Disclaimer: This story is a work of fiction. It has no intentions of resembling any real persons dead or alive. This is entirely from my imagination, with a little help from already established sources. This story is based loosely on the comic book character "The Punisher" from Marvel Comics. Other characters may appear from Marvel comics as well as DC Comics.
Punisher and all related characters copyright Marvel Comics.
Blade and all related characters copyright Marvel Comics.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel copyright Joss Whedon, United Paramount Network and Warner Bros. Respectively.
The Vampire Chronicles and all related characters created by Anne Rice. Copyright Anne O'Brien Rice.
I have written another story on nifty entitled "Tales of a Real Dark Knight". It is in the Celebrity/Boy Bands section. Batman may appear in this story once or twice, as the Punisher may appear in "Tales of a Real Dark Knight". Any comments may be sent to authorjames2002@yahoo.com
Thank you and enjoy.
Author's Note: This storyline will be the final installment for "Marvel Knights". I hope you have enjoyed the run as much as I have enjoyed writing it. Many issues that have come up in the last storyline will be resolved in this story line. Again, I hope you have enjoyed its run. Thank you.
Chapter 6 Going Home
Slowly the men came out of their stupor or awoke from unconsciousness to find the alley empty of the creature. Their eyes fell upon Natasha and anger and sadness flooded their being.
"The bastard killed her," Blade said.
"And we didn't even find out the demon's name," Strange replied.
"We need to get her home."
With that Blade picked up her body. A quick spell from Dr. Strange concealed the team from everyone's eyes. It wouldn't do for them to be seen carrying a dead woman down the streets of Columbus.
The sadness that the felt turned into dark energy and it flowed away from them to the rooftops where it entered the demon, feeding him.
"In time," D'Spayre said, "you will know me. And the world will tremble."
"Oh God," Tandy said as the placed Natasha's body on the examination cart. "What's going on with the team? First Davey, now Natasha. Who else is going to die?"
"No one," Whistler said. "And Davey doesn't know. By God, I'm going to do all I can to make sure he doesn't, either."
"Do you want me to notify the Council?" Dr. Strange asked.
"No, Stephen, that's my job."
Whistler went upstairs to the study where he could make the phone call in peace.
"We've got to find out what this demon is," Cloak replied.
"And we have to find out soon. Davey's coming home today, too. What are we going to tell him?"
"The truth," Punisher replied. "We've gone far too long keeping secrets, hiding stuff from each other. We can't keep going on like this just to protect one another's feelings."
"Agreed," Strange said. "Abraham wanted to be the one to tell Davey."
"Bullshit," Blade replied. "I've known Davey the longest, with the exception of Ty and Tandy. I'll be the one to tell him."
"Very well. I'll let Abraham know." Dr. Strange went upstairs leaving the five remaining Knights in the lair.
"I feel weird," Tandy stated. "It's like our world is being turned upside down. Family members are dying. Relationships are changing, and there's nothing any of us can do to stop it. It feels like we're on this ship in the middle of the ocean during a tropical storm. Our ship is getting tossed about and not one of us can stop what's happening."
"I know it's scary," Blade said. "I would be lying if I told you I wasn't afraid. But we have to keep fighting. We can't abandon our post because it's getting too rocky."
"I know."
Whistler made arrangements for someone from the Watchers' Council to pick up the body while Blade, Ty, Michael, and Tandy went to pick up Davey. Once in the Suburban on their way back from the hospital, Blade shared with Davey Natasha's death. Davey, of course, was saddened by it. And it angered him that nobody knew the name of the demon that killed her.
"We were planning a big surprise for you," Tandy said. "A Welcome Home party, but after this..."
"It's okay," Davey answered. "Life isn't always sunshine and roses. We don't always win. Sometimes we lose somebody we care about. It doesn't make it easier knowing this, but it does help some."
Tandy turned and looked out the window as the tears fell from her eyes. It wasn't so much what happened to Natasha that brought the tears at this moment. It was the fact her longtime friend sitting right next to her was dying. And he didn't even know it.
The Suburban pulled up to the mansion and the five original Marvel Knights climbed out. They went inside and found Whistler, Dr. Strange, and Marc in the study talking. They looked up and gave Davey warm smiles.
"Welcome home," Strange greeted.
"Yes, good to have you back," Marc replied.
"It's good to see you here instead of in that damned hospital," Whistler said.
"It's good to be back. So, when are we going out to kick the demon's ass that killed Natasha?"
Whistler chuckled. "You'll be out there soon enough. Right now, you just need to rest."
Davey nodded. "Okay. Have the doctors said anything about what's going on with me? Any details about this virus thing?"
Whistler took a deep breath fighting back the tears that were forming. He turned away from Davey and looked out the window. Both Dr. Strange and Marc looked down to the floor.
"Davey, please have a seat," Blade said.
Davey looked at the faces of everyone and sensed what was going on. Their silence told him everything. He took a deep breath. "By everyone's reactions, this isn't going to be good news, is it?"
"Please, Davey."
Davey turned toward the couch and shook his head 'no'. "No. No, this can't be. I don't..." and he collapsed nearly falling to the floor if Blade hadn't grabbed underneath his arms. Blade moved him over to the couch and sat down holding him while he cried.
"I don't want to die," Davey said. "I'm too young to die."
"I know," Blade said holding him as the youth wept. "I know."
