* DISCLAIMER * This is a non-profit work of fan-fiction involving characters created and owned by Marvel Comics Group. This story contains plenty of very very EXPLICIT VIOLENCE, gratuitious action without any plot whatsoever and some RELIGIOUS THEMES. If any of these bother you, please do not read the story. * WRITTEN BY * Samy Merchi * ARCHIVED AT * http://mash.yok.utu.fi/corona.html * STARRING * SAMUEL ZACHERY GUTHRIE and THE FOUR HORSEMEN OF APOCALYPSE in ******* * WAR * ******* * CONTINUITY * This story takes place * in my Shadows of the Future timeline http://mash.yok.utu.fi/corona/sotf.html * in year 16 (three years in the future) * in September, the summer's starting to be over * about two months after APOCALYPSO *** *************** * CHAPTER TWO * *************** *** "Die", Samuel Zachery Guthrie -- War -- smiled as he stood in the middle of a devastated city block of Manhattan's Hell's Kitchen, dressed in the costume of a Horseman of Apocalypse, and his fist pointed at a man in red. Thermochemical energy exploded outwards from the clenched fist in a devastating blast that shattered windows within two blocks, burst the eardrums of people standing close by, and sent tremors along the streets strewn with destroyed cars and dead bodies. Matt Murdock, occasionally lawyer, currently the superhero Daredevil, had been saved from dangerous situations more times than he could count by his super-sensitive hearing. Right now, as he barely ducked in time underneath the blast, he for once wished that the radioactive accident that had taken his sight when he had been a teenager, would instead have taken his hearing. Ears and nose bleeding, gritting his teeth and forcing away the sound of the blast that echoed and echoed and echoed inside his skull like the worst migraine he had ever had amplified a thousand times, Daredevil leaped forward from his low crouch. This was his neighborhood, and he was going to defend it, whatever it took. And right now, it looked like it was going to take everything he had, and more. "Ungh!" War grunted as the red-costumed acrobat smashed into his knees, tackling his legs out from underneath him and sending him stumbling forward, losing his balance. But before he fell down, there was a low rumble for a fraction of a second, and then he rocketed forwards, out of Daredevil's grasp, and into the air. WHOOOM! That's when the ten-story brick apartment building that had been behind Daredevil when the blast had went off -- and that had had its entire ground floor blown to nothingness -- came down in a cacophony of noise, blowing a dust cloud outwards and upwards. Daredevil's eyes widened as he glanced over his shoulder a fraction of a second before the dust cloud overtook him and obscured him from sight. "Jerk", War mumbled as he soared above the dust cloud and cast his arms towards the demolished building, sending only slightly smaller blasts into the cloud, explosions stoking the cloud further and enlarging it a bit, before it started to settle down. "That oughta take care o' him." "DAREDEVIL!" a voice called out. War turned to glance towards the source, seeing three young teenagers run towards the dust cloud where it had taken over the self-appointed protector of Hell's Kitchen. Slowly, a little smirk rose onto his lips. "DEATH!" he snapped out as he came to a hover above the streets. The purple-skinned being who had once been called Crule -- looking more like a human, but behaving more like a ferocious, angered lion as he tore cars in half and disemboweled wounded people trying to get away from the carnage-torn streets -- looked up at War's call, stopping his rampage, his lips pulled back in a snarl. "The children, Death", War smirked as he crossed his arms over his chest, watching amusedly. "Get. The children." A rumble grew in Death's throat, and no one could tell if it was amusement or resentment. "DAREDEVIL!" Darla shouted amidst the frantic coughs as she rummaged around in the blinding dust cloud, going around mostly by feeling alone, until finally the cloud began clearing and things started coming more to view. "We shouldn't be here, Darla", Lance said in a shaky voice. "We're going to get ourselves killed -- this is like, a super-battle... We can't do a thing here..." "Shut up, coward!" Eight Ball snapped. "Daredevil's our friend, and friends help each other, right? What if he's trapped under some debris? We gotta help him and save him!" "Be quiet, I can't hear anything!" Darla hissed, and then called out again, "DAREDEVIL!? CAN YOU HEAR ME!?" she yelled out, putting her hands in front of her mouth like a bullhorn. BUMP! "Funny, there wasn't a wall here a few moments ago..." Eight Ball mumbled as he poked a finger at the thing he had bumped into. The dust wavered and shifted, and then settled enough to reveal Death's massive purple frame. Eight Ball had time for his eyes to widen, before the Horseman roared and grabbed his arms, then ripped outwards, both limbs tearing off in a spatter of blood and a hideous yell coming from the teenager's throat. He was swiftly silenced, as Death's fist smashed in his chest, and a moment later, ripped out his spine thru the chest cavity, crimson-brown blood splattering all over the