A tale of the Legion of Super-Vandals
The characters and representations of Superboy, the Legion of Super-Heroes and its members (however disguised), Wonder Girl, and the varieties of kryptonite are trademarked and copyrighted by DC Comics. No infringement of those rights is intended.
This story is set in a parallel universe (Earth-whatever), where Superbody did not join the Legion of Super-Heroes. Instead, Lex Luthor founded a club made up of students at Smallville High with powers of their own. These students are:
Clark Kent: the Invisible Kid
Gary Crane: Ultra Boy
Marie Elkins: Duo Damsel
Phyllis Groves: Phantom Girl
Sharon Vaughn: Shrinking Violet
And now, the story.
Chapter 1. Flashback
In the last episode of “Super-Vandals”, the teens had been carried to Paradise Island, where Master Mxyzptlk’s magic had turned the three boys, Superboy, Gary Crane (Ultra Boy), and a duplicate of Clark Kent (the Invisible Kid), into girls: Superbabe, Ultra Chick and Miss Invisible. On their first night on the island these girls, along with ‘regular’ girls Marie Elkins (Duo Damsel), Sharon Vaughn (Shrinking Violet) and Phyllis Grove (Phantom Girl) were guests at a slumber party hosted by Princess Diana (Wonder Girl). After admiring their magically-provided sleepwear, the girls fell into conversation.
“So,” Marie asked Princess Diana, “what do you do for fun here on Paradise Island?”
“Oh, there’s always something to do,” she replied. “There are games and contests and sports, and kanga-riding. And we spend a lot of time repairing the buildings that are damaged or destroyed by the various menaces on the island.”
“Menaces?” Marie said. “What kind of menaces?”
“Oh, the usual stuff. Giant monsters from the sea, dinosaurs that slip through cracks in time, plots by Mars and the Duke of Deception to destroy the Amazons, giant robots, alien invasions. You know.”
“We never have anything like that in Smallville,” Sharon said.
“Yes, we do,” contradicted Gary. “We have them all the time, it’s just that Superboy takes care of them.” There was a trace of bitterness in her voice that did not go unnoticed.
“Well, excuse me,” said Superbabe. “I supposed you’d rather I just ignored them, and let them lay waste to Earth?”
“I’m not really complaining,” Gary replied. “It’s just that you always handle things, and never leave anything for anyone else to do. We do have a military, and police, and the Legion of Super-Vandals. But no, it’s always, ‘Superboy will save the day.’”
“Fine,” said Superbabe. “The next time there’s an alien invasion, I’ll let YOU handle it.”
“Oh, you don’t have to do that,” Sharon exclaimed. “I’m sure Gary is just grumpy and tired from our long trip. Don’t pay any attention.”
“Maybe it’s his time of the month,” grinned Phyllis.
“What does that mean?” Princess Diana asked.
“His menstrual cycle – you know, when a woman bleeds because she didn’t become pregnant.”
“Oh, we don’t have anything like that here,” the Amazon said. “One of Aphrodite’s gifts was freedom from the lunar cycle. Actually, I think it was Artemis who took that curse away.”
“And a good thing,” Gary said. “Can you imagine a troop of Amazons on the rag? Talk about bitchy!”
And the conversation turned to other things. You know, girl things!
Chapter 2. Happy Birthday, Clark Kent
The Kent residence was thronged with teen-agers celebrating the 18th birthday of Clark Kent. The young man (who was secretly Superboy from the planet Krypton) mingled with his guests. There was Lana Lang, his next door neighbor, a perky red-head who often tried to unmask his secret identity. His best friend, Pete Ross, was there, and was planning to spend the night. The members of the Legion of Super-Vandals, a group formed by Lex Luthor to humiliate Superboy, were there in force: Marie Elkins, Sharon Vaughn, and Gary Crane with Phyllis Groves. Clark was a member of the group under the identity of the Invisible Kid, wearing a belt that Luthor had created. Clark’s ‘cousin’ Bob Cobb was there, with his date Betsy Norcross, an exchange student from England. Bob was secretly Superboy’s ‘big brother’, Mon-El, a space explorer from Daxam who gained powers similar to Superboy’s when he arrived on Earth.
Martha Kent, Clark’s adoptive mother, brought out a cake with 18 candles, and the whole group gathered around to sing the familiar birthday song. Clark was careful not to blow out the candles with his super-breath, and purposefully left two burning. But Lana blew out one, and Pete the other, so that Clark would get his wish. Looking into Pete’s eyes, Clark knew what his wish was, but he knew that it could never come true. The Invisibility Belt was powered by pink kryptonite, which had the strange characteristic of changing the sexual alignment of super-powered Kryptonians. When he wore the belt, Clark felt an almost over-powering lust for his blond friend. But he and Bob Cobb had done some experiments, and proved that sexual relations between Kryptonian and Earthling were potentially deadly.
Then Clark opened his presents, which were a conglomeration of the toys of an 18 year old in the late 1950’s. There was a book, and a sweater, and a rock-and-roll record (to Martha’s dismay), and a model airplane. Looking over the packages, Clark was a little distressed not to find one from Bob, but when he looked at his cousin, Bob made a quick motion toward the kitchen. As soon as Clark could get away, he joined Bob in the kitchen, and Bob slipped out onto the back porch where they would not be overheard. He handed Clark a small plastic box. Opening it, Clark found a series of ten separate foil-wrapped packages. He was wise enough in the ways of the world to know what they were, but was surprised.
“These are very special condoms,” Bob whispered. “They’re from Daxam, my home world, so they won’t be destroyed by a super-ejaculation. And they contain a special adhesive which will hold them on no matter how much pressure is applied. Because of their special nature, you can use your heat-vision to clean them, so you can reuse them.” Clark gaped. Maybe he wouldn’t have to be celibate all his life after all! He wondered when he might have a chance to use one.
