Extreme Justice: The Reckoning

Extreme Justice faces the Archlich directly, and find that they have to go straight to Hell to do it!

The Reckoning

Captain Atom found himself drowning. It wasn’t a good sensation as anyone who’s been in that position can attest. Desperately, he looked around and saw light above him. Shooting up quickly, he broke the surface and gulped in air. A strong set of arms grabbed him from each side and pulled him up onto a outcropping of land where he lay for a moment catching his breath.

The air around him was dry. It had a metallic taste to it. Although the sun was hitting his skin, he felt no warmth from it. Sitting up, he looked around. Several feet in front of him, Scorpio and StrongArm were carrying an exhausted Phoenix to the shore. Behind them, Draconaire broke the surface of the otherwise still lake. Jumper was making his way to him to pull him to shore. Everyone looked exhausted.

Cap stood up to get a good feel for their surroundings. The first thing he noticed was that they were very high up in the air. This was no ordinary lake. Thinking it was in the crater of a dormant volcano, he lifted up into the air to get a better look and found, to his amazement, that the basin for the lake was in actuality a outcropping of land in the shape of a gigantic goblet! He floated in the air for a moment staring at it.

While he was there, he felt the first tinges of the drain. It was subtle, but definitely present. His headache returned with a vengeance and he found himself once again rubbing his temple. This was going to be a really bad day.

He floated back down to the edge of the gigantic goblet, to the shore at the edge of the giant lake. The rest of the team was resting as best as they could on the rocky ground.

“This place feels familiar…” StrongArm said it in such a way that it was obvious he was hoping against the answer he knew was coming.

“You’re right. We’re back in Tartarous.”

Jumper pulled out a small electronic tablet and turned it on. “I’m not so sure.”

Everyone was paying attention to him now. He continued, “The readings I’m getting on the ambient radiation in the atmosphere are not the same as the ones I read off the gate at the Parthenon in Greece after we defeated Barthandalus. This is most definitely an other-worldly dimension of some kind, but not the same one.”

StrongArm walked over to him with an astonished look in his eyes, “that’s amazing! How did you manage to keep that thing dry?”

Draconaire couldn’t help but let a chuckle out. 

Scorpio stood up and walked to the edge of the goblet, looking around. The sun in the sky was a pale shade of blue. It emitted no heat and little grew on the ground aside from moss, fungus, and small plants accustomed to darkness. The ground was rocky and inhospitable and he could see no living creatures as far as the eye could see. As he examined the horizon, he noticed something glinting in the horizon between two sharp peaks. He motioned in that direction.

“I’ll bet someone knows where we are.” Minutes later, after everyone had a chance to catch their breaths, the team set off for the large shining gates visible in the distance. 

*****

Back at the Akkadian Knights’ moon base, the boom tube flashed to life and Stormageddon stepped through the aperture. PkPkay rushed over, Atomix and Dark Heart behind them. “What happened!?”

Stormageddon shook his head. “Not quite sure, but somehow the Hollow King managed to teleport them all away. If I’m not mistaken, to anther dimension.”

“Well, I did read an energy spike on that particular spot when they went,” PkPkay led them over to a terminal and displayed a line graph showing a clear spike in energy. “The radiation is very similar to what Jumper and I saw on the gateway in Greece. Its not quite the same, but very close and the ley line itself lit up like a Christmas tree at the same moment.”

The three studied the on-screen display for a little while. After a bit, Atomix pointed up at the screen. “Do you see that?”

Everyone looked closely, but the screen was a spider web of ley lines and bright dots. There didn’t seem to be any order to it. “Right there!”

Atomix picked up a dry erase marker and stood up on the desk. Reaching up, she circled a small dot of light. “What do you see?”

PkPkay was the first to catch on. “It’s an energy spike but it’s not on a ley line!” 

Dark Heart looked at the map. There were hundreds of points of light. “So?”

PkPkay got an excited look in his eyes, “So… if every one of these crystal shards is somehow connected to a major ley line nexus, drawing power from it in some way…”

“… then what’s powering that one?” Stormageddon was catching on. “I think we may have found our perp!”

PkPkay fired up the boom tube and in a flash of light the team was in New York city.

*****

Flying to the gate from the titan’s goblet was fairly easy. There weren’t any local creatures to get in their way and the few humanoids they saw scurrying around beneath them didn’t look up to notice the heroes as they passed. The air was hot and dry, and the team dried off quickly in it. By the time they reached the twin mountain peaks some two hours later, every one of them was beginning to feel the drain Cap had felt earlier. Something was sapping away their energy little by little. Cap tried to explain that it was the nature of the place in which they had been thrust, but he didn’t quite understand it enough to make a lot of sense. 

As they approached the gate, the team was struck by its massive height and girth. The gate itself was well over 15 stories high. Although it was made of something resembling steel, it was showing signs of age and was decaying in some parts. The hinges were gigantic iron blocks of metal buried in the mountain sides and it looked fairly indestructible.

