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Issue Eighteen

"The Masterminds of Evil: The Enemy Within"

By Travis Hiltz

Our story so far: 1943. The Masterminds of Evil - A band of criminal science villains have banded together to promote a reign of terror on a United States weakened and distracted by war. With the Justice Society of America busy with the war effort, it falls to the various other groups and heroes that make up the All Star Squadron to deal with this menace.
Two of the Masterminds plans have already been thwarted by the efforts of the Seven Solders of Victory and the Golden Age Doom Patrol....

Night time in Fawcett City, and things are quiet at the Ordway factory. The workers have gone home for the night and there are no deliveries due till the morning. The machinery is silent and the building is wrapped in shadow.
A lone security guard makes his way around the grounds. He knows his route and duties by heart. Even with the warnings of sabotage, he finds his duties dull.
Tonight he will pay for his lack of focus.
As he strolls past a shed two figures leap out of the shadows and strike! The guard is soon rendered unconscious and relieved of his keys.
Clothed entirely in black, from head to toe, the duo make their way across the grounds towards the main factory. They head for a side door.
"Hold it right there, you two!" A voice shouts, from above.
Two figures drop from ropes hooked to the edge of the rooftop. They are more colorfully dressed than the intruders.
One is a broad shouldered man, dressed in a red and white stripped jersey, blue pants and red boots. his hair is sandy brown. His companion is dressed in a green tunic, pants and cowl, with a brown boots, belt and goggles. His crimson cape billows in the wind.
They are two of Fawcett City's costumed mystery men, Minute-Man and Spy Smasher.They dive into the black clad men, feet first, driving them to the ground.
One doubles over as Spy Smasher drives his fist into the man's gut. An elbow to the back of the head finishes him off.
Minute-Man drops his opponent with a single blow to the jaw.
Spy Smasher secures the two would be thieves hands behind their backs with handcuffs taken from his belt. Minute-Man peels the mask off of one, revealing the unconscious man's Asian features.
"Just like the last robbery," he muttered, glancing over at his fellow crime fighter.
"Jap fifth columnists?" Spy Smasher said. "Not good."
Each hero grabbed one of the would be thieves and take hold of the ropes. A tug starts the ropes retracting, pulling heroes and unconscious intruders up to the roof. Waiting for the them was a most unusual vehicle. Spy Smasher's Gyro-copter was torpedo shaped, capped with a transparent dome. It had retractable wheels, stubby wings and fins on the back. It gave the impression that some one had taken a plane and a mini-sub and jammed them together. The heroes tossed the two unconscious men into the back seat and then climbed in. The Gyro-copter had a steering yoke, like a plane, and a control panel covered with dials and switches.
"I can drop you and our new friends off at the nearest precinct house," Spy Smasher said, hitting switches. The Gyro-copter's engine purred, like a sleeping kitten. "I have things to check out."
"Fine. I have some sources that I'd like to check with. I think we need to bring in the others on this one." Minute-Man said.
"A step ahead of you," Spy Smasher told him, as the Gyro-copter took off. "I've already talked to Mister Scarlet. He's looking into some things for me."
"All Right. Lets plan on meeting, tomorrow night?"
"Beck Station would be central to all of our stomping grounds," Spy Smasher suggested.

