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CHURCH OF THE RISEN SON, PART 5 (OF 5)
"Under Siege"
Dusk. The Disciples and the Natives were assembled together just behind a ridge which separated them from the evil Duhas' castle. *
Duhas' fortress was the exact opposite of the capital. The capital was a majestic inviting place, where one felt at home, and just by walking through the streets could feel the pride of being a citizen. Duhas' fortress was dark all day round. Shadows were cast in places where it seemed there should be no shade, and there was a coldness that emanated from it that even here, over a mile away, it sent chills down one's spine.
Pike looked around and was very much impressed. The turn-out had been extraordinary. These people really did care deeply for their cause. Many of them might die today, but they were still here to fight for what was rightfully theirs.
As far as the eye could see, there were soldiers in knightly armor. This line continued all the way around the fortress, surrounding it. Pike had a hard time believing this many men could not win the battle. It was incredible.
The other thing Pike had been worried about was how it was possible that such an immense group had not been detected. He had approached Nomad about this earlier, but the Disciples' field leader was calm and self-assured.
"Duhas is cocky, he doesn't believe anything can touch him. He's gotten too sure of himself, so his security isn't up to par. He won't know he's under attack until the first line hits the fortress walls," Nomad had said.
So far it had seemed that way.
Denee came forward and approached Nomad. "I've done my part. Now, how are we going to get in the fortress?"
"I've told you. Leave that to us. First things are first. We have to begin the attack. Are your commanders ready?"
"They've all reported in as being so."
"Good, then launch the attack."
Denee still looked skeptical, nevertheless he had come too far to back down now, he went off again, to co-ordinate the attack.
Spiral yawned, "Does this mean we're finally going to see some action?"
"At last I get to fulfill my holy duty," added Speed Demon.
Finally Pike heard a voice he had not heard in a while. Grimm spoke up, "Would you two both shaddap. We're here to help these people and get the Son his fancy rock. How about we try and concentrate on our jobs instead of worrying about kicking butt."
The words sounded funny coming from the man-lizard. Nonetheless, Nomad nodded his agreement. "Soon this will all be over and we will be able to return home, our mission accomplished, one step closer to His Holiness' vision."
Pike wondered now. What was Nefaria's vision? What was he going to do with this stone and with the robot they recovered? For the first time since he had joined the Disciples, he was able to ask himself these questions without a perpetual fog hanging over his thoughts. Why was it, that only here, so far from the Church could he think clearly?
Pike didn't have long to think about his questions because he was pulled out of his reverie by Denee's return. "Everything's ready, we just have to give the word."
Nomad nodded, "Good, then let's do it."
Denee took a deep breath then nodded to one of the men wearing armor. The man raised his sword in the air and held it there for what seemed to be an eternity, finally he brought it back down shouting, "ATTACK!"
The cry was echoed all around the huge circle, as the swarm of armor-clad figures rushed forward into battle. The Disciples and the Natives watched as many men drove forward toward the imposing form of the fortress.
Nomad had been right, no response came from the denizens of the fortress until several energy beams had already struck and weakened its walls.
As Duhas' minions exited the castle, the battle began. The armor-clad soldiers faced the black armor-clad minions. The minions were by far outnumbered, but they were still pouring out of the fortress. Despite the lopsidedness in numbers, no side was taking the fore. The augmented power of the denizens leveled the playing field considerably.
Two soldiers riding "horses" attacked two minions. The two minions saw the men coming and cut down their steeds, bringing them to level. The soldiers slashed with their energy swords and the minions slashed back with theirs, their superior strength and stamina becoming a factor. Finally one of the men received a brutal blow crumbled to the ground wounded, the two minions began to advance on the one remaining soldier, but just in time four of his comrades jumped into the fray knocking over one of the minions and fighting it four against one, as the soldier tried to hold his own against the one remaining evil figure. The four knights over-powered the minion by sheer number and then moved to help their comrade who was falling in battle. At five on one, Duhas' servant soon fell. When the battle was over though, the soldier who had been in the fray from the beginning dropped to his knees with exhaustion and grabbed at his side.
Skirmishes such as this one were taking place all over the battlefield.
Over the ridge, Denee was becoming impatient. "You see, we're holding our own, but we can't hope to win like this. We must go in now!"
Nomad nodded. "I agree."
"So how do we get in!?" asked a very frustrated warrior. The one whom they had fought on their way into this world.
"Quite simple. Brace yourselves," with that Nomad gave a nod to Spiral.
The Amazon began waving her arms and soon the ten figures were gone from the place that was now a horrible battlefield.
When they reappeared they were in what appeared to be a dark alleyway.
"Where are we? What happened?" inquired Princess October.
