Hawkman and Hawkgirl

The Hunted

by Libbylawrence

The Egyptian night was silent and among the many exhibits in the huge Cairo Museum’s Antiquities wing there was no one to hear or see the arrival of a furtive figure. This was entirely appropriate since Fahroud Masai considered himself to truly live up to the nom du crime of the Master Thief!

He smiled as moonlight illuminated a display beneath a skylight.

“Nature aids her favored son! Fahroud, surely Fate is a woman for she loves you as they all do!” he thought.

He paused and caught his breath. He was not as agile as he once had been and the idea caused the vain thief a great deal of concern.

“First, I am short of air then I find myself slower than the desert jackal. What is next? I will develop what the Americans call the beer belly?” he sighed.

He turned to gracefully pry open a locked office door. He entered and nodded in approval.

No alarm sounded. He had silenced it before ever entering the museum. He also knew the guards would change shifts and someone would return this way in less than three minutes. He had to move swiftly.

He hurried across the office and used his considerable skills to crack the safe. He carefully reached inside the open door and retrieved a delicately carved amulet.

“The rumors were true! The Orb is as pristine as if it had been created yesterday! My spies at the dig spoke the truth. They deserve a raise. Oh, well. Such is life!” he thought.

He turned to depart with the precious ancient relic whose discovery had been reported to him. He knew he could interest a certain antiquities collector who cared little about the origins or right to sale the items he hoarded!

As the Master Thief made his way silently into the night he failed to notice an eerie glow that crossed the Orb’s surface as starlight from above touched its silvery finish.

He would sale the precious item and live happily off the money for quite a while. What he did not know was that exposing the ancient item to the light of those specific stars while they were in that specific alignment would unleash a horror beyond his imagination. He would not have cared had he known since the terror and the violence would be centered on a heroic American half a world away from Egypt’s silent streets.

2

The Bridgeport Country Club’s elegantly decorated meeting room housed the local D.A.R. chapter on the second Tuesday of each month. All in all the membership consisted of wealthy and self-satisfied women. One of the members assembled there was much younger in appearance than her peers. Shiera Sanders Hall was a woman who seemingly had it all. She was extremely wealthy and came from an important family whose lineage could be traced back centuries. She was stunningly beautiful. She looked much younger than her true age. Her friends had always accepted that this was due to the work of a gifted plastic surgeon. In truth, Shiera still retained the figure and energy of a young woman because she and her husband Carter had been exposed to certain energies that greatly retarded the aging process. This had occurred years ago when the pair was active as Hawkman and Hawkgirl during the war years. She was also deeply and passionately in love with a man who was more than her husband. He was her soul mate.

Still, the auburn haired beauty was not happy as she sat among a group of other wealthy society women. The conversation was tinged with acid-tongued sarcasm and catty barbs delivered with killing smiles. Shiera was in fact very much in her element since she could charm or silence her critics with style and wit. However, she had finally come to the conclusion that after so many years posing as an idle socialite, she had either lost her desire to placate the elite social set in which she was such a shining example of the perfect woman or she no longer cared about such facades.

“Maybe, it’s taken me over thirty years to grow up but I simply don’t care about Gloria’s new husband or Midge’s old nose job. These women have been my friends or at least a part of my life since we were debutantes back in the late 1930′s. Maybe, I’m having a post midlife crisis or something but I find them all to be shallow and empty. I mean I always played the role of the giddy socialite to perfection but with Hector all grown up with a child of his own and my secret identity no longer a secret, why should I keep up the old act!” she thought.

“Shiera, darling, aren’t you listening?” asked a blue-haired matron named Edith Ellerige.

Shiera shook her head and said, “I’m sorry. I’m not myself today. I think I’ll leave you girls to your tea. ”

She stood up and started to offer a final polite goodbye when a striking figure appeared in the air above them. The newcomer was female and wore a flowing robe with ornate hieroglyphics decorating the trim. The old symbols gleamed with a magical light of their own. The woman was tall and elegant; however, what caught Shiera’s eye was the fact that the weird woman had the features of a cat!