A few hours later, Davey stood out by the pond having wanted to be alone. "You think you have your whole life ahead of you," he said to no one in particular. "You wake up one morning and see a bright future ahead of you. In this future, you're doing what you love. You are doing the job you want, have a partner, maybe some children. All seems right with this utopian future. But one instance later and everything changes. The future you envisioned is no longer the future you can have. Time, which seemed to be for eternity, is now suddenly finite. But that end is still unknown. I'm only a teenager and my life is cut short. I don't want to die, but I know I'm going to die."
Down in the lair, Whistler and Dr. Strange examined the blood sample of Davey taken from the hospital. Dr. Strange, with his medical background, looked intently for a sign, some indication as to the time frame when Davey contracted the virus. They had taken a sample of Davey's blood right after they shared with him the unfortunate news and the doctor was comparing it with the earlier sample.
"It seems to be growing at an exponential rate," Strange stated. "Calculating the rate at which it has grown, I can postulate the time of contraction."
"And?" Whistler asked.
"I can't at the moment. I need to do the calculations."
"Do whatever you need to. If we can figure out how he contracted it, maybe it will lead us to the source of the virus. A cure might be found there."
Strange nodded in agreement and went back to his work.
As the sun set, the team prepared for patrol.
"Are you feeling up to this?" Cloak asked Davey as they pulled on their costumes.
"It doesn't really matter, does it?"
"If you aren't ready to go out there..."
"I'd rather go out there and face whatever than sit here and face..."
Cloak nodded in understanding. He could understand Davey's reasoning.
A short while later they were out patrolling. Punisher and Marvel Boy were assigned as a team while Cloak and Dagger were a team along with Blade and Moon Knight. They were patrolling the area in which Natasha was murdered and searching in a five-mile radius for any clues to the location of the demon.
"Are you going to tell Harris?" Punisher asked Marvel Boy as they walked down the alley.
"I don't know. I'm thinking I should try to make amends for what I did to him. It was unfair of me. If I can make amends, I'll go a little easier knowing that I made things right with him. I'd hate for him to be made at me for the rest of his life."
"Bitterness is not a good companion in life. Trust me, I know."
"How do they prepare you to die in the Marines?"
"It's about attitude. Soldiers go into war hoping that they aren't going to die. Their job is to make sure no one dies while fighting. But we also would go in knowing that it could happen. The cause is what helps us. We focus on our training and not on the reality of what is going on. If we were to think about the bullets flying and bombs going off, we could easily be freaked out. That's where the training comes in. It keeps our minds on what we had to do."
Marvel Boy nodded. "I think that's what I'll do. Focus on what I need to do from day to day."
"That's the best attitude you can have right now. And enjoy everyone moment you have."
"Like right now."
Punisher looked in the direction Marvel Boy was facing and saw several vampires. He pulled took aim with his shotgun and fired into the group. Several fell backwards in pain. Then, he pulled out his stake, as did Marvel Boy, and headed after the demons.
Knowing his strength wasn't enough alone to take down a vampire, Punisher used his momentum and size to tackle a vampire. As they rolled on the ground, the Punisher staked the demon and it turned to dust underneath him.
Marvel Boy jumped up and kicked two vampires in the face. Then he jumped again and released two hidden stakes in ankle pouches. The stakes protruded past the soles of his boots and he kicked the vampires in the chest. The stakes penetrated their hearts and they turned to dust. As Marvel Boy came down, he spun and landed on his hands and tips of his feet.
The Punisher swung his shotgun and hit a vampire in the stomach. It hunched over in pain. Then, bringing the gun around, hit the creature in the back sending it stumbling forward. Marvel Boy rolled forward from his crouching position and shoved his feet upwards imbedding the stake into the vampire's heart. It turned to dust.
Flipping a switch on his boots, the stakes returned to their hiding places. The Punisher reached down and helped Marvel Boy to his feet.
"Good moves," the ex-Marine replied.
"Thanks. Not bad yourself."
"Are you feeling okay?"
Marvel Boy nodded. "We should keep looking. We might be close to this demon's hideout. From what Moon Knight said," and suddenly Marvel Boy turned and vomited against the wall.
The Punisher rushed up to him and put his hand on Marvel Boy's back, attempting to give comfort. He stole a glance at what was coming up. Again, it was blood. Marvel Boy collapsed to his knees and then fell to the side. Quickly, the Punisher checked his pulse, which was weak. It wasn't good the amount of blood the youth was losing.
Pulling out his radio, the Punisher let everyone know Davey's state and said he would take him back to the lair. The others said okay but decided they needed to continue their patrol. As much as they wanted to be by Davey's side, they also knew they couldn't allow this creature to roam free.
The Punisher picked up Marvel Boy and moved him away from his blood. Then, the ex-Marine pulled out a match and threw it on the blood burning it up so as not to contaminate anyone else. Once the blood was disposed of, the Punisher picked up Marvel Boy and carried him back to the Suburban, which he used to take the boy home.
Once at the lair, Whistler hooked up an IV to the youth telling him he needed to rest.
"This thing is ravaging his body," the Watcher said. "I don't know how long he can go on like this."
"I know it must be difficult," Dr. Strange said. "I've lost patients, watched as they, too, were ravaged by a disease that I could not cure. So many have died of AIDS as well as needing organs that were scarce, but those losses do not lessen the sadness."
The Punisher, having left after Davey was safe, joined up with the others and told them of the vampires he and Marvel Boy dusted a short while ago. "They could have been foot soldiers for this demon we are looking for. His lair might be in that area."
"Then we'll check it out," Blade said.
To Be Conitnued...
What does everyone think of this storyline? What about what happened to Natasha, and what is happening to Davey? More to come!