The Silver Age #5
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The Silver Age #5 |
"What DO The Challengers Of The Unknown Do When They’re Not Saving The World? Or ‘Rocky Goes To Hollywood’"
The sun-bronzed barbarian leaped from one outstretched arm of the great grim gray idol to the other, dodging the thrown spears of the blood-crazed Viking warriors below him. The howl of his greatest enemy; Url Craghand could be heard plainly over the howls of his warriors; "Come down and die, Arak! At least see if you can do THAT like a Viking!"
Arak threw back his proud mane of anthracite hair, his clear blue eyes shining as he raised his war axe in his hand and shouted back; "Upon this axe I swear that you and your reavers shall pay for the lives you have so callously taken this day, Url Craghand!"
A slim female form lay on the blood-stained altar at the feet of the gray god Morn who Url Craghand had already made grisly sacrifice of several entire villages, including the village where Arak had been raised. An American Indian who had been found as an orphan by Vikings and brought to the shores of Scandia where he had been adopted by a Viking King who had died from cowardly treachery. Arak was desperately trying to rescue Princess Varian from being yet another victim of Url Craghand’s bloody and savage god.
Arak threw back his head and let out with a piercing scream of war that seemed to echo and reverberate through the snow capped mountains and he leaped outwards, down into the mass of warriors who waited with spears and swords at the ready…down he fell, down, down—
--to land with a soft and gentle WHOOMPH! as he hit the airbag and it sagged in the middle and several stuntmen ran forward to help the barbarian to his feet.
"Cut! That’s a print!" C.K. Krispendon, the latest of Hollywood’s hot action movie directors whose last seven films had collectively grossed a little over half a billion worldwide beamed with pleasure as the barbarian walked toward where the director sat, surrounded by a swarm of assistants. C.K. pushed back his black cowboy hat and stood up to seize the barbarian by his biceps, which were so huge that they could conceivably have been used as footballs if they could be separated from their owner. "Man, I was kinda nervous about lettin’ you do that jump, but you handled it like a pro!"
"Ah, I told you it wasn’t nothin’. Workin’ with The Challengers I sometimes gotta jump from higher than that and I DON’T have no cushy airbag to land on!" Rocky Davis pulled off the black wig he wore as Arak and ran blunt fingers through his own unruly mop of considerably shorter black hair. "An’ what with I’m bein’ paid, I figure what the hell…might as well get full value, right?"
C.K. grinned through his curly golden beard. "Just having your name above the title is going to be enough to put this movie over the top, Rocky. That’s it for today, big guy…you finally going to come and watch the dailies tonight?"
Rocky shook his head as he accepted a towel from an assistant and began wiping sweat from his massively muscled arms and chest. "Hell, I don’t even think I’ll go see the movie when it’s finished. I can’t imagine looking at myself on a movie screen."
"You’d better. Once ARAK THE UNTAMED hits the cineplexes, you’re gonna be the next action star. Trust me."
Rocky shrugged and watched as C.K. shouted orders to the crew who were shutting down the set for the day. They’d been shooting since 4AM and now it was the middle of the afternoon and C.K. wanted to stop filming as he had several meetings that evening with the special effects department. The great gray idol which had seemed so imposing when it was so cleverly lit to make it seem far bigger and far more menacing, now looked almost comical when seen in normal lightning. The Viking warriors who had been yowling for his blood a few minutes ago were actually stunt extras who strolled casually past him on their way to return their props and costumes to their proper places to be ready for tomorrow’s filming.
Rocky strode rapidly to his custom made trailer to take a shower and relax, maybe catch a nap before hitting the studio gym for a workout. He had to admit, this movie gig was working out a LOT better than he thought it would. When he had been asked if he were interested in starring in a sword and sandal epic, he’d laughed it off until his agent Danny Rose had put him straight;
"I don’t know what you think is so funny. Look at Schwartzenegger. He started out in those ATLAS flicks and that jumpstarted his career, didn’t it? And now’s the perfect time for you to jump on the bandwagon. Hollywood’s just begging for a new action star. Schwartzenegger and Stallone are getting too old to do this stuff any more…Willis is running for Governor of New Jersey and Van Damme has got his own talk show on UPN now. I don’t mean to be facetious or didactic here but let me just interject this; can you afford to turn down the $30 million dollars Pinnacle Studios is offering you to strap on a loincloth?"
