Desert Hawks
Spring, 1943
The sun was only beginning to rise above the still waters surrounding the Allied HQ at the Suez Canal, but the makeshift base was already bustling with activity. Soldiers, arms and armor were mobilizing for a push deeper into Africa, as the Allies continued to push the Axis forces back. A fighting force consisting of British, Australian, American, and Vichy troops had been able to take and hold the North African region. Despite their recent successes, there were rumors of an impending Axis attack, and everyone was on high alert.
Inside a large brick building that served as Allied Command, a small force of All Star Squadron members had been assembled. Crimson Avenger, Superman, Liberty Belle and Johnny Quick sat on a couple of makeshift benches, waiting quietly for their briefing to begin. The exhaustion of war, and constant pressures of the battlefield had begun to take their toll on the group. Superman in particular hadn’t been the same since Tunisia. The smiling farmboy had become withdrawn, even dour. Crimson Avenger had seen this type of reaction before, in the first Great War. He would need to keep an eye on Superman during this mission, for all of their sakes. The Allies couldn’t afford to lose their most powerful asset, and he wouldn’t let himself lose a good man to the horrors of war.
As Lee was considering this, Captain America entered the room, flanked by two other men. Clearly, these men were not soldiers. They both wore tweed suits, and looked like academics. What they were doing in the middle of a battlefield, he couldn’t begin to guess. He and the other soldiers stood at attention as the men walked past them and took their place at the podium at the front of the room.
“At ease, soldiers. Have a seat.” Captain Rogers said, nodding to them. They sat on the bench, and waited for their captain to continue.
“As you may know, German troops have been gathering ancient relics of power from around the world. We have acquired intelligence that suggests that Germany’s Hydra Division has unearthed a previously undiscovered ruin about 100 clicks to the south. High command believes that whatever is stored there can’t be allowed to fall into enemy hands. That’s where you come in.”
Lee noted that Clark’s fists clenched involuntarily at the mention of the name Hydra. He had read the reports from the operation in Tunisia. This had the potential to get ugly fast if they ended up engaging Hydra troops. This also made reigning in Superman a more difficult task, if things were that personal.
The Captain continued, “I would like to introduce you to our two guests, archaeologist Carter Hall, and physicist Al Pratt. These two men have volunteered to help us in this operation. I’ll let them explain the rest.” Cap stepped aside, and gestured to the two men to take over. The taller of the two men stepped forward to speak.
“Ah, yes, thank you, Captain.” He cleared his throat, and turned his attention to the others before continuing. “As Captain Rogers said, the Germans have unearthed ruins which we believe to be a series of tombs. The contents of these tombs are unknown, but keeping these ancient treasures out of the hands of the Germans has been placed at the highest of priorities by Allied Command. Al and I will be accompanying you on this mission, and my role will be to identify objects of importance and assist in recovery. As for my associate here, well, I’ll let him explain.” He stepped aside, allowing his diminutive associate to take center stage.
“Thanks, Carter. So, once we’ve found objects worth taking with us, it’ll be my job to make them transportable. My particular area of expertise has been in technology that allows us to reduce the size and mass of objects. Shrinking them, basically.”
He paused to let the group take that in, but found virtually no reaction at all in his audience. “Huh, that usually gets people’s attention. Ah well, I guess nothing surprises you super-types. Anyway, I will be using this baby here to shrink down whatever we find.” He produced a small metal device from inside his jacket. “It should let us put a whole pyramid in our pocket, so to speak.”
“Thank you, doctors.” Captain Rogers said, moving back to the podium. “You will be leaving immediately with these fine gentlemen under the command of First Sergeant Walters.” He said, gesturing to the Crimson Avenger. He then turned to face a map of the area posted behind him before continuing. “We have arranged transportation down the Nile, which will drop you at this point here. You will then make your way due East to this point, where intelligence tells us the ruins are located. Your ride is waiting outside. Good luck and godspeed.”
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Their journey down the Nile was tense, but uneventful. Both Carter and Al had hushed discussions on the nature of the various settlements and ruins they had passed by. While much of the area was under Allied control, it was still a war zone. Lee took the opportunity to discuss strategy with his men, as well as areas of responsibility for the protection of the civilians and recovery of any artifacts they might find.
