"Black and Scarlet, Red White and Blue: A Tale of Colors Past"
Carol Barnes walked out of the theatre and into the Detroit city streets.
She chuckled to herself, reflecting on the show she'd seen. Jake Bonoir and the feats of strength he was so proud of ... she wondered what she'd have done had he called her onstage. Probably played weak and not embarrassed him. Probably.
She inhaled deeply, enjoying the cold brisk air and the slightly swirling snow. She pulled the her jacket closer about her for appearances' sake, though the temperature didn't bother her. That had been a pleasant bit of frippery to indulge herself in, a show in a new city, but she knew she was here on a mission. She'd barely turned the corner when her sensitive eyes caught a flash of light and color from an alleyway behind the theatre.
She altered her vision so it would pick up light from the infrared side of the spectrum. A woman, standing over ... what appeared to be a corpse? And another man approaching. In a blink, she soared to the rooftop, attuning her hearing to any conversation below.
She didn't see the man who observed her, clinging to the walls like a human fly, far above the city streets.
The woman's black-gloved hands trailed over the neck of the corpse. She furrowed her brow in thought. "Black Orchid the Unknown," came a voice from behind her.
She turned with a quick intake of breath. Who even knew her name? Her eyes caught the bright flash of color, and she relaxed. "Scarlet Avenger," she said, rising to greet the mysteryman whose career had paralleled hers as defender of Detroit. "What brings you here?"
He glanced at the body. "Corporal Ut Namron, head chemist of the team from the Department of Public Health which had come here from Washington to test the waters around the Great Lakes. He's also the latest scientist in the area to have been murdered recently," he knelt down and undid the man's tie, "by strangulation."
"I'm not so sure," she said. "Look at the extent of that bruising ... I don't think anything human could have done that. It looks like he was attacked by a boa constrictor."
Carol Barnes donned her patriotic costume and descended to join the dynamic duo. "Mind if I crash this party?" She looked at the pair, "I've read of the two of you in some local papers. I go by American Girl."
Black Orchid turned to the new arrival, "Of course we'd recognise Super-Soldier's girl sidekick anywhere. You're famous. What brings you to our city? I don't believe this is a social visit."
American Girl nodded, "You'd be right. Super-Soldier received an anonymous tip that Agent Axis was operating locally. Since she was an old opponent of the Young Commandos, I took it on myself to check things out. Then I came upon you two and the unfortunate Mr. Namron." She looked closely at the bruises on the man's throat. "I don't think it was a boa constrictor. There would be scales left behind on his neck. I am reminded of a Nazi spy named the Python, who has encountered the Guardian Angel and the Human Lantern among others. He's a contortionist, and very powerful. This could fit his m.o."
The Scarlet Avenger pondered. "Possibly. I was just on my patrol, and spotted Black Orchid the Unknown, thought I'd give her some assistance." I can't tell them, he thought, that I was meeting with Ut Namron in my job capacity as Detroit district attorney, and when he failed to make his appointment, I investigated his house, to find the flyers for Jake Bonoir's show. Unfortunately, I got here too late to help him, or find out what he needed to tell me.
Black Orchid the Unknown said, "We cover a lot of the same ground." I can't tell them, she thought, that I had phoned Ut Namron in my job capacity as secretary to the Detroit district attorney; when I learned that he was going to be at the Bonoir performance rather than meet with the d.a., I decided to investigate on my own, since it was too late to reach my employer after he'd already left. "Well, any help you can give us, American Girl, would be appreciated."
The girl looked at the Scarlet Avenger. "You seem familiar with him. What else do you know? Why was he here?"
"There had been some reports of high levels of radioactive solutions around the Lakes, especially some of the local factories. The Lexus auto factory, for one, although I can't imagine why ... even though a large part of it is now geared for war production. Corporal Namron was going to investigate and report his findings to the district attorney's office."
Black Orchid the Unknown said to American Girl, "It was listed in many of the papers as local news, which is why you probably missed it."
American Girl looked from one to the other. "It certainly sounds like the Lexus plant is the first place to visit ... if he was killed to silence him. Join me?"
Black Orchid the Unknown smiled grimly, "Try to twist our arms."
They arrived later, the gate around the plant locked as it was closed for the night. "We'll have to scale the fence," the Scarlet Avenger noted, removing his grapplehook from his belt loop.
American Girl glanced at him, "Don't make me laugh," and took them each by the hands, flying them up and over the fence, landing lightly. The other two glanced at each other silently, and followed her into the factory grounds.
"We're not alone," observed Black Orchid the Unknown, "a night watchman, probably?" She pointed to the out-building, the sole source of light in the interior of the factory complex.
"We should introduce ourselves," the Scarlet Avenger decided, "No sense in alarming him, and he might have seen something suspicious."
As they entered the room, they saw the crowd of figures assembled there. American Girl recognised their names from her history with the Judgement Society Invaders: the Fog, the Green Terror, the Human Fly, and the Lizard.
