"The JSA has temporarily split up. The members of the team have all gone their separate ways, each to attend to some personal business before they reunite in the fall. For example, Captain America has taken young Bucky somewhere to begin his training."

"This is it," Steve said. "This is where you'll live, eat, study and train. There's a gym in the basement. Your room is upstairs. You'll get up at dawn, and I'll put you through your paces all day, stopping only twice to eat. You'll be in bed by 2200 hours."

"2200 hours?" Bucky asked.

"Ten p.m." Steve answered.

"Isn't that a little early, Stevie?"

Steve gave Bucky a stern look.

"Ten o'clock. Right. Got it. No problem," Bucky said. "I can handle it."

"Don't fool yourself that it will be easy," Steve said, "I'm going to work you till you drop. I'm going to push you to your limits and beyond. By the time we're done here, we're going to know what you're capable of. I went through hell when I trained here. I thought about quitting. There will be times when you'll consider it to. This won't be pleasant. I just want you to understand. This is your boot camp. Two months of torture. But if you make it, you'll be the new Star Spangled Kid . . . And my partner!"

Bucky gulped with nervousness and excitement. Nervousness at the thought of going through something that almost made Captain America quit, and excitement at the thought of one day becoming his partner.

"I'm ready," Bucky said. "I won't let ya down."

Steve smiled. "Good man. Let me show you your room."

Steve took Bucky upstairs, completely unaware that someone was watching. While the place was too secure for any traditional type of surveillance, there was no protection from the eyes of Gods.

She was legendary for her beauty, which drove men wild. She was the Asgardian Goddess of desire. And she was a powerful sorceress as well. Her name was Amora, but everyone knew her as the Enchantress. After all, she was first and foremost, an enchantress of men.

"So these mortals be warriors of the famous Justice Society, eh?" the stunning Goddess asked.

"Aye," Loki answered. "Or at least, one of them. Yon shield-bearing mortal doth be the leader of that troublesome group. The child is but a novice."

"This Captain America doth be quite handsome for a mortal," Enchantress said. "I shalt enjoy seducing him."

"Underestimate him not," Loki commented. "His will doth be quite strong."

"No man can resist the Enchantress," she said confidently. "What about the child?"

"The lad doth be crucial to the plans of Loki," the God of Evil said. "I want thee to seduce him as well. Make him burn for thee. Once thou doth have Captain America wrapped around thy delicate fingers, let the lad know that thou doth prefer the Captain over him. I want the boy to make the attempt to battle his mentor for thy affections. Once we see Captain America slay yon child who doth mean so much to him, we shalt know without doubt that he is thy slave. And once the leader of the Justice Society doth be in our power, this troublesome mortal group will be easy to destroy."

"Why not merely go to Earth and destroy these humans whilst they be separated?" Enchantress suggested.

"My fool of a brother, Thor, doth be on Midgard at the moment," Loki said. "He will no doubt be expecting Loki to return after our last encounter there. He wouldst sense my arrival, and thus interfere with my plans. But there doth still be a way to take advantage of the temporary disbanding of that group. Captain America is alone, and away from Aphrodite. She too might have interfered in thy seduction attempts, but the Olympian is no longer a problem. The Captain is now subject to thy charms, Amora. Ripe for the picking."

"Be of good cheer, Loki," the beautiful Goddess said. "Soon Captain America shalt belong to the Enchantress. And the Justice Society shalt be thine for the slaying!"

She tried to ignore the strange tingle in her throat. Just before she left the mansion, the Canary had spoken to Miss Venus about the departure of Wildcat. Like him, the Canary was also beginning to feel like she was outclassed and not contributing enough. Miss Venus had said that Black Canary was a woman of rare spirit and warrior skill. She liked Black Canary and assured her that in the future, her doubts about her lack of contribution would be erased. She waved her arms strangely and walked away. Right after that, Black Canary started to feel a strange tickle in her throat. Could Miss Venus have done something to her? But what? And why would she?

Black Canary forgot about Miss Venus and the tickle when she saw the handsome Angel waiting for her. She felt flushed at the sight of him. Control yourself, Dinah, she thought. He's not the first handsome guy you've seen.

"Hi, Canary," Angel said. "Thanks for coming."

"I'm glad you asked," she replied. "I've got a lot of free time right now since the JSA is on hiatus. I'm all yours, Angel." She smiled.

"Hmmmm. This is going to be a good day. And by the way, call me Thomas."

"In that case, call me Dinah."

Since Black Canary was a member of the JSA, the Angel was allowed to bring her into the Project Heavy Water installation. She learned that it was a think-tank for scientists who were trying to create a new type of radiation. They were trying to "split the Atom," whatever that meant. They wanted to create something called Atomic energy. She didn't understand it's potential, but it was obviously very important that the Americans develop it first.