As their small craft approached the drop point, all talking ceased. Lee hoped they wouldn’t run into any serious opposition. Intelligence reports were sketchy at best, and after the battle in Tunisia, they had to be prepared for anything. Germany’s Hydra Division had proven to be deadly on the battlefield since then as well, employing energy weapons and other incredibly advanced armaments. Allied scientists were desperately working to reverse-engineer these new devices, but it would take time to reproduce them or create effective countermeasures. Fortunately, many of his troops were immune to these new weapons, including Superman.
Lee took a moment to glance over his troops before they disembarked. Liberty Belle looked focused and stood side-by-side with Johnny Quick. They had grown quite close over the course of their time in the field. Lee wouldn’t be surprised if it was romantic, which would normally be problematic, but All Star Squadron worked outside of traditional military doctrine. Lee felt it might actually be a strength to have two teammates so close. Libby and Johnny were both great people that he knew he could count on in a pinch, and they would be responsible for the safety of Carter and Al in this mission.
His attention then turned to Superman. The boy had been uncomfortably quiet during their journey. Lee knew that Superman still felt responsible for the injuries that his team had sustained in Tunisia. Even though they had all made it out alive, it seemed that seeing his comrades in such pain had taken it’s toll on him. Lee had spoken to Captain America about it and, like the captain, agreed that Superman had the potential to be a very capable leader. He just hoped the kid could pull out of this and find himself again. Hopefully getting him out into the field would clear away Superman’s lingering self-doubt.
They began their trek inland, moving east across the shifting desert sands. They didn’t need to travel long before spotting the trails of dust in the distance that indicated troop movement. He sent Superman ahead to scout the activity, while the rest of them took cover behind a nearby dune. Superman took off in a blur, and returned moments later.
“It’s bad, sir. Two Hydra tanks, and an entire platoon. Looks like they have a couple of transport trucks as well. They’re closing in on the target area fast.” Superman, said, not even winded.
“All right, listen up everyone. Doctors, I need you two to stay put. Libby, Johnny, you two flank right, I’ll flank left, Supes, you hit em right up the middle. Go!”
They broke out in their assigned directions without another word. Quick carried Belle, moving faster than Lee could follow. Superman waited at the top of the dune for Lee to get into position. It was going to take him a minute. Wishing, not for the first time, that he had super speed. Panting from running in the soft sand, he reached his position and gave the signal to his team.
Superman ran full speed into the nearest tank, and with an incredibly loud screech of twisting metal, it was knocked onto its side. Chaos erupted from the Hydra troops, and they began firing in all directions. Crimson Avenger, Liberty Belle and Johnny Quick all broke from cover and rushed the enemy position. Lee fired a gas pellet into the clustered ranks of infantry, sending them coughing into the dirt. Meanwhile, Libby grabbed the barrel of the remaining tank gun and bent it backwards with ease. Last but not least, Johnny ran through the enemy ranks at incredible speeds, disarming as many of the troops as he could.
The tank that Superman had hit caught fire, and Lee shouted to him, “Get out of there! It’s gonna blow!” But the boy wasn’t listening to him, instead Superman tore the turret off the tank and retrieved the occupants. Hoisting them on his shoulders, he ran from the ensuing explosion. The shells in the tank exploded sending most of the team to the ground from the violent shockwave. The blast caught the second tank and the truck as well, and the resulting eruption could be seen and felt for miles around.
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Lee awoke in a coughing fit. He attempted to open his eyes, but it was useless. The dust and smoke in the air was impenetrable, and it was nearly impossible to breathe, much less see. He felt around his surroundings, trying to find a way to his feet, when a sudden blast of air knocked him right back down again. He groaned and raised his arm to shield his eyes from the piercing wind that seemed to have come out of nowhere. The air that was hitting his face felt out of place. It was cold, extremely cold, and almost instantly froze the sweat on his skin. As this wind blew the smoke and debris in the air away from the area, he could finally see what was going on around him.
His jaw dropped as he gazed at the massive pit that had formed in the wake of the explosion. Stranger still, it looked as though it hadn’t collapsed, so much as erupted outward. This must have been where the blast of cold air had come from. He quickly rose to his feet and searched the area for his team. He found all of them nearby, blasted away from the site as he was. All of them, except for Superman. The two scientists ran to join the team as quickly as they could in the rolling dunes of soft sand.
“Incredible! Did you see that eruption?! It was as though some kind of pressurized capsule were opened! We simply must investigate!” Carter said excitedly, almost childlike in his enthusiasm.
“Wait, where’s Superman? Is he OK?” Al said, panting from his run across the sands.