The boys rejoined the group, and Clark put on his new record, so the crowd could dance. Martha and Jonathan Kent barricaded themselves in the kitchen, and turned on the radio so they wouldn’t have to hear the new music. Then Lana ran next door and came back with a pile of her records, and the dancing continued late into the night. But eventually the guests began to tire, and before midnight they began to take their leave. Bob escorted Betsy home, and soon only Pete Ross was left.
“Well, you boys go to bed now, and don’t stay up too late talking,” Martha said.
“Don’t worry, Mrs. Kent,” Pete replied. “It’s been a great party, and I’m completely pooped. Come on, Clark. I’ll race you to your room.” The two boys ran up the stairs, and Clark was careful not to use his super-speed lest Pete suspect his secret identity. He didn’t know that Pete had discovered his identity on a camping trip a couple of years earlier, and had taken great effort to protect Clark’s secret, and to prevent the boy of steel from finding out that he knew.
Chapter 3. The First Time Is the Sweetest
Clark and Pete stripped off their clothes and scrambled into pajamas. Clark surreptitiously watched the naked Pete step into his sleep wear, but he sighed. He had no idea how Pete would react if he attempted to make a pass at him, and valued their friendship too much to endanger it. Instead, he climbed into bed beside his friend, and figured he would spend a night of frustration. Lying so close to the blond boy, Clark felt himself suffering a physical reaction that would reveal his feelings. He turned on his side, with his back to his friend. But Pete rolled on his side, too, nestling against Clark’s back. And Clark felt something hard prodding him in the back. Immediately, Pete rolled over on his other side.
Clark rolled over on his back and looked at his friend. Pete seemed to be doing something under the covers, not masturbating, but concealing or tucking. With a shock Clark realized that Pete had feelings toward him, and thanks to the Pink Kryptonite belt under the bed, Clark could reciprocate. He rolled onto his side, with his chest against Pete’s back, and slid his hand over his friend’s hip and down to his groin. Pete groaned as Clark’s hand found its target.
“Don’t, Clark,” Pete whispered. “I don’t want to spoil our friendship. I know you like girls, and that’s cool. We can just be buddies, okay?” Clark’s response was to pull Pete’s pajama pants down, and then push himself against his friend. Pete’s eyes widened, he rolled onto his back, and seized the projection he had felt against his behind. Now it was Clark’s turn to groan, as the two boys began to manually pleasure each other.
Soon the two spent teen-agers lay curled together. Pete put his head on Clark’s shoulder, and quietly fell asleep. Looking toward the ceiling, Clark thought, “This has to be the best birthday ever.”
Unfortunately, as he looked toward the ceiling, he activated his x-ray and telescopic vision to scan the heavens. And he noticed an anomalous movement in outer space that brought him to full alert. A rocket ship, of the cigar-shaped design, was headed toward Earth. It was still many days travel away, although it seemed to be moving extremely fast. Clark considered doing something, but Pete was snuggling into his shoulder, with one arm across his chest, and it was very tempting not to move. Then he remembered the conversation on Paradise Island.
Very gently, so as not to disturb Pete, Clark used super-ventriloquism to cast his Superboy voice into the bedroom of Gary Crane. “Gary,” he said loudly, although there was not a sound in Clark’s bedroom. “Wake up. I need you.”
With super-hearing Clark heard the tired Gary reply, “Yeah, wassup?”
“Gary, there is a spacecraft headed toward Earth. I’m on an important mission right now, so I can’t keep an eye on it. Would you use your penetra-vision to monitor it. It’s in Delta Orionis - 93o47’.”
“Just a minute,” Gary said. “Let me write this down.” He took a moment looking for a pencil, then said, “Okay, give it to me again.” Clark repeated the figures, and Gary said, “Right, got it. I’ll keep an eye on it. And Superboy, thanks!”
Clark smiled and snuggled closer to Pete. Out in the hall he heard the phone ring. After a moment Jonathan Kent answered it, and seconds later rapped on Clark’s door. “Clark,” he said. “Phone call for you.”
With a sigh Clark released himself from Pete’s embrace and stumbled into the hall. When he picked up the phone, he heard Gary’s voice say, “Clark, Gary. I just had an important message from Superboy about watching an alien space ship. He said it’s at Delta Orionis - 93o47’. What the hell does that mean?
Chapter 4. Watch the Skies
Over the next few days Clark’s life was extremely full. Besides monitoring the hurtling spaceship and tending to the other missions that Superboy performed, he spent as much time as he could with Pete. And as they moved their experimentation to deeper levels, Clark found his affection for his friend growing. In fact, even when he was Superboy, and still felt attracted to women, the thought of Pete could send his blood racing to inappropriate places. He decided to consult Bob Cobb about it.
“If Superboy is heterosexual, but Clark is homosexual because of the Pink Kryptonite, then why is Superboy feeling this lust for Pete?” he asked.
“A couple of reasons,” the older boy replied. “According to some scientists, no one is 100% homo or hetero. It’s possible to have sexual feelings, and to act on them, toward either gender. Many famous homosexuals have been successfully married. Oscar Wilde comes to mind; he fathered two sons before being convicted of sodomy.”
“And Pete is, if you’ll pardon my mentioning it, a known quantity. You know what your body and his body are capable of doing, and thinking of it triggers a response indicating that you want to do it again.”
“And finally, the two of you are horny 18-year-olds. At this stage in your life, a knothole in a telephone pole can cause an erotic response.”
“Oh, really?” Clark said. “How long does this period last?”
“Let me get back to you on that,” Bob grinned. He wasn’t that much older than Clark.
