UNHOLY

It was a sunny afternoon in Atlantic City, where Millie and I had travelled in order to spend some time at Tanger Outlets, the large upscale shopping plaza at the centre of town. I was clad in my usual finery, including a frilled poet shirt, purple velvet suit, jungle boots, sunspecs, my Magen David necklace, and of course one of my favourite opera capes.

My companion, known as Miss Millie Drake, is an exceedingly beautiful young lady with luxurious chestnut-hued hair, enchanting violet eyes, and sun-kissed skin. The royal blue mini-dress she wore only served to highlight her slender figure.

“It’s such a nice day, Daniel,” she said. “I think we’re going to enjoy just spending a day shopping for a change!”

“Quite so, my dear Mills,” I agreed. “It will be good to get away from having to constantly save the planet from alien invasions and mad scientists, hmmm?”

Kit-10, our catlike portable personal computer, had stayed back at headquarters for a systems update.

“I want to look at these dresses,” said Millie as we entered one of the clothing establishments. “This pace is supposed to have all the latest retro fashions!”

“I say,” I said. “Hawaiian shirts! I have been pondering adding a few of these to my own wardrobe, hmmm?”

Millie had gone on to the ladies’ department whilst I looked at the colourful shirts in menswear, when I suddenly felt a strange tingling in my Algolitish senses. I glanced to-wards the large plate glass front of the shop and beheld what had triggered this.

At first it seemed like a quite normal scene; a girl with blonde hair and azure eyes, dressed in a pink crop-top and matching miniskirt, was passing by, accompanied by a dark-haired man clad in a grey sports jacket and slacks. However, as they passed I noticed something that precipitated what was going to be an horror indeed. For as the man briefly turned his face to-wards me -- a face with handsome Mediterranean type features -- I noticed his eyes flash with an horrid glow of utter hellish blackness.

“By the Triple Star!” I swore to myself. “He is possessed by a demon!” …

My name is Doctor Daniel Rumanos, and with the magical technology of the legendary Watchers of Algol, I protect Earth from all manner of menace. I am -- The Daemon-Star! …

I hurried out of the store without any delay and headed to-wards the demonically-possessed man and the girl who was with him. They had already passed around the corner to a sort of ramp passage to another section of the plaza.

When I arrived around the corner I saw the girl, but there was no sign of the man.

“Excuse me, young lady,” said I. “My name is Doctor Rumanos. Are you all right and unharmed?”

“Huh?” she said, turning around to face me. “What do you mean?”

The girl was quite pretty and could not have been older than sixteen.

“The man you were with,” I attempted to explain. “Did he touch you? Has he harmed you in any way?”

“No. Why would he do that? His name is Tony and I just met him. I’m Carrie. My mom brought me here today, but I went off to look at some stuff on my own. That guy just said hi and asked if he could walk with me. He seemed nice so I said okay. I don‘t know where he‘s gone now.”

“Did you notice anything strange about him?” I enquired.

“No, not at all,” Carrie replied. “Oh, wait a minute. He did smell kind of funny, but I thought it was some kind of aftershave or something.”

“Ah, brimstone,” I pondered, twiddling my frills. “Of course, the result of the demon‘s trans-dimensional crossing. Carrie, if you see that man again please stay away from him.”

“But why, Doctor? Is he sick or something?”

“Far worse than that, Carrie. He is possessed.”

“Possessed?” she repeated with a look of fear mixed with amusement. “You mean like in those horror movies?”

“Something like that, except that the demons are actually the psychic essences of certain alien beings that filtered down to Earth in ancient times. They now roam around looking for human beings they can possess -- and for others to victimise in other ways.”

By now I had taken the transonic mezuzah from my jacket and used it to scan the area.

“Spires of Daemonia!” I swore upon looking at the resultant readings before returning the instrument to my pocket. “According to the transonic, there is indeed demonic activity in the area, specifically of the type denoting the presence of an incubus!”

“What does that mean, Doctor?” queried the young girl.

“An incubus is a male demon, the female equivalent being a succubus, that victimises people sexually, using this to drain energy from the victim. If one of them has possessed this Tony fellow, it is obviously planning to…”

“Doctor, look out!”

I just barely managed to turn around and see what had so startled Carrie before the energy hit me. It came from the possessed Tony, who had circled around the plaza in order to secretly approach me from behind. He was running to-wards me when he suddenly raised his hands and unleashed an huge surge of black and blue demoniacal energy directly at me.

Whilst I began to sink to the pavement as a result of the unholy blast, I saw the demonically controlled man grab the girl and run away with her at an incredible speed. Soon, as I reeled from the pain I was experiencing, they were lost to my sight!

I fought hard against the agony I was feeling, and sought to banish it from my senses. I thought of that innocent girl in the clutches of that demonically-possessed man and rallied myself. I struggled to my feet and took off in a run to-wards the direction in which I had seen them going.

Around another corner of the shopping complex I beheld them again. Carrie was struggling against the possessed Tony but could not break free of him. I reached into my pocket for the transonic just as Tony noticed that I was following them. He dropped the girl and turned to face me, sending another black and blue bolt of the incubus energy to-wards me. I dodged aside and managed to avoid most of the force of the bolt, which harmlessly hit the pavement, but the shock was enough to send the transonic device flying from my hand. It clattered to the ground several metres distant.

Then I heard the demon speak through the man.

“You cannot exorcise me, Algolite,” it said, its voice a growling otherworldly mockery of human speech. “I am the incubus, and I shall pour my seed into this girl-child of Earth, taking from her the energy of sensual intercourse that I may multiply my powers tenfold, an hundredfold!”

“You shall not succeed, demon,” I countered. “I am Doctor Daniel Rumanos of the Kosmikos of the Watchers. I shall cast you out that you do no further harm to any on this planet.”

With this, the incubus-possessed Tony let out with a laugh -- forsooth a laugh of absolute satanic evil beyond any and all sane reckoning.

“No, Rumanos of Algol,” it said, “you shall do nothing but die!”

With this, the possessed man let forth with a surge of the demonic power beyond even what I had before experienced. It was an huge eldritch swirling mass of black and blue energy accompanied by the odor of brimstone and by a sound like unto the barking and howling of a thousand infernal hounds. It hit me directly and sent me sprawling across the plaza!

My dear friends and most appreciated readers, I am wondering if it is at all possible for you to even begin to comprehend the unhallowed horror, forsooth the extreme unnameable terror of what I was then experiencing, there at the seemingly ordinary location of Tanger Outlets in Atlantic City, New Jersey. There I was -- Doctor Daniel Rumanos -- the only one there to stand against the unhallowed horror of the incubus that planned to ravish innocent young Carrie, the helpless girl who even now swooned in fear at what was happening.

Fortunately, the part of Tanger Outlets in which this part of our narrative occurred was at the moment not too very crowded. I shudder to think what could happen if any hapless Earthling passers-by were to suddenly witness the phantasmal terror of the incubus energy, born as it was by the storage within the demon of countless counts of rape and debauchery.

The demoniacal energy continued to flow at me, as I strove against it with every fibre of my being.

“You cannot win, Algolite!” howled the demon. “I will end your life, and then I will take this child as my plaything!”

Then I noticed something. I had landed on the pavement quite near to the transonic mezuzah. Ignoring the taunts of the incubus, I stretched my hand out and picked it up, then quickly turning to face my opponent.

“Be gone, creature of darkness!” said I, whilst activating a certain function of the device. “I do cast you out in the name of Hashem the God of Israel!”

It was then that I heard the demon scream. It screamed with a long eldritch bay that suggested the calling of an air-raid siren. The black and blue energy swirled all back in Tony’s direction, and I beheld the man shudder and lurch as the demonic force started to leave his body. Then, with a sound like unto the snapping of an eternal cord, all evidence of the presence of the incubus vanished.

Now free of the evil, Tony, after a moment of confusion, ran off to-wards the Ducktown neighbourhood of the city. I let him go. After all, he himself was a victim of the evil and in no way guilty of what it had intended.

I went over and helped the girl to her feet. She was just recovering from her faint and I was glad to see she was unharmed.

“What…” she stammered. “What happened?”

“I pronounced the words of exorcism,” I explained. “This, aided with a certain cabalistic charm setting of my transonic, sent the incubus demon back into the outer darkness of Space, where it can do no further harm.”

The young girl looked rather confused but then smiled.

“I’m glad I met you, Doctor,” she said. “You remind me of the knights in shining armour in that old King Arthur book my dad used to read to me.”

“Well, Carrie,” I replied with a smile, “I actually am a type of…”

“There’s my mom!” she suddenly announced. “I’ve got to go!”

With only a slight wave goodbye, Carrie then ran across the plaza. I looked and saw her meeting up with a smartly-dressed woman who looked somewhat like an older version of herself. They strolled happily off into another section of the outlet mall.

Just then, Millie Drake came up to me with a large shopping bag full of purchases.

“I found some nice new dresses,” she said whilst hugging me. “I hope you’ll like the way I look in them!”

“I am certain I will, love,” I assured her.

“So what have you been up to, Daniel?” said Millie.

