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Issue #87 by Travis Hiltz
FEATURING FREEDOM'S FIVE! February 2016 |
“DEVILS IN THE NIGHT”
No man’s land 1913
The metal man stood at least twenty feet tall. One of its hands was a modified machine gun, the other a massive claw. It clanked along, belching steam and firing wildly, as it stomped ever nearer to the allied lines.
British and French soldiers scattered, firing ineffectually at the iron behemoth as they retreated to the trenches.
A quartet of men ran, to the surprise of the assorted troops, towards the metal monster instead of towards safety.
The group consisted of a French musketeer, dressed in various shades of red, a medieval knight and his young, masked squire, and a man in a blue body suit, the chest decorated with the British flag.
This colorfully clad quartet with 4/5’s of the team of costumed heroes’ known as the Freedom’s Five!
Made of costumed adventurers from the various allied countries they had banded together to fight the Hun and his dreams of conquest: The Crimson Cavalier, Sir Steel and the Silver Squire, and the first Union Jack.
“Cavalier!” Union Jack shouted. “Help get the troops to safety; Squire, you’re with me!”
He and the youngster member of the team raced towards the metal menace, guns blazing. Union Jack sported two pistols, while the Squire carried a triangular, medieval shield and a machine gun.
Bullets bounced off the metal giant, like rain, but it was enough to get its attention.
“Come on, you tin blighter!” the masked youth shouted, concentrating his fire at its head.
Union Jack’s shots were more careful, as he took aim at the metal man’s eyes, joints and gun hand.
Sir Steel circled around, gesturing the escaping soldiers to safety, as he jogged through the mud and debris to get behind their foe. Once he’d reached the metal giant, he swung his broadsword, cutting deeply into its right knee. There was a grinding noise and the metal man stopped firing, stumbled and tried to keep its balance.
The metal giant fell to one knee, as Union Jack and the Squire focused all their fire at its remaining functioning knee.
Sir Steel planted a foot on the large metal leg and, grunting with effort, pulled his sword free. He them lunged forward and slashed down at the gun hand. A few stray shots bounced off his armor and helmet.
“Ow! Stop! I’m on your side!” He shouted, realizing some of the shots were from his teammates.
The duo stopped firing, but kept running towards their teammate. They each hooked an arm through one of the knight’s and continued to run, dragging him along with them.
“What…?” Sir Steel exclaimed. “What are you two on about?”
“We need to get out of the way!” Silver Squire shouted.
“The cavalry’s here,” Union Jack added. “And I’d prefer we didn’t get shot by it.”
The trio leapt into a foxhole and then peered over the edge. As the sound of gunfire faded, they could hear a new sound: a plane engine.
The blue bi-plane swooped down towards the metal man, guns blazing, churning up the muddy ground and raising sparks all across the monster’s body.
The pilot, dressed in a blue flight suit and helmet, his red scarf fluttering in the wind, gave the heroes a jaunty wave as he passed, before banking for a second run.
This time, along with firing, the masked pilot dropped several grenades as he passed. The first explosion toppled the metal man over backwards and the second shattered his remaining working leg.
The plane then swooped upwards and away.
Union Jack, Sir Steel and the Squire ran back to their fallen foe.
With an over-handed chop, the knight severed its massive head from its body, revealing the dazed and bleeding German operator within.
“See?” Union Jack said, reholstering one of his pistols and reloading the other. “No monsters are stalking no man’s land. Just a clever bit of machinery.”
The knight grunted in reply, sheathed his sword and reached in to drag the metal monster’s pilot out. He was struggling to undo the harness, when Union Jack grabbed his shoulder.
“Listen…!”
“To what?” The Knight replied, lifting his head.
“Is that rumble thunder?” Silver Squire asked, peering upwards.
Once again, Union Jack grabbed hold of his teammates, this time dragging them away from the metal foe.
“The Boche are starting a bombardment!” Sir Steel shouted, as he ran.
Silver Squire stumbled, only to be scooped up by his partner.
“My gun…!” he cried.
“We’ll get you another one, boy!” The Knight snapped, as they ran towards the trenches.
The rumble faded, only to be replaced by a high-pitched whine. The trio fell into the nearest trench seconds before the German shells hit. Silver Squire peeked up over the edge just in time to see the metal giant explode into a thousand bits of shrapnel.
Union Jack grabbed the back of his tunic and yanked him down.
“I hope the Eagle got away before they started shelling,” Sir Steel muttered, referring to the masked bi-plane pilot. He slumped down upon a wooden box and removed his bucket-like helmet. Underneath was the rugged features and sandy brown hair of a working class Brit.
The Silver Squire sank down next to him.
“Anyone seen the Cavalier?” Union Jack asked.
The Squire shook his head.
“There’s a good mile of trenches hereabouts,” Sir Steel replied. “We’ll find him.”
A young soldier came jogging up to the heroes.
“Sirs!” He said, snapping off a salute. “Thanks for you help.”
“Just doing our job, son,” Sir Steel said. “Just like you. Have you seen our team mate, the Crimson Cavalier?”
“Don’t think so, sir.”
“If you’d seen him, you’d remember,” Union Jack added. “What’s the word from command?”
“No word, sir. Wires were cut. We haven’t been able to reach HQ for two days. We’ve just been holding the line.”
“So, we’ve no chance of knowing if the Phantom Eagle got away before the shelling,” Union Jack muttered. “And no way to arrange transport out of here.”
“We couldn’t leave till we found the Cavalier, anyway,” Silver Squire added. “So, what next?”
“I’m sure this lot could still use our help,” Sir Steel said. “Even with that metal menace done with.”
“Oh, we could, sir,” The soldier nodded. “Even before that monster attacked, the fighting’s been pretty fierce. The Nurse is seeing to the wounded, but with no word from command and the disappearances, it’s been pretty tense…”
“Nurse?” Sir Steel muttered.
“What disappearances?” Union Jack asked.
“You didn’t come about the missing men?” The soldier asked, confused.
“First we’ve heard of it,” Sir Steel muttered, reaching over and helping himself to the canteen clipped to the young soldier’s belt. “What’s going on?”
“No one’s really quite sure…that’s why I thought HQ had called you fellows in,” The soldier replied. “Started with a few missing men, we thought it was just deserters…then there were more…couple men claimed to have been wounded by…whatever took the men and then the rumors about the same thing happening to the Boche…?”
“The Germans have men going missing as well?” Union Jack muttered. “Odd and definitely something we should be investigating, except, at the moment, we are scattered and cut off…”
“While you are looking for your teammate, you could stop at the ‘field hospital, the Nurse has set up,” The soldier suggested. “Couple of the wounded are supposed to have witnessed…something…”
He shrugged and stood, looking hopefully at the three costumed adventurers.
Union Jack rubbed his forehead in thought, then gestured for Sir Steel to pass him the canteen. He then pushed his mask up to his nose and took a sip of the tepid water. The other two waited, along with the soldier, for the masked man to make a decision.
While the Freedom’s Five did not have an ‘official’ leader, Union Jack, being the more experienced as well as being a member of an aristocratic family, was the one the others looked up to. Especially, the duo, which despite their knightly attire were both working class and tended to defer to the masked British hero.
“Well, then,” He said, after several minutes thought. “I’ll go talk to this ‘Nurse’ in charge of the wounded…see what I can find out. Why don’t you and the squire go, find out who’s in charge here and get the lay of the land, as it were.”
“Right,” Steel said, getting to his feet, and tucking his helmet under his arm.
Union Jack passed the soldier back his canteen, before adjusting his mask and getting directions to the field hospital.
Down a short, narrow tunnel, he found himself in a low ceilinged, dimly lit chamber, the dirt walls and ceiling supported by crude wooden beams and boards. Dozens of men, all with various wounds, were scattered about, on cots and laying on the floor.
Union Jack was sure that the term ‘Nurse’ was a nickname for some inexperienced young medic. So, he was a bit startled to see an actual young uniformed nurse bustling about the room, attending to the various patients.
She had reddish blonde hair. Her uniform was white, now streaked with dirt, with the skirt a bit shorter than was approved of by polite society and the medical profession and, like several of his teammates, she wore a domino mask.
“Um…excuse me,” Union Jack said, approaching the Nurse.
She was leaning over a young soldier, his head swathed in bandages. She was checking his pulse.
“Are you hurt or are you here to help?” She asked without looking up.
“I am here to help,” He replied.
“Well, then you can start over…” She began, straightening up and then her eyes going wide in surprise at his costume. “Oh my…!”
“Union Jack,” He said, giving a brief bow.
The nurse nodded at him and went back to her patient.
Union Jack waited several seconds before realizing no reply was coming.
“Who do I have the pleasure of addressing?” He asked.
“They call me the ‘Night Nurse’.” She said, not looking up. “Is there something I can help you with?”
“I‘m investigating the recent disappearances,” Union Jack said, feeling like a schoolboy facing a stern, disapproving teacher. “I was told I might talk to some soldiers here that had witnessed…whatever occurred.”
“Ah, yes, can’t have soldiers actually finding a way to avoid being slaughtered,” The Night Nurse muttered under her breath.
She turned and stood up.
“You’ll want to interrogate these two men at the back,” She said, pointing. “If you’ll excuse me, I need to see which of these men I can keep alive and healthy long enough for them to enjoy another opportunity to get themselves killed.”
“Ah, I see,” The masked hero nodded. “You have mistaken me for a general. Common mistake, as our uniforms are so similar.”
The two masked adventurers locked gazes for a moment.
“I do not relish warfare,” he said, grimly. “ I did not don this outfit for the fun of it. I am also here to help these men. Just because I am doing this in a different way then yourself, does not render my efforts lesser or suspect. To do this I need to know if there is some other force taking men or if there is some conspiracy to cover a mass desertion. Can you help me or is being self-righteous taking up too much of your time?”
There was another moment of icy silence and then a corner of the Night Nurse’s mouth went up briefly.
“Come along,” She said, making her way in-between the makeshift cots to the back of the chamber. She stopped at two men huddled up against the back, dirt wall: one younger, his arm in a dingy sling, the other older, and his chin covered in grey stubble, a blood-stained bandaged wrapped around his eyes.
“Gentlemen,” The Nurse said, gently. “This… gentleman would like to talk with you.”
She squeezed past Union Jack, returning to her duties.
“Be patient with them,” She whispered, as she passed.
“Hello fellows,” He said, kneeling down by the wounded duo.
“Um…Sir,” The Younger said, with an anxious nod.
The older gave a rough salute.
“My friends and I are trying to find out what’s happening. I was told you two may have seen something.”
“Seen something…?” The older man grumbled. “Not much these days, sir.”
“Sorry to hear it, soldier,” Union jack nodded. “Any hope?”
“Nurse says, there’s a good chance I’ll keep my eyes,” The soldier replied. “Young Paulie here is just banged up, but the worse damage…”
He reached up and tapped his temple.
Union Jack nodded in understanding.
“You had friends taken?”
“They came out of the night,” The young soldier muttered, looking blanking over the masked hero’s right soldier. “Took Alfie and Carter…”
“What took them?” Union Jack asked, quietly.
“Don’t know, sir,” The older man replied. “It all happened at night…just shadows…”
“Is that when your eyes were injured?” The hero asked.
“Naw, it was the barrage after. It was what happened to Paulie’s arm.”
“It grabbed me,” Paulie muttered. “Wouldn’t let go…it wouldn’t…I beat it with my rifle…flew off…like a…a…?”
“Like what?” Union Jack asked, gently. “How did it fly?”
Paulie turned his gaze till he was briefly focusing on the costumed adventurer.
“What are those things…the things on churches, like on…the big church in France…?”
“Angels?” Union Jack asked, puzzled.
“No,” Paulie muttered, looking away, his eyes going distant and haunted. “Not angels…”
“Not much to tell,” The older man said. “It always happens at night and they…whatever they are…they just come outta nowhere…and then fellows were gone…we’d hear them, fighting, but…we didn’t see anything…”
Union Jack nodded to himself and rubbed at his chin. He then stood up.
“Thank you for your help,” He said, standing up. “I don’t know yet what is going on out there, but my teammates and I will do all we can to stop it.”
He made his way back through the crowded ward.
