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.
This series in Marvel Knights crosses over heavily in "Tales of a Real Dark Knight." Look for Blade, Punisher and Ghost Rider to be featured heavily in "Tales of a Real Dark Knight." Any comments may be sent to authorjames2002@yahoo.com
Thank you and enjoy.
Other stories set in this universe: "Tales of a Superhero Band" "Tales of the New Phoenix"
Chapter 5 Messages
Cloak and Dagger arrived at the explosion to see a woman in white flowing robes walking down the street.
"Hold it right there!" Dagger yelled.
The woman turned around and looked at them. She narrowed her eyes and said, "A Slayer and a wizard."
The woman held up her hand and another car nearby exploded. Cloak held up his hand and a shield formed around them protecting them from the flames.
"A powerful wizard. This should be fun."
The woman zoomed up into the night sky and disappeared from view.
"What the hell was that?" Cloak asked.
"I think the question is, 'Who was that?'."
The answer came to both their minds and they whispered it at the same time.
"Ambika."
"We've got to get Marvel Boy and Elektra," Cloak said.
Dagger just looked at him.
"We are going to need their help, especially after seeing what Ambika can do."
The two Marvel Knights turned and headed north.
"Our message," the vampire said after Elektra pulled out the Sai, "is that she is here and she will claim this territory for the undead ones."
"Tell her that she has two Slayers and a very powerful wizard to contend with. Not to mention a very powerful mutant who could probably kick her ass."
The vampire remained quiet for a moment, then he said, "she already knows."
"What?" Elektra asked.
Before she realized it, she was thrown off the vampire and into the brick building on the second floor.
Marvel Boy looked up at the woman in white robes smiling at him.
"Hello, young one. You must be the mutant," she replied in a very friendly, slightly insane sounding voice as she stepped closer. "I met your friends a moment ago. They were very naughty. The stopped my fun. I don't take kindly to being interrupted. Let's see. Can you kick my ass?"
Marvel Boy readied himself for a fight. He swung his leg up at her. Ambika blocked. The mutant threw a punch at her and she caught his fist in mid-air. She squeezed on it. Marvel Boy swung his free hand underneath and grabbed her elbow. Twisting and turning, he turned them both sideways and caused her to release her grip. He now had her bent over and her arm at the mercy of his strength.
"Do you really want to see me kick your ass?" he asked.
A vampire tackled him causing him to release his grip. They fell to the ground with the vampire on top of Marvel Boy straddling him.
"I'm not usually a top," Marvel Boy replied, "but I'm willing to be versatile."
The vampire cried out in pain and then burst into flames. Marvel Boy kicked the creature off and backed up. He saw Ambika glaring at the charred creature as it turned to dust. Then her look went to him.
"Naughty minion spoiled my fun."
Ambika moved closer to Marvel Boy when Elektra climbed out of the rubble and did a flying kick at the vampire hitting her in the back. The vampire stumbled forward and Elektra fell to the ground. She flipped to her feet and readied herself, as did Marvel Boy. The two had the vampire between them.
"Don't even think about it," Marvel Boy replied pulling out a stake.
"That candy doesn't work on me," Ambika replied.
A black hole appeared nearby and Cloak and Dagger emerged ready for a fight. Cloak formed a fireball and hurled it at Ambika who jumped into the air and continued to the rooftop.
"That candy sugars me up right and proper," she replied before disappearing into the night.
"I could have taken her," Marvel Boy said, "if that damned vampire hadn't tackled me."
"It's possible," Elektra replied.
"Or not," Dagger added. "Those kinds of vampires are far more dangerous than the demon ones. These creatures gain power with age and are not threatened by holy water, wooden stakes or crosses. Sunlight and fire are the only things that can kill them. I don't even think decapitation would work."
"Maybe dismemberment," Elektra replied.
"Regardless we need to be careful. Let's finish patrol and head back to Whistler."
