Waterfall Travel says “By Godfrey! The Potomac is lovely in the fall! Assemble your crew and check out Washington, DC – September 22^nd through 25^th! Even the Senators will be in session! Your peepers won’t believe what your ears will be hearing! Don’t delay!” (Waterfall Travel, Bedlows, VA).

As Julie Cameron stepped into the lounge area of the team’s headquarters, she pulled the brochure from the top and placed the rest of the mail on the desk where Jolly Roger was sitting. The gray clad hero with the skull and crossbones logo on his chest nodded at her while he listened on the phone.

Seated in one of the chairs reading a local newspaper was the hero dressed in black named Karishi. Julie cleared her throat to get his attention.

“Yes?” Karishi said as he glanced up from the paper. “Is there something you need, Julie?”

“Yeah.” She tapped the brochure behind her back with a nervous rhythm. “I was wondering…think it would be okay if took the week of September 20^th off?”

“You have been doing a great job keeping things running her,” the masked hero said. “I do not see why not. Going somewhere special?”

“Not really,” Julie said. “Just going to look up some old friends is all.”

“That will be fine, I guess,” Karishi said.

Julie nodded, turned and left the room.

Karishi watched her go, and then he turned to the third costumed male in the room. “Stargazer, did you notice that?” he asked.

The black haired hero wearing goggle turned away from the television that he had been watching intently. On the screen the cable news anchor had been reporting about problems plaguing the Reagan administration like the Iran Contra Hearings and the fall meetings with Gorbachev. “Notice what?” Stargazer asked.

“Julie was just in here and did not even ask what we were working on or whether she could help,” Karishi said.

“Does she do that a lot?” Stargazer asked.

Karishi realized that the new hero had not been around the team long enough nor had he been here when the young woman came on board with the group. Maybe it was nothing after all.

“Great!” Jolly Roger said with enthusiasm into the phone. “We’ll look forward to it.

“All set with what?” Karishi asked.

“That was an old contact of mine up in Lancaster, PA,” Jolly Roger explained. “He’s part of the crew at Dr. McQuark’s.”

“Why were you speaking with this doctor?” Karishi asked. “Is something wrong?”

Jolly Roger laughed.  “No, McQuark’s not a medical doctor.  He runs a superhero supply business.  You know, gizmos and gadgets and such.  Anyway, I decided this team needed some proper transportation so I put in an order for a sky-car which would allow us to get around town and such more quickly. With the customizations I requested, it will be delivered to us in about two weeks.”

“A sky-car?” Stargazer asked. “What’s that?”

“A car…” Jolly Roger said as he held out his right hand flat, “…that flies.” He raised his hand up.

“But I can fly,” Stargazer said.

“But I can’t,” Jolly Roger pointed out. “And neither do Phaedrus or the Silent Knight, if and when they return.  Besides, this will allow you to conserve your power for the tasks at hand. It’ll be great!”

Stargazer turned to Karishi to get his take. Sadly, the full face mask hid any facial reaction that he might have gotten. So, Stargazer just cocked his head slightly to the side. “Makes sense, I guess.”

“I was reading the local paper about a fundraiser tomorrow night,” Karishi said, changing the subject.  “Local millionaire James Barthlett III will be hosting a casino fundraiser at his mansion home with the expected $100,000 raised to go to Baltimore’s Homeless Society. Guests include the mayor, the governor, our friend Commissioner Cage, local representatives, and numerous wealthy socialites. I suggest that Rough Justice also be in attendance.”

“You think something might happen?” Stargazer asked.

“I think an event such as that with a lot of wealth is a ripe target for criminals,” Karishi said.

“Free food and drink,” Jolly Roger said. “I’m in!”  He then glanced down at the pile of mail that Julie had left on the desk. On the top was a telegram addressed to him. He tore off the perforated tabs that sealed the envelope, opened it and read the message. He let out an inquisitive “hmmm….”

Karishi approached the desk.   “What is it?”

“See for yourself,” Jolly Roger said as he handed the paper to the man who then read it to himself.

“What is it?” Stargazer asked as he looked over Karishi’s shoulder. The words were not in English. “Wait, what is that?”

“Japanese,” Jolly Roger said. “Desu anata dekimasu ni hitsusatsu?” Anata mimasu mae ni nagai!”

“Which means what exactly?” Stargazer asked.

Karishi translated.  “It means: ‘Are you ready for certain death? You will see before long!’ What do you make of this, Jolly Roger?”

