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The Gods Trilogy - Book Three Return of the Gods by Toby Kernan, Chip Caroon, Black Condor, Bob Young, Paul Hahn, and JM de Joya Originally presented as Return of the Gods #1, Avengers League Annual #1, Oliver Queen: Nomad Annual #1, X-Men Annual #1, Batman Annual #2, Detective Comics Annual #1, The Shadow 2000 Annual #1, Cosmic Adventures Annual #1, Spider-Man Annual #2, Young Justice Annual #2, Iron Man Annual #1, Strange Tales Annual #1, and Return of the Gods #2 |
"Hello?" answered the man behind the door, opening it slightly while adjusting his glasses.
"Mr. Wesley Dodds?" asked the man standing outside the door. The man inside inspected his visitor. He was a very tall man, over six feet, with a long, thin frame. He was a good looking man, with long black hair and piercing green eyes. The crooked smile on his face gave him a very mischievous look. He was well dressed in a black Armani suit and looked very well groomed.
"I am sorry," replied the man behind the door, "but you are mistaken, my name is Walter . . . "
"Please, Mr. Dodds," interrupted the visitor. "I have little patience for such trivial games. Why don't you just invite me in and we can have this discussion in private?"
The man behind the door stared at the visitor for a moment, finding something familiar in his looks and demeanor, but he couldn't quite place it. He looked into the man's eyes, and could see the fierce determination in them, and resigned himself to granting the man's wish. He opened the door and beckoned the visitor inside.
The two men made their way down the hall into a study, which also served as a library, shelved wall to wall with books. The man sat down in a comfortable leather chair, and watched as the visitor walked around the room, scanning the vast array of reading upon the shelves.
"Varouk's ‘The Dreams of Madmen'," responded the visitor, eyeing a certain tome. "I always found the work pretentious, to say the least . . . "
"If, I may," asked the man, uninterested in his visitor's taste in reading. "Who are you, and why are you in my home, and calling this Wesley Dodds character . . . "
The visitor sighed, as if annoyed, and turned to face the man, "Can we please drop this tired charade. Originally, I had intended to tell you my name was Tom Shipe, private investigator, blah, blah, blah, but I grow tired of such silly games. My name is Mephisto, first of The Fallen, and I am here to gain the powers to return back to my home in Hell."
Wesley tried not to let his jaw drop in complete surprise, but it was impossible. Standing in his den was one of the oldest creatures in all of creation, a fallen angel that had ruled the realms of Hell for millennia. Here he was now, standing in Wesley's library room, making idle banter about a philosophy book.
Mephisto continued. "I am here because I have been trapped in this human form for over two decades now, and I grow weary of this silly form. I want all my power back. I want my home back."
Wesley was stunned. "And how is it you think I can help you?"
"I have need," responded Mephisto, his voice full of fire and passion, "of a former possession of yours. I need the Materioptikon."
Wesley almost laughed, then replied in a very sarcastic tone, "I don't have that damn thing. I haven't for seen it since . . . "
"Since," interrupted Mephisto, "you handed it over to Shadow Cabinet for protection after Zebediah Killgrave tried to steal it and rule the world with it. It took my quite a while to locate his grave and extract the information from his corpse. You know, he still holds quite a grudge against you and the Avengers League. It took me even longer to locate you, Wesley. Some of you silly immortals go through a lot of trouble to hide your true identities."
Wesley winced his nose in disgust. "Okay, so . . . I am not a member of Shadow Cabinet and have no knowledge of . . . "
Mephisto looked slightly anger for a moment, then regained his composure. "The Materioptikon is powered by the ruby of Morpheus, the King of Dreams. Something you know a great deal about, my immortal little Sandman, and I think you know plenty more than you are telling me."
Wesley couldn't help stifle a laugh this time. "Okay, I'll play along. Why should I help you? I am sure that whatever you are going to use it for will be for no good."
Mephisto smiled. "I have secrets Wesley, secrets even an immortal like yourself might be interested in."
Wesley rolled his eyes in disbelief. "What could you possible have to interest me, devil?"
Mephisto came close and whispered something in Wesley's ear. Wesley's eyes grew wide in disbelief, then he bit his lip, as Mephisto finished telling his secret.
"You lie," whispered Wesley, stunned by the secret.
"I do not," replied Mephisto, a twisted smile upon his face. "And if you tell me where the Materioptikon is, then I will prove it to you as well."
Wesley considered the offer momentarily, then slowly replied.
"Okay. You win."
As he entered the building it was obvious he was a determined man on a mission. He paid none of the displays any attention as he wove his wave through prehistoric displays and glass cases filled with worldwide historic memorabilia. Finally, when he reached his destination, the Native American History Room, the intruder, better known as Mephisto, smiled as he entered the room. Few events in the history of mankind were more horrendous and evil in nature than the near total destruction of the Native Americans by the European Conquerors. So many thousands of lives, destroyed by war and ravaged by disease. Mephisto made his way to the display, which referenced the two hundred lives lost at the massacre at Wounded Knee, South Dakota, in 1890. There, as Wesley had instructed, he placed his hand under a plaque, found the desired switch, and pressed it, opening a panel in the side of a far wall. Mephisto strode to the portal, and walked inside.
Mephisto began to walk down the corridor. It was very tall, nearly ten feet, and almost twice as wide. Mephisto looked around the walls, and noticed that there were security cameras in several corners. He wasn't surprised, he figured his presence was known, and was waiting for some sort of resistance to taking the Materioptikon.
"Don't move intruder!" Mephisto heard, from behind him, when he was halfway down the corridor. Mephisto turned to see several men standing there. Both the men were dressed in military style, and Mephisto noticed several electronic devices connected by wires and metal to their bodies. Cyborgs, thought Mephisto to himself, unimpressed. He also noticed that a third one had appeared in the corridor in front of him.
"You got two seconds to surrender, buddy," said one of the cyborgs, named Cole, then he spoke into his mouthpiece. "Reese and I have a bead on the single perp, Malcolm. How about you?"
The single cyborg to Mephisto's front, Malcolm, acknowledged.
"Stupid cattle," Mephisto began with a smirk. "Do you think that in my last three decades in exile I would no learn to master a few tricks? Just because I am no longer an arch-devil doesn't mean I couldn't learn to wield all kinds of nasty magic."
As Mephisto utter the last world, he hurled to small objects at the feet of the two cyborgs behind him. The men watched as two small scorpions landed at their feet. Not understanding their significance, Reese moved to squash the tiny creatures. Suddenly, the creatures were tiny no more, each growing to almost human-sized proportions. Cole fired his weapon, releasing a shot of energy that blasted through one of the creature's giant pinchers, as the other snapped at him menacingly.
Seeing that the two cyborgs behind him were thoroughly engaged, Mephisto began to walk towards the single cyborg, Malcolm, standing before him. He watched as a blast of energy from Malcolm's rifle blew straight through his chest, hitting the ground behind him. He also noticed the shocked look on Malcolm's face as his weapon had caused the form of Mephisto to disappear completely.
"A simple illusion," Malcolm heard a bodiless voice say, standing directly to his left. Suddenly, Mephisto reappeared next to the cyborg. He quickly put the flesh of his hands in direct contact with the exposed flesh of Malcolm's face. The cyborg turned a pale gray, gagged, and fell to the ground unconscious.
Mephisto walked from the corridor into a small, stone room. The room was empty, except for two items. The first was a glass display case, sitting upon a stone pedestal. Inside the case was the item Mephisto had come for, the Materioptikon. The other item was something very different indeed. Standing there was the form of a man, but this was no man. Where flesh and bones would be, instead was a three-dimensional picture of a beautiful sunny sky, complete with a sun and moving clouds. It was as though Mephisto was looking at the sky, cut into a human form. The form had a black top hat upon it's head.
The form spoke to Mephisto. "The Shadow Cabinet will not let you have the Materioptikon. Mr. Twilight will stop you. The invisible beast will stop you."
Mephisto watched as a barking, frothing dog mouth came leaping from the form of this ‘Mr. Twilight'. The mouth, Mephisto assumed which came with an invisible beast attached to it, snarled and made its way towards him. Instead of running, Mephisto bent down and extended a hand to the beast. Rather than bitting the hand off, as Mr. Twilight had expected the beast to do, it instead sniffed, whimpered and seemed to lay at the intruder's feet. That had never happened before.
"Did you really think," said Mephisto, smiling, as he began an intricate weave of hand gestures used in spell casting, "that a hellhound would attack the very master who created it. I like your power though, very interesting. I wonder though . . . what would happen if . . . "
Suddenly, a teleportation portal opened at the side of Mr. Twilight. Mephisto watched in fascination as the magic portal he had opened, and the portal-like form of Mr. Twilight seem to fight each other for space, twisting and contorting the form of the poor creature. Mephisto watched as Mr. Twilight screamed as his body and the magic portal seemed to combine into one strange form, looking much like a black hole, then seemed to implode upon itself and disappear into nothingness.
"Utterly fascinating," replied Mephisto as he made his way to the display case which held his prize. He laid his hands upon the plexi-glass cover and whispered an incantation which turned the plexi-glass to nothing more than dust. He then picked up the strange looking object, closed his eyes, and made his first "wish," and in an instant, was gone.
Mephisto began to wax poetically to himself, noticing that there was nobody around on the deck to disturb him, save his newfound pet he had decided to bring along with him.
"Ah, miserable Earth. Thirty years I have been forced to live upon you, skulking around in a pathetic human form-forced to eat and sleep and crap and feel pain and every other nasty thing that miserable humans do. I hated every stinking minute of it. Now I can change it all, make things right, and go home.
"But wait, I have a better idea. I believe a little revenge is in order. You see, in my hand, I hold some serious power. This silly device holds the Ruby of the King of Dreams. Well, it is going to be my dream now. First a small gesture, something to make me feel more comfortable . . . "
Suddenly, the human form of Mephisto was gone. In its place was the traditional form of the demon, complete with crimson skin, long crimson hair, and a pair of nasty horns protruding from his temples. He continued his rantings.
"There, much better. Now Earth, it is time for your punishment. You see, lesser man have used this little Materioptikon before, but never someone who has lived through countless lives and has felt unlimited power. I have the vision none of the previous bearers ever had. I think we shall all see my vision now. Earth here is your ‘punishment', welcome to my world!"
Mephisto closed his eyes and concentrated and felt the energy of the Materioptikon brush over him, then spread like fire outward. When he reopened his eyes, the world around him was very, very different. The sky was no longer blue, but instead a sickly, blood red with clouds of gray. The building which he stood upon, once just a simple tower of stone and glass, was twisted into a demonic version of itself, complete with hideous stone gargoyles and very gothic, evil-looking architecture. Mephisto peered down and noticed that the city had gone through a similar metamorphosis.
Elated, Mephisto decided there was one more effect necessary for that authenticity he was searching for. Concentrating again, Mephisto watched as a rip in the fabric of space opened, and he watched as green, hideous, winged form of demon N'Astirh stepped through.
"Mephisto?"
"Indeed," replied Mephisto, beaming with pure joy, "I have decided that Hell needs a tenth plane. I think we will call this one . . . Earth!"
Mephisto laughed as the portal behind N'Astirh grew larger, and from behind the green demon spewed forth the forces of Hell out into the mortal plane.
Father Richard Craemer turned from his rosebush pruning when he heard the almost inaudible whisper of his gardening partner, John Walker. Something was wrong, Father Craemer could suddenly feel it. The air, which before had been warm and inviting, now had a chill.
"Is everything all right John?" asked Father Craemer curiously. Since John had received his blessing from The Presence,* he was usually very intuitive. The lines of worry and frustration on his face were unmistakable.
*(see Agents of SHIELD #5 for the whole story)
"Look to the sky, Father," John responded, the tone of sadness in his voice was impossible to miss.
Father Craemer looked to the sky. Gone was the beautiful blue sky, replaced by a strange crimson sky, with hideous swirling clouds of gray. It might have been a nasty sunset, had it not been the middle of the afternoon.
"What is happening, John?" asked the Father, stunned by the strange weather.
John was slow to respond, seeming to think about, and choose his words carefully. "The first of the Fallen has been in exile upon the Earth for three decades. He has been searching for a way to go back home, but instead found a way to bring his home to him . . . "
Father Craemer was stunned. "First of the . . . Mephisto? Has brought Hell to Earth? Won't the Presence move to stop him?"
John's face deepened into a greater sadness. "Mephisto has found an artifact which belongs to something as old, maybe older, than The Presence himself. He has used the object to block The Presence and other agents of the Divine from this plane. Soon evil will spread like a plague across the planet, corrupting all but the strongest of minds and hearts. If it goes on long enough, there will be no way to go back."
Both men turned in horror as they noticed the Sanctuary for the Forgiven Church, their home, begin to change behind them. The building's gray stone walls turned to deep, black obsidian. The simple small towers grew to tall hideous spires, filled with stone snakes slithering together in a sickening mass. The large stained glass window, which had just moments before contained a depiction of the Virgin Mary holding a baby, now was a picture of a demonic grinning Mephisto.
"What can we do?" asked Father Craemer. He was hardly a man who could stand aside and watch such degradation to his home and defilement of all he held sacred. He had stood toe-to-toe with one of the arch-devils before, and he wasn't going to let Mephisto take his world now.
John stood from his gardening, and brushed himself off. "Come Father. We aren't the ones who can save this world, but we can help set things in motion. Let's go visiting."
Captain America was speaking to Jarvis, the butler, in the parlor, just off of the main entryway. He turned his head to see the speedster coming in.
"I beg your pardon?" Cap asked.
"Outside," Flash replied. "The sky is red, and the clouds are grey."
Martian Manhunter had just entered the room, and remained silent as Captain America walked to the door and looked out. "It raining real hard too."
"So I noticed," Flash said. "Been like that for a while. Made it a real pain to help people."
"Help people?" Cap was confused. Why would people have to be helped when only a few meteorological rarities were popping up?
"It's like hell on Earth out there, man . . . "
Cap thought for a moment. "Something is definitely wrong. There's only one person I know that might be able to help us understand what is going on."
"Who's that?" Flash asked.
"Thor, the God of Thunder." Cap turned to Martian Manhunter. "J'Onn, call the League. We have some work to do."
"So how exactly do we reach Thor?" Wasp asked, when the League's leader finished.
"Asgard would be the likely place to start," J'Onn replied.
"Oh sure," Hawkeye said. "We'll take the subway!"
"Hawkeye," Cap said. "Something more helpful, please."
"I think I know a way to get there," Flash interjected. "But I'd have to have some sort of frame of reference, regarding where it is."
"I can help you with that," J'Onn said. "I went with Thor to Asgard once. I can't explain it, but I still have the knowledge of how to find it in my head. I can transmit the information into your mind. So you can find it without me."
"Go for it, J.J." Flash said.
The Manhunter telepathically placed the information about how to find Asgard into the Flash's brain.
"Wow!" Flash exclaimed. "It's in there! It's weird and surreal, but it's in there. I can find it!"
"You said you knew a way to get to Asgard," Captain America said.
"Yeah," Flash replied. "Step this way and let me show you something cool."
"Cute," Hawkeye said. "But ain't this a strange time to start exercising?"
"It's not for exercise," Captain America commented. "I remember this thing. This is the Cosmic Treadmill!"
Hawkeye chuckled at the name. "Cosmic Treadmill? Gimme a break!"
"Hawkeye, cut it out!" Cap ordered.
"What is it?" Iron Man asked.
"It was built in World War Two by Jay Garrick and Doc Savage," Flash said. "Jay gave it to Barry when he retired and Barry revamped it. I inherited it when Barry passed away."
Iron Man examined the construction. "What's it do?"
"It utilizes the speed force as a means of breaking down dimensional barriers. By running on the treadmill, I build up enough speed force energy and the devices built inside the innards of the treadmill cause a dimensional rift to open. Everything within ten feet of the treadmill is sucked into the open vortex and transported to . . . wherever we're going. In this case, that would be Asgard. Anyway, that's it in a nutshell. So I'd better get going. Wish me luck."
"Wait," Cap ordered. "I'm going with you. Thor doesn't know you. I've known him since 1942. You'll need me."
"It's dangerous for anyone who doesn't have speed powers," Flash warned.
"I know," Cap replied. "I've ridden on this thing before . . . with Jay. I can handle it."
"All right," Flash said. "If you're sure. Let's get going. Everybody else, stand back, or you'll find yourselves coming with us."
"Good luck," J'Onn said.
"And be careful," Wasp added.
Captain America hung onto the side of the treadmill as Flash began running. Flash pushed himself and picked up enough speed to create an excess of speed force energy. Invisible to everyone but the speedster, a dimensional vortex opened. Flash looked through it. He saw a myriad of possibilities . . . Dozens of dimensions: Olympus, the Shadow Realm, Qward . . . and Asgard. By focusing his attention on Asgard, and by vibrating at a certain frequency as he ran, he directed himself and his passenger to the godly realm of Asgard. Cap hung on, feeling as if he were about to be torn off the side of the treadmill and lost forever between universes.
"Where...?"
Flash climbed off the treadmill. "If the memories J'Onn put into my head are right, this is the rainbow bridge. And that city there, is Asgard, which would be Thor's home."
"Then let's not waste time, Flash. Let's find him!"
Flash and Captain America walked along the rainbow bridge, heading to the city. Before they got to the end of the bridge they reached their first obstacle.
Silverfall, an immortal from the Mars. He was the first sentient being on that planet. The only Silver Martian. A martian God!
He first met Thor in World War Two, during a strange event which became known as the Mars War. Thor saved his life then. Silverfall vowed to one day repay the favor.
When Heimdall, guarian of the Rainbow bridge was slain in the Godwar, Thor sought out Silverfall. Since Silverfall had the ability to see the entire universe via his "4th Sight," Thor felt that he would be the perfect one to replace the noble Heimdall.
Since Silverfall had been wandering the barren Mars, bored and with no purpose, he agreed to take Heimdall's place. Now, he was Asgard's first line of defense.
"Stand fast, mortals! You may not enter the eternal realm. So speaks Silverfall, guardian of Bifrost!"
"I beg your pardon, good sir," Cap said, "But we wish to speak to your prince, Thor."
"The prince of Asgard is not at the beck-and-call of mere mortals, and I know that he has not summoned you, else he would have told me to expect your arrival. Also, it it the will of Lord Odin that no mortal enter the eternal realm. And so, you may not enter."
"Our world is in danger," Cap pleaded. "We need Thor's help."
"You have my sympathy, mortal, but this changes nothing. You shall not enter."
Suddenly, Flash blinked out of sight. Cap knew that Flash had streaked away at top speed, but he hoped that Silverfaall wold not realize this. He hoped in vain. Silverfall scanned Asgard with his "4th sight." The universe was always in his sights. He spotted Flash, even at his incredible speed.
He saw the Flash racing around Asgard, probably looking for Thor. True, Thor could handle himself, but it was the duty of the guardian of Bifrost to warn the realm of intruders, and so he did. Silverfall raised the horn that once belonged to Heimdall and blew the warning cry that woud alert the Gods of the realm.
"Oh great!" Cap muttered, frustrated.
Silverfall drew his sword and stalked Cap. "You have proven yourselves hostile, mortal! Thus, it is the sworn duty of Silverfall to see that you cause no further harm. If I must kill you, I will!"
Cap backed away, knowing that he was no match for a God. And without Flash, he had no means to return to Earth. He'd have to defend himself against this far superior opponent. His chances weren't good.
His hopes were dashed when a mighty hand struck him in the face. The impact would have been fatal if the blow had connected fully. Fortunately for Flash, it was just a grazing blow. Still, it was powerful and the Flash crashed to the ground, stunned. He looked up, dazed and confused, to see a God in shining armor standing over him.
"Thou hast dared much by entering the great land of Asgard, fleet mortal," the armored God said. "But now is thy moment of reckoning. And tis Hermod, god of swiftness, who shalt may thee pay!"
Hermod drew his sword with super speed. Flash was still too dizzy to evade the blow. This is it! he thought.
"Hold!" a commanding voice suddenly shouted. "Sheath thy sword."
Flash saw a figure who he'd seen many pictures of before. A mighty, muscular man with long blonde hair, a winged helmet and a hammer. Flash knew who this was.
"Thor!" he exclaimed.
"Aye," the Asgardian prince replied. "'Tis true. I am Thor, God of Thunder! And any who doth invade Asgard must answer to me! Yet, neither will Thor stand by whilst a God doth slay a mere mortal without just cause. Explain thyself, mortal one!"
"I'm very sorry for the intrusion, uh . . . Your highness," Flash quickly explained. "But we need your help. I'm with the Avengers League."
"Ah!" Thor said, smiling, "The fine fellowship that Thor didst help found doth still exist, does it? Excellent! And in a time of crisis, the mortals whom I once called friends seek help from their old comrade, eh?"
"Right," Flash answered. "It was J'Onn's, uh, Martian Manhunter's idea."
"The Martian Manhunter. He was a noble comrade. If he doth need Thor's assistance, Thor shall come. Who art thou, mortal?"
"I call myself Flash."