Shiera slowly backed away from the table and her shocked and rattling friends. She began to unzip her skirt slightly to give her added mobility. She was not wearing her Hawkgirl costume beneath her designer outfit but she had an instinctive sense that she was going to have a fight on her hands!

Above the chaos of the frightened D.A.R. ladies, Shiera heard the almost purring tones of the floating figure.

“I am Bast and you are the one we seek! I sense that you are of our culture! You are the handmaiden of Horus! I doubted my brethren when they told me that he had defied our eons old oath by creating a champion to rule this forgotten domain again! Still, you do not look like you will offer much sport even to one who has had her own skills dulled by the dusts of time!”

She gestured and white light filled the room. As it faded away a black panther growled menacingly and crouched in readiness to spring!

Shiera ripped off her jacket and held it in front of her as the animal pounced at her. She managed to shield herself from its claws and lift it slightly up and to one side as it bounded past her darting form.

“Thank goodness I wore my nth metal belt beneath my clothing. I can’t steer my flight with any great accuracy without the wings I left at home but the belt still gives me basic flight ability and enough added lift to push the panther away, ” she thought.

The panther whirled around and swiped at her with one paw. As she shouted to her friends to prod them into running away, she felt the claws slice across one hip.

She groaned and dodged by rising skyward.

“What do you want? It takes more than a fancy mask to frighten me, sister!” she said.

Bast laughed and said, “Stripling! Your master may not have branded you with his crest but my touch will leave you raw and fleshless!”

She touched Shiera and the slightest tap of her slender hand left a gash across Shiera’s chest.

Shiera kicked her with stunning force but the alien creature merely reeled backward before slapping Shiera to the ground.

“Super strength! She’s stronger than me! Stronger than Atom used to be!” she whispered as she wiped blood away from her lips.

She crawled across the room and noticed that it had emptied at last. She nodded grimly and rose to her feet.

“You called me the Handmaiden of Horus? Well, this maid has a mate. Hawkman will be here any second!” she said in a bluffing tone.

Bast said, “I think not. The male who embodies Horus on this plane is being dealt with by one of my brethren. In fact you are not worthy my time. Handmaidens were never considered to be part of the real game even when we all played it. I merely thought to amuse myself with you as a bored adult might humor a pretty infant for a moment’s pleasure.”

She brought her hands together and the force waves shattered the walls around them.

Shiera gasped and hurled herself through the nearest window.

She ignored the cuts and bruises as she plunged out of the second story window and saw the building begin to collapse.

She struggled for a moment in mid air and then managed to kick away from the falling structure.

She reclined on the roof of a nearby building and watched the smoke and dust fill the air as fire and rubble marked the ruins of the once stately establishment.

Shiera wiped one hand across her bloody and smudged face as she saw the figure of Bast rise up and float away in a burst of white light.

“She destroyed the whole building! She could have killed dozens of people and it was all part of some cosmic game! I don’t know what the thing was or why it hunted me down but the Egyptian connection makes it all too personal. I’ve got to get to Carter!”

3

Hawkman himself was busy in his own study at the stately Hall Manor that had been home to his noble family for generations. He looked up at the paintings of his ancestors and sighed. A Hall had been on the Mayflower and the family’s credentials as shapers of political and economic affairs were impeccable. Carter himself had been seen as something of a disappointment to the family. He knew his late parents had devoted time and attention to him and he never doubted their love or their pride in him. Still, as the only son he had been expected to take over the family business interests; however, he had always preferred to dabble in archeology. He had made a name for himself in that field and was now a respected scholar but his interests had led him away from the traditional pursuits of the family and he had done little to restore any of the broken bonds between himself and his cousins.

Most of his cousins were dead now. He had never met most of their children nor did he care to do so. He had forged a world of his own that was steeped within the lore and romance of the past and was secured by a courage and determination that had carried him through time and space itself!

