Disclaimer: This story, though maybe not in this chapter but in subsequent chapters, will have celebrities in it. I have no knowledge of their sexuality and this is not intended to imply their sexuality. This is all from my own mind.
Buffy, the Vampire Slayer, Angel and all related characters created by Joss Whedon. Copyright 20th Century Fox.
Batman, and all related characters created by Bob Kane. Copyright DC Comics and Warner Bros.
X-MEN, and all related characters created by Stan Lee. Copyright Marvel Comics and 20th Century Fox.
The Vampire Chronicles and all related characters created by Anne Rice. Copyright Anne O'Brien Rice.
Star Wars and all related concepts created by or based on the universe created by George Lucas. Copyright 20th Century Fox, LucasFilms Ltd. and Lucas Books/Ballantine Books.
I don't know for sure if I will use all the above elements, but just in case, I have myself covered.
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Chapter 12 Creatures and Demons
Northstar and Cyclops looked at the creatures surrounding them.
"I can't blast them all," Cyclops replied. "And you can't kick them all."
"You're right. But there is something I can do to take care of all of them."
"What?"
"Hold on to something bolted down."
Cyclops reached over and grabbed the base of a lamppost holding on tight.
Northstar began running around the group of creatures. They looked at the mutant puzzled by what he was doing. Faster and faster he ran until a cyclone formed around the creatures. The wind sucked them in and up. Northstar ran and manipulated the spinning air currents to toss the creatures into the air and away from the area. Once it was all clear, Northstar slowed and stopped.
Cyclops looked up at Northstar bewildered. "That was wild!"
"Thanks. I try."
Cyclops stood up and brushed off his uniform. "Look! Over there! One of the creatures is knocked out! Let's take it back to the lair. Maybe Jessica can find out what type of demon it is."
Northstar nodded and ran over to the creature. Hoisting it up on his shoulders, the two mutants carried it back to the car they drove to the area. After securing it in the trunk, the two headed back to the lair.
Shiro came back to check on me after setting Jessica and Weatherby up with the computer. He gave me a thorough once over and said I could move, although I should take it easy. I thanked him and Lance helped me to our room we were staying in.
Once inside, Lance helped me lay down, putting pillows behind my head to help me be comfortable.
"I don't like this," Lance said. "This doesn't feel right."
"That's the thing with bad stuff," I answered. "It isn't right."
"I'm not talking about this Ghost Rider person. I admit that is freaky and it does bother me. But I'm referring to what happened with you. I don't like the idea of your mutation acting weird like that."
"I don't like it, either. But there isn't any reason to get alarmed. It happens with other mutants. Their powers sometimes get out of control. Sometimes they go off when they don't plan to. That's part of learning control."
Lance reluctantly agreed with me and dropped the subject. He walked over and lay down next to me putting his hand across my chest. "I want to go on record and say I don't like this."
"I'm with you on that one."
He leaned over and kissed me on the lips.
Shiro went to the bay when the computer announced the car had returned. He watched as Cyclops and Northstar climbed out of the car.
"You're back early," Shiro replied.
"Yeah. We met some friends of Ghost Riders."
"What?"
"A group of demons," Cyclops answered. "We were checking out where they fought and a group of purplish creatures came out after us. We were able to catch one. One had eye beams similar to my own power. But I'm not sure what kind of demon it is. Maybe we could have Jessica take a look at it. Is she still hooked up to the Watchers' Council database?"
"As far as I know. She and Punisher are still checking out what spell created Ghost Rider."
Shiro walked over and helped get the demon out of the trunk. The three mutants carried it into the infirmary and tied it down. Shiro checked for a pulse.
"It's still alive," he muttered.
Suddenly the creatures eyes opened and it cried out in anger at the men. It struggled against the bonds and snapped them. Then it flung its arms out and hit Shiro and Cyclops. The two fell into the wall and slumped down. Then it turned on Northstar.
"Oh, shit," Northstar muttered. The close confines of the infirmary didn't give him room to use his super speed.
The creature snapped the bindings of its feet and climbed off the table. Northstar swung a fist at it and hurt it a little. It grabbed him and tossed him.
"I think this will help," Jessica said as she and Punisher headed toward the infirmary. "We just need someone who can do the spell."
As they neared the infirmary, Northstar flew through the door and hit the wall.
