Issue Twelve

"...There Is Also Hope"

By Derrick Ferguson

The sleek, triangular winged jet sped through the Mexican sky like a giant arrow. It wasn't hard to identify it as the world famous Challenger 1, the most prominent of the many aircraft used by those famed fear-fighters, The Challengers of The Unknown.

Ace Morgan sat at the controls, his square-jawed face serious as a tombstone. Ace usually was the most serious and even-tempered of the group and even more so on this particular mission. Usually The Challengers were charging off the save the world from one of their many numerous foes that were members of The League Of Challenger Haters. Or they would be heading to investigate some unusual phenomena or exploring a mystery of science that had baffled the best thinkers of the world for decades or even centuries. But not this time. This mission was personal.

Prof Haley sat in the co-pilot's chair. Ace had personally taught his partners how to fly and they were all better than average pilots and either Red or Rocky were more than capable of acting as co-pilot but Ace had insisted on Prof handling that position on this particular mission as he hoped it would keep Prof's mind from dwelling on the fact that the woman he loved and wanted to marry was currently under the mind control of Kra, one of their deadliest enemies: a soulless mechanoid from another world who lived only for the elimination of organic life in general and The Challengers of The Unknown in particular. Thanks to information they'd coerced from another one of their old enemies, The Challengers were hoping to take Kra by surprise. The situation was seriously complicated by the fact that Kra's consciousness inhabited the body of Dora Lockridge by means of a control crystal implanted in the center of her brain. They had to take Dora alive and unharmed which wouldn't be an easy thing to do because The Challengers were more than convinced that if Kra saw he was trapped with no way out, he'd destroy Dora's body.

Red Ryan and Rocky Davis were checking over the weapons they were going to use: oversized silver-gray handguns that were connected by cables from the handles to flat metal power packs the size of a paperback. Rocky dubiously examined his weapon as he asked; "Whaddya call these Buck Rogers ray guns again, Prof?"

"The actual name of the guns would probably make your jaw hurt to pronounce, Rocky. Suffice it to say that basically what you're carrying is a high-tech taser."

"A stun gun," Rocky nodded with satisfaction. "Cool. Where'd you get 'em from?"

"Borrowed them from S.T.A.R. Labs. They've been testing them with the police departments of New York, Metropolis, Los Angeles and Coast City," Prof. "I asked if we could field test them."

Red twirled his like a western gunslinger. "So these babies will knock out Dora without harming her? That's the idea?"

Prof nodded. "We not only have to knock out Dora but the control crystal in her brain. Not knowing exactly how much voltage that will take could be tricky. They'll deliver a kick that is guaranteed to knock out a woman of Dora's size and weight. I've amped up the output of the guns just a bit that I hope will override the control crystal. Unfortunately that means that the guns are only good for one shot as opposed to the normal three charges they can put out."

Rocky frowned slightly. "One shot apiece...Jeez, Prof...that's cuttin' it close...."

Ace spoke up; "There's four of us and we're all good enough shots that there's no reason one of us can't get close enough to hit her. I agree with Prof's strategy. We may not get more than one or two shots in. If we do this by the book we should be able to pull it off."

"We're in the general vicinity of the co-ordinates Drabny gave us, Ace," Prof said. "I'm going to activate the sensors now."

Ace nodded in agreement. "If Kra's hidden lab is putting out any sizeable amount of power and I'm betting it will, Challenger 1's sensor array should have no problem homing us in."

Red and Rocky looked out of one of the side windows as Ace reduced speed and began a slow descent. The plane had been operating in stealth mode for the past hour of so and when Ace Morgan designed a stealth plane; it was guaranteed not to be detected. Even though Kra was capable of frightening technological innovations, he was still limited by the fact he had to use Earth based technology. Challenger 1's stealth capabilities were so advanced that some of Ace's old Air Force buddies who had been aboard the craft had to admit that Challenger 1 was at least a decade ahead of anything The Air Force currently had. So they weren't worried about Kra detecting them in the air. The real problem would come once they landed and had to figure a way into Kra's secret laboratory.

The mountainous desert terrain below them looked hot and unforgiving in its raw starkness. The land looked like human foot hadn't treaded it on in the past hundred years.

"Makes you think about how even with all the explorin' and mappin' man has done, there's still a whole lotta planet out there that hasn't had a human eye laid on it since the world began," Rocky said thoughtfully.

Red grinned at him with a malicious affection; "You're becoming a regular philosopher in your old age, aren't you, Rockhead?"

Rocky shrugged. "Just thinkin' out loud. Sometimes it's good to just slow down an' think about things. You oughta try it once in a while."

"Not me. Too much thinking slows you down. I'll leave the brainpower up to Ace and Prof. Speaking of which-" Red walked up to the cockpit and leaned on the back of Prof's chair. "-you guys find out where Kra's hiding out yet?"

Ace pointed to a large round screen on the curving instrument panel. "Yep. We're locked in and I'm going to take us down in a minute. Get ready. And be ready for anything. And remember: we're in this to take Dora alive and unharmed."