"Named in tribute of the valiant hero who didst fight beside Thor in what mortals didst call the second world war."
"He was the first of several Flashes."
"'Tis good that he is honored."
"I'm here with Captain America," Flash added.
Thor's face darkened. "Have a care, mortal. Play no games with the God of Thunder. The noble hero called Captain America didst fall in battle long ago. If thou art playing Thor for a fool . . . "
"No, I swear!" Flash said. "He's on the rainbow bridge. Come and see!"
"Stay thy hand, good Silverfall!" Thor commanded.
Silverfall stopped. "My prince. These mortals did invade . . . "
"Thor doth know all that didst occur, faithful Heimdall. I commend thee for thy duty and the blessings of Odin upon thee. But these mortals are known to Thor. They need the aid of the God of Thunder, and Thor shalt answer their call." Thor approached Captain America. "By Odin, it is thee, Captain, is it not? Thor canst hardly believe his own senses. Tis a miracle. Thor didst believe thee slain. How is it that thou doth stand amongst the living again, fighting the good fight, as ever thou didst!"
"That's a long, unpleasant story, old Friend," Captain America answered. "I'll tell you sometime. But for now, we have an emergency!"
"Not now!" the Wasp yelled.
"We have to go see what it is," Hawkeye replied.
Both heroes rushed to the monitor room of the Hall of Justice, where Wonder Woman, who had just arrived, was watching events unfold. Iron Man was adjusting the monitors to compensate for the effects of the terrible weather outside.
Iron Man turned when Hawkeye and the Wasp came forward to take a look. "Sorry to pull you away from the Cosmic Treadmill, but a new supervillain is wreaking havoc in the city! Every vehicle traveling down Fifth Avenue just ran whatever light that was in front of them, and the supervillain's bragging that he's responsible!"
"Do you think we can raise Batman to help us?" Wasp asked, changing into her smaller form and flitting up near the monitor to take a closer look.
"We should send him a signal and get down there," Iron Man commented. "It's too bad J'Onn is still feeling ill! We could use his power at a time like this!"
"The villain is on the corner of Fifth Avenue and 23rd Street!" Wonder Woman exclaimed. "Let's get in the Quinjet and get over there!"
"Yes!!" he exclaimed. "The power boost that I got from that strange man was well worth the cost of my soul! Now, New York, tell me . . . do you fear Brainstorm?!" He laughed insanely as he used his incredible brainpower to make two police officers that had arrived to arrest him point their revolvers at each other.
As the rain drenched him, Officer Hernandez attempted to make his revolver point in another direction, but an irresistible force made him point it at his partner, Officer Harold.
"Jeena, he's making me do this with that helmet of his! Stop him, before he makes me pull the trigger!"
"I'm trying, but he's making me point my gun at you, too!"
"You know, you police officers should be careful where you point those pistols!" Brainstorm chuckled. "You never know when they might accidentally go off!"
With a thought, he made Officers Hernandez and Harold pull their triggers simultaneously. But someone stepped between them with unearthly speed and bounced both bullets off into the cement wall nearby.
"Wonder Woman!" Hernandez exclaimed.
"Yes, officer. Don't worry," she said as Quasar and Hawkeye leapt out of a just-landed Quinjet, "we'll handle this madman!"
"Ah, the Avengers League, I presume," Brainstorm stated. "Although I've never fought any of your current group before, you'll find my new power quite devastating!"
He turned and concentrated a brain blast at Iron Man. Iron Man struggled against the attack, but he lost control of his armor and smashed at full power into the side of a building.
Wonder Woman took command. "Hawkeye, get as many people as you can to safety! Where's the Wasp?"
Brainstorm soon found out where the Wasp was when she snuck up on him at microscopic size and delivered a sting blast to his face.
"Arrgh! The Wasp! You shall pay for this affront!"
"You're still a lame villain, Brainstorm, even with a smaller and more fashionable helmet!"
"I'll kill you! I'll kill all of you! I have the power to do it now! No one will ever laugh at me agai . . . "
At that moment, a Batarang with a line attached to it slashed across his face. As Brainstorm put his hand to his face to stop the bleeding, Batman leapt from the shadows, pulled a rope from his belt, and tied the villain up with it. He yanked the helmet from Brainstorm's head and threw it to Quasar, who had just arrived after having been busy helping some of the injured civilians.
"So this is what was causing all the trouble!" Quasar exclaimed as he encased the helmet in a laser-light prison.
Batman pulled the ropes tighter on Brainstorm. The villain choked; the rope was cutting into him, and cutting off his circulation, too.
"Okay, Batman, that's enough," the Wasp said almost jokingly.
"No, it's not yet enough," Batman replied, "not enough for a killer like him. He needs to feel as much pain as he has already inflicted. You like the pain, Brainstorm? How about if I make the rope tighter?"
Wonder Woman's strong hand gripped Batman's shoulder.
"Enough, Batman!"
Batman nearly growled at the Amazon, who was trying to hold him back from his prey. Something was definitely wrong with the Dark Knight Detective.
"I said, that's enough, Batman!" Wonder Woman repeated.
The Dark Knight growled at her once more, and turned around violently, throwing Brainstorm away in the process. Quasar was able to catch him, and restrain him. Wonder Woman whipped out her lasso and used it to tie Batman up. However, he was still trying to break free. Wonder Woman lashed out and slapped him across the face, rendering him unconscious.
She picked Batman up, and tossed him over her shoulder. She had a look in her eye that let her teammates know she was upset. "Quasar and Hawkeye, take Brainstorm to the proper authorities. I'll load Batman on the Quinjet. We must find out what is wrong with him. We cannot tolerate that kind of behavior when dealing with a crisis like this."
Hawkeye smiled. I like a woman with that kind of attitude, he thought.
Quasar and Hawkeye were preparing to hand Brainstorm over to the police when, suddenly, Quasar began to disappear.
"What the heck?"
"Q-Man, what's the deal with the light show?" Hawkeye asked.
"I don't know - AGHHHH!" Quasar's screams echoed around the buildings surrounding the superhero team as he vanished in a flash of light.
"What happened?" the Wasp asked, flying up.
"I don't know," Hawkeye snapped. "Quasar disappears, and I'm supposed to know why and how." He tossed Brainstorm to the cops standing in front of a police car. He glanced over to make sure that the police had the villain when he jumped back. The car seemed to erupt in flames, and the police officers looked demonized. They were laughing at him.
"What's wrong now, archer?" Wasp asked.
"What the heck is going on?" Hawkeye asked to no one in particular. "First, Batman almost kills this Brainstorm guy, then Quasar disappears . . . and now . . . those cops . . . "
"What are you talking about? There's nothing wrong with those cops."
"Whatever you think, sweetthing." Hawkeye walked to the Quinjet. Wasp flew over, disgusted.
"Pardon me, but there are several gentlemen here to see the League," he said. "Martian Manhunter has listened to them, but they refuse to say anymore without a majority of the team present."
"Very well," Wonder Woman said. "I'll take care of Batman here. The rest of you, to the parlor!"
"Yes, ma'am," Hawkeye replied.
The remaining three Avengers entered the parlor to see two men sitting, and a third standing. Martain Manhunter was also with them.
"So, they finally came," said the man who was standing.
"Unless you're here about the problems outside, we're not interested . . . " Iron Man said.
"Maybe we can help," a soothing voice stated. "I am Father Craemer. With me is John Walker, and Oliver Queen." The man standing waved. "What's happening here on Earth," Craemer announced, "may be more than even the Avengers League can handle."
As Wasp looked out the window, she saw that the skies turned even redder, and the rain still poured down, with an evil insistence. And Captain America and Flash had still not returned with Thor. Would the Earth survive the inferno that was about to be unleashed upon it?
"Same crap, different league," mumbled Oliver, rolling his eyes, annoyed at Iron Man's tone. He had barely been in the mansion fifteen minutes and already his past with the League and his bitter leaving were beginning to swell within him.*
*(Check out Legends of the Avengers League #3 for that tale!)
"Actually," responded John Walker, stepping forward, "neither Oliver or myself are current with SHIELD. I have found my calling elsewhere as an Avatar to the mighty Presence. Oliver is here with Father Craemer and I because he is a trusted friend and his former ties to this organization would grant me greater access and credibility."
"Does this have anything to do with the strange weather?" asked the Wasp, curious. "Or Batman's erratic behavior? Or Quasar's unexpected disappearing act?"
Walker nodded in affirmation. "All of them, most likely. Have any of you heard of Mephisto?"
Martian Manhunter stepped forward. "I have. A former incarnation of the league battled a black magic coven in Montana led by a man named Mephisto. He said he was a devil trapped in man form . . . "
"Yes," interrupted Walker, "that was probably him. Mephisto was one of the first creatures ever brought into existence. He was the Presence's first Angel, a leader. Then he became greedy, and felt the power of the Presence should be his, and so he started the Great War. He lost, and was cast from Heaven and forced to Hell, where his form and mind was twisted, and he became one of the arch-devils.
"A little over thirty years ago, Mephisto and Asmodel, a powerful angel, concocted a scheme to murder all the ‘Gods' which roamed the Earth-including the Asgards, the Olympians, even the Eternals. They would have succeeded, and destroyed the entire universe, but for the actions of one Angel and a group of heroic human magic wielders.
"In punishment for the rebellion, both Mephisto and Asmodel were of their powers, and cast into mortal forms, until the Presence decided otherwise. Mephisto spent his time learning to wield magic, and searching for some spell or artifact that could return his lost powers to him. He finally found it in the Materioptikon."
"What is the Matter-optic-thingy?" asked Hawkeye, trying vainly to keep up with all the crazy conversation.
Martian Manhunter spoke first. "I remember that item. The Purple Man, Zebadiah Killgrave, tried once to use it. It allows the owner to make all his dreams come true. The Avengers League stopped him, with the help of former owner, the Sandman. Then the Sandman took it for safekeeping . . . "
"Yes," continued Walker, "he took it, and gave it to an organization called the Shadow Cabinet, who have kept it in hiding for over a decade. Somehow though, Mephisto discovered its whereabouts, and come into possession. Worse still, instead of using it to go home, he decided to bring home to him . . . "
"So," said Iron Man, confused, "where is the Presence now? Why doesn't he just send some Angels to kick Mephisto's butt, and take the Materioptikon back?"
"Because," continued Walker, trying not to be annoyed by the constant interruption, "the Materioptikon is fueled by a power that may well be older and at least as powerful as the Presence himself. Mephisto had used the Materioptikon to seal Earth off from the heavenly realm. They cannot help us now?"
"So, Hell is on Earth," scoffed Hawkeye. "Then what is wrong with Bats?"
Walker continued, "Hell, and all of it's evil have spilled upon the Earth. It's attraction is very great, and the longer it is upon this plane, the harder it will be for mortals to resist the pull into darkness, madness, and evil. Only those of the purest souls will be able to resist, if it lasts much longer . . . "
Suddenly, Jarvis burst into the room, looking frantic. "Everyone, if you would please, come to the Monitoring Room . . . "
All the people gathered quickly made their way the Monitoring Room. There, thanks to the countless screens before them, they were able to better view the chaos that was ensuing outside. The screens were filled with people rioting and violence in the streets. Fires raged, and demons walk and flew through the streets as if it were an everyday occurrence. Skyscrapers of steel and glass now stood hideously twisted and demonic in form. The world had gone mad.
"We have to get out there and help people," whispered Wasp, watching the screens with sheer horror on her face.
"Agreed," said Martian Manhunter, "but I also think we need more help. I am going to set out an alert to every known hero. Then I think we should split into two teams. I will join Oliver and John Walker. The rest of you will form the second team. Your task will be to go out and see what kind of help you can supply. We will focus on finding a way to get to Mephisto and relive him of the Materioptikon, before it is too late. Let's go people, we have a world to save once again . . . "
"Feels strange standing here," commented Oliver. "Been a long time since I've been here."
Manhunter nodded. "It has Oliver, and it is good to see you again. About the way you left . . . "
"To be honest," said Oliver, "I'd rather not speak of it. It was along time ago, and I was a different person then."
Manhunter smiled. "We all are. Speaking of which, how is Carol?"*
*(Carol Danvers, former Avengers League member Ms. Marvel)
"She is wonderful," smiled Oliver. "Life without superheroics has been good to her. She has two wonderful sons, and her Danvers Corporation is raising millions for cancer and AIDS research."
"Have you seen her lately?" asked Manhunter.
"Not as much," Oliver replied honestly, "as I should. I was heading out that direction actually, before this whole ‘Hell on Earth' crap started. That was one of the reasons I left SHIELD. I am tired of the whole superspy, world saving, secret agent lifestyle. I just want to load up the SUV, and get out on the road for a while. Be a Nomad. See the world without having to fight Hydra or Ultimatum to do it. Enjoy life for a while."
"Sounds nice," smiled Manhunter, "I guess. This whole superhero thing is in my blood though. Your's too. We both have been doing it for a very long time. Do you even know how to live without it?"
Oliver pondered, then slowly responded, "I don't know J'Onn . . . but I am finally willing to give it a try."
Oliver and J'Onn's conversation was suddenly interrupted by a phone ring. It was the League priority line, which only heroes and top government officials had access to. J'Onn pick up the receiver, had a quick conversation, and with an anxious look, turned to Oliver.
"That was Wesley Dodds," said Manhunter. "He says that his house is under attack from demons and he needs some help."
Oliver nodded. "I'll get Walker and Father Craemer. Let's go . . . "
As the three men flew closer - Martian Manhunter flying on his own accord, Oliver and Avatar sharing a skysled - two figures could be seen outside the home. One was tall and skinny, the other one tall and fat, and both were very demonic in nature, complete with horns and split, flickering tongues.
The two seemed to sense the heroes arrivals, and quickly turned to confront them.
"Look, Bloodstain," screamed the tall and fat green skinned one. "More meat to play with."
"Indeed, Thunderspawn," bellowed the tall and skinny, red skinned Bloodstain. "Let's kill them for kicks while Goreguts finds Dodds."
Suddenly blasts of electrical lightning shot from the eyes of Thunderspawn at the incoming Martian Manhunter. Manhunter became intangible, and the bolt passed right through him. Meanwhile Bloodstain let out a scream towards Oliver and Avatar, a piercing wail that made Oliver lose control of the skysled, and forced them to crash upon the ground.
Martian Manhunter made his way to Thunderspawn and changed his density to much harder, and punched the creature straight in the face. Blood spewed everywhere as the creature fell to the ground with a harsh thud.
Oliver pulled himself from the crashed skysled and was about to fire his pistol, when he felt the hand of John Walker touch his shoulder. Suddenly, he felt a blast of white light pass above his shoulder, hitting Thunderspawn squarely in the chest. The creature screamed, seemingly in horrific pain, then disappeared into nothing more than a pile of ashes.
"Nice power," commented Oliver, turning to look at his old friend.
"I am the Avatar of God," said Walker, winking. "Smiting evil is a heckuva perk!"
The two watched as noise and activity permeating near the front of the burning house. Suddenly, a man jumped from the flames, his clothes on fire. Not far behind him sprang a demonic creature, with gigantic, horrific looking horns. The demon seemed intent on smashing into the burning man. In a blur of motion the demon was suddenly whisked into the air, and before any of the humans could figure out what was happening, Martian Manhunter had snapped the creature over his knee, the bones in his back crackling like firecrackers on the Fourth of July. The creature then dropped to the ground, dead, and turned to dust.
Oliver and Avatar made their way to the burning man, who had thrown himself upon the lawn, and was attempting to stop the burning of his clothes. Avatar placed himself, at his knees, next to the man, and Oliver watched as white light flowed from his hands, and covered the man on the ground.
The man then sat straight up, and pushed away from Avatar, just as Martian Manhunter made his way back to the group.
"That is unnecessary," said Wesley Dodds, pulling the burning rags from himself. "I am an immortal. Your white lighter powers hold no comfort for me. I am a little burnt, but I will survive. Damn demons, damn Mephisto, damn Materioptikon. All I want to do is live a calm, normal life. But no, I must be dragged, once more, into another battle . . . "
Oliver could scarcely control his anger. "Look around you fool. The entire city, maybe the world, has been transformed into Hell. More still, you are partially to blame. From what I gather, you were the one who told Mephisto where to get this cursed contraption. So the way I see it, you damn sure better help us get it back from him and set everything right."
"And how," asked Wesley Dodds, "am I going to do that?"
Avatar took that opportunity to speak up, "We must find Mephisto and take the Materioptikon back from his possession."
Dodds scoffed. "The four of us?"
"Yes," said Avatar, "but we'll need a little more help . . . "
"Indeed," sighed Martian Manhunter, "and I think I know where we need to go and get it . . . "
"It's so strange," Morph said. "The sky is . . . red!"
"Fascinating," Beast replied. "Although, it is probably a sign of danger."
"Perhaps," Morph replied. "What of this rain? It's pouring like crazy."
Beast looked around. He saw fires off in the distance. "It's almost like hell on earth."
"Why do I have the feeling tonight is going to be a long night?" Morph asked.
"You have that feeling, too?"
The shape shifter nodded. "But I'm not scared."
"Neither am I," Beast replied. "What is there to be scared of?"
Suddenly, as if on cue, a nasty looking demon came flying in, and took a swing at Beast. He was able to dodge it, and come up behind the creature. Beast gave a quick karate chop to the back of the demon's neck, but it did nothing to slow the creature down. The demon swung its arm back and sent Beast flying through the air. He hit a brick wall, and fell to the ground.
Morph let out a mental cry for help, which he hoped could be picked up by Jean Grey. He then ran over to the demon, who was now ready to tear Beast to bits and pieces.
"I am surprised at how fast you healed from your encounter with Death," Jean commented.
"I'm surprised at how sick I got just by coming closer to him," Clark replied.
"That was odd."
Before either could say another word, Jean picked up Morph's telepathic call for help. "Clark," she said. "We have to get up to the surface. Morph and Beast have been attacked by a demon!"
As Jean began running off, Clark wondered what demons were doing in New York City.
"What's going on?" Victor asked.
Lamont turned from the window. "Those red skies . . . I haven't seen anything that ominous in a long time."
"You think something big is going on?"
Lamont was silent for a moment. "Whatever it is, I want you to stay out of it. You're still not fully recovered from your 'accident' in Suicide Slum."*
*(The Shadow 2000 #6)
"Sure, sure. But if things get really bad out there . . . "
"Then maybe. It depends on how bad."
Sarah rushed over to Beast. "What happened, Hank?"
"We were . . . coming out to . . . see what was going on when that thing attacked us. It's supernaturally strong."
"Of course, it's a demon," Jean said. "How do we beat it? It looks like Morph and Superman aren't doing any good."
"Don't you people ever watch horror movies?" Iceman asked. "I know the perfect way to stop that demon."
Iceman ran to the demon. "Morph! Superman! Jump back!" he shouted, forming a cross of ice in his hand, and slamming in into the demon's chest.
The demon screamed, and fell to his knees. Iceman kept forming the cross, as it kept melting against the heat of the demon's body. Finally, Iceman took the cross off very fast, and the demon ran away in a ball of fire.
"Very good."
"I know that voice," Superman said, turning around. "Death."
"You are correct."
The X-Men looked up and saw Death hovering in the air above them.
"Dude!" Iceman exclaimed. "Isn't that the guy that nearly killed Superman?"
"Yes," Superman replied, coldly. "But this time, the odds are a little more even . . . "
"If you only knew . . . "
"Knew what?" Superman shouted.
"If you only knew of the great destiny that lies before you . . . but you must choose it."
"Enough with these cryptic messages! Why can't you ever tell us straightforward what you want to say?"
"I am Death."
"ENOUGH!" Iceman shouted. "I'm tired of hearing this garbage! We know you're Death, what are you going to do about it?"
Death jumped at Iceman, claws out, ready to tear him to pieces, but Iceman threw as much ice up as possible to stop Death.
And for once, something actually worked against Death.
Jean tried a mental assault, but it didn't work. Death's mind was shielded very well. Even if Professor Xavier was still alive, he probably couldn't have penetrated the shield himself.
Morph watched the battle. He saw how every attack was failing. Iceman's ice trick slowed Death down a little, but Jean's mental attack, and Superman's physical attack weren't doing a thing to stop him.
So, Morph began spinning. He used his shapeshifting power to make his body size smaller, and shifted as much mass into his fist as he could. He continued doing this until he had morphed into an object the size of a bowling ball, but much denser. The momentum he had built up from spinning allowed him to sail though the air, and ram right into Death's chest. It was enough to knock him down, and cause some serious damage. At the very least, it broke some bones.
Iceman took advantage of Death's new weakness, and brought large ice spikes down on top of him, plummeting right into his chest. He hoped it punctured some organs.
"ICEMAN, STOP!" Superman ordered. "We don't have to kill him!"
"But this creep doesn't deserve to live!" Iceman replied.
"Yeah!" Morph agreed, already shifting back into his normal form. "You saw what he did to all of those people in Times Square! Not to mention how he nearly killed you!"