Dinah and Angel walked around the building, taking notes on the weakness of the security and making suggestions for improving it. Dinah had learned a lot about security procedures from Captain America and so was able to offer some helpful suggestions. Angel was very impressed.

Dinah was about to ask Angel why he asked for her to come rather than one of the others, when the emergency began. An explosion was heard. An alarm sounded. A loud speaker blared that there was a radiation leak in section D. Angel and Black Canary ran to help. Black Canary was slowed by a group of panicky people running in the other direction. Angel ran on ahead.

Angel arrived at the scene of the explosion. Four men were laying on the ground. Angel ran in to drag them out but he found that they were dead. No reason to risk exposure to radiation to save dead people. He tried to get away from the radiation leak, but then an emergency shield lowered. It was made out of a new type of crystal substance created by the brilliant Doc Savage. It was too hard for Angel to break. He was trapped. He looked back at the glowing rods which were exposed to the air and were releasing radiation. He was being contaminated.

Black Canary arrived and realized what had happened. Her dream man was being bathed in deadly radiation. They looked at each other through the crystal shield. He tried to be brave, while her eyes showed the level of her affection for him. He hadn't realized it until that moment. She really cared about him. It made him want to live even more, but that might not be possible at the time. He looked around and found a lead container, into which he put the rods of radiation. Now that no new radiation would be released, the decontamination procedures, also prepared by Doc Savage, could begin. It took a few hours, but finally, the levels had dropped enough so that they could risk opening the door.

They tried to open it, but the explosion had caused some sort of short in the system. "We can't open the door!" someone yelled.

"But he needs medical attention!" Black Canary yelled.

Everyone scrambled around to try and find a way to get the emergency crystal door opened. They tried to contact Doc Savage. But Black Canary was so frustrated she let out a scream of "Damn It!!"

But the volume of the scream shocked her, and everyone else. It was louder than the human voice should be able to produce. It reached a sonic pitch that could have deafened anyone who had been too close to her at the time. The scream was so loud that it shattered the supposedly unbreakable crystal door.

The Canary looked down at the thousands of crystal pieces on the floor. It took her a few minutes to realize what had happened. Miss Venus! she thought. I told her I wanted more power to help the JSA, and she gave me a . . . A sonic scream!

The Canary had no time to enjoy her newfound gift. She ran to Angel, who was also staring at her in shock.

"I didn't know you could . . . " he began.

"Neither did I," she said. "But it doesn't matter. You need to get to a doctor!"

"You're quiet, son," Dr. Horton said.

"I'm sorry, father."

"Aren't you enjoying your visit?"

"Of course I am, father. I've been waiting for a day like this. Just you and me. I'm just a little . . . distracted."

"Oh? What by?"

The Torch shuffled, unsure of how to say this. "Father, why did you give me emotions?"

"Why wouldn't you want emotions, boy?"

"Because they hurt!"

The old scientist smiled. "That's something you'll have to deal with. We do. Humans do. Emotions sometimes hurt. I want you to be as human as possible. So you'll have to deal with the pain of emotion. Is there any particular emotion that is distressing you more than others? Maybe we can adjust that one."

"There is one, father. It's love."

"Love?" Horton said with a smile. "You're in love? Wonderful! I'm so glad for you. I'm glad your programming is capable of it. So who's the girl?"

"Black Canary."

"Ah! I don't blame you. She's a hottie!"

"But she doesn't love me. She says she can't love an android."

Horton nodded, considering. "Well, son, prejudice is a part of life. Whether it's prejudice against color or species. Maybe she's not the girl for you."

"But I love her."

"You're not the first person to be in love with a woman who didn't return the feelings. It's not fun, but you'll recover. Believe me. You know, I loved a women once, who wouldn't give me the time of day. Of course, that was before I met my Theresa. She was a gem. And that reminds me. You said that you were looking for a last name to go with your chosen first name."

"Yes, I am."

"I was wondering, if in honor of my late wife, you'd use Hammond. It would be as if she and I had a son together--You!"

"Jim Hammond. I like it. Thank you, father."

"You're welcome, Jim Hammond. Another problem solved."

"But we have yet another problem, father. One that can't be so easily solved. A problem with is being held in stasis in the basement of the JSA mansion. What are we going to do about your other creations? What about the Creature Commandos?"

"You don't know her, mother," Namor said. "She is not a typical human woman. She is a warrior. She is royalty. She is magnificent!"

"She is a surface dweller!" Queen Fen said.

"She recently helped me liberate New Atlantis from the tyranny of Attuma and Warlord Krang. She was made an honorary member of the warrior class there. That being the case, she is in a sense a denizen of our undersea world."

"New Atlantis recognizes her," the Queen said. "I do not! I don't care what she did for New Atlantis, I will not have my son marrying one of them!"

"You must meet her, mother. Once you do, you will see that I am right. She is worthy."

"And what is this human's name again?"

"Queen Hippolyta, ruler of Themescria, island of the Amazons."