And so, between school and chores and Superboy feats, Clark Kent was with Pete as often as could. Pete had a car, so they were able to drive to secluded spots to do secluded things. And the more they did, the more they wanted to do, and the oftener they wanted to do it.
Gary had called a special meeting of the Super-Vandals to tell them about Superboy’s assignment. It was more as a brag-fest than anything else, since the powers of duplication, shrinking, invisibility and insubstantiality didn’t have much use. But he warned the others that they soon might be facing a menace from the stars, for which Sharon ironically thanked him. Superboy even attended one meeting (which Clark missed; apparently he was running a temperature) to describe the potential invaders.
“Of course, it could be that they are coming in peace,” Superboy said, “but they’re all wearing uniforms and carrying weapons. They are completely human in appearance, but appear very war-like.”
“And there are no females aboard the ship,” Gary added. “Not even a nurse corps. It sure looks like an invasion, or at least a hostile action.”
“What do they want?” Marie demanded.
“We won’t know that until they get here,” Superboy replied. “But if we expect the worst, we won’t get an unpleasant surprise, and if they’re friendly, it will be a relief.”
“Maybe they want women,” Phyllis grinned. “Maybe it’s an interstellar white-slave ring.”
“Well, if it is, I think they’ll get more than they bargained for with you three,” Superboy laughed
Chapter 5. Exposure
On the day before the expected arrival of the aliens, Clark went over to Pete’s house. Mrs. Ross told him that Pete was in his workshop in the back yard. Clark grinned; if Pete was in his workshop, it meant they wouldn’t be disturbed. And there was a lock on the door to insure privacy. It wasn’t the first time that the two boys had found the security of the workshop a blessing.
Before knocking on the door, Clark performed an unusual ritual. At super-speed he removed his Clark Kent clothing, revealing the Superboy outfit beneath. Still at super-speed, he stripped out of the Superboy outfit, compressed it to tiny size, and slid it into the bole of a tree. Still moving faster than the eye could follow, he resumed his Clark Kent disguise. The entire operation took 3 seconds, and had anybody been watching they would have thought their eyes had gone bad for a second. But the only witnesses were a high-flying hawk and a curious squirrel, and neither cared about the secret identity of the boy of steel.
Then Clark knocked on the door of the converted woodshed, and Pete opened the door. Seeing Clark, a big smile crossed his face; he pulled the boy into the shed and pushed the door shut.
“Hey, Pete,” Clark said. “What’cha working on?”
Pete displayed two aluminum wrist-bands. “Magnetic cuffs,” he replied. “The human body is full of magnetism; these cuffs let me harness it.”
“And they work,” Clark grinned. “Something has been pulling me toward you all day.”
Pete grinned back. “They have a drawback, though,” he said. “They constrict brutally when they’re working. So if I make them solid, they shatter, and if I make them of links, they cut into my wrists.” He showed Clark bruises around his wrists. He went on, “I’m making them so that I’ll have a super-power, too. Then I can join the Legion of Super-Vandals as Cosmic Boy, so that I can be closer to you.”
“Not possible,” Clark replied. As a look of disappointment crossed Pete’s face, Clark pulled him close. “You can’t be closer to me than this.” Immediately the two boys were locked in a passionate embrace, lips pressed together and tongues exploring each other’s mouth. Over Clark’s shoulder Pete slid the bolt shut, securing them in their love nest. Both boys stripped off the pull-over sweaters that they perpetually wore, and began working on the buttons of each other’s shirt. With the shirts off they returned to their embrace, bare chest against bare chest, hands caressing naked backs and the swell of the buttocks. Between them the evidence of their mutual passion became obvious, and they parted again to deal with belts and zippers. With their trousers around their legs, and neither of them wearing underwear, they seized each other again, and began to wrestle in the fashion of the ancient Greeks. Hands could now find other targets for admiration, and both boys’ eyes glazed as they continued the extended lip-lock. Clark had to be careful to restrain his super-strength, lest he do his lover damage, but Pete had no such restriction. He forced Clark against the wall and thrust himself over and over against him. And Clark was receptive to the thrusting, at the same time spreading the ass-cheeks of the other boy and letting his fingers explore the hidden cavity.
Eventually, somehow, they got out of their shoes and the encumbering trousers, Pete spread a blanket on the floor, and the two boys tumbled onto it. Now their mouths could find other sources for releasing ecstasy. And neither boy felt any reluctance to do whatever was required to give his partner pleasure.
And then Phyllis Grove, the Phantom Girl, ghosted through the wall and said, “Clark, there’s an emergency – oops!”
Chapter 6. Even a Superboy Can Shake
Hurriedly Phyllis said, “Clark, Gary found out something about the spaceship headed for Earth. He wants to see Superboy and all the Vandals at the clubhouse. We’re all scouting around town trying to find Superboy. If you see him, tell him.” And then she walked back out through the wall.
Scarlet-faced, Pete and Clark began struggling into their clothes. While Pete was buttoning his shirt and Clark was stepping into his pants, Phyllis reappeared. “Oh, Pete,” she said, “if you see Superboy, will you give him the word? Thanks. You’re a dear.” And she vanished again.
“Oh, God,” Pete moaned. “What are we going to do?”
“Don’t worry,” Clark said falsely. “I’m sure we can trust Phyllis’ discretion. Meanwhile, I need to go looking for Superboy. I’m sorry about this.”
Pete knew that since Clark was Superboy, the search for the wonder from Krypton was over, but he played along to protect Clark’s secret. “Okay,” he said. “Good luck with the hunting.” He gave Clark a quick kiss, and the boy of steel left the workshop. On his way across the Ross’ back yard, he stopped to pick up his super-compressed costume. But he waited until he found a secluded spot before stripping down and reappearing as Superboy. Then he took to the air, to arrive at the Vandal’s club-house in record time.