"We're inside the fortress, I teleported you here," Spiral explained very matter-of-factly.
Pike had never had extensive knowledge of girls, but he could tell that these two women were not very fond of each other.
"Unfortunately we couldn't get to the exact location of Duhas, so we'll have to find him from here," Nomad pointed out.
"You should know that Duhas' personal guards are quite powerful, and he himself has power that is terrifying even to the mightiest warrior," Denee said sadly.
"How many personal guards does he have?"
"Four."
"We'll be just fine."
The group started its way up to the highest point of the castle which they assumed would be the throne room, which in turn would be where they would find Duhas.
Most of the minions were busy outside the fortress in the battle, of which the sounds could be heard, so the path was mostly clear for the Disciples and the Natives.
Just as they were about to reach the base of the tower, a group of four followers raced by them, obviously off to aid in the battle raging on outside. The group stopped suddenly though as they realized that a troop of rebels had infiltrated the base, they turned to fight, but they were a little late.
Dr. Spectrum had created a hammer and smacked one of them clear out of eyesight. Grimm and Pike leapt as one on top of another minion and pounded him continuously. Speed Demon raced around yet another delivering an uncountable amount of hits before the evil one could react. Then the warrior and the dragon pounced on the last one, making short work of him.
With that out of the way they raced up the tower steps, where they encountered two more minions. This time, Princess October fought one of them in what was almost a duel. Using her energy staff, she did what looked like a dance with the minion.
He would slash, she would parry, all the while moving in very fluid motions, all leading to an ultimate goal. The minion slashed downwards at the princess. She evaded the attack and with a spin managed to land a blow to the follower's midsection with the butt of her staff. As the staff rested there, the tip glowed brighter and an energy beam flew out, sending the minion flying. When he came to rest, he was no longer moving.
The other evil-doer was handled by Spiral. Any swordsman would have trouble dealing with six swords at once, but with the addition of her ability to teleport, Spiral was far too much for the minion and he too soon fell.
The group reached the throne with no further interventions.
As they approached the massive carved wooden door they could hear a voice from within.
"The fools! What are they thinking, by the time this battle is over, I won't have a kingdom to rule over. All of my people will be dead! Do these idiots realize their stupidity? They can't possibly hope to win."
With that, the group of ten burst through the wooden doors.
"Yes, they can hope to win!"
Duhas' jaw dropped so low, Pike could have swore he saw it go down to the middle of the man's chest.
The villain quickly regained his composure however.
"Denee, how nice of you to join us. Here to join your brother-in-law, are you?"
"More like to set him free."
Duhas laughed, "It is nice to have delusions isn't it. I am curious to know though how it is that you got in here. Anyhow, I don't suppose you'll tell me, but what a clever plan. Send out every able-bodied man to keep my servants busy while you sneak in to confront me. It's a shame I'll just have to kill you and your new friends. Really Denee, how rude of you, you haven't even introduced us!"
Pike scratched his head. This guy was an evil tyrant? He seemed to be more of a pathetic loon. One olive short of a martini.
"Introductions aren't necessary, you won't live long enough to get to know us. That is, if you don't surrender the stone," said Nomad.
Duhas laughed again, almost hysterically. "My, aren't we a funny lot. I'm sorry, but the only people who will be surrendering are your soldiers after they find out that I have their leaders prisoner and am torturing them to death."
Pike was sure now, there was something definitely insane about the look in the man's eyes when he said the word death. They gleamed an emptiness that was matched only by the stone that was at the end of his scepter. The stone! Pike finally realized that the Crazan stone was within their reach.
Princess October was looking noticeably uneasy in all of this, she stepped forward and spoke, sounding unsure of herself, "Let my brother go and we'll leave peacefully Duhas."
Yet another laugh, "Ah, but your brother is my favorite decoration." He pointed to a point above their heads.
The group looked up and what they saw was a man trapped in a bubble much like one of Dr. Spectrum's, only colorless. The man was thin and ragged, but the look in his eyes still seemed to convey a form of power. An inner power that could never be taken away.
"I'm afraid I've had enough talk, it's time your rebellion was put to an end, Denee. Guards, seize them."
With that, the Disciples and the Natives prepared for battle. This did not faze Pike, he was actually glad that the battle was beginning. Duhas' insane ramblings made him more nervous than entering battle. From outside, he could hear the sounds of a battle on a much larger scale. Pike wondered if the soldiers ever felt the same way. Whether they did or not, this was not the time to start thinking about it.
Duhas' four personal guards approached, the Natives jumped into the fray first, each of them took up arms against one of the super-powered guards. Pike could tell just by watching these minions move, they were faster and stronger than the other one they had faced.
