“It appears that we should be getting the information any minute now,” said I. “Our contacts at the Executive Security Force in Washington, DC, are sending it to us on a secure channel.”
“So it’s about the thing that was stolen from the ‘Indigenous Cultures’ display at the United States Capitol building?” enquired Millie Drake.
“Yes," I affirmed , "the mysterious object known as the Onyx Skull.”
We were at our headquarters, located as it is within the golden trapezoidal roof of a downtown skyscraper, which contains our computer systems and laboratory equipment as well as numerous artefacts from our myriad adventures in Time and Space.
Seated at the main computer console, I was clad in my usual finery, including a frilled poet shirt, purple velvet suit, and jungle boots. My panama hat and opera cape hung from a near by hallstand.
Millie walked over to stand behind me. She is an exquisitely beautiful young lady, petite and perfect with luxurious chestnut hair, lovely violet eyes, sun-kissed skin, and luscious red lips. She was wearing a tight, short, flowered dress that only served to highlight the soft curves of her slender adolescent figure.
Also near by, busy with some electronic file sorting, was Kit-10, our mobile personal computer that resembles nothing more or less than a small mechanical cat.
“So, Daniel,” said Millie, “what exactly is the Onyx Skull anyway?”
“It was discovered in the mid-1950s by an American archaeological team deep in the Peruvian rainforest,” I explained, “exploring what are believed to be the ruins of the ancient city of Paititi. It is a perfectly-carved reproduction of an human skull, made from a single piece of pure black onyx stone. Because making such a thing seems far beyond the capabilities of the native people of that time, some have speculated that its manufacturers are of extraterrestrial origin.”
“But who could they be?” enquired the girl.
“That is unknown,” I replied. “The true origins of the Onyx Skull now seem to be lost in the murk of the past, since all tests performed upon it have thus far failed to unlock its mysteries. All that is known for certain is that generations of tribal chiefs used it as a symbol of their authority, until it was hidden away at the arrival of the European. Ah… we are getting the information from Washington now!”
A video feed then appeared on the computer monitor before us. It showed a darkened hallway in which were several display cases.
“This is security camera footage from the display at the Capitol,” I said. “It is from the night that the Onyx Skull was stolen.”
“But who could have done that?” queried Millie Drake. “It would have had to have been someone who could get past their electronic security and… Daniel, you don’t think it could be… ?”
“Let us not speculate until we have more facts, hmmm?” I counselled. “In any event, I have been told that this footage contains a brief glimpse of the thief’s face.”
We watched the video and beheld a shadowy figure -- cloaked in black -- enter the area of the displays and, utilising a small laser ray device, make a hole in the glass just large enough to reach in and remove an object. As the object was removed, it briefly flashed with an eldritch silver light -- a light that identified it as indeed the legendary Onyx Skull! However, the light, in the split second of its existence, did something else, since it also quickly illuminated the face of the culprit before he secured the skull in the folds of his clothing and silently exited the building.
I quickly rewound the video footage to the moment the thief’s face had been lit and stopped it there. The face was that of a man apparently of middle years, his countenance still showing signs of handsome distinction despite being marred with the signs of seeming lifetimes of extreme ungodly wickedness. His hair was long and dark, and his visage was decorated with a thin moustache and goatee. Most of all, his eyes shown with an absolute hypnotic glare. Of course, I recognised him immediately -- I recognised him as my oldest and most bitter enemy, that renegade of my own Algolite race who has become the most prolific and dangerous criminal in all the Cosmos.
It was Don Wingus!! …
My name is RUMANOS -- DOCTOR DANIEL RUMANOS, Extraterrestrial Espionage Agent and Intergalactic Man of Mystery. Even though I have the physical appearance of an human being, I am in fact several thousands of years old and do carry within my blood the vastly superior genes of the legendary Watchers of the Daemon-Star ALGOL. Originating ninety-three light years from planet Earth, we are the most intellectually advanced race in all of the known galaxies, whose technology is so sophisticated it often appears to be “magic” and “miraculous” to lesser beings.
