Here they had tracked a big time super-villain all the way from Baltimore and watched him interact with other scholarly individuals amidst some of the greatest treasures ever unearthed. Who would expect that their targets would end up leaving the archeology convention in Louisville only to head down to the Kentucky State Fair Grounds where the Red Darren traveling circus was putting up stakes for a few days?

Certainly not him.

Still, the three heroes in their civilian guises spent the afternoon wandering around the dirt covered grounds, where wafting smells of cotton candy and waffles mixed with the pungent odor of wild animal droppings and soiled straw. All the while they kept an eye on Harold Lindberg and his stunning blonde bride, waiting for them to make some kind of move.

The Knight had silently motioned that he was taking a detour and slipped in to visit a fortune teller named Madame Rendea, a waste of time in Jolly Roger’s opinion. Those types were nothing more than traveling gypsies, out to take a poor sucker’s money and tell him exactly what he wanted to hear. The future wasn’t something that could be divined by gazing into a crystal ball or looking lines on a person’s palm. Jolly Roger felt that the future is something that each person has to make for themselves, by their actions and deeds.

Eventually, the circus barker, dressed in red and white stripes and a wide brimmed hat, urged the assembled to “hurry, hurry, hurry” to the main tent. The three heroes found themselves seats on the cold, uncomfortable metal bleachers a few rows back from the Lindbergs. Karishi was insistent about not letting the man and woman out of his sight.

The circus was pretty much your standard American fare: trainers doing various tricks with a variety of different animals, tumblers and acrobats performing various moves that Jolly Roger could easily mimic with his skill chip implants, and grease-paint covered clowns doing pratfalls and slapstick.

It was certainly different from the circuses he had been to in Japan growing up. While those too tended to include acrobats, they often centered on some kind of theme like spiritual redemption or time-honored adventure. He was hoping to see someone shot out from a cannon; at least that would have proved exciting to him. Pyrotechnics and explosions are always a good thing in his book.

The final act appeared to have some margin of suspense to it. A blonde haired young woman named Wendy Kings, dressed in a skimpy red spandex number cut high on the thigh and low in the chest and trimmed with shiny tassels, performed a trapeze act over an open topped cage. As she spiraled above, the ferocious gray ocelot with piercing orange eyes below snarled and roared. The crowd was eating it up.

Jolly Roger wasn’t very impressed. He knew she was practiced at this and there was likely little fear of her falling.

However, on her final pass over the cage, she missed the bar as it swung out before her.

The crowd gasped!

Instinctively, Jolly Roger and his comrades rose to their feet as did others.

As the last second, Wendy turned her body to the left and caught the side of the cage. The ocelot jumped up, its teeth snapping and its claws clamoring for her, but she was able to deftly swing her legs up over the side of the metal enclosure. She dismounted from the cage with the ease of an Olympic gymnast, landing on her feet.

The crowd erupted in applause.

Jolly Roger and the others heroes relaxed. No doubt part of the act, he thought to himself.

The crowd let out from the show soon afterwards, and the heroes moved along with them. Again, they kept their eyes focused on the quarry.

The Lindbergs made a direct line to the sideshow which included a closer look at the ocelot from the final act. The heroes went inside as well. The creature had been moved to a smaller enclosure, one that included a ceiling as well. There was no risk of it escaping. It was then that they actually noticed, upon a closer inspection, that the animal had imbedded in its throat a small gemstone.

Karishi nudged the other two heroes and directed their gaze to the gemstone.

There’s the missing piece of the puzzle, Jolly Roger thought. So, now they knew what the Sinister Spectrum and his bride were after. A gemstone connection. The only question was how long would it take for them to strike.

***

After the final show for the night, the trainers and their crew tended to the animals before retiring to their trailers. One by one, lights went out for the night except for the occasional trailer. One of those belonged to Red Darren, the circus owner. Muffled voices could be heard inside as if two people were arguing.

When all seemed quiet that was when two shadowy figures approached the animal cages. They stopped before the ocelot’s cage.

“Ah, Vameir!” the male figure spoke in a conversational tone.

The creature rose from its sleeping position and approached the bars cautiously.

The man held out his hand through the bars, unafraid.

The creature sniffed the hand and the man, and then it rolled its head to the side, brushing its ears against the open palm. The man caressed it gently as one would a faithful pet.

In the shadows nearby, Jolly Roger felt the Silent Knight start to rise up, ready to spring forward. He held his comrade back by grabbing his shoulder and whispering “Not yet. No crime, no charges that can stick!” Still, Jolly Roger wondered to himself where did Karishi run off to? Here the mysterious hero had been so insistent on keeping an eye on their targets and then he wandered off.

