Chapter 1 Champions of Order

Far from Earth, the Lord of Chaos known as Wotan by the mortals of Earth watched another of his amusements play out. It suited his purpose to let all of his puppets think it had been the feeble magic of Bat-Mite that had guided events. It gave him added pleasure when he, the youngest of the Lords of Chaos, was able to induce Chaos under the very nose of that insufferable Nabu. The scenario that was now developing had the potential to be quite Chaotic - and perhaps he might maneuver one of the players into destroying that last remaining Galactic Patrol weapon, the ancient Glove worn by Jim Chisholm, completing the work started by his predecessor, Burr.

*****

Seacoast City, California

Even though it was very early in the morning, hours before sunrise, Jim Chisholm was having a bad day. Actually, it seemed as if almost every day these days was a bad day, almost from the day he received the Glove and Globe of the ancient and long extinct Galactic Patrol almost a year ago. His parents had died in a plane crash, his fiancée had left him, his architectural business had gone bankrupt and the county government had taken his house via eminent domain to build a shopping mall. He couldn't even find a pickup volleyball game – his partners always ended up injured, and he had become a pariah on the beach. Homeless and hopeless, he now lived in a shanty on the bank of the Muddy River, just outside Seacoast City, California. Today, like many another day, he sat on the riverbank and contemplated the unthinkable.

His contemplation was interrupted by loud noises, noises he quickly recognized as the sounds of a battle between super-powered opponents. Even though he had only been in possession of the ancient super powered Glove of the Galactic Patrol for less than a year, it was a class of sounds that you never forgot. Trees being shattered, craters being blasted into the ground, and the shock waves that accompanied super-powered blows being exchanged. It sounded like the devastation wreaked by a hurricane, only without the shrieking background noises of the violent winds.

Jim hadn't used the Glove in almost 6 months - and for very good reason. Using his new-found powers seemed to have activated a curse on him, and his life had been completely devastated before he realized the cause. But even now, he couldn't ignore these sounds. After all, what else did he have to lose?

He willed the Glove and Globe into visibility, thankful that he still retained them, then touched the face of his closed fist to the Globe. His fist sunk partially into the surface and softly glowing pearly-white energy leaked around the outline of his fist, light that passed through the trees around him and illuminated the other shanties along the nearby river. Within seconds his Glove was fully charged, and Jim's clothes changed to his uniform - the gray, black and white of the Galactic Patrol! The Glow washed away a lethargy and listlessness he hadn't even noticed, though now that it was gone, he knew it had been with him for months. Though he dreaded the consequences of using his power again, he couldn't help but feel a thrill at once more wearing the costume and the anticipation of going into action.

Jim launched himself from the bank of the river. Creating a set of Glow-powered ultra-binoculars, he quickly searched the area for the battle he knew must be occurring. He discovered an unknown man, a very big man in a brown costume with a red cape, battling against Dr. Fate.

Fate floated calmly in the air, vertical with his arms stretched out to his sides, surrounded by a glowing golden aura, much larger than his body, in the shape of an ankh. The big man was pounding on the aura around Fate's head with tremendous blows, each of which sounded like a deafening thunderclap when it landed. Right now, the aura seemed to be easily protecting Fate, and his opponent's attention was totally occupied with his attack.

Jim immediately recognized Vic Valor – he had gotten a Vic Valor action figure for his 6th birthday. He didn't remember much about him, though, just that he had been a hero, and disappeared in 1949. So where had he been since then? Why was he fighting Dr. Fate - and why here near Seacoast City?

Jim adjusted the binoculars for X-Ray vision, but something surrounding Valor blocked his examination. He commanded the Glove to penetrate that blockage, and instants later, he was amazed to see that Vic Valor was metal shell, surrounding some machinery and electronics and an opening the right size for a man. Clearly the 'body' was really an armored suit of some kind, but it seemed to be operating independently. Jim could see a computer in the helmet, so this thing must be either computer-controlled or remote controlled.

As Jim approached the battle, Valor noticed him and attacked at super speed. Faster than Jim could see, Valor raised a hand and a ray flashed from his palm. Fortunately, the Glove contained an artificial intelligence which had some built in emergency protocols, and a shield of softly glowing pearly white energy wrapped itself around Jim just in time. Valor's ray had no effect on Jim, but the ground behind him where the ray touched was instantly vaporized!

Fate cast a bolt of mystic energy that sent Valor tumbling backwards. Jim took advantage of Valor's confusion to grab him in a giant glowing white fist and zoom towards orbit. It was a tactic that had worked for Jim before, allowing him to move a deadly combat away from innocent bystanders. But it didn't work this time...

