In his late teens, Val left Japan and headed to sprawling city of Metropolis to join the famed Legion of Super-Heroes. Unlike those hopefuls who came from other planets with the unique abilities of their races, Val viewed the whole thing as a challenge. How could he make himself, a non-powered Earth human, into a Legionnaire? With a proficiency in all forms of hand-to-hand combat and hand weaponry and his own specially designed form of super-karate, Val tried out for the team on the eve of the Khund invasion and was accepted alongside three others: Ferro Lad, Nemesis Kid, and Princess Projectra.
The fates would take their turns with his three fellow inductees.
One would die in the ultimate sacrifice to save the universe from the deadly threat of the Sun-Eater. Another would become Val’s bitter rival and part of the reason he now was spending time in the twentieth century, nearly a thousand years before his birth. And the third… ah, the third, she would become the true love of Val’s life and the other reason he was here in the ancient past, proving his worth as a suitor to a daughter of royalty.
It had taken a little while for Val to adjust to the ancient ways of the twentieth century, but he did so with the help of some newfound friends, one of whom was the red-haired woman with freckles and glasses who was taking classes here.
The teacher had commanded the students to line up like the beginning of class. When all were in place, he said, “Chareyut!” Immediately, the men and women stood tall, feet together and arms at their sides.
Next, the teacher said, “Rei!” They all bowed to him, and he bowed back. “Kneel down.” The students again followed his command.
Placing his hands on the mats before him in a triangle-like pattern, he said, “Meditation begin. Mokuso hajime!” They all bowed their heads silently, eyes closed.
After a moment, he said, “Mokuso yame!” They all raised their heads and opened their eyes, for meditation was over. “Good class, everyone. Remember, the dojo will be closed over the next two weeks for holiday. Do make sure you practice your katas. Sayonara.”
With that, the students were dismissed and began to move about the room to gather their things. Some went immediately to the changing rooms.
Iris Jacobs crossed the room to where her friend was sitting. “Val, thank you for coming,” the redhead said. “How long have you been here?”
“Just a little bit,” Val replied. “I didn’t know you were interested in taking karate lessons.”
“You inspire me,” she said with a twinkle in her eye. “You like my gi?” She did a little turn so he could see her white uniform, tied at the waist with a white belt.
“Very nice,” he said. “You know, I would have been more than happy to have given you lessons myself.”
“I wanted it to be a surprise,” Iris said.
A number of students had been watching as Iris talked to the handsome young man. There was then the sound of a voice, a sort of gentle clearing of one’s throat. “Ahem.”
Iris turned around to see Kwai Chang standing behind her. “Oh, Sensei,” she said, slightly startled. “May I introduce my, uh, friend, Val Armorr?”
“Welcome to my dojo,” the instructor in red and black said. He had shiny, long black hair, tied back in a ponytail. He looked to be about thirty years old or so.
Val gave a slight bow. “You have a very disciplined group of students here,” he said.
Kwai Chang half smiled. “Thank you. Did I overhear that you also teach karate?”
“I practice, mostly,” Val said. “Though I have given some lessons to my friends on occasion in the, uh, past.”
“Excuse me for a moment, Val, Sensei,” Iris said as she grabbed her bag and headed to the changing room to put on her regular clothes.
Kwai noticed the belt about Val’s waist. “You are a black belt,” he stated, though it had some questioning tone to it. “Are you versed in the traditional forms of karate and tae kwon do?”
“Of course,” he replied proudly.
“Perhaps you would be interested in some sparring,” the oriental man offered. “Since you have no gear, we would go with light contact only.”
Val considered. He noticed the conversation between the two men had drawn some interest by the students as well. He had to weigh the option very carefully. “I certainly do not want to interfere with your class schedule,” he said.
“Not a problem at all,” Kwai replied. “I have forty minutes before my next group comes in. It would just take a few moments. You seem interested.”
“Well,” Val said hesitantly. Iris was still in the changing room, so he could not use her as an excuse. “All right.” He gave in, sat down and removed his boots and socks. He then joined Kwai Chang on the mats.