The bars of the gate were tightly packed. As thick around as a human torso, they were far too great in size to be easily broken. The gate was locked with a massive chain. StrongArm thought it reminded him of the gigantic chains he saw as a kid in naval shipping yards holding huge tanker and cargo ships in place as they anchored. No lock was present holding the chains together. There was no need. Each link of the massive chains must have weighed tons. 

Beyond the gate was a hewn gorge between the mountains. Statues lined the mountainsides going up towards the two peaks as far as the eyes could see. The team flew upwards until they had crested the gate and back down to land on the ground on the other side. Thousands of statues of warriors of all kinds stared down at them with stony eyes. Phoenix shivered slightly, “ok… this is creepy.”

“I thought there would be more of a challenge getting over the gate.” Scorpio was looking at the statues intently, but not one showed any signs of animation. They were just stone.

“I’m not so sure the owner is worried about people getting into this place. I can’t imagine anyone wanting to.” Cap was looking straight ahead. The gorge went on for some time and grew darker as it went as the mountain shadows cast their long shadows.

The team progressed forward for what seemed like anther half hour until the gorge finally opened up. They stayed on the ground to avoid unwanted attention. When they finally stepped out into the field beyond, the sight that befell them was one of horror. 

Falling from black rips in the sky for miles around them were beings from all over the universe. Screaming all the way, they finally hit the ground with bone jarring thuds. Scouring the grounds were gigantic, hulking demons whose arms ended in single gigantic claws. Hundreds of them dotted the landscape. As they ran across a fallen soul, they would spear it with a claw and cram it into their own bodies. The soul would fight for a moment before being pulled in by the rest trying to get out. Each beast was comprised of hundreds of such souls. It was a disgusting harvest of the dead.

Draconaire bent over and retched. The sight was grotesque.

Cap held it in. Pointing ahead, he identified a pathway moving from where they were straight across the field. Looking forward, it was clear that the demons were not crossing the path. The team trudged forward through the harvest of the dead, not sure where they were going.

*****

Dark Heart vaulted the steel dumpster in the alleyway with ease. Unfortunately the vampire behind him did the same. He reached up to touch the communicator on his neck only to remember that it was ripped off just moments before when the team was split up. That’s ok. He knew where they were going.

Running up to the side of a building, he crouched down and leaped up. He may not be able to fly, but he could jump over 60’ when he needed to and that’s what he did. A second later he landed on the roof of a small bakery and kept running. The vampire was a little slow, but clawed its way up the side of the building quickly. By the time it had reached the top, Dark Heart was nowhere to be seen.

Two blocks away, Atomix and Stormageddon were hiding in a street level town house watching as a mob of shambling zombies moved past them. 

Stormageddon leaned over, whispering “remind me again why we shouldn’t just wade through these goons? It’s not like they pose a threat to us.”

“Maybe not to you, but they do to me. Aside from that, these are people. As soon as we destroy the shards, they should revert back like we did.” Atomix was annoyed. That was the third time he had asked. She got the impression he knew the answer already and was just annoying her for the sake of it.

As the mob passed, they both silently glided up into the air over the street, sticking close to the buildings to avoid attention. They made their way towards a warehouse on the dock visible three blocks away.

PkPkay was the first to reach the dock. The warehouse was on the water’s edge within eyesight of the Statue of Liberty not too far away. It was a large structure and was designed to provide shelter for workers building and maintaining naval vessels. The doors were closed all the way around it, but his readings indicated that what they sought was inside. Something was in there. 

He crouched in the darkness for several minutes, the only thing giving away his presence being the softly glowing amulet hanging from his neck. He heard a noise overhead and covered it with his hand. A flying undead beast passed by, oblivious to his presence. Moments later, Dark Heart landed on the deck beside him. How he had managed to sneak up on PkPkay startled him.

“Don’t do that!”

Dark Heart smiled. He was obviously in his element.

A few minutes later the team was together again and making their way towards the main door. PkPkay motioned and Stormageddon flew out to the sea-side entrance while Dark Heart and Atomix moved to the second dock side door. Atomix sent out a psychic signal and all four heroes burst through the doors at once, prepping their best attacks for what laid inside.

To their astonishment, there was very little. The warehouse was mostly empty. In the center was a small room obviously designed as an office for the ware house. It was little more than a few pieces of sheet metal with a door and a small air conditioning unit on top. A soft green glow emanated from its interior through the cracks at the seams of the walls and a wailing could be heard from inside. Whatever was in there sounded like it was in pain.

The team stayed primed for battle as they moved in. This could be a trap. As they closed in, PkPkay stopped the team. Holding up his hands, he telekinetically ripped the roof off the small office revealing what was inside. 

Curled up on the floor of the office, holding on tightly to a shard of crystal, was Skë|âñìmâ|. Looking up at them with cold, dead eyes, he weakly pleaded, “help me…”

*****

Draconaire was relieved as the the grotesque sight behind them decreased into the distance and the plain before them leveled out. Hardly anything grew in this wretched place. Before they knew it, the team found that the road itself had changed to the form of golden bricks below their feet. There were thousands and the wealth they trod upon was incalculable. In the distance, they could see their destination come into view. Although none of them knew it was such, they all felt that it would be their final stop one way or another. 