Rocky wasn’t an idiot. He’d said yes, of course.
Partly it was the desire to try something new, have some fun, and shake up his normal daily routine. And then there were his responsibilities to The Challengers Of The Unknown. Rocky and his partners, Ace Morgan, Red Ryan, Prof Haley and June Robbins funded their operations out of their own pockets. Rocky and Red primarily helped out with money they made from endorsements while Prof and June were wealthy thanks to the patents they held in their respective fields of scientific expertise. Ace designed and flew experimental aircraft and was on permanent retainer as an advisor to several aeronautical and aerospace government agencies and private concerns. On top of that there was the income from the video and computer games, the T-shirts, the licensed comic books…
But it was still a pretty expensive operation to run and especially since that harrowing adventure seven weeks ago when their greatest enemies, The League Of Challenger Haters had broken from their containment cells on Challenger Island and run amok. The Challengers had defeated them but at a considerable and VERY costly damage to the island. Rocky reached his forty-foot long trailer and entered. He was ready for a nice hot shower, then a quick jog to the studio gym and a blissful two-hour workout to—
Rocky’s square, ruggedly handsome face creased in a frown as he cocked his head to listen better. It sounded as if someone was ALREADY in his shower and Rocky and an unpleasant idea that he knew just who it was. Rocky threw the towel onto a chair and walked through the trailer, through the living quarters, through the small office and back into the rear where his bedroom and his shower were located. A woman was already just exiting the shower staff, an elfin woman with delightfully large eyes that sparkled mischievously as she waved at Rocky. "Well, hello there, sugah! You mind passin’ me that robe, there?"
Rocky sighed and threw her the olive colored terrycloth robe and she slipped into it quickly while providing Rocky a generous glimpse of breast and thigh before wrapping the robe shut and tying it firmly. She used a thick blue towel to vigorously dry her bright gold hair. Dixie Dunbar had been a successful actress for quite a while now. Starting off as a teenager she’d appeared in a bunch of low-budget westerns with Greg Sanders, The Prairie Troubadour as his sidekick Dixie, The Dynamite Dudette before moving on to more adult fare. Her big break had come some eight years ago when she’d starred with Richard Widmark, Gregory Peck and Rita Farr in Hear The Purple Plains Cry. Ever since then she’d been making her way steadily up the ladder of stardom. Things had really taken off for her when her main rival in Hollywood, Rita Farr had suffered the accident that had caused her to leave her acting career behind and begin her career as Elasti-Girl of The Doom Patrol.
Now with this movie, Dixie was hoping to gain a new audience. For some inexplicable reason, sword-and-sandal epics had suddenly become hot again in Hollywood. Some pop culture mavens insisted that the rise in metahumans and the astounding advances in modern science had made the ordinary man hungry for the days when life was simpler and men and women solved their problems with their own muscle and sweat. Rocky didn’t especially concern himself with the whys and wherefores. The check was good and that was his primary concern.
Dixie threw herself on Rocky’s queen-size bed and rolled over on her back and flashed him a dazzling upside down smile. "Hard day at the office, baby?"
"I figured you’d be gone home by now," Rocky grunted. "You finished shooting hours ago."
"Yeah, but all those tiresome paparazzi were howlin’ outside my trailer and your’n was relatively unmolested, so I just popped on in and made myself at home." Dixie finished drying her hair and threw the towel on the floor. "I figured I’d be safe in here an’ I was right."
Rocky shrugged and gestured in the direction of the door. "Well, I’m sure you can find your way to your own trailer now, Dixie. I’m going to shower and change if you don’t mind."
Dixie chuckled. "I don’t mind at all, sugah. I’ll be happy to point out the spots that need extra attention if’n you’d like."
Rocky sighed. "What is it with you, Dixie? We’ve been shooting this movie for seven weeks now and you’ve treated me like something that dropped from the south end of a northbound mule and now all of a sudden you’re in my trailer, taking showers and acting all kittenish. I don’t like being played with an’ I wish you’d go play your games with somebody who’s used to ‘em, okay?"
Dixie looked surprised and hurt and raised a hand to her full, pouty lips in surprise. "Have I really been THAT bad, Rocky?"