Jolly Roger took the paper back and began to type on the computer keyboard. “I take it as someone is trying to threaten me. Let’s see if I can find out whom.”

“I’ll leave that to you guys,” Stargazer said. “All this sitting around is boring. I’m going down to work out.” He turned and left the room, heading for the locker rooms on the basement level of the building.

Stargazer spent a good part of an hour doing bench presses on the universal gym system. Prior to his discovery of the goggles from space that gave him his amazing powers, doing even part of the stack would have been a problem. Now, he could to the full stack of weight in dozens of reps without much difficulty.

As he worked out, he thought about how he had told his wife they could stay on Baltimore to spend time with her family. Mandy had been pleased to hear that as it had been awhile since she spent a lot of time with them. Secretly, though it allowed Mark Berlin to continue to be part of the team as Stargazer.  He enjoyed being a hero and having other heroes with whom to hang out, even if they were a little more intense than he was accustomed to.

When he finished his workout, he headed for the showers to wash off the little bit of sweat that he generated. The water was hot and relaxing, filling the room with a nice bit of steam. When he finished, he grabbed a towel to dry off and started to step from the showers.

Suddenly, he was no longer in the Rough Justice base!

“What the heck?!?” Beneath his feet was a sandy surface. His eyes darted about; everywhere around him was a barren, sandy environment. Looking up, he noticed that the skies were a hazy red colored. He was also dressed in his costume again.

At first, Stargazer thought he must be daydreaming or something. He bent down and scooped up some sand in his gloved hands then parted them so it would fall. The sand fell as a gentle cascade to the ground. “Okay, this is totally weird!”

He started to walk and his booted feet made impressions in the surface. “There has got to be something or someone around here that can explain me how I got here.” He continued to walk. A warm gentle breeze came up, blowing some of the sand about.

He walked for a little bit until, without warning, his feet began to sink deeper into the sand.   “What??” The ground began to give way and he sunk even faster. He tried to fly and teleport, but his powers were not responding. He reached to his head out of instinctive but felt only his face. “Duh! No goggles – no powers!” Before he knew it, he was waist deep in the sand and sinking even further. He tried to pull himself up with just his strength but to no avail. He started to panic!

Within seconds, the sand was up to his neck and then his mouth and eyes. His entire body plunged through the surface and he found himself falling in a black abyss. Again, he tried to fly but could not!

There was a sudden sensation as he appeared to hit the bottom!

He opened his eyes to find himself on the black and white tile floor of the locker room, still wet with only a towel wrapped about his waist. “Whoa!” Stargazer said as he steadied himself and rose to his feet.  “Now that was weird!”

He got dressed in his costume as fast as possible, feeling comforted to have his goggles on again too.  He then joined his teammates back in the lounge.

“How was the workout?” Karishi asked.

“Not relaxing,” Stargazer said. “Did you guys notice anything unusual?”

“No,” Karishi nodded.

“We did find the source of the telegram,” Jolly Roger said. “Using the computer and the world-wide-web, I was able to trace its destination of origin to Yokohama, Japan.”

“So you know who sent it?” Stargazer asked.

“Yes,” Jolly Roger said.  “It was paid for in cash by a man named Shundo Kamakuri.”

“That’s good,” the goggled hero said. “So who is he?”

“A deceased man,” Karishi said. “Jolly Roger found this Kamakuri suffered heart-attack in February of 1986.”

For the second time less than ten minutes Stargazer uttered the word “weird.”

***

The next night, Karishi entered the crowded home of James Barthlett and became the instant center of attention of many of the guests in attendance. Though he wore a black tuxedo with black gloves, he also more his full-face mask and cape. His weapon belt was present about his waist.

The crowd seemed to give Karishi a wide berth as he moved across the room. He glanced over to the bar area and saw McCoy Pauley standing in a very relaxed manner as he talked to some guests while also keeping an eye on things. His teammate gave him a quick wink to acknowledge the glance.

Mark Berlin stood over near one of the sets of French doors. He tugged at his necktie.

Karishi made it a point to introduce himself to the host of the party. James Barthlett was a tall man with a medium build and brown hair and was talking to a thinner man with blonde hair, a mustache and a beard dressed black suit. “So glad to have you here,” Barthlett said to the hero. He noticed the scabbard on Karishi’s belt. “Are you a swordsman?”

“I practice a bit,” Karishi said.