The mansion got closer as they flew towards it. It was a beautiful white edifice surrounded by a thick, low stone wall. The gates were guarded by two gigantic iron statues. It had the feel of a Greek palisade and the garden in beyond the walls was like no other. The colors made the hostel stand out like a wild flower in the middle of the desert. The team flew down to stand before the gate. 

As they touched down, a single, solitary figure floated out towards them. It was a human woman wearing a flowing white gown. Her skin, where it could be seen on her hands and feet, was porcelain white and she wore a white linen cloth over her face. Her voice was silky smooth and melodic as she addressed the team, “Welcome to Hel. My mistress will be with you shortly. Follow me.”

They all looked at each other, not sure what to make of all of this. They followed the floating apparition into the impressive structure, between pillars 30’ high made of a white marble. The interior was lavishly decorated, although with a morbid air. The marble statues were obviously made by a master, and each depicted pain and suffering creatures from all over the galaxy. Every one of them had a look of absolute terror on their faces. The paintings on the wall depicted the fallen angels and demons rising up victoriously in battle.

The team was led to a lavish waiting room and the white clad servant brought them a pitcher of cold water and crystal glasses. They sat in silence for a while, taking it all in. Cap was examining one portrait in particular, displaying a beautiful woman standing on a pile of dead men, holding up the head of one of the men in a horrifying display of conquest. As he focused on the picture, the eyes of the man’s head moved and looked back at him. As he sat up bolt right, a sultry voice came from across the room.

“Welcome, heroes.” A tall woman entered the room. Her beauty was beyond words. She had black hair striped with silver and white. Her gown was long and black, trailing on the floor behind her. Her hands were adorned with rings and beautiful necklaces ringed her neck. An aura of power surrounded her. 

Jumper was the first to speak, “Where are we?”

“Why, you’re in Hel of course and I am the ruler here. My name is Hel.”

Captain Atom stood up. “We are…” 

“You are mortals from Earth. I remember meeting you before when Loki was threatening to invoke Ragnarok.” Hel finished the sentence. Her expression grew a little more serious, “You do not belong here.” As she said it her brow furrowed just a bit. Each of them felt slightly more drained than before.

“We’ll give you that,” Cap put his hand on the chair beside him. He could feel the drain much more strongly than before. “Believe me, we want out of here too.” 

“Oh, I never said I wanted you to leave.” With one wave of her hand, the sun outside began to set. There were no stars in the sky and pitch black was descending on the world. The room itself almost seemed to shrink a bit and color began to fade all around them. The draining effect intensified and they all felt it now.

“I do, however, want to know what brings you here. It’s been so long since any man has ventured into my realm from Midgard.” 

Scorpio fell to one knee, the life force beginning to ebb in his mighty form. None of them could possibly face the might this powerful goddess wielded in her own home. “There we go again with that whole Norse/Greek stuff again. I thought we were in Tartarous?”

Draconaire sank into the chair. “No, not quite, the energy transforming people to zombies was from there. We seem to be in a different realm.”

“Hold on,” StrongArm had to interject, “We were forced here by the Hollow King. Whatever we were fighting is back on Earth, right?”

Hel cocked her head to one side. “This is interesting.” She turned her back to the heroes. “Let me see what is happening in Midgard.”

The air before her shimmered and her eyes lit up. Although the heroes could not see what she was seeing, they heard her gasp. Her hands tightened into balls and the ground started to shake. The walls and accoutrements of the lavish villa faded away round them and were replaced with raw earth. Blood started oozing out of the walls and the team realized with horror that the wall was not made of earth so much as a mound of flesh and bone. The very sky outside began to blaze red even as the sun set.

Hel turned back to the heroes. Her eyes burned with anger and they could see now that half of her body was horribly disfigured. Whereas the left side of her face still held beauty beyond compare, the right side was completely devoid of flesh. She stared down at the helpless heroes. The only other being in the room standing was her veiled servant. 

Slowly, Hel unclenched her fist. The color of the sky turned dark and she allowed the sun to set fully. The walls returned to the appearance of a lavish abode and the team took a collective gasp of air as the draining effect she had placed on them started to abate. When they could all sit up straight again, she addressed them. She had regained her composure and her form had returned to that of a beautiful woman.

“We share an enemy. For this one reason alone I will allow you to leave my home. You will destroy him.”

The team looked at each other, wondering what to do. Cap stared at Hel and held his breath.

“I can see the distrust in your eyes. Let me set your minds at ease.

“I’m going to tell you a story, a story no mortal has ever heard. Many years ago, I was visited by a godling from a neighboring realm. He was tall and debonair and radiated power unbridled. He was not of the Norse pantheon and did not bow to the Skyfather, which made me very happy. His name was Hades, and ruled an underworld much like my own in another part of the vast realms of Tartarous named after himself. 