Horseman's body, already bathed in the substance. "EIGHT BALL!" Darla screamed as the lifeless body of her friend collapsed to the ground, the eyes still open, rolled back, seeing nothing. "Oh my god, Lance, we're gonna die we'regonnadie we'regonnadie --" Death licked some of the blood from his hands, as he started approaching the two remaining teenagers without saying anything, a grotesque smile on his face. POK! A billy club hit the side of Death's head and ricocheted off without any other discernible effect other than getting the Horseman to stop and slowly turn his head towards the direction the weapon had come from. A firm hand, gloved in red, snatched the billy club out of the air as it ricocheted off a lamppost and then back in the direction it had come from. "Maniacs", Daredevil hissed as he stood there proudly despite the tears and gashes in his costume and on his body underneath, the white billy club held in a firm grip in his hand. His eyes locked defiantly with Death's, saying, 'come and get me'. "Ishtar smile upon me", Death grinned widely, as he moved almost faster than the eye could see, leaping thru the air towards Daredevil, his hands grasping the air in front of him, ready to tear the enemy to shreds. "*I* claim the kill!" "You claim nothing", Daredevil snapped as he leaped into the air, placing a hand onto Death's forehead and vaulting over the Horseman, striking his billy club to the base of the killer's spine as hard as he could as he flipped over and landed in a crouch behind his enemy. ((Nothing.)) "Pathetic", Crule roared as he glanced over his shoulder, slashing his right arm viciously towards Daredevil. Death is fast. Daredevil is faster, just barely. He ducks underneath the blow, with a mere fraction of an inch to spare, smashes the tip of the billy club to the nerve at the base of Death's elbow. ((Nothing.)) Explosions elsewhere. Screams of the dying. Carnage goes on and on and on unhindered. Three Horsemen are still unoccupied. Daredevil can't do a thing, he knows it, and he hates himself for it. "LANCE! DARLA!" he snarls without even glancing at the two teenagers frozen in place, watching Daredevil ballet around the human battering ram that Death is. "GET OUT OF HERE, NOW!" "*No one* gets out alive", Death hisses with a feverish, obsessed look in his face, as his fist whistles thru the air when Daredevil is momentarily distracted with the children. "CRULE RULES!" he bellows triumphantly. "UNGH!" Daredevil gasps, managing to snap his head to the side enough for the fist to blast just across the side of his head, sending his brain reeling inside his skull while he desperately tries to recover from a blow that nearly takes his head off. ((Too fast.)) Rigorous ninja training, radar sense keeping track of his surroundings even while his blind eyes are closed or looking elsewhere, and over a decade of experience at honing his razor-sharp reflexes save him by less than a millimeter. Death's fingers carve out the air just underneath him and tear off the red cloth from his chest as he flips into the air. ((Find the eyes.)) Two fingers become tense as steel, and streak thru the air. Death howls as fingers jab into his eyes. The Horseman's pulse goes up. His muscles go tense, a low rumble grows in his throat, mouth opens wide, lips pulling back, revealing pointy teeth. Foul breath mixed with the stench of a slaughterhouse. Daredevil can *feel* the adrenaline pumped into Crule's bloodstream. "Spawn of a thousand fathers -- DIEEEEE!" ((Uh-oh.)) Daredevil has less than an eyeblink to relax his body so it flows, like water, as Death smashes against it and continues onwards like an eighteen-wheeler despite a bug on its windshield. "UNFF!" Daredevil gasps as he and Death ram into the wreck of a car, feeling metal twist and mangle, his body crushed between it and the furious Horseman. He hears two ribs crack and blood explodes out of his mouth as he coughs for breath. Death flails blindly with his arms, but the attack is no less devastating. Nowhere to run. Pinned between the car and Death. Jaw fractures. Skull cracks. Nose breaks. Blood flows from ears, mouth, nose, everything fades into red, then black -- ((Darla...Lance --)) *** "We gotta GO!" Lance shouted, grabbing Darla's arm and frantically trying to tug her away from the battle scene. Darla just stood in place, her face contorted in shock as she stared motionlessly, wordlessly, at the dead, mutilated body of Eight Ball. A strangled voice kept coming from her throat, her mind blank, sanity having withdrawn into some remote corner of her head. And then it was all over. A low rumble descended from the skies, the sound of War. Enveloped in a dull orange blast field, the Horseman landed beside the two teenagers with a cold smile. "'And they gathered together to Mizpeh, and drew water, and poured it out before the LORD, and fasted on that day, and said there, We have sinned against the LORD. And Samuel judged the children of Israel in Mizpeh.' 