He knew that his own son Hector had grown up with a simmering resentment for the way Carter had neglected him for his other loves. Carter had provided for him and guided him to the best schools but he had also been a distant and often absentee father. Being Hawkman had been a greater priority to him than being a father. He knew this and he hoped to have time to fix the problems. He was physically young thanks to the energies that had slowed his aging process and he hoped to get to know Hector as a peer as well as a parent. Now, he had grandchildren and he wanted to try to find the time to correct old mistakes.

An explosion that shook the room interrupted his thoughts. He jumped to his feet and tossed his robe aside. He was wearing his Hawkman costume since he was due to take a turn at monitor duty at the JSA Brownstone that evening. He concentrated and the almost unseen wings he possessed grew larger and sprouted from his broad back. He flew down the long hallways of his home to find a weird figure standing amidst the smoke and fire.

“Greetings, Scion of Horus! You confirm what our sensors detected from among the cosmos. Horus has defied us by placing a champion here! That breech of honor is unlike him but we will settle the issue by killing you now!” said the creature.

He had the head of a strange creature. His elongated snout made him look a bit like an aardvark. He wore a robe with colorful symbols that gleamed on the lining.

“Great Scott! You look like Set himself!” gasped Hawkman as he thought of the ancient Egyptian deity.

“Set is my name! I am pleased that Horus taught his pawns about the brethren! Perhaps, though he was remiss in keeping the oath we all took, he was more practical about lesser matters!” said the being.

Hawkman said, “I wear the garb of a servant of Horus. I do stand for justice as he did but I do not literally serve him. You speak madness!”

He stood ready to dodge as the creature raised a long staff and orange energy blasted out to melt the bookcase behind him.

“Those were first editions! You must not have a love for literature!” he quipped as he charged at the creature.

Set merely spun the staff around and brought one end down on Hawkman’s back.

He crashed to the carpet and felt old wounds reopen.

“The burns I received from Dr. Phosphorus have returned!” he gasped.

He struggled to his feet and ignored the pain.

“I don’t know if you’re a nut or some space god. You won’t get away with this! No one intrudes into my home!”

He reached out and found a crossbow on the wall. He slipped a bolt in place and fired with expert aim!

The shaft knocked the staff out of Set’s hand and as it fell to the floor, Hawkman gripped it with both hands.

“I control my staff as I control all things that serve me!” said Set.

Hawkman gasped as the staff glowed red-hot and burned his hands.

He slammed it into Set and began to pummel him with his fists. He ignored the pain and fought furiously.

Set staggered backward and Hawkman continued to attack. Something about this being brought out an unseen anger within him. He had to stop the creature! He felt that as a certainty.

Set fell beneath his blows and then with one gesture, he sent Hawkman crashing into the wall.

“You fight well. Horus picked you with his usual discernment. I would have been honored to have one such as you play the game for me. Too bad I must end your life now!”

He started to approach Hawkman who was struggling to retain his awareness. The room was swimming before his eyes and he felt unsteady on his feet.

He started to fall when a colorful figure raced into the room.

“Atom!” he whispered as he recognized the costumed form of Al Pratt!

“Hawk! I was driving up when I saw the smoke. I smothered the fires and heard the sound up here.” he said.

He wore a solid blue mask that hid his face but there was no hiding the small but powerful man’s concern for his friend.

He said, “Look here, Horse-face, nobody hurts my friends without losing teeth!”

Set said, “This one is not a part of the game. Thus, I remove him thusly!”

Hawkman cried out and lunged forward as Atom vanished in a flash of energy.

“You fiend! What have you done!” he gasped.

Set said, “No one who is not a part of the game may participate. Thus, I have wiped the one called Atom from this moment. He now drives away as if he never entered this home. To his memory, he never did. None may take your part. That is how the game must be played. You will not enlist those unworthy! I will take my leave of you now. This has been rewarding. We will meet again when the Brethren decide to slay you and your woman!”