"We'll take care of the guards, you take care of Duhas, but make sure you leave some for me," Denee shouted over to Nomad.
Nomad acknowledged the man's words and gave each of the Disciples' a look that they understood. Now was the true test of their ability, and they all knew it.
Duhas looked at Nomad funnily. "You honestly think you and your friends can defeat me?"
"No, I know we can."
"Very well then," and with that Duhas sent a huge energy blast flying towards the group. Each member evaded in their own way. Where the blast had hit, there was a large crater in the stone floor.
"That scepter of his packs a punch guys, don't get hit by it or you're dead," shouted Nomad.
The Disciples surrounded the mad tyrant, but this didn't matter to him, he sent a blast in every direction creating more craters.
Dr. Spectrum attacked with a giant hammer, but the hammer from overhead just bashed against a transparent platform. Apparently Duhas had powers similar to Spectrum. Speed Demon rushed towards the tyrant in a zigzag pattern, but as he drew nearer, Duhas caught him with a blow to the face. Super-human reflexes were also visible.
Pike and Grimm couldn't get close enough to Duhas to mount any kind of attack for fear of being disintegrated by the ray that kept coming in their direction. Spiral could not risk teleporting because by the time she was in place, she would be taken out.
Nomad for his part was getting the bulk of the blasts getting hurled at him, but he was managing to avoid them all by tumbling, jumping and somersaulting out of the way. This was beginning to aggravate Duhas very much.
"Would you please stay still you pest."
The Natives were holding their own against the guards, but having little success in taking the upper hand. The dragon was evading his sparring partner's attacks while airborne, but in this closed area, there was little room for him to maneuver which worked against him.
The warrior was standing toe to toe with a guard, and exchanging blows. The guard's strength was superior, but the warrior had the advantage in terms of experience, and so they continued to slash and parry, with no winner visible as of yet.
Denee was trying to keep his distance from his opponent while attacking with his energy pistols, but most blasts ricocheted harmlessly off the minion's shield.
Princess October was doing her dance with her foe, but this one was quicker than the last one she had fought and he was not leaving her any openings, however she had more a bigger plan in mind.
The Disciples continued their assault on Duhas with little success. They were not able to get close enough to him and he was not able to hit any of them.
The majority of his efforts were being devoted to hunting Nomad. The tyrant seemed to be having fun with this particular game.
As Princess October had been fighting the guard, she had slowly taken the battle further and further back, until now she was at the rear of the room, behind Duhas and only a few steps away from him, with one last strike, she took the guards' legs out from under him and then jumped behind Duhas and grabbed his scepter.
"Wh -" Duhas turned his head and the scepter began to glow.
Suddenly a large surge of energy burst from the scepter sending the princess flying, as she flew backwards, she managed to hit the Crazan stone off the top of the scepter, sending it sliding across the floor.
Everyone froze.
"Even without the stone, Duhas can still use the scepter!" Denee cried.
Duhas pointed the scepter at the very vulnerable princess. "Now, Princess, you've interfered for the very last time." The scepter began to glow and a large transparent box was formed around the area in which Duhas, the princess and the stone were lying.
However, just before the box had gone up, Pike had managed to dive through the perimeter.
Upon noticing this Speed Demon shouted, "Well done, get the stone and we'll be gone."
This startled Denee who began to understand.
Pike looked towards the stone and then looked towards the princess who still had the glowing scepter pointed at her. Duhas was completely oblivious to any of the happenings around him, he was too concentrated on making the kill.
He brought the scepter behind him, and just as he was about to let his arm go forward again, Pike made an important decision.
The man-mountain leapt, knocking the tyrant off his feet and sending the energy blast flying into the transparent box which shattered it.
The Natives stood around no longer. With the Crazan stone out of Duhas' reach, the minions lost their powers, and the Natives made short work of them.
Pike was just about to pound Duhas into the ground when an energy blast similar to the one that was meant from Princess October struck him in the chest, sending him sprawling.
Grimm let out a war cry and charged towards Duhas. Duhas fired at him and the beam struck at the same time as Grimm's punch, sending both men off their feet. Nomad took advantage of this moment of vulnerability and got close enough to Duhas that when the man got up, he was able to kick the scepter out of his hand. Spectrum encased the device in a bubble.
Without his scepter, Duhas was vulnerable to the remaining group.
"Okay, I surrender, I surrender," he cried.
"Too late," said Denee coldly as he leveled an energy pistol and fired.
The battle was over, even the sounds of the battle outside were starting to die down, the minions stood little chance now without their powers.
Dr. Spectrum approached a still dazed Pike.
"You," Dr. Spectrum said, "Are a fool. You could have gotten us killed while you were playing hero."
