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! …
“So this is where our instruments at downtown HQ detected the energy reading?” enquired Millie Drake.
“Quite so, love,” I affirmed. “The ‘Sweet Delights’ ice cream shop.”
I was clad in my usual finery as we stood on the city pavement that overcast day; including a frilled poet shirt, purple velvet suit, jungle boots, panama hat, and one of my favourite opera capes.
My companion, 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 royal blue 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 mechanical cat.
“And the energy is the type that would come from the old relic that was stolen?” Millie queried.
“Quite likely,” I confirmed, “for the energy is of the type associated with those ancient alien beings -- related to our own Algolite race -- known as Olympianoids; and the stolen relic is none other than the Sceptre of Zeus!”
“It's so horrible how it was taken from that old man who was murdered in his house.”
“Quite so. His name was Aaron Shapiro and he was a retired attorney, hmmm? The coroner’s report says he died of a broken neck, as if someone had just twisted his head so forcefully as to sever it clear through. The security system in his home had been mysteriously disabled, so the perpetrator remains unknown, but the only thing missing was the old Sceptre that the late Mr. Shapiro had once purchased whilst vacationing in Greece.”
“Gosh, do you think it really belonged to Zeus, the so-called ‘king of the gods’ in mythology?”
“In a sense, my dear. You see, the Sceptre of Zeus is a device carried by the supreme leader of the Olympianoids, who visited Earth during the Bronze Age and are remembered in myth as the Greco-Roman pantheon, in order to focus his mental powers into a stream of energy that could be utilised for purposes of defence and the punishment of any who disobeyed him. Kit-10, can you ascertain as to whether the Olympianoid type energies are indeed emanating from this ice cream establishment?”
“Scanning now, s--,” replied the robotic cat in her simulated yet pleasantly-feminine voice. “Results are affirmative. Energy waves are indeed the type associated with Olympianoid technology.”
(It must be noted here that Kit-10, in addition to her other feline characteristics, is completely unable to openly show respect to anyone. In point of fact, the closest she ever comes to it is by addressing me by a slight “s--” sound -- for “sir” -- and Millie by “m--” for “ma’am”.)
We had by now reached the doorway of the brightly decorated “Sweet Delights” dessert shop, and were about to enter when something of extreme eldritch terror occurred.
I heard Millie Drake cry, “Look out, Daniel!”
“Danger, s--!” added Kit-10.
I looked upwards to see what had so startled my companions, and beheld a hovering mass of phantasmagorical energy headed directly to-wards us. It was olive of hue and flashing with streaks of gold, and accompanied with a din as of the noise of roaring thunder. Kit-10 fired off several shots of her nose-laser, but it was to no avail. The strange flashing power continued to descend, a course that -- if not somehow deflected -- would soon collide with my friends and me!
Then, as quickly as it had appeared, the horrific mass of energy vanished.
“What happened, Daniel?” asked Millie.
“That was indeed Olympianoid energy,” said I, “of the type associated with Zeus. Nevertheless, it was only a warning. When we face the criminal who purloined the Sceptre, and who has managed to activate and control its awesome abilities, its power will be far more devastating!”
“But we have to stop them!”
“Quite right, my dearest Mills. It is our mission. We must protect this planet and its people from the horrid fate that could await them at the hands of some occult terrorist controlling the Sceptre of Zeus! Come along, then.”
With this, my companions and I entered the ice cream shop and found our way through the patrons, including groups of children, enjoying their dessert treats amongst the loud pop music recordings being played over the establishment’s speakers. At first, all seemed normal, but we soon reach a doorway on which was written “Private Parties”. I opened the door and we entered to behold the very terror that we sought.
On one of the tables of the private room was a long petrified object with a golden top depicting a strange bird.
“The Sceptre of Zeus itself!” said I.
Standing behind the table was a man wearing a shiny black business suit with an long blood-red necktie. He appeared to be of middle years, his face showing handsome distinction despite being marred with the results of lifetimes of unspeakable evil. His hair was long and dark, and his visage decorated with a thin moustache and goatee beard. Most of all, his pale eyes shone with an absolute hypnotic glare.
“Well, Daniel Rumanos and Miss Drake,” he sneered, his very voice tinged with madness. “Once again you are attempting to interfere with my plans. I can assure you of failure in this.”
Of course, I recognised the man immediately. I recognised him as my most dangerous enemy; the renegade Algolite who has become the most wanted terrorist criminal in all of Time and Space.