"What the..." Jessica began.
The purple demon emerged from the infirmary and turned to face the two.
"Check on Northstar," Jessica said. "I'll take care of this."
The Slayer went into action. The first attack was a snap-kick to the face. The creature jerked its head back. Then she turned and did a side kick. The creature went backwards into the wall. When it attempted to attack her, she grabbed what passed for its wrist and turned flipping it over onto its back. She swung her leg and kicked it in the face. The impact was enough to render it unconscious.
Moments later all were gathered in the infirmary. Cyclops gave me the rundown of all that happened, including Jessica taking it down.
"So it looks as if whatever Apocalypse is doing, he's enlisted demonic creatures to his aid as well," I replied.
"I've never seen anything like this before," Jessica replied.
Shiro took a tissue sample and put it under a microscope. After studying it for several minutes, he came away just as puzzled as before. He took the sample and put it under the spectra-analyzer and let the computers compare tissue samples with all it had on file, including what the Watchers' Council had available.
"Thank God you're all right," Justin said holding Jessica close.
"I'm a Slayer," she said. "This is my job."
"And the rest of us are all right, too," Cyclops replied.
Northstar stared at Justin for the longest time.
"Is everything okay?" I whispered to him.
"Yeah," he muttered. "I would have pegged him for being gay. Sure, his music is heterosexual. And he plays that part well. But his voice sounds slightly gay."
"He's bisexual," I answered.
"Oh," Northstar replied.
The sound of his voice was like someone saying a child could have a toy if it wasn't sold out.
"Do you want me to talk to him for you?" I replied with a smile. "You would have to deal with Jessica."
"No, that's okay," he replied.
I smiled.
"Analysis complete," the computer stated.
Shiro went over to the monitor and typed in several commands. The computer readout appeared and he turned around in surprise.
"What kind of demon is it?" Northstar asked.
"It isn't a demon," Shiro replied. "It's a human being."
"What?" everyone exclaimed.
"The DNA is human. Although something triggered a mutation inside. It looks like this is the first batch of mutants Apocalypse and Mr. Sinister tried to create."
"I don't believe it," Jessica said. "That's inhuman."
"Exactly."
"How did one get powers, though?" Cyclops asked.
"Just like no one has the exact same DNA and genetic make-up, not all react in the same way to these treatments. The formula was enough to change their genetic structure, but some it did mutate into a form of mutant with powers."
"Study it," I replied. "Try to find out what the serum is and take it to the next level of completion. We know one possible out is the flu-like symptoms that happened across the globe. I believe Jean studied that and knows the make up. I want you to be devil's advocate and find out where Sinister will take the serum next. If we know where he's going with this, we might be able to come up with an antidote before he's successful. If we can find that, we have a good chance of ruining his experiments."
Shiro nodded and went to work using all at his disposal.
"Did you find out anything about Ghost Rider?" Blade asked.
"We did," Jessica answered. "Punisher remembered the books Ghost Rider had. From that, I was able to discover the spell that created Ghost Rider. Knowing what spirit is in him makes it that much easier to find out what spell controls him and what spell will free him."
"Any thoughts?" I asked.
"Several, actually. But we need someone who can perform the spell."
"I don't know of anyone off hand," Cyclops answered. "I would suggest Storm, only because where she came from, the people called her a weather witch. But I don't think her powers lie in the mystical."
"Any other ideas?"
"I have an idea," Shiro said. Everyone turned to him. "I know of a very powerful sorcerer who trained with a Tibetan sorcerer known as the Ancient One. He lives nearby. He goes by the name of Dr. Strange."
"Then let's go talk to him," Jessica replied. "Maybe he would be willing to help. Does he live nearby?"
"Yes," Shiro replied. "I can give you the address. Perhaps you, Blade and Punisher should go. You would be the best here to convince him."
Jessica nodded. "Let's get us a wizard."
The three headed off toward the parking bay.
I turned to Shiro and the others. "We still need to know where to find Ghost Rider and Apocalypse's lair. So far we've seen them coming out of nowhere. What can we do?"
"We can attempt to tag one of them," Shiro suggested. "It would be difficult but I think we can do it. I've been working on a sub-processor that imbeds in the skin and sends out a signal of up to ten miles. There would be no way they could get away from us."
"That sounds great!" Northstar replied. "But how do we get the tag on them?"
