Disclaimer: This story is a work of fiction. It has no intentions of resembling any real persons dead or alive. This is entirely from my imagination, with a little help from already established sources. This story is based loosely on the comic book character "The Punisher" from Marvel Comics. Other characters may appear from Marvel comics as well as DC Comics.
Punisher and all related characters copyright Marvel Comics.
Blade and all related characters copyright Marvel Comics.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel copyright Joss Whedon, United Paramount Network and Warner Bros. Respectively.
The Vampire Chronicles and all related characters created by Anne Rice. Copyright Anne O'Brien Rice.
I have written another story on nifty entitled "Tales of a Real Dark Knight". It is in the Celebrity/Boy Bands section. Batman may appear in this story once or twice, as the Punisher may appear in "Tales of a Real Dark Knight". Any comments may be sent to authorjames2002@yahoo.com
Thank you and enjoy.
Author's Note: This storyline will be the final installment for "Marvel Knights". I hope you have enjoyed the run as much as I have enjoyed writing it. Many issues that have come up in the last storyline will be resolved in this story line. Again, I hope you have enjoyed its run. Thank you. Chapter 1 Test
Seven months later...
The creature ran down a darkened alleyway running from those who hunted it. These creatures only felt fear from a select few, and the beings which pursued it were no exception. The vampire had been caught feeding off a homeless person, whose numbers had been growing recently since the bombings of September 11th in New York nine months ago. Not long after that a Vampire War had been declared against the Slayers and the Watchers' Council. Others, of course, banded together in the fight against the creatures of darkness, those who had some type of power or strength that made them a match for the vampires. One group was here, in Columbus, Ohio. And they were the ones who hunted this creature.
'We must bring him around the other building,' Dr. Strange mentally said to Cloak. 'Can you get Dagger to make him change course?'
'I'll try,' Cloak said.
The two wizards hovered in the air over nearby buildings watching as the vampire fled the scene of its crime, the heinous feeding about an innocent.
'Dagger,' Cloak focused his thoughts onto his friend, the mutant Vampire Slayer.
"What?" she said out loud as she slid to a stop.
'You don't have to talk for me to hear you.'
"But it's just weird to have you talking inside my head. It's like I'm hearing voices."
'You are hearing voices! Mine!'
"There's no need to yell!"
'I'm not...oh, forget it. The vampire is heading your way. We need you to get it to turn around.'
"I don't know why we don't slay this thing. I mean, after all you have two Slayers at your disposal. Me and Black Widow."
'You know why we're doing this.'
"Yeah, yeah, fine, whatever. Where is this vamp?"
'It is coming up on you from 7th street.'
Dagger turned and her right eye twinkled with the power of her light energy. The vampire rounded the corner and Dagger tossed a light dagger in its direction. The energy hit the building and stopped the vampire in its tracks. It turned and headed in the other direction.
"Mission accomplished," she said as she put her hands on her hips, turned around and strolled away. "Honestly, I don't know why I put up with this shit."
Cloak just rolled his eyes at Dagger's comment. 'The vampire is coming around,' he thought to Dr. Strange.
'Excellent,' Strange replied mentally. 'Moon Knight should be in position.'
'Are you sure he can handle this?' Cloak asked.
'That's why we are here.'
The vampire headed away from the Slayer. It could sense the supernatural powers within her, as can all demons. The stake of light was a new thing that the vampire had never heard about before. 'Could it be that all Slayers had this ability but somehow kept it silent for thousands of years?'
The vampire came around the corner only to be met by a fist. The impact did not have enough strength behind it to hurt the creature. However at the speed the creature moved, anything it would collide with would have a greater power behind it.
The vampire stumbled backwards and then righted itself. The demon's eyes focused on who stood before it. A man clad in leather, sporting weaponry the forces of darkness had never conceived. A long leather jacket wrapped around the man's bulky figure, and on the man's shirt rested a big skull.
The vampire narrowed its eyes on the man and lunged. The man reached into his jacket, pulled out a stake and slammed it into the vampire's chest as he fell backwards. Using the vampire's momentum, he flipped it over him and it turned to dust before it could land.
The Punisher continued rolling and moved into a crouching position, another stake already in his hand. He searched the area to find all was silent. Then he put the stake back in its hiding place, straightened his jacket and stood heading toward the rendezvous point.
"You've come a long way," Dagger said as she met up with him placing his arm around him. "I'm glad to see you getting back to your normal self."
"She is quite right," Cloak said as he descended to the other side of the Punisher. "You have improved greatly, including your outlook on life. I'm almost ready to see if you've gotten soft enough to be nice to children."
"Oh be quiet," the Punisher said as he walked ahead of the two mutants.
