Post by jordan on Feb 17, 2014 16:54:26 GMT -5
All Star Marvel Presents
Daredevil/Punisher
Chapter III
In A World Without Fear
By Jordan
*
"Hello, Zachariah." My voice booms out into the large, open expanse of the warehouse. Everything is red. He's red. I'm red. Everything is red. Across the large floor of the warehouse I watch as Zachariah comes closer and closer to me. One step at a time. He doesn't know where I am and that's how I want to keep it.
"Where are you Devil?" His voice calls out, one octave higher than calm. He's frightened because he doesn't know what's going on. He's frightened because he's about to make a deal with the devil.
"I'm everywhere, Zachariah. Haven't you learned that yet?"
"Cut the shit and tell me why I'm here!" His voice calls out, his attempts to add confidence fall flat. His voice is still the frightened voice of a child.
"There's a society out there. A society which has been attacking the world for years. They call themselves the Punishing Angels." I move to my left as I talk, giving my voice the echo and movement to be everywhere at once. I am the Devil.
"The Punishing Angels. Are they the ones behind the church attack?"
"Yes, they are. Their leader is a soldier, presumed dead long ago. His name is Frank Castle."
"Why would a dead soldier be leading a terrorist cell?"
"I've had the same question, Zachariah. But I think I've figured it out." I jump down to the large floor from where I was. He now stands just feet away from me. He stops in his tracks. He can feel me in the pitch black. He knows I'm near.
"Well then, what is it?"
"He's not a terrorist, he isn't leading terrorists." I inch closer to him but simultaneously shift to my right. I can't let him pinpoint me. Not yet.
"Then what do you call someone who bombs churches and leaves people for dead?"
"I call him a man on a mission. A man hunting something even worse, a true evil."
"And what is that evil?" He turns quickly to face me. He knows where I am. Or he thinks he knows. He has no proof yet. I take off in a dead sprint right pass him and turn a sharp right. I'm the same distance away, but in a completely different spot.
"At the Church, the preacher gave sermon about how everyone should fight against God and claim Heaven as their own."
"How do you know this?" I pull small CD from a pouch around my waste and toss it to him, quickly changing positions again so that he cannot find me.
"It's the security footage. They back up the security footage with other churches in the area, in case something like this happens." He looks at the CD. There's no way for him to check it right now. He has to trust me.
"Okay, so what does his sermon have to do with anything?"
"The second he finishes his sermon the place goes up in flames. That isn't a coincidence. And so that got me thinking--why would the Angels blow up the church after the sermon? That means people heard the words? If they're punishing the enemies of Heaven and God, shouldn't they stop the sermon before the blasphemous words could finish?" I move again. I've talked for too long in one place and I know he's starting to pinpoint where I am. I have to wrap this up. I have to finish quick. "And so I came tot he conclusion, maybe the preacher was one of the Punishing Angels. Maybe the Angels aren't punishing the enemies of Heaven and God, but instead are punishing Heaven and God by killing the follows of the religion."
"That's one hell of a jump in logic, Devil."
"But that isn't where it stops. I looked through old historical texts and religions, especially ones that are big in this area, and I came across something...different. A bible called the Bible of the Hand."
"I've heard of that one. From the sixties, some nuts dressed like ninjas and ran around New York cutting off people's hands in the name of the greater good."
"Exactly, and so I read the Bible and learned that the Hand is the Hand of Light who was locked into war with the Darkness. Finally, the Light defeated the Darkness and subjugated it, which is how humans came about. And the Light is God."
"So humans are darkness?"
"Exactly. Humans are evil. But the Hand managed to turn the evil humans into something more by giving them images to follow, in the names of Jesus and God." I move again. I've only got minutes left before he finds me.
"So Jesus and God are fake?"
"According to this Bible, yes. But only seven of these bibles were ever sold, and only one retailer sold them. I was able to track the purchases and found that each bible was bought by a preacher at a local church."
"Wait...seven bibles, and only six churches have been attacked by the Angels."
"And so the Angels are going to attack the seventh church. And, by examining the patterns of the Angels, I believe that the Angels plan on striking tonight."
"Where?"
"St. Alamos' Church for the Modern Generation." With those words I jump up towards the window where just enough light hits me to create a silhouette. Zachariah turns quickly and only catches a glimpse of my devilish silhouette before I backflip out the window and am gone.