Prof spoke up; "I don't want anybody sacrificing their lives, Ace! This isn't Dora we're dealing with!"

"And like I told you before: you're wound too tight to be objective when it comes to Dora. That's why I'll make the final decision as to what's to be done with her." Ace turned his head to regard his friend as he continued. "You're to consider that an order, Prof. You've got enough of a burden to bear without the memory of killing Dora. If and when that has to be done, I'll do it. Quickly and cleanly. I promise."

Prof had to swallow twice before he could answer: "Thanks, Ace...I know I haven't been myself throughout this whole business with Dora and Kra..."

"You're a human being, Prof. You're not some thinking machine. You're a man with feelings for the woman he loves. You're entitled." Ace grinned suddenly. "If you want to do anything for me as well as Rocky and Red, do this: when we come through this thing, you'll marry that girl before anything else happens."

"Damn straight I will."

The past thirty hours had been a waking nightmare for Dora Lockridge. Under the domination of the control crystal implanted in her brain, she was controlled by the malevolent consciousness of Kra. Her own consciousness was awake and aware but she was powerless to do anything but watch her hands as directed by Kra, they carefully programmed the robot surgeon that would perform the operation to remove the crystal. Due to the interconnectedness of their thoughts, Dora knew that Kra wanted her alive and unharmed after the operation. So the process of programming the robot surgeon was a long and tedious one but she was secretly grateful because it meant that she would not end up dead or a human vegetable, which was what she had been sure would be her fate once Kra had no more need of her.

Sensing her thoughts, she 'heard' Kra's grinding 'voice': >I had you worried, did I not, little one? You honestly thought I was going to destroy you mind and leave only a gibbering heap of ignorant meat for your beloved to find?<

"You did say as much."

>And give up a potential bargaining chip I can use against The Challengers? I think not! I plan for every contingency, human! And that is why Kra can never be defeated! No...I can still find many uses for you...once the operation has been completed and the control crystal placed inside of a new and improved robot body my drones are assembling even now you will be placed inside of a cryogenic capsule and spirited away where I can keep you 'on ice' as you humans would say until I find a need for you<

"It never ceases to amaze me how you claim that you loathe humans so much but in your hatred and your scheming you're more like us than you realize."

>Insulting me will do you no good. I-< Kra's mental 'voice' broke off suddenly and Dora could sense that it was because something else had caught his attention. Kra must have sensed Dora's curiosity because he satisfied it quickly: >They're here<

"The Challengers? Prof? He's here?" Dora's hands stopped in their task as for a brief moment, the surge of emotion strengthened her consciousness. "Don't hurt Prof, Kra! I swear, if you hurt him-"

>Secure your pastry aperture! Do you honestly think that I did not anticipate that The Challengers would find us? Their disgusting resourcefulness is well known to me< Dora's body got up from the stool it had been sitting on and her legs buckled. Dora's body collapsed to the ground as if gravity had suddenly increased tenfold. Kra screamed in her brain, sounding like a shrill air horn: >What trickery is this? You must move at my command! MOVE!<

"I can't you stupid creature! You had me sitting there for so long my legs have gone to sleep!" Indeed, Dora had ceased to feel her legs ages ago but had said nothing, thinking that Kra knew what was happening. She figured that it had been at least nine hours since she last moved when Kra had allowed her to evacuate her bowels and bladder and eat a protein bar and sip some water. In that time, her legs had become numb long ago. But how was a robot consciousness to recognize when limbs of flesh, bone and blood had gone to sleep? Dora lay on the metal floor, unable to move, laughing as Kra raged inside her brain.

>We must MOVE you ignorant fleshbag! I must prepare for The Challengers! Get up! Get UP, I say!<

"And I am telling you we're not going! The circulation has to return to my legs before we can get up!"

And as Dora lay there listening to the shrieking robotic voice in her head it occurred to her that Kra had learned something else from humans: an amazingly comprehensive vocabulary of profanities that he was vigorously exercising with what she would have sworn was a great deal of honest emotion.

Red Ryan squinted up into the cloudless sky, shading his eyes with a hand as he surveyed the barren, sun-baked terrain. Not a plant grew, not a bird flew in the sky. The air was humid and still. There was even an absence of insect life. "Kinda reminds me of The Baja 1000," he said, half to himself. But Ace heard him. He was standing near Red, a handheld sensor in his hand. Built by a company called Kirbytech with whom The Challengers did much of their business when it came to technology they used in their work, the handheld sensor was a wand like device topped with a trapezoid shaped screen that glowed an eerie green.

"The what?" Ace asked absently as he moved the scanner slowly back and forth. Prof had a scanner of his own and was using his about a hundred yards west of Ace. Rocky was standing in the shade of the plane, drinking bottled water.

"The Baja 1000. It's a 1000-mile off-road race through Mexico from one end of The Baja Peninsula to the other. I competed in it a couple of years ago. This country looks an awful lot like some of the country I drove through."

"I always said you had a good eye, Red." Ace stopped his scanning long enough to toss an admiring grin at his friend. "We're smack dab in the middle of the Sonoran Desert Region. Perfect place for Kra to hide his lab. Perfect place for anybody to hide a lab, actually. We're at least a hundred miles from anything of any importance."