Marie Elkins was sitting beside the telephone in the clubhouse when Superboy arrived. “Superboy!” she cried. “You’re here! Who found you?”
“Clark Kent,” Superboy replied.
“Oh, really,” Marie said. “We were afraid he might go back to dancing the Naked Polka with Pete Ross and not go hunting for you. I guess he’s more conscientious than we gave him credit for.”
Superboy recoiled. “How did you hear about Clark and Pete?” he asked.
“Phyllis told me when she called in to tell me she found Clark. We’re all keeping in touch by phone. I guess she forgot to tell Clark to phone in. Is he on his way here? Why didn’t you bring him?”
“Uh, Clark is a little under the weather,” Superboy replied, trembling. The situation was getting out of control.
Marie giggled. “Understandable, I guess,” she grinned. Just then the phone rang. Marie picked it up and said, “Hello. Oh, Sharon. Come on in, Clark found Superboy, and he’s here now. No, I’m waiting for Gary to call in. No, Clark’s not here. Probably won’t be. Phyllis caught him and Pete Ross making homo whoopee.” Then Marie laughed. “Oh, Sharon, you are SO bad. Okay, see you soon. Bye.” Turning to Superboy, Marie said, “For a shy little wall-flower, Sharon Vaughn comes out with some good ones. I told her about Clark, and she said,” assuming a total deadpan voice, “what a surprise.”
Superboy looked around for a chair. He felt like his ears were bright red, and his legs were shaking. In the late 1950’s, Phyllis’ discovery was the equivalent of a death penalty for his secret identity, and finding out that the news was spreading was completely horrifying.
“Shouldn’t Phyllis be a little more … discreet?” he asked.
“Oh, don’t worry, she’s not telling anybody but us. Now if she told that blabbermouth Lana Lang, it would be all over Smallville in about ten minutes.”
Chapter 7: Oh, yes – Gary’s News
Marie turned back to the phone and made a call. “It’s okay, Superboy’s here,” she said. “Right, see you soon.” She turned back and said, “My other self is at the police station with Chief Parker. He has a signal to call you, but it seems to be broken. You should fix it as soon as you’ve heard Gary’s report.”
Footsteps on the stairs heralded Sharon Vaughn’s arrival. She was breathless, and her hair, usually severely coifed, was in disarray. She hurried into the bathroom as the phone rang, and Marie answered. “Yes, he’s here. In fact, everyone’s here except Phyllis and Clark. Okay, that will be swell!” She turned again, and said, “That was Gary, and he’s on his way. He’ll try to pick up Phyllis and Clark as he comes in with ultra-speed.”
Sharon rejoined them, and a few minutes later there was a whoosh and clatter from downstairs. Then Phyllis Grove and Gary Crane, the Ultra-Boy, joined them. “Couldn’t see anything of Clark,” Gary said. “Kind of to be expected, if Phyl caught him playing hide-the-sausage with Pete Ross. Poor guy.”
Superboy was surprised to hear a word of sympathy from the ultra-macho Gary. Maybe things were not as bad as they seemed, if Gary could just shrug it off. Gary took his place at the table, and remained standing as the others sat. Superboy instinctively sat in Clark’s place, and then realized what he’d done and started to move. “No, that’s all right,” Marie said. “Really, Clark probably isn’t coming.” Since Superboy knew this to be true, he leaned back into the chair as Gary began to talk.
“As you know, Superboy and I have been monitoring the progress of an alien vessel headed toward Earth. Well, earlier today using my Ultra-vision, I saw something that I knew needed to be reported. I saw Krypto, Superboy’s pet dog, who plays around in space, approach the ship, and I saw two things that amazed me. Number 1, when he got too close for the comfort of the astronauts, they fired some kind of ray that caused him pain, and caused him to skedaddle away. And it looked to me like it was on low power, enough to drive him away without actually hurting him. I’ll bet there are more powerful settings that might hurt Superboy.” The girls and Superboy muttered with dismay.
“And number 2,” Gary went on, “when Krypto was beside the ship, it was the first time since I’ve been watching that something was close to it, so I could get the scale!”
“Oh, dear,” said Sharon. “Is it a space-leviathan?”
“Not at all,” Gary said. “In fact, based on its comparative size to Krypto, it’s only about 10 feet long! And the aliens inside must be about 3 inches tall.”
“Well, it can’t be too dangerous then,” Marie said.
“Krypto,” Gary reminded her.
“Maybe Krypto has been affected by red Kryptonite, which has made him gigantic,” Phyllis suggested.
“No, that’s already happened,” Superboy said. “And red Kryptonite cannot have the same effect on the same Kryptonian twice. And that explains another anomaly. The ship seemed to be moving incredibly fast. But if it’s that small, it’s moving at a normal speed, which in comparison to its size is super-fast.”
“When will it be here?” Sharon asked. She was extremely pale.
“I figure they’ll be here tomorrow,” Superboy replied.
“Hurray,” said Gary. “Then we get to face off with the Leprechauns from outer space.”
Chapter 8. One Last Kiss
That night in his bedroom Clark took off his Superboy uniform and stuffed it under his pillow. Then he put on his Clark Kent clothing again, and crept silently out of the house. It was only a few seconds from the Kent house to the Ross house via super-speed, and Clark made the trip easily. In the back yard under Pete’s window, Clark looked for pebbles to toss at Pete’s window, but it turned out not to be necessary. Pete’s window slid open, and the blond boy whispered, “Clark! Up here!” and tossed down a knotted rope of the kind used for escaping fires.
With a moment of chagrin, Clark realized that Pete had been watching for him, and might have seen him enter the yard at super-speed. What a danger to his secret identity! But without saying a word he grabbed the rope and began to climb it. In a few seconds Pete was pulling him into his bedroom.