"But that's no reason for us to kill him!" Superman shouted back. "He's still a . . . " He hesitated, not sure if Death was human. After all, he was pretty strong and invulnerable. Finally, he found the right words. "He's still a living being!"
"Superman . . . come here . . . " Death called weakly.
At first, Superman felt it might be a trick. But then he realized that Death really was dying. He knelt down beside the warrior.
"Take my hand," Death whispered.
Superman took Death's hand, and suddenly found himself in another reality. He could see green for miles around.
"Welcome to your home planet of Krypton . . . "
"Krypton? That place Professor Xavier told me about when he died?" Superman wondered aloud. "But, it exploded."
"We are not on the plane of reality that you normally perceive. I have brought us into a state of Beta meditation. It is an ancient Kryptonian practice."
"Who are you?" Superman asked.
"I am Death."
"No, really. Not just your name. Who are you?"
"I am an agent of the Great Rao."
"Rao? Who's that?"
"Rao is the sun god of your home planet . . . Krypton."
Superman was perplexed. "Why have you come to Earth, then?"
"Rao made a deal with several upper class families on Krypton, that he would spare their children. He did not want to see his worshipers completely die out."
"That's why you called me one of the four . . . "
"Correct."
"So, where are the other three?"
"Their fathers were lesser men than your own. The spacecraft that those three resided in where not of high enough quality to allow them to survive once they had left the atmosphere." Death coughed.
"So, I guess death comes to those called Death, as well, huh?" Superman asked.
"Yes . . . But because you are unwilling to come back, the mighty Rao will be angry."
"Won't hurt my feelings. I never knew the guy."
"Joke now . . . Pay later . . . "
"I know nothing of this heritage," Superman said. "Why should I abandon my life here to please a god who is no longer worshiped?"
"You wish to know more of your life. Ever since you found out you weren't human, you have felt a void in your life. Nothing makes sense to you anymore because you thought you had all of the answers, when in fact, you didn't even know all of the questions."
"So, you came to bring me back?"
"Correct."
"But bring me back to what?" Superman wondered. "If Krypton exploded, what is there left to go to?"
"That is the question you must find answer to . . . Farewell, Kal-El of Krypton . . . "
Superman suddenly found himself standing back in the street, with the X-Men around him. Death was dead.
"We have to go back," he said.
"Go back where?" Jean asked. "The tunnels?"
"No. Home. The mansion . . . "
"But what about the Morlocks?" Sarah asked.
"They are not our captors," Superman replied. "We'll go to them in the morning, and let them know we are leaving. In the meantime, we shall attempt to find out what exactly is going out tonight."
Beast spoke up. "Might I ask one question, first?"
"Sure."
"What did Death say to you?"
Superman was silent for a moment. He didn't want to tell them too much of something he did not completely understand.
"He said he was the agent of a god."
"A god?" Beast commented. "Hmm, I fear that tonight's rather unusual events will become even stranger."
"Clark, I think we're dealing with something out of our league," Jean said. "We're used to fighting mundane, material foes. But tonight, we've dealt with a demon and an agent of a god."
"Strange," Flash said. "I would have thought that at least one of them would have stayed for us."
"Something is definitely wrong," Cap replied. "They obviously had an emergency come up."
"Was it so important that they couldst not wait for thee?" Thor asked.
"Must of been," Flash answered. "Cap, can you contact the others with your card."
"Of course," Cap said. "But, so can you."
Flash blushed. "I kinda left my card at home . . . "
Cap smiled. "Okay. I'll try to call the others. You go around the city and scout things out."
"And what of me?" Thor asked.
"You'll stay here with me," Captain America replied.
"Hi, I'm the Flash," he said. "Is something wrong?"
"What's it to you?" Morph snapped.
The speedster put his hands up in the air. "Hey, I was just going to offer to help if you needed it. I'm with the Avengers League."
Suddenly, he was hit in the back by a large block of ice. He fell to the ground and turned around. He saw Iceman shooting ice, covering him.
Flash vibrated, and slid out of the ice block before Superman could finish saying, "Iceman, that was out of line!"
"I take it you're mutants," Flash said, standing up.
"The X-Men, to be precise," Beast replied. "And I wish to apologize for my teammate's behavior. Tonight's activities have taken a toll on him."
Flash nodded in the direction of Death. "What's with him?"
"He claims to be the agent of a god worshiped by a dead planet," Superman replied. "He nearly killed me a few days ago."
"Is he dead?"
Superman nodded. "Death comes to he who is called Death."
"I suppose I should be taking you into custody right now," Flash said, "but since I don't have my Avengers League card on me, I guess I really don't have the proper authority."
"Are you sure it doesn't have anything to do with the crisis at hand, and the fact that you need all the help you can get?" Beast asked.
"That, and the fact that it's six to one, even though I can outrun you . . . "
"So, what is going on, if I may ask?" Jean inquired.
"I'm not so sure myself," Flash replied. "All of a sudden, the sky started changing colors, and the rain started coming down real heavy. I ran over to the Hall of Justice and they hadn't realized it yet. We called a meeting almost immediately, and it's decided that I go with Captain America to Asgard."
"Asgard?" Beast interjected. "The mythical home of the Norse gods?"
"As it turns out, one of Cap's buddies from the 'big one' was Thor, the god of lightning. We went to him for help."
"This is too weird for me," Sarah said. "Demons, gods, red skies . . . it's too much."
"That's all well and good," Flash said. "But I gotta go and find my teammates." He zoomed off.
"So, fearless leader," Iceman said, turning to Superman. "What do we do now?"
Suddenly, he saw a man's form appear out of nowhere. William stood up, and got in an attack position. But, before he could do anything, the man was already behind him, with one arm around William's torso, and the other hand covering his mouth.
"You're William, right?"
William nodded.
"Don't worry, I'm not here to hurt you. I just didn't want you making noise and alerting someone." He let go of the young mutant.
"Who are you? What do you want?" William asked, facing his "guest."
The man disappeared. "I am called Stealth."
"What kind of name is that?"
"It describes my abilities. I am wearing a suit that allows me to melt into the shadows, and numerous other capabilities," Stealth replied.
"But what do you want with me?"
"I was sent to find you, and provide you with shelter and companionship."
"But I already have shelter - "
"You know very well you can't trust these Morlocks," Stealth interrupted. "They nearly tried to kill you. The only reason they've left you alone since you came back is because they don't want to piss off the X-Men for the time being."
"How do you know all this?" William asked.
"I have connections."
"What if I don't want to go?"
"It's your destiny."
"What if I want to stay with the X-Men?"
"What if I could promise you a stable home?"
William was silent for a moment. Stealth continued. "That's right. With the X-Men, there are no guarantees about anything. But, with me, at least I can give you a place to stay. They'll probably be on the run for a while at least."
"Okay," William said. "I'll go with you. But only because I don't like staying in these tunnels."
"I don't think you'll regret your decision," Stealth said.
"Can I tell the X-Men good-bye?"
"In the morning. Right now, we have some things to do."
{Clark, something's wrong,} Jean said, telepathically. {They look possessed.}
Without warning, the Morlocks lunged at the X-Men, but their attack was stopped by Morph, who had leapt from behind, and formed his arms into clubs. He batted both Morlocks down with ease.
"Kill . . . kill . . . " the green one murmured.
"Kill . . . X . . . kill . . . X . . . " the other one chanted.
Morph repeated punched both of them. He was stopped when Beast grabbed his arm.
"What is wrong with you tonight, Morph?" Beast asked. "You don't have to go completely psycho on these guys."
The Morlocks jumped up and attached themselves to Beast.
"Hank!" Iceman shouted.
"Hank, watch out," Superman said. "I'm using my heat vision."
Superman aimed his heat vision at the Morlocks foreheads. They both fell off the big mutant.
However, they started walking toward the X-Men, continuing to chant. Sarah stepped forward and sent bolts of fire onto their legs.
It didn't slow them down a bit. They came closer, and the brown one hit Sarah in the stomach. She doubled over, and dropped to the ground.
"That's it!" Morph exclaimed. "We have to take them out!"
Before anyone could do anything, Morph formed his arms into spikes, and rammed them into the hearts of the Morlocks. They finally stopped, dead.
"Is that anyway to treat your hosts?" a voice asked.
"Callisto . . . " Beast growled as the leader of the Morlocks came into view. "Were you behind this?"
"What, me? No! They're just feeling the effects of what's going on in the upper world." Callisto's lips twisted into an evil smile.
"Callisto, we're leaving, first thing in the morning," Superman said.
"Fine by me . . . "
Superman walked forward, and the rest of the X-Men followed, leaving Callisto to take care of the two dead bodies.
As soon as she was sure they were out of earshot, she motioned for one of her followers to come close.
"After they leave, I want you to follow them, and kill them."
"Look here!" Thor exclaimed. "Thou hast a prisoner in your midst!"
Cap, who had been trying in vain to call any of the Avengers, looked up and walked over to the cell, and saw Batman sitting in the far corner.
"Batman!"
Batman looked up, and then rushed over to the door, and grabbed Captain America through the bars, lifting him up.
"Get me out of here," Batman said, very roughly.
"Why are you in there?" Cap asked.
"Dammit, Steve, get me out of here!"
Cap looked at Batman's face and saw the rage. "Wait. If the League put you in here, then I'm sure they had very good reason. I'm not going to question them at a time like this."
"Forget about the League!" Batman shouted.
Cap reached down, and put his hands around Batman's wrists, and found the right pressure points and squeezed. Batman released his grip and fell to the floor, dropping Cap, who was able to regain his balance right away.
Just then, Cap's card beeped.
"Now how come it's working now when I couldn't call out earlier?" Cap wondered. He tapped in, and Wonder Woman's face appeared.
"Wonder Woman! I've been trying to call you. Why is Batman locked up?"
"Batman? He started acting real strange, and nearly beat a man senseless," Wonder Woman replied. "By the way, did you find Thor?"
"Yeah, he's here with me now."
"Good. I need to come here. Something big is happening . . . "
He was stuck in a holding cell at the Hall of Justice on Halloween Night, while his teammates battled a demonic outbreak on the streets of New York City. Only Jarvis the butler had been left behind to watch over him. The Avengers League knew their resourceful teammate too well to leave him all alone in the Hall of Justice, even if it was only with Jarvis. The butler had specific instructions to signal the Leaguers to come to his aid if Batman tried anything funny.
Jarvis got up from where he was paging through War and Peace and walked over to the cell. He tapped on the durasteel bars to get Batman's attention.
"Master Batman," Jarvis said politely. "I'm getting a bit peckish, so if you don't mind sir, I will go get something to eat. Perhaps Master Batman would also like something to eat?"
"How can you eat at a time like this, Jarvis? All Hell is breaking loose outside! If you would let me out, I would . . . "
"I'm very sorry, sir, but I received specific instructions to do nothing of the sort. Captain America said that you were not to be released until they determine that you are behaving normally once more. Now, if you will excuse me, sir, I will go get you something to eat. Master Batman, although you are our prisoner, you have not stopped being our friend."
As Jarvis left, Batman shrugged his shoulders and stared out of the bars of his cell. The other Avengers Leaguers had imprisoned Batman because the demonic influence rampant across the city had taken hold of him. He had almost killed Brainstorm, a villain that the Avengers League were fighting.
Batman was a little bit calmer now, but he was still trying to quiet the voices inside his mind, voices that were screaming with hellish rage and fury. These were the voices that had made him attack Captain America earlier. He would have never done that unless he was under the influence of something else.
He was, and it was a tiring battle, fighting the demonic need to strike out or to bellow in rage at his imprisonment. Even with his escape artist skills, Batman could not find a way out of the cell. Given enough time, though, he would.
Batman decided to sit on the plain cot that was in the cell and rest for a while. It was one of the few times that Batman had ever consciously made an effort to relax since he had first put on the Dark Knight Detective's cape and cowl ten years before.
Usually, all of his nights were spent chasing criminals, and most of his days were spent running things at Wayne Enterprises. Bruce Wayne was a driven man, and his frequent insomnia kept him edgy and irritable, but also full of ferocity.
But a moment's rest now, when Batman could do really do nothing but sit here in this cell, would not hurt him.
Almost as Batman drifted off to sleep, he was aware of another figure in the cell with him.
"Who are you? How did you get in here?"
"So many questions, all at once!" the red-cloaked figure answered. "I am someone who can give you what you want, Batman."
Batman got up from the cot and scrutinized his visitor. "You look like a caricature of the devil or something with that long cloak and that magenta skin . . . I remember your name. It was in the Avengers League files . . . "
"Yes, I am Mephisto. Oh, well. I never thought I could truly fool the Dark Knight Detective for long."
"What do you want with me, demon?" Batman asked in a tone that usually brought out the truth from the weak-minded criminals with whom he was used to dealing.
"It's not a matter of wanting anything from you, Batman . . . but of giving something to you . . . "
Batman's eyes narrowed.
"Oh, to some I may be the devil, but to others I can bring very great things . . . " Mephisto said. He swept open a hand and a portal in space and time opened in the wall of the cell.
"A way out of here. Better than staying cooped up, I guess . . . " Batman commented audibly.
"More than that. A way to get what you want most. Follow me, Batman."
Mephisto started walking into the portal. Batman figured that he would follow, even though his best instincts told him that his new acquaintance's motives were not pure.
"The Black Assassin! How did we get where he . . . "
"Never mind that," Mephisto interrupted. "I sense that he is important to you somehow . . . "
"We have history."
"I thought so," Mephisto responded. "That is why you have been pursuing him so much as of late. But you never manage to catch him, do you?"
Batman said nothing. The Prince of Lies could feel the hatred coming from Batman, and he marveled at Batman's wrathfulness.
"You know, we are on another plane of existence, Batman, much like that of your garden-variety poltergeists and ghosts." Mephisto chuckled. "The Black Assassin cannot see you, but you can see him. You can even touch him, if you so desire. And if you were to put your hands around his neck . . . "
"I could strangle him, and he would never know what happened."
Batman had been waiting forever for the moment when he could at last face one of his parents' killers. Once he had finally remembered who had killed his parents in that alleyway all those years ago, he had been replaying the moment over and over again in his mind where he would meet the Black Assassin, the Hag, and Justin Hammer, and bring them to justice.
But now, the Hag was dead.* And Batman had brought Hammer to justice, with no tangible results. Batman yearned to walk down the rotted stairs of the bunker and kill the Black Assassin, to make him pay for his crime.
*(She was murdered by the Black Assassin in Batman #7.)
But something inside Batman held him back.
"You hesitate, Batman?" Mephisto asked. "Perhaps I should show you the other one whom you pursue with a vengeance . . . the one whose greed and wrath have made him quite a place reserved in my domain . . . "
Mephisto opened up another portal to show the fortress of Hammer Island.
"Justin Hammer," Batman said with a grim smile.
"Yes. After all of that effort you, Iron Man, Batwoman and Robin went through to bring him to justice . . . "
"He got off on a technicality."
"And he's planning revenge against both you and your friend Iron Man now. But right now, he's asleep. You could sneak up on the old man in his sleep and kill him. He's going to die soon, anyway. It always amazes me how you Earth people hasten death with your cigarettes and alcohol . . . as if you were rushing to meet me in my realm."
Batman looked hard at the sleeping figure of Hammer. Hammer slept restfully, which meant that the evil deeds and schemes that he perpetrated daily did not trouble his tainted soul.
Batman wanted to take revenge against his enemy.
He walked across the lushly appointed bedroom where Hammer was sleeping, with its rattan chairs and beautiful tropical plants. Batman was so close to Hammer now, so close to the man who had killed his parents.
"You want to kill the crotchety old villain in his sleep. He deserves no less for the dark deeds he has done." Mephisto put his finger on his chin, his mind clearly scheming away. "I will give you the power to kill Justin Hammer, if you will only do one small favor for me . . . "
Batman knew that with a demon like Mephisto, there would be a catch. "What's the favor?"
"You are a good leader, Batman, and the most excellent human there is at fighting. Join me, and lead my demon armies in this conflict on your Earth. You have the ferocity to lead them to victory, and I will augment your abilities so that you can be a true Bat Warrior."
Mephisto opened up a portal to a possible future, where he showed a demonic Bat Warrior leading a formidable army of demons. A grim smile was on the Bat Warrior's lips, as he drove his army forward across a burning landscape.
"Isn't this what you really want, Batman? Total mastery of fighting . . . rulership over the night . . . and revenge?"
"You may be the Devil," Batman chuckled, "but you sure don't know everything there is to know about me. I won't spend the rest of eternity as your lackey, Mephisto."
Only a devil-may-care hero like Batman would have poked the Devil himself in the chest as Batman did now.
"You . . . you're behind this, Mephisto. You are behind this whole chain of events and all of these demons running loose on the Earth, aren't you?"
Mephisto smiled. It was hard even for a demon to keep the truth from Batman.
"I am. And I am offering you the chance to be a general in my army. Do you accept?"
Before Batman could respond, the place in which they were standing began to shimmer and fade.
"What is this?" Mephisto shouted. "Someone is interfering with my power?"
Both Mephisto and Batman reappeared in the cell.
"There you are, Batman," J'Onn J'Onzz said. "Your mental imprint was very faint, but I knew I would find out where you were if I tried hard enough."
Mephisto frowned. He knew that Batman would not accept his bargain, and neither would J'Onzz. If the time ever came where he could turn the Martian's soul to the path of evil, he knew it would be most pleasant.
"Very well, then, heroes. Your feeble efforts against my demons will come to naught. I will show your Earth the power of the Materioptikon!"
And with that, Mephisto disappeared.
"Were you concentrating enough on his mental pattern to be able to track him, J'Onn?"
"Yes . . . a mind, if one could call it a mind, as demonic as that one stands out like a scream in a quiet night!" J'Onn then closed his eyes and turned his mental powers upon Batman.
"I sense that the darkness that had taken over your mind has passed." J'Onn pressed the button that opened the cell. He picked up Batman's utility belt and handed it to him.
Batman walked over to his fellow Leaguer. "Yes. I'm myself again. I've seen Mephisto's way of doing things, and I know I never want to travel down that path again."
"If I concentrate hard enough, we may be able to track Mephisto to where his base is in the city," J'Onn noted.
"All right, then!" Batman said. "I'll call the Batcopter and we'll track that demon!"
"Here," J'Onn said emphatically. "This is where Mephisto is. Land here."
They landed the Batcopter on a rooftop near the U.S. District Court Building in Manhattan.
"Shield," Batman said into a communicator in his gauntlet, and an invisible electrical force field generated itself around the Batcopter.
The heroes were getting ready to leap across the rooftop to the U.S. District Court Building when a scream from below caught their attention.
"We have to help whoever that poor soul is," J'Onn insisted. He grabbed Batman in his strong Martian arms and flew him down to the street level. J'Onzz dropped the Masked Manhunter when they came within a safe distance of the ground.
Before them was a stubbly, obese demon with an ivory horn on his nose. His mouth was drooling over a businesswoman that he was going to feast on.
"The Avengers League!" the woman shouted.
The demon tightened his grip on her.
"Leave ye humans now, I say,
for this female I must slay!"
He opened his slavering jaws and prepared to chomp the woman into two bite-sized pieces.
"He speaks in rhyme!" J'Onzz marveled.
"Good for him!" Batman commented sarcastically. "Let's keep him from eating that woman for a late-night snack!"
Batman threw a Batarang and clocked the rather slow-moving demon on the back of the head. This was enough to make him release his grip on the businesswoman, who ran away as fast as her legs could carry her.
"Fools you are to fight me so,
now to Hades you will go!"
The demon breathed a sulfurous stream of fire at Batman. Batman's cape protected him. J'Onn caught a little of the blast, though.
"You okay, J'Onn?"
"Yes. Just give me a moment."
The demon snarled as an invisible figure leapt onto its back and began striking it.
"Unseen foe upon my back,
feel my fiery breath attack!"
The demon spewed flame out of his mouth in every direction, attempting to barbecue his unseen foe. The demon reared his horned head, attempting to gouge his unseen attacker. But the demon's efforts were not enough to avoid being pummeled by the invisible figure.
Batman used the distraction to take a capsule from his utility belt and throw it at the demon's face. A sticky plastic covering spread itself over the demon, covering his mouth. The surprised demon writhed in pain and confusion.
"J'Onn, it's now or never! Hit him with all you've got!"
J'Onn took off, and used his Martian flight and speed powers to plow into the demon with amazing force. The demon fell back into a brick wall, and the falling bricks pelted him as J'Onn nimbly flew away.
Batman and J'Onn's unseen helper suddenly turned visible.
"Looks like we got that demon good!" the cloaked figure shouted.
Batman and the Martian Manhunter looked at each other in slight confusion. Was this the legendary hero, The Shadow?
Batman spoke softly to J'Onn. "I had heard about there being a new Shadow running around, but I know this kid is not the one from fifty years ago."
The Shadow walked over to speak with them. "Yes, I am the Shadow. And I'm a lot more powerful than you think I am."
J'Onn was suddenly distracted, and he turned his head and closed his eyes, as if to focus on something the others could not possibly see. "I can sense Mephisto very strongly now. If we don't catch up to him soon, I think we can count on Earth being permanently plunged into Hell!"