“We consorted for some time, and he parted for his realm with regret for he had fallen in love with me and I with him. Upon return to his own realm, he sent me a gift, his own throne, as a symbol of his devotion.

“The throne, however, never made it to me.” At this, she waved her hand and the team found their surroundings fade away only to be replaced by an elegant throne room. On a raised Diaz was an alabaster throne. A spot beside it, obviously intended for a second such throne, was empty. “Along the way our own offspring, Archimedes, stole it away. Not surprisingly, sought our power for his own and longed for nothing more than to see us fall into chaos.”

Hel bowed her head just a bit. “He got his wish.” Cap could see a single, solitary tear roll down her left cheek.

After a moment she continued. “Word of the missing throne made it back to Hades and his anger grew to know no bounds, but no matter how much he tried he could not retrieve the throne. It was nowhere to be found in the nine realms. Finally and with righteous fury, he sent his hordes of demons into the Asgardian planes to find it. 

“The Skyfather took notice and commanded his own forces to protect the realms. The war that broke out was quick and one sided. Hades was forced back to his own realm in shame.

“The Skyfather then ordered the portals between our two realms sealed, and they were. The throne was gone, Hades was forbidden to return, and I could no longer see my love. Now this offspring of mine does the forbidden. He denies death to all mortal beings. As long as he is allowed to continue, the cycle of life and death is disrupted and there shall be no more souls descending to my or any other realm. This cannot be allowed. You will stop him.”

She lifted her hand, palm up, and Jumper saw that she was holding his computer. She touched it gingerly, typing in a series of numbers and characters. She handed it back to him. “You already posses the ability to defeat him, although your brute force may not be enough. You will know what to do when the time comes. Until then, return home and for your sake I hope that you choose not to enter my realm again soon.”

Hel smiled and the team faded away, returning to Earth. She turned and walked up the diaz towards her throne. Her servant followed behind her. 

She turned and sat gingerly on it. Casually caressing the ornate armrest with her index finger, she motioned to her servant. “Medusa, I have a task for you.” 

The servant allowed her veil to drop. Her face was beautiful in the same way that Hel’s was. Her hair was comprised of writhing asps. Her flowing gown transformed itself into a suit of studded leather armor and her shapely figure gave way to a sinuous snake’s body. A massive compound bow materialized across her back.

“Yesss, anything you desssire.” Her tongue was forked as the hissed out her reply and knelt before her mistress. The asps protruding from her scalp writhed around her form.

Hel smiled. At least she was allowed to keep one gift from Hades and this one would serve her well.

*****

The room was dark with the exception of the street lights dimly showing through the dirty windows of the warehouse far above and the glowing crystal shards’ green light. 

Atomix leaned over the desk and blew lightly on the small white candle. Her hand cupped on the other side, the flame sprang to life and illuminated the room. Immediately, the crystal shards stopped glowing. Skë|âñìmâ| looked around the room in disbelief. The pounding in his head was gone. He sat up and shakily moved into the chair behind the desk. 

He stared at the tiny candle. He could feel a force coming from it that radiated life and his instant reaction was to get away from it. He knew, however, that it was aimed at expelling otherworldly forces and knew what would happen if he moved outside its protective radius. Looking up at the team, he saw the Knights expectantly waiting on him.

“He’s mad.” Skë|âñìmâ| spit the words out. “There’s a fine line and he crossed it.”

Stormageddon snorted out a laugh. “You mean to tell me that the entire population of the planet was turned into drooling, brain sucking zombies and somewhere along the way this other guy ‘crossed a fine line’? What in the hell do you consider a major line?”

Atomix put her hand on his shoulder. “Let him finish.” Looking at Skë|âñìmâ|, she urged him to continue. “What do you know?”

Skë|âñìmâ| stared at Stormageddon for a moment before continuing, sizing him up. They’d had run-ins before and knew each other well. He looked back at the candle as if weighing his options. Cooperate with the mammals or take his chances. With a disgusted look on his face, he turned back to the Knights.

“I was summoned by the Archlich about 3 months ago. He was gathering a team together to ‘change the face of the Earth’. I was to be given a pivotal role and it was right up my alley. He knew me well.

“My job was to test the practical application of giving the gift of undeath to living creatures. It worked like a charm until your own Phoenix corrupted the energy of the crystal and destroyed it. So many were about to be liberated…

The Knights remained silent. They remembered the cruise liner. Stormaggedon shifted on his feet uncomfortably. He wasn’t used to having to contain himself.

Skë|âñìmâ| continued, “the plan proceeded from there. The Hollow King, a few others and I placed shards across the globe at major ley line intersections where they could draw power from some other plane of existence. When we had, the Archlich activated them all, freeing the creatures on earth and giving them the gift of undeath! No more would one people attempt to impose their mores and values on another. No more would religious intolerance infect the minds of men. There would be no more sexism, racism, or any other form of discrimination. No more death. It was glorious! 

“That’s when he deceived us all. He kept the largest shards for himself and created a control device. Freedom was erased. Free will was taken from all creatures. He now manipulates nearly every creature on the planet with that damn thing! He broke the rules and tried to control me, but I was prepared. I kept a shard piece behind!” He patted the large crystal shard piece on the desk beside him.