Rocky snorted in disgusted amusement. "You haven’t exactly been kind to me in the press conferences we’ve had. And you’ve given two interviews where you don’t even acknowledge me as the star of this movie! You actually said that in your opinion, the movie’s real heroes were the two female leads! How’d you put it? ‘Two enlightened women struggling against an oppressive narrow minded man’s mentality as they seek to join and create a more understanding world’" Rocky shook his head in quiet disbelief. "How in the blue blazes do you get alla THAT outta a bunch guys runnin’ around with swords whackin’ each others heads off, I wanna know?"
Dixie laughed. "Sounds good, don’t it? Real intellectual stuff straight outta Pop Psych 101."
"Well, I hope you got a good laugh out of it, ‘cause I sure didn’t. You gonna lay there while I take my shower?"
"I don’t think you’re the shy type, big boy. Hurry up and I’ll take you out to dinner. I’d like to talk to you about something."
"Movie related?"
"Actually, I need your expertise in other areas…concerning your real job as a Challenger Of The Unknown."
Ace Morgan walked into the cool, dim interior of Michaela’s. The restaurant was one of Coast City’s premier eateries and it also wasn’t cheap. There was an old joke in Coast City that at Michaela’s, you didn’t tip your waiter, you put him down on your income tax as a dependent. The soft sounds of instrumental jazz being played by the Dorsey McCall Trio reminded Ace of long ago nights back his Air Force days when he and his buddies stationed overseas hunted up jazz clubs near whatever base they were serving on and they would spend all night just drinking and listening to the music.
Ace was escorted to the reserved table where his luncheon date waited. As he approached the table, his date stood up, holding out her hand. A dazzlingly beautiful dark-haired woman with serious, moody eyes and a narrow face, Carol Ferris was not only lovely to look at, she was also known as one of the country’s top female CEOs. Under her extraordinary handling, Ferris Aircraft was one of the top aircraft manufacturers and designers in the United States. And Ferris Airways was ranked third right behind LexAir and Blackhawk International Airlines.
Carol Ferris was dressed in a simple black skirt and blouse with gold flashing at her ears and throat. Carol had never been a flashy dresser even though she had a figure that gave men fits. Ace and Carol seated themselves as their waiter asked if they wanted anything to drink.
"Another white wine spritzer for me, please," Carol replied.
"Bourbon." Ace said shortly. "Nice place. I’ve heard a lot about it."
"Order whatever you want. This is a legitimate business luncheon so I can put it on the company expense account." Carol laughed. "I want to thank you for meeting me here on such short notice."
"I was down at the plant working on the new cargo plane when I got your call." Ace gestured at the quiet brown business suit he was wearing. "I had enough time to swing by the house I’m renting and shower and change before coming here. Now what’s all this about? You told me to make sure I didn’t tell anybody I was coming here. Are you in some kind of trouble?"
Carol drummed long nails on the sand-colored tablecloth. "We’ve known each other for a long time now, haven’t we, Ace?"
"Sure have. Eight years, right?"
"And you’ve known Hal Jordan longer than that, right?"
Ace accepted his drink from the waiter and took a nice long pull before answering. "I can’t say that I actually KNOW Jordan. I’d heard of him for years before actually being introduced to him. But that’s not unusual. I know a whole bunch of jet jockeys by rep."
"But you do know him?"
Ace shrugged. "I’ve met Jordan a couple of times. Never seen him out at your field though and my understanding was he was your top gun. I heard he tested all your experimental planes."
Carol nodded. "He does. But he’s been off on another of his unexplained absences."
Ace took another sip of his drink. "I don’t understand."
"Hal’s the best pilot I’ve got. I’ve never seen a pilot with his nerve and reflexes. There’s not a better man in a cockpit if something goes wrong up there. It’s uncanny how cool the man is when everything is going to hell around him."
Ace grinned. "Most pilots have more than their share of nerve, Carol. You ought to know that. You make this Jordan sound like he’s fearless. I still don’t see what the problem is."
"He never explains where he goes or why he disappears. All I know is I can’t rely on a test pilot who up and disappears on me for no good reason and shows up with no word of explanation. I’ve grounded him a couple of times, fined him, and suspended him..hell, I even fired him twice, but nothing seems to get through to him!"
Ace held up his glass, simultaneously signaling the waiter for a refill and using it as a prop as he said; "Does Jordan like to drink maybe a little TOO much?"
