#2 Written by J Hammond Edited by Bob Gansler

Cast of Characters	Previously
Captain America ('Steve Rogers')  A man so devoted to original star-spangled patriot that he became him. Bucky (Jack Monroe)  The all-American kid empowered by the Super Soldier Formula

Steve Rogers handed the first student in the first row of the classroom a stack of papers. "I know it’s only the second day of class, but I’m giving you this test anyway. I need to find out what all of you know and don’t know about the history of this country. There is a one hundred question multiple choice section, a fifty question fill in the blank section and you must write three essays from the list enclosed. You have two hours. Get started. " The class groaned at Professor Rogers’ explanation of the test. How could he do this on just the second day? Some grumbled under their breath for a few moments, drawing angry glares from their teacher. Slowly, the students began their examinations and the room was quiet. Steve sat down at the table at the front of the classroom and looked at his students. There were thirty young men and women in this class, and ten of them were blacks. ‘Why should THEY be allowed to pursue an education?’ he thought. ‘They’re not even real Americans.’ Steve sipped from his coffee cup and further pondered this situation. ‘This won’t stop here. First they want to be educated, pretty soon, they’ll want the same rights and privileges as normal, pure Americans.’ The situation made Steve sick.

There was a knock at the classroom door and Steve got up to answer it. Some of the students looked up out of curiosity but quickly returned to their work when they saw the icy glare their professor was giving them. Steve opened the door to find the college president’s secretary waiting for him. "Professor Rogers, Dr. Ritchmond would like to see you in his office."

Steve looked back at his class. "We’re right in the middle of a test. Can’t this wait?" The small woman shook her head. "No, sorry, sir. I’ve been told to watch your class for you while you’re gone." Steve gave another look back at the class. "Fine. Let them leave if they finish before I return."

Steve marched through the halls of the college until he came to the President’s office. He walked in to find the President, Dr. Ritchmond, a short fat, balding man in his late fifties, and FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover waiting for him. "Ah…Mr. Rogers. Do come in, and close the door behind you, if you will."

Steve closed the door and sat down on one of the couches in the office. "What’s this about, Hoover?" Steve glared at the FBI head.

"Dr. Ritchmond is well aware of your other job, Captain. We’ve come across something that requires your attention." Hoover turned the lights off and switched on a film projector. "This was shot by FBI photographers last night." The film showed several burning crosses in front of a church, also burning. Tied to the crosses were black men and women. On the largest cross, set directly in the middle was an elderly black man in a priest’s robe. Along the ground at the bases of the crosses were several black people, battered, bruised and bleeding. When the film was finished, Hoover shut the projector off and turned the lights back on. "We suspect the Ku Klux Klan is involved in this beating and murder. Fifteen people died in this incident, Captain. We want you to investigate."

Steve folded his arms and glared angrily at Hoover and Ritchmond. "Why should I care if a bunch of niggers were killed? I say more power to whoever did it."

Hoover’s jaw dropped. How could this man, a man who claimed to be the successor to the legacy of Captain America be so blatantly racist? It occurred to him that he must use one of his many trump cards against the Captain. "You don’t learn, do you Captain? All it will take is one word from me and you’re back in the icebox like a box of left over fish sticks. Do I make myself clear?"

Steve rose from his seat, fists clenched into tight balls. "I think it’s you who hasn’t learned, Hoover. You do not, under any circumstances threaten me, or there will be consequences. Are you prepared to deal with the consequences, Hoover?" Steve was in Hoover’s face now, the smaller man beginning to tremble in fear.

Ritchmond stepped between them. "Captain. Regardless of your personal philosophies, you must take this assignment. It is your duty as Captain America. Besides…" Ritchmond said, knowing he must speak in terms Rogers would understand and be appealed to. "…there is always the possibility that this could spread into a threat to more pure Americans like ourselves."

Steve turned and began to exit the office. "Fine."

Hoover and Ritchmond breathed a collective sigh of relief. "Good job there, Ritchmond, appealing to his racism."

Ritchmond removed his glasses and rubbed his temples. "I did what needed to be done, Edgar."

Captain America and Bucky walked through the remains of the St. John’s Catholic Church. It had been burned the night before. The crosses were still on the lawn. Some were toppled, some were broken, and others were still upright and whole. "Hey Cap, look over here!" Bucky tugged at a piece of white cloth buried beneath the rubble.

Cap kicked the rocks and bricks out of the way and picked up the fabric. "It’s a Klan hood, Bucky. It looks like Hoover was right. We’re dealing with the KKK here."

Bucky kicked at the dirt. "But they aren’t totally wrong, are they Cap?"

Cap looked at the remains of the crosses on the church’s lawn. "No, they aren’t, Bucky. Their basic message is dead on. Something needs to be done to protect America from impurity and inferiority, but their methods are wrong. They have to be stopped."

"And who intends to stop us…YOU? A man in a flag suit and a little boy?" Cap and Bucky turned to find a group of fifty Klansmen approaching them. "We’d heard that the FBI was sending some ‘special agents’ to investigate here, but we never expected it to be the great Captain America and his boy hostage, Bucky!"

Bucky seethed, balling his fists. "I’ll show you who’s a hostage, you pillow head!" Bucky charged into the Klansmen, tackling the one who had been the spokesman.

"That’s the spirit, Buck!" Cap threw his shield into the crowd, hitting three men before it finally rebounded back to him. He wasn’t as good as the original yet, but the hours of training Hoover had been insisting on lately really seemed to be paying off.

The Klansmen were taken aback at the opponents’ attacks at first, but they quickly realized they had the advantage in sheer numbers alone. "Pile on him!" one of them yelled, pointing at Cap. "He’s just one man! We are many!" The Klansmen dog piled on Cap, trying to smother him with their weight. He grunted with effort and threw them off of him, sending them scattering about the field.

"I may be just a single man, but I am Captain America! I will always be more than a match for you. Whether there’s five or you or five hundred, it doesn’t matter. I will always beat you." Cap tore into the Klansmen, punching and kicking them with reckless abandon.

Bucky flipped and rolled out of the grasp of several Klansmen. "What’s the matter, those pillow cases getting in your way?" Bucky ducked under a punch and kicked the nearest Klansmen in the groin. "Like I said before, I agree with what you guys stand for, but I suppose Cap is right. Killing isn’t the way!" Bucky vaulted over a Klansman, using him as a springboard to come crashing into a crowd of the white robbed men.

"Rally, my brothers, rally! There are only the two of them. Eventually they will tire! They cannot possibly hope to defeat us alone!" Suddenly, the Klansmen who had uttered that battle cry collapsed in a heap, his jaw shattered by a flying shield. Cap and Bucky turned to see a man in a costume very similar to Cap’s standing on the church’s roof. The only difference was that where Cap’s uniform was blue, this man’s was black. Cap could see that the man who wore the costume was black underneath. "They have the aid of the African American!" the newcomer said as he picked up his shield, a replica of the first shield the original Cap had used in World War II.

The following letter is in response to my three-part story in JOURNEY INTO UNKNOWN WORLDS #64-66.

San Cubano? Felipe Castrano? That *was* funny. This story also gives a nod to Cap #4 becoming the Grand Director. He's sure acting like he represents the "great American superiority", with the "spics" and the usual "hey, does anybody in here speak English?". I'd sure like to see Cap #4's butt get kicked, one of these days. Y'know, I think Hoover must have something up his sleeve in telling Cap to go overrun Fide... uh Felipe Castrano. If you want to do an undercover mission, you don't send someone draped in a flag to do it. That's about as undercover as having the Goodyear Blimp over a NASCAR race. Nah, I think Hoover wants to see if Cap gets killed, and then he denies all knowledge of him going to Cub... uh San Cubano.

(BTW, there is a town in Portugal called Cuba, and the mayor's office is composed mainly of members of the Communist Party :-) Go figure.)—

Paulo Costa

I’m glad you liked the story, Paulo. Since you were the first to write to me about it, you get to be the first letter I print. Feel privileged, feel proud! As to your suggestion to Hoover having something up his sleeve, let me quote a famous cartoon character…"Hmmm…could be!"

The "San Cubano" and "Felipe Castrano" elements were intended to be an intentional representation of Cuba and Castro.

Next Issue…

Cap, Bucky and the African American battle the Klansmen…but who is the African American? Find out…next issue!

Comments, criticisms, and concerns for this issue of CAPTAIN AMERICA 1958 accepted at captainamerica3@mailcity.com