“We will use the blue-colored squares for our ring,” the instructor said. “The red mats for out of bounds.” The two men moved to the center of the blue square. “Shall we begin?”
“Sure,” Val said. They both bowed to one another, then immediately moved into fighting stances, one hand raised in an upper block while the other was down low, feet apart with one foot before the other.
“Kiii-ah!” Kwai yelled as he lunged forward with a right punch. Val immediately countered with a upper block with his left hand, stopping the blow from connecting. Val then countered with a front kick that moved at lightning speed, but he pulled it back just as his toes barely grazed the fabric of Kwai’s uniform.
The oriental man moved back in surprise by the kick. The students watching had been impressed as well. “Very good,” he said, taking measure of his sparring partner. He knew now that the belt about Val’s waist was hardly decorative. “Let us continue.” He then countered with a series of spin side-kicks.
Val dodged them easy enough. While physically countering Kwai Chang’s moves with his own, in his mind he wrestled with how to handle the situation. How could he honorably spar and at the same time not cause the sensei to lose face in front of his students, in his own dojo?
Karate Kid: 1981: An Old-Fashioned Christmas, Chapter 2: Unexpected Visitors
by Martin Maenza
By the time Iris Jacobs returned from the changing room dressed in a sweater and pants, the two men had been going back and forth for a few minutes. Kwai Chang was showing signs of a good workout, while Val Armorr had barely broken a sweat. When she joined the others on the side, one of the other women turned to Iris and said, “Wow! That friend of yours is really good.”
Another of the women, a blonde, chimed in and added, “And he’s hot-looking, to boot!”
Iris felt a bit uneasy about the whole thing and was hoping it would end soon. Luckily, her prayers were answered that afternoon. Val made a misstep out of the square, barely with his heel, thus ending the contest.
The brown-haired youth bowed to the instructor out of respect and thanked him for a good workout. Val then joined Iris along the side, where he put on his footwear quickly. “Ready to go?” he asked her.
Iris nodded, and the two walked out the door and headed down the steps. She waited until they were down on the sidewalk and moving away from the martial arts school before she said, “So, you threw that sparring match, huh?”
“What do you mean?” Val asked, trying his best to act surprised.
“Don’t be coy with me, future boy,” she said playfully. “I’ve seen you in action. I know how good you really are. You’ve taken on the likes of Major Disaster, the Revenger, and Master Hand. (*) The only way you could have lost to my teacher is if you were holding back… a lot!”
[(*) Editor's note: See "The International Dooms of Major Disaster," Karate Kid #2 (May-June, 1976), "The Revenger," Karate Kid #3 (July-August, 1976), and "The Rage of Yesterdays Lost," Karate Kid #4 (September-October, 1976).]
Val smiled. “Well, maybe just a little.” He took her hand. “Come on, I’ll walk you home.”
“Actually,” Iris said hesitantly, “I need to head to the train stop instead.”
“Train stop? Why?”
“That’s part of the
reason why I wanted you to meet me after class,” Iris explained as they walked. “With the school kids on break, I was going to head home upstate for the holidays. Spend Christmas with my family, you know.”
“Oh,” Val said, a bit surprised. He and Iris had been so inseparable since they had met that he hadn’t even thought of her going off for a few days alone. “Well, that sounds like fun. OK, the train stop it is, then.”
“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner,” Iris apologized. “It just kind of came up; the plans, I mean. Not the holiday.”
“No need to explain,” Val said. “You go and have fun. I’m a big boy. I can take care of myself.”
Iris smiled. “I wanted to give you something,” she said as she rummaged through her large duffelbag that contained her travel items, her gi, and other belongings. Val held the bag for her at the bottom while she dug. Finally, she pulled out a round item wrapped in colorful paper. “Here, this is for you.”