Rocky was walking toward Red and Ace, bottles of spring water in his big hand for them. "Next mission we go on can we go somewhere where it ain't so blasted hot? I like a little warm weather as much as the next guy but this is-AWK!" Rocky's cry of display was due to the ground under his feet suddenly swirling like a whirlpool of sand. Taken totally by surprise, he lost his footing and hit the ground hard, the bottles of water flying from his hand as he was caught in the horribly powerful pull of the sand whirlpool.

"Hang on, Rocky!" Red yelled, racing toward his teammate who was going around and around like a lone sweat sock in an industrial dryer. Red's hands went for his belt, unclipped the buckle and began pulling out a ten-foot long length of nylon cable that was wound around his waist inside the belt. His intention was to lasso Rocky by an arm or leg and with the help of Prof and Ace haul him out of there but Rocky was already going under with only his right arm and head still visible and he was using that arm to wave his teammates away from the whirlpool.

Rocky was gone so quickly that Ace and Red could only stand there, stunned. Prof was on his knees at the spot where Rocky had disappeared, his hands digging furiously, sand flying as he sought to find out where Rocky had gone. But it was futile. Amazingly, there was no machinery, nothing to indicate how the big man had been sucked under the ground.

"Back away, Prof," Red said. "You can't do any good there and we don't need you getting sucked down there as well. Right, Ace?" Ace didn't answer and Red turned to see what he was doing. Ace had unclipped a small, square device that Red immediately recognized as the tracking device that all of The Challengers carried.

Ace was grinning like a schoolboy as he activated the device. "Good boy, Rocky! Good boy!" Ace looked up at Red and Prof. "Rocky was waving us to keep back and I figured he wasn't just doing us because he didn't want us getting sucked in. He's activated his homing device and I've got his signal locked in strong and clear. He's about 1200 feet below us."

"So what are we waiting for?" Prof demanded. "Rocky obviously intends for us to follow and get him out. I say we don't disappoint him."

Rocky Davis spat out sand as he was dumped into a clear plastic tube along with enough sand that it came up to his knees once he had struggled to a standing position. He looked up the length of the tube and saw the hatch he had fallen through was irising shut. At the same time the sand in the tube was slowly emptying out, courtesy of small holes that had opened in the bottom. Very shortly, the tube was devoid of sand. Rocky examined the huge room the tube occupied with great interest. Painfully square in shape, like some gigantic cube, most of the machinery contained within looked as if it had been there for a long time, not because of layers of dirt or cobwebs but the machinery, while definitely futuristic in design also looked as if it had been constructed from Earth machinery anywhere from 30 to 90 years old. If this was Kra's lab and he had built the machines from what he had salvaged on Earth, Kra had been on Earth far longer than they had previously suspected.

An elevator door whooshed open and Dora Lockridge/Kra came stumbling out. Rocky looked carefully at Dora. The malevolent glow on her face was pure Kra but there was something in her eyes, a trace of worried compassion that let him know that Dora was still in there somewhere. She seemed to have some difficulty walking and Rocky could only shudder as he imagined what abuses Kra could have done to the fragile human body. Rocky watched as Dora came closer and the croaking voice that came from her throat he recognized as that of being the hated mechanical maniac.

"So...the supposedly 'dumb Challenger' is the first one to find me. Your place in the team structure will have to be re-evaluated, meat."

"Th' only ones who think I'm the dumb Challengers are asshats like you, Kra. I'm smart enough to hang out here and wait for the guys to show up and then all four a' us can have the fun of takin' you apart like the cheap wind-up toy you really are!"

Dora/Kra chuckled. "Your Prof Haley would hardly stand by and watch his best friends tear into the body of the woman he loves, now would he?"

Rocky grinned maliciously. "That's where you've made another mistake, rusty. Ace and Prof had a long talk about that and they agreed that Ace would make that call. See, Ace isn't gonna let sentiment or emotion get in th' way of doin' what he has to do. And lemme tell you somethin' right now: when Ace makes a decision on something, it's as good as done." Rocky leaned against the tube interior and spoke urgently. "How about it, Kra? You must have another way of getting' out of here. Leave Dora behind and vamoose. I give you my word I'll see to it that you get a 24 hour head start."

"You must take me for a fool. Your teammates would never agree to such a bargain. No, I fear that this war between us as at last comes to a final reckoning. I will no longer be humiliated by pitiful meat bags. This day, either The Challengers of The Unknown die or I do!"

"Over here, guys!" Prof called excitedly. Fifteen minutes of dedicated hunting had uncovered a hatchway of false rock disguising a hatchway into the ground. It had taken Prof just a few minutes to figure out how to open the hatch by using a handheld cybernetic service analyzer which Prof had utilized in past adventures to crack Kra's security codes. The hatch swung upwards, sheeting dirt and small shrubs over the three Challengers. Prof put his device away and unholstered his stun gun. He started forward but Ace placed a cautious hand on his shoulder.

"Me first. Then you. Red, watch our backs."

