Knight who was in charge of guarding him. A young man named Brek Bannin from the planet Tharr."

SALT LAKE CITY (EIGHT YEARS LATER).

"Why did you lie to me about Sub-Zero's origin?!" Bogey Man angrily demanded.

"I didn't lie!" exclaimed Fero. "Jedi Bannin was listed as having the same cryokinetic ability as Sub-Zero. I just didn't anticipate your people being advanced enough to duplicate that ability artificially!"

"Where is Sub-Zero based these days?" Professor Xavier finally butted in and asked, telepathically.

"El Centro, California," replied Bogey Man. "He and that Inuit sidekick of his opened up a private detective agency, there, after V-J Day."

The Green Turtle shook his head in correction.

"Not Inuit. Chinese Communist."

"Either way," said Xavier. "I suggest we get going. Immediately!"

JOVIAN MOON OF EUROPA (2460 A.D.)

"Actually," said Booster Gold. "Fero raised a pretty valid point. How _was_ a 20th century mad scientist of Earth able to duplicate the biologically inherent super-power of a shipwrecked alien?"

"The same way Nazi Germany was able to get such an amazing head start on rocket science," replied Zarrko. "With a little help from the Badoon! A sexually segregated race of humanoid reptiles. The crocodilian minority of which..."

The Tomorrow Man flicked a switch and a frozen-frame picture of just such a humanoid appeared on the retrovision monitor before he continued.

"...colonized the planet Punkus orbiting the star we call Chi Tauri. It was the Punkusians who found an Infinity Gate on that world! Found it... and experimented with it enough to open a teleportal to here."

"The base of operations for the Martian beach head of 1899," muttered Booster.*

"Exactly."

"But, what about the real Brek Bannin? The one who was supposed to be guarding both Mr. Mind and Sanatas. What happened to him?"

"Let's flip some more switches and find out."

May/June 1940: Brek Bannin of Quockra-4 (referred to by its Hutt-like inhabitants as "Tharr") is telepathically overpowered by Rokur Gepta while projecting a Force-enhanced illusion as the Priapulin charter pilot Charza Kwinn. By this means, the self-styled Mr. Mind makes the prison ship crash into the Great Salt Lake of Utah. Yet, Brek still has enough strength of mind to encase the entire outside of the ship in slow-melting ice in a last-ditch effort to prevent the Croke and his Abyssin henchman from escaping!

Unfortunately, neither he nor the U.S. Army engineers who salvaged the ship anticipated the arrival of the Kempeitai ninja code-named "Zero-ika." The latter using his own cryokinesis to infiltrate the ship by virtually tunneling through the ice! But, upon confronting Sanatas, he is telepathically paralyzed by Mr. Mind... who subsequently transfers some of Brek's memories into the ninja. Meanwhile, the real Brek is brainwashed into heading up to Alaska- -and disappearing there- -by any means necessary.

August 1941: a seemingly albinistic figure, calling himself "Jack Frost," tracks down and freezes to death a New York City mobster named Zelby who ordered the murder of a prospecting geologist named Professor Forbes.

Nov. 1941: a Chinese Communist who has been spying on the Japanese army, as a double-agent for the Soviet GRU, is sent to Alaska to track down Jack Frost in the belief he is Zero-ika. Posing as an Inuit (nicknamed "Freezum" in pidgin-English), he follows the trail of clues to Utah. Thereby beginning a strange partnership with his quarry!

Sept. 1948: Fero and Bogey Man subdue "Freezum" while the Green Turtle lures Sub-Zero into Charles Xavier's line of sight. Thereby allowing Professor X to telepathically remove the post-hypnotic mental block from the ninja's mind.

tbc

*See chapters 6 & 7.

Kempetai: What the Imperial Japanese secret police called themselves during WWII.

GRU: Cyrillic initials of Russian army intelligence during the Cold War.

Postscript: Yes, dear readers, I amalgamated Polar Boy and Marvel's Golden Age Jack Frost in this chapter.