The next night, Minute-Man and Spy Smasher were joined by two other dramatically dressed figures. A man and a woman, both wearing red body suits, yellow boots, shorts, belts and unique, silver, bullet-shaped helmets. They flew over the appointed rooftop, before coming in for a landing.
"Hi fellas," Bulletman said, shaking hands with Minute-Man. "What happened to your mask? I thought the costume looked better with the mask."
"I should take fashion advice from a man with a bucket on his head?" Minute-Man replied, with a smirk.
"Here we go again," Spy Smasher muttered, crossing his arms.
"Let them have a couple of minutes to get it out of their systems," Bulletgirl said. "Then we can get them to focus on the important stuff."
"How is it," Minute-Man said, "Bulletgirl's the youngest of us and she still manages to sound like my mother?"
"Couldn't tell you," Bulletman said. "I'm still trying to figure out if all sidekicks are this uppity."
"I hear Sandy, the Golden boy is quite well behaved."
"Sidekick?" Bulletgirl fumed. "Funny, when the boys aren't around it's 'partner'..."
"Excuse me," Spy Smasher interrupted. "Could we get back to the Japanese fifth columnists trying to sabotage the war effort? Not as interesting as Minute-Man's wardrobe, I know..."
"Now, wait a minute...!" Bulletman snapped.
"I don't think Spy is trying to imply anyone here takes this frivolously," Bulletgirl said, peering, significantly at Spy Smasher. "He's just impatient."
"I know there's been some cases of Japanese citizens engaged in criminal activity," Bulletman said. "but, you make it sound like everyone is going to revolt. It can't be that bad?"
"No, but there's been enough cases to have the War Department worried," Minute-Man said.
"What are they going to do?" Bulletgirl asked. "Round them all up and lock them up till the war's over?"
"Not as far fetched as you'd like to think," Minute-Man replied quietly.
"You can't be serious!?" Bulletman exclaimed.
"That's a bit extreme," Spy Smasher added. "Even if..."
"Now, wait a second," Minute-Man said. "I'm not saying it's a done deal, but my contacts in the War Department say a lot of important people are very anxious and contingency plans are being made. All I know is the sooner we get this cleared up, the better."
The heroic quartet stood in silence for several moments, each one pondering this new, grim information.
"What did you have in mind?" Bulletman asked.
"Spy Smasher and I have several leads," Minute-Man explained. "He's already recruited Mister Scarlet to help. Any word from him yet?"
"No," Spy Smasher replied in a grim voice. " I want to check a couple of places that Scarlet was going to look over."
"Okay, how about we split up?" Bulletman said. "Bulletgirl and I will each go with one of you. Never know when someone who can fly will come in handy."
"I'll go with Spy Smasher," Bulletgirl said. " Think we can trust you two unsupervised...?"
"She's doing it again," Minute-Man said.
"She's just happy for an excuse to ride in the Gyro-copter." Bulletman said.
"Women are always impressed by a fellow with a snazzy roadster," Minuteman added.
"Let's go." Spy Smasher said.

Minute-Man and Bulletman watched as the Gyro-copter flew off.
"Well, where to?" Bulletman asked.
"Some places I want to check. Couple of potential targets. My car's downstairs..."
"I can fly us there," Bulletman said. "Or do you still have a problem with me carrying you around?"
"It looks silly," Minute-Man said, avoiding eye contact with his team mate. "I don't feel comfortable flying. Trusting whoever carries me..."
"Sorry I asked," Bulletman said, holding his hand up. "Let's get to the car."