The three men stared down the long, sloping tunnel, their stun guns at the ready. The hallway was one of gleaming blue metal, shiny enough to have been made yesterday. Red whispered; "how long you think this has been here? Looks awfully new to me."

Prof whispered back; "There's no telling. I suspect that Kra built this lab in such a manner that it's impossible for it to have been contaminated from the outside. Given Kra's hatred of organic life he wouldn't want so much as a centipede getting in here..." Prof subsided as Ace waved them both to silence. And with good reason. There was a strong light coming from around the bend in the corridor up ahead. Ace turned to his teammates.

"Okay. I got a feeling this is it. Now, we each only have one shot apiece so make 'em count. Don't take your shot unless you're absolutely positive you can hit Dora. We may not get a second try. Let's move out."

The three Challengers moved silently, stalking around the bend in the corridor that opened up into a huge square chamber. The illumination came from the banks of machinery that lined the walls. Long metal tables were covered with devices of unguessable purpose and they all recognized the design as that of Kra's. Red was pointing at something on the far side of the room. Ace and Prof turned to see half a dozen clear plastic tubes and in one of those tubes, Rocky was wildly gesturing and they could see his mouth open as far as it was humanly possible.

Prof caught on first; "Split up, boys! It's a trap!" And he charged straight ahead for the tube holding Rocky. Ace dived to the left while Red broke right, both men turning their separate dives into smooth rolls. The door of the room crashed shut with a metallic WHA-BOOM! and they could hear maniacal cackling that seemed to emanate from all around them.

Prof was at the tube holding Rocky, kicking it furiously to no effect. Whatever it was constructed from, it was no ordinary plastic. Prof waved Rocky to get as far back as he possibly could and he holstered his stun gun. His hands went to the snap shut pouches on his belt. He had a small laser torch in one of them and he was sure it would melt the plastic and-

-Rocky was banging frantically on the plastic tube with one hand and pointing behind Prof with the other. Prof didn't waste time looking around and he didn't hesitate. He dropped and rolled just as a segmented metal arm whooshed through the air where his head had been. If Prof had been five seconds slower he would have been decapitated.

The robot stalked towards on six crab legs, segmented arms flailing. The thing had a smooth oval for a head with one goggling red eye. The body was bulky, clumsy looking. In truth, the thing looked like a walking boiler. But here was no mistaking its murderous intentions. It rushed Prof as smoothly as a spider.

Ace and Red were having their share of troubles as well since two more robots, identical to the one engaging Prof had emerged from their hiding places and were after them as well. Red instinctively aimed his stun gun at the one scuttling towards him but Ace yelled; "No, Red! No! We've got to save the shot for Dora!"

Red somersaulted backwards as the robot's arms flailed dangerously at his head. The robot continued it's pursuit and Red holstered his gun in mid-flip, turning a second somersault into a series of backwards handsprings that ended up with him on one of the metal tables. He kicked loose pieces of machinery and beakers at the robot with no effect.

Ace dived under a metal table, rolled and came up on the other side, his robot pursuer simply smashing the table aside and continuing after him. Ace was showered with metal splinters and shards of razor sharp glass.

Rocky was in a state of near insane rage at seeing his teammates under attack and he unable to help. He placed is big hands of each side of the curving inner surface of the tube and pushed. Veins the size of an ordinary man's pinky stood out on his neck and his muscles swelled so much with his effort that the seams on the arms of his Challenger uniform popped. His face darkened and he gritted his teeth, sweat popping out on his brow as he muttered; "C'mon, give...give...GIVE!" The tube shattered into inch thick chunks of plastic and with a howl of triumph, Rocky leaped onto the back of the robot attacking Prof, lifting it clean over his head and dropping it behind him. The results were impressive to say the least. The robot fell on its head and an eruption of sparks drove Prof and Rocky backwards.

Prof grinned at Rocky. "Mighty impressive, big fella."

"Comes from years of clean living'...hey, Prof, look!" Rocky's arm leveled to point at a slim figure that was darting through a side door. The figure threw a look of incandescent hatred over her shoulder just before disappearing through the doorway. Dora's normally beautiful elfin face was twisted into a dark mask of rage. Without a word or a second thought, Prof and Rocky gave chase.

Red saw them in hot pursuit and snarled; "The hell with it," pulled his stun gun and discharged a burst at the robot pursuing him. The energy blast hit the robot right in the head, scrambling the simple electronic brain, halting it in its tracks. The robot began to shake and tremble all over in a manner much like a human having a seizure. Red took advantage of the robot's momentary confusion to flip over its head and land on the robot Ace was desperately trying to stay clear of. Red whipped off his jacket and wrapped it tightly around the robot's head, covering its opticals. The arms flailed wildly as it tried to get hold of Red who was already leaping clear.

Ace yelled at Red, "gimme a hand with this table!" The two Challengers laid hold of one of the metal tables on either side and lifted it. Both of them let loose with wild war whoops as they used it like a battering ram to slam into the blinded robot and drive it into the other one, which was still going through it's electronic seizure. The two robots collided with a thunderous crash and collapsed in a smoking metal heap.