Back at the cage, Harold Lindberg gently stroked the creature’s head. “Yes, Vameir,” he said. “You know me. You know we are here to free you from captivity. You know that is what you want, isn’t it?”

The wild Ocelot purred like a domestic cat with approval.

“Then free you shall be,” the man said. He and his partner stepped back fifteen feet from the cage. He raised his hands and two beams of colorful energy shot forth from them. The air was filled with the smell of burning metal.

After a few moments, the door to the cage fell loose, allowing the Ocelot to step from its cage.

Suddenly, Karishi appeared out of no where by the cage. “It is over, Setar!” the black caped hero yelled. “I know the truth of why you seek this creature, and I will not allow you to do so!” He swung his fist to strike the dark haired man, but it is stopped short inches from the man’s face.

“Foolish hero!” Harold Lindberg exclaimed. “You clearly know too much to live!” Suddenly, his form was engulfed in light as his clothing was transformed to the black costume with white gloves and boots that he wore as the villainous Sinister Spectrum. “You should have remained in Baltimore!” With the flick of his hand, he blasted Karishi and knocked the hero to the ground.

The blonde Crystaline reached for the fallen hero. “What shall I do with him?” she asked.

“Put him in the cage!” the Spectrum ordered.

Suddenly, Jolly Roger and Silent Knight sprang from their hiding place. “I don’t think so, mate!” Jolly Roger said. “Step away from our friend and put your hands in the air where we can see them!”

The Spectrum laughed. “I’ve faced the Justice Gang single-handedly,” he boasted. “What would I fear from the likes of you three?”

The Silent Knight tore one of the boomerangs from his bandolier and let it fly.

The Spectrum blasted it away with ease. “Vameir, vent your years of pent up rage upon these interlopers!”

The Ocelot roared and leapt forward swiftly. It pounced upon the Silent Knight, knocking him backward to the ground. From a dominant position, the animal began to rake its claws across the man’s chest. Silent Knight tried to push the creature away, but it had both leverage and great strength on its side.

“Save some for me,” Crystaline called. “I owe this one for earlier assaults upon my person!” She dove into the fray and began to punch the mute hero.

Jolly Roger spun his Tozuju rifle about from the sling on his back and took aim at the Spectrum. “Call off your troops now!” he ordered.

“I think not,” the Spectrum replied. He fired a blast of energy at the gun-toting hero.

Jolly Roger dove to the side with an acrobatic roll, thankful again for the skill chip implants at the back of his neck. As he tumbled, he was able to get aim and fired.

The shot exploded the ground near the Spectrum’s feet, sending the villain tumbling backwards. “Think again!”

Crystaline spun about. “You dare strike my husband!” she exclaimed. “You will pay for that!”

The opening allowed the Silent Knight, despite the heavy bleeding coming through the chest area of his costume, to bring his foot about and shove the savage animal off of him.

Jolly Roger ducked as Crystaline swung a punch towards him. Too telegraphed, he thought. She’s strong but not skilled. Instead of dealing with her, he pulled a bolo from his belt and hurled it towards the beast that was about to rise up again.

The wire bolo whizzed through the air and then entangled three of the beast’s legs. The Ocelot fell to the ground, struggling to free itself.

“You shall pay for your interference!” the Spectrum announced as he took aim at Jolly Roger. The blast hit the hero squarely in the skull-and-crossbones insignia on his chest.

Jolly Roger stumbled backwards, feeling the sting of the blast through the enforced armor of his costume. Stupid! he chastised himself silently. Never take your eyes off the man in charge!

A second blast from the Spectrum knocked Jolly Roger to the ground.

Crystaline was suddenly upon him. He could see the woman towering over him, fists clenched tightly and ready to pound down on him like jackhammers. “Not so tough are you, little man?” she said.

“Free the cat!” Sinister Spectrum ordered from behind them. “Then we shall let Vameir dine upon them as they beg for mercy!”

Crystaline turned to obey.

Jolly Roger tried to move and felt great pain. Man! Those blasts were stronger than I thought! He glanced to one side and saw Silent Knight still on his back, the blood soaking his costume and his breath very shallow. Hold on, Knight!

He glanced to the other side and saw Karishi, still on the ground but moving very slowly and cautiously. He saw the caped hero reaching to his belt. What tricks does he have up his sleeve?