"Air rifle."
"How many of us are that good a shot?" I asked. No one really answered. "That would be a job for Punisher. He was trained in the military. I'm sure he has had enough training to put us all to shame."
"As soon as they get back, I'll have him practice with the rifle."
Punisher's black suburban made its way up the mountain following the directions Shiro gave.
"It shouldn't be too far now," Jessica said.
Without warning, a tree fell down in front of the Suburban. Punisher slammed on the brakes and kept as best control as he could so the vehicle would not go over the edge. They slid into a ditch and slowly climbed out.
"What the hell caused that?" Punisher said.
The three looked around and suddenly, out of the woods, several vampires leapt.
"There's our answer," Jessica replied readying herself for a fight.
Blade and Punisher readied themselves as well.
The vampires made the first move. One leapt at Punisher and tackled him. They rolled away from the others and Punisher was able to kick the demon off. He flipped to his feet as the vampire snarled and leapt again. Punisher, knowing even in his top physical condition couldn't match the strength of the demonic creature, used the vampire's momentum against it. As it came toward him, he stepped aside, placed his hands on the vampire's back and pushed it head first into a nearby tree. Several branches broke off leaving stubs sticking out of the trunk. The vampire stood and growled at him.
"You filthy human," it said.
Punisher ran at the vampire and jumped in the air. With a flying kick, his boots landed square in the vampire's chest. His weight was enough to push the vampire back into one of the branch stubs. The vampire's heart was pierced by the wood and it turned to dust.
Punisher smiled to himself and pulled out a wooden stake.
Jessica swung her leg around and kicked the vampire in the face. It stumbled into the Suburban. It turned back to face off with her. She cart wheeled forward and kicked it in the face. While on her hands, she kicked out and caught the vampire in the face. It flew up against the Suburban again. The Slayer got to her feet and punched the vampire in the chest. Then she swung a right and hit it in the face. When she brought her left around the vampire ducked and her fist met the metal of the Suburban's body making a dent. She turned around and the vampire punched her in the face. Then it grabbed her and tossed her into the woods. The vampire ran into the woods after its prey.
Blade stood in front of two vampires. He dropped down and swung his legs around tripping two of the creatures. Then he jumped on top of one and rammed a stake into its chest. He jumped on to of the other one, but it was ready and kicked him off. He flew into a tree, back first and upside down. The Daywalker slid down to the ground and saw the vampire coming toward him. The demon moved around a bush and, suddenly, was met by two feet kicking it in the chest.
Jessica swung from the tree branch and dropped to the ground. She looked over at Blade and smiled. Then she turned as the vampire tried to attack her. She side-stepped and pushed the vampire into the forest deeper.
"We don't want it getting away," Blade said as he scrambled to his feet and headed after the vampire.
"Wait for me!" Jessica replied running into the woods.
Punisher came around the Suburban to see no one in sight.
"Hello!" he called out. There was no response. "Great!" he replied. He went back to the Suburban and checked on the body as well as the mechanics of the vehicle. When all seemed well, he shut the hood. Looking around, though, he was met with dismay. There were several vampires staring at him.
"Great," he muttered. "Just great."
Blade caught up with the vampire and tackled it. He pinned the demon down as Jessica arrived.
"Why did you attack us?" Blade asked.
"You hunt vampires. Isn't it obvious?" the vampire said.
"You knew we were here. You knew where we were going. How?"
The vampire snarled. "We are very powerful creatures, with very powerful magics at our aid. There is nothing that does not escape our attention."
"You want to know the truth?" Jessica said as she knelt down near the heads of Blade and the vampire. "I'm actually thinking one of two things. One, you know about Dr. Strange and his abilities. You know it can help free Ghost Rider and your orders are to keep us away from him. Or two, you wanted to separate us from Punisher."
Jessica stood up feeling very confident. Then reality sank in. She looked at Blade and tossed him a stake. The vampire turned to dust as the two headed back toward the Suburban and Punisher.
To Be Continued...
Let me know how you like the new setup of this storyline. One chapter deals with Batman and friends and the next will focus on Batgirl. Going back and forth will help keep things a little clearer as each chapter will focus entirely on one group. It will save on confusion.
I'd also like to know how you like the storyline and where it's going.
**Please, if you haven't already, take a moment to look over the contest.