The Gyro-copter floated over the neighborhood.
"I didn't have a chance to do more than glance at the police files about these robberies."
Bulletgirl asked, peering down at the darkened buildings. "Was Minute-Man serious about rounding everyone up?"
"I'd like to say it's could never happen in this country," Spy-Smasher replied. "but, I've seen too much war and crime to think that."
"I guess if you're a crime fighter long enough your glass is stuck at half empty," Bulletgirl sighed. "What should I be looking for?"
"We haven't figured out why these people are committing crimes. Nearly all of them were respectable citizens. No record of any kind that would make them suspects. It's the only thing they have in common, besides their race."
"Yet we've caught them all in the act," Bulletgirl said. "Strange."
Hmmm, look down to the right," Spy-Smasher said. "What do you think?"
"I think it's odd that a truck, without any lights on, would be making a delivery to a warehouse without any lights on," she replied. "Unless they're delivering light bulbs."
"Take the wheel," Spy Smasher said, raising the Gyro-copter's bubble and vaulting over the side. He hooked a mini-grapple to the edge of the cockpit and swung down, towards the mystery truck.
"Right, why let the one that can fly do it," Bulletgirl muttered, scooting over and taking hold of the steering yoke. "After all, I'm just a girl... would have been nice if he'd actually shown me how to fly this thing...!"
The Gyro-copter wobbled for a moment, then straightened out. Spy Smasher swung and leapt to a nearby roof top. From there, he was able to slip onto the truck's roof and ride along to the dark loading bay.
"She'd better not scratch the paint," he muttered, glancing up as Bulletgirl brought the Gyro in for a landing.
He lay down on the truck's roof, as it came to a halt and five black clad figures climbed out, two from the cab, three from the back.
He waited till they'd all gathered together before striking. He leapt off the truck roof and was soon in the middle of the gang, fists flying.
Two of the masked thieves went down quickly. The other three learned from their comrades mistakes and backed away a few steps. This gave them room to move as well as making Spy Smasher have to grab one at a time. Giving the other two a chance to strike from behind. A punch to the solar plexus drove one thief to the ground. His partners in crime then dove at Spy Smasher, each grabbing an arm.
The thief that Spy Smasher had hit got, shakily, to his feet. He then struck the masked crime fighter across the jaw. Spy Smasher staggered and tried to get free. One of the thieves kicked Spy Smasher's legs out from under him. As soon as the hero hit the ground the three thieves moved in to press their advantage, kicking and punching the fallen hero.
One of the thieves looked up, catching a glint of light out of the corner of his eye. He had time for no other action before Bulletgirl slammed into the trio.
She swooped down on them from the rooftop where she'd parked/crashed the Gyro-copter. Spy Smasher and the thieves collapsed into a heap on the ground under the impact. Bulletgirl quickly pulled Spy Smasher free, while the thieves staggered to their feet and made a desperate run for the truck.
Zooming through the air, Bulletgirl tackled one, but the others made it to the truck and sped off.
"You manage to slap a tracker onto the truck, before you came to my rescue?" Spy Smasher asked, getting to his feet and flexing the various bruised parts of his body.
"Just like we planned," Bulletgirl replied, dragging the unconscious thief over.
"I don't remember the part of the plan where you crash my copter," Spy Smasher grumbled. "Do you work alone by choice?" Bulletgirl asked. "Or are you just too grumpy to get a sidekick to stick around?"
"Sooner we drop him off," Spy Smasher said, nodding towards the prisoner and ignoring Bulletgirl's question "Sooner we can go after that truck."

Meanwhile, in the area of Fawcett City known as 'little Asia', the city's largest Asian community, two men sat in a parked car. Unfortunately, as they were the only non-Asians on the block, their attempts at looking nonchalant were less than successful.
"Not one of your better ideas," Minute-Man muttered.
Their clever disguises consisted of Bulletman taking off his helmet and both heroes putting on overcoats over their costumes. Bulletman glared at Minute-Man and then went back to scanning the neighborhood.
"Just because I don't have FBI connections doesn't mean I don't know what I'm doing," he explained. "Nearly every one of the thieves either lived or worked in this area. If we keep our eyes open we'll spot something."
"Like the fact that everybody knows we're here and don't blend in with the locals?" Minute-Man suggested. "Is this your idea of subtle?"
"No, my idea of getting the job done," Bulletman said. "We get noticed, especially by whoever is behind the robberies, they get nervous, then realize we need to be dealt with, and..."
"...And tip their hand, without us going through days of playing detective," Minute-Man nodded. "Not bad, Jim, maybe you aren't as thick as Spy Smasher thinks you are."
"Damn right I'm... wait a minute...!?"
"Look!" Minute-Man said, pointing towards a building.
"It's a chinese restaurant," Bulletman shrugged. "I think I've eaten there a couple times. So...?"
"That's the third guy to go in, since we got here. Awfully busy for a closed place."
"Let's have a look," Bulletman said, grabbing his helmet from the back seat and tucking it under his arm.
Both heroes, got out of the car, still wearing their overcoats, and made their way to the building. They glanced in the darkened front window.
"See anything?" Minute-Man asked. "We need to be quick.We're awfully exposed out here."
"There! In the back," Bulletman replied. "There's a light under that door."
Minute-Man nodded and went over to the front door. It opened easily.
"You thinking what I'm thinking?" Minute-Man muttered.
"This is too easy to be anything but a trap." Bulletman replied, shrugging out of his coat and putting on his helmet. "Seems a shame to ignore it, when somebody's gone to so much trouble to get us here..."
They made their way across the room and to the door. It opened onto a narrow flight of stairs, leading to a shadowy basement.
"It's like a bad mystery movie in here." Minute-Man said.
"I call dibs if Myrna Loy shows up." Bulletman replied. "Come on."
As expected, the stairs creaked as the duo descended. Soon as they reached the bottom, a horde of black clad Asian men pounced.
The room was too crowded for Bulletman to take off, but the special metal in his flight helmet boosted his strength. Plus, it protected his head.
He put his head down and dove into the nearest group of attackers. They went down like bowling pins hit by a missile. Bulletman spun, just in time to catch a fist to the face. He staggered back, wiped at the blood trickling from his nose and grabbed the one that'd struck him. Yanking off the mask, Bulletman saw the face of a teenager, who stared back at him with blank eyes.
"What the heck...?" Bulletman asked, right before more attackers piled onto his shoulders.

