(Whew! This cold just wont let go! My voice kept trying to give way during last nights game, but I hung in there!!)
Meanwhile at the Liberty Hall, located in the Forehead of Abe Lincoln’s head on Mount Rushmore…
The Chief comes on the Wall Screen and briefs our Heroes…
“Now that you’re all here, Lets get down to cases… I’ve called you here to help the U.S.A. fight its internal enemies – spies and saboteurs! America, as you know, allows free speech and free press! But our generosity and liberality is being taken advantage of by undercover agents of foreign countries!”
“Our loyal newspapers are threatened with bombings if they dare to print the truth about the totalitarian nations! Our manufacturing plants are wrecked, and innocent women and little children are often the victims of the force of these explosions! They pretend friendship and steal our defense secrets…”
“Even our colleges are overrun with these alien teachers and students, preaching hatred for our democratic ideals! Telling young men and women of America that freedom is useless… outmoded! Soapbox orators stir up class and race hatreds! Strong arm tactics are being used against our patriotic but helpless workers!”
“This must stop!! America is a land of freedom and must remain so! I know a widespread, powerful organization is at work in America, plotting sabotage and recolution to pave the way for the communist nations who seek to overcome us with Fire and Sword!”
“Your job is to rout out these rats! Stamp them from the U.S.A.! Freedom is too precious to lose without a fight! I’ve prepared several sealed envelopes with cases for you to investigate. Memorize them and then destroy them.
Your battle cry is — For America and Democracy!”
Whew. That was a lot of flavor text… So, you ask, what did our Intrepid Heroes do?
American Atom stood up and saluted! As they read the first envelope, they discoverd that they were to investigate Detroit, home of Generic Motors, who are being plagued by rable-rousers stirring up trouble amongst the workers! Even suggesting that Communists will garner the working class “Tremendous wage Increases” and “better working conditions”.
The American Atom took exception to this and gave a rousing patriotic speech that left the “Grey Shirt Movement” orator temporarily speachless and slinking off to his vehicle to escape!
Meanwhile the Grey Ghost had been “investigating” the Grey Shirts sedan and found propaganda leaflets and a letter postmarked from Toledo, Ohio stating, “… prepare the way for the invasion by making the workers revolt instead of maintaining their manufacturing plants for a wartime use!”
The Grey Shirt natural objected citing “rights of Privacy” and “unwarranted search and seizure”!!
The American Atom flew up and waved his Pocket Constitution in the villains face and condemed his hiding behid the very document he was trying to deride!
Meanwhile the Grey Ghost continued his investigations and discovered that most of the Grey Shirts men were wanted felons, such as “Dagger Dan” and “Big Al” Mezzino.
The aforementioned Grey Shirts were hasseling the poor workers trying to keep them from getting to work on time, when Captain Collateral Damage and Corporal Carnage arrived to defend the poor working men. After a brief struggle the men were admitted and the factory began its shift developing large Fuel Guzzling vehicles that the American People Demand!
During the investigation the villains slipped and reported that a certain “coffee shop” and Beatnik hangout in town was one of their fronts, to which the Heroes immediately arrived and entered, finding, to their dismay, an overpowering smell of herb smoke driffting about the darkened room, while a lone figure sat on stage tapping out a Bongo Beat while reciting Stanzas to Stalin!
In the corner the group preceived a member of our Merchant Marine Corp discussing times and departures of his ship to a sultry young woman of “loose morals” (as the American Atom put it) with way too much lipstick and dark eyeshadow, and wearing PANTS!
She slunk off as the Heroes arrive at the table to correct the young salior of the adage that “Loose lips sink Ships”.
They learn from the poor sap that he had reavealed to the winsome lass that his ship, The Liberty, was to set sail to Canada tonight at High Tide with a shipment of Zambonis, to help our disadvantaged Socialist Neighbor to the North to understand the values of a free and independent Capitalist System!
The monsters! Enemy Agents trying to destroy the Hockey Equipment and Manufacturing mutual network of trade between us and the Canadians!
The Heroes quickly sped to the shipyards and found the Liberty, just casting off. After alerting the Officer of the Deck of the danger the Heroes spread out and searched the ship.
While some searched the Bay for perhaps and enemy Submarine (to which the Amazing Captain Damage expressed verbal disbelief!) others looked about the ship for explosives.
The Vigilant Grey Ghost found the explosive device (a small container marked with a Circle with a “K” stamp within! Yes the Circle K!)in one of the coal bins and Corperal Carnage found the subversive who planted the device lowering a lifeboat from the side to escape! after a short battle he was captured, the ship saved and the Zambezi’s on their way to Canada!
… No time for a breather, the Grey Ghost has deduced that a manufacturing plant in Deleware is the place that uses the Circle K as its imprint stamp, so off to the Liberty Belle!
Once in Maryland, the Heroes arrive at the plant to investigate. They note the number of truck arriving and departing and soon determine that they canenter while the drivers are on the Swing Shift break. Entering they quickly find Explosives, rifles, Cannon Shells and other implements of destruction! This is a storage facility, and the trucks are couriering the Machinations of Evil all over the Country!
The group is so intent on their Investigations that they fail to notice the eight guards and one Foreman who arrive and attack.
The melee is fast and furious (one of the little buggers “dodging blows while moving like a monkey”), but the day is saved with Soothing American Radium Blasts(tm) and some quick thinking on Captain Damages part!
The Heroes find information about the next link in the chain in the bookwork that implicates a connection in Toledo… but that’s a story for next week!!
Stay Tuned, Next American Week, Same American Channel!
cya
