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#2
MAR 10 |
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“First Strike”
Freddy Freeman sat in a chair in his dorm room watching TV. Ryan Choi was grabbing another piece of pizza.
“And this was the scene earlier today at Ivy University,” the newswoman was saying. On the screen, the Floronic Man was riding down from the top of the clock tower on a fire engine’s rescue bucket. “CM3 halted the menace of the Floronic Man with no harm to anyone and no destruction to the school’s grounds. Apparently separating the villain from the ground at that distance filled him with terror and he surrendered peacefully.”
Freddy flipped the channel as Ryan plopped down beside him in a bean bag. “I didn’t realize that going to college was going to be such an adventure,” Ryan said.
“I know,” Freddy agreed, “but I’m from Fawcett City, remember. We’ve got Nazis, an evil mind-controlling worm, a bald scientist trying to take over the world…I guess you get used to the weirdness. “
“Maybe,” Ryan said, “but there’s some weirdness I don’t want to get used to. I might try moving to some nice quiet place where nothing ever happens. Like Kansas.”
Across campus and under the sidewalks, a man sat in a hidden basement. When the building above had burned decades before, the basement had been sealed off when the new building was constructed. As time had passed the room’s existence had been forgotten.
The man smirked as he finished his latest device, picking up his mask and pulling it on. He picked up the device and walked toward his exit. Dwarfstar laughed as he shrank into nothingness.
Soon.
Freddy Freeman groaned the next morning as the alarm sounded. “Dude, wake up!” Ryan urged as he started poking Freddy with the end of his own cane.
“Building on fire?” Freddy grunted.
“No, your alarm’s been going off for five minutes and it’s really annoying! Get up and turn it off before I rewire it into something useful!”
Freddy shot up in bed. “Five minutes?” he shouted as he grabbed the clock. “I’m going to be late for my appointment!”
Ryan handed Freddy his cane and switched off the alarm as Freddy hurried to his closet. Ryan thought a moment. “Give me a sec to get dressed, too, and I think I can help you save some time.” He grabbed a set of keys off his dresser. “We’re riding over in style.”
Freddy held on for dear life as Ryan’s golf cart tore down the sidewalks of the campus, scattering students. “This isn’t the style I’d expected,” Freddy said.
Ryan was smiling widely. “You kidding?” he asked. “This baby got me a scholarship! It’s completely solar-powered and I worked on the engine so that it’s got a maximum speed of 80 miles an hour!”
Ryan’s eyes narrowed as he checked the rear-view mirror (which, coincidentally, had a pair of fuzzy dice hanging off it). “Uh oh…looks like campus security spotted us.”
Ryan turned to Freddy and smiled. “Don’t worry, I’ll handle them. When I stop, you jump out and head for your interview.”
“Right,” Freddy said hesitantly.
“Have I ever steered you wrong?” Ryan asked.
Freddy didn’t reply as he thought of the fact that he’d only known Ryan a week.
The golf cart skidded to a stop outside the journalism building. Freddy hopped out and hurried into the building as campus security rushed from their own golf cart to Ryan’s.
“Honest!” Ryan said. “The accelerator got stuck again! I really thought I’d fixed it last time.” Ryan’s voice trailed away as Freddy advanced into the building in search of his appointment.
He reached the office he was looking for and opened the door with a sigh of relief as he realized that he was right on time. “Hello?” he asked as he stepped inside. The room’s occupant stood behind his desk. “I’m Freddy Freeman. Professor Palmer said that I should come talk to you.”
The man smiled and extended his hand for Freddy to shake. “I’m Lucas Carr, but everybody calls me Snapper.” Snapper motioned for Freddy to sit down as he did as well. “What can I do for you?”
“I’m trying to decide on a major and thought that I might give journalism a try,” Freddy explained. “I’m kind of concerned, though, because I didn’t really do a lot of those types of classes in high school.”
Snapper smiled and nodded. “It’s a great field,” he said. “I actually didn’t start out doing journalism classes in high school, but I’d started writing and enjoyed it. I’d covered a lot of the JLA’s early adventures and papers loved buying them. After some personal things, I decided to move on from covering the JLA. Ray Palmer pulled some strings so I could get accepted here, and now I’m on faculty as a junior professor.”
Snapper smiled wider. “And if Ray’s backing you the way he is, I’d say there’s something special about you. Maybe even super, if I can say so.”
Freddy’s nervousness must have been obvious as Snapper continued, “Don’t worry. Your secret’s safe with me.” He opened a drawer and pulled out a picture he slid across the desk to Freddy. The yellowing photo showed a much younger Snapper with the original Justice League. “Those were good times,” Snapper said.