Batman looked the new Shadow over. "Well, if you want to help, kid, come along with us. Don't get in the way now."
And so the three heroes raced to sneak into the United States District Court building to stop Mephisto.
Batman wasn't overly fond of the team concept himself but he had joined the Avengers League because he knew he was needed. He didn't totally trust the Shadow. Maybe they were too much alike. And Batman had other things bothering him at the moment. One was the effect the Materioptikon was having on him, the way it was bringing out his anger. Also, he'd done some research on the Shadow's legacy, and come to the conclusion that he had some telepathic ability. Batman was not comfortable with that. It's true that his partner J'Onn was a powerful telepath, but he knew J'Onn well enough to know that he did not pry into the personal thoughts of others. He didn't know if the Shadow had that same respect. Batman knew his mind was harder to read than the average mind. He was very disciplined, and his cowl had a material in it that had been know to interfere with telepathy. It would be a task for the Shadow to read his mind, but not impossible.
As for J'Onn J'Onzz, the Martian Manhunter, he was the least uncomfortable. He wasn't suffering from the poisoning darkness of the Materioptikon. Also, he had no problem with teamwork. He could tell from the eye contact and body language of the other two men that they had a negative reaction to each other. The Martian was certain that he'd have to play referee in this trio.
They were on their way to the District Court Building in New York. They had come to the conclusion that the Prince of Lies had hid the Materioptikon in the court of law.
"We should split up," J'Onn said, thinking that Batman and the Shadow might not make a fluid team. "Find different means of ingress. And let's not be seen, in case there are agents of Mephisto watching."
"I agree," Batman said. "J'Onn, you take the upper floors. Shadow, you go to the basement."
"You're taking a lot for granted," The Shadow said.
"Don't be difficult," Batman replied. "Just follow orders."
Batman moved ahead, to find his way inside. The Shadow glared at him. J'Onn noticed. "Don't mind Batman. Every member of the League goes through that. He can he difficult, but he's brilliant. See you inside."
J'Onn left. The Shadow shook his head and then headed into the building.
It was J'Onn who found it first. On one of the upper floors, there was a black box made of a substance that J'Onn couldn't identify. There didn't seem to be any way to open it. He tried to pass through it, and suddenly felt extreme pain! It was like a thousand knives tearing through his body. It was not just physically painful, but mentally as well. He sensed something . . . wrong! Something evil! When he had recovered, he mentally contacted his two allies.
"I'm on the way," Batman said.
"Me too," The Shadow added, surprised at how powerful J'Onn's telepathic power was.
Meanwhile, J'Onn was studying the black box as he waited. Suddenly, flames appeared. J'Onn jumped for cover, since flames are a Martian's weakness. J'Onn looked and saw a creature in the room with him. It was a yellow beast from Hell!
"Man from Mars, so green and brave,
involved in a danger so grave,
he has an adopted world to save,
and the coming chaos he hopes to stave!
Please come and try, Martian man,
to defeat the demon Etrigan!"
Etrigan spit fire from his mouth. J'Onn desperately tried to evade the flames. He flew out through the wall. Etrigan the demon laughed.
"Martian man, fare thee well,
the victory belongs to the demon from Hell!"
J'Onn came in through the wall behind the demon. He hoped to strike him from behind before Etrigan knew he was there. But the demon had seen it all. Etrigan spun around and sliced the Martian with his claws. J'Onn cried out in pain and backed up. The demon was about to cover him with flame when he was distracted by the arrived of Batman, who tossed a smoke bomb.
"Get to cover, J'Onn!" Batman ordered.
Etrigan laughed again . . .
"The great Dark Knight,
the bat-like human,
wants to fight,
the evil demon!
Come then, oh gloomy Batman,
and battle the vile Etrigan!"
Just then, the Shadow entered. He was invisible to human eyes, but not to those of a creature from the netherworld.
"Another hero joins the fray,
looking to beat me and save the day,
He seeks to enter the battle covert,
and the demon he hopes to hinder or hurt!
Not Shadow nor Bat nor alien,
shall overcome savage Etrigan!"
There followed a brief battle where the three heroes realized that the demon was not boasting. He was too powerful for Batman or the Shadow, and his fire could hold off the Martian Manhunter. They couldn't get near the black box. J'Onn decided to telepathically summon assistance. Etrigan wasn't a telepath, but he could smell telepathy and it wasn't hard for him to guess the nature of the message.
"So the great heroes call for aid,
before the dues of battle are paid!
They know they can't beat Etrigan,
the foulest of Hell's demon's!
Thus must I cut the battle short,
and to my master I must report.
The Materioptikon must not be lost,
and I must protect it at any cost!
I thus move the item away,
but Etrigan will meet you on another day!
Until the time when next we fight,
I'll see you in your dreams at night!"
After a quick chant, the demon Etrigan and the black box vanished.
"Does anyone have any suggestions where we go from here?" J'Onn asked. "Where do you look for a Materioptikon?"
"We start by finding a pattern to the madness," Batman said. "Even insanity usually has a pattern."
"Most criminal psychologists would agree with you," The Shadow added. "Even in the darkness, we find the light of logic."
Batman was surprised by the Shadow's agreement, and by his insight. "Yes . . . "
J'Onn nodded. "I agree but I must say that I'm having trouble seeing the patterns here."
"It's certainly not easy," Batman said, "but it can be done. Let's step back and look at the big picture. What are we dealing with? Darkness, violent behavior, demons and gods! And the ability to make dreams come true! Where do these things intersect? Is there a nexus of all these things somewhere? A person or place wherein these things usually coexist? If there is, then that would be the best place to go to find information."
"Your logic is flawless," J'Onn said. "I regret that I can't offer any suggestion."
"Nor can I," Batman replied.
"I think I can," The Shadow said, thinking back to an adventure that his grandfather had many years ago. "Back in the forties, there was a criminal called the Psycho Pirate. His power came from something called the Medusa mask. He is dead now but the Medusa mask still exists."
"How does this help us?" Batman asked, wondering what the Shadow knew that he didn't know.
"The Psycho Pirate claimed that he used to get messages from the realm of magic and the subconscious, but it could be used only for evil. It was corrupting and left the wearer with a feeling of false euphoria that seemed to justify any action. The mask had the power to tap into a persons dark side or cause aberrant behavior. It was supposedly created by gods. It fits into our search perimeters."
"Very good," Batman said, with respect and a little envy. "But how do we use it to help us?"
"I'm not sure," The Shadow answered.
"I think I may be able to help in that regard," Martian Manhunter said. "Do you have any idea where the mask is now?"
"Until recently, it was in the home of a Dr. Charles McNider," The Shadow replied. "But I believe he died. I'm not sure what happened to his possessions."
"I can find that out," Batman offered. He had found out a while back that McNider was once Dr. Mid-Nite. McNider no doubt had some sort of security around the mask when he was alive. Many of McNider's things were left to old friends, members of the JSA. It only took a quick phone call to find out that the mask was left to . . .
"Alan Scott, the owner of the Scott communications empire," Batman said, "He inherited it. It's currently in a storage vault in one of his buildings: The original WXYZ building in New York. It's under heavy guard."
Martian Manhunter nodded. "I can handle security. I'll be back soon. Wait here."
But that wasn't the case. Try as he might, Thor couldn't stop the freak occurrences of nature and of human nature that there causing Chaos. Again and again he made the attempt, only to fail each time. "I am Thor!" he screamed to the heavens. "Son of Odin! Prince of Asgard! God of Thunder! I command you to yield to my will!"
Nearby, Captain America was watching. He was as disappointed as Thor at the Asgardian's failure. Cap had faced many crisis over the years and he was not one to lose hope, but he was started to wonder how on Earth they were going to win this one.
Thor moved to Cap's side. "I am most humbled, good Captain. Thor hath failed! I apologize for being unable to live up to the trust thou hast put in the God of Thunder!"
"Don't apologize, Thor. It's not over yet. And you may still be a vital part of the solution of this thing."
"Thor shall do whatever is needed."
"I'm glad you're here, Thor. You were a great ally back in World War Two. I was sorry that you left the Avengers League before I was awoken."
"Aye, as am I, Captain. Thou must tell me one day how thou didst survive unchanged these past decades."
"When this is over, I will. And you must tell me why you quit the League. No one seems to know."
"Tis true. My departure from that glorious fellowship was done in haste. I couldst not say at the time why I needed to go. One day, Thor shall tell thee of the Odinquest, and the adventure of the Godwheele!"
"I'm anxious to hear about it. In the meantime, let's hope we get a break regarding our present problem!"
He opened it and found the Medusa Mask. He put it on. Nothing happened.
J'Onn wondered how to use it. If an insane man could master it, then so could he. Insane! he thought. That was the secret. No rational mind could master a weapon of the Gods meant to warp the mind. Only an insane man could use this. There was only one thing to do.
Martians were shapeshifters, and had the ability to transform their bodies, or any part of it, into any shape they desire. J'Onn decided to alter the shape of his brain. By shrinking the rational, analytical left hemisphere of the brain and enlarging the irrational right hemisphere, he was able to subdue all logical thoughts and open his mind to the dark reaches of the unconscious, intuitive mind.
J'Onn began to chuckle. Suddenly the whole situation struck him as funny. All the chaos and danger seemed to make perfect sense to him. It was actually fun.
No! he quickly ordered himself. He couldn't allow himself to be overwhelmed by his new dementia. It was a tool to use, not to be controlled by. He had to focus and do what he came to do.
J'Onn concentrated and images began to form in his mind. One image was of a beautiful woman, sleeping. The second was of some kind of portal. The third was of a regal looking man with a beard.
J'Onn tossed off the mask and changed his brain shape back into it's normal proportions. He winced, thinking of how horrible the feeling of insanity seemed now. But at least he had some clues to work with. If only he knew what they meant.
"Boom tube?" J'Onn asked.
"Tis a device used by the inhabitants of New Genesis. They are called the New Gods. They doth use a device called the Mother Box to open portals in space."
"One of these New Gods must be on Earth," Batman concluded.
"And if the Martian Manhunter saw it in a vision, his arrival must be important," The Shadow said.
Captain America looked at the picture of the bearded man. "Is that the New God? He looks familiar. Regardless, we have to find him. Any suggestions?"
"I think we have sufficient technology that our sensors, combined with the dimension spanning powers of Thor's hammer, can bring us to the location where this ‘Boom Tube' opened."
"Do it!" Cap ordered, "I need to stay here and organize things between the League, the government and others involved. The rest of you, go for it. And good luck."
"We should be ready for anything," Batman said.
"I agree," The Shadow said. "If there is an angry God inside . . . "
"Angry God!" Thor cried. "If thou doth wish to see an angry God, then behold!"
Thor marched forward and knocked down the door.
"So much for being subtle . . . " J'Onn said.
Thor was bounced off a force field. Angrily, he got up and struck at the field. It was no match for his strength. He stepped inside. Laser beams were fired by the man inside, but Thor would not be stopped. He still moved forward against the beam. J'Onn and the Shadow had entered, invisible. The Shadow knocked the laser from the man's hand and J'Onn flattened him with a powerful punch. Everyone was surprised when he fell, unconscious. They were expecting someone with the power of a God.
"I didn't mean to hurt him," J'Onn said.
"He is no God," Thor said. "He is known to me. His name is Vandal Savage, a villain most foul! He is an immortal, but not a God."
"No, he's not," Batman said, pointing. "But maybe she is."
He was pointing into a second room. Inside was a beautiful woman.
"That's the woman in my vision," J'Onn said.
"She doth look familiar," Thor said.
Batman shook her. "She's not waking up. If we're going to get answers, we'll have to get them from Savage!"
Soon, the immortal named Vandal Savage was seated on a chair next to the bed where the woman lay. The four heroes surrounded them.
"We know you, Savage," Batman said. "You're a monster. You've lived a million years and murdered a million people. But you may have the answers we need."
"Can you tell us anything about the bizarre phenomenon that it affecting the world?" J'Onn asked. "We have reason to believe that either you, or she, or both, are involved."
"Answer!" Thor demanded.
"If we are involved," Vandal Savage replied, "it is as victims. My lady fell into this endless sleep just as all this started."
"Who is she?" the Shadow asked.
"Her name is Beautiful Dreamer. She is one of the Forever people. I met her on a previous trip to Earth. At first she also thought I was a monster. But she saw something in me. She kept coming back. We've been lovers for years. She appeared on Earth just after this whole Pandora's box opened. She fell asleep and I haven't been able to wake her. I've been doctoring her but to no avail. If I can do something to help you, I will. I want her to wake up."
"Sleep," Batman said. "The demon said ‘I'll see you in your dreams at night.' And Materioptikon is supposed to make ‘dreams' come true. Everything leads back to dreams."
"Demons haunt our dreams," The Shadow said. "Demons of the subconscious mind, demons of fear, of doubt, of hate and of jealousy. And if those demons can enter our dreams . . . "
" . . . Then maybe a real demon can," J'Onn finished. "It makes sense. He wanted to hide the Materioptikon in a place where no one would find it. So he hid it in the dream world."
"And now that we know, how do we get to it?" The Shadow asked.
"I can help you," Savage said.
Savage led them to an underground lab, and to a VR simulator. "I designed this to enter the dream realm, to find her. So far, I've had no luck. Maybe you can use this to find the thing you're looking for. And if you do, maybe Beautiful Dreamer will wake up."
The heroes agreed. There were only three VR headsets. They decided that Savage should monitor the machines and that Thor should monitor Savage. Batman, J'Onn and the Shadow put on the headsets.
"Is my headset working?" The Shadow asked. "It's pitch dark."
"I'll switch them on in a moment," Savage said, "When I throw the master switch, your minds will be in contact with another realm of existence. You'll be able to see and touch the ideosphere, the landscape of ideas and imagination . . . And dreams! Good luck!"
Savage pulled the lever. Suddenly, the three heroes found themselves in a dimension of images and abstract concepts.
"We're swimming in an ocean of raw and naked consciousness!" J'Onn said, impressed. "Follow me. I'm a manhunter! I have an instinct for tracking things down. And in a place like this, instinct is as powerful and tangible as any weapon."
They followed J'Onn for a time, floating through the dreamrealm. Soon the images were replaced by numbers and letters.
"This must be the area that corresponds to the brains centers dealing with language, communication and numbers," The Shadow said.
Batman was looking ahead. "It looks like there's turbulence ahead. I suspect that that's the strata of conceptual space where human emotions reign."
"That's where we should look," The Shadow said. "Demons love to play with people's emotions."
J'Onn was studying some strange looking things that were floating past. Some of them seemed to be moving. "I wonder if this ocean of ideas we're navigating through has it's own form of marine life."
"You mean the conceptual equivalent of sharks?" Batman asked.
"Something like that."
As if in answer to J'Onn's question, large creatures appeared. Horrible looking creatures. They roared and headed straight for the three visitors.
"These must be the stuff of nightmares!" The Shadow exclaimed.
"And they don't look friendly!" J'Onn added.
"Stop talking and get ready to defend yourselves!" Batman ordered.
The nightmare-sharks attacked.
"So the heroes are not yet beat,
and have not the sense to retreat.
They are getting much too near,
and so I must end this game of fear.
I slay them while they're helpless thus,
without any undo fuss.
And so now I strike the deathblow,
and bring the curtain down on this show."
"You can't do that!" Savage yelled, "I need them!"
"I care not for your need,
Your pleas I will not heed,
and so your only recourse,
is to try and stop me by force.
That's something no human can do,
not even an immortal like you!"
"What, then, about me?" a powerful voice asked. Thor stepped out of the shadows. The Demon stepped back, his confidence fading. Thor held up his hammer. "So foul demon, thou wouldst kill the allies of Thor, wouldst thee? Before thou canst try, thou must first do battle with the God of Thunder!"
Thor threw his hammer, which sent Etrigan up through the roof and out into the open sky. The hammer returned to Thor's hand, and he ordered lightning to come down and strike the Demon. Etrigan was hurt. He was used to pain, but not used to being battered like this. He knew he was no match for Thor.
"Bravo, Asgardian, the white flag is tossed.
Only a fool fights a battle already lost.
There will be a time once again,
when you will feel the wrath of Etrigan!"
The demon fled. Thor was satisfied with his victory but concerned about his three friends.
"There it is!" he cried.
They got to it just as Etrigan reappeared. He was favoring his right arm and seemed to be hurt. Unlike the others, he wasn't there in a VR form. His real body had entered dreams.
"I congratulate you on finding my hiding place,
it was a thrilling, merry chase,
but I cannot let you past.
Try and you will breath your last."
The trio all noticed his body language. "He's hurt!" they all yelled.
"He's trying to bluff us!" The Shadow said. "We can probably take him now."
"Especially with the dream powers we now possess," Batman added.
"Let's take him!" J'Onn ordered, and led the charge.
The demon was surprised that his bluff failed. Knowing he was in no condition to fight, he grabbed the black box and fled again.
"Damn it!" Batman growled.
The three heroes took off their VR helmets. Dejected they faced Vandal Savage and Thor.
"We failed," J'Onn said. "But we haven't given up. Somehow, someway, we'll win!"
Natalie Casswell was laying on the sofa. She was still at the Cranston's residence because neither Lamont, nor her mother felt it was safe for her to return home in the middle of all the chaos.
They were alone, for Victor's mother was on a business trip, and would not be back for another week.
Finally, Natalie got tired of waiting. "Isn't there anything we can do?" she asked.
Lamont looked up from his book. "I'm afraid not," he replied. "Victor will come back when he has a chance."
As if on cue, Victor entered the room.
Natalie rushed over to him. "Are you okay?" she asked, embracing him.
"Yeah, I'm fine," he replied. "I got to meet Batman and Martian Manhunter."
Natalie stepped back, but kept her arms around Victor's neck. "Really? So, the Batman is real, and not a myth?"
Victor nodded. "But I have to go back out. The mission is not yet over."
"Mission?" Lamont asked.
"Yes, I've spent most of the time I was gone searching for something called the Materioptikon. It is a mystical object which is the cause for tonight's strange happenings."
"I believe I've heard of it," Lamont said. "And it's missing?"
"Well, not really," Victor replied, walking to the sofa, and then sitting down. Natalie sat down beside him. "Rather, it's been stolen. First, by some devil guy named Mephisto. So, we went looking for it. Just as we find it, some rhyming demon took it."
"Rhyming demon?" Lamont interjected. "You mean Etrigan?"
"I think that was his name, yeah. I take it you've had an encounter with him?"
"Something like that. Please, continue. Did you recover the Materioptikon?"
Victor shook his head. "We realized that Etrigan would hide it in the dream world to keep it safe. We found a way into the dream world, and came very close to recovering it. But, guess who showed up to claim it."
"Must have been that Etrigan guy," Natalie guessed. "And that's when you came home?"
"Yeah, I needed to take a break. But, I do need to go out and search again."
"Anything else exciting happen?" Natalie asked.
"Well, I met Thor . . . "
Even though Natalie had long ago accepted the fact that Victor was a superhero, she still couldn't get over the strange people he encountered.
"Before you go," Lamont said, "I want to give you something." He stood up, and left the room. Less than a minute later, he came back, and handed a small object to Victor. "It's an earpiece. I want to be in constant contact with you. I'm also going to be in contact with some other people, who can probably help you out."
Victor put the piece in his ear and walked to the door. "I'll see you later," he said, walking out, and turning invisible.
"Hello?" he asked, groggily.
"Alan? It's Lamont Cranston."
"Lamont? Why are you calling in the middle of the night?"
"Haven't you looked outside? I'm assuming you're still in New York . . . "
"Yes, I'm in NYC, but I was preoccupied most of the night with campaign speeches and then I went to bed . . . "
"Well, we have Hell on Earth outside, and some of your old partners are involved."
Alan got out of bed and looked out. For the first time, he saw the awesome, yet terrifying sight outside. "My god, what's going on?"
"Now, I'm not expecting you to get decked out in full superhero wear, but I am asking you if you still have that radio setup we cobbled together a while back?"
"I have it."
"Okay, I have a link with some of the super heroes out there, and I was hoping that you would be so kind as to get on that link, and provide us with some information."
"I'd be glad to. What kind of help will you need?"
"Mostly information regarding stuff that may happen tonight. I know you've faced your share of otherworldly creatures in your day."
"I guess you could say that. What's the frequency?"
Lamont gave Alan the frequency, and he wrote it down.
"I'll contact you as soon I get the link set up," Alan said as he hung up the phone.
"I don't know where you got these threads, but someone was doing some color coordination," he commented.
"Heh," Stealth replied. He was busy looking at some equipment laying on a table. "You know, we gotta get you a codename. Something that says who you are and what your powers are."
"Green Fire? Pyre? Firebird?" William suggested.
"No, no, and no," Stealth replied. "And isn't that last one taken? That chick from Young Justice, I think."
"So, do I have to come up with one tonight?"
Stealth shook his head. "It's not like anyone's going to even notice that you're there with all the craziness going on."
"What exactly are we doing tonight?"