Set flickered away and Hawkman stared in disbelief at his damaged home. The fire was out but the ruined rooms and the injuries he carried on his body were evidence enough of what had occurred! It was not a dream and he would know that when he revived.

He fell to the floor and knew no more.

4

Hours later he stirred and sat up with the name Shiera on his lips. She was by his side and she held him with a sudden passion that startled him into full awareness. She wore a filmy teddy that revealed her own injuries.

“Shiera! You’ve been hurt! Did that vermin Set do this to you?” he demanded.

She said, “No! It was a cat creature named Bast! I think we were both attacked by some maniacs with an Egyptian obsession. No offense!”

Carter grinned slightly and said, “None taken. They are more than earthly crooks. The science or magic Set used on me was pretty potent stuff. This Bast hurt you? Did she speak of Horus and of the brethren?”

Shiera said, “Yes! She displayed amazing powers. She said I was linked to her culture and that Horus had broken some rule. She said as his handmaiden I had to die.”

Carter said, “Set was the one who fought me here. He said some of the same things. He and his brethren seem to model themselves after the Egyptian gods of myth. I even wonder if it was such beings that long ago inspired the ancient Egyptians in their depictions of their animal headed gods? We had assumed as much when we met the Feitherians. This new group makes me feel that was the case.”

Shiera said, “You don’t think they are related to Norda’s people?”

Carter shook his head. “No. They are different. I feel that with the same certainty that my dreams once led me to you and Hastor.”

Shiera said, “They want us dead. They see it as part of some unholy game.”

Carter nodded grimly and stood up. His body was scarred but he was much better than he had been after Set’s attack.

“My injuries are fading. Perhaps, no damage sustained in this game is lasting. I barely see your own bruises.”

Shiera said, “My cut was a deep one but it healed almost instantly.”

Shiera said, “Oh, Carter! Do you think Hector and Lyta and the baby are in peril?”

Carter said, “No. They have no direct tie to ancient Egypt. We do since we lived past lives in that era. I’m guessing those aliens came to earth in that era too. They departed and something has brought them back now. They see us as being pawns or champions of Horus. I assume they have a counterpart to the mythic hawk god too since we know of Set and Bast from legend. They see us as being living violations of some pact they all made long ago. They will keep their violence directed at us and those around us. That’s why we need to get away from our friends. We can’t involve them. Atom was here and Set sent him away without any memory of being here. The next time one of our pals encounters Set or his brethren, they might be killed! I can’t carry that kind of burden. This fight is a private one!”

He stood before a wall of weapons and a case full of helmets. He gripped a mace and smashed the glass case.

He retrieved an ornate and elaborate Hawk shaped helmet.

“Carter? You haven’t worn that one since the early forties!” she said.

Carter placed it over his head and said, “If they want to fight a Hawkman then I’ll give them one!”

5

Dr. McNider (Dr. Mid-Nite) frowned as he placed the phone back on the desk in his study. He turned to his pretty blonde wife Myra who was sitting across from him with a look of concern on her face.

“Charles? What’s wrong? That was Carter wasn’t it?” she asked.

Dr. McNider nodded and said, “Myra, Carter just called to say that an archeological project will require him to take leave from the team. He and Shiera will be out of the country for a while. He asked me to tell the others.”

Myra sat on her husband’s lap and said, “What’s so disturbing about that? Carter has spent much of his free time on such expeditions.”

Dr. McNider held Myra’s hand and said, “Call it doctor’s insight but I think he was not telling the truth. Something is wrong with the Halls but I can’t break their trust by looking into it…yet. I owe them time to settle whatever it is before I take action.”

Myra kissed him and the couple sat in silence and thought about their friends.

6

Egypt! The splendor of the ancient land still moved Carter Hall as he gazed across the expanse of desert that bordered his property.

“Coming here was a natural idea! If those things are drawn to Egypt then they’ll come here. If they want us then they’ll come here. We can face them without the risk of involving Hector or the other JSAers.” announced Carter.