Minute-Man used a judo throw to toss one of his attackers into the path of two others. A couple well place kicks toppled another three. He quickly dodged a fist, grabbed the owner's wrist and twisted.
He had to admit he was impressed. These guys could take some serious punishment without making a peep. Not a good sign, when he and Bulletman were so badly out numbered though.
Minute-Man saw Bulletman go down, under a pile of black clad fighters and decided he was man enough to admit when he might need some help.
Minute-Man ran at his nearest attacker, then used his foe's chest as a springboard. Once in the air, Minute-Man back-flipped over the crowd and landed at the base of the stairs. He wanted to shout to Bulletman, but a half dozen black clad forms turned and lunged for him.
Minute-Man was up the stairs before they could lay a hand on him. He pushed the door open and nearly collided with Mr. Scarlet and his teen sidekick, Pinky.
Both were dressed in blue body suits with red belts, boots, gloves and masks. The main difference being Pinky had a domino mask, while Mr. Scarlet's was a full head cowl attached to a short cape.
"Am I glad to see you guys," Minute-Man said. "Spy Smasher said he'd gotten in touch... uh.... Scarlet...?"
Both heroes, usually cheerful and chatty to the point of annoying, were silent. They paused, as if listening to a noise off in the distance, and then leapt.
Worn down by combat and caught off guard, Minute-Man stumbled backwards.The attackers from downstairs shoved the door open, knocking him off balance. He was easy prey for the combined attack.