Red dropped his end of the table and wiped his forehead free of sweat. "Some workout, huh? But I woulda thought Kra would have souped them up with more weapons if he was going to sic 'em on us."

"From the looks of them I'd say they're more like maintenance robots Kra used to help him in his work. They weren't armored at all, lucky for us." Ace frowned slightly. "Didn't you hear me say not to use the stun gun? That's one less shot we've got at Dora."

"Aw, c'mon, Ace, what was I supposed to do? I saw Rocky and Prof take off after Dora and I knew we had to get this fight over with as soon as possible to go help them."

Ace left it at that and jerked his thumb at the doorway. "Fair enough. Let's catch up with them. You got your cell phone handy?"

"Sure."

"Since you don't have a shot to take, you'll call The Atom. As soon as we've got Dora down, you get him here."

Dora was running with the speed and energy of a ten year old. Her stride was awkward but fast as a roadrunner. Prof and Rocky charged down the hallway after her, side by side. Prof was unholstering his stun gun. If he could just get close enough...another four or five feet...

Dora turned a corner and the two Challengers lost sight of her for about forty seconds until they gained the turn and navigated it-

-running right into a curtain of electrical energy that made all the hair on their bodies stand straight up. Howls of anguish burst from the two Challengers as their bodies were outlined in coronas of bluish white electric torture. They collapsed to the ground, wisps of smoke curling upwards from their bodies. Dora crept forward, her eyes seeming to glow from within. The metallic croak of Kra emanated from her throat and she approached Prof, withdrawing a huge knife from a pocket of the jumpsuit she wore.

"I had planned a much more elegantly lingering death for you, Professor Haley. But time is short and your two other friends will be upon us soon, I daresay." Dora/Kra knelt next to Prof and pressed the razor sharp blade of the knife against his throat. Prof was temporarily paralyzed, his nervous system overloaded by the electric surge and he was helpless to do anything.

Dora/Kra continued talking. "In fact, I have thought of a much more elegant revenge against you Challengers. At first I was going to transfer my consciousness into a new robot body but it occurs to me that I can cause the most tragedy to your team and you personally if I stay in this body." The grin that spread over the fact of the being that was Dora/Kra was not pleasant at all to see. "For some reason I find that I have experienced new levels of satisfaction at the deeds I perform now. I have no idea why this is so but it is a phenomenon that I wish to explore further."

Prof's voice was a strangled croak; "You poor ignorant toaster! All that intelligence and you can't figure out such a simple thing as to why you want to stay in Dora's body? You don't know what's happening to you?"

Dora/Kra grinned even wider. "I have time before Morgan and Ryan arrive. Go ahead and tell me."

"You're experiencing emotions, damn you. DORA'S emotions. You're not in a cold unfeeling robot body anymore, Kra. You're in the body of a human being...a female human being and they have an emotional life that is as strong and unpredictable as a gallon of nitroglycerine. You're experiencing emotions and you LIKE IT."

"NO! I cannot be subjected to the disgusting state of emotionalism that is the downfall of every organic being in the galaxy!"

"Oh, but you are! Why else are you committing such an illogical act as indulging your wanting to taunt and torment me? The Kra I know, the logical Kra, the brilliant Kra would have killed me long ago and escaped without a second thought! But here you sit, holding a knife to my throat, indulging in the sensation of having me at your mercy! And why? Because the emotional charge you're getting out of it is hitting you like a drug and you can't get enough of it! Face it, Kra...you're HUMAN now and you LIKE IT!"

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Dora/Kra screamed, lifting the knife over her head, intending to plunge it right into Prof's heart-

-the stun blast caught Dora/Kra full in the chest and knocked her backwards to slam into the corridor wall. The knife clattered from her hand as she slumped over, unconscious.

Ace was helping Prof to his feet. "You sure took your time getting here," Prof accused gently, motioning at Rocky. "we'd better check on him."

"You did a good job of keeping Kra occupied until we caught up to you guys," Ace said, kneeling down to take Rocky's pulse. "He's okay. Pulse is strong and steady. He should be coming around soon enough. Red, did you make that call?"

In answer, Red held out his cell phone. A speck emerged from the device, a speck surrounded by six spinning rings of energy. The speck swiftly grew bigger until it resolved into the six inch high Atom, who landed on Ace's shoulder. "Sorry it took me so long. Phone lines are more clogged than usual. Is my patient ready?"

Prof was cradling Dora's head in his lap. "Right here, Atom. She took a pretty heavy jolt from a stun gun we borrowed from S.T.A.R. Will that make much of a difference?"

"It really doesn't matter, does it? That thing has got to come out of her head, right? Sometimes you just got to say Sydney or The Bush and pray everything works out okay. Now, she may jump around or convulse but just hold onto her and don't worry. This won't take long." The Atom leaped from Ace's shoulder and dived towards Dora's ear getting smaller and smaller until he was lost to sight.

Red looked on with interest. "Gee, I wish I had asked him if I could go along. Betcha that must be cool as hell."