Shiera nodded and adjusted her own boots as she stood by his side. She wore her customary Hawk helmet with its more feminine styling than her husband’s helmet. Her helmet lacked the bizarre but striking appearance of his helmet. She wore a brief red bra with her winged harness and her tights of green and red ended in boots with high heels and an talon styled decoration that made the back of the boots sharp.

“I feel like we’re facing a war. I’m frightened to be honest!” she said.

He placed his arms around her and said, “We’ll face it together. We can triumph over anything as long as we are together! Hastor couldn’t separate us. Death and time could not divide us. We’ll emerge from this battle as victors as we always have! I feel that to be true!” he said.

He stared across the sands and fought against the doubts that ran through his own mind.

“We died here once. Perhaps, it’s time for our Fates to come full circle. If we are to die then this is the place for it. ”

7

The Winged Wonders spent a tense day as they waited for an attack to take place. They knew it would not be long before their alien foes sought to continue their mad game. While they waited, Carter scoured a series of reports he had received from various associations in the antiquities field.

He frowned and said, “An artifact called the Orb of Ptah was uncovered recently at a dig partially financed by our pal Rex Tyler. While he was not personally involved in the project, his company paid for the actual work. He passed on the data to me since he knew of our special connection to all things of ancient Egypt.”

Shiera said, “I know you too well to assume you’re making idle chatter. Do you think the Orb is connected to our alien enemies? ”

Carter said, “I know that the Orb was stolen from the Museum in which Tyler’s people were displaying it. I know that that disappearance happened very shortly before Set and Bast came after us. It’s stretching a point to form a connection but something lured them here after eons in space. Call it some instinct or maybe even a hidden memory from our past lives but I feel we need to follow up on the Orb”

Before he could finish his conversation the windows of the house were broken as a massive swarm of insects crashed through the glass! There were hundreds of them and they came from all sides with an almost human intellect or purpose!

Shiera screamed and soared into the air as the insects covered her and Carter!

“Weighing us down or blinding us!” she gasped as she fell beneath the swarm.

Hawkman yelled out to her even as he tried to fight his way free of the tiny insects.

“Hold on! I’m coming!” he said.

“As am I, human! As am I!” said a weird figure in a red robe. This creature was humanoid but his head looked like a locust!

“Apshai! I didn’t expected the insect god but then again anything is possible!” said Hawkman.

He pulled Hawkgirl into his arms and together their Nth metal belts enabled them to break free of the insects and escape outside.

Hawkgirl cried out, “Hawk! We can’t hit them! They are everywhere at once! Our best blows just scatter them for a moment!”

He said, “Hold on to me!”

She gripped his chest as they plunged into a nearby swimming pool. Carter never did like swimming but now he was glad that he had added the luxurious pool to their Egyptian property.

The waters swept the insects away from the submerged heroes.

Hawkman continued to hold Hawkgirl as they resurfaced and he directed their flight toward the house.

“I have a plan!” he said in his usual confident manner.

Shiera nodded and tried to relax and trust in her husband’s prowess!

He grabbed a fire extinguisher and blasted away at the insects.

“The foam smothers them! Problem is, Apshai seems to have an endless supply of them!” he thought.

Apshai drew closer and said, “You harm my children and that angers me. Still, I admire your wit! Many warriors panic when they see and feel my tiny but deadly children out in force!

Hawkgirl swooped directly at him. She was trying hard to conceal her fear and to make up for her inactivity when he first attacked!

She slammed into him and yelped as his very body altered and began a swarm of insects that coated her own body and brought her crashing to the ground.

Hawkman turned and hurled the extinguisher at Apshai and as the foam broke up and covered the seemingly insubstantial insect god, he summoned his insects again and they left a battered and frightened Shiera below.

“Your triumph shall be short. I praise the day the Orb brought us here once more. We had slumbered in our stellar chariots for far too long. Horus may have violated our old pact to leave this world alone but by doing so he has given us our first true entertainment in eons!”

He vanished as Hawkman helped Shiera to her feet.