Stealth finally looked at his partner. "We're fighting demons, and hopefully finding some of those other heroes that roam the streets of New York."
"We should find some. After all, there are what, thousands?"
"Not that many, maybe a hundred."
"And why do they need us?"
"If they were doing such a good job, how come the skies are still red?"
"Point," William agreed. "So, when will we meet the mysterious benefactors?"
"I have. You won't until the time comes." Stealth began walking out. William soon followed.
"Vic . . . ?" he asked, very weakly. "Isn't it after visiting hours?"
"It could be," Victor whispered back. "But I found my way in a back way. I wanted to see how you were doing."
"Better," Jason replied. "I'll be getting out in a couple of days."
"That's good," Vic said. "It's crazy out there, man. Demons, and all sorts of other weird stuff . . . "
"Is that way you came? To make sure the Street Demonz didn't get me again?"
"I'm afraid the demons I'm talking about are much different. I gotta go. I'll see you later . . . "
Victor snuck out of the room, and exited the hospital. Now, he had to make his way to the Hall of Justice for the latest update.
Flash leaned over and offered his hand. "Hi, I'm Flash. I can run fast."
The Shadow shook Flash's hand. "I'm the Shadow. I know what evil lurks in the hearts of men. And, normally, you can't see me."
Standing in front of the table was Captain America. Starting on his right, and going around the table were Oliver Queen, John Walker, Father Craemer, Wesley Dodds, Wonder Woman, Hawkeye, Flash, The Shadow, Martian Manhunter, Batman, Iron Man, and Thor. Henry Pym was standing behind the assembled group, and Wasp was hovering.
"So far, our only hope to ending this crisis has been to find the Materioptikon," Captain America announced. "And yet, all of our efforts have failed."
"We were unable to locate it at all," Wonder Woman spoke up. "We've spent most of the night fighting demons."
"Well, Batman, Martian Manhunter, and our new friend, the Shadow actually located it, but Etrigan stole it at the last minute," Cap said. The Shadow smiled when his name was mentioned.
"But what have the holy trinity been up to?" Iron Man asked, referring to Queen and his partners.
"I resent that remark," Father Craemer said.
"I'm sorry, Father," Iron Man replied. At least he was able to apologize and confess at the same time. That thought made him smile under the mask.
"Actually, I am curious as to what you four were up to," Martian Manhunter asked.
"Four?" Iron Man asked. "Oh, yeah, Dodds."
"Top secret," Oliver replied.
"Oliver, you're not part of SHIELD anymore," Cap said. "Everything's not confidential anymore."
"Well, it is for me!" Queen exclaimed. "I said it was top secret, and I'll leave it at that!"
"Okay," Cap said, dropping the subject. "Now, the question is whether or not we continue looking for the Materioptikon, or try to find some other way to bring normality to the world."
"You know," Martian Manhunter said, "we don't know where the Materioptikon is, but we know who has it."
"That's right!" the Shadow exclaimed. "We can set a trap for Etrigan."
"Indeed," Thor agreed. "He hadst stayed one step ahead of us, but he was badly injured at our last encounter."
"But how do we trap a demon?" Hawkeye asked. "After all, if he got the drop on Batman and the Martian . . . "
"He does have a point," Wonder Woman added.
"What if we tried bluffing him? Even though his bluff didn't work on us, we could try to make him think that we really have the Material . . . spitcon, or whatever its called, and that we gave him a fake." the Shadow suggested.
"I don't know if that could work. What if he's already used it?" J'Onn replied.
"He's probably given it back to Mephisto," Dodds said. "It's just a matter of time before Mephisto shows up. We should take him then."
"Naturally, those power hungry evil beings love basking in their glory," Oliver added.
The Shadow finally realized what had been nagging in the back of his mind since he teamed up with the Avengers League. The whole time he had been looking for this mystical device, he never fully understood what it was. Finally, he asked about it. "I hate to be asking what might be a dumb question, but what is this thing we've been trying to get?"
"The Materioptikon?" Avatar confirmed. "It's hard to explain, and we don't have time for a full explanation, so for now, let's just say it's a powerful device which can reshape certain things into something else."
"What kinds of things?"
"All kinds of things. In this case, Mephisto used it to reshape Earth into another level of Hell."
"Did he reshape all of Earth, or just New York?"
"We can't tell," Captain America said. "Mephisto's redesign has done something to modern communications technology, making it very difficult to call out, and I'm afraid we can't spare the manpower to have someone physically travel to another part of the world to see if it's normal."
"What I'm curious to know," Father Craemer asked, "is how many demons are being seen, or are they just hallucinations?"
"I feel it's a little bit of both," Wonder Woman answered. "Tonight, we've spent a large portion of time fighting real demons, and saving people from things like cars that they thought were going to eat them."
"Hey, that cop car was alive . . . " Hawkeye muttered, referring to the event earlier in the night when they turned Brainstorm over to the authorities.
"Once more, I think it would be best if we split up into groups once more," Cap said. "We have plenty of people here, and plenty of things to do. We'll need a team to do damage control, and a team to actively search for the Materioptikon." He turned to Oliver. "Anything else?"
Oliver shook his head. "Except that Dodds, Walker, Craemer, and I will be going off to continue our own little secret mission."
Martian Manhunter spoke up. "Captain America, I believe it might be best if we have several groups looking for the Materioptikon, and maybe a group looking for Mephisto himself."
"If it would be possible," the Shadow added, "I'd like to be paired up with Martian Manhunter in looking for the Materioptikon." Under his breath, he continues, "Hey, I finally said it right . . . "
"That would be fine with me," J'Onn replied.
"All right, then," Cap announced, "you two are a team, and may go ahead and leave. Oliver, your group can leave as well. No sense wasting time in listening to what everyone else will be doing . . . "
The Shadow and Martian Manhunter walked out of the room.
"I noticed you only mentioned me," J'Onn commented. "Why not Batman?"
"Nothing personal against him, but I think he'll work better in another group, maybe. I think this out-of-this-world kinda stuff gets to him a little."
J'Onn nodded in agreement. "Yes, he does like to stay within the bounds of the real world."
"Good job . . . " Stealth complemented.
"Thanks," William replied. "But are you ready for the demon attack?"
"HEY!" someone shouted. "We were fighting those demons!"
William and Stealth looked up, and saw a man leaping over the demons, landing beside them. "Now, if you don't mind -- William!?!"
"Beast?" William asked, glad to see one of the X-Men. "Who are with you?"
"Just Jean and Clark. The rest are recovering from earlier events."
Just then, a demon leapt at William. He formed a cross out of plasma, and it crystalized. The demon fell back. Jean Grey and Superman came flying up behind it.
"Don't talk," Stealth said. "Just attack."
And so, the five heroes began to attack the demons. Jean tried using telekinesis to break bones, but it hardly worked. Beast used his agility to confuse the demons. Superman used all of his powers.
Finally, the five gathered into a circle. The demons were coming at them. Suddenly, a green man flew in, through them!
He landed, and joined the group. "I am Martian Manhunter of the Avengers League. With me is the Shadow, but you can't see him."
"Don't worry, I'll turn visible," the Shadow said. "We saw the demons attack you, and figured you might need help."
"Thanks," Jean said. Then she pointed up. "But look! Another one!"
"Oh my stars and garters," Beast commented.
"That's no ordinary demon," J'Onn said. "That's Etrigan. He's a rhyming demon, one of the highest order."
"How nice of you to remember me,
Will your attempt fail on try number three?"
"What is he talking about?" Stealth asked.
"The Materioptikon," the Shadow replied. "We've been trying to get it from him all night and it hasn't worked."
"And now these demons I will hold back,
So you may get this box which is black."
"He's making it a game!" J'Onn said, angrily.
"Etrigan, we're not going to play the game this time!"
"Forfeit is what you choose,
Now you find the box is not all you lose.
These demons I once held back,
Will now let loose, and then attack!"
{J'Onn,} the Shadow thought. {Can you project your shield of invisibility?}
{Don't worry, I can hide us,} Jean though at both of them.
Finally, the demons jumped forward as Etrigan left, and Jean put up a mental shield, making them all appear invisible. The demons rammed into each other. William threw out crystalize crosses, and they all embedded in the demons. The demons ran off.
Jean dropped the shield.
"Jean, I don't know if this is the best time to tell you this," William began, "but I don't know if I have another chance later. I won't be coming back to the X-Men. I'm going to stick it out with Stealth. We're starting a new team."
"Okay," Jean said. "But we will miss you."
"Introduction time," the Shadow interjected. "Jean, Superman, and Beast here are X-Men. J'Onn is a member of the Avengers League. I'm guessing the guy with the green is William, and the other guy is Stealth. I had an encounter with him once. I'm the Shadow."
"X-Men, I know I will have to bring you in later, but for tonight, we are allies," J'Onn said. "In fact, don't believe everything you hear. While the Avengers League was reformed mostly as an anti-mutant task force, that is not why most of our members joined."
"We understand," Superman said. "But, if we ever get in a fight . . . "
"No quarter asked, none given," J'Onn concluded.
"Can anyone get a fix on Etrigan?" the Shadow asked.
"I can try," J'Onn said.
"My lord and master, Mephisto,
Here is what you wanted, and now I must go."
"No, no, no!" Mephisto said. "Please, stay and talk a while. It has been so long since I have had intelligence conversation with a demon."
"For me to talk to you is an honor,
Many years, you were thought a goner."
"Goner?" Mephisto asked. "Well, I guess I might have been, if it hadn't been for this." Mephisto picked up the Materioptikon, and admired it. "It's such a beautiful thing, isn't it?"
"Beautiful, yes, I must agree,
When it works so well for you and me."
"Did you have much trouble finding it?"
"There were others, looking to steal,
But for me, I remembered our deal.
Try they did first the time,
Yet they failed, confused by my rhyme.
Thus, I moved the item away,
But they pressed on in this good day.
They found the place where it was to hide,
In a dream world, vast and wide.
So, I knew I had to go,
To save the box for great Mephisto."
"Who were these others?" the devil wondered.
"One was the great Dark Knight,
The bat-like human,
Who wished to fight,
the evil demon.
Martian Manhunter one was called,
I believe he was green and bald.
And the last, which has followed me where I go,
Was the mighty, invisible, called the Shadow!"
"Batman, Martian Manhunter, and the Shadow . . . hmmm . . . " Mephisto entered deep thought. "You may go, Etrigan . . . "
He landed in front of them, and all seven prepared for a fight.
"Face me, as you plan to do,
And I will guarantee your adventure will not continue!"
"Hello, Wendell," replied Eon, as cool and calm as ever. "I called you here because you are needed --"
"I am needed right now at home as well, Eon . . . " interrupted Wendell. "In case you haven't noticed, something is seriously screwed up in New York City and I was in the middle of a battle when -- "
"That something is why you are here, Wendell . . . " interrupted Eon.
Wendell stopped, confused now, as realization began to set in. He had a bad feeling whatever was happening at home was suddenly a lot bigger than he had first suspected.
Calmer now, Wendell waited for Eon to continue.
Eon did. "The Arch-devil known as Mephisto has been trapped upon Earth as a mortal for several decades. Recently, he has acquired a very ancient and very powerful artifact, powered by the magic of the Endless. The Endless possibly predate the existence of this universe themselves. Has used this power to fuse the planes of Hell and Earth together.
"Normally, such a scheme would not effect us on such a cosmic level, but because Mephisto has fused his dimension with this one, the consequences may indeed be catastrophic. The delicate pendulum, which swings between Master Order and Lord Chaos, swings dangerously towards Chaos's side. Pockets of corruption and evil have begun to surface on other worlds as Hell continues to break through to this reality. Other cosmic entities have begun to notice the changes and are considering plans to eliminate the earth . . . "
"Whoa," shouted Quasar, trying to take all this information in, "nobody is gonna destroy my home. Not while I'm the cosmic champion. There are plenty of heroes on Earth, I'll just gather them and lay an assault upon Mephisto, and take this artifact back . . . "
"I fear," spoke Eon, "that your heroes are simply not enough for this task. Even now many are being corrupted by the taint of Hell's evil that is spreading like a plague over the Earth. Your friends, led by the Chosen ones, are doing the best they can, but they are being led on wild chases, and losing precious time. We need more power. Power that cannot be corrupted by evil, as most mortals can be. We need Earth's Gods . . . "
"Well," replied Quasar, "Captain America and Flash went to Asgard to get Thor."
"That is a start, but not enough. You must go and see to it that others join this battle. If you do not succeed, your Earth will surely perish, and maybe, all of this universe as well.
"I know of the locations of several colonies of Earth Gods. Many left your planet after Mephisto and an angel named Asmodel hatched a plot to murder them. You must do everything within you power to convince them to come home and help against Mephisto."
As Quasar entered the planet's atmosphere, and journeyed towards the surface, he could definitely understand why they had chosen this location. The planet was pristine, probably much like the Earth had been before humans had come and permanently altered its physiology. Quasar quickly swept past a massive blue ocean that stretched for countless miles, to fly over a gigantic continent filled with vast forested lands. Trees grew tall and thick, and in the spaces between Quasar could see large forest animals scurrying. Wendell was delighted to pass a flock of strange-looking birds with long purple feathers and bright orange beaks. He swooped down close to the trees and caught sight of strange looking simian-styled creatures with elephant like trunks and bright orange fur.
Wendell adjusted his Quantum Bands, as he continued his flight, to pick up the energy signatures of the Eternals. Eon had informed him that the Eternals should be relatively easy to find, as their energy should prove to be distinctly different from the primitive animals that lived upon the planet.
Suddenly, Quasar was struck in the back, caught completely unaware of his attacker. Luckily, he had been protected by an quantum energy field, or the blow would have surely ripped him in two. Dazed, Wendell turned to see his attacker, and was met with a most unexpected surprise. The creature was huge. It looked similar to a hawk from Earth, except it was the size of a compact pick-up and it's feathers were a dark crimson in color. Wendell suspected he had been targeted by the gigantic bird for it's lunch.
Not wanting to harm the creature, Wendell quickly created an energy rope and wrapped it tightly around both the creature's massive talons and it's sharp beak, taking away it's ability to attack. Then, Wendell used his ability to manipulate the energy to create a gigantic energy catapult, and fired the creature far off in the distance, hoping that it wouldn't go through the trouble to come find it's former attempted meal.
As Quasar stood there, hovering, he heard a female voice speak to him inside his head.
{Well played, cosmic guardian.}
Quasar looked all around, seeing a human-looking woman and man standing in the air, hovering around thirty feet away from him.
"I use to have a parakeet as a kid," said Wendell, smiling. He spoke the words, although he was sure it was hardly necessary. "How did you know I was the cosmic guardian?"
{I recognize the bands you wield. I met a previous wielder of the bands, a Green Martian named Nezz Zebbel.}
"Interesting," commented Quasar, suddenly remembering he wasn't here for idle banter, "You wouldn't happen to be Eternals from Earth would you?"
This question seemed to furrow the brow of the male and raise the brows of the female.
{I am Sersi. This is Caduceus. We are indeed Eternals. Who are you and why do you want us?}
"My name is Quasar," replied Wendell. "I am from Earth, and I am here to ask for your aid. Earth needs you."
The woman seemed to be lost in thought for a moment, then turned to the male, who nodded gently.
{Then come with us, we will take you to New Eternia to see our leader Zuras.}
Quasar sat, cross-legged, in front of the Eternal Leader. When he had first arrived, it had been only a handful of Eternals standing in what seemed to be a meeting area of their home city, New Eternia. The city was, in fact, a cluster of homes built into tall, thick, dense trees. The whole city reminded him very much of the Ewok village in Return of the Jedi, complete with rope bridges connecting all the homes. It appeared that the Eternals had chosen to leave their home in as much as a natural state as possible, even to the point where Wendell noticed small, squirrel-like creatures scurrying around the room they currently sat it.
Quasar had spent the better part of an hour telling his tale of Mephisto and how his plot threatened to disrupt the entire planet.
Zuras continued. "The losses we sustained during the attack of the legions of Heaven and Hell were great, and many still have not recovered from the blows. Harvest, Calculus, Highnote, Brightsword, and Sea Witch of our new brethren the Young Gods were all slaughtered. Ajax, Gilgamesh, and Valkin were also taken. My own daughter, Thena, was among those who died so that others of us could escape.
"These losses were overwhelming for some. Ikaris, whom I considered almost like my own blood, could not bear the loss of my daughter, and left us soon after we settled here. He could not settle, the loss was still overwhelming."
"I am truly sorry for your losses," commented Quasar, sorrowfully, "but this is a crisis situation here. The Earth is in serious peril. I don't want to see our world die. Worse still, Eon has said that these plots by Mephisto are starting to affect all of reality. He said soon the Earth might be obliterated, or else the entire universe will be destroyed. Now, from what Eon told me, Mephisto was one of the primary conspirators in the plot that caused the deaths of all your friends and family. Now, I don't care if you come back for justice, or revenge, or what, but you need to come back and help me."
Quasar watched as the crowd that had gathered around them began to rumble.
"It is our homeworld, Zuras."
"Those that were killed would not have wanted use to stand aside and left Mephisto achieve victory."
"There is too much at stake here High Father, for us not to react."
"The deaths of our brethren must be avenged."
"It appears," replied Zuras, sullenly, "that my people have spoken Quasar. For the many reasons, it appears that we will leave our new home and travel back to Earth and help stop Hell's spreading influence. I see this as our only course, whether our motivation be it revenge or justice or pride. I fear that running away was not the best choice in the first place, and now it is time to make amends for that day's actions."
{What do you mean, Wendell?} asked Eon telepathically, through their link via the Quantum Bands.
{From what you have mentioned this fella doesn't exactly seem like the helpful type . . . }
{Under most circumstances, Wendell, he probably wouldn't be. Set isn't one of your . . . nicer . . . Earth Gods. When Mephisto and Asmodel hatched their plot to murder the Earth Gods, Set formed an alliance with several other Gods in an attempt to take advantage of the situation. They were betrayed, and forced to meld with human forms.}
Wendell looked around himself, and wondered then how Set had got himself into his present situation. It was almost as if Eon had read his thoughts . . .
{Five terran years ago, Set attempted to steal the ancient magic of all the Egyptian Gods. He was stopped by Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., along with Thor and the Sorcerer Supreme. Dr. Strange used his powers to trap Set here in the Shadow Dimension.}
{Why do we need him?} asked Quasar, not exactly thrilled about releasing an evil, very powerful God from his prison.
{He hates Mephisto, and his partner Asmodel, because it was their plot that caused him to be bound to a human and greatly decreased his powers and abilities. Set is a very bitter and vengeful god, and will gladly take the opportunity to extract revenge upon someone who wronged him so. He is evil, but a predictable, and at the moment, the lesser of two evils. We need every advantage and surprise we can muster at this time, and a wild-card like Set might be exactly what we require to defeat Mephisto.}
{You are the billions of years old cosmic brain, I'll take your word for it,} said Quasar as he prowled his way through the endless area of darkness and black. Quasar could hear creatures whispering in the dark, and could see them moving, but he then just fired up his energy field a little brighter, and whatever it was went scurrying back into their darkness.
Finally, Quasar came to his destination. It looked very odd and misplaced. Sitting, in the middle of all the dark, suspended in nothingness, was a large silver cube, about 20'x20'x20'.
Quasar heard Eon in his head again.
{That is Set's prison. It has weakened after years of abuse by Set, and the creatures, which live in this vile plane. You should be able to use your powers to break the cube open. Just bombard it with a variety of energy spectrums and eventually it should crumble.}
Quasar sighed in resignation, and started to fire massive amounts of energy at the magical jail. Eventually, after around an hour, small cracks began to show. It took another hour of work, but eventually Quasar gave one final blast and the walls melted into nothingness. Floating there was a shell of a man, curled into a fetal position. If this was a God, thought Quasar, he was much worse for the wear his five years of isolation had taken upon him.
"Set?" asked Quasar as he came close to the creature, thinking he was maybe unconscious or possible even dead.
Within seconds the creature seemed to awaken. Quasar stared into its pitiful, emaciated eyes, and felt sorry for the creature. Then the look in his eyes changed to one filled with fire and anger. Suddenly, the creature stood and the body was transformed. Now, it was no longer small, frail, and white, instead replaced by a regal, well tanned, well muscular form with eyes that burned with passion and hatred.
"Who are you," hissed Set, his low voice filled with anger and hatred, "and why have you freed me?"
"Now, chill out," said Quasar, "I can just as easily put you back in." It was a total bluff, but Set didn't have to realize that. "I am Quasar, Universal Guardian. I have freed you, Set, because I have an offer for you that we both can benefit from."
Always the opportunist, Set, after five years of imprisonment, had no problem listening to Quasar explain what was happening to the Earth. Set didn't like it one bit. The Earth was his to conquer, not some foolish demon's. Worse still, the perpetrator was Mephisto, who Set had a distinct loathing for. In his view, he owed that demon much. Besides, thought Set, this could be an awesome opportunity for him. He could avenge his pains upon an old nemesis, then take the Materioptikon for himself, and use it to seek his revenge upon Doctor Strange, Thor, Oliver Queen, and all his other enemies.