Pike looked over at his friend Ben Grimm who was now standing at his side, indicating his support with his mere presence.
The camps were clearly drawn, with Pike and Grimm on one side and Spectrum, Speed Demon and Spiral on the other.
Pike could tell by the look in Nomad's eyes that he was torn. Deep down he knew that what Pike had done was right, but his hardcore tactician mentality told him it was a danger to the mission.
In the end, Nomad just said, "It's of no importance. We all lived and we've won the battle."
Denee was by the side of Princess October, she was still breathing, but obviously shaken up. The warrior and dragon were busy freeing the princess' brother, their ruler.
When they reached Denee's side, they lied down their Lord by his sister since he was weak.
Denee approached Nomad and held out his hand, "Thank you. Thank you for your help. I will admit, I had my doubts, especially in the middle of the battle."
Then Denee walked up to Pike, "You. Thank you very much. You saved my wife's life. I'm sure if you stayed an extra day, my Lord would reward you."
Nomad spoke for the group, "No reward necessary, we just want to get home as quickly as possible."
Pike felt a pride swell in his chest, for the first time in a long time, he felt good about himself and something he'd done.
"And don't worry about the stone ever being a problem again, we'll take it home and dispose of it properly," Nomad added. Speed Demon had already retrieved the Stone during the dying seconds of the battle.
He pressed a button on his belt and a few seconds later a portal opened beside him.
"Off we go," he said as he leapt through it.
Each of the Disciples followed one after the other.
The Natives all watched as the mysterious heroes who saved their world returned to their home.
The trip across the portal was not so bad for Pike this time, he was too concentrated on the good that he'd done. He was still on cloud nine.
Once they crossed, they found themselves in Nefaria's chambers. The Son was present along with the Prophet.
Speed Demon stepped forward, went down on one knee and offered the stone to his master.
Nefaria smiled, a huge smile. Pike thought he had seen that smile somewhere before, it looked eerily familiar.
"Now, the last thing needed for the salvation of the world has been retrieved," Nefaria began. "With this and the other artifacts we've gathered we can now set our plan into action. Soon, we will rid all the super-humans on this world of their powers, leaving only us to defend it! No chance of anyone standing in the way of God."
Pike was thinking clearly now and he realized just what this entailed. It meant that the "Son" was going to take over control of the entire world, and everyone would be forced to obey his divine words. Was this really any different from what Duhas had done?
"But first my Disciples, before our glorious day, a sad task must be accomplished. There is a traitor among us. It pains me that any of my Disciples would do such a thing, but alas it has happened."
Each of the Disciples were standing stock still.
Nefaria went around to each of them, then he stopped at Pike, he grabbed the man-mountain by the throat and lifted him off the ground.
Pike was in utter shock. He wanted to fight back, but he couldn't move, nor speak.
"It's unfortunate this had to happen Pike, but traitors cannot be tolerated in our divine society," Nefaria said with that same grin.
It was then that Pike recognized the look, it was the same evil, insane, grin that Duhas had been wearing before their battle. Why hadn't he realized this before?
Pike looked over at his friend Ben Grimm in a desperate plea for help, but the man-lizard's eyes were glassy and he wasn't even looking in his direction. Pike understood yet again. He shot a look at Mentallo, who was smiling. The reason he hadn't realized this earlier, and the fog that was always in his mind was a result of Mentallo's powers. He had been controlling him from the beginning.
"It's a shame a hero had to die," said Nefaria with mock sadness. Then the evil grin reappeared and he snapped Pike's neck with one hand.
Pike's realizations all flooded over him as the darkness surrounded him. To him it seemed insignificant, he felt he was going to a better place. But the real God could only hope that someone would be able to stop Nefaria's insane scheme.
Folks, the five-part story you have just read is a collaboration of two writers. Scott Harris sent me bare bones descriptions of what he wanted in each of his issues. I took as much of his ideas into consideration as I could, while at the same time taking a few creative liberties. After writing this, I've realized that scripting from someone else's plots is not easy. I have to thank Scott for giving me as much space as he did.
I also need to thank Jeff Melton, Kell Carpenter and Ralph Angelo Jr., for helping me with a part of the story I eventually ended up leaving out and replacing with something else (part of my creative liberties). All the same, their time and effort is much appreciated, thanks guys.
With this out of the way, you should all go read CHAMPIONS #25-26 which leads up to AVENGERS #433 which I will be scripting and is coming soon. Soon, the cry of "Avengers Assemble!" will be heard again in the pages of an MV1 story.
Thanks for reading, I had lots of fun with this, and grew to really love these characters. Who knows, maybe you'll all see one or more of them pop up in a mini penned by yours truly.
Thanks again,
Adam Di Stefano