"We've lost them for now!" the tall, handsome one said.

"Pharaoh's guards are merciless, as we know, N'Kantu," the shorter and rounder one said. "You saw what they did to the others."

"There are ways out of Cairo, Warui, that even Pharaoh does not know of," N'Kantu answered. He held his wife, V'Leema, close. "All we have to do is lie low for a while, and they'll eventually give up the search enough for us to escape. We'll go East, to Parthia, or further. Somewhere where we won't be captured and sold into slavery again."

"At least we three escaped Pharaoh's unjust enslavement," V'Leema said somewhat confidently.

Warui suddenly stood apart from the others. "No, we three have not escaped." He roughly pulled V'Leema out of her husbands' arms as Pharaoh's elite guards suddenly filled the alleyway. "V'Leema and I have escaped. You, N'Kantu, are now Pharaoh's slave once more!"

"You are my greatest friend, Warui!" N'Kantu protested as the guards came forward, armed with swords and quarterstaffs. "Why are you doing this to me?"

"Pharaoh offered me V'Leema if I turned you in, N'Kantu. The offer was too precious to resist."

Pharaoh's guards managed to restrain the athletic Swarili warrior, who now glared at his betrayer.

"I swear, Warui, if I am ever free from Pharaoh's clutches, I will hunt you down and gut you like the fat pig you are!"

"The only place from which you'll be able to take revenge on me, N'Kantu, after Pharaoh is done with you, is from the afterworld!!"

The days after that for N'Kantu were a slow progression of torment and pain as the Pharaoh and his imperial tormentors did their best to pay N'Kantu back for the slave rebellion he had tried to lead. The torturers were experts in their craft; they were able to repeatedly bring him to the point of unconsciousness, only to revive him for more torture. As the final punishment, the Pharaoh had his embalmers drain N'Kantu's blood slowly, and replace it with embalming fluid. N'Kantu could see the cruel embalmers and their Pharaoh grinning as he suffered; in the corner of his eye he could see Warui laughing, too. The final punishment was to bury N'Kantu alive in a bronze sarcophagus, to be trapped there for all eternity.

Two men, one an American, the other a rotund Kenyan businessman, stood in a dimly lit alcove in a lush office suite.

"That's an impressive sarcophagus, Mr. Owaye."

"Yes, it is, Mr. Stark. It's rather different from the ones that I have seen in my travels to the British Museum and the museum in Cairo. Are you a collector of antiquities, Mr. Stark?"

"Not really. I never got into ancient history in school . . . that was always my pal Bruce Wayne's interest. He used to help me study for Latin and history tests, and always told me I should learn more about the ancient world."

Stark gazed at the expression of pain carved into the sarcophagus.

"Still . . . it's a rather eerie piece to have propped up in your office . . . "

"Surely you are not telling me that you believe in that legend about the mummy's curse!"

Mr. Owaye laughed deeply, almost uncontrollably.

"Of course not," Stark said. "I guess we have our differences, as well as our similarities."

"Indeed we do, Mr. Stark," Owaye answered. "Let's not make a big thing out of it, as you Americans are fond of saying. You must be tired from your trip. Why don't you rest a little, and we'll talk business in the morning?"

Tony Stark went back to his hotel and tried to sleep, but his jet lag had him all out of sorts. He decided that Mombasa was busy enough for him to check out as Iron Man without anybody noticing too much.

He soared up into the night sky, with his suit's stealth circuits on maximum. He hoped that not too many of the citizens would notice him.

He looked down at the window of Mr. Owaye's office. He could see the portly businessman still there, with the light still on. As peculiar as his hobbies were, someone that dedicated to his work would prove to be a good business partner.

Just out of curiosity, Iron Man focused his visual sensor array on the inside of Mr. Owaye's office. It looked like Mr. Owaye was slumped over his desk, sleeping.

At first, Iron Man thought that it was sort of cute to see the businessman sleeping like a baby. But it was not long before Iron Man's sensor array told him that Mr. Owaye was not sleeping.