"I will help you creature," said Set, smiling, "Just get me home and tell me what I need to do."
Quasar shifted uneasily as he prepared to transport himself and Set back to Earth. He could not shake the feeling that in order to stop a devil, he had just made a hellish pact with something just as bad.
Why should I be a superhero? After all, it's not like I'm going to be leaving New York City any time soon, and the city is already full of superheroes . . . Iron Man . . . Batman . . . the Shadow . . . Young Justice . . . Heck, the Avengers League work out of NYC for cryin' out loud!
I guess it's all because of the credo Uncle Ben - god rest his soul - taught me so many years ago . . . With great power comes great responsibility. It's not really guilt of his death that drives me, but the fact that I don't like the idea of letting everything he taught me go to waste.
Besides, being Spider-Man isn't all that bad. It has its perks. Every once in a while, I get to hang out with some of the coolest people on Earth.
But, therein lies the drawback. Usually, when hanging - no pun intended - with the coolest people on Earth, one is required to fight someone else. And for you to be in the presence of so many other great heroes, that usually means the guy's too big for even the Avengers League alone.
And that's where it gets hectic. I mean, you're facing someone - or something - that the Avengers League couldn't take down, and you have to manage to keep your cool exterior; keeping the jokes coming without craping in your pants.
Like tonight. It started out normal enough, with me working late at the Daily Planet. Then, the skies turn red, and the clouds grey. It rained real bad for a while, but then it stopped, and the temperature started to rise slowly . . .
With all that going, we were getting reports of all sorts of weird things, such as demons and monsters. It was deemed safer for the bunch of us still at work to stay there until the crisis was over.
That was until J. Jonah Jameson came down out of his office . . .
"What the heck is wrong with alla you?" he shouted. "Here we are with the biggest story of the year, and you're just sitting on your collective butts, waiting for the story to drop in!"
If I had a nickel everytime we had the "biggest story of the year" . . . Peter thought. I'd be rich, and wouldn't ever have to worry about money.
"But, Jonah!" Perry White interjected. "You insisted that we get the story without getting in harm's way!"
"Does that mean you're going to sit and wait until the story drops in your lap?"
Everyone was silent. Jameson's lips twisted into a cruel smile. "I guess so . . . " he said. But something was different with his voice. It was deeper, evil. Then, his skin started to change to a reddish hue.
Jameson's form changed to that of a devil. "You news people are so predictable . . . " Mephisto said, still smiling.
"I knew it!" Ben Urich exclaimed, jokingly. "Jameson is the devil!"
Jimmy Olsen snapped a picture. Mephisto turned to him quickly. "The essence of a being such as myself cannot simply be contained on mere film!"
Peter Parker sled into another room, ready to change into Spider-Man. He knew he would be needed.
No, this sense is more like "it's gonna hit the fan, and I'm powerless to stop him, but I gotta try anyway."
If you can comprehend that, you can understand how I felt right then. I was just glad that I wasn't the only one handling the various crises in the city.
"Mere metal and stone may not hurt me,
You would be wise to just attempt to flee!"
"What's she doing?" Stealth asked to no one in particular.
"Hush," Beast replied. "She saving our butts."
"But, how?"
"Shh."
Etrigan sniffed. He could smell something burning - him. The demon let out a loud roar and flew off into the night once more.
"Nice thinking," the Shadow complemented. "Making a cross out of the raw material around him."
Just then, the gathered heroes could see a building explode. The blast was magnificent, and the showering glass invoked the illusion of a fireworks display. The heroes were tempted to enjoy it until they realized where the blast had been.
"That's the Daily Planet!" the Shadow exclaimed. "And I have a feeling that something major is going down."
"Is would be wise to travel in that direction," J'Onn added.
"Have you ever danced with the devil by the pale moonlight?"
"How original," Spidey replied. "But, the answer to your question is no, and I don't think I'll be able to tonight. Your gray clouds kinda block the moon."
"Perhaps . . . You do have a point . . . Besides, what does that phrase mean?"
"Who cares?" someone asked. Spider-Man turned around and saw the seven heroes hovering behind him. Stealth was the one who asked the question, and he stepped down. "The real question is . . . do you feel lucky tonight?"
The other heroes floated down to the floor.
"Enough with the philosophical questions," the Shadow said. "He's got the Materioptikon!"
"Oh," Mephisto said, a cruel smile twisting his lips as he reached into the folds of his cape, pulling something out. "You mean this . . . " He held out a black box.
The Shadow prepared to lunge for it, but J'Onn held out an arm to restrain his young friend. "He is clearly toying with us, and the move you were about to attempt would have been quite foolish."
"What do you want, Mephisto?" Spider-Man demanded. "Why did you disguise yourself as Jameson, and then blow up the building?"
"My reasons are my own," Mephisto replied. "But if you want this, you'll have to come get it!"
Suddenly, the room started spinning for the heroes, and they began falling asleep . . .
"Something feels strange," the Shadow said.
"I believe we are in a dream state," Beast added. "Fascinating."
They all looked around. The ground was red and barren. The sky was a darker shade of red, but still nasty. To the heroes, there surrounding might have been considered to be Martian in nature, except everything was so grotesque.
"It's like Mars from a horror comic or something," William said. "Where the artist tries to put in an air of creepiness."
"This is no Mars," J'Onn replied. "I haven't even seen anything like this in a vision."
Spider-Man took a step forward. His foot landed in something strange. "Oh, disgusting!" he exclaimed, seeing the rotting carcass laying in a hole.
"Mr. McCoy, you said this was a dream state?" J'Onn asked.
"Doctor McCoy, if you please," Hank replied. "And yes, I do believe we are not on any plane of reality we can access by conventional means."
"Are you saying we're in his head?"
Spider-Man turned back to the group. "Looks that way."
"No wonder he's so twisted," Stealth added.
"Shh!" Jean said. "You hear that?"
Everyone strained to hear, even Superman. Finally, they all heard a low hum and chant.
"Strange . . . " J'Onn said.
"Fools!"
The heroes turned and saw Mephisto standing behind them. "Do you really think you could even begin to comprehend this place? My mind given form?"
"Attack!" Spidey yelled.
Spider-Man, Martain Manhunter, the Shadow, Beast, Jean Grey, Superman, Stealth, and the boy known as William lunged forward, ready to attack their foe. However, some strange force held them back.
Mephisto laughed. "I say it again! You are fools!" Mephisto disappeared in a flash of brimstone, but his laughter hung on as long as possible.
The heroes picked themselves up and dusted off.
"I suggest we split up into groups," Superman offered. "Try to find out why and how we're here, and how we can get out."
"How small should the groups be?" Stealth asked.
"As much as I would like to have four groups, I believe it would be best if we only split into two groups of four," Superman replied. "It's too risky to go with any fewer. Stealth, if you and William will come with Jean and myself, I'm sure the other four can manage."
"Gotcha," Spidey said. He looked at the three remaining with him. "So, I guess we need a leader-like person."
"You seem to be capable of the job," the Shadow replied.
"I knew you'd say that . . . " Spidey muttered.
"I agree with the Shadow," J'Onn said. "You'll be fine."
"Figures," Spidey grunted.
"Jameson!" he exclaimed. "But wait, are you the real Jameson, or that Mephisto guy?"
Jimmy bent down and pulled the gag out of his boss's mouth.
"For God's sake, Olsen, don't you know your boss when you see him?" Jameson shouted.
"Well, sir, you appeared as if you were the devil upstairs."
"Blasted creature! He came to me earlier tonight, and knocked me out. Guess he stole my face, huh?"
"Not only that, but he blew up the building!"
"So I noticed. Now, would you mind getting me out of these ropes?"
"This is unbelievable," he commented. "It goes on for miles, and it's all . . . weird."
"I wonder . . . " Beast began. "I wonder if we are all seeing the same thing."
"Big vast red landscape?"
"Not just that. We are in a dream-like state in Mephisto's mind. Dreams are made for interpretation. It's nearly impossible for two people to have the exact same dream."
"But if they do," Martain Manhunter said, "they usually pull different meanings out of it, correct?"
"Exactly," Beast replied.
"But how does that help us against a guy who is . . . well, the devil?" Spidey asked.
"Is he?" Beast wondered.
"Beast, you seem like a cool guy, but I don't think now is the time to have a really thought provoking discussion about theology."
Beast stepped closer to the webbed wonder. "What would you rather do? Walk around in someone's head, trying to find someone you can fight, and end up getting your butt kicked?"
"If it means getting back to reality, then yes!"
J'Onn stepped between the two, and put his arms up. "Calm down. Beast does have a point. Besides, that discussion does sound interesting, and it does beat having to fight Mephisto."
"Very well," Beast said. "Now, as I was saying, it is very possible that Mephisto is not the devil. If you take the basic Christian belief that he was kicked out of Heaven for trying to take it over, do you really think he would be stupid enough to try it again? After all, that was how he lost his 'godly' form and became stuck as a human for the past few decades."
"Sounds like you've done some research," the Shadow commented.
"Thanks to Jean's telepathy, and my own pool of knowledge," Beast replied. "Anyway, if he was stupid enough to try to take over Heaven and fail, why would he attempt it again?"
"Maybe he had help." J'Onn suggested.
"Are you reading my mind? Because that is almost exactly what happened. Another angel named Asmodel came up with a very similiar scheme."
"But what does this all have to do with our 'debate' of sorts?" Spidey asked.
"I'm getting to that, but I have to set something else up first. For some reason, I have this nagging feeling that something is not right in the universe."
"Like maybe it's all happened before?"
"How did you know?"
Spidey shrugged. "I've had some weird deja vu at times."
"What if we aren't the only universe out there?" Beast hypothesized. "What if it's really a multiverse? Or what if . . . " His voice dropped to a near whisper. " . . . this universe used to be a multiverse?" His voice returned to a normal volume. "So, let's say we have a multiverse, whenever, be it now or in the past. That means we have dozens of 'devils.'"
"But what does that say about God?" the Shadow asked.
"He is omnipresent. He's everywhere, a multiverse means the same as a universe to him."
"But isn't the devil on the same kind of level as God?" Spidey asked. "Heaven and Hell, total opposites."
Beast pondered for a second. "Interesting debate. A shame that it must end now. I can't think of anything to come back with."
J'Onn hadn't paid much attention to the last few sentences. He saw something beyond them. "Look!" he exclaimed.
"Mephisto!" Spidey exclaimed.
He noticed the lack of a Daily Planet globe. Naturally, he had sources, and knew what had happened. He only hoped that it would be soon corrected, because he wanted that globe to be his.
So this is my mind, given material form. Interesting . . . How long until those pesky heroes find me?
"We found him!"
Odd . . . I heard that in stereo.
Mephisto turned his head to the right and saw the group led by Spider-Man. Turning to the left, he saw Superman's group.
"Nice timing," he said to both groups. "But I tire of this dream world."
"Looks like you've failed again . . . "
The Shadow groaned. "I guess we better split up again."
"A wise move," Stealth said. "Besides, my pal and I have to be somewhere . . . "
"What happened?" he asked.
Lois just shook her head. "I couldn't tell you. In fact, I'm not even going to worry with a story."
"Non-Pulitzer material, huh?"
"It was like a badly plotted comic book . . . "
"William, this is Clea. She's the leader of the Visionaries," Stealth said. He then turned to Clea. "I believe you called?"
I am a hero. Or, at least, I was. I am also a robot. I make intense winds upon which I fly, and also, as my name suggests, create tornadoes of any size or force. The original Red Tornado was a human . . . a woman. She fought Nazi oppression during World War II. Her life as a super-hero was short lived, as she was not very successful. When I was created, I was given the name, not to represent a legacy, but a spirit of how things used to be. When good guys were right and bad guys wound up in jail.
I fought alongside multiple heroes at one time or another, and for awhile I was even retired. But then I found myself the mentor of a group of youth heroes called Young Justice. They all sought to do good, and protect a world that they barely knew. I was to help them, be their guide. And for awhile, it seemed as though we were doing alright together.
Robin, Superboy, Impulse, Wonder Girl, Arrowette, Jade and Firebird were the members. But then Firebird apparently went insane and nearly killed the team. We then gained new mutant members Cannonball and Magik . . . and the media began to question us. Public battles in Central Park against Firebird, the Point Men at a government facility in New York, Angar the Screamer and then the Phalanx in Illinois, the Mutant Liberation Front at the World Trade Center . . . the list goes on.
The major confrontation was that of a battle at the Hellfire Club mansion in New York. Sebastian Shaw, the team's recent nemesis, was revealed to be the Black King of a secret Inner Circle of powerful mutants, revealed to be responsible for Firebird's turning against us. The team fought back, defeated the Club and saved Firebird . . . but at the cost of our stance in the public eye. We were thought of as terrorists after attacking so public a place. So, as a precaution, I grounded the team. I put them under house arrest to let the media's opinions cool down.
It didn't last.
When Wonder Girl's powers began changing, the team broke out and investigating. One giant explosion later, and the Department of Extranormal Operations stepped in, declaring that Young Justice was to be put under arrest. I intervened in the hopes of ending any conflict. Then, Superboy punched me.
The team fled, successfully escaping the DEO. Except for Magik. She had been injured and captured. Confused by Superboy's actions, I willingly surrendered with the hopes of better looking out for poor Illyana Rasputin, our mutant teleporter and mystic.
Red Tornado. Resembling a name of a hero from a time when the good guys were right and the bad guys wound up in jail. Now, the good guys are in jail, and the bad guys are able to get away with just about anything. Wonderful world we live in, hmm?
We've been here only a few days, in this DEO/S.H.I.E.L.D. cell. We haven't officially been charged with anything . . . but it will come. Illyana just sits there most of the time. Something is wrong, I know it. But she will not open up to me.
"Hey, Robot," a guard said.
Red Tornado's eyes began to glow slightly, showing a return to attention. "Yes?"
"You've got visitors," he said. "Kathy and Traya Sutton."
"My wife and daughter," Reddy nodded.
"Wife and daughter?" the guard asked. "You're a robot . . . how does that work?"
"It's truly none of your concern," the Tornado replied.
[[Yeah, truly - Paul]]
"Whatever," the guard shrugged. "You got two minutes."
The guard turned and walked away, bringing his two visitors back quickly and then exiting again.
"John . . . " Kathy said quietly upon seeing his face.
My beloved Kathy. Though most say I am incapable of feeling emotions, I know it cannot be totally true . . . or else I would not be attached to this woman so. John Smith, by the way, is my "real" name.
"Daddy!" Traya exclaimed happily.
Sweet Traya . . . she's in the fourth grade this year. A brilliant young girl . . . I couldn't be more proud.
"Hello Kathy, Traya," the Tornado replied. He was smiling on the inside, though his face could only move so much. He looked back at Illyana briefly. She hadn't even raised her head to see who had come.
"Are you alright?" Kathy asked. "I heard the story on the news . . . it said terrible things, but I didn't believe it."
"Good," the Tornado nodded. "They are lies. The media is being manipulated against Young Justice. My theory says that the Hellfire Club is behind it. Hopefully my other young charges are still free, seeking the evidence they need to prove such a thing."
"Daddy, I want you to come home," Traya said.
"I want to come home, too," he answered. "And I will be home soon. But there are some things daddy needs to take care of here first."
"John, I . . . "
"Everything will be alright, Kathy," he said. "It will just take a few days to sort through this. But everything shall be fine. Do you trust me?"
"Of course."
"Then please believe me on this."
She nodded.
"Alright," the guard said. "Time t'go."
Red nodded. "Goodbye, Kathy. Goodbye, Traya."
"Bye Daddy," Traya said as Kathy began walking her out.
"Bye, John . . . "
Two minutes . . . what a short period of time. I look back at Illyana once more . . . still nothing. Something is deathly wrong with her. I know she was not seriously injured . . . this is something totally different.
"Got another visitor," the guard said.
"Another visitor?"
"Hello, John."
"Captain America," the Red Tornado replied with a nod.
The living legend, the symbol of freedom, walked toward the front of the jail cell.
"Some mess you and your team is in, isn't it?" Cap asked.
"It is indeed," Red sighed. "To what do I owe the honor of your visit? Come to offer more advice for the situation with Young Justice?"
That came out wrong. Almost cynical or angry. I wish I hadn't said it.
"Not quite," Cap frowned. "There's something going on outside. The sky is red . . . and the city's been taken over by demons. It's a complicated story that even I don't fully understand, but Mephisto has turned New York, or possible all of earth, into another level of hell. Normal people are starting to be affected by all the evil. It's an intense situation."
"I see."
"The Avengers League and most of the city's other heroes are trying our best to both cope with the situation and find Mephisto in order to stop this threat. But since most of our force will be needed to stop Mephisto, we have very few people to spare to help protect the city."
"I have no way of contacting Young Justice, if that's what you're getting at."
"No, that's not it. I've worked this out with the DEO and SHIELD. They've agreed to release both you and Magik and give you a pardon if you help with this crisis situation."
"Just the two of us?"
"You're the only two who we know to contact from your team. John . . . we need your help."
"I would have gladly offered my services without the pardon," the Tornado nodded.
"And Magik . . . ?"
"She shall help as well," John answered for her. "I appreciate your assistance, Captain."
"And I, yours."
The guard walked over and unlocked the cell door.
Cap shook Red's hand. "Good luck."
"What's wrong?" he asked Illyana. "You're free."
"This city . . . " she said at last. "It's become pure evil . . . I can barely withstand it . . . "
" . . . ?"
"It's tainting me," she frowned. "Torturing me . . . "
I don't know what to do for her. Magik and I have never really spoken with one another. She's always kept to herself. Out of everyone on the team, she's been the loner . . . and completely by choice. Unfortunately, before I can offer any help, I spot a pair of small, winged, monkey-like demons heading right towards us.
"Look out!" the Tornado yelled.
In an instant, Illyana called forth her magical SoulSword. And, with it, body armor. Every time she brought for the sword, more and more armor appeared. The increases were usually gradual. This time, the armor had almost doubled. It covered her entire left side. Leg, hip, chest, arm, shoulder and even her face. She swung the sword through the air, and a blast of magical energy swooped forward, blasting the demons into oblivion.
"Impressive."
"My magic is black in nature. Though I loath to admit it, this much evil has increased my strength immensely."
"The Captain told us to be going for damage control. But if you have any better ideas . . . ?"
"I can sense it," she said, holding her sword close and squatting on the street.
"Sense what?"
"A disturbance . . . a great evil," she said. As she spoke, one of her trademark stepping discs appeared beneath her and the Tornado's feet. "Below us!"
For a brief second, my senses are assaulted by a flash of light that usually accompanies Illyana's teleporting affect. We're in Limbo then. She doesn't want to stay in Limbo . . . it's just necessary for her to go to Limbo before teleporting us to the desired location. I can't help but notice how similar Limbo looks to New York City . . . at least, since this current crisis. All the demons and everything . . . but with a hint of metal . . . and electronics. But magic and electronics do not mix. How is this possible?
Unfortunately, I don't have time to find out. Because the flash of light hits again, and we're somewhere underground before a waterfall of some sort and a source of running water.
"I don't believe it," Illyana frowned. "A Chaos Stream?"
"What is a Chaos Stream?"
"It's a branch of the River Styx . . . it induces evil above and beneath where it runs."
"Could this be responsible for what's going on up above?"
"Not directly. I believe Mephisto, or whomever, created this, and multiple other streams beneath the city to start what he is attempting to finish."
"Perhaps we should alert the Avengers League . . . bring in reinforcements."
"No time," Illyana said. She approached the pond-like area that the water was pouring into and dug her sword into it. The water began to boil and glow white-hot. "It needs a little cleansing fire . . . to stave off it's affects, at least for a little while."
"Illyana," Red said. "What was that in Limbo that I saw?"
"What was what?"
"The metallic influence," he said again. "Something is changing that demonic place."
" . . . I am aware," she said quietly. "It's been disturbing my control over Limbo. I haven't had time to do much investigating, though."
"But do you have any ideas?"
"I believe, in the aftermath of our battle with the techno-organic Phalanx, one that I thought was dead may have been accidentally teleported to Limbo when Sam and I inadvertently teleported to the Morlock Tunnels under New York."
"The Phalanx have invaded Limbo?"
"Not necessarily. I . . . I don't know. But it's best that we focus on the task at hand."
"You would indeed be wise to do that," a voice called.
I turn quickly to see another player entering the field. He appears to be a demon of some sort . . . he looks human, but has gray wings. His hair is red, his skin a pale gray. He's dressed in a maroon, leather jumpsuit. And he has more of those winged, monkey-demons with him.
"My name is Dante," he said.
"Wait, don't tell us," Illyana interrupted. "This is your Inferno, correct?"
"Not quite," Dante grinned. "What is going on is not my doing. But its continuance shall soon be. I mean to defeat Mephisto, steal the Materioptikon, and rule the world, remade into my Inferno!"
"Mater . . . what?" Illyana asked.
"You fools," Dante grinned. "You truly do not understand anything that is going on."