Whilst most Algolites tend to keep to themselves, preferring to live in elitist seclusion from the rest of the Universe and thus merely observing the goings-on of the myriad races of the vast reaches around them, I am an Operative for a secret organisation known as the KOSMIKOS or Cosmic Intervention Department, tasked with maintaining peace and order throughout the farthest reaches of Space and Time. It is our ongoing mission to defend the weak, the unfortunate, and the innocent from those who would harm or exploit them.
Currently assigned to Earth -- and assisted by the beautiful Miss Millie Drake -- I protect its people from the hideous manipulations of the arch-villain known as Magister Don Wingus and his occult terrorist organisation Spectral Paranormal; as well as from alien invasions, mad scientists, and indeed all manner of menace. I am the living icon of Algol on this world. I am a Knight of the Eternal Spires. I am the professor of the impossible, the purveyor of Pure Mystery, the saviour of the Cosmos, and the sword of justice from the planet Daemonia. I am the cosmic crusader. I am the stellar swashbuckler.
I am -- THE DAEMON-STAR!!! …
“Don Wingus!” I said his name. “I should have known. So he did escape from the Black Diamond of Mars.”
“But why has he stolen the Onyx Skull?” asked Millie Drake.
“We may be able to find out,” I rejoined, “and also get some information concerning the skull’s origins, hmmm? That brief flash of light was a manifestation of its powers, and I can run its appearance through our database and hopefully get some clue as to who made the skull.”
I then programmed some sequences into the computer and waited as it conducted a search. Within a few moments, some informational text appeared on the screen.
“By the Triple Star!” I swore upon perusing the information. “According to this, the Onyx Skull is… Lunarian!”
“Lunarian?” replied Millie. “You mean like the Lunarians we met before? Those people from the Moon?”
“Quite so,” I affirmed. “Those psyche-sensitive beings that reside within the caverns of Earth’s natural satellite.”
“But the Lunarians are a peaceful people. Why would someone like Don Wingus want something they left behind?”
“I wonder… Of course! There were rumours that some Lunarian scientists took a certain interest in Earthlings at one time, doing experiments to ascertain as to whether human psychic abilities could ever develop to the level of their own. The results were said to be inconclusive, so the Lunarians abandoned the idea and left Earth.”
“So the Onyx Skull has something to do with that?”
“Quite likely, my dear Mills. I could have worked as a depository in which the Lunarian researchers could have stored portions of their own mentalist powers, and then seen if human beings could activate it. Apparently they could not, and the skull was left as useless, only a symbol of such powers to the native people of the region of Peru, then a museum piece here in North America -- until now!”
“Oh my gosh!” exclaimed Millie Drake. “As a Watcher of Algol, Don Wingus has inherent psychic abilities that could use the forces left in the skull!”
“Indeed so,” I pondered, “and who knows to what diabolical purpose that old villain intends to put the powers of the Onyx Skull, hmmm? We need to find out, and also to determine whence he has taken the relic -- before it is too late!” …
At that same time, in an abandoned school building on the outskirts of the city of Harrisburg in the state of Pennsylvania, the aforementioned Algolite criminal known to eternal infamy as Magister Don Wingus sat in a chair behind a desk in what had at one time been the principal’s office. He was clad in a black business suit with a crimson red necktie. On the desk before him was the Onyx Skull.
“It is mine!” he cackled, his voice tinged with utter madness. “The Onyx Skull of Paititi is mine, and with it the forgotten power of the Lunarians!”
On the other side of the room, lounging on a small sofa, was an insanely voluptuous teenage girl with long raven hair and luminous blue-green eyes. Only a thin silk scarlet-hued shift covered her otherwise naked figure.
“Father, how will you use the power?” asked the girl, her voice a seductive purr. “Will you use it to rule the world? To get power over everyone and make yourself king?”
“Oh yes, Anastasia,” replied Don Wingus to his daughter. “That and much more. I shall use the power of the Onyx Skull to make myself supreme master of all the nations of planet Earth! I shall use it to create an empire!”