“Then I bet you would enjoy seeing my collection of antiques,” the host continued. “I keep them in my gallery.” He turned to the blonde man. “Would you like to see them as well, Johann?”

The blonde man nodded. “Oh, most definitely, James,” said Johann Kirchoff in a slight European accent.

The three men stepped away from the main party room to a smaller room off to the left. Barthlett unlocked the doors to the gallery and the trio went inside. The host of the party beamed as he talked about the various blades on display, explaining where he had gotten them and the stories behind them.

As they were finishing up, Karishi asked “has either of you gentlemen ever heard of the Sword of Seimei?”

Kirchoff’s green eyes widened as he looked at the hero rather surprisingly.

Barthlett just made a slight scoffing sound. “The Sword of Seimei? I don’t believe the stories surrounding that one.”

“So you do not believe it exists?” Karishi asked.

“I’ve heard rumor that someone in the Hawaiian Islands claims to know of its whereabouts,” Barthlett said. “But I don’t believe the stories. I mean, really. A sword created by a sorcerer back in the middle ages with the ability to slay vampires?  It all sounds like a bunch of tales someone would tell around the campfire, exaggerated with each telling. Maybe told just to try to increase the market value of the item.”

“The world is full of fantastic things,” Johann Kirchoff pointed out. “Take this super-hero standing with us, for instance. I am certain he’s seen his share of the fantastic.”  The blonde man turned to the costumed figure. “Am I right?”

Something about Kirchoff’s smile did not sit well with Karishi. “The world is a most interesting place,” he said.

“Let’s get back to the party,” Barthlett said. “Besides…” He glanced down at his now empty glass. “…I can use another drink.” He headed for the door and the two other men followed, each visibly mindful of the other.

Just as the three returned to the ballroom, there was a loud commotion on the far side of the room. A number of guests gasped as two ski-masked men dressed in black burst into the ballroom from an adjacent parlor. From the patio, a masked woman in black and a smaller figure dressed similarly vaulted over the short, stone wall of the patio and came into the ballroom from the back doors.

The two male pulled Uzis from their side and held them high into the air for all to see. “We want the money now!” one of the men shouted.

“Yeah, don’t anyone try anything funny either!” the other ordered.

The woman and the smaller figure had large sacks and began to head for the table with the charitable contribution bowl.

Behind Barthlett and Kirchoff, Karishi stepped back into the library and transformed into mist. He then wafted out the room via the window and around to the patio side of the house. Just then, he saw Mark Berlin rush outside, dive over the wall and vanish in a flash.

Karishi turned back into human form, now wearing his full costume. As he ran back into the room via the open patio doors, he saw Berlin, now in his Stargazer costume, drop through the skylight.

Stargazer looked at one of the gunmen and said “I don’t think you want to do this. Give up now before things get out of hand.”

The man with the gun aimed his Uzi and fired at the hero is black, yellow and gray.

Stargazer smiled as the bullets passed harmless through him to riddle the ceiling above him.   “What? Did you seriously think I’d make it that easy for you?”

Beneath his mask, Karishi nodded. He understood well the benefits of being able to make one’s self immaterial. He glanced over to the bar area to see that McCoy Pauley was no longer there. Before he could wonder about his other colleague, McCoy burst back into the room wearing his Jolly Roger costume.

“Avast, you thieving dogs! There'll be no booty for you tonight!” Jolly Roger said as he aimed his rifle at one of the criminals. He fired one shot, knocking the weapon out of one of men’s hands.

An undercover police officer also pulled out a gun and shot at one of the other black costumed males. To everyone’s surprise, the bullet bounced off the man’s chest.

These are not normal thieve, Karishi thought to himself.  He concentrated with his mind and attempted to control the actions of the one who remained armed. Much to his surprise, he found incredible resistance.

“Let’s end this,” Stargazer said as he flew towards to the two men in black. Just as he got within a foot of them, the hero teleported away and left a blinding flash in his wake.

The two men in black both let out horrific, wailing screams. Then, they appeared to go immaterial just as Stargazer had been before.

Karishi realized what they were facing. Vampires! he thought as he gritted his teeth. You picked the wrong party to crash!

Jolly Roger pulled one of the bolos from his weapons belt and hurled it at the woman in black.  With her arms bond tight to her side, she struggled to free herself. “Help me!” she cried through the ski-mask opening.

The smaller figure ignored her plea and continued to scoop up money into his sack. It was becoming quite full and was almost as tall as the individual.  The smaller criminal struggled with it.