*
My eyes watch from up above as I stare down on them through their solid glass sky light. Thousands of them sit with their legs crossed, listening to preacher after preacher give sermon after sermon in the name of their lord. They're sheep in need of a Shepard.
I can smell the iron like stench of the oncoming storm, I can hear the far-off rumble of the thunder and lightning. A storm is coming and a storm is coming fast. It isn't long before I feel the first drop hit my back. And still no sign of the Punishing Angels.
"Devil, come in." Zachariah's voice comes over our intercom system loud and clear. He's staked out a block away, looking for anything suspicious.
"What is it Zachariah? Have you found something?" My eyes search the inside of the church. Still nothing as one preacher leaves the stage to sit in the crowd as another takes center stage and begins his sermon. I can barely hear him. Something of atrocities.
"I saw a man walking towards the church. He's six-four and has the build of Adonis. He matches the profile you gave me on Frank Castle."
"How close is he to the church?" I don't waste a breath as I sprint to the edge of the roof, looking down on the streets, searching for a goliath of a man.
"He walked through the doors about forty seconds ag--" But his voice is drowned out by the blast of a gun forty feet away. It barely misses and I swing around, my eyes staring into the abysmal dark eyes of the man whom I assume is Frank Castle.
"Frank Castle." His eyes turn from cocky and confident to slightly taken aback. He stands over six feet, well over me. He points two long guns at me, wielding one in each hand. I can't tell the model from this distance.
"You're on top of your game, aren't you little Devil?" His voice crackles like a pit of fire. His eyes are swallowed by a darkness I've never seen before.
"Where are the other Punishing Angels?"
"Oh, I just love that. How you pathetic idiots think that I'm a cult of killers."
"Wait...what?" He laughs. And laughs. And laughs. His bellowing laugh knocking me off balance and seemingly shaking the Earth.
"Yes, yes--I am the only Punishing Angel. I can't lie, I rather like that name. The Punishing Angel. It has a certain...charm to it."
"Well, that at least gets rid of some of my stress."
"Why? I'm more than enough to take you out." He fires off a round form his left gun that barely misses again. This time I know it's on purpose. You don't miss that close twice.
"Listen, I just want to talk. I don't think you're the bad guy."
"That's because I'm not. Do you see everyone down there? Every little sheep, every little person who is listening to that sermon right now? They are the worst of the worst. They are the darkness that follows the light. They are everything wrong with humanity."
"But they aren't the ones that you want, and I know it. You want the Hand. They aren't the Hand." He laughs again and it takes everything in me not to be affected by his laugh. It hurts my ears, but I can't show it.
"This Church is a church of the Hand. The last Church of the Hand. Once I get rid of this one, their connection to this world will be destroyed. The humans will have their rightful chance to rule."
"We do rule, Frank. That's the thing. We rule ourselves--"
"Based off of their teachings. Their teachings drive people crazy. Their teachings killed my best friend!" He doesn't waste another word and neither do I. As soon as I see the look in his eyes, I make a break for it, sprinting away as fast as I can, dodging the spray of bullets, working my way closer and closer to him.
One bullets slides across my back and it forces me to fall and roll off the edge of the church. Just barely, I grab onto a gargoyle's head to save my life. The Catholic's gaudiness works in my favor. I swing up onto the gargoyle and crouch back in the shadows. I not only hear, but feel as the Punisher's heavy footsteps land against the roof of the church, coming towards where I fell to confirm the kill. I've got thirty seconds before he figures it out.
"I know you're down there." I underestimated him. In a second, I swing to the next gargoyle over as his bullets rain through the roof. I watch as the bullets shower the streets, killing dozens. No. I cannot let this happen. I'm supposed to be a hero. Why am I hiding if I'm supposed to be a hero. I grip on to the edge of the rooftop and pull myself up, coming face to face with the giant. But he isn't looking at me, he's looking behind me and I'm afraid to turn around. I can already see the light wrapping around us. The Hand of the Light.
"Let's finish this, shall we, Frank?" I turn around to see a stunning woman standing there, red clothes hugging tightly against her hips, ruby red lips, blonde hair and blue eyes staring back at us. "Oh, and who is your little friend?"
"Elektra." The growl in his voice sends chills down my spine.