The Marvel Knights entered their lair to find Whistler and Harris busily at work. They turned and saw the serious look on their faces.
"What's happened?" Whistler asked.
"Ambika showed up," Dagger replied. "And she's tough."
"Have you found any weaknesses?" Elektra asked.
"None as of yet, unless you count the books written about her species, 'The Vampire Chronicles' written by Anne Rice."
"Are you serious?" Harris asked.
"You're damn right, I'm serious," Whistler replied. "We don't have the time to play games. This war is serious."
"But, I've read all the Chronicles. I love those stories."
"Well, if you're the expert, why didn't you tell us sooner?"
"I didn't know the stories were based on reality."
"Enlighten us," Cloak replied.
"Makes yourselves comfortable. This is going to take a while."
The group cleaned up and everyone met in the library. All eyes and ears were tuned to Harris as he recounted the series of books written by Anne Rice, the Vampire Chronicles which depicted the beginning of a species of vampire.
"I'll start with the book 'Queen of the Damned' since it gives the history," Harris began.
"Several thousand years ago in Egypt a cruel king and queen reigned, Enkil and Akasha. They did not take kindly to being ignored by some. Plus they did not take kindly to magic and witchcraft. There was a tribe of people that lived several days journey away that had a seer and two daughters. These seers are called witches today, although their abilities are quite different than what Cloak can do. See, their abilities are inborn, part of their genetic makeup."
"Much like the Kindred," Ty replied.
"The who?"
"Nevermind. It's a long story. I'll tell you later."
"Any way, the tribe was nearly wiped out, and the two daughters performed a spell invoking a spirit that pulled blood out of people. The spirit inhabited the king and queen, Akasha and Enkil."
"The first vampires of that species," Whistler replied.
"Exactly. The thirst for blood overwhelmed them and they fed on anyone they could find. Infuriated at their new countenance, they ordered the two daughters brought to them. They also learned how to make other blood-drinkers, which is nearly the same for all vampire species, and several people in their court were turned.
"The queen and king were enraged by what happened and ordered the twin girls, who seemed inseparable, to be disabled and separated. Mekare's tongue was removed and Maharet's eyes were removed. As they were being separated, one of the queen's soldiers, his name eludes me right now, had mercy on the two sisters. He turned them into vampires before sealing them up and sending them into the ocean.
"Years went by and Maharet found land. She escaped her tomb and discovered she had powers beyond the thirst. She could fly and could read the minds of others. She found someone who was horribly evil and took his eyes. This enabled her to see, although the eyes would age and eventually new ones would be needed.
"Maharet spent centuries looking for her sister but she could not locate her. She also took the job of documenting and keeping track of her family's history. The centuries passed and no luck in locating her sister.
"Meanwhile the queen and king went into a statuesque state having lived so long. Their thirst became non-existent. See, as they fed and turned others, the thirst for blood dissipated. What happened was the spirit became spread out amongst those who were turned. That's what makes them vampires.
"Marius, a senator from the time of Julius Caesar, was turned into a vampire and the queen called to him. He found them in Egypt and took them to watch over. This he did for thousands of years, until they were awakened by the music of Lestat, a vampire who formed a rock band several years ago.
"Akasha awoke, slayed her husband, and went about searching for Lestat. Her drive was to destroy all of mankind, literally. She believed the ails of the world were the result of men being in charge. She decided to end the horridness going on.
"The elder vampires, Marius, Lestat, Akasha's servant that turned the twins, and Maharet, among other vampires, confronted her and attacked. They weakened her. To everyone's surprise, though, Mekare, Maharet's sister, located them and attacked Akasha. Mekare fed off Akasha and drained her blood completely. The core, as they call it, the essence of every vampire passed from Akasha to Mekare.
"From then on, Maharet took care of Mekare and they disappeared. Their location, as far as I know, remains a mystery."
"This is all fascinating," Ty replied, "but what are their weaknesses."