Bulletman came to and wished he hadn't. His body was one big ache and his hands and feet were bound. He moved his head and realized his helmet was gone.
"Wha...?"
"I was wondering when you were going to wake up," Minute-Man's voice said.
"Where are we?" Bulletman asked, opening his eyes. The two heroes were both tied up and lying on the floor of a small, dusty storeroom.
"I think they gave use the honeymoon suite," Minute-Man said.
"Uh... ow," Bulletman winced, shifting around, so he was facing Minute-Man. "Yeah, some nice drapes and we'd be all set. What happened?"
"I don't think we are dealing with a Japanese fifth column...," Minute-Man said.
"Ah, good."
"Somebody is using mind control to create their own private army and they got their hands on Mister Scarlet."
"You are a joy to talk to," Bulletman muttered. "What now?"
"We need to get out of here, find this 'mastermind' and stop whatever they are up to."
Minute-Man explained, struggling against his bounds.
"What are they up to?" Bulletman asked.
"Well, with a mind controlled army, and a ton of stolen industrial equipment, it's probably not good news. We can ask once we're out of this room."
"I take it we aren't going to wait for the calvary?" Bulletman asked.
"Spy Smasher and your girlfriend are on the other side of town and Scarlet is brainwashed, I'd say we are the calvary."
"So, why are we fooling around here?" Bulletman said, tearing the ropes that held his arms, like they were strings.
"Thought you lost your super strength without the helmet?" Minute-Man asked.
"There's a little residual, but it won't last long. So, don't expect me to do all the work." Bulletman replied, snapping Minute-Man ropes."
"We need to get out of here," Minute-Man explained. "If I get to a phone and contact the FBI..."
"Got it," Bulletman said and drove his shoulder into the door. It shattered into kindling, as the hero came through and collided with two guards. All three stumbled across the hallway and into the far wall. They fell into an untidy heap on the floor. Minute-Man delivered a couple well placed punches, to ensure the guards would stay there, then helped Bulletman to his feet.
"I felt that one," he muttered.
"Let's go!" Minute-Man said, bolting down the corridor. Bulletman ran after him.
Almost every step of the way was blocked by a glassy eyed Asian guard.
By the time the two mystery men had fought their way through this gauntlet both were bruised and their costumes torn. They punched past a wall of guards and stumbled into a large low ceilinged room.
Unfortunately, it contained even more grim looking Asians. They formed a wall between the battered heroes and the door.
The wall parted and a new man stepped into view. He was a short, chubby Japanese man, his hair done in a topknot. He wore a green kimono with a wide yellow sash and his eyes burned with hatred.
"Leaving so soon, honored gentlemen?" every word dripped with menace.
"All this is your doing?" Bulletman asked. "Hypnotizing innocent people! Casting suspicion over the entire Asian community?
The other man nodded.
"Who are you?" Minute-Man asked.
"My real name would be meaningless to you," he replied. " The name I use now as my title, was given to me when I first came to this wretched country. A name that was first spit at me is now worn as a title of honor! It is the name of he who shall bring your country to it's knees. I am Nippo!"
There was a moment of silence, as both heroes glanced at each other.
"Well, I guess a reasonable discussion is out of the question," Minute-Man muttered to himself.
"Subdue them, my minions!" Nippo bellowed. "They shall join my army, as did their scarlet friend."
Minute-Man slipped into a fighting stance The mob surged at the weary heroes, only to stagger back as the ceiling exploded. Bulletgirl flew into the room, circling to keep the crowd back. Spy Smasher leapt down, guns drawn.
"Can't leave you two alone for five minutes," he muttered.
"Nice to see you too," Bulletman said.
"Don't shoot," Minute-Man warned Spy Smasher. "These people are under some kind of hypnotic control, they..."
"I know," Spy Smasher interrupted. "You think Bulletgirl and I have been sitting at home, listening to Amos and Andy? Watch!"
His guns fired and two of the attachers fell, clutching at their heads.
"Mercy bullets," Spy Smasher explained. " Creases the top of the skull, and once they get a couple of aspirin, they're back to normal."
"Not bad," Minute-Man said. "Brother, can you spare a .45?"
"Spy Smasher rolled his eyes and tossed one of his guns to Minute-Man. He then pulled another out of his belt.
"We need to find my helmet," Bulletman said, "and where he stashed Scarlet and Pinky."
"Not to mention finding out what Nippo is up to," Minute-Man said, firing into the crowd.
"Nippo?" Spy Smasher asked.
Bulletgirl swooped across the room, grabbed a hold of Bulletman and plowed through the mob.
Nippo chose that moment to head for the door.
"I've got him," Minute-Man said, racing after the villain. "See if you can find Scarlet!"
Spy Smasher shrugged. Most of Nippo's army were unconscious or too dazed to put up much of a fight. Several grabbed for Spy Smasher, but he was easily able to shrug them off. It was easy to follow the trail of the two Bullets, as Bulletgirl hadn't let little things like guards or walls get in her way. Stepping through the remains of a heavy wooden door, he found the two of them tearing up a store room, until they found Bulletman's helmet.
"Okay, so you were right about the metal in the two helmets putting out signals to each other," Bulletgirl said to her smug looking partner.
"You two all set?" Spy Smasher asked.
"Oh yeah," Bulletman said, putting his helmet on. "What's the plan?"
"Minute-Man is going after this Nippo character..."
"Nippo?" Bulletgirl asked. "You're kidding, right?"
"Ask Minute-Man. Anyway. I think you two should stay with your flying around, causing as much damage as possible plan. If you see Scarlet or or anything that explains what Nippo is up to, grab it. "
The heroes split up.

Nippo entered a large room that was a combination laboratory/throne room. He hurried to a work bench and began quickly fixing wires on what looked like an old fashioned camera with a couple vacuum tubes attached to it.
"Hold it, right there!" Minute-Man announced, stepping into the room.
Nippo raised the camera device, but before he could press any of the buttons, Minute-Man shot it into pieces.
"Nice try. I take it that's your hypno device?" Minute-Man asked.
"Yes, it was," Nippo snarled, "but you will not live long enough to take advantage of that knowledge." His hands a blur, he snatched a pair of katanna from his sash. They slashed out, slicing Minute-Man's gun in half.
"They never give up peacefully," Minute-Man muttered, as Nippo lunged.