“Not angels…” He heard mumbled behind him.
Union Jack found the Night Nurse washing the scarred leg of an unconscious young soldier.
“Find what you wanted?” She asked, not looking up.
“Maybe…hard to say,” He replied, looking around the crowded, dimly lit ward. “Too many questions and I’m not sure if anyone has the answers.”
“Unfortunately, men who have been shot and bombed are not the most reliable witnesses.” She replied, coolly.
“True,” The hero nodded. “Allow me to thank you for your, somewhat judgmental, assistance…”
He reached into one of the pouches on his belt and brought out two business cards.”
The masked nurse looked over at Union Jack, at first peevish and then curious.
“What are these?” She asked, peering at the cards suspiciously.
“The top one is the military base the Freedom’s Five are headquartered. The other is my club in London. Contact either one and they will have instructions to help you obtain any supplies you might need.”
The Night Nurse stood up, studying the costumed man thoughtfully.
“Thank you,” She said, simply.
Union Jack just nodded in reply and made his way out of the field hospital and back into the trench. Soldiers were still scrambling around, preparing for further attacks, from either the Germans or whatever was out there, taking away troops in the night.
Silver Squire was perched on a dirty crate, drinking from a tin cup.
“Is that tea?” he asked, hopefully.
The teen nodded and handed over the cup.
“The nurse fetched it for me,” he told his teammate.
Union Jack pulled his mask up, past his mouth took a sip and sighed blissfully.
“Aaah, it even has sugar,” He smiled. “That woman is a marvel…!”
“Steel has been helping them bolster up the trenches.” Squire said, once Union Jack had handed his cup back. “No luck on the radio, but one of the soldiers said he thinks the trench to the east has got theirs working. What are we doing now?”
“I need to talk to Steel,” Union Jack said, looking around. “We have a lot to do and would feel better if we could gather as many of the Five together as we can.”
He walked off down the trench, squeezing past soldiers, with Silver Squire tagging along behind.
They found the knight helping to jam a timber into place to re-enforce a section of trench wall.
“Good as she’ll get,” He said, stepping back and brushing his hands together. “What have you lads got?”
“Some pieces of the puzzle,” Union Jack shrugged. “Not enough to tell us what the whole picture is…I don’t know…I’ve got a few ideas…wish we knew where the Cavalier and the Eagle are…?”
“Steady on,” Sir Steel said, quietly, reaching out to grip Union Jack’s shoulder. “We have faced worse, and will again before this war is over. Don’t be trying to fix every problem at once. What’s our next move?”
Union Jack looked at his teammate, nodded and beneath his mask, smiled.
Despite his medieval attire, Sir Steel was a simple, working class man, but there were days that Union Jack thought he was the smartest of the five of them.
“We should find the Cavalier and see what information we can gather from the soldiers in the other trenches,” He said.
“Right,” The Knight nodded in reply. “Why don’t you and the lad handle that. If the Hun are going to attack, good chance they’ll come here, thinking their tin man was softened us up.”
“Are we going into ‘No man’s land’?” Silver Squire asked, in a mix of excited and anxious.
“No, we’ll skirt along behind the trench,” Union Jack said. “So guns stay in holsters and keep your shield out, in theory anyone shooting at us will be on our side.”
Squire nodded and shifted his shield from his back to his arm.
Sir Steel held out his hand as his young sidekick started to walk past him.
“See you soon, lad.” He said. “Behave yourself.”
“You too,” The Squire grinned back, shaking the offered hand.
He and Union Jack climbed up a crude wooden ladder and began the hike to the next trench, a few miles away.
“What do we do once we get there?” The squire asked, as they jogged along.
“Find the Cavalier, talk to the troops in the hopes we can find out what’s going on and…?”
“Do you think the Germans are missing men too?” Squire asked.
“That’s the rumor,” Union Jack replied absently.
“How we going to investigate that? Not like you can just go and ask them?”
It was a light-hearted comment, but the Squire’s tone was just serious enough that the other hero slowed his pace and he glanced over, thoughtfully, at his teammate.
“You are brighter than we give you credit for, lad” Union Jack said.
“I listen,” The Silver Squire shrugged. “Most people see you four as the heroes and me as just the…other fellow…you fellows are officers and I’m the troops or worse, sometimes, the servant….”
“We’ve never thought of you as the servant,” Union Jack said, slowing to a walk. “Well, maybe the Cavalier, but he treats nearly everyone that way.”
“I know,” The Squire nodded. “You, the Eagle and Steel have never treated me like I’m a kid.”
A moment of understanding passed between the two masked heroes and Union Jack realized the Squire was more than just Sir Steel’s partner and like so many other boys thrown into this conflict that had, almost unnoticed due to the chaos around them, become men.
“You want to talk to someone on the other side and find out if…something is taking their men too?” The Squire asked, as they resumed jogging along, across the war-ravaged countryside.
“Yes,” Union Jack replied, simply. “It’s the only way I can know for sure.”
“So, you brought me along, because Steel would have stopped you.”
“Maybe we should put you in charge,” Union Jack smiled grimly. “I want to cross No man’s land and get to the German lines, once we find the Cavalier and have seen to the other trenches and perhaps gotten in touch with HQ and the Phantom Eagle…I was thinking of you like ‘the troops’, wasn’t I?”
Silver Squire nodded and added no more questions or comments. He learned that there is a time to debate the plan and a time to just go along, follow orders and get things done.
The duo moved along at a steady trot for the better part of a half hour. There were a couple close calls with hair-trigger tempered allied troops, but the Squire’s shield and Union Jack’s authoritative tone kept them safe and going on their mission.
The sky was shifting from grey to dusk and would soon be full night. Union Jack came to a halt and consulted a compass tucked into his wristband.
He peered across the devastated fields and woods, mentally tracing paths of boot prints and shell craters until he stopped and pointed off to the left.
“That way.” He announced and took off. The Squire followed along behind. They came through some trees and found a jagged line of a trench that seemed to stretch on for a mile. The two heroes climbed down the dirt wall and looked around anxiously.
“Where is everyone?” The Squire asked.
“I don’t know,” Union Jack muttered, reaching for his gun. “This area may have been hit harder during the shelling, but still, they can’t have all fled or been evacuated…let’s have a look round.”
Gun in one hand, knife in the other Union Jack led the way, the Silver Squire following close behind. They made their way along the trench, peering into various side rooms, all of them empty.
“Looks like they left in a rush,” The Squire commented. “Lots of items just left behind.”
Union Jack nodded and crept along the wall towards the next cave-like doorway. Before he reached it, a rapier blade was thrust out and halted within an inch of his throat.
“No further until you have identified yourself, mon amie,” an accented voice challenged from within.
“That sounds like…!” The Squire breathed.
“Jean-Marc, it’s us,” Union Jack said. “Jack and the Squire.”
Jean-Marc Batroc, otherwise known as the dashing hero of France, the Crimson Cavalier, pulled back his sword and stepped out to join his teammates.
His usually dashing and colorful musketeer’s uniform had gained numerous streaks of dirt and several rips. There was a bullet hole in the wide brim of his hat and its ostrich plume was dingy and drooping.
“Mon frères!” He announced, sheathing his rapier and clasping the shoulders of his teammates.
“What happened to you?” Union Jack asked.
“I ran the wrong way, during the barrage,” the Cavalier shrugged. “I then stumbled into a…uh…what you call, a foxhole and waited out the attack with a group of soldiers and they then lead me here.”
“Do they have a working radio?” Union Jack asked.
“Non,” He said, shaking his head. “We have been cut off. Where is Steel?”
Settling in a small, cave-like room, and over watery tea, his teammates filled in the French hero on recent events, on their meeting with the Night Nurse and the mystery of the missing troops.
“No rest for the wicked, is I believe your English expression,” The Cavalier said, with a grim smile. “I have heard the rumors about men going missing. There have been whispers here…”
“Jack wants to go to the German side and find out if it’s happening there, too.” The Squire said.
“Truly?’ The Cavalier asked, putting down his mug.
“Well, yes.” Union Jack nodded, reluctantly. He braced himself for the lecture that would attempt to talk him out of it.
“That plan is so reckless that I could have come up with it!” the Cavalier exclaimed, slapping his knee.
“Not my favorite idea,” Union Jack shrugged. “But, I don’t see what other options we have. It’ll be up to you two and Steel to help these men in the case this is part of a plan by the Germans to launch an attack.”
“When do you hope to set out?” The Crimson Cavalier asked.
“Within the hour.” Union Jack said. “The darkness should help my chances.”
“You might want to get some rest then,” His teammate suggested, getting to his feet. “The boy and I can hold the fort.”
“Good luck,” Squire said, as he followed the Cavalier out of the room.
# # # # #
“Maybe I should have let them talk me out of this,” Union Jack muttered, as he made his way across ‘No man’s land’.
His costume was smeared with dirt and one knee was torn from a stumble on some rocky ground. He was hunched down in a blast crater, peering over to scout the German lines.
It was a cloudy night, and there were few lights on the enemy encampments. The British hero could make out the vague shapes of patrolling soldiers.
He crouched back down, sitting with his back against the hard packed dirt wall, to think.
Union Jack then leapt out of the hole, crouching low and moving quickly towards the German line. He snaked through a gap in the barbed wire and lowered himself into the German trench.
Kneeling down behind a pile of dirt, Union Jack peered anxiously around, taking in the shadowy forms of equipment, makeshift benches and a few huddled forms of sleeping soldiers.
Walking almost on tiptoe, Union Jack crept past several German soldiers, having to quickly duck into an alcove when one of the soldiers up top of the trench moved around.
Several very tense minutes of creeping along got Union Jack a dozen yards down the trench. He was within sight of a narrow doorway. There was a flickering light within and a guard slumped against the dirt wall next to it.
Hugging the wall, Union Jack moved along, like a shadow until he was with inches of the sentry. He quickly clamped a hand over the soldiers’ mouth and nose. The soldier started and struggled, but soon grew weaker as his oxygen was cut off. He slumped, bonelessly and Union Jack lowered him to the ground. Stepping over the guard, Union Jack slid his gun out of the holster, as he stepped into the room.
“Excuse me,” He said, in halting German, to the officer behind the makeshift desk. “But, I wonder if I could have a word with you?”
The man behind the desk’s uniform was surprisingly crisp and clean despite his surroundings. He had thinning blonde hair that made his forehead look very pronounced. He sported a monocle and was also holding a pistol.
“Good evening,” The German replied, coolly. “I must say, I am surprised, as I had expected there would be a strike, but not a lone assassin.”
“I won’t say, it’s not tempting,” Union Jack said, stepping through the doorway, and standing with his back to the dirt wall. “But, I came here merely to talk.”
The German officer raised a questioning eyebrow and gestured at a nearby chair with his pistol.
“What could we have to talk about?” He asked.
“I think we may have a common foe, Hauptman…?”
“ It is Colonel. Colonel Von Strucker.”
“I’ve heard the name,” Union Jack nodded, thoughtfully. “Surprised we have not crossed paths before now.”
“Not directly,” Von Strucker said. “But you and your…associates have interfered with several undertakings of mine.”
“And will most likely do so again,” Union Jack said. “But, there’s something else behind my visit tonight…”
“I assumed you were just being neighborly,” Strucker smiled, grimly.
As concisely as possible Union Jack explained about the missing soldiers and the Freedom’s Five’s efforts to discover who was behind it, as well as the belief that the Germans were dealing with a similar mystery.
As he spoke, Union Jack watched Von Strucker. He saw a flicker of uncertainty cross his otherwise stoic expression and a shift in his eyes that told him, he was on the right trail and despite whatever the German officer might tell him, he now had the information he had come looking for.
Von Strucker sat quietly for several moments.
“We seem to have a common foe,” He murmured. “Much as I would like to take credit for your difficulties, we too, have been dealing with troop disappearances…personally, I do not believe the allies were devious enough to be behind it. I was more inclined to blame it on desertion…”
“Seems like an opinion that would not help your career,” Union Jack said.
“Which is precisely why I have kept it and my investigations to myself.” Von Strucker said, smiling cynically. “But, this notion of a third party working against both powers is intriguing.”