The Knights looked at each other. Dark Heart stepped forward and put his hand on the desk. He kept his voice cool and level, “Where do we find him?”

Skë|âñìmâ| chuckled. “It’s almost too late. Once a living being has been exposed to the power of the crystals for 4 hours, they are permanently changed. It’s been 3 hours already!”

Stormaggedon had enough. He reached down and picked up the weakened Skë|âñìmâ| by the collar, lifting him in the air. “Where is he, or do I take my frustration out on you?”

Skë|âñìmâ| grinned from ear to ear. “You know, it’s almost worth it just to see you fail. If I wait until the transformation is complete, we can then destroy him and my dream is a reality. For what reason do I help you?”

Atomix lifted her hand to her lips and licked her fingers. She positioned them on either side of the candle flame. “Who’s to say you will have any of your own dreams?”

His eyes went wide. He reached for his shard only to see it in Dark Heart’s hand. “You wouldn’t! You can’t!”

“We can.” Atomix’ expression was not amused. Her fingers tightened around the flame slightly. It wavered.

“OK!!! He’s in a ship moored in New York harbor. He won’t leave it for anything. He’ll only be there until sunrise!”

“See, now that wasn’t all that hard.” Atomix motioned to Stormaggedon and he let Skë|âñìmâ| down. The four heroes began to leave. 

“Wait! I need my shard! This candle won’t last forever.” He was right, of course, the candle was mostly spent.

Atomix looked over her shoulder and smiled as she stepped through the door, “I guess you’d better hope we succeed then.” The heroes left into the dark of the night.


*****

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20 minutes later, the team looked from the top of an old furniture warehouse on the edge of the dock out towards a ship floating in the water moored to the dock. A ghostly mist hovered around the ship itself, although there was no fog in the area. The ship itself was an ancient wooden longboat one would find in a Norse museum. Long oars stuck out of each side of the boat and several humanoid shapes could be seen roaming the top. A single mast extended up from the deck with a primitive sail attached. The sail itself was in tatters and limply dangled from the mast on this windless night, not that it would be any use had there been a wind.

The four had been extra cautious in getting here. The concentration of New Yorkers milling about this area was great and several of Bloodvane’s vampires were flying overhead. The team was careful not to use any of their obvious powers so as not to attract attention.

Dark Heart was crouched behind a large 4-ton air conditioning unit. “Well, at least it was easy to identify his tub.” Nobody found it amusing.

As they all watched the ship, wondering how to get onboard without attracting too much attention, their communicators crackled and came to life. Cap’s voice came across, “Anyone there?”

At first, nobody responded, not sure if they were hearing things or not, but they quickly realized that they weren’t. PkPkay responded, “Cap, is that you?”

“PkPkay! Yes, it is. We’re all here on the moon base. We see you on the screen. Mind telling us what’s happening?”

PkPkay filled him in, quietly explaining what they had discovered. “And that’s how we came to be here.”

“We can’t see his ship on the radar from up here. Something is blocking it.” 

Stormaggedon cracked his knuckles. “We’ll find out what it is. Anyone up for a swim?”

Atomix stood up. “Let’s do this quietly. We need to sneak up if we want to have a chance to take him by surprise.”

The team whirled around as a ghastly voice rang out behind them, “No need for secrecy any longer little one.” The team was staring into the eye sockets of the Hollow King as the monster crested the side of the building. A host of vampires rose up in the air behind him and more could be seen coming in from the tops of the buildings nearby. 

Atomix tapped her comm. device to find it being jammed. A doorway on the roof opened up as Skë|âñìmâ| stepped out from the stairwell. His eyes were glazed over and he turned to them with an expressionless face. Lucious Bloodvane landed on the roof beside him. The vampire lord rose to his full 7’ height and let out a mighty bellow.

Stormaggedon cursed, “I knew I should have wasted the pansy.” Apparently the candle wore out sooner than expected. As the Hollow King closed in, a bright flash of light erupted in the air in front of him. He shaded his eyes with his wing, only to turn back to see the entire Reverent Knights team assembled. 

Cap’s hands lit with pure energy. “Remember not to hurt the people if you can help it. All bets are off for the rest of them!”

Battle was joined as the host of 30,000 vampires descended up the team. 

*****

The Archlich felt a rumble and his chamber shook. He sat up in his throne of bones and looked down into the small font of water beside him. The waters rippled lightly and showed a picture he did not expect. There were heroes all around his ship fighting the entourage of vampires protecting him. 

He leaned back and concentrated. The crown he created out of the shards from the throne glowed lightly and he could see through the eyes of his minions. Somehow, the Reverent Knights had proven resistant to the transformation he imposed on the Earth. He stood up and started towards the entrance of his chamber. Reaching to his left he summoned his staff. It flew to his hand from the wall where it had been resting. The door before him opened of its own accord, as if afraid to get in the mighty undead’s way. 

This would obviously take his personal hand.