“Oh, nothing unusual, my dear,” I replied as we walked on to continue our shopping. “Nothing unusual.”

***** DANIEL RUMANOS AND MILLIE DRAKE SHALL RETURN

ROOM SERVICE

“Daniel, you mean Hercules was real?” wondered Millie Drake. “He really existed?”

“Quite so, my dear Mills,” I replied. “Hercules, or Heracles to give the proper Greek form of his name, was an hybrid -- half human and half Olympianoid, a scion of that immensely powerful alien race that came to Earth in the Bronze Age and became the ‘gods’ of the ancient Greeks and Romans, hmmm?”

“So the mythology about Hercules is actually true then?”

“In some respects, his amazing powers and heroic deeds and legendary journeys are based on reality, just filtered through the beliefs and understandings of the ancient world.”

We were at our headquarters, located as it is within the golden trapezoidal rooftop of a New York skyscraper, and containing our computer equipment as well as a collection of strange artefacts that we have acquired in our storied career as Agents of the Kosmikos, that secret espionage organisation of our people.

I was clad in my usual finery; including a frilled poet shirt, purple velvet suit, jungle boots, and my Star of David necklace. My panama hat and opera cape hung from the near by hallstand.

My companion, Miss Millie Drake, is an exceedingly beautiful young lady; petite and perfect with hair of a rich chestnut hue, enchanting violet eyes, and a sun-kissed complexion. The flowered dress she wore only served to highlight her slender figure.

Also with us was Kit-10, our mobile personal computer that resembles nothing more or less than a small robotic cat. She was currently busy monitoring the systems.

“So the relic that was stolen from the Greek Heritage Museum was actually the Club of Hercules?” Millie enquired.

“It is possible,” I pondered, twiddling my frills. “Our systems are monitoring the entire city, and if any evidence of Olympianoid power shows up, we shall be alerted immediately.”

“So the Club would have gotten some power in it from being used by Hercules himself?”

“”Quite so. His long use of it in his epic exploits would have infused it with certain powers inherited from his Olympianoid ancestry.”

“S--,” suddenly said Kit-10 in her simulated yet pleasantly-feminine voice, “the requested information has been received.”

(It must be noted here that Kit-10, in addition to her other catlike characteristics, is entirely unable to openly show respect to anyone. In fact, the closest she ever comes to it is by referring to me by a slight “s--” sound -- for “sir” -- and Millie by “m--” -- for “ma’am”.)

“Please put it on the main monitor,” I told the electronic feline.

The central computer screen then lit up showing a map of the city with a specific address highlighted.

“By the Triune Star!” I swore. “There is indeed evidence of Olympianoid energy, and it is emanating from the White Way Hotel!”

“We need to get over there right away!” pronounced Millie Drake.

“Indeed so,” I agreed whilst taking my hat and cloak from the stand. “If someone was able to both rob the museum undetected, and to activate the alien energies of the Club of Hercules, then they must be more than human. Come along, my friends, but be vigilant and mindful. This could be an incredibly dangerous mission!” ..

My name is Doctor Daniel Rumanos, and with the magical technology of the legendary Watchers of Algol, I protect Earth from all manner of menace. I am -- The Daemon-Star! …

It was early evening when Millie, Kit-10, and I arrived at the White Way Hotel. After utilising my mentalist abilities to make us unnoticed by the desk clerk, I took the transonic mezuzah from my jacket pocket and activated its scanning abilities as we got on the elevator lift.

“There is indeed evidence of Olympianoid energy,” I said upon reading the resultant information. “It seems to be centred in Suite 718.”

We got off on the seventh floor and carefully made our way to the door of the suite. It was unlocked and opened easily for us.

At first, all looked normal in the luxury hotel suite, but then we noticed a wonder indeed; for resting upon the mantel of the ornate electric fireplace was a large cudgel-like object of petrified wood. Around it were flashes of energy, golden with bits of crimson.

“So is that… ?” stammered Millie Drake.

I pointed the transonic at the strange relic and then read the results.

“It is indeed,” I confirmed. “Readings show it to be many thousands of years old, and the energy is definitely of Olympianoid origin. My friends, -- that is the very Club of Hercules!”

I then changed the setting on the transonic device and briefly pointed it at the suite’s hotel telephone before returning my device to its pocket in my coat.

“Why did you do that, Daniel?” questioned Millie.

“Just a little extra insurance, my dear,” said I. “You see…”

“Danger, s--,” suddenly announced Kit-10. “Danger approaching.”

“Daniel, look!” exclaimed Millie.

I whirled around to see what had startled my companions and  beheld a man entering from the other room of the suite, clad as he was in a black business suit with a blood-red necktie. He appeared to be of middle years, his visage still showing signs of handsome distinction despite being marked with the results of lifetimes of extreme unmitigated evil. His hair was long and dark, and his face decorated with a thin moustache and goatee. Most of all his pale eyes shone with an absolute mesmerising glare.

“Greetings, Rumanos and company,” he said, his tone a mocking sneer. “I have been expecting you. As you see, the Club of Hercules is mine, and no one can stop me from using it to establish my domination over this world. No one, do you hear? Not even you!”

Of course, I knew him only too well. He was the renegade Algolite who has become the most dangerous terrorist in all of Time and Space -- as well as my own most bitter foe.

It was Don Wingus!

“You!” I exclaimed. “Of course. Don Wingus, hmmm? I should have known. So you did escape from Abraxas, and returned to steal the Club of Hercules from the Greek Heritage Museum!”

“Oh of course, you prissy poltroon,” replied the villain. “Unlike you, I have continued to use my Algolite abilities for the one and only purpose worth noting -- total world domination!”

“Wingus, you are utterly mad. You know that you cannot properly command the power of the Olympianoids. It has elements of chaos and can far too easily spiral out of control. Even the so-called ‘Greek gods’ themselves had problems with it. Despite being related to our own Algolitish race, their power was not as deeply dedicated to mindfulness and intellect. The Greek philosophers recognised this, and it was acknowledgement of the problem that eventually led to a cessation of the worship of the ancient deities, in stead leading to…”

“Oh do prattle on, Rumanos. You are a particularly grievous example of what exactly is wrong with the society of Algol. Our people have let their ambitions go to waste for far too long, in stead meddling with philosophy and constant study. But I have now tapped the very power of the Club of Hercules, and shall use its Olympianoid energy to make myself god of all!”

With this, the energies issuing from the relic suddenly increased, flowing out and about Don Wingus as he raised his hands in a gesture of control.

“Kit-10,” I said. “Blast him.”

The robotic cat then fired off several shots of her nose-laser, but it was to no avail. The swirling gold and crimson Olympianoid powers easily deflected the bolts away from Wingus.

“My goodness, Daniel,” Millie said, “he is using the power of the Club of Hercules for defence!”

“Indeed, my dear,” I pondered, “but it is his intended offensive use of it that much more concerns me.”

The Olympianoid powers continued to grow stronger around the criminal Don Wingus, swirling and spinning as a terrifying maelstrom of alien energy.

“I cannot be defeated, Rumanos,” he exulted. “The power is mine, and before I use its force to conquer this planet --  shall use it to destroy you! Rumanos, you and your companions shall now die!!”

Then the energies suddenly burst forwards -- directly to-wards Millie Drake, Kit-10, and me!

Do you even begin to recognise the horror, forsooth to understand the sheer terror of the situation in which my companions and I then found ourselves? Can you comprehend the unnameable dreadfulness of what we were then facing? There we were; the lovely Millie Drake, the robotic Kit-10, and me -- Doctor Daniel Rumanos. There we were, challenged by the unredeemable evil of the notorious Don Wingus. There we were, as he unleashed the full power of the legendary Club of Hercules against us -- the very power he then intended to use in order to establish himself as supreme ruler of the world!!

“You will now die along with your friends, Rumanos!” repeated the terrorist. “You will now die, as the first victims of the Olympianoid power that I have revived! Then nothing will stand in the way of my domination of the planet Earth!”

The energies hit us hard, causing Millie and me to gasp in pain, and the mechanical cat to spin around in circles as her systems overheated.

“Die, Rumanos!” Wingus shouted amidst peals of his utterly mad laughter. “Die! Die! Die!”

Suddenly there was a loud knock on the door. “Room Service!” came a voice from the corridor.

“What in the Six Stars is that?” raged Don Wingus, glaring to-wards the door. “Who dares to interrupt my triumph?!”

“Daniel,” whispered Millie, “the energies are lessening around us.”

“I know, love,” I replied. “Now, Kit-10!”

The robotic feline now shot off another blast of her nose laser directly at Don Wingus, and this one had a result. He stumbled back several paces in pain.

It was then that the swirling maelstrom of golden and crimson Olympianoid energy completely reversed its course, heading back to-wards the wicked Wingus!

“No!” he bellowed as the energies surrounded him. “You cannot do this to me! I am Magister Wingus, the rightful ruler of this world! I am… I am… No! No! NO!!”

Wingus struggled hard, but it was too late for him. The energy from the Club of Hercules soon had enveloped him entirely, and we heard one final roar of outrage from him before the powers suddenly blinked out of this existence -- taking the notorious Don Wingus with them!