Jolly Roger approached the captive woman. “Let’s see what we have here,” he said as he pulled the mask from her face. Short blonde hair framed a face the hero had seen before. “What a second?” He recalled the murder investigation from a few days prior that he and Karishi had looked into. “You?  You’re Lori Sharp!”

The blonde woman glared at him with narrowed eyes and hissed loudly. When she did so, it revealed pointed fangs.

Holding her steady with one arm, Jolly Roger turned her head away with another to reveal her bare neck.  There were two puncture marks on one side of her jugular. “Damn!” he muttered to himself.

Stargazer returned, once more in his immaterial form. “These two won’t slip away that easily,” he said. He began to exchange punches with the duo he had momentarily blinded.

Karishi turned to the smaller one still gathering the money. Let’s see if I can have better luck with you, he thought. Knowing what he was dealing with, he pushed his mental abilities and issued a command for the thief to surrender.

The smaller one dropped the sack of money as his body went rigid for an instant. Then, he turned on his heel and bolted for the door.

Jolly Roger saw the fleeing thief and, on instinct, pulled out his Tozuku rifle. “Stop, now!” he ordered as he got a clear shot. When the subject did not respond, he squeezed the trigger a number of times.

The small framed body fell to the floor.

Karishi ran to the downed figure and pulled off the black ski-mask. To his surprise, he found it was a young Hispanic boy who was not yet a teenager.

Jolly Roger turned back to Lori Sharp. “You better surrender!”

Her response was a blunt, “Go to Hell!”

“Look,” Jolly Roger said, his voice growing angrier by the second, “I can make this much more difficult for you if I have to!”

“I’d like to see you try!” she said with a taunting grin.

Frustrated, the hero spun around his rifle and smacked the side of her head with the butt end of the weapon.

A flashbulb went off behind him.

Karishi realized the young boy was out and left him for Jolly Roger to bind. He crossed the room, turning immaterial as he went.  “Need help with these two, Stargazer?” he asked.

“I’ve got this one!” Stargazer landed a haymaker punch on the vampire he was fighting. As he watched him fall, the vampire went solid again. Jolly Roger rushed over and bound the fallen foe with another of his bolos.

Karishi turned to the last male thief. “Give up!  Your partners are done for and so are you!”

The vampire lunged at Karishi in a final effort, fangs glaring beneath the ski-mask.

Karishi dodged the attack.  He then slammed him in the jaw with his hardest punch, knocking his attacker to the ground.  The attacker returned solid. Karishi did the same, reached down and pulled off the ski-mask. This revealed the brown haired male the hero had been searching for. Rick Casey.

Commissioner Cage and the rest of the undercover police officers offered the heroes assistance with further binding of the vampire thugs. As they prepared to take the quartet downtown for questioning, a news reporter approached.

“Cassidy St. John from the Baltimore Herald,” the red-haired man announced. “Do you have official comment to make at this time?” He shoved the microphone of his mini-tape recorder at the group.

“No comment at this time,” Cage said as he moved to the patrol car.

St. John shoved his microphone at the heroes. “Who are these thugs and why did Jolly Roger use such force against the woman?”

Karishi stepped in between and with some force pushed the microphone away. “These four are most dangerous individuals, and we do not have time to answer the media’s questions!”

Underneath his full face mask, Jolly Roger smiled. “What he said,” he added before following Karishi to the patrol cars.

“But you can’t…” St. John sputtered. “The people have a right…”

“Excuse me,” Stargazer said politely. “I’ll be more than happy to stick around to answer some questions for you and any other reporters.” He glanced about with a smile, looking for any television crews or print cameramen.

Karishi looked at his teammate and concentrated,establishing a mental link. Just watch what you say, Stargazer! he communicated with his mind. There is no sense in panicking the general populace if these are the only vampires running around. Understand?

Stargazer looked to his teammate and nodded. He then turned back to St. John. “These four…people…burst into the party with an attempt to rob all the charity money. Naturally, I was not about to stand for it. Your recorder is on, right?”

From the house, James Barthlett turned to Johann Kirchoff and said, “It was a good thing that Rough Justice was here after all to insure that the evening wasn’t a total disaster.”

Kirchoff nodded in agreement, adding “despite the bizarre and violent interruption, the evening will prove to be quite profitable indeed for all involved.” As the patrol cars pulled out of the drive, he then smiled.