“What happened?” Freddy asked. “Seems like you were all good friends.”
Snapper’s smile faded as he accepted the picture and glanced at it before returning it to his desk. “Because life gets in the way,” he said with a tone of sadness in his voice, “and some mistakes can’t be forgiven.”
Snapper closed the drawer and his smile returned. “Ray sent me a copy of your transcript, so I took the liberty of drawing up a prospective course outline for you. Let’s go ahead and take a look.”
Dwarfstar enlarged in a storage room. He’d slipped through a hole in the wall and smiled as he saw his destination. He reached into his pack and pulled out a small package, smiling widely as he set the clock. He placed the package in the exact spot he’d selected and vanished as the clock began counting down.
Snapper and Freddy had been talking when Snapper’s phone rang. He answered it as Freddy began looking around the office. When the conversation finished, Snapper replaced the phone in its cradle and explained, “That was actually Professor Palmer. We meet for lunch every week. He’s running a little late, but I’m going to have to finish some paperwork and meet him.” Snapper nodded toward the papers he’d given Freddy. “Look over those and think about your major. I’d be happy to work with you on any remedial work you might need to gain access to the journalism program.”
“Really?” Freddy asked. “But you don’t know me.”
Snapper smiled. “Ray’s vouching for you. That’s good enough for me.”
The two shook hands and Freddy left the office. He smiled as he stepped out of the building and into the sunshine. The smile left his face as he realized that Ryan’s golf cart was gone and now he’d be walking across campus.
“Wonderful,” Freddy muttered. He’d barely gotten off the entrance sidewalk when he was thrown forward as an explosion rolled out of the journalism building. He rolled over and stared a moment with wide eyes. “Holy moley,” he whispered. “Captain Marvel!” A lightning bolt struck and turned Freddy into CM3.
He didn’t realize that Ryan had been coming to get him and had seen the entire thing.
CM3 tore into the damaged building and quickly located Snapper. He was bloody and unconscious, but alive. He gently carried Snapper out and gave him to arriving paramedics. A further search of the building had revealed a lot of terrified students with minor injuries.
“Good work.” CM3 looked down to see the Atom standing on a piece of debris.
“Thanks,” he said, “but if I’d really done good work then Snapper wouldn’t be on his way to the hospital now.”
Atom nodded. “It’s good you feel that way but don’t get too down on yourself. Even we can’t stop everything.” CM3 nodded and the Atom continued. “Can you give me a hand with something? I’m wanting to take a look inside Snapper’s office.”
“Sure,” CM3 said as he picked Atom up and took him into the devastated office.
Atom looked around a moment. “This is what I’m concerned about. It was a powerful explosion, but the damage was mostly contained to this office. The charge was shaped to blow most of its force out that window.” Atom jumped down and knelt on the charred carpet. “Which tells me that Snapper was the target.” Atom studied the blast and began walking toward a back wall.
“I don’t understand,” CM3 said. “I’d been in the office for a couple of hours while we were talking about classes and my major.”
Atom’s eyes had gone wide as he picked up a piece of the bomb. He turned to CM3. “Can you fly me to my lab? I need to look at this now.”
CM3 nodded and picked the Atom up. He stepped to the shattered window and flew out.
In the physics lab, CM3 watched as the Atom examined the bomb fragment. He wanted desperately to ask what was going on, but didn’t want to break the Atom’s concentration. Finally the Atom turned from the microscope.
“This is what I was afraid of,” Atom said. “The bomb had been treated by the same dwarf star radiation that gives me my powers.” Atom looked directly at CM3. “That bomb could have been placed while you were in the office.”
CM3 fought down panic as he realized what Atom was saying. How could they stop someone with the Atom’s powers who had the run of the entire campus?
In the basement, Dwarfstar pounded his fist into an old table. He’d missed his target and only taken out that idiot Carr. He slumped into the floor and began thinking. Another plan was needed.
Bethany Silver was walking through the quad toward the damaged journalism building when someone slammed into her. She turned and grabbed his shoulder. “Watch where you’re going…” she started to say. “Ryan?” she asked. “What’s wrong?”
Ryan, his face pale, pulled free and continued wandering across the campus. Could it be true? Could his roommate really be a super hero?
Bethany watched Ryan go. She wanted to help him, but she didn’t dare reveal too much about herself. What if he found out about the phone calls?
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Next Issue: In CM3 #3: It’s the start of classes, but can CM3 handle them while trying to hunt Dwarfstar at the same time? Plus, how will a friendly get together at a local diner be affected when everyone at the table is fighting to keep a secret from the others?
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