"Not now, Red," Ace said softly. He knelt down to take hold of Dora's legs while Prof wrapped a firm arm around her shoulders. And just in time as Dora began bucking and jerking as if she had been brushed with the live end of a high voltage power line. The muscles in her arms and legs stood out clearly as the two men struggled to hold her still. Red could only stand back, biting his lip in dismay. There was nothing worse Red hated than to be just standing around, unable to help but in this situation that was all he could do.

Dora's eyes snapped open and they had gone totally black, no whites and no pupils showing. Her mouth flopped open and the metallic screeching of Kra's voice emerged from her throat; "You have not seen the last of me, Challengers! I will grind your bones to powder and make lubricating paste from your intestines! I will see all of you dead! Dead! DEAD!" The screeching came to an end and Dora's eyes closed. Her body ceased its thrashings and she was finally, mercifully still.

The Atom emerged from he rear and landed next to Red. He swiftly grew to his normal height of six feet. He opened up his red-gloved hand and something wet and sparkling lay there, about the size of a walnut. "This is what caused all the problems?" The control crystal gleamed in the light and pulsed with a subdued inner golden light. "Wasn't that hard to get to. I laid hold of it and shrunk it right down. It may have caused Dora some discomfort. I'd get her to a hospital as soon as possible to make sure there's no side effects."

"We'll do that." Prof extended a hand from his position with Dora's head still in his lap. "Atom, I don't know how I'll ever be able to thank you."

"Don't worry about it," The Atom replied, taking Prof's hand firmly. "It only remains to decide what you want done with this." The Atom held up the control crystal. "If you'd like I'd be more than happy to shrink it down to sub-atomic size. Kra'd never be seen or heard from again."

Ace held out his hand. "Thanks, Atom, but Kra's our headache. We'll deal with him."

The Atom dropped the control crystal in Ace's hand. "No problem...now, Red, if you could fire up your cell phone and punch in this number, I'll get back to what I was doing before you called." The Atom rattled off a series of digits and Red's thumb was busy at work punching in the numbers. "Hope it wasn't important Justice League business we pulled you away from."

"Not at all." Outwardly, The Atom seemed calm and unruffled but inside he was wondering how he was going to explain to Jean Loring being in the restroom all this time. When the call from The Challengers had come, The Atom had been having dinner with Jean in his civilian identity of Ray Palmer. His cell phone had vibrated on his hip and pleading a suddenly upset stomach, Ray had claimed to be going to the men's room but instead went to the parking lot and his car where he had placed the phone on the seat and shrunk down to enter it and ride the electronic stream to The Challengers. He would use the same method to return to his car and hopefully Jean would still be in the restaurant.

But somehow, he doubted it.

But still, looking down at the face of Prof, The Atom/Ray Palmer figured that Jean being mad at him and not speaking to him for a couple of days was worth it. The number was dialed and with a jaunty wave of his hand, The Atom shrunk down the size of a pinprick and was gone.

"Prof...?" Dora's voice was weak and thin. "Prof...are you...okay?"

"I'm just fine, honey. And you are too. That damn crystal is out of your head and Kra's gone for good." Prof looked up at Ace. "Right?"

Ace dropped the crystal on the metal floor and brought his foot down on it with ruthless finality, pulverizing it into powder. "Right."

"It...was like...I was watching...myself from a long way off...and I couldn't get to you...or make myself stop what I was doing..."

Prof bent to gently kiss her lips. "It's all over now, honey. Kra's gone forever. He'll never torment or use you again. We're going to get you out of here and get you to a hospital and make sure you're okay." Prof picked her up tenderly. "And then we've got us a wedding to plan."

The groggy groan of Rocky interrupted; "Did I miss anything?"

Red and Ace burst into laughter as they bent to help their teammate to his feet. "Up you go, big guy! You'll be okay. We'll get you back to the jet and you can rest up."

"But wha happened? How's Dora?"

Ace smiled as Prof passed them, still cradling Dora in his arms. "She's just fine, Rocky. In fact, I think she's going to be more than fine from now on. C'mon, guys...let's go home."

THREE MONTHS LATER...

"...and it's just simply a gorgeous day here in Metropolis as the famous VanWeydon Cathedral continues to fill up with guests who have been invited to attend the wedding of Professor Mark Haley, a member of the world famous Challengers of The Unknown to Marine First Lieutenant Dora Lockridge. I'm your host, Catherine Grant and for the next two hours we here at WGBS will be proud and pleased to bring you this gala event. Originally it was just supposed to be a small ceremony with family and friends but it has since grown into what will be remembered as the major social event of the year. With me to help with the color commentary is none other than Lois Lane of The Daily Planet who can no doubt bring a unique perspective to the proceedings as she recently joined The Challengers on an adventure in The Bermuda Triangle. Lois, I must say you look absolutely lovely today!"

"Thanks, Cat. And you're absolutely right when you say that this is going to be a day to remember in more ways than one. Professor Haley is the first Challenger of The Unknown to jump the broom and how that will affect the team dynamic has yet to be seen. I also should mention that Dora Lockridge received a promotion to Captain while she was recovering in the hospital for her extraordinary bravery during the Freedom's Light crisis."