1 Samuel 7:6." "NO!" Lance shouted and shoved the immobile Darla out of the way as War raised his arm. BUH-WHOOM! Thermokinetic energy blasted out of War's fist and extinguished Lance's life like a hurricane blowing out a candle. The boy's corpse was dead before it hit the debris of the demolished building, and lay there, unmoving and smoldering, a half-charred Jose Conseco baseball card fluttering in the air for a moment before falling down onto the sidewalk. "'The LORD killeth, and maketh alive: he bringeth down to the grave, and bringeth up.' 1 Samuel 2:6", War proclaimed, before turning towards Darla and narrowing his eyes at the girl. "Want me to kill her?" a harsh voice rang out from behind War, and the Horseman glanced over his shoulder to see Pestilence, with a spear of bone in his hands, ready to skewer the girl. War let his eyes linger on Pestilence for a few moments, and then looked back to Darla. "'And David arose and fled that day for fear of Saul, and went to Achish the king of Gath. And the servants of Achish said unto him, Is not this David the king of the land? did they not sing one to another of him in dances, saying, Saul hath slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands? And David laid up these words in his heart, and was sore afraid of Achish the king of Gath. And he changed his behaviour before them, and feigned himself mad in their hands, and scrabbled on the doors of the gate, and let his spittle fall down upon his beard. Then said Achish unto his servants, Lo, ye see the man is mad: wherefore then have ye brought him to me? Have I need of mad men, that ye have brought this fellow to play the mad man in my presence? shall this fellow come into my house?' 1 Samuel 21:10-15." "I haven't a clue what you're babbling about", Pestilence snarled, placing the tip of his spear against Darla's throat. "We're here to kill. Let's *kill*." WHACK! War's fist slashed out, ensheathed in dull orange blast field, and smashed Pestilence thru the air, crashing thru the window of a clothing store. "'He will keep the feet of his saints, and the wicked shall be silent in darkness; for by strength shall no man prevail.' 1 Samuel 2:9. The girl does as David did. She is cunning, and with time, will be more cunning still. I say she will be Strong. I say she will live", the Horseman snarled as he walked away. Darla sank quietly onto her knees, a blank expression in her eyes as she stared forward mindlessly, her thoughts locked in a mindless loop somewhere in a happy place. A year of therapy later she would learn to speak again. *** "By Mitra! You still remain conscious??" Death laughed in astonishment as he held Daredevil's head high in his hands, the hero's bleeding, broken body dangling limply underneath towards the sidewalk. Daredevil didn't waste energy speaking. Instead, he concentrated, focused, slowly gathering what little inner strength he had left, to try and fight away the pain radiating thru every last corner of his demolished body, forcing breath in and out of his lungs, making his heart continue beating by sheer willpower where most other men would have given out long ago. "'Therefore rejoice, ye heavens, and ye that dwell in them. Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea! for the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time.' Revelation 12:12", War stated as he walked over, his eyes intently studying the defeated figure in red, the color now as much from his own blood as from his clothes. "A *very* short time. If the devil's defeat ain't a sure sign that it's the right time f'r the Apocalypse, I dunno what is." "How...dare you?" Daredevil hissed, anger starting to smolder in the core of his exhausted being. "Killing people...pretending it's all in God's name...? Twisting around everything that the Bible has ever said about anything --" "'Then the LORD said unto me, The prophets prophesy lies in my name: I sent them not, neither have I commanded them, neither spake unto them: they prophesy unto you a false vision and divination, and a thing of nought, and the deceit of their heart.' Jeremiah 14:14", War replied. "It's *you* an' the rest o' the world that's been stupid enough ta fall f'r the teachings o' priests an' churches that just want ta glorify themselves. *We*", he snapped, "get no glory outta this, we do the *right* thing." "The right thing?" Daredevil managed a growl. "What about...the Sixth Commandment? You go around...*nff*...*killing* people! *No* true Christian would act like you...! My god, you're nothing but a --" "'Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain; for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.' Exodus 20:7", War shouted angrily, cutting Daredevil off and clenching his fists. "*Ah'm* the Lord's prophet and his tool in shapin' a better world! 