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 5 Disclosure
Michael's Suburban pulled into the hospital parking lot and the three climbed out. Somberness permeated their presence as they entered the hospital. They met up with Davey's doctor and requested they be checked out for the same thing Davey had, just to be sure.
"You guys can take him home tomorrow," the doctor said as he took blood from the two mutants. "We should have a better understanding of the virus."
Michael nodded.
After their blood was drawn, the doctor told them they could go. Michael decided they should visit Davey but he didn't want to reveal anything to the young boy without talking to the others first. They should all be there, as far as he was concerned.
"We are not telling Davey anything yet," Michael said as he pulled Ty and Tandy to the side. "As far as we are telling him, the doctors don't know. Once he's home, we'll say something to him. Understood?"
Both nodded.
"Let's put on our game faces," Michael said, and he led them up to Davey's room.
"Hey," Davey said as they walked in. "What's going on?"
"Not much," Michael said. "How are you feeling?"
"You don't want to know."
"Have you been eating okay?" Ty asked.
"Like always."
"So you're starving yourself to have the perfect body, huh?"
"Ha, ha, smart ass." Davey noticed the bandages on Ty and Tandy's arms. "What are those for?"
"Whistler thought it would be a good idea to get these two checked out in case they caught the same thing you have."
"Did you get checked out?"
"I was in the military. I've been vaccinated for any possible sickness imagined."
"What about the others?"
"I'm sure they will get checked out soon."
"Whistler's too stubborn to get sick anyway," Tandy finally said.
Every chuckled.
"That's everything," Dr. Strange said as he, Natasha, and Marc entered the lair from the staircase. "How goes the decontamination down here?"
"We're done," Whistler said as he and Blade put the chemicals back.
"Are you okay, Abraham?"
"Of course I'm not okay," he replied. "I have to tell the youngest member of our team that he's dying and there isn't a damn thing any of us can do to cure him."
"I know what you are going through."
"How many people have you told they were going to die?"
"Too many. Before I became a sorcerer, I was a surgeon. That's where the 'doctor' title comes. There were times I would open someone up who was going to have a routine surgery for cancer and discovered their body filled with tumors. There was nothing I could do except stitch them up, give them medication, and refer their family to a hospice organization. I've had children come in with severe trauma, and no matter how much I did, they still passed.
"It is a task that did not get easier the more often I did it. I don't envy you yours."
Whistler nodded.
"I'll continue researching the woman who committed suicide," Marc said. "Routine helps get our minds off of bad news."
Tandy and Ty left to use the bathroom and Michael took a seat.
"Have you seen Johnny at all?" Davey asked.
"No," Michael nodded. "Chances are I won't, either. I hurt him really bad."
"Do you still love him?" Davey asked.
"Of course. Part of me will always love him. I've moved on, obviously, but I can't forget how I felt about him."
"I miss Harris."
Michael looked up at Davey. This was the first time Davey spoke Harris's name since his return from Orlando.
"I still love him. Every time I think about kissing someone, Harris enters my mind. I know I've not held my own with the team. I've been lax. My mind isn't on the work. I'm too busy thinking about Harris and how much I love and miss him. Then, I think about the pain I caused him and I get mad at myself. Do you think he could ever forgive me?"
"I don't know," Michael replied. Inside, however, Michael was hoping Harris would forgive and forget. If Davey truly was dying, Harris wouldn't have the opportunity to seal the rift, and the bitterness would stay with him the rest of his life.
"Do you want one of us to talk to him?"
"No," Davey answered. "I have an idea. I think I'll find a way to talk to him."
Michael, Ty, and Tandy left Davey in fairly good spirits after Tandy and Ty cheered him up, though the spirits of the three were less than stellar.
"I can't believe he's going to die," Tandy said.
"He still loves Harris," Michael replied as the Suburban pulled out of the parking garage. "While you two were in the bathroom, he told me loves and misses Harris. He wonders if Harris will forgive him."
"Of course Harris will forgive him! If he doesn't..."
"Calm down," Ty replied. "Should we talk to Harris?"
"Davey said 'no'. He doesn't want us interfering. Besides, Davey would be upset if Harris only forgave him because of his ailment, not because he truly forgave him."
"This is getting complicated," Tandy replied. "Why in the world are relationships complicated?"
"You're asking the wrong people," Ty answered.
"What did the doctor say?" Michael asked.
"We're clean. No trace of the virus in us."
When the three returned home, they reported themselves virus free.
"That's good news," Whistler said. "The question remains how he contracted the virus."
"Could it be the guys he slept with in Orlando did this to him?" Tandy suggested. "Maybe they are carrying the disease."
"Are they mutants?"
"One doesn't have to be a mutant to carry the disease," Michael stated. "All it means is that they will not get sick."
"If they are carriers, they might not know about it."
"But they had to get it," Whistler stated. "Which could mean one thing; someone put the virus inside them for a reason, regardless of their willingness or knowledge."
"Then we should have a talk with them," Michael replied. "If we are persuasive enough, they might be able to tell us where the disease came from."
