# 213
The All-Star Legion of America in "The Secret Emperor, Part Three"
By Mikel Midnight (suggested by a plot from Dashiell Hammett)

Thom McAn calls to his impish companion, "H, I need my bazooka shoes!"

H says, "       " as a pair of futuristic footwear appear on the boy's feet.

Captain Tootsie scowls, "Thom, you shouldn't go in there." He shields his eyes from the flames which encompass the building which had formerly been their headquarters. "I'm the one who ought to ... "

Thom McAn shakes his head. "You're the toughest member of the ASLA, but I'm the fastest," he says while ignoring 'U.S.' Royal's scowl. Before his team chairman can say another word, the boy rockets into the burning building. Carefully dodging the crumbling infrastructure, he finds the unconscious Volto. He leans down to pick up his teammate, and recoils in surprise as the alien's skin surface is scalding hot.

He looks around quickly, flying from room to room until he finds a still intact tent left over from one of his and Bazooka's camping trips. He cautiously wraps the tarp around Volto's form, then ties the cords attached to the corners of the tarp to the bazooka shoes.

R.C. stands ready with a pair of asbestos blankets which he throws over the pair. Thom McAn groans as the adrenaline rush starts to fade, and he begins to feel his burns. Captain Tootsie looks down at him, "Don't you ever do something like that again, young man!" His expression softens as the medics arrive and begin to examine the boy. "Is he going to be all right?" he enquires softly.

"Captain," says Thom McAn, "Volto ... he ... "

Captain Tootsie kneels by his unconscious comrade, and pulls the blanket aside. He purses his lips as he sees, beneath the skinlike surface which has melted away, the gears and circuitry of what is plainly an immensely complicated robot. He glances silently at his companions, and beckons Bazooka over to him.

As the boy approaches, Captain Tootsie whispers, "Take him to my Secret Legion clubhouse. You remember the way, right?"

Bazooka nods silently, and as Volto is lifted into his arms, he blows a bubble which takes them both airborne.

Captain Tootsie rises to his feet, and feels a hand on his shoulder. He turns to see the familiar face of a plainclothes policeman. "Sgt. Roy Dunhill," he says with a sociable, but weary, smile of acknowledgement. "I presume you're here to take our statements, Roy?"

Dunhill twitches his head slightly. "In a manner of speaking, Captain. May I present my superior, Lt. Pollock?"

Captain Tootsie raises an eyebrow at Dunhill's tone, and he beckons the other members of the ASLA to join him. "In a manner of speaking?" he asks. "How can we assist the law?"

"From what Dunhill informs me, your security systems were supposed to be unbreakable." Lt. Pollock glances at the sergeant and back at Captain Tootsie. "I admit my men even figure out half the stuff you have arranged there, but they appear to have been neatly dismantled with no signs of forced entry. Does any of that suggest an inside job?"

R.C. blinks. "What are you suggesting?"

Lt. Pollock looks down at a clipboard he had carried in his hand. "There's also the matter of the disappearance of a bank employee, Anthony Travers ... accusations of criminal trespass on the Dolliard estate ... " he glances at Thom McAn, "and numerous child endangerment issues. Did you allow this boy to run into that burning building to rescue one of your adult teammates? And then pass him off to another child to transport?"

Captain Tootsie shakes his head, "None of that describes what's happened. Just let me explain ... "

"I think you should explain it to the D.A. The three of you come with me, please. And you, young man, have an appointment with child protective services."

Thom McAn's eyes widen. "No way," he shouts as he activates his bazooka shoes, and he and H flee skyward, following the path that Bazooka trailed through the sky.

'U.S.' Royal shouts out, "Thom, damnit!" and then, "Hey!" as he feels a set of strong hands behind him. A pair of uniformed officers grab his arms, forcing his wrists into a pair of handcuffs. "This is not necessary, I'm a federal deputy!"

Lt. Pollock shrugs, "tell it to the judge," he says as Captain Tootsie and R.C. are similarly cuffed. The former tenses his muscles, prepared to break free of the restraints, but then relaxes. "Let it go, Royal. We're not criminals. The truth will out."