DAREDEVIL & THE PUNISHER VS. THE HAND OF THE LIGHT!
Daredevil/Punisher
Chapter III
In A World Without Fear
By Jordan
*
"Hello, Zachariah." My voice booms out into the large, open expanse of the warehouse. Everything is red. He's red. I'm red. Everything is red. Across the large floor of the warehouse I watch as Zachariah comes closer and closer to me. One step at a time. He doesn't know where I am and that's how I want to keep it.
"Where are you Devil?" His voice calls out, one octave higher than calm. He's frightened because he doesn't know what's going on. He's frightened because he's about to make a deal with the devil.
"I'm everywhere, Zachariah. Haven't you learned that yet?"
"Cut the shit and tell me why I'm here!" His voice calls out, his attempts to add confidence fall flat. His voice is still the frightened voice of a child.
"There's a society out there. A society which has been attacking the world for years. They call themselves the Punishing Angels." I move to my left as I talk, giving my voice the echo and movement to be everywhere at once. I am the Devil.
"The Punishing Angels. Are they the ones behind the church attack?"
"Yes, they are. Their leader is a soldier, presumed dead long ago. His name is Frank Castle."
"Why would a dead soldier be leading a terrorist cell?"
"I've had the same question, Zachariah. But I think I've figured it out." I jump down to the large floor from where I was. He now stands just feet away from me. He stops in his tracks. He can feel me in the pitch black. He knows I'm near.
"Well then, what is it?"
"He's not a terrorist, he isn't leading terrorists." I inch closer to him but simultaneously shift to my right. I can't let him pinpoint me. Not yet.
"Then what do you call someone who bombs churches and leaves people for dead?"
"I call him a man on a mission. A man hunting something even worse, a true evil."
"And what is that evil?" He turns quickly to face me. He knows where I am. Or he thinks he knows. He has no proof yet. I take off in a dead sprint right pass him and turn a sharp right. I'm the same distance away, but in a completely different spot.
"At the Church, the preacher gave sermon about how everyone should fight against God and claim Heaven as their own."
"How do you know this?" I pull small CD from a pouch around my waste and toss it to him, quickly changing positions again so that he cannot find me.
"It's the security footage. They back up the security footage with other churches in the area, in case something like this happens." He looks at the CD. There's no way for him to check it right now. He has to trust me.
"Okay, so what does his sermon have to do with anything?"
"The second he finishes his sermon the place goes up in flames. That isn't a coincidence. And so that got me thinking--why would the Angels blow up the church after the sermon? That means people heard the words? If they're punishing the enemies of Heaven and God, shouldn't they stop the sermon before the blasphemous words could finish?" I move again. I've talked for too long in one place and I know he's starting to pinpoint where I am. I have to wrap this up. I have to finish quick. "And so I came tot he conclusion, maybe the preacher was one of the Punishing Angels. Maybe the Angels aren't punishing the enemies of Heaven and God, but instead are punishing Heaven and God by killing the follows of the religion."
"That's one hell of a jump in logic, Devil."
"But that isn't where it stops. I looked through old historical texts and religions, especially ones that are big in this area, and I came across something...different. A bible called the Bible of the Hand."
"I've heard of that one. From the sixties, some nuts dressed like ninjas and ran around New York cutting off people's hands in the name of the greater good."
"Exactly, and so I read the Bible and learned that the Hand is the Hand of Light who was locked into war with the Darkness. Finally, the Light defeated the Darkness and subjugated it, which is how humans came about. And the Light is God."
"So humans are darkness?"
"Exactly. Humans are evil. But the Hand managed to turn the evil humans into something more by giving them images to follow, in the names of Jesus and God." I move again. I've only got minutes left before he finds me.
"So Jesus and God are fake?"
"According to this Bible, yes. But only seven of these bibles were ever sold, and only one retailer sold them. I was able to track the purchases and found that each bible was bought by a preacher at a local church."
"Wait...seven bibles, and only six churches have been attacked by the Angels."
"And so the Angels are going to attack the seventh church. And, by examining the patterns of the Angels, I believe that the Angels plan on striking tonight."
"Where?"
"St. Alamos' Church for the Modern Generation." With those words I jump up towards the window where just enough light hits me to create a silhouette. Zachariah turns quickly and only catches a glimpse of my devilish silhouette before I backflip out the window and am gone.