Val put her bag down on the sidewalk for a moment and took the offered gift. The item felt soft, and the wrapping was tied with a red ribbon. He pulled away the paper to reveal something balled up inside. “What’s this?” he asked. Letting the item unroll and dangle, he saw that it was a multicolored strip of woven material about a foot or so wide and four feet long.
“It’s a scarf,” Iris announced. “I made it myself. Do you like it?”
“It’s nice,” he said, putting it about his neck. He certainly appreciated the token. “I think this is the first time someone actually made something for me.”
Iris took the ends of the scarf and wrapped them around a bit. “There,” she said. “Much better.”
“Thank you,” Val said a bit awkwardly. Then he paused. “I, uh, don’t have anything to give you in exchange, right now. I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be silly,” Iris said. “You’ve saved my life a number of times over these last few months. It’s the least I can do. Besides, Christmas is just as much about giving as it is receiving.”
“Still…” Val said.
Iris leaned over and gave him a peck on the cheek.
When she pulled away, he put his hand to where she kissed, surprised. “I… what was that for?” Val asked.
Iris bit her lip slightly. “Mistletoe,” she said. And with her gloved hand, she pointed to a sprig of vegetation hanging in the doorframe where they stopped. “It’s a tradition here. If someone is standing under the mistletoe, you’re supposed to give them a kiss.”
Val nodded. “Yes, I’ve heard of that tradition,” he said.
“Consider that my gift,” Iris said shyly.
“Until I can get you a proper gift,” Val said as he picked up her bag. “I think perhaps we should go, though, so you don’t miss your train home.” He took her hand, and they walked on down to the station.
***
Val later returned to the apartment building on New York City’s West Side, where he had taken up residency the last few months. Just as he closed the heavy wooden front door behind him and stepped into the stairwell, the apartment door in front opened suddenly.
“Mr. Armorr!” a familiar voice chirped. It came from a woman in her early fifties, rather full-figured with extremely curled grayish hair. She was dressed in a blue dress with a white frilly apron. “I thought I saw you coming up the front walk.”
Val stopped and smiled at the woman. “Mrs. Geichman, hello.”
She approached him and put her left hand on the scarf that draped down his chest. “Why, what a beautiful wrap,” she said, rubbing the material a few times before taking her hand away. “Wherever did you get it?”
“Iris made it for me,” he said. “It was a Christmas gift.”
“Oh, what a sweet child she is,” Emily Geichman said. “You two make such a lovely couple.”
“Uh, we’re not…” Val started to say.
His landlady interrupted him. “Speaking of Christmas gifts, I have something for you!” She ducked into her apartment door and came back with a round decorative tin. “These are for you.”
“Oh,” Val said, surprised by her gift. She stood staring, waiting on him, so he felt obligated to open the container. Carefully prying the metal lid up with his fingertips, he opened the container to see a large number of cookies inside. Shaped like stars, trees, and bells, the pastries were frosted colorfully and included some sprinkles. “Why, these look lovely.”
“I made them myself,” she said proudly. She reached into the tin, grabbed one of the trees, and raised it to his mouth. “Here! Try one!”
All Val could do with the oncoming assault was to take a bite of the offered item. She watched as he chewed it in a rather prolonged way. “Well?” she asked. “Are they to die for, or what?”
“Mmm, yesh….” Val said with a full mouth, not even swallowing, “…to die forfff.”
“Well, I better get back to my baking,” Mrs. Geichman said as she dropped the half-eaten cookie back into the tin and waddled back toward her apartment door. “My son Sidney, the doctor, just loves to give these out to friends, so I better finish getting things together. Happy holidays, Mr. Armorr!” Her door closed loudly behind her.
Val looked around the foyer suddenly and then darted up the stairs. Quickly he fished out his key, jammed it into the lock, threw open the door, and rushed for the kitchen. He spit the remains of the cookie out into the sink, turned on the water, and let it run the evidence down the disposal. “Oh, boy,” he said to himself softly. “I couldn’t bear to tell Mrs. Geichman how bad those things are.”