As he spoke, the skull began to glow, to glow with its eldritch effulgence of mysterious alien power and, whilst the darksome silver light illuminated his sinful features, Don Wingus let forth with a peal of triumphant maniacal laughter. …
Millie Drake and I were hurrying along the roads in our especially-modified canary-yellow Edwardian roadster, affectionately known as “Lizzie”.
“So, Daniel,” said Millie from the passenger’s seat, “are we certain that Don Wingus is in Harrisburg?”
“So it appears, my dear Millie,” I replied from behind the steering wheel, having now donned my hat and cloak. “According to our instruments at headquarters, the Lunarian powers found in the Onyx Skull have been detected coming from an abandoned schoolhouse there in a remote part of the capital city of Pennsylvania.”
“It’s too bad that Kit-10 couldn’t come with us.”
“Quite so, love, but there is just too much chance that the powers of the skull would have a decidedly detrimental effect on her systems.”
We soon drove Lizzie into the parking lot of the old school. The building was intact, but boarded up in places and obviously unsafe. We left the car and found a door to the school that had been pried open, likely by local vandals.
“So do you think Don Wingus actually has the Onyx Skull here somewhere?” enquired Millie Drake.
“It seems quite likely,” I replied. “Be cautious. We know not what forces his use of the skull might have unleashed.”
It was dusk when Millie and I then entered the building and began to explore the abandoned corridors of the old school. Only a dim light filtered through the windows to show our way past the quiet classrooms. However, as we continued, it became obvious that another illumination was present, a strange silvery glow that seemed to be increasing.
“Daniel, what is that?” whispered Millie. “That light, I mean?”
“It is the Lunarian power of the Onyx Skull,” I pondered. “It is increasing as we near the object’s location. We should be certain to…”
I then heard a noise above us and looked up to see a portion of the ceiling beginning to cave in directly over Millie Drake and myself. I quickly pushed her out of the way and, upon attempting to also escape, found myself partially buried in the debris that had fallen from above.
“Daniel, are you okay?” I heard Millie calling concernedly.
“Yes, I seem to be all right,” I replied, clearing some rubbish from atop myself. “Most of it missed me, hmmm?”
I noticed that a large pile of the debris now stood between me and where Millie Drake was, reaching nearly to what remained of the ceiling.
“We seem to have been separated, Mills,” I called to her. “The corridors are interconnecting, though, so just go around and we should be able to meet up again soon. Be careful!”
“Okay, Daniel,” I heard Millie reply before I set out again down the school hallway.
I continued onward, noticing that the eldritch glow continued to increase. I was indeed approaching the location of the Onyx Skull. Then I suddenly realised that I was not alone.
Slinking out of the classroom door was a sight indeed. It was a young girl with raven hair and luminous blue-green eyes. Her insanely voluptuous figure was completely nude.
“Hello, Doctor Rumanos,” she purred, licking her lips that were painted like an inviting scarlet gash. “I’ve been waiting for you.”
“Hello, Anastasia,” I replied. “It is indeed… quite interesting to see you here.”
She giggled as she ran down the school corridor with me following behind her. This continued until we reached a large entrance on which were the faded letters “GYMNASIUM”. Stacy then ran through the open doors and I followed.
At the immediate centre of the gym was set up a table like unto a small altar, draped as it was in black velvet. Behind the table stood Magister Don Wingus, a smile of unspeakable evil upon his face as his daughter took her place beside him. On the table, glowing its eldritch radiance of darkling power, was the Onyx Skull itself.
“Greetings, Rumanos,” mocked Don Wingus. “We have been expecting you. Welcome to the greatest night in all of history -- the night of my coronation as emperor of the planet Earth!”
“Wingus, you fiend,” I rejoined. “What in the name of the Stellar Trinity do you think you are doing, hmmm? There is little known about the Lunarian powers found within the skull. Attempting to utilise them is absolute madness, notwithstanding whatever unspeakable purpose you have in your warped mind!”
“Oh, but you are wrong,” replied the villain. “You are quite wrong. I am in complete control of the powers of the Onyx Skull and will use them according to my will -- my will to establish my empire upon this world!”