The Longship itself had no decks. It was a long, rather flat boat with seats along its length. Several stout undead men were sitting attentively at the sides, waiting for their master to command them to row. Other undead walked the deck, some carrying whips. One sitting behind some large drums. 

The deck itself changed shape. A door of wood rose from the bottom as if the boat itself was alive and moving. As it reached it’s fully height of 5’, it opened and the Archlich stepped out onto the deck. As he did, a flaming vampire flew over his head screaming. It landed in the water and sank like a rock. Two more followed it as Phoenix lit up the sky.

A large explosion erupted not too far away and shook the entire ship as Stormaggedon and Captain Atom took on the Hollow King and the vampires surrounding him. Before him, on the dock, Dark Heart and Atomix were battling through a throng of vampires to reach the ship while other heroes were creating a perimeter around it. They were apparently doing their best to avoid hurting the citizens of New York as much as possible. Too bad for them, the Archlich thought to himself.

The Archlich raised his hands. Enough was enough. He summoned his might and channeled a blast of magical force through his palms outwards. Bolts of lightning shot forth in all directions into the sky around him. 

The bolts did not discriminate. They hit ally and foe alike. They shot holes in the vampires closest to him and arched upwards, catching Phoenix and Draconaire as they went. The heroes were much stronger than the undead minions and resisted, but it was easy to tell that it was very painful to do so. As they expanded outwards, they cleared the sky of the weaker creatures, leaving only those powerful enough to withstand the onslaught. 

The Archlich poured on the heat and all of the heroes began to waver. He laughed maniacally. “This is the best you can do?”

“No.” The voice behind him came as a surprise. He didn’t have time to turn before the concussive force slammed into him.

The Archlich was hit hard in the back and fell forward. His onslaught abated, but not before it had knocked Atomix and Dark Heart flat to the ground. He turned to see Scorpio standing behind him. His hands were smoking from the attack he just leveled on the undead lord. He stood up and held his staff before him. “Nice try, Scorpio.”

A horde of skeletal warriors erupted from the decks around Scorpio, clawing and biting at him, tearing his clothing and armor. He fought back but these minions were like nothing he had ever faced. Their bones were as hard as steel. He destroyed one just to see two more replace it. The throng of undead dragged him to the deck.

Stormaggedon charged in and slammed into the Archlich with enough force to level a building. As he did, the undead lifted his cloak and wrapped it around Stormaggedon, enshrouding him. The mighty hero fell out the other side white as a ghost. His life force had been drained out of him nearly completely in that one instant. The Archlich let out an awful laugh. He’d finish off the foolish hero a little later.

Draconaire lifted up from the side of the ship and caused massive vines to slip up the side of the ship from deep in the water. They rose in the air and came crashing down on the Archlich. He swiftly erected a shell of fire that set the vines ablaze. As they reeled backwards, he turned the fire on Draconaire and shot him with a blast of heat that would have melted solid steel. It was all he could do to erect a shield as he was forced into the water. 

PkPkay and Cap flew directly overhead and prepared a combined attack. The blasted him with a combined Relic Storm that blasted the sides off the longship and sent him to his knees. The Archlich’s cloak caught fire and he covered his head. Jumper joined them and intensified the blast. Dark Heart, who had recovered from the initial assault, ran up as close as he dared and joined in. Together, the team’s combined assault was crushing him.

Just as they appeared to be victorious, a loud screech filled the air and the Hollow King descended on PkPkay and Cap, its mighty claws ripping into each of them. All three went hurtling into the sea below, sending up a column of water as they broke the surface. As the Knights’ assault weakened, the Archlich seized the moment and forced his way to a standing position. Holding out his hands, a sphere of energy erupted from him in all directions, knocking the air from each Knight. 

Jumper was shot through the sky and caught himself mid-flight nearly a quarter mile away. That hurt. Rubbing his arm, he stopped to survey the situation. The team wasn’t doing well. They might be able to beat the lich if it was a straight up fight, but the thousands of undead around him made moved that victory just out of reach. They had to take the fight elsewhere, out of range of his minions, but where?

Taking him to the moon base was out of the question and there really wasn’t anywhere on Earth he could go where he didn’t have access to his hordes. Then something clicked in his mind. He pulled his tablet out and punched up the boom tube. He reached upto his neck and pushed a small button activating his comm. device, “Cap, I have a plan, hear me out…” He explained his idea and nodded a few times. Moments later, he called the boom tube and disappeared in a flash of light.

Off in the distance, Phoenix saw Jumper disappear and wondered what was up. He’d never known him to be afraid of anything, more or less a quitter. Something had to be going on. 

He had been holding Bloodvane at bay to give the team time to defeat the Archlich. Giving Bloodvane’s private guard one last energy blast, he turned rocketed towards the Archlich. Halfway there, his comm. came to life. It was Jumper. “Phoenix, Atomix, I have a plan. I need your help.”