Pete had seen Clark enter the yard at super-speed, but since he already knew Clark’s secret, he pretended he had seen nothing. In the room the two boys embraced.
“Oh, Pete,” Clark moaned. “What are we going to do?”
“I don’t know,” Pete replied. “Do you think Phyllis will tell anyone?”
“Only every member of the Super-Vandals club,” Clark said, inadvertently dropping a clue to his identity again, since he had been at the meeting as Superboy, not Clark. But since Pete hadn’t been there, it went unnoticed. Pete pulled Clark over to the bed, where they sat together on the end, holding each other tightly.
“Can we rely on their discretion?” Pete asked.
“At the moment, I don’t know what to count on,” Clark said. “The only thing I know is that something beautiful is now the laughingstock of the Vandals club, and by tomorrow we’ll probably be labeled as Smallville’s Queers!”
“Oh, Clark,” Pete whimpered. Then, straightening his backbone, he held Clark tighter and said, “Well, if we’re going down with the burning ship, we’ll go down with our flags flying!”
“You mean, brazen it out?” Clark said, straightening also. “Face the world and say, ‘So what?’”
“Yeah, that too,” Pete said. “But what I really meant was, ‘might as well be hung for a sheep as a lamb.” And with that he slipped his hand inside Clark’s shirt, caressing his pectorals while meeting him face to face for an open-mouthed kiss.
Within a few minutes the two boys were naked together under the covers of Pete’s bed. It was too small for two teen-aged boys, but they managed quite well, squirming against one another while stimulating each other’s teen-aged sex drive with kisses, not all on the mouth, and fumbling fingers. It was not long before they were quiet again, huddled together in a dreamy afterglow. On reflex Clark used his x-ray vision to scan Smallville. There was a fire at the Thompson place, nothing the fire department couldn’t handle, and burglars were breaking into the jewelry store, which would give the police something to do in the morning. The alien ship was still approaching, and would reach Earth’s atmosphere in a few hours. Nothing worth breaking Pete’s embrace for. Nothing in the world.
And in the morning, as the Ross family began to stir, Clark slipped out of bed and back into his clothes. He leaned over the sleeping Pete, who stirred as he felt Clark above him. His lips parted, and Clark took the opportunity for one last kiss, possibly the last that the two boys would ever share. Yesterday was past, and tomorrow was upon them. Only time would tell what would happen to the two lovers.
Chapter 9. Communications Are Established
Both Clark and Pete arrived on time at Smallville High School that fateful day. Both were fearful of what the day would bring, but at first everything was extremely smooth. Gary Crane nudged Clark suggestively in the hall, and gave him a big grin and wink, but that was all from that area of most concern. And to Pete’s surprise, Marie Elkins caught him in Science Class and gave him a big hug and kiss.
Just before lunch Clark did something that he hated to do, but circumstances required it. With his x-ray vision he focused intense heat on the electrical transformer that supplied power to the school. It exploded with a very satisfying display of sparks, and the school went dark. After examining the damage, the principal canceled school for the rest of the day. Then the boy of steel used his super-ventriloquism to whisper to each of the Vandals, “Meet at the club-house.”
That afternoon four Vandals converged on the club-house, where three of them got a surprise. A tall young man in a red-and-blue costume was waiting for them, sitting in front of an unfamiliar console set up on their meeting table. (Clark, the Invisible Kid, wasn’t surprised because he had arranged it up earlier.) “Hi,” the young man said. “I’m Mon-El, Superboy’s big brother.” The vandals gasped.
“I didn’t know Superboy had a big brother,” Marie said, shocked.
“Well, I’m not really his brother; I’m not even from Krypton. But Superboy found me with amnesia, and thought I might be his brother. But let’s skip that. Superboy is monitoring the aliens’ approach with his x-ray vision, and asked me to brief you on what’s going on. I’ve set up a communications device from my own ship, with which to try to contact the aliens. By the way, is somebody missing?”
“Yes, Sharon Vaughn, Shrinking Violet,” Marie said. “She wasn’t in school today, either.”
“Hmm,” Gary said, looking to one side. Then he said, “She’s not at home, either. Neither is her mother. And it looks like they left in a hurry.”
“That’s strange,” Phyllis said. “Sharon may be a shrinking violet, but she’s usually very brave. Probably her mother was terrified, and made her take them into hiding.”
Satisfied with the explanation, the Vandals watched over Mon-El’s shoulder as he operated the electronic machinery on the table.
“Earth to approaching ship,” he said into a microphone. “Earth to approaching ship. This is Earth’s defense team. Do you read me? Come in, please.”
“Earth’s defense team,” said Gary happily, nudging Marie. “That’s us. Earth’s defense team.”
“Oh, grow up,” growled Marie. “This is serious. Earth’s future might depend on us.” But Gary could not stop grinning.
And then, with a crackle, the monitor came to life. A man dressed in red and green, seated before a console like Mon-El’s, appeared on the screen. “This is Lalo Muldoon, Communications Officer of the Parado, home planet Imsk. We read you, Earth, and acknowledge. We come in peace, to capture and execute a dangerous criminal. Your assistance is requested.”
“Acknowledged,” Mon-El replied. “Give us the details, and we will be glad to assist you.”
The Vandals relaxed. “It’s not an invasion fleet, just the cops,” Phyllis said, relieved. Only Gary looked disappointed.