Carol shook her head. "No. Hal’s no boozer. Oh, he likes to drink as much as the next pilot but he’s no boozehound."
Ace nodded and put the glass down and looked uncomfortable. "Carol, I’m going to be perfectly blunt here and if it’s none of my business, just say so, okay?"
"Of course, Ace."
"Could it be that Jordan’s got a new girlfriend and you’re jealous? It’s no secret that you and Jordan have been pretty hot and heavy on and off for a couple of years now…"
"Ace, if that’s all it was, I’d be the first one to wish Hal well. God knows, I don’t seem to have what he needs from a woman. But this is different. Trust me."
"Have you had Jordan drug tested?"
"A dozen times. He always passes with flying colors. No, I’m afraid that maybe he’s gotten mixed up with industrial espionage. Ferris Aircraft handles a lot of government contracts and I lost one due to Hal’s not showing up for crucial test flights. I don’t intend to lose another."
"I don’t see what you expect me to do, Carol. Sounds like you need a private investigator, somebody to check out Jordan pretty thoroughly…."
"Well isn’t THIS a pretty picture!"
Ace turned in his seat and look up in the lean, angry face of Hal Jordan who stood just behind him, shaking with rage, his fists on his hips.
"Look, Jordan, it’s not what you think—"
"And what do I think it is, Morgan?"
Ace got to his feet. The waiters were already hurrying over and the patrons at the other table, smelling mayhem were looking on with interest.
"Maybe we’d better go outside and talk this over." Ace suggested.
"Fine with me." Hal Jordan grinned and cracked his knuckles.
June Robbins sighed and shut down her laptop and took off her glasses. She spent so many hours a day staring at computer screens that her ophthalmologist had recommended special glasses to reduce eyestrain. Still, June found that she needed to take a break every couple of hours or else her eyes started looking as if she were recovering from a three-day bender.
And now that she thought of it, a drink did sound like a pretty good idea. She checked her appointment book and gratefully saw that her afternoon was free. She quickly went into her private bathroom and freshened up and left her office, only stopping to let her secretary, Louisa know where she was going.
The bright sunlight and fresh summer air immediately invigorated her spirits and June took in a deep breath and put on a pair of sunglasses and walked with a firm stride, her long tanned legs drawing many an admiring male eye. Washington had no shortage of beautiful women, true, but June Robbins was an outstanding woman not only as one the nation’s top computer experts, but also as a Challenger of The Unknown.
June entered the local watering hole, a place called Murphy’s where most of The Pentagon staff went to wet their whistle. She entered the bar and returned waves and casual greetings as she found a stool and ordered a Long Island Iced Tea and reached in her purse for her LexTech hand held computer and checked her emails while waiting for her drink. She was just a little surprised to find that there were no emails from the boys. Hardly a day went by when she didn’t receive an email from at least one of the guys. Well, she supposed she understood why Prof would be out of touch for a while. The last she’d heard of him had been three weeks ago when he called to tell June that he and Dora Lockridge were heading down to Australia on that aborted holiday trip.
Rocky had emailed her maybe three days ago, the big lug, just to say that June ought to fly out to Hollywood and hang out. Ace and Red hadn’t been in touch in with her for about a week now, but she wasn’t all that surprised. Red was notorious for ignoring phone calls and emails and Ace was simply too much of a workaholic.
"Dr. Robbins?"
June put down her drink and her hand held computer and turned on her stool to face a slender woman with straight dark hair. Her face was beautiful, if thin with prominent cheekbones. Her eyes were sharp, bright and almost hawkish in their intensity. "Yes, I’m Dr. Robbins. Can I help you?"
"Thought I recognized you." The slender woman held out a hand. June noted that the nails were short with no polish. "Lois Lane, Daily Planet."
June nodded. "Yes, I remember you. We’ve met at a couple of scientific conferences."
"And I’ve also been at some of the press conferences held by The Challengers of The Unknown. Mind if I join you?" Without waiting for an answer, Lois elbowed the ribs of a beefy, gray-haired man on the stool next to June. "How about being a gentleman and giving a lady a seat, okay?"
Shocked by Lois’s no-nonsense attitude and the sharpness of her tongue, the fellow abandoned his stool with hardly a word of protest and Lois grinned at June as she took the seat. "What’s that you’re having, Long Island Iced Tea?" Lois shrugged. "A little weak for me, but what the hell, I’ll have one as well."