“Well, hopefully, now that you know, we can solve this by coming at it from both sides,” Union Jack nodded, getting to his feet.
“Ah, you are assuming that I would be allowing you to just stroll back to your lines,” Von Strucker said, bringing up his luger and pointing it at Union Jack’s chest. “
With a blur of motion, Union Jack had his own gun up and aimed at the German’s broad forehead.
“I was hoping for better from you,” He sighed. ‘This problem is potentionally bigger then our own current conflict. “And while it might be a boost to your career to capture me, do you really want it to be a posthumous accolade?”
The two men stood frozen for several heartbeats before the German officer lowered his gun and laid it down upon the table.
“Till we meet again,” Von Strucker nodded.
The British hero nodded in return and re-holstered his gun, before slipping out the doorway and into the night.
# # # # #
It took another hour to struggle back across no man’s land. He was shot at by troops from both sides.
Turning his ankle on a rock, Union Jack practically tumbled into the allied trench. He went down on one knee and looked up to find a half dozen guns pointed at him.
“Wait, wait!” Silver Squire said, pushing his way through the troops. “He’s on our side!”
Muttering apologies, several British soldiers came forward and helped him to his feet.
Union Jack looked around, taking in, not just, what appeared to be new wounds, but a change in the attitude of the soldiers, since he left.
Something had happened, in his absence and it had left the soldiers a bit deflated, as well as a bit jumpy.
“What have I missed?” He asked, leaning on the Squire, as he walked off his injury.
“They came while you were gone,” The Squire replied, tightly. He shook his head. Like the troops, some of the adventuresome spark had gone out of the young hero. “They came out of nowhere…they took soldiers…we couldn’t…couldn’t stop them…”
“You saw them?” Union Jack asked, stopping. He tightened his grip on the Squire’s shoulder, turning him so he was facing Union Jack.
“Robert,” Union Jack said, his tone and use of the Squire’s real name piercing his daze. “I need you to help me. We are the only chance those men have. Tell me what happened?”
The younger hero blinked and then took a deep breath.
“Right…yes, come on, I was going to check on the Cavalier.” The Squire said, quietly.
Union Jack, like all of the Freedom’s Five had tended to treat the Squire as the younger brother of the group, to protect him and in a way shelter him from as much of the harshness of the war as they could, to allow him to hold on to his view of it all as some grand adventure.
He could feel that some of that had gone away and while he had sympathy for the young hero, Union Jack also felt a twinge of sadness at the knowledge.
“The Cavalier was hurt in the fighting.” The Squire said, in a low tone. “I and the soldiers got as many men as we could into the…um…side rooms…barracks…we still lost about a half dozen…”
Union Jack nodded, letting the Squire talk. They ducked into a room, which seemed to be this trenches’ hospital. Union Jack quickly spotted the Cavalier, as the only splash of color amongst a crowd of drab brown and grey.
He was missing his hat and now had a bandage wrapped around his head. Along with his wrapped arm, his right hand was engulfed in a mitten of bandage and strips of cloth.
“You seem to be getting the worse of this mission, Jean-Marc,” Union Jack said, perching on the edge of his friend’s cot.
“My wardrobe may never recover,” The Frenchman grinned in reply, before frowning in thought. “We are facing monsters, Mon frère.”
Union Jack nodded and gestured for the Squire to join them.
“What happened?”
“They came out of the night,” Cavalier said, in a low tone. “They are not angels, but rather demons…these are not Huns in costumes, these are creatures.”
“They had wings,” The Squire added. “And bullets didn’t hurt them.”
“Gargoyles,” Union Jack muttered. ‘”Just like Paulie said.”
“We have to stop them,” The Cavalier said, grimly. “Whatever these things are, they are getting greedy or brave.”
“How?” Union Jack asked, shrugging. “We can’t even find them, let alone fight them…”
“We can find them…I think,” The Squire said, quietly.
Both men turned to focus on their young teammate. He rubbed the back of his neck, concentrating on what he was going to say next.
“One of them grabbed Billy…the private that was helping me get the wounded to shelter,” The Silver Squire explained, his eyes dropping. “It grabbed him and I grabbed hold of his rucksack…it flew up with us and I saw a couple others all heading in the same direction…before I fell.”
“Toward the Hun line?” The Cavalier asked.
The Squire shook his head.
“Could you guide us, do you think?” Union Jack asked.
“Us…?” The Cavalier asked, holding up his bandaged arms.
“Well, then…um…guide me,” Union Jack shrugged.
The Squire nodded.
“I uh…yes, I think so…” He muttered.
“Best we head out soon as possible,” Union Jack said, standing up. “I’ll need more ammo…and a sandwich.”
# # # # #
Soon the duo was trudging across the war torn landscape, each burdened with extra gun belts and a rucksack of assorted supplies. The Silver Squire had his shield slung over his free shoulder and held a newly acquired machine gun in the crook of his arm.
Union Jack’s hands were empty, but as he marched his right hand was never more than a few inches from his holster. The clouds drifted away, but the night stayed chill. The two heroes walked along in silence, occasionally pointing out something that hinted at a trail, a bullet casing, a torn bit of cloth, several strange footprints and faint drag marks in the mud.
It was slow going, but they made their way in grim silence.
After an hour, the Squire halt at a low hill, that had once been wooded, but after months of combat, had been reduced to tree stumps, rock and discarded barbed wire.
“I fell back there, a ways, but saw…and heard Billy and…whatever grabbed him, keep going over the hill.” The Squire said, taking a sip from his canteen.
Union Jack nodded and slid a pistol out of his gun belt.
“I’d like to think we are getting close,” He said. “Why strike this area if they aren’t somewhere nearby?”
The Squire nodded in agreement and the pair crept up the hill. Keeping to what little shelter they could find, the two heroes peered down across the rock-strewn valley. It was dotted with craters and foxholes, as well as some broken fences and the remains of a crude log farmhouse. It all had the appearance that the two armies had clashed here and then realized there was nothing worth fighting for and left.
“Maybe it’s the anxiety and the shadows,” Union Jack muttered. “But something doesn’t look right…?”
“What?” The Squire asked, standing next to him and straining his eyes, trying to take in every detail of the dark, desolate valley.
“I don’t…it’s…wait…!” Union Jack said, rubbing his chin in a mix of confusion and thought. The long night was taking its toll and he could feel his brain struggling to put pieces together. “That hill…across the way…!”
“What, the one in-between those two rocky ones…it’s a hill.”
“Compared to every other path of land in this area, it looks noticeably untouched from here. Good as place as any to start looking.”
They kept to the outskirts of the valley, making their way to the other side, while sticking to the shadows or any bit of cover they could find. They soon were within sight of the hill, just as the moon pushed through the clouds.
“It does look like the fighting didn’t touch it.” The Squire admitted, looking around. “And it’s not as rocky as the rest of the valley. Why is that?”
“No idea. Let’s see what else we can see.”
They crept along, alert, but not sure for what. After several minutes, the Silver Square halted and knelt down, running a gloved hand through the grass.
“Shouldn’t the grass be taller?” He asked. “ It doesn’t feel right.”
The Union Jack joined the young hero and plucked out some blades of grass.
“You’re right,” He said, running the grass through his fingers. “It looks like grass, but feels…wrong, as well as it looks like it’s been trimmed or cared for in some way. It doesn’t look near as wild and unkempt as the surrounding area.”
“Why would monsters work on keeping the lawn neat…?” The Squire asked, standing up.
“I don’t know,” Union Jack said, standing up. “”Lets go find out.”
The two heroes walked around the base of the hill, unsure what they were looking for, but now convinced they were closing in on their quarry.
“It looks like a child’s picture of a hill,” Union Jack muttered, puzzled.
“That rock looks like a door,” Squire added, his forehead furrowed in thought. He pointed at it with his gun.
Union Jack hadn’t noticed the rock, but once it was pointed out, he was baffled to how he hadn’t seen it before.
While the Silver Squire stood guard, Union Jack went up to the odd oval rock, set into the slope of the hill. He ran his fingers around the edge of it.
“Think you might be right about this…” He muttered, as he probed. “This patch of dirt with a stone set in it looks like…”
The stone sunk into the dirt at his touch and the large oval of stone swung open. Behind it was a tunnel that went deep into the hill.
Silver Squire hurried to his teammates’ side and looked gob-smacked at the new discovery.
“The walls and floor look like metal…!” He breathed.
“It’s warm,” Union Jack added, reaching in and touching the wall. “Faint hum too…like there’s machinery working behind it.”
After a moment’s hesitation, the two heroes stepped into the tunnel. It was wide enough for them to walk side by side.
“Somehow I didn’t think the monster’s lair would be so…shiny…?” Squire muttered looking around in puzzlement. He ran a gloved hand along the metal wall as they walked.
“Are we inside a big machine?” He asked.
“I don’t know,” Union Jack replied, distractedly. “The more we learn, the less this whole thing makes sense.”
The metal tunnel came to a T-junction, and as the duo was pondering which way to go, Union Jack stuck out his arm and pushed the Silver Squire back against the wall.
“Someone’s coming,” He whispered.
As their backs pressed against the metal wall, a section slid open and the costumed heroes tumbled backwards.
Struggling to keep their feet, they found themselves in a dimly lit room. It was crowded with mechanical devices and banks of equipment lined the wall.
“It’s like Fraulein Frankenstein’s laboratory…?” The Squire breathed.
“I think the good Fraulein would be green with jealously if she got a glimpse of this room,” Union Jack added. “And this is the final nail in the coffin in the idea that the Germans are behind this.”
There’s another door, over there,” The Squire said, pointing at the far wall.
Union Jack nodded and the duo moved to investigate it.
The door slid open at the touch, revealing a room that appeared too large to have fit within the hill.
It was a metal bowl of a room that reminded Union Jack of a university lecture hall. It was ringed with rows of metal benches and in the bottom of the bowl were more pieces of equipment, as well as roughly two-dozen occupied examining tables.
“The missing soldiers…!”
“Looks like your mentioning Fraulein Frankenstein might have been more insightful than you knew,” Union Jack said. “I think this is some kind of… laboratory or hospital, perhaps. Whoever controls those creatures seems to be collecting soldiers to study.”
The two heroes hunched down, studying the several dozen soldiers lying down there, hooked to numerous devices. It did all resemble some kind of bizarre hospital operating theater.
They watched the lights on the various machines blink and the unconscious soldiers breathing for several minutes and then a door slid open. Three creatures out of a bad dream entered the amphitheater.
All three stood over six feet tall with broad hunched shoulders from which sprouted wide bat-like wings. They had skin like stone and the trio looked like all three should be perched on a European church. They had blunt features; small curved stone horns protruded from their foreheads.
There only clothing was a crude kilt made of a fabric that looked like it too had been craved from stone.
The three gargoyles stomped about the operating theater on cloven-hoofed feet, peering studiously at the prone forms of their captives.
“The gargoyles aren’t the servants, are they?” whispered the Squire. “There isn’t some human master…it’s them…!”
“Yes, they don’t seem to be just the hunters, but also the …I don’t know…doctors, scientists,” Union Jack nodded. “They seem to be studying the soldiers…as if they have never encountered…humans before…”
“I don’t like the sound of that,” The Squire muttered, anxiously.
“Neither do I,” Union Jack said. “But I think we have wandered off the map and here there be dragons…”
“What do we do?” The Squire asked.
“I don’t really know,” Union Jack said, standing up and drawing his pistols. “But I am bone tired, and not letting those creatures treat our soldiers like lab rats.”
He began running down the metal steps to the bottom level, firing at the three gargoyles as he went.
Silver Squire stayed in his hunched down position, a bit stunned by his teammates sudden action. He then shrugged, slung his shield over his arm, clicked the safety off of his gun and jogged after him.
Union Jack placed his shots with deadly accuracy, ensuring that he hit only the three creatures. He then had to deal with the fact that his bullets bounced off their grey, stony skin. Muttering under his breath some phrases he didn’t wish the young
Squire to learn, he readjusted his aim to avoid the comatose soldiers getting struck by any ricochets.
Once he had the attention of the three creatures, Union Jack slowed to a walk, reloading his guns as he went.
“Evening, Gentle…men?” He said. “I was wondering if I could have a word?”