Cloak and Dagger looked at one another, smiled and chuckled.
"Yep," the Slayer stated. "He's back to his old self."
The team arrived at the mansion to find Whistler, Blade, and Black Widow talking. As Punisher walked in, the three turned.
"How did things go?" Whistler asked.
"Well," Dr. Strange replied as he entered behind the Punisher. "He did very well. He's focused. He kept his cool."
"Good work. Now if you would like to join us, we have a situation."
"Situation?" Cloak said as he entered the building and joined the group.
"Sure do. It seems that there have been some problems in New York with an Enchantress casting a spell on performers. She has been stopped by a young man, though no one knows where the young man is now.
"The Council thinks that she may have been working for another, though they aren't sure."
"Why here?" Punisher asked.
"With the Pride Parade coming up again, the boy band that Davey and..."
Davey looked away from the group. Tandy glared at Whistler and he opted to edit his response.
"The group that Davey tried out for is coming to Columbus for the Pride events. They want us to watch and see if the members of the band show any signs of hypnosis or being under a spell."
"Sounds like fun," Blade replied.
"When do we start?" Ty asked.
"The group should be here in a few days. They are going to be here all week performing at the clubs and making special appearances. We'll have to stick to the shadows and keep an eye out, watching them in shifts."
"Why do we have to keep to shadows? We were all out there during the Pride parade with Har...when Ryfin sent the Lathros demons. And let's not forget to mention the Vampire War a few months ago. We fought vampires in the mall and on the streets."
"How many people believe in witchcraft anyway? Most people would think of a pretty lie than to face the truth. Why do you think so many religious organizations don't give basic civil rights to people? They would rather believe something easy than accept the complexities of life."
The group nodded.
"Strange and I will work out the details and shifts. When we figure out what's going on precisely, we'll tell you."
The group disbanded. Punisher headed outside to the pond and Blade followed.
"They say you did well," Blade said as Punisher slowed down so he could catch up.
"I guess so."
"You were quick and decisive. The vampire didn't stand a chance."
"I guess not."
"You're starting to sound like me with your answers."
"Why shouldn't I? I've committed a crime myself. For all intents and purposes, I deserve to be punished like I punish others."
"I won't agree with that. But I think there is a difference here."
"What might that be? I'm a good guy gone bad?"
"No, you have remorse for what you did wrong. You regret doing it. Many who commit crimes don't regret it. They look at it as all part of the job. That goes for vampires and petty thieves. I'll bet the minister you killed didn't care how many mutants he hurt, how many families he destroyed, and how many souls he turned away from his religion. In his mind he was right for committing those heinous crimes."
"I thought I was right."
"Of course you did. You thought that by humiliating the young man, he would find the error of his humiliation of others. But it didn't work, did it?"
"No."
"He hasn't pressed charges. No one would probably believe him about the vampire woman he followed. He doesn't want people to think he's crazy. It goes over to what Whistler was saying earlier.
"Anyway, what I'm trying to say is, don't feel sorry for yourself. You can be guilty. But be constructive with your guilt. Don't let it dictate to you that you shouldn't find happiness."
"I had happiness with Johnny. And my one act of vengeance cost me two-fold. Where did Johnny go? After all I did to save him from Apocalypse, I end up being the one to drive him away. Man, this world sucks."
"You ain't kidding on that one."
Davey disappeared from the mansion. Getting into his car, he headed toward downtown Columbus. He had not felt right, had not felt the same since the night in Orlando, Florida when he destroyed his relationship with Harris. Harris disappeared after that night, but he had no idea where Harris had gone. Davey reluctantly returned to Columbus but found no solace or peace from being in familiar surroundings. He had destroyed another's heart.
School went on for him and looked for Harris daily, hoping that Harris had returned through the night and was better. But each day passed and no Harris.
Finally, last week, Harris did return to Columbus. But he wouldn't speak to Davey. He wouldn't even look at Davey. It was as if his seven months away had changed him. Who was Davey kidding? Davey's choices in Orlando changed Harris, and there was nothing he could do to fix it. Of course, he didn't try too hard to fix it. He wanted to say something to his ex-boyfriend, but every time he got the nerve to say something, he became speechless. Part of him believed Harris should remain angry at him.
As Davey drove through the downtown area, he remembered all the things Harris and he had done. In the Pride Parade last year, they held hands as they walked through the crowds of people. They worked together when the vampires attacked the mall. Granted Harris wasn't fighting the demons physically, but he used his technological know-how to assist the team in their battle against the demons.
"God, I told myself I wouldn't think about you," he whispered. "What I did can't be changed, no matter how much I wish I could."
To Be Continued...
The first chapter in the final storyline of the Marvel Knights saga. This should be one hell of a ride!