“Our stings will heal. All wounds inflicted during their game seem to heal quickly!” he said as he gently carried her inside.

She said, “I’m sorry Carter! I just froze up! I’m so sorry!”

He hushed her with a kiss and said, “They gave me a bad moment or two as well. Still, it may have been worth it. Apshai mentioned an Orb that brought them here. I think that confirms our suspicion that the theft of the Orb of Ptah was linked to them.”

Shiera said, “We know they came from space. They must have been in some type of suspended animation until the Orb was stolen and in some manner the thief used it to wake them up and lure them here. It might have been an accident for all we know!”

Hawkman said, “True enough. I want that Orb. If it brought them here then perhaps it can also return them all to their sleep! We both know the most likely suspect in any theft of such an item.”

Shiera rolled her eyes and said, “Devon Sinclair! That arrogant twit has always been a collector of such treasures and he has never been concerned with how he acquires his prizes either. He must have hired a thief to get the Orb for his private museum. ”

Hawkman said, “I think so too. Sinclair has been my main rival in such matters all these years. He has a passion for antiquities that knows no limits. He may be in his seventies but he has not slowed down in terms of his greedy lust for the ancient world’s relics!”

Hawkgirl said, “I suppose we need to pay him a visit!”

Hawkman said, “With no delay!”

8

Devon Sinclair greeted the Hawks warmly as his butler ushered them into his office. He was a feeble man but his eyes were still bright and he noticed every detail with a hungry avarice.

“Carter Hall! How delightful to see you! My, my, you even wore your fancy dress costumes! You know those of us in the business were astounded when your lad exposed your little secret for all the world to see!” he said.

Hawkman said, “Sinclair, I have no time for your unctuous pleasantries. I have reason to believe that you have recently acquired the Orb of Ptah. I have need of it. It is an emergency.”

Sinclair sat back in his plush chair and shaded his eyes with one hand.

“Isn’t every waking moment a potential emergency for your long underwear boys?” he said.

Hawkgirl said, “Devon this is urgent! The Orb has certain powers. It is an unearthly relic. It came from an alien race. If we can’t examine it, lives may be lost!”

Sinclair clapped his hands together and said, “Shiera Sanders Hall! You were always such a drama queen.”

Hawkgirl said, “You have never forgiven the fact that I refused to become one of your conquests back in my deb. days.”

Hawkman said, “Get down!”

He flew into the air and swung his mace in a sweeping circle that connected with a robed figure with a serpentine head!

“Apep, the serpent god!” he muttered as he fought with the creature’s elongating arms!

“Horusss knew that this planet had been declared a neutral ground. He had no right to place a champion here!” hissed the alien.

Hawkman struggled within the thing’s embrace as Hawkgirl jumped over the desk to grip Sinclair’s shirt in her fists.

“Devon! Bring me the Orb now! That thing will destroy your home and your precious relics if you don’t help us stop it!” she said.

Devon hesitated then cried out for his butler!

“Wilkins! Bring me the Orb! It is the item in my study safe!” he shouted.

Hawkman kicked the serpent being backward and dodged a sudden rain of snakes that erupted out of the being’s long sleeved robes!

He whirled around as Set, Bast, Apshai, and other odd aliens who resembled the Egyptian mythical gods entered the room.

“Hawkgirl, stay back! You know the plan!” he said.

Hawkgirl frowned and drew her crossbow as the creatures loomed over the heroic pair.

Hawkman said, “Listen to me! You are aliens who visited here in the days of ancient Egypt. Your images were copied by the natives of that time who worshipped you. At some point, you departed earth and have been in suspended animation ever since. Am I right?”

Bast said, “Indeed, Scion of Horus! We did rule this planet in an earlier era. We felt we had done enough to stimulate the development of the natives after what was a brief time to us. We vowed to leave and never tamper with the world again. That was an oath we all took.”