"When are they going to be here?" Ty asked.
"Tomorrow night, I think," Whistler answered. "I'll have to check on their schedule."
"Davey comes home tomorrow," Michael reminded. "Are we going to tell him?"
"We have to. He has just as much right to know as anyone else. He deserves to know what's happening to him so he can face it and give death hell."
"And believe me, he will," Ty replied. "I wouldn't be surprised if he went all bitchy on death."
Everyone in the room laughed a little.
"We should get things ready," Tandy said. "Give him a big 'Welcome Home' party."
Everyone agreed and went about the rest of the day getting food and preparing the mansion for Davey's return the next day.
Blade, Punisher, Moon Knight, Black Widow, and Dr. Strange went out on patrol to look for whatever caused the death of the young woman. The first place they went was the scene of her suicide.
"There was a vampire attack not too far from here," Moon Knight stated. "The vampire seemed crazed, not like the usual demons."
"We'll go check that out. Punisher, come with us. Strange and Widow, you look around where the girl jumped. See if there are any clues."
The two nodded and entered the alley while Blade, Moon Knight, and Punisher headed up the street to the scene of the vampire attack.
"Why would anyone go and off themselves?" Black Widow asked as they walked toward the fire escape. "There is so much to live for."
"Some don't see it that way. After Davey finds out what is wrong with him, he may want to commit suicide. Some times knowing one's fate is worse than not knowing it."
Black Widow nodded.
Dr. Strange stopped and held his hands up near his stomach. "I'm sensing mystical energy. It is very dark and foreboding. It reminds me of despair. It gets stronger moving up."
The two climbed the ladder and Dr. Strange moved toward the edge of the building, the point where the young lady jumped to her death.
"When she jumped, there was a great release of dark energy, more than I've ever sensed any human having. And the energy flowed in a specific direction. That way," Dr. Strange replied turning and pointing south.
"Shall we?" the Slayer said motioning.
Strange nodded and the two moved down off the building and headed south with Strange in the lead.
"This is where the vampire attacked me," Moon Knight explained. "I was heading in the direction of the evil when it jumped out of nowhere. Once I slayed the creature, the presence was gone."
"Do you remember which direction the feeling came from?" Punisher asked.
"That way, a short distance south of here."
"Let's go then," Blade said and the three headed off.
A short while later, both teams merged on the scene of the source of darkness and destination of negative energy.
"So the trail led you here," Blade replied.
"It did," Strange answered. "The victim expelled a great amount of negative energy, energy that was pulled this way."
"This was also the location of the darkness I sensed."
"Something was definitely here," Black Widow replied.
"And it's here now," Punisher said.
All turned to see a figure standing six feet three inches in height. The being had a white face and black eyes, and wore a black jumpsuit and blue cloak. The creature glared at the team and stepped forward.
Blade drew his sword and readied to fight the creature.
The creature lifted his hand and Blade stopped immediately. No one knew what was going on. In Blade's mind, though, images which terrified him flashed. He could see his friends dying before his eyes, himself being the cause of it. Blade saw vampires just like him running amok in the city feeding off humans and he was helpless to stop them. Feelings of loneliness and despair swept through him and he dropped his sword and fell to his knees.
"What the hell...?" Punisher said taking aim.
The creature did the same toward the Punisher only he saw criminals getting away with their crimes. Reverend Exeter was alive and well in these illusions running the Friends of Humanity into great power in America. Punisher saw the marines he fought as they beat and killed the effeminate soldier in the barracks. There was nothing he could do to stop them. He couldn't exact revenge. The Punisher clutched his gun and slid down the wall.
"You have great powers," Dr. Strange replied. "What can you do against magic?"
Green bolts of energy, like lightning, shot from Dr. Strange's fingers and danced toward the creature. The creature responded by creating a shield of sorts which absorbed the energy. The shield then turned into a focused energy beam and shot out, hitting Dr. Strange and knocking him down.
Moon Knight pulled out his weapons and readied himself for battle. Black Widow readied herself as well.
"We do have supernaturally inclined warriors," the creature said with a dark, eeriness to his voice. "This should prove most fun."
Moon Knight swung at the creature which ducked and brought his fist up connecting with Moon Knight's chest. Moon Knight flew into the air at least ten feet and landed on the other end of the alley.
Black Widow swung her leg and connected with the creature's head. The creature stumbled but then turned around and caught her fist in mid-strike. His other hand grasped her neck and lifted her off the ground.
"Stupid Vampire Slayer. You cannot defeat me. You cannot kill me. You cannot stop me."
"What--What are you?" Black Widow asked.
"I am the darkness demons fear. Vampires of times past have fled from me in terror. Countless beings have ended their lives for my pleasure. I am misery and lost hope incarnate. My name is D'Spayre."
The demon known as D'Spayre squeezed Black Widow's neck a little harder and a snapping sound was heard. Releasing his grip, Black Widow's body fell to the ground dead.
To Be Continued...
What do you think of what is happening to Davey? Do you think he will be okay or do you think they will find the cure? I'd love to hear from you!