Mysterious Cairo (23 page)

Two young teenage boys lay bound and gagged at the main altar, while five priestesses danced and sang around them. Several hundred cultists, mostly women, swayed to the unholy rhythms of drums and flute, played by bald eunuchs. A huge gold statue of a rearing cobra loomed over the sacrifices.

Looking on, in silent approval, was a woman of stunning beauty. There was very little to her costume, which resembled a Core Earth two piece swimsuit colored scarlet. Her bracelets, headband, necklace, belt, and ankle chain, all of pure gold, glittered in the altar room's torchlight. To top off the whole effect, she wore scarlet high heels.

"Good grief,
who is that?" Corey gasped.

Havoc stared at the woman, whose almond eyes glittered with cold cruelty. Daremo noticed that the dark avenger's stare was one of contempt, not appreciation.
"That
is the Scarlet Asp."

"That looks like a sacrifice," Kayla pointed out, scowling her disapproval of the ceremony and the pulp villainess.

"Aye, murder most foul," Marcel agreed.

"Would you stop that?" Corey shot back. "Enough with the Shakespeare! It's driving me crazy!"

The Hospitaller merely smiled, "'Methinks the lady doth protest too much!'" Corey bit her lip and stifled a yell of frustration.

"Well, I've seen enough," Havoc muttered as he pulled out an odd pistol. He fired it, and a coil of rope shot forth and looped around the snake statue. Before any of his companions could say a word, Havoc grabbed the rope, secured it to his belt, and swung down to the altar.

"Gentlepersons, shall we?" Daremo said, unsheathing his katana and wakizashi. Kayla and Marcel unsheathed their swords, and nodded, the barbarian betraying a gleam of anticipation. Corey checked her .38 and gave the thumbs up. "Corey, you take out the high priestesses while we whittle down the worshippers. Leave the Asp to Havoc," the ninja advised.

"What does she do, I wonder?" Corey asked acidly. "Hickey men to death?"

Daremo stifled a comment about that being a good death, and instead led the charge. The battle was joined.

Havoc, in the meantime, had grabbed both boys and dropped them off on a safe ledge before he swung back to the altar. As the Asp and the priestesses turned to face him, a howl of outrage rose from the masses. Havoc saw, out of the corner of his eye, that his allies were responsible for the disturbance, as they were cutting down everyone in the Knights' way. In a blur, he unholstered his twin .45s and spat hot leaden death to two of the priestesses. A pair of other pistol shots echoed throughout the chamber, and two more priestesses fell dead. Havoc noticed with approval that Corey Jones had taken them out.

The dark avenger spun around to Asp and the remaining priestess. "Give it up, Asp. This is one Temple of Wadjet that's about to go out of business permanently," he commanded.

Uncertain of what to do, the last priestess looked from the grim Havoc to the complacent Asp. Finally, she began praying silently for Wadjet to strike down Havoc, but no sooner had she uttered Wadjet's name when suddenly Asp shoved her into Havoc. "Here. Buy me some time, priestess! I must escape!"

The surprised priestess stumbled, outraged, into Havoc, who gave the woman a knockout blow to the temple with the handle of his .45, then took off after the retreating Asp.

Amidst the worshippers, the four Knights found the resistance half-hearted at best. Many of the devotees broke ranks and fled when the three sword wielders began taking on two, three, four opponents each. A few stout hearted souls swung khopesh swords in defiance, but most of the blows clanged uselessly against the Knights' parrying, which was inevitably followed by a devastating counterstrike that left an increasing number of cultists dead.

"Look! I see Havoc!" Corey shouted to her friends as her last bullet found a cultist. "He's chasing Asp into a wall recess!"

"We must follow!" yelled Daremo as his two swords disemboweled an amazed cultist, who died before he hit the ground. "No telling what treachery the Asp has in store!"

"Never mind the treachery," Corey shot back as she kicked a club-wielding cultist below the belt. "How the hell does she run so fast in those three-inch heels?"

Asp ran down the secret corridor, and threw a switch before turning left. As Havoc reached that point, the floor gave way into a pit several dozen feet deep, the bottom covered with a living carpet of hissing snakes and scorpions. Mustering all of his strength and co-ordination, Havoc's gloved hand reached out and snagged a projection in the wall pit, stopping his descent halfway down. As he caught his breath, he realized that the projection was rapidly turning red hot.

He heard the voices of his allies coming down the corridor, but he knew they would never arrive in time. Taking a deep breath, Havoc pushed off the wall with his legs and attempted an acrobatic flip up to the top. His legs cleared the pit lip, but failed to find a hold, and Havoc fell head first back down the pit.

His descent was halted a scant two feet from the poisonous vermin, and he looked up to see Daremo with the avenger's rope-gun, the rope secured around Havoc's ankles. "You had forgotten this," the ninja grinned.

"About time you got here," Havoc muttered as Kayla and Marcel pulled the hero up to the top.

When the five Knights reached Asp's chambers, the villainess was waiting for them. "So, Havoc, we meet again," she purred as she took a deep breath and smiled at the men. "Have you changed your mind? Have you decided to accept my terms and become my consort? Together, we could conquer this world! My love for you is genuine, and I long to express it . any way I can."

"Drop dead, Asp!" Havoc snarled, pulling out his guns and taking aim. "Tell me what you know about Mobius' plans for the Sphinx!"

"It's taking place today at sundown, dearest," she smiled. "That's all I will tell you. Until next time, my love."

Havoc cocked back the hammers of his pistols. "Hah! You're not going anywhere!" the hero snarled.

Suddenly, a pair of blows caught Havoc in the back of the head, followed by the cries of surprise from Kayla and Corey. Laughing, the Asp vanished into a cloud of scarlet smoke. Havoc looked up to see a very confused Marcel and Daremo, the latter bowing deeply. "A thousand pardons, Major. I ... I ... do not know what came over me. For an instant, the prospect of you hurting the Asp seemed so awful to me, that I had to hit you."

"Aye, 'twas the same for me!" Marcel added, the young Hospitaller flushing crimson.

"Well, we feel like zapping that bimbo," Corey snarled, pulling out her gun. "Fire at will, Kayla," she yelled as she pumped hot lead into the scarlet smoke. The barbarian fired several arrows into the billowing cloud as well.

Havoc rose and rubbed his neck. "Save your ammo; she's gone. Blast it, I forgot about her mind control powers. But at least she told us the when, and we already know where, so let's go! Sundown is only an hour away!"

After making sure that the sacrifices were safe, the five Knights climbed back into the roadster and roared off to the site of the Sphinx as the sun began to set. As they drove, Corey, whose curiosity was piqued, spoke up in her best journalist voice.

"Um . Major, what was Asp talking about back there about her loving you? And what was all that about her offer?"

"Her husband was called the Copper Cobra," Havoc replied as he gave the amazed Daremo a meaningful glance. "He was killed accidentally by my powers. Now, the Asp wants me to take her dead husband's place. She's so obsessed with having me agree, that she goes on these crime sprees to get my attention."

"Now, let me get this straight," Corey shook her head. "All of the wicked things she does, she does because she has a crush on you?"

"Well, I guess that's one way of looking at it," Havoc replied.

"I hate to interrupt this conversation, but the Sphinx is over the next hill," Daremo announced. "We had better pull over and decide how to approach the thing."

As the Knights got out of their roadster, they could hear the thundering rhythm of many voices raised in a strange chant. As they discussed their tactics in hurried whispers, they climbed up the hill on their bellies. Their progress was halted when the Knights saw four shocktroopers, silhouetted against the rising moon.

"I think I should tell you, the area is a hardpoint for Core Earth," Havoc explained. It's strongest at the pyramids, and weaker near the Sphinx. Just the same, any of you who want to cover yourselves in your realities, you had better do it now."

In response, Daremo assumed a lotus position and began meditating. Summoning all of his
ki
power, he called into his inner being all that is truly Japan. Suddenly, he recalled his martial arts prowess as his digital watch beeped back to life.

"A good idea," Marcel murmured. "I shall do likewise." Drawing forth his sword and placing it point first into the sand, the Hospitaller knelt down and began reciting the Lord's Prayer. He let out a sigh as his cyber systems clicked back on line. Enhanced strength flowed through his limbs, and his prayer beads' LED displays flared to life.

"Let me take the four guards," Daremo offered. "I shall signal when all is clear." With that, the ninj a slipped into the shadows.

"That's not necessary, Daremo," Corey replied as she loaded her pistol. "Daremo? . Daremo?"

Kayla knelt to the ground near where Daremo was last seen. "He has left, and his tracks are barely visible!" The wonderment in her voice was obvious to all.

"But how will we know what the signal is?" Corey whispered.

A dagger landed at Marcel's feet. Attached to it were four Egyptian headdresses.

"Call it a hunch, but I'd say we've just been signalled," Havoc observed with approval. "I have to say, I like that guy."

The four Knights climbed the crest of the hill and looked down. Everyone let out a gasp of wonder. The Great Sphinx was illuminated with bulky spotlights, with the three pyramids of Giza looming in the background. A crowd of several hundred shocktroopers, priests, mathematicians, and engineers swayed and chanted, as they lifted their fiery torches to the heavens. A large cage of vicious looking war dogs was the closest thing to the Knights' position.

Corey let out a low whistle. "Would you look at that."

"Yeah, but no sign of Mobius," Havoc mumbled. "Blazes! Where
is
he? We need to get closer. Everyone lock hands in a circle. Things are going to get dark for a while, but we're going to move forward. Trust me." Havoc closed his eyes and pictured the death of his wife. The terrible pain of seeing a loved one's life snuffed out so quickly due to such a random act of violence brought the sadness and anger in Havoc's heart to his consciousness. A globe of inky blackness covered the Knights.

Within minutes, the Knights had managed to get close to the actual Sphinx itself. Havoc, who was the only one who could see beyond his darkness, guided the Knights with great skill. As they came to a halt, the ground began to tremble as a deafening cheer rose from the assembled throng. Judging that everyone's attention was on the tremors, Havoc released his darkness and sent it back into the depths of his soul.

The sand beside the Sphinx erupted in a great explosion as a huge, gleaming object of metal rose from below. The cheers were bordering on hysterical joy as the creature rose up on four titanic steel paws like a great cat. The Knights gasped in amazement as they realized that they were staring at a steel robot replica of the Great Sphinx. Corey pulled out her minicam and began filming. The robot's eyes gleamed a deep red, and from its mouth a static- filled voice crackled.

"Assembled faithful, the hour has come!"

"Mobius!"
Havoc hissed as a chill passed through the group of Knights.

"No longer shall my forces be deadlocked by the infernal Israelis!" the voice boomed. "With my mighty Robosphinx, fashioned by my genius and some small help from the assembled engineers and mathematicians, and blessed by the priests using every planet possible, I shall smash through the battlefront stalemate and rout the enemy! On to Jerusalem!"

"Jerusalem! Jerusalem!" the crowd screamed.

"That does it. I've heard enough," Havoc mumbled as he strode up to the front paws of the Sphinx, heedless of the gasps of amazement and outrage from the assembled enemies and the pleas of his friends. Hands on hips, cloak billowing heroically, Havoc addressed the Sphinx, ignoring the sounds of dozen of bolts being drawn on dozens of Schmeissers.
"Mobius!
You worm! It is I, Major Havoc!"

"Maj or Havoc," the electronic voice sneered. The great head suddenly lifted up and addressed the gathering. "No one interfere! I shall take care of this Mystery Man myself!" The head spun downward until the huge red eyes focused squarely on the figure of Major Havoc, a good twenty feet down. "So, Havoc! We meet again! This time on another world — a world that shall soon be mine! What I am about to do to you, I shall do to all opposition!"

A panel opened on Robosphinx's back, and a missile shot out of the hole. It roared into the sky, then detonated with a blinding flash, causing streaks of silver to cascade downward as the crowd cheered.

The Knights felt a wave of power wash over them, bringing with it thoughts of Good, Evil, and heroism.

"A reality bomb?" Havoc shouted to Mobius. "Not bad, but is that the best you can do?"