Set said, “After eons, the Opener of the Ways brought us all here again! We awoke to find you and by your nature we sensed that you serve Horus. That violates our oath and thus, we must slay you. In ancient times we often pitted one champion against another for sport.”

Hawkman said, “Where is Horus? Why has he not appeared? He can tell you that I am not truly his champion! I merely wear garb that once honored him!”

Wilkens rushed inside and carried the gleaming Orb of Ptah!

Anubis said, “That Orb is what brought us here across the endless sea of space! If it had not done so, we would never have learned of the way Horus betrayed us!

Apep said, “Asss for Horusss, he separated from the Brethren long ago. He desired to walk his own path!”

Hawkgirl grabbed the Orb and said, “The glyphs on the side speak of the Opener of the Ways as well!”

Hawkman said, “Ptah was the god known by the title! It is a fitting one for a tool that acts as a type of teleportation device!”

He said, “We have said that we do not serve Horus. We now ask you to leave this world!”

Set said, “Such is not our way! We must end your existence!”

9

They raised their weapons. Staffs, scepters, claws, animals, insects, and other deadly forms of attack loomed in front of Hawkman.

He stood defiantly before them and said, “If you crave battle then step forward! You won’t find me lacking in any manner!”

They moved closer and at his signal Hawkgirl suddenly shattered the Orb against the floor.

Energy enveloped the alien group as well as the Hawks and in moments they were gone!

“Well played!” echoed from beyond as their final words lingered in the room.

“Carter, are they truly gone for good?” asked Hawkgirl.

Hawkman said, “I think so. I believe that the Orb was their only means of travel and now it has stranded them back in what they called the endless sea of space!”

They gazed around them as the light faded and they gasped as they saw a strange and wonderful city hovering in the void of space.

“This is amazing! We’ve been drawn along with them to their home! It looks like outer space and yet we can breathe!” whispered Shiera!

Hawkman said, “The Orb of Ptah took our foes back to their home as I’d hoped. What I didn’t wager on was that our connection to ancient Egypt would be enough for it to take us as well!”

He placed both hands on his hips and looked around the majestic cityscape. The gold and silver structures were like pyramids in appearance and yet he could tell that some alien science within each one empowered the whole domain! Stars and black space surrounded the entire area and as Hawkman soared higher he noticed that nothing but endless space stretched on in every direction.

Hawkgirl joined him and said, “It is beautiful! Are we trapped here? I shattered the Orb. That may have been our only way back!”

Hawkman shook his head. “No. We’ll find the way. One way or another, we’ll get back home!”

10

The Hawks flew across the odd city and saw no sign of life or of their foes.

“See those tombs? I believe Set and company are within them in some suspended animation! The Orb truly lived up to its press releases! It opened the way all right! The aliens were returned to their ancient resting-place again! They may not disturb us while we search for answers!” said Hawkman.

Hawkgirl shivered and said, “The mystery of what happened to Horus keeps coming to my mind! Of course, I also keep thinking about Hector and the kids …and a pair of new Jimmy Choos!”

Hawkman smiled and said, “You can’t take the shallow heiress act this far on the road! Still, I appreciate the fact that you’re trying to keep our spirits up. You always have been a real source of inspiration for me!”

He turned and pointed to their left.

“That glyph is a symbol of Horus the Hawk god. I think we need to pay his place a visit. They wrongly thought he had broken their oath to leave earth untouched after they departed for space because we appeared to be his champions. They also claimed he had gone his own way from the rest of the brethren. Still, I feel drawn to that structure!”

Shiera nodded. She also felt a slight compulsion to enter the temple of the Hawk god. She knew Carter so well that she could sense something deeper than curiosity beneath his even and commanding tones.

“Carter has always resisted the idea that his fate was predestined in any way. He has embraced the idea that we lived past lives but he has fought fiercely to assert his own free will in how he has lived this life! Being viewed by those aliens as nothing more or less than the pawns of a space deity didn’t sit well with him at all!”