"I knew enough to disrupt the Chaos Stream," she frowned.
"Yes, you did," Dante frowned. "And for that, I'm afraid . . . I must kill you."
And with that, the battle breaks out. Dante's winged monkeys attack with a speed and fury that belies their size. However, my robotic skin is more than enough protection from their claws. Magik seems capable of facing them with her armored side forward, keeping most of the attacks from causing her harm. A quick spin and a little wind is enough to send a squad of the monkeys flying into the hard, rock walls of the cavern around us. The impact stops them from returning to battle.
"Impressive," Dante said. "You are a robot . . . magic would not affect you much. So allow me to provide you with a more physical threat!"
So another monkey-demon shows up. This one's about twelve feet tall, two-thousand pounds, and has really big wings.
"Great googly moogly," he said.
The giant demon leapt at him and quickly began pounding.
"Your demons won't stop me," Illyana said. A whispered incantation later, and the demons lost their wings. They all howled in pain.
"And your magiks won't stop me!" Dante replied. He quickly pulled out a whip and cracked it, slapping her SoulSword from her hand. Another crack and the whip was wrapped around Illyana's neck. He pulled, and she was flung forward and onto her knees. "See?"
Given much more time, it's entirely possible that this demon will do enough physical damage that my armored, metal body begins to dent and damage, possibly even break. I decide to not give him the chance. I hit him with both fists, charged forward by F5 winds. I do believe I smash it's skull with the impact. Illyana isn't faring so well.
Dante still held her neck in a choke lock with the whip. "The more you struggle, the more I enjoy it."
"Enjoy . . . this!" she gasped, kicking him across the face. The whip flung from his hand and landed on the ground. With a moment to finally relax, she pulled the whip from around her neck. She grabbed her sword and it flashed with light. It was indeed strong.
"It will take far more than that to defeat me!" Dante exclaimed.
"Then how's this?" Magik asked. Once more, she thrust her sword forward, expelling a blast of energy at him. Dante was knocked back and in pain, but it did not finish him.
"It will take even more than that," Dante gasped. He spread his wings and took into the air. He blasted fire from his eyes, smashing the roof of the cavern they were in, escaping into open night sky.
"Quick," Illyana said. "We have to follow him."
She climbed onto Red Tornado's back and he took off after him.
As the two left, they failed to notice someone watching them. The figure sheathed his sword and began to climb up after them.
"If he was a real demon, wouldn't he have to talk in rhymes?" Illyana asked.
"Don't look at me," the Tornado shrugged. "You're the demon expert."
"Just stay after him."
"Yes ma'am."
The city has indeed changed. I doubt it was just a Chaos Stream that was responsible for all this. There is much more at work than we suspect. I can only hope Captain America and the others are getting to the bottom of this.
"He's landing over there!" Illyana called.
"Then we'll meet him," the Tornado said, landing before him.
"What was the purpose of your fleeing?" Illyana asked.
"Time for my body to heal," Dante answered. "So that we could face anew, and I would be stronger than ever. My plans shall not be thwarted."
"You want to take on Mephisto, yes?" Illyana asked. "He's the king of all demons and devils . . . the head honcho of evil. If you could barely withstand a blast from the ruler of Limbo--"
"You?" Dante asked. "The Ruler of Limbo?"
"I defeated Belasco in combat," she continued. "I rule there. You are a fool . . . and it is my duty, as both ruler of Limbo and a member of Young Justice, to put you down."
"Bold words, girl," Dante sneered. "Actions speak loudest."
I do not interfere. Though my . . . 'gut' instinct tells me to assist, I know it is better that I do not. Illyana has much pent up frustration and anger . . . and a whole host of other emotions from far too many different sources. This, perhaps, may be the best source of therapy that she can be provided with.
The fighters appeared evenly matched. Despite Illyana's size and age, she proved herself more than capable as a fighter, a magician, and, apparently, a ruler. But one thing Dante failed to realize, was just how powerful Illyana's SoulSword is. He was able to withstand a second blast, and even a third. But when Magik was able to plant the sword directly inside him . . . it was over. The demon discorporated. The fight was won.
"Feel better?" he asked.
"A little," she said, breathing heavily.
"There are still numerous other demons on the loose," he continued. "Are you up for it?"
"For as long as I must," she nodded.
"Then let us continue."
I take us both into the air again, seeking out ways to help people. Something is still not right with her . . . I hope she gets better and soon. In the meantime, I still worry about my charges in Young Justice. I fear that, should this crisis be resolved, the next assignment for the Avengers League . . . shall be their capture.
"That's right," he said to himself. "Run away. I know you're scared. You should be. Even though you weren't with the team when we last clashed, I'll be sure to take you down with the rest of them. Hell's claiming this world, kiddies . . . and those who live in Hell have got free reign. Which means . . . Harm is back to stay!"
Iron Man's blasts sent most of the lesser demons scurrying, but others were brave enough to give the hero more resistance. Iron Man may have had great reserves of power in his armor, but he was going to have to rest sometime. And that did not seem like it would be any time soon.
"There doesn't seem to be any way that we can stop them for good, Hawkeye."
"Yeah. I like a fight as much as anybody, but I know when the effort is getting pointless." He fired an explosive arrow into the midst of three attacking demons. "And I'm runnin' out of arrows, too!"
One demon stood out from the rest as he viciously pursued any hapless people who happened to be left on the streets. He had a man's head on each of his three bodies, each with wild, evil eyes, and a serpent's body. He had one deadly tail with a giant scorpion's barb on the end.
The other demons steered clear of him as he made his way down the avenue. Three human heads snarled at the fleeing humans and six hands flailed about, smashing everything in the demon's path.
"Geez," Hawkeye said. "Look at him!"
"That one looks like he can do more damage than the others!" Iron Man shouted. "Let's get him!"
Iron Man flew toward the giant demon. One of its mouths snarled and it slapped Iron Man aside with a swift fist. Iron Man went careening into the side of a building.
Hawkeye picked one of his electro-arrows from his quiver and fired it at the demon. The huge demon saw it coming, and snatched it out of the air with one of its hands. The electro-arrow let out its charge on contact, but it was not enough to even faze the demon.
"Okay," Hawkeye mumbled, "this is bad now. How are we going to stop him?" Bravely, he ran toward where Iron Man had smashed into the building, attempting to see whether his teammate had come around yet.
One of the demon's giant hands reached toward the hole, but it was stopped mid-air, clanging against metal. The demon pulled back his hand in pain and prepared to rend whatever had stopped him with his other arms.
Before him stood two glittering robots. These robots were not the kind that most twenty-first century people were used to seeing. Their metal was much more finely and intricately crafted, and adorned with Grecian designs. But their ornateness did not make them any less powerful.
Iron Man finally recovered from the demon's blow and poked his head out of the hole.
"Who are you two?" he asked of the robots.
"Our master has need of you, Iron Man. Your companion may come as well."
Hawkeye arrived. "You okay, Iron Man? Who are these robots?"
"I don't know, but they're helping us, so I guess it doesn't matter."
"Our master needs your help in crafting something to help stop this demon, Geryon," the bronzish one said. "We were sent to assist with stopping the demons while you were away."
Iron Man thought for a moment. Could New York spare him for whatever time it took to get to where these two robots were going to send him and Hawkeye? More and more heroes were going to be coming into the city to stop the demonic onslaught.
"Well, I guess we can go," Iron Man replied.
One of the robots raised a small oaken box, twisted its faces in a deliberate fashion, and the two heroes disappeared.
As they walked on, they noticed that a few humans were intermixed with dozens of automata that had been specially made to perform their tasks. A squat heavy-set robot turned a wheel that poured out the boiling contents of a cauldron full of liquid metal into molds. As they walked further through the workshop, Iron Man and Hawkeye saw a robot with a giant hammer that continually pounded metal into the same shape over and over again.
They finally came to a raised platform, where a seven-foot tall, heavy-set, muscular man covered in soot was continually striking a piece of metal with a small hammer. His giant size contrasted greatly with the precision of the tapping of his hammer. The soot-covered giant looked up as Iron Man and Hawkeye came to the foot of his platform.
"Excuse me," Iron Man said. "I think we are supposed to report to you."
When the blazing eyes of the giant man fixed upon him, Iron Man knew he was in the presence of someone more than human.
For his own part, Hawkeye had faced many things during his time as a mercenary and during his short time as an Avengers Leaguer, but he had not seen many beings like the one before him. And something told him who exactly this being was.
"It's Vulcan!"
The giant man frowned a little. "No, he's my lesser counterpart from the Roman pantheon. I am Hephaestus, god of the forge." He took a rather filthy towel and wiped the sweat from his brow.
The best that Hephaestus could manage for a smile passed over his lips. "Through the help of my sister Athena, I have been able to see thy comrades' struggle against the demons on Earth. I have also watched thee, Iron Man. Thy creator is so skilled at the art of metallurgy that I wonder if he does not have something of the divine in him!"
The forge god stepped forward to take a closer look at Iron Man.
"Thou art a fine automaton, Iron Man. Thy maker must be proud."
"Automaton? You mean, a robot?" Iron Man repeated back. "No, I'm not a robot."
Hephaestus' brow furrowed.
Hawkeye whispered to Iron Man. "Don't argue with the divine presence here, Iron Man! If he wants you to be a robot, then be a robot!"
"Well, I'm not."
"You're not a robot?" Hawkeye replied, more than a little amazed to hear this. Iron Man was just too perfect to be human . . . wasn't he?
"No, I'm a person under this armor. A real live thinking human being."
"A mortal!" Hephaestus was taken aback by the thought. "That a mortal should rival mine own genius in craftsmanship and bear his own work upon himself as armor!"
"What he said," Hawkeye remarked. "I can't believe it myself."
Iron Man was lucky that Hephaestus was not one of the more jealous gods, who would have struck down or schemed against a mortal for competing against the gods' skills. As it was, the forge god gave a grunt, and then went back to examining Iron Man's armor.
"Thou hast the skill, and the valor, then, to wear the raiment that we will forge together to fight the demonic threat of Geryon! To work, then!"
Together, Hephaestus and Iron Man worked to build a new armor, one that was specially designed to destroy beings of supreme evil. Hawkeye took advantage of the time to get some of Hephaestus' automatons to craft him some new arrows, since he had fired a great deal of them into the demons that he and Iron Man had been fighting before.
Sparks flew, and the anvil rang with the sound of the hammer. Iron Man drew diagrams and Hephaestus commented on them. The Iron Avenger shared his knowledge of metallurgy and propulsion while Hephaestus infused his knowledge, and a little bit of divine magic, into the mix. After a few hours, their work was finally done.
A shining suit of armor stood before them; it was a combination of Stark's ingenuity and Hephaestus' divine skill. It was quite similar to Iron Man's other suits in design, but it seemed to glow with magical power. It was as if someone had taken a golden Greek statue and invested it with the power of a turbo jet.
"An excellent piece of work, if I may so praise myself," Hephaestus exclaimed.
"It's beautiful," Iron Man responded.
Hawkeye walked back into the workshop and was amazed by the golden armor.
"Whoa! Are you sure you want to wear that thing, Iron Man? I would hate to get a dent in it!"
"It's an enchanted weapon, Hawkeye. It should be able to stand up to that demon."
"If you say so."
"I'll put it on, then," Iron Man said.
"I can go busy myself again, Shellhead, if you don't want to show me your true identity," Hawkeye commented. "There should be something cool left for me to look at in this big place."
"That's all right, Hawkeye. Since we might die in this conflict, and since we're teammates anyway, there's no harm in you knowing who I am."
Iron Man removed his mask. Hephaestus was not surprised, because he already knew Iron Man was a mortal. But Hawkeye was more than a bit shocked.
"Tony Stark!" He was almost taken aback by the sight. "Wow, you certainly had me fooled! You know, I never thought much of you before. I just thought you were the bodyguard and that was it. But, Tony Stark . . . I've always wished that I could make weapons and inventions like you."
"Well, thanks, Hawkeye," Stark replied. "Let's get this suit on now and see if it works!"
"Iron Man and Hawkeye," Hephaestus warned, "thine new weapons shall serve thee well in thy battle against Geryon. Mind thee though, that the enchantment upon them will wear off in a week's time. After that, they shall be only as special as any scrap metal. And beware Geryon's many powers. It was not for naught that he gave Herakles so much trouble so many years ago." Hephaestus wished them well as he used an enchanted wooden box like that of his automatons to send them back to Earth.
Geryon had already destroyed one of Hephaestus' robot servants. He was beating the other one over the head with the leg of the destroyed automaton. The silverish robot was about to lose its robotic life.
A fiery repulsor ray from Iron Man turned Geryon's three heads around all at once. It was a testament to the valor of the two heroes that they did not turn tail and run from the enormous demon and his gibbering hordes at that very moment. Perhaps it was the enchanted weapons; perhaps it was the confidence and trust that Hephaestus had given them.
"So we get another try at big three-bodied ugly here," Hawkeye commented. "We'll see whether these arrows affect him any better than the last batch." He quickly notched an arrow and aimed it at the monster. "I'll hit him with as many arrows as I can, Iron Man, so that you can deliver the old one-two punch."
"I hope it works out that way, Hawkeye," Iron Man said almost excitedly. "I've never used any kind of magic weapon before, so this ought to be an interesting experience."
Iron Man ignited the boot jets of the suit and an alchemist's flame came out - it propelled him faster than the normal jet-fuel-like propellant Iron Man used. He took off so fast that he was in front of the demon before he knew it.
"Grrr . . . .another pest!" the feral Geryon barked. Two of his hands pulled lampposts out of the street to wield against Iron Man.
"This pest right here has quite a sting to him!" Iron Man shouted back. He fired a magic-enhanced repulsor ray at the demon. When the ray hit Geryon in the chest, he staggered back a little.
Hawkeye's arrows kept hitting the demon all over his three bodies. Since they were enchanted, they managed to lodge themselves in his limbs, further irritating him.
"You two are more powerful than before!! How do these mortals injure me?"
With a mighty growl, Geryon swung his scorpion tail at Iron Man, who quickly dodged it. The tail smashed into a fence, and got caught between the bars. Geryon savagely attempted to free himself.
Iron Man knew he had to take advantage of Geryon being stuck. He lifted one of his gauntlets and fired a blast of magical cold at the demon, who reeled but could not escape.
Iron Man then generated a force field, which was one of his ideas for the suit. He soared toward Geryon, and hit him full in the middle of his second face. The additional power that Iron Man had from generating the force field injured the demon gravely.
But Geryon still had plenty of fight left in him. He suddenly snatched Iron Man in one of his hands and prepared to roast the hero with his fiery breath. Iron Man may have been clad in enchanted metal, but he could only last so long under a scorching assault from Geryon's flame.
Hawkeye had been waiting until the exact moment when it would be best to strike. This was that moment. Hawkeye took careful aim, and then fired an enchanted shaft at the Geryon, which hit him in the eye and distracted him long enough for Iron Man to strike.
Iron Man pulled his arm free and extended the enchanted sword that had been designed to be hidden in his armor. Hephaestus had told him that the sword had been enchanted to cut through any substance; the Iron Avenger was about to put that assertion to the test.
With one swing of his golden sword, Iron Man cleaved one of Geryon's bodies clean off. Not being a bloodthirsty type at heart, he was almost taken aback at what he had done.
Green ichor oozed from the severed portion of the demon and burned the concrete beneath it. The lesser demons swarming around them stopped gibbering and took a moment to view their leader's injury. Geryon looked at his severed third in demonic disbelief. He snarled and called out to his minions. An interdimensional portal suddenly opened up.
About ten of Geryon's demonic assistants lifted their massive master, and Geryon and a great number of his horde rushed into the portal. They would retreat into Hades, or Hell, or wherever they belonged, to heal and plot anew.
"We did it!" Hawkeye shouted.
"Yes, we did! But stopping just one demon doesn't get to the heart of the problem!"
Hawkeye scratched his golden beard. "Well, we should signal the other Avengers Leaguers and see if they've made any progress. If they've found out who's at the heart of this, maybe our new weapons will help!"
"Father?"
"What is it my dear Zatanna?" asked Spencer Zatara, shaking the haze of meditation from his head. For nearly every day of his life, he had come to this garden in his ancestral home. For many generations, his family had called this castle home. Once it had been home to the most powerful magic in all of Europe. Now time had taken it's toll, and both the home and family lay dwindled and dilapidated.
Recently, his only daughter, the one that now stood before, had made the decision, which would cast the final lot of the ancient home. She didn't want the old castle. She was soon moving to the blaring lights and loud sounds of Las Vegas in the United States. She would ply her magician tricks and magic there, in the ‘city that never sleeps'. Spencer was less than thrilled at the decision, thinking it silly that such a powerful young mage such as she would be performing silly tricks three times nightly for money in front of tourists and drunken gamblers.
"Father," said Zatanna, a very serious look upon her face, "something is very wrong. Can't you feel it?"
With the fog of concentration lifted, Spencer could indeed feel something in the air. Something was wrong, something very unnatural. Then they noticed the morning sky. It was crimson red. While this normally occurred at dawn, it was now well past eight in the morning. Also there was a stench in the air; smelling of darkness and decay.
Spencer stood quickly from his spot. "Hurry child, there is serious evil afoot. We must depart."
Beside him stood his favored assistant, the demon N'Astirh.
"This has been far too easy," said N'Astirh, always the pessimist. "The humans have been chasing their tales and running around in circles. Heaven and its kind have been blocked access to the realm. There has been no real challenge, no real effort. It seems strange, and I don't like it."
"Oh relax, N'Astirh," cried Mephisto, smiling as he pulled a bottle of wine to his lips and drank deeply. "Things have been easy because this is my destiny. This is my realm. Certainly the threats have been minor, but then the creatures of this realm are petty, foolish things . . . "
"Those ‘petty things' thwarted you once before," said N'Astirh slyly.*
*(Twilight of the Gods mini-series)
"That was because Asmodel didn't do a good enough job keeping The Presence in check. I have eliminated that problem." said Mephisto, defending himself.
"What of the original bearer of the gem you wield? Using it this much could attract his attention," said N'Astirh. He watched Mephisto carefully, making sure he didn't push the point too far, and anger his master too greatly.
"Morpheus, and the rest of his Endless ilk do not bother me. They are far too often caught up in their own petty machinations to bother with that which happens upon this mortal plane. They have their own schemes and realms to contend with."
"What of the Other Son?" asked N'Astirh. He could see this time he had pushed the questions too far. At the mention of the Fallen, Mephisto's face momentarily contorted in fierce anger. Then the moment passed, and Mephisto laughed deeply.
"Let him, and his rag-tag band of conjurors and illusionists try and stop me. I will eliminate them all, and final victory will be mine."
Hex looked around, shaking his head. He found the whole ‘gothic-magic' motif, which the Sorcerer Supreme kept his home decorated as, very outdated. Everything was black or crimson or some other horribly dark color. Too much velvet and too many shadows. The place really needs some natural light and some plants. Some air fresheners wouldn't hurt either.
Hex made his way to the meeting room and flung the doors open, taking a view of all the inhabitants inside.
"Hail, hail the gang is all here," sung Hex as he made an inventory of the inhabitants of the room. There was the enigmatic Phantom Stranger brooding by himself in a corner of shadows. The Blue Devil, redeemed villain and wild man, sat leaning on his magic trident, trying to keep himself from falling asleep. Black Orchid, New Orleans' finest dancer and tantrik mage, stood talking to Donovan Cain, master of Voodoo and necromancy. Not far away stood the mysterious Omen and the Sorcerer Supreme himself, Steven Strange.
Black Orchid turned from her conversation with Cain to greet Hex.
"Just like old times, huh sugah? Sentinels back in action."
"Yeah, great," said Hex sarcastically. He hadn't been gathered with the other Sentinels for years now. Not since they had been forced to kill his lover, June Moon, the Enchantress. The memory was far from pleasant, and Hex suddenly felt the urge to leave the room.
Strange turned from Omen. "Let us begin . . . "
"Where are all the others?" blurted Blue Devil, noticing that several of the magic-wielders he had expected were not present.
Strange frowned, annoyed at the interruption. "The deviltry outside has spread worldwide, wreaking havoc, which has spread our ranks thin. A Hell Portal has opened in Wintergate Mansion. Deadman, Devil-Slayer, and Daimon Hellstrom are trying to stave off the flow of hellspawn from the site. There are also problems at the Nexus of Realities in the Everglades. Phantasm, Mortigan Goth, and Madam Xanadu are there to aid the Swamp God. Mr. E and Doctor Occult are in New Salem. Brother Voodoo and Ghost Rider are fighting some creature known as the Skin Dance in Miami. Black Crow aids Forge and others battling demons in Arizona. This onslaught of evil is taxing our ranks."
"It is everywhere," spoke Omen. "I have received reports from nearly every continent now. Demons and evil are everywhere now, and the world has been plunged into darkness."
"That which hasn't been corrupted is being destroyed. The group in the Everglades says the Parliament of Fire has been corrupted and is now spreading the flames across the South. The Parliament of Trees and Water are still with us, but they are losing ground as the flames, aided by this Hell magic, seem to grow."