I glanced around the room. All was quiet, and the ancient Club sat motionless on the fireplace mantel.

“Are you all right, Mills?” I asked concernedly.

“Yes, I’m okay now,” she assured me. “Are you okay, Daniel?”

“Absolutely, my dear. What about you, Kit-10?”

“My systems are undamaged and now again functioning normally, s--,” replied the mechanical cat.

“Good shooting, by the way.”

“Of course, s--.”

Millie came over and hugged me.

“So that was what you did when you pointed the transonic at the phone!” she said. “You ordered room service!”

“Quite right,” I affirmed, “and everyone knows that they always show up at a time that annoys the guest -- Don Wingus in this case! His distraction gave us a chance to reverse the course of the Olympianoid energy back to-wards him, and it has taken him away into the inter-dimensional ‘Tartarus’ that is the place of punishment for all who oppose the ancient ‘deities’.”

“But what about the Club?” queried Millie.

I used the transonic to scan the ancient relic before again returning my device to its pocket.

“It appears all of this has drained the last of the energies from the Club of Hercules,” I explained. “It will be safe to return it to the museum.”

There was then a repeat of the knock at the door.

“Well, now that everything is cleared up,” I mused whilst going to answer the door, “we might as well stay and enjoy the dinner I ordered, hmmm? Fortunately, this hotel has some excellent kosher choices.”

“For sure, Daniel!” cheered Millie as the hotel attendant brought in our meal. “That sounds delicious!”

***** DANIEL RUMANOS AND MILLIE DRAKE SHALL RETURN

SUGAR ME

Within the golden trapezoidal rooftop of a certain downtown New York City skyscraper is found our secret headquarters, filled as it is with electronic equipment and numerous artefacts that we have collected during our storied career as Operatives of the Kosmikos and investigators of the unknown.

“The information should be coming in soon,” I said. “The computer is currently searching for the location of the energy reading we detected.”

I was clad in my usual finery; including a frilled poet shirt, purple velvet suit, jungle boots, and Magen David necklace. My panama hat and opera cape hung from a near by hallstand.

My companion, known as Miss Millie Drake, is an exceedingly beautiful young lady; petite and perfect with luxurious chestnut hair, enchanting violet eyes, and sun kissed skin. The purple dress she wore only served to highlight her slender figure.

Also with us was Kit-10, our mobile personal computer that resembles a small mechanical cat.

“So Daniel, what did you say the  energy reading was?” enquired Millie.

“It is difficult to countenance,” I admitted, “but the reading seems to indicate… Abraxas energy! Interestingly, a two-thousand year old relic talisman of Abraxas was recently stolen from the Metropolitan Museum of Art, hmmm? A guard was stabbed to death in the process, and the security cameras were interfered with in a way that erased any footage that could have helped to identify the thief or thieves.”

“That’s terrible! Wasn’t Abraxas something worshipped as a god by the Gnostics?”

“Quite so. That second century heresy blasphemously considered Abraxas to be the most powerful being in existence. In reality, Emperor Abraxas the Great was a warlord from Galaxy 242. Having run out of new worlds to conquer, he used the combined mind-power of his myriad subjects in order to project himself across the Cosmos. He ended up here in the Milky Way Galaxy, soon finding his way to Earth in a time ages before the existence of the human race. The act of projection had sent him mad, and he was soon captured by the Gargouillios of Mu, who put the tyrant in perpetual slumber in one of their inter-dimensional prisons. There he remains, despite the attempts of the Gnostics and that of a few other cults to awaken him and bring him back to this reality.”

“So the energy means that someone is trying again?”

“Indeed so, my dear Mills. Abraxas energy is the combined mental power of the ancient inhabitants of Galaxy 242, being brought forth to pave the way for the return of the great conqueror himself, who waits in sleep for a chance to subjugate Earth and countless other worlds. Ah, here it is!”

I looked at the main computer screen to see what the system had located concerning the location of the energies.

“By the Eternal Spires!” I swore. “The Abraxas energy is emanating from the location of the former factory of the Sugar Me Sweets company. The building is abandoned now, since the firm moved to a larger facility in suburban Connecticut, hmmm?”

“We need to get over there right away!” announced Millie Drake.

“Quite so,” I agreed whilst fetching my hat and cloak. “Kit-10 had better stay here. Her systems still have not fully recovered from our gothic nightclub assignment. As for us, my dear Millie, we must face whatever insane individual or group which, after committing that outrage at the museum, is now attempting to bring back Emperor Abraxas!” …

At that same time, in the aforementioned former location of the Sugar Me Sweets corporation, two figures stood behind a table in a darkened room. On the table was an old pewter talisman about three inches in diameter, on which was carved an image like unto a grotesque gamecock. Wisps of black light played around the ancient relic.

One of the two appeared to be a man of middle years, clad in a black business suit with a blood-red necktie. His face still showed signs of handsome distinction despite being marred with the results of lifetimes of unspeakable iniquity; his hair was long and dark, and his visage decorated with a thin moustache and goatee. Most of all, his pale eyes shone with an absolute hypnotic glare.

Next to him was an insanely voluptuous young brunette with luminous blue-green eyes and a mouth painted like an inviting scarlet gash She was clad only in a tiny red bikini.

“It is the time, Anastasia,” said the man, his voice tinged with unholy evil as the dark powers began to swirl around him. “I have the Talisman of Abraxas, and the mental energies of the ancient inhabitants of Galaxy 242 are at my command. Soon, I shall bring forth the old Emperor Abraxas himself and subjugate even him to my superior Algolite will. I shall use him as my super-soldier in order to subjugate this planet, then we shall go on to other worlds and conquer all!”

“But, father,” replied the girl, “won’t Doctor Rumanos try to stop you again?”

“I do not want to hear anymore about that meddling flamboyant poltroon Rumanos! He will not be able to stand against the Abraxas power that I have enhanced with my own masterful will. No one can stand against me; and I -- Magister Don Wingus -- shall very soon take my rightful place as ruler of countless worlds!” …

Night had fallen when Millie Drake and I arrived at the old Sugar Me Sweets building in my specially-modified canary-coloured Edwardian roadster (affectionately known  as “Lizzie”). We parked the car and entered the abandoned building, dimly lit as it was only by the street lights shining through its dusty cobwebbed windows.

We had only been exploring the building’s corridors for a short time when a thing of horror happened.

“Gosh, Daniel!” cried Millie. “Look!”

I gazed upwards to see what had so alarmed my dear companion and beheld a thing of utter madness. It was a swirling ebony cloud of evil floating several metres above the floor -- and it was heading directly to-wards us!

“By the Triple Star!” I swore. “That is a manifestation of the mental powers that first brought Emperor Abraxas to Earth. It is the combined force of the minds of the inhabitants of Galaxy 242!”

As the swirling black terror approached us and Millie clung to me in fear, we heard that it was accompanied by a sound, forsooth a noise like unto a darksome buzzing and chirping and clicking and growling and barking and howling that all together made a definite reverberation -- a chant of the name of the very ancient conqueror himself:

“Abraxas! Abraxas! Abraxas!”

Then, as soon as it had appeared, the hovering horror vanished.

“Daniel, where did it go?” queried Millie.

“It was only an echo of the true terror we shall have to face,” I pondered, twiddling my frills. “It dissipated after appearing to us as a warning.”

We continued on through the old factory building, eventually coming to a large room in which was what we sought; for here we beheld a table on which was the missing Talisman of Abraxas, and behind which were two figures -- a man in a dark business suit and a barely-clothed girl.

Of course, I recognised them immediately. The man I recognised as my oldest and bitterest enemy, the renegade Algolite who has become the most wanted criminal in all of Time and Space.

“Greetings, Rumanos and Miss Drake,” he mocked. “We have been expecting you.”

“Don Wingus!” I said his name. “I should have known. So you did escape from the Cocoanuts, and it was you that purloined the Abraxas talisman from the museum -- murdering a guard in the process!”

“Oh, my little cutie here took care of that bit,” he grinned, touching his daughter inappropriately on her buttocks. “She has become quite adept with the knife.”

“Yes,” I said, “I recognised your daughter Stacy as soon as I saw her whorish self, hmmm?”

“She is useful to me in many ways, and will be by my side when I call forth Emperor Abraxas the Great and use him in my conquest of worlds!”

“Wingus, not only are you utterly mad yourself, but you also have fewer scruples than a German pornographer. Even if you succeed in bending Abraxas to your Algolite will, the powers you have summoned here are immensely dangerous. You cannot assure keeping them in your control.”

“You are so very wrong in that, Rumanos. The Galaxy 242 mind-power energy is already completely under my command -- as I shall now demonstrate!”

With this, the black energy already swirling around Don Wingus suddenly shot forth to-wards Millie Drake and me; a blast of dark mystical power that hit us like unto a rush of absolute terror.

“Do you feel it now, Rumanos?” exulted the hideous intergalactic terrorist Don Wingus. “Feel the power of the Abraxas energy as it destroys your very existence! Then I shall use it further to bring forth the ancient galactic conqueror himself -- that he may aid me in becoming ruler of scores of worlds!!”

I must wonder, dear readers, if you have the ability to even commence in comprehending the sheer horror, forsooth the complete and utter terror of what we were then experiencing. There we were, the lovely Miss Millie Drake and me -- Doctor Daniel Rumanos of Algol. There we were, facing the evil Magister Don Wingus and his horrid daughter Anastasia. There we were, being attacked by the power of the combined minds of countless inhabitants of the 242 Galaxy, energy that the wicked Wingus intended to use to bring back the insane Emperor Abraxas the Great -- whom he himself could then use as an alien super-soldier in his own bid to conquer Earth and myriads of other planets!

“You will now die, Rumanos and Miss Drake!” repeated Wingus amongst peals of his utterly insane laughter. “You will now die as a demonstration of the powers I wield through the Abraxas energy -- powers I shall soon utilise to bring forth the ancient conqueror himself, that he may aid me in becoming supreme ruler of countless worlds!”

The awful power of the alien energy was having a supremely detrimental effect on Millie and me. We saw phantasmal forms around us; the ghostly images of the ancient inhabitants of Galaxy 242 -- creatures like unto intelligent arachnids and octopi and centipedes and other eldritch horrors. We felt ourselves weakening into a state that would soon cause us to fall into unconsciousness -- or worse.

All the while, we heard the demonic chant:

"Abraxas! Abraxas! Abraxas!"

Then suddenly I in stead heard the voice of Anastasia Wingus.

“Father, no!” she pleaded. “Don’t do this to Doctor Rumanos! You can kill Miss Drake if you want, but please leave him for me! I want him! Please let him live so I can have him, father! Please?!”

“Stacy, you low-down hoochie-koocher!” roared Don Wingus in anger whilst slapping his daughter across the face. “Your sickening obsession with that closeted flamer Daniel Rumanos has got to stop, do you hear me?! I shall no longer tolerate it!!”

Millie and I then noticed something. The darkling energies were no longer hitting us with any force. I managed to step forwards and deliver a kung fu kick to Don Wingus, hitting him directly in his midsection and sending him sprawling.

With this, a curious thing occurred. The Abraxas energy that had previously been sent against us then turned itself on Don Wingus, surrounding him and this daughter and, within a few seconds, completely immobilising them.

“No!” bellowed Don Wingus in sudden terror. “No! You cannot do this to me! I am Magister Don Wingus, the rightful ruler of worlds! You cannot… ! No! No! Noooooooo!!”

Then, the entire force of energy vanished, taking Don Wingus and his daughter with it.

I looked around the room. All was quiet and the horrors had gone.

“Are you all right, Millie?” I enquired.

“Yes, I’m okay now,” she replied. “Are you?”

“I am fine, love. It appears the energy has had no lasting ill effects on us.”

“But what happened?”

“When Wingus was distracted,” I explained, “he lost his control in focusing the energy on us. It immediately recoiled against him and, due to a sort of snapback effect, has taken him and Stacy out of this reality, forsooth into one of the ancient intergalactic prisons of the Gargouillios, where they will be held forever in complete isolation from all other beings.”

“So what about the Abraxas Talisman?” Millie asked.

I carefully examined the old relic before securing it in my jacket pocket.

“Interesting,” I pondered. “The ancient artefact has been completely drained of energy, and can be safely returned to the museum, hmmm? The final link of Emperor Abraxas to this Universe has been severed, and the galaxies are free of his tyranny forever!”

***** DANIEL RUMANOS AND MILLIE DRAKE SHALL RETURN

PAPARAZZI

“The NY9 Club,” said I. “So called due to its address number. It used to just be what is known as a ‘dive bar’, but recently has taken to hosting these ‘Goth Night’ events, hmmm?”

“And this is where our equipment at headquarters detected the strange energy emissions?” enquired Millie Drake.

“Quite so,” I replied. “Energy that was elusive in its identity, hence us coming here tonight to investigate in person!”

I was clad in my usual finery as we approached the nightclub on that city street; including a frilled poet shirt, purple velvet suit, jungle boots, panama hat, and one of my favourite opera capes. My Star of David necklace glittered under the street lamps.

My companion, Miss Millie Drake, is an exceedingly beautiful young lady; petite and perfect with hair of a rich chestnut hue, enchanting violet eyes, and a sun-kissed complexion. Her bright orange dress only served to highlight her slender figure.

Also with us was Kit-10, our mobile personal computer that resembles nothing more or less than a small mechanical cat.

“So, Daniel,” said Millie, “what do we know about who runs this ‘Goth Club’ thing?”

“Kit-10,” I said, “what information do you have in your database about the owner of the NY9 Club Goth Night?”

“Accessing, s--,” replied the robotic feline in her simulated yet pleasantly-feminine voice. “The owner is known by the name ‘Natasha DuNoir’. Twenty-five years of age. Also a vocalist in an obscure rock music band called ‘Cemetery Sex’. Known for her fetishes involving gothic fashion and popular occultism.”

(It should be noted here that Kit-10, as one of her catlike characteristics, is completely unable to openly show respect to anyone. In fact, the closest she ever comes to it is by addressing me with a slight “s--” sound -- for “sir” -- and Millie by “m--” -- for ma’am”.)

“Well, that sounds disgusting,” shuddered Millie Drake in response to Kit-10’s description of Natasha DuNoir.

“Quite so, my dear Mills,” I agreed. “Quite so. Necrophilia and bad dress sense, hmmm? Then on top of that this DuNoir person has somehow managed to get an attachment of some kind of elusive dark energy. It appears we are here not a moment too soon.” …

Little did my companions and I know, as we approached the club, that we were being watched from a near by car, nondescript as the older model vehicle was. The man watching us was also rather nondescript; forty years of age, with sandy hair and common features, wearing a grey sweatshirt and tan slacks. His name was Johnny Molin, and the digital camera he wore on a cord about his neck marked him as a member of the paparazzi, those freelance photographers known to follow celebrities and public figures, hoping to capture some moment of scandal that they can sell to the tabloid news media.

“Holy crap!” he exclaimed as he watched us entering the NY9 Club. “It’s that Doctor Rumanos character! I thought I might get something interesting if I hung around this ‘gothic rock night’ bull, but this is great! They say he’s involved in the paranormal or satanic cults or somethin’ like that! He has that girl with him too that used to be an actress! I’ve hit the friggin’ jackpot!” …

My name is Doctor Daniel Rumanos. With the heritage of the legendary Watchers of Algol, whose technology appears as magic, I protect Earth from all manner of menace. I am -- The Daemon-Star! …

Millie, Kit-10, and I entered the NY9 Club, my superior mentalist abilities making the big door bouncer ignore us. We continued onwards to investigate the establishment.

It was a fairly small club, decorated as one would expect for the “Goth Night”, with rubber bats and dark lighting. There were a few drunken patrons dancing badly to the synthesised music.

“Daniel,” said Millie, “look at that.”

I looked over to what my friend had indicated and beheld an horror. Amongst the lighting of the nightclub I beheld the presence of swirling dark strips of ebon energy, drifting about the establishment.

“By the Triple Star!” I swore. “Kit-10, can you analyse the nature of that energy?”

“Accessing, s--,” replied the robot. “Energy field is identified as belonging to a type known to emanate from an ancient order of being, one of the types commonly referred to as 'elementals’, that once existed in the area of West Africa. It is remembered by religious legends of the area by the name ‘Juju’.”

“Oh my goodness!” exclaimed Millie. “The Black Juju! We encountered their powers before!”

“Yes,” I remembered, “and were only able to defeat it by use of an ancient Hebrew prayer. In order for even that to be effective here, we shall have to find out who is channelling the Juju powers. It is most likely a case of possession, and…”

“Danger detected, s--” suddenly interrupted Kit-10. “Danger.”

“Daniel!” cried Millie Drake. “Oh my goodness!”

I whirled around to see what had so startled my companions. The Juju energy had suddenly coalesced into an huge mass, a black pulsating horror that hovered several metres above the floor -- and which was heading directly for us!

Then, as soon as it appeared, the darksome power vanished.

“What happened, Daniel?” asked Millie Drake.

“It was simply an outward show of bravado by the Juju,” I pondered. “When the Juju power manifests here at its full intensity, it will be far beyond that!”

Then, from the backroom of the club, a woman came forth, clad in ebony-coloured “Goth” attire from head to toe. Her face was animalistic and smeared with grotesque makeup, and her hair hung in greasy braids from her horrid head.

“Hello, Doctor Rumanos and friends,” she sneered. “I am Natasha DuNoir. It’s no surprise seeing you here. I’ve been told in the occult underground about your meddling and interference in our scene. That ends tonight, Doctor. The power at my command is beyond anything you can exorcise!”

At this pronouncement, and before we could even react to her presence, the Juju powers suddenly came forth in earnest, all around Natasha DuNoir and growing greatly in intensity. …

By now, the paparazzi known as Johnny Molin had entered and was arguing with the bouncer.

“No, I need to see some ID,” said the big door man. “I don’t care how old you look, sir, it’s the rules here.”

“Oh for chrissakes,” swore Molin, hunting in his pocket for his wallet. “Okay, here it is.”

The bouncer glanced at Johnny Molin’s state-issued driving licence and then motioned him in, warning him not to bother the other customers with his camera. …

“My power is supreme!” continued the sickening Natasha DuNoir. “It’s power I will use to make myself queen of the world!”

“That is ridiculous, DuNoir,” I countered. “The energy within you, which you have undoubtedly invoked and enhanced with some type of indecent sexual rite, is known as the Juju and…”

“I won’t listen to any of your elitist talk, Doctor Jew!” screeched the repugnant woman. “My power is something you want to steal, just like you people steal everything! But you will now learn, as I use this power to destroy you!”

It was then that the odious Natasha DuNoir released the full force of the enhanced Juju power upon us. It came at us like a searing wave of horror that threatened to undo our very being.

“It’s too late for you now, Doctor!” DuNoir added. “You and your friends are done, and I will be queen of this world!!”

Do you understand the very depths of utter and complete horror in which we found ourselves, there at the NY9 Club Goth Night? There we were, the lovely Miss Millie Drake, the robotic Kit-10, and me -- Doctor Daniel Rumanos, alien secret agent and Knight of the Eternal Spires. There we were, facing the completely insane and Juju-possessed woman known to eternal shame as Natasha DuNoir. There we were, as she unleashed the full force of the occult power within her -- the same darksome energy she intended using in her bid to make herself ruler of the human race!

“You will now die by the powers I have!” she repeated in utter madness. “You will be dead, and I will be free to become queen of the world!”

The Juju power had by now completely surrounded Millie, Kit-10, and me, its darkling energies causing us confusion and pain as they swirled in an ebony maelstrom of savage occult terror.

“Daniel,” said Millie, “I don’t think I can fight it much longer. It’s just... so terrible... the things it puts in my mind!”

“I know, Millie,” I replied, “but we must resist. We must fight off the Juju power and resist so we can save the world from this horrible creature known as Natasha DuNoir!”

I heard the sickening DuNoir still cackling insanely. “You cannot beat me, Doctor Rumanos! I'm going to show that I’m better than you! I already have this club and my band, and soon I'll have this planet too!!”

By now the occult power had almost brought Millie and me to our knees, and even Kit-10 was literally spinning in circles, her circuitry confused by the dark energies.

Then something exceedingly bizarre occurred. The would-be celebrity photographer known as Johnny Molin had made it over to our location. He raised his camera and started snapping off shots, each accompanied by a blinding flash of light.

“Oh yeah!” exclaimed Molin. “This is even better than I expected! I can see the headlines now! ‘Satanism and Black Magic at NYC Nightclub’! They’ll pay me a fortune for these shots!”

At this, Natasha DuNoir turned away from us and looked at Johnny Molin with disdain on her bestial face. At the same time, I noticed that the Juju energy was lessening in its attack on us.

“Kit-10!” I called. “Blast her!”

The robotic cat, recovering from her system problems, then fired a shot of her nose-laser directly at Natasha DuNoir, hitting the loathsome woman directly in her midsection. She staggered back several paces and looked back in fear at the Juju powers.

“Baruch Hashem,” I prayed, taking Millie‘s hand. “Baruch Hashem.”

With this, the full power of the Juju reversed its course and headed directly to-wards Natasha DuNoir. Within moments, it had completely surrounded the darksome female, enveloping her in its embrace of eldritch horror beyond all endurance. We heard her give one long scream of terror and pain before she then simply vanished along with the energies.

I looked around. There was no sign of the Juju power, and the nauseating Natasha DuNoir was also no more. Johnny Molin had left the club, unharmed and happy with his photography.

“Are you all right, Millie?”I enquired concernedly.

“Yes, I’m okay now,” she assured me. “What happened?”

“The flashbulb going off distracted Natasha DuNoir,” I explained, “causing her to lose her control over the Juju. It naturally turned upon her -- with a little help from my prayer -- and the resultant clash has taken her with the Juju into another realm of reality, where she can do no more harm.”

“Well, that’s good!” cheered Millie. “She was a repulsive person anyway.”

“Quite so,” I agreed wholeheartedly. “Quite so, indeed. My friends, our work here is finished. Fortunately, the club’s rather intoxicated patrons seem to have barely noticed the melee. I will speak to Commissioner Hurley at the NYPD about having the place condemned. As for us, we can stop and pick up some deli before returning to headquarters. Good shooting, by the way, Kit-10.”

“Of course, s--,” replied the little robot.

“But what about that photographer guy?” Millie questioned.

“Oh, the paparazzi type?” I mused. “Worry not about him. The very nature of the energy projected by the Juju will cause his camera to have malfunctioned, hmmm? The photos will not turn out, and there will be no tabloid expose to frighten the public. It will be like my old friend, Captain GM Spaulding the African Explorer, told me about when he took some pictures of the native girls.”

“What about them?” queried Millie as she, Kit-10, and I exited the nightclub.

“They were not developed,” I replied.

***** DANIEL RUMANOS AND MILLIE DRAKE SHALL RETURN

THE COCOANUTS

“The Cocoanuts Resort Hotel,” said I whilst my companion and I explored the corridors. “It, along with the adjoining golf course and tennis courts, was built in 1929 as part of the Florida land boom.”

“And this is where the strange energy readings were detected as coming from?” asked Millie Drake.

“Quite so,” I affirmed; “the energy readings matching those that would emit from the old relic stolen from the wealthy businessman Julius Mardocheus in near by Palm Beach, hmmm? The energy from the artefact known as the Ancile!”

I was clad in my usual finery, including a frilled poet shirt, purple velvet suit, jungle boots, panama hat, and one of my favourite opera capes. My Magen David pendent hung from its chain around my neck.

My companion, known as Miss Millie Drake, is an exceedingly beautiful young lady; petite and perfect with luxurious chestnut hair, enchanting violet eyes, and a sun-kissed complexion. The powder blue dress she wore only served to highlight her slender figure.

We had arrived in the Palm Beach International Airport on our private jet plane in order to investigate the theft of the Ancile. Our instruments had quickly detected a strange energy emission coming from the Cocoanuts and we had gone there immediately, checking in as guests in order to conceal our undercover mission. It was now late at night, and the hotel corridors were mostly quiet as we delved into the mystery.

Kit-10, our catlike robot friend, had stayed behind to finish overseeing some electronic upgrades to our New York City headquarters.

“So, Daniel,” said Millie, “the ‘Ancile’ is actually something from ancient Rome?”

“So it appears, my dear,” I confirmed. “The Ancile is a shield said to have fallen from the heavens during the reign of King Numa. It became a symbol of the Roman power for many generations, until it was lost during the barbarian invasions.”

“So this artefact that Mr. Mardocheus had in his collection may be it?”

“It is just possible, especially now that we see these energy emissions that are exactly of the type that the actual Ancile would generate; it being a relic of the technology of the Olympianoids, that immensely powerful alien race -- related to our own Algolite people -- that visited Earth during the Bronze Age and became the ‘gods‘ of the ancient Greeks and Romans.”

I took the transonic mezuzah, an highly advanced scientific instrument, from the pocket of my jacket and used it to scan the area.

“By the Daemonian Spires!” I swore upon reading the resultant information from the device. “The Olympianoid energy reading seems to be coming from a secret cellar beneath the hotel!”

“Why would it be secret, Daniel?” enquired Millie.

“Such buildings in this area do not generally have basements or cellars, hmmm?” I explained. “They would too often get flooded.”

“We need to get down there right away!” announced my companion.

“Quite so, my dear Mills,” I agreed, returning the transonic to my pocket. “Nevertheless, do show caution. Whomever could so deftly steal this relic, overriding the security system at Julius Mardocheus’s estate, and then manage to activate the ancient powers of the Ancile must be someone of quite an advanced level of both technical knowledge and psychic ability. Despite its rather posh resort location, this is turning out to be a dangerous mission, indeed!” …

My name is Doctor Daniel Rumanos. With the heritage of the legendary Watchers of Algol, whose technology appears as magic, I protect Earth from all manner of menace. I am -- The Daemon-Star! …

Millie Drake and I found our way to the hotel’s ground floor and searched for an entrance to the secret cellar. We located it soon enough, behind an old full-length framed photo portrait of President Herbert Hoover, who had stayed at the hotel in its early days. We carefully pulled back the picture and opened the creaking doorway it had so long obscured.

As we entered the musty corridor this revealed, we noticed it was lit by a series of sconces containing candles; this, along with footprints on the dusty floor denoting that the area had recently been entered by someone.

“Daniel,” said Millie, “look at that.”

I looked upwards and beheld what the young lady was indicating. In the air before us were flashes of a strange blood-red radiance that seemed to dance a challenge at our approach.

“Olympianoid energy,” I informed. “We are indeed near the location of the Ancile.”

We went on, and soon found that which we sought. On an old table was the ancient ornate shield known as the Ancile, hoary with age but still commanding of aspect. Behind the table stood two figures, one male and one female.

The man appeared to be of middle years, dressed in a black silk suit with a long red necktie. His face showed signs of handsome distinction despite being marred with the results of lifetimes of extreme and unhallowed evil. His hair was long and dark, and his countenance decorated with a thin moustache and goatee. Most of all, his pale eyes shone with an absolute hypnotic glare.

Beside him behind the table was an insanely voluptuous young girl with raven hair, pale skin, luminous blue-green eyes, and a mouth painted like unto an inviting scarlet gash. She was completely nude.

Of course, I recognised them immediately. I recognised the man as my oldest and most dangerous enemy -- the renegade Algoloite who has become the most wanted criminal in all of Creation -- and the girl as his whorish offspring.

It was Don Wingus and his daughter!

“You!” I exclaimed. “Of course. Don Wingus. I should have known. So you did escape from the Moon, and reunited with your daughter Anastasia to purloin the Ancile from the estate of Mr. Julius Mardocheus.”

“Oh of course, Rumanos, you old meddler,” he countered, his voice tinged with utter madness. “We have been expecting you and your little assistant. Your interference will accomplish nothing, for I have already used my Algolitish mental powers to activate the Olympianoid energy stored within the Ancile. These energies are at my command, and I shall use them to establish a domain over this world even greater than the Rome of yore -- a realm where I will be honoured not simply as a king or even an emperor -- but as the very deity as which I deserve to be known. I -- Magister Don Wingus -- will now be known to the entire human race as a god!”

“Wingus, you are as utterly mad as you are blasphemous,” I charged. “You cannot control the power from the Ancile. Even the Olympianoids had problems with the powers evoked by their technology. Now it is ancient and unreliable, its methods of utilisation having remained dormant for all these many millennia and thus becoming corrupt, yet of immense force that make it beyond any known danger.”

“You are wrong, Rumanos!” countered the criminal whilst the red energies began to grow around him. “You are wrong, and I shall now demonstrate my expertise in wielding the very force of the Olympianoids that I have activated from the Ancile; the force that I shall use to conquer this world -- and the force that I shall first use to destroy you!!”

With this, the blood-red power suddenly burst forwards directly at Millie Drake and me, hitting us hard with a power far more than any physical force. It was a power that seemed to sear into the very essence of our souls.

“Feel the power of the Ancile!” exulted the evil Don Wingus. “Feel the power! Feel it as it destroys your existence and takes you and your meddling ways out of all reality! Feel the power that will now bring your death!”

Do you, my most appreciated readers, even begin to recognise and understand the utter and complete horror, forsooth the most unholy terror of what we were then experiencing? There we were, the lovely Millie Drake and me -- Doctor Daniel Rumanos, Knight of the Eternal Spires. There we were, in that dark secret cellar underneath the Florida hotel known as the Cocoanuts, facing the interstellar criminal known as Magister Don Wingus and his dangerously-seductive daughter Anastasia. There we were, as Wingus fully released the power of the ancient Roman relic known as the Ancile upon us -- power that he intended to utilise to bring about our destruction before going on to employ it in his planned conquest of the world!

“You will now die, Rumanos and Miss Drake!” repeated the maniacal Wingus. “You will now die, and I shall go on to conquer this very planet! I shall go on, with the power of the Ancile, to bend all to my will and to make myself the god of this world!”

The Olympianoid energy that Wingus had pulled from the Ancile continued to pummel Millie Drake and me. It caused extreme pain -- in sooth a pain not only physical but one that indeed seemed to reach inwards to the deepest parts of our very being.

“Fight it, Millie,” I counselled. “Resist the power with the virtue of our most noble aspect. Fight it with thoughts of all that is good and pure and true.”

“I’m trying, Daniel,” she gasped. “But the power has been so corrupted, it…”

By now, both Millie and I were near unconsciousness from the barrage of pain brought upon by the Olympianoid energy, coupled with the effects of our own attempt to fight it. I felt myself slipping into what I knew would be sensual oblivion.

Then, just before consciousness left us, from within the swirling maelstrom of the corrupted Ancile energy, Millie and I heard the voice of Anastasia Wingus.

“Please, father, no!” she pleaded. “Please don’t kill Doctor Rumanos! I’ve already told you how much I want him. Can’t you let him live so I can have him as mine when you are god of this world? Please, father? Please do that for me! Please?!”

“Stacy, you shameless skirt!” bellowed Don Wingus in anger whilst slapping his daughter hard across the mouth. “I am so utterly sick and tired of your ridiculous crush on Daniel gods-damned Rumanos! I will not tolerate it anymore! Do you hear me, you little bitch? Do you hear me?!”

“Daniel,” said Millie Drake, “can you feel that? The energy assault is lessening.”

“Indeed so,” I replied. “Wingus’s control over it has been weakened by his distraction, hmmm?”

I then managed to step forwards and deliver a blow of my fist directly to the face of the evil Don Wingus, sending him hurtling to the floor.

“Stand clear, Millie!” I directed, “Stay away from the energies and watch what happens.”

We hurried away from the centre of the maelstrom and, within moments, the swirling Olympianoid power had completely changed it focus, surrounding Don Wingus and his daughter.

“No!” shouted Don Wingus in outrage and sudden fear. “No! You cannot do this to me! I am Don Wingus, the rightful god of this world! You cannot… ! No! Noooooooo!!”

Then the blood-red energies just blinked out of existence, taking the two villains with it.

“Well, that is the end of that, hmmm?” I mused. “Are you all right, Millie?”

“Yes, I’m okay now,” she replied, “but what happened to them?”

“The power of the Ancile has performed one final wonder in defence of the Roman legacy,” I explained. “It quite naturally turned on the ones who had attempted to misuse it, and has taken Wingus and Anastasia away to the very Tartarus of mythology -- the inter-dimensional prison where the enemies of the Olympianoids are imprisoned and punished forever.”

“But what about the old shield itself?” queried Millie.

I took the transonic device out of my jacket and utilised it to scan the ancient artefact, then looking at the resultant readings.

“The last of the residual energy has been drained from the Ancile,” I announced whilst returning the transonic mezuzah to my jacket pocket. “I shall telephone Mr. Mardocheus immediately as he requested, and inform him that the relic can now be safely returned to his antique collection. Then, you and I can avail ourselves of the Cocoanuts Resort Hotel’s breakfast buffet before jetting off back to New York, hmmm?”

***** DANIEL RUMANOS AND MILLIE DRAKE SHALL RETURN

MASTER OF THE MOON

Of the inhabitants of the Moon little is known to Earthling science. This is due to the said inhabitants of Earth’s natural satellite being rather reclusive beings, living as they do in a system of caves and tunnels within the Moon, which contain pockets of enough air for organic beings to survive.

Of these species of Moon creatures there are three, each of unique origin. The first are a humanoid species known as Moonites. Shrunken and dwarfish, they feed on an energy source found near the very centre of the satellite.

The second are known as Selenites, and are an intelligent insect species related to the better-known insectoid inhabitants of the planet Mars.

The third, known by the name of Lunarians (it should be noted that the names of the three species have often been confused), are the most mysterious of all. They are a type of semi-corporeal being, somewhat human of shape but a glistening silver of hue. Having developed advanced science, including Space travel, they nevertheless maintain their reclusive ways, at least for the most part.

There have been incidents, profoundly rare and little reported as they are, of some certain adolescent members of the Lunarian race drifting down to Earth and interacting with humankind. This is a rather dangerous thing, and humans should be thankful of its rarity, since the Lunarians possess rather highly developed psychic or mentalist abilities, and even their youngest offspring can easily detect the thoughts of Earthlings.

The mental powers of these young Lunarians, coupled with the naiveté of their youth, would also make them ripe for exploitation by any being advanced enough and yet at the same time unscrupulous enough to attempt such a thing. Fortunately for the safety and sanity of those upon Earth and other worlds, there are few beings in existence who would envisage such an horrid agenda, while at the same time having the ability to possibly carry out such a crime

In fact, I only know of one such incident in all of history. …

My name is Doctor Daniel Rumanos. With the heritage of the legendary Watchers of Algol, whose technology appears as magic, I protect Earth from all manner of menace. I am -- The Daemon-Star! …

The Full Moon shone down its argent leprous light over the fields just outside the town of Tuxedo, New York, as we arrived. I was driving my specially-modified canary-coloured Edwardian roadster, affectionately known as “Lizzie”. I parked the car at the centre of the grassy field and my companion and I got out.

I was clad in my usual finery, including a frilled poet shirt, purple velvet suit, jungle boots, panama hat, my Star of David necklace, and one of my favourite opera capes.

My companion, known as Miss Millie Drake, is an exceedingly beautiful young lady; petite and perfect with luxurious chestnut hair, enchanting violet eyes, and a sun-kissed complexion. The pink dress she wore only served to highlight her slender figure.

Our catlike personal computer, the robotic Kit-10, had stayed behind at headquarters to finish some electronic filing tasks.

“So this is where our systems at HQ detected the presence of Lunarians?” queried Millie.

“Quite so,” I affirmed as we investigated the field area. “You remember the last time we encountered them, of course. It turned out to just be some young ones out for a joyride in the family spaceship, hmmm?”

“Do you think that’s what it is this time, Daniel?”

“More than likely, my dear Mills. There is no other likely reason why Lunarians would visit Earth. They are far too reclusive. Nevertheless, we must investigate for safety’s sake.”

I took the transonic mezuzah from my pocket and used it to scan the area.

“By the Triune Star!” I swore. “That is quite odd. My scan indeed shows the presence of numerous Lunarians, but they are intentionally hiding themselves.”

“Why would they do that?” my companion enquired.

I changed the setting on the transonic and pointed to-wards the Moon for a moment before returning the device to my pocket. “For no good reason that I can think of. It is as if…”

“Daniel, look!” cried Millie.

I looked around to see what had so startled the young lady and beheld some weirdness indeed. Suddenly surrounding us were at least a score or so silvery shapes, slim and vaguely humanoid of form, shimmering all around us in the darkness of the night.

“Lunarians,” I confirmed, “and they are not alone. Look over there!”

Approaching us through the group of iridescent Lunarians was a man clad in a black silk business suit with a long blood-red necktie. He appeared to be of middle years, his face still handsome and distinctive despite bearing the marks of lifetimes of extreme unmitigated evil. His hair was long and dark, and his visage decorated with a thin moustache and goatee. Most of all, his pale eyes shone with an absolute hypnotic glare.

Of course, I recognised him immediately; I recognised him as my own oldest and most bitter foe, the interstellar criminal renegade of my own Algolite race who has become the most wanted terrorist in all of Time and Space.

“Greetings, Rumanos,” he mocked. “My Lunarian comrades and I have been expecting you. They are totally devoted to me, and I shall use their combined psychic powers to conquer this world and many others. I -- Don Wingus -- am the Master of the Moon!”

“You!” I exclaimed. “Of course. I should have known. So you did escape from Kuthalu, and have used your own Algolitish powers to bend these young Lunarians to your control, hmmm?”

“Exactly, Rumanos,” returned the criminal. “I have combined my vastly superior mind with theirs, thus creating a force beyond mortal reckoning -- a force that shall be irresistible when I turn it to conquest of all!”

“Wingus, you are utterly and irredeemably mad! This is a criminal action beyond belief. These Lunarians are barely adolescents amongst their own race. For you to so influence and exploit them is akin to psychic rape.”

“Oh, listen to you with your petty moralist dogmas, you spy and professional assassin for the Kosmikos. I have had more than enough of your meddling, do you hear? I have had more than enough of you, Daniel Rumanos, and now I shall display my powers over these Moon creatures by compelling them against you and your little companion!”

“Daniel,” Millie cried. “They’re coming closer, and I can feel them entering my thoughts!”

“Resist it, Mills,” I told my companion as the psychic attack turned on me as well. “Resist it with all that you can. The Lunarian mind-power augmented with the will of Wingus is indeed powerful, but we must resist!”

The score of Lunarians was by now fully engaged in attacking our minds, with a power that seemed well-nigh omnipotent. Despite our struggle, Millie and I felt our very thoughts were no longer our own as the pain of their forceful mentalist penetration became more and more intense.

“There is no escape now,” announced Don Wingus amongst peals of his sick insane laughter. “There is no escape for you meddling fools. The Lunarians that are under my command will now destroy your very minds!”

Is it even at all possible that you can see the extreme unholy terror, forsooth the total unnameable horror and complete ungodly fear of the horrendous situation in which we then found ourselves, my dear readers? There we were, the lovely Miss Millie Drake and me -- Doctor Daniel Rumanos, alien secret agent and stellar swashbuckler. There we were, facing the evil intergalactic criminal known to eternal infamy and everlasting damnation as Magister Don Wingus -- himself the most felonious being in all the known Universe -- along with his assembled company of Lunarians which he intended to utilise in his mad scheme to conquer the planet Earth before going forth to also establish himself as emperor of countless other worlds. There we were, as Wingus commanded the young Lunarians to use their advanced mentalist powers to attack the very minds of my companion and me  -- we being the only thing he saw standing in the way of his insane plans!

“Take them, my Lunarian comrades!” ordered the madman. “Take them and enter into their very thoughts, invading all that they hold most secret. Drive them to utter mental collapse that they may not interfere with our conquest of this and other worlds!”

The mental powers of the Lunarians entered our minds further and further, sifting through our thoughts and dreams and hopes and fears.

“Fight it, Millie,” I counselled. “Do not let them into your deepest mind, or all will be lost.”

“I’m trying, Daniel,” she sobbed. “There are just so many of them!”

“It is hopeless, Rumanos and Miss Drake,” exulted the wicked Don Wingus. “You cannot resist the combined power of my Lunarians. You have no chance of breaking free of them! Then, I shall be… What! What is that?!”

Above us, at that very moment, had appeared an huge spherical vehicle, accompanied by the sound of its engine, a whining sound so high as to be barely audible to organic hearing.

“What is this outrage?” said an authoritatively masculine voice issuing forth from the spaceship. “Who has exploited these young citizens of the Moon that it is my task to protect? I am -- The Grand Selemoonarian.”

Millie and I then felt the Lunarian psychic powers leaving their invasion of our minds.

“Daniel,” whispered my companion, recovering from the pain of the psychic assault, “is that who you sent that signal to; the one when you pointed the transonic to-wards the Moon?”

“Indeed so, my dear Millie,” I verified. “The Grand Selemoonarian is an highly-advanced artificial intelligence program that the three races inhabiting the Moon have agreed to use as a form of law enforcement; not only amongst themselves -- but against any being that attempts to attack or exploit them!”

By now, the group of shimmering Lunarians had drifted upwards to vanish into the ship.

“They will be returned to their families and counselled against any further unauthorised trips to Earth,” explained the voice. “As for the one who attempted their subjugation, his punishment must be more severe.”

“You cannot ‘punish’ me!” bellowed the villain, his outrage attempting to mask his fear. “I am Don Wingus of Algol, the rightful ruler of worlds. You cannot… You… !”

Something like a silver chain, barely existing in the physical realm yet of great effect, had surrounded Don Wingus entirely, silencing him and imprisoning his movements.

“You will be incarcerated in our non-physical detention centre,” announced the Selemoonarian, “from which there is no escape.”

Then, before he could even protest further, the felonious Don Wingus blinked out of existence.

“Many thanks to you, Agents of Algol,” continued the voice, “for alerting us to this infraction against the harmony of the Moon.”

“You are quite welcome, good sir,” I replied. “I bid you, and all inhabitants of the Lunar realm, peace and tranquillity.”

With this the silver spherical space ship ascended quickly through the atmosphere, soon being lost to our sight.

“So Daniel,” said Millie Drake, “do you think the prison he spoke of will be able to hold Don Wingus?”

“We shall see, love,” I replied. “The Absolute Convention of the Watchers will be contacted to monitor the situation, hmmm? In any event, for all intents and purposes that non-corporeal prison will be for Wingus as if he does not exist.”

We had by now returned to our car, and I started up the motor.

“As for now,” I continued, “I know of an all-night diner near here where we can get some breakfast, hmmm?”

“Pancakes and turkey bacon?” smiled Millie.

“Of course, my dear," I approved as we drove off under the moonlight, “along with some highly-caffeinated coffee.”

***** DANIEL RUMANOS AND MILLIE DRAKE SHALL RETURN

ARABIAN NIGHT

“Now we are just waiting for the computer tracking system to locate the energy source,” I said. “It is taking longer than usual, due to the elusiveness of the signal type.”

“But you say the energy trace had to do with the Necronomicon?” enquired Millie Drake.

“Not precisely,” I returned. “It was very specifically a reading indicating the use of the ‘Kitab al-Azif’, the medieval Arabian book of sorcery that is said to be the earlier and even more potent source of the better-known Necronomicon.”

We were at our secret downtown headquarters, located as it is within the golden trapezoidal rooftop of a certain skyscraper, the ground floor of which is a take-away pizza establishment. Our HQ contains, along with our advanced electronic equipment, a growing collection of unusual objects and artefacts from our storied career as investigators of the strange and unknown.

I was clad in my usual finery, including a frilled poet shirt, purple velvet suit, jungle boots, and of course my Magen David necklace. My panama hat and one of my favourite opera capes hung from a near by hallstand.

My companion, known as Miss Millie Drake, is an exquisitely beautiful young lady; petite and perfect with luxurious chestnut hair, enchanting violet eyes, and a sun-kissed complexion. The royal blue dress she wore only served to highlight her slender figure.

Also with us was Kit-10, our mobile personal computer that resembles a small mechanical cat.

“Daniel, I know that ‘Kitab’ means a book in Arabic,” said Millie, “but what does ‘al-Azif’ mean?”

“Literally ‘a buzzing’,” I informed. “It is said to describe a sound like unto that of nocturnal insects, the hearing of which noise is said to indicate the presence of certain demonic forces.”

“So this book is definitely a manual of demon conjuring?”

“Quite so, my dear. In fact it is one of the most notorious occult texts in all of history. If someone has truly located it and is utilising its spells, then it is imperative that we stop them as soon as possible. Millie, the Kitab al-Azif is supposedly the text that can be used to most potently conjure the inter-dimensional being known as Kuthalu!”

“Oh my gosh! Kuthalu is the alien monster that ruled planet Earth for untold ages during prehistoric times!”

“Indeed so, and now if someone manages to bring that unspeakable horror back to this dimension, it could subjugate or wipe out the entire human race! We must find out who…”

“S--,” suddenly interrupted Kit-10 in her simulated yet pleasantly-feminine voice, “the main computer has found the location of the energy reading detected earlier.”

(It should be noted here that Kit-10, in addition to her other catlike characteristics, is completely unable to openly show respect to anyone. In fact, the closest she ever comes to it is by addressing me with a slight “s--” sound -- for “sir”, and Millie Drake by “m--” -- for “ma’am”.)

“Put it on the main screen, please,” I said.

A map soon appeared on the large central monitor. It showed a certain location along with the parameters of the signal detected there.

“By the Triple Star!” I swore. “The energy of the Kitab al-Azif magic is coming from a crypt at St. Mary’s Episcopal Cemetery!”

“We need to get over there right away!” announced Millie Drake.

“Indeed we do, love,” said I whilst fetching my hat and cloak. “Come along, Mills and Kit-10. For the sake of the very future of this planet, we must do whatever is necessary to stop the conjuration of Kuthalu!” …

My name is Doctor Daniel Rumanos. With the heritage of the legendary Watchers of Algol, whose technology appears as magic, I protect Earth from all manner of menace. I am -- The Daemon-Star! …

Night had fallen over the city as Millie Drake, Kit-10, and I arrived at the St. Mary’s Cemetery. I parked our car (a specially-modified canary-yellow Edwardian roadster affectionately known as “Lizzie’) at the gates and we entered the graveyard on foot.

“Kit-10,” I said, “are your systems detecting the Azif energy?”

“Accessing,” replied the robotic cat. “Affirmative. Energy detected within the large stone structure ahead of our current location.”

“The crypt!” said Millie. “That’s where someone is attempting to call Kuthalu.”

“So it appears, my dear Mills,” I stated. “Be cautious, but let us continue. We must find out who is committing this outrage and stop them before it is too late for the human race!” …

Little did we know, as we investigated St. Mary’s Cemetery, that we were being watched from someone hidden as much by witchcraft as she was by the tombstones. It was an insanely-buxom young brunette clad in only a shiny black bikini. Her eyes were a luminous blue-green, and her mouth painted like unto an inviting scarlet gash. She smiled wickedly and then ran undetected into the large central crypt, the interior of which was already aglow with an eldritch ebon effulgence.

“Father,” she said. “They’re here!”

The man she was addressing stood behind a stone coffin that was being used as a satanic altar, and was dressed in a black vestment robe. He appeared to be a man of middle years, his face still showing handsome distinction despite being marked with the signs of lifetimes of extreme ungodly evil. His hair was long and dark and his countenance was decorated with a thin moustache and goatee. Most of all, his pale eyes shone with an absolute hypnotic glare as he turned the pages of a large book bound in black leather and containing an archaic Arabic script.

“I am not surprised, Anastasia,” said the man, a look of unmitigated madness on his countenance. “I knew that meddling Daniel Rumanos could not resist poking his enormous nose into my affairs. But it matters not. I have the Kitab al-Azif, and I shall use it to bring forth the mighty Kuthalu, that it may assist me and destroy all that would oppose my plans. Then I -- Magister Don Wingus -- shall become the supreme ruler of this and countless other worlds!” …

My friends and I entered the crypt and soon enough beheld what we were seeking. Standing behind a stone coffin on which were two black candles and an ancient book bound in leather were two figures. One was a girl clad in only a bikini, and the other was a man in an ebony vestment robe who glared at me with a look of unmitigated evil on his face.

“Greetings, Rumanos and company,” he mocked. “My little cutie here and I have been expecting you.”

Of course, I recognised the man immediately. I recognised him as the criminal renegade of my own Algolite race who has become the most wanted villain in all the Universe, and my own oldest and most bitter enemy.

“You!” I said. “Don Wingus. I should have known. So you did escape from Ocean City, and have somehow located a copy of the legendary Kitab al-Azif. Then I see you reunited with your daughter Anastasia and are attempting to call forth the terror known as Kuthalu!”

“I am more than ‘attempting’, Rumanos, you overdressed vagabond,” retorted Wingus, wisps of black energy appearing around him. “I found the book some time ago in an Arabian marketplace. I have already finished the preliminary conjurations, aided by the sexual magic workings that Stacy here assists in, and all that remains is to call forth the mighty Kuthalu into our dimension. Then nothing can stop me from using its power to establish myself as ruler of this planet and so many others!”

“Wingus, you mad unholy perverted fiend! You cannot control the power of Kuthalu. It is a force of absolute chaos, totally beyond any sane reckoning. It corrupts and destroys all that comes within its reach.”

“I assure you I am in complete control, as you will now see -- and feel! Kuthulu, come forth!!”

With this, the bits of darksome power coalesced into something, something horrid beyond all sane belief; for at that very moment suddenly burst forth an image as of myriads of writhing black tentacles, huge of size and accompanied by a terrible sound of buzzing and moaning and howling. The tentacles grew and stretched and looked as if they would soon fill the room before bursting forth into an unsuspecting world.

“Do you see, Rumanos?” exulted the interplanetary criminal Don Wingus. “Do you see?! I have called forth the Great Kuthalu, the one who shall make me ruler of worlds; the one who shall now destroy you and your allies!!”

Can you even commence, my dear friends and most appreciated readers, to recognise the utter unnameable horror, forsooth the compete unspeakable terror of the situation in which we then found ourselves? There we were; the lovely Millie Drake, the robotic Kit-10, and me -- Doctor Daniel Rumanos. There we were, facing the villainous Magister Don Wingus and his unclean daughter Anastasia. There we were, as the criminal Wingus conjured the very being known as Kuthalu, the alien horror that only existed to subjugate and destroy all -- and which as that very moment was being called forth to exterminate us!

“Now you shall die, Rumanos!” reiterated the evil Don Wingus amidst peals of his own utterly insane laughter. “You shall die, and I -- with the power of Kuthalu to aid me -- shall go on to rule over all!”

The darksome energies had by now reached us, appearing as the mass of disgustingly writhing tentacles, and my companions and I began to feel the power of its unmentionable evil. It swirled around us like unto a creeping black pool of deepest iniquity, accompanied by the sound of buzzing and howling and slithering as of the cacophony of a thousand nightmares.

“You are finished, Rumanos!” screeched the felonious Don Wingus in wicked triumph. “You are finished and now will die!!”

Then something very peculiar happened.

“No, father, no!” suddenly interrupted Anastasia Wingus. “Please don’t kill Doctor Rumanos! I like him! Won’t you let me have him to play with when you and Kuthalu rule the world? Oh, please, father! Please do that for me! Please?!”

“Stacy you careless come-rag!” bellowed Don Wingus whilst slapping his daughter hard across the face. “I am so tired of your ridiculous crush on Daniel Rumanos! Do you hear me?! I am sick and tired of it!!”

“Daniel,” said Millie Drake. “Do you notice something?”

“Yes,” I replied, “the energy is not hitting us as strongly now. Hmmm…”

Struggling, I just managed to step forward and deliver a blow of my fist across the face of Don Wingus. Distracted and unready, it sent him sprawling across the interior of the crypt.

I then hurried back to where Millie Drake and Kit-10 were, gesturing to them to retreat from the area of the swirling energies.

“Stand back, my friends,” I counselled. “Stand away and watch what happens!”

My two companions did so, and soon we were at the opposite side of the crypt from Don Wingus and his daughter -- as the hideous powers of monstrous tentacled Kuthalu headed directly to-wards them!

“What!” shouted Wingus in sudden terror at what was transpiring. “No! No! You cannot do this to me!”

Nevertheless, it was too late for Don Wingus and Stacy, as the sickening tentacles of Kuthalu wrapped around both of them, soon blotting them from view. I heard the girl scream, and her evil father let out one final bellow of outrage, before the darkness consumed them completely.

Then all was quiet. The monstrous evil -- the otherworldly thing known as Kuthalu -- had vanished, taking the villains with it.

“Are you all right Millie? Kit-10?”

“Yes, I’m okay now,” said Millie, walking over and taking my hand.

“My systems are also undamaged,” added the mechanical feline.

“But what happened?” asked Millie.

“Wingus was distracted enough to lose control of the situation, hmmm?” I explained. “As I told him, the force of Kuthalu is beyond any complete direction, and even a slight lapse of concentration in its conjuration is fatal. It has taken Wingus and his wretched daughter with it back to its own dimension, a non-corporeal world of darkness and chaos and death.”

“But what about the book?”

I looked at the old Arabic text as it lay on the now-abandoned stone casket. “We will take the Kitab al-Azif with us back to HQ, where we can keep it safely amongst our collection of occult books and artefacts. There it can finally do no further harm to mankind.”

***** DANIEL RUMANOS AND MILLIE DRAKE SHALL RETURN