As they passed through two ornate gates into the hushed silence and shining splendor of the pyramid shaped shrine of Horus, Hawkman did tense up as he wondered once more just how much of his life was his own to shape and just how many decisions had been made for him based on the whims of Horus?

“I am Carter Hall by birth. I am Hawkman by choice. No matter what the aliens said, I am not some selected champion of the hawk god’s. I know that!” he thought.

Shiera touched his brawny arm as a shadowy figure rose up from an altar. It was a vast hawk with brown and gold feathers and a massive wingspan. It gazed at the tiny figures of the couple with piercing and appraising eyes.

“I am the Hawk god! Here in my domain I appear as I am. There is no need for a humanoid fa�ade in this sacred place. I have returned here recently as you judge time because I felt that you were coming!” he said.

Hawkman slowly gripped his mace and said, “We’ve suffered a lot because of you. Your brethren almost killed us because of their game and the believe that we were your pawns!”

The hawk god screeched and said, “You are my pawns and as such I have decided to draw you home to me! Your essence will commingle with mine own!”

11

Hawkman said, “Hold it! You’re as stubborn as the others were! You may have vast power but you use it like spoiled children! You may not agree with me but I tell you now that Hawkman is no one’s slave!”

Hawkgirl said, “Carter! I feel as if that thing is sapping my free will! I’m being drawn closer to it!”

She flew at the creature even as Hawkman wrapped his arms around her hips and held her firmly.

“Stay with me! We can’t let that thing take away our sense of self!” cried Hawkman.

He cursed as he felt his own will falter. He slowly began to move closer to the huge being as his muscles responded to some overwhelming compulsion!

“You may insist upon your freedom but in the end you will come to me and that is as it should be! You wear my mantle and you have lived more than one life. That is all the reward I will grant you. Return to me that your essence may enrich me!” said the hawk god.

Hawkman felt the proximity of the massive beast as the couple was drawn ever closer.

“Got to try one last thing!” he thought.

He kissed his wife fiercely as they vanished into the creature in a flash of energy!

Moments passed. In that timeless realm eons might have passed away. In any event, at some point after they vanished the Hawks emerged from the fading light to see each other and feel one another in their still maintained embrace.

“Carter! It released us!” cried Shiera!

“No! It just could not hold us!” declared a defiant Hawkman.

“Our love was more powerful than the hawk god! Our love was what allowed us to return after our first lives ended! That love will always sustain us! Horus, whatever name you choose to use, you never had any power over us! Don’t let our costumes delude you as they did your brethren! You can’t control us. We are larger than you because of the bond we share!”

The hawk god screeched and said, “It is a rare thing for a mortal to teach one such as I a lesson in humility! You bested my brethren. You defied me. I am known for championing the ideal of justice. I shall be just enough to admit that I have no claim on you nor can I truly claim that I ever had anything to do with your destiny. You do me honor by wearing my mantle. Continue to do so and know that you will have nothing to fear from me or my slumbering brethren again!”

The Hawks blinked as light washed over them and they were back in the office of Devon Sinclair as if no time had passed since Shiera had broken the Orb of Ptah!

Sinclair said, “That relic was priceless! I’ll see you in court!”

Hawkman said, “You acquired the Orb from a thief. I can welcome any meeting we might have in court!”

Sinclair said, “Bah! Get out! Get out of my home, Hall!”

They departed and the wealthy old man scowled in fury.

The Hawks soared across the Egyptian skies and Shiera said, “Darling, those aliens had such amazing power. They inspired the entire culture and mythology of ancient Egypt and yet their goals were so petty and shallow! They saw life and death as part of a mere game for their amusement!”

Hawkman took her into his arms and said, “Are they so different in terms of their basic nature from any of the thugs we’ve fought over the years? They had raw power but they were nothing more than spoiled childish beings with small dreams and selfish goals. That was one of the reasons I knew we could defeat them. We have love and our love is eternal. Next to that, what chance did they have?”

The two lovers kissed and the sun bathed them in a red glow that matched their feelings of contentment.

 

The End