"Thanks for setting the record straight on that, Lois! So is there is any juicy inside tidbits that you can let us in on? How did this wedding get to be so big?"

"Well, Cat, once word went out that a definite date had been set, the media frenzy was so huge that I don't think there was any way that it could not have turned into a major event. Major fashion designers offered to design Dora's wedding dress for free, notable singers offered to perform at the wedding, world famous chefs offered to cater...there was such an outpouring of love and goodwill from so many who's lives have been touched by The Challengers as well as many countries who wished to send gifts and representatives to share this day with the happy couple. Including The Justice League and The Justice Society who have sent representatives of their own. The Martian Manhunter, Aquaman and The Black Canary are here for The League while Green Lantern, Hawkman and Miss America are here for The Society. There are rumors that various other superheroes and mystery men are also attending the wedding incognito as they don't wish to take attention away from where it rightfully belongs, which is with the bridge and groom."

"That's terrific, Lois. And since I've got you here, what's this I hear about a romance between you and that simply-to-DIE-for Ace Morgan? You trying to make Superman jealous?"

Red shook his head as he entered the waiting room where Rocky and Prof were quietly talking. They all looked simply elegant in their black tuxedos. Red and Rocky were groomsmen while Ace would be serving as best man. "Looks like New Year's Eve in a nuthouse out there. Toldja you should have eloped and gotten married in Reno."

Prof grinned wryly. "You're probably right. But what the hell. You only get married once, right? And so many people wanted to be here that Dora and I just couldn't say no. Especially after the wonderful way she was treated in the hospital."

Rocky was shaking his head. "After lookin' at some of them gifts you guys got, I'm thinkin' of getting' hitched just for the loot. You know you got four cars as gifts? One of 'em a Lamborghini, fer cryin' out loud."

"Most of them Dora and I are going to give to charity. We're just going to keep the ones given to us by friends and family...although I think I will be keeping that Lamborghini...anybody seen Ace? The wedding's going to start soon."

Red jerked his head at the door. "He had to go straighten out a security problem. His cousin Travis showed up unexpectedly. Travis wasn't sure he was going to make it here. He's got some mission he was supposed to fly over the Arctic but it was postponed so he deadheaded a flight to Metropolis at the last minute. Security didn't have him on the guest list so Ace's his checking him through."

Prof nodded. "It'll be good to see Travis again. And I know Ace is glad to see him as well. They don't get together much these days what with Travis in the Air Force and Ace bouncing all over the world with us."

"And that's about to come to a screeching halt in a couple of hours," Red grumbled.

"And what's that supposed to mean?"

"Aw, c'mon, Prof? You know the drill...you and Dora move to a nice little ranch style house in the suburbs...raise up a buncha little eggheads...and what are we supposed to do? Come knock on the door and say; "Hi, Mrs. Haley, can Prof come out to play?" every time there's an emergency we have to take care of?"

Prof was chuckling good-naturedly and slapping an equally tickled Rocky on his broad back. "Y'know, Ryan, for a guy who's so bright you can be awfully dumb sometimes." Prof got his hilarity under control and continued. "Dora's been invited to come back to The Freedom's Light project and help get it back up in space and she's agreed. And I'm not going anywhere. I'll still be on the team."

Red looked surprised. "Gee, Prof...her up in space and you down here.... isn't that gonna be rough? I mean, you guys are gonna have to go weeks, maybe months without being together."

"Yes, but the reason Dora and I never got together in the first place was because of our careers and we were determined not to make that mistake this time around. And it's not like we don't have other means of communication." Prof smiled at Red. "And I've been graciously given clearance to hitch a ride on the maintenance shuttle that regularly supplies Freedom's Light any time I want to."

"So The Challengers Of The Unknown are still in business, then?"

Prof reached out his arms to embrace both Red and Rocky. "You got that right, friend. You got that right."

The door opened and Ace poked his head in. "Hey, I thought somebody was supposed to be getting married here today?"

"Right, here, boss." Prof gave his tuxedo a final straightening tug. "How do I look?"

Ace adjusted his tie slightly. "Like a million bucks. We ready?"

Red and Rocky simply nodded in confirmation.

And with that The Challengers Of The Unknown strode proudly from the room.

"And this is the command center of Challenger Mountain," June Robbins said. Dora Haley walked around the cavernous chamber, simply amazed by the level of technology. "This is where the boys and I plan most of our strategy. And that completes the tour of Challenger Mountain."

"It's the most incredible place I've ever seen!" Dora exclaimed. She turned to June. "I don't think I'm going to have a hard time adjusting to living here."

"Well, that'll be up to you and Prof, of course...but most of us have homes or apartments elsewhere. And of course, I'm in Washington most of the time anyway."

"You'll be given full access to the security codes, of course," Ace, Prof, Red and Rocky entered the command center, dressed in casual civilian clothing. The wedding had been over for four hours now and The Challengers, along with June and Dora had flown back to Challenger Mountain just relax and rest and get out of the public eye for a day or two. Then Prof and Dora would be taking one of The Challenger planes and heading off to their honeymoon in Brazil. "And the computers will be reprogrammed to give you clearance."