The building trembled as the Bullet duo continued their attack on it. Spy Smasher glanced around, anxiously. He doubted the place would stay standing much longer, and they needed to be away before that happened. They had to try and stop all of Nippo's minions and he was down to his last couple bullets.
His path was blocked by two individuals, dressed in blue body suits and red masks. Mr. Scarlet and Pinky, the whiz kid, each held a fighting stance and their eyes were still glassy.
"I don't have time for this," Spy Smasher muttered, firing. Dodging the shots the hypnotized duo collided, knocking heads and tumbling to the floor.
"Unbelievable," Spy Smasher muttered, scooping them up, tossing them over his shoulder and racing for the door.

Soon, the Crime Crusaders were gathered outside. Scarlet and Pinky were sitting groggily on the curb. The Bullets and Spy Smasher watched as the building began to cave in upon itself. They'd managed to pull out several dozen of the mind controlled Asians. There had been no sign of Minute-Man or Nippo.
"I don't think..." Spy Smasher said.
"Don't." Bulletman interrupted. " He'll make it out."
Spy Smasher gave Bulletman a skeptical glance and shrugged.
"Even still, we need to get in touch with the FBI. Someone needs to sort through Nippo's little army. I doubt they were all under hypnosis."
"If he got away, he'll just start it all over again." Bulletgirl said.
"He won't," a voice announced, as Nippo's unconscious body dropped at their feet. Minute-Man jumped down to stand by his team mates. His shirt was slashed in several places, he sported a split lip and a black eye. He was also holding one arm close to his body.
"That guy moved faster than anybody that fat has a right to," Minute-Man said, to his astonished friends.
"How...?" Bulletman asked.
"I am the 'One man army," Minute-Man smirked.
"You look like the 'One man casualty ward," Bulletgirl said.
"Let's make some calls and get this all settled," Spy Smasher said.

Soon, police, fire fighters, FBI and several ambulances were gathered around the remains of Nippo's headquarters.
Scarlet and Pinky gave their statements to the police, then headed home. The Bullets were helping with the clean up, Spy Smasher was overseeing Nippo being delivered to jail and Minute-Man was sitting in the back of an ambulance, a blanket over his shoulders, washing down a handful of aspirin with luke warm coffee.
A man in a blue business suit and an expression that practically screamed 'G-man' climbed in and sat down, across from Minute-Man.
"Quite an operation you guys stumbled into."
"Dolan, my whole body aches," Minuteman said. "Can we cut to the important part? How has Nippo's scheme effected the President's plans?"
"He wants to go ahead with them," the FBI man replied. "Any americans of Japanese descendent, suspected of possible collaboration with the enemy will be rounded up and transferred to internment camps. The order will be signed within the week."
"How many of them does the government suspect?" Minute-Man asked.
"All of them."
"My god..."
"I know," Dolan interrupted. " Between this incident and that air attack the All Star Squadron dealt with*, the Japs are an easy target. We need to be seen doing something about them."
(* see All Star Squadron #2 - Trav)
"So, all those people have to suffer so we can feel safe." Minute-Man muttered, glaring at Dolan.
"Pretty much sums up war in general, doesn't it?" Dolan said. "Look, I don't want to fight about it. I don't like it any better than you do. I was just sent to help clean up here, and 'request' that you not mention the internment order to your teammates."
"Yeah, I was in a rush to brag about that." Minute-Man said, bitterly.
"If it makes you feel any better, we found a warehouse on the other end of the block. It was connected to your guys hideout by a tunnel. Looks like this Nippo character was about a day away from finishing a giant version of his hypno gadget."
"Which he would have used to tear down the USA from the inside," Minute-Man nodded. "What happens to it?"
"Damn thing exploded the minute some genius tried to switch it on," Dolan smirked.
"One less thing to worry about," Minute-Man said.
"How you doing?" Bulletman said, sticking his head into the ambulance. "Looks like we got everybody out before the place collapsed, but they need this ambulance for some people that got banged up."
"Yeah, I'm okay," Minute-Man said, standing up.
"See, you got everybody out in one piece," Dolan said, walking with him. "Sometimes you got to look at the good you've done."
"True, but there's still a lot more good to be done." Minute-Man told him.

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