He was dead.

Tony had gone back to the hotel for a little bit of rest, and returned to Mr. Owaye's offices to check on the progress of the murder investigation.

A slim man with horn-rimmed glasses was taking fierce notes on the investigation.

"I'm Tony Stark. I'm the one who called in the report of Mr. Owaye's death."

"Inspector Ngunda. Glad you came here, Mr. Stark. It saves me the trouble of having to bring you in for questioning."

"But . . . "

"You were the last person seen with Mr. Owaye."

"But why would I have killed him? I only barely knew him. We had just met the day before, and we were getting along fine!"

Ngunda squinted. After years of having interrogated suspects, he was a man who could tell when someone was lying. Stark was not lying.

"Well, it does seem rather implausible that you would travel here just to kill Mr. Owaye. I'm sorry to request this of you, Mr. Stark, but would you mind not leaving town for a few days while we sort this matter out?"

Stark was taken aback a little bit. He had only been in Kenya for a couple of days, and he was involved in a murder case. It was just his bad luck coming up again, as usual.

"No, I don't mind at all. I hope you find whoever did this. Owaye certainly seemed like a very upstanding businessman."

Ngunda gave Stark a knowing smile. Tourists think they know everything, he thought. He knew some things about Mr. Owaye that were best kept in the police files, but he would be damned if he would let the rich white man think that the pillar of Mombasa's business community had any skeletons in his closet.

"Upstanding indeed, Mr. Stark. He will be missed, that's for sure. His children were quite shocked when they heard the news. His sons are even coming back into town, just for the funeral."

Tony decided to let the policemen get back to their work. As he left the room, he couldn't help noticing the sarcophagus in the alcove that he and Owaye had been talking about the day before. The lid was open, just a little bit. Maybe someone was trying to steal the mummy or something, and Mr. Owaye surprised him.

Tony was sure that the police would catch that in the course of their investigation. He left Mr. Owaye's offices.

He would have to be a tourist in Kenya for a few days at least. There was a wildlife reserve nearby that was better than most anywhere else in the world. And the ocean.

And so that night, he went out again in the Iron Man armor, to take a peek at Mr. Owaye's office one more time.

Two young men and their sister sat around a mahogany table. The woman was much more well-dressed than the two men. One of them wore clothes that were moth-eaten and slightly dirty. The other one wore a Hawaiian shirt, Bermuda shorts, and Birkenstock sandals.

"Okay, let's get this started," the woman said. "We all know that I know the most about legal matters, so I'll be the one who goes over the papers."

"You'll get no argument from me on that, Wanjeri," the rather lackadaisical one said.

"We're lucky that Father had prepared some sort of plans for the disposal of the fortune after his death."

"His murder . . . "

"We don't really know that yet, Muraya. Yes, he was asphyxiated, but the guard downstairs knew that there was no one else in the building besides the two of them!"

"And we're sure it wasn't the guard?"

"No, it wasn't him. He's worked for Father for ten years, and they have always gotten along."

"You're wasting your time," Muraya said standoffishly. "I know how he was killed."

"How, then?"

"It was the mummy that did it! You know about the ancient curse!"

If it were not their own father that they were discussing, the other two siblings would have broken out in uncontrollable laughter. As it was, they gave Muraya the most incredulous looks that they could manage.

"Oh, Muraya, not your bizarre ancient theories," Wanjeri scolded. "Not now. We have so much to plan around Father's estate."

"Yes, brother. You're only prolonging this long and boring process . . . "

"Well, I'm sorry I'm keeping you from going to the local bar!" Wanjeri retorted. "This meeting is very important! If you don't want your share of Father's estate, I'm sure that Muraya could use it to fund his continuing studies . . . "

"How about that new business partner of Father's, Tony Stark?"

Iron Man decided that he wanted to move closer to the group so that he could hear what they were saying more clearly.

When no one was looking, the lid of the sarcophagus, not entirely closed, opened just a little.

"Well, all that is left is just to sign these papers, and we'll have divided up the estate properly."