"An' we got one more gift we'd like to give you, Dora," Rocky said. "It's from us guys and June. Prof doesn't even know we was goin' to give you this."

"I thought we were going to wait for Clayburne, Corinna and Tino before we gave it to her?" Red said. "Where are they, anyway?" Red was referring to Gaylord Clayburne III, Corinna Stark and Tino Mannery who were also Challengers.

June chuckled, "They're still partying in Metropolis. Tino decided to give a concert after the wedding in Centennial Park so they're whooping it up there. Gaylord said to go ahead and they'd catch up to us after they'd sobered up."

Rocky handed Dora the large box in silver wrapping paper and a gigantic white and purple bow. "I can't imagine what it could be!" She tore into the box like an eager child on Christmas morning and pulled out what was inside. "Oh, dear," she said in a very small, very surprised, very shocked voice. Prof came to stand next to her, placing his arm around her shoulders and looking at his smiling friends with eyes full of love.

Dora held in her hands a Challenger uniform in her size, the new steel blue ones they had recently taking to wearing. Dora's had silver piping and she stroked the raised yellow hourglass symbol with reverence.

"From all of us, Dora, we'd like to welcome you not only as Prof's wife but also as a Challenger of The Unknown, " Ace said. "I speak for all of us when I say that you've earned that uniform if you want it."

Tears of joy were running down Dora's cheeks as she replied, "Just trying taking it back and see what happens!"

The communications screen popped into life. It was the face of The President Of The United States, twice as large as life. Being military, Ace and Dora naturally snapped to attention and executed regulation salutes and the others straightened up. "Good afternoon, sir," Ace said crisply.

"Good afternoon to you as well, Colonel Morgan. And my best wishes to Professor and Captain Haley on this wonderful day. Mr. Ryan, Mr. Davis, Dr. Robbins." The President nodded to all of them in turn. "I was planning on communicating my good wishes in this manner even before this incident came up. I so do hate to spoil the happiness of this occasion but this is a situation I'd like for The Challengers to handle."

"We're always on call, sir."

"Very well. About four hours ago, we lost all communications with Fort Hood Army Base in Texas. An AWACS surveillance plane were rerouted to see what was going on and they sent back pictures of what appears to be a solid black force field dome that covers the entire base and is cutting it off from the outside world. Fortunately, we know who's behind this." The screen shimmered and changed to show a ten-foot tall figure emerging from the dull black force field dome. There was no mistaking the twistedly evil features or the mutated, misshapen forehead.

"Multi-Man!" Rocky exclaimed. "I wondered what happened to the runt after that throwdown on Challenger Island. Guess he up an' died an' got him a whole new buncha superpowers ta devil us with."

The President's face reappeared. "Can I count on you Challengers to handle this?"

"Always, Mr. President. Always," Ace said. "We'll be leaving in 15 minutes and we'll contact you again once we've arrived." Ace cut the communications to The White House and looked at his partners. "Let's get out of these duds."

Dora started forward but June gently touched her on the shoulder and indicated she should stay behind. Ace noticed the two women not heading for the locker room to change. "You girls aren't suiting up? Don't you want in on this?"

June blew a kiss and said, "Nah. We'll sit this one out. But just THIS one. Let's say just you boys get a night out this time around."

Ace grinned in understanding and followed his teammates to the locker room.

Dora nudged June in the ribs. "You really know them well, don't you?"

"There's one thing you've got to understand about them: even though they've let others join the team, those four are the true Challengers Of The Unknown. When they survived that plane crash and came out of it without a scratch there was an unbreakable bond forged between them that links them in a way that would be downright foolish to ignore or pretend doesn't exist. I love each and every one of them as if they were my brothers and you'll grow to love Red, Rocky and Ace as much as you love Prof so it's best you acknowledge right now that every so often, it's good to just let the four of them go do the challenging."

Dora hugged June. "Believe it or not, I'd already figured that out. But thanks for saying it anyway." She grinned up at the taller woman. "I think I'm going to enjoy having a big sister."

Ace Morgan, Rocky Davis, Red Ryan and Prof Haley emerged from the locker room and June laughed delightedly as she saw they were wearing their original purple uniforms with white gloves and boots. "New uniforms at the cleaners?"

Prof walked over to kiss Dora goodbye as Ace jerked a thumb at Rocky. "It was the big guy's idea. And I think it's a good one."

"Yeah," Red agreed. "The future's wonderful to look forward to but there's nothing wrong with remembering the past now and then."

"Amen to that, brother," Prof said. "Now let's go to work."

The two women waved at the four men as they ran from the room and June activated the main communications screen so they could watch them enter Challenger 1. The powerful jet taxied into position and shortly was airborne, heading for the west and a new adventure.

Dora sighed, "I'm glad that everything that's happened recently hasn't meant the end for The Challengers of The Unknown."

"The end?" June replied. "Not hardly. This is just the beginning. A beginning as bright and shining as silver."

The two women stood with their arms around each other and watched until Challenger 1 was lost to sight.

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