*
My eyes watch from up above as I stare down on them through their solid glass sky light. Thousands of them sit with their legs crossed, listening to preacher after preacher give sermon after sermon in the name of their lord. They're sheep in need of a Shepard.
I can smell the iron like stench of the oncoming storm, I can hear the far-off rumble of the thunder and lightning. A storm is coming and a storm is coming fast. It isn't long before I feel the first drop hit my back. And still no sign of the Punishing Angels.
"Devil, come in." Zachariah's voice comes over our intercom system loud and clear. He's staked out a block away, looking for anything suspicious.
"What is it Zachariah? Have you found something?" My eyes search the inside of the church. Still nothing as one preacher leaves the stage to sit in the crowd as another takes center stage and begins his sermon. I can barely hear him. Something of atrocities.
"I saw a man walking towards the church. He's six-four and has the build of Adonis. He matches the profile you gave me on Frank Castle."
"How close is he to the church?" I don't waste a breath as I sprint to the edge of the roof, looking down on the streets, searching for a goliath of a man.
"He walked through the doors about forty seconds ag--" But his voice is drowned out by the blast of a gun forty feet away. It barely misses and I swing around, my eyes staring into the abysmal dark eyes of the man whom I assume is Frank Castle.
"Frank Castle." His eyes turn from cocky and confident to slightly taken aback. He stands over six feet, well over me. He points two long guns at me, wielding one in each hand. I can't tell the model from this distance.
"You're on top of your game, aren't you little Devil?" His voice crackles like a pit of fire. His eyes are swallowed by a darkness I've never seen before.
"Where are the other Punishing Angels?"
"Oh, I just love that. How you pathetic idiots think that I'm a cult of killers."
"Wait...what?" He laughs. And laughs. And laughs. His bellowing laugh knocking me off balance and seemingly shaking the Earth.
"Yes, yes--I am the only Punishing Angel. I can't lie, I rather like that name. The Punishing Angel. It has a certain...charm to it."
"Well, that at least gets rid of some of my stress."
"Why? I'm more than enough to take you out." He fires off a round form his left gun that barely misses again. This time I know it's on purpose. You don't miss that close twice.
"Listen, I just want to talk. I don't think you're the bad guy."
"That's because I'm not. Do you see everyone down there? Every little sheep, every little person who is listening to that sermon right now? They are the worst of the worst. They are the darkness that follows the light. They are everything wrong with humanity."
"But they aren't the ones that you want, and I know it. You want the Hand. They aren't the Hand." He laughs again and it takes everything in me not to be affected by his laugh. It hurts my ears, but I can't show it.
"This Church is a church of the Hand. The last Church of the Hand. Once I get rid of this one, their connection to this world will be destroyed. The humans will have their rightful chance to rule."
"We do rule, Frank. That's the thing. We rule ourselves--"
"Based off of their teachings. Their teachings drive people crazy. Their teachings killed my best friend!" He doesn't waste another word and neither do I. As soon as I see the look in his eyes, I make a break for it, sprinting away as fast as I can, dodging the spray of bullets, working my way closer and closer to him.
One bullets slides across my back and it forces me to fall and roll off the edge of the church. Just barely, I grab onto a gargoyle's head to save my life. The Catholic's gaudiness works in my favor. I swing up onto the gargoyle and crouch back in the shadows. I not only hear, but feel as the Punisher's heavy footsteps land against the roof of the church, coming towards where I fell to confirm the kill. I've got thirty seconds before he figures it out.
"I know you're down there." I underestimated him. In a second, I swing to the next gargoyle over as his bullets rain through the roof. I watch as the bullets shower the streets, killing dozens. No. I cannot let this happen. I'm supposed to be a hero. Why am I hiding if I'm supposed to be a hero. I grip on to the edge of the rooftop and pull myself up, coming face to face with the giant. But he isn't looking at me, he's looking behind me and I'm afraid to turn around. I can already see the light wrapping around us. The Hand of the Light.
"Let's finish this, shall we, Frank?" I turn around to see a stunning woman standing there, red clothes hugging tightly against her hips, ruby red lips, blonde hair and blue eyes staring back at us. "Oh, and who is your little friend?"
"Elektra." The growl in his voice sends chills down my spine.
DAREDEVIL & THE PUNISHER VS. THE HAND OF THE LIGHT!