Whilst Don Wingus spoke, the darksome energies from the skull began to flow through him. He was soon all aglow with the mysterious Lunarian powers.
I noticed that Millie Drake had by now also found her way to the gymnasium, entering it by a doorway on the opposite side, several metres behind Don Wingus and Anastasia. I made a silent sign to Millie with my eyes; a sign to stay quietly where she was. I then quickly returned my gaze to Wingus.
“You abomination!” I charged, loudly distracting my foe from learning of Millie’s presence. “The Lunarians are a peaceful race. To use their powers for evil is an unspeakable affront even for you! I…”
Then, before I could further react, a blast of the eldritch power shot forth from Don Wingus and hit me squarely in the midsection, causing me to crumple immediately to the floor in unspeakable pain. It was as unto an anguish both physical and mental, both corporeal and psychic, both real and unreal in its demoniacal scope.
“You are finished, Daniel Rumanos!” exulted the execrable Don Wingus. “You are finished! For Spectral Paranormal, for my rightful and eternal empire, and by the powers of the Lunarians -- I, Magister Don Wingus, do bring your doom!!!”
Do you recognise the extreme and unhallowed horror, forsooth the utter and complete terror of this situation, my dear friends and most indulgent readers? There we were, my beloved Miss Millie Drake and myself, standing before the execrable intergalactic villain known as magister Don Wingus and his dangerously-seductive daughter Anastasia. There we were, as the darkling Lunarian energies continued to flow through the Algolite criminal -- powerful energies that he intended to utilise in order to subject the entire populace of Earth to his own horrific will!
The awesome powers of the Onyx Skull continued to erupt through me, causing intense and searing pain. I writhed in agony on the floor of the Gymnasium as Don Wingus continued his wicked laughter -- his glory in my painful apparent defeat.
“You will now die, Rumanos!” bellowed Wingus. “You will die! The powers that I now wield -- the powers of the Onyx Skull -- will now bring your final end!!”
Then something happened; something odd and unexpected that would be the only hope to bring about my salvation from the grotesque Lunarian energies being utilised against me.
“Father,” interrupted Anastasia Wingus, “please don’t hurt Doctor Rumanos! I want him! Please let him live so I can have him when you come into your empire!”
At this, the villain turned away from me in shock.
“Stacy, you shameless hussy!” shouted Don Wingus as he slapped his daughter hard across the face. “I am sick to death of your adolescent attraction to that narcissistic nympholept!”
This was just the distraction I needed. Whilst Don Wingus was busy shouting at his daughter, the Lunarian energies stopped flowing from him into me. Feeling myself for the moment free of their painful influence, I jumped forward at Wingus and landed a blow of my fist to his jaw, sending him careening across the gymnasium floor.
By now, the energies of the Onyx Skull were swirling around the room in all directions. They had all left the skull itself and, as I watched, they suddenly all turned in one direction -- forsooth, the powers all turned to bear down directly upon the evil Don Wingus!
“No!” bellowed Wingus in terror. “No! You cannot turn against me! I am Magister Don Wingus! I am the rightful master of the world! No! No! Nooooooooo!!”
With this, the Lunarian energies completely surrounded Don Wingus and his daughter, completely obliterating them from sight. When the powers then faded into nothingness, they were gone -- gone as if they had never existed.
All was now suddenly quiet, there in the dark gymnasium of that abandoned school building. Millie Drake, who had been attempting to reach me ever since Wingus had attacked me with the energies, now threw herself into my arms.
“Oh, Daniel,” she wept, “I was so worried! Is it all over now?”
“So it appears, my dear Mills,” I said. “The powers of the skull, being as they were actually a thing of pacifism, turned against Don Wingus and took both him and Stacy out of existence. Such should be the fate of all would-be dictators, hmmm?”
I reached down and picked up the skull from where it had remained on the table.
“The Onyx Skull can now safely be returned to Washington,” I announced. “All the residual power has gone, and it is now only an harmless relic.”
***** DANIEL RUMANOS AND MILLIE DRAKE SHALL RETURN