"I thought you worked out the Planet’s Metropolis office, Miss Lane."
"Call me Lois. I do but I was flying back from Miami and decided to stop overnight in D.C. and see if anything newsworthy was going on. But this town’s as quiet as I’ve ever seen it."
"So it’s just a coincidence that you saw me here? Or did you think maybe I could provide you with some tantalizing news tidbits?"
Lois grinned at June as she swiveled her seat to look at June full in the face. "I’d be lying if I said that I didn’t immediately think of getting you to help me out on an exclusive interview with Professor Haley’s fiancée, Dora Lockridge. They announced their engagement to the press and then disappeared and nobody’s been able to find out where they are."
"Prof and Dora wanted some time alone together after the whole Freedom’s Light adventure. I’m sure you can understand."
Lois waved a hand carelessly while she took a huge gulp of her drink. "Sure, sure, sure….I’m all for romance and all that good stuff, but here’s one of The Challengers Of The Unknown finally getting married and the woman he’s marrying is stonewalling the press! What’s all that about?"
June frowned at Lois. "What stonewalling? Dora’s a Marine Lieutenant. I’m sure that a reporter of your renowned resourcefulness was able to get access to her service files."
"But that’s not the same as an exclusive one-on-one interview, Dr. Robbins and you know it! And when have The Challengers been adverse to publicity?"
"What’s the matter, Lois? Superman’s been too busy to drop those meaty exclusives in your lap lately?" June asked with a wicked grin. "Been quite a while since I’ve seen a Superman story with a Lane byline. Seems to me that Clark Kent’s been beating you out in that department."
"Kent’s a good reporter, I’ll give him that. But as far as Superman’s concerned, he’s been more lucky than anything else. And as far as this story is concerned, the first exclusive interview with Dora Lockridge would be a major feather in any reporter’s cap. So how about it? You going to help me out or not?"
June raised a finger to order another drink. "Tell you what…I’m certainly willing to discuss it with you…providing the next round’s on you…"
Red Ryan sighed as the insistent knocking on the door of his hotel suite continued. "Okay, okay, I’m coming!" he yelled. He gestured to the young lady lying on the other side of the bed and she obligingly wrapped a sheet around her nubile form and dashed into the bathroom. Red reached for a terrycloth bathrobe, part of the Challenger For Men line of clothes and strode to the door and opened it angrily. "Dammit, there’s a DO NOT DISTURB sign on the door! Can’t you read?"
"Oh, I read you well enough, Ryan. I read you like a comic book." Beatrice Miller, Red’s long-suffering agent strode into the room. "Why is it that I have to track you down just to talk to you?"
"Hey, I’ve spent the last three weeks doing public appearances for my various sponsors. You can’t fault me for a little down time. And don’t you work for me? What the hell are you doing tracking me down?"
Beatrice took in the spacious suite with its mirrored bar and state of the art theatre system. She shook her head. "That damn TV set is bigger than the apartment I grew up in back in Brooklyn."
"Boo hoo." Red walked over to the bar and poured himself a shot of Bacardi. "Would you like a drink?"
"Kinda early in the day for me. It’s only 10AM."
Beatrice walked over the eighteen-foot wide picture window with its breathtaking view of Rio de Janeiro’s Copacabana Beach. Red’s hotel was only one of the many major luxury hotels that were located in the renowned tourist hotspot. Red had flown to Brazil after the grueling Del Oro Extreme where he had competed in the many grueling and strenuous events. While down in Brazil he had spent three exhausting weeks doing personal appearances with another major extreme sports athlete, Josh McGrath. Once the personal appearances and product endorsements were done, Red had indulged in long-overdue downtime.
Beatrice turned from the window and jerked a thumb at the bedroom. "Got a friend in there?"
Red gave her that lopsided grin that she knew only too well and still gave her that fluttery feeling in her stomach. "Jealous?"
"Not hardly. What happened between us was a long time ago AND it was a mistake. And you’d better believe it won’t happen again. No, I’m thinking about what happened in Canada and you should be as well."