Doctor Strange hoped to inject a little good news. "Spencer Zatara will be here soon, and he brings with him his daughter, Zatanna. Also, John Constantine is with us, and currently is on a very important mission which may aid our cause greatly."
Blue Devil decided to play the ‘devil's advocate'. "And where is your apprentice Clea?"
Devil felt the sharp daggers pierce him from Strange's fierce gaze. "Clea is no longer with me. She has gone to find her own destiny. I do not wish to speak of her anymore. I have taken a new student under my tutelage. He is Timothy Hunter."
Strange made a conscious effort to change his attention to the task on hand, "Enough of this doddling. Mephisto has used his magic to bring Hell to Earth. We must stop him. It has fallen into the hands of the SENTINELS of MAGIC!"
"Then I guess we made the perfect time to make an entrance," replied Spencer Zatara. His daughter stood beside him as the puffs of smoke dispensed themselves. The two had made a flashy entrance, teleporting into the middle of the meeting.
"Spencer," said Strange, bowing slightly in greeting, "it has been a while, old friend. I wish this meeting could be under better circumstances."
While all of this went on, the Phantom Stranger sat sulking in the corner, silently. He was thinking. He knew a confrontation with the Prince of Darkness would be soon. He doubted that even this assembled group, quite powerful in it's own right, was enough to stop the evil which had been released upon the Earth. He knew no fear, because he had no soul to fear with or for, but he did not like the idea of Mephisto winning this war. It was not the way things were to be. Phantom had seen glimpses of mankind's future. The MagicWars which would one day come. It was too early, yet Mephisto always seemed to defy logic and attempt to blaze a trail all his won. He must be stopped.
Meanwhile, as Strange and Spencer spoke, Donovan Cain made his way close to the ear of Jonah Hex, and whispered, away from the prying ears of the others.
"I have heard a rumor that you plan to hunt down the pieces of the Darkhold, and find Her. Are you mad?"
Jonah smiled., "Perhaps I am indeed, old friend."
Cain nodded. "What do you think will happen, if we stop this, and you resume your quest, and the others learn of this? Fate scattered the pieces for a reason."
Hex shrugged, smiling at Black Orchid, who he noticed was trying to hear their whispers. "I do not know. But it is something I must do. I am partly at fault for her descent and demise. I need to make amends. Will you stand against me, old friend?"
Cain said nothing, but turned away from the conversation as he saw Omen move to the center of the room. Something was wrong, her movement jerky, as if not of her own volition.
She stood, cocked her head, and spoke:
"A change has risen, the eternal night will follow,
Divided from the paladins and fools, the magicians will fall,
One of their greatest will fade into memories,
And the Stars of the Morning will be revealed."
Before the room could respond, they all felt it. They were being watched. Mephisto was aware of their combined presence.
Strange spoke first. "We must depart. If we stay, soon the demons will be here. We must take our battle to The Beast."
Once they arrived, things got really weird. There were no demonic hoards waiting for them at Mephisto's citadel. In fact, there were no guards at all. They were given free reign to enter as they please. That made every last one of the Sentinels suspicious.
The group of seven magic-wielders walked right up to the doors of Mephisto's chamber, and cautiously threw them open. There they found Mephisto sitting calmly upon his throne, N'Astrih standing beside him. No other demons or creatures were in the room.
"Welcome," said Mephisto, throwing open his arms. "Old enemies . . . old friends . . . old relatives. It is good to see one and all. Come to join me, I assume."
"Old relatives?" wondered aloud Hex, curious.
Blue Devil spoke first. "Hardly ‘boss', we come to stop you. Why don't you hand over the little trinket, let us return everything to normal, and slink back to the fiery pit you belong in. I am sure the other Arch-devils will be real happy to see you. I'll bet they might even give you a seat on the big council back, if you ask really, really nicely."
Strange looked around at the fellow Sentinels. He noticed several seemed to be sweating, though it didn't feel very warm in here. Black Orchid and Cain especially seemed to be having some sort of hot flashes.
Suddenly, Orchid screamed, a flow of dark magic slamming into Hex, pushing him against a nearby wall. Cain pulled a magic dagger from his coat and plunged it into the shoulder of Spencer Zatara. Blood began to flow.
Strange now understood. This was why he hadn't needed guards or attackers. He was using the power of the Materioptikon to turn the Sentinels upon each other.
"Do you like Strange?" asked Mephisto, as he relished the look in Steven's eyes. "I have corrupted even you. Your ‘weaker' members fall easily, seduced by the powers of eternal darkness."
"!me ot nokitpoiretaM eht gnirB" cried Zatanna, casting her spell, trying to ignore the fact that her father had been wounded.
For a moment, it looked as though her spell might work, as the Materioptikon seemed to pull itself forward, trying to escape Mephisto's hands. Mephisto figured what was happening, and concentrated on his tool, dispensing the spell.
"Nice try, girl," said Mephisto. "Now try this . . . "
Suddenly Zatanna felt the blunt side of Blue Devil's trident crash into the back of her legs. She bucked and fell to the ground.
Strange looked around him, and saw things were going very badly. Blue Devil, Cain, and Black Orchid were corrupted. Omen had disappeared, and Phantom Stranger seemed to be doing simply nothing.
Then things went from bad to worse.
"Are you all right, dear?" asked Spencer, going to aid his daughter.
"Daddy, NO!" screamed Zatanna. Her father had let his guard down to see if he could aid her. It would cost him greatly. As he bent over to protect his child, Blue Devil plunged his trident into him. It penetrated his magic defenses and pushed deep into the magician. It pushed it's way through, blood splattering all over Zatanna.
Strange tried to move to his old friend's aid, but found himself overwhelmed by Jonah Hex, Black Orchid, and Cain.
"Well, this was a disappointingly quick game," replied Mephisto, looking rather annoyed. "I had expected my ‘brother's little legion' to put up a better fight than this."
Phantom Stranger came forward. "We stopped being brothers a very long time ago, Mephisto."
Mephisto laughed. "Please ‘brother'. You can mask yourself in this human guise, with your silly hat and trenchcoat. You can act all mysterious and ominous. In the end you are still him though. You are still Lucifer Morningstar, first of the Fallen. His former brightest and best, just another of the disgraced, thrown from the Heavens. Join me brother, and you can have a place in the empire . . . "
Strange could scarcely believe what was transpiring. It was over, and now, there was nothing that could be done. Mephisto would win, and Hell on Earth could not be stopped . . .
Quickly the four men made their way to the sixth floor, where Oliver had remembered the patient had been kept. They rushed through the door, and found an entire floor of elderly, ill patients, crying for aid, and no nurses or doctors in sight. Had they the opportunity, they might have felt the pangs of sadness, or the urge to aid them, but now just wasn't the time. The fate of the entire reality of existence was at stake.
Oliver slowed the men down to a cautious, quiet pace as they made their way towards the door of the room they wanted. Oliver opened the door, and was suddenly on the ground, a huge black panther standing on his chest, teeth barred, prepared to rip his very throat from his body.
"Raven, NO!" came a feeble scream from inside the room, and the creature suddenly stopped.
As Oliver watched in horror, the vicious feline transformed into a familiar female with dark blue skin and long red hair. Oliver pushed her off him, noticing the sly smile, which stayed across her face. Oliver knew "Raven" well. She was Mystique, a mutant shapeshifter who works occasionally for the government, and more often for her own personal needs. But, Oliver was satisfied, because her presence was indeed an indication that the person he had come to see was within the room.
Oliver walked into the room. There, lying in the bed, was the elderly form of Irene Adler, the woman known as Destiny. Blessed as the bearer of the powers of the Sisters of Fate, she was the most powerful prognosticator on this planet, and right now, the world needed her very badly.
Oliver sat down on the bed beside her, as Mystique and the other three men slowly filtered into the room.
"It is going badly, isn't it Oliver?" spoke Irene, matter-of-factly.
"Yes, Irene, it goes very badly. Mephisto's power grows stronger by the moments. Soon, all will be overcome."
Irene got a very harsh look upon her face. "It will get worse. Many will die, and the outcome is unforeseeable, even to me."
That isn't what Oliver wanted to hear, but her tired his best to continue. "What can we do?"
Irene paused for a second, and bit her lip. "You must go seek out someone from your recent past, she may be the key to turning the tide."
Oliver was now confused. "Who?"
"She is the one who is not what she seemed. An enigma who was an ally, but whom you never truly trusted. A secret who was a secret, even to herself."
Oliver thought for a moment, then recognition overcame his addled brain.
"Duchess?"
Irene managed a feeble, unconvincing smile, "Yes. She has recently learned her own secrets, and has not taken it well. You can find her in Hell's Kitchen. Go to her, she may yet turn the tides."
Oliver reached out to hold Irene's hand, and thank her, when an explosion and a sickening sound from the group behind him made him turn his head. He turned and saw a giant, smoldering wound burning in the abdominal flesh of Father Craemer, who fell to the ground dead. The other inhabitants of the room scattered as the doorway was blown with a second explosion. Oliver pulled Irene off the bed and over to him as the explosion sent fiery pieces of wall across the room.
As Oliver watched, forms began to come into view from the gaping hole into the hallway. Worse still, Oliver recognized the forms. One was the psychotic killer Bloodsport. Another was the demonized assassin Demogoblin. Finally, someone who Oliver knew intimately, Oliver's long-time enemy Jonathan Crane, the Scarecrow.
Scarecrow spoke, his eyes burning demonic red. "Well . . . well . . . well. Seems the boss demon was right. Oliver, old ‘friend', it is time to DIE!"
"NOMED LLEH OT NRUTER!*" Zatanna screamed, spittle flying from her mouth, her hands twisted in the throes of a powerful spell.
*(Return to Hell, Demon! - for those of you who can't read backwards)
Mephisto stood there, smiling. "Silly girl. We are already in Hell. Earth is now Hell. Now and forever, MY HELL!"
Mephisto, enthralled by Zatanna's grief sickened display, had momentarily forgotten about the room's other inhabitants. Dr. Strange, fearing for his own life after the murder of Spencer, threw a knowing gaze towards Phantom Stranger, whispered an incantation, and disappeared into nothingness, teleporting himself away.
"What?" said Mephisto curiously, seeing the Sorcerer Supreme suddenly disappearing from the arms of his former comrades turned captors.
Phantom Stranger made his own move as well, stepping forward and placing a hand upon Zatanna's shoulder. Suddenly the two heroes began to fade away from existence.
Annoyed, Mephisto began to shout, "FINE. LEAVE ‘BROTHER'! Go try and rally some more troops. Soon, it will not matter. This world is now mine. MINE! YOU CAN'T STOP ME!"
With the two gone, Mephisto looked towards his possessed evil magic wielders.
"Should we search for them?" questioned Blue Devil.
Mephisto, calmer now, smiled. "No, Blue Devil. There is no need. I know where they are going. It will not help them. Soon, all will be on my side or will dead. They are too late. They don't have the power to stop me."
"You must leave now, Oliver," Irene replied, as if she could hear his thoughts.
"Leave," questioned Oliver. "How? I can't leave you to die."
"You must," said Irene, stroking his hand. "You have to find Duchess. If you don't the whole world, the entire universe may end."
Oliver didn't like it, but he knew she was correct. Mystique and Demogoblin were now tearing each other apart and Scarecrow was winning his battle with Avatar, and Oliver knew he couldn't beat the victors of the battles. He quickly, almost without thought, made a dash for the window, quickly threw the glass open, and leaped through, escaping to the ledge outside.
Oliver wasn't quite sure where he was going to go, standing on the ledge of the hospital, six stories up.
"Oliver, where are you going?" he heard the eerie voice of Scarecrow say from inside the room. "Don't go to far. As soon as I kill this feeble crone here, I'm coming for you, my dear, old friend. I owe you, and I am going to pay you in spades. Or at least in scythes."
Oliver winced as he heard Scarecrow laugh, knowing right then that Irene Adler was dying at his hands.
Suddenly, Oliver felt a rush of air, and saw a most peculiar sight beside him. The mystic John Constantine and the immortal Vandal Savage, sitting on a large Persian rug, were floating in the air beside him.
"Come, Oliver Queen," bellowed Savage. "We have no time."
Oliver shook his head, almost in madness. Things could just not get any crazier, he thought, as he boarded the carpet and floated off into the sky.
"Is there any other choice?" asked Hawkeye, not liking the decision that seemed inevitable as the meeting wore on.
"I can't see any," said Captain America, bleakly. "It seems the only option left. Full, all-out assault on Mephisto's castle. It seems the only option left is to strike, pray that someone breaks through, and gets lucky enough to strike at Mephisto and grab the Materioptikon from him."
"Tis a worthy way to go," spoke Thor, with brash bravado that he hoped would inspire those with doubts. "We shall either claim victory or die in a battle most glorious. If we are unsuccessful, then the whole universe is done. The day of judgement hath come. Hell shall face no fury like that of the God of Thunder."
"Well, maybe a few more Gods might help . . . "
Everybody turned to see Quasar and someone else floating in the air beside him. Captain America watched Thor tense up, recognizing the God beside him. It was Set.
"Oh, and there are plenty more where he came from," said Quasar, smiling . . .
Oliver could tell Duchess was in a very bad way, a pale comparison to the unstoppable juggernaut she had been during her tenure with SHIELD. Something bad had happened, he could tell. She looked devastated. He began to walk towards her, as she sat there upon the dirty street, her clothes in rags, smelling as though she had not bathed in weeks.
Oliver was surprised when Vandal Savage moved in front of him, and took center stage in front of Duchess. With one movement he pulled her from the ground, slamming her hard into the wall behind her. Oliver quickly moved to stop him, but found himself restrained by Constantine.
"Stop Oliver," John said. "you don't understand. Just watch, there are things at work here you don't get, bud."
Oliver watched as Savage slammed Duchess into the wall again, then was awed as he began to scream at her as well.
"WAKE UP FOOL," Savage bellowed. "Is this all you have become good for? You remember now, find your way back . . . "
Duchess looked at him with lost, glazed eyes, seeming unfazed by the assaults against the wall.
"For what?" Duchess asked Savage, barely able to utter the words.
"By the Gods," cried Savage. "What have you become? Did Mephisto's spell do that much damage to you. Have you become nothing more than a lamb, waiting for your slaughter? Have you let that demon ruin you? Control you? How pathetic you have become. Your father would be so ashamed."
The mention of father seemed to bring a faint sparkle into the eyes of Duchess, and a curl of anger to her lips.
Oliver was more than confused. It seemed that Vandal Savage and John Constantine knew the identity of Duchess, something her had been unable to decipher after years of working with her.
"My father," Duchess spat, "abandoned me here. He left me, after the spell, to walk this world without memory, in this form, for all there years. My father can rot in He . . . "
"Then," Vandal said, slamming Duchess again against the wall. "Join us man. If revenge need be your motive, then so be it. Come back. Do it for revenge on your father. Revenge on Mephisto, who started all this . . . "
Recognition dawned in Duchess's eyes. "This whole evil manifestation. The skies. The demons. This is Mephisto's doing?"
"It is," replied Savage.
"And he is here, in New York?" asked Duchess.
"He is."
Vandal stopped slamming Duchess on the wall, and watched her stand proudly. Oliver was amazed. Savage's plan had worked, because the Duchess looked like the warrior she had always been. But, there was more. It was in the eyes. There was a new, powerful, burning fire there.
Duchess smiled. "It is time. Mephisto will pay tonight. For thirty years I have been trapped in this form, devoid of memory, deprived of my proper power and heritage. ARES, The GOD OF WAR has returned!"
Oliver could do little to keep his jaw from dropping in amazement.
"Why do you disturb me, rhyming demon?" asked Mephisto, unable to hide his contempt.
"There is a problem,
A fire ignited,
For outside your castle,
Stand many heroes united!" cried Etrigan.
"Ah," said Mephisto, a new smile crossing his face. "The grand battle is about to begin. finally, all will either join me, or die. Assembled the troops. The demons far outnumber them, they will be slaughter long before they can ever reach me. Thanks to my spell-casters, I have made this room teleportation proof, so none can enter this chamber that way. SO just go kill them all and be done with it."
Suddenly, large crashes could be heard outside, coming from the opposite direction from where Etrigan had indicated the heroes were approaching.
"What else?" cried Mephisto.
"What the Hell is going out there, N'Astirh?" cried Mephisto, annoyed.
"It seems," spoke N'Astrih, "that you have pissed off some old enemies. The Eternals have returned from their new home in the stars, and they are very, VERY angry. They are mowing through the demonic legions like a hot knife through butter. For every one of theirs that fall, we are losing thirty, forty, fifty, or more. They fight as though this is the end of time."
"What else could go wrong now?" cried Mephisto.
Phantom Stranger spoke as the six approached him. "Thor. We must go now, and strike at Mephisto in his chamber . . . "
"I can not leave the others with these overwhelming forces. They cannot last . . . "
"We know Thor. That is why we must go now. Soon, no one will be left."
"Aye," said Thor, unpleased, as the seven made their way to Mephisto's inner chamber.
Mephisto decided it was time to use his Materioptikon to rid himself of these enemies once and for all. He reached for the item around his chest, then was shocked to feel an invisible hand pull it from the chain around his chest and throw it across the room. Suddenly, he saw the form of Jonah Hex, casting a spell from the corner of his eye.
"How," cried Mephisto as he leaped towards the device, as did every demon in the room, "did you do that? You were under my control . . . "
Jonah Hex, "I was NEVER under your control. Oh, and I would do anything to get back my love Enchantress. Even fake corruption."
Suddenly, the wall exploded as the seven heroes burst into the room. Seeing the situation with Mephisto, Hex, and a pile of demons scrambling for the Materioptikon on the side of the room, they reacted quickly. Duchess leaped wildly for Mephisto, caring nothing for the device, while the rest of the heroes scrambled for the Materioptikon. All seemed destine to reach it when suddenly, the Phantom Stranger appeared before all of them, and grabbed the device.
"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" screamed Mephisto as all of the world turned to the nothingness of white light . . . "Hello, Morningstar," he said lazily, smiling as his gaze met the one known as the Phantom Stranger.
Phantom Stranger nodded, stoically, then held out the Materioptikon to the Lord of Dreams.
"I believe this belong to you."
"Indeed," said Morpheus, as he held the item, then extracted the gem inside of it, and reincorporated back into his own essence.
"So, how is the book?" asked Phantom, seeing the tome resting upon Morpheus's lap. The title of the tome was Hell on Earth and the Return of the Gods.
"Very entertaining," he said, smiling. "Except I haven't seen the ending yet . . . "
"Well," said Phantom, "let me finish it for you. The Materioptikon is used to return almost everything to normal. The human world and the humans have be restored to the way they were before Mephisto stole the device, all lives restored, with no memory of the events that transpired. The only ones who remember are myself, Set, and Ares, the latter two both returned to their powers and selves they had before Mephisto stole their identities those thirty years ago. I hope that their anger towards Mephisto will keep his from returning anytime soon. The balance has been restored to Earth and Chaos no longer threatens the Universe.
"And Mephisto?" asked Morpheus.
"At home, in Hell, where he belongs. I am sure that his Arch-devils will keep him in check for awhile. He has been trapped on Earth, and has lost his powerbase there. It will take him a while to reestablish that."
Morpheus thought for a moment. "Fascinating. But, you said almost. What has gone wrong?"
"Spencer Zatara. I could not ‘bring him back'. His soul was not there."
Morpheus was curious. "Really? Where has it gone?"
Phantom Stranger looked puzzled, a rarity from one as enigmatic and knowing as him. "I do not know. But I fear that his daughter will not take it well."
"Indeed," said Morpheus. "Old friend, indeed."
Morpheus turned from the book he was reading as he felt the presence enter the room. He had found in hard to put the fascinating book down, but he knew his attention was needed.
The End
Return of the Gods takes place after Avengers League #5, X-Men #7,
Batman #15, Spider-Man #15, Young Justice: Moonstar, and Iron Man #12, but
before Avengers League #6, Oliver Queen: Nomad #1, X-Men #8,
Batman #16, Spider-Man #16, Young Justice #21, and Iron Man #13
Originally published as Return of the Gods #1, Avengers League
Annual #1, Oliver Queen: Nomad Annual #1,
X-Men Annual #1, Batman Annual #2, Detective Comics Annual #1,
The Shadow 2000 Annual #1,
Cosmic Adventures Annual #1, Spider-Man Annual #2, Young Justice
Annual #2, Iron Man Annual #1,
Strange Tales Annual #1, and Return of the Gods #2 at DC/Marvel: The
Merging, and may not be reused or republished in any way without the permission
of the authors. (http://dcmarvel.cjb.net)
DC/Marvel: The Merging is a fanfiction site, and is not affiliated with nor
endorsed by DC Comics or Marvel Comics, nor any company that owns these
characters. All of the stories here are written for fun, and the authors are not
making any profit from them, and do not intend any harm to the original
creation. This site is for entertainment purposes only. DC/Marvel: The Merging
concept created by Chip Caroon, developed with other writers.