'And ere the lamp of God went out in the temple of the LORD, where the ark of God was, and Samuel was laid down to sleep; That the LORD called Samuel: and he answered, Here am I. And he ran unto Eli, and said, Here am I; for thou calledst me. And he said, I called not; lie down again. And he went and lay down." War moved a bit closer, raising his chin and looking at Daredevil down his nose. "And the LORD called yet again, Samuel. And Samuel arose and went to Eli, and said, Here am I; for thou didst call me. And he answered, I called not, my son; lie down again." Turning around, War slowly walked a few steps away before glancing back at Daredevil over his shoulder and saying sharply, "Now Samuel did not yet know the LORD, neither was the word of the LORD yet revealed unto him. And the LORD called Samuel again the third time. And he arose and went to Eli, and said, Here am I; for thou didst call me. And Eli perceived that the LORD had called the child. Therefore Eli said unto Samuel, Go, lie down: and it shall be, if he call thee, that thou shalt say, Speak, LORD; for thy servant heareth." "You're sick -- mentally ill --" Daredevil said with a wrinkled nose. "So Samuel went and lay down in his place", War continued, seemingly not even hearing Daredevil's words. "And the LORD came, and stood, and called as at other times, Samuel, Samuel. Then Samuel answered, Speak; for thy servant heareth.' 1 Samuel 3:3-10." Then, he suddenly whirled around towards Daredevil and pointed his fist at the hero, a low rumble coming into existence as a dull orange blast field surrounded the arm. "*Ah* have been *chosen*, and Ah'll do whatever it takes to fulfill the word o' the Lord!" "Like killing innocent women and children?" Daredevil snapped. "'And it came to pass, that at midnight the LORD smote all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh that sat on his throne unto the firstborn of the captive that was in the dungeon; and all the firstborn of cattle.' Exodus 12:29", War answered. "Sometimes the innocent hafta be sacrificed f'r the greater good. And those who're true ta th' Lord'll be reborn in him. 'Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.' John 3:3." "You're not God, *or* his angel", Daredevil hissed. "You're a psychotic madman who --" "SHUT UP!" War snarled viciously, and took a few steps towards Daredevil. "'What shall be given unto thee? or what shall be done unto thee, thou false tongue?' Psalms 120:3." He looked thoughtful for a little while, and then a faint smile graced his lips. "'And now, behold, the hand of the Lord is upon thee, and thou shalt be blind, not seeing the sun for a season. And immediately there fell on him a mist and a darkness; and he went about seeking some to lead him by the hand.' Acts 13:11." He glanced to the Horseman holding Daredevil's head in his hands. "DEATH!" Crule's lips drew back in a perverse grin, as his thumbs placed themselves over Daredevil's eyes. The man in red tensed up, and his fist struck up at the Horseman's jaw with every ounce of strength left in him. Death just smiled wider as the punch glanced off his jaw, and then he pressed down with his thumbs. To his surprise, even less sound came from Daredevil's throat than from the eyes exploding underneath the pressure. War's eyes narrowed as he watched Daredevil hold all the pain in without making a sound. A little snarl of frustration came from his lips, feeling cheated. He remained silent for a few moments, and then turned away, his interest in the hero lost. "'Blind, or broken, or maimed, or having a wen, or scurvy, or scabbed, ye shall not offer these unto the LORD, nor make an offering by fire of them upon the altar unto the LORD.' Leviticus 22:22", he said with disinterest. "Leave 'im, Death." Death's eyes narrowed and he glanced to War briefly, hesitating a moment. "Don't make me repeat mahself, Death", War hissed as he stalked away. An angry growl grew in Death's throat -- and then, he tossed the limp form of Daredevil over his shoulder, turning away and walking after War. "DEATH! FAMINE! PESTILENCE!" War shouted as he activated the dull orange blast field around himself. "We're *done* in this area. Mount, and get ready f'r the *next* target!" "No." War's head turned around, and his eyes widened at the sight of Daredevil, shakily up on his feet, his eyesockets a wet mess, covered in his own blood, hardly anything but a few remnant tatters left of his costume, brandishing the billy club with a firm grip as if it was the last straw he managed to keep himself up by. "Impossible", the Horsemen's leader gasped. "As long as there's breath left in me, you're not going *anywhere*", Daredevil spoke slowly, laboriously, every word a herculean effort. "FINE!" War snarled, and cast both his arms towards Daredevil. With a booming sound, thermokinetic energy blasted out, a massive explosion the size of half a football field enveloping the hero, a firestorm utterly annihilating everything within several dozen yards of him and leaving nothing but a crater. And a shimmering pink translucent energy sphere, inside which Daredevil still stood. The skies darkened, storm clouds gathering rapidly out of nowhere and obscuring the sun, furious hurricane-force winds settling into the area and making it almost impossible to stand, quenching the fires within several city blocks together with the heavy, driving rain that started pouring out of the rapidly gathered clouds. Lightning struck in the sky, the boom of it drawing everyone's attention upwards, where a man with long blond hair, in a winged helmet and flowing red cape hovered in mid-air, spinning a hammer by its thong. War's eyes narrowed and he snarled thru gritted teeth. "'And he said unto them, I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven.' Luke 10:18." **********************************************************************