Chapter 10. The Secret of Sharon Vaughn
The young man’s face disappeared from the screen, replaced by a still photograph of a man with a woman holding a baby. Muldoon’s voice continued, “This is a picture of the former leader of Imsk, Faldor Digby, and his wife Erna. More daring than most Imskians, Digby took a berth on a ship that had come to Imsk to pick up electronic equipment, which we manufacture for export. Imsk is very resource-poor; in fact, we have genetically engineered our people to be able to shrink our size to make better use of our resources. Digby was very successful in his travels, and returned to Imsk with a large supply of raw materials with which we were able to improve our way of life. He then married his childhood sweetheart, Erna Coyne, and was elected Leader, but his policies were too dramatic for the people of Imsk. They would have destroyed our way of life. So about 15 of your years ago he was assassinated by a conservative coalition which then confiscated his raw materials. But his widow sold the materials illegally to a space-freighter in exchange for passage off the planet for herself and her infant daughter, Salu Digby.” The picture on the screen faded, and Muldoon’s face reappeared. “For this crime, she was tried in absentia, and sentenced to death. We are here to carry out that sentence, and retrieve any raw materials we can.”
Phyllis pushed Mon-El out of the way. “Let me get this straight,” she said. “Digby got those materials by his own efforts, and brought them to his world. But his policies were too radical, so this ‘conservative coalition’ had him killed, and stole his stuff. And when his wife took it back, and escaped, you had her condemned. That doesn’t sound very fair to me.”
Muldoon looked at her with a superior gaze. “We don’t expect one of your age to understand the workings of politics, especially those of another planet. Just let it be understood that Erna Digby has been sentenced to death according to the laws of her home world, and we demand your assistance in finding her and bringing her back to Imsk.”
Gritting her teeth, Phyllis in phantasmal form took a step forward onto the table, and the communications device went haywire. Vertical bolts of lightning were all that could be seen on the screen. Turning toward her fellows, with her body still inside the monitor, interfering with its operation, she said, “Did you see what I saw?”
“Yes, I think so,” Marie said. “It sounds like Erna Digby was seeking asylum for herself and her daughter, and I can’t say I approve of the way the Imskians treated them. But what can we do?”
“No, not that,” Phyllis said angrily. “I’m talking about the picture of the Digby family. Didn’t you see it? There’s a great resemblence between Erna Digby and Sharon Vaughn. I’ll bet you dollars to doughnuts that Erna Digby is Sharon’s mother, and Salu Digby is our own Sharon Vaughn!”
“Sure,” Clark cried. “That explains why Lex Luthor’s power device identified her as having a latent super-power. It wasn’t really latent, it was what that Muldoon guy described as the genetic engineering!”
“So now it’s not just a matter of handing over a criminal,” Phyllis said. “It’s a matter of honoring Erna’s asylum, and protecting one of our own. Super-Vandals – this means WAR!”
And Gary let out a yell. “Whoopee!”
Chapter 11. Battle in Outer Space
Mon-El motioned Marie away from the console, and when Muldoon’s face reappeared on the screen, said, “Parado, this is Earth’s defense team. We regret that transmission on our end was interrupted, but the problem has been resolved. We have determined that Erna Digby sought asylum for herself and her daughter on our planet, and it is our duty to defend that asylum. We are dispatching two of our most powerful members to intercept your ship and send it back. Do not try to resist. Return now.”
Muldoon’s face became contorted with rage. “You dare defy the Council of Imsk? Very well, then. We will see how your Defense Team fares against our Destructo-Ray. Remember, you brought this carnage upon yourselves. Turn over the traitoress, or face our wrath!”
“Transmission received and understood,” Mon-El replied. “See you in space. Terminate transmission.” He turned off the console, and turned to the Vandals. “All right,” he said. “I’m joining Superboy in outer space. The rest of you should go have lunch, and return in an hour. I’ve set the console to monitor our progress, and this device,” he showed them a small, shiny metal orb, “will transmit images from space to the console. Hopefully this will be the end of the threat. But just in case, Clark, I have a special mission for you.”
“Just like always,” Gary grumbled. But he and Phyllis left, followed by Marie. As soon as Clark was alone with Mon-El, he whipped off his Invisible Kid costume to reveal Superboy beneath.
“Let’s go,” he said. Mon-El opened a window, and the two super-youths left the building at super-speed. It took longer than an hour for them to reach the alien vessel, where Mon-El tossed the monitoring device into orbit. As he did so, a beam of light came from the ship, and narrowly missed him. He dived out of the way, and both boys approached the ship. Superboy used his x-ray vision on the ship, but found that the Destructo-Ray was shielded with lead. Another beam darted, and he flipped aside. His problem was how to discourage the Imskians without damaging their ship or breaking his code by killing them. Flanking the vessel, the boys from Krypton and Daxam drew closer. Suddenly instead of one ray, a dozen flashed from the ship. Using his super-speed, Superboy was able to dodge them all. But Mon-El was not so lucky. Twisting out of the way of one of the rays, he shot directly into the path of another. For a moment his body was outlined in a brilliant flash, and then he hung limp and lifeless in space. Now the rays concentrated on Superboy, who had difficulty evading them. Eventually the ship drew away, and the boy of steel flew to Mon-El’s side.
“Oh, no,” Marie gasped, watching the monitor. “Mon-El is down. The Destructo-ray must have the ability to kill someone even as powerful as Superboy. What are we going to do?”
Gary leaned back in his chair and looked toward the ceiling. “They’re still coming,” he reported. “And Superboy is bringing back Mon-El. It looks like it’s up to Earth’s second line of defense.”
Anxiously the trio waited for Superboy to return. It seemed like forever before he flew into the room with his unconscious friend. “How bad is it?” Marie demanded. “It’s pretty bad,” Superboy replied. “He’s just stunned, but he still hasn’t come to. Apparently the Imskian device uses red-sun energy, against which Mon-El and I are just normal mortals.”
“So what do we do now?” Gary asked. Superboy looked grim.
“We meet them at Crystal Lake outside Smallville. Clark is already there. I’ll use my super-powers from a distance to make sure they land where we want them. Gary, a big part of this will be up to you.. Their Destructo-ray is shielded by lead, which your penetra-vision can penetrate. Taking out their weapon is your job!”