"Dad never wanted me to have much money for my research . . . it's too bad he'll never see the discoveries I'm going to make!"

"Well, don't spend it all in one place, Muraya. It'll probably be the most money you ever see in your life!"

"Lay off him, sis. You're more responsible than anyone ever needed to be!"

The sarcophagus lid opened a little bit more, and a bandage-wrapped hand was clearly visible.

Iron Man's sensors picked up the life signs from within the room. There was something definitely in there with the three siblings, and if he didn't do something about it, they might end up being killed.

"Okay, okay. Just sign these papers, boys, and we'll be all set. Imagine if Mother was still alive, and she could see how irresponsible the two of you have become!"

The bandage-wrapped hand opened the lid all the way, and the undead creature stretched as if awakening from a long sleep. It then got to the floor, more silently than an undead creature should have, and then walked toward the other room where the young people were bickering.

Iron Man saw that the life readings on the unusual creature were getting stronger. He had to intervene.

He came to the window as silently as he could.

"Look at that!" Muraya cried out.

"Is it a robot or something?"

"I'm Iron Man, the American superhero. My boss, Tony Stark, was meeting with your father about opening a branch of Stark Enterprises here in Mombasa."

"Oh yes," said Wanjeri. "Father told me all about it."

The shuffling undead form was almost in the room with them. Iron Man's sensors lit up.

"You're in danger. Just get to a safe place in the room, and let me be in charge."

The mummy entered the room. The stench was incredible -- it was the essence of death itself.

"What is that?"

"A mummy! And I don't have my cam!"

"Get out of here, you three," Iron Man ordered. "I'm the only one here who can handle this creature!"

"I am . . . a creature," the mummy said. "A..creature of vengeance! Vengeance to the house of Owaye!!"

"He's talking about us!" Wanjeri commented.

"Now . . . the children of Warui Owaye will all suffer for their ancestor's crime!"

"Ancestor?"

Iron Man hit the mummy with a repulsor ray, but all it did was make him stray from his forward path a tiny bit.

"Who . . . are you that attempts to stop my vengeance?"

"Iron Man, you undead creep!" He switched his weaponry over to concentrated laser blasts. He was not going to let the mummy take another life.

The mummy, being an undead creature, did not cry out in pain. But the lasers had ignited his dry bandages, and he was beginning to catch fire. Still, the mummy moved forward.

"You wish to avenge yourself on the Owaye family, is that it?" Muraya bravely asked.

"Yes . . . you will pay for your ancestor's betrayal . . . "

"What are you doing?" Iron Man asked. "I've got him! One more shot and he'll burn up!"

"Maybe," said Muraya. "But he may come back from the grave looking for you after you do it. We need to help him."

"You . . . offer help? After your ancestor's foul betrayal?" The mummy looked around the room. He looked at the three siblings, who were quavering in fear of him. In their eyes, and in their elegant faces, he saw remnants of his long-lost love. He did not know whether he wanted to follow his quest for vengeance anymore.

"I yield, Iron Man," the Mummy said. "But do me this one honor, as a former prince. Bring my body back to my home, and I shall walk the Earth no longer."

With that, the Living Mummy's smoking body fell to the ground. Iron Man could have torched him, and ended the threat of his vengeance, but he felt mercy for the wandering undead creature.

And so it was done. Tony Stark arranged for the transport of the sarcophagus back to N'Kantu's homeland. He was properly interred, with Muraya watching over the ceremony to make sure that it was appropriate for someone from 3,000 years ago.

As Tony watched the burial ceremony, he reflected on the fact that he had seldom feared the ancient evils that lurk just on the outside of the natural world. But his encounter with the Living Mummy had opened his eyes.

The surviving Owaye family agreed to help Stark open a branch of Stark Enterprises in Kenya. Even the proud Wanjeri asked Stark for some help in product planning and drafting the initial paperwork.

Stark leaned back in his seat as his private plane soared northward toward Rumania. Little did he know that his encounters with the supernatural were not over yet.