The trio of gargoyles glared at him. One stepped forward, clenching his hands and making a sound like someone walking on gravel.
The apparent leader held up a hand, to hold his comrade back. He squinted at the intruder, his gaze full of predatory thoughtfulness.
“How did this creature gain consciousness?” The lead gargoyle grated in surprisingly good English. “It will contaminate the study.”
“It is not one of the subjects,” The other replied, puzzled.
“An intruder?” The third growled. “How did one of the mammals find its way in?”
Union Jack signed, finished reloading and raised his guns.
“Really? Snotty condensation?” He muttered. “I am a son of a British upper class family. We invented this kind of nonsense.”
This time when he fired, he concentrated on the creatures’ heads and faces. He was unsure if it hurt them more, but it did seem to bother them.
“What are you?” He shouted between shots. “Scientists? Torturers? Collectors of exotic animals?”
The lead gargoyle brought his arms up to shield his face. He grunted behind his arms at his companions. The other two gargoyles opened their wings and launched themselves into the air.
Union Jack felt a cold fist of anxiety in his chest as the two stony monstrosities came soaring towards him.
As they reached out their clawed hands at Union Jack, the Silver Squire jumped up and let loose with his machine gun at the two creatures. Bullets slammed into the chest of the nearest one, driving him into his companion. The two gargoyles collided, in mid-air, with a sound like two rocks being slammed together and then tumbled to the floor.
One of them landed on his knees. Clutching the row of chairs and pulled himself to his feet. The other tumbled down the aisle for several feet before digging his claws into the metal ramp way and slowing himself down.
While the two were getting angrily to their feet, Union Jack leapt over several rows of chairs, dodged one of the gargoyles and raced down towards the operating theater at the base.
The Squire continued to rain bullets at the two gargoyles, keeping them distracted and focused on him, rather than his teammate.
Union Jack raced down the auditorium, leaping over rows of chairs or zigzagging down the aisles. He had no idea how long the Silver Squire could hold off the other two, and he had only the slenderest thread of a plan, but what he did have was a certainly that if they didn’t stop these creatures here and now they’d end up facing a threat with the potential to make the horror of the war pale in comparison.
He felt a fist of stone slam into his right shoulder and went down to avoid his attackers’ other hand, went into a shoulder roll and dove over the last row of metal chairs at the trio’s leader.
The gargoyle caught the masked hero, and Union Jack promptly jammed one of his pistols into the creature’s eye.
“Let’s everyone settle down,” He said, turning to look over his shoulder.
The gargoyle chasing him skidded to a halt. “Your commander and I need to chat.”
He emphasized his point by pushing his gun harder against the stone creature’s eye.
“If you think…!” The creature growled, only to have Union Jack jam his other gun into its beak-like mouth.
“Manners,” The hero admonished. “Just because I wear a mask and you are a hideous bit of statuary doesn’t mean we can’t behave like gentlemen. Now, I have some questions. I will ask them, politely and expect you to answer in the same manner.”
The creature started to snarl a threat, but the gun being pushed further down his gullet resulted in only a gravelly gagging noise.
“Since you seem currently speechless, I’ll start,” He said, casually, as he removed the gun from the creature’s mouth. “Who, or perhaps what, are you three?”
“We are the elite of the Stonian exploratory force.” The creature replied, with as much dignity as he could muster.
“Stonian? Family name or what your…species is called?”
“We come from the planet Stonius.”
“Stonius? Not terribly creative bit of naming,” Union Jack mused, before returning his attention to his captive. “So, you are not denizens of hell, but rather another world…?”
“Stonius 4.”
“Why are you taking soldiers?”
“We of the elite of Stonius are warriors, as well, as explorers, in our efforts to find new worlds for our people, we have sometimes had to contend with hostile primitives, such as yourself.”
“Have a habit of claiming planets that already have…people on them, do you?” Union Jack mused. “Sounds like you are conquers, but call yourself something a bit more noble sounding.”
“You know nothing of us!” One of the other Stonians exclaimed.
“I’m British, you’d be surprised how familiar your story sounds.” Union Jack replied, not even bothering to look away from his captive.
“So, you needed to study your next potential target, and seeing us locked in such a massive conflict gave you good cover as well as raising some concerns, as to how easy the pickings would be. Makes sense…”
The Stonian leader shifted his weight, pulling Union Jack out of his pondering. He increased the pressure of his gun against its eye and brought up his other gun and rested it against the alien’s rocky temple.
“I think we need to go our separate ways,” Union Jack said, loudly.
There was the click of a gun and the trio of creatures turned to look over at the examination tables. The Squire was standing there; gun at the ready and the released soldiers were getting groggily to their feet and making for the doorway at the far end of the room.
The Stonioans growled and sputtered in anger and frustration, but were trapped in indescivness with Union Jack holding their leader.
Union Jack could feel the Stonian leader trembling with anger. He kept the pressure of his guns against the alien’s granite-like skin, knowing any slip up; it would tear him to bloody pieces.
While Union Jack preferred to think his way out of a problem, but was becoming more convinced that his chances of leaving this place alive was quite low and that there was no solution that did not involve shooting his way out.
“Bloody hell…!” He sighed, as he jammed both pistols into the aliens’ face and fired.
Six shots and Union Jack felt the creature’s grip on him loosen. He brought his knees up and using the Stonians’ chest as a springboard kicked with all his might and broke free. He leapt backwards, hit the ground and quickly rolled under one of the examining tables. He came out the other side, leapt to his feet and started firing again, fanning his shots trying to keep all three Stonians attention focused on him, and away from the Silver Squire and the escaping soldiers.
His plan seemed to be successful, which meant he now had three massive stone creatures intensely, violently angry with him.
Firing wildly, he backed away from the aliens as quickly as he could, painfully aware of the need to give the Squire and the soliders a chance to escape, while anxiously counting his quickly decreasing number of bullets.
Union Jack reached the doorway, just as his pistols clicked empty.
“Damnit…!” He breathed, re-holstering one pistol and switching his grip on the other to use it as a makeshift club. He also drew his knife from a holster strapped to his calf. “This is probably going to hurt a bit.”
“Not if you duck,” A voice behind him said.
Union Jack dropped to one knee and a hail of bullets flew over his head.
He glanced up to see the Silver Squire firing his machine gun at the advancing trio of monsters. They staggered backwards, their stony skin appearing scratched and pitted.
“What are you doing!” He hissed at the younger hero. “How are the soldiers going to get out?”
“I brought my own key,” Sir Steel said, pushing his way through the doorway and past his teammates.
He brandished his broadsword, swinging widely to hold back the trio of gargoyles.
“How…?” Union Jack exclaimed.
“After we got word of your idiotic plan, we started to track you,” The knight explained between swings. “Then we learned that the Hun were moving to bombard this area and it seemed a good chance you’d be in the middle of it…back away you horror!”
“Bombard the area…? How would they know…Von Strucker!”
“Um…can we worry about him later…?” The Silver Squire asked, anxiously.
During the distraction, the Stonians lunged forward, the nearest punching Sir Steel on the side of his helmeted head. His helmet rang like a bell, as the knight staggered backwards.
The Silver Squire fired at them until his machine gun ran dry and then turned it and cracked it over the head of the nearest Stonian. The gunstock cracked, as did the head.
Union Jack lunged forward and stabbed the other creatures in the chest. The blade snapped, but it startled the alien enough to make him step back.
The Squire dropped the broken gun and helped Sir Steel.
The knight used his enchanted sword as a cane to help him keep his feet, while with his free hand he rubbed at the dent in his helmet.
The two groups stumbled away from each other, the heroes into the corridor, and the aliens back into the auditorium, more startled than injured.
The door slid shut behind the trio.
‘That’s not going to hold them, if they decide to come after us,” Union Jack muttered, looking over his shoulder. “Where are the soldiers…?”
“Outside,” Sir Steel grumbled, adjusting his helmet. “Cavalier and that masked nurse are tending to them. If we aren’t torn limb from limb or blown to bits we can chat all night about it.”
They were halfway to the door that lead to safety, when they heard the rending of metal, the Stonians burst through into the corridor.
Silver Squire caught the fist blow on his shield, which sent him stumbling backwards. The next Stonian swung at Sir Steel and came away missing two fingers.
“Ack-Ahhh!” The alien shrieked clutching his injured hand. “How!”
“You aren’t that special, laddie,” Sir Steel growled, stepping forward. “This sword could cut the devil himself. Back away, ya horrors!”
He swung again, taking the tip off of an extended stone wing.
The aliens, now aware these colorfully dressed humans could harm them, began to back down the corridor, the knight following them, pushing them back, his enchanted sword drawing sparks when it struck the wall, or chipping bits off of any of the three aliens that wasn’t quick enough to out of his reach.
While he did that, Union Jack tossed away the hilt of his dagger and helped the Squire to his feet.
“Come on, soldier,” He said.
“Watch out!” The Squire yelled, swinging his shield. He caught one of the aliens in the side of the neck as it lunged at them.
“What..?” Union Jack muttered.
“It flew over Steel.” Squire said. “Duck!”
The Stonian came at them again, and collided head on with the Squire’s enchanted shield. It sounded like someone had struck a gong.
Both heroes staggered back under the blow, keeping their feet only by sheer force of will, the events of the day taking their toll on their strength and energy.
Sir Steel caught his opponent across the temple with the flat of his blade and then spun and loped off one of the wings of the alien attacking his partner and Union Jack.
He then ran forward, shoulder blocking his way past the alien and pushed his teammates back along the corridor.
The trio staggered out of the doorway and into the night. Union jack hit the door control with his elbow on the way past, shutting the door.
Spotting the quickly retreating group of soldiers the trio headed in that direction The Crimson Cavalier spotted his teammates and waved to them. The French hero shouted, but the words didn’t carry.
“What?” Squire asked, stumbling along, dazed and weary.
“Duck!” Sir Steel, grabbing the other two and jumping behind a clump of leafless, grey trees.
The door in the hill slid open and the wounded and very angry stone aliens rushed out.
Only to be struck by a hail of bullets.
Union Jack raised his head and he spotted a distinctive bi-plane as it passed in front of the moon.
“The Phantom Eagle!” He said, smiling beneath his mask.
“Yes, we found him and he and the plane were all in one piece.” Sir Steel said, getting to his feet. He paused, holding out his free hand to help up his friend. Both men froze, listening, hearing a faint, whine that had becoming all too familiar in these last couple years.
“We need to move!” Union Jack said, climbing to his feet. “The bombardment is beginning!”
The two men grabbed the Squire and, holding on to each other, began to run.
The German shells struck and the spacecraft, disguised, as a scenic hill seemed to burst like a balloon. A cacophony ripped through the night and a wall of force struck the three heroes, sending them tumbling down the ridge of the little valley.
They were showered by dirt and debris, as staggered and fell to the relative safety of the other side.
Union Jack sat up, pulled his mask up to just below his eyes in order to catch his breath.
“Anyone still alive?” He called.
“Barely,” Sir Steel groaned, using his sword to get to his feet.
“Did we win?” Silver Squire asked, content to just lie on the ground for the moment.
“I think so,” Union Jack replied, getting slowly to his feet.
“Something went flying off as the shells struck,” Sir Steel said, pulling off his helmet and spitting on the ground. “Don’t know if we’ve seen the last of those beasties…”
“If they were here to learn about humans,” Union Jack explained “Then I think they may have learned a hard lesson and it’ll be a good many years before they think about conquering this primitive little globe.”
“So, they’ll be someone else’s problem,” The knight grunted, sheathing his sword and helping the Squire to his feet.
Union Jack pulled his mask back into place and trudged back up the ridge. Standing at the top, he peered down over the remains of the little valley. It now looked like an enormous blast crater.
“Well, the Hun are good for something at last,” Sir Steel said, taking off his helmet.
“I’ll be sure to express our gratitude the next time Colonel Von Strucker and I have a chat.”
“Yikes!” The Squire exclaimed, joining them and having a look around. “What now?”
“We go find the others,” Union Jack said. “Make sure everyone got away and in one piece.”
“And then ale,” Sir Steel added. “Lots of ale.”
“And sleep.” Union Jack added, nodding.
