| After a long night of pitched battle and intense investigation.
Forte flies off over the black, rolling ocean in search of the diabolical
Dummy. The Monocled Menace has kidnapped and hurt their
friends and families, manipulated his minions into stealing and destroying
tens of millions of dollars worth of property, and has put countless
innocent lives at stake to further his own ambition. Needless to say,
our heroes have had enough.
About nine miles from shore., the heroes see three forms jetting towards
them. Doctor Light, Gulfstream, and
Auricle, three of the Dummy's cadre of villains, are
on the attack.
Dr. Jackal realizes that out here over open ocean,
he's almost useless, so he has Knightsabre try and
fly him right into Gulfstream. But the Master of Storms decides that
he really doesn't want to get grabbed by Dr, Jackal, and twists out
of the way. Jackal goes sailing past and into the cold seas.
Shrike gets into a duel with Dr. Light, who tries to
quick-fry him to a crackly crunch. Cincoflex takes
on Auricle, who, it seems, can attack even while intangible.
Meantime, Knightsabre realizes that this is a delaying tactic and tries
to bypass the action and go after the Dummy herself. But Gulfstream
flies after her and attacks with a stream of waterballs. He gets lucky
and nails Knightsabre with several shots in a row, sending her flying
backwards.
Shrike, Cincoflex, Dr. Light and Auricle get into a four-way crossfire,
as Dr. Jackal decides to swim out of the battle area as fast as his
furry feet will let him. Shrike knocks Dr. Light for a loop, sending
her crashing into the sea. Cincoflex decides that, since she can't lay
a finger on Auricle, she ought to stretch over and keep Dr. Light from
drowning.
Gulfstream must lead a charmed life, since he managed to avoid being
hit by Knightsabre. Again he opens up with his waterballs, and knocks
Knightsabre several hundred yards through the air. She is knocked out
when she slams into the water, and sinks to the bottom of the ocean.
Shrike is not very pleased by this, and manages to tag Gulfstream with
his sonic scream. Gulfstream crashes into the water, too. Meantime,
Cincoflex is trying to haul Dr. Light out of the water, and even though
Auricle is in front of her, Cinco gets hit from behind. At this close
range she realizes Auricle is using holograms, and finds that at close
range Auricle's invisibility is only partially effective. The surprised
Auricle gets punched out, and the three villains are loaded into a Cinco-life
raft.
The only problem is Knightsabre. Out here in the ocean they have no
idea where she is, or if she can survive for long in the ocean depths.
They also haven't a clue on what to do about it.
Shrike remembers that the same fellow who sponsored his father's early
heroing activities also sponsored Captain Compass,
Sentinel of the Seas. Sounds like the right man for the present situation.
So he calls in to Sydney at UNCLE,
who in turn wakes Martin Chance in the middle of the
night, who in turn contacts Captain Compass.
Soon his sleek hydrofoil, Mystic, pulls in to view. Our heroes
try their best to pinpoint a general area Knightsabre fell in.
Luckily, Knightsabre's metal armor makes it easier to find
her, and after two hours on the ocean floor she is pulled from the water
onto the hydrofoil. She appears dead, but after some first aid she recovers
consciousness.
The heroes decide to continue after the Dummy, fearing they may never
get such an opportunity again. Captain Compass agrees to take the miscreants
back to port and to get the heroes within a half-mile of the tanker
Chishirokawa Maru.
The tanker has been gunned up to thirty knots and is making a break
for it. Knightsabre in particular is mad and pounds a hole into the
electronics and navigation deck. The heroes promptly begin to destroy
equipment in an effort to cripple the ship. Within minutes they are
attacked by a trio of villains: the human dynamo, Blitz;
Scatter, the Russian mistress of sub-atomic density;
and Holly, the frenzied ballet dancer with razor-sharp
wristbands.
Blitz gives Dr. Jackal a hard time, especially with his incredible deadly
aura, but Jackal runs into him like an express train and takes him out.