Elsewhere, a man with a furrowed brow pores over a copy of 'Capital Whispers,' the Washington D.C.-based scandal sheet. Not seeing the article he'd feared, he breathes a deep sigh of relief and taps a cigarette out of a silver case he keeps in his jacket pocket. He reaches for the match as the phone rings.

"Senator Jarboe's office," he says into the mouthpiece.

"Good-afternoon, Mister-Gira. I-trust-you-recognise-my-voice."

He feels a chill down his spine. "Of course I do, Mister Doucas. I noticed you still haven't used the information I've sent you. When can I expect the photo negatives to be sent to me?"

There is a pause, and when the voice resumes, it sounds almost disappointed. "If-you-recall-our-discussion, nothing-will-be-brought-into-play-until-after-the-election. Have-you-been-contacted-by-a-member-of-the-All-Star-Legion-of-America?"

"The .. . the mysterymen?" Gira blinks, "Are they involved with the Senator? No, certainly not."

"Ensure-that-if-they-do, I-am-to-be-notified-immediately. I-will-trust-you-to-be-truthful-but-discreet. We-can-agree-about-the-importance-of-discretion, can-we-not, Mister-Gira? Just-as-I-have-been-discreet, having-learned-of-your-unfortunate-predilections?"

He bites his lip. "Yes, yes, of course."

There is a click on the other side of the line as the call is ended. He tries to light the cigarette again, his hands shaking.

Skyward, the two young boys flee the crime scene as they head to Captain Tootsie's secret headquarters: a camouflaged house deep in a wooded area of Hoboken, New Jersey. "Akoozab," says the boy bearing Volto as the reach their destination.

"I hope someone's home," says Thom McAn.

Bazooka nods, glumly. "Can you give me a hand with him?"

"Oh ... sure, sorry, you had to carry him all that way." Carefully, they take their unconscious teammate by his shoulders and legs, and march over to the house. As they approach, a window slides partway open and the muzzle of a popgun is extruded. "Who goes there?" says a voice.

Bazooka releases Volto's legs gently, and turns around to face the voice, hands raised appeasingly. "The All-Star Legion of America," he says.

"Gee ... they are!" says another voice, and the front door opens. "Come on in, Thom and Baz ... gee, is that Volto with you? What happened to him?"

From inside, the three young boys named Fatso, Fisty and Rollo came out to help the other two, and they all layed the body carefully on a cot in one of the back rooms. Fisty grinned, "Let me introduce our two newest members ... Marybelle and Sweetie," he said, gesturing to a pair of small blonde girls. "We ain't just a boy's club anymore, I guess."

"Hey Thom," Marybelle said, "we've heard about you guys from Captain Tootsie, glad to finally meet you."

Bazooka grins, "Same here ... the ASLA isn't a boy's club anymore either, I guess, since we rescued ... or were rescued by ... a gal named Miss Wonderly."

Rollo eyes Volto speculatively. "So is this a robot duplicate of Volto, or something?"

Thom shifts uneasily. "I'm not sure. I think ... it might be Volto himself."

Fisty blinks, "He's a robot? huh."

H bobs in the air, pointing to Volto frantically. "What is it," Thom asks. The extradimensional imp mimes an act of staring down at Volto through a looking-glass, and Thom looks at Rollo perplexedly.

"A magnifying glass? Of course we've got one," he says. Sweetie jumps up, and rushes to another room, in order to return carrying a portable detective kit. She opens it up, and peers through it at the location H had indicated. "Hey, that's something else," she says in an awed voice.

As the others crowd around, Thom takes the magnifying glass and looks closely at the alien machinework. It soon becomes apparent that the interior is far from deactivated, and that the micro-miniaturised machinery is attempting to repair itself.

Bemused, they pass the spyglass from one hand to the other. "This means he's going to wake up soon, right," asks Bazooka anxiously.

"Your guess is as good as mine," says Thom McAn.

"From what you told me when we were carrying in, thing are looking pretty grim for the Captain and the rest of your friends," says Rollo. "If you two need a place to hide out until things blow over, and a safe place for Volto to ... do whatever it is he's doing ... you can treat the Secret Legion's clubhouse as your own."

Thom McAn breathes a deep sigh of relief, extending a hand to the Secret Legionnaire. "Thanks, friend."

Thirty days later.

TO BE CONTINUED ...