*****

Atomix put her hand to her ear and heard Jumper relaying instructions. Nodding, she looked at the longship and the Archlich hovering over the deck. She concentrated and disappeared from sight. Above her, Phoenix brought the rain. Everything from plasma bolts to laser beams to miniature missiles erupted from his armor to pelt the monster with everything he had. It would have leveled any lesser being. 

The Archlich called his staff once more and it flew from the deck to his hands. Spinning it quickly, it formed a shield over him and not one of the attacks hit the deck of the ship. He concentrated and a volley went flying back at Phoenix. He smiled in satisfaction as the Knight ceased his barrage.

As he did, he heard an explosion nearby and looked to his right in time to see Scorpio finishing off the last of his undead skeletal minions. He frowned. This one was annoying. Summoning all of his power, he motioned over Scorpio and a portal opened up to some netherworld. A giant, winged monstrosity stuck its head through and engaged the legendary Knight. An exhausted “damn” was all he got off before the demon was upon him.

Above him, Bloodvane caught up with Phoenix, cutting his barrage short and a slew of vampires attacked him mid-air, dragging him to the dock far below. 

The Archlich put down his staff. A large, white object hit his feet and he looked down. The wet skull of the Hollow King stared back at him. Looking up, he saw Captain Atom and PkPkay floating in the air, the later with a pleased expression on his face.

“You realize he’ll be back. He’s an elemental force. You can’t destroy him.” The Archlich was amused.

“Maybe,” Cap was not. “But it was sure fun doing it.”

Before either hero could attack, large black tentacles erupted from the tatters of the Archlich’s cloak and wrapped themselves around the heroes. Their crushing force was incredible and it was all they could do to stay alive. The Archlich started laughing once more. This was child’s play.

Then the unthinkable happened. He felt pain. He hadn’t felt pain in over a thousand years. Something had pierced his bones and it burned!

Looking down, he saw a large, black arrow protruding from his midsection, piercing his spine. As he watched, the arrow shifted shape and became a colorful asp. It writhed and fell to the ground at his feet where it began to slither away. 

In his distraction, he looked all around. The wind kicked up around him and he wouldn’t have noticed if his tattered robes fluttered a little more than normal when something silently passed him on the deck. 

Off in the distance, on a rooftop several blocks away, he saw a gigantic snakelike form, both beautiful and hideous at the same time. He felt the power radiating from it and knew at once that had he not been of divine origin he would have been inflicted by a terrible curse simply by looking at her. Medusa.

His rage knew no bounds. A third tentacle shot out and wrapped around Scorpio, who had just dispatched the winged demon. All three heroes struggled under his mighty wrath. The sea around him began to boil thanks to the magical forces he was bringing into play. In a gasp, 

Dark Heart attempted another attack from the dock, shooting balls of plasma energy at him. A flip of the Archlich’s wrist was all it took to telekinetically blast him backwards into a brick wall. The wall gave way and Dark Heart disappeared from view, his body crushed and broken.

Phoenix rose from the water and caused a column to rise up behind him, intent on bringing it down on the undead. The Archlich turned his gaze on him, burning hellfire erupting from his eyes and mouth. The Knight screamed in agony as his burning form fell into the water below. The fires, however, didn’t stop in the water. He burned to the ocean floor far below.

From behind him, he heard a soft, feminine voice. “You know, I think I’ve seen one of these before.”

Turning his head, he saw Atomix coalesce from the ether. She became more substantial until finally her invisibility wore off. In her hand was a small, black candle, still lit. “I used one of these recently, but it was white. It drove away demons. Given the turning of my stomach, I’ll bet this one drives away the living and gives you protection. I wonder what would happen if it went out…”

Before the Archlich could react, she leaned over the candle and blew it out. Captain Atom wasted no time, “Jumper… NOW!”

Almost immediately, she heard Jumper’s voice over the comm., “I can see you now! Hold on, this will be a bumpy ride.”

The Archlich turned his considerable power on Atomix, unleashing a wave of magical force that drove her spirit out of her body entirely. Her limp form fell to the deck. It was too late. The entire vessel lit up as the boom tube locked in on it. The ship, the Archlich, and most of the Reverent Knights disappeared in a bright flash of light.

*****

Captain Atom opened his eyes. The crushing force was gone and there was a dim red light everywhere. He smelled smoke and brimstone. He stood on shaky legs and tried to get his bearings. Looking around, he saw Scorpio and PkPkay nearby, both still out like a light. In front of him some 50 feet was the remains of the longboat. He remembered a bright flash of light and a short drop to the ground before everything went black. The ship must have been crushed on the way down. The Archlich was on the deck of the ship still, pushing himself up to a kneeling position. 

Cap looked around at the terrain. Wherever they were was barren. It appeared to be a very large cavern of some kind, with stalactites hanging from the ceiling at several points. Pools of acrid liquid lined the cavern floor, many of which were on fire giving them the only source of light in the area. Although he could not see walls in any direction, he did see incredibly ancient and mighty columns where stalactites and stalagmites met, apparently holding the ceiling way above their heads aloft.

He turned his attention back to the Archlich. The undead monster was busy attempting to cast some form of spell, but Cap had no intention of letting him do so. No matter what the cost, he intended to end this. 

