The two pursuing choppers followed, banking in the same direction just in time to see Nobody’s and Iolanthe’s chopper cut right at the next narrow canyon-intersection and ascend.

The two chase choppers swept around the turn, also going up—

—to suddenly see the cables of the Brooklyn Bridge right in front of them, too close to avoid!

Nobody had known this was coming, and had swept nimbly under them, but these pilots hadn’t.

The first attack chopper went ploughing right into the cables, disappearing into them and twisting awkwardly.

The second chopper, with Chloe Carnarvon in it, ploughed right into the first one and the two military choppers exploded together.

The fireball caused all the bridge’s cables to wobble and vibrate as flames and rotor blades flew out in every direction.

Nobody and Iolanthe hovered in their helicopter a short distance away, watching the two enemy choppers burn.

‘See you later, Chloe,’ Iolanthe said softly. ‘You picked the wrong team.’

Sinai Desert, Egypt

29 December, 0525 hours

Twenty minutes after averting the end of the universe—and having helped Alby scale the overhang—Jack sat with Zoe, Lily and Alby on top of the pinnacle of the Throne of Death, staring up at the sky.

The spiderweb of cataclysmic white cracks had faded, replaced by a serene morning glow.

The gargantuan stadium-like space that had risen up out of the desert floor simply remained in its new place, a colossal new feature on the landscape.

After all the mayhem with the pulse and Sphinx—who still stood motionless nearby—Jack had put out a call on his radio, hoping that Sky Monster or Aloysius Knight might respond.

To his pleasant surprise, both answered.

‘We’re just over at the Red Sea coast, boss. Been dealing out a bit of death and destruction. On our way.’

As he waited for them to arrive, Jack turned to the others.

‘So, I guess we were all worthy, huh?’ he said. ‘I had a hell of a conversation with that gold colossus. What did he say to all of you?’

‘Apparently, I’m pure loyalty,’ Zoe said.

‘Pure love,’ Lily said. ‘And a “most holy and wise Oracle”.’

‘Courage,’ Alby said. ‘Pure courage.’

Jack smiled at the three of them. ‘Loyalty, love and courage. Couldn’t have put it better myself.’

Eventually, two helicopters arrived above the massive grey megastadium: a skinny attack chopper and a larger transport helicopter.

Rufus and Aloysius Knight were in the cockpit of the attack chopper, while Sky Monster, Easton and Smiley could be seen inside the transport bird.

Sky Monster brought his helicopter in low over the pinnacle and, high above the megastadium, Jack and the others boarded it.

Jack grabbed some handcuffs from the chopper, bound Sphinx with them, and ordered him inside.

Sphinx obeyed.

Then the two choppers lifted off and headed west, leaving the gargantuan open-air megastadium behind them.