Scatter, after all these fights, still can't hit the broad side of a
barn, and is ignomiously punched out. Holly actually slices through
Knightsabre's armor with her deadly wristbands, and takes a good few
licks with her force field until she, too is brought down.
Shrike destroys the ship's robot navigator, and then joins the annoyed
heroes as they dash below decks. The corridor slams shut and fills with
gas, but Knightsabre forces the door open.
Stretched out before them is an enormous scale diorama of Seattle, with
various levels of holograms depicting law enforcement and military activities,
possible robbery targets, and the sewer and power grids.
Also here is the Dummy, who has chosen to make his stand with three
of his most powerful operatives - the sonic Dirge,
the fiery Incinerator, and the super-strong Madame
Steel. The Dummy gloats, and reveals a tremendous machine with
an unconscious girl strapped in the center of the beam's path - Prime.
Shrike dashes to rescue his sister from the construct, while Dr. Jackal
tries to tackle the Dummy. He succeeds in breaching the arch-villain's
force shield, but the Dummy shoots him with his deadly laser monocle.
Knightsabre has a score to settle with Madame Steel, and actually has
an advantage since Steel can't effectively grow to full power in such
cramped quarters. Cincoflex confronts the sexist Dirge, and Incinerator
bides her time, waiting for an opening.
The Dummy strikes again, sending Dr. Jackal unconscious into the bulkhead.
He promptly puts his force shield back up. Shrike has blasted the last
of the shackles holding Prime and flies her out to the provoking howls
of rage from the Dummy - Forte already destroyed his other power source
at the observatory, and prevented his getting a second power source
in the Anglegram.
Knightsabre and Madame Steel square off, and it's an even battle at
first. But Knightsabre has been weakened considerably by the pounding
she's taken tonight, and finally Madame Steel overpowers her. Meantime,
macho Dirge is getting the snot kicked out of him by Cincoflex, who
has gained much proficiency in hand to hand combat since she started.
But she turns to find herself menaced by the Dummy, Madame Steel, and
Incinerator... with nary a hero in sight!
As the three villains advance on Cincoflex, Incinerator decides
to take no chances and activates her firestorm power at full intensity.
Unfortunately she chose an oil tanker to pull this little maneuver and
sheets of flame promptly engulf the deck.
Shrike looks up from tending to his sister to see an explosion rock
the upper decks. He hurries back into the burning ship as Cincoflex
stretches over to grab Dr. Jackal. Shrike gets a hold of Knightsabre
and they head for the exits.
The Dummy comes through the flames, screaming in agony and rage as his
body is engulfed in flame. He tries to go after Cinco and Jack, but
lunges - and is impaled on his scale model of the Space Needle.
The ship is in its death throes, as it shudders and sinks beneath the
black waters with a final, fiery roar!
When the heroes dock back in Seattle, not only are UNCLE
and the police anxious to talk with them, but also the press. As the
heroes handle questions, one man forwards an invitation from a man called
Desperado to Cincoflex. There are worse ways to be
asked to dinner.
All the heroes are taken to Saint Cecilia's for treatment of wounds
minor and major. While recovering from several brushes with death, Knightsabre
suddenly sees the far wall of her hospital room dissolve into a hauntingly-familiar
landscape. Marble temples rise from a magnificent peak, overlooking
black skies filled with stars.
Ever curious and headstrong (which is how she keeps getting into the
hospital) Knightsabre steps over the threshold and sees that she has
entered the picture, like a drawing from Mary Poppins. Further up the
mountain she sees what appear to be Scandinavian dwellings of great
size and beauty. In another direction lie splendid castles made of glass.
Knightsabre finds it difficult to judge the distances to these places;
the perspective isn't quite right, since all seem both near and far
simultaneously.
She is greeted by a man of roughly her own size, muscular without being
muscle-bound. Although his hair is ash-white, he appears to be no older
than forty. His tunic is a deep blue, trimmed with silver. With a great
sweep of his silver walking staff, he booms, "Welcome home, Sabrina.
Welcome to Eternity."
 |
|
|
|