"Hippolyta?" she repeated. "What kind of a name is that for the future queen of the sea."

"It will also be a good political alliance, mother."

"I will make the political alliances, Namor."

"Mother, my own father, whom you chose, was a surface man."

"He was merely a lover, not a king. And besides, you are half human. If you mate with a human, your children will be mostly human themselves. And your children will one day rule great Atlantis. We can't have humans ruling the sea."

Namor was getting angry. "Then I demand the combat ritual. By the ancient laws of our people, If I succeed in spilling the blood of a great enemy of our realm, I have the right to choose any mate in the world. There is no restriction in the ancient scrolls about whether or not she be of the sea or the air."

Queen Fen was furious, but had no recourse. She had to agree. "Very well, Namor. You shall have your battle. But I pray you don't live to regret it. I degree that you must find Warlord Krang and bring him back here for judgement."

After the speech, she retired to her private sanctum, where she had a meeting with the Regent she left in charge, General Antiope.

"How has my kingdom fared in my absence?" Hippolyta asked.

"Things have been very uneventful, my Queen," Antiope said. "We have been training and praying. I organized a tournament, dedicated to Aphrodite. Your daughter Diana returned in time to compete. She won, of course."

"Is my daughter still here?"

"No, my Queen. She departed again to continue her exploration of man's world."

"Do my Amazons object to both myself and Diana leaving them to go to man's world?"

"They do not speak such things, your highness."

"Do they think such things?"

"I do not know, my Queen."

"I need to know how they feel, faithful Antiope. Because that will help me to predict how they will react when I tell them I am considering wedding a Man."

Antiope looked shocked. That told Hippolyta all she needed to know. This would be hard to explain. Even harder because she didn't understand it herself.

Joan was up already. Jay got dressed--slow and casually--and walked downstairs. Joan was already doing the housecleaning.

"Good morning sleepyhead," she said. "I thought your were going to spend the whole day in bed."

"Not unless you spend it there with me."

"Animal!" she said, smiling.

"Why don't we do something today?" Jay said. "A movie. A picnic. A trip to the country. What would you like to do today?"

"Jay, I have all this housework to do. I have to vacuum, dust, clean out the closet you've been promising to clean out, take the garbage out and clean the kitchen floor."

Jay vanished for a moment in a blur, but was back immediately. He gestured around the room. Everything was spotless.

"You did the closet, too?" she asked.

"Yup."

"Let's go on a picnic."

Jay popped up at her side with a picnic basket. "Ready to go, my sweet?"

"Have I told you lately that I love you?" she said.

"Yes you have. Have I told you?"

"Yes you have."

Jay kissed his wife then scooped her up and carried her outside. "Let's use the car for a change."

Kent's life was a lonely one. Being a servant of the Lords of Order and a member of the Justice Society left him very little time to socialize. And the Lords of Order demanded that he retain a distance from the other members of the human race. They didn't even like him associating with the JSA. They only agreed because the Spectre insisted on it.

To make things worse, Kent learned that he had once had a wife. Her name was Inza and she loved him. But after something called "The Crisis" which altered time, Inza was erased from existence. His last link to the human race was gone. He was alone. Totally alone.

Well, almost totally. There was still Nabu. The man who shared his mind and body. He couldn't possibly be closer to anyone than he was to Nabu. And yet, there was no feeling between them, except perhaps resentment. Why was it like that? Nabu was as alone as he was.

Kent decided to summon Nabu. Usually he did so by putting the Helmet on. But that would let Nabu overwhelm his mind. Kent wanted his mind to be his own this time. He clutched the Helmet of Nabu and concentrated, trying to bring the spirit of Nabu out. It took some time, but Nabu finally answered. Nabu used the Helmet as a repository for his spirit rather that the body of Kent Nelson.

"Why have you summoned me in this manner, Kent Nelson?" Nabu demanded to know.

"Because it's high time we talked."

Alan Scott felt his ring vibrate. That usually meant trouble. But there was nothing to be seen. Still, he remained on his guard.

The thing that had made the ring vibrate was the fact that, like Captain America, Alan was being watched by Loki.

The next best thing was to create someone who could do it for him. Someone very powerful and very savage. And Loki had an idea.

He had heard that Alan Scott was going to a swamp. A swamp is often a place of formidable power. Either mystic or dimensional or chemical. So Loki focused all his formidable power on the swamp. He combined his energy with the swamp energy and focused it on one spot. He made the swamp come to life. He created life from out of the swamp. A powerful living thing. It was humanoid in shape. It was seven feet tall, and stocky. It had Ghostly white skin and hair. As a prank, he dressed it in the black suit of an undertaker. As a further jest, he named it after a character from a mortal child's rhyme. He mentally contacted the creature, whispering into it's brain.

"Welcome to Midgard, Solomon Grundy," Loki chuckled. "Just in time for your first kill. When the Sentinel arrives, you will use your prodigious strength to crush him."