He rose into the air and attempted to connect to the Quantum Flow in an effort to channel the energy for another attack. To his amazement, the link he perpetually had was incredibly weak. He slowly drifted back down to the floor, even unable to maintain flight.

It was then that he sensed another presence. When he realized it was there, he fell backwards on his hands looking up at it. Towering above him, resembling one of the large pillars he thought was holding up the ceiling, was a creature. It slowly unfurled its robes, revealing it’s hideous face and large talons. 

He heard Scorpio whisper beside him. His fellow Knight had regained consciousness. “Hades.”

Cap looked from his fellow hero to the diety in front of him. His skin was blood red. His eyes radiated power. His teeth were like spears and his horns were each as large as a man’s body. Hades’ voice echoed through the chamber of walls unseen. Cap couldn’t help be think that this was truly the devil incarnate.

“So, my prodigal son has returned, Arhcemedes.”

The Archlich stopped his spell and whirled around to face the god. He raised his staff and shot a blast of magical force at it. Hades disappeared in a puff of smoke as the force hit him.

Archemedes whirled in every direction, looking for his foe, “Show yourself, coward! It’s about time I ended this feud.” Desperation could be heard in his voice. Scorpio and Cap pulled PkPkay behind a nearby boulder.

Without warning, Hades appeared behind Archemedes, “You won’t be needing this.” He reached out and touched the staff Archemedes held. It disintegrated at his touch. 

Archemedes turned slowly, as if he knew the end was at hand. Hades raised one red, clawed hand up and placed it on the skeletal shoulder of his son. A red aura surrounded the Archlich. The bones turned red, then tissue began to form over them. Building outward, it turned to nerves, blood vessels and muscle tissue. Outward it expanded until finally eyes fingers and toes came into being. Skin formed and Archemedes took a deep breath. It was the first one he had taken in a very long time.

He was a handsome man, only 5 ½ feet tall yet with strong features and a honed physique. He looked into Hades eyes and tears ran down his face. “Father, forgive me…”

Hades reached up and pulled the crown from his head, the shards of green stone still embedded in it. “So, this is where my throne went.” He set it on the floor and watched as one piece of the throne after the next appeared out of the ether to begin reforming the magnificent, yet frightening chair. After it had reformed, it rose into the air and faded from sight. 

Hades turned back to his son, “As for you, I’ve never been one to hold a grudge…” At that, he smiled, but it was not a smile of forgiveness. Truly, the master of the underworld had little room in his heart for such things. Archemedes began to smoke, he started beating at his new skin as small eruptions of flame began to shoot out of his body.

“You cost me a great deal. It will be a pleasure welcoming you home… son.” With that, Archemedes burst into blue green flame and started running away blindly, tripping on rocks and pillars out of sight. 

Hades turned to the Knights. 

“Apparently I have you to thank for this.” Hades walked over towards them and the boulder faded away. Scorpio and Cap helped PkPkay to stand. They knew they had no chance against a deity in his own realm. No matter, they would face the end on their feet.

Hades raised a claw and a few glowing orbs appeared over his head. They expanded to resemble the souls of people. “It’s not very rare at all that a mortal would give his life for a god.”

The three souls floated in front of the Knights and they realized that it was Dark Heart, Atomix and Phoenix.

“It’s not unique that beings such as yourselves would fight to save your people. In fact, its most fortuitous in this case. A perpetual state of undeath on the human race would mean a cessation of souls to my realm. That was most unacceptable.”

The souls rested on the ground and began to lose their translucence.

“What is rare is the method by which you chose to end this. There’s no way you could have known where you were going when you brought him here. In fact, there’s no way you could have known where ‘here’ was unless told so by another deity. I can only think of one that would know.”

The souls took mortal form finally, and the three heroes looked down upon their allies.

“I wonder, had you known, would you still have done it?”

Cap took a deep breath. “Had we known, we would have done what needed to be done anyway.”

Hades smiled in amusement. “So be it, Knights. Pray that we never meet again. I rarely show mercy. Now leave my sight. I have family matters to attend.”

With that, he smiled again and the six heroes disappeared.

*****
Weeks passed. The team gathered together on the Moon Base once more and sat around a large conference room table. One of the base personnel walked in and passed out glasses of wine and placed a carafe on the table. 

Cap rose and lifted the glasses, “A toast!” The entire team rose in unison and lifted their own. 

Cap continued, “To the blessing of being able to watch the entire planet return to life…” When the team had returned to Earth, they had discovered that the throne shards from all over the planet had disappeared. Apparently they had been called home to re-form the infernal chair. Nobody exactly missed them. Thankfully, the population of Earth reverted from undeath. 

“To the defeat of the Hollow King and Bloodvane…” The two mighty undead were nowhere to be found when the team returned from Hades’ domain, for which they were all thankful. They all knew that the two would return, but thankfully not for some time. 

“Finally, to a team that would sacrifice everything and go to hell and back to win the day... twice!” A cheer filled the room.

The toast was good.