Jolly Roger saw Karishi pull a small device out and press a button.Explosives? Jolly Roger thought. But, nothing immediate happened. What is he doing?

Crystaline reached for the wire that bound the creature’s legs and began to try and loosen it. Even with her great strength, it took a moment to snap the binding. “There! You are free!” she announced. “Attack them!”

Karishi stood suddenly, defiantly. “No, Ocelot!” he said with a commanding voice. The creature suddenly stiffened and then fell to the ground unconscious.

What did he just do? Jolly Roger thought to himself. He made a mental note that if they all made it out of this fight alive that he needed to get the full rundown on his teammates and what they were capable of. If they were going to act like a team, they needed to know one another a lot better.

“We have wasted enough time!” the Spectrum exclaimed. “Crystaline, get Vameir and we shall leave!”

“You have to get through me first,” Karishi said boldly.

Jolly Roger rose to his feet, fighting off the pain. “Yeah, and me too!” He wasn’t sure if he could another round, but he was curious to see what Karishi was capable of.

The Spectrum replied with a two-fisted blast that exploded the ground at the heroes’ feet and knocking them backwards. “You do not have what it takes to stop us!” the villain said. “You only delay us like gnats buzzing in the air!”

“Delaying is all they needed to do!” a commanding voice came from behind the villains as four costumed figures materialized.

The Spectrum turned at the sound of a very familiar voice. Standing before him was a powerful gray haired figure in green and red, a dark haired woman in yellow and green, a blonde haired male in red with green trim, and finally a brown haired man in yellow with an arrow cocked on a drawn longbow. “Space Lord! Phantom Lady! Dr. Speed! The Golden Archer!” the villain exclaimed.

“Who?” Crystaline asked.

“You don’t get around much, do you lady?” the Archer said as he let the arrow fly. A net exploded from the arrow-head, pinning down the beginning to stir Ocelot.

“The accursed Justice Gang!” the Spectrum exclaimed. “How did you find us so quickly?”

“My doing, Spectrum,” Karishi admitted. “Thanks to the communicator I got from them recently.”

Jolly Roger smiled. “Nice to have powerful friends you can call on,” he said.

Dr. Speed quickly surveyed the situation and noticed the fallen Silent Knight. In a blur, he was at the hero’s side, examining the wound. “This man has suffered critical lacerations to his chest and needs major medical attention!” He leaned down, touched one hand to the Knight and another to his belt.

In a second, the two vanished.

“Where did they go?” Jolly Roger asked.

“The Justice Gang satellite no doubt,” Karishi replied.  “He’ll be in good hands.”

“You’re going back to jail, Spectrum!” Space Lord announced as he leveled his wrist blasters at the villain.

The Spectrum returned the volley, and the two blasts collided. “I don’t think so!”

“Lady, let’s bring down the blonde!” the Golden Archer said as he notched up another of his trick arrows.

“Definitely time for lights out for her!” Phantom Lady agreed. She reached to her belt and removed a blackout bomb. “Shall we use the old one-two?”

The Archer nodded to his long-time ally. “Just like we used to do back in Boston!” The two went into action.

Jolly Roger turned to Karishi. “We’re not going to let them have all the fun, are we?”

“You read my mind,” Karishi replied.

And, together, the five heroes soon made short work of the two remaining villains.

***

Once the battle was over and the villains were delivered to the Stronghold facility in Stoltzburg, NJ, Space Lord invited Karishi and Jolly Roger to join the group back at the team’s satellite headquarters. There, they found that Dr. Speed had already worked to stabilize the Silent Knight’s condition enough for him to be transported to a local hospital. “He’ll be out of commission for a few weeks at least,” the speedster/medical doctor announced. “That wild animal did a number on him.”

“What about the gemstone in the Ocelot’s neck?” Karishi asked. “It appears to be like Lindberg’s in some fashion, and it appears to have give the creature some kind of advanced intelligence.”

“Most likely it is like Lindberg's,” Space Lord said. “The Stronghold folks will remove it from the animal if they can. They have a good facility there, and their resident hero Target is a good ally of ours. In the meantime, we’ll put the Spectrum’s gemstone in a safe place where Lindberg won’t get his hands on it again.”

“Good,” Karishi said.

Jolly Roger was hoping they could stay longer so he would have a chance to investigate the Justice Gang's high-tech equipment. But, he knew they needed to get the Knight some place where he could be patched up and rest. Another time, perhaps he thought to himself as the three heroes were beamed back down to Earth, to a hospital in Baltimore.