"Sunlight, fire and dismemberment, although it has been read that vampires have been cut up and, if their body parts were close enough, formed back together. The powers of the spirit, I guess. Younger vampires are easily killed by sunlight and fire. Older vampires are more difficult."
"Which is Ambika, old or young?"
"From what the Council was able to discern, she is fairly old, around a thousand years old."
"The older they are, the easier they die," Elektra stated.
"These vampires get more powerful as they age. Most do, but not like these. They can get so powerful that sunlight will burn them but won't kill them. They can become so powerful that they won't even have to feed."
"No shit?" Ty replied.
"Yes shit," Harris responded.
"Then we have to find a way to kill her," Tandy said.
"Dismemberment sounds like it isn't an option," Elektra said.
"At least not right away." Tandy became quiet in thought. "Wait a minute. The answer is right in front of us."
"Huh?" Davey said finally speaking up after the story.
"Harris just told us how the most powerful vampire was killed. Akasha's blood was drained. We have to find a way to do the same to Ambika. The question is how?"
"We have to find a way to immobilize her," Elektra stated. "Do you have any plans on that?"
"Magic," Ty stated. "Magic created her. It's possible magic still has an effect on her. I could do a spell that would immobilize her."
"Then comes the part of draining her. We need to hit spots that will drain the quickest."
"Veins in her wrists," Tandy stated.
"And neck," Davey added.
"What about her ability to cause people to go up in flames?" Elektra asked. "These vampires are notorious for that."
"We have to find a way to blindfold her."
"That may not work. If she can read our minds, then she could locate us with her mind. Whether she can see or not may make no difference."
"Then we need some psychedelic drugs to hinder her mental processes and awareness."
"Let's get some valium and pump her full of them," Ty said.
"I don't think valium is potent enough. We need something stronger."
"I can contact the Council," Whistler chimed in. "They might know what kind of chemicals react best with vampiric metabolism."
"Get on it," Tandy said. "We are going to need that and soon. Who knows what Ambika will do next? She started with a little destruction near the German village. She could attack anywhere."
Ambika the vampire entered her underground lair and looked at her minions. Many were devoted to her because of her great power. They wanted what this vampire war was about, but knew they could not accomplish on their own. As demonic creatures, they were not well-organized. Most were like animals, relying on instinct for feeding only. Very few had an understanding of chaos and destruction. Their intelligence lacked in that area.
That is where Ambika came in. She and others like her had the vision of destruction and chaos. She and the others had the intelligence and imagination to organize. They desired not to just exist, but to be in charge. That is what brought her to this place. That is what brought her to Columbus, Ohio. She was in contact with the higher ups in this newly created vampire hierarchy. They told her what they needs were and she went.
When she arrived to this town, most of the vampires had no understanding of her. She often talked in riddles and had an almost child-like way about her. That came from her past. She was never altogether in the first place. She had been taken care of, much more humanely than today, in the village she lived in. It wasn't until the early 800s that a vampire came to her village and ravaged it. It found her and had pity. It turned her and raised her, teaching her about her kind. Her insanity was only fed by the powers that vampires obtain. Her imagining of knowing others thoughts before the transformation only increased after the transformation. Only it wasn't imagination. It was for real.
"Hello, my sweets," the vampire greeted as she walked amongst her followers. "Some of us met the nasty little creatures who want to spoil our fun. We can't let that happen."
"What do you suggest?"
"Chaos," Ambika replied. "Beautiful chaos! All of you go out and terrorize the town. There are only four of them. They can't take all of you."
To Be Continued...
Author's Note: If any of you are familiar with "Buffy, the Vampire Slayer" and "Angel" the spin-off of "B,tVS," then you are probably familiar with the character of Drusilla. Ambika is based loosely on Drusilla. She is a different species of vampire, though. Her species is that of the vampires found in Anne Rice's Vampire Chronicles. But the way she acts resembles that of Drusilla. On a personal note, I love Drusilla's insanity. That's what makes her special.