The giant glowing hand began melting, and Jim felt energy being sucked from the Glove into Valor's body. Worried that he might be providing his enemy with even more power, Jim immediately released him. Channeling the Glow into a giant ice cream scoop, he scooped up a couple half spheres of granite from the ground below, to smash Valor between them... but Valor had stopped moving, leaving himself totally defenseless. Fighting against a foe who was not fighting back was very much against Jim's aikido training.

"Even though..." he thought grimly "they found a reason to take away my black belt..."

Fate, too, had paused. Valor remained motionless for several seconds, then turned towards Jim. As he prepared to be attacked again, Jim noticed that the ankh aura surrounding Fate had dimmed and then vanished.

"Thank you, Patroller. Exposure to the Glow has restored my memory. It is gratifying to know that the Galactic Patrol escaped the heinous trap of the Lords of Chaos!" About 100,000 years ago, a Lord of Chaos had figured out a way to infect all of the Galactic Patrol's special weapons, the Globes and Gloves, with what we would nowadays call a 'chaos virus'. A valiant Patrol officer named Iredok had sacrificed his life to keep his own Globe and Glove pure, and 100 millennia later, these weapons had found their way into the hands of Jim Chisholm. And brought him nothing but heartbreak.

The voice now addressing Jim was vastly different from that of Vic Valor. Valor was a big man, and he had a low rumbling voice - but this new voice seemed to shake the earth, to come from all sides, and to drown out all other sounds. It was not just a voice, but the epitome of all voices. Jim was shaken and not a little awestruck. But his sports background had taught him how to handle awe - put it aside for later and finish the game, now.

"Sorry, dude, but you got that wrong." He was deliberately informal. "The Galactic Patrol got itself wiped out over 100,000 years ago. The last Patroller, Iredok Jur Diah, sent a clone to give me the Globe and Glove, then the clone died too. Don't know why the man picked me, but I'm not part of the Galactic Patrol." He thought for a second and then added bitterly "Not that being independent helped me any!" If this guy was a friend of the Patrol, Jim wasn't interested.

Valor turned to Dr. Fate. "Nabu, can this be true? The Chaotic Cataclysm that entrapped me managed to destroy my Galactic Patrol?"

"Indeed, Marnu." Jim was once again awed, this time by the voice of Nabu. Dr. Fate had an imposing voice, deep and powerful, yet Fate sounded like a squeaky cricket compared to the rumbling earthquake that was the voice of Nabu.

Somehow the two Lords of Order had instantly recognized each other once Marnu's memory had returned, and they were conversing as if they had seen each other only last week. Maybe to an immortal Lord of Order, 100,000 years might seem as inconsequential as a week did to Jim.

"Your creation, the Galactic Patrol was destroyed, as was the civilization it protected, and you vanished at the same time. It was a disappointing setback for the forces of Order. Still, the cycles continue, and Order is again gaining ascendancy."

Jim winced. If he had heard that correctly, a civilization composed of hundreds of races and trillions of beings, spanning multiple star systems, had been destroyed and Nabu had shrugged it off as 'a disappointing setback'? Just what kind of being was a Lord of Order, anyway?

"And none thought it important to seek me out? I would have thought that the Protocols demanded a search for a missing Lords of Order?" Marnu asked crossly.

"Marnu, you are still young and impatient. You have barely been absent for a tiak, hardly long enough for us to notice. And your appearance now confirms that any discussion of a search would have been premature. Please try, for once, to see the long view!"

Jim would swear there was a note of exasperation in Fate's voice, as if this was a disagreement of long-standing. Seemed like a perfect time for him to speak up again.

"Excuse me, fellas, but I'm just a mortal, and 100,000 years is a heck of long time from my point of view. Don't suppose you might tell me just what's going on?"

Marnu replied. "Before I begin my story, Wielder of the Glow, I would know how it is that the Galactic Patrol was destroyed a tiak ago, yet you have somehow acquired a Globe and Glove. And, how shall I address you?"

"You can call me…" he hesitated, then decided on a name Johnny Thunder had suggested "…Strobe." 'Because…' Johnny had suggested 'when you're around, it's lights out for the bad guys!' And because of the contrast between the bright white light of his power, and the darkness that had enveloped his life since he gained that power…

Chapter 2 A Curse and a Quest

He started into his story. As he spoke, Marnu became more and more agitated. "Exposure to the Glow restored much of my memory, yet listening to your story brings back even more. While I was battling against the destruction of my Patrol, I was captured by Burr, Malignon, Infi and Pandemma, the Lords of Chaos whose activities had been most severely disrupted by the Patrol. By combining their powers, they were able to render me powerless and imprison me, though even the combined might of 4 Lords of Chaos was insufficient to kill a Lord of Order. And now, though I am now freed, still do I remain powerless."

"You're kidding, right, big fella? The way I hear it, when you've been pretending to be Vic Valor, your power level is right up there with the most powerful heroes in the JSA!"

"Alas, friend Strobe, you have only a very limited understanding of the powers of a Lord of Order. And I have not been 'pretending' to be Vic Valor; I was a being very like the Vic Valor now standing before you, ere I was elevated as a Lord of Order. Even the name is similar. While my original name cannot be translated directly into English, its meaning was 'Courageous Champion'."

Dr. Fate's golden ankh-aura grew and pulsed, and both Valor and Strobe were bathed in a brilliant golden light. Jim could feel this light penetrating his body, warming and illuminating every molecule. When the radiance vanished, he felt better than he had ever felt in his life, as if somehow this golden brilliance had both washed and renewed him. And in a way, it had.

"Strobe, I have lifted from your mind and your weapon a curse of Chaotic origin, placed on you by Wotan, a Lord of Chaos. He could not prevent the Glove and Globe from passing into your possession, so he cursed them - each time you used the Glove, Chaos would disrupt your life, and sap your will to live. Wotan, however, is quite new to his powers, and I have been easily able to lift his curse. I could have done this earlier, but an aspect of this curse prevented you from approaching any mage with enough power to aid you."

Fate turned back to his fellow Lord of Order. "Marnu, though you were perhaps unaware, more than the combined power of 4 Lords of Chaos you named was turned against you. I sense also the influence of a powerful Chaotic artifact, the Lens of Allouche. I believe that only the Lens can undo the spell that is binding your powers. Until you are able to lift the spell, you will continue to be imprisoned in the mechanical body you now inhabit. I sense that the Lens, long a tool of Burr, has now passed into the possession of Wotan."

Far away, Wotan continued to be amused. He had planned that these three advocates of Order would continue to fight, rather than talk, but there were always problems when someone as strongly tied to Chaos as he tried to make plans. Their discovery that the Lens of Allouche was involved strongly suggested that he would soon have visitors.

When he had been recently promoted to the rank of Lord of Chaos, Wotan had assumed the residence and duties of the Elder Chaotic, Burr, who was now advocating the cause of Chaos at a higher level elsewhere in the universe. One of his new possessions was the Lens of Allouche - and it seemed certain that Marnu, at least, and likely Strobe as well, would soon be looking for that ancient mystical artifact. Well, he would have to arrange an appropriate welcome - not quite what he had in mind for his next project, but one that promised its own type of satisfaction. Several schemes jumped immediately to mind, and he was quickly immersed in the details.

On Earth, Vic Valor was planning a project of his own. "I must locate the Lens, and destroy it. It is sure to be far from Earth, and heavily guarded, and without my powers, it will be a formidable quest. And yet, if I am to regain my powers, I must not fail!"

Strobe was fighting through a tremendous amount of anger, after learning who it was who was responsible for the death of his parents and all the other personal disasters he'd experienced during the past year. "Somewhere among the stars far from Earth, huh? And a chance to strike back at the Lord of Chaos who messed up my life? I'm in!"

"Your courage honors those who previously bore the Glove and Globe, my friend. Let us make what preparations we can, and then go search those stars you speak of!"

"Nothin' to do with courage, really. Nothin' to keep me here." Jim replied, dismissive of his own motives. "So, when we leaving?"

Marnu seemed to feel that his Vic Valor persona was more appropriate for dealing with humans, and it was the almost-human Vic Valor, rather than the Lord of Order, who shrugged. It was amazing how alive the mechanical body seemed. "We are going to need a space vessel, and none of the spaceships humanity has produced so far is advanced enough. Nabu, without my powers, I am unable to provide a ship; can you bring us a cruiser from the Galactic Patrol base on Ekluabdyalbker?"

"Hold on!" Jim insisted. "Any Patrol ship would be over 100,000 years old! They must all be trash by now. Iredok flew one of them here, and it killed him."

"Galactic Patrol ships were built to last, Jim. And, I was the designer of those ships – if there is anything wrong, I will be able to fix it. Besides, you still have the Glove – and I can survive in space without a ship. Nothing can go wrong – and if it does, we have it covered anyway."

"You're a pretty cocky guy, you know?" Jim asked, somewhat troubled. In his experience, cockiness usually led to trouble. On the other hand, he was dealing with a Lord of Order. He hoped this guy wasn't overestimating his abilities, basing his self-confidence on powers he no longer possessed.

Marnu ignored the barb. "I'll want a couple of days to make sure the ship is spaceworthy. Can you provide us with provisions?"

"Yeah, right! 'Case you missed it in my story, I'm homeless and flat broke these days. Not sure I even remember what money looks like…"

"Use the power of your glove to unearth some coal and bring it here. I assume that a handful of diamonds would solve the monetary issues?" A few minutes later, Valor duplicated an old Superman trick, creating diamonds by squeezing lumps of coal with his super strength.

With a lot of things to accomplish, and a self-imposed deadline, they set to work preparing for their upcoming departure from Earth – and their quest for revenge against the forces of Chaos which had disrupted both their lives.