Chapter 12. The Battle at Crystal Lake
With grim resolve Gary took the two girls and headed for the summer camp, closed for the season, that Superboy had picked for their final battlefield. When they arrived they couldn’t see Clark, and he didn’t answer their hails, either. “It’s a big place,” Gary said, “and he’s probably invisible. He’ll get here when he sees us.”
Meanwhile Superboy made a quick detour on his way, to Pete Ross’ lab. Pete was there, tinkering, when the boy of steel arrived. “Pete,” he said, “Clark Kent told me about your magnetic cuffs invention. I’m fighting off an invasion from space, and I need to borrow them.”
“Sure thing, Superboy,” Pete said. “They constrict around my wrists when I use them, but that won’t be a problem for you.” He wanted to say something else, and so did Superboy, but both had the barrier of Superboy’s secret identity between them, so all Pete said as the boy of steel departed was, “Good luck.”
Soon Superboy was in the sky over Smallville, watching the descent of the small vessel. It looked like it was going to land in the town square, so he used his super-breath to blow it off course in the direction of the summer camp. Inside the crew took quite a buffeting, and fired their Destructo-ray at random, since they could not locate the champion from Krypton on their radar screens. None of them came close to the boy of steel.
“There it is,” Marie shouted as the vessel came into sight.
“I see it,” Gary said sternly. He intensified his gaze, and suddenly there was a bright flash from the ship.
“You didn’t destroy them?” Phyllis asked, worried.
“Don’t think so,” Gary replied. “Nope, just blew up their death ray device. They took some damage, though. Oh, well, can’t make an omelet without breaking eggs.” The ship was spiraling down on them, out of control, but again Superboy used his breath power to stop its fall before it crashed.
As the ship landed, a hatchway burst open and dozens of tiny men came flying out. “They can fly!” Marie said redundantly. Immediately Gary turned his Ultra-energy to Invulnerability, while Phyllis became a phantom. But the Imskians could still see her, as well as Gary, and opened fire with tiny ray weapons. They went right through Phyllis’ insubstantial form, and bounced harmlessly off Gary’s indestructible body. Gary shielded Marie, whose power to duplicate her body didn’t seem of much use at the moment.
And then Clark’s voice spoke out of the air. “Take that,” it said, and one of the Imskians went tumbling into the ground. “Here’s another,” and another fell.
“Way to go, Clark!” yelled Marie, and then added, “and here comes Superboy!’
The boy of steel flashed over their heads, and dropped a large metal cage. “Clark,” he shouted. “You pick ‘em up and deliver ‘em to Marie. Marie, stuff ‘em in the cage!” And then Superboy dropped into the middle of the enemy. He had used his super-breath power to knock the two Imskians out of the air, and super-ventriloquism to make it sound like Clark was with them. Now he used the power of Pete’s magnetic cuffs to lift the two unconscious soldiers and float them to Marie as if the invisible Clark was doing it. At the same time he landed among the invaders and began swatting them out of the air.
As several of the Imskians passed through Phyllis’ insubstantial body, they squealed with fear as their belts seem to explode. They tumbled out of the air, and became more fodder for Superboy’s invisible Clark routine. “It’s their belts,” Phyllis cried. “They contain the power that lets them fly. Marie, get their belts.”
Chapter 12. We have met the enemy...
Meanwhile Gary too was grabbing the little men, shaking them vigorously until they became unconscious or so dizzy they could not function. As he let them fall, the invisible Clark seemed to snatch them up and deliver them to Marie, who immediately began stripping the prisoners of their tiny yellow belts before she put them into the cage. She was so busy that she found that she was falling behind. So she duplicated, and the two Marie’s were able to keep up with the super-carnage.
Finding that their tiny ray guns did not work against the trio, the Imskians resorted to more primitive weapons. The belts also gave them incredible strength, comparatively speaking, so they began picking up rocks and hurling them at the group, with the same lack of results. One group tore down a telephone pole and smashed it against Gary’s invulnerable body. The impact staggered him, since he was not super-strong while using invulnerability, but he was quickly back on his feet. “Okay, fun boys,” he announced. “Let’s try this.” He switched to Super-speed, and began emulating Superboy, swatting them out of the air while dodging rays and rocks.
“Slow down, guys,” they heard Clark complain. “I’m only one man!”
“Yeah, slow down,” Marie agreed. “Even with two of us, it takes time to get these belts off.”
And so the active trio began a pantomime of war, moving very slowly and elaborately to catch the Imskians or walk through them. The Imskians did not appreciate the humor of the situation, but they were outclassed by the super-giants who hunted them and captured them. The sight of their fallen comrades floating away to the cage was extremely distressing to them, and their morale sank. The few remaining retreated to their ship.
“No, no, naughty, naughty,” said Gary, focusing on the ship. There was another explosion, smaller than the first. “They were trying to fix their Destructo-Ray,” he explained. “Well, now it’s just molten slag. Let them try to fix THAT!”
The Vandals gathered round the ship as Superboy emptied Marie’s cage into it. Then, using his super-ventriloquism at its lowest range, he whispered, “Go home! You cannot defeat us.” And his super-hearing heard the commander of the ship reply, “We surrender.”
Chapter 14. ...and they are ours.
Gary and Clark used their super-visions to make sure that all the Imskians were accounted for. Then Superboy picked up the ship and sprang into the air. “I’ll be back,” he told the Vandals. “Go on back to the Vandals headquarters, and I’ll be there in a short time.”
As he rose into the air, out of sight of the Vandals, Superboy was pleased to be joined by Mon-El. “I’ll take them from here,” his ‘big brother’ said. “You go back to the camp so Clark will be there.” Superboy handed off his burden, changed into his Invisible Kid Clark outfit, activated the dial, and dropped down among his buddies.