As black and green fog billowed towards her from the first two and the Lizard readied his bow and arrow, she removed her gloves and grinned at them, cracking her knuckles. She spoke over her shoulder to her allies as she shut the door behind her: "Head out and track down Agent Axis. I'll take care of these scofflaws."
The Scarlet Avenger and Black Orchid the Unknown scanned the factory grounds. "We should split up," he said. "You'll take the high road and I'll take the low road."
She grinned at him, "An' I'll beat Agent Axis afore ye." She clambered up on access ladder to the roof of the main building and started scanning the grounds. He knelt down, picked the lock to the factory building, and began silently searching the interior.
His flashlight scanned the darkened rooms, and caught a flash of movement, in one of the managerial office rooms. He flipped on the overhead lights, to reveal a figure clad all in black. She was wearing a mannish suit which did not conceal her voluptuous curves, a long black coat and fedora, and a black veil which covered her face. "Agent Axis, is it?" he said. She cursed at him in three languages, and lunged.
They wrestled briefly, but her superhuman strength began to tell. "Let's see what you're hiding then," he grunted, and tore at her veil, recoiling in shock at the three mouths that gaped at him, the six eyes that glared. She howled, covering her face again and ran out of the room.
He shook his head to clear it, and then pursued her outside. As she ran across the grounds, Black Orchid the Unknown swooped down from the rooftops like a great bird of prey. She landed on the woman's back, but she tumbled and rolled and broke free. Desperately, Agent Axis sought an escape route, running across one of the waste pipes. She reached the end, realising that she was faced with the option of diving into the chemical discharge, and whirled around to find herself cornered.
They stood poised for a moment, the two women dressed in black and the man clad in scarlet. Agent Axis bowed low, and with a terrifying scream, ran straight through her opponents, knocking them off the pipeline. The Scarlet Avenger caught his arms on to the pipeline as he fell, grunting with pain as his body slammed into the metal. Black Orchid the Unknown attempted frantically to open her glider wings, but the distance was too short before she plunged into the filthy water.
The Scarlet Avenger heard the rush of the wind whistling through the air, and looked up to see American Girl soaring up behind me. "Forget about me, help the Orchid!"
American Girl nodded, "I'm on the job," and swooped down after her.
As her hands plunged into the water she felt a sudden paralysis overtake her. She fell into the outlet, sewage flooding her lungs as she fought to breath, darkness overtaking her as she felt herself sinking below the filthy water. In her panic she felt a slim but strong arm wrap around her torso.
Black Orchid the Unknown edged her way to the side of the reservoir, pulling the stilled form of American Girl with her. She pumped her hands against the prone girl's belly and chest, trying to force the water out of her lungs. Finally her attempts were rewarded as the girl coughed and gagged, filthy water spewing out from her nostrils and throat.
As the woman turned her to the side, she didn't hear the soft footsteps on the gravel behind her, until she felt the powerful arm wrap around her throat like a boa constrictor. As she struggled to free herself, a sibilant voice whispered in her ear, "The path of the righteous man is beset on all sides by the inequities of the selfish and the tyranny of evil men. Blessed is he who, in the name of charity and good will, shepherds the weak through the valley of the darkness. For he is truly his brother's keeper and the finder of lost children. And I will strike down upon thee with great vengeance and furious anger those who attempt to poison and destroy my brothers. And you will know I am the Lord when I lay my vengeance upon you."
"Let her go," snarled the Scarlet Avenger, "or you'll face a less merciful vengeance." The contorted figure which held the woman in his arms dropped her to the ground, where she lay unmoving. The Scarlet Avenger cursed at him, drawing his gun and firing just as the coiled Python sprang at him, and the spy fell to the ground.
American Girl slowly stirred as the Scarlet Avenger knelt down by the woman's body. "How is she?"
The Scarlet Avenger looked over at the girl. "I can't find a pulse."
American Girl managed to curl over on her side. "She saved my life ... I owe her everything. I couldn't do anything. I couldn't move."
He stroked the dead woman's cheek. "She saved my life more times than I can count."
In the train station, a young woman wearing a black veil slid into a telephone booth. Her voice seemed to echo in the small space as she spoke to the operator. "Metropolis 7585 please," she said in her curiously accented voice. "Mister L? This is Miss Schmidt. The experiment was a success. The K-metal additive worked exactly as you predicted. The samples are being shipped immediately. Yes. Thank you, Mister L, you are very generous." The train whistle blew, and the woman hung up the phone, boarding the train to her pickup spot at Elmond, California to begin the long journey home.
THE END, FOR NOW.
American Girl = Supergirl + Bucky
The Golden Age Black Orchid the Unknown = The Golden Age Black Orchid + The Unknown Quality The Scarlet Avenger = Mr. Scarlet + The Black Avenger