“You!” I exclaimed. “Don Wingus. I should have known. So you did escape from Niorun, and it was you that stole the Sceptre of Zeus from the retired attorney and antiquities collector Aaron Shapiro -- brutally murdering him in the process!”
“Indeed,” boasted Wingus. “Elderly human necks snap so easily. Now, I shall use the powers of the very Sceptre of Zeus to augment my own Algolitish superiority -- that I may become ruler of this world!”
“Kit-10!” I called. “Blast him!”
The little robot shot off a ray of her laser, but a sudden rush of olive and gold coloured Olympianoid energy sprang up and deflected it away from Don Wingus, leaving him unharmed.
“You see, Rumanos?” said Wingus as the power increased around him. “The power of the Olympianoids is mine to command, and your interference will avail you nothing!”
“Wingus, you fiend!” I countered. “By the Daemonian Spires, I swear we shall not allow you to commit this outrage!”
I then attempted to step forwards in order to confront Don Wingus, but there was no hope in this. The awful thundering energies of the Sceptre of Zeus, now growing in power to truly epic proportions, were as unto an impassable barrier protecting him.
“I shall now take my rightful place amongst the gods!” exulted Don Wingus amongst peals of his own insane laughter. “I will rule this world from on high, and you shall not stop me!!”
Is it truly at all possible, my dear friends, that you can even commence to comprehend the sheer unhallowed horror, forsooth the total unnameable terror of what we were then experiencing? There we were; the lovely Millie Drake, the robotic Kit-10, and me -- Doctor Daniel Rumanos. There we were, facing the unspeakable intergalactic criminal known to eternal infamy as Magister Don Wingus. There we were, as he unleashed the awesome godlike power of the legendary Sceptre of Zeus -- in truth the same incredible power that he intended to use in his mad scheme to become absolute tyrant ruler of the entire planet Earth!
“Witness my ascendancy, Rumanos!” reiterated the evil Don Wingus, “For today I shall take truly my place amongst the gods! Today I shall gain supreme power over this world!”
Then an odd thing occurred. The door of the private room opened, just for a moment, and a young boy looked in.
“Oh, I’m sorry,” said the lad, barely even noticing the oddities occurring. “I thought this was the bathroom.”
Then he closed the door. I looked and saw that Don Wingus had glanced over at the child with a look of annoyance on his face.
“Daniel,” said Millie to me, “the energies seem to have lessened some.”
“So I see, my dear,” said I. “So I see.”
I then stepped forwards, no longer completely hindered by the Olympianoid powers, and managed to land my fist on the face of Don Wingus. He staggered backwards from the blow. With this, Kit-10 then shot another blast of her nose-laser at Don Wingus, and this time it had its effect. Having lost control of the energies, he fell even further back, hitting the wall behind him.
The thundering olive and gold Olympianoid powers had by now again grown in strength, but with a change of course. They were now heading directly to-wards the wicked Don Wingus!
“What!” he bellowed in outrage as the eldritch energy surrounded him. “No! You cannot do this to me! I command you! I am Don Wingus, the rightful ruler of all! I am… No! NO!!”
By now, the Olympianoid power had completely obliterated Wingus from view and its thundering cacophony then drowned out his cries of indignation and terror. Then, a few moments later, the energies suddenly vanished -- taking the villain with them.
I looked around. There was no sign of Don Wingus or of the Olympianoid powers. All was quiet except for the sounds of the ice cream shop coming from outside the private room.
“Daniel,” said Millie Drake, “what happened to him?”
“When that child opened the door seeking the restroom,” I explained, “it distracted Wingus enough that he weakened his concentration on controlling the energies from the Sceptre. This resulted in the powers turning upon him, and taking him out of this existence to a place of punishment for those who blaspheme the ‘gods of Olympus’, hmmm?”
“But what about the Sceptre of Zeus?”
I went over and touched the old relic as it lay motionless on the table.
“Kit-10?” I queried.
“Scanning now, s--,” said the computerised kitten. “Results show no evidence of residual energy present.”
“Quite right,” I said, putting the artefact safely in my jacket. “We can return the Sceptre to the late Mr. Shapiro’s heirs. This experience has drained the last of the Olympianoid powers from it, and the old relic can do no further harm.”
“Well that’s good!” cheered Millie as we left the private room into the main area of the Sweet Delights dessert shop.
“Before we go,” said I, “I shall purchase a round of ice cream for the entire house, hmmm? This includes that remarkable young chap who, although he shall never know it, aided in saving the world from unspeakable tyranny!”
***** DANIEL RUMANOS AND MILLIE DRAKE SHALL RETURN