“Clark, are you all right?” they demanded when he reappeared.
“Oh, man, dizzy,” Clark replied. “Some of those ray guns hit me by accident. You guys drop me off at my place, I need to lie down.”
“Pansy,” whispered Gary, but the Vandals agreed to deliver Clark to his home. As soon as he reached the safety of his room, Clark changed back to Superboy, to join Mon-El in space. There he took back the Imskian vessel, while Mon-El sped back to Earth, to reach the headquarters mere seconds before the heroes returning from the Kent house. When they reached their meeting room, they found Mon-El pretending to come out of his stupor, but still groggy.
It was actually over an hour before Superboy returned from letting the little ship go free in space, with another stern warning to the Imskians of how the Vandals could have destroyed them, but refrained. Then he sped them on their way, watching closely to make sure that they would obey his command.
When he reached the Vandals headquarters, he found something of a party going on. Gary was extremely proud of the fact that they had defeated a menace from outer space. Marie was putting the little belts on display in their trophy room, next to the metal box that had held Lex Luthor’s bomb and the model Grecian temple from the island of the Amazons. Phyllis was putting cold cloths on Mon-El’s ‘fevered brow’.
“Great work, Vandals,” Superboy said. “Now there’s only one thing left to do – find Sharon and her mother and let them know they’re safe.”
“I can do that,” grinned Gary. “I’ve known where they were all along.” Happily he went to the trophy room and tapped on the roof of the temple. “You can come out now,” he whispered. “They’re gone and they won’t be back. You’re safe.”
A moment later two female figures came out of the building, and began to increase in size. Gary helped them out of the glass box, and soon Sharon Vaughn and her mother stood before them.
“Sharon, we’re so glad to see you,” Marie said, hugging her friend. “And what a surprise, to find out you’re really a political refugee from outer space. I guess Lex’ power-box didn’t have any effect on you after all.”
“Yes, it did,” Sharon said. “Imskians usually can’t shrink below three inches tall. But the box increased my shrinking ability. So when Mother was so terrified, I brought her here and put her in the box, too, so that she could get extra-tiny. Then we both shrank and hid in the Amazon house. Mother wouldn’t let me leave her, she was so frightened. Thank you all for saving us. Now you have to tell me everything. Who did what?”
Chapter 15. Just Another Happy Ending
While Superboy used his heat-vision to boil water for a cup of tea for the still-shaking Mrs. Vaughn, Gary and Marie described how the Vandals had overcome the Imskian threat. Sharon was greatly amused, and regretted that she hadn’t been there. Superboy found the description of Clark’s invisible actions very interesting. It was clear that none of the Vandals suspected that he hadn’t actually been there.
Marie brought out one of the flying belts and offered it to Sharon. “With this, you can be a flying Violet,” she grinned.
“I don’t know,” Sharon said dubiously. “You see, the belts won’t grow and shrink with me. That’s why the Imskians didn’t return to normal size. With Imsk being as metal-poor as it is, they couldn’t afford to make full-sized belts.” She put the belt around her finger, and held it up. “This might work,” she said. “But I’ll probably lose it if I shrink to less than 3 inches.”
“No big deal,” Marie laughed. “We’ve got tons of them.”
Gary looked at Phyllis and grinned. "So, tell me, honey, are you a refugee from outer space too? Did you just drop in from the planet Bgztl?" He used the silliest-sounding planet name he could think of.
Phyllis sat down on his lap. "Nope, sugar. I'm one hundred percent Earth girl," and proceeded to give him a big kiss by way of proof. Superboy looked at them enviously.
And so the meeting broke up, with Superboy and Mon-El flying away to resume their identities of Clark Kent and Bob Cobb. As soon as he could, Clark called Pete and told him about the Vandals adventure. But there was much else that remained unspoken.
A few days later, Clark got another summons from Marie to meet at Vandals Headquarters. He went there after school, and found Marie, Sharon and Phyllis waiting for him. A few minutes later Gary came in, escorting Pete Ross. Clark was silent as his lover was led to the chair next to him.
“Okay, guys,” Marie said sternly. “Let’s lay this out on the table. You guys have been very nervous since Phyllis discovered your little secret, and told the rest of us. Well, here’s the way it is. We all discussed it and decided it’s your problem. Some of us may not approve, and society may condemn what you do, but you’re one of us, Clark. You’re not hurting anybody, so it’s none of our business. And we’re certainly not going to risk hurting you by blabbing it around.”
“Actually,” Gary interjected, “I don’t care one way or another. I’m secure enough in my masculinity not to be threatened, but if one of you starts feeling up my ass, I’ll punch you to sleep, and I won’t need super-strength to do it with.”
“Secure in your masculinity?” said Marie. “Where did you read that?”
“I talked to my mother,” interrupted Sharon, “without mentioning names. She said that on our home world homosexuality is common, and approved. It’s a way of holding down the population. Resource-poor, you know.”
“And I think it’s kind of sweet,” Phyllis said, smiling and showing off her dimples.
“I think it’s a shame,” Marie said. “You’re both so cute, and you’ve taken each other out of the dating pool.”
Clark rose to his feet. Despite his Kryptonian powers, his legs were trembling again. “Thank you,” he said. “I’ll admit I was scared,” (“Me too,” added Pete) “and we’ve been avoiding each other for fear of what you might do. But I guess if you’re all right with it…” He turned to Pete, who stood up and put his arms around Clark. And as the Legion of Super-Vandals applauded, Clark Kent kissed his teen-aged lover.
THE END
Next episode: it's the Super-Vandals to the rescue when Superboy becomes the love toy of the greatest Vandal of them all!