He looked at the tin in his hands and tossed it on the counter as if it were toxic. “Yuck. I doubt even Tenzil Kem, with his Bismollian digestive system, could stomach those.” He opened the refrigerator, pulled out a can of carbonated soda, and popped the top. He quickly downed the can, hoping to further wash the taste from his mouth. The bubbles in the drink caused him to belch loudly. He chuckled to himself. “Then again, Tenzil has been known to eat some rather nasty things in the past without the least bit of indigestion.”
Val moved to the living room area of his apartment, settled into one of the chairs, and continued reading a novel he had gotten out of the public library. He was growing rather accustomed to reading books that were physically in his hands, page turning and all, rather than on holo-screens as he did growing up.
***
A sudden knock on the door stirred Val from his sleep. He was slightly disoriented, and it took him a few moments to realize he fell asleep in the chair reading.
The knock came again.
“Coming,” he said aloud as he sprang to his feet and rushed to the door. Val checked the peep hole first before reaching for the knob, given the late hour of the visitor. When he saw who was on the other side of the door, he exclaimed, “What the…?! No way!”
As he flung open the door, a group of eight individuals, five males and three females, were standing there in long coats, their arms full of boxes and bags. Val recognized them instantly. “What are you guys doing here?”
“Hey, buddy,” said the red-haired Dirk Morgna, AKA Sun Boy. “You going to invite us in, or what?”
“Come in, come in,” Val said as he opened the door wide. “But we have to keep it down. Don’t want to wake the neighbors.”
“Don’t worry about it, Val,” said the black-haired Rokk Krinn, AKA Cosmic Boy. “Just tell them you’ve got unexpected visitors from out of town.”
“Waaa-aaay out of town!” added the brown-haired Gim Allon, AKA Colossal Boy, with a smile.
“Good to see you, Val,” said the dark-haired Tasmia Mallor, AKA Shadow Lass, as she gave Karate Kid a kiss on the cheek in greeting. “Lar told to give you his best.”
Val knew she was referring to Mon-El, the current Legion of Super-Heroes leader. “Thanks,” he said. Then he did a double take. The woman did not have her usual blue skin tint that was common of the natives of Talok VIII. She appeared to be a normal, light-skinned Earth woman. “Tasmia, that’s a new look for you!”
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“You have to thank Brainy for that,” she said with a smile.
A male with short blond hair and equally colored light skin followed Tasmia into the apartment. “It was nothing really,” said Querl Dox, AKA Brainiac Five, with his usual tone of superiority. “Simply a modification to our flight rings to generate a field of illusion, allowing us to blend in anonymously with the natives of this century.”
“Don’t mind him,” said the red-haired Garth Ranzz, AKA Lightning Lad. “You know how cranky Brainy can get, especially after a trip through the time-stream.” On his arm was a beautiful young woman with long blonde hair.
Imra Ardeen, AKA Saturn Girl, nodded in agreement with her boyfriend. “We figured since you were going to be here during the holiday season, we would bring a little joy to you.”
“Yeah,” Garth added with a smile, “even though it’s hardly summer from when we came.”
“Boys,” Imra said, dismissing Garth’s comments. She followed him into the room.
That left one person standing in the hallway. Val turned and saw the young woman with full, flowing white hair standing with such poise and dignity. “Jeckie, hi,” he said, leaning forward to give her a kiss. It landed on her cheek as she turned her head slightly. “Won’t you come in?”
Princess Projectra, Jeckie to her close friends, stepped into the apartment and looked around. “Very quaint,” she said. “Given our years together, I didn’t realize you had such an affinity for pink.”
Val shut the apartment door, but a chill seemed to remain in the room. “Uh, it came this way,” he said about the furnishings. “My landlady had it decorated this way for her son. When he moved out, she rented the room, and, well, I needed a place to stay that I could afford.”
“Charming,” Projectra said coolly.
Val realized this was going to be an interesting visit.
Karate Kid: 1981: An Old-Fashioned Christmas, Chapter 3: Santa Claus Attacks
by Martin Maenza