"Hey, hey.." Red held up his hands in protest. "Y’know, I can’t go around carding every girl I meet. If they tell me they’re eighteen…"
"And these days you’ve got twelve year old who HAVE the bodies of eighteen-year olds and they’re a lot smarter than girls back in my day. You’re supposed to be an adult, Ryan. Why the hell don’t you act like one?"
"Did you come up here for a specific reason or just to lecture me on my love life?"
Beatrice sucked her teeth in annoyance and reached into her purse for a telegram. "THIS is the reason I’ve been trying to find you. This telegram. Since you bribed the hotel manager and staff to keep it a secret that the world famous Red Ryan is here, I’ve been toting it around for two days."
Red frowned. Who could be sending him a telegram? It wouldn’t be one of the guys or June. All of The Challengers had special cell phones, which they kept with them at all times in case of emergencies. Red ripped open the envelope and his eyes scanned the crumpled paper. Slowly, his mouth sagged open as surprise, then disbelief and finally anger.
"Well?" Beatrice said impatiently. "What’s wrong?"
Red’s voice was hollow as he sat down heavily and said; "It’s my brother…he was flying down to surprise me and his plane went missing…in The Bermuda Triangle…"
"Ready for lunch, Prof?"
Prof Haley turned over onto his back and looked over at where his fiancée, Dora Lockridge stood looking absolutely sensational in a one-piece red and yellow swimsuit. He had been sunning himself on the deck of his sixty-foot yacht, Sea Hunter. The yacht was anchored some one hundred and twenty miles out to sea just south of Sydney, Australia. Dora had mentioned that Prof hardly needed a tan since his skin was already a deep brown color but Prof had just laughed and stretched out and soaked up the rays.
"Well, I’m hungry but I was hoping to get in some diving this afternoon before we go in."
Dora looked disappointed. "Do we have to, Prof?"
"Well, we’ve been all around Australia these past few weeks. Don’t you have to report back to somebody?"
Dora shook her head. "I’ve taken an indefinite leave from the Corps. I can go back anytime I want and right now the way I feel, I could stay out here for the rest of my life. How about you?"
Prof shrugged. "I DO have to make a living you know…especially if I’m going to marry you and keep you in the lifestyle to which you been accustomed."
"Oh, go on with you." Dora stuck out her tongue. "I’ll go make lunch."
Dora was halfway to the galley when the hideous thoughts of Kra invaded her mind once more. These past weeks had been shockingly horribly for Dora since the mad robot had implanted a crystal in the center of her brain that contained the consciousness of the mad robot. It had been co-habiting inside of her, its consciousness existing alongside her own, waiting and watching and preparing for the moment when it could strike at The Challengers when they least expected it and destroy them all.
"You cannot delay the inevitable, woman," Kra said inside of her brain in that maddingly sibilant whisper that seemed to echo and re-echo inside her skull. "Sooner or later Professor Haley will rejoin his teammates in Challenger Mountain and once I have seen all their secrets through your eyes, I will at last be able to make the final plans for their ultimate destruction!"
"I’ll find a way to destroy you, Kra! I swear it! I’ll kill myself before I allow you to hurt Prof!"
"And how will you do that when my control crystal prevents you from doing ay harm to yourself or even telling your beloved Professor Haley or his friends that I am in here with you?"
It was true. Dora had tried literally thousands of times to they Prof about the crystal and what Kra had done to her and she had discovered to her horror that she simply could not talk about it. The words were in her brain but they refused to come out of her mouth. She had twice tried to commit suicide. Both times had failed. The first had been with one of Prof’s guns and her finger refused to pull the trigger. The second time she had tried to ingest a fatal dose of sleeping pills and once again, her hand had simply refused to lift the pills to her mouth. Whatever Kra had done to her, he had done it good.
"Dora! Make that lunch to go!" Prof was calling from the deck. Dora hurried from the galley and ran back up top where Prof was standing at the controls of the boat, starting up the engines.
"What’s the matter, Prof?" Dora asked.
In answer, the lanky scientist pointed to his Challenger cell phone. "Red just called me. He’s got a problem and he’s rallying the troops." Prof flashed her a wide grin. "How’d you like to spend the rest of your vacation in The Bermuda Triangle?"
NEXT ISSUE: Ace Morgan vs. Hal Jordan! June Robbins makes a deal with Lois Lane! Rocky finds himself in a compromising position! All this and The Bermuda Triangle as well!