Writer’s note: A No-Prize to the first astute reader to figure out when the Stonians did come back to Earth and what Marvel heroes stopped them.
The metal man stood at least twenty feet tall. One of its hands was a modified machine gun, the other a massive claw. It clanked along, belching steam and firing wildly, as it stomped ever nearer to the allied lines.
British and French soldiers scattered, firing ineffectually at the iron behemoth as they retreated to the trenches.
A quartet of men ran, to the surprise of the assorted troops, towards the metal monster instead of towards safety.
The group consisted of a French musketeer, dressed in various shades of red, a medieval knight and his young, masked squire, and a man in a blue body suit, the chest decorated with the British flag.
This colorfully clad quartet with 4/5’s of the team of costumed heroes’ known as the Freedom’s Five!
Made of costumed adventurers from the various allied countries they had banded together to fight the Hun and his dreams of conquest: The Crimson Cavalier, Sir Steel and the Silver Squire, and the first Union Jack.
“Cavalier!” Union Jack shouted. “Help get the troops to safety; Squire, you’re with me!”
He and the youngster member of the team raced towards the metal menace, guns blazing. Union Jack sported two pistols, while the Squire carried a triangular, medieval shield and a machine gun.
Bullets bounced off the metal giant, like rain, but it was enough to get its attention.
“Come on, you tin blighter!” the masked youth shouted, concentrating his fire at its head.
Union Jack’s shots were more careful, as he took aim at the metal man’s eyes, joints and gun hand.
Sir Steel circled around, gesturing the escaping soldiers to safety, as he jogged through the mud and debris to get behind their foe. Once he’d reached the metal giant, he swung his broadsword, cutting deeply into its right knee. There was a grinding noise and the metal man stopped firing, stumbled and tried to keep its balance.
The metal giant fell to one knee, as Union Jack and the Squire focused all their fire at its remaining functioning knee.
Sir Steel planted a foot on the large metal leg and, grunting with effort, pulled his sword free. He them lunged forward and slashed down at the gun hand. A few stray shots bounced off his armor and helmet.
“Ow! Stop! I’m on your side!” He shouted, realizing some of the shots were from his teammates.
The duo stopped firing, but kept running towards their teammate. They each hooked an arm through one of the knight’s and continued to run, dragging him along with them.
“What…?” Sir Steel exclaimed. “What are you two on about?”
“We need to get out of the way!” Silver Squire shouted.
“The cavalry’s here,” Union Jack added. “And I’d prefer we didn’t get shot by it.”
The trio leapt into a foxhole and then peered over the edge. As the sound of gunfire faded, they could hear a new sound: a plane engine.
The blue bi-plane swooped down towards the metal man, guns blazing, churning up the muddy ground and raising sparks all across the monster’s body.
The pilot, dressed in a blue flight suit and helmet, his red scarf fluttering in the wind, gave the heroes a jaunty wave as he passed, before banking for a second run.
This time, along with firing, the masked pilot dropped several grenades as he passed. The first explosion toppled the metal man over backwards and the second shattered his remaining working leg.
The plane then swooped upwards and away.
Union Jack, Sir Steel and the Squire ran back to their fallen foe.
With an over-handed chop, the knight severed its massive head from its body, revealing the dazed and bleeding German operator within.
“See?” Union Jack said, reholstering one of his pistols and reloading the other. “No monsters are stalking no man’s land. Just a clever bit of machinery.”
The knight grunted in reply, sheathed his sword and reached in to drag the metal monster’s pilot out. He was struggling to undo the harness, when Union Jack grabbed his shoulder.
“Listen…!”
“To what?” The Knight replied, lifting his head.
“Is that rumble thunder?” Silver Squire asked, peering upwards.
Once again, Union Jack grabbed hold of his teammates, this time dragging them away from the metal foe.
“The Boche are starting a bombardment!” Sir Steel shouted, as he ran.
Silver Squire stumbled, only to be scooped up by his partner.
“My gun…!” he cried.
“We’ll get you another one, boy!” The Knight snapped, as they ran towards the trenches.
The rumble faded, only to be replaced by a high-pitched whine. The trio fell into the nearest trench seconds before the German shells hit. Silver Squire peeked up over the edge just in time to see the metal giant explode into a thousand bits of shrapnel.
Union Jack grabbed the back of his tunic and yanked him down.
“I hope the Eagle got away before they started shelling,” Sir Steel muttered, referring to the masked bi-plane pilot. He slumped down upon a wooden box and removed his bucket-like helmet. Underneath was the rugged features and sandy brown hair of a working class Brit.
The Silver Squire sank down next to him.
“Anyone seen the Cavalier?” Union Jack asked.
The Squire shook his head.
“There’s a good mile of trenches hereabouts,” Sir Steel replied. “We’ll find him.”
A young soldier came jogging up to the heroes.
“Sirs!” He said, snapping off a salute. “Thanks for you help.”
“Just doing our job, son,” Sir Steel said. “Just like you. Have you seen our team mate, the Crimson Cavalier?”
“Don’t think so, sir.”
“If you’d seen him, you’d remember,” Union Jack added. “What’s the word from command?”
“No word, sir. Wires were cut. We haven’t been able to reach HQ for two days. We’ve just been holding the line.”
“So, we’ve no chance of knowing if the Phantom Eagle got away before the shelling,” Union Jack muttered. “And no way to arrange transport out of here.”
“We couldn’t leave till we found the Cavalier, anyway,” Silver Squire added. “So, what next?”
“I’m sure this lot could still use our help,” Sir Steel said. “Even with that metal menace done with.”
“Oh, we could, sir,” The soldier nodded. “Even before that monster attacked, the fighting’s been pretty fierce. The Nurse is seeing to the wounded, but with no word from command and the disappearances, it’s been pretty tense…”
“Nurse?” Sir Steel muttered.
“What disappearances?” Union Jack asked.
“You didn’t come about the missing men?” The soldier asked, confused.
“First we’ve heard of it,” Sir Steel muttered, reaching over and helping himself to the canteen clipped to the young soldier’s belt. “What’s going on?”
“No one’s really quite sure…that’s why I thought HQ had called you fellows in,” The soldier replied. “Started with a few missing men, we thought it was just deserters…then there were more…couple men claimed to have been wounded by…whatever took the men and then the rumors about the same thing happening to the Boche…?”
“The Germans have men going missing as well?” Union Jack muttered. “Odd and definitely something we should be investigating, except, at the moment, we are scattered and cut off…”
“While you are looking for your teammate, you could stop at the ‘field hospital, the Nurse has set up,” The soldier suggested. “Couple of the wounded are supposed to have witnessed…something…”
He shrugged and stood, looking hopefully at the three costumed adventurers.
Union Jack rubbed his forehead in thought, then gestured for Sir Steel to pass him the canteen. He then pushed his mask up to his nose and took a sip of the tepid water. The other two waited, along with the soldier, for the masked man to make a decision.
While the Freedom’s Five did not have an ‘official’ leader, Union Jack, being the more experienced as well as being a member of an aristocratic family, was the one the others looked up to. Especially, the duo, which despite their knightly attire were both working class and tended to defer to the masked British hero.
“Well, then,” He said, after several minutes thought. “I’ll go talk to this ‘Nurse’ in charge of the wounded…see what I can find out. Why don’t you and the squire go, find out who’s in charge here and get the lay of the land, as it were.”
“Right,” Steel said, getting to his feet, and tucking his helmet under his arm.
Union Jack passed the soldier back his canteen, before adjusting his mask and getting directions to the field hospital.
Down a short, narrow tunnel, he found himself in a low ceilinged, dimly lit chamber, the dirt walls and ceiling supported by crude wooden beams and boards. Dozens of men, all with various wounds, were scattered about, on cots and laying on the floor.
Union Jack was sure that the term ‘Nurse’ was a nickname for some inexperienced young medic. So, he was a bit startled to see an actual young uniformed nurse bustling about the room, attending to the various patients.
She had reddish blonde hair. Her uniform was white, now streaked with dirt, with the skirt a bit shorter than was approved of by polite society and the medical profession and, like several of his teammates, she wore a domino mask.
“Um…excuse me,” Union Jack said, approaching the Nurse.
She was leaning over a young soldier, his head swathed in bandages. She was checking his pulse.
“Are you hurt or are you here to help?” She asked without looking up.
“I am here to help,” He replied.
“Well, then you can start over…” She began, straightening up and then her eyes going wide in surprise at his costume. “Oh my…!”
“Union Jack,” He said, giving a brief bow.
The nurse nodded at him and went back to her patient.
Union Jack waited several seconds before realizing no reply was coming.
“Who do I have the pleasure of addressing?” He asked.
“They call me the ‘Night Nurse’.” She said, not looking up. “Is there something I can help you with?”
“I‘m investigating the recent disappearances,” Union Jack said, feeling like a schoolboy facing a stern, disapproving teacher. “I was told I might talk to some soldiers here that had witnessed…whatever occurred.”
“Ah, yes, can’t have soldiers actually finding a way to avoid being slaughtered,” The Night Nurse muttered under her breath.
She turned and stood up.
“You’ll want to interrogate these two men at the back,” She said, pointing. “If you’ll excuse me, I need to see which of these men I can keep alive and healthy long enough for them to enjoy another opportunity to get themselves killed.”
“Ah, I see,” The masked hero nodded. “You have mistaken me for a general. Common mistake, as our uniforms are so similar.”
The two masked adventurers locked gazes for a moment.
“I do not relish warfare,” he said, grimly. “ I did not don this outfit for the fun of it. I am also here to help these men. Just because I am doing this in a different way then yourself, does not render my efforts lesser or suspect. To do this I need to know if there is some other force taking men or if there is some conspiracy to cover a mass desertion. Can you help me or is being self-righteous taking up too much of your time?”
There was another moment of icy silence and then a corner of the Night Nurse’s mouth went up briefly.
“Come along,” She said, making her way in-between the makeshift cots to the back of the chamber. She stopped at two men huddled up against the back, dirt wall: one younger, his arm in a dingy sling, the other older, and his chin covered in grey stubble, a blood-stained bandaged wrapped around his eyes.
“Gentlemen,” The Nurse said, gently. “This… gentleman would like to talk with you.”
She squeezed past Union Jack, returning to her duties.
“Be patient with them,” She whispered, as she passed.
“Hello fellows,” He said, kneeling down by the wounded duo.
“Um…Sir,” The Younger said, with an anxious nod.
The older gave a rough salute.
“My friends and I are trying to find out what’s happening. I was told you two may have seen something.”
“Seen something…?” The older man grumbled. “Not much these days, sir.”
“Sorry to hear it, soldier,” Union jack nodded. “Any hope?”
“Nurse says, there’s a good chance I’ll keep my eyes,” The soldier replied. “Young Paulie here is just banged up, but the worse damage…”
He reached up and tapped his temple.
Union Jack nodded in understanding.
“You had friends taken?”
“They came out of the night,” The young soldier muttered, looking blanking over the masked hero’s right soldier. “Took Alfie and Carter…”
“What took them?” Union Jack asked, quietly.
“Don’t know, sir,” The older man replied. “It all happened at night…just shadows…”
“Is that when your eyes were injured?” The hero asked.
“Naw, it was the barrage after. It was what happened to Paulie’s arm.”
“It grabbed me,” Paulie muttered. “Wouldn’t let go…it wouldn’t…I beat it with my rifle…flew off…like a…a…?”
“Like what?” Union Jack asked, gently. “How did it fly?”
Paulie turned his gaze till he was briefly focusing on the costumed adventurer.
“What are those things…the things on churches, like on…the big church in France…?”
“Angels?” Union Jack asked, puzzled.
“No,” Paulie muttered, looking away, his eyes going distant and haunted. “Not angels…”
“Not much to tell,” The older man said. “It always happens at night and they…whatever they are…they just come outta nowhere…and then fellows were gone…we’d hear them, fighting, but…we didn’t see anything…”
Union Jack nodded to himself and rubbed at his chin. He then stood up.
“Thank you for your help,” He said, standing up. “I don’t know yet what is going on out there, but my teammates and I will do all we can to stop it.”
He made his way back through the crowded ward.
“Not angels…” He heard mumbled behind him.
Union Jack found the Night Nurse washing the scarred leg of an unconscious young soldier.