“I’m not sure, but it’s possible he’s down there.” Lee said, pointing to the gaping chasm. “Either way, we need to check this thing out. I doubt any of those goons survived the blast, so it should be relatively safe.”
Please, sergeant, let Al and I lead the way. We need to preserve the site as much as possible. We can’t afford to damage anything unnecessarily. Well, nothing that explosion didn’t already damage, I suppose.”
And so the team moved to the chasm, looking down into it for the first time. The midday desert sun illuminated the chamber extremely well, and they were awestruck by what they saw. A beautiful tiled chamber lay some 30 feet below the surface. The tiles glistened in the sun, and steps on the far side led up to what appeared to be some sort of throne. Furniture and entire rooms full of artifacts were preserved in such a way that they had not aged at all in what might have been centuries. In the middle of it all lay Superman, and on top of him were the soldiers he had rescued just before the explosion.
“You think he’s alive?” Al croaked, gulping as he looked down on the young man.
“I’ve been fighting alongside Superman for a long time now, and I haven’t seen anything that could keep him down.” Lee replied.
“Well then, we’d better go help him up. Let’s get climbing!” Liberty Belle said as she began her descent.
The climb was not as hazardous as they expected, with ample footholds to be found in the ancient rock face of the chamber walls. Carter reached the bottom first, and ran to Superman’s side.
“It looks like he fell on something!” Carter yelled back to the rest of the team, who were still descending the steep rock walls. He reached under superman and felt the haft of a weapon as well as a belt made from some type of metal. As soon as he touched it, his entire body felt as though it were on fire. His vision went white as he screamed in agony. Flashes, images of another life, raced through his mind. Another time, another body, but at the same time so familiar. He saw a beautiful woman as well. Shiera. Yes, that was her name. His beloved. How could he have forgotten her? The images began to fade, and with them the pain that wracked his body. He found himself standing over Superman with a massive mace in his hand. His body was now covered in some kind of armor, and his back, wings! He was reborn, and it was all so clear to him now. Carter Hall was but a vessel, and this metal had refilled that vessel and restored his power. But, Shiera, where was she? Could she be alive as well?
“She is indeed, Hawkman, and you will be joining her soon enough!” A voice spoke and Carter, Hawkman, spun to face it. From the shadows near the throne, a pair of figures stepped forth. The one who spoke was slender, and garbed in ancient egyptian attire of a royal purple color. The other was unlike anything Carter had ever seen. Blue armor covered a massive frame, and the face was so inhuman, so alien.
“No, not alien. Mutant would be the colloquial term, I believe.” The voice said coldly as he sat himself down upon the throne. “My servant's name is En Sabah Nur, and you may call me Immortus. We have been slumbering here for many centuries, awaiting your arrival. I am not disappointed. You have even done me the courtesy of wounding Superman with your mace. How considerate.” He gestured to the bodies of the soldiers that Superman had rescued before continuing. “They, however, will not be necessary.” He glanced to En Sabah Nur. “You may remove them.”
“Like hell you will, monster!” Hawkman yelled, as he charged towards the blue-armored giant. Its blue lips curled upwards in a sinister smile and his arm shot out towards Hawkman faster than he could see, sending him sprawling back towards Superman.
“Immortus calls me by my true name, but you may call me Apocalypse!” A booming voice roared from the blue giant. “You are all inferior creatures, unfit to survive!”
As Hawkman shakily pulled himself to his feet, he saw Superman doing the same. The rest of the team had nearly reached them now, but there was no time. Time. He felt everything slow down around him as though it were all under water. Carter slowly turned to see Immortus gesturing towards them with some device. Whatever it was, it was slowing them to a crawl! Apocalypse, however was unaffected, charging towards Superman at full speed. Hawkman couldn’t shout a warning to his friend in time, and Superman was sent flying against the rock wall. Apocalypse then reached down and picked up the two Hydra soldiers that Superman had saved, smashing their heads together with sickening force before throwing them aside like dolls.
Liberty Belle was the first to reach the battle, yelling a battle cry as she attempted a double-fisted uppercut on the armored giant. It was no use, however. They all seemed to be moving like molasses, and Immortus simply laughed as Apocalypse swatted the brave heroine away like an insect. Crimson Avenger fired a gas pellet into the fray, but it too had no effect on Apocalypse. Johnny Quick ran in to grab Belle, but even his speed was no match for the towering mutant. Hawkman struggled to stand as the world went black around him. Where was Al? He hoped his friend was okay. As he collapsed onto the tile floor, he heard only the sound of Immortus’ laughter...
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