“Find what you wanted?” She asked, not looking up.
“Maybe…hard to say,” He replied, looking around the crowded, dimly lit ward. “Too many questions and I’m not sure if anyone has the answers.”
“Unfortunately, men who have been shot and bombed are not the most reliable witnesses.” She replied, coolly.
“True,” The hero nodded. “Allow me to thank you for your, somewhat judgmental, assistance…”
He reached into one of the pouches on his belt and brought out two business cards.”
The masked nurse looked over at Union Jack, at first peevish and then curious.
“What are these?” She asked, peering at the cards suspiciously.
“The top one is the military base the Freedom’s Five are headquartered. The other is my club in London. Contact either one and they will have instructions to help you obtain any supplies you might need.”
The Night Nurse stood up, studying the costumed man thoughtfully.
“Thank you,” She said, simply.
Union Jack just nodded in reply and made his way out of the field hospital and back into the trench. Soldiers were still scrambling around, preparing for further attacks, from either the Germans or whatever was out there, taking away troops in the night.
Silver Squire was perched on a dirty crate, drinking from a tin cup.
“Is that tea?” he asked, hopefully.
The teen nodded and handed over the cup.
“The nurse fetched it for me,” he told his teammate.
Union Jack pulled his mask up, past his mouth took a sip and sighed blissfully.
“Aaah, it even has sugar,” He smiled. “That woman is a marvel…!”
“Steel has been helping them bolster up the trenches.” Squire said, once Union Jack had handed his cup back. “No luck on the radio, but one of the soldiers said he thinks the trench to the east has got theirs working. What are we doing now?”
“I need to talk to Steel,” Union Jack said, looking around. “We have a lot to do and would feel better if we could gather as many of the Five together as we can.”
He walked off down the trench, squeezing past soldiers, with Silver Squire tagging along behind.
They found the knight helping to jam a timber into place to re-enforce a section of trench wall.
“Good as she’ll get,” He said, stepping back and brushing his hands together. “What have you lads got?”
“Some pieces of the puzzle,” Union Jack shrugged. “Not enough to tell us what the whole picture is…I don’t know…I’ve got a few ideas…wish we knew where the Cavalier and the Eagle are…?”
“Steady on,” Sir Steel said, quietly, reaching out to grip Union Jack’s shoulder. “We have faced worse, and will again before this war is over. Don’t be trying to fix every problem at once. What’s our next move?”
Union Jack looked at his teammate, nodded and beneath his mask, smiled.
Despite his medieval attire, Sir Steel was a simple, working class man, but there were days that Union Jack thought he was the smartest of the five of them.
“We should find the Cavalier and see what information we can gather from the soldiers in the other trenches,” He said.
“Right,” The Knight nodded in reply. “Why don’t you and the lad handle that. If the Hun are going to attack, good chance they’ll come here, thinking their tin man was softened us up.”
“Are we going into ‘No man’s land’?” Silver Squire asked, in a mix of excited and anxious.
“No, we’ll skirt along behind the trench,” Union Jack said. “So guns stay in holsters and keep your shield out, in theory anyone shooting at us will be on our side.”
Squire nodded and shifted his shield from his back to his arm.
Sir Steel held out his hand as his young sidekick started to walk past him.
“See you soon, lad.” He said. “Behave yourself.”
“You too,” The Squire grinned back, shaking the offered hand.
He and Union Jack climbed up a crude wooden ladder and began the hike to the next trench, a few miles away.
“What do we do once we get there?” The squire asked, as they jogged along.
“Find the Cavalier, talk to the troops in the hopes we can find out what’s going on and…?”
“Do you think the Germans are missing men too?” Squire asked.
“That’s the rumor,” Union Jack replied absently.
“How we going to investigate that? Not like you can just go and ask them?”
It was a light-hearted comment, but the Squire’s tone was just serious enough that the other hero slowed his pace and he glanced over, thoughtfully, at his teammate.
“You are brighter than we give you credit for, lad” Union Jack said.
“I listen,” The Silver Squire shrugged. “Most people see you four as the heroes and me as just the…other fellow…you fellows are officers and I’m the troops or worse, sometimes, the servant….”
“We’ve never thought of you as the servant,” Union Jack said, slowing to a walk. “Well, maybe the Cavalier, but he treats nearly everyone that way.”
“I know,” The Squire nodded. “You, the Eagle and Steel have never treated me like I’m a kid.”
A moment of understanding passed between the two masked heroes and Union Jack realized the Squire was more than just Sir Steel’s partner and like so many other boys thrown into this conflict that had, almost unnoticed due to the chaos around them, become men.
“You want to talk to someone on the other side and find out if…something is taking their men too?” The Squire asked, as they resumed jogging along, across the war-ravaged countryside.
“Yes,” Union Jack replied, simply. “It’s the only way I can know for sure.”
“So, you brought me along, because Steel would have stopped you.”
“Maybe we should put you in charge,” Union Jack smiled grimly. “I want to cross No man’s land and get to the German lines, once we find the Cavalier and have seen to the other trenches and perhaps gotten in touch with HQ and the Phantom Eagle…I was thinking of you like ‘the troops’, wasn’t I?”
Silver Squire nodded and added no more questions or comments. He learned that there is a time to debate the plan and a time to just go along, follow orders and get things done.
The duo moved along at a steady trot for the better part of a half hour. There were a couple close calls with hair-trigger tempered allied troops, but the Squire’s shield and Union Jack’s authoritative tone kept them safe and going on their mission.
The sky was shifting from grey to dusk and would soon be full night. Union Jack came to a halt and consulted a compass tucked into his wristband.
He peered across the devastated fields and woods, mentally tracing paths of boot prints and shell craters until he stopped and pointed off to the left.
“That way.” He announced and took off. The Squire followed along behind. They came through some trees and found a jagged line of a trench that seemed to stretch on for a mile. The two heroes climbed down the dirt wall and looked around anxiously.
“Where is everyone?” The Squire asked.
“I don’t know,” Union Jack muttered, reaching for his gun. “This area may have been hit harder during the shelling, but still, they can’t have all fled or been evacuated…let’s have a look round.”
Gun in one hand, knife in the other Union Jack led the way, the Silver Squire following close behind. They made their way along the trench, peering into various side rooms, all of them empty.
“Looks like they left in a rush,” The Squire commented. “Lots of items just left behind.”
Union Jack nodded and crept along the wall towards the next cave-like doorway. Before he reached it, a rapier blade was thrust out and halted within an inch of his throat.
“No further until you have identified yourself, mon amie,” an accented voice challenged from within.
“That sounds like…!” The Squire breathed.
“Jean-Marc, it’s us,” Union Jack said. “Jack and the Squire.”
Jean-Marc Batroc, otherwise known as the dashing hero of France, the Crimson Cavalier, pulled back his sword and stepped out to join his teammates.
His usually dashing and colorful musketeer’s uniform had gained numerous streaks of dirt and several rips. There was a bullet hole in the wide brim of his hat and its ostrich plume was dingy and drooping.
“Mon frères!” He announced, sheathing his rapier and clasping the shoulders of his teammates.
“What happened to you?” Union Jack asked.
“I ran the wrong way, during the barrage,” the Cavalier shrugged. “I then stumbled into a…uh…what you call, a foxhole and waited out the attack with a group of soldiers and they then lead me here.”
“Do they have a working radio?” Union Jack asked.
“Non,” He said, shaking his head. “We have been cut off. Where is Steel?”
Settling in a small, cave-like room, and over watery tea, his teammates filled in the French hero on recent events, on their meeting with the Night Nurse and the mystery of the missing troops.
“No rest for the wicked, is I believe your English expression,” The Cavalier said, with a grim smile. “I have heard the rumors about men going missing. There have been whispers here…”
“Jack wants to go to the German side and find out if it’s happening there, too.” The Squire said.
“Truly?’ The Cavalier asked, putting down his mug.
“Well, yes.” Union Jack nodded, reluctantly. He braced himself for the lecture that would attempt to talk him out of it.
“That plan is so reckless that I could have come up with it!” the Cavalier exclaimed, slapping his knee.
“Not my favorite idea,” Union Jack shrugged. “But, I don’t see what other options we have. It’ll be up to you two and Steel to help these men in the case this is part of a plan by the Germans to launch an attack.”
“When do you hope to set out?” The Crimson Cavalier asked.
“Within the hour.” Union Jack said. “The darkness should help my chances.”
“You might want to get some rest then,” His teammate suggested, getting to his feet. “The boy and I can hold the fort.”
“Good luck,” Squire said, as he followed the Cavalier out of the room.
# # # # #
“Maybe I should have let them talk me out of this,” Union Jack muttered, as he made his way across ‘No man’s land’.
His costume was smeared with dirt and one knee was torn from a stumble on some rocky ground. He was hunched down in a blast crater, peering over to scout the German lines.
It was a cloudy night, and there were few lights on the enemy encampments. The British hero could make out the vague shapes of patrolling soldiers.
He crouched back down, sitting with his back against the hard packed dirt wall, to think.
Union Jack then leapt out of the hole, crouching low and moving quickly towards the German line. He snaked through a gap in the barbed wire and lowered himself into the German trench.
Kneeling down behind a pile of dirt, Union Jack peered anxiously around, taking in the shadowy forms of equipment, makeshift benches and a few huddled forms of sleeping soldiers.
Walking almost on tiptoe, Union Jack crept past several German soldiers, having to quickly duck into an alcove when one of the soldiers up top of the trench moved around.
Several very tense minutes of creeping along got Union Jack a dozen yards down the trench. He was within sight of a narrow doorway. There was a flickering light within and a guard slumped against the dirt wall next to it.
Hugging the wall, Union Jack moved along, like a shadow until he was with inches of the sentry. He quickly clamped a hand over the soldiers’ mouth and nose. The soldier started and struggled, but soon grew weaker as his oxygen was cut off. He slumped, bonelessly and Union Jack lowered him to the ground. Stepping over the guard, Union Jack slid his gun out of the holster, as he stepped into the room.
“Excuse me,” He said, in halting German, to the officer behind the makeshift desk. “But, I wonder if I could have a word with you?”
The man behind the desk’s uniform was surprisingly crisp and clean despite his surroundings. He had thinning blonde hair that made his forehead look very pronounced. He sported a monocle and was also holding a pistol.
“Good evening,” The German replied, coolly. “I must say, I am surprised, as I had expected there would be a strike, but not a lone assassin.”
“I won’t say, it’s not tempting,” Union Jack said, stepping through the doorway, and standing with his back to the dirt wall. “But, I came here merely to talk.”
The German officer raised a questioning eyebrow and gestured at a nearby chair with his pistol.
“What could we have to talk about?” He asked.
“I think we may have a common foe, Hauptman…?”
“ It is Colonel. Colonel Von Strucker.”
“I’ve heard the name,” Union Jack nodded, thoughtfully. “Surprised we have not crossed paths before now.”
“Not directly,” Von Strucker said. “But you and your…associates have interfered with several undertakings of mine.”
“And will most likely do so again,” Union Jack said. “But, there’s something else behind my visit tonight…”
“I assumed you were just being neighborly,” Strucker smiled, grimly.
As concisely as possible Union Jack explained about the missing soldiers and the Freedom’s Five’s efforts to discover who was behind it, as well as the belief that the Germans were dealing with a similar mystery.
As he spoke, Union Jack watched Von Strucker. He saw a flicker of uncertainty cross his otherwise stoic expression and a shift in his eyes that told him, he was on the right trail and despite whatever the German officer might tell him, he now had the information he had come looking for.
Von Strucker sat quietly for several moments.
“We seem to have a common foe,” He murmured. “Much as I would like to take credit for your difficulties, we too, have been dealing with troop disappearances…personally, I do not believe the allies were devious enough to be behind it. I was more inclined to blame it on desertion…”
“Seems like an opinion that would not help your career,” Union Jack said.
“Which is precisely why I have kept it and my investigations to myself.” Von Strucker said, smiling cynically. “But, this notion of a third party working against both powers is intriguing.”
“Well, hopefully, now that you know, we can solve this by coming at it from both sides,” Union Jack nodded, getting to his feet.
“Ah, you are assuming that I would be allowing you to just stroll back to your lines,” Von Strucker said, bringing up his luger and pointing it at Union Jack’s chest. “
With a blur of motion, Union Jack had his own gun up and aimed at the German’s broad forehead.
“I was hoping for better from you,” He sighed. ‘This problem is potentionally bigger then our own current conflict. “And while it might be a boost to your career to capture me, do you really want it to be a posthumous accolade?”
The two men stood frozen for several heartbeats before the German officer lowered his gun and laid it down upon the table.
“Till we meet again,” Von Strucker nodded.
The British hero nodded in return and re-holstered his gun, before slipping out the doorway and into the night.
# # # # #
It took another hour to struggle back across no man’s land. He was shot at by troops from both sides.
Turning his ankle on a rock, Union Jack practically tumbled into the allied trench. He went down on one knee and looked up to find a half dozen guns pointed at him.
“Wait, wait!” Silver Squire said, pushing his way through the troops. “He’s on our side!”
Muttering apologies, several British soldiers came forward and helped him to his feet.
Union Jack looked around, taking in, not just, what appeared to be new wounds, but a change in the attitude of the soldiers, since he left.
Something had happened, in his absence and it had left the soldiers a bit deflated, as well as a bit jumpy.
“What have I missed?” He asked, leaning on the Squire, as he walked off his injury.
“They came while you were gone,” The Squire replied, tightly. He shook his head. Like the troops, some of the adventuresome spark had gone out of the young hero. “They came out of nowhere…they took soldiers…we couldn’t…couldn’t stop them…”
“You saw them?” Union Jack asked, stopping. He tightened his grip on the Squire’s shoulder, turning him so he was facing Union Jack.
“Robert,” Union Jack said, his tone and use of the Squire’s real name piercing his daze. “I need you to help me. We are the only chance those men have. Tell me what happened?”
The younger hero blinked and then took a deep breath.
“Right…yes, come on, I was going to check on the Cavalier.” The Squire said, quietly.
Union Jack, like all of the Freedom’s Five had tended to treat the Squire as the younger brother of the group, to protect him and in a way shelter him from as much of the harshness of the war as they could, to allow him to hold on to his view of it all as some grand adventure.
He could feel that some of that had gone away and while he had sympathy for the young hero, Union Jack also felt a twinge of sadness at the knowledge.
“The Cavalier was hurt in the fighting.” The Squire said, in a low tone. “I and the soldiers got as many men as we could into the…um…side rooms…barracks…we still lost about a half dozen…”
Union Jack nodded, letting the Squire talk. They ducked into a room, which seemed to be this trenches’ hospital. Union Jack quickly spotted the Cavalier, as the only splash of color amongst a crowd of drab brown and grey.
He was missing his hat and now had a bandage wrapped around his head. Along with his wrapped arm, his right hand was engulfed in a mitten of bandage and strips of cloth.
“You seem to be getting the worse of this mission, Jean-Marc,” Union Jack said, perching on the edge of his friend’s cot.
“My wardrobe may never recover,” The Frenchman grinned in reply, before frowning in thought. “We are facing monsters, Mon frère.”
Union Jack nodded and gestured for the Squire to join them.
“What happened?”
“They came out of the night,” Cavalier said, in a low tone. “They are not angels, but rather demons…these are not Huns in costumes, these are creatures.”
“They had wings,” The Squire added. “And bullets didn’t hurt them.”
“Gargoyles,” Union Jack muttered. ‘”Just like Paulie said.”
“We have to stop them,” The Cavalier said, grimly. “Whatever these things are, they are getting greedy or brave.”
“How?” Union Jack asked, shrugging. “We can’t even find them, let alone fight them…”
“We can find them…I think,” The Squire said, quietly.
Both men turned to focus on their young teammate. He rubbed the back of his neck, concentrating on what he was going to say next.
“One of them grabbed Billy…the private that was helping me get the wounded to shelter,” The Silver Squire explained, his eyes dropping. “It grabbed him and I grabbed hold of his rucksack…it flew up with us and I saw a couple others all heading in the same direction…before I fell.”
“Toward the Hun line?” The Cavalier asked.
The Squire shook his head.
“Could you guide us, do you think?” Union Jack asked.
“Us…?” The Cavalier asked, holding up his bandaged arms.
“Well, then…um…guide me,” Union Jack shrugged.
The Squire nodded.
“I uh…yes, I think so…” He muttered.
“Best we head out soon as possible,” Union Jack said, standing up. “I’ll need more ammo…and a sandwich.”
# # # # #
Soon the duo was trudging across the war torn landscape, each burdened with extra gun belts and a rucksack of assorted supplies. The Silver Squire had his shield slung over his free shoulder and held a newly acquired machine gun in the crook of his arm.
Union Jack’s hands were empty, but as he marched his right hand was never more than a few inches from his holster. The clouds drifted away, but the night stayed chill. The two heroes walked along in silence, occasionally pointing out something that hinted at a trail, a bullet casing, a torn bit of cloth, several strange footprints and faint drag marks in the mud.
It was slow going, but they made their way in grim silence.
After an hour, the Squire halt at a low hill, that had once been wooded, but after months of combat, had been reduced to tree stumps, rock and discarded barbed wire.
“I fell back there, a ways, but saw…and heard Billy and…whatever grabbed him, keep going over the hill.” The Squire said, taking a sip from his canteen.
Union Jack nodded and slid a pistol out of his gun belt.
“I’d like to think we are getting close,” He said. “Why strike this area if they aren’t somewhere nearby?”
The Squire nodded in agreement and the pair crept up the hill. Keeping to what little shelter they could find, the two heroes peered down across the rock-strewn valley. It was dotted with craters and foxholes, as well as some broken fences and the remains of a crude log farmhouse. It all had the appearance that the two armies had clashed here and then realized there was nothing worth fighting for and left.
“Maybe it’s the anxiety and the shadows,” Union Jack muttered. “But something doesn’t look right…?”
“What?” The Squire asked, standing next to him and straining his eyes, trying to take in every detail of the dark, desolate valley.
“I don’t…it’s…wait…!” Union Jack said, rubbing his chin in a mix of confusion and thought. The long night was taking its toll and he could feel his brain struggling to put pieces together. “That hill…across the way…!”
“What, the one in-between those two rocky ones…it’s a hill.”
“Compared to every other path of land in this area, it looks noticeably untouched from here. Good as place as any to start looking.”
They kept to the outskirts of the valley, making their way to the other side, while sticking to the shadows or any bit of cover they could find. They soon were within sight of the hill, just as the moon pushed through the clouds.
“It does look like the fighting didn’t touch it.” The Squire admitted, looking around. “And it’s not as rocky as the rest of the valley. Why is that?”
“No idea. Let’s see what else we can see.”
They crept along, alert, but not sure for what. After several minutes, the Silver Square halted and knelt down, running a gloved hand through the grass.
“Shouldn’t the grass be taller?” He asked. “ It doesn’t feel right.”
The Union Jack joined the young hero and plucked out some blades of grass.
“You’re right,” He said, running the grass through his fingers. “It looks like grass, but feels…wrong, as well as it looks like it’s been trimmed or cared for in some way. It doesn’t look near as wild and unkempt as the surrounding area.”
“Why would monsters work on keeping the lawn neat…?” The Squire asked, standing up.
“I don’t know,” Union Jack said, standing up. “”Lets go find out.”
The two heroes walked around the base of the hill, unsure what they were looking for, but now convinced they were closing in on their quarry.
“It looks like a child’s picture of a hill,” Union Jack muttered, puzzled.
“That rock looks like a door,” Squire added, his forehead furrowed in thought. He pointed at it with his gun.
Union Jack hadn’t noticed the rock, but once it was pointed out, he was baffled to how he hadn’t seen it before.
While the Silver Squire stood guard, Union Jack went up to the odd oval rock, set into the slope of the hill. He ran his fingers around the edge of it.
“Think you might be right about this…” He muttered, as he probed. “This patch of dirt with a stone set in it looks like…”
The stone sunk into the dirt at his touch and the large oval of stone swung open. Behind it was a tunnel that went deep into the hill.
Silver Squire hurried to his teammates’ side and looked gob-smacked at the new discovery.
“The walls and floor look like metal…!” He breathed.
“It’s warm,” Union Jack added, reaching in and touching the wall. “Faint hum too…like there’s machinery working behind it.”
After a moment’s hesitation, the two heroes stepped into the tunnel. It was wide enough for them to walk side by side.
“Somehow I didn’t think the monster’s lair would be so…shiny…?” Squire muttered looking around in puzzlement. He ran a gloved hand along the metal wall as they walked.
“Are we inside a big machine?” He asked.
“I don’t know,” Union Jack replied, distractedly. “The more we learn, the less this whole thing makes sense.”
The metal tunnel came to a T-junction, and as the duo was pondering which way to go, Union Jack stuck out his arm and pushed the Silver Squire back against the wall.
“Someone’s coming,” He whispered.
As their backs pressed against the metal wall, a section slid open and the costumed heroes tumbled backwards.
Struggling to keep their feet, they found themselves in a dimly lit room. It was crowded with mechanical devices and banks of equipment lined the wall.
“It’s like Fraulein Frankenstein’s laboratory…?” The Squire breathed.
“I think the good Fraulein would be green with jealously if she got a glimpse of this room,” Union Jack added. “And this is the final nail in the coffin in the idea that the Germans are behind this.”
There’s another door, over there,” The Squire said, pointing at the far wall.
Union Jack nodded and the duo moved to investigate it.
The door slid open at the touch, revealing a room that appeared too large to have fit within the hill.
It was a metal bowl of a room that reminded Union Jack of a university lecture hall. It was ringed with rows of metal benches and in the bottom of the bowl were more pieces of equipment, as well as roughly two-dozen occupied examining tables.
“The missing soldiers…!”
“Looks like your mentioning Fraulein Frankenstein might have been more insightful than you knew,” Union Jack said. “I think this is some kind of… laboratory or hospital, perhaps. Whoever controls those creatures seems to be collecting soldiers to study.”
The two heroes hunched down, studying the several dozen soldiers lying down there, hooked to numerous devices. It did all resemble some kind of bizarre hospital operating theater.
They watched the lights on the various machines blink and the unconscious soldiers breathing for several minutes and then a door slid open. Three creatures out of a bad dream entered the amphitheater.
All three stood over six feet tall with broad hunched shoulders from which sprouted wide bat-like wings. They had skin like stone and the trio looked like all three should be perched on a European church. They had blunt features; small curved stone horns protruded from their foreheads.
There only clothing was a crude kilt made of a fabric that looked like it too had been craved from stone.
The three gargoyles stomped about the operating theater on cloven-hoofed feet, peering studiously at the prone forms of their captives.
“The gargoyles aren’t the servants, are they?” whispered the Squire. “There isn’t some human master…it’s them…!”
“Yes, they don’t seem to be just the hunters, but also the …I don’t know…doctors, scientists,” Union Jack nodded. “They seem to be studying the soldiers…as if they have never encountered…humans before…”
“I don’t like the sound of that,” The Squire muttered, anxiously.
“Neither do I,” Union Jack said. “But I think we have wandered off the map and here there be dragons…”
“What do we do?” The Squire asked.
“I don’t really know,” Union Jack said, standing up and drawing his pistols. “But I am bone tired, and not letting those creatures treat our soldiers like lab rats.”
He began running down the metal steps to the bottom level, firing at the three gargoyles as he went.
Silver Squire stayed in his hunched down position, a bit stunned by his teammates sudden action. He then shrugged, slung his shield over his arm, clicked the safety off of his gun and jogged after him.
Union Jack placed his shots with deadly accuracy, ensuring that he hit only the three creatures. He then had to deal with the fact that his bullets bounced off their grey, stony skin. Muttering under his breath some phrases he didn’t wish the young
Squire to learn, he readjusted his aim to avoid the comatose soldiers getting struck by any ricochets.
Once he had the attention of the three creatures, Union Jack slowed to a walk, reloading his guns as he went.
“Evening, Gentle…men?” He said. “I was wondering if I could have a word?”
The trio of gargoyles glared at him. One stepped forward, clenching his hands and making a sound like someone walking on gravel.
The apparent leader held up a hand, to hold his comrade back. He squinted at the intruder, his gaze full of predatory thoughtfulness.
“How did this creature gain consciousness?” The lead gargoyle grated in surprisingly good English. “It will contaminate the study.”
“It is not one of the subjects,” The other replied, puzzled.
“An intruder?” The third growled. “How did one of the mammals find its way in?”
Union Jack signed, finished reloading and raised his guns.
“Really? Snotty condensation?” He muttered. “I am a son of a British upper class family. We invented this kind of nonsense.”
This time when he fired, he concentrated on the creatures’ heads and faces. He was unsure if it hurt them more, but it did seem to bother them.
“What are you?” He shouted between shots. “Scientists? Torturers? Collectors of exotic animals?”
The lead gargoyle brought his arms up to shield his face. He grunted behind his arms at his companions. The other two gargoyles opened their wings and launched themselves into the air.
Union Jack felt a cold fist of anxiety in his chest as the two stony monstrosities came soaring towards him.
As they reached out their clawed hands at Union Jack, the Silver Squire jumped up and let loose with his machine gun at the two creatures. Bullets slammed into the chest of the nearest one, driving him into his companion. The two gargoyles collided, in mid-air, with a sound like two rocks being slammed together and then tumbled to the floor.
One of them landed on his knees. Clutching the row of chairs and pulled himself to his feet. The other tumbled down the aisle for several feet before digging his claws into the metal ramp way and slowing himself down.
While the two were getting angrily to their feet, Union Jack leapt over several rows of chairs, dodged one of the gargoyles and raced down towards the operating theater at the base.
The Squire continued to rain bullets at the two gargoyles, keeping them distracted and focused on him, rather than his teammate.
Union Jack raced down the auditorium, leaping over rows of chairs or zigzagging down the aisles. He had no idea how long the Silver Squire could hold off the other two, and he had only the slenderest thread of a plan, but what he did have was a certainly that if they didn’t stop these creatures here and now they’d end up facing a threat with the potential to make the horror of the war pale in comparison.
He felt a fist of stone slam into his right shoulder and went down to avoid his attackers’ other hand, went into a shoulder roll and dove over the last row of metal chairs at the trio’s leader.
The gargoyle caught the masked hero, and Union Jack promptly jammed one of his pistols into the creature’s eye.
“Let’s everyone settle down,” He said, turning to look over his shoulder.
The gargoyle chasing him skidded to a halt. “Your commander and I need to chat.”
He emphasized his point by pushing his gun harder against the stone creature’s eye.
“If you think…!” The creature growled, only to have Union Jack jam his other gun into its beak-like mouth.
“Manners,” The hero admonished. “Just because I wear a mask and you are a hideous bit of statuary doesn’t mean we can’t behave like gentlemen. Now, I have some questions. I will ask them, politely and expect you to answer in the same manner.”
The creature started to snarl a threat, but the gun being pushed further down his gullet resulted in only a gravelly gagging noise.
“Since you seem currently speechless, I’ll start,” He said, casually, as he removed the gun from the creature’s mouth. “Who, or perhaps what, are you three?”
“We are the elite of the Stonian exploratory force.” The creature replied, with as much dignity as he could muster.
“Stonian? Family name or what your…species is called?”
“We come from the planet Stonius.”
“Stonius? Not terribly creative bit of naming,” Union Jack mused, before returning his attention to his captive. “So, you are not denizens of hell, but rather another world…?”
“Stonius 4.”
“Why are you taking soldiers?”
“We of the elite of Stonius are warriors, as well, as explorers, in our efforts to find new worlds for our people, we have sometimes had to contend with hostile primitives, such as yourself.”
“Have a habit of claiming planets that already have…people on them, do you?” Union Jack mused. “Sounds like you are conquers, but call yourself something a bit more noble sounding.”
“You know nothing of us!” One of the other Stonians exclaimed.
“I’m British, you’d be surprised how familiar your story sounds.” Union Jack replied, not even bothering to look away from his captive.
“So, you needed to study your next potential target, and seeing us locked in such a massive conflict gave you good cover as well as raising some concerns, as to how easy the pickings would be. Makes sense…”
The Stonian leader shifted his weight, pulling Union Jack out of his pondering. He increased the pressure of his gun against its eye and brought up his other gun and rested it against the alien’s rocky temple.
“I think we need to go our separate ways,” Union Jack said, loudly.
There was the click of a gun and the trio of creatures turned to look over at the examination tables. The Squire was standing there; gun at the ready and the released soldiers were getting groggily to their feet and making for the doorway at the far end of the room.
The Stonioans growled and sputtered in anger and frustration, but were trapped in indescivness with Union Jack holding their leader.
Union Jack could feel the Stonian leader trembling with anger. He kept the pressure of his guns against the alien’s granite-like skin, knowing any slip up; it would tear him to bloody pieces.
While Union Jack preferred to think his way out of a problem, but was becoming more convinced that his chances of leaving this place alive was quite low and that there was no solution that did not involve shooting his way out.
“Bloody hell…!” He sighed, as he jammed both pistols into the aliens’ face and fired.
Six shots and Union Jack felt the creature’s grip on him loosen. He brought his knees up and using the Stonians’ chest as a springboard kicked with all his might and broke free. He leapt backwards, hit the ground and quickly rolled under one of the examining tables. He came out the other side, leapt to his feet and started firing again, fanning his shots trying to keep all three Stonians attention focused on him, and away from the Silver Squire and the escaping soldiers.
His plan seemed to be successful, which meant he now had three massive stone creatures intensely, violently angry with him.
Firing wildly, he backed away from the aliens as quickly as he could, painfully aware of the need to give the Squire and the soliders a chance to escape, while anxiously counting his quickly decreasing number of bullets.
Union Jack reached the doorway, just as his pistols clicked empty.
“Damnit…!” He breathed, re-holstering one pistol and switching his grip on the other to use it as a makeshift club. He also drew his knife from a holster strapped to his calf. “This is probably going to hurt a bit.”
“Not if you duck,” A voice behind him said.
Union Jack dropped to one knee and a hail of bullets flew over his head.
He glanced up to see the Silver Squire firing his machine gun at the advancing trio of monsters. They staggered backwards, their stony skin appearing scratched and pitted.
“What are you doing!” He hissed at the younger hero. “How are the soldiers going to get out?”
“I brought my own key,” Sir Steel said, pushing his way through the doorway and past his teammates.
He brandished his broadsword, swinging widely to hold back the trio of gargoyles.
“How…?” Union Jack exclaimed.
“After we got word of your idiotic plan, we started to track you,” The knight explained between swings. “Then we learned that the Hun were moving to bombard this area and it seemed a good chance you’d be in the middle of it…back away you horror!”
“Bombard the area…? How would they know…Von Strucker!”
“Um…can we worry about him later…?” The Silver Squire asked, anxiously.
During the distraction, the Stonians lunged forward, the nearest punching Sir Steel on the side of his helmeted head. His helmet rang like a bell, as the knight staggered backwards.
The Silver Squire fired at them until his machine gun ran dry and then turned it and cracked it over the head of the nearest Stonian. The gunstock cracked, as did the head.
Union Jack lunged forward and stabbed the other creatures in the chest. The blade snapped, but it startled the alien enough to make him step back.
The Squire dropped the broken gun and helped Sir Steel.
The knight used his enchanted sword as a cane to help him keep his feet, while with his free hand he rubbed at the dent in his helmet.
The two groups stumbled away from each other, the heroes into the corridor, and the aliens back into the auditorium, more startled than injured.
The door slid shut behind the trio.
‘That’s not going to hold them, if they decide to come after us,” Union Jack muttered, looking over his shoulder. “Where are the soldiers…?”
“Outside,” Sir Steel grumbled, adjusting his helmet. “Cavalier and that masked nurse are tending to them. If we aren’t torn limb from limb or blown to bits we can chat all night about it.”
They were halfway to the door that lead to safety, when they heard the rending of metal, the Stonians burst through into the corridor.
Silver Squire caught the fist blow on his shield, which sent him stumbling backwards. The next Stonian swung at Sir Steel and came away missing two fingers.
“Ack-Ahhh!” The alien shrieked clutching his injured hand. “How!”
“You aren’t that special, laddie,” Sir Steel growled, stepping forward. “This sword could cut the devil himself. Back away, ya horrors!”
He swung again, taking the tip off of an extended stone wing.
The aliens, now aware these colorfully dressed humans could harm them, began to back down the corridor, the knight following them, pushing them back, his enchanted sword drawing sparks when it struck the wall, or chipping bits off of any of the three aliens that wasn’t quick enough to out of his reach.
While he did that, Union Jack tossed away the hilt of his dagger and helped the Squire to his feet.
“Come on, soldier,” He said.
“Watch out!” The Squire yelled, swinging his shield. He caught one of the aliens in the side of the neck as it lunged at them.
“What..?” Union Jack muttered.
“It flew over Steel.” Squire said. “Duck!”
The Stonian came at them again, and collided head on with the Squire’s enchanted shield. It sounded like someone had struck a gong.
Both heroes staggered back under the blow, keeping their feet only by sheer force of will, the events of the day taking their toll on their strength and energy.
Sir Steel caught his opponent across the temple with the flat of his blade and then spun and loped off one of the wings of the alien attacking his partner and Union Jack.
He then ran forward, shoulder blocking his way past the alien and pushed his teammates back along the corridor.
The trio staggered out of the doorway and into the night. Union jack hit the door control with his elbow on the way past, shutting the door.
Spotting the quickly retreating group of soldiers the trio headed in that direction The Crimson Cavalier spotted his teammates and waved to them. The French hero shouted, but the words didn’t carry.
“What?” Squire asked, stumbling along, dazed and weary.
“Duck!” Sir Steel, grabbing the other two and jumping behind a clump of leafless, grey trees.
The door in the hill slid open and the wounded and very angry stone aliens rushed out.
Only to be struck by a hail of bullets.
Union Jack raised his head and he spotted a distinctive bi-plane as it passed in front of the moon.
“The Phantom Eagle!” He said, smiling beneath his mask.
“Yes, we found him and he and the plane were all in one piece.” Sir Steel said, getting to his feet. He paused, holding out his free hand to help up his friend. Both men froze, listening, hearing a faint, whine that had becoming all too familiar in these last couple years.
“We need to move!” Union Jack said, climbing to his feet. “The bombardment is beginning!”
The two men grabbed the Squire and, holding on to each other, began to run.
The German shells struck and the spacecraft, disguised, as a scenic hill seemed to burst like a balloon. A cacophony ripped through the night and a wall of force struck the three heroes, sending them tumbling down the ridge of the little valley.
They were showered by dirt and debris, as staggered and fell to the relative safety of the other side.
Union Jack sat up, pulled his mask up to just below his eyes in order to catch his breath.
“Anyone still alive?” He called.
“Barely,” Sir Steel groaned, using his sword to get to his feet.
“Did we win?” Silver Squire asked, content to just lie on the ground for the moment.
“I think so,” Union Jack replied, getting slowly to his feet.
“Something went flying off as the shells struck,” Sir Steel said, pulling off his helmet and spitting on the ground. “Don’t know if we’ve seen the last of those beasties…”
“If they were here to learn about humans,” Union Jack explained “Then I think they may have learned a hard lesson and it’ll be a good many years before they think about conquering this primitive little globe.”
“So, they’ll be someone else’s problem,” The knight grunted, sheathing his sword and helping the Squire to his feet.
Union Jack pulled his mask back into place and trudged back up the ridge. Standing at the top, he peered down over the remains of the little valley. It now looked like an enormous blast crater.
“Well, the Hun are good for something at last,” Sir Steel said, taking off his helmet.
“I’ll be sure to express our gratitude the next time Colonel Von Strucker and I have a chat.”
“Yikes!” The Squire exclaimed, joining them and having a look around. “What now?”
“We go find the others,” Union Jack said. “Make sure everyone got away and in one piece.”
“And then ale,” Sir Steel added. “Lots of ale.”
“And sleep.” Union Jack added, nodding.
Writer’s note: A No-Prize to the first astute reader to figure